(Witness: Wiley.)

could only come by a breaking down of the tissues. Now, when you consider that boron and phosphorus are chemically near each other, you can readily understand that the boron must have been supplanting the phosphorus in the tissues. That would never have been noticed except by this careful chemical control.

The CHAIRMAN. Except in case of a final breakdown?

Doctor WILEY. And that is a preliminary to a final breakdown, especially of the nervous system-the brain and the nerves.

The CHAIRMAN. When you reached that condition the individual would practically be beyond recovery?

Doctor WILEY. Well, he might be. There might be a very serious injury if that was kept up for a long while.

Another thing that was very interesting was the effect of the fumes of burning sulphur, which are so commonly used in the preservation of foods. We examined microscopically the blood of each of our men. We counted the blood corpuscles, white and red, and the amount of coloring matter. And we found that the moment you begin to take sulphurous acid, your blood corpuscles begin to fade and become diminished in number, and thus the oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood is to that extent diminished.

Our next most important work has been the control of imported food products, under the law which has been in existence for four or five years, at the ports of entry, to see that they are not adulterated or misbranded. The exclusion of adulterated and misbranded foods and drugs from this country results in an annual saving of about $1,000.000. I would like to submit the table on page 11 of this report, to be copied as an illustration of what we have found in that line, and the printed matter on page 12, down to this point [indicating].

Number of imported food samples received by the Bureau of Chemistry during the year ended June 30, 1906, with results of inspection.

(Witness: Wiley.)

DAIRY LABORATORY.

During the year 818 samples were examined in this laboratory. The greater part of this number represent work done either for the Dairy Division, Bureau of Animal Industry, in the enforcement of the renovated-butter law or in cooperation with that division in an extended study of American cheese.

The total number of samples of butter, milk, and cream examined for the Dairy Division was 569, of which over 500 were samples of butter examined with reference to possible violation of the butter laws. The facts thus obtained have been used by the Bureau of Animal Industry in enforcing the law and in educating the butter renovators and creamery-butter makers to the necessity of a more strict control, especially of the water content of their product.

In the cheese investigation carried out cooperatively with the Dairy Division 146 samples, representing different ways of making, different ages, and different temperatures of ripening, were not only analyzed, but also studied in regard to their comparative digestibility by the method of artificial digestion in solutions of pepsin and pancreatin. The results of this investigation are now preparing for publication.

The remaining 103 miscellaneous samples of dairy products and dairy materials were received from various sources, and include samples of condensed milk, dried milk or milk powder, human milk, butter colors, and ice cream, in addition to 28 samples of cheese, used in studying methods for determining the comparative digestibility of different cheeses by artificial means.

Doctor WILEY. I will mark just a few additional items in the report, Mr. Chairman, instead of taking up your time, which will express better than I can offhand what you want to know, and I will submit them for copying in the record, which will avoid my taking up your time here.

The CHAIRMAN. That will be all right.

Doctor WILEY. I could not say these things any better than they are printed in this report, and I could do no better than give you an abstract of them, and I will submit a marked copy to the stenographer, which will save the time of the committee.

MISCELLANEOUS LABORATORY.

During the last year the miscellaneous laboratory has examined 695 samples. Some of these analyses were made as part of the work in special investigations of the laboratory which will be published later, and part were performed for other bureaus and divisions of this Department and other Departments of the National Government.

The work of the miscellaneous laboratory naturally divides itself into five different sections, which will receive separate treatment. These sections are as follows: First, waters; second, insecticides and fungicides; third, miscellaneous; fourth, cattle foods; fifth, the study of the effects of trade wastes on agriculture.

DRUG LABORATORY.

During the past fiscal year 553 samples of material were examined in this laboratory. Of this number 293 were chemical reagents, 121 proprietary medicinal remedies, 50 samples of whisky oils and essences, 37 samples of hops, 27 plant products for the Bureau of Plant Industry, 9 articles for the Bureau of Entomology, and 16 samples of a miscellaneous character.

CHEMICAL REAGENTS,

The chemicals examined were those regularly employed in chemical analyses in the Bureau of Chemistry, delivered on contract and special purchases. The objects of the examinations during the past year were the same as recorded in last year's report-i. e., to insure the receipt of reliable chemicals for analytical work, to secure data upon which standards may be based, and to place competitors on a uniform basis. The kinds of chemicals used and purchased were

(Wituess: Wiley.)

the best of their respective types. It is necessary again to state that a goodly proportion of the chemicals delivered were of inferior quality, but it is also true that the proportion of rejections during the past year was smaller than in the previous years. Dealers are beginning to understand that it is necessary to label their goods in conformity with the contents of the packages, but this is not as yet generally recognized. Many chemicals are still labeled to indicate a high grade of goods when, as a matter of fact, the chemicals are of inferior quality. The designation "chemically pure" is markedly misleading at present, but the tendency is to deliver goods which conform more nearly to what this term should represent.

The committee on the testing of chemical reagents of the Association of Official Agricultural Chemists, of which the chief of the drug laboratory is the chairman, in its second report again set forth the necessity of carefully testing chemical reagents before they are employed for any accurate analytical operations. The committee is continuing its work, and the drug laboratory now has in its possession the analytical data for approximately 1,000 chemicals. These results and the standards required for the various chemicals will be published.

The investigations made of the purity of products and the reagents used in the Department of Agriculture, it is estimated result in an annual saving of $5,000.

CONTRACTS LABORATORY.

During the past year there were examined in this laboratory 470 samples, in addition to the testing of about 500 samples of whisky for coloring matter. A very large part of the work of the laboratory has been done for other Departments, as the following summary will show:

The character of samples analyzed was also quite varied, comprising lubricating oils, pigments, glues, glycerin, inking pads, inks, soap, face powders, coal, glassware, disinfectants, coffee, and numerous other miscellaneous substances. The routine work, as shown by these samples, is so varied and extensive as to consume the greater part of the time.

Several investigations of methods have been conducted and results published in scientific papers and bulletins, including work on writing inks, typewriter ribbons, reducing sugars, and artificial colors in whiskies.

PLANT ANALYSIS LABORATORY.

The cassava investigations in collaboration with the Bureau of Plant Industry have been continued. Work was conducted at Biloxi, Miss., in which a series of about 100 plants was studied with reference to the relation of seedlings to the parent plant in the development of seedling varieties. After this the work at Miami, Fla., was continued, in which variety studies were made, about 250 plants being examined.

Experiments were conducted with reference to putting the crop in a marketable condition before leaving the farm, in order that the producer may not be dependent upon the starch mill as the only market. To this end some practical experiments were made in drying the product, which demonstrated the feasibility and economy of the process.

Upon the dried product considerable time has been spent in a study of its feeding value and the possibility of making a second-grade starch by dry milling, with particular reference to its use as a material for the sizing of cotton goods and yarns. Also experiments on cassava are conducting with reference to the manufacture of alcohol as a product to be denatured and used in the arts. The

(Witness: Wiley.)

investigations of the growth of cassava and the methods of utilizing the starch, dextrine, etc., result in a per annum saving of $50,000.

During the year complete analyses were made of 36 tobacco samples, and a series of experiments on the burning qualities of tobacco was conducted. These tests were on the raw product, in which the mechanical conditions were reduced to uniformity. For this purpose the samples were reduced to a powder and raised to a constant moisture content, then made into briquettes by means of an hydraulic press, after which they were burned under uniform conditions.

Fifty samples of crops, collected several years ago in a study of the relation of pot culture to plot culture, and 16 samples of oats grown in a series of experiments in the study of basic slag, were analyzed.

The study of tabulation of many data in hand completed the year's work.

CEREAL SECTION.

The cereal section was organized in 1904 with the purpose of collaborating with the Bureau of Plant Industry, principally along the following lines: (1) To improve the quality of wheat grown in this country; (2) to study the effect of varying climatic conditions on newly introduced varieties of grain, and (3) to study the changes in chemical composition which our own wheats undergo when growing in different localities.

More specifically the work of the section is as follows:

(1) The study of the deterioration of wheat, or the production of white spots, thus making the grain less glutenous. This study is being carried on both in greenhouse pot experiments and in the field in connection with the Colorado Experiment Station.

(2) The influence of fertilizers, especially phosphate salts, on the gluten content of wheat. This experiment is being conducted in collaboration with the Tennessee Experiment Station.

(3) The influence of a preceding legume crop on the gluten content of wheat, conducted in collaboration with the California Experiment Station at Modesto. (4) Several experiments (so-called "triangular experiments") have been begun, the object of which is to grow a sample of grain from the same source at three different points (South Dakota, Colorado, and Tennessee, for example) in successive years, and also to grow a portion of the crop from each point at each of the other two points. These experiments will give a chcek on the influence of climate and of seed.

(5) The work reported last year on the protein, phosphorus, sulphur, and lecithin content of barley and malt was continued, to determine whether these constituents exert any influence on the quality of the beer produced therefrom. (6) Experiments are also under way in collaboration with the Tennessee, Kansas, and Nebraska experiment stations on the influence of the date of planting and the rate of seeding on the composition of cereals.

LEATHER AND PAPER LABORATORY.

TANNING MATERIALS.

The analytical work on Sicilian sumacs was completed about the end of the last calendar year, and as all the calculations have now been made the results are being prepared for publication as rapidly as possible. The results show conclusively that somewhat less than one-half of the samples were more or less adulterated, chiefly with lentiscus, while some were adulterated with sumac stems and other foreign materials. The investigation shows that adulterations may be detected both from the chemical analysis and from microscopic examination. The percentage of tannin and the color of the liquor made from the sumac are essential features of sumac examination from the tanner's point of view.

LEATHER.

There has been much complaint abroad that our leathers are heavily adulterated and weighted with worthless materials. Publication of these facts has considerably injured our export trade in certain leathers, and samples of these leathers are being collected to determine the truth of the statement as well as to determine whether our leathers are inferior to foreign leathers in this respect.

(Witness: Wiley.)

PAPERS.

Investigations on book and envelope papers, with particular reference to the needs of the public service, have been conducted during the past year, and it is hoped to complete this work during the current calendar year. A large number of envelopes, postal cards, stamped envelopes, and stamp papers have been examined and analyzed during the year for the Post-Office Department, and assistance has been given in revising the specifications for these classes of paper, so that they are more definite than before and will better secure the interests of the Government-in fact, a marked saving has already resulted from the work along this line.

WOOD TURPENTINE.

A large number of the wood-turpentine plants of the South were inspected and data collected with regard to the yields of the various processes, cost of materials and of operation, availability of raw material, etc. At the same time large samples of turpentine, prepared by the typical processes, were collected, and with the cooperation of two varnish makers varnishes were prepared from these in order to determine the value of wood turpentine for the manufacture of high-grade varnishes. As soon as sufficiently aged these varnishes will be tested practically and in the laboratory and a report of the results prepared. Samples of wood turpentine produced by various processes have also been collected for analysis. A small retort has been installed, and different methods of recovering turpentine from wood are studied.

DESTRUCTIVE DISTILLATION OF WOOD.

The wood-distillation centers of New York and Pennsylvania were visited and information collected with regard to the status and needs of this chemical industry, and cooperative experiments arranged to show the yield of valuable products and the quantity of each produced at different periods of the distillation. These experiments are planned to form the foundation for research work looking to the material increase of valuable products now obtained.

The number and character of samples received in the laboratory during the year are shown in the following table:

The investigations made of tanning materials, leather, paper used for Government publications, inks, and the distillation of wood result in an annual saving of about $500,000.

MICROCHEMICAL LABORATORY.

As in previous years, the work of this laboratory has been conducted chiefly in cooperation with the other laboratories, a total of 1,067 examinations having been made.

In connection with the imported-food work there have been examined in collaboration with the Division of Foods samples of cocoas, mustards, and other spices, as well as a few confections. For the investigations upon fruit, microscopical examinations were made of persimmons and the alligator pear, making a total of 173 examinations.

The microscopical work upon cattle foods began during the previous year has been completed, 404 examinations having been made for the miscellaneous laboratory, and the results will be prepared for publication during the coming year.

In collaboration with the contracts laboratory there have been examined carbon papers and typewriter ribbons. In connection with the work of that laboratory for other branches of the Government service, microscopic examinations have been made of a few talcum powders and dextrins, giving a total of 79 examinations.