COOPERATIVE RELATIONS 55 



both in number and importance ; but it was not until the ex- 

 tension of federal aid under what is known as the Hatch 

 Act of 1887, that their research work was placed upon a 

 sound scientific basis/ 



This act^ provided for the establishment of experiment 

 stations in the land-grant colleges created under the Act of 

 1862. It also provided for a permanent annual appropria- 

 tion of fifteen thousand dollars for each State or Territory. 

 This sum was doubled by the passage of the so-called Adams 

 Act of 1906.® This fund is to be expended exclusively for 

 agricultural research. Since 1887 one important function 

 of the Department of Agriculture has been the supervision 

 and coordination of the work of these experiment stations. 

 This is accomplished in various ways ; but primarily through 

 periodical inspections by department representatives, and the 

 publication of what is known as " The Experiment Station 

 Record." This scientific journal, which is perhaps the oldest 

 and best known of all the Department of Agriculture's 

 periodical publications, briefly describes the research work 

 that has been completed or is in process in each of the ex- 

 periment stations. It also indicates the investigational work 

 that is being done in agriculture by other agencies, both 

 domestic and foreign.^" By this means it is possible to 

 make known to the widely separated workers what has al- 

 ready been done, and thus avoid much needless duplication. 



The general policy of the department respecting state 

 agricultural research institutions, is to urge upon them the 

 need of giving special attention to those problems which are 

 of local importance, or for which their facilities or environ- 

 ment peculiarly fit them ; and to leave to federal agencies 

 the solution of those problems which are of more general 

 concern. There is, however, in most of the investigational 

 work of the department, extensive cooperation with state 



^ T. N. Carver, " History of American Agriculture," in Bailey's 

 Cyclopedia of American Agriculture, vol. iv, p. 155. 



»24 Stat. L. 440. 



"34 Stat. L. 63. 



^o See Animal Reports of the Dcprirtment of .Agriculture, 1916, 

 p. 303- 



