OFFICE OF EXPEEIMENT STATIONS. 765 



cerning methods of draining them. The Department has not been 

 able to compl}^ Avitli many requests for such service because of the 

 demand for examinations, reports, and phins needed for the drainage 

 of special fields and areas in various parts of the country. Such 

 examinations are needed for the intelligent initiation of land-drain- 

 age projects. 



The area of irrigated lands which need draining is increasing in a 

 certain ratio as new irrigation projects are developed. Newly re- 

 claimed arid lands are being put under cultivation and farmers re- 

 quire practical assistance on the ground whenever the need of drain- 

 ing such lands appears. It is certain that greater demands will be 

 made upon the Department for assistance of this kind. The area of 

 unreclaimed swamp land is so large that we can not expect that there 

 will be any material diminution in the demands of those who are 

 engaged in agriculture for services of this kind. It is believed that 

 by demanding of landowners a part of the expense of making inves- 

 tigations and surveys with reference to reclamation by drainage, an 

 appropriation of $85,000 for the year 1912 will be sufficient to meet 

 reasonable demands. 



NUTRITION INVESTIGATIONS. 



The general purpose of the Xutrition Investigations is to study 

 various aspects of the problem of the value for human food of agri- 

 cultural products, both animal and vegetable, and during the 3^ear 

 ending June 30, 1910, attention has been given especially to matters 

 which have to do with meat and cheese. The respiration calorimeter, 

 which has been installed in improved form at the Department of 

 Agriculture and which has been carefully tested and found fully 

 satisfactory, was used in the work. This apparatus, it is believed, 

 offers a new and valuable method for studying many problems with 

 which the Department of Agriculture is concerned. Work will be 

 carried on in cooperation with other bureaus whenever such an ar- 

 rangement will further the interests of the Department and insure 

 economy of effort. 



The problems studied with the respiration calorimeter during the 

 last fiscal year have had to do particularly with the relative ease of 

 digestion of cheese and meat as part of a simple mixed diet. The 

 results as yet obtained do not show that significant differences exist 

 when the quantities eaten are comparable with those observed in the 

 usual diet. This work was undertaken to round out investigations 

 carried on in cooperation with the Bureau of Animal Industry. 



In addition to the more technical work, many tests have been made 

 of methods of preparing meat and cheese for the table. The data thus 

 obtained with meat, together with the results of the more technical 

 studies, have been embodied in a Farmers' Bulletin on the economical 

 use of meat in the home, and it is proposed during the coming year 

 to prepare a similar publication dealing with the use of cheese as an 

 economical and nutritious part of the diet. 



During the fiscal year 1011 it is proposed to study the question 

 of the relative value of lard, butter, vegetable oils, cream, and other 

 culinary fats, particularly with reference to their ease and thorough- 

 ness of digestion. Such data are needed for the satisfactory discus- 



