 The Yearbook of Agriculture
United States Department of Agriculture.
In 1895, Congress passed a law providing for an annual publication to disseminate the USDA's resarch developments to scientists and farmers. The first volume published under this law was the Yearbook of the United States Department of Agriculture for 1894, with over 25 articles on such topics as "The grain smuts," "The improvement of public roads in North Carolina," and "The crow blackbird and its food."
Over the next 40 years, the number of articles in each annual volume continued to grow, and the variety broadened to appeal to a non-specialist audience. In 1936, the first topical yearbook was published and this theme-based approach proved to be so popular that the scope was officially changed. From that point on, each volume was devoted to a single topic, such as Insects (1952), Gardening (1977), and Farm Management (1989). In addition, from 1962 to the final volume in 1992, the content became even more popular in nature.
With its long publication history, the yearbook provides a convenient way to trace the development of a topic over time. For example, a search on DDT (dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane) finds the insecticide mentioned in 217 articles from 1943 to 1992. An early article assures that DDT is safe to use if a few simple precautions are taken (see "DDT in the Home") while later articles begin to mention environmental concerns, as raised by Rachel Carson in Silent Spring (see "Protecting the sportsman's paradise" and "The Place of insecticides").
There are two ways to explore the yearbooks:
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