EDITORIAL. 307 



work of maintaining the support for station activity should lead him 

 and those in general charge of the extension enterprise to give full 

 prominence and credit to the station. 



A feeling was expressed that unless this is systematically done the 

 stations will ultimately suffer, and that the individual extension 

 Avorker will be magnified in importance to the detriment and crip- 

 pling of the institution which has given him his strength and appeal. 

 The statement was made that the agricultural colleges are now in the 

 greatest danger they have ever been by reason of the large amounts 

 of money being appropriated for this popular line of work; they 

 must watch to see that the research activity is continued and that 

 the money for it is provided. 



The matter of publications again came forward for consideration. 

 The report of the standing committee on extension organization and 

 policy ciealt with extension publications and their distribution, show- 

 ing that already the subject is being considered in this newer division 

 of the work. The diversity of these publications and the lack of 

 system or of definite policy in some instances makes the subject one 

 well worthy of study. 



The form of publication of station work was one of the main topics 

 on the program of the station section, and occupied an entire after- 

 noon's session. The consideration embraced the annual report, the 

 station bulletin, and the publication of technical investigations in the 

 Journal of Agricultural Research and elsewhere outside the regular 

 station series. Further reference to this discussion is contemplated 

 in a later issue of the Eecord. 



A subject which affects a very large proportion of the stations was 

 brought forward in the report of the committee on station organi- 

 zation and policy. This report dealt with the relation which the 

 experiment stations should sustain to various lines of control work. 

 It showed that while fundamentally the stations are for acquiring 

 information and extending the boundaries of knowledge, they have 

 gradually become involved in a great variety of control and regu- 

 latory work, until the modern station has become a com^Dlex and 

 somewhat heterogeneous organization. The advantages and disad- 

 vantages of this kind of work were reviewed, and its special appro- 

 priateness to the stations and the necessity for them to continue to 

 exercise such governmental functions was brought into discussion. 



The report of the committee was in a large sense preliminary. 

 The subject is one which deserves discussion and the main purpose 

 of the committee was in opening up the question. At its suggestion 

 the station section will place the subject on its program for the next 



5166°— No. 4—15 2 



