38 DEPARTMENTAL REPORTS. 



such as the status of dairy organizations, dairy schools and facilities 

 for technical instruction, State dairy laws, the development of for- 

 eign markets for the dairy products of this country, the milk supply 

 of cities and towns, and laws and ordinances relating thereto. Some 

 reports have been printed and others are in course of preparation. 



As heretofore, attention is given to the collection of dairy data in 

 general, with a view to its proper arrangement and future use. So 

 far as the clerical force of the office permits, the material collected 

 has been indexed for ready reference. Although necessarily much in 

 arrears, this catalogue of dairy information is of great value and in 

 constant use. 



The routine work of the office is constantly increasing. This 

 embraces current correspondence, with many requests for specific 

 information from all parts of the country, and the preparation of 

 reports and other manuscripts for publication. During the year the 

 division has prepared four distinct publications for distribution, com- 

 prising in all 188 printed pages; most of these were liberally illus- 

 trated from original photographs obtained for the division or made 

 by its officers. One of these reports was published in the Yearbook 

 for 1900 and two in the current Annual Report of the Bureau, all 

 being separately reprinted. 



The chief and assistant chief of the division have visited dairy 

 centers in ten different States and attended conventions of dairy asso- 

 ciations and similar bodies in four of these. Rather less has been 

 done along this line than in previous years — first, because of discon- 

 tinuing the plan of employing persons for this representative service 

 who are not regularly connected with the Department, and, second, 

 because of the time occupied in giving attention to more distant fields 

 of interest. 



The new insular possessions of the United States and thirteen 

 foreign countries have been visited during the year by officers or 

 special expert agents of the division. The investigations thus made 

 have embraced the most interesting dairy producing districts of Great 

 Britain and western Europe and the markets of Japan, China, Canada, 

 Cuba, and St. Thomas. Materials have been thus collected for special 

 reports now in preparation and others to be made later. 



Experimental exports of dairy products from the United States, 

 similar to those of previous years, have been made to Great Britain, 

 to France (in connection with the Paris Exposition), to Japan, China, 

 Cuba, and Porto Rico. It has been well established that our market 

 for cheese in England and Scotland can be largely and profitably 

 increased by judicious management. Butter from this countiy can 

 find a place in the British markets at almost any time in successful 

 competition with the best product of other countries, provided our 

 surplus production affords a regular supply and the prices offered 

 become a sufficient inducement to exporters. Occasionally at irreg- 

 ular periods, and owing to special and temporary conditions, American 

 butter can be sold to advantage at Hamburg and at Paris. No other 

 market has developed on the Continent of Europe favorable for butter 

 from the United States. In Cuba, Porto Rico, and other points in 

 the West Indies there are opportunities for increasing the sales of 

 dairy products from this country. A special report upon this subject 

 will soon be submitted. In Japan and China some openings for new 

 trade are being found, but active Australian competition must be met. 

 It is rather too early to express definite opinions on this subject, but 



