LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL 



U. S. Department of Agriculture, 

 Office of Experiment Stations, 



Washington^ D. (?., February 15^ 1903. 

 Sir: I have the honor to transmit herewith, and to recommend for 

 publication as a bulletin of this Office, a report of investigations on 

 the digestibility and nutritive value of bread carried on at the Uni- 

 versity of Minnesota in 1900-1902 by Harry Snyder, professor of 

 chemistry in the State university and chemist of the agricultural 

 experiment station. The studies were conducted under the imme- 

 diate supervision of Prof, W. O. Atwater, chief of nutrition investi- 

 gations, and Prof. Charles D. Woods, and form a part of the investi- 

 gations on food of man conducted under the auspices of this Office. 

 Thanks are due the Northwestern Consolidated Milling Company, of 

 Minneapolis, Minn., for specially grinding samples of hard wheat, 

 and to the Goshen Milling Company, of Goshen, Ind., and the Christian 

 Breisch Milling Company, of North Lansing, Mich., for similar favors 

 with respect to soft wheat. 



The results of these investigations are in accord with those obtained 

 hi former studies, and indicate that tine patent flours from both hard 

 and soft wheat are more digestible than corresponding coarse flours, 

 though they contain somewhat less protein and mineral matter pound 

 for pound. The investigations also show that all flours are quite 

 thoroughly digested, and furnish experimental proof of the generally 

 recognized fact that wheat flours of all grades are among the most 

 important articles of diet. 



Kespectfull}^, A. C. True, 



Director. 

 Hon. .Iames Wilson, 



Secretary of Agriculture. 



3 



