12 a EXPERIMENT STATION. [Jan. 



for general purposes. There are, however, two needs so press- 

 ing that they must be stated and should be provided for as soon 

 as possible. These are additional land and an appropriation 

 for demonstration on selected farms throughout the State. 



Land. — The area available for experiment in the depart- 

 ments of agriculture and horticulture is far too small. There 

 has been no increase for many years except by lease, a system 

 which has numerous disadvantages which are referred to later. 

 Meanwhile, the science of agriculture has gained rapidly. New 

 discoveries constantly widen our horizon. Investigations are 

 now needed in fields undreamed of not many years ago. Soil 

 biology, soil physics, the influence of toxins, the theory of an- 

 tagonism, are a few among the many fields in which work is 

 urgently needed. 



The station now leases four different areas for experiment, 

 — two and one-half acres in Concord for work with asparagus, 

 which has been held for seven years on an indefinite lease ; six 

 and one-half acres in South Amherst for orchard experiments, 

 leased for ten years, seven of which have already passed ; eight- 

 een acres adjoining the station grounds in Amherst, leased for 

 orchard experiments in 1912 for twenty years; and two acres, 

 also in Amherst but not immediately adjoining the station 

 grounds, which we have used for one year on a four-year lease. 



In the case of the areas in Concord and South Amherst there 

 has already been paid for the use of the land sums in each 

 case considerably in excess of the figure at which these proper- 

 ties could have been jDurchased. The same will be true of one 

 at least of the other areas mentioned within a very few years. 

 The policy of leasing is not, therefore, a sound one from the 

 standpoint of economy. There are, however, much more im- 

 portant objections, chief among which is the uncertainty of 

 tenure for the full period during which the experiment should 

 continue. This cannot be determined in advance. In the case 

 of the South Amherst area it was thought when the lease was 

 executed that the specific problem for which it was desired 

 could be solved within the ten years, but it is already apparent 

 that it would be a great advantage to continue the varying 

 fertilizer and cultural treatments during a much longer period, 



