are hopeful that it will provide wider market opportunities for our surplus cotton in apparel uses. These are just a few examples of how we are developing new market: outlets for existing agricultural commodities. We are also looking for new crops that might take over some of the acreage now producing crops in actual or potential surplus. Hundreds of plants from many areas of the world are being systematically studied to determine their content of unusual raw materials and their adaptability to American agriculture. Any new crop, to be successful in finding industrial uses, must satisfy the quality, price, and supply requirements of an industrial raw material. And it should provide needed products not available from existing crops. We'd like to find a new crop that would prove as successful as the soybean, which has developed in 50 years from an Oriental curiosity to one of our leading crops, with hundreds of industrial and food uses. We are hopeful that castor beans, safflower, and sesamealready established in limited areas-will eventually replace substantial acreages of existing surplus crops. Their oils contain substances with industrial potentialities not supplied by other oilseeds. There is every reason to expect, also, that other useful crops will emerge from the intensive studies now underway. Although we are looking especially for large new industrial outlets for agricultural products, we are also doing considerable work to expand food uses of farm commodities through development of processed food products of high quality, convenient to keep and to use. Both consumers and farmers benefit from the more orderly marketing and greater price stability that result from year-around availability of perishable products. New processed foods now in production or ready for commercial use include several fruit and vegetable juice powders, fruit-juice superconcentrates, and dehydro frozen fruits and vegetables. Orangejuice powder was tested, with favorable results, by the crew of the atomic submarine Nautilus on its recent history-making trip across the top of the world beneath the polar ice. On a subsequent cruise, the men on the Nautilus also reported favorably on apple and grape juice concentrates developed in our research. We are making good progress in the development of a dried whole milk that will keep without refrigeration and can be reconstituted easily in cold water to give a product indistinguishable from fresh milk. In efforts to extend the storage life of fresh food products, we are investigating the possibilities of irradiation, antibiotics, and other treatments to retard growth of spoilage organisms and to maintain fresh qualities in marketing channels with less dependence on refrigeration. We in the Department recognize that making our research results widely available-to farmers and others who can use them-is an integral part of the research job. In fact, this is an activity in which all employees in our research agencies participate. All media of communication are utilized in this effort, from articles published in scientific journals to spot news announcements for the general public broadcast on television. We cooperate with other Federal and State agencies-especially the cooperative State extension services-in disseminating much of our research information. We have special arrangements for technical and scientific liaison with industry. And many of our developments are covered by public-service patents, which make them widely available for commercial use on a royalty-free basis. The Administrator of the Agricultural Research Service, Dr. Byron T. Shaw, made an illustrated presentation on Thursday, February 26, before the Agricultural Subcommittee of the House Committee on Appropriations, on how we put agricultural research to work. Copies of a digest of his remarks, including reproductions of most of the charts used in the presentation, are available and can be furnished to your committee. In agricultural research, we are not yet specifically concerned with growing crops in greenhouses on the moon, or in providing food supplies for manned satellites or interplanetary vehicles. We are convinced, however, that much of our basic research-as well as some of our applied work, such as that on compact, easy-to-store food products has important implications for the space age. With this in mind we have established in the Department an informal committee on space biology and related matters, which has held several meetings during the past year. The purpose of this group is to keep the Department apprised of developments in the general field of astronautics and to consider possible USDA responsibilities for research in this field. The military services and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration have been advised of the establishment of this informal group in the Department, and of our availability to assist in research on problems in space biology and related fields, to which our scientists could make worthwhile contributions. That completes my prepared statement, Mr. Chairman. The CHAIRMAN. Thank you very much, Dr. Irving, for that statement. It is really a very illuminating statement. While I know the committee generally knew substantially what you have placed in your statement, this is the first time that I have seen it consolidated in one compact statement such as you have given the committee. I think it is very worthwhile to have copies of that statement, too, that we may give the public a little better idea of what is being done in agricultural research. Your research in agriculture is over extended areas, in your experimental stations, in your extension service, in your laboratories and your State universities, in private institutions, in industrial organizations, and then right here in Washington in your own Agriculture Department. Seldom do you see the activities consolidated as well as you presented them in this particular statement. Now, it is our purpose this morning, in asking you to come here, to get a general idea of the activities. We don't have any legislation covering this at this time. Undoubtedly there will be something later. My understanding of the scope of the activity of this committee is in research and development and scientific processes, and not in the actual operation, in any way, of the Agriculture Department. However, we are interested in what you are doing in basic research, whether it be in the experimental stations, or extension service, or State universities, or under contract, or in your own organization, and we are interested in what you are doing. Where legislation is needed we want to assist, and we want to extend a guiding hand, if we can, to help. Now, as to the last portion experience and its know-how in the biological field, to assist those who have the direct responsibility in space operations, to accomplish their job. (The witness furnished the following additional information :) Our position in this respect is illustrated by the letter dated August 13, 1958, to Dr. Hugh L. Dryden, Deputy Administrator, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, as shown below. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, OFFICE OF ADMINISTRATOR, DR. HUGH L. DRYDEN, Deputy Administrator, NASA, DEAR DR. DRYDEN: I wish to convey to you my heartiest congratulations on your nomination as Deputy Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and best wishes for both technical success and a large measure of personal satisfaction in your new job. I have already told you in conversation but wish, hereby, to reaffirm our very great interest in the program of NASA. Our respective agencies will be "neighbors" at Beltsville. Our interest extends, however, to much more fundamental relationships. We recognize that in your space biology problems there may be opportunities for the Agricultural Research Service to aid, or to undertake responsibilities of which we are not yet aware. We want to help in any way we can, and to fulfill our responsibilities as an agency of our Government and one of its larger communities of scientists. On the other hand, we do not want to usurp any activity more properly done by others. We will welcome, therefore, your answers to our question: What is our part? We anticipate that several phases of your research will have direct significance and value to us. We believe that some parts of our research will be of interest to you; indeed, many of our research programs appear to be peripheral to yours. We would remind you, in this connection, that the Agricultural Research Service has a large number of persons, both at Beltsville and at field stations, who are highly competent in the physical and biological sciences, and that they are equipped with a wide variety of specialized equipment and facilities for basic and applied research. Our interests in the types of research which we assume will be included within the NASA program seem to fall largely in two general areas. One is popularly recognized as "air pollution" which, more broadly, is the problem of stresses imposed on organisms by abnormal atmospheres. The second general area of probable mutual interest is that of biological research in new ecological and environmental conditions. The problems of air pollution are not new to agriculture, but have been more widely publicized in the dirty or irritating atmospheres of some cities. Some atmospheric pollutants, such as smelter fumes, have long been recognized as highly injurious to plant life over wide areas. Fluorides coming from certain industrial operations are being recognized as serious hazards to plants and animals. Of immediate interest, with respect to the propellants used for rockets and space vehicles, is the critical relationship of boron to plant growth. The biological potentials-for good or ill-of this element are indicated by the fact that a boron deficiency in some soils may be corrected by as little as 2 pounds of boron per acre, whereas 20 pounds might be toxic. Hence, there will be an agricultural interest in all of the new fuels presently being used or yet to be developed as propellants, since any or all may bring problems arising from the introduction of varying amounts of toxic chemicals into the atmosphere in unusual concentrations-perhaps some quickly effective locally, others over wider areas, but only after cumulations over time. Some of our scientists are very much interested in establishing basic research in air pollution. In general, the problem of air "pollution" of most interest for agricultural research is that of the ultimate effects of airborne toxicants on biological materials. As we see it now, those effects are determined not alone by the concentration of the toxicant, but rather by its interaction with the other environmental factors under which plants or animals are grown. Therefore, we will be very much interested in studies of unusual atmospheres, either those involved in closed systems within space vehicles or the distant atmospheres penetrated by such vehicles, which will include studies of organisms under abnormal atmospheric stresses. Out of such studies we should expect advances in fundamental knowledge of the reciprocal relations of organisms and atmospheres. The other general area of the NASA program which I anticipate will have great interest to many of our scientists, and perhaps profound implications for some of our research, will be your opportunities for biological research under new environments. We have an ad hoc committee on space biology, headed by Deputy Administrator George Irving, which includes representation from a number of our research divisions and the State Agricultural Experiment Stations Division. In your overall problem of space biology will be questions of determining biological reactions under nonterrestrial conditions of acceleration, temperatures, radiation, different gravitational fields, and unusual periods of light and darkness. Doubtless, many of those unusual conditions can be adequately simulated by experiments on the earth's surface, and some fair approximation achieved of the conditions of biological significance to be met in space vehicles. There will be, however, other conditions impossible to simulate, such as determining how far out into the atmosphere-and possibly beyond-does life now exist or could exist. It may be of interest to you or your associates that we have extensive experience with animals (especially cattle and poultry) living for extended periods in confinement in highly instrumented environmental control chambers (psychroenergetic chambers and calorimeters) in which extreme stresses have been imposed for either cyclical or extended periods. Our entomologists suggest that insects in various stages of development may serve as valuable experimental "animals" in space biology experiments or observations; they have cooperated on this basis in two recent high altitude balloon excursions. Our research in air pollution includes bioassay methods, including plants and bacteria. Your program and those of the military services are impelled by the urgencies of national defense. It is apparent that most of the effort to date has been, necessarily, in the realm of physical sciences and engineering in endeavors to get rockets (space vehicles) developed and off the ground. Consequently, there has been comparatively little time, nor will there be, for basic research in the biological sciences pertinent to closed ecological systems to be maintained at the outer limits or beyond earth's atmosphere. Nevertheless, the urgencies of national defense, and of our prestige among the nations of the world, may require at an early date tests of at least our capability of putting man into space and maintaining him there for extended periods in a state of physical well-being and mental alertness. Agriculture has not worked directly on these problems, but much-perhaps more than any of us now realize-of our research may be pertinent. After all, agricultural research over a century or more has been delving more and more deeply into the nature and characteristics of organisms and how they react to their environments and to other organisms. At present, I can only affirm our interest and desire to do whatever we may properly do, and to state our hope (and expectation) that many of our research findings may be useful to you. May I suggest that the Agricultural Research Service be established in, at least, a consultative position with respect to your program? Thus, we could be of immediate aid as you seek concepts, pose hypotheses, or try experiments in putting various organisms together in closed ecological systems, or as you contemplate conditions to be met for maintenance of man (and, perhaps familiar plants and animals) on extraterrestrial bodies. The results or the principles underlying two phases of our work might have fairly direct and immediate applicability to certain of your problems. One would be the knowledge already available or being gained from our researches in dehydration and other methods of concentrating foods, and in their preservation. The other phase would seem to be of special interest in relation to problems of reconstituting water or air in closed systems. Our "utilization" research laboratories have had some outstanding successes in isolating and identifying ultraminute fractions of substances responsible for tastes and odors, and in extending the methodology of such research. Beyond such fairly obvious and immediate contributions that our established research might provide, it seems reasonable to assume that there will arise research problems to which our scientists or facilities might be peculiarly in closed systems within space vehicles or the distant atmospheres penetrated by such vehicles, which will include studies of organisms under abnormal atmospheric stresses. Out of such studies we should expect advances in fundamental knowledge of the reciprocal relations of organisms and atmospheres. The other general area of the NASA program which I anticipate will have great interest to many of our scientists, and perhaps profound implications for some of our research, will be your opportunities for biological research under new environments. We have an ad hoc committee on space biology, headed by Deputy Administrator George Irving, which includes representation from a number of our research divisions and the State Agricultural Experiment Stations Division. In your overall problem of space biology will be questions of determining biological reactions under nonterrestrial conditions of acceleration, temperatures, radiation, different gravitational fields, and unusual periods of light and darkness. Doubtless, many of those unusual conditions can be adequately simulated by experiments on the earth's surface, and some fair approximation achieved of the conditions of biological significance to be met in space vehicles. There will be, however, other conditions impossible to simulate, such as determining how far out into the atmosphere-and possibly beyond-does life now exist or could exist. It may be of interest to you or your associates that we have extensive experience with animals (especially cattle and poultry) living for extended periods in confinement in highly instrumented environmental control chambers (psychroenergetic chambers and calorimeters) in which extreme stresses have been imposed for either cyclical or extended periods. Our entomologists suggest that insects in various stages of development may serve as valuable experimental "animals" in space biology experiments or observations; they have cooperated on this basis in two recent high altitude balloon excursions. Our research in air pollution includes bioassay methods, including plants and bacteria. Your program and those of the military services are impelled by the urgencies of national defense. It is apparent that most of the effort to date has been, necessarily, in the realm of physical sciences and engineering in endeavors to get rockets (space vehicles) developed and off the ground. Consequently, there has been comparatively little time, nor will there be, for basic research in the biological sciences pertinent to closed ecological systems to be maintained at the outer limits or beyond earth's atmosphere. Nevertheless, the urgencies of national defense, and of our prestige among the nations of the world, may require at an early date tests of at least our capability of putting man into space and maintaining him there for extended periods in a state of physical well-being and mental alertness. Agriculture has not worked directly on these problems, but much—perhaps more than any of us now realize of our research may be pertinent. After all, agricultural research over a century or more has been delving more and more deeply into the nature and characteristics of organisms and how they react to their environments and to other organisms. At present, I can only affirm our interest and desire to do whatever we may properly do, and to state our hope (and expectation) that many of our research findings may be useful to you. May I suggest that the Agricultural Research Service be established in, at least, a consultative position with respect to your program? Thus, we could be of immediate aid as you seek concepts, pose hypotheses, or try experiments in putting various organisms together in closed ecological systems, or as you contemplate conditions to be met for maintenance of man (and, perhaps familiar plants and animals) on extraterrestrial bodies. The results or the principles underlying two phases of our work might have fairly direct and immediate applicability to certain of your problems. One would be the knowledge already available or being gained from our researches in dehydration and other methods of concentrating foods, and in their preservation. The other phase would seem to be of special interest in relation to problems of reconstituting water or air in closed systems. Our "utilization" research laboratories have had some outstanding successes in isolating and identifying ultraminute fractions of substances responsible for tastes and odors, and in extending the methodology of such research. Beyond such fairly obvious and immediate contributions that our established research might provide, it seems reasonable to assume that there will arise research problems to which our scientists or facilities might be peculiarly |