EDITOEIAL. 805 



extensive investi^j^ation upon the use which iUHinals ac. iially make of 

 (heir food at dill'ereiit periods of growth, considered from a physio- 

 U)gical standpoint, the role of phosjihates in animal nutrition, the 

 eflfects and importance of various other mineral constituents, and (he 

 specific effect of certain foods on the product, such as the hardness or 

 solidity of pork and the character of the fat in butter. 



In dairying there are also comparatively fcAv projects, which may 

 l)e taken as an indication that attention is being turned in that 

 direction far less than a few years ago, or that men are lacking to 

 take up the more fundamental problems in this field. There are 

 seA'eral quite elaborate projects dealing with the less understood, 

 properties of milk and their i-elation to differences in its nutritive 

 value and the niannei- in which it agrees with people, but aside from 

 these the dairy work is quite largely on the bacteriological side. 

 Investigations are proposed npon bacteria other than disease germs 

 in milk which are detrimental to digestion, the leucocytes in milk 

 under normal and abnormal conditions and their sanitary signifi- 

 cance, the constituents of cheese and their changes under the influ- 

 ence of certain classes of bacteria, and bacteriological and chemical 

 investigations upon the disposal of creamery sewage, which is found 

 much more resistant than municipal sewage, necessitating modifi- 

 cation of the septic tank method. 



In animal lireeding investigations are to be made in heredity and 

 upon the ef!*ects of inbreeding, the latter being planned to be the 

 most systematic attempt ever made to study the efi'ects of inbreeding 

 ujion domestic animals. In other investigations the breeding of 

 animals inuler normal and abnormal cccnditions is to be studied, the 

 effect of certain feeds like cotton-seed meal upon prepotency, and 

 the whole problem of artificial impregnation. It is encouraging 

 (o sci> the breeding of animals taken up in a way to contribute more 

 exact and reliable knowledge. SeA'eral other investigations in tluit 

 field are being j)lanned. 



Veterinary science presents quite a list of undertakings of a thor- 

 ough character relating to specific diseases, the imnnniizing of ani- 

 mals, with a study of the causes of natural immunity, stable ventila- 

 tion in relation to the requirements of health, the active principles 

 of plants poisonous to .stock, and several quite elaborate studies upon 

 the life history of the cattle tick as related to Texas fever eradication. 



Several less usual topics are a study of the conditions in the incu- 

 bation of eggs under the hen as regards gases and physical factors, 

 and their reproduction in artificial incubation; the optimum condi- 

 tions for artificial incu])ation in dry climates: conditions determining 

 the egg-laying cai)acity of fowls, and the fertility of eggs; the cause 

 of decay in eggs; and an investigation into the factors influencing 

 wool ])roduction, the scouring of wool, and related topics. 



