xiv Maine Agricultural Experiment Station. 



by either by private endowment or State appropriations suffi- 

 cient funds may be provided for a series of years to enable the 

 Maine Agricultural Experiment Station to undertake an investi- 

 gation of the problems of breeding for increased milk and milk 

 fat production on as broad and as thorough a basis as has been 

 so successfully carried out in the past 15 years with breeding 

 poultry for increased egg production." 



This committee decided that the most feasible way to ob- 

 tain this money was to ask a continuous appropriation in favor 

 •of the Maine Agricultural Experiment Station from the Leg- 

 islature, and it was planned to ask for $10,000 annually from the 

 Legislature of 1913. At the two preceding Legislatures the Col- 

 lege of Agriculture through the Trustees of the University of 

 Maine had been seeking an appropriation for the construction 

 of much needed new barns. It was rather feared that the Leg- 

 islature would not be so likely to give two appropriations if the 

 larger amount was asked for the animal husbandry investiga- 

 tion. And in order to strengthen the position of the College of 

 Agriculture they proposed to furnish the animals needed for 

 the experiment together with housing room with the understand- 

 ing that the committee would reduce its request to the Legisla- 

 ture to $5,000 and assist in getting the appropriation for the 

 "barns. The Legislature of 1913 made the appropriation of 

 $5,000 a year annually in favor of the Maine Agricultural Ex- 

 periment Station for animal husbandry investigations and made 

 .a liberal appropriation for the construction of the new barns 

 for the College of Agriculture. 



The committee appointed by the State Dairymen's Associa- 

 tion well understood that a long time would elapse before re- 

 sults could be obtained, and that while the breeding experiment 

 itself was fundamental that there were large numbers of other 

 questions that could be handled from the aanlyses of existing 

 data. The Station at once began the work of handling these 

 data as soon as the appropriation was made and late in 1913 

 steps were tken to begin the actual breeding experiment with 

 dairy stock. The University purchased a her of Aberdeen-Angus 

 and placed Doctor Pearl, the Biologist of the Station ,in charge 

 of all of the animal husbandry breeding. The experiment went 

 along without interruption and with very little opposition any- 

 where until late in 191 7 the College of Agriculture began to be 



