8 BULLETIN" 1033, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGEICULTURE. 



tibility of 98.2 per cent.^^ Like these oils it was well tolerated and 

 so far as can be judged would be useful for food purposes if avail- 

 able commercially. 



DEER FAT. 



While the fat of the various species of deer is not a commercial 

 product in the United States, in some localities it is a constituent of 

 the human dietary, especially during the open season. In this con- 

 nection it is interesting to recall that in Alaska the carcass as well 

 as the milk of the reindeer is used for food and reindeer fat forms 

 no inconsiderable part of the diet. The importance of caribou fat 

 in the diet of natives and others in the Arctic region is well brought 

 out in accounts of such travelers and explorers as Stefansson.^* 



For the experiments reported below two shipments of fat from 

 white-tailed Virginia deer were obtained through the courtesy of 

 John B. Burnham, president of the American Game Protective and 

 Propagation Association. The crude deer fat was taken from a num- 

 ber of animals shot in New England and New York during late fall 

 and early winter. No information was available concerning the 

 part of the body from which the fat was taken, but in general ap- 

 pearance the crude fat resembled somewhat the " leaf " or kidney 

 fat of mutton. The various lots received were rendered together 

 and the product is believed to be typical of deer fat. Its melting 

 point was found to be 51.4° C. This is not unlike the figures quoted 

 by Lewkowitsch,^^ which show that the melting points of fat from 

 different species of deer vary between 49° C. and 54° C. 



Only three experiments were made as the available supply of deer 

 fat was limited. The results are summarized in Table 5. 



Table 5. — Summary of digestion expei-iments icitli deer fat in a simple 



mixed diet. 





Subject. 



Digestibility of entire ration. 



Digesti- 

 bility of 

 deer fat 

 alone. 



Experiment No. 



Protein. 



Fat. 



Carbo- 

 hydrate. 



Ash. 



750 



P. K 



Per cent. 

 .59. 5 

 65.3 

 31.9 



Per cent. 

 71.5 

 73.9 



75.4 



Per cent. 

 93.5 

 95.8 

 95.6 



Per cent. 

 47.0 

 45.4 

 41.0 



Per cent. 

 78.0 



752 . .. . 



J. C. M 



81.2 



753 



A. A. R 



85.8 











52.2 



73.6 



9G.0 



44.5 



81.7 









The food eaten per man per day provided on an average 25 grams 

 of protein, 46 grams of fat, and 311 grams of carbohydrate, and its 

 fuel value aA^eraged 1.760 calories. The diet as a whole was well 



^=U. S. Dept. Agr. Bui. 781 (1919). 

 "My Life with the Eskimo. 191.3. 



^ Chemical Technology and Analysis of Oils, Fats, and Waxes. 1909, 4. ed., vol. 2, 

 pp. 723, 724. 



