6 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



After American independence had been won and peace was firmly- 

 established strong- friendships grew up between public- spirited Euglish- 

 men and Americans. When the British board of agriculture was 

 established in 1703 its chief promoter, Sir John Sinclair, had his friend 

 and correspondent, President Washington, made an honorary member. 

 To a suggestion that a similar board ought to form part of the Amer- 

 ican Government Washington was favorable, but in his reply to Sir 

 John, in a letter of July 20, 1704, showed his clear understanding of the 

 order of growth of public institutions. He said : "It will be some time, 

 I fear, before an agricultural society with Congressional aids will be 

 established in this country; we must walk, as other countries have 

 done, before we can run. Smaller societies must prepare the way for 

 greater, but with the lights before us I hope we shall not be so slow in 

 maturation as other nations have been." 



WASHINGTON'S VIEWS AS TO A BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



In order to bring the matter before the i^ublic Washington, in his 

 last message to Congress, on December 7, 1 706, made the following 

 statement of his views: "In proportion as nations advance in popula- 

 tion the cultivation of the soil becomes more and more an object of 

 public patronage. Institutions grow up supported by the public purse. 

 * * * Among the means which have been employed to this end 

 none have been attended with greater success than the establishment 

 of boards composed of public characters charged with collecting and 

 diffusing information, and enabled by premiums and small pecuniary 

 aid to encourage and assist a spirit of discovery and improvement. 

 This species of establishment contributes doubly to the increase of im- 

 provements, by stimulating to enterprise and experiment, and by draw- 

 ing to a common center the results everywhere of individual skill and 

 observation and spreading them thence over the whole nation." 



RECEPTION OF WASHINGTON'S SUGGESTION. 



This suggestion was seconded by Col. Timothy Pickering, Secretary 

 of State, and was favorably received by public men generally. The 

 response of the Senate, drawn by Senator Eead, of South Carolina, was 

 as follows: "The necessity of accelerating the establishment of certain 

 useful manufactures by the intervention of legislative aid and protec- 

 tion and the encouragement due to the creation of boards (composed of 

 intelligent individuals) to patronize the primary pursuits of society are 

 subjects which will readily engage our most serious attention." 



The House of Rei)resentatives referred the subject to a committee, 

 which reported on January 11, 1707, recommending the creation of 

 such a society as indicated. It was to meet annually, and Congress- 

 men, Federal judges, the Secretaries of State, War, and ^avy, and 

 the Attorney-General were to be ex-officio members. The bill was read 

 twice and on the next Monday was taken up for consideration. But a 



