6 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



be safely interpreted. It was recognized that the station can not 

 confine itself to the laboratory or experimental field or stable, but 

 must often go out into the State to test the validity of its deduc- 

 tions and their practical value or application. " But when the facts 

 established by the station have been sufficiently tested by it to make 

 certain their general truth and application, the matter should be re- 

 garded as having passed out of the strictly experimental field." 



In detail, however, it is not always easy to draw the dividing line, 

 and the station work and the extension work may run together to an 

 extent that requires the exercise of good judgment. For example, it 

 was shown that the results of station work or commonly accepted 

 facts can rarely be demonstrated or extended with certainty and 

 safety in a new locality Avithout trying them out, to some extent. In 

 a sense, every field demonstration involves some element of doubt, 

 Avhich makes it a test for that locality. While the extension force will 

 presumably not undertake experiments for the acquiring of general 

 information, the widespread attempt to put into practice on a de- 

 tailed scale the teachings of the stations will often involve local field 

 trials or tests to make the field force sure of their ground, and give 

 strength to their judgment in planning a demonstration campaign. 



On the other hand, the results of investigation often need to be 

 tested under a variety of conditions to determine their general truth, 

 necessity for modification, and their practical value. Thus far, the 

 work still is in the experimental stage and therefore in the field of 

 the station. But "the station can not extend its local tests in- 

 definitely, despite the fact that nearly every new locality would rep- 

 resent some new local conditions of soil, climate, economic situation, 

 etc. The station must be content to rest its efforts when it has 

 determined the general truth of the results and their place in 

 practice." 



The establishment of these lines of demarcation should relieve the 

 stations of a part of the burden they have been carrying. This is 

 well, for the more rigorous practical tests to which existing knowl- 

 edge will be subjected will disclose its limitations and suggest fur- 

 ther studies. They will need, therefore, their full resources to meet 

 the increased demands upon them for constructive investigation and 

 experiment. 



This necessity of keeping the work of the experiment station well 

 to the fore, and developing it -va ith the growth of the extension work 

 rather than allowing it to fall behind, was strongly emphasized at 

 the convention. There has been a fear in the minds of some that the 

 rapid expansion of extension work, with its great popularity and its 

 close contact with the people, would tend to produce a feeling of 

 sufficiency and to break down the support for thorough investiga- 



