interested in the results than the chemists, and 
have written more about it. 
Huebner, Jacobi, Starr and others believe that 
cereal decoctions mixed with milk have the power 
of getting between the particles of curd mechan¬ 
ically during coagulation, and preventing their 
running together and forming a large compact 
mass. Chapin, after careful experiments in test 
tubes and on dogs, came to the same conclusion. 
He believes that the particles of cellulose, the 
ground up cell-wall of the cereals suspended in 
the fluid, have also an important mechanical action 
on the coagulum. 
Chapin, Starr and J. L,. Smith recommend that 
the starch should be dextrinized by the action of 
diastase, as this makes the starch more digestible 
and still preserves, or even increases, according to 
Chapin, its action on the curd. On the other hand, 
Rotch and Harrington, from experiments in test 
tubes, conclude that the size of the curd depends 
on the degree of the dilution of the milk rather 
than on any special property of the diluent; that 
barley water shows only a fractional difference from 
water, and that until more is known about the 
matter plain water is the most practical and efficient 
diluent. Holt and Biedert also question whether 
anything more is accomplished by dilution with 
cereal gruels than with water. The practical 
importance of this method of feeding infants and 
sick persons, and the difference in opinion as to its 
value render it a fit subject for further study. The 
following experiments were begun at the sugges¬ 
tion of Dr. T. M. Rotch, of Boston : 
The coagulation of milk was first studied outside 
of the body in test tubes, and the results confirmed 
later by animal experiments. In the experiments 
4 
