40 CHARLES ANTHONY GOESSMANN 



for one year. This, although merely a private enter- 

 prise, was the forerunner of the Massachusetts Agri- 

 cultural Experiment Station established by act of the 

 legislature four years later, and of its successor, the 

 Hatch Station. It should be remembered, however, 

 that an experiment station, having as its aim system- 

 atic research for the improvement of agriculture and 

 the dissemination of practical knowledge relating 

 thereto, had existed at the College in fact, if not in 

 name since 1870. For eight years the Chemical 

 Department had been conducting the work of an 

 experiment station, and Dr. Goessmann's extensive 

 experiments in sugar-beet culture, and the published 

 results of that memorable investigation were its first 

 fruits. 



As pointed out by Penhallow, the scientific observa- 

 tions of Clark, Goessmann, and Stockbridge from 1870 

 to 1876 constituted the real beginning of the Station 

 and gave a powerful impetus to a movement which has 

 since resulted in the establishment of similar stations 

 throughout the United States and Canada. Looking 

 back on those early years one marvels at their produc- 

 tiveness, at the scope and quality of the work, and all 

 the more as little or no provision then existed for meet- 

 ing the necessary expenses of such operations. 



The value of agricultural experiment stations had 

 long been recognized in Europe. As early as 1836 Jean- 

 Baptiste Boussingault was conducting, at Bechelbronn 

 in Alsace, his noted experiments with stock-feeding to 

 test the efficiency of fodder rations. Seven years later, 

 in 1843, John Bennet Lawes established at Rotham- 



