The Savannah morning news., 1902-07-27
SOME WASHINGTON GOSSIP.
FACTS ABOUT UNCLE SANS DE-
PARTMENT OF AGRICULTUHE.

II Is Now "a National SchooI-An Ac-
count of Some of Its Publications.
Those Get Them who Apply for
Them-Tricks Employed to GET
Rare and Valuable Documents.
New Bureaus Added to the Wealth
err Bureau-Other Matters of Inter-
est.
Washington, D. C. July 26.-There is
no doubt about 1.-THE very biggest bu-
reau of information in the world is
Uncle Samuels Department of Agri-
culture. 1t is a sort of school for farm
erS. and more than six millions of the
bone and sinew" are its constant pu-
pills, to say nothing of three millions
more or less of their hired hands. 1t
publishes and circulates more printed
matter every year than all other
branches of the government service put
together, and its we'll bound and beau
tifully illustrated reading matter goes
into thousands of home and form one
of the most powerful educational fac
tors in the life of the American people.
To this official literature may be at
tributed much of the wonderful in
tellectual awakening among tillers of
the soil which the last decade has wit
messed. A corp of graphic writer's,
teachers, statisticians, demonstrators
and other trained instructors are en-
ployed in the Department of Agricul-
ture-all working earnestly toward the
one end, to elevate the mental stand
ard of the farming class and to pre-
pare information from the latest
sources for their advancement Its
method of diffusing the knowledge ac-
quired through its many bureaus and
divisions is mainly by the issuing and
distributing of publications. The doc
uments issued may be regarded as the
law and gospel of the texts they illus
trate, being compiled only after the
most careful research and investigation.
They represent almost every conceiv-
able form of publication, from the one
page circular to the well-bound year
book, and are prepared in
editions ranging from a thous-
and copies of the most tech
meal treatise to five hundred thousand
copies of the year book. An aggregate
of six tons of publications are FOR
warded every working day from this
division, or in the neighborhood of five
million pounds of literature in a year.
Owing to the excellent system estab-
lished, this immense distribution is eff
fected by a force of one hundred and
ten employees. Last year this division
of publication issued upwards of six
hundred separate works, aggregating
eight million copies. Nearly half of
them were farmers bulletins, of which
twC-thirds in round numbers, were dis
tributed under congressional orders.
The appropriation made for the Agri-
cultural Department by the last Con-
gress, for the year 1901 -02, is much the
largest in the history of the institution
1t provides generously for the future
extension of the work of the depart
ment in various lines, and inaugurates
scheme for the partial reorganization
of the scientific branches of its work
including forestry, experiment stations,
lin Alaska, Hawaii and Porto Rico),
irrigation Investigations, biological sur
vey, Plant industry, entomology, veg
etable physiology, pomology, agrostol-
ogY and all the other "ologies" that
| come within it's province, the grand
to tai of appropriations amounts up to
$4,5S2,2 40. Thus, with increased funds
and accumulated copies, this wears
supply of farmers bulletins, well under
the new law-which assigns four-nfths
| to the use OF congressman, instead of
two-thirds, as formerly-make the al
| lowance of each senator, representative
and delegate exactly fifteen thousand
copies, besides the usual plants, seeds,
etc.
Referring to the great demand for the
year book, Secretary Wilson COM
| plains that the quote assigned to his
| department is wholly inadequate. 1t is
still 10000 copes-the same as when
the edition was 300, 900 copies, notwith-
standing that it is now more than half
a million. Says he: 1.-The demand for
the publications of the Agricultural
| Department continues to be greatly in
excess of its ability to supply. More
than $4,000 copies of the year book
were sold last year by the superintend-
ent of public documents, three times
as many as the sales made by that
| officer of the publications of all other
branches of the government" A spe-
| cial building has been rented, to be de-
voted exclusively to the storage and
shipments of farmers bulletins, and at
least 100000 of them will be printed
this year. Mr.. George w. Hill, who is
chief editor and superintendent of the
division of publications, finds himself
buster than the managing editor of
any big daily newspaper in the coun-
try.
The Agricultural Department has no
list to whom all publications are sent
The monthly-list circular, issued on