4 BULLETIN 781, U. S. DEPARTMENT OE AGRICULTURE. 
squad should represent an average group of persons of these ages 
an attempt was made to secure individuals who should represent both 
the active and athletic type of person and the less active type em- 
ployed at a sedentary occupation. The subjects were all students 
with sufficient understanding of nutrition and physiology to appre- 
ciate the necessity for strict adherence to the directions given them. 
At the same time they were not informed as to the specific purpose of 
the experiments in which they were participating. 
In the case of the oils here discussed the quantities available for 
experimental purposes were insufficient to permit as large a number 
of tests as it has been the policy to make in such investigations. Ac- 
cordingly, only four tests were made with apricot-kernel oil, four 
with chercy-kernel oil, three with melon-seed oil, three with peach- 
kernel oil, two with pumpkin-seecl oil, and three with tomato-seed oil. 
The test periods were of the customary three-day or nine-meal 
duration, and sufficient time elapsed between test periods so that the 
diets did not become too monotonous. During the periods which in- 
tervened between test periods the subjects secured their meals at their 
boarding places, and were thus afforded considerable variety in their 
diet. No record was made of body weight, but accurate weighings 
were made of the food served, the uneaten portion of food, and the 
feces resulting from the test diet. Both food and feces were analyzed 
to determine the percentages of protein, fat, and carbolrydrate 
digested. 
The individual oil under consideration was fed in a special corn- 
starch blancmange flavored with caramel and vanilla to mask the 
nature of the oil present. This blancmange was served in conjunction 
with a diet containing a minimum of fat and consisting of wheat 
biscuit, oranges, and sugar. 
APRICOT-KERNEL OIL. 
Apricot oil, like many other oils obtainable from the pits of fruits, 
has been used. little if at all in this country for edibile purposes. A 
study reported by Kabak x of the commercial possibilities of apricot- 
kernel oil indicates that the chemical and physical properties of this 
oil are quite similar to those of the more widely used oils, such as 
cottonseed, peanut, coconut, corn, and soy-bean oils. Tests of the 
digestibility of apricot oil seemed especially desirable, as no informa- 
tion regarding it was found in literature. 
The apricot oil studied in this investigation was obtained by cold 
pressing dried apricot kernels secured through the courtesy of M. E. 
Jaffa, of the University of California. The oil so obtained was of 
light-yellow color and free from any marked odor or taste. It pos- 
itJ. S. Dept. Agr. But. Plant Indus. Bui. 133 (1908), pp. 34. 
