REPORT OF BUREAU OF INSPECTION. 97 



REPORT OF THE CHIEF OF THE BUREAU OF 

 INSPECTION ON THE ENFORCEMENT OF THE 

 PURE FOOD LAW. 



Tu the Hon. William T. Gitptill, Commissioner of Agriculture: 



I respectfully submit to you my report of the work covered 

 by the Bureau of Insi3€ction for the year 1916. 



In general, the work of the Bureau through the year ha? 

 been to carry out the duties as delegated by chapter 36 of the 

 Revised Statutes: To enforce the laws regulating the sale 

 of agricultural seeds, commercial feeding stutTs, commercial 

 fertilizers, drugs, foods, fungicides and insecticides ; the "net 

 weight law" so called ; the prevention of sophistication or 

 adulteration, and the detection of misbranding or fraud. The 

 duties of the Bureau also embrace the annual registration of 

 commercial feeding stuiTs, commercial fertilizers, fungicides 

 and insecticides. In order that these goods may be legalized for 

 sale, the law requires the filing of a manufacturer's certificate — 

 containing the guaranteed chemical analysis — and the payment 

 of a proper registration fee for each and every brand, thus 

 necessitating a large amount of correspondence in this branch 

 of the work. 



Some changes have been inaugurated during the year 1916 

 with particular reference to the taking of fertilizer samples. 

 The same idea has been carried out, too, which started in 191 5, 

 with relation to samples of fertilizers and seeds, in that these 

 samples bore no descriptive information other than the index 

 number when sent to the Experiment Station, and not until the 

 reports of analyses were returned to the Bureau of Ins}>ection 

 was the complete history of any sample communicated to the 

 Experiment Station for compilation in the official inspections, 

 l)ublished by the director according to law. Another departure 

 from the plan of previous years was that, instead of drawing 

 fertilizer samples from five or ten packages and from these 

 several portions making up a composite sample for analysis, the 



