294 



POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



sweet orange of the hardy type, pro- 

 duced by crossing, is thought to give 

 promise ; and breeding and selection 

 work is being carried on with to- 

 bacco to improve the leaf. Much- 

 needed studies have been made upon 

 the cold storage of fruit, to determine 

 the conditions of growing, picking and 

 handling for that purpose and for ex- 

 port. During the year over fourteen 

 hundred kinds of seeds and plants 

 were introduced, through agricultural 

 explorers and correspondence, from 

 various parts of the world. In this 

 line special attention is being paid to 

 the development of dry-land farming 

 in the west. Evidence is presented of 

 the value of copper sulphate for rid- 

 ding water supply of obnoxious algse, 

 and progress is reported in the direc- 

 tion of making practically useful the 

 important discoveries of Hellriegel, 

 Wilfarth and others as to the assimila- 

 tion of nitrogen from the air by plants 

 with the aid of certain bacteria. An 

 important new line of work is that 

 relating to the breeding of animals, 

 which has been undertaken on a sys- 

 tematic basis in co-operation with the 

 experiment stations and with a special 

 appropriation from congress. 



In the investigations on human nu- 

 trition, the respiration calorimeter has 

 been developed to a point of high 

 scientific accuracy, and is being em- 

 ployed in studies on the comparative 

 value of fat and carbohydrates as 

 sources of energy to the body. In- 

 vestigations have been completed on 

 the much-agitated question of the 

 value of the whole-wheat and graham 

 flours as compared with ordinary 

 flours, and dietary studies made at 

 public institutions. Laboratories have 

 been established for the inspection of 

 imported food products, the character 

 of which has greatly improved under 

 this inspection; and investigations 

 nave been made of the effect upon 

 health of food preservatives, such as 

 borax. The irrigation investigations 

 have had to do especially with the 



water requirements of crops, the 

 economy of water, method of applying 

 it, and pumping trials. Drainage in- 

 vestigations have been added, to in- 

 clude the large drainage problems 

 growing out of the formation of 

 marshes from irrigation, reclamation 

 of the everglades of Florida, tidal 

 marshes, etc. ; and it is urged that this 

 work in agricultural engineering be 

 extended to include farm buildings 

 and farm machinery, upon which there 

 is much call for expert information. 



The publications of the department, 

 which reflect its activity and growth 

 last year, reached the large number of 

 972 separate documents, the editions 

 of which aggregated nearly twelve and 

 a half million copies. Nearly half of 

 these were 'farmers' bulletins' of popu- 

 lar character. A constantly increas- 

 ing demand is noted for the depart- 

 ment's publications by educational in- 

 stitutions, to be used for class work; 

 and two thirds of the publications 

 sold by the superintendent of docu- 

 ments were those of the Department 

 of Agriculture. This attests the in- 

 creasing appreciation of its work. 



The generally optimistic character 

 of the report indicates a commendable 

 faith and enthusiasm in the work 

 which the department is doing, and in 

 the ability of science to solve many of 

 the problems which now confront the 

 agriculture of this country. 



THOMAS MESSINGER DROWN. 



By the untimely death of Thomas 

 Messinger Drown, LL.D., on Novem- 

 ber 16, Lehigh University has lost a 

 wise, and beloved president, and 

 American science a versatile and ac- 

 complished chemist, while a large 

 circle of friends mourns the loss of a 

 singularly winning personality, al- 

 ways cheerful, gentle, kindly and help- 

 ful. Dr. Drown was born on March 

 19, 1842, at Philadelphia. After 

 graduating in medicine at the Uni- 

 versity of Pennsylvania, he pursued 

 graduate studies in chemistry under 



