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.