REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 173 



vance of every contagious epizootic as well as to cure the animal that 

 is suffering from a less dangerous ailment. The lives of countless 

 animals are preserved each year, and because of the investigations of 

 materials which fomi an important part of the daily food of the 

 people of the country, human lives are also helped and lengthened 

 and in many instances sickness and death are prevented. 



EXPERIMENTAL FARMS. 



Some of the investigations require farm conditions. In 1897 the 

 Bureau of Animal Industry had for this purpose an establishment for 

 which the name " experiment station " was a misnomer. It was 

 located on a rented tract of land with an area of less than G acres. 

 The available buildings for housing animals and laboratory purposes 

 were a few one-story frame structures which could be duplicated, 

 together with their entire equipment, for about $3,000, and the 

 duplication of which at any price, for any purpose, would be 

 extravagant. 



The experiment station is now located on a 50-acre tract of land 

 owned by the Department of Agriculture, at Bethesda, Md. Its 

 laboratory is a $25,000 fire-proof building, and the entire property, 

 including buildings, roads, water, and sewage systems, etc., is worth 

 at least $75,000. This station is used for investigations concerning 

 diseases of animals, and is well equipped for the purpose. 



The bureau also has a farm at Beltsville, Md., for investigations in 

 animal husbandry and dairying. This farm, which was bought by 

 the department in 1910, consists of 475 acres of land, and is being 

 equipped for the work for which it is intended. This farm affords 

 facilities that have long been needed, and is expected to yield valuable 

 results to the stock-raising and dairy interests of the country. 



BIOLOGICAL SURVEY. 

 EARLIER DUTIES. 



During the past IG years the Avork of the Biological Survey has 

 been greatly enlarged and its field broadened, as is shown by a com- 

 parison of appropriations and number of employees. The appro- 

 priation for the fiscal year 1897 was $2O,5G0, while that for 1913 

 was $191,400; the number of employees increased from 23 in 1897 

 to 97 on July 1, 1912. In 1897 the office, then known as the Division 

 of Biological Survey, was charged with two main lines of work — 

 investigation of the geographic distribution of mammals and birds 

 and studies of the food habits of the useful and injurious species. 



IMPORTATIONS OF JAVE BIRDS AND WILD ANIMALS. 



In 1900 under the act regulating importation and interstate com- 

 merce in birds and game the survey was given supervision of all 



