OFFICE OF EXPERIMENT STATIONS. 711 



a larger staff of engineers for this work. Wliile the general prin- 

 ciples for the drainage of lands injured by seepage water and alkali 

 are fairly simple, the application of them to a particular area is 

 frequently quite difficult. The work of this office is certain to prove 

 of greater value than ever in aiding the development of the agricul- 

 tural resources of the Western States. 



In the humid region interest in the great undeveloped areas, that in 

 their natural state are too wet for cultivation, will continue to in- 

 crease. As the reclamation of such land is undertaken it becomes 

 imperative that there be correlation between the work of the various 

 districts in each natural drainage unit in order that the improve- 

 ments may be permanently effective. There should be made careful 

 and comprehensive investigations of the large swamp and overflowed 

 areas. So far as practicable such investigations will be conducted, prob- 

 ably beginning in the lower Mississippi Valley, to determine the value 

 of such lands for agriculture, the natural drainage units, and the 

 general methods of reclamation that will be feasible. The reasonable 

 requests from individuals and associations for assistance in under- 

 taking drainage improvements and prosecuting the work will be 

 complied with so far as possible. The present methods of coopera- 

 tion have proved very satisfactory and will be continued. The 

 drainage districts usually bear a part of the cost of the field work, 

 sometimes as much as half, while in the construction of experimental 

 drainage systems the office makes the survey and plans, while the 

 landowners furnish the labor and the material. 



NUTRITION INVESTIGATIONS. 



Dr. C. F. Langworthy continues to have charge of the nutrition 

 investigations of this office. 



These investigations, which have to do with the value of agricul- 

 tural products, both animal and vegetable, used as food, have been 

 continued along a number of lines. Additional studies have been 

 made with the respiration calorimeter of the relative ease of diges- 

 tion of cheese (American Cheddar) and meat (beef) when used in 

 ordinary amounts as part of a mixed diet, and many tests have been 

 carried on with respect to methods of preparing cheese for the table. 

 On the basis of this and earlier work with cheese, an article on this 

 foodstuff and other possible substitutes for meat was prepared for 

 the Yearbook of the department for 1910, and a Farmers' Bulletin 

 has been written on cheese and its use in the diet, which considers the 

 ways in which cheese may be used in quantity as a palatable, whole- 

 some, and nutritious part of the diet. Material has also been accu- 

 mulated for use in a technical bulletin on the digestibility and 

 nutritive value of different sorts of cheese. Some of the earlier 

 studies included were carried on in cooperation with the Bureau of 

 Animal Industry and have been summarized in a circular of that 

 bureau. 



Numerous improvements have been made in method and equipment 

 in the respiration calorimeter laboratory. Very important accessory 

 apparatus has been installed, which greatly facilitates the heat meas- 

 urements and gives an automatic and continuous record of the heat 

 output, which insures accuracy as well as economy of operation. The 

 new apparatus includes a device for the automatic control, as it 



