, 1913-01-04

voted to the other bureaus that have sprung
1p daring his adminjstration-those of AMI
maj industry, of plant industry, of soils, Of
entomology, Of biological survey. etc. Let
as ,oRe the subjects treated in the first bu-
reau alone and we will find that they cover
mcas Inspection, horse and cattle-bre eding,
5Eoef and goats, poultry and egg investiga-
ton. tne eradication Of animal diseases,
especially tuberculosis and hog cholera, the
distribution Of vaccine, dairy-farming, manu-
f6ctnres and research laboratories, milk in
designations, and the export and import of
animals. To the various bureaus there is
Gj&y TO be added the Forest Service, and
inc report this year is of particular interest
owing to the impending assault of the Demo
Gratis il, Congress on Federal ownership of
forests aud in favor of their favorite States
ri~ht doctrine. Thus, while Mr.. Wilson has
been criticised for some limitations, he has
accomplished a very great work ia empha-
sizing the diversYfcatiOn of agriculture, espe-
CHILLY IN showing how land, to be truly eff
Gent, should produce different kinds Of
crops. Ia this Mr., Wilson gave as much
rein as possible to the scientists and ~investi-
gators under his control. AS he says of the
Department;
During sixteen years it has progressed from
the kindergarten through the primary. mid
de, and upper grades of development, until
now if has q thousand tongues that speak
wI,L authority. It's teachings, it's discoveries,
ard its improvements are permeating the
Dational agricultural life. The forces that
are at work must cause ever-increasing re-
shi.8.
The great and growing movement carried
on 10y the Department for agricultural bet
terlnent has not been sustained solely by one
lCu on ~ q fou man cbDioA ~ Of
scholarly experts in their special lines of en-
deayor hos been growing in membership, in
breadth of view, and in the practical appli-
c1Ion Of their efforts. They have been and
fro men both good and true, men with high
locals, often sacrificing greater enumeration
aud private employment for love of the
great results of their public service.
Now as TO agricultural production. Dur
ing these sixteen years it has advanced from
an annual value Of about four billion dollars,
and ends with a production for this year
worth over nine billion five hundred million.
Sixteen years ago, as the Secretary writes,
"1arners were loaded with debts that were
q painful burden. Tho farmer was q Joke
of the caTicaturists." But 'now he is like
the stone TINT was rejected by The builder
and has become the head stone of the corner"
The production from the soil and the farmers
ivy oNONh htS SIONh ~ tHuu VIC no
value of the wealth produced on farms even
as late as 1899-and during tie sixteen years
the armeTs wealth production has increased
by no less than 141 per cent. The chief
crops, IN value, are now in order, corn, hay,
cotton, wheat, oats, potatoes, barley, tobacco,
flaNseed, rye, rice, buckwheGt, and hops. All
of the above cereals, except wheat and rice,
produced their largest crops this year. Live
stock products now amount to a third of the
value of the annual wealth production Of the
farm. Interesting as are these results, our
interest in them is far ouidistanced by the
thought that the greater production of crops
is the most effective move toward a reduced
cost of living. The greater crop movement
has been more remarkable in the South than
elsewhere, because the South has needed it
most; and hence the Department made there
its greatest effort. The result has been a
gratifying increase from the South in food
supplies. But this is only the material part.
The Southern farmer hus been taught self
reliance, and to help himself in so far as re-
lated to the practices of the farm; any effort
snade to help him by mere obiect-lessons in
which he did not actively participate was
found to be a failure. The scope of the work
has been gradually enlarged from simple de-