270 ANNUAL REPORTS OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



INDEXING. 



The work of this force has grown steadily throughout the year. 

 The increase in the amount of indexing has been so great that it has 

 been impossible to keep it even approximately up to date. Three 

 large congressional documents were indexed. The book indexes 

 heretofore made, including the indexes of the Yearbook, annual 

 reports, and similar departmental publications, have been turned 

 out as usual. 



The indexing of new publications as they have come in, for the 

 card indexes maintained in the room, has consumed about as much 

 time as usual and the handling of these cards to make them available 

 has, of course, kept pace with the making of them. The two indexes, 

 the "available" and the "general" have been much more used during 

 the past year than at any previous time. This is due to more general 

 spread of notice that these indexes are available to supply lists of 

 references to the publications of the department. Nearly all the calls 

 for such references have come from other branches of the department. 



The number of pages indexed during the past year was 33,694 

 against a little less than 30,000 in 1915. Of these, 44,201 were of 

 current publications for the card cases and 9,493 for the books them- 

 selves. In addition, over 16,600 pages of the Congressional Record 

 have been read and a considerable part indexed, against 13,127 

 pages last year. The Record index for department subjects has been 

 much in use. The number of cards written was 60,290 against 

 61,559 last year. This includes the copies of cards to the number of 

 from two to five made for the several indexes supplied from here. 



The index for the first 500 numbers of the Farmers' Bulletins, 

 making 432 pages, was published, in addition to several indexes for 

 collections of Farmers' Bulletins and department bulletins when 

 bound under one cover. A considerable amount of preparation of 

 books for binding has been done, but there is much material on hand 

 for preservation in the permanent sets in the vault that has not yet 

 been bound. 



A set of books, intended as permanent files, is still very insecurely 

 kept, and it would seem advisable to put these books, held for per- 

 manent preservation, in a fireproof place with adequate shelving to 

 make them available for exammation whenever needed. 



The reading of the Congressional Record and the care and distri- 

 bution of documents furnished by Congress is a department that is 

 occupying an increasingly considerable amount of working time. 



ILLUSTRATING. 



The number of drawings prepared by the draftsmen during the year 

 totaled 1,887. 



This showing is especially commendable when it is taken into con- 

 sideration that the year's work was noteworthy for the number of 

 drawings requiring special skill and unusual length of time to complete 



Summary of drawings prepared during the fiscal year 1916. 



Office of the Secretary -. 272 



Weather Bureau 5 



Bureau of Plant Industry 641 



Bureau of Animal Industry 421 



Forest Service 8 



