STATES RELATIONS SERVICE. 487 



value and cooking of rabbits, and the data obtained have been incorporated in 

 a Farmers' Bulletin. 



9. Work not previously mentioned has had to do witli factors which influence 

 the temperature of coagulation of esS'^ in making various dishes. Increasing 

 the proportion of sugar was fcnnid to rai.se the temperature of the coagulation 

 point in making boiled custards. Acids, as in fruit juices or slightly sour milk, 

 lower it. Water custards did not curdle on long cooking, and the addition of 

 exceedingly small amounts of soda prevented or greatly delayed curdling in all 

 custards. 



10. Testing and standardizing recipes, though not a major project, has 1»een 

 done as the needs of the oflice have rcKpiired, particularly for use in Farmers' 

 Bulletins and the publicity work of the department. 



11. Making results available to extension workers is an important feature of 

 the experimental woi'k, and besides other ways of doing this, lectures and 

 demonstrations have been given to groups of State leaders of extension work 

 and of State club leaders upon several occasions. 



The studies during the year of the thoroughness of digestion of 

 foods inchided experiments with cod-liver oil, Java almond oil 

 {CanaHum coyntmine). and hydrogenated (artificiallv hardened) 

 fats made from corn, cotton seed, and peanut oils, both blended and 

 unblended; raw starches (potato, corn, wheat, arrowroot of two sorts, 

 rice, canna, and cassava) ; shallu, a cereal grain of interest in some 

 localities, in the form of mush and bread; India buckAvheat {Fagopy- 

 riini tatapicinn) flour; pie crust; and opossum meat. Artificially 

 hardened fats were found to be as well digested as other fats of com- 

 parable melting point. The raw starches, in a sort of frozen pud- 

 ding made with milk, were eaten in quantity and were very well 

 digested, particularly the cereal starches, which were completely 

 digested. 



Such work as this is of scientific and technical interest and is of 

 value also for the discussion of every-day dietary problems. Note- 

 Avorthy is the fact that raw starch is well assimilated, a conclusion 

 quite the opposite of general opinion. Shallu and India buckwheat 

 in thoroughness of digestion were foimd to resemble closely such 

 grains as Kafir. Reports on certain of these digestion experiments 

 were published during the year. 



Eesearch work with the respiration calorimeter was continued in 

 cooperation with the Bureau of Markets, to provide data funda- 

 mental to the handling and storage of food products. The specific 

 heat and heat elimination of vegetables, fruits, and other commodi- 

 ties are factors which affiect the amoimt and the cost, and, though 

 little understood, are of great importance. These were determined 

 by the use of the respiration calorimeter for freshly dug prime celery 

 crated for market. The mean specific heat was determined over two 

 temperature ranges— namely, 12° C. to 16° C, and 17° C. to 21° C. 

 Heat elimination was determined at three temperatures — namely, 12° 

 C. 10.5° C. and 21° C. The celery, whicji was in good condition. Avas 

 then placed in cold storage for approximately one month, when its 

 specific heat was again determined at 13.5° C. to 17.5° C. and its mean 

 specific heat over this average temperature. During the experi- 

 mental period of eight days the celery deteriorated rapidly and at 

 the end was in an advanced stage of decay. The determination of 

 gaseous exchange was difficult owing to the large elimination of 

 water. The data obtained in these experiments, which are consistent, 

 are of interest biologically as well as to the storage industry. 



