Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1899-12-07
REPORT BY WILSON.
SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE
REVIEWS HIS YEAR S WORK.
Declares There Has Been Progress in
the Department Tree Planting and
Road Building Among Reforms-Tbe


made his annual report for 1899. The
salient points in connection with each
bureau are briefly outlined as follows:
Weather Bureau-Thc extension of the
weather bureau service around the Carib-
bean Sea has been abundantly success
ful.
Division OF Chemistry-This division is
becoming necessity to every department
OF the Government. An interesting in
quiry has been made into the change
which takes place in the composition of
grains grown repeatedly on the same soil.
Division of EntOmOlogy-Since DIR.
Howard has shown owners of Smyrna tg
trees on the Pacific coast how to get the
fruit. fertilized, there is good reason to
believe that in few years we shall OBJ
tain our fine figs from that locality.
Division of Botany--The department is
gathering information regarding the life
history of the plants that supply COM
merce with India rubber and guttapercha,
and should Congress be pleased to give
direction, it will seek the plant zones in
our island possessions where these COM
modities may be produced.
Biological Survey-Plants and animals
thrive and produce best where they are
most at home. The biological survey is
endeavoring to find the most congenial
conditions for our plants and animals.
Division of Vegetable Physiology and
PathOlogy-The hybridizing of grains is
being conducted by the division of vege-
table physiology and pathology with Il
view to securing varieties trust-resisting,
drought-resisting and cold-resisting) bet
ter suited to our varied soils and eli
mates.
Division of Pomology-This division
continues to experiment in many locaii-
ties throughout the country with fruit
bearing trees, plants and vines. For ex-
ample, 119 varieties of the finer table
grapes of Europe have been grated on
Phylloxera-resistant American stocks and
sent to North Carolina and Florida.
Division of Forestry-The division of
forestry is introducing practical and pay
ing forestry on u large scale among lum-
bermen and extensive experimentation in
tree planting is being conducted with co
operation on the part of those interested
in ,woodcraft in several States.
Division of Sols-The irrigation farm
,er of the West is being helped by the
mapping and extending investigation of
alkali soils and by the reclamation of in
jured or abandoned land, many acres of
which have become sterile throught the
injudicious use of water.
Division of grostology-Cropping re-
duces the organic material in the soil.
Long-continued cropping renders the soil
unproductivc. Grasses and legumes are
the best agencies for restoring this or
ganic matter. The division of agrostol-
ogy is experimenting with home and for
eign grasses and legumes.
Office of Experiment Stations-Co-op-
Grafton between the department and the
experiment stations becomes closer every
year. Assistance from the States is in
creasing and the farmers of the several
States are appreciating their station work
more and more. Experimentation in
Alaska has begun with congressional aid
Office of Public Road Inquiries-Therc
is great interest at the present time III
the public highways of the country. Tx
tensive experimentation is being conduct
ed by the department in cooperation with
local authorities in building sample roads
from the materials found in different lcs
calities. and in the laying of steel tracR.
Division of misunderstanding the
year GO3 publications were issued s,n1
over 7,0O0.00 copies distributed among
the people.
Section of Foreign Manifestations
rapid growth OF American commerce in
all parts of the world. We continue 10
sell raw material to foreign countries
from which they manufacture high-se)l-
ing articles.
Bureau of Animal Industry-The work
of this bureau increases rapidly. Meat
inspection was conducted last year at 13S
abuttoirs in forty-one cities. The ante
mortem inspections were J3,223, 116,
while the number in 1892 was 3,SO9, ,459.
The third year of experimentation with
hog cholera shows that from 10 to 80 per
cent OF hogs injected with serum are
sawed.
DNision of Statistics-Fifty thousand
crop reporters keep the division of statis-
Tics informed regarding the condition OF
our staple crops and every effort is he
ing made to promptly give the people the
facts as they are found.
Gardens and Grounds--rhe grounds of
the department and its extensive green
houses serve useful purpose. more than
10000 plants and bulbs, all of economic
value. having been distributed during the
year by the superintendent.
The Secretary then reviews in some de
tail the work of the several bureaus, di.
visions and Offices OF the department. He
laws stress on the great services rendered
by the weather bureau to commerce and
agriculture and by the bureau of animal
industry to the stock growers Of the conn
try.
lie makes a strong plea for the wide
extensions of the forestry work, for
which he urges greatly increased appro-
priations. He dwells at some length on
the losses due to the injudicious use Of
water in alkali lands of the irrigated re.
gions and pleads for special appropria.
ton OF $4,000 for the investigation OF
the subject.
Much work has also been undertaken
on behalf OF tobacco, looking to as wide
a substitution as possible of home grown
for imported product, by improving the
quality of the former.
lie congratulates the country on the
increasing cooperation between the de-
pnrtment and the State experiment sta-
fions i'm many lines of important work,
and strongly urges special appropriations
TO establish agricultural experiment sta
tions in Hawaii. the Philippine Islands
and Porto Rico.
Army and Navy Notes.
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