EDITORIAL. 639 



during the first 3'ear, was transferred to the Bui-eau of Government 

 Laboratories hist summer. The Avork on ru])l)er production appears 

 also to be assit^ned to that bureau. 



This division of the work into the practical and the scientific, or that 

 of the fiekl and the laboratory, will call for the most cordial coopera- 

 tion between the two bureaus. Such cooperation will be essential to 

 the rounding- out of the work in agriculture, and the efficient investiga- 

 tion of the various scientific phases which are sure to develop as the 

 work progresses. 



Some time ago it was mentioned that the Department Library- had 

 undertaken the preparation of a card index of the articles contained 

 in the more important scientific periodicals devoted to agriculture. 

 This undertaking is in line with the suggestion of the Committee on 

 Indexing Agricultural Literature and is intended as an aid in looking 

 up the investigation on a given subject. 



Considerable progress has been made in this work and the Library 

 is now read}' to begin issuing the cards. A circular has been distrib- 

 uted explaining the scope and cost of the index and as soon as returns 

 are received showing the number of subscribers the printing of the 

 cards will begin. 



Subscriptions will be received for complete sets, including author 

 and subject cards, for author sets alone, or for the cards relating to 

 any particular subject, as soils or horticulture, or animal production or 

 entomology; and furthermore, a single card or a set of cards for any 

 particular article may be purchased. The "author entr}' set" will 

 include one card onh' for each article listed. As the articles are 

 frequently quite broad in their scope and might be classified under 

 several subject headings, and as the index is analytical, additional 

 cards will be required to make up the complete set. The cards in the 

 author set will be sold at one cent each, and the additional cards for 

 making the complete set at one-half cent each. 



For the cards subscribed for in a particular class, as soils or ento- 

 molog}', a charge of two cents will be made for the first card and one- 

 half cent for each duplicate card, as considerable more work will be 

 involved in making up such sets. The scheme of subjects from which 

 selection may be made follows in general the classification of the card 

 index issued by this Office, although some changes have been made to 

 better suit it to this particular purpose. Single cards or a set of cards 

 for any article can be purchased at the regular price of two and one- 

 half cents for the first card and one-half cent each for duplicates. 



In beginning the preparation of these cards three prominent jour- 

 nals devoted to agricultural science were selected, and the work in 

 analyzing them has progressed to a point where a considerable number 

 of volumes have already been covered and an estimate secured of the 



21250— No. 7—04 2 



