Fifth Annual Report
OF THK
OF THK
STATE OF GEORGIA,
FOK THE YEAR 1878.
ATLANTA, GEORGIA: mks P. Hakuison & Co., State Pbisters and Bisukks
1878

Fifth Annual Report
OF THE
STATE OF GEORGIA,
FOR THE YEAR 1878.
ATLANTA, GEORGIA: P. Harrison <fc Co.. State Printers and Binder
1878.

ANNUAL REPORT.
Atlanta, Ga., November 1, 1878.
'To His Excellency A. II. Colquitt, Governor of Georgia: Dear Sir--I have the honor of reporting, in compliance
vrith law, the work of the Department of Agriculture of this State, for the present year, to date.
The only change made in the organization of the working force connected with the Department, at the commencement of the second term, is the employment of Mr. Howell C. Jackson in the place of Mr. J. ITeuly Smith, retired.
All of the inspectors of fertilizers, as well as the chemist for the analysis of fertilizers, have been reappointed, and tiie system adopted last year continued, except that the tags will he numbered, so that each inspection may be identified, at any time, by the tags.
a retrospective view of the work of the first four tears
OF THE EXISTENCE OF THE DEPARTMENT.
After the agitation of the subject of the establishment of a Department of Agriculture for four years in the State Agricultural Society and the State Grange, a bill was finally introduced into the Legislature, entitled, " An Act to Estab lish a Department of Agriculture for the State of Georgia,"' by Hon. E. M. Butt, of Marion county. When this bill was put upon its passage, there was a tie vote, which was decided in the affirmative by Hon. O. A. Bacon, of Macon, then Speaker of the House. To these two gentlemen, therefore, the farmers of Georgia are especially indebted ; and the gen tlemen themselves may well look back with pride upon the conspicuous part which they took in the inauguration of this most important instrumentality for the advancement of the productive interests of the State.

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AN EXPERIMENT.
The establishment of the Department of Ag-riculture inGeorgia was the tirst experiment of tlie kind made in any State in the Union in which one officer, or commissioner, administered the department. Other States had Boards of Agriculture, operated in connection with their State socie ties ; but these have usually been cumbrous on account of the want of a single directing head. Many thinking men, who were directly interested in agriculture, regarded the es tablishment of the Department as of doubtful expediency, but were willing to have the experiment tried.
Others, having very vague ideas of what the work of the Department was to be, and looking only to the expenditure of money involved in its maintenance, honestly opposed its establishment, and as honestly advocated its abolition even after the line of its work was developed.
Others still, who were not directly interested in agricul ture, and who, therefore, could not appreciate its needs under the influence of the revolution wrought by the results of the " war between the States," regarded the appropriation for its maintenance as a waste of the people's money, and did not even take the trouble to inquire into the influence of the work of the Department upon the productive re sources of the State.
In each successive legislative assembly since its establish ment, abortive efforts have been made to abolish the " bu reau," as it was called, in derision, but each assembly which has come afresh from the people, has found the band of abolitionists reduced in numbers, until it is now hoped that no further effort will be made to destroy an agency de voted, as is the Department of Agriculture, to the advance ment of the productive interests of the State, upon the suc cess and development of which the prosperity of all classes of her citizens, and of the whole State, depends.
Environed as the Department lias been with opposition, its very existence annually threatened, and a feeling of un certainty created in the minds of the people who were not

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personally informed as to the character of its work, the dif ficulties of its administration have heen unnecessarily in creased and its influence weakened.
NO LONGER AN EXPERIMENT.
Fiuly appreciating from the first the difficulties attending tile administration of a newly created office, involving the expenditure of money from the Treasury of the State, and realizing the importance to the State of making the exper iment a success, the field to be occupied by the work of the Department was carefully surveyed, and that portion which see ned to promise the most speedy and practical results, was first occupied, leaving those portions requiring scientific research to be reached by the gradual advance of more mature thought, and more thoroughly digested policy.
The Department was, therefore, put into communication with the most advanced fanners in every county of the State, information pertaining to questions of a practical character collected from them, the true condition of the farming interests in every portion of the State ascertained as a basis of future work, facts collected, consolidated, the results published and widely distributed among the farmers.
The organization of societies and clubs was encouraged, and their co-operation solicited in the collection of practical information.
A regular corps of correspondents was organized in every county for the purpose of collecting local information, and reporting on printed blanks, containing questions to be an swered, such facts as were deemed of interest and importance to farmers.
From these correspondents facts relating to the condition of growing crops, the comparative yield of crops when gathered, farm practice and farm policy, labor, including its cost, efficiency, and the various systems adopted for its em ployment and management; the condition, kind, number and management of stock ; indeed, everything pertaining to practical agriculture in the State was gathered, systematised, and published'in monthly crop reports, thus making local

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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE--GEORGIA.

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information promptly the property of all the farmers in every section of the State.
The inspection of fertilizers was systematized, analyses and commercial values published, and spurious articles excluded from the markets of the State.
Samples of all the brands sold in the State were distribu ted among' practical farmers for soil test, and the results pub lished.
Sheep-husbandry in the State was investigated, and a manual on the subject published.
Hog-raising in Georgia was thoroughly discussed in "A Manual on the Hog," 10,000 copies of which were published for distribution.
Railroad statistics were collected, showing the exports and imports of farm products and supplies, published and dis tributed.
A Hand Book of Georgia was prepared, published and distributed.
Several circulars containing analyses and statistics of com mercial fertilizers sold in the State, together with formulse and directions for composting have been prepared and pub lished annually, and extensively circulated for the informa tion and protection of farmers.
The results of the soil tests of fertilizers have been pre pared and published every year, showing the comparative effects of the different brands upon our various crops, and the increased production resulting from their use compared with that of the natural soil.
Only the leading publications have been mentioned. The accompanying volumes, embracing the Transaction# of the Department from its organization to January, 1878, will pre sent the entire published work for the first three and a half years of its existence, and illustrate the system adopted in its administration.
The preparation of these publications, together with the vast amount of other clerical work required, has occupied the entire time of the working force of the Department, be sides that of occasional extra employees.

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ANNUAL KEPORT.

7

Besides the usual fertilizer circulars and crop reports,

10,000 each of " A Manual of Georgia for the use of Immi

grants and Capitalists," and a " Farmer's Scientific Manual,"

have been prepared and published during the present year.

Duplicate copies of all the publications issued during this

year accompany this report.

There is every evidence that the work of the Department

has given entire satisfaction to the intelligent classes of every

occupation in the State, and has challenged the admiration

of those outside of the State who are familiar with its work

through its publications. Besides the States, four in num

ber, that have established departments similar to that in

Georgia; Alabama, Delaware, South Carolina, Louisiana and

Texas are moving in the same line. Even in Massachusetts

the Secretary of State and ex-officio member of the State

Board of Agriculture, the venerable Flint, Secretary of the

Board, and the editor of the Hew England Farmer, admit

that Georgia is ahead of Massachusetts in the work of her

Department of Agriculture.

In a recent issue of the Hew England Farmer, published

at Boston, Mass., one of the most influential agricultural

papers published in this country, the editor, in speaking of

the croj) reports of this Department, says :

"We can scarcely conceive of any public measure that

would bring better returns to the farmers of a State, accord

ing to its cost, than a well managed system of crop reports,

and we know of no State in the Union where such reports

are collected and published in so complete and thorough a

manner as in the State of Georgia. Indeed we know of no

State that is at present so well managed in its agricultural

department. Georgia seems to have started right, with her

agricultural bureau, and has been peculiarly successful in

accomplishing the objects sought.

****

" As regularly as the months come round, circulars are

published and sent out all through the State, giving as cor

rectly as possible the present and prospective condition of

all the leading crops grown in the State. These reports are

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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE----GEORGIA.

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made up from^retums receivedffrom a sufficient number of observers living in each of the hundred and fifteen or more counties of the State, and are generally quite reliable. The system is very simple. A few competent men are selected in every county, who are willing to report each month the condition of the staple crops, and the acreage planted as compared with ^former or average years, and the general character of the weather. These collectors are furnished with the complete reports from the whole State each month, through the Commissioner, and we presume, find them selves well paid for the little time and trouble given to the work, in the satisfaction of knowing the condition of the crops in all the other portions of the State. The Commis sioner, in making up his monthly publication, always has a few words of advice, of encouragement, or of warning for his constituents, and has done very much in this way to wards improving the general condition of agriculture throughout the State.
"We always look over the Georgia crop reports with pleasure, not because the difference of ten or twenty per cent, in the corn or cotton crop will materially affect New England farmers, but because they'are such models in their way, and we always feel that the New England States are sadly beiiind in this matter. A knowledge of the con dition of the growing and harvested crops has always been too much the property of the commercial classes. Farmers have known less of how much they were producing than have those who have made it a business to buy and sell the products, and all for the lack of a simple system for cheaply collecting monthly crop reports. Agriculture in New England has been occupying a secondary position, while in the South and West it has been the leading business, and has been treated as such.
" Georgia agriculture is, in some respects, undoubtedly far behind New England agriculutre, but just at present she is setting an example that is well worthy of imitation by all her sister States."

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ANNUAL REPORT.

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After giving lengthy extracts from the August crop re port, the editor says: " Now, this is no better advice than can be found in our best agricultural newspapers, when the publishers have been informed concerning the conditions of the crops and the weather, but the farmers of Georgia have this advantage: they are informed authoritatively, correctly, and in good season, while the majority of farmers through out the country know but little concerning the weather or crops except in their own immediate neighborhood, until it is too late to reap much advantage from the knowledge.
" Appended to the August report is a table showing the people of Georgia what they are paying for farm products brought into the State from abroad, over one of the princi pal railroads. Among these are corn, wheat, oats, peas, meal, flour, bacon, lard, butter, hay, fertilizers, hogs, horses, mules, potatoes, apples and onions; also a large amount of spirituous liquors. The quantity purchased and the prices paid are each given in detail, that every farmer may see where the money goes that he receives for his single cash product, the cotton crop. We said cash product, but with too large a proportion of the farmers of Georgia, as of other Southern and Western States, the cash is seldom seen, for the crop goes to pay debts previously contracted for fer tilizers, corn, bacon, and other supplies required while pro ducing the money crop. ******
" We have given these reports this notice that the farmers of New England may see what possibilities are within their own reach in this direction. Why should not those farmers who are in the habit of receiving State agricultural publica tions be required to give, in return, monthly reports of crops and weather in their own vicinity ? Such an arrangement would tend to bind the farmers together as in a com mon cause, and would add value and dignity to our present boards of agriculture, which are, at present, none too well appreciated by the farmers at large."
The Financial Chronicle, published at New York, which is recognized as high authority all over the United States, in

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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE----GEORGIA.

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its issue of June 29, 1878, in commenting on the crop re port of this Department of May last, says: " Probably bet ter progress has been made in Georgia than in any other Southern State in the matter of reorganizing its industries. In this the evident attempt of late years has been to diver sify crops, and the tendency, in the interest of economy, to wards food products, so that cotton planting during that pe riod has rather retrograded than advanced. As a conse quence the planting interest of the State has been surely getting into a much better condition.
" To an extent this latter fact is true of the whole South j but Georgia has reaped greater advantages from its earlier start, and now, with a common impulse the country over to increase acreage in everything, she adds an enlarged ability to do it, ensuring the result which is found to exist, to-wit: an increased area in cotton and all other important crops." * * * * This is followed by extracts from the May re port.
Again, in its issue of July 20th, in commenting upon " Georgia Agricultural Report for June," the same authority says: "We are in receipt this week of the report for June of Mr. Janes, Commissioner of Agriculture for Georgia. Each succeeding year he is making his reports more com plete and useful. They are the most helpful publications we have ever received with regard to any portion of the South." This, too, is followed by lengthy extracts from the June re port.
The following letter shows that the influence of the work of the Department is not confined to this continent :
Liverpool, September 10, 187S.
Thomas P. Janes, Esqr., Commissioner of Agriculture, Atlamta, Georgia:
Dear Sir:--We have read with much interest your re port of crops, etc., for July, 1878, particularly that portion referring to cotton. Will you kindly send us, direct, fu ture reports. The expenses, if any, we will remit you.

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ANNUAL BEPORT.

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Inclosed, we hand you our last cotton report, to which webeg to refer you. We have issued a weekly cotton report of this market for the last fourteen years, and would be pleased to send you each issue if desired, in exchange for your monthly reports. We, in common with most others on this side, have been somewhat surprised by the recent very large receipts of new crop cotton at American ports. It has struck us after reading your report Ho. 58, that this may be due in some measure to the excessively hot weather in your and adjoining States in duly, and is consequently no evidence of a large crop. Your ob't serv'ts,
W. C. Watts & Co. Col. W. H. Chambers, member elect to the Senate of Alabama, under date of October 15, 1878, after asking for information in reference to the influence of our system of inspection of fertilizers, says : " It is proposed, at the next session of our State Legislature, to establish a system some what similar to yours, and I would like very much to have the benefit of your experience, and any suggestions which you may be pleased to make, which will aid me in my ef forts, as a member of the Senate, in endeavoring to secure suitable legislation in this matter." Dr. D. D. F. Moore, well known to the reading public, asthe founder of Moor's Rural New Yorker, and otherwise long prominently connected with progressive agriculture in this country, wrote under date of March 21, 1878: "I would like, if you have it in print, a copy of the law or ganizing your Department, (or the plan upon which it was formed) with list of officers, etc. At the last meeting of our State Agricultural Society, I introduced resolutions looking to the establishment of a State Board or Depart ment of Agriculture, and propose to follow it with further action. I think you have inaugurated a glorious work in Georgia, and trust you will keep us advised of what you do, and propose in the future, that we may let the brethren of the whole country know what is transpiring in the Empire State of the South."

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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE--GEORGIA.

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Similar extracts might be given without limit, but the above are selected only to illustrate the appreciation of the work of the Department outside of the State.
The educationnl influence of the work of the Depart ment has been most marked, and has been observed and re marked upon by many intelligent farmers. Four years ago, but few farmers were familiar with even the leading ele ments of plant-food, but purchased fertilizers blindly, upon the recommendation of agents or their worthless certiflcates. Now the farmer purchases with direct reference to the amount of available plant-food the fertilizer contains, and insists upon knowing how much ammonia, phosphoric acid and potash it contains before he is willing to invest.
A spirit of investigation has been engendered among the farmers of Georgia, both into the policy best suited to ad vance our agricultural interests and the application of science to agricultural art. The farmers are thinking more, reading more, and learning faster than at any previous pe riod in the history of Georgia; and they attribute this largely to the influence of the work of the Department of Agricul ture.
Indeed, the farmers of the State are calculating more closely than ever before the cost of production of their dif ferent crops, paying more attention to developing and hus banding home resources, and using more rigid economy in their expenses.
Speculative farming, which has been the bane of our agri culture since 1865, has given place to a self-sustaining sys tem which, if adhered to, will, before many years, place our agriculture upon the high plane which its great dignity and importance to the State demands it should occupy.
In the accomplishment of this most desirable end, the Department of Agriculture is credited by the intelligent farmers of the State with performing a conspicuous part. It may be confidently asserted, therefore, that the Depart ment is no longer an experiment, but has taken its position as one of the permanent institutions of the State, in which

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the farmers feel a peculiar interest, to which they look for information, and which they regard as a most efficient agency in the advancement of the productive resources of the State.
INSPECTION OP FEETILIZEES.

The present system of inspection and analyses of fertili zers gives almost universal satisfaction, and effectually serves the purpose intended by the Legislature in enacting the law requiring supervision. The grade of fertilizers offered on our markets, as shown by the table of analyses in circulars accompanying this report, is most satisfactory, and with the tables of analyses at their command, farmers are enabled not only to select such compounds as they need, but to select those containing the largest per cent, of plant-food. It is confidently believed that no fertilizers of inferior grade were offered on the Georgia markets during the last season, and there is no question that the average grade of the brands sold in Georgia is higher than that offered in any other State in the Union. This was conclusively shown in the last an nual report to that date, and is believed to be still true.
The protection to farmers under the system adopted is complete, and is fully appreciated by them.
Litigation on account of the sale of fertilizers, so common a few years ago, is now almost unknown.
In this single item vast cost, both to individuals and to the State, is saved. Indeed, the amount saved by farmers by the exclusion of spurious brands from our markets, in the cost of litigation on account of them, and that resulting from disappointment in the production of crops, more than quad ruples the gross amount paid as inspection fees in the entire State.

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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE----GEORGIA.

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FINANCIAL.

JBecei/pts cmd Expenditures Incident to the Inspection of Fertilizers.

"The Comptroller General's Report shows gross amount paid into the Treasury by inspectors for the season of 1877-8 to have been.........
Paid inspector^ salaries...................$ 6,600 00 Paid chemist's salary....................... 3,0(K) 00 Paid for tags.................................... 1,550 30

$45,235 77

Total expenses of inspection.......

$11,150 30

Leaving a net balance in the Treasury of... $34,085 47

Annual Appropriation to the Department.

.Annual appropriation ........ ................. $10,000 Commissioner's and clerk's salaries.... 3,200 Laboratory fund ................ ........... 500

$13,700 'Subsequent appropriation for Depart
ment printing................................... 1,000

Total appropriation to department..$14,700
-Net balance in Treasury after deducting ex pense of inspection and annual appropria tion to the Department............................... $ 19,385 47
Jt will be seen, therefore, that after deducting the entire ^annual expense of the regular work of the Department of Agriculture, and the total cost of the inspection and analysis of fertilizers from the income arising from the inspection fees, there was a net balance of $19,385.47 left in the Treasury from the last season's work.

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MUTUAL EELAT?IONS BETWEEN AGBICULTUEE AND THE STATE.

A review of the history of Georgia shows that agricul ture has ever been her leading productive interest. It was her agriculture that gave her the proud distinction of Em pire State of the South.
It is still her leading interest, and must continue to he such for generations to come.
On its improvement and development in the future will depend the prosperity of all classes of her citizens, and, through them, that of the State.
Mining, manufactures and mechanics are important aux iliaries in the production of wealth, hut are insignificant, in Georgia, compared with her agriculture.
Political economy makes two grand classifications of citi zens :
PEODUCEES AND NON-PEODUCTIVE CONSUMEES.

The line between these two classes is drawn without diffi culty.
There were in Georgia, in 1870, according to the United States census, 444,678 persons engaged in all occupations. Of the whole number having employment, there were :

Engaged in Agriculture.................................................................... 336,145, or

Engaged in Professional and PersonalService................................. 64,083, or

Engaged in Trade and Transportation..................

17,410, or

Engaged in Manufactures, Mechanics andMining........................... 27,040, or

(Fractions are omitted in calculating the per cent.)

75 percent. 14 percent. 4 percent. 6 percent.

Of the producers, ninety-three per cent, are engaged in
agriculture. In view of these facts, is it not wise to duly consider the
relations between agriculture and the State, as well as the duty of the aggregation of citizens called the State, to fos ter this great fundamental productive interest 1
The miner exhumes the ore already existing in the earth, but useless to man until taken from its bed.
The manufacturer changes the form of already existing crude material, prepares it for man's use, and thus increases
its value.

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The mechanic changes the form or brings, into new com binations crude or partially manufactured materials, and by his skill presents them in forme useful to man and enhanced in value.
Mining, manufactures and mechanics are productive but not creative industries--they produce values, but do not create products.
The skillful agriculturist creates products not before ex isting, and at the same time increases his power of produc tion by the improvement of the soil.
Every pound of cotton, ear of corn, grain of wheat, pound of wool, mutton or beef, produced on the farm is so much added anew to the wealth of the State. Every dol lar added to the value of an acre of land by the skill of the farmer increases the income of the State one-half of one per cent, in the form of taxes.
Mining and mechanics may be classed as a species of manufactures, so that we may say, with perfect propriety, that agriculture and manufactures are the " nursing breasts " of the State. Without them no values are created, no wealth produced. On them depend individual and collect ive subsistence, comfort and prosperity.
Agriculture is the only source of primary creative pro duction. Manufactures, mining and mechanics enhance the value of products, but do not create them.
Agriculture not only creates products and hence values, but if skillfully conducted, its gyroductive capacity is in creased even during the exercise of its creative power. Xot so with any other productive interest. The greater the skill and energy brought to bear upon mining, the sooner the mine is exhausted.
The more persistently the machinery of a factory is run, the sooner its productive capacity is impaired.
Agriculture and mining furnish the crude material for almost the entire manxfactories of the world.
Agriculture, in its most comprehensive sense, feeds and clothes the world, and yet its productive power is continu

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ally increasing. Its handmaids, science and mechanics, are yearly becoming more subservient to its commands. Civil ized States are recognizing its importance to man, and real izing the necessity of extending the fostering care of their organized power to its advancement and development.
Eecognizing it as the fundamental source of their wealth, and that upon the knowledge and skill of its votaries de pend the increase of its productive power, departments, schools, colleges and experimental stations have been estab lished for its encouragement. Under such fostering care it is no longer regarded as an art controlled by mere empiri cism, but has taken its proper status in the estimation of men and nations as a science, to which other branches of science are made tributary.
Geology, botany, meteorology, physiology, chemistry, mechanics, zoology, entomology--all the natural sciences which existed as such while agriculture was looked down upon as a mere art, are now proud to make their contribu tions to the science of agriculture.
As a mere art, agriculture was exhaustive of her own re sources ; as an applied science, she builds up her waste places, and while yielding annual profits, constantly in creases her producing capacity.
The suspension of agricultural production for a single year would stop the wheels of factories, suspend every branch of business and depopulate the earth by famine.
Assuming, then, as we may safely do, that agriculture is the great primary source of the production of wealth, and that upon which all other industries depend for their very existence, the questions for the people of Georgia to consider are:
1. What can individuals do to increase its productive power ?
2. What can voluntary organizations do by co-operation that cannot be accomplished by individual enterprise ?
3. What should be done by the State, or the political or

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ganization of citizens, which can neither be done by individnais nor by voluntary organization ?
The duty of individuals, stimulated, as it is, by self-inter est, would need no illustration, were all engaged in agricul ture, possessed of the knowledge and skill necessary for the most judicious conduct of their peculiar business. Unfortu nately, however, this is not the case, and is not likely to be for many generations to come.
Successful agriculture secures a liberal annual profit upon the capital invested in land, appliances and labor, and at the same time increases the fertility or producing capacity of the soil.
Wasteful agriculture, such as is practiced in the early his tory of every country, may secure annual profits, but is often accompanied by a diminution in the fertility of the soil, and hence a reduction in the value of the capital invested in land.
This has been the history of the agriculture of most coun tries as the result of a destructive system of cropping without return to the soil of fertilizing material until agricultural exhaustion takes place, when
Recuperative, agriculture, under the influence of science and skill, builds up the waste of the previous system, and re sults in successful agriculture. Many of the countries of Europe have long since reached this point, the older portions of the Northern and Middle States more recently, and it is believed that Georgia is just entering upon the recuperative system which, if persisted in and properly fostered, will, be fore many years shall elapse, make Georgia, what she should be--the most successful agricultural State of the Union.
To accomplish this, agriculture, as a pursuit, must be dig nified in proportion to its importance, and the rising gener ation of young men must be not only impressed with its dignity but educated with a view to its successful practice.
The most pressing present duty, therefore, of individuals engaged in agriculture, is to avail themselves of the teach ings of science and that of the practice of the most ad

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vanced and successful agriculturists, to educate their sons to the principles of agricultural science, and their applica tion to agricultural art, to realize, themselves, the dignity and importance of agriculture as a pursuit, and impress the same upon their sons and daughters.
To do this, they must keep abreast with the progress of agriculture as an applied science, by reading the best agri cultural books and journals, by attending the meetings of clubs and societies where the information of one is made the property of all, by attending fairs where the results of the best practice are exhibited, arid, lastly, personal super vision must be given to all the work of the farm, in order that muscle and machinery may be under the immediate guidance of brains.
When those engaged in agriculture properly appreciate their noble calling, and by the necessary mental culture, place themselves in a position to command the respect for their avocation from all other classes of citizens that its im portance and their dependence upon it seem to demand, the trades and professions will be less crowded, and the farm sought by the best talent and material that the country affords.
How is this to be done % Education, both of farmers and farmers' sons and daugh ters, must be relied upon as the lever for the elevation of the great agricultural masses. They must read more, think more and bring more knowledge and skill to bear upon their daily avocation. Hot only is agriculture the most im portant productive resource of the State, but it affords a wider field for the exercise of executive ability and the ap plication of hnowledge than any other avocation pursued by man. There is much that may be done by individual enterprise for the advancement of our agriculture which cannot be ac complished by any other agency, but its .paramount im portance to all classes of citizens, and its controlling influ ence upon the material prosperity of the State, justify the

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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE----GEORGIA.

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conclusion that other agencies than individual enterprise should he brought into requisition. There is much that
can be done by
VOLUNTARY ORGANIZATION AND CO-OPERATION,
more efficiently than by individuals. Every department of business has its co-operative or
ganizations designed for the mutual instruction and benefit of individuals, and for the increased prosperity of the whole class engaged in the particular business.
Much good has been accomplished in Georgia by the State Agricultural Society and its auxiliary local organiza tions, and by the Order of Patrons of Husbandry, by the friction of mind against mind, with its consequent develop ment of thought, by the communication of practical infor mation before the property of individuals, now the common possession of all, and by the establishment of a bond of sym pathy between those engaged in the noble work of feeding and clothing the world; but far too little has been done by these various organizations in the way of practical co-opera tion in the introduction of improved implements, thorough bred stock, and simultaneous investigation of questions of general interest.
Appreciating the fact, however, that there was work ne cessary to be done for the advancement of the material in terests of the State, which such organizations could not ac complish, and yet feeling that it should be done, other agen cies were sought through which more concentrated effort could be exerted, and in which the whole people of the State could participate, and the results of the research put forth with official sanction.
This resulted in the recommendation by the two leading organizations of the State, of the establishment of a De partment of Agriculture and a Geological Survey, under the auspices of the State.
A State is simply an orgcmiz'dion of citizens for mutual 'benefit, supported by self-imposed taxation.
The taxes are hypothetically paid by the people, who own

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the property, and are the producers of the wealth upon which the amount realized from taxation depends, for the support of the political organization called the State.
It is therefore competent for the people to say, through their representatives, that
A PORTION OF THE INCOME OF THE STATE SHALL BE DEVOTED TO
INCREASING ITS PRODUCTIVE CAPACITY.
The question, then, to be considered is, how can this hest he done in Georgia f
1. By encouraging the acquisition of knowledge and skill in individual producers, or by
INDUSTRIAL EDUCATION.
The time has come in Georgia for the education of our youth to be directed into more practical channels, and espe cially directed to imparting instruction which will peculiarly fit our young men for greater efficiency and usefulness in the productive industries of the State.
For this purpose we need schools of agriculture, mining and mechanics, so distributed as to be accessible at nominal cost to the boys and young men in every section of the State, where, besides the usual studies of the grammar school, a course of instruction adapted to the peculiar wants of prospective producers shall be provided, where the stu dent can learn things as well as words / where the indus trial pursuits will be dignified by intellectual training, spe cially fitted to promote not only the mental development of those who are to take the important position in society && producers, but the future wealth, prosperity and inde pendence of the whole State. Much of practical utility, also, may be engrafted upon the course of instruction now pursued in our female schools, which would add useful ac complishments to the flippant refinements which tend more to produce costly ornaments to society than useful members of the home-circle.
It is not proposed to lessen the refined accomplishments of female education, but, rather, to add to them such useful instruction as will fit our young ladies for the responsible

22

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE----GEORGIA.

[476]

positions of life which both the laws of nature and the con

ventionalities of society destine them to fill.

The education of our young should, in future, be directed

not only to training the mind for systematic intellectual

labor, but that training should look to the development of

useful men and women ; to laying the foundation not only

for the gymnasium of professional exercise and the arena

of non-productive consumers, but for the active, inviting

fields of the productive industries.

Besides the local industrial schools, the university, with

its college of agriculture and the mechanic arts, will furn ish the means of higher classical education, as well as a

technological school, where those who wish to acquire a thorough scientific training will find the means of gratify

ing their ambition.

The technalogical college will supply instructors for the schools, or valuable investigators of truth in the natural sci

ences. "With a thorough system of industrial schools and colleges

once inaugurated, and well patronized, in Georgia, the next generation would find our productive industries crowded and our State prosperous.
Too long have our educational systems been devoted to

the refinements of mental development resulting in filling the professions and other non-productive occupations to

overflowing. A wise statesmanship demands the introduc tion of such training as will make future generations intel

ligent,

jjroducers.

Such agencies as industrial schools and colleges, the State

should foster for the education of the young.

To remedy the defects of technical education in the past,

the Department of Agriculture is doing all that its resources

will allow for the

EDUCATION OF ADULTS,
by the system of publications relating to specific productive

interests, having direct relation to the agriculture of the

State.

77]

ANNUAL EEPOET.

23

It is believed that the influence of the Department, as an educational agency alone, has more than reimbursed the people of the State for the annual outlay for its maintenance, in the increased production resulting from the information conveyed to farmers through its publications.
The State may foster the producing interests-- 2. By protection against fraud in the sale of those articles of commerce in which the eye cannot detect adulteration. She is already, by the system of supervision of the sale of fertilizers, in pursuance of the law requiring their inspection and analysis, affording effectual protection to farmers against fraud in this respect, the most important in its relations to her productive interests. Deference has already been made to the beneficial influence of the inspection of fertilizers in this report. The State may increase her productive capacity-- 3. By experiments, both illustrative and investigative, which require knowledge, skill and appliances not at the command of individuals. There are fields of investigation which individuals cannot successfully enter, but which the State, in its organized capacity, can easily and economically occupy. There should be experimental stations connected with the industrial schools and colleges where experiments illustrative of facts already known should be conducted for the instruc tion of the students, and others intended for investigation of truth bearing upon agriculture in Georgia, made for the pur pose of adding to the fund of knowledge. Such stations have been established in a number of the countries of Europe, and several of the Northern States of this Union, and have proved of incalculable benefit to agriculture. It is believed they will prove equally beneficial in Georgia, not only as means of instruction to youth, but as sources of information to the farmers themselves. An experimental farm attached to the Department of Ag riculture of this State, with appliances for scientific investi gation, might be made an important instrumentality in rhe

24

DEPARTMENT OP AGRICITLTETBE----GEORGIA.

[478]

determination of many questions of vital importance to the farmers of Georgia, and thus materially enlarge its field of usefulness and profit to the State. On such farm various varieties of seeds might be tested, different methods of cul tivation and fertilization compared, investigations as to the remedies or preventives of disease in vegetation and animals made, and the results published for the information of farm ers. Indeed, no similar investigations having been made on a large scale in Georgia, or any part of the South, the field of profitable research in agriculture, horticulture, and the rearing of stock would be most fruitful of practical re sults, while the records published from such a station would stimulate similar investigation on the part of individuals and local organizations, greatly to the benefit of the agricultural classes, and through them of the whole State.
Quite an interest has been aroused in meteorological re search by the establishment of
METEOROLOGICAL STATIONS.
As indicated in the last annual report, a system of meteor ological observations has been inaugurated, embracing the entire State; and for this purpose forty-nine stations have been established, as follows: In ISTorth Georgia--Blairsville, Canton, Dahlonega, Dalton, Dillon, Gainesville, Leo, Mt. Airy, Rabun Gap, Borne and Trenton--11; in Middle Geor gia--Athens, Atlanta, Carrollton, Elberton, Greenesboro, Greenville, Griffin, LaGrange, Macon, Milledgeville, Oxford, Talbotton and Thomson--13; in Southwest Georgia--Albany, Americus, Bainbridge, Butler, Columbus, Cuthbert, Nash ville, Quitman, Thomasville--9 ; in East Georgia--Augusta, Dublin, Hawkinsville, Louisville, McBae, Ogeechee, Sandersville, Swainsboro, Waynesboro and Walthourville--10; in Southeast Georgia--Baxley, Blackshear, Brunswick, Du pont, Savannah and St. Marys---6 ; tqtal, 49 stations.
Each observer is supplied with a thermometer and rainguage, all of uniform pattern, and made to order for the use of the Department. Observations on the thermometer are made at stated hours, three times daily, in accordance

[479]

ANNUAL KErORT.

25

with tlic system first devised by the Smithsonian Institute ; the rain-fall, the direction of the wind, and the weather, are also noted, together with general remarks on the condition of growing crops as affected by meteorlogical conditions.
These observations are all entered in a record book (also especially prepared for the purpose) and monthly transcripts of the same sent to the Department. These monthly re ports are consolidated and a general summary of the same published in the current crop reports. At the end of each, year it is purposed to consolidate the monthly reports and enter them in a book to be prepared for the purpose. The original reports will be bound in one volume, and filed for future reference.
These observations will be useful in ascertaining accu rately and absolutely the climatic features of the State, their diversity in the different sections, and the comparative mildness of tlie climate in all.
They will become more and more valuable as the period
of time covered by them is lengthened, and the mean re sults become more accurate and reliable.
Meteorological observations also reveal the peculiar con juncture of circumstances of rain-fall and temperature, and their monthly distribution which are found to exist in con nection with successful tillage of certain crops, etc.
The most immediate practicable benefit, however, to be expected from these observations, is in the information af forded to those who contemplate emigrating to this State. Many of these have very erroneous ideas of our climate, based as they are solely on the knowledge of the latitude of the State, with reference to the prevailing climates in similar latitudes elsewhere.
NOT CLASS LEGISLATION.
Since all classes of citizens are directly or indirectly Inter ested in the prosperity of the productive industries of the State; laws looking to the advancement of these are not amenable to the charge of class legislation, hut are really for the general good.

26

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE----GEORGIA.

[480]

When agriculture prospers in Georgia, all classes of her

citizens participate in its prosperity. When it suffers, those

engaged in every other occupation, however apparently dis

connected, feel a corresponding depression.

It is the great heart of the State, from which the life-blood

which sustains every department of business flows. If it is

crushed, the State suffers financial death. If it prospers,

every other branch of business is filled with life.

In view of these facts, it behooves the State to look to her own advancement through the increased knowledge and

skill of her producers, and the resulting development of her material resources. A wise statesmanship will foster the

sources from which the financial life-blood of the Common

wealth is derived.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.

To the large corps of crop-correspondents who have re

ported for their respective counties the condition of crops, etc., as a basis for the monthly crop reports; to the experi menters with commercial fertilizers and to the meteorologi

cal observers, I am specially indebted for valuable voluntary

services in aid of the work of the .Department. I desire to acknowledge, also, the faithful and efficient

services and cordial co-operation in the office-work of the Department on the part of the clerk and employees.

To the efficient discharge of duty by the inspectors of fer tilizers, the protection afforded to farmers by the system of

supervision is largely due, and I take pleasure in commend ing their valuable assistance and co-operation. Much credit is
due to the chemist of the Department for the skillful man ner in which his arduous duties have been performed. His valuable services are hereby cheerfully acknowledged.
To the farmers generally, for their moral support to the Department, and kind wmrds of approbation of its administration, my thanks are due, and hereby tendered.
In conclusion, allow me to thank your Excellency for co operation in furthering the great productive interests of the
State, and for courtesies extended to me personally and offi

cially.

Yery respectfully,

Commissioner of Agriculture.