July 9, 1920] 



SCIENCE 



25 



fertility on 'botli tlie livestock and tlie grain 

 farm. In either type of farming, limestone 

 and phosphate must be used so as to permit 

 the growth of legumes so essential in soil im- 

 provement and also in the feeding of livestock. 



Wtile Dr. Hopkins took particular pains to 

 point out and emphasize the possibility of 

 maintaining the fertility of the soil on the 

 grain farm on a permanent and profitable 

 basis, he also made important contributions to 

 our knowledge regarding methods of main- 

 taining the fertility of the livestock farm. 

 The teachings of Dr. Hopkins in this respect 

 are of tremendous importance since they pro- 

 vide for the extension of livestock farming to 

 large areas where heretofore the proper feeds 

 could not be produced. On all of the experi- 

 mental fields just one half of the work is de- 

 voted to the maintenance of soil fertility in 

 livestock farming. The livestock farmers of 

 Illinois should have a deep sense of gratitude 

 to Dr. Hopkins for his work in their behalf. 



If a system is to be permanent, the materials 

 removed from the soil must be returned, at 

 least in the proportion in which they are re- 

 moved by natural processes, including the 

 amount removed by the crop and the amount 

 lost in the drainage water. This would seem 

 to be such a simple axiomatic truth that it need 

 not be dwelt on; however, it is a point which 

 must he constantly emphasized again and 

 again. The use, therefore, of two or three 

 hundred pounds of an ordinary commercial 

 fertilizer of a 2-10-2 grade, which adds only 

 five or six pounds of nitrogen, must act purely 

 as a soil stimulant. For, if increased crops are 

 obtained by its use, they can be obtained only 

 at the expense of the nitrogen already in the 

 soil, since the requirement for a 100 bushel 

 crop of corn is 100 pounds of nitrogen. The 

 Illinois system of permanent soil fertility, 

 therefore, condemns in unmeasured terms the 

 use of su<Jh soil stimulants, among which must 

 be classified ordinary mixed commercial fer- 

 tilizers and gypsum. 



In the briefest way possible, the very essen- 

 tial points underlying the Illinois system of 

 permanent soil fertility have thus been merely 

 touched upon. But it is the desire to empha- 



size at this point that the Illinois system, of 

 permanent soil fertility rests upon a sane and 

 safe scientific basis, and, because it makes 

 aibundant use of cheap, natural, raw, products, 

 as legume nitrogen and finely ground mate- 

 rials such as limestone and rock phosphate, it 

 is both a permanent and profitable system of 

 soil fertility. This is the heritage to Illinois 

 farmers left by him in whose memory we have 

 met here to-day. 



Egbert Stewart 

 UNrvERSiTT or Illinois 



RADICALISM AND RESEARCH IN 

 AMERICA 



Investigators who are concerned as to the 

 possibility of adequate facilities for research 

 being maintained by popular governments, or 

 who doubt whether a republic working 

 through democratic institutions like our Na- 

 tional Research Council can equal the scien- 

 tific attainments of autocratic Germany, will 

 derive much encouragement from a review of 

 American history. Prominent among the 

 agencies which, in addition to privately en- 

 dowed institutions, have supported the prose- 

 cution and publication of scientific research 

 in this country are Academies of Science, 

 State Universities, Land Grant Colleges and 

 Agricultural Experiment Stations, Federal 

 Department of Agriculture, Coast and Geo- 

 detic Survey and the State and National Geo- 

 logical Surveys. In many cases the inception 

 or period of most marked development of 

 these institutions has been closely linked with 

 striking political developments. Without pre- 

 senting any unpublished data the present 

 paper aims to assemble some of the facts 

 which seem significant in this connection. 



Undoubtedly the most radical document 

 ever adopted by an American national as- 

 sembly was the Declaration of Independence. 

 The active members of the committee ap- 

 pointed to draft this instrument were Frank- 

 lin, Adams, and Jefferson, each of whom made 

 a distinct contribution to the advancement of 

 scientific foundations in America. 



FranMin's fame as a scientist, as a diplomat, 

 and as leader of the radical faction in our 



