6 EXPEEIMENT STATION RECORD. [Vol. 37 



not all solved, either in their mechanical or economic aspects, and 

 there is still opportunity for the agricultural engineer to point out 

 the place of these machines and their weaknesses. 



The furnishing of a billion bushels of wheat and other cereals 

 to the European Allies, as is estimated to be required, will call for 

 a large saving in the consumption of cereals and corn in this country. 

 This will have to be effected by the partial substitution of corn for 

 wheat as human food, and a corresponding saving in the corn fed to 

 live stock. The latter ordinarily represents over three-fourths of 

 the entire corn crop. To accomplish this saving of corn and still 

 feed the same live stock will call for the use of other feeds in its 

 place. 



How far this chain of readjustment may reach is illustrated, for 

 example, by the simple case of a proposal to save for feed the large 

 amounts of wheat bran now used in the process of making tin plate. 

 The bran is employed to take up the excess of oil applied to the plate 

 to prevent corrosion, and this use renders it unfit for feed. An effort 

 has been started to substitute ground peanut hulls for this purpose, 

 the provision of which will involve an adjustment of practice at 

 some of the oil mills handling peanuts. 



The large underlying questions connected with meeting the pres- 

 ent demand on American agriculture furnish the problems for the 

 experiment stations. ^lany of these are relatively elementary and 

 to a certain extent local, some of them verging on experimental 

 demonstration, while others involve more extended and profound 

 inquiry. The wisdom or feasibility of undertaking such inquiries 

 may be questioned by some on the score of time: but if there is time 

 and it is feasible to build a large fleet of vessels for transporting the 

 world's commerce, there is time and it is expedient to set in motion 

 a body of inquiry and experiment specially suggested by the war- 

 time needs of agriculture. This inquiry, like the ships, will be useful 

 and will be needed even though peace should come before they are 

 completed. 



The emergency provides a special opportunity for effecting radical 

 and farreaching changes in our agriculture based on experimental 

 knowledge, which it would otherwise require many years to bring 

 about. It is well, therefore, to plan carefully, with the agricultural 

 conditions and the need of permanent as well as temporary improve- 

 ment clearly in mind. And the program made need not be dependent 

 wholly on the time element as measured by the probable duration of 

 the war. Never has there been such an opportunity to secure the 

 acceptance of sound practical science in agriculture: and beyond 

 helping to save the day through increased production, the experiment 



