ANNUAL REPORT OF THE OFFICE OF EXPERIMENT 



STATIONS, 1910. 



WORK OF THE OFFICE OF EXPERIMENT STATIONS. 



The general character of the work of the Office of Experiment 

 Stations was not changed during 1910, and included the supervision 

 of the expenditures of Federal funds by the agricultural experiment 

 stations in the several States; conferences and correspondence with 

 station officers regarding the management, equipment, and work of 

 the stations; the collection and dissemination of information re- 

 garding the progress of agricultural education and research through- 

 out the world by means of technical and popular bulletins; the 

 management of the agricultural experiment stations in Alaska, 

 Hawaii, Porto Rico, and Guam ; the promotion of the interests 

 of agricultural colleges and schools and farmers' institutes through- 

 out the United States; special investigations on irrigation and drain- 

 age, conducted largely in cooperation with experiment stations, 

 educational institutions, and other agencies in different States and 

 Territories; and the investigation of problems relating to the food 

 and nutrition of man. 



RELATIONS WITH THE AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATIONS. 



The relations of the office to the work and expenditures of the 

 experiment stations continue to increase in volume and variety. 

 While these center primarily on the Federal funds, as a matter of 

 fact they extend to practically all phases of the station activity, 

 including organization, administration, and general policy. 



The popularity of experimental work and confidence in the sta- 

 tions have led to increasing appropriations to them for a wide range 

 of duties in the field of investigation, demonstration, and inspec- 

 tion. The multiplicity of their present duties and the pressure upon 

 them for all forms of extension enterprises have raised a large num- 

 ber of administrative questions, and required the outlining of a 

 more fixed policy as applied to the use of the Federal funds. The 

 department's administration of these funds has been modified with 

 a view to meeting the requirements of the changed conditions due 

 to the broader development of the stations and the colleges with 



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