ICX) THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



' committee of the whole,' without reference to the needs 

 of the service, but simply to " equalize " expenditures in the 

 Nortli and the South. 



In the Senate, the agricultural bill is referred to the Com- 

 ' mittee on Agriculture and Forestry. This committee could, 

 of course, conduct hearings also. In practice, however, it 

 relies largely upon the published reports of the hearings of 

 the House committee, supplemented by such additional in- 

 formation as may l)e furnished at its request by the de- 

 partment. Generally, its report to the Senate is not very 

 different from that made to the House. The conference 

 committee of the two Houses is thus seldom confronted 

 with many conflicts relating to the agricultural bill proper. 



Beginning in 1839, one thousand dollars was set aside by 

 Congress from the receipts of the Patent Office for the pur- 

 pose of collecting and distributing seeds and procuring agri- 

 cultural statistics. By 1849, the appropriation had lieen 

 increased to three thousand five hundred dollars, and by 

 1859, to sixty thousand dollars. In 1869, seven years after 

 the department had become an independent establishment, 

 the appropriation amounted to one hundred and seventy-two 

 thousand five hundred and ninety-three dollars, and in 1879. 

 to two hundred and six thousand four hundred dollars. 

 When the department was raised to the first rank in 1889, 

 the appropriation was one million and thirty-four thousand 

 four hundred and eighty dollars. By this time the adminis- 

 tration of the financial aflfairs of the department had 

 developed to such importance that a separate division of ac- 

 counts and disbursements was created to insure proper dis- 

 bursement of the funds. In 1899. the amount appropriated 

 had been further increased to two million eight hundred and 

 twenty-nine thousand seven hundred and two dollars ; and 

 by 1909, had been very considerably increased to fifteen 

 million three hundred and eighty-five thousand, eight hun- 

 dred and six dollars. At the present time (1918) the 

 amount annually appropriated is approximately double this 

 last sum, or thirty million dollars. The recent rapid in- 



