EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



Vol. 41. December, 1919. UB'^*-*'*' No. 8. 



The place which the economic and social sciences are to occupy 

 in the program of the agricultural colleges from now on is becoming 

 increasingly clear. Conviction on that point is now rapidly crys- 

 tallizing, and a stage has been reached where development in these 

 lines is looked upon as one of the most essential features. 



Wliile these subjects in their special relations to agriculture are 

 far from being new, until quite recently they have made relatively 

 slow progress in the institutions as a whole, except in a few lines. 

 In a sense, they represent a departure from the trend in which de- 

 velopment has occurred, for in their broader ranges they lie in a 

 different field from the class of subjects which have hitherto re- 

 ceived main attention. This has made their growth contingent on an 

 enlarged view of the field and function of the agricultural colleges. 

 The Chicago convention bore evidence to the growth of sentiment 

 in this line and the importance which is now being attached to these 

 subjects. The business and social relations of farming were accepted 

 as being quite as much in the field of the colleges as the technical 

 factors of production. The cultivation of this field was recognized 

 as not only desirable but as a prerogative of the agricultural college. 



A noticeable feature of the convention was a wider departure from 

 the strictly professional and pedagogic view of certain subjects in 

 the field of these colleges to the idea of more direct service to the 

 State, to the people concerned in its industries and their general 

 welfare as well as their productive efficiency and business pros- 

 perity. While this aim has for some time been exemplified in the 

 work of these colleges, it is assuming increasing prominence as a 

 part of the college function. 



The matter was emphasized by Dr. Lory in his presidential ad- 



^. dress, and the acceptance of the views he expressed showed how 



<^^' general this attitude of public service has now become. Undoubtedly 



"^ it is in a measure a result of the war activities of these colleges, which 



forced them forward into new prominence and an enlarged field of 



responsibility and action. Dr. Lory argued for greater attention on 



5^ the part of these colleges to what has been designated as the human 



^ side of agriculture, the business and the social relations as embraced 



in rural economics and rural sociology, country life and conditions 



701 



