REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE. LXXXIII 



considerably reduced and large wastes prevented, but that the dietaries 

 of the inmates of these institutions may be much improved by atten- 

 tion to the facts and principles established by nutrition investigations. 

 These preliminary investigations have also shown the need for more 

 accurate inquiries regarding the food requirements of different classes 

 of persons in these institutions. In the State of New York alone not 

 far from 100,000 people of the dependent and delinquent classes are 

 maintained in public institutions at an annual expense of $26,000,000, 

 of which about $6,000,000 is expended for food. This will give some 

 indication of the vast interests at stake in this matter when we take the 

 whole country into account. Certainly here is a field of investigation 

 upon which the Department might well enter, and in which results of 

 great practical value might be expected. 



For the extension of nutrition investigations in the two lines above 

 mentioned, namely, (1) dietary studies of farmers and rural and urban 

 wage workers, and (2) studies with reference to the utilization of the 

 results of nutrition investigations in public institutions, I indorse the 

 recommendation of the Director of the Office of Experiment Stations 

 that $5,000 be added to the present appropriation for the nutrition 

 investigations. 



Now that the governmental, commercial, and other interests of our 

 people are so largely concerned with tropical regions, the determina- 

 tion of the food habits and requirements of people living in such 

 regions has become a matter of much importance. The continuance 

 of soldiers, sailors, and civil officers of the United States in such 

 regions would of itself justify the institution of investigations to deter- 

 mine the best dietaries for their use while there. With our rapidly 

 expanding commerce and the going out of considerable numbers of 

 our people to reside in tropical regions, there is additional reason for 

 undertaking such studies. Moreover, we need to study the dietaries 

 of the native populations which have recently come under the control 

 of the United States, with a view to determining the relation of their 

 food habits to their health and industrial efficiency. Such investiga- 

 tions may easily become an important factor in the agriculture, trade, 

 and commerce of these regions, as well as in the formulation of plans 

 for the improvement of the conditions of life among these peoples. I 

 have therefore indorsed the recommendation of the Director of the 

 Office of Experiment Stations that a special appropriation of $5,000 be 

 made to enable this Department to undertake studies of the food sup- 

 ply and consumption of people living in the Tropics. 



IRRIGATION INVESTIGATIONS. 



The irrigation investigations conducted through the Office of Experi- 

 ment Stations have been extended during the past year as far as the 

 appropriation of $50,000 would permit. These investigations have 



