932 EXPERIMENT STATION KECOKD. 



them from the winter winds. The latter lot does better— is more 

 thrifty, eats better, and makes better gains. Is the question answered \ 

 Too often it stops here. We have the empirical result, but it is sup- 

 ported by no reason. 



Put one of these heavily fed steers into a respiration calorimeter 

 and we find he gives off heat enough under his heavy corn feeding to 

 keep his body warm without artificial protection. The reason has been 

 found. Again, knowledge of common things has been made accurate 

 and precise, and may be translated into action. 



In pure science the accumulation of data has in itself often been the 

 object, rather than merely a means to an end; while in experiment 

 station work the case has often been reversed. Here in our haste we 

 have sought mainly the result, without so much attention to accumu- 

 lating extensive data for broad generalizations. 



Reseaich is worth} T of the name only as it sets up definite ideals or 

 aims which it strives to attain by scientific methods of procedure. 

 This will involve a definite plan of operations, a thorough consideration 

 of what is known of the subject and its bearings, both practical and 

 scientific, and should lead the experimenter to learn something of the 

 reasons for the results he secures. While the aim should remain fixed, 

 the plan will often have to be modified in detail as the investigation 

 progresses. But too often there appears to be lacking any well-thought- 

 out plan or object; this is developed piecemeal and lacks indirectness. 



There are certain operations which will always be more or less 

 experimental, as they will depend upon a variety of conditions, either 

 indefinite in extent or combined in such a way as to make the outcome 

 somewhat uncertain. Such operations can not proceed with mechan- 

 ical exactness, and this very element of uncertainty will lend a charm 

 to the work. But the object to be attained and the line of experiment 

 should be matters of mature consideration. An investigation should 

 presuppose this preliminary. 



The line of demarcation between investigation and the lower grades 

 of inquiry is not alwa} r s clear and sharp, but the character of the prob- 

 lem does not determine this. The lowliest and most common subject 

 may be a proper matter for real investigation. It is the man in charge 

 of the work and his mental attitude toward it which determines 

 whether it shall be a simple test, a conclusive experiment, or a thorough 

 investigation. If he has none of the scientific spirit or sees only the 

 purely practical phase, his work will stop with comparisons and sim- 

 ple experiments; but if he has the true spirit of the investigator and 

 is trained to observe, even though he may not have seen a college 

 class room, his results will contribute something toward establishing a 

 scientific fact. 



