114 Kansas Academy of Science. 



more soluble the phosphate the tougher and more elastic the gluten, and 

 a tough, elastic gluten holds the loaf in shape as it expands in the oven 

 and prevents the small bubbles of gas running together into large holes 

 and spoiling the texture. 



MEASURING TURBIDITY. 



These facts suggest at once a method for estimating the shape and 

 texture of a loaf w^hich can be made from any given sample of wheat. 

 An analysis showing the amount of soluble phosphate in the sample 

 should give the desired information. But unfortunately such analysis 

 is not an easy one to make and requires a considerable quantity of flour. 

 In making these analyses it was noticed that when the flours were shaken 

 with water to dissolve the phosphate, and the insoluble substances re- 

 moved by filtering, the solutions obtained were always more or less 

 turbid, and the degree of turbidity was found to be related to the amount 

 of phosphate present and to the shape of loaf pi'oduced. On further in- 

 vestigation it was found that the turbidity was due to the fact that the 

 concentration of acid and salts which make gluten coherent also dissolve 

 some of it, and gluten, like other colloids, gives a turbid solution. It 

 was also found that the amount of gluten dissolved, and consequently 

 the degree of turbidity, is related to the shape of the loaf. Now it is 

 quite easy to measure the degree of turbidity by pouring the solution 

 into a glass vessel below which a small electric lamp is placed and noting 

 the depth of the liquid through which the filament of the lamp can just 

 be seen. The turbidities, however, were so slight that it was found 

 necessary to increase them by adding a little iodine solution, which gives 

 a brown milkiness with solution of gluten, the degree of milkiness de- 

 pending on the amount of gluten in the solution. 



THE METHOD. 



The method is as follows: One gram of flour is weighed out and put 

 into a small bottle. To it is added 20 cc. of water. The bottle is then 

 shaken for one hour. At the end of this time the contents are poured 

 into a filter. To 15 cc. of the solution 1% cc. of a weak solution of iodine 

 is added, and after standing an hour the turbidity test is applied. 

 Working in this way, it is possible to see through only 10 cc. of the solu- 

 tion thus obtained from such wheat as Red Fife, as compared with 25 

 cc. in the case of Rivet. Other wheats yield solutions of intermediate 

 capacity. 



Corn Oil. 



L. E. Sayre. 



Corn oil is defined by the United States Government as "the edible 

 oil obtained from the germ of corn, maize (Zea Mays L.) (Food Inspec- 

 tion Decisions 169). Of this oil there was manufactured in the United 

 States in the year 1916 (later figures are for the moment not available) 

 approximately eighty-two million pounds. As this oil is a by-product 

 from the com starch and similar industries, it can be manufactured and 

 sold more cheaply than can those vegetable oils which are primary 

 products of manufacture. 



