110 ANNUAL REPORTS OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



has been prepared wliicli contains luucli information which should 

 prove of vahie to the housekeeper and result in an even greater appre- 

 ciation of this standard American food crop which can be used in the 

 diet in so many ways. 



Experimental studies have also been made of the relative nutritive 

 value of different fats and oils commonly employed for table and 

 cooking purposes, and of ways of using rationally this important 

 group of energy-}^ elding foodstuffs. This work, which involves 

 studies with the respiration calorimeter, has been undertaken in 

 cooperation with the Bureau of Animal Industry. 



As a result of the numerous experiments with cheese, a popular 

 bulletin has been published dealing with the economical use in the 

 diet of this food, which gives directions for its use in many ways and 

 discusses its relative value in comparison with other food materials, 

 the general conclusion being that cheese can be used in quantity in a 

 great variety of ways and that it may be employed to replace meat 

 when this seems desirable. Similar work on the nutritive and eco- 

 nomic value of dried fruits has been carried on. 



The experiments made in cooperation with the Bureau of Chem- 

 istry on the respiration and energy output of bananas during the 

 active ripening period has been continued. The small respiration 

 calorimeter designed for this line of work has proved very useful in 

 securing data which are of great interest in connection with the 

 studies of ripening fruit which the department is carrying on. The 

 methods are applicable to the study of a great variety of problems of 

 vegetable physiology of both theoretical and practical interest and 

 such work should prove of much importance to those who purchase, 

 handle, and market such products and to those who use them in the 

 home as well as to investigators interested in technical questions. 



Mention should also be made of the increasing demands which are 

 made 'for publications and other information on the relative value 

 of food and similar topics. Housekeepers on farms and in towns, 

 teachers, pupils, and others turn to the department in increasing 

 numbers for data on such subjects, and it is apparent that the interest 

 is widespread and genuine. Indeed, this has developed into one of 

 the most important activities of the nutrition investigations and is 

 one of those by which the Dej^artment of Agriculture directly helps 

 in the solving of home makers' problems. 



OFFICE OF PUBLIC ROADS. 



There probably was never a time in the history of the United States 

 when the question of improved roads was under more serious con- 

 sideration. The process of centralizing the control of highways has 

 gone steadily on and each year sees an added number of States that 

 have established the State highway departments. There remain 



