May 31, 1917] 



NATURE 



275.i 



United States information on subjects connected with 

 agriculture, and to promote scientific investigation and 

 experiment respecting the principles and applications 

 of agricultural science, there should be established 

 experiment stations under the direction of the col- 

 leges organised under the Morrill Acts. A sum of 

 8000/. per annum was granted to each State for the 

 purpose of conducting researches and experiments. In 

 1906 the Adams Act was passed, and an additional 

 sum of loooZ., increasing in five years to 3000Z. per 

 annum, was granted to each State for that purpose. 

 Not more than 5 per cent, of the annual grants can 

 be used for the purposes of land or buildings. 



There are fifty-two stations which receive grants 

 under the two Acts, the total amount granted being 

 285,000^. The annual revenue of these stations from 

 other sources is 748,000/., including 515,000/. from the 

 State Governments, making a total revenue of 

 i,033,oooZ. 



A national system of agricultural extension work 

 was provided by Congress by the passing of the co- 

 operative Agricultural Extension Act of 19 14, com- 

 monly known as the Smith-Lever Act. This xAct pro- 

 vided that each State receiving the benefits of the 

 Morrill, Hatch, and Adams Acts should inaugurate 

 agricultural extension work in co-operation with the 

 Federal Department of Agriculture. 



For that purpose a sum of 2000/. per annum was 

 granted to each State (a total of 96,000/. per annum), 

 and in addition a sum beginning at 120,000/., and 

 increasing over a period of seven years to 820,000/. 

 per annum, is allotted annually to the respective States 

 by the Secretary of Agriculture in the proportion which 

 the rural population of each State bears to the total 

 rural population of aU the States. But no payment of 

 these additional appropriations can be made until the 

 State or local authorities have appropriated an equal 

 sum for the maintenance of co-operative agricultural 

 extension work. 



All the States have agreed to co-operate under the 

 provisions of the Smith-Lever Act, and formal agree- 

 ments between the presidents of the State agricultural 

 colleges and the Department of Agriculture haye been 

 signed defining the duties and functions of the two 

 parties. In the fiscal j^ear 1915-16 a sum of 216,000/. 

 was allotted to the States under the Smith-Lever Act. In 

 addition, direct appropriations amounting to 240,000/. 

 were made by Congress for extension work. The 

 total Federal contribution thus amounts to 456,000/. 

 This is supplemented by 530,000/. from the States. 

 This sum includes 120,000/. to offset the equivalent 

 allotment by the Federal Government under the Exten- 

 sion Act. The total from Federal and State sources 

 is, therefore, approximately 1,000,000/. 



The Forest Service of the Department of Agriculture. 



The Forest Strvice has charge of the administration 

 and protection of the national forests, and also pro- 

 motes the practice of forestry generally through 

 investigations and the diffusion of information. The 

 national forests are administered in seven main dis- 

 tricts, each with its central office in charge of a 

 district forester. The annual expenditure for adminis- 

 tration and protection is about 950,000/., the expendi- 

 ture on permanent improvements 120,000/., and the 

 total receipts 490,000/. 



In the year 1915 the investigational work of the 

 Forest Service was brought under one direction by the 

 establishment of the branch of research. During 

 previous years the various investigations were corre- 

 lated by means of investigative committees, but the 

 establishment of a separate branch was deemed 

 advisable to make such correlation more complete, 

 and at the same time to segregate investigational 



NO. 2483, VOL. 99] 



work in accordance with the policy established for 

 the whole department. 



The activities transferred to the new branch were : — 



(i) Sylvicultural investigations conducted at eight 

 forest experimental stations to determine the b«st 

 methods of forest management to use in handling the 

 national forests. 



(ii) The Forest Products Laboratory established at 

 Madison at a cost of approximately 50,000/., with an 

 annual appropriation which has been increased for the 

 year 1916-17 by 15,000/., making a total of 42,000/. a 

 year. The technical sections of this laboratory are 

 (a) timber physics, (b) timber tests of mechanical 

 properties, (c) wood preservation, (d) derived products, 

 (e) pulp and paper, and (/) pathology. It is stated 

 that the results obtained at this laboratory are of great 

 industrial value. 



(iii) Economic studies of the lumber and other wood- 

 using industries. 



(iv) Fire protection studies, and 



(v) Statistical investigations. 



The Reclamation Service (Irrigation). 



This service was organised in 1902 as a branch of 

 the Department of tne Interior, to carry into effect the 

 provisions of the Reclamation Act of that year. 



The Reclamation Act, 1902, provided that all money 

 received from the sale of public lands in sixteen of the 

 western States (except 5 per cent, of the proceeds of 

 sales, already set aside for educational purposes) 

 should be reserved as an official fun<i to be known as 

 the " Reclamation Fund," and to be used for the con- 

 struction and maintenance of irrigation works in the 

 States specified. The Secretary of the Interior was 

 empowered to locate and construct irrigation works, 

 and to reserve from sale lands required for public 

 purposes. The acreage of the allotments must be 

 such as in the opinion of the Secretary may be reason- 

 ably required for the support of a family, and the 

 charges over a period of ten years must be sufficient 

 to return to Ih-' reclamation fund the proportionate 

 cost of construction. In this way a "revolving " fund, 

 which now amounts to about 18,000,000/,, has been 

 accumulated. 



The Bureau of Standards. 



The total number of employees in the bureau Is 

 about 400, of which 300 are scientific and technical 

 men. The junior scientific men are ordinarily uni- 

 versity graduates, who begin on a salary of from 

 200/. to 250/. a year. Laboratory assistants and 

 associate physicists and chemists receive from 400/. 

 to 600/. a year, and physicists and chemists from 

 600/. to 800/. It is stated that these salaries are too 

 small. The bureau is frequently losing able men 

 whose place can only be filled by those who are inex- 

 perienced. In 1915 the Eastman Kodak Company took 

 six men from the bureau, and the General Electric 

 Company took three. Some men, however, prefer 

 to remain in the bureau even when offered large 

 increases in salary from outside. It should be observ^ed 

 that the loss of men in this way is a defect onlv from 

 the immediate point of view of the bureau. From the 

 broader industrial aspect it is a distinct advantage 

 to have a Government institution, which trains men 

 in research work to go out and take positions as 

 experts in industrial enterprises. 



The laboratory grounds cover an area of sixteen 

 acres near Washington, D.C. Experience has shown 

 that the efficiency of the work of the bureau is greatly- 

 increased by the location of the laboratories in a 

 section free from the ordinary disturbances of city 

 life. The cost of the land and buildings is approxi- 

 mately 200,000/., and of the equipment about 85,000/. 

 The annual expenditure is about 125,000/. 



