Miscellaneous. 355 



than fifty years past, you have been the leader in this development of 

 Missouri fruits and other Horticultural interests. 



Fourth, as United States Commissioner of Agriculture at Washing- 

 ton by your broad, comprehensive and progressive work for the depart- 

 ment, you first secured recognition of Agriculture as worthy a place in 

 the President's cabinet, and became first Secretary of Agriculture for the 

 United States. 



Fifth, as Secretary, v^e therefore much more honor you because 

 of what you did while in charge of the department at Washington. 



First, you established the Department of Pomology, which had never" 

 been recognized as worthy of such notice, and by the appointment of a. 

 worthy man as the head of that division — Prof. H. E. \'an Deman — youi 

 raised the standard of pomology, which has been expanding until it now; 

 covers the whole land and is known all over the world. 



Second, you established the Division of Vegetable Pathology, which 

 has done so much for our Agricultural and Horticultural uiterests. Mil- 

 lions upon millions of dollars had been lost annually by t!ie ravages of 

 blights, molds, rusts, smuts, and other vegetable diseases, and no com- 

 missioner before your time had appreciated this great loss or had taken 

 steps to devote a special division to the study of tlie causes of these 

 diseases, or the remedies therefor. Under your appointment of Prof. 

 B. T. Galloway, a native Missourian, as head of this division, winch he 

 so ably and creditably filled, and which he still occupies, it has become 

 one of the most valuable divisions of the Department of Agriculture. 



Third, you established the Division of Ornithology and JMammalogV;, 

 one of great importance to both the fruit grower and general farmer. 

 The object of this division, as I understand it, was to ascertain which of 

 our birds are friends to the farmer and fruit grower, and which are de- 

 structive to his crops. To this end the division was to investigate the food 

 habits of our birds in relation to Agriculture, Horticulture, and Forestry. 

 The same may be said in regard to mammalogy — only it applies 

 to animals that are destructive to the farmer, such as the different varie- 

 ties of gophers, field mice, striped squirrels, moles, minks, skunks, rabbits, 

 etc. The able man whom you appointed as chief of that division — Prof. 

 G. C. Merriam — still retains his position, and his annual reports are read 

 with great interest and profit. 



Fourth, but the grandest of all the achievements for the farmer^ 

 under your administration, was the establishment of the Experiment Sta- 

 tions in connection with all the Agricultural Colleges throughout the 

 United States. It was the action you took, and the foresight you dis- 

 played that secured to us these indispensable appendages to our Agri- 



