January 21, 1916] 



SCIENCE 



85 



problems, organizing carefully for the 

 effort, equipping to the highest, securing 

 the best investigators regardless of the 

 salary cost and allowing them to give them- 

 selves unreservedly to the research, with- 

 out extension work or propaganda. This 

 kind of intensive investigation, long-con- 

 tinued, patiently pursued, not depending 

 for support on popular will, not interfered 

 with by endless extraneous records and 

 reports of progress, not obliged to demon- 

 strate the necessity for its existence, would 

 have a far-reaching influence for good. 



2. If the institution is designed only to 

 enter extension work in agriculture, it 

 had better cease before it begins. The 

 public forces are already at the command 

 of the national cooperative extension enter- 

 prises; these enterprises are founded on 

 good investigational work and on the ac- 

 cumulation of experience in the regularly 

 established institutions. Extension work 

 should never be projected m vacuo. 



3. If it is in teaching of the higher grade 

 that the new separate institution would ex- 

 press itself, then it must find its place, if 

 at all, by sheer commanding excellence. It 

 will compete first of all with the land-grant 

 college of its own state, if it is of compar- 

 able grade, and with similar institutions in 

 forty-seven other states, not to mention 

 those in the provinces of Canada ; this will 

 present at once a difRcult situation. If it 

 is of inferior grade, then it must recognize 

 its place and not attempt to give a degree 

 in agriculture, or otherwise to bring the 

 educational standards in this new field, 

 now being attained with much hard effort, 

 into disrepute. I can imagine a very 

 worthy private foundation on college and 

 even on university grade, making its way 

 continuously and successfully, but I should 

 expect it to make best headway if it spe- 

 cialized rather than attempted to cover the 

 whole field ; the expense in staff and equip- 



ment to occupy the entire field would be 

 very heavy, and it is doubtful whether the 

 extra expenditure, at this epoch, would be 

 socially justifiable. This particular com- 

 plete range or organization of college teach- 

 ing seems to be peculiarly the province of 

 the state to support; and the state is al- 

 ready deeply engaged in the enterprise. 

 By combining good agricultural work of a 

 restricted kind with other nature-work, not 

 eliminating other cultural studies, an en- 

 dowed institution could make for itself a 

 very useful place. 



4. Long have I felt that a new kind of 

 institution for agriculture, of very high 

 grade, will some day arise on private en- 

 dowment. This will be a coordinating and 

 leadership institution, teaching advanced 

 and special students in some subjects, en- 

 gaging in research, but in the main making 

 its contribution as a place for conference, 

 for consideration of the large civic and 

 social relations of rural life, and as a volun- 

 tary meeting-place on common and neutral 

 ground for all the forces that lie in the 

 situation. The state colleges of agriculture 

 are coordinate with each other, they draw 

 support from the same classes of funds, 

 they come to have a comity of equality, 

 they are all restricted in their outlook or 

 at least in their practise by their necessary 

 connections. We may be sure that there 

 are bounds beyond which they may not go 

 in making opinion on certain lines of great 

 public questions. Government can not 

 lead them: it can only supervise and regu- 

 late them. 



I think I see the necessity for better op- 

 portunities than the land-grant or other 

 state-maintained institutions are likely to 

 give the freest men. "Where shall we place 

 our prophets? Separately they may ac- 

 complish much, but backed by facilities and 

 a broad institution they may accomplish 

 much more. One institution founded with 



