and there were filed 3,100 caveats. and the expenditures $323,556.90. The fees were $700,954.86, The Department of Agriculture is under the direction of a commissioner, whose general duties are to obtain and diffuse among the people of the United States useful information on subjects connected with agriculture, and to procure, propagate, and distribute new and valuable seeds and plants. He employs botanists, entomologists, and other persons to assist him in the performance of his various duties. The Bureau of Education consists of a commissioner and three clerks. His duties are to collect such statistics and facts as shall show the condition and progress of education in the states and territories, and to diffuse such information respecting the organization and management of schools and respecting school systems and methods of teaching as shall aid the people of the United States in the establishment and maintenance of efficient school systems, and otherwise to promote the cause of education throughout the country. THE DEPARTMENT OF WAR was created in 1789, Aug. 7, in order to enable the President to carry out the provision of the Constitution relating to military affairs, and is in charge of the Secretary of War, who issues commissions, directs the movement of troops, superintends their payment, stores, clothing, arms, equipments, and ordnance, and conducts the works of military engineering. The bureaus among which these multifarious duties are distributed are under the direction of army officers. The office of the Commanding General is ordinarily called the Headquarters of the Army, and is situated in Washington. The General has charge of the discipline of the army, the distribution of troops, and the superintendence of recruiting. In the Office of the Adjutant-General are kept all the 'records relating to the personnel of the army, the muster rolls of the troops, and the correspondence with the administrative departments. All orders emanating from either the Secretary of War or the Commanding General are transmitted and published through this office, and the annual returns of the army are received by it. The Quartermaster-General's Office provides quarters and transportation for the troops, storage and transportation for all army supplies, army clothing, cavalry and artillery horses, forage, etc. It has charge of the barracks and the national cemeteries. The Commissary-General's Office provides subsistance, stores, constituting the rations for the troops and garrison. The Paymaster-General's Office has charge of the disbursement of the pay to officers, men, and employees in the army. It receives and examines the accounts of the paymasters connected with the various commands. The Ordnance Bureau has charge of the ordnance stores and the numerous armories and arsenals situated in different parts of the country. The Engineer's Office has charge of the military defences of the country, the forts along the seaboard, the improvements of rivers and harbors, and the care of the Military Academy at West Point. This office is under the direction of the Chief of Engineers, who commands the engineer corps of the army. The Surgeon-General's Office has control of all the sanitary affairs of the army, the management of the sick and wounded, and the military hospitals. The surgeons of the army receive their orders and assignments from, and report to, the SurgeonGeneral. The Bureau of Military Justice was established in 1864, and consists of one judge advocate-general, holdingthe rank and pay of a brigadier-general, and an assistant judge advocate, with the rank and pay of a colonel of cavalry. The bureau receives, revises, and records the proceedings of court-marshals and courts of inquiry. The Signal Office, under the direction of the commander of the signal corps, receives from the numerous signal stations established in various localities, reports on the metoric state of the atmosphere, as temperature, winds, moisture, and pressure of the atmosphere. From these reports, tri-daily forecasts, or "proabilities," are deduced and telegraphed throughout the country. Over seventy-eight per cent. of the probabilities issued during the last year have been verified, and no great storm has occurred within the United States, or along the seaboard, without due premonition being given to the points thereby threatened. The labors of this office have been highly successful, and very frequently have been instrumental in the preservation of life and property. Army. By act of Congress the army of the United States is 30,000 enlisted men. The term of service is three years. The army, as now organized, is composed of 16 regiments of cavalry, each of 12 companies; 25 regiments of infantry, each of 10 companies; 5 regiments of artillery, and one engineer battalion, besides the cadets of the Military Academy at West Point. In June, 1871, the army was commanded by I general, 1 lieutenantgeneral, 4 major generals, 16 brigadier-generals, 68 colonels, 83 lieutenant-colonels, 273 majors, 533 captains, and 1,136 first and second-lieutenants. THE NAVY DEPARTMENT is in charge of the secretary, whose duties are: to procure naval stores and materials, to direct the construction, arrangement, and equipment of vessels of war, and to execute all orders of the President relating to the naval establishment. The Secretary issues the orders to commanders of squadrons or vessels, and to the officers of the navy and marine corps. Under his authority are performed the duties of the different bureaus of the department and their orders are considered as emanating from him. He is aided by an Assistant Secretary whose duties are not specified by statute, but are assigned by the Secretary. The Bureau of Navy Yards and Docks has charge of everything connected with the various navy yards, docks, wharves, and naval buildings, and also of the Naval Asylum The Bureau of Navigation has charge of the Astronomical Observatory, situated near Washington, and also of the Hydrographic Office. It furnishes vessels of war with charts, maps, books, and chronometers, and has the general superintendence of the Naval Academy and the publication of the Nautical Almanac. The Bureau of Ordnance has the charge of all ordnance and ordnance stores, the manufacture or purchase of canon, guns, powder and shot, and everything connected with the armament of ships. The Bureau of Equipment and Recruiting is charged with providing vessels of war with sails, anchors, and other articles of equipment, and also with the enlistment of sailors and the recruiting service. The Bureau of Construction and Repair has charge of the building and repairs of all vessels of war and the purchase of the necessary materials. The Bureau of Steam Engineering is under the direction of the chief engineer, who superintends the construction of the marine steam-engines and decides upon plans of construction. The Bureau of Provisions and Clothing contracts for and purchases all provisions and clothing used in the naval service. The Bureau of Medicine and Surgery directs the purchase and distribution of medical stores, and has charge of the treatment of the sick and wounded and the marine hospitals. In November, 1872, the navy numbered 178 vessels carrying 1,378 guns; which included 68 steamers, with 929 guns; 31 sailing vessels, with 322 guns; 51 iron-clads, with 127 guns; and 28 tugs. There were forty-five vesels in commission for sea service, carrying 462 guns, which were distributed at different cruising stations, as follows: North Atlantic Station.-Eleven vessels, 77 guns. Special Service.-One vessel, with 10 guns, and two store ships, THE POST-OFFICE DEPARTMENT is under the direction of the Postmaster-General, who is aided by three assistant postmasters. The First Assistant Postmaster-General is at the head of the Appointment Office. He attends to the establishment or discontinuance of post-offices, the changes of sites and names of such offices, the appointment and removal of postmasters and local agents and to the instructions given to postmasters. This office further provides for the marking and rating stamps and letter balance for postmasters, and blanks and stationery for the use of the department, and has the supervision of the ocean mail-steamship lines, and the international postal arrangements with foreign govern ments. of There were, in 1872, 31,863 post-offices in the country, 2,452 which were money-order post-offices, or 1,818 more offices than in the preceding year; and there were issued 655,380,820 letter and newspaper postage stamps, which number may be assumed to be nearly identical with the number of letters and parcels sent through the mails. The handling of this immense amount of mail matter required, besides the 31,863 postmasters, 5,544 contractors, 3,754 clerks, 1,442 carriers, 764 route agents, 642 railway postal clerks, 146 mail route messengers, 95 local agents, and 59 special agents. There were thus in the employ of the Post-office Department, 44,655 officials, including the Post-master General and his 345 assistants and clerks, in the General Post-Office in Washington. During the same year 12,774,064 letters were sent to foreign countries, and 11.588,436 letters were received from foreign. countries. The Second Assistant Postmaster-General is at the head of the Contract Office. It is his duty to arrange the mail service, to enter into contracts for carrying the mails, to fix the departures and arrivals on all the routes, the points of distribution, and to make regulations for the government of the domestic mail service. This office reports weekly to the Auditor all contracts executed, and all orders affecting accounts for mail transportation. To the Inspection Division of the Contract Office is assigned the duty of receiving and examining the registers of the arrivals and departures of the mails, and reports of mail failures; of noting the |