9 



reach of the tillers of the soil. Naturally in the 

 study of soil and crop problems, economic 

 dairying, etc., physics and chemistry especially 

 were recognized as basal studies, but it is now 

 realized that the soil is not composed of a mass 

 of mere inorganic particles, but harbors myri- 

 ads of living forms, which exert a profound 

 effect upon the changes which go on therein. 

 With this realization the importance of bac- 

 terjology has come to be quite generally recog- 

 nized. The same is true with dairy phe- 

 nomena. Nearly all of the numerous dairy 

 schools in our distinctively dairy States, in both 

 this country and Canada, have more or less com- 

 pletely organized and equipped bacteriological 

 laboratories. The general importance of the 

 experiment station movement may be recog- 

 nized when it is known that in the latest pub- 

 lished organization Irst of the station staffs 

 there were over twenty-five persons classed as 

 bacteriologists, a number perhaps small, but 

 representing a growth from nothing a few 

 years ago. 



In the application of bacteriology to engi- 

 neering practice^ the matter of safeguarding 

 the health of communities by the proper treat- 

 ment of water-supplies and disposal of sewage 

 has been given a marked impetus in this coun- 

 try. Not an inconsiderable number of Ameri- 

 can bacteriologists, particularly those of this 

 association, are to be ranked among those 



