HEARINGS BEFORE COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE. 259 
7 Cea You have given an ocular demonstration to the 
people? 
Mr. Witry. Yes, sir. One thing we could not do this year was to 
ask the people to come and see for themselves. In the first placc, 
when you go to build anything under the Government you have a 
thousand things to deal with. If you want to buy anything you have 
to advertise if it is going to cost you over $50. Then, contractors do 
not finish on time, and we had put no penalty in because this was new 
work and we could not exact a penalty for not finishing on time. 
We expected to get started on the 1st day of October, and the first 
wheel was not turned until the 16th of November, which put us too 
far into the season altogether for the successful termination of the 
work. Now, we want to do this next year and get everything in 
proper trim; we want to invite the people there who are interested; 
and they all want to come, and we want to show them just how this is 
done, and in one more year I am confident, from what we have accom- 
plished, that everything will be completed. 
Now, there is one thing I have forgotten to say, that the important 
thing is the way in which the cane is grown, especially as to the 
quality, as to what the fertilizers are that will influence it favorably, 
and so on. We are determining those things by experiments, and 
they are not very expensive. They will take, perhaps, a thousand 
dollars. The great expense has been buying this outfit. We had 
$15,000—— 
Mr. Wrieut. Last year? 
Mr. Wier. Yes. 
Mr. Lams. That is what we appropriated last year. 
Mr. Winey. Yes; and that has been all spent in this work; we have 
not been recreant to our trust. 
The CuarrMan. Do not put in any deficiency bill now; we will make 
this sum immediately available. 
Mr. Witzy. Car you get it in shape for our spring work? 
The Cuarrman. Yes. 
Mr. Winey. The estimate has gone to the appropriation committee 
for the spring work. 
The CHatrman. You have not incurred any indebtedness? 
Mr. Wirey. Not a dollar; no. Mr. Youmans, however, who is 
greatly interested in the work, has paid some bills, probably $1,000, 
which might properly have been charged to our fund. 
The Coarrman. We made it immediately available last year and it 
was passed by the 3d of March, and I think you will have this bill before 
then. 
Mr. Witey. It would be too late then. The 3d of March is too late 
for our agricultural work, I fear. 
The CHarrman. Why? 
Mr. Witey. Everything, you see, will be planted. I mean for our 
fertilizing experiments. 
The CHarrman. You say you only want a thousand dollars? 
Mr. Wixey. Yes; only about a thousand dollars altogether for that. 
The Cuarrman. I guess you can do that some way. 
My. Wier. I can do what J did in Waycross. I can advance my 
own money. We had to have little things there at once, and the only 
way to get them was to go out and buy those things and then send in 
the bills afterwards. It is necessary to do that sometimes in order to 
