The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1914-03-10
UsELEssNEss OF SCIENTIFIC REPORTS.

The Agricultural Research which of the
purely scientific papers the department Of agriculture
Gently published statistical compilation to show what part the
experiment station and department work really does the most good
to the farmers of the United States
Employees agement personally inter
viewed thousand farmers every section of
country from Maine California Florida They
asked each farmer Of pertinent and impairment questions
about what he individually getting out of the work that Uncle
Sam doing for his people The noted forwarded
to Washington and compiled The questions
farmer received Experiment Station Department of Ag
culture bulletins attended farmers Institutes visited model
and subsaons attended agricultural had been
touch with travelling farm exhibits the correspondent
lists Of the bureaus Those who acknowledge having
received bulletins and reports questioned to what they
thought of them and whether they get good out of the
publications. ..-. y.HtsE 49,.
The replies reported have
given the Department of Agriculture the jolt has received
fifty years Apparently larger share
of the tons of erude scientific literature by of which the
agricultural experts have sought to drag him out Of the buo
of ignorance He does read them he files Them along
with paentmedcne advertisements under the back kitchen stairs
Nearly fifty per cent of the farmers absolutely ignorant of
all that the has been doing for them large percent
did know anything about the department boards
of agriculture the state experiment staonwhee they
Gated who the scientists what they doing Forynine
cent read farm journals and got all their agricultural ideas from
these weekly monthly Many confessed that they
looked to the only because the newspapers written
common everyday English while bulletins and reports writ
ten in language that but the author Of the report
deand with the question often arising whether the author
knows what he is talking about ts
AS for lectures personal demonstrations field experiments
farms and other soed practical work for the which
millions are spent every ninety cent of the farmers who
them ndugeny but did not seriously consider any Of the alleged
beneficial results therefrom. .. Es,G.
.
thousand took the wind out Of their sails that the department
the biggest thing there Washington Since the jolt Secre
tary Houston has started decidedly drastic reforms The
has forth that hereafter all reports must stand the acid
Of reliability Otherwise they will not be printed Division and
remarkable scientific discoveries have got to be strained through
mighty fine mesh to take out the Jumps sticks and other
debris of latin technical expressions
scientific that the editor of farm city newspaper
least grain Of wheat Of will be published only tech
nica journal The secretary also threatens curta the agrcu
ura work along lines under the plea that it absolutely
and purposeess or can better be done by private
teress Orders that hereafter the be given
the of all the scientific results II the is too thick for
country editor to swallow farmer could possibly absorb into
his system