ANNUAL REPORT, 1941 69 



greenhouse soils of certain waste organic b>'-products; when convenient, these 

 materials are tested on the current-year crops at the Field Station. 



Coffee chaff received from Wetmore and Company, Cambridge, Mass., was 

 incorporated into carnation and snapdragon soils at the rate of two inches of the 

 chaff to six inches of bench soil with no harmful effects to the plants. Also, it 

 appeared to be quite suitable for use in potting soils and as a filler and conditioner 

 in fertilizer mixtures. 



According to the analyses of the Fertilizer Control Laboratory of the Experi- 

 ment Station, one ton of coffee chaff has a trade valuation in terms of plant food 

 of approximately $10 to $11. 



Packet Seed Studies. (Clark L. Thayer.) For a sixth season the Depart- 

 ment of Floriculture has cooperated with the Seed Laboratory in a test to de- 

 termine the quality of flower seeds sold in retail seed stores, chain stores, schools, 

 and other retail outlets. The seeds were tested for germination and performance 

 under field conditions. 



The test included 218 lots, representing 50 genera, packeted by 32 concerns, 

 and obtained from 80 retail outlets. Records on germination showed 124 lots 

 good; 55 lots, fair; 31 lots, poor; 8 lots, none. Records on performance showed 

 165 lots, satisfactory; 12 lots, fair; 41 lots, not satisfactory. Detailed results are 

 reported in Control Series Bulletin 111. 



Floriculture Soil Testing Service. (Harold E. White, Waltham.) The following 

 tabulation shows the number of soils tested in 1941: 



Roses 132 



Carnations 508 



Chrysanthemums 157 



Gardenias 74 



Snapdragons 106 



Sweet peas 32 



Miscellaneous 573 



Total 1582 



DEPARTMENT OF HOME ECONOMICS NUTRITION 

 Helen S. Mitchell in Charge 



Vitamin Requirements of Older People. (H. S. Mitchell and A. W. Wertz.) 

 Very little is known concerning vitamin requirements with advancing age. The 

 favorable reports of the clinical application of vitamins, particularly thiamin, 

 in geriatrics raise the question as to why such deficiencies exist. This study was 

 undertaken with the hope of arriving at a better understanding of vitamin me- 

 tabolism in older people. The project is partially sponsored by Standard Brands 

 Incorporated. 



Work now in progress concerns the correlation between cardiac changes, blood 

 hemoglobin, red cell count, differential red cell count, and thiamin excreted in 

 the urine, with the intake of pure thiamin versus the entire vitamin B complex. 

 If possible the bisulfite-binding substances in the urine and pyruvic acid in the 

 blood will be determined also. 



Thiamin and Pyrimidine Studies on Older Subjects. (A. W. W'ertz and H. S. 

 Mitchell.) (Proc. Soc. Exp. Biol, and Med. 48: 259, 1941.) Four men and four 

 women between the ages of 65 and 75 years were used as experimental subjects 



