EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



Vol. XVI. December, 1904. No. 4. 



The relation of the experiment station to the department of instruc- 

 tion and to various forms of extension work in agriculture proved a 

 very live topic of discussion at the recent annual convention of the 

 Association of American Agricultural Colleges and Experiment Sta- 

 tions, at Des Moines. The matter came up on several occasions in the 

 general sessions of the convention, and the question "How much 

 teaching, if any, is it desirable that a station worker should do?" was 

 a special theme for conference before the section on experiment sta- 

 tion work. The general tenor of this discussion and the attitude in 

 which it was approached were most gratifying, and evidenced a clearer 

 appreciation of the important held and the higher purpose of the 

 experiment station. 



A great deal has been said of the advantage to the station man of 

 being connected with the teaching force of the college, of coming in 

 contact with students, and of so presenting his work that it will be 

 within their grasp. It has been urged as an inspiration to the inves- 

 tigator, and a safeguard against straying too far from the practical in 

 the ultimate aim of his work. The practice of requiring station men 

 to serve in this dual capacity has been very general ever since the sta- 

 tions were established, and at present about fifty-four per cent of the 

 station workers do more or less teaching. The amount varies greatly, 

 a few giving only a limited number of lectures on advanced subjects, 

 while others carry an entire department of instruction, either alone or 

 with the aid of young assistants. ''The tendency seems to be toward 

 an increase in the number of station men who are also doing teaching 

 work,'"' and apparently also toward a greater rather than a loss 

 amount of teaching on the average. This is due, in part at least, to 

 the recent growth of agricultural education and the differentiation of 

 agricultural instruction, which have made the demand for additional 

 instructors more pressing. 



While it was quite generally conceded by thespeakers at this confer- 

 ence that a " certain amount" of teaching might be advantageous to sta- 

 tion workers, there was equal unanimity that an uncertain or indefinite 



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