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persons or communities whose interests will be advanced by the station work should 

 contribute the use of the small tracts of land which will be required for experimental 

 purposes. Experience shows that in most cases the stations have had no difficulty 

 in securing such land as they needed without expense, and it is believed that this may 

 be done in every case without injuriously affecting the interests of the stations. 



AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATIONS FOR CARRYING ON FARM OPERATIONS. 



This department holds that expenses incurred in conducting the operations of 

 farms, whether the farms are connected with institutions established under the act of 

 Congress of July 2, 1862, or not, are not a proper charge against the funds appropriated 

 by Congress for agricultural experiment stations in accordance with the act of Congress 

 of March 2, 1887, unless such operations definitely constitute a part of agricultural 

 investigations or experiments planned and conducted in accordance with the terms 

 of the act aforesaid, under rules and regulations prescribed by the gOA-erning board 

 of the station. The performance of ordinary farm operations by an experiment station 

 does not constitute experimental work. Operations of this character by an experiment 

 station should be confined to such as are a necessary part of experimental inquiries. 

 Carrying on a farm for profit or as a model farm, or to secure funds which may be after- 

 wards devoted to the erection of buildings for experiment station purposes, to the 

 further development of experimental investigation, or to any other purpose, however 

 laudable and desirable, is not contemplated by the law as a part of the functions of 

 an agricultural experiment station established under the act of Congress of March 2, 

 1887.* Section 5 of that act plainly limits the expenditures of funds appropriated in 

 accordance with said act to ' ' the necessary expenses of conducting investigations and 

 ■experiments and printing and distributing the results." 



SALES FUNDS OF AN AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION. 



This department holds that moneys received from the sales of farm products or other 

 property in the possession of an agi-icultural experiment station as the result of expendi- 

 tures of funds received by the station in accordance with the act of Congress of March 

 2, 1887, rightfully belong to the experiment station as a department of the college or 

 other institution with which it is connected, and may be expended in accordance with 

 the laws or regulations governing the financial transactions of the governing board of 

 the station, provided, however, that all expenses attending such sales, including 

 those attending the delivery of the property into the possession of the purchaser, 

 should be deducted from the gross receipts from the sales and should not be made a 

 charge against the funds appropriated by Congress. 



LIMIT OF EXPENDITURES OP EXPERIMENT STATIONS DURING ONE FISCAL YEAR. 



This department holds that expenses incurred by an agricultural experiment 

 station in any one fiscal year to be paid from the funds provided under the art of 

 Congress of March 2, 1887, should not exceed the amount appropriated to the station 

 by Congress for that year, and especially that all personal services should be paid for 

 out of the appropriation of the year in which they were performed, and that claims 

 for compensation for such services can not properly be paid out of the appropriations 

 for succeeding years. The several appropriations for experiment stations under the 

 aforesaid act are for one year only, and officers of experiment stations have no authorit y 

 to contract for expenditures beyond the year for which Congress has made appropria- 

 tions. 



This is plainly implied in the act aforesaid, inasmuch as section 6 provides that 

 unexpended balances shall revert to the Treasury of the United States, "in order that 

 the amount of money appropriated to any station shall not exceed the amount actually 

 and necessarily required for its maintenance and support." The annual financial 

 report rendered in the form prescribed by this department should in every case include 

 only the receipts and expenditures of the fiscal year for which the report is made. 



