signed early in the year and Dr. W. E. Cross having assumed 

 the position of Chief Chemist in September, 1910. This work 

 has resulted in taking up certain questions of clarification where 

 it seemed that improvement could be made in sugar house prac- 

 tice. It has been found that the application of the carbonata- 

 tion process previously presenting seemingly unsurmountabio 

 difficulties, as applied to the cane juice, may be utilized with 

 the proper control of temperature and some other factors. Lab- 

 oratory experiments under car-eful control gave excellent results. 

 Although these details were worked out late in the season, two 

 small runs were made in the sugar house, where these labora- 

 tory results as tested gave very excellent results, and we believe 

 that with another year for perfecting minor defects the method 

 can be made thoroughly practicable in Louisiana sugar houses. 

 During the early part of the year some M'^ork was done on 

 the use of formaldehyde in sugar house cane juices and also 

 on the composition of certain organic acids in cane juices. The 

 result of the study of formaldehyde has been published. 



DEPARTMENT OF BACTERIOLOGY. 



The bacteriological studies have been continued along lines 

 indicated in last year's report, by Mr. W. L. Owen. The re- 

 sults of these investigations have been embodied into bulletin 

 form and are now in press. It may be said here that Mr. Owen 

 has demonstrated very conclusively that living microscopic 

 organisms in raw sugars bring about a destruction of a certain 

 amount of sucrose and the formation of a chemical substance 

 that is optically active, thus producing errors in polarization. 

 This substance has heretofore been unknown and it has conse- 

 quently given rise to a certain amount of error in ordinary 

 analytical work. This discovery will therefore be of exceedingly 

 great value in contributing to greater scientific accuracy in the 

 polarization of sugars. This work will be continued during the 

 coming year with the expectation of getting additional data. 

 It is also proposed to take up a study of bacterial flora of cane 

 syrup, with the view of determining conditions that modify 

 this flora and the influence these organisms may have on methods 

 of treatment for the preservation of syrup ; also other influence 

 on the quality of syrup. 



