Crude fiber. Treat 20 grams of the sample according to the offi- 

 cial method," except that about 100 cc of hot water are added after 

 each period of boiling and before filtering. This addition of water 

 seems to make the filtration much more rapid and serves to obvi- 

 ate the plugging of the pores by the material, which occurs when 

 the more concentrated solution is filtered. Filter the residue and 

 weigh on paper. 



DISCUSSION OF RESULTS. 



The distinction between soaked and fresh peas is, of course, made 

 with some degree of certainty by the simple examination of the 

 physical appearance of the goods, noting especially the maturity 

 and firmness of the peas and the character of the liquor. Soaked 

 peas are usually more or less broken and mashed, w r hile the most 

 matured show well-developed cotyledons and are packed in a liquor 

 which is cloudy and starchy in appearance. It is seldom that the 

 liquor in which soaked peas are put up is in the clear and limpid 

 condition of that found on the fresh goods. The maturity of the peas 

 can not be taken as conclusive evidence that the same have been 

 soaked, however, because some of the oldest and best developed 

 peas packed in the fresh state are very similar in appearance to the 

 varieties which are soaked before canning. Neither can the appear- 

 ance of the liquor be finally relied upon, since the matured fresh 

 peas are sometimes fo,und packed in a liquor which is not clear and 

 is more or less starchy. Hence it seemed desirable to obtain some 

 chemical data which would serve to confirm and substantiate conclu- 

 sions drawn from the physical appearance of the goods under exami- 

 nation. 



The table of analyses given sets forth the results of physical and 

 chemical examinations of the samples of peas, both fresh and canned 

 (the latter including a number of samples of soaked peas). From 

 this table it will be seen that it is not hard to distinguish the fresh 

 and more succulent grades from the soaked material, the chief diffi- 

 culty arising in differentiating between the soaked goods and the 

 more matured peas put up in the usual way. As to water content 

 the latter do not differ very widely from the soaked peas. As will 

 be seen from the table, the average moisture content for 22 samples 

 of soaked peas is 72.02 per cent, and the average for 21 samples of 

 mature fresh peas is 76.54 per cent. The soaked peas containing 

 the highest percentage of moisture, 74.92 per cent, exceed in that 

 particular the driest of the unsoaked, 70.79 per cent, so that there 

 is an overlapping of the results which makes it impossible to base a 

 conclusive opinion on this determination alone. 



U. S. Dept. Agr., Bureau of Chemistry Bui. 107, Revised, p. 56. 

 [Cir. 54] 



