162 



Dr. J. Bell. Chemistry of Food. [Apr. 26, 



gested that the latter, from its complex character, probably performs 

 some more specific office hi the system than the former. 



The proximate analyses of ten descriptions of cheese are given, and 

 the composition of the fat extracted has been determined in each case. 

 The soluble and insoluble fatty acids are shown to possess the normal 

 relation existing between these acids in milk fat, a result held to be 

 inconsistent with the views advanced by some chemists that the 

 albuminoids become slowly changed into fat. 



Tabular results are given of a wide and comprehensive investi- 

 gation into the variations which occur in the composition of the milk 

 yielded by different cows under the varying conditions of food and 

 season. Besides cow's milk, the proximate constituents of other kinds 

 of milk have been determined, and as the analyses of the whole of the 

 milks have been conducted on an uniform method, the results will 

 be found valuable for purposes of comparison. 



The changes which occur in sour milk have been investigated and 

 the results given, with a statement of the amount of depreciation 

 which occurs in the non-fatty solids, according to the period for which 

 the milk has been kept. 



Tabular results are given of the proximate analyses of the different 

 cereals, of wheat flour, and of oatmeal, and also a complete analysis of 

 the ash of each. The proximate constituents of the cereals, &c, have 

 been partly determined on new lines, and partly by an improved 

 method of analysis. 



Judging from the variable results obtained by different chemists, the 

 .author suggests that the saccharine matter appears in some instances to 

 have been overlooked, while in others it must have been determined in 

 an aqueous extract of the cereals, without regard to the transforma- 

 tions which the soluble albuminoids produce in starch and other 

 carbohydrates in presence of water. 



The albuminoids of the cereals have been found to possess varying 

 degrees of diastatic action in converting starch, rye standing at the 

 top, and rice at the bottom of the scale. 



Tabular results of the proximate analyses of aerated and home- 

 made bread are given ; the changes which occur in flour during the 

 baking process have been studied, and the sugar present identified as 

 maltose. The results of a proximate analysis of lentil flour made on 

 the same lines as the cereals, are given, and also a complete analysis 

 of the ash of lentils. 



