858 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



7J, pt. '/. i>i>. 33-i2). — In this paper, which was presented at the meeting of the 

 National Hee Keepers' Association, held at Detroit, October 14, 1908, the author 

 discusses the relation of the etiology of bee diseases to their treatment. The 

 predisposing causes of disease considered include age. sex, heredity, race, cli- 

 mate, and i»reexisting disease, while the exciting causes are found in food and 

 micro-organisms. American foul l>rood, p]uropean foul brood, so-called "pickled 

 brood." and paralysis are described and the importance of be(! keepers Itecoming 

 acquainted with tlieir etiology is pointed out. 



South. African bee keeping, H. L. Attridgk (.If//'. Jour. Cape Good JIopc, 

 32 (WOS), No. 6, pp. 692-70.',, figs. 9; 33 {1908), Kos. 1, pp. J,6-oG, figs. 11; 2, pp. 

 156-170, figs. 12; 3, pp. 307-317, figs. 6; .'/, pp. .',38-.',60, figs, i.'/).— An extended 

 account of bee keeping in South Africa, illustrated by many original photo- 

 graphs. 



FOODS— HUMAN NUTRITION. 



Digestibility of starch of different sorts as affected by cooking, Edna U. 

 Day {V. ti. Dcpt. Agr., Office E.rpt. >^tns. liiil. 202, pp. Jf2, figs. 6").— Artilicial 

 digestion experiments, using malt diasta.se, (aka diastase, and saliva, were made 

 with raw starch, starch cooked below the boiling temperature, and starch cooked 

 for different lengths of time and in different ways: Potato, arrowroot, tapioca, 

 sago, wheat, corn, rice, and barley starches were used in the experiment. The 

 report of exiteriments is preceded l)y a review of previous investigations on the 

 subject, particular attention being given to the JUiiyliKses and related substances 

 found in raw starch grains. 



As the author points out, the starches used in the experiments had been sep- 

 arated from the other substances with which they are ordinarily combined in 

 foods, and this and the further fact that artificial methods of digestion were 

 used should be borne in mind in considering the results. 



" Raw starch, as shown by the experiments reported, digests very nuicli more 

 slowly than the starch in the forms of a paste. 



" Starch paste made below the boiling temperature of water is as easy to 

 digest as that which has been boiled a few minutes, though it is not as homo- 

 geneous. 



" Potato, arrowroot, and probably taitioca and sago starch pa.stes are not 

 made more easily digestible by long-continued cooking. On the other hand, the 

 cereal starches are made more easily digestible by long cooking, though the 

 change occurs very slowly and perhaps the increased digestibility is not suffi- 

 ciently great to justify the trouble, under ordinary circumstances at least, for 

 sepai'ated starch such as is useti in cookery. However, in the case of starch still 

 inclosed in cellulose cells, as in many starchy foods, the long-continued cooking 

 may be neces.sary. The connnercial preparations of cornstarch recpiire 30 to 40 

 minutes' cooking because of the improvement in flavor which results. 



" Skin formation as well as lumps should be avoided in cooking starch — the 

 latter contain raw starch, the former revex'ted amylodextrin, and both are very 

 slow of digestion. 



" The selection of potato starch instead of coi-n or wheat starch for thickening 

 sauces, in accordance with the custom of French cooks, is rational, since it con- 

 tains no rose amylose and so forms a clearer and more digestible sauce, and 

 since it does not require 40 minutes' bolliug for improvement in flavor, as is the 

 case with cornstarch. 



" Increasing the proportion of diastase to starch in artificial digestion experi- 

 ments markedly hastens the digestion of both blue and red amylose. It would 

 appear, therefore, that eating stai-chy foods slowly, which would of cour.se 

 increase the proportion of saliva and irtyalin to a given quantity of starch, would 



