368 REPORT OF OFFICE OF EXPERIMENT STATIONS. 



At the Arizona Experiment Station, Vinson " lias continued his 

 important studies of the ripenin<!; of fruits, particuhirly dates, and 

 finds tiiat ripening may be stimulated in this fruit by a large number 

 of substances, particularly those which are readily volatile; among 

 the more important was acetic acid. He concludes that dates may 

 be shipped green and then rij)ened where sold, by exposure to acetic 

 acid fumes, a matter of much importance commercially, since the 

 ripe date is so soft that it will not bear shipment. An extended 

 study of date constituents and the chemistry of the date fruit is 

 involved in his work. 



As part of the pure-food work of the Connecticut State Experiment 

 Station, A. L. Winton '' reports an interesting study of nut butters, 

 gluten goods, and other diabetic foods, and discusses their nutritive 

 value and use in invalid dietetics. 



Fetterolf *= analyzed a number of sorts of gluten flour manufac- 

 tured in the United States and also diabetic products of foreign 

 origin. In both classes of food the amount of carbohydrates varied 

 within rather wide limits, being sometimes notably high. An anal- 

 ysis of peanuts was also reported; also of so-called raspberry jelly, 

 marketed for diabetics, which proved to be a wholly artificial product 

 made of apple juice, glycerol, anilin coloring, and artificial raspberry 

 flavoring. 



As part of a study of breakfast foods, Frear '^ examined, with nega- 

 tive results, a number of samples of these goods wath respect to the 

 alleged occasional presence of material such as morphin and strych- 

 nin. This is a matter of interest in view of the persistence of popular 

 statements to the effect that cereal breakfast foodssometimescontain 

 such materials, a statement which is apparently without any founda- 

 tion of fact. 



The marine algae most used for food by the natives of Hawaii have 

 been classified and analyzed by Minnie Reed,* who has also made 

 interesting notes regarding the food habits of the islanders. 



For some time past efl^orts have been made to utilize cotton-seed 

 meal, a cheap product rich in protein, but sometimes at least poisonous 

 to certain animals, notably pigs, when eaten continuously, though 

 harmless to others, and so a material demanding careful study. 

 Wait^ has recently proposed a new method of preparing it by which 

 it is claimed that the toxic quality is removed and by which it can 

 be satisfactorily mixed with corn meal (maize meal) or wheat for 



a Science, n. ser., 30 (1909), No. 774, p. 604. 



6 Connecticut State Sta. Rpt. 1906, pt. 2, p. 153. 



c University of Pennsylvania Medical Bill. 22 (1909), No. 7, p. 217. 



dPenn. Dept. Agr. Bui. 162. 



« Hawaii Agr. Expt. Sta. Rpt. 1906, p. 61. 



/ Oper. Miller, 13 (1908), No. 6, p. 280. 



