112 THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



suits. Many expensive bulletins have been prepared which, 

 either because of their content or the method of presenting 

 the subject, proved to be of little value in the promotion of 

 ag^riculture. Long mailing lists of names have been built 

 up to which many thousands of bulletins have been sent 

 largely irrespective of the needs or desires of the recipients. 

 To these were added a large number of indiscriminate lists 

 and requests from members of Congress. It is difficult, if 

 not impossible, to form any estimate of the value of these 

 publications on the one hand, and the needless waste on the 

 other. 



There seems to be no question, however, but that there 

 has been, and to a less extent, still is, opportunity for im- 

 provement in this matter. To the extent that Congress 

 interferes directly in the distribution of publications, the 

 department is, of course, powerless. 



It may be recalled, from what has previously been said, 

 that one of the first steps of the present administration was 

 to improve the methods of the department in making avail- 

 able the results of its work. The Smith-Lever extension 

 and demonstration act was largely a result of this general 

 policy. The various publications, though not lessened in 

 mmiber,^ have been simplified and made more practical. A 

 much wider and more systematic use is now made of the 

 public press to popularize the work that is being done. To 

 this end an office of information has been created. This 

 office also issues a widely circulated weekly news-letter. 

 Provision is made for a continuing revision of mailing lists. 

 Fewer publications are distributed freely ; more are offered 

 for sale at cost by the document section of the Government 

 Printing Office.^ 



By these means and others, notable improvements have 

 been made in the methods of making the work of this insti- 

 tution available and effective. Here again, however, one 

 can do no more than form an estimate on general principles. 



2 See appendix iv. 



'Reports of the Department of Agriculture. 1917. p. 271. 



