NOVEMBEK 27, 1914] 



SCIENCE 



765 



from botli teaching and the demonstration of dis- 

 coveries to the public. 



Undoubtedly both tbe state agricultural col- 

 leges and the Department of Agriculture are 

 having serious difficulties in creating within 

 themselves the proper attitude and atmosphere 

 with respect to research. The colleges are 

 troubled with the well-nigh overwhelming in- 

 rush of students and the innumerable calls 

 for service in the extension fields. The depart- 

 ment is in difficulty because of the constantly 

 increasing pressure of its inspection work and 

 other administrative duties and the fact that 

 it is supported wholly by annual appropria- 

 tions, money for research being considered as 

 largely an incidental matter in the general 

 budget. Research in both national and state 

 institutions is also hampered by the insistent 

 calls for immediate practical results, by the 

 shifting of men from one institution to an- 

 other without regard to the requirements of 

 their research work, and by allurements of 

 popular applause for striking advertisements 

 of alleged accomplishments. The atmosphere 

 of our agricultural institutions is surcharged 

 with a feverish excitement. Men are hurry- 

 ing about to do this or that which is supposed 

 to be absolutely necessary to keep their stu- 

 dents or the legislators or the farmers con- 

 tented and sympathetic. Even on the scien- 

 tific side there is much of distraction. New 

 organizations are constantly being formed, 

 new journals are being established and edited, 

 local, state, national and international meet- 

 ings are being held. Besides all these things, 

 some agricultural scientists think it is neces- 

 sary for them to engage in practical agricul- 

 ture and actually manage farms or other 

 commercial enterprises. Administrative, edu- 

 cational and commercial factors make up so 

 much of the atmosphere of our agricultural 

 institutions that those gentle and highly intel- 

 lectual influences which are needed to inspire 

 real research are apt to be felt but weakly in 

 the body corporate. The great problem, then, 

 is how to make such influences so highly in- 

 tensive that they will be felt above all the 

 others. For only in this way can we hope to 

 make the research work of our public agricul- 



tural institutions so efficient that its results 

 will be lan adequate foundation for the admin- 

 istrative and educational functions of these 

 institutions and for the permanent prosperity 

 of our vast agricultural business. 



Eesearch is not merely an incidental func- 

 tion of our agricultural colleges. It is under 

 the law a necessary part of their business, and 

 they have large amounts of public money 

 which can be lawfully spent only for this pur- 

 pose. But beyond this it is fundamental and 

 essential to their success in teaching and ex- 

 tension work. They are therefore under the 

 greatest obligations to create within them- 

 selves the atmosphere and conditions most 

 favorable to successful research and to make 

 sure that their research workers can give un- 

 divided attention to their investigations. 



Words of friendly criticism may be as silver 

 but far better are golden words of encourage- 

 ment. And there are many of these which 

 might be fitly spoken on an occasion like this. 

 It will be thirty years next July since a little 

 band of educators, scientists and public officials 

 met in Washington at the call of the Com- 

 missioner of Agriculture to discuss the needs 

 of the department and colleges of agriculture 

 and their mutual relations. This proved to 

 be the beginning of this association. 



Agriculture in the United States was then 

 a depressed and neglected industry; agricul- 

 tural investigators, teachers and students were 

 very few, and the Department of Agriculture 

 was chiefly known as a seed-distributing agency. 

 Behold how much has been accomplished in 

 three decades, less than a single generation. 

 A great system of agricultural research has 

 been developed within the department and the 

 states and this is found in organized form in 

 every state and all our outlying territories. 

 So much definite agricultural knowledge has 

 been accumulated that strong and broad agri- 

 cultural courses have been established in the 

 colleges with the result that they are thronged 

 with agricultural students. The practical out- 

 come of the investigations of the department 

 and the stations and the teachings of the col- 

 lege has been so far beneficial to our agriexil- 

 ture that agricultural education is no longer 



