124 MAINE AGRICULTUAL EXPERIMENT STATION'. I905. 



an ounce. If one -^-ere to take daily the amount of oats men- 

 tioned (160 grams cooked, or 20 grams dry) he would consume 

 in eight months nearly as much fat as would be furnished by 

 one pound of butter. If it be true that oats are a heating food^ 

 the fact cannot be due merely to the excess of fat which they 

 carry. 



DIGESTIBILITY. 



The analyses of cereal foods show them to be rich in the com- 

 pounds which are essential to life. It is evident, however, that 

 the composition of our 'foods is a matter of little importance 

 unless they can be converted into soluble and assimilable forms — 

 that is, unless they are digestible. The experience of unnum- 

 bered generations, unassisted by any knowledge of chemistry^ 

 has led to the selection of foods which are both rich and diges- 

 tible. In this list of time-approved foods the cereal grains 

 occupy a deservedly prominent position. It still remains for us 

 to ask if, in the light which modern research can cast upon the 

 subject, it is possible to make a profitable discrimination in our 

 selection from the large and increasing list of cereal products. 



The cereals are no exception to the general rule thst most 

 vegetable foods require more cooking than those of animal 

 origin. This is in part due to the fact that the composition of 

 the animal foods more nearly approximates that of our bodies 

 and they consequently require less change to fit them for absorp- 

 tion and assimilation. On the other hand, the nutrients of our 

 vegetable foods are for the most part enclosed in small cavities 

 (cells) the walls of which consist of woody matter (cellulose) 

 upon which the digestive juices of man have but little action. 

 The cellulose, therefore, is not only of no value as a food for 

 man, but it prevents the digestive fluids from attacking the cell 

 contents. In the crushing, rolling or flaking processes to which 

 many of these preparations have been subjected, these insoluble 

 cell walls have been ruptured and the cell contents are thus 

 exposed to the action of the digestive juices. It is probable that 

 this mechanical change in the grain is fully as important as the 

 chemical changes which accompany the necessary preliminary 

 softening of the grain by steam. The cereal foods contain from 

 60 to 80 per cent of carbohydrates, most of which is in the form 



