ELEVENTH ANNUAL CONVENTION OF THE ASSOCIATION OF 



AMERICAN AGRICULTURAL COLLEGES AND 



EXPERIMENT STATIONS. 



w. n. Beal, 



Office of Experiment Station*. 



The eleventh annual convention of the Association of American 

 Agricultural Colleges and Experiment Stations was held at'Minneapolis, 

 Minnesota, July 13-15, L897. About L50 delegates and visitors were 

 present, representing .">0 States and Territories, the Department of 

 Agriculture, England, and the Dominion of Canada. The States and 

 Territories not represented were Idaho. Illinois. Louisiana, Oklahoma, 

 Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Virginia. 



GENERAL SESSIONS. 



The convention was called to order by the president, C.T. Fairchild, 

 of Kansas, and prayer was offered by J. B. Stubbs, of Nevada. 



The report of the executive committee was submitted by the chair- 

 man, H. II. Goodell, of Massachusetts. It briefly reviewed the work 

 of the committee during the year and made a number of recommenda- 

 tions, the more important of which are noted later in this account. 



The report of the treasurer, J. II. Washburn, of Rhode Island, showed 

 a balance in the treasury of the Association of $418.58. The annual 

 dues remain the same as in previous years, namely, $10 for each member 

 of the Association. 



W. II. Jordan, of New York, submitted the report of the section on 

 agriculture and chemistry. This report was devoted principally to an 

 argument to show "that the instructional effort is absorbing a share of 

 the time and energy of the various agricultural faculties and station 

 staffs which is disproportionate to the funds provided, and that, taking 

 the country as a whole, it has overshadowed the effort at investigation 

 and has really encroached upon the time and means belonging to it." 



Data furnished by replies from 35 stations to a circular of inquiry 

 were cited to show that while these stations have .'521 persons on their 

 staffs the time of the latter is so occupied with instructional duties 

 that their one-man value for .station purposes is only 208, including 65 

 of the assistant grade. It was maintained that where instruction and 

 investigation are combined if either phase of the work suffers it is 

 generally the investigation. "Teaching is a task which must be met 



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