FOODS NUTEITION. 701 



"The more fluid oil? and i^oft fats were more completely digested than the heavier 

 oils or the hard fats. 



"The effect of an increase in the melting point of a fat on the percentage of diges- 

 tihility becomes less as the melting point approaches or goes above the temperature 

 of the body. . . . 



"It is apparently true, in the cases before us at least, that cooked fats and oils are 

 considerably more digestible than those eaten raw. In cooking a fat there is proba- 

 bly more or less dissociation into glycerine and fatty acids, which, if the theory is 

 corre(.'t that the presence of fatty acids is conducive to a more perfect digestion of the 

 fat, will help to explain the higher percentages of digestion in the experiment with 

 the mice. In that work the oils were cooked in the preparation of the food, while 

 in the work with the guinea pigs the oils were fed raw. 



"Nothing developed in these experiments to indicate that the vegetable oils used 

 are in any manner inferior to the animal fats as articles of food. In heat producing 

 power the 2 classes are ecjual, while the vegetable fats appear to have ))een more 

 completely digested. . . . 



"It must be left very largely to the fancy of the individual consumer to decide 

 which class of fats is to be preferred." 



Poultry as food, Helen W. Atwater ( U. S. Dept. Agr. Farmers' Bui. 18S, pp. 

 40). — In this bulletin data regarding the composition and food value of poultry are 

 summarized and discussed. The topics treated of include among others varieties of 

 poultry, fattening poultry and its effect on food value, dressing and marketing, 

 marks of good poultry, cooking, nutritive value of poultry and its cost, and the place 

 of poultry in the diet. The term "poultry," as used, covers chickens, turkeys, 

 guinea fowls, ducks, geese, pigeons, swans, peafowls, pheasants, and quail. 



As regards composition the author states that "poultry does not differ as much as 

 is commonly supposed from meat of other domestic animals used for food. Indi- 

 vidual kinds and sijecimens, of course, vary in the relative amounts of protein and 

 fat contained, and there are certain flavors present in poultry which differ from those 

 in other meats. But these differences are so small that they are practically negligi- 

 ble in ordinary diet. Nor is there as much difference in digestibility as is often 

 stated. On the average, poultry is somewhat more easily digested than beef and 

 mutton, but only very slightly. The difference in digestibility between the various 

 kinds of poultry probably depends on the amount of fat contained, the fatter sorts 

 being least easily digested. 



"Tenderness of fiber may have something to do with both ease and thoroughness 

 of digestion, and, if so, young birds are more easily digested than old, and the less-used 

 muscles of the chicken, such as the breast, more so than the much-used nuiscular 

 tissues of the legs. Similarly, white-fleshed birds may be more easily digested than 

 dark-fleshed, because the fibers of their flesh are less closely set; but this is not fully 

 proved. Indeed, very little is positively known on this subject, and that little seems 

 to indicate that the differences in thoroughness of digestion are very slight, and that 

 cooking has much more to do with the digestibility of the birds than these slight 

 differences in composition and texture." 



Poultry as food, R. I). INIilner {Conneclieut Storn^ Sta. Bill. 27, pp. 20, fig. 1). — 

 On the basis of a large number of analyses of poultry and poultry products which 

 have been made by the station, the food value of poultry is discussed. Statistics are 

 quoted regarding the extent of poultry raising in the United States, and especially in 

 Connecticut; and the importance of this industry to Connecticut and the desirability 

 of increasing it are pointed out. 



Alcohol as a food, R. Rosemann {Arch. Physwl. [Pfiuger], 100 {190S), Xo. 7-8, 

 pp. 348-300) .—Thi' author discusses the nutritive value of alcohol and calls attention 

 to the use of alcohol as a condiment, and related topics. 



