April 25, 1902.] 



SCIENCE. 



609 



and soil regions instead of state lines, is un- 

 doubtedly correct, and there is no excuse for 

 the close proximity of the Washington and 

 Idaho stations, as there is pleutj^ of elbow- 

 room in both states. The local and political 

 'pulls' exerted for the location of stations, 

 without reference to fitness, is unquestionably 

 a crying evil. But the same applies to a hun- 

 dred other subjects of state legislation, includ- 

 ing normal schools, asylums of all kinds, and 

 even penitentiaries. The taxpayers' money is 

 wasted in these useless duplications; and all 

 this could be avoided if we had the wise and 

 benevolent despot, who would arrange and 

 handle these matters in accordance with com- 

 mon sense, economy and 'the greatest good 

 to the greatest number.' But, until we find 

 that highly gifted person, we must submit to 

 what is simply a part of the price we have 

 to pay for democratic institutions. 



It is, or assuredly should be, one of the 

 main objects of the stations to investigate, 

 first of all, the problems that interest their 

 respective constituencies. The fact that they 

 are partially dependent for their income upon 

 state appropriations is a wholesome admoni- 

 tion to conform to this reasonable expecta- 

 tion; on the other hand, the supervision of 

 the national Department of Agriculture is an 

 equally wholesome restraint upon improper 

 use of their funds. But that Department has 

 not now, and will not have for a long time to 

 come, the intimate knowledge of the entire 

 enormous area of the United States that would 

 be necessary to determine advisedly the best 

 direction to be given to the energies of each 

 of the numerous stations. However well as- 

 sured we may be of the benevolence of the 

 Department, it has not had the time or means 

 to acquire the wisdom which is the other 

 necessary postulate of the good despot. Those 

 whose work is done thousands of miles away 

 from Washington have reason to know this; 

 e. g.j it is only within the last few years that 

 the necessity of having seeds to be tested in 

 California, on hand by the middle of January 

 at the latest (and in many cases by the first 

 of October), has been appreciated and acted 

 upon at the national headquarters, although 

 the present writer had made annual represen- 



tations to that effect for over twelve years. 

 The usual quadrennial changes in the Secre- 

 taryship of Agriculture render the recurrence 

 even of this very infelicity (not to mention 

 others) a contingency far from remote. 



To quote the language of the excellent re- 

 port of the committee on cooperative work 

 between stations and the Department of Agri- 

 culture: 'Not only is the autonomy of the sta- 

 tions necessary for the fulfilment of their 

 functions, but autonomy in scientific investi- 

 gations is essential.' And to quote still far- 

 ther, a late distinguished visitor from Europe 

 said that 'the danger of republics is corrup- 

 tion; that of monarchies is routine.' The 

 I.iresent organization of the stations seems to 

 me to provide against both, as far as is prac- 

 tically feasible. The mislocation of stations 

 will in time cure itself, at the expense of the 

 sinning states, who are bound to keep the 

 federal or 'Hatch fund' intact; and mean- 

 while there is plenty of work to do for even 

 such stations right where they are. Nay, if 

 we are to take the dicta of some of our east- 

 ern station men literally, it should make little 

 difference where they are located, so long as 

 they are to confine themselves to the expan- 

 sion of the 'science of agTiculture' only. For- 

 tunately, few of the western stations have held 

 this view, and fewer have acted upon it. With 

 a multitude of new practical problems before 

 them, and a constant demand for information 

 involving a knowledge of local conditions in 

 unexplored territory, a policy differing in im- 

 portant points from that of eastern and Euro- 

 pean stations becomes a necessity; and while 

 the Department at Washington may justly ob- 

 ject to having the 'Hatch fund' so subdivided 

 among regional substations as to become in- 

 eificient for good work, the need of these 

 substations is nevertheless felt by all workers 

 where, as in a large portion of the West, cul- 

 tural conditions are more radically different 

 within short distances than is the case any- 

 where between the Atlantic seaboard and the 

 Mississippi. The state stations are naturally 

 in the best position to know and appreciate 

 these differences, and can most intelligentlj' 

 act upon them ; while there is no organized in- 

 strumentality whereby the Department at 



