430 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XL VII. No. 1218 



Dutcher says : 



Using Professor Snyder's own digestion coeffi- 

 cients, we find the energy available in patent, whole 

 wheat and graham breads was 90.9, 89.8 and 85.1 

 respectively. 



The reference figure refers to Bulletin 126, 

 TJ. S. Department of Agriculture, 0. E. S. 

 While upwards of thirty individual digestion 

 trials are reported in this bulletin arranged in 

 groups of three tests for each flour, the above 

 figures which Mr. Dutcher uses are not the 

 averages of all the tests on each flour, but he 

 has selected the group of figures which gives 

 the highest energy values for the whole-wheat 

 and graham fiours and the lowest for the white. 

 This fact will be observed from the following 

 table compiled from the bulletin mentioned. 



AVAHiABILITT OF ENEROT OF BREADS 



Bul. 126, tr. S. Dept. Agr., O.E.S. 



From page 29, average of 3 . 

 From page 29, average of 3 



(1899-1900) 



From page 29, average of 6 . 



" 45, " " 3 . 



" 45, " " 3 ■ 



90.9 



90.1 

 90.5 

 90.4 

 94.2 



85.5 

 87.6 

 84.2 



80.7 

 82.9 

 82.6 



Dutcher uses the first line of figures (90.9, 

 89.8, 85.1). 



In my work which he assails I have used the 

 average of all results recorded in this and 

 other bulletins of this series. Dutcher could 

 have selected tests where the difference be- 

 tween the two flours was eight per cent, and 

 more instead of about one i)er cent., had he so 

 desired. (See Bull. 156, TJ. S. Dept. Agr., 

 O. E. S. p. 56) It can not consistently be 

 argued that this selective use of data does not 

 affect the final conclusion which he draws : 



We can rest assured that the difference in di- 

 gestibility of the two flours is not great. 



No data are presented upon which to rest such 

 an assurance. 



He attempts to show that my early tests, 

 in 1897, on the digestibility of whole-wheat 

 bread are different from my later tests. He 

 says, quoting from Bulletin No. 54, Minn. Ex- 

 I)eriment Station: 



Omitting details of the separate experiments it 

 was found that there was practically no difference 

 in the total digestibility of breads made from the 

 three kinds of flour (patent, bakers' and whole- 

 wheat flours). This sentence is selected from the 

 article "The Digestibility and Composition of 

 Bread" as noted on the title page of bulletin No. 

 ?4. 



The quotation is inaccurate. Mr. Dutcher 

 adds the part put in parenthesis, but omits 

 the final conclusion reached that says: (p. 44). 



As to the superior merit of whole-wheat flour 

 over ordinary flour, it is more a question as to the 

 quality of the wheat from which each flour has 

 been made. 



Omission is also made of the fact that in 

 this test the whole-wheat fiour was not milled 

 from the same wheat as the white floiir. It 

 was purchased in the open market and "had 

 evidently been made from winter wheat." p. 

 44. Had Dutcher followed the footnote on 

 page 43 he would have found the patent flour 

 was made from spring wheat, (See Bulletin 

 67, F- S. Dept. Agr., O. E. S. p. 34.) 



It may be argued that his additions to the 

 sentence simply tend to make my meaning 

 clear, and that what he adds is correct. That 

 is not the case. The sentence he quotes be- 

 gins with : " Omitting details." He has added 

 details. Any additions should have been com- 

 plete and should have given the reader all the 

 information necessary to understand the sen- 

 tence when separated :^om the article. The 

 sentence without Dutcher's additions, and sep- 

 arate from the rest of the text has no special 

 meaning. Dutcher could have quoted a sen- 

 tence that would have given all the facts, and 

 which would have been complete when sep- 

 arated from the test, namely, the sentence 

 given above simimarizing the entire experi- 

 ment, that the merit of one flour over the other 

 " is more a question as to the quality of the 

 wheat from which each flour has been made." 

 Dut-cher's additions to the sentence "(patent 

 bakers' and whole-wheart; flours)," without the 

 necessary qualifications, mean products en- 

 tirely different in character from those of the 

 same name, in all other tests. It is like two 



