634 ANNUAL. REPORTS OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



The work of making]; removals and corrections on the various lists 

 involves a <::reat amount of careful and painstaking work; 80,101 

 stencils were cut out during the year. In addition to the cutting, 

 arrano;ing, and filing of stencils, 5,031,052 circulars. Monthly Lists, 

 and Crop Reporters were folded on the folding machines; 750,076 

 congressional franks and 305,589 sheets of pa})er furnished by the 

 various bureaus, divisions, and offices of the department were cut on 

 the hand machine. There were prepared and reproduced on the 

 duplicating machine 675 orders, circular letters, press notices, etc., 

 aggregating 250,817 copies, and containing in all 311,000 different 

 pages. 



MISCELLANEOUS CORRESPONDENCE. 



One of the most important branches of work is that of handling 

 the great mass of miscellaneous applications from all parts of the 

 country, of which 527,400 were received. The assortmg and pe- 

 rusing of these requests and indicating the particular publications 

 to be mailed in each case and tlite addressing of the envelopes are 

 intrusted to a force thoroughly familiar with the publications of 

 this and other departments, as well as those of the various experi- 

 ment stations and State departments of agriculture. An effort is 

 made to satisfy the public and at the same time prevent wasteful 

 distribution of the aepartment's documents. Applicants, however, 

 frequently ask for from 20 to 100 different publications, but it is 

 necessary to carefully select and send only a few which are believed 

 to be of interest, as otherwise the distribution of publications would 

 not be equitable, and the policy is to give every applicant a few 

 publications rather than to furnish a large number or documents to 

 a few applicants, and when the department's supply of a publication 

 is exhausted, applicants are referred to the Superintendent of Docu- 

 ments, who, under the law of January 12, 1895, is authorized to sell 

 them at a nominal price. 



Franks were written for 33,228 Farmers' Bulletin orders received 

 from other bureaus, divisions, and offices and filed in this office; 

 166,224 cards and letter forms were mailed explaining that it was 

 impossible to furnish the publications requested by the applicants. 



There was also maintained, in order to prevent duplication, an 

 index of the persons who received the Yearbook of the department 

 for 1909. 



The number of applications for publications received is a reflex of 

 the Alontlily List ana continues to increase steadily as the list grows, 

 but during the past year the work has been kept up to date. 



The distribution work of this office absolutely requires an increase 

 of space, as at present, although the stock is arranged in as system- 

 atic and compact a way as possible, there is insufficient room for 

 the proper storing and distribution of publications, it being necessary 

 to store many miscellaneous publications at a great distance from 

 the mailing room, thereby consuming a great deal of time that the 

 eniployees might use in actually assembling the publications. 



Even after complying literally with the recommendation of the 

 Committee on Efficiency and Economy of this department by reduc- 

 ing the stock of publications which have been published two years 

 or more to 25 copies, the natural increase of the publications of 

 the department based upon the increase of last year will soon offset 



