The Present Status of Plant Pathology. 



209 



would not admit to themselves that such a condition of affairs 

 existed." "Scientific inquiry is so largely stimulated by the 

 pride of personal achievement that it is almost impossible -to 

 displace this egoistic factor by the love of science without 

 losing in energy thereby." "Competition in the right spirit is 

 desirable, but when it is carried on in a petty or selfish way it is 

 not." "Research work should be based solely upon the desire 

 to further human knowledge." 



Some are optimistic enough to believe that the whole-souled 

 scientists, if not in the majority as far as numbers are concerned 

 are yet more influential in the policies of our stations. 



It is generally conceded that there is too much repetition of 

 superficial observation in all lines of investigation. However, 

 there are two ways in which we may look at this. For the purelv 

 technical worker who receives bulletins by various writers, the 

 duplication and superficial character of many publications is a 

 source of vexation when it is necessary that the mass of subject 

 matter be scanned thoroughly for any new ideas which may 

 have crept in with the old. For the farmer who receives bulletins 

 issued from his own station, this repetition does not occur. In 

 fact it would do no harm if his attention were repeatedly called 

 to the different new methods which science is obtaining for him. 



Although the idea is an old one that there should be a classi- 

 fication of station literature, yet it would be well if starting 

 with the year 1910 all bulletins issued by the various Experiment 

 Stations be put into two classes, and given a uniform class name, 

 as e.g. an extension series, a repetition of old but important facts; 

 and a station series, one in which nothing will appear except 

 results of new work. Such a scheme is now in force at a few 

 stations, and the relief experienced from these should be an in- 

 centive for other stations to fall in line. Since the Adams fund, 

 together with others, have furnished a sound foundation for 

 research, workers in these lines should receive due consideration. 



Pathology has not been developed in the various colleges 

 and universities on account of a lack "of properly trained 

 teachers, a lack of sufficient preliminary training among students, 

 incompleteness of pathology subjects, scattering of the subject 

 around in other departments as Mycology, Bacteriology, Phvsi- 

 ology, etc., and lack of any considerable amount of available 



