ANNUAL REPORT, 1942 29 



Herbarium. A collection of 140 species of the more common bog weeds has 

 been assembled at the Cranberry Station. It will be useful in identifying weeds 

 for cranberry- growers. 



Blueberries. (H. J. Franklin.) Only 163 quarts of berries were gathered from 

 the station's cultivated patch in 1942. This small crop is explained by the severe 

 freeze that occurred the night of January 10-11 when the temperature at East 

 VVareham fell to 24° F. below zero, probably the lowest at this place in the last 

 55 years. The interior of all the fruit buds in the blueberry patch became more 

 or less blackened within a day or two. The subsequent fruiting of the different 

 varieties showed that they varied greatly in their tolerance of the cold: 



Adams, Cabot, June, Jersey, and Stanley bore no berries. 



Katherine, Pioneer, Rubel, and Wareham produced less than half a crop. 



Concord bore half to two-thirds of a crop. 



Harding and No. 73 (Station culture number) were reduced only moderately 

 from a full crop. This shows cleerly the hardiness of the Harding variety and 

 adds to other great values of No. 73 (a Harding-Rubel cross). 



Twenty of twenty-six seedlings of a Harding-Rubel cross dev^eloped most of 

 their crop, while 44 of the 59 full-grown miscellaneous plants failed to yield any 

 fruit. 



It was finally estimated that the crop of the station blueberry patch,'as a whole, 

 was reduced 80 percent by the freeze. However, the blueberry bushes were little 

 injured anywhere by this cold, only the fruit buds and tender tips being hurt, 

 thus evidencing the fact that they approach the wild blueberry in winter hardi- 



DEPARTMENT OF DAIRY INDUSTRY 

 J. H. Frandsen in Charge 



Studies on Chocolate-Flavored Milk. (\V. S. Mueller.) The popularity of 

 chocolate-flavored milk has grown greatly in recent years. Whether the addition 

 of the chocolate flavoring enhances or decreases the nutritive value of the milk 

 is a question which has been the subject of much investigation but has not yet 

 been completely answered. The following progress in answering this question 

 has been made. 



1. The Effect of Cocoa Upon the Utilization of the Calcium and Phosphorus 

 of Milk. (W. S. Mueller, with the cooperation of M. R. Cooney of Home Eco- 

 nomics Nutrition.) The presence in cocoa of considerable quantities of oxalic 

 acid suggested the possibility of interference with the utilization of the calcium 

 of the milk or the diet, similar to that observed with spinach, beet greens, and 

 other oxalic acid-rich vegetables. It also seemed advisable to determine whether 

 or not cocoa interfered with the absorption of phosphorus, since milk contains a 

 liberal amount of this important element, which is nutritionally closely associated 

 with calcium. The results from an experiment in which 63 albino rats were used 

 showed that the growth of the rats and their utilization of the calcium and phos- 

 phorus of milk were affected adversely by cocoa. It would seem, therefore, that 

 the indiscriminate and excessive use of chocolate-flavored foods, especially in a diet 

 low in calcium, should not be recommended. 



2. Effect of Cocoa on the Vitamin C Content of Milk. (W. S. Mueller.) The 

 addition of cocoa to milk hastened the destruction of vitamin C. This corrobor- 

 ates the results obtained in a preliminary stud>\ 



