REPORT 



OF 



THE COMMISSIONER OF AGRICULTURE. 



Department of Agriculture, 



Washington , D. C, November 10, 1884. 



To the President: 



I respectfully submit a statement of the work done in the Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture during the year 1884. 



During tlje year the duties of the Department have largely increased. 

 The extension of the work of the Bureau of Statistics has furnished the 

 chief a large amount of matter, which he has with great diligence and 

 skill reduced to statistical form and embodied in a monthly report, 

 which has attracted great attention both in this country and in Europe. 

 In addition to Mr. Mollatt, who reports from London upon the trade 

 and iudustry of Europe, there are ten thousand correspondents of this 

 Department in tbis country, who are constantly furnishing the materials 

 for the statistical estimates of the Bureau. The establishment of a 

 Bureau of Animal Industry in the Department has also added very 

 largely to its duties, and the work required by it has been most satis- 

 factorily performed. The Bureau of Entomology has been most effi- 

 ciently represented abroad by its chief, and its investigations in this 

 country have been conducted with great care and success. I submit 

 extended statements of the work of these several bureaus. 



BUREAU OF ANIMAL INDUSTRY. 



This Bureau, established by act of Congress approved May 29, 1884, 

 has been organized during the year, and it is now in active and effi- 

 cient operation. Investigations have been made in regard to the ex- 

 tent, nature, and means of combating outbreaks of communicable dis- 

 eases among the domesticated animals of the country in the States of 

 Maine, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, 

 Virginia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Kan- 

 sas, Arkansas, and Texas. While the prevalence of such diseases is 

 probably not much in excess of what it has been in previous years, the 

 organization of the Bureau has led to a greatly increased number of 



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