Fifty-fifth Congress (S. 1085) and is now in the hands of the Committee on the District of Columbia. While the smoke nuisance here has not yet attained such proportions as it has in some other places, the experience of such places should be accepted as a warning not to procrastinate. It has long been accepted as a basis of action by health officials that no one has the right to unnecessarily pollute the atmosphere to the detriment of the comfort, health, or property of any other individual or individuals. This principle has been applied to businesses and trades whereby offensive odors are generated to the detriment of the neighborhood. In the light of present knowledge in reference to the possibility of preventing smoke, there seems be no good reason why it should not be similarly applied to the generation of smoke, whether accompanied by foul odors or otherwise. Foods. The inspection of food properly embraces the inspection of dairies, dairy farms, and dairy products, of marine products, and of live stock, but in view of the differences which exist in the laws governing these subjects and in the methods of inspection they will be dealt with separately. The amount of food condemned during the past year by inspectors of this department, and the relative amount of such condemnations for each of the past ten years, is shown in the accompanying tables. TABLE M.- Unwholesome food condemned during the year ending June 30, 1897. TABLE N.-Unwholesome food condemned for ten years ending June 30, 1897. In addition to the work shown in the preceding table, which represents what is more commonly considered within the scope of food inspections, there have been analyzed in the chemical laboratory 42 samples of vinegar, 10 of salad oils, 3 of butter, 2 of flour, 8 of cream of tartar, 1 of baking powder, and 42 of confections. Of the samples of vinegar analyzed, 35 were purchased as cider vinegar, but upon analysis only 10 were found to be so, the remainder consisting of malt vinegar and various other forms of the manufactured product. The offending dealers were prosecuted in the police court, and convictions secured in 21 cases. Of the ten samples of salad oils, 9 of which were purchased as pure olive oil, 6 were found to be derived from cotton seed. Prosecutions were brought in 5 cases, and convictions followed. Eight samples of alleged cream of tartar were purchased and analyzed. In two instances the article sold was found to be a substitute, and prosecutions and convictions followed. An investigation was made during the year into the character of the confections ordinarily sold in this District; and while in one instance sticks of candy were found to be made up entirely of flour and sugar of milk, and in another chocolate drops turned out to be flour coated with brown clay, with just enough sugar to give it a sweetish taste, and in a third gum drops were found to contain lampblack, it may be said in general that the materials employed in the manufacture of candy offered for sale here, as far as may be learned from the investigation made, are not such as would be considered injurious to health; although, as the chemist expresses it, it must be conceded that some of those mentioned above might well be dispensed with. An effort was made during the past year to secure the passage of a more efficient law relating to the adulteration of foods and drugs in the District of Columbia (H. R. No. 9842, Fifty-fourth Congress). This bill passed the House but was not considered in the Senate. It was, therefore, introduced in the Fifty-fifth Congress (S. No. 471), and has passed the Senate. An attempt was also made to secure the passage of an act to prevent specifically the adulteration of candy (H. R. No. 8679, Fiftyfourth Congress). This bill having failed to pass has been introduced in the present Congress (H. R. No. 409), and is now awaiting consideration. Drugs. Owing to the manifold duties devolving upon the chemist, it has only been possible to devote a very limited amount of attention to the inspection of drugs. Four samples of the tincture of the chloride of iron were analyzed and found to be up to standard and free from impurities. The same may be said of one sample of powdered opium and one of precipitated chalk. But of eight samples of so-called precipitated sulphur, one was found to consist entirely of sublimed sulphur and another contained somewhat over 20 per cent of sulphate of calcium; and while, as seems probable from the small selling price of this article, the adulterations were possibly due to accident either in preparation or dispensing, as the injury to the purchaser would have been quite as great as if there had been intentional fraud, prosecutions and convictions followed in each case. As a subject more or less closely allied to drug inspection, attention is invited to the need of amendment to the law now in force regulating the sale of poisons. Several bills for this purpose were introduced during the Fifty-fourth Congress (H. R. No. 9902, 9980, 10038, and 10332). As none of these became laws, a bill for the same purpose has been introduced into the present Congress (S. No. 470) and is now under consideration. Marine products.-The usual statement as to the quantity of marine products inspected and condemned during the year will be found in |