.March 3, 1005.] 



SCIENCE. 



341 



and this loads to the requirement for agri- 

 cultural education. 



It was pointed out that the agricul- 

 tural colleges and the agricultural depart- 

 ments of these institiitions have been work- 

 ing under the disadvantage of too little 

 money, and that there has been a lack of 

 appreciation that agricultural education 

 miist necessarily be a very expensive form 

 of education, calling for extensive equip- 

 ment which must be maintained at consid- 

 erable outlay, and other items not com- 

 monly met with in laboratory work. A 

 plea was made for the introduction of agri- 

 culture into the rural schools, and for an 

 extension department of the college to 

 stimulate interest in agricultural education 

 in the rural communities. The agricul- 

 tural colleges should furnish the inspiration 

 and initiative for these movements, and 

 there is need of conducting a propaganda 

 in their interest, since agriculture differs 

 from other industries in that it will not 

 take care of itself. The speaker held that 

 'the problem of agricultural education will 

 not be solved until the agricultural colleges 

 have been brought into close and vital rela- 

 tions to the agricultural populations.' 



The report of the executive committee, 

 submitted by Dr. H. C. White, chairman, 

 described the efforts of the committee in 

 behalf of the bills for establishing mining 

 schools at the land-grant colleges, and for 

 the further endowment of the experiment 

 stations, now pending in congress ; and the 

 conferences of the committee with the secre- 

 tary of agriculture and other officials of 

 his department relative to cooperation be- 

 tween the department and the experiment 

 stations. The report led to the discussion 

 of the relations of the experiment stations 

 and their work to the department of agri- 

 culture. 



In the course of the discussion upon this 

 subject, a resolution was introduced by Dr. 

 W. 11. Jordan, of New York, recognizing 



the mutually advantageous relations which 

 have existed between the department and 

 the experiment stations of the several states, 

 but recording the belief of the association 

 that the continuation and development of 

 these relations and the maintenance and 

 progress of efficient research in agricultural 

 science 'demand that the autonomy and 

 paramount position of the stations as insti- 

 tutions of research and experimentation be 

 inviolably maintained within their respect- 

 ive states, in accordance with the terms 

 and spirit of the Hatch Act.' The resolu- 

 tion instructed the executive committee to 

 request a hearing before the proper com- 

 mittees of congress, for the purpose of 

 presenting the work and claims of the ex- 

 periment stations, in order that congress 

 may be properly informed as to tlie work 

 of these institutions and its value to agri- 

 cultural practise; and, furthermore, to 

 continue conferences with the secretary of 

 agriculture relative to cooperation between 

 his department and the stations. This 

 resolution was adopted by the association. 



The committee on the collective exhibit of 

 the agricultural colleges and experiment 

 stations at St. Louis, through its chairman, 

 Dr. W. H. Jordan, presented a progress 

 report, briefly enumerating some of the fea- 

 tures relating to the exhibit and noting the 

 awards granted to it. 



There were the usual reports of the bib- 

 liographer, by Dr. A. C. True, and of the 

 connnittee on indexing agricultural litera- 

 ture, both of which ^numerated the bibliog- 

 raphies and indexes to agricultural science 

 which had appeared during the year; and 

 the committee on methods of teaching agri- 

 culture presented a report on 'The Teach- 

 ing of Agriculture in the Rural Schools,' 

 with a syllabus of an elementary course in 

 agriculture. 



The report of the committee on graduate 

 study reaffirmed the plan of conducting a 

 graduate summer school of agriculture un- 



