NINETEENTH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK— PART V 329 



the industry. With but few exceptions the character of the product 

 of our egg breaking establishments has been satisfactory. In order 

 to better control their egg breaking establishments, the state of 

 Illinois licenses them. A license is obtainable only after an inspec- 

 tion shows that the factory is properly equipped to produce a 

 wholesome product and licenses may be revoked at any time a 

 chemical and bacteriological examination of the product shows it 

 to have been improperly prepared. A similar provision of our 

 Sauitary Law may be desirable. 



WEIGHTS AND MEASURES 



The special and routine work of the Weights and Measures De- 

 partment continues to constitute a large portion of our work. I 

 have found it necessary to assign the entire time of three men to 

 the duties of heavy scale inspection and to use such time of our 

 food inspectors, as they could spare, for the inspection of counter 

 scales in retail establishments. During the present emergency with 

 its prevailing high prices for all commodities the necessity of ac- 

 curate scales and weights is apparent. The demands from grain 

 and stock buyers, and farmers for emergency and periodical in- 

 spections of their scales has been exceedingly heavy. The elevator 

 and stockyard patrons insist on frequent inspections to insure fair 

 dealing, and have learned to have confidence in the accuracy of 

 the scales approved by this department. The systematical way in 

 which we can handle the routine inspection of farm and elevator 

 scales renders it possible for us to do this work at a low cost per 

 scale. Although the revenue received by the state in the form of 

 scale inspection fees amounted to $7,345.61 last year, the average 

 charge for wagon scale was about $3.00. Similar inspections made 

 by representatives of the scale houses cost at the rate of $10.00 per 

 day plus the expenses of the representative from and to his head- 

 quarters. Our records show that 5,697 platform scales, 9,953 counter 

 scfiles and 3,121 creamery test scales were inspected by this depart- 

 ment last year. These items do not include the number of weights 

 submitted by cities, firms, and individuals for verification as to 

 their accuracy. 



SEED CORN 



The spring of 1918 found Iowa, as well as most of the other im- 

 portant corn states of the middle west, in a precarious position for 

 seed corn. Usually about one-half of our force is employed during 

 the major portion of the three months previous to the planting 



