Agricultural Research

Abstract

“THE Present Position of Research in Agriculture” formed the subject of a lecture delivered by Sir Daniel Hall at the Royal Society of Arts, and reported in the society's Journal for April 1 (No. 3567, vol. Ixix.). Up to the time of the formation of the Development Commission in 1909, agricultural re search was entirely unrecognised by the State. A considerable amount of information had been gained from the researches at the Rothamsted Experimental Station, which was started in 1843, and was entirely dependent on the endowment provided by its originator, Sir John Lawes; valuable researches were also being carried on at the Woburn Station of the Royal Agricultural Society, while from 1890 onwards the various agricultural colleges were commencing in vestigations along many different lines. To work of this kind the State granted not more than a few hundred pounds a year, and the Development Com mission was expressly charged with the object of formulating some scheme for the promotion of re search. The scheme adopted is now in -working order, and by it the field is divided up into a number of subjects, one of which is allocated to each university or institute. By this means research is removed from immediate State control, concentration of effort ensured, and overlapping avoided, and each institute is able to carry out a continuous scheme of work. The question of the State control of research is one which is hotly debated. On one hand it is argued that the State pays, and therefore should control the expend!- j ture; on the other, when the nature of research work i is considered, it is obvious that the looser system of control prevailing in a university is much more pro ductive of good work than the rigid methods of a| Government department, while the type of man wanted i for research is much more attracted to the former than to the latter. Moreover, if research came directly under Government control, then the pro gramme of work would have to be submitted annually to the judgment and criticism of administrative bodies possessing no expert knowledge. That such a procedure is disastrous has been proved many times in| other countries.!