[11] CHEMICAL COMPOSITION AND VALUE OF FISH FOR FOOD. 241 
In Part III of this report is a table giving the nutritive valuations of 
the fish reported herewith and of the invertebrates, oysters, clams, 
lobsters, &c., reported beyond. 
Apr il; 
Under “Kinds of fish and portions taken for analysis” are given the 
names and the localities, when the latter are known. The full details 
may be found under “ Descriptions of Samples” above. The meaning 
of the figures in the first three columns will need no explanation ; the 
rest are explained under “ Methods of Analysis,” beyond. 
Ht WYN 25 6 De 
Table IL recapitulates the analyses of fish. The second column 
shows the percentages of flesh, edible portion, in each sample as actu- 
ally received at the laboratory for analysis; some of these included 
the whole fish, others were dressed. As explained under “ Methods of 
Analysis” these figures represent the proportions of edible material which 
we were able to separate from the skin, bones, &c., after the entrails 
had been removed. Thus the sample of halibut, No. IX, which was a 
section of the fatter part of the body, ‘halibut steak,” gave 554 per cent. 
of flesh, the residual 11} per cent. being skin and bone; while a sample 
of flounder, No. X XII, yielded only 32 per cent. of edible substance, the 
remaining 68 per cent. consisting of entrails, skin, bone, and other 
waste. The proportion of waste in this flounder, which was whole, was 
naturally larger than in the other, No. H, from which the entrails had 
been removed, and which gave 414 per cent. of flesh, and 583 per cent. 
of refuse. 
The remaining figures in Table IT give the composition of the flesh 
computed first upon the dry substance, then upon the whole flesh includ- 
ing both dry substance and water. Explanations may be. found under 
“Methods of Analysis.” The albuminoids in this table are computed 
by multiplying the nitrogen by 6.25, as is generally customary, at pres- 
ent, in analyses of animal and vegetable food-products. As will be 
seen in the column “Albuminoids + Flats + Ash,” under “Summary,” 
the computation brings, generally, too large results; that is, a footing of 
over 100 per cent. In some cases, however, it falls short. The variations 
in the results at first led me to fear inaccuracy of the work, but the 
greatest possible pains has not availed to make them more uniform; 
they seem, therefore, to indicate wide variations in the nitrogen com- 
pounds themselves. Iam inclined to think that one reason why the per- 
centages of albuminoids here given are higher than have been obtained 
in many cases elsewhere, is to be found in the especial care that has 
been taken here in determining the nitrogen, which, when made by the 
soda-lime method, as is usually done, often came out too low. 
The percentages of ingredients in both dry substance and flesh have 
S. Mis. 29 16 
