288 ANNUAL REPORTS OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



from the National Museum and Smithsonian Institution, 92 from the 

 Geological Survey, 48 from the Weather Bureau, 45 from the Hy- 

 gienic Laboratory, 43 from the Bureau of Education, 33 from the Pub- 

 lic Library, 29 from the Patent Office, 13 from the Bureau of Fish- 

 eries, 5 from the Department of Commerce, 4 each from the Children's 

 Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, and the Bureau of Railway 

 Economics, 3 from the Bureau of Ethnology, and 2 each from the 

 Department of State, Bureau of Standards, and the Army War Col- 

 lege. Of the 86 borrowed from libraries outside of the city, 14 were 

 borrowed from the Arnold Arboretum, and the remaining 72 from 23 

 other libraries. Often the search for a book needed by the department 

 involves writing to a number of libraries before it is finally found. 

 To all libraries which have generously aided the department in its 

 work by lending books from their collections, special thanks are due. 



ACCESSIONS. 



The number of books, pamphlets, and maps added to the library 

 during the past fiscal year, compared with the accessions of the four 

 previous years, is as follows : 



Accessions to the library for the fiscal years 1912, 1913, 1914, 1915, and 1916. 



According to the record of accessions, the total number of books 

 and pamphlets accessioned by the library up to July 1, 1916, was 

 143,685. From this number should, however, be deducted 5,910 

 volumes which were discarded during the fiscal year 1915 and 72 

 which were discarded during the present year, leaving a balance of 

 137,703 books and pamphlets in the library on July 1, 1916. 



The library, in common with all other libraries, has suffered frem 

 the European war. It has interfered seriously with the purchase of 

 books from continental booksellers and as a result little progress was 

 made in the past year in completing imperfect sets of periodicals and 

 in filling the gaps in the collections. On account of the difficulty 

 of obtaining books from the continental countries, there have been 

 unusually large accessions of books and periodicals in the English 

 language. 



Special mention should also be made of the large number of Japan- 

 ese books, reports, and periodicals purchased by the library in the 



