• REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 79 



of seed is tested for germination two or more times before and after 

 shipment, and a sample of each lot is grown on the trial grounds 

 of the department under the direct supervision of expert horticul- 

 turists to determine its trueness to type. Many thousand pounds of 

 vegetable and flower seeds which do not meet the requirements of 

 the department are rejected every year and returned to the seedsmen 

 by whom they were shipped. Where seeds are contracted to be grown 

 for the department the fields are inspected at the proper season by 

 specialists, who see that the plants are uniformly true to type and 

 that a proper system of roguing out variations and mixtures is fol- 

 lowed. This system has resulted in steady improvement in the 

 quality of seeds distributed by the department, as shown by the 

 results obtained on the trial grounds and by hundreds of reports 

 from all sections of the country. 



The work of packeting, assembling, and mailing the vegetable 

 and flower seeds was done under contract at a cost of $1.10^ per 

 thousand packets, which included delivery of the packeted seed in 

 mail sacks direct to the Union Station. A new contract has been 

 entered into for putting up and mailing the seeds for the coming 

 distribution at a saving over the former contract of 1 cent per thou- 

 sand packets. 



Approximately 12,000 pecks of four improved varieties of Upland 

 cotton developed by the department were distributed in the cotton- 

 growing States last season. The continued distribution of these 

 improved cottons, with the accompanying circulars which contain 

 detailed instructions for the home selection and improvement of 

 seed, has resulted in widespread interest in seed selection in the 

 South. 



The propagation of Dutch bulbs in the Puget Sound region in 

 connection with the congressional distribution is progressing favor- 

 ably. Trial sets of narcissus and tulip bulbs propagated near Bell- 

 ingham. Wash., were planted at Washington, D. C, with sets of 

 bulbs of the same varieties imported from Holland, and the Bell- 

 ingham bulbs produced better blossoms 10 days earlier than the im- 

 ported bulbs. The early blooming period of American-grown bulbs 

 is of importance to all professional florists, because of the saving in 

 time and fuel where bulbs are forced for market. 



BUREAU or CHEMISTRY. 

 FIELD WORK AND SCIENTIFIC STUDIES ON HANDLING POULTRY AND EGGS. 



The Food Research Laboratory has for another year pursued its 

 policy of working out in the laboratory the fundamental scientific facts 

 pertaining to the handling of poultry and eggs and of applying these 

 facts to industrial problems by practical work in the field with all 



