306 Rejiort of the Comviiitee of Patents. 



the commissioner of patents. By the act of March 3; 1839, 

 a certain annual sum was appropriated from the patent 

 fund, for tiie collection of agricultural statistics. Similar 

 appropriations have been made in successive years, and 

 the present report is for the year ending with the close of 

 1843. 



No act of Congress or appropriation of money, could be 

 better applied than for the purpose of disseminating in- 

 formation relative to the state and condition of our agricul- 

 ture. It will awaken the attention of every intelligent cul- 

 tivator, and bring him to appreciate the importance of his 

 profession, and the certain results v/hich are to be derived 

 from its successful practice. 



Upwards of 200 pages are entirely devoted to agricultural 

 subjects, — Wheat, Barley, Oats, Corn, Potatoes, Hay, Flax 

 and Hemp, Tobacco, Cotton, Rice, Silk, Sugar, Wine, &c. 

 their growth or production, — experiments in cultivation, — 

 improved varieties, — and other interesting statistics, are de- 

 tailed, forming a valuable mass of intelligence. 



From the prefatory remarks of Mr. Ellsworth, we learn 

 that no less than 12,000 packages of seeds have been dis- 

 tributed from the Patent Office this year ; it is supposed by 

 the commissioner that an improvement of 10 per cent, may 

 be made by the selection of seeds, thus increasing the value 

 of our agricultural products $30,000,000 annually. 



As a means of still further increasing the value of the 

 annual report, Mr. Ellsworth remarks as follows . — 



" The annual reports will show that much time is necessarily occupied 

 in collecting information. The materials are to be gathered both at home 

 and from abroad. Vastly more might be done, and with still greater ac- 

 curac}^^ were the energies of an individual devoted to this subject. The 

 present duty on my part is, in a great measure, performed out of office 

 hours. The examination of agricultural journals and correspondence is 

 the means now chiefly employed for the purpose of gaining information. 

 Personal conversation, and occasional journeys, have likewise afforded 

 some aid in the prosecution of the subject. While engaged in this duty, 

 I have felt a strong desire to visit the cotton, rice, and sugar plantations, 

 as well as the corn and wheat growing sections of the country ; to exam- 

 ine the cause of improvements, or the reason of failures ; and to gather 

 all the information practicable for the public benefit. The expense of such 

 an exploration would be small, and might be charged to the patent fund, 

 leaving still an annual surplus for other purposes. 



Allusion to personal feeling may possibly seem out of place. The fact, 

 however, is a pledge that I cherish at least a strong desire to aid the agri- 



