FISHERY INDUSTRIES OF THE UNITED STATES, 193 7 189 



supply an adequate amount of this vitamin to the ration when the 

 meals are included in normal quantity. In the present work atten- 

 tion is being given to the matter of vitamin retention, since the 

 utility of fish meals must be based on their quality when fed, and this 

 may mean after storage periods up to and exceeding 1 year. 



The principal problem in storing meals containmg any appreciable 

 quantity of oil is to prevent oxidation changes in the oil which lead 

 to the formation of undesirable rancid products and cause vitamin 

 destruction. The investigation during the past year was designed to 

 study the effect of cereal flours as antioxidants when incorporated 

 with the meal during storage. The experimental samples, however, 

 carried a much higher vitamin content than was anticipated and a 

 proper level of diet was not determined during the time allowed for 

 this particular work. The experiments are being repeated during the 

 present year, and, in addition, attention is being given to the effective- 

 ness of pelleting as a means of preventing deterioration during storage. 

 When the meal is compressed into pellet form the tremendous surface 

 exposed by the finely ground material is drastically reduced, air is 

 excluded and only a limited opportunity for oxidation is permitted. 



KELP MEAL IN ANIMAL FEEDING 



One of the principal problems of the modern dairy industry, ac- 

 cording to animal husbandry men, is the irregularity in the reproduc- 

 tive capacity of dairy cows. Workers in dairy science have been 

 looking for some means to arrest this condition through improvements 

 in the ration of the dairy herd. Since it has been loiown for some time 

 that certain minerals influence reproduction and lactation, in their 

 search for dietary solution, the attention of dairy husbandrymen has 

 been directed to so-called mineral feed supplements. Kelp meal, a 

 dried and finely ground product of the giant kelp, a species of seaweed 

 of the Pacific coast, is known to be an excellent organic source of 

 certain minerals which have nutritional value. Dr. McCollum, of 

 Jolins Hopkins University, has shown that magnesium and man- 

 ganese are important in reproduction and lactation in such laboratory 

 test animals as white rats. Kelp meal is an excellent source of these 

 two minerals. Therefore, during the past year, in cooperation with 

 our technologists. Professor M. H. Berry, of the Dairy Department, 

 Maryland State Agricultural Experiment Station, College Park, Md., 

 inaugurated a series of feeding tests with dairy animals to determine 

 whether the addition of kelp meal to these experimental rations would 

 have any value in improving reproduction in dairy cattle. Because 

 of the nature of the experiments and the time element involved, it is 

 expected that at least 3 years will be required to obtain results on 

 wliich any conclusions can be based. 



FISH COOKERY STUDIES AND DEMONSTRATIONS 



As stated previously in this report, there has been a great increase 

 in interest on the part of dietitians, home economics workers, and 

 others, in the nutritive value of fishery products and their importance 

 in the diet of the American people. From this, it would naturally 

 be expected that there would be a great need and a great demand for 

 information on fish cookery. Therefore, during 1937, Agnes I. Web- 



