It is only within the last year that one can go by rail from Eureka, Humboldt County to El Centro, Imperial County, in three days, and this only by spending two nights on a sleeper. The average rainfall at Eureka is 46 inches. There are parts of Humboldt County where, in some seasons one hundred inches of rain falls. Four inches of rain never have been known to fall in Imperial Valley in twelve months. A member of the staff of this college has travelled, within the state, 16,000 miles in sixteen weeks in the necessary conduct of his work.

Doubtless the Executive Committee had in mind only research and education when it asked for this paper, but the title in the programme "Agricultural Institutions in California," offers an excuse for discussing the subject in a somewhat broader aspect. The purpose of the College of Agriculture is to discover and instruct, but not to control any person's actions. The United States Department of Agriculture differs from a college of agriculture in that it does not attempt to give resident instruction. A college of agriculture differs, or to speak more correctly, should differ, from the United States Department of Agriculture in that it does not possess police functions. The University of California is recognized by the State Constitution. Four functions of government are therefore recognized in this State, namely, the executive, the legislative, the judicial and the educational. It must be perfectly obvious that in California, as indeed elsewhere, police powers are an executive and not an educational function. The argument that certain police powers, because of the technical character of the control, can be exercised best by the experiment station is equally as specious as the argument that the executive branch of the government must conduct its own investigations in order that it may know how to act. The fact is that the two functions largely are incompatible. In many instances, it would not be far from wrong to say in most instances, a man who has a law to execute will not think his problem out to its logical conclusions where his

job depends upon not doing so. Of what value is a station's opinion concerning the use of hog serum if onefourth of its revenues are obtained from the sale of said serum? Suppose a police department has organized an efficient staff for the prevention and control of insect enemies and fungus diseases: What would it do if its own research led to the discovery that only one-half of the staff and only one-half of the appropriations were needed for the conduct of its work? Would it publish its researches? Did it ever occur to you that nearly every federal, state and county employee is engaged in controlling somebody's action? Go into any county in any state and run your eye over the officials. Most of them wear a star, if not on their coats then on their suspenders. There is nothing, apparently, that an official cherishes so much as police powers. Has it ever occurred to you that every state should have one institution whose duty it is to discover and whose only power it is to tell the truth? Let me

illustrate how it works.

A certain county in California has one paid official who does not have any police powers. He is known as a farm adviser and not as a county agent, however, because in the judgment of the writer the latter smacks of police powers. One of the supervisors in that county decided to try to have a law passed which he insisted quite vehemently the farm adviser should enforce. The farm adviser was quite disturbed, for he knew the policy of the University, and yet he was afraid this supervisor might induce the County Board to withdraw its financial support. The farm adviser was told that it was a matter of comparative indifference whether or not any particular county had a farm adviser. The University only wished to place them where they were wanted, and if this county did not want him he could be transferred readily to another county. We told the supervisor that we did not know what the farm adviser thought about his proposal and we did not care what he thought, but whatever, he did think, it was

his duty, if asked to do so, to advise the Board of Supervisors what action in his judgment they should take; but under no circumstances would he be allowed to enforce the law if they passed one. The fact was, the county had a thoroughly capable police officer with plenty of time, whose natural duty it would have been to enforce such a law if passed. The point I really am trying to make is, that all this came about because neither the supervisor nor the farm adviser had fully grasped the idea that the only functions of the University are to discover and to teach. When the idea really is comprehended, it will be found to have a far reach.

This same farm adviser came to us one day and said he was called to Mr. Blank's farm and found his cattle to be suffering from a contagious disease. After advising him to the best of his ability he asked, "Why did you not call the live stock inspector"? "Why, you know," the farmer replied, "we knew that you didn't mean us any harm and we did not know what the inspector might do to us." "What should I have done"? asked the farm adviser, "should I have informed the live stock inspector?" The farm adviser was told that it was his duty to try to persuade the farmer with all the power he possessed that it was in the interests of the community and his own interest to call in the live stock inspector and to have the place quarantined, but that action on that subject should be left entirely to the farmer himself.

We may as well be frank about it, this policy is not one that makes for popular appreciation. The majority of the people like to be knocked down with a club. When a man swings a big stick everybody takes off his hat and shouts for joy. If you are looking for immediate results, do not adopt the policy I have outlined. I cannot present you with any evidence that will work, in fact I have some evidence that it does not, but I feel as sure as I stand here that if the agricultural colleges are going to justify the vast sums of money they are spending, they must

analyze their own motives and they must make their methods of procedure conform with the legitimate functions they were created to perform, which are the creation and diffusion of knowledge.

In order that you may understand the agricultural work of the University of California it is necessary to explain the general methods of procedure in the University as a whole. The most important unit is not the college but the department. Legally, perhaps, the college is the more definitely recognized unit of the University, but in practice certainly, and especially from an administrative point of view, the University is a collection of definitely organized departments, the heads of which report directly to the President. The title of Dean or Director is largely ornamental and serves to indicate who is to preside over certain meetings or to indicate to whom students may go for counsel and advice. In my own case, for example, I get such privileges as I possess, and such responsibilities as I must assume, not because I am Dean of the College of Agriculture, nor because I am Director of the Experiment Station, but because I hold the archaic title of Professor of Agriculture. The various subdivisions of the Department of Agriculture are known as divisions, such as the division of agronomy, division of animal husbandry, etc. Each of these divisions has all the privileges, all the responsibilities and all the budget that in most other institutions is accorded to a department. They are in fact to all intents and purposes departments, made so, however, by the head of the department and not by the action of the Board of Regents.

In this institution the matter of an academic title is an important one. It was not sufficient to give Dr. Webber the title of Director of Citrus Experiment Station and Dean of the Graduate School of Tropical Agriculture, but it was essential that he be given the title of Professor of Plant Breeding. If, therefore, you notice that some of us bear an imposing array of titles, you will understand

they were given in order to comply with a certain type of organization for which the University of California is perhaps peculiar.

Neither does the academic title a man bears indicate the function or functions he performs. You cannot tell from his title whether he is a teacher, an investigator or both. We do not say a man is a Professor of Agronomy and Agronomist to the Experiment Station. We simply say he is Professor of Agronomy. As head of that division he willy-nilly has charge of all the activities of that division and largely he determines what the activities of that division shall be. Whether the emphasis shall be placed on teaching or investigation or even upon extension, it is chiefly his duty to determine and to organize his division accordingly. Naturally he will be held responsible for the results. We even give the men employed under the Smith-Lever Act an academic title. We do not know our field men officially as farm advisers. They are recommended and elected as assistants or instructors in agricultural extension. There is nothing in our plan of organization to prevent them being promoted to an assistant professorship or even a professorship of agricultural extension. They thus have such faculty privileges and responsibilities as their rank entitles them to. Please observe that it is not claimed that this is the best way or even the right way; but it is necessary for you to know that it is our way before you can understand our procedure.

Outside of our extension work which includes thirteen counties, the Department of Agriculture of the University has eight centers of activities. Three of these centers, Berkeley, Davis and Riverside, may be considered the major centers, while Fresno, Whittier, El Centro, Santa Monica and Chico may be referred to as minor. The last two are forestry tracts where we merely keep a care-taker and may be forgotten in this discussion. The six points at which members of our staff reside permanently are: