THE MAINE EXPERIMENT STATION. 

 Chas. D. Woods. 



The Legislature of 1885 enacted the law establishing the 

 Maine Fertilizer Control and Agricultural Experiment Station. 

 The purpose of the Station was defined in Section 1 of the Act 

 (Chapter 294 Public Laws of 1885) as follows: "That for the 

 purpose of protection from frauds in commercial fertilizers, and 

 from adulterations in foods, feeds and seeds, and for the purpose 

 of promoting agriculture by scientific investigation and experi- 

 ment, the Maine Fertilizer Control and Agricultural Experiment 

 Station is hereby established in connection with the State College 

 of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts." 



This act was approved by the Governor March 3, 1885, and 

 early in April the Station was organized with a Board of Man- 

 agers consisting of : 



Prof. Walter Balentine, Professor of Agriculture in the Maine 

 State College ; Hon. Z. A. Gilbert, North Greene, Secretary of 

 Maine Board of Agriculture; Benj. F. Pease, Cornish; Hon. 

 S. L. Boardman, Augusta ; and William Downs, Sebec. The 

 officers of the Station consisted of Whitman H. Jordan, Director 

 and Chemist; las. M. Bartlett, Assistant Chemist; Gilbert M. 

 Gowell, Superintendent of field and feeding experiments. 



The Station was dependent for its quarters upon the hos- 

 pitality of the Maine State College. A chemical laboratory was 

 partitioned off from the main college laboratory and supplied 

 with apparatus. Part of the dairy room of the college was fitted 

 up with apparatus for use in experiments involving the handling 

 of milk. A part of the new barn just erected by the college 

 was turned over to the Experiment Station for feeding experi- 

 ments and was fitted up with stalls, scales, etc. Field experi- 

 ments were started by laying off about three acres of land into 

 plots, and box experiments for growing plants were also begun. 



