16 ANNUAL EEPORTS OF DEPARTMENT OF AGEICULTTJEE. 



The services of an expert in home economics were placed at the 

 disposal of the Woman's Committee of the Council of National 

 Defense, and the Department has cooperated with the committee in 

 many directions. Jointly with the Food Administration, a series of 

 leaflets on foods, designed especially for extension workers in home 

 economics, was prepared. As a part of the general survey of the 

 food resources of the country a dietary survey of selected families 

 in different parts of the United States was undertaken. Dietary 

 studies also were made in selected families of the District of Co- 

 lumbia as a part of the study of living conditions carried on by the 

 Department of Labor. 



CONSERVATION OF PERISHABLES. 



When it became apparent that the truck farms, home gardens, and 

 orchards of the Nation would produce a large surplus, the Depart- 

 ment, supplementing the activities of the extension forces and aided 

 by a large number of emergenc}^ agents, conducted an intensive pub- 

 licity campaign, under the immediate direction of a special assistant, 

 to promote the canning, preserving, pickling, and drying of surplus 

 perishables and to stimulate the consumption of fresh fruits and 

 vegetables. Mr. A. D. Lasker, of Chicago, and Mr. John Callan 

 O'Laughlin, of Washington, D. C, volunteered to organize and 

 supervise the work for the Department. Practically every news- 

 paper in the 28 States which reported a heavy surplus agreed to 

 devote space to the campaign. Within two weeks 110 articles teach- 

 ing in a brief, simple way the household methods of conserving fruits 

 and vegetables were supplied to the newspapers and promptly pub- 

 lished by them. Special Farmers' Bulletins dealing with these sub- 

 jects were quickly prepared and circulated to the number of 3,400,000 

 copies. The response to this campaign was immediate. Not only were 

 perishables put up for winter use in greatly enlarged quantities, but 

 the increased consumption, stimulated by the campaign, steadied the 

 truck markets and undoubtedly prevented a considerable waste of 

 valuable foodstuffs. In this way also the drain on the staple products 

 was lessened. While there is no way of determining accurately how 

 much food was put up in individual homes for later use, there is every 

 reason to believe that thousands of families canned and preserved 

 perishable products this year for the first time. 



Steps had been taken early in the year to make sure that there 

 would be a sufficient supply of containers. The price of tin cans 



