124 ANNUAL REPORTS OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



DAIRY STATISTICS. 



The trend of dairying has been followed through a study of foreign 

 and domestic statistics from all sources. The information obtained 

 was compiled and indexed for convenient reference as an aid in keep- 

 ing the division in close touch with general developments in the dairy 

 industry. Some original material on the consumption of milk and 

 cream in the United States and on similar subjects was gathered in 

 cooperation with other bureaus when this information was not other- 

 wise available. 



The chart on the balance of trade in dairy products was again 

 prepared this year and sent out to the dairy industry. A report on 

 the production and uses of milk for publication in the Yearbook was 

 prepared in cooperation with the Bureau of Markets and Crop Esti- 

 mates. A set of charts was prepared for the use of the Dairy Divi- 

 sion in exhibit work, and a Handbook of Dairy Statistics was com- 

 pleted for publication. 



DAIRY CONSTRUCTION AND EQUIPMENT. 



The technical staff prepared plans and specifications for construc- 

 tion work and equipment required by the division and performed the 

 necessary surveys, inspection of materials, and superintendence of 

 construction of new buildings at the Beltsville dairy farm, the Grove 

 City Creamery, and the field station at Woodward, Okla. Three new 

 laboratories were planned and constructed in the Dairy Division. 



Information on building and equipment was furnished to dairymen 

 and others by correspondence, and 586 blue-print plans were sent out. 



Assistance has been given to various divisions of the bureau in mak- 

 ing plans, calculations, and specifications for the installation or en- 

 largement of refrigerating plants, temperature control, electrifica- 

 tion, and pumping plants at Washington and at field stations for both 

 research and practical purposes. Assistance was also rendered to the 

 Bureau of Chemistry, the Bureau of Plant Industry, and the Univer- 

 sity of California in electrical equipment, temperature control, and 

 humidity control in the prosecution of various practical investiga- 

 tions. 



DAIRY-CATTLE BREEDING. 



Dairy-cattle breeding projects are being carried on in five herds 

 owned by the bureau, comprising 374 registered purebreds and 65 

 grades, a total of 439 animals. In addition, cooperative breeding ex- 

 periments are being carried out with seven agricultural colleges. At 

 ftie close of the fiscal year 46 bulls lent from bureau herds to farmers 

 and institutions in the vicinity of these herds were in service among 

 more than 500 cows for the purpose of testing the ability of the bulls 

 to transmit milk and butterfat production. 



In West Virginia a breeding experiment has been begun in coop- 

 eration with the State experiment station and P. O. Eeymann, presi- 

 dent of the Ayrshire Breeders' Association, in which the registered 

 Ayrehires in two herds, totaling some 300 head, will be used in a 

 project in which related and unrelated proved sires will be used for 

 a number of generations. 



As a part of the routine of the breeding project, 32 official records 

 have been completed by cows in the bureau-owned herds, the average 



