CONVENTION OP" AMERICAN AGRICULTURAL COLLEGES. 317 



the college course." The plan of secondary agricultural schools which 

 is being successfully followed in Minnesota was discussed at some 

 length. 



SECTION ON AGRICULTURE AND CHEMISTRY. 



The proceedings of the section on agriculture and chemistry opened 

 with the reading of a paper by I. P. Roberts entitled, "Science vs. 

 Art." The author professed his inability to draw any line of distinction 

 between science and art, and argued that instead of studying science 

 for science's sake, "so-called science and art are or should be studied 

 for the benefit, comfort, and intellectual and moral welfare of mankind." 

 He insisted that the attention of the experimenters and teachers in 

 agricultural colleges and experiment stations should be devoted pri- 

 marily to those problems which have direct economic bearing upon the 

 welfare of the people. . 



This paper provoked quite general discussion. H. W. Wiley insisted 

 that rigid scientific investigation was the basis of all progress, and that 

 every truth, every discovery had in it the germ of usefulness to mankind. 

 J. E. Stubbs expressed the belief that it was possible to so coordinate 

 the work of the stations as to meet both the scientific and economic 

 requirements of the subject. 



The voluntary committee on uniformity of fertilizer laws in the United 

 States and needed reforms in the inspection of fertilizers submitted 

 a report, which was accepted by the section, and a committee was 

 appointed to take charge of this matter and report at the next conven- 

 tion of the Association (see p. 313). 



C. A. Zavitz, of the Ontario Agricultural College, described at length 

 the plan, scope, and growth of the cooperative experimental work of 

 that institution, especially in the line of variety tests. The college is 

 assisted in this work by the members of what is known as the Experi- 

 mental Union, which is composed of ex-students of the Agricultural 

 College and farmers who are cooperating with the college in the experi- 

 mental work. At present the college is conducting 17 different kinds 

 of cooperative experiments, covering variety and fertilizer tests with 

 corn, wheat, barley, oats, and turnips. An average of 79 per cent of 

 the experimenters report results of their work, and 35 per cent of the 

 total number furnish reports that are sufficiently accurate and detailed 

 to be used. Some prominent results of these experiments have been 

 the introduction and wide dissemination of a Siberian variety of oats, 

 a French variety of wheat, a Russian variety of barley, and new and 

 profitable varieties of peas from New Zealand and from England. 

 These improved varieties are now quite generally grown throughout 

 Canada. Another valuable feature of these experiments is the fact 

 that good object lessons are constantly before the farmers in over 2,800 

 localities. 



C. D. Smith, of Michigan, discussed some special experimental prob- 

 lems in the Northwest. The leading problems enumerated were, (1) the 



