144 Kansas Academy of Science. 



which from the pure-food point of view is a remarkably fins 

 article. 



From one of the manufacturing houses I have obtained the 

 following figures as to the output of corn oil last year : "Roughly 

 speaking," the communication states, "last year 82,000,000 

 pounds of crude corn oil were produced in the United States, at 

 least one-half of which was refined.". 



Becoming interested in this product, we have obtained large 

 quantities of it for the purpose of distribution in order to as- 

 certain whether the product was edible, and it is gratifying to 

 state that in every case the report has been favorable as an oil 

 suitable for salad dressing. A small amount is now used by 

 some for making the camphorated oil, which is a solution of 

 camphor in a fixed oil. It is also used in some of the leading 

 biscuit and cracker plants in the United States and also by 

 bread bakers throughout the country. Corn oil is also used in 

 the manufacture of artificial rubber, attention to which will be 

 called in another paper. The advantage to the cracker bakers 

 in using the oil is evidenced by the constant changing of the 

 large consumers from cottonseed oil to corn oil, which is due 

 to its better keeping qualities and on account of its being more 

 economical. The contention is made by the manufacturers that 

 the corn oil is much cheaper to handle ; being liquid, it can be 

 pumped from one department to another or handled by gravity 

 from overhead tanks, and makes an ideal shortening from a 

 physical working standpoint. 



The crude oil is largely used by soap makers, and sometimes 

 by confectioners in oiling their slabs. The smoking point of 

 the oil is very high, namely, 650° F., and lard 350° F., while re- 

 fined cottonseed oil smokes at 500° F. When goods are cooked 

 in or with fats having higher melting point a coating of fat is 

 often formed over the other constituents, and the digestion of 

 the proteins and carbohydrates is retarded, since the materials 

 which are coated with a layer of fat will not be permeated 

 readily by the saliva or the gastric juices. This is not the case 

 when corn oil is used, due to its low melting point. Refined 

 corn oil is stated to have the energy value of about 4,000 cal- 

 ories per pound, while butter, containing a considerable per- 

 centage of water and salt, shows usually only 83 to 85 percent 

 of fat, with about 3,400 calories per pound. 



It is worthy of note that the United States Department of 

 Agriculture, in its Food Inspection Decision No. 169, issued 



