EDITORIAL. 505 



the erection of plants for pasteurizing their .skim milk, and a plan to 

 organize and advance capital to agricultural credit associations, from 

 which small farmers may obtain loans for purchasing separators and 

 other expensive dairy utensils, in order to encourage home dairying, 

 is under consideration. 



A varietj" of cooperative experiments were carried out, mostly ])y 

 cooperative societies and organizations formed for the purpose; and 

 special experiments in to])acco growing were made in twenty-five 

 counties, under the supervision of an expert from France, to deter- 

 mine the possibilities of successful culture of that crop. Flax culture, 

 which has fallen off greatl}^ in Ireland in recent years, will receive 

 special attention from the department. Experts have been brought 

 over from Holland and Belgium, and experiments inaugurated in grow- 

 ing flax and in improving the method of scutching. A dairy herd has 

 been leased for experiments in cheese making, and experiments in calf- 

 feeding with skim milk were made on a private farm. A seed-testing 

 station has been established at the Royal College of Science, where 

 seeds are tested for farmers at merel}" nominal charges. 



It will be seen that, as regards the promotion of agriculture, the 

 steps which have already been taken and those which are outlined are, 

 for the most part, on a very practical basis, and are directed toward 

 some of the most immediately important problems in Irish agriculture 

 under present conditions. These facts, together with the cordial rela- 

 tions which have evidentl}^ been established and the interest which the 

 first year's operations have aroused, bespeak a career of much useful- 

 ness for the new department. 



The announcement has been received of the establishment of a new 

 experiment station in England — the Aynsome Agricultural Experi- 

 ment Station and Farm, located at Grange-over-Sands, Lancashire. 

 The station is a private enterprise of J. S. and T. M. Remington, 

 located on their joint estate, and " consists of a fully equipped experi- 

 ment station of the latest continental and American t3^pe.'- The 

 features of its equipment are a chemical laboratory, a laboratory for 

 water analysis, microscopic work, and bacteriology, a greenhouse for 

 pot culture experiments and researches in plant phj^siology, and a 

 farm. The latter includes a model dairy, a special barn for experi- 

 ments with cows, sheep, and steers, and about 12 acres to be used for 

 plat exyjeriments. The remainder of the farm will be conducted on a 

 strictly commercial basis and not as a hobby. 



Soil investigations will be made a prominent feature of the work, 

 including physical and chemical investigations; but fertilizer experi- 

 ments with different crops and feeding experiments will also receive 

 much attention. 



