REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE. 45 



to the department have been secured by the board of awards calling 

 for revised prices instead of accepting the bids as originally sub- 

 mitted. 



A department shop for the repair of awnings has been established 

 at a saving of approximately $3,000 a year. Facilities for the repair 

 of typewriters and bicycles by the department itself are being estab- 

 lished at material savings over the prices formerly paid to commer- 

 cial concerns for these services. The installation of new equipment 

 in the central power plant of the department made possible a reduc- 

 tion in force of six firemen and one engineer and reduced the annual 

 consumption of coal by approximately 400 tons. 



In the Fixed Nitrogen Research Laboratory of the department 

 a change of grate bars in one of the heating plants saved $500 a 

 year on the coal bill. By redesigning certain electrical equipment 

 enough electrical energy has been saved to operate a battery of 

 electrolytic cells to enable the laboratory to make its own hydrogen, 

 effecting a saving of over $4,000 a year in the purchase of liquid 

 ammonia. This branch also effected a saving of $13,000 during the 

 year in reduction of personnel. 



A revision of all of the mailing lists of the department conducted 

 with the assistance of the United States Bureau of Efficiency re- 

 sulted in the elimination from the lists of more than 100,000 names 

 and addresses. One list of 8,000 names was discontinued altogether, 

 saving 344,000 Government bulletins a year, or an annual expendi- 

 ture of more than $7,000. 



The addressing and duplicating work for all of the bureaus has 

 been consolidated under the Division of Publications, resulting in 

 a reduction in personnel and the release of $20,000 worth of ma- 

 chinery to the General Supply Committee for assignment to other 

 departments. Better methods of management applied to the conduct 

 of the duplicating work as a centralized activity have reduced the 

 percentage of wastage of paper by 75 per cent. 



Three separate periodical publications, The Market Reporter, 

 The Monthly Crop Reporter, and the National Weather and Crop 

 Bulletin, were combined during the year into one periodical, known 

 as Weather, Crops, and Markets, and marked savings were 

 thereby effected. Another periodical which duplicated much of the 

 material sent out through the regular channels was discontinued 

 altogether. A relatively expensive information service to the press 



