V/0. v.'LVChtO 1 UNIV. OF FL JLIE5. DOCUMENTS SEPT. j 1 1 U.S. DEPOSITORY iur. Issued July 6, 1907. United States Department of Agriculture, OFFICE OF EXPERIMENT STATIONS— CIRCULAR 68 (Rev.). A. C. True, Director. Washington, D. C, June 1, 1907. Sir: I have the honor to transmit herewith and to recommend for publication as a circular of this Office a compilation of Federal legis- lation, regulations, and rulings affecting* the agricultural colleges and experiment stations. Such a circular is especially needed in connec- tion with the correspondence of the Office regarding- the organization and work of the agricultural colleges and experiment stations and the official and cooperative relations of this Department with these institutions. Respectfully, A. C. True, Director. Hon. James Wilson, Secretary of Agriculture. FEDERAL LEGISLATION, REGULATIONS, AND RULINGS AFFECT- ING AGRICULTURAL COLLEGES AND EXPERIMENT STATIONS. ACT OF 1862 DONATING LANDS FOR AGRICULTURAL COLLEGES. [First Morrill Act.] AN" ACT Donating public lands to the Beveral States and Territories which may provide colleges for the benefit of agriculture and the mechanic arts. Be it < nacted by the Senate and House of Represi ntatives of the UniU d States of Amt rica in Co embledf That there be granted to the several States, for the purposes hereinafter mentioned, an amount of public land, to be apportioned to each State a quantity equal to thirty thousand acres for each Senator and Representative in < !on- to which the States are respectively entitled by the apportionment under the census of eighteen hundred and sixty: Provided, That no mineral lands shall be selected, or purchased under the provisions of this act. 2. That the land aforesaid, after being surveyed, -hall be apportioned t<> the tl states in section.- or subdivisions of sections, not less than one-quarter of a 165ft— 07 1 section; and whenever there are public lands in a State subject to sale at private entry at one dollar and twenty-five cents per acre, the quantity to which said State shall be entitled shall be selected from such lands within the limits of such State, and the Secretary of the Interior is hereby directed to issue to each of the States in which there is not the quantity of public lands subject to sale at private entry at one dollar and twenty-live cents per acre to which said State may be entitled under the provisions of this act land scrip to the amount in acres for the deficiency of its distributive share; said scrip to be sold by said States and the proceeds thereof applied to the uses and purposes prescribed in this act and for no other use or pur- pose whatsoever: Provided, That in no case shall any State to which land scrip may thus be issued be allowed to locate the same within the limits of any other State or of any Territory of the United States, but their assignees may thus locate said land scrip upon any of the unappropriated lands of the United States subject to sale at private entry at one dollar and twenty-five cents, or less, per acre: And provided farther, That not more than one million acres shall be located by such assignees in any one of the States: And provided further, That no such location shall be made before one year from the passage of this act. Sec. 3. That all the expenses of management, superintendence, and taxes from date of selection of said lands, previous to their sales, and all expenses incurred in the management and disbursement of the moneys which may be received therefrom, shall be paid by the States to which they may belong, out of the Treasury of said States, so that the entire proceeds of the sale of said lands shall be applied without any diminution whatever to the purposes hereinafter mentioned. Sec 4. That all moneys derived from the sale of the lands aforesaid by the States to which the lands are apportioned, and from the sales of land scrip hereinbefore provided for, shall be invested in stocks of the United States, or of the States, or some other safe stocks, yielding not less than five per centum upon the par value of said stocks; and that the moneys so invested shall constitute a perpetual fund, the capital of which shall remain forever undiminished (except so far as may be pro- vided in section fifth of this act), and the interest of which shall be inviolably appropriated, by each State which may take and claim the benefit of this act, to the endowment, support, and maintenance of at least one college where the leading object shall be, without excluding other scientific and classical studies, and includ- ing military tactics, to teach such branches of learning as are related to agriculture and the mechanic arts, in such manner as the legislatures of the States may respec- tively prescribe, in order to promote the liberal and practical education of the indus- trial classes in the several pursuits and professions in life. Sec 5. That the grant of land and land scrip hereby authorized shall be made on the following conditions, to which, as well as to the provisions hereinbefore con- tained, the previous assent of the several States shall be signified by legislative acts: First. If any portion of the fund invested, as provided by the foregoing section, or any portion of the interest thereon, shall, by any action or contingency, be diminished or lost, it shall be replaced by the State to which it belongs, so that the capital of the fund shall remain forever undiminished; and the annual interest shall be regularly applied without diminution to the purposes mentioned in the fourth section of this act, except that a sum, not exceeding ten per centum upon the amount received by any State under the provisions of this act, may be expended for tin- purchase of lands for sites or experimental farms wmenever authorized by the respective legislatures of said States. Second. No portion of said fund, nor the interest thereon, shall be applied, directly or indirectly, under any pretense whatever, to the purchase, erection, preservation, or repair of any building or buildings. Thinl. Any State which may take and claim the benefit of the provisions of this act shall provide, within live years, at least not less than one college, as described in the fourth section of this act, or the grant to Buch State shall cease; and said State shall be bound to pay the United States the amount received of any lands previously sold and that the title to purchasers under the State shall be valid. Fourth. An annual report shall he made regarding the progress of each college, recording any Improvements and experiments made, with their cost and results, and such other matters, including State industrial and economical statistics, as may be supposed useful, one copy of which shall be transmitted by mail free, by each, to all the other colleges which may be endowed under the provisions of this act, and also one copy to the Secretary of the Interior. Fifth. When lands shall be selected from those which have been raised to double the minimum price, in consequence of railroad grants, they shall be computed to the State at the maximum price and the number of acres proportionately diminished. Sixth. No State while in a condition of rebellion or insurrection against the Gov- ernment of the United States shall be entitled to the benefit of this act. Seventh. No State shall be entitled to the benefits of this act unless it shall express its acceptance thereof by its legislature within two years from the date of its approval by the President, Sec. 6. That land scrip issued under the provisions of this act shall not be subject to location until after the first day of January, one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three. Sec. 7. That the land officers shall receive the same fees for locating land scrip issued under the provisions of this act as is now allow r ed for the location of military bounty land warrants under existing laws: Provided, Their maximum compensation shall not be thereby increased. Sec. 8. That the governors of the several States to which scrip shall be issued under this act shall be required to report annually to Congress all sales made of such scrip until the whole shall be disposed of, the amount received for the same, and what appropriation has been made of the proceeds. Approved, July 2, 1862. ACT OF 1866 EXTENDING THE TIME WITHIN WHICH AGRICUL- TURAL COLLEGES MAY BE ESTABLISHED. AN ACT To amend the fifth section of an act entitled "An act donating public lands to the several States and Territories which may provide colleges for the benefit of agriculture and the mechanic- arts," approved July 2, 1862, so as to extend the time within which the provisions of said act shall be accepted and such colleges established. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the time in which the several States may comply with the provisions of the act of July second, eighteen hundred and sixty-two, entitled "An act donating public lands to the several States and Territories which may pro- vide colleges for the benefit of agriculture and the mechanic arts," is hereby extended BO that the acceptance of the benefits of the said act may be expressed within three year.- from the passage of this act, and the colleges required by the said act may be provided within five years from the date of the filing of such acceptance with the Commissioner of the General Land Office: Provided, That when any Territory shall become a State and be admitted into the CJnion, such new State shall be entitled to tin- benefits of the said act of July second, eighteen hundred and sixty-two, by expressing the acceptance therein required within three years from the date of its admission into the Union, and providing the college or colleges within five years after such acceptance, as prescribed in this act: Provided further, That any state which has heretofore expressed its acceptance of the ad herein referred to shall have the period of five years within which to provideal least one college, as described in the fourth section of said act, after the time for providing said college, according to the act of July second, eighteen hundred and sixty-two, shall have expired. Approved, July 23, L866. ACT OF 1887 ESTABLISHING AGRICULTURAL, EXPERIMENT STATIONS. [Hatch Act.] AN ACT To establish agricultural experiment stations in connection with the colleges established in the several States under the provisions of an act approved July second, eighteen hundred and sixty-two, and of the acts supplementary thereto. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That in order to aid in acquiring and diffusing among the people of the United States useful and practical information on subjects connected with agriculture, and to promote scientific investigation and experiment respecting the principles and applications of agricultural science, there shall be established under direction of the college or colleges or agricultural department of colleges in each State or Territory established, or which may hereafter be established, in accord- ance with the provisions of an act approved July second, eighteen hundred and sixtyrtwo, entitled "An act donating public lands to the several States and Territories which may provide colleges for the benefit of agriculture and the mechanic arts," or any of the supplements to said act, a department to be known and designated as an ' ' agricultural experiment station : ' ' Provided, That in any State or Territory in which two such colleges have been or may be so established the appropriation hereinafter made to such State or Territory shall be equally divided between such colleges, unless the legislature of such State or Territory shall otherwise direct. Sec. 2. That it shall be the object and duty of said experiment stations to conduct original researches or verify experiments on the physiology of plants and animals; the diseases to which they are severally subject, with the remedies of the same; the chemical composition of useful plants at their different stages of growth; the com- parative advantages of rotative cropping as pursued under the varying series of crops; the capacity of new plants or trees for acclimation; the analysis of soils and water; the chemical composition of manures, natural or artificial, with experiments designed to test their comparative effects on crops of different kinds; the adaptation and value of grasses and forage plants; the composition and digestibility of the different kinds of food for domestic animals; the scientific and economic questions involved in the production of butter and cheese; and such other researches or experi- ments bearing directly on the agricultural industry of the United States as may in each case be deemed advisable, having due regard to the varying conditions and needs of the respective States and Territories. Sec. 3. That in order to secure, as far as practicable, uniformity of methods and results in the work of said stations, it shall be the duty of the United States Com- missioner [now Secretary] of Agriculture to furnish forms, as far as practicable, for the tabulation of results of investigation or experiments; to indicate from time to time such lines of inquiry as to him shall seem most important, and, in general, to furnish such advice and assistance as will best promote the purpose of this act. It shall be the duty of each of said stations annually, on or before the first day of February, to make to the governor of the State or Territory in which it is located a full and detailed report of its operations, including a statement of receipts and expend- itures, a copy of which report shall be sent to each of said stations, to the said Com- missioner [now Secretary] of Agriculture, and to the Secretary of the Treasury of the United States. Sec 4. That bulletins or reports of progress shall be published at said stations at least once in three months, one copy of which shall be sent to each newspaper in the States or Territories in which they are respectively located, and to such indi- viduals actually engaged in fanning as may request the same and as far as the means of the station will permit. Such bulletins or reports and the annual reports of said stations shall be transmitted in the mails of the United States free of charge for post- al.-, under such regulations as the Postmaster-General may from time to time prescribe. Sec, 5. That tor the purpose <>t paying the necessary expenses of conducting inves- tigations and experiments and printing and distributing the results as hereinbefore prescribed, the sum of fifteen thousand dollars per annum is hereby appropriated to each State, to be specially provided for by Congress in the appropriations from year to year, and to each Territory entitled under the provisions of section eight of this aet. cut of any money in the Treasury proceeding from the sales of public lands, to be paid in equal quarterly payments on the first day of January, April, July, and October in each year, to the treasurer or other officer duly appointed by the govern- ing boards of said colleges to receive the same, the first payment to be made on the first day of October, eighteen hundred and eighty-seven: Provided, howerer, That out of the first annual appropriation so received by any station an amount not exceeding one-fifth maybe expended in the erection, enlargement, or repair of a building or buildings necessary for carrying on the work of such station; and thereafter an amount not exceeding five per centum of such annual appropriation may be so expended. Sec 6. That whenever it shall appear to the Secretary of the Treasury from the annual statement of receipts and expenditures of any of said stations that a portion of the preceding annual appropriation remains unexpended, such amount shall be deducted from the next succeeding annual appropriation to such station, in orderthat the amount of money appropriated to any station shall not exceed the amount actu- ally and necessarily required for its maintenance and support. Sec. 7. That nothing in this act shall be construed to impair or modify the legal relation existing between any of the said colleges and the government of the States or Territories in which they are respectively located. Sec 8. That in States having colleges entitled under this section to the benefits of this act and having also agricultural experiment stations established by law separate from said colleges, such States shall be authorized to apply such benefits to experi- ments at stations so established by such States; and in case any State shall have established, under the provisions of said act of July second aforesaid, an agricultural department or experimental station in connection with any university, college, or institution not distinctly an agricultural college or school, and such State shall have established or shall hereafter establish a separate agricultural college or school, which shall have connected therewith an experimental farm or station, the legislature of such State may apply in whole or in part the appropriation by this act made to such separate agricultural college or school, and no legislature shall by contract, express or implied, disable itself from so doing. Sec. 9. That the grants of moneys authorized by this act are made subject to the legislative assent of the several States and Territories to the purposes of said grants: Provided, That payment of such installments of the appropriation herein made as shall become due to any State before the adjournment of the regular session of its legislature meeting next after the passage of this act shall be made upon the assent of the governor thereof duly certified to the Secretary of the Treasury. Sec 10. Nothing in this act shall be held or construed as binding the United States t-> continue any payments from the Treasury to any or all the States or insti- tutions mentioned in this act, but Congress may at any time amend, suspend, or repeal any <>r all the provisions of this act. Approved, March 2, 1S87. ACT OF 1890 FOR THE FURTHER ENDOWMENT OF AGRICUL- TURAL COLLEGES. rad Morrill Act.] AN ACT To apply a portion <>f the proceeds of the public lands to the more complete endowment and support of th For the benefit of agriculture and the mechanic arts established under the provisions of an act of Congress approved July second, eighteen hundred and sixty-two. Be ii enacted by the Senate and Hous< of Representatives oftht United States of America in congress assembled, That there ehall be, and hereby is, annually appropriated, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, arising from the sales of public lands, to be paid as hereinafter provided, to each State and Territory for the more complete endowment and maintenance of colleges for the benefit of agriculture and the mechanic arts now established, or which may be hereafter established, in accordance with an act of Congress approved July second, eighteen hundred and sixty-two, the sum of fifteen thousand dollars for the year ending June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and ninety, and an annual increase of the amount of such appro- priation thereafter for ten years by an additional sum of one thousand dollars over the preceding year, and the annual amount to be paid thereafter to each State and Territory shall be twenty-five thousand dollars, to be applied only to instruction in agriculture, the mechanic arts, the English language, and the various branches of mathematical, physical, natural, and economic science, with special reference to their applications in the industries of life and to the facilities for such instruction: Provided, That no money shall be paid out under this act to any State or Territory for the support and maintenance of a college where a distinction of race or color is made in the admission of students, but the establishment and maintenance of such college separately for white and colored students shall be held to be a compliance with the provisions of this act if the funds received in such State or Territory be equitably divided as hereinafter set forth: Provided, That in any State in which there has been one college established in pursuance of the act of July second, eighteen hundred and sixty-two, and also in which an educational institution of like character has been established, or may be hereafter established, and is now aided by such State from its ow T n revenue, for the education of colored students in agriculture and the mechanic arts, however named or styled, or whether or not it has received money heretofore under the act to which this act is an amendment, the legislature of such State may propose and report to the Secretary of the Interior a just and equitable division of the fund to be received under this act, between one college for white students and one institution for colored students, established as aforesaid, which shall be divided into two parts, and paid accordingly, and thereupon such institution for colored stu- dents shall be entitled to the benefits of this act and subject to its provisions, as much as it would have been if it had been included under the act of eighteen hun- dred and sixty-two, and the fulfillment of the foregoing provisions shall be taken as a compliance with the provisions in reference to separate colleges for white and colored students. Sec. 2. That the sums hereby appropriated to the States and Territories for the further endowment and support of colleges shall be annually paid on or before the thirty-first day of July of each year, by the Secretary of the Treasury, upon the war- rant of the Secretary of the Interior, out of the Treasury of the United States, to the State or Territorial treasurer, or to such officer as shall be designated by the laws of such State or Territory to receive the same, who shall, upon the order of the trus- tees of the college or the institution for colored students, immediately pay over said sums to the treasurers of the respective colleges or other institutions entitled to receive the same, and such treasurers shall be required to report to the Secretary of Agriculture and to the Secretary of the Interior, on or before the first day of September of each year, a detailed statement of the amount so received and of its disbursement. The grants of moneys authorized by this act are made subject to the legislative assent of the several States and Territories to the purpose of said grants: Provided, That payments of such installments of the appropriation herein made as shaU become due to any State before the adjournment of the regular session of legislature meeting next after the passage of this act shall be made upon the assent of the governor thereof, duly certified by the Secretary of the Treasury. Sec. 3. That if any portion of the moneys received by the designated officer of the State or Territory for the further and more complete endowment, support, and maintenance of colleges, or of institutions for colored students, as provided in this act, shall, by any action or contingency, be diminished or lost, or be misapplied, it shall be replaced by the state or Territory to which it belongs, and until bo replaced n«> subsequent appropriation shall be apportioned or paid to such state or Territory; and no portion of said moneys shall be applied, directly or indirectly, under any pretense whatever, to the purchase, erection, preservation, or repair of any building or buildings. An annual report by the president of each of said colleges shall be made to the Secretary of Agriculture, as well as to the Secretary of the Interior, regarding the condition and progress of each college, including statistical informa- tion in relation to its receipts and expenditures, its library, the number of its stu- dents and professors, and also as to any improvements and experiments made under the direction of any experiment stations attached to said colleges, with their costs and results and such other industrial and economical statistics as may be regarded as useful, one copy of which shall be transmitted by mail free to all other colleges further endowed under this act. Six. 4. That on or before the first day of July in each year, after the passage of this act, the Secretary of the Interior shall ascertain and certify to the Secretary of the Treasury as to each State and Territory whether it is entitled to receive its share of the annual appropriation for colleges, or of institutions for colored students, under this act, and the amount which thereupon each is entitled, respectively, to receive. If the Secretary of the Interior shall withhold a certificate from any State or Terri- tory of its appropriation, the facts and reasons therefor shall be reported to the Presi- dent, and the amount involved shall be kept separate in the Treasury until the close of the next Congress, in order that the State or Territory may, if it should so desire, appeal to Congress from the determination of the Secretary of the Interior. If the next Congress shall not direct such sum to be paid, it shall be covered into the Treas- ury. And the Secretary of the Interior is hereby charged with the proper adminis- tration of this law. Sec. 5. That the Secretary of the Interior shall annually report to Congress the disbursements which have been made in all the States and Territories, and also whether the appropriation of any State or Territory has been withheld, and, if so, the reasons therefor. Sec 6. Congress may at any time amend, suspend, or repeal any or all of the provisions of this act. Approved, August 30, 1890. ACT OF 1906 FOR THE FURTHER ENDOWMENT OF AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATIONS. [Adams Act.] AN ACT To provide for an increased animal appropriation for agricultural experiment stations and regulating the expenditure thereof. Be it enacted by the Senate <• thirty thousand dollars, to be applied only to paying the necessary expenses "i" conducting original res or experiments bearing directly on the agricultural industry of 8 the United States, having due regard to the varying conditions and needs of the respective States or Territories. Sec. 2. That the sums hereby appropriated to the States and Territories for the further endowment and support of agricultural experiment stations shall be annually paid in equal quarterly payments on the first day of January, April, July, and October of each year by the Secretary of the Treasury, upon the warrant of the Sec- retary of Agriculture, out of the Treasury of the United States, to the treasurer or other officer duly appointed by the governing boards of said experiment stations to receive the same, and such officers shall be required to report to the Secretary of Agriculture on or before the first day of September of each year a detailed statement of the amount so received and of its disbursement, on schedules prescribed by the Secretary of Agriculture. The grants of money authorized by this act are made subject to legislative assent of the several States and Territories to the purpose of said grants: Proiided, That payment of such installments of the appropriation herein made as shall become due to any State or Territory before the adjournment of the regular session of legislature meeting next after the passage of this act shall be made upon the assent of the governor thereof, duly certified by the Secretary of the Treasury. • Sec. 3. That if any portion of the moneys received by the designated officer of any State or Territory for the further and more complete endowment, support, and main- tenance of agricultural experiment stations as provided in this act shall by any action or contingency be diminished or lost or be misapplied, it shall be replaced by said State or Territory to which it belongs, and until so replaced no subsequent appropriation shall be apportioned or paid to such State or Territory; and no portion of said moneys exceeding five per centum of each annual appropriation shall be applied, directly or indirectly, under any pretense whatever, to the purchase, erec- tion, preservation, or repair of any building or buildings, or to the purchase or rental of land. It shall be the duty of each of said stations annually, on or before the first day of February, to make to the governor of the State or Territory in which it is located a full and detailed report of its operations, including a statement of receipts and expenditures, a copy of which report shall be sent to each of said stations; to the Secretary of Agriculture, and to the Secretary of the Treasury of the United States. Sec 4. That on or before the first day of July in each year after the passage of this act the Secretary of Agriculture shall ascertain and certify to the Secretary of the Treasury as to each State and Territory whether it is complying with the provisions of this act and is entitled to receive its share of the annual appropriation for agri- cultural experiment stations under this act and the amount which thereupon each is entitled, respectively, to receive. If the Secretary of Agriculture shall withhold a certificate from any State or Territory of its appropriation, the facts and reasons therefor shall be reported to the President and the amount involved shall be kept separate in the Treasury until the close of the next Congress in order that the State or Territory may, if it shall so desire, appeal to Congress from the determination of the Secretary of Agriculture. If the next Congress shall not direct such sum to be paid, it shall be covered into the Treasury; and the Secretary of Agriculture is hereby charged with the proper administration of this law. Sec. 5. That the Secretary of Agriculture shall make an annual report to Congress on the receipts and expenditures and work of the agricultural experiment stations in all of the States and Territories, and also whether the appropriation of any State or Territory has been withheld; and if so, the reason therefor. Sec 6. That Congress may at any time amend, suspend, or repeal any or all of the provisions of this act. Approved, March 16, 1906. CLAUSE IN ACT MAKING APPROPRIATIONS FOR THE U. S. DEPART- MENT OF AGRICULTURE FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDING JUNE 30, 1907, INTERPRETING THE ACT OF MARCH 16, 1906 (ADAMS ACT). The act of Congress approved March sixteenth, nineteen hundred and Bix, entitled "An act to provide for an increased annual appropriation for agricultural experi- ment stations and regulating the expenditures thereof," shall be construed to appro- priate for each station the sum of five thousand dollars for the fiscal year ending June thirtieth, nineteen hundred and six, the sum of seven thousand dollars for the fiscal year ending June thirtieth, nineteen hundred and seven, the sum of nine thou- sand dollars for the fiscal year ending .Tune thirtieth, nineteen hundred and eight, the sum of eleven thousand dollars for the fiscal year ending June thirtieth, nineteen hundred and nine, the sum of thirteen thousand dollars for the fiscal year ending June thirtieth, nineteen hundred and ten, and the sum of fifteen thousand dollars for the fiscal year ending June thirtieth, nineteen hundred and eleven. The sum of five thousand dollars appropriated for the fiscal year nineteen hundred and six shall be paid on or before June thirtieth, nineteen hundred and six, and the amounts appropriated for the subsequent years shall be paid as provided in the said act to each State and Territory for the more complete endowment and maintenance of agri- cultural experiment stations now established or which may hereafter be established in accordance with the act of Congress approved March second, eighteen hundred and eighty-seven. Approved, June 30, 1906. CLAUSE IN ACT MAKING APPROPRIATIONS FOR THE U. S. DEPART- MENT OF AGRICULTURE FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDING JUNE 30, 1908, FOR THE FURTHER ENDOWMENT OF AGRICULTURAL COLLEGES. [Nelson amendment.] * * * That there shall be, and hereby is, annually appropriated, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, to be paid as hereinafter pro- vided, to each State and Territory for the more complete endowment and mainte- nance of agricultural colleges now established, or which may hereafter be estab- lished, in accordance with the act of Congress approved July second, eighteen hun- dred and sixty-two, and the act of Congress approved August thirtieth, eighteen hundred and ninety, the sum of five thousand dollars, in addition to the sums named in the said act, for the fiscal year ending June thirtieth, nineteen hundred and eight, and an annual increase of the amount of such appropriation thereafter for four years by an additional sum of five thousand dollars over the preceding year, and the annual sum to be paid thereafter to each State and Territory shall be fifty thousand dollars, to be applied only tor the purposes of the agricultural col- leges as defined and limited in the act of Congress approved July second, eighteen hundred and sixty-two. and the act of Congress approved August thirtieth, eighteen hundred and ninety. That the sum hereby appropriated to the States and Territories for the further endowment and support of the colleges shall be paid by, to, and in the manner pre- scribed by the ad of Coir_ r r.--< approved Augnsl thirtieth, eighteen hundred and ninety, entitled "An act to apply a portion of the proceeds of the public lands t<> the more complete endowment and support of the colleges for the benefit of agri- culture and the mechanic arts established under the provisions of the act of Con- approved July Becond, eighteen hundred and sixty-two," and the expenditure 1658—07 2 10 of the said money shall be governed in all respects by the provisions of the said act of Congress approved July second, eighteen hundred and sixty-two, and the said act of Congress approved August thirtieth, eighteen hundred and ninety: Prodded, That said colleges may use a portion of this money for providing courses for the special preparation of instructors for teaching the elements of agriculture and the mechanic arts. Approved March 4, 1907. CLAUSE IN ACT PROVIDING FOR THE PRINTING, BINDING, AND DISTRIBUTION OF PUBLIC DOCUMENTS, CONSTITUTING THE LAND-GRANT COLLEGES DEPOSITORIES. "All land-grant colleges shall be constituted as depositories for public documents, subject to the provisions and limitations of the depository laws." Approved, March 1, 1907. EXTRACTS FROM AN ACT MAKING APPROPRIATIONS FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDING JUNE 30, 1908. Agricultural experiment stations: To carry into effect the provisions of an act approved March second, eighteen hundred and eighty-seven, entitled " An act to establish agricultural experiment stations in connection with the colleges established in the several States under the provisions of an act approved July second, eighteen hundred and sixty-two, and of the acts supplementary thereto," and to enforce the execution thereof, eight hundred and twenty-seven thousand dollars, thirty thou- sand dollars of which sum shall be payable upon the order of the Secretary of Agri- culture, to enable him to carry out the provisions of section three of said act of March second, eighteen hundred and eighty-seven, and the Secretary of Agriculture shall prescribe the form of the annual financial statement required by section three of said act of March second, eighteen hundred and eighty-seven; shall ascertain whether the expenditures under the appropriation hereby made are in accordance with the provisions of said act, and shall make report thereon to Congress, and to carry out the provisions of sections two, four, and five of an act approved March sixteenth, nineteen hundred and six, entitled "An act to provide for an increased annual appropriation for agricultural experiment stations and regulating the expend- iture thereof," and the Secretary of Agriculture is hereby authorized to rent offices and to employ such assistants, clerks, and other persons as he may deem necessary, in the city of Washington and elsewhere, and to incur such other expenses for office fixtures and supplies, stationery, traveling, freight, and express charges, illustration of the Experiment Station Record, bulletins, and reports as he may find essential in carrying out the objects of the above acts; and the sums apportioned to the several States shall be paid quarterly in advance. And the Secretary of Agriculture is hereby authorized to furnish to such institutions or individuals as may care to buy them, copies of the card index of agricultural literature prepared by the Office of Experiment Stations, and charge for the same a price covering the additional expense involved in the preparation of these copies; and he is hereby authorized to apply the moneys received toward the expense of the preparation of the index, and this fund shall be available until used; and the Secretary of Agriculture is hereby author- ized to expend seventy-two thousand dollars, of which sum to establish and main- tain agricultural experiment stations in Alaska, Hawaii, and Porto Rico, including the erection of buildings, the printing (in Hawaii and Porto Rico), illustration, and distribution of reports and bulletins: Prodded, That not more than twenty-four thousand dollars shall be expended for the maintenance of such stations in any one of said Territories; and the Secretary of Agriculture is authorized to sell such prod- 11 ucts as are obtained on the land belonging to the agricultural experiment stations in Alaska, Hawaii, and Porto Rico and to apply the money received from the sale of such products to the maintenance of said stations, and this fund shall be available until used; in all, eight hundred and twenty-seven thousand dollars: Provided, That five thousand dollars of this sum shall be used by the Secretary of Agriculture to investigate and report upon the organization and progress of farmers' institutes and agricultural schools in the several States and Territories, and upon similar organiza- tions in foreign countries, with special suggestions of plans and methods for making such organizations more effective for the dissemination of the results of the work of the Department of Agriculture and the agricultural experiment stations and of improved methods of agricultural practice. And the employees of the experiment stations in Alaska, Hawaii, and Porto Rico may hereafter, in the discretion of the Secretary of Agriculture, without additional expense to the Government, be granted leave of absence not to exceed fifteen days in any one year, which leave may, in exceptional and meritorious cases where such an employee is ill, be extended, in the discretion of the Secretary of Agriculture, not to exceed fifteen days additional in any one year. Nutrition Investigations: To enable the Secretary of Agriculture to incur such expenses as may be necessary for the packing, transporting to and storing in Wash- ington, District of Columbia, of all apparatus now the property of the Government and used in the nutrition investigations, five thousand dollars, or so much thereof as may be necessary. Irrigation and drainage investigations: To enable the Secretary of Agriculture to investigate and report upon the laws of the States and Territories as affecting irri- gation and the rights of appropriators and of riparian proprietors and institutions relating to irrigation and upon the use of irrigation waters, at home and abroad, with especial suggestions of the best methods for the utilization of irrigation waters in agriculture, and upon plans for the removal of seepage and surplus waters by drainage, and upon the use of different kinds of power and appliances for irriga- tion and drainage, and for the preparation, printing, and illustration of reports and bulletins on irrigation and drainage, including employment of labor in the city of Washington or elsewhere; and all necessary expenses, one hundred and fifty thou- sand dollars. Total for Office of Experiment Stations, one million and thirteen thousand two hundred and twenty dollars." Bureau" of Animal Industry. * * * Provided, also, That the Secretary of Agriculture is authorized to expend five thousand dollars of the amount hereby appropriated to especially investigate hemorrhagic septicemia, infectious cerebro- spinal meningitis, and malignant catarrh, prevalent among domestic animals in the State of Minnesota and adjoining States, to work out, if possible, in cooperation with the Minnesota Experiment Station, the problem of prevention by developing antitoxin or preventive vaccines and to secure and diffuse information alon<: these lines, provided that the Secretary of Agriculture is authorized to purchase in the open market samples of all tuberculin serums, antitoxins, or analogous products, <>f foreign or domestic manufacture, which are sold in the United States for the detec- tion, prevention, treatment, or cure of disease- of domestic animals, to test the same, and to publish the results of said test- in such manner as he may deem best. For experiments in animal feeding and breeding, in cooperation with the State agricultural stations, fifty thousand dollars. * * * To enable the Secretary of Agriculture to undertake experimental work in cooperation with State authorities in eradicating the ticks. transmitting BOUthen] cattle fever, one hundred and fifty thou- sand dollars, of which sum twenty-live thousand dollars shall be immediately available. ncluding thirty-one thousand two hundred and twenty dollars for statutory salaries. 12 Bureau of Plant Industry. * * * To investigate fruits, fruit trees, grain, cotton, tobacco, vegetables, grasses, forage, drug, medicinal, poisonous, fiber, and other plants and plant industries, in cooperation with other branches of the Depart- ment, the State experiment stations, and practical farmers; * * * to model fruits, vegetables, and other plants, and furnish duplicate models to the experiment stations of the several States, as far as found practicable. * * * Thirty-six thou- sand dollars * * * or so much thereof as the Secretary of Agriculture shall direct may be used to collect, purchase, test, propagate, and distribute rare and valuable seeds, bulbs, trees, shrubs, vines, cuttings, and plants from foreign coun- tries or from our possessions for experiments with reference to their introduction into and cultivation in this country; and the seeds, bulbs, trees, shrubs, vines, cut- tings, and plants thus collected, purchased, tested, and propagated shall not be included in general distribution, but shall be used for experimental tests, to be car- ried on with the cooperation of the agricultural experiment stations. * * * To enable the Secretary of Agriculture to meet the emergency caused by the continued spread of the Mexican cotton boll weevil in the Southern States by encouraging the diversification of crops, improved cultural methods, breeding of new cottons, and to study the diseases of cotton, one hundred and fifty thousand dollars, or so much thereof as may be necessary, of which sum forty thousand dollars shall be imme- diately available. And the Secretary of Agriculture is hereby authorized to expend said appropriation in such manner as he shall deem best, in cooperation with the State experiment stations and practical cotton growers. Bureau of Chemistry. * * * To study, in collaboration with the Weather Bureau, the Bureau of Plant Industry, and agricultural experiment stations, the influence of environment upon the chemical composition of wheat and other cereals, with especial reference to the variation in the content of gluten, and the suitability of barley for brewing and other purposes. To investigate the chemical composition of sugar and starch producing plants in the United States and its possessions, and, in collaboration with the Weather Bureau, the Bureau of Plant Industry, and agri- cultural experiment stations, to study the effects of environment upon the chemical composition of sugar and starch producing plants. Bureau of Entomology. * * * To enable the Secretary of Agriculture to meet the emergency caused by the continued spread of the gypsy and brown-tail moths, one hundred and fifty thousand dollars, or so much thereof as may be necessary, is hereby appropriated and made immediately available. And the Secretary of Agri- culture is hereby authorized to expend said appropriation by establishing a quaran- tine against such further spread in such manner as he shall deem best, in cooperation with the authorities of the different States concerned and with the State experiment stations. Office of Public Roads. To enable the Secretary of Agriculture * * * "to assist the agricultural colleges and experiment stations in disseminating information on the subject [of roads]." REGULATIONS OF THE POST-OFFICE DEPARTMENT CONCERNING AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION PUBLICATIONS. Section 372 of the Postal Laws and Regulations of the United States reads as follows: Regulations for free transmission of bulletins and reports [under the act of Congress of March 2, 1887] are prescribed as follows: (1) Any claimant of the privilege must apply for authority to exercise it to the Postmaster-General, stating the date of the establishment of such station, its proper name or designation, its official organization, and the names of its officers; the name of the university, college, school, or institution to which it is attached, if any, the 13 legislation of the State or Territory providing for its establishment, and any other granting it the benefitsof the provision made by Congress as aforesaid (accompanied by a copy of the act or acts), and whether any other such station in the same State or Territory is considered, or claims to be, also entitled to the privilege; and also the place of its location and the name of the post-office where the bulletins and reports will be mailed. The application must be signed by the officer in charge of the station. (2) If such application be allowed after examination by the Department, the postmaster at the proper office will be instructed to admit such bulletins and reports to the mails in compliance with these regulations, and the officer in charge of the station will be notified thereof. (3) Only such bulletins or reports as shall have been issued after the station became entitled to the benefits of the act can be transmitted free, and such bulletins or reports may be inclosed in envelopes or wrappers, sealed or unsealed. On the exterior of every envelope, wrapper, or package must be written or printed the name of the station and place of its location, the designation of the inclosed bulletin or report, and the word "Free " over the signature, or facsimile thereof, of the officer in charge of the station, to be affixed by himself or by some one duly deputed by him for that purpose. There may also be written or printed upon the envelope or wrap- per a request that the postmaster at the office of delivery will notify the mailing station of the change of address of the addressee, or other reason for inability to deliver the same, and upon a bulk package a request to the postmaster to open and distribute the " franked" matter therein in accordance with the address thereon. Bulletins published by the United States Department of Agriculture and analogous to those of the station, and entitled to be mailed free under the penalty envelope of that Department, may also be adopted and mailed by the several stations, with their own publications, under the same regulations, and any bulletins or reports mailable free by any agricultural experiment station under these regulations may be so mailed by any other station having free mailing authority. If such station's annual reports be printed by State authority, and consist in part of matter relating to the land-grant college to which such station is attached, then said report may be mailed free entire by the director of the station; provided, in his judgment, the whole consists of useful information of an agricultural character. (4) The bulletins may be mailed to the stations, newspapers, or persons to whom they are by the foregoing act authorized to be sent, and the annual reports to any address in the United States, Canada, Mexico, or Hawaiian Kingdom (Sandwich Islands), but not to other foreign countries, free of postage. An order of the Postmaster-General, dated January 3, 1899, provides " That any article entitled to transmission free of postage in the domestic mails of the United States, either in a 'penalty' envelope or under a duly authorized 'frank,' shall be entitled likewise to transmission by mail free of postage between places in Hawaii, Cuba, Porto Rico, and the Philippine Islands; from the United States to those islands, and from those islands to the United States." Among rulings on matters of detail the following are the most important: " In sending out bulletins from an agricultural experiment station it is permissible to inclose postal cards to enable correspondents of the station to acknowledge the receipt of its publications and to request their continuous transmission. "Copies of the reports or bulletins of the agricultural experiment stations, which are purchased, paid, or subscribed for, or otherwise disposed of for gain, when sent in the mails, are not entitled to free carriage under the ' frank' of the director of the station. - ' Station bulletins and reports, consisting of typewritten matter duplicated on a mimeograph or other duplicating machine, " retain their character as free matter when properly franked by the director of the station." 14 Cards upon which are printed bulletins issued by agricultural experiment stations established under the provisions of the act of March 2, 1887, may be sent openly in the mails, free of postage, provided the address side of such cards bears the indicia prescribed in paragraph 3, section 517, Postal Laws and Kegulations, for envelopes used by the experiment stations referred to in mailing copies of their bulletins and reports. Reports of the State boards of agriculture or other State boards, commissioners, or officers, even though they contain station bulletins and reports, can not be sent free through the mails under the frank of the director of the station. The catalogue of the college of which the station is a department can not be sent free through the mails under the frank of the director of the station, whether said catalogue is published separately or is bound together with a station publication. RULINGS OF THE TREASURY DEPARTMENT AFFECTING AGRI- CULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATIONS. From copies of letters addressed to the Secretar}^ of the Treasury and others by the First Comptroller of the Treasur}^ relating* to the construction of the act of Congress of March 2, 1887, and acts supple- mentary thereto, the following digest has been prepared for the use of the stations. The sections are those of the act, the dates those of the decisions by the Comptroller: Section 3— January 30, 1888. That the annual financial statement of the stations, with vouchers, should not be sent to the Treasury Department, but that a copy simply of the report that is made to the governor is to be sent to the Secretary of the Treasury. Section 3 — January 31, 1888. First. That the Treasury Department will not require officers of experiment sta- tions to do or perform anything not specifically required by said bill. Second. That the Secretary of the Treasury is not required to take a bond of the officers of said stations for the money paid over under the provisions of said act. Third. That no reports will be required from the stations directly to the Secretary of the Treasury; but the governor of the State must send to the Secretary of the Treasury a copy of the report made to him by the colleges or stations. Section 4 — December 16, 1895. The Solicitor of the Treasury writes: "1 am of the opinion that there is no authority for an agricultural experiment station to sell its bulletins outside of the State or Territory. Congress appropriates for the publication and free distribution of the bulletins, and neither expressly nor by necesssry implication authorizes their sale." Section 6 — August 2, 1888. The fiscal year commences on the 1st day of July, corresponding with the fiscal year of the Government. An agricultural station entitled to the benefits of said appropriations made by Congress can anticipate the payment to be made July 1, and make contracts of pur- chases prior to that time, if it shall be necessary to carry on the work of the station. Of course, no portion of said appropriations paid in quarterly installments can be 15 drawn from the Treasury unless needed for the purposes indicated in the act; and so much of what is so drawn as may not have been expended within the year musl be accounted for as part of the appropriation for the following year. Section 8— January 30, 1888. The State of New York ought to designate whether to the college or to the -tat ion or to both it desires the appropriation to be applied. The eighth section of the act seems to authorize the State to apply such benefits to experimental stations it may have established as it desires. Where there are no experimental stations connected with the colleges, the legisla- tures of such States must connect the agricultural experiment station with the col- leges already established under the act of July 2, 1862; there is no authority in the act authorizing the establishment of agricultural experiment stations independent of said colleges. The act contemplates that where stations have already been established discon- nected from the colleges the legislatures of such States may make such provisions in regard thereto as they may deem proper; but it does not authorize the establishment of stations except in connection with the colleges that were at that time or might hereafter be established under the act of July 2, 1862. Section 8 — February 14, 1888. Where there is an agricultural college or station which may have been established by State authority and is maintained by the State, the eighth section of the above act would authorize the State to designate the station to which it desired the appro- priation to be applied, whether to one or more, or all, and the Secretary of the Treasury should make the payment under the appropriation to whichever one the State might desire. Sections 1 and 8 — February 15, 1888. (1) When an agricultural college or station has been established under the act of July 2, 1862, each college is entitled to the benefits of the provisions of said act (i. e., of March 2, 1887). (2) In a State where an agricultural college has been established under the act of July 2, 1862, and agricultural stations have also been established, either under the act of July 2, 1862, or by State authority, before March 2, 1887, the legislature of such State shall determine which one of said institutions, or how many of them, shall receive the benefits of the act of March 2, 1887. (3) If the legislature of any State in which an agricultural college has been estab- lished under the act of July 2, 1862, desires to establish an agricultural station which shall be entitled to the benefits of said act, it must establish such station in connec- tion with said college. Proviso to Sections 1 and 8 — December 7, 1888. It is within the power of the legislature of any State that has accepted the provi- sions of said act of March 2, 1887, to dispose of the amount appropriated by ( 'ongress for said station to either one or all of the agricultural colleges or stations which may have been established in said State by virtue of either the provisions of the act of July 2, 1862, or the provisions of said eighth section of the act of March 2, 1 - The whole responsibility rests upon the State legislature as to how the fond appro- priated by Congress shall be distributed among these various institutions of the State, provided there is one or more agricultural colleges with which an agricultural station is connected or one or more agricultural station-. 16 RULINGS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE ON THE WORK AND EXPENDITURES OF AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATIONS, a In connection with examinations of the work and expenditures of the agricultural experiment stations established in accordance with the act of Congress of March 2, 1887, and further endowed under act of Congress of March 16, 1906, under authority given to the Secretary of Agriculture by Congress, questions have arisen which have seemed to make it advisable to formulate the views of this Department on certain matters affecting the management of the stations under those acts. The rulings which have been made from time to time on points which seemed to require special attention are as follows: EXPENDITURES FOR PERMANENT SUBSTATIONS. This Department holds that the expenditure of funds appropriated in accordance with the provisions of the act of Congress of March 2, 1887, for the maintenance of permanent substations is contrary to the spirit and intent of said act. The act pro- vides for an experiment station in each State and Territory, which, except in cases specified in the act, is to be a department of the college established under the act of Congress of July 2, 1862. The objects of the stations, as defined in the first- mentioned act, are evidently of such a character as to necessitate the services of scientific and expert workers. Most of the lines of investigation named in the act are general, rather than local, and involve scientific equipment and work. It is obviously the intent that the stations established under this act shall carry on important investigations which shall be of general benefit to the agriculture of the several States and Territories. The sum of $15,000, which is annually appropriated by Congress under this act for each station, is only sufficient to carry out a limited number of investigations of the kind contemplated by the act. As the work of the stations in the different States has developed, it has been found necessary to limit, rather than expand, the lines of work of the individual stations. Thorough work in a few lines has been found much more effective and productive of more useful results than small investigations in numerous lines. When we con- sider the nature of the investigations, the amount of money provided for the work of each station, and the fact that the act expressly provides for only a single station in connection with each college, it becomes very clear that expenditures such as are necessary to effectually maintain permanent substations ought not to be made from the funds granted by Congress to the States and Territories for experiment stations. The maintenance of permanent substations, as a rule, involves the erection of build- ings and the making of other permanent improvements. The sums of money which can be expended for permanent improvements under the act of Congress aforesaid are so small that it is clear thoy were not intended to meet the needs of more than one station in each State and Territory. When the legislature of a State or Territory has given its assent to the provisions of the act of Congress of March 2, 1887, and has designated the institution which shall receive the benefits of said act, it would seem to have exhausted its powers in the matter. The responsibility for the maintenance of an experiment station under said act devolves upon the governing board of the institution thus designated. If the legislature of the State or Territory sees fit to provide funds for the equipment and maintenance of other experiment stations and to put them under the control of «U. S. Dept. Agr., Office of Experiment Stations Circ. 29. 17 the same governing board, well and good, but this docs not in any way diminish the responsibility of the board to administer the funds granted by Congress in accordance with the provisions of said act. The wisdom of Congress in limiting the number of stations to be established in each State and Territory under the aforesaid act has been clearly shown by the experience of the few States and Territories which have attempted the maintenance of substations with the funds granted under said act. The expense of maintaining substations has, as a rule, materially weakened the central station, and the investi- gations carried on at the substations have been superficial and temporary. It is granted that in many States and Territories more than one agricultural experiment station might do useful work, and in some States more than one station has already been successfully maintained; but in all these cases the State has given funds from its own treasury to supplement those given by Congress. It is also granted that experiment stations established under said act of Congress and having no other funds than those provided by that act will often need to carry on investigations in different localities in their respective States and Territories, but it is held that this should be done in such a way as will secure the thorough supervision of such investigations by the expert officers of the station and that arrangements for such experimental inquiries should not be of so permanent a character as to prevent the station from shifting its work from place to place as circumstances may require, nor involve the expenditure of funds in such amounts and in such ways as will weaken the work of the station as a whole. As far as practicable the cooperation of individuals and communities benefited by these special investigations should be sought and, if necessary, the aid of the States invoked to carry on enterprises too great to be successfully conducted within the limits of the appropriation granted by Congress under the act aforesaid. PURCHASE OR RENTAL OF LANDS FOR AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATIONS. This Department holds that the purchase or rental of lands by the experiment stations from the funds appropriated in accordance with the provisions of the act of Congress of March 2, 1887, is contrary to the spirit and intent of said act. The act provides for "paying the necessary expenses of conducting investigations and experi- ments and printing and distributing the results. * * * Provided, however, That out of the first annual appropriation so received by any station an amount not exceeding one-fifth may be expended in the erection, enlargement, or repair of a building or buildings necessary for carrying on the work of such stations; and there- after an amount not exceeding 5 per centum of such annual appropriation may be so expended." The only reference to land for the station in the act is in section 8, where State legislatures are authorized to apply appropriations made under said act to separate agricultural colleges or schools established by the State "winch shall have connected therewith an experimental farm or station." The strict limitation of the amount provided for buildings and the absence of any provision for the pur- chase or rental of lands, when taken in connection with the statement in the eighth section, which treats the farm as in a sense a necessary adjunct of the educational institution to which the whole or a part of the funds appropriated in accordance with said act might in certain cases be devoted, point to the conclusion that it was expected that the institution of which the station is a department would supply the land needed for experimental purposes and that charges for the purchase or rental of lands would not be made against the funds provided by Congress for the experi- ment station. This conclusion i< reenforced by consideration of a wise and economic policy in the management of agricultural experiment statii lating to cases in which it might be desirable for the station t.> have land for experimental purposes in different localities. The investigations carried on by tin- stations in such 18 cases being for the direct benefit of agriculture in the localities where the work is done, it seems only reasonable that persons or communities whose interests will be advanced by the station work should contribute the use of the small tracts of land which will be required for experimental purposes: Experience shows that in most cases the stations have had no difficulty in securing such land as they needed without expense, and it is believed that this may be done in every case without injuriously affecting the interests of the stations. EXPENDITURES BY AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATIONS FOR CARRYING ON FARM OPERATIONS. This Department holds that expenses incurred in conducting the operations of farms, whether the farms are connected with institutions established under the act of Congress of July 2, 1862, or not, are not a proper charge against the funds appro- priated by Congress for agricultural experiment stations in accordance with the act of Congress of March 2, 1887, unless such operations definitely constitute a part of agricultural investigations or experiments planned and conducted in accordance with the terms of the act aforesaid, under rules and regulations prescribed by the governing board of the station. The performance of ordinary farm operations by an experiment station does not constitute experimental work. Operations of this char- acter by an experiment station should be confined to such as are a necessary part of experimental inquiries. Carrying on a farm for profit or as a model farm, or to secure funds which may be afterwards devoted to the erection of buildings for experi- ment station purposes, to the further development of experimental investigation, or to any other purpose, however laudable and desirable, is not contemplated by the law as a part of the functions of an agricultural experiment station established under the act of Congress of March 2, 1887. Section 5 of that act plainTy limits the expenditures of funds appropriated in accordance with said act to "the necessary expenses of con- ducting investigations and experiments and printing and distributing the results. ' ' FUNDS ARISING FROM THE SALE OF FARM PRODUCTS OR OTHER PROPERTY OF AN AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION. This Department holds that moneys received from the sales of farm products or other property in the possession of an agricultural experiment station as the result of expenditures of funds received by the station in accordance with the act of Congress of March 2, 1887, rightfully belong to the experiment station as a department of the college or other institution with which it is connected, and may be expended in accordance with the laws or regulations governing the financial transactions of the governing board of the station, provided however, that all expenses attending such sales, including those attending the delivery of the property into the possession of the purchaser, should be deducted from the gross receipts from the sales and should not be made a charge against the funds appropriated by Congress. .LIMIT OF EXPENDITURES OF EXPERIMENT STATIONS DURING ONE FISCAL YEAR. This Department holds that expenses incurred by an agricultural experiment sta- tion in any one fiscal year to be paid from the funds provided under the act of Con- gress of March 2, 1887, should not exceed the amount appropriated to the station by Congress for that year, and especially that all personal services should be paid for out of the appropriation of the year in which they were performed, and that claims for compensation for such services can not properly be paid out of the appropria- tions for succeeding years. The several appropriations for experiment stations under the aforesaid act are for one year only, and officers of experiment stations have no authority to contract for expenditures beyond the year for which Congress has made appropriations. 19 This is plainly implied in the act aforesaid, inasmuch as section 6 provides that unexpended balances Bhall revert to the Treasury of the United states, "in order that the amount of money appropriated to any station shall not exceed the amount actually and necessarily required for its maintenance and support.' - The annua! financial report rendered in the form prescribed by this Department should in every case include only the receipts and expenditures of the fiscal year for which the report is made. EXPENDITURES BY AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATIONS FOR A WATER SYSTEM TO BE CHARGED UNDER "BUILDINGS AND REPAIRS." This Department holds that expenditures by agricultural experiment stations from the funds appropriated in accordance with the act of Congress of March 2, 1887, for the construction of wells, cisterns, ponds, or other reservoirs for the storage of water, and for piping, and other materials for a system of storing and distributing water, are properly charged, under abstract 18 in the schedule for financial reports prescribed by this Department, as being for improvements on lands which have hitherto been held to come under the head of " buildings and repairs." The fact that a water system may be a necessary adjunct of certain experimental inquiries does not affect the case, inasmuch as the limitations on expenditures for improve- ments contained in section 5 of the act of Congress of March 2, 1887, expressly stipulate that these improvements shall be such as are necessary for carrying on the work of the station. EXPENDITURES BY AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATIONS FOR MEMBERSHIP IN AGRI- CULTURAL AND OTHER ORGANIZATIONS. This Department holds that membership fees in associations and other organiza- tions are not a proper charge against the funds appropriated by Congress in accord- ance with the act of March 2, 1887, except in the case of the Association of Ameri- can Agricultural Colleges and Experiment Stations, which is held to be an essential part 'of the system of experiment stations established under said act. THE BORROWING OF MONEY TO PAY THE EXPENSES OF AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATIONS. This Department holds that experiment station officers have no authority to bor- row money to be repaid out of appropriations made under the act of Congress of March 2, 1887, and that charges for interest can not properly be made against funds appropriated under that act. THE USE OF EXPERIMENT STATION FUNDS FOR COLLEGE PURPOSES. This Department holds that no portion of the funds appropriated by Congress in accordance with the act of March 2, 1887, can legally be used, either directly or indirectly, for paying the salaries or wages of professors, teachers, or other persons whose duties are confined to teaching, administration, or other work in connection with the courses of instruction given in the colleges with which the stations art- connected or in any other educational institution; nor should any other expenses connected with the work or facilities for instruction in school or college course- be paid from said fund. In case the same persons are employed in both the experiment station and the other departments of the college with which the station is con.. a fair and equitable division of salaries or wages should be made, and in case of any other expenditures for the joint benefit of the experiment station and the other departments of the college the aforesaid funds should be charged with only a fair share of such expenditui UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 20 3 12 62 09216 2865 EXTRACT FROM CIRCULAR LETTER OF THE SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE OF MARCH 20, 1906, REGARDING THE ACT OF CONGRESS OF MARCH 16, 1906, KNOWN AS THE ADAMS ACT. * * # The Director of the Office of Experiment Stations is hereby designated my representative in all matters relating- to the business of this Department in con- nection with the administration of this law, and the Office of Experiment Stations will aid in promoting effective work under this act in the same general way as it has heretofore in relation to the Hatch Act. Under the terms of the act it will be necessary that a separate account of the Adams fund shall be kept at each station, which should be open at all times to the inspection of the Director of the Office of Experiment Stations or his accredited representative. In the interpretation of this act and the examination of the work and expenditures of the stations under it I have instructed the Director of the Office of Experiment Stations to be guided by the following principles: The Adams fund is "to be applied only to paying the necessary expenses of con- ducting original researches or experiments bearing directly on the agricultural industry of the United States." It is for the "more complete endowment and maintenance" of the experiment stations, presupposing the provision of a working plant and administrative officers. Accordingly, expenses for administration, care of buildings and grounds, insurance, office furniture and fittings, general maintenance of the station farm and animals, verification and demonstration experiments, com- pilations, farmers' institute work, traveling, except as is immediately connected with original researches in progress under this act, and other general expenses for the maintenance of the experiment stations, are not to be charged to this fund. The act makes no provision for printing or for the distribution of publications, which should be charged to other funds. * * * o