104 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



because they were entering- upon a hitherto unoccupied field of scientific 

 research and must first work out the scientific principles underlying 

 agriculture by long, tedious investigations, which were not always of 

 direct benefit to the farmer. For instance, it was seldom possible from 

 simple chemical analysis of the soil to draw a reliable conclusion as to 

 the fertilizer requirements of the soil. In some respects the analysis 

 was deceptive, for it showed the total amount of fertilizing ingredients 

 in the soil, but did not show the degree of their solubility. Hence it 

 became necessary to determine the fertilizer requirements of different 

 cultivated plants by means of tedious, purely scientific investigations 

 before it was possible to prescribe working rules for fertilizing crops. 

 This determination of the fertilizer requirements of crops formed the 

 principal work of many stations tor two decades, with the collaboration 

 of such eminent scientists as Sachs, Knop, Nobbe, Hellriegel, and others. 

 As a result these fundamental principles are now known, and this fur- 

 nishes convincing evidence of the great usefulness of the experiment 

 stations to the practice of agriculture. 



Besides the scientific work, which formed the principal aim of most 

 of the stations, it became necessary, in the interest of practical farmers, 

 for the stations to undertake the examination of various agricultural 

 supplies, such as artificial fertilizers, concentrated feeding stuffs, and 

 seeds. As this work was supported by a regular tariff, in some cases 

 it became a source of considerable income, which could be used in carry 

 ing on scientific investigations. 



Within the past decade there has been something of a reaction against 

 this custom of tariff. The view is becoming prevalent that the dealers 

 in fertilizers and feeding st nil's should not be required to contribute to 

 the support of the experiment stations by the payment of a tariff for 

 analyses of their goods. There is no ground for the allegation that the 

 experiment stations, by drawing a part of their income from thedealers 

 in fertilizers and feeding stuffs, are placed under any obligations to 

 these dealers, for the experiment stations Lave always carried on this 

 work in a scientific and impartial manner. But it is rightfully held 

 that it places the experiment stations in an undignified and somewhat 

 embarrassing position, in that they are not independent, but must look 

 to the dealers and the industries quite largely for their support. 

 Accordingly the appropriations for the experiment stations from the 

 State and the province have been increased, so that the stations have 

 become, as they should be, entirely independent. 



In the present status of the experiment-station movement it may be 

 difficult to understand this condition in other countries, but it is 

 explained on the ground that the German experiment stations, as stated 

 at the beginning of this article, are not federal but private institutions 

 with limited means. 



We will now consider the separate branches of the work of the sta- 

 tions and the tendencies which have been apparent. 



