EEPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 25 



Most of the cereals and their products, all of the animals y.nd 

 most of the meats and their products are going down in quantity of 

 exports, and these three great general classes of products have filled 

 a large place in the body of exports. Only mutton and unspeciiied 

 animal oils, rice and its bran, meal, and polish, corn-oil cake, glucose 

 and grape sugar, and perhaps bread and biscuit in these three great 

 groups of exports display a tendency to increase. 



A long record of increase is presented by cotton, hops, and to- 

 bacco. Comparatively recent products have joined the old list and 

 give evidence of increase. Among these are cottonseed oil and flax- 

 seed and cottonseed oil cake and oil -cake meal, linseed oil, flaxseed, 

 and lard compounds. Among the fruits that are gaining are prunes, 

 raisins, and fresh apples, and among the vegetables are onions and 

 potatoes. 



ECONOMIC RESULTS OF COLD STORAGE. 



SPECIAL INVESTIGATION BY THE DEPARTMENT. 



REASONS FOR THE UNDERTAKING. 



Investigations of cold storage have heretofore been directed toward 

 the subject from the point of view of the pure-food advocate. Legis- 

 lation, actual and proposed, assumes that foods are kept in cold 

 storage in large quantities for long periods of time, so long that 

 the qualities of the foods deteriorate. Particular instances of storage 

 for periods longer than a year and even two years have had promi- 

 nent publicity and the inference has been drawn that such long-time 

 storage is common. The cold-storage men were not believed when 

 they asserted that the time of storage was usually not excessive. It 

 has been charged against them, too, that they use cold storage for 

 speculation and for squeezing consumers. 



Because of lack of information with regard to the management of 

 cold storage and in view of some current criticisms of the business 

 this department made an investigation in September and October of 

 this year. 



METHOD OF PROCEDURE. 



Schedules were prepared for statements of quantities of receipts 

 of fresh beef, mutton, and pork; of dressed poultry, butter, and 

 eggs, and of fresh and frozen fish during each month during a period 

 of two years. The period began with March, 1909, for dressed 

 poultry, eggs, and fish ; with May, 1909, for the other commodities. 



The schedules also provided for a statement of the deliveries each 

 month out of storage to the end of August, 1911, against the receipts 

 of each month., 



Another schedule -was designed for a report of the charges of 

 storage and of the weights of packages. 



