36 HISTORICAL SKETCH OP DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 

 DIVISION OF ACCOUNTS AND DISBURSEMENIS. 



The Division of Accounts and Disbursements, established July 1, 1880, 

 audits and i)ays all accounts and adjusts claims against tlie Department; 

 decides questions involving- the expenditure of public funds; prei)ares 

 advertisements, schedules, contracts for annual supplies, leases and 

 agreements; issues requisitions for the purchase of supplies, requests 

 for i^assenger and freight transportation ; prepares the annual estimates 

 of approi)riations, and attends to all other business relating to the finan- 

 cial interests of the Department. B. F. Fuller, deceased, was the first 

 chief. Frank L. Evans, the present chief, was appointed July 13, 1893. 



DIVISION OF FORESTRY. 



The Division of Forestry, organized by order of the Commissioner in 

 1881, and reorganized by Congress as a division in 188G, is occupied 

 with experiments, investigations, and reports dealing with the subject 

 of forestry, and with the dissemination of information upon forestry 

 matters. N. H. Egleston was the first chief, followed by B. E. Fernow, 

 the ijresent chief, who was appointed March 15, 1886. 



DIVISION OF BIOLOGICAL SURVEY. 



The Division of Biological Survey (established as the Division of 

 Ornithology and Mammalogy in 1886) studies the distribution of ani- 

 mals and plants, and maps the natural life zones of the country; it 

 also investigates the economic relations of birds and mammals, and 

 recommends measures for the preservation of beneficial and the destruc- 

 tion of injurious species. C. Hart Merriam has been the only chief — 

 appointed July 1, 1886, as chief of the Division of Ornithology and 

 Mammalogy, and July 1, 1896, as chief of the Biological Survey. 



DIVISION OF POMOLOGY. 



The Division of Pomology, established in 1886, collects and distrib- 

 utes information in regard to the fruit interests of the United States, 

 investigates the habits and peculiar qualities of fruits, their adaptability 

 to various soils and climates, and conditions of culture, and introduces 

 new and untried fruits from foreign countries. The chiefs have been 

 H. E. Van Deman, S. B. Heiges, with W. A. Taylor, the assistant in 

 charge for seven months. G. B. Brackett, the present chief, was 

 appointed August 1, 1897. 



DIVISION OF VEGETABLE PHYSIOLOGY AND PATHOLOGY. 



This division was originally established in 1886 as a section of mycol- 

 ogy in the Division of Botany under F. Lamson-Scribner; the following 

 year it was changed to a section of vegetable ])athology, and in 1891 

 became a separate division. In 1895 the scope of its work was enlarged 

 and name altered to Division of Vegetable Physiology and Pathology. 



