23 



Congress, although the amount actually paid to the station in any 

 one year may be less than $15,000 on account of the deduction of an 

 unexpended balance for the preceding fiscal year. 



RULINGS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE ON THE WORK AND 

 EXPENDITURES OF AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATIONS. 



In connection with examinations of the work and expenditures of 

 the agricultural experiment stations established in accordance with 

 the act of Congress of March 2, 1887, and further endowed under act 

 of Congress of Marcii 16, 1906, under authority given to the Secretary 

 of Agriculture by Congress, questions have arisen wliich have seemed 

 to make it advisable to formulate the views of this department on 

 certain matters affecting the management of the stations under those 

 acts. The rulings which have been made from time to time on points 

 which seemed to require special attention are as follows : 



PERMANENT SUBSTATIONS. 



This department holds that the expenditure of funds appropriated in accordance 

 with the provisions of the act of Congress of March 2, 1887, for the maintenance of 

 permanent substations is contrary to the spirit and intent of said act. The act pro- 

 vides for an experiment station in each State and Territory, which, except in cases 

 specified in the act, is to be a department of the college established under the act of 

 Congress of July 2, 1862. The objects of the stations, as defined in the first-mentioned 

 act, are eAddently of such a character as to necessitate the services of scientific and 

 expert workers. Most of the lines of investigation named in the act are general, 

 rather than local, and involve scientific equipment and work. It is obviously the 

 intent that the stations established under this act shall carry on important investi- 

 gations which shall be of general benefit to the agriculture of the several States and 

 Territories. The sum of $15,000, which is annually appropriated by Congress under 

 this act for each station, is only suflicient to carry out a limited number of investiga- 

 tions of the kind contemplated by the act. 



As the work of the stations in the different States has developed it has been foimd 

 necessary to limit, rather than expand, the lines of work of the individual stations. 

 Thorough work in a few lines has been found more effective and productive of more 

 useful results than small investigations in numerous lines. WTien we consider the 

 natiu-e of the investigations, the amount of money provided for the work of each sta- 

 tion, and the fact that the act expressly provides for only a single station in connec- 

 tion with each college, it becomes very clear that expenditures such as are necessary 

 to effectually maintain permanent substations ought not to be made from the funds 

 granted by Congress to the States and Territories for experiment stations. The mainte- 

 nance of permanent substations, as a rule, involves the erection of buildings and the 

 making of other permanent improvements. The sums of money which can be ex- 

 pended for permanent improvements under the act of Congress aforesaid are so small 

 that it is clear they were not intended to meet the needs of more than one station in 

 each State and Territory. 



\\Tien the legislature of a State or Territory has given its assent to the provisions 

 of the. act of Congress of March 2, 1887, and has designated the institution which shall 

 receive the benefits of said act, it would seem to have exhausted its powers In the mat- 

 ter. The responsibility for the maintenance of an experiment station iinder said act 

 devolves upon the governing board of the institution thus designated. If the legis- 

 lature of the State or Territory sees fit to pro^■ide funds for the equipment and mainte- 



