Am'oe°turi884arm"}        Vegetables  Us(d  as  Food  in  Japan.  529 
is  continually  renewed,  so  as  to  furnish  the  oxygen  required  for  the 
maximum  oxidation  of  the  oil,  the  liquid  becomes  thick,  and  on  dis- 
tilling and  separating  the  solvent  a  liquid  is  obtained  which  solidifies 
on  cooling  to  a  very  dry  and  perfectly  elastic  solid.  It  is  evident  that 
by  limiting  the  oxidation  a  series  of  products  of  varying  viscosity,  can 
be  obtained  intermediate  between  the  original  oil  and  the  solid  formed 
by  maximum  oxidation.  The  last  product  is  characterized  by  its 
remarkable  elasticity,  and  its  absolute  insolubility  in  water,  alcohol, 
and  ether.  It  is  almost  instantly  saponified  by  potash  in  the  cold,  and 
on  subsequent  separation  of  the  fatty  acids  it  is  found  that  the  solid 
fatty  acids  have  undergone  no  alteration,  whilst  the  liquid  fatty  acid 
has  almost  completely  disappeared,  and  has  been  converted  into  viscous 
products,  characterized  by  their  solubility  in  water  and  by  the  various 
salts  which  they  form. — Comp.  Bend.,  97,  1311-1314;  Jour.  Chem. 
Soc,  April,  1884,  p.  532. 
VEGETABLES  USED  AS  FOOD  IN  JAPAN. 
By  O.  Kellner. 
Vegetables  form  a  large  part  of  the  people's  food  in  Japan  ;  the  varieties 
in  use  are  many,  and  the  methods  of  cooking  numerous  ;  some  are  preserved 
by  simple  air-drying ;  others  are  made  into  jams,  pickled  with  sugar  or 
acidified.  The  soja  bean  is  the  foundation  of  an  almost  universally  used 
sauce,  Schoyu;  of  a  vegetable  cheese,  Miso ;  and  of  a  highly  albuminous 
jelly,  Tofu;  a  large  number  of  the  plants  are  indigenous,  other  peculiar  to 
warm  climates,  and  few  have  hitherto  been  submitted  to  chemical  examina- 
tion. Rice  is  the  largest  article  of  consumption,  and  of  it  there  are  many 
varieties,  all  of  which  are  grouped  in  two  divisions  :  one,  the  mountain  rice 
grown  on  dry  ground ;  the  other  marsh  rice,  cultivated  in  irrigated  fields, 
both  being  botanically  the  same.  Of  the  marsh  rice  there  are  also  two 
principal  divisions— ordinary  and  glutinous  rice  ;  the  following  analyses 
of  dry  matter  in  the  three  kinds  are  given  : — 
Protein  matter  
Fat  
Cellulose  
Non-nitrogenous  extract 
Ash  
The  figures  for  fat  are  larger  than  in  other  analyses  of  rice,  but  the  differ- 
ence is  accounted  for  by  the  author's  samples  being  undressed  grain, 
whereas  the  samples  examined  by  other  investigators  have  been  of  the 
Ordinary. 
..  7-00 
..  2-29 
..  4-58 
..  84-76 
..  1-37 
Glutinous. 
5-87 
3-44 
5-19 
83-89 
1-61 
Mountain. 
8-75 
2-58 
1-98 
85-53 
1-18 
