EDITORIAL. 707 



In the early days the demand for immediate practical results was 

 often accompanied \\4th the insistence, even by boards of control and 

 administrative officers, that the experimenters should be chosen 

 primarily because of their practical knowledge of farming or horti- 

 culture. But now it is seen that investigators without scientific 

 training are not likely to obtain anything more than superficial or 

 empirical results. Hence the standard of scientific training for sta- 

 tion workers is steadily rising. Men with elaborate and advanced 

 training along scientific lines are in demand for the specialized po- 

 sitions now open in the stations. Young men, therefore, have a 

 strong incentive to prepare themselves thoroughly for research in 

 agriculture. 



The wide and rapid spread of extension work in agriculture, until 

 it now covers practically all phases of agriculture throughout the 

 United States, is already begmning to increase the opportunities of 

 well-trained men to engage in agricultural research. The large num- 

 ber of well-paid positions opening in the extension work is attracting 

 from the ranks of station workers those who are more interested in 

 popular phases of agricultural work. Thus the opportunity is often 

 given to put in their place better trained men with a more serious 

 interest in research. The extension workers are also creating a 

 broader demand for more complete investigations, the results of 

 which can be used in demonstrations among the farmers or in an- 

 swering inquiries pressed home upon the extension men now living 

 in close contact with the farmers. As time goes on extension work 

 will inevitably become more highly specialized and the demand for 

 new knowledge to be put to practical use will grow apace. With 

 such a backing of widespread interest in the improvement of agri- 

 cultural practice based on the results of scientific research, there is 

 every reason to believe that the opportunities for the stations to 

 strengthen and enlarge their researches will steadily grow. 



All these facts are becoming widely known and appreciated in the 

 scientific world. They present considerations which count for much 

 among investigators, and explain the prestige which the stations are 

 acquiring as desirable fields of opportunity. It is fortunate that the 

 stations are thus coming into their rightful position, for the un- 

 solved problems in American agriculture are many and intricate and 

 their importance justifies the enlistment of the services of the best- 

 trained scientists of the land in their solution. 

 39513°— No. 8—16 % 



