30 BULLETIN 470, U. S. DEPAETMENT OP AGKICULTUKE. 



average values were 97 per cent for the bread and 99 per cent for the 

 mush; with dwarf milo 96 per cent for the bread and 98 per cent for 

 the mush; and for kaoliang 96 per cent for both bread and mush. 



The corn and wheat proteins, in general, were found to be somewhat 

 less thoroughly digested than has usually been found to be the case 

 with these cereals, this being due, no doubt, to the coarseness of the 

 meals used. The average digestibility of the corn-bread protein, as 

 distinguished from that of the diet as a whole, was 60 per cent and 

 of the coarse wheat-bread protein 77 per cent. In the case of the 

 carbohydrates 96 per cent of the total supplied by the corn bread, as 

 distinguished from the diet as a whole, was digested and of the coarse 

 wheat bread 95 per cent. 



The experiments with all the grains were conducted under condi- 

 tions as nearly uniform as possible, with the idea of getting directly 

 comparable results. Hence it may be concluded that the protein of 

 the grain sorghums is less digestible than that contained in either 

 corn or wheat. 



The discussion so far has concerned the experimental data princi- 

 pally from a technical standpoint, but the practical application of the 

 results is certainly of equal interest. From the data here recorded 

 and elsewhere available regarding the preparation of the sorghums 

 for the table, it seems fair to conclude that these cereals are de- 

 cidedly valuable as human food. They can be prepared for the table 

 in palatable form, requiring, however, some special method of cook- 

 ing to insure their being at their best. In preparing them it is most 

 important to make certain of the absorption of water in such quan- 

 tities that the particles of meal which are characteristically hard or 

 flinty may be well softened. 



To many palates the grain sorghums more nearly resemble buck- 

 wheat in flavor than they do corn or wheat. The flavor is quite 

 generally regarded as agreeable, and the grains are conceded to be 

 wholesome. Though their protein is less completely assimilated than 

 that of corn or wheat, they are nevertheless, with the exception of 

 kaoliang, a fairly good source of this nutrient. Furthermore, the 

 sorghums are a good source of carbohydrate and furnish this im- 

 portant food constituent in a form very completely available to the 

 body. The use of the grain sorghums in general offers variety to the 

 diet, and in regions where other cereals are not so successfully grown 

 they may contribute materially to the supply of materials suitable as 

 human food. 



