464 ANNUAL REPORTS OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



Hampshire and Connecticut. The source of all samples showing 

 added water, excessive filth, or an abnormally high bacterial count 

 Avas inspected and the conditions in general were such as to account 

 for the insanitary samples, while in several instances deplorable 

 conditions were found. In general, the milk supply of Boston was 

 superior to that of any city so far inspected, but the supply of 

 Springfield was inferior. As a result of the warnings, hearings, and 

 prosecutions which have followed this milk investigation it is believed 

 that the milk shipped in interstate commerce in New England has 

 been appreciabl}^ improved. A large proportion of the miscellaneous 

 samples examined during the year were anal3^zed for the purchasing 

 commissary office of the War Department at Boston. Of the 674 

 hearings held, 401 were on domestic products, apjn'oximately 500 

 being held in jierson and the remainder by correspondence. 



The following original investigations have been given attention 

 during the year as opportunity has offered : 



Vanilla extract. — The study of the effect of various methods of 

 manufacturing vanilla extract from different kinds of vanilla beans 

 has been continued, including detailed analyses of the extracts 

 examined. 



Fish. — The work of the laboratory on fish has been extended to 

 include the detection of the deterioration of canned fish due to 

 decomposition before canning. If this has not gone too far, the 

 appearance of the fish may be nearly normal after the container is 

 sterilized. Fish of this character, however, appear to yield upon 

 analysis an appreciable amount of free ammonia, as Avould be 

 expected from Pennington's results in similar investigations. . This 

 is not true of fresh fish. All samples of fish examined that had been 

 canned two or more years also gave appreciable amounts of free 

 ammonia, and an experiment is under way in which fish packed 

 under known conditions is being submitted to periodical examina- 

 tions. 



Contamination or food products by tin. — On opening canned fish 

 which has been packed for a long period in tin cans in which the fish 

 is unprotected from the tin, it is invariably noticed that the container 

 is more or less discolored and often badly etched. This recently led 

 to an investigation as to the tin content of canned fish imported 

 through the port of Boston and it subsequently developed that a 

 number of such shipments contained from 300 to 1,200 mg of tin 

 per kilogram — amounts which may be injurious to health. As to 

 the quantity of tin in solution, much depends on the quality of the 

 tin plate, the kind or character of goods, and the length of time the 

 latter have been put up. All fish in acid have been found to corrode 

 the tin very badly, even in a short time; this applies particularly to 

 fish in mustard sauce. Fish in tomato and various other sauces, in 

 bouillon, and smoked fish of all kinds — except when packed in oil — 

 have been found to be especially active in attacking the container. 

 Lobsters, clams, and shrimp also attack cans badly if they are unpro- 

 tected, while, as is generally known, many fruits and vegetables act 

 in the same manner. 



Casheav nuts. — Cashew nuts {Anarcardium occidentale), grown 

 in tropical countries, where they are highly regarded as an article of 

 food, are being brought into this country in constantly increasing 



