196 ANNUAL KEPOKTS OF DEPARTMENT OF AGEICULTUEE. 



to the food and drugs act. The study of dairy products is nearly 

 completed and the results will soon be published. 



Special attention was given to medicines and mineral waters bear- 

 ing false and fraudulent labels. Fifty-six cases based upon such 

 violations of the act have been disposed of in the courts favorably to 

 the Government. Many more cases of this type are pending. 



The reorganization of the field service has also led to closer co- 

 operation with State and municipal officials. An example of such 

 cooperation was the campaign conducted against the traffic in dis- 

 carded or rejected shell eggs. These eggs, as a rule, contained a very 

 large proportion of completely decomposed eggs and of other eggs 

 in various stages of spoilage, with a certain proportion of fairly 

 satisfactory eggs which might be suitable for breaking and preparing 

 dried or frozen eggs. Cooperation with the State and municipal 

 officials of Illinois was effective in suppressing commerce in eggs of 

 this type. For the purpose of saving the small percentage of edible 

 eggs which are sometimes present in these shipments, a conference 

 was held with the egg trade and with a special committee of the 

 National Association of State, Dairy, and Food Commissioners. As 

 a result of this conference the State of Illinois passed a special act 

 regulating the handling of this class of eggs, requiring that it be 

 done in establishments entirely under its control, prohibiting traffic 

 in eggs which are known to be bad, and regulating very carefully 

 the traffic in eggs which might be classed as doubtful. A similar 

 regulation of this class of eggs has been established in the State of 

 Kansas. The general effect of this • cooperation between Federal, 

 State, and municipal officials has been to bring about a much im- 

 proved condition in the trade. 



Similar cooperation was undertaken in conjunction with the food 

 commissioners of the States of Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, and 

 Nebraska, and the Bureau of Animal Industry, for the purpose of 

 improving the milk supplies of the small cities near State boun- 

 daries. Temporary headquarters were established in the towns in 

 which the mill? supply was to be investigated and, with the aid of the 

 State chemists and inspectors and the city officials, thorough surveys 

 were made of the milk supply of each town. In cases in which the 

 milk was found to be very dirty or high in bacterial count or watered 

 and skimmed, a special visit was paid by the inspectors, in company 

 with the dairy expert of the Bureau of Animal Industry, to the 

 farms from which the milk came. This party made a sanitary sur- 

 vey of the dairy, suggesting to the farmer possible improvements 

 which might enable him to produce a more satisfactory quality of 

 milk. In those cases in which chemical examination indicated adul- 

 teration or misbranding, due either to watering or skimming, a test 

 was made of the milk from the herd. The milk shipments from 

 these farms were then again examined later and as a rule a marked 

 improvement in quality was found. This plan has the advantage 

 over those usually pursued in that results are more permanent. Milk 

 producers learn how to improve methods and State and municipal 

 officials continue the Avork, thus leading to the permanent improve- 

 ment of the milk supply. 



In cooperation with the commissioners of various States, the Pub- 

 lic Health Service, and the oyster industry, the sanitary survey of 



