REPORT OP THE COMMISSIONER OF AGRICULTURE. 9 



speculation, through the information furnished by this division, are mat- 

 ters of constant and grateful acknowledgment. 



The preparation of the statistical exhibits at the International Exhi- 

 bition at Philadelphia has added largely to the work of this division. 

 They are intended to present, in compact form and logical arrangement, 

 with such aids to interpretation as are afforded by color and mathemat- 

 ical delineation, some of the main facts which illustrate the progress of 

 settlement, production, and rural improvement of the United States. 

 These exhibits include, first, six large outline-maps of the United States, 

 (17 feet by 12,) representing by tints of coloring the distribution of 

 forest-areas, the comparative value of farm-lands, the rate of wages of 

 farm-labor, and the distribution of cereal and textile crops, and the 

 area in fruit-culture; second, engraved diagrams, ingeniously illustrat- 

 ing the comparative yield of the several States, the effect of fluctuating 

 production upon price and i)rofit, the increase of cereal exportation, and 

 questions of immigration and wages; third, statistics of industrial edu- 

 cation, with engravings of college buildings ; and, fourth, statistics of 

 farm-animals, with type-specimens in lithographic tint of the i^rincipal 

 breeds. 



I regret to be obliged to say that the operations of this Department 

 for the coming year, upon which we have entered, have been most 

 severely crippled by the legislation of the last Congress. Our Statisti- 

 cal Division, which I look upon as the most important to the interests 

 of the country, has been almost destroyed for want of an appropriation 

 to supply it. The whole sum appropriated to this division is only 

 $10,000, which is not quite sufficient to pay for the clerical work, leav- 

 ing nothing for collecting agricultural statistics and compiling and 

 writing matter for monthly, annual, and special reports. In conse- 

 quence of which, and the want of a sufficient appropriation for printing, 

 the monthly reports cannot be published longer than November, and 

 the articles which make up the annual report cannot be procured at all, 

 unless it be the pleasure of Congress to make a further appropriation. 



The Department grounds are yearly becoming more and more a source 

 of deep interest to students in forestry, a subject that is justly attract- 

 ing the attention of practical as well as scientific men. Comparisons 

 can here be made in regard to the rapidity of growth of the various 

 species, and their adaptability to various purposes and uses. The col- 

 lection of ligneous plants is constantly receiving additions, and is rapidly 

 approaching completion, so far as known plants are concerned. 



Efforts toward introducing the culture of the Chinese tea-plant are 

 still in force, though the great reduction in the appropriation for the 

 support of the garden during the year prevents any further effort in this 

 line at present. 



Among recent introductions, the Japan persimmon may be noted as 

 a fruit of much merit. By a long and patient series of seminal produc- 

 tions and careful selections, this fruit has reached great perfection in 



