June 13, 1902.] 



SCIENCE. 



939 



mounted on flexible arms which allow the 

 lamp to be placed in any desired position. 

 This seems to me preferable to either 

 mounting we are using. 



Maynaed M. Metcalp. 

 The Womau's College of Baltimore. 



WORK OF THE AGRWULTVBAL EXPERI- 

 MENT STATIONS* 



The agricultural experiment stations in 

 the different States and Territories, as well 

 as the colleges with which they are connect- 

 ed, have been unusually prosperous during 

 the past year. Two things have especially 

 contributed to the greater expansion and 

 increasing efficiency of their investiga- 

 tions. These are their closer affiliation 

 with this Department and the material en- 

 largement of the resources of the agricul- 

 tural colleges, by means of which the sta- 

 tions have directly or indirectly been bene- 

 fited. 



COOPERATION BETWEEN THE STATIONS AND 

 THE DEPARTMENT. 



Much progress has been made in deter- 

 mining the lines in which the stations can 

 most effectively cooperate with the Depart- 

 ment, and the methods of arranging and 

 conducting cooperative operations. Since 

 both the stations and the Department have 

 had enlarged resources, it has been possible 

 not only to increase the number of coopera- 

 tive enterprises, but also to conduct them 

 on a larger scale. In some cases it has 

 been found desirable to form groups of 

 stations to investigate some problem affect- 

 ing a large region. Thus, for example, a 

 group of stations, in cooperation with the 

 Bureau of Plant Industry, are engaged in 

 investigations on the breeding of varieties 

 of cereals adapted to the Northwest. In 

 other cases a single station is sufficiently 

 aided by the Department to enable it to 

 undertake the thorough treatment of prob- 



* Part of the Aimual Report of the Director 

 of the Office of Experiment Stations. 



lems in a special line. Thus the Pennsyl- 

 vania Station, in cooperation with the Bu- 

 reau of Animal Industry, is preparing to 

 make elaborate researches in animal nutri- 

 tion, and for this purpose has devised and 

 built a respiration calorimeter for experi- 

 ments with large animals, which in size 

 and complexity surpasses any apparatus 

 hitherto used for such experiments. In 

 other cases, t\vo or more branches of the 

 Department combine to work in conjunc- 

 tion with a station on some complex prob- 

 lem. Plans are now being made, for ex- 

 ample, for an extensive experiment on the 

 problems of range conservation and im- 

 provement, in which the Arizona Station 

 will unite with the Bureaus of Forestry and 

 Plant Industry and the OiSce of Experi- 

 ment Stations (irrigation investigations). 

 It is evident that a very great variety of 

 effective combinations can be made with 

 the general result of a union of forces 

 thoroughly acquainted with local con- 

 ditions with those having broad views 

 and relations. Such a strong com- 

 bination of forces for attacking the 

 problems of agriculture exists nowhere 

 else. It is believed, therefore, that largely 

 increased benefits will soon accrue to our 

 agriculture from this union of the stations 

 with the Department. At the same time 

 the stations were never so strong locally, 

 and are better equipped than ever before 

 to work by themselves on problems of im- 

 mediate importance to their own constit- 

 uencies. 



The records of this Office show that the 

 Department is at present cooperating with 

 the stations in 43 States and Territories. 

 Among the subjects on which cooperative 

 investigations are being conducted are the 

 following : Tests of varieties of grasses and 

 forage plants in many localities ; special ex- 

 periments with grasses and forage plants 

 for the arid region and the improve- 

 ment of range lands; breeding ex- 



