NUTRITION INVESTIGATIONS. 453 



than those in which but little milk was used. The cost of the ration 

 varied in the different studies from 25 cents to 34 cents per man per 

 da} r . During- the progress of the studies a large number of food 

 materials and excretory products were sampled and analyzed. 



STUDIES OF DIGESTIBILITY AND NUTRITIVE VALUE OF BREAD. 



These studies are carried on by Professor Woods. They were 

 begun in 1895 and are being continued at the present time. The 

 plan of the investigation involved a study of the digestibility of bread 

 made from different kinds of flour. Twenty-four digestion experiments 

 with healthy men were carried on, 13 with bread made from line 

 wheat flour, 5 with- bread made from whole- wheat flour, and 6 with 

 bread made from graham flour. Similar experiments are being con- 

 tinued at the present time, but the results thus far obtained are not 

 sufficient for drawing definite conclusions regarding the relative digest- 

 ibility of bread made from different kinds of wheat flour. 



In order to study the true digestibility of bread, it became necessary 

 to determine as accurately as possible the quantity of metabolic prod- 

 ucts in the feces; a considerable amount of experimental study was 

 given this question. 



The digestibility of the protein of the bread was also determined in 

 a number of cases by artificial digestion in pepsin solution. 



Another line of inquiry relating to the nutritive value of bread was 

 the difference in the composition of the bread made with skim milk 

 instead of water. A still further inquiry was that regarding the 

 losses in bread making. The results of 6 experiments in which the 

 loss of nutritive material during baking was studied indicate a loss of 

 not far from 2 per cent of the dry material. This loss falls chiefly 

 upon the fats and carbohydrates; the results agree quite closely with 

 those obtained in experiments in New Jersey. These investigations 

 involved a large number of chemical analyses. 



PUBLICATIONS. 



The results of the investigations in Maine are published in the 

 following bulletins of the Office of Experiment Stations: No. 37, 

 Dietary Studies at the Maine State College in 1895. by Whitman H. 

 Jordan, Director of Maine Agricultural Experiment Station; and No. 

 85, A Report of Investigations on the Digestibility and Nutritive 

 Value of Bread, by Charles D. Woods, director, and L. H. Merrill, 

 chemist, Maine Agricultural Experiment Station. Other results await 

 publication. 



MASSACHUSETTS. 



In the spring of 1898 Prof. W. O. Atwater and Mr. A. P. Bryant, 

 assisted by some other members of the force of the Office of Experi- 

 ment Stations, made a study of the food consumption of the " varsity" 



