BUREAU OF STATISTICS. 645 



of the division. Additional desk room and a more effective distribu- 

 tion of the force of these two divisions was also obtained. To accom- 

 plish these results it was necessary to floor in the space between the 

 east galleries, connecting the east and south galleries, and extend the 

 west gallery. 



The files of the bureau have been segregated and located in a sepa- 

 rate file room and their capacity increased. About 20,000 commu- 

 nications were filed during the year. The extremely valuable records 

 and files of the bureau have been examined and placed in proper order. 



Communication between the various offices and divisions of the 

 bureau has been greatly facilitated, and much time saved, through 

 the installation of an automatic interior system of telephones. 



An addressing machine was installed in the Post Office Department 

 under an arrangement by which this bureau is enabled to utilize that 

 department's stencil list of about 50,000 post offices for the purpose 

 of addressing post cards, formerly addressed monthly or more often, 

 by hand, which contain summaries of Government crop reports, to be 

 posted for the information of the public. 



Two old, hand-power multigraph machines have been replaced by 

 modern electric-driven machines with improved paper-feed attach- 

 ments. The capacity of these machines is such that it has been pos- 

 sible to increase largely the amount of duplicating work done for the 

 bureau. Fifteen hundred copies of the summary of the Government's 

 monthly crop report can be made on these machines within less than 

 an hour after the report is issued. 



Fifteen modern sectional filing cabinets were furnished to agents 

 of the bureau in the field, to assist them in the systematic handling and 

 filing of their official correspondence, data, and records. 



A new system of time records has been inaugurated by direction of 

 the Secretary of Agriculture, the same system being installed simulta- 

 neously in all bureaus and offices of the department. 



WORK OF THE DIVISION OF DOMESTIC CROP REPORTS. 



The Division of Domestic Crop Reports tabulates and computes 

 the many thousand reports received monthly from the voluntary 

 correspondents of the bureau; in addition, the lists of correspondents 

 are maintained in this division — a work of no small magnitude — and 

 necessary correspondence with them is carried on. All schedules re- 

 ceived from correspondents are here opened and distributed to the 

 tabulating clerks, frequently requiring temporary assistance from the 

 other divisions of the bureau. 



The total number of questions asked of correspondents of all classes 

 in 1905 was 483; in 1910 it had increased to 2,582, or 435 per cent. 



Separating the inquiries into two classes, those chargeable to "crop 

 report" and those chargeable to "special investigations," it appears 

 that special investigations have wholly developed since 1905, there 

 being none of record during that year, and but one of 45 inquiries in 

 1906, one of 13 inquiries in 1907, and one of 48 inquiries in 1908, 

 while there were eight investigations, including 559 inquiries, in 1909, 

 and nine investigations, comprising 579 inquiries, in 1910. 



The inquiries chargeable to "crop report" increased during the 

 period from 483 in 1905 to 2,003 in 1910, or 315 per cent. 



