REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE. 35 



on their farms and continue their operations. The number who ap- 

 peared permanently to have abandoned their homes was rehitively 

 small. A considerable number of the men found temporary employ- 

 ment either in the industries of the West or on transportation lines, 

 earning enough to provide for the subsistence of their families and to 

 carry their live stock through the winter. 



THE FARM-IiABOR SUPPLY. 



The Department of Agriculture continued throughout the year to 

 give earnest attention to the securing and mobilization of an adequate 

 supply of farm labor. It maintained its representatives, stationed in 

 each State in the spring of 1917, and perfected its own organization, 

 enlisting the more active cooperation of the county agents and other 

 extension workers. It more fully coordinated its activities with the 

 Department of Labor, a representative of this Department having 

 been designated a member of the War Labor Policies Board which 

 was created by the President. It also aided the War Department 

 in connection with the classification of agricultural registrants. Spe- 

 cial efforts were made, beginning early in the year, to impress upon 

 the residents of urban communities the necessity of aiding farmers in 

 the planting and harvesting of their crops. The response to appeals 

 along this line was generous. In Kansas, for example, where the 

 situation was especially difficult, the reports indicate that more than 

 45,000 workers were supplied to farmers to assist in the wheat har- 

 vest. The potato crop in two counties in Texas was saved through 

 the aid of the business men in the local communities, and in Illinois 

 35,000 workers were registered for harvest work. Many other exam- 

 ples could be cited, but the results of all these activities are clearly 

 indicated by the fact that, although the largest acreage on record 

 was planted, the great crops of the year were harvested under diffi- 

 culties not appreciably greater than those in normal times. 



PUBLICATION AND INFORMATION WORK. 



The dissemination of useful and timely printed information in 

 relation to agriculture is one of the prime functions of the Depart- 

 ment. This is the task primarily of the Division of Publications 

 and the Office of Information. It has reached great proportions. 

 There were published during the year 2,546 documents of all kinds, 

 the editions of which aggregated 97,259,399 copies, an increase of 



