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SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. XXIV. No. 622, 



eiate the need and the demand for popular 

 work. An idealist I am and such I hope 

 to remain, but I too know something of 

 that desire for results and of that lively- 

 sense of appropriations expected which 

 seldom fails to make itself felt by the sta- 

 tion administrator. The situation is by no 

 means without its difficulties, especially for 

 those stations which exist to so large an 

 extent under pioneer conditions. Were it 

 otherwise, there would be little occasion for 

 these remarks. The problem calls fol* 

 strong men with an abiding faith in the 

 fundamental and ultimate importance of 

 scientific research. There is still need for 

 the promotion of agricultural science. 

 Times have greatly changed since a dozen 

 gentlemen met in Boston in August, 1880, 

 and founded this society, and some of the 

 functions on which emphasis was then laid 

 are now of less importance or have been 

 otherwise provided for, but the great un- 

 derlying purpose of the society, as ex- 

 pressed in its name, far from diminishing 

 in importance has become even more vital 

 to real progress. 



What, then, may a voluntary organiza- 

 tion, such as this, hope to do to promote 

 agricultural science? 



At no time since the society was founded 

 has there been greater need for maintain- 

 ing and raising the ideals of what science 

 is and of what constitutes research. We 

 are suffering to-day from a low and inade- 

 quate conception of scientific investigation. 

 Now the conception of scientific investiga- 

 tion which is popularly current at any time 

 depends very largely upon the attitude and 

 ideals of the men of science themselves. 

 The stream rarely rises higher than its 

 source. It is of prime importance, there- 

 fore, that those professionally engaged in 

 investigation in agriculture, whether in the 

 experiment stations or elsewhere, should 

 cherish a high ideal of their function in the 



body politic, and a high standard of pro- 

 fessional and personal obligation. How can 

 such ideals be more effectively maintained 

 than by association. Scattered over three 

 million square miles, and more or less iso- 

 lated, we inevitably feel in our daily work 

 the drag of the commonplace, the tedious- 

 ness of the necessary drudgery which 

 makes up such a large part of investiga- 

 tion, the temptation to cater to popular 

 applause. What greater inspiration can 

 we have than that which comes from an 

 annual gathering such as this, where we 

 meet, not as chemists or botanists, or ento- 

 mologists, or directors, but simply as seek- 

 ers after truth? Is not the mutual sup- 

 port, the discussion, the friendly criticism, 

 which we encounter here a priceless factor 

 in promoting agricultural science? In the 

 conventions of the Association of American 

 Agricultural Colleges and Experiment Sta- 

 tions, we meet officially, and seem tending 

 more and more to the discussion of official 

 and administrative problems. It is well to 

 retain a meeting place frankly devoted to 

 idealism. 



But I believe the society may have other 

 functions besides maintaining the ideals 

 and strengthening the enthusiasm of its 

 members. While it is essential that we 

 maintain right ideals ourselves, it is equally 

 important that we secure their acceptance 

 by others. Few of us are so fortunate as 

 to be able ourselves to defray the expenses 

 of our own investigations. Most of us are 

 dependent for the necessary funds upon 

 the approval of boards of trustees or other 

 superior officers, or, since these usually 

 represent the public, we may say that we 

 are dependent upon popular approval or 

 at least tolerance. That research may take 

 its rightful place, the public must come to 

 understand better than it does the nature 

 of research and its importance from the 

 point of view of the general welfare. 



