9 BULLETIN 1213, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
but rather to supplement the existing information as to the digestio 
of raw starches. The previous work had been done with separated 
starches, but there were no similar data regarding the digestibility of 
raw flours and meals; accordingly the present experiments included 
the Bi am flours already referred to and also farina and white corn” 
meal. | 
When these experiments were being carried on there chanced to be 
available a sappy of the little-known Chinese type of maize known as" 
waxy maize. The endosperm of this grain is characterized not by 
starch but by a substance that, like some dextrins, gives the red 
color reaction withiodin. As little is known regarding this substance, 
waxy maize was included among the materials ‘tested in the present 
experiments. 
EXPERIMENTAL METHOD. 
Each ie ir product under investigation was eaten as a con- 
stituent of a frozen pudding of which it made up about 20 per cent. 
The pudding, made according to the formula used in previous similar 
experiments, was flavored with vanilla and resembled ice cream in 
taste and texture. 
EXPERIMENTAL FROZEN PUDDING. 
6 quarts of milk. 24 cups sugar. 
4 pounds raw starch, or cereal product. 1 tablespoon salt. 
3 cups table oil. 4 cup vanilla extract. 
The uncooked starch or cereal product was mixed with the milk, sugar, and oil, 
and immediately frozen in the same way as ice cream. 
_ The puddings made with raw cornstarch and raw corn meal were 
not agreeable to the taste, but all of those made with wheat products, 
and Sey those made of farina and graham flour, were considered 
agreeable by the subjects. | 
The cereal products used were examined by G. L. Keenan of the 
microchemical laboratory, Bureau of Chemistry, and proved to be- 
free from foreign matter. It had been shown in previous work that, 
so far as could be determined, wetting and immediate freezing did 
not affect the starch grains in such puddings. ; 
The subjects were business or professional women who were 
conscientious and trustworthy. Three of them served in practically 
all the experiments and other suitable women were added for one or 
more experiments. 
The subjects all seemed in normal health and for the most part 
remained so throughout the experiments. The notes that they 
regularly kept of their unusual sensations indicate occagional head-— 
aches, general depression, or similar discomfort. Such symptoms 
are not referred to in connection with the individual experiments — 
because they can hardly be attributed to the raw starch itself. — 
Similar discomfort has frequently been noted when persons change > 
from a normal to a limited diet or vice versa, and the large proportion — 
of very cold food in the present experimental meals might in itself 
be sufficient explanation. Moreover, other persons employed in the 
same building as some of the subjects experienced similar discomfort, - 
which they attributed to the very hot weather and to an odor of 
fresh paint throughout the building. ; 
The experimental period for a diet was three days and included 
nine meals. Between experiments came an interval of three or four 
