102 EXPERIMENT STATION RECOED. 



expected to convene at the University of Wisconsin in June, 1915, 

 will find the new association established on a permanent basis. 



The mere addition of another to the steadily lengthening list of 

 associations, societies, and similar groups of workers in the various 

 fields of agriculture is nowadays much too common to excite more 

 than momentary general interest, and perhaps a doubt as to whether 

 the process of organization is not being carried close to the limits 

 of expediency. Such a query is particularly likely to suggest itself 

 in the case of a body of workers some of whose duties are of a semi- 

 administrative and delegated nature, and many of whose problems 

 are in the first instance the problems of administrative officers, and 

 as such have received through existing organizations considerable 

 attention from time to time. 



The desirability of an additional association was therefore a mat- 

 ter which early received the attention of the Lexington conference, 

 and the decision that the step was warranted was reached after its 

 consideration from several points of view. Thus, it was felt that 

 while the formulating of general policies pertaining to publications 

 was unquestionably a problem for administrative heads, there still 

 remained many details as to the ways and means of working out 

 these policies, in which the exchange of ideas and the combined 

 judgment of those directly in charge could be of much usefulness. 

 For instance, one of the papers on the program was a discussion of 

 the processes used in l)ulletin illustration. This is a topic obviously 

 of too specialized a nature to justify its inclusion in the congested 

 program of such organizations as the Association of American Agri- 

 cultural Colleges and Experiment Stations or the Society for the 

 Promotion of Agricultural Science, although it is a subject con- 

 cerning which much less is understood by many of those immediately 

 concerned than its importance warrants. 



In the case of topics of more general interest it was thought that 

 joint programs might occasionally be arranged with other organiza- 

 tions. As a means to this end the new association included among 

 its standing committees one on cooperation with other agencies. 

 Such a committee would be available to participate, if desired, in 

 functions similar to those contemplated by a committee appointed 

 by the Agricultural Libraries Section of the American liibrary Asso- 

 ciation at its last meeting, which is to submit suggestions relative to 

 the improvement of station publications from the bibliographical 

 standpoint to the Association of American Agricultural Colleges and 

 Experiment Stations. It is quite evident that from a joint con- 

 sideration of such a topic from the administrative, editorial, and 

 bibliographical points of view, most helpful suggestions could be 

 expected. 



