792 ANNUAL REPORTS OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



nected with road construction, maintenance, and administration, 

 and publishin*:; houses have been very {generous in their answers to the 

 reauests junde for tliis ])ur|)ose. Th<> lihraiy now receives 47 ])eriod- 

 icals, of which 14 are^iven to it by tlie pubhshers, while tlic others are 

 received through tlie (U^partment library. Most of these publications 

 are ])ul)lished in the United States, but amon<; them are 4 French 

 periodicals, G Kurdish, and 1 German. ])urin<i; the last fiscal year 

 a very im|)ortant line of library indexing has been started with re}i;ard 

 to the ])eriodical literature which is received. A very careful index 

 is made of every article in each of these publications which is of any 

 interest to the scientists of this Office. Copies of this index are sent 

 to each of these scientists every month and a complete card index is 

 kept and added to from time to time. This forms the nucleus of 

 probably the most important information that is to be found in the 

 Office. 



OUTLINE OF PLANS FOR THE CURRENT YEAR. 



It is not expected that the work of the current fiscal year will difTer 

 in any essential particular from the work of the last fiscal year. The 

 experiments with various bituminous binders will be continued and 

 broadened in scope and extent as facilities permit. The system for 

 the collection, compilation, and dissejnination of data relating to the 

 progress of road improvement tliroughout the United States will be 

 miproved through the appointment of a special agent for each State, 

 who will report, on the first of each month, the results accomplished 

 during the preceding month. It is expected that gratifying results 

 will be obtained through the experunents with oil concrete, iirrange- 

 ments are being made for a comprehensive series of traction tests, 

 supplementing those previously made. 



Tlie present quarters of the Office afford sufficient space and ade- 

 quate arrangement to enable us to S3"steinatize our work during the 

 current year to a far better advantage than at any time in the previous 

 history of the Office. 



PLANS AND RECOMENDATIONS FOR 1912. 



The estimates for the fiscal year 1912 provide an increase of $51,660. 

 It is proposed to estabfisli a permanent field station for the testing of 

 all road material and methods of construction, and to make continuous 

 observations from year to year so that absolutely rehable data may 

 be obtained. This field experiment station will consist of a road 

 approximately 8 or 10 miles m length, in the vicinity of wliich will be 

 erected suitable temporary storehouses and working quarters. The 

 plan will involve the improvement of approximately 1 mile of the 

 road each year with various materials, which will be applied according 

 to various methods. 



In the event that the increase is granted, it is expected to broaden 

 the scope of the advisory work, the construction of object-lesson 

 roads, and to provide an eft'ective system for obtainino; prompt and 

 thorough reports of all road work in progress in the United States. 



