Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1896-11-26
SECRETARY MOTION


WIN Present the First of the oR:slal
Annual Reports-The Division of For.
eign Markets, The Constitution Of sofia
and NutritIye Values OF Foods VIII be
Prominent Features Treated Upon b.
the Secretary.
WASHINGTON, Nov 2o.-The first oa
the cabinet officers annual reports &c
reach the public will doubtless be
that of the secretary of agriculture,
which will be published in few days.
Secretary Morton will review the work Of the
department. in the past four years and show
briefly what has been accomplished. he viii
devote considerable space to the bulletins Is
sued by the division of foreign markets. which
have been prominent features OF the depart
ments work the past two years. 1t i8
his belief that study OF the markets.
not only OF the range Of prices, but the
character OF and extent OF the demands of the
various countries upon the productions Of the
United States, as is necessary to the prosperi-
ty and success of the farmer as to that of the
merchant And recognizing the fact that the
farmer, compared to the merchant, has prac-
tically no opportunity to make this study fol-
himself, Secretary Morton believes that the
government should do it for him. The estab.
Hshment OF this division is believed by the
secretary to be PROBABLY the most important
Of the extensions of the work of the depart
nent under his administration.
augurated by him will be discussed-those OF
the constitution Of soils and uutritve value OF
foods. The former. under Prof. Whitney, has
been signahy successful, and has been the
means OF awakening agricultural colleges
all over the land to the essential i'm.
portance OF the study. This has caused
some embarrassment to Prof Whitney in
the pursuit OF his investigation, for no sooner
does a student of the soil question laboring
with him in the department tit himself for do
ing good work than he is drawn of to some col
lege member of the faculty at salary
averaging ct least twice what the government
pays.
The value of this study to the farmer car
readily be seen by moments reflection. The
prices for agricultural products have reached
such a lower level that the farmer OF the
United States can not AFFORD to ex-
pend a cent unnecessarily in the produc-
tion of his crops. If he can save half the cost
Of fertilizer, for instance, or use one that will
increase the yield OF his Geld, it may mean the
difference between success aud failure. If his
land is better adapted to produce one kind OF
crop than another, a knowledge of that fact
may keep him from bankruptcy. Just this sort
of knowledge the division Of soils is developing
from day to day, and 1t Is being disseminated
through the bulletins of the department
In pursuing this study Prof Whitney has
practically applied electricity and developed
an ingenious instrument which will tell the
farmer what per cent. of moisture there is In
the soil on his land, thereby enabling him to
SOW the seed of the particular crop best suited
20 that condition. This instrument is espeoi-
ally valuable in irrigated districts, where the
amount of moisture can be accurately regu-
lated by the flow of water in the
canals and bitches The apparatus
is comparatively inexpensive and may be
established on any farm. A series Of expert
ments covering the entire country is being
made to determine the per cent o. moisture
that will bring the best results in all cases.
Secretary Morton believes that the govern
melt has accomplished all that it should IN
dertake in the direction of Sugar-producing eX-
periments DR.. Wiley, the department chem
list, pursued these for number of years and
by the diffusion process, the availability
OF which he demonstrated, ten per cent. more
Su ,ar can be extracted than possible under the
old processes. Anyone desiring to engage in
the sugar business can learn from the data IN
the department what it will cost to operate a
plant and whether, under the conditions he
must meet, the enterprise will be profitable.
So, too, the farmer who contemplates planting
beets or sorghum for sugar, may know exactly
whether he is likely to make satisfactory
crop on his land. Further experiments in
either direction, the secretary thinks, may
properly be left to individual effort.
WRile the work Of the department has been
thus extended under Secretary Morton's adj
ministration, he has effected substantial
economics. The department roll OF employees
numbers about ten per cent. less than 1t did
when he came into offce. OF the appropria-
lions made for the expenditures Of the de-
partment, he will have covered into the
treasury. at the close of his term of
office about two millions of dollars, q
saving OF $4,000 a year. He endeavored
to abolish the seed division, but congress Or
1ered 1t to be reopened. The division of mi
croscopy he did abolish, and the division OF IL
Illustrations and the reading room he has con-
solidated with the division OF editing and pub
ication and. finally, every position in the de-
partment that could be covered by the law has
been placed under the civil service.