December 17, 1920] 



SCIENCE 



589 



When the milk is at its best 10 e.e. will furnish 

 sufficient water soluble and fat soluble vitamine 

 for normal growth in the albino rat. When win- 

 ter butter fat was fed it required 20 per cent, of 

 this fat in the ration to furnish sufficient fat sol- 

 uble vitamine for growth. Several rats lost 

 weight and died while being fed a diet containing 

 20 per cent, of winter butter fat. 



The influence of the diet of the cow upon the 

 antiscorbutic and nutritive properties of cow's 

 milk: E. Adams Dutcher, G. H. Eckles, C. D. 

 Dahle, S. W. Mead and 0. G. Schaefer. Two 

 cows were fed a vitamine-poor type of winter ra- 

 tion for a period of five months during which time 

 the milk was fed in varying quantities to guinea- 

 pigs which received a basal diet of oats. New sets 

 of pigs were added as the experiment progressed. 

 After five months the diet of the cows was 

 changed abruptly to a high vitamine diet and the 

 cows were given access to green grass. During 

 this period several sets of guinea-pigs were fed 

 as in Period I. As we announced previously, it 

 was found that spring milk is superior to winter 

 milk in antiscorbutic and nutritive properties. It 

 was also found that there is a decided tendency 

 for the nutritive properties of the milk to remain 

 relatively good for four to eight weeks after the 

 cow has been placed on a vitamine-poor winter ra- 

 tion. On the other hand, the nutritive superiority 

 of spring milk became evident almost immediately 

 after the cows were placed upon green grass. 



The influence of the diet upon the growth and 

 development of testes and adrenals in White Leg- 

 horn cocTcerels: E. Adams Dutcheb and S. D. 



WiLKINS. 



Further observations on the antineuritic proper- 

 ties of chemical substances: E. Adams Dutcher, 

 G. E. Holm and Harlow Bierman. We have 

 noted, in a previous publication, the fact that 

 thyroxin (the thyroid hormone) possesses antineu- 

 ritic properties. Due to the fact that this com- 

 pound contains an indol nucleus, we have extended 

 our studies to other indol derivatives. Thus far 

 we have been able to demonstrate that a-keto-/3- 

 propyl-indol possesses decided antineuritic proper- 

 ties. Similar observations were made in the ease 

 of N methyl-/3-ethyl-indolinon. Negative results 

 were obtained with N methyl-/3-methyl-indolinon 

 and a-phenyl-/3-methyl-indol. 



A study of certain physico-chemical and col- 

 loidal properties of the glutens from strong and 

 weak flours: Paul Fbancis Sharp and Eoss 



AiBlEN GoRTNER. Gluten from flours of widely 

 differing quality were studied with respect to (1) 

 rate and extent of imbibition in the presence of 

 acids, (2) rate of imbibition in the presence of 

 alkalis, (3) the effect of salts on imbibition in 

 alkalis, (4) the gold number of the gluten, (5) the 

 binding capacity of the gluten as measured by ti- 

 tration and by the potentiometer, (6) the specific 

 conductance of gluten sols dispersed in dUute al- 

 kali, (7) the viscosity of the gluten and gluten 

 sols, (8) the isoelectric points of the various 

 glutens, and (9) the effect of drying in vacuo on 

 the physico-chemical properties of the gluten 

 The results indicate that there are marked differ- 

 ences in the physico-chemical colloidal properties 

 of the different glutens in addition to those which 

 have already been observed in rate of imbibition 

 and imbibition capacity. Apparently the col- 

 loidal condition of the gluten is at least one of 

 the major factors which must be considered in the 

 problem of flour strength. 



Further observations on the relation between 

 the imbibition of the gluten and the strength of 

 wheat flour: C. H. Bailey and S. D. Wilkins. A 

 study of flours of varying degrees of strength in- 

 dicate that low strength is not necessarily attrib- 

 utable solely to inferior quality of gluten as indi- 

 cated by lower hydration capacity of the latter 

 in the presence of dilute acids. Low percentages 

 of gluten contribute to a general reduction of 

 baking strength, other things being equal. Occa- 

 sionally, however, a low gluten flour will possess a 

 baking strength above the average of its type, in 

 which an abnormally high quality of gluten is 

 generally indicated by its high hydration capacity. 

 It is further probable that the complex known as 

 strength is influenced by the quantity and char- 

 acter of yeast nutrients and fermentable material 

 in the dough. The strength of flours which are 

 normal in other particulars seems to be depressed 

 by deficiencies in yeast nutrients. 



Some observations upon the isolation of cystine 

 from keratins: George E. Holm and Walter F. 

 Hoffman. Cystine could not be prepared from 

 human hair washed in hot dilute sodium carbonate 

 solution, while from hair washed in cold dilute 

 sodium carbonate solution cystine was easily ob- 

 tained. Hair heated with 1 per cent., 2 per cent, 

 and 4 per cent. Na^COs for 1, 2, 4, 8 and 16 hours 

 removed from 6 per cent, to 55.67 per cent, of the 

 S, while very little hydrolysis, measured by amino 

 nitrogen occurred. Pure cystine treated in the 

 same manner (2-8 hours) lost 1.7-14 per cent, of 



