536 APPENDIX. 



DIVISION OF GARDENS AND GROUNDS. 



The propagating garden, started in 1858, was turned over by the Commis- 

 sioner of Patents to the Department of Agriculture shortly after the creation of 

 the department, in May, 1862, and the Division of Gardens and Grounds was 

 organized as an experimental garden in September, 1862. The superintendent 

 is charged with the care of keeping the lawns and other ornamentations of the 

 park, and with all duties connected with the introduction and propagation of 

 desirable economic plants, and their dissemination. in suitable climates through- 

 out the States. 



DIVISION OF CHEMISTRY. 



The Division of Chemistry, established in 1862, makes investigations of the 

 methods proposed for the analysis of soils, fertilizers, and agricultural products 

 and such analyses as pertain in general to the interests of agriculture. It also 

 conducts researches on all subjects in which chemistry and agriculture are con- 

 joined. The study of the composition of human foods and their adulterations 

 is one of the chief functions of this division. It can not undertake the 

 analyses of articles of a miscellaneous nature, but application for such analyses 

 should be made to the directors of agricultural experiment stations of the 

 different states. The division does not make assays of ores nor analyses of 

 minerals, except when related to general agricultural interests, nor analyses 

 of water. 



DIVISION OF ENTOMOLOGY. 



The Division of Entomology, organized in 1863, conducts investigations con- 

 cerning injurious and beneficial insects; disseminates information regarding 

 the results of these investigations and the best remedies to be used against 

 injurious insects, by means of correspondence, circulars, bulletins, and reports; 

 prepares specimens for illustrative and museum purposes; and in general acts 

 as a bureau of information on all matters relating to economic entomology. 



DIVISION OF STATISTICS. 



The Division of Statistics, established in 1863, collects information as to the 

 condition, prospects, and harvests of the principal crops, and of the numbers 

 and status of farm animals through a corps of country correspondents, and 

 with the aid of a supplementary organization under the direction of State 

 Agents. It obtains similar information from European countries monthly 

 through the deputy consul-general at London, assisted by consular, agricultural, 

 and commercial authorities. It records and tabulates and coordinates statistics 

 of agricultural production, distribution, and consumption, the authorized data 

 of governments, institutes, societies, boards of trade, and individual experts; 

 and writes, edits, and publishes a monthly bulletin for the use of editors and 

 writers, and for the information of producers and consumers, and for their 

 protection against combination and extortion in the handling of the products 

 of agriculture. 



DIVISION OF BOTANY. 



The Division of Botany was established in March, 1869. It maintained the 

 United States National Herbarium until July 1, 1896, when that work was 

 transferred to the Smithsonian Institution. The chief of the division, how- 

 ever, continues to have charge and the specimens are used by his assistants. 

 The division now publishes information of the treatment of weeds, experiments 

 with poisonous and medicinal plants, tests seeds with a view to their increased 

 purity and commercial value, and investigates other questions of economic 

 botany. 



