Mohave County miner., 1916-12-23
HISTORY OF AGRICULTURAL
 DEPARTMENT

development of the status under which the department has come to occupy it's present broad field are taken from a brief statutory history of the United States Department of Agriculture pre- pared by Francis G. Caffey, solicitor of the department and published in Cease and Comment" This history since has been republished by the de- partment as an unnumbered circular.
 For about SO years subsequent to the Revolution the general interest of agriculture were left almost entirely to individual initiative. Federal ac- tivity was confined to relatively mar row limits, and was merely sporadic. There was no committee on agricul- ture in the house until 1920, nor in the senate until 1925.
 Shortly after the Revolution, follow ing the example of Franklin while in England as agent of the colony of Pennsylvania during the years 1764 to 1775, American consuls and naval of ficers commenced the custom of send ing home foreign seeds and cuttings for new crops, and of aiding in the in troduction into the United States of new breeds of domestic animals. Even such small governmental participation was, in the beginning, rather extra official.
 From an early date after its acqui- sition, the public domain was availed of as a means of benefting agricul- ture. In 1877 congress provided for the allotment of certain lands, within what was then known as the Missis- sippi territory, to French immigrants for the purpose of promoting the cul- tivation of the vine and the olive. In 1888, in recognition of services in in troducing useful tropical plants into the United States, rendered by Henry Perrine, congress granted to him and his associates a body of land in the southern extremity of the peninsula of East Florida, for the propagation and cultivation of such plants.
 In 1886 the commissioner of patents, independently of his office, assumed the responsibility of accepting contri- buttons of new and valuable seeds and of distributing them among farmers throughout the country, and in his re- port to congress urged the creation of a depository to receive and dispense articles of this kind. The indebted ness of the people to this official for his activities along these lines has never been fully recognized, and over statement of it would be difficult.
 In 1889 congress made an appropri- ation of 5000 fo r''the collection of agricultural statistics, and for other agricultural purposes" A similar item was included in the appropriation for the fiscal years 1842 and 1S44, and has been repeated annually ever since the latter date. The act of 1889 was the earliest statute containing even a suggestion of comprehensive dealing with the subject of agriculture by the federal government.
 4I,o xr-ac r1v,IoY- fba direction of a commissioner the work became so enlarged and varied that it was necessary to divide it into distinct units. In 1880 congress created six di- visions-chemical seed, chronological, statistical, microscopical and botanical in addition to the office of the com missioner, the experimental garden and grounds, laboratory, museum and library.
 In 1884 a bureau of animal indus try was created.
 The first appropriation for investi gations on forestry subjects was made in 1876. In 1886 a division of forestry was formed to carry on this work.
 In 1889 the department became an executive department, having at it's head a secretary, who occupies place in the presidents cabinet. Its func- tions have grown to such an extent that now they touch almost all lines of agricultural endeavor of general in- terest to the citizens of the United States, as well as other lines of ac- tivity related to agriculture.
 The units of organization of the de partment have been changed from time to time, to meet growing condi- tions, and, as at present recognized by congress, are 16, composed of 10 bureaus, including the forest service and the states relations service, four offices, two divisions and the library.
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