472 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XL, No. 1031 



of close coordination of related lines of work. 



Another provision increases the maximum 

 salary which may be paid to investigators or 

 others engaged in scientific work from $4,000 

 to $4,500. Under the previous limit, a number 

 of the more experienced investigators have 

 been drawn away from the department. 



By a clause inserted in the section dealing 

 with the Office of Experiment Stations, funds 

 are given the Secretary of Agriculture to 

 carry out the provisions of the Smith-Lever 

 Extension Act. An extension of the frank- 

 ing privilege is also included under which all 

 correspondence, bulletins and reports for the 

 furtherance of the purposes of that act may be 

 transmitted in the mails free of postage by 

 the college officer or other person connected 

 with the extension department of the college 

 designated by the Secretary of Agriculture, 

 under regiilations to be prescribed by the Post- 

 master General. 



Great interest was again manifested in the 

 demonstration and extension activities con- 

 ducted by the department itself, and some of 

 the largest increases carried in the act are 

 those for their further development. The 

 sum of $400,000 is definitely allotted to farm- 

 ers' cooperative demonstration work outside 

 the cotton belt, and $673,240 for similar dem- 

 onstrations in the areas threatened by the boll 

 weevil. In the case of the latter work, a 

 proviso is inserted restricting the expenditures 

 to the funds provided and such cooperative 

 funds as may be voluntarily contributed by 

 state, county and municipal agencies, associa- 

 tions of farmers and individual farmers, uni- 

 versities, colleges, boards of trade, chambers 

 of commerce, other local associations of busi- 

 ness men, business organizations, and indi- 

 viduals within the state. The allotment for the 

 campaign against the cattle tick is increased 

 from $325,000 to $400,000, of which $50,000 

 may be used for live stock demonstration work 

 in areas freed of ticks. There is also an ap- 

 propriation of $60,000 for experiments and 

 demonstrations in cooperation with states or 

 individuals in live stock production in the 

 cane sugar and cotton districts, and one of 

 $40,000 to aid in the agricultural development 



of the government reclamation projects by 

 assisting settlers through demonstrations, 

 advice and in other ways. 



Most of the various regulatory or police 

 functions assigned to the department receive 

 increased support. The permanent appropria- 

 tion of $3,000,000 for meat inspection is sup- 

 plemented by a grant of $375,000, an increase 

 of $175,000 over the previous year. This in- 

 crease is mainly because of additional work 

 through the inspection of imported meats, in 

 accordance with the Tariff Act of 1913. The 

 meat inspection is also extended to reindeer. 

 The allotment for the enforcement of the 

 Food and Drugs Act is increased by $25,641, 

 largely to meet the additional duties imposed 

 by the recent extension of the act to include 

 meat and meat food products and the amend- 

 ment requiring the declaration of the net 

 weight in package and similar goods. An in- 

 crease from $10,000 to $50,000 is provided for 

 the protection of migratory game and insec- 

 tivorous birds, and one from $75,000 to $100,- 

 000 for the cooperative fire protection of the 

 forested watersheds of navigable streams. The 

 appropriation for the enforcement of the plant 

 quarantine act is increased from $40,000 to 

 $50,000, with $50,000 additional to enable co- 

 operation with states quarantined against the 

 interstate movement of Irish potatoes. 



As usual there is considerable new legisla- 

 tion relating to forestry matters. The Ap- 

 palachian Forest Eeserve Act of 1911 is 

 amended by increasing the proportion of the 

 gross receipts from the National Forests ac- 

 quired under its provisions which is returned 

 to the respective states and counties, for the 

 benefit of their public schools and roads, from 

 five to twenty-five per cent. Provision is also 

 made for the handling through the Treasury 

 Department of funds contributed for coopera- 

 tive work in the protection and improvement 

 of the national forests, as well as for forest 

 investigations, and a requirement is inserted 

 whereby all such contributions must annually 

 be reported to Congress. 



The appropriation for studies of the market- 

 ing and distribution of farm products is in- 

 creased from $50,000 to $200,000. Authority 



