EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



Vol. 3G. February, 1917. No. 2. 



The need of special training for the men who conduct the ex- 

 perimental and research work of the experiment stations has been 

 felt almost from the first. The early work of the stations was rela- 

 tively simple and fewer lines of investigation were maintained. The 

 agricultural colleges were looked to mainly to supply the necessary 

 men and the requisite training. It soon became apparent, however, 

 that the courses of study in agricultural colleges did not at that time 

 supply the whole need. These courses were necessarily quite general 

 and were intended more especially to make farmers rather than in- 

 vestigators. They supplied a general knowledge of the theory and 

 principles but rarely gave opportunity for contact or experience with 

 research. 



From the first the stations themselves have been a large factor in 

 training men for the special work of agricultural investigation. 

 They have furnished not only a stimulus to special preparation, but 

 an opportunity for acquiring experience through a sort of apprentice- 

 ship. To some extent they have trained their own men. But as time 

 has passed this too has been found inadequate to the needs in many 

 lines. The work of the stations has become more technical and 

 serious, and they need for it men already well equipped and with a 

 broad outlook. 



The making of an effective research man or a constructive and 

 original experimenter is a longer and far more difficult process than 

 making a bachelor of arts or of science. The requirements start with 

 the man himself, his temperament, his capacity for right thinking, 

 his ability to receive the impression of high ideals and acquire lofty 

 standards, and his love of truth. There must be a foundation to 

 build upon. If a sifting process could start at this point it would 

 save some time, expense, and disappointment, but such a sifting is 

 only partially possible; largely the result must be worked out by 

 experience. 



Whether a man is preparing for an experimental or research career 

 he needs some hard, rigid training that will bring him up against the 

 real meaning of science. He must learn the elements that go to make 

 up a fact, and how to attest its value. He must get not only a broad 



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