888 



ANNUAL REPORTS OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



Building Committee. — One lease was prepared and 1 lease renewed 

 for this committee during the fiscal year 1910; no agreements were 

 prepared for the committee during the fiscal year 1909. 



Supply Division. — A bond for tlie cliief of this Division was pre- 

 pared during the fiscal year 1910, 



Supply contracts. — The general supply committee, composed of 

 representatives from all the Government Departments, attended to 

 the preparation of contracts for supplies for this Department, except 

 those for supplies for the Forest Service. For this purpose 34 agree- 

 ments were prepared by this Office. Apparently this was a decrease 

 of 67 contracts over the fiscal year 1909; this difference has been 

 explained. 



Division of Accounts. — One contract was terminated and 17 bonds 

 were prepared for this Di\Tsion during the fiscal year 1910. 



RECAPITULATION OF CONTRACTS AND LEASES. 



The following table presents a recapitulation of the contracts and 

 leases prepared for the various bureaus, offices, and divisions of the 

 Department in the fiscal year 1910, as compared with the number 

 prepared in the fiscal year 1909: 



Bureau, Division, or Office. 



1909. 



Contracts. Leases 



1910. 



Contracts. ' Leases. 



Bureau of Plant Industry 



Bureau of Animal Industry. .. 



Weather Bureau 



Forest Service 



Bureau of Chemistry 



Office of Experiment Stations. 



Bureau of Entomology 



Office of Public Roads 



Division of Publications 



BuUding Committee 



Supply Division 



Division of Accoun ts 6 



80 



22 



20 







37 



3 



7 



















101 



31 



37 



1 



2 



32 



10 



10 



1 



1 















106 



24 



4 



o33 



10 

 3 



14 

 1 

 1 

 

 



34 



Total. 



270 



126 



230 



35 



35 







a 16 



10 

 4 



24 

 1 

 

 1 

 

 



126 



a Contracts for Forest Service in Washington, D. C. 



b Supply contracts. 



Total contracts and leases in 1909. 

 Total contracts and leases in 1910. 



396 

 356 



Decrease in 1910. 



40 



PATENTS FOR DEPARTMENT EMPLOYEES. 



Since this Office has been charged with the duty of preparing and 

 prosecuting patent applications for emplovees of this Department to 

 be dedicated to the public (act of March 3, 1883; 22 Stat., 625), the 

 work connected therewith has been gradually increasing each year. 

 The scope of the w^ork does not consist merely in the preparation and 

 prosecution of such applications, but this Office is frequently called 

 on to render opinions as to the extent of existing patent rights for 

 the purpose of protecting emploj'ees engaged in scientific experiments 

 or other Departmental investigations from infringing legal rights of 

 patentees. Again, the Office is often requested to ascertain if patents 

 have been granted on various devices, mechanisms, etc., or w^hether 

 certain trade-marks have been issued. In order properly to pass 



