The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1891-12-20
SECRETARY RUsK, JOKER OF THE CARMEN

And when l get to working here" said he
u me, i sometimes forget when lunch time
comes. and don't get anything to eat"
Mr.. Rusk." said !, very seriously,
what is the attitude of the Department of
:: Agriculture on the subject of rain-mak-
ing?'
got telegram yesterday" said he. 1t
read; Please send US a rain-maker.' l
answered, we have no rain-maker to send
you. on will have 10 look to a higher
source There was an appropriation of
$1,000 to make rain, but 1t is exhausted.
But they had me believing in the theory
one time, added the Secretary, with a
chuckle. There came in a report of an
experiment that had been made down in
the Southwest somewhere, and it is said
that they made their explosion and it raned
cats and dogs. But then came a scientific
man who bad been present, and he said it
didn't rain drop. | told him that couldn't
be, for l had letter from cowboy no was
OF the spot, and that was confident that q
cowboy well knew when il rained. On be-
ing confronted with the cowboys state
nent. my scientist said the reason he had
SAID Ii hadn I raIned was because be hadn't
mad his rain-gauge with him! And it
turned out that not only did it actually rain,
bur that the Weather Bureau had foretold
rain three days previous, and the rain-mall-
eTs had been barely in time to get off their
explosion before it came down"
''Then what is your final conclusion on
the subiect?" l inquired.
Mr.. Rusk looked out Of the window. The
wind was west. the air dry, the sky blue,
and not cloud to be seen. They couldn't
make it rain out there to-day" said he, if
they used up all the explosives in Wash
ington." So we are left to infer that rain
making is not yet regarded by the depart
ment as an established scientific fact.
What about Salton LakeY l then
asked, for was interested in the irrigation
of the Great American Desert. "Is the
water from the Colorado or is it from under
ground?'
This opened up the whole subject of irri-
CATION. The Secretary was inclined to the
belief that the Salton Lake water was from
a subterranean source. II was not sea water
at all events; whatever Salton might attach
TO it was derived from the soil. The inyesti-
cations carried on by the department as to
artesiaD-well water had demonstrated that
vast aTtesian reservoirs exist, from the
Canada border in the north to that of Mex
leo In the south. Submerged dams for
storing and eDticing the underfiow waters
have been successfully operated. The con-
Meeting area of this underground flow,
which moves at only moderate depth be-
low the surface, is vastly greater in some
parts of the country than the true arteSian
fiovs In one way or another, there is no
que3 ion as 10 what irrigation is doing"
added Mr.. Rusk. Ten years ago they were
saying that not II, 900 acres OF arabic
land remained east of the one hundredth
meridian; to-day over $1,000 COO acres have
been taken up for farming Values OF arid
lands have increased from 100 to 500 per
cent. Our investigation did great deal in
Il very short while, but we were hampered
by insufficient appropriations and extraor-
binary pToVisOs as to time, and we hope to
do u great deal more If they give US the
chance"
is Congress. then, not generous in the
matter of appropriations" ask ed l.
Mr.. Rusk nodded his head, moved un-
easily in his chair and gave me look which
spoke volumes. A CHEF OF division, who
was sitting at my left, spoke out:
This department" said he, is the only
one under Government that Is connected
with the creation of wealth; the others all
spend it. 1t is the literal truth that we in
vest hundreds in our chemical and micro
scopic Investigations and in our experiment
station, and the profit from those invest
ments is counted by millions. Our export
of meat and animals has more than doubled
since this department established its lnspec-
tions and issued guarantees OF soundness.
Our analysis of the grape disease IN Cali
fornia actually preserved the Industry. Our
Forestry Division may have incalculable
effects. not only in regard 10 the timber
itself, but in the relation OF forest to rain
fall and climate. Oar experiment stations
are a means of popularizing the teachings
of scientific research more effectively than
any yet devised-our chemical exposures oil
deliberations
"Bv the way" interposed Mr.. Ru5k, get
ting I'D and taking a handful OF roasted
coffee berries from the mantelpiece, what
do you think of that coffee?"
1t looked first class. as to color, size and
uniformity Its smell was not strong. in
fact it had no smell at all that could dis
cover. L bit one of the berries; it has
swedish taste, like some sort of candy.
"Only 4 cents a pound" said the Secre-
tary. mot a bit of coffee in it. It's the
best looking imitation we've seen. Put %
per cent Of that in every pound Of coffee,
and YOU can see there's a profit on, say,
LOCO 900 pounds. The fellow who made it
offers tempting terms to the retail dealer.
He will furnish brown goods or green goods,
asyou prefer. Only the transaction is not
made known to the consumer"
Our milk tests" resumed the chief of
division.
Yes" commented Mr.. Rusk, "now that
mothers have gone out of the business of
giving their own milk to their children the
COW is gaining in Importance"
Not only have we shown the people
that the quality Of milk may be readily de-
termined but also that the price of milk
should be gagged by quality, not quantity.
In short, whatever we do here either adds
directly to the wealth of the country or in
directly by pointing out what things should
be avoided. Ard yet the amount of money
in itself and so out of proportion with the
grants to other appropriations that we are
unable to accomplish 1.-THE OF the work in
sight 1T actually looked last year as il we
would not have money enough to publish
and circulate some of the most important
results of our investigations; so that the
money and labor spent in making the in
vestgations would have been thrown away.
To-day we cannot get an Appropriation
10 send men abroad to study agricultural
conditions and processes thsre, and deter
mine wherein we might advantage by them.
Often valuable men do things for us merely
for the love of science, and pay their ex-