304 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. [Vol. 36 



present there is a far more adequate realization of the limitations of 

 some of the common methods of experimentation than formerly, and 

 recognition that they embody many modifying factors not measured 

 or accounted for. There is a more critical examination of the sources 

 of error, in both observation and interpretation, and a more guarded 

 drawing of broad conclusions. 



The standards of the Adams fund studies have affected all forms 

 of station activity. More is expected of experiment station work 

 than formerly — not in quantity but in quality. In the search for 

 new light quantity takes a secondary place. It is the quality, the 

 thoroughness, the reliability of the work that counts. Hasty, un- 

 warranted conclusions have proved expensive in the end, and they 

 have delayed progress by taking men's time to upset them. 



These higher standards and expectations have been accompanied 

 by a change in the nature of the problems. The limit of the things 

 which could be found out through accumulated experience or simple 

 experiments and observations has been reached in most lines. 

 These findings have brought the investigator face to face with the 

 more fundamental and intricate questions which require refined and 

 elaborate methods and special research ability for their solution. 

 From this change has followed a far-reaching change in the profes- 

 sional requirements for station work. The qualifications are set 

 higher and made more exacting. It has come to be realized that the 

 measure of efficiency of an experiment station is the sum of the 

 efficiency of its workers. 



In 1906, when the Adams Act was passed, the American stations 

 emplo^^ed 950 persons, of whom 434 did more or less teaching; the 

 majority of those who did no teaching were of the assistant grade or 

 not directly participants in investigation. In 1916 the station forces 

 numbered 1,866, of whim 933 taught to some extent in the colleges, 

 the amount of teaching being very generally reduced. Thus the 

 opportunity for concentrated, continuous effort has increased ma- 

 terially. Furthermore, the investigators have been encouraged to 

 specialize more closely in their studies, at least at any given time. 

 This has become necessary from the nature of the problems, which 

 require more specialized attention. 



Other obstacles to research have been reduced or overcome, and the 

 opportunities enlarged. The funds of the stations have increased 

 from a little over two millions when the Adams Act was passed (in- 

 cluding the first allotment of it) to considerably over five millions in 

 1916. Public sentiment for thorough-going investigation has largely 

 developed. The public has come to understand that because a thing 

 or a piece of work is theoretical it is not necessarily unpractical. 

 " Theoretical " and " unpractical " are no longer viewed with sus- 

 picion as being synonyms. Some of the most intricate types of in- 



