584 ANNUAL EEPORTS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



a small iunount of arsenic in the varnish, the arsenic beinc: added 

 as sulphid in India for the purpose of coloring the product. A 

 considerable number of fermented and distilled liqueurs and cordials 

 Avore exan)ined. A striking feature of the examination of the prod- 

 ucts submitted showed nearly all of them in violation of the law, 

 the greater part of these being labeled in a manner implying that 

 they were of foreign production when (hey were not. 



Portland LABORATOR-i . — Special work included: A study of meth- 

 ods submitted by the Treasury Depaitment for detection of color 

 and facing in tea, a study of the metiiod for the detection of pepsin 

 in gum, a study of the manufacture of vinegar at Salem, Oreg., and 

 cooperative work on fruits. 



St. Louis laboratory. — During the year a certain amount of work 

 was done at the request of the purchasing commissary of the United 

 States Army, and cordial relations have been maintained between the 

 two departments. A certain amount of work has also been done and 

 various consultations held for the Internal-Kevenue Division of the 

 Treasury Department, aiding them to quicker action in cases which 

 might be pending. 



San Francisco laboratory. — The work of the San Francisco lab- 

 oratory during the year has been of a different character than that 

 of the preceding year in that the subject of oriental proprietary 

 medicines has been under investig-ation. Of the imported samples, 30 

 per cent were oriental drugs, and 40 per cent of the oriental drug 

 samples examined were found to be illegal. Twenty per cent of the 

 import samples examined were made up of tea. examined for color- 

 ing and facing. Of the domestic samples fruit products, fermented 

 and distilled liquors, flavoring extracts, and saccharine products con- 

 stitute the major portion. A number of analyses have been made of 

 typical Califcrnia fruits of varying degrees of xipeness to note their 

 change in composition. During the latter part of the year the time 

 of one man has been devoted to the analyses of fruits in connection 

 with the experimental cannery established in San Francisco for the 

 study of fruit-canning problems peculiar to California. A prelim- 

 inary report on the nature and composition of gases given off by 

 roasted coffee has been prepared, the investigation not being fully 

 completed at this time. An investigation into a method for the 

 separation of sound oranges from frozen oranges, based upon the 

 specific gravity of the fruit, was undertaken, and considerable data 

 collected, but with results which indicate that a commercial method 

 for the positive separation of frozen from sound fruit is imprac- 

 ticable. A special investigation of all the breweries within the city 

 of San Francisco was carried out to decide certain questions relative 

 to what the brewers considered to be the proper raw materials with 

 which beer should be made. 



Savannah laboratory. — A number of samples were examined for 

 local branches of the War and Treasury Departments and two 

 special investigations were begim which have not yet been completed. 

 In the late spring a preliminary investigation of the oyster canning 

 industr\^ in the vicinity of Savannah was undertaken for the purpose 

 of looking into the sanitary conditions, source of supply of raw 

 material, and collecting data connected with the canning of oysters. 

 Because of the suspected relationship between spoiled corn and pel- 

 lagra, and the impossibility of the average consumer distinguishing 



