Origin and Development of Experiment Stations. In the preparation of a historical sketch of Experiment Stations it becomes necessary, in order that the layman may appreciate in some degree their influence for public good, to discuss, first, their origin and the circumstances which exerted an influence in their establishment; second, their origin and development; and, third, their present status in reference to means and equipment, and the relation of their work not only to the improvement of the agricultural industry, but their indirect importance to all classes of citizens. The primary purpose of this paper, however, is to point out in some detail the facts connected with the establishment and growth of the institutions of our own State. CHARACTER OF THE INSITUTIONS. Naturally, since the Experiment Stations are scientific institutions, and because the industry which they are primarily intended to benefit is based upon the science of chemistry, their growth in the beginning was, to a considerable degree, coincident with the growth of that science. The germs of the idea which eventually evolved the Experiment Station as it is known to-day were, however, active, or at least in motion, previous to those chemical discoveries which were of supreme importance, and upon which the applications of this science in agriculture chiefly depend. The limits of this paper, however, will not permit of a discussion of these early influences further than to say that it was recognized that because the pursuit of agriculture was, more than any other industry, dependent upon many conditions which could not be fully controlled, therefore a careful study of natural phenomena, which should result in the establishment of principles, was essential to the success of the calling, and because of its importance as the only creative industry, and upon which the success of all others in a manner depended, the study of these principles should be a public rather than a private matter. THE ORIGIN OF THE STATIONS. The functions of an Agricultural Experiment Station, while educative in their character, are distinct from those of schools of agriculture, because in addition to its function as a teacher, it exercises to some extent that of a detective, or police officer, and also that of an investigator. The beginnings were, however, found in the school idea. For example, a school of dairying was established by King Frederick William I, at Konighoerst, in 1722. It was in part supported by public funds, and the object was not only to teach what was then known, to such students as might present themselves, but to disseminate information by means of farmers' clubs to those not able to attend because engaged in the practical work of life; a function of the Experiment Station of the present day. Next, in 1813, King Charles John established the Royal Academy of Sweden, with branches, the object of which was to collect and disseminate information to those engaged in the business of farming. This institution received aid from the government and conducted experiments, particularly upon sugar beets, as early as 1838, and received in that year an appropriation from the government equivalent to $14,500. The functions of this institution were quite similar to those exercised by the stations of the present day. The Agricultural School, of Mögelin, in the Duchy of Brandenbergh, was established shortly after, and was, in 1820, in charge of the celebrated writer on "Rural Economics," Von Thaer, and at that time was not only receiving students but was well equipped for agricultural research. It possessed a botanical garden, a herbarium for the classification and study of plants, a chemical laboratory for the analysis of soils, and according to its lights fulfilled the functions of an Experiment Station. A similar institution was in existence at that time in Hohenheim, in the kingdom of Wurtemberg, supported in part by public funds. Connected with this institution was an estate of 1,000 acres, a portion of which was set apart for specific experiments in the field. The equipment included a beet sugar factory, a brewery, a distillery, and an apartment for the rearing of silkworms. About this time (1820), though I am unable to verify the date, an institution of a little different character was established in Ireland, called the Royal Agricultural Improvement Society, with headquarters at Dublin, the objects of which were: (1) To encourage the foundation of district societies in different parts of the country; (2) to establish an agricultural museum in Dublin for the reception of seeds, grasses, implements, etc.; (3) to circulate practical information connected with the husbandry through the medium of cheap publications; and, lastly, to organize an agricultural college for the education and instruction of the farming classes. In 1838 the Royal Agricultural Society of England was established. This institution, though a private one, provided for the employment of various scientists, as chemists, botanists, entomologists and others, who should inaugurate and supervise experiments; should make analyses of soils, fertilizers and plants, and report their work at meetings of the society to be held at stated times, at which meetings papers were to be presented designed to benefit and advance agricultural practice. This society published a journal of its proceedings, which is continued to the present time, and is one of the most valuable of our agricultural works. It contains a full and accurate record of the practical and scientific development of British agriculture for the past sixty years. THE FIRST INSTITUTION NOT STRICTLY AN EXPERIMENT STATION. These institutions, while not in the strict sense Experiment Stations, as we now understand them, and while not wholly supported by public funds, did in part exercise the functions of an Experiment Station, and were all established previous to the work of those brilliant scientists, Boussingault and Von Liebig, the results of which furnished the basis for the establishment of scientific research stations, particularly in France and Germany, and which are now permanent institutions in all countries where agriculture is a recognized industry. Sir H. Davey, in his opening lecture on "Agricultural Chemistry," in 1802, said: "Agricultural chemistry has not yet received a regular and systematic form. It has been pursued by competent experimenters for a short time only, and no general principles can be laid down respecting the comparative merits of the different systems of cultivation, and the various systems of crops adopted in different districts, unless the chemical nature of the soil and the physical circumstances to which it is exposed are fully known. Nothing is more wanting in agriculture than experiments in which all the circumstances are minutely and scientifically detailed." |