Preface

Alfred Stefferud, Editor

This preface may be the proper place to answer some questions from readers and others about how and why the Yearbook of Agriculture is produced.

The Yearbook of Agriculture is an institution older than the Department of Agriculture itself. It can be said to date from 1849, when the Commissioner of Patents, the forerunner of the Secretary of Agriculture, began to devote one part of his annual report to agricultural matters. The first annual report of the newly named Commissioner of Agriculture, issued under authority of the act that established the Department of Agriculture, was dated 1862.

The publication of the Yearbook of Agriculture is required by the Act of January 12, 1895, which provided:

"The Annual Report of the Secretary of Agriculture shall hereafter be submitted and printed in two parts, as follows: Part one, which shall contain purely business and executive matter which it is necessary for the Secretary to submit to the President and Congress; part two, which shall contain such reports from the different bureaus and divisions, and such papers prepared by their special agents, accompanied by suitable illustrations, as shall, in the opinion of the Secretary, be specially suited to interest and instruct the farmers of the country, and to include a general report of the operations of the Department for their information. . . ."

The preface to the Yearbook dated 1894 said: "The present volume represents but imperfectly the ideal of what such a yearbook should be . . . . It is believed that the character of the volume can be improved from year to year until it shall become finally a standard book of reference for American farmers. . . ."

The foundations of the Yearbook of Agriculture as it is now were laid by Milton S. Eisenhower, its editor from 1928 to 1935, and Gove Hambidge, the editor from 1936 to 1942. Since 1936 each volume has been devoted to discussions bearing on a single field of knowledge instead of to miscellaneous articles on year-to-year developments in a few phases of farming. The subjects of the new series are: Plant and animal genetics, 1936 and 1937; soils, 1938; human and animal nutrition, 1939; agricultural economics and history, 1940; climate, 1941; diseases of animals, 1942; recent developments in agricultural science, 1943-1947; grassland agriculture, 1948; trees, 1949; the processing of agricultural products, 1950-1951; and insects, 1952.

For many years the Yearbook of Agriculture has been the main (and at times the only) means of announcing and summarizing comprehensively the results of agricultural research—for which (as an example) $42,874,000 was spent in the United States Department of Agriculture in 1952.

As a book of science, the Yearbook is prepared with no thought of influencing farm policies inside or outside the Department of Agriculture. Its aim is to give complete, practical discussions of one topic in clear (but not elementary) language. It is prepared primarily for American farmers, but changes in the farm population and the increasing interest of nonfarm citizens in food, clothing, conservation, processing, and many other related topics mean that they also enter into our considerations when we plan and prepare a volume. Crops in Peace and War (1950-1951) and Science in Farming (1943-1947), for example, dealt with many aspects of agriculture of interest and value to the whole population.

Because most of the chapters are later reprinted separately, an attempt is made to make each part of the book self-contained, even at the cost of some duplication. Other than the basic requirements of accuracy, completeness, and propriety, the writers of the chapters—who receive no payment for their contributions and who include employees of the United States Department of Agriculture, research men in universities, experiment stations, and industry, and other qualified persons—are subject to no limitations in the way they handle their assignments.

An editor and an editorial assistant comprise the Yearbook staff.

The Yearbooks of Agriculture, which are congressional documents, are distributed mainly by Members of the Congress. Of the current volume, 230,850 copies were printed for the Congress; 12,000 copies for Department agencies, State and county extension agents, and agricultural libraries; and about 40,000 copies for sale by the Superintendent of Documents. Income from the sales by the Superintendent of Documents returns to the United States Treasury.

Besides the books themselves, the materials in the Yearbooks have even wider dissemination—as reprints, in magazines, in anthologies, and as background for articles in magazines and books. Material in the Yearbooks is not copyrighted, and permission to reprint it is usually given, with certain restrictions, upon request.

Grass, the 1948 Yearbook of Agriculture, exemplifies the influence the Yearbooks have, even though—to repeat—our purpose is to report developments in research. It was the first major publication to recognize the importance of grassland farming and for many persons was their introduction to the production and values of grass crops.

The American Institute of Graphic Arts chose Insects as one of the "Fifty Books" of 1952 because of its typographic design. It was also chosen as an outstanding textbook of 1952. No thought, however, is given to making the book merely a beautiful one—it is planned with functional considerations only in mind. The cover, for example, is made of the cheapest available binding cloth, which is impregnated to make it resistant to insects and dampness and is inexpensively printed over with color because otherwise it would be an impractical, easily soiled white.

As to the present volume:

Weather, insects, and plant diseases often are called the worst natural hazards in farming. The 1941 Yearbook of Agriculture, Climate and Alan, summarized our knowledge about the first. Insects, in 1952, considered the second. This book completes the triad.

Some 30,000 different diseases attack our economic plants—the plants grown for sale or use as foods, feeds, clothing, and lumber. Others spoil or destroy our flowers, shade trees, and shrubs.

In this book we present information on the causes and control of many diseases of our important crop plants. We emphasize practical details, but we also discuss fundamental biological facts that underlay the comparatively new science of phytopathology.

We use trade names solely to provide specific information. Such use does not constitute a guarantee or warranty of the products named and does not signify that the products are approved to the exclusion of others of suitable composition.

We hope this volume will enhance the prosperity of American agriculture and fulfill the expectations of the many farmers, Congressmen, students, extension workers, and others who have written us that a Yearbook on plant diseases is needed.

Many persons have had a part in its preparation, and to them thanks are given. The work of outlining and writing the material began in June 1951; typesetting and similar work began in August 1952. The final proofs were approved and made up-to-date in June of 1953.