428 ANNUAL REPORTS OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



superior one. Twenty-eight samples of shellac of various kinds pur- 

 chased on the market contained an average of 526 mg of arsenic as 

 arsenious oxid per kilo. 



Talc on confectionery.- — In connection with the work on sliellac 

 used for confectionery it was ascertained that there existed a practice 

 of coating confectionery, such as Easter eggs, marbles, jelly beans, 

 etc., with talc, though the use of talc in confectionery is expressly 

 prohibited by the food and drugs act. The e:Stent of the use of talc 

 m this way was investigated and as a result its use has been practi- 

 cally abandoned, at least in so far as New England is concerned. 



Hops. — The antiseptic effect of hops has been investigated, the 

 several samples examined of domestic and imported hops of different 

 kinds showing that hops possess such a property in a varying degree. 



CHICAGO LABORATORY. 



The following investigations have been continued, and, as far as 

 practicable, brought to conclusion during the present year: 



(1) The composition of vanilla extracts prepared in the laboratory 

 according to the United States Pharmacopoeia from different kinds, 

 grades, and lengths of beans. 



(2) The composition of vanilla extracts prepared in the laboratory 

 from typical kinds of beans following different methods of extraction. 



(3) The effects of aging and bleaching on the composition and 

 physical characters of flour. 



The methods used in these investigations have, for the most part, 

 been devised or developed at this laboratory. A method for deter- 

 mining the gasoline color value of flour and certain improvements in 

 the process of determining vanillin, coumarin, and the lead number 

 of extracts were elaborated. More recently special attention has 

 been devoted to the determination of the color value of the lead ace- 

 tate filtrate of vanilla extract as compared with that of the extract 

 itself to obtain data of service in detecting foreign coloring matter. 

 The quarters occupied for four years in the Manliattan Building 

 having proved entirely inadequate, new rooms, covering about 3,000 

 square feet, have been secured and specially equipped in the Heisen 

 Building, at the corner of Dearborn and Harrison streets. 



NEW YORK LABORATORY. 



Imported foods. — The New York laboratory is chiefly concerned 

 with the inspection of imported food and drug products. During 

 the past fiscal year about 100,000 invoices of food and drug products 

 have been inspected, representing a total value of merchandise of 

 $180,000,000. 



Of the various lines of food products which have been inspected 

 during this period, particular attention has been given to figs and 

 ripe olives. During the late fall and winter months large and numer- 

 ous shipments of figs and ripe olives arrive from the Mediterranean 

 ports. Examination oi these products revealed the fact that in 

 many instances they were unfit for food, for the reason that the fruit 

 was infested with w^orms or contaminated with their excreta, or 

 fermented, moldy, and decayed. The presence of so many of the 



