216 
for maintaining an adequate supply of properly 
trained sanitarians, physicians and nurses during 
the war. The means for the extension of existing 
training facilities should be provided by the gov- 
ernment. 
The members of the conference which pre- 
pared the program were Dr. John F. Ander- 
son, formerly director of the United States 
Hygienic Laboratory; Dr. Haven KHmerson, 
formerly health commissioner of New York; 
Dr. W. A. Evans, formerly health commis- 
sioner of Chicago; Lee K. Frankel, vice-presi- 
dent of the Metropolitan Life Insurance Com- 
pany; Dr. A. W. Freeman, of the Ohio state 
health department; Dr. Goldwater; Porter Lee, 
of the New York School of Philanthropy; Dr. 
W. S .Rankin, state health secretary of North 
Carolina; Dr. E. G. Williams, state health 
commissioner of Virginia, and Dr. C. E.-A. 
Winslow, professor of public health at Yale 
University. 
WORK OF THE BUREAU OF FISHERIES 
Tur Fisheries Service Bulletin stated that 
for years the Bureau of Fisheries has been 
handicapped for lack of facilities for practical 
demonstrations and experimentation in the 
methods of preparing and preserving fishery 
products. The fishery industries, particularly 
those concerned in canning and otherwise pre- 
serving food products, labor under the serious 
drawback of ignorance of the scientific prin- 
ciples underlying their operations. There is 
also an underconsumption of fish, arising in 
part from the inferior quality of much that is 
placed on the market and in part from igno- 
rance of the consumer regarding the dietetic 
qualities and peculiarities of the several spe- 
cies, with consequent improper preparation for 
the table. As a result there is an annual loss 
of many millions, probably hundreds of mil- 
lions, of pounds of valuable fish food. With 
adequate equipment and personnel provided, 
the bureau has held that it could render effec- 
tive aid in developing methods for overcoming 
such difficulties, and that important results 
would be achieved in some fields within a 
short period of time. 
The President has approved and authorized 
an allotment of $125,000 from the fund for the 
SCIENCE  . 
[N. 8. Von. XLVIII. No. 1235 
national security and defense to enable the 
bureau to build and equip in Washington a 
laboratory for the conduct of work of this 
character and to provide a temporary per- 
sonnel. Preparations for carrying out this 
program are being pushed vigorously, and in- 
vestigations have been started which, it is 
anticipated, will yield important results in 
making available larger quantities of fish for 
food and in educating the public to the merits 
of the various fishery products. 
As large quantities of fish preserved by salt- 
ing are lost annually by spoilage and still 
larger quantities of fresh fish, for which there 
is no immediate market, are thrown away be- 
cause of the risk of loss if cured, an investiga- 
tion for the purpose of developing satisfactory 
methods for overcoming these difficulties has 
been inaugurated. Donald K. Tressler, well 
qualified by training and with practical ex- 
perience as an analytical chemist for a salt- 
manufacturing eompany, has been employed 
for this work. For the present this experi- 
mental work will be conducted at Johns Hop- 
kins University, under the supervision of Pro- 
fessor E. V. McCollum. : 
A trained worker in domestic science has 
been employed to carry on experiments with 
new fishes and fishery products to determine 
the best methods for preparing these products 
for the table and to begin the assemblage of 
material for a publication on fish cookery. 
In addition, quite extensive experiments have 
been made in the development of methods 
suited to the canning of fish in the home, and 
plans have been laid and machinery has been 
assembled for the conduct of experiments in 
drying fish in vacuo. 
As rapidly as the services of suitably trained 
persons for a number of other investigations 
can be obtained such investigations will be 
taken up. One of these has to do with the in- 
creased utilization of fish waste for manu- 
facture into oil and fish meal or fertilizer. 
The Bureau’s position for work along the 
lines outlined has been strengthened further 
by the provision made by the present Congress 
for an assistant for developing fisheries and 
for the saving and use of fishery products. 
