ANNUAL REPORT, 1937 5 



Association, have attempted to support the preliminary investigations inaugurated 

 in this field. An additional staff member should be provided for that purpose. 



The rapid development of interest in enlarged recreational facilities in New 

 England, and especially in Massachusetts, has confronted us with many requests 

 for information regarding the improvement of golf courses, lawns, roadsides, 

 parks, etc. The Massachusetts Greenkeepers' Association has been most activ'e 

 and also most considerate in these demands. Realizing that the expansion of 

 our service is possible only if adequate funds are available, this Association is 

 determined to gain recognition either through an item in our budget or through 

 special legislative action. If adequate financial provision is made available, the 

 research in the Experiment Station can easily be expanded to deal with these 

 problems. 



The demands of the Arborists for more specific data regarding the culture of 

 shade trees are gradually being met through certain services made available in 

 conjunction with the activities under Dutch Elm Disease Control. Also, the 

 enlarged facilities provided at the Waltham Field Station as a result of additional 

 greenhouse and laboratory space for Nurseryculture which have just become 

 available through new construction will serve in that connection. 



The Regional Pasture Management Laboratory, established at Pennsylvania 

 State College, which is now fully equipped and manned, is intended to supplement 

 the research of the entire northeastern section of this country. It is sure to play 

 a prominent part in promoting a better approach to the evaluation of the man- 

 agement phases involved in providing more satisfactory forage, a matter so essen- 

 tial to the success of the Massachusetts Dairy Industry. 



Of the numerous cooperative investigations under way with several bureaus 

 of the United States Department of Agriculture, the most recent, and in some 

 respects the most interesting, is that dealing with soil erosion and its control. 

 Most of New England, due to natural and economic factors, has developed a 

 type of agriculture where pasture and grasslands play such a prominent part 

 that the extreme erosion, quite common in other sections, is rarely in evidence. 

 Nevertheless, the productivity of our soils is recognized as our most important 

 natural resource and therefore deserving of our best consideration because the 

 future prosperity of this country is very closely related to and dependent upon it. 



In recent years cooperation in research has been given a great deal of encourage- 

 ment. To the extent that it remains on a voluntary basis this is very desirable 

 because it has a tendency to overcome some of the limitations of the high degree 

 of specialization that has developed in agricultural research. When cooperation is 

 promoted to the point where it takes on compulsory aspects it not only loses 

 most of its value but may even become a handicap to sound progress. This is 

 especially true when it reaches a stage where conclusions are based upon a com- 

 promise of opinions of the cooperative agencies rather than upon the actual 

 research findings of individual investigators. Projects should not be undertaken 

 on a cooperative basis unless it becomes evident, after careful analysis of all 

 factors involved, that such an approach is desirable or even possible. 



