10 



drying equipment and the small amount of organic matter present in this liquor, 

 it was not considered desirable to add it back to the starfish, so the liquor was 

 discarded. The small amount of nitrogen thus lost would not have been retained 

 in usual plant handling practice. 



The bulk of the starfish for meal was dried in large galvanized pans in steam 

 heated ovens. The starfish were several inches deep and matted down to a dense 

 layer which retarded drying and the maximum temperature obtained in the oven was 

 60° C. (140° F.). As a result, complete drying required 5 to 7 days, even when 

 the matted layer was stirred and broken up daily. 



In the initial stages of the drying operation, temperatures were sufficiently 

 low to encourage vigorous enzymatic and probably bacterial action. This was de- 

 sirable since it resulted in a break-down of the exoskeleton of the starfish and 

 greatly facilitated the grinding of the dry meal. It was virtually impossible 

 to grind the tough and hard structure resulting from rapid drying by any means 

 available. Generally, the decomposition was stopped by further drying before it 

 had reached the stage of liberation of ammonia and darkening of the meal, though 

 this did occur in one or two large batches. 



METHODS OF ANALYSIS 



Dry matter was determined by heating overnight in an air oven, at 105° C. 

 (221° F.). Ash was obtained by ignition of the dry material at 600° C. (1112° F.), 



until grayish white, and chlorides were determined 

 on the ash by leaching with 1 nitric acid to 3 water 

 and titrating a suitable aliquot by Volhard's meth- 

 od. Total nitrogen (N x 6.25 to give crude protein) 

 was determined by Kjeldahl digestion using copper 

 sulfate as a catalyst. Total organic matter was 

 calculated by difference. 



The solvent-soluble portion of the starfish 

 was extractable with ether, but was more readily 

 soluble in acetone. Most of the data on this con- 

 stituent were obtained from bulk extractions with 

 a Soxhlet type extractor using a mixture of acetone 

 and petroleum ether. The solvent was recovered by 

 distillation and the last portion was removed with 

 aid of a vacuum. Considerable quantities of star- 

 fish oil were thus prepared for an investigation of 

 the sterols present in starfish by Dr. Werner Bergmann 

 and coworkers of the chemistry department of Yale University. 



In view of the toughness of the starfish "skin," it was thought likely that a 

 chitin-like material might constitute a major portion of the protein present. 

 Chitin was therefore determined on two samples by digestion of the fat-free star- 

 fish meal with 20 percent KOH at 60° C. (140° F.) for two weeks. Chitin was de- 

 termined as the loss on ignition of the dried residue at 550° C. (1022° F.) since 

 the carbonate ash constituted the bulk of the undigested material. 



ANALYTICAL RESULTS 



The proximate analyses of the meals and some lots of fresh starfish are tabu- 

 lated in Table 3- Data are not complete on all meals, as several were prepared 

 for special purposes, such as for feeding tests or for the extraction of oil. 



