Las Vegas daily optic. [volume] (Las Vegas, N.M.) 1880-1908, 1905-12-07
Unsqualed Prosperity
Concluded from page %,

III lSVl the UuItuu VI cH'biiioioSy
undertook once more q systematic IL
fort to introduce the culture Of the
domestic silkworm into the United
States. Guaranteed eggs were pur'
| chased In Italy, skilled reelers were
brought ver from France. and null
| berry trees were distributed to per.
mi desiring TO experiment.
Work on the Improvement Of Public
Roads.
The work OF the office OF public
roads Is primarily educational In char
acter, Its province Is to detail ex-
perts to give information and advice,
In many communities II is found ad-
visable to supplement advice by prac.
tical demonstration OF effective road
building, The total number Of ex.
perimenSal and object.lesson roads
built under the direction Of this office
since Its organization IL ninety-six,
with a total length OF about thirty
nine miles, These roads we're built
In ~thirty-eight states. The secretary
proposes tn utilize the services Of the
greatly increasing corps Of highway
engineers and experts Of the office
wherever practicable In the construc.
ton and maintenance OF roads In the
forest reserves. In order To secure
engineers with the necessary tech
nical training and to supplement sucn
training by special work for highway
engineering. graduates Of reputable
engineering colleges are appointed as
civil engineer students In the office
Of public roads. The work Of such
students Is OF great assistance to the
office. besides being'of practical value
to the public. The secretary believes
that highway engineering should re-
ceive greater attention at the present
time In colleges. A division Of tests
has been organized In the office, pri.
marily to test road materials. but the
equipment necessary for this purpose
has been also available for testing
other materials OF construction. such
as steel wire for fences, concrete
posts, etc.
Investigations In Human Nutrition.
Nutrition Investigations are con.
Quoted by this office and during the
past eight years some 200 dietary
studies have been made, and not Tar
from 500 experiments in which the d.
gestibility Of different foods was de-
termined with healthy men under nor.
NAL conditions. 1t has been found AZ
the result Of some Of these studies
that white bread furnished the body
with more protein and energy. pound
for pound, than whole wheat or gra-
ham flour for the same amount OF
grain, any deficiency in the compost
ton Of the white flour being more
than offset by its thorough d.
g~estibility.
irrigation and Drainage lnvestisa-
tlons.
The irrigation and drainage investi-
cations Of the department have result
ed in the systematic study Of the agri-
cultural and legal features OF irriga'
ton. Measurements of the quantity
of water used In ordinary practice
have been followed by more careful
experiments to determine the ire
quency of irrigation and the amount
OF water to be applied to get the best
results. The studies Of irrigation
laws have included the collection OF
facts showing the character and
amount Of water rights. Experiments
are being made to determine how far
drainage can be made to protect hill
sides from destructive effects of ero-
sion. In the whole country there are
100 million acres Of swamps and poor
lands, which can be reclaimed only
| through drainage.
The Departments Work o. Great !.
Value TO the Country.
In conclusion, the secretary says II
has been a grateful task to present to
I, the president and thus to the Ameri-
can people a pen picture Of the Ameri-
can farmer as he is today, to make
clear the position Of the farming in.
dustry, its wonderful productiveness,
and its large contribution to the gen.
eral prosperity Of the country. He
has ALSO pointed out some Of the more
important work illustrative Of the
methods by which the department
seeks to benefit the farmer. Its work
| ia two-fold. II seeks to add to the sum
Of intelligence in the man and to In.
| crease the productive capacity Of the
| acre. In this work the department
has the hearty cooperation Of the
agricultural colleges and experiment
stations. all working with the depart
ment to the same great end. The
gratifying evidences Of well-bcing In
the farming community, the extra.
ordinary progress made, and the en-
larged recognition Of the true position
Of the farming industry In the eco
nomic life Of the country are mainly
the result of this continued and com
binea effort on the part OF these agen.
cies to add to the sum Of the farm.
er's knowledge, and must be regarded
as the triumph Of intelligence In the
anplication Of scientific knowledge To