EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



Vol. XXXI. November, 1914. No. 



The Journal of Agricultural Research^ inaugurated by this Depart- 

 ment something over a year ago, was opened to contributions from 

 the agricultural experiment stations beginning with its third volume, 

 October, 1914. This action was taken in response to a suggestion 

 from the executive committee of the Association of American Agri- 

 cultural Colleges and Experiment Stations, in conference with the 

 Secretary of Agriculture. The latter readih^ agreed to extending 

 the pages of i\\Q Journal to the experiment stations for the publication 

 of their technical research papers, and a committee of three was ap- 

 pointed by the association to act Avith the Department representatives 

 as an editorial board. A meeting of the joint committee was held in 

 Washington last June, and procedure agreed upon. As a result, a 

 circular letter announcing the completion of arrangements was ad- 

 dressed to the various institutions and their workers. The way is 

 therefore open for enlarging the scope of the Journal as a record of 

 agricultural research in the United States, and for prompt and 

 adequate presentation of the stations' contributions to it. 



The Department and the experiment stations constitute, of course, 

 the two great agencies for agricultural research in this country. 

 Until recently, however, the product of their activities in this line 

 has been so widely scattered through many independent series of 

 bulletins, and so enveloped in more popular writings, that it has lost 

 both in immediate effect and in permanence. It has been difficult for 

 librarians and more so for investigators to hunt out these contribu- 

 tions and preserve them in form accessible for reference. Many of 

 the station mailing lists are not classified, their publications are not 

 sent regularly to persons outside the State, and the bulletins can not 

 be subscribed for or purchased through the general publication 

 agencies. Under the old system, the Department's bulletins report- 

 ing research must be selected and ordered separately, and were often 

 soon exhausted. These things have had the effect of making these 

 contributions to agricultural science less accessible than they should 

 be. With the classification of the publications of the Department an 

 effective means was ]Drovided for segi'egating accounts of the more 

 technical investigations, and placing them where they might be made 

 permanently available to scientific readers. 



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