REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE. CXXI 



expenses of the Department, but one, nevertheless, without which all 

 the other expenses would be useless. A serious problem is presented 

 by the fact that as the Department grows and becomes better known 

 and its work more valuable and more highly appreciated, the demand 

 for its publications increases even more rapidl}'- than the supply, and 

 with a constituency of over 10,000,000 workers on the 5,750,000 farms 

 of the United States, of which probably not more than one-tenth are 

 reached at present in anything like adequate measure by the publica- 

 tions of the Department, it is obvious that the demand upon us for 

 published matter is bound to assume larger proportions, and, under 

 the present system, to involve greater expense. 



THE LIBRARY. 



The work of the Department depends in a large measure upon an 

 available collection of book>s relative to practical agriculture and to 

 scientific experimentation at home and abroad. With this end in 

 view the library has been increased from year to year until it now 

 contains 75,000 volumes and pamphlets pertaining to the special lines 

 of work carried on in the Department. As a working scientific library 

 it is among the first, and as such is frequenth' made use of by scien- 

 tists in distant parts of the country. 



Accessions. 



Each year some especially rare scientific works and man}- valuable 

 sets of periodicals are added to the librar}-, which are not available 

 elsewhere in the country. With a larger appropriation more such 

 works, in addition to current publications, could be procured to the 

 great advantage of the public service. 



The files of agricultural papers are particularly noteworthy, includ- 

 ing representative publications from all parts of the world. This is 

 one of the special collections most frequently consulted, and, in addi- 

 tion to its current value, it is a most important one as a sovirce from 

 which the progress of agriculture ma}^ be traced in future years. 

 With few exceptions these publications are gifts from the publishers. 

 Man}' gifts from scientific writers in the form of monographs and of 

 reprints are also received, adding largeh' to the number and to the 

 value of the annual accessions. 



The most important source of accessions next to that by purchase is 

 b}' exchange. The numerous publications of the Department are widely 

 distributed to societies, universities, and other institutions of learning. 

 In return for these, thousands of separate numbers of serial publica- 

 tions are received. The Library is the depository for all exchanges, 

 that the}' may be systematically arranged and carefully preserved for 

 the present and future benefit of the Department. 

 AGR 1902 IX 



