African Slave Trade-Continued. Captured by American vessels, to Stranded on coast of Florida recom- Seizure of slaves on board the En- Treaty between five powers of Inquiry of Senate respecting, and Referred to, 2082 Treaty with Great Britain regard- Vessels transporting slaves should Agassiz, Jean Louis Rodolphe; author, Agassiz, J. L. R., visit of, to Brazil, re- Agents, Indian. (See Indian Agents.) Agricultural Experiment Stations dis- Culture of, 6939. Coffee- Production of, 6771. Commerce with foreign countries in, Corn- Commerce in, restrained by Great Introduction of products of, into Cotton- Captured and forfeited referred to, Commerce in, referred to, 4973. African possessions of Portugal, Brazil, 4711. Discriminating duties on, from Brit- Duty on, Lord Aberdeen's letter re- Persons engaged in bringing out, Exportation of, discussed, 5887, 5979, Hay, exportation of, prohibited, 3476. Duties on, discussed and referred to, Duties on, in foreign ports, 1648, From Netherlands and Dutch col- Growth, production, and trade of, Internal tax on, removal of, rec- Trade with foreign countries to be Referred to, 1806. Value of annual production of, dis- Advancement of, recommended, 58, for, recommended, Agriculture, Bureau of: Appropriations for, 3996. Discussed, 3334, 3452, 3564, 4066, 4106, 4364, 4645, 4947, 5112, 5383. Employees in To participate in decoration of graves of soldiers, 4753, 4818, 4899, 5078, 5350. To participate in dedication of Washington Monument, 4879. To witness inauguration of President Cleveland, 4881. Enlargement of facilities of, recommended, 4530. Establishment of, 3334. Recommended, 2556, 2622, 2663, 2714, 3253. Referred to, 4066, 4947. Experiment stations, recommenda tions regarding, 5384, 5888, 5980. Food adulteration discussed, 5384. Seed distribution. (See Seed Distribution.) Agriculture, Commissioner of: Reply of, to Senate resolution regarding diseases prevailing among swine, 4435. ** Reports of, referred to, 4158, 4364, 4428, 4432, 4462, 4578. Agriculture, Department of. This Department of the Executive Branch of the Government had its origin in the recommendation of Washington. As early as Dec. 7, 1796, in his eighth annual address (194) he said that "with reference either to individual or national welfare agriculture is of primary importance," and at the same time urged the importance of the establishment of boards charged with collecting and diffusing information, and enabled by premiums and small pecuniary aids to encourage and assist a spirit of discov ery and improvement. The sentiments expressed by Washington were reiterated and enlarged upon by all or nearly all of his successors (3776, 4457, 4530, 4947, 5112). From the very beginning of the Government its foreign representatives had sent home seeds and cuttings of agricultural products to be tried in the United States, and in 1839 Congress made an appropriation of $1,000 for the distribution of material thus collected and for the publication of agricultural statistics. This work was entrusted to the Patent Office, which belonged to the Department of State until 1849, when the Department of the Interior was established and the Patent Office became a part of it. Up to 1849 the agricultural work was carried on by the Commissioner of Patents, Henry L. Ellsworth, but from that time until 1861, a special official, under the direction of the Commissioner, was employed for the work. May 15, 1862, an act was approved which created the Department of Agriculture, the duties of which were to diffuse useful information on subjects connected with agriculture in the most general and comprehensive sense of the word, and to procure, propagate, and distribute among the people new and valuable seeds and plants.'' It was provided that the head of this Department should be a Commissioner of Agriculture, to hold office by a tenure similar to that of other civil officers appointed by the President. The Department was made a full Executive Department by an act of Congress approved February 9, 1889, and placed under the supervision and control of a Secretary, who was made a member of the President's Cabinet. To promote the agricultural interests of the country in the most thorough manner an act of Congress approved March 2, 1887, provided for the establishment of agricultural experiment stations (see Agricultural Colleges and Experimental Stations), in connection with the agricultural colleges in the several States and Territories, and placed the Commissioner of Agriculture over these stations in an advisory and administrative capacity. To represent the Department of Agriculture in its relation with these experiment stations, the Office of Experiment Stations was established in the same year. There are now (1909) 60 of these experiment stations in the United States, each State and Territory having one or more, besides those in Alaska, Puerto Rico and Hawaii, which are managed directly by the Office of Experiment Stations. The Agricultural colleges established in the several States and Territories in accordance with the land grant act of Congress of July 2, 1862 (see Agricultural Colleges and Experiment Stations), have no organic relation to the Department of Agriculture further than that the agricultural experiment stations are generally departments of the agricultural colleges, and that the president of each of these colleges is obliged to make an annual report to the Secretary of Agriculture. The Weather Bureau (q. v.) an important branch of the Department, was authorized by Congress February 4, 1870, under the direction of the War Department, but by an Index. Agriculture, Department of-Continued. act of October 1, 1890, it was trans- ments Isaac to determine the effect of adulterants upon the human system; and the Bureau of Statistics, organized as the Division of Statistics in 1863 and made a Bureau in 1903. The last-named Bureau is the oldest distinctively statistical agency of the Government, its work being the gathering of material of interest to the agriculturist, from all parts of the world. The following persons have held the office of Commissioner of Agriculture in the order named: Newton, Pennsylvania; Horace Capron, Illinois; Frederick Watts, Pennsylvania; William G. Le Duc, Minnesota; George B. Loring, Massachusetts; and Norman J. Colman, Missouri. Those who have held the Office of Secretary of Agriculture are: Norman J. Colman, Missouri; Jeremiah M. Rusk, Wisconsin; J. Sterling Morton, Nebraska, and James Wilson, Iowa. AGRICULTURAL COLLEGES AND EXPERIMENT STATIONS.-Large tracts of land in the Northwest Territory were granted to the States formed therefrom, to be sold by the legislatures or by the Federal Government for educational purposes. 1785 Congress, foreAs early as shadowing the permanent policy of the nation in encouraging education, enacted that one thirty-sixth of all the public lands should be set apart for and dedicated to the cause of education, and by the act of July 23, 1787, this reservation was made perpetual. The further to encourage and dignify the science of husbandry, Congress, by the Morrill Act of July 2, 1862, provided "that there be granted to the several States * an amount of public land, to be ap * * portioned to each State a quantity By an act approved Aug. 30, 1890, It Agriculture, Department of, Agricultural Colleges, and Experimental Stations-Continued. proceeding from the sale of public lands. In his report for 1908, Secretary Wilson said: "It has been demonstrated that the granting of Federal aid to the States for the maintenance of the stations gave an immediate and tremendous impulse to the organization of these institutions throughout the country and led to increasing liberality on the part of the States in providing for their equipment and maintenance. The latest statistics gathered by the Office of Experiment Stations show that though the Federal aid to them was greatly augmented by the passage of the Adams Act, the increase in their local funds kept pace with this, so that now more than half the annual income of the stations is derived from sources within the States. "The progress made in agricultural education in the United States during 'the past eleven years as a result of popular demand stimulated by the work of the State agricultural colleges and experiment stations and of this Department is unprecedented in the history of the world. In 1897, when the present administration of this Department began, all but one of the land-grant colleges were in running order and doing excellent work, but their total income was only $5,000,000; to-day it is almost $15,000,000. The property of these institutions was then valued at $51,000,000; now at $96,000,000. Then there were less than 4,000 students in agricultural courses; now there are over 10,000. "The efforts of the Alaska, Hawaii and Porto Rico stations along the lines of diversified agriculture have been continued. The Alaska stations devote their principal efforts to live stock, horticultural crops, and cereal growing. The cattle formerly at the Kenai station have been removed to Kodiak and the two herds combined. The station now has about 60 head of registered Galloway cattle, which have demonstrated their ability to withstand winter conditions by going through the last winter without any shelter except an open feeding shed. "The work in Porto Rico consists of experiments in plant and animal introduction and breeding, crop production, control of insect and fungus pests, reforestation, etc. Experiments in breeding pigs and poultry have proved quite successful at the station and the surplus is sold to planters at fair prices. No difficulties have been met with in raising any of the improved strains and the demand is always in excess of the station's supply. Preliminary steps have been taken for the establishment and maintenance of an experiment station in the island of Guam, and the conditions in that island are believed to be favorable for the restoration of agriculture and its development along more modern lines."' WEATHER BUREAU.-This was first suggested in 1817. In 1819 a cooperative movement was begun and the officers at the various military posts were required to make monthly reports of the weather. In 1870 Congress made an appropriation to establish a weather bureau at Washington and pay for telegraphic communication between posts of observation in different parts of the country. Until 1891 the Bureau remained under the War Department. In July of that year it was transferred to the newly created Department of Agriculture. This Bureau forecasts storms, floods, and all changes in the weather condi tions, and publishes such climatic and meteorological data as the public interest seems to demand. It has more than 600 paid employees, who devote their entire time to its service. Its annual cost is more than $800,000. The annual saving to the agricultural and shipping interests of the country due to the forecasts of the Bureau is believed to be incalculable. The percentage of correct forecasts is about 4 out of 5. In hurricanes from the West Indies it reaches 5 out of 5, or 100 per cent. The headquarters of the Bureau are located in a special building at the National Capital; there are branches at Chicago, Boston, Galveston, Denver, Portland, Ore., and San Francisco, and its officials are stationed at various points throughout the country and in the West Indies. Agriculture, Department of: Creation of, discussed, 5486. Discussed, 5554, 5641, 5763, 5886, 5978, 6169, 6346, 6390, 6455, 6653. Educational work of, 7035, 7036. Expenditures of, 5886, 5981. Experiment Stations of, 6773, 7035. Forest Service recommended, 7040. Land reserved for use of, 6749. Law officer for, recommended, 5487. Statistical division of, 5982. Sugar-beet culture, 4534, 5554, 6280, 6347, 6356, 6415, 6455, 6939. Sugar cane experiments, 7079. Agriculture, Department of-Continued. Works of, 6653, 6767, 7036, 7057. Aguinaldo, referred to, 6408, 6414. ville Co., S. C.; was an official court Ainsworth, F. C., work of, in Record and Pension Division of War Depart- Alabama. One of the United States; posits. A vein of bituminous coal Act prescribing number of district at- Direct tax due from, request of 3998. Fourteenth amendment ratified by, Proclaimed, 3837. Indian depredations in, 1645. Lands granted to, in aid of railroads Memorial from colored citizens of Property owners in, should be com- pensated for losses sustained, 1474. ture of, asking extension of time to Alabama Claims.-During the Civil War |