REPORT 



SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE. 



To the President: 



The Department of Agriculture has reached farther into sympathy 

 with the industries of the people during the past year. It has identi- 

 fied itself more intimately with the experiment stations of the several 

 States and Territories and what pertains to the interests of their peo- 

 ple. It has gone farther in foreign lands to find many things that will 

 be valuable to our producers. The grouping of related sciences into 

 Bureaus has economized time and contributed to efficiency. The 

 process could be advantageously extended to other Divisions and 

 Offices that are growing beyond their present environment. 



The education of student assistants and scientific aids in their several 

 specialties goes on satisfactorily under the scientists in charge, giving 

 promise of high efficiency in the future personnel of the Department. 



NEW BUILDING NEEDED. 



The growth of the Department causes continual overflow into rented 

 buildings that now cost over $10,000 a year. This, and the danger of 

 loss by fire of material that has been accumulating for years and could 

 not be replaced, induced the Congress to appropriate $5,000 at its last 

 session to provide for the selection of an architect and plans for a new 

 building, which has been done with the cooperation of the Architect 

 of the Treasury, under whose direction a commission was selected to 

 pass upon the drawings, consisting of Messrs- D. H. Burnham, C. F. 

 McKim, Augustin Saint Gaudens, F. L. Olmsted, jr., and James Knox 

 Taylor, and a report upon the action taken will be submitted to the 

 two Houses of Congress at an early date. 



OUR DUTY TO NEW POSSESSIONS. 



The extension of American jurisdiction over islands in the Tropics 

 brings new problems to the student of agricultural science. We buy 

 annually over $400,000,000 worth of the products of foreign fields, 



