330 ANisruAL eeports of departmekt of agriculture. 



has consistently attempted to maintain have had a remarkable influ- 

 ence on agricultural research and upon the development of the ex- 

 periment stations. A clearer conception has grown up of the field 

 and character of research as contrasted with other forms of experi- 

 mental activity, and as a result of the exactions of a higher grade of 

 work the qualification requirements for experiment station employees 

 have steadily been raised. Men of superior training are sought where 

 new positions are to be filled, and those already in the stations are 

 stimulated to take advanced training. Some of the products and in- 

 fluence of the Adams Act, and the changes which have come with it, 

 Avere presented editorially in the March issue of Experiment Station 

 Record (Vol. XXXVI, No. 4). 



The chief of the office continued to serve as a member of the com- 

 mittee on experiment station organization and policy of the Asso- 

 ciation of American Agricultural Colleges and Experiment Stations 

 and devoted considerable study to the preparation of a report em- 

 bodying suggestions for the improvement of experiment station pub- 

 lications. In general, marked improvement has been made in the 

 character of the station publications and in their classification in 

 accordance with the audience to which they are directed. 



To a considerable extent the technical papers of the stations are 

 being published in the Journal of Agricultural Research, issued by 

 this department, on which the chief of the office serves as a member of 

 the editorial committee. 



EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



In accordance with the general plan in operation for several years, 

 volumes 35 and 36 of Experiment Station Record, each consisting 

 of nine numbers and the usual author and subject indexes, were pre- 

 pared during the year. These volumes contained about 7,000 ab- 

 stracts of the world's scientific literature pertaining to agriculture, 

 together with monthly editorials discussing important phases of 

 the development of agricultural investigation ancl science and brief 

 notes on the progress of institutions for agricultural education and 

 research in this country and abroad. 



The total number of articles abstracted was smaller than for 

 several years. This was due largely to the reduced output of most 

 scientific institutions in Europe and to the ever-increasing difficulty 

 in obtaining copies of many publications, especially those from Ger- 

 many. On the other hand, the domestic literature continued to 

 increase in both volume and importance. 



insular stations. 



The work of the Alaska, Hawaii, Porto Rico, and Guam stations 

 continued along the usual lines during the early part of the year, 

 but with the development of the food emergency brought about by 

 the war many projects not immediately applicable to the situation 

 were temporarily put aside and all efforts concentrated on increasing 

 local production of food supplies, a work of primary importance, as 

 whatever percentage of increase it has been possible to attain has 

 reduced by that much the demand on the mainland. That this work 

 was urgently needed may be realized from the fact that nearly 



