[Report of the Commissioner of Agriculture.]

Sir: In accordance with the requirement of the act of Congress establishing the Department of Agriculture, I have the honor to submit my first annual report.

There is scarcely a nation upon earth whose people have not recently been startled into action to promote that great interest in which more than one-half the world is actually employed and upon the success of which the other portion is dependent. The segregated character of the rural population has been such as to forbid that concentration of ideas and consultation of views which are so common to all other professions and occupations. But recently, through the instrumentality of agricultural journals and the establishment of agricultural societies and colleges, farmers have been brought to discover that there is work for them to do outside of the precincts of the farm. They seem to have been startled into a determined purpose to take their place in the race of the world’s progress, and to assert for themselves a position which will enable them to keep pace with all others whose goal is success in life.

It is the purpose of this Department to encourage and aid this new spirit of improvement, having due regard to “the general designs and duties” imposed by the act of Congress establishing it, which are, “to acquire and to diffuse among the people of the United States useful information on subjects connected with agriculture in the most general and comprehensive sense of that word, and to procure, propagate, and distribute among the people new and valuable seeds and plants.” No language could be more comprehensive to express the power of this Department, or to enlarge the field of usefulness over which its influence may be extended; but it is this almost undefined power, and the vast expanse of this field, that render the task difficult to determine what shall be done to promote the great agricultural interests of the country. If a power thus concentrated, with agencies in every county of every State, and facilities for correspondence with all the countries of the world, should not be able to collect knowledge essential to the interests of the people, and seeds and products for distribution which are new and valuable, the failure would be traceable to its own inefficiency, and not to its want of means to do good.

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There is, perhaps, no occupation in life which so greatly needs the fostering care of the Government as that of farming. There is no principle of political economy, no question of public policy, no consideration of statistical facts, no new development of scientific knowledge, which does not come home to be measured in its influence upon the results of the farm. This Department, as I view it, has been established to care for these interests, and it invokes our anxious study to know how this shall be best done. My experience in observing the workings of the Department has not been long enough to enable me either to pronounce upon its excellence or to hastily dictate points of improvement, but time and zeal in the effort to give efficiency to its work may enable me to extend its usefulness.

It will be remembered that, by the act of the 2d of July, 1862, Congress donated to the States public lands to “provide colleges for the benefit of agriculture and the mechanic arts.” This was a new and important era, and may be said to mark the beginning of scientific knowledge as it pertains to agriculture. It must be conceded that the literary institutions of the country educate boys to a state of total unfitness for the occupations of the farm. The father finds his boy, after his return from an absence of a single year, to have had his thoughts and views centered upon an outside world, and when he has graduated and returns after an absence of four years, he gazes around to conclude that the farm is no place for him; his father and mother and brothers and sisters are no companions for him; his thoughts and theirs have been pursuing different paths; all congeniality of feeling is lost and gone, and he is driven to the nearest county town to prepare himself to make a poor figure in professional life, and perchance to be led into the haunts of intemperance and vice, realizing for his anxious parents not only the loss of the hardly-earned expenses of his education, but the loss of the son himself. But the boy whose acquaintance with natural science and modern languages is accompanied by the study and observation of how plants live and feed and die; how implements are formed, and how their mechanical structure and shape are adapted to the work they do; how the earth itself lives and breathes and dies; and who is accustomed to study and ponder these things as he learns the practical operations of the work itself, returns to his father’s home upon the farm, proud of his father’s occupation, and happy in the associations of his family and friends; and far more so because of the light which he may shed around him, the position which his education will give him among his fellows, and the success which will be sure to characterize his after life. I speak in no disparagement of, and with no desire to make unfavorable impressions in regard to universities, colleges, and schools, in which youth are trained for professional life, but I claim that the agriculturists of the country shall have a place where their youth may be imbued with the light of science, and thus fitted for agricultural life.

The wisdom of Congress having provided for the endowment of an [Page 147] agricultural college in every State, these institutions are about to perform a most important part in the destinies of the country. They are yet in their infancy; professors and teachers are themselves yet untaught; agricultural education in this land is a new idea which has but now struck the public mind and is yet to be matured, and a curriculum established which shall have for its object the education of youth in the science and art of cultivating the soil. If these institutions will but confer together, and adopt such principles of action as shall be common to them all, and not inconsistent with the habits of the people in their several localities; establish subjects of study and rules of discipline and graduation; and, especially, if they will recognize and act upon the fact that this Department and they are engaged in the prosecution of a common cause, and that the Department may be made the nucleus around which may be collected the knowledge of inventions, statistics and rare facts, new and improved seeds and plants, to be disseminated, distributed, and experimented upon by the instrumentality of agricultural colleges, the farmer will be benefited to a degree which will be felt throughout every vein and artery of our common country. But, to attain this object, agricultural colleges should be distinctive in their character, and should be made to require compulsory labor of at least twelve hours a week from each of their pupils, thus training their tastes and habits, and inuring them to the daily occupation of a farmer’s life, and thus, also, answering the objections often made to agricultural colleges, that their graduates at last choose the business of professional life.

An intimate relation between this Department and the agricultural colleges of the country would produce the most profitable information. If the result of their experiments in crops, the value of fertilizers, the nutritive value of various kinds of food, and the mode of planting, cultivating, harvesting, and storing were all concentrated at this Department, and analyzed and published, what a fund of knowledge would be thus collected and disseminated among the people, and how much more likely would that class who are to be benefited by this knowledge be reached through the instrumentality of these institutions than they now are by the course pursued. I do not profess to have matured the subject, and now only introduce it that it may command the consideration of the minds of men who know and feel how important it is that the agricultural improvements of the country should keep pace with the world’s progress in all else.

It must be conceded that the course of agriculture in the Southern States has not been conducted with that care, skill, and regard for ultimate results which have characterized the operations of farmers in other States. While their lands are continuously devoted to cotton and tobacco until they have arrived at a state of exhaustion, those of the North are continually improving by rotation of crops, which is absolutely essential to the life of the soil itself, and without which farming [Page 148] and planting had better be abandoned. These impressions have induced me to turn my attention to these States to seek some mode by which the influence of this Department may be directed to benefit them; to find out whether their implements, and especially their seeds, may not be greatly improved; and how, in the distribution of seeds and plants, we may best reach those to whom they may be profitably sent.

The agriculture of the Southern States suffers greatly in its interests for want of grasses, in the use of which its productions would be greatly increased, by rendering a rotation of crops necessary. It will be an effort of this Department to introduce this idea, as well as the seeds by which it may be carried out. Glover, with its deep roots, and rye-grass, a strong grower, will well endure the hot sun of the South; and, if preceded by an application of lime, they are sure to grow luxuriantly.

The report of the superintendent of the seed division, and our correspondence with practical farmers, strongly impress my mind with the immense benefit which the distribution of seeds confers upon the country. I do not hesitate to assert that the increased production of wheat, oats, and grasses, by reason of the distribution of new and improved seeds, pays more than ten times the whole amount expended by the Government in this Department, and such is the appreciation of this by the farmers of the country that the demands upon us are daily increasing to a degree beyond our ability to supply. It is very desirable that the efforts of the Department should be especially directed to obtain the most approved cereals, grasses, and plants which the world affords, that they may be put into the hands of our enterprising people. Jute, ramie, and many other exotics may be grown here as well as in any part of the world, and they give great promise of adding very much to our agricultural productions and profits. But in the distribution of seeds I am satisfied that the mode heretofore pursued is erroneous. The quantity sent is entirely too small for even an experiment. A pint or a quart of wheat, oats, or other cereal, cannot be successfully grown, and such experiments almost uniformly fail because the quantity is too small. I need not here discuss the reasons for this, but the result is manifest to those who have tried the experiment. It would be far better to put a half or whole bushel of seed into the hands of one conscientious and careful person than to divide the same quantity among ten or twenty.

I regard, also, the mode of distribution of our annual report as very objectionable. Indeed, in my judgment, it should not be published at all, but should be entirely superseded by the monthly reports which it is now the practice of the Department to issue. These may contain all the information that should emanate from the Department during the year, and the last one, containing the Commissioners report, should be a condensed summary of the operations of the year. But if it be the pleasure of Congress to continue the annual publication, I suggest that a much smaller number than has been customary be delivered for [Page 149] gratuitous distribution, and that the greater part of the edition be deposited with the Public Printer, to be sent to all persons who would order the books and pay their first cost and postage for delivery. This, I am advised, would be 66½ cents a volume, making an allowance of 10 per cent. for the expense of wrapping and posting. The daily applications for this book, which the Department has not, convince me that thousands would gladly pay so small a sum to obtain that which they so much desire to have.

The annual report for the year 1870 has been greatly delayed by an effort to obtain statistical facts which were deemed important; but there is no reason why this publication, if it is expedient to make it at all, should not be issued as early as the month of March in each year. If will not be delayed again.

I have been so short a time in the Department that I have not yet discovered all its results nor all its powers of usefulness, and especially have I not yet been able to devise the ways and means by which these powers may be most profitably exercised for the public good. But if a natural fondness for agriculture, and a zealous interest in its success, shall enable me to give tone and character to the Department, it will not suffer in my hands. I am the more satisfied of this because I am surrounded by men of the very highest character and attainments in the several divisions to which they belong. Hence, I am never at a loss for an intelligent and satisfactory answer to any inquiry made of the Department.

division of horticulture.

The laying out of the grounds of the Department according to the original design is progressing as rapidly as means will allow. The classified arrangement of trees in the arboretum is also very far advanced toward completion. This part of the improvement promises to be of much interest, and will, no doubt, soon be followed by the formation of similarly arranged collections in public parks, and in the grounds of public institutions, colleges, and schools.

In the exotic department a very large collection of economic and useful plants is under cultivation, and valuable accessions are constantly being received, either by purchase or through exchanges with foreign governments. It is proposed to encourage the formation of similar interesting collections in connection with the agricultural colleges, several of which have already availed themselves of the assistance of the Department in establishing conservatories, where the principal representative, medical, oil-producing, and other plants that furnish valuable commercial products may be seen and studied.

One of the most promising of fiber plants now being extensively propagated is the so-called New Zealand flax, (Phormium tenax.) This plant possesses a strong fiber, well fitted for cordage and similar purposes. Whether this fiber can be successfully separated from the leaves will be a question for chemical determination. The plant is adapted to cultivation [Page 150] in all the Southern States, and flourishes in undrained, swampy, and low lands which are unfitted for cotton or corn crops.

statistical division.

The operations of the statistical division, including the editing and issue of all the publications of the Department, have been conducted with industry and intelligence, and are becoming more systematic and comprehensive, embracing wider areas and a broader range of information. No effort will be spared to insure accuracy and completeness in this important branch of Department services.

One of the most important items of special work now engaging the attention of this division is the collection of facts illustrating the agricultural status of the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific Slope, showing the progress of settlement and colonization, the yield and quality of production, the peculiarities and profit of agricultural labor, and the wants and capabilities of that great continental area. I propose to accomplish what may be done this year, with means and facilities at command, at a beginning of such a statistical and agricultural survey; and suggest that, if it be the pleasure of Congress to make a small special appropriation for the continuance of the work in the coming year, the country would be greatly benefited.

chemical division.

Two extensive investigations in the chemical division were commenced early in the year. One of these, the analysis of several hundred specimens of cereals, carefully selected from the whole production of the country, and accompanied by full information in regard to the methods and conditions of cultivation, it is hoped will prove of general value and interest. The examination of the leaf, stem, and fruit of the grapevine, at every week of its growth, has also been undertaken, and is nearly completed. By this work it is expected that new analogies in animal and vegetable physiology will be established, and information gained which bears directly upon the diseases of the vine. Several hundred determinations of the most accurate sort are required, and the time of one assistant is entirely occupied by them.

To enable the chemist to devote himself to those important subjects in agricultural science which await and demand chemical research, I am strongly of the opinion that the public privilege should be restricted to the employment of the laboratory for such purposes only as relate to agriculture. It is evident that if the laboratory were to continue to be held subject to all the miscellaneous demands which have heretofore been made upon it, not only would original investigation be prevented, but an increase of force would be required. The law at present provides only for the employment of a chemist and an assistant.

The apparatus and fixtures of the laboratory have received a few additions, and, with the exception of occasional special needs in original research, may now be considered to be complete.

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entomological division and museum.

During the last year the correspondence of the entomological division has largely increased, letters having been received and answered concerning injurious insects, birds, quadrupeds, and other branches of natural history, and fruits, fibers, and such subjects as relate to the museum. Investigations have been made into the habits of insects in respect to their food, transformations, &c., and into the best remedies now used to destroy those that are particularly injurious to the farmer. Full experiments have been made in rearing the silk-worm (Bombyx mori) on the leaves of the Osage orange, (Maclura auriantiaca.) The worms fed greedily, were perfectly healthy, and spun large-sized cocoons of very fair silk.

Cases are much needed for the special reception of the valuable and growing collection of insects now in boxes, and accessible only to entomologists. When such cases are provided, the entire collection will be arranged and labeled, so that the beneficial and the injurious species may be pointed out at a glance. A collection has been commenced with the design of showing the nature of the injuries by insects upon various substances, together with the economic products made by them, as cochineal, gums, &c., and their nests and cocoons. Such a collection is of special value in a cabinet of entomology, as the farmer or fruit-grower can at once identify any insect by comparison of the injury caused by it with the specimen in the cabinet.

During the year large collections of fruits and vegetables have been received from many localities. All these have been modeled and properly labeled and placed in the museum, together with a fine collection of tropical fruits from South America, done in papier-maché. Many other valuable additions have been made to the museum during the year, prominent among which may be mentioned the fine collection of fibers made by Dr. H. Perrine, in Florida, several years ago, and presented by the Smithsonian Institution, and a similar collection made by the botanist of the Department while in Santo Domingo; collections of insects from the Smithsonian Institution and from geological surveys; a collection of foreign game-birds by the curator; Chinese and Japanese papers, cocoons, silk, &c.; and contributions in other departments.

the library.

The number of volumes now in the library is 6,012, of which there have been added during the year 1,064, inclusive of 500 volumes received from the Secretary of the Interior. About one-half of the whole number added relate to agriculture and the allied sciences of pomology, entomology, agricultural geology, microscopy, and natural history, all valuable for reference on questions continually discussed in the correspondence and reports of the Department. Those donated by the Secretary of the Interior are composed principally of public documents.

The library continues to receive the journals and reports of the leading [Page 152] agricultural and scientific associations of the world, many of which are in exchange for the annual and monthly reports of the Department. Some of the French journals have been suspended by the war with Germany, but doubtless their publication will soon be resumed and the exchange continued. All of these works are carefully preserved, and in themselves form a useful collection for reference in the scientific and statistical investigations of the day. Many of them are probably not accessible in any other library in the country. They furnish the results of the very latest investigations in entomology, botany, agricultural geology, and microscopy, as well as experiments in agriculture, which could be abridged and published in the monthly reports of the Department before they are reproduced by the agricultural journals of the country.

Many of the sets of State agricultural reports and periodicals being incomplete, steps have been taken to supply the volumes and numbers that were missing. This has been accomplished in nearly every instance without expense to the Department. The library now contains sets, generally complete, of the transactions of the boards of agriculture of all the leading States of the Union for the last twenty years.

There are now nearly 500 volumes of miscellaneous agricultural publications at the Government bindery for binding or rebinding.

A catalogue of the library is being prepared, in which will be classified the most important subjects, so that persons wishing to investigate any particular topic can see at a glance the titles of all the works relating to it.

exchange of seeds.

Since the plan of international exchanges of seeds and plants was inaugurated by my predecessor, the Department has continued the system, having found the results to be highly advantageous in adding to our collection seeds of many valuable species of useful and ornamental plants that could not be readily procured through the ordinary channels of trade, except at a very heavy outlay. Since the last report referring to these exchanges, the Department has sent two collections of tree seeds, one containing ninety-five species, and the other one hundred and sixteen, to the Royal Botanic Gardens, at New, England; Royal Botanic Gardens, at Edinburgh, Scotland; Royal Botanic Gardens, at Glasnevin, and Royal Dublin Society, at Dublin, Ireland; Horticultural Society of Bremen, North German Union; Botanic Gardens, at Melbourne, Australia; Royal Minister of Agriculture, at Berlin; government of Switzerland, through Mr. John Hitz, consul general; Imperial and Royal Ministers of Agricultural Affairs, Austria and Hungary; University of Christiana, Norway; Royal Gardens, Portugal; Imperial Botanic Gardens, at St. Petersburg, Russia; and the Kingdom of the Netherlands. From many of these correspondents the Department has received some valuable contributions, of which special mention may be [Page 153] made of those from the New Gardens, the Royal Gardens at Melbourne, and the Imperial and Royal Ministers of Agricultural Affairs of Austria and Hungary. Exchanges have also been effected through the courtesy of our ministers and consuls in South America, Europe, Asia, and the Hawaiian Islands, and through these sources some of the most rare and valuable seeds and plants have been received.

During the present year correspondence has been opened with the ministers of agriculture of the South American governments for the purpose of effecting exchanges of the agricultural and other useful products of those countries which are known to be prolific of numerous medicinal and other economic plants. The result of this correspondence has been the receipt of many rare plants, consisting of palms, &c., as also donations of cereals and vegetable-seeds of rare perfection, among which may be mentioned a contribution of cereals from the president of the National Society of Santiago, Peru, embracing some of the finest specimens of wheat I have ever seen, which, with other similar contributions, will be carefully experimented with, for the purpose of testing their adaptability to our soil and climate. These South American correspondents are located in Brazil, Ecuador, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Mexico, Guatemala, and United States of Colombia. Exchanges continue with the Chinese and Japanese governments, and some valuable contributions have been received, especially from the latter.

An arrangement for exchange has been made with the colonial governments of Jamaica, which will result largely to the advantage of this Department, the colonial secretary having promised a donation of over three thousand plants of the cinchonas, embracing all the valuable varieties. This acquisition will enable the Department, at an early period, to encourage experiments in those sections of the South where there is a reasonable prospect of the successful culture of this invaluable plant, which, in the past, has been exclusively confined to certain localities in South America, but the cultivation of which has recently been commenced by the British government in the East and West Indies at a large outlay.

The international courtesies that are inaugurated and fostered by a system of mutual exchanges of the products of the soil are prolific of most valuable results. Following the successful introduction of our seeds into foreign countries, especially those in which the ruder systems of agriculture prevail, come inquiries regarding the best modes of culture, the introduction of improved machinery for the husbanding and utilizing of crops, and questions of similar import, thus extending the benefits of our improved mechanism and labor-saving farm-implements. While the advantages which must naturally flow from this source redound to the immediate benefit and permanent advancement of the important mechanical interests of this country, improved systems at the same time are introduced into those countries with which we exchange, thereby hastening their development, increasing their productions, and adding to their wealth.

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the seed division.

The following tabular statement shows the quantity and kind of seeds issued from the seed division of this Department from November 1, 1870, to October 31, 1871, inclusive.

Cereals, seeds, and textiles. To whom sent, and number of packages.
Senators and members of Congress. Agricultural societies Correspondents. Meterological observers. Miscellaneous. Foreign countries. Total.
Cereals:
Vegetables, 113 varieties 108,487 74,098 96,732 8,680 76,507 1,429 365,933
Flowers, 54 varieties 79,886 2,778 30,260 6,340 63,921 74 183,259
Wheat, 6 varieties 12,616 4,756 5,644 3,359 75 26,450
Rye, 2 varieties 752 4 2,860 313 3,929
Oats, 4 varieties 9,943 8,112 2,211 2,744 50 23,060
Barley, 4 varieties 1,925 5,518 16 402 7,861
Other seeds:
Tobacco, 5 varieties 16,445 20 2,070 25 18,560
Sorghum, 3 varieties 664 76 138 878
Clover, 3 varieties 869 335 2 590 8 1,804
Rye-grass, 2 varieties 64 73 48 185
Osage orange, 1 variety 28 28
Opium poppy, 2 varieties 6,480 462 6,942
Sugar-beet, 3 varieties 76 924 73 1,073
Herbs, 9 varieties 666 168 162 936
Mangel-wurzel, 3 varieties. 1,492 1,532 103 3,127
Madder, 1 variety 79 79
Textiles:
Hemp, 2 varieties 42 83 125
Cotton. 3 varieties 20 804 376 1,200
Ramie, 1 variety 145 145
Jute, 2 varieties 168 168
Peanuts, 1 variety 8 8
Tree seeds, 116 varieties 1,571 1,571
Total 240,427 98,153 138,529 15,020 151,742 3,450 647,321

agricultural productions of the year.

In its meteorological aspects the season has been marked by local droughts, high winds, and floods. In the later months of summer continued dry weather became rather general than local throughout a large portion of the Ohio Valley, the Missouri Valley, and the Southwestern States; and in the Rocky Mountain sections drought was more severe than usual. It is to be feared that the destruction of forests by devastating fires, and in supplying lumber and timber, will render drought, winds, and floods more frequent and severe. Heavy frosts, which proved very injurious to winter grain, were general throughout the West from April 21 to 23; and autumn frosts, which arrested the growth and maturity of crops, occurred generally from 21st to 30th of September. The month of September was cooler than the corresponding month for many [Page 155] years, but the high temperature of the preceding months, and especially of August, had advanced corn and other crops beyond the point of material damage from frosts.

The injury resulting from these unfavorable meteorological conditions is mainly seen in the poorer soils, or in those in inferior mechanical condition—those in the highest cultivation and of the richest character having a power of resistance and a recuperative energy which insure good crops under circumstances apparently adverse. The records of the Department, verifying the observation of all intelligent cultivators, attest the value of perfect drainage and good culture in warding off dangers from drought and excessive moisture. Such has been the experience of the present year, which promises a moderate abundance for the supply of man and his dependent creatures of the farm. The area planted with corn was largely increased, and a larger breadth of wheat was sown. While the crop of corn will not equal the great yield of 1870, nor that of wheat the unparalleled crop of 1869, there will be an ample supply of both for the wants of this country, and tens of millions of bushels to supplement the short crops of Europe. While the product of hay is somewhat less than usual, its quality is good, and coarse forage in all sections and winter pasturage in the South and distant West are never-failing resources. Cotton will be gathered in smaller quantity, and sold at a higher price. Other crops, as a whole, promise very nearly average returns, giving moderate rewards to labor and ample supplies for necessary consumption.

financial.

At the time I assumed the duties of Commissioner, on the 1st day of August last, the appropriations for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1871, were exhausted, except the appropriation for the “purchase and distribution of new and valuable seeds,” of which there remained a balance unexpended of $7,508 96, with unsettled bills for seeds purchased in Europe, under this appropriation, amounting to about $7,300. Of the appropriations for the current fiscal year, the following statement exhibits the amounts disbursed and the unexpended balances, under their respective heads, on the 1st of August last:

Title of appropriation. Amount disbursed to July 31, 1871. Amount unexpended August 1, 1871.
Salaries $6,207 92 $68,962 08
Collecting statistics 884 50 14,115 50
Purchase and distribution of seeds 45,000 00
Experimental garden 707 96 9,292 04
Contingent expenses 344 90 12,555 10
Furniture, cases, and repairs 185 50 4,514 50
Museum 2,000 00
Library 140 31 1,909 69
Laboratory 480 35 2,969 65
Improvement of grounds 7,500 00 19,300 00
Total 16,451 44 180,618 56
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Showing a balance unexpended at that date of $180,618 56, which, with strict economy, will be sufficient for the successful operations of the Department during the current year.

By a late act of Congress the financial operations of the Department for each fiscal year are to be kept entirely separate. I deem it proper, therefore, to defer until the expiration of the present fiscal year a report of these operations during the three months I have had control of the Department, when a complete report will be made.

My estimates for the appropriations necessary for this Department during the fiscal year of 1873 were made and transmitted to the Secretary of the Treasury on the 17th of October. They were based on the appropriations for the present year; reduced in some respects when it could be done without injury to the successful operations of the Department, and slightly increased in other items when the necessities of the case seemed to require it, and in all respects with reference to the most rigid economy consistent with an efficient administration of the legitimate objects of the Department. The aggregate amount estimated is less than the appropriations for the current year.

I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant,

FREDERICK WATTS, Commissioner of Agriculture.

His Excellency U. S. Grant, President.

[Page [I]]

42d Congress, 2d Session.

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.

Ex. Doc. No. 1, pt. 1.