608 EXPERIMENT STATION EECOED. 



industry, a condition under which a large share of the people live, a 

 subject with its professional as well as its trade aspects, — until then 

 the success of these colleges will continue to be measured by con- 

 flicting standards, often inadequate and unfair. 



As President Stone well said : " One must Imow their history to 

 appreciate their vigor and strength; must come in touch with the 

 quality and character of their work; must grasp their scope and 

 their relation to the life of the people, in order to comprehend their 

 place in the educational world." 



Fifty years is a short time as the world reckons time. It is a 

 short time in which to bring about a new attitude toward education, 

 to develop pedagogic methods suited to the needs of a new depart- 

 ment of it, and to exert so vital an influence on higher education in 

 general. It is a short time to lay the foundation for a science of 

 agriculture, and supplant the rule of thumb bj^ the nde of reason. 



To-day nearly everyone recognizes the power and might of science, 

 and nearly everyone pays it at least outward homage. The common 

 laborer on the farm believes in its possibilities, just as does the 

 manufacturer, the man of large business interests, and the house- 

 keeper. 



But this is a distinctly modem attitude. Only a half century ago 

 the foundation of one of the institutions benefiting by the land- 

 grant act was attacked on the ground that science is antagonistic 

 to humanity. The contention was that science was unsuited to be 

 an instrument of education because it dealt with nature rather than 

 with man. To-day such a view would find scant support. Science 

 is seen to be intensely human, and science in the service of man has 

 become a watchword of progress. Half a century has demonstrated 

 to the world something of the magnitude of its power to make for 

 human betterment; and the most convincing and widely heralded 

 illustrations of this have come through agriculture. 



It is safe to say that no single factor has had a greater influence 

 in bringing about this change in attitude than the agricultural inves- 

 tigation at these institutions, and their remarkable activity and 

 success in popularizing science. 



