437 



the eutire matter is committed to the Congressional Printer, when the 

 responsibility of the Department of Agriculture for promptness ceases. 

 Is greater celerity a reasonable expectation ? It may be said that the 

 returns should be telegraphed. But there are no telegraphic stations 

 in a large portion of the counties rei)orted. If there were, $100,000 per 

 month would not pay the cost. With ten times as many telegraphic re- 

 porters as are now required for meteorology by the Signal Service Office, 

 each respoudiugto atenfold longerlistof inquiries, a new disparity occurs 

 in the conditions of crop and of weather-reporting. In one case a look at the 

 thermometer, the barometer, and the sky, «&;c., suffice for tl report ; in the 

 other, observation throughout the county, examination of all the various 

 crops, conference with assistants, requiring days of preparation, are ab- 

 solutely necessary. In view of the character and extent of the work to 

 be done, both in the (ield and in the office, the absurdity of daily or 

 weekly reports of the condttion of crops must be apparent to every prac- 

 tical and reasonable man. The Christain Union, of September 4, 

 thus gives the monthly report a ciiaracter for freshness of news far in 

 advance of the literary monthlies : 



Probably every ooe wlio looks over the monthly reports from the Departmcut lius 

 frequent cause to regret the tardiness of tlieir pubiication, but printers and publishers 

 will readily appreciate the reasons which make it so difficult to keep such publications 

 up to date. Let the reader take up any of our magazines wlieu they first appear, say about 

 the 20th of tlie month precediug their date, aud he will be surprised at the staleness of 

 the news. Here, for instance, is Harper's, for September. Whatever charges may be 

 brought against that firm we cannot fairly charge them with lack of enterprise, and yet 

 the "Historical Eecord" for September contains no account of anything that happened 

 after the 24th of July.* If this be the case where subjects of living and universal inter- 

 est are treated, how much greater must be the delay where the magazine has to be 

 made u]) from the reports gathered from every township in the Union. The election 

 in North Carolina, on August 1, was of such importance that every nerve was strained 

 to get m the returns promptly, yet it was only last week that an official count, incom- 

 plete at that, was publishel. There is at present nothing to induce agricultural 

 agents to send in than- county reports, and the wonder is that the work is done as well 

 as it is. It is believed, however, that a great improvement can be made, and ought to 

 be made, but increased appropriations are necessary. 



It may not be known that the total appropriation to the statistical 

 division of this Department, to cover all expenses of collecting, tabulat- 

 ing, and preparing the crop-reports, as well as the cost of all other sta- 

 tistical investigations, and the preparation of matter for the annual and 

 all other reports, is but $15,000 per annum. At the same time the real 

 value of the gratuitous service rendered by correspondents cannot be 

 placed at less than $150,000. The franking i^rivilege also saves a large 

 item of cost, and the blanks and printed reports are an expense of nearly 

 $15,000 per annum. The crop-return system, exclusive of the other 

 operations of the division, does not cost the Department exceeding 

 $7,500, or the Congressional Printing-OfQce more than an equal amount. 



With this small expenditure, in the first years of immaturity aud in- 

 completeness, a fair analysis of results will show this system to be 

 superior to any hitherto attempted in this country, and to possess capa- 

 bilities of far greater usefulness if Congress, the press, and the people 

 manifest a liberal and intelligent appreciation of its actual value. 



*Th6 September report of the- Department of Agriculture gave the crop report 

 of Oregon, Texas, Florida, aud of every other State in the Union, for September, 

 made up aud mailed from the 1st to thelOth, a synopsis of which was published Sep- 

 tember 18th, aud the entire number of ti4 i)ages issued in September. 



