REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE. CXIX 



and expenses of its employees. In view of this fact and of its great 

 practical value, the propriety of extending work of this kind seems 

 apparent. 



The road material laboratory is operated in collaboration with the 

 Bureau of Chemistry, and its operations have already been discussed 

 in connection with the work of that Bureau. The increasing demand 

 for the services of this laboratory shows that its work is appreciated 

 by practical road builders. 



Special Agents. 



The plan of dividing the whole country into four areas, known as 

 the Eastern, Middle, Western, and Southern divisions, has been 

 retained, but, owing to lack of funds, no special agents were appointed 

 for the Eastern and Middle divisions. The special agents in the 

 Western and Southern divisions have done a great deal of active field 

 work, visiting different sections, attending and addressing conventions, 

 collecting and disseminating information, and preparing and publish- 

 ing matter on road subjects. It is expected that during the current 

 year a special agent will be at work in each of the four divisions 

 except the Eastern. 



PUBLICATIONS. 



Extent of Publication Work. 



All the information acquired by this Department through its several 

 bureaus and divisions by the means at its command finds its expres- 

 sion necessarily in the form of publications. The duty of issuing and 

 distributing these publications is assigned to the Editor of the Depart- 

 ment, under whose direction they are edited and prepared for the 

 printer. The record of his work therefore accurately reflects the 

 activity of the other Bureaus and Divisions of the Department. The 

 statistics of publication work for the year, as reported by the editor, 

 show that in no previous j^ear since the organization of the Depart- 

 ment has this manifestation of activity in all the branches of the 

 Department work been so apparent. 



' The total number of documents issued during the fiscal year was 

 757, of which 85 were publications of the Weather Bureau, and the 

 total number of printed pages of new matter edited and prepared for 

 the printer by the Division of Publications was 18,184. Counting 

 pages of new matter, the increase in the matter edited during the year 

 was 25 per cent over 1901 and 75 per cent over 1900. In spite of this 

 unprecedented increase, there were in the hands of the Public Printer 

 on June 30, 1902— the closing day of the fiscal year — 112 miscellaneous 

 publications, not including -17 Farmers' Bulletins. 



