208 ANNUAL REPORTS OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



weevil reaches that section data of a comproliensive and accurate 

 nature will be available to show those farmers desiring to embark in 

 the cattle business how it should be conducted to be profitable. 



PORK PRODUCTION INVESTIGATIONS. 



The pork production investigations, conducted under similar con- 

 ditions m Sumter County, Ala., are also yielding encouraging results. 

 The farm on which the work is done is now on a profitable basis, and 

 it is believed that it will become more profitable as time goes on. 



CERTIFICATION OF PURITY OF BREEDING OF IMPORTED ANIMALS. 



Since January 1,1911, the department has exercised the power given 

 to it under the provisions of paragraph 492 of the tarifl' act of August 

 5, 1909, to pass upon the sufficiency of the pedigree certificates of 

 animals imported for breeding purposes, instead of delegating this 

 function to certified American pedigree record associations, as has 

 been the policy heretofore. 



From January 1, 1911, to June 30, 1911, inclusive, there were 

 imported 1,171 horses, 1,427 cattle, 12 sheep, 7 hogs, 190 dogs, and 12 

 cats, for which certificates of pure breeding have been issued by this 

 bureau. 



In connection with the examination of certificates the animals are 

 inspected at the port of entry to see that the animals and certificates 

 agree in description. During the first six months of the calendar year 

 33 certificates for horses have been returned to the importers on 

 account of the animals not agreeing with the certificates. There have 

 also been returned to the secretaries of the foreign breeders' societies 

 for correction 23 certificates for horses, 20 for cattle, 2 for sheep, and 

 2 for clogs. Pamphlets are issued quarterly or at other intervals 

 giving the names and registry numbers of the imported animals, 

 names of importers, and the dates of importation. 



THE EXPERIMENT FARM. 



The work at the experiment farm of the bureau near Beltsville, 

 Md., has been devoted almost entirely to putting the farm into con- 

 dition for experimental work. A dog-tight 58-inch woven wire fence 

 is being built around the farm, fields and paddocks are being fenced, 

 and a road and lanes constructed. A tool and im])lement shed has 

 been built, and the superintendent's dwelling repaired and the inte- 

 rior painted and papered. A hog house, a poultry house, and a 

 building for the research work in animal breeding are being erected, 

 and numerous small portable houses built. The land has been 

 cleared and plowed. Thirty-five acres are in corn and 100 acres in 

 cowpeas. All tillable land is being broken up and put into some 

 kind of crop. 



The equine stock, the sheep, and the goats have been transferred 

 from the Bethesda Experiment Station, and the guinea pigs and other 

 small experimental animals will be moved as soon as quarters are 

 available. Two pure-bred Percheron mares, 2 years old, were pur- 

 chased in June, and a small herd of grade Berkshire pigs has been 

 started. 



