266 DEPAETMENTAL REPORTS. 



either style of machine, that the average clerk can do fully three times 

 as much woi^k in computing with the aid of the mechanism as without 

 it. There is also a decided gain in accuracy. In fact, the advantages 

 of machine computing are so clearly manifest that there seems to be 

 little excuse for clinging to the old method. Although the machines 

 purchased by the Section were rather expensive, the sum paid for them 

 has already been more than balanced by the gain they have caused in 

 the working efficiency of the office. 



Publications. 



The publications issued by the Section during the fiscal year 1900 

 comprised a report on the distribution of our agricultural exports for 

 the five years 1894—1898, a report on the sources of our agricultural 

 imports for the same period, a report on our trade with Japan, China, 

 and Hongkong, a report on our foreign trade in agricultural products 

 covering the decade 1890-1899, and a statistical circular on our agri- 

 cultural imports and exports for the five years 1895-1899. 



REPORT ON THE DISTRIBUTION OF OUR AGRICULTURAL EXPORTS. 



First among the publications of the year came the report on the 

 distribution of our agricultural exports. In this report detailed 

 statistics were presented as regards the extent to which each farm 

 product exported from the United States during 1894-1898 was mar- 

 keted in the several foreign countries. As the statistics given covered 

 all our agricultural ex]3orts for the years mentioned, it was possible, 

 bj^ summarizing the various items for each destination, to arrive at 

 the total value of the farm produce shipped from the United States 

 to every one of the numerous foreign countries. So far as is known, 

 the figures thus obtained constituted the first complete statement of 

 the kind ever published. 



One of the interesting facts brought out in the report was the rela- 

 tive importance of the various foreign markets to which our surplus 

 farm products are sent. The United Kingdom is our leading cus- 

 tomer, buying more than all other countries combined. According to 

 the statistics for the five years 1894-1898, about 55 per cent of our 

 agricultural exports during that period went to the British market, 

 the average annual value of the sales amounting to $362,000,000. 

 Germany, which ranks next to the United Kingdom as a market for 

 the products of American agriculture, took about 13 per cent of the 

 exports during 1894-1898, paying us an average yearly sum of 

 $86,000,000. France followed Germany in importance, making pur- 

 chases that averaged $44,000,000 a year. It will be seen, however, 

 that our agricultural exports to France were little more than half as 

 large as our shipments to Germany. They formed only 6. 6 per cent 

 of the total. The shipments to Germany, on the other hand, were 

 less than one-fourth the size of those to the United Kingdom. These 

 three leading countries (the United Kingdom, Germany, and France) 

 purchased together nearly 75 per cent of the American farm produce 

 exported during 1894-1898. After the three countries just men- 

 tioned, the Netherlands, Belgium, Canada, Italy, and Spain afforded 

 the most important foreign markets. 



Our agricultural exports to the United Kingdom increased $83,000,000 

 in value during the five years, amounting to $439,000,000 in 1898, as 

 compared with only $356,000,000 in 1894. While this was decidedly 

 the largest gain recorded for any country, the shipments to Germany 



