at a point remote from his own, he will select a competent person, and send 

 his name and post office address in his return. 



2. As nearly all correspondents will have, by this time, selected their 

 assistants, they are desired to forward their names, together with their post 

 office address. 



3. Many of the correspondents having desired that the circulars should be 

 sent for each assistant, this will be done — one for each assistant and two for 

 the correspondent, that he may keep at home a copy of his returns to the 

 Department. He will make up his own return from those of his assistants, 

 and whatever other sources of information he may possess, and send only 

 his own. 



4. That the correspondent may keep a more complete record of the weather* 

 and to prepare the way for meteorological observations hereafter, if thought 

 to be desirable, the Department will prepare blank forms for such record, of 

 a character that will impose no labor on its correspondents, but a pleasure 

 rather. The object of it will be to keep, very briefl}'', a collection of statis- 

 tics that will show the arrival of birds, the starting of the growth of plants, 

 and the leafing, blossoming, and ripening of their fruits, and all those daily 

 phenomena or signs that mark the progress of the seasons, together with the 

 fall of rain and snow, the occurrence of storms, or other unusual incidents of 

 the weather. 



For the numerous expressions of regard to the Commissioner for his man- 

 agement of this Department he returns his most grateful acknowledgments. 

 That the Annual and Bi-monthly Reports will serve to so increase the desire 

 for agricultural information that instead of conflicting with the demand for 

 agricultural papers they will but increase it, and that the seeds distributed 

 will promote such interest in the vegetable and flower garden that they will 

 create a greater purchase of those sold, is to him an indisputable fact, as seen 

 in the result of every improvement in the mechanic and manufacturing arts, 

 and in all other branches of business demanding invention. 



ISAAC NEWTON, Commissioner. 



