BUREAU OF CHEMISTRY. 259 



taken on the product of 12 mills located at various places from the 

 Atlantic to the Pacific, and from Xorth Dakota to the Ohio Iviver. 

 Each of these 12 mills had an output of from 4 to 12 and more cars 

 Aveeklj', a carload rantjino: from 25 to 30 tons. If it be assumed that 

 12 mills have a weekly output of eight 25-ton cars each, that the 

 illegitimate profit amounts to $18 per ton. and that the fraudulent 

 transactions lasted for but IG "vveeks, the total fraud upon the pur- 

 chaser of this kind of feed from these mills alone was in excess of 

 $690,000. The action which the bureau was able to take has reduced 

 this fraud to practically nil, and it is therefore safe to assume that the 

 sum of money which was saved the feeders of the United States is of 

 the same order of magnitude as the entire annual appropriation of the 

 i>ureau of Chemistry. 



The Avork dealing with the use of rice hulls as an adulterant, re- 

 ported upon last year, was continued, as was also the investigation of 

 alleged abuses in the sale of peanut by-product feeds and alfalfa 

 feeds. Furthermore, an investigation of the adulteration of feed 

 molasses with water was begun. 



Butter containing less than 80 per cent of Ijutter fat or more than 

 IG ]ier cent of Avater. or both, was the chief dairy product proceeded 

 against. MoreoAer, the efforts that haA'e been made for years past to 

 improA-e the milk supply of vSt. Louis, Mo., reached a culmination this 

 year. Years ago deplorable conditions AA'eie encountered at St. Louis. 

 Instances of violation of the food and drugs act had been detected 

 there and successful prosecutions instituted. Such prosecutions had 

 little or no effect in bringing about a general betterment of the St. 

 Louis milk supply. "While it is clearly recognized that the duty of 

 safeguarding a city's milk supph' is a municipal function, this princi- 

 pally because the city health department is the only agency in a posi- 

 tion to maintain that constant supervjsicm Avhich is essential, still this 

 bureau could not ignore the conditions in St. Louis, where violations 

 of the food and drugs act Avere flagrant, more especially as there were 

 recurring from time to time milk-borne typhoid epidemics, with con- 

 sequent sacrifice of life. Accordingly there has been carried on OA'er 

 a period of several years an intensive study of the existing conditions 

 and contributing causes, Avith experimentation to determine the essen- 

 tial elements necessary for clean milk production. Milk going for 

 the St. Louis supply was found to be largely watered, skimmed, 

 filthy, and containing excessive numbers of bacteria. It Avas deter- 

 mined that sterilization of utensils, care, and cleanh' methods of 

 production Avill in that locality', as elsewhere, produce milk Avith feAv 

 bacteria. It Avas further found that unclean milk cans Avere the chief 

 contributors of bacteria to milk shipped to the vSt. Louis market. An 

 educational campaign was lUidortaken some years ago. All of the 

 facts Avith respect to conditions and causes Avere laid before pro- 

 ducers, distributors, and city health authorities in St. Louis and a 

 c-onstructive program for correction Avas outlined. 



Subsequent investigation indicated no appreciable improA'ement, 

 Avhereupon specific violations of the food and drugs act were brought 

 to the attention of the Federal grand jury in St. Louis, resulting in 

 indictments again-st 20 producers and buyer-shippers on nuiltiple 

 counts. This Avas the culmination of the Avork of a number of years, 

 and during the current year pleas of nolo contendere haA^e been en- 



