76 ANNUAL REPORTS OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



the special supervision of the meat supply of the American Army, 

 Navy, and Marine Corps. 



The inspection, selection, and handling of meats and fats are in 

 expert hands from the time the live animals are driven to the shambles 

 until the finished product is delivered in good condition to the mess 

 cooks. Inspectors have been assigned to the various cantonments, 

 training camps, forts, posts, and other places in the United States 

 where large numbers of troops are assembled. There are 69 Bureau 

 of Animal Industry inspectors with the Army and 30 with the Navy. 



In cooperation with the Public Health Service assistance has been 

 given in obtaining supplies of wholesome milk for Army and Navy 

 establishments. As in the past, the manufacture of butter for the 

 Navy has been supervised, the quantity inspected last year being 

 more than four times the ordinary peace requirement. The inspec- 

 tion of food for the Navy has included also poultry, fish, oysters, 

 clams, eggs, and cheese. 



OTHER WAR ACTIVITIES. 



In other ways the bureau has given its aid in the prosecution of 

 the war. The War Department has been supplied monthly with 

 300,000 to 400,000 doses of mallein for testing horses for glanders. 

 The cooperative work with the War Department in producing horses 

 for the Army by the use of the bureau's stallions has been continued. 

 Studies have been made with a view to the saving of sugar, saltpeter, 

 and salt in the curing of meat and to procuringsubstitutesfor edible lard 

 oil for industrial use. Efforts have been made to increase the leather 

 supply by urging greater care in the skinning and curing of hides. 

 Various articles found in stockyards and other places have been 

 analyzed or otherwise examined to determine whether they were 

 infectious or carried poisonous substances. The importation of 

 cattle from Central America, Mexico, and adjacent islands has been 

 supervised to guard against the introduction of diseases while adding 

 to our meat supply. 



Three hundred and twenty-five of the bureau's employees have 

 entered the military service. Many of them have gone into the 

 veterinary and sanitary corps, and others have become artillery, 

 cavalry, infantry, or naval officers. A much larger number have 

 resigned to accept more lucrative employment in the industrial 

 world. These losses have handicappetl the bureau's work, yet the 

 zealous and faithful services of those who have remained, with the 

 addition of about 2,100 new members to the force, have made it 

 possible to meet the increased duties. 



LITERATURE 



During the fiscal year 95 new publications, comprising 1,753 

 printed pages, were issued or contributed by the bureau. These 

 publications include 19 department bulletins, 24 Farmers' Bulletins, 

 7 articles in the Journal of Agricultural Research, 7 articles for the 

 Department Yearbook, 13 issues of Service and Regulatory Announce- 

 ments, 25 miscellaneous pamphlets, and 26 orders in the nature of 

 regulations. In addition 90 articles were furnished for the Weekly 

 News Letter and other information service of the department and 

 37 were contributed to agricultural, scientific, and technical journals. 



