August 8, 1913] 



SCIENCE 



187 



of the year twelve numbers had been issued 

 and the membership had begun to increase. 

 At that time, if my memory is correct, there 

 were less than 500 members, many of whom 

 were in arrears for dues. During my editor- 

 ship, which continued for nine years, Dr. Mc- 

 Murtrie was a very active member of the 

 council and in 1900 became president. He was 

 ready to sacrifice his time and means in the 

 service of the society and expected the rest of 

 us to do as much. The salary list during 

 these years was ridiculously small, yet a tre- 

 mendous amount of work was accomplished. 



Dr. McMurtrie was a man of fine presence, 

 agreeable manners and great kindness of heart. 

 He died May 24, 1913. 



Edward Haet 



PUBLICATIONS OF TEE DEPARTMENT OF 

 AGSICULTUBE 



The Secretary of Agriculture has an- 

 nounced new plans of publication work for 

 that department. There has been an inde- 

 pendent series of bulletins and circulars in 

 each of the thirteen publishing bureaus, divi- 

 sions and offices of the department. These 

 have been discontinued and will be superseded 

 by the Journal of Research for printing scien- 

 tific and technical matter, and by a depart- 

 mental series of bulletins, written in popular 

 language for selected and general distribution. 

 By this plan the confusion that has resulted 

 from the multiplicity of series of publications 

 will be avoided, and the saving of a consider- 

 able sum will annually be effected. 



Under the new plan the department will dis- 

 continue the general distribution of matter so 

 scientific or technical as to be of little or no 

 use to the lay reader. It will supply technical 

 information only to those directly interested 

 and capable of using scientific analyses, and 

 of understanding the results of research work 

 couched in scientific terms. A larger amount 

 of information in popular form which the aver- 

 age reader can immediately apply to his own 

 direct advantage, and thereby increase the 

 agricultural productiveness and the health of 

 the nation, will hereafter be distributed. 



The highly scientific matter heretofore pub- 



lished indiscriminately in bulletins and circu- 

 lars will hereafter be published only in the 

 newly established Journal of Research, which 

 will be issued about once a month. It will be 

 royal octavo, of the scientific magazine type, 

 from 75 to 100 pages, 12 numbers to constitute 

 a volume. Such of the matter in the Journal 

 as seems to merit additional circulation may 

 be issued in the form of reprints or separates. 

 The Journal, for the present at least, will be 

 limited to the publication of the results of 

 research made by the various bureaus, divisions 

 and offices, but it may be extended to include 

 the scientific research work of the state agri- 

 cultural experiment stations, in which event 

 two editors representing these stations wiU be 

 added to the editorial committee. Extensive 

 scientific articles, embodying a complete report 

 of research investigations, will be considered 

 as monographs, and may be published as sup- 

 plements to the Journal. 



Permission will be given to specialists to 

 publish technical reports or even monographs 

 in journals of scientific societies or technical 

 magazines specializing in highly restricted 

 fields of scientific endeavor. 



The Journal wiU be distributed free to agri- 

 ciiltural colleges, technical schools, experiment 

 stations, libraries of large universities and cer- 

 tain government depositories and institutions 

 making suitable exchanges ; also to a restricted 

 list of scientific men. Copies of the Journal 

 will be sold to miscellaneous applicants by the 

 superintendent of documents. Government 

 Printing Office, and possibly an annual sub- 

 scription price will be affixed, as is done with 

 the Experiment Station Record. 



The Monthly Crop Reporter wiU no longer 

 be published. The crop statistics will be col- 

 lected as heretofore, and telegraphic and news 

 summaries of these statistics wUl continue to 

 be issued to the press. The printed Crop 

 Reporter was discontinued because it did not 

 bring the information into the hands of the 

 recipients untU from 10 to lY days after the 

 reaUy important news had been circulated by 

 telegraph and printed in the daily press 

 throughout the United States and Europe, the 

 statistical information, therefore, reaching the 



