1920] EDITORIAL,. 7 



In many cases the arranjrement is a disaclvantao^eoiis one for the 

 station, detracting from the eiftcient use of its funds and increasing 

 the duties of administration. This is especially the case when the 

 amount of time involved is small and fragmentary, consisting of odd 

 intervals between classes or possibly only summer vacations. In 

 such cases investigation is incidental to other exacting activities 

 rather than a primary function. It is intermittent instead of being 

 continuous; fragmentary, and hence often desultory. Frequently 

 it is an added burden to persons Avho count themselves of the teach- 

 ing staff. The salary involved is not sufficient to stimulate interest 

 or carry much responsibility. From the standpoint of the sta- 

 tion, the arrangement is wrong in both theory and practice. It dif- 

 fuses the station funds too broadly, and it does not make proper 

 provision for the orderly and efficient conduct of investigation. 



With the present kind of problems, service which does not involve 

 a considerable uninterrupted portion of the time of a worker who is 

 genuinely interested does not suffice to meet the needs of investiga- 

 tion, and actually counts for but little. In the present cramped 

 financial condition of most of the stations they need to have the 

 full benefit of their resources, and to make the best possible use of 

 them. If conditions were made more favorable the product of re- 

 search might be quite materially increased, especially that which 

 marks progress and represents new study and thought. 



There is a feeling that in some respects too much effort continues 

 to be directed toward minor problems. The stations have been 

 criticized for this in the past, and especially for duplication of a 

 kind which adds nothing really new and hence is unprofitable. 

 Repetition wdiich aims to secure local evidence to convince the public 

 is admittedly in the nature of demonstration, for which there are now 

 more effective agencies than the experiment stations. 



The greatest need is for the stations to address themselves to the 

 large questions, which call for their special skill and ability to solve. 

 These are on the frontier ; but in some cases the experimental work is 

 still far back from the boundary of what is known, going over prob- 

 lems which differ only in respect to local or economic conditions 

 from those traversed years ago. In other cases the experiments are 

 not rounded out but represent the outlook and the labors of a single 

 department, which alone can give only a one-sided, inconclusive 

 result. We need to get beyond such defective organization of ex- 

 perimental work and provide for more critical examination of plans. 



The conditions referred to do not reflect a change in ideals of the 



stations or belief that their work should be any less intensive and 



searching, but are largely a result of circumstances. They are a 



product of disrupted forces, of change enforced by competition, of 



182230°— 20 2 



