402 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. I Vol. 87 



generation. And it must be surrounded b}' conditions in which it 

 will best thrive, without the handicap of being expected to produce 

 something every day of immediate market value or application. 



The existence of the necessary organization and facilities for 

 systematic investigation is one of the outstanding advantages which 

 the agricultural industry enjoys; and the opportunity for their 

 exercise with enlarged freedom is increasing far more rapidly than 

 could have been anticipated. Education is of course largely re- 

 sponsible for this broadened view — the kind of instruction that comes 

 not only through the colleges and the .schools, but through the inti- 

 mate contact of the county agent, the agricultural press and popular 

 literature which now find as interesting features in agricultiu'al 

 progress as in other human subjects. 



The effect of these thing.s upon the public mind and upon the 

 industry of farming is very pronounced. Already the latter is being 

 recognized as an indu.stry in which intelligence based on wide knowl- 

 edge is quite as essential as muscle and brawn. 



A recent writer calls attention to the remark of Prof. Joseph Le 

 Conte, made long ago, that each of the great professions fir^t attained 

 high .standing when it was taught as such in universities. The pro- 

 fessional men turned out under such teaching are no longer quacks 

 but have a real command of the fundamental principles in their 

 chosen field. Any profession has standing in so far as its fimda- 

 mental principles have been developed and applied. To retain stand- 

 ing a profession must be continuously increasing its stock of knowl- 

 edge of fundamental principles through research. 



How applicable this is to agriculture — to the indust'-y of farming 

 and all that goes with it — will be fully apparent from its very 

 modern history. A more striking illustration of change and develop- 

 ment on the basis of knowledge and understanding could hardly 

 be found; and the real significance of it is rapidly dawning, even 

 though we are as yet little more than at the beginning. More and 

 more the need is now understood for " the constant flow of new 

 knowledge derived from the everlasting questioning of nature by 

 trained men, whose eagerness is for the answer and the truth regard- 

 less of the immediate commercial value of thut truth and answer." 

 If the aim is right the practical value will follow surely enough and 

 the result may be given deeper importance. 



To insure this flow of knowledge which will give deeper insight 

 and to maintain the standards which will mean steady advancement, 

 there is still need for more men for research in agriculture — for men 

 who know the aspect and significance of research and understand its 

 methods and possibilities. This need results both from the growth 

 in opportunity and the advanre in grade of our agricultural inquiry. 

 It is evidenced by the difficulty experienced by this Department and 



