Vol. 52

Title:
History and Impact of the US Government in New Plant Research

Author:
R.J. Griesbach

pp: 368-371

Abstract:
The Commissioner of Patents, Henry Ellsworth, secured funds in 1839 from Congress to establish an Agricultural Division in the Patent Office for the free distribution of seeds and cuttings, prosecuting agricultural investigations, and the collection of agricultural statistics (Eisenhower and Chew, 1930; Moore, 1968). Additional funds were obtained in 1856 to construct the U.S. Propagation Garden on 5 acres of land on the corner of Sixth Street and Missouri Avenue in the District of Columbia. The Agricultural Division of the Patent Office was very successful importing and distributing improved cultivars from all over the world. However by 1860, complaints were being raised that the plant material being distributed was not being tested for either diseases or growing conditions within the U.S.A. Inadvertently, new diseases and pests were also introduced. In addition, the information being disseminated was neither tested for accuracy or based upon experimentation. Many influential farmers

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