14 Director's Report of the 



in their hands. Only a few copies of the Report for 1895 have 

 so far been received. It is possible that the delay is unavoid- 

 able, but it is none the less unfortunate. If the Station was not 

 given the means and authority for promptly publishing its re- 

 sults in the form of bulletins, the conclusions would be stale and 

 often useless when finally in the hands of the public. It would 

 be a great improvement if the Annual Report could be printed 

 on a better grade of paper and be given such a mechanical finish 

 as would place it in appearance on a par with the reports of 

 many other stations. The general appearance of any volume 

 has much to do with its popularity and value. It is obvious that 

 the state of New York can afford as well as any other to give 

 to this report a high order of typographical excellence. 



The preparation of the Station publications. — One of the most 

 important duties pertaining to the successful management of an 

 experiment station is the editing of its publications, especially 

 where the report is so large and the bulletins so numerous as is 

 the case at this Station. 



It is evident that the work should be done by one person in 

 order to insure uniformity, and the maintenance of our publi- 

 cations up to a desirable standard of arrangement, illustration 

 and typographical quality will require much time and effort. 

 Reference has been made to a desirable change in the manner of 

 publishing bulletins, and someone must be charged with the duty 

 of writing the proposed popular summaries. 



The purpose to enlarge and organize the library has also been 

 mentioned. These several duties will surely require the full time 

 of one person, who must give to them a high order of special 

 ability. No present member of the Station staff can be taken 

 from his present duties for this work, and it is gratifying to know 

 that steps have been taken to add a new officer to the Station 

 force who shall give his entire time to the preparation of Station 

 literature and the building up of a library. 



Station correspondence. — It is estimated that annually the Sta- 

 tion officers respond by letter to not less than five thousand re- 

 quests from New York farmers for information touching agri- 



