1917] EDITORIAL. 5 



The speaker thus made clear in how large a degree regional con- 

 ditions affect the type and the grade of experimental work. His 

 plan is to develop at the central station a strong scientific basis on 

 which to rest the experiments dealing with special local problems. 

 He expressed his conviction that even under the new and often 

 transitional conditions in his State, technical studies may be of the 

 greatest practical value and may be made popular with the people. 



This series of papers represented much thoughtful study. It is 

 difficult to give an adequate idea of them in so brief a review. They 

 are worthy of publication in full, for they put into succinct, cogent 

 form a series of considerations which are fundamental to safe prog- 

 ress at the present time. 



The old questions as to what research is, how investigation should 

 be organized, how men should be trained for it, how coordination 

 or correlation can be brought about, came to the surface again, es- 

 pecially in the meetings of the Society for Horticultural Science and 

 the Society of American Foresters. These matters can not be too 

 fully discussed. We are not at the end in our understanding of them 

 or in providing measures for their accomplishment. 



The Society for Horticultural Science last year appointed a com- 

 mittee on research and experimentation, which reported at the New 

 York meeting through Dr. L. H. Bailey, its chairman. The report 

 was divided into three parts, namely, a definition of terms, by Dr. 

 W. L. Howard, of California; the laying out of an experiment, by 

 Dr. H. J. Webber, of the California Citrus Experiment Station ; and 

 the training of the investigator, by the chairman. 



Dr. Howard's paper gave an admirably clear and intelligent view 

 of the different classes of experimental effort. These are charac- 

 terized by their ultimate purpose quite as much as by their method. 

 In explaining his meaning he compared the discoveries of the In- 

 dians, which meant little to them beyond supplying their own im- 

 mediate wants, to those of the early explorers of this country, to 

 whom the finding or exploring of a river was a means to an end, who 

 " sought outlets, gateways, to their own or other countries, which 

 might be an aid to settlement and commerce." 



Again he explained that a man may take a walk without the in- 

 tention of going anywhere in particular and get benefit from it, or 

 he may set out for some definite place or to search for some rare or 

 elusive object. The first instance was likened to a simple experiment, 

 while the latter was described as more in the nature of research. "A 

 simple experiment may be performed and actually answer the ques- 

 tion and may stop there. Also, in answering the question another 

 question may be raised which may require another experiment or 



