The new North-west. [volume] (Deer Lodge, Mont.) 1869-1897, 1884-11-14
SEEDS FOR THE PEOPLE
Distribution by Congressman to
Their Constituents.
Nearly -Four Million Packages Yearly
Mailed from the Agricultural
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES Up
the Parcels-NaiIing.

tCor. Cincinnati Commercial Gazette
An average congressman prizes nothing
more than his seeds. They are always ap-
preciated, and appeal to the great mass of
country constituencies. This seed distribu
tion is a peculiar affair From its inception
the agricultural department has relied upon
it as chief means of keeping in the good
graces OF congressman, with remarkable sue
cess The seed business began small, but last
year $4,000 was voted for its support, and
this year SlO0,000 is set aside for that pur-
pose. Formerly the business was done in the
basement Of the agricultural department,
but two years ago spacious building was
erected for that purpose, which now also
shelters the civil service commissioners.
went down there the other day to find
loo women and fifty-eight men busily EN-
IIOyed in putting up the seed. The men get
Sl.5 a day and women S125. Mr.. Longley,
the chief, presides. Every year he buys
tons Of seeds Some come from abroad, the
greater part all grows in this country He
is constantly on the lookout for new varie-
ties, which are bought, tried by the depart
nent gardener, and, if success sent out.
TwO-thirds Of his appropriation he spends in
Seeds. the rest in putting them up. Half the
women paste together stiff paper envelopes
for the smaller kinds, and others sew
cotton Lags for the farm seeds. The boys
with different sized scoops fill them, and at
long tables other women gum the envelope
laps, or, with a few quick stitches sew the
tags. Then they are piled up in heaps like a
small griSt-mll, waiting to he sent away.
This work Is going on all the year. Now the
winter wheat is being prepared, to he fol-
lowed by the cotton of the south.
During the year just over Mr.. Longley has
mailed 3,G22, 73S packages, all going free. OF
the Z, gsi, 40 are given TO the congressman,
although by law they are only entitlei to
twn-thirds Then the agricultural depart
ment has a crop correspondent in every
county and a general one III each state
The former got 395, ,0O5 packages. the
latter 1850, while miscellaneous appli.
cants received 279,653. And SO Ter
feet is the system that great books are
kept wherein each recipient and what he re-
ceives are set down. The seeds are of all
sorts, from field corn and potatoes to the
rarest flowers. Peas, beans corn and pota-
toes are put up in quart sacks and the flower
seeds in tiny envelopes. The list includes
over fifty kinds, while of vegetables there are
12S varieties, and of flowers l3l. These two
are more than two-thirds Of the whole Last
year 2, ,35l S}5 lots of vegetables and 5G3, ,G3S
OF flower seeds were distributed, turnips
ranking next, with 425 S5S, wheat ca, go, to-
bacco ll4,67l, potatoes IL, 2229, sorghum a.
3j9, while Of the poor despised sunflower Str
packages were given away.
But, the reader will say, what job it mus.
be for a congressman to do up and address
such a number Of packages Allowing that
the division was made equally. each one re-
Ceived last year Z, ,i04. This is not literally
true, for the city members very often ex-
change their seeds with bucolc statesmen for
looks and other perquisites, while the coun-
try members, who never can get enough
seeds, go in troops to DR.. Loring to beg for
moro than they get by allowance and ex-
change. He always manages to squeeze out
a few extra, which accounts for their having
more than two-thirds. But taking the
sverage number, over 1000 of these bundles
TO direct would be large job. Instead of
that, they do this: Every congressman
keeps n wonderful book of names. He
ransacks directories, writes to local poll
ticians and relies on his memory to get list
of all the men in his district who for any
reason are worth looking after. Thousands
of them, with addresses, are thus on hand
This volume is sent to the seed office There
the clerks direct to each name variety of
seeds, and in the mail goes at the same time
a neat official postal card which bears these
words, the blanks appropriately filed:
SIR-At the request of Hon. we send
you package Of -.