34 MASS. EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETIN 339 



Consequently the content of protein, lignin, cellulose, and hemicellulose were 

 determined. The total nitrogen was found to be approximately 3.50 percent 

 of which 42 percent was ammoniacal. The lignin content was about 12 percent. 

 (The content of cellulose and hemicellulose explain the reason why the stalks 

 are easily decomposed.) The cellulose and hemicellulose were present to the 

 extent of approximately 36 and 19 percent respectively. The hemicellulose, a 

 polyuronide, was isolated and studied. Xylose proved to be the chief sugar 

 obtained on hydrolysis. The stalks are now being investigated as a commercial 

 source of this carbohydrate. 



The Bacteriostatic Effect of Lignin. (E. Bennett.) Lignin is looked 

 upon as being not only very resistant to bacterial action but also as practically 

 indigestible. Isolated lignin has been known to produce bacteriostatic condi- 

 tions when added to decomposing material. With these facts in mind the ques- 

 tion arose as to whether or not the intestinal flora of small animals could be 

 modified by an abnormally high lignin diet. Lignin was obtained from shavings, 

 purified, and fed to guinea pigs. The procedure unfortunately had to be 

 curtailed for the time, but it is hoped that this may be continued after the first 

 of the year. 



The Vitamin A Content of Certain Pasture Grasses. (W. S. Ritchie 

 and J. G. Archibald. Cooperative with Animal Husbandry.) Samples of the 

 grasses used for the vitamin assay in 1935 were those taken and prepared for 

 chemical analysis. During the growing season of 1936 samples of sheep fescue, 

 Rhode Island bent, bluegrass, red top, and timothy were taken and fed green 

 to the vitamin A deficient animals. These grasses were grown on fertilized 

 and unfertilized plots. However, no comparison should be made until results 

 of the next season are available since duplicate samples were not always avail- 

 able. 



The Nutritive Value of Fishery Products as Human and Animal 

 Food. (W. S. Ritchie, G. C. Crooks, and C. R. Fellers. Cooperative with 

 Horticultural Manufactures.) Under this project a rather complete study has 

 been made of the chemical composition and nutritive value of haddock as 

 affected by commercial processing. The samples were obtained through the 

 cooperation of the Birdseye Frosted Foods Sales Corporation and represented 

 four different conditions: fish frozen at sea with dry ice immediately after 

 catching, the whole fish frozen at the pier, and commercial fillets prepared by 

 the so-called quick and slow methods of freezing. 



Nutritional studies made over the course of about fourteen months to deter- 

 mine the value of these samples for growth, reproduction, and lactation of the 

 albino rat indicated that the fish frozen by any of the four methods was an 

 adequate source of protein. The animals receiving the commercial fillets frozen 

 by the quick method made a somewhat better record, especially in reproduction 

 and lactation. An additional study is being made to determine the effect of 

 long storage on the nutritional value of quick-frozen fillets. In this work, fillets 

 frozen by the quick method and held at a temperature of -5° C. for over a year 

 are being used as the source of protein in an otherwise normal diet. 



Determinations for moisture, ammonia, total nitrogen, ether extract, and 

 total ash were made on the monthly samples. The results indicated that the 

 method of freezing did not in any way affect the chemical composition of the 

 muscle. 



Representative samples were also analyzed for the inorganic constituents, 



