50 ANNTTAL T^F,PORTR OF DEPARTMENT OF ACiRTCUT.TURE. 



received at creameries and buying stations, and much of this is utterly 

 unfit to be made into a food product. Investigations during the year 

 showed that CI per cent out of 5,154 lots of cream were of third 

 grade — that is, dirty, decomposed, or sour — and that 94.5 per cent of 

 the creameries investigated were insanitary to a greater or less degree. 

 Pasteurization was practiced in only 27 per cent of the creameries. 

 These conditions make a system of inspection of dairy products ver^'^ 

 desirable. Recommendations on this point are contained in the re- 

 port of the Chief of the Bureau of Animal Industry. 



DAIRY RESEARCH LABORATORIES. 



The dair}^ researcli laboratories have continued their work upon 

 various technical problems connected with milk, butter, and cheese. 

 p]xtensive experiments regarding the influence of breed, individual- 

 ity, and feeds on the composition of milk are under Avay at Columbia, 

 Mo., in cooperation with the State agricultural experiment station, 

 and some of the results of this work are in course of publication. 



Work on the manufacture of butter for storage has been completed, 

 and the results consistently show a much higher keeping quality 

 in butter made from sweet pasteurized cream than in butter made 

 in the usual way. Aside from the commercial advantages, butter 

 made by this method is much safer for human health, as pasteuriza- 

 tion removes the danger from disease germs that are liable to exist 

 for considerable periods in butter made from unpasteurized cream. 



The investigations concerning the Swiss, Cheddar, Camembert, 

 and Roquefort types of cheese have been continued and additional 

 knowledge has been obtained which will be of value in the produc- 

 tion of those kinds of cheese. The experiments with European 

 varieties of soft cheese have been carried far enough to indicate the 

 possibility of making cheese of the Camembert type in this country, 

 although no manufacturer has appeared to be entirely successful 

 as yet. 



BUREAU OF PLANT INDUSTRY. 



A review of the w^ork of the Bureau of Plant Industry for the 

 fiscal year 1912 is included in the Record of Sixteen Years, see pages 

 117 to 144. 



BUREAU OF CHEMISTRY. 

 POULTRY AND EGG INVESTIGATIONS. 



The conservation policy of this department is being extended to the 

 saving of foodstuffs that are now wasted, so that our people may con- 

 tinue to have enough wholesome food to eat. The farmer produces a 

 good article, but because of deterioration during marketing it is some- 

 times an inferior food when it reaches the consumer, or, worse stiU, 



