EDITORIAL. 319 



private tracts and wood lots, tlic continuation of the .soil survey over 

 nearly 15,000,000 acres during the year, irrigation investigations, and 

 the work on the cotton ])oll-weevil in Texas. 



The Secretary points to the results with macaroni wheats as an indi- 

 cation of what may be accomplished in plant introduction. It is 

 estimated that 10,000,000 bushels of this wheat were harvested the past 

 season, and at least 20 mills are now handling it. Tests of the bread- 

 making (|ualities of macaroni wheat flour at several of the experiment 

 stations and on a large scale by the Department have shown that a 

 XQYj good quality of bread can be made from such flour. 



The application for advice and working plans for forest lands 

 increases steadily, indicating the widespread interest which has at 

 length been aroused in improved methods of management. This work, 

 however, should not obscure the investigations which the Bureau of 

 Forestry is conducting along other lines, among which may be men- 

 tioned tests of the strength of timber, the preservation of wood by 

 cheap means, the control of forest insects, and a new method of gather- 

 ing crude turpentine, which within a single jear has revolutionized 

 the naval stores industry, nearly doubling the yield of turpentine with 

 practicalh' the same labor, and greatl}^ prolonging the life of the tree. 



The studies of the duty of water form an indispensable basis for a 

 more economical use of water in irrigation, the excessive use of which 

 not only reduces the yield of crops and ruins large areas of fertile 

 lands, but deprives other lands equally fertile of a water supply. An 

 area of approximate!}^ 10,000,000 acres is now under irrigation, and 

 canals already built cover an added area of at least 5,000,000 acres. 

 The studies already made lead to the belief that the application of 

 better methods would make possible the cultivation of the added 

 5,000,000 acres now under ditch, with very little expense for canal con- 

 struction. In Oregon it is estimated that there are 3,000,000 acres 

 of land whose products can be greatly increased by the adoption of 

 proper methods for conserving the moisture which falls outside of the 

 irrigation period, and equally good results are probable in other 

 States. The Secretary refers to the importance of undertaking work 

 in agricultural engineering, especially on the application of power to 

 farm machinery, and recommends that the irrigation Avork be enlarged 

 to include both irrigation and agricultural engineering. 



Much attention is given in the report to the ravages of the cotton 

 boll-weevil in Texas, which menaces cotton production in that and 

 adjoining States; and a plan is outlined for combating the invasion of 

 this insect. An appropriation of half a million dollars for this pur- 

 pose is recommended, to l^ecome immediately available, in order that 

 the campaign may be made comprehensi\'e and efl'ective. 



The publications of the Department during the past year, which in a 

 way may be taken as an indication of its activity, far exceeded those of 



