712 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



tion. . . . Invert sugar of a monosaccharid appears to be the first sxigar formed 

 iu the green fruits studied. As a tentative theory in regard to the formation 

 of carbohydrates we would advance the following: That sucrose and starch are 

 formed as reserve materials, the former from equal amounts of levulose and 

 dextrose, the latter from dextrose alone; that these reactions are reversible, 

 the dextrose being more readily used in respiratory processes, thus favoring 

 an accumulation of levulose." 



" There was no appreciable or consistent change in the amounts of either acid 

 or ash in any of the fruits." 



Soy-bean oil, F. Thompson and H. H. Morgan (Delaware Sta. Bui. 99, 

 pp. 13).- — Although soy-bean oil is used in the United States and the plant can 

 with I'easoiiable certainty be brought to maturity in almost every part of the 

 country south of the fortieth parallel, very little or no oil is manufactured here. 

 In order to determine the quality of the oils obtained from soy beans grown 

 at the Delaware Station for fodder or green manure, several varieties were ex- 

 tracted in 5-lb. lots with 86° B. gasoline. By this procedure about SO per cent 

 of the oil contained in the bean was obtained. Forty-eight varieties of beans 

 gave an average of 19.22 per cent of fat when extracted with ether. 



" The oil thus prepared was of a uniform, light amber color, showing little 

 variation although the beans were of almost all shades of color from light 

 yellow to black, showing that little if any of the coloring matter of the bean 

 was extracted by this solvent. The constants on the oils obtained from the 

 different varieties showed little variation although some of the varieties were 

 of widely different types." The maximum specific gravity of the samples was 

 0.9235, the minimum 0.9108, and the average 0.9193 ; the corresponding 

 saponification values 195.4, 174.08, and 187.27; and the iodin values 138.96, 

 114.01, and 129.72. 



A composite sample of the oils gave a saponification value of 188.65, acid 

 value 0.28, Reichert-Meissl value 5.3, Plehner value 93.5, neutralization A'alue 

 177.82, iodin value of oil 127.78, iodin value of unsaturated fatty acids 13^.93, 

 unsaturated fatty acids 84.7, saturated fatty acids 8.61, ether number 188.37, 

 glycerol 10.29, and mean molecular weight 315.5. 



As compared with linseed, cotton-seed, and corn oil, soy-bean oil is of the 

 corn-oil type of semidrying character. " Probably the most important use of 

 the oil is in the manufacture of soaps, for which purpose it compares very 

 favorably with cotton-seed oil. Being a semidrying oil it has also found some 

 application in the manufacture of paints, and while it probably can never 

 wholly displace linseed oil for this purpose, it appears that when mixed with 

 linseed oil in proportions as high as 25 per cent no inferior qualities are shown 

 in the paint. It is possible that, with suitable driers, it may find more extended 

 use for this purpose." 



The composition of soy-bean cake, and hence its feeding value, depends very 

 much upon the method used in extracting the oil. Pressed cake, as analyzed, 

 shows more oil (6.1 per cent) and contains a little less protein (43.29 per cent), 

 nitrogen-free extract (34.04 per cent), and moisture (11.11 per cent), than the 

 cake extracted with a solvent. 



The total value of an acre of soy beans when grown for oil is estimated at 

 about $30 to $35, as compared with about $20 when grown for green manure. 



Lactic acid in com silage, A. W. Dox and R. E. Neidig (Iowa Sta. Research 

 Bui. 10, pp. 365-37S, figs, ^z).— In previous work (E. S. R., 28. p. 608) it was 

 shown that the total volatile acids recovered by distillation from com silage 

 did not account for all of the acidity observed by the direct titration of the 

 original silage juice. The difference was supposed to represent nonvolatile acid 

 which heretofore had been assumed to consist almost entirely of lactic acid. 



