EXPERIMENT STATION REPORTS. 319 



istry in the College department. These appointments are effective Sep- 

 tember 1st. Mr. George Wible was employed early in April as a tem- 

 porary assistant dnring the fertilizer season. 



CONTROL WORK. 



Fertilizer Inspection: Bulletin 278 giving the results of 549 samples 

 of fertilizer analyzed during the season of 1916 was published early in 

 the year. Owing to the increased cost of fertilizers this year and the 

 evident increase in the amounts used, the annual spring inspection was 

 prosecuted with more vigor than ever before. About 700 samples have 

 been secured. The results of 518 samples already analyzed have been 

 summarized for publication in circular form in advance of the fall sea- 

 son. 



FEEDING STUFFS INSPECTION. 



The first feeding stuffs bulletin, No. 270, was published in November, 

 1916, giving results on more than 800 samples. A smaller number of 

 samples were collected this year owing to the scarcity of feed stuffs on 

 the market. The analytical work has been finished and the results will 

 soon be ready for publication. It is interesting to note that the num- 

 ber of samples falling below guarantee this year is considerably less 

 than the number found last year. 



During the last session of the Legislature a new feeding stuffs bill 

 was introduced and passed. This bill is copied after the proposed uni- 

 form law drafted by the Association of Feed Control Officials of the 

 United States. The law will not become operative until April 1st, 1918. 

 It will give us far better control over the feeding stuffs sold in the State 

 than under the old law. One of the requirements under the new law is the 

 declaration of the ingredients used in compounding mixed feeds. This 

 will require a microscopical examination of all mixed feeds in the future. 

 We have given some attention to this phase of the subject during the 

 past year but as proficiency along this line comes only with years of ex- 

 perience, the extent of our examination was more or less limited. 



I would recommend that Mr. Berger be allowed to spend two or three 

 weeks at some other institution where this work has been in progress 

 for several years in order to become familiar with the methods used and 

 learn something of the technique. 



INSECTICIDE INSPECTION. 



Special attention has been given during the year to preparations in- 

 tended for treating wheat and other small grains for the prevention of 

 smut. In every case these were found to contain formaldehyde as the 

 active ingredient to which had been added some coloring matter and 

 usually a small amount of carbolic acid and lye. These preparations 

 were being sold in violation of the law in that no statement appeared 

 on the labels as to the active and inactive ingredients. The retail price 

 of the mixtures ranged from |1.25 to ^2M per pint or from five to eight 

 times the cost of formaldehyde. All of the manufacturing concerns resi- 

 dent in Michigan were notified of the law and it is gratifying to report 

 that steps were immediately taken by all of them to comply with the re- 

 quirements. 



