270 REPORT OF OFFICE OF EXPERIMENT STATIONS. 



A. C. True, of this Office, submitted Ji brief rei)()rt for (he special 

 coimiiittee on history of ii^ricuUiire, rej)ortiii^ I)i'o<;ress in collecting 

 (hita on this subject and askin<^ the cooj)eration <d" (he agricuUural 

 colle<ies. The chief feature of his report as bibliographer of the 

 association was a statement made by the Su{)erintendent of Docu- 

 ments, W. L. Post, concernin<jf go\x*rnnient documents and their dis- 

 tribution, the lack of i)ermanenc3' as regards designated depositories 

 for such documents, and the desirability of selling these publications 

 instead of giving them away, except to libraries, institutions of learn- 

 ing, and collaborators. Doctor True's report as chairman of the 

 committee on instruction in agriculture consisted of a statement con- 

 cerning the work of two subcommittees on college courses in domestic 

 economy and agricultural engineering. 



The report of the standing connnittee on extension work made the 

 following recommendations, which were approved by the association: 



(1) That each institution represented in this association organize as soon 

 as possible a definite scheme of extension worlc in agriculture; (2) that the 

 association favor increased appropriations for the United States Department of 

 Agriculture for the purpose of maliing investigations into all phases of the work 

 of disseminating agricultural information, and of assisting the States in every 

 practicable way to organize the work under the best auspices; (3) we strongly 

 urge that specific authority be granted by the association to this standing com- 

 mittee on extension work to make a study of this subject, and to report on it at a 

 future meeting of the association. 



The recommendation that the association organize a section to be 

 known as the section on extension work was indefinitely postponed, 

 but C. F. Curtiss gave notice of a proposed amendment to the con- 

 stitution, to lie over and be discussed and acted upon at the next 

 convention, permitting the organization of such a section. The 

 recommendations of the committee " that the association place itself 

 on record in favor of a moderate federal appropriation to be made to 

 the land-grant colleges for the purpose of carrying on extension work 

 in agriculture, under a plan which re(]uired the States also to make 

 appropriations for the work," and "that the association request 

 Congress to extend the franking privilege to bona fide extension pub- 

 lications issued by the land-grant colleges," w^ere referred to the sec- 

 tion on college work and administration for approval, as required 

 by the constitution, but no action was reported by that section at this 

 meeting. 



In accordance with a suggestion contained in the report of the 

 chairman of the executive committee and a resolution introduced by 

 K. L. Butterfield, of Massachusetts, the executive committee was 

 instructed to take into consideration the matter of preparing for 

 proper connuenioration in 1912 of the fiftieth anniversary of the 

 passage of the first Morrill Act and the fundamental law of the De- 



