614 ANNUAL REPORTS OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



A considerable number of tests were made of mending china with 

 water glass and cements of different sorts and of replacing missing 

 parts with commercial and homemade pastes and other plastic sub- 

 stances. Some work on refinishing wood was also done. The pur- 

 pose has been to test existing household methods and to try others 

 which suggest themselves as being of possible use. Such survej^s of 

 methods, if rightly carried out, provide data for immediate use in 

 practicing one of the household arts and point the way to many 

 problems for laboratory study. 



■In addition to the publications already mentioned, the following 

 reports of various lines of work carried on in this office were pub- 

 lished during the year by the department and in professional jour- 

 nals : Department Bulletin 1033, " Digestibility of cod-liver, Java- 

 almond, tea-seed, and watermelon-seed oils, deer fat, an.d some 

 blended hydrogenated fats," gives the findings from two groups of 

 studies in a series of tests of the digestibility of 63 fats and oils of 

 animal and vegetable origin, including the important hydrogenated 

 kinds. A paper summarizing all these investigations briefly was 

 printed in one of the chemical journals. 



Farmers' bulletins as follows were published : " Corn and its uses 

 as food," which brings together practical suggestions for preparing 

 and serving corn meal, hominy, and other corn products ; " Good 

 proportions in the diet," which supersedes an earlier bulletin en- 

 titled "A week's food for an average family," and discusses the prob- 

 lem of food selection as regards adequacy, wholesomeness, attrac- 

 tiveness, and cost ; and " Lamb and mutton and their use in the diet," 

 which gives information on the dietary value of these meats and 

 attractive ways of preparing them for the table. 



An earlier farmers' bulletin discussing the food value of milk and 

 its uses in the home was thoroughly revised and submitted for pub- 

 lication. Two other farmers' bulletins, one on the care of food in the 

 home and the other a revision of a department bulletin entitled 

 " Food values : How foods meet body needs," were also submitted for 

 publication. 



A chart showing 100-calorie portions of certain foods, supplement- 

 ing the food-selection and meal-planning charts published by the de- 

 partment, and a revised edition of Department Circular 189, "A well- 

 planned kitchen," were submitted for publication. 



That the interest of housewives and of teachers in the work of 

 the office continues is shown by the increased volume of correspond- 

 ence requesting information on home-economics topics. This direct 

 and valuable contact with the housekeeper and her problems has 

 grown from a few inquiries a week to such a volume that the full 

 time of a well-trained, experienced worker is hardly sufficient to 

 meet it. 



