Studies are being made of economic possibilities of new markets for agricultural products. At present this work is limited to new markets for cotton. Three studies completed on the utilization of cotton and competing materials dealt with the use of cotton for fertilizer bags, cordage and twine, and hosiery.

Technical research of the Bureau of Agricultural Economics deals with the developing of new products. During the fiscal year 1938 the Post Office Department agreed to make trials of cotton twine in tying bundles of letters. In the past, jute twine has been used. almost exclusively for this purpose. The Bureau cooperated with the Navy Department in the development of parachute cords of cotton in place of the silk cords now used. This potential use of cotton is not large, but it is obviously important for defense purposes. Cooperation was maintained with a number of other agencies in the development of specifications for fabrics, including specifications used by the Agricultural Adjustment Administration in its cottondiversion program; by the Agricultural Marketing Service for certain coverings for cotton bales; and by the Bureau of Public Roads for soil-fixation in cuts and fills.

BUREAU OF ANIMAL INDUSTRY

The work of the Bureau of Animal Industry, United States Department of Agriculture, covers a wide field of research in animal husbandry and diseases of animals, the control and eradication of Bang's disease, eradication of cattle ticks, control of hog-cholera, inspection and quarantine, inspection of meat, virus-serum-toxin regulations and a marketing agreement with respect to hog-cholera virus and serum. The consumer is particularly interested in the scientific research providing for better quality of meat and poultry products and inspection services that safeguard the wholesomeness of meat, milk, and related food supplies.

In the field of research the Bureau of Animal Industry has dealt primarily with animal diseases and parasites, improvement of quality of meats through breeding and feeding, and the nutritive value of various meats, fats, and oils. Several other bureaus have cooperated in the investigations outlined. In studies of the quality of beef as affected by feeding, many data have been obtained. For instance, the fat of grass-fed steers has been found to be slightly yellower and to contain much more carotene, the chief source of vitamin A, than the fat of grain-fed cattle. There were no material differences in the percentages of edible meat in the two groups of cattle.

Research has been conducted pertaining to Karakul sheep, with special reference to the quality of fur of the lambs. Results indicate that desirable fur qualities in Karakul are based largely on complex genetic factors. Characteristics of mohair, the long lustrous coat of the Angora goat, have been studied by the Bureau. This work includes technical observations on mohair fibers involving comparisons with other fibers. Such studies have a bearing on suitability of the fibers for various industrial uses.

At the present time the Bureau is developing a small-type turkey, in response to market demands for turkeys suitable for small families and small ovens. Besides being several pounds lighter than ordi

nary turkeys, young toms weighing, dressed and undrawn, 11 to 1511⁄2 pounds and young hens 61% to 9 pounds, the new small-type bird has a compact body with short legs, long keel bone, and abundance of meat. Other characteristics are early maturity, high hatchability, and high viability.

The National Poultry Improvement Plan is supervised by the Bureau of Animal Industry," for the purpose of assisting the poultry industry in placing itself on a more sound and efficient basis. The consuming public should benefit indirectly from this plan through superior quality of eggs and poultry meat produced. One of the purposes of the National Poultry Improvement Plan is to identify authoritatively poultry breeding stock, hatching eggs, and chicks with respect to quality by expressing them in terms uniformly accepted in all parts of the country. Cooperation of agencies, within the States, and their acceptance of standards set up in the plan are purely voluntary.

The health of consumers is protected in large measure by the Government inspection of meat, and meat establishments, which is a function of the Bureau of Animal Industry, under the Federal Meat Inspection Act. It is estimated that Federal inspection covers about two-thirds of all food animals slaughtered in the United States. Establishments that distribute meat and meat food products in interstate or foreign commerce must have them inspected by the Federal Government. Meet that is condemned because of disease, spoilage, or failure to meet sanitary requirements is never allowed to be put on the market but is converted into fertilizer, grease, or other inedible products. Animals are inspected both before and at the time of slaughter. If the animal is visibly diseased or abnormal it is tagged with a metal label fastened to the ear. Depending on the condition of the animal, the tag may be either "U. S. Condemned" or "U. S. Suspect." In the case of suspects, final decision is withheld until the animal is slaughtered and a postmortem examination is made.

In establishments inspected by the Federal Government, all carcasses and internal organs receive a searching examination for possible presence of diseases, parasites, injuries, or other abnormal conditions. The men making inspections are divided into two groups. One group is composed of veterinarians, the other of trained lay inspectors. The veterinarians make the important decisions; the lay inspectors perform various duties under the supervision of veterinarians. If a carcass is deemed wholesome by the inspectors, the principal wholesale cuts are stamped "U. S. INSP'D and P's'D." General compliance with the provisions of the Federal Meat Inspection Act is evident from the relatively few violations reported by the Bureau of Animal Industry from month to month. Prosecutions for violations of the Act seldom exceed four or five a month. In September 1939, for instance, no prosecutions were reported; in October there were eight, and in November, two.32

(It was put into operation July 1, 1935.) Under authority of an appropriation by Congress, Public, No. 62, 74th Cong., H. R. 6718, for the Bureau of Animal Industry to be used in cooperation with the State authorities in the administration of regulations for the improvement of poultry, poultry products, and hatcheries.

"Service and Regulatory Announcements," Bureau of Animal Industry, United States Department of Agriculture, U. S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D. C., September, October, November 1939, 5 cents each.

Another protective measure rendered by the Bureau of Animal Industry is the administration of the Virus-Serum-Toxin Law, by authority of which the Bureau supervises the production of viruses, serums, toxins, vaccines, and analogous products, sold in interstate or foreign commerce, for use in the treatment of domestic animals.33 If such biological products fail to meet acceptable standards of purity and potency, The Secretary of Agriculture may prevent sale of such products, may revoke licenses, or may seize the products on the market. The administration of this law by the Bureau provides a protection to the livestock industry and indirectly benefits the general public, both through the more economical production of livestock products and through the control of animal diseases, some of which are transmissible to human beings.

Although its functions are chiefly in the fields of research and inspection work, the Bureau has issued a number of publications dealing, in popular form, with foods and other animal products in which consumers are interested. One of these is Miscellaneous Circular 63, "The Inspection Stamp as a Guide to Wholesome Meat," United States Department of Agriculture, May 1926; another is Miscellaneous Publication 317. "Improving Poultry Through the National Poultry Improvement Plan," United States Department of Agriculture, July 1938.

BUREAU OF DAIRY INDUSTRY

The Bureau of Dairy Industry, United States Department of Agriculture, conducts research in the breeding, feeding, and management of dairy cattle to promote efficiency in the production of milk and to improve its nutritive and sanitary quality. This Bureau also conducts scientific studies of handling milk on the farm, in transit, and at dairy plants; studies the promotion of efficiency in dairy plant equipment, arrangement, and operation; studies the bacteriology and chemistry of milk and its products, and the problems and manufacture of dairy products and byproducts; assists in establishing new products and methods in dairy plants; and inspects renovated-butter factories.

While the Bureau of Dairy Industry is a research agency primarily concerned with the activities enumerated above, its research involves some problems of interest to the consumer and to those developing marketing standards.

The Division of Dairy Research Laboratories.

Bacteria are important in the manufacture of nearly all dairy products. Therefore, research leading to an increase in the available information relating to the conditions controlling the growth and activity of bacteria and especially the effect they have on each other when growing in mixed cultures has been promoted by the Division of Dairy Research Laboratories. This basic information has been related to various dairy products and the quality resulting from differences in bacteria cultures.34 An incidental result of this work was the development of a simple and comparatively inexpensive

37 Stat., 832, March 4, 1913.

"Report of the Chief of the Bureau of Dairy Industry, 1939," p. 31, U. S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D. C., 1939, 10 cents.

medium for growing the eye-forming cultures used in Swiss cheese making.

Research relating to the various fat, moisture and acid contents of various cheeses have led to the accumulation of basic knowledge pointing to the results which may be expected according to various relationships of such constituents in finished cheese. The results of this experimental work have been correlated with, and frequently have altered, commerical practice so as to obtain better quality and more standard results.3

36

35

A method was developed by which the milk solids in fat in an ice-cream mix may be increased without danger of the objectionable sandy texture in ice cream, which is caused by the crystallization of lactose. In this method, sucrose is added to skim milk in the proper proportion, and the mixture is concentrated under a vacuum to a point at which crystallization of lactose takes place on cooling. Since the sucrose prevents excessive thickening, the lactose crystals may be removed by centrifuging in the usual way to make a selfpreserving skim-milk product that is low in lactose. Since this product permits the manufacture of an ice cream with better texture and higher nutritive value, and at the same time provides an outlet for a large quantity of surplus milk constituents, its general adoption is desirable.

Research has led to the development of a casein fiber having many of the characteristics of wool.37 Casein fiber is not as strong as wool, but it has the same resiliency and takes the same dyes. However, it is not likely that it will, in the near future at least, become a competitor of wool; rather it should be looked upon as a means of extending the use of fabrics containing wool. By mixing a casein fiber with wool it is possible to make fabrics having the desirable properties of wool but at a lower price.38

As mentioned, casein fiber does not have all of the characteristics of wool, particularly with regard to strength, but as a result of research conducted by the Bureau of Dairy Industry, casein fiber has been developed to a point where it may be an important companion product for wool, or, in other words, it approaches the present standards for wool.

39

In 1928 the Division of Dairy Research Laboratories published the results of the first of a series of investigations showing that the lactose of whey could be converted into lactic acid in a short time. On the basis of this information the commercial manufacture of lactic acid and whey was successfully established. A considerable quantity of lactic acid is now used in making plastics, but since little acid of sufficient purity for this purpose is made in this country most of it is imported. In attempting to extend the outlet for lactic acid the need for a better method of purifying the crude acid produced

35 Ibid., pp. 35-36. "The Relation of the Quality of Milk to the Grade of Swiss Cheese." by L. A. Rogers, R. E. Hardell, and F. Fentz, Journal Dairy Science, vol. 22, pp. 43-48, January 1939.

36 "Report of the Chief of the Bureau of Dairy Industry, 1939," p. 32, U. S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D. C., 1939, 10 cents.

37 "Report of the Chief of the Bureau of Dairy Industry, 1939," pp. 32-33, U. S. Government Printing Office. Washington. D. C., 1939. 10 cents.

38 "Casein Fiber," by E. O. Whittier and S. P. Gould, Industrial and Engineering Chemistry, New Edition, vol. 17, pp. 348-349, July 1939.

39"Report of the Chief of the Bureau of Dairy Industry, 1939," p. 33, U. S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D. C., 1939, 10 cents.

in this country under commercial conditions was recognized. Such a method was developed and tested by the Division of Dairy Research Laboratories on a pilot plant scale in a commercial plant with such success that the plant is now taking steps to put this method into operation.

A method was developed for producing lactose with one crystallization sufficiently pure to meet the requirements of the pharmaceutical grade. Investigations were also conducted to show that whey solids. may be used in confectionery, soups, and bakery goods. The use of these dairy byproducts in foods does not necessarily limit it to their substitution for ingredients of established foods. There is also the possibility of combining milk or some combinations of its constituents with other products to make new forms of foods, confections, or beverages. A start in this direction was made by combining skim milk with potatoes to make a new product having some of the characteristics of potato chips and the added advantage that, since it contains no fat, it has excellent keeping qualities. It can be made in regions, remote from markets, where skim milk and cull potatoes are cheap.40

It is rather generally conceded that the grade of the great bulk of Cheddar cheese made in this country, even in the older cheese sections, is usually low. Investigations by the Division of Dairy Research Laboratories indicate that three factors are of major importance in establishing the texture and flavor of the ripened cheese. The first factor is the bacteriological condition of the milk from which the cheese is made; second, is the control of the manufacturing process with particular reference to the acidity developed in each step; the third is the adaptation of the curing room temperature to the particular characteristics of the cheese to be ripened. Regarding the first factor, the Division of Dairy Research Laboratories found that pasteurization is a partial remedy and is of value in helping to produce a uniform product; but even when the milk is pasteurized, it is necessary to eliminate the bacteriologically poor milk. Tests are now available which indicate the bacteriological condition of the milk with reasonable accuracy so simple that any cheese maker can use them. Regarding the second factor, the experimental results in this Division, which are fully corroborated by field observations, show that the acidity limits essential to a good flavor are very narrow and do not agree with those commonly adopted in the factories. Investigations relating to the third factor indicate that the present practice of storing cheese at 34° F. is sound when applied to the high acid, high moisture cheese now generally made, but data developed by the Division show that the cheese made from good milk with proper control of the acid development should be cured at a much higher temperature to develop the characteristic flavor of Cheddar cheese." The results of these investigations are being made available not only in published form but also by demonstration in cooperation with the University of Wisconsin through which one field man using the trailer laboratory is making them known directly to those interested.

"Report of the Chief of the Bureau of Dairy Industry, 1939," pp. 34-35, U. S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D. C., 1939, 10 cents. Ibid., p. 35.

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