OFFICE UF EXPEKIMENT STATIONS. 193 



Rico and to determine wliat is feasible there iu tlie way of agricul- 

 tural investigatious. 



Under instructions from the Director of this Office, Professor Knapp 

 visited Porto Rico, conferred Avith officers of the government and 

 representative citizens there, and made investigation of the agricul- 

 tural conditions existing on the island with special reference to the 

 establishment and work of an experiment station. Since his return 

 lie has submitted a prelim inarj^ report, in which he points out the 

 urgent need of agricultural education and investigation iu the island. 

 He advises that headquarters for an experiment station be established 

 in the vicinity of San Juan, and this station should be established on 

 a broad basis, special attention being given at the outset to demon- 

 stration experiments and the dissemination of information regarding 

 approved methods of agriculture. Among the subjects to which the 

 station should direct its attention are the improvement of the culture 

 of coffee, sugar, and tobacco; the encoui-agement of the production of 

 food supplies for home consumption; the improvement of live stock; 

 the making of cheese and butter, and forestry. 



As in the case of Hawaii, the appropriation for current exi)enses 

 for this station should be at least equal to that given to the States 

 and Territories under the Hatch Act. Funds will also be required at 

 the outset for buildings and equipment. If it is possible for the local 

 government to provide the funds for this purpose, as in the case of the 

 States and Territories, it should do so. Otherwise, Congress should 

 be asked to make an initial appropriation to provide the station with 

 suitable buildings and equipment. 



Professor Knapp will present a detailed report of his investigatious 

 for transmission to Congress at its coming session. 



As the law under which this investigation has been made does not 

 provide for the establishment of an experiment station in Porto Rico, 

 it will be necessar}- to await further action by Congress before pro- 

 ceeding further in this matter. I therefore recommend that Con- 

 gress be asked to give this Department authority to establish and 

 maintain such a station; to erect necessary buildings; to ijrepare, 

 publish, and distribute in Porto Rico bulletins and reports in the 

 English and Spanish languages, and to make such other expenditures 

 as may be necessary for the maintenance of the station and the dis- 

 semination of agricultural information. 



Nutrition Investigations. 



The investigations on the food and nutrition of man have been con- 

 tinued the i)ast year on the same general lines as heretofore, with 

 Prof. W. O. Atwater as special agent in charge. The headquarters 

 for these investigations have remained at Middletown, Conn., where 

 the work is carried on in cooperation with Wesleyan University and 

 the Storrs exjjeriment station. While the amount of the appropri- 

 ation has remained the same, the work has been constantly increasing 

 and broadening as the knowledge concerning it has been more widely 

 spread and the public has come to understand more fully the signifi- 

 cance and value of such investigations. 



As in the past, much of the work has been done in cooperation with 

 the agricultural experiment stations, agricultural colleges, and other 

 educational institutions. In most cases these institutions have borne 

 a portion of the expense, contributing it usuall}' in the form of skilled 

 scientific labor and laboratory supplies and appliances. This cooper- 



AGR 1000 13 



