DlVISIOJiJ" OF ACCOUNTS AND DISBUESEMENTS. 378 



During the year the disbursements of the department amounted to 

 $147,289,385, of which $31,000,029 was disbursed from the ap- 

 propriations provided by the agricultural appropriation act for the 

 fiscal year 1922, S1G,670,878 from the permanent annual, supple- 

 mental, special, and indefinite appropriations and the allotments 

 from other departments made for that year, and $99,618,478 from 

 the unexpended balances of annual and continuing appropriations 

 for prior fiscal years. On December 7, 1921, $9,500,000 of the unex- 

 pended balances remaining in the revolving fund for the purchase 

 and distribution of nitrate of soda and $5,670,000 of the unexpended 

 balance remaining in the revolving fund for stim.ulating agriculture 

 tlirough the purchase and distribution of seeds was transferred to 

 the surplus fund of the Treasury, leaving in each of these tv.*o revolv- 

 ing funds only a small balance to meet a few outstanding obligations. 

 On June 30, 1922, $2,559,185.03 additional was transferred to the 

 surplus fund, consisting of $2,438,276.86 in unexpended balances of 

 annual appropriations for the fiscal year 1920 and unobligated bal- 

 ances of several continuing appropriations no longer in active use, 

 and $120,908.17 in final balances under the appropriations for 

 stimulating agriculture and for cooperative agricultural extension 

 work. The total transferred to the surplus fund during the fiscal 

 year was therefore $17,729,185. 



At the close of the fiscal year, June 30, 1922, $195,165,739 remained 

 unexpended and available for disbursement during the fiscal year 

 1923. Of this sum, $5,404,230 represented unexpended balances 

 of appropriations provided by the agricultural act for 1922, 

 $81,971,781 unexpended balances of permanent annual, supple- 

 mental, special, and indefinite appropriations and allotments from 

 other departments made for the fiscal year 1922, and $107,789,728 

 unexpended balances of annual and continuing appropriations for 

 the fiscal year 1921 and prior years. The bulk of these balances 

 consists of $178,703,521 in Federal aid road-building funds and 

 $6,108,038 in forest road and trail construction appropriations, 

 obligated tlirough cooperative road-building agreements within 

 $18,000,000 of their total. 



The office of the disbursing clerk received, examined, and paid 

 189,509 vouchers and pay rolls during the year, requiring the issuance 

 of 341,447 checks on the Treasurer of the United States. In addition, 

 30,180 checks were issued against funds deposited in the disbursing 

 clerk's special account with the Treasurer. 



Of the checks issued, 228 were lost in transit thi"ough the mails or 

 by the payees, and were duplicated by this office after bonds of 

 indemnity had been furnished by the payees as required by law and 

 regulations. 



The semimonthly payment of salaries of employees stationed in 

 Washington involved the handling and disbursement of $7,541,121.71 

 in cash. 



During the year 11,765 freight and other accounts were sent to the 

 General Accounting Office for payment. 



