196 ANNUAL REPORTS OF DEPARTMENT OF ACiRlCULTURE. 



ing; for performing teleplunie service; and for promoting mutual 

 helpfulness. 



Along the lines of work pursued the effort is to establish perma- 

 nent results of frequent utility to the offices of the department, to 

 the many applicants for information outside of the department, 

 and to the general public. Most of the many bulletins issued from 

 this division are of permanent usefulness and are in current demand ; 

 the many special articles that have been prepared for the Yearbook 

 by persons employed in this division are of continuing service; and 

 the threescore statistical tables contributed to the agricultural sta- 

 tistics of the Yearbook are brought down to date annually and are 

 of permanent value. 



This is an office of special research and investigation within a 

 field not covered by any office in any other department. 



DIVISION OF RESEARCH AND REFERENCE. 



The Division of Research and Reference was established a few 

 years ago. Its functions are to prepare the monthly report con- 

 cerning foreign crops, the preparation of articles for the Crop Re- 

 porter, the management and care of the statistical library of the 

 bureau, the compilation of statistics on the yield, annual area, and 

 production by countries of corn, wheat, rye, oats, barley, and flax- 

 seed, and the production of coffee for publication in the Yearbook, 

 and the collation of information from publications of gi'eat variety 

 on matters relating to agriculture for the purpose of preparing 

 reports and answering special inquiries. 



CHEMISTRY. 

 MANIFOLD APPLICATIONS OF THIS SCIENCE. 



The period from July 1, 1897, to the present time has been one of 

 continuous growth in the activities of the Bureau of Chemistry. 

 During the last 16 years the work has grown in volume and range 

 with steady and rapid progress. It now includes nearly every phase 

 of the application of chemistry to agriculture, to the food and drug 

 industries, and to other manufacturing industries which utilize the 

 products of the farm as raw material. 



OFFICE QUARTERS. 



The contrast between the equipment at the beginning and at the 

 ending of the period is no less marked. On July 1, 1897, the total 

 appropriation for the Division of Chemistry was $29,500, now it is 

 approximately $1,000,000. Then the total number of employees was 

 20, now over 500. Then the division occupied a small building, origi- 

 nally a residence, not well suited for laboratory purposes, consisting 

 of nine rooms; now the bureau occupies a commodious, fireproof 



