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ee SREPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF AGRICULTURE, 1 
“What leaden me to be more hopeful in this respect is the fact that 
ei. Serrell has so improved his reels as to do away with much of 
the hand labor incident to the apparatus which we are now using, 
’ this hand labor having been found extremely tedious and expensive. 
@ have already perfected arrangements by which the Department is 
+o be allowed to construct and operate some of these improved ma- 
_ chines, and I am now having drawings of them prepared with this 
% object i in view. By their use it is hoped to double the output with- 
out increasing the force employed. These machines will probably 
= been put to a very thorough test before the publication of my 
~ next annual report, and I hope at that time to be able to make some 
definite statement regarding the probable success or non- success of 
_ the industry in the United States. 
In addition to the experiments already recited, others have taken 
place at Philadelphia under the direction of the Women’s Silk Cult- 
ure Association of the United States, and a report thereon has been 
submitted to me, in accordance with law. This report will, pursu- 
_ ant to the direction of Congress, be transmitted to that body at the 
proper time. 
DIVISION OF STATISTICS. 
*. The work of collection and co-ordination of the facts of agriculture 
~ in this country and, in a more limited sense, throughout the world, 
has progressed successfully during the year. The application of 
Statistics to business furnishes the balance-wheel which regulates its | 
_ operations. It is the guide of the legislator, the counselor of the 
merchant, and the friend of the farmer. It suggests what to plant 
- for profit and how much will fill the demand; it detects the erroneous 
. practice and points out the more profitable method. Its uses in this 
» ‘division are in the interest of accuracy and truth; the improvement 
of American agriculture, cheaper production, and more economy in 
distribution. 
_ The yearly development of agricultural statistics, under national 
authority and voluntary organization, throughout the world, is open- 
ing new fields for collection and enlarging the accumulating stores 
which furnish material for the use of this division. Much has been 
E done during the past year in classifying and systematizing the rec- 
-ords. A comprehensive plan of indexing statements and facts for 
easy reference is in operation, calculated to save much time that 
a might be wasted in fruitless research, and increasing greatly the 
possibilities of prompt and efficient service. 
The facts of agricultural production, foreign and domestic, in this 
‘as in former years, point to large yields where labor is high and 
-* economy compulsory, and low rate of production where land is cheap 
and abundant. It exhibits the anomaly of large production on old 
lands of moderate original fertility and small yields on rich and virgin 
