of Agriculture (Madison, Wis., 1901); M. Miles, Land Drainage (New York, 1897); G. E. Waring, Jr., The Report of the Massachusetts Drainage Commission (Newport, R. I., 1886); Sewerage and Land Drainage (New York, 1889); Draining for Profit and Draining for Health (New York, 1867). History of Agriculture: G. Rawlinson, Ancient Egypt (London, 1887); C. G. B. Daubeny, Lectures on Roman Husbandry (Oxford, 1857); C. W. Hoskyns, Short Inquiry into the History of Agriculture (London, 1849); R. C. Flint, One Hundred Years' Progress, Report Department of Agriculture. (Washington, 1872). For further information, the publications of the State boards of agriculture, agricultural experiment stations, and the reports of the United States Department of Agriculture, especially the Experiment Station Record, Farmers’ Bulletins, and Year-books.
In the United States, the British Empire, and most of the countries of Europe, numerous agricultural journals are published. Among the most important are the following: The United States. The American Agriculturist (New York); The American Garden (New York); Breeder's Gazette (Chicago); The Cultivator and Country Gentleman (Albany); The Florida Agriculturist (Deland, Fla.); Hoard's Dairyman (Fort Atkinson, Wis.); Experiment Station Record (Washington); Pacific Rural Press (San Francisco); Rural New Yorker (New York); Southern Planter (Richmond, Va.); Wallaces' Farmer (Des Moines, Ia.). Great Britain. The Agricultural Gazette (London); Farmer's Gazette (Dublin); Field, Farm, and Garden (London); Farm and Home (London); Gardeners' Chronicle (London). Canada. Journal of Agriculture and Horticulture (Montreal); Canadian Horticulturist (Toronto). France. Journal d'Agriculture Pratique (Paris); La Semaine Agricole (Paris); Revue Horticole (Marseilles). Germany. Deutsche Landwirtschaftliche Presse (Berlin); Fühling's Landwirtschaftliche Zeitung (Leipzig); Mölkerei-Zeitung (Hildesheim). Ausria. Österreichisches Landwirtschaftliches Wochenblatt (Vienna). Italy. Bolletino di Notizie Agrarie (Rome). Denmark. Landmands Blade (Copenhagen); Australia. Agricultural Gazette of New South Wales (Sydney); Queensland Agricultural Journal (Brisbane); Journal of Agriculture and Industry of South Australia (Adelaide).
AGRICULTURE, United States Department of. The department was established as a separate branch of the government in 1862. It grew out of a voluntary distribution of seeds, begun by the Commissioner of Patents in 1836. In 1839, Congress made an appropriation of $1000 “to be taken from the Patent Office fund for the purpose of collecting and distributing seeds, prosecuting agricultural investigations, and procuring agricultural statistics.” Small amounts were thus drawn from that fund annually (except in 1840, 1841, and 1846) up to 1854, when the whole amount was reimbursed and a separate appropriation was made for the agricultural work of the Patent Office. That year an entomologist was employed, and in 1855 a chemist and a botanist were added to the staff, and a propagating garden was begun. After separation from the Patent Office, the chief officer of the department was styled Commissioner of Agriculture. He was not a member of the President's cabinet until 1889, when he became Secretary of Agriculture. The first commissioner was Isaac Newton of Pennsylvania, and the first secretary, Norman J. Colman of Missouri, who was also the last commissioner. The succeeding secretaries have been Jeremiah M. Rusk of Wisconsin, J. Sterling Morton of Nebraska, and James Wilson of Iowa. The department is situated in the city of Washington, in a beautiful park of thirty-five acres, between the Smithsonian Institution and the Washington Monument, but is at present inadequately housed. As defined in the act of establishment, the duties of the department are, “to acquire and diffuse among the people of the United States useful information on subjects connected with agriculture in the most general and comprehensive sense of that word, and to procure, propagate, and distribute among the people new and valuable seeds and plants.” With the progress of agricultural science, scientific branches have been added, until the department has become one of the greatest scientific establishments in the world. Its administrative functions also have been materially enlarged in recent years. In 1884, the Bureau of Animal Industry was organized, and in 1888, the Office of Experiment Stations. (See Agricultural Experiment Station.) In 1891, the Weather Bureau was transferred from the War Department to the Department of Agriculture, and in 1901 a Bureau of Plant Industry was established by combining several divisions whose work related to plants. At the same time Bureaus of Soils, Forestry, and Chemistry were created to take the place of divisions with the same names. The department issues a great variety of popular, technical, and scientific publications. The Year-book (edition 500,000 copies) and the series of Farmers' Bulletins are distributed gratis, largely through members of Congress. A monthly list of publications is sent free to all applicants. Other publications are issued in limited editions for libraries, agricultural colleges, and experiment stations, scientific institutions, and persons coöperating in the work of the department; they are also sold by the Superintendent of Documents. Periodical publications of the department are the Experiment Station Record, Monthly Weather Review, and The Crop Reporter. In 1901 the department issued 606 different publications; the total number of copies was nearly 8,000,000. For the fiscal year ending June 30, 1902, the appropriation for the department was $3,862,420, exclusive of $720,000 for the agricultural experiment stations.
The present organization and main lines of work of the department are shown in the following table:
ORGANIZATION AND WORK OF UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, 1902.
| Division. | Scientific and Technical Work. | Administrative Work. |
| Office of the Secretary. | Supervision of all public business relating to the agricultural industry; appointment and supervision of Department officers and employees; care of Department grounds, buildings, supplies and other property. |
