PC UCRDITORTAL. ! 
“results so far obtained promise not only knowledge immediately useful 
‘to'the cold storage industry, but also a.fundamental contribution to the 
theory of the colloidal state and a further insight into the distinctive 
colloid characters of the living substance of the animal and the plant. 
COLD STORAGE OF FRUIT AND VEGETABLES. 
The Food Investigations Board has also established a Fruit and 
Vegetables Committee. to inquire into the metabolism of fruit and 
vegetables at low temperatures, and into the use of cold, of gases, and of 
desiccation for the preservation of fruit and vegetables. Research work 
is now in progress at two centres, namely, at Cambridge, under Dr. F. 
F. Blackman, and at the Imperial College of Science and Technology, 
London, under Professor V. H. Blackman and Professor J. B. Farmer. 
The part of the general work on fruit and vegetables taken up at 
Cambridge may be described as a study of the normal physiology at 
low temperatures of those parts of plants which are used for food. A 
-second line of work relates to the study of the oxidizing enzymes in 
fruits which are responsible for the browning of the flesh of ripe fruit. 
Work -at the Imperial College of Science and Technology has so 
far been mainly of a preliminary character, and has been confined to a 
‘study of apples. The work falls under four heads—the study of the 
‘chemical. changes occurring during the maturation and storage of the 
fruit; the study of the effect of various external conditions upon the 
fungi which cause deterioration of stored fruit; the study of the con- 
ditions to which fruit is subjected in cold storage; and the testing of a 
small refrigerating plant for, exact laboratory experiments. 
BUREAU OF INFORMATION. 
. A considerable number: of requests for information and adyice on 
scientific and technical: matters is being received by the Bureau of 
‘Information of the Institute. Among the matters on which such 
requests have been received recently the following may be mentioned :— 
(a) Dyes.—General information relating to the dyeing of cotton 
goods. 
(b) Egg Albumen.—Methods of manufacture. 
(c) Essential Oils—Methods for distillation. 
(d) Blast Furnaces—Information relating to gas engines 
utilizing waste gases for operating the blowers for the hot 
blast. 
(e) Foundry Practice—Utilization of waste coke and iron. 
(f) Lar—Standard specifications of tar for roadmaking pur- 
poses. 
(g) Decolourization of Jam in Tin Containers.—Causes and ~ 
remedies. . : 
(h) Containers for dangerous Chemicals.—Precautions to insure 
safety. } co ee 
267 
