64 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



ence is not sufficient to nialve the determination one of much value in judging 

 the product. With this vegetable, as with peas, great reliance must be i)laced 

 (.n the physical appearance of the goods." 



"An attempt to determine the ratio between the length, width, and thickness 

 of the beans during the soaking process, showed that this ratio was practically 

 the same for all grades of canned Lima beans examined. While some of the 

 soaked beans ai)peared to have swelled materially the relative thickness was 

 no greater, but the comparison is not deemed conclusive." 



The recorded data furnish some information regarding the changes which 

 take place during the growth and rii)ening of peas. 



"As the pea matures the ash decreases, the starch increases, and the crude 

 fiber decreases as a rule, while the conclusions to be drawn from the determi- 

 nations of nitrogen and ether extract are less decisive. In the peas from one 

 locality the amount of nitrogen deci'eased . as the pea matured, whereas in the 

 same variety from another locality this variation was not so apparent. Similar 

 changes in composition appear in the canned vegetables. The analyses seem to 

 indicate that during the process of canning the peas take up from 2 to 10 per 

 cent of water. It is difficult from these results to draw any conclusions as to the 

 changes taking place during processing. The principal value of the work . . . 

 is to afford data for the comparison of conunercial grades." 



The influence of micro-organisms upon the quality of maple sinip, H. A. 

 Edson (Abs. in Science, n. set:, 31 {1910), No. 791, p. 308). — The vascular 

 bundles of the maple tree are free from micro-organisms, but the tap hole, 

 spout, and bucket are favorable places for their lodgment. The yeasts, mold 

 spores, and bacteria were found in larger amounts as the weather became 

 warmer, and the author was able to show by isolation and inoculation experi- 

 ments certain specific groups of micro-organisms which cause the abnormal type 

 of sap characterized by green, red, milky, and stringy appearance of the late 

 runs. 



The boiling' of sugar with fruit, Edna D. Day {Jour. Home Econ., 2 {1910), 

 No. 1, p. 9^). — This is a brief note on the effects of adding sugar to acid fruit 

 at the beginning and end of the cooking period. The fruits used were cran- 

 berries, grapes, and apples, and tests were also made of the comparative sweet- 

 ness of solutions of the same strength of cane sugar and a mixture of levulo.se 

 and dextrose. 



The conclusion was reached that invert sugar is less sweet than cane sugar 

 and that '' in cooking such fruits as apples, cranberries, and grapes, while the 

 product is slightly less sweet if the sugar is added at the beginning than it is 

 if it is added at the end, still the difference is too small to be of practical 

 importance." 



As the author points out, this work, which was undertaken independently, 

 confirms the results obtained by Miss Snow (E. S. R., 21, p. 460). 



Some comments on the nutritive and economic value of nuts, G. M. Nii.es 

 (Ga. Bfl. Eiit. Bui. 30. pp. 12-20).— The value of nuts as food and related topics 

 are discussed, and a test is briefly reported in which nuts formed the chief 

 source of protein and fat in the diet of healthy men. Judging by the weight 

 of the subjects and the cost of the diet, the author considers that the results 

 are favorable to the use of nuts. 



Concerning the use of lactic acid in condiments, E. S. Faust {Chcm. Ztg., 

 3J, {1910), No. 8, pp. 57-60). — In a study of the possible use of lactic acid in 

 place of citric, tartaric, and acetic acid in making bonbons, effervescent drinks, 

 and fruit juices, a number of investigations were undertaken with small animals 

 to determine the fate of lactic acid in the organism and to ascertain whether its 



