EDITORIAL. 608 



It is interesting to see in what measure the higher standards for 

 preparation are being realized in the new appointments and the men 

 substituted for former workers. The most practical method of judg- 

 ing of this is the prevalence of degrees granted to the new men for 

 graduate study. While this does not tell the whole story and gives 

 no indication of the experience which the men have had in station 

 work, the possession of earned degrees is an evidence of advanced 

 study, if conversely their absence does not always indicate a hick 

 of such advantages. 



Of the total number of persons at present on the scientific start' 

 of the stations, four hundred and fifty-seven hold advanced degrees 

 awarded for graduate stud}'. Among this number nearly three 

 hundred have the master's degree, forty-five have degrees in veter- 

 inary science and medicine, and one hundred and twenty have the 

 doctor of philosophy. 



Of the men who changed their positions during the year, fifty had 

 degrees equivalent to the master's degree, and fifteen also held the Ph. D. 

 Of the men ai3pointed to new positions, sixt3^-eight had advanced 

 degrees, eighteen of the number having the Ph. D. Among the new 

 men who came into the work during the year only thirty-five, or one 

 in six, appear to have taken advanced work leading to a degree, and 

 about a dozen of these, or one in eighteen, have the Ph. D. 



In some fifty cases it is possible to trace the direct substitution of 

 new men in the place of former incumbents. Such comparisons do 

 not show that there was much improvement in the apparent prepara- 

 tion of the new appointees, or indicate that great stress is being laid 

 on the degree qualification. In over half the cases the new men had 

 the same degrees as their predecessors. In a quarter of the cases men 

 with lower degrees were appointed, and in the remaining cases (nine) 

 the new appointees had more advanced degrees. About one-third of 

 these substitutions were in heads of departments. 



AVliile the total list of station workers for 1909 shows a gain of 

 thirty-five in those having advanced degrees and eighteen in the 

 number having the Ph. D. degree, the relative proportion has changed 

 but little, considering the increased number of ])ersons. In the 1908 

 list, 1 in 2.()5 had taken advanced degrees, and in that for 1909, 1 in 

 2.70; in the old list about 1 in 11 had the doctor's degree, and this 

 year 1 in 10. During the year six men in the station work took 

 master's degrees and nine the doctor's. This shows the influence of 

 the stations in encouraging advanced study among their workers. 



On the whole, the showing is disappointing, and it is not what 

 might have been expected from the advocacy (jf better prepared men 

 and the increased attendance in graduate courses at the colleges. It 

 makes it clear that the colleges are not beginning to keep pace with 

 the re(|uirements, and that the stations are accepting many men who 



