LIBRARV 



MEW YOVK 



EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



\'oL. 43. November, 1920. No. 7. 



A great man is a product of opixn-tunity, but not wholly of cir- 

 cumstance, lie waits not for opportunity to come to him but him- 

 self helps to make it, and a part of his genius is his ability to see 

 an opening and to broaden it so that he may have the chance to 

 carry forvvard his aims and purposes. 



This was characteristic of James Wilson, late Secretary of Agri- 

 culture, lie believed in agriculture as an enlightened occupation, 

 and in the force of science to advance it to the standing and the 

 efficient position it must ultimately occupy in the Nation's life. He 

 worked in a period when changes were beginning to come rapidly, 

 and he took advantage of this to broaden the opportunity for ac- 

 comi)lishing the things he believed in and to build up an enlightened 

 public sentiment in support of it. He made agriculture recognized 

 as it had not been before. He gave it a larger place in the public 

 mind and in constructive legislation; and perhaps greatest of all, 

 he de\el(jped a broad public consciousness of the need for aid to the 

 farming industr}'^ and confidence in technical investigation to render 

 such aid. With the other influences at work, he inculcated the idea 

 of "scientilic farming'', and gave the illustrations of it a spectacular 

 interest. He not only saw clearly himself, but he made the country 

 see what an adequate Federal department of agriculture might do 

 for the benefit of the industry and those living under it. 



There was a psj^chological aspect to his career Avhich helped at 

 the outset and was borne out by events. The farmers believed in 

 him. He was a man of their own kind, who had lived their life 

 and had to cope with difficulties like theirs. He understood them 

 and they undferstood him, and it made a strong bond of sympathy. 



The sixteen years of Secretary Wilson's administration, from Lsj)? 

 to 1913, is a record of unprecedented advance and accomplishment. 

 It marketl a period of phenomenal development in organization, in 

 scope of work, and in direct usefulness, as well as in public conli- 

 dence and supix)rt. When the various features are reviewed which 

 were epochal or have brought the Department into special promi- 

 ^nence, it is surprising to find how many of them pertain to his time. 

 2 This fact shows his grasp of the situation, his constructive ability 

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