228 LETTER-FILES OF S. W. JOHNSON 



touched for a year. I believe that opposition to it will cease. 

 I omitted to say to you, as I intended, that we interpret 

 the present law in the under- I 



scored passage in the most "more than ten dollars per 

 liberal manner possible, viz., ton, shall pay, etc. etc. an 



analysis fee of ten dollars 

 for each of the fertilizing 

 ingredients contained or 

 claimed" etc. 



ten dollars each for nitrogen, 

 phos. acid and potash irre- 

 spective of the state or con- 

 dition in which they may be 

 present. This makes $30 the 

 highest charge possible. That ought to satisfy the "special 

 fertilizer" people. Yours very truly, S. W. Johnson. 



(S. "W. J. TO C. W. Dabney, Jr., Director North Carolina 

 Experiment Station.) 



October 6, 1883. 



My dear Sir, — I cannot see why the time is not at hand 

 when a journal such as you propose may not be undertaken 

 with reasonable prospects of success. Your outline of its 

 scope, etc., is to my mind. I think it, however, of the in- 

 tensest importance that it have an Editor, that some one who 

 has both science and common sense shall be responsible for 

 the matter and the manner of its contents. Otherwise, it will 

 be likely to be given over to slop and padding, the two promi- 

 nent ingredients in American literature. The several depart- 

 ments might be separately edited, but it ought to be an 

 organism and not a pudding. In our stage of Ag. Expt. 

 there is need of a moderately large amount of judicious 

 criticism, and for that an Editor or Editors are needed. 



Vast good would be accomplished by abundant abstracts 

 of valuable papers published abroad, and I for one should not 

 hesitate to "direct" the force under my charge to assist in 

 work of that sort, feeling that such use of State funds would 

 be for the highest possible good. Yours, etc., 



S. W. Johnson. 



