1917] PUBLIC DOCimiENT — No. 31. 65a 



DEPARTMENT OF CHEMISTRY. 



J. B. LINDSEY. 



There are several sections in the department of chemistry and 

 a brief report on the work of each is presented. 



1. Research Section. 



(a) Studies on the chemistry and nutritive value of vegetable 

 ivory meal by Mr. Beals and Dr. Lindsey have been brought 

 to a close, and the results published in the "Journal of Agri- 

 cultural Research," Vol. VII., No. 7. The material consisted 

 of the ground shavings from the ivory or corozo nut {Phytel- 

 ephas macrocarpa). It was of a tough, horny nature, tasteless 

 and odorless, and contained very little protein and fiber and 

 practically no fat. The carbohydrates were practically all 

 mannan, hydrolyzing into mannose. They were more slowly 

 hydrolyzed than starch. Experiments with sheep showed it 

 to be practically as digestible as corn meal. It has a distinct 

 nutritive value as a component of a gr^in ration, but does not 

 equal corn meal. It was not possible to determine its exact 

 relative feeding value. 



(b) Studies of the digestibility of wheat gluten, distillers' 

 grains, corn bran, garbage tankage, feterita (one of the sor- 

 ghums), sweet clover, Sudan grass, Schumacher's stock food 

 and vinegar grains have been completed. 



(c) Studies on the comparative values of alfalfa and ordinary 

 hay for milk production and as a source of milk protein are 

 still in progress. The protein in alfalfa hay and corn meal 

 appears to be fully as valuable as a source of milk protein as 

 does that derived from ordinary hay and corn gluten products. 

 The effect of alfalfa hay as a depressor of the milk yield because 

 of its diuretic effect and its increasing of the metabolism is 

 being carefully noted. 



