tions in the chemical and allied industries of the United States during the last normal year of trade, and shows the dependence of the American industry on foreign products. The publication of these data is designed to bring pointedly to the American manufacturer the commerical possibilities of a well-rounded, self-contained American chemical industry.

Abrasive materials.

Asbestos.

The principal classes of materials considered in this publication are:
Medicinal preparations.
Oil cake.
Oils, animal.
Oils, mineral.
Oils, vegetable.

Baking powder.

Blacking.

Bronze powders.

Candles.

Sulphur.

Tanning materials.

Turpentine and rosin.

Varnishes.

Waxes.

Of the 5,500 products listed in this publication, 2,500 were imported in amounts exceeding $100 in value, totaling approximately $268,000,000. The remaining 4,000 products were imported in amounts less than $100, totaling in the aggregate $61,000.

For each of the 2,500 products imported in excess of $100, the quantity, value, commercial grade, and percentage from countries of origin are given. A total of 252 entries, amounting in value to $424,232, although relevant to the census, could not be incorporated because of the ambiguity of designation in the import invoices.

SOURCES OF INFORMATION.

Detailed information for the 104 products marked with a dagger (†) was taken from Table No. 3, imports of merchandise by articles and countries, of the Foreign Commerce and Navigation of the United States for 1913-14. For 438 items, marked with an asterisk (*), the statistical blotters or records compiled and kept in the 48 customs districts of the United States were drawn upon. For the remaining 5,000 items the Customs Service of the United States Treasury Department furnished 38,000 invoices of imported merchandise, containing over 125,000 individual entries.

So great was the work of transcribing, translating to uniform domestic units of quantity and currency, collating, classifying, putting into manuscript form, checking, and cross-checking, that a clerical force of 24 persons was actively engaged for a period of 10 consecutive months.

DEFINITION OF TERMS.

The values given are the sums of the foreign market values and the cost of containers and packing; that is, they are the same as those commonly understood in the administration of the tariff act in determining duty on articles assessed at ad valorem rates. Quantities are expressed in United States domestic units. Currency units are United States dollars. Percentage by countries is based on quantity, unless otherwise stated.

CLASSIFICATION OF PRODUCTS.

The classification employed in Table No. 9 of Commerce and Navigation of the United States has been followed as closely as possible. However, the index makes it easy to find any product independently of the classification adopted.

Since the purpose of this publication is purely commercial, a classification based on commercial use has been adopted. Coal-tar products, however, irrespective of use, are classified under "Coal-tar products."

The following three classes of materials have been excluded from consideration in this work:

(1) Coal-tar dyes. It would seem that a work of this kind should deal with so important a phase of chemical manufacture as coal-tar dyes, but the data have already been presented. In September, 1916, the Bureau published a report by Dr. Thomas H. Norton on the quantity and value of imports and domestic production of the artificial dyestuffs in the United States during the fiscal year 1913-14. This publication is No. 121 of the Special Agents Series.

(2) The base metals and their ores, such as copper, lead, tin, iron, cobalt, nickel, etc.

(3) The precious metals, that is, gold and silver. The rare metals, however, such as platinum, iridium, etc., have been included.

All the raw materials from which the alkali and earth alkali metals and salts are derived are to be found herein.

Acid anhydrides are classified with their respective acids. Alkaloids and alkaloid salts have been classified under "Chemicals." The active principles of drugs which are of a definite chemical composition are classified under "Chemicals."

Extracts and tinctures of crude drugs are classified under "Drugs, flowers, roots, and leaves."

In the classification of "Chemicals" the following order has been observed: (1) Those derived from the alkalies, namely, ammonium, casium, lithium, potassium, and sodium; (2) those derived from acetic, cacodylio, citric, oxalic, and tartaric acids; (3) those derived from the metals. According to this classification, sodiuni, acetate is classified under "Sodium," copper acetate under "Acetate of,” and copper sulphate under "Copper."

SUMMARY OF IMPORTS.

The following table shows in general outline the value of the importations during the fiscal year 1913-14 of fifteen of the more important classes of articles embodied in this publication, together with the percentage from principal countries of origin:

Extracts for dyeing and tanning (except coal-tar dyes)..... 2, 850, 236 Argentina..

86

Straits Settlements..
England.
Italy.

6

3

1

Colombia.

1

Gums (including india rubber, crude, valued at $71,219,851). 88,903, 829

The imports of these products are presented from still another angle in the following table, wherein they are classified according to the initial state in which the imports entered this country, with the percentage of value from countries of origin:

COMPARISON OF IMPORTS, DOMESTIC PRODUCTION, AND EXPORTS.

The following table gives in comparative form the total values of the 35 classes of materials dealt with in this publication, first, with respect to one another, and second, with respect to the domestic production and the export trade in these commodities: