109 



agricultural society was established in New York, and in 

 1792, the Massachusetts Society was formed under a char- 

 ter granted by the General Court. Numerous other so- 

 cieties were formed in the years immediately following 

 in the various states. The British Board of Agriculture 

 was chartered in 1793, and soon afterward its president. 

 Sir John Sinclair, in a correspondence with General 

 Washington, suggested that it would be a worthy undei- 

 taking on the part of our national government to promote 

 in an official way the interests of agriculture here. 

 Washington replied approvingly, qualifying his remarks 

 'by reference to the circumstances of the new country. 

 This letter was indeed prophetic, for it was not until 1837 

 that anything in the way of official oversight or recog- 

 nition of agriculture was done under the national govern- 

 ment; and even then the initial act was not that of 

 the government, but of one of its zealous officials whose 

 routine of duty pertained to other matters. Washington 

 reverted to the subject in his final address to both houses 

 of Congress, on Dec. 7, 1796. 



The Department of Agriculture has now reached a de- 

 velopment that calls for an annual expenditure of nearly 

 three millions of dollars and the employment of several 

 thousand officials of various grades ; and beside exerting 

 its influence through its publications, distributions of 

 plants and seeds, it finds a field of activit}^ in what are 

 called "■ experiment stations " in every state and territory 

 in the union. As already intimated its origin is due to 

 the action of Henry L. Ellsworth, the first Commissioner 

 of Patents, who, in his first official report, submitted Jan- 

 uary 1, 1838, referred to it and in such a manner as to be 

 quite outside of his official purview. The Commissioner's 

 suggestion was not seconded by Congress at once, but on 

 January 21, 1839, the chairman of the Congressional Com- 

 mittee addressed a letter to the Commissioner relative to 

 the distribution of seeds and plants. As an outcome of 



