EDITORIAL. 603 



anxious to give as wide publicity as practicable to his contribution. 

 Permanency is a matter of large importance, and this of course is 

 difficult to secure in separate unbound pamphlets. 



The people to whom such literature especially appeals are nat- 

 urally interested in having the material made conveniently accessible 

 to them, and in such form that it not only can be preserved but will 

 be indexed. Hence the index is an important feature of all journal 

 literature, and gives it a material advantage over loose pamphlets or 

 bulletins. Agricultural bibliographies are as yet only sparingly pro- 

 vided. Much search is therefore necessary for the investigator to 

 bring together the literature on a given subject, as it is scattered 

 through such an unusually diverse collection of journals, reports, bul- 

 letins, etc. Papers in an indexed journal are much less likely to be 

 overlooked in a review of literature, and are more conveniently cited. 



The wide distribution which the Journal of Agincultural Research 

 has already reached among institutions and libraries, agricultural 

 and otherwise, and its extensive foreign list established through ex- 

 changes, insures unusually wide publicity of articles published in its 

 pages. Already the Journal is accessible to a "very large share of the 

 world's workers in natural science whose studies bear on the broad 

 field of agriculture, and its circulation will steadily increase with 

 time. This will mean much to its contributors in securing recogni- 

 tion among scientific men. 



Furthermore, such an organ ofi'ers the opportunity for publishing 

 preliminary and minor papers not suited to a bulletin. This obvi- 

 ates the necessity of withholding publication until the work has 

 been fully concluded, or of publishing in an organ devoted to general 

 science. The liberal provision of separates enables special distribu- 

 tion to be made by the institution or the author. 



Aside from these considerations, the effect of collective publica- 

 tion in giving an adequate idea of the extent of American investiga- 

 tion in agriculture, and securing for it the recognition it deserves, 

 is perhaps well worth taking into account. The mass of research 

 material turned out by these agencies, which were long thought of 

 as engaged largely in working out practical farm problems by simple 

 trials and experiments, would make an impression on the scientific 

 world if brought together that the scattered method of publication 

 can not secure. The first year of the Journal has served to estab- 

 lish its character and give it standing as a research publication, so 

 that henceforth it may be regarded as a dignified and desirable place 

 for high-grade contributions. 



Agricultural investigation has waited many j^ears for the provision 

 of an organ where its work could be brought together and published 

 without prejudice or misunderstanding. The new journal has com- 



