EDITORIAL. 9 



fire, his work never rises above the humdrum and the commonplace. 

 " He must at times feel his heart burn within him as he walks the 

 ways of his chosen calling." No one can read the letters and the 

 papers of Dr. Johnson without realizing that he had the infusion of 

 divine fire, and that many times his heart must have burned within 

 him with zeal for his chosen subject. 



But it took a man of more than enthusiasm to write as he did of 

 the future of the agricultural experiment station and its far-reaching 

 influence. It required vision and conviction to labor patiently for 

 its coming, and to contend that the discovery of the new would vital- 

 ize the old in agriculture, would broaden the intellectual life of the 

 farmer, replace mechanical actions and prejudice with reason, and 

 bring the farmers and the agricultural colleges closer together — 

 prophesies which he lived to see fulfilled. 



It would be a careless reader who did not gain from these writings 

 a clearer insight, a higher purpose, and an enthusiasm for a kind of 

 work that shall endure. They carry an inspiration and a stimulus 

 for the rising investigator, not only to continue the work of agri- 

 cultural investigation, but to make the most of the larger opportunity 

 to attain the ideals which he propagated at that early period. 



