304 ANNUAL REPOirrS OF DErAKTMENT OF AGKICULTUKE. 



Sromotion after satisfactory service should become dissatisfied and 

 isgnintled at not boiiifi; advanced in salary after a reasonable time. 

 In order to attract anil liold capable men, as well as to reward efficient 

 service, I consider it desirable that some definite schedule of promo- 

 tions should be arranged for the different classes of employees, and 

 that funds should be provided by Congress according to these sched- 

 ules so that (hose who are giving their best efforts to the service may 

 expect and realize promotions within a reasonable time. 



THE MEAT INSPECTION. 



The meat inspection constitutes tlie largest branch of the bureau's 

 work. Inspection was carried on during the year at 940 establish- 

 ments in 259 cities and towns. There were inspected at the time of 

 slaughter 59,014,019 animals, as compared with 52,976,948 in the pre- 

 ceding fiscal year. The increase was mostly in hogs. There was a 

 slight decrease in cattle, and a considerable proportion of these 

 animals were thin and light in weight because of drought in a part 

 of the Northwest. There were condemned on post-mortem examina- 

 tion 203,778 entire carcasses and 403,859 parts of carcasses, making 

 a total of 007,637 carcasses condemned wholly or in part. In addi- 

 tion, there were condemned on reinspcction 18,096,587 pounds of meat 

 and meat food products that had become spoiled or otherwise unfit 

 for food since original inspection. More detailed statistics and 

 information regarding the year's Avork appear in the portions of this 

 report dealing with the work of the Inspection and Biochemic 

 Divisions. 



The growth of the inspection has reached the limit of the standing 

 annual appropriation of $3,000,000, and further extension will 

 depend upon an increase in the amount available for this work. In 

 the estimates for appropriations for the fiscal year 1914 an increase 

 of $300,000 has been requested. 



Census figures recentl}^ made available make it possible to com- 

 pare the- slaughter under Federal inspection with the total slaughter 

 of animals for food in the United States in 1909, the year covered by 

 the census returns. Taking the census figures for the total slaughter, 

 and the bureau's statistics of the slaughter under Federal inspection 

 during the fiscal year 1909, and converting the number of animals 

 into pounds of dressed meat, if; is calculated that 58.12 per cent of all 

 the meat slaughtered in the country in that year was Federally 

 inspected. AVith the extension of the inspection in the last three 

 years it is likely that the proportion slaughtered under Federal 

 inspection now reaches about 60 per cent. Of the 40 per cent not 

 under Federal inspection, nearly half represents the farm slaughter 

 and the remainder consists mostly of the slaughter by local butchers. 



IMPROVEMENT IN RECENT YEARS. 



The meat-inspection law of 1906 has now been in effect for six 

 years. During the earl}' part of this period the service was extended 

 to a large number of establishments not previously under inspection, 

 and it was necessary to devote our energies toward remedying the 

 more insanitary conditions. As time has gone by the older buildings 

 have been for the most part replaced by buildings of the best modern 

 sanitary construction, making possible great improvement in cleanli- 



