68 



SCIENCE. 



[Vol. VI., No. 129. 



THE RECENT AGRICULTURAL CON- 

 VENTION AT WASHINGTON. 



Pursuant to a call issued by the commissioner of 

 agriculture in May last, a convention of agricultural 

 colleges and experiment-stations was held in Wash- 

 ington on July 8 and 9. The meeting was well at- 

 tended, some thirty states and territories being 

 represented by nearly fifty delegates; and the delib- 

 erations of the convention were marked by a note- 

 worthy spirit of harmony and earnestness. 



An informal gathering of the delegates in the par- 

 lors of the Ebbitt House on the evening of July 7 

 served to increase their acquaintance with each 

 other and the commissioner of agriculture, and to 

 outline a plan of organization for the convention. 



The meetings of the convention were held at the 

 Department of agriculture. At its first meeting, on 

 Wednesday morning, it was organized by the choice 

 of Hon. Norman J. Colman, commissioner of agri- 

 culture, as president; Presidents Willets of Michi- 

 gan, Lee of Mississippi, Atherton of Pennsylvania, 

 and Fairchild of Kansas, and Professor Dwindle of 

 California, as vice-presidents ; and President Fairchild 

 of Kansas as secretary. 



The opening address of the commissioner occupied 

 nearly an hour, opening with a review of the history 

 of the land-grant colleges, but mainly occupied with 

 suggestions as to how these colleges may attain to 

 greater usefulness and success. The speaker regard- 

 ed agricultural experimentation as being at present 

 one of the most important and profitable functions 

 of agricultural colleges ; and the two thoughts most 

 prominent in the address, as well as in the subse- 

 quent proceedings of the convention, were the need 

 of a more generous financial support for this work, 

 and the desirability of establishing more intimate re- 

 lations between the U. S. department of agriculture 

 and the several state institutions devoted to the fur- 

 therance of scientific agriculture. 



The first business of general interest brought before 

 the convention was a resokition introduced by the 

 committee on order of business, approving the prin- 

 ciple and general provisions of the bill to establish 

 experiment-stations in connection with the agricul- 

 tural colleges, introduced into the last congress, and 

 known as the Cullen bill. The resolution was sup- 

 ported by Col. Switzler of Missouri in an eloquent 

 speech, and also by Professor Knapp of Iowa, Presi- 

 dent Smith of Maryland, and Professor Cook of New 

 Jersey, and was adopted by an almost unanimous 

 yea and nay vote, only three or four delegates being 

 absent, and no one voting nay. Following this, a 

 committee of three on legislation, consisting of Presi- 

 dents Atherton of Pennsylvania, Willets of Michigan, 

 and Lee of Mississippi, was appointed to act in con- 

 junction with the commissioner of agriculture in 

 . endeavoring to secure from the next congress legis- 

 lation on this subject. Subsequently a general com- 

 mittee of one from each state was appointed, one of 

 the duties of which was to endeavor to bring public 

 opinion to bear upon this question, and to secure the 

 votes of their respective states for the measure. 



Upon the important subject of the relations which 

 should subsist between the department of agriculture 

 and the agricultural colleges and experiment-stations 

 of the country, the convention expressed itself with a 

 commendable degree of moderation. It is sufficient- 

 ly obvious, to any one who is practically acquainted 

 with conditions .of experimental work, that the 

 dreams of certain enthusiasts who would like to see 

 this work organized with almost military rigor, under 

 the direction of a central authority at Washington 

 or elsewhere, can never be realized until human 

 nature undergoes a radical change. Men who are 

 comi^etent to plan and carry out original investiga- 

 tions will not consent to lose their individuality, and 

 become parts of a machine, however well construct- 

 ed. The convention wisely recognized this fact, and 

 confined its recommendations to the establishment 

 of a ' bureau of correspondence and exchange ' in the 

 department, to serve as a means of communication 

 for the several colleges and stations with each other 

 and the department. It is intended that this bureau 

 shall act as an agent in the exchange of reports 

 of experiments, and also that it shall publish at 

 regular intervals a summary, couched in popular 

 language, of the results of investigations in this 

 country, and possibly also in foreign countries. To 

 aid in accomplishing the latter purpose, those pres- 

 ent agreed to furnish the commissioned of agricul- 

 ture, when called upon, with the results of experi- 

 ments conducted at the institutions represented by 

 them. 



Commissioner Colman entered heartily into the 

 plan, and agreed to carry it into execution as fully as 

 the funds at his disposal would permit ; and it is due 

 to him to say, that, in all the proceedings, he showed 

 a hearty desire to co-operate with the convention in 

 carrying into effect any plan deemed wise by it, and 

 exhibited not the least spirit of dictation or desire for 

 the undue aggrandizement of his department. 



Very plain language was used by several speakers 

 to characterize the present methods of seed-distribu- 

 tion ; but nearly all agreed in recognizing it as, for 

 the present, a necessary evil. The commissioner an- 

 nounced, however, that he hoped to secure a special 

 appropriation from congress for the purchase and 

 distribution of seeds and plants from foreign coun- 

 tries, and that, if he were successful, he desired the 

 co-operation of the agricultural colleges and stations 

 in testing them in different regions of the country. 

 This proposition met with the hearty and formal ap- 

 proval of the convention. 



In addition to these matters, various subjects of 

 minor importance were considered ; and a very inter- 

 esting discussion was had upon industrial education, 

 opened by a paper by President Willets. 



While the final success of the convention will be 

 judged by its results, as a meeting it was eminently 

 satisfactory; so much so, that it was unanimously 

 voted to continue the organization by the appoint- 

 ment of a general committee of one from each state, 

 as already noted. From this general committee, an 

 executive committee of six was chosen to arrange for 

 another convention at the proper time. 



