31 



moasnvo of its rupooss nnd usofulnpss, or tlint tho number of bulletins issued 

 from nil oxiu'rinuMit station is a measure of tlic value of the work done tiiere. 

 Many boys may liave W'vn drawn from tlic farms to tlio sliortor t-oursos in tlu» 

 eolle'ues i>y tlio iiicturcsquc cirmlars calling' attontion to tlie j^reat advanta.i^es 

 to be derived from " a little learnin.ij;." These, as a rule, do not ai^teal to the 

 best ujen. but ratlu'r to thost- who are attracted by the " j;et-rieh-quiek " plan, 

 who from a smattering; of many thin.srs ran take positions which will enable them 

 to get a liviuf,' more easily than on the farm. It is a fact. too. that many of 

 the most valuable bulletins of the stations are not read, and if read are not 

 appreciated at their true worth. 



The j^rowth in material thin.gs, as evidenci'd by larj;e State appropriations, 

 may, in other words, indicate not so nmch the awakenin.u; of the farmer him- 

 self, or his realization of his educational ni-eds, and th(> demand that they bo 

 satisfied, as the prot^ress made in the various States in the I'utirely legitimate 

 and proper education of the nonfarmer members of the legislature, for it is a 

 notorious fact, that of the States where farmers constitute a large ))roportion 

 of the members of the legislature, many have been the most backward in voting 

 appropriations for the college of agriculture or for the experiment station. 

 The increase in the nund)er of genuine students in the colleges — and by 

 "genuine" I mean those who attend for the purpose of actiuiring knowledge 

 iind the direct helpfulness of the exjieriment stations to the farmers — have 

 been due to the intluence of the work of, or of iK'rsonal contact with, one or 

 more men in the institutions, whose l)readth of view, sincerity of i)uri>ose, and 

 strength of character have ins|)ired both young and old with the desire to sit 

 at their feet, rather than to buildings, ecpiipment, or exceptional facilities. I 

 Lave no doubt that the members of this association have felt the i)ossible 

 dangers pointed out here as constituting a real menace to future i)rogress, and 

 I am sure I shall not be -misunderstood when 1 urge that the pressing needs 

 of to-day are for men rather than eiiui]»ment, and that, paradoxiciU as it may 

 seem, the duty of this association, as representing the institutions in the various 

 States, is to see to it that both a broader and a more elementary education sliall 

 be provided. The character of the work of the exjieriment stations is not high 

 enough, because of the lack of a suthcient number of broadly trained men in 

 the various departments of chemistry, botany, entomology, etc., who are 

 capable of planning highly scientitic investigations. Analysts who are unable 

 to plan a comprehensive experiment, or to interpret their experimental results, 

 are not chenusts ; collectors, unable to originate or pursue a definite and helpful 

 line of investigation, are not botanists or entomologists. Experiment stations 

 need a larger number of true scientists, if their work is to be of a more permanent 

 character. It may be said that scientific investigators of a higher order, like 

 poets, "are born, not made." which is undoubtedly true, and hence the greater 

 necessity of a larger nuudter of In'oadl.v trained students from among whom men 

 may be drawn that shall be capable teachers and investigators. The teaching 

 functions of the experiment stations nuist be exercised as long as the great mass 

 of farmers are unfandliar with the applications of the principles of science, and 

 the beneficial, results of investigations must of necessity remain largel.v indi- 

 rect ; none the less the intluence of the stations has already proved of inestima- 

 ble value to the country. What it will be when its work touches directly all 

 of the various interests of the people, as it surely nuist, can onh- be faintly 

 conjectured. The opinion has been expressed that the establishment of the 

 land-grant colleges, together with those important branches, the experiment 

 stations, was one of the most beneficent acts of legislation ever enacted l)y this 

 Government. This opinion is concurred in by all who have given the subject 

 careful thought, not only because it has to do primarily with the education and 

 consequent uplifting of the industrial classes, but also because in its best 

 sense it has to do with the development, conservation, and use of the nation's 

 wealth, viz, the elements which constitute its soil, increasiug the intelligence 

 and broadening the views both of the man who directs nature's energies in the 

 creation of new products, and of him who transforms them into merchantaljle 

 forms or transfers them to the consiuners. I do not agr(i3 with those who 

 regard the land-grant college as primarily the place where the student may 

 secure technical education that shall best fit him for liis duties as a farmer. 

 The land-grant college is the farmer's college, but it should furnish opportuni- 

 ties for the farmer's boy to secure a training along the lines which shall best 

 suit his inclinations, though I believe that those who shall study engineering, 

 or law, or medicine, or other technical or professional pursuits, or shall fit 

 themselves there to be more helpful to their fellow-men in any direction, should 



