1919] EDITORIAL. 305 



The soundest economy requires a frank acknowledgment of the 

 high requirements and the high standards which ought to prevail in 

 agi'icultural research, and of the attractions necessary to draw into 

 and hold in it persons of marked ability and training. The efficiency 

 of a station is the sum of the efficiency of its staff, and one or two in- 

 adequate members may materially lower the average. 



There are indications in some cases that the quality of agricultural 

 investigation is being lowered by the employment of persons not 

 properly adapted or prepared for it, and by the advancement to posi- 

 tions near the top of those inadequately trained or experienced. The 

 efi'ects of such a course may not be wholly immediate or temporary 

 but may extend over a period of years. They are likely to do so 

 unless the mistake is corrected. Unfortunately in some instances, 

 due to scarcity no doubt, the standards formerly striven for are not 

 being fully maintained, and these standards are not advancing with 

 the development of the problems. 



The stations need strong, well-equipped men now more than ever. 

 Competition in securing and holding them has never been so keen as 

 at present, and it now includes in larger extent than formerly various 

 commercial and industrial concerns, Avhich having become convinced 

 of the need for scientific men seek the best. It is rarely that the 

 stations can meet the offers from these agencies in terms of salary, 

 but in some cases real economy will make larger attempt than has 

 been made and will hold out attractions which have much weight 

 with the man of research tendencies. And as between institutions of 

 similar grade, the disadvantage of change and the present scale of 

 salaries needs to be fully recognized. The flat salary scale of some in- 

 stitutions in which the station is included, with the difficulty in secur- 

 ing advance out of order or in proportion to real merit, is a decided 

 handicap. The fact that research calls for a preparation and special 

 ability beyond that of most other branches of activity is not yet recog- 

 nized in all institutions or reflected in the salary roll. Ability to 

 assess the value of men in the work of a station is one of the at- 

 tributes of a successful director. He realizes that it is better to dig 

 deep than to spread thin, more real economy to retain an investigator 

 of demonstrated ability at a somewhat unusual salary than to risk a 

 change with the present scarcity and with the inevitable lost motion 

 which will result. 



The shifting of men from one station to another is an element of 

 weakness in our Research at present. It is an uneconomical procedure 

 resulting in loss to the progress of investigation through interruption 

 and often abandonment of lines under way. One such move fre- 

 quently results in a chain of changes affecting a considerable group 

 of institutions. 



138958°— 19 2 



