McCook weekly tribune. (McCook, Neb.) 188?-1886, 1885-05-21
VERY HIGH PRICED SEED.

Discoveries That Hare Been Made by the Nct0
Commissioner of agriculture Useless Er-
perdit,,re of Money.
Commissioner Coleman says OF the condition
of affairs in the department Of agriculture
that soon after he entered upon his duties his
attention was called to the fact that the
laboratory fund was nearly exhausted, and he
was therefore compelled to furlough several
employees until the end of the fiscal year with
out pay. Now it appears that several other
specific appropriations are in like condition
of exhaustion and many minor branches OF the
work will be temporarily suspended. The
statistical division suffers the loss of all its
state agents and other such suspensions must
necessarily be made in the seed division. The
appropriation for the current fiscal year was
100000. On the first of the present month
there remained only S32 of this fund in the
treasury. An estimate made in detail by the
heads of this division for the purchase OF
seeds, called for an expenditure OF $1,000
which would leave 100000 to pay the
expense of packing, and distribution
The amount actually expended for
seeds from this fund seems to have been 49,
600. AS a result there are several kinds OF
seeds on hand in large quantities with no
money to paw the expense of packing and dis
tribution. There are thus in excess thirteen
thousand pounds of beet sugar seed, between
seven and eight hundred bushels of peas and
between six and seven hundred bushels OF
sorghum seed. There have been distributed
the past wear about five thousand pounds of
beet sugar seed, and the supply on hand Is
sufficient to last nearly three years at that
rate. Some of the peas on hand cost 81
bushel Part of the sorghum seeds has been
emptied from sacks upon the floor, and two
boys are employed to stir them round TO keep
them from spelling. wide variety of prices
were paid for seed; for example, seventeen
hundred bushels of sorghum seed were pur-
chased from a New York firm at prices rang
ing from SO 35 to So. 95 bushel, while three
hundred bushels of the same variety were
obtained from western man for 81 bushcl.
The attention of the chemist of tue depart
ment was called to this fact o'daY and he
was asked as an expert what would
have been fair price for the seed at the time
this stock was purchased. He said it sold as
low as twenty-five cents per bushel in Ne
braska, but that 81 bushei would be an ex-
ceedingly good price for the very best quality
ready prepared for planting. He was asked
how large a quantity of sorghum seed he
would nave purchased had The matter been
''There was no reason for the purchase of
either sorghum or beet seed. There was no
purpose in view. There was no new variety
to be tried. There was no more reason for
disturbing an old variety than for sending out
white wheat" The chief of the seed division
once last summer called the attention of the
chief clerk of the department to the fact that
he had more than 200 ladies employed III the
seed room and protested this force could not
be economically used, but there seems to have
been no efficient reform There seems to have
been a very liberal distribution of turnip seed.
So far this year the amount purchased is stated
to be Is, 165 bushels. Yet the amount on hand
is not reported in excess The largest amount
previously purchased within i've years was
$500 bushels. These discoveries have been
made incidentally, and no formal invcstiga-
ton was undertaken.