304 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



at appointed times, enforcing preparation which in science laboratories 

 is extensive, and involving - that expenditure of nervous energy which 

 good instruction peculiarly demands. Interruptions are at the expense 

 of inquiry work, and if weariness comes investigation suffers rather 

 than teaching." A result of* this condition of affairs, it was stated, is 

 that a large part of the time of the officers of these institutions is being 

 devoted to working over and applying the known facts of science, and 

 the search for new facts is being largely abandoned. Much of the time 

 of station men is also being taken up in public addresses, etc., work 

 which is strictly instructional and properly belongs to the colleges. 

 While a certain amount of compilation work and institute work was 

 regarded as commendable, it was considered doubtful whether it should 

 be given the attention which it is receiving at present by many station 

 officers. 



"It may lie profitable for those wlio are the responsible administrators of the gen- 

 erous Government aid to inquire whether the research effort is fairly treated ; whether. 

 after all, busy teachers are the most efficient instruments for investigation, and 

 whether it is not time for us to more rapidly replenish the fountains of knowledge 

 from which we are so freely drawing to satisfy a hungry public. . . . If our experi- 

 ment station workers were more independent, and if they were giving more intense 

 and more continuous attention to a less number of problems, our real progress would 

 be more rapid, and ultimately the popular verdict would ratify our policy." 



I. P. Eoberts, of Xew York, in discussing this report, said: "Mji 

 experience leads me to the conclusion that the principal object of the 

 experiment station is to diffuse knowledge of improved methods, and 

 secondarily to carry on the work of investigation simultaneously." 



C. E. Thorne, of Ohio, stated that he had found personal contact 

 with the farmers at farmers' institutes one of the strongest factors in 

 keeping the station in that close touch with the farmers which is neces- 

 sary at the present stage of station work. 



R. J. Redding, of Georgia, thought the great need was to get the 

 farmers to make the proper application of what is now generally known 

 and accepted by intelligent agriculturists. u The illustrative work 

 done by the stations is very important. It puts the farmer in close 

 touch with us. It does not interfere with the investigation work 

 proper. It may be both investigative and instructive." 



O. Clute, of Florida, favored the coordinate development of both 

 educational and investigation work. 



A. Ellis, of Colorado, said: " I do not find in practice that the union 

 of the experimenter and the instructor is at all detrimental to either 

 phase of the work. I am inclined to think that the man who separates 

 himself from the practical affairs about him, who holds aloof from 

 farmers' institute work and keeps himself in the laboratory, will lose 

 some of the powers and force of his investigations and be in danger of 

 becoming a visionary or a theorist. . . . Our farmers are calling on us 

 as leaders in agriculture to give them something that is practical." 



