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and rural art were taught in a systematic way for the first time.

Plans were made during the year to hold the third session of the graduate school of agriculture in July, 1908, at Cornell University and the New York Agricultural Experiment Station. Courses are to be offered in biochemistry, agronomy, horticulture, dairy husbandry and dairying, poultry husbandry, veterinary medicine, and entomology. The last session, which was held at the University of Illinois in 1906, was very successful, with a total enrollment of 131, from 34 States, Hungary, and India, and with a faculty of 35 of the leading American agricultural teachers and investigators. (See TECHNICAL SCHOOLS.)

ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION. The teaching of agriculture in schools below college grade has received special impetus in the last few years, and its importance has come to be so recognized by educators that the establishment of a department of agricultural education in the National Education Association was authorized at the 1907 meeting of that association. Many of the agricultural colleges now maintain schools of agriculture preparatory to their college courses. The University of California opened a school of secondary grade at Davis during the year, and St. Lawrence University, in New York, has equipped a similar school through a State appropriation for the purpose. In Georgia the Legislature established an industrial and agricultural school in each of the eleven Congressional districts of the State. The land, buildings, and equipment were provided from local contributions, and the interest taken was so great that these aggregated over $800,000. These schools are of high school grade, coeducational, and conducted at nominal cost to the student. The four-year course of study includes the study of agriculture, horticulture, and forestry, together with the usual high school branches, and three hours of manual labor daily. The first county high school of agriculture and domestic science in Michigan was opened at Menominee during the year. Missouri now has over 200 high schools in which agriculture is taught, and there are many distinctively agricultural high schools in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Maryland, and other States. In Massachusetts the State Industrial Commission has recommended the establishment of twenty of these schools, and a fund bequeathed in 1835 by Oliver Smith for an agricultural and trade school has become available, which in amount now exceeds $300,000.

A strong public sentiment is also developing for the teaching of elementary agriculture in the rural schools, which are attended by 94 per cent. of the children of the country districts; and in order to promote this more effectively the tendency is toward the consolidation of these schools wherever practicable. The laws of over thirty States now permit the teaching of agriculture in the public schools. In many of these it is required, and in others teachers are required to be examined in the subject before appointment. As taught in the primary schools, agriculture is usually closely associated with nature study and school gardening, and is intended to interest the boy and girl in country life and keep them on the farm.

AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION. In addition to the instruction of the young in the schools, a rigorous campaign is in progress to reach the farmer

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himself and his family through "extension work," of which the prevailing type is the farmers' institute. During 1907, 3056 institutes were held in 28 States and Territories, with a total attendance of 1,335,949, an increase of more than 300,000 over the year previous. In several States institutes were held for the discussion of single topics, such as dairying, graingrowing, or corn- or stock-judging, these meetings sometimes continuing several days and being accompanied by practical demonstrations by experts. Seven States held women's institutes, and in some cases contests of various kinds were arranged for the children. From corn-growing and corn-judging contests boys come to see something in corn beyond a stalk, a husk, and an ear; and in many cases the prizes are a free trip to the agricultural college, which still further broadens their outlook.

Short courses of from a few days to three months' duration were given during the winter for the benefit of farmers at most of the agricultural colleges in dairying, grain-growing, and stock-judging. An innovation was a cotton school held in Georgia, with over 100 farmers in attendance. In Iowa and Indiana traveling schools were held at various points to accommodate those who could not attend courses at the colleges. A modification of the same idea which proved very popular was the running of "Better-farming" special trains, fitted up with improved machinery, charts and other apparatus, and manned by a corps of lecturers who addressed the farmers at the various stops along the route. In this way thousands could be reached in a short time. The Iowa State College has organized the various forms of extension work into a distinct department co-ordinate with those of instruction and research, but with a separate staff of specialists in charge.

IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES. Outside the United States there were similar efforts for rural betterment, though in most countries government assistance in a systematic way was available to only a comparatively restricted extent. In England an unusual amount of interest has been taken, and a commission was appointed by the government to consider the whole question of scientific and technical instruction in agriculture in England and Wales, and to report any steps necessary to increase its efficiency.

In India, the agricultural work was reorganized and a new college of agriculture was established at Coimbatore, in the Madras Presidency, for which an annual grant of $100,000 is available for maintenance. An agricultural college under private control was established in Korea, short courses for farmers were given in the Transvaal, and traveling schools of agriculture were instituted in Spain. Marked progress was made in Australia in organizing agricultural high schools. Much attention to agricultural instruction was also given in South America, where a State school of agriculture was founded in Bolivia and a new system proposed for Argentina.

AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATIONS. The most important recent event concerning the American experiment stations was the passage by Congress of the Adams Act in the spring of 1906, providing an increased appropriation for their maintenance. With an initial appropriation of $5000 to each State and Territory, the act provides for an annual increase of the amount by $2000 until it shall

reach $15,000. At that time, 1910-11, each station will receive $30,000 annually, as the appropriation of $15,000 under the Hatch Act of 1887 is continued.

An important feature of the new act is its restriction of the funds to original researches and experiments in agriculture, with a view to the discovery of principles and the solution of the more difficult and fundamental problems. It is not to be employed for verification and demonstration experiments, or those which seek primarily to answer some immediate practical question of cost or feasibility in which the local or commercial considerations are leading factors. The act has thus greatly stimulated agricultural investigation, and offered special inducements to thoroughly train scientific men to enter it. Never before has there been such a widespread and thorough discussion of the nature, requirements, and limitations of the different classes of work the stations have undertaken for the benefit of agriculture. The great need of fundamental investigations which shall lay thorough scientific foundation for generalization, and furnish the necessary basis for agricultural instruction, makes this special legislation most opportune. The administration of the act is placed with the Secretary of Agriculture, who passes upon the suitable character of the work proposed to be conducted with it, but the initiative in selecting and planning lines of investigation is left entirely with the stations.

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The New York State Experiment Station, at Geneva, celebrated the twenty-fifth anniversary of its establishment August 29, 1907. Field day exercises were held, with addresses by the Governor and persons prominently identified with station work, which were attended by over 3000 persons. Popular attention was forcefully directed to the substantial nature of agricultural progress during the last generation, and the influence of agricultural research in this develop ment was emphasized. This period was aptly characterized as one of transition from the sway of tradition and superstition in agriculture to the domain of exact knowledge.

During the year an Institute of Animal Nutrition was organized in connection with Pennsylvania State College, to be affiliated with the experiment station, but presided over by a separate director. The institute will prosecute researches in the theory of animal nutrition, making use of the respiration calorimeter for animals which was erected at the college several years ago, and is the only example of its kind in this country. With this apparatus the income and outgo of the animal, the heat developed, and the economy of the nutrients of the food can be measured with great exactness. The investigations are to receive support from the National Department of Agriculture.

An important matter as affecting the policy of agricultural research in this country was the provision by the Association of American Agricultural Colleges and Experiment Stations for a commission to inquire into the organization and policy which should prevail in the expenditure of the public money provided for experimentation and research in agriculture. This action was in response to a feeling that with the rapid growth of funds for this purpose and the development of the work locally, the various agencies concerned have not been as efficient as they might be made, partly from lack of system, and that the whole organization and policy re

lating to agricultural investigation should be subjected to impartial study. The commission consists of two members of the association, two representative scientific men not connected with official agricultural research, and a representative from the National Department of Agriculture. President David Starr Jordan, of Leland Stanford University, is chairman of the commission, which already has its work actively in hand.

The year 1907 was marked by the death of Professor W. O. Atwater (q. v.), widely known in this country and abroad for his researches in human nutrition, and prominently identified with the history and development of the American experiment stations from their earliest organization. It was through Dr. Atwater's efforts that the first State appropriation for an experiment station in this country was secured in 1875, the station being at Middletown, Conn., with Dr. Atwater as director. His work in a national way was largely done as director of the Office of Experiment Stations, established at the time the stations were organized throughout the country under Federal appropriation, and in that capacity he exerted widespread influence in shaping the course of the new stations and in laying the plans for their future development. The ranks of station workers were further depleted by the retirement from service of Dr. C. A. Goessmann, of the Massachusetts Station, Professor W. A. Henry, of the Wisconsin Station, and Director R. J. Redding, of the Virginia Station, three conspicuous figures in the history and work of these stations since their beginning.

Probably in no previous year has there been greater development of the American stations and their facilities. Aside from the increased appropriation from the general government, the States have been liberal in providing funds for new buildings and equipment, and for special features of work called for by their conditions. In Alaska a new station was established near Fairbanks, in the Tanana Valley. The location, soil, and exposure are deemed favorable to farming on an extensive scale. Hay and grain crops will be grown especially, to be sold in the local markets. This is the fifth station to be established in that territory. In North Carolina the experimental work of the State Department of Agriculture and the Federal station was separated, with the formation of two stations, one connected with the State Department of Agriculture and the other with the agricultural college; while in Connecticut the consolidation of the two stations to secure greater efficiency was considered, the matter being left by the Legislature with a commission to consider this and other matters relating to agriculture. The Tennessee Legislature appropriated $40,000 for a permanent substation in West Tennessee, and $10,000 for co-operative experiments in agriculture. In Washington the substation at Puyallup, in the western part of the State, was revived with an appropriation of $20.000 for the biennium. The Colorado station has developed studies in fruit-growing on the western slope and potato work at Greeley under State appropriations. In Delaware the State issued bonds to purchase a farm for the use of the college and station jointly, and in North Dakota the Legis lature authorized twelve demonstration farms. Kansas gave $57,000 for the branch station at Fort Hays for the biennium, and Montana in

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creased the appropriation to the station 50 per cent. and added $80,000 for an agricultural building. The Indiana station received $100,000 for the erection and equipment of a building to be used exclusively for station purposes, and in Florida an office and laboratory building for the use of the station, to cost $40,000, is in process of erection. A large agricultural building, with special facilities for the station work, was completed in Virginia, another in Vermont, a botanical building in Massachusetts, and in Alabama $75,000 has been set aside for an agricultural building to be erected soon.

Experimental and demonstration farms are being conducted by the States and by the national Department of Agriculture in increasing number and variety. These are situated in the cotton belt of the South, in connection with the new tracts reclaimed by the irrigation projects of the U. S. Reclamation Service, in the dryland regions, and elsewhere. They are coming to be quite a feature of the local work, and aside from working out practical problems serve to demonstrate the practicability of approved methods to the farmers of the locality.

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In foreign countries there has been unusual activity in the organization of experiment stations and similar agencies. In India plans have been matured for a series of agricultural colleges and experiment stations in eight provinces, besides a large number of experimental and demonstration farms. The Agricultural Institute at Pusa, established with an endowment of $150,000 given by Mr. Henry Phipps, of Pittsburg, Pa., has just been completed. This will be the capstone of the system. An agricultural journal has been provided as an organ of this institute, through which the more popular work of the institute will be published. Two experiment stations have been established in Ceylon, one in the wet and the other in the little inhabited dry zone; and the Royal Botanic Gardens of Ceylon have been greatly developed in respect to their distinctly agricultural work. The Madras Department of Agriculture has arranged to start two new stations, one at Attur in the Chingleput district, and the other at Nandyal in the Kurnsol district. Both stations will be devoted quite largely to the study of cotton, the Attur station especially to perennial and exotic cottons under irrigation.

The Mexican Government has placed an experiment station at Xopala, in the State of Puebla, for general agriculture, and a botanical station has been opened at Chiapas, principally for experiments with rubber and in hybridizing coffee. The Japanese Government has established an experiment station and model farm at Suwon, Korea, at an expense of $85,000. The object of the station will be to bring about better geographic distribution of the principal crops, to introduce and breed new crops and improved varieties, to study methods of irrigation and of fertilizing, and in general to promote better farm practice. An experiment station for cereal culture has been opened at Rieti, Italy, with the object of increasing the production of wheat and other cereals. A new demonstration farm for irrigation work has been established in Victoria, and three tobacco experiment stations in South Africa for experiments in selection, breeding, and curing tobacco. The Chinese Government has turned over the Loshan Garden, near Pekin, to be used for field experiments in agriculture. The tract contains about 166 acres, and was

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set aside at the instance of the native Board of Commerce at Pekin. This board was authorized in 1905 to take measures for the encouragement of agriculture, but up to the present time little has been done except field experiments on a number of farms. There are now five agricultural schools in China. An experiment station for vegetable physiology and pathology has been established at Grignon, France, and in the French Congo an order has been issued for the establishment of a trial garden at Agonenzork, to investigate the culture of cacao and rubber trees. The station on the island of Guam, which was established under the local government in 1905, has begun the publication of bulletins of information. Congress has been asked to make an appropriation for this station.

The German Government has provided an Institute of Milling Research in Berlin, at an expenditure of $150,000, besides an annual grant for maintenance. The institute includes an experimental granary, wheat and rye flour mills, and a bakery. It will be devoted to scientific and practical studies on grain during storage, milling, and baking, including both home-grown and imported grains. A system of 15 apiculture stations has been organized in Würtemberg for the purpose of studying the amounts of honey gathered by different swarms of bees, and other matters. The historic Rothamsted Station, in England, established and endowed by Sir John B. Lawes, is suffering from lack of funds, and a society has been formed to collect contributions to enable the station to enlarge the scope of its work. Dr. R. Warrington, for many years connected with the station and widely known for his researches, especially on nitrification, died during the year.

WORK OF AMERICAN STATIONS. Attention has been called to the increased amount of investigation which has sprung up under the influence of the Adams Act. This is very diverse in character and covers practically all departments of agricultural inquiry. As was natural to expect from the present interest in the subject, a large number of the investigations relate to plant breeding. These are fundamental in character and include thorough studies upon heredity in plants, the variability in morphological character in cultivated wheat, the extent of hybridizing in nature and the environmental conditions associated with it, effects of external environmental factors upon hereditable morphological characters, and the correlation of visible morphological characters with the presence and distribution of certain constituents like gliadin, glutenin, and starch in grain. Corn breeding for the semi-arid regions is being taken up from the standpoint of the factors which constitute drought resistance as a basis for such breeding, and the development of immune or disease resistant strains of crops on the basis of studies upon what constitutes immunity in different cases and the principles underlying the development of disease resistance.

The pathology and physiology of plant diseases in general is being studied in a more comprehensive way than heretofore, extending to the relation between the character of the soil and certain diseases, notably the relation of marly soils and of lime to chlorosis of citrus fruits, the specific influence of different factors which go to make up climate upon the health of the plant and its susceptibility to disease, and the relation of nutrition to the latter. Now

that the opportunity is offered it is found desirable to go back to some of the more common insect pests and study more thoroughly certain points in their habits and life histories, environmental conditions which affect them, and similar matters, as bearing ultimately on methods of control. Several investigations have to do with the toxicity of various insecticides, the manner in which they act, etc., as well as their physiological effects on the trees and plants receiving the treatment.

In horticulture physiological studies are being made as to the cause and means of control of bud formation on tree fruits, the physiology and philosophy of pruning and of grafting, the elimination of the color of peach twigs by breeding to make them less susceptible to early frosts, and the factors affecting the setting of fruit on the tomato in dry localities. As related to the subject of dry farming, a number of special investigations have to do with the absolute water requirements of plants, the periodicity of this requirement, the water-holding capacity of the soil and factors which affect it, extent and control of evaporation, and the breeding of drought-resistant crops.

Aside from studies of the fertilizer, requirements of soils by field and laboratory methods, and the composition of certain crops as indicative of these requirements, work is in progress on the nature and extent of the influence exerted upon crops by the previous growth of other kinds of plants, the relation between soil conditions and the quality of crops, the effect of sodium salts upon the organic and inorganic constituents of plants, the rôle of phosphorus and of potassium in plant nutrition, and the rôle of lime in the soil. The nature of humus and its relations to soil fertility, rate of formation under different conditions, behavior and conservation in the soil, are also important lines which are being studied quite thoroughly. To these should be added studies in soil bacteriology as related to humus formation and change, relation of microscopic life in the soil to fertility in general, nitrifying and other biological properties of the soil, functions of bacteria within the zone of tillage, to ascertain the part which these organisms play singly and collectively in the setting free of plant food, and the bacteriological conditions in irrigated and unirrigated soil in the arid region, with special reference to the formation of nitrates and to the decomposition of barnyard manure.

Among the fundamental studies in animal nutrition are the influence of age and individuality on metabolism in cattle, an extensive investigation upon the use which animals actually make of their food at different periods of growth, considered from a physiological standpoint, the rôle of phosphates in animal nutrition, the effects and importance of various other mineral constituents, and the specific effect of certain foods on the product, such as the hardness or solidity of pork and character of the fat in butter.

Dairying continues to command a good deal of attention. Studies of the preparation of market milk, the bacteriological changes in milk, the character of bacteria other than disease germs in milk which are detrimental to digestion, the leucocytes in milk under normal and abnormal conditions and their sanitary significance, and the various stages of cheese

making and curing, afford abundant opportunity for research.

There are several extensive investigations into the principles of animal breeding, concerning which knowledge has been so largely empirical and a matter of tradition, and thorough studies are being made of the conditions prevailing in the incubation of eggs under natural conditions as regards exchange of gases and physical factors, with a view to their reproduction in artificial incubation, the conditions for artificial incubation in dry climates, and the factors which determine the fertility of eggs. Much attention is also being given to investigations on the nature and control of animal diseases, immunization against disease, stable ventilation, and the relations of live stock to human health and disease.

This is only a quite incomplete list, with examples here and there, of the more systematic investigations which have been undertaken by the American stations during the last year. It serves merely to indicate the wide scope and general character of this work.

and Porto Rico have shared in the increased The experiment stations in Alaska, Hawaii, appropriation which has come to the State stations. Their work naturally differs somewhat from that of most of the State stations by reason of the conditions under which they are working, and its character is not so definitely prescribed by the appropriating acts. In Alaska pioneer work is necessary to develop agriculture as an industry, and attention is being given in quite an elementary way to some of the more important branches, such as grain growing, stock raising, dairying, orcharding, and gardening. More than 12,000 fruit trees and shrubs have been distributed throughout the Territory, and experiments in plant breeding to secure greater hardiness in fruits give promise of early results. At the station in the Copper River Valley, a late spring followed by early killing frosts prevented most of the cereals from maturing, but the injured crops were cut and cured for hay, of which 22 tons was sold at an average price of $200 per ton. Samples of well-grown vegetables were received from a garden 60 miles north of the Arctic Circle. These consisted of potatoes, carrots, cabbage, turnips, rhubarb, and cucumbers. Special attention is being given at present to the development of the cattle industry in Alaska, and a herd of about 40 head of Galloways is now being used for experiments in feeding and the study of the adaptation of the industry.

In Hawaii attention is being given to industries that may supplement sugar production-the one great agricultural industry of the islands. The station has shown the commercial possibilities of growing tobacco of excellent quality, of rubber cultivation, the extension of sisal growing, better methods for the shipment of tropical fruits, introduction of new agricultural products, the protection of agricultural products against their insect and fungus foes, and the improvement of rice and methods of its culture. The station has done more to diversify agriculture in the Hawaiian Islands during the past six years than all other agencies combined. More than $500,000 has recently been invested in rubber plantations in Hawaii, and the outlook for this new industry seems very promising.

In Porto Rico the possibilities of the restoration of former industries and the introduction of new ones to diversify the agriculture, are the

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main ends toward which the experiments are being directed. The production of White Burley and Zimmer Spanish tobacco of good quality has been demonstrated, and the growing of Sea Island cotton has been shown possible. Sisal plants grown at the station have shown that fibre of excellent quality can be profitably produced in Porto Rico, and in co-operation with the Insular government the station has distributed 100,000 sisal plants among planters at cost. Experiments are being made with citrus fruits, mango, pineapple, and other fruits, in their propagation and shipment; and coffee experiments have been in progress at a substation in the coffee-growing district, with very successful results, the practice followed by the station being adopted throughout the coffee districts.

A chronological list of the publications of the experiment stations in the United States from their organization to June 30, 1906, has been issued by the Office of Experiment Stations, of the National Department of Agriculture. This list shows that the stations had published up to that date 7667 reports and bulletins on various phases of agricultural investigation, and during the period intervening to January, 1908, 650 have been added to that number. The Department now issues a monthly list of the current station publications, which enables them to be followed up readily.

AGRICULTURE. The years 1905, 1906, and 1907 have marked successive increases in the total value of farm crops in the United States. In this respect 1906 far exceeded all previous years, the total value of farm products (animal and vegetable) amounting to $48,500,000 more than in 1905. The production in 1907 was well up to the average for the previous five years, and in value was much in advance of 1906. This was the case in spite of an erratic season following a hard winter, with a cold late spring, which threatened crop failure in certain sections. The cotton crop, for example, was in some places replanted four times owing to the continued killing frosts of spring. The grand total of the value of production in 1907 was $7,412,000,000, or $657,000,000 above that of 1906, $1,103,000,000 above that of 1905, and $1,253,000,000 above that of 1904. In comparison with the census year of 1899 it marked an increase of $2,695,000,000 or 57 per cent. These figures furnish an indication of the steady development in the wealth of agricultural production in spite of the variations of the season, the ravages of insect pests, scarcity of farm labor, and other untoward conditions. In no small measure is this steady development due to increased intelligence of the farmer in meeting and overcoming unfavorable conditions, to the introduction and development of specially adapted crops, and to greater diversification in farming. In these respects it reflects the important influences of the Federal Department of Agriculture, the State experiment stations, and other agencies which are laboring for the farmer's welfare and instruction.

CROP YIELDS AND VALUES. The corn crop of 1907, which up to midsummer it was feared would be a failure or at least show a marked shortage, was almost exactly the average for the previous five years, but was below the crops of 1899, 1905, and 1906. In value, however, owing to the high price per bushel, it was much above the record year of 1906, amounting to $1,350,000,000. Hay was apparently the second crop in value, the production being 61,420,000 tons

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valued at $660,000,000. This value was $65,000,000 above the highest previous value for this crop-that of 1906, but the tonnage has been exceeded several times. The cotton crop, in spite of adverse conditions, is estimated to be the third largest one ever raised in this country, and perceptibly larger than the average for five years. In value it is estimated a little below that of last year's crop, being valued at about $650,000,000. The wheat crop was about 5 per cent. below the five-year average, but owing to the high price exceeded the average value, amounting to a little over $500,000,000. Of this $30,000,000 worth was durum or macaroni wheat, the seed for which was introduced by the Department of Agriculture in 1899 and 1902. This wheat grows in regions of deficient rainfall, where ordinary wheat cannot be profitably grown, and in 1907 it occupied over 3,000,000 acres of land, much of which was valueless except for range purposes before the advent of this new crop. Oats was the only crop which was to any considerable degree a failure, the production being 19 per cent. below the five-year average. The quality was also low, but the high prices brought the total value up above that of any previous year-$360,000,000. Potatoes were well up to the average in production, but did not equal the crops of 1904 and 1906; while barley pushed up to seventh place in value among the crops, the 147,192,000 bushels produced in 1907 being estimated as worth $115,000,000. The price per bushel has nearly doubled over last year, which gave the crop a total value of about 85 per cent. more than the average for five years. Rye was slightly above the five-year average-31,566,000 bushels, and had a value of $23,000,000. The rice crop was the largest and most valuable ever produced, the preliminary estimate being 21,412,000 pounds of rough rice, or 98 per cent. above the average crop of the previous three years. Its value is placed at $19,500,000. The present yield is considerably above the consumption in this country, and will thus leave a part of the crop for export. The only previous year when rice production exceeded consumption was in 1904. The farm value of the seven cereals (including corn) is estimated at a total of $2,378,000,000 or $296,000,000 more than the 1906 crop, and 23 per cent. above the average of the previous five years.

Dairy products attained a value in 1907 of nearly $800,000,000, or one-third the total value of the cereals and greater than that of any single crop except corn. Poultry and egg products were worth more than the wheat crop and nearly or quite as much as the hay, amounting to $600,000,000. The prices of dairy and poultry products showed a considerable advance during the year.

EXPORTS. The exports of agricultural products continue to increase year by year, and in value overshadow those of the mill, the factory, and the work shop. For the fiscal year ending June 30, 1906, the agricultural exports amounted in value to $976,000,000, the largest amount ever reached by this or any other country, and exceeded by $24,000,000 those of 1901, which had previously been the record year. The exports of 1907, helped out by high prices, amounted in value to $1,055,000,000, a gain of $79,000,000 over 1906. Four-fifths of these exports were plant products, cotton leading with a port value of $482,000,000, much the highest value ever exported. Other important items of export were