Use your government; what your government does for you

Front matter

o

»5^^

.0 iP'jN

Part I The Farmer Chapter Page

I. Planting and Growing of Crops ... 3 II. Weather Reports 15

III. Crop Estimates and Census op Agriculture 24

IV. Controlling of Destructive Insects and

Birds 33

V. Fostering and Improving of Livestock.

Dairying 41

VI. Grazing on Forest Lands and Forest Fire

Protection 45

VII. Rural Roads and Rural Engineering . . 51 VIII. Farm Management. Procuring of Farm

Hands 56

IX. Marketing. Regulatory Measures. Rural

Organization 62

X. Farm Finance 93

XI. Investigations Concerning Diseases Prevalent IN Rural Districts . . . 107 XII. Courses for Parents Organized by the

Bureau of Education . . . 112

XIII. Government Assistance for Rural Schools 121

XIV. Manner of Disseminating Information by

THE Department of Agriculture . 125 (a) Demonstration Work of the States Relations Service to: The Farmer, The Farmer's Wife, The Girls and Boys on the FzIrm .... 125

vii viii Contents

CHAPTER Vk(m

(h) Office of Experiment Stations . . 143

(c) Farmers' Institutes and Movable

Schools 144

(d) Office of Information, Office of

Publications and Library . . 145

Part II The Would-be Settler

I. The Disposition of Public Lands . . . 153

II. Irrigation of Arid Districts at Actual Cost 161

III. The Forest Service Work for the Settler 165

IV. The Work of the Geological Survey . . 167

Part III The Man In Business

I. General Assistance and Information Given TO Those Transacting Business at Home and Abroad . . . .171

II. Special Work Done for Various Industries 215 (a) The Mining Industry .... 215 (h) The Fishing Industry .... 226

(c) The Fur Trade 235

(d) The Lumberman 237

(e) The Shipper 238

(/) Scientific Commercial Investigations

v^iTH Agricultural Products . . 242 (g) Development of Hydro-electric

(h) National Parks 249

III. Protection Afforded the Business Man By :

(a) The Federal Trade Commission . . 252 (6) The Federal Reserve Board . . 258 (c) The Interstate Commerce Commission 260

Contents ix

Part IV The Working Man Page

I. Purpose of the Department of Labor . . 267 II. Employment Service 268

III. Information Concerning Labor Issued by

THE Bureau of Labor Statistics . 274

IV. Mediation in Disputes 277

V. Investigations for the Safety and Health

OF Miners 281

vi. il-tvestigations relative to occupational

Diseases and Industrial Hygiene . 284

Community Organization . ^ . . 285 Supervision of Seamen's Contracts . . 288

Part V The Immigrant

I. Care During Possible Detention at Immigration Stations .... 291 II. Helping the Immigrant Get Employment . 294

III. Teaching Immigrants Citizenship and

English 296

Part VI The Negro

I. Statistics and Detailed Report Concerning the Education of the Negro in All Parts of the United States . . 309 II. Assistance Given to the Negro Farmer . 315

III. Home Economics for the Negro Woman . 317

IV. School and Home Gardening in Cities for

Negro Children .... 319

X Contents

Part VII The Woman In Her Home Chapter Page

I. Investigations Made and Advice Given Concerning THE Practical Problems of THE Home 323

II. Inspection of Foods, Drugs and Meat —

Purifying op Water .... 331

III. The Mother and Baby 336

IV. Employment Service — ^Women's Division . 349

Part VIII Girls And Boys

I. What the Government Does to Assist Edu-

cation 353

II. Employment Service and Enforcement of

Federal Child Labor Act . .368

III. Reading Circles 370

IV. School and Home Gardening . . .371

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS AND DIAGRAMS

Train Demonstration of Points of a Good Dairy Cow on the Erie R. R. in Ohio .... Frontispiece

PAGE

Heaters in Operation after a Warning from the

Weather Bureau 16

Crop Reporters Waiting to Telegraph .... 16 Specimen of Flood Warning Issued by the Weather

Bureau . 20

Specimen of Monthly Crop Report 25

Spraying Cart used by Bureau of Entomology in

Operations against the Gipsy and Brown Tail Moth 34 Vaccinating Cattle against Black Leg with Vaccine

Furnished Free of Charge by the Government . 41

Dipping Cattle in Arsenical Solution to Kill Ticks . 41

Dairy Meeting — How the Model of a Cow Stall was Used in Discussing Model Barns 43

Poultry and Egg Packing Demonstrating Car of the

Bureau of Chemistry 43

Example of a Farmers' Bulletin 44

Forest Rangers Fighting a Fire in the National Forests 47

Marking Timber for a Sale under Government Regulation 47

Crops Drowned Out for Lack of Drainage ... 52

Good Crops on the Same Land After Tile Drainage According to Instruction of Office Public Roads and Rural Engineering 52

Notice Issued by the Department of Labor Concerning Employment of Farm Hands 61

xi xii List of Illustrations and Diagrams

PAGE

Sketch Map Indicating Shipments of Fresh Tomatoes 66-67

Diagram Issued by the Bureau of Markets ... 68

Cotton Classification Laboratory, Final Inspection of Cotton Standards, Washington, D. C. ... 75

A Complete Set of the Official Cotton Standards of the United States for American White Cotton ... 75

Shipping Day of Live Stock Shipping Association. Farmers Delivering and Unloading Stock ... 78

Engineer Engaged in Water Resources Measurements for the Geological Survey 78

Diagram Showing Rates of Interest in Various States 93

Chart Showing How Malaria Was Reduced in 1916 . 109

Operating on Trachoma Patients at a Trachoma Clinic. U. S. Public Health Service .... 110

These two Men Led each other to the Hospital of the Public Health Service and Went Home Cured . 110

Certificate Given to Members of Reading Circles . 113

A Demonstration in Applying Poisoned Bran in Grass-hopper Fight 127

The County Agent Conducts Parties of Farmers on *^ Excursions" to Farms of Successful Men whose Good Work Makes the best "Demonstration" . . 127

A Canning Club taking Lessons in Canning . . 135

A * ' Mother-Daughter" Canning Team. ( See * * Mother- Daughter" Canning Clubs.) 135

A Corn Club Boy who Made a Record of 228 Bushels of Corn to the Acre 141

Two Hogs. Larger Hog Raised by Boy under the Direction of County Agent Weighed 380 lbs. at 9 Months. Smaller One Raised by His Father . . 141

Roosevelt Dam, Arizona. Principal Engineering Feature of the Salt River Valley where 200,000 Acres Have Been Reclaimed Through the Reclamation Service 161

List of Illustrations and Diagrams xiii

PAGE

A Group of Small Farms Reclaimed from Desert by the Reclamation Service 161

Samples of European Hardware Sold in South America Gathered by the Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce 176

Standardizing Precision Weights at the Laboratory of the Bureau of Standards. The Observer is Using a Telescope to Read the Position of the Balance Arms 196

Picture of the Bureau of Education Showing Colored Youths Learning to Master Germs that Menace the Life of their Race 313

Two Colored Children Receiving Instruction in the Household Arts 313

A typical Negro House 315

What a Coat of Paint under the Direction of the

Demonstration Agent Will Do 315

Fishing Commission Car for the Transporting of Fish 234

Nevada Falls. Yosemite National Park. One of the

Loftiest Waterfalls in the World 250

Bureau of Mines Rescue Crew. Stretcher Drill . . 282

Bureau of Mines Rescue Corps Entering Mine Following Disaster 282

Government Meat Inspector Applying Inspection

Mark to Inspected and Passed Hog Carcasses . . 334 Raw Oyster Inspection 334

Introduction

To-day, perhaps more than at any other time in our national existence, every American citizen is keenly alert as to the immediate relation of the Government to the people. Years of study, of scientific application, of experiment on the part of the Government have resulted in numerous activities for the well-being of American citizens. The actual operation and the practical extent of these activities is not generally known. To make them widely known is to further very materially that deep sense of loyalty which is the very basis of nationality. Miss Frances book is eminently suitable to be used to introduce the American Government, as it operates to-day, to every man, woman and child within its protection. The book is not a stereotyped manual of civics. In adopting the arrangement of her material Miss Franc has succeeded in producing a sense of relationship of the Government to the citizenship, regardless of age, sex or color, which is usually lacking in books on civics, and it may be regarded as the first book of its kind on this vital subject.

At this especial time I can see two, at least, very important reasons for the publication of a book of the nature of Miss Franc's. Unknown to the American public at large there is developing under the United States Government a remarkable network of activities functioning as economic utilities. The vast

XV xvi Introduction

attempt, to mention only one instance, of the agricultural extension work projected by the Government is actually known to but few. To bring home to every American man, woman and child, a knowledge of what the Government is doing for the people in a directly practical way, would in itself be ample justification of such a volume as Miss Franc has written.

Of our Allies, especially France will make efforts, once peace is restored, to profit by America's experience in social and agrarian economics as fostered by the Government. There is of course a very large official literature from which Government activities can be studied. It has remained, however, for Miss Franc to present these activities in a concise, attractive and intelligent form, so that foreigners and Americans alike may now learn what the United States Government is doing for the people.

There undoubtedly is in the public mind at the present time the first stirring of a conviction that if there are faults in our educational system, one of them is the alienation of citizenship from the curriculum of our elementary and secondary schools. The material for the teaching of citizenship has left much to be wished for.

Miss Franc's ^*Use Your Government'' is an admirable contribution to the best of the literature at the disposal of the American teacher of civics.

Adelaide E. Hasse, Chief of Economics Division, New YorJc Public Library.

PARTI THE FARMER

Chapter I.— Planting And Growing Of Crops

The Govemment is doing more for the farmer than any other part of the population and is occupied with a study of agriculture in all its phases from the seed to the consumer.

The Department of Agriculture had its origin in the far-sighted wisdom of Washington, who as President suggested the organization of a branch of the National Government to care for the interests of farmers. In order to bring the matter of a Board of Agriculture before the public, Washington in his last message to Congress on December the 7th, 1796, stated :

'*In proportion as nations advance in population the cultivation of the soil becomes more and more an object of public patronage. Institutions grow up supported by the public purse. . . . Among the means which have been employed to this end none have been attended with greater success than the establishment of boards composed of public characters charged with collecting and diffusing information, and enabled by premiums and small pecuniary aid to encourage and assist a spirit of discovery and improvement. This species of establishment contributes doubly to tbe increase of improvements by stimulating to enterprize and experiment and by drawing to a common center the results everywhere of individual skill and observation and spreading them thence over the whole nation."

In 1839 took place the first appropriation by Congress of $1,000 for the purpose of collecting and distributing seeds, prosecuting agricultural investigations and procuring agricultural statistics. The money was taken from the Patent Office fund and the work was to be done under the Commissioner, at that time an official of the Department of State.

To-day the appropriation of the Department of Agriculture is over $7,000,000 a year, and its staff numbers about 20,000, and it is estimated that at least one farm out of every twenty is working in some way with the Department, thus becoming a center of advanced agricultural information for its community.

Scientific help is brought to the farmer in the planting of his crops by the Bureau of Plant In- Bureau of dustry which ascertains what important Plant crop plants might be produced in par-

Industry, ticular regions of the country, searches the world for grains, fruits, vegetables, grasses and legumes, that might be useful, secures new varieties of plants, crops and vegetables by breeding, and* controls destructive diseases and tests seeds.

The knowledge obtained for the farmer is spread in part through the demonstration agents of the States Relation Service (see page 125), and through the Farmers co-operating with the department (see page 4), and by the staff of the Bureau of Plant Industry itself.

The introduction of new crop plants and fruits was established even before the Department of Agriculture was a separate institution.

This field of study has always been actively pursued by the Department, and it was the first systematic attempt by any Government to supply its bona fide plant experimenters on an extensive scale with the material out of which new plant industries can be built.

For instance, one of the earliest explorations undertaken in this field was for the purpose of aiding the rice growers in the southern states. During the year 1898, and again in 1901, an explorer was sent to Japan, China and India for the purpose of securing types of rice better adapted to the condition of southern Louisiana, and Texas, and more suited to the needs of the market especially as regards milling qualities.

Another explorer about that time was sent to Russia for the purpose of securing help in the matter of grains adapted to the northwestern semi-arid regions. A large extent of territory in this section was yielding no valuable crop returns. As the result of this first exploration work in 1898 followed by a second trip in 1900, large quantities of drought resistant Durham wheat, and other varieties of wheats, oats and special cereals were brought in.

The whole alfalfa question in the United States has been put on a new basis by the introduction of the Turkestan, Siberian, Arabian and Peruvian alfalfas, and the development of the hardy hybrid strains which grow in the southwest throughout the winter.

The seedless grapes of Italy and Greece were brought into the raisin industries of the Pacific coast.

The date palm has long ago ceased to be a curiosity in the desert regions of the southwest, and its cultivation has become an important industry.

The Chinese persimmon varieties have proved quite as well adapted to conditions in America as the Japanese variety, and are showing certain advantages over them. They have added a distinct new type of fruit to our fruit culture.

These are but a few of the types from abroad introduced through the work of the Bureau of Plant Industry.

The work now as formerly consists in locating in different parts of the world promising new crop plants, bringing them to this country and testing them in regions where they may be expected to be useful, as adjuncts to existing agriculture, or to supplant or supplement existing crops.

New seeds and plants from various parts of the world are brought in each year, and persons interested in the subject have only to write to the Department for information.

The work is done through extensive correspondence and special shipping arrangements with foreign institutions and individuals and diplomatic and consular officials abroad on the one hand, and Federal and State experiment station officials, private experimenters and park superintendents on the other. This international exchange is kept up, and the growing demand supplied for new and rare seeds and plants for the development of new industries in this country.

All importations are opened and inspected by the Federal Horticultural Board (see page 12).

The various introductions are given distinctive numbers and all information available referring to the introduction is recorded on a card bearing this number and filed. A bulletin of foreign plant introductions is sent out monthly to the department co-operators, giving a list of the special introductions received. ,

The Bureau test seeds for firms or individuals and reports on the results of such tests for mechanical purity or vitality. Identification of weed seeds are also made, as well as studies concerning the quality of commercial seeds; the Bureau publishes informatioii as to the extent and sale of adulterated or misbranded foreign seed plants.

Great progress has been made in the matter of securing good seed for the farmer. This work continued from year to year has resulted in a much better understanding of the nature and value of pure seeds, and has added much to the building up of agriculture.

The work of the laboratory of the Bureau of Plant Industry, and that of the state experiment stations, awakened an interest in better seeds on the part of the farmers. This is shown by the steady increase in the proportion of high grade seeds on the market each year.

This division is responsible for the enforcement of the Seed Importation Act which prevents unscrupulous seed dealers from bringing into the United States low grade seeds which do not find a sale in foreign countries but which have previously been imported into the United States in considerable quantities.

It also co-operates with several states in the enforcement of Pure Seed laws, working with seed men to induce them to label their seeds accurately so as to get a uniform standard of seeds.

The question of *^ seeds'' from an educational angle is also taken up, with regard to the different lengths of time seeds should be kept, conditions of testing, etc.

The Bureau also handles the mechanical and routine pages of the Congressional Seed Distribution, there being distributed each year, by each Congressman, 20,000 or more packages of seed to farmers and others of his constituents.

The diseases of cereals, fruits and vegetables are investigated whenever these seem of importance to the country at large. Diseases known to the Bureau are under constant examination in order that means may be suggested for checking them. New diseases are examined and methods for their control found. For fruits, as a rule, spraying methods meet the needs of the industry, and can be developed quickly. For general farm crops, cereals, etc., the control of diseases will depend on either developing systems of seed selection or rotation.

Work on the diseases of vegetables includes field, and also storage conditions, and investigations, both scientific and practical, are undertaken with these.

The farmer is encouraged to write to the Bureau, giving a description of the conditions of disease he is attempting to cure, and if feasible, he is asked to send in specimens of diseased plants or vegetables. Should his samples show signs of a disease already known to the Bureau he will be given the advice at hand, and his county agent (see page 125) would be instructed to communicate with him; if, however, it seems to be a question of a new disease, or a problem not yet worked out the Bureau makes a thorough. investigation. Should it prove a problem likely to be of universal interest or concern an investigation already in band, the farmer is told how far the Bureau has progressed and he is given the best general advice to be had on the subject.

Experiments both highly technical and practical are undertaken with regard to the breeding of plants, cereals, fruits and vegetables, in order to improve their varieties both in productiveness and quality, and so that there may be developed types resistant to plant diseases.

After new types have been developed and their success ascertained, they are brought into general use through the large number of volunteers co-operating with the department, who assist the Bureau in testing out the various new types developed, through the demonstration agents (see page 125), and by giving out direct information to farmers known to be specially interested in the subject.

Experiments have been made with regard to the acclimatization of crops and methods of culture. It was often found that even in the case of good varieties of crops moved from one place to another suddenly, these would break up into many varieties and deteriorate. A special line of work was therefore established, which concerned the transporting of crops from one region to another."

After experiments are concluded every effort is made with the aid of these co-operators to get the work over to the public at large.

Experiments are made with all crops concerning their general use through improvement in cultivation and the utilization as well as the different rotations in crops.

The Bureau has been devoting special attention to cotton experiments so as to improve the types at present prevalent in the country.

The Bureau carries on highly technical experiments in plant nutrition in order to study the growth, development and composition of plants as affected by nutrition.

Highly technical experiments are also carried on with regard to soil, fertilizers, etc. Bureau of The chief work regarding soil, how- Soils, ever, is carried on by the Bureau of Soils, whose work is of vast importance.

The work of this Bureau may be divided into soil survey, fertilizer investigation, and laboratory investigations.

The soil survey consists in making a detailed study of agricultural conditions and possibilities of each state, county by county, mapping the types of soils, streams, roads, transportation facilities and photographic features, indicating adaption to crops and fertilizer acquirements and mechanical treatment. These maps are published for general distribution, and are of great value to the farmer, prospective settler and business organizations, and constitute the fundamental basis for scientific and practical investigations.

The fertilizer investigations consist in the conducting of a survey of the fertilizer resources and in investigating methods and materials used in the manufacture of fertilizers with a view to cheapening processes and to stimulating production. New sources of supply are being pointed out, and the Bureau is endeavoring to save the present waste of fertilizer materials taking place in other industries, as for instance, in the manufacture of cement and coke and in blast furnaces.

The manufacture of potash from the vast Pacific coast bids fair to replace that heretofore imported from Germany, and the extraction of nitrates from the air is a prominent feature of this work.

The laboratories of the Bureau co-operate in all lines of investigation solving scientific and technical problems relating to soil and fertilizer investigations.

The province of the Federal Horticultural Board created under authority conferred by the Plant Federal Quarantine Act of August 20th, 1912, is Horticul- to guard against the introduction of new tural Board, injurious plant diseases and insect pests and to prevent the further spread of plant diseases and insect pests now occurring in this country. The work is done in co-operation with state inspectors, customs officials, postmasters and American consuls as well as inspectors in foreign countries.

The control of plant and plant products (the entry of which is regulated) is effected by means of permits and, in the case of nursery stock, by providing foreign inspection of such stock, by securing from importers and customs officials reports of arrival and proposed distribution, and by the transmitting of such reports to state inspectors who again inspect the stock at destination. The Board also keeps records of importations, and takes steps to maintain full compliance with the regulations on the part of the inspectors in foreign countries as to proper certification and marking. In addition to nursery stock, the entry of Irish potatoes, alligator pears, cotton, corn, cotton-seed products and citrus fruits has also been regulated. All of these plant products are subject to inspection at port of entry by inspectors of the Department of Agriculture. In the case of cotton all importations are disinfected on arrival with hydrocyanic-acid gas under the supervision of inspectors of this department and the ports of entry are limited to northern cities.

One of the most important projects of the Board at the present time is the work being done to prevent the entry of the pink boll-worm, one of the most injurious cotton pests known. This insect originated in India, was carried to Egypt some eight or ten years ago, where it reduced the cotton crop at least twenty per cent., has almost destroyed the cotton crop of the Hawaiian Islands, and has recently become established in Brazil and Mexico. This insect is carried from one country to another in the seed and this pest was responsible for the quarantine against cotton-seed from all foreign countries and localities which became effective July 1, 1913. To prevent the possible introduction of the pink boll-worm from Mexico into the cotton-growing districts of the United States, Congress at its last session voted a sum of $250,000. It is proposed to establish in co-operation with the State of Texas a cotton-free zone in Texas along the Mexican Border approximately 50 miles in width. All railway cars and other vehicles and freight of all kinds for Mexico offered for entry at the border ports are inspected, and if found necessary cleaned and disinfected before entry is permitted.

Chapter Ii.— Weather Reports

The Weather Bureau makes daily forecasts and weather maps for the benefit of the public. These Weather forecasts are based upon simultaneous Bureau. observation of local weather conditions taken daily at 8:00 a. m. and 8:00 p. m., 75th meridian time, at about 200 regular observing stations scattered throughout the United States and the West Indies, and upon similar reports received daily from various points in other parts of the Northern Hemisphere. Each of the Weather Bureau Stations is operated by one or more trained observers, and is equipped with all the scientific devices which make a continuous automatic record of the local weather conditions and changes.

The results of the twice daily observations are immediately telegraphed to the central office at Washington and to other forecast centers where they are charted for study and interpretation by experts trained to forecast the weather conditions that may be expected to prevail during the following 36 to 48 hours.

A complete telegraphic report includes the following data :

Temperature, pressure reduced to sea level, precipitation, direction of winds, state of weather, current wind philosophy, clouds, and maximum or minimum temperature since last observation.

From these data the forecaster by comparison with preceding reports is able to trace the paths of storm areas from the time of their appearance to the moment of observation and approximately determine and forecast their subsequent forces, and attendant weather conditions.

Weather services similar to that of the United States are maintained by the Canadian and Mexican Governments, and by a system of interchange daily reports are received from a number of stations in these countries. Daily observations are also received from the Azores, Iceland, the Faroe Islands, Great Britain, Germany, France, Portugal, European and Asiatic Russia, China, Japan, the Philippines, Hawaii, and Alaska. The field represented by the daily reports, therefore, extends practically over the entire Northern Hemisphere.

Within two hours after the morning observations have been taken the forecasts are telegraphed from the forecasts centers to about 1,600 principal distributing points. They are further sent out by telegraph, telephone, wireless telegraphy, and mail. The forecasts reach nearly 90,000 addresses daily by the mail, the greater part being delivered early in the day and none later than 6 :00 p. m., of the day ir j^'

Heaters in operation after a warning from the Weather Bureau.

Crop reporters waiting to telegraph. (See page 28.)

Weather Reports 17,

of issue, and are available to more than 5,500,000 telephone subscribers within an hour of the time of issue.

The rural free mail delivery system and rural telephone lines are also being utilized to bring within the benefits of this system a large number of farming communities.

The weather map is mailed immediately after the morning forecast is telegraphed. On this map the chief features of current weather conditions throughout the country are graphically represented.

This work of the Bureau is divided into 44 local sections, each section as a rule covering a single State and having for its center a regular observing station.

These centers each month collect temperature and precipitation observations for more than 4,500 cooperative and other stations, and publish a monthly and annual summary, giving a large amount of climatological data for each month and the year.

During the crop growing season, April to September, each section center also receives weekly reports of weather and crop conditions from numerous correspondents.

During the crop growing season the central office in Washington also issues a National Weather and Crop Bulletin containing a general summary of weather and crop conditions for the entire country as well as individual summaries for the various States. It also contains a series of charts and diagrams, showing graphically the actual and normal condition of precipitation and temperature for the current week, and for the preceding weeks of the season in the principal crop growing areas. The diagrams also contain data showing the condition of the principal crops in those areas for months and months as furnished by the Bureau of Crops Estimates.

There is issued at the Central Office every Tuesday during the winter season a publication entitled *^Snow and Ice Bulletin, '* which shows the area covered by snow, the depth of snow, and the thickness of ice in rivers, etc., as indicated by a large number of reports of observations made on the afternoon of the day preceding the issue of the bulletins. This publication is of special value to those interested in the winter wheat crop, the ice dealers, and to the manufacturers of rubber goods and other articles the sale of which is largely affected by the presence or absence of snow and ice.

During the growing season in the cotton, corn, wheat, sugar, rice, corn and cattle producing sections, designated centers receive telegraphic reports of precipitation and daily extremes of temperature from the sub-stations in the various sections for publication in bulletin form, each lo-

Weather Reports 19

cal center receiving condensed reports from all others.

Several hundred stations are maintained in the elevated regions of Washington, Oregon, California, Idaho, Utah, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, South Dakota, New Mexico and Arizona for the purpose of obtaining precise measurements of the depth of water and content of snow which falls in the elevated portions of those States. Such measurements are useful in determining approximately the amount of water available for irrigation purposes on the adjacent lowlands.