EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



Vol. XXXIII. October, 1915. No. 5. 



The question of experiment station publications continues to com- 

 mand attention. It formed one of the main topics on the program of 

 the experiment station section of the Association of American Agri- 

 cultural Colleges and Experiment Stations at its recent Berkeley 

 meeting. An entire afternoon session was devoted to the discussion 

 of the most effective forms in which to publish station work, and this 

 was well warranted in view of its timeliness, its complexity, and its 

 importance. 



Consideration was given in the discussion to the annual report, the 

 station bulletins, and the publication of scientific and technical ma- 

 terial in the Journal of Agricultural Research, other scientific jour- 

 nals, and similar mediums. Some differences of opinion were ex- 

 pressed upon each class, and it is clear that the matter has not yet 

 been fully worked out. This is not surprising, for despite an ex- 

 perience extending over twenty-five years conditions have been rap- 

 idly changing, especially of late, and in many instances jDolicies 

 have necessarily been influenced by local requirements and as a re- 

 sult of extension activities. 



As regards the annual report, the general sentiment expressed was 

 adverse to the practice of making it too detailed and voluminous. 

 The inclusion of special articles and technical papers, or the binding 

 of all the bulletins of the year together with an introduction into the 

 report, was not looked upon as best meeting the needs of the situa- 

 tion economically or otherwise. In its place a reasonably brief an- 

 nual report was favored, which would review the principal events 

 of the year, discuss the work by projects, give a brief synopsis of the 

 various publications issued, and report upon the station's resources 

 and expenditures. 



The character which the bulletins should now assume, and the best 

 means of recording the more strictly technical features of station 

 investigations, were considered at length but without definite con- 

 clusions. The procedure in this respect is a matter of special im- 

 portance at the present juncture. With the assumption of the gen- 

 eral information bulletins by the extension service, the most effectual 



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