112 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. XII. No. 290. 



The relations of the stations to the general 

 government through the Department of Agri- 

 culture, their equipment, and lines of work are 

 discussed at considerable length. Some of the 

 more important general results of the work of 

 the stations are briefly noted under the follow- 

 ing headings : (1) Introduction of new agricul- 

 tural methods, crops, or industrtes, and the de- 

 velopment of those already existing ; (2) the 

 removal of obstacles to agricultural industries ; 

 (3) defense of the farmer against fraud ; (4) aid 

 to the passage or administration of laws for the 

 benefit of agriculture ; and (5) educational re- 

 sults of station work. Brief as this summary 

 necessarily is, it brings out in a striking manner 

 the wide range of usefulness of experiment 

 stations to the farming community, touching 

 nearly every phase of agricultural operation 

 from the seeding and culture of the crop to its 

 utilization in feeding for beef, pork, lamb or 

 milk production, or in the arts. It points also 

 to the great benefits which have already re- 

 sulted in particular lines, as in the improve- 

 ment of the dairy industry, which has been 

 practically revolutionized, and is held by the 

 authors to be " the most important general re- 

 sult of experiment station work "; the mainte- 

 nance of soil fertility by the economical use of 

 fertilizers and green manures ; the introduction 

 of new crops, as Kafir corn, rape and Manshury 

 barley ; and the prevention of the ravages of 

 a long list of injurious insects and diseases. 

 And finally it brings out very forcibly the influ- 

 ence which the stations have had in arousing 

 widespread interest in the various forms of agri- 

 cultural education — a phase of the station work 

 which is often underestimated. This influence 

 has been exerted through the vast amount of 

 literature distributed by the stations in the form 

 of bulletins and reports, which go regularly into 

 more than half a million homes and libraries, 

 through other writings and correspondence of 

 the station workers, their addresses at farmers' 

 institutes, and the intimate association of the 

 stations with institutions for higher education. 

 " No nation has ever attempted the free dissem- 

 ination of agricultural information in so wide 

 and thorough a way as has the United States, 

 and it is believed that the results have justified 

 the large expenditures which have been made 



for this purpose. * * * The stations are not 

 only giving the farmer much information which 

 will enable him to improve his practice of agri- 

 culture, but they are also leading him to a more 

 intelligent conception of the problem with which 

 he has to deal, and of the methods he must pur- 

 sue to successfully perform his share of the 

 work of the community and hold his rightful 

 place in the commonwealth." As a result of 

 the intimate associations of the stations with 

 institutions for higher education, "the peda- 

 gogical possibilities of instruction in the science 

 and practice of agriculture have been more 

 clearly revealed, and the claims of agricultural 

 science have increasingly gained the respect 

 and attention of scientists working in other 

 lines. There is now in this country a much 

 keener appreciation than heretofore of the fact 

 that the problems of agriculture furnish ade- 

 quate opportunity for the exercise of the most 

 thorough scientific attainments and the highest 

 ability to penetrate the mysteries of nature." 



The larger part of the volume is devoted of 

 accounts of the individual stations, and of the 

 Oflice of Experiment Stations at Washington, 

 which constitutes a part of the general system. 

 These accounts, although condensed, are quite 

 complete, and aside from giving the history, 

 equipment and lines of work of the station, con- 

 tain many interesting notes on its more im- 

 portant and successful investigations, evidences 

 of usefulness, and reference to general results 

 which have been of greatest benefit to the agri- 

 culture of the State. 



An appendix contains an account of the in- 

 spection work of the stations (fertilizers, foods 

 and feeding stuffs, apparatus for milk testing, 

 nursery stock, animal diseases, etc.), with the 

 principal features of the laws under which it is 

 carried on ; the general statistics of the Amer- 

 ican stations ; a list of the publications issued by 

 them since their organization ; a list of books 

 published by experiment station workers ; and 

 a catalogue of the experiment station exhibit at 

 the Paris Exposition. 



The chief regret in connection with this book 

 is the small edition to which it was limited, 

 which precludes its general distribution, even 

 among experiment station workers. It is hoped 

 that Congress will see fit to authorize a reprint, 



