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Miscellaneous* 



The question may well be asked whether, considering its real purpose, a 

 bulletin should be published for general distribution until it has a definite message 

 to carry. Bulletins which merely record data are very doubtful value to the 

 general public, and hence their publication in large editions is an unnecessary 

 expense. We still have meteorological bulletins, although not as many as formerly, 

 which give only a record of the weather conditions, with no possible means of 

 comparing them with the crop conditions of the season, and no attempt to trace 

 any relationship. We likewise have soil temperatures reported without reference 

 to anything else, so that they can be of very little value to any one except the 

 writer, who presumably has other observations related to them. We have des- 

 criptions of flora, though fewer than formerly, which stop just short of the vital 

 point to agriculture ; and we have weed studies which give the botanical relation 

 ships, distribution, and habits of the plant, but only an imperfect method of 

 eradication or subjection, if indeed an attempt is made in that direction. 



In the preparation of matter for popular distribution the point of view of 

 the reader should be kept constantly in mind. In a weed bulletin, for example, 

 unless it be merely a preliminary warning, the vital thing to the farmer is a method 

 for eradication, and he has a right to expect when he picks up a bulletin that this 

 has been studied in a thorough manner, and will be presented to him along with 

 the more technical part in a clear, straightforward way. To nearly eradicate a 

 weed is only to reduce its quantity, and the partial remedy will be only temporary:, 

 Furthermore, the farmer is encouraged to believe a halfway method will do. If 

 the plant reproduces by rootstocks, the scattering joints, if allowed to remain 

 will rapidly produce more rootstocks and seeds and the difficulty will continue, 

 often in more serious form. 



Instead of being content with a halfway method, the author should endea- 

 vour to work out and present a thorough method of eradicating the pest, even 

 though it involve some added labour on the part of the farmer. If the weed is a 

 sufficiently troublesome pest to command attention it is worth serious study 

 and the attempt should be to prescribe an effective and practicable method of 

 ridding fields of it. 



Unfortunately, not all investigators are good writers. They do not have 

 the ability to present what they report in a logical, orderly sequence, so that one 

 can follow clearly step by step and understand without a partial re-reading of the 

 article. This lack of co-ordination is the most serious editorial fault of our station 

 literature, and the inference from it often is the serious one that the writer has 

 not analyzed his subject; and coordinated its different parts. The subject is fre- 

 quently befogged by bringing a side issue into the discussion, and suggestions 

 often lose their force from the manner in which they are presented. Clearness 

 and simplicity of presentation are of far greater importance than form and style, 

 and are especially desirable in publications intended for popular consumption, 

 like the majority of the station bulletins. 



There should be some person connected with each station whose business 

 it is to edit the station publications, to read them critically and see that the text and 

 tables are clear and logical. He may not be a special officer, but he should represent 

 the director in this important function. While this work calls for great 

 tact, a discreet and conscientious editor may exert great influence on the character 

 of the literature of a station. This has been demonstrated at several stations 

 where more attention is given to these matters. The investigator should welcome 

 the editor who can suggest some more effective and attractive form for presenting 

 his ideas. The text should be edited for fact as well as for clearness, and in this 

 scrutiny of specialists in a number of lines will often be helpful. It will prevent 



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