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SCIENCE 



[X. S. Vol. XLT. No. 1052 



problems may be physical, chemical, bio- 

 logical, meteorological, mechanical, eco- 

 nomic, social and otherwise ; and therefore 

 they are in themselves historically worthy 

 the recognition of men and women engageil 

 in public and scientific work. Nor are they 

 contaminated by contact with the earth, 

 seeing that they come out of the earth ; nor 

 again by contact with men who work, see- 

 ing that men are useful and worthy when 

 they work. 



And yet, by common consent and in the 

 process of evolution, there is a field that is 

 known as agricultural science. It would 

 be vain for me to define it; probably I 

 should succeed only to confine it. You 

 shall learn what it is as the programs of 

 Section M are placed before you in the 

 succeeding years. This year, aside from 

 the required address of the vice-president, 

 the program considers some of the prob- 

 lems of economics as related speciallj^ to 

 agriculture; those subjects are vinderlying, 

 and the addresses will be interesting and 

 important. 



The subject of the symposium of this 

 section suggests the general line of effort 

 that Section M may profitably pursue. The 

 section will not find it to its advantage, I 

 think, to discuss the technical problems of 

 the production of crops and animals. It 

 will rather devote itself to questions that 

 relate agriculture to public welfare and to 

 problems of general interest, dealing with 

 policies and the large social, economic, edu- 

 cational and political results. It is impor- 

 tant that the attitude of all the sciences 

 be brought to bear on these questions, and 

 I look for the greatest usefulness for Sec- 

 tion M in bringing together the agricul- 

 tural work with the other work of the as- 

 sociation. I hope that as time goes on there 

 may be joint discussions of Section M with 

 other sections or groujDs represented in the 



Convocation Week. Such discussions 

 should result in much mutual advantage. 



The agricultural situation is now much 

 in the public mind. It is widely discussed 

 in the press, w^hich shows that it has news 

 value. ]\Iuch of this value is merely of 

 superficial and temporary interest. Much 

 of it represents a desire to try new reme- 

 dies for old ills. Many of these remedies 

 will not work. We must be prepared for 

 some loss of public interest in them as time 

 goes on. We are now in a publicity stage 

 of our rural development. It w-ould seem 

 that the news-gathering and some other 

 agencies discover these movements after 

 the work of many constructive spirits has 

 set them going and has laid real founda- 

 tions; and not these foundations, but only 

 detached items of passing interest, may be 

 known of any large part of the public. I 

 hope that we shall not be disturbed by this 

 circumstance nor let it interfere with good 

 work, however much we may deplore the 

 false expectations that may result. 



It has been my privilege for one third of 

 a century to have known rather closely 

 many of the men and women who have 

 been instrumental in bringing the rural 

 problem to its present stage of advance- 

 ment. They have been public-minded, 

 able, far-seeing men and women, and they 

 have rendered an unmea^urable service. 

 The rural movement has been brought to 

 its present state without any demand for 

 special privilege, without bolstering by 

 factitious legislation, and to a remarkable 

 degree without self-seeking. It is based in 

 a real regard for the welfare of all the 

 people, rather than for rural people ex- 

 clusively. 



Great public-service institutions have 

 been founded in the rural movement. The 

 United States Department of Agriculture 

 has growTi to be one of the notable govern- 

 mental establishments of the world, extend- 



