254 TRANSACTIONS OF THE 
amine—a fact that was not long left idle by manufactur- 
ers of fresh yeasts, until now grocers, as they sell a yeast 
cake, are beginning to ask, ‘‘Will you take it with you or 
eat it here?” 
Stability.—wW ater-soluble B is apparently relatively 
stable to cooking heats. Wheat germ has been heated to 
100°C. for two hours without noticable loss of this factor, 
yet when heated to 113°C. for forty minutes a loss of one- 
half of its power is recorded, and when heated two hours 
at 118°-124°C. as much as nine-tenths of its protective 
power was lost. These results point to the safety of our 
ordinary processes of cooking so far as the temperature 
is concerned. Pressure cooking and canning, however, 
may destroy this vitamine. Canned meats have been 
~ shown by laboratory tests to lack water-soluble B. The 
British Army in the Dardanelles and Mesopotamia veri- 
fied this in a practical way when they developed beri-beri 
on a ration of white bread, canned meats and jam. The 
Indian soldiers in the same regions escaped because their 
ration included not white, but a coarsely ground wheat 
flour containing the germ and the aleurone layer of the 
kernel, and also a daily allowance of four ounces of small 
lentils. Another point which may need attention, however, 
is the fact that a large part of the water-soluble B is found 
in the cooking water. This indicates that steaming 
should replace boiling wherever possible. 
This factor seems to be more sensitive to an alkaline 
than to an acid medium. In fact, experiments are re- 
ported in which it has been destroyed by cooking in rela- 
tively weak alkaline solutions. The results on this point, 
however, are extremely conflicting, indicating that pos- 
sibly the source of the vitamine and the kind of alkali may 
be influencing factors. 
Lack of B:.—It is reported by some investigators that 
the amount of food eaten is influenced by this vitamine, 
in other words, that the appetite is dependent upon the 
presence of water-soluble B. 
Even before definite symptoms of polyneuritis and 
beri-beri developed, pronounced changes in the system 
take place. Male rats on a diet adequate except for B 
