1912.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 31. 47 



secured certificates to operate the Babcock test, and 4,400 pieces 

 of Babcock glassware have been tested for accuracy, of which 

 only 12 pieces or .27 of 1 per cent, were condemned as iiuic- 

 curatc. 



3. WoiiK OF THE Reseakcu Section. 

 Work has continued along much the same lines as heretofore. 

 It has been consideral)Iy impeded, however, by the extensive 

 repairs made to the laboratory during the summer and autumn, 



(a) Messrs. Plolland and Reed have devoted a large amount 

 of their time to the devising of methods for the making of chem- 

 ically pure insecticides, and have furnished the entomological 

 department with Paris green, acid arsenate of lead and metarsc- 

 nite of lime. A paper on this work will probably be found 

 elsewhere in this report. Some progress has been made in the 

 quantitative determinations of the insoluble fatty acids, and 

 numerous factors have been studied such as strength, of alcohol, 

 ratio of fatty acids to solvent, amount of precipitant, condi- 

 tions favoring the formation of a crystalline precipitate, etc. 

 This work will be given more attention during the present year. 



(b) j\Ir. Morse has continued his studies relative to the effect 

 of fertilizers on asparagus and has brought together a consid- 

 erable amount of data on the subject. It is not believed, how- 

 ever, that the work is sufficiently advanced to warrant an ex- 

 tended paper on the project. The same chemist has also con- 

 tinued his work with cranberries, devoting his time principally 

 to a chemical examination of the drainage water in the cylin- 

 ders. These cylinders, it may be stated, are made of large, 

 glazed tile sunk in the earth and filled with peat and sand so as 

 to represent miniature cranberry bogs. 



(c) Dr. Lindsey has continued his work on the cause of the 

 digestion depression produced by molasses. Butyric acid — a 

 ]iroduct of carbohydrate fermentation — has been fed to sheep 

 in different amounts, but without apparently causing any no- 

 ticeable depression. This w-ork is being continued. 



Numerous digestion experiments have been made including 

 plain and molasses beet pulp, grain screenings and Creamo 

 feed. 



Attention has also been given and experiments are now in 



