The sun., 1902-12-04
SECRETARY WILSON'S REPORT
YEARS WORK or TIE AGRICJL-
TtRiL DEPARTMENT.
Growth OF III, ! Gu 'ltIon1i WORK -Inspec.
lions Of TIE HGreau OF Animal !ndrstr
Figures shOvins the Nagni.
tudc of the Agricultural Indris,ry


WASHINGTON, Dec. 3--The annual re-
port Of the secretary OF Agriculture, pens
with reference 10 the educational WORK of
the Depart IN II, whicI he saws has grown
IN effectiveness since his last annual rcporI
Tie flds that III" demands If many pubic
nstiuiiunH for men to conduct research
IN scientific fields and for ability to manage
agricultural enterprises encourage young
men - TAX" advantage of the oppurtuni-
lies thus Afforded
Research into the principles governing
The growth Of plants has resulted in in
creased varieti's TO select from. The De
pirtment'~ explorers are continuing to
search Tho Old World for valuable plants
which may be successfully transpianted
l.re. The purpose is To help toward the
production III our own country Of every
thing tina, soil and climate will permit
and TO avail ourselves Of our new .s.dnd
possessions to grow such products a. de-
mand tropical conditions.
Under the inspection service of the Bureau
OF Animal Industry ante mortem Inspections
for the year aggregate nearly 00,vOO 80. at
cost Of a fraction over one cent each
The number of post mortem inspect ions
ZION stamp WIS affi ed to over q. .O1J. 10
package OF meat Products, and tie num-
Der Of certificates Oi ordinary Inspection
issued for meat produces for export e1-
clus,e of horse flesh, was 80, "a The
quantity of PORK examined niCros copi, ally
ana exported eXceeCcd 3S,JUOU pounds
Altogether the value Of exports Of animals
and animal productions for the yaer
amounted 10 $c4i ,1330S.
There were inspected and admitted from
Mexico over 5000 cattle and fully 6Oco
sheep, lambs and goats. lmportations
from Canada of cattle numbered only 27.7l6
We imported from that co untry 3l3,s+l
sheep The striCtcst quarantine is main
taineu at the ports on the sea coast in order
TO prevent the introduction Of animal
plaques,
The work of the growing OF Am erioan
tea was continued during the year at
Pinehurst, near SummorNille, s. G., Ill
cooperation with Dr. Shepard. There
are now about oLe hundred acree in tea
gardens. The yield of tea in these gar
dcns last year was about 4,5OO pounds and
thi- year will be about 900 pounds Of mar
ketab.e tea.
The introduction and establishment Of
macaroni wheat in the United States may
be regarded as accomplished, About two
million bushels Of this wheat have been
harvested the past season, but the de-
nand is still in excess of the supply. The
,,inter wheats introduced and tested
promise great value. Varieties obtained
from Fast and South Russia are much
more hardy than our own and viii extend
the winter wheat several miles north and
considerably farther West than now. The
Secretary anticipates possible increase
Of five to ten bushels per acre over the
staldard spring " heats.
The Secretary enters an earnest plea for
the establishment. Of the Appa aShian
Forest Reserve, He says that the water
power at all aggregate annual value OF
pvOOOO, Is being gradually destroyed
through Increasing; iTreRu.ailty III tn nov,
that the soils va he'd down from the noun
tain slopes are rendering annually less navi-
gable the Ohio. Tennessee and Mississippi
ana other rivers. These are the Results Of
the dcforcstation of these mountain slopes.
lie says that the rat" of land erosion on
those slopes from which the forest cover
ha, boen rem, we'd l. a. great now In sin g.e
year a. during ten centuries when covered
with prim"ra, forests.
Statistics of at end1nce at the land grant
colleges show over - 900 students enrolled
an increase over tn" previous year cf per
cent The attendance for the four-year
course in agriculture increased more than
20 per cent. The Secretary points 10 the
marked success Of agricultural hugh
sC hools in Minnesota and Nebraska as an
indication that there is IA demand for agri-
cultural courses with those afforded in yari-
Gus manual arts in the city high schools, He
says that all over the country farmers are
sending their children to public high
schools and paying for their tuition.
The inv estigatlons of the Division Of
Foreign MarAets show exceptional activity
Oh the part of our competitors in the agri-
cultural export trade, especially Australia.
{ auada and Argentina. Our own agri-
cultural exports for the fiscal year 10 2
amounted To SSjo,0o000O This, next 10 the
exceptional record for 1901, is the highest
ever reported. The falling oil from 1901
was mainly corn and cotton The decline
III these tw products aggregated $50 900.
Special interest has ureii aroused in ou'
commerce III forestry products. or these
the United States exported last year $50
ODo.OW worth, Europe being the principal
foreign market, and the United Kingdom
the largest purchaser.
Tho Secretary reports the appropriations
for his department for the current fiscal
year at - sos 900, exclusive of the general
printing expenses and of the apprOpria-
lions Tor TIA" state agricultural experiment
sta lions
Ilc Secretary concludes his report With
some /. .terrstiiR figures illustrative OF t!.U
magnitude of the agricultural Industry.
H. 1900 the fixed capital OF agriculture
was about $4,000, ,0Oo,OOO. or four tirncs
that invested IN fnaI uiacturc. In that
year there were nearly 5oO,7IO farms H.
the country, cover. Sal l,'OO,WO acres,
ii5,OOO,VO Of which col olsistcd of improved
LAID ACcorGii s. To the returns OF the
last ccrsus al out 10000 900 people, OF more
than half of the total Population II. 1900.
resided oi farms. or the 29,OVO,OO0 Tcisol =
reported a. q; gagged III gai .iul occupations,
10000 900 more than third-werc EN-
ployed il agricultural pursuits. The pro-
duce of Amcii,d al agriculture IN 1899, il
cluGir farm al i'm as and other products
aggre gated LeaIl, u@OO0,0OO, Tie most
valuable crop was H. dian com, &s2S 900 ,OOc,
ton, 1924 +,OOOocO; whea; returned 1870, ,oO0,-
900 and oats S2i7 .OOO, 900 The a, inals