110 DEPARTMENTAL REPORTS. 



cants liave been greater than ever before. The increase in the num- 

 ber of copies of all our publications in the past four years over the 

 previous four-year period has exceeded 150 per cent, and A'et the 

 refusals sent applicants have been at least ten times more numerous 

 in the past four years than in the four years previous. 



WASTE OF DEPARTMENT PUBLICATIONS. 



One source of frequent demand for our i^ublications arises from 

 cai-elessness in their custody' in libraries, where a complete set of them 

 ought to be found; such, for instance, as the libraries of the agricul- 

 tural colleges and experiment stations, of State departments, and of 

 boards of agriculture. The fact that a book or document is a j^ublica- 

 tion of the Government seems in many cases to invite indiflCerence 

 as to its custody, and to engender an easy confidence that if necessary 

 it can surely be replaced. The result is that we ai^e constantly in 

 receipt of requests from such institutions for copies of f)ublications to 

 complete their sets, which, Avith a little proper care, would never have 

 been broken. Sometimes these requests, with the idea, no doubt, of 

 insuring our compliance, are preferred through Members of C'ongi-ess, 

 which is of course quite unnecessary, as the Department is naturally 

 desirous that comjilete sets of its publications should, if possible, be 

 found in such libraries as are referred to here. Consequently, as far 

 as ijossible these requests are always complied with, but this only 

 makes the evil more serious. It is really high time that the necessity 

 for the careful preservation of the Department jjublications should 

 be recognized, in spite of the fact that they are so freely furnished 

 without cost to the recipient. In this connection, all j)ersons having 

 duplicates of any of our publications are earnestly i-equested to com- 

 municate the fact to the Avriter, upon wliich franks for the return of 

 the same to this office will be ijrompth' furnished. Such returned 

 copies almost always serve a useful purpose. 



REMEDY SUGGESTED. 



These facts are amply sufficient to show that the great question 

 to-day in connection with our publications is that of supply and 

 demand. The supply, utterl}^ inadequate to begin with, increases 

 very slowly. The demand, great at the start, increases with rapid 

 strides. 



The present efforts at remedying the matter are quite inadequate 

 and extremely inequitable, entailing dis(*riniinations difficult to jus- 

 tify. The only fair and equitable plan involves the charge of a small 

 sum, sufficient to defray expense of paper and i)riuting only, for each 

 j)ublication, which sum should be turned over to the Public Printer 

 subject to requisition for reprints from the head of the Department. 



PUBLICATION A\ ORK BY BUREAUS, DIVISIONS, AND OFFICES. 



A table is presented on the next page showing the i)ul)lication work 

 of the Department, according to Bureaus, Divisions, and Offices. 



