10 
BULLETIN 630, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
nuts in some localities, it appeared desirable to determine the digesti- 
bility of butternut oil for comparison with the values obtained for 
the digestibility of other nut oils. 
Since it was impossible to procure any butternut oil in the market. 
2 bushels of nuts were secured in northern Xew England. When 
these had been thoroughly dried the kernels were removed and the 
oil expressed (cold pressed) with a hydraulic press. The freshly 
made oil possessed the qualities of a good salad oil and did not 
exhibit in any appreciable degree the characteristic butternut flavor. 
The chemical and physical properties of this oil were studied by 
E. H. Kerr, of the Bureau of Animal Industry, whose report describes 
it as : A clear, golden yellow oil of mild, pleasant odor, and agreeable 
taste. The refractive index at 40° was found to be 1.4710, and the 
iodin number 156.90. 
In this study of its digestibility, the butternut oil was, as usual, 
incorporated in a cornstarch blancmange and served in conjunction 
with the customary basal ration. Three subjects assisted in this study 
and the results which were obtained are reported in the table which 
follows : 
Data of digestion experiments with butternut oil in a simple mixed diet. 
Weight 
of 
foods. 
Constituents of foods. 
Experiment, subject, and diet 
Water. 
Protein. 
Fat. 
Carbo- 
hydrates. 
Ash. 
Experiment No. 732, subject R. F. C: 
Blancmange containing butternut oil . . 
Wheat biscuit 
Grams. 
1,205.0 
400.0 
1,381.0 
184.0 
Grams. 
589.3 
36.0 
1,200.1 
Grams. 
27.5 
42.4 
11.0 
Grams. 
109.3 
6.0 
2.8 
Grams. 
473.1 
309.2 
160.2 
184.0 
Grams. 
5.8 
6.4 
Fruit 
Sugar 
6.9 
Total food consumed 
3,170.0 
118.0 
1,825.4 
80.9 
44.1 
36.8 
118.1 
17.4 
100.7 
1, 126. 5 
42.9 
1,083.6 
19.1 
Feces 
13.6 
Amount utilized 

Per cent utilized 
45.5 
85.3 
96.2 
28.8 
Experiment No. 733, subject P. K.: 
Blancmange containing butternut oil 
Wheat biscuit 
1,460.0 
307.0 
691.0 
257.0 
714.1 
27.6 
600.5 
33.3 
32.6 
5.5 
132.4 
4.6 
1.4 
573.2 
237.3 
80.2 
257.0 
7.0 
4.9 
Fruit 
Sugar 
3.4 
Total food consumed 
2, 715. 
84.0 
1,342.2 
71.4 
27.7 
43.7 
13S.4 
19.1 
119.3 
1,147.7 
28.9 
1,118.8 
15.3 
Feces 
8.3 
Amount utilized 
7.0 


Per cent utilized 
61.2 
S6.2 
97.5 
45.8 
Experiment No. 734, subject J. C. M.: 
Blancmange containing butternut oil 
Wheat biscuit 
1,612.0 
387.0 
1,293.0 
161.0 
788.4 
34.8 
1,123.6 
36.8 
41.0 
10.3 
146.2 
5.8 
2.6 
632.9 
299.2 
150.0 
161.0 
7.7 
6.2 
Fruit 
6.5 
Sugar 
Total food consumed 
3, 453. 
75.0 
1,946.8 
88.1 
24.1 
64.0 
154.6 
8.2 
146.4 
1, 243. 1 
35.3 
1,207.8 
20.4 
Feces 
7.4 
Amount utilized 
13.0 
Per cent utilized 
72.6 
94.7 
97.2 
63.7 
Average food consumed per subject per day. 
1,037.6 
56S.3 
26.7 
45.7 
390.8 
6.1 
