62 KEPOET OF OFFICE OF EXPERIMENT STATIONS. 



funds to those directly connected with the conduct of actual experi- 

 ments and investigations and the publishing of the results of these 

 inquiries. 



This action has been indorsed by the Association of American 

 Agricultural Colleges and Experiment Stations. At the last con- 

 vention of that association its committee on station organization and 

 policy j)ointed out that — 



There never was a time when the stations needed to be more circumspect 

 and look more closely to their scientific reputation and even public apprecia- 

 tion than now. * * * i"o maintain a high and reliable grade of work is a 

 principle incumbent upon all stations, not only for the general cause but for 

 their own safety as well. 



Neither the demonstration ^vork nor the police work, it was urged, 

 must be allowed to encroach upon the acquisition of knowledge, but 

 there must be a clear distinction betw^een propaganda and investiga- 

 tion, between the discovery of principles and the dissemination of 

 their applications to practice. 



The station administration must ever keep in mind that the reason for ex- 

 istence and the chief usefulness of the stations depend upon their keeping true 

 to the main purpose for which they were established — the scientific investiga- 

 tion of the problems relating to agriculture. 



With a better understanding of the necessity for fundamental 

 studies in agriculture and the ultimate application of such investiga- 

 tions, the conditions surrounding such work have been improved and 

 the opportunities for it materially strengthened. It has not always 

 been realized that the principles underlying an agi'icultural problem 

 must first be studied before the problem itself can be solved, and 

 this has led to some public impatience with the methods of exj)eri- 

 ment which have been followed. The jiroblems of agriculture are 

 unusually intricate and involved, as they are affected by many con- 

 ditions which are variable and not readily controlled. It is very 

 easy, therefore, to draw unreliable conclusions or make unwarranted 

 generalizations from a few" local tests and experiments which do not 

 disclose the factors which are in operation or the real nature and 

 cause of the phenomena observed. Exact and reliable information 

 for agricultural practice must rest on scientific investigations which 

 are fundamental, and develop facts Avhich are definitely proven and 

 understood. There is much encouragement in the present attitude 

 toward such investigation. 



But in providing for this fundamental research the need of more 

 practical experiments for local conditions and the application or 

 adaptation of methods and crops to particular localities has not been 

 lost sight of. Special provision for such enterprises has increased, 

 special appropriations being made for particular lines of work and 

 for the maintenance of branch stations. In California the university 



