CHAPTER XXII 



Water Content and Ash of Plants 

 205. Water. Water is present in all food materials, 

 and in many cases makes up a very large portion of the 

 weight of a substance. In vegetables, in milk, and in 

 the juices of meat, water is present to such an extent as 

 to be perceptible to the senses. Substances like flour, 

 meal and starch, which appear perfectly dry, are not free 



Fig. 62. Water-oven. 



from water, but contain from 9 to 12 per cent. This 

 hydro scopic water, as it is called, is held mechanically by 

 the particles of which the material is composed, and the 



