Note 201 — Part IV. Examination and Analysis of Cacao Preparations.

A word about the R.-M. number seems not out of place here. Baier indeed gives it as an average 1·0 but it varies considerably, as his own investigations show (8 tests of pressed or extracted fats), where there are fluctuations of 1·65—2·37. Information kindly volunteered by Prof. Härtel and our own experience convinces us that such fluctuations proceed generally from the Glycerine employed, which has itself a R.-M. number, sometimes even amounting to 1·0. It is therefore necessary to fix the standard of Glycerine used in the experiment, only too much neglected in professional investigations.