NUTRITION INVESTIGATIONS. 35 



The department investigations in nutrition and in kindred lines 

 have a vital relation to the work of the agricultural colleges and 

 experiment stations. 



In response to a Avidespread demand from farmers and others, the 

 agricultural colleges are oti'ering courses in home economics in which 

 instruction regarding the nutritive value of different foods and ways 

 of handling and cooking them constitutes an important feature. The 

 colleges have always looked to the department for aid in this line, 

 and are now doing so more than ever. The agricultural colleges have 

 been stimulated by a recent act of Congress to organize courses for 

 teachers along this line as well as other branches of agriculture and 

 mechanic arts. Secondary and primary schools all over the United 

 States are taking up the work and the demand for teachers and for 

 information exceeds the supply. Students, teachers, investigators, 

 and interested individuals recognize the importance of the nutrition 

 investigations of the department in this connection and turn to the 

 department in increasing nmnbers for information and suggestions. 

 This is only one phase of a great movement for improving living 

 conditions in country and town by means of education directly re- 

 lated to home economics and the vocations of the people. It has long 

 been understood that work of this character has been undertaken by 

 the Department of Agriculture and the demand for information con- 

 tinues to increase. 



Owing in large measure to the interest which the Department of 

 Agriculture has taken in such questions, many of the experiment 

 stations have devoted part of their resources to the study of nutri- 

 tion problems and the interest in such lines of work is growing. 



One of the most interesting features of the Department of Agri- 

 culture work is that the department is so generally regarded as a 

 bureau of information by the public as a whole, and this is as marked 

 with reference to nutrition matters as with other branches of agri- 

 cultural work. The number of farmers' waves and other house- 

 keepers and teachers and individuals who submit their problems to 

 the department and ask for data and suggestions regarding food, 

 nutrition, and other home problems is very large and constantly in- 

 creasing. This means that directly and personally, as well as by 

 means of its publications, experimental work, and its close relation 

 with agricultural colleges and other educational institutions, the 

 department comes in touch with the people of the United States and 

 is able to demonstrate that its nutrition work is of interest and prac- 

 tical value as well as of scientific importance. 



The results of the nutrition investigations, in accordance with the 

 usual policy of the department, have been published in technical bul- 

 letins in limited editions, while the general deductions of popular 

 interest which have been drawn from experimental work, have been 



