ment Relations . Official Movement for an Office Development of the Office of Exp Relations with the Association of Relations with Foreign Agricultu II. ACTIVITIES . Advice and Assistance to State Ex Coördination of a national syst States Department of Agriculture, o Secretary of Agriculture under his the Director of Scientific Work, and tion of the Chief of the Office of E Its principal functions are: To ass scientific research work of the Dep advise with the several states in the work of the sixty-seven state agricul supervise the expenditure of the nat gress to those stations; to administe stations in Alaska, Hawaii, Porto F Virgin Islands, conducting extension v to inform Congress of the work bei stations; to advise scientific investiga and the Insular possessions, and r improved methods of practicable ag manage the Experiment Station Reco cians, students, and the general publi The only experiment stations with concerned are the strictly agriculture it would be free, should occasion so d engineering experiment stations and tories that are located in the state ag I quently in organic relationship with the local agricultural experiment stations. But the Office of Experiment Stations has no control or supervision over the work of, the forestry experiment station, the mining experiment stations, the zoological experiment stations, or the biological experiment stations that are located in various parts of the United States and are related respectively to the Forest Service, to the Bureau of Mines, to the Bureau of Animal Industry, and to the Bureau of Fisheries. To accomplish. its functions, the Office is engaged in several specific activities, requiring a personnel organization of about eighty employees divided equally between the Washington headquarters and the national stations in Alaska, the Insular territories, and the Insular possessions, and requiring the supervision of an annual appropriation of about one and three quarters millions of dollars. The Office of Experiment Stations was created pursuant to the act of March 2, 1887 (24 Stat. L., 440), the constitutional authority for its various activities being Article I, Section 8, which empowers Congress to provide for the "general welfare of the United States." Contributing to the "general welfare," the Office rapidly inaugurated several functions which subsequently developed to such proportions as to require separate agencies for their performance. Conducting relations with agricultural institutions in the elementary schools, the movable schools, the land-grant colleges, and the farmer's institutes; directing investigations in irrigation, drainage, and agricultural engineering; executing nutrition researches; participating in various national and international expositions; and supervising miscellaneous activities kindred to these, the Office of Experiment Stations was a contributing factor to the creation of the Office of Coöperative Extension Work; the Bureau of Public Roads, the Bureau of Home Economics, and the Office of Exhibits. By 1915 nucleii of new agencies had so developed that the States Relations Service was created to include the Office of Experiment Stations; the Office of Extension Work, which included the farmers' coöperative demonstration work; and the Office of Home Economics. Other activities were assigned elsewhere. Upon the dissolution of the States Relations Service in 1923, the above named offices became independent units. The Office of Experiment Stations continued its original functions, Colonial Precedents for Governmer Experimentation. Of the several activit development that were fostered by the governments, those dealing with exp representative of the activities that are no of Experiment Stations. Government ai in the colonies was inevitable. There w to learn how to master the agricultural World. The colonists were too aggressive to b agriculture which they had learned from mentation was the sole method of adva 1622, James I attempted to foster in V mulberry trees and the breeding of sill sisted in promoting the raising of indig Georgia during the decade 1633-1643, a experiment. Government land in Georg culture in 1732. Parliament likewise gr culture in the colonies in 1748 and the appropriated one thousand pounds for s cultivation of hops was encouraged by sheep industry was stimulated by Mass |