274 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD, 



ai>i)ear.s in an endemic form it was found possible to disinfect the pi-emises ])y fumi- 

 gation or by spraying with formaHn. The treatment was very effective and not 

 expensive. 



Experiments were made to determine the feeding vahie of Scorzonera hispanica for 

 silkworms. The results were unfavora])le to this i)lant. Many of the worms became 

 sick, and it is recommended that no attempt be made to use the plant for feeding 

 silkworms. 



Sericulture in Tunis, F. Verky {Bid. Agr. Algtrie et Tunisii', S [1902), Xa. C, pp. 

 140-130). — The author gives an at'count of the local conditions in Tunis which are 

 favorable to the raising of silkworms and the produc-tion of silk. A large number of 

 mulberry trees are already planted and it is believed that silk mills will be estab- 

 lished as soon as the production of cocoons is sufficiently great to warrant it. 



FOODS -NUTRITION. 



Human food investigations, II. Sxydek [Mirme^ota St<i. Bui. 74, pp- 109-174, 

 figs. 21). — The investigations reported include studies of the digestibility and nutri- 

 tive value of beans, oleomargarine, butter, cheese, oatmeal, bread made from dif- 

 ferent grades of flour, and toast, as well as studies of the digestive power of enzyms 

 of milk. The natural digestion experiments were made with healthy men; the arti- 

 ficial digestion experiments were made by the usual laboratory methods. On an 

 average, Imked beans eaten with a simple mixed diet had the following coefficient of 

 digestibility: Dry matter, 90.91; protein, 80.22; fat, 79.82, and carbohydrates, 96.19 

 per cent. It was found that the greatest degree of digestibility was secured when 

 the beans were consumed in a mixed ration. The digestibility of beans with the 

 skins removed by parboiling and the use of soda, beans parboiled with soda and the 

 skins not removed, beans baked without parboiling and without the use of soda, was 

 studied with pepsin-pancreatin solutions. 



"When the skins of the beans were removed the beans were more readily acted 

 upon by digestive solvents, as jtepsin, diastase, and pancreatin. In 12 hours 25 per 

 cent more of the protein nutrient was digested wlien the skins of the l)eans were 

 removed than when the beans were baked in a similar way without the removal of 

 the skins." 



In connection with the above tests, the effect of adding soda to the water in w hich 

 beans were parboiled, the removal of the skins, and related topics were studied. 

 The bean skins were found to have the following percentage composition: Protein, 

 10.67; fat, 2.10; crude fiber, 39.55; nitrogen free extract, 40.95; ash, 6.73. A number 

 of the author's conclusions were in effect, as follows: 



When soda was used in the preparation of the beans it was found that 84 per 

 cent of the soda remauied in chemical combination with the proteid material, and 

 16 per cent remained in the water in which the beans were jiarboiled. Less than 

 0.66 of 1 per cent of the total nitrogen of beans was lost in the water used in par- 

 boiling, while 99.33 per cent of the total protein remained in the beans. 



"When the skins of beans were removed by parboiling in water containing a little 

 soda al)out 6.5 percent of the total dry matter of the beans was removed in the 

 skins. The skins contained a large amount of crude fiber and a relatively small 

 amount of protein; about 3 percent of the total protein in the beans was removed in 

 the skins. 



"When the skins of beans were removed there was less tendency for the forma- 

 tion of gas in the intestines during digestion. A small amount ot germ adhered to 

 and was removed with the skins; the germ and skin are the parts ot the beans which 



