520 ANNUAL, REPORTS OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



they conform to department policy, but such regulations were changed 

 during the year and only a portion of the papers prepared for publi- 

 cation in outside periodicals were read in this division. 



EDITORIAL WORK. 



Although the editorial section was hampered by the transfer of 

 one editor to a higher-salaried position in another bureau and the 

 death of another, there were 394 manuscripts besides the Yearbook 

 prepared for publication and sent to the Government Printing Office 

 during the year as against 384 during the preceding year. The 

 handling of the Yearbook is in itself a large job which requires the 

 most painstaking editing and arrangement. Not only was it larger 

 in size than in many years but, due to the cordial cooperation of the 

 Public Printer, it was printed, bound, and delivered in record time— 

 10 weeks from the date the last copy was sent to the Printing Office. 



The Journal of Agricultural Research resumed publication January 

 1, 1923. 



INDEXING WORK. 



The current work of indexing has been kept well up to the high 

 standard reached last year and for the first time a large amount of 

 indexing which will not be printed has been done. The production 

 of indexes for the Farmers' Bulletins and Department Bulletins in 

 volumes of 25 numbers each has been interrupted and to an extent 

 delayed by work on the cumulated index for the Yearbooks, 1916 to 

 1920, inclusive. This index is now completed and ready for the 

 printer. It is believed to show some notable improvement over 

 previous issues in the same series. The card index made up of cards 

 from the indexing section and kept in the library of the department 

 represents the accumulations of 18 years. It has never had a com- 

 plete revision and its usefulness is impaired for lack of it. A thorough 

 revision, combining cards that are alike, rejecting cards now obsolete, 

 and making a more perfect alphabetic arrangement would be the work 

 of a trained indexer, and wouldput the collection in condition to be 

 used much more helpfully. With this done a renewed effort to 

 bring the index into general use would be undertaken with spirit. 



The indexes made and printed include yearbooks; annual reports; 

 watch force; Weather, Crops, and Markets; Official Record; Farmers' 

 Bulletins 1201 to 1225, inclusive; Department Bulletins 876 to 900, 

 976 to 1000, and 1026 to 1050, inclusive. An index was made to the 

 Crop Reporter and the Crop Report, two names for a periodical 

 practically continuous, but it has not been printed. 



The total number of pages indexed was 28,350, and of index cards 

 written, 53,472. The principal items are as follows: 



Farmers' Bulletins: Pages, 1,614; cards, 2,166. 



Department Bulletins: Pages, 4,607; cards, 4,259. 



Department Circulars: Pages 1,035; cards, 1,530. 



Weather, Crops, and Markets: Pages, 1,244; cards, 5,833. 



Official Record: Pages, 416; cards, 6,842. 



Press notices: Pages, 1,354; cards, 1,695. 



Inventory of Seeds and Plants Imported: Pages, 548; cards, 1,293. 



Soil Surveys: Pages, 1,405; cards, 618. 



Experiment Stations Record: Pages, 1,418; cards, 226. 



Congressional Record: Pages, 2,935; cards, 4,481. 



