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127 
tions can thns be obtained by* each State desiring the Madmens fiu a^icultural 
colleges or State cabinets. I^ 
In the collection of native birds the specimenfvttre labekm to sncf#at’a giance^whicli 
are the friends of the farmer by destroying injurious insects, or which are the enemies 
that prey upon his crops. The plates of insects are especially designed to show such 
insects as are destructive to vegetation, so that the farmer or fruit grower may recog¬ 
nize them at a glance. Then, by referring to a manuscript work by Professor Glover, 
the entomologist of the Department, he can immediately learn all that is known of 
their habits, and the best means to exterminate them. All inquiries relative to noxious 
insects of the farm made by agriculturists or others desiring such information can be 
readily answered and the best known remedies recommended. 
In the cases devoted to the animal and veget^^e fibers they are shown in all their 
stages, from the seed to the manufactured articles, or from the raw material as in the 
case of wool, to the various fabrics made frofniBpF 
The collection of domestic poultry shows typ^pecimens of such as are recommended 
as best for market, laying eggs, or for any particular purpose. The design of the 
economic collection of flours manufactured from cereals, dye-stuffs, gums, oils, &c., is 
to show what can be made from various native materials, or to suggest the various 
products imported from abroad that should be grown in this country. 
HORTICULTURE. 
2 >- 
bo the 
This consists of an experimental garden with the arloretum, and is devoted 
introduction of new and valuable and promising plants, shrubs, and trees, native and 
foreign, suitable to the various sections of the Union. What is known as the Botani¬ 
cal Garden has no connection with this division or the Department. 
WHAT IT HAS ACCOMPLISHED. 
Now, Mr. Speaker, what has the Department accomplished? 'Since the claims of 
agriculture have been recognized and fostered by Government, the excellence and 
variety of its machinery and implements have surpassed those of all other nations. 
In 1847 the number of agricultural patents granted was but 47; in 1863 it had in¬ 
creased to 390; in 1865 to 642; in 1866 to 1,778; and for each of the . last two years it 
has reached nearly 2,000. These improvements are rapidly revolutionizing the agri¬ 
culture of the West, and reducing to the lowest point ever attained the proportion of 
manual labor employed in the operations of farming, saving at least fifty per cent, of 
the manual labor required in agricultural pursuits. 
Under its present able head the Department has distributed the last year nearly six 
hundred thousand packages of seed, including upward of thirty thousand sacks of 
winter wheat imported by the Commissioner, besides new varieties of oats and other 
cereals, which have been sent into every congressional district in the Union; thus 
affording at once a more general diffusion of new and valuable kinds of grain than 
would or could be done by private enterprise in many years. As the result of this dis¬ 
tribution of seed by the Department from yea^o year, there are now raised hundreds 
of thousands of bushels of oats, incomparably Superior to the old varieties, and in many 
instances nearly doubling the crop. And so ofibhe increased quantity and superior 
quality of the wheat in many of the States. The same might be said of several of our 
other products. This increase has contributed millions to the wealth of the country, | 
and alone establishes the utility and great benefits resulting from this Department. 
It is said that he who makes two blades of grass grow where one did before is a pub- : 
lie benefactor. This Department has done this, and more, in many varieties of agri¬ 
cultural products. It has established relations with organized associations for agricul¬ 
tural improvements, whether governmental or otherwise, making exchanges of seed&g 
plants, and publications. Through an extended correspondence with foreign societies^ 
and our consuls abroad it is searching the world for new and valuable plants^#! 
acclimatize, new varieties of cereals to test, and, when found valuable, to difetribu^' 
thus finding and introducing into our agriculture the valuable products of all countries 
suitable and profitable for our cultivation. 
Agriculture is the great civilizer of the world. Its improvements and advancement# 
mark national as well as individual progress. Whatever will add to its success, furnish 
it with valuable inventions and discoveries, are so many steps 5 toward accomplishing 
the highest forms of civilization and human happiness. In this country, wit, its brjsad 
and fertile acres, the cultivator of the soil is generally its owner. So large a p~ono:cjhon 
of our population being engaged in this pursuit it must ever be a leading ccupatfon. 
The great extent of our country and its capabilities make it necessary that tliere/shall 
always be a great diversity of agricultural labor. - To give direction to this diversified 
agriculture is one great purpose of the Department, and it will be able to lead tlie way 
in processes of culture, as well as selection of products and their varieties, in ti e dif¬ 
ferent localities, and thus enabling farmers to give attention to that culture which 
promises and secures the best results and rewards. 
