prompt reports of progress along all lines. This information will be disseminated in such a way that the work in the various States can be so correlated and coordinated as to minimize the duplication which is now so much in evidence.

TESTING OF ROAD MATERIALS.

In the routine testing and examination of road materials great progress has been made along established lines. The total number of samples tested during the year was 1,168, an increase of 59 per cent over the number received and tested during the preceding year. In addition to these routine tests, investigations were made with a view to the utilization of slag and other by-products in road building, and these were extended to comprise field experiments through the construction of short sections of road at Youngstown, Ohio, and Ithaca, N. Y. These investigations have developed the fact that practically all the basic open-hearth slags are well adapted to road construction, especially when used as binding materials. It has been found that by adding quicklime to blast-furnace slag screenings the cementing properties are greatly increased. These investigations will be continued during the next fiscal year.

CULVERTS AND BRIDGES FOR HIGHWAYS.

The need for better culverts and bridges for our public highways is becoming evident, both from the point of view of economy and safety for the public. Information on this subject in suitable form has been in the past, and still remains, fragmentary and scattered.

By far the larger number of such structures that are needed are of the shorter spans-50 feet or less-and in the past they have been built of timber, which is, however, constantly increasing in price, and requires a relatively much larger expenditure for maintenance. Much economy can be effected, and more durable and safer structures can be built out of concrete or masonry, provided that the required information and skilled supervision may be had.

Owing to the fact that the individual pieces of work are small, those in responsible charge have not felt warranted in incurring the expense incident to the employment of skilled engineering assistants.

Such information as is referred to above is now being collected, and it is hoped that much of value will be in shape for publication and distribution during the coming fiscal year.

The published information will be supplemented by personal inspection and advice by engineers of the Office when request is made through the local authorities.

www

INVESTIGATION OF DUST PREVENTIVES AND ROAD BINDERS.

During the past year the work of the Office relative to the investigation of the problems of dust prevention and road preservation has advanced rapidly.

Routine tests or analyses of bituminous road materials made in the laboratories during the past year were more than double the number made during the preceding year. A number of these examinations were made in conjunction with the experimental field work of the Office, and were reported, together with descriptions of the experiments, in Circular No. 92. It is expected that these examinations will be of great service in determining the value of certain classes of binders, as the experimental work is carefully inspected from time to time, and the results are made a matter of record. Through its laboratory work, the Office has been able to offer val uable advice in regard to specifications for bituminous road binders, and in many instances to frame such specifications upon request of various public-service bodies. A number of the state highway commissions have profited by this opportunity.

Many worthless road preparations have been, and are at present being, manufactured and sold to the public through ignorance on the part of both producer and consumer with regard to the requisite characteristics of such materials to meet local conditions. These materials are sold under trade names and as a rule carry no valid guaranty of quality. Specifications for such materials are therefore much needed for the protection of the public, and this phase of the work will be given continued attention by the Office.

Special investigations of bituminous road materials carried on by the laboratory have covered improvements in the methods of analysis, the effect of various methods of distillation upon the physical and chemical properties of tars, and the development of a test for determining the binding value of bitumens.

CORROSION OF IRON AND STEEL.

The investigations carried on by the Office relative to the corrosion of iron and steel have induced some of the manufacturers to produce a practically pure iron for culverts and pipes. While it is not possible to produce an iron that will be entirely free from rust, yet it is believed that these pure grades of metal are going to give very much better service.

Investigations in regard to fence wire have shown that wire fencing is not only made of inferior material, but that in many cases the galvanizing is put on very thin. Some of the manufacturers have already improved their products in these respects as a result of this work.

The corrosion experiments have been extended to the use of paints in the protection of structures of iron and steel, and as a result of these paint experiments the entire science of protective paints has been placed on a firmer foundation. It is now possible to design and specify a protective paint which will not only cover the metal, but will act as a rust inhibitor. It has been shown that the life of wire fencing can be prolonged by painting it, at an expense of about 1 cent per rod.

OIL-CEMENT CONCRETE.

The Office has conducted important investigative work during the past year in the development of oil-cement concrete. Portlandcement concrete is rapidly becoming a universal building material. The principal objection to the present use of cement concrete is that it is extremely porous and absorbs water. It has been found during the laboratory investigations that it is possible to mingle mineral oils with concrete while it is still wet and before it is laid or molded in the forms, so that the material may thus be rendered waterproof. Several pieces of road surface have already been improved by oil-cement concrete. In addition to this, a bridge surface has been constructed of this material in New Jersey. Up to the present time these surfaces are giving entire satisfaction. Oil-cement concrete is now being given a practical application on a series of new vaults at the United States Treasury. From the results already obtained, the experiments indicate that it would be practicable to use this material for floors, cellars, foundation walls, tanks, silos, manure pits, and similar construction, where strength, solidity, and waterproof qualities are required. Varying amounts of oil have been used in these experiments, the best results having been obtained when the amount of oil represents about 10 to 15 per cent of the weight of the cement used. The project is yet in an experimental stage and the results obtained should not be considered conclusive.

THE HANDLING OF PERISHABLE PRODUCTS.

It will be observed that more and more attention is being directed to the study of the handling of perishable products, that waste may be lowered and quality and condition improved. Such investigations as have been conducted in California on the handling of citrus fruits and table grapes; in Georgia on the handling of peaches; the handling of poultry and eggs, oysters, corn, wheat, flaxseed, milk, codfish, sweet ciders, etc., indicate the breadth of the work now in progress. The results already obtained show the great value and importance of such studies in the conservation of our finished products the most valuable asset of any people.

The foregoing is a brief account of what the Department has been doing during the past year to help farmers through research and demonstration. We have been diligent to contribute toward heavier crops, owing to high prices for the necessities of life, and we feel justified in thinking that our efforts and those of the scientists of the States are telling in the grand totals set forth. The day's work on the farm is accomplishing more, and the acre is yielding more. During the past year much attention has been given to demonstration in the field of what is known to advanced students, that men of limited means and circumscribed conditions might learn by object lesson better methods and thereby increase their incomes and also contribute to the magnitude of our crops.

Science that is not applied is dead.

The details of the operations of the Department will be found in the reports of the heads of the various Bureaus, Divisions, and Offices.

Respectfully submitted.

WASHINGTON, D. C.,

JAMES WILSON, Secretary of Agriculture.

November 23, 1910.

I have the honor to submit my second annual report.

This Department has only a few features which are common to all the bureaus and divisions embraced in it. It will be necessary, therefore, to deal with the several branches under their respective heads. The report will for the same reason be more extended than I had hoped to make it.

The entire force of employees at the end of the fiscal year (not counting about 71,500 enumerators and a temporary force of 3,496 in the Bureau of the Census) numbered 10,258, which is an increase of 327 over the previous year. This increase appears chiefly in the Census, Fisheries, and Immigration and Naturalization bureaus. It is to be explained by the fact that the Bureau of the Census, in view of its increased work, necessarily had to employ a larger permanent force; the Bureau of Fisheries was directed to take over the seal herds, and became responsible for the protection of the natives on the Pribilof Islands, which called for a larger force; and immigration has increased to such an extent that the force in this service had to be correspondingly enlarged. A few of the bureaus have reduced their forces. Most of them have, however, had slight increases, to be attributed as a rule to the new work provided for by legislation. Estimates for appropriations will be correspondingly increased.

An examination of that part of the report relating to appointments will show that the Department's force as a whole is very satisfactory. A number of incapable employees have been dropped. The spirit of the personnel is good, interest and even enthusiasm being manifested. Furthermore, it is shown that the important appointments without the classified service have been made with a view to merit. Three chiefs of bureaus, as well as a number of other important presidential appointments during this administration, have been

1879