148 ANNUAL REPORTS OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



tivation of maize, considerable of that eroj) })einf]; already p^rown 

 and consumed in Guam. Comj)arisons are beino; made of varieties, 

 and studies are in proo:ress to determine a practical method of storincij 

 this and other prrains a<;ainst the losses due to weevil, funo;i, etc. For 

 the short time the station has been established it has interested the 

 people and ojained their confidence to a remarkable extent. They 

 are desirous of obtainincr seeds of plants whose value they can see. 

 Especially noteworthy is the interest taken in new implements and 

 methods of culture. A small cultivator attracted attention, and 

 throucyh our special anient a number were secured and sold to farmers 

 at cost. With one of these cultivators a man with the aid of a carabao 

 can cultivate as much land as would require ten men with their old 

 implements. The wiHinf^jness of the people to abandon their old 

 conservatism in this reo^ard appears to auj2:ur well for the future 

 influence of the station in restoring and developing agriculture on 

 the island of Guam. 



NUTRITION INVESTIGATIONS. 



The investigations in human nutrition carried on in the Office of 

 Experiment Stations were instituted in 1894 at the time when the 

 agricultural experiment stations in the different States were author- 

 ized by Congress to cooperate with the Secretary of Agriculture in 

 studying the food and nutrition of man. For a number of years 

 the investigations involved cooperation with agricultural colleges, 

 experiment stations, and other institutions, but for the past few 

 years the work has centered in Washington, quarters for it having 

 been provided in the new Department of Agriculture building. 



Briefly stated, the purpose of the nutrition investigations is to 

 study various aspects of the problem of the value for human food 

 of agricultural products, both animal and vegetable. In carrying 

 out this project many studies have been made which have to do 

 with the nutritive value of flour and other cereal products, the rela- 

 tive nutritive value of meats of different kinds and cuts, and the 

 value as food of fruits, nuts, and other food products. The ease 

 and thoroughness of digestion of many kinds of animal and vege- 

 table foods have been studied, as have also methods of preparing 

 food for the table and other technical questions and practical problems 

 of general interest. 



One of the important features of the nutrition investigations has 

 been the elaboration of methods and apparatus for the experimental 

 study of nutrition problems. Particularly important is the respira- 

 tion calorimeter, an instrument of great precision, which permits of 

 the measurement of the total income and outgo of matter and energy 

 in the human body and is adapted to the study of a great variety 

 of questions. It should be mentioned that it is useful not alone for 



