312 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



is brought together iu two chapters, that in Western ana Southern 

 Russia is discussed in two others, and a fifth chapter is devoted to the 

 work of the stations located on the southern boundary of European 

 Russia. 



An introductory chapter gives a general iiistorical review of agri- 

 cultural experimentation in Russia, an account of its present scope, 

 and the condition of the experimental institutions, which represent a 

 variety of grades. According to this, the first experiment station in 

 Russia, established in 180-±, was in the nature of a control station, con- 

 nected with the Polytechnic Institute at Riga. The second was a sta- 

 tion for seed selection, connected with the Imperial Botanical Garden 

 in St. Petersburg, and established in 1877; and the third was an experi- 

 mental field on the crown lands at Petergrof, near Riga. Of recent 

 years the number of stations has multiplied quite fast, and the sup- 

 port of the stations given by the govermiient has been liberallv 

 increased. Three new crown stations were established last year, at 

 Shatil, Batischevo. and Valuiki. The list of stations given in the 

 volume includes IH imperial stations, 23 subsidized institutions, and a 

 large number of special stations engaged in work on some particular 

 crop or animal. The work at many of the institutions is quite special- 

 ized. Some, for instance, are studying ii-rigation primarily, others 

 viticulture, Hax culture, tobacco culture, plant l)reeding, and agricul- 

 tural l>acteri()logv. and a number are devoted to fish culture and to 

 sericulture. 



The 3'earbook emphasizes the necessity of more extensive study of 

 some of the leading problems connected with agricultural ])ractice in 

 different parts of the Empire. The results already obtained lead the 

 authors to regard this class of institutions as of very great importance 

 to the national prosperity, and to hold a verv optimistic view of the 

 future prospects for the work. 



