REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE. 39- 



situation should not be permitted to continue as criticism is fre- 

 quently made that the results of investigations, in many instances, are 

 published too late to be of the greatest service. Some of these manu- 

 scripts represent the life work of capable, practical, scientific men, 

 and we should not fail to give the public promptly the benefits of 

 their years of labor. 



DISTRIBUTION OF FARMERS* BULLETINS. 



Furthermore, the department is falling far short of meeting the 

 demands for its publications. The law provides that one-fifth of the 

 number of Farmers' Bulletins printed shall be available to the de- 

 partment, while the Congress is allowed four-fifths for distribution 

 oy its Members. The department has intimate knowledge of the 

 needs of the country for agricultural information, and it has also an 

 effective field organization capable of distributing its publications 

 where they will serve the most useful purpose. It would seem desir- 

 able, therefore, to change the present arrangement so as to charge the 

 department with the distribution of Farmers' Bulletins to the sec- 

 tions where the information they contain is most needed and desired. 



THE AGRICUIiTURAX. EXPERIMENT STATIONS. 



In many of the States the institutions for agricultural research 

 which are maintained by Federal and State funds are seriously 

 hampered by existing conditions. Their appropriations have not 

 been increased sufficiently to meet present economic requirements^ 

 their expert forces are being depleted by attractive offers from com- 

 mercial and other concerns, and it is increasingly difficult to fill the 

 vacancies thus created with equally competent men and women. 

 With the increased cost of services, labor, equipment, and supplies, 

 it has been impossible for them to maintain their prewar status in 

 the field of research. 



The situation is serious enough to deserve careful attention of all 

 those interested in the progress of our agriculture. The research 

 work of the stations, like that of the Department of Agriculture, is 

 fundamental. Unless there comes from these institutions a steady 

 and abundant flow of new knowledge which can be utilized to meet 

 pressing problems, agricultural advancement Mill slow down and 

 our system of agricultural education, through colleges, schools, and 

 the extension service, will deteriorate. 



NITROGEN AND POTASH. 



The European war emphasized the fact that no effort should be 

 spared to establish national independence in the production of fer- 

 tilizer materials. This is especially true in the case of nitrogen, 



