EDITOKIAL. 109 



confidence in these respects and the too positive repetition of theories 

 once thought true, as well as to add to the supply of new facts and 

 theories. It must be remembered also that much of the later and 

 more technical investigation is not yet ready for extension, because it 

 is not sufficiently advanced and can not be safely generalized from 

 and put into teaching or practical form. 



It will be seen that in all departments of work the station men 

 attacked first the problems which lnj nearest to hand. In all cases 

 the method of attack improved and became more definite as the 

 nature of the problems became better understood. The point of view 

 has therefore shifted, and old theories have been replaced by newer 

 and more dependable ones. There must be intelligence, therefore, 

 in the interpretation and use of even the experiment station results, 

 having regard to the status of inquiry and the time of publication. 



The publications of the experiment stations furnish a printed rec- 

 ord of their scientific and practical achievements. Since their incep- 

 tion the stations have issued approximately 14,200 bulletins and an- 

 nual reports. These have dealt with practicall}'' every phase of agri- 

 cultural work and every condition represented by this varied country. 

 Together with those of this Department, they comprise an immense 

 fund of agricultural knowledge. They furnish the best, in fact the 

 only, basis for the rational improvement of farm practice through 

 extension work. Much of the doctrine laid down in station bulletins 

 will stand the test of time and searching criticism. Some of the 

 conclusions will doubtless have to be revised or perhaps rejected in 

 the light of new knowledge. 



Certain parts of this great open volume of agi'icultural doctrine are 

 empirical. In agricultural science just as in medical science many 

 treatments are confidently recommended on the basis of careful ex- 

 periment, although no one has 3^et learned why the treatments are 

 beneficial. Quinin was known to be a specific for malaria before any 

 explanation of its action was obtained. So also certain crop rotations 

 and summer fallowing can be safely recommended, although station 

 workers are still wrestling with the problem of the nature and the 

 explanation of the benefits derived from these practices. But the 

 gaps in agricultural science are gradually being closed. As the nature 

 of the problems becomes better understood, the method of attack is 

 better organized. With clearer statement of the problem a clearer 

 answer is obtained. 



In improving farm practice the extension worker must look to 

 the investigator for reliable facts and data and doctrine. Sound 

 teaching must be based on findings developed or tested through the 

 methods of science. The accepted facts and traditions of experience 



