r Of THE ^ 
 
 I UNIVERSITY ) 
 
 mi- v ^ of fc y 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA. 
 
 AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION. 
 
 BERKELEY, GAL. 
 
 B. W. HILGARD, Director. BULLETIN NO. 78. 
 
 Report on the Establishment of Outlying Stations. 
 
 President E. 8. Holden— Dear Sir : I re* ure Stations under competent supervision, and 
 
 spect fully submit the following considerations the desire of the agricultural public in that di- 
 
 and statements concerning the organization of rection has repeatedly found utterance in 
 
 the Agricultural Experiment Station work under resolutions of the State Grange, State conven- 
 
 the provisions of the M Hatch Bill," which has tions and other publio meetings. Those passed 
 
 now been made effective by the appropriation at the last meetings of these bodies are espe- 
 
 that has lately passed Congress : cially emphatic, and the support thus given 
 
 The Experiment Station work that for 10 has doubtless aided greatly in the passage of 
 
 years past has been carried on so far as the the appropriation act through Congress, 
 
 funds of the University, and the State appro- Our general policy in regard to this subject 
 
 priations made from time to time, have permit- being thus understood, the principles that 
 
 ted, is entirely of the character contemplated should guide in the establishment of such cult- 
 
 by the " Hatch Experiment Station Bill," and ure experiment stations require a brief dis- 
 
 the interest it has excited in this State has not cussion. 
 
 only found expression in the increased appro- In determining the proper location of the 
 
 priations consecutively made for its support by outlying stations, their distinctive objects, and 
 
 the Legislature, but also by the desire mani- relation to the central station at Berkeley, 
 
 fested for its expansion so as to provide ade- should be kept clearly in view. The latter 
 
 ?uately for the varied needs of the widely dif- must of necessity cover the whole ground of in- 
 
 erent climatic regions of California. It being vestigation in agricultural science and prac- 
 
 mauifestly impossible to represent by the work tioe, as recited in the Act of Congress and as 
 
 of any single station the conditions of a State heretofore carried out so far as the means at 
 
 co-extensive with the section of the Atlantic command permitted. The outlying stations, 
 
 Coast reaching from Cape Cod to the Savannah on the contrary, are designed to be essentially 
 
 river, the establishment of outlying Culture " culture stations " only, in which the adapta- 
 
 Experiment Stations has long been urged, and tions of culture plants to the local ^ climates 
 
 to some extent the demand has been supplied and soils are to be tested systematically, in 
 
 by the annual distribution of seeds and living order to relieve the practical farmer from the 
 
 plants throughout the State, to persons apply- necessity of making such trials at his individual 
 
 ing for them and willing to make trials and re- and often very heavy expense in unproductive 
 
 port thereon to the Agricultural Department, investments, and the results of which after all 
 
 The last annual report records the outcome of are not convincing to others and do not become 
 
 a large number of experiments thus initiated; part of public experience, 
 
 yet it cannot be denied that, considering the With this object in view, it is evident that 
 
 large number of persons to whom distributions in the selection of locations for such stations 
 
 have been made, the responses have been rela- the following points should be primarily re- 
 
 tively few and too often of a very unsatisfac- garded: 
 
 wry character, owing to the unavoidable want L Eioh station should be representative of 
 
 of necessary attention on the part of the dis- as large an area of agricultural land as possible, 
 
 tnbutee. At all events, these results have with respect to climatic conditions first of all, 
 
 served to emphasize the need of Regional Cult- and secondly with resp3ct to soil conditions. 
 
2 Agricultural regions of which the adapta- 
 tions anS peculiarities are still uncertain should 
 receive attention first, since it is here that the 
 Greatest volume of work remains to be done; 
 whSeln regions that have been settled up ong 
 Tg 0 the trials of individual culture P^s that 
 may come into question may be intrusted to in- 
 telligent individuals. 
 This implies, conversely, that when, after a 
 which ma'y vary from 1C I to 20 or ■ more 
 a culture station shall have fulfilled its 
 
 or 
 
 time, < 
 
 main objects, it may be dispensed with, 
 transferred to another locality standing in need 
 of such work. Yet it may also turn out to be 
 desirable to maintain some outlying station or 
 stations permanently, and invest them with ad- 
 ditional functions in the prosecution of agri- 
 cultural experimentation. Under this point of 
 view it would seem to be desirable that the 
 lands occupied should be held in trust, or on 
 lease, rather than in fee simple, by the Univer- 
 
 It is my impression that such tenure of land 
 for the purposes of a culture station can, in 
 most, if not in all caBes, be obtained by consent 
 or donation from the owner, with only nominal 
 expense to the institution. 
 
 As regards the necessary buildings, the Act 
 provides that a sum not exceeding $3000 may 
 be expended for buildings and repairs, the first 
 (this) year, but thereafter only $750 per year 
 shall be so applicable. This provision was evi- 
 dently intended to prevent the improper use of the 
 land for extensive buildings, allowing only what 
 considered absolutely essential, such as dwell- 
 ings for employees, barn, tool and propagating 
 h >use, to be defrayed out of the appropiiation. 
 This works well enough where, as in the smaller 
 Eastern States, one single station answers all 
 purposes. But where, as in California, at least 
 five stations (besides the central one at Berke- 
 ley) will be required to represent even remotely 
 the several agricultural regions, this provision 
 leaves us without the means of providing for 
 their buildings. 
 
 From the offers and suggestions already re- 
 ceived, I believe that this difficulty can be over- 
 come by inviting subscriptions to defray the 
 cost of needed buildings, in the localities or re- 
 gions that will be benefited by their establish- 
 ment. It would manifestly be invidious to allot 
 the whole $3000 permitted by law to any one 
 favored locality, unless it be the central station 
 at Berkeley. The latter, as you are aware, 
 stands in the most urgent need of buildings 
 that shall properly subserve the uses of the Ex- 
 periment Station, which at present has neither 
 office, nor collection-room, nor adequate labora- 
 tory accommodations. In conformity with this 
 view, I have already submitted to you sugges- 
 tions and plans by which, supplementing the 
 $3000 with an appropriate sum from the Uni- 
 versity fund, a satisfactory building for the use 
 of the station may be constructed, mostly upon 
 foundations already existing. This is really the 
 first need for the successful management of the 
 already complex work, which will become ad- 
 ditionally heavy and complicated when the out- 
 lying stations shall have been established. 
 
 As regards the number and general collocation 
 of these culture stations, I have already, in 
 former reports and communications, outlined 
 my views in the premises. They are based 
 upon the natural agricultural subdivisions of 
 the State, which may be stated as follows: 
 
 L Southern region, from San Di^o to Santa 
 Barbara, and inland to the MojaTe and Colo- 
 
 ^^t'joaquin valley, from the Tejon 
 
 T»^A <™ stockton north * 
 
 W ^ Foothills of the Sierra, substantially from 
 Fresno to Tehama county. 
 5. Coast Range region. 
 
 It is impossible to make fewer divisions, and 
 consequently /?»e outlying culturt ttaiiont is the 
 minimum number that can at all represent the 
 State. The Coast Range might be supposed to 
 be represented by the central station at 
 Berkeley, but it is notorious that this is not at 
 all the case. The Berkeley climate represents 
 only a very limited area, directly influenced by 
 the fogs that pour in through the Golden Gate 
 at the time when the maximum heat prevails 
 elsewhere. As a culture station, it is not hap- 
 pily located, and the Coast Range should be 
 otherwise represented. In view of the consid- 
 erations already set forth above, it appears to 
 me that the extensive and important region 
 lately opened up to settlement by the extension 
 of the Southern Pacific railroad toward San 
 Luis Obispo, along the largest river of the Coast 
 Range, the Salinas, is eminently entitled to 
 consideration, it being a new and apparently 
 most promising field for varied cultures. I 
 submit herewith a proposition looking toward 
 the establishment of a station, on the general 
 basis as above outlined, by a donation of land 
 in trust and the raising of a luin sufficient for 
 the eraction of buildings, on the part of 
 Mr. J. V. Webster of Creston, San Lois 
 Obispo county. The land offered is situated 
 within a few miles of the town of 1'aso Kobles, 
 and in my view will be as fairly representative 
 of the culture conditions c f the fine agricult- 
 ural region of the Upper Salinas as could be 
 readily chosen. I therefore respectfully rec- 
 ommend the formal acceptance of Mr. Web- 
 ster's proposition at the coming meeting of the 
 Board of Regents, and that the expenditure 
 needful for farther equipment and such work as 
 the season will permit, be authorized. 
 
 Another most acceptable offer of a similar 
 tenor comes from Senator A. Caminetti and 
 others, offering a tract of land within a few 
 miles (the exact location yet to be determined 
 upon) cf Jackson, Amador county. As that 
 county is very nearly centrally located within 
 the Foothill region as above defined, and as 
 personal examination has satisfied me that the 
 soil and climate of the locations of which the 
 choice is offered is as fairly representative of the 
 foothill region at large as any one location that 
 could be selected, I also recommend the ac- 
 ceptance of this offer, it being the only one that 
 has come from that region, and being in every 
 respect a fair one, besides being situated in a 
 information as to un- 
 
 community anxious for 
 tried cultures. 
 
 I am in receipt of suggestions and offers of 
 co-operation from various other points, notably 
 from Tulare county, from Santa Barbara 
 (the same as formerly oommunicated to you) 
 and from the county of Los Angeles. None of 
 these suggestions have as yet tsken so definite 
 
 a form as to call for a recommendation 
 
 on my 
 
 part at this time. But in view of the lateness 
 of the season and of the short time remaining 
 within which the appropriation for the present 
 
3 
 
 fiscal year can be expended, I urgently recom- 
 mend that the power to accept appropriate do- 
 nations for culture stations, and to take proper 
 action thereon, be delegated to a committee that 
 can be easily called together; since the necessity 
 of awaiting the action of a regular meeting of 
 the Board of Regents would defeat all farther 
 progress in the establishment of stations for 
 this season. 
 
 I have in view one other station, the estab- 
 lishment of which will involve but little initial 
 or current expense, and which would adequate- 
 ly represent the higher portion of the middle 
 Coast Ranges, I refer to Mount Hamilton, 
 the native vegetation of which shows unex- 
 pected possibilities in the way of cultivation at 
 the height of 4000 feet. I have found at this 
 altitude the native grapevine and a growth of 
 oaks and other plants rivaling that of many 
 interior valleys. Apart from the desirable- 
 ness of thus facilitating the supply of life's 
 necessaries to the personnel on the mountain, 
 the success of cultures at that elevation would 
 go far to show the latent possibilities of the 
 lower ridges, now mere pasture-grounds. I, 
 therefore, suggest that so soon as the Mount 
 Hamilton domain shall have been turned over 
 to the Regents, operations looking toward at 
 
 least a small culture plot be at once begun, so 
 as, if possible, to gain a year's time in actual 
 experience. 
 
 It should not be forgotten that besides these 
 new stations and the one at Berkeley, three 
 specially viticultural stations, based entirely 
 on private munificence, are already in opera- 
 tion. Two of these are located on opposite 
 sides of the Santa Clara valley (at Cupertino 
 and Mission San Jose), and one at Fresno. If 
 these are maintained and the plana above out- 
 lined are carried out, we will have ten stations 
 in all to look after. This is a very respectable 
 number, and it is obvious that it cannot be 
 much increased without special strong reasons 
 or, perhapB, additional pecuniary means. I es- 
 timate the current expense of maintenance of a 
 general culture station, of 15 to 20 acres, once 
 established and equipped, at between $2000 
 and $2500 per annum; and it is thus easily seen 
 that the limits of the Congressional fund will 
 very nearly have been reached when the present 
 plans are carried into effect. 
 
 Respectfully submitted, 
 
 E. W. HlLGABD, 
 
 Professor of Agriculture, 
 Btrkeley. March 12th.