302 ANNUAL EEPOKTS OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



The 23,137,529 Farmers' Bulletins were distributed under the 

 following heads : 



Farmers' Bulletin distribution. 



Congressional distribution 9, 098, 482 



Filling the original schemes of distribution 977, 000 



Filling orders from divisions in the department and from 



State agents 7, 365, 198 



Miscellaneous applicants 5, 69G, 849 



This enormous distribution — the largest in the history of the 

 department — involved a great amount of clerical and manual labor. 

 A record was kept with each individual publication. As more than 

 4,000 individual publications are carried in stock at present, this was 

 a work of great magnitude. Owing to the fact that there are many 

 series of department publications, and many pamphlets fall in a class 

 between circulars and ''jobs," exceedingly close application is required 

 to keep this record accurately. These records often furnish informa- 

 tion for the bureaus in the department when contemplatmg some 

 particular distribution of publications, and they also furnish data to 

 the Office of Information for the distribution of press stories. 



CONGRESSIONAL DISTRIBUTION. 



A part of the record keeping includes a stock record kept with 

 each Farmers' Bulletin; also an account with each Senator, Repre- 

 sentative, and Delegate in Congress. The first-mentioned record 

 is the basis for ordering reprints for the purpose of restocking and 

 the latter to mform Membess of Congress of the state of their allot- 

 ments. 



In connection with the congressional distribution, 45,557 letters 

 were received during the year, and in complying with the requests 

 contained therein 43,673 orders were issued on the Office of the 

 Superintendent of Documents, callmg for 9,098,482 Farmers' Bulle- 

 tins, which were sent to persons residing in different parts of the 

 country. In many cases the selection of Farmeis' Bulletins is left to 

 the document section. There are rush periods of this class of work, 

 and at such times the force assigned to it is required to work exceed- 

 ingly hard to keep from falling in arrears. It is hoped that the 

 appropriation providing for emergency labor will relieve this situa- 

 tion to a great extent. 



MISCELLANEOUS DISTRIBUTION. 



Several thousand requests for publications are received daily from 

 miscellaneous applicants in different parts of the country. These 

 requests are largely due to the Monthly List of Publications, which 

 is mailed to approximately 200,000 persons each month. The classi- 

 fication of these letters and the making of orders for the mailmg of 

 Bublications, which are sent from the office of the Superintendent of 

 ►ocuments, require the best efforts of a correspondence unit com- 

 posed of 30 clerks, m charge of Mr. John O. Riley. Within the last 

 fiscal year 762,744 communications requesting publications and other 

 information were received. In complying with these requests 

 729,520 orders were issued on the Superintendent of Documents. 



