No. 6. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 39 



A large and carefully selected set of books should be, at ouce, se 

 cured for DeiJartnient use. Sueli a library would also be valuable 

 as a place of reference for cilizens of the State, who wish to learn 

 what is known upon a particular subject relating- to agriculture, in 

 which they are interested. Editors, teachers, essayists and prac- 

 tical farmers, all need access, at times, to such a library. A few 

 thousand dollars invested in this way will be very well expended, 

 and ought to be appropriated by the coming Legislature without 

 further delay. All of the more progressive States have such li- 

 braries as part of their equipment, and the National Department 

 of Agriculture at Washington has one of the largest and best in the 

 country. Pennsylvania should not be behind her sister States in 

 this respect, but should at once take measures to supply this need. 



MUSEUM. 



The need for a Museum, representing the agriculture of this State, 

 has been presented by the Secretary, each year, in his last three 

 annual reports. This necessity has been emphasized by the occur- 

 rence of several importanT Expositions, at which the interests of 

 Pennsylvania agriculture were hardly noticed, owing to the fact 

 that the State had no museum, or exhibit, upon which to draw. It 

 is impracticable to collect the material, for a creditable display of 

 the agricultural products of the State, in a single 3'ear. 



The principh'S that should govern in the collection and prepara- 

 tion of a proper exhibit, or museum for agriculture, were set forth 

 in detail in my last annual report, and isiasmuch as the statement 

 therein made, embodies my views, I take the liberty of quoting it 

 in full. 



"A modern Museum in agriculture, should not be a place for the 

 mere piling up of material in order to fill space. It should be educa- 

 tional in its purpose rather than spectacular. To multiply' bushels of 

 grain or tons of vegetables, or devote time to the arranging of sheaves 

 in fantastic forms, has no educational value. Anv well conducted 

 city market will show all this aoy day of the year. A great State De- 

 partment of Agriculture, cannot afford to appear before an intelli- 

 gent and discriminating public with the common-place, every-day pro- 

 ductions familiar to every country child, but must make use of the 

 advanced scientific knowledge of agriculture which exists, and ex 

 hibit the results of the application of this knowledge, in the pro- 

 ducing. of crops. An exhibition of wheat, for instance, should show 



