THE PROGRESS OF SCIENCE. 



333 



operations in the field the studies of the 

 use and economy of irrigation waters 

 have attracted widespread attention 

 throughout the irrigated region, and 

 have indicated that there is great op- 

 portunity for improvement in the 

 methods and use of water. The result 

 has been a great desire for an accurate 

 and complete showing of facts, on which 

 permanent improvement alone can be 

 based; and whei'ever the investigations 

 have been undertaken, private individ- 

 uals and local authorities have lent 

 their hearty cooperation. The prepara- 

 tion of 'working plans' for forest own- 

 ers, to guide them in caring for and cut- 

 ting off their forests in a more system- 

 atic manner, has proved so popular that 

 the demands last year exceeded the re- 

 sources of the Division of Forestry. Re- 

 quests for these plans cover over fifty 

 million acres of forest, and come from 

 private owners, large consumers of tim- 

 ber for manufacturing purposes and 

 public custodians. The Secretary points 

 out the encouraging fact that public in- 

 terest in forestry is at present not only 

 keener and more widespread than at 

 any time heretofore^ but 'is growing 

 with a rapidity altogether without prec- 

 edent.' Quite large increases in ap- 

 propriation for these irrigation investi- 

 gations and lines of forestry work are 

 recommended, as well as for soil sur- 

 veys with reference to the distribution 

 of alkali in the West, location of to- 

 bacco soils and other questions. Co- 

 operation with the agricultural experi- 

 ment stations has now become a promi- 

 nent feature of the department work, 

 and is heartily endorsed. Congress has 

 recognized this in recent years by giv- 

 ing funds for special investigations to 

 be carried on in cooperation with the 

 stations. This has naturally brought 

 the Department into much closer rela- 

 tions with the stations, and has tended 

 to secure greater stability for the opera- 

 tions of the stations and an increased 

 measure of influence with their own con- 

 stituents. Not only is such cooperation 

 in the interests of economy, but it 

 strengthens the efficiency of both the 



Department and the stations as organi- 

 zations for the improvement of agricul- 

 ture. As a result of the investigations 

 made the past year of the agricultural 

 conditions in Hawaii and Porto Rico, 

 the Secretary recommends the establish- 

 ment of experiment stations in these 

 islands. 



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The growing interest in the work of 

 the National Department of Agriculture 

 is evidenced by the rapidly increasing 

 demand for its publications. Last year 

 three hundred and twenty new publica- 

 tions were issued, and the number of 

 copies printed was considerably over 

 seven million. This was far in excess of 

 any previous year, both in number of 

 publications and total edition. Notwith- 

 standing this fact, the Department was 

 obliged to refuse many applicants for 

 its bulletins and reports, the number of 

 refusals being ten times more numer- 

 ous than six years ago, when the total 

 edition was only half that of the past 

 year. In addition to these more tech- 

 nical publications, one hundred and 

 eight farmers' bulletins, including re- 

 prints, were issued, aggregating two and 

 a third million copies. This furnishes 

 some idea of the enormous activity of 

 the Department in the diffusion of 

 knowledge. But with the growth of it3 

 investigations and the consequent in- 

 crease of material for publication, Sec- 

 retary Wilson shows that there has not 

 been a commensurate increase in the 

 appropriation for printing, which has 

 now become inadequate to the prompt 

 diffusion of the information acquired. 

 He accordingly requests a material in- 

 crease in the printing fund for another 

 year, but he questions whether, with- 

 out some change in the present system 

 of distributing publications, it will be 

 possible to maintain a supply equal to 

 the demand. The distribution has been 

 restricted in several ways within recent 

 years, and mailing lists have been kept 

 revised to prevent waste. In the inter- 

 est of the greatest usefulness of the De- 

 partment to applied science and to its 

 constituents, the policy should, if pos- 



