22 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OP DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



a delegate to tbe National Eepublicaii Convention in 1380. He was 

 appointed by President Garfield and confirmed by tlie Senate as min- 

 ister to Paraguay and ITruguay, which appointment he declined, and 

 was also tendered by President Garfield a mission to Denmark and the 

 position of Chief of the Bureau of Printing and Engraving, both of which 

 he declined. He was elected governor of Wisconsin in 1881, reelected 

 in 1884, and reelected for a third term in 188G. He was appointed 

 Secretary of Agriculture on March 4, 1889." 



In reorganizing the Department Secretary Rusk divided the work 

 into two main classes: Executive, under the immediate charge of the 

 Secretary; and scientific, under the Assistant Secretary, Hon. Edwin 

 Willits, that office having been just then created. 



First of the Farmers' Bulletins.— Mr. Kusk urged the necessity of plac- 

 ing the information gathered by the Department more generally in the 



possession of farmers and estab- 

 lished the Division of Records 

 and Editing, now the Division of 

 Publications, under Mr. George 

 ^Yilliam Hill, its present chief, 

 to edit and supervise publica- 

 tions and administer the print- 

 ing fund. He recommended the 

 publication of the Farmers' Bul- 

 letins, which have since become 

 so i)opular. The woik to be 

 (lone in these he summarized as 

 follows : Frequent publication of 

 the results of scientific work and 

 the circulation of the informa- 

 tion among practical farmers, 

 insuring its direct application to 

 actual farming operations. He 

 insisted that the language em- 

 ployed in the bulletins should be intelligible to farmers generally. In 

 addition he i)lanned the j)ublication by press associations, newspapers, 

 and agricultural periodicals of advance reports of the important con- 

 clusions reached by experiment and research. In this way he believed 

 the great majority of the farmers of the country would be promptly 

 reached. The demand for Farmers' Bulletins grew rapidly from the 

 start. Several have run over 100,000 in their distribution, and some 

 have exceeded 200,000. 



Investigation of foreign markets— Mr. Rusk began the Systematic inves- 

 tigation of foreign markets for American products, procured a special 

 appropriation for the purpose, and for some years a special agent was 

 maintained in Europe. This gentleman, Col. Charles J. Murphy, gave 

 particular attention to the introduction of corn meal for bread among 

 the people of Europe and in the armies of the Continent. 



Jeremiah >l. Eusk, 



Secretary of Agricultme. 



1889-1893. 



