Report 2 vols

The Department of Agriculture is now in the fifteenth year of its existence as a distinct branch of the operations of the Government. For many years previous to the organization of this Department the agricultural interests of the country received the attention of the Government, in a limited degree, through the administration of the Patent Office. New and valuable seeds and plants were introduced and care. fully distributed; agricultural statistics were partially collected and made available for reference; investigations relating to the habits and general history of destructive insects were prosecuted, and a large amount of information upon the general subject of agriculture was imparted to the public in essays and papers that were deemed to be instructive and valuable to farmers.

These operations, although necessarily crude and unsystematic, were widely recognized as beneficial; increased interest was manifested in agricultural improvements and experiments, which led to a frequentlyexpressed desire on the part of the farming population for a more comprehensive system of seed and plant distribution, a more extended investigation of the extent and value of the agricultural resources of the country, and a more permanent and systematic organization of Government aid to the leading industry of the nation.

In May, 1862, Congress responded to this general desire by the passage of an act establishing the Department of Agriculture. The general designs and duties of the Department, as defined by this act, are "to acquire and diffuse among the people of the United States useful information on subjects connected with agriculture in the most general and comprehensive sense of that word, and to procure, propagate, and distribute among the people new and valuable seeds and plants."

It was made the duty of the Commissioner appointed under this act, as the chief executive officer of the Department, "to acquire and preserve in his Department all information concerning agriculture which he can obtain by means of books and correspondence, and by practical and scientific experiments, by the collection of statistics, and by any other appropriate means within his power; to collect, as he may be able, new and valuable seeds and plants; to test, by cultivation, the value of such of them as may require such tests; to propagate such as may be worthy of propagation, and to distribute them among agriculturists. He shall annually make a general report, in writing, of his 15 CEN, PT 2

225

acts to the President and to Congress, in which he may recommend the publication of papers forming parts of or accompanying his report. He shall also make special reports on particular subjects whenever required to do so by the President or either house of Congress, or when he shall think the subject in his charge requires it." He was also empowered to employ, as their services may be needed, such persons as botanists, entomologists, chemists, and other persons skilled in the nat ural sciences pertaining to agriculture. The law also contemplated the publication of an annual report from the Department, to embrace such papers on agricultural subjects as might be deemed essential in furthering the general design.

In the performance of the duties thus imposed upon the Department, and in the gradual enlargement of the range of its operations, a body of assistants has been organized which now embraces a working force. of about one hundred persons-specialists, clerks, laborers, and other employés.

This working force is systematically arranged in divisions, each one of which is directed by a responsible head. These divisions are the seed division, the entomological division, the horticultural and propagating division, the statistical division, the chemical division, the botanical division, and the microscopical division. Through these divisions the Commissioner is enabled to execute the various duties prescribed and contemplated in the organic act creating the Department.

THE SEED DIVISION.

The distribution of seeds is a leading feature of the operations of the Department, having for its objects the introduction and dissemination of new and improved varieties of cereals and forage plants, as well as every kind of economic plant of promising interest or of known value. An incentive is thus given to new productions, and the formation of new industries, equally to that of increased food products. The benefits ob tained from mere change of seeds from one soil or climate to a different soil or climate; the advantages derived from careful selection of seeds, demonstrating that diminished crops may result from careless seed selection, as well as from deterioration or exhaustion of the soil, are some of the objects sought to be obtained by seed distribution, Even careful selection will not, in all cases, tend to improvement in seeds. In climates perfectly adapted to the habits and requirements of a plant, skill in cultural applications and judicious selection of seed will naturally tend to increased improvement as to quantity and qual ity of products; but when plants are introduced into climates inimical to their perfect growth gradual deterioration will invariably follow. Under these conditions the only method of insuring a succession of remunerative crops is by the introduction and use of seeds produced in climates favorable to their perfect development, and in no other way can this fact be so forcibly impressed upon farmers than that of fur

ishing them with such seeds, so that they may reach conviction from direct personal experiments.

A further important object of seed distribution is that of testing the merit of new seeds in different climates and on a diversity of soils in one season. Seeds of new, untested varieties are placed in the hands of farmers in selected localities for cultivation who in due time report the results to the Commissioner who is thus placed in possession of data that enable him to intelligently direct future distributions. Thus every farm upon which these seeds are tested, and the results fairly reported becomes an experimental farm so far as that particular product is concerned.

The seeds are usually sent through the mails, free from all charges to the recipients. They are distributed through agricultural societies and institutions, regular correspondents of the Department, members of Congress, and in special cases to individual applicants.

THE ENTOMOLOGICAL DIVISION.

The depredations of insects constitute a most serious obstacle to the successful culture of vegetable products, and their life history is one of the most important branches of knowledge that the cultivator can acquire. The principal duties of this division are those relating to the dissemination of information regarding the natural history and habits of insects injurious to vegetation, and the best known remedies for their extermination. The reports of the Department contain a very large amount of general and special information submitted from time to time by the entomologist, embracing detailed treatises on the habits of insects that are injurious to plants, their modes of attack, the damages they inflict, and the means by which they may be kept in check or utterly destroyed. An important part of the duties of the entomological division consists in answering the letters of inquiry concerning insects that are forwarded for identification and description from all parts of the country. This special information, on special subjects of immediate importance to farmers and horticulturists, is thoroughly appreciated, and its valué duly acknowledged by those thus directly benefited.

The economic museum of the Department is also in charge of the entomological division, and although it is but of a few years' growth the collection has assumed large proportions, and, being strictly agricultural in all its essential parts, it is of much interest, as well as forming a valuable auxiliary in the work of the Department. The arrangement of objects is thoroughly systematic in all its consecutive details. Representations are here to be found of all the leading agricultural products of the country. Vegetable fibers are largely represented, and specimens of the various stages of manipulation, from the raw material to the finished product, are placed side by side, whether it is woven into cloth, spun into rope, or fabricated into paper. In numbers and varieties of kinds and grades of wools and silks the collection in the museum is probably unsurpassed.

A collection of preserved birds, neatly prepared and mounted, embraces only those that are noted either for their beneficial or injurious propensities in fields and gardens; references, easily comprehended, significant of their good or bad qualities, accompany each specimen. Representations of pure breeds and distinct varieties of domestic poultry form a series of great value.

Models from nature of the best varieties of fruits and vegetables are here numbered by the thousand; the influences of soils and climates on particular fruits are clearly demonstrated by specimens of the same varieties produced in different States and localities.

ence.

The entomological branch of the museum consists of finely colored plates and cases of preserved insects methodically arranged for refer The details illustrate the various transformations they undergo,' the plants they feed upon, and the injuries they inflict. Beneficial insects are also conspicuously placed, so that the cultivator may distinguish friends from enemies, for it is quite as important that he should as zealously strive to protect the former as to destroy the latter.

THE HORTICULTURAL DIVISION.

Some years prior to the establishment of the Department of Agriculture a garden was formed under the auspices of the Patent Office for the purposes of propagating and cultivating plants for distribution. This garden was transferred to the Department, and it has been enlarged, both in its extent and range of operations, as demanded by the increased requirements of the Department.

Among the duties charged to this division the following may be noted as prominent: The propagation and distribution of such plants as are deemed worthy of introduction for their economic value; the testing of seeds and plants in regard to their climatic adaptation, and experimenting with species and varieties of useful plants, for the purpose of ascertaining their comparative merits.

Glass structures of ample dimensions are provided for the propagation and preservation of exotic and other plants. The exotic collection is mainly confined to plants having economic value, as furnishing dyes, sugars, starches, gums, fibers, edible fruits, beverages, &c., many of which may be cultivated in this country. This collection also enhances the value of the economic museum, as it contains specimens of the plants from which the materials are produced, so far as relates to the articles of vegetable origin in that collection.

The horticultural division is also charged with the arrangement and general superintendence of the grounds attached to the Department; the erection of such structures as are required for horticultural purposes, and all operations pertaining to landscape gardening and garden architecture.

About 20 acres are appropriated to the formation of an arboretum, which is designed to include a specimen of every hardy ligneous plant, arranged in accordance with a botanical classification, combined with

« Previous Continue »

Books

Report 2 vols, Volume 2