FOODS HUMAN NUTRITIOISr. 67 



dissolved 5.7 mg, from each plate. Other acids, amins, and amino acids, includ- 

 ing asparagin, aspartic acid, creatin, leucin, etc., were tested in a similar way 

 and all showed a considerable solvent action. 



"Asparagin has been found in asparagus, several vetches, beets, beans, and 

 sometimes in peas. Although asparagin is formed especially during the germi- 

 nation of these products, it is also present in the unripe vegetables. Among 

 the vegetables which are recognized as strongly attacking tin containers are 

 asparagus, spinach, string beans, and pumplvin." TTie total volatile alkali was 

 accordingly determined in canned samples of these substances. " It is evident 

 that the volatile alkalis and amino acids which occur in these vegetables prob- 

 ably have an effect on the tin container analogous to that of the methylamin 

 found in shrimp," and " it is suggested that these volatile alkalis and amino 

 acids are responsible to a great degree, if not entirely, for the solvent action 

 on tin exerted by foods of very low acidity." 



Some experiments upon the removal of oysters from, polluted to unpol- 

 luted waters, E. B. Phelps {Jour. Amer. Pub. Health Assoc, 1 {1911), No. 5, 

 pp. 305-308). — From experimental studies the author concludes that "within 4 

 days, and possibly within a shorter i)eriod of time, a healthy oyster transplanted 

 from polluted to clean waters will rid itself of the evidences of pollution, and 

 we may justly argue from this that the sewage material which is always asso- 

 ciated with Bacillus coU, and of which the latter is taken as an index, has 

 also been eliminated." 



In further tests " such very rapid improvement was shown within 2 days 

 that there could be no reasonable doubt as to the efficacy of very short periods 

 of storage in clean water." 



The lipoids in egg yolk, C. Sekono and A. Palozzi {Rend. Sac. Chim. Ital., 

 2. ser., 3 {1911), No. 8, pp. 200-203). — Maximum and minimum values are 

 reported for the oil, lecithin, palmitin. olein, and lutein of egg yolk. 



The effect of certain vegetable proteids on wheat gluten, B. voN Fenyvessy 

 {Ztschr. Untersuch. Nahr. u. Getiussmtl., 21 {1911), No. 11, pp. 658-662).— 

 When wheat gliadin was added to wheat flour it entered the gluten quantita- 

 tively, the total weight of the gluten and its baking quality being directly pro- 

 portional to the increased gliadin content. The addition of glutenin also in- 

 creased the weight of gluten but diminished or destroyed its baking quality. 



It was found that rye gliadin could replace wheat gliadin in such gluten for- 

 mation. The author considers that the failure of rye flour to form gluten is 

 not attributable, at least wholly, to a deficiency of glutenin, but to the fact that 

 it contains substances which prevent the union of the gluten constituents. 

 Hordein when added to wheat flour increased the total amount of gluten but 

 lowered the baking quality. The addition of zein resulted in a horn-like mass 

 which could be pulverized with difficulty and which expanded scarcely at all in 

 the dough. It appears, therefore, that zein does not affect the baking quality 

 of wheat gluten. 



Apparently, of the substances under consideration wheat and rye gliadin only 

 can unite with glutenin to form gluten with characteristic properties. The role 

 played by glutenin does not seem to be specific, since denatured protein, kaolin, 

 talc, and perhaps other materials, as well as hordein when pulverized and added 

 to wheat flour, are taken up by the gluten and destroy its baking quality. When 

 heated with water, gliadin is transformed into a substance which influences the 

 gluten in the same way as glutenin. 



The value of hard winter wheat flour for bread making, L. A. Fitz {Bakers^ 

 Helper, 25 {1911), No. 294, PP- ^035, 1036, figs. 3; Southwest. Grain and Flour 

 Jour., 10 {1911), No. 8, p. 16, fig. 1). — In this discussion some data from baking 

 tests with different kinds of wheat are summarized. 



