Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 27.djvu/276

262 It may be found preferable to the malt-flour or meal for some of the above-named purposes, especially for making a purée like Rumford's soup. I strongly recommend such a soup to vegetarians, i. e., the Rumford soup No. 1, already described, but with the admixture of a little pearl-malt with the pearl-barley (or malt-meal failing the pearl-malt).

A small proportion of malt flour, one twentieth for example, has a considerable effect, and if a fancy price is to be paid for it such a proportion may be used; but, if it comes into sufficient demand to be subject to wholesome competition, larger proportions up to one fourth will be desirable.

In my experiments I used the malt-extract in order to render the result visible, but this is not necessary in practice. Either the extract or the flour may be used, as may be convenient. In all cases time should be allowed for the conversion of the starch to take place before raising the temperature to 212°, keeping in view the principles above explained as regards the temperature and time required for conversion.

I have not yet met with any malted maize commercially prepared, but the experiments that I have made on a small scale show that it is a very desirable product. I name it here and now (January 8, 1885) to prevent its becoming patented, as there are so many greedy people who rush to the Great Seal Office with any idea they may pick up, however trivial. Any previous publication of the invention is sufficient to frustrate the monopoly. The same applies to the other uses of malt that I have specified.

I am still unable to speak positively as to the efficiency of vegetable diastase in breaking up or effecting the hydration of cellulose and its conversion into sugar; but the following facts are promising:

I treated sago, tapioca, and rice with the maltose as above, and found that at a temperature of 140° to 150° all the starch disappeared in about half an hour, as proved by the iodine test. Still the liquid was not clear; flocculi of cellulose, etc., were suspended in it.

I kept this on the top of a stove several days, the temperature of the liquid varying from 100° to 180°, while the fire was burning, and falling to that of the atmosphere at night. The quantity of the insoluble suspended matter sensibly diminished, but it was not entirely removed.

This has led me to make further experiments, now in progress, on the ensilage of human food, with the aid of diastase. I am packing various kinds of vegetable food in small silos, adding to them varying proportions of malt-flour or malt-extract, and I hereby declare, for the benefit of would-be patentees, that this invention, whether worthless or otherwise, is mine, and can not be secured by them, as I have witnesses of the date of this writing and copy thereof. I shall certainly not patent this or any of the above inventions myself, and will prevent others from interfering with their free use in the improvement and cheapening of our food-supplies. I am also treating such vegetable