National Sciciilijlc and Kdiicalioiial J lis/ /lit /ions, 315 



there are no scientific societies of any description whatever, is a note- 

 worthy fact.' 



Durini; \'an Burcn's Presidency, the Department of Aj^ricuhiire had 

 its formal beginning-. 



The chief promoter of this idea was Henry ly. Ellsworth, of Connect- 

 icnt, Commissioner of Patents, whose efforts cnlminated twenty-.six years 

 later in the establishment of a department, and, after another period of 

 twenty-six years, in the elevation of the head of that Department to the 

 dignit}' of a Cabinet ofhcer. lUlsworth began work by distribnting seeds 

 and plants for experimental cultnre, acquiring these without expen.se, 

 and .sending them out under the franks of friendly Congressmen. After 

 three years (in 1839) Congress recognized the value of the work in this 

 direction by appropriating $1,000 from the Patent Office fund to enable 

 him to collect and distri1)ute .seeds, to collect agricultural statistics, and to 

 make agricultural investigations. Appointed by Jackson in 1836, Ells- 

 worth ser\^ed through the two successive terms of Van Buren and Tyler, 

 and in his nine years of official work his devotion to the interests of agri- 

 culture produced excellent results, and placed the service ou a firm 

 foundation. Though Newton was in name the first Commissioner of 

 Agriculture, Ellsworth deserves to be kept in memory as the real founder 

 of the Department. 



The appropriations at first were in.significant, and occa.sionally, as in 

 1841, 1842, and 1846, Congress .seems to have forgotten to make any 

 provision whatever for the work, which consequently went forward under 

 difficulties. In 1853 the first appropriation directly for agriculture was 

 made, in 1855 the whole amount up to that time withdrawn for this pur- 

 po.se from the Patent Office fund was reimbursed, and from that time ou 

 the money grants became yearly larger, and the work was allowed .slowly 

 to expand. The seed work increa.sed, and in 1856 a propagating garden 



' The foUowinj^ is ;i list of those already in existence: 

 State academies of science, etc., 1890 — 



California. — The California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco, 1854. 



Co/uiiihia. — The Affiliated Scientific Societies of Washington City; the Philo- 

 sophical Society, 1871; the Anthropological Society, 1S79; the Biological 

 Society, 18S0; the Chemical Society, 18S9; the National Geographic Society, 

 1888. 



Connecticut. —The Connecticut .\cademy of Arts and Sciences, 1799. 



fndiana. — The Indiana Academy of vSciences, 1885. 



lotca. — The Iowa Academy of Sciences, Iowa City, 1875. 



Kansas. — The Kan.sas Academy of vScience, Topeka, 1868. 



Maryland. — The Maryland Academy of Sciences, Baltimore, 1822. 



Massachusetts. — The American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Bo.ston, 1780. 



Minnesota. — ^The Minnesota Academy of Natural Sciences, Minneapolis, 1873. 



Missouri. — The St. I,ouis Academy of Science, St. Louis, 1857. 



New Yorti. — The New York Academy of Science, New York City, 1S17. 



Pennsylvania. — The American Philo.sophical Society, Philadelphia, 1743. 



Wisconsin. — Wisconsin Academy of Arts, Science, and Letters, Madi.son, 1870. 



