REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR OF THE OFFICE OF EXPERIMENT 



STATIONS. 



U. S. Department of Agriculture, 



Office of Experiment Stations, 



Washington, D. C, September 15, 1900. 



Sir: I have the honor to present herewith the report of the Oftiee of 

 Experiment Stations for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1900. 

 Respectfully, 



A. C. True, 



Director. 

 Hon. James Wilson, Secretary. 



WORK OF THE YEAR, WITH RECOMMENDATIONS. 



Division and Development of Work of Office of Experiment 



Stations. 



The amount of work jjerformed in the Office of Experiment Stations 

 during the past year was greater than during any previous yaax and 

 its operations were at the same time more varied and complex. These 

 conditions were due in part to a considerable increase in the funds for 

 whose expenditure the Office was made responsible, and in part to tlie 

 inauguration of new enterprises and the further development of impor- 

 tant business which has onl}^ recently come within its province. More- 

 over, as the relations of the Office with the experiment stations and 

 other institutions for agricultural education and research at home and 

 abroad become more intimate with every ijassing year, calls for its serv- 

 ices grow in number, importance, and urgency'. They also become in 

 many ways more difficult to satisfy, as this involves more often than 

 formerly a relatively large amount of labor. In addition to the 

 increase in its business growing out of what may be termed the regu- 

 lar requirements of the Government service, the past«year has brought 

 a very considerable bui'den of extra work in connection with the prep- 

 aration and installation of the collective experiment station exiiibit 

 at the Paris Exposition. No provision was made in the appropriation 

 act for extra emploj^ees to perform this service, and it was, therefore, 

 necessarily imposed on our regular force. This was at times a serious 

 hindrance to our regular work and involved considerable personal 

 inconvenience to the officers charged with it, who could only do what 

 was expected of them by working overtime. In a larger way than 

 ever before, the record of the year's work has been made b^- a more 

 perfect organization of our force and by their very diligent and har- 

 monious action. 



The orgaii'ization of the Office inaugurated near the close of the 

 fiscal year 1899, as stated in my previous report, has worked satisfac- 

 torily during the past year ancl will be continued. The division and 



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