^34 ANNUAL REPORTS OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



profit by them. The General Index, completed and made known to 

 all. would ailord ovorvono a means of ascertaiiiin^r aj)i)roximately 

 all^ that has been published by the Department on any subject. 



The Available Index has been improved and made more useful 

 during the year. It gives very promptly the references on any sub- 

 ject to be found in the Department's available publications, and by 

 reason of its simple dictionary form can be consulted readilv by per- 

 sons unfamiliar with either classification of subjects or methods of 

 indexing. Proofs of this are constantly on hand in the daily work of 

 this office. Many publications have been furnished to applicants by 

 means of this index which would not have been reached by any other 

 means. 



Work on these indexes in order properly to represent the current 

 publications in them has involved the copying of 97,782 index cards. 

 Included in these, however, are a iew thousand cards of entries from 

 t)ld Annual Reports made for the General Index. The books for the 

 fiscal year 1908, during which work on the General Index was sus- 

 pended for lack of help, have not as yet been indexed for that use; 

 it is hoped this can be done in the current year. The addition of an 

 indexer at the beginning of the year was a great help and has been 

 justified by the additional work accomplished. 



Letters prepared in this branch of the office during the year, most of 

 them to supply special information about the Department publications 

 and to give the titles of publications for sale by the Superintendent of 

 Documents, numbered 6,925 ; the orders made numbered 7,899, there 

 being frequently two orders for the same applicant. It is reasonable 

 to suppose that these letters have been the cause in a large measure 

 of the increase of sales of Department publications by that official. 



The preparation of indexes for Department books during the year, 

 besides those for the Secretary's Report, the Yearbook, and the An- 

 nual Reports, has included indexes for two volumes of Farmers' Bul- 

 letins, for several bulletins and reports of other Department offices, 

 and an index of the minutes of the meetings of the Food and Drug 

 Inspection Board, containing nearly 2,000 cards. In all, about 20,000 

 pages have been indexed. 



The publication of the Monthly List of Publications, the revision 

 of the lists of publications for sale and for free distribution, of the 

 Farmers' Bulletin Subject Index, and of the Organization List has 

 involved much time spent in compilation, editing, and proof reading, 

 as in former years. An important feature in three of these circulars 

 is the index, which it is believed will make them much more useful. 



The custody and binding of the Department books for permanent 

 preservation took some time, and the binding of such volumes as 

 Vere complete was satisfactorily done. 



ILLUSTRATIONS. 



During the year 1,460 drawings were prepared by the draftsmen 

 as compared with 1,061 in the preceding year, the bulk of the work 

 being accomplished by three draftsmen, but the increase is not fully 

 shown in the nearly 400 additional drawings. Many of these draw- 

 ings were either large or intricate, requiring an exceptional amount 

 of time and care. 



