The Commissionership 65

American ministers and consuls in foreign countries. The Depart-
ment exchanged 3,450 packages of seed with foreign governments
in 1871, and frequently received plants that could not be bought
from commercial establishments.
 Reports by the Department stressed the fact that this work had
paid high dividends in establishing amicable relations with other
countries, and that much valuable agricultural information was
exchanged. This informal exchange of seeds and plants continues
to the present time, and is a natural outcome of the association
between plant explorers and agriculturists.

 BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. Ross, E. D., "The United State Department of Agriculture During the Com-
 missionership," Agricultural History, XX, July, 1946.