s 
BULLETIN 1033, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
tibility of 98.2 per cent. 13 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. 14 
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. It's melting 
point was found to be 51.4° C. This is not unlike the figures quoted 
by Lewkowitsch, 15 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 experiments with 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 
J.C M 
A. A. It 
Per cent. 
59. 5 
; 65.3 
. 31.9 
Per cent. 
71.5 
73.9 
75.4 
Per cent. 
9J. 5 
Per cent. 
47.0 
Per cent. 
78.0 
752 
753 
95. 8 45. 4 
95.6 41.0 
81.2 
85. 8 
Average 
52. 2 
73.6 96.0 
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 averaged 1.760 calories. The diet as a whole was well 
13 U. S. Dept. Agr. Bui. 781 (1919). 
14 My Life with the Eskimo. 1913. 
15 Chemical Technology and Analysis of Oils, Fats, and Waxes. 1909. 4. ed., vol. 2, 
pp. 723, 724. 
