Congressional Seed Distribution
Congressional seed distribution was a United States program where members of the United States Congress directed the distribution of millions of packets of free seeds to farmers by the United States Department of Agriculture. The program of distributing seeds to farmers began in the mid-19th century under Henry Ellsworth, the commissioner of patents. Responsibility transferred to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) upon its formation in 1862, and was eventually placed under the Office of Congressional Seed Distribution. The program grew throughout the late 1800s despite some criticism of it as unconstitutional overreach of a too-large government and an instrument of political corruption. By the early 1900s, attacks on congressional seed distribution were becoming increasingly common, and the program was ended in 1924. Background In the early years of the United States, farmers were left to develop seeds on their own. They worked to make seeds that would grow plan ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Seed Distribution, Sen
In botany, a seed is a plant structure containing an embryo and stored nutrients in a protective coat called a ''testa''. More generally, the term "seed" means anything that can be Sowing, sown, which may include seed and husk or tuber. Seeds are the product of the ripened ovule, after the embryo sac is fertilization, fertilized by Pollen, sperm from pollen, forming a zygote. The embryo within a seed develops from the zygote and grows within the mother plant to a certain size before growth is halted. The formation of the seed is the defining part of the process of reproduction in seed plants (spermatophytes). Other plants such as ferns, mosses and marchantiophyta, liverworts, do not have seeds and use water-dependent means to propagate themselves. Seed plants now dominate biological Ecological niche, niches on land, from forests to grasslands both in hot and cold climates. In the flowering plants, the ovary ripens into a fruit which contains the seed and serves to disseminate ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Frederick Watts
Frederick Watts (May 9, 1801 – August 17, 1889), was an agricultural reformer, lawyer and businessman. He is termed the “Father of the Pennsylvania State University”. He headed the U.S. Department of Agriculture as commissioner of agriculture from 1871 to 1877 under President Ulysses S. Grant. He served as President of the Board of Trustees of Pennsylvania State University (originally known as the Farmer’s High School, then Pennsylvania Agricultural College) from its founding in 1855 through 1874 and helped to organize many elements of the Land Grant University movement in America. He was President of the Cumberland Valley Railroad from 1840 to 1873. This early railroad ran from Chambersburg to Harrisburg in 1837 and introduced the first "sleeping cars" in America; the bunks were made of three rows of upholstered boards that folded up during the day and then hung from connecting leather straps at night. The first such car, the "Chambersburg," began service in 1839 and the ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Durum Wheat
Durum wheat (), also called pasta wheat or macaroni wheat (''Triticum durum'' or ''Triticum turgidum'' subsp. ''durum''), is a tetraploid species of wheat. It is the second most cultivated species of wheat after common wheat, although it represents only 5% to 8% of global wheat production. It was developed by artificial selection of the domesticated emmer wheat strains formerly grown in Central Europe and the Near East around 7000 BC, which developed a naked, Wheat#Hulled versus free-threshing species, free-threshing form. Like emmer, durum wheat is Awn (botany), awned (with bristles). It is the predominant wheat grown in the Middle East. ''Durum'' in Latin means 'hard', and the species is the hardest of all wheats. This refers to the resistance of the grain to milling, in particular of the starchy endosperm, causing dough made from its flour to be weak or "soft". This makes durum favorable for semolina and pasta and less practical for flour, which requires more work than with h ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Japanese Rice
Japanese rice refers to a number of short-grain cultivars of Japonica rice including ordinary rice (''uruchimai'') and glutinous rice (''mochigome''). Ordinary Japanese rice, or ''uruchimai'' , is the staple of the Japanese diet and consists of short translucent grains. When cooked, it has a sticky texture such that it can easily be picked up and eaten with chopsticks. Outside Japan, it is sometimes labeled sushi rice, as this is one of its common uses. It is also used to produce sake. Glutinous rice, known in Japan as ''Glutinous rice#Japan, mochigome'' , is used for making mochi , Okowa, and special dishes such as sekihan. It is a short-grain rice, and it can be distinguished from ''uruchimai'' by its particularly short, round, opaque grains, its greater stickiness when cooked, and firmer and chewier texture. Cultivation Contemporary cultivation of rice in Japan is characterized by high mechanization, intense cultivation, and a shortage of farmland. Terraced rice fields cov ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Sorghum
''Sorghum bicolor'', commonly called sorghum () and also known as great millet, broomcorn, guinea corn, durra, imphee, jowar, or milo, is a species in the Poaceae, grass genus ''Sorghum (genus), Sorghum'' cultivated for its grain. The grain is used as food by humans, while the plant is used for animal feed and ethanol production. Sorghum originated in Africa, and is widely cultivated in tropical and subtropical regions. Sorghum is the world's fifth-most important cereal crop after rice, wheat, maize, and barley. Sorghum is typically an annual, but some cultivars are perennial. It grows in clumps that may reach over high. The grain is small, in diameter. Sweet sorghums are cultivars grown for forage, syrup production, and ethanol. They are taller than those grown for grain. Description Sorghum is a large stout grass that grows up to tall. It has large bushy flowerheads or panicles that provide an edible starchy grain with up to 3,000 seeds in each flowerhead. It grows ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Deborah Kay Fitzgerald
Deborah Kay Fitzgerald is a professor of the History of Technology in the Science, Technology, and Society (STS) Program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She has authored two books titled ''The Business of Breeding: Hybrid Corn in Illinois, 1890–1920'' and ''Every Farm a Factory: The Industrial Ideal in American Agriculture'''','' which discuss her findings on the industrialization of agriculture in the early 20th century. Biography Early life Deborah Kay Fitzgerald started her life as the youngest child with three older siblings and grew up with her two parents in Remson, Iowa. College She briefly attended the University of Northern Colorado after high school and dropped out after one semester after becoming pregnant. She returned to Remsen and ended up staying in a maternity home until she had the baby and was able to give the child up for adoption. She returned to college, this time at Iowa State University, and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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American Seed Trade Association
Founded in 1883, the American Seed Trade Association (ASTA) is one of the oldest trade organizations in the United States. Its membership consists of over 700 companies involved in seed production and distribution, plant breeding, and related industries in North America. As an authority on plant germplasm Germplasm refers to genetic resources such as seeds, tissues, and DNA sequences that are maintained for the purpose of animal and plant breeding, conservation efforts, agriculture, and other research uses. These resources may take the form of s ..., ASTA advocates science and policy issues related to the development, marketing and movement of seed, associated products and services throughout the world. Membership ASTA’s membership roster includes active members that are directly involved in seed production or distribution and research and development; corresponding members that produce or distribute seed outside of North America; affiliate members that are related associat ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Boll Weevil
The boll weevil (''Anthonomus grandis'') is a species of beetle in the family Curculionidae. The boll weevil feeds on cotton buds and flowers. Thought to be native to Central Mexico, it migrated into the United States from Mexico in the late 19th century and had infested all U.S. cotton-growing areas by the 1920s, devastating the industry and the people working in the American South. During the late 20th century, it became a serious pest in South America as well. Since 1978, the Boll Weevil Eradication Program in the U.S. allowed full-scale cultivation to resume in many regions. Description The adult insect has a long snout, a grayish color, and is usually less than in length. Life cycle 1) Dorsal view of adult; 2) side view of adult; 3) egg; 4) side view of larva; 5) ventral view of pupa; 6) adult, with wings spread Adult weevils overwinter in well-drained areas in or near cotton fields, and farms after diapause. They emerge and enter cotton fields from early spring throu ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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James Wilson (Secretary Of Agriculture)
James "Tama Jim" Wilson (August 16, 1835 – August 26, 1920) was an American politician who served as United States secretary of agriculture for sixteen years during three presidencies, from 1897 to 1913. He holds the record as the longest serving United States Cabinet member. Personal background and family Wilson was born in Ayrshire, Scotland, on August 16, 1835. One of 14 children, he grew up in a farming community near the birthplace of Robert Burns. His family emigrated to America in 1852, settling in Connecticut before moving to Iowa in 1855, establishing a farm near Traer, Iowa, Traer in Tama County, Iowa, Tama County. He attended the public schools and Iowa College (now Grinnell College) in Grinnell, Iowa. He married Esther Wilbur in May 1863. Together they had six children: Esther May, Peter McCosh, Flora Hanna, John Ward, George Wright and Jasper Abijah. Esther died on August 3, 1892; Wilson remained a widower for the remainder of his life. Elective office ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Joint Resolution
In the United States Congress, a joint resolution is a legislative measure that requires passage by the Senate and the House of Representatives and is presented to the president for their approval or disapproval. Generally, there is no legal difference between a joint resolution and a bill. Both must be passed, in exactly the same form, by both chambers of Congress, and signed by the President (or, re-passed in override of a presidential veto; or, remain unsigned for ten days while Congress is in session) to become a law. Only joint resolutions may be used to propose amendments to the United States Constitution, and these do not require the approval of the President. Laws enacted by joint resolutions are not distinguished from laws enacted by bills, except that they are designated as resolutions as opposed to Acts of Congress (see for example War Powers Resolution). While either a bill or joint resolution can be used to create a law, the two generally have different purposes. Bi ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Julius Sterling Morton
Julius Sterling Morton (April 22, 1832 – April 27, 1902) was a Nebraska newspaper editor and politician who served as President Grover Cleveland's United States Secretary of Agriculture, secretary of agriculture. He was a prominent Bourbon Democrat, taking a Conservatism in the United States, conservative position on political, economic, and social issues, and opposing agrarianism. Among his most notable achievements was the founding of Arbor Day in 1872. In 1897 he started a weekly magazine entitled ''The Conservative''. Early life Morton was born on April 22, 1832, in the town of Adams (town), New York, Adams in Jefferson County, New York; his parents, Julius Dewey Morton and Emeline Sterling Morton, ran a general store. In 1834, his parents and his grandfather, Abner Morton, moved to Monroe, Michigan, south of Detroit on Lake Erie; there, Morton's grandfather and his paternal uncle Edward Morton operated a newspaper. When he was fourteen, Morton's parents sent him to Wesley ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Seed Distribution, Photo Made At Capitol, (Washington, D
In botany, a seed is a plant structure containing an embryo and stored nutrients in a protective coat called a ''testa''. More generally, the term "seed" means anything that can be sown, which may include seed and husk or tuber. Seeds are the product of the ripened ovule, after the embryo sac is fertilized by sperm from pollen, forming a zygote. The embryo within a seed develops from the zygote and grows within the mother plant to a certain size before growth is halted. The formation of the seed is the defining part of the process of reproduction in seed plants (spermatophytes). Other plants such as ferns, mosses and liverworts, do not have seeds and use water-dependent means to propagate themselves. Seed plants now dominate biological niches on land, from forests to grasslands both in hot and cold climates. In the flowering plants, the ovary ripens into a fruit which contains the seed and serves to disseminate it. Many structures commonly referred to as "seeds" are actually ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |