1116 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



[8] 



This would make the relative digestibility of cooked (steamed) and 

 raw beef as 100 : 142.38, a differeDce nearly as great as that found by 

 Jessen between raw and partially boiled beef. It is plain, then, that 

 the digestibility of raw beef is considerably greater than cooked. 



Whether the relative digestibility of raw and cooked fish, given 

 above, would be changed by increasing the amount of flesh added, we 

 cannot say. It is a point of little importance, but from the following 

 experiment with cooked fish it probably would make but little differ- 

 ence. This experiment with cooked sea-bass was tried mainly to as- 

 certain the quantity of flesh best adapted to 200 cubic centimeters of 

 our standard gastric juice: 



Amount digested . . . 

 Relative proportion , 



From 20 grams. 



3. 3995 

 100.0 



From 30 grams. 



3. 2325 

 95.08 



From 40 grams. 



2.52 

 74.12 



In this case, increasing the amount of material plainly diminishes the 

 digestive action. 



With regard to the second statement of Maly, above quoted, our 

 experiments tend to show that, in some instances at least, the flesh of 

 younger animals is less easily digestible than that of older animals of 

 the same species. This is well illustrated in the greater digestibility 

 of mutton as compared with lamb. 



