Renaissance. The material is pressed brick relieved by terra-cotta mouldings. A broad band of terra-cotta, extending around the building, depicts incidents in the life of the soldier. The interior is a magnificent court-yard, rising the whole height of the building and covered by a roof of iron and glass. Tiers of galleries give access to the surrounding rooms. It was occupied in 1885, and the opening was signalized by the Grand Ball given in honor of the Inauguration of President Cleveland, March 4, 1885, when eighteen thousand people were present.

The cost of the building was $500,000.

THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE.

The Attorney-General, the head of the Department of Justice, has been a Cabinet officer since the foundation of the Federal Government, when Edmund Randolph was appointed, but the Department, as now organized, has existed only since 1870. It has charge of all the law business of the Government, and all the law officers are part of its staff. One very important function of the AttorneyGeneral is to act as the legal adviser of the President and the members of the Cabinet. Many difficult questions of law are constantly arising in the ordinary course of business, and the proper course to pursue is often difficult to determine. The decisions of the AttorneyGeneral are not law, and the various Courts may afterwards rule otherwise if the matter in dispute be brought before them, but his opinions have great value as coming from one who is an expert. He is always selected on account of his abilities as a lawyer, and many of the most learned counsel in the land have occupied the position.

The chief offices of the Department are in the large building on Pennsylvania Avenue opposite the north front of the Treasury. It was formerly occupied by the Freedmen's Saving and Trust Company, and was purchased by the Government, in 1882, for $250,000. The building is handsomely constructed of brownstone, and is four stories high, with a mansard roof.

The first floor is occupied by the Court of Claims. The apartments of the Attorney-General are handsomely furnished and contain a fine collection of portraits of all the Attorneys-General since the foundation of the Government.

THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Occupies a building on the southern side of The Mall, west of the Smithsonian Institution and facing Thirteenth Street. It is a handsome structure of pressed brick with brownstone facings. There are three stories and a mansard roof. It is one hundred and seventy feet long and sixty-one feet wide, and was erected in 1868, from designs by Adolph Cluss, at a cost of nearly $150,000.

There are many objects of interest in the building. The Library contains nearly twenty thousand volumes and is the finest collection

Besides all the im

of works relating to agriculture in the world. portant domestic publications there are many rare and valuable works from foreign presses.

The Museum consists of an immense collection of specimens and models of agricultural products, together with objects illustrating their cultivation and the articles manufactured from them. There are splendid models of the many fruits and vegetables grown in the United States, and many specimens of minerals and forest growths. The effects of the variations of climate on the different productions are finely illustrated.

There is also a fine collection of poultry and game-birds. The

Entomological collection shows specimens of all the insects that play such havoc with the farmer's crops, together with the progress of their destructive work, and the means taken to counteract it.

The building is open from 9 A. M. to 4 P. M.

The Agricultural Grounds comprise about thirty-six acres, and contain many objects of beauty and interest. South-east of the main building is Industrial Hall, with part of the exhibits of the Museum. East is the Seed House, where a large number of persons is employed in packing the many varieties of seeds and in distributing them throughout the country. The Department raises vast quantities of seeds, and also makes large purchases from reliable firms both at home and abroad, so that it is enabled to send supplies to farmers who, from various causes, have lost their own supply. It is constantly on the lookout for new varieties and for such foreign plants as may possibly be profitably grown in the United States.

On the west are immense conservatories, three hundred and twenty feet by thirty, where all kinds of rare and beautiful plants and fruits are grown. There are specimens of the orange, pineapple, olive, grape, and many others. To the north is an extensive Arboretum, containing a choice collection of trees.

The Department of Agriculture was formerly in charge of a Commissioner, but the growing sense of its immense importance to the country caused it to be made a Cabinet Department, Jeremiah M. Rusk being appointed as first Secretary in 1889.

Although the work is carried on in a very quiet manner, and at an expense that is trifling compared with that of some of the other Departments, it is, nevertheless, of vast importance to the whole country. The object of the Department is to assist the farmers-the food-growers of the nation-and increase their knowledge by supplying them with the latest discoveries in the science of agriculture. Talented specialists are constantly engaged in making careful investigations of agricultural matters, and much valuable work is done and many important discoveries made. Examinations by the Microscopical division are made with a view to discover the causes of diseases of plants and animals and to provide remedies. Plants are frequently discovered to possess valuable medicinal properties previously unknown. The Entomologists make investigations of insects injurious to grains, fruits, and vegetables, and frequently gain im

portant information in regard to their habits, development, and the best means for their destruction.

The Department makes exhaustive investigations into all diseases of farm animals, such as pleuro-pneumonia in cattle and cholera in hogs and chickens, diseases that entail immense loss upon the farmers. Much has been done to lessen the ravages of these dread diseases, and the gain to the country through the increased value of the product far exceeds the cost of the Department.

The Department has a number of reliable correspondents in the agricultural districts of the country who make simultaneous reports each month on the condition of the crops, the result of local agricultural experiments, and other, valuable matters. From the information thus obtained, the Department makes up its monthly bulletin and crop report, which is sent all over the country and widely published by the newspapers. These reports are of the greatest practical value to those dealing in agricultural products.

The correspondence of the Department is enormous, thousands of persons writing about agricultural matters from all sections of the country. In addition to letters come packages containing strange birds and insects, with the request for information as to their destructive powers. Peculiar grasses and plants, supposed to be poisonous, are sent on for examination, and in general, the Secretary is supposed to be an Oracle that can give the correct answer to any question concerning the soil.

The results of the labors of the Department and its advice in regard to them are given in its annual report, probably the most widely circulated and best read of all the Government publications. Though very bulky, it is eagerly sought for by the farmers, who probably wonder how their fathers ever did without it.

The total annual appropriation for the Department is about $3,000,000. The Agricultural Experiment Stations cost over $700,000, the Weather Bureau about $900,000, and the Bureau of Animal Industry $500,000.