10 
BULLETIN 781, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
Summary of digestion experiments with cantaloup-seed oil in a simple mixed 
diet. 
Subject. 
Digestibility of entire ration. 
Estimated 
digesti- 
bility of 
cantaloup- 
seed oil 
alone. 
Experiment No. 
Protein. ! Fat. 
Carbo- 
hydrate. 
Ash. 
891 
G. S. M 
Per cent. 
74.6 
75.4 
66.5 
Per cent. 
97.7 
94.5 
92.1 
Per cent. 
97.5 
98.0 
97.5 
Per cent. 
85.7 
71.5 
66.9 
Per cent. 
100 
892 
M.L.M 
W. O'C 
97.8 
893 
96 7 
Average 
72.2 | 94 8 
97.7 
74.7 
98.2 
The value 98.2 per cent obtained for the digestibility of the can- 
taloup-seed oil alone indicates that this oil is very completely di- 
gested. An average of 15 grams of protein, 41 grams of fat, and 
326 grams of carbohydrate, which supplied 1,730 calories, was eaten 
per man daily, of which 72 per cent of the protein, 95 per cent of the 
fat, and 98 per cent of the carbohydrate was digested, showing that 
the cantaloup-seed oil did not exert any unfavorable influence on the 
digestibility of the diet as a whole. The cantaloup-seed-oil blanc- 
mange was as palatable as the similar dishes prepared with other 
oils. It should be noted, however, that because of the limited amount 
of cantaloup-seed oil available for experimental purposes, the actual 
amount of blancmange eaten daily by the subjects was considerably 
less than in most of the experiments reported in this investigation. 
The experiments here reported may, nevertheless, be considered as 
evidence that good quality cold-pressed cantaloup -seed oil is very 
satisfactory for edible purposes. 
PEACH-KERNEL OIL. 
The peach-kernel oil which was studied in the experiments reported 
below was expressed under laboratory conditions. A liberal supply 
of peach stones was obtained from a large eastern fruit-canning 
establishment. The peach stones were shipped as soon as removed 
from the fruit, in the moist condition, and when they arrived at the 
laboratory they had commenced to ferment. The stones were imme- 
diately cracked by hand and the kernels carefully separated. These 
were slowly but thoroughly dried, after which they were finely 
ground with an ordinary meat chopper. The ground kernels were 
subjected to hydraulic pressure and an oil of a clear pale-yellow 
color with an agreeable nutlike taste, resembling in physical appear- 
ance highly refined cottonseed oil, was obtained. The oil was prac- 
tically free from sediment and received no treatment, other than 
filtering, before it was used. 
