153 
The above results show that it approximates in nutritive properties 
the composition of a rich, natural cream; it is very pleasant and sweet 
to the taste, possesses an agreeable odor, and, when sterilized and properly 
sealed, will remain indefinitely in a fresh condition. Such a product 
could be used as as substitute for all of the purposes to whieh the so- 
‘alled “evaporated creams,” now on the market, are put, and it might 
prove to be one of the most valuable by-products of the coconut-oil 
industry. 
THE ACTION OF ORGANISMS ON COCONUT OLL UNDER VARYING CONDITIONS. 
Although, as has been shown above, the character of a coconut oil in 
regard to free acid, odor, and taste is determined chiefly by the quality of 
the copra used for its production, there is also in most commercial oils 
a slow but steady deterioration, amounting in the worst cases to a rise 
of about 0.5 per cent per month (ef. sample No. 31, p- 120), while 
with pure, filtered oils this reaches only a few hundredths per cent in 
the same time. It has been remarked above that samples of oil which 
contain suspended impurities and water, as a rule, increase in their 
content of free acid somewhat more rapidly than do similar ones which 
have been clarified; a result to be expected, if, as is the case with copra, 
decomposition is due to micro-organisms, since it has been proven that 
bacteria and molds do not live for any length of time in pure oil."* 
The influence of impurities on the keeping qualities of oils was noticed as 
early as 1855 by Pelouze,“ who observed that various oleaginous seeds, when 
crushed and extracted at once, yielded almost neutral oils, whereas if, after 
being crushed, they were allowed to stand for some time before extraction, the 
oil then produced contained a large amount of free acid. He considered this 
action to be due to a “ferment” similar to that producing alcohol from sugar. 
Pastrovich and Ulzer,” using a mixture of oleomargarine with 0.5 per cent 
vasein and | per cent water, observed an increase of acidity from 0.888 to 1.259 
per cent in one week, and in fourteen weeks 0.888 to 10.270 per cent. They 
make no attempt to explain this effect, evidently attributing the saponification 
to some change brought about directly by the presence of albuminoids, although 
it is very probable that it was produced by bacteria or molds. 
The following experiments were undertaken with a view of accentuat- 
ing this difference in keeping qualities between pure and impure oils by 
exposing them directly to the action of micro-organisms under similar 
conditions. 
About 20 cubic centimeters each of samples Nos. 6, 8, and 11 were 
poured into small beakers and placed in a covered specimen jar containing 
“ E. Ritsert: Untersuchungen iiber das Ranzigwerden der Fette. Chem. Centrb. 
(1890), 507, 575, 813. 
“M. J. Pelouze: Memoir, sur la saponification des huiles sous Vinfluence des 
matieres qui les accompagnent dans les grains. Compt. Rend. (1855), 40; 605. 
* Pastrovich u. Ulzer: Ueber den Einfluss der Gegenwart verschiedener Eiweiss- 
kérper auf Fette. Ber. d. chem. Gesell. (1903), 36, 209. 
38151——2 
