OCTOBEB 18, 1907] 



SCIENCE 



509 



knowledge at variance and bring about a vague 

 query as to whether it is worth while to adopt 

 any particular system of classification while 

 zoological nomenclature remains liable to such 

 changes. In view, however, of the general ex- 

 cellence of Dr. Stejneger's publication, these 

 criticisms must be classed as quite superficial. 

 Eaymond L. Ditmars 

 The New Yobk Zoological Park 



DIS0US8I0N AND CORRESPONDENCE 



A PLAN OF PUBLICATION FOR AGRICULTURAL EX- 

 PERIMENT STATION INVESTIGATIONS 



The passage of the Adams Act marked a 

 new era in the development of the agricul- 

 tural experiment stations and is destined to 

 exercise a great influence on the character of 

 the investigations and the publications issued. 

 The investigations carried on under the 

 Hatch act, while largely scientific, have never- 

 theless, in the main, been of general char- 

 acter intended primarily to meet the immedi- 

 ate needs of farmers and orchardists. 



When the stations were first established as 

 a result of the Hatch Act, agriculture was in 

 a chaotic condition, there being scarcely any 

 available trustworthy literature. The first 

 work of the stations was thus, naturally and 

 properly, largely pioneer work. This work has 

 been carried forward with energy and success 

 and " scientific farming," so called, has been 

 rescued from disrepute and established on a 

 basis of trust and confidence. With the sys- 

 tematizing and advance of our knowledge and 

 the development of a trained corps of scien- 

 tific agricultural workers, the necessity for 

 more profound research on agricultural prob- 

 lems has become more and more apparent. 

 Statien workers, heretofore, have generally 

 been unable to undertake very extensive re- 

 search on fundamental problems, owing to 

 lack of funds, the demand for immediate in- 

 formation on lesser problems, routine duties 

 in answering correspondence and the multi- 

 tudinous duties incident to the work of organ- 

 ization and the promotion of agricultural 

 knowledge. With the passage of the Adams 

 Act, which is expected to be used exclusively 

 for fundamental research, the character of the 



work will be largely changed and extensive 

 experiments will be carried out on the funda- 

 mental problems of agriculture, which will 

 not have in view their immediate practical 

 value. Heretofore the bulletins published in 

 the series of the various stations have been 

 largely of practical nature and adapted to the 

 immediate needs of agriculture. True, very 

 many bulletins have been published containing 

 excellent scientific matter, but these were large- 

 ly out of place in the regular series of bulletins 

 as maintained by the stations. In several sta- 

 tions scientific and technical series of bulletins 

 were started to accommodate sneh scientific 

 papers which were not suited for general 

 distribution. Owing to the confusion in 

 quoting such publications and other reasons, 

 all such special series have, I believe, been dis- 

 continued. 



As a result of the Adams Act there is cer- 

 tain to be many bulletins prepared in the near 

 future of purely scientific nature, which will 

 not be satisfactory for publication in the regu- 

 lar series of station bulletins. It behooves 

 station authorities, therefore, to carefully con- 

 sider the means of publication and devise 

 some satisfactory method which will meet the 

 present requirements and provide for future 

 needs. The writer has given this matter con- 

 siderable thought and desires to suggest the 

 plan described below for consideration. 



The writer would suggest the establishment 

 of a series of agricultural journals or memoirs 

 to be edited and published under the direction 

 of the Association of Agricultural Colleges 

 and Experiment Stations. The field of agri- 

 cultural research could be divided up and a 

 separate series maintained for each division, 

 as, for instance, a separate series for each of 

 the following subjects : 



Agronomy, 



Horticulture, 



Plant Pathology, 



Plant Physiology and Anatomy, 



Plant Biology and Breeding, 



Soil Investigation, 



Dairy Investigation, 



Animal Husbandry, 



Poultry Investigation, 



Animal-breeding, 



