Similar stations were established by North Carolina in 1877; by New Jersey in 1880; by New York and Ohio in 1882; and by Massachu setts in 1883. During this period also several of the agricultural colleges organized their research work on a more definite basis, and by 1887 there were 17 stations in operation in 14 States.
In 1883 a bill was introduced in the House of Representatives of the National Congress by C. C. Carpenter, of Iowa, providing for the establishment of experiment stations in con nection with the colleges of agriculture, but it was not voted upon. In the next Congress Mr. Cullen, of Illinois, introduced a bill pro viding for a grant of $15,000 annually to each State and Territory for this purpose. This bill was re-introduced in the following Congress by William H. Hatch, of Missouri, and after being so amended as to authorize States, in which experiment stations independent of the agricultural colleges had been previously estab lished, to use the grant in support of such independent stations —a proviso applying to the five stations above mentioned— the bill became a law on 2 March 1887.
Under this law experiment stations have been established in every State and Territory in the United States, 60 such stations being enumer ated in 1914— the fund being divided between two stations each in Connecticut and New York; while additional stations have been es tablished under State or Territorial support in Alabama, Louisiana, Missouri, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Virginia, and in several of the States substations or test farms have been established under State support, but as adjuncts to the regular stations. In addition to these the National Government has established sta tions in Alaska, Hawaii, Porto Rico and Guam.
In 1914 the stations organized under the Hatch Act of 1887 and the Adams Act of 1906 (see below) had a total income of $5,054,687.96, of which $1,426,166.99 was received from the National Government, the remainder, $3,628, 520.97, corning from State appropriations, fees, sales of produce and other sources. The sta tions employed 1,852 persons in the work of administration and research, and published 1,330 reports and bulletins, which were sent to over 1,000,000 addresses.
The following are among the principal sub jects under investigation by the American sta tions: (1) The soil: its physics, chemistry and biology; including tillage, drainage, irrigation and the maintenance of fertility by crop rota tion and the use of manures and fertilizers.
(2) The plant: its physiology, chemistry, nutri tion and pathology; the introduction of new varieties; improvement in productiveness by selection and breeding; the control of fungous and bacterial diseases and injurious insects; the various phases of forestry. (3) Animals: the special adaptations of the various breeds; the chemistry of animal foods and the econom ics of feeding; dairying and its manifold prob lems; the control of animal diseases.
In addition to the work above outlined, several States have laid upon the stations cer tain lines of police work, such as the inspection of fertilizers, seeds, drugs, foods and animal feeding stuffs for the prevention of adultera tion; that of live stock to prevent communica tion of animal diseases, and that of orchards and nurseries for the control of insect pests and fungous diseases; but such work is not scientific research; it frequently interferes ma terially with the conduct of such research, and is more properly an executive function of the State government. In some States it is so recognized.
Under the provisions of the Hatch Act the stations are governed under the laws of their respective States, the National Government exercising no control except to make sure, through annual financial reports from the sta tions and through personal visits by officers of the Office of Experiment Stations of the De partment of Agriculture, that the money appro priated by Congress is being expended for the purpose designated in the national law.
The stations, in connection with the colleges of agriculture, have organized an Association of American Agricultural Colleges and Experi ment Stations, which meets annually at some point in the United States for the discussion of matters pertaining to their work, and the Office of Experiment Stations publishes a monthly journal, the Experiment Station Record, in which notices or summaries are given, not only of the publications of the American stations, but also of the scientific agricultural publica tions of the world.