November 24, 1922] 



SCIENCE 



609 



in the United States for poultry feed and the 

 production could be greatly increased. The whole 

 seed contains 27 per cent, to 30 per cent, oil and 

 the kernels which constitute about 53 per cent, of 

 the seed contain approximately 53 per cent. oil. 

 It is a drying oil. S. G. 25/25 is 0.9193; refrac- 

 tive index 20°, 1.4736; iodine number (Hanus), 

 130.8 ; saponification number, 188.0 ; unsaponifia- 

 ble matter, 1.2 per cent.; saturated acids, 7.1 per 

 cent.; unsaturated acids, 86.6 per cent.; iodine 

 number of unsaturated acids, 147.9. The oil con- 

 sists of glycerides of the following acids : oleic, 



33.4 per cent ; linolic, 57.5 per cent. ; palmitic, 

 3.5 per cent. ; stearic, 2.9 per cent. ; arachidic, 0.6 

 per cent.; lignocerie, 0.4 per cent. 



The chemical composition of soya iean oil: 

 Walter F. Baughman and George S. Jamieson. 

 The oil was pressed from mammoth yellow vari- 

 ety of soya beans by an expeller. Specific gravity, 

 25725°, .9203; refractive index 20°, 1.4736; 

 iodine number (Hanus), 128.0; saponification 

 value, 189.5 ; unsaponifiaible matter, 0.6 per cent. ; 

 saturated acids, 11.5 per cent. ; unsaturated acids, 



83.5 per cent. ; iodine number of unsaturated 

 acids, 148.7. Bromine addition derivatives of 

 unsaturated acids were made and analyzed. The 

 methyl esters of saturated acids were fractionally 

 distilled under diminished pressure and fractions 

 analyzed. Oil was found to consist of glycerides 

 of following acids : linolenie, 2.3 per cent. ; linolic, 

 51.5 per cent.; oleic, 33.4 per cent.; palmitic, 6.8 

 per cent.; stearic, 4.4 per cent.; arachidic, 0.7 

 per cent. ; lignocerie, 0.1 per cent. 



On the use of n-iutyl alcohol in the determina- 

 tion of the titer test of fats and oils: H. A. 

 ScHTJETTE and J. H. Draize. A study was made 

 of the effect of substituting n-butyl alcohol for 

 glycerol or ethyl alcohol as a saponifying medium 

 in the official methods for determining the solidi- 

 fying point of the mixed fatty acids, or titer test, 

 of fats and oils. Inasmuch as the melting point, 

 iodine absorption number and titer test of the 

 mixed fatty acids of a series of fats and oils 

 were found to be substantially the same when 

 sodium n-butoxide, glycerol potash or a hydro- 

 aleohoUc solution of sodium hydroxide were used 

 as saponifj-ing agents, it is concluded that the 

 former may be substituted for the others without 

 loss of accuracy. A complete and more rapid 

 saponification, -without scorching of the resulting 

 soap, is possible. 



The fat soluble vitamin: H. C. Sherman. This 

 paper constitutes a review of present knowledge 

 of the fat-soluble vitamin with special reference 

 to recent advances and practical applications to 

 some food problems. While the fat-soluble 



vitamin has been studied mainly by means of ex- 

 periments upon rats, it is now known to have 

 very important functions in the nutrition of ani- 

 mals generally, including men. It is needed by 

 adults as well as during growth. A food supply 

 containing only enough of the fat-soluble vitamin 

 for growth will not support full vigor. When the 

 food furnishes too little of the fat-soluble vitamin 

 the body is weakened and becomes more sensitive 

 to infection. On the other hand the body is able 

 to store this vitamin in cases in which the food 

 furnishes more than is required for current needs. 

 The vitamin should be reckoned "ivith as an im- 

 portant factor in food values. The supplementary 

 relationship between foods of high fuel value and 

 those of high vitamin value is discussed. 



Color vs. vitamin content of fatty foods: Lerot 

 S. Palmer. 



Commercial vitamin preparations: Washing- 

 ton Platt. 



Thoroughness of digestion of different hinds of 

 fats and oUs: C. F. Langworthy. 



Studies of the vitamin potency of cod liver oils. 

 II. The effect of season on the vitamin potency of 

 cod limer oil — spring oil. Arthur D. Holmes. 

 The present paper is one of a series reporting 

 experiments undertaken to determine the vitamin 

 "A" potency of cod liver oils obtained at dif- 

 ferent seasons of the year. To obtain oils of 

 known origin the author personally obtained oils 

 of cod livers from cod fish and rendered the oils 

 under laboratory conditions. Attention is being 

 given to other factors which vary during the year, 

 such as physical condition, sexual activity and 

 diet of fish. Tests with early spring oil from 

 emaciated fish show that .00202 grams of oil daily 

 is fully adequate for the vitamin "A" growth 

 requirements of albino rats. 



The influence of light on the synthesis of 

 vitamin A in sprouting white and yellow corn: 

 J. S. Hughes and W. R. Horlacker. A sample 

 Off yellow corn having a high vitamin A content 

 and one of white corn having a low vitamin A 

 content were sprouted both in the light and dark. 

 The vitamin A content of the sprouts not in- 

 cluding the grain was tested by the usual feeding 

 test with rats. The sprouts from both the white 

 and j'ellow corn groivn in the light had a high 

 vitamin A content. The sprouts from neither the 

 white or yellow corn grown in the dark contained 

 much of this vitamin. The results indicate that 

 the vitamin A content of the seed has very little 

 infiuence on the vitamin A content of the sprout, 

 but that the sunlight is an important factor in 

 the synthesis of vitamin A. 



Suggestions in technic vitamin work: Edward 



