This device is now widely need in the tree of tacking orange and other intres The Fat als: Shelped a method for accurately estimating the peeled Maras of nors joss stitch has been

La following times benz crestigious the Bureau has found that the best temperature for inc-time since of pressed yeast is 30 F. It also fend form the stoles in the sag of bakery products that staling of heads Early related with the exchange of moisture becreez

Bureau to determine by relatively rapid processes what the effect of different curing and tanning processes may be, insofar as the serviceability and life of various leathers are concerned. The Bureau also has developed methods for determining the resistance of leathers to water penetration; to molding; and to deterioration from acid rot; folding endurance; wear resistance; and other qualities, each valuable to the consumer of the products.29

In collaboration with the Association of Paint, Varnish, and Lacquer Manufacturers; National Bureau of Standards; and the Federal Specifications Executive Committee, investigations as to the durability of coatings containing soybean oil were conducted indicating that soybean oils may be used suitably in many kinds of paint. This may result in the changing of existing standards, such as Federal Specifications, applying to the composition of certain paints for specified purposes and allowing the substitution of soybean oil of specified grades and qualities for other oils previously required.

The Bureau of Agricultural Chemistry and Engineering has worked with the Commission on the Standardization of Biological Stains, an independent organization, in developing standard stains for histological work on vegetable and animal tissues, and also has contributed to improvements on the methods for testing and analysis of stains. Some of the improved methods developed by the Bureau have been adopted as standard procedure for analysis of these dyes. The analysis of the dyes usually involves chemical and spectrophotometric examinations. The Bureau has contributed to the revision of dye descriptions to be used in the dye monographs for the forthcoming edition of the National Formulary.

Protein and Nutrition Research.

In addition to investigations relating to the usability and keeping quality of various proteins under different conditions, the Protein and Nutrition Research Division has investigated the composition and qualities of various types of mixed feeds. The underlying principles for advantageous mixing of feeds have been investigated and the results made available through publications of the United States Department of Agriculture.

The Naval Stores Research Division.

The Naval Stores Research Division has conducted extensive investigations relating to the chemical and physical properties of naval stores (turpentine and rosin). A considerable portion of its work related to the improvement of production methods both directly and also as it is related to farm and forestry practice. It has contributed directly to the development of more standardized practices of stilling rosin and gum so as to obtain better qualities of turpentine and rosin which in turn are sold on standards.

The standards for turpentine refer both to the method of production and to the color. As stated on page 24, turpentine is classified as gum turpentine or wood turpentine, with further subdivisions for wood turpentine into steam distilled, destructively distilled, and sulfate process. According to the Naval Stores Act, enforced by the Agricultural Marketing Service, turpentine and rosin must be

"Report of the Chief of the Bureau of Agricultural Chemistry and Engineering, 1939," PP. 31-35, U. S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D. C., 1939, 10 cents.

labeled with the classification of the product according to the type of process by which it was produced, that is, turpentine must be labeled "gum spirits of turpentine," "steam distilled wood turpentine," "destructively distilled wood turpentine," or "sulphate wood turpentine," and rosin must be labeled "gum rosin" or "wood rosin." Commercial wood rosin is produced only by extracting chips which have been subjected to the steam-distillation process. This classification has a foundation in fact arising from the difference in the methods of production.

Although used more or less interchangeably for such purposes as paint thinners and solvents, these turpentines differ from gum spirits and from one another in composition to a greater or lesser extent depending on the process of production.

In addition to the classifications cited above the Naval Stores Act allows color standards applicable to rosin. They were developed by the Bureau of Chemistry and modified by the Food and Drug Administration. The color standards for rosin are the result of research relating to the various classifications desired by the trade. The existing variable grading types were studied by the Bureau of Agricultural Chemistry and Engineering and master color standards were established with permanent glass types available for the use of graders.

The Naval Stores Act does not require color standards for turpentine. However, the Bureau of Agricultural Chemistry and Engineering contemplates the development of color standards for the various classes of turpentine in cooperation with the American Society for Testing Materials. These standards would have no official authority under the Naval Stores Act until accepted by the Secretary of Agriculture after public hearings, but their use would be sufficiently widespread to be of major marketing importance in the sale of turpentine.

Standard specifications for various kinds of turpentine have been developed by the Bureau in cooperation with the American Society for Testing Materials and have been accepted as official specifications by this society and the Federal Specifications Executive Committee. The factors considered by the Bureau and the American Society for Testing Materials include appearance, color, odor, specific gravity, refractive index at 20° C., and distillation range.

Several committees have been organized by the American Society for Testing Materials to determine (1) the softening point of rosin. (2) the acid number of rosin, and (3) the saponification number of rosin. The naval stores research technicians work closely with these committees and assume a leading part in their work.

In addition to its contribution toward the standards for turpentine and rosin, the Naval Stores Research Division has conducted investigations relating to the quality of crude oleoresin gum, the raw product from which turpentine and rosin are made. Due to an increasing trend in the sale of crude gum by farmers the need for crude gum standards has been recognized and this is being given attention. The Bureau of Agricultural Chemistry and Engineering has developed a laboratory test for determining the output of turpentine and the quality of rosin which will result when a small sample of crude gum is tested. These laboratory investigations have been checked with commercial practice and a high degree of correlation has been found. The laboratory test therefore has been adopted commercially and is

used by the industry in determining the grade of crude gum. The Bureau is attempting to establish standards for crude gum on the basis of color as related to certain established colors painted on wooden strips available to graders. However, the results have not yet been proven practical and it may be necessary to attempt different methods. The laboratory test or pilot test apparently is the most accurate standard test for crude gum grades available for the present. However, it requires apparatus and technique which may not be readily available to the commercial grader. The grading of crude gum involves both a quantitative and a qualitative determination. The standard for crude gum is determined according to the laboratory method, not only by the quantity of turpentine which will be produced from it but also by the quality of the rosin resulting. Farm Structures and Storage Research.

The Bureau of Agricultural Chemistry and Engineering does considerable work in determining the proper types of farm structures to be used for various purposes.

The Bureau has done considerable investigation on the effects of storage of different products such as corn, wheat, and potatoes under various conditions and has found that the box storage of potatoes resulted in less shrinkage and in a higher grade of potatoes than bulk storage, but the cost of boxes tended to offset the advantages. The common practice of grading potatoes at the time they are put into storage is found less desirable than storing the potatoes without grading them.

The Bureau has collaborated with the National Fire Prevention Association in developing safe practice codes for the construction and maintenance of buildings used for such purposes as storage and processing of agricultural products.

Rural Electrification Research.

A research project was prepared including the following objectives: (1) Survey and collate information on rural electrification research in State agricultural experiment stations; (2) make case studies of farms in various parts of the country, and by careful engineering analysis discover how the use of electrical equipment may be fitted economically into the farm program;

(3) discover new uses, design new equipment, or redesign existing equipment to meet the needs of farm operations requiring both stationary and tractive powers * * * 30

The survey dealt primarily with the application of electricity in the dairy and poultry industries. Of the studies made, most were concerned with energy requirements, immediate costs, and immediate results, and but few with the basic principles involved.

Mechanical Processing of Farm Products.

Investigations have been conducted by the Bureau of Agricultural Chemistry and Engineering relating to the ginning operations and their effect upon cotton. Their principal objectives were to determine the effects of different methods of conditioning, cleaning, extracting, and ginning, and their relationship and correlation with the elements of quality of lint and ginned cottonseed. A survey of the mechanical equipment in ginning establishments has revealed that a considerable saving of power can be made by modernizing present gins. The

"Report of the Chief of the Bureau of Agricultural Chemistry and Engineering, 1939," p. 58. U. S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D. C., 1939, 10 cents.

primary problem is to maintain original qualities by proper processing which will meet standards required by textile processors.

Regional Research Laboratories.

The regional research laboratories, when ready for operation, will work on particular investigations coordinated through the Washington headquarters. Their status may be considered as an extended arm of the Bureau's Washington operations which perform specified investigations usually adapted particularly to the region in which they are located.

BUREAU OF AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS

The Bureau of Agricultural Economics, United States Department of Agriculture, was reorganized in the fiscal year 1939 with the resultant transfer of all regulatory duties to the Agricultural Marketing Service and the retention only of agricultural planning for the Nation, and economic research. As it is now organized, all the work of the Bureau is under the Chief, who is responsible to the Secretary of Agriculture for the performance of the duties outlined. To further the performance of these duties, six major groups of activities have been designated: (1) General planning; (2) rural welfare; (3) conservation and land use adjustment; (4) market planning; (5) the agricultural outlook; and (6) program relations.

The Bureau of Agricultural Economics does not now promulgate standards, but it does make studies of the economic bases of grades and standards, and it analyzes the effect of particular standards in the marketing process. For instance, in cotton prices, information collected during seasons 1928-32 showed conclusively that prices to growers in many local cotton markets reflected only a small portion of central market premiums and discounts for grade and staple length. Apparently one of the reasons was the lack of adequate information on the classification of cotton at the time it was sold. Classification services have been made available to growers in a few markets, and information has been collected to ascertain the influence of these services on the prices to growers and on the quality of cotton produced. Studies indicate that grade and staple premiums and discounts to growers varied directly with the reliability and general acceptability of the classification on the basis of which the cotton was sold. Aside from premiums and discounts on an individual-bale basis, farmers who sold in local markets where the average quality was relatively high usually received correspondingly higher prices than those who sold in local markets where the average quality was relatively low; but the average level of prices was little, if any, higher in markets with a public classification service than in those without such a service.

These findings suggest that, unless the public classification service is associated with material changes in marketing methods and practices other than varying prices on the basis of quality, the possibilities of raising the price level in specific local markets by means of such a classification service are limited chiefly to the influence of improvements in quality brought about by the classification service.