1920] FOODS — HUMAN NUTRITION. 765 



Kats were fed a ration consisting of IS per cent of casein, 2S per cent of fat 

 (cottonseed oil or lard), 7 per cent of salt mixture, 47 per cent of cornstarch, 

 and the water-alcohol extract of 9 gm. of wheat embryo. To insure absence 

 of the fat-soluble vitamin, except as it might occur in the lard or cottonseed 

 oil, the casein and wheat embryo had been previously extracted for 48 hours 

 with ether in a Soxhlet ai)paratus. On this ration all of the animals grew 

 normally. The females in both the lard and cottonseed groups reproduced, and 

 the young in both groups were successfully reared on the same diets. 



In another series of experiments in which the rations were the same except 

 that 53 per cent of starch and 21 per cent of fats were used in place of 47 

 and 28 per cent, respectively, normal growth gains took place with the lard 

 ration for about 2 months, when the weight became stationary. With the lower 

 cottonseed-oil ration growth was normal for only about G weeks, when a 

 gradual decline in weight took place. 



" Since the relation between the fat-soluble vitamin and rickets is under- 

 going experimental scrutiny, our findings may bo of interest in this connection. 

 It is possible 'that recent workers who have been using the vegetable oils, more 

 Itarticularly cottonseed, in the study of rickets, with the thought that these are 

 quite free from the fat-soluble complex may have been furnishing enough of the 

 vitamin to meet the requirements of growth, especially if the experimental 

 periods were of comparatively short duration." 



The occurrence of water-soluble vitamin in some common fruits, T. B. 

 Osborne and L. B. Mendel {Jour. Biol. Chem., Jf2 (1920), No. 3, pp. 46r)-.>,89, 

 figs. 9). — The presence of water-soluble B in various fruits was tested by feed- 

 ing experiments with white rats. A standard ration consisting of meat residue 

 10.6, salt mixture 4, starch 52.4, butter fat 9, and lard 15 per cent was fed ad 

 lil)itum, and a measured amount of fresh fruit, fruit juices, and dried fruit 

 furnished daily, apart from the rest of the ration. The results obtained may be 

 summarized as follows : 



Fresh orange juice, prepared by squeezing the skinned oranges, was found 

 to contain sufficient water-solul)le B to promote growth in rats at about the 

 same rate as do corresponding volumes of milk, as shown* by the fact that 

 satisfactory growth was obtained with a daily dose of 10 cc. while smaller 

 amounts proved insufhcient. Orange juice, desiccated by concentration in vacuo 

 and dried in a current of air, was of equal value when fed in quantities equiva- 

 lent to the fresh juice. The fresh inner peel of the orange, when relished by 

 the rats, promoted normal growth fed in daily doses of 5 gm. 



Lemon juice and grapefruit juice, desiccated in the same way as the orange 

 juice, proved equally potent. Commercial grape juice in 10 cc. daily doses 

 proved insufhcient although containing some of the water-soluble B. Fresh 

 apples and pears also contained some of the vitamin but in very small quanti- 

 ties, 10 gm. of the fresh fruit proving far less potent than 2 gm. of dried 

 brewery yeast. Fresh prunes w'ere apparently much richer than apples or pears 

 in water-soluble B (rapid growth resulting with 5 gm. daily doses). 



Preliminary experiments indicate that there is very little if any of the fat- 

 soluble A in the juice of lemon or grapefruit, but that it Is present to some 

 extent in orange juice. 



" The experiments with fruits place the dietary value of these foods, hitherto 

 recommended because of their salt content, their laxative properties, or their 

 antiscorbutic potency. In a new light as sources of water-soluble vitamin." 



Antiscorbutic property of vegetables. — II, An experimental study of raw 

 and dried potatoes, M. H. Gi\t:ns and H. B. McClugage (Jour. Biol. Chciii., 

 42 {1920), No. S, pp. 491-515, pis. 4, figs. IS).— In continuation of the investiga- 



