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REPORT

OF

THE COMMISSIONER OF AGRICULTURE.

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE,

Washington, D. C., November 27, 1865.

SIR: I have the honor to submit to you my fourth annual report, but the first which it has been my privilege to make while the people of our beloved country, from one end to the other, were at peace pursuing their wonted avocations.

But the results of the various operations of the department which I am able to lay before you are necessarily exclusive of the States recently in insurrection; the brief lapse of time since the cessation of hostilities, and the imperfect mail facilities of those States, not permitting systematic correspondence by which could be obtained accurate and reliable information from that section of the country.

I most sincerely congratulate the country upon the return of peace to our people, and render thanks to Him who doeth all things well for his merciful kindness and manifold blessings; for while one section of our fair country has been laid waste, and her citizens subjected to the devastating consequences of war— their implements of husbandry allowed to rust for want of use, and the earth to rest from yielding its products for the people's support the other section has exhibited a condition of prosperity and plenty that would seem to ignore (were it not for the absence and loss of some of her best and bravest sons) the existence of a war. While more than a million of the hardy sons of toil have been called from their industrial pursuits to engage in warfare for the preservation of the Union, those at home have applied themselves with redoubled energy; and with the influence of higher wages in calling forth and economizing labor, and the aid of agricultural machinery and labor-saving implements and appliances, the farmer has been enabled to gather an abundant harvest. Thus those engaged in peaceful pursuits have been rewarded, even during the period of a most desolating war, with liberal wages for their labor and remunerative returns for the products of the farm.

The earth, too, has seemed to respond to the increased demand upon its fertility, and has given us, with the aid of the husbandman, an abundance having

no parallel in the history of that portion of the country, feeding the army and navy as well as the great mass of people in civil life, and leaving a surplus for exportation to foreign countries, and charitable donations for the alleviation of the suffering people of other nations.

While these products have commanded seemingly exorbitant prices, the industrial classes have had constant employment at remunerating wages; nor have these rewards of labor been depreciated or sensibly affected by the return of a vast army to the ranks of industry, or by the emancipation of four millions of slaves. So great are our resources calling urgently for development, that instead of fears of competition from returned soldiers, emancipated slaves, or foreign immigrants, (now flocking to our shores,) there is seen a decided buoyancy in the labor market, with a demand for increase of wages and fewer hours of toil. Not only the necessaries, but even the luxuries of life are therefore easily attainable. How immeasurably preferable is this condition of things for the laboring classes, to a necessity for comparative idleness with lower prices; for low rates would then fail to bring the comforts of life within their control, while, with employment and adequate compensation, scarcely any price can place them beyond their reach. The great aim of the government should be to adopt a policy by which the agricultural, mechanical, manufacturing, and other industrial interests throughout the country should be fostered and encouraged, and the present time would seem most propitious for the initiation of such a policy.

The great contest in which we have been engaged is, I trust, forever ended. The courage, strength, and physical endurance of our people has been fairly tested, and, in the providence of God, has been decided for the country. A free republican government has been sustained, and the great problem of the capability of the people for self-government has been solved, and we stand to-day before the world, after the most desperate and persistent conflict that history records, a united and, I trust, a wiser and better people, full of charity for our erring brethren, and gratitude to those who have perilled their lives for their country's sake.

The energies of the people are now required to build up the waste places. The results of the war having changed the system of labor in some of the States, wise counsels and wholesome legislation, with just and charitable discretion, will be demanded in directing and dealing with the freedmen. I have no fear of the results, if employers and employed will mutually adapt themselves to the existing state of things; and I believe that a higher state of prosperity than was ever before enjoyed by the people of the South will be ultimately attained. It may be that the system of free labor will not prove favorable to large landed estates; and I am willing to confess my full belief that such a result will be beneficial to the great masses and to the country. The average size of farms in the United States, in 1860, was 199 acres ; almost double the average for Great Britain, which, in 1851, was 102 acres only, notwithstanding the great size of many baronial and aristocratic "holdings "-there being no less than 170,814 farms in the kingdom, or considerably more than onehalf of the entire number, having less than 50 acres each. But the average in

the southern States is far greater than the general average for the United States, as the following table will show:

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The large proportion-almost three-fourths—of unimproved land in farms, in addition to the unimproved public lands, illustrates pointedly the necessity that vastly more labor be applied to their cultivation. The most populous States in the Union have the smallest farms, commanding the highest price per acre; and the value per acre is, as a general fact, inversely proportionate to the size of the farms. Thus the farms of Massachusetts average 94 acres; of Rhode Island, 96; of Connecticut, 99; of New York, 106; of Pennsylvánia, 109; and of Ohio, 114 acres.

Every head of a family should have a homestead if possible. Thus an incentive to industry is created, and a spirit of enterprise encouraged, that will soon double the products of the country, increase the wealth of the States, and add to the resources of the nation.

In this new order of things I feel the importance of the position which this department should assume towards the people of the States now reassuming their former relations with the rest of the country. With the question of reconstruction, or, more properly, reorganization, I have no concern; believing. the subject to be in competent hands, and that its final and satisfactory settlement will be accomplished in due time. I shall, therefore, cheerfully put forth my exertions, to the best of my ability, in aid of measures of reconciliation and for the advancement of the interests of agriculture throughout the whole country, believing that branch of industry to be the foundation of the prosperity of all nations, and the fostering of its interests by the government to be absolutely essential to such prosperity. History furnishes abundant illustrations of this truth.

The southern States will need much aid and encouragement in the coming season. Their favorable climate and prolific fields should invite capital and stimulate labor. In no other section can crops be cultivated with less labor,

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nor are there any crops more remunerative than such as are peculiarly adapted to that section of the country. Their cotton is the best that has yet been produced in any country, and their sugar crop is one of great importance-Louisiana alone having produced in 1859 221,726 hogsheads of sugar and 13,439,772 gallons of molasses.

I have endeavored so to conduct the affairs of this department as to commend it to the favorable consideration of Congress and the approval of my countrymen, not doubting that its operations will be duly appreciated, and its labors ultimately crowned with complete success. I shall seek to increase its practical value and extend its influence, and hope it may continue to receive the liberal and fostering attention of Congress, and that those engaged in agriculture may be thereby stimulated to greater exertions and higher aims.

Our country possesses an advantage in soil and climate unsurpassed by any other on the globe for cultivating and perfecting all the necessary elements of subsistence and comforts for our entire population, with luxuries in abundance for the most cultivated tastes. With our extended and daily increasing system of internal improvements a failure of crops in one section of the country would scarcely be felt. These vast resources and appliances which spring into exist ence at the bidding of an industrious and energetic people daily add to the wealth and greatness of the nation, enhancing the happiness of the people; hence all are alike interested in the success of agricultural science; and if those engaged in it will pursue it with half the energy that characterizes those in other pursuits-availing themselves of all means of improvement, profiting by the practical experience of the most successful, and managing their farms systematically upon business principles-abundance and wealth will be their sure reward. From the wealth thus created and diffused throughout society will come with grateful pleasure the taxes for the support of the government and payment of the national debt, which, under equal and just laws, will be entirely extinguished with unprecedented celerity.

During the past year I have availed myself of the services of Messrs. V. D. Collins and John II. Klippart, gentlemen of skill and intelligence, well known to be devoted to the interests of scientific and practical agriculture, to visit parts of Europe and Asia, at a very small pecuniary outlay, compared with the advantages to be derived from their labors in the investigation of questions of present importance in the agriculture of this country. No reports having yet been received, the results of their labors will be given in detail in the agricultural report for 1865.

A very malignant disease among cattle, called the "rinderpest," or cattle plague, has been prevailing for some time, with fatal effect, in Russia, Great Britain, and other European countries. Its ravages have been exceedingly severe, destroying in many instances whole herds of the most valuable and carefully bred cattle of Europe. It seems to be both contagious and infectious, and much apprehension is felt for the safety of the cattle of this country. The importance of the subject seems to demand the immediate action of Congress, prohibiting the importation of farm-stock during the prevalence of the disease.

The rooms now occupied by this department are entirely inadequate for its

accommodation, being located, in part, in the Patent Office building, with other rooms in buildings disconnected from it. The increasing demand of the Bureau of Patents for additional room must shortly render it a matter of necessity to surrender the rooms now occupied by this department. For the better arrangement of the increasing collection of specimens in the museum, or object-library, and for greater convenience in the transaction of the business cf the office, additional and more contiguous accommodation is highly desirable. I trust, therefore, that Congress will take measures for the erection of a suitable building, at as early a day as possible, for the use of the department.

Large quantities of new and valuable seeds, cuttings, and plants have been distributed during the last year throughout the country, in order to test the adaptability of such varieties to the various soils and climates of the different sections. These experiments, whenever they have proved a success, have been of inestimable value, not only improving qualities, but also increasing the crop productions per acre, and inciting to emulation in the introduction of new varieties.

In the distribution of seeds, 234,945 packages have been delivered to senators and representatives in Congress, 119,693 to agricultural and horticultural societies, and 408,593 to regular and occasional correspondents, and in answer to personal applications-making a total distribution of all varieties of seeds of 763,231 packages.

The distributions from the experimental and propagating garden during the past year have been mainly confined to varieties of the small fruits, such as grapes, strawberries, gooseberries, raspberries, and currants. Of these about 35.000 plants have been distributed through the usual channels.

The process of testing the respective merits of varieties of fruits is in active progress, so far as the capacities of the garden will permit. Additions are constantly being made to the list of plants selected for the above purpose. It is my constant endeavor to preserve the distinguishing feature of the garden for the propagation and dissemination of specialties, under intelligent supervision, and avoid its degeneration into a commercial nursery.

A new propagating house has been erected, substantially fitted with the most improved facilities, and is now in successful operation.

For the purpose of ascertaining whether among the many valued fruits of tropical regions there may be any worthy of artificial culture, I have had an apartment in one of the green-houses arranged in a suitable manner for their growth, and have opened a correspondence towards securing as complete a collection of these plants as practicable.

The assignment to this department of reservation No. 2, lying immediately west of the Smithsonian grounds, for the purpose of an experimental farm, has afforded an opportunity for the initiation of a series of experiments designed to test the value of foreign cereals, forage plants, and garden vegetables.

The grounds, with an unbroken soil of somewhat tenacious clay, came into my possession about the middle of April, quite too late to admit of being put in proper tilth for obtaining the best results during the present season. A few acres, duly fertilized and suitably pulverized, were planted with 346 varieties of

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