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38 REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF AGRICULTURE, — 
favor with the larger class of planters, on account of the care they’ — 
need in transplanting and in raising from seed, and, therefore, en- ~ 
couragement in that direction is most needed. I have tentatively — 
inaugurated a system by which I can supply seedlings directly from 
the nursery, thus insuring better success than could be obtained by _ 
trusting the seeds to unskillful treatment. 
A considerable correspondence, in replies to inquiries, occupies — 
much of the time of the office force of the division and aids in enlarging — 
the interest in the subject. Thus, the division, while struggling to 
do justice to its technical needs, is called upon also to carry on amis- 
sionary work, in keeping that interest in the forestry question alive 
and growing without which a reform in the forest policy of our 
country can not be expected. I most earnestly commend this ques- 
tion to the careful consideration of Congress, and recommend such 
legislation as is demanded by the importance of an interest which 
foreign governments have long since recognized in their administra- \ 
tive policies, and liberally provided for. 
DIVISION OF MICROSCOPY. 
The work of this division for the current year has been confined 
chiefly to microscopical investigations relating to the crystallography — 
of butter, oleomargarine, and butterine, and, for purposes of com- 
parison, the fats of wild and domestic animals. 
The object of these investigations, primarily, was the discovery of 
a ready means of detecting butter substitutes, of whatever descrip- 
tion, as manufactured or sold in violation of law; and this the Micro- 
scopist claims to have successfully accomplished, 
This investigation of butter and fats has attracted wide-spread at- 
tention and interest, which have consumed an important part of the 
time of the division in answering inquiries, furnishing information, 
etc., and have led to new fields of exploration. Hxaminations are now 
being made in order to ascertain whether the butter crystals of im- 
ported and registered breeds of mileh cows, or of pure breeds but 
not entitled to registry under the rules of any association, so differ 
one from the other that they may be distinguished by means of the 
microscope under polarized light. The feed of the respective animals, 
in connection with the seasons, is also taken into consideration in 
these investigations. In some cases marked differences are said to be 
observed, and the Microscopist will endeavor to illustrate these in a 
forthcoming report. . 
The investigation of the forms of the fatty crystals of animals 
other than milch cows may prove of interest, from a point of view 
other than that connected with their possible relation to butter ; and 
a knowledge of the forms and other peculiarities of the crystals of 
the solid fats used in medicinal preparations and in the arts and 
manufactures may also prove of great value as a means of detect- 
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