FOODS IM'MA.N NUTRITION. 



681 



eular letter addressed to the consular officers in Italy. China, and .la pan, requesting 

 an investigation of sericulture as conducted in thos< untries. 



The points covered by the reports include the raising of cocoons, silk reeling, num- 

 ber of work men, status, training, and compensation of the workmen, mulberry culture, 

 hatching of silkworm eggs, silk manufacture, storage of cocoons, diseases of silk- 

 worms, governmenl aid of sericulture, etc. 



Report on the condition of the Italian silk trade and on the yield of 

 cocoons in Italy in 1904, P. Chapman I Diplo. and Cons. Rpts. [London], Misc. 

 s,,-., /!"/■'>, X<>. >;:.'. ///<. !>).- The Italian silk market was in an unfavorable condition 

 at the beginning of the breeding season for 1904. The price of taw silk rose consid- 

 erably, so thai certain manufacturers deserted the market, thus causing a fall in the 

 value. >f raw silk. Notes are given on the result- of breeding experiments during 

 L904. The cross w hite-\ el |. ,u breeds are preferred in Italy, especially those of 

 Chinese origin. 



FOODS— HUMAN NUTRITION. 



A digest of Japanese investigations on the nutrition of man, K. 0SHIM4 

 | !'. s. ft,/,/. Agr., Office Eocpt. Stas. Bui. 159, pp. .'.",). -The Japanese have for a 

 number of years been actively engaged in experiments which have to do with the 

 nutritive value of foods, food requirements under different condition- as regards 

 occupation and environment, and similar topics, and have also studied many of the 

 more technical questions connected with the general theories of nutrition. 



En this digest the author has summarized dietary studies, digestion experiment-, 

 and experiments in which the income and outgo of oitrogen were determined, and 

 has discussed the work at considerable length. Many of the investigations included 

 have been published only in the Japanese language, and hence were not accessible 

 to most investigators outside of Japan. 



The digestibility and nutritive value of cottage cheese, rice, peas, and 

 bacon, II. Snydeb [Minnesota Sta. Bui. 92, pp. 259-275). — Using healthy men as sub- 

 jects, the digestibility of cottage cheese, rice, dried pea- I soup or puree), and bacon 

 was studied. 



These foods were combined with one another and with other articles to constitute 

 simple rations, but insuchaway that the nutrients furnished by the foods specially 

 studied constituted a large proportion of the total ration. Thus, in the experiment 

 with cottage cheese 1.1 lbs. was consumed on an average per man perday, this amount 

 supplying over 40 per cent of the total protein and 28 per cent of the total fat of the 

 ration. In addition to the usual experimental data the nitrogen and specific gravity 

 of the urine were recorded. The following table shows the average digestibility of 

 the rations studied: 



Coefficients of digestibility of rations containing cot*age cheese, vice, peas, and bacon. 



Kind of diet. 



Available 

 energy. 



Cottage cheese ration 



Rice ration 



Dried peas and rice ration 



Bacon and peas ration 



Bacon and cottage cheese ration 



/'< r a nt. 

 90.86 

 89.8] 



90.01 

 B7.08 



According to the author95 per cent of the fat and the protein and 97 per cent of the 

 carbohydrate- of cottage cheese alone were digested, \\ bile 90 per cent of the energy 

 was available to the body. In the case of rice the values are 83 per cent protein, 98 

 per cent carbohydrates, and 90 per cent available energy. The values calculated for 



