EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



Vol. XXV. July, 1911. No. 1. 



In the elaboration of the orpmization of the agi-icultiiral colleges, 

 which is now proceeding rapidl}^ because of the great expansion of 

 their work, the experiment station is generally regarded as the re- 

 search division, as distinguished from the teaching and extension 

 divisions. This fact is, however, obscured in the eyes of the public 

 because of the great variety of publications which are being issued 

 by the stations. 



The miscellaneous character of these publications can not be said 

 to have diminished as the stations have grown in experience and in 

 the attempt to organize and differentiate their work. The number of 

 publications has greatly increased, but in a majority of cases this 

 increase is not made up of accounts of the station's activity as a re- 

 search institution. It consists largely in the number of popular and 

 informational bulletins and circulars, which relate to the extension 

 department rather than to the experiment station proper. These 

 are merged in the general station series in a manner which often 

 gives a wrong impression. 



There have been several successful efforts to start separate tech- 

 nical series which report the station's investigations in more scien- 

 tific language and detail. This step is commendable in excluding 

 the more technical accounts of station work from the general mailing 

 list, and bringing such accounts to the notice of the persons for 

 whom they are especially prepared. Such a classification is highly 

 desirable if the miscellaneous character of the station publications 

 is to continue, for not the least important phase of this subject is 

 the influence the arrangement has on scientific readers. 



The heterogeneous mixture of popular, semipopular, and technical 

 articles, based in part on station work and in part on general sources 

 of information, reports of inspection work and police regulations, 

 announcements of college courses, nature-study publications for 

 teachers and pupils, serves to obscure largely the bulletin of technical 

 value. It makes it difficult for the station publications to secure the 

 interest of and recognition from people interested in scientific and 

 technical studies, because of the large mass of material under which 



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