division of publications. 275 



farmers' bulletins. 



The appropriation for the preparation and printing of Farmers' Bul- 

 letins was $57,500, of which $51,708.63 was expended for printing and 

 $5,701.37 for the preparation of such bulletins. 



During the past year only 14 new Farmers' Bulletins were issued, 

 but the calls for reprints were so numerous that 157 of these were 

 issued, aggregating nearly 3,000,000 copies. The total number of 

 copies of the new bulletins aggregated 415,000. The Congressional 

 distribution, as the tables will show, was larger than ever before, the 

 provision for printing having been increased over the year previous 

 and a considerable number having been left over from June 30, 1900, 

 which by your order were added to the Congressional supply for the 

 fiscal year 1901. This enabled us to make the quota for each Senator, 

 Representative, and Delegate 7,000 copies. The total number of Con- 

 gressional quotas drawn was 413, aggregating 2,195,010 copies. This 

 left again a considerable number (over 1,000,000), which reverted to 

 the Secretary for the current year. Adding this, as per your direc- 

 tion, to the number it will probably be possible to print, owing to the 

 increased appropriation, will permit of raising the quota for Senators, 

 Representatives, and Delegates for the current year to 15,000 copies. 

 Under the present law four-fifths instead of two-thirds of the total 

 number of Farmers' Bulletins printed are reserved for the use of Con- 

 gressmen, with, however, the same proviso as heretofore in regard to 

 quotas unused on or before the 30th of June of each year, by which all 

 such quotas revert to the Secretary of Agriculture, to be disposed of at 

 his discretion. So far all surplus copies thus accumulating to the 

 Secretary's credit have been included in the Congressional distribu- 

 tion for the succeeding year. 



The appropriation for this Division for the current year includes a 

 provision of $2,500 for the rent of a building and for such alterations 

 as may be needed to fit it for the storage of publications. In accord- 

 ance with this provision, a contract for a lease was made for a build- 

 ing to be erected for the accommodation of a portion of the document 

 section in conjunction with the vegetable pathological and physiolog- 

 ical investigations. This building is now approaching completion, 

 and the basement and two stories of the eastern side will be placed 

 at the disposal of this Division, which will be occupied for the storage 

 and distribution of Farmers' Bulletins. This will greatly relieve the 

 congested condition of those portions of the* building hitherto devoted 

 to the storage and shipment of publications. This relief becomes all 

 the more important in view of the great increase contemplated in the 

 number of Farmers' Bulletins to be published, which will aggregate 

 about 7,000,000 copies. 



The tables following show the details connected with the issue of 

 Farmers' Bulletins — the originals and reprints published during the 

 year, with comparative figures for 1900 and 1899, the total cost of 

 printing, the titles and number of copies of the new bulletins, the 

 number contributed by the several Bureaus, Divisions, and Offices, etc. 

 One of these tables shows that the total number of copies of Farmers' 

 Bulletins issued since the first number appeared is 16,975,500, of which 

 there have been distributed upon Congressional orders 10,713,671. 

 The total number of Farmers' Bulletins issued since the beginning, 

 including those now in press, is 139. For a detailed statement of the 

 publications received and distributed during the year, see Appendix B. 



