FOODS HUMAN NUTRITION. 757 



scs c.-ui iKit he lurtlier (l(»s;H'cliaritio(i : in so fni' tlinj ;i lii,i;li (iiioticnt l)et\vt'eii 

 L'lucoso iiiul nsli foincides witli ;i low quotient of piu-ity, and vice versa. 



"The amount of inor.irMiik' eoustituentis. i)rinoi] tally potash salts, in the juice 

 is a «'Oiise(|Uonce of the conditions of the soil, the clrniate, and tlic lal)or, and is 

 to a certain extent constant for the cane from any .tciven area. 



•• (Jcnerally, a low (luotient of ])urily of tlie juice of rii)e cane accords wKli a 

 iii.i:h content of inort;anic hodies. chiefly potash salts. . . . 



" Carbonatation rcmoxcs uums. ]iliospiiafcs. and silica nincli more llioroniildy 

 than defeciition." 



The value of cocoa as a food, and condiment. Experiments with man, 

 It. O. Xkuma.xn (.1/(7(. //(/.'/.. ■'x'^ (100(1). A'o. /, pi). I-I.l',. pis. ,?, /h/.s. S : Miinclicn. 

 ]l(fl. W(hii.<i<hr.. o.i (WOG). .Vo. 10. i,i). .',81, 482).— \ lar-c number of experi- 

 ments with cocoa of different sorts were made iu which the effect of the 

 (luantity eaten, the fat contt'ut, the amount of shell present, and other ques- 

 tions were studied. Among the conclusions drawn wei'e the following: 



The way in which cocoa is consinned, whether akme or with other foods, 

 has a marked effect on its absorption. The minimum digestibility of protein. 

 4.") per cent, vras noted when cocoa was eaten alone. The presence of cocoji 

 diminished the digestibilit.v of nitrogenous constituents of the diet as a whole, 

 the amount being proportional to the quantity of cocoa taken. This lowering 

 of protein digestibility is due to the fact that cocoa increases markedly the 

 amoiuit of feces. This increase is accompanied b.y a corresponding decrease in 

 the amomit of nitrogen iu the urine. The lower the fat content of the cocoa 

 tlu' greater the depression of the coefficient of digestibility of protein. A 

 large projiortion -of shell in cocoa also has an imfavorable effect on the excre- 

 tion of nitrogen. Cocoa protein may replace a part of the protein of the 

 diet. The digestibilty of cocoa fat varies considerably, the separated cocoa 

 butter being 1)4.7 per c(>nt digestible, as conipan-d with 94.9 per cent in the 

 case of the fat of a normal diet. When fat is taken as a part of the cocoa 

 its coefficient of digestibility is somewhat lower. Cocoas rich in fat improve 

 the digestibility of the fat of the entire diet. When large quantities of cocoa 

 are taken the theobromiu present produces transitor.v disturbances, but the 

 amount present in small quantities of cocoa, such as the 20 or 30 gm. ordinarily 

 taken per day, i>roduces a pleasantly stimulating effect. No diuretic effect was 

 noted. 



In general, the experiments showed that cocoa was a satisfactory food mate- 

 rial and, in the author's opinion, cocoa with a high fat content is to be pre- 

 ferred to one from ^^•hich the fat has been very largely removed. He therefore 

 suggests a fat content of ."'O per cent as the niiniuuun requirement. 



Chemical composition of chestnut flour, and study of two sugars con- 

 tained therein, K. Paladino (Rend. Acciul. Sri. Fis. Mut. yapoli, 3. ser., 12 

 (IDOG), PI). in-12S; ahs. in Jour. Chem. Soc. [Loinlon\. !)0 {I'JOG), No. 527, pp. 

 024, 625). — One of the sugars identified gave crystals resembling those of 

 sucrose and gave an osazone melting at 204° C. It had a specific rotation cor- 

 resi)onding to that of sucrose. The a<iueous extract yielded a reducing dextro- 

 rotatory sugar which gave an osazone melting at 204°. 



The presence of formalin in foods, G. Perrikr (Coiiipt. Neiid. Acad. Sci. 

 \ Paris], I'f.i (inOH), Xo. 11, pp. 600-603).— The possible occurrence of formalin 

 in smoked food i)roducts is pointed out and determinations reported of the 

 iunount itresent in a number of products: for instance, 0.03 to 1.20 mg. was 

 found per I(i(t gm. in ham and 0.04 to O.C mg. per 100 gm. in smoked sausage. 

 The necessity of taking into account in pure-food legislation the occurrence of 

 formalin under such circumstances is pointed out. 



