Decembke 14, 1900.] 



SCIENCE. 



903 



PUBLIC EOAD INQUIRIES. 



There is much inquiry in all sections of 

 the United States regarding better roads and 

 better methods of building them. It has 

 been deemed wise to divide the country into 

 four sections, and to appoint in each an ex- 

 pert agent. This has been done, and one 

 appointed in the Eastern States, one in the 

 Southern, one in the prairie States, and 

 another in the Eocky Mountain States. 

 These gentlemen are to study the needs of 

 these several sections, give instruction as 

 to road building, and report regularly to 

 the Department. They will, moreover, sup- 

 ply samples of road material for analysis 

 and testing, a testing machine having been 

 arranged for in the laboratory of the Di- 

 vision of Chemistry, to be operated by an 

 expert under the joint supervision of the 

 director of road inquiry and the chief 

 chemist. 



Much work has been done in the past 

 year in cooperating with the colleges and 

 stations and the people of the several States 

 in building experimental roads, and gener- 

 ous acknowledgment is made of the ser- 

 vices contributed to the cause of good roads 

 by the various transportation companies 

 throughout the country. 



OFFICE OF EXPERIMENT STATIONS. 



The Secretary reviews at considerable 

 length the work of the experiment stations 

 first established in this country twenty-five 

 years ago. Until 1887, the date of the 

 Hatch Act, stations had been established 

 in only fourteen States. Under this Act 

 the enterprise was extended to cover the 

 entire country, and the great success which, 

 on the whole, has attended the establish- 

 ment of the stations in all the States and 

 Territories is very remarkable. Including 

 the $720,000 received from the National 

 Government, the total revenues of the sta- 

 tions during the year amounted to $1,200,- 

 000. The stations now employ rearly 700 



persons, and in 1899 their publications ag- 

 gregated 445 reports and bulletins. 



The Secretary advocates a more complete 

 separation of the business of the station 

 from the general business of the college, 

 and, where possible, the appointment of a 

 director of the station as a separate officer. 

 He believes it to be a mistake, on the whole, 

 to divert the time and energy of competent 

 investigators to the routine work of inspec- 

 tion service. While the Department of 

 Agriculture is by law organized as an ad- 

 ministrative agency as well as a great 

 scientific institution, the stations, on the 

 other hand, are organized solely to carry on 

 investigations for the benefit of agriculture. 



Cooperative enterprises between the De- 

 partment and the stations have increased 

 in number, and also in scope and variety. 

 Both the ofl&cers of the Department and of 

 the stations are greatly interested in co- 

 operation, which, it is believed, may be 

 systematized and greatly extended, thus 

 adding much to the efficiency of both the 

 Department and the stations. 



Progress is noted in the experiments con- 

 ducted in Alaska, and the establishment of 

 substations is recorded. It is admitted 

 that Alaska can never become an agricul- 

 tural country, but the problem the Depart- 

 ment has undertaken to work out is to 

 determine whether a sufficient agriculture 

 may be developed in Alaska to form an 

 important subsidiary industry to aid in the 

 development of mining, fisheries and lum- 

 bering. It has already been shown that 

 green vegetables raised in Alaska have 

 been an important factor in maintaining 

 the health of mining communities. There 

 are large areas on the western peninsula 

 and the islands naturally adapted to live 

 stock. For a considerable period the De- 

 partment's operations in this Territory will 

 partake of the nature of an agricultural 

 survey to determine where agricultural 

 operations may be best carried on. The 



