of teaching English were distributed among the teachers. Five junior high schools experimented successfully with an English Laboratory period which represented a doubling of the time previously devoted to the subject.

The course of Community Problems that was introduced in all elementary schools in 1942-43 was supplemented by the publication of a new paper called Problemas de la Comunidad to furnish students with material on the economic and social conditions of Puerto Rico. Teacher guidance in this subject was strengthened through demonstration lessons, group conferences and the distribution of bulletins containing background material.

There are now 141 second unit schools in rural areas where junior high school courses are offered. Since 1931 these schools have been enlarging their curriculum to include courses in vocational agriculture for boys and in home economics for the girls. The six-year program in education has endorsed this policy and recommends that small farms, not to exceed 10-12 acres each, be purchased for the use of second unit schools wherever the land now in use has been under lease or is insufficient for agricultural practices. Seven farms valued at $19,710 have already been acquired and negotiations started for the purchase of 49 other parcels of land.

On the senior high school level, attention was focused on the improvement of teaching techniques and further revision of the curriculum to fit the needs of the school population. The college preparatory course is being eliminated and a more general course substituted for it.

Classes for adult education in all of the 77 municipalities had a total enrollment of 4,330 as compared to 8,009 last year. Classes were organized for illiterate students, advanced groups, English groups, sixth grade and eighth grade groups. At the end of the school year 221 eighth grade diplomas and 641 sixth grade diplomas were granted.

extension day schools Total enrollment was Summer high schools

At the beginning of the year 1945, the were reorganized as regular high schools. 2,541 and 146 high school diplomas were issued. were organized in 19 towns and enrolled 3,312 students.

Increasing emphasis is being placed on the use of visual aids to instruction in all schools on the Island. The Bureau of Adult and Extension Activities has developed a sizable library of movies, slides and stereographs, and acts also as the distribution center for educational films released by the Office of Inter-American Affairs.

During the past school year the Bureau maintained 500 radio sets in public schools for the reception of educational and cultural programs broadcast by the School of the Air.

The stimulus given Trade and Industrial Education by the war was removed with the discontinuance of the War Production Training Program in May 1945 and the consequent loss of Federal funds. Plans are being made to reorganize this Division on a permanent regular basis. During the year 1944-45 more than 400 students were placed in Army and Navy projects and returning veterans were enrolled in various courses. The Legislature appropriated $847,000 for the construction of vocational school buildings at Ponce, Arecibo and Mayagüez and $10,000 for the purchase of equipment and supplies for the Division of Trade and Industrial Education. The equipment of the regular shops was greatly improved by the transfer of materials from the shops of the War Production Training Program.

Total enrollment in all-day classes in vocational agriculture for the year 1944-45 was 4,405. School farm activities produced an income of $31,820.08 up to May 31, 1945. Of this sum, $6,423.77 was distributed among pupils engaged on farm projects in the second unit schools. Active chapters of the Future Farmers of America functioned in 92 schools with a membership of 3,279.

The cost of rehabilitating disabled veterans is financed entirely by the Federal government. By June 30, 1945 the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation had a total case load of 4,287 disabled persons, of whom 11 have been transferred to the Veterans' Administration.

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH

The vital statistics for the calendar year 1944 show no significant change in Puerto Rico's population problem. The actual rate of population increase is about 55,000 per year. Estimated as of July 1, 1944, the inhabitants of the Island numbered 2,012,167, which represents an average density of 586 persons per square mile. The birth rate in 1944 was 41.0 per 1,000 and the death rate was 14.8 per 1,000, both being small increases over those of 1943. Nevertheless, the death rate was the second lowest ever recorded in Puerto Rico.

The chief causes of death continued to be diarrhea and enteritis, tuberculosis and pneumonia. These, together with diseases of the heart, nephritis, cancer and malaria, were responsible for 18,400 deaths or 62 per cent of the total. While the number of deaths resulting from diarrhea and enteritis was greater than in 1943, deaths from tuberculosis in 1944 declined 1.1 per cent.

Of the 42,463 cases of communicable diseases reported during 1944, 26.4 per cent were cases of malaria, 26.1 syphilis, 15.8 tuberculosis, 12.4 gonorrhea, 5.7 measles, 5.6 influenza and 3.6 whooping cough. All remaining causes of reportable sickness combined were responsible for only 4.4 per cent. The only diseases which reached epidemic proportions during the calendar year 1944 were measles and whooping cough.

There was a moderate increase in the amount of immunization work done by the Public Health Units. A total of 58,807 persons was vaccinated against smallpox in 1944 as compared with 51,536 in 1943; 16,929 children were immunized against diphtheria, nearly double the total for 1943 and 37,243 persons were inoculated against typhoid fever as compared with 32,472 in 1943.

In its antituberculosis program the Department is seriously hampered by lack of equipment, hospitals and trained personnel. Facilities for the examination and care of tuberculosis cases are limited to 20 clinics and five hospitals with a total bed capacity of 1,500. In 1944 a total of 118,016 persons were examined in the tuberculosis clinics; 132,634 persons were fluoroscoped; 18,042 chests were Xrayed; 10,378 cases were treated with artificial pneumothorax; 49,543 cases were administered pneumothorax insufflations; and 3,913 new cases were discovered. The Traveling X-Ray Unit fluoroscoped 11,380 persons of whom 221 were found positive. A total of 4,478 persons was examined in schools and in factories.

Considerable progress was made in anti-malarial work performed by the Bureau of Malaria Control with field workers provided by the War Emergency Program. During the year 1944-45 these field workers made a house to house survey of some 87,937 families with clinical symptoms of malaria. In the course of these visits 41,386 blood smears were taken, of which 5,165 (12.5 per cent) were positive. All of the positive cases were given a follow-up five day treatment.

Temporary measures for the control of the anopholine included construction and reconditioning of open drainage ditches, operation of tide gates, clearance of vegetation in outfalls, rivers, lagoons and irrigation reservoirs, and operation of mosquito traps. At Arroyo, Guayama, Salinas, Santa Isabel, Ponce and Río Piedras drainage operations of a permanent character were carried out during 1944-45. A major drainage project was undertaken at Santa Isabel which consisted of the installation of subsoil drainage systems, lining of earth ditches with pre-cast inverts and side slabs, construction of main outfalls and the manufacture of the pre-cast concrete products used in carrying out this work.

A shortage of engineers made it impossible to complete an Islandwide malaria survey but considerable progress was made at Ponce and Arroyo through the joint efforts of the Bureau and the United States Public Health Service.

The malaria mortality rate per 100,000 population fell from 58.9 in 1943 to 49.9 in 1944 and the morbidity rate from 810.3 in 1943 to 557.1 in 1944. A survey of statistics on malaria from 1930 to the present shows that this disease is steadily being brought under control in Puerto Rico.

The treatment procedure for the control of venereal diseases was considerably changed during the fiscal year in order to permit the use of penicillin. In addition to the diagnostic center already operating at Manatí, three new ones were created at San Juan, Ponce and Aguadilla and a rapid treatment center was organized at Caguas exclusively for the 10-day treatment of syphilis. A total of 13,831 cases of syphilis and 5,914 cases of gonorrhea received treatment at the venereal disease clinics and 5,466 cases were attended at the rapid treatment centers.

School hygiene services of the Bureau of Maternal and Infant Hygiene included the inspection of 54,758 children by nurses; the examination of 11,392 children by health officers; and the vaccination and immunization of 53,740 children against smallpox, diptheria and typhoid fever. The Bureau also conducted 5,585 clinic sessions for prenatal care; gave dental care to 13,274 school children; supervised the work of 1,728 licensed assistant mid-wives; and held more than 3,000 consultations on nutrition problems. The Nutrition Section also delivered 250 talks to school children and other groups, presented 90 films on nutrition and conducted 130 demonstrations on the proper preparation of food.

The Crippled Children's Bureau has 60 beds available for its use in each of three district hospitals and 77 beds in the Convalescent Home at Guaynabo. During 1944-45, 919 cases were treated, 545 patients were hospitalized and 508 operations were performed.

The laboratory work of the Department was performed by the eight district public health laboratories and in the clinical laboratories of the five district hospitals, the five tuberculosis hospitals, the psychiatric hospital and the one venereal disease hospital. In all, 755,838 tests were made. The Bureau of Chemistry analyzed 10,989 samples of food, drugs, milk, cosmetics and miscellaneous materials. Of the 9,204 samples of milk examined, 261 were found to be adulterated.

An effort was made to improve the training of public health personnel at the School of Tropical Medicine, at the University of Puerto Rico and in the United States. In all, 116 employees or future employees benefited by this special training program during the year. A plan for increasing the number of public health units. and for reorganizing the supervisory system was approved by the Legislature.

nurses.

Hospital services increased despite the shortage of doctors and The five district hospitals under the supervision of the Division of Insular Medical Services cared for more than 19,000 patients in 1944 45 and 1,947 cases were hospitalized in the Insular Hospital of Psychiatry.

Direct relief is administered by the Division of Public Welfare from funds provided by the War Emergency Program. By June 30, 1945, 26,466 cases were receiving monthly public assistance (usually $7.50) and 47,832 applications for aid were pending. In addition to the $2,200,233.45 expended on these regular monthly grants, $14,485.19 were spent on emergency relief out of Insular funds and $6,937.26 of Federal funds were applied to Civilian War Assistance and assistance to enemy aliens.

Child Welfare services were considerably extended during 1944-45, with a total of 9,155 cases handled as compared with 6,658 in 1943-44 and 2,607 in 1942-43. The Bureau of Child Welfare helped 7,955 of these children to remain in their own homes or in the homes of relatives and placed the majority of the others in foster or boarding homes.

Public water supplies and sewerage systems are supervised and controlled by the Bureau of Sanitary Engineering, and 1,343 inspections were made during the fiscal year. Ten new sewerage systems were approved and are now under construction.

The newly-organized (October, 1944) Tyhpus and Plague Control Section entered upon a program of rat extermination. A total of 185 buildings were inspected of which 119 have already been completely rat-proofed.

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

The war forced this Department to limit its activities chiefly to maintenance of existing work and planning for post-war projects. In addition, work performed by the Wár Emergency Program, involving expenditures of more than $2,000,000, was sponsored by the Department, which contributed about 10 per cent of the total cost.

Road construction in 1944-45 was limited because of restrictions