BUREAU OF CHEMISTRY. 351 



PRODUCTION OF GAS FROM STRAW. 



The tests at Arlington on the production of gas from straw and 

 simihir waste materials have been completed and the results of the 

 entire experimental work have been prepared for publication as a 

 department bulletin. The tests showed that gas produced from straw 

 may be used successfully for lighting and heating and as a motor 

 fuel, but indicated that the destructive distillation of straw and 

 similar material for the production of gas on the farm is not prac- 

 ticable. The cost of the gas is practically prohibitive and much 

 difficulty is encountered in the operation of the plant. 



Although the general results of these tests may be considered 

 negative, they have the very positive value of meeting the active de- 

 mand for information on this subject. 



METHODS OF ANALYSIS. 



The development of methods of chemical analysis is one of the im- 

 portant functions of the Bureau of Chemistry. This work is done 

 in cooperation with the Association of Official Agricultural Chemists 

 and other scientific associations. The value of having uniform 

 methods of analysis, so that results obtained by different chemists 

 working on the same products may be comparable, is apparent. While 

 the immediate results of this work are of interest only to chemists, 

 the ultimate results are reflected in an improved agriculture and in 

 the development or improvement of industrial processes for the utili- 

 zation of agricultural products. 



WORK UNDER SPECIFIC AUTHORIZATIONS. 



Investigational and experimental work on table sirup and beet and 

 cane sugar, insecticides and fungicides, plant-dust explosions and 

 cotton-gin fires, dehydration of fruits and vegetables, and rosin and 

 turpentine was conducted under separate authorizations. 



MANUFACTURE OF SIRUP AND SUGAR. 



The economic conditions that make imperative the need for chemi- 

 cal and technological work on the development of improved methods 

 for the manufacture of sirup and sugar presented in last year's report 

 should be considered in connection with the following statement 

 regarding the continuation of the work. 



Ini'pTovement in manufacture and handling of cane sirup. — The 

 work on production of cane sirup of uniform quality outlined in 

 the 1922 annual report was actively carried forward in cooperation 

 with State farm bureau federations, particularly in Texas. A cen- 

 tral blending and canning plant with a daily maximum capacity of 

 6,000 gallons, equivalent to 500,000 gallons for a 100 days' operating 

 season, was designed by the bureau for the Texas Farm Bureau Rib- 

 bon Cane Growers Association. This plant was erected at Lufkin, 

 Tex., at very moderate cost and was placed in operation during the 

 season of 1922-23, A representative of the bureau was stationed 

 at Lufkin to give advice on the technical operation of the plant. 



A refining-in-transit freight rate was secured and cane sirup from 

 various sections of eastern Texas was shipped by members of the 

 association to the Lufkin plant where it was graded, mixed on a 



