REPOET OF THE SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE. CVII 



gress of March 2, 1887. Considering the large population to be 

 maintained by agriculture in Porto Rico, every effort should be made 

 to develop the agricultural resources of the island. The station will 

 be called upon to aid in the solution of a great variety of problems. 

 The range and effectiveness of its work will necessarily be limited by 

 the funds at its command. When the nation does as much for the 

 Porto Rico station as for stations in the other States and Territories, 

 there will still be need for additional financial assistance from the 

 insular government. The cordial support which has been given the 

 station by the Government and the substantial grant of money voted 

 by the insular legislature for the purchase of land for the station have 

 given evidence that the people and government of Porto Rico appre- 

 ciate the importance of this enterprise and are willing to supplement 

 the efforts of the National Government in this direction. As the work 

 of the station develops, additional buildings and equipment will be 

 needed, and it is confidently expected that these requirements will be 

 met by the local legislature. 



Nutrition Investigations. 



The nutrition investigations have been continued along the same lines 

 as heretofore, including dietary studies, and digestion, cooking, and 

 metabolism experiments. These studies have been carried on in coopera- 

 tion with universities and experiment stations in Maine, Massachusetts, 

 Connecticut, New York, Tennessee, Illinois, California, Minnesota, Ver- 

 mont, and Georgia. The respiration calorimeter used in these investi- 

 gations has been improved, and the studies during the past year with 

 this apparatus have had reference especially to the relative efficiency 

 of fats and carbohydrates as sources of energy for the performance of 

 muscular work. To further study the relation of diet to muscular 

 work, dietary studies with lumbermen performing severe work in the 

 forests of Maine have been made. Among other subjects of investi- 

 gation have been the digestibility and nutritive value of bread made 

 from different kinds of flour; the effect of cooking on the nutritive 

 value and digestibilit}^ of different kinds and cuts of meat; the rela- 

 tive nutritive value of different kinds and coml)inations of fruits and 

 nuts, and the comparative metabolism of nitrogen, sulphur, and phos- 

 phorus. Five bulletins regarding the results of nutrition investiga- 

 tions were published during the past year. Special efforts have been 

 continued to bring the results of this work to the attention of schools 

 and colleges, physicians, scientists, superintendents of public institu- 

 tions, persons engaged in philanthropic enterprises, etc. 



At the summer school of nutrition and bacteriology, held at Wes- 

 leyan University, Middletown, Conn., in July, 1902, under the direc- 

 tion of the special agent in charge of nutrition investigations in con- 

 nection with his work as professor in that institution, the methods and 



