The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1881-02-09

Washington has been sending out the In
dia Jute seed, and as yet little has been
accomplished. Louisiana and Georgia
alone, report to the Department success
tut results. 1t may be, and probably
that the difficulty is that capital is not
forthcoming to utilize the jute fibre The
machinery for manufacture of bagging,
&C., is quite expensive. But in Califor-
,ia the results have been satisfactory.
Appleton's Encyclopedia states that this
State grows India jute, and manufactures
all the bagglng necessary to export its
large grain crops.
Report of U. s. Commissioner of Agri-
culture for 1879.
To return 20 the report of the u States
Commissioner of Agriculture. First comes
alter the report OF the Commissioner of Ag-
riculture proper, the report of the Chem
lst, who seems to have done good work
IN his Department as Analyses of mine
rails, ores, and marls, 152 in number; OF
mineral waters, 6 in number; of soils, s
IN NUMBER. of superl hosphates and com
mercial fertilizers, 20; OF Rock salt from
Louisiana--of wines and liquors, ID; OF
palnt-of butter and oleomargarine, s.:
OF polsons. g; of sugar beets, 9; of grain,
including corn, rice, wheat, sorghum, &C.,
"A; OF native grasses, So of stalks, ba-
gassee, leaves OF sorghum, and maize, 9:
OF sucrose (sugar producing) glucose, &C.,
in different varieties of sorghum, maize,
pea millet, sugar cane watermelons, &C.,
232; of medicinal and poisonous plants,
Z; of juices from sorghum, maize, and
pearl millet, SO; of green corn and cobs,
4; OF precipitates from defectation OF
juices from sorghum and corn.stalk mo-
lasses 5; of baking powders, 3; expert
ments In making alcohol IRON sorghum
and corn stalk molasses, 5; of coffee ber-
rles artihcially colored, II; of powders
used in coloring coffee, 3; of hay, 5; ex-
perlments in making sugar from four va
rleties of sorghum, pearl millet, sweet
corn, corn stalks, and watermelons, 35 :;
and analyses of eight other different sub
stances. This work shows what might be
done If the Department was properly sus-
tanned by Congress. The Commissioner
has now, we think, one Chemist and an
assistant. He asks Congress for twenty
working chemists, and laboratory build
ing. separate from the Department build
ing. Now, the laboratory is in the base
ment of the building, adjoining the pack
ing and folding rooms, all of which are
without proper ventilation. If such a
laboratory conld be obtained, it is pro-
posed to analyze all the minerals and fer
tlllzers that the people of the U. States
might send to it free of charge. And
certainly this would be very desirable,
but Congress not needing the wants OF
the land-holders, pays no attention to
such request. In addition to this. with
other things, he thinks important, the
Commissioner has requested Congress to
provide an experimental farm near Wash
lngton of 1000 acres, to conduct various
experiments important to the agricultural
interests To this Congress has also
turned deaf ear. This indifference to
the greatest Of all the interests of the
country seems inexplicable But we hear
that the Commissioner has displeased
Congress by assuming to himself the dis
trlbution of seeds, instead of giving to
the members who desired them to use for
their political advancement. In this we
think he is right, because he will send
them to the best farmers and horticultu-
rlsts whose names he has on the books OF
the Department, many of whom are his
especial correspondents, selected for their
intelligence and agricultural skill, and
public spirit.
Some of the analyses of sorghum cane
&c, and some of the experimental results
OF the chemist have been embodied in the
Report of the Commissioner, already com
mented on.
Next to the Report of the Chemist
comes that of the Statistician of the De-
partment. We are not satisfied with
these statistics-not that the conductor
OF the department has not done all he
could under the circumstances, but the
means to the end, are insufficient. He
says the compilation is made from re-
turns made by some four thousand cor
respondents, being representatives of two
thirds OF the correspondents in the whole
country. We suppose there are nearly
tour thousand counties in the United
States Computing from the fact that Vir-
GINA has one hundred). Many of these
correspondents only speak of their own
crops ignoring those Of the other farmers
in the county. The only way that these
statistics can be gotten with any accuracy
Is to require the commissioners of the
revenue, or those officers who visit every
farm to get a list of taxable property, at
the same time to get the areas planted in
different crops, yield per acre, proportion