432 ANNUAL KEPOKTS OF DEPARTMENT OF AGIUCULTURE. 



market investigation and to which ahnost every problem must finally 

 be referred for solution, necessitated the making of 3,00(5 determina- 

 tions on 274 chicken samples and 43 egg samples. Three hundred 

 bacteriological examinations of chicken and eggs were also made. 

 The bacteriological work has included the study of growth condi- 

 tions, especially as influenced by temperature, each culture or plating 

 being grown at 0°, 20*^, and 37° C. This has necessitated the making 

 of a great number of plates, when quantitative results were desired. 

 and has practically tripled the work done. A considerable number 

 of organisms have also been isolated and identified. The histological 

 examinations of the tissues have been made in connection with the 

 bacteriological whenever it was desirable. 



SUGARS AND SUGAR PRODUCTS. 



Maple products. — The investigation on the maple j^roducts of the 

 United States, begun a year ago, has been practically completed. The 

 samples collected have all been analyzed, and the results on maple 

 sirup have been compiled and are in press. An additional collection 

 of maple sugars was made during the past season; these have been 

 analyzed and the results are being compiled for publication as a com- 

 panion report to that on maple sirups. It is thought that these data 

 will be of material service to the food chemists of the country, as the 

 large number of samples and their wide distribution will furnish a 

 broad and reliable basis for the future valuation of this product. 



Some experimental work on the manufacture of sirup and sugar 

 from maple sap was done in order to obtain data on the chemical 

 composition of the product as affected by the souring of sap and 

 different methods of manufacture. While many valuable figures 

 have been obtained, the investigation must be continued for several 

 seasons in order to prove some of the points at issue. 



Effect of environment on sugar content of corn, etc. — During 

 this year Bulletin No. 127 on " The Influence of Environment on the 

 Composition of Sweet Corn " has been published, which includes 

 the results of a four years' investigation from 1905 to 1908. One 

 additional season's work has been done on this subject, making a five 

 years' study comparable to the similar one on sugar beets. The 

 next products to be considered in this series of investigations on the 

 influence of environment on the sugar content are cantaloupes and 

 watermelons. As the quality of melons depends largely on their 

 sugar content, and some sections produce much better melons than 

 others, the work will be of great value in determining what features 

 of the environment influence this content most. This work will be 

 continued for five years in the same way as the two former investi- 

 gations have been conducted. Stations have been selected in Florida, 

 Arizona, Colorado, and some of the Northern States. 



Sugar beets. — The methods of analysis of sugar beets are under 

 study to endeavor to adapt them more perfectly to commercial needs. 

 As in previous years, a gi-eat many samples of beets have been ana- 

 lyzed for the Bureau of Plant Industry. 



Miscellaneous investigations. — A large number of analyses of 

 imported honeys have been made which, together with the results on 



