VOL. XXIV.
INDIANAPOLIS, IND., NOV. 16,1889.
NO. 46
FIBST BEPOBT OF THS SECBETABY OF AQ-
BICTTLTDBK.
Seoretary Rusk has issued his flrst report, a pamphlet of 40 pages, whioh is also
the flrst report nnder the newly constituted department of agriculture. On both
of these accounts it will be scanned with
closest attention by all those who are interested in agriculture in onr country.
We feel j astifiad, therefore, in making
numerous extracts from its pages:
The Secretary first refers to his surroundings and hindrances.   He says:
At the very beginning I was disappointed to find that the appropriations
made for the operations ot the department
for the current fiscal year were those based
> npon the old organization of the department, and that no provision had been
made for a single anticipated want of the
department in its new field of duty.
Therefore, my first efforts had to be restricted to the study and formulation of
PLANS POR REORGANIZATION;
tothe systemfztng ofthe records of the
department; to the consolidation, so far
as possible nnder one head, of wor a of one
character bnt being oondnoted in diffarent
divisions ofthe department; tothe formulation of a better system for the faithful acc .untlng of public property, and in
general the application of business like
principles throughout the department. I
have performed,this duty while awaiting
the meeting of Congress, when its attention might be called to the condition of affairs to whioh I have alluded, and to the
urgent need of immediate attention.
Again, I fonnd that during the growth
of the department to whioh I have heretofore referred, no adequate provision
had been made in the meantime for additional space to meet its rapidly increasing needs. The building it occupies was
erected many yeara ago, and at a time
when the future of the department was
problematical, and when its needs conld
not be anticipated.
After specifying some of the improvements he deemed necassary to be made,
he speaks of the greater liberality of European Nations in behalf of agrioulture,
citing Great Britain's appropriation of
over $1,500,000 and Gn-many's $2,850,000
yearly, and Franca with $8,000,000 in 1886,
and Austria $1,000,000 the same year and
flays:
"It is my desire to organize the department upon even a broader plane than these
■and other countries have established. To
do so will require time and patlenoe and
that share of encourage and support
whioh I trust Congress will give to the
department and to the efforts of its officers."
Speaking of the Division of Statistics,
he says:
This branch of the department service,
relating to national resources and their
development, to rural production and to
distribution and consumption, is in my
j adgment one of the utmost importance,
lo aid ln the collection of agricultural
fltatistlos there are over 11,000 volunteer
correspondents, and a paid corps of agents
in as many States as the limited appropriation allows the department to maintain. These conduct a parallel investigation, by States, for verification and extension of the data communicated by the
regular crops. What the system most
lacks at present, is ability to maintain a
paid statistical agent in every State. I
would therefore urge the necessity of restoring, or even increasing, the original
appropriation for collection of statistics,
which has been reduced during the past
<fonr years, to render it possible to carry
out the requirement for employing State
agents for local investigations In every
State, and for collection of such specifio
statistics as can not be obtained throngh
the voluntary effort of our public spirited
farmers.
On the subject of entomology he has
this:
The result of the work in this department furnishes a most striking illustration of wide spread benefit resulting from
scientific investigation and effort.
The year has been remarkable for the
greatprevalenceof blights,both of a fungus
and insect nature. The most serions insect outbreak of the year was the appearance in enormous numbers in the wheat
fields of Oiio,M_,ry land, Wisconsin, Michigan and Illinois of the grain aphis. This
insect remained in the field in injurious
numbers muoh later than in ordinary seasons, and the resnlt has been considerable
shrinkage of the crop in the infested
States. This pest has been carefully studied and data have been collected.
For the past few years there has been
mnch complaint from the orange growers
of Florida of a new pest in the shape of a
leaf-mite which causes an injurious shedding of ths foliage in the winter, and
which has mads its appearance since the
completion of the special investigation of
the insect enemies of the orange. Tnis
mite has been the subj eot of special investigation during the year.
Muoh time has already been given to
the thorough Investigation of the horn fly,
a pest to horned cattle newly imported
from Europe. This inseot was first no
ticed ln this country rather more than
two yeara ago in tho vicinity of Phlladel
phia, and has since greatly increased and
spread to the southward along the Atlantic
States until it has now reached Southern
Virginia. It is a serious drawback to the
stock and dairy interests of the localities
whioh it has reached, very greatly reducing the oondition of cattle and the yield of
milk. Tne complete life history has been
followed out and field experiments have
been made whioh result in establishing
satisfactory remedies and preventives.
He says regarding
SORGHUM AND BEET SUGAR:
The Chemical Division has oondnoted
during the past year additional experiments looking to the manufacture of
sugar from sorghum and sugar beets.
The results of the experimental work at
Cedar Falls, Iowa, were of a discouraging nature. Ko sugar of any consequence
was made; and it may be stated that
while as far north as Cedar Falls molasses
may be made with profit, it is probably
too far north to permit of successful manufacture of sugar from sorghum.
The.results of the experiments in Kansas have shown that in the extreme
western portion of the State the season
proved too dry for the production of a
crop of sorghum cane suitable for sugar
making. On the other hand, in theSouth-
ern portion of the State, west and sonth of
Wichita, fine crops of sorghum cane were
produced, and sugar made in such quant-
titles as to foreshadow the financial success
ot the Industry in those localities and in
plaoes farther south. The general result of
the recent experiments in the manufacture of sngar from sorghum carried on by
the department has determined the localization of this industry, in bo far as financial sucoess is concerned, in the region in-
dicated above. It auoce-s attend the sorghum sugar industry in the future, there
seems to be reasonable gronnd for believing that in the southern part of Central
Kansas and in many parts of the Indian
Territory, where the soil and climate are
similar to that part of Kansas mentioned,
lt may especially flourish.
Of the Section of Vegetable Pathology,
he says: The work in this section is very
important. It covers the diseases of plants,
their nature and treatment. During the
last growing season agents were located in
New Jersey, Delaware, Virginia, South
Carolina, Mississippi, Missouri, Michigan,
Wisconsin, and California to investigate
the plant diseases peculiar to those locali
ties—notably black rot, downy mildew,
and anthracnose of the grape, root-rot and
rust of cotton, and pear and apple diseases.
Special attention has been given to the
blight of the L3 Cante pear in Southern
Georgia, and to peach yellows in Maryland, Dataware, and other States. While
successful treatment has not been reached
in the former case, and the cause of the
latter is still unknown, very substantial
progress has been made in both, and in
the latter there is promise of highly bene-
fioial developments. It is too soon to predict as to the pear blight, bnt the hope is
awakened that a remedy can be found.
THE TEXTILE FIBERS.
I have given much thonght, since assuming my duties, to the subj jot of fibers,
a subj Jot whose importance cannot be
overestimated, and I have found a wide
spread interest in the matter of a promotion of the cultivation and manufacture
offl*_x, jite and ramie, and other textile
fibers. The correspondence of the department on this subj sot has become very large
In the States of lDdiana,IUlnol8 and all the
Northwest, large amounts of flax are raised
for the seed alone. The question now is,
cannot the fiber be utilized also? While
the cultivation of j ate and ramie can hard
ly be classed, as yet, beyond the experimental stage, enongh has been grown to
justify the belief that in most ot the
Southern States they can be produced in
a>jnnda*.oe and of good quality.
The question, therefore, is not so mnch
whether this country can produce all these
fibers as whether the farmer can find a
market for those he may produce.
Speaking of our Agricultural Experiment Stations he says:
The development of the experiment sta
tion enterprise in this country is a noteworthy illustration of the readiness of the
American people to grasp and to utilize
new and valuable ideas. Bspinning only
H years ago, it has grown out to the farthest limits of the land, enlisted the best
colleges and universities and the ablest investigators, and secured both State and
national resources for Us maintenance. It
now employs nearly 400 workers "to promote agriculture by.sclentifio investigation and experiment," and to diffuse as
well as inorease the knowledge which improves farm practice and elevates farm
life. It has the favor of a great army ot
praoileal farmers, to whom it has already
brought substantial benefits. The experience thus far gained evinces the wisdom
of Congress in distributing the work
throughout the oountry where it may be
adapted to the wants of the various sections, and placing lt in connection with
institntlons.of learning which are, in general, laboring faithfully to fulfill the trust
Imposed npon them.
Crudity and mistakes are here and there
apparent. But the general effort of tbe
stations toward the greatest usefulness,
the wise action of the Association of American Agricultural Colleges and Experiment Stations, the cardial support of the
people, S*ate Legislatures and Congress,
and the practical results already obtained,
imply that the National Government has
made no mistake in undertaking this enterprise on a larger scale than has been attempted elsewhere in the world.
He calls special attention to
farmers' institutes.
Rsfering to these most useful meetings,
I cannot allow my firat report as Secretary
of Agriculture to go out without calling
special attention to them. I regard this
institute work as one of the most beneficent movements the agricultural history
of this country ever has witnessed. My
attention has been called to a bill introduced at the last session of Congress appropriating a liberal sum to establish, in
connection with '..his department, a division whose Bpecial duty it shall be to aid in
the work of Farmer-.' Insltutes throughout
the oountry. I would merely say on this
subject that it is a matter of no little
gratification to me that this great work
has nowhere been more fully tried than
in my own State, where it was my privilege and pleasure to encourage it in every
legitimate way, and nowhere has It reaped
a more abundant harvest than in Wisconsin.
Experience there and ln other States
has fully demonstrated the extraordinary
benefits arising from the Institutes, and I
am strongly of the opinion that, without
going into details as to the precise way in
which aid to the movement should be furnished, the National G .vernment, in pursuance of the policy so strongly marked
out by the establishment of the agricultural colleges and experiment stations,
should put it in the power theDspartment
of Agriculture to foster and encr urage the
work of the Institutes in the various
States and Tarritories. The Institutes
have been j istly designated the farmers'
colleges. N j, truer title was ever conferred.
I will only add that the strongest lever to
raise and uphold the work of superior agricultural education represented by our
system of agricultural colleges and exper-
meot stations is to be found in this Institute and kindred work.
Letter from California,
Editors Indiana Farmer i
The iNpiANA Farmer teaches me regu-
Jftrly, and is always welcomed, as an old
friend. Some of its teachings, however,
are not applicable to us here, por instance:
I noticed a good artlole about "hoeing up
cabbage for winter," such advise ls useless
here. A neighbor of mine, Cyrus Baldwin, well known in Indiana and Kansas,
is now planting 10 acres to cabbage, and
in the last two weeks I know of a great
many acres of peas being planted, tomatoes for shipping are just come in for the
Southern market.
When I left Indiana, I asked Maj. Hobbs
and Sylvester Johnson if the Indiana
Horticultural Soolety would pay express
charges lf I would send a collection for
the annual meeting the first Tuesday in
December, to which they agreed and accordingly, at a ^ortioultural meeting at
Orange last week, I "advertised," for specimens. The result ot that already fsone
sweet potato weighing 13 ponnds, and
another weighing 16J4 pounds, with peara
and persimmons in proportion. I believe
J will mail you a persimmon J ist to let
you have something to look at in advanoe
of the meeting. Qt course, it is not ripe,
nor do I know when it will be, mnch less
can I judge of what it will bo in quality, I
engaged the entire orop ot the tree pg
which this specimen grew to be gathered
three weeks later.
We are having a jolly time to day—a
"Santa Ana wind." It is perfectly clear,
mercury 72° at noon, I have some carpenters working on a barn; they had to
quit shingling on account of the wind,
and can only work on the opposite side
from the wind. Everything loose is on
the (jo, tin pans, empty barrels, bcxes and
tumble weed, have all started for the
ocean, and with a 'fglt there, E-y,?' vim
that presages sucoess. £. $*urna§.
531 Modena, Cal., Oat. 31.
—The persimmon came in good shape,
and is an immense specimen, weighing
10K ounces, and measuring ss many
inohes in circumference. It is 20 times aa
large as our home grown 'slmmons but
we venture to assert that \t will pot be
half as good.—Eds.
In Russia there are 8,000 noblemen ot
the degrees of Prince, Count and Baron,
in receipt of parish relief and inscribed on
the rolls of the municipalities es paupers.
The teaohers of Minneapolis will prose*
cate all dealers who sell cigarettes to
schoolboys.