16 REPORT OF THE AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE 



question is not very great. Happily the use of rice is nearly 

 always supplemented by the addition of other substances of 

 vegetable and animal origin which often supply the deficient 

 elements. 



An interesting characteristic of rice protein may be men- 

 tioned here. It has recently been shown that in its general 

 aminoacid make-up the protein of rice more nearly re- 

 sembles the majority of the proteins of animal tissues than 

 do the proteins of maize and wheat. This may explain the 

 fact that rice, in spite of its low protein content, furnishes 

 food for more human beings than any other cereal. 



The alteration in composition which rice undergoes 

 during the process of polishing is of great significance from 

 the medical point of view. Some authorities believe that 

 beri-beri is due to specific germs. Others think that it is 

 caused by the bacterial fermentation of the large amounts 

 of carbohydrates eaten in unbalanced diet. But the con- 

 sensus of opinion is that beri-beri is one of the " deficiency 

 diseases " like, e.g., scurvy or rickets. Most of the food 

 articles in their raw state contain the curative substances. 

 These are, however, at times lost, or considerably reduced, 

 during the process of " finishing " and preparation which, 

 the fastidious taste of the modern consumer prescribes. 

 Reduction in the content of phosphoric acid is now gene- 

 rally accepted as an index of the beri-beri-producing power 

 of a sample of rice. Judged by this standard, although all 

 samples of unhusked rice used during this investigation 

 were good, many samples of the " polished " rice were unfit 

 for consumption as a sole article of diet. It must be remem- 

 bered, however, that rice is almost universally supplemented 

 by some other foodstuffs, the mixed diet often to a great 

 extent nullifying much of the apprehended injurious effects. 



Assimilation of nutrients by the plant. The proper 

 supply of nutritive elements is an important factor in the 

 growth of a plant and, in view of the economic importance 

 of the rice crop, a study was made of the assimilation of 

 the nutrient materials by this plant at various stages of its, 

 growth. 



