30 



THE BUREAU OF SCIENCE 



or greater in variety than, in former years, and the amount is 

 shown in the following general summary : 



Nature of material. 



Metals and alloys .._ 



Rocks and minerals 



Natural piKments and varnishes 



Clays, shales, limestone, limes, wall plasters, cements, and slags 



Fertilizers. _ _ 



Soils and similar substances ._ 



Coal analyses 



Calorimetric tests of fuels , 



Waters _ 



Crude inorjranic chemicals (preparation and analysis) and miscellaneous ! 



analyses 



Standard solutions _ 



Examination for sea- water damage 1 .' 



Physical tests of wire, twine, fiber, textile, paper, steel, tar, asphalt, etc I 



Cements __ 



Compression, tensile, or transverse strength of concrete, stone, mortar, I 



rope, wood, iron, steel, etc j 



Standardization of road materials ' 



Standardization of unites of measures: 



Lengths 



Capacities .__ 



Weights 



Miscellaneous 



* Included under "Miscellaneous analyses." 



The number of samples of water analyzed shows a slight 

 decrease from the preceding year, owing partly to the greatly 

 increased volume of field water w^ork and partly to the decrease 

 in well-drilling operations by the Bureau of Public Works. 



In the preceding table many of the results represent more 

 than ordinary routine work, for frequently members of the 

 various sections have been called upon to pass judgment on the 

 quality and the commercial value of the samples submitted for 

 analysis. In several instances additional experiments were 

 necessary to solve various problems of commercial importance. 

 Considering the fact that in many cases, for example, examina- 

 tion for sea-water damage, the sample may represent many 

 thousands of pesos, it is evident that the greatest care and 

 precision is necessary in all of this work. 



All the apparatus being used are standardized and checked, 

 and precautions are taken to maintain the highest standard of 

 work. During this year the output of each cement briquette 

 maker has been studied, and those who cannot uniformly main- 

 tain a certain standard are eliminated or transferred to other 



