EDITORIAL. 205 



AMiilo this applies to tlie supervision of both the work and tlie 

 business of tlie station as a whole, its desirability is well illustrated 

 in the expenditure of funds. The director can not shirk responsi- 

 bility for the proper nianai>enient of the station funds. Their super- 

 vision is one of his important functions. His general policy and 

 knowledge of the needs of the work should guide him in the judicious 

 use of these funds, and his sj'stem of purchasing and accounting 

 should be such as to keep him fullj'^ informed as to their status and 

 use. However nnich latitude he may allow in the purchase of ma- 

 terials after general lines of work have been agreed upon, he should 

 at least know about important purchases of apparatus or equipment 

 before the bills come to him for approval, and have opportunit}^ to 

 consider the wisdom of the purchases. He should also have sufficient 

 data to intelligently classify tlie expenses among his various funds. 



Without the exercise of supervision there wdll continue to be inju- 

 dicious expenditures, unnecessary duplication of expensive apparatus 

 which might be used by different departments in common, and con- 

 siderable general confusion of funds ^^hich the accountant must 

 untangle as best he can. 



Lack of attention to the condition of accounts also allows large 

 balances to accumulate toward the end of the year Avliich, in the 

 haste to save, often involve somewhat doubtful purchases. Proper 

 planning and following up of the expenses would have resulted in 

 more adequate and useful employment of the funds during the year. 

 The Adaliis fund for the past year furnishes a number of illustrations 

 of this kind, and emphasizes the need of following up the expendi- 

 tures throughout the j^ear and making prompt provision for using the 

 iucrease of the folloAving year. In some cases the delay in making 

 provision for spending this fund was apparently due to untoward cir- 

 cumstances, but in others it was evidently due to lack of attention at 

 the proper time. 



The labor item is one likely to get beyond bounds unless there is 

 systematic control and check upon it. Labor bills accumulate rapidly 

 and become a large item in the monthly bills during the growing 

 season. In some cases there is too much freedom and lack of control 

 in this expenditure. The labor is not always suited to the special 

 needs of the station, and the student labor especially is likely to 

 be unprofitable. While considerable labor is indispensable to certain 

 lines of station work, more careful planning of work at the outset and 

 supervision of the labor expended upon it would often economize 

 the funds spent in that direction. In cases where the experiment is 

 on a commercial scale and yields considerable revenue the expense 

 for labor might appropriately be charged to the sales fund rather 

 than the Federal funds. 



