662 EXPERIMENT STATION EECOBD. 



It is interesting also to note tliat there is very little evidence of the use of the 

 resinous glazes which were so extensively employed formerly." 



So-called " ethereal " flavors were especially noticeable in only 21 of the 

 samples. Sulphur dioxid in detectable amount was found in only 1 sample. 

 The data presented show that there was a wide variation in the amount of 

 candy received for 1 ct. at the prices asked for in the goods sampled, '• the 

 variation . . . ranging from 0.21 to 2.11 [oz.] indicating a cost to the con- 

 sumer of from 70 cts. a pound down to 7i cts. a pound." 



In general, the author concludes that "while marked improvement is observed 

 in the quality of cheap candies as regards freedom from actually harmful in- 

 gredients, there is still room for great improvement in the quality of some of 

 the ingredients used, in the form in which candies are made and sold, as well 

 as in the manner of their handling so as to keep them free from dirt." 



Cocoa and chocolate — their chemistry and manufacture, R. Whymper 

 (Philutleliiliia, J!)J,2, pp. XI-{-327). — This volume discusses the history, botany, 

 and agriculture of cacao, the manufacture of chocolates and cocoa powders, 

 and the chemistry of cacao with respect to the components of cacao and choco- 

 late and methods of analysis. A bibliogi-aphy is provided and also an index. 



The cost of living', B. Soucail {Egypte Conteniporaine, 1912, No. 9, pp. 

 1-26). — Some information regarding food customs and living conditions is 

 included in this discussion of the cost of living. 



Experiments on the digestion of vegetables by man, W. Pieper (Versuche 

 iiber GemHsererdanung beim ]\Iensclirn. Inaug. Diss., Vnic. Halle, 1911, pp. 

 23). — The author conducted experiments with normal persons and also witli 

 hospital patients suffering from various digestive d-isorders. Small pieces of 

 carrots preserved in alcohol and then soaked for 2 hours in water were tied 

 in little sacks of silk gauze and given to the patients in capsules. The time of 

 their reappearance in the feces and the condition of the contents of the sacks 

 were carefully noted. 



The conclu-sions reached follow : The presence of hydrochloric .''.cid in the 

 gastric juice is a requisite for the digestion of vegetables, preparing the vege- 

 tables for complete digestion, and absorption in the intestines. Its action is 

 somewhat supplemented by long retention of the material in the intestines 

 where bacterial activity takes place. Disturbances of intestinal digestion 

 result in a decreased digestion of cellulose which is believed to be due to a 

 disturbance of the normal alkalinity of the intestines. In the digestion of vege- 

 tables both gastric and intestinal digestion are of equal importance; only by 

 the cooperation of the two is a satisfactory assimilation iwssible. 



Digestion of casein, L. Gaucher {Compt. Rend. Acad. Set. [Paris], 153 

 {1911), No. 19, pp. 891, S92; abs. in Jour. Chcm. Sac. [London], 100 {1911), 

 No. 590, II, p. 1109). — In his study of the digestion of milk, the author made 

 experiments on a boy with a fistula at the opening of the jejunum, from which 

 he deduced that the curdling of milk in the stomach is not necessary for diges- 

 tion. A large proportion passes into the intestines uncoagulated. The move- 

 ments of the stomach break up the larger clots under normal conditions, and if 

 the organ is unable to accomplish this, digestion may be hindered by the 

 curdling. No peptonization of the milk takes places until it has passed the 

 duodenum. 



Studies in nutrition. — V, The utilization of proteins of cotton seed, L. B. 

 Mendel and M. S. Fine {Jour. Biol. Vhcm., 11 {1912), No. 1, pp. i-3).— The 

 experiments here reported were undertaken to learn to what extent cotton 

 seed, which in the form of flour bids fair to become an imiwrtant article in the 

 human dietary, is utilized by dogs. 



