THE DIGESTIBILITY OF MILLETS. 3 



It was found that a bread resembling corn cake, but with molasses 

 and a little ginger added to give flavor, was satisfactory for experi- 

 mental purposes. The ingredients and proportions used in prepar- 

 ing the millet bread were as follows: Fifteen cups of meal, 3f tea- 

 spoons of salt, 3| teaspoons of soda, 5 teaspoons of ginger, 1^ cups 

 of molasses, 1 scant cup of shortening (lard), and 2 quarts of hot 

 water. The ingredients were thoroughly mixed and baked for 

 1^ hours in a moderate oven. The bread prepared according to this 

 method was largel}^ crumb, having only a thin but very hard crust. 



The basal ration was so chosen as to contain a minimum amount of 

 protein in order that the larger proportion of this constituent would 

 be derived from the millet. As in earlier tests, it consisted of boiled 

 potato, fruit (orange), and sugar. The subjects were allowed to 

 drink tea or coffee without milk or cream, if they wished, and, of 

 course, all the water desired. The bread was baked each day and 

 accordingly was always served fresh. A quantity of potato suf- 

 ficient to supply all the subjects for the entire experimental period 

 was boiled and mashed. Sometimes the subjects warmed the potato 

 before eating it and sometimes not. 



ANALYTICAL METHODS. 



Samples of the bread were analyzed. The composition of the 

 potato, of the fruit (which furnished a very small proportion of 

 the total protein), and of the sugar was computed from average 

 figures.^ The feces resulting from the test periods was freed from 

 water by drying at 95° C, then weighed, pulverized, thoroughly 

 mixed, and sampled. The analytical methods followed were those 

 recommended by the Association of Official Agricultural Chemists.^ 



DETAILS OF THE DIGESTION EXPERIMENTS. 



The subjects were urged to eat liberally of the bread and were 

 allowed to eat of the accessory foods served, as they desired. How- 

 ever, the amount of potato served was small, in. order that only a 

 relatively small amount of potato protein would be consumed. No 

 attempt was made to have all the subjects eat equal amounts; their 

 preferences varied in some instances quite widely. The food eaten 

 by each was weighed in separate portions, and after each meal any 

 which remained uneaten was also weighed, the difference between 

 these two representing the amount eaten. 



Five young men (medical and dental students), who had gained 

 experience in other investigations of like character and had shown 

 themselves trustworthy, served as subjects in this investigation. All 

 were in good health and reasonably active and, so far as could be 



lU. S. Dept. Agr., Office Expt. Stas. Bui. 28 (1906). 

 2U. S. Dept. Agr., Bur. Chem. Bui. 107 (1907). 



