444 
Canadian Agriculture. 
appointment of a Commissioner of Agriculture, There has 
hitherto been no special vote for the general purposes of agri- 
culture, although there have been special votes in particular 
cases, as for cattle quarantine and inspection, the collection of 
statistics in certain special cases, and grants to exhibitions ; 
up to the present these have comprised the whole functions of 
the Department in relation to Agriculture. 
As this subject is not without current interest at home, I may 
briefly refer to the work done by the United States Department 
of Agriculture at Washington. Originally embraced in the 
Patent Department, the United States Department of Agri- 
culture was formally and permanently organised as a distinct 
department in 1860. Its work consists in (1) the dissemination 
of rare and valuable plants and seeds, which are procured both by 
purchase, and by exchange with foreign countries ; (2) the com- 
munication to different districts of the information deriv^ed from 
other localities as to soils, methods of cultivation, climatic influ- 
ences, &c. ; and (3) the publication of results obtained in the 
principal subdivisions through their researches and experiments. 
Congress has been liberal in its grants to the Department, which, 
in the year ending 30th June, 1882, expended considerably 
over 70,000/., the items including : purchase and distribution 
of valuable seeds, 16,000/. ; experiments in tea-culture, 1750/. ; 
experimental garden, 1400/. ; investigating natural history of 
insects, 4000/. ; investigating diseases of swine, 4489/. ; reclama- 
tion of arid and waste lands, 2000/. ; report on forestry-, 1000/. ; 
experiments in manufacture of sugar, 6466/. The fact that the 
work of the Department is constantly extending, and that the 
expenditure is growing annually, may be taken as evidence that 
the people of the United States believe their Department of 
Agriculture is worth its cost. Many products are now suc- 
cessfully and profitably grown that were introduced afid first 
experimented on by the Department. Within the last few years 
experiments have been made at considerable expense with the 
sorghum sugar-cane, with the tea-plant, and for the encourage- 
ment of grape-cuiture and wine-making. Should these experi- 
ments prove successful, and lead to extensive and lucrative 
prosecution of the industries connected with the growth of these 
articles, the cost will be insignificant beside the results. By 
experiments such as these the United States Department- of 
Agriculture has already conferred great benefits upon the people. 
Recommendations of the Select Committee on Afjriculture. — The 
following is the conclusion of the Select Committee's Report to 
the House of Commons: — 
"Considering; tiiat the jnoper dcvcloitmcnt of our .i^'ricultural resources is 
indispensable to the upbuildiDg and maintenance of our national wealtli and 
