unreliable by reason of such departures from the set rules, the results 

 as a whole would not be seriously affected. The plan of the work, there- 

 fore, included the idea of conducting the investigation with volunteers 

 young men, most of whom were connected with the Department of Agri- 

 culture and provided that during the period of observation they should 

 continue in their usual vocations. 



DETAILS OF ORGANIZATION OF THE WORK. 



CONTROL OF SUBJECTS. 



A large number of volunteers offered their services for the investiga- 

 tions above outlined, from whom twelve were selected. Each appli- 

 cant was required to fill in a blank describing the usual conduct of his 

 daily life. This blank is as follows : 



Descriptive blank to be filled out by applicants for Hygienic Table. 



1. Name and address. 



2. Date of birth. 



3. Have you had any sickness confining you to your room within a 



year? If so, state nature and duration. 



4. Are you subject to indigestion ? If so, state character and fre- 



quency. 



5. Do you use coffee, tea, or chocolate with your meals? If so, 



state at which meals and which beverage you prefer. 



6. Do you use tobacco ? If so, state in what form, at what times, 



and quantity. 



7. Do you use wine, beer, or other alcoholic beverages? 



8. Do you go to stool regularly ? At what hours ? 



9. At what hours do you usually urinate ? A 



10. At what hours do you go to bed ? How many hours do you 



usually sleep ? 



11. Do you engage in any unusual or violent exercise ? If so, what ? 



All applicants who were addicted to the use of alcoholic beverages 

 were excluded for the reason that alcohol, having a certain food value, 

 and the habit of using it often being a strong one, the difficulty of 

 refraining from its use would at times become very great. Moreover, 

 it was desired not to complicate the character of the diet by the intro- 

 duction of any alcoholic beverage. Applicants addicted to the moder- 

 erate use of tobacco were accepted on condition that a statement be 

 made covering the usual quantities of tobacco consumed, the character 

 thereof, and the methods of consumption. Such applicants were 

 admitted to the hygienic table agreeing, among other things, to con- 

 tinue the use of tobacco regularly during the whole period in the man- 

 ner described. The members of the table having been selected, each 

 one was required to subscribe to the following pledge : 



I hereby agree, on my honor, to follow implicitly the rules and regulations 

 governing the hygienic table of the Bureau of Chemistry during the time that I 

 am a member thereof. I agree, during my attendance at the table of observa- 

 tion, to use no other food or drink than that which is provided for me, with the 



