280 REPORT OF OFFICE OF EXPERIMENT STATIONS. 



prizes, nfr^ivpitiii*; sovoral thmisantl dollars in value. Ainon^ these 

 wore the jrraiul sweepstakes trophy — a silver cup valued at $l,r)()() and 

 presented under the ausj)ices of the Mexican (Joveinuient to stimu- 

 late interest in corn jud<i:ing — and a thousand-dollar (lophy oHered 

 by the AVestern Grain Dealers' Association for the ju(l<;ing of oats. 

 The contests involved the grading of selected and commercial samples 

 of the different grains, and also a statement of the reasons for the 

 judgments made; and there were public lectures by representatiA'es of 

 boards of trade and grain exchanges as to the methods of grading, 

 buying, and selling. Thus the opportunities o})en to the students 

 were nuich extended, and they gained both experience and training 

 of a sort to stinmlate and develoj) subsequent work in the class 

 room. 



A national exposition of this sort, if closely held to the educational 

 purpose, presents very considerable possibilities in that field. Like 

 most of the other forms of extension work, it is still in the experi- 

 mental stage and now possesses the temporary advantage of novelty, 

 which must soon to some extent be lost. Much of the instruction it 

 imparts is admittedly more or less superficial in degree and ephem- 

 eral in effect, needing subsequent and continued stimulation through 

 other channels to effect its greatest and most lasting value. As a 

 means of arousing interest, however, of pointing out in a practical 

 way the need of individual improvement, and in revealing the op- 

 portunities wdiich scientific effort is developing, it may easily become 

 a factor well worthy of consideration in the work of popularizing 

 the results of agricultural research. 



THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF AGRICULTURE. 



The third session of the Graduate School of Agriculture, held at 

 Ithaca and Geneva, N. Y., July 6-31, 1908, continued and in many re- 

 spects surpassed the notable successes of the sessions of 1902 and 1906. 

 A combination of favorable circumstances, such as an extension of 

 the scope of the school to include additional courses and advanced 

 lines of work, the supplementing of the instructicm corps as drawn 

 from the staffs of American agricultural institutions by the securing 

 of a number of lecturers of international reputation, and the increas- 

 ing realization by agricultural workers, through the practical opera- 

 tions of the Adams Act and other agencies of agricultural progress, of 

 the substantial benefits to be derived from such a school, resulted in a 

 record-breaking enrollment and a session of unusual interest and im- 

 portance. 



The general plan of organization of the school was that followed 

 at the previous session, the Association of American x^gricultural Col- 

 leges and Experiment Stations, through its standing committee on 



