406 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. [Vol.41 



university farm at Davis in 1905. Analj'ses of feeding stuffs, how- 

 ever, were begun as early as 1882. The first feeding experiment, a 

 test of beet pulp for dairy cows, was made in 1901, At the solicita- 

 tion of poultry farmers, a special appropriation for poultry research 

 was granted in 1903 and work begun in poultry diseases, feeding 

 problems, and the like. At about the same date a discarded horse 

 shed was remodelled into a veterinary' laboratory, and considerable 

 attention began to be given to hog cholera control and other animal 

 diseases. 



Special mention should also be made of the study on human foods, 

 first undertaken in 1895. In 1900 the station became one of the group 

 cooperating with the nutrition investigations of the U. S. Department 

 of Agriculture, studying particularly the nutritive value of fruits 

 and nuts. Many interesting and valuable results were secured from 

 this work, but as Professor Wickson states, " perhaps the difficulties 

 under which these elaborate studies were pursued is the most inter- 

 esting academic aspect of them. These may be indicated by the fact 

 that the work was done in the only places which could then be found 

 for it, viz: a corner of the main laboratory, a corner of an aban- 

 doned boiler shop, and a corner of an attic lighted by a small sky- 

 light, but it proved to be work done in a corner proclaimed from a 

 house top, and its influence has been very great and wide-reaching 

 in promotion of wholesome living and the recognition of the food 

 value of California fruit products." 



The summary here given of Professor Wickson's article is neces- 

 sarily much abbreviated, with no attempt to present a complete re- 

 view of the station's accomplishments. The aim has been rather to 

 bring out some of the difficulties under which the work was con- 

 ducted in the pioneer days, and especially the fact that these handi- 

 caps were not allowed to dishearten or continue insuperable. Inade- 

 quate funds, lack of buildings and equipment, popular pressure for 

 immediate results, however localized and ephemeral their value, 

 these have unfortunately been all too common in the history of most 

 of the stations, but the experience of California is a concrete illustra- 

 tion that slowly but none the less surely progress can be made. 



In that State, the total income of the station of $250 in 1874 has 

 grown to over $200,000 a year. The basement rooms have given place 

 to stately buildings, extensive experimental fields, and a score or more 

 of well-equipped laboratories, representing a pennanent investment 

 of more than a million dollars. The staff has increased from a frac- 

 tion of the director's time to a corps of upwards of a hundred spe- 

 cialists and other trained workers. An extended list of projects is 

 under way, and the fruits of many are being widely applied. The 

 confidence of the State has long since been gained, and the position 

 of the station within its field has become one of unquestioned leader- 

 ship. These are a few of the inspiring facts to be gleaned from 

 Professor Wickson's interesting narrative. 



