and points out the sources of the desired information. It is also a study of the laws and institutions of the State from the standpoint of their effect upon the prosperity of the State, by one who has had a large part in developing the system under consideration and is deeply interested in the future of the State.

Drainage of Farm Lands, by C. G. Elliott, Drainage Expert, Irrigation Investigations, Office of Experiment Stations. (Farmers' Bulletin No. 187, pp. 40, figs. 19.)

This bulletin gives practical directions for laying out drains, digging trenches, laying tiles, and caring for drains. It gives also directions to enable farmers to determine what kinds of drains to make, how large to make them, and the cost.

Supplemental Report on Drainage in the Fresno District, California, by C. G. Elliott, Agent and Expert, Irrigation Investigations, Office of Experiment Stations. (Circular No. 57, pp. 5.)

A report on drainage plans for the district around Fresno, Cal., was published last year. This circular gives additional data on the rise and fall of the ground-water level during the year, to be used as a basis for computing the capacity of drains to be supplied. Irrigation in the Valley of Lost River, Idaho, by Albert Eugene Wright, Agent and Expert, Irrigation Investigations, Office of Experiment Stations. cular No. 58, pp. 24.)

(Cir.

Lost River, Idaho, sinks in the sands of its bed and rises again below. Mr. Wright made a series of measurements to determine the losses of water from the river and the effects of diversions above the sinks on the flow of the river below. This report contains the result of his observations and measurements.

Review of Irrigation Investigations for 1903, by Elwood Mead, Chief of Irriga tion Investigations, Oflice of Experiment Stations. Pp. iv, 469-502, pls. 6. (Reprint from Annual Report of Office of Experiment Stations for 1903.)

This is a report of the work of this Oflice for the year ended June 30, 1903, telling what work was carried on and the localities where it was done.

Preparing Land for Irrigation, by R. P. Teele. P'p. 12, pls. 2, figs. 5. (Reprint from Yearbook, 1903.)

This is a brief article on methods of clearing and leveling land, laying out ditches, and applying water, based on Bulletin No. 145, referred to hereafter.

The following publications were prepared and submitted for publication but not actually printed before the end of the fiscal year. They have since been issued:

Irrigation in Northern Italy, Part I, by Elwood Mead, Chief of Irrigation Investigations. (Bulletin No. 144, pp. 100, pls. 17, figs. 14.)

Doctor Mead spent the summer of 1903 in Italy studying the systems of administration of streams, construction of irrigation works, methods of operating canals, and agricultural practices. This bulletin is a partial report of his observations. It describes the irrigation works of Lombardy and Piedmont, the system of agriculture followed, the laws under which works are built and managed, and the laws and customs under which they are maintained and the water distributed to farmers. Cooperation in ditch management has gone much further in Italy than in the United States. The benefits derived from this are among the most important things brought out by this bulletin. Public control of the use of streams is also more complete in Italy than in the United States, the Government maintaining a board which determines the feasibility of proposed ditch projects and the likelihood of interference with existing rights.

Preparing Land for Irrigation and Methods of Applying Water. (Bulletin No. 145, pp. 84, pls. 7, figs. 33.)

Each year tens of thousands of farmers begin irrigation. Most of them come from sections where irrigation is not practiced, and they are therefore entirely unfamiliar with methods of irrigation farming. This bulletin is prepared especially for such farmers. It deals with methods of removing sagebrush, leveling land, applying water, and the preparation of the land for the different systems of putting on water. The conditions governing the choice of a method of irrigating are discussed, and comparative statements of cost are given. There are many things about irrigation farming which can be learned by experience only, but this bulletin will be of great help to beginners by giving them the results of the experience of others. It is fully illustrated from drawings and photographs of the implements and structures used and methods employed.

Current Wheels: Their Use in Lifting Water for Irrigation. (Bulletin No. 146, pp. 38, pls. 4, figs. 21.)

Current wheels are often the cheapest means of raising small volumes of water short distances where much larger volumes are flowing by. A wheel can lift only a small percentage of the water passing it, and the cost of construction increases so rapidly with increased size that the large wheels necessary for high lifts can not be profitably built, but there are many places along streams and the upper sections of canals where enough water for a small area can be lifted a few feet with almost no cash outlay and without injury to lower users except for the small quantity of water taken. Bulletin No. 146 gives illustrations of a number of wheels which are in use, with statements as to the material required, the cost of construction, and the area served.

With the drawings and data given in this bulletin any farmer having ordinary tools should be able to construct a current wheel.

Report on Drainage Investigations in 1903, by C. G. Elliott, Drainage Expert, Irrigation Investigations, Office of Experiment Stations. (Bulletin No. 147, pp. 62, pls. 5, figs. 12.)

It is estimated that east of the one hundredth meridian there are about 100,000,000 acres of land too wet for agricultural use which can be reclaimed by drainage. West of that line there are large areas which, while they are in an arid region, receive sufficient drainage. water from higher lands or from ditches to render them unproductive. These lands can also be reclaimed by drainage. The work of this Office has been the making of plans for the drainage of wet lands in all parts of the United States and the giving of advice on drainage projects. Bulletin No. 147 describes the conditions found in a number of localities examined and gives the plans worked out for their reclamation. While the report deals with specific localities, it is valuable for other regions, since it will suggest the steps which should be taken there.

Report on Irrigation Investigations in Humid Sections of the United States in 1903, under the direction of Elwood Mead. (Bulletin No. 148, pp. 45, pls. 3.) This report deals almost exclusively with the irrigation of marketgarden crops. Most of these grow rapidly and have but a short season, and a few days of dry weather seriously check their growth. There are few seasons when such dry periods do not occur, and irrigation as an insurance against them has proved very profitable. This bulletin contains a number of reports describing the works used and the crops raised in different sections. Irrigation in Market Garden Districts in the Vicinity of Eastern Cities, by E. B. Voorhees, describes a number of plants in the vicinities of Boston and New York and gives the cost and something as to the profits realized. Irrigation Experiments in New Jersey in 1903, by E. B. Voorhees, gives the results of experiments with asparagus and small fruits at the New Jersey Experiment Station. Irrigation During the Season of 1903 at Missouri Agricultural Experiment Station, by H. J. Waters, gives the results of irrigation of strawberries, asparagus, nursery stock, onions, and corn. One of the most notable results was the prevention of rust on asparagus. Irrigation in the Artesian Basin of South Dakota, by A. B. Crane, describes the wells in James River Valley of South Dakota and discusses the results of the use of their water for irrigation.

Irrigation and Drainage Investigations of the Office of Experiment Stations, by R. P. Teele. (Document No. 723, pp. 23, pls. 2, figs. 5.)

This is a general statement of the lines of work being carried on by this Office, primarily for distribution at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition. It gives the objects of the various lines of work undertaken and a brief statement of the methods employed and the results obtained.

In accordance with a joint resolution of Congress, a second edition of 4,000 copies of Bulletin No. 124, on Irrigation in Utah, was issued. This is a detailed study of the laws of Utah and the institutions of that State for controlling streams, managing ditches, and using water. It contains also a general discussion of irrigation in Utah, based on the more detailed reports given.

DIETETICS IN RELATION TO HOSPITALS FOR THE INSANE.

By W. O. ATWATER, Chief of Nutrition Investigations.

INTRODUCTION.

Wherever a large number of persons are fed at public or private expense, as in the Army and Navy, hospitals, prisons, almshouses, and large boarding houses, certain questions very naturally arise in connection with the food supplies so used. Among such questions are these:

(1) Are the amounts of nutrients allowed and consumed adequate to the individual need?

(2) Is the diet sufficiently varied, wholesome, and attractive? (3) Is the most economical system or method followed for providing, preparing, serving, and utilizing the food?

Until within a very few years the value of dietary studies for answering such questions, and particularly the last two, has not been fully realized, for the reason that they have been largely undertaken from the purely physiological point of view, to ascertain the requirements of the human body. But the need for practical application of the knowledge gained by such inquiries has gradually developed, as there has come to be a better realization of the enormous sums expended for food not only in private families, but for the various classes of people living at the expense of the state.

The importance of more thorough study of the dietaries of public institutions and other large groups of persons fed under more or less uniform conditions either at public cost or by private means is coming to be generally felt. The number of charitable institutions and the number of persons supported in them at the expense of the community is already large, and rapidly increasing. The philanthropy of to-day demands that the welfare of the inmates shall be most carefully considered. The cost to the taxpayer requires the closest economy consistent with their welfare.

In the home, on the farm, in the factory, in commercial establishments, on railroads, in municipal enterprises-indeed, almost everywhere the results of scientific research are being put to practical use. It would seem that they ought to be capable of being utilized in the dietetic management of public institutions. The probability