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I hope there may he a much more extended trial than we have yet had of a modifi- 
cation of the university extension lecture system as a means hy which instruction 
may he given in agriculture to those who can not come to the colleges. It is more 
difficult for residents of farming communities to come together regularly than for 
those who live in towns and villages. It is probable it may he best, in many cases, 
to have the lectures for agricultural communities given in close succession rather 
than at intervals. The instruction given at farmers' institutes is valuable, but gen- 
erally is fragmentary in character. Gratifying results have come from trials of the 
plan of having professors from the colleges give one or more courses of lectures in 
connection with the institutes, or at meetings arranged for the purpose. 
A fair measure of success has come from some efforts to make use of the Chau- 
tauqua system of reading circles in teaching agriculture. With due regard to their 
chief work, I would have college professors and station workers avail themselves of 
every opportunity to give instruction in the way of lectures, articles in the agricul- 
tural papers, discussions at farmers' meetiugs, etc., not only because such work is 
abundantly worth doing in itself, but also because it is one of the most effective 
methods of arousing or increasing interest in better and fuller agricultural education. 
I may not weary your patience with more than a brief reference to station Avork. 
I would have more of research and experiment along purely scientific lines, not 
restricting such work to that which gives large promise of immediate and direct 
practical applications, not stopping it even if good men are unable to see its utility. 
Alongside this I urge the continuance of the plain, " practical" lines of experiment. 
Not many striking discoveries will be made, but that which seems unimportant in 
itself may he of vast importance in aggregate results. If experiments by station 
workers should enable the farmers of the country to increase the average yield of 
corn one peck per acre, the value of this increased yield would be far above the cost 
of all the stations. 
I name only two of many important lines of work — the introduction of new crops 
to secure greater variety of agricultural products, and the finding of new uses for the 
crops we already produce. There may be great possibilities in this direction. The 
definition of a weed as a plant the virtues of which we have not yet discovered sug- 
gests that there may be most important uses in plants now little regarded. The large 
range of uses to which cotton seed and its products are now put suggests that we may 
have been content with very partial utilization of other products of our farms. 
As firmly as ever do I believe there should be more of cooperation between stations 
working along the same lines, and that there should be more of differentiation of work 
between stations. But more clearly than formerly do I see difficulty in securing these 
things. It is hard to resist the pressure for trial of experiments admittedly impor- 
tant. The wise rule seems to be that each station should have a very few mainlines 
of work, with possibly a number of minor and incidental ones. But the fact that one 
station has done most excellent work along one line and received deserved credit for 
it, is often made an argument why the station in an adjacent State should do the same 
work. There is difference of opinion even among station officers as to what consti- 
tutes a too narrow or a too wide range for work. In discussing the work of one of 
the stations, the director of another gave it praise but thought the attempt had been 
made to investigate too many problems. The director of the station in an adjoining 
State also praised the work, but thought the station at fault in having neglected 
important fields of experimentation. 
Much as has been accomplished in making the results of the work done available 
to farmers, I believe much more is desirable. The bulletins of the stations reach 
only a small minority of the farmers. Many of these bulletins are more valuable to 
station workers and to those with a fair education in science than to farmers gener- 
ally. Valuable as is the aid given by some agricultural papers in disseminating the 
results of station experiments, these usually give only partial results. 
I would be remiss in a duty and deny mvself a pleasure if I did not bear hearty 
testimony to the admirable work done in this direction by the Office of Experiment 
