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ON 
 
 FOOD AND DIETETICS. 
 
TREATISE 
 
 FOOD AND DIETETICS, 
 
 PHYSIOLOGICALLY AND THERAPEUTICALLY 
 CONSIDERED. 
 
 BY 
 
 F. W. PAVY, M.D., F.E.S., 
 
 FELLOW OF THE ROYAL COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS; 
 PHYSICIAN TO, AND LECTURER ON PHYSIOLOGY AT, GUY'S HOSPITAL. 
 
 PHILADELPHIA: 
 
 HENRY C. LEA. 
 
 1874. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 IN the Preface to the second edition of my work on " Digestion, 
 its Disorders and their Treatment," I mentioned that I had originally 
 intended to add a section on Food to the contents of that volume, 
 but that for the reasons given I afterwards determined to publish a 
 separate treatise on the subject. Thus originated the present work, 
 which, with the progress of time and a large consumption of mid- 
 night oil, has grown to dimensions far exceeding those I had at 
 first contemplated. 
 
 From the fact that the subject of Food is one of deep concern, 
 both to the healthy and the sick ; that the information which has 
 been obtained during the last few years has completely revolutionized 
 some of the cardinal scientific notions formerly entertained ; and that 
 no modern systematic treatise of the kind here presented exists in 
 the English language, I have been encouraged to think that the task 
 I have undertaken may not be deemed superfluous. Whatever the 
 results attained, I have steadily striven, sparing no pains for the 
 purpose, to render the work produced instructive and useful. 
 
 On account of the change recently introduced in chemical notation, 
 I have given both old and new formulae, placing the latter within 
 square brackets after the former. 
 
 35 GROSVENOR STREET, 
 
 GROSVENOR SQUARE, March, 1874. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 INTRODUCTORY REMARKS ox THE DYNAMIC RELATIONS OP 
 
 FOOD, 17-24 
 
 Matter and Force, 17. Correlation of the Physical Forces, 17, 
 18. Equivalent of heat in mechanical motion, 18. Force and 
 energy distinction explained, 18, 19. Analogy between living 
 matter and a machine, 20. Forms of force derived from the sun, 
 20. Analogy between the animal system and a steam-engine, 22, 
 23. Life implies change, 23. Dormant vitality, 23. 
 
 ON THE ORIGINATION OF FOOD, 25-35 
 
 Power possessed by animals of forming one kind of organic com- 
 pound out of another, 25, 26. Influence of the solar force, 26-29. 
 Action of vegetable life, 29-32. Formation of organic compounds, 
 33, 34. Kesults of animal and vegetable life, 34, 35. 
 
 THE CONSTITUENT ELEMENTS OF FOOD, .... 36 
 
 ALIMENTARY PRINCIPLES : THEIR CLASSIFICATION, CHEMICAL 
 RELATIONS, DIGESTION, ASSIMILATION, AND PHYSIOLOGI- 
 CAL USES, a7-146 
 
 Distinction between alimentary principles and alimentary sub- 
 stances, 37. Separation of food and drink not physiologically cor- 
 rect, 37, 38. Classification of food, 38-40. 
 
 THE NITROGENOUS ALIMENTARY PRINCIPLES, 41-96 : 
 
 Albuminous or protein compounds animal and vegetable pro- 
 tein compounds, 41-44. Gelatinous principles, 44, 45. Digestion 
 of the nitrogenous principles, 45-48. Action of pancreatic juice, 
 48-50. Production of albuminose, 51, 52. Uses of nitrogenous 
 matter, 53. Its relation to force-production, 54, 55. Experiments 
 on the elimination of nitrogen, 55-72. Resume on nitrogenous 
 food and muscular action, 72-74. Heat-production, 74, 75. Varied 
 amounts of urea excreted on vegetable and animal diets, 75, 76 
 
 * 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Metamorphosis of nitrogenous food, 77-86. Force value of nitro- 
 genous food, 86-89. Nitrogenous matter as a source of fat, 90-93. 
 Alimentary value of gelatinous principles, 93-96. 
 
 THE NON-NITROGENOUS ALIMENTARY PRINCIPLES, 97-113: 
 
 Hydrocarbons, or fats, 97-100. Uses of fat, 100-102. Fat as a 
 heat-producing agent, 102-105. Oxidizable capacity of fat, 105, 
 106. Fat in relation to muscular force-production, 107-110. Ac- 
 tual force-value of fat, 111-113. 
 
 THE CARBOHYDRATES, 114-141 : 
 
 Starch, 114-117. Sugars, 117-120. Gum, 120, 121. Dextrin, 
 122. Cellulose, 122. Lignin, 122. Lactic acid, 122. Assimila- 
 tion and utilization of the carbohydrates, 123-126. Their destina? 
 tion, 127. Power of animals to form fat, 128. Production of foie 
 gras, 129-130. Conversion of the carbohydrates into fat, 130-134. 
 Ultimate use of the carbohydrates, 134-136. 
 
 Ternary principles not carbohydrates : 
 
 Pectin, vegetable acids, alcohol, 136-141. 
 
 THE INORGANIC ALIMENTARY PRINCIPLES, 142-146 : 
 Water, 142. Saline matter, 142-146. 
 
 ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES, 147-396 
 
 ANIMAL ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES, 147-223 : 
 
 Their classification, 147, 148. Varieties of meat, 148-158. Un- 
 wholesome meat, 158-167. Poultry, game, and wild fowl, 167-169. 
 Fish, 169-177. Shell-fish, 177-181. Eggs, 181-185. Milk, 185- 
 199. Butter, 200-202. Cheese, 202-205. 
 
 Animal foods sometimes but not ordinarily eaten, 206-223. 
 
 Cannibalism, 206, 207. Mammals, 206-214. (Horseflesh, 211- 
 213.) Birds, 214-215. Reptiles, 216, 217. Fish, 217, 218. In- 
 sects, 218, 219. Earth-eating, 219, 220. Table of references, 221- 
 223. 
 
 VEGETABLE ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES, 224-327 : 
 
 Farinaceous seeds, 224-259. The cerealia, 225-254. Wheat and 
 flour, 226-231. Bread, 231-237. Miscellaneous articles prepared 
 from flour, 237-239. Unwholesome wheaten products, 240-242. 
 Oats, 242-244. Barley, 245, 246. Eye, 246-248. Indian corn, 
 248-250. Rice, 250-252. Millet, 252, 253. Buckwheat, 253. 
 Quinoa, 254. Leguminous seeds, or pulses, 254-259. Oleaginous 
 seeds, 259-264. Tubers and roots, 264-276. Potatoes, 264-269. 
 Herbaceous articles, 276-285. Products of the cabbage tribe, 277, 
 278. Various vegetables, 279-285. Fruity products consumed as 
 vegetables, 285, 286. Esculent fungi, 286-289. Varieties of fruit, 
 
CONTENTS. XI 
 
 290-314. Bark, 315. Sawdust and wood}' fibre, 315. Saccharine 
 preparations, 316-320. Saccharine products, 320-322. Farinaceous 
 preparations, 322-327. 
 
 BEVERAGES, 328-395: 
 
 Water, 328-335. Non-alcoholic, exhilarating, and restorative 
 beverages, 335-357. Tea, 336-342. Kepresentatives of tea, 343, 344. 
 Coffee, 344-350. Fictitious coffee, 350. Chiccory, 350, 351, Gua- 
 rana, 351, 352. Cocoa, 352-357. Fictitious cocoas, 357. Alcoholic 
 beverages, 357-395. Effect of alcohol on the system, 358-361. 
 Beer, 361-365. Cider, perry, 365, 366. Wine, 366-390. French 
 wines, 381-384. German wines, 384, 385. Hungarian wines, 385. 
 Greek and Italian wines, 386. Australian wines, 386. Port and 
 other wines of Portugal, 386, 387. Sherry and other Spanish 
 wines, 388, 389. Marsala, 389. Madeira, 389. Cape or South 
 African wines, 389, 390. Fruit wines, 390. Mead, 390. Spirits, 
 390-394. Liqueurs, 394, 395. 
 
 CONDIMENTS, 396. 
 THE PRESERVATION OF FOOD, 397-402 
 
 Modern processes of preservation, 897. Four means of preserving 
 food, viz., by cold, drying, exclusion of air, and use of antiseptics, 
 398-402. 
 
 PRINCIPLES OF DIETETICS, 403-442 
 
 Composition of milk and the egg, 403. Researches of the Paris 
 Gelatin Commission, 404-406. Position held by nitrogenous matter, 
 407-409. Question as to the necessity of fats and carbohydrates, 
 410. Adaption of food to demand, 411, 412. Liebig's estimate of 
 the nutritive value of food, 413. Frankland's estimate of the force- 
 producing value of food, 414-418. The appetite as a measure of 
 capacity for work, 419. Nitrogenous matter required for physical 
 development, 419, 420. Human labor more expensive than steam 
 work, 421. Moleschott's table of a standard or model diet, 422. 
 Adjustment of food to climate and work, 423-426. Table showing 
 percentage composition of various articles of food, 427. Playfair's 
 dietaries, 428-430. Workhouse dietaries, 430. Prison dietaries, 
 431, 432. Tables of hard and light labor diets, 433. Industrial 
 employment, penal, and punishment diets, 434, 435. Instances of 
 limited diet, 436, 437. Table from Payen of percentage value of 
 food in nitrogen and carbon, 438, 439. Outgoing of nitrogen and 
 carbon as a diet basis, 440-442. 
 
 PRACTICAL DIETETICS, 443-502 
 
 Kind of food best adapted for the support of man, 443. Varieties 
 of diet consumed by different nations : Arctic regions, 444-446 ; 
 
Xll CONTENTS. 
 
 North American Indians, 446; Mexico, 447 ; Pampas Indians, 448 ; 
 Guachos, 448, 449. Natives of Australia, New Zealand, 449, 450 ; 
 of the Friendly Islands, 450; Otaheite, 450; Feejee Islands, 451 ; 
 Tanna, New Caledonia, Savu, 451 ; Sandwich Islands, 452 ; China, 
 452,453; Japan, 453, 454; India, Ceylon, 455; Africa, 455-459. 
 Mixed food the natural diet of man, 459. Vegetarianism, 460, 461. 
 Dietetic value of meat often overestimated, 461. A certain amount 
 of fresh food necessary to health, 462. Effects of animal and vege- 
 table food compared, 463-467. Proper amount of food, 467-472. 
 Effects of excess and deficiency of food, 472-476. Times of eating, 
 476-484. Culinary preparation of food, 484-491. 
 
 DIET or INFANTS, 492-496. 
 
 Woman's milk, 492-494. Milk of lower animals, 494, 495. Fari- 
 naceous food, 496. Liebig's food, 496 
 
 DIET FOR TRAINING, 497-502. 
 
 Object of training, 497. Old and new systems, 498-500. Oxford 
 and Cambridge systems, 501, 502. 
 
 THERAPEUTIC DIETETICS, . . . . . . . 503-559 
 
 General considerations, 503-506. Diet for gout, 506, 507. Influ- 
 ences of food, 508. Principles of dieting for thinness and stoutness, 
 509, 510. Keduction of corpulency, 511-513. Dietary for the dia- 
 betic, 513-515. Ill effects of restriction to salted and dried provi- 
 sions, 515. Eegulation of amount of fluid, 516. Effect of varieties 
 of food on the urine, 517-519. Food for weak digestion, 520-522. 
 Food for dyspepsia, 522-524. Food for disordered states of the in- 
 testinal canal, 525, 526. 
 
 DIETETIC PREPARATIONS FOR THE INVALID, 527-536. 
 HOSPITAL DIETARIES, 537-558. 
 
 Guy's Hospital, 537. St. Bartholomew's Hospital, 538, 539. St. 
 Thomas's Hospital, 539. London Hospital, 540. St, George's Hos- 
 pital, 541. Middlesex Hospital, 542, 543. University College 
 Hospital, 543, 544. King's College Hospital, 544. St. Mary's 
 Hospital, 545. Westminster Hospital, 546. Seamen's Hospital, 
 547. Leeds General Infirmary, 547, 548. Manchester Royal Infir- 
 mary and Dispensary, 548, 549. Birmingham General Hospital, 
 549, 550. Newcastle-upon-Tyne Infirmary, 551. Edinburgh Royal 
 Infirmary, 551, 552. Glasgow Royal Infirmary, 553. Richmond, 
 Whitworth, and Hardwicke Hospitals (Dublin), 553, 554. Bethlem 
 Lunatic Hospital, 555. St. Luke's Hospital for Lunatics, 555, 556. 
 Han well Lunatic Asylum, 556-558. Colney Hatch Lunatic Asy- 
 lum, 559. 
 
 INDEX, . 561-574 
 
INTRODUCTORY REMARKS 
 ON THE DYNAMIC RELATIONS OF FOOD. 
 
 THE discoveries and inductions of the present age have thrown 
 a new light on the physiology of food. 
 
 Around us we have to deal with Matter and Force the one a 
 substantive entity, the other appreciable only as a principle of ac- 
 tion. It has long been known that (as cognizable in onr own era) 
 matter can be neither created nor destroyed. It may be variously 
 combined and modified, but it remains the same in essence and un- 
 altered in amount. Force also has more recently been recognized 
 as similarly conditioned; and in order that the bearings of food in 
 relation to this principle may be understood, some preliminary con- 
 siderations explanatory of the views now entertained regarding it 
 are necessary. 
 
 First, then, we may take it as accepted that, like matter, under 
 present circumstances, force can be neither created nor destroyed. 
 " Ex nihilo nihil fit " and " Nihil fit ad nihilum " form axioms that 
 must be admitted to be incontrovertible. If we except the incon- 
 siderable accession derived from the occasional descent of a meteoric 
 body, the earth's matter remains fixed in amount. It is otherwise, 
 however, with respect to force. Under the form of heat and light, 
 force is constantly being transmitted to us from the sun ; and it is 
 from the force thus derived that, in a manner to be explained further 
 on, life on earth originates and is sustained. 
 
 In enunciating his doctrine on the " Correlation of the Physical 
 Forces," Grove demonstrated that one kind of force was capable of 
 producing another. His views were first made known at a lecture 
 delivered at the London Institution in 1842. The word "correla- 
 tion" he employed as meaning "reciprocal production in other 
 words, that any force capable of producing another may in its turn 
 
 2 
 
18 ' 'INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. 
 
 be produced by it." The position sought to be established was that 
 heat, light, electricity, magnetism, chemical affinity, and motion, are 
 all correlative, or have a reciprocal dependence that either might 
 produce the others, and that neither could originate otherwise than 
 by production from some antecedent force or forces. 
 
 Just at this time the same field of inquiry was being investigated 
 by other workers. While Grove was asserting that the great prob- 
 lem awaiting solution in regard to the correlation of physical forces 
 was the establishment of their equivalent of power, or their measu- 
 rable relations to a given standard, Mayer, Joule, and Helmholtz 
 were announcing the actual equivalents themselves. 
 
 Mayer, of Germany, had the priority in the publication of his 
 researches. As a member of the medical profession he approached 
 the subject through its relation to physiology. In 1842 he pro- 
 pounded, in its full comprehensiveness, the doctrine of the "Con- 
 servation of Force." 
 
 Nearly at the same time Mr. Joule, of Manchester, discovered the 
 equivalent of heat in mechanical motion. He had been led to prose- 
 cute researches in that direction, with the view of ascertaining the 
 relative value of heat and motion for the advantage of engineering 
 science. He found that what sufficed to raise the temperature of a 
 pound of water one degree Fahrenheit would, under another mode 
 of action, raise 772 pounds a foot high ; or, putting it conversely, the 
 fall of 772 pounds of water from a height of one foot would give 
 rise to an amount of heat sufficient to elevate the temperature of one 
 pound to the extent of one degree Fahrenheit. Thus the mechani- 
 cal work corresponding to the elevation of 772 pounds a foot high, 
 or, what comes to the same thing, one pound 772 feet high, forms 
 the dynamic equivalent of one degree of heat of Fahrenheit's scale. 
 
 It is necessary to state here that the term " force," when used in 
 a strict sense, is employed under a more limited acceptation now 
 than formerly. Originally it represented what is now distinguished 
 as both " force " and " energy." By " force," in a rigid significa- 
 tion, is understood the power of producing energy ; by " energy " 
 the power of performing work. To give an illustration : powder 
 has force, the cannon-ball energy ; but to speak of the force of the 
 cannon-ball is inexact. I may also remark that the words " actual " 
 and " potential " are in frequent use to qualify the state in which 
 energy is met with. By actual energy is meant energy in an active 
 
ON THE DYNAMIC RELATIONS OF FOOD. 19 
 
 state energy which is doing work. By potential energy, energy at 
 rest energy capable of doing work, but not doing it. In a bent 
 crossbow there is potential energy^ energy in a state of rest, but 
 ready to become actual, or to manifest itself when the trigger is 
 pulled. Again, actual energy is evolved from the sun. By vege- 
 table life this is made potential in the organic compounds formed. 
 In these organic compounds the energy is stored up in a latent con- 
 dition ; potential energy is reconverted into actual energy when they 
 undergo oxidation during combustion or in their utilization in the 
 animal economy. 
 
 The doctrine of the " Conservation of Energy " implies that 
 energy is as indestructible as matter, that a fixed amount exists in 
 the universe, and that, however, variously it may be modified, trans- 
 ferred, or transformed in spite of all the changes of which it may 
 be the subject throughout the realm of nature it cannot be created 
 or annihilated, increased or diminished. The doctrine further im- 
 plies that the diiferent forms of energy have their definite reciprocal 
 equivalents ; that so much chemical energy, for instance, will pro- 
 duce so much heat, which is the representative of so much motive 
 power, and so on. The ascertained equivalents of heat and motive 
 power have been already given. 
 
 Accepted as applicable to the physical forces, the doctrine of the 
 " Conservation of Energy " next began to be applied to living na- 
 ture. Grove in his " Correlation of Physical Forces " (second edi- 
 tion, p. 89), suggested that the same principles and mode of reason- 
 ing adopted in his essay might answer equally for the organic as for 
 the inorganic world, and that muscular force, animal and vegetable 
 heat, &c., might, and one day would, be shown to possess similar 
 definite correlations. He proceeded no further, however, remarking 
 that he purposely avoided entering upon a subject not pertaining to 
 hi> own field of science. 
 
 At this time the general belief prevailed that the processes going 
 on in the living body were determined by "vitality" or the "vital 
 principle." The physical forces, it was supposed, were overruled in 
 the living body by the vital principle. Without discussing whether 
 we are to admit or deny the existence of this principle as a distinct 
 operating force a question which has been handled by some of the 
 leading men of science of the day we must, I think, concede, as a 
 matter of experience, that in the living organism there are influences 
 
20 INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. 
 
 at play which have no existence in the dead matter around. Matter 
 which has been impressed with life can produce effects which dead 
 matter cannot. This does not conflict with the extension of the law 
 of the " Conservation of Energy " to living nature. The effects 
 produced may have their origin in the physical forces the living 
 matter forming the medium through which they operate. With ar- 
 tificial appliances force may be made to produce various effects, ac- 
 cording to the nature of the instrument employed. With the same 
 force in operation different kinds of work are performed, according 
 to the character of the machine set in motion. Between the two 
 living matter and a machine there exists an analogy which admits 
 of being followed still further. It is only when in a certain state 
 that matter is capable of forming the medium for the exercise of 
 force in the production of living operations. Modify this state, and 
 though there may be the same matter to deal with, yet it is no longer 
 capable of fulfilling the same office it before performed. So, in the 
 case of an ordinary machine ; it must possess a particular construc- 
 tion before it can form the medium for the operation of force. Dis- 
 arrange this construction, and, although the matter remains un- 
 changed, the application of force is without its proper effect. Thus 
 a disarranged machine may be compared with living matter devital- 
 ized. In both, the capacity of being set in operation by force has 
 existed, and in both that capacity has been lost. Further, it may 
 be said that a machine in working order, but unoperated on by force 
 that is, in a state of rest is like matter possessing vitality, but in 
 a dormant state. Both are ready to move directly the proper force 
 is supplied. 
 
 Applying the law of the " Conservation of Energy " to living na- 
 ture, the forms of force which we observe in operation are, in the 
 first instance, derived from the sun. When a weight is lifted by the 
 hand it seems a long way off to go to the sun for the muscular force 
 employed in the act. Yet the doctrine of the " Conservation of 
 Energy " justifies, as I will proceed to show, the conclusion that its 
 origin is there. 
 
 In the first place, the force evolved in muscular action has its 
 source in the material which has been supplied to the body in the 
 form of food. Now, all food comes primarily from the vegetable 
 kingdom, and vegetable products are built up through the agency 
 of the sun's rays. It may be said that the energy contained in these 
 
ON THE DYNAMIC RELATIONS OF FOOD. 21 
 
 rays, which has been employed in producing the compound, is fixed 
 or rendered latent within it. When a crossbow is bent, the force 
 derived from the muscular action employed in bending it is stored 
 up, ready to be again liberated when the trigger is pulled, no matter 
 whether this be at once or a hundred years hence ; and the force 
 given to the arrow when it is launched is neither more nor less than 
 that which has sprung from the muscular action employed in bend- 
 ing the bow. The same with vegetable products. Their formation 
 is coincident with the disengagement of oxygen from oxidized prin- 
 ciples and the development of combustible compounds. To effect 
 this disengagement the operation of force is required. Now, the 
 force so employed has its source in the heat and light evolved from 
 the sun, and that which is used for the purpose may be said to be- 
 come fixed and to exist in a latent condition to exist stored up in 
 the product, ready to be again liberated on exposure to conditions 
 favorable to oxidation. Thus may these vegetable products be com- 
 pared to a bent crossbow, containing as they do a store of latent 
 force, which may for an indefinite period remain as such, or may be 
 liberated soon after it has been fixed. Whenever liberated, it is no 
 more nor less than the equivalent of the force which has been used 
 in the formation of the product. Our coal-fields represent a vast 
 magazine of force drawn, ages ago, from the sun's rays, and capable 
 at any moment of being set free by the occurrence of oxidation. 
 
 Vegetable products, then, may be regarded as containing a store 
 of force accumulated from the vast supply continually emitted with 
 the sun's rays ; and, upon the principle of the indestructibility of 
 force, that force which has been applied to unlocking the elements 
 in the combinations from which vegetable products are built up, and 
 to forming the new compound, is contained in such compound in a 
 latent state. Now, as above stated, animals either directly or in- 
 directly subsist upon these vegetable products, and are thence sup- 
 plied by them with accumulated force. By oxidation the force is 
 set free in an active state under some form of manifestation or other. 
 It matters not in what way whether rapidly or slowly, or under 
 what circumstances whether inside or outside the living system, the 
 oxidation occurs ; the result is the same, as far as the amount of the 
 force liberated is concerned, it being implied in the doctrine of the 
 " Conservation of Energy" that it should constitute the equivalent 
 of the solar force originally made use of. This is presuming com- 
 
22 INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. 
 
 plete oxidation to occur ; but in the processes of animal life, although 
 fully oxidized compounds, like carbonic acid and water, are formed 
 and discharged, yet others, like urea, are expelled in an imperfectly 
 oxidized state, and carry with them a certain amount of latent or 
 unutilized force. 
 
 Thus it is that the various forms of force manifested in the actions 
 of animal life trace their origin to that emitted from the sun. Plants 
 are media for fixing solar force for converting actual into latent or 
 potential energy. Animals reconvert latent into various forms of 
 actual force. Thus, in the various forms of actual force liberated by 
 the actions of animal life, we have the equivalent of that which has 
 been fixed by plants from the sun. As there is a revolution of 
 matter, so is there a revolution offeree within and around us. 
 
 In the liberation of actual force a complete analogy may be traced 
 between the animal system and a steam-engine. Both are media 
 for the conversion of latent into actual force. In the animal system, 
 combustible material is supplied under the form of the various kinds 
 of food, and oxygen is taken in by the process of respiration. From 
 the chemical energy due to the combination of these, force is lib- 
 erated in an active state ; and, besides manifesting itself as heat, and 
 in other ways peculiar to the animal system, is capable of perform- 
 ing mechanical work. The steam-engine is supplied with combus- 
 tible material under the form of coal, which differs from our food in 
 representing the result of the vegetative activity of a former instead 
 of the present epoch. Air is also supplied, and from the combina- 
 tion which occurs between its oxygen and the elements of the com- 
 bustible material, heat is produced, which in part is dissipated as 
 such, but in part is applied to the performance of mechanical work. 
 According to Helmholtz, the animal economy, in respect of its 
 capacity to turn force to account in the accomplishment of mechanical 
 work, is a more perfect instrument than the steam-engine. His 
 calculations lead him to conclude that whilst in the best steam- 
 engine only one-tenth of the force liberated by the combustion of its 
 fuel is realizable as mechanical work, the rest escaping as heat, the 
 human body is capable of turning one-fifth of the power of its food 
 into the equivalent of work. There is this, however, to be remarked, 
 that the fuel of a steam-engine is a far less expensive article than 
 the food of an animal being. 
 
 The animal body, then, may be regarded as holding an analogous 
 
ON THE DYNAMIC RELATIONS OF FOOD. 23 
 
 position to a machine, in which a transmutation of chemical into 
 other forms of force is taking place. Food on the one hand, and 
 air on the other, are the factors concerned in the chemical action 
 that occurs. It is through the interplay of changes between food 
 and air that the manifestations of animal life, consisting of heat- 
 production, muscular contraction, nervous (including mental) action, 
 and nutritive or formative, secretory, and assimilative action arise. 
 The egesta, or substances dismissed from the system, are metamor- 
 phosed products of the ingesta, or substances entering the system. 
 The elements are the same, in nature and in quantity, in the two 
 cases, but their forms of combination, and, with them, their force 
 accompaniment, are different. The force employed in building up 
 the organic compounds belonging to food is again evolved as they 
 descend by oxidation into more simple combinations, and in the 
 force evolved we have the representative of the active manifestations 
 of animal life. If the products discharged from the system were 
 fully oxidized principles, the force developed in the body would 
 equal that contained in a latent condition in the food. Such, how- 
 ever, is not completely the case, a certain amount of latent force 
 remaining, as has already been remarked, in some of the egesta. 
 The position, therefore, may be formulated thus : The latent or 
 potential force of ingesta equals the force developed in the body plus 
 the force escaping with the egesta. In other words, the unexpended 
 force in the egesta and the force disengaged by the operations of 
 life, and manifested under the various forms of vital activity, equal 
 the force contained in the ingesta. 
 
 AVhat is required in food is matter that is susceptible of under- \ 
 going change in the system under the influence of the presence of I 
 oxygen. Life implies change, and the manifestations of life are due 
 to the reaction of food, with the derivatives from it, and air upon 
 each other. While in the inorganic kingdom a tendency to a state 
 of rest prevails while the closest affinities tend to become satisfied, 
 and so establish equilibrium, in a manifestly living body rest is im- 
 pnssible. It is true, living organisms of certain kinds may exist in 
 a state of rest, but then there is a suspension of vital manifestations. 
 The state constitutes that which falls under the denomination of 
 " dormant vitality." Animal organisms may exist in it, and the 
 seed of a plant naturally remains for awhile in it. Molecular rest, 
 and, with it, an absence of any show of vital activity prevail. Con- 
 
24 INTRODUCTORY REMARKS, ETC. 
 
 currently, however, with the manifestations of vital activity molec- 
 ular change change in a particular or prescribed direction occurs. 
 Organic compounds become resolved by the agency of oxygen into 
 more simple combinations, as carbonic acid, water, and urea, and 
 cease to be any longer of service. To maintain a continuance of 
 vital activity fresh organic material is required ; hence the demand 
 for food. But food and the other material factor of life oxygen 
 do not constitute all that is needed. It is further necessary that the 
 two should be brought within the sphere of influence of living 
 matter, in order that the changes may be made to pursue the par- 
 ticular line of direction resulting in the phenomena of life. 
 
ON THE ORIGINATION OF FOOD. 
 
 OUR food is in the first instance derived from the vegetable king- 
 dom. Dumas at one time said, "L'animal s'assimile done ou detruit 
 des matieres organiques toutes faites; il n'en cree done pas." But, 
 as he afterwards admitted, this is not the case. The animal, it is 
 true, is constantly consuming or destroying organic substances, and 
 is incapable of forming them from the inorganic principles, but sup- 
 plied with organic matter, organic compounds of various kinds are 
 constructed. 
 
 Mulder's discoveries in 1838 led up to the doctrine that the albu- 
 minous compounds of plants and animals agree in composition and 
 properties, whence it was inferred that the animal simply took the 
 compound produced by the plant and made it a component part of 
 its own bod^. Liebig was the first to maintain that animals pos- 
 sessed the power of forming one kind of organic compound out of 
 another. A warm controversy was at one time carried on upon this 
 point, turning particularly upon the formation of fat. While, on 
 the one hand, it was held by Liebig that, in the animal system, fat 
 could be formed from sugar, Dumas and Boussingault maintained, 
 on the other, that whatever fat was found in an aninal being was 
 derived through its food from without. From the researches ini- 
 tiated by this dispute it became incontestably established that Liebig 
 was right, and the French chemists were ultimately compelled, even 
 on the evidence of the results obtained by themselves, to abandon 
 the doctrine they had advanced. 
 
 A moment's consideration will further suffice to show that one 
 kind of albuminous compound is capable of being-constructed from 
 others. In the young mammal subsisting solely on milk, it is to the 
 casein that we must look for the source of fibrin and albumen ; 
 and in the animal feeder, secreting milk, the casein produced is de- 
 rived from the fibrin and albumen. Gelatin, moreover, has no ex- 
 
26 ORIGINATION OF FOOD. 
 
 istence in vegetable food. At the present day we may waive the 
 discussion of this matter, it being now established that none of these 
 nitrogenous principles enter the system under the form in which they 
 occur in food. They are all converted, during the performance of 
 digestion, into a certain principle (albuminose), which is the princi- 
 ple that is absorbed, and that is subsequently transformed by the 
 assimilative power of the animal into the various compounds met 
 with. 
 
 The position, then, is this, that animals are not simply consumers 
 of organic compounds, but are capable of exerting a constructive 
 action as well. They must, however, be supplied with organic mat- 
 ter previously formed, and thus the capacity that really exists is that 
 of transforming one organic compound into another. All organic 
 matter has its primary source in the vegetable kingdom, from which 
 kingdom, it follows, all our food must directly or indirectly be de- 
 rived. The vegetable feeder goes directly for its food to the vege- 
 table kingdom. The animal feeder is equally dependent upon the 
 products of the vegetable kingdom for its pabulum. But it obtains 
 it only at secondhand, so to speak, or in an indirect manner, its food 
 consisting of the flesh of animals which have themselves been nour- 
 ished upon vegetable products. 
 
 Now, it is only under exposure to the action of the sun's rays that 
 plants will grow, and hence it is to the influence of these rays that 
 we must refer the production of food in the first instance, and the 
 primary source of all life upon our earth. 
 
 It has already been shown how the energy emitted from the sun, 
 under the forms of heat and light, is capable, through the medium 
 of the plant, of disengaging oxygen from its combination with car- 
 bon and hydrogen in carbonic acid and water, and leading to the 
 formation of re-oxidizable compounds ; and how the energy evolved 
 from the re-oxidation of these compounds, whether by combustion 
 or within the animal system, represents or forms the equivalent of 
 that employed in effecting their construction. 
 
 What an immeasurable amount of force to be, and to have been, 
 emitted from the solar centre ! It is true that it must possess a store 
 of heat altogether unrealizable by comparison with anything cogniza- 
 ble around us ; for it has been shown by recent investigations with 
 the spectroscope that iron and other metals, which cannot by any 
 known method of heat application be converted into the gaseous 
 
INFLUENCE OF THE SOLAR FORCE. 27 
 
 state upon our earth, exist in that state around the sun. It is true, 
 also, that the sun is a body of almost inconceivable magnitude. To 
 give the simile of Helmholtz, 1 " Its diameter is so great that if you- 
 suppose the earth to be put into the centre of the sun, the sun itself 
 being like a hollow sphere, and the moon going about the earth, 
 there would be a space of more than 200,000 miles around the orbit 
 of the moon lying all interior to the surface of the sun. 77 But when 
 we come to consider that in that small pencil of rays which has im- 
 pinged upon our earth at a distance of nearly 95,000,000 miles from 
 the sun, that, under the view now held by philosophers, has been 
 contained all the energy or source of power which has been fixed by 
 plants, and much besides that has escaped being so utilized, we can- 
 not help being struck by the immensity of the store of power accu- 
 mulated in the sun. Geology teaches us that at an early epoch in 
 the history of our globe this solar influence must have manifested 
 itself to a much stronger degree than it does even at the present time. 
 The vast coal-beds forming a portion of the earth's crust have origi- 
 nated in vegetable growth. During the carboniferous era, which 
 comprises the period of this coal-formation, the atmosphere was 
 probably laden with carbonic acid and humidity to a much greater 
 extent than at the present day. But it is to the solar energy that 
 we -must look as the source of the luxuriant vegetation which evi- 
 dently flourished at that time, and which must have existed in the 
 Arctic regions as well as in the lower latitudes, since coal-deposits are 
 there found. 
 
 It has been already stated that it is only under the influence of 
 the force contained in the sun's rays that organic compounds are 
 built up by the agency of the plant; and it is found to be the green 
 parts only of plants those where chlorophyll exists that effect the 
 decomposition of carbonic acid and water fixing the carbon and 
 hydrogen and liberating the oxygen. This operation, it is the dis- 
 tinctive function of the plant to perform, and it fails to be carried on 
 when the influence of light is absent and unless chlorophyll is pres- 
 ent. Under these conditions absence of light and chlorophyll 
 oxygen is absorbed and carbonic acid liberated instead, just as occurs 
 in the animal. I have been informed that it is known to florists, as 
 
 1 "Lectures on the Conservation of Energy," Medical Times and Gazette, 
 vol. i, p. 415, 1864. 
 
28 ORIGINATION OF FOOD. 
 
 the result of practical observation, that in the case of the variegated- 
 leaved geranium, a slip that may happen to be possessed of white 
 leaves only will not grow alone like other slips. The absence of 
 chlorophyll explains the non-capacity to effect the changes necessary 
 for growth. 
 
 The solar beam is composed of rays possessing different properties 
 and different degrees of refrangibility, and the question has been 
 raised what part of the solar spectrum exerts greatest power over 
 vegetable growth? The colored rays produced by passing a pencil 
 of light through a prism are arranged in the following order : 
 
 Violet, Yellow, 
 
 Indigo, Orange, 
 
 Blue, Ked. 
 Green, 
 
 The greatest illuminating power of the spectrum, is in the brightest 
 yellow rays, whilst the greatest heating power is in rays below the 
 red, and therefore less refrangible than any of the colored rays ; 
 while the greatest chemical power power of effecting chemical 
 change is in the rays at the other extremity of the spectrum, namely, 
 the violet, and still more the invisible rays just above. 
 
 Draper, from experiments conducted in 1843, states that on 
 causing plants to effect the decomposition of carbonic acid in the 
 prismatic spectrum, he found the yellow rays by far the most effec- 
 tive. The relative power of the various colored rays he asserts to 
 have been' as follows : 
 
 Yellow, Blue, 
 
 Green, Indigo, 
 
 Orange, Violet. 
 Ked, 
 
 In opposition to the conclusion arrived at by Draper, it is affirmed 
 by others that it is to the blue and violet rays that must be referred 
 the maximum power of effecting the decomposition of carbonic acid 
 through the medium of the plant. Helmholtz 1 says: "The obser- 
 vations upon vegetable life have shown that plants can grow only 
 
 1 "Lectures on the Conservation of Energy," Medical Times and Gazette, 
 vol. i, 1864, p. 473. 
 
ACTION OF VEGETABLE LIFE. 29 
 
 under the influence of solar light, and that as long as solar light, and 
 principally the more refrangible parts of solar light, the blue and 
 violet rays, fall upon the green parts of plants, the plants take in 
 carbonic acid and exhale oxygen." He further remarks that in ex- 
 erting this influence these rays are completely absorbed ; for it can 
 be shown that solar light which has passed through green leaves in 
 full development is no longer capable of exerting any chemical in- 
 fluence. 
 
 I have spoken of light as a factor in the construction of organic 
 compounds by the plant. The elements of which these organic 
 compounds consist are drawn from the inorganic kingdom, and 
 chiefly, as Liebig pointed out, from carbonic acid, water, and am- 
 monia principles which all exist to a greater or less extent in the 
 atmosphere, and from the atmosphere are to a large extent, if not 
 entirely, derived. In the case of the low vegetable organisms which 
 become developed in moist situations as a green layer on the barren 
 surface of rocks and stones, the elements required for their growth 
 must have been derived solely from the atmosphere. In the case of 
 the higher organisms, however, the elements of growth are drawn 
 from the soil as well as the atmosphere. Humus, which forms the 
 constituent of the soil which supplies these elements, consists of the 
 decaying remains of organic products. But it is not as organic 
 matter that humus serves as food to the plant ; that is, it is not the 
 organic matter itself that is utilized. It is, on the other hand, as a 
 source of carbonic acid and ammonia, principles resulting from its 
 decomposition, that it owes its position in relation to the alimenta- 
 tion of plants. 
 
 The stages passed through in the history of vegetable life leading 
 to the provision of a fitting supply of food for animal existence may 
 be thus represented : Beginning, let us say, with a barren surface of 
 rock, which may have been freshly exposed to the atmosphere from 
 some subterranean, volcanic, or other agency, the germs of low vege- 
 table organisms settling upon it, extract from the atmosphere their 
 elements of growth. Passing through their term of life they die, 
 and fresh ones spring up and similarly live and die. So the process 
 goes on, higher and higher forms making their appearance. The 
 decaying remains of this primitive growth incrust what was a barren 
 surface with a layer of earth or mould, in which ultimately the 
 highest plants find a suitable position for taking root and growing. 
 
30 ORIGINATION OF FOOD. 
 
 Thus clothed with vegetation, a fit locality is provided for the sup- 
 port of animal life, animal beings finding in the vegetable products 
 now existing the necessary material for their subsistence. 
 
 It may be mentioned here that there is one class of vegetable 
 organisms the Fungi which seems to occupy an exceptional posi- 
 tion, and to resemble animals in being dependent upon organic prod- 
 ucts for their growth. It is possible, however, that the seeming 
 appropriation of organic matter may be more apparent than real, 
 and that the dependence upon organic matter may arise from a 
 specially large and constant supply of carbonic acid and ammonia 
 being required as a condition of growth. Still, it must be said that 
 this class of vegetable organisms is not dependent for growth upon 
 light like the others, has no green surfaces for decomposing carbonic 
 acid, and, in fact, instead of absorbing carbonic acid and setting free 
 oxygen, does as is the case with animals, precisely the reverse. 
 
 These are strong arguments in favor of growth from an appropri- 
 ation of organic compounds ; but there is this to be remarked, that 
 the growth in question occurs only where decay is going on, and 
 there is nothing, at all events, to show that any other than organic 
 compounds in a state of decomposition can be made use of. 
 
 The chief elements of the various organic compounds built up by 
 the agency of vegetable life are carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, 
 sulphur, and phosphorus ; and the following may be regarded as the 
 sources from which they are derived. 
 
 In the above enumeration carbon is mentioned first as being the 
 element which occurs by far the most extensively in organic nature. 
 Large as is the quantity of carbon entering into the composition of 
 organic substances, the main, if not the entire source from which it 
 is derived is the carbonic acid in the atmosphere. According, how- 
 ever, to Saussure, the amount of carbonic acid contained in air is not, 
 as a mean, more that one part, by volume, in two thousand ; but 
 then it must be remembered that it is constantly being generated, 
 not only as a product of animal life, but from various processes 
 carried on around us. 
 
 Now, it appears that the leaves and other green parts of plants 
 are continually absorbing this carbonic acid, and, with the aid of 
 light, effecting its decomposition, the oxygen being exhaled and the 
 carbon detained and applied to the production of organic substances. 
 Whilst it is only by the leaves and green surfaces that carbonic acid 
 
ACTION OF VEGETABLE LIFE. 31 
 
 is decomposed and oxygen liberated, it is probable that its absorp- 
 tion is not limited to those parts, but that some enters through the 
 roots, this being derived from the. process of decomposition going on 
 in the organic matter of the soil, and from the carbonic acid carried 
 down from the atmosphere with the rain. 
 
 Striking as it may seem, yet there are sufficient grounds for be- 
 lieving that the vast store of carbon contained in forests, of whatever 
 extent we may encounter, has been derived in the manner above 
 mentioned. Geological investigations render it almost certain that 
 at one time the atmosphere was far richer in carbonic acid than it is 
 now, and that vegetation also was proportionately more luxuriant. 
 
 The absorption of carbonic acid and exhalation of oxygen which 
 take place in plants under the influence of light constitutes, then, a 
 process of alimentation. The reverse process the absorption of 
 oxygen and exhalation of carbonic acid a process which forms one 
 of the principal phenomena of animal life occurs also to some ex- 
 tent in plants, and stands out unconcealed during the night, when 
 from the absence of light there is no decomposition of carbonic acid 
 and liberation of oxygen going on. It also occurs as the result of 
 certain operations of plant life, as, for instance, during germina- 
 tion, flowering, and fruiting. 
 
 Hydrogen and oxygen are supplied to an unlimited extent to 
 plants under the form of water. In the production of the carbo- 
 hydrate group of organic compounds; that is, compounds such as 
 starch, sugar, dextrin, gum, cellulose, &c., in which carbon is united 
 with hydrogen and oxygen in the proportion to form w r ater, it is 
 possible that water is directly assimilated, although this is by no 
 means an ascertained fact. In a large number of other compounds, 
 however, it is evident from their composition that for water to serve 
 for their production its elements must undergo separation. The 
 oleaginous compounds, for instance, chiefly consist of carbon and 
 hydrogen. The amount of oxygen present is very much less than 
 that required to form water with their hydrogen. For this element 
 to be appropriated a deoxidation must occur, and it is believed that 
 some of the oxygen exhaled by the plant under the influence of light 
 has its source, not only in carbonic acid, but likewise in water. 
 
 Although plants are freely surrounded with nitrogen this ele- 
 ment forming the large constituent it does of the atmosphere, yet it 
 is not from the atmosphere that the nitrogen of organic matter is 
 
32 ORIGINATION OF FOOD. 
 
 derived. The researches of Saussure and Boussingau.lt have demon- 
 strated that plants are incapable of appropriating the free nitrogen 
 of the atmosphere and elaborating it into organic matter. Liebig's 
 view, and it is one which is by common consent indorsed, is that the 
 nitrogen of organic matter is derived from ammonia. This able 
 chemist was the first to show that ammonia is a constant constituent 
 of the atmosphere. It is true that the quantity in which it is 
 present is so small that it cannot be recognized except by abstraction 
 from a large volume of air. It may be removed and its quantity 
 determined (" On the Estimation of Ammonia in Atmospheric Air/ 7 
 by Horace T. Brown, " Proceedings of the Royal Society," vol. 
 xviii, p. 286) by passing a given volume of air through water 
 slightly acidulated with sulphuric acid. It is also susceptible of 
 recognition in rain-water, where it exists under the form of carbo- 
 nate. Ammonia, like carbonic acid, forms a product of the decom- 
 position of organic matter. The nitrogen of organic matter, indeed, 
 is returned to the inorganic kingdom under the form of ammonia. 
 Thus in humus we have a source of ammonia which, doubtless, com- 
 bines with some of the carbonic acid also generated, and in this state 
 is in great part dissipated into the atmosphere. The great volatility 
 of the product would lead to this result. Diffused through the at- 
 mosphere it would "be abstracted by rain and snow, and in this way 
 carried back to the earth, to be brought in contact with the roots of 
 plants, through which its absorption is supposed to be effected. Ac- 
 cording to Liebig, ammonia enters the vegetable organism in com- 
 bination with carbonic or sulphuric acid, while, according to Mulder, 
 the combination is with the acids he describes as existing in humus. 
 Nitrogen forms an element which is of the highest importance to 
 vegetable as well as to animal life. It is not only necessary that it 
 should enter into the constitution of vegetable substances so that 
 animals may obtain a supply of it with their food, but it forms an 
 indispensable element in relation to the molecular changes of the 
 plant as well as of the animal. Wherever living changes are carried 
 on nitrogenized matter is present. The proclivity of this to change 
 forms one of its most characteristic qualities, and the changes it 
 undergoes induce changes of a definite kind in other matter which 
 per se has a tendency to remain at rest. Thus, in nitrogenized mat- 
 ter we have, as it were, the requisite starting-point for the various 
 changes which result in the phenomena of life. 
 
FORMATION OF ORGANIC COMPOUNDS. 33 
 
 The four elements which have been referred to, viz., carbon, hydro- 
 gen, oxygen, and nitrogen, form by far the chief constituents of or- 
 ganic compounds, but sulphur and phosphorus are also present, to a 
 small extent, bound up with the other elements in certain organic 
 principles. Sulphur, for example, is met with in casein, and both 
 sulphur and phosphorus in fibrin and albumen. The probable 
 source of these elements is sulphates and phosphates, the acids of the 
 salts undergoing deoxidation through the medium of the operations 
 carried on in the plant, in the same manner as occurs in the case of 
 carbonic acid. 
 
 As yet I have been referring merely to the source of the elements 
 entering into the constitution of the^organic compounds produced 
 by plants, and upon this point it may be considered that our infor- 
 mation is pretty definite. The precise mode, however, in which 
 these elements are combined or elaborated into the infinite variety 
 of organic compounds existing is quite another matter, and one 
 which (it must be conceded) belongs as yet only to the domain of 
 hypothesis. The point has been the subject of many laborious re- 
 searches, conducted by some of the most distinguished observers, 
 but, in spite of these attempts to elucidate it, we have at present 
 little or nothing beyond conjecture to deal with. It may be fairly 
 surmised, however, that the production of the higher compounds is 
 effected step by step, or by a series of transition stages, and not by a 
 direct or immediate union of the elements entering into their com- 
 position. Whatever the exact changes that ensue, there can be no 
 doubt that they proceed in a definite and precise order. In organic 
 nature we know that change induces change, and the change first 
 set in motion in the act of growth may be regarded as starting the 
 changes which produce the various organic compounds met with. 
 Bodies in contact with changing matter are within the sphere of 
 influence of a metabolic or metamorphosing force, and to the opera- 
 tion of this force is to be ascribed much that occurs as the result of 
 living action. 
 
 It is the formation of organic compounds which constitutes the 
 special province of the plant to effect in relation to the production 
 of food. Food, however, to fulfil the requirements of animal life, 
 must contain certain mineral or inorganic as well as organic prin- 
 ciples a supply of the former being quite as indispensable as a 
 supply of the latter. But we need not concern ourselves about a 
 
 3 
 
34 ORIGINATION OF FOOD. 
 
 separate supply of mineral matter. The productions of nature wisely 
 contain in combination all that is wanted. It happens that, besides 
 being furnished with carbonic acid, water, and ammonia, for the 
 formation of organic compounds, plants require for their growth a 
 supply of saline principles. These they draw from the surrounding 
 soil, and a portion of the advantage accruing to vegetable growth 
 from the employment of manure is owing to the mineral matter it 
 contains, and which is thereby given to the soil. 
 
 In appropriating mineral matter as an element of nutrition, the 
 plant exercises a selective action. It is found, for instance, that some 
 of the saline compounds belonging to the soil, and not others, are 
 present, that they are present in different proportions as regards each 
 other, and to a different extent in different parts of the plant. Min- 
 eral matter holds, in fact, a definite relation to the component parts 
 of a plant, and probably enters into some sort of combination with 
 the organic constituents. 
 
 Thus, in vegetable products we find not only the organic, but like- 
 wise the inorganic matter we require ; and, in taking up and apply- 
 ing mineral matter as it does to its own purposes of growth as well 
 as forming organic compounds, the vegetable organism contributes 
 in a complete manner towards the supply of what is wanted for ani- 
 mal nutrition. 
 
 A reciprocal relation, however, it must be observed, in reality 
 exists between what is supplied and what is wanted. We are as 
 much adapted to the appropriation of the food supplied to us as our 
 food is adapted to our wants. Were we not so adapted existence 
 would be impossible for us. In nature all things are mutually 
 adapted to each other. 
 
 In what has been said about the production of food by the vege- 
 table kingdom for animal subsistence, it is seen that animals and 
 plants stand in direct antagonism to each other, as regards the re- 
 sults of the main operations of life. Plants draw their food from 
 the inorganic kingdom, and produce organic compounds. Animals 
 find their food in these organic compounds, and, in applying them 
 to the purposes of life, reconvert them into inorganic principles. 
 In the appropriation of inorganic matter, as food, plants absorb car- 
 bonic acid, and set free oxygen. Animals, in their consumption of 
 organic matter, absorb oxygen and give out carbonic acid. Thus, 
 animal life and vegetable life stand in complemental relation to 
 
RESULTS OF ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE LIFE. 35 
 
 each other, and it is in accordance with the requirements for the 
 persistence of living nature upon the surface of our planet that it 
 should be so. If the operations of animal and vegetable life pro- 
 ceeded in one and the same direction only, the effect would be a 
 gradual alteration of the chemical arrangement of matter, until a 
 state of things was arrived at unfit for the further continuance of 
 life. Under the existing order of things animals and plants in such 
 a manner neutralize each other's effects upon surrounding matter 
 that they balance each other's operations, and thereby maintain a 
 state of uniformity. 
 
THE 
 
 CONSTITUENT ELEMENTS OF FOOD. 
 
 OF the various elements known to exist in nature only a limited 
 number enter into the constitution of living bodies. The following is a 
 list of those found as constituents of the human body. The first four, 
 namely, carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen, exist in far larger 
 quantity than any of the others. As for those which occur towards 
 the end of the list, they are present only in exceedingly minute 
 quantity, if, indeed, they are invariably present. It is more than 
 doubtful if they are to be regarded as essential constituents. 
 
 Carbon, 
 
 Hydrogen, 
 
 Oxygen, 
 
 Nitrogen, 
 
 Sulphur, 
 
 Phosphorus, 
 
 Chlorine, 
 
 Sodium, 
 
 Potassium, 
 
 Calcium, 
 
 Magnesium, 
 
 Iron, 
 
 Fluorine, 
 
 Silicon, 
 
 Manganese, 
 
 Aluminium, 
 
 Copper. 
 
 The food being the source from which the elements forming the 
 constituents of the body are derived, it follows that food must con- 
 tain all the elements which are there met with. No article can, as 
 food, satisfy the requirements of life that fails to comply with this 
 condition. 
 
ALIMENTARY PRINCIPLES: 
 
 CLASSIFICATIONS, CHEMICAL RELATIONS, DIGESTION, 
 ASSIMILATION, AND PHYSIOLOGICAL USES. 
 
 ALTHOUGH it is necessary that our food should contain the ele- 
 ments that have been enumerated and contain them in such pro- 
 portion as to furnish the requisite amount of each to the system 
 yet it is not with these elements as such that, from an alimentary 
 point of view, we have to deal. It is only in a state of combination 
 that the elements are of any service to us as food ; and, as has been 
 already mentioned, the combination must have been formed by the 
 agency of a living organism the combination must, in other words, 
 constitute an organic product. 
 
 Xow, taking the different organic products which nature affords 
 us as food, we find that they may, by analysis, be resolved into a 
 variety of definite compounds. These constitute what are known as 
 "alimentary principles," in contradistinction to "alimentary sub- 
 stances," or the articles of food as supplied to us by nature. 
 
 In a scientific consideration of food it is necessary to speak first 
 of the alimentary principles. It is only, indeed, by looking at it 
 through its constituent principles that we are in a position to dis- 
 cuss its physiological bearings, and I will begin by pointing out the 
 most convenient division and classification to be adopted. 
 
 Popularly, the ingesta are looked upon as consisting of food and 
 drink, the one supplying us with solid, the other with liquid, matter. 
 Superficially, this appears a natural and convenient mode of primary 
 grouping, but in a physiological point of view it is completely worth- 
 less. " Food " and " drink " constitute terms referring only to the 
 particular state in which an article for consumption may happen to 
 
38 ALIMENTARY PRINCIPLES. 
 
 exist viz., whether it is in a solid or a liquid form. What is drunk, 
 for instance, and this holds good particularly in the case of milk, 
 may be rich in food or solid matter, and in the food we consume 
 there is invariably a large proportion of liquid matter. 
 Physiologically, then, the separation of the ingesta into " food " 
 and " drink " is unsuitable. The two material factors of life are 
 food and air ; and food may be considered as comprising that which 
 contributes to the growth and nutrition of the body, and, by oxida- 
 tion, to force-production. Regarded in this comprehensive light, 
 food embraces both solid and liquid matter ; and the primary natural 
 division is into organic and inorganic portions that is, combinations 
 of elements producible only through the agency of life ; and chemi- 
 cal combinations drawn simply from the mineral kingdom and in- 
 corporated with the others. 
 
 The inorganic portion of food consists of water and various saline 
 principles. The organic portion may be subdivided into compounds 
 of which nitrogen forms a constituent, and compounds from which 
 it is absent ; in other words, into nitrogenized and non-nitrogenized 
 compounds. The non-nitrogenized alimentary principles are com- 
 posed of the three elements carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen, vari- 
 ously united together, whilst the nitrogenized likewise contain these 
 three elements, but, in addition, nitrogen ; and, for the most part, 
 sulphur, or sulphur and phosphorus as well. 
 
 Liebig, regarding the nitrogenized and non-nitrogenized principles 
 as contributing to quite distinct purposes in the animal economy, re- 
 ferred to them as forming the basis of a physiological classification. 
 The former he looked upon as destined for appropriation towards 
 the growth and maintenance of the components of the body, and 
 therefore he called them " plastic elements of nutrition." The latter 
 he regarded as simply designed for undergoing oxidation, and, in 
 this way, for serving as a source of heat. These he termed " ele- 
 ments of respiration ;" but the expression, it must be said, does not 
 properly convey what is meant, and Dr. R. Dundas Thomson sug- 
 gested that the term " calorifiant " should be employed instead. 
 " Calorifacient," however, is a more appropriate word, and by gen- 
 eral consent has been adopted. 
 
 It stands to reason that for the growth and repair of the various 
 textures of the body, as these have nitrogen forming an essential 
 ingredient of their constitution, nitrogenized compounds must be 
 
CLASSIFICATION OF FOOD. 39 
 
 supplied ; but, from what is now known, it must also be said that 
 these compounds are likewise susceptible of application to heat pro- 
 duction. They are truly, indeed, " histogenetic," or tissue-forming 
 materials, but, by the separation of urea (which is known to occur 
 in their metamorphosis in the animal system), a hydro-carbonaceous 
 compound is left, which may be appropriated to heat production. It 
 may be asserted, in fact, that there is sufficient to show that the ni- 
 trogenized principles in reality subserve both purposes in the animal 
 economy. 
 
 In fat, again, we have a non-nitrogenous principle, and one belong- 
 ing, therefore, to the calorifacient group. There is every reason, 
 however, to believe that fat is essential to tissue-development. It 
 seems to .be intrinsically mixed up with nitrogenized matter in the 
 animal textures. Certainly, it may be said to be directly applied 
 towards the formation of adipose tissue. Fat, therefore, takes rank 
 as a nutrient no less than as a calorifacient principle. 
 
 Hence, Liebig's definition is not to be accepted in a rigid sense. 
 Although nitrogenized principles constitute true "elements of nutri- 
 tion/' yet it neither follows nor appears likely that they are limited to 
 this purpose. Fats are undoubtedly important calorifacient princi- 
 ples, and cannot per se supply what is required for tissue-develop- 
 ment; they, nevertheless, take part in the process. According to our 
 current views, which will be discussed more fully further on, fats are 
 also concerned, in a manner not previously suspected, in muscular 
 force-production. Taking all these considerations into account, 
 Liebig's classification loses the scientific force it was originally sup- 
 posed to possess. The subdivision of the organic portion of food, 
 however, into nitrogenized and non-nitrogenized groups is still prac- 
 tically and physiologically convenient. 
 
 Prout proposed a classification which arranged food in four groups 
 of principles, viz.: (1) the aqueous, (2) the saccharine, (3) the olea- 
 ginous, and (4) the albuminous. 
 
 This classification, it will be seen, fails to include saline matter, 
 which, as already said, forms an element indispensable to nutrition. 
 The saccharine and oleaginous groups comprise non-nitrogenized 
 principles, while the albuminous comprehends the nitrogenized. 
 
 The classification that will be adopted in this treatise is one which 
 involves no expression of physiological destination, but is based on 
 
40 ALIMENTARY PRINCIPLES. 
 
 the chemical nature of the principles. It is first assumed that food 
 falls naturally into 
 
 Organic, and 
 Inorganic, divisions. 
 
 Next, that the organic is subdivisible into- 
 Nitrogenous, and 
 Non-nitrogenous ; 
 
 and further that the non-nitrogenous is naturally and conveniently 
 again subdivisible into 
 
 Fats and 
 Carbohydrates: 
 
 the former consisting of carbon and hydrogen in combination with 
 only a small amount of oxygen ; the latter of carbon with oxygen 
 and hydrogen always in such relation to each other as to be in the 
 exact proportion to form water. To this latter group belong such 
 principles as starch, sugar, gum, &c. 
 
 It must be observed that there are a few principles which do not 
 strictly fall within either of the preceding groups. Such, for in- 
 stance, as alcohol, the vegetable acids, and pectin or vegetable jelly. 
 Alcohol occupies an intermediate place between the fats and carbo- 
 hydrates, whilst the others are even more oxidized compounds than 
 the carbohydrates in other words, contain a larger amount of 
 oxygen than is required for the conversion of their hydrogen into 
 w^ater. These principles are hardly of sufficient importance, in an 
 alimentary point of view, to call for their consideration under a dis- 
 tinct head, and they will therefore be spoken of in connection with 
 the carbohydrates. 
 
 Having said thus much upon the classification of the alimentary 
 principles, I shall next speak of them in relation to their respective 
 physiological bearings, taking the groups in the following order : 
 
 1. Nitrogenous principles. 
 
 2. Hydrocarbons or Fats. 
 
 3. Carbohydrates. 
 
 4. Inorganic materials. 
 
THE 
 
 NITROGENOUS ALIMENTARY PRINCIPLES. 
 
 NITROGEN enters largely into the composition of the animal body. 
 It therefore requires to be freely supplied from without. Although 
 living in an atmosphere about four-fifths of which consist of nitro- 
 gen, yet it is not from this source (though the question was formerly 
 entertained) that our supply of nitrogen is drawn. Nitrogen, to be 
 available for us, must be supplied in a state of combination. It is 
 not, indeed, with nitrogen in the form of an element that we have 
 anything to do in the question of alimentation, but only with com- 
 pounds containing it, and such compounds, it may be said (as re- 
 gards animal alimentation), that have been produced under the 
 influence of life that is, compounds which answer to the name of 
 " organic." 
 
 Organic nitrogenous matter, then, and not nitrogen, is what we 
 require to have supplied to us, and what alone we have to deal with 
 physiologically. Such nitrogenous matter must, therefore, constitute 
 an essential ingredient of our food, and we find that it there exists 
 under various chemical forms. 
 
 Chemists recognize several well-defined compounds amongst the 
 nitrogenous matter found in different articles of food. Besides these, 
 there may be some nitrogenous matter which is still susceptible of 
 being used, but which has not yet been specialized, and which in an 
 analysis would fall among the extractives. This, however, cannot 
 be sufficient in amount to be of much significance. 
 
 If we look at the nitrogenized alimentary principles which have 
 been made known, some are characterized by yielding protein when 
 subjected to the action of an alkali and heat, whilst from others no 
 protein is similarly to be procured. The former comprise the albu- 
 minous group, and are often referred to as the protein compounds ; 
 the latter constitute the gelatinous principles. 
 
42 ALIMENTARY PRINCIPLES. 
 
 When the discovery of protein was first of all made by Mulder, the 
 substance was regarded as forming the base or radical of the albu- 
 minous principles. It contains the four elements carbon, hydrogen, 
 oxygen, and nitrogen ; and each of the albuminous principles was 
 regarded as simply resulting from the combination of the supposed 
 base with different quantities of sulphur and phosphorus, or sulphur 
 only. It must be stated, however, that there is nothing to show 
 that protein really exists in the compounds from which it is to be 
 obtained. It can be regarded only as a product of the chemical 
 process to which it is necessary to subject the compounds to obtain 
 it. Looked at in this light, it constitutes a chemical and not a 
 physiological principle. It, therefore, has no direct physiological 
 bearing, but it nevertheless serves to link together certain important 
 physiological compounds. 
 
 The albuminous or protein compounds comprise such as albumen, 
 fibrin, and casein, with some others, which form modifications of 
 these. 
 
 Albumen may be looked upon as the most important representa- 
 tive of the protein group. It consists of the four elements carbon, 
 oxygen, hydrogen, and nitrogen, with the addition of some sulphur 
 and phosphorus. As it is met with in animal productions, it is in 
 such intimate union with fatty, alkaline, and earthy matter, that it 
 is with some difficulty separable from them. It varies to some 
 extent in its behavior, as it is obtained from different sources. The 
 albumen of the blood, for instance, does not agree in all respects 
 with the albumen of the white of egg. One of the most striking 
 properties of albumen is its coagulability upon the application of 
 heat. It, therefore, exists under two states, viz., soluble and coag- 
 ulated albumen. 
 
 Albumen may be regarded as the pabulum in the blood from 
 which the different animal tissues are evolved. That it can afford 
 per se the nitrogenous matter required for nutrition is proved by its 
 being the principle in the egg from which are developed the nitro- 
 genous tissues of the chick. 
 
 Fibrin is characterized by its property of undergoing spontaneous 
 coagulation. It is composed of the same elements as albumen, but 
 contains a larger proportionate amount of sulphur, and also a rather 
 larger quantity of oxygen. The fibrin of muscular tissue is not 
 
NITROGENOUS COMPOUNDS. 43 
 
 identical with the fibrin of blood. It will be referred to under the 
 head of syntonin. 
 
 Casein forms the protein compound of milk. It is distinguisha- 
 ble from fibrin by not undergoing spontaneous coagulation, and from 
 albumen by not being coagulable by heat, and by being thrown down 
 by organic acids which do not precipitate albumen. Besides the 
 four elements carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, and nitrogen it contains 
 sulphur, but no phosphorus. It is remarkable for the large quantity 
 of phosphate of lime which it is capable of holding bound up with 
 it, and the tenacity with which it retains it. There is, it should be 
 stated, a little uncertainty regarding the chemical constitution of 
 casein. By some it is regarded, not as a simple, but as a compound 
 body a body composed (in reality) of a combination of two or more 
 others. 
 
 Besides these well-known protein compounds there are modifica- 
 tions of them which have been particularized by chemists, and the 
 following may be referred to as connected with the subject of food. 
 
 Vitellin is the name given to the modified form of albumen which 
 exists in the yolk of the egg. There are certain points in which 
 this substance comports itself differently with reagents from ordinary 
 albumen. 
 
 Globulin is the albuminoid matter existing in the fluid contents 
 of the blood-corpuscle. It is there intimately associated with, but, 
 nevertheless, quite distinct from, the coloring matter. The same 
 principle is also found in the crystalline lens of the eye. Different 
 opinions have been expressed regarding the true position it holds. 
 Lecanu looked upon it as identical with albumen ; Simon with casein; 
 while Lehmann remarks that he would be disposed to place it by the 
 side of vitellin, if the elementary analysis were not opposed to that 
 view. 
 
 Syntonin, or muscle-fibrin, was first recognized as a distinct sub- 
 stance from blood-fibrin by Liebig. Among the properties in which 
 it differs from blood-fibrin one of the most striking is its ready 
 solubility in a weak solution of hydrochloric acid. Over blood- 
 fibrin a watery solution of hydrochloric acid has no solvent power. 
 It causes it only to swell up. 
 
 The protein compounds have as yet been referred to only as they 
 occur in animal productions. But vegetable productions also con- 
 tain compounds which, in the language of Liebig, are not only simi- 
 
44 ALIMENTARY PRINCIPLES. 
 
 lar to, but absolutely identical with, the albumen, fibrin, and casein 
 of the animal kingdom. 
 
 Vegetable albumen is contained in wheat and the other seeds of the 
 cerealia. The juices of most vegetables, such as turnips, carrots, 
 cauliflower, cabbage, &c., yield more or less precipitate with heat by 
 virtue of its presence. It is also found in considerable abundance 
 in association with vegetable casein in the oily seeds, such as almonds, 
 nuts, &c. 
 
 Vegetable fibrin, like albumen, is also found in the cereal seeds. 
 It remains behind when flour is washed with a stream of water for 
 the extraction of gluten. The albumen, starch, &c., are carried away 
 with the water, and a tenacious mass is left, which is known as crude 
 gluten. It is not this which constitutes vegetable fibrin, but vege- 
 table fibrin forms a portion of it. By means of boiling alcohol the 
 crude material obtained as above is resolved into two portions. The 
 one which is dissolved consists of gluten and casein, whilst that which 
 remains is vegetable fibrin. Vegetable fibrin also exists in the juice 
 of the grape and most vegetables. 
 
 Vegetable casein can be obtained from peas, beans, and other legu- 
 minous seeds, and is sometimes specially denominated legumin. It 
 also exists, with albumen, in the almond and suchlike oily seeds. 
 
 The gelatinous principles constitute nitrogenous compounds, but do 
 not yield protein like the compounds that have just been referred to. 
 They comprise gelatin and chondrin, and are obtainable only from 
 animal products : gelatin from bone and other structures containing 
 fibrous tissue, and chondrin from cartilage. The most striking 
 property they possess is that of their aqueous solution gelatinizing 
 upon cooling. It is gelatin which forms the basis of soups. Besides 
 carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen, as constituent elements, a 
 small amount of sulphur appears also to be present. They contain 
 no phosphorus. 
 
 The question has been raised, and largely discussed, as to whether 
 gelatin and chondrin exist in the tissues, or are formed in the pro- 
 cess of obtaining them, viz., the prolonged boiling of the tissue in 
 water. On looking at the chemical properties of gelatin, we notice 
 that it forms an insoluble compound with tannic acid. Now, it is 
 well known that a structure which yields gelatin, on being soaked in 
 a solution of tannic acid, gives rise to the formation of the compound 
 mentioned. It is this, indeed, which forms the basis of leather, a 
 
DIGESTION OF THE NITROGENOUS PRINCIPLES. 45 
 
 fact which is strongly in favor of gelatin really existing as a constit- 
 uent of the animal body. 
 
 It has been stated that the gelatinous principles which have fallen 
 under consideration are to be obtained only from animal products. 
 No nitrogenous compound of the kind is met with in vegetable ma- 
 terials. The jelly yielded by fruits and some other vegetable sub- 
 stances is quite a different article. It consists only of the three ele- 
 ments carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, and is known chemically as 
 pectin and pectic acid. 
 
 All the nitrogenous principles must undergo digestion before they 
 can enter the system. Digestion, in fact, is simply a process which 
 has for its object to fit substances for absorption into the system ; 
 and the nitrogenous principles are in a state to resist absorption, cer- 
 tainly to any material extent, until they have been liquefied and 
 transformed by the agency of digestion. 
 
 Beyond being mechanically comminuted or reduced to a more or 
 less finely divided state in the mouth, our nitrogenous food under- 
 goes no change until it reaches the stomach. In this organ it is 
 brought into contact with a secretion, the gastric juice, which has the 
 effect of dissolving and transforming it into a principle which pos- 
 sesses the important property of being highly diffusible, and thereby 
 readily transmissible from the alimentary canal into the bloodves- 
 sels. With all the nitrogenous alimentary principles the result is 
 the same. They each, under the influence of the gastric juice, lose 
 their characteristic properties and become converted into the highly 
 soluble and diffusible product referred to. 
 
 Mialhe was the first to recognize this product of the digestion of 
 the nitrogenous principles, and gave it the name of albuminose. 
 Peptone is the name which has since been applied to it by Lehmann. 
 Mialhe held that the substance obtained by the digestion of the pro- 
 tein bodies was identical with that obtained from the gelatinous 
 principle's. This would bring the latter into precisely the same po- 
 sition with regard to nutrition as the former. Although our knowl- 
 edge about the precise extent of capacity of gelatin as an article of 
 nutrition cannot be looked upon as complete, yet the information 
 before us justifies the inference that it does not possess the same 
 capabilities as an albuminoid substance. If such be true, the prod- 
 
46 ALIMENTARY PRINCIPLES. 
 
 nets of digestion of the two cannot be completely identical, however 
 much they may resemble each other in their general properties. 
 
 It has been stated that, by the action of the stomach, the various 
 principles composing our nitrogenous food lose their characteristic 
 properties, and become converted into a substance which has received 
 the designation of peptone from one, and album inose from another. 
 Fibrin is dissolved, and is not susceptible of again solidifying. Al- 
 bumen in a fluid form is not precipitated, as has been asserted, and 
 then redissolved, but simply transformed. Albumen in the solid or 
 coagulated state is dissolved, and fails to be again coagulable. 
 Casein is first rendered solid, or curdled, and then redissolved. It 
 is now no longer susceptible of being thrown down. Gelatin is 
 liquefied, and cannot again be made to gelatinize. 
 
 No matter from what principle a digested product or peptone has 
 been obtained, the following are the characters which are found to 
 belong to it. It is soluble to the highest degree in water, and it 
 signifies nothing whether the liquid is in the acid, neutral, or alka- 
 line state. It is not precipitable from its aqueous solution by heat. 
 It is soluble in dilute alcohol, but absolute alcohol precipitates it. 
 It is an uncrystallizable substance, devoid of odor and almost of 
 taste. In a physiological point of view its most important property 
 is the high degree of diffusibility it enjoys. It is designed for re- 
 moval from the alimentary canal by absorption, and, by possessing 
 the property referred to, a physically favorable disposition exists for 
 the accomplishment of what is wanted. 
 
 The nitrogenous alimentary principles, then, on reaching the stom- 
 ach, are fitted for absorption by undergoing transformation into a 
 highly soluble and diffusible substance. The change, we know, is 
 wrought by the secretion of the stomach, although the precise modus 
 operandi cannot be explained. There are two indispensable ingredi- 
 ents of the gastric juice, viz., pepsin (a neutral nitrogenized princi- 
 ple) and an acid. Pepsin is a secretory product, peculiar to, and 
 therefore obtainable only from, the stomach. About the acid there 
 is nothing peculiar, and different views have been held regarding the 
 kind of acid that is naturally present. With the combination of 
 pepsin and acid a liquid is obtained which dissolves nitrogenous 
 matter in the same manner out of as within the stomach. Accord- 
 ing to Lehmann, it is only hydrochloric and lactic acids and these, 
 the same authority affirms, give the acidity to the natural secretion 
 
LIBRARY 
 
 COLLEGE OF 
 AGRICULTURE 
 Btrkley. 
 
 OF THE NITROGENOUS PRINCIPLES. 47 
 
 which yield an energetic digestive fluid with pepsin ; but, accord- 
 ing to my own experiments on artificial digestion, other acids, such 
 as the phosphoric, sulphuric, citric, and so on, will equally answer 
 the purpose. 
 
 From the above statements it follows that the solution of nitro- 
 genous food in the stomach is effected by the action of a liquid 
 which owes its virtue to the presence of a couple of principles 
 pepsin and an acid. The action of this liquid is favored by the 
 elevated temperature belonging to the body, and also by the move- 
 ment to which the contents of the stomach are subjected by the ac- 
 tion of the muscular fibres with which the walls of the organ are 
 provided. As it is reduced to a fluid state the food is forced on into 
 the upper bowel. Chyme is what this product of gastric digestion 
 is called. Besides nitrogenous matter in a dissolved state, it con- 
 tains a portion suspended in a finely divided form which has not 
 yet undergone solution, and likewise, in the same state, those con- 
 stituents of the food which resist the solvent action of the stomach. 
 
 The nitrogenous matter which has escaped from the stomach in 
 an undissolved state is submitted to a further digestion in the intes- 
 tine. This may be shown by direct experimental observation. And 
 it is not by a continued action of the gastric juice which passes on 
 with the food in its course, but by an action exerted by the secre- 
 tions poured into the intestine itself. It has been stated that the pres- 
 ence of an acid forms an indispensable factor in gastric digestion. 
 The chyme as it passes on from the stomach is strongly acid. It con- 
 tains nitrogenous matter which has not yet undergone solution, and 
 also gastric juice whose power (it may be inferred) has not become 
 exhausted. So far, we have conditions which suffice for a continu- 
 ance of the process carried on in the stomach. It happens, however, 
 that on reaching the small intestine the chyme encounters alkaline 
 secretions. The pancreatic juice is, to a marked extent, alkaline, 
 and so is also the intestinal juice. The bile likewise contains a 
 quantity of alkali in feeble combination, and easily taken by the 
 gastric juice acid. Thus it happens that the chyme becomes more 
 or less neutralized as the small intestine is being traversed. As the 
 result of observation, in fact, I have noticed that by the time the 
 lower part of the ileum is reached the intestinal contents may be 
 found to present a neutral or even alkaline reaction. In this way, 
 through contact with the secretions poured into the intestine, the 
 
48 ALIMENTARY PRINCIPLES. 
 
 energy of the unexhausted gastric juice contained in the chyme is 
 destroyed, and whatever solution of nitrogenous food now occurs 
 must be due to another agency. 
 
 Let us, therefore, inquire into the effect which the various secre- 
 tions, as they become incorporated with the chyme, are capable of 
 producing. 
 
 First, as regards the intestinal juice. This fluid, it is evident, 
 possesses some solvent influence upon nitrogenous matter. Bidder 
 and Schmidt ascertained by experiment that meat and coagulated 
 albumen contained in a muslin bag undergo, on being placed in the 
 empty small intestine, in which the bile and pancreatic juice are 
 prevented by a ligature from descending, in from four to six hours' 
 time, a considerable amount of digestion. In an experiment per- 
 formed by myself, in which the hind legs of a frog that had been 
 separated from the body, were introduced into the empty small in- 
 testine, secured by a ligature from the descent of secretions from 
 above, I found, after the lapse of six hours, the legs partially di- 
 gested a portion of the skin, for example, having been dissolved 
 away, the muscles underneath it separated, and some of the bones, 
 to a slight extent, exposed. 
 
 Next, as regards the pancreatic juice. Besides its other offices in 
 the animal economy, this liquid acts upon and dissolves nitrogenous 
 matters, as appears from the following considerations. 
 
 In 1836, Purkinje and Pappenheim asserted that the pancreas 
 contained a principle capable of exerting a digestive action upon 
 the nitrogenized elements of food. This statement attracted little 
 attention, and soon dropped out of notice. More recently Lucien 
 Corvisart, of Paris, having reopened the subject, proved, by a series 
 of experiments, that the pancreas, as one of its functions, supple- 
 ments the action of the stomach, and, after a copious meal, contrib- 
 utes to digest those nitrogenous matters which have escaped the 
 stomachic digestion. As far as the result is concerned, the two 
 kinds of digestion, he states, coincide, each leading to the produc- 
 tion of albuminose. While acidity, however, is a necessary condi- 
 tion to digestion in the case of the gastric juice, the pancreatic secre- 
 tion, it is affirmed, possesses the power of acting equally well, what- 
 ever the existing reaction whether acid, neutral, or alkaline. 
 
 In support of his doctrine, Corvisart has adduced three sets of 
 experimental results. 
 
ACTION OF PANCREATIC JUICE. 49 
 
 First. If the pancreas of an animal be taken when its active 
 principle is at its maximum of quantity and quality, that is, from 
 the fourth to the seventh hour after digestion has begun, and it be 
 tln-n finely cut up and infused for an hour in twice its volume of 
 water at a temperature of 20 Cent. (68 Fahr.), and the infusion 
 be at once experimented with, it will be found, he asserts, to possess 
 a power of dissolving the nitrogenized alimentary principles, and 
 converting them into albuminose; and this, with no evidence of pu- 
 trefaction being perceptible, provided the experiment be stopped at 
 the end of four or five hours, in which time, under a temperature of 
 about 100 Fahr., the pancreatic principle will have effected all that 
 it is capable of doing. 
 
 Secondly. The pancreatic juice obtained during life from the duct 
 of the gland is found to be capable of acting, he affirms, as a power- 
 ful solvent on the nitrogenized alimentary principles, when the 
 requisite precautions are taken in conducting the experiment: the 
 juice, that is to say, must be obtained from the fourth to the seventh 
 hour after the ingestion of food, at which time it is charged to its 
 maximum degree with the pancreatic principle; and must also be 
 experimented with immediately after its collection. It dissolves, 
 Corvisart says, fibrin more quickly and more largely than albumen. 
 The, heat being maintained between 42 and 45 Cent. (108 and 
 113 Fahr.), a specimen of pancreatic juice of ordinary energy dis- 
 solves, it is stated, if the mixture be agitated every quarter of an 
 hour, all that it is capable of taking up of fibrin in two or three 
 hours at the most, and of solid albumen in four or five hours; the 
 experiment, up to this time, being attended with no evidence of 
 ordinary decomposition, while, at a subsequent period, ordinary de- 
 composition is found to set in. 
 
 Thirdly. Azotized substances introduced into the duodenum when 
 pancreatic juice is flowing into it are found to be dissolved, notwith- 
 standing the gastric juice and bile are precluded from entering by 
 applying a ligature to the pylorus and bile-duct. 
 
 It is necessary to state that the evidence derivable from the last 
 experiments must not be taken for more than it is really worth,, 
 viewed in relation to pancreatic juice per se. The bile and the 
 gastric juice may, it is true, have been prevented entering the duo- 
 denum, and thereby precluded from contributing to the effect, but it 
 
 4 
 
50 ALIMENTARY PRINCIPLES. 
 
 is impossible to exclude from operation the secretions of Brunner's 
 and the other glands of the duodenum. 
 
 My own experiments with the pancreatic juice at first inclined 
 me to think that the effects producible on nitrogenous matter through 
 the agency of the pancreas were rather like those which result from 
 putrefaction than from true digestion. 
 
 On re-performing the experiments, however, I obtained results 
 which certainly appeared to indicate that some digestive action had 
 been at work. For example, upon operating with the pancreatic 
 infusion, taken conformably with the instructions of Corvisart, I 
 found that frogs 7 hind legs (which, according to my experience, con- 
 stitute one of the most, if not the most, sensitive and distinct tests 
 of digestive action) were, upon some occasions, softened, so that the 
 flesh broke down under very slight pressure, without any evidence of 
 ordinary putrefaction being apparent. The effect, however, was not 
 to be compared with what is observed with artificial gastric juice, and 
 ordinary decomposition is quickly prone to occur, which is not the 
 case in experiments with gastric juice. 
 
 Whatever the power actually enjoyed by the pancreatic juice in 
 this direction, the chief point of interest to us as regards the subject 
 of food is not whether this or that secretion, poured into the intes- 
 tine, will dispose of nitrogenous matter, but whether nitrogenous 
 matter really undergoes digestion in the intestine; and, thus framed, 
 it will be presently seen that the question admits of being answered 
 in a very positive manner. 
 
 The bile forms another secretion, which becomes incorporated with 
 the alimentary matter after its exit from the stomach. There is 
 nothing, however, to show that this fluid possesses any solvent power 
 over the nitrogenized principles of food. 
 
 Remarks have been made upon the action of the secretions taken 
 individually, but as regards the subject of food, the point of great- 
 est interest to us, as has been already said, is what occurs within the 
 intestine when all the secretions are allowed to enter. Experiment 
 shows that there is a very powerful solvent action exerted, and, as I 
 can state from personal investigation, a few hours suffice for nitro- 
 genous matter, introduced directly into the upper part of the small 
 intestine, to be completely digested. With reference, therefore, to 
 the digestion of nitrogenous matter, the intestine may undoubtedly 
 .be regarded as performing a part supplementary to that of the 
 
PRODUCTION OF ALBUMINOSE. 51 
 
 stomach. Besides its other functions, it serves to complete the di- 
 gestion of whatever nitrogenous alimentary matter may have escaped 
 the digestive action of the stomach, and it may be remarked that 
 the same result namely, the production of albuminose or peptone 
 occurs as when the solution has been effected in the stomach. 
 
 Reviewing the stages that are passed through preliminary to the 
 appropriation of nitrogenous matter within the system, we have seen 
 that, through the agency of the stomach and of the intestine, it un- 
 dergoes conversion into a principle which, from its diffusible nature, 
 is readily susceptible of absorption, and it is in this form, viz., as 
 albuminose, that the various nitrogenous alimentary principles reach 
 the circulation. 
 
 The conversion, of the nitrogenous alimentary matters into albu- 
 minose is necessary, it has further to be remarked, not only as a 
 process preparatory to absorption, but also as fitting them for subse- 
 quent application to their proper destination. It cannot absolutely 
 be affirmed that no absorption whatever occurs without previous 
 conversion into albuminose; but this much is certain, that the amount 
 so absorbed must be very trifling, and it can be shown that if they 
 directly reach the circulation in any quantity they visibly pass off 
 without being applied to the purposes of the economy. 
 
 Bernard was the first to demonstrate that the albumen of egg, 
 reaching the circulation without having previously undergone diges- 
 tion, quickly passes from the system into the urine. If introduced 
 directly into one of the bloodvessels, or even if injected into the sub- 
 cutaneous tissue, it rapidly betrays its presence in the urine. This 
 I can attest from my own experience. Both after injection into a 
 vein and into the subcutaneous tissue the albumen of egg, as I have 
 often seen, is soon recognizable in the urine. 
 
 It has also been observed that a meal consisting largely of eggs, 
 particularly if taken after prolonged fasting, has been followed by 
 the appearance of albumen in the urine. Here, apparently, it has 
 happened that some albumen has reached the circulation without 
 having undergone the usual conversion ; and, as when experimentally 
 injected, has been thence discharged with the urine. Hence it may 
 be concluded, not only that egg-albumen and blood-albumen differ 
 strikingly from each other in a physiological point of view, but that 
 egg-albumen, as such, is not fitted for entering the circulation. 
 
 The conversion of 'albumen into albuminose, therefore, not onlv 
 
52 ALIMENTARY PRINCIPLES. 
 
 bears on the facility of absorption, but on the adaptability for subse- 
 quent application in the system. The process of metamorphosis, in 
 fact, is required, not only with a view to adaptability for absorption, 
 but to subsequent fitness for utilization in the system. 
 
 Casein and gelatin I have found 1 comport themselves in the same 
 manner as albumen, namely, pass off from the system with the 
 urine when directly introduced into the circulation. The injection 
 of three ounces of milk into a vein was observed in an experiment 
 to be followed by the appearance of casein in the urine. The injec- 
 tion of 100 grains of isinglass, dissolved in two and a half ounces of 
 water, also so charged the urine with gelatin as to give rise to the 
 formation of a firm, solid jelly on cooling. 
 
 Thrown oif as they thus are from the system, albumen, casein, 
 and gelatin are evidently not adapted for direct introduction into the 
 circulation. Fibrin, on account of its solidity, cannot be similarly 
 experimented with. Digestion, in its case also, is an indispensable 
 condition to its introduction into the circulation. In respect, in- 
 deed, of all these principles, it may be said that their metamorphosis 
 in the digestive system is needed as a preliminary step to their capa- 
 bility of appropriation in the body, and their application to the pur- 
 poses of life. 
 
 We have followed the nitrogenous alimentary principles to the 
 stage of albuminose. The precise nature of what next ensues is not 
 yet known. There can be little or no doubt as to the progress from 
 albuminose to the albumen of the blood, but as to what next occurs 
 we have no data to show. With the ultimate products that are 
 formed we are acquainted, but the steps of metamorphosis are as yet 
 beyond our knowledge. The chain we have hitherto followed now 
 wants one or more links, which we have as yet no means of dis- 
 covering. As regards the seat of metamorphosis we have also no 
 information of a precise nature to deal with, but we may, neverthe- 
 less, hazard the surmise that the liver is the viscus in which albu- 
 minose, like other nutritive matters absorbed from the alimentary 
 canal, mainly, if not entirely, undergoes metamorphosis. The va- 
 rious nitrogenous principles of the body must be primarily derived 
 
 1 " Gulstonian Lectures (1862) on Assimilation and the Influence of its Defects 
 on the Urine," Lancet, vol. i,' p. 574, 1863. 
 
USES OF NITROGENOUS MATTER. 58 
 
 from it ; but, whether by direct transformation into them, or by- 
 passing through the stage of albumen, we have not the means of 
 deciding. That albumen is susceptible of metamorphosis, however, 
 into the other principles, we know, from its forming in the egg the 
 pabulum whence the various nitrogenous principles of the young 
 bird take their origin. 
 
 Instead of wandering farther into the domain of conjecture as to 
 the subject of metamorphosis, let us now turn our attention to the 
 purposes fulfilled by the nitrogenous principles as alimentary matter. 
 
 First in importance is the supply of material for the development 
 primarily, and for the renovation secondarily, of the tissues. 
 Wherever vital operations are going on, there nitrogenous matter 
 is present, forming, so to speak, the spring of vital action. Although 
 non-nitrogenous matter contributes in certain ways towards the 
 maintenance of life, yet it is nitrogenous matter which starts and 
 keeps in motion the molecular changes which result in the phe- 
 nomena of life. Nitrogenous matter, it may be said, forms the basis, 
 without which no life manifests itself. Life is coincident with 
 molecular change. In non-nitrogenous matter the elements of the 
 molecule are not, of themselves, prone to change ; whereas in the 
 molecule of nitrogenous matter there exist a greater complexity of 
 grouping among the elements, and these cohere so loosely, or are so 
 feebly combined, as to have a constant tendency to alter or to re- 
 group themselves into simpler combinations. By this change in 
 the nitrogenous, change is induced in the contiguous non-nitrogenous 
 molecule, and, occurring as the whole does in a definite or prescribed 
 order, the phenomena of life are produced. Nitrogenous matter, in 
 this way forming the instrument of living action, is incessantly 
 being disintegrated. Becoming thereby effete and useless, a fresh 
 supply is needed to replace that which has fulfilled its office. The 
 primary object of nitrogenous alimentary matter may thereupon be 
 said to be the development and renovation of the living tissues. 
 
 We have seen that nitrogenous matter forms an essential part of 
 living structures. It holds the same position in the case of the 
 ftecretions. These owe the active properties with which they are 
 endowed, chiefly, if not entirely, to a nitrogenous constituent. This 
 is drawn from the blood by the glands just as it is drawn by the 
 
51 ALIMENTARY PRINCIPLES. 
 
 tissues ; and on passing from the blood it is modified or converted, 
 by the agency of the gland, into the special principle encountered. 
 Nitrogenous matter is thus as essential to the constitution of the 
 active secretions as it is to the tissues ; and, as the amount of the 
 secretions required is in relation to the general vital activity, a cor- 
 responding demand for nitrogenous matter is created. 
 
 I now come to treat of nitrogenous matter in relation to force- 
 production. 
 
 The dependence of muscular and nervous action upon oxidation 
 of the respective tissues is one of the many doctrines which have 
 emanated from the inventive intellect of Liebig. According to the 
 view propounded, nitrogenous matter alone constitutes the source of 
 muscular and nervous power. The tissues being consumed in the 
 exercise of their functional activity or the manifestation of their 
 dynamic properties, fresh nitrogenous matter is alleged to be needed 
 to replace that which has served for the production of power. Thus 
 viewed, nitrogenous matter has been regarded as not only applied to 
 nutrition and to the formation of the nitrogenous constituents of the 
 active secretions, but also to the restitution of the loss incurred by 
 the production of power. What wonder, then, if with all these 
 purposes to fulfil, the nutritive value of food should have been 
 measured, as it latterly has been, by the amount of nitrogenous 
 matter it contains ? 
 
 Liebig's doctrine was at once accepted, and until recently has 
 been looked upon as expressing a scientific truth. Like many other 
 of its author's views, its plausibility was such that no one ventured 
 to question its soundness. Gradually, however, experimental in- 
 quiry began to invalidate it, and the reactionary move has advanced 
 till Traube has been led to express himself in directly opposite terms 
 regarding the source of muscular and nervous power. According to 
 this authority, for instance, the organized or nitrogenous part of a 
 muscle is not destroyed or consumed in its action. The resulting 
 force is affirmed to be due, instead, to the oxidation of non-nitroge- 
 nous matter the muscle merely serving as a medium for the conver- 
 sion of the generated force into motor power. The point has at- 
 tracted much attention of late, and researches of an elaborate nature 
 have been conducted with regard to it. Let us see the position in 
 which these researches have placed it. 
 
NITROGENOUS MATTER AND MUSCULAR ACTION. 55 
 
 The argument representing the question to be solved may be thus 
 expressed : Does the force evolved by muscular action proceed from 
 destruction of muscular tissue? If so, nitrogenous matter would be 
 needed to replace the loss incurred, and the result would be equiva- 
 lent to nitrogenous matter through the medium of muscle being 
 applied to the production of motor power. Now, if muscular action 
 is coincident with the destruction of muscular tissue, there must, as 
 a product of the destruction, be a nitrogen-containing principle 
 eliminated. The elements of the compounds that have served their 
 purpose in the economy do not accumulate, but are discharged from 
 the system under certain known forms of combination. The nitro- 
 gen, therefore, belonging to a consumed nitrogenous structure should 
 be recognizable in the effete matters thrown off from the body. 
 Nay, more : as the force developed by muscular action cannot arise 
 spontaneously as it can be produced only by transmutation from 
 another force the destruction of muscular tissue (which through 
 the chemical action involved supplies the force), should be in pro- 
 portion to the amount of muscular work performed, and the nitrogen 
 contained in the excreta in proportion also to the amount of muscu- 
 lar tissue destroyed. 
 
 Now, in proceeding to measure the extent of tissue metamorphosis 
 by, the nitrogen eliminated, it is necessary, in the first instance, to 
 be sure of our data regarding the channels through which nitrogen 
 finds its exit from the body it is necessary, that is to say, to ascer- 
 tain whether nitrogen escapes with the breath and perspiration, as 
 was at one time asserted, as well as by the alimentary canal and the 
 kidneys. We have no accessible means, it must be stated, of deter- 
 mining in a direct way whether nitrogen passes off by the lungs and 
 skin. Our conclusions have to be based upon comparing the nitro- 
 gen ingested with that encountered in the urine and alvine evacu- 
 ations. Formerly, it was said that a deficiency in the latter existed, 
 and it was put down to loss by pulmonary and cutaneous elimina- 
 tion. Barral, for instance, only detected half the nitrogen of the 
 food in the urine and faeces, and thence inferred that the remainder 
 was discharged with the breath and perspiration. In opposition to 
 this, however, several trustworthy observers (amongst whom may 
 be named Voit, Ranke, Haughton, and Parkes), aided by the im- 
 proved methods of analysis introduced by modern experience, have 
 recovered within a very close approach all the nitrogen of the food 
 
56 ALIMENTARY PRINCIPLES. 
 
 from the urinary and intestinal excreta. Dr. Parkes's observations 
 are especially worthy of reliance, and he confidently asserts that it 
 may be looked upon as established, that an amount of nitrogen is 
 discharged by the kidney and intestine equivalent to that which 
 enters with the food. Admitting this to be the case, we have only 
 to look to the products that escape from these two channels for the 
 information that is wanted about the discharged nitrogen in relation 
 to the question before us. 
 
 Next comes the determination of the relation respectively held by 
 the urinary and intestinal nitrogen to the point under consideration. 
 
 It has long been known that the chief portion of the escaping 
 nitrogen is to be met with in the urine. Lehmann, for instance, 
 found, whilst subsisting on a purely animal diet (eggs), that a daily 
 average of 30.3 grammes (467 grains) of nitrogen entered his system, 
 and that a daily average of 24.4 grammes (376 grains) was dis- 
 charged by the urine. Here, therefore, it was ascertained that an 
 amount equal to five-sixths of the ingested nitrogen escaped by the 
 kidneys. 
 
 But more recent and precise evidence has been afforded by a 
 series of very carefully conducted observations made upon two sol- 
 diers by Dr. Parkes. 1 The observations extended over sixteen 
 consecutive days, and the results not only bear on the ingestion and 
 egestion of nitrogen generally, but likewise show that the great bulk 
 of outgoing nitrogen is to be met with in the urine. The men were 
 both of almost precisely the same weight at the end of the time as 
 at the beginning, so that the ingoing and the outgoing matter must 
 have been closely balanced. They were subjected to varying con- 
 ditions of rest and exercise, but consumed exactly the same allow- 
 ance of food every day. The nitrogen in the food taken during the 
 sixteen days amounted to 313.76 grammes; and from the urine of 
 one of the men (distinguished as S.) there were recovered 303.660 
 grammes, and from that of the other (distinguished as B.) 307.257 
 grammes. Thus the amount of nitrogen discharged from the kid- 
 neys was, in the case of S., only about ten grammes, and in that of 
 B., six grammes less than that admitted with the food. The alvine 
 evacuations were collected and analyzed only upon three occasions. 
 Taking the mean of the results then obtained as representing the 
 
 1 Proceedings of the Royal Society, June 20th, 1867. 
 
MUSCULAR ACTION AND ELIMINATION OF NITROGEN. 57 
 
 daily average, and calculating from this for the sixteen days, the 
 quantity of nitrogen discharged from the bowels amounted in S. to 
 25.8 grammes, and in B. to 17.2 grammes, thus somewhat exceeding 
 the difference between the ingested nitrogen and that excreted in the 
 urine, or giving, in other words, rather more nitrogen discharged 
 than nitrogen ingested. 
 
 The nitrogen discharged from the bowels may be said to have 
 been found to form, upon an average, from about one-eighth to one- 
 twelfth or one-thirteenth of the total nitrogen voided. Owing its 
 origin, as it does, to the nitrogen belonging to the undigested food 
 on the one hand, and that contained in the unabsorbed intestinal se- 
 cretions on the other, it is constantly liable to incidental variation. 
 There is this, also, to be remarked, that the nature of its source ex- 
 cludes it from possessing any relation to the question under consid- 
 eration. We have, therefore, only the urinary excretion to look to 
 as forming the channel through which the exit of nitrogen, resulting 
 from the metamorphosis of nitrogenous matter in the system, takes 
 place ; and observation has shown that in the human subject it .is 
 mainly under the shape of urea that the escape occurs. 
 
 What, now, is the state of the urine in relation to rest and exer- 
 cise? If muscular disintegration forms the source of muscular 
 work, the quantity of urinary nitrogen ought to increase in propor- 
 tion to the amount of muscular work performed. 
 
 Lrhmann, imbued with Liebig's views, as his writings show, 
 speaks of there being an actual increase in the elimination of urea 
 in proportion to muscular exercise, and yet he gives it as the result 
 of observation upon himself that, while under ordinary circum- 
 stances he passed about 32 grammes (493 grains) of urea in the 
 twenty-four hours, the quantity passed after severe bodily exercise 
 was upon one occasion 36 grammes (555 grains), and upon another 
 37.4 grammes (577 grains) only this insignificant disparity to cor- 
 respond with the difference in the amount of muscular work per- 
 formed. 
 
 Voit experimented upon a dog, and determined the amount of 
 urea voided during rest and the performance of mechanical work, 
 in association with abstinence and a regulated diet of meat. The 
 work imposed upon the dog was running in a treadmill. The re- 
 sults, both during abstinence and feeding, exhibited no material ex- 
 cess in the urea voided during work over that voided during rest. 
 
58 ALIMENTARY PRINCIPLES. 
 
 Dr. E. Smith, also, in his observations on the elimination of car- 
 bonic acid and urea during rest and exercise, found, in the case of 
 the prisoners at Cold bath Fields, that, in the absence of food, the 
 labor of the tread wheel did not, to any material extent, increase the 
 nitrogen discharged under the form of urea. Like others have 
 done, he noticed a distinct relation between the urea discharged and 
 the food ingested. At the same time he regarded and this was 
 several years ago, when our knowledge stood in a very different po- 
 sition from what it does now the relation between the urea and 
 muscular work as far less established then than it had been held to 
 be for some time before. 
 
 The theory that muscular work is dependent on, and proportioned 
 to, the destruction of muscular tissue by oxidation, received its de- 
 cisive blow from the now celebrated observations of Drs. Fick and 
 Wislicenus, professors of physiology and chemistry respectively at 
 Zurich. 1 These experimentalists subjected themselves to a measur- 
 able amount of work by ascending a mountain of an ascertained 
 height. They argued that if the work performed be due to destruc- 
 tion of muscular tissue seeing that the nitrogenous product of de- 
 struction is discharged in great part, if not entirely, with the urine 
 the collection of the urine, and the determination of its nitroge- 
 nous contents ought to show the amount of nitrogenous matter de- 
 stroyed. Again, as the mechanical work to be performed must be 
 represented by an equivalent of chemical action to produce it, the 
 destruction of nitrogenous matter, as measured by the nitrogen ap- 
 pearing in the urine, ought to accord with the amount of work per- 
 formed. To simplify the experiment, the food consumed by the ex- 
 perimentalists consisted solely of non-nitrogenous matter; so that 
 the nitrogen appearing in the urine might be derived exclusively 
 from that belonging to the system. 
 
 Drs. Fick and Wislicenus chose for ascent the Faulhorn, near the 
 lake of Brienz, in the Bernese Oberland, a steep mountain of about 
 2000 metres (6561 feet) above the level of the lake, and furnished 
 with hotel accommodation on the summit, enabling them to rest 
 overnight and make the descent next day. 
 
 On the 30th of August, between 10 minutes past 5 in the morn- 
 ing and 20 minutes past 1 in the afternoon, the ascent was made. 
 
 1 "On the Origin of Muscular Power," by Drs. Fick and Wislicenus,- Philo- 
 sophical Magazine (Supplement), vol. xxxi, 1866. 
 
FICK AND WISLICENUS 'S EXPERIMENTS. 59 
 
 From the noon of the 29th no nitrogenous food had been eaten by 
 the experimenters, their diet consisting solely of starch and fat (taken 
 in the form of small cakes), and sugar as solid matter; and tea, 
 beer, and wine as drink. After ascending the mountain, Drs. Fick 
 and Wislicenus rested, and took no other kind of food till 7 in the 
 evening, when they partook of a plentiful repast of meat and its 
 usual accompaniments. 
 
 They began to collect their urine for examination from 6 P.M. of 
 the 29th that is, six hours after the commencement of their non- 
 nitrogenous diet. The urine secreted from this time till ten minutes 
 past 5 A.M. of the 30th, when the ascent began, was called the " be- 
 fore-work " urine. The urine secreted during the ascent was called 
 the "work" urine; and that from 1.20P.M. to 7 P.M. (from the 
 completion of the ascent to the cessation of the non-nitrogenous diet), 
 the "after-work" urine. Finally, the urine secreted during the 
 night spent on the Faulhorn up to half-past 5 A.M. was also col- 
 lected, and denominated "night" urine. 
 
 Each specimen was measured, and both the quantity of urea and 
 the absolute amount of nitrogen contained in it determined. For 
 the object before us it will suffice to confine our attention to the ni- 
 trogen ; and the quantity of this element secreted per hour (calcu- 
 lated from the amount contained in the respective specimens and the 
 time passed in secretion), stood thus, for the several periods : 
 
 Quantity of Nitrogen excreted per hour. 
 
 Fick. Wislicenus. 
 
 Grammes. Grammes. 
 
 Before work, 0.03 0.61 
 
 During work, 0.41 39 
 
 After work, 0.40 040 
 
 Night, 0.45 0.51 
 
 A glance at these figures shows the agreement that existed in the 
 two cases. The result proved that, whilst the nitrogenous excretion 
 was related to the food ingested, it was not so to muscular action. 
 Less nitrogen, it is noticeable, was voided during the "work" and 
 " after-work " than during the " before-work " period, and this was 
 plainly attributable to the absence of nitrogenous food from the 
 diet. During the night, after the meal of mixed food, there was an 
 increase, greater in Wislicenus's than in Fick's case ; but the one 
 
60 ALIMENTARY PRINCIPLES. 
 
 meal did not bring the amount of nitrogen up to the point at which 
 it stood shortly after the commencement of their abstinence from 
 nitrogenous food. 
 
 The conclusion, then, that in the first place may be drawn from 
 this experiment is that muscular work is not accompanied by the 
 increased elimination of nitrogen that might be looked for if it re- 
 sulted from the oxidation of muscle. But let us inquire whether 
 the disintegation of nitrogenous matter which actually occurred dur- 
 ing the " work " and " after-work " periods, as measured by the 
 nitrogen excreted, would account for the generation of an amount of 
 force equivalent to that expended in the work performed. 
 
 Knowing that the nitrogenous matter of muscle contains say, in 
 round numbers 15 per cent, of nitrogen, it is easy to calculate to 
 how much muscular tissue the excreted nitrogen was equivalent; 
 and taking the muscular tissue thus represented, an approximate, if 
 not an absolute, estimate can be given of the amount of mechanical 
 work which its oxidation would be capable of performing. 
 
 The height of the ascended mountain, likewise, being known, the 
 amount of muscular force actually employed in raising the weight 
 of the body to the summit can also be definitely expressed. 
 
 We have, therefore, these data supplied : 
 
 1st. From the nitrogen excreted the amount of nitrogenous mat- 
 ter oxidized : 
 
 2d. The amount of force that this oxidation would generate; 
 and 
 
 3d. The expenditure of force required to raise the bodies of the 
 experimenters to the height they reached. 
 
 Now, if the work performed were due to the oxidation of muscle, 
 the second factor ought to equal the third ; that is, the force produ- 
 cible from the muscle oxidized ought to be equivalent to the force 
 that was expended. The results of the calculation, however, show, 
 as will be presently seen, that the force expended considerably ex- 
 ceeded the amount derivable from the nitrogenous matter consumed. 
 
 Nor is this all. Besides the force expended in simply raising the 
 body-weights of the two men to the elevation reached, there would 
 also be occurring, during the performance of the work, an expendi- 
 ture of muscular power in keeping up the circulation, in respiratory 
 action, and the other life-processes. The calculations on these points 
 have been carefully worked out by Fick and Wislicenus ; and though 
 
MUSCULAR WORK AND MUSCLE OXIDATION. 61 
 
 the data for the process are scarcely precise enough to warrant our 
 regarding the results as scientifically exact, still they may be ad- 
 mitted as affording a basis for a safe general conclusion to be drawn. 
 We are also told that wherever a doubt existed about the data, 
 figures were taken as favorable as was allowable to the old hypoth- 
 esis, which referred the source of power to muscular oxidation. 
 
 In giving the conclusion furnished, it is not necessary to intro- 
 duce the details of the calculation. It will suffice to say that sum- 
 marily stated the result of the calculation showed that the measured 
 work performed during the ascent exceeded by about one-half in 
 Fick's case, and more than three- fourths in that of Wislicenus, the 
 amount which it would be theoretically possible to realize from the 
 amount of nitrogenous matter consumed. 
 
 It has been shown by Professor Frankland 1 that the results of 
 Fick and Wislicenus in reality afford stronger evidence than they 
 have contended for. Fick and Wislicenus were obliged to estimate 
 the force-value of the nitrogenous matter, shown by the nitrogen in 
 the urine to have been destroyed in the system, from the amount of 
 force known to be producible by the oxidation of its elements, be- 
 cause the actual determination for the compound itself had not been 
 made. Professor Frankland, however, has since experimentally as- 
 certained with the calorimeter the amount of energy or force under 
 the form of heat evolved during the oxidation of a given quantity of 
 nitrogenous matter as the oxidation occurs within the living system, 
 where, it must be remembered, on account of the nitrogen carrying 
 off the elements that are associated with it in urea, some carbon and 
 hydrogen escape being consumed. Frankland's results give as the 
 actual amount of energy producible from the nitrogenous matter 
 consumed in the bodies of the experimentalists about half the quan- 
 tity they had reckoned in their calculations. Thus, the results tell 
 so much the more in Fick and Wislicenus's favor. Frankland con- 
 siders, taking all points into consideration, that scarcely a fifth of 
 the actual energy required for the accomplishment of the work per- 
 formed in the ascent of the mountain could have been obtained from 
 the amount of muscle (nitrogenous matter) that was consumed. As- 
 suming, therefore, the foregoing conclusions to be entitled to credence, 
 
 1 " On the Origin of Muscular Power," Lond. Philos. Magazine, vol. xxxii, 
 1866. 
 
62 ALIMENTARY PRINCIPLES. 
 
 the doctrine which ascribes muscular action to oxidation of muscular 
 tissue becomes utterly untenable. 
 
 Dr. Parkes has conducted, in a most careful manner, a series of 
 investigations on the influence of rest and exercise, under different 
 diets, upon the effete products of the system, and, more particularly, 
 to test the accuracy of the results arrived at by Fick and Wislicenus. 
 He says, " Although these results [Fick and Wislicenus's] are sup- 
 ported by the previous experiments of Dr. Speck, who has shown 
 that, if the ingress of nitrogen be restricted, bodily exercise causes no 
 or a very slight increase in the elimination of nitrogen by the urine, 
 it appeared desirable to carefully repeat the experiments, not only 
 because the question is one of great importance, but because objections 
 might be, and, indeed, have been, reasonably made to the experi- 
 ments of Professors Fick and Wislicenus, on the ground that no 
 sufficient basis of comparison between periods of rest and exercise 
 was given, that the periods were altogether too short, and that no 
 attention was paid to the possible exit of nitrogen by the intestines." 
 
 Dr. Parkes's experiments were conducted upon perfectly healthy 
 soldiers, men who, when steady and trustworthy, as were the sol- 
 diers made use of, form, as Dr. Parkes observes, highly suitable 
 subjects for experiments of the kind, their regularity in diet and oc- 
 cupation, and their habits of obedience, affording a special guarantee 
 for the precision with which they will carry out the instructions 
 given. There can, indeed, be little or no doubt, from the harmony 
 observable all through, that the results furnish as exact and reliable 
 information as can be hoped to be obtained. 
 
 The total nitrogen contained in the urine was determined, as well 
 as the urea; and by -this step more conclusive evidence is supplied 
 than by the simple determination of urea, as had only been done in 
 the experiments of Fick and Wislicenus and others: obviously so, 
 because it might be said that nitrogen escaped (as is really to some 
 extent the case) in other forms than that of urea. 
 
 The experiments consisted of two series, and extended, in each 
 case, over several successive days. In the first series' a comparison 
 is instituted of the products of excretion during rest and exercise 
 under a non-nitrogenous diet. In the second 2 the same comparison 
 
 1 Proceedings of the "Royal Society, Jan. 1867, vol. xv, No. 89. 
 
 2 Id. vol. xvi, No. 94. 
 
DR. PARKES'S EXPERIMENTS ON ELIMINATION OF NITROGEN. 63 
 
 
 
 is made under a fixed diet, containing an ordinary admixture of ni- 
 trogenous and non-nitrogenous food. 
 
 In drawing conclusions regarding the destruction of muscle from 
 the nitrogen eliminated, it is, of course, of the first importance that 
 that the whole of the voided nitrogen should be presented to our 
 notice. Dr. Parkes is convinced, from his experiments, that no 
 nitrogen escapes either by the breath or perspiration, but that it is 
 all to be found in the excreta from the kidneys and bowels. The 
 nitrogen discharged by the bowels forms a comparatively small and 
 varying proportion, and being derived from the undigested food and 
 the unabsorbed digestive secretions, has no bearing in reference to 
 the point before us. There remains, therefore, only the urinary 
 nitrogen to consider as a measure of the tissue-metamorphosis occur- 
 ring in the system. Thus prefaced, let us now see what light is 
 thrown upon the matter under consideration by Dr. Parkes's experi- 
 ments. For the sake of simplicity notice will only be taken of the 
 total urinary nitrogen voided, as this gives in a more reliable man- 
 ner than the urea the information that is wanted. 
 
 The men forming the subjects of the first series of experiments 
 are distinguished as S.'and T. T. was a much smaller man than S. 
 (S. weighing 150 and T. 112 Ibs.), and it will be observed that he, 
 throughout, passed a less amount of urinary nitrogen. He did not 
 consume quite so much food; and as it was found that he discharged 
 rather more nitrogen from the intestine, it may be assumed that he 
 did not so fully digest and absorb what he ingested. 
 
 For six days the men were kept upon an ordinary mixed diet, 
 and pursued their customary occupation. The urine was collected 
 and examined during four out of the six days, and the following is 
 the mean amount of the total nitrogen passed per diem : 
 
 Mean urinary nitrogen 
 per diem. 
 
 Mixed diet, with customary occupation, . 
 
 During the following two days the diet was restricted to non- 
 nitrogenous food, consisting of arrowroot, sugar, and butter. The 
 only nitrogen ingested and this may be regarded as too insignifi- 
 cant to require being taken into account was in the tea the men 
 were allowed to drink, it being thought desirable not to deprive 
 them of this beverage. Throughout the two days they remained as 
 
64 ALIMENTARY PRINCIPLES. 
 
 
 
 much at rest as was practicable ; they were allowed to get up, but 
 not to leave the room. 
 
 Mean urinary nitrogen 
 per diem. 
 
 Non-nitrogenous diet, with rest, . . - { ' J' 176 
 
 ra mes ' 
 
 The men were now put back, for four days, upon a mixed diet, 
 with customary occupation, just as at the beginning of the experi- 
 ment. 
 
 Mean urinary nitrogen 
 per diem. 
 
 Mixed diet with customary occupation, { ^ 12.988 grammes. 
 
 ( I. 11.095 u 
 
 Next, they were restricted again for two days to the same non- 
 nitrogenous food as before, but this time it was accompanied with 
 active walking exercise. During the first day the distance walked 
 was 23} , and during the second 32} miles. The diet, it is stated, 
 satisfied hunger, and there was no sinking or craving for other kinds 
 of food. 
 
 Mean urinary nitrogen 
 per diem. 
 
 Non-nitrogenous diet, with active exer- f S. 8.971 grammes. 
 ei*e, ........ \ T. 8.034 
 
 To complete the experiment four more days were passed under 
 observation with the ordinary mixed diet, accompanied by ordinary 
 exercise. Rather more nitrogenous food was taken during these 
 four days succeeding the two days' active exercise than during the 
 four days succeeding the two days 7 rest, the men feeling more hun- 
 gry after the " work " period than after the period of " rest." The 
 mean for T., it is mentioned, is for three days instead of four, one 
 analysis having failed. 
 
 Mean urinary nitrogen 
 per diem. 
 
 Mixed diet with customary occupation, . f ^ J^l grammes. 
 
 From this series of results we find that there was no material 
 variatioh in the amount of urinary nitrogen discharged during the 
 two days when a distance of 56J miles was walked, as compared 
 with the two days spent in as complete. a state of rest as possible, 
 on both occasions restriction to non-nitrogenous food being enjoined. 
 Comparing both these periods, however, with those in which nitro- 
 
DR. PARKES'S EXPERIMENTS ON ELIMINATION OF NITROGEN. 65 
 
 genous food was taken, we recognize a marked exemplification of the 
 well-established fact that diet, on the other hand, exerts a striking 
 influence over the amount of nitrogen eliminated with the urine. 
 During each of the non-nitrogenous diet-periods the quantity of 
 nitrogen eliminated was considerably less than during the others ; it 
 is also noticeable that the influence of the non-nitrogenous food was 
 extended into the subsequent ordinary diet-periods, less nitrogen 
 being voided during these than at the commencement of the experi- 
 ment, before any restriction from nitrogenous food had been imposed. 
 This point, however, will be further alluded to hereafter. 
 
 In the second series of experiments the amount of nitrogen elimi- 
 nated was determined under the conditions of rest and exercise, com- 
 bined with a mixed diet. One of the two men, S., was the same who 
 had been made use of in the former experiment; the other, B., was 
 a fresh man, weighing 140 Ibs., and therefore nearer in size to S., who 
 weighed 150 Ibs., than T., of the former experiment, who weighed 
 112 Ibs. During the sixteen days over which the observations ex- 
 tended each man took precisely the same allowance of food in the 
 twenty-four hours the. food consisting of weighed quantities of 
 meat, bread, potatoes, and the other constituents of an ordinary 
 mixed diet. For the first four days the men pursued their custom- 
 ary employment. The next two days were passed in rest. Then 
 followed four days of ordinary employment ; after this, two days of 
 active exercise ; and finally, four days again of ordinary employment. 
 The amount of nitrogen eliminated by the kidneys during the several 
 periods is shown in the following table : 
 
 Ordinary employment (mean of four days), . 
 Rest (mean of two days), 
 
 Ordinary employment (mean of four days), . 
 
 Active exercise walking on level ground, 24 miles 
 the first day, and 35 the second (mean of two 
 days), 
 
 Ordinary employment (mean of four days), . 
 
 Urinary nitrogen 
 per diem. 
 
 S. 17.857 grammes. 
 
 B. 18.502 
 
 S. 19.137 
 
 B. 19.471 
 
 S. 17.612 
 
 B. 18485 
 
 S. 19.646 
 B. 19.959 
 
 S. 21.054 
 B. 20.092 
 
 In these results it will be seen there is nothing to sanction the 
 doctrine that the source of muscular power resides in the destruction 
 
 6 
 
66 ALIMENTARY PRINCIPLES. 
 
 of muscular tissue. In two persons subsisting on an identical and 
 unvarying daily diet, and subjected to varying conditions of muscu- 
 lar exertion, we find nearly the same quantity of nitrogen elimina- 
 ted during two days' hard walking as during two days of rest. It 
 is curious, and also, it must be owned, does not appear explicable, 
 that during the periods of both rest and active exercise the daily 
 amount of nitrogen eliminated was in excess of that eliminated 
 during the first two periods of ordinary employment, the figures at 
 the same time for the associated periods respectively agreeing very 
 closely with each other. In the third period of ordinary employ- 
 ment that is, after the two days of walking exercise the nitrogen 
 voided was greater in quantity than at any other time. Such excess, 
 however, did not amount to anything particularly marked. 
 
 Comparing in detail the nitrogen eliminated during the correspond- 
 ing portions of the two-day periods those of rest and active exer- 
 cise Dr. Parkes observes, with respect to the results furnished, "On 
 the first day of exercise, the nitrogen in each man fell below the cor- 
 responding day of rest by 1.626 and 1.131 grammes. In the next 
 twelve hours, which were almost entirely occupied in exercise [this 
 period extending from 8 A.M. to 8 P.M.], the diminution was still 
 greater, being 2.498 and 1.225 grammes, which would be equivalent 
 to 5 and 2J grammes for twenty-four hours. In the last twelve 
 hours [8 P.M. to 8 A.M.] of rest after work, the elimination increased 
 greatly, so that 5.142 and 3.331 grammes more were excreted than 
 in the corresponding rest period." Seeking to reconcile his results 
 in relation to muscular action, Dr. Parkes observes : " It appears to 
 me that we can only express the facts by saying that a muscle during 
 action appropriates more nitrogen than it gives off, and during rest 
 gives off more than it appropriates." 
 
 But must we, I would suggest, look only to the muscles for the 
 source of the variation in the amount of nitrogen discharged in these 
 experiments ? The results, in the first place, conclusively showed 
 that the nitrogen eliminated forms no measure of muscular work 
 performed, and hence it may be inferred as a corollary that muscular 
 work is not a result of muscular destruction. But, taking the vari- 
 ation in the voided nitrogen that was observable, independently of 
 that occasioned by diet, why should we seek its source exclusively 
 in the muscles? 
 
 On looking at the several daily amounts discharged, I remark the 
 
DR. PARKES'S EXPERIMENTS ON ELIMINATION OF NITROGEN. 67 
 
 existence of instances in which considerable variation occurs within 
 the periods themselves. Thus, during the first day of the first 
 period, when the men were engaged in ordinary employment, B. dis- 
 charged" 20.4 17 grammes of nitrogen, and during the third day only 
 17.090, a difference approaching to 3J grammes. Again, during the 
 last period, which was also spent in ordinary employment (it will be 
 remembered the daily diet was the same throughout the experiment), 
 the urinary nitrogen voided by both men stood as follows : 
 
 s. B. 
 
 First day, . . 21.25 grammes. . . 20.25 grammes. 
 
 Second day, . . 19.942 " . . 19.273 " 
 
 Third day, . . 23.488 " . . 19.248 " 
 
 Fourth day, . . 19.536 " . . 21.597 " 
 
 On the third day, it thus appears, S. discharged nearly four 
 grammes of nitrogen in excess of that on the fourth, and about 3 J in 
 excess of that on the second. No corresponding fluctuation, it will 
 be remarked, was observable in the case of B. Here, then, are 
 marked variations in the elimination of nitrogen without a variation 
 of muscular action. 
 
 In a more recently performed experiment 1 Dr. Parkes's results 
 show, with a fixed daily ingress of nitrogen, a variation in the daily 
 exit .amounting in the extreme to seven and a half grammes. 
 
 Now, we know that the nitrogen of the urine is derivable from 
 the metamorphosis of the nitrogenous ingesta within the system. It 
 is true the food taken was every day the same throughout the ex- 
 periment that has been forming the subject of consideration, but it 
 does not follow that the rate of metamorphosis was every day simi- 
 larly identical. Doubtless, like other processes of life, it is influ- 
 enced by various internal conditions. We know also, as the result 
 of observation in the case of starvation, that, notwithstanding an 
 absence of ingoing nitrogen, an elimination of this element still con- 
 tinues, and that the nitrogen eliminated is drawn from the nitroge- 
 nous principles of the body, belonging alike to the solids and fluids. 
 There is a general waste or loss occurring, and the only difference 
 noticeable is that the loss goes on with different degrees of rapidity 
 in the different parts of the system. In the muscles it certainly 
 occurs somewhat more rapidly than elsewhere, but this is all. With 
 
 1 Proc. Koy. Soc., March, 1871. 
 
68 ALIMENTARY PRINCIPLES. 
 
 these considerations before us it appears to me that we are taking an 
 unjustifiably narrow view in looking only to the muscles to account 
 for the variation in question in the voided nitrogen. Exercise can- 
 not fail to influence the processes going on in the system generally, 
 as well as in the muscles, and, in accounting for the results observed, 
 instead of limiting ourselves, with Dr. Parkes, to the assertion that 
 " we can only express the fact by saying that a muscle during action 
 appropriates more nitrogen than it gives off, and during rest gives 
 off more than it appropriates," I think what we ought rather to 
 say is, that during exercise the system appropriates more nitrogen 
 than it gives off, and during rest gives off more than it appropriates. 
 
 Voit, however, disputes the reality of exercise producing any in- 
 fluence over the elimination of nitrogen, and has taken exception to 
 some of Dr. Parkes's experiments, on the ground, more particularly, 
 that the daily ingress of nitrogen could not be kept sufficiently stable. 
 This has elicited from Dr. Parkes a further series, the results of 
 which are recorded in the " Proceedings of the Royal Society " for 
 March, 1871. In these it appeared that there was no change in- 
 duced, either at the time or afterwards, by a moderate amount of ad- 
 ditional exercise under a mixed regulated diet ; but, under a non- 
 nitrogenous diet, the increase in the nitrogen on the following clay to 
 the performance of a hard day's march was exceedingly striking. 
 The non-nitrogenous diet was continued through five successive days. 
 During the first three it was associated with the ordinary work of a 
 soldier ; on the fourth, with a march of thirty-two miles, carrying a 
 weight of 43 \ Ibs. ; and on the fifth with rest. As the ordinary re- 
 sult of abstinence from nitrogenous food, the eliminated urinary ni- 
 trogen underwent a steady decrease during the first four days ; on the 
 fifth, however, it showed a marked ascent, the amount being then in 
 considerable excess of that discharged on the first. 
 
 In the "New York Medical Journal" for October, 1870, Dr. 
 Austin Flint, Jr., records the result of the examination of the urine 
 secreted during the performance of, perhaps, an unprecedented 
 amount of muscular work within the space of time occupied. A 
 Mr. Weston, set. 32, of medium height, and weighing ordinarily 
 122 Ibs. without his clothes, celebrated as a pedestrian of the United 
 States, undertook to perform the astonishing feat of walking one 
 hundred miles in twenty-two consecutive hours. The feat, it ap- 
 pears, was accomplished within the time namely, in twenty-one 
 
WESTON'S WALKING FEAT AND ELIMINATION OF NITROGEN. 69 
 
 hours and thirty-nine minutes. The food consumed during the 
 period was taken in small quantities at short intervals, and con- 
 sisted of between one and two bottles of beef essence, two bottles of 
 oatmeal gruel, and sixteen to twenty raw eggs, with water. He 
 drank a little lemonade and took water very frequently, but only in 
 quantity sufficient to rinse his mouth. While walking the last ten 
 miles he took, it is further stated, two or three mouthfuls of charn- 
 pagne, amounting to about three fluid ounces, and about two and a 
 half fluid ounces of brandy in ten-drop doses. The head and face 
 were sponged freely at short intervals, and the food and drink were 
 taken mainly on the walk, which was conducted within a covered 
 inclosure. 
 
 The urine passed during and at the completion of the walk meas- 
 ured 73 J fluid ounces, and presented the specific gravity of 1011. 
 According to Dr. Flint's analysis it contained 424f grains of urea. 
 Now, 500 grains form about the average daily quantity of urea dis- 
 charged under an ordinary mixed diet; and as the diet during the 
 performance of the pedestrian feat was rich, as the account shows it 
 to have been, in nitrogenous matter, the quantity of urea, apart from 
 any other consideration, was even less than might have been ex- 
 pected. And yet, on the strength of a comparison with another 
 examination of the urine conducted three months later, when only 
 191 grains of urea are stated to have been discharged in the absence 
 of exposure to muscular exertion, Dr. Flint argues that muscular ex- 
 ercise notably increases the elimination of urea. To take a solitary 
 result of so exceptional a kind as the discharge of 191 grains of urea 
 in the twenty-four hours, and use it as a ground of comparison for 
 reasoning upon, as Dr. Flint has done, is surely to violate all rules 
 of sound induction, and it is to be hoped that we shall not find the 
 observation quoted by writers as bearing out what Dr. Flint has 
 
 contended for. 
 
 
 
 During November, 1870, Mr. Weston undertook another pedes- 
 trian feat, and this time a very elaborate examination was made of 
 the ingesta and egesta, and of various conditions of the body, by 
 Dr. Flint and a staff of associates. The results- are recorded in detail 
 in the " New York Medical Journal" for June, 1871. The feat 
 proposed was to w r alk 400 miles in five consecutive days, and upon 
 one of the days 112 miles were to be walked in twenty-four con- 1 
 secutive hours. Mr. Weston commenced the undertaking on the 
 
70 
 
 ALIMENTARY PRINCIPLES. 
 
 21st of November. The examination of the ingesta, egesta, &c., 
 had been conducted for five days before; it was also carried on 
 during the five days of the walk, and continued for five days after- 
 wards. Thus, the results for three periods before, during, and 
 after the walk were obtained. The subjoined tabular representa- 
 tion will give a summary view of the leading points noted. The 
 walk was undertaken over a measured track marked out in the form 
 of a parallelogram, within a large covered space namely, the Em- 
 pire Skating Rink in New York. It appears that Mr. Weston failed 
 this time to accomplish the feat he had attempted ; distance walked 
 during the five days amounting to 31 7 J miles, and the greatest dis- 
 tance on any one day to 92 miles. 
 
 DR. FLINT'S observations on the effects of the five-day pedestrian feat 
 performed by MR. WESTON. 
 
 Weight of 
 body (uude). 
 
 Before the walk. 
 
 Ibs. 
 
 First day, . . 
 
 120.5 
 
 Second, . . 
 
 121.25 
 
 Third, . . . 
 
 120. 
 
 Fourth, . . 
 
 118.5 
 
 Fifth, . . . 
 
 119.2 
 
 During the walk. 
 
 
 First day, . . 
 
 116.5 
 
 Second, . . 
 
 11625 
 
 "Dhird, . . . 
 
 115. 
 
 Fourth, . . 
 
 114. 
 
 Fifth, . . . 
 
 115.75 
 
 After the walk. 
 
 
 First day, . . 
 
 118. 
 
 Second, . . 
 
 120.25 
 
 Third, . . . 
 
 120.25 
 
 Fourth, . .. 
 
 123.5 
 
 JPifth, . . . 
 
 120.75, 
 
 Tem- 
 perature. 
 
 Fahr. 
 99 7 
 98.4 
 
 980 
 99.1 
 99.5 
 
 95.3 
 94.8 
 96.6 
 96.6 
 97.9 
 
 986 
 98.4 
 99.3 
 98.8 
 97.5 
 
 Pulse. 
 
 75 
 73 
 71 
 78 
 93 
 
 93 
 
 109 
 
 68 
 
 80 
 
 76 
 73 
 70 
 78 
 76 
 
 Miles 
 talked. 
 
 15 
 
 5 
 
 5 
 15 
 
 1 
 
 80 
 48 
 92 
 57 
 40.5 
 
 2 
 2 
 2 
 o 
 
 Nitrogen 
 in ingesta. 
 
 Grains. 
 
 361.22 
 288.35 
 272.27 
 335:01 
 440.43 
 
 151.55 
 
 265.92 
 22861 
 144.70 
 383.04 
 
 385 65 
 499.10 
 394.83 
 641.71 
 283.35 
 
 Excess or 
 
 Nitrogen deficiency in 
 in t-gesta. nitrogen egested. 
 
 Grains. 
 
 Grains. 
 
 323.26 37.96 
 301.18 -f 12.83 
 330.36 + 58.09 
 
 300.57 34.44 
 320.06 120 37 
 
 357 10 -f 205.55 
 
 370.64 -f 104.72 
 
 397.58 + 168.97 
 348.53 -f 203 83 
 332.77 50.27 
 
 29570 8995 
 358.81 140.29 
 409 87 + 15.04 
 382.89 258.82 
 418.49 -h 135.14 
 
 Dr. Flint still holds to his former opinion, and looks upon the 
 above results as showing, to use his own words, that " excessive and 
 prolonged muscular exertion increases enormously the excretion of 
 nitrogen, and that the excess of nitrogen discharged is due to an 
 increased die-assimilation of the muscular substance/ 7 
 
 Let us accept Dr. Flint's estimates of the ingoing and outgoing 
 nitrogen. It is true, during the first four days of the walking pe- 
 
71 
 
 riod the exit of nitrogen was in considerable excess of the entrance ; 
 but why should this be referred specially and exclusively to muscu- 
 lar disintegration ? There was during these four days a progressive 
 decline in the weight of the body, the loss reaching a little over 
 5 Ibs. From the account given, considerably less solid food was 
 taken then, than before and after. There existed a state of marked 
 disturbance of the bodily functions, as shown by the depression of 
 temperature and elevation of pulse ; but little sleep was obtained ; 
 and on the third day, when an attempt was made to walk the 112 
 miles in twenty-four consecutive hours, drowsiness, it is stated, pre- 
 vailed to such an extent that it was found impossible to make the 
 necessary time to accomplish what had been intended. On the fourth 
 day Mr. Weston actually broke down for a time altogether, becom- 
 ing dizzy, staggering, and at last failing to be able to see sufficiently 
 to turn the corners of the track. 
 
 Xow, apart from the fact that a marked deviation from the physi- 
 ological state existed when the results, upon which the conclusions 
 are based, were yielded, is there anything in the results to show that 
 in reality we have more to deal with than simply a consumption of 
 nitrogenous material within the system beyond the supply for the 
 time from without? Taking the figures throughout, there is not 
 much more to be seen than a difference occasioned by a falling off in 
 the amount of nitrogen ingested during the first four days of the 
 walk ; and it is well known that when the ingesta do not furnish 
 what is wanted for meeting the expenditure going on (as during in- 
 anition), the resources of the body are drawn upon, and the nitroge- 
 nous matter existing in the various parts both solids and fluids 
 wastes or yields itself up as well as the rest. On the fifth day, after 
 a prolonged sleep, which appears to have restored the flagging pow- 
 ers, the previous relation was reversed. The food ingested afforded 
 more than enough to meet the requirements. There was a gain of 
 If Ib. in body-weight, and, according to the figures, the nitrogen 
 discharged fell short by 50.27 grains of that which entered, notwith- 
 standing a walk of forty miles and a half was performed. 
 
 The distance walked during the five days amounted to 31 7| miles, 
 and the excess of nitrogen eliminated during the time, over that in- 
 gested, appears to have been 633 grains. Presuming, for sake of 
 argument, this to have represented the nitrogen of muscle disin- 
 tegrated in the accomplishment of the work performed, we have be- 
 
72 ALIMENTARY PRINCIPLES. 
 
 fore us the data for ascertaining how far the force producible in this 
 way would correspond with the expenditure that must have occurred. 
 
 According to Mulder's analysis, albuminous matter contains 15.5 
 per cent, of nitrogen. Reckoning from this proportion, 633 grains 
 of nitrogen will correspond with 4083 grains of dry albumen, and 
 the composition of the nitrogenous matter of muscle is closely anal- 
 ogous. Now, the force producible from the oxidation of albumi- 
 nous matter has been experimentally ascertained by Frankland; and, 
 as it occurs within the body, the oxidation of 4083 grains of dry 
 albumen would give rise to the evolution of an amount of power 
 equal to lifting 1540 tons one foot high. 
 
 Here we have one side of the question the amount of work ob- 
 tainable from the nitrogenous matter presumed to have undergone 
 disintegration as muscular tissue and so far the information in our 
 possession may be regarded as sufficiently authentic to enable us to 
 frame a reliable conclusion. As regards the work accomplished, we 
 may assume, with Professor Haughton, that the force expended in 
 walking or progressing on level ground is equal to that required to 
 lift one-twentieth of the weight of the body through the distance 
 traversed. The distance walked amounted to 317J miles, and if we 
 take the weight of the body and clothing at, say, 120 Ibs., this will 
 give the performance of an amount of work equal to lifting 4490 
 tons one foot high, or about two-thirds more work than the oxida- 
 tion of the nitrogenous matter representing the 633 grains of nitro- 
 gen could accomplish. And, in this calculation, only the external 
 work has been taken into consideration. There is, in reality, also a 
 considerable amount of internal work constantly being performed 
 viz., that employed in keeping up the circulation, in respiration, and 
 in various other essential actions of life. 
 
 I have entered thus minutely into the question of the elimination 
 of nitrogen in relation to muscular work because it bears in so 
 forcible and direct a manner upon the question immediately before 
 us viz., the uses to which the nitrogenous alimentary principles are 
 applied in the system. Briefly represented, the position of the niat- 
 ter may be said to be this : 
 
 Many years ago it was asserted by Liebig that muscular action 
 involved the destruction of muscular tissue. The plausibility of the 
 doctrine, and the readiness with which the views of its author were 
 then received, must be considered as having led to its being at once 
 
RSUM ON NITROGENOUS FOOD AND MUSCULAR ACTION. 73 
 
 generally accepted as though it formed a scientific truth, although, 
 in reality, only constituting a speculative proposition, unsupported 
 by anything of the nature of proof. It was further argued that, if 
 muscular action involved the destruction of muscular tissue, the ex- 
 cretion of the nitrogenous product of destruction urea ought to 
 be in proportion to the amount of muscular work performed. This 
 seemed to follow as a necessary sequence, and the one being accepted, 
 the other was taken for granted also. Thus, notwithstanding the 
 absence of anything in the shape of proof, we find physiologists rea- 
 soning and writing as though the doctrine had been actually proven. 
 
 If the theory of Liebig were true, we should have to look upon 
 nitrogenous alimentary matter as forming, through the medium of 
 muscular tissue, the source, and the only source, of muscular power. 
 The renewal of muscular tissue for subsequent oxidation in its turn, 
 and evolution of muscular force, would thus constitute one of the 
 functions of nitrogenous alimentary matter; and, on its supply would, 
 accordingly, depend our capacity for the performance of muscular 
 work. 
 
 It is only lately that the doctrine has been submitted to the test 
 of experiment, and with what result the foregoing account of the 
 researches of various observers has shown. Even Liebig 1 has now 
 come to assert that muscular action is not attended by the produc- 
 tion of urea. He admits that the question as to the source of mus- 
 cular power has been complicated by an inference which has proved 
 erroneous, and for which he acknowledges himself as responsible 
 the inference, namely, that muscular work is represented by the 
 metamorphosis of muscular tissue, and the formation of urea as a 
 final product. While admitting this much, however, Liebig still 
 looks to changes in the nitrogenous constituents of muscle as the 
 source of muscular power. He assumes the presence in muscle of 
 nitrogenous substances in a much higher state of tension than syn- 
 tonin and albumen, and to these he refers the performance of mus- 
 cular work, taking shelter under the proposition that it is due to the 
 liberation of the tension thus presumed to have been accumulated in 
 them during their formation. 
 
 The application of food to the genesis of muscular power will form 
 
 1 Proceedings of the Koyal Bavarian Academy of Sciences, 1869. Pharma- 
 ceutical Journal, 1870. 
 
74 ALIMENTARY PRINCIPLES. 
 
 the subject of further consideration hereafter, when we reach the head 
 of non-nitrogenous matter. Suffice it here to reiterate that muscular 
 action is not to be considered as the result of muscle-destruction, as 
 was formerly supposed, and hence, that nitrogenous matter is not 
 applied through muscle in the manner hitherto maintained to the 
 development of muscular force. Thus much, from the evidence 
 before us, may be said, but, at the same time, common experience 
 seems to show that a plentiful supply of nitrogenous matter in the 
 food tends to increase the capacity for the performance of muscular 
 work. If, however, it does so in any other way than by supplying 
 material for nutrition and the secretions, and so contributing to the 
 production of a fully nourished and vigorous state of the system, we 
 have no data before us to indicate how. 
 
 Let me next draw attention to the application of nitrogenous 
 matter to force-production by the direct utilization of the carbon and 
 hydrogen it contains. Liebig's doctrine, which, until recently, has 
 formed the accepted one on this point, was that nitrogenous food, to 
 be turned to account for force-production, must pass through the 
 condition of Jiving tissue. This brings us back to the discussion 
 that has preceded, with the addition that our nitrogenous food must 
 perform work as tissue to enable it to be susceptible of application to 
 force, or say heat-production. Thus, in his work on "Animal 
 Chemistry," at page 60, Liebig says, "The flesh and blood con- 
 sumed as food yield their carbon for the support of the respiratory 
 process, whilst the nitrogen appears as uric acid, ammonia, or urea. 
 But, previously to these final changes, the dead flesh and blood be- 
 come converted into living flesh and blood, and it is, strictly speak- 
 ing, the carbon of the compounds formed in the metamorphosis of 
 living tissues that serves for the production of animal heat." Again, 
 at page 77, we find " Man when confined to animal food respires 
 like the carnivora at the expense of the matter produced by the 
 metamorphosis of organized tissues ; and just as the lion, tiger, and 
 hyena, in the cages of a menagerie, are compelled to accelerate the 
 waste of their organized tissues by incessant motion, in order to fur- 
 nish the matter necessary for respiration, so the savage, for the very 
 same object, is forced to make the most laborious exertions and go 
 through a vast amount of muscular exercise. He is compelled to 
 consume force merely in order to supply matter for respiration." 
 
NITROGENOUS FOOD AND HE AT -PRODUCTION. 75 
 
 Once more, in speaking of the derivation of urea from the metamor- 
 phosis of nitrogenous matter, he says, at page 144 : " There can be 
 no greater contradiction with regard to the nutritive process than 
 to suppose that the nitrogen of the food can pass into the urine as 
 urea, without having previously become part of an organized tissue." 
 
 Liebig's idea, then, upon this point is very precise. He considers 
 that nitrogenous matter may contribute towards heat-production, 
 but that it must first pass into the condition of tissue before it can 
 do so, and that it is in the wear and tear of tissue that occurs the 
 splitting up of the compound, so as to lead to the production of urea 
 for excretion on the one hand, and the liberation of carbon and hy- 
 drogen for oxidation on the other. 
 
 The facts which have been already adduced suffice to refute this 
 doctrine. Indeed, it may be considered as now abundantly proved 
 that food does not require to become organized tissue before it can 
 be rendered available for force-production. But Liebig, himself, in 
 language not less precise than that which he at first employed, has 
 recently 1 given utterance to words which directly contradict his 
 original view, inasmuch as he now asserts that muscular work and 
 the production of urea bear no immediate relation to each other, and 
 that among the products formed as the result of muscular action, 
 urea certainly does not even constitute one. 
 
 If the elimination of urea, as has been shown, is not related, as 
 was formerly supposed, to muscular action, it is, on the other hand, 
 in a very direct manner influenced by the food ingested. As far 
 back as 1854, Messrs. Lawes and Gilbert, in opposition to the views 
 then prevailing, showed by the results obtained in their observations 
 on the feeding of cattle, that the nitrogen in the urine is related to 
 that in the food, and not to the muscular work ; and, since then, the 
 concurrent testimony of numerous observers, as has been already 
 pointed out, may be held as completely establishing this position. 
 Lehmann's well-known experiments upon himself strikingly illus- 
 trate the extent to which this influence is manifested. The results 
 he obtained were as follows : 
 
 While living on a purely animal diet, namely, almost exclusively 
 on eggs, Lehmann passed 53.2 grammes (820 grains) of urea in the 
 twenty-four hours as the mean of twelve observations. 
 
 1 Proceedings of the Royal Bavarian Academy of Sciences, 1869. 
 
76 ALIMENTARY PRINCIPLES. 
 
 Upon a mixed diet the urea amounted to 32.5 grammes (501 
 grains), as the mean of fifteen observations. 
 
 Upon a vegetable diet the urea given as the mean of twelve ob- 
 servations was 22.5 grammes (347 grains). 
 
 And, lastly, upon a purely non-nitrogenous diet (fat, milk-sugar, 
 and starch), he voided, as the mean of three observations, only 15.4 
 grammes (237 grains) of urea. 
 
 It is thus seen that upon an animal diet, which is the richest in 
 nitrogenous matter, the voided urea more than doubled that elimi- 
 nated upon a vegetable diet, while the amount of urea voided upon 
 a mixture of the two kinds of food held an intermediate position. 
 When no nitrogenous matter was ingested the urea was at its mini- 
 mum. What was then passed would be derived from the metamor- 
 phosis of the nitrogenous matter belonging to the blood and the 
 other constituents of the system. 
 
 Some experiments of Schmidt show, also, in accordance with the 
 results obtained by Lehmann, that the amount of urea passed is re- 
 lated to the quantity of food ingested, the nature of it remaining the 
 same. Schmidt found that a cat excreted the following relative 
 amounts of urea to body-weight under the consumption of different 
 amounts of meat : 
 
 J'aily amount of Daily amount of urea excreted 
 
 meat eaten. per kilogramme body-weight. 
 
 44.188 grammes. . . . |. 2.958 grammes, 
 
 46.154 " ..... 3.050 
 
 75.938 5.152 " 
 
 108.755 " 7.663 " 
 
 From these results it may be computed that a cat, living on a 
 flesh diet, discharges by the kidneys on an average 6.8 parts of urea 
 for every hundred parts of meat consumed. 
 
 The great bulk of the nitrogen belonging to the food ingested 
 thus passes out of the system in the form of urea. If all escaped in 
 this way the quantity of urea discharged would amount to (say) 7.88 
 per cent, of the weight of the meat ; the nitrogen contained in 100 
 parts of flesh corresponding with that contained in 7.88 parts of 
 urea. There were, then, 6.8 parts of urea produced instead of the 
 7.88 parts, which may be spoken of as representing the actual 
 equivalent, as far as contained nitrogen is concerned, of 100 parts 
 of flesh. 
 
METAMORPHOSIS OF NITROGENOUS FOOD. 77 
 
 Lehmann, from his observations on himself, asserts that as much 
 as five-sixths of the nitrogen of the ingested food were found in his 
 urine under the form of urea. For example, while living upon a 
 purely animal diet, consisting of thirty-two eggs daily, he ingested 
 about 30.16 grammes of nitrogen, and, in the urea voided, dis- 
 charged about 25 grammes of nitrogen. 
 
 The discharge of urea being thus proportioned to the amount of 
 the nitrogenous matter ingested, it follows that nitrogenous matter 
 must undergo metamorphosis of such a nature within the system as 
 to lead to the production of urea. Further, it may be said that this 
 metamorphosis must take place rapidly, as it is found that the effect 
 upon the excretion of urea quickly follows an alteration in the food 
 ingested. Lehmann, for example, again drawing from his observa- 
 tions on himself, noticed, in the morning after he had lived exclu- 
 sively on animal food, that his urine was so rich in urea as to throw 
 down a copious precipitate of the nitrate, on the addition of nitric 
 acid. In Dr. Parkes's observations, also, upon the two soldiers S. 
 and T. before referred to, the alterations in the food ingested speedily 
 influenced the amount of urea escaping. These men were, first of 
 all, kept for four days upon a regulated mixed diet; next for two 
 days upon a non-nitrogenous diet; then, again, for four days upon 
 a mixed diet ; afterwards for two days on a non-nitrogenous diet ; 
 and, lastly, for four days on a mixed diet. S., during the first four 
 days, on the mixed diet, passed 35 grammes of urea as the daily 
 mean. During the first day of the non-nitrogenous diet he passed 
 20, and during the second, 13.52 grammes. Resuming the mixed 
 diet, he passed, on the first day, 20.67 grammes of urea; on the 
 second, 25.68 grammes ; on the third, 26.29 ; and on the fourth, 
 29.67. Changing, again, to the non-nitrogenous diet, he passed on 
 the first-day 19.12, and on the second, 15.00 grammes of urea. On 
 the next four days, the diet being a mixed one, he passed during the 
 first day, 20.8 ; the second, 26.36 ; the third, 28.32 ; and the fourth, 
 30.10 grammes of urea. With T. (a much smaller man than S.) 
 the mean, for the first four days of mixed food, was 25.92 grammes 
 of voided urea. During the next two days, upon non-nitrogenous 
 food, he passed, on the first day, 17.3; and on the second, 12.65 
 grammes. On the following four days, upon a diet of mixed food, 
 he voided 14.40 grammes the first day ; 23.00 the second ; 25.20 the 
 
78 ALIMENTARY PRINCIPLES. 
 
 third ; and 22.99 the fourth. During the next two days, resuming 
 the n on -nitrogenous diet, he voided 16.00 the first day, and 13.20 
 grammes the second. With the return to a mixed diet during the 
 following four days the urea stood at 23.00 on the first ; 24.36 on 
 the second; 24.57 on the third ; and 21.36 grammes on the fourth. 
 
 Although conducted for settling another point, it will be seen that 
 these observations very clearly and consistently throughout show that 
 the production and elimination of urea are speedily affected by the 
 ingestion of nitrogenous matter. 
 
 With the view of obtaining more precise information regarding 
 the time required for the metamorphosis of nitrogenous matter to 
 occur and lead to an increased elimination of urea, Mr. Mahomed, 
 whilst formerly assisting me in my laboratory, carried out, with 
 laudable zeal and self-denial, two series of experiments upon him- 
 self, the particulars of which I will introduce here. It may be men- 
 tioned that he was 22 years of age, 6 feet in height, and list. lllb. 
 in weight. 
 
 The method of procedure had recourse to was to diminish the 
 elimination of urea by limiting in one experiment, and withholding 
 in the other, the introduction of nitrogenous matter, and then note 
 within what space of time the ingestion of nitrogenous matter showed 
 its effects upon the urine. 
 
 The first experiment was commenced on April 16th, 1871. Mr. 
 Mahomed had been previously living upon an ordinary mixed diet, 
 and took his dinner of mixed food, as usual, at 1.30 P.M. From 
 this time he restricted himself to rice, arrowroot, butter, sugar, and 
 tea. Rice was allowed, that he might not suffer too much privation, 
 and as being one of the least nitrogenous of the natural food prod- 
 ucts. The diet was continued throughout the 17th, and at 8 A.M on 
 the 18th, four eggs purposely to supply nitrogenous matter were 
 eaten. This was the only deviation from the diet of the preceding 
 day, so that an opportunity was given for the urea to be again at a 
 low point on the following morning, when a meal consisting mainly 
 of meat was taken. Subjoined is a representation of the results ob- 
 tained, arranged in a tabular form : 
 
METAMORPHOSIS OF NITROGENOUS FOOD. 
 
 79 
 
 
 
 
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 3 
 
 PH o 
 
 o co 
 H 3 
 
 ' 
 
 3 
 
 < a S 
 
 a p; 
 
 isl 
 
 *J "*' O 
 
 rC -fJ *J 
 
 c 
 
 i 
 
 CN 
 
 3 
 
 1 
 
 & 
 
 1 
 
 PH PH 
 
 * * .. ^ PH' 
 
 * * 
 
 CO CO O O CO 
 
 rH CO CN 00 -H 
 
 H 
 
 o 
 
 00 
 
 O ft" 
 
 O 
 
 c o 
 
 P^ 
 o 
 
 CO 
 
 .51 3 
 
 '= a - s 
 
 3 PH' 
 
 S o c o 
 
 CN CO* !M ^ - 
 
 PH 
 
 CO 
 
 * 
 
 1 
 
 J 
 
 
 CO 
 
 rH 
 
 
 C5 
 
 
 
 fti 
 
 C- 
 
 
 
 
 
 ! 
 
 
80 ALIMENTARY PRINCIPLES. 
 
 On looking at the above results, it appears that under the re- 
 stricted diet the urea pretty steadily decreased in amount from 21 
 to 9.05 grains per hour. The ingestion of four eggs caused an as- 
 cent, within the four succeeding hours, to 13.82 grains, and having 
 thus immediately risen, the rate of elimination only underwent a lit- 
 tle further increase through the remainder of the day. The urea 
 having again descended to 10.62 grains per hour by the following 
 morning, the ingestion of a meal in which steak was eaten plentifully, 
 led to a rise for the next four hours to 21.16 grains per hour, and, 
 with the repetition of the nitrogenous food, the elimination of urea 
 continued to increase throughout the day. 
 
 During the performance of the experiment the accustomed mental 
 and bodily work was undertaken. Mr. Mahomed did not notice 
 that the 2J days' dietetic restriction produced any other sensation 
 than an increase of the appetite and a slight feeling of faintness the 
 last morning before breakfast. The urine, before the experiment, 
 had been frequently noticed to be loaded with lithates. During the 
 period of restricted diet it was perfectly clear, and the table shows 
 that the quantity was considerably larger than whilst animal food 
 was being consumed. It is a noteworthy fact, indeed, and one which 
 gives increased weight to the results, that the augmented elimination 
 of urea was associated with a fall in the amount of urine, for, had 
 the quantity of urine been increased instead, it might have beep 
 questioned whether the alterations in the urea might not have been 
 simply due to more being carried off as a consequence of the greater 
 urinary flow. 
 
 In the second experiment a complete restriction (excepting the in- 
 significant amount of nitrogenous matter contained in the tea) from 
 nitrogenous food was practiced for two days, and then the diet sud- 
 denly changed to one rich in nitrogenous matter. To begin the ex- 
 periment, an observation was made for one day upon ordinary food. 
 The following table shows the results obtained : 
 
METAMORPHOSIS OF NITROGENOUS FOOD. 
 
 81 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 r3 GJ 
 1 ,- ^ 
 
 
 c "1 
 
 
 
 8 
 
 3 >> -5 ^ 
 
 
 Sb 
 
 
 
 '0* 3 J 
 
 c ^ to g 
 
 
 1 -Ul 
 
 oo O $ 
 
 to S 
 
 Ci r^ t< rrt 
 
 $ 
 
 
 '? i S -i 's 
 
 - 
 
 
 
 3 
 
 M 
 
 C 
 
 o 
 o 
 
 g & * 
 
 I s:? 
 
 * b 
 
 c S S a 
 
 g' J 3 
 
 1 
 
 ] jr 
 
 * ^ - 
 
 
 
 0} c g O 
 
 
 
 
 ' ' ' t S . ' ' ' 
 
 
 r -\ * 
 
 a s s s ^ s 
 
 
 a a a a ass?, 
 
 g<ipHpH^ a < p* a" -a" 
 
 
 < PH PH PH < PH PH PH 
 
 o o o o o o 
 <{cocococo -<COCOPHPH 
 
 
 CO - t~ OS CO ^ O ^ 
 
 CO i-< T-t t OS COCCS^COOS 
 
 
 
 ^^^ 
 
 INI 
 
 ~. > - C 
 
 ^ iO I s ** OS CO ^ O CO OS 
 
 1-H -^ CO O CN TJH TfH 1^ O 
 
 _i co ^ o -H <M' id rj5 o 
 
 CO CN GO ^^ *O t^ CO CO C^ i^ ^^ 
 CO O CN t- 00 <*-; -O OS ^ 
 
 ^> i^ co o co co c^ "^ id co c* 1 
 
 c 
 
 
 
 - 
 
 
 
 o g c ; 
 
 
 
 M 
 
 CO CO iO i COCO'^tlC^Ji-O 
 
 OS O -< CO OS M< O r-i t^ CO 
 
 ? - r r 
 
 CO CO OS i CNS^CNCOCO 
 
 OCO^^CO lOCOTHCO'*^ 
 
 ||5 
 
 
 
 ill 
 
 CO CO CO CN CO O 
 
 10 10 
 10 O O r- t~- i- CM c-i 
 
 t>- iO O CO CO COCOi-H 
 
 11 | 
 
 CCOOO 5>l t- -^ -^ -< 
 
 rjl id id oi ^ co' Tji co' co co* *** 
 
 
 tc 
 
 a "& a . 
 
 
 
 a a a a a . a | 
 . rf ^ ^ 1 s ri a 
 
 qooq O^PHO^ 
 
 ^H "* CO ' CO'-OCO^H 
 
 llj-ll! Ill 
 
 +j >-H O CO i i j r^ v *O OO v "^ 
 
 
 
 3333 33^33 
 
 o 
 
 -^O^OO H^OOOOO 
 J3+a*J-4J j3-u*J*j^j*J 
 
 1 
 
 asss sa^ss 
 
 'S s c s ' s '5 s s s a' a 
 
 8, 
 
 oooo oocoo 
 
 CO COO COOOOO 
 
 a 
 
 OOr-.Tt<CO i I CO <M * CO 
 
 (MOOCN-^CO <MCO<-<^OCO 
 
 
 
 1-1 ""* 1-1 <-l 
 
 
 o co 
 
 SS 56 
 
 r^ co 
 
 03 si 
 
82 ALIMENTARY PRINCIPLES. 
 
 It will be seen that the above results harmonize with those ob- 
 tained in the first experiment, and show that the ingestion of nitro- 
 genous matter is followed by a speedy metamorphosis and production 
 of urea. Under the two days 7 restriction to non-nitrogenous food 
 the urea fell from a range of 21 to 25 grains per hour to 8.87 grains 
 per hour. Nitrogenous food was now taken, and the form of egg 
 and milk beaten together was selected, that, on account of its fluidity, 
 absorption might be rapid. Half an hour later an ordinary break- 
 fast with cold meat was eaten. During the three hours succeeding 
 the first ingestion of nitrogenous matter the urea secreted amounted 
 to 12.43 grains per hour against 8.87 grains per hour, the mean 
 amount given for the eight hours previously. During the next three 
 hours it stood at 14.13 grains per hour, and afterwards showed a 
 steady increase throughout the day. It is true between 8.87 and 
 12.43 grains per hour there is not the difference that was noticeable 
 on the morning of April 19th, in the first experiment; but I think 
 it may be fairly assumed that evidence is afforded of the production 
 and elimination of urea within the three hours from the nitrogenous 
 matter ingested at the commencement of the time. Throughout the 
 day the urea was less in quantity than during the corresponding 
 period in the first experiment, which may be due to the more com- 
 plete restriction having led to a greater exhaustion of nitrogenous 
 matter, and thereby, owing to the greater demand for the require- 
 ments of the system, a less surplus having existed for metamorphosis 
 into urea and the complemental hydrocarbonaceous portion. 
 
 For supplying solid food during the restriction the arrowroot was 
 made into biscuits with butter, sugar, and water. Mr. Mahomed 
 remarked, on rising on the morning of the 7th, that he felt depressed, 
 and experienced a general want of tone. Before the meal in the 
 middle of the day he felt very hungry and thirsty, but these sensa- 
 tions disappeared after partaking of a basin of arrowroot, two of his 
 arrowroot biscuits, and a cup of tea. He walked afterwards between 
 five and six miles without any distress. Between the 5th and the 
 8th he lost one pound in weight. The urine, it may be observed, as 
 in the first experiment, underwent a marked diminution in quantity 
 with the return to nitrogenous food. It is a noteworthy point that 
 between noon and midnight of the second day's restriction the urine 
 presented an alkaline reaction. The same feeling of weakness was 
 
METAMORPHOSIS OP NITROGENOUS FOOD. 83 
 
 experienced upon rising on the morning of the 8th as on that of the 
 preceding day. 
 
 Although it has been clearly ascertained that a more or less large 
 proportion of the nitrogenous matter ingested undergoes metamorpho- 
 sis attended with the production of urea, yet, as to the precise seat of 
 metamorphosis, our information at presents warrants, it must be said, 
 little more than a surmise being formed. According to the old doc- 
 trine of muscular action, the chief portion was thought to be pro- 
 duced in the muscles; but even Liebig now argues (abstractedly 
 from the doctrine in question) that the absence of urea as a constitu- 
 ent of muscular tissue may be taken as affording presumptive evi- 
 dence of its production occurring elsewhere. While absent from 
 flesh, or, if present, only so to a barely appreciable extent, it is, ac- 
 cording to Meissner and others, to be detected in mammals in con- 
 siderable quantity in the substance of the liver; and, in birds, where 
 uric acid holds the position of urea, this has been similarly found in 
 the liver. Other considerations have been also advanced in support 
 of the liver forming the seat of metamorphosis of nitrogenous mat- 
 ter attended with the production of urea, but the point is one which 
 requires to be further investigated. 
 
 Having brought the subject before us to this point, the next ques- 
 tion for consideration is, what purpose is subserved by the metamor- 
 phosis of nitrogenous matter that has been shown to occur. 
 
 It has been hitherto the custom to look upon the nitrogenous mat- 
 ter which undergoes this transformation as holding the position of 
 superfluous alimentary material "luxus consumption," as it has 
 been styled. Thus, Lehmann writes : " In the present state of our 
 knowledge we may say that urea is formed in the blood, and that it 
 is produced from materials which have become effete the detritus 
 of the tissues as well as from unserviceable and superfluous nitro- 
 genous substances in the blood." As albumen fails under natural 
 circumstances to pass off as such from the system, it was thought that, 
 when introduced in excess of the requirements of nutrition, it under- 
 went a retrograde metamorphosis of such a nature as would admit of 
 the escape of its elements. It is perfectly true that the process which 
 occurs does constitute a retrograde metamorphosis ; but the question 
 
84 ALIMENTARY PRINCIPLES. 
 
 presents itself whether it is simply designed as a means of exit of 
 surplus matter, or whether it is not preparatory to some useful pur- 
 pose being fulfilled by a part of the nitrogenous compound. 
 
 The fundamental fifct to be dealt with is, that nitrogenous matter 
 undergoes a metamorphosis in the system attended with the produc- 
 tion of urea. Now, let us look at the chemical constitution of these 
 bodies, and see what this transformation implies. The percentage 
 composition and chemical formulae are at our disposal to appeal to, 
 but the former is the most suitable for our purpose ; for although the 
 atomic constitution of urea has been agreed upon, yet, as regards the 
 albuminous molecule, it cannot be considered that we know with any 
 degree of certainty the exact number of atoms of the different ele- 
 ments belonging to it, much less the precise mode in which these 
 atoms are grouped. The formula, therefore, that can be given for 
 it is only hypothetical. The percentage composition, however, has 
 been ascertained with sufficient precision to serve as a trustworthy 
 basis for the calculation about to be made, and the deduction to be 
 drawn from it. 
 
 Let us take, for our calculation, Mulder's analysis of albumen, 
 which is as follows : 
 
 Carbon, 53 5 
 
 Hydrogen, . . . . . . . . . 7.0 
 
 Nitrogen,. ... . . . . . . . 15.5 
 
 Oxygen, 22.0 
 
 Sulphur, 16 
 
 Phosphorus, . . . . . . . . .04 
 
 100.0 
 
 On looking at these figures, it will be seen that the nitrogen 
 belonging to albumen amounts to 15.5 parts in 100. Now, let us 
 suppose, as is not very far from being actually the case, that the 
 whole of the nitrogen of the ingoing albumen escapes from the sys- 
 tem under the form of urea. In thus escaping as urea the nitrogen 
 carries with it a certain portion of the other constituent elements of 
 albumen, and by ascertaining of what this portion consists we shall 
 see what remains behind to be disposed of in another way. 
 
 To obtain the information required we must first be in possession 
 of a knowledge of the relative proportion in which the elements 
 
METAMORPHOSIS OF NITROGENOUS FOOD. 85 
 
 exist in urea. This is supplied by its percentage composition, which 
 stands as follows : 
 
 Carbon, 20.000 
 
 Hydrogen, 6.6K6 
 
 Nitrogen, 46.667 
 
 Oxygen, 26.667 
 
 100.000 
 
 Now, to give to 15.5 parts of nitrogen (the quantity of nitrogen 
 existing in one hundred parts of albumen) the due proportion of the 
 other elements required to form urea, we shall have to supply 6.64 
 parts of carbon, 2.21 of hydrogen, and 8.85 of oxygen. In other 
 w r ords, the 15.5 parts of nitrogen contained in 100 of albumen, in 
 escaping as urea, will carry with it 6.64 parts of carbon, 2.21 of 
 hydrogen, and 8.85 of oxygen leaving a residuary portion consist- 
 ing of 46.86 parts of carbon, 4.79 of hydrogen, and 13.15 of oxygen, 
 besides the sulphur and phosphorus for utilization and exit in another 
 way. Thus, 33.20 per cent, (or, as nearly as possible, one-third) of 
 the albumen will be turned into urea, and 66.80 per cent, (or, as 
 nearly as possible, two-thirds) of complemental matter will be left. 
 
 Urea must be regarded as constituting the unutilizable portion 
 of frhe albuminous principle. Whether it is formed as a primary 
 product of the splitting up of albumen that is, whether the ele- 
 ments at once group themselves from the albuminous compound into 
 the combination representing it or whether it forms the final 
 product of a series of changes, cannot be stated. From comparing 
 the egesta with the ingesta we know that it is produced. But what 
 constitute the actual steps of metamorphosis within the system re- 
 mains for physiological chemistry to disclose. 
 
 It may be remarked incidentally that, taking urea as an effete 
 product of the metamorphosis of albuminous matter within the sys- 
 tem, and looking at its composition under a certain point of view, 
 we discern a relation to other products of the decomposition of ni- 
 trogenous matter that does not suggest itself on looking at its com- 
 position as ordinarily represented. Carbonic acid, ammonia, and 
 water are the final products into which all nitrogenous matter of an 
 organic nature is constantly tending to resolve itself. Now, the 
 formula for urea is C 2 H 4 N 2 O 2 [CH 4 N 2 0], which is equivalent to two 
 
86 ALIMENTARY PRINCIPLES. 
 
 atoms of carbonate of ammonia minus two atoms of water (2NH 3 , 
 CO 2 2HO = C 2 N 2 H 4 O 2 ) [(H 4 N) 2 C0 3 2H 2 = CH 4 N 2 0]. Its 
 composition is, therefore, not exactly that of carbonate of ammonia, 
 but we have only to add the elements of water to get the formula for 
 carbonic acid and ammonia two of the products into which, as we 
 have seen, nitrogenous matter tends by ordinary decomposition to 
 resolve itself. It may further be remarked that not only does the 
 above-indicated relation exist as to composition, but urea and car- 
 bonate of ammonia are mutually convertible, with the greatest facility, 
 the one into the other. Urea, indeed, is very prone, under the in- 
 fluence of the action of heat, acids, alkalies, and decomposing organic 
 matter, to pass into carbonate of ammonia, and, conversely, it has 
 been somewhat recently discovered that carbonate of ammonia, when 
 subjected to a high temperature in a closed receptacle, is transformed 
 into urea. It is, to say the least, a notable and significant fact that 
 the above-mentioned relation should exist between carbonic acid and 
 ammonia final products of the ordinary decomposition of nitrogen- 
 ous matter and urea, a product designed for excretion arising from 
 the metamorphosis of nitrogenous matter within the living system. 
 It is not difficult to see why the unutilizable portion of nitrogenous 
 alimentary matter should pass off under the form of urea, and not of 
 carbonate of ammonia. It would scarcely be compatible with life 
 that a powerful irritant like carbonate of ammonia should be pro- 
 duced to any extent within the animal system, while urea presents 
 itself as a neutral body, quite destitute of irritating properties, and, 
 therefore, an eligible compound as a product of metamorphosis for 
 excretion. 
 
 The residual portion of an albuminous compound, after the sepa- 
 ration of the nitrogen with the necessary quantities of the other ele- 
 ments to form urea, amounts, as has already been shown, to 66.80 
 per cent, of the whole. This consists of 46.86 parts of carbon, 4.79 
 of hydrogen, and 13.15 of oxygen, with small quantities of sulphur 
 and phosphorus, which, in reference to the point now about to be 
 discussed, viz., the application of this portion to force-production, 
 may be left out of the question. It will be seen that we have here 
 to deal with a considerable surplus of carbon and hydrogen, which 
 represents latent force. 
 
 The 13.15 parts of oxygen will appropriate 1.64 parts of the hydro- 
 
FORCE VALUE OF NITROGENOUS FOOD. 87 
 
 gen to exhaust its oxidizing capacity in combination as water. Reck- 
 oning this amount of hydrogen, then, as appropriated by the oxygen 
 present, we shall have 3.15 parts of hydrogen and 46.86 parts of 
 carbon in a free state for undergoing oxidation. 
 
 It thus appears, if we take away the nitrogen and the elements it 
 carries off as urea, and also abstract from the hydrogen the amount 
 which the residual oxygen would oxidize, that from 100 parts of 
 albumen there remain 46.86 parts of carbon and 3.15 parts of hydro- 
 gen free to undergo chemical combination with oxygen supplied from 
 without. These quantities of carbon and hydrogen will require, for 
 their conversion into carbonic acid and water, 150 parts of oxygen, 
 and this is tantamount to saying, according to the calculation given, 
 that one hundred parts of albumen will be capable of consuming 
 this quantity of oxygen in undergoing oxidation. As the force pro- 
 duced is in proportion to the amount of chemical action, we may 
 measure the value of different articles for force-production by the 
 amount of oxygen they will relatively consume in undergoing com- 
 plete oxidation. Regarded in this light, albumen stands in the fol- 
 lowing position in relation to grape-sugar (anhydrous C 12 H 12 O 12 
 [C G H 12 6 ]), starch, and fat, 
 
 Amount of oxygen appro- 
 priated in oxidizing 100 parts 
 as consumed within the body. 
 
 Grape-sugar (anhydrous), 106 
 
 Starch, 120 
 
 Albumen, 150 
 
 Fat, 293 
 
 Thus, as a force-producing agent, if we are right in taking capacity 
 for oxidation as a measure, albumen has about half the value of fat, 
 and a greater value than both sugar and starch. 
 
 It is true Liebig contends 1 for the existence of some hidden 
 source of power in nitrogenous compounds. Arguing from the fact 
 that alcohol in combustion gives off more heat than its correspond- 
 ing amount of sugar, although a certain amount of heat has been 
 evolved in the act of fermentation or conversion of the sugar into 
 alcohol, he urges that force may be held stored up in the nitrogenous 
 molecule, and liberated when the elements of the molecule are split 
 asunder, and that thus more force may manifest itself than that de- 
 rivable from chemical action. 
 
 1 Pharmaceutical Journal, September 3d, 1870. 
 
88 ALIMENTARY PRINCIPLES. 
 
 Professor Frankland, 1 however, has experimentally determined the 
 actual amount of force evolved during the breaking up by oxidation 
 of various organic products (vide table below) ; and unless nitrogen- 
 ous matter is capable of liberating force under oxidation within the 
 system in a manner different from that occurring outside it, there is 
 no alternative but to look to chemical action as the source of the 
 force produced. 
 
 Frankland's process consisted in deflagrating the substance with a 
 mixture of chlorate of potash and manganic peroxide in an apparatus 
 specially devised for such experiments, and called a calorimeter. The 
 heat evolved w r as measured by ascertaining the elevation of tempera- 
 ture occurring in a known quantity of surrounding water. The re- 
 sults were brought to uniformity by being reduced into units of heat, 
 the unit constituting the amount of heat required to raise the tem- 
 perature of one gramme (15.432 grains) of water one degree Centi- 
 grade (1.8 Fahrenheit). 
 
 Subjoined are Professor Frankland's results for grape-sugar, starch, 
 albumen, and fat. The ratio of the figures does not differ much from 
 the ratio of those representing the amount of oxygen consumed in 
 oxidation. 
 
 Units of heat evolved by oxidation 
 
 of one gramme (15.432 grains) as 
 
 consumed within the body. 
 
 Grape-sugar (commercial), . . . . . 3277 
 
 Starch (arrowroot), . . ... . .3912 
 
 Albumen (purified), . . . . . . . 4263 
 
 Fat (beef fat), . . . . . 9069 
 
 In the case of sugar, starch, and fat, it has been taken that the 
 heat evolved under oxidation in the calorimeter represents the heat 
 given off when consumed within the body, there being every reason 
 to conclude that the ultimate products are, in both instances, the 
 same. With regard to albumen, however, it is known that complete 
 oxidation is not undergone within the system. The nitrogen, in 
 escaping as urea, carries off some of the combustible portion of the 
 compound unconsumed. " The actual energy, " remarks Professor 
 Frankland, "developed by the combustion of muscle in oxygen 
 represents more than the amount of actual energy produced by its 
 oxidation within the body, because, when muscle burns in oxygen, 
 
 1 Philosophical Magazine, vol. xxxii, 1866. 
 
FORCE VALUE OF NITROGENOUS FOOD. 89 
 
 its carbon is converted into carbonic acid, and its hydrogen into 
 water, the nitrogen being to a great extent evolved in the elementary 
 state ; whereas when muscle is most completely consumed in the body 
 the products are carbonic acid, water, and urea a substance which 
 still retains a considerable amount of potential energy." The data 
 for determining the force value of albumen, as consumed within the 
 body, were furnished by experimentally ascertaining the amount of 
 heat evolved in the oxidation of urea, and knowing that almost 
 exactly one-third of the weight of dry albumen is yielded as urea. 
 Thence is supplied the deduction that has to be made from the full 
 combustion-value of albumen to give the result required. 
 
 It appears that about one-seventh of the potential (latent) energy 
 capacity for force-production belonging to nitrogenous matter is 
 carried off by urea, and thereby escapes in an unexpended state when 
 nitrogenous matter is consumed within the body. 
 
 Albumen has been selected for illustration, but what has been 
 said for albumen applies also to the other nitrogenous alimentary 
 principles, with the requisite variations for the slight difference in 
 elementary composition that exists. 
 
 I have looked at the matter which has just formed the subject of 
 consideration by the lighj; of percentage composition, because, as I 
 have already remarked, it supplies us with authentic data for our 
 calculation, and because it cannot be said that we know with cer- 
 tainty the formulae for the nitrogenous alimentary principles. But 
 still we are not precluded from surveying the change under the 
 light of the formulas; and, if we do not know the precise number of 
 atoms of each element entering into the composition of the protein 
 molecule, or the exact manner in which they are grouped, we do 
 know that, in the formula given, a correct relative proportion is ex- 
 pressed. Now, taking the generally received formula for protein, 
 and showing what is left on the removal of the nitrogen under the 
 form of urea, the surplus carbon and hydrogen available for force- 
 production is brought very conspicuously into view. Thus, Mul- 
 der's formula for protein is C 36 H 25 N 4 O 10 .H-2HO. Abstract from this 
 2 atoms of urea, viz. r C 4 H 8 N 4 O 41 and 8 atoms of water, H 8 O 8 , and 
 we get an available residue of 32 atoms of carbon and 11 of hydro- 
 gen, according to the old notation, or 16. of carbon and 11 of hy- 
 
90 ALIMENTARY PRINCIPLES. 
 
 drogen according to the new, thus C 18 H 25 N 4 5 H-H 2 (2CH 4 N 2 0-f 
 4H 2 0)=C 16 H U . 
 
 From the relation already shown to exist between urea discharged 
 and nitrogenous food ingested, it is not to be inferred that the 
 nitrogenous matter which constitutes an integral part of the blood and 
 other parts of the system is not also susceptible of metamorphosis 
 of being similarly split up into urea for excretion and into carbon 
 and hydrogen for force-production. After prolonged abstinence urea 
 is still discoverable to some extent in the urine, and Lehmann found 
 the same at the end of three days 7 subsistence upon a strictly 
 non-nitrogenous diet. It may, therefore, be concluded that the 
 nitrogenous matter belonging to the system may be utilized for 
 force-production after the same manner as has been set forth for the 
 nitrogenous matter of food. 
 
 Seeing that nitrogenous matter is broken up 1st, into a nitro- 
 genous portion urea which is eliminated as useless, and, 2d, a 
 hydrocarbonaceous residue which represents capacity for force-pro- 
 duction, the question next confronts us, whether this hydrocarbona- 
 ceous residue, instead of being oxidized and applied at the moment 
 of its production, presents itself under a form (that of fat, for ex- 
 ample) for retention in the system, and for application as necessity 
 may demand. 
 
 Without any actual proof being available, there has long been a 
 prevailing disposition to infer that fat may be formed as a product 
 of the metamorphosis of protein compounds within the animal 
 economy. All attempts, it is true, have heretofore failed to produce 
 fat by chemical means from protein compounds ; but there is noth- 
 ing, in a chemical point of view, to render the possibility of such 
 production unlikely. Indeed, Liebig has argued, on chemical 
 grounds, in favor of its occurrence. There are these considerations, 
 also, bearing on the question : 
 
 It is well known that, under certain conditions, the organ's and 
 tissues of the animal body are prone to undergo deviation from the 
 natural state, and to become the seat of a deposit of fat in place of 
 the natural histological element, such deviation constituting what is 
 termed " fatty degeneration." Now, this change is susceptible of 
 two explanations it may be due to a deposition of fat during the 
 
NITROGENOUS MATTER AS A SOURCE OF FAT. 91 
 
 performance of the nutritive process, in lieu of the material that has 
 been removed ; or, on the other hand, may proceed from a chemical 
 transformation a downward metamorphosis of the nitrogenous 
 stib.stance the nitrogen disappearing under the form of an ammo- 
 niacal salt, urea, or some other simple combination, and a fatty 
 compound being left to occupy the site. 
 
 Virchow, who has closely studied the process of fatty degenera- 
 tion, and whose opinion is entitled to weight on the subject, is 
 strongly in favor of the latter hypothesis, viz., that the fat accumu- 
 lated is a product of the metamorphosis of the nitrogenous portion of 
 the affected tissue. 
 
 Attempts have been made to find whether the transformation of 
 nitrogenous matter into fat could be demonstrated by experiment. 
 Excised animal structures were introduced into the peritoneal cavity 
 of birds, and allowed to remain for some time, and were then ex- 
 amined in relation to the amount of fat discoverable. At first it was 
 thought that evidence was afforded of a fatty metamorphosis of ni- 
 trogenous matter occurring, but on further investigation the evidence 
 was found to be inconclusive. 
 
 Thus much it may be considered may be said that what is ob- 
 served in the mode of the occurrence of fatty degeneration is strongly 
 suggestive of the doctrine that fat is producible by the metamorphosis 
 of nitrogenous matter in the living economy, although nothing abso- 
 lutely demonstrative can be adduced in support of it. 
 
 In the production of adipocere it has also been contended that 
 evidence is afforded in favor of the origin of fat from nitrogenous 
 matter. Adipocere is a peculiar substance, somewhat spermaceti-like, 
 into which the animal solids are sometimes found to be converted 
 when exposed in a humid situation to putrefaction. Fourcroy first 
 described it in 1789, in a communication to the Royal Academy of 
 Sciences of Paris, having noticed its existence in certain bodies 
 which had been interred in one of the Parisian cemeteries. The 
 bodies appeared shrunk and flattened, and the soft solids, instead of 
 having undergone the ordinary putrefactive change, were found to be 
 converted into a brittle, cheesy matter, which softened and felt 
 greasy when rubbed between the fingers. This material has since 
 been recognized by other observers in dead bodies, and likewise in 
 refuse-heaps of animal matter. It is also said to be obtainable by 
 immersing flesh in a stream of water. It has been regarded as a 
 
92 ALIMENTARY PRINCIPLES. 
 
 product of the metamorphosis of nitrogenous matter ; but, on the 
 other hand, some chemists of authority as Gay-Lussac, Chevreul, 
 and Berzelius, have contended that it simply represents the fat which 
 has originally existed in the animal substance, the nitrogenous mat- 
 ter having undergone putrefaction and been removed. Here, again, 
 therefore, it forms a debatable point whether the fat encountered is a 
 product of the metamorphosis of nitrogenous matter. 
 
 It must, in fact, be said, with regard to the evidence as to the 
 production of fat as a result of the splitting up of nitrogenous matter, 
 that we have nothing of the nature of proof to deal with, but that it 
 is highly probable that such production takes place, not, perhaps, as 
 an immediate result, but as the last link in a chain of metamorphoses 
 passed through by the hydrocarbonaceous portion which stands in 
 complemental relation to the urea. 
 
 Before bringing this subject to a close, it may be stated that 
 Messrs. Lawes and Gilbert, 1 in a series of experiments on the feeding 
 of animals, and the subsequent determination of the respective in- 
 crease occurring in the component matters of the body, have adduced, 
 if not actual proof, at least strong evidence in favor of fat being 
 formed from the nitrogenous portion of food. They first of all show 
 that, for various reasons, the pig is the most appropriate animal for 
 yielding information upon the point in question, and hence its selec- 
 tion as the subject of their experiments. Their results, they say, 
 demonstrate that when pigs are fed on good ordinary food for periods 
 of not less than eight or ten weeks, the amounts of total increase and 
 of fat stored up are so great in proportion both to the original weight 
 of the animal and the food ingested that the data given may be safely 
 relied on for furnishing a means of estimating from what constituent 
 or constituents of the food the fat of the animal has been derived. 
 In their experiments, the increase in body-weight ranged between 
 51.3 and 68.9 per cent, when the feeding was conducted eight weeks, 
 and between 85.4 and 106.8 per cent, when conducted ten weeks. 
 From 59.9 to 79 per cent, of this total increase was reckoned to con- 
 sist of fat. From the nature of the food the proportion of the 
 stored-up fat that could possibly have been derived from the ready 
 formed fat ingested, even supposing the whole of what was supplied 
 
 1 " On the Sources of Fat of the Animal Body," Philosoph. Mag., vol. xxxii, 
 1860. 
 
NITROGENOUS MATTER AS A SOURCE OF FAT. 93 
 
 had been assimilated, was so small as to leave no doubt that a very 
 large proportion must have originated from some other source. Ac- 
 cording to the figures given, the proportion of fat which must have 
 so originated ranged from about two-thirds to eight-ninths of the 
 total amount stored up. 
 
 Thus, then, it was shown that fat must have been formed from 
 the food ingested. The next question for solution was whether the 
 fat produced originated from the nitrogenous or non-nitrogenous 
 elements of the food, or from both. 
 
 That fat must have been produced from the non-nitrogenous 
 matters the carbohydrates was easily susceptible of proof, for in 
 some of the experiments the nature of the food was such that the 
 carbon contained in the fat that was formod amounted to more than 
 could have been derived from the nitrogenous matter ingested. 
 
 As regards the origin of fat from nitrogenous matter, the question 
 is not to be disposed of in so simple a manner ; but Messrs. Lawes 
 and Gilbert conclude that such may be looked upon as shown by 
 the following train of reasoning to occur. In their experiments 
 they purposely varied the relative proportion of the nitrogenous 
 and non-nitrogenous parts of the food given to the several pigs. In 
 some they were in the proportion existing in what may be considered 
 the staple fattening food of the animal. In others the proportion of 
 nitrogenous matter was raised considerably in excess of this standard. 
 Now, from the results obtained, it appeared that there was no ma- 
 terial difference in the amount of fat produced ; although, if fat 
 were capable of originating only from the carbohydrates, it would 
 be reasonable to expect that, on diminishing their supply, as in 
 replacing a portion of them by nitrogenous matters in other words, 
 by increasing the proportionate amount of nitrogenous matter in the 
 food the amount of fat developed would have been less. Looking 
 at the evidence furnished, it seems only rational to infer that, under 
 the diminution in the proportion of the carbohydrates, the nitro- 
 genous matter, through the hydrocarbonaceous portion which remains 
 after the separation of urea, took their place in supplying material 
 for fat production, and thus led to there being no falling off observ- 
 able in the quantity of fat produced. 
 
 The precise position held by the gelatinous principles as alimen- 
 tary matter, must be considered, in spite of the numerous inveeti- 
 
94 ALIMENTARY PRINCIPLES. 
 
 gations that have been specially conducted on the subject, as in- 
 volved in some degree of uncertainty. These principles, while 
 forming highly nitrogenized compounds, stand apart from the al- 
 buminous in not yielding protein. Hence they are classed as the 
 non-protein compounds. Whilst the albuminous or protein com- 
 pounds exist in both animal and vegetable kinds of food, these, the 
 non-protein, are encountered only in substances derived from the 
 animal kingdom. They consist of gelatin and chondrin the former 
 obtainable from bones, ligaments, tendons, skin, mucous and serous 
 membranes in fact, wherever fibrous tissue exists ; and the latter 
 from cartilage. 
 
 By subjecting these tissues to the action of boiling water, the 
 respective principles are obtained ; but whether they have been 
 formed during the process, or existed pre-formed in the tissues, has 
 been a disputed point, although the weight of evidence is in favor 
 of the latter view. The chief characteristic, which they possess in 
 common, is the property belonging to the hot aqueous solution of 
 solidifying into a jelly on cooling. To some extent, in elementary 
 composition, and also in some minor chemical points, these prin- 
 ciples differ from each other. 
 
 With reference to the alimentary power of gelatinous matter, the 
 great point of uncertainty is as to whether it is applicable to histogen- 
 etic or to tissue-forming purposes. It may be concluded that gelat- 
 inous matter is producible from albuminous substances, because the 
 food of the herbivorous animal is entirely devoid of anything of the 
 nature of gelatin ; and because, while gelatinous matter is obtain- 
 able in abundance from the body of the chick, none can be procured 
 from the original constituents of the egg. The protein compounds, 
 therefore, appear to be evidently capable of becoming the source of 
 gelatinous matter ; but the point to be determined is, how far gelat- 
 inous matter is capable of contributing to the production of the 
 nitrogenous compounds met with in the body. It has been con- 
 tended that it certainly is unsusceptible of application towards the 
 formation of muscle and the other tissues having as their basis an 
 albuminous compound ; and it is doubtful if it is even capable of 
 contributing to the formation of the tissues, such as skin, bone, 
 tendon, &c., whose basis consists of gelatinous matter, and which 
 are hence styled the gelatinous tissues. 
 
 The fact of its not being recognizable in the blood, while the 
 
ALIMENTARY VALUE OF THE GELATINOUS PRINCIPLES. 95 
 
 blood constitutes the source from which all the tissues draw their 
 nutrient supply, has been adduced as an argument against its having 
 any histogenetic capacity. But this, in reality, tells for nothing, 
 because, under any circumstances, it is not to be expected that the 
 gelatin should be recognizable in the blood, as it is converted by 
 digestion into albuminose before its absorption occurs. 
 
 The nutritive value of gelatin was made the subject of special in- 
 quiry, several years back, by a committee appointed by the French 
 Academy of Sciences, to ascertain if bones could be turned to ac- 
 count for yielding an article of food for human consumption. The 
 results arrived at by this committee, which passes under the designa- 
 tion of the gelatin commission, have attained a widely-spread noto- 
 riety. Among the conclusions drawn up by Magendie in the name 
 of the commission, it is stated that by no known method of pro- 
 cedure could there be extracted from bones an aliment which either 
 alone or mixed with other substances could be substituted for meat. 
 It was found that dogs fed solely on raw bones and water for three 
 months continued in perfect health, and maintained their original 
 weight. Fed on the same kind of bones which had been previously 
 subjected to the change induced by boiling with water, the dogs died 
 at the end of two months with all the signs of inanition. The gen- 
 eral issue of the inquiry was to throw doubt upon the nutritive ca- 
 pacity of gelatin as an individual organic principle. Before accept- 
 ing such a conclusion, however, it is necessary that we should take 
 a more comprehensive survey of the matter, and look to the weight 
 to be attached to investigations conducted upon the nutritive value 
 of an isolated organic principle, and in doing so it is found that in 
 no case will it supply what is requisite for supporting life. Neither 
 this nor that chemical principle will suffice. There must be a com- 
 bination of principles furnished; such, indeed, as exists in the ob- 
 jects of nature around us, which we instinctively consume as food. 
 
 In opposition to the inference to which the conclusions arrived at 
 by the gelatin commission pointed, Bischoff and Voit, from their 
 researches on nutrition, are of opinion that gelatin possesses real 
 nutritive value ; that to some extent it forms a substitute for other 
 plastic matter, and that, therefore, by its admixture with the food, 
 the quantity of the other nitrogenous matter may, without disadvan- 
 tage, be diminished. 
 
 If uncertainty prevails as to the precise capacity of gelatin as an 
 
96 ALIMENTARY PRINCIPLES. 
 
 agent of nutrition, there can be no doubt that it behaves like a pro- 
 tein compound in relation to force-production. It has been ascer- 
 tained that the elimination of urea is augmented by the copious inges- 
 tion of gelatin, just as happens in the case of the protein com- 
 pounds. It is evident, therefore, that the same kind of splitting up 
 occurs in the two cases ; and, with the separation of urea from the 
 gelatin molecule, a residue of available carbon and hydrogen will be 
 left, in accordance with what has been before explained, for applica- 
 tion towards force-production. There is this further analogy between 
 these compounds, as regards the phenomena of metamorphosis, that 
 leucin is yielded by both under the influence of boiling with a solu- 
 tion of potash. 
 
THE 
 
 XON-NITROGENOUS ALIMENTARY 
 PRINCIPLES. 
 
 WHILE nitrogenous matter may be regarded as forming the essen- 
 tial basis of structures possessing active or living properties, the non- 
 nitrogenous principles may be looked upon as supplying the source 
 of power. The one may be spoken of as holding the position of 
 the instrument of action, while the other supplies the motive power. 
 Nitrogenous alimentary matter may, it is true, by oxidation con- 
 tribute to the generation of the moving force, but, as has been ex- 
 plained, in fulfilling this office there is evidence before us to show 
 that it is split up into two distinct portions, one containing the nitro- 
 gen which is eliminated as useless, and a residuary non-nitrogenous 
 portion which is retained and utilized in force-production. It is true 
 also, as will be shown hereafter, that non-nitrogenous matter may 
 be applied to tissue formation, but it is probable that, in doing so, it 
 is simply for the purpose of being stored up for subsequent appro- 
 priation to force-production, according as circumstances may require.. 
 
 The non-nitrogenous alimentary principles comprise 
 1st. The hydrocarbons or fats; 
 2d. The carbohydrates, starch, sugar, &c. and 
 3d. Principles such as alcohol and the vegetable acids, which 
 
 do not strictly fall within either of the preceding 
 
 groups. 
 
 Hydrocarbons or Fats. These principles, constitute compounds 
 consisting of carbon and hydrogen, combined with only a small pro- 
 portion of oxygen. Represented in round numbers, the following 
 
 7 
 
y ALIMENTARY PRINCIPLES. 
 
 may be given as the percentage composition of the chief fatty princi- 
 ples : 
 
 Carbon, .... ... 79 
 
 Hydrogen., . . . . . .11 
 
 Oxygen, 10 
 
 100 
 
 The formula answering to the above composition that has been 
 assigned consists of C 10 H 9 O [C 10 H 18 0]. 
 
 This, it will be seen, might be considered as representing a pure 
 hydrocarbon, in which every tenth atom of hydrogen is replaced by 
 an atom of oxygen. 
 
 Fats are supplied to us in both animal and vegetable articles of 
 food. Chemically, they consist of a principle possessing acid prop- 
 erties a fatty acid in combination with a radical. When acted 
 oipon by alkalies, and also by contact with bodies of the nature of 
 ferments, and by decomposing animal substances, the fatty acid is 
 separated, and a sweet principle known as glycerin make its appear- 
 ance. Glycerin, however, it would seem, has not pre-existed in the 
 fat. It is found that the united weight of the glycerin and fatty 
 acid produced exceeds that of the fat originally employed. The ele- 
 ments of water are appropriated, and glycerin is thereupon formed 
 by an addition to the hypothetical radical in combination with the 
 fatty acid in the neutral fat. 
 
 There are three compounds stearin, margarin, and olein which 
 make up the great bulk of the fatty matter met with. 
 
 Stearin is the most solid fat of the three. It exists largely in 
 mutton suet, and gives rise to the firmness by which this kind of fat 
 is characterized. Requiring a temperature of about 145 Fahren- 
 heit to melt it, at ordinary temperatures it is always solid. It occurs 
 lo a larger or smaller extent in most animal fats s ; but still there are 
 some in which it has not been recognized. It is never found in vege- 
 table fat. 
 
 Margarin holds an intermediate place between stearin and olein as 
 regards consistence. It is the chief component of most animal fats, 
 and occurs also in nearly all vegetable fats. 
 
 Olein is always met with in a fluid state unless the temperature is 
 very low. It occurs in both vegetable and animal fats, but vegetable 
 fats .are richer in it than animal. 
 
FATS. 99 
 
 The digestion of fat takes place in the small intestine. It traverses 
 the mouth without undergoing any change beyond that induced by 
 the mechanical action of mastication. 
 
 In the stomach the nitrogenous matter which may be incorporated 
 with and invest the fatty, as occurs in the natural alimentary prod- 
 uct, is dissolved, and the latter set free. Passing from the stomach, 
 it is prepared for absorption in the small intestine by emulsification 
 or reduction to a minute state of subdivision. As regards animal 
 and vegetable fats, it appears that the former are easier of digestion 
 and absorption than the latter. 
 
 The emulsification of fat is effected by the pancreatic juice, and 
 probably also by the secretion of Brunner's glands. The bile has 
 no influence over neutral fats, L e., fats in the state in which we con- 
 sume them ; but, according to Dr. Marcet, it possesses the power of 
 emulsifying the fatty acids, and he says there is some liberation of 
 fatty acid effected while the fat is contained in the stomach. The 
 process of emulsification is one of a purely physical nature. The 
 fat is separated into very minute globules, just as it exists in milk, 
 and in this state it is taken up by the special absorbing organs -of 
 the small intestine, viz., the villi. 
 
 It was noticed by Bernard that when fat is delayed for some 
 hours, in contact with pancreatic juice, an acidification of it, or 
 chemical conversion into fatty acid and glycerin is found to have 
 taken place. The delay, however, in the intestine is not long enough 
 for this chemical change to occur as a physiological phenomenon. 
 Bernard thought originally that it did that the digestion of fat 
 was attended with acidification but fat contained in the lacteals, 
 the absorbed fat, that is to say has been found to be in precisely 
 the same chemical condition as that contained in the intestine. It 
 is thus evident that digestion and absorption of fat do not involve 
 its chemical change. 
 
 The villi, those little projecting bodies, limited in situation to the 
 small intestine, are the organs through the agency of which the fat 
 is absorbed. While absorption is going on they are to be seen in a 
 densely white state, from the quantity of fatty particles with which 
 they are charged. It is not precisely understood how the fatty mat- 
 ter passes from the intestine and reaches their centre. From what 
 is to be seen on microscopic examination, conducted immediately 
 after death, it would seem that it is by cell-agency that the fatty 
 
100 ALIMENTARY PRINCIPLES. 
 
 matter is picked out from the intestinal contents. During fasting 
 the epithelial cells investing the villi are' club-shaped and devoid of 
 fat-globules. During absorption, on the other hand, they are 
 charged with fat-globules, and many are found of a spheroidal in- 
 stead of a columnar form. The process of absorption may be thus 
 far likened to that of secretion. As the secreting cells of the glands 
 separate from the blood the particular materials required for each 
 individual secretion, so these cells of the villi pick out or separate 
 from the chyme or intestinal contents the fatty matter which is sub- 
 sequently found in the lacteals. A branch of the lacteal system ex- 
 isting in the centre of the villus receives the product of absorption. 
 Thus much is certain what remains to be made clear is the manner 
 in which the transmission to the lacteal is effected. By the lacteal 
 system the absorbed fat is conducted to and poured into the circu- 
 lation. Mixing with the alkaline blood the fat becomes saponified 
 and dissolved, and in this state it is mostly met with in the circula- 
 tion. Should a rapid entrance, however, have been effected, as hap- 
 pens for a while after the ingestion of food rich in fatty matter, free 
 fat exists in the blood; and a specimen withdrawn under these cir- 
 cumstances, and afterwards allowed to remain at rest presents, after 
 a short time, a distinct cream-like layer upon the surface. 
 
 Having pointed out how the fat belonging to the food reaches the 
 circulation, we have next to consider the purposes to which it is ap- 
 plied in the system. 
 
 I will first speak of it as contributing to the construction of one 
 of the anatomical elements of the body. The adipose tissue consists 
 of nucleated vesicles filled with fatty matter. These vesicles are 
 closely packed together and surrounded by capillary bloodvessels. 
 The fat contained in them is evidently drawn, as in nutrition gener- 
 ally, from the blood circulating around, and, when so separated, a 
 tissue is formed which is turned to account for mechanical, physical, 
 and chemico-physiological purposes. 
 
 For instance, it fills up interstices between muscles, bones, ves- 
 sels, and the other anatomical structures, and by its accumulation 
 under the skin, it gives a regular and rounded form to the outer 
 surface of the body. 
 
 As a bad conductor of heat, the layer of adipose tissue beneath 
 the skin contributes towards retaining the animal warmth. This 
 
USES OF FAT.' j : */>\ '. IX! 1 
 
 function it most conspicuously fulfils in the aquatic warm-blooded 
 animals, such as the seal, porpoise, whale, &c., in which a coat of 
 hair would prove of no service from the nature of the circumstances 
 that exist. The very great thickness of the subcutaneous layer of 
 adipose tissue met with in these animals is evidently designed to 
 meet the demand occasioned by the unsuitableness, in this particular 
 instance, of the ordinary provision. 
 
 Accumulated within the vesicles and susceptible of reabsorption 
 into the blood, it forms a store of force-producing material to.be 
 drawn upon as circumstances may require. Hence it is that life is 
 sustained longer in a fat animal, under abstinence from food and 
 with a supply of water, than in a thin one. 
 
 In vol. xi of the " Transactions of the Linnean Society," an ac- 
 count is given by Mr. Mantel 1, a Fellow of the Society, under the 
 form of a letter to the secretary, of an instance of extraordinary pro- 
 longation of life in a fat animal under absence of food. So extraor- 
 dinary, indeed, is the account, that I should scarcely feel disposed to 
 allude to it here did not the source from which it is derived entitle 
 it to credit. It appears that on the 14th of December, 1810, a pig 
 was buried in its sty by the fall of part of the chalk cliff under Dover 
 Castle. On the 23d of May 160 days afterwards Mr. Mantell 
 was told by some workmen employed in removing the fallen chalk 
 that they had heard the whining of the pig, and although he had 
 great doubt of the fact, he urged them to proceed in clearing away 
 the chalk from the sty, and was soon afterwards surprised to see the 
 pig extricated from its confinement alive. At the time of the acci- 
 dent the pig was in a fat condition, and supposed to have weighed 
 about 160 Ibs. When extricated it presented an extremely emaciated 
 appearance, and weighed no more than 40 Ibs. The sty consisted of 
 a cave about six feet square, dug in the rock, and boarded in front. 
 There was neither food nor water in it, it was asserted, when the fall 
 of the cliff took place. The door and other wood in front of the sty 
 was much nibbled, and the sides of the cave looked very smooth, as 
 though the animal had been constantly licking them to obtain the 
 moisture exuding through the rock. 
 
 In the hibernating animal, a great accumulation of fat takes place 
 during the autumn, which is favored by the oily nature of the nuts, 
 seeds, etc., then obtainable as food. At the end of the winter sleep, 
 the animal is reduced to a comparatively emaciated condition. The 
 
10'J ALIJViENlARY PRINCIPLES. 
 
 fat accumulated may be looked upon as designed to form an inter- 
 nal store for consumption when the supply from without is sus- 
 pended. 
 
 In an emaciated animal, the fat-vesicles, under the microscope, 
 betray the process of absorption that has been going on. They are 
 shrunken in appearance, and the fatty contents of the vesicle, reced- 
 ing from the envelope, leave a space which is filled with watery 
 fluid. 
 
 Besides forming the basis of a tissue fulfilling the functions re- 
 ferred to, fatty matter occurs in intimate incorporation with the ni- 
 trogenous elements of most, if not all, of the various anatomical 
 structures. Lehmann remarks that no animal cell or fibre can be 
 formed without the co-operation of fat, and insists strongly on the 
 fat constituting an active agent in exciting the metamorphosis of ni- 
 trogenous matter. Lehmann, however, wrote under the influence of 
 the formerly prevailing notion that the manifestation of vital energy, 
 as under muscular and nervous action, was due to a destructive 
 metamorphosis of the nitrogenous constituents of the tissues. This, 
 as has already been pointed out, stands opposed to the results of 
 modern research ; and instead of (as suggested by Lehmann) the fatty 
 matter operating by inducing a metamorphosis of the nitrogenous, it 
 may now be considered that, in undergoing oxidation, it constitutes, 
 itself, the source of the power manifested. But this is a point that 
 will be more particularly adverted to hereafter. 
 
 Lehmann has also asserted that fat assists the action of the diges- 
 tive fluid. He goes as far as to say that he has ascertained that a 
 certain, though small amount, of fat is indispensable to the metamor- 
 phosis and solution of nitrogenous articles of food during the process 
 of gastric digestion. I do not think that experiment is found to bear 
 out this statement of Lehmann ; at all events I have seen nothing 
 from my own experiments on artificial digestion to warrant the belief 
 that the action of the gastric juice is even influenced, much less de- 
 termined by, the presence of fat. 
 
 We now come to the consideration of fat with reference to the 
 functions fulfilled by its oxidation within the system, and here we 
 have to deal with functions associated with its final destination. It 
 is the fatty matter existing in the blood that may be looked upon as 
 being thus applied, and when this fails to be adequately replenished 
 
FAT AS A HEAT-PRODUCING AGENT. 103 
 
 by a supply from the food, then absorption occurs from the store 
 which the adipose tissue of the body represents. 
 
 Under Liebig's classification fat is held to be a so-called " element 
 of respiration/' or, to speak more correctly, a calorifacient or heat- 
 producing agent. An exalted temperature is required for a high 
 manifestation of vitality, and amongst the higher members of the 
 animal kingdom, in which the processes of life are carried on with 
 much greater activity than amongst the lower, provision is made 
 for the generation of heat within the body. Notwithstanding ex- 
 posure to great external cold, so long as a healthy condition pre- 
 vails, a certain uniform temperature is maintained; and for this end 
 the oxidation of combustible material is constantly going on. Hence 
 arises a demand for food capable of undergoing the process of oxida- 
 tion. Licbig holds the non-nitrogenous alimentary principles to be 
 specially devoted to this purpose. That they do contribute to it 
 there can be no doubt; but it will be for us presently to consider 
 whether they do not also contribute to the production of other mani- 
 festations of energy besides heat. 
 
 The capacity of a material for heat-production depends upon the 
 amount of unoxidized carbon and hydrogen it contains ; and of all 
 alimentary materials the fats hold the highest place in this respect. 
 While in starchy, saccharine, and suchlike matters, a sufficient 
 amount of oxygen exists in the compound to oxidize all the hydro- 
 gen present, leaving only the carbon in an oxidizable condition, in 
 the fats not only is the carbon but also the chief portion of the 
 hydrogen in an unoxidized state. 
 
 To illustrate the difference existing, it may be stated that starch 
 contains, in round numbers, 45 per cent, of carbon and 6 per cent, 
 of hydrogen, making 51 per cent, of carbon and hydrogen together. 
 The remainder consists of oxygen amounting to as much as 49 per 
 cent, of the whole. Sugar and gum likewise in round numbers 
 contain 43 per cent, of carbon and 6 per cent, of hydrogen, making 
 49 per cent, of carbon and hydrogen together, and leaving 51 per 
 cent, to be made up by oxygen. Fat, on the other hand, contains 
 about 90 per cent, of carbon and hydrogen 79 per cent, of carbon, 
 and 11 per cent, of hydrogen. Only 10 per cent., therefore, remains 
 to consist of oxygen. 
 
 The respective values of these compounds, as regards capacity for 
 oxidation, may also be displayed by reference to their chemical for- 
 
104 ALIMENTARY PRINCIPLES. 
 
 mulse. The formula for starch, for instance, consists of C 12 H 10 O 10 
 [C 6 H 10 5 ], and in all the other allied compounds the hydrogen and 
 oxygen exist similarly in the proportion to form water. Fat may 
 be represented by the formula C 10 H 9 O [C 10 H 18 0]. Here only one 
 atom of hydrogen has its combining equivalent of oxygen contained 
 in the compound. The remaining eight atoms as well as the car- 
 bon, are in a free state for oxidation. 
 
 The amount of oxygen consumed in oxidizing a given quantity 
 of an alimentary principle will necessarily vary with the amount 
 of surplus or uncombined carbon and hydrogen it contains. Hence 
 the relative value of these principles as heat-producing agents (it 
 being upon the amount of chemical action that the quantity of heat 
 produced depends) may be further represented through the medium 
 of the oxygen for which there is a capacity of appropriating ; and, 
 looked at in this light, fat, starch, and sugar hold the following posi- 
 tions with regard to each other. The figures show the amount of 
 oxygen required to oxidize fully 100 parts : 
 
 Fat, 293 
 
 Starch, 120 
 
 Sugar (C 12 H 12 12 ) [C 6 H 12 O 6 ], 106 
 
 According to what is here shown, a given quantity of fat will have 
 the power of appropriating about 2.4 times as much oxygen as the 
 same quantity of starch ; or, stated in other words, will develop about 
 2.4 times as much heat in the process of oxidation, and hence has 
 about 2.4 times as much value as a heat-producing agent. 
 
 The conclusions which have up to this point been set forth are 
 based on calculation. But the actual value in respect of capacity for 
 heat-production has been determined experimentally by means of 
 the calorimeter, and the following are the figures obtained by Pro- 
 fessor Frankland. It will be seen that they accord with the conclu- 
 sions otherwise arrived at : 
 
 Actual heat, expressed in units [the unit representing the heat required to 
 raise 1 gramme (15.432 grains) of water 1 Cent, or 1.8 Falir.~], de- 
 veloped by 1 gramme when burnt in oxygen. 
 
 Heat units. 
 
 Beef fat, 9069 
 
 Starch (arrowroot), 3912 
 
 Cane (lump) sugar, 3848 
 
 Commercial grape-sugar, 3277 
 
OXIDIZABLE CAPACITY OF FAT. 105 
 
 Such is equivalent to saying that 1 Ib. of beef fat by oxidation 
 will generate heat sufficient to raise the temperature of 9069 Ibs. 
 (about 4 tons weight) of water by 1.8 Fahr. (1 Cent.); that the 
 oxidation of the same quantity of arrowroot will similarly raise the 
 temperature of only 3912 Ibs. of water; cane-sugar, 3348 Ibs.; and 
 commercial grape-sugar, 3277 Ibs. 
 
 Looking at this difference. in the relative value of fatty, starchy, 
 and saccharine matters as heat-producers, we see the wisdom of the 
 instinctive consumption of food abounding in fatty matter by the 
 inhabitants of the Arctic regions. The Esquimaux and other dwellers 
 in the frigid zone devour with avidity the fat of whales, seals, (fee., 
 and find in this the most efficient kind of combustible material. In 
 the tropics, on the other hand, the food consumed by the native in- 
 habitants consists mainly of farinaceous and succulent vegetable 
 matter. On account of the elevated temperature of the surrounding 
 air less heat is required to be produced within the body, and a less 
 efficient combustible material is able to supply what is needed for the 
 maintenance of the ordinary temperature. 
 
 I now arrive at the appropriate place for discussing the question 
 of the application of fat to the production of muscular and nervous 
 force,, and what 1 have to say upon the point will apply, not to fat 
 merely, but to other forms of non-nitrogenous alimentary matter. 
 
 Until of late years Liebig's doctrines have been very generally re- 
 ceived. These, as is well known, assign to non-nitrogenous matters, 
 in respect of their cAem/co-physiological office, the part simply of 
 heat-producers. Believing that muscular and nervous action in- 
 volved a destruction of the respective tissues, and that in this de- 
 struction was to be sought the development of the power manifested, 
 he held the nitrogenous elementary matters to constitute the primary 
 source of the power, these being the principles out of which the 
 tissues are in the first instance formed and subsequently renewed. 
 
 Under such a view the nitrogenous matters eliminated as products 
 of disintegration should vary according to the amount of work per- 
 formed, and this was at one time believed to be the case. Even as 
 recently as 1865, Dr. Lyon Playfair (on "The Food of Man in Re- 
 lation to his useful Work ") comes forward in support of Liebig's 
 doctrine, and still argues on the assumption that the work is ex- 
 pressed by the elimination of urea. " The normal function," he says, 
 
106 ALIMENTARY PRINCIPLES. 
 
 " of nutrition is to build up plastic food into tissues, to be transformed 
 by internal and external dynamical work into carbonic acid, water, 
 and urea." He elsewhere asserts that he considers Liebig as amply 
 justified in viewing the non-nitrogenous portions of food as mere 
 heat-givers ; and, with reference to the oxidation of fat forming the 
 source of muscular action, the conception, he says, "can only have 
 arisen from the false analogy of the animal body to a steam-engine. 
 But incessant transformation of the acting parts of the animal ma- 
 chine forms the condition for its action, while in the case of the steam- 
 engine it is the transformation of fuel external to the machine which 
 causes it to move." Dr. Playfair even goes as far as to reproduce 
 and indorse Liebig's representation of the wild beast in confinement 
 being obliged to consume its tissues by incessantly pacing backwards 
 and forwards in its den, in order that the opportunity may be af- 
 forded for its food, which abounds in nitrogenous matter, to be turned 
 to account. 
 
 Dr. Playfair, however, in these utterances, must be regarded as 
 writing behind the time. It has been amply shown (vide p. 54, et 
 seq.) that the elimination of urea, or, to speak more generally, nitro- 
 gen, does not bear the relation which it was formerly supposed to do, 
 to muscular work ; and, as a corollary, it may be taken that muscu- 
 lar action is not the result of, and is not to be measured by, muscular 
 destruction. If not, then, to an oxidation or consumption of muscu- 
 lar tissue, to what is the energy manifested to be ascribed ? The 
 known laws about force lead us to look to chemical action of some 
 kind as the source of the manifestation in question. 
 
 An examination of the outgoings from the system may, there- 
 fore, be rationally appealed to for information regarding the nature 
 of the materials that are consumed in the production of the energy 
 that is manifested. Now, if urea is not a measure of muscular work, 
 it is noticeable that carbonic acid is ; and it is upon this fact that is 
 founded the doctrine of the present day, which refers the source of 
 muscular power to the oxidation of non-nitrogenous matter. So 
 thorough has been the modification of views upon this point, that 
 Traube, as mentioned at a former page, has gone as far as directly 
 to invert the doctrine of Liebig. While Liebig considered that 
 mechanical work could only be produced from the oxidation of 
 nitrogenous matter, Traube has asserted that, in such work, non- 
 nitrogenous substances exclusively are consumed, and that the meta- 
 
FAT IN RELATION TO MUSCULAR FORCE -PRODUCTION. 107 
 
 morphosis of the organized nitrogenous part of a muscle is neither 
 involved in, nor increased by, its action. 
 
 It has, for some time past, been generally believed that the elim- 
 ination of carbonic acid is increased by muscular work. Thus, Leh- 
 mann says bodily exercise increases the exhalation of carbonic acid 
 in the same manner as a state of rest diminishes it. Vierordt, he 
 states, convinced himself that the absolute 'as well as the relative 
 quantity of carbonic acid was increased after moderate exercise, and 
 tliis result, he says, is in perfect conformity with the experiments of 
 Scharling. H. Hoffmann, he continues, found that the sum of the 
 products of exhalation of the skin and lungs was much more consid- 
 erable after prolonged motion than after prolonged rest ; and every 
 one, he further says, who has instituted experiments on the respira- 
 tion of animals, must be aware that they exhale far more carbonic 
 acid when they are lively and active than during a state of repose. 
 
 The older observations upon this point, however, were attended 
 with some lack of uniformity in the results, and it has been reserved 
 for more recent inquiry, with improved means and modes of investi- 
 gation, to put the matter in a thoroughly satisfactory position, and 
 to show that the exhalation of carbonic acid holds a direct relation 
 to the amount of work performed. 
 
 Dr. Edward Smith, in the " Philosophical Transactions" for 1859, 
 has given the results of an extensive series of experiments upon the 
 elimination of carbonic acid under various conditions. They were 
 mostly practiced upon himself, and carried out with zealous self- 
 denial. A mask was closely fitted to the face, and a tube passing off 
 from it conducted the expired air to an apparatus in which the car- 
 bonic acid was abstracted and absorbed by means of potash, and 
 afterwards estimated by weighing. The amounts of carbonic acid 
 exhaled by Dr. Smith, under varying conditions of exertion, stood 
 as follows: 
 
 Carbonic acid 
 
 exhaled per minute 
 
 in grains. 
 
 During sleep, ......... 4.99 
 
 Lying down and almost asleep (average of three observa- 
 tions), 5.91 
 
 Walking at the rate of 2 miles per hour, .... 18.10 
 
 Walking at the rate of 3 miles per hour, .... 25.83 
 Working at the treadmill, ascending at the rate of 28.65 
 
 feet per minute (average of three observations), . . 44.97 
 
108 ALIMENTARY PRINCIPLES. 
 
 Dr. Smith's results are drawn from the carbonic acid exhaled 
 during limited periods of time. Pettenkofer, assisted by Voit, has 
 instituted experiments whereby the observation extended through a 
 period consisting of many hours. An air-tight chamber, sufficiently 
 large to enable a man to live, move about, and sleep in, was provided. 
 To this was adapted an arrangement for maintaining an ingress and 
 egress of air, and for diverting a definite proportion of the latter for 
 the purpose of analysis, in order that the amount of carbonic acid 
 escaping might be determined. In this chamber, upon one occasion, 
 July 31st, 1866, 1 a watchmaker remained for twenty-four hours, 
 passing a day of rest ; that is, he occupied himself only so far as not 
 to feel dull, reading newspapers and a novel, and repairing and 
 cleaning a watch, which he had taken with him into the chamber. 
 He went to bed at 8 P.M., and slept until 5 A.M., when he was aroused 
 by some one on the outside. Three days later the same man entered 
 the chamber, and passed a day of work ; the work consisting of turn- 
 ing a wheel with a weight attached to it. Rest and meals were taken 
 at the periods usual with workmen, and work was stopped at 5.30 P.M. 
 The food taken was exactly the same as on the day of rest ; but 600 
 grammes more water, which had been allowed ad libitum on both 
 days, were consumed. The quantities of carbonic acid and urea 
 eliminated are shown by the subjoined figures : 
 
 Day of Rest. 
 
 Carbonic acid. Urea. 
 
 6 A.M. to 6 P.M., . . 532.9 grammes, . . 21.7 grammes. 
 6 P.M. to 6 A.M., . . 378.6 " . . 15.5 " 
 
 Total, . . 911.5 " . . 37.2 " 
 
 Day of Work. 
 
 Carbonic acid. Urea. 
 
 6 A.M to 6 P.M., . . 884.6 grammes, . . 20.1 grammes. 
 6 P.M. to 6 A.M., . . 399.6 " . . 169 " 
 
 Total, . . 1184.2 . . 37.0 " 
 
 It will be noticed from the above results that no effect was pro- 
 duced upon the elimination of urea. The food consumed was, as 
 
 1 Medical Times and Gazette, vol. ii, 1866, p. 680. 
 
I FAT IN RELATION TO MUSCULAR FORCE -PRODUCTION. 109 
 
 mentioned, similar on the two clays, and, in accordance with this 
 fact, there was a close agreement in the respective amounts of urea 
 voided. The carbonic acid discharged during the actual period of 
 work greatly exceeded that discharged during the corresponding 
 period of rest. During the two night-periods when similar condi- 
 tions prevailed, no material difference in the amount of carbonic acid 
 was perceptible. The quantities, of course, represented the exhala- 
 tion from both the lungs and the cutaneous surface. 
 
 It is impossible by experiment to ascertain anything about the 
 oxidation of hydrogen and production of water in relation to mus- 
 cular work. It having been shown, however, that work is asso- 
 ciated with an oxidation of carbon, it may be assumed that it is 
 similarly associated with, and producible from, an oxidation of hy- 
 drogen. 
 
 To this point, then, are we brought by the progress of experi- 
 mental research. The facts connected with the elimination of nitro- 
 gen show that muscular work is not to be referred as taught by 
 Liebig, and till lately generally believed to an oxidation of the 
 nitrogenous basis of muscular tissue; and if this holds good for mus- 
 cular it may be assumed also to do so for nervous tissue. The rela- 
 tion, on the other hand, which has been shown to exist between the 
 elimination of carbonic acid and the performance of work entitles us 
 to consider that to the oxidation of hydrocarbonaceous matter may 
 be referred the* production of power. 
 
 Just as matter is indestructible and cannot be created, so, it is now 
 understood is, force. Force may be transmuted from one form into 
 another from chemical energy into heat, mechanical power, and so 
 on; but this, it is considered, is all that occurs; and what holds good 
 for the world around us is considered also to apply within the living 
 organism. Physiologists refer the chief source of heat to the oxida- 
 tion of carbon and hydrogen, and to the same source is now ascribed 
 the production of mechanical power. The energy set free by chemi- 
 cal action manifests itself under the form of mechanical work. The 
 following simile has been suggested by Fick and Wislicenus : ! 
 
 "A bundle of muscle-fibres is a kind of machine, consisting of 
 albuminous material, just as a steam-engine is made of steel, iron, 
 brass, &c. Now, as in the steam-engine coal is burnt in order to 
 
 1 " On the Origin of Muscular Power," Philosophical Mag , vol. xxxi, p. 501. 
 
110 ALIMENTARY PRINCIPLES. 
 
 produce force, so in the muscular machine fats, or hydrates of car- 
 bon, are burnt for the same purpose. And, in the same manner as 
 the constructive material of the steam-engine (iron, &c.) is worn 
 away and oxidized, the constructive material of the muscle is worn 
 away, and this wearing away is the source of the nitrogenous con- 
 stituents of the urine. This theory explains why, during muscular 
 exertion, the excretion of the nitrogenous constituents of the urine 
 is little or not at all increased, while that of carbonic acid is enor- 
 mously augmented; for, in a steam-engine moderately fired, and 
 ready for use, the oxidation of iron, &c., would go on tolerably 
 equably, and would not be much increased by the more rapid firing 
 necessary for working, but much more coal would be burnt when it 
 was at work than when it was standing idle." 
 
 Looking, then, at the evidence adduced, the result of modern re- 
 search goes to show that the non-nitrogenous alimentary principles 
 are applied not only to the production of heat, but likewise of other 
 forms of force. It may be considered that nitrogenous matter which 
 constitutes the basis of the various organs and textures forms the 
 instrument of action, whilst the oxidation of non-nitrogenous matter 
 supplies the motive power. 
 
 Fick and Wislicenus, in their celebrated mountain ascent, ascer- 
 tained that severe labor might be performed for awhile without the 
 use of nitrogenous food. As a result of their experience they re- 
 mark, " We can assert from our own experience in the ascent of the 
 Faulhoru, that, in spite of the amount of work, and the abstinence for 
 thirty-one hours from albuminous food, we neither of us felt in the 
 least exhausted. This could hardly have been the case," they pro- 
 ceed to say, " if our muscular force had not been sustained by the 
 non-nitrogenous food of which we partook." 
 
 The two soldiers, in one of Dr. Parkes's experiments, 1 who were 
 subjected to a couple of days' pretty severe walking exercise on a 
 non-nitrogenous diet, were questioned as to how they felt in perform- 
 ing it. The distance traversed amounted to 23| miles on the first 
 day, and 32f miles on the second, on level ground. The diet satis- 
 fied hunger. There was no sinking nor craving for other kinds of 
 food, but it was monotonous, and neither man wished to continue it. 
 The first day's walking was borne pretty well. On the second day, 
 
 1 Proceedings of the Royal Society, vol. xv, p. 346, 1867. 
 
ACTUAL FORCE-VALUE OF FAT, ETC. Ill 
 
 both men accomplished the first twenty miles well, but felt very 
 much fatigued during the last thirteen. They could have both 
 marched on the following day, had it been necessary. One man 
 would give no opinion as to the amount of fatigue experienced in 
 comparison with walking on other occasions, as he had no fair basis, 
 he said, to go by. The other, however, was decidedly of opinion 
 that he sustained much more fatigue than when walking upon other 
 food. 
 
 In a previous part of this work (vide p. T4 et seq.\ it has been fully 
 pointed out how, without coinciding with the doctrine formerly en- 
 tertained, the nitrogenous alimentary principles are, like the non- 
 nitrogenous, rendered applicable to force-production. Instead of 
 passing into the state of tissue, and thence by oxidation giving rise 
 to the evolution of force, they undergo (probably by the action of 
 the liver) a splitting up into urea for the one part, which carries off 
 the nitrogen as an unavailable element, and into a slightly oxygen- 
 ated hydrocarbonaceous residue for the other, which may be looked 
 upon as applicable in the same way as primarily ingested non- 
 nitrogenous matter to force-production. 
 
 That energy capable of resulting in the performance of mechani- 
 cal work is produced in the animal system by the oxidation of car- 
 bonaceous matter may be considered as an established fact. Whether, 
 however, this energy arises from the occurrence of oxidation in the 
 blood as it is circulating through the capillary vessels of the muscle, 
 or whether from the oxidation of hydrocarbonaceous matter exist- 
 ing in the muscular tissue, is a point which it is not easy to see the 
 way to settle; but the latter proposition, it may be said, appears the 
 more probable of the two. 
 
 As is the case with reference to heat, the amount of mechanical 
 energy producible is in proportion to the amount of chemical action 
 occurring. A given amount of an organic compound, for example, 
 will, as is well-known, by oxidation give rise to the generation of a 
 definite and ascertainable amount of heat. In the same manner, 
 when the energy self free is manifested under the form of mechanical 
 power instead of heat, a fixed amount of work is capable of being 
 performed. The energy produced may present itself under the form 
 of a certain amount of heat, or on the other hand, may lead to the 
 accomplishment of a certain amount of work; not only so, but heat 
 and mechanical power are known to be mutually convertible, and a 
 
112 ALIMENTARY PRINCIPLES. 
 
 definite expression can be given of their relative value in represen- 
 tative equivalents. 
 
 According to the English system, work is measured by pounds or 
 tons lifted a foot, and the measurement is expressed as foot-pounds 
 or foot-tons. 
 
 Now, Mr. Joule, of Manchester, has ascertained, and his conclu- 
 sions are very generally acquiesced in, that the amount of energy 
 which under the form of heat will raise the temperature of a pound 
 of water 1 Fahr. will, if manifested as mechanical force, raise 772 
 Ibs. a foot high, or what, of course, amounts to the same, 1 Ib. 772 
 feet high. Thus the dynamic equivalent of 1 Fahr. of heat is said 
 to be 772 foot-pounds. Adopting the Centigrade scale of thermal 
 measurement, the mechanical equivalent of 1 (1.8 Fahr.) will be 
 1389 foot-pounds; that is, the energy which, as calorific power, will 
 raise the temperature of a pound of water 1 Cent. (1.8 Fahr.) will 
 be capable, as motive power, of raising a pound weight 1389 feet 
 high. 
 
 Under the Continental system the mechanical equivalent of heat 
 is expressed in kilogrammetres a kilogrammetre constituting one 
 kilogramme (2.2046 Ibs. avoirdupois) raised to the height of a 
 metre (3.2808 feet). Thus represented, and following Mr. Joule's 
 formula, 1 Cent, of heat may be said to be equivalent to 423 J kilo- 
 grammetres, which means that the heat which will raise the tempe- 
 rature of a kilogramme of water 1 Cent, will be equivalent to the 
 mechanical power required to raise a kilogramme weight 423J 
 metres high. 
 
 Applying this to the utilization of food the value of the various 
 principles as mechanical power-producers will correspond with their 
 value as heat-producers. As heat-production is related to the 
 amount of chemical action ensuing, so likewise is mechanical power- 
 production. Such alimentary principle as will by oxidation give 
 rise to the greatest amount of heat will have the greatest capacity 
 for the production of working power. 
 
 At p. 104 the calorific value of fat, starch, cafce-sugar, and grape- 
 sugar is to be found according to the actual determinations of Pro- 
 fessor Frankland. Looked at in relation to the performance of 
 work, and taking Mr. Joule's estimate of the mechanical equivalent 
 of heat as the basis of calculation, the capacity of these articles will 
 stand thus : 
 
ACTUAL FORCE-VALUE OF FAT, ETC. 113 
 
 Amount of mechanical ivorlc obtainable from the oxidation of one gramme 
 
 (15.432 grains}. 
 
 In kilogrammetres. 
 
 (Frankland.) In foot-pounds. 1 
 
 (kilogrammes lifted a metre.) (pounds lifted a foot.) 
 
 Beef fat, ....... 3841 27,778 
 
 Starch (arrowroot), 1657 11,983 
 
 Lump sugar, 1418 10,254 
 
 Grape ....... 1388 10,038 
 
 Nitrogenous matters, as has been previously explained, do not 
 undergo complete oxidation within the body, a portion of the com- 
 pound being separated and eliminated under the form of urea in an 
 unoxidized condition. 
 
 Taking lean beef, and viewing it as oxidized to the extent which 
 occurs in the animal system, one gramme (15.432 grains) in a dried 
 state will develop energy capable of raising 2047 kilogrammes a 
 metre high, or 14.803 Ibs. a foot high. 
 
 Such is the modern way of regarding food in reference to its appli- 
 cation to force- production. 
 
 1 Kilogrammetres are convertible into foot-pounds by multiplying by 7.232 : 
 one kilogrammetre being equal to 7.232 foot-pounds. 
 
THE CAEBOHYDEATES. 
 
 THE Carbohydrates forming a second systematic group of non- 
 nitrogenous alimentary principles, are compounds in which the hy- 
 drogen and oxygen exist in the proportion to form water. Hence 
 these compounds have been designated hydrates of carbon or carbo- 
 hydrates. It must not, however, be inferred that the elements are 
 in reality grouped as the name would imply. There is no ground 
 for such a conclusion. All that can be said is that the respective 
 quantities of the elements are such as would form water. But from 
 this it does not follow that they exist in combination as water, to be 
 then linked as such to the carbon. Comprised in the group of com- 
 pounds we have 
 
 Starch, 
 
 Cane-sugar, 
 
 Grape-sugar, 
 
 Lactin (sugar of milk), 
 
 Inosite (muscle-sugar), 
 
 Amyloid substance, 
 
 Gum, 
 
 Dextrin, 
 
 Cellulose, 
 
 Woody fibre, 
 
 Lactic acid, 
 
 Acetic acid. 
 
 Starch (C 12 H 10 O 10 ) [C 6 H 10 5 ]. Starch maybe regarded as the most 
 important alimentary principle of the group, on account of its enter- 
 ing so largely as it does into some of our staple articles of food. It 
 is met with only in vegetable products, and is found stored up in the 
 form of little granules, or solid particles, in many seeds, roots, stems, 
 and some fruits. Each granule is made up of a series of concentric 
 layers, the external being of a firmer or more indurated nature than 
 
CARBOHYDRATES. 115 
 
 the rest. In cold water the granules remain unaltered, but when 
 subjected to the influence of boiling water they swell up, burst, and 
 form a mucilage which assumes a gelatinous nature on being allowed 
 to cool. 
 
 Starch constitutes a principle which, as long as it remains as such, 
 resists absorption from the alimentary canal. At least, all that can 
 be said is that a few particles, like finely divided particles of other 
 kinds, as of charcoal and sulphur, have been known to find their 
 way, in some manner or other, through the walls of the alimentary 
 canal into the bloodvessels. To serve, therefore, as an alimentary 
 article, it must undergo a preliminary metamorphosis to fit it for ab- 
 sorption, arid this is effected by the process of digestion. 
 
 The influence exerted upon starch in the digestive system leads to 
 its conversion, in the first instance, into dextrin, which has only a 
 very transitory existence, and then into sugar an agent which pos- 
 sesses the property of being easily susceptible of absorption. Thus 
 it is that starch is prepared by the digestive apparatus for under- 
 going absorption. 
 
 There are various secretions that are endowed \vith the power of 
 transforming starch into sugar. I will speak, in the first place, of 
 the action of the saliva in this respect. 
 
 \Vhen starch has been brought into the most favorable condition 
 for metamorphosis, as by subjection to the influence of boiling water, 
 it is very speedily converted into sugar upon being brought into con- 
 tact with human saliva. In the solid form, however, or whilst the 
 granules remain in an unruptured state, the transformation is much 
 less speedily effected. Now, it happens that our food is not long 
 delayed in the mouth, and that the starch, as we usually consume it, 
 is not in the most favorable condition for metamorphosis. It may, 
 therefore, be considered that during the accomplishment of the first 
 step of the digestive process, viz., the action which is exerted while 
 the food is in the mouth, little, if any, conversion of starch into sugar 
 takes place. Moreover, although the human saliva enjoys the property 
 above-mentioned, yet the saliva of many of the lower animals fails, 
 it has been found, to possess a similar capacity. 
 
 The transformative power of saliva is also checked by the presence 
 of an acid. Hence, when the stomach is reached, and the food 
 arrives in contact with its acid secretion, any change that might occur 
 from the prolonged admixture of starch and saliva is prevented. In 
 
116 ALIMENTARY PKINCIPLES. 
 
 the ruminant animal, however, the food, after being a first time 
 swallowed, is retained for awhile in a simple receptacle, a favorable 
 condition being here presented for the exercise of the transformative 
 action of the saliva. The same likewise holds good in the case of the 
 crop of the bird. 
 
 It has been suggested by Dr. Bence Jones that the secretion of the 
 stomach, by virtue of the acid belonging to it, is capable of effecting 
 some conversion of starch into sugar. The amount of change, how- 
 ever, that can be thus exerted is probably not sufficient to warrant 
 our looking upon it as possessing any material extent of physiological 
 significance. 
 
 Passing from the stomach, the food reaches the small intestine 
 the part of the alimentary canal which may be regarded as forming 
 the main seat of the digestion of starch. The secretion both of the 
 pancreas and of the glands of the intestinal walls possesses the power 
 of acting energetically upon starch, and within the intestinal canal 
 there exist the most favorable conditions for the exercise of the trans- 
 formative power enjoyed by these fluids. The food, for instance, 
 has been reduced to a semifluid state before reaching the intestine, 
 where its admixture with the secretions in question takes place. The 
 two are then urged slowly along by the peristaltic movement of the 
 intestinal canal, and thus cannot fail to become thoroughly incorpor- 
 ated together. Subjected in this way to prolonged contact with each 
 other, and at the same time exposed to the equable and elevated 
 temperature which belongs to the locality, nothing could be more 
 favorable for the occurrence of the metamorphosis. As the transfor- 
 mation of the starch is accomplished, the resulting sugar is removed 
 by absorption, passing, simply by virtue of its diffusibility, into the 
 circulating current within the bloodvessels. 
 
 Microscopic examination shows that in this conversion of starch 
 into dextrin, in the first place, and afterwards into sugar, the gran- 
 ules become softened and gradually broken up. Individual lamellae 
 have been seen to become detached and subsequently to undergo dis- 
 integration isolated shreds having been brought into view with the 
 aid of the iodine test. The farther the starch is traced onwards in the 
 intestinal canal the smaller do the granules become, in consequence 
 of the gradually advancing disintegration and solution which they 
 undergo from the surface inwards. 
 
 The power of digesting starch is not by any means such as to 
 
CARBOHYDRATES. 117 
 
 secure the digestion of all that enters the alimentary canal as food. 
 Starch-granules, especially when the starch has been ingested in the 
 raw .state, have been frequently shown to pass off from the alimen- 
 tary canal in considerable numbers with the evacuations, both in 
 man and in the lower animals. 
 
 Cane-sugar (C 12 H u O n ) [0 12 H 22 H ]. There are various kinds of 
 sugar, and this is the crystallizable variety, which is so extensively 
 employed as an article of food. It is produced only by the vegeta- 
 ble kingdom, and is contained in the juice of the stems, roots, and 
 other parts of various plants. It is present in a dissolved state in 
 these juices instead of existing in a solid form, as is the case with 
 starch. 
 
 The properties of solubility and diffusibility which cane-sugar 
 possesses dispense with the necessity of any aid to absorption being 
 afforded by the digestive process. All that is required is that it 
 should be either dissolved or that there should be liquid to dissolve 
 it, and its diffusibility will enable it, without any preparatory pro- 
 cess, to pass by absorption from the alimentary canal into the cur- 
 rent of fluid contained in the bloodvessels. 
 
 Although cane-sugar, however, requires no digestion to fit it for 
 absorption, it may be considered probable that it undergoes conver- 
 sion into grape-sugar, certainly in part, if not wholly, before leaving 
 the alimentary canal. If cane-sugar be introduced into one of the 
 vessels of the general circulation, it passes off from the system with- 
 out being utilized, and escapes, still in the form of cane-sugar, with 
 the urine. If, however, cane-sugar be introduced into the alimen- 
 tary canal beyond the capacity, say, for subsequent assimilation, 
 sugar similarly passes off with the urine, but now in the form of 
 grape-sugar instead of cane-sugar; and if this conversion is not 
 effected in the alimentary canal, the liver must be the organ in which 
 it occurs. Lehmann asserts that he has ascertained, as the result 
 of repeated experiments, that when rabbits are fed with beet-root, 
 Avliich contains cane-sugar, and not grape-sugar, grape-sugar is to be 
 found in the stomach and intestine, and no cane-sugar. Even when 
 large quantities of cane-sugar were dissolved in water and injected 
 into the stomach of rabbits, grape-sugar was the only kind of sugar 
 which he could detect in the stomach and intestine. Similar re- 
 sults, Lehmann adds, were obtained in numerous experiments of a 
 like nature, conducted by Von Becker, and it was only rarely that 
 
118 ALIMENTARY PRINCIPLES. 
 
 cane-sugar could be traced as far as the middle of the small intes- 
 tine, even in those cases in which large quantities had been intro- 
 duced into the stomach of cats and rabbits. Since neither the saliva 
 nor the gastric juice, he continues, is able to effect an immediate 
 conversion of cane-sugar into grape-sugar, it only remains to be as- 
 sumed, as suggested by Von Becker, that the transformation is pro- 
 duced by the action of the substances in a state of change which are 
 always present in the alimentary canal. 
 
 There is nothing surprising in the convertibility, under these cir- 
 cumstances, of cane-sugar into grape-sugar, seeing with what facility 
 the change is effected by chemical and other agencies. Boiling, for 
 instance, with a little sulphuric acid, causes an immediate metamor- 
 phosis. Cane-sugar, in the form of syrup, maintained long near the 
 boiling-point, and without the aid of any chemical agent, undergoes 
 partial conversion into grape-sugar. In the case of beetroot, also, 1 
 have noticed, simply as the result of keeping, especially when re- 
 duced to a pulp and mixed with a decomposable liquid like saliva, 
 or even with water only, that grape-sugar has made its appearance. 
 
 Grape-sugar (C 12 H 12 O 12 +2HO) [C 6 H 12 6 ,H 2 0]. Grape-sugar is 
 met with extensively as a vegetable product in the juices of many 
 fruits and other parts of plants, and is also readily obtainable from 
 other carbohydrates by chemical means, and likewise by the meta- 
 morphosic influence of organic bodies in a state of change. It may, 
 perhaps, be set down as representing the lowest, in a chemico-physi- 
 ological point of view, of the neutral compounds of the carbohy- 
 drate group, as it constitutes that form into which they are all easily 
 convertible, and into which they appear to have a tendency to de- 
 scend. It may also be considered as having its elements in looser 
 combination, as it yields to oxidizing influences which the others re- 
 sist. Upon this depends the reaction which specially occurs with 
 this form of sugar when in contact with the oxide of copper and 
 some other metallic oxides, at a temperature of ebullition a reaction 
 which is turned to account for analytical purposes. 
 
 Grape-sugar may constitute a product arising in the animal 
 system from the transformation of another form of carbohydrate 
 amyloid substance to be presently referred to, which exists as a 
 deposit in the liver and some other structures of the body. 
 
 It is a substance which requires no preliminary process of diges- 
 tion to fit it for absorption, and it may be considered that the main 
 
CARBOHYDRATES. 119 
 
 part of that which is received into the alimentary canal passes with- 
 out modification into the bloodvessels, by virtue of the physical 
 property of diifusibility which it enjoys. 
 
 Grape-sugar, however, is readily convertible, by organic bodies in 
 a state of change, into lactic acid, a principle in which the elements 
 are combined in precisely the same relative proportion as in anhy- 
 drous grape-sugar, one atom of sugar corresponding with two atoms 
 of the acid. Now, such bodies freely exist within the alimentary 
 canal, and probably occasion a transformation of some of the ingested 
 sugar into lactic acid through what is styled, in fact, the lactic- 
 acid fermentation. Lehmann comments upon the exceptionally acid 
 condition of the contents of the stomach, and likewise of the intes- 
 tine, after the introduction of sugar or starch in quantity into the 
 alimentary canal. In the case of some experiments of my own on 
 rabbits which had been fed exclusively on starch and sugar for a 
 few days previous to being killed, I was struck with the remarkably 
 acid state of the contents of the stomach. In some experiments, also, 
 upon rats which had been for some days kept upon sugar only, I 
 noticed a strongly sour smell on laying open the abdominal cavity 
 directly after death. 
 
 It is known that in some cases of dyspepsia there is an undue 
 presence of acid in the stomach. The secretion of the organ being 
 of an acid nature, the condition in question might be ascribable to 
 an inordinate discharge by the secreting structures, and such, it may 
 be considered, is not unfrequently the case. There are grounds, 
 however, for believing that the undue acidity is sometimes attribu- 
 table to a development of acid from the contents of the stomach. 
 When digestion is carried out in a natural way the tendency to 
 ordinary decomposition and fermentation is held in check, but when 
 the process is defectively performed changes of an ordinary nature 
 are allowed, to a greater or less extent, to proceed. Now, saccharine 
 material, in this way undergoing the lactic-acid fermentation, would 
 suffice to account for the unnatural condition in question ; and, in 
 accordance with the view expressed, it is noticeable that articles of 
 food impregnated with sugar are particularly apt to give rise to 
 acidity where a disposition to the derangement exists. 
 
 When saccharine matter is metamorphosed into lactic acid in the 
 manner above referred to, the latter (it may be assumed) becomes 
 absorbed, and subsequently undergoes, in the system, more or less 
 
120 ALIMENTARY PRINCIPLES. 
 
 complete oxidation, in the manner that will be pointed out as occur- 
 ring with organic acids in general. 
 
 The sugar which is absorbed from the alimentary canal will be 
 subsequently traced on in the system when I have gone through the 
 list of carbohydrates. The fitting time will then have arrived for 
 speaking of the assimilation and destination of the group taken 
 altogether. 
 
 Lactin, or sugar of milk (C 12 H 12 O 12 ) [C 12 H 24 12 , or C 12 H 22 O n , H 2 0]. 
 This variety of sugar constitutes an animal product, and its only 
 source is the milk of mammals. Very closely allied in its proper- 
 ties to grape-sugar, it appears to comport itself in precisely the same 
 manner as this principle in the alimentary canal. Nothing, there- 
 fore, requires to be further said about it. 
 
 Inostte, or muscle-sugar (C 12 H 12 O 12 + 4HO) [C 6 H 12 6 , 2H 2 0]. This 
 is another animal carbohydrate. It was not long since discovered 
 by Scherer amongst the constituents of the juice of flesh. According 
 to Lehmann it has hitherto been obtained only from the flesh of the 
 heart. With so limited a source it can have little or no significance 
 in an alimentary point of view. Unlike grape-sugar, it does not 
 reduce the cupro-potassic solution, nor does it undergo the vinous 
 fermentation with yeast, but in the presence of casein it becomes 
 transformed into lactic and butyric acids. 
 
 Amyloid substance (C 12 H 12 O 12 , or C 12 H 10 O 10 -f 2HO) [C 6 H 12 6 , or 
 C 6 H 10 5 , H 2 0]. This is also an animal product. It was discovered 
 by Bernard as the material yielding the sugar obtainable from the 
 liver, and was designated by him glycogen. Besides the liver, where 
 it may occur largely, some other structures yield it. It has a much 
 more extensive existence and distribution among the tissues in the 
 foetal state than afterwards. It is also discoverable in the placenta. 
 
 One of its most noteworthy characters is the striking facility and 
 rapidity with which it undergoes conversion into sugar under the 
 influence of a ferment operating under appropriate conditions. This 
 principle possesses an important bearing in relation to the assimila- 
 tion of sugar, as will appear from what is shortly to be mentioned. 
 
 Gum (C 12 H 11 O 11 ) [C 12 H 22 O n ]. Gum, like starch, extensively per- 
 vades the vegetable kingdom. It is met with in the juices of nearly 
 all plants, and occurs in its purest form as an exudation upon the 
 bark of certain trees. With water it produces a tasteless, ropy, 
 mucilaginous liquid possessing strongly adhesive properties, which 
 
CARBOHYDRATES. 121 
 
 render it a useful article for various purposes. It is convertible into 
 sugar by boiling with dilute sulphuric acid. 
 
 Gum is, doubtless, susceptible of being utilized as an alimentary 
 principle, although nothing definite is known about what becomes of 
 it when introduced into the alimentary canal. Although soluble, it 
 is of very low divisibility , and, belonging to the class of colloids, is, 
 according to Graham, only two and a half times more dialyzable than 
 albumen. 
 
 Its properties, therefore, are such as to preclude its passage to any 
 great extent by absorption into the bloodvessels. We have no tangi- 
 ble evidence that, like starch, it undergoes conversion in the alimen- 
 tary canal into sugar. In the first place, none of the secretions are 
 found to possess the power of effecting the conversion, and, in the 
 next, no sugar is discoverable in the alimentary canal after gum has 
 been administered. I have experimented both upon rabbits and 
 dogs with reference to this point. In rabbits, to which nothing else 
 but gum in solution had been administered for a few days before 
 death, no sugar was subsequently discoverable in either the stomach 
 or intestine. After the administration of gum, also, in conjunction 
 with animal food, to a dog, no trace of sugar was to be detected in 
 the alimentary canal. 
 
 Lehmann, in one part of his " Physiological Chemistry," goes as 
 far as to say that gum remains unabsorbed. Further on he speaks 
 of its absorption as being extremely limited, if, indeed, it occurs at 
 all. There are considerations, however, which, I think, must be 
 held as indirectly showing that, under some form or other, its ele- 
 ments, to some, if not to a large extent, reach the circulation. 
 
 The first consideration is this. Amyloid substance, which has 
 been before referred to as forming a constituent of the liver, is evi- 
 dently derivable from the absorbed products of the food, and under 
 the absence of food it is noticeable that it entirely disappears from 
 the organ. Now, when substances like starch and sugar have been 
 exclusively administered, the liver is found to be charged with amy- 
 loid substance, and in a series of experiments which I some time ago 
 conducted I observed, after the exclusive administration of gum, a 
 similar existence of amyloid substance in the liver. It is true the 
 amount present was not very large, but, nevertheless, there was a 
 notable quantity to deal with. 
 
 The next consideration is that the carbohydrates, which are ab- 
 
122 ALIMENTARY PRINCIPLES. 
 
 sorbable and convertible within the system into sugar, increase the 
 sugar eliminated with the urine in cases of diabetes. To a patient 
 suffering from this disease, and under very strict regimen and obser- 
 vation, gum was administered, and a distinct, although not a large, 
 augmentation in the eliminated sugar was noticeable. 
 
 Dextrin (C 12 H 10 O 10 ) [C 6 H 10 5 ]. Dextrin does not occur as a nat- 
 ural product, but constitutes an artificial gum, derivable from the 
 transformation of starch, with which, in composition, it is identical. 
 It is producible from starch by the action of heat, the mineral acids, 
 and the ferment diastase, which is developed during the process of 
 fermentation. It has been suggested that it behaves in the alimen- 
 tary canal like gum, but, being readily convertible, in the same 
 manner as starch, by some of the digestive secretions into sugar, it is 
 probable that, when it happens to be consumed, it is transformed 
 into sugar, and in that state absorbed. 
 
 Cellulose (C 12 H 10 O 10 ) [C 18 H 30 15 ]. This constitutes the basis of the 
 structure forming the walls of the cells, fibres, and vessels of plants. 
 It is presented in a nearly pure form in cotton, linen, and elder pith. 
 It offers strong resistance to solution, but yields, however, to the 
 more powerful chemical agents. It is convertible first into dextrin, 
 and then into sugar, by boiling with dilute sulphuric acid. 
 
 Closely allied to cellulose of the vegetable kingdom is a principle 
 which was discovered by C. Schmidt in the outer tunic of some of 
 the lower mollusca. It is known as animal cellulose, or tunicin 
 (C a H 10 O 10 ) [C 6 H 10 5 ], and possesses significance from furnishing an 
 instance in which a carbohydrate enters into the composition, if even 
 it does not form the basis, of an animal texture. 
 
 From the resistance offered by cellulose to solvents, it can scarcely 
 constitute an article of any decided alimentary value for the gener- 
 ality of animals. It seems, however, that in the case of the beaver 
 a special aptitude exists for digesting this principle. 
 
 Lignin, or woody fibre (C 12 H 10 O 10 ) [C 6 H 10 5 ]. Lignin forms the 
 pervading solid matter which is deposited within the vegetable fibre, 
 and gives to wood the property of hardness. It is of an exceedingly 
 insoluble nature, and it is only in exceptional instances that it can 
 do otherwise than escape the action of the digestive juices. 
 
 Lactic acid (C 6 H 6 O 6 ) [HC 3 H 5 3 ] and acetic acid (C 4 H 3 O 3 +HO) 
 [HC 2 H 3 2 ] also belong chemically to the group of carbohydrates ac- 
 cording to the old formula, but in a physiological point of view they 
 
PASSAGE OF CARBOHYDRATES INTO THE SYSTEM. 123 
 
 probably stand in quite a distinct position. They will be subse- 
 quently considered in connection with the next group of substances, 
 which will be found to include other organic acids. 
 
 I now come to speak of the assimilation and utilization of the carbo- 
 hydrate*. 
 
 It has been stated that some conversion of saccharine matter into 
 lactic acid may occur within the alimentary canal. It can scarcely 
 be considered, however, that this transformation takes place to a suf- 
 ficient extent to be deserving of much consideration as regards the 
 question of utilization. It may be assumed that the lactic acid so 
 produced becomes absorbed, and is subsequently mainly disposed of 
 by undergoing oxidation within the system, as happens with the 
 organic acids in general. 
 
 It is as saccharine matter that the carbohydrates, in the ordinary 
 course, reach the circulation, and the saccharine matter thus derived 
 is conveyed by the portal system of vessels to the liver, where it can 
 be shown to be detained and subjected to metamorphosis a process 
 which may be regarded as forming its first step of assimilation. 
 
 That the saccharine matter is detained, as has been asserted, in 
 the liver, is attested by the fact that if it should reach the general 
 circulation it will immediately become recognizable in the urine. 
 
 Under natural circumstances, for instance, the urine, on being ex- 
 amined in the ordinary way, gives no reaction with the tests for 
 sugar, although, it is true, when large quantities are operated upon, 
 and evaporation and separation of the other ingredients effected, 
 sugar, to a minute extent, is found to exist. On introducing sugar, 
 however, into the general circulatory system, it is found to pass off 
 with the urine, and to be more or less strongly recognizable by the 
 ordinary mode of testing. 
 
 It used to be thought that sugar was capable of being oxidized on 
 being conveyed by the blood through the lungs. Liebig suggested 
 this view on theoretical grounds, and Bernard's experiments sup- 
 ported it. With regard to the theoretical proposition, it does not 
 appear to me to demand consideration, and Bernard's experiments I 
 have shown, in another place, 1 to have received a fallacious interpre- 
 
 1 " Researches on Sugar Formation in the Liver," Philosophical Transactions, 
 I860. 
 
124 ALIMENTARY PRINCIPLES. 
 
 tation. There is no appreciably recognizable destruction of sugar, 
 in fact, anywhere effected within the circulatory system ; hence sugar 
 in any way reaching the general circulation will be carried in due 
 course to the kidney, and by virtue of its property of diffusibility 
 will escape with the urine. 
 
 Lehmann's experiments and my own are in accord upon this point. 
 Lehmann, for instance, states that, without including previous ex- 
 periments, he had recently injected grape-sugar into the jugular vein 
 of thirty-seven rabbits and dogs, and in no single instance was grape- 
 sugar absent from the urine. He further remarks that sugar passes 
 so quickly into the urine that it may frequently be detected five 
 minutes after its injection, and this even when only one-tenth of a 
 gramme (1J grain) has been injected. 
 
 If, then, sugar passes off in this way with the urine when intro- 
 duced into the general circulation, and sugar is not similarly to be 
 detected in the urine By ordinary examination under natural circum- 
 stances, it becomes evident that the sugar absorbed from the alimen- 
 tary canal must be stopped on its transit before reaching so far. 
 
 Such is what occurs when ordinary circumstances exist, but if 
 sugar be ingested in excessive quantity, and particularly after fast- 
 ing, when absorption is at the height of .its activity, sugar in notable 
 amount is to be recognized in the urine. It may be .here inferred 
 that its rapidity of entrance exceeds, for the time, the capacity of the 
 liver for detaining and assimilating it, and that thereby some passes 
 through the organ and reaches the general circulation. In illustra- 
 tion of what has been mentioned it may be stated that the urine has 
 been observed in man to have been rendered temporarily saccharine 
 by the ingestion of a considerable quantity of syrup the first thing 
 in the morning, before any food had been taken. Also, in my ex- 
 periments, where rabbits have been fed for a few days solely on starch 
 and sugar, and dogs have had administered to them a large quantity 
 of sugar with their animal food, sugar has been freely discoverable 
 in the urine. 
 
 Not only have we this evidence to denote that sugar is naturally 
 stopped on its passage through the liver, but the principle can be 
 identified, as I will proceed to show, into which, on being detained, 
 it is transformed. 
 
 I have already referred to amyloid substance as a material of the 
 carbohydrate group which has been discovered to exist in the liver. 
 
ASSIMILATION OF SUGAR. 125 
 
 It is a principle which possesses diametrically opposite physical 
 properties to sugar, being a colloid, and therefore non-diffusible, in- 
 stead of a crystalloid and diffusible. By microchemical examina- 
 tion it can be shown to be lodged in the hepatic cells, within which 
 its non-diffusibility permits it to be retained for proceeding on, as it 
 may be assumed to do, in the train of assimilative metamorphoses. 
 Xow, one of the sources of this amyloid substance is evidently sac- 
 charine matter at least such, I think, will be conceded on casting 
 the eye through the following resume of experimental results that I 
 obtained, and published in the u Philosophical Transactions " for 
 1860. A very striking effect, it will be noticed, was produced 
 through the medium of food on the. condition of the liver, and it is 
 to the amount of amyloid substance that it was attributable. 
 
 In the first place, an observation conducted upon eleven dogs, 
 which had been restricted for some time to an amimal diet, gives the 
 state existing under an absence of the introduction of sugar with the 
 food. The dogs were carefully weighed, and also the livers, and 
 the figures furnished showed a relative weight of 1 to 30 the 
 weight of the livers, in other words, amounted only to one-thirtieth 
 of the body -weight. 
 
 A quantitative determination of the amyloid substance present 
 was made in seven out of the eleven instances, and the mean amount 
 given was 7.19 per cent. 
 
 To four other dogs animal food was given with an admixture of 
 sugar, the quantity of sugar administered amounting to about a 
 quarter of a pound daily. In these the results of weighing showed 
 a remarkably increased relative weight of liver, the proportion being 
 as 1 to 16 J of body- weight instead of as 1 to 30. The quantity of 
 amyloid substance present amounted, as a mean for the four livers, 
 to 14.5 per cent. 
 
 Five other dogs were kept for several days upon a purely vegetable 
 diet, the food consisting of barley-meal and potatoes, or, where this 
 was refused, of bread and potatoes. The weight of the livers was 
 here found to amount to as much as one-fifteenth of the body-weight 
 exactly double the relative weight under purely animal food. In 
 two of the instances no quantitative determination of the amyloid 
 substance was made, but from the rough examination conducted it 
 was evidently present in very large quantity. It was, in fact, these 
 identical livers that first suggested the idea which led me to prose- 
 
126 ALIMENTARY PRINCIPLES. 
 
 cute my subsequent inquiry. The three other livers were subjected 
 to analysis, and the amyloid substance averaged the large amount of 
 17.23 per cent. 
 
 From these observations it appears that the ingestion of sugar 
 and starch produces an augmentation of the size of the liver, due to 
 an increase of the amyloid substance contained in it. The inference 
 naturally to be drawn is that absorbed saccharine matter, on reach- 
 ing the liver, is transformed by the assimilative action of the organ 
 into amyloid substance, which is stored up in its cells for subsequent 
 further change, preliminary to being appropriated to the purposes of 
 life. That the saccharine matter derived from the food becomes 
 thus transformed into amyloid substance is even more strongly ex- 
 emplified by the results obtained in the following experiments per- 
 formed upon rabbits. 
 
 A couple of full-grown rabbits were selected, which as closely as 
 possible resembled each other in size and condition. To the one, 
 starch and ^rape-sugar only were administered, and to the other, 
 no food at all. 
 
 The rabbit which had fasted was found to weigh 3 Ib. 1 oz., and 
 its liver If oz. The rabbit fed on starch and grape-sugar weighed 
 3 Ib. 4oz., and its liver 2f oz., or just double the weight of the 
 other. In the liver of the rabbit that had fasted there was practi- 
 cally no amyloid substance present, while the other contained 15.4 
 per cent. 
 
 Upon another occasion a couple of half-grown rabbits, also as 
 closely as possible resembling each other in size and condition, were 
 submitted to experiment. One was fed on starch and cane-sugar 
 (cane-sugar being used this time instead of grape as in the first ex- 
 periment), and the other, as before, was kept fasting. The latter 
 was found to weigh 1 Ib. 14 oz., and its liver 1 oz., with no amy- 
 loid substance present. The former weighed 1 Ib. 14| oz., and its 
 liver 2f oz., with amyloid substance present to the extent of 16.9 
 per cent. 1 
 
 Nothing could be more simple than the conditions here dealt with, 
 and nothing could more conclusively show that saccharine matter 
 
 1 Full details of the experiments upon this subject are to be found in the 
 author's work, " Researches on the Nature and Treatment of Diabetes," p. 89 et 
 seq. 
 
DESTINATION OF THE CARBOHYDRATES. 127 
 
 conduces to the production of amyloid substance. But, as has been 
 seen, amyloid substance is also present in the liver when no saccha- 
 rine matter has been supplied from without, as, for instance, in the 
 case of an animal restricted to a purely animal diet. Under such 
 circumstances it is probably derived from the metamorphosis of the 
 complemental part to urea, which takes origin in the splitting up of 
 the nitrogenous molecule. It has been, for example, already shown 
 how the nitrogenous portion of food undergoes conversion into urea, 
 which is eliminated, and a residue of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, 
 which is retained for utilization in the system. Now, there is evi- 
 dence producible which tends to show that the splitting up of the 
 nitrogenous molecule occurs in the liver, and nothing is more proba- 
 ble than that the utilizable non-nitrogenous portion passes on in the 
 same way as sugar into amyloid substance. 
 
 The view here enunciated receives support from the relation that 
 has been observed by Dr. Sydney Ringer to exist between the urea 
 and sugar eliminated in diabetes mellitus when either abstinence from 
 food or restriction to a purely animal diet is enjoined. Under such 
 circumstances it was noticed that the urea and sugar rose and fell to- 
 gether in almost exactly the same ratio. Now, in diabetes mellitus 
 it happens that there is a want of power to assimilate and make use 
 of the carbohydrate group of principles, which occasions their escape 
 unutilized with the urine ; and, if the complemental part to urea of 
 the nitrogenous molecule follows the same course in the system (and 
 it has been suggested that it is converted in the liver into amyloid 
 substance) as the carbohydrate, it is only natural to expect that 
 where the defect in question exists it should pass off from the system 
 in the same manner as a carbohydrate, and that thus, where there is 
 only nitrogenous matter as a source for the eliminated sugar, this 
 principle and urea the other representative of the nitrogenous mole- 
 cule should bear a relation in amount to each other. 
 
 To amyloid substance, then, it may be considered that the carbo- 
 hydrates can be followed. We now, however, reach a break in the 
 chain of metamorphosis, and have to step over some missing links. 
 But, if we cannot further trace the absorbed sugar in open view on- 
 wards, and point out the particular changes it next undergoes, still 
 we learn, in another way, that it leads on to the production of fat ; 
 and let us examine the grounds on which this statement is based. 
 
 A sharp controversy was carried on, some years back, between the 
 
128 ALIMENTARY PRINCIPLES. 
 
 German and the French schools, upon the point as to whether ani- 
 mals possessed the power of forming fat. Liebig, on the one side, 
 partly upon experimental evidence, and partly by a train of reasoning, 
 contended that in the animal system the carbohydrates were convert- 
 ible into fat. Dumas and Boussingault, on the other hand, asserted, 
 that the food of animals contained preformed fat sufficient to account 
 for that met with in the body, and hence that there was no need for 
 a fat-forming capacity to exist. 
 
 This controversy instigated the performance of a number of exper- 
 iments which have resulted in proving of considerable service to sci- 
 ence, inasmuch as they have led to the matter in question being 
 placed in a definitely settled position. 
 
 Huberts experiments on bees are the first that can be said to have 
 afforded any substantial evidence bearing on the point. They go 
 towards showing that from sugar the animal can produce wax, which 
 is admitted to belong to the group of fats. 
 
 Grundlach subsequently repeated Huberts experiments, and ob- 
 tained confirmatory results. Both these experimentalists, however, 
 neglected to prove that the wax yielded during subsistence upon a 
 saccharine diet had not been drawn from a pre-existing store in the 
 body. of the animal. Dumas and Milne-Edwards 1 conjointly under- 
 took the performance of experiments to decide this point. They as- 
 signed to themselves the task of first of all determining the amount 
 of wax existing in the bees at the commencement of the experiment, 
 and then compared this with the wax formed into comb and that re- 
 maining in the animals at the conclusion of the experiment. They 
 started by restricting the animal to a diet of pure sugar, but failed in 
 obtaining a satisfactory development of comb. They, therefore, 
 abandoned experimenting with sugar, and substituted honey. Upon 
 this they succeeded in getting, from one swarm out of four on which 
 they experimented, a fair yield of wax. As the honey itself contains 
 a minute portion of wax, this also required to be looked to as one of 
 the items to be taken into account. It is not necessary to give here 
 the actual numerical results obtained. It will be sufficient to state 
 that the amount of wax formed and the fatty matter existing in the 
 animals at the conclusion of the experiment greatly exceeded the fat 
 ingested with the honey and that pre-existing in the bees, a result 
 
 1 " Annales de Chimie,' ; tome xiv, 1845, p. 400. 
 
PRODUCTION OF FOIE GRAS. 129 
 
 which shows that a real production of wax took place. In the words 
 of the experimentalists, the production of wax may be, therefore, 
 said to constitute a true animal operation, and consequently the 
 opinion entertained by the older naturalists, and by some modern 
 chemists, among whom one of the experimentalists themselves (viz., 
 Dumas) had previously found it necessary to range himself, must be 
 set aside. 
 
 In the production of ihefoie gras a further proof is afforded of the 
 formation of fatty matter within the animal system. The process of 
 fattening geese for obtaining this article of luxury is carried on so 
 extensively in Alsace as to form an important industrial employ- 
 ment in that locality. Strasbourg constitutes the headquarters of the 
 trade; and in Murray's "Handbook for Travellers on the Continent" 
 we are told that the cellars of nearly every house in the town form 
 the scene of foie gras production. Almost from time immemorial 
 the goose has been turned, in the manner under consideration, to 
 account. The Roman epicures, it is said, delighted in the enlarged 
 liver of the goose as a delicacy at the table. In our own time the 
 demand for the article is widely spread, and proportionately met. 
 
 The modus operandi for producing the fatty liver is described to 
 be this : The geese, in a lean state to start with, are placed singly in 
 wooden coops just large enough to admit them without allowing 
 them to turn round. There is an opening in front for the head to 
 project. Below stands a wooden trough, kept always full of water, 
 in which fragments of wood charcoal are immersed, and a little salt 
 introduced. Morning and evening, maize or Indian corn, previously 
 soaked in water, is crammed down the bird's throat to repletion. 
 During the day it "drinks and guzzles" in the water before it. In 
 about a month the breathing becomes difficult, and then it is known 
 to be necessary to kill the animal, otherwise death would occur spon- 
 taneously. The liver is now found to weigh from one to two pounds. 
 The goose itself is fit for food for the table. On being roasted as 
 much as from three to five pounds of fat, it is said, escape from it. 
 The fattening process is carried on in cellars, or places where but 
 little light is admitted, and the winter is the season selected. It is 
 not in every case that it is successful. Some of the geese employed 
 fail to turn out so as to allow the fattener's expectations to be realized. 
 
 Persoz, 1 a professor in the Faculty of Science of Strasbourg, and 
 
 1 Annales de Chimie, tome xiv, 1845, p. 408. 
 
130 ALIMENTARY PRINCIPLES. 
 
 therefore located in the midst of the operation, applied the advan- 
 tage thus presented to account for investigating the question of the 
 production of fatty matter from the carbohydrates. 
 
 It is known that maize, the article employed in fattening the 
 geese, is charged to a greater extent with fatty matter than the gen- 
 erality of the cereal grains. Was this the secret of the phenomenon 
 of foie gras production ? Persoz undertook to determine whether 
 the fat contained in the food sufficed to account for the accumulation 
 of fat that occurred. Taking a number of geese, he killed one to 
 begin with, and ascertained the amount of fat existing in the body. 
 This served as the basis of comparison. The others were fed in the 
 way usually adopted by the fattener, and were killed between the 
 nineteenth and twenty-fourth days. Persoz remarks that in his 
 neighborhood expert fatteners assert that the process cannot be 
 eifected with profit if the goose is obliged to be killed before the 
 eighteenth day or after the twenty-fourth. In fact, after a certain 
 period the animal, it is stated, begins to lose instead of gain weight, 
 and this period is known by the dejections assuming a lactescent 
 character. An account was taken of the amount of food ingested, 
 and the fat contained in it was estimated and- found to be altogether 
 inadequate to explain the accumulation of fat which examination 
 showed had taken place in the fattened animal. Persoz's results 
 clearly convinced him that in the fattening process the goose forms 
 a true laboratory or manufactory of fat from the starch and sugar in 
 its food. The liver became five or six times larger than at the be- 
 ginning, but the deposit in the liver occurs only as a part of a general 
 process, fat being so accumulated as to cause the blood to assume a 
 lactescent character, and also being correspondingly distributed 
 through the various parts of the body. The blood, it was stated, 
 was found to have undergone a further modification, namely, as re- 
 gards its albuminous element, the serum failing to give the usual 
 precipitate of albumen with heat and nitric acid. 
 
 Boussingault 1 repeated Persoz's experiments, and obtained confir- 
 matory results. His investigations were conducted upon eleven 
 geese, five of which were examined in the lean state, and the remain- 
 ing six, after the process of fattening, which in his case was carried 
 on for a period of thirty-one days. Boussingault estimated the fat 
 
 1 Annales de Chimie, tome xiv, 1845, p. 461. 
 
CONVERSION OF THE CARBOHYDRATES INTO FAT. 131 
 
 contained in the dejections as well as in the food of the animals. 
 This amounted to something considerable, and, therefore, correspond- 
 ingly increased the amount of fat that had to be reckoned as formed 
 within the system. 
 
 Boussingault likewise experimented in a similar manner and with 
 the same result on ducks. When fed with 140 grammes (about 5 oz.) 
 of maize per diem, a duck of rather over 2 J Ibs. weight gained, he 
 says, in fifteen days, 180 to 200 grammes (about 6J to 7 oz.) of fat. 
 
 He also tried if the same result could be obtained on substituting 
 rice, in which fatty matter is at a minimum, for maize. In the case 
 of two out of three ducks operated upon no marked increase of fat 
 was observable. In the third, however, an increase appears to have 
 occurred assuming, that is, that the bird was not in reality fatter at 
 the beginning of the experiment than it was estimated to be, which 
 may be regarded as an open point. 
 
 Other ducks were fed on the same quantity of rice, to which some 
 butter was added, and, Boussingault states, were rapidly raised to a 
 degree of fatness truly remarkable. 
 
 A duck which had been fed only on butter died at the end of three 
 weeks of starvation. Butter, it is said, exuded from all parts of the 
 body, and the feathers seemed as if they had been soaked in melted 
 butter. 
 
 It thus seems, from these observations on geese and ducks, that 
 conclusive evidence is afforded that the carbohydrate element of food 
 is susceptible of undergoing conversion into fat, but that, for this 
 result to ensue, it must not be administered without a due accom- 
 paniment of the other alimentary principles. 
 
 It may here be mentioned that the practice has prevailed, it ap- 
 pears, in some parts of this country, of fattening fowls for the Lon- 
 don market in a somewhat similar manner to the process resorted to 
 with the Strasburg geese. Although in this case fat is added to the 
 food, yet, doubtless, the modus operandi is the same. Mavor 1 says, 
 "They are put up in a dark place and crammed with a paste made 
 of barley-meal, mutton suet, and some treacle or coarse sugar mixed 
 with milk, and are found to be completely ripe in a fortnight. If 
 kept longer the fever that is induced by this continued state of re- 
 pletion renders them red and unsalable, and frequently kills them." 
 
 1 Agricultural Reports of Berkshire. By William Mavor, LL.D., 1813. 
 
132 ALIMENTARY PRINCIPLES. 
 
 Boussingatilt 1 furthermore experimented upon pigs with reference to 
 the point under consideration. As in the case of his ducks fed with 
 rice, he found that pigs would not fatten on potatoes only, like on 
 food of a less exclusively farinaceous nature. After a time they 
 ceased to make progress in growth, and it was estimated that the 
 fatty matter already contained in the potatoes ingested sufficed to 
 account for whatever fatty accumulation occurred. When, however, 
 the pigs were fed on potatoes mixed with " wash " a refuse liquid 
 derived from the kitchen and dairy, and, therefore, containing nitro- 
 genous and fatty matter fattening was observed to ensue, and the 
 fat which accumulated was found greatly to exceed that introduced 
 from without with the food, from which it was evident that a forma- 
 tion of fat within the system must have occurred. 
 
 Liebig adduces, 2 as giving support to his own view, some observa- 
 tions of Boussingault on a milch cow, and expresses his astonishment 
 that Boussingault, with the results that were before him, should 
 oppose the opinion that the formation of fat occurs within the body. 
 
 It appears from these researches of Boussingault that a milch cow 
 fed on potatoes and chopped straw upon one occasion, and on potatoes 
 and hay upon another, gave out in the form of butter far more fatty 
 matter than was contained in the food ingested. Nay, it even ap- 
 pears, according to Liebig's calculation, that the cow's egesta con- 
 tained as much fatty matter (substances soluble in ether) as the in- 
 gesta,, and, therefore, the whole of the butter of the milk, amounting 
 in the latter observation to 6J Ibs. in six days, must be put down as 
 having been derived from an internal process of formation. 
 
 Dr. Lyon Playfair 3 has likewise made investigations of a similar 
 character, and with a like result. A cow subjected to observation 
 for several days, yielded about a pound, sometimes more, sometimes 
 less, of butter per diem in excess of the fatty matter contained in the 
 food. 
 
 Further, Messrs. Lawes and Gilbert, from their extensive and 
 very searching investigations into the fattening of animals, have 
 abundantly confirmed Liebig's view. They say, with reference to 
 some experiments on the fattening of pigs, carried on for a period of 
 
 1 Op. citat., p. 419. 
 
 2 Animal Chemistry, 2d edition, p. 313. 
 
 3 Philosoph. Magazine, vol. xxiii, 1843, p. 287. 
 
CONVERSION OF THE CARBOHYDRATES INTO FAT. 133 
 
 eight and ten weeks, 1 that "of the determined or estimated fat 
 stored up in the increase, the proportion which could possibly have 
 been derived from the ready-formed fat of the food, even supposing 
 the whole of that supplied had been assimilated, was so small as to 
 leave no doubt whatever that a very large proportion of the stored- 
 up flit must have been produced from other constituents than the 
 ready -formed fatty matter of the food." 
 
 In the communication from which this extract has been taken 
 they are discussing the question, not only as to whether a formation 
 of fat can be shown to occur in the animal system, but whether it 
 can be derived from both nitrogenous and non-nitrogenous matter ; 
 and the conclusions they arrive at from the evidence before them 
 they sum up as follows : 
 
 " 1st. That certainly a large proportion of the fat of the herbivora 
 fattened for human food must be derived from other substances than 
 fatty matter in the food. 
 
 " 2d. That when fattening animals are fed upon their most ap- 
 propriate food, much of their stored-up fat must be produced from 
 the carbohydrates it supplies. 
 
 " 3d. That nitrogenous substances may also serve as a source of 
 fat, more especially when it is in excess, and the supply of available 
 non-nitrogenous constituents is relatively defective." 
 
 In addition to this array of evidence, one more instance may be 
 referred to, which affords a crowning proof, if such were wanted, of 
 the truth of the view that has been advocated. MM, Lacaze-Du- 
 thiers et Riche 2 have shown that the fat which abounds in the larva 
 of the cynips, an animal which is developed in the interior of the 
 gallnut, cannot, from the composition of the nut, possibly be di- 
 rectly derived from its food. In the starchy matter, however, exist- 
 ing around, the animal is supplied with material for its formation. 
 
 Nothing further, then, may be considered to be required to show 
 that the carbohydrates conduce to the production of fat. From 
 what has been already stated, however, it will be remembered that 
 it is not when ingested alone that such production can take place. 
 The process requires the co-operation of nitrogenous in conjunction 
 with saline matter, and it is probably through the medium of the 
 
 1 Philosoph. Mag., vol. xxxii, 1866, p. 448. 
 
 2 Annales des Sciences Natur , 4rao serie, tome xi, p. 81. 
 
134 ALIMENTARY PRINCIPLES. 
 
 change excited by the metamorphosis of the former that the result is 
 brought about. The researches that have been referred to have 
 shown that on a diet of potatoes and of rice alimentary articles 
 containing but a small amount of nitrogenized matter no accumu- 
 lation of fat is to be looked for. The combination of fat with the 
 carbohydrates, it has been seen, conduces to the accumulation of fat 
 in the body, but this may be due to the direct appropriation of the 
 fat ingested, and not to its having anything to do with promoting 
 the metamorphosis of the carbohydrates. 
 
 Liebig has suggested the following as a representation of the 
 chemical change that may occur. It can only be looked upon, how- 
 ever, as showing how, simply by the separation of carbonic acid and 
 oxygen from the formula of a carbohydrate, the formula for fat may 
 be left. There is no evidence that such is the actual manner in 
 which the change occurs. Suppose, he says, that from one atom of 
 starch (C 12 H 10 O 10 ) we take one atom of carbonic acid (CO 2 ) and seven 
 atoms of oxygen, we have in the residue one of the empirical 
 formulae for fat, viz., C n H 10 O. 
 
 Without professing to be able (at present, at least) to bring for- 
 ward anything in the shape of proof that the liver is the organ in 
 which the metamorphosis of sugar, finally or almost so, into fat 
 occurs, there are grounds for believing that such is the case, and 
 that the formation of amyloid substance constitutes the preliminary 
 step in the process. For some years past I have been engaged in 
 conducting researches upon this subject, and have a large mass of 
 evidence to deal with, but it has not yet assumed a shape sufficiently 
 definite to induce me to commit myself, at present, to any decided 
 expression of opinion regarding the manner in which the final result 
 is attained. 
 
 It now only remains for the ultimate use of the carbohydrates to 
 be spoken of. In leading on to fat-production, nothing further 
 need be said about their final application, the purposes subserved by 
 fat having been fully gone into at an earlier part of this work. 
 The question, however, confronts us, whether or not the carbohy- 
 drates contribute to force-production by undergoing direct oxidation 
 in the system. That they do so, we have nothing experimentally to 
 show ; and taking all that we know about them into account, my 
 own opinion is that they do not. 
 
DOES DIRECT OXIDATION OF SUGAR OCCUR? 135 
 
 Saccharine matter, in which form the carbohydrates are mainly, if 
 not wholly, absorbed from the alimentary canal, is naturally de- 
 tained and metamorphosed by the liver, and, whenever, it happens, 
 no matter in what way, to reach the general circulation, it is imme- 
 diately drawn upon and eliminated from the system by the kidneys. 
 This appears to me to afford a strong argument against the oxida- 
 tion of saccharine matter occurring, at least to any significant extent, 
 within the circulatory system as one of the functional operations of 
 life. 
 
 Without any facts to support it, the older chemico-physiologists 
 believed that sugar was disposed of in this way. Mialhe, for in- 
 stance, suggested that under the influence of the alkali and oxygen 
 of the blood the sugar derived from the ingesta underwent oxidation, 
 and that diabetes mellitus a disease attended with the escape of 
 sugar with the urine was due to a defective oxidizing capacity, from 
 the blood being deficient of its normal amount of alkali. 
 
 Lehmann has refuted, by direct experiment, this theoretical alle- 
 gation, and has shown (as my own experiments corroborate) that 
 sugar, introduced either with an alkali or without one (for the result 
 is the same in the two cases), into the circulation, fails to undergo 
 the alleged oxidation, as is evidenced by its subsequent appearance 
 in tfre urine. Moreover, as regards non-oxidation from a deficient 
 amount of alkali in the blood being the cause of the escape of sugar 
 occurring in diabetes, this also rests only on hypothesis, for Leh- 
 mann has found that analytical examination gives no evidence of the 
 deficiency referred to in the amount of alkali belonging to the blood 
 in the disease. 
 
 Whatever the series of changes undergone whether oxidized after 
 passing through the stage of fat or through any other line of meta- 
 morphosis supposing complete oxidation to occur, it may be consid- 
 ered that the amount of force evolved will always be the same. 
 Looking, therefore, at these compounds as force-producers, we must 
 take them in their original state, and upon the amount of unoxidized 
 oxidizable elementary matter they contain will depend their value 
 in force-production. In all of them, there being just the quantity 
 of oxygen to represent the equivalent of the hydrogen in combina- 
 tion as water, their capacity for appropriating oxygen corresponds 
 only with the carbon that is present. In fatty compounds, on the 
 other hand, there exists a quantity of hydrogen, as well as carbon^. 
 
136 ALIMENTARY PRINCIPLES. 
 
 free for oxidation ; and thus these latter are of a correspondingly 
 higher value as force-producers. Nitrogenous matter also, even al- 
 though disposed of as it is within the system, where a portion of its 
 oxidizable elementary matter escapes unconsumed under the form of 
 urea, possesses a higher capacity for appropriating oxygen. 
 
 For further particulars concerning the application of the carbo- 
 hydrates to force-production the reader is referred to the discussion 
 that has preceded under the heads of nitrogenous and fatty matters 
 (vide pp. 87, 104). It will suffice to reinsert here a tabular repre- 
 sentation of the relative value they possess : 
 
 Amount of oxygen re- Units of heat produced by oxida- 
 
 quired to oxidize 100 tion of 1 gramme (15.432 grs.) as 
 
 parts as oxidation oc- oxidation occurs within the body 
 curs within the body. (Frankland.) 
 
 Grape-sugar, .... 106 .... 3277 
 
 Starch, 120 .... 3912 
 
 Albumen, .... 150 .... 4263 
 
 Fat, 293 .... 9069 
 
 There are other ternary compounds consumed, which, if they do 
 not hold the significant position as alimentary articles held by the 
 principles already considered, are yet susceptible of oxidation within 
 the system, and will thus contribute in some degree to force-genera- 
 tion, heat being probably the form of force to which they give rise. 
 
 N In some of these compounds, such as in pectin and vegetable 
 acids, the oxygen is in excess of that required to form water with 
 the hydrogen. 
 
 Pectin forms the basis of vegetable jellies. It is met with in most 
 fruits and many vegetables, but does not exist to an extent sufficiently 
 large to be of much importance in an alimentary point of view. 
 Fremy's old formula for pectin was C 24 H 17 O 22 ; under the new nota- 
 tion it is now given as follows : C 32 H 40 28 , 4H 2 0. 
 
 Organic acids, such as citric acid (C 12 H 5 O U , 3HO) [H 3 C 6 H 5 7 ] ; 
 tartaric acid (C 8 H 4 O 10 , 2HO) [H 2 C 4 H 4 6 ] ; malic acid (C 8 H 4 O 8 ,2HO) 
 [H 2 C 4 H 4 5 ], and others of less extensive distribution, are met with 
 in various vegetable juices. Lactic acid (C 6 H 6 O 6 ) [HC 3 H 5 3 ] and 
 acetic acid (C 4 H 3 O 3 -f HO) [HC 2 H 3 2 ], although carbohydrates, ap- 
 pear to behave like the above-enumerated acids within the system. 
 
 Wohler asserts, with regard to these principles, that when they 
 are ingested in a free state they pass through the system and appear 
 unchanged i-n the urine ; whereas it is well known that when they 
 
TERNARY PRINCIPLES NOT CARBOHYDRATES. 137 
 
 are introduced in combination with alkalies that is, as alkaline salts 
 they undergo oxidation, the alkali escaping with the urine in com- 
 bination with carbonic acid. Within thirteen minutes after taking 
 half an ounce of lactate of soda Lehmann found that his urine had 
 acquired an alkaline reaction from the presence of alkaline carbon- 
 ate. Lehmann also found, in experiments on dogs, that the injection 
 of lactate of soda into the jugular vein was followed in five, or at the 
 most twelve, minutes by an alkaline behavior of the urine, showing, 
 unlike what occurs with sugar, that the direct introduction into the 
 general circulatory system is attended with the same result as intro- 
 duction into the alimentary canal. 
 
 Alcohol (C 4 H 6 O 2 ) [C^HgO], looked at chemically, stands on the 
 other side of the carbohydrates, and may be regarded as holding a 
 position intermediate between the carbohydrates and the fats. From 
 its composition, which is given above, it is seen to be a less oxygen- 
 ated body than the carbohydrates, and more highly so than the fats. 
 
 There has been much discussion as regards the destination of alco- 
 hol in the animal economy. It was one of Liebig's propositions that 
 it is consumed by oxidation like any other non-nitrogenous alimen- 
 tary principle. " Alcohol," he says, " stands only second to fat as a 
 respiratory material." Liebig, however, adduced no physiological 
 evidence in support of his assertion, but based it as a generalization 
 on chemical considerations. 
 
 That alcohol should occupy the position thus defined seemed so 
 reasonable that Liebig's view originally met with general and un- 
 questioned acceptance. A reaction, however, was started by the dis- 
 covery of MM. Lallemand, Perrin, and Duroy, that alcohol passes 
 off from the body in an unchanged state after being ingested. It was 
 found in observations both upon man and the dog that when a mod- 
 erate quantity of alcohol had been administered, it was recognizable 
 in the pulmonary and cutaneous exhalations, and also in the urine 
 for some hours afterwards. Hence was supplied the ground for the 
 denial that alcohol constituted a food ; and in harmony therewith it 
 was further found that it remained untransformed in the system, so 
 as to be discoverable in the brain for a period, it is stated, of as many 
 as thirty-six hours after its ingestion. 
 
 Dr. Edward Smith repeated these experiments of Lallemand and 
 the others, and obtained similar results. The test that was employed 
 
138 ALIMENTARY PRINCIPLES. 
 
 consisted of one part of bichromate of potash dissolved in three 
 hundred parts of strong, pure sulphuric acid. Chromic acid being 
 liberated by this admixture, a cherry-red colored liquid is produced. 
 This, in contact with alcohol, becomes changed to an emerald green 
 from the reduction of the chromic acid to the oxide of chromium that 
 ensues. Dr. Smith asserts that he has frequently detected alcohol in 
 the breath for four hours after 1J oz. had been taken. Lallemand 
 showed its presence in the exhalation from the skin by confining a 
 dog in a closed case through which a current of air was made to pass, 
 and subsequently traverse the test. Dr. Smith inclosed a man's arm 
 in an impermeable bag, and similarly, with a current of air passed 
 through, readily obtained an indication of the escape of alcohol. 
 
 If the alcohol ingested escape from the body in an unaltered state, 
 it cannot, of course, be looked upon as possessing any alimentary 
 value. Dr. E. Smith sides with the French observers, whose experi- 
 ments he has confirmed in taking this view. He considers that it 
 does not increase the production of heat in the body as a chemical 
 agent, but by the power it possesses of stimulating the activity of the 
 vital functions. In his experiments on respiration he found that in 
 every dose up to the usual one in taking spirits and water it increased, 
 but only, he says, to a moderate degree, the amount of carbonic acid 
 evolved, and this he ascribes to a similar cause. 
 
 Looking at the very large quantity of alcohol under the form of 
 various beverages that is consumed amongst us, and consumed under 
 the idea that it is an article capable of being turned to useful account 
 in the system, the question before us becomes one of extensive in- 
 terest and importance. Now, suppose it be conceded that evidence 
 has been adduced sufficiently decisive to show that alcohol, after 
 being ingested, escapes from the body through various channels ; this 
 would form all that it can be contended has been discovered. Neither 
 of the persons whose observations have been referred to has collected 
 the alcohol or done anything towards showing that what escapes is 
 equivalent to that which enters. 
 
 Dr. Anstie 1 directs attention to the experiment of M. Baudot, and 
 gives the results of a repetition with modifications of his own which 
 throw doubt upon the soundness of the opinion of M. Lallemand 
 and others. It is asserted that the chromic acid test is one of ex- 
 
 1 On Stimulants and Narcotics. Macmillan, 1864. 
 
ALCOHOL. 139 
 
 treme delicacy, being affected by the presence of the minutest quan- 
 tity of alcohol, and that it is only when an excessive quantity of 
 alcohol has been administered that its escape is to be recognized by 
 any other means. It is also contended that, through the delicacy 
 of this test, the quantity escaping may easily be overrated that 
 although a reaction is distinctly obtainable with the test, in reality 
 only a fraction of that which enters is eliminated, and, if such be 
 the case, there is nothing to prevent us from regarding alcohol as 
 having an alimentary value. 
 
 Considering the diffusible property which alcohol possesses, it is 
 not inconsistent that a small portion should escape and yet that the 
 article should form a utilizable agent in the body. It certainly may 
 be reasonably considered that evidence of a stronger nature than 
 that which has been adduced should be brought forward before it 
 would be right to look upon alcohol as devoid of alimentary value. 
 
 Dr. Parkes, in conjunction with Count Wollowicz, has recently 1 
 prosecuted an inquiry into the action of alcohol on the human body, 
 and the question of elimination is touched upon as one of the points 
 of consideration. Although they confirm previous observers in rec- 
 ognizing it, after its administration, by means of the chromic acid 
 test, in the urine and the exhalation^ from the lungs and skin, and 
 further find it to a slight extent in the alvine dejections, yet their 
 observations were only of a qualitative nature, and did not enable 
 them, they say, to solve the difficult problem as to whether all the 
 alcohol passes off or whether some is detained and destroyed. 
 
 In a later communication on the action of claret wine 2 they state 
 that they obtained a marked reaction with the chromic acid test from 
 the condensed perspiration of the arm, when no alcoholic fluid had 
 been taken for twenty-six days previously. They are, therefore, led 
 to suggest that the perspiration may at times contain some non-alco- 
 holic substance capable of exerting the same reducing action, 'and 
 conclude that fresh experiments are necessary to determine the re- 
 liance to be placed on the test when applied to the condensed per- 
 spiration. 
 
 Communications have since been published in the " Proceedings 
 
 1 Proceedings of the Royal Society, No. 120, May, 1870. 
 
 2 Ibid., No. 123, June, 1870. 
 
140 ALIMENTARY PRINCIPLES. 
 
 of the Royal Society/' 1 giving the results of Dr. Dupr6's experiments. 
 Dr. Dupre agrees with Anstie and Thudichum in this country, and 
 Schulinus and Baudot abroad, in believing that the chief portion of 
 the alcohol ingested undergoes consumption in the body. 
 
 Dr. Dupre starts with the proposition that " obviously three re- 
 sults may follow the ingestion of alcohol. All the alcohol may be 
 oxidized, and none be eliminated, or a portion only may be oxidized, 
 and the rest be eliminated unaltered ; or, lastly, all may be elimi- 
 nated again unaltered. Assuming the last to be the case, it would 
 follow that if a certain quantity of alcohol be taken daily, the amount 
 eliminated would increase from day to "day, until at last the amount 
 eliminated daily would equal the daily consumption, be this five, 
 ten, or more days. If, on the other hand, all the alcohol consumed 
 is either oxidized or eliminated within twenty-four hours, no increase 
 in the daily elimination will take place, in consequence of the con- 
 tinuance of the alcohol diet." 
 
 "Assuming, for the sake of argument, that all the alcohol is elim- 
 inated, and that such elimination takes ten days, it would follow," 
 aptly observes Dr. Dupre, " that if a certain quantity of alcohol be 
 taken daily, the amount eliminated would increase from day to day 
 until, from the tenth day onward, the quantity eliminated daily 
 would equal the daily consumption ; in other words, the quantities 
 which would be eliminated, if this theory were correct, might be 
 measured by ounces instead of by grains, and even the most ordinary 
 processes of analysis could not fail to yield considerable quantities of 
 alcohol." 
 
 Now, from the results obtained in two series of experiments con- 
 ducted upon himself, Dr. Dupre sums up as follows : 
 
 "The amount of alcohol eliminated per day does not increase 
 with the continuance of the alcohol diet ; therefore, all the alcohol 
 consumed daily must of necessity be disposed of daily, and as it cer- 
 tainly is not eliminated within that time, it must be destroyed in the 
 system. 
 
 " The elimination of alcohol following the ingestion of a dose, or 
 doses, of alcohol, ceases in from nine to twenty-four hours after the 
 last dose has been taken. 
 
 1 -'On the Elimination of Alcohol," by Dr. A. Dupre, Proc. Roy. Society, 
 No. 131, p. 107, 1872, and No. 133, p. 268, 1872. 
 
ALCOHOL. 141 
 
 "The amount of alcohol eliminated, in both breath and urine, is a 
 minute fraction only of the amount of alcohol taken." 
 
 In agreement with what had been noticed by Dr. Parkes and 
 Count Wollowicz, Dr. Dupre" found, in the course of his experi- 
 ments, that after six weeks of total abstinence from alcohol, and 
 even in the case of a teetotaler, a substance was eliminated in the 
 urine, and perhaps also, it is stated, in the breath, which, though 
 apparently not alcohol, gave all the reactions ordinarily used for 
 the detection of traces of alcohol. " It passes over," Dr. Dupre 
 says, " with the first portions of the distillate ; it yields acetic acid 
 on oxidation, gives the emerald-green reaction with the bichromate 
 of potassium and strong sulphuric acid, yields iodoform, and its 
 aqueous solution has a lower specific gravity and a higher vapor 
 tension than pure water." Dr. Dupre further remarks that " the 
 presence of a substance in human urine, and the urine of various 
 animals, which yields iodoform, but is not alcohol, had already been 
 discovered by M. Lieben. The quantity present in urine is how- 
 ever, so small that the precise nature of this substance has not as yet 
 been determined." 
 
 From a review of the evidence as it at present stands, it may rea- 
 sonably be inferred that there is sufficient before us to justify the 
 conclusion that the main portion of the alcohol ingested becomes 
 destroyed within the system, and, if this be the case, it may be fairly 
 assumed that the destruction is attended with oxidation and a cor- 
 responding liberation of force, unless, indeed, it should undergo met- 
 amorphosis into a principle to be temporarily retained, but neverthe- 
 less ultimately applied to force-production. The subject appears to 
 me to be open to physiological as well as chemical investigation, and 
 probably some additional light may be hereafter thrown upon it by 
 an approach through the former channel. 
 
THE 
 
 INORGANIC ALIMENTARY PRINCIPLES. 
 
 ALTHOUGH it is to the play of changes taking place in organic 
 matter that the manifestations of life are to be traced, yet organic 
 matter alone, it has been found experimentally, will not suffice for 
 supplying all that is wanted for the occurrence of living action. In- 
 organic matter, under the form of water and certain saline principles, 
 constitutes an indispensable part of a living being, and hence must 
 enter into the composition of food. 
 
 Water, besides fulfilling many other subsidiary offices, is essential 
 for the occurrence of molecular change or mobility the essence of 
 the manifestations of life. In the absence of water a state of molec- 
 ular rest which means an absence of vital activity prevails. Water 
 does not in itself undergo any chemical alteration, and hence is not 
 susceptible of liberating force does not, in other words, constitute 
 a force-producing agent, but it contributes to chemical change by 
 supplying a necessary condition for its occurrence in other bodies. 
 
 Saline matter stands, if not to the full extent, nearly so, in the 
 same position as water as regards the non-possession in itself of 
 force-producing properties. Some of the saline matter of food, it 
 is true, may be susceptible of oxidation, and thereby give rise to the 
 liberation of force, but this, it may be considered, is not the particu- 
 lar office which saline matter is designed to fulfil. It forms a neces- 
 sary part of the organism, without, however, constituting the source 
 of the manifestation of power. It exists intimately incorporated with 
 the organic principles comprising the different component parts of 
 the fabric, and enters as an essential element into the constitution of 
 the secretions. It may be looked upon in the light of an integrant 
 portion of the structure of the machine, other agents being concerned 
 in supplying the moving power. 
 
 Mineral matter is thus required to be furnished for the growth 
 
INORGANIC PRINCIPLES. 143 
 
 and nutrition of the constituent parts of the organism, and also 
 for the formation of the secretions. It is required by the plant 
 as well as by the animal, and hence we find in all natural organic 
 products a certain admixture of mineral matter. It hereby follows 
 that whether the food be derived from the animal or the vegetable 
 kingdom, there exists, entering into its constitution, a definite pro- 
 portion of mineral matter; and, just such as is required by the ani- 
 mal being has been drawn from the inorganic kingdom by the plant, 
 whereby, without going further than the organic substance itself, the 
 animal meets with the mineral matter that is needed. 
 
 Of the various saline principles necessary, the chief consist of com- 
 binations of lime, magnesia, potash, soda, and iron, with chlorine, 
 phosphoric acid, carbonic acid, and in smaller quantity, sulphuric 
 acid. Each has its share of importance, but lime and phosphoric 
 acid may be looked upon as occupying the highest position in this 
 respect. From no structural element of the body is phosphate of 
 lime, it would appear, absent, and its incorporation with the nitro- 
 genous constituent principles is so intimate that much difficulty is 
 experienced in effecting a complete separation without involving the 
 destruction of the compound. Casein is a nitrogenous principle 
 which is conspicuous for the tenacity with which it holds a large 
 quantity of phosphate of lime incorporated with it. From what is 
 observed, indeed, in the relations of the organic and mineral prin- 
 ciples to each other, it seems that in many instances an actual chemi- 
 cal union of the two exists. 
 
 On account of what has been mentioned, the chemist, in conduct- 
 ing an analysis for the determination of the mineral matter that is 
 present in an organic product, subjects it to a preliminary process of 
 incineration. After being thus treated, however, no knowledge is to 
 be derived of the precise state or mode of arrangement under which 
 the mineral matter originally existed. Even the mineral combina- 
 tions found may not identically correspond with those present in the 
 product, for in the process of incineration effects are produced which 
 lead to new compounds being formed. There is the reducing influ- 
 ence of carbon, for instance, in operation upon the sulphates. There 
 is also a production of carbonic acid from the oxidation of carbon- 
 aceous matter ; and the saline principles, under the elevated temper- 
 ature to which they are exposed, are likely to react to some extent 
 upon each other. 
 
144 ALIMENTARY PRINCIPLES. 
 
 That the various kinds of saline matter must fulfil a specific office 
 in the economy of life may be looked upon as shown, if proof of it, 
 indeed, were wanted, by the special manner in which it is distributed. 
 Although so closely allied in their chemical properties, potash and 
 soda cannot be made to replace each other in the living system, and 
 the same is likewise noticeable in the case of lime and magnesia. In 
 the process of vegetable alimentation a qualitative and quantitative 
 selection is made by the organism from the soil around. Whilst in 
 some plants one kind of mineral matter may preponderate, in others 
 it may be another kind, and to such an extent may this preponder- 
 ance reach as to have led to plants being characterized as potash 
 plants, lime plants, siliceous plants, and so on. In the animal organ- 
 ism a like inequality of distribution is also observable. Thus, in 
 the blood and here the circumstances are of the most favorable 
 nature for an equal distribution of saline matter, if a special appro- 
 priating action were not in operation it is found that phosphates 
 and potash salts predominate in the corpuscles, and chlorides and 
 soda salts in the plasma around. Again, as regards the distribution 
 of potash and soda generally, it is noticeable that the former is the 
 alkali belonging particularly to the formed tissues, the latter to the 
 infiltrating fluids. 
 
 It is no mere indiscriminate diffusion of saline matter, therefore, 
 that has to be dealt with. Saline matter, on the contrary, is evidently 
 concerned as one of the factors of the formative operations carried on, 
 and no food can satisfy the requirements of life that does not contain 
 an appropriate amount of certain saline principles. 
 
 In the egg, and also in milk, we have articles provided by nature 
 for the special purpose of being employed in the construction and 
 subsequent maintenance of the animal organism. Milk is complete 
 in itself. In it exists, besides the organic principles, all the inorganic 
 matter, including both salines and water, that is needed. The egg, 
 taken as a whole, stands in a similar position, but it is not so with 
 regard to the contents exclusive of the shell. It is well known that 
 from the egg all the constituent parts of the young animal are formed 
 its skeleton as well as its various soft textures. Now, for the con- 
 struction of the skeleton an amount of earthy matter is required which 
 does not exist preformed in the soft contents of the egg, but has to 
 be drawn from the shell. During the process of incubation, with 
 the co-operation of the atmospheric air which permeates the shell, it 
 
INORGANIC PRINCIPLES. 145 
 
 appears that the phosphorus present in the yolk gradually undergoes 
 oxidation and becomes converted into phosphoric acid. This acts 
 upon and dissolves the carbonate of lime belonging to the shell, 
 which thus as incubation proceeds becomes thinner and thinner. As 
 Liebig therefore remarks, if it be compared with milk, both the con- 
 tents and the shell must be reckoned to bring them into an analogous 
 position. 
 
 It has lately been urged by Liebig 1 that saline matter has failed 
 to receive its due consideration as a nutritive element of food. It is 
 perfectly true, as he has pointed out, that in the preparation of food 
 for human consumption the natural article is often considerably de- 
 preciated in nutritive value by the abstraction that may happen to 
 have occurred. Meat soaked or boiled in water loses more or less 
 of its soluble portion, and, included in this, are its nutritive salts. 
 Roasted meat, on this account, is of higher value than boiled. In 
 the process of salting a portion (about 15 per cent., Liebig says) of 
 the nutritive juice escapes into the brine. In the boiling of vegeta- 
 bles nutritive principles, and particularly the nutritive of salts, are 
 removed by the water. The separation that is effected in the dress- 
 ing of flour leaves this product in an inferior position to the grain 
 from which it is derived. Both the saline and nitrogenous matters 
 belonging to wheat are chiefly encountered in the outer or tegumen- 
 tary part of the grain, and are, therefore, more or less excluded from 
 white bread. It is a scientific fact, Liebig remarks, which Magendie 
 has proved by experiment, that a dog dies if fed on white bread, 
 while its health does not suffer at all if its food consist of brown 
 bread, or bread made of unbolted flour. Liebig also asserts his be- 
 lief that many millions more men could be daily fed in Germany if 
 it were only possible to persuade the population of the advantage 
 which bread made of unbolted flour has over that ordinarily eaten. 
 
 This doctrine, however, is hardly to be accepted in the precise 
 terms that Liebig has proposed it. It must certainly be conceded 
 that if our food consisted only of eggs, we should require, in order 
 to satisfy the requirements of nutrition, to place ourselves in the 
 same position as the developing chick, and consume the shell as well 
 as its contents. Again, if corn formed our staple food, as it may 
 happen to do in the case of the horse, &c., we should be obliged to 
 
 1 " On the Nutritive Value of different Sorts of Food," Lancet, vol. i, 1869. 
 
 10 
 
146 ALIMENTARY PRINCIPLES. 
 
 consume the whole of the grain to obtain all the nutritive principles 
 we require. It is a mixture of animal and vegetable food, however, 
 which forms our natural diet, and the diet which is actually em- 
 ployed by the great majority of mankind. Now, if we are supplied 
 with the nutritive salts through meat or the other articles consumed, 
 we can spare them without detriment from our bread. Nor need 
 there be waste involved in this proceeding. If our taste leads us to 
 prefer bread made from white flour, and thereby to reject the outer 
 part of the grain, it does not follow that in so doing we are commit- 
 ting an act of dietetic prodigality, for what we do not use ourselves 
 may be, and in reality is, turned to account in feeding animals that 
 are either kept to serve some useful purpose, or reared for consump- 
 tion as food ; and, in the latter case, the nutritive salts which we 
 originally rejected in separating the bran from flour may actually 
 reach us after all amongst the constituents of animal food. 
 
ALIMENTAEY SUBSTANCES. 
 
 ALIMENTARY substances comprise products of the animal and 
 vegetable kingdoms in which the various alimentary principles are 
 combined. 
 
 It is to the consideration of these products that attention will now 
 be directed ; and first to be described will be those derived from the 
 animal kingdom. 
 
 ANIMAL ALIMENTAEY SUBSTANCES. 
 
 Animal food being identical in composition with the structures of 
 the body, requires neither addition nor subtraction to enable it to ad- 
 minister to the purposes of nutrition. 
 
 The chief characteristic of animal food is the large amount of ni- 
 trogenous matter it contains. This, it is true, adapts it for the con- 
 struction and maintenance of the body, but food is also required for 
 force-production, and provided a certain amount of nitrogenous matter 
 be supplied, the force-production is better derived from one or other 
 of the forms of non-nitrogenous matter. Such may be effected by 
 the presence of a certain quantity of fat with the nitrogenous matter, 
 and with a proper combination the adjustment may be made from 
 animal food alone, so as just to meet the requirements without incur- 
 ring waste on either side. Hence the advantage of the common 
 practice, which is doubtless due to something more than accident, of 
 eating some kinds of food rich in fatty matter, as bacon or pork, with 
 food such as chicken, rabbit, &c., which consists almost entirely of 
 nitrogenous matter. 
 
 Animal food is made up of 
 
 1. The various parts of animals; 
 
 2. Eggs; and 
 
 3. Milk with the products from it viz., cream, butter, and 
 
 cheese. 
 
148 ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES. 
 
 Honey is also enumerated by Payen amongst the articles belong- 
 ing to animal food, but this substance is in reality a vegetable prod- 
 uct, having only been collected and stored up by the animal to 
 whose industry we owe it. 
 
 The food falling under the first head is popularly classified into 
 
 Meat, 
 
 Poultry, 
 
 Game, 
 
 Wild-fowl, 
 
 Fish, and 
 
 Shell-fish. 
 
 Like popular classifications in general, this will not bear close in- 
 spection ; still, for the description about to be undertaken, it forms, 
 upon the whole, the most convenient arrangement to follow. 
 
 MEAT. 
 
 The meats we ordinarily consume are all derived from vegetable 
 feeders. 1 They consist of 
 
 Beef, 
 Mutton, 
 . Veal, 
 Lamb, 
 Pork, 
 
 Bacon, and 
 Venison. 
 
 Rabbit and hare may be conveniently considered with game. 
 Turtle is employed for the preparation of soup. The flesh of a very 
 large number of other animals than those yielding the meats above 
 named is likewise eaten in various parts of the globe. A separate 
 section will be hereafter devoted to this subject. 
 
 The flesh, bones, internal or visceral organs, and even, as from 
 the pig, the blood of the slaughtered animal, are all turned to account 
 as food. They each require consideration. First, however, remarks 
 will be made on the influence of age, sex, size, season, mode of life, 
 nature of feeding, and mode of death, upon the flesh of animals. 
 
 1 The pig is, strictly speaking, an omnivorous animal, but reared for the pur- 
 pose of food, it ought to be a vegetable feeder ; offal, however, is often given to 
 it with other food. 
 
MEAT. 149 
 
 The flesh of young animals is more tender than that of old, but 
 experience shows that it is more resistant to the digestive powers. 
 Veal and lamb, for instance, are found by the dyspeptic to tax the 
 stomach more than beef and mutton. The flesh of an aged animal, 
 as is well known, may be so tough as to render it almost refusable. 
 The tissues of young animals are more gelatinous, less stimulating, 
 and of less nutritive value than those of the adult and aged, which, 
 instead, contain a larger amount of fibrin and of the flavoring prin- 
 ciple, osmazome. The flesh of very young animals, indeed, contains 
 so little fibrin and osmazome as to be almost unpleasantly soft, 
 flabby, and insipid. 
 
 Animals of middle age afford the most digestible and best-flavored 
 beef. Beef of the larger breeds of oxen is in greatest perfection at 
 about seven years old ; that of the smaller breeds, a year or two 
 earlier. Cow-beef can scarcely be too young. Wether mutton is 
 best at four to five years old ; ewe mutton at about two years old. 
 
 Sex greatly influences the quality of the flesh, that of the female 
 being more delicate and finely grained (the hen pheasant is very 
 noticeably more tender and delicate eating than the male bird) than 
 that of the entire male, which, during the time that the genital 
 organs are in a state of functional activity, may be so coarse and 
 rank as to render it almost uneatable. The buck, bull, and ram 
 form examples. Castration deprives the meat of this strong flavor, 
 and improves it altogether for edible purposes. Spaying also im- 
 proves the edible qualities of the female animal. These operations, 
 therefore, particularly that of castration, are commonly performed 
 where the animals are destined to serve only as food. They are 
 even practiced in the case of the bird. The capon and poulard are 
 examples ; and it is well known that in this mutilated state the 
 animal becomes larger, fatter, and more tender than where the 
 sexual organs remain intact. 
 
 The flesh of an animal is generally coarse in proportion to its 
 size. The difference in this respect in the flesh of the larger arid 
 smaller quadrupeds is sufficiently striking. The remark is applica- 
 ble not only to different kinds of animals, but to different varieties 
 of the same species. 
 
 In season and out of season are common expressions as applied to 
 animals. Their meaning is well known, and they signify that there 
 is a season when an animal is in a better state for consumption as 
 
150 ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES. 
 
 food than at another. Meat is in general in highest season during 
 the first months of winter, that is, after the animal has been afforded 
 the advantage of an abundance of fresh summer food ; mutton and 
 beef are never actually out of season, but they are in better condition 
 and of better flavor during the months of November, December, and 
 January, than at other times. Pork is' absolutely out of season 
 during the summer months. Buck venison is in highest season 
 from the middle of June to the beginning of September, when the 
 rutting period commences. Doe venison is in season during the 
 winter. The season for young meats, as veal and lamb, is when a 
 sufficient time has elapsed after the breeding period for the animal 
 to have arrived at a state suitable for consumption as food. The 
 breeding period varies somewhat in different breeds, and thus a 
 supply of young meat may be secured for some length of time. By 
 exposure to certain conditions, also, the period of heat in a female 
 may be considerably advanced. In this way it is that lamb is pro- 
 curable as an article of luxury for the table of the wealthy as early 
 as December or even November. With sheep kept on a cold or 
 poor hill pasture the lambing season is retarded. 
 
 The mode of life exerts its influence on the flesh of animals. In 
 the wild state there is very much less fat present than in a well-fed 
 domesticated state. In the former case the meat also is higher in 
 color and richer in flavor and extractives. 
 
 Some kinds of food influence in a marked manner the character 
 of the meat. Feeding oxen upon oil-cake communicates a yellow 
 color to the fat. Oily foods also have a tendency to make soft fat. 
 Turnips give a flavor to mutton which is distinctly recognizable by 
 the epicure. The fragrant herbs belonging to different pastures 
 produce their influence upon the taste of the meat. The peculiar 
 flavor of mountain sheep is easily appreciable by all. 
 
 The art of feeding animals is directed to increasing the amount 
 of fat : they are fattened, in other words, for the table. If this fat- 
 tening process be carried only to a certain point, the alimentary 
 value of the meat is increased, but when carried to an extreme, as 
 we see it in some of the animals exhibited at the Christmas cattle 
 shows, the fat, as far as our requirements are concerned, is out of 
 proportion to the nitrogenous matter, and thus an actual waste is 
 incurred. 
 
 Violent exercise just previous to death gives increased tenderness 
 
MEAT. 151 
 
 to the flesh, hence the greater tenderness which is well known to 
 belong to the flesh of the hunted animal. 
 
 In the process of slaughtering, the animal is drained as far as prac- 
 ticable of its blood. Either life is destroyed by the removal of blood, 
 or the blood is allowed to escape immediately after resort to some 
 other means of occasioning death. This loss of blood certainly in- 
 volves a, loss or waste of nutritive material. It would be thereby 
 to be condemned if it did not possess counterbalancing advantages. 
 Besides rendering the meat more pleasant to the eye, it enables it to 
 keep longer and improves the delicacy of its flavor. The Mosaic 
 law is very strict regarding the killing of animals for food, and the 
 regulations are such as to secure to the fullest extent the removal of 
 the blood. Jews, as a point of religion, will not eat the flesh of any 
 animal that has not been killed by a slaughterer of their own per- 
 suasion. They consider their meat superior to our own, and it is 
 even eaten in preference by some Christians. 
 
 It is usual to keep an animal for a short time without food before 
 being killed, and it is believed that the meat thereby keeps better. 
 It is obvious, however, that the fasting must not be prolonged suffi- 
 ciently to produce an unhealthy state. 
 
 To give additional whiteness to veal, which is looked upon as a 
 desirable quality for it to possess, it was formerly a common custom 
 to .bleed the animal pretty freely a day or two before being killed. 
 This practice appears now, however, to be almost if not entirely 
 abandoned. Whatever may formerly have been the case, it does not 
 appear that calves slaughtered for the London market are now ever 
 treated in this way. 
 
 It is well known that meat is greatly improved in tenderness by 
 being allowed to hang for some time after the animal is killed. 
 Whilst the fibres are set by rigor mortis, it is much harder than 
 before or afterwards ; and unless cooked before this state has super- 
 vened, which can but seldom be convenient, it should be allowed to 
 remain until it has passed off, if not longer. 
 
 With these general remarks I will now speak in detail of the va- 
 rious kinds of meat and the other alimentary products derived from 
 animals. The analyses given on the forthcoming pages, unless other- 
 wise stated, are taken from a table contained in Dr. Letheby's work 
 
152 ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES. 
 
 on Food. 1 It must be understood, however, that no fixed composi- 
 tion exists, and that the analyses furnished by other authorities may 
 show figures that somewhat differ. The relative amount of fat and 
 nitrogenous matter, for instance, varies considerably in samples of 
 meat obtained from different animals. 
 
 The following is Ranke's analysis of cooked meat, the composi- 
 tion of which necessarily differs from that of fresh meat on account 
 of the loss which occurs in cooking. For particulars regarding the 
 loss under different modes of cooking vide the section on the culinary 
 preparation of food. 
 
 Composition of cooked meat (roast), no dripping being lost. Soiled assumed 
 
 to be the same (JKanke). 
 Nitrogenous matter, .... 27.6 
 
 Fat, 1545 
 
 Saline matter, 2.95 
 
 Water, 54.00 
 
 100.00 
 
 Beef is of a firmer texture and more satisfying to the stomach than 
 mutton. Rightly or wrongly it is generally reputed as possessing 
 also higher strengthening properties. 
 
 Composition of lean beef. 
 
 Nitrogenous matter, .... 19.3 
 
 Fat, 3.6 
 
 Saline matter, . . . . . 5.1 
 
 Water, 72.0 
 
 1000 
 
 Composition of fat beef. 
 
 Nitrogenous matter, .... 14.8 
 
 Fat, . . . . . . . 29.8 
 
 Saline matter, ..... 4.4 
 
 Water, 51.0 
 
 100.0 
 
 Mutton appears to be a meat more easy of digestion than beef. 
 This is not appreciable by a healthy person because the digestive 
 power is in excess of what is required for the easy digestion of either 
 
 1 On Food. Longmans, 1870, p. 6. 
 
MEAT. 153 
 
 when a proper amount only is consumed. In the dyspeptic, how- 
 ever, where a nice balance may exist between the digestive power 
 possessed and that required where, in other words, the digestive 
 power is only just sufficient for what is wanted, the usual experience 
 is that mutton taxes the stomach less than beef. There are many, 
 for instance, who find that whilst mutton can be eaten without ex- 
 citing discomfort, beef rests somewhat heavily upon the stomach if 
 it do not even actually disagree. 
 
 Idiosyncrasies, however, exist for meat as well as for other kinds 
 of food. Dr. Prout 1 records an instance of a person known to him 
 on whom mutton acted as a poison. " He could not," says Prout, 
 "eat mutton in any form. The peculiarity was supposed to be 
 owing to caprice, and the mutton was repeatedly disguised and given 
 unknown to the individual; but uniformly with the same result of 
 producing violent vomiting or diarrhoea, and from the severity of 
 the attacks, which were, in fact, those of a virulent poison, there can 
 be little doubt that if the use of mutton had been persisted in, it 
 would soon have destroyed the life of the individual.'" 
 
 Composition of lean mutton, 
 
 Nitrogenous matter, . . . .18.3 
 
 Fat, 4.9 
 
 Saline matter, . . . . .4.8 
 Water, 72 
 
 100.0 
 
 Composition of fat mutton. 
 
 Nitrogenous .matter, .... 12.4 
 
 Fat, 31.1 
 
 Saline matter, 35 
 
 Water, 53.0 
 
 100.0 
 
 Veal and Lamb. It has been already stated that these meats, 
 although more tender, are more resistant to digestive action. They 
 appear also to possess less strength-giving properties. It need 
 scarcely be said that there is a deeply rooted belief that for sustain- 
 ing the powers under great exertion these meats are not to be com- 
 
 1 On the Nature and Treatment of Stomach and Urinary Diseases, 3d ed., p. 30. 
 
154 ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES. 
 
 pared to beef and mutton. They are meats that it is desirable to 
 avoid, generally speaking, in cases of dyspepsia. 
 
 Composition of veal. 
 
 Nitrogenous matter, . . . .16.5 
 
 Fat, 15.8 
 
 Saline matter, ..... 4.7 
 Water, 63.0 
 
 100.0 
 
 Pork is of all meats the most difficult to digest. It is rich and 
 trying to the stomach on account of the large quantity of fat it con- 
 tains. All fat meats contain a relatively smaller proportion of water 
 than lean on account of fat not being infiltrated with fluid to the 
 same extent as the other tissues. 
 
 Composition of fat pork. 
 
 Nitrogenous matter, 
 Fat, 
 
 . 9.8 
 . 48.9 
 
 Saline matter, .... 
 
 2.3 
 
 Water, 
 
 . 39.9 
 
 100.0 
 
 Bacon. Cured meats generally are less digestible than the same 
 meat in the fresh state. Bacon, however, occupies an exceptional 
 position in this respect Its fat, certainly, is less likely to disagree 
 with the stomach than the fat of pork. It contains but a small pro- 
 portion of water, and, therefore, weight for weight is an advantage- 
 ous kind of food. It should not lose more than 10 to 15 per cent, 
 in cooking (Letheby). Amongst the laboring classes it forms an 
 almost universal article of diet. Its popular use, like that also 
 of boiled pork, with lean meats, such as veal, chicken, and rabbit, 
 and also with other articles rich in nitrogenous matter, as eggs, beans, 
 and peas, is founded upon a rational principle, serving, as it does, to 
 establish a proper proportion in the supply of nitrogenous and carbo- 
 naceous material. 
 
BONE, ETC. 155 
 
 Composition of dried bacon. 
 
 Nitrogenous matter, . 8.8 
 
 Fat, 73.3 
 
 Saline matter 2.9 
 
 Water, 15.0 
 
 100.0 
 
 Composition o/ green bacon, 
 
 Nitrogenous matter, . . . .7.1 
 
 Fat, 66.8 
 
 Saline matter, . 2.1 
 
 Water, 24.0 
 
 100.0 
 
 Venison partakes more of the character of game than of butchers' 
 meat. Its flesh is lean, dark-colored, and savory. It constitutes 
 one of the most digestible of meats, and would be, therefore, well 
 suited for the dyspeptic and convalescent, were it not for its rich and 
 savory character. 
 
 Bone. The relative amount of bone in animals varies according 
 to their condition. Taking the whole animal, 20 per cent, may be 
 allowed (Parkes). In lean animals it is in too large a relative pro- 
 portion viewed in reference to economy. In the various joints "it is 
 rarely less than 8 per cent. In the neck and brisket of beef it is 
 about 10 per cent., and in shins and legs of beef it amounts to one- 
 third, or even to half its total weight The most economical parts 
 are the round and thick flank, then the brisket and sticking piece, 
 and, lastly, the leg. In the case of mutton and pork, the leg is the 
 most profitable, and then the shoulder " (Letheby). 
 
 Bones contain a considerable amount of nutritive matter, both 
 nitrogenous and fatty. To extract it the bones should be broken up 
 into small fragments and boiled for many hours. Dr. E. Smith 
 says, 1 " When reporting to the Privy Council upon the dietary of 
 the Lancashire operatives, I had special analyses made of the nutri- 
 tive material which was extracted from bones, and the result showed 
 that bones were equal in nutriment to about one-third of their weight 
 of flesh in carbon, and one-seventh in nitrogen ; and at the relative 
 
 1 Report on Dietaries of Lunatics and Workhouses, p. 46. 
 
156 ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES. 
 
 prices of bones and flesh, the use of the former rendered the dietary 
 more economical." According to this statement, therefore, three 
 pounds of bones represent the equivalent of one pound of meat in 
 carbon ; and seven pounds, one pound of meat in nitrogen. Gelatin, 
 which forms the basis of soup, is the nitrogenous principle extracted 
 by boiling from bones. 
 
 Blood. The only animal from which the blood is saved and em- 
 ployed for dietetic purposes, is, as a rule, the pig, but sometimes 
 bullock's blood is also made use of. It is mixed with groats, fat, 
 and spice, and sold under the name of " black pudding." 
 
 Liver. The liver of the calf, lamb, and pig is largely consumed 
 as human food. It is generally fried, and, thus prepared, forms a 
 rich and savory dish. Its richness renders it an inappropriate food 
 for a delicate stomach. 
 
 Composition of calves 1 liver (Payen). 
 
 Nitrogenous matter, . . . .20.10 
 
 Fat, 5.58 
 
 Carbohydrate (amyloid matter), . 0.45 
 Saline matter, ..... 1.54 
 Water, 72.33 
 
 100.00 
 
 Thefoiegras which is produced for the rich as an article of luxury 
 is obtained by subjecting the goose to a special process of feeding, 
 whereby the liver becomes enormously enlarged and loaded with fat. 
 Its highly fatty nature is shown by the following analysis : 
 
 Composition of foie gras (Payen). 
 
 Nitrogenous matter, . 
 
 Fat, . . . . . 
 
 Carbohydrate (amyloid matter) 
 
 Saline matter, 
 
 Water, .... 
 
 13.75 
 
 54.57 
 
 6.40 
 
 2.58 
 
 22.70 
 
 100.00 
 
 Kidney. The substance of the kidney is of a close, fleshy nature. 
 It can never be looked upon as otherwise than an article of difficult 
 digestibility, but as regards this quality a great deal depends upon 
 its mode of cooking. When lightly cooked it is soft, juicy, and 
 
LIVER, KIDNEY, TRIPE, ETC. 157 
 
 agreeably sapid, but cooked for some time, and with the employment 
 of a high temperature, it undergoes considerable contraction, and 
 becomes hard, dry, comparatively tasteless, and exceedingly indiges- 
 tible. The amount of fatty matter present is small. 
 
 Composition of sheep's kidneys (Payen). 
 
 Nitrogenous matter, .... 17.250 
 
 Fatty matter, 2.125 
 
 Saline matter, ..... 
 Non-azotized organic matter and loss, 
 Water, ...... 
 
 100.000 
 
 Heart. The heart consists of fat and muscular tissue, like ordi- 
 nary meat. The muscular tissue, however, is of a much closer 
 texture, and this gives the greater hardness which is well known to 
 belong to it both in the cooked and uncooked state. On account of 
 this closeness of texture and hardness, it forms an indigestible article 
 of food. 
 
 Tripe. The tripe which is consumed as human food consists of 
 the paunch or first portion of the ruminant stomach of the ox. This 
 is the only instance of any part of the alimentary canal being applied 
 to our own use, excepting in the case of the pig, where the chitter- 
 lings are cleansed and eaten. The muscular fibres belonging to 
 tripe possess a different structure from those belonging to ordinary 
 meat, and yield more readily to digestion. Tripe, indeed, is an 
 easily digestible article of food, but the fat present renders it some- 
 what rich. 
 
 Composition of tripe. 
 
 Nitrogenous matter, .... 13.2 
 
 Fat, 16.4 
 
 Saline matter, ..... 2.4 
 
 Water, 68.0 
 
 100.0 
 
 Sweetbread embraces more than one organ. Stomach sweetbread 
 and throat sweetbread are spoken of. The former constitutes the 
 pancreas, the latter the thy m us. Sweetbread is easy of digestion, 
 and, when plainly cooked, forms a suitable food for the convalescent. 
 
158 ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES. 
 
 When richly dressed, as it is usually served up at company dinners, 
 it is neither suited for the dyspeptic nor invalid. 
 
 Lungs. Pig's lights are eaten *as a fry with the animal's liver. A 
 food is prepared, called " fagots," from bullock's and sheep's lights 
 mixed with bullock's liver. 
 
 Spleen. The milt of the bullock, sheep, and pig is sold for human 
 food. It is usually stuffed and roasted. 
 
 UNWHOLESOME MEAT. Meat cannot be subjected, like many 
 alimentary articles, to adulteration or falsification, but it may be in 
 an unwholesome state, and thereby unfit for food. 
 
 Good meat, according to Dr. Letheby, 1 has the following char- 
 acters : 
 
 " 1st. It is neither of a pale pink color nor of a deep purple tint, 
 for the former is a sign of disease, and the latter indicates that the 
 animal has not been slaughtered, but has died with the blood in it, 
 or has suffered from acute fever. 
 
 " 2d. It has a marbled appearance, from the ramifications of little 
 veins of fat among the muscles. 
 
 " 3d. It should be firm and elastic to the touch, and should scarcely 
 moisten the fingers, bad meat being wet, and sodden, and flabby, 
 with the fat looking like jelly or wet parchment. 
 
 " 4th. It should have little or no odor, and the odor should not be 
 disagreeable, for diseased meat has a sickly, cadaverous smell, and 
 sometimes a smell of physic. This is very discoverable w r hen the 
 meat is chopped up and drenched with warm water. 
 
 " 5th. It should not shrink or waste much in cooking. 
 
 " 6th. It should not run to water or become very wet on stand- 
 ing for a day or so, but should, on the contrary, be dry upon the 
 surface. 
 
 " 7th. When dried at a temperature of 212 or thereabouts, it 
 should not lose more than 70 to 74 per cent, of its weight, whereas 
 bad meat will often lose as much as 80 per cent." 
 
 To this it may be added, that there should be no sign of the pres- 
 ence of parasites. The fat also should neither be deficient nor exces- 
 sive. 
 
 To assist in judging of the freshness of meat, a clean knife may be 
 passed into it and applied to the nose on withdrawal. In this way 
 the condition of the centre may be ascertained. 
 
 1 Lectures on Food, 1870, p. 235. 
 
UNWHOLESOME MEAT. 159 
 
 Unwholesomeness of meat may be due (1) to the condition of the 
 animal previous to death, or (2) to the effects of decomposition after- 
 wards. Remarks will be offered under each of these heads : 
 
 1. Unwholesomeness of meat arising from the condition of the ani- 
 mal previous to death.- The conditions productive of unwholesome 
 meat, under this head, are: 
 
 a. The existence of parasites. 
 
 b. Infectious diseases, and 
 
 c. Contamination by some drug or other noxious agent admin- 
 
 istered or consumed during life. 
 
 a. Meat infested with parasites is known with absolute certainty 
 to be liable to injuriously affect the consumer. 
 
 There is one form of parasite which is frequently met with, par- 
 ticularly in the flesh of the pig, here giving rise to what is known 
 as " measly pork." It constitutes the Oysticercus cellulosce, which 
 consists of a little animal possessing a tapeworm-like head with a 
 bladder-like tail, from which its name is derived. It lies in the 
 flesh surrounded by a cyst, which in the pig is about the size of a 
 hempseed, and thus is easily seen. It appears to be widely spread 
 amongst the pigs in Ireland, to the extent, it is stated, 1 of rendering 
 at least 3 per cent, and probably 5 per cent, measly. The cysticerci 
 of beef and veal are much smaller than those of pork, and require 
 close inspection to discover them. 
 
 Now, when meat thus infested is eaten in the raw or imperfectly 
 cooked state, it gives rise to the development of tapeworm in the 
 alimentary canal. The cystieerci unless they have been killed, as 
 they can be by the meat being well cooked throughout, change their 
 form when they reach the alimentary canal into that of tapeworms. 
 The cysticercus of pig's flesh becomes the Tcenia solium, and that of 
 beef and veal the Tcenia mediocanellata. 
 
 Far more serious effects are produced by meat infested with 
 another parasite the Trichina spiralis. This animal has been 
 known and described for some years, but it has only recently been 
 recognized as capable of exerting a mischievous action within the 
 
 1 Prof. Gamgee's communication in the Fifth Report of the Medical Officer 
 to the Privy Council, 1863. 
 
160 ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES. 
 
 system. It was formerly noticed that the animal was occasionally 
 come across, as it were accidentally, in the course of anatomical dis- 
 section, and it could not be learned that there was anything to betray 
 its existence in the individual during life. It was therefore looked 
 upon as a harmless parasite, and rather simply in the light of a dis- 
 secting-room curiosity than anything else. In 1860, however, cir- 
 cumstances occurred which led to the discovery that this animal was 
 not at all times the innocent or harmless guest that had been for- 
 merly supposed. Briefly stated the circumstances that brought this 
 to light were these : 
 
 A robust maidservant, a3t. 24, was admitted into the Dresden 
 Hospital, January 12th, 1860, under Prof. Zenker's care. She had 
 been ailing since Christmas, and confined to bed since New Year's 
 day. Her symptoms presented some resemblance to typhoid fever, 
 and, in the absence of other indications, were at first put down to 
 this malady. Soon, however, a new train of symptoms became de- 
 veloped. The whole muscular system became the seat of great pain, 
 which was much increased by the slightest movement. The pa- 
 tient was constantly moaning. The arms and legs were drawn up, 
 and could not be extended on account of the agony which the at- 
 tempt induced. Inflammation of the lungs now supervened, and 
 death occurred on the 27th. .A post-mortem examination revealed 
 the existence of vast numbers of Trichince in the muscles, in the 
 non-encysted state, and disclosed the cause of the patient's anoma- 
 lous symptoms and death. Inquiry was now set on foot, and it was 
 ascertained that, four days before the girl was first taken ill, two 
 pigs and an ox had been slaughtered at the house of her master. 
 Some smoked ham and sausage were fortunately obtained by Prof. 
 Zenker, which had been derived from one of the pigs that had been 
 killed, and an examination showed that the flesh was infested with 
 Trichince in an encysted state. 
 
 Since this case occurred others have been noticed, more particu- 
 larly in Germany, in which the effects of the Trichince were recog- 
 nized in their true light. In 1863 a catastrophe happened at Hel- 
 stadt, in Prussia, which aroused universal attention, and excited a 
 great deal of uneasiness both in this country and abroad. One 
 hundred and three persons, mostly men in the prime of life, sat 
 down to a festive dinner ordered at a hotel. Within a month 
 more than twenty it is stated, had died, and most of the others 
 
UNWHOLESOME MEAT. 161 
 
 were suffering from the effects of the parasite. The result was 
 traced to some smoked sausages, which had been made from a pig 
 that had been noticed to be out of condition, and happened to be 
 slaughtered for food by mistake. The Trichince were discovered in 
 the muscles of those affected, and the sausages that remained, and 
 the meat from which they had been prepared, were found to be 
 .swarming with the parasite. After this, people ftaturally became 
 indisposed to eat German sausages, and inspectors were appointed 
 to examine the meat before being used. 
 
 The whole progress of the affection is now thoroughly known. 
 "When meat is eaten containing Trichina, if the heat employed in 
 cooking be not sufficient to destroy the life of the animal, symptoms 
 begin to show themselves in a few days' time. The first effect 
 noticeable is irritation of the alimentary canal, manifested under the 
 form of vomiting and diarrhrea. On reaching the stomach, the cap- 
 sule in which the parasite is contained becomes dissolved. Thus 
 liberated from its previously imprisoned condition, and finding in 
 the intestine a favorable locality for its growth, the animal increases 
 in size, and in two or three days attains three or four times its orig- 
 inal dimensions. It may now be discerned by the naked eye, look- 
 ing like a small piece of fine thread. The sexes are distinct, and the 
 female gives rise to a large progeny from three to five hundred, it 
 is said of little ones. These at once begin to migrate from the 
 alimentary canal. They straightway pierce the walls of the intes- 
 tine, pass through the peritoneal cavity, and spread themselves 
 throughout the body. Now it is that febrile symptoms become 
 established, and that they produce the terrible affection of the mus- 
 cular system which forms so striking a feature of the sufferer's com- 
 plaint. From the state induced the strongest person may be carried 
 off in the course of a few weeks' time. But should the patient sur- 
 vive the first effects of the parasite, a cyst is developed around it, 
 and this, in the course of time, becomes calcareous. Thus imprisoned 
 the animal seems to be perfectly harmless, and apparently may re- 
 main for years, without further betraying any evidence of its exist- 
 ence. It is only, indeed, on reaching the alimentary canal of another 
 animal that it occasions any further mischief, and then occurs a repe- 
 tition of what has been described. 
 
 Trichince have been discovered in the flesh of a variety of ani- 
 mals birds, and frogs, as well as mammals but the pig is the ani- 
 
 11 
 
162 ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES. 
 
 mal that is most frequently found to be infested. Whilst in a free 
 state within the muscle they may be scarcely susceptible, or even 
 unsusceptible, of detection without the aid of a microscope. When 
 first encysted, also, from the transparency of the cyst they are not 
 easily seen, but when calcification of the cyst has occurred, they are 
 readily recognizable, and appear as white specks, or like little nits, 
 lying amongst the muscular fibres. Within the cyst the minute 
 threadlike worm lies coiled up after a spiral fashion : hence the 
 qualifying adjunct (spiralis) applied to its generic name. 
 
 As a point of practical importance it may be stated that neither 
 salting, smoking, nor moderately heating, affords any security against 
 the development of the trichinous disease from infested meat. Ex- 
 posure, however, to the temperature of boiling water effectively kills 
 the animal, but it is obvious that the temperature must be raised 
 throughout every particle of the meat to insure that it is rendered 
 harmless. 
 
 Other parasites are encountered in the visceral organs of animals; 
 but the Cysticerci and Triehince are the only ones, as far as is known, of 
 a hurtful nature in an alimentary point of view, that infest their flesh. 
 
 b. There are various diseases of an acute infectious nature and 
 malignant type, such, particularly, as rinderpest, anthrax, and pleuro- 
 pneumonia, to which animals are subject. Can the meat of animals 
 that have been thus affected be eaten without producing injurious 
 consequences ? The idea of it is repulsive, and, strangely, the an- 
 swer to the question cannot be given in such a manner as our pre- 
 conceived notions would lead us to expect. The conflicting opinions 
 of various persons on this point show the amount of uncertainty 
 that exists with regard to it. 
 
 The diseases of live stock in relation to the public supply of meat 
 for alimentary purposes formed the subject of investigation by Pro- 
 fessor Gamgee for the Fifth Report of the Medical Officer to the 
 Privy Council, published in 1863. From the evidence before him 
 Professor Gamgee, unpleasant as it may sound, arrived at the conclu- 
 sion that as much as one-fifth of the common meat of the country 
 was then derived from animals killed in a state of disease. It is diffi- 
 cult to obtain complete and precise data on such a point, but whether 
 the estimate be correct or not, it may be taken as showing that a large 
 amount of diseased meat was consumed by the public. This, however, 
 
UNWHOLESOME MEAT. 163 
 
 included all diseases, and it is positively known that some need not 
 be regarded as depriving the meat of wholesomeness as food. 
 
 Animals killed in the early stage of the simple inflammatory affec- 
 tions may be safely eaten, and also, of course, those killed by, or as 
 the result of, some accidental injury. But what is the evidence for 
 and against the deleteriousness of meat when a contagious poison has 
 existed in the system ? 
 
 On the one hand, it is stated as an authentic fact that during the 
 prevalence of the cattle plague or rinderpest in England in 1865, 
 large quantities of the meat of animals killed in all stages of the 
 disease were eaten without being followed by any ill effect. The 
 same absence of ill effect is also stated to have been observed after 
 the consumption of meat derived from animals affected with anthrax 
 and epidemic pleuro-pneumonia other virulent contagious diseases. 
 It is even asserted that when the steppe murrain was prevalent in 
 Bohemia some years ago, the carcasses of infected animals that had 
 been killed and buried by order of the government were dug up 
 and eaten by the poor without any injury being sustained. 
 
 On the other hand, instances have been placed on record where 
 the most-serious consequences have arisen from the employment of 
 meat of this kind. A marked case in point is cited by Mr. Simon 
 in his report to the Privy Council, above alluded to. 1 He adduces 
 it ,as conclusively showing that under some circumstances human 
 life may be endangered by the use of cooked meat derived from an 
 animal affected with anthrax, and states that the account of it was 
 communicated to him by Mr. Keith, Senior Surgeon to the Aberdeen 
 Royal Infirmary. Subjoined are the main particulars: 
 
 During the first week of November, 1840, a two-year-old heifer,, 
 at a farm in Aberdeenshire, was observed to be unwell, and was- 
 slaughtered by the ploughman, aided by a neighboring blacksmith.. 
 A portion of the animal was salted down, and another appropriated 
 to immediate use. A boil of this beef, which appeared quite fresh,, 
 and about which there was nothing wrong to be seen, was cooked 
 next day in a pot of broth for the dinner of the family, which con- 
 sisted of eleven persons. Of the eleven, two did not partake of it,. 
 and these remained well, whilst the nine who did partake of it were 
 soon seized with such alarming symptoms of poisoning that a medical 
 
 1 Fifth Keport of the Medical Officer to the Privy Council, 1863, p. 28. 
 
164 ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES. 
 
 man was at once called in. Two died, and the others recovered. 
 On the 12th of November both the ploughman and the blacksmith 
 were admitted into the Aberdeen Royal Infirmary suffering from 
 phlegmonous erysipelas of the arm. The offal of the animal was 
 cast upon a dung-heap, to which two swine had access. They ate it 
 freely, and were both taken ill and died. 
 
 The data in this case stand quite complete, the ill effects having 
 been traced to the infected animal. More frequently it is only the 
 ill effects that are observed, without information being procurable 
 regarding the animal from which the meat was derived. For ex- 
 ample, instances have been from time to time noticed, and some few 
 have been placed on record, where a number of persons have suffered 
 from symptoms of irritant poisoning after partaking of meat that has 
 been purchased in a casual way meat, it may be, that has presented 
 no visible signs of unwholesomeness. Pork is known to be more 
 likely to produce such ill effects than other kinds of meat, but, per- 
 haps, something in this case may be due to the unwholesome food on 
 which the animals are often fed. 
 
 It has been suggested that the prevalence of boils and carbuncles 
 may be sometimes attributable to the unconscious consumption of meat 
 from diseased animals, and some statistics have been adduced in sup- 
 port of this view. The flesh of animals affected with a certain dis- 
 order is specifically stated to have the effect of producing carbuncles. 
 Dr. Christison asserts 1 that the solids and fluids of animals suffering 
 from a gangrenous carbuncular disorder denominated Milzbrand in 
 Germany, and analogous to the Pustule maligne of the French, are 
 rendered so poisonous that not only those who handle but those who 
 .eat the flesh are apt to suffer severely ; the affection thus produced in 
 man being sometimes ordinary inflammation of the alimentary canal, 
 but most commonly an eruption of one or more large carbuncles, 
 resembling those of the original disease of the animal. Dr. Living- 
 stone, in his " Missionary Travels and Researches in South Africa," 
 1857, p. 136, speaks of the occurrence of malignant carbuncle, 
 called Knatsi or Selonda, as a result of eating the flesh of diseased 
 animals. 
 
 Looking, therefore, at the evidence before us regarding the effects 
 of consuming meat derived from animals suffering from infectious 
 
 1 On Poisons, Edinburgh, 1845, p. 633. 
 
UNWHOLESOME MEAT. 165 
 
 disease, it appears that diametrically opposite results have been ob- 
 served. It may be concluded that some kind of subtle poison 
 exists, and that this may become neutralized or destroyed by the 
 processes of cooking and digestion, but why such an event should 
 occur in some cases and not in others, is indeed difficult to under- 
 stand. Practically, however, seeing that serious consequences may 
 ensue, it is only right to look upon all such meat as unsafe and unfit 
 for human food. 
 
 c. Meat may be rendered unwholesome by contamination with 
 some drug or noxious agent administered or consumed during life. 
 
 Many examples of this have been known. The following is a 
 striking one bearing on contamination by a drug administered as a 
 remedial agent previous to slaughtering. It is quoted by Professor 
 Gamgee, and related by Dr. Kreutzer in the " Central Zeitung fur 
 die gesammte Veterinarmedizin fiir 1854." "Three hundred and 
 one persons partook of the flesh of an ox that had been treated 
 during life with the potassio-tartrate of antimony. Of these, 107 
 suffered from violent vomiting, purging, <fec. ; and mothers that were 
 suckling children noticed violent effects on their babies. One of 
 the affected persons died, and the cause of the attack was demon- 
 strated by chemical analysis of the flesh and of the contents of the 
 stomach and intestine of the person that succumbed. This person 
 had eaten only half a pound of the meat. Pigs, dogs, and cats that 
 partook of the meat also suffered. Some of the meat was given to 
 a magpie, and it died." 
 
 The flesh of cattle is sometimes rendered poisonous by the food 
 consumed, without the animals themselves being affected. For in- 
 stance, it is known that cattle fed in some of the districts of North 
 America cannot be eaten without giving rise to violent symptoms of 
 poisoning. The flesh of hares also which have fed upon the Rhodo- 
 dendron chrysanthemum is considered to be poisonous. 
 
 2. Unwholesomeness of meat arising from decomposition. Dr. 
 Christison says : L " The tendency of putrefaction to impart deleter- 
 ious qualities to animal matters originally wholesome has long been 
 known, and is quite unequivocal. To those who are not accustomed 
 to the use of tainted meat, the mere commencement of decay is suffi- 
 
 1 On Poisons, Edinburgh, 1845, p. 635. 
 
166 ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES. 
 
 cient to render meat insupportable and noxious. Game, only de- 
 cayed enough to please the palate of the epicure, has caused severe 
 cholera in persons not accustomed to eat it in that state." It can- 
 not be said, however, that even putrid meat is poisonous to all, 
 although it may prove so to many. The effect of habit would 
 appear to confer some sort of immunity, judging from the accounts 
 that are given of the state in which meat is eaten in some countries. 
 " The American Indians," says Wilkes, 1 " all prefer their meat 
 putrid, and frequently keep it until it smells so strong as to be dis- 
 gusting. Parts of the salmon they bury underground for two or 
 three months to putrefy, and the more it is decayed the greater 
 delicacy they consider it." Simmonds 2 also states, with reference to 
 the food of the Greenlanders, that " the head and fins of the seal are 
 preserved under the grass in summer, and in winter the whole seal 
 is frequently buried in the snow. The flesh, half frozen, half putrid, 
 in which state the Greenlanders term it mikiak, is eaten with the 
 keenest appetite." Rotten fish, we are also told, is used by the 
 Burmese, Siamese, and Chinese, as a sort of condiment without bad 
 effect. 
 
 Cooking doubtless neutralizes, to some extent, the effect of decom- 
 position; and the secretion of the stomach (gastric juice), with the 
 strongly antiseptic properties it possesses, will tend to prevent any 
 further advance of ordinary decomposition as soon as the food 
 reaches the stomach. Notwithstanding these salutary influences, 
 however, experience shows that the resisting power enjoyed by those 
 accustomed to our mode of life is not sufficient to allow meat tainted 
 with decomposition to be consumed without incurring a risk of more 
 or less severe gastro-intestinal derangement, if nothing more, being 
 set up. 
 
 In addition to meat being rendered unwholesome by ordinary 
 putrefaction, it sometimes becomes so from undergoing, during the 
 process of curing, another kind of decomposition. Meat rendered 
 noxious by this modified and peculiar form of decomposition may 
 present no marked external signs of being unwholesome, and thus 
 is produced a very serious source of danger. The change has been 
 especially found to occur in the sausages cured by drying and smok- 
 
 1 U. S. Exploring Expedition, vol. iv, p. 452. 
 
 2 Curiosities of Food, 1859, p. 32. 
 
POULTRY, GAME, AND WILDFOWL. 167 
 
 ing in Germany, and many fatal results have been occasioned. 
 Bacon, cheese, and other kinds of animal food, have been also no- 
 ticed in a similar manner to become deleterious. The nature of 
 the poisonous principle is not precisely known, but it is generally 
 believed to consist of an acrid fatty acid. The symptoms produced 
 are those of severe gastro-intestinal irritation, followed by nervous 
 depression and collapse. Dr. Christison's work on "Poisons" con- 
 tains a collection of particulars bearing on this matter. 
 
 POULTRY, GAME, AND WILDFOWL. 
 
 Xext to mammals, birds are of the most importance to us in an 
 alimentary point of view. As far as is known, there is no bird, and 
 no part of any bird, nor any bird's egg, which may not be safely 
 used as food. It must be stated, however, that some birds are 
 rendered poisonous by the food which they have eaten. The pheas- 
 ant, for instance, which feeds on the buds of the Kalmia latifolia in 
 North America, is deemed poisonous during the winter and spring. 
 It is also well known that the American partridges sent over here 
 have been sometimes found to possess poisonous properties. 
 
 The flesh of birds differs from that of mammals in never being 
 marbled or having fat mixed with the muscular fibres. 
 
 Domesticated or tame birds, such as the common fowl, turkey, 
 guinea-fowl, duck, and goose, fall under the denomination of poultry. 
 Under the head of game a limited number of wild birds are included, 
 and particularly the pheasant, partridge, and grouse. Wildfowl 
 comprise untamed aquatic birds. There are many other edible birds, 
 including especially the smaller ones, which cannot be grouped under 
 either of these heads. 
 
 The flesh belonging to different birds presents considerable varia- 
 tion in some being white, and in others quite dark-colored. It 
 also varies in different parts of the same animal, that on the wings 
 and breast being whiter, drier, and of a more delicate taste than that 
 on the legs. On account of the legs being higher flavored they are 
 preferred by many. In the blackcock the layer of muscles forming 
 the outer part of the breast is of a dark-brown color, whilst the 
 deeper part is white. To a less extent a similar difference is also 
 observed in many other birds. 
 
 The fowl, turkey, and guinea-fowl amongst poultry, which form 
 
168 ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES. 
 
 white-fleshed birds, stand in a very different position from ducks and 
 geese. The flesh of the former is delicate-flavored, tender, and easy 
 of digestion. It also possesses less stimulating properties than ordi- 
 nary meat, and is thus well adapted for the delicate stomach of the 
 dyspeptic and invalid. The flesh of the latter, on the other hand, 
 is harder, richer, or stronger-tasted, and far more difficult of diges- 
 tion. It is, therefore, to be avoided where weakness of stomach 
 exists. 
 
 The fattening of poultry for the table forms in some parts of the 
 country an extensive branch of industry, and the improvement that 
 is effected in the quality, equally as regards tenderness and flavor as 
 size, of the bird is exceedingly striking. Exercise is unfavorable to 
 fatty deposit, and wild birds, unless it should happen that they keep 
 at rest, are not likely to become fat. Domesticated birds, also, that 
 are allowed to run about do not become fat to the same extent as 
 those confined at rest. The art of fattening consists in keeping the 
 animal at rest and supplying it with an abundance of an appropriate 
 fattening food, and it is subjected to this process for a few weeks 
 before it is required. It is found that the animal in a sexless state 
 grows to a larger size, fattens better, is more tender eating, and finer 
 flavored than one in which the sexual organs exist. Improvement 
 for the use of the table is thereby effected by castration and spaying. 
 For the proper effect it is necessary that the operation should be per- 
 formed at an early age. The capon and poulard are the result, and 
 their superior qualities are well known. 
 
 The flesh of game contains a smaller amount of fat than that of 
 poultry. It is regarded as possessing more strengthening properties. 
 It is also tender and easy of digestion. It possesses a marked but 
 delicate flavor which increases by keeping. The aromatic bitter taste, 
 for instance, of the grouse is more pronounced after the bird has been 
 hung a little time than when eaten in a fresh state. The flesh about 
 the back possesses this flavor in a higher degree than that elsewhere, 
 and hence this part is often selected as a bonne bouche by epicures. 
 Each kind of bird has its special flavor, and thus considerable variety 
 is presented. The flavor of the partridge and quail is exceedingly 
 delicate, and so also is that of the snipe and woodcock, but these 
 latter birds are richer. From the qualities possessed by it game is 
 tempting to the appetite of the invalid. Its easy digestibility renders 
 it further well suited for a weak stomach. It therefore forms a 
 
FISH. 169 
 
 valuable article of food for the sick-room, and is often found to be 
 better borne than poultry or meat. It may, however, prove too 
 rich ; and to obviate this as far as possible, the bird should only be 
 kept sufficiently long to secure tenderness, and only the flesh on the 
 breast eaten. 
 
 JVildfowl requires strong digestive power to dispose of it. Its 
 flesh is close and firm. Its taste also is strong, and often of a fishy 
 nature a character which becomes more pronounced by keeping, 
 and thereby leads to the bird being best in a fresh state for eating. 
 
 The pigeon and many other birds are eaten which do not fall 
 under the head of either poultry, game, or wildfowl. The flesh is 
 usually tender in proportion to the smallness of the animal. 
 
 The flesh of the rabbit and hare more resembles that of poultry 
 and game than butcher's meat. It is characterized in each case by 
 the small quantity of fat it contains. That of the hare possesses to 
 a marked extent savory and stimulating properties, of which the 
 flesh of the rabbit is comparatively devoid. So far the rabbit would 
 form suitable food for a delicate stomach ; but, although tender, its 
 fibres are close, and it cannot be regarded as possessing the digesti- 
 bility belonging to many other kinds of animal food. 
 
 FISH. 
 
 Fish is an important article of nourishment. A very large num- 
 ber of different kinds of it, both fresh-water and salt-water, are 
 consumed, giving great variety to this kind of food. The amount 
 that must exist in the vast waters of the ocean may also be regarded 
 as rendering the supply inexhaustible. In some places it constitutes 
 by necessity the chief or sole sustenance of the people, who are hence 
 styled Ichthyophagi. The inhabitants of the most northern parts of 
 Europe, Asia, and America, where it is too cold for any of the 
 higher forms of vegetation to grow, are mainly dependent upon food 
 of which the chief portion consists of fish derived from the sea. In 
 Siberia, fish, after being dried, is ground into powder and formed 
 into a substance which is used instead of bread. Putrid fish, we are 
 told, is even the favorite and ordinary food of some tribes. 
 
 Although from time immemorial fish has formed an article of 
 food, more or less consumed by most people, yet many prejudices 
 used to exist with regard to it. The Egyptian priests were forbidden 
 
170 ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES. 
 
 to eat fish of any kind, under the idea that it increased the sexual 
 appetite, or that it was the cause of leprosy. For the latter reason 
 the people also were forbidden to eat fish not covered with scales. 
 In the writings of Moses 1 it is stated : " Whatsoever hath fins and 
 scales in the waters, in the seas, and the rivers, them shall ye eat ... 
 Whatsoever hath no fins or scales in the waters, that shall be f an 
 abomination unto you." Rightly or wrongly, English history says 
 that Henry I got a surfeit, and died from eating too heartily of 
 lampreys a food against which he had been often cautioned. 
 There does not appear to be any substantial foundation, however, 
 for the belief that formerly prevailed ; for the lamprey and the 
 sturgeon also another fish without scales are now extensively 
 eaten by some communities without any bad effects. 
 
 If present experience does not permit any basis of selection being 
 given, it does show that fish is not invariably free from poisonous 
 properties. It is especially in tropical climates where poisonous fish 
 are encountered. Some are poisonous at all times, others only at 
 certain seasons. Individuals of certain species may be poisonous, 
 whilst others of the same species, that are not to be distinguished 
 by any external characters, are free, it is stated, from deleterious 
 properties a circumstance which renders the eating of fish in such 
 countries not without danger. Some persons, it is also said, escape, 
 whilst others are injuriously affected. The symptoms produced 2 are 
 sometimes allied to those of cholera. Sometimes an eruption, often 
 resembling nettle-rash, is occasioned and, it may be, various ner- 
 vous disorders, as trembling or convulsive twitches of the limbs, 
 paralysis, and stupor. 
 
 It is not definitely known to what the deleterious effects of the 
 poisonous fish are to be ascribed. They have been variously referred 
 to the aliment on which the animals have fed, to their being in a 
 diseased state, to decomposition, and to idiosyncrasy on the part of 
 the person affected. A fish is said to justify suspicion "if it has 
 attained an unusually large size, or is destitute of the natural fishy 
 smell, or has black teeth, or if silver or an onion boiled along with 
 it becomes black ; but all these tests are unreliable." 
 
 As an article of nourishment fish does not possess the satisfying 
 
 1 Leviticus 11:9, 12. 
 
 2 Pereira on Food and Diet, 1843, p 284. 
 
FISH. 171 
 
 and stimulating properties that belong to the flesh of quadrupeds 
 and birds. Still, the health and vigor of the inhabitants of fishing 
 towns, where fish may form the only kind of animal food consumed, 
 show that it is capable of contributing, in an effective manner, to 
 the maintenance of the body under active conditions of life. On 
 account of its being less satisfying than meat the appetite returns at 
 shorter intervals, and a larger quantity is required to be consumed. 
 
 Dr. Davy 1 says, "If we give our attention to classed people 
 classed as to the quality of food they principally subsist on we 
 shall find that the ichthyophagous class are especially strong, healthy, 
 and prolific. In no other class than in that of fishers do we see 
 larger families, handsomer women, or more robust and active men." 
 
 As a less stimulating article of food than meat, fish possesses 
 valuable properties in a therapeutic point of view, and is constantly 
 being advantageously employed when the powers are too weak for 
 the stronger kinds of animal food to be borne. 
 
 The flesh of some fish is white, and that of others more or less 
 red. The former is less stimulating and lighter to the stomach or 
 more easy of digestion than the latter. 
 
 Amongst the fish having white flesh are the whiting, haddock, 
 cod, sole, turbot, brill, plaice, flounder, &c. The flesh contains but 
 little fat, as the following analysis will show. The fat existing in 
 the animal is especially accumulated in the liver, and in the cod- 
 fish particularly, when in season, the liver is enormously gorged 
 with oil. 
 
 Composition of white fish. 
 
 Nitrogenous matter, . . . .18.1 
 
 Fat, 2.9 
 
 Saline matter, 1.0 
 
 Water, 78.0 
 
 100.0 
 
 The flesh of the salmon particularly presents a strong contrast in 
 color to that of the fish above enumerated. It approaches meat in 
 redness, and is regarded as approaching it also more closely than 
 other fish in sustaining properties. Fatty matter is incorporated 
 
 i The Angler and his Friend, by John Davy, M.D., F.K.S. Lond., 1855, p. 
 114. 
 
172 ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES. 
 
 with the muscular fibres, and there is also a layer of superficial fat 
 beneath the skin. This is more abundant in the abdominal or 
 thinner than in the dorsal or thicker part of the animal hence the 
 richer flavor, and thereby the preference given to the former for 
 eating. 
 
 Composition of salmon. 
 
 Nitrogenous matter, .... 16.1 
 
 Eat, 5.5 
 
 Saline matter, ..... 1.4 
 
 Water, 77.0 
 
 100.0 
 
 The mackerel, eel, herring, sprat, and pilchard are other fish 
 characterized by the presence of fatty matter incorporated with the 
 flesh. Thus it is that these fish are richer and less suited to a deli- 
 cate stomach than the white fish. The eel especially is rich in fat, 
 as is shown by the following analysis from Letheby's table : 
 
 Composition of eels. 
 
 Nitrogenous matter, . . . .9.9 
 
 Fat, 13.8 
 
 Saline matter, 1.3 
 
 Water, 75.0 
 
 100.0 
 
 Pay en's analysis gives a still considerably larger quantity of fat, 
 thus : 
 
 Composition of eels deprived of the non-edible portions (Payen). 
 
 Nitrogenous matter, . . . . . 13.00 
 
 Fatty matter, . . . . . .23.86 
 
 Mineral matter, ...... 0.77 
 
 Non-nitrogenous matter and loss, . . 0.30 
 Water, 62.07 
 
 100.00 
 
 Of all fish the whiting may be regarded as the most delicate, 
 tender, easy of digestion, and least likely to disagree with a weak 
 stomach. It is sometimes styled the chicken of the fish tribe. The 
 
FISH. 173 
 
 haddock is somewhat closely allied, but has a firmer texture, and is 
 inferior in flavor and digestibility. The sole is a tender and diges- 
 tible fish. It also has a delicate flavor, and deservedly enjoys a 
 high reputation as an article of food for the invalid. The flounder 
 is light and easy of digestion, but insipid. In all cases where fish 
 is required for a weak stomach, either boiling or broiling should 
 constitute the process of cooking. Frying is objectionable on ac- 
 count of the fatty matter used rendering the fish rich and more in- 
 digestible. 
 
 The codfish is far from possessing the digestibility that is enjoyed 
 by most other white fish. It varies in quality a great deal, but some 
 of it is exceedingly hard, tough, stringy or woollen, and indigestible. 
 I believe it to be a more trying article of food to the stomach than is 
 generally credited. When reputed to be in good condition or in season, 
 the flesh, which is arranged in flakes, becomes opaque on boiling. 
 The juice between the flakes also undergoes alteration, and produces 
 a layer of white curdy matter, apparently consisting of coagulated 
 albumen. When out of season, this white curdy matter is absent, 
 and the flesh remains, after being boiled, semitransparent and bluish. 
 In this state it is evidently not so nourishing, but being more watery 
 and soft, I believe it is more easy of digestion. Indeed, some few 
 instances have fallen under my notice where eating what would be 
 called codfish in a state of high perfection that is, codfish in a 
 firm, flaky, and opaque state after being boiled has been followed 
 by an attack of indigestion. 
 
 Crimping increases the firmness of the flesh, and is often em- 
 ployed in the case of codfish. It must be effected whilst the mus- 
 cular fibres retain their vitality, or before rigor mortis has set in. 
 The fish when caught is struck on the head, and afterwards a number 
 of transverse incisions are made. It is then immersed in cold water, 
 which occasions a strong contraction of the muscular fibres, and 
 causes the flesh to assume a firmer state than would otherwise be the 
 case. It is considered that crimped cod is not only firmer, but keeps 
 longer, and has a better flavor than that which has not been crimped. 
 Rigidity or firmness of flesh being due to rigor mortis, which passes 
 off in the course of time, its existence in all fish affords a sign of 
 freshness. 
 
 The turbot for flavor is deservedly held in high estimation. It is 
 
174 ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES. 
 
 firmer and richer, but less digestible than other kinds of flat fish, as 
 the sole, flounder, and plaice. 
 
 Brill is also an excellent fish, but is inferior in flavor to the turbot, 
 for which it is sometimes substituted. 
 
 In both turbot and brill the skin, on boiling, swells and assumes 
 a gelatinous character. This is eaten as a choice part. Its appear- 
 ance would lead to the supposition of its being easily digestible, but, 
 whether on account of its rich flavor or not, it appears to be more 
 apt than the flesh to disagree with the stomach. 
 
 The sturgeon is a fish that is not much eaten in this country. Its 
 flesh is looked upon as presenting some resemblance in taste and 
 character to veal. 
 
 The quality of fish as an article of food is influenced by the act of 
 spawning, and presents considerable variation at different periods. 
 It is just previous to spawning that the animal is in its highest state 
 of perfection. Its condition altogether is then at its best point. The 
 animal is fatter than at any other period, and of a richer flavor for 
 eating. During the process of spawning its store of fatty matter 
 is drawn upon, and it becomes poor, thin, and watery or flabby. It 
 is now said to be " out of season," and requires time to arrive in con- 
 dition again. In fish like the cod, where the fatty matter accumu- 
 lates specially in the liver, this organ presents a most striking dif- 
 ference in volume and condition before and after spawning ; whilst 
 in such as the salmon, herring, &c., where the fat is dispersed 
 through the body, the same kind of change is noticeable here. As 
 the salmon enters the rivers from the sea, for the purpose of ascend- 
 ing them and depositing its spawn, it is in a plump condition, and 
 well provided with fat. On its return the contrast in its condition is 
 very great. It is now so exhausted and thin as to be looked upon 
 as unfit for food. 
 
 Young fish which have not arrived at an age for spawning do not 
 present any variation, but are always " in season." 
 
 After the operation of castration and spaying, it has been found 
 also that fish maintain a uniform condition. The operation has 
 never been practiced to any extent, but an account of it has been 
 given by Mr. Tull in the "Philosophical Transactions" for 1754. 
 The object of its original performance appears to have been to pre- 
 vent the excessive increase offish in some ponds where the numbers 
 did not permit any of them to grow to an advantageous size. Not 
 
FISH. 175 
 
 only, it is stated, was the desired result attained, but the fish that 
 had undergone the operation grew much larger than their usual size, 
 were more fat, and remained always " in season." 
 
 The flavor of fish is much influenced by the nature of their food. 
 In general, sea fish are better that have been caught in deep water 
 off rocky headlands where the current is strong, than in estuaries 
 and bays where the water is shallow and the current weak. As re- 
 gards fresh-water fish, those which have been obtained from deep 
 lakes or ponds with clear water and a rocky or gravelly bottom are 
 far superior in flavor to those obtained from shallow water on a 
 muddy bottom. The earthy taste of the latter, indeed, may be so 
 strong as to render them also uneatable, but fish bred in such water 
 may be deprived of their unpleasant flavor by being kept for some 
 time, before being killed, in ponds of clear water with a gravelly 
 bottom. 
 
 With reference to the edible qualities of fish, Dr. Davy says 1 
 " As to individual species, whether of sea-fish or fresh-water, there 
 are notable differences and peculiarities, some depending on the 
 species, some on the qualitias of the feed. Of the first we have in- 
 stances almost without number, inasmuch as almost each kind has 
 some distinctive peculiarity. The delicate smelt has the odor of the 
 cucumber ; the grayling, of the thyme ; some of those of the scomber 
 family abound in blood, have a comparatively high temperature, and 
 dark-colored muscles ; others, as those of the Galidae, of which group 
 the whiting is one, have little blood, at least few red corpuscles, have 
 white muscles, and are delicately tasted ; some, as the common ray, 
 and most of the order of cartilaginous fish, have a muscular fibre of 
 much firmness and power of resistance, yielding and becoming tender 
 from keeping, and consequently, contrary to the general rule appli- 
 cable to fish, they should not be dressed fresh ; and other differences 
 might be pointed out one kind abounding in oil, as the pilchard, 
 herring, and the eel ; the eel especially, and so luscious in consequence 
 other kinds containing little or no oil, as the sole and ray. 
 
 " Of the influence of feed on the same kind of fish we have strik- 
 ing examples, both in many saltwater and freshwater species. Of 
 the former how different in quality is the herring caught off differ- 
 ent parts of the coast ; so, too, of the common haddock. What her- 
 
 1 The Angler and his Friend, by John Davy, M.D., F.R.S. Lond., 1855, p. 117. 
 
176 ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES. 
 
 ring is equal to that of Loch Fine ; what haddock equal to that of 
 the Bay of Dublin? Of freshwater fish, what a contrast there is 
 between the lake-trout and the brook-trout ! the one well fed, well 
 flavored, of the color of the salmon ; the other small, colorless, and 
 insipid. What a contrast between either of these and the trout of 
 bog-water ; the latter black, soft, ill-formed, and ill-tasted. What a 
 contrast, again, between the trout inhabiting a stream in a fertile 
 limestone district fed by springs, fluctuating little, and the indwellers 
 of the mountain stream of a primitive country, subject to great fluc- 
 tuations one day a raging torrent, in a brief space run out and all 
 but dried up. As with other animals, whether beast or bird, domes- 
 tic or wild, much, we know, as to their quality, depends on their 
 feed, its kind, and quantity, and so with fish. Of these the para- 
 doxical sturgeon may be mentioned as another and very striking 
 example ; by the Norwegians, we are informed by Block, it is even 
 designated after the fish on which, from its flavor, it is supposed to 
 have fed, as the mackerel-sturgeon, herring-sturgeon, &c. 
 
 " Other circumstances besides food, no doubt, have likewise an 
 effect all which anywise influence the health, such as climate, air, 
 water, &c. ^ nor amongst these should age be omitted. This last, 
 in the instance of fish, and of fish only, is little thought of at home ; 
 and it may be because, in our well-fished seas, rivers, and lakes, few 
 fish are allowed to reach a very advanced age ; but not so in the 
 tropical seas, where there is not the same activity practiced in the 
 capture of fish ; there it is not uncommon to be helped at table to an 
 old fish, and to have its hardness and toughness explained by one's 
 experienced host by reference to age." 
 
 The turbot is a fish which improves in flavor and tenderness by 
 keeping for a little time before being dressed. Trout and salmon 
 cannot be sent to table too soon after being caught. Eaten immedi- 
 ately after being killed, they possess a delicate sweet flavor, which 
 quickly disappears on keeping. It is thus impossible to have trout, 
 in particular, in the same state of perfection at a distance from the 
 streams where they are caught as on the spot itself. 
 
 What is called the roe of fish constitutes the reproductive secret- 
 ing organs, which attain a very large size, and render the animals 
 exceedingly prolific. The hard roc belongs to the female, and is 
 formed by the ovary. The soft roe or milt belongs to the male, and 
 
SHELL-FISH. 177 
 
 is formed by the spermatic organ. Both are eaten. The parts belong- 
 ing to the male cod are used as a garnish to the fish when served. 
 
 Caviare is the hard roe of the sturgeon preserved by salting. It 
 is pretty extensively employed as a common food in Russia, but in 
 this country is consumed only as a relish at the table of the rich, the 
 mode of serving it being on dry toast. 
 
 Cod sounds represent the swimming-bladder of the animal. They 
 are dried and eaten separately. The swimming-bladder of the stur- 
 geon, in particular, also yields the well-known article, isinglass. 
 
 The processes of drying, salting, smoking, and pickling are em- 
 ployed for the preservation of fish. Each process considerably less- 
 ens the digestibility of the article, and fish so prepared are, there- 
 fore, unsuited for the dyspeptic and invalid. 
 
 SHELL-FISH. 
 
 Shell-fish are derived from both the crustacean and molluscous 
 tribes of animals. They yield a less nutritive kind of food than 
 that which has been already consider-ed, but must nevertheless be 
 looked upon as holding a position of considerable importance in an 
 alimentary point of view. 
 
 Shell-fish, taken altogether, are more indigestible and apt to upset 
 the stomach than other kinds of animal food. Whether from idio- 
 syncrasy on the part of the person affected, as is doubtless often the 
 case, or from noxious properties in the particular animals eaten, shell- 
 fish not unfrequently produce urgent symptoms of derangement. 
 Sometimes the symptoms are those of gastro-intestinal irritation, as, 
 for instance, nausea, vomiting, colic, cramps, and purging. Some- 
 times an eruptive disorder of the skin, and more particularly nettle- 
 rash, is induced. So strong, indeed, is the tendency in some for 
 such affection of the skin to be developed, that it is occasionally 
 found necessary to scrupulously exclude shell-fish from the diet. At 
 other times giddiness and other symptoms of disorder of the nervous 
 system, as paralysis, coma, and convulsions, have been noticed, and 
 instances of death have been known to occur. 
 
 The crustaceans commonly eaten consist of the lobster, crab, craw- 
 fish, shrimp, and prawn. They are all regarded as choice articles 
 food. The flesh belonging to them is white and firm. 
 
 12 
 
178 ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES. 
 
 
 
 Composition of the edible portions of the lobster (Pay en). 
 
 Nitrogenous matter, . . . 19.170 12.140 21.892 
 
 Fatty matter, . . . . 1.170 1.444 8.234 
 
 Mineral matter, .... 1.823 1.749 1.998 
 
 Non-nitrogenous matter and loss, . 1.219 0.354 4.893 
 
 Water, 76.018 84.313 62.983 
 
 100.100 100.000 
 
 The lobster occupies a higher position in public estimation than 
 the crab. The flesh of the two is much alike, but the flavor is dif- 
 ferent, that of the lobster being the more delicate, and apparently 
 the least likely to disagree. 
 
 The female or hen lobster, as it is called, is in special request for 
 making sauce, for the sake of the spawn or eggs belonging to it. 
 These are attached beneath the tail, and consist of little round bodies. 
 They are black in their natural state, but become of a bright red on 
 boiling. They are pounded and mixed with the sauce, and thus 
 give it after boiling the desired red color, as well as some amount of 
 flavor. There is another part inside the animal which becomes of a 
 bright red color on boiling. This is called the coral. It consists of 
 the ovary, and is used for garnishing. 
 
 The flesh of the lobster is mainly found in the tail and claws. 
 That of the claws is more tender, delicate, and digestible than that 
 of the tail, which is firmer and closer. 
 
 The thorny lobster, or sea crawfish, is sometimes substituted for the 
 ordinary lobster. It eats much like it, but is, perhaps, rather in- 
 ferior in flavor and tenderness. 
 
 The flesh belonging to the claws of the crab is far less likely to dis- 
 agree with the stomach than the soft part contained within the shell. 
 This is rich, and somewhat of the consistence of brain-matter, a 
 name that is often popularly applied to it, but it consists of liver. 
 
 The branchiae, or gills, sometimes called a dead men's fingers," 
 are, in the case of both the lobster and the crab, carefully avoided, 
 but there is no foundation for the notion that they possess any dele- 
 terious properties. 
 
 Although an agreeable article of food to many, the lobster and 
 crab are not fit, on account of their difficult digestibility, for the 
 
SHELL-FISH. 179 
 
 stomach of the invalid and dyspeptic. They also disagree with some 
 persons possessing an ordinary amount of digestive power, produc- 
 ing a sense of weight in the epigastrium, nausea, and, it may be, 
 vomiting. A cutaneous eruption, and other urgent symptoms, have 
 occasionally been produced by these as well as other shell-fish. 
 
 Popular usages generally rest upon some substantial foundation, 
 and the almost universal employment of vinegar and pepper as an 
 adjunct to the kind of food under consideration has doubtless arisen 
 from the advantage shown by experience to accrue therefrom. In- 
 deed, the use of these condiments is almost looked upon as a matter 
 of course, and they will have the effect the one of stimulating an 
 increased flow of digestive secretion, and the other of furnishing a 
 certain amount of additional acid, and thereby augmenting the energy 
 of the natural secretion. Thus, increased power will be provided, 
 by the agency of these adjuncts, to meet the difficult digestibility of 
 the crustaceans in question. 
 
 The river or fresh-water crawfish is obtained from brooks and 
 streams in certain localities. It is an animal of quite moderate 
 dimensions. Its flesh is softer and more digestible than that of the 
 lobster. When eaten, it is rather as a relish than for the actual 
 amount of nourishment yielded. It enters as an ingredient into 
 Bisque soup, and is frequently used as a garnish more than anything 
 alse- 
 
 Shrimps and prawns are a favorite article of food with all classes 
 of society. Although they cannot be reputed as easy of digestion, 
 or adapted for a weak stomach, yet they are not so likely to disagree 
 as the lobster and crab. 
 
 Of the shell-fish belonging to the molluscous tribe consumed in 
 this country, some are bivalve, such as the oyster, mussel, scallop, 
 and cockle ; whilst others are univalve, as the periwinkle, whelk,, 
 and limpet. 
 
 Oysters have always held a high rank amongst the delicice gulo- 
 sorum. They are found on various parts of our coast, and are 
 caught by dredging, but instead of being consumed at once they are 
 transferred to oyster-beds in creeks along the shore for the purpose 
 of being " fattened." Here they quickly undergo a marked increase 
 in size, become more plump, and improve in flavor. Colchester is 
 the headquarters as a feeding-ground for the metropolis. Arrived' 
 in London, some of the salesmen keep them for a few days, and 
 
180 ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES. 
 
 place some oatmeal in the water with the view of still further im- 
 proving their whiteness and plumpness. The small "native" has 
 the greatest delicacy of taste, and possesses the highest market 
 value. 
 
 Oysters are a nutritious kind of food. Different opinions have 
 prevailed regarding their digestibility. Seeing, however, how often 
 they can be borne without inconvenience by a delicate stomach, it 
 may be concluded that they are not difficult to dispose of, and espe- 
 cially when it is considered that from the manner in which they are 
 usually eaten, viz., without being subjected to mastication, they are 
 rarely swallowed in as favorable a state for digestion as other kinds 
 of food. By many the whole animal is eaten, whilst those who are 
 dainty over them remove the outer fringed part or beard which 
 constitutes the gills. Of the remainder there is a soft and somewhat 
 hard portion. The former consists mainly of liver, which in this 
 animal is a very bulky organ. The latter is composed of the ad- 
 ductor muscle, which served to connect the two shells together. It 
 forms by far the most indigestible part of the oyster, and should be 
 carefully rejected where any weakness of stomach exists. 
 
 Oysters are more digestible in the raw than in the cooked state. 
 Cooking, whether by grilling, scalloping, or stewing, coagulates and 
 hardens them, and thereby renders them more difficult of solution 
 in the stomach. 
 
 Composition of oysters (Payen). 
 
 Mean of two series 
 of analyses. 
 
 Nitrogenous matter, 14.010 
 
 Fatty matter, 1.515 
 
 Saline mutter, 2695 
 
 jtfon-nitrogenous matter and loss, . . 1.395 
 
 Water, 80.385 
 
 100.000 
 
 Though generally wholesome, oysters have been sometimes known 
 to possess noxious properties, and to have given rise to symptoms 
 of poisoning. At the time of spawning they lose their good con- 
 dition, and are reckoned " out of season." It is in the month of 
 May that they cast their spawn, which the dredgers call the spat. 
 They are now in a poor and sickly state. During the months of 
 June and July they pick up, and in August regain their former 
 
EGGS. 181 
 
 condition. There is an old saying, that an oyster is only good when 
 there is an " r " in the name of the month. 
 
 Mussels are consumed pretty largely, but they do not reach the 
 table of the higher classes in the same way as the oyster. They are 
 subjected to a preparatory process of cooking, usually by stewing in 
 their own liquor. There is a little tongue-like, hardish, dark-colored 
 mass belonging to them, which is generally picked out, under the 
 supposition that it is deleterious. No proof of this, however, exists, 
 as many persons consume the mussel whole without experiencing 
 any injurious consequences. 
 
 . Composition of mussels (Payen). 
 
 Nitrogenous matter, . . . . . .11.72 
 
 Fatty matter, 2.42 
 
 Saline matter, 2.73 
 
 Non-nitrogenous matter and loss, . . . 7.39 
 Water, 75.74 
 
 100.00 
 
 Of all shell-fish the most frequently found to exert deleterious 
 effects the mussel stands pre-eminent. It is well known to the 
 public that it is liable to act in this way. Sometimes all who par- 
 take of a prepared dish suffer, whilst at other times some may be 
 affected and others escape. Dr. Christison, in his work on " Poisons," 
 refers to an instance which occurred at Leith in 1827, in which no 
 fewer than thirty people were severely affected and two persons 
 died. As in other cases, it has not been clearly ascertained to what 
 the poisonous effects are attributable. 
 
 Scallops, cockles, periwinkles, limpets, and whelks, are not of suffi- 
 cient importance as articles of food to require any further notice 
 here. They are principally sold in the streets, and eaten only by a 
 limited class of people. 
 
 EGGS. 
 
 Eggs necessarily contain all that is required for the construction 
 of the body, as the young animal is developed from it, but, as Liebig 
 has pointed out, the shell must be taken into account as well as its 
 contents. During the process of incubation, in fact, the earthy 
 matter of the shell becomes gradually dissolved and applied to the 
 
182 ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES. 
 
 purposes of growth. Phosphoric acid, formed by the gradual oxida- 
 tion of phosphorus, constitutes the solvent agent, and the shell is 
 found to become progressively thinner and thinner, until at last it is 
 no thicker than a sheet of letter paper. 
 
 Various eggs are eaten, including those of reptiles as, for in- 
 stance, the turtle as well as birds ; but it is especially the egg of 
 the fowl which is employed as a general article of food, and to this 
 the succeeding remarks are intended to refer. 
 
 The average weight of an egg is about two ounces avoirdupois, 
 and the quantity of dry solid matter contained in it amounts to 
 about 200 grains. It is composed of shell, white, and yolk, and in 
 100 parts about 10 consist of shell, 60 of white, and 30 of yolk. 
 
 Composition of the entire contents of the egg. 
 
 Nitrogenous matter, .... 14.0 
 
 Fatty matter, 10.5 
 
 Saline matter, . . . . .1.5 
 Water, 74.0 
 
 100.0 
 I 
 Composition of the white of egg. 
 
 Nitrogenous matter, .... 20.4 
 
 Fatty matter, 
 
 Saline matter, 1.6 
 
 Water, 78.0 
 
 100.0 
 
 Composition of the yolk of egg. 
 
 Nitrogenous matter, . . . .16.0 
 
 Fatty matter, 30.7 
 
 Saline matter, . . . . . 1.3 
 Water, 52.0 
 
 100.0 
 
 The white of the egg, as shown by the above analysis, contains a 
 considerably larger proportion of water than the yolk. It con- 
 tains no fatty matter, but consists mainly of albumen in a dissolved 
 state, and inclosed within very thin-walled cells. It is this arrange- 
 ment which gives to the white of egg its ropy, gelatinous state. 
 
EGGS. 183 
 
 Thoroughly shaking or beating it up with water breaks the cells and 
 removes the ropy state. 
 
 The yolk of the egg forms a kind of yellow emulsion. All the 
 fatty matter of the egg is accumulated in this portion of it, and it 
 here amounts to as much as 30 per cent. The fat is held in suspen- 
 sion or emulsified by the albuminous matter of the yolk, which con- 
 stitutes a slight modification of that of the white, and is called vitel- 
 lin. The yolk contains relatively a less proportion of nitrogenous 
 matter than the white. The proportion of solid matter, on account 
 of the fat, is considerably greater. An enveloping membrane or bag 
 surrounds the yolk, and keeps the fluid matter, of which it is com- 
 posed, together. Being lighter than the white, it floats to that por- 
 tion of the egg which is uppermost, but is kept in position between 
 the two extremities by two processes of inspissated albumen, called 
 chalazae, which pass and are attached one to either end of the egg. 
 
 The quality of eggs varies according to the food upon which the 
 fowl is kept. Certain articles of food communicate a distinct 
 flavor to the egg. 
 
 In an alimentary point of view, therefore, the white and yolk 
 differ markedly from each other, the one being mainly a simple so- 
 lution of albumen, the other a solution of a modified form of albu- 
 men associated with a considerable quantity of fat. 
 
 Beckoning the weight of an egg at two ounces, and that one- 
 tenth of this consists of shell, the contents will furnish the follow- 
 ing amounts of dry constiuents, the percentage composition given 
 above being taken as the basis of calculation : 
 
 
 
 Dry constituents of the contents of an egg. 
 
 Nitrogenous matter, .... 110 grains. 
 
 Fatty matter, 82 " 
 
 Saline matter, 11 " 
 
 Total solid matter, . . .203 grains. 
 
 Raw and lightly boiled eggs are easy of digestion. The hard- 
 boiled egg offers considerable resistance to gastric solution, and ex- 
 erts a constipating action on the bowels. 
 
 The egg changes by keeping, and certain devices are practiced to 
 preserve its freshness. The shell, being porous, allows of the evap- 
 oration of fluid, and air accumulates in its place at one of the ex- 
 
184 ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES. 
 
 tremities. Thus, an egg under exposure to the air loses weight 
 from day to day, and the diminution in density indicates the length 
 of time it has been kept. For example, a solution of salt in the 
 proportion of about 10 per cent. that is, one ounce of salt in ten 
 ounces of water will just allow a fresh egg to sink, whilst one 
 which has been kept several days will swim. Bad eggs become 
 sufficiently light to float even in pure water. 
 
 The air which finds its way through the pores of the shell into 
 the egg causes gradual decomposition, until ultimately a state of 
 putrescence is attained. With the view of excluding the air eggs 
 are sometimes placed and kept in lime-water. The shell is also 
 sometimes covered with a layer of wax and oil or some other kind 
 of fatty matter, and sometimes with gum. By packing in bran, 
 salt, or some such material, they keep longer than they otherwise 
 would do, but it must be remembered that eggs easily acquire a 
 taste from that which surrounds them. Immersed for some hours 
 in a solution of salt, some of the saline matter penetrates and tends 
 to preserve the egg under subsequent exposure to the air. 
 
 Fresh eggs are easily known by their translucency when held up 
 to the light. By keeping they become cloudy, and when decidedly 
 stale a distinct, dark, cloud-like appearance is discernible opposite 
 some portion of the shell. A little instrument is sold as an egg- 
 tester. It consists of a small square box, with a hole at the top to 
 receive the egg, and another at one side to look into. By an arrange- 
 ment of mirrors within, the state of the egg is seen when a strong 
 light is thrown upon it so as to be transmitted through. If the egg 
 be fresh the image seen in the mirror is almost transparent, whilst if 
 stale it is more or less dark. 
 
 Eggs are sometimes noticed to break spontaneously on being 
 boiled. This occurs when the egg is suddenly immersed in a largish 
 quantity of boiling water. The sudden expansion of the contents 
 produced by the heat causes the shell to give way. Immersed in a 
 small quantity of water only, the temperature is lowered sufficiently 
 to prevent any immediate extensive expansion, and then, with the 
 subsequent gradual elevation of the temperature, time is given for a 
 little fluid to be forced through the pores of the shell from the pres- 
 sure within, and, perhaps, for the shell itself to undergo some ex- 
 pansion. A stale egg is less likely to become broken in this way 
 
MILK. 185 
 
 than a fresh one, on account of the air which has replaced the evap- 
 orated fluid admitting easily of compression. 
 
 MILK. 
 
 Milk, an article furnished and intended by nature as the sole food 
 for the young of a certain class of animals, necessarily contains, like 
 eggs, all the elements that are required for the growth and mainte- 
 nance of the body. Holding the position it does, it may be justly 
 regarded as the type of an alimentary substance. 
 
 Good milk is a homogeneous opaquely white or very faintly buff- 
 tinted liquid, which is entirely free from any viscidity, and under- 
 goes no change on being heated. It has a sweet taste, and a slightly 
 perceptible agreeable odor. Its reaction, although formerly de- 
 scribed as faintly acid, has been more recently ascertained to be 
 slightly alkaline, or else neutral, when in a natural state and at the 
 moment of removal. A little later an acid character becomes per- 
 ceptible, and is evidently due to the effect of change after removal. 
 Its density varies, but 1030 may be looked upon as about the 
 average in the case of cow's milk. Although appearing homoge- 
 neous to the naked eye, it in reality consists, as is shown by micro- 
 scopic examination, of a clear liquid holding in suspension a multi- 
 tude of little particles or globules, which constitute the cause of its 
 opacity. These globules are of a fatty nature, and, being lighter 
 than the surrounding liquid, gradually rise to the surface, and form 
 the cream which collects at the top of milk that is allowed to repose. 
 
 The ingredients of milk consist of 
 
 Nitrogenous matter, 
 
 Fatty matter, 
 
 Lactin, or sugar of milk, 
 
 Mineral matter, and 
 
 Water. 
 
 The nitrogenous matter is chiefly composed of casein, a principle 
 which, unlike albumen, is not coagulated by heat, but is coagulable 
 by acids, organic as well as mineral, and also by a neutral organic 
 substance obtainable from the stomach, viz., pepsin, which forms the 
 active principle of rennet. It is casein which constitutes curd and 
 the basis of cheese. It is thrown down, carrying with it in an en- 
 tangled state the suspended fatty globules, not only by the addition 
 
186 ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES. 
 
 of the agents mentioned, but as a result of the spontaneous change 
 which milk undergoes under exposure to air. The cause of this 
 spontaneous coagulation is the development of lactic acid by a fer- 
 mentative transformation of the lactin. As is well known, warmth 
 greatly favors this change, and it does so to such an extent that 
 during the hot weather of summer milk very quickly passes into a 
 coagulated or curdled state. Contact with the smallest quantity of 
 milk that has undergone the change also rapidly induces curdling 
 throughout the whole bulk. Hence arises the necessity, as has been 
 found by experience, of exercising the most scrupulous care in se- 
 curing the utmost cleanliness of the vessels used for the purpose of 
 storage. It may further be mentioned that at the commencement 
 of the change an amount of lactic acid may have been generated in- 
 sufficient to curdle the milk at the ordinary temperature, but suffi- 
 cient to do so at a greater heat, because the action of the acid is then 
 more energetic. This accounts for the circumstance frequently no- 
 ticed in household economy, that milk may be liquid, and apparently 
 fresh, at the ordinary temperature, and yet shall curdle upon being 
 boiled. 
 
 Besides casein, milk contains a little albumen, and a third nitro- 
 genous principle in small amount, which has been named lacto- 
 protein. 
 
 The fatty matter constitutes butter. Whilst existing in milk it is 
 suspended, as has been already mentioned, under the form of micro- 
 scopic globules. These globules appear to be surrounded by an en- 
 velope of casein or albuminoid matter, which becomes broken in the 
 process of churning for the production of butter, so allowing the 
 incorporation of the fatty matter to occur. It is seemingly on ac- 
 count of this envelope that ether fails to dissolve out the fat when 
 simply shaken up with milk ; for if a small quantity of an alkali, 
 as for instance potash, which may be presumed to dissolve the en- 
 velopes, be previously added, then ether immediately takes up the 
 fat, leaving a clear watery liquid, consisting of the casein, &c., lactin, 
 and salts. 
 
 Lactin forms one of the varieties of sugar, and remains dissolved 
 in the liquid from which both the curd and butter may have been 
 separated. It has a less sweet taste, and is less soluble in water 
 than ordinary sugar, is nearly insoluble in alcohol and ether, readily 
 crystallizes, and reduces the cupro-potassic solution like grape-sugar, 
 
MILK. 187 
 
 but is not directly susceptible of alcoholic fermentation. Alone it 
 forms a stable compound, but in contact with decomposing nitrogen- 
 ous matter it undergoes conversion into lactic acid, which accounts 
 for the sourness that milk acquires on keeping. 
 
 The mineral matter and water comprise the inorganic principles 
 required for the purposes of life. 
 
 According to the analysis given in Dr. Letheby's table, cow's milk 
 contains 14 per cent, of solid matter, which is distributed as follows: 
 
 Composition of cow's milk. 
 
 Nitrogenous matter, . . . . 41 
 
 Fatty matter, 3.9 
 
 Lactin, ...... 5.2 
 
 Saline matter, . . .* . 0.8 
 
 Water, 86.0 
 
 100.0 
 
 One pint of milk of the above composition, reckoned at a sp. gr. 
 of 1030, which will give 9012 grains as its weight, will contain the 
 following amounts of the several solid constituents, represented in 
 grains and ounces : 
 
 Solid constituents in one pint of milk. 
 
 Grains. Ozs. 
 
 Nitrogenous matter, 369 0.843 
 
 Fatty matter, 351 0.802 
 
 Lactin, 468 1.069 
 
 Saline matter, 72 0.164 
 
 Total solid matter, 1.260 2.878 
 
 The proportion of the several constituents of milk varies in dif- 
 ferent animals, and also under different circumstances in the same 
 animal. 
 
 First, as regards the composition of the milk of different animals. 
 As it does not happen that a fixed or invariable composition exists, 
 it is not surprising that the analyses of different authorities should 
 be found to vary to some extent. They so far agree, however, as to 
 give marked distinctive features to the milk of certain animals. The 
 following table is furnished by Payen as affording a mean represen- 
 tation : 
 
188 
 
 ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES. 
 
 Mean composition of the milk of various animals (Pay en). 
 
 Nitrogenous matter and 1 
 insoluble salts, J 
 
 Butter, . 
 
 Lactin and soluble salts, . 
 Water, . 
 
 Woman. 
 
 Cow. 
 
 (foat. 
 
 Sheep. 
 
 Ass. 
 
 Mare. 
 
 3.35 
 
 4.55 
 
 4.50 
 
 8.00 
 
 1.70 
 
 1.62 
 
 8.34 
 
 370 
 
 4.10 
 
 6.50 
 
 1.40 
 
 0.20 
 
 3.77 
 
 5.35 
 
 5.80 
 
 4.50 
 
 6.40 
 
 8.75 
 
 89.54 
 
 86.40 
 
 85.60 
 
 82.00 
 
 90.50 
 
 89.33 
 
 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 1 100.00 100.00 1 
 
 The milk of the cow, according to the above analyses, the most 
 closely approximates to that of woman, but it is rather more highly 
 charged with each kind of solid constituent. Next follows the milk 
 of the goat, which, taken altogether, is again rather richer. That of 
 the sheep is characterized by its marked richness in nitrogenous mat- 
 ter and butter. The milk of the ass and mare presents a striking 
 difference from the rest. The peculiarity consists of the small amounts 
 of nitrogenous matter and butter, and the large amount of lactin or 
 sugar. The milk of the mare forms the higher representative of 
 this peculiarity of the two, and so large is the amount of sugar con- 
 tained in it that in Tartary it is fermented and converted into a spir- 
 ituous liquor, which is known by the name of koumiss. Asses' milk 
 is well known to form a most useful aliment for persons too delicate 
 in health to bear cow's milk. Its prominent characters as an article 
 of food are sweetness of taste and facility of digestion; and a glance 
 at its composition suffices to account for the possession of these quali- 
 ties. It is said to have the objection of being sometimes apt to 
 occasion diarrhoea. 
 
 I have selected and introduced Payen's analyses, but it must be 
 stated that somewhat different results are furnished by other analysts, 
 and particularly as regards woman's milk, in which the proportion 
 of sugar is given as considerably larger, and that of casein smaller, 
 thus bringing it in respect of these constituents closer to the milk of 
 the ass. 
 
 1 The correct additions here do not quite correspond with the figures given, a 
 deviation to the extent of 1.0 existing in the one case and 0.1 in the other. The 
 soluble salts, which in the above table are grouped with the lactin, are in Payen's 
 table put down at 1.06 per cent, for woman's milk. This is obviously an error, 
 and it may be concluded that 0.06 is meant. These figures have been taken 
 above and bring the addition correct. 
 
MILK. 189 
 
 With reference to the casein, it is stated that the coagulum or curd 
 of woman's milk is "in general somewhat gelatinous, and not so 
 dense or solid as that of cow's milk, and, therefore, more easily di- 
 gested by the child's stomach" (Lehmann). 
 
 The quality of milk further varies in different breeds of animals. 
 The milk of the Alderney cow, for example, is well known for its 
 great richness in fat, and that of the breed of long-horns is reputed 
 to contain a larger proportion of casein than exists in the milk of 
 other cows. It is also a popular belief that dark-complexioned 
 women possess superior qualifications for nursing than fair-cornplex- 
 ioned women, and this view is supported by the results of a com- 
 parative analysis made by L'Heritier 1 of the milk of two nursing 
 mothers, aged twenty years, one of whom was dark and the other fair, 
 it having been found that the secretion of the brunette was richer in 
 each of the organic constituents than that of the blonde. 
 
 Besides these variations in the milk of individual animals, varia- 
 tions of a certain nature are noticeable in the milk of the same in- 
 dividual. 
 
 The fluid which is first secreted after parturition is in a very dif- 
 ferent condition from ordinary milk. It goes by the name of co/os- 
 trmtij and is of a somewhat viscid or stringy consistence, something 
 like soap and water, with a turbid and yellowish appearance, and a 
 strongly alkaline reaction. It contains more albumen than casein, 
 and hence undergoes coagulation on boiling. Examined microscopi- 
 cally, a number of large irregular bodies are seen, which consist of 
 conglomerations of small fat-globules held together by an amor- 
 phous, somewhat granular substance. These are called colostrum-cor- 
 puscles. The secretion of the cow remains in this state for several 
 days it may be, for a month after calving. Possessing during this 
 time a somewhat sickly odor and purgative properties, it must be re- 
 garded as in an unfit state for human food. 
 
 A marked difference exists in the quality of the milk as regards 
 the amount of cream which is obtained at the commencement and at 
 the end of milking. It has been ascertained by direct observation, 
 both on the Continent and in England, that the latter, especially 
 when intervals of some duration are allowed to elapse between the 
 periods of milking, contains more than double, and it may be, as 
 
 1 Traite de Chimie pathologique, Paris, 1842, p. 638. 
 
190 ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES. 
 
 much as four times, the amount of cream in a given quantity of milk. 
 This appears to be due to the fatty matter rising upwards whilst the 
 milk is contained within the gland, just as it is known to do after 
 removal. In this way the last removed portion, consisting of that 
 which occupied the highest position, will contain the largest amount 
 of fatty matter, and may consist, in fact, of a species of thin cream. 
 It is important that this should be known by those who obtain the 
 measure of milk they require in a separate vessel direct from the cow. 
 Of course, if a whole milking is received into one vessel, a uniform 
 admixture will occur and an average quality be yielded. 
 
 According to results obtained in a series of observations conducted 
 by Dr. Hassall, it appears that the afternoon milk of the cow is richer 
 both in cream and curd (butter and casein) than the morning. 
 
 Evidence is not wanting to show, as might be anticipated, that 
 the quality of the milk is influenced by the nature of the food. Our 
 knowledge is still imperfect regarding the precise effect exerted by 
 different alimentary articles on the amount of the respective constitu- 
 ent principles of milk ; but this much has been clearly ascertained, 
 that an insufficient diet quickly leads to its impoverishment in solid 
 material. It is nothing more than might be expected that to main- 
 tain the milk in good condition, a proper and sufficient diet must be 
 supplied ; and, in the case of the cow, no food can be considered 
 equal to that which is yielded by the fresh pasture of country fields, 
 the plants of which give a richness, sweetness, and agreeable aroma, 
 which cannot be supplied by any other mode of feeding. 
 
 That milk is susceptible of being in a marked degree influenced 
 by special ingesta is a fact with which most people are acquainted, 
 and many familiar illustrations of it can be adduced. It is known, 
 for instance, that the color may be modified by mixing saffron or 
 madder with the food ; the odor, by the consumption of plants belong- 
 ing to the cabbage and onion tribes ; and the taste, by the ingestion 
 of a bitter article such as wormwood. Milk also is known to acquire* 
 poisonous properties from the nature of the herbage in certain locali- 
 ties, without the animals themselves (cows, goats, &c.), being poisoned, 
 just as has been previously mentioned may happen in the case of 
 meat. This is noticed to occur abroad, and especially in Malta and 
 in some of the districts of North America. A further illustration of 
 the influence exerted by food is afforded by the fact that the milk 
 of meadow-fed cows, and likewise the cream which rises from it, is 
 
UNWHOLESOME MILK. 191 
 
 liable to acquire a marked unpleasant flavor in the autumn from the 
 fallen and decayed leaves which may happen to be consumed by the 
 animal. 
 
 Suckling mothers have to practice self-denial in eating and drink- 
 ing for the sake of the ease and comfort of their infants. Experience 
 teaches them that by partaking of fruit and green vegetables, or any- 
 thing of a sour or acid nature, their milk is apt to acquire griping 
 and purging properties. 
 
 The medical practitioner is likewise well aware that medicinal 
 agents produce their effect upon the milk. Infants may be salivated, 
 purged, and narcotized by mercury, drastic purgatives, and opiates, 
 respectively administered to the mother. Sometimes, also, medicines 
 are purposely given to influence the child through the medium of the 
 milk instead of being administered directly to the infantile patient. 
 
 Lastly, it may be mentioned that violent exercise and certain 
 mental states are known to communicate pernicious properties to the 
 milk. An instance is quoted by Payen in which the milk of a 
 woman, the subject of nervous attacks, became, in less than two 
 hours after each paroxysm, mucilaginous like the white of egg. 
 
 Milk appears, also, sometimes to acquire specially deleterious 
 properties from a peculiar change taking place, attended with the 
 development of a low form of vegetable growth. Dr. Parkes ob- 
 serves 1 that " Professor Mosler has directed attention to the poison- 
 ous effects of ' blue milk/ that is to say, milk covered with a layer 
 of blue substance, which is, in fact, a fungus, either the Didium 
 lactis or Penicittium, which seems to have the power, under certain 
 conditions, of causing the appearance in the milk of an anilin-like 
 substance. The existence of this form of fungus was noted by Fuchs 
 as long ago as 1861. Milk of this kind gives rise to gastric irrita- 
 tion (first noted by Stein hof) ; and in four cases noted by Mosler, 
 it produced severe febrile gastritis. 
 
 "Milk which is not blue, but which contains large quantities of 
 Didium, appears from Hessling's observations to produce many dys- 
 peptic symptoms, and even cholera-like attacks, as well as possibly 
 to give rise to some aphthous affections of the mouth in children." 
 
 In a footnote it is stated that " blue milk is given by feeding cows 
 with some vegetable substances, as Myosotis palmtris, Polygonum 
 
 1 Practical Hygiene, 3d ed., p. 239. 
 
192 ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES. 
 
 aviculare and Fagopyrum, Mercurialis perennis, and other plants 
 (Hosier), but this is different from the blue color referred to 
 above." 1 
 
 There are certain products and modifications of milk, as cream, 
 skimmed milk, butter-milk, curds, whey, condensed milk, butter 
 and cheese, which will now require consideration. 
 
 Cream. Cream consists mainly of the fatty matter of milk, 
 which, by virtue of its lightness, rises to the surface, the milk being 
 allowed to repose for some time for the purpose. It contains some 
 of the watery liquid part of the milk which holds in solution the 
 other constituents. The composition of cream will necessarily varjr 
 a great deal according to its purity. The following is the compo- 
 sition given in Dr. Letheby's table : 
 
 Composition of cream. 
 
 Nitrogenous matter, . . . .2.7 
 Fatty matter, . . . . ' . 26.7 
 
 Lactin, 28 
 
 Saline matter, 1.8 
 
 Water, . - 66.0 
 
 100.0 
 
 Devonshire or clotted cream differs from ordinary cream in being 
 of a solid consistence. The difference is produced by its being col- 
 lected from milk which has been previously heated just to the point 
 of simmering. A scum forms, and is associated with the fatty mat- 
 ter that subsequently rises. 
 
 Skimmed milk. Skimmed milk is the residue of milk from which 
 cream has been collected. It is simply milk deprived of a certain 
 amount of its fatty constituent. Being less rich than ordinary milk, 
 it sometimes forms a useful aliment for a weak stomach. 
 
 1 Although not strictly falling within the scope of this work, it may here be 
 mentioned that some recent outbreaks of typhoid fever have been very distinctly 
 traced to the milk consumed. It does not appear that the milk has originally 
 possessed noxious properties, but has acquired them by admixture with polluted 
 water before distribution to the consumer. 
 
MILK. 193 
 
 Composition of skimmed milk. 
 
 Nitrogenous matter, .... 4.0 
 
 Fatty matter, 1.8 
 
 Lactin, ...... 5.4 
 
 Saline matter, 0.8 
 
 Water, 88.0 
 
 100.0 
 
 Butter-milk. When butter is prepared directly from milk a thin 
 residuary liquid is yielded, which is known by the name of butter- 
 milk. It contains a less amount of fatty matter than skimmed milk. 
 Mixed with other food it is by no means an insignificant article of 
 nourishment, containing, as it does, the nitrogenous matter, sugar, 
 saline matter, and a small portion of the- fatty matter of the milk. 
 It is extensively used by the peasantry in some localities, and when 
 not so employed is turned to account for feeding swine. 
 
 Composition of butter-milk. 
 Nitrogenous matter, . . . .41 
 
 Fatty matter, 0.7 
 
 Lactin, 64 
 
 Saline matter, 08 
 
 Water, 88.0 
 
 100.0 
 
 Curd. The essential basis of curd is casein ; but, as this principle 
 undergoes coagulation during the transformation of milk into curds 
 and wkey, it entangles and carries with it the suspended milk- 
 globules. Curd, therefore, consists of the nitrogenous portion of milk 
 mixed with the chief part of its fatty element. It constitutes the 
 basis of cheese. 
 
 Whey. This forms the opalescent liquid left from the separation 
 of the curd ; it contains the lactin and salts of the milk, and likewise 
 retains a little casein and fatty matter. It is of some value, but not 
 much, in an alimentary point of view. It is frequently, however, 
 used to advantage in the sick-room as a drink in febrile and in- 
 flammatory diseases, and possesses sudorific and diuretic properties. 
 It is prepared by the addition of various agents to milk, and is 
 designated according to the agent employed, as, for instance, rennet 
 whey, white wine whey, cream of tartar whey, tamarind whey, alum 
 whey, &G. 
 
 13 
 
194 
 
 ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES. 
 
 Condensed milk. Milk is now to be obtained in a condensed and 
 preserved state. It is sold in hermetically sealed tins, and thus cir- 
 cumstanced may be kept ready for use whenever required for years. 
 It is found in a syrupy or semi-liquid state, miscible with water, 
 and will remain good for some days after the tin is opened. The 
 process of preservation, it appears, was first successfully carried out 
 in America, and there the " plain condensed milk/ 7 or milk simply 
 reduced from four volumes to one, and subjected to a process of 
 superheating, is sold as well as condensed milk to which cane-sugar 
 has been added to assist its preservation. In England there are 
 three kinds of condensed milk supplied to the public that of the 
 Anglo-Swiss Company, which is prepared at Cham, in Switzerland 
 (London office, 38 Leadenhall Street) ; that of the Aylesbury Com- 
 pany, which is prepared at Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire (London 
 office, 96 Leadenhall Street) ; and that of Messrs. Crosse & Black- 
 well. Each contains, according to a report in " Food, Water, and 
 Air," for October, 1872, genuine condensed milk in a perfect state of 
 preservation, with the addition only of cane-sugar. 1 The following 
 are the results furnished in the " Report" alluded to of the respective 
 analyses of the three : 
 
 Condensed milk. 
 
 
 Anglo-Swiss. 
 
 Aylesbury. 
 
 Crosse & Blackwell's. 
 
 Casein, 
 
 . 18.52 
 
 17.20 
 
 16.30 
 
 Fatty matter, . 
 
 . 10.80 
 
 11.30 
 
 9.50 
 
 Sugar of milk, . 
 
 . 16.50 
 
 1200 
 
 17.54 
 
 Cane-sugar, 
 
 . 27.11 
 
 29.59 
 
 27.06 
 
 Ash, . 
 
 . 2.12 
 
 2.24 
 
 2.39 
 
 Phosphoric acid, 
 
 .649 
 
 .67 
 
 .708 
 
 Water, 
 
 . 24.30 
 
 27.00 
 
 2650 
 
 
 100.000 
 
 100.00 
 
 100.000 
 
 1 Amongst the correspondence contained in the Lancet for Nov. 2d and 9th, 
 1872, some remarks are to be found regarding the employment of condensed milk 
 as an article of food for infants brought up by hand. Whilst it is admitted that 
 infants take it readily on account of its sweetness, grow plump, and appear to 
 thrive remarkably well upon it, it is alleged that the appearance, which depends 
 simply upon an accumulation of fat, is delusive, and that they in reality possess 
 so little power that they become prostrated by diarrhoea and other affections, and 
 rapidly sink in a manner that is not observed under other modes of feeding. The 
 evidence at present adduced can only be looked upon as suggestive, but the mat- 
 ler is an important one and worthy the consideration of those whose field of ob- 
 servation affords them an opportunity of obtaining and furnishing trustworthy 
 information on the point. 
 
MILK. 195 
 
 Liebiy's Food for Infants. This constitutes a food devised upon 
 chemical principles, to form an appropriate substitute for woman's 
 milk. The name of the originator has been sufficient to carry it 
 into extensive use in Germany, and it has also been made widely 
 known in England. It is composed of malt flour, wheat flour, cow's 
 milk, bicarbonate of potash, and water, in such proportions as to 
 give a representation of woman's milk as regards the relation of ni- 
 trogenous and non-nitrogenous principles. The following is described 
 as the easiest and most simple way of making the food. 
 
 Take half an ounce of wheat flour, half an ounce of malt flour, 
 and seven and a quarter grains of the crystallized bicarbonate of 
 potash, and after well mixing them add one ounce of water, and, 
 lastly, five ounces of cow's milk. Warm the mixture, continually 
 stirring, over a very slow fire till it becomes thick. Then remove 
 the vessel from the fire, stir again for five minutes, put it back on 
 the fire, take it off as soon as it gets thick, and, finally, let it boil 
 well. It is necessary that the food should form a thin and sweet 
 liquid previous to its final boiling. Before use it requires to be 
 strained through a muslin or fine hair sieve, to separate fragments of 
 husk that may be present. 
 
 To avoid the trouble of weighing, it is mentioned that as much 
 wheat flour as will lie on a tablespoon corresponds with an ounce, 
 and that a moderate tablespoonful of malt flour corresponds with 
 half an ounce. 
 
 It is malt made from barley that is to be used, and a common 
 coffee-mill answers the purpose of grinding it into flour, which is to 
 be cleaned from the husk by a coarse sieve. 
 
 The bicarbonate of potash is added to neutralize the acid reaction 
 of the two kinds of flour, and also to raise the amount of alkali in 
 the food to the equivalent of that in woman's milk. 
 
 The ferment contained in the malt leads, during the exposure to 
 the warmth employed in the process of preparation, to the conver- 
 sion of the starch of both the flours into dextrin and sugar, the 
 latter of which gives the sweet taste that is acquired. The newly 
 formed products, also, being soluble, accountvS for the mixture be- 
 coming thin, and it is a point contended for by Liebig that princi- 
 ples in this state tax the digestive and assimilative powers of the 
 infant much less than starch. 
 
196 ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES. 
 
 EXAMINATION OF MILK. 
 
 The quality of milk may be judged of by its specific gravity and 
 the amount of cream contained in it. 
 
 Specific, Gi^avity. The specific gravity is taken by weighing, or 
 more readily by means of an instrument known as the hydrometer. 
 The ordinary sp. gr. of good genuine cow's milk may be said to be 
 about 1030 at 60 Fahr. It varies, however, within a range usually 
 of two or three degrees over and about four degrees under, and is 
 more frequently under than over. 
 
 The addition of water lowers the sp. gr., and thus is afforded one 
 means of detecting this adulteration. An excess of cream also 
 lowers the sp. gr., on account of the lightness of the fatty matter, so 
 that caution is necessary in dealing with the evidence afforded by 
 the sp. gr. In a sample of milk examined by Dr. Hassall, contain- 
 ing 26 per cent, of cream (the usual quantity is from 5 to 10 per 
 cent.), the sp. gr. was found to be 1019, and in another, containing 
 80 per cent., as low even as 1008 ; and that this was due to the 
 cream was proved by the fact that the same samples, when skimmed, 
 showed a sp. gr. of 1027 and 1026 respectively. These form ex- 
 treme and exceptional cases, but it often occurs that milk which is 
 only fairly rich in cream will show a sp. gr. of 1026 or 1027 before 
 being skimmed, and 1030 or 1031 afterwards. It is better, there- 
 fore, to get rid of this modifying element, and to submit the milk, 
 after being skimmed, to examination, and if there be then a lower 
 sp. gr. than about 1027 or 1028 it may be fairly surmised that water 
 has been added. 
 
 Dr. Hassall even recommends that the influence of all the fatty 
 matter, and the casein as well, should be eliminated, ajid that the 
 whey should form the liquid submitted to examination, a few drops 
 of acetic acid being used to effect the separation. He gives the re- 
 sult of the examination of the whey derived from forty-two samples 
 of genuine milk, and, whilst considerable variation was noticeable 
 in the sp. gr. of the milk itself, only a slight variation was observed 
 in that of the whey, the limits of the range being 1025 and 1028. 
 
MILK. 197 
 
 Effect produced on the sp. gr. of milk by dilution with water (Hassall). 
 
 Sp. gr. 
 
 Pure milk, 1030 
 
 Milk diluted with about 15 per cent, of water, . . . 1026 
 20 " " ... 1023 
 
 35 "" ... 1018 
 
 " 45 " " ... 1015 
 
 Skimmed milk, 1031 
 
 Skimmed milk diluted with 10 per cent, of water, . . 1027 
 
 " a 20 " " ... 1025 
 
 " " 30 " ... 1021 
 
 " " 40 it tt ... 1019 
 
 " " 50 " " ... 1016 
 
 Whey, 1029 
 
 Whey diluted with 10 per cent, of water, .... 1025 
 
 u 20 M " 1022 
 
 " 30 " " 1020 
 
 40 " " 1017 
 
 " " 50 " u ..... 1014 
 
 In an examination conducted in my own laboratory the following 
 are the specific gravities that were given by admixtures of definite 
 proportions of milk of a sp. gr. of 1030 and water 
 
 Milk. Water. Sp. gr. of specimen. a Sp. gr. of the whey. 
 
 100 -f . . . . 1030 .... 1027.4 
 
 95 + 5 . . . . 1027.5 .... 1025.8 
 
 90 -f 10 . . . . 1026 .... 1024 
 
 85 -{- 15 . . . . 1024 .... 1022.5 
 
 80 +' 20 . . . . 1022.4 .... 1020.6 
 
 75 + 25 . . . . 1021.4 .... 1019 
 
 70 + 30 . . . . 1019.6 .... 1017.8 
 
 65 -f 35 . . . . 1018.4 .... 1016 
 
 60 -f 40 . . . . 1017 .... 1014.6 
 
 55 + 45 . . . . 1015.2 .... 1013.3 
 
 50 + 50 . . . . 1014 .... 1012 
 
 40 + 60 . . . . 1011 .... 1009 
 
 The amount of cream is estimated by means of the lactometer and 
 the lactoscope. 
 
 Lactometer. This consists of a long glass tube or vessel gradu- 
 ated into 100 measures. The vessel is filled to at the top of the 
 graduated scale and placed aside for the cream to rise. The thick- 
 
198 ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES. 
 
 ness of the layer can then be read off in percentages. The amount 
 of cream varies considerably in different samples of genuine milk, 
 and no precise limits can be given. It may be said, however, that 
 if found below 5 per cent, a suspicion of adulteration with water 
 may be reasonably entertained. The average appears to be about 8 
 or 9 per cent., but it may amount to, and even considerably exceed, 
 20 per cent. 
 
 A popular notion is entertained that the addition of a small quan- 
 tity of warm water to milk increases the amount of cream yielded. 
 The notion, however, has been shown by observation to be entirely 
 erroneous. It evidently arose from the circumstance that the addi- 
 tion of water, by diminishing the sp. gr. of the milk, facilitates and 
 expedites the ascent, but ultimately the product is even less. 
 
 Lactoscope. A more scientific and exact way of estimating the 
 amount of fat in milk is by the use of an instrument called the lac- 
 toscope. This measures the degree of opacity of the liquid, and, as 
 the opacity of milk is due to the fatty matter, it affords an indica- 
 tion of the amount that is present. The lactoscope of Donne, the 
 original inventor of the instrument, consisted of an arrangement for 
 increasing or diminishing the thickness of the layer of milk placed 
 between two glass plates ; and according to the thickness required 
 to obscure the light of a candle, looked at through the apparatus, a 
 measure was furnished of the amount of fat, which could be read off 
 from an index adjusted for the purpose. 
 
 The lactoscope of Donne has been improved upon by Vogel, 
 whose very simple contrivance affords a ready means of determining 
 in a precise manner the amount of fatty matter suspended in any 
 given specimen of milk. The apparatus consists of a half-moon- 
 shaped trough, with two parallel sides formed of flat glass plates, 
 one-fifth of an inch distant from each other ; a glass cylinder on a 
 foot and with a spout, graduated to 100 c.c. ; and a small pipette, 
 graduated in c.c. divided into halves. In conducting the examina- 
 tion the measure is filled to 100 c.c. with water, and then a few c.c., 
 say 3, of milk are dropped in from the graduated pipette. The 
 mixture is well shaken, and the trough afterwards filled with it. A 
 candle, is placed about three feet from the trough, and the flame 
 looked at through the diluted milk, the back of the observer being 
 directed towards the window of the room. If the candle-flame is 
 clearly seen, the mixture is to be returned to the measure, and more 
 
MILK. 
 
 199 
 
 milk added to it from the pipette, and then to be tried again in the 
 trough. This is to be repeated, adding each time either one or half 
 a c.c., until the candle-flame becomes obscured. From the quantity 
 of 'milk required to be added to the 100 c.c. of water to produce 
 this effect, the amount of fatty matter can be calculated, the follow- 
 ing formula having been found, by comparing the results obtained 
 with those yielded by chemical analysis, to give the information re- 
 quired. Let 23.2 be divided by the number of cubic centimetres 
 of milk employed, and 0.23 be added, and the product will give the 
 percentage amount of fat. Suppose, for instance, 6 c.c. of milk to 
 have been required, then the fat will amount to 4.09 per cent. 
 Thus : 
 
 23.2 
 
 4- 0.23 = 4.09 
 
 6 
 
 The following table gives the results worked out, and will enable 
 the percentage of fat to be at once read off: 
 
 C.C. of milk 
 employed. 
 1 
 
 Percentage of fat 
 in the milk. 
 
 . 23.43 
 
 C.C. of milk 
 employed. 
 
 14 
 
 Percentage of fat 
 in the milk. 
 
 .88 
 
 1.5 
 2 
 
 . 1546 
 . 11.83 
 
 15 
 16 
 
 . .78 
 .68 
 
 2.5 
 
 . 9.51 
 
 17 
 
 . . .60 
 
 3 
 
 . 7.96 
 
 18 
 
 . .52 
 
 3.5 
 
 . 6.86 
 
 19 
 
 . .45 
 
 4 
 4 5 
 
 . 6.03 
 5 38 
 
 20 
 22 
 
 . .39 
 .28 
 
 5 
 5.5 
 
 . 4.87 
 4.45 
 
 24 
 26 
 
 . .19 
 .12 
 
 6 
 
 . 409 
 
 28 
 
 . .06 
 
 6.5 
 
 . 3.80 
 
 30 
 
 . .00 
 
 7 
 
 . 3.54 
 
 35 
 
 . 0.89 
 
 7.5 
 
 8 
 
 . 3.32 
 3.13 
 
 40 
 45 
 
 . 0.81 
 . 0.74 
 
 8.5 
 
 . 2.96 
 
 50 
 
 . 0.69 
 
 9 
 
 . 2.80 
 
 55 
 
 . 0.65 
 
 9.5 
 
 . 2.77 
 
 60 
 
 . 0.61 
 
 10 
 11 
 
 . 2.55 
 2.43 
 
 70 
 80 
 
 . 0.56 
 . 0.52 
 
 12 
 
 2.16 
 
 90 
 
 . 0.48 
 
 13 
 
 . 2.01 
 
 100 
 
 . 0.46 
 
200 ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES. 
 
 BUTTER. 
 
 Butter is the fatty portion of milk, and is obtained by the process 
 of churning, either cream or the milk itself being subjected to the 
 operation. The effect of churning is to cause the milk-globules to 
 run together or coalesce, and thus to become incorporated into a solid 
 mass. This is supposed to be brought about by the mechanical 
 rupture, in the first place, of the envelopes of the globules, the con- 
 tents of which are then permitted to become agglomerated ; and, it is 
 found by experience that the process is facilitated by being conducted 
 at a temperature of about 60 Fahr. When the butter is formed, it 
 is removed from the churn and well kneaded and washed with water, 
 to remove as much as possible of adhering casein and other ingredi- 
 ents of the milk, and the more completely this is effected the better 
 will the butter afterwards keep. More or less salt is added to pro- 
 mote still farther its power of keeping, and the quantity is regulated 
 by whether the butter is to be eaten fresh or to be preserved for 
 future consumption. 
 
 The pure fatty matter of butter is composed of a mixture of several 
 fatty principles. Six have been enumerated by Chevreul/viz. : 
 
 Margarin, 
 
 Olein (Butyrolein), 
 
 Caprylin, 
 
 Butyrin, 
 
 Caprin, 
 
 Caproin (Capronin). 
 
 These are neutral fats, and are resolvable into glycerin and mar- 
 garic, oleic, caprylic, butyric, capric, and caproic acids respectively : 
 the first two acids being of a fixed, and the last four of a volatile 
 nature. It is to the latter agents that the characteristic taste and 
 smell of butter are due, although they are present only in small 
 amount. According to Bromeis 98 per cent, of butter (the pure fat) 
 is composed of margarin and olein (68 per cent, of the former and 30 
 per cent, of the latter), and the remainder of the volatile fatty acid 
 compounds. 
 
 Such is the composition of the pure fatty matter of butter. Butter, 
 however, as it is obtained and furnished for consumption contains a 
 certain quantity of other matter, but the fat ought to amount to from 
 
BUTTER. 201 
 
 86 to 92 per cent. Casein is present to the extent of from 3 to 5 
 per cent, only in good specimens. In a bad sample there may be 
 considerably more. Some of the watery portion of the milk is re- 
 tained, and with it the other constituents that are held in solution. 
 The water should not amount to more than from 5 to 10 per cent., 
 but it is sometimes found in considerably larger quantity. The 
 practice of beating up the butter with water before being put into 
 the scales forms a process which tells in favor of the retail dealer. A 
 description of butter known as " Bosh " has been found to contain a 
 proportion of water amounting in some cases to more than a third 
 of the article (Hassall). Salt is present as an admixture in all butters. 
 In fresh butter the average amount ranges from 0.5 to 2 per cent. 
 In salt butter the quantity should not exceed 8 per cent. 
 
 Butter may be separated from the above-mentioned adventitious 
 ingredients by applying heat so as to melt it. The fatty matter 
 rises in a pure state to the surface, leaving a watery liquid contain- 
 ing the other principles present below. Its flavor, however, is much 
 deteriorated by the process, for the agreeable taste belonging to fresh 
 butter is in great part due to the natural accessory matter present. 
 It is true butter has a peculiar odor and flavor which are given to it 
 by its volatile fatty acid compounds, and these will be retained in 
 the melted article ; but there are, besides, sapid qualities belonging 
 to fresh butter which are due to other ingredients derived from the 
 milk which yielded it. It is well known that the taste of butter is 
 much influenced by the nature of the food upon which the cow is 
 kept, and that a delicate and agreeable aroma is given by some 
 pastures which is not afforded by others. A decidedly unpleasant 
 flavor (which, as previously mentioned, may be likewise perceptible 
 in the milk and cream) is also sometimes noticeable in the butter 
 made in the autumn, and not at other times of the year, arising from 
 the fallen and decayed leaves which the cow may happen to have 
 consumed with its food. 
 
 Fresh butter, especially in hot weather, is very prone to undergo 
 change, and in the course of a short time to become rancid. This 
 arises from the nitrogenous matter of the milk with which the butter 
 is impregnated acting as a ferment, and leading to the liberation of 
 the fatty acids. The more completely butter is deprived of this ad- 
 ventitious matter by washing, the better is it found afterwards to 
 keep ; and, if it be completely deprived of it by melting and agita- 
 
202 ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES. 
 
 tion with boiling water, it will bear preservation for a considerable 
 period, but the process involves a loss of the agreeable flavor which 
 belongs to the article in the fresh state. When butter has become 
 rancid it may also be rendered again eatable by melting it a'nd shak- 
 ing it repeatedly with boiling water for the purpose of removing the 
 free fatty acids ; and, if the melted butter be then poured into ice- 
 cold water, it is stated to assume the appearance of fresh butter. 
 The addition of salt to butter checks the decomposition of the casein 
 that may be present, and thence, also, the change of the butter itself. 
 It is upon this principle that salt is used as a preservative agent, and 
 sugar enjoys a similar capacity. Butter laid in syrup is said to keep 
 even better than salted butter. Exclusion from air affords another 
 means of preserving butter, and simply covering it with water, re- 
 newed every day, will suffice to keep it good for a week and upwards. 
 Instead of water, a weak solution of tartaric acid has been recom- 
 mended by Br<k>n, and, according to Payen, is far more efficacious. 
 Payen states that some butter upon which the process was tried with 
 a view of testing its efficacy, was found to have retained its freshness 
 at the end of two months under the existence of a temperature of 
 from 60 to 68 Fahr. 
 
 Butter is a form of fatty matter less likely than most others to 
 disagree with the stomach. This applies to butter in a perfectly 
 fresh or unchanged state ; when rancid, or when the fatty acids have 
 been liberated by exposure to heat, like all fatty matter in a similar 
 state, it is very apt to occasion gastric derangement. 
 
 CHEESE. 
 
 Cheese consists of the casein of milk with a varying admixture of 
 butter, according to the manner in which it has been prepared. The 
 casein is coagulated usually by the employment of rennet (an article 
 obtained from the fourth or digesting stomach of the calf), but some- 
 times by the agency of an acid. In being precipitated the casein 
 entangles and carries with it the suspended fat-globules (butter) of 
 the milk. After coagulation has been effected the curd is collected 
 and subjected to pressure in a mould, of the future form of the 
 cheese, to deprive it, as far as possible, of the liquid portion of the 
 milk, or whey. It is kept in the mould until it has acquired suffi- 
 cient consistence to hold together, and is then removed and exposed 
 on shelves in a cool and airy situation. Here it is kept for a con- 
 
CHEESE. 203 
 
 siderable time for the process of ripening to occur. Salt is applied 
 to the surface, and frequent turning has to be performed. Changes 
 occur attended with the development of various volatile fatty acids, 
 and the clieese passes from a comparatively odorless and insipid state 
 to the condition well known to belong to the ripened article. The 
 larger the quantity of fatty matter, or butter, present, the larger is 
 the capacity for the production of the volatile fatty acids, and the 
 more strongly marked do the odor and flavor become. The casein, 
 however, appears also to undergo change, and to contribute to the 
 production of these characters. If circumstances exist which permit 
 the change still further to proceed, an advance to ordinary putrefac- 
 tion occurs, accompanied with the evolution of ammonia. In this 
 pronounced state of decay the taste and smell may be such as to be 
 actually offensive, and the article may acquire a highly irritating, 
 and even, as experience has shown, poisonous properties. 
 
 Various qualities of cheese are met with, and they are generally 
 known in commerce by the names of the localities producing them. 
 The quality depends upon the amount of fatty matter present in the 
 milk from which the cheese is made. In the richest cheeses, as Stil- 
 ton and Double Gloucester, cream is added to the milk. Cheshire 
 cheese is made from unskimmed milk; Single Gloucester, Chester, 
 and American, from milk with a little of the cream removed ; and 
 Dutch, Parmesan, Suffolk, and Somersetshire, from skimmed milk. 
 Cream cheese consists of the fresh curd which has been moderately 
 pressed. It is eaten without being allowed to ripen. 
 
 Fatty matter gives softness and richness to cheese, but, at the 
 same time, renders it more prone to change and decay on keeping. 
 It is the poor and close cheese, such as is made from skimmed milk, 
 as the Dutch, Parmesan, &c., which is found to keep the best. Par- 
 mesan, particularly, is characterized by its power of keeping ; and 
 after having been kept for some time it becomes of a hard and some- 
 what horny consistence, and requires grating to place it in a suitable 
 condition for consumption. 
 
 Composition of cheese (from Parkes). 1 
 Nitrogenous matter, .... 33.5 
 
 . Fatty matter, 24 3 
 
 Saline matter, 6.4 
 
 Water, 36.8 
 
 100.0 
 1 Practical Hygiene, 3d ed., p. 165. 
 
204 ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES. 
 
 Composition of Cheddar cheese -(from Letheby). 
 Nitrogenous matter, .... 28.4 
 
 Fatty matter, 31.1 
 
 Saline matter, ..... 4.5 
 Water, 36.0 
 
 100.0 
 
 Composition of skim cheese (from Letheby). 
 Nitrogenous matter, .... 44.8 
 
 Fatty matter, 6.3 
 
 Saline matter, ..... 4.9 
 Water, 44.0 
 
 100.0 
 Composition of various kinds of cheese (Payen). 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 Neufchate 
 
 ;1 Neufchatel 
 
 
 Koquefort. 
 
 Gruyere. 
 
 Dutch. 
 
 (fresh). 
 
 (matured). 
 
 Nitrogenous matter, 
 
 . 26.52 
 
 31.5 
 
 29.43 
 
 8.00 
 
 13.03 
 
 Fatty matter, 
 
 . 30.14 
 
 24.0 
 
 27.54 
 
 40.71 
 
 41.91 
 
 Saline matter, 
 
 . 5.07 
 
 3.0 
 
 
 
 0.51 
 
 3.63 
 
 Non-nitrogenous matter 
 
 \ 3.72 
 
 1.5 
 
 6.93 
 
 15.80 
 
 6.96 
 
 and loss, 
 
 J 
 
 
 
 
 
 Water, . 
 
 . 34.55 
 
 40.0 
 
 3610 
 
 36.58 
 
 34.47 
 
 
 100.00 
 
 100.0 
 
 100.00 
 
 100.00 2 
 
 100.00 
 
 
 
 Camembert. 
 
 Brie. 
 
 Chester. 
 
 Parmesan. 
 
 Nitrogenous matter, 
 
 . 
 
 . 18.90 
 
 18.48 
 
 25.99 
 
 44.08 
 
 
 
 21 05 
 
 25.73 
 
 26.34 
 
 15.95 
 
 Saline matter, . 
 
 
 . 4.71 
 
 5.61 
 
 4 16 
 
 5.72 
 
 Non-nitrogenous matter 
 
 and loss, 
 
 . 4.40 
 
 4.93 
 
 7.59 
 
 6.69 
 
 Water, . 
 
 
 
 . 51.94 
 
 45.25 
 
 35.92 
 
 27.56 
 
 100.00 3 100.00 100.00 100.00 
 
 On account of its richness in nitrogenous matter cheese constitutes 
 an article of considerable dietetic value. Amongst the poorer inhab- 
 itants of rural districts it enters as an important aliment into the 
 daily diet, serving to supply the nitrogen which is deficient in the 
 bread or other kind of vegetable food which is employed as the staple 
 article of subsistence. By the less indigent classes, where the meat 
 consumed suffices to supply the nitrogen required, cheese is rather 
 
 1 Substances Alimentaires, Paris, 1865, p. 197 et seq. 
 
 2 Total according to the figures given, 101.60. 
 
 3 Total according to the figures given, 101.00. 
 
CHEESE. 205 
 
 employed as a condiment, or relish, than as a direct article of nourish- 
 ment, and for this purpose it is the more tasty kind of cheese that is 
 selected, of which only a small quantity is eaten, and this at the end 
 of the repast. 
 
 The digestibility of cheese varies much according to its nature. 
 The poorer and closer kinds of cheese, those which contain the largest 
 proportion of casein, require strong digestive power for their solu- 
 tion. The softer, stronger-tasted, and more friable kind of cheese, 
 however, is by no means similarly difficult of digestion, and it may, 
 indeed, taken in small quantity, aid the digestion of other food by 
 its stimulant action on the stomach. Toasted cheese, no matter of 
 what kind for in all, the consistence becomes close by toasting is 
 one of the most indigestible articles that can be eaten. 
 
 Cheese, especially the richer kinds, is very liable to form the seat 
 of growth of certain animal and vegetable organisms. The larvae, 
 or maggots, of a fly (Piophila casei), constituting what are known as 
 hoppers or jumpers, flourish upon it. Another animal frequently 
 met with is the cheese mite or Acarus domesticus. It exists in great 
 numbers, and is so small that its form is only distinctly to be per- 
 ceived by the microscope. The mould of cheese is composed of 
 minute vegetable organisms belonging to the tribe of fungi, blue 
 mould being formed by the Aspergillws glaucus, and red mould by 
 the $porendonema casei. 
 
 Cheese is also liable, as has been mentioned to occur likewise with 
 meat, to undergo a modified form of decay, attended with the de- 
 velopment of poisonous properties. Instances of cheese-poisoning 
 have been chiefly observed in Germany, but some cases have also 
 been recorded as having been met with in Cheshire. The symptoms 
 produced have very much resembled those arising from sausage- 
 poisoning, viz., gastro-intestinal irritation with great depression, and 
 have shown themselves within half an hour or a few hours after the 
 cheese has been eaten. According to Westrumb, poisonous cheese 
 presents no peculiarity in its appearance, taste, or smell; but Hiine- 
 feld says that it is yellowish and tough, with harder and darker 
 lumps interspersed, and that it has a disagreeable taste, reddens lit- 
 mus, and becomes flesh-red instead of yellow under the action of 
 nitric acid. 1 
 
 1 Christison on Poisons, 4th ed., p. 642. 
 
ANIMAL FOOD SOMETIMES BUT NOT 
 ORDINARILY EATEN. 
 
 For the works corresponding with the reference numbers in the text, vide the 
 explanatory table at pp. 221-23. 
 
 THE information contained in the following pages has been 
 gathered from numerous sources, chiefly works on travels, and placed 
 together in a collected and systematic form. It shows that an almost 
 endless variety of animals are eaten in different parts of the globe, 
 and supplies what I have been able to learn has been said regarding 
 their edible qualities. In the case of some of them their consump- 
 tion occurs upon a sufficiently extensive scale to give them a position 
 of considerable importance in an alimentary point of view. In that 
 of others, however, the fact of their consumption cannot be looked 
 upon as anything beyond a point of a curiosity in dietetics. The 
 statements to be found are authenticated by references being furnished 
 to the works from which they have been taken. At the end of the 
 section (vide pp. 221-23) an explanatory table is given of the refer- 
 ence numbers employed. Whilst the numbers above the line repre- 
 sent the works referred to, the references to the volume and page are 
 made to follow in parentheses. 
 
 CANNIBALISM. There is reason to believe that the practice of 
 eating human flesh has not at all times been confined to the lowest 
 savages, but it is difficult to obtain much satisfactory information re- 
 specting it. 
 
 There is little doubt that our ancestors, the ancient inhabitants of 
 Britain, were guilty of eating human flesh, and St. Jerome specially 
 charges the Attacotti, a people of ancient Scotland, with preferring 
 the shepherd to his flock 61 (vol. 1, p. 688). 
 
 There have been numerous instances of cannibalism among people 
 suffering from starvation in sieges and from shipwreck, and the evi- 
 
EXCEPTIONAL ANIMAL FOODS. 207 
 
 dence is tolerably strong that some men belonging to civilized races, 
 living in wild places, have occasionally decoyed persons to their dens 
 and eaten them. Andrew Wyntoun, in his rhyming chronicle, charges 
 a man who lived early in the fourteenth century with this crime 49 
 (vol. 2, p. 236). 
 
 Lindsay, of Pitscottie, also relates that a man and his wife and 
 family were all burnt on the east coast of Scotland for the crime of 
 eating children that they had stolen away 50 (p. 163). During the hor- 
 rors of the great French Revolution the heart of the Princess Lam- 
 balle was plucked out of her body by one of the mob, taken by him 
 to a restaurant, and there cooked and eaten 52 (vol. 2, p. 564). 
 
 Statements are given to the effect that there is something attrac- 
 tive in the taste of human flesh to those who have been addicted to 
 the revolting practice of cannibalism. 
 
 In the account mentioned by Lindsay, that has been just referred 
 to, it is stated that one of the daughters of the man, when going to 
 the place of execution, cried out, " Wherefore chide ye with me, as 
 if I had committed ane unworthy act ? Give me credence and trow 
 me, if ye had experience of eating men and women's flesh ye wokl 
 think it so delicious that ye wold never forbear it again" 51 (vol. 1, 
 p. 688). 
 
 In the present day the Polynesian islands are the chief home of 
 such cannibalism as still exists in the world. The Tannese say to 
 any one condemning their anthropophagous habits : " Pig's flesh is 
 very good for you, but this is the thing for us." They distribute 
 human flesh in little bits far and near among their friends as delicate 
 morsels. Cannibal connoisseurs, it is asserted, prefer a black man 
 to a white one, as the latter, they say, tastes salt 35 (p. 83). 
 
 Monkeys are eaten by the Chinese, 1 the natives of Ceylon, 3 the 
 Indians, the negroes and whites in Trinidad, 3 the Dyaks of Borneo, 3 
 the Africans of the Gold Coast, 3 the aborigines of the Amazon 2 
 (p. 485), and the Indians of Spanish Guiana. 4 The flesh is said to 
 be palatable. 5 
 
 The Kalong, or edible roussette (a species of bat), is abundant in 
 Java, and valued as food by the natives. The flesh is white, deli- 
 cate and tender, but generally imbued with a smell of musk. 4 
 
 The Lion is sometimes eaten in Africa, but its flesh is not good 6 
 (p. 304). 
 
208 ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES. 
 
 The Canadian Lynx is eaten by the Indians, and its flesh is said 
 to be white, tender, and to resemble that of the American hare. 4 
 
 Wolves are forbidden among the African Arabs, but are not un- 
 frequently eaten by sick persons 7 (p. 51). The mountaineers of the 
 American Sahara eat the small prairie wolf (Cants latransf (p. 80). 
 
 The Hudson's Bay Skunk is eaten by the Indians, who esteem its 
 flesh a great dainty. 4 
 
 The Otter is eaten by Laplanders and Esquimaux, but its flesh 
 has a fishy taste. 5 
 
 Cats are eaten by the Chinese 9 (vol. 3, p. 761), and in the island 
 of Savu are preferred to sheep and goats 9 (vol. 3, p. 688). 5000 
 cats are said to have been eaten in Paris during the late siege 10 (p. 
 299). According to the same authority, the cat is downright good 
 eating. A young one, well cooked, is better than hare or rabbit. 
 It tastes something like the American gray squirrel, but is even 
 tenderer and sweeter 10 (p. 219). 
 
 Although cats, like wolves and dogs, are forbidden among the 
 African Arabs, they are not unfrequently eaten by sick persons 7 
 
 (P- 52). 
 
 Dogs are eaten by the Chinese, 1 4 9 the New Zealanders 11 (vol. 2, 
 p. 17), the South Sea Islanders, 9 and some African tribes. 9 1200 
 dogs, it is stated, were eaten in Paris during the late siege, 10 and the 
 flesh fetched from two to three francs per pound 38 (Feb. 11, 1871). 
 
 According to Pliny, puppies were regarded as a great delicacy by 
 the Roman gourmands. Young dogs, like cats, are not to be eaten 
 by the African Arabs, but they are not unfrequently given to sick 
 persons. 7 
 
 Wild dogs are eaten by the natives of Australia 12 (vol. 2, p. 250), 
 but in New Zealand 11 and the South Sea Islands 9 (vol. 2, p. 196) the 
 dogs are specially fed and fattened, and European dogs are consid- 
 ered unpalatable. 11 Captain Cook looked upon a South Sea dog as 
 little inferior to an English lamb 9 (vol. 2, p. 196). Fattened dog's 
 flesh is a favorite food of the Warori, an African tribe 13 (vol. 2, p. 
 273). 
 
 The Bear supplies food to several nations of Europe, and its 
 hams are considered excellent. 5 Two bears were eaten in Paris 
 during the siege, 10 and the flesh was supposed to taste like pig 14 
 (Feb. 1, 1871). The Indian tribes of the interior of Oregon eat 
 bears 15 (vol. 4, p. 452). The Polar bear is stated by Sir John Ross 
 
EXCEPTIONAL ANIMAL FOODS. 209 
 
 to be particularly unwholesome, although the Esquimaux feed upon 
 it, and apparently without inconvenience. 5 
 
 The Hedgehog is considered a princely dish in Barbary, and is 
 eaten in Spain. 5 It is frequently eaten by the sick among the Afri- 
 can Arabs 7 (p. 52). 
 
 Kangaroos are eaten by the aborigines of Australia 12 (vol. 2, p. 
 250) 1G (p. 67), and their flesh is considered excellent. 4 Soup made 
 from the tail is reputed to be far superior to ox-tail soup. 4 It is im- 
 ported into England with the Australian meat in sealed tins. Three 
 kangaroos were eaten in Paris during the siege. 10 The Wombat is 
 eaten by the natives of Australia, 12 and its flesh is said to be prefer- 
 able to that of all the other animals of Australia. 4 Wallabies are 
 eaten by the natives of Australia. 5 
 
 The Opossum is eaten in America, 5 Australia, 16 12 5 and the Indian 
 islands. Young ones are reared for the table, and the flesh is white 
 and well tasted. 5 
 
 The Bandicoot is eaten by the aborigines of Australia 16 and by the 
 lowest caste of Hindoos. 4 
 
 The Seal is all in all to the Greenlander and Esquimaux. 4 It is 
 eaten by Kamtschatkadales, 4 the inhabitants of the coast of Labrador 17 
 (vol. 1, p. 4), Vancouver's Island 18 (p. 485), &c. Its flesh is coarse 
 and oily; nevertheless, it was formerly served up at feasts in England, 
 together with the porpoise. 5 The liver, when fried, is esteemed by 
 sailors as an agreeable dish. 4 A seal eaten during the siege of Paris 
 was said to taste like lamb 14 (Feb. 1, 1871). 
 
 The Walrus is eaten by the Esquimaux 19 (p. 485), and highly ap- 
 preciated by Arctic explorers 20 (vol. 2, p. 15). 
 
 The Whale is eaten largely by the natives of Western Australia, 
 New Zealand, 3 the poorer sort of Japanese 21 (vol. 4, p. 35), the rude 
 littoral tribes of Northern Asia and America, 3 the natives of Van- 
 couver's Island 18 (p. 53, 61), and the Esquimaux. 3 Blubber is used 
 as food in Vancouver's Island, 18 and by the Esquimaux 22 (vol. 1, p. 
 243). 
 
 The blubber and flesh of the Narwhal, or sea unicorn, is consid- 
 ered a great delicacy by the Greenlander. 4 
 
 The flesh of the Porpoise was formerly considered a delicacy, and 
 receipts for dressing it are to be found in old cookery books. The 
 Greenlander esteems the flesh a great dainty, and quaffs the oil as 
 the most delicious of draughts. 4 
 
 14 
 
210 ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES. 
 
 The Manatee, sea cow, or woman fish, a native of the seas of the 
 West Indies and South America, is said to be excellent eating. 4 Dr. 
 Vogel found the flesh very well flavored, and the fat like pork 14 
 (vol. 1). Payen states that the flesh is whitish and good to eat, and 
 that the animal's milk has an agreeable flavor. 37 
 
 The Indian Dugong is considered good eating. 4 
 
 Mice and Rats are eaten in Asia, Africa, 5 Australia 12 (vol. 2, p. 
 250), and New Zealand 11 (vol. 2, p. 17), and considered delicate 
 morsels. The taste of rats is pronounced to be somewhat like that 
 of birds 10 (p. 219). The Chinese eat them, 1 and to the Esquimaux 
 epicures the mouse is a real bonne bouche. 3 Rats and mice were 
 eaten in Paris during the siege. 10 
 
 The Porcupine is reckoned delicious food in America and India, 
 and resembles sucking pig. 5 The Dutch and the Hottentots are fond 
 of it, 3 and it is sold in the markets in Rome. 5 
 
 The Agouti, a native of the West Indies, Guiana, and Brazil, at 
 the first settling in the West India Islands were exceedingly numer- 
 ous, and constituted a great part of the food of the Indians. The 
 flesh is white and tender, and much esteemed by the natives when 
 well cooked. 4 
 
 The Squirrel is eaten by the natives of Australia 12 (vol. 2, p. 250), 
 the North American Indians 23 (vol. 2, p. 250), and is a favorite dish 
 in Sweden and Norway. 5 The flesh is tender, and it is sometimes 
 eaten by the lower classes in England, 5 and in the United States. 
 It is said to make excellent pies. 
 
 The flesh of the Bison is the support of many Indian tribes ; it 
 nearly resembles ox-beef, but is said to be of finer flavor and easier 
 digestion. The hump is baked, and eaten as a great delicacy. 5 
 
 The flesh of the Buffalo is eaten by the North American Indians 24 
 (p. 122), the Sumatrans 25 (p. 56), and the islanders of Savu 9 (vol. 3, 
 p. 688). Catlin calculates that about 250,000 North American 
 Indians subsist almost exclusively on this animal through every part 
 of the year 26 (vol. 1, p. 122). The beef is tough, dark-colored, and 
 occasionally of a musky flavor. The chine is esteemed good, and is 
 eaten by the common Italians. 5 
 
 The Camel is eaten with relish in Africa, and its milk is believed 
 to neutralize the injurious qualities of the date 6 (p. 308). The flesh 
 is alleged to produce serious derangement of the stomach among the 
 Arabs 27 (vol. 1, p. 76, note). A camel eaten during the siege of 
 
EXCEPTIONAL ANIMAL FOODS. 211 
 
 Paris is said to have tasted like veal 14 (Feb. 1, 1871). CameFs 
 hump, which is spoken of as furnishing in the desert a savory dish, 
 is to be procured in a preserved state at some of the dried provision 
 establishments at the west end of London. 
 
 Captain Ross considered the flesh of the Musk Ox excellent and 
 free from any particular musky flavor, though the skin has a strong 
 smell. 5 When lean, however, some complain of the flesh as smelling 
 strong. 4 
 
 The Reindeer is eaten in Siberia 28 (p. 75), and is the favorite food 
 of the Esquimaux 19 (p. 485). 
 
 The sinewy parts of stags are highly prized by the wealthy 
 Chinese 29 (p. 551). 
 
 The flesh of the Horse is eaten largely by various nations. The 
 Indian horsemen of the Pampas live entirely on the flesh of their 
 mares, and eat neither bread, fruit, nor vegetables 31 (p. 120). Horse- 
 flesh is eaten by the Jakuts of Northern Siberia 28 (p. 23), the Tartars, 
 and natives of South America, 5 and by the islanders of Savu 9 (vol. 3, 
 p. 688). Mr. Bicknell, in his paper on " The Horse as Food for 
 Man" 30 (vol. 16, p. 349), mentions fifteen European states besides 
 France where horseflesh is eaten. The Icelanders have practiced 
 hippophagy since the eighth century. The Russians have always 
 eaten horses, and in Denmark the people returned to the custom of 
 their forefathers in 1807. Wurtemburg was the first of the German 
 States to adopt the practice, and commenced it in 1841. Bavaria, 
 Baden, Hanover, Bohemia, Saxony, Austria, and Prussia followed in 
 subsequent years. 
 
 A Berlin newspaper states that there are at the present time 
 (1863) "seven markets for horseflesh in that city, in which, during 
 the first ten months of 1862, there were 750 horses slaughtered. No 
 horse is allowed to be slaughtered and sold without the certificate of 
 a veterinary surgeon" 32 (1863, p. 142). 
 
 Hippophagy was first advocated in France in 1786 by GSraud, 
 the distinguished physician. 
 
 A meeting was held in 1864 at the Acclimatization Garden in 
 Paris for the purpose of promoting the greater consumption of horse- 
 flesh as an article of food 32 (1864, p. 472), and a grand hippophagic 
 banquet was celebrated with great 6clat at the Grand Hotel, Paris, 
 at the commencement of 1865, under the patronage of the French 
 Humane and Acclimatization Societies 32 (1865, p. 176). 
 
212 ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES. 
 
 In 1866 the first horse-butcher's shop was opened in Paris 30 (vol. 
 16, p. 349). 
 
 A correspondent of the "Medical Times and Gazette" (Sept. 26, 
 1867) stated, "In passing along the quays on my way to the Mar- 
 seilles Railway Station, I was struck by the number of stalls bearing 
 the title 'Boucherie Hippophagique/ 'Boucherie de Viande de 
 Cheval/ at La Villette, Paris. The attendants were very civil, and 
 told me that they usually sold at the rate of two horses a day. Some 
 of the customers assured me that the meat was better than beef." 
 
 Sixty-five thousand horses, it is asserted, were eaten in Paris 
 during the siege, and the flesh was facetiously called " siege venison." 
 
 Mr. Bicknell says: "I believe the only European countries where 
 horses are not used for food with the open sanction of the law are 
 Holland, Portugal, Turkey, Greece, Spain, Italy, and the United 
 Kingdom. Concerning the four first I have no information, but in 
 Spain horses killed in bull fights were eaten till quite recently, and 
 during the Peninsular War the Spaniards commonly were hippopha- 
 gists. The southern Italians also in several districts preserve strips 
 of the meat by drying them in the sun." 
 
 On the 6th February, 1868, a memorable "Banquet Hippopha- 
 gique" was given at the Langham Hotel, under the auspices of Mr. 
 Bicknell. The menu began with 
 
 " Le consomme de cheval a PA, B, C," 
 
 and after comprising in appropriate order a full list of choice-sound- 
 ing dishes, derived from various parts of the horse, or prepared with 
 " huile hippophagique," ended with 
 
 "BUFFET." 
 
 "Collared horse-head. Baron of horse. Boiled withers." 
 
 Notwithstanding this example, horseflesh must still be spoken of as 
 constituting in England only canine food. 
 
 According to Pliny, the Romans at one time ate the Ass. The 
 wild ass is still in much esteem among the Persians, who consider it 
 as equal to venison. 5 One thousand donkeys and two thousand 
 mules are reported to have been eaten in Paris during the siege. 10 
 The flesh of the latter is delicious, and far superior to beef; roast 
 mule is, in fact, an exquisite dish 32 (p. 140). Ass's flesh forms the 
 basis of the renowned sausages of Bologna 37 (p. 36). 
 
EXCEPTIONAL ANIMAL FOODS. 213 
 
 At a banquet given by an Academician, having MM. Yelpeau, 
 Tardieu, Latour, and other notabilities as guests, the "bifticks" 
 and "filets" prepared from the flesh of an old she ass were unan- 
 imously pronounced, it is stated, to be more tender, succulent, and 
 delicate than similar plats prepared, for comparison, from the horse 32 
 (1865, April 8). 
 
 The Collared Pecari, or Tajacu (Dicotyles torquatus), an inhabi- 
 tant of South America, is considered good eating and its flesh greatly 
 resembles pork. Dicotyles labiatus is also hunted by the natives of 
 South America for food, 4 but the aborigines of the Amazon, who eat 
 Dicotyles torquatus, will not touch Dicotyles labiatus 2 (p. 485). 
 
 The Elephant is eaten in Abyssinia and other parts of Africa, also 
 in Sumatra. 5 Some steaks that were cut off Chunee, the elephant 
 that was shot at Exeter Change, on being cooked were declared to 
 be " pleasant meat." 5 The three elephants that were eaten in Paris 
 during the siege were pronounced a great success. The liver was 
 considered finer than that of any goose or duck 14 (Feb. 1, 1871). 
 Dr. Livingstone writes, " We had the foot cooked for breakfast next 
 morning, and found it delicious. It is a whitish mass, slightly gelat- 
 inous and sweet, like marrow. A long march, to prevent bilious- 
 ness, is a wise precaution after a meal of elephant's foot. Elephant's 
 trunk and tongue are also good, and after long simmering much 
 resemble the hump of a buffalo and the tongue of an ox, but all the 
 other meat is tough, and from its peculiar flavor only to be eaten by 
 a hungry man" 34 (p. 169). 
 
 The Rhinoceros is eaten in Abyssinia, and by some of the Dutch 
 settlers in the Cape Colony, and is in high esteem 3 (p. 92). 
 
 The Tapir. The American Indian compares the flesh of the 
 tapir to beef. 5 
 
 The flesh of the Hippopotamus supplies a substantial meal to the 
 African, and when young is delicate, but when old is coarse, fat, and 
 strong, being inferior to beef. 5 The young meat is much esteemed 
 by the Hottentots and natives of Abyssinia. 4 Dr. Livingstone 
 writes, " The hippopotamus hunters form a separate people, called 
 Akombwi or Mapodzo, and rarely the women, it is said, never 
 intermarry with any other tribe. The reason for their keeping aloof 
 from certain of the natives on the Zambesi is obvious enough, some 
 having as great an abhorrence of hippopotamus meat as Mohamme- 
 dans have of swine's flesh ' 734 (p. 39). The hippopotamus that was 
 
214 ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES. 
 
 killed and partly burnt in the fire at the Crystal Palace a few years 
 back was eaten by Dr. Crisp and some of his friends, who reported 
 that the flavor of the flesh was excellent, and its color whiter than 
 any veal 14 (vol. 1, p. 240). 
 
 The Earth-hog (Orycteropus Capensis), a native of the Cape of 
 Good Hope. Although its food (ants) gives its flesh a strong taste 
 of formic acid, it is relished both by the Hottentots and Europeans. 
 The hind quarter is especially esteemed when cured as ham. 4 
 
 The Armadillo is eaten in South America, and its flesh is fat and 
 excellent. 5 The hunters roast it in its shell. 4 
 
 Sloths are eaten by the natives of Australia 12 (vol. 2, p. 250). 
 
 The entrails of animals are consumed by the aborigines of Aus- 
 tralia 16 (p. 67), and the Hottentots consider them to be most exquisite 
 eating 35 (pp. 47, 200). Dr. Livingstone writes, " It is curious that 
 this is the part that wild animals always begin with, and that it is 
 also the first choice of our men" 34 (p. 194). 
 
 The Zulus are so fond of carrion, or decomposed flesh with worms 
 in it, that, according to a letter of Bishop Colenso, published in the 
 " Times/' they use their word (ubomi) representing it as a synonym 
 for their highest notion of happiness 36 (Oct. 1872, p. 424). 
 
 The Cuckoo is not an uncommon dish on the Continent, and the 
 Arabs consider it a great delicacy. 5 
 
 Parrots and Cockatoos are eaten by the natives of Australia 12 (vol. 
 2, p. 250), and the flesh of the parrot, when young, is delicate and 
 largely eaten in Brazil. 5 Toucans are eaten by the aborigines of the 
 Amazon 2 (p. 485), and in Brazil. 4 
 
 The Ostrich affords an abundant banquet to many savage nations 
 of Africa, where it is sometimes kept in a tame state for breeding. 5 
 Dr. Livingstone writes that the flesh is white and coarse. When in 
 good condition it in some degree resembles that of a turkey 40 (p. 156), 
 but the flesh is only good when young, for when it is fullgrown the 
 bird is very fat. 4 Three ostriches were eaten in Paris during the 
 siege. 10 . 
 
 The Spotted Crake, or speckled water-hen, is highly esteemed in 
 France for the flavor of its flesh, and few birds can match it in au- 
 tumn as a rich morsel for the table. 4 
 
 The Crane was eaten by the Romans (Horace, Epod. ii), and it is 
 mentioned in England as being served up as a sumptuous dish at 
 
EXCEPTIONAL ANIMAL FOODS. 215 
 
 splendid entertainments as early as the Norman Conquest, and as 
 late as the reign of Henry VIII. At the Inthronization Feast of 
 George Nevil, Archbishop of York, 6 Edward IV, there were 204 
 cranes, 204 bitterns, and 400 heronshaws 41 (vol. 2, p. 171). 
 
 The Bustard is good eating, and much esteemed in some places. 4 
 
 The Albatross is eaten by the aborigines of New Zealand 9 (vol. 3, 
 p. 447) ; its eggs are considered excellent. 4 
 
 The Cormorant. The Manx, like the Scotch, make a rich soup 
 out of the blood of this bird 42 (vol. 2, p. 220). 
 
 The flesh of the Gull is indifferent eating, but it is often brought 
 to market in Roman Catholic countries during Lent. 4 The eggs of 
 the Xema ridibunda are well flavored, and the young birds were at 
 one time in high repute in this country at the tables of the wealthy. 4 
 
 The Peafowl is occasionally eaten, and its flesh is reputed to be 
 good, but the beauty of the peacock's plumage renders it too valu- 
 able a bird to form an ordinary article of food. In olden times the 
 peacock occupied its place at the table as one of the dishes in the 
 second course at every great feast. 
 
 The Pelican is eaten by the natives of Australia 12 (vol. 2, p. 251). 
 
 Penguins are eaten by the aborigines of New Zealand 9 (vol. 3, p. 
 447). 
 
 Swans were eaten by the ancients, and often appeared of old at 
 great banquets in England. They are eaten by the natives' of Aus- 
 tralia 12 (vol. 2, p. 251), and the flesh of the cygnet, which is said to 
 have a flavor resembling both the goose and the hare, is still consid- 
 ered a delicacy in Europe. 4 
 
 Birds' Nests of a special kind are an article of food much prized 
 in China, on account of the nutritive properties which they are sup- 
 posed to possess. They are of a gelatinous nature, and chiefly used 
 for making soup. They are furnished by several species of swallow, 
 and are found in the caverns on the seashore of the Eastern Archi- 
 pelago. It has been ascertained that they in great part consist of a 
 peculiar mucus which this bird secretes and discharges from its 
 mouth in great abundance. The nests adhere to the rock, and are 
 collected after the young are fledged, with the help of ladders or 
 ropes. The cleansing of the nests for the markets is a long and 
 tedious process, and a number of persons are employed at Canton in 
 conducting the operation 37 (p. 162). The prepared article, which 
 
216 ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES. 
 
 has the appearance of dried gelatinous-looking fragments, is to be 
 purchased in some of the London shops. 
 
 Lizards are eaten by the Chinese 9 (vol. 3, p. 761), the Bushmen 3 
 (p. 38), and the natives of Australia 12 (vol. 2, p. 250). The Iguana 
 inhabits South America and the West Indies, where it is esteemed a 
 delicate food, 4 although it has been usually considered unwholesome 39 
 (vol. 9, p. 724). AmblyrhynchuSj a genus of lizard resembling the 
 iguana, found in the Galapagos Islands, is esteemed by the natives 
 a delicate kind of food. 4 
 
 The crested Basilisk, which is upwards of three feet in length, is 
 eaten by the inhabitants of Amboyna and the islands of the Indian 
 Archipelago. Its flesh is as white and delicate as that of a chicken. 4 
 
 Snakes are eaten by the Chinese, 1 the natives of Australia 12 (vol. 
 2, p. 250), and by those of many other countries, but the flesh is 
 reckoned unwholesome, and liable to occasion leprosy 3 (p. 197). A 
 nutritious broth for invalids is made, in some places, from the flesh 
 of the poisonous viper 33 (vol. 9, p. 724). 
 
 Land Tortoises are eaten by the natives of the Amazon 2 (p. 485), 
 of India, 4 of South Africa, 40 and by the North American Indians, 43 
 (part 1, p. 65). Payen considers the flesh of the tortoise a whole- 
 some food, 37 and Dr. Livingstone found it a very agreeable dish 40 (p. 
 135). 
 
 The flesh of the Marine Turtle is largely eaten and highly esteemed 
 where the animal is captured, besides yielding in this country the 
 choicest of soups. 
 
 The Fresh-water Turtle abounds in the marshes of Provence, on 
 the shores of the Rhone, and in Sardinia, 37 and is eaten by the in- 
 habitants, as it is by the natives of Australia 12 (vol. 2, p. 250). The 
 flesh of the Trionyx Ferox is considered very delicate food, and on 
 the coasts of North America it is angled for with a hook and line 
 baited with small fish. 4 
 
 The Crocodile is eaten and relished by the natives of parts of 
 Africa 5 (p. 379) and Australia. 3 Dr. Livingstone writes : " To us 
 the idea of tasting the musky-scented, fishy-looking flesh carried the 
 idea of cannibalism." 34 (p. 452). The eggs are dug out of the ground 
 ,and devoured by the natives. Dr. Livingstone says of them, " In 
 .taste they resemble hen's eggs, with perhaps a smack of custard, and 
 
EXCEPTIONAL ANIMAL FOODS. 217 
 
 would be as highly relished by whites as by blacks were it not for 
 their unsavory origin in men-eaters 34 (p. 443). 
 
 Frogs are eaten by the Chinese 9 (vol. 3, p. 761), the natives of 
 Australia 12 (vol. 2, p. 250), and many other countries. The Rana 
 esculenta is highly prized in France for its hind legs, which form the 
 part eaten, and these may be seen sometimes skewered together in 
 the windows of some of the provision establishments in Paris. The 
 Rana taurina, or bull frog, is a native of North America, and is 
 thought by the Americans to rival turtle 39 (vol. 9, p. 724). This 
 large eatable frog has been recently introduced into France by the 
 Societe" d' Acclimatization. 37 A large frog called Matlametlo is eaten 
 by the South Africans, which, when cooked, looks like a chicken 40 
 (p. 42). 
 
 The Toad is eaten by the negroes 5 (p. 439), and a species called 
 Rana bombina is eaten in some places as a fish 39 (vol. 9). 
 
 The Axolotl of Mexico is esteemed an agreeable article of food, 
 dressed like stewed eels. 4 
 
 The Mud Eel (Lepidosiren) is eaten by the natives of the river 
 Gambia. It has a rich, oily flavor, and when fried tastes like an eel. 4 
 
 A species of Scarus, or parrot-fish, was highly esteemed by the 
 Roman epicures, and the Greeks still consider it to be a fish of ex- 
 quisite flavor. 4 
 
 Sharks are eaten by the Gold Coast negroes 3 (pp. 120, 224) and 
 the natives of New Zealand 11 (vol. 2, p. 43), but not by the natives 
 of Western Australia. 3 The natives of the Polynesian Islands feast 
 on them in a raw state, and gorge themselves so as to occasion vom- 
 iting. 3 
 
 Dr. Hector writes as follows of edible sharks : " The Maoris are 
 large consumers of sharks, or mango, as they term them, of various 
 species, but chiefly the Smooth-hound (Mustellus antarcticus), Dog- 
 fish of two species (Scyllium laticeps and Acanthias vidgaris), and the 
 Tope (Galeus canis). All of these may be seen at certain seasons at 
 any Maori settlement by the seaside, hanging on poles to dry in 
 thousands, and rendering the neighborhood extremely unpleasant. 
 The species most valued is, however, the smooth-hound, which is 
 the only shark that is properly edible, as it lives on shell-fish and 
 crabs, and has the same clean-feeding habits as the skate. In the 
 Hebrides and north of Scotland the flesh of this harmless little shark 
 
218 ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES. 
 
 is considered to be a great delicacy, but I have never heard of its 
 being eaten by the white settlers in the colony 7745 (p. 120). The 
 fins of sharks are highly prized by the wealthy Chinese 29 (p. 551). 
 
 Spiders are eaten by the Bushmen, and by the inhabitants of New 
 Caledonia 3 (p. 315). 
 
 Several species of Beetles are eaten by women of different nations, 
 in the belief that they will cause them to grow fat and become pro- 
 lific in childbearing. 
 
 The Blaps sulcata is eaten, cooked with butter, by the Egyptian 
 women, 4 who also eat the Scarabceus sacer to make themselves 
 become prolific 48 (vol. 3, p. 129). The women of Arabia and Turkey 
 eat a species of tenebrio fried in butter, to make themselves plump 48 
 (vol. 3). 
 
 Grasshoppers are eaten by the Bushmen 3 (p. 38). 
 
 Locusts are eaten in great quantities, both fresh and salted 39 (vol. 
 9, p. 727). They have a strongly vegetable taste, the flavor varying 
 with the plants on which they feed. Dr. Livingstone considered 
 them palatable when roasted 40 (p. 42). They are eaten by the Per- 
 sians, Egyptians, and Arabians, 48 the Bushmen, 3 and North American 
 Indians 43 (part 1, p. 65), and by many others. Diodorus Siculus 
 and Ludolphus both refer to a race of people in .^Ethiopia supporting 
 themselves upon locusts. 48 Ludolphus remarks : " For it is a very 
 sweet and wholesome sort of dyet, by means of which a certain Por- 
 tuguez garrison in India, that was ready to yield for want of provi- 
 sion, held out till it was relieved another way. 77 Madden states in 
 his Travels : " The Arabs make a sort of bread of locusts. They 
 dry them and grind them to powder, then mix this powder with 
 water, forming them into round cakes, which serve for bread. 77 
 
 White Ants are eaten by the natives of Australia 12 (vol 2, p. 250), 
 and by those on the banks of the Zonga, where they are highly ap- 
 preciated 34 (p. 465). 
 
 Bees are eaten by various peoples 48 (vol. 3), and the Moors in West 
 Barbary esteem the honeycomb, with young bees in it, as delicious ; 
 but by one witness it has been spoken of as insipid to his palate, and 
 as having sometimes given him heartburn 39 (vol. 9, p. 727). 
 
 Moths of several varieties are eaten by the natives of Australia 12 
 (vol. 2, p. 250) ; one species, called Bugong, is said to be more prized 
 by the Australians than any other sort of food. The bodies of these 
 
EXCEPTIONAL ANIMAL FOODS. 219 
 
 insects, it is stated, are large, and contain a quantity of oil ; they are 
 sought after as a luscious and fattening food 12 (48). 
 
 The Cicada, an insect of the homopterous group, was eaten by the 
 Greeks, 4 and Pinto mentions a people who used Flies as an article of 
 food. 48 
 
 The Larvce of Ants are eaten by the Bushmen 3 (p. 38). Scopoli 
 speaks of the larvae of the Musca putris as a dainty. 48 ^Elian men- 
 tions the circumstance of an Indian king treating some of his Gre- 
 cian guests with the larvae of an insect instead of food. 48 The larvse 
 of the Cerambyx heros is believed to be the Cossus of the ancients, 
 by whom it was considered a great dainty. 4 
 
 Caterpillars were eaten by the ancient Romans, and are in high 
 estimation among the natives of South Africa 48 40 (p. 42). 
 
 Grubs of all kinds are eaten by the natives of Australia 12 (16, p. 
 67), and the Chrysalis of the Silkworm is eaten by the Chinese. 48 
 
 The Cuttle Fish is used as food in some parts of Europe; 4 and a 
 bivalve allied to the oyster, called Anomia ephippium, which is found 
 on the coasts of the Mediterranean, is considered not inferior to the 
 common oyster. 37 
 
 The Vineyard Snail (Helix pomatia) is used as food in many 
 parts of Europe during Lent. 4 It is reared and fattened with great 
 care in some cantons of Switzerland as an article of luxury, and ex- 
 ported in a pickled state. Many other snails are eaten by the poor, 
 and none are known to be hurtful 39 (vol. 9, p, 727). The common 
 garden snail (Helix aspersa) is used in some parts as a cure for dis- 
 eases of the chest. 4 Snails on the Continent, and even slugs in China, 
 have a reputation for delicacy of eating and nutritive power. 46 
 
 The common Sea Urchin, or sea egg (Echinus sphcera), is much 
 sought after as food in some parts of Europe during the latter part 
 of summer, at which time it is almost filled with eggs. 4 It is also 
 eaten by the inhabitants of Otaheite 9 (vol. 2, p. 154). 
 
 Holothurice (sea cucumbers) are eaten largely by the Chinese, 1 the 
 natives of the Indian Archipelago, 4 the Australian 4 and the South 
 Sea Islands 47 (vol. 2, p. 568). They are also taken on the coast of 
 Naples and eaten by the poorer inhabitants. 4 
 
 Earth-eating may be appropriately referred to here, as some kinds 
 
220 ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES. 
 
 of earth used as food in certain localities have been found to consist 
 in part of the remains of minute animal organisms. 
 
 Humboldt, on his return from the Rio Negro, saw a tribe of Ot- 
 tomacs who lived principally during the rainy season upon a fat, 
 unctuous clay which they found in their district 54 (pp. 143-4). This 
 appears to have consisted of a red, earthy matter (hydrous silicate of 
 alumina) called bole. It is also eaten by the Japanese after being 
 made into thin cakes called tanaampo, which are exposed for sale, 
 and bought by the women to give themselves slenderness of form. 4 
 Ehrenberg found that this earth consisted for the most part of the 
 remains of microscopic animals and plants which had been deposited 
 from fresh water. 
 
 A kind of earth known as bread-mealy which consists, for the most 
 part, of the empty shells of minute infusorial animalcules, is still 
 largely eaten in Northern Europe ; and a similar substance, called 
 mountain-meal, has been used in Northern Germany in times of 
 famine as a means of staying hunger. The Wanyamwezi, a tribe 
 living in Central Africa, eat clay in the intervals between meals, and 
 prefer the clay of ant-hills 13 (vol. 2, p. 28). The colored inhabitants 
 of Sierra Leone also devour the red earth of which the ant-hills are 
 composed 55 (vol. 19, p. 72). Johnston asserts that the African earth 
 did not injure the negroes, but that when they were carried as slaves 
 to the West India Islands they were found to suifer in their health 
 from the clay they there used as a substitute 56 (vol. 2, p. 201). 
 
 It has been found that much of the clay eaten by many of the in- 
 habitants of the torrid zone is mere dirt, and has no alimentary 
 value. The Agmara Indians eat a whitish clay, which is rather 
 gritty, and has been shown by careful analysis to be destitute of any 
 organic matter which might afford nutriment 14 (vol. 1, p. 370). 
 One of the earliest notices of the practice of dirt-eating is given by 
 Sir Samuel Argoll, with respect to Virginia, in 1613. "In this 
 journie," he says, " I likewise found a myne, of which I have sent 
 a triall into England ; and likewise a strange kind of earth, the 
 virtue whereof I know not, but the Indians eate it for Physicke, 
 alleaging that it cureth the sicknesse and paine of the belly/' 57 In 
 Guinea the negroes eat a yellowish earth called cavuac. In the 
 West Indies a white clay like tobacco pipe-clay is eaten, and this 
 the eaters prefer to spirits or tobacco 58 (vol. 7, p. 550). In 1751 a 
 
TABLE OF REFERENCES. 221 
 
 species of red earth, or yellowish tufa, is reported to have been still 
 secretly sold in the markets of Martinique. 56 
 
 So widely spread is the depraved appetite for dirt-eating, or 
 " geophagie," that it is alleged to be one of the chief endemic dis- 
 orders of all tropical America. The victims of the practice never 
 appear to be able to free themselves from the habit. Children, it 
 is said, acquire it almost from the breast, and " women, as they lie 
 in bed sleepless and restless, will pull out pieces of mud from the 
 adjoining walls of their room to gratify their strange appetite, or 
 will soothe a squalling brat by tempting it with a lump of the same 
 material." 59 Officers who have Indian or half-breed children in their 
 employ as servants sometimes have to use wire masks to keep them 
 from putting the clay into their mouths. 59 A negro addicted to this 
 propensity is considered to be irrevocably lost for any useful pur- 
 pose, and seldom lives long 58 (vol. 7, p. 550). It is impossible to 
 keep the victim from obtaining the injurious substance. Children 
 who commence the practice early frequently decline and die in two 
 or three years, and dropsy usually appears to be the prominent 
 cause of dissolution. In other cases they may live to middle age, 
 but sooner or later dysentery supervenes, and proves fatal. Dr. 
 Gait speaks of having himself seen a Mestize soldier sinking from 
 dysentery with a lump of clay stuffed in his sunken cheeks half an 
 hour before his death. 59 
 
 EXPLANATORY TABLE OF THE REFERENCE NUMBERS CONTAINED IN 
 THE FOREGOING SECTION ON EXCEPTIONAL ANIMAL FOODS. 
 
 1 Bowring (Sir John), The Population of China. (Statistical Society's Jour- 
 
 nal, vol. 20, pp. 41-53.) 
 
 2 Wallace (A. K.), Narrative of Travels on the Amazon and Rio Negro. 
 
 London, 1843. 
 
 3 Simmonds (P. L.), The Curiosities of Food; or, the Dainties and Delicacies 
 
 of different Nations obtained from the Animal Kingdom. London, 1859. 
 
 4 Baird (W.), Cyclopaedia of the Natural Sciences London, 1858. 
 
 5 Webster (T.), An Encyclopaedia of Domestic Economy. London, 1844. 
 
 9 Daumas (General), The Horses of the Sahara and the Manners of the Desert. 
 Translated by James Hutton. London, 1863. 
 
 7 Lyon (G. F.), A Narrative of Travels in North Africa in 1818-20. London, 
 
 1821. 
 
 8 Burton (R. F.), The City of the Saints, and Across the Rocky Mountains to 
 
 California. London, 1861. 
 
 9 Cook's (Captain) First Voyuge. (Hawkesworth's Voyages. 3 vols. London, 
 
 1773.) 
 
222 ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES. 
 
 10 Sheppard (N.), Shut-up in Paris. London, 1871. 
 
 11 Dieflenbach (E.) } Travels in New Zealand. 2 vols. London, 1843. 
 
 12 Eyre (E. J.), Journal of Expeditions of Discovery into Central Australia in 
 
 1840-41. 2 vols. London, 1845. 
 
 13 Burton (E. F.), The Lake Regions of Central Africa: a Picture of Explora- 
 
 tion. 2 vols. London, 1860. 
 
 14 Pood Journal. London. 
 
 15 Wilkes (C.), Narrative of the United States Exploring Expedition, 1838-42. 
 
 5 vols. London, 1845. 
 
 16 Dawson (E.), Present State of Australia. 1830. 
 
 17 Hind (H. Y.), Explorations in the Interior of the Labrador Peninsula. 
 
 2 vols. London, 1863. 
 
 18 Sproat (G. M.), Scenes and Studies of Savage Life. London, 1868. 
 
 19 Lubbock (Sir John), Prehistoric Times, as Illustrated by Ancient Remains, 
 
 and the Manners and Customs of Modern Savages. London, 1869. 
 
 20 Kane (E. K.), Arctic Explorations: the Second Grinnell Expedition in 
 
 Search of Sir John Franklin, 1853-55. 2 vols. Philadelphia, 1856. 
 
 21 Thuriberg (C. P.), Travels in Europe, Africa, and Asia, 1700-79. 4 vols. 
 
 London, 1795. 
 
 22 Richardson (Sir John), Arctic Searching Expedition. 
 
 23 Schoolcraft (H. E.), Historical and Statistical Information respecting the 
 
 History, Condition, and Prospects of Indian Tribes of the United States. 
 
 3 vols. Philadelphia, 1851-53. 
 
 24 Sullivan (E.), Eambles and Scrambles in North and South America. Lon- 
 
 don, 1852. 
 
 25 Marsden (W.), The History of Sumatra. London. 
 
 26 Catlin (G.), Letters on North American Indians. 2 vols. 1842. 
 
 27 Tennent (Sir Emerson), Ceylon : an Account of the Island, Physical, His- 
 
 torical, and Topographical. 2 vols. London, 1859. 
 
 28 Wrangell (F. von), Narrative of an Expedition to the Polar Sea in 1820-23. 
 
 Edited by Lieut. -Col. Edward Sabine. London, 1844. 
 
 29 Barrow (Sir John), Travels in China. London, 1806. 
 
 30 Journal of the Society of Arts. London. 
 
 31 Head (Sir F. B.), Journeys Across the Pampas, 1828. 
 
 32 Medical Times and Gazette. London. 
 
 33 Sarcey (F.), Paris During the Siege. London, 1871. 
 
 34 Livingstone (Dr.), Narrative of an Expedition to the Zambesi and its Tribu- 
 
 taries, 1858-64. . London, 1865. 
 
 35 Kolben (P.), Present State of the Cape of Good Hope. London, 1731. 
 
 36 Quarterly Review. London. 
 
 37 Payen (A.), Precis Theorique et Pratique des Substances Alimentaires. 
 
 Paris, 1865. 
 
 38 The Lancet. London. 
 
 39 Encyclopedia Britannica. Seventh Edition. 21 vols. Edinburgh, 1842. 
 
 40 Livingstone (Dr.), Missionary Travels and Researches in South Africa. 
 
 London, 1857. 
 
 41 Archaeologia. Published by the Society of Antiquaries. London. 
 
 42 Teignmouth (Lord), Sketches of the Coasts and Islands of Scotland and the 
 
 Isle of Man. 2 vols. London, 1836. 
 
TABLE OF REFERENCES. 223 
 
 43 Loskiel (G. H.), History of the Mission of the United Brethren among the 
 
 Indians in North America. 3 parts. London, 1794. 
 
 44 Simpson (Sir George), Narrative of a Journey Round the World during the 
 
 Years 1841 and 1842. 2 vols. London, 1847. 
 
 45 Fishes of New Zealand : Notes on the Edible Fishes. By James Hector, 
 
 Geological Survey Department. Wellington, 1872. 
 
 46 Letheby (Dr.) on Food: Cantor Lectures. London, 1870. 
 
 47 Scherzer (K.) f Narrative of the Circumnavigation of the Globe in the Aus- 
 
 trian Frigate " Novara " in 1857-59. 3 vols. London, 1861-63. 
 
 48 Transactions of the Entomological Society. London. 
 
 49 Andrew of Wyntown. The Orygynal Cronykil of Scotland. With Notes 
 
 by David Macpherson. 2 vols. London, 1795 
 
 50 Robert Lindsay of Pitsoottie. The Chronicles of Scotland. Edited by J. G. 
 
 Dalyell. Edinburgh, 1814. 
 61 Chambers (R.), The Book of Days. 2 vols. Edinburgh. 
 
 52 Chambers 'a Encyclopedia. 10 vols. London, 1868. 
 
 53 Turner (Rev. George), Nineteen Years in Polynesia. London, 1861. 
 
 64 Humboldt (Alexander von), Views of Nature. Translated by E. C. Otte and 
 
 H. G. Bohn. London, 1850. 
 55 Journal of the Statistical Society. London. 
 66 Johnston (J. F. W.), Chemistry of Common Life. Revised by G. H. Lewes. 
 
 2 vols. London, 1859. 
 
 57 Argoll (Sir Samuel), Touching his Voyage to Virginia, 1613. (Purchas his 
 
 Pilgrimes, vol. 4, p. 1765.) 
 
 58 Encyclopaedia Metropolitan*. 25 vols. London, 1845. 
 
 69 Gait (Dr.), Medical Notes of the Upper Amazon. Published in the " Amer- 
 ican Journal of the Medical Sciences," and quoted in the " Lancet," 
 Dec. 14, 1872. 
 
VEGETABLE ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES. 
 
 ALTHOUGH vegetable substances differ so much physically, and 
 in some respects, also, chemically, from the components of animal 
 beings, they are susceptible of conversion into these components, 
 and, alone, contain all that is absolutely requisite for the support of 
 animal life. A more complex elaborating system, however, is re- 
 quired to fit them for appropriation than is the case with animal 
 substances, and accordingly it is found that the digestive organs of 
 the herbivora are developed upon a larger and higher scale than 
 those of the caimivora. 
 
 The vegetable products that form even common articles of food 
 are exceedingly varied and numerous. To attempt to arrange them 
 under any strict classification would only lead to embarrassment, and 
 often involve practical inconvenience. It will be sufficient for the 
 purposes of description to distribute them into the following general 
 
 groups : 
 
 Farinaceous seeds ; 
 Oleaginous seeds ; 
 Tubers and roots ; 
 Herbaceous articles ; 
 Saccharine and 
 Farinaceous preparations. 
 
 FAKINACEOUS SEEDS. 
 
 These rank first in importance amongst vegetable alimentary prod- 
 ucts. They are alike plentifully yielded, of easy digestion, and 
 of high nutritive value. It is not surprising, therefore, to find that 
 the farinaceous seeds form the largest and the most widely consumed 
 portion of our vegetable food. Of the farinaceous seeds, those, as 
 wheat, oats, barley, rye, rice, maize or Indian corn, &c., derived 
 from the Cerealia a tribe of grasses, take the first place as articles of 
 
CEREAL GRAINS. 225 
 
 food ; and next follow those derived from the Legummosof, or pulse 
 tribe, as, for instance, peas, beans, and lentils. Some other farinace- 
 ous seeds will be mentioned as employed, but they are of far less 
 significance in an alimentary point of view. 
 
 THE CERE ALIA. 
 
 The various cereal grains agree in their general composition, but 
 differences exist in the relative amounts of the constituent principles, 
 which give them different degrees of alimentary value. 
 
 The principles enumerated are 
 
 1. Nitrogenous compounds,, consisting of glutin, albumen, casein, 
 and fibrin, with an active principle, chiefly encountered in the cor- 
 tical part of the grain, which, like diastase, possesses the power of 
 converting starch into sugar. The material known as gluten, as 
 will be more particularly mentioned further on, comprises a mixture 
 of glutin, casein, and fibrin. 
 
 2. Non-nitrogenous substances, as starch, dextrin,, sugar, and 
 cellulose. 
 
 3. Fatty matter, including a volatile oil, which constitutes the 
 source of the odorous quality possessed by the grain. 
 
 4. Mineral substances, comprising phosphates of lime and mag- 
 nesia, salts of potash and soda, and silica. 
 
 The following table represents the relative amounts of the con- 
 stituent principles contained in various kinds of grain in a dry state, 
 according to the analyses of Payen : l 
 
 Composition of various cereal grains in a dry state 2 (Payen). 
 
 Nitrogenous matter, 
 
 Starch, 
 
 Dextrin, &c. , ^ 
 
 Cellulose,. 
 
 Fatty matter, . 
 
 Mineral matter, 
 
 100. 100. 100. 100. 100. 
 
 1 Substances Alimentaires, Paris, 1865, p. 265. 
 
 8 In an ordinary state gram contains from 11 to 18 per cent, of water. 
 3 Deviation from the correct total of + 2.0. Possibly an error in the amount 
 of the starch. 
 
 15- 
 
 Hard wheat 
 
 ( Venezuela.) 
 
 22.75 
 
 Hard wheat 
 (Africa.) 
 
 19.50 
 
 Hard wheat 
 (Taganrog.) 
 
 20.00 
 
 Semi-hard 
 wheat 
 (Brie.) 
 
 15.25 
 
 White or 
 soft wheat 
 (Tuzelle.) 
 
 12.65- 
 
 . 58.62 
 
 65.07 
 
 63.80 
 
 70.05 
 
 76.51 
 
 , 9.50 
 
 7.60 
 
 8.00 
 
 7.10 
 
 6.05 
 
 . 3. 50 
 
 3.00 
 
 3.10 
 
 300 
 
 2.80- 
 
 . 261 
 
 2.12 
 
 2.25 
 
 1.95 
 
 1.87 
 
 . 3_02 
 
 2.71 
 
 2.85 
 
 2.75 
 
 212"' 
 
226 
 
 ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES. 
 
 Nitrogenous matter, 
 
 Starch, 
 
 Dextrin, &c., . 
 
 Cellulose, 
 
 Fatty matter, . 
 
 Mineral matter, 
 
 Rye. 
 12.50 
 
 Barley. 
 12.96 
 
 Oats. 
 14.39 
 
 Maize. 
 12.50 
 
 Rice. 
 7.55 
 
 64.65 
 
 66.43 
 
 60.59 
 
 67.55 
 
 88.65 
 
 14.90 
 
 10.00 
 
 9.25 
 
 4.00 
 
 1.00 
 
 3.10 
 
 4 75 
 
 7.06 
 
 590 
 
 1.10 
 
 2.25 
 
 2.76 
 
 5.50 
 
 8.80 
 
 0.80 
 
 2.60 
 
 3.10 
 
 3.25 1 
 
 1.25 
 
 0.90 
 
 100. 
 
 100. 
 
 100. 
 
 100. 
 
 100. 
 
 It will be seen from the preceding table that different kinds of 
 wheat differ considerably in composition, and particularly so in the 
 amount of nitrogenous matter and starch they contain, the two 
 standing in an inverse ratio to each other. But more will be said 
 regarding this further on. Oats are rich in nitrogenous matter, fat, 
 and salts. Maize contains a fair amount of nitrogenous matter, but 
 is poor in salts. It further stands out from all the rest by virtue of 
 the large amount of fatty matter present. Barley occupies a mean 
 position with reference to all the constituents. Rice is characterized 
 by richness in starch, and poorness in nitrogenous matter, fatty mat- 
 ter, and salts. The knowledge thus supplied is of considerable 
 value in relation to the employment of the several kinds of grain 
 as articles of food. 
 
 WHEAT. 
 
 Wheat may be said to form the most useful article of vegetable 
 food, and hence it is one of the most extensively and widely culti- 
 vated of the cereal grains. 
 
 As supplied for use, wheat consists of the grain deprived of the 
 husk with which it was originally invested. Each grain is com- 
 posed of a hard, colored, tegumentary portion, and a central, easily 
 pulverizable, white substance, which yields the product constituting 
 flour. 
 
 The tegumentary portion consists, externally, of an exceedingly 
 .hard layer, which is of a dense, ligneous nature, and so coherent 
 <that it presents itself under the form of scales when wheat is sub- 
 jected to the ordinary process of grinding. This constitutes the 
 greater bulk of bran, and is of a perfectly indigestible nature, and, 
 .therefore, useless as an article of nutrition. Moreover, it acts, to 
 
 1 Deviation from the correct total of -j- 0.04. 
 
WHEAT. 227 
 
 some extent, as an irritant to the alimentary canal, and thus, whilst 
 of service, retained with the flour, in cases where constipation exists, 
 it should be avoided in irritable states of the bowel, and also by 
 those who work hard, for with these it is liable to hurry the food 
 too quickly through the alimentary tract, and occasion waste by 
 promoting its escape without undergoing digestion and absorption. 
 
 Further in, the cortex is softer and more friable. This part goes 
 with the pollard obtained in the process of dressing flour. It forms 
 the portion of the grain which is the richest in nitrogenous matter, 
 fat, and salts. It possesses, therefore, a high alimentary value. 
 Amongst the nitrogenous matter in this situation, a peculiar, soluble, 
 active principle is contained, called cerealin, which resembles dias- 
 tase in being endowed with the power of converting starch into 
 sugar. 
 
 Cerealin has been represented as leading, by a metamorphosing 
 influence exerted during the occurrence of fermentation, to the de- 
 velopment of the dark color and marked taste belonging to brown 
 bread ; and it is said that if the bread be made in such a way that 
 the cerealin is not aiforded the opportunity of exerting this action, 
 the product, although derived from the external as well as the cen- 
 tral part of the grain, has neither the high color nor the strong taste 
 of ordinary brown bread. 
 
 The central white substance of the grain is chiefly composed or 
 starch ; but nitrogenous, fatty, and saline matters are all present, 
 also, to some extent. The nitrogenous matter consists of several 
 principles. There is albumen, mucin or casein, fibrin, and glutin. 
 What is called gluten the ductile, tenacious, raw material left when 
 flour is kneaded with water, and afterwards washed to remove the 
 starch does not represent a simple or pure nitrogenous principle. 
 It is called crude gluten, and is resolvable into Liebig's vegetable 
 fibrin, mucin, and glutin. The albumen of the flour is not present 
 in it. This latter principle, being soluble in water, is carried away 
 with the starch in the process of washing. 
 
 It has been said that the external part of the grain is richer than 
 the central in nitrogenous matter. This remark, however, is not to 
 be taken as applying to gluten. Gluten, indeed, preponderates in 
 the central farinaceous part, the nitrogenous matter of the exterior 
 being principally composed of vegetable fibrin. 
 
 It is to gluten and this exists to a special extent in wheat that 
 
228 ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES. 
 
 wheaten flour owes its aptitude for being made into bread. This 
 substance, by virtue of its tenacity, and its susceptibility of solidifi- 
 cation by heat, is capable of entangling gas generated or incorporated 
 amongst it, and then becoming fixed in such a manner as to furnish 
 a light, spongy, or porous article, like well-made bread. 
 
 As regards sugar as a constituent of wheaten flour, Pay en remarks 
 that, whilst some authorities have affirmed that it is present, others 
 have declared that they have been unable to discover it. On both 
 sides, he says, truth exists, and that it depends on the harvesting, 
 grinding, and keeping of the wheat and flour, whether sugar is 
 present or not. It arises from the action of the diastase-like prin- 
 ciple contained in the grain on the starch and dextrin ; and accordr 
 ing as the circumstances are favorable or unfavorable for the change, 
 so will be the analytical result obtained. 
 
 There are several kinds of wheat met with in commerce, and the 
 table given at p. 225 shows that a considerable difference may exist 
 in the chemical composition of the article. The difference depends 
 upon the variety of the plant that has yielded the grain, and also 
 upon the climate and soil where it has grown. What is called hard 
 wheat is the richest in gluten. It is produced in the warm countries 
 of the south, and upon the most fertile soils. The grain is charac- 
 terized by a horny, semitransparent appearance, and hardness through- 
 out. It is drier, keeps better, and gives a larger amount of product 
 in the mill, but a less white flour, than other kinds of wheat. It is 
 this form of wheat that is employed for making macaroni, vermicelli, 
 and suchlike preparations. White or soft wheat presents a more 
 farinaceous condition. It is more easily ground, and yields a whiter 
 and finer flour. With less gluten, it contains a larger proportion of 
 starch, and, therefore, forms the most suitable kind of wheat for the 
 extraction of this latter principle as an article for domestic use. It 
 is the intermediate, or semi-hard wheat, which is the best for the use 
 of the baker. In Payen's table the nitrogenous matter in dried wheat 
 ranges, it may be seen, from 12 to 22, and the starch from 58 to 76 
 per cent. 
 
 Wheat is but very rarely used in the entire state as an article of 
 food. It forms, however,, a constituent of what is called frumenty, 
 which consists of wheat grains boiled in milk. For ordinary alimen- 
 tary purposes it is subjected to grinding, and usually afterwards 
 separated into flour, pollard, and bran, the flour being appropriated 
 
WHEATEN FLOUR. 229 
 
 to our own use, and the other products employed as food for the 
 lower animals. 
 
 Meal is the simple product of grinding, and, therefore, contains all 
 the elements of the grain. It is from this that brown bread is made. 
 If not used in this way (and, as is well known, it is only exception- 
 ally that it is) it is submitted by the miller to bolting, sifting, or 
 dressing, to separate the flour from the coarser particles forming 
 pollard and sharps ; and these, again, from the coarsest of all form- 
 ing bran. Flour, also, is produced or " dressed " of different degrees 
 of fineness, to meet the demand of the consumer. The finer the 
 flour is dressed, the whiter the bread that it produces. In fine flour, 
 however, there is an exclusion of everything except the strictly fari- 
 naceous central part of the grain ; and as this contains the least 
 amount of nitrogenous matter, the eye is gratified at the sacrifice of 
 this material. A coarser flour, although yielding a bread less white, 
 contains a larger proportion of nitrogenous matter, and thus is better 
 adapted to meet our requirements ;.for, even under all circumstances, 
 the farinaceous element is out of proportion to the nitrogenous, 
 looked at in relation to the demand existing in the case of each for 
 the purposes of life. Processes have been proposed for converting 
 more of the grain into flour than by the ordinary plan of grinding. 
 They are referred to in connection with the subject of bread at 
 p. 231. 
 
 Medium wheat usually yields from 72 to 80 per cent, of good 
 flour (Payen), and from about 5 to 10 per cent, of bran. The miller 
 sometimes tries to increase the yield of flour by grinding with the 
 stones set closely, but it is at the expense of the quality of the flour, 
 for the starch granule becomes thereby bruised and damaged, and is 
 found to be deteriorated for the purpose of bread-making. Bakers 
 prefer a flour which feels a little harsh between the finger and thumb, 
 instead of soft and smooth. 
 
 Composition of flour. 
 
 From Lethehy's table 
 
 of analyses. Payen. 
 
 Nitrogenous matter, . . . 10.8 . . . 14.45 
 
 Carbohydrates, . . . . 70.5 . . . 68.48 
 
 Fatty matter, . . . 2.0 . . .1.25 
 
 Mineral matter, .... 1.7 ... 1.60 
 
 Water, 15.0 . . . 14.22 
 
 100. 100. 
 
230 ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES. 
 
 The amount of gluten in wh eaten flour, according to Dr. Letheby, 
 ranges from 8 to 15 per cent., the average being about 11. 
 
 Cones, or cones flour, is the name applied to the flour of a particu- 
 lar species of wheat, called "revet" It is used by bakers for dust- 
 ing the dough and the boards upon which the loaves are made, to 
 facilitate the manipulation by preventing adhesion. It appears, from 
 the analyses of Dr. Hassall, to be extensively adulterated with the 
 flour of rice and other cereals, and sometimes even not to contain a 
 particle of wheaten flour. Thus adulterated, it can be sold at a 
 lower price than ordinary flour, and it is not surprising, therefore, 
 that, besides being used for the purpose named, it frequently finds its 
 way into the constitution of the loaf, while it affords an opportunity 
 of adulterating without appearing upon the face of it to do so. 
 
 Flour is one of the most useful alimentary materials at our dis- 
 posal, and is turned to account in a variety of ways. It is not con- 
 sumed in the raw state. Puddings, pastry, cakes, bread, biscuits, 
 and other variously named articles of less note, are made from it. 
 Bread and biscuits, about which more will be said further on, are 
 both nutritive and digestible. Cakes, besides flour, contain butter, 
 eggs, sugar, and sometimes other adjuncts. They are rich, and apt 
 to upset the stomach. Pastry, on account of the effect of the oven 
 on the fatty matters present, is also apt to give rise to stomach de- 
 rangement. Puddings (flour puddings only are here spoken of) are 
 not objectionable in the same way, but are, nevertheless, trying to 
 the digestive powers. Being of a more or less close consistence, 
 they offer considerable resistance to the penetration and action of 
 the gastric juice, and thus may engage the stomach for some time in 
 the process of digestion, and give rise during the while to the sensa- 
 tion which is well known to be occasioned by an indigestible sub- 
 stance, and which is described as a sense of weight or heaviness at 
 the stomach. 
 
 Baked Flour. Flour after exposure to heat is more digestible 
 than when in the raw state. The starch-granules become ruptured, 
 and a portion of the starch transformed into dextrin. The albumen 
 is acted upon, and converted into the coagulated form. It is hence 
 advantageous that flour should be consumed (as it only is) after hav- 
 ing been subjected in some way or other to the influence of heat. 
 It is sometimes prepared for use by simply putting it into a basin, 
 introducing it into an oven, and baking. Another process, acting 
 
BREAD. 231 
 
 in a similar way, is to place it in a basin, tie it over with a cloth, 
 and immerse it in a saucepan of water kept boiling for some time. 
 The water does not penetrate, but, from the effect of the heat, the 
 flour collects into a hard, solid mass, which requires to be scraped or 
 grated for use. Thus prepared, it is often employed as an article of 
 food for infants. 
 
 Bread. Of all articles of vegetable food, bread must be consid- 
 ered as the most important to us. It constitutes a product of art, 
 and amongst all civilized people the process of manufacture is known 
 and put into practice, evidently on account of the favorable state in 
 which the elements of food are placed for undergoing digestion. It 
 is only from some kinds of grain that bread can be made, and no 
 bread is equal to that prepared from wheaten grain. The amount 
 of gluten present, for which this kind of grain is distinguished, gives 
 it the property required for yielding a light and spongy form of 
 bread, and it is to this lightness or sponginess that bread owes its 
 easy digestibility ; for, according to its porosity, so is the facility 
 with which it is penetrated and acted upon by the secretion of the 
 stomach. 
 
 The first requisite towards the manufacture of bread is that the 
 grain should be reduced to a pulverized condition. By the ordinary 
 process it is ground in a whole state and converted into meal. This 
 may be used for making bread as is the case in what we call 
 " brown bread " but, as a rule, the flour is separated, and this only 
 employed. Other processes have been proposed, with the view of 
 obtaining a larger yield of flour. To some extent the plan has been 
 adopted of decorticating the grain, and then reducing the remainder 
 into flour. By such a method some of the inner layers of the tegu- 
 mentary portion are retained with the farinaceous substance of the 
 centre. There is also " whole-wheat flour " to be obtained. The 
 bran, after separation, is ground, and then mixed with the flour, for 
 it does not answer to attempt to thoroughly reduce the whole to- 
 gether. It seems that the starch-granules ought not to be broken 
 up, and that by too much crushing or friction they become damaged, 
 thereby leading to a bad flour for bread-making purposes being pro- 
 duced. When too closely ground, bakers speak of the flour as 
 "killed," from its virtue being found to be partially destroyed. 
 The avowed object of deviating from the old-fashioned plan is to 
 give the flour, and consequently the bread made from it, a higher 
 
232 ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES. 
 
 nutritive value, the outside part of the grain being that which, as 
 previously stated, is richest in nitrogenous, fatty, and mineral mat- 
 ters. Liebig expatiates strongly particularly on account of the 
 loss of phosphates upon the ill-judged custom of preferring white 
 bread. It is true, if bread were our sole article of sustenance, the 
 rejection of the principles contained in the outer part of the grain 
 would be a serious error in dietetics ; but if other food be taken 
 which furnishes a free supply of them, as is actually the case with a 
 mixed diet, there is nothing to condemn as erroneous. It must not 
 be considered, because we do not consume the bran and pollard of 
 the meal ourselves, that their constituents are thereby wasted or lost 
 to us. Employed, as such articles are, as food for other animals, we 
 may, in reality, although indirectly, get their elements in association 
 with other matter. Looked at in this way, it being granted that 
 animal food is taken, we are at liberty, if our inclination so dispose 
 us, without incurring any charge of wastefulness, to select one part 
 of the grain for ourselves, and allow the other to pass to the lower 
 animals. Whether the result of habit or not, it must certainly be 
 owned that, with the generality of persons, bread made from ordi- 
 nary flour is more pleasing to the eye and agreeable to the palate 
 than bread made from the whole constituents of the grain. 
 
 Bread is a firm and porous substance, which is easy of mastica- 
 tion, and which, whilst preserving a certain amount of moisture, is 
 not wet or clammy. To convert flour or meal into a substance of 
 this kind constitutes the art of bread-making. A paste or dough 
 is made by manipulation, either by kneading with the hands or by 
 machinery, with the requisite quantity of water. Porosity is given 
 by intimate incorporation with carbonic acid gas either generated 
 within, as by fermentation, or the use of one or other form of "baking 
 powder;" or supplied from without, as by Dr. Dauglish's process. 
 The gluten present, by virtue of its tenacity, holds the vesicles of gas 
 and allows a spongy mass to be formed. Whilst in this state, solidi- 
 fication is effected by the aid of heat applied in the process of baking, 
 and thus is formed a permanently vesiculated or porous article. 
 Such, in a few words, constitutes the rationale of the process of 
 bread-making. 
 
 When the carbonic acid gas is generated by fermentation, the 
 product is called " leavened bread," but there is no material diifer- 
 ence between bread formed in this way and that produced by the 
 
BREAD. 233 
 
 other processes. Various kinds of ferment are employed, as, for in- 
 stance, brewer's yeast or barm ; German yeast ; baker's or patent 
 yeast, which is prepared from an infusion of malt and hops set into 
 fermentation by a little brewer's or German yeast, and added to 
 some boiled and mashed potatoes mixed with flour, to feed the 
 growth of the ferment and increase the product; or leaven, which is 
 old dough in a state of fermentation. In each case, the active agent 
 of the ferment that is, the growing vegetable cells forming the 
 yeast fungus, or Torula cerevisice effects the conversion of sugar 
 into alcohol and carbonic acid gas. This takes place at the expense 
 of the sugar contained in, and derived from, the starch of the flour, 
 but in baker's yeast the potato introduced furnishes additional ma- 
 terial for the growth of the Torula. Used in this way, the potato is 
 not to be looked upon in the light of an adulterant. 
 
 The usual practice in making bread by fermentation is to mix a 
 certain quantity of the flour with the ferment, some salt, and luke- 
 warm water. These are kneaded into a stiff paste or dough, which 
 is placed aside in a warm situation for an hour or two. The mass 
 gradually swells up, from the evolution of carbonic acid gas, or, as 
 the baker terms it, the sponge rises. When the sponge is in active 
 fermentation it is thoroughly kneaded with the remainder of the 
 flour, salt, and water, and again set aside for a few hours in a warm 
 situation. Fermentation extends throughout the whole, and at the 
 proper moment the dough is made into loaves and introduced into 
 the oven. Herein constitutes one of the chief points in the baker's 
 art. Unless fermentation has been allowed to proceed far enough, 
 a heavy loaf is the result ; and if allowed to proceed too far, an ob- 
 jectionable quality is given to the bread by the commencement of 
 another, viz., the acid fermentation. Time also must not be allowed 
 for the dough to sink before being made into loaves and baked. 
 Under the influence of the heat of the oven an expansion of the 
 entangled vesicles of gas ensues, and occasions a considerable further 
 rising of the dough ; and, with the subsequent setting of the sub- 
 stance of the loaf a permanently vesiculated mass is formed. 
 
 A special aroma or flavor is communicated to the bread by the 
 different kinds of ferment. The best-flavored bread, I am informed 
 by an experienced "West-end baker, is made with the employment of 
 brewer's yeast. 
 
 Instead of by fermentation, vesiculation may be effected by car- 
 
234 ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES. 
 
 bonic acid gas disengaged by incorporating carbonate of soda or am- 
 monia with the dough, and adding muriatic, tartaric, or phosphoric 
 acid. " Baking powders " act in this way, and consist for the most 
 part of tartaric acid and carbonate of soda as their basis. The em- 
 ployment of this process involves no loss of any portion of the flour, 
 but it does not produce an agreeably tasted bread, and has not been 
 therefore found to supersede the old process of fermentation. 
 
 Another plan for vesiculating bread has been recently introduced, 
 and is known as Dr. Dauglish's process, the product being called 
 "aerated bread. " The flour is introduced into a strong air-tight 
 iron receiver, and afterwards mixed by mechanical means with water 
 impregnated with carbonic acid gas under a high pressure. Through 
 an opening below, which can be unclosed when the operation of mix- 
 ing is complete, the dough is forced out by the pressure existing 
 within, and with a suitable contrivance may be received and con- 
 veyed under the form of loaves to the oven without being touched 
 by the hands. Vesiculation is produced by the expansion of the 
 carbonic acid gas with which the dough is throughout intimately 
 incorporated : such expansion occurring with the removal of the 
 pressure ; and, still further, from exposure to the heat of the oven. 
 This process, it will be seen, involves the employment only of the 
 three essential ingredients of bread, flour, water, and carbonic acid 
 gas ; but, as with other kinds of bread, some salt is also added. 
 Nothing occurs to produce a change of any portion of the flour, ex- 
 cept such as is induced by the action of the heat in baking. The 
 product represents the purest form of bread, if simplicity of compo- 
 sition is to be taken as a criterion. As regards taste, however, it 
 possesses, without there being anything objectionable, a distinct 
 character of its own, and there is an absence of the agreeable flavor 
 belonging to good bread of the fermented kind. It may be remarked 
 that it keeps sweet and good much longer than fermented bread. 
 
 In the manufacture of bread a certain amount of salt is generally 
 added. It improves the flavor, and gives greater whiteness and 
 firmness to the article. 
 
 Alum, also, if it is not now, owing to the stringency of a recent 
 Act of Parliament, was formerly frequently employed; but this 
 constitutes an imposition, for the object of its use is to cause bread 
 made from bad or deteriorated flour to resemble that made from 
 good. It affords no advantage in the case of good flour, but enables 
 
BREAD. 235 
 
 bread to be made from flour that could not otherwise be used. It 
 checks, it is said, an excess of fermentation, to which there is a 
 tendency with bad flour ; augments the whiteness of the product ; 
 and, by strengthening that is, giving increased consistence or tenac- 
 ity to the* gluten, favors the production of a light and firm loaf. 
 Such are described as the effects of alum on bread ; but the question 
 may be asked : Is such bread to be considered as wholesome ? In 
 the first place, alum, or whatever it may be changed into, or what- 
 ever the combination formed with the flour under the agency of the 
 heat employed in baking, is not a natural article for ingestion. Its 
 properties are not such as to be likely to occasion any immediate or 
 strong effect, and it cannot be said that a deleterious action is to be 
 brought home to it in a precise or definite manner, but it is believed 
 to be capable of producing dyspepsia and constipation. " Whatever 
 doubts," says Pereira, 1 " may be entertained regarding the ill effects 
 of alum on the healthy stomach, none can exist as to its injurious 
 influence in cases of dyspepsia." It is possible where ill effects have 
 been assigned to alum, that they may have been sometimes due to 
 the bad quality of the flour, which the alum has been used to dis- 
 guise. 
 
 Lime-water, it is asserted, substituted for a portion of the water 
 used in making the dough, may be employed with advantage in- 
 stead of alum, for improving the product from an inferior quality of 
 flour. 
 
 The amount of bread produced from a given quantity of flour 
 varies with the amount of water present. " Bread," says Dr. 
 Letheby, 2 " should not contain more than 36 to 38 per cent, of 
 water, and the other constituents, excepting salt, should be the same 
 as of good flour. 
 
 " In practice, 100 Ibs. of flour will make from 133 to 137 Ibs. of 
 bread, a good average being 136 ; so that a sack of flour of 280 Ibs. 
 should yield ninety-five four-pound [quartern] loaves. The art of 
 the baker, however, is to increase this quantity, and he does it by 
 hardening the gluten through the agency of a little alum, or by 
 means of a gummy mixture of boiled rice, three or four pounds of 
 which will, when boiled for two or three hours in as many gallons 
 
 1 Treatise on Food and Diet, 1843, p. 311. 
 
 2 Lectures on Food, 1870, p. 13. 
 
236 ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES. 
 
 of water, make a sack of flour yield 100 four-pound loaves. But 
 the bread is dropsical, and gets soft and sodden at the base, where it 
 stands." 
 
 An evaporation of water occurs, and causes bread to lose weight 
 on keeping. The loss proceeds most actively whilst ho't from the 
 oven, and the baker sometimes endeavors to check it by throwing 
 sacks, or something of the kind, over the loaves, but the crust 
 thereby suffers in crispness. 
 
 Composition of bread (Letheby's table). 
 
 Nitrogenous matter, . . . . 8.1 
 
 Carbohydrates, 51.0 
 
 Fat, matter, 1.6 
 
 Mineral matter, 2.3 
 
 Water, 37.0 
 
 100. 
 
 New bread is selected by many in preference to stale. It is, how- 
 ever, much less digestible, and, where weakness of stomach exists, is 
 apt to excite derangement. It is its lightness or porosity which 
 gives to bread its property of easy digestibility, and with stale bread 
 its firmness and friability allow this porosity to be maintained dur- 
 ing reduction by mastication. The softness of new bread, on the 
 other hand, renders it difficult of mastication, and at the same time 
 favors its clogging together into a heavy and close mass, which, on 
 arrival in the stomach, will be far less easily penetrated and acted 
 upon by the digestive juice. By heating for a short time in an oven, 
 stale bread may be again brought into the soft condition of new, and 
 will remain in this state for some hours. After being thus rebaked, 
 however, it soon undergoes change and becomes unpalatable. 
 
 Besides its physical condition, which renders bread a digestible 
 article of food, the effect of the heat which has been employed in 
 baking is to increase the digestibility of the constituents of the flour. 
 The state of the nitrogenous compounds becomes altered ; the starch 
 granules ruptured ; and some of the starch transformed into dextrin 
 and sugar. 
 
 The difference in the nutritive value of brown bread as compared 
 with white has been already referred to (vide p. 231 ). From the 
 presence of the indigestible particles of bran, brown bread acts to 
 some extent as an irritant, and thereby stimulates the secreting struc- 
 
MISCELLANEOUS ARTICLES PREPARED FROM FLOUR. 237 
 
 tures and the muscular walls of the alimentary canal. Hence the 
 service which it renders to persons, particularly those of sedentary 
 habits, suffering from constipation. In irritable states of the alimen- 
 tary canal it should be avoided ; and, in the case of those who work 
 hard or take much exercise it may prove the source of diarrhoea. 
 
 Toast. It is a frequent practice to cut bread into slices, and sub- 
 ject it to toasting, and the digestibility is thereby increased. Water 
 is driven off, a little scorching of the surface occurs, and greater firm- 
 ness is acquired. The toasting should be conducted so that crispness 
 is imparted throughout the whole thickness of the slice. If the slice 
 be thick, and a mere scorching of the surface be induced, the action 
 of the heat will give increased softness to the centre (just as rebaking 
 renders stale bread like new) and make it less digestible than the 
 bread from which it was prepared. Buttered toast, like any article 
 saturated with fatty matter, offers considerable resistance to diges- 
 tion, and is exceedingly apt to disagree where delicacy of stomach 
 exists. 
 
 Rusks. These consist of tea-cakes, which are made from flour, 
 butter, milk, and sugar, cut into slices, and the slices placed on tins 
 and introduced for a few minutes into a sharp oven. They are 
 turned so as to produce a little scorching of both surfaces, and after- 
 wards put into a drying oven for three or four hours in order to drive 
 off all the moisture. 
 
 Pulled Bread. For making pulled bread the crumb of a new loaf 
 the crust being sacrificed for the purpose is torn or drawn out 
 with the hands, and treated exactly in the same way as rusks. It 
 constitutes a very digestible form of bread, and is well adapted for 
 the dyspeptic. 
 
 Tops and Bottoms. Tops and bottoms are pretty largely used as 
 food for infants. They are made in the same way as rusks : the 
 form, indeed, constitutes the only essential difference between the two. 
 Small square-shaped cakes are, in the first place, made like the tea- 
 cake, from flour, butter, milk, and sugar, but usually with rather less 
 of the last ingredient. These are then cut in half hence the name, 
 tops and bottoms and baked and dried. 
 
 Muffins. Flour, water, and yeast are mixed into a liquid paste or 
 batter. This is poured into a hoop resting on a hot tin, and baked. 
 For eating they are cut in half, toasted and buttered. 
 
 Crumpets. The only difference between muffins and crumpets is, 
 
238 ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES. 
 
 that the latter are half the thickness of the former. They are toasted 
 and buttered whole for the table. Both are very trying articles to 
 the stomach. 
 
 Cracknelk. The process for making cracknells is somewhat pecu- 
 liar. A dough is formed, composed of flour, butter, eggs, and sugar, 
 and rolled into sheets. They are then cut in the appropriate shape, 
 and put into boiling water. They sink, and become hardened by the 
 coagulation of the albumen that occurs. In the course of a little 
 time they expand, and, becoming lighter, rise to the surface, and are 
 skimmed off. They are then immersed in cold water, and afterwards 
 placed in tins, and baked in a sharp oven. 
 
 Gingerbread. The ingredients of gingerbread are flour, treacle, 
 butter, alum, and common potashes. Its porosity or lightness is due 
 to the liberation of carbonic acid from the last-named substance by 
 the glucic and melassic acids of the treacle. By some makers, 
 ground ginger or sliced candied orange-peel is introduced. Addi- 
 tional lightness is also sometimes given by the employment of some 
 form of baking powder. 
 
 Biscuits. Biscuits are a useful wheaten product, on account of 
 their property of keeping, which is owing to their being dried as 
 well as baked. Some biscuits are made from flour and water only, 
 or flour, water, and a very little butter to diminish the hard and 
 flinty character which they otherwise possess. Such is the composi- 
 tion of captains' biscuits, and nothing is employed to give them light- 
 ness. Other biscuits are made with the addition of milk, and some 
 with the addition of sugar also ; and lightness may be given either 
 by a baking powder or the carbonate of ammonia, which, being a 
 volatile salt, is dissipated with the heat of the oven, and in escaping 
 raises the dough. There are also various fancy biscuits, each kind 
 containing, in addition to the ordinary ingredients, some special 
 article. Plain biscuits constitute an easily digestible form of food. 
 Biscuit powder is often advantageously used in combination with 
 milk where solid food cannot be borne. It also furnishes an excel- 
 lent and nourishing form of food for infants. 
 
 Passover cakes belong to the biscuit class. They may be looked 
 upon, in reality, as a very thin kind of biscuit, and are composed 
 only of flour and water. 
 
 Stale biscuits, on being moistened and rebaked, are restored, like 
 stale bread, to the condition of new. 
 
MISCELLANEOUS ARTICLES PREPARED FROM FLOUR. 239 
 
 Composition of biscuit (Letheby's table). 
 
 Nitrogenous matter, .... 15.6 
 Carbohydrates, ..... 73.4 
 
 Fatty matter, 1.3 
 
 Mineral matter, . . . . .1.7 
 Water, 8.0 
 
 100. 
 
 Semolina. This substance forms a granular preparation of the 
 heart of the wheat grain. It is made from the hard wheats, which 
 are rich in gluten. The grinding is performed with the mill-stones 
 sufficiently apart to leave the product in a granular form, instead of 
 reducing it to the state of flour. It forms a digestible and nourish- 
 ing article of food, and is useful for adding to broths, soups, milk, 
 &c. It likewise may be made into a light and nutritious pudding. 
 
 Soujee and Manna-croup are also names by which this granular 
 preparation of wheat is known. The Semoule of the French is like- 
 wise of the same nature. It constitutes the coarse, hard granules 
 which are a product of the grinding of the hard wheats, and are re- 
 tained in the bolting machine after the fine flour has passed through. 
 On account of the resistance which the hard wheats offer to reduc- 
 tion, these granules have escaped being crushed between the mill- 
 stones. As the product fetches a higher price than flour the skilful 
 miller so adjusts his mill-stones as to obtain as large an amount as 
 possible. 
 
 The Kous-kous, Couscous, or Couscousou, of the Arabs, which forms 
 a national food in Algeria, further constitutes a granular preparation 
 of wheat. It is cooked and eaten in a variety of ways. - 
 
 Macaroni, Vermicelli, and Italian or Cagliari paste. Italian 
 wheat, and some other kinds, which are rich in gluten, are employed 
 for making the above-named preparations, which are consumed very 
 largely in Italy. The flour is made into a stiff paste with hot 
 water, and then pressed through holes or moulds in a metal plate, 
 or else stamped so as to give the desired form, and afterwards dried. 
 They are all highly nutritious, but, from their closeness, where much 
 thickness of substance exists, as, for example, with pipe macaroni, 
 are not so easy of digestion as many other of the wheaten prepara- 
 tions. 
 
240 ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES. 
 
 Such are the alimentary products of wheat in ordinary use amongst 
 us. Wholesome and most useful articles under ordinary circum- 
 stances, they sometimes acquire properties which render them ob- 
 noxious, upon which point a few remarks will now be offered. 
 
 Wheat is liable to be attacked by the weevil, a little insect which 
 consumes the farinaceous centre of the grain. The Acarus farince, 
 or flour mite, a microscopic animalcule, may also be encountered. 
 Beyond deteriorating the wheat for alimentary purposes, however, it 
 cannot be said that any harm is produced by these animals. 
 
 Certain low forms of parasitic vegetable growth also become de- 
 veloped upon wheat. There is the rust, or smut, with which the 
 wheat of our own country is frequently liable to be attacked. This 
 gives unpleasant characters to the flour and bread, but has not been 
 ascertained to produce any specific deleterious effects upon the ani- 
 mal system. In some localities abroad, the cereal grains, and 
 amongst them occasionally wheat,, but most particularly rye, become 
 infested with a species of fungus, which grows in such a way as to 
 present the appearance of a spur. What is alluded to here is the 
 ergotized or spurred corn, which is well known to exert a poisonous 
 action upon animal beings : the symptoms produced being of a two- 
 fold nature, viz., those of deranged nervous action, terminating 
 fatally, it may be in convulsions, on the one hand ; and of defective 
 nutrition, attended with dry gangrene of the extremities, on the 
 other. 
 
 In connection with this subject it may be mentioned that wheat 
 and other corn may be rendered poisonous by the accidental presence 
 of the seeds of the Lolium temulentum, or Darnel grass, which has 
 been allowed by the slovenly farmer to overrun his fields. Chris- 
 tison 1 says the Lolium temulentum is the only poisonous species of 
 the natural order of the grasses. The seeds appear to be powerfully 
 narcotic, and at the same time to possess acrid properties. " Head- 
 ache, giddiness, somnolency, delirium, convulsions) paralysis, and 
 even death," are effects that have been observed to arise from their 
 habitual consumption as an accidental ingredient of bread. Vomit- 
 ing and purging are also symptoms that have been sometimes pro- 
 duced. 
 
 It has been suggested that wheat and other grain may possess 
 
 1 On Poisons, 4th ed., 1845, p. 944.' 
 
UNWHOLESOME WHBATEN PRODUCTS. 241 
 
 deleterious properties attributable to being gathered in an unripe 
 state. Local outbreaks of illness have been ascribed to this cause 
 in France. Dr. Christison considers that the subject requires further 
 inquiry, and remarks that, although grain is often cut down in an 
 unripe state in various districts of our own country, he has never 
 heard that any disease has been produced by its consumption. 
 
 Wheat, flour, and bread, may be in an unwholesome state ac- 
 quired by keeping. From the presence of moisture, they are prone 
 to undergo change, and to acquire a more or less strongly marked 
 acid character. Bread made from old and bad flour may be quite 
 sour to the taste ; and, although some persons may become accus- 
 tomed to such bread, and may eat it without any ill consequences 
 arising, yet with others, who are unused to it, it may give rise to 
 severe irritation of the alimentary canal, manifested by gastric de- 
 rangement, griping, and diarrhoea. Good bread is only slightly acid 
 at first, but if kept and allowed to remain moist, it becomes de- 
 cidedly so in the course of a little time. 
 
 Bread also becomes the seat of development of certain species of 
 fungi (Penicillium oidium, &c.) in other words, becomes mouldy 
 on keeping, and the more quickly so in proportion as it contains 
 water. The same likewise happens with wheat and flour under the 
 presence of moisture. The existence of this low form of vegetable 
 growth renders the articles pervaded dangerous for use. They are 
 liable to produce injurious and even fatal consequences. Dr. Chris- 
 tison states that on the Continent repeated instances have occurred 
 of severe and even dangerous poisoning by spoiled or mouldy rye 
 bread, barley bread, and wheat bread ; and that several instances 
 have been observed of horses having been killed in a short space of 
 time with symptoms of irritant poisoning by eating such bread with 
 their ordinary food. It has further been noticed that the consump- 
 tion of mouldy oats has been followed by fatal consequences. Dr. 
 Parkes, 1 quoting from Professor Varnell, states that "six horses 
 died in three days from eating mouldy oats ; there was a large 
 amount of matted mycelium, and this, when given to other horses 
 for experiment, killed them in thirty-six hours." 
 
 In cities and towns mouldy bread is rarely, if ever, encountered. 
 The daily supply of fresh bread that is provided removes any ne- 
 
 1 Practical Hygiene, 3d ed., p. 223. 
 16 
 
242 ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES. 
 
 cessity for keeping the article sufficiently long for a state of mouldi- 
 ness to be acquired. In outlying rural districts, however, where a 
 batch of bread is baked only at somewhat distant periods within the 
 household, time may be given before the batch is exhausted for the 
 last of it to become vinny, or mouldy, a more or less green color 
 being developed, and a ropy character produced. 
 
 Biscuits and rusks, on account of their dry ness, are not prone, 
 like bread, to become unwholesome from mouldiness. 
 
 OATS. 
 
 The common oat is derived from the A vena saliva. A consider- 
 able number of varieties of the plant are cultivated, yielding oats, 
 which may be arranged under the two heads of white oats, and red, 
 dun, or black oats. Other species ofAvena are also cultivated on the 
 Continent. Scotland is specially famed for the quality of the oats 
 it produces, and here more than half of the cultivated land is de- 
 voted to. their growth. 
 
 As met with in commerce, oats consist of the seeds inclosed in 
 their palese, or husk. When deprived of its integument, the grain 
 goes by the name of groats or grits y and these, when crushed, consti- 
 tute Embden groats. They are used for making gruel. 
 
 The husk amounts to from 22 to 28 per cent. The remaining 72 
 to 78 per cent, comprises the kernel of the seed. 
 
 Oatmeal constitutes the product of grinding the kiln-dried seeds, 
 deprived of their husk, or outer skin. It is not so white as wheaten 
 flour, and its taste is peculiar, being at first sweet and then rough 
 and somewhat bitter. It forms the article used for making porridge. 
 The Scotch oatmeal is ground coarser than the English, and is the 
 more esteemed of the two. 
 
 In Germany and Switzerland coarsely bruised oatmeal is baked 
 in an oven until it becomes of a brown color, and is then used to 
 thicken broths and soups. 
 
 Sowans, Seeds, or Flummery, which constitutes a very popular 
 article of diet in Scotland and South Wales, is made from the husks 
 of the grain. The husks, with the starchy particles adhering to them, 
 are separated from the other parts of the grain and steeped in water 
 for one or two days, until the mass ferments and becomes sourish. 
 
OATS. 243 
 
 It is then skimmed, and the liquid boiled down to the consistence 
 of gruel. In Wales this food is called sucan. 
 
 Budrum is prepared in the same manner, except that the liquid is 
 boiled down to a sufficient consistency to form, when cold, a firm 
 jelly. This resembles blancmange, and constitutes a light, demul- 
 cent, and nutritious article of food, which is well suited for the weak 
 stomach. 
 
 Composition of oatmeal (from Letheby's table). 
 
 Nitrogenous matter, .... 12.6 
 
 Carbohydrates, 63.8 
 
 Fatty matter, 5.6 
 
 Saline matter, 3.0 
 
 Water, 15.0 
 
 100.0 
 
 Composition of dried oats (Pay en). 
 
 Nitrogenous matter, . . . .14.39 
 
 Starch, 60.59 
 
 Dextrin, &c., 9.25 
 
 Fatty matter, 5.50 
 
 Cellulose, 7.06 
 
 Mineral matter, 3.25 
 
 100.00 
 
 The nitrogenous matter of the oat is formed chiefly of a principle 
 allied to casein, called avenin, which may be thus obtained : Let oat- 
 meal be washed on a sieve, and the milky liquid which runs through 
 be allowed to repose, to deposit the suspended starch granules. The 
 supernatant liquid, on being heated to 200 Fahr., throws down 
 albumen, and then, on the addition of acetic acid, a white precipitate 
 falls, which constitutes avenin. 
 
 On account of the absence of gluten, oatmeal cannot be vesiculated 
 and made into bread, like wheaten flour. It is devoid of the tenacity 
 or adhesiveness which is requisite to hold the vesicles of gas and give 
 porosity or lightness to the mass. It is, however, made into thin 
 cakes, by mixing into a paste with water, and then baking on an iron 
 plate. Under this form it is consumed as a staple food by a large 
 number of the inhabitants of Scotland (which is called, in conse- 
 quence, "the land of cakes"), and also of the north of England. 
 
244 ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES. 
 
 Besides being eaten in this way, oatmeal is also consumed as por- 
 ridge or stirabout, as beef and kale brose, and likewise as gruel. 
 
 Porridge is made by simply stirring the oatmeal into boiling water 
 until it becomes of the consistence of hasty pudding. The water is 
 kept boiling until the process is finished. It is usually flavored with 
 either salt or sugar, and is frequently eaten with milk or treacle. 
 
 Brose differs from porridge in not being boiled over the fire. Beef 
 brose is made by stirring the oatmeal into the hot liquor in which 
 meat has been boiled. Kale brose is similarly made from the liquor 
 in which cabbage, or kale, has been boiled. 
 
 Gruel is consumed in a liquid or semi-liquid form. It is prepared 
 by first mixing groats with a little cold water, then pouring in the 
 requisite quantity of boiling water, and afterwards boiling for ten 
 minutes and well stirring during the while. 
 
 Oats form an important and valuable article of food. With a 
 proportion of nitrogenous matter which bears a favorable com- 
 parison with that of wheat, they stand next to maize amongst the 
 cultivated cereals in the amount of fatty matter that is present. 
 The percentage of saline matter is also high. "Oatmeal/ 7 says 
 Dr. Cullen, " is especially the food of the people of Scotland, and 
 was formerly that of the northern parts of England counties which 
 have always produced as healthy and as vigorous a race of men as 
 any in Europe." Scotch oatmeal is considered preferable to Eng- 
 lish. It possesses higher nutritive value. 
 
 Oatmeal enjoys the reputation of exerting a slightly laxative ac- 
 tion, and Dr. Christison remarks that he has in several instances 
 found it of service in relieving habitual constipation, upon being 
 taken at breakfast in the form of porridge. It is apt to disagree 
 with some dyspeptics, having a tendency to produce acidity and 
 pyrosis, and cases have been noticed amongst those who have been 
 in the daily habit of consuming it, where dyspeptic symptoms have 
 subsided upon temporarily abandoning its use. 
 
 Intestinal concretions, composed of phosphate of lime, aggluti- 
 nated animal matter, and the small, stiff, silky hairs existing at one 
 end of the oat, with small fragments of the husk, were formerly of 
 not uncommon occurrence as a result of the habitual consumption of 
 oatmeal food. Such concretions, however, are now rarely met with, 
 on account, it is believed, of the oats being more thoroughly de- 
 prived of their husk and better cleaned than formerly. 
 
BARLEY. 245 
 
 BARLEY. 
 
 Barley is obtained from several species of Hordeum, the favorite 
 being Hordeum distichon, or common summer barley of England, of 
 which several varieties are cultivated. It is met with in commerce 
 as a grain, inclosed in the palese or husk. The product, when the 
 whole grain is ground, forms barley-meal. 
 
 Scotch, milled, or pot bcCrley, constitutes the grain deprived of its 
 husk by a mill. 
 
 Pearl barley is the grain deprived of the husk and rounded and 
 polished by attrition. 
 
 Patent barley forms the product derived from grinding pearl 
 barley to the state of flour. 
 
 Composition of barley meal (from Letheby's table). 
 
 Nitrogenous matter, . . . .6.3 
 
 Carbohydrates, 74.3 
 
 Fatty matter, 2.4 
 
 Saline matter, 2.0 
 
 Water, 15.0 
 
 100.0 
 
 Iii the composition of barley, as given by Payen, a marked dis- 
 cordancy with the above exists as regards the nitrogenous matter, 
 the quantity of which, as will be seen by the following figures, is 
 represented as rather more than double : 
 
 Composition of dried barley (Payen). 
 
 Nitrogenous matter, .... 12.96 
 
 Starch, 66.43 
 
 Dextrin, &e., 10.00 
 
 Fatty matter, 2.76 
 
 Cellulose, 4.75 
 
 Mineral matter, . . . . .3.10 
 
 100.00 
 
 The nitrogenous matter of barley exists under the form of albu- 
 men and casein. There is little or no gluten, and hence, like oat- 
 meal, it cannot be made into a vesiculated bread. Barley bread is, 
 therefore, usually made by mixing wheaten flour with the meal. 
 
2-6 ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES. 
 
 Barley cakes are eaten on the score of economy in some of the agri- 
 cultural districts of England, Scotland, and Ireland, and in the 
 north of Europe, but form a much less palatable food than that de- 
 rived from wheaten flour. They are also less digestible, and are 
 regarded as possessing rather laxative properties. They certainly 
 appear to constitute an unsuitable food in disordered conditions of 
 the alimentary canal. 
 
 Barley-water is prepared from pearl barley, and forms a useful 
 demulcent and slightly nutritive liquid for the sick-room. 
 
 Malt is the product yielded when barley has been allowed to ger- 
 minate, and the germination has been stopped at a certain point by 
 subjecting the grain to heat on a kiln. As a result of the process, a 
 peculiar active nitrogenous principle, called diastase, is developed, 
 which has the power of effecting the conversion of starch into dex- 
 trin and sugar ; and, through this, malt differs from barley in a por- 
 tion of the starch being represented by sugar. 
 
 Malt infused in hot water yields. Sweet-wort, which is rich in sac- 
 charine matter. This is used for making beer. Malt is also used to 
 some extent as food for cattle, and is thought to be more easy of 
 assimilation than the unmalted grain, but experience has not shown 
 that it possesses higher fattening properties. 
 
 Malt forms one of the ingredients of Liebig's Food for Infants, 
 which has been introduced as a substitute for woman's milk. The 
 article has been referred to at p. 195, under the head of milk. 
 
 RYE. 
 
 The common rye, or Seeale eereale, is cultivated extensively on 
 the Continent, but is little grown in England. It is of a hardy 
 nature, and is usually sown in ground where the soil is too poor for 
 wheat to grow. 
 
 In external appearance the rye grain presents a closer resemblance 
 to wheat than any of the 'other cereals. It is, however, darker in 
 color and smaller in size. In the centre the grain is white and. fari- 
 naceous, but towards the exterior it is brownish. As met with in 
 commerce, it is deprived of the palese or husk, as in the case of 
 wheat. It is ground, and used under the form of rye meal. 
 
RYE. 247 
 
 Composition of rye meal (From Letheby's table). 
 
 Nitrogenous matter, .... 8.0 
 
 Carbohydrates, 73.2 
 
 Fatty matter, 2.0 
 
 Saline matter, 1.8 > 
 
 Water, 150 
 
 100.0 
 
 Composition of dried rye (Payen). 
 
 Nitrogenous matter, . . . .1250 
 Starch, . . . . . . 64.65 
 
 Dextrin, &c., 14.90 
 
 Fatty matter, 2.25 
 
 Cellulose, 3.10 
 
 Mineral matter, .... 2.60 
 
 100.00 
 
 The nitrogenous matter of rye consists of fibrin, glutin, and albu- 
 men. From the nature of its nitrogenous matter, rye approaches 
 nearer to wheat than the other cereal grains in the aptitude of its 
 flour for making a vesiculated bread. 
 
 Rye bread was once a common article of* food in England. It 
 forms the dark-colored and sour-tasting bread which is still exten- 
 sively used in the north of Europe. It may be spoken of as filling 
 the place of wheaten bread in temperate countries where poverty 
 prevails and agriculture is the least advanced ; and in some parts of 
 Belgium, Holland, Prussia, Germany, Russia, and other countries 
 of the north, rye bread is found to constitute the staple food of the 
 people. 
 
 Rye bread falls but little short of wheaten bread in nutritive value. 
 Its color and acid taste, however, render it disrelishable to those who 
 are unaccustomed to it, and it is only necessity that leads to its con- 
 sumption. Moreover, it is apt to occasion diarrhoea, but custom 
 soon overcomes this effect. On account of its laxative action, it is 
 sometimes taken to counteract habitual constipation. Rye is im- 
 ported into England for malting and is so made use of by distillers. 
 
 Ei*gotized or Spurred Rye. The cereals are subject to become the 
 seat of growth of a parasitic fungus, which gives to the grain dele- 
 terious properties ; and, of all of them, rye is the most prone to be 
 attacked in this way. The affected grain undergoes development, so 
 
248 ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES. 
 
 as to project considerably beyond the husk, and it may attain up- 
 wards of four times its size in the ordinary state. On account of 
 this excessive growth, it can be separated by sifting from the un- 
 affected seed, and, unless this is done to an ergotized crop, serious 
 consequences may arise from its consumption as food. At various 
 times, indeed, the inhabitants of different parts of the Continent 
 have been stricken with fatal illness from this cause. Two classes 
 of symptoms are produced, denominated the convulsive and gangren- 
 ous forms of ergotism. In the one, the phenomena consist of weari- 
 ness, giddiness, contraction of the muscles of the extremities, formi- 
 cation, dimness of sight, loss of sensibility, voracious appetite, yellow 
 countenance, and convulsions, followed by death ; in the other, there 
 is also formication, that is, a feeling as if insects were creeping over 
 the skin, and voracious appetite, and Avith this there occur coldness 
 and insensibility of the extremities, followed by gangrene (Pereira). 
 
 INDIAN CORN, OR MAIZE. 
 
 The common maize, or Indian corn (Zea mays), is a native of 
 tropical America, and is now extensively cultivated in the United 
 States, Africa, Asia, Southern Europe, Germany, and Ireland. 
 
 There are many varieties of the plant, as well as a distinct and 
 smaller species, named Zea curagua, which forms the Chili maize, 
 or Valparaiso corn. 
 
 The grains of maize are variously colored, but those most com- 
 monly met with are yellow. The ears, when nearly full-grown, are 
 a favorite delicacy in North America, where they are boiled, and the 
 grain eaten with salt and butter, or cut off and cooked with beans, 
 forming " succotash." 
 
 When ripened, the grains are deprived of the hull, and broken 
 or coarsely ground ; these preparations are known, according to the 
 size to which they are reduced, as hominy, samp, or grits. They are 
 boiled in water, and eaten like rice. 
 
 A small variety of maize, with translucent and deeply colored 
 grains, is known as pop-corn. This possesses the property, when 
 gently roasted, of bursting, turning inside out, and swelling to many 
 times the original size, in which condition it is eaten with a little 
 salt. 
 
 Maize or Indian corn meal is not adapted for making bread, on 
 
INDIAN CORN, OR MAIZE. 249 
 
 account of its deficiency in gluten, without the admixture of wheaten 
 or rye flour. The common brown bread of New England is made 
 from a mixture of rye and maize meal. Used alone, maize meal, 
 like oatmeal and barley meal, is made into a cake, and this, when 
 roasted, is called tortilla in Spanish America. In the United States 
 is called " johnny-cake," " hoe-cake/ 1 " pone," or u Indian bread." 
 It is also frequently made into a liquid dough, and baked in thin 
 cakes. 
 
 Maize meal is consumed in Ireland and some other places princi- 
 pally in the form of porridge, which goes by the name of "polenta" 
 in Italy, and " mmh " in North America. Polenta is also the name 
 applied to the maize meal of the shops. Maize porridge, made with 
 milk, is a favorite food in British Honduras, where it forms what is 
 called " corn lob." 
 
 The flavor of maize is harsh and peculiar, and disagreeable to 
 those who have been unaccustomed to it. Treating the meal with 
 a weak solution of caustic soda deprives it of this unpleasantness. 
 It also, however, removes some of the nitrogenous matter, and thus 
 robs it of a portion of its nutritive value. Such constitutes the foun- 
 dation of the process for preparing the articles so extensively sold 
 and used under the names of Oswego Starch, Maizena, and Corn-flour. 
 
 Composition of Indian corn meal (Letheby's table). 
 
 Nitrogenous matter, .... 11.1 
 
 Carbohydrates, 65.1 
 
 Fatty matter, 8.1 
 
 Saline matter, ..... 1.7 
 
 Water, 14.0 
 
 100.0 
 
 Composition of dried maize (Pay en). 
 
 Nitrogenous matter, .... 12.50 
 
 Starch, 67.65 
 
 Dextrin, &c., 4.00 
 
 Fatty matter, 8.80 
 
 Cellulose, 5.90 
 
 Mineral matter, ..... 1.25 
 
 100.00 
 
 Whilst containing an average amount of nitrogenous matter, 
 maize is characterized and distinguished, as is shown by the above 
 
250 ALIMENTAKY SUBSTANCES. 
 
 analyses, from the other cerealia by the large amount of fatty mat- 
 ter present. As regards this quality, none of the other cerealia ex- 
 hibit even an approach to it. On account of the fatty matter present, 
 maize acquires, on keeping for some time, an unpleasant rancid taste, 
 from the usual change induced by exposure to air. 
 
 Containing, as it does, about the same percentage of nitrogenous 
 matter as soft wheat, and upwards of four times the amount of fatty 
 matter, maize stands in a high position as regards alimentary value. 
 It is largely used both for feeding and fattening animals ; and its 
 fattening properties, as explained by its composition, are superior to 
 the other cereals. It is with maize that the Strasbourg geese are 
 crammed for the production of the "foie gras" Properly prepared, 
 it furnishes a wholesome, digestible, and nutritious food for man ; 
 but with those, it is said, who have been unaccustomed to its use, it 
 is apt to excite a tendency to diarrhoea. It is the chief food of the 
 slaves in Brazil, as it was of those in the United States, and is 
 largely eaten in Mexico and Peru, and by the Indians of New Spain. 
 Since its introduction into Europe, it has in some districts almost 
 superseded other grains, and it is said that twice as much maize is 
 eaten in Piedmont as wheat flour. In Ireland it has to a consider- 
 able extent taken the place of the potato. 
 
 RICE. 
 
 The common rice, or Oryza sativa, is extensively cultivated in 
 India; China, and most other Eastern countries; the West Indies; 
 Central America, and the United States ; and also in some of the 
 southern countries of Europe. It is said to supply the principal 
 food of nearly one-third of the human race. 
 
 There is a large number of varieties of the plant cultivated, and 
 considerably more than one hundred different kinds are grown in 
 India and Ceylon. The best rice imported into this country is 
 brought from Carolina and Patna. The fields in which rice is raised, 
 called paddy fields, are periodically flooded with water, as the plant 
 requires a constantly wet soil for its growth. Before ripening, the 
 water is drained off, and the crop is cut with a sickle. 
 
 Paddy is the name given to the seed when inclosed in the palese or 
 husk. This husk adheres very closely, and care has to be bestowed 
 to effect its removal without damaging or breaking the grain. Special 
 
RICE. 251 
 
 machinery is employed for the purpose. After the husk has been 
 removed, the grain is passed through a whitening machine, in order 
 to remove the inner cuticle, or red skin. When this has been ac- 
 complished, the product forms the rice met with in the shops. 
 
 Rice is consumed as food, both in the state of grain and ground 
 into flour. 
 
 Composition of rice (from Letheby's table). 
 
 Nitrogenous matter, .... 6.3 
 Carbohydrates, . . . . .79.5 
 
 Fatty matter, 0.7 
 
 Saline matter, 0.5 
 
 Water, 13.0 
 
 Composition of dried rice (Pay en). 
 
 Nitrogenous matter, .... 7.55 
 
 Starch, 88.65 
 
 Dextrin, &c., 1.00 
 
 Fatty matter, 0.80 
 
 Cellulose, 1.10 
 
 Mineral matter, . . . . 0.90 
 
 100.00 
 
 Rice is characterized by the large proportion of starch, and the 
 small proportions of nitrogenous, fatty, and mineral matter, it con- 
 tains. In composition, it must be looked upon as presenting con- 
 siderable analogy to the potato. 
 
 Rice, like the potato, is largely used for the manufacture of starch. 
 The process adopted is to treat the flour with a solution of caustic 
 soda, which dissolves out the nitrogenous matter. The starch is 
 then allowed to deposit itself, and is afterwards washed and dried. 
 From the alkaline solution the nitrogenous matter may be recovered, 
 if desired, by the addition of an acid. The starch-granules of rice 
 are remarkable for the smallness of their size. They form exceed- 
 ingly minute, irregular-shaped, angular particles. 
 
 Rice is too poor in nitrogenous matter, fatty matter, and salts, 
 to yield alone what is wanted in an aliment, unless consumed in 
 very large quantity, thereby sacrificing a considerable portion of its 
 starch. The starch, in other words, is out of proportion to the other 
 
252 ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES. 
 
 alimentary principles, looked at in relation to the requirements of 
 the system. Associated with other articles to compensate for the de- 
 ficiency in the principles named, rice constitutes an exceedingly valu- 
 able food. It has the advantage of possessing an easily digestible 
 starch -granule, and hence is found a useful aliment in disordered 
 states of the alimentary canal. In the case of persons suffering from 
 diarrhoea or dysentery it agrees better than any other kind of solid 
 food. It certainly exerts no laxative action, as many of the cereals 
 do, and is often regarded, indeed, as having an opposite effect, but it 
 probably simply occupies a neutral position in this respect. 
 
 Rice is best cooked by thoroughly steaming. If boiled in water 
 it loses a portion of the already small quantity of nitrogenous and 
 saline matter it contains. It does not admit of being made into 
 bread, but it is used for mixing with wheaten flour to furnish the 
 very white bread which is in request in Paris. 
 
 MILLET. 
 
 The common millet (Panicum miliaceum) is a native of the East 
 Indies, but is cultivated in the south of Europe and other parts of 
 the world. Panicum jumentorum,, or Guinea grass, is a native of 
 Africa, but is now cultivated in the West Indies and America. 
 There is a very large number of varieties of millet, the grain of 
 which is mostly used as food for poultry and Bother domestic animals. 
 It is sometimes made into loaves and cakes, and in some places is 
 the principal food of the inhabitants. Its nutritive value is said to 
 be about equal to rice. 
 
 Dhurra, Dhoora, or Sorgho grass (Sorghum], is sometimes called 
 Indian millet, but it belongs to a different tribe of grasses from the 
 true millets. It is cultivated largely in Asia and Africa, and, to 
 some extent, in the south of Europe. The grain is round, and a 
 little larger than a mustard seed. In India it is ground whole and 
 made into bread. The bread is said to be very good, and to. have 
 been issued to the English troops in the last Chinese expedition. 
 Johnston describes the grain as quite equal in nutritive value to the 
 average of our English wheats. Letheby speaks of it as a little 
 more nutritious than rice, and as containing, on an average, about 
 
BUCKWHEAT. 253 
 
 9 per cent, of nitrogenous matter, with 74 of starch and sugar, 2.6 
 of fat, and 2.3 of mineral matter. 
 
 BUCKWHEAT. 
 
 Buckwheat, although not a cereal, may be conveniently referred 
 to in connection with the cereal grains. 
 
 The common buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentuin), belonging to 
 the order Polyyonacece^ is a native of Central Asia, and is said to 
 have been introduced into Europe either by the Moors or by the 
 Crusaders. In France it is called Eli Sarrasin, or Saracen wheat, 
 and in Norfolk and Suffolk it goes by the name of brank. The 
 name buckw 7 heat is a corruption of the German Buchweizen (beech- 
 wheat), drawn from its resemblance to the seed of the beech tree. 
 
 The plant grows very quickly, and yields abundantly, but, as it 
 is destroyed by frost, it cannot be sown until the season for cold 
 weather has passed. In England it is principally cultivated for 
 feeding pheasants and other game, but in Brittany it is grown in 
 place of wheat. No grain is eaten so eagerly by poultry, and it is 
 sometimes given to horses instead of oats, or in combination with 
 them. The seed is covered with a hard rind, or thin shell, which 
 has to be removed before it is fit for being eaten by cattle. 
 
 When used for human food, it is usually consumed as hasty pud- 
 ding or pottage. The .flour is fine and white, but devoid of gluten, 
 and, therefore, does not make proper bread. It is used, however, 
 for pastry ; and thin cakes, which are very good eating, are largely 
 made from it in the United States. Crumpets made from buckwheat 
 form a favorite dainty with the children in Holland. 
 
 Composition of buckwheat (Payen). 
 
 Nitrogenous matter, .. . . .13.10 
 
 Starch, &c., 64.90 
 
 Fatty matter, 3.00 
 
 Cellulose, 3.50 
 
 Mineral matter, 2.50 
 
 Water, 13.00 
 
 100.00 
 
254 ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES. 
 
 QUINOA. 
 
 Quinoa, like buckwheat, may also be conveniently considered in 
 association with the cerealia. 
 
 The quinoa plant (Chenopodium Quinoa), belonging to the order 
 Chenopodiaccce, which includes our spinach and beet, is a native of 
 the high table-lands of Chili and Peru, where it grows at an eleva- 
 tion of 13,000 feet above the level of the sea, a height at which 
 barley and rye fail to ripen. There are two varieties of it, viz., the 
 sweet and the bitter. It is hardly known in this country, but forms 
 the principal food of the inhabitants of the locality in which it 
 grows. The leaves are used as spinach, and the grain, called " petty 
 rice," is mixed with soup. Quinoa, judging from the subjoined 
 analysis, forms a valuable article of food as regards the possession 
 of nutritive ingredients. Its proportion of nitrogenous matter is 
 very large. It is also fairly rich in fat, and very rich in salts. It 
 is likewise said to be rich in iron the richest, indeed, in this re- 
 spect, of any vegetable. It thus appears to possesss qualities that 
 might render it exceedingly useful, in a therapeutic point of view. 
 Its starch-grains are alleged to be the smallest known. The meal 
 can only be made into cakes : not into leavened bread. 
 
 Analysis of quinoa (Voelcker). 
 
 Quinoa seeds dried 
 at 212 Fahr. Quiuoa flour. 
 
 Nitrogenous matter, .... 22.86 19 
 
 Starch, 56.80 60 
 
 Fatty matter, 5.74 5 
 
 Vegetable fibre, 9.53 
 
 Ash, 5.05 
 
 Water, 16 
 
 LEGUMINOUS SEEDS, OR PULSES. 
 
 This group of farinaceous seeds, which includes beans, peas, and 
 lentils, is characterized by the large proportion of nitrogenous mat- 
 ter they contain. In this respect they stand strikingly in advance 
 
LEGUMINOUS SEEDS. 255 
 
 of the cerealia, for the amount may be twice as much as that con- 
 tained in an ordinary kind of wheat. 
 
 The form under which the nitrogenous matter is present is chiefly 
 as a substance called legumin, which is a representation of vegeta- 
 ble casein. 
 
 By virtue of their composition, the leguminous seeds possess a 
 high nutritive value, and furnish a food which is more satisfying 
 than vegetable food generally to the stomach, and more closely al- 
 lied in a dietetic point of view to .the alimentary products supplied 
 by the animal kingdom. They thereby furnish an advantageous 
 substitute for animal food for those who fast during Lent and on 
 maigre days, and it is probably on this account that haricote blancs 
 and lentils are so much more largely consumed in France and other 
 Catholic countries than in England. Their large amount of nitro- 
 genous matter adapts them for consumption in association with arti- 
 cles in which starch or fat is a predominating principle. With 
 rice, therefore, they form an appropriate combination, and this 
 admixture is found to constitute the staple food of large populations 
 in India. Bacon and beans are also a suitable associa'tion, and form 
 a dish which has been of repute amongst us from ancient times. 
 
 As a drawback to their high nutritive value, the leguminous 
 seeds must be ranked as difficult of digestion. They require pro- 
 longed boiling to render them tender and digestible. They are apt, 
 besides lying heavy on the stomach, to occasion flatulence and colic, 
 and the flatus is charged with a considerable quantity of sulphu- 
 retted hydrogen, arising from the sulphur which the legumin con- 
 tains. They are also regarded as stimulating or heating to the 
 system, and it is on account of this property that a moderate quan- 
 tity of beans proves a serviceable adjunct to the food of the horse 
 during the winter months. 
 
 BEANS. 
 
 Beans are derived from the Faba vulgaris, a plant which is sup- 
 posed to be a native of the East, but which has been cultivated in 
 Britain from time immemorial. There are several varieties, one of 
 which yields the common horse-bean, which is raised in fields ; and 
 another, the broad or Windsor bean, which is grown in gardens. 
 The former is almost exclusively employed as food for cattle. It is 
 
256 ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES. 
 
 but rarely used as food by man, and then chiefly after grinding, as 
 an adulterant of wheaten flour, or to give a desired quality to the 
 loaf made from certain kinds of flour. The latter is boiled in the 
 young and fresh state, for use at the table as a vegetable. It is also 
 dried and preserved, whilst still green, so as to be available all the 
 year round. In this condition it requires to be soaked in water for 
 some hours before being cooked. 
 
 Composition of beans (Payen.) 
 
 Broad or Windsor bean, dried in. 
 Horse-bean. the green state and decorticated. 
 
 Nitrogenous matter, . . . 30.8 29.05 
 
 Starch, &c., . . . . 48.3 55.85 
 
 Cellulose, . . . . .3.0 1.05 
 
 Fatty matter, .... 1.9 2.00 
 
 Saline matter, . . . .3.5 3.65 
 
 Water, 12.5 8.40 
 
 100.0 100.00 
 
 * HARICOTS, OR FRENCH BEANS. 
 
 The common kidney bean or French bean (Phaseolus vulgaris), is 
 a native of India, and was introduced into England in the sixteenth 
 century. The scarlet runner (Phaseolus multiflorus), another variety 
 of the plant, is a native of South America, and was introduced into 
 England in 1633. The unripe pods of both, with the young seeds 
 in them, are cooked and eaten as a green vegetable at the table. 
 On the Continent the pods are allowed to ripen, and the seeds form 
 haricots blancs, which are consumed both in a fresh and dried state. 
 
 Composition of haricots blancs (Payen). 
 
 Nitrogenous matter, . . . .25.5 
 
 Starch, &c., 55 7 
 
 Cellulose, .2.9 
 
 Fatty matter, . . . . 2.8 
 
 Mineral matter, 3.2 
 
 Water, 9.9 
 
 100.0 
 
 PEAS. 
 
 There are several varieties of the pea. Some, derived from the 
 Pisum arvense, are grown in fields by the farmer as food for cattle. 
 
LEGUMINOUS SEEDS. 257 
 
 Others, forming the garden pea, are derived from the Pimm sativum, 
 a native of the south of Europe, but long known in England. The 
 more choice kinds of the garden pea were brought from Holland, 
 and formed an expensive article of food in Queen Elizabeth's time. 
 
 Peas are grown for the ripened and dried seeds, and also for eat- 
 ing as a succulent vegetable. In the latter case the pods are gathered 
 before they have arrived at maturity, and the seeds separated and 
 consumed in a green state. There is a kind of pea, called sugar pea, 
 the pods of which are gathered young, and cooked and eaten with 
 the seeds in them, in the same way as French beans. 
 
 Peas, when quite young, are tender and sweet, and far more diges- 
 tible, but less nourishing, than peas in the mature state. The latter, 
 like other leguminous seeds, require slow and prolonged cooking to 
 render them soft and digestible. When old, no amount of boiling 
 will soften them ; indeed, the longer they are boiled the harder they 
 become. In this condition they should be soaked in water for some 
 time, and then crushed and stewed, or treated in the same manner 
 as dried peas, to render them palatable and digestible. 
 
 Composition of dried peas (Payen). 
 
 Nitrogenous matter, .... 23.8 
 
 Starch, &c., 58.7 
 
 Cellulose, 3.5 
 
 Fatty matter, 2.1 
 
 Mineral matter, 2.1 
 
 Water, 8.3 
 
 The Sea pea (Pisum maritimum) is used as an article of food in 
 many parts of Europe, although the seeds are bitter to the taste 
 (" Baird's Cyclo. of Natural Sciences "). 
 
 LENTILS. 
 
 Lentils form another alimentary product yielded by the legumin- 
 ous tribe, and one of great antiquity. Although at present eaten in 
 some parts of Europe and in Eastern countries, they are rarely em- 
 ployed as human food in England. They are derived from the 
 Ervum lens, which constitutes a kind of tare. 
 
 17 
 
258 ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES. 
 
 Composition of lentils (Pay en). 
 
 Nitrogenous matter, . . . .25.2 
 
 Starch, &c., 56.0 
 
 Cellulose, 2.4 
 
 Fatty matter, 2.6 
 
 Mineral matter, . . . . .2.3 
 Water, 11.5 
 
 100.0 
 
 Hevalenta and Ervalenta, articles which will be referred to under 
 the head of farinaceous preparations, owe their chief composition to 
 lentil flour, 
 
 Misos, small beans like lentils, are eaten largely by the Japanese 
 ("Thunberg's Travels," vol. 4, p. 35). 
 
 Dolichos furnish to the poorer natives of India a pulse which they 
 use extensively for their curries, &c. (" Baird's Cyclo. of Nat. Sci.") 
 
 The seeds of the Egyptian white Lupine (Lupinus ternis) are used 
 by the Egyptians as an article of food, although it is difficult to rid 
 them of tfceir bitter taste ("Baird's Cyclo. of Nat. Sci."). 
 
 The Lotus edulis, a native of the south of Europe and Egypt, has 
 the taste of peas, and is an article of food in some countries. The 
 ancient Egyptians ate it, as do the Egyptians of the present day. 
 
 THE CHESTNUT. 
 
 The Spanish, or sweet chestnut, is an edible, farinaceous seed, 
 which stands by itself. It is derived from a stately tree (Castanea 
 vesca), which is a native of all the southern parts of Europe, and 
 abounds also in North America. Besides starch, the chestnut con- 
 tains about 15 per cent, of sugar. No oil can be extracted from it 
 by pressure. It is sometimes eaten in the raw state, but is more 
 usually boiled or roasted. Even in a cooked condition it is not 
 adapted for a weak stomach, and in the uncooked state it is decidedly 
 indigestible. It is extensively used as an article of sustenance by 
 the lower classes in many parts of the European Continent, as in 
 Italy, Spain, Switzerland, and Germany, and by the Red Indians 
 of North America (" Food Journal," vol. 1, p. 100). Sometimes it 
 
OLEAGINOUS SEEDS. 259 
 
 is ground into flour and made into a kind of bread, and in some dis- 
 tricts it is specially treated to get rid of its astringent and bitter 
 qualities. It is largely imported into England from Spain and Italy. 
 
 The seeds of some species of the genus Cycas are used as food, and 
 esteemed as highly as chestnuts. This tree is found in the temperate 
 and warm regions of Asia and America, and at the Cape of Good 
 Hope ("Baird's Cyclo. of Nat ScL"). 
 
 ACORNS, 
 
 Acorns formed a considerable part of the food of man in the early 
 ages, and they are still used in some countries as a substitute for 
 bread (" Baird's Cyclo. of Nat Sci.")- 
 
 OLEAGINOUS SEEDS, 
 
 There are various seeds, denominated nuts, which are devoid of 
 starchy, but rich in oily matter. The starch of the cerealia appears 
 to be replaced by fat. They are also rich in nitrogenous matter, 
 which exists under the form of albumen and casein. Thus consti- 
 tuted, they possess a high nutritive value, but, like all articles per- 
 meated with fatty matter, they are difficult of digestion unless re- 
 duced to a minutely divided state before being consumed. The reason 
 of this is easily given. Digestion is effected by the agency of a 
 watery secretion, and where a substance is permeated with oily mat- 
 ter resistance is offered to the penetration of a watery liquid, and it 
 is only by a progressive action upon the surface that it can become 
 attacked. In a minutely divided state, however, no such obstruc- 
 tion is offered, and now there is only the richness belonging to an 
 article which is largely impregnated with fatty matter. In this 
 state, and if the stomach be not too delicate for them, they form a 
 highly advantageous kind of food, although amongst the human race 
 they enjoy but a limited application as an important or staple support. 
 It must further be remarked that, on account of their fatty constitu- 
 ents, they are prone to become rancid, in the course of time, under 
 exposure to air. 
 
260 ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES. 
 
 THE ALMOND. 
 
 This forms one of the most important of the oily seeds. It is de- 
 rived from the Amygdalus communis, a small tree which belongs to 
 Barbary and Syria, but which is now extensively cultivated in the 
 southern parts of Europe. It is also grown in England, but the 
 fruit here does not arrive at perfection. The fruit, like the peach, 
 apricot, plum, &c., belongs to the drupaceous group. The cortical 
 part of it, however, is fibrous and juiceless, and not adapted for eat- 
 ing. It has been looked upon, it may be mentioned, as bearing the 
 same relation to the peach that the sloe does to the plum, and the 
 crab to the apple. The seed or kernel, situated within the shell, and 
 provided with an enveloping reddish-brown skin, is the only edible 
 portion. The skin possesses a somewhat rough and bitter taste. It 
 is easily removed after soaking for a short time in warm water, and 
 the almond is then spoken of as blanched. Apart from the taste, the 
 husk or skin is irritating to the throat and stomach, and unpleasant 
 effects are mentioned as having been witnessed in consequence of its 
 non-removal. Almonds, therefore, should always be blanched for 
 the table. 
 
 Two varieties of the almond are met with, the sweet and the bitter. 
 They both yield by pressure an odorless fixed oil, which is of a per- 
 fectly innocent nature. The bitter almond, exclusively, contains the 
 principles for the development of poisonous products. It has been 
 shown that these products do not exist preformed in the seed, but 
 are generated by the reaction of two principles when water is added. 
 It appears that the bitter almond contains a crystallizable substance, 
 named amygdalin, which, by the action of the nitrogenous matter 
 present, viz., emulsin, when in contact with water, is converted into 
 a fragrant volatile oil (the essential oil of bitter almonds), hydrocy- 
 anic or prussic acid, and other products. The sweet almond contains 
 emulsin, but no amygdalin : hence the innocent properties that be- 
 long to it. 
 
 Of the sweet almond, the Valentia, Barbary and Italian, and 
 Jordan, form the varieties met with in commerce. The latter, im- 
 ported from Malaga, are the finest. The bitter almond is chiefly 
 brought from Mogadore. It is extensively used for the extraction 
 of the fixed oil, and when the residue has been mixed with water and 
 
OLEAGINOUS SEEDS. 261 
 
 subjected to distillation for yielding the volatile oil, it is employed 
 for fattening pigs, &c. 
 
 Composition of sweet almonds (Boullay). 
 
 Emulsin, 24.0 
 
 Fixed oil, 54.0 
 
 Liquid sugar, ....... 6.0 
 
 Gum, 3.0 
 
 Seed coats, 5.0 
 
 Woody fibre, 4.0 
 
 Water, 3.5 
 
 Acetic acid and loss, ...... 0.5 
 
 100.0 
 
 Composition of bitter almonds (Vogel). 
 
 Volatile oil and hydrocyanic acid, . Quantity undetermined. 
 
 Emulsin, 30.0 
 
 Fixed oil, 28 
 
 Liquid sugar, 6.5 
 
 Gum, 3.0 
 
 Seed coats, ....... 8.5 
 
 Woody fibre, 5.0 
 
 Loss, 19.0 
 
 100.0 
 
 The sweet almond is used dietetically in cookery and confectionery, 
 and likewise as a dessert. For the latter purpose it is employed both 
 in the fresh and dried state. By baking for a short time it becomes 
 brittle and easy pulverizable, and is, doubtless, thereby rendered 
 more digestible. On account of the demand for it as an article of 
 food, its price is too high for the extraction of oil to be carried on 
 from it to any extent. At my own suggestion, it has been made into 
 biscuits 1 for the use of the diabetic, and its composition shows that 
 it forms a very suitable kind of food for administration in this com- 
 plaint. From their richness in nitrogenous and fatty matters, the 
 biscuits might also be advantageously employed in cases of defective 
 nutrition, where the stomach is strong enough to bear a food of the 
 kind. 
 
 The bitter almond is used to give flavor to puddings, sweetmeats, 
 
 1 Mr. Blatchley, of 362 Oxford Street, supplies these biscuits. 
 
262 ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES. 
 
 and liqueurs (macaroons, ratafia cakes, and noyeau, owe their flavor 
 to this source), but more often the essential oil, which is frequently 
 denominated Peach-nut oil, is employed instead. Both, but particu- 
 larly the latter, require to be cautiously dealt with, and, in proof of 
 their dangerous properties, it may be stated that a single drop of the 
 essential oil was observed by Sir B. Brodie to kill a cat in five min- 
 utes, and twenty seeds have sufficed, according to Orfila, to kill a dog 
 in six hours, when measures were taken to prevent their rejection 
 from the stomach by vomiting. Fatal results from both have been 
 recorded as having occurred in the human subject. 
 
 THE COCOANUT. 
 
 The cocoanut is derived from the Cocos nucifera, a species of palm, 
 supposed to have been originally a native of the Indian coasts and 
 South Sea Islands, but now found in all tropical regions. The tree 
 grows to from sixty to one hundred feet in height, and bears annu- 
 ally about eighty or a hundred nuts. The nut consists of a hard 
 shell, containing a white, fleshy kernel, the central portion of which 
 remains unsolidified, and yields the milky juice, which forms an 
 agreeable, cooling beverage. The shell is surrounded by a thick, 
 fibrous husk, which is turned to account for the construction of ropes, 
 matting, &c., and in its natural state the whole fruit is of about the 
 size of a man's head. The fleshy, edible portion contains about 70 
 per cent, of a fixed fat, which is extracted and used under the name 
 of cocoanut oil or butter. Its melting-point is a little over 70 
 Fahr. 
 
 The cocoanut forms the chief food of the inhabitants of Ceylon, 
 the South Sea Islands, the coast of Africa, and many other tropical 
 coasts and islands. It is not only eaten as it comes from the tree, 
 both in the ripe and unripe state, but is also prepared and served in 
 various ways. 
 
 THE WALNUT. 
 
 This is the fruit of the Juglans regia, a lofty tree, with large 
 spreading branches, a native of Persia, but long cultivated in 
 Europe, and supposed to have been introduced into Italy in the time 
 of the Emperor Tiberius. The ripe fruit supplies one of the finest 
 of nuts, which in many parts of France, Spain, Germany, and Italy, 
 
OLEAGINOUS SEEDS. 263 
 
 forms an important article of food during the ripening season. Eng- 
 lish-grown walnuts are considered the best, but the supply from 
 England is not equal to the demand, and large quantities are im- 
 ported. In the unripe state, and before the shell has formed, it is 
 extensively used for pickling and making ketchup. The walnut 
 yields, by expression, a bland, fixed oil, which is consumed dieteti- 
 cally, and also used by painters. 
 
 The Hickory-nut is derived from the Carya alba, the Butternut 
 from the Juglans cinerea, the Walnut from the Juglans nigra, all of 
 which constitute species of the walnut tribe of transatlantic growth. 
 
 THE HAZELNUT. 
 
 The common hazelnut is derived from the Corylus avellana, a 
 native of all the temperate parts of Europe and Asia, and of North 
 America. The plant named is the parent of many varieties obtained 
 by cultivation. One variety, for instance, the Corylus tubulosa, yields 
 the filbert, and another, Corylus grandis, the cobnut. Barcelona- 
 nuts are derived from another variety. Like the hazelnut itself, the 
 latter are largely imported into England from Spain, and other 
 parts of Europe, having been kiln-dried before exportation. 
 
 THE BRAZIL-NUT. 
 
 The Brazil-nut is the produce of the juvia tree Beriholletia excelsa 
 large forests of which exist on the banks of the Orinoco, and in the 
 northern parts of Brazil. The outer case of the fruit, which attains 
 the size of a man's head, is divided into four cells, and each of these 
 contains six or eight nuts. The kernel of the nut, which is sur- 
 rounded by a hard shell, is exceedingly rich in oil, and from it a 
 large quantity of oil is extracted. It is highly esteemed by the 
 natives of the localities in which it is grown, and is largely exported 
 from Para and French Guiana for the European market. 
 
 THE CASHEW-NUT. 
 
 The tree (Anacardium occidentale) which yields the cashew or 
 acajou-nutj is a native of the West Indies. The fruit is a kidney- 
 shaped nut, about an inch in length, with a double shell. The outer 
 
264 A'LIMENTAKY SUBSTANCES. 
 
 shell is ash-colored and very smooth, and between it and the inner 
 one there exists an acrid, black juice. The kernel is oily, agreeable 
 to the taste, and wholesome. It is a common article of food in 
 tropical climates, and is eaten in both the raw and cooked state. 
 
 THE PISTACHIO-NUT. 
 
 The pistachio-nut tree is a native of Persia and Syria, but is now 
 cultivated in the south of Europe and north of Africa. The nut 
 splits into two when ripe, and the kernel is of a bright green color. 
 It is very oleaginous, possesses a delicate flavor, and resembles the 
 sweet almond in its qualities. It is sometimes called the green 
 almond. The nuts are highly esteemed in the countries where they 
 are grown, but, as they soon become rancid, they are not much 
 exported. 
 
 TUBERS AND ROOTS. 
 
 POTATOES. 
 
 The potato may be considered as now occupying a place next in 
 importance to the seeds of the cerealia as an article of vegetable food, 
 although only of comparatively modern introduction amongst us. 
 
 It is derived from the Solanum tuberosum, a plant belonging to 
 the order Solanacece, which, including, as it does, the belladonna, 
 stramonium, henbane, and tobacco plants, furnishes some of the most 
 poisonous narcotic products encountered. 
 
 It is supposed to be a native of South America, and to have ex- 
 tended thence to North America. It seems to have been first brought 
 to the Continent of Europe by the Spaniards, from the neighborhood 
 of Quito, early in the sixteenth century, and to have been then culti- 
 vated in gardens only as a curiosity. Its introduction into England 
 and Ireland came from North America ; and in " Gerarde's Herbal/' 
 published in 1597, it figures under the name of Batata Virginiana. 
 John Hawkins brought it to Ireland in 1565, and Sir Francis Drake 
 to England in 1585, but without its attracting much attention in either 
 case. The potatoes of Shakspeare, it may be mentioned, are not the 
 same as the potatoes under consideration ; but, on the other hand, a 
 
TUBEKS. 265 
 
 product of the Batatas edulis, known by the name of the sweet potato. 
 The potato was a third time imported by Sir Walter Raleigh, and, 
 as it then received notice as an article of food, the credit is usually 
 given to him for its introduction amongst us. It was not planted 
 in the open fields in England till 1684, and so little was for some 
 time thought of it, that in the "Complete Gardener" of London 
 and Wise, published in 1719, no mention is made of it. 
 
 The cultivation of the potato is now widely diffused over the globe, 
 and it seems to thrive in most climates, but a considerable check to 
 its prosperous growth has recently occurred. In 1845 a disastrous 
 and previously unknown disease broke out amongst the crops, and 
 has since resisted all efforts to eradicate it. The disease attacks the 
 whole plant, beginning in the leaves and proceeding through the 
 stem to the underground part, and in some years produces such 
 havoc as to entail a very heavy loss. Indeed, it prevails to such an 
 extent, and appears of such an inexterminable nature, as justly to 
 excite serious apprehensions respecting the continuance of a supply 
 sufficient to meet the demand for general consumption. The present 
 aspect, in fact, points to the possibility of the potato dying out, as 
 an article of everyday food, amongst us. 
 
 The potato became a popular food in Ireland earlier than in Eng- 
 land, and has ever since held its position there as one of the chief 
 articles of sustenance. Dr. E. Smith says that an adult Irishman 
 will consume his 10J Ibs. of potatoes daily, i. e., 3J Ibs. at each meal, 
 and it has been calculated that from three-fifths to four-fifths of the 
 entire food of the people of Ireland is derived from the potato. Since 
 the famine, however, that arose at the commencement of the failure 
 of the crops from the disease, Indian corn has come into greatly in- 
 creased use. 
 
 The part of the plant used as food constitutes the tuber, which is 
 connected with, or, indeed, forms an exuberant growth of, a portion 
 of the underground stem, with which this plant, in common with 
 some others, is provided, in addition to that which grows, as usual, 
 above ground. The tuber develops into a thick fleshy mass, but re- 
 tains its buds, which here go under the denomination of eyes, and 
 each of these buds or eyes is capable of independent growth in a de- 
 tached or isolated state. They are used, in fact, under the name of 
 sets for planting, and raising a crop. 
 
 The potato tuber is surrounded by a thin, grayish, epidermic cov- 
 
266 ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES. 
 
 ering, and beneath this is another tegumentary layer, in which color- 
 ing matter is deposited. The substance of the potato is made up of 
 cells, penetrated and surrounded by a watery albuminous juice, and 
 filled with a number of starch-granules. 
 
 There are many well-known different sorts of potato met with. 
 They are derived from corresponding varieties in the plant. In the 
 different varieties, notable differences in size, color, and edible quali- 
 ties, are observable. 
 
 Composition of the potato (from Letheby's table). 
 
 Nitrogenous matter, . . . .2.1 
 
 Starch, &c., 18.8 
 
 Sugar, 3.2 
 
 Fat, 0.2 
 
 Saline matter, 0.7 
 
 Water, 75.0 
 
 100.0 
 The analysis given by Payen stands as follows : 
 
 Composition of the potato (Payen). 
 
 Nitrogenous matter, ....... 2.50 
 
 Starch, 20.00 
 
 Cellulose, 1.04 
 
 Sugar and gummy matter, ...... 1.09 
 
 Fatty matter, 0.11 
 
 Pectates, citrates, phosphates, and silicates of lime, 
 
 magnesia, potash, and soda, ..... 1.26 
 
 Water, 74.00 
 
 100.00 
 
 It is thus seen that the potato contains a large percentage of starch. 
 This, indeed, forms its characteristic feature, and renders it applica- 
 ble for the extraction, that is largely carried on, of starch for domes- 
 tic and other purposes. The starch obtained from it is also used for 
 adulterating the more expensive farinaceous dietetic preparations, 
 and likewise forms what is sold under the name of British arrow- 
 root, tapioca, &c. Whilst less expensive, there is nothing to show 
 that the starch of the potato differs to any sensible extent, in a nutri- 
 tive point of view, from the other starchy preparations. 
 
 Potatoes require to be cooked to render them fit for eating, and 
 
POTATO. 267 
 
 this may be effected either by boiling, steaming, baking, or frying. 
 The heat employed coagulates the albuminous juice contained within 
 and between the cells. The starch-granules absorb the watery part 
 of the juice, swell up, and distend the cells in which they are lodged. 
 The cohesion of the cells becomes destroyed, and they then easily 
 separate from each other, leading to the potato easily breaking down 
 into a loose farinaceous mass. When these changes are complete, 
 the potato is spoken of as being in a mealy condition. When, on 
 the other hand, the liquid is only partially absorbed, and the cells 
 imperfectly separated, the potato remains more or less firm, and is 
 spoken of as close, waxy, or watery. 
 
 Steaming is a better process for cooking potatoes than boiling, on 
 account of not being attended by the loss that is occasioned by the 
 latter. When boiling is employed, the skin should not be removed, 
 as is so often found to be the practice ; for the removal of the skin 
 favors the extraction of the juice by the surrounding water. The 
 waste, says Dr. Letheby, when potatoes are cooked in their skins, 
 only amounts to 3 per cent., or half an ounce in the pound, whereas 
 when they are peeled first it is not less than 14 per cent., or from 
 two to three ounces in the pound. A little salt added to the water 
 in which potatoes are boiled tends to prevent the escape of their 
 saline constituents. 
 
 The potato constitutes a wholesome and agreeable article of food ; 
 and one, of which the palate does not easily become fatigued. The 
 amount of nitrogenous matter it contains is too small, however, to 
 enable it to form a suitable food alone, but with articles rich in 
 nitrogenous matter, as meat, fish, &c., it supplies a useful and eco- 
 nomical alimentary substance. By the peasantry in some rural dis- 
 tricts it is employed in association with buttermilk which, from 
 the casein present, furnishes the requisite nitrogenous matter as the 
 chief means of support ; and, thus associated, a cheap and, experi- 
 ence shows, an efficient diet, is provided. 
 
 In a mealy state the potato enjoys easy digestibility ; but in a 
 close, watery, or waxy state it is very trying to the digestive 
 powers, and should, therefore, when in this condition, be avoided 
 where delicacy of stomach exists. Young potatoes may be more 
 tempting than old, but, from what has been said, will be understood 
 to be indigestible. 
 
 The potato has a high repute for the possession of antiscorbutic 
 
268 ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES. 
 
 properties. The concurrent testimony of numerous observers points 
 to its forming a most efficient agent in preventing the occurrence of 
 scurvy. It is used successfully for this purpose on board ocean- 
 going vessels, and the inquiries of the late Dr. Baly into the diseases 
 of prisoners showed in a conclusive manner that the addition of po- 
 tatoes to the diet sufficed to arrest the prevalence of scurvy in prisons 
 where it had before existed. 
 
 The potato is subject to various diseases, which lead to an impair- 
 ment of its alimentary value. The most important, by far, is the 
 disease that was alluded to a few pages forward, and which is styled 
 popularly "the potato disease." Ever since 1845, when it was first 
 noticed, it has been common, some years more so than others, 
 amongst the potato crops, not only in our own islands, but on- the 
 Continent of Europe and in America. The disease commences in the 
 leaves of the plant, and extends thence through the stem to the 
 tubers. Brown spots make their appearance upon the surface of ( the 
 tuber, and then penetrate its substance and lead to decay. After 
 being subjected to cooking, the affected part remains hard, whilst 
 the healthy portion has become soft and mealy. If the diseased 
 part be cut away, the remainder will be found good and fit for food ; 
 but considerable waste is necessarily thereby incurred, and the dis- 
 ease spreads as the potato is kept. Nothing has been witnessed to 
 show that any ill effects, either in man or amongst the lower ani- 
 mals, have been produced by the incidental consumption of a small 
 quantity of the diseased part ; but potatoes, in an advanced state of 
 disease, are prudently to be regarded as unfit food even for the lower 
 animals. 
 
 Potatoes become deteriorated upon growing out or germinating. 
 They cease to assume a mealy state on cooking ; present a semi- 
 translucent appearance ; and possess a rather sickly, sweetish taste. 
 It has been asserted that a poisonous principle, solanin, becomes 
 developed in the buds and shoots of potatoes that are allowed to 
 grow out on keeping. No conclusive evidence, however, has been 
 adduced to show that the potato acquires noxious properties under 
 such circumstances, and nothing is ever heard of any poisonous ef- 
 fects arising from its use, notwithstanding the universal consumption 
 that is going on, and that it is often cooked without the aid of water, 
 which might have the effect of dissolving out any noxious principle. 
 If there be at any time a poison present, it must be either insignifi- 
 
TUBERS. 269 
 
 cant in amount, or be destroyed by the heat to which the potato is 
 subjected before being sent to table. 
 
 Exposure to frost also seriously damages the potato. The effect 
 produced is of a mechanical nature. The watery juice contained in 
 the cells and intercellular spaces undergoes expansion in the act of 
 freezing, and so leads to a rupture and separation of the cells, and 
 in this way a destruction of the organization of the tuber. Its vital- 
 ity becomes thus destroyed, and in consequence, it has no longer the. 
 power to resist, when thawed, the ordinary changes of decomposition : 
 hence, putrefaction occurs, and advancing, renders the article unfit 
 for food. 
 
 THE SWEET POTATO. 
 
 The sweet potato is derived from the Batatas edulis, or, as it was 
 called by the older botanists, Convolvulus batatas, a plant which is 
 a native of the Malayan Archipelago, where it formerly grew wild 
 in woods. The plant is now cultivated in most of the warm countries, 
 and furnishes a starchy and sweet tuber, which is prized as an article 
 of food in the East and West Indies, America, and hot climates 
 generally. It was largely eaten in Europe before the cultivation of 
 the potato, which has now taken its place, and also its name. The 
 tubers were imported into England by way of Spain, and sold as a 
 delicacy before the potato was known, and it forms the article re- 
 ferred to when the name is mentioned by English writers previous 
 to the middle of the seventeenth century. It is still to some ex- 
 tent cultivated in the south of France and in Spain, and is to be ob- 
 tained in Paris during the fall of the year, but is not much esteemed 
 now, being considered too sweet to eat with meat and other articles 
 seasoned with salt, and not sweet enough as a sweet kind of food. 
 In North America it is a favorite article of food, more generally 
 used than perhaps any other vegetable except the white potato. 
 When roasted or boiled, it is mealy, and may be looked upon as 
 forming a wholesome food. It is said to possess slightly laxative 
 properties. 
 
 There are several varieties of the Batatas cultivated. The fol- 
 lowing is the composition, according to the analysis of Payen, of a 
 tuber of the kind grown in the south of France and America which 
 is characterized by richness in starchy and saccharine constituents : 
 
270 ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES. 
 
 Composition of the sweet potato (Pay en). 
 
 Nitrogenous matter, .... 1.50 
 
 Starch, 16.05 
 
 Sugar, .10.20 
 
 Cellulose, 0.45 
 
 Fatty matter, 0.30 
 
 Other organic matter, . . . 1.10 
 
 Mineral salts, 2.60 
 
 Water, 67.50 
 
 100.00 
 
 THE YAM. 
 
 The yam is a large esculent tuber, derived from several species of 
 the genus Diosoorea, a group of climbing plants belonging to tropi- 
 cal climates. The tuber is oblong, and sometimes grows to the 
 length of three feet, and may weigh as much as thirty pounds. It 
 contains a considerable amount of starch, and, when boiled or roasted, 
 forms a mealy, palatable, and wholesome food. It is devoid of the 
 sweetness appertaining to the sweet potato, and keeps more readily. 
 It is eaten by the inhabitants of New Zealand, as well as by those of 
 the East and West Indies and the South Sea Islands, and holds as 
 important a position as an aliment in tropical countries as the com- 
 mon potato does in Europe. At the period of the potato famine 
 an attempt was made to introduce it into England, but with little 
 success. 
 
 Of the varieties, the Dioscorea sativa forms the common yam of 
 the West Indies. The Dioscorea alata, or winged yam, grows in 
 the South Sea Islands and likewise the West Indies, and is met with 
 also in a cultivated state in the East Indies. In different localities 
 there are many other varieties. The Dioscorea batatas has been re- 
 cently brought from China, and has been found to be susceptible of 
 cultivation in France, yielding an abundant produce of wholesome 
 and agreeable food, available all the year round, or readily, at least, 
 during the greater part of the year. 
 
 The tubers of all the yams contain an acid principle, which is dis- 
 sipated by boiling, but there are some species which possess poison- 
 ous properties. 
 
TUBERS. 271 
 
 THE JERUSALEM ARTICHOKE. 
 
 This vegetable product is derived from the Helianthus tubero&iis, 
 a plant belonging to the sunflower tribe. The word "Jerusalem," 
 indeed, as here applied, is asserted to form a corruption of the Italian 
 girasole (sunflower). The plant is said to have been brought in 1617 
 from Brazil, and is also believed to have been a native of Mexico. 
 It was cultivated in European gardens before the potato was intro- 
 duced. The root produces around it oval or roundish tubercles, 
 which form the edible part, and which may amount to as many as 
 thirty, or even fifty, in number. These tubercles, unlike the potato, 
 resist the action of the frost, and thus may be allowed to remain in 
 the ground during the winter, and collected for use as occasion may 
 require. The herbaceous part pf the plant, when dry, is also sus- 
 ceptible of being turned to account as fuel. 
 
 The Jerusalem artichoke is not consumed to a large extent in 
 England. It has something of the character of the potato, but pos- 
 sesses a sweetish taste, is less agreeable to the palate, and does not 
 become mealy on boiling. The absence of starch accounts for this. 
 There are no granules, as in the potato, to swell up and absorb the 
 moisture, and disorganize or break up the tissue into a loose, friable 
 mass. It therefore maintains a moist or watery condition after cook- 
 ing, and simply becomes softened. A body in this state must needs 
 be of a less digestible nature than the potato. Its analysis shows 
 that it contains a considerable percentage of sugar. The inulin, 
 which is present in small amount, forms a principle that is isomeric* 
 with starch. 
 
 Composition of the Jerusalem artichoke. 
 
 (From the analysis of Payen, Poinsot, and Fevry.) 
 
 Nitrogenous matter, 3.1 
 
 Sugar, 14.7 
 
 Inulin, 1.9 
 
 Pectic acid, 0.9 
 
 iPectin, 0.4 
 
 Cellulose, 1.5 
 
 Fatty matter, 0.2 
 
 Mineral matter, ....... 1.3 
 
 Water, 76.0 
 
 100.0 
 
272 ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES. 
 
 Other tuberous products are used as food. Several species of the 
 Oxalidece have tuberous roots, and are cultivated for the sake of their 
 tubers. The Oxalis orenata and Oxalis tuberosa are natives of Peru 
 and Bolivia. Their tubers, when cooked, become mealy, like pota- 
 toes, and are said to be much esteemed. The tubers of Tropceolum 
 tuber osum are also eaten in Peru. Their taste is described as pecu- 
 liar. The TJllucus tuber osus grows in the mountainous regions of 
 South America, and is cultivated in Peru and Bolivia for the sake 
 of the tubers. It was introduced into France as a substitute for 
 potatoes. The tubers of the Witheringia (Solanum) montana are 
 used as an article of food by the Peruvians. The Phlomis tuberosa 
 is eaten by the Calmucs of the Caspian, after being reduced to pow- 
 der. The tuberous bitter vetch, Orobus tuber osus, is a native of 
 Britain, and its tubers have been used in times of scarcity as an 
 article of food (" Baird's Cyclo. of Nat. Sci."). 
 
 The rhizomes or underground stems of the Caladium seguinum, or 
 dumb cane, of the West Indies, are often used as a substitute for 
 potatoes and yams. The rhizomes of the pondweed (Potamogeton 
 natans) are used in Siberia as an article of food. The root of the 
 Arraeaeha esculenta, a native of South America, is much cultivated 
 in the neighborhood of Santa Fe de Bogota and other parts of Colom- 
 bia, where it is as much eaten as potatoes or yams are elsewhere. It 
 is boiled like a potato, and is said to have a flavor intermediate 
 between that of the parsnip and chestnut ("Baird's Cyclo. of Nat. 
 Sci."). 
 
 CARROTS. 
 
 The garden carrot is derived by cultivation from the Daucus 
 carota, a plant which grows freely in a wild state in fields, hedge- 
 rows, and waysides in Britain. The root of the wild plant is white, 
 slender, and hard, and has an acrid, disagreeable taste, and strong 
 aromatic smell. As the result of cultivation, the root of the garden 
 variety is thick, fleshy, and succulent, and of a red, yellow, or pale 
 straw color, with a pleasant odor, and a sweet, agreeable taste. 
 Whilst young it is very tender, but becomes hard when allowed to 
 grow old. It is said that the garden carrot was introduced into use 
 in England by the Flemish refugees who settled at Sandwich in the 
 reign of Elizabeth. 
 
ROOTS. 273 
 
 Composition of cat-rots (from Letheby's table). 
 
 Nitrogenous matter, . . . .1.3 
 
 Starch, &c. } 84 
 
 Sugar, 6.1 
 
 Fat, 0.2 
 
 Mineral matter, . . . . .10 
 Water 83 
 
 100.0 
 
 Carrots form a wholesome and useful food, for both man and 
 cattle. They are not adapted, however, for a weak stomach, being 
 somewhat indigestible and apt to produce flatulence. They are pro- 
 portionately valuable as they have more of the outer, soft, red, than 
 the central, yellow, core-like part. On account of the sugar present, 
 they admit of a syrup being prepared from them, and also yield, by 
 fermentation and distillation, a spirituous liquid. Cut into small 
 pieces and roasted, they are sometimes used in Germany as a sub- 
 stitute for coffee. 
 
 THE PARSNIP. 
 
 The root of the parsnip (Pastinaca sativa) is of a pale yellow 
 color, but otherwise closely resembles that of the carrot, both in 
 general characters and alimentary properties. The plant forms a 
 native of Britain, and is also found in many parts of Europe and 
 the north of Asia. In the wild state the root is white, aromatic, 
 mucilaginous, and sweet-tasted, with some degree of acridness. By 
 cultivation it is rendered more fleshy and milder flavored. It is 
 used in the same way, but not so extensively, as the carrot, and is 
 not so generally liked. Erom custom, it forms the usual accom- 
 paniment of salt fish. 
 
 Composition of the parsnip (from Letheby's table). 
 
 Nitrogenous matter, . . . .1.1 
 
 Starch, &c., 9.6 
 
 Sugar, 5.8 
 
 Fat, 0.5 
 
 Salts, 1.0 
 
 Water, 82 
 
 100.0 
 18 
 
274 ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES. 
 
 Parsnips are not only used as a vegetable, but a wine is sometimes 
 made from them, which is spoken of as somewhat resembling malm- 
 sey. A spirit, also, is sometimes distilled from the fermented prod- 
 uct, and in the north of Ireland, with the aid of hops, a table beer 
 is brewed from them. 
 
 THE TURNIP. 
 
 Turnips grow wild in England, but the wild plant (Brassica 
 campestris) is supposed to form the original of the Swedish turnip, 
 or Swede, which is too coarse eating for human food, and not of the 
 cultivated vegetable. This, the Brassica rapa (Lindley calls the 
 turnip Brassica napus, and rape Brassica rapa), is said to have 
 been first introduced as a food for cattle into this country by the 
 celebrated agriculturist, Coke of Holkham, afterwards Earl of Lei- 
 cester. It forms an agreeable and extensively used vegetable, being 
 either cooked alone or mixed with soups and stews. From the 
 large proportion of water it contains, its nutritive value is low. 
 
 The top shoots of such turnip plants as have stood the winter are 
 gathered, and used as a green vegetable. Those from the Swedish 
 turnip are the sweetest flavored. 
 
 Composition of the turnip (Letheby's table). 
 
 Nitrogenous matter, .... 1.2 
 
 Starch, &c., '.5.1 
 
 Sugar, 2.1 
 
 Salts, 06 
 
 Water, . 91.0 
 
 100.0 
 
 BEET-ROOT. 
 
 The common or red beet (Beta vulgaris), which belongs to the 
 family of saltworts, that contains also the spinach, quinoa, &c., and 
 is characterized by the large amount of alkali in combination with 
 an organic acid present in the plants, is a native of the coasts of the 
 Mediterranean, and was cultivated in this country by Tradescant the 
 younger in 1656. It was then called beet-rave, from the French 
 betterave. The root is usually of an elongated form, like that of the 
 carrot, but in some varieties it assumes more of a turnip-shaped 
 
ROOTS. 275 
 
 character. The color varies from a deepish blackish-red to a light 
 red. Beet-root is extensively grown, and employed as food both for 
 man and cattle; and on the Continent is further used as a source of 
 sugar. It is eaten cold in slices, either alone or in salads, after 
 being boiled, and is also sometimes pickled. 
 
 The mangold-wurzel (Beta altissima) is usually thought to consti- 
 tute a large and coarse variety of the common beet, in which the red 
 color is but little developed. 
 
 RADISHES. 
 
 The common radish (Raphanm sativus) is a native of China, and 
 is mentioned by Gerard, in 1584, as then cultivated in England. 
 The root is either long and spindle-shaped, or round and turnip- 
 shaped. The color of the exterior varies : there being black, violet, 
 red, and white radishes; but, in all, the central portion is white. It 
 is usually eaten in a raw state, but is sometimes boiled and served 
 as a vegetable. In composition, the radish closely resembles the 
 turnip. 
 
 SALSIFY. 
 
 The salsify, or purple goat's beard, also known as "oyster plant " 
 (Tragopogon porrifolius), forms a hardy plant, indigenous in Eng- 
 land. The root is long and tapering, and becomes by cultivation 
 fleshy and tender, with a white milky juice. It has a mild, sweet- 
 ish taste, like the parsnip, and is boiled or stewed for the table. It 
 is not so much eaten in England as on the Continent. In America 
 it is usually boiled and fried in small cakes, either by itself or mixed 
 with potatoes. 
 
 The Ginseng root is highly valued by the Chinese for its supposed 
 invigorating and aphrodisiac qualities. It is a species of Panax; 
 and the Panax quinquefolium, which is a native of America, pos- 
 sesses the same qualities as the ginseng ("Barrow's Travels in 
 China/' and "Baird's Cyclo. of Nat. Sci."). 
 
 The root of the Kalo, or Arum esculentum, which is the principal 
 food of the lower class of the Sandwich Islanders, somewhat resem- 
 
276 ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES. 
 
 bles the beet, but its color is brown instead of red. It is reared with 
 great care in small inclosures kept wet, like rice or paddy fields. A 
 sort of paste is made from the root, which is called poi (" Simpson's 
 Journey Bound the World/' vol. 2, p. 31). 
 
 The roots of the Potentilla anserina, or goose grass, when roasted 
 or boiled, taste like parsnips, and in the western islands of Scotland 
 they have been known to support the inhabitants for months together 
 in times of scarcity ("Baird's Cyclo. of Nat. Sci."). 
 
 HERBACEOUS ARTICLES. 
 
 These include foliaceous parts, shoots, and stems of plants. They 
 are valuable as articles of food, not so much for the absolute amount 
 of nutritive matter aiforded for, on account of their succulent 
 nature, they contain but a small proportion of solid matter as for 
 the salts they yield and the variety they give to our diet. By culti- 
 vation they have been brought to a very diiferent state from that in 
 which they originally existed. To make them tender and agreeably 
 flavored is part of the art of the gardener, and is effected by quick 
 growth and, in many instances, by a partial exclusion from light. If 
 allowed to grow slowly, the development of ligneous matter is 
 favored, which gives them hardness, whilst full exposure to light 
 leads to the production, not only of green coloring matter, but of the 
 characteristic principles of the plant, which often communicate a 
 strong and disagreeable taste. It is found that leafy products, which 
 have been allowed to acquire a full green color, possess more or less 
 purgative properties. It is necessary, therefore, that the consump- 
 tion of these should not be on too extensive a scale. The antiscor- 
 butic virtue of the class of vegetables under consideration is high. 
 
 PRODUCTS OF THE CABBAGE TRIBE. 
 
 The original of the cabbage tribe is the sea-cabbage, a wild plant, 
 named Brassica oleracea, which is to be found growing on many of 
 the cliffs of the south coast of England, and in some other parts. 
 
HERBACEOUS ARTICLES. 277 
 
 This is the true collet, or colewort, although the name is now ap- 
 plied to any young cabbage which has a loose and open heart, and 
 the leaves of it are gathered by the inhabitants and consumed as a 
 vegetable. In this state it only grows to an insignificant size in com- 
 parison with the dimensions attained as the result of cultivation. 
 From this plant a variety of well-known and extensively consumed 
 vegetables have been produced, including, for instance, cabbages, 
 greens, savoys, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, broccoli, &c. Looked 
 at in a general way, these various products form a wholesome and 
 agreeable component of the food of man. It is true, containing, as 
 they do, about 90 per cent, of water, their nutritive value is not high, 
 but they are useful as giving variety, and for the salts they supply. 
 They also possess marked antiscorbutic virtue. They labor under the 
 disadvantage of being articles of difficult digestion, which renders 
 them unsuited where weakness of stomach exists. Their proportion 
 of sulphur is large, and they thus are apt to give rise to flatulence of 
 an unpleasant nature. To secure tenderness, they should be grown 
 quickly, and dressed whilst young. 
 
 The common white garden cabbage is a variety of the Brassica 
 oleracea. It is one of the oldest of cultivated vegetables, and has 
 been known in this country from time immemorial. 
 
 What is called Sauer-Kraut, which is largely consumed in Ger- 
 many, is prepared from the leaves of cabbage. These, deprived of 
 their stalk and midrib, are cut up and placed in a tub or vat in al- 
 ternate layers with salt. They are then subjected to pressure, and 
 allowed to remain till acid fermentation has set in and they have 
 become sour. The product is cooked by stewing in its own liquor. 
 
 Red cabbage. This is another variety of the Brassica oleracea, 
 which is similar in form to the preceding. It is used chiefly for 
 pickling, but is sometimes stewed in a fresh state for the table. 
 
 Greens constitute all the varieties of the Brassica oleracea which 
 grow in an open way or have no hearts, and which are used as an 
 article of food. Some of them are called colewort (the name applied 
 to the wild plant), and others, with curled or wrinkled leaves, are 
 known as green kale, or borecole. They are sufficiently hardy to re- 
 sist the cold of winter, and thus yield a green vegetable when such 
 food is scarce. 
 
 There is a variety of the cabbage plant extensively cultivated in 
 Jersey which attains a height of seven or eight feet and upwards. 
 
278 ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES. 
 
 It continues to grow, and throw out leaves from the top; and these, 
 as they attain full size, are stripped off and used as food, both for 
 man and cattle. Thriving through the winter, as it does, it is a 
 valuable plant to the inhabitants of the island. The stem is suffi- 
 ciently hard and woody to be susceptible of conversion into a walk- 
 ing-stick. 
 
 Savoy. This name is applied to a variety of cabbage, which is 
 distinguished from other close-hearted cabbages by having wrinkled 
 leaves. It is principally grown for winter use. 
 
 Brussels sprouts form also a winter and early spring vegetable. 
 They grow with small heads, like miniature cabbages, from the axils 
 of the leaves of one of the many cultivated varieties of the Brassica 
 oleracea. The plant is usually propagated from seeds imported from 
 Belgium, as it is apt to degenerate by growth in England. It has 
 been cultivated lately to a much larger extent in the market gardens 
 around London than formerly. 
 
 Cauliflower. This is one of the most delicate and highly prized 
 articles derived from the cabbage tribe. It is entirely the product 
 of cultivation, and constitutes the inflorescence of the plant, which 
 by art has been made to grow into a compact mass or head, of a 
 white color. It was known to the Greeks and Romans, but was not 
 much grown in England until the end of the seventeenth century. 
 It was then, however, very successfully cultivated, and even exported 
 to Holland, from which country so many of our vegetables have been 
 introduced. 
 
 Broccoli is distinguished from cauliflower, of which it is merely a 
 variety, by the color of its inflorescence and leaves, and its compara- 
 tively hardy constitution, which enables it to stand the winter. 
 Its color varies greatly, through shades of buff or yellow, green, and 
 purple. 
 
 Broccoli sprouts are obtained from the early purple or sprouting 
 broccoli. The plant grows from two to three feet high, and produces 
 sprouts of flowers from the axils of the leaves. 
 
 Kohl-rabi, Knol-kohl, or Turnip cabbage, forms a remarkable 
 variety of cabbage plant. The stem is enlarged j ust above the ground 
 into a fleshy, turnip-like knob, of about the size of a man's fist, from 
 which the leaf-stalks spring. The plant is of a hardy nature, and 
 the globular enlargement is more solid and more nutritious than a 
 turnip of the same size. 
 
HERBACEOUS ARTICLES. 279 
 
 SPINACH. 
 
 The vegetable falling under this name forms the leaves of the 
 Spinacia oleracea, or garden spinach, a plant introduced into this 
 country in the sixteenth century, and supposed to be a native of 
 Western Arabia. There are several varieties of the plant, and the 
 leaves are boiled and mashed for the table, to be eaten as a green 
 vegetable, and are also frequently employed for introduction into 
 soup. It is a wholesome vegetable, with slightly laxative properties. 
 
 The spinach belongs to a tribe of plants, other families of which 
 yield leaves that are prepared and eaten in a similar way. For 
 instance, the leaves of the Chenopodnm, which furnishes the quinoa 
 grain, are used as spinach by the inhabitants of Chili and Peru. 
 The Beet family belongs to the same tribe, and the leaves of the 
 Beta mar-itima, or sea-beet, a common European seashore plant, and 
 of the Beta cicla, or white beet, are also used as spinach. The latter 
 plant, which is supposed to be a variety of the red beet, is cultivated 
 specially and solely for the leaves. It is a native of the seacoasts 
 of Spain and Portugal, and was introduced into England in 1570. 
 What is called mountain spinach is derived from the garden orache 
 (Atriplex hortensis), a member of another family, belonging to the 
 same tribe, which is a native of Tartary, and was introduced into 
 Europe in 1548. The leaves have a slightly acid flavor, and are 
 much esteemed as a vegetable in France. 
 
 The Romans ate the leaves of the mallow as a substitute for spin- 
 ach, and these are still used for a similar purpose in some parts of 
 France, Italy, and Lower Egypt. The leaves of Mercurialis annua 
 are cooked and eaten as spinach in Germany (" Baird's Cyclo. of 
 Nat. Sci.")- 
 
 SORREL. 
 
 Sorrel (Rumex acetosa) belongs to the buckwheat order of plants. 
 In England it is but little used as an article of food, and is to be 
 seen growing wild in meadows. In France, however, it is rather 
 extensively employed, and .by cultivation is considerably improved. 
 Sorrel possesses an acid taste of a pronounced character, which is 
 due to the presence of the superoxalate of potash and tartaric acid. 
 
280 ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES. 
 
 RHUBARB. 
 
 This forms another of the buckwheat tribe, and yields one of the 
 most useful of garden productions, but has only been of compara- 
 tively recent introduction for dietetic use into England. The Rheum 
 rhaponticum and Rheum hybridum constitute the species usually 
 grown for alimentary purposes. The Rheum palmatum, commonly 
 known to gardeners as the true Turkey rhubarb, also yields an ex- 
 cellent edible product. The stalks of the leaves, after being peeled, 
 are cooked and eaten precisely in the same way as gooseberries, for 
 which they form a good substitute, if even they are not to be pre- 
 ferred. Rhubarb occupies, indeed, in an alimentary point of view, 
 the position of a fruit, but it is not eatable in the raw state. It is 
 also sometimes used for making wine. On account of oxalate of 
 lime forming a constituent of rhubarb it should be avoided by per- 
 sons suffering from the oxalate-of-lime diathesis. 
 
 LAYER. 
 
 Laver is the name given to various kinds of sea-weed used as 
 food. Green laver, as dressed for the table, closely resembles spinach 
 in appearance, but has a bitterish taste. It is obtained from the 
 Viva latissima, a common sea-weed on the British shores. Amongst 
 the other marine plants employed are the Porphyra vulgaris and 
 laciniata ; Chondrus crispus, or carrageen, or Irish moss ; Laminaria 
 d,igitata, or sea-girdle ; Laminaria saccharina ; and Alaria esculenta, 
 or bladder-lock. 
 
 Basing his remarks upon the analyses of Dr. Davy and Dr. Ap- 
 john, Dr. Letheby states that sea-weeds, in a moderately dry condi- 
 tion, contain from 18 to 26 per cent, of water, 9J to 15 per cent, of 
 nitrogenous matter, and, upon an average, about 60 per cent, of 
 starchy matter and sugar (vegetable mucilage?) a composition 
 which places them amongst the most nutritious of vegetable sub- 
 stances. He urges the advisability of extending the use of so val- 
 uable and abundant a stock of food, which already enters largely 
 into the diet of some of the coast inhabitants of Great Britain, Ire- 
 land, and the Continent. Before being cooked, they require to be 
 .soaked in water, to remove their saline matter. They are then 
 
HERBACEOUS ARTICLES. 281 
 
 stewed in water or milk until they become tender and mucilaginous. 
 Sometimes they are pickled, and eaten with pepper, vinegar, and oil, 
 or with lemon-juice. The consumption of laver is thought to be 
 useful in scrofulous affections and glandular tumors. 
 
 Sea-weeds are eaten by the Chinese, and a jelly is likewise made 
 by them from the leaves of fucus (" Barrow's Travels in China," 
 pp. 551-2). 
 
 It may be mentioned here that certain varieties of Lichen are con- 
 sumed as food. Captain Franklin and his party, in their voyage to 
 the Polar Sea, subsisted principally, during a part of the year 1821 
 (when suffering great privations), on lichens of the genus Gyrophora, 
 which the Canadians term tripe de roche. Under this diet, however, 
 the party became little more than skin and bones, and after a time 
 the unpalatable weed became quite nauseous to all, and produced 
 bowel complaint amongst several (" Franklin's Journey/' p. 403). 
 
 CELERY. 
 
 The common celery (Apium graveolens) is a native of Britain, and 
 in its wild state is known as smallage, which grows freely by the 
 sides of ditches and in marshy places. In this state it has a coarse, 
 rank taste, and peculiar smell. By cultivation it loses its acrid 
 nature, and becomes mild and sweet. To keep it white it is excluded 
 from light, by being earthed up as it grows, the tops of the leaves 
 only being allowed to appear above the ground. Several varieties 
 of the plant are met with. Eaten raw, it must undoubtedly be 
 looked upon as difficult of digestion. It is frequently stewed, and 
 is employed also for introducing into soups. 
 
 SEA-KALE. 
 
 Sea-kale (Crambe maritima) forms a hardy plant, which grows on 
 the seashores of various parts of Britain and the Continent. It has 
 long been eaten by the common people, but was not cultivated in 
 gardens until the eighteenth century. It is now brought to a high 
 state of perfection, and is one of the most esteemed of vegetables. 
 Properly cooked, it is delicate, easy of digestion, and nutritious. 
 Like celery, it is blanched by exclusion from light during its growth, 
 
282 ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES. 
 
 and unless this is carefully attended to the shoots acquire an acrid 
 taste. The vegetable is but little known on the Continent. 
 
 ARTICHOKE. 
 
 The green artichoke constitutes the flower-head of one of the Com- 
 positce, viz., the Cynara seolymus, which is a native of the south of 
 Europe, and was introduced into England in 1548. The flower-head 
 is gathered before the flowers expand. The succulent bases of the 
 leafy scales and the central disk form the edible portion, and furnish 
 a delicate-flavored vegetable. 
 
 The term chard is applied to the leaf-stalks, which have been 
 blanched by tying up the leaves and wrapping all of them over 
 except the tops. In this state the stalks are tender and white, and 
 are sometimes thus prepared for the table. 
 
 The fleshy receptacle of the carline thistle (Carlina caukscens), a 
 native of the south of Europe, exceeds that of the artichoke in size 
 and is said to equal it in flavor. 
 
 The cardoon ( Cynara carduncellus) also yields an edible article. 
 The plant closely resembles the common artichoke. The thick, 
 fleshy leaves are blanched, and, when cooked, taste very much like 
 the artichoke. It is not much used in England, but is in consider- 
 able request on the Continent. 
 
 ASPARAGUS. 
 
 The Asparagus officinalis belongs to the lily tribe, and in its wild 
 state is a seacoast plant. It is a native of Europe, and is now 
 extensively cultivated as a garden vegetable. The young shoots 
 form the portion that is eaten, and, by cultivation, these have" been 
 greatly increased in size and altered from their original condition. 
 They are universally esteemed as a choice and delicate vegetable. 
 They contain a special crystallizable principle, called aspamgin, 
 which possesses diuretic properties, and gives a peculiar odor to the 
 urine. 
 
 Other vegetable products are sometimes dressed and eaten in the 
 same way as asparagus. The flower-stalks, for instance, othe Orni- 
 thogalum pyrenaicum are used as asparagus in some parts of Glouces- 
 tershire, and sold in Bath under the name of Prussian asparagus. 
 
HERBACEOUS ARTICLES. 283 
 
 The stalks of the salsify are likewise sometimes similarly employed, 
 and also the leaf-stalks and midribs of the great white or sweet beet 
 (Beta cicla). The latter is denominated beet chard. The young 
 shoots of one or two species of Typha are eaten by the Cossacks like 
 asparagus. 
 
 ONION. 
 
 The onion (Allium cepa), like the asparagus, although differing so 
 much from it in its dietetic properties, belongs to the lily tribe of 
 plants. In common with, but to a higher degree than, the other 
 members of the allium species, which includes also the garlic, chive, 
 shallot, and leek, it contains an acrid volatile oil, which possesses 
 strongly irritant and excitant properties. Grown in Spain and 
 other warm places, the onion is milder and sweeter than when grown 
 in colder countries. The chief use of the onion reared in our own 
 gardens is as a condiment or flavoring agent, whilst the large onions 
 imported from Spain are sufficiently mild to be eaten as an ordinary 
 vegetable, and are stewed and roasted for the table. 
 
 LETTUCE. 
 
 The garden lettuce (Lactuca sativa) is a hardy plant, of which a 
 great number of varieties exist. It is supposed to be a native of the 
 East Indies, but has been cultivated in Europe from a remote 
 period of antiquity. Most of the lettuces grown for use form one 
 or other of two kinds cos and cabbage. The leaves of the former 
 are oblong and upright, and are tied together for the purpose of 
 being blanched; whilst those of the latter are rounder and of a 
 more spreading character, and at the same time grow nearer to the 
 ground. 
 
 The lettuce supplies a wholesome, digestible, cooling, and agreea- 
 ble salad. It is occasionally made use of as a boiled vegetable. It 
 contains a milky juice, especially when the plant has been allowed 
 to run to flower, which possesses mild soporific properties, and is 
 collected and inspissated, and used as a medicinal agent, under the 
 name of lactucarium, or lettuce opium. 
 
284 ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES. 
 
 ENDIVE. 
 
 The endive (Cichorium endivia) is a native of China or Japan, 
 and was introduced into Europe in the year 1548. It is largely 
 used as a winter salad. It is less tender than lettuce, and has a de- 
 cidedly bitter taste. It is sometimes stewed and eaten as a cooked 
 vegetable. 
 
 CRESS. 
 
 The common or garden cress (Lepidium sativum) is a native of 
 the East, but has been cultivated in our gardens since 1548. The 
 young leaves are used as salad, and they possess a pungent and 
 agreeable flavor. It ranks as one of the principal of the small 
 salads, and a variety with curled leaves is especially esteemed. 
 
 MUSTARD. 
 
 White mustard (Sinapis alba) is a native of Britain, and grows in 
 waste places. It is sown in gardens, and forced under glass for the 
 production of a small salad, which, like cress, possesses an agreeable, 
 pungent flavor. 
 
 RAPE. 
 
 Rape (Brassica napus) is frequently grown and used as a substi- 
 tute for mustard and cress. It is devoid, however, of the agreeable 
 pungency which belongs to these latter articles. 
 
 WATERCRESS. 
 
 The watercress (Nasturtium officlnale) is a creeping plant, which 
 grows in slow-running streams, and thrives best on a bottom of 
 sand or gravel. It is a native of almost all parts of the world, and 
 forms a favorite and wholesome article, which is seldom out of 
 season. There are two varieties the green and brown. 
 
 The young shoots of the common poke, or American grape (P%- 
 tolacca decandra), are eaten by the natives of America and the West 
 
FRUITY PRODUCTS EATEN AS VEGETABLES. 285 
 
 Indies as a vegetable, and in Austria the plant is cultivated for the 
 same purpose (" Baird's Cyclo. Nat. Sci."). 
 
 The leaves of the common daisy are used as a pot-herb in some 
 countries (" Baird's Cyclo. Nat. Sci."). 
 
 The large purple flowers of the Abutilon esculentum (called in 
 Brazil, Ben9ao de Dios) are dressed and eaten with their food by 
 the inhabitants of Kio de Janeiro (" Baird's Cyclo. Nat. Sci."). 
 
 FRUITY PRODUCTS CONSUMED AS VEGETABLES. 
 
 CUCUMBER. 
 
 The common cucumber (Cacumis sativus) is a native of the south 
 of Asia, but has long been cultivated in all civilized countries. It 
 furnishes a fleshy fruit, which forms an edible product. It is grown 
 both in the open air and under glass, the fruit varying in size, ten- 
 derness, and flavor, accordingly : that which is forced or grown 
 quickly possessing choicer qualities than that which is grown 
 slowly. 
 
 Cucumber, in the raw state, must be looked upon as a cold and 
 indigestible article ; and it is apt to disagree with many. Stewed, it 
 forms a light and wholesome vegetable. 
 
 Young cucumbers are pickled in vinegar and called gherkins. 
 In this state they form an agreeable relish at a meal, and serve to 
 give zest for other food. 
 
 VEGETABLE MARROW. 
 
 Vegetable marrow constitutes the fruit of the Cacurbita ovifera, 
 which is supposed to be only a variety of the pumpkin. It was 
 introduced into Europe at the commencement of the present century, 
 and is now extensively cultivated in England. It is dressed in va- 
 rious ways, and its name is derived from the softness of its fleshy 
 substance. It forms a delicate-flavored and easily digestible vege- 
 table, but, on account of its highly succulent nature, its nutritive 
 value is very low. 
 
286 ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES. 
 
 The pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo), and melon-pumpkin, or squash 
 (Cucurbita melopepo), form articles of an allied nature to the vege- 
 table marrow, which are sometimes used as food. 
 
 . TOMATO. 
 
 The Tomato, or love-apple (Solarium ly coper sicum), is a native of 
 South America, and was introduced into Europe in 1596. The 
 ripe fruit is used in various ways, and has an agreeable acidulous 
 taste. It is more, perhaps, as a relish, than for its nutritive value, 
 that it is useful, and its popularity has rapidly increased of late. In 
 the unripe state it is said to make an excellent pickle. In America 
 it is very largely used, being eaten raw as a salad, or simply stewed ; 
 it is also extensively used in the manufacture of tomato ketchup. Of 
 late years an important industry has sprung up of "canning" toma- 
 toes, by partially cooking them and preserving them in hermetically 
 sealed cans. 
 
 A variety of the Solanum melongena, or egg-plant, yields a fruity 
 product, known as the egg-apple, aubergine, or brinjal. This is of 
 an elongated form and purple color. It is somewhat largely eaten 
 on the Continent, and to some extent also in England ; but it is dry 
 and spongy, and devoid of the agreeable qualities belonging to the 
 tomato. In America it is a favorite vegetable, being usually sliced 
 and fried. 
 
 ESCULENT FUNGI. 
 
 The fungi are low vegetable products, which are characterized 
 chemically by the large amount of nitrogenous matter they contain. 
 In this respect, indeed, they are closely allied to animal substances. 
 On the Continent a considerable number of varieties are consumed ; 
 but in England, from suspicion of the possession of dangerous prop- 
 erties, the selection is restricted mainly to three, viz., the mushroom, 
 morelle, and truffle. The following is the chemical composition of 
 these, according to the analyses of Pay en : 
 
FUNGI. 
 
 287 
 
 Composition of edible fungi (Payen). 
 
 Nitrogenous matter and traces of \ 
 sulphur, . . . . / 
 
 Fatty matter, .... 
 
 Cellulose, dextrin, saccharine \ 
 matter, mannite, and other >- 
 non-nitrogenous principles, . J 
 
 Salts (phosphates and chlorides -v 
 of the alkalies, lime and mag- l 
 nesia), silica, . . . J 
 
 Water, 
 
 Mushrooms. Morelle. White truffles. Black truffles. 
 
 8.775 
 
 0.396 
 3.456 
 
 0.458 
 
 91.010 
 100.000 
 
 0.56 
 
 1.36 
 
 9000 
 100.00 
 
 9.958 
 0.442 
 
 15.158. 
 
 2.102 
 
 72.340 
 
 100.000 
 
 0.560 
 16.585 
 
 2.070 
 
 72.000 
 100.000 
 
 In the dried state, Payen remarks, mushrooms contain 52, morelles 
 44, white truffles 36, and black truffles 31 per cent, of nitrogenous 
 matter. 
 
 MUSHROOMS. 
 
 The Agaricus campestris constitutes the common edible mushroom. 
 It is found springing up spontaneously in our pastures during the 
 months of September and October, and is cultivated in beds, and 
 thence obtainable all the year round. It is a native of most of the 
 temperate regions of both hemispheres. It produces a spreading 
 filamentous or threadlike underground structure, called the myce- 
 lium or spawn. % From this, little tubers spring, which rapidly en- 
 large, and grow into a stalk, bearing at its summit a rounded head, 
 which, in a short time, expands into a pileus or cap. This, which 
 forms the edible portion, constitutes the fructification, and presents 
 upon its under surface a number of parallel plates or gills, that bear 
 the sporules of the fungus. 
 
 Mushrooms are employed for flavoring, and as an occasional deli- 
 cacy, rather than as a common article of food. Although difficult 
 of digestion, and, therefore, not adapted for the weak stomach, yet 
 by most healthy persons they may be consumed without proving 
 hurtful. Sometimes, however, probably from idiosyncrasy on the 
 part of the individual, they give rise to more or less serious derange- 
 ment. They are eaten in the fresh state, either broiled, baked, or 
 stewed, and are also preserved by pickling. The young or button 
 mushrooms are used for the latter purpose. Ketchup (besides being 
 
288 ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES. 
 
 made from the walnut and the tomato) is prepared from their juice, 
 flavored with salt and aromatics. 
 
 The resemblance between mushrooms and toadstools is so close, 
 that serious consequences have arisen from the wrong fungus having 
 been eaten. It is not easy to give precise rules, that will serve to 
 distinguish the wholesome from the poisonous article ; but as af- 
 fording some assistance, the following particulars bearing on the 
 point may be furnished. Mushrooms, when young, are like a small, 
 round button, with the exterior of both the stalk and head white. 
 As they grow larger, they expand into a flat or discoidal form, and 
 the gills underneath are at first of a pale flesh color, but afterwards 
 become dark -brown or blackish. The skin upon the top of the cap 
 or disk peels off easily. The flesh is white, compact, and brittle 
 not soft and watery. They have an agreeable odor, and grow, for 
 the most part, in closely fed pastures rarely in woods. Toadstools, 
 on the other hand, grow freely in woods and shady places. They 
 have, in general, an unpleasant smell, and the gills are of a brown 
 color. A sure test, says Dr. Christison, of a poisonous fungus, is an 
 astringent, styptic taste, and perhaps, also, a disagreeable, but cer- 
 tainly a pungent odor. He says, also, that most fungi which have 
 a warty cap, and more especially if there be fragments of membrane 
 adhering to their upper surface, are poisonous. The effects produced 
 by the poisonous fungi are of a narcotico-acrid nature ; sometimes 
 coma has been noticed as the predominant symptom, at other times 
 the symptoms have been allied to those of cholera. . Sometimes, also, 
 the effects have come on within a few minutes after the fungi have 
 been eaten, whilst at other times they have been delayed for several 
 hours. Recovery has generally occurred after a longer or shorter 
 period, but some few instances of fatal result are on record. Some 
 persons, as already mentioned, are, through idiosyncrasy, injuriously 
 affected by the ordinary edible mushrooms, but the effects are usu- 
 ally confined to vomiting, purging, and colic. 
 
 THE MORELLE. 
 
 The common morelle (Morchella e^culenta) is usually imported 
 from the Continent, though forming a native of this country. It 
 is kept in a dried state, and sold at Italian warehouses, and by the 
 herbalists at Covent Garden. In the fresh state it consists of a hoi- 
 
FUNGI. 289 
 
 low stem and rounded head continuous with each other. It enters 
 as a flavoring ingredient into some made dishes, and is sometimes 
 also stewed and eaten separately, like the mushroom. 
 
 TRUFFLES. 
 
 The truffle forms a subterraneous fungus, which never appears 
 above the surface. It grows in light, dry soils, and is found in sev- 
 eral parts of England : more especially on the downs of Wiltshire, 
 Hampshire, and Kent. It is more plentiful in France, and there 
 acquires a larger size and choicer flavor. The most esteemed, on 
 account of the richness of their aroma, are those which are obtained 
 from the oak forests of Perigord. There are three varieties the 
 black, white, and red or violet. The latter is rare, and of the two 
 former the black is held in by far the higher repute. The white, 
 indeed, is considered of comparatively little value. To be in per- 
 fection, truffles should be quite fresh, much of their aroma being 
 lost by keeping. The black truffle is nodulated on the surface, and, 
 as met with in the market, varies in size from that of a filbert or 
 plum to that of the fist. Internally, it is marbled with white, fila- 
 mentous streaks, which have been regarded as constituting a sort of 
 mycelium. 
 
 As they do not appear above the surface, there is nothing to indi- 
 cate the locality of their growth, but their odor enables them to be 
 scented out by animals employed for the purpose. In England dogs 
 are trained for this work. They scratch and bark over the spot 
 where they grow, and then, men dig them out. In France pigs are 
 used in the same way. This animal appears to be very fond of them, 
 and on discovering their situation turns up the ground with its snout 
 in search of them. 
 
 Truffles are considered, particularly on the Continent, an article 
 of the greatest delicacy. Their firm and toughish consistence renders 
 them indigestible, but they are esteemed for the sake of their pecu- 
 liar aroma. They are seldom eaten alone. They are often used as 
 a stuffing, and form also a frequent ingredient of made dishes, besides 
 being employed to flavor gravies and sauces. 
 
 19 
 
290 ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES. 
 
 FRUITS. 
 
 The term fruit, in botanical language, signifies the seed, with its 
 surrounding structures, in progress to, or arrived at, maturity. In 
 a popular and dietetic sense, it lias a more limited signification, and 
 refers in a general .way only to such product when used in the man- 
 ner of a dessert. Botanically, wheat, peas, beans, <fec., constitute 
 fruits, but popularly the term is restricted to articles like apples, 
 pears, plums, grapes, &c. 
 
 Fruits consist of two parts the seed, and what is technically 
 called the pericarp. The latter comprises that which surrounds the 
 seed, and is composed of the epicarp the external integument or 
 skin ; the endocarp or putamen the inner coat or shell ; and the 
 sarcoearp or mesocarp the intermediate part, which generally pos- 
 sesses a more or less fleshy consistence. It is the sarcoearp which 
 forms the edible succulent portion of the fruit. 
 
 The flower, and thence the fruit, is formed from modifications of 
 the leaf, and in an early stage the fruit is green, and exhibits much 
 the same chemical composition and general comportment as the leaf. 
 It is only as maturity advances that' its special characteristics become 
 developed. At first, like other green parts of the plant, it absorbs 
 and decomposes the carbonic acid of the atmosphere under the in- 
 fluence of light, liberating oxygen and assimilating the carbon. 
 During its progress, it increases more or less rapidly in bulk and 
 weight; and, as it approaches maturity, it loses its green color, 
 becomes brown, yellow, or red, and no longer acts on the air like the 
 leaves, but on the contrary absorbs oxygen and gives out carbonic 
 acid. As this process advances, some of the proximate principles 
 contained in the unripe fruit, particularly the vegetable acids and 
 tannin, in part disappear, apparently by oxidation, and, thus, it 
 becomes less sour and astringent. At the same time the starch un- 
 dergoes transformation into sugar; and the insoluble pectose, into 
 pectin and other soluble substances of allied composition and having 
 more or less of a gelatinous character. The fruit in this way arrives 
 at a state of perfection for eating. Oxidation, however, still advances, 
 and now, the sugar and remaining acid become destroyed, giving 
 rise to the loss of flavor which occurs after the full ripened state has 
 been attained and deterioration has set in. Finally, if the changes 
 are allowed to pursue their ordinary course, the pericarp undergoes 
 decay, arid the seed is set free. 
 
FRUITS. 291 
 
 The agreeable taste of fruits partly depends on the aroma, and 
 partly on the existence of a due relation between the acid, sugar, 
 gum, pectin, &c., and likewise between the water and the soluble 
 and insoluble constituents. Luscious fruits like the peach, green- 
 gage, and mulberry, which seem to melt in the mouth, contain a 
 very large proportion of soluble substances. A due proportion of 
 gum, pectin, and other gelatinous substances, serves to mask the 
 taste of the free acid, if present in a somewhat large proportion as 
 compared with the sugar. Such is the case with the peach, apricot, 
 and greengage, which contain but a small amount of sugar as com- 
 pared with the free acid, but a large proportion of gum and pectous 
 substances: The sour taste of certain berry fruits, as the currant 
 and gooseberry, arises from the presence of a considerable quantity 
 of free acid, with only a small amount of gum and pectin to disguise 
 it. By cultivation, the proportion of sugar may be increased in 
 fruits, as is instanced by the difference existing between the wild and 
 cultivated strawberry and raspberry. (Watts's "Dictionary of 
 Chemistry," Art, Fi-uit.) 
 
 Fruit forms an agreeable and refreshing kind of food, and, eaten 
 in moderate quantity, exerts a favorable influence as an article of 
 diet. Its proportion of nitrogenous matter is too low, and of water 
 too high, to allow it to possess much nutritive value. It is chiefly 
 of service, looking at the actual material afforded, for the carbo- 
 hydrates, vegetable acids, and salts it contains. It enjoys to a high 
 degree the power of counteracting the unhealthy state found to be 
 induced by too close restriction to dried and salted provisions. The 
 preserved juice acts in this way equally as well as the fresh fruit, and 
 the juice of certain fruits, the lemon and lime, for instance, as is well 
 known, is specially and largely used for its antiscorbutic efficacy. 
 
 Whilst advantageous when consumed in moderate quantity, fruit, 
 on the other hand, proves injurious if eaten in excess. Of a highly 
 succulent nature, and containing free acids and principles prone to 
 undergo change, it is apt, when ingested out of due proportion to 
 other food, to act as a disturbing element, and excite derangement 
 of the alimentary canal. This is particularly likely to occur if eaten 
 either in the unripe or overripe state : in the former case, from the 
 quantity of acid present; in the latter, from its strong tendency to 
 ferment and decompose within the digestive tract. The prevalence 
 of stomach and bowel disorders > noticeable during the height of the 
 
292 ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES. 
 
 fruit season, affords proof of the inconveniences that the too free use 
 of fruit may give rise to. 
 
 The effect of fruit is to diminish the acidity of the urine. The 
 alkaline vegetable salts which it contains become decomposed in the 
 system, and converted into the carbonate of the alkali, which passes 
 off with the urine. By virtue of this result the employment of fruit 
 is calculated to prove advantageous in gout and other cases where 
 the urine shows a tendency to throw down a deposit of lithic acid. 
 
 In the following description of fruits no strict classification will 
 be attempted. There are some fruits, however, that admit of being 
 conveniently grouped together, and these will be made to follow 
 each other. The pomaceous group, for instance, forms a natural as- 
 semblage, and includes the apple,- pear, quince, &c. The orange or 
 citron group includes, besides the orange and citron, the lemon, 
 lime, shaddock, and pomelo. Drupaceous fruits are those provided 
 with a hard stone, surrounded by a fleshy pulp, such as the plum, 
 peach, cherry, olive, date, &c. Fruits of the baccate or berry kind 
 comprise the grape, gooseberry, currant, cranberry, barberry, and 
 others. Strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, and mulberries, 
 although in name compounded of the word berry, constitute a fruit 
 of quite a different nature. 
 
 THE APPLE. 
 
 The apple (Pyrus mains), and of which there are now very nu- 
 merous varieties, is derived by cultivation from the wild crab, a 
 native of Britain, and other parts of Europe. The smallest apples 
 grow in Siberia, and the largest in America, where many new va- 
 rieties have originated, and the fruit has attained its highest perfec- 
 tion. Their Newtown pippin is considered by the Americans to 
 stand at the head of all apples, native or foreign. 
 
 The apple forms one of the most useful and plentiful of British 
 fruits. It is introduced into tarts and puddings, besides being em- 
 ployed at the dessert table and made into sauce, preserve, and jelly. 
 It also furnishes the fermented beverage called cider. Verjuice is 
 >the fermented juice of the crab-apple. 
 
 In a raw state the apple must not be looked upon as easy of 
 -digestion. In a cooked state, however, it is light and digestible. 
 Hoasted apples exert a slightly laxative action, and are often 
 
FRUITS. 293 
 
 employed as an agreeable means of overcoming habitual constipa- 
 tion. 
 
 Large quantities of apples are dried and flattened in America and 
 Normandy, producing what are known as "biffins" and "Nor- 
 mandy pippins." These are prepared for use by stewing. 
 
 Composition of apples (Fresenius). 
 SOLUBLE MATTER White dessert. 
 
 Sugar, 7.58 
 
 Free acid (reduced to equivalent in malic acid), . . . 1.04 
 
 Albuminous substances, 0.22 
 
 Pectous substances, &c., 2.72 
 
 Ash, 0.44 
 
 INSOLUBLE MATTER 
 
 Seeds, t)38 
 
 Skins, &c., 1.42 
 
 Pectose, 1.16 
 
 [Ash from insoluble matter included in weights given], . . [0.03] 
 
 WATER, 85.04 
 
 100.00 
 
 THE PEAR. 
 
 The pear (Pyrus communis), like the apple, is indigenous to this 
 country, but the wild pear is a very insignificant fruit. It flourishes 
 in a warm, moist atmosphere, and Jersey is considered to be the 
 most favorable situation for its growth in all Europe. There is a 
 larger nulnber of varieties of the pear than of the apple. The jar- 
 gonelle, bergamot, and Beurre form three of the most highly es- 
 teemed varieties. The fruit is chiefly used for dessert, but is also 
 stewed and made into compote and marmalade. Perry is obtained 
 from the fermented juice. The best varieties of pear form a very 
 choice and delicate fruit, and when in proper condition for eating, it 
 is soft and more digestible than the apple. Hard pears, to be ren- 
 dered wholesome, require to be subjected to cooking. 
 
294 ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES. 
 
 Composition of pears (Fresenius). 
 
 Sweet red. 
 
 SOLUBLE MATTER , x 
 
 Sugar, 7.000 7.940 
 
 Free acid (reduced to equivalent in malic acid), . 0074 trace. 
 
 Albuminous substances, 0.'260 0.237 
 
 Pectous substances, &c., . . . . . . 3.281 4.409 
 
 Ash, 0.285 0.284 
 
 INSOLUBLE MATTER 
 
 Seeds, 0.390 | 
 
 Skins, &c.,. 3.420 j 3 ' 518 
 
 Pectose, 1.340 0.605 
 
 [Ash from insoluble matter included in weights given], [0.050] [0.049] 
 
 WATER, 83.950 83.007 
 
 100.000 100.000 
 
 THE QUINCE. 
 
 The quince (Pyrus cydonia or Cydonia vulgaris) was cultivated by 
 the ancient Greeks and Romans, and is now grown throughout tem- 
 perate climates. The fruit, which, like the apple and pear, belongs 
 to the pomaceous group, is in some varieties globose, in others pear- 
 shaped, and has a rich yellow or orange color, with an agreeable^ 
 odor taken singly, but a strong, disagreeable smell when stowed 
 away together in quantity. In Persia it ripens so as to be eatable 
 in a raw state, but in Europe it never ripens sufficiently to allow of 
 its being eaten previous to being cooked. It is stewed with sugar, 
 and frequently added to apple tarts, the flavor of which it greatly 
 improves. It also furnishes an excellent marmalade a preserve 
 which takes its name from the Portuguese word for quince ^marmelo. 
 The seeds are employed for the mucilage they yield. 
 
 THE MEDLAR. 
 
 The medlar (Mespilus germanica) is a native of various parts of 
 Europe, and grows wild in Great Britain. The fruit, which is only 
 eaten when its tough pulp has become soft by incipient decay, has a 
 very peculiar flavor. 
 
 THE SERVICE. 
 
 The service (Pyrus domestica or Sorbus domestica) is a native of 
 
FRUITS. 295 
 
 Italy, Germany, and France, and has been found wild in England. 
 The fruit has a peculiar acid flavor, and is not consumed till it has 
 reached an overripened state. It is not much eaten in England, as 
 it is considered inferior to the medlar. 
 
 THE ORANGE. 
 
 The common or sweet orange (Citrus aurantium) is supposed to be 
 a native of the eastern and central parts of Asia. It does not appear 
 to have been known to the Greeks and Romans, and was probably 
 introduced into Italy in the fourteenth century, above a thousand 
 years after the citron. 
 
 The orange is one of the most useful and agreeable of common fruits. 
 It is exceedingly grateful and refreshing to the palate, and in the 
 ripe state is so little likely to occasion disorder as to be admissible 
 under almost every condition both of sickness and of health. 
 
 Several varieties of orange exist. The following are the chief 
 encountered in ordinary use. The Portugal or Lisbon orange, which 
 is characterized by the thickness of its rind, is the most common of 
 all. The China orange, which is said to have been brought by the 
 Portuguese from China, has given rise to the St. Michael's as a subva- 
 riety, and this is one of the most highly esteemed on account of its 
 sweet and abundant juice. Its rind is smooth and thin. The Mal- 
 tese' or blood orange is remarkable for the bk)od-red color of its pulp. 
 The Tangerine orange is small and flat, and valued chiefly for the 
 aroma belonging to it. The peel, particularly, is charged with a 
 large quantity of volatile oil lodged in round or vesicular receptacles, 
 easily discernible beneath the outer surface. The egg orange is 
 known by its oval shape. The Majorca orange is seedless. 
 
 The sweet orange is pretty largely used by the cook and confec- 
 tioner, as well as being consumed as a fresh fruit. 
 
 The Seville or bitter orange (Citrus vulgaris) is characterized by its 
 taste and the amount of aromatic volatile oil contained in its rind. 
 It is too bitter to be agreeable for eating in the raw state. It forms 
 the best kind of orange for making wine and marmalade, and, for 
 these purposes, it is extensively employed. The rind is used for its 
 aromatic bitterness as a stomachic and tonic, and also simply as a 
 flavoring agent. The flavor of Cura9oa is derived from it. The 
 best orange-flower water is distilled from the flowers of this variety 
 of the orange plant. 
 
296 ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES. 
 
 THE LEMON. 
 
 The lemon (Citrus limonium) is a native of the north of India. 
 The fruit is oblong, wrinkled or furrowed, and of a pale yellow color. 
 In the common variety the pulp is very acid, but in the variety 
 called the sweet lemon the juice is sweet. 
 
 Lemons are extensively used to give flavor to many articles of 
 food. The juice possesses valuable antiscorbutic properties, and 
 made into lemonade constitutes one of the most popular of refreshing 
 beverages. The rind contains a volatile oil and bitter principle 
 which renders it useful as an aromatic and stomachic. In a candied 
 state it is employed as a dessert and in confectionery. The fruit is 
 occasionally made into wine in the same way as the orange. 
 
 THE CITRON. 
 
 The fruit of the citron tree (Citrus medico) is larger and less suc- 
 culent than the lemon, and of a strongly acid taste. The peel is 
 very thick and the surface warty and furrowed. The citron is not 
 suitable for eating in the natural state. Its juice mixed with water 
 and sweetened forms an excellent refrigerant and antiscorbutic drink. 
 Its peel is candied in the same way as that of the orange and lemon. 
 
 THE LIME. 
 
 The common lime (Citrus atida) is a native of India and China, 
 but has long been cultivated in the West Indies and the south of 
 Europe. The fruit is similar to the lemon, but smaller in size. It 
 has a thin rind and an extremely acid juice, which is largely used 
 for its antiscorbutic virtue. The sweet lime (Citrus limetta) is a 
 variety cultivated in the south of Europe, which has a pulp of a Jess 
 acid nature. 
 
 THE SHADDOCK. 
 
 The fruit of the shaddock (Citrus decumana) is large, and from 
 the thickness of its skin will keep longer on sea-voyages than any 
 of the other species of citrus. The pulp is of a mixed red and white 
 color and has a moderately acid taste. It forms a pleasant refresh- 
 ing fruit and is frequently made into a preserve. 
 
FRUITS. 297 
 
 THE POMELO. 
 
 The pomelo or pompel moose (Citrus pompelmoos] closely resem- 
 bles the shaddock, of which it is sometimes regarded as a variety. 
 Its flavor is pleasant and approaches that of the orange. It is this 
 fruit which is sometimes sold in the London shops as the "forbidden 
 fruit." 
 
 THE POMEGRANATE. 
 
 The pomegranate (Punica granata) has been cultivated in Asia 
 from ancient times, and has long been naturalized in the south of 
 Europe. The fruit is of about the size of a large orange, and pos- 
 sesses a thick leathery rind of a fine golden yellow color with a rosy 
 tinge on one side. The central part is composed of cells filled with 
 numerous seeds, each of which is surrounded with pulp and sepa- 
 rately inclosed in a thin membrane. The pulp has a sweetish, 
 styptic, and slightly bitter taste. The rind is much more strongly 
 astringent, and is sometimes used in medicine on account of this 
 property. The fruit is also sometimes employed for its refrigerant 
 and mildly astringent qualities. 
 
 THE PLUM. 
 
 The common plum (Prunus domestica) is supposed to be a native 
 of Asia Minor, but it has long been naturalized in England. The 
 wild sloe (Prunus spinosa), which is found growing in hedges, forms 
 the parent of the plum. From this is first derived the bullace 
 (Prunm insititia) ; and from the bullace, afterwards the plum. The 
 varieties of the plum are numerous. They range in quality from a 
 delicious dessert fruit to one fit only for tarts and preserves. 
 
 The Damson or Damascene plum is so called from being derived 
 originally from Damascus. The Greengage, which is known in 
 France as the Reine Claude, may be looked upon for sweetness and 
 richness of flavor as the choicest kind of plum. The purple gage is 
 a new variety lately introduced by the French under the name of 
 Heine Claude violette. 
 
 Large quantities of plums are imported and consumed as a dried 
 fruit. The commoner kinds are known by the name of Prunes, the 
 choicer kinds by that of French plums. 
 
 Plums are more apt than most other fruits to produce disorder of 
 
298 
 
 ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES. 
 
 the bowels, attended with griping and diarrhoea, and should, there- 
 fore, only be eaten in moderate quantity. In both the unripe and 
 overripe state they must be regarded as decidedly unwholesome. 
 Cooking renders them less objectionable. Some kinds possess so 
 marked an astringency as scarcely to be eatable in a raw state. 
 Prunes are often used for their laxative effect by persons suffering 
 from habitual constipation. 
 
 Composition of plums (Fresenius). 
 
 
 Mirabelle, 
 
 (jreengi 
 
 ige. 
 
 Black blue, 
 
 SOLUBLE MATTER 
 
 common 
 yellow. 
 
 yellow-green, 
 middle-sized. 
 
 large green, 
 very sweet. 
 
 middle-sized 
 plums. 
 
 Sugar, ..... 
 
 3.584 
 
 2.960 
 
 3.405 
 
 1.996 
 
 Free acid (reduced to equivalent 
 in malic acid), 
 
 | 0.582 
 
 0.960 
 
 0.870 
 
 1.270 
 
 Albuminous substances, . 
 
 0.197 
 
 0.477 
 
 0.401 
 
 0.400 
 
 Pectous substances, &c., . 
 
 5.772 
 
 10.475 
 
 11.074 
 
 2313 
 
 Ash, 
 
 0.570 
 
 0.318 
 
 0.398 
 
 0.496 
 
 INSOLUBLE MATTER 
 
 
 
 
 
 Seeds, ...... 
 
 5.780 
 
 3.250 
 
 2.852 
 
 4.190 
 
 Skins, &c., 
 
 0.179 
 
 0.680 
 
 1.035) 
 
 
 Pectose, ..... 
 
 1.080 
 
 0.010 
 
 0.245/ 
 
 .5 9 
 
 \_Ash from insoluble matter in- 
 cluded in weights giveii\ , 
 
 } [0.082] 
 
 [0.039] 
 
 [0.037] 
 
 [0.041] 
 
 WATER, 
 
 82.256 
 
 80.841 
 
 79.720 
 
 88.751 
 
 
 100.000 
 
 100.000 100.000 
 
 100.000 
 
 Composition oj plums (Fresenius) continued. 
 
 
 
 Dark black- 
 
 Mussel plums. 
 
 SOLUBLE MATTER 
 
 
 red plums. 
 
 Common. 
 
 Italian, very 
 sweet. 
 
 Sugar, ..... 
 
 . 
 
 2252 
 
 5.793 
 
 6.730 
 
 Free acid (reduced to equivalent in malic ^ 
 acid), } L33 
 
 0.952 
 
 0.841 
 
 Albuminous substances, 
 
 
 0.426 
 
 0.785 
 
 0.832 
 
 Pectous substances, &c., 
 
 . 
 
 5.851 
 
 3.646 
 
 4.105 
 
 Ash, ..... 
 
 . 
 
 0.553 
 
 0.734 
 
 0.590 
 
 INSOLUBLE MATTER 
 
 
 
 
 
 Seeds, 
 
 . 
 
 3.329 
 
 3.540 
 
 3.124 
 
 Skins, &c., .... 
 
 
 }* 
 
 / 1.990 
 
 0.972 
 
 Pectose, .... 
 
 
 1.020 
 
 I 0.630 
 
 1.534 
 
 [Ash from insoluble matter 
 
 included 
 
 } [0.063] 
 
 [0.094] 
 
 [0.066] 
 
 WATER, ..... 
 
 . 
 
 . 85.238 
 
 81.930 
 
 81.272 
 
 
 
 100.000 
 
 100.000 
 
 100.000 
 
FRUITS. 
 
 299 
 
 THE CHEEKY. 
 
 The common cherry (Cerasus duracina) is supposed to have been 
 a native of Syria ,and other parts of Western Asia. The varieties 
 differ greatly in color. The pale, sweet, firm-fleshed Bigarreau 
 forms the cherry most esteemed for dessert. The dark-skinned 
 mqrello constitutes the favorite for making preserves and for cherry 
 brandy. 
 
 Cherries, like plums, require to be eaten in moderation, on account 
 of their tendency to disorder the bowels. In the unripe and un- 
 sound state they are particularly apt to do so. 
 
 A liqueur is distilled from cherries called Kirschwasser. The 
 Italians prepare from the Marusca, cherry the liqueur named Marus- 
 quin, which is sweeter and more agreeable than the former. 
 
 In speaking of cherries, it may be mentioned that serious conse- 
 quences have arisen from the stones having been swallowed. These, 
 like the stones of other fruits, are liable, if swallowed, to become im- 
 pacted in the alimentary canal, and thence to occasion inflammation. 
 
 Composition of cherries (Fresenius). 
 
 SOLUBLE MATTER 
 
 Sugar, ..... 
 Free acid (reduced to equiv- 
 alent in malic acid), 
 Albuminous substances, 
 Pectous substances, &c., 
 Ash, . 
 
 INSOLUBLE MATTER 
 
 Seeds, 
 
 Skins, &c., . 
 
 Pectose, . 
 
 [Ash from insoluble matter 
 
 included in weights given] 
 WATER, 
 
 Sweet, light 
 red heart. 
 
 13.110 
 
 | 0.351 
 
 2.286 i 
 0.600 
 
 5.480 
 0.450 
 1.450 
 
 } [0.090] 
 
 75.370 
 100.000 
 
 Very light 
 heart, 
 rather sour. 
 
 Sweet black 
 
 8.568 
 
 10.700 
 
 0.961 
 
 0.560 
 
 3.529 
 
 i 1.010 
 t 0.670 
 
 0.835 
 
 0.600 
 
 3.244 
 
 5.730 
 
 0.464 
 
 0.366 
 
 0.401 
 
 0.664 
 
 [0.070] 
 
 [0.078] 
 
 81.998 
 
 79.700 
 
 100.000 100.000 
 
 Sour. 
 8.772 
 1.277 
 
 0.825 
 1.831 
 0.565 
 
 6.182 
 0.808 
 0.246 
 
 [0.067] 
 
 80.494 
 100.000 
 
 THE PEACH. 
 
 The peach (Amygdalm persica) is a native of Persia and the north 
 of India, and is now cultivated in all temperate climates. It thrives 
 very freely and produces most plentifully in the United States. 
 
300 ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES. 
 
 The peach forms one of the choicest and most luscious of fruits. 
 The skin is downy or velvety, and its color varies from a dark red- 
 dish violet through many shades of crimson, green or yellow, to the 
 beautiful clear white of the American snow peach. The composition 
 shows that the peach is notable for the small quantity of saccharine 
 matter it contains in comparison with other kinds of edible fruits. 
 
 Composition of peaches (Fresenius). 
 
 SOLUBLE MATTER Large Dutch. Similar variety. 
 
 Sugar, 1.580 1.565 
 
 Free acid (reduced to equivalent in malic) 
 acid), . . . . . . .}- 612 0-734 
 
 Albuminous substances, .... 0.463| 
 
 Pectous substances, &c., . . . . 6.313J 
 
 Ash, 0.422 0.913 
 
 INSOLUBLE MATTER 
 
 Seeds, 4.629 6.764 
 
 Skins, &c., ...... 
 
 Pectose, <- 0.991 
 
 [Ash from insoluble matter included in} 
 weights given-], }l-J [- 163 l 
 
 WATER, 84.990 76.546 
 
 100.000 100.000 
 
 THE NECTARINE. 
 
 The nectarine constitutes merely a variety of the peach, probably 
 produced by cultivation. It has been sometimes found growing on 
 peach trees, and the Boston nectarine, which forms the finest kind 
 known, was produced originally from a peach stone. It differs from 
 the peach in having a smooth and wax-like skin and being of 
 smaller size. 
 
 THE APRICOT. 
 
 The apricot (Prunus armeniaca) is a native of Armenia, and was 
 introduced into England in the time of Henry the Eighth. A good 
 apricot, when perfectly ripe, is an excellent fruit, but when of infe- 
 rior quality it eats dry and insipid. Unless quite ripe it is apt to 
 prove laxative, and should not be eaten by delicate persons. In the 
 cooked state it is more easy of digestion, and green apricots are often 
 used for tarts. It makes one of the most highly esteemed of pre- 
 
FRUITS. 
 
 301 
 
 serves. The kernels of some are sweet, of others bitter. From the 
 bitter kind, Eau de Noyaux is distilled in France. 
 
 Composition of apricots (Fresenius). 
 
 SOLUBLE MATTER 
 
 Sugar, .... 
 
 Free acid (reduced to equiva 
 lent in malic acid), 
 
 Albuminous substances, 
 
 Pectous substances, &c., . 
 
 Ash, 
 
 INSOLUBLE MATTER 
 
 Seeds, .... 
 
 Skins, &c.,. 
 
 Pectose, .... 
 
 [Ash from insoluble matter in 
 eluded in weights given], , 
 
 WATER, 
 
 Fine, rather 
 large. 
 
 1.140 
 
 0.898 
 
 0.832 
 5.929 
 0.820 
 
 Large, fine 
 flavored. 
 
 1.531 
 0.766 
 
 0.389 
 9.283 
 0.754 
 
 3.216 
 0.944 
 1.002 
 
 100.000 
 
 100.000 
 
 Small. 
 2.736 
 
 1.603 
 
 0.411 
 5.562 
 0.723 
 
 3.415 
 1.248 
 0.750 
 
 [0.060] 
 
 83.552 
 100.000 
 
 THE OLIVE. 
 
 The olive-tree (Olea Europc&a) is supposed to be originally a 
 native of Greece, but it has long been naturalized in France, Italy, 
 and Spain. The fruit in the ripe state is black, and its fleshy part 
 abounds in oil, which is expressed and used with us as salad oil and 
 largely on the Continent for cooking. The ripe fruit is also some- 
 times eaten abroad, but it has a strong and, most persons would 
 consider, a disagreeable taste. 
 
 The olives imported into this country have been gathered green 
 and soaked first in strong lye, and then in fresh water, to remove 
 their rough and bitter taste before being preserved in a solution of 
 salt. French, Spanish, and Italian olives are imported. The 
 Spanish are much larger and more bitter, rich, and oily than the 
 others. Olives enter into the constitution of various dishes, are 
 sometimes used to stimulate the appetite at the commencement of 
 dinner, and also eaten at dessert as a relish and to cleanse the 
 palate for the enjoyment of wine. 
 
302 ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES. 
 
 THE DATE. 
 
 The date is derived from the Phoenix dactylifera, the date palm 
 or palm tree of Scripture, a native of Africa and parts of Asia, and 
 now brought into cultivation in the south of Europe. The tree 
 bears its fruit in bunches which weigh from twenty to twenty-five 
 pounds. 
 
 Dates, both fresh and dried, form the chief food of the Arabs. 
 Cakes of dates pounded and kneaded together into a solid mass 
 constitute also the store of food, called the tf bread of the desert," 
 provided for African caravans on their journey through the Sahara. 
 The fruit is of a drupaceous nature, and the fleshy part contains, 
 according to the analysis of Reinsch, 58 per cent, of sugar, accom- 
 panied by pectin, gum, &c. 
 
 THE GKAPE. 
 
 The grape. vine (Vitis vinifera) is indigenous in the East, but was 
 introduced into the south of Europe at a very early period. It pro- 
 duces fruit in the form of a globular or oval berry with a smooth 
 skin. The color of the fruit is very various, from white, yellow, 
 amber, green, and red, to black. More than 1500 varieties are de- 
 scribed in works on the culture of the plant. 
 
 In England the summer is not long and warm enough to thor- 
 oughly ripen the fruit in the open air, but some of the finest grapes 
 produced are grown in the hot-houses of Great Britain. 
 
 The grape is one of the most useful and highly esteemed of 
 fruits. The skin arid seeds are indigestible and should be rejected, 
 but the juicy pulp possesses wholesome, nutritious, and refrigerant 
 properties, and may usually be safely taken by the invalid. If eaten 
 freely the fruit exerts a diuretic and laxative action. Besides being 
 useful as a fresh fruit it is dried and imported under the form of 
 raisins and currants, and, as is well known, furnishes the choicest of 
 wines and spirits. 
 
 The juice of ripe grapes, according to the analyses of Proust and 
 Berard, contains a considerable quantity of grape-sugar, small 
 quantities of a glutinous substance and of extractive matter, bitar- 
 trate of potash, tartrate of lime, a little malic acid, and other ingre- 
 dients suspended or dissolved in water. 
 
FRUITS. 303 
 
 Composition of grapes (Fresenius). 
 
 White Austrian 
 
 SOLUBLE MATTER (quite ripe). 
 Sugar, 13.780 
 
 Free acid (reduced to equivalent in malic ) 
 > 1.020 
 
 Klienberger 
 (quite ripe). 
 
 10.590 
 0.820 
 
 0622 
 0.220 
 0.377 
 
 Albuminous substances, . 
 Pectous substances, &c., . 
 Ash, 
 
 . 0.832 
 . 0.498 
 . 0.360 
 
 INSOLUBLE MATTER 
 
 Seeds, 1 
 
 Skins, . . . . . . .} 2 ' 592 I- 
 
 Pectose, 0.941 750 
 
 [Ash from insoluble matter included in 
 
 WATER, 79.997 84.870 
 
 100.000 10J.OLO 
 
 The amount of sugar varies considerably in different kinds of 
 grape. In Fresenius's analysis of very ripe Oppenheim grapes it 
 amounted to 13.52 per cent. ; overripe Oppenheim, 15.14 per cent. ; 
 red very ripe Asmannshauser, 17.28 per cent. ; and Johannisberg, 
 19.24 per cent. 
 
 Raisins constitute grapes in a dried state. The process of dry- 
 ing is effected either by exposure to the sun or by the heat of an 
 oven. The sun-dried grapes are the sweeter and better of the two. 
 Sometimes the stalks of the ripened bunches of grapes are partially 
 cut through, and the fruit allowed to dry spontaneously upon the 
 vine. The muscatels, which form the finest sort and are- eaten at 
 the dessert table, are prepared in this way. The Lexias are so called 
 on account of being dipped into a lixivium of wood ashes and olive 
 oil before being dried. This disposes them to shrink and wrinkle, 
 the alkaline solution serving to remove the waxy coat which im- 
 pedes the drying of the berry. Sultanas are characterized by an 
 absence of stones, whereby they save a great amount of trouble in 
 the kitchen, but they are not sufficiently rich in flavor and sweetness 
 to be advantageous for employment alone in puddings. Raisins 
 abound more in sugar and less in acid than the fresh fruit. They 
 are, therefore, more nutritious but less refrigerant. They are apt to 
 derange the digestive organs if eaten freely. 
 
 The so-called currants which are used in cakes and puddings 
 
304 ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES. 
 
 constitute the dried fruit of a vine which grows in the Ionian 
 Islands (especially Zante and Cephalonia), and yields a very small 
 berry. The word currant as here employed is a corruption of 
 Corinth, where the fruit was formerly produced. After being 
 gathered and dried by exposure to the sun and air, the currants are 
 heaped together and stored in magazines, where they become so 
 firmly caked as to require digging out for packing into casks for 
 exportation. Currants are of so indigestible a nature that they fre- 
 quently pass through the alimentary canal without betraying any 
 decided evidence of being acted upon, 
 
 THE GOOSEBERRY. 
 
 The common gooseberry, or feaberry as it was in former times 
 called (Ribes grossularia), grows wild in thickets and rocky situa- 
 tions, and is a native of many parts of Europe and the north of 
 Asia. This fruit is comparatively neglected on the Continent, but 
 has been brought to a high state of perfection in size and flavor in 
 England by the attention which has been paid to its cultivation, 
 more especially since the middle of the eighteenth century. 
 
 The gooseberry forms a wholesome and useful fruit. Malic and 
 citric acids blended with sugar give it its chief characteristics. It is 
 made into tarts and puddings and eaten at the dessert table, besides 
 furnishing a good preserve and a very passable wine. 
 
 Composition of gooseberries (Fresenius), 
 
 Large red. Small red. 
 
 SOLUBLE MATTER , ---- --- , 
 
 Sugar, ..... 8.063 6.030 8.239 
 Free acid (reduced to equiva- ) 
 
 lent in malic .rid), .} 1 ' 868 578 1 ' 9 
 
 Albuminous substances, . , 0.441 0.445 0.358 
 
 Pectous.substances, Ac., . . 0.969 0,513 0.522 
 
 Ash, ..... 0317 0.452 0.504 
 
 INSOLUBLE MATTER 
 
 Seeds, . . . 2 481 i 
 
 Skins! &c ...... 0.512J 2 2 2 ' 529 ' 
 
 Pectose ...... 0.294 0515 1.428 
 
 \_Ashfrom insolMer^tterin., 
 eluded in weights given], . j 
 WATER, ...... 85 565 88.030 84.831 
 
 100.000 100.000 100.000 
 
FRUITS. 
 
 305 
 
 Composition of gooseberries (Fresenius) continued. 
 
 Middle-sized, 
 yellow. 
 
 SOLUBLE MATTER , ---- --- 
 
 Sugar, .... 
 Free acid (reduced to equivalent ^ -. Q- 
 
 Large smooth, 
 red. 
 
 in malic acid), 
 Albuminous substances, 
 Pectous substances, &c., 
 Ash, 
 
 6.383 
 
 7.507 
 
 6.483 
 
 1.078 
 
 1.334 
 
 1.664 
 
 0.578 
 2.112 
 0.200 
 
 0.369 
 2.113 
 0.277 
 
 0.306 
 0.843 
 0.553 
 
 INSOLUBLE MATTER 
 
 
 
 
 Seeds, . 
 Skins, &c., 
 
 . 3.3801 
 . 0.442 / 
 
 2.081 
 
 2.803 
 
 Pectose, . 
 
 . 0.308 
 
 0.955 
 
 0.390 
 
 [Ash from insoluble matter 
 eluded in weights given]. 
 
 } [0.100] 
 
 [0.170] 
 
 [0.133] 
 
 WATER, 
 
 . 85.519 
 
 85.364 
 
 86.958 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 100.000 
 
 100.000 
 
 100.000 
 
 THE CURRANT. 
 
 There are two varieties of the currant, viz., the red (Ribes rubrum) 
 and the black (Ribes nigrum). Both are natives of Europe and some 
 parts of Asia and North America. Cultivation has produced the 
 white currant from the red, and in Russia there are varieties of the 
 black currant with yellow berries. The name currant is derived 
 from the resemblance of the fruit to the Corinth raisins or small 
 grapes of Zante, commonly called Corinths or currants. 
 
 Currants are employed in the same way as gooseberries, with 
 which they pretty closely agree in their alimentary properties. A 
 wine is made from the red currant and a liqueur from the black. 
 
 20 
 
306 
 
 ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES. 
 
 Composition of currants (Fresenius). 
 
 Middle-sized red. Very large red. 
 
 SOLUBLE MATTER 
 
 , 
 
 > x 
 
 
 Sugar, 
 
 4.78 
 
 6.44 
 
 5.647 
 
 Free acid (reduced to equiva- 
 lent in malic acid), 
 
 } 2.31 
 
 1.84 
 
 1.695 
 
 Albuminous substances, . 
 
 0.45 
 
 0.49 
 
 0356 
 
 Pectous substances, &c., . 
 
 0.28 
 
 0.19 
 
 0.007 
 
 Ash, . ' . 
 
 0.54 
 
 0.57 
 
 0.620 
 
 INSOLUBLE MATTER 
 
 
 
 
 Seeds, 
 
 4.45^ 
 
 
 
 Skins, &c., .... 
 
 0.66 / 
 
 4.48 
 
 3.940 
 
 Pectose, 
 
 0.69 
 
 0.72 
 
 2.380 
 
 [Ash from insoluble matter in- 
 cluded in weights given] , . 
 
 }[011] 
 
 [0.23] 
 
 [0.185] 
 
 WATER, 
 
 85.84 
 
 85.27 
 
 85.355 
 
 
 100.00 
 
 100.00 
 
 100.000 
 
 
 
 Middle-sized white. 
 
 
 SOLUBLE MATTER 
 
 
 Ji 
 
 
 Sugar, 
 
 6.61 
 
 7.692 
 
 7.12 
 
 Free acid (reduced to equiva- 
 lent in malic acid), 
 
 } 2.26 
 
 2.258 
 
 2.53 
 
 Albuminous substances, . 
 Pectous substances, &c., . 
 
 0.77) 
 0.18) 
 
 0.300 
 
 /0.68 
 10.19 
 
 Ash 
 
 0.54 
 
 0.560 
 
 0.70 
 
 INSOLUBLE MATTER 
 
 
 
 
 Seeds, ..... 
 
 | 4.94 
 
 4.144 
 
 4.85 
 
 Skins, &c., .... 
 
 Pectose, . . . . . 
 
 0.53 
 
 0.240 
 
 0.51 
 
 [Ash from insoluble matter in- 
 cluded in weights given], 
 
 } [0.12] 
 
 
 
 [0.14] 
 
 WATER, 
 
 84.17 
 
 84.806 
 
 83.42 
 
 
 100.00 
 
 100.000 
 
 100.00 
 
 THE CRANBERRY. 
 
 The common cranberry (Oxy coccus palustris, formerly Vaccinium 
 oxycoccus) is a native of the colder regions of the northern hemis- 
 phere. The fruit is too acid to be eaten raw, but is in much request 
 for tarts. 
 
 Wine is made from it in Siberia. 
 
 The American cranberry (Oxycoccus macrocarpus) furnishes a 
 larger fruit, but it is not so highly esteemed. 
 
FRUITS. 307 
 
 Another species, brought from Nova Scotia in 1760, is called 
 snowberry, from the fruit being white. 
 
 THE BARBERRY. 
 
 lUie common barberry (Berberis vulgaris) grows widely distributed 
 through the north of Europe, Asia, and America. It is found in 
 woods, coppices, and hedges in England, especially on a chalky soil. 
 The old English name for the plant is Pipperidge, or Piprage bush. 
 The berries are of an elongated oval form ; and when ripe, generally 
 of a bright red color, more rarely whitish, yellow, or almost black. 
 They are too acid to be eaten in the fresh state, but make excellent 
 preserves and jelly, and are also used to garnish dishes. Malic acid 
 is prepared from them in France. 
 
 THE BILBERRY. 
 
 'The whortle-, hurtle-, bil- or blae-berry (Vaccinium myrtillus) is 
 a native of Great Britain, and grows in woods and on heaths or 
 waste places in the north of Europe and of America. It furnishes 
 a small round purple or almost black fruit, covered with a delicate 
 azure bloom. This is sweet and agreeable to the taste, and is either 
 eaten uncooked with cream or made into tarts. The bog whortle- 
 berry or great bilberry ( Vaccinium uliginosum) has a larger fruit, but 
 its flavor is inferior. 
 
 The red whortleberry ( Vaccinium vitis idcea) is often called cran- 
 berry, from the similarity of its acid fruit to the true cranberry. It 
 is much esteemed for preserves. 
 
 Composition of bilberries (Fresenius). 
 
 SOLUBLE MATTER 
 
 Sugar, .......... 5.780 
 
 Free acid (reduced to equivalent in malic acid), . . 1.341 
 Albuminous substances, ....... 0.794 
 
 Pectous substances, &c., ...... 0.555 
 
 Ash, . ......... 0.858 
 
 INSOLUBLE MATTER 
 
 Pectose, ......... 0.256 
 
 [Ash from insoluble matter included in weights given], . [0.550] 
 WATER, .......... 77.552 
 
 100.000 
 
308 
 
 ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES. 
 
 THE ELDERBERRY. 
 
 Elderberries are derived from the Sambucus nigra (the bourtree of 
 the Scotch), which is a native of Europe, and the north of Asia 
 and of Africa. The berries are black in color (sometimes, however, 
 white), and have a faintly acid with an after sweetish and unpleasant 
 taste. They are rarely used except for making elder wine. The pur- 
 ple juice obtained by expression is called elder rob. It possesses 
 mildly aperient, diuretic, and sudorific properties. 
 
 THE STRAWBERRY. 
 
 The common wood strawberry (Fragaria vesca) is indigenous in 
 almost all temperate climates. The products which have been ob- 
 tained by cultivation from this plant rank among the choicest and 
 most tempting of summer fruits, and afford an example of one of the 
 greatest triumphs of the gardener's art. The Alpine strawberry 
 (Fragaria collina) is a native of Switzerland and Germany. The 
 fruit is small, but produced in great abundance. 
 
 Composition of strawberries (Fresenius). 
 
 SOLUBLE MATTER , 
 
 Sugar, ...... 3.247 
 
 Free acid (reduced to equivalent 1 
 
 in malic acid), . / L65 
 
 Albuminous substances, . . 0.619 
 
 Pectous substances, &c., . . 0.145 
 
 Ash, ...... 0.737 
 
 INSOLUBLE MATTER 
 
 Wild. 
 
 Pectose, ..... 0.299 
 [Ash from insoluble matter in- ) 
 
 eluded in weights given^, . . } t ' 31 ^ 
 WATER, ...... 87271 
 
 4.550 
 
 0.567 
 0.049 
 0.603 
 
 0.300 
 
 87.019 
 
 Light red pine 
 (quite ripe). 
 
 7.575 . 
 1.133 
 
 0.359 
 0.119 
 0.480 
 
 1.960 
 
 0.900 
 
 [0.154] 
 
 87.474 
 
 100.000 
 
 100 000 
 
 100.000 
 
FRUITS. 
 
 309 
 
 THE RASPBERRY. 
 
 The raspberry (Rubus idceus) is a native of Great Britain and 
 most parts of the world, but it has only been cultivated in gardens 
 during the last one or two centuries. The fruit is wholesome and 
 agreeable, but is not so much eaten at dessert in England as on the 
 Continent. It is, however, largely used for tarts and puddings 
 under the form of a preserve, and for making raspberry vinegar. 
 A wine is sometimes prepared from the fermented juice. 
 
 Rubus arcticuS) a smaller variety, takes the place of the common 
 raspberry in the colder regions of Northern Europe. 
 
 Composition of raspberries (Fresenius). 
 
 SOLUBLE MATTER 
 Sugar, 
 
 Free acid (reduced to eqi 
 Albuminous substances, 
 Pectous substances, &c., 
 Ash, .... 
 
 INSOLUBLE MATTER 
 Seeds, 
 Skins, &c., 
 Pectose, . 
 
 [Ash from insoluble matter included in weights 
 given], . 
 
 WATER, 
 
 Cultivated. 
 
 Wild red. 
 3.597 
 ivalent in malic acid), 1.980 
 0.546 
 
 Red. 
 4.708 
 1.356 
 0.544 
 
 White. 
 3.703 
 1.115 
 0.665 
 
 1.107 
 0.270 
 
 1.746 
 0.481 
 
 1.397 
 0.380 
 
 8.4GO 
 0.180 
 [0.134] 
 83.860 
 
 4.106 
 0.502 
 
 [0.296] 
 
 86.557 
 
 4.520 
 0.040 
 [0.081] 
 
 88.180 
 
 100.000 
 
 100.000 
 
 100.000 
 
 THE BLACKBERRY. 
 
 The blackberry (Rubus fruticosus) is indigenous in Great Britain 
 and the greater part of Europe, and grows wild as a shrubby bram- 
 ble in hedges. The fruit is gathered by children for eating, and 
 also for making into puddings. Jelly and jam are sometimes pre- 
 pared from it as well as a wine. 
 
310 ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES. 
 
 Composition of blackberries (Fresenius). 
 
 SOLUBLE MATTER Very ripe. 
 
 Sugar, ........... 4.444 
 
 Free acid (reduced to equivalent in malic acid), . . . 1.188 
 
 Albuminous substances, ........ 0.510 
 
 Pectous substances, &c., 1.444 
 
 Ash, 0.414 
 
 INSOLUBLE MATTER 
 Seeds, 
 
 Skins, &c., } 521 
 
 Pectose, 0.384 
 
 [Ash from insoluble matter included in weights given], . . [0.074] 
 
 WATER, . . . , . . 86.406 
 
 100.000 
 
 THE DEWBERRY. 
 
 The dewberry or gray bramble (Rubus ccesius) is a native of Britain 
 and many parts of Europe and Asia; it is closely allied to the black- 
 berry, but grows on the ground and not in hedges. The fruit is 
 very sweet and agreeable, and makes an excellent wine. The dew- 
 berry of North America (Rubus procumbens) bears a more acidulous 
 fruit, superior to that of Britain. 
 
 THE MULBERRY. 
 
 The black or common mulberry (Morus nigra) is a native of 
 Persia, but is supposed to have been brought to Europe by the Ro- 
 mans. The fruit is of a purplish-black color, with dark -red juice, 
 fine aromatic flavor, and acidulous, and sweet taste. It possesses 
 wholesome, refrigerant, and slightly laxative properties, and is highly 
 esteemed for dessert ; an excellent preserve and an agreeable wine 
 are made from it. 
 
FRUITS. 311 
 
 Composition of mulberries (Fresenius). 
 
 SOLUBLE MATTER Black. 
 
 Sugar, 9.192 
 
 Free acid (reduced to equivalent in malic acid),. . . 1.860 
 
 Albuminous substances, ....... 0.394 
 
 Pectous substances, &c., ....... 2.031 
 
 Ash, 0.566 
 
 INSOLUBLE MATTER 
 
 S: : ::::;::,: :}* 
 
 Pectose, 0.345 
 
 [Ash from insoluble matter included in weights given], . [0.089] 
 
 WATER, 84.707 
 
 100.000 
 
 THE MELON. 
 
 The melon (CuGumis melo) or cantaloupe belongs to the gourd tribe. 
 The fruit varies greatly in size, color, and the character of the rind. 
 In some the rind is smooth and thin, in others thick and warty, and 
 cracked in a net-like manner. The color of the flesh is green, red, 
 and yellow. It is eaten with sugar at dessert, or with pepper and 
 salt. at dinner. When in perfection it forms a rich and delicious 
 fruit, but, like its congeners, the cucumber, &c., it is sometimes apt 
 to disagree. 
 
 The water melon (Cucumis citrullus) is highly prized for its flavor 
 and juiciness. This fruit is round, with a dark green spotted rind, 
 and pink or white flesh. It is only eaten at dessert. 
 
 THE PINE-APPLE. 
 
 The pine-apple (Ananassa sativa) is a native of South America, 
 whence it has been introduced into Africa and Asia. It was first 
 cultivated in hot-houses in Holland and England at the end of the 
 seventeenth century. It may be looked upon as furnishing the 
 finest of dessert fruits. Besides being eaten in the fresh state, it is 
 made into a preserve with sugar, and otherwise employed by the 
 confectioner. It is also used to flavor rum. 
 
312 ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES. 
 
 THE FIG. 
 
 The common fig (Ficus carica) is a native of Asia and Barbary, 
 and has been naturalized in Greece, Italy, Spain, and the south of 
 France, where the fruit forms an important part of the people's food. 
 The fig tree also grows in the open air in some of the milder parts 
 of England, but its fruit fails to acquire the perfection in flavor be- 
 longing to that produced in a warmer climate. The varieties culti- 
 vated are numerous, and the color of the fruit of some is bluish- 
 black, of others, red, purple, green, yellow, or white. The fruit is 
 pear-shaped, and consists of. a pulpy mass, containing many seed- 
 like bodies. The amount of sugar present is exceedingly large. 
 The figs grown in England have but little taste, and that of a some- 
 what sickly nature. Grown in warm countries, however, they form 
 a rich and luscious fruit. Figs are largely imported in a dried and 
 compressed state. The best are brought from Smyrna, and are 
 known as Turkey figs. If freely eaten, they are apt to irritate and 
 disorder the stomach and bowels. 
 
 THE PRICKLY PEAR. 
 
 The prickly pear, or Indian fig (Opuntia vulgaris), is a native of 
 America, but is now naturalized in many parts of the south of 
 Europe and north of Africa. It grows freely on the barest rocks, 
 and spreads over expanses of volcanic sand and ashes too arid for 
 almost any other plant to live. The fruit is somewhat like a fig, of 
 a deep rose color, and rather larger than a hen's egg. The pulp is 
 juicy, and its flavor, which to most palates will be considered of a 
 sickly nature, combines sweetness with acidity. It is not much 
 known in England, but is largely eaten in some localities abroad. 
 
 THE TAMARIND. 
 
 There are two varieties of the tamarind the East Indian (Tama- 
 rindus indica), and the West Indian (Tamarindus occidentalis). The 
 fruit consists of a brown, many-seeded pod, filled with a sweet and 
 acidulous, reddish-black pulp. The pod of the East Indian is much 
 longer than that of the West Indian variety. According to the 
 analysis of Yauquelin, tamarinds contain 9.40 per cent, of citric 
 
FRUITS. 313 
 
 acid; 1.55 per cent, of tartaric acid; 0.45 per cent, of malic acid; 
 3.25 per cent, of bitartrate of potash, and 12.5 per cent, of sugar, 
 besides gum, vegetable jelly, parenchyma, and water. They are 
 preserved by placing alternate layers of the fruit and sugar into a 
 cask, and pouring over them boiling syrup. 
 
 Tamarinds possess refrigerant and mildly laxative properties. 
 They are sometimes mixed with milk, for the production of tama- 
 rind whey, which is occasionally used as a drink in febrile and in- 
 flammatory affections. 
 
 THE PLANTAIN ANb BANANA. 
 
 The plantain (Musa paradisiacd) is a native of the East Indies, 
 but is now diffused all over the tropical and subtropical regions of 
 the globe. It is so called on account of having been supposed to 
 have furnished the fruit which tempted Eve in Paradise. The 
 banana (Musa sapientum) appears to be only a variety of the plan- 
 tain, bearing smaller and more delicately flavored fruit. Its name 
 is due to its having formed the chief food of the Brahmins or wise 
 people of India. They both constitute exceedingly productive 
 plants, and it is asserted that an extent of ground which would only 
 grow wheat enough for the support of two persons would maintain 
 fifty- if cultivated with the plantain. Plantains and bananas form 
 important and valuable articles of food to the inhabitants of many 
 tropical regions. They even afford in some localities the chief ali- 
 mentary support of the people. The fruit occurs in large bunches 
 or clusters, which may weigh as much as fifty pounds. On strip- 
 ping off the tegumentary part, a softish core is met with, which is 
 chiefly farinaceous in the unripe, and saccharine in the ripe state ; 
 the starch becoming converted, it is stated, during maturation, first 
 into a mucilaginous substance, and then into sugar. Plantain meal 
 is prepared by powdering and sifting the dried core of the plantain 
 whilst in the green or unripe state. It has a fragrant odor, and a 
 bland taste, like that of common wheat flour. It is said to be easy 
 of digestion, and to be extensively employed in British Guiana as 
 the food of infants, children, and invalids. The larger proportion 
 of it consists of starch, but it also contains a certain percentage of 
 nitrogenous matter, and is, therefore, of higher alimentary value than 
 the starchy preparations, as sago, arrowroot, &c. 
 
314 ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES. 
 
 Composition of the pulp of ripe bananas (Coren winder). 
 
 Nitrogenous matter, ........ 4.820 
 
 Sugar, pectose, organic acid, with traces of starch, . . 19.657 
 
 Fatty matter, 0.632 
 
 Cellulose, 0.200 
 
 Saline matter, . . . . . . . . .0.791 
 
 Water, 73.900 
 
 100.000 
 
 THE BREAD FRUIT. 
 
 This is derived from the Artocarpus incisa, a native of the islands 
 of the Pacific and the Moluccas. The fruit is of a round or oval 
 shape, and attains a size as large as that of a small loaf of bread. 
 In an alimentary point of view, it occupies the same position amongst 
 the inhabitants of Polynesia that is held by corn in other parts of 
 the world. -The Artocarpus integrifolia is cultivated throughout 
 Southern India and all the warmer parts of Asia. Its fruit, called 
 jak fruit, is considerably employed as an article of food in Ceylon. 
 
 The fruit of the Carob tree, or St. John's bread ( Ceratonia siliqua), 
 is eaten in time of scarcity by the country people of the districts 
 where it grows, and, as implied by its name, it has been supposed 
 to have been the food of John the Baptist. It is a native of the 
 countries skirting the Mediterranean, and is almost the only tree 
 that grows in Malta (Baird's " Cyclo. of Nat. Sci."). 
 
 The Date plum of China, or key fig of Japan (Diospyros Jcaki), 
 is a native of China and Japan, and is frequently sent to Europe in 
 a dried state (Baird's " Cyclo. of Nat. Sci."). 
 
 The fruit of the Persimmon tree (Diospyros Virginiana), a native of 
 the United States, when fully ripe, is sweet and palatable. The 
 fleshy part is sepstrated from the seeds, and made into cakes, which 
 are dried and preserved (Baird's " Cyclo. Nat. Sci/'). 
 
 The fruit of the Chilian pine (Araucaria imbricata) is the chief 
 food of the inhabitants of Chili and Patagonia. It is asserted that 
 the produce of one large tree will maintain eighteen persons for a 
 year (Johnston's " Chemistry of Common Life," vol. i, p. 108). 
 
MISCELLANEOUS ARTICLES. 315 
 
 BAKK. 
 
 The bark of trees is to some extent eaten in certain localities. 
 The Jakuts of Northern Siberia grate the inner bark of the larch, 
 and sometimes of the fir, and mix it with fish, a little meal and 
 milk, or by preference with fat, and make it into a sort of broth 
 (Wrangell's " Polar Sea," p. 23). The inhabitants of New Cale- 
 donia eat the bark of a tree after they have roasted it (Cook's 
 "Second Voyage," vol. ii, p. 123); and the Laplanders and Fins 
 make a kind of bread with the triturated internal layers of the bark 
 of the pine (Baird's " Cyclo. Nat. Sci."). 
 
 SAWDUST AND WOODY FIBRE. 
 
 In Sweden and Norway sawdust is sometimes converted into 
 bread, for which purpose beech, or some wood that does not contain 
 turpentine, is repeatedly macerated and boiled in water to remove 
 soluble matters, and then reduced to powder, heated several times 
 in ah oven, and ground. In this state it is said to have the smell 
 and taste of corn-flour (Tomlinson's " Cyclo. of Useful Arts," vol. 
 ii, p. 926). 
 
 Bread has been made in times of famine of a variety of substances ; 
 thus, in the years 1629, 1630, and 1693, very good, wholesome, 
 white bread was made in England from boiled turnips. The mois- 
 ture was pressed out of the turnips, and they were then kneaded 
 with an equal quantity of wheaten flour (Beckman's " History of 
 Inventions," 1846, vol. i, p. 349). 
 
 During the late siege of Paris, the bread served out constituted a 
 very coarse and mixed article. In Sheppard's " Shut up in Paris," 
 p. 309, it is stated to have been found by analysis to be comprised 
 of one-eighth wheat; four-eighths potatoes, beans, peas, oats, and 
 rye ; two-eighths water, and the remaining one-eighth straw, hulls 
 of grain, and the skins of vegetable products. 
 
316 ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES*. 
 
 SACCHARINE PREPARATIONS. 
 
 Sugar forms an important alimentary principle, and is met with 
 widely, and in certain cases largely, amongst vegetable products, 
 from some of which it is extracted for use. It also constitutes, 
 under the name of lactin, one of the ingredients of the animal food 
 provided by nature for the support of the young mammal, viz., 
 milk. 
 
 Sugar was known to the ancient Greeks and Romans, and its 
 manufacture is said by Humboldt to be of the greatest antiquity in 
 China. 
 
 Sugar evidently contributes towards force production in the 
 body, and, likewise, as is shown by ample evidence, towards the 
 formation and accumulation of fat. Being of a soluble and diifusi- 
 ble nature, it needs no preliminary' digestion for absorption, and, 
 therefore, sits lightly on the stomach. It is, however, apt in some 
 dyspeptics to undergo the acid fermentation, and give rise to pre- 
 ternatural acidity of stomach and likewise flatulence. A popular 
 notion prevails that it has a tendency to injure the teeth, but no 
 trustworthy evidence that such is the case exists. 
 
 The consumption of sugar in Great Britain in 1700 amounted to 
 10,000 tons. In the year 1863-64, it had risen to 536,226 tons of 
 unrefined, 14,879 tons of refined, and 40,165 tons of cane juice, 
 syrup, and molasses. In relation to population, the amount stood 
 at 30 Ibs. per head. In 1866, the quantity consumed in England 
 was at the rate of 38 Ibs. per head. 
 
 Besides employment as a daily article of food, sugar constitutes 
 the base of a variety of products of the confectioner's art. On ac- 
 count of its antiseptic virtue, it is also extensively used as a preser- 
 vative of other substances. It is chiefly vegetable products, as 
 fruits, &c., that it is employed for preserving, but animal sub- 
 stances can be equally well kept by the influence it exerts in this 
 direction. 
 
 There are two main varieties of sugar. The one is familiar to us 
 as the produce of the sugar cane, and the other as contained in 
 grapes and other kinds of fruit. The former variety is charac- 
 terized by the facility with which it crystallizes, and by its strong 
 sweetness of taste. It not only exists in the sugar cane, but also in 
 
SUGAR. 317 
 
 beet-root, in the sap of certain species of maple, in the stems of 
 maize, and in some other vegetable products. It is distinguished 
 by the generic term of crystalline or cane-sugar. The latter is im- 
 perfectly crystall izable, and of much inferior sweetness. It abounds 
 in grapes and many other fruits and vegetable articles, and may also 
 be obtained by the action of acids and ferments on cane-sugar, 
 starch, gum, and liquorice. It is known by the generic name of 
 glucose, or grape-sugar. These two varieties differ further in their 
 chemical relations, and in the amount of the elements of water they 
 contain. The various saccharine products in common use consist of 
 one or other of these varieties. 
 
 Cane-sugar. This, looked at as a specific product, is derived from 
 the sugar-cane, or Saccharum, a plant which appears to have come 
 originally from the interior of Asia, whence it was transplanted to 
 Cyprus. It was introduced into the West Indies, where it is now 
 extensively cultivated, early in the sixteenth century. There are 
 several varieties of Saccharum grown for the extraction of sugar, 
 but the Creole cane, or Saccharum officinarum, is that which was 
 first introduced into the New World. 
 
 The sugar is contained in the juice of the cane, and the first step 
 in its manufacture is to obtain the juice by means of pressure, which 
 is usually applied by iron rollers. The cane, when ripe, is cut close 
 to the ground, stripped of its leaves, and then twice passed between 
 the iron rollers. The expressed juice is next clarified and evap- 
 orated. This is effected by the combined use of heat and the addi- 
 tion of lime. Passing through a series of evaporating vessels, the 
 scum and deposit are removed, and the liquor brought to the proper 
 consistence. It is now transferred into coolers, for the crystals to 
 form and separate from the uncrystallizable portion, which is allowed 
 to drain off. The solidified product constitutes muscovado, or raw 
 sugar, and is packed in hogsheads and distributed to the consumer. 
 The uncrystallizable portion, containing changed products resulting 
 from the action of the heat, is called molasses. 
 
 The juice of the sugar-cane contains about 18 to 22 per cent, of 
 >u t irar, and six to eight pounds of it are required to yield one pound 
 of the crystallized article. 
 
 A large portion of the raw sugar is refined or transformed from 
 brown or moist into white or loaf sugar before being used, and the 
 process of refining is extensively carried on in this country. The 
 
318 ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES. 
 
 object is to clarify and decolorize, and this is usually effected by 
 boiling the dissolved sugar with bullock's .blood, filtering, and 
 allowing the liquor to percolate through coarsely grained animal 
 charcoal. The nearly colorless liquid thence obtained is concen- 
 trated to the requisite degree in a vacuum pan heated with steam, 
 and then transferred to conical moulds, where solidification occurs. 
 The unsolidified portion, which constitutes treacle, is afterwards per- 
 mitted to drain off, and loaf sugar is left. The article is still to 
 some extent colored, and, as a finishing process, a saturated solution 
 of sugar is allowed to percolate through the loaf. This washes out 
 the remaining coloring matter, and leaves the product in the white 
 and porous condition observed to belong to the fully refined article. 
 
 Sugar is also extracted from the root of the beet (Beta vulgaris), 
 which contains nearly a tenth part of its weight of the principle. 
 The cultivation of the beet was recommended for the purpose as 
 early as 1747, at Berlin, but nothing was practically carried out 
 until Napoleon the First encouraged the proposal, and now the 
 manufacture is successfully and extensively pursued in France, 
 Belgium, and Russia. In England a beet-sugar factory has been 
 established at Lavenham, in Suffolk. The juice of the root is ob- 
 tained and submitted to the same kind of treatment as that of the 
 sugar-cane, and in the refined state the two sugars resemble each 
 other. ' 
 
 A considerable portion of the sugar used in the northern parts of 
 North America is obtained from a variety of maple, the Acer sac- 
 charinum. Incisions are made into the tree, to allow the sap to 
 escape. This is collected and concentrated to crystallizing point. 
 It yields then a coarse sugar, which, however, admits of being puri- 
 fied and brought into the same state as the refined sugar of the cane 
 and beet. 
 
 The green stalks of the maize, or Indian corn, are largely im- 
 pregnated with sugar, and are spmetimes employed for its extraction. 
 Sugar was obtained from this source by the ancient Mexicans. The 
 Sorghum saccharatunij or sugar-grass, is also gradually growing into 
 importance as a source of sugar, both in North America and the 
 south of Europe. In India a large amount of sugar, called jaggary, 
 is obtained from the juice of various trees of the palm tribe. The 
 date palm (Phoenix dactylifera), the wild date palm (Phoenix sylves- 
 tris), and the gomuto palm (Saguerus saccharifer), are all turned to 
 
SACCHARINE PRODUCTS. 319 
 
 account for this purpose, and the sugar is to some extent imported 
 into England, and used for mixing, but it is said not to be of 
 sufficient " strength " to pay for refining. 
 
 Barley-sugar. When a concentrated solution of sugar is rapidly 
 boiled down, its tendency to crystallize is diminished, and, it may be, 
 even destroyed. On being allowed to cool, it solidifies into a trans- 
 parent, amorphous mass, of a vitreous nature. It is in this way that 
 barley -sugar is prepared, and the same principle also determines the 
 production of acidulated drops, hardbake, toffee, &c. Sometimes a 
 little cream of tartar is introduced to favor the action of the heat, and 
 in the case of acidulated drops tartaric acid is added whilst the liquid 
 is boiling. 
 
 Sugar-candy. This is crystallized sugar, and is prepared by allow- 
 ing a concentrated syrup to slowly deposit crystals on the surface of 
 the vessel in which it is contained, and on threads stretched across it. 
 Crushed sugar-candy forms the coarse crystalline article which is 
 often used for sweetening coifee. 
 
 Molasses constitutes the dark-colored, viscid liquid which drains 
 off during the preparation of raw sugar. The molasses which sepa- 
 rates from beet-root sugar has a disagreeable taste, and is thereby 
 unfit for employment in the same way as that which is derivable 
 from the sugar of the cane. 
 
 Treacle. As molasses constitutes the uncrystallized liquid which 
 drains from raw sugar, so treacle forms that which escapes from the 
 moulds in which refined sugar concretes. Both liquids contain un- 
 crystallizable sugar, crystallizable sugar, gum, extractive matter, free 
 acid, various salts, and water. They are used as a cheap substitute 
 for sugar. > If consumed to any great extent, they exert a laxative 
 action. 
 
 Golden syrup is produced by reboiling the liquid which drains 
 from refined sugar, and filtering through animal charcoal. It there- 
 fore constitutes a purified form of treacle. 
 
 Caramel. When crystallized sugar is heated to about 400 Fahr., 
 it suffers decomposition, gives off the elements of water, loses its 
 power of crystallizing, becomes dark-colored, and acquires a bitter 
 taste in the place of a sweet one. The article thus produced is called 
 caramelj and is used by the cook and confectioner as a flavoring and 
 coloring agent. 
 
 Glucose, or grape-sugar. It has been already stated that it is to. 
 
320 ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES. 
 
 this modification of sugar that grapes and many other fruits owe their 
 sweet taste, and that it may be produced artificially from cane-sugar, 
 starch, and some other substances. Its separation from the juice of 
 grapes, and likewise its manufacture from potato starch and sago, 
 have been to some extent carried out, and the product has formed an 
 article of commerce, but its chief employment has been as an adul- 
 terant- of cane-sugar. It is not used dietetically upon its own merits 
 in the same way as the latter. Its taste is less agreeably sweet, and its 
 sweetening power is so far inferior that five parts of grape-sugar are 
 said to be required to raise a given volume of water to the same 
 degree of sweetness as is effected by two parts of cane-sugar. It is 
 also much less soluble in water, and less disposed to assume a crys- 
 talline form, on which account it is not susceptible of the same facility 
 of purification. 
 
 HONEY. 
 
 Honey may be most conveniently referred to here, although not a 
 preparation standing in precisely the same position as the other prod- 
 ucts included in the group. 
 
 It is an article collected by the bee for its own use, which man 
 takes possession of and consumes instead. It is an exudation from 
 the nectariferous glands of flowers, which the bee sucks up and passes 
 into the dilatation of the oesophagus forming the crop or honey-bag. 
 From this it is afterwards disgorged, probably somewhat altered in 
 its properties by the secretion of the crop, and deposited in the cell 
 of the honeycomb. In Europe, it is principally through the Apis 
 mellifica that honey is obtained, and it is by the neuter or working 
 member of the hive that the office is performed. The honey of Sur- 
 inam and Cayenne, furnished by the Apis amalthea, is red, and that 
 supplied by the Apis unicolor of Madagascar is of a greenish color. 
 
 Honey is a concentrated solution of sugar, mixed with odorous, 
 coloring, gummy, and waxy matters. It usually resolves itself into 
 a fluid and a solid crystalline portion, which are separable from each 
 other by pressure in a linen bag. Chemically, the saccharine matter is 
 of two kinds : the one resembles that from the grape (glucose), whilst 
 the other is uucrystallizable, and analogous to the uncrystallizable 
 sugar which exists along with common sugar in cane-juice. Mannite, 
 uon- fermenting kind of sugar, has also been met with. 
 
SACCHARINE PRODUCTS. 321 
 
 Honey varies in flavor and odor, according to the age of the bees, 
 and the flowers from which it has been collected. 
 
 Virgin honey, or that procured from young bees which have never 
 swarmed, is held in higher estimation than that collected from a hive 
 that has swarmed; but the term virgin honey is also applied to that 
 which flows spontaneously from the comb, on account of its being 
 better than that obtained by the aid of pressure, and especially heat 
 and pressure, this being contaminated with foreign matter derived 
 from the comb. The honey, again, of certain countries and dis- 
 tricts is well known to possess special qualities dependent on the flora 
 of the locality. Hence, the fragrant odor and choice taste belonging 
 to the honey of Mount Ida, in Crete; the neighborhood of Narbonne, 
 where the labiate flowers abound; the valley of Chamounix; and of 
 our own high moorland, when the heather is in bloom. Hence, also, 
 the deleterious qualities which the honey of Trebizonde, upon the 
 Black Sea, has lone: been known to possess, and which are due to its 
 
 / O I / 
 
 collection from a species of rhododendron, the Azalea pontica, \vhich 
 grows upon the neighboring mountains. The effects produced con- 
 sist of headache, vomiting, and a kind of intoxication ; and, if eaten 
 in large quantities, a loss of all sense and power for some hours may 
 occur. It is said to have been probably this kind of honey which 
 poisoned the soldiers of Xenophon, as described by him in the "Re- 
 treat of the Ten Thousand." Many other instances of honey exert- 
 ing poisonous effects have been recorded. 
 
 Honey formed an alimentary article of great importance to the 
 ancients, who were almost unacquainted with sugar; and certain 
 localities, as Hybla in Sicily, and Hymettus near Athens, were 
 specially celebrated for its production. It is pretty largely consumed 
 dietetically in some districts, and possesses the same alimentary value 
 as sugar. It exerts a slightly laxative action, and is frequently em- 
 ployed therapeutically as an emollient and demulcent. 
 
 MANNA. 
 
 Manna is a sweet substance, which solidifies from the juice of 
 certain species of ash, especially Fraxinus ornu8 and rotundifolia. 
 Incisions are made into the stem of the tree, and the juice allowed 
 to escape and dry into solid masses. It contains a peculiar kind of 
 sugar mannite which forms about four-fifths of the best manna. 
 
 21 
 
322 ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES. 
 
 Mannite, which also exists to some extent in the beet-root and some 
 other vegetable products, constitutes a white, crystallizable, odorless, 
 and sweet principle, which differs from ordinary sugar in not being 
 susceptible of undergoing the alcoholic fermentation in contact with 
 yeast. 
 
 The chief use to which manna is applied is as a mild and safe laxa- 
 tive. It possesses some nutritive value. Different sorts of manna 
 are eaten by the natives of Australia (Eyre's "Central Australia," 
 vol. ii, p. 250). 
 
 FARINACEOUS PREPARATIONS. 
 
 Farinaceous or starchy matter is a product which is yielded by the 
 vegetable kingdom only. Here, however, it is widely,*and often very 
 largely, met with. It occurs under the form of little granular bodies 
 (starch-granules) lodged in the vegetable tissues, but readily suscep- 
 tible, under appropriate treatment, of isolation. These granules pos- 
 sess a distinctly organized construction, and are made up of a series 
 of superposed layers, the outermost of which is the thickest and 
 hardest. Thus are produced the concentric lines which are visible 
 when the granule is submitted to microscopic examination, and which 
 are arranged around a spot which is called the hilum. The granules 
 from different sources present distinctive features as regards size, form, 
 and appearance, which may be recognized with the aid of the micro- 
 scope. 
 
 Starch forms an important alimentary article. Being devoid of 
 nitrogen, it can contribute only towards force and fat production. 
 The hardness of the external envelope renders the granule in its 
 original state difficult of digestion and digestion, which involves 
 transformation into sugar, must occur before absorption and utiliza- 
 tion can ensue. On this account, when starch is consumed in the 
 raw state, more or less of it passes off with the undigested residue 
 from the alimentary canal. By boiling, or otherwise exposing to heat, 
 the granules rupture and become far more easily attacked by the di- 
 gestive juices. Starchy matter, therefore, should be subjected to 
 cooking before being consumed. 
 
FARINACEOUS PREPARATIONS. 323 
 
 There are various starchy preparations in common use, an account 
 of which will now be furnished. 
 
 SAGO. 
 
 Sago is obtained from the central or medullary part, commonly 
 called pith, of the stems of several species of palm. When the tree 
 is sufficiently mature, it is cut down near the root and split perpen- 
 dicularly. The medullary matter is extracted, reduced to powder, 
 mixed with water, and strained through a sieve. From the strained 
 liquid the starch is deposited, and, after washing with water and 
 drying, forms the sago flour or meal of commerce. A single tree is 
 said to yield 5 to 6 hundred pounds of sago. What is called sago 
 bread is made in the Moluccas by throwing the dry meal into heated 
 earthenware moulds, which leads, in the course of a few minutes, to 
 its incorporation or caking together into a hard mass. 
 
 Granulated sago is prepared from sago flour by mixing it with 
 water into a paste, and then granulating. It consists of pearl sago, 
 which occurs in small spherical grains, and constitutes the kind now 
 commonly employed for dietetic purposes ; and brown or common 
 sago, which occurs in larger grains, and was the only kind used in 
 England prior to the introduction of the last. Both sorts are met 
 with variously tinted, and the tint is not uniform throughout, the 
 surface of the grain being deep on one side and pale on the other. 
 It may be rendered white by bleaching. 
 
 Sago constitutes an important article of food in some parts of the 
 East. It is used in household economy in England for introduction 
 into soup, and under the form of pudding. It serves as a light and 
 digestible alimentary material for the invalid and dyspeptic. It 
 absorbs the liquid in which it is cooked, and becomes transparent 
 and soft, but retains its original granular form. In 1863-64 the 
 amount of sago imported into Great Britain was 7306 tons. 
 
 CASSAVA AND TAPIOCA. 
 
 These starchy preparations are obtained from the large, thick, 
 fleshy, tuberous roots of the Manihot utilissima, formerly known 
 as the Jatropha manihot, a native of tropical America, but now 
 cultivated in Africa, India, and other hot countries. The plant 
 
324 ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES. 
 
 in question constitutes what is popularly called the bitter cassava, 
 but there is another variety from which cassava and tapioca are also 
 obtained, called the sweet cassava. Both plants, like others of the 
 order Euphorbiacece, to which they belong, have a milky juice. This, 
 in the case of the bitter variety, contains, amongst other deleterious 
 principles, hydrocyanic acid, and gives to the root highly acrid and 
 poisonous properties. In the case of the sweet variety the juice is 
 devoid of poisonous properties, and the root by boiling or roasting 
 becomes soft, and is used as an edible article. In the bitter variety 
 it is only the juice that is poisonous, and when this has been ex- 
 pressed or otherwise removed, the residue is of a harmless nature. 
 
 To procure the farinaceous preparations, the root, after being 
 washed and scraped, is reduced to a pulp by being rasped or grated. 
 The pulp is then subjected to pressure, to express the juice. From 
 the compressed residue cassava meal and bread are obtained ; and 
 from the juice, cassava starch, and tapioca. 
 
 Thus : the residue, dried over a brisk fire, and afterwards pounded, 
 forms cassava meal. If baked on a hot plate, it yields cassava bread. 
 Both these products form important and valuable articles of food to 
 the inhabitants of tropical America. They contain starch, vegetable 
 fibre, and nitrogenous matter. The expressed juice, in the next place, 
 contains suspended starch, which is allowed to subside. This, after 
 being washed and dried in the air without the aid of heat, consti- 
 tutes cassava starch^ or what is known in commerce as tapioca meal 
 or Brazilian arrowroot. Tapioca is made by heating the cassava 
 starch, before being dried, on hot plates, and stirring it with an iron 
 rod. By these means the mass agglomerates into small, irregular, 
 transparent granules, forming the article imported into this country 
 under the name in question from Bahia and Rio Janeiro. 
 
 Tapioca forms an agreeable, light, and easily digestible farinaceous 
 article of food. It is useful both for the sick and healthy, and is 
 employed under the form of pudding and for introduction into soup 
 and broth. Consisting, as it does, of starchy matter only, it pos- 
 sesses a less nutritive value than cassava meal and bread. In con- 
 sequence of the heat to which it has been subjected, many of the 
 starch-granules are in a ruptured state, which leads to its being 
 partially soluble in. cold water. 
 
FARINACEOUS PREPARATIONS. 325 
 
 ARROWROOT. 
 
 Genuine arrowroot, or, as it is called, West Indian arrowroot, in 
 contradistinction to spurious representations of the article, constitutes 
 a pure form of starch derived from the tuberous root of the Maranta 
 arundinacea. It owes its name to the belief of the Indians of South 
 America that the root of the plant was an antidote to the poison of 
 their enemies' arrows. The plant grows in tropical climates, and 
 was originally cultivated in the West Indies, but has been transferred 
 to the East Indies, Ceylon, and Africa. 
 
 The following is the process by which the product is obtained. 
 The roots are dug up when they are about ten or twelve months old, 
 washed, and reduced to a state of pulp. This is mixed with water, 
 cleared of fibres by means of a coarse sieve, and the starch allowed 
 to settle. Successive washings are employed for further purification, 
 and the arrowroot is then either dried on sheets in the sun or in dry- 
 ing-houses, care being exercised to exclude dust and insects. 
 
 Arrowroot is imported into England from the West India Islands, 
 Calcutta, and Sierra Leone, and is usually distinguished by the 
 name of the island or place producing it. That derived from Ber- 
 muda is held in the highest estimation. It forms a white, odorless, 
 and' tasteless substance, and is met with either in the state of powder 
 or of small pulverulent masses. When rubbed between the fingers 
 it feels firm, and produces a slight crackling noise. It consists of 
 starch -granules, which are readily distinguished by their microscopic 
 characters from those derived from other sources. 
 
 Consisting, as arrowroot does, of pure starch, it has no alimentary 
 value beyond that belonging to this principle. It is chiefly used as 
 a bland article of food for invalids, but, of course, requires to be 
 conjoined with other alimentary matter, as alone it possesses only a 
 limited sustaining power. As an ordinary dietetic agent, it is em- 
 ployed under the form of pudding and blancmange, and, with other 
 materials, is made into a biscuit. 
 
 The spurious arrowroot consists of starch derived from other 
 sources, and substituted on the score of greater cheapness. For ex- 
 ample, Takitan arrowroot, or Taeca starch, also sometimes called 
 Otaheite salep, is obtained from the root of the Tacca oceanica, a 
 native of the South Sea Islands (the Tacca pinnatifida of the tropi- 
 
326 ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES. 
 
 cal parts of Asia also yields a large quantity of beautifully white 
 starch, which constitutes an important article of food to the natives) ; 
 Portland arrowroot (so called from being manufactured in the island 
 of this name), from that of the Arum maeulatum ; Brazilian arrow- 
 root, from that of the plant which yields tapioca ; East Indian arrow- 
 root, from that of the Curcuma angusti/olia, a species of turmeric 
 plant ; and English arrowroot, from the potato. 
 
 TOUS-LES-MOIS. 
 
 This name is given to the starch obtained from the tuberous root 
 of the Canna edulis, a native of the West Indies. It is extracted in 
 the same way as arrowroot, viz., by reducing the tuber to a pulp, 
 straining, washing, decanting the supernatant liquid, and drying 
 the starchy deposit. It is imported from St. Kitts, and was only 
 introduced into England as recently as about the year 1836. Its 
 granules are characterized by exceeding in size those of all other 
 starches. It is very soluble in boiling water, and appears to be 
 readily susceptible of digestion. It is used for invalids in the same 
 way as arrowroot, and in alimentary value resembles the other fari- 
 naceous preparations. 
 
 SALEP. . 
 
 Salep constitutes the prepared tubercles of several orchideous 
 plants. It is imported from India, Persia, and Turkey, and is met 
 with under the form of small ovoid tubercles, which have been sub- 
 jected to boiling for a few minutes in water, rubbing with a coarse 
 linen cloth to remove the skin, and drying in an oven. When re- 
 quired for use, they are ground to a fine powder, and mixed with 
 boiling water. Salep consists of, besides other ingredients, muci- 
 laginous matter and starch. It, therefore, possesses demulcent as 
 well as nutritive properties. 
 
 REVALENTA ARABICA. 
 
 Revalenta and Ervalenta form preparations the chief portion of 
 which consists of the flour of the lentil, or Ervum lens (hence erva- 
 lentd), a plant belonging, like peas and beans, to the leguminous 
 tribe. 
 
FARINACEOUS PREPARATIONS. 327 
 
 Du Barry's Revalenta Arabica is thus composed, according to the 
 analysis of Dr. Hassall. Three samples, he says, were examined, 
 and one consisted of a mixture of the red or Arabian lentil and barley 
 flour; another, of the same ingredients mixed with sugar; and the 
 third of the Arabian lentil and barley flour, with saline matter, 
 chiefly salt, and a flavoring principle tasting as though consisting of 
 celery seed. Such, according to Dr. Hassall, was found to be the 
 composition of samples of an article which is vaunted in the adver- 
 tising columns of the daily press as a specific for almost all the ail- 
 ments that the human frame is heir to, and sold at an enormous 
 price, looked at in relation to the cost of its ingredients. 
 
 A sample of Wharton's Ervalenta, examined by Dr. Hassall, con- 
 sisted of the French or German lentil, mixed with a substance re- 
 sembling maize or Indian corn. 
 
 The object of the admixture of barley and other flours with the 
 lentil powder is not, remarks Dr. Hassall, that of gain, for the cost 
 of the latter is less than that of the former, but to diminish the 
 strong flavor which lentils possess, and which is so distasteful to 
 
 O JT * 
 
 many. 
 
 Regarded dietetically, a preparation which owes its chief composi- 
 tion to lentil flour is rich, like leguminous seeds in general, in nitro- 
 genous matter, but in that form of it which is of a more indigestible 
 nature than the nitrogenous matter belonging to the Cerealia. 
 
BEVERAGES. 
 
 A SUPPLY of water under some shape or other is one of the essen- 
 tial conditions of life. It is just as needful as solid matter. It not 
 only enters largely into the constitution of the different parts of the 
 organism, but is required for various purposes in the performance of 
 the operations of life. Without it, for instance, there could be no 
 circulation nor molecular mobility of any kind. It forms the liquid 
 element of the secretions, and thereby the medium for dissolving and 
 enabling the digested food to pass into the system and the effete 
 products to pass out. A constant ingress and egress are occurring, 
 and the former requires to stand in proper adjustment to the latter. 
 Under ordinary conditions of exercise and temperature it may be 
 estimated that about five pints of fluid pass off through the kidneys, 
 skin, lungs and alimentary canal from an average-sized adult in the 
 course of the twenty-four hours, and this has to be replenished by 
 supply from without. But it is not necessary that this amount 
 should be drunk. A large proportion of our solid food, in many 
 cases as much as 70, 80, or 90 per cent., consists of water, and the 
 quantity required in an ordinary way to be taken daily in the form of 
 drink may be roughly assumed to amount to from two and a half or 
 three to three and a half or four pints or more. The loss going on, 
 however, represents such a fluctuating product dependent on exercise 
 or work and the temperature to which the body is exposed that great 
 variation must ensue in the amount of fluid required. The effect of 
 muscular exertion in leading to increased cutaneous transpiration is 
 familiar to all. Exposure to heat also is well known to act in the 
 same way, and where a particularly elevated temperature has to be 
 endured, the loss of fluid by the skin is very great indeed, it is by 
 this loss and the evaporation which follows that the cooling influ- 
 ence is exerted whereby the temperature of the body is kept down 
 within natural limits. In the case of men, as particularly the stokers 
 
BEVERAGES. 329 
 
 of large steam-vessels, who remain for some time in a highly heated 
 atmosphere, the loss of fluid occurring entails the consumption of an 
 enormous quantity some quarts in the course of a few hours of 
 liquid, and it is the practice with such persons to drink from a store 
 of water into which a little oatmeal has been thrown. Now, accord- 
 ing to the amount required so is the supply provided for by the 
 sensation of thirst a sensation which creates an irresistible desire to 
 drink when the want of fluid in the system exists. 
 
 If a plain and wholesome liquid be drunk the error is not likely 
 to be committed of taking too much. After compensating for the 
 loss by the skin and with the breath the surplus passes off through 
 the urinary channel, and it is desirable that this surplus should 
 amply suffice to carry off the effete products forming the solid matter 
 of the urine in a thoroughly dissolved state. The notion has been 
 started that it is advisable to restrict the amount of fluid taken with 
 the meals with the view of avoiding the dilution of the gastric juice. 
 "Whether as the result of the influence of this notion upon the public 
 mind or not, mischief, I believe, is frequently occasioned, especially 
 amongst the higher ranks of society, by a too limited consumption 
 of fluid. Instead of taking a draught of some innocent and simple 
 beverage, it is at many tables the fashion to sip fluid and this a 
 more or less strongly alcoholic one only from the wineglass. It is 
 a mistaken notion to think that when we drink with a meal we are 
 diluting the gastric juice. The act of secretion is excited by the ar- 
 rival of the meal in the stomach, and the gastric juice is not there 
 at the time of ingestion. It happens, indeed, that the absorption of 
 fluid takes place with great activity, and the liquid which is drunk 
 during a meal becoming absorbed may be looked upon as proving 
 advantageous, by afterwards contributing to yield the gastric juice 
 which is required. 
 
 Water constitutes the essential basis of all our drinks, taken 
 purely as such. The liquids consumed are of various kinds, but 
 water is the element physiologically and indispensably required. 
 Many of the beverages in use, however, are far from simply fulfilling 
 the office of supplying water for the purposes of life. The accessory 
 ingredients they contain give them special properties, for the sake of 
 which their employment is often mainly, if not solely, dictated. It 
 may be said, however, that when a large quantity of fluid is required 
 to be consumed to compensate for the loss occurring under violent 
 
330 ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES. 
 
 exercise or exposure to a high temperature, nothing is equal to a 
 simple aqueous liquid, and the softer and purer the water the better. 
 
 As already mentioned, those who work in unusually hot situations 
 are in the habit of consuming, and wisely so, plain water, the raw- 
 ness of which is removed by the addition of a little oatmeal. 
 
 Before treating of the beverages having special properties, as tea, 
 coffee, &c., and the various liquids of the alcoholic class, all of which 
 are products of artificial resource, something will be said regarding 
 water, which forms the drink that has been placed at our disposal 
 by nature. 
 
 WATER. 
 
 Water is derivable from various sources, and is denominated ac- 
 cordingly. 
 
 Rain water constitutes the aqueous vapor which has existed in 
 the atmosphere and, becoming condensed, has descended in a liquid 
 form. It holds an analogous position to distilled water, and differs 
 from it only in being impregnated with volatile products which 
 have been abstracted from the air. It is found to be highly aerated 
 and to contain traces of ammonia, nitric acid, &c., and also a little 
 organic matter. It is liable to be contaminated by the surfaces upon 
 which it has fallen, and unless special care has been taken in its col- 
 lection, is not well adapted for potable purposes, although from its 
 freedom from the earthy salts it is particularly eligible for domestic 
 use. Its purity, indeed, as far as freedom from the earthy salts is 
 concerned, renders it specially prone to acquire dangerous properties 
 from lead contamination should it chance to be brought into contact 
 with this metal. 
 
 Spring water is rain water which has percolated through the 
 earth, and made its escape through some opening at a lower point 
 admitting of its flow. It is charged with gaseous and saline princi- 
 ples, dependent in nature upon the character of the soil it has per- 
 meated. Many spring waters furnish one of the best kinds of water 
 for drinking. Some are charged with special ingredients the 
 mineral waters are alluded to which render them unfit for ordinary 
 use, but may give them a high value in a therapeutic point of view. 
 Well or pump water is of the same nature as spring water. Deep 
 well water, unless there should be any defect in the construction of 
 
WATER. 331 
 
 the well allowing a leakage into it from above, mostly yields a safe 
 and wholesome drink. The water of surface or superficial wells, 
 however, cannot be spoken of in a similar way. Derived as it is 
 from soakage from the surrounding surface, through a comparatively 
 shallow stratum only, and this often consisting of a loose porous 
 soil, it is liable to be contaminated with organic impurities that 
 may cause it to give rise to the most serious consequences. Superfi- 
 cial well water should always be regarded with suspicion. It may 
 be clear, bright, sparkling, cool, and agreeable, and yet possess dan- 
 gerous properties. 
 
 River water consists partly of spring water, and partly of rain 
 water, that has run off from the surrounding surface of land. A 
 large portion of the water consumed is drawn from rivers, and 
 whilst varying considerably in character, according to local circum- 
 stances, some river waters possess qualities that render them highly 
 suited for our use. The main drawback to their employment as a 
 source of supply is their liability to pollution by the refuse of cities 
 and towns being allowed to reach them. Rivers, however, possess 
 a purifying power of their own. The effect of a running stream, 
 and the influence of vegetation, are to oxidize and destroy impuri- 
 ties; and thus if the pollution be only of a limited extent, the water 
 may be maintained fit for use. 
 
 Distilled water is now extensively used at sea. Most large vessels 
 are furnished with the necessary appliance for subjecting sea-water 
 to distillation, to afford the water required, instead of, as formerly, 
 shipping it from shore. Thus a plentiful supply of pure water, in 
 a strict sense, is at command. From the absence of air it has a flat 
 taste, and, therefore, drinks less agreeably that that obtained from 
 other sources. There are means, however, of submitting it to aera- 
 tion, and overcoming this objection. On account of its purity it 
 readily takes up lead, and many instances have occurred of injurious 
 effects having been produced by contamination through the medium 
 of the pipes or their joints belonging to the condensing apparatus. 
 
 Speaking now of water generally, it is almost needless to say that 
 to be suitable for drinking purposes it should be bright and clear, 
 and devoid of taste and smell. As a natural product, impregnation 
 with a certain amount of gaseous and solid matter may be looked 
 for. The gaseous matter, when consisting, as it only properly should 
 do, of air and carbonic acid, gives an agreeable briskness, and may 
 
332 ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES. 
 
 be considered a desirable accompaniment. The solid matter, unless 
 of a specially noxious character from the presence of organic im- 
 purities, or unless existing in considerable amount, cannot be re- 
 garded as detracting from the fitness of the water for consumption, 
 although it must be said that the less the extent of impregnation 
 with solid matter in other words, the purer the water the better 
 is it suited for our use. 
 
 Unwholesome water. The chief sources of unwholesomeness of 
 water are: 1. An excess of saline matter; 2, the presence of organic 
 impurities ; and 3, contamination with lead. 
 
 1. The presence of a moderate amount of saline matter does not 
 render a water objectionable for drinking, although the less the 
 amount the more wholesome may it be considered to be. A large 
 amount of saline matter may prejudicially influence (increasing or 
 diminishing according to its nature) the action of the secreting 
 organs of the alimentary canal, and so occasion constipation or diar- 
 rhoea; may aggravate the deranged condition existing in cases of 
 dyspepsia; and possibly prove, in some instances, the source of cal- 
 culous disorders, or, at least, if not the source, may favor the forma- 
 tion of urinary gravel or calculi when a tendency this way exists. 
 
 2. There is conclusive evidence to show that the most serious 
 consequences have arisen from the consumption of water polluted 
 with organic matter. This, in fact, is the impurity that is most 
 to be dreaded. Outbreaks of diarrhoea have been very distinctly 
 traced to the use of contaminated water of this kind. It is acknowl- 
 edged to be one of the most common causes of dysentery, and has 
 been alleged, when derived from a marshy district, to be capable of 
 inducing malarious fever and its concomitant enlargement of the 
 spleen. 
 
 From the facts that have been recently made known, there can be 
 no doubt that typhoid or enteric fever has been frequently commu- 
 nicated through the medium of water. Some well-established in- 
 stances have lately been brought to light, where milk adulterated 
 with polluted water has been the cause of serious outbreaks of fever. 
 Whether water simply charged with general organic impurity will 
 suffice to produce the disease has not been settled ; but certain it is, 
 that if it be contaminated with the intestinal excreta of a fever 
 patient, either by the discharge of sewage into a river, percolation 
 from a drain or cesspool into a superficial well, or in any other way, 
 
WATER. 333 
 
 it will do so. Probably the presence of sewage impurity in a par- 
 ticular state, apart from the specific poison, will occasion the disease, 
 and it appears that it may be induced by impregnation with sewer 
 gases allowed, through a defective service arrangement, to become 
 absorbed during storage in a cistern. Cholera is another disease 
 which may be considered as having been traced to contaminated 
 water, and probably this forms the chief mode of its spread through 
 a community. As with typhoid fever, the discharges from a cholera 
 patient, in any way reaching water that is subsequently consumed, 
 may suffice to be the cause of a widely spread outbreak of the 
 disease. 
 
 3. Water may possess unwholesome properties from contamination 
 with lead acquired by transit through leaden pipes or storage in 
 leaden cisterns. A portion of the metal becoming dissolved, the 
 prolonged use of the water gives rise to the ordinary phenomena of 
 lead poisoning. It is only certain kinds of water that are liable to 
 become contaminated in this way. Water charged with a moderate 
 quantity of the earthy salts may be preserved in contact with lead 
 with impunity. Protection is afforded by the formation of an in- 
 soluble compound upon the surface of the metal. With a purer 
 water, on the other hand, a solvent action is allowed to come into 
 play. Distilled water very readily becomes impregnated with lead, 
 and if a cistern be provided with a leaden cover the water which has 
 evaporated and condensed in drops upon the surface in falling back 
 may lead to a contamination which, from the character of the water, 
 would not otherwise occur. 
 
 Purification of Water. It follows, from what has been stated, that 
 water has much to answer for in the causation of disease, and that 
 care should be taken to secure a pure supply for drinking purposes- 
 It is wise to be cautious in drinking water that has been derived 
 from a superficial source, unless it has been subjected to a prepara- 
 tory purification. In the case of spring water issuing from a depth, 
 and of deep well water, there is but little chance of any serious harm 
 arising. The extent of soil through which it has percolated is suf- 
 ficient to insure an absence, certainly, of noxious organic impurity. 
 The danger especially lies with river water and the water of shallow 
 wells, and these should always be regarded with suspicion. 
 
 A considerable number of processes have been, proposed for the 
 
334 ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES. 
 
 purification of water. Only those in common use in this country 
 need be referred to. 
 
 Water from certain sources is treated on a large scale by what is 
 known as Claris process, which consists of the addition of a definite 
 amount of lime-water. The object of the process is to diminish the 
 hardness by reducing the amount of earthy matter, and it is usefully 
 applied to water derived from chalk districts. By combining with 
 the carbonic acid, which is holding in solution carbonate of lime, the 
 lime leads to a precipitation of newly formed carbonate, and at the 
 same time of almost the whole of the carbonate previously present. 
 The hardness produced by sulphates and chlorides still remains, but 
 suspended and perhaps some dissolved organic matter is thrown 
 clown. 
 
 Soiling, by driving off the carbonic acid, has the effect of dimin- 
 ishing the hardness due to the earthy carbonates. It also acts upon 
 organic matter. If it does not remove organic matter it may be 
 spoken of as having the power of destroying the activity of that 
 which possesses specifically poisonous properties. Where fear is 
 entertained respecting the transmission of cholera or typhoid fever 
 the water should be subjected to thorough boiling, and it may then 
 be considered safe for use. Toast and water, which is made by pour- 
 ing boiling water on toasted and partially charred bread or biscuit 
 and allowing it to cool, forms, on this account, a safer drink for water 
 drinkers than plain and fresh w r ater, unless dependence can be placed 
 upon the purity of the source. 
 
 Filtration is very extensively practiced, and contributes in a most 
 important manner towards the purification of water. Before being 
 distributed to the metropolis the supply of the London water com- 
 panies is submitted to filtration through sand and gravel. Sus- 
 pended matters, both mineral and organic, are hereby removed, and 
 dissolved mineral matter may be to some extent diminished, but dis- 
 solved organic matter fails to undergo any material alteration, and 
 such filtration must not be viewed as rendering water safe for use 
 when contaminated with noxious excreta. Animal charcoal, -how- 
 ever, possesses a purifying power which is not enjoyed by other 
 agents, and percolation through a good filter composed of this ma- 
 terial effects a removal not only of suspended matters, but of a large 
 proportion of the dissolved organic matter that may be contained in 
 water. It is alleged that animal charcoal, in arresting, exerts at the 
 
NON-ALCOHOLIC, ETC., BEVERAGES. 335 
 
 same time a chemical alteration of the organic matter. The best 
 domestic niters owe their action to this agent, and it is probable that 
 they have the power of completely depriving water of any noxious 
 property of an organic source that it may have possessed. There is 
 always the possibility, however, that through defective action some 
 active matter may pass through, and where room for suspicion exists 
 that water may be dangerously contaminated, it is prudent to sub- 
 ject it to boiling instead of relying solely on nitration. The purify- 
 ing power of animal charcoal is not unlimited. When water is 
 charged with much organic matter it soon ceases to be effective. 
 With the ordinary drinking-waters, however, where the organic im- 
 purity is small in amount, a filter will continue to act satisfactorily 
 for many months, or even longer, provided, as is always necessary, 
 the passage of the water is not too quick. After ceasing to act 
 properly animal charcoal may be cleansed and again fitted for use, 
 and to secure a constant state of efficiency a filter should, from time 
 to time, be subjected to this process. 
 
 NON-ALCOHOLIC, EXHILARATING, AND RESTORA- 
 TIVE BEVERAGES. 
 
 The group of dietetic articles of which tea, coffee, and cocoa form 
 the chief representatives, are only of comparatively modern intro- 
 duction into Europe, although now so extensively consumed 
 amongst us. They must be regarded as exerting a great influence 
 on the social condition of mankind, possessing the innocent proper- 
 ties they do, and consumed as largely as they are in the place of 
 articles belonging to the alcoholic class, from which, when used in 
 excess, such baneful physical and moral results take their source. 
 
 It is certainly a remarkable circumstance that the articles of this 
 group should have independently come into use in different parts of 
 the globe purely upon their own merits ; that they should also be 
 derived from plants widely separated in their botanical affinities, 
 and from different structures of the plant, and yet that they should 
 be found to possess the same dietetic properties, and, moreover, 
 should be discovered, long subsequently to their introduction, to 
 
836 ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES. 
 
 contain the same active chemical principle. In 1820, caffein was 
 discovered in coffee by Range, and in 1827 thein in tea by Oudry; 
 and in 1838 these two principles were found by Jobst and Mulder 
 to be identical. In 1840, the same substance was recognized by 
 Martius in Guarana an article used in some parts of South America 
 in the same way as we use tea and coffee; and in 1843 it was found 
 by Stenhouse also to exist in Paraguay tea a kind of tea obtained 
 from the leaves of quite a different plant from that which yields 
 the Chinese tea. Theobromin, the peculiar principle belonging to 
 cocoa, is certainly not strictly identical with, but, on the other hand, 
 is very closely allied to caffein and thein. Now that caffein and 
 thein and what were originally called guaranin and paraguain have 
 been shown to be identical, it would prove a source of conveni- 
 ence if some suitable generic name were invented and employed by 
 chemists to represent them. 
 
 TEA. 
 
 Tea constitutes the dried leaves of a plant belonging to the genus 
 Thea of Linnaeus, which, according to the more recent authority of 
 Bentham and Hooker, forms a section only of the genus Camellia, a 
 tribe of plants with which we are all familiar in this country. The 
 tea plant is indigenous in China, Cochin China, Japan, and the 
 northern parts of the eastern peninsula of India, and has been in- 
 troduced into British India on the southern declivities of the Hima- 
 layas, Java, the Kong mountains in Western Africa, Brazil, Madeira, 
 and other warm and temperate countries. It is capable of flourish- 
 ing in all latitudes between and 40. 
 
 The two chief varieties of the plant are Thea bohea and Thea 
 viridis, but besides these Thea sasangua is grown and used for some 
 of the choicest sorts of tea* 
 
 It was formerly supposed that Thea bohea yielded black tea only, 
 and Thea viridis green ; but Mr. Fortune ascertained, and it has 
 since been fully corroborated by others, that black and green are 
 both obtained from each variety of the plant, it being upon the 
 mode of preparation adopted that the difference in the nature of the 
 article depends. Thea viridis abounds in the northern districts of 
 China, where it is cultivated on the fertile slopes of the hills. 
 Thea bohea is cultivated in the southern parts of China, especially 
 about Canton. 
 
TEA. 337 
 
 The first gathering of tea is conducted in April, and consists of 
 young leaf-buds, the removal of which to some extent injures the 
 plant. The tea thus obtained, called yutien, is insignificant in 
 amount, and not an article of commerce, but only intended for choice 
 gifts to friends. It is used on occasions of ceremony, and although 
 very strong in taste, scarcely colors the water in which it is infused. 
 The showers of spring bring on fresh leaves, and the second gather- 
 ing, which is the most important of the season, takes place in May. 
 A third and last gathering supplies only inferior teas. 
 
 Green tea is prepared from the young leaves, which within an hour 
 or two after being gathered are roasted in pans over a brisk wood 
 fire. After four or five minutes 7 roasting they are rolled by hand, 
 and again thrown into the drying pans, where they are kept in rapid 
 motion for about an hour or an hour and a half. The process is 
 simple, and speedily accomplished. Prussian blue, turmeric root, 
 gypsum, and sometimes indigo and copper, are used to give an at- 
 tractive bloom, but this artifice is only resorted to for the foreign 
 market. The Chinese, it is said, never dye the teas used for their 
 own consumption. 
 
 For black tea, the leaves are allowed to lie in heaps for ten or 
 twelve hours after they have been gathered, during which time they 
 undergo a sort of fermentation. They are then tossed about till they 
 become soft and flaccid, and after being rolled are alternately heated 
 and rolled three or four times. The leaves are afterwards dried 
 slowly over charcoal fires. 
 
 Various sorts of both black and green tea are manufactured. Of 
 green, Single or Twankay is the lowest in quality. The chief of the 
 others, in upward order of excellence, are Hyson-skin, Hyson, Im- 
 perial, Gunpowder, and the choicest young Hyson. The chief 
 varieties of black tea, arranged in a similar order, are Bohea, 
 Oolong, Congou, Campoi, Souchong, Souchy or Caper, and Pekoe. 
 
 Certain teas possess a characteristic aroma, dependent on the dis- 
 trict in which they are grown ; but the Chinese also adopt the plan 
 of scenting some kinds of tea with various flowers, such as roses, 
 jasmine, and orange blossoms. The dry tea and the freshly gathered 
 flowers are mixed and allowed to remain together for twenty-four 
 hours. The flowers are then sifted out. 
 
 Lie tea is the name applied to an article produced from the dust 
 and sweepings of tea warehouses, cemented with rice-water, and 
 
 22 
 
338 ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES. 
 
 rolled into grains. It is made either of a black color, to imitate 
 Caper ; or green, to resemble Gunpowder. It is manufactured for 
 the purpose of adulterating the better kinds of tea. 
 
 Brick tea is made from the refuse, siftings, sweepings, and the 
 broken leaves and twigs of tea moulded into forms. The Tartars 
 use this tea. They reduce it to powder, and boil it with the alka- 
 line water of the steppes, to which salt and fat have been added ; and 
 this decoction, mixed with milk, butter, and a little roasted meal, 
 they consume as an article of subsistence. It is also used in the same 
 manner as other tea. 
 
 Tea appears to have been used from time immemorial in China, 
 and is known to have been common at the beginning of the sixth 
 century. It is said to have been introduced into Japan about the 
 beginning of the ninth century. The Dutch East India Company 
 introduced it into Europe early in the seventeenth century. The 
 first reference to tea made by an Englishman was in the year 1615, 
 and is found in the records of the English East India Company. In 
 1657 a rather large consignment fell into the hands of Mr. Thomas 
 Garraway, the person who established Garraway's Coffee House. 
 The consumption of tea in the United Kingdom in 1853 amounted, 
 according to Johnston, to fifty-eight millions of pounds (25,000 
 tons), or about one forty-fifth part of the estimated produce of China. 
 
 In 1866 the amount entered for home consumption had risen to 
 ninety-eight million pounds. In 1871, according to the published 
 Custom House Returns, the quantity consumed was 3 Ibs. 15 oz. 
 for each member of the community. 
 
 The most important constituents of tea are 
 
 1. An astringent matter of the nature of tannic acid, which con- 
 stitutes the source of the bitter styptic taste it possesses. In the 
 analyses furnished below the amounts of this astringent matter stand 
 in round figures at 13 and 18 per cent. 
 
 2. A volatile oil, to which it owes its peculiar aroma, and 'which 
 only amounts to about J or } per cent. 
 
 3. A crystallizable body, of an alkaline nature, and rich in nitro- 
 gen, called thein. This, according to the subjoined analyses, only 
 amounts to about J per cent., but Stenhouse has found from 1 to 1.27 
 per cent., and Peligot's results give more than double this, viz., 
 
TEA. 339 
 
 from 2.34 to 3 per cent. There is, therefore, considerable diversity 
 in the results that have been obtained by different chemists upon 
 this point. 1 
 
 Composition of tea (Mulder). 
 
 Black tea. Green tea. 
 
 Essential oil, 0.60 0.79 
 
 Chlorophyll 1.84 222 
 
 Wax, 0.00 0.28 
 
 Kesin, 3.64 2.22 
 
 Gum, 7.28 8.56 
 
 Tannin, 12.88 17.80 
 
 Thein, 0.46 0.43 
 
 Extractive matter, 21 36 22.80 
 
 Coloring substance, . . . . 19.19 23.60 
 
 Albumen, 2.80 3.0 
 
 Fibre, 28 32 17.08 
 
 Ash (mineral substances), .... 5.24 5.56 
 
 Tea is consumed under the form of infusion, which should be 
 prepared by pouring boiling water on it, and allowing it to stand a 
 short time. If boiled, a loss of its characteristic flavor occurs through 
 the dissipation of the aromatic principle, which is very volatile. 
 
 The water used should be neither particularly hard nor soft, as 
 the former impedes the extraction of the soluble principles, and the 
 latter favors the absorption of too much of the general extractive 
 matter, at the sacrifice of delicacy of flavor. River water is the best, 
 and this is employed by the Chinese. The water should not be 
 allowed to remain long on the leaves, as by standing or stewing the 
 infusion loses its aroma, and takes up an excess of extractive matter, 
 which gives a rough and bitter taste. Thus, the liquid quickly 
 poured off contains more aroma, and less coloring and astringent 
 matters, and thereby possesses a choicer flavor than that which has 
 been allowed to stand. In China tea is sometimes infused in a tea- 
 pot, and sometimes in the cup from which it is drunk off the leaves. 
 In Japan the tea leaves are ground to powder, and after infusion in 
 a tea-cup the mixture is beaten up till it becomes frothy, and then 
 the whole is drunk. 
 
 1 In the " Food Journal," vol. i, p. 162, it is stated that Stenhouse's observa- 
 tions show a range in the amount of thein in various teas from 0.70 to 2.13 per 
 cent. ; and that Peligot's results vary, but that in his last and most complete ex- 
 periment he obtained 6.21 per cent. 
 
340 ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES. 
 
 Dr. Letheby says that it is experimentally proved that an infusion 
 of tea is strong enough when it contains 0.6 per cent, of extracted 
 matter, and that a moderate-sized cup, holding five ounces, would 
 thus contain about thirteen grains of the extract of tea. 
 
 Tea is usually measured by the spoon for use, but the weight of a 
 spoonful varies much with the different sorts of tea, and as green tea 
 is rolled much closer and weighs heavier than black, a spoonful of 
 the former, apart from any difference in composition, will make a 
 stronger infusion than that of the latter. Dr. E. Smith has instituted 
 a comparison in reference to this point, and the following is the table 
 given by him showing the weight in grains of an evenly taken 
 moderate-sized caddy-spoonful of tea, and the number of such spoon- 
 fuls required to make a pound. 
 
 Weight of Number of 
 
 Kind of tea. a spoonful spoonfuls 
 
 Black i n grains. in a pound. 
 
 Oolong, 89 179 
 
 Congou, inferior quality, ... 52 138 
 
 Flowery Pekoe, ...... 62 113 
 
 Souchong, 70 100 
 
 Congou, fine, 87 80 
 
 Green 
 
 Hyson skin, f Not now imported ) . .58 120 
 
 Twankay, 1 into this country, ) . .70 100 
 
 Hyson, ....... 66 106 
 
 Fine Imperial, 90 77 
 
 Scented Caper, an artificial preparation, 103 68 
 
 Fine Gunpowder, 123 57 
 
 With regard to these results, something may be due to the con- 
 dition as to form of the tea, some teas holding together in the spoon 
 more than others, otherwise a pound packet of the first on the list 
 ought to be three times the size of that of the last. 
 
 The Chinese drink their tea in a pure state. The Eussians fre- 
 quently squeeze the juice of lemon into it, and this is said to form 
 an agreeable addition. The Germans often flavor it with rum., cin- 
 namon, or vanilla. In England it may be said to be customary to 
 add milk or cream, and sugar ; the one having the effect of dimin- 
 ishing the astringent taste, and the other being employed to please 
 the palate. 
 
TEA. 341 
 
 Tea is not to be looked upon as constituting an article of nutri- 
 tion. The quantity of material furnished to the system in the man- 
 ner it is used is too small to be of any significance per se in contrib- 
 uting to the chemical changes which form the source of vital action. 
 If not occupying the position of an article of nutrition, however, its 
 extensive and widely spread employment may be taken as indicating 
 that some kind of benefit is derivable from itvS use, and it is proba- 
 bly through the nervous system that this is mainly, if not entirely, 
 produced. 
 
 Much discordancy exists in the statements that have been made 
 regarding the effects of tea upon the system, and an unfortunate 
 want of uniformity amongst medical practitioners in the recommen- 
 dations given to the public upon the subject of its employment. The 
 diametrically opposite advice that is frequently found to be given to 
 patients, one member of the profession recommending, and another 
 immediately afterwards prohibiting, the use of tea, exhibits an ar- 
 bitrary course of procedure which testifies to the want of some defi- 
 nite guiding principle of action. An attempt will be made to furnish 
 a concise representation of what is known, and from this may be 
 drawn a basis for greater uniformity of procedure. 
 
 Tea forms a light beverage which is neither heating to the system 
 nor oppressive to the stomach, in which respects it differs from coffee. 
 Taken in moderate quantity, it may be spoken of as exerting an ex- 
 hilarating and restorative action without stimulating or inebriating 
 like alcohol. By such action, it exerts a reviving influence when 
 the body is fatigued, but perhaps some of the effect is also attributa- 
 ble to the warmth belonging to the liquid consumed. It disposes 
 to mental cheerfulness and activity, clears the brain, arouses the 
 energies, and diminishes the tendency to sleep to such an extent, it 
 may be, in some sensitive persons, as to occasion a painful state of 
 vigilance or watchfulness, and sleeplessness. 
 
 The phenomena produced when tea is consumed in a strong state, 
 and to a hurtful extent, show that it is capable of acting in a power- 
 ful manner upon the nervous system. Nervous agitation, muscular 
 tremors, a sense of prostration, and palpitation, constitute effects 
 that have been witnessed. It appears to act in a sedative manner 
 on the vascular system. It also possesses direct irritant properties 
 which lead to the production of abdominal pains and nausea. It 
 promotes the action of the skin, and, by the astringent matter it 
 
342 ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES. 
 
 contains, diminishes the action of the bowels. Green tea, as is well 
 known, possesses far more active properties than black, although, as 
 previously stated, the two are obtained from the same plant. The 
 difference between them is dependent on the mode of treatment to 
 which the leaf is subjected and the period of gathering it. 
 
 Tea, like coffee, appeases the sensation arising from the want of 
 food, and enables hunger to be better borne. Lehmann was of 
 opinion that it lessened the waste of the body, but Dr. E. Smith 
 asserts that it increases slightly the amount of carbonic acid exhaled, 
 and he thereby speaks of it as promoting rather than checking 
 chemico-vital action. More conclusive evidence, it may be con- 
 sidered, is required in reference to this matter, to show that any de- 
 cided action either way is exerted. 
 
 To express in a few words the advantages derivable from the use 
 of tea it may be said that it forms an agreeable, refreshing, and 
 wholesome beverage, and thereby constitutes a useful medium for 
 the introduction of a portion of the fluid we require into the system. 
 It secures that the water consumed is rendered safe for drinking by 
 the boiling which is necessitated as a preliminary operation in 
 making tea. It cools the body when hot, probably by promoting 
 the action of the skin ; and warms it when cold, by virtue, it would 
 seem, of the warm liquid consumed. In a negative way it may 
 prove beneficial to health by taking the place of a less wholesome 
 liquid. Through the milk and sugar usually consumed with it in 
 England it affords the means of supplying a certain amount, and 
 not by any means an insignificant amount, viewed in its entirety, of 
 alimentary matter to the system. Experience shows that it often 
 affords comfort and relief to persons suffering from nervous head- 
 ache. It also tends to allay the excitement from, and counteract the 
 state induced by, the use of alcoholic stimulants ; and, further, on 
 account of its anti-soporific properties, like coffee, it is useful as an 
 antidote in poisoning by opium. 
 
 Its use, particularly green tea, is objectionable, in a strong state, 
 in the case of persons who are rendered watchful by it, and .in all 
 irritable conditions of the stomach. The astringent matter it con- 
 tains will cause it to impede digestion, if taken strong and in any 
 large quantity during or shortly after a meal. 
 
TEA. 343 
 
 REPRESENTATIVES OF TEA. 
 
 Before concluding this section on tea, reference may be made to 
 the leaves of certain plants, which are prepared and extensively 
 used in some localities in the same manner as those of the Chinese 
 tea-plant. 
 
 Mate, or Paraguay Tea. This is derived from the dried leaves of 
 the Ilex Paraguayensis, or Brazilian holly, a plant belonging to the 
 same tribe as the holly of our own country. It is a native of South 
 America, where it grows in a wild state ; and in some parts of that 
 portion of the \vorld the leaves are as extensively employed dietet- 
 ically as tea and coffee are in Asia and Europe. The leaves, after 
 being dried, are reduced to a coarse kind of powder before being 
 used for yielding the infusion. It is not correct to look upon Par- 
 aguay tea as a spurious substitute for Chinese tea. It is consumed 
 upon its own merits, and it forms a curious and interesting fact, that 
 it contains an active principle which was at first called paraguain, 
 but which has since been found to be identical with thein and 
 caffein. 
 
 The chief constituents of Paraguay tea are : 
 
 1. An astringent principle analogous to tannic acid, which is 
 present in sufficient proportion to render the fresh leaves an article 
 of use to dyers in the Brazils. 
 
 2. A volatile oil. 
 
 3. Thein, amounting in quantity to about 1.20 per cent. 
 
 Paraguay tea is spoken of as being more exciting than Chinese 
 tea ; and when used in excessive quantity, is said to produce a kind 
 of delirium tremens. 
 
 Additional varieties of Paraguay tea are made from the leaves of 
 the Ilex gongonha (called Brazilian tea), Ilex thecezans, Psoralea 
 glandulosa (called Mexican tea), and Capraria biflora. 
 
 Coffee leaves. In the islands of the Eastern Archipelago the leaves 
 of the coffee plant, which somewhat resemble in outside character 
 those of the common laurel, are dried and used in the manner of 
 tea. They yield an infusion which even more approximates that of 
 Chinese tea than does the infusion of mate", or Paraguay tea. It 
 contains the same kind of constituents, and the thein amounts to 
 about 1.26 per cent. It forms the favorite tea of the dark-skinned 
 
344 ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES. 
 
 population of Sumatra. In taste and odor it resembles a mixture 
 of tea and coffee. 
 
 Labrador tea is made from the dried leaves of the Ledum palustre 
 and Ledum latifolium. It is very strong in astringent and narcotic 
 properties. 
 
 'Abyssinian tea, called chaat, consists of the dried leaves of the 
 Catha eduliSj a small tree allied to the Sageretia thecezans. It is 
 cultivated and used extensively in Northern Africa. 
 
 In Johnston's " Chemistry of Common Life " a list of several 
 other plants is given, the leaves of which are used for infusing and 
 consuming in the same manner as Chinese tea. 
 
 COFFEE. 
 
 Coifee beans constitute the seeds found within the fruit of the 
 Coffea Arabica, a small tree belonging to the tribe Coffeacece, of the 
 family Rubiacece, which is indigenous in Southern Abyssinia. 
 
 The tree *is said to have been transplanted into Arabia at the 
 beginning of the fifteenth century, and the cultivation has since been 
 extended to Egypt, the West Indies, Peru, Brazil, Java, Ceylon, 
 and other warm countries. When the climate is dry, abundant 
 irrigation is required while the tree is growing, but as the fruit 
 begins to ripen the water is cut off. 
 
 The fruit forms a succulent berry, similar in appearance and color 
 to a small cherry. Each berry contains usually two seeds, forming 
 the coffee-bean of commerce, surrounded by a parchment-like en- 
 velope and the fleshy pulp. 
 
 To extract the seeds, the fresh ripe berries are sometimes bruised 
 between rollers, and the thick juicy pulp is then separated by pass- 
 ing through sieves, upon which the beans are retained. They are 
 afterwards washed with water, and dried. The parchment-like en- 
 velope is next detached by a heavy wooden wheel, and the chaff 
 removed by winnowing. Sometimes the berries are dried in the 
 sun, by which the pulp and membranous envelope become friable, 
 and are removed by lightly crushing and winnowing. 
 
 The coffee-bean is usually imported in the above-mentioned de- 
 corticated state. It then constitutes a horny body, rounded on one 
 side, and flat with a longitudinal furrow on the other, and of a yel- 
 lowish, bluish, or greenish color. Sometimes, however, it is met 
 
COFFEE. 345 
 
 with surrounded by its membranous envelope, and is then called in 
 commerce " coffee in the husk. 11 
 
 The coffee produced by different countries presents variations in 
 quality and the physical characters of the bean. The smallest bean 
 is considered the best. Mocha or Arabian coffee is the most highly 
 esteemed. The bean is small and round, and of a dark-yellow color, 
 with a tinge of green. This variety develops a more agreeable 
 aroma than the others. West Indian coffee is usually of a greenish- 
 gray tint, with the ends of the beans rounded. A slight difference 
 exists in the production of the various islands. Jamaica coffee, for 
 instance, does not exactly resemble that from Martinique, and the 
 coffee from St. Domingo is less esteemed than either, and is pointed 
 at the two extremities. Java and East Indian coffee is large, and of 
 a pale yellow color. Ceylon coffee is the least prized of all. 
 
 Coffee is said to have been in use in Abyssinia from time im- 
 memorial, and in Persia from A. D. 875. It was used in Constan- 
 tinople about the middle of the sixteenth century, in spite of the 
 violent opposition of the priests; and in 1554 two coffee-houses were 
 opened in that city. It was introduced into Europe in the seven- 
 teenth century, but the precise date is variously stated by different 
 authorities. It was drunk in Venice soon after 1615, and brought 
 to England and France about forty years subsequently. 
 
 To show the progress in the consumption of coffee it may be men- 
 tioned that in 1699 one hundred tons of coffee were consumed in the 
 United Kingdom, seventy of which were used in England (Tomlin- 
 son). In 1858 the consumption in the United Kingdom is stated to 
 have been sixteen thousand tons (Chambers's "Encyclopaedia"). 
 About the same time the total European consumption was something 
 like seventy-five thousand tons (Johnston), and the entire weight of 
 coffee raised over the world was guessed to be about six hundred 
 millions of pounds (Johnston). Nearly as much coffee is consumed 
 in the United Kingdom as in France; and, proportionately to its 
 size, Belgium, Payen says, consumes five times as much as France. 
 
 The coffee of commerce is formed of the raw bean, and subjection 
 to the process of roasting is required to place it in a suitable condi- 
 tion for the consumer. This is performed in an iron cylinder made 
 to revolve over a fire. It leads to the development of the aroma and 
 
346 ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES. 
 
 other qualities for which the article is esteemed. From the volatile 
 nature of the aroma the roasted coffee greatly deteriorates by keep- 
 ing; hence the process of roasting should not be performed long 
 before the coffee is made use of. 
 
 Under the process of roasting the coffee bean loses in weight, and 
 gains in bulk by expansion. It at the same time changes in color, 
 assuming a reddish-brown, chestnut-brown, or dark brown, according 
 to the extent to which the roasting has been carried. The quality of 
 the coffee a great deal depends upon the manner in which the roast- 
 ing has been performed. If the seeds are roasted too little the desired 
 aroma and empyreumatic products are not sufficiently developed, 
 whilst if roasted too much they are partially dissipated, and an un- 
 pleasant flavor substituted. If a full flavored coffee be desired, the 
 darker shade of color should be chosen. In England the operation 
 of roasting is conducted in large establishments devoted to the pur- 
 pose, but on the Continent it is not uncommon for it to be performed 
 from time to time on a small scale by a member of the household. 
 Before being used, coffee requires to be ground, and the remark that 
 has been made about the roasted bean losing its aroma by keeping, 
 applies with still greater force to the article when ground. To grind 
 it as it is required forms the best plan, but when this is not adopted 
 it should be preserved in a well-closed bottle or tin. 
 
 The chief constituents of coffee are of the same nature as those 
 mentioned for tea. They are as follows : 
 
 1. A volatile oil which gives to coffee the aroma it possesses, and 
 is developed by the process of roasting. The amount of it is less than 
 that existing in tea. 
 
 2. Astringent matter constituting a modification of tannin and 
 called caffeo-tannic and caffeic acids. It is present in much smaller 
 quantity than tannic acid in tea, and amounts to about 5 per cent, in 
 raw coffee. 
 
 3. Caffein. This principle, as already mentioned, is identical with 
 thein. The amount of it, as estimated by different observers, in 
 coffee varies considerably. Stenhouse gives it as about 0.75 to 1 per 
 cent., others at 3 to 4 per cent. 
 
COFFEE. 34:7 
 
 Composition ofunroasted coffee (from " Chambers's Enc} r clop8edia "). 
 
 Caffein, 08 
 
 Legumin (vegetable casein), 13.0 
 
 Gum and sugar, ......... 15.5 
 
 Caffeo-tannic and caffeic acids. ...... 5.0 
 
 Fat and volatile oil, 13.0 
 
 Woody fibre, 34.0 
 
 Ash, 6.7 
 
 Water, 12.0 
 
 100.0 
 
 An elaborate analysis is given by Payen, 1 from his own results, 
 with which the above is in close accord. It is as follows : 
 
 Composition of coffee (Payen). 
 
 Cellulose, 34. 
 
 Water, 12. 
 
 Fatty matter, from 10 to 13. 
 
 Glucose, dextrin, undetermined vegetable acid, . . . 15.5 
 
 Legumin, casein, &c., 10. 
 
 Chloroginate [caffeo-tannate] of potash and of caffein, 
 
 from 3.5 to 6. 
 
 JNitrogenized structure, 3. 
 
 Caffein, 0.8 
 
 ' Essential oil, 0.001 
 
 Aromatic essence, ........ 0.002 
 
 Mineral substances, 6.697 
 
 100.000 
 
 Coffee is prepared for drinking both in the form of infusion and 
 decoction. In Arabia and the East a decoction of the unroasted 
 article is usually drunk, and the custom prevails of consuming the 
 grounds, which are looked upon as nutritious, with the liquid. In 
 Europe, however, coffee is always roasted before it is used. The 
 old practice in England was to place the coffee-pot over the fire for 
 the coffee to boil. In this way a larger amount of material is ex- 
 tracted, but at the sacrifice, it must be said, of flavor, for the aroma 
 of coffee is of a volatile nature, and becomes dissipated during the 
 process of boiling. To preserve the aroma, an infusion only should 
 
 1 Substances Alimentaires, Paris, 1865, p. 414. 
 
348 ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES. 
 
 be made, and the appliances that have been devised for making 
 coffee in this way are exceedingly numerous. The most general 
 plan adopted is to allow the boiling water to percolate through the 
 coffee, disposed in such a manner as to prevent the grounds passing 
 with the liquid. 
 
 As boiling leads to a loss of aroma, so infusing, only, involves a 
 waste of some of the extractive matter, which escapes being taken 
 up. If economy is no object this need not be considered, a large 
 amount of coffee being taken for use. If it be desired, however, to 
 turn the coffee to the utmost account, both a decoction and an infu- 
 sion should be made; and this may be accomplished by boiling the 
 grounds from which an infusion has been made with water, and 
 pouring the boiling decoction over a fresh portion of recently 
 ground coffee. The boiling water has fully extracted what the 
 grounds would yield, and on being poured over the fresh coffee, 
 carries with it the aroma and the principles contained in an ordinary 
 infusion. The grounds last left, in their turn, will serve to boil 
 with more water, and yield a decoction for pouring over another 
 fresh portion of coffee. In this way all the goodness is obtained 
 without any sacrifice of aroma. 
 
 As is the case with tea, soft water extracts more from coffee than 
 hard, and the addition of an alkali, as carbonate of soda, augments 
 the extracting capacity. 
 
 The extent to which the coffee has been roasted influences the 
 amount of matter susceptible of extraction. Pay en says that one 
 litre (about If pints in English measure) of boiling water allowed 
 to filter through 100 grammes (about 3J oz.) of recently ground 
 coffee and this he gives as about the proper proportion for making 
 coffee when the roasting has been carried only to the production of 
 a reddish-brown color, extracts 25 per cent, of its substance, and 
 only 19 per cent, when the roasting has been carried to a chestnut 
 brown. 
 
 According to Dr. Letheby, an infusion of coffee is strong enough 
 when it holds in solution 3 per cent, of extracted matter. Charged 
 to this extent, a moderate-sized cup (5 oz.), he adds, should contain 
 66 grains of extract of coffee, and such proportion will be obtained 
 when 2 oz. of freshly roasted coffee are infused in a pint of boiling 
 water. 
 
COFFEE. 349 
 
 Coffee forms a favorite and useful beverage. The properties it 
 possesses fully justify the estimation in which it is held. Like tea, 
 it produces an invigorating and restorative effect on the system, 
 without being followed by any depression. It, however, exerts a 
 more heating and stimulating action than tea, and increases in a de- 
 cided manner the force and frequency of the pulse. It also differs 
 in being heavier and more oppressive to the stomach. It arouses 
 the mental faculties and the energies generally, and so disposes to 
 wakeful ness, but in this latter respect its influence is not so power- 
 ful as that of tea. Taken in immoderate quantity it may induce 
 feverishness, and various manifestations of disordered nervous ac- 
 tion, as tremor, palpitation, anxiety, and deranged vision. 
 
 One of the most valuable properties of coffee is its power of re- 
 lieving the sensation of hunger and fatigue. It exerts a marked 
 sustaining influence under fatigue and privation, and thus enables 
 arduous exertion to be better borne under the existence of abstinence 
 or a deficiency of food. To the soldier on active service it forms a 
 most useful article on this account. The experiments of Lehmann 
 led him to conclude that coffee diminishes the waste of the tissues, 
 and causes food to go further, but how far this is true is uncertain. 
 Gasparin, however, from his observations, also says that coffee has 
 the property of rendering the elements of the body more stable; and 
 thus, if not affording much nourishment itself, it economizes other 
 nourishment by diminishing the waste going on. 
 
 " In some constitutions/' says Pereira, " coffee acts on the bowels 
 as a mild laxative." "I have known," he adds, "several persons in 
 whom it has this effect; yet it is usually described as producing con- 
 stipation." 
 
 Whilst heating and stimulating to the system in hot weather, cof- 
 fee is most serviceable in giving warmth to the body under exposure 
 to cold. Something, it must be admitted, is due to the warm liquid 
 consumed, but an action beyond this is exerted. 
 
 Consumed, as coffee usually is, with milk and sugar, it further 
 forms a medium for supplying direct nourishment, and this of no in- 
 considerable amount, to the system. Payen remarks that a litre 
 (about a pint and three-quarters) of cafe au lait, such as is usually 
 taken with the morning meal, contains between 5 and 6 oz. of solid 
 matter, of which about 1} oz. consist of nitrogenous matter. 
 
 In addition to its dietetic value, considerable benefit is often de- 
 
350 ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES. 
 
 rived from the employment of coffee as a therapeutic agent. By 
 virtue of its antisoporific properties it is advantageously administered 
 as an antidote in cases of opium poisoning. It is also of service in 
 subduing the effects produced by the immoderate use of alcoholic 
 stimulants. It frequently affords relief in some forms of nervous 
 headache, and is well known to constitute one of the most valuable 
 agents we possess for controlling the paroxysms of spasmodic asthma. 
 
 Fictitious Coffee. A number of articles, consisting of various 
 beans, seeds, berries and roots, have been used as substitutes for cof- 
 fee, but in none of them does there exist the characteristic and active 
 principle caffein, and none therefore are endowed with the virtue 
 of coffee. The roasted acorn is much used on the Continent under 
 the name of acorn coffee, and has been imported into England. The 
 best substitute for coffee yet discovered is said to be that which is 
 known by the name of Swedish coffee, and is prepared from the 
 Astralagus Boeticus. 
 
 CHICCORY. 
 
 Chiccory is prepared from the root of the wild succory or endive 
 (Cichorium Intybus), the type of a great division of the order Com- 
 positce, known by their milky juice, and to which also belong the 
 dandelion and lettuce. It was formerly used medicinally from pos- 
 sessing properties resembling those of the dandelion ; and for about 
 one hundred years has been employed as a substitute for, and admix- 
 ture with, coffee. The plant is cultivated in England, Belgium, Hol- 
 land, Germany, and France, and the foreign is considered much su- 
 perior to the English growth. The roots after being washed are cut 
 into small pieces and dried on a kiln. They are then roasted in iron 
 cylinders, which are kept revolving just as is done in the case of 
 coffee. 
 
 Roasted chiccory contains, like coffee, an empyreumatic volatile 
 oil, which forms the source of its aroma, and a bitter principle, but 
 no caffein. According to the analysis of John, 25 per cent, consists 
 of w r atery bitter extractive matter. 
 
 Chiccory yields a drink closely allied in flavor and color to coffee. 
 It is very largely consumed on the Continent, not merely as an adul- 
 terant of coffee, but as an independent beverage. In Belgium as 
 much as 5 Ibs. a head are used in the year, counting the whole popu- 
 
CHICCORY GUAKANA. 351 
 
 lation ; and in some parts of Germany women, it is said, are regular 
 chiccory-topers. 
 
 It gives increased color and flavor to coffee, and, used as an ad- 
 mixture, to a moderate extent, is considered by most persons to fur- 
 nish an improvement upon coffee alone. The preference shown is 
 quite independent of any consideration of economy. It is employed 
 upon its own merits, and when there is no concealment, its addition 
 
 to coffee cannot be looked upon in the light of an adulteration. 
 
 
 
 GUARANA. 
 
 Brazilian cocoa, or guarana, is obtained from the seeds of the 
 Paullinia sorbilis, a tree belonging to the order Sapindacece, or soap- 
 worts, which, according to most botanists, includes our common 
 horse chestnut. The tree grows abundantly in the province of Ama- 
 zonas, along the banks of the Tapajos, Rio Negro, &c., as well as in 
 Guiana and Venezuela. It is used extensively in Brazil, Guatemala, 
 Costa Rica, and other parts of South America, as a nervous stimu- 
 lant and restorative, and also as a refreshing beverage. According 
 to late reports, 16,000 Ibs. are annually exported from the city of 
 Santarem. 
 
 The fruit, which is about the size of a small walnut, contains five 
 or six seeds. These seeds are roasted, and, after being pounded, are 
 made into a thick paste with water and formed into round or oblong 
 cakes, which are dried in an oven or by the heat of the sun, and 
 called guarana bread. The cakes are scraped or grated when re- 
 quired for use, and the powder produced possesses a light brown 
 color, an odor faintly resembling roasted coffee, and a bitter astrin- 
 gent taste. 
 
 It contains, in addition to empyreumatic oil (developed by the 
 process of roasting), and tannic acid, a substance called guaranin by 
 Theodore von Martius, but shown by Dr. Stenhouse to be identical 
 with thein. This alkaloid is stated by Dr. Stenhouse to be present 
 to the extent of 5.07 per cent., or, according to the results of the 
 same observer, to the extent of twice the amount contained in good 
 black tea, and five times that contained in coffee the actual figures 
 given for tea being 2.13 per cent., and for coffee 0.8 to 1.0 per cent. 
 For Paraguay tea the amount mentioned is 1.25 per cent. 
 
 The large amount of tannic acid that enters into the composition 
 of guarana gives it marked astringent properties, whilst, owing to 
 
352 ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES. 
 
 the guaranin it contains, it exerts the same kind of effect on the nerv- 
 ous system as tea and coffee. 
 
 Guarana is used in South America, to some extent dietetically, 
 but chiefly therapeutical ly, as a stomachic and febrifuge, and as an 
 astringent in catarrhal diarrhoea, and dysentery. It is either eaten 
 with cassava, or chocolate, or taken as a drink in sweetened water. 
 In the United States it is employed as a nervous stimulant and re- 
 storative, and attention was directed to it some years ago in France 
 by Dr. Gavrelle, who had held the post of physician to Don Pedro 
 of Brazil. 
 
 Alcohol, it is stated, forms the only agent which completely ex- 
 tracts its active principles. Ether and water only do so imperfectly. 
 A watery infusion, therefore, will fail to possess the virtue belonging 
 to guarana. 
 
 Guarana appears for some time to have enjoyed a high repute in 
 France as a remedy for migraine, or sick headache, and attention has 
 been recently directed to its smployment for this purpose, in England, 
 by my colleague, Dr. Wilks. Articles upon the subject have ap- 
 peared during the year 1872 in the "British Medical Journal," and 
 another article, by Mr. M. C. Cooke, is to be found in the " Phar- 
 maceutical Journal" (third series, vol. i, p. 221). From these 
 sources the author's information has been chiefly derived. The ex- 
 perience that has been collected shows that in some cases of sick or 
 nervous headache it affords the most marked relief, whilst in others 
 it proves perfectly useless. Its virtue is, in all probability, due to 
 the guaranin (thein or caffein) it contains, which, as already remarked, 
 is, according to the analyses of Stenhouse, present in much larger 
 proportion than in either tea or coffee. Employed for the purpose 
 mentioned, about 15 grains of the powder (which may be taken in 
 coffee, water, or some other suitable vehicle) form the quantity 
 generally used. 
 
 COCOA. 
 
 Cocoa constitutes a product derived from the seeds of the' Theo- 
 broma cacao, a tree indigenous in South America, Mexico, and the 
 West Indies, and cultivated also in the Mauritius, the Isle of Bour- 
 bon, and some parts of Asia and Africa. The term cocoa, as applied 
 to this product, must not be looked upon as implying that it has 
 any relation to the well-known cocoanut. It is employed as a cor- 
 
COCOA. 353 
 
 ruption of cacao, which has been rejected for popular use on account 
 of its want of euphony. The generic name Theobroma (food for 
 gods Oeo<; frwijLa), was given by Linnaeus to the tribe of plants, 
 which includes several species, to mark the estimation in which he 
 held the product under consideration. 
 
 From the cacao tree small flowers grow on stalks, springing 
 directly from the stem. The flower is succeeded by an elongated 
 thick fruit somewhat resembling in form the vegetable marrow. 
 The fruit consists of a number of seeds (from twenty to fifty) ar- 
 ranged in regular rows, with partitions between them and surrounded 
 by an acid and slightly saccharine pulp. When the fruit is ripe it 
 is gathered and collected in earthen vessels or into heaps on the 
 ground, where it is allowed to remain a few days, during which time 
 it ferments, heats, and softens. It is then opened and the seeds, 
 which are about the size of or rather thicker than a plump almond, 
 are separated, cleansed, and dried in the sun. The fruit is sometimes 
 covered instead with earth until the pulp has become rotten and soft, 
 and the cocoa yielded is said to be sweeter and better. 
 
 The use of cocoa is of great antiquity in Mexico and Guatemala, 
 and chocolate was introduced into Europe in 1520 by the Spaniards, 
 who long kept its preparation a secret. Cocoa was sold in the London 
 coffee-houses, soon after their establishment, about the year 1652, 
 and in 1660 its use spread over Europe and as far as Turkey and 
 Persia. The present total annual consumption is said to amount to 
 about one hundred million pounds. A large quantity is used in 
 France, Germany, Italy, and Spain. In England, the consumption 
 is on a smaller scale. 
 
 Cocoa is imported in the state of dried and cleansed seeds, con- 
 sisting of a crisp dark-colored central portion or kernel, surrounded 
 by a somewhat brittle husk. The first step in preparing it for use 
 is to subject it to the process of roasting, which is performed in an 
 iron cylinder like a coffee roaster, and has for its object the develop- 
 ment of aroma. From the roasted seeds chocolate and the various 
 forms of cocoa supplied for use are prepared. 
 
 Cocoa nibs constitute the kernels of the roasted seeds deprived of 
 husk, and roughly crushed in a machine called a " kibbling-mill." 
 Nibs are used for furnishing a decoction. They are gently boiled in 
 water for about a couple of hours, and the dark-brown decoction is 
 
 23 
 
354 ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES. 
 
 then simply poured off the undissolved part of the nib. Used in 
 this way, only a portion of the kernel is extracted and consumed, 
 and the beverage presents a closer analogy to tea and coffee than 
 that derived from the other cocoa products, which, from being pre- 
 pared in such a way as to lead to the whole substance of the kernel 
 being drunk, furnish liquids possessing, in addition to the common 
 properties of the class, a high nutritive value. 
 
 In the other preparations of cocoa the kernel is ground to a paste 
 and usually incorporated with some diluting material of a starchy or 
 saccharine nature to diminish its oily consistence. Numerous kinds 
 of cocoa are sold, some of them being named from the form given, 
 the nature of the admixture, or after the manufacturer. Flaked 
 cocoa constitutes the article simply ground to a paste in a suitable 
 mill. Granulated cocoa is prepared by reducing to a coarse powder 
 and covering the particles with a layer of sugar and starch. Soluble 
 cocoa contains sugar as a diluting substance. Carrageen Moss, Ice- 
 land Moss, and Lentils are used as special agents for incorporation, 
 and the cocoas bear the name of the agent prefixed. To produce 
 the low-priced forms of cocoa more or less of the husk is ground up 
 with the kernel, and sundry cheap diluting articles are also used for 
 admixture. 
 
 The preparations of cocoa in which sugar is employed as the 
 diluting article require no preliminary boiling or cooking for use. 
 The addition of boiling milk or water suffices. Those, however, in 
 which some kind of starchy substance has been used for admixture 
 need boiling to properly liquefy and bring them into a homogeneous 
 state for drinking. 
 
 Chocolate constitutes a superior form of prepared cocoa. It is 
 made upon an extensive scale in France, where its manufacture has 
 attained a high state of perfection. Forming as it does an article of 
 luxury, much care is bestowed on its preparation. The seeds after 
 being sifted and picked, are gently roasted till the desired aroma is 
 developed. They are then allowed to cool, and afterwards lightly 
 crushed and winnowed to separate the husk from the kernel. Dif- 
 ferent sorts of cocoa-seeds are mixed the more aromatic, for in- 
 stance, with the more oily for the purpose of improving the product. 
 The cocoa is next ground by suitable machinery to a perfectly even 
 paste. The grinding is effected by revolving rollers over a heated 
 iron plate which maintains the fatty matter of the seed in a liquid 
 
COCOA. 355 
 
 state, and thus allows a thin paste to be formed. During the process 
 of grinding, sugar is incorporated with the cocoa to the extent of from 
 one-third of its weight to an equal part, and just before completion 
 an aromatic, as vanilla, cinnamon, or whatever the taste may direct, 
 is added to give the flavor required. The final process consists in 
 running the liquid paste into moulds ; and, as cooling takes place, it 
 becomes solid and hard. 
 
 The husks rejected in the manufacture of chocolate and cocoa are 
 frequently sold to the poor, who boil them in water and obtain 
 therefrom a wholesome beverage. 
 
 Cocoa is characterized, and distinguished from tea and coffee, by 
 the large amount of fatty and albuminous matters it contains, these 
 principles averaging as much as about 50 and 20 per cent, respec- 
 tively in the unmanufactured article. 
 
 The chief constituents of cocoa are : 
 
 1. A volatile oil, to which it owes its aroma and which is pro- 
 duced during the process of roasting. The amount of this oil is 
 very small. 
 
 2. Theobromin, which resembles thein and caffein, but is not 
 identical with them. It is found to contain a larger proportion of 
 nitrogen. All analyses agree upon this point, although the results 
 of different chemists are not strictly of accord in the proportion of 
 nitrogen assigned to each. The following selected analyses may be 
 given as an illustration of the relative ultimate composition : 
 
 Carbon, 
 Hydrogen 
 
 Theobromin. 
 (Woskresensky.) 
 
 46.33 
 4.55 
 
 Thein. 
 (Mulder.) 
 
 49.48 
 5.37 
 
 Nitrogen, . 
 Oxygen, . 
 
 35.38 
 . 13.74 
 
 28.52 
 1663 
 
 100.00 100.00 
 
 Although not identical with thein and caffein, it has been found 
 by Strecker that theobromin may be made to yield caffein. Theo- 
 bromin, in fact, conjoined with methyl, produces caffein, so that 
 caffein has been regarded as a methylated theobromin. The quan- 
 tity of theobromin present in cocoa amounts to about 2 per cent. 
 
 3. Fatty matter, known as cacao butter. This constitutes a firm 
 
356 ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES. 
 
 fat, and, unlike most other fats, keeps without becoming rancid on 
 exposure to air. It amounts to about half the weight of the cocoa. 
 
 4. Albuminous matter. About a fifth part of cocoa is composed 
 of this. 
 
 5. Starch. 
 
 The following according to Pay en's observations represents the 
 average composition of cocoa of good quality deprived of husk and 
 not submitted to roasting : 
 
 Composition of cocoa (Payen). 
 
 Cacao butter, 48 to 50 
 
 Albumen, tibrin, and other nitrogenous matter, . . 21 " 20 
 
 Theobromin, . . . 4 " 2 
 
 Starch with traces of sugar, . . . . . . 11 " 10 
 
 Cellulose, 3 2 
 
 Coloring matter, aromatic essence, ..... traces. 
 
 Mineral matter, . . . . . . . . 8 " 4 
 
 Water, 10 " 12 
 
 100 100 
 
 Looked at dietetically, cocoa possesses, though in a milder de- 
 gree, the properties of tea and coifee ; but it stands apart from these 
 articles in the high nutritive power which its composition gives it. 
 Containing, as pure cocoa does, twice as much nitrogenous matter, 
 and twenty -five times as much fatty matter as wheaten flour, with a 
 notable quantity of starch and an agreeable aroma to tempt the 
 palate, it cannot be otherwise than a valuable alimentary material. 
 It has been compared in this respect to milk. It conveniently fur- 
 nishes a large amount of agreeable nourishment in a small bulk, and 
 in South America cocoa and maize cakes are used by travellers, and 
 form a food several days' supply of which is easily carried. 
 
 Chocolate, and the various preparations of cocoa, are usually con- 
 sumed with milk ; and, taken with bread, will suffice, in the ab- 
 sence of any other kind of food, to furnish a good repast.' A prepa- 
 ration of cocoa and condensed milk is made and sold in closed tins 
 by the Condensed Milk Company. Thus preserved, the admixture 
 is ready for use at any time, requiring only the addition of water. 
 
 Whilst possessing highly nutritive properties, its richness in fat 
 renders cocoa heavy and oppressive to a delicate stomach. It is 
 therefore apt to disagree with the invalid and dyspeptic. 
 
ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES. 357 
 
 The remarks that have been made regarding the nutritive ca- 
 pacity of chocolate and prepared cocoa do not apply to cocoa nibs in 
 the manner they are used. In the former case the entire article is 
 consumed ; whereas in the latter only a decoction of the coarsely 
 crushed seed is employed, and this contains but a portion only of 
 its constituents. Indeed, the. decoction of the nibs forms a beverage 
 holding a closely analogous position to tea and coffee. 
 
 Fictitious cocoas. In the United States the earth-nut, ground- 
 nut, or pea-nut (Arackis hypogcea), a kind of oily underground pea, 
 is roasted and converted into a spurious form of cocoa, and is also 
 largely grown for the table and for manufacture into oil. In Spain, 
 also, the root of the Cyperus -esculentus, or earth chestnut, is roasted 
 and used as a substitute both for coffee and chocolate. Neither of 
 these products contain any theobromin. 
 
 ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES. 
 
 There are several beverages in use derived from different sources 
 containing alcohol. The starting-point of all is a vegetable product 
 in which starch or sugar is present. Fermentation is either allowed 
 to occur spontaneously, as in the case of wine ; or else set up by the 
 addition of a ferment, as in that of beer. In this artificial way only 
 is it that alcohol is developed, and whilst the beverages containing 
 it all agree in exerting the same kind of stimulating action on the 
 system, they differ in their effects in other respects, according to the 
 associated constituents that may happen to be present. Their chief 
 properties are due to alcohol, but their other constituents must by 
 no means be regarded as playing an unimportant part. 
 
 The position held by alcohol in an alimentary point of view has 
 been discussed in a previous part of this work (vide p. 137, et seq.).. 
 It will be there seen that much divergence of opinion has prevailed 
 upon the prime question, whether alcohol is to be regarded as pos- 
 sessing any alimentary value or not. It will suffice here to refer 
 the reader to what has been already mentioned, and to state that the 
 weight of evidence appears to be in favor of the affirmative. A 
 small portion seems undoubtedly to escape from the body uncon- 
 
358 ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES. 
 
 sumed, but there is reason to believe that the larger portion is 
 retained and turned to account in the system. In the ensuing pages 
 the general effects of the alcoholic beverages will be first touched 
 upon, preparatory to their individual consideration. 
 
 Apart from any effect due to oxidation or consumption within 
 the system apart, in other words, from any direct alimentary ap- 
 plication the liquids of the class under consideration exert a marked 
 influence upon the functions of the body. Taken in moderate quan- 
 tity they increase the activity of the circulation. The heart beats 
 more rapidly. The pulse becomes not only thereby more frequent, 
 but, at the same time, fuller. Turgescence of the small cutaneous 
 vessels follows, and accounts for the flushing of the face that is 
 noticeable. It has been affirmed that the temperature is lowered, 
 but Dr. Parkes, from his recent thermometric observations, remarks 
 that there is but little change induced in the temperature of the 
 axilla and rectum of healthy men, but that what change occurs is 
 in the direction of increase. Dr. Anstie, however,^ states, upon the 
 evidence of his experiments conducted upon the lower animals, that 
 he has witnessed an average rise of over 3 Fahrenheit with the 
 thermometer placed in the ear. The amount of urinary secretion is 
 increased, the appetite augmented, the nervous system stimulated, 
 and' the mental faculties exhilarated. * 
 
 It has been alleged that alcohol diminishes tissue metamorphosis, 
 and economizes the consumption of material in the body. Amongst 
 other points, Dr. Parkes has given attention to this matter, and 
 could discover no alteration of importance in the elimination of 
 nitrogen, which may be taken as a measure of tissue destruction. It 
 appears unlikely, in the face of the chemical results, he remarks, 
 " that it can enable the body to perform more work on less food, 
 though, by quickening a failing heart, it may enable work to be 
 done, which otherwise could not be so. It may thus act like the 
 spur in the side of a horse, eliciting force, though not supplying it." 
 A discrepancy exists in the results of the experiments of different 
 authorities upon the elimination of carbonic acid, and upon this 
 point precise data obtained by the improved method of investigation 
 adopted at the present day are wanted. 
 
 Reference may here be made to the question, whether the effect 
 of alcohol is to increase or diminish the facility with which work 
 is performed. In one of Dr. Parkes's series of observations (" Pro- 
 
ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES. 359 
 
 ceedings of the Royal Society," vol. xx, p. 412, 1872), a soldier 
 passed a period of three days performing a certain amount of work 
 without the use of brandy ; and, after three days of rest, another 
 period of three days' work with twelve ounces of brandy per diem, 
 administered in four-ounce doses, at 10 A.M., 2 P.M., and 6 P.M. 
 The man was requested to observe as closely as he could whether 
 he did the work better with or without the brandy. He commenced 
 the brandy period, it is stated, with the belief that the brandy would 
 enable him to perform the work more easily, but ended with the 
 opposite conviction. The work performed was chiefly done in the 
 two hours immediately succeeding each dose of brandy. The two 
 hours' work after the first four fluid-ounces appeared to be accom- 
 plished equally well with and without the brandy. The man, it is 
 said, could tell no difference except, to use his own words, " the 
 brandy seemed to give him a kind of spirit which made him think 
 he could do a great deal of work, but when he came to do it, he 
 found he was less capable than he thought." After the second four 
 ounces of brandy, at 2 P.M., he felt hot and thirsty ; but on the first 
 two days thought he worked as well as on the water days. On the 
 third day, however, the report says that he had palpitation of the 
 heart, and was surprised to find that he was obliged to stop from 
 time to time because of his breathing not being so good. The third 
 four fluid-ounces of brandy, taken at 6 P.M., produced on all three 
 days very marked narcotic effects. The account given is, that " im- 
 mediately after taking it he became heavy, felt the greatest indispo- 
 sition to exert himself, and could hardly refrain from throwing down 
 his spade and giving up his work. He worked with no vigor, and 
 on the second evening thought his muscular power decidedly les- 
 sened. On the third evening it was raining; he could not dig, but 
 took walking and running exercise under cover. On attempting to 
 run, he found, to his great surprise, as he is a particularly fast and 
 good runner, that he could not do so. He had palpitation, and got 
 out of breath, and was obliged to stop." 
 
 The experience of this man harmonizes with the advice that is 
 given by guides, and others, who are in the habit of undertaking 
 the ascent of mountains. Spirits, they say, take away the strength 
 from the legs, and should, therefore, be avoided during a fatiguing 
 expedition. 
 
 AVhen consumed in large quantity the effects of alcohol may be 
 
360 ALIMENTAEY SUBSTANCES. 
 
 summed up with the description that it acts as a depressant and 
 narcotic. 
 
 Whilst a moderate quantity of alcohol appears to promote the 
 appetite, a large quantity, in a very decided manner, lessens it. The 
 effect upon digestion also depends upon the amount that is taken. 
 It is a common practice amongst many to partake of a small quan- 
 tity of brandy or some other spirit after an article of food of an in- 
 digestible nature has been consumed. This, by stimulating the 
 mucous membrane of the stomach, and exciting an increased flow of 
 gastric secretion, affords assistance to digestion in harmony with the 
 idea that popular experience has suggested. Introduced in larger 
 quantity, however, into the stomach, an opposite result is occasioned. 
 The alcohol now, by virtue of the amount present, throws down the 
 nitrogenous digestive principle pepsin in a solid form, and so 
 destroys the energy of the solvent juice. Thus, whilst a small quan- 
 tity, by its stimulant action, may assist digestion, a large quantity 
 stops it, and accounts for the rejection of food in an undigested state 
 that is frequently noticed to occur after the too free imbibition of an 
 alcoholic liquid with a meal. 
 
 The effects of strong alcoholic liquids taken repeatedly to a preju- 
 dicial extent are well known to the practical physician. By direct 
 contact it acts upon the stomach, and leads to a destruction of its 
 secreting tubules. Nothing with such certainty impairs the appetite 
 and the digestive power as the continued use of strong alcoholic 
 liquids. From the stomach it is absorbed, and with its distribution 
 through the system it interferes with nutrition, and leads to a gen- 
 eral textural deterioration. Upon certain organs, however, its effects 
 are more manifest than upon others. The liver, kidneys, and ner- 
 vous system, for instance, very strikingly suffer, a diseased state 
 being set up, which forms a distinctly recognizable source of death. 
 Nothing, indeed, as a rule, with greater certainty leads to premature 
 death than alcoholic intemperance, and the managers of insurance 
 offices are well acquainted with this fact. 
 
 It has been mentioned that one of the immediate effects of the 
 ingestion of alcohol is turgescence of the small cutaneous vessels of 
 the face, producing the flushed appearance that is noticeable. A 
 frequent repetition of this condition leads ultimately to its permanent 
 establishment, and thus accounts for the well-known visage acquired 
 by the Bacchanalian. 
 
BEER. 361 
 
 I have been hitherto referring to the action of alcohol per se; and, 
 in spirits, except, perhaps, in the case of hollands and gin, which 
 possess diuretic properties, due to the flavoring agent (juniper) added, 
 we have little or nothing, it may be considered, besides this action 
 to deal with. In the primary fermented liquids, however, there are 
 associated ingredients which give rise to the production of modified 
 and additional effects'upon the system. The beverages, for instance, 
 which are rich in saccharine and extractive matters, as particularly 
 stout, porter, and the heavier ales, possess a nourishing and fattening 
 power which does not belong to a simple alcoholic liquid. Such 
 beverages also are apt to occasion headache and gastric derangement, 
 or what falls under the denomination of biliousness, in those who 
 lead a sedentary mode of life, whilst a lighter and purer alcoholic 
 drink may be found to agree. Again, gout appears to be the off- 
 spring, not of a simple alcoholic liquid, but of alcohol in combina- 
 tion with saccharine and extractive matter; for observation shows 
 that it is not the spirit drinker, but the beer and port wine drinker 
 that is specially liable to become the subject of the disease. As al- 
 cohol alone is not the source of gout, neither, it may be said, are the 
 saccharine and extractive matters without the alcohol. It seems as 
 though these solid, imperfectly fermented matters underwent, under 
 the influence of the presence of alcohol, a defective assimilation in 
 the system, and so gave rise to the development of the morbid 
 products, which form the source of the chief manifestations of the 
 disease. 
 
 BEER. 
 
 Beer consists of a fermented infusion of malt flavored with hops, 
 and is a beverage of great antiquity. Barley is moistened with water, 
 and allowed to germinate to a certain extent. It is then placed upon 
 the kiln, where it is exposed to heat and dried, and the amount of 
 heat employed determines the kind of malt produced. Pale malt, 
 which is used for brewing ale, is dried at a temperature below 140. 
 Porter and stout derive their color from malt that has been dried at 
 a higher temperature; and malt, called high-dried, patent, or black 
 malt, is specially made for employment as a coloring agent by roast- 
 ing the grain in cylinders, in the same manner as coffee. 
 
 The object of malting is the conversion of the starch of the grain 
 into dextrin and sugar. This in part occurs during the process of 
 
362 ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES. 
 
 germination, the change being effected by the action of a nitrogenous 
 principle of the nature of a ferment, which is known as diastase, and 
 which is developed during germination. Kiln-dried malt, however, 
 yields a larger amount of saccharine extract than that which has been 
 allowed to dry spontaneously in the air; hence the conversion is still 
 carried on during the exposure to heat in the kiln. Still, unchanged 
 starch remains, but the requisite conditions are present for the com- 
 pletion of the change during the preliminary part of the brewing 
 process. 
 
 Brewing consists of three operations. In the first place, an in- 
 fusion of the malt is obtained. This is then boiled with hops, and 
 the product is afterwards made to undergo fermentation. 
 
 The malt after being crushed is placed in the mash tun, and water 
 at a temperature of about 160 Fahr. is poured upon it. The two 
 are well stirred together, and subsequently left covered over for a 
 few hours. This operation is called mashing, and the liquid which 
 results from it sweet wort. The water takes up the saccharine matter 
 contained in the malt, and under the influence of the heat and mois- 
 ture the diastase acts upon the unchanged starch existing, and com- 
 pletes its conversion into sugar. Indeed, the diastase present is 
 capable of effecting the transformation of a much larger amount of 
 starch into sugar than that which the malt itself contains ; and hence 
 a certain quantity of un malted barley or other grain can be utilized 
 in making a "wort" for fermentation. The excise regulations of 
 England do not permit the use of unmalted grain for brewing, but 
 by distillers it is largely employed. In Belgium potato-starch, it 
 seems, is somewhat extensively used in brewing, upon the principle 
 explained, in the place of grain. The saccharine quality of the wort 
 may be also increased by the addition of sugar itself, and a prepared 
 sugar (probably grape-sugar) is sold to brewers for this purpose, and 
 is considered by them to give improvement to the beer. 
 
 The wort, which has a marked sweet taste, is next transferred to 
 a copper, and boiled with the appropriate quantity, according to the 
 kind of beer intended to be produced, of hops. By this, the liquid 
 acquires the aromatic bitterness belonging to beer, and the effect of 
 the hops seems further to exert a preservative influence over the prod- 
 uct. The liquid is now drawn off and strained from the hops, and 
 placed in shallow coolers for the temperature to be lowered as quickly 
 as possible. Refrigeration is also sometimes further aided by special 
 
BEER. 
 
 measures for the purpose. When sufficiently cooled, the concluding 
 process is performed, which consists of adding yeast, and allowing 
 fermentation to occur. The addition of yeast, however, is not in- 
 dispensable ; for fermentation, it is found, will occur without it, but 
 a considerably longer time is required. On this account it is usual 
 to start the fermentation with yeast, and by the end of a few hours 
 signs of the commencement of the process are visible, and within 
 three or four days 7 time it is over. In the absence of yeast it re- 
 quires a day or two for fermentation to commence, and a fortnight 
 or three weeks to be completed, but the resulting beer is said to have 
 more of a vinous flavor than ordinarily brewed beer, and to keep 
 longer without becoming sour. 
 
 By the process of fermentation the sugar of the wort is converted 
 into alcohol and carbonic acid ; the latter escaping and the former 
 giving to the beer its intoxicating property. When the process is 
 over, the fermented liquid is either allowed to clarify spontaneously, 
 or the suspended matter is carried down by the use of finings. It is 
 lastly stored and allowed to ripen. 
 
 Scrupulous attention requires to be paid to all the minor points 
 connected with the art of brewing. The quality of the beer and its 
 power of keeping not only depend on the amount and quality of the 
 materials used, but equally as much on the skill and care with which 
 the several steps of the operation of brewing are carried out. The 
 composition of the water used exerts a more or less marked influence 
 on the product. The spring water of Burton-on-Trent is well known 
 to stand in high repute for the pale and bitter ales which are now so 
 largely consumed, and it is supposed that the sulphate of lime con- 
 tained in it aids in clarifying and producing a bright and clear liquid. 
 
 Several varieties of beer are prepared. The term ale is applied to 
 that which is made from pale malt. Vastly different qualities are 
 sold depending upon the amount of malt and hops employed : the 
 former giving strength in alcohol, the latter in bitterness. Formerly, 
 the strong alcoholic ales were chiefly in request, but, latterly, the 
 popular taste has changed, and it is now a light bitter ale which is 
 held in the highest esteem. This was first especially prepared for 
 the Indian market, and hence the name of Indian pate ale by which 
 it is known in addition to that of bitter ale. Great care and atten- 
 tion require to be bestowed on the manufacture of this beverage, and 
 on account of its clearness and brightness and its delicate color and 
 
364 ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES. 
 
 taste, the best materials only can be employed. Its richness in the 
 aromatic bitter principle of the hop gives it its predominant charac- 
 ter, but at the same time whilst containing a moderate amount of 
 alcohol, the quantity of extractive matter is low, and fermentation 
 has been carried to an extent to render it comparatively free from 
 sugar. Porter is prepared from, and is dependent for its strength 
 on, pale malt, but high-dried malt is added to communicate color 
 and flavor. It is looked upon as more easy of digestion and assimi- 
 lation than ale of a corresponding quality. Stout constitutes a bever- 
 age of the same nature as porter. Its chief characteristic is the large 
 proportion of extractive matter that is present. What is called Lon- 
 don Cooper is generally understood to represent a mixture of stout 
 and porter, but a distinct beer occupying an intermediate position 
 between the two is also brewed and sold under this denomination. 
 Beer contains- the following ingredients : 
 
 Water, 
 
 Alcohol, 
 
 Sugar, dextrin, and other allied substances, 
 
 Nitrogenous matter, 
 
 Traces of fatty matter, 
 
 Aromatic, bitter, and coloring principles, 
 
 Saline matter, 
 
 Variable quantities of carbonic and acetic acids. 
 
 The alcohol, sugar and its allies, and the bitter principle, form the 
 constituents which give to beer its characteristic properties. 
 
 The alcohol varies in different kinds of beer from 1 or 2 to about 
 9 or 10 per cent, by volume. The following is the proportion ac- 
 cording to the analyses of Brande, the amount referring to alcohol of 
 the sp. gr. 0.825 at 60 Fahr., which consists of 89 per cent, of 
 absolute alcohol and 11 per cent, of water. 
 
 Alcohol, sp. gr. 0.825, 
 per cent., by measure. 
 
 Burton ale, ......... 8.88 
 
 Edinburgh ale, 6.22 
 
 London ale (average), 6.20 
 
 Brown stout, ......... 6.80 
 
 London porter (average), 4.20 
 
 London small beer (average), ...... 1.28 
 
 Adopting mean numbers, a pint (20 ounces) of beer will contain 
 about one ounce of alcohol (Parkes). 
 
CIDER PERRY. 365 
 
 The amount of solid extractive matter derived from the malt 
 (chiefly sugar and other carbohydrates) varies from about 4 to 15 
 per cent. It is lowest in the bitter and highest in the strong and 
 sweet ales and stout. Subjoined are the results of special analyses of 
 certain beers for malt extract and alcohol : 
 
 Barclay and Perkins's Londo 
 
 Malt extract, 
 per cent. 
 
 n porter, . 6.0 
 6.8 
 
 Alcohol, 
 per ceut. 
 
 5.4 
 
 6.9 
 
 Analyzed 
 by 
 
 Kaiser. 
 Balling. 
 
 Burton ale, .... 
 Scotch ale (Edinburgh), 
 
 . 14.5 
 . 10.9 
 
 5.9 
 8.5 
 
 Hoffmann. 
 Kaiser. 
 
 An imperial pint of good porter yields in general about an ounce 
 and a half of extract (Brande). 
 
 Beer is a refreshing, exhilarating, nutritive, and, when taken in 
 excess, an intoxicating beverage. Its nutritive properties are due to 
 the extractive matter, consisting principally of carbohydrates, which 
 it contains, and observation sufficiently testifies that beer which is 
 highly charged with extract exerts a decidedly fattening influence. 
 Its bitter principle renders it a stomachic and tonic. A light beer 
 well flavored with the hop is calculated to promote digestion, and 
 may be looked upon as constituting one of the most wholesome of 
 the alcoholic class of beverages. It is not all, however, who can 
 drink beer without experiencing inconvenience. In the case of 
 persons of a bilious temperament, also with dyspeptics and sometimes 
 others, it is apt to excite headache, heaviness, and other sensations 
 which fall under the popular designation of " biliousness." The 
 stronger beers, taken continuously in excess, induce a full and 
 plethoric state, and are liable, particularly if conjoined with seden- 
 tary habits, to result in the accumulation of defectively oxidized 
 products, as uric acid, &c., in the system, and so lead to the devel- 
 opment of gout. 
 
 CIDER: PERRY. 
 
 These form fermented beverages derived respectively from the 
 juice of the apple and the pear. Fruit that is not fit for eating, on 
 account of its acid, bitter, or rough taste, may be made use of for 
 their manufacture. The fruit is crushed to a pulp, and this is sub- 
 jected to pressure for the extraction of the juice. The amount of 
 
ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES. 
 
 juice yielded nearly equals half the weight of the pulp employed. 
 The juice contains the elements required for starting fermentation, 
 and on exposure to air at the appropriate temperature the formation 
 of alcohol takes place, a froth collecting on the surface and a sedi- 
 ment subsiding. This constitutes the most delicate part of the ope- 
 ration, and upon the manner in which it is conducted depends, in a 
 great measure, the quality of the product. If allowed to proceed too 
 far, the process passes into the acetous fermentation, and the liquid 
 becomes sour and thin, and if not far enough the product is thick 
 and unpalatable. The fermentation, by rights, should lead to a 
 spontaneous clarification. When a pale product is required the pulp 
 is submitted to pressure immediately after crushing. If the pulp be 
 left for some hours it undergoes a change, which leads to a coloration 
 of the juice. The fruit should be taken at its maximum richness in 
 saccharine matter, and for this it should be gathered when ripe, and 
 afterwards stored away for a month or six weeks, to allow it to 
 mature. 
 
 Cider and perry are closely analogous liquids, but have a different 
 flavor. The following represents the percentage of spirit in the sam- 
 ples that were examined by Brande : 
 
 Alcohol, sp. gr. 0.825 at 60 F., 
 per cent., by measure. 
 
 Cider, highest average, . . . . . .9.87 
 
 " lowest " 5.21 
 
 Perry, average of four samples, .... 7.26 
 
 In some localities cider and perry are consumed as the common 
 drink, taking the place of beer elsewhere. They constitute agree- 
 able, wholesome, and refreshing stimulating beverages when in a per- 
 fectly sound condition. Their proneness, however, to undergo the 
 acetous fermentation renders it necessary that they should be drunk 
 with caution, for in a sour state they are apt to occasion colic and 
 diarrhoea with those who are not in the habit of constantly taking 
 them. 
 
 WINE. 
 
 The term wine, when employed without any prefix, is understood 
 to signify the fermented juice of the grape. The word has, however, 
 a broader signification, and is applied to liquids generally that have 
 simply undergone the alcoholic fermentation. Used in this sense a 
 
WINE. 367 
 
 prefix is attached to denote the source of the product, as, for instance, 
 is the case with malt wine, honey wine, orange wine, currant wine, 
 <fcc. It is to the fermented juice of the grape alone that I purpose 
 at present directing attention. 
 
 Wine constitutes a beverage that appears to have been known 
 from the earliest periods of history. Until towards the close of the 
 seventeenth century the chief of the wine consumed in England 
 was derived from France. In consequence of the hostilities that 
 then broke out between the two countries a duty was, for a time, 
 imposed on French wines, of so heavy a nature as to be almost pro- 
 hibitory to their introduction. Political influences were now also 
 directed towards encouraging the importation and consumption of 
 port, and soon the wines of Portugal assumed the place that had 
 been previously occupied by those of France. As regards sherry, 
 this is shown to have been well known in England in the seven- 
 teenth century, by a work, published in 1619, entitled " PasquiPs 
 Palinodia, and his Progresse to the Taverne, where, after the survey 
 of the sellar, you are presented with a pleasant pynte of Poeticall 
 Sherry." The author extols sherry, against which " no fiery red- 
 faced claret," he says, can stand. Much of the " sack " formerly in 
 use appears to have been sherry, and this is corroborated by the fol- 
 lowing quaint lines taken from the above-mentioned work, which 
 contain also an allusion to several other drinks : 
 
 " Strong hoop'd in bonds are here constraint to tarry, 
 
 Two kinsmen neere allyde to sherry sack, 
 Sweet Malligo, and delicate canary, 
 
 Which warme the stomacks that digestion lacke." 
 
 "The broth with barley sodden, 
 
 Compares not with this licker, 
 The drayman's beere is not so cleere, 
 
 And foggy ale is thicker : 
 Metheglin is too fulsome, 
 
 Cold cyder and raw perry, 
 And all drinks stand with cap in hand, 
 
 In presence of old sherry. 
 Then let us drinke old sacke, old sacke, boyes, 
 
 Which makes us blythe and merry." 
 
 The import duties have always largely influenced the consump- 
 tion of wines, and previous to 1861 no distinction was made between 
 the light wines of France and Germany and the strong wines of 
 
368 ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES. 
 
 Spain and Portugal. This necessarily told seriously in a commer- 
 cial point of view against the former, by rendering them more ex- 
 pensive to drink than the latter. From the nature of the two wines 
 the advantage is on the side of the stronger, as this can only be 
 drunk in smaller quantity, and will therefore go further; and, also, 
 when a bottle is opened its contents may be gradually consumed, 
 instead of requiring to be disposed of quickly on account of want of 
 keeping power. 1861 is the date of a new era as regards wine con- 
 sumption in England, in consequence of Mr. Gladstone's altered 
 tariff; and the duty now levied on strong wines is 2s. 6d. per gallon, 
 whilst on light wines it is only Is. All wines containing less than 
 26 per cent, of proof spirit (and this will include all natural wines, 
 that is to say, wines which constitute simply the fermented juice of 
 the grape, without any addition of spirit) are admitted at the lower 
 duty. If containing above 26 per cent, the wine is regarded as be- 
 longing to the class of brand ied or fortified wines, and is charged 
 with the higher duty, the maximum strength allowed to the class 
 being 42 per cent, of proof spirit, which may be looked upon as 
 fairly including all beverages that can justly lay claim to the title of 
 wine. All liquids above the 42 per cent, in strength are regarded 
 as falling within the category of spirits, which are taxed at a much 
 higher rate. 
 
 On account of the free trade that has been opened out by the 
 present duties on wines, a great variety now finds its way within 
 the reach of persons of moderate means. These different wines pos- 
 sess very different characters and properties, and the medical practi- 
 tioner is constantly being called upon to advise as to which is most 
 suitable for his patient. It is therefore necessary that he should be 
 informed, as a, part of his professional knowledge, upon the point 
 indeed, it is scarcely too much to say that for those who practice 
 amongst the well-to-do classes, an acquaintance with the distinctive 
 qualities of the various wines introduced for general use is as essen- 
 tial to his success as a knowledge of the properties of the several 
 drugs. The subject is an extensive one, but I will endeavor to 
 give a concise account in accordance with the general scope of this 
 work. 
 
 The starting-point of wine is the grape ; a few words are therefore 
 necessary upon the nature of this fruit. It is a succulent berry, 
 
WINE. 369 
 
 which is provided with a thin but tough enveloping structure or 
 skin, to retain the central juicy substance, and preserve it from con- 
 tact with the air. The skins are found to yield a considerable 
 quantity of white wax to boiling alcohol, and this material may be 
 looked upon as evidently designed to impede both the penetration of 
 water from without and the escape of moisture from within. The 
 skins of some grapes (white grapes) are colorless or yellow, whilst in 
 the case of others (black grapes) they are more or less impregnated 
 with a deep blue coloring material. In both varieties they contain 
 astringent matter under the form of tannic acid. 
 
 The fleshy part of the grape consists of an organized structure 
 namely, of a mass of delicate vesicles, which contain the chief por- 
 tion of the juice. Instead, therefore, of the juice being loose or 
 free, and in a position to run out when the grape is cut open, it is 
 retained in these receptacles, which require to be broken up in order 
 that it may escape and be procured. Hence the treading that was 
 had recourse to in former times, and the crushing by passing between 
 rollers that is now generally employed, for liberating the juice previ- 
 ous to fermentation. 
 
 The chief solid constituents of the juice are sugar, nitrogenous mat- 
 ter, and organic acids principally the tartaric. The two former are 
 indispensable to the production of wine (the one forming the ferment- 
 ing principle and the other the ferment); the latter, an important 
 accompaniment for the development of vinous qualities. The juice 
 contains no tannic acid or other astringent matter, and is devoid of 
 color even in the colored grapes, with the exception of the tintilla or 
 teinturier grape, where it possesses a purple color. Hence, with the 
 exception named, although the grape externally may be deeply 
 colored, internally it is colorless, or only of a slightly yellowish hue. 
 The stones, in opposition to the pulp which surrounds them, are rich 
 in astringent matter. 
 
 As the grape-stalks are frequently placed in the fermenting vat 
 together with the fruit, it may be mentioned that these, like the husks 
 and stones, contain tannic acid, and thus help to give astringency to 
 a wine prepared with their employment. 
 
 There are many conditions which influence the quality of a wine. 
 They comprise those relating to its preparation and those connected 
 with the character of the grape. It is not difficult to understand 
 that much must depend upon the precise manner in which, and the 
 
 24 
 
370 ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES. 
 
 conditions under which its manufacture in all its details is carried 
 out, and it is equally easy to realize that much must also depend 
 upon the nature of the article from which it is produced. The 
 variety of grape, the period at which it is gathered, the soil upon 
 which it is grown, the particular surroundings of the locality, the 
 general climate of the place, and the climate peculiar to the year, all 
 tell upon the fruit, and must hence produce their influence upon the 
 quality of the wine. 
 
 There are many special conditions belonging to the grape which 
 cause a particular feature to be giveu to the wine, but the two which 
 produce the most marked influence are the amounts of saccharine mat- 
 ter and of acid. Occupying the position of first importance is sugar, 
 because it is the basis of fermentation, and without it there could be 
 no production of wine. Now, the amount of sugar in grape-juice 
 has been found to vary from about 10 to 30 per cent., a very marked 
 extent of variation as will be seen. Whilst the fruit is in the unripe 
 state the acids abound and sugar is deficient. Under the influence 
 of the light and heat of the sun*, as is the case with the ripening of 
 fruit in general, the sugar increases and the acids diminish ; and ac- 
 cording to the extent of influence exerted by the sun so will be the 
 amount of change occurring in this direction. Hence it is the grape 
 that is grown in hot countries that is the richest in saccharine matter, 
 and contains the least acid. The effect of different summers with 
 varying degrees of heat will be readily understood, and it is especi- 
 ally at the end of summer, or when the grape is ripening, that the 
 character of season produces the greatest influence. In the extreme 
 northern limits of the growth of the grape for wine production a 
 great deal of uncertainty, dependent upon the temperature, exists. 
 An excess of acid and deficiency of sugar are common defects, and it 
 is only in some years that the grapes sufficiently ripen for giving rise 
 to a really satisfactory product. The deficiency of sugar may be 
 easily counteracted by its addition to the juice, and this is frequently 
 done, but there remains the excess of acid which still tells in a 
 prejudicial manner upon the wine. Quality and quantity of yield, 
 it may be remarked, do not necessarily go together, for in some years 
 the quantity is great and the quality bad, whilst in others it may be 
 the reverse. 
 
 It has been mentioned that the amount of sugar contained in the 
 juice of grapes grown under different climates and during different 
 
WINE. 371 
 
 seasons varies from about 10 to 30 per cent. The amount of free 
 acid, reckoned as tartaric acid, varies under the same circumstances 
 from about 0.3 to 1.5 per cent. For the production of good wine it 
 is said to be requisite that the juice should contain not less than 
 about 20 per cent, of sugar and not more than about 0.5 per cent, of 
 free acid. 
 
 From what has been stated it is apparent, then, that a warm and, 
 it may further be said, a dry summer is propitious to the grape for 
 wine production. It will be equally apparent that full ripeness 
 should be allowed to be attained so that there shall be a maximum 
 of sugar and minimum of acid: Tokay wine, which is renowned for 
 its sweet and rich, full, wine flavor, is even prepared from grapes 
 that have been allowed to remain upon the vine till overripe, and 
 till a certain amount of desiccation and thereby concentration of the 
 juice has occurred. 
 
 Some grapes possess a peculiar aroma which is communicated to 
 the wine made from them. Ordinarily the juice of the grape is de- 
 void of any decided fragrance, and the aroma of the wine is developed 
 during the process of fermentation. In some instances, however, 
 and particularly in the muscat grape, a very decided aroma exists 
 which remains perceptible after the juice has been converted into wine. 
 
 The first step in the manufacture of wine after the grapes have 
 been gathered is to crush them between rollers or otherwise, in order 
 that the juice may be liberated. As long as the juice is contained 
 within the grape it is not observed to undergo fermentation. With 
 the expressed juice, on the other hand, and to this the term "must" 
 is applied, fermentation soon sets in under exposure to an appropri- 
 ate temperature. No ferment is required to be added; the nitrogen- 
 ous matter present supplies what is wanted for starting the change 
 as soon as it is brought into contact with the atmosphere. It is 
 evidently the exclusion of air by the skin which prevents fermenta- 
 tion from occurring whilst the juice is contained within the fruit. 
 
 The process of crushing having been accomplished, the juice is 
 either at once expressed and fermented alone, or else the whole is 
 fermented together for awhile, and then expression performed. In 
 the former case, whether black or white grapes are used, a non- 
 colored and non-astringent product is the result. In the latter case, 
 astringent matter is taken up from the skins- and stones, and from the 
 
372 ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES. 
 
 stalks also when these are present. Coloring matter likewise is dis- 
 solved out so as to produce a dark-colored wine, when colored grapes 
 have been employed. The color of the liquid becomes more intense 
 as fermentation proceeds, on account of the solvent power which is 
 enjoyed by alcohol and an acid. Whilst the watery juice impreg- 
 nated with its acid fails to touch the coloring matter, directly alcohol 
 is present it is taken up, and with it also astringent matter ; for the 
 tannin and coloring matter in this respect behave alike, and so far 
 go together that, as a rule, the deeper the color the rougher the 
 flavor. When contact with the skins has been sufficiently prolonged 
 for the desired color and astringency to be communicated to the 
 wine, the fermented liquor is separated from the " mark " by expres- 
 sion. The "mark " or expressed residue still contains a quantity of 
 coloring matter and other vinous substances, and sometimes a kind 
 of sham wine is made from it by mixing it with a solution of glucose 
 and allowing fermentation to occur. 
 
 The fermenting stage varies in duration according to the prevail- 
 ing temperature. In warm localities it may be over in two or three 
 days, whilst in colder districts it may last considerably longer. As 
 it commences, the " must" becomes more turbid than it was originally, 
 and appears to be in motion from the ascent of the little bubbles of 
 carbonic acid gas that are generated. The temperature of the liquid 
 rises and a froth collects on the surface due to the escaping gas. 
 After it has attained its maximum activity, and has begun to dimin- 
 ish, the contents of the fermenting vat require to be stirred up so 
 that all the elements may be brought into contact afresh. Doubtless, 
 the general custom now is to effect this by means of a mechanical 
 contrivance, but formerly the revolting practice prevailed of men in 
 a naked state entering the vats for the purpose, and it was thought 
 that the temperature of the body was useful in promoting fermenta- 
 tion. It is stated that several men thus employed have been killed 
 by the carbonic acid that has been given off from the liquid and 
 accumulated above its surface. 
 
 The character of the wine is much influenced by the temperature 
 at which fermentation takes place, and this is allowed to remain de- 
 pendent on that which happens to belong to the locality and season. 
 Hence in part is due the variation in the wines of different countries 
 and years. 
 
 Active fermentation, for instance, at a high temperature, leads to 
 
WINE. 373 
 
 a disappearance of sugar before time has been permitted for the de- 
 velopment of bouquet and flavor. The vinous elements have been 
 exhausted or destroyed, and the resulting wine is thin and poor, and 
 becomes quickly matured. This appears to account for the custom 
 that has arisen of "fortifying/' or adding spirit to wine, in hot 
 countries as Spain, Portugal, Madeira, and the Cape. It is well 
 known that the wines which we receive from these countries are in 
 a " fortified " state, whilst those derived from cooler countries, as 
 France, Germany, &c., contain no added spirit, and therefore con- 
 stitute " natural " wines. In the former, after the fermentation has 
 advanced to a certain point, the spirit is added to check its further 
 progress, before the saccharine matter is wholly destroyed. Through 
 the saccharine and extractive matters thus left the wine possesses a 
 body and fruitiness which would have been lost had fermentation 
 been allowed to continue undisturbed ; and out of such body and 
 fruitiness are generated those esteemed vinous qualities which become 
 slowly developed as the liquid matures. 
 
 In France, Germany, Hungary, &c., where a cooler climate pre- 
 vails, fermentation occurs with less rapidity, and is allowed to pro- 
 ceed until it comes to a spontaneous termination. Here, then, the 
 transformation of saccharine matter is permitted to go on until it is 
 quite or nearly lost, and, in consequence, there is produced a drier 
 or less fruity wine, and one which takes less time to mature. With 
 wines of this class also a stronger bouquet or aroma is developed, 
 either as a result simply of the slower fermentation or of the more 
 acid quality of the grape, for it has been suggested that the free acid 
 probably exerts some influence over the production of the aroma. 
 
 The wines of the Rhine and Moselle districts, which are amongst 
 the most northern of wine-producing localities, are particularly 
 characterized, it may be remarked, by the amount of aroma they 
 possess. Although fermentation has been allowed to exhaust the 
 saccharine matter, the amount of alcohol produced does not nearly 
 equal that found in the " fortified " wines. It suffices for preserv- 
 ing the wine in closed casks and bottles, but not for giving it the 
 power enjoyed by the other kind of keeping without turning bad 
 under exposure to air. 
 
 Should the temperature happen to be too low for fermentation to 
 proceed with proper activity, a wine devoid of 'lasting properties 
 will be produced. 
 
374 ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES. 
 
 Although it is evident that the surrounding temperature during 
 the period of fermentation plays such an important part in deter- 
 mining the quality of the wine, yet it does not seem that artificial 
 measures are yet had recourse to for rendering the process, as it 
 easily might be rendered, independent of the local conditions that 
 may happen to prevail. 
 
 As fermentation diminishes in activity, the liquid, which at first, 
 as previously mentioned, became more turbid, begins to grow 
 clearer by throwing down a sediment called " lees" consisting of 
 portions of the ferment and other organic substances combined with 
 cream of tartar, the amount of the latter, on account of its sparing 
 solubility in spirit, varying with the amount of alcohol present. It 
 is now drawn off from the a lees " into casks, to prevent the acetous 
 fermentation setting in. Here vinous fermentation still continues 
 slowly, and more sediment, of the same nature as before, subsides ; 
 the cream of tartar belonging to it being thrown down in a crystal- 
 line form, and constituting what is known as " argol." Again the 
 wine is removed from the sediment, and transferred to other casks ; 
 and the process is repeated, it may be, two or three times more. 
 Much depends upon the care and attention bestowed upon these 
 rackings of the wine during the first year ; and another point that 
 requires to be equally looked after is keeping the casks constantly 
 filled up, to compensate for the loss by soakage through the wood 
 and evaporation that is going on, and prevent an empty space 
 existing within. The wine during this storage is undergoing 
 changes which result in the ultimate development, as maturation 
 afterwards slowly progresses, of its special flavor, bouquet, and 
 other vinous properties. 
 
 It is a common practice to burn a brimstone match in the empty 
 cask into which the wine is to be transferred, with the view of ex- 
 erting a preservative influence. 
 
 As a finishing operation, the wine is usually subjected to the pro- 
 cess of "fining." This is effected by adding an agent like isinglass, 
 or the white of egg, which undergoes precipitation by the action of 
 the wine, and leads to the suspended fine particles being entangled 
 and carried down. Wine thus clarified is not only, from its clear- 
 ness and brightness, rendered more pleasing to the eye, but by the 
 separation of the floating extraneous matter placed in a condition 
 for keeping better. 
 
WINE. 375 
 
 Sparkling wines require to be subjected to a further process to 
 give them their effervescing character, which is due to carbonic acid 
 dissolved and retained under pressure. The wine is first fermented 
 in the usual way, and having become bright and clear by the fol- 
 lowing spring, is put into bottles, and dosed with a concentrated 
 solution of sugar. This leads to a second fermentation, during 
 which the wine throws down a further sediment that is collected at 
 the neck of the bottle, the bottles being inverted for the purpose. 
 By a process which is called " disgorging " the sediment is per- 
 mitted to be blown off, and the bottles are finally corked and 
 wired, and, after the lapse of a little time, the wine becomes ready 
 for use. 
 
 Wine consists of numerous component principles, some of which 
 are derived directly from the grape, others from products of fermen- 
 tation, while others spring from the subsequent changes which occur 
 during the process of maturation. Apart from water, the following 
 may be enumerated as constituting those upon which its character- 
 istic properties depend. 
 
 Alcohol, 
 
 Sugar, 
 
 Coloring matter, 
 
 Astringent matter, 
 
 Extractive matter, 
 
 Acids, 
 
 Volatile oils and ethereal products. 
 
 Something will be said regarding each of these constituents, but 
 too much importance must not be attached to a knowledge of the 
 chemical composition of wine. It is true the predominant qualities 
 are dependent upon the relative proportion in which the respective 
 constituents exist, but a knowledge of chemical composition alone 
 will not serve as a basis upon which to estimate the value of a wine. 
 The palate and stomach afford the only true criterion in the matter. 
 There may be all the difference between a palatable and unpalatable, 
 and a wholesome and unwholesome wine, and chemistry shall fail in 
 pointing it out. Again, however satisfactory the composition accord- 
 ing to the figures obtained by the analyst, his result is utterly worth- 
 less if unconfirmed by the living laboratory. 
 
 Indeed, although chemistry displays the existence of a number of 
 
376 ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES. 
 
 constituents in wine, yet it may be considered that in its action upon 
 the system we have not to deal with the effects of its independent 
 principles, but with a liquid in which the ingredients should be so 
 amalgamated, incorporated, or blended together as to make a homo- 
 geneous whole. For instance, if we look to alcohol, which forms the 
 most active component, the effects of a certain amount of this princi- 
 ple as it is contained in wine are not identical with those of the same 
 amount diluted to an equal extent with water. The alcohol appears 
 to become blended with the other ingredients, and in this state to 
 exert a somewhat modified action upon the system. One of the ad- 
 vantages, and perhaps the chief, which wine derives from keeping is 
 probably attributable to this blending of its constituents. It is well 
 known to acquire a uniformity of flavor by age, in contradistinction 
 to the crude character and mixed tastes belonging to it in a new state. 
 Even made-up wine may, in the course of time, lose much of its per- 
 nicious nature, and become passable by acquiring an amalgamated 
 condition. 
 
 Alcohol. This forms the most prominent constituent of wine, 
 being that which gives to the liquid its intoxicating properties. 
 Without implying that the value of a wine is proportionate to its 
 amount, it must be looked upon as the most important constituent, 
 being that which is the source of its keeping power. 
 
 It is the special object of fermentation to produce this principle, 
 and unless added during the preparation of the wine its amount is 
 dependent on that of the sugar primarily contained in the fermenting 
 liquid. One atom of grape-sugar is resolved into two atoms of alco- 
 hol and two of carbonic acid (new notation), and the formulae show 
 that from 180 parts, by weight, of dry grape-sugar, 92 parts of alco- 
 hol are produced. In other words, for every two parts of sugar 
 about one of alcohol is obtained. 
 
 With this information it is easy to determine what should con- 
 stitute the range of alcoholic strength of a natural wine. Now, 
 grape-juice, as has been previously mentioned, is found to contain 
 from 10 to 30 per cent, of sugar, and this, supposing all the sugar 
 to undergo the fermentation metamorphosis, and none of the alcohol 
 to have been lost, will give an alcoholic strength of from (about) 
 5 to 15 per cent., which corresponds with about 10 to 30 per cent, 
 of proof spirit. Theoretically, therefore, a natural wine should not 
 Contain more than 30 per cent, of proof spirit, but, practically, it 
 
WINE. 377 
 
 will not contain so much; for, apart from the question of the whole 
 of the sugar being transformed in the one direction only, there must 
 needs be a loss of alcohol by evaporation during fermentation, and 
 more of alcohol than of water, on account of the greater volatility of 
 the former. 
 
 Natural wine, in fact, rarely contains more than 22 per cent, by 
 volume of proof spirit. The ordinary range is from 18 to 22 per 
 cent. The maximum strength allowed by the English Government 
 for the lower rate of import duty is 26 per cent., and this, it may be 
 considered, is sufficiently high to include all natural wines. Indeed, 
 independently of the amount of saccharine matter in the juice, the 
 extent of alcoholic strength is limited by the action of the alcohol 
 generated, for directly a certain quantity is present a check is put 
 upon the further progress of fermentation, and the excess of sugar 
 remains unfermented. Thus, although the juice might have been 
 artificially sweetened by the addition of sugar, or the percentage of 
 sugar increased by the partial desiccation of the grapes or evapora- 
 tion of the juice, only a limited alcoholic strength can be attained as 
 the result of fermentation alone. It may further be remarked that 
 as the presence of a certain quantity of alcohol puts a stop to the 
 progress of fermentation, so does sugar beyond a certain proportion 
 interfere with its commencement. There is a limit, in other words, 
 to the strength of a saccharine liquid that can be thrown into fer- 
 mentation. 
 
 There is another class of wine, in relation to alcoholic strength, 
 met with in commerce. The class includes such wines as port, 
 sherry, Madeira, <fcc., which contain a larger amount of spirit than 
 could naturally arise from fermentation. They constitute the pro- 
 duce of the warmer wine-producing countries, and spirit is added 
 after fermentation has proceeded to a certain point, to stop further 
 change and give the wine a preserving power. The average strength 
 of these " fortified " wines is about 34 or 36 per cent, of proof spirit. 
 Anything containing over 26 per cent, is regarded by the English 
 Government, and, in reality, may be fairly looked upon, as having 
 been fortified. The import duty charged is, accordingly, at a higher 
 rate, and the maximum strength fixed to include all liquids that can 
 justly claim the title of wine is 42 per cent. 
 
 The relative average strength of. natural and fortified wines may, 
 
S78 ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES. 
 
 therefore, be represented by stating that the former contains about 
 one-fifth, and the latter one-third of its bulk of proof spirit. 
 
 By keeping in cask wine increases in alcoholic strength, which is 
 accounted for by wood being more easily penetrated by water than 
 by alcohol. It thus happens that water is lost by evaporation from 
 the outside of the cask in larger quantity than the alcohol, and the 
 wine is left in a more concentrated condition. 
 
 The amount of alcohol in wine is ascertained by distilling over 
 say half from a given quantity, adding distilled water to the dis- 
 tillate to make it equal in measure the wine employed, and then 
 taking the sp. gr., from which may be learned, by the tables that 
 have been framed, the percentage of alcohol present. 
 
 Sugar. The amount of sugar contained in wine will depend upon 
 the extent to which fermentation is carried. In natural thoroughly 
 fermented wines, as claret, Burgundy, hock. &c., there may be none, 
 or, if any, the quantity is very small. In fortified wines, as port, 
 sherry, Madeira, &c., more or less sugar is usually found on account 
 of fermentation having been artificially checked in the manner al- 
 ready explained. As these wines are kept the sugar undergoes a 
 gradual diminution in amount from some kind of metamorphosis 
 occurring that is unattended with any visible evidence of fermenta- 
 tion. There are dry sherries to be met with that are free from 
 sugar. In some wines the quantity of sugar may amount to as 
 much as 20 per cent., or even more. Tokay, Constantia, Malmsey, 
 Lachryma Christi, Tent, and Malaga are wines characterized by the 
 quality of sweetness. 
 
 Coloring matter. Wines, as is well known, present very different 
 colors, passing from an almost colorless state through various shades 
 of yellow and brown, on the one hand ; and violet, or a mixture of 
 red and blue, on the other. The coloring matter encountered is not 
 generated during fermentation, but derived from the grape. With 
 the exception of the teinturier grape the juice is colorless, or only 
 very slightly yellowish. Wine, therefore, prepared from the juice 
 alone, with the exception named, no matter whether white or black 
 grapes have been employed, is in a corresponding state. It is not 
 exactly colorless, but nearly so. It has, however, in common with 
 vegetable matter generally, a tendency to become yellowish or brown- 
 ish under exposure to air. 
 
 The colored wines derive their color from the coloring matter 
 
WINE. 379 
 
 residing in the skin of the grape, and this is of two kinds, yellow or 
 rather yellowish-brown, and blue. The skin of the white grape fer- 
 mented with the juice gives the color to the yellow or brown varie- 
 ties of wine ; and that of the black grape, to the red varieties. In 
 the latter case the color is essentially or primarily blue, but, like 
 other kinds of vegetable blue, it is reddened by, and in proportion 
 to, the acid present. In the grape, even, it is red, whilst the fruit 
 is in an acid and unripe state, but becomes blue as ripening occurs, 
 and the acid diminishes. It is well known that as the grapes be- 
 come sweet the depth of blue color increases. 
 
 The skins being allowed to remain in contact with the juice, the 
 coloring matter is extracted during the process of fermentation. It 
 happens, whilst resisting solution in a watery liquid impregnated 
 with an acid, as, for instance, the juice of the fruit, to be very solu- 
 ble in the presence of alcohol with the acid. Thus as fermentation 
 proceeds, and alcohol becomes developed, more and more of it is 
 taken up. 
 
 Colored wines are observed to become paler as their age increases. 
 A deeply colored port, for example, assumes in the course of time a 
 tawny color, and ultimately, even, an almost colorless state. In pro- 
 portion as the loss of color occurs, a colored crust accumulates. The 
 coloring and astringent matters, in fact, gradually become insoluble, 
 and are deposited together as the change slowly progresses. 
 
 Coloring matters are sometimes employed to deepen or change the 
 tint of wines. In Spain must, which has been reduced by heat to 
 the consistence of treacle, forms an article used to deepen the color of 
 sherry. Pale wines also frequently derive a certain amount of color 
 from the oak casks in which they are kept. The color of port is said 
 to be sometimes deepened artificially. 
 
 Astringent matter. The astringent matter of wine consists of tan- 
 nic acid. Wines prepared from the juice of the grape only possess 
 no astringency, on account of the juice being devoid of tannic acid. 
 Tannic acid, however, exists in the skins, stones, and stalks of grapes, 
 and from these sources its presence in wine originates. The astrin- 
 gent and coloring matters of wine are found to be closely analogous in 
 their relations, and to accompany each other; so that the deeper the 
 color of a wine, the rougher generally in taste is it as well. They 
 are also deposited together under the form of crust, and as the wine 
 becomes paler it likewise loses correspondingly in astringent flavor. 
 
380 ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES. 
 
 Sometimes the deposit takes place in the shape of thin filmy flakes, 
 which, floating in the wine, produce what is known as "beeswing" 
 
 Extractive matter. Besides sugar, and coloring and astringent mat- 
 ters, there are various unknown solid organic constituents, and the 
 whole grouped together, under the term "extractives" comprise what 
 is known as forming the " body " of wine. When the amount of 
 solid matter is large it is principally owing to the presence of sugar. 
 
 It may be mentioned here that glycerin appears to constitute a 
 product of fermentation, and to form one of the constituents of wine. 
 
 Acids. The acidity of wine is chiefly due to tartaric acid and the 
 acid tartrate of potash, or cream of tartar, but there are various other 
 acids, fixed and volatile, present. The acids discoverable are in part 
 derived from those contained in the fruit, and in part generated dur- 
 ing and after fermentation. Wine that is too acid to be agreeable 
 may be looked upon as unsuitable for drinking, but, at the same 
 time, it is to be remarked that taste affords no true measure of the 
 amount of acid present, for the sourness perceived may depend either 
 upon an excess of acid or a deficiency of " body " (extractive matter), 
 which has the effect of covering or concealing the impression of 
 acidity upon the palate. 
 
 The amount of acid is found, by chemical examination, to be least 
 in sherry and port wines, and most in Moselle and Ehine wine, or 
 hock. In the wine produced by northern localities undue acidity is 
 a common defect, on account of the heat being insufficient for a full 
 ripening of the grape. The following, according to the appendix in 
 Dr. Bence Jones's translation of Mulder's work on the " Chemistry 
 of Wines/' is the order of acidity of the subjoined varieties : 
 
 Order of acidity in an increasing ratio. 
 
 Sherry, 
 
 Port, 
 
 Champagne, 
 
 Claret, 
 
 Burgundy, 
 
 Madeira, 
 
 Moselle, 
 
 Khine wine (Hock). 
 
 Volatile oil and ethereal products. These constitute the source of 
 the bouquet or aroma of wine, and are most prominent in the pro- 
 
WINE. 381 
 
 ductions of the cooler climates. It is these, also, which give the 
 most marked distinctive character to wine, and they doubtless con- 
 tribute to produce a portion of its exhilarating effect, for the exhila- 
 rating properties of a given quantity of wine cannot be wholly ac- 
 counted for by the amount of alcohol it contains. The quality and 
 value, indeed, of wine are more determined by these ingredients than 
 by the proportion of alcohol. They are partly, in some instances, 
 derived directly from the grape, besides being developed during fer- 
 mentation and the subsequent process of maturation. It is known 
 that acids and alcohols react upon each other, and give rise to the 
 production of an ether. Now, these elements exist in wine, and an 
 ethereal product is obtainable by distillation, to which Liebig and 
 Pelouze have applied the term " oenanthic ether." 
 
 Attention will now be directed to the distinctive characters of the 
 different wines that reach this country. They are generally named 
 after the locality of their production, and are most conveniently 
 grouped under the head of the country yielding them. The wines 
 of each country have special features of their own sufficiently marked 
 to enable an experienced person readily to recognize them. First of 
 all, it may be mentioned that, as regards their prominent qualities, 
 the following varieties may be enumerated : 
 
 Natural, or light, 
 
 Fortified, or strong, 
 
 Red, 
 
 White, 
 
 Sweet, or fruity, 
 
 Dry, or thoroughly fermented, 
 
 Full-bodied, 
 
 Thin, 
 
 Acidulous, 
 
 Astringent, 
 
 Sparkling. 
 
 French Wines. The natural wines of France, which formerly 
 constituted the principal wine consumed in England, and which from 
 political considerations were for a considerable time displaced by the 
 fortified wines of Portugal, have been latterly advancing into more 
 general use amongst us, especially since the alteration of the import 
 
382 ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES. 
 
 duty in 1861. Clarets, Burgundies, and Champagnes are produc- 
 tions of France with which every one is acquainted. Besides these 
 natural wines, a strong or fortified wine (Roussillon is an example) 
 is produced in the South of France, which approximates in character 
 to the wines of Portugal. 
 
 Clarets are derived from the Bordeaux district. Both red and 
 white wines are met with. The red comprise such as Lafitte, Latour, 
 La Rose, Margaux, Mouton, Pauittac, St. Julien, St. Emilion, Medoc, 
 &c. ; the white, such as Sauterne, Vin-de- Grave, Bar sac, and an ex- 
 ceedingly choice production, the Chateau d' Yquem. Clarets contain 
 no added spirit. Their alcoholic strength averages from 18 to 20 
 per cent, of proof spirit. Being fully fermented, they are rendered 
 more or less free &om sugar, and constitute, therefore, dry wines. 
 They are light, agreeable, and refreshing to drink, have a delicate 
 fragrant odor, and a slightly rough or astringent taste, without, in 
 good wine, any unpleasant acidity. The white wines of the Bordeaux 
 class, like white wines generally, are finer flavored, and have a more 
 delicate perfume and less astringency than the red. The Chateau 
 d'Yquem, particularly, is a choice, full-flavored wine, with an extra 
 luscious character, due to the richness of the grape, which is not 
 gathered until after attaining thorough ripeness, in saccharine 
 matter. 
 
 With the moderately exhilarating, and the other properties that 
 the clarets possess, they form an exceedingly valuable kind of stim- 
 ulant, both for the healthy and the sick. There is scarcely any con- 
 dition in which they are calculated to disagree. They form a most 
 suitable beverage for persons of a gouty or rheumatic disposition, 
 and also for the dyspeptic. It may be said that they are not prone 
 to turn sour upon the stomach themselves, nor to cause other articles 
 to become sour; neither do they provoke headache or derangement 
 in those who are subject to bilious disorders. 
 
 Burgundies are derived from the southern districts of the central 
 parts of France that portion of France, it may be said, which is 
 most propitious to the growth of the grape. As with Bordeaux 
 wine so with Burgundy, both red and white varieties are produced. 
 Of the red, Clos de Vougeot, Chambertin, Romance, Volnay, Pom- 
 mard, Beaune, and Maeon, form well-known brands ; and of the 
 white, Chablis, Pouilly, Meursault, and Montrachet. 
 
 The wines of the Rhone districts, consisting of such as Cote Rotie, 
 
WINE. 383 
 
 Hermitage, red and white, and Beaujolais (which has risen rapidly 
 into notoriety as a reasonable wine during the last ten or twelve 
 years), are generally classed also with Burgundies. 
 
 In character, Burgundy is a richer, fuller-bodied, or more gener- 
 ous wine than claret. With a choice aroma and strong wine flavor, 
 it possesses a trace of bitterness. To appreciate its qualities to the 
 fullest extent, it should be served in the middle of dinner, with the 
 roast meat or game. Therapeutical ly, it is a valuable agent where 
 poverty of blood or an ill-nourished state of the system exists. In 
 such states it is decidedly to be preferred to claret. An idea prevails 
 that, unlike claret, Burgundy encourages the development of gout. 
 This may be so with a very sumptuous wine presenting an approx- 
 imation to port, but there is reason to think that the charge is un- 
 founded in the case of the ordinary Burgundies that are met with 
 in common use. 
 
 Beaujolais may be ranked as occupying a place between Burgundy 
 and claret. Whilst wanting the fulness of body of the former, it is 
 a rather stouter wine than the latter. 
 
 Champagnes are the produce of several parts of France, but the 
 most renowned brands are derived from the department of the Marne 
 Rheims forming the centre of the district on the northern, and 
 Epernay, that on the southern side of the river. They are classified 
 as sparkling and still, and sweet and dry ; and the better qualities 
 are distinguished by the name of the producer. Amongst well- 
 known and favorite brands may be mentioned those of Roederer^ 
 Mod, Clicquot, Jules Mumm, and Perrier Jouet. In good wines the 
 carbonic acid is so incorporated with the liquid as to escape slowly, 
 or " creamily " as it is termed, when the bottle is opened. 
 ^ Champagne, whilst only possessing the alcoholic strength of 
 natural wines (Griffin's analysis of a sample showed 18 per cent, of 
 proof spirit), is characterized in its effects upon the system by the 
 rapidity of its action as a stimulant and restorative. As it acts more 
 rapidly and strongly, so its effects also pass off more quickly. 
 It may be described as a volatile stimulant, with a more transitory 
 action than other beverages of the alcoholic class. It is a useful 
 wine for exciting the flagging powers in cases of exhaustion. It also 
 has a tendency to allay irritability of the stomach, and in some cases 
 of vomiting may be found to be retained when other stimulants are 
 rejected. ' Unless in a good sound state, however, there is scarcely 
 
384 ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES. 
 
 any wine that is so calculated to upset the stomach. To give it 
 effervescence sugar is added after its introduction into the bottle, for 
 the purpose of inducing a second fermentation, and until this fer- 
 mentation is complete the wine must be looked upon as in a state of 
 change, and thereby apt to excite changes of the food within the 
 stomach, which tend to interfere with the natural course of diges- 
 tion. Unless the elements of the wine, also, are in proper relation 
 and of proper goodness, it is apt to acquire ascescent and obnoxious 
 properties, from the vinous passing into the acetous fermentation. 
 
 Besides Champagne, France produces other sparkling wines. 
 There are, for instance, sparkling Burgundies, both white and red ; 
 a sparkling Hermitage ; and also a wine closely resembling and often 
 doing duty for Champagne, which is produced on the banks of the 
 Rhone, and styled St. Peray. 
 
 The South of France, in the neighborhood of the Pyrenees, is the 
 seat of production of quite a different kind of wine from the varieties 
 that have been referred to. The wine in question, of which Roussil- 
 lon and Masdeu furnish examples, belongs to the fortified class. It 
 forms a French representative of the red wines of Portugal, but does 
 not nearly come up to them in quality, and has something of the 
 Burgundy or claret character about it. It sometimes passes under 
 the names of Burgundy Port and French Port. In Thudichum 
 and Dupr6 ? s analytical table the alcoholic strength of Roussillon 
 stands at 36.2 per cent, of proof spirit. 
 
 German Wines. With the exception of what is known as Hambro 
 sherry (a low-priced fortified wine, and, as its name implies, of a 
 sherry-like nature) which is not made at, but simply shipped from 
 Hambro, the German wines are natural products. They are 0f 
 light alcoholic strength, and are characterized by their marked and 
 peculiar aroma or fragrance, and their acidulous nature. These 
 properties render them grateful and refreshing to drink, as well as 
 an excitant of the appetite! They thus form a specially appropriate 
 beverage at the commencement of dinner. On account of the northern 
 situation of the country, and the variation in the climate of different 
 years, they exhibit a wider range of difference in quality according 
 to the season (a hot and dry season being that which is most propi- 
 tious) than the products of more southern latitudes. Notwithstand- 
 ing the greatest care in the process of manufacture, a want of bright- 
 
WINE. 385 
 
 ness characterizes the wines of Germany. Hence the custom of 
 drinking them from colored glasses, the efftct of which is to conceal 
 from view that which might displease the eye. 
 
 The German wines produced on the banks of the Rhine generally 
 pass in this country under the name of Hock. They are mostly 
 white, and the best known and most esteemed varieties are such as 
 Johannisbcrger, Steinberger, Riidesheimer , Marcobrunner , Rauenthaler, 
 Hockheimer, and Niersteiner. Assmannshauser represents a red va- 
 riety of hock. 
 
 The wines produced on the banks of the Moselle agree in their 
 general characters with hocks or Rhine wines, but they are some- 
 what more acid in taste, and have less body. Excellent sparkling 
 wines are made both in the Rhine and Moselle districts. 
 
 Hungarian Wines. In general character the wines of Hungary 
 may be said to resemble those of France more closely than those of 
 any other country. With the exception of Tokay, which has long 
 been prized amongst us as one of the choicest of wines, they were 
 but little known in this country previous to the notice they received 
 at the International Exhibition of 1862. Since then they have risen 
 rapidly in public estimation, and now meet with an extensive con- 
 sumption. They are good specimens of a light or natural wine, with 
 a distinctive flavor of their own. Both red and white wines are 
 produced, and the varieties are sufficiently numerous to present to 
 the uninitiated a somewhat perplexing list of names. Of the red 
 wines, the Carlowitz is the best known in England. It possesses 
 good body, a full alcoholic strength for a natural wine, a slight as- 
 tringency, and freedom from saccharine matter. It may be said, 
 indeed, to constitute a generous wine of its class, and in this respect 
 may be compared to Burgundy. Next to Carlowitz, 0/ner, perhaps, 
 stands in highest estimation. The white wines are specially charac- 
 terized by their softness and richness of grape flavor. The Ruster 
 and (Edenburg are good and exceedingly agreeable-drinking wines. 
 But Tokay far excels them all, and holds, in fact, a unique position. 
 It is one of the most universally famed of wines, and always com- 
 mands a price that places it within reach only of the wealthy. It is 
 made of the juice which flows spontaneously from the finest, thor- 
 oughly matured grapes. It ranks amongst the sweet wines, and 
 
 25 
 
386 ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES. 
 
 with its sweetness it possesses a full wine flavor. It is usually drunk 
 at the end of dinner, in the manner of a liqueur. 
 
 Greek and Italian Wines. These wines are less known in Eng- 
 land than those which have been hitherto referred to. They are 
 light or natural wines, with a high alcoholic strength for their class. 
 Kephisia, St. Elie, Patras, and Thera are reasonable-priced, dry 
 Greek wines ; and amongst the sweet wines may be mentioned Vin- 
 santo, Lachryma Christi, Cyprus, and Malmsey. White Capri is an 
 agreeable-drinking Italian wine. 
 
 Australian Wines. A full-bodied natural or light wine has been 
 recently introduced from Australia. It is favorably spoken of by 
 Dr. Druitt in his practical little volume on " Cheap Wines." 
 
 Port and other wines of Portugal. Port, like the wines of hot 
 countries in general, as sherry, Marsala, Madeira and Cape, belongs 
 to the fortified class. Spirit is added after fermentation has ad- 
 vanced to a certain point, to check its further progress and give the 
 wine increased keeping power. Thus, a wine of an alcoholic strength 
 averaging about 36 per cent, of proof spirit is produced, instead of 
 about 20, as with the natural or unfortified varieties. If made with- 
 out being fortified, the produce of Portugal presents a close resem- 
 blance in character to Burgundy, but wine of this sort is not exported 
 for the English market, on account of its alleged want of sufficient 
 keeping power for transport. 
 
 Port is a wine which possesses when new a considerable amount 
 of saccharine matter, which gives it a marked fruity character. In 
 the first place, from the warm climate in which they are grown, the 
 grapes acquire a sweetness which is not attained under exposure to a 
 less amount of heat ; and next, as has been mentioned, fermentation 
 is stopped before the sugar has become exhausted. The wine is also 
 rich in astringent and other extractive matters, and thus possesses, 
 as it is termed, a full body. By keeping, the astringent, in conjunc- 
 tion with the coloring matter, becomes gradually deposited under the 
 form of crust. The saccharine matter also undergoes transformation, 
 and in this way the wine loses its rough, sweet, and fruity taste, and 
 acquires what is known as the character of dryness. There is no 
 wine which improves more by keeping than port. From possessing 
 
WINE. 387 
 
 a roughness or harshness and confusion of flavors which may be ab- 
 solutely unpleasant to the palate, it tones down in the course of time 
 to a pure, mellow, and homogeneous liquid. Not only are some of 
 the objectionable elements deposited and the others blended or in- 
 corporated together, but, by the reaction of the acid and alcoholic 
 principles upon each other, ethereal products become developed 
 which give the aroma or bouquet that forms so choice a feature be- 
 longing to the ripened or matured wine. 
 
 It is a common practice amongst dealers to mix different sorts of 
 port with the view of meeting the taste of the consumer, and it 
 must be admitted that some of the most pleasant-drinking wines are 
 produced in this way. It is said to be only in certain years that a 
 wine is good enough to stand alone, and when so allowed to remain, 
 it is called a "Vintage wine." 
 
 Port stands pre-eminent amongst wines as a full, rich, and 
 strength-giving stimulant. It is of great service in enfeebled states 
 of the system, and particularly during convalescence from fever and 
 other debilitating diseases. Its astringency gives it a special value 
 where there is also diarrhoea to control. For everyday use, whilst 
 suiting many, it is far too heavy for others. By dyspeptics, the 
 gouty, persons suffering from attacks of bilious or sick headache, 
 and those passing urinary red sand, as a rule, it should be shunned. 
 Drunk in excess it tends to induce a plethoric state, and there can 
 be little doubt that not only is it an excitant of gouty attacks where 
 the gouty disposition exists, but that the gouty habit may be de- 
 veloped through its influence. It seems to be the presence of im- 
 perfectly fermented matter in association with the spirit and the 
 same holds good with regard to other alcoholic beverages that 
 gives it its pernicious properties in relation to gout. 
 
 Port, some years back, was largely consumed amongst the upper 
 classes as an after-dinner wine. At the present time its place may 
 be said to be taken by claret, and, whatever the cause, it is now 
 rare, in society, to come across men who admit that port agrees with 
 them. If not drunk so much, however, amongst the upper classes, 
 there has been no falling off of its consumption in England ; and 
 this, because it now finds its way into the houses of small trades- 
 men, and others, where formerly it was unknown. 
 
 A limited quantity of white wine reaches us from Portugal. 
 Bucellas is a white Portuguese dinner wine, which, a short time 
 
388 ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES. 
 
 since, met with a somewhat extensive consumption, but which is 
 now seldom heard of. Lisbon, also, is a white wine derived from 
 Portugal. White port is likewise to be obtained, but it is not often 
 brought forward. 
 
 Sherry and other Spanish ivines. Under the generic name sherry 
 are included the ordinary white wines of Spain. The heat, dryness, 
 and equality of the climate give advantages which render Spain a 
 most successful wine-producing country. Sherry has long held a 
 high position in public estimation as a wholesome and clean-drink- 
 ing wine. Like the other products of hot countries it is subjected 
 to the addition of spirit, and its alcoholic strength is about the same 
 as that of port. Unbrandied sherry is often advertised, but the 
 wine in an unfortified state in reality is not imported. 
 
 Several kinds of sherry are met with, varying in color, body, and 
 taste. There is the pale, golden, and brown ; and some are thin 
 and dry, whilst others are full-bodied and rich. Naturally, the 
 wine is pale,, but, to suit the market, color and body are given by 
 the addition of " must " (grape-juice) which has been evaporated 
 down until it has assumed the condition of a thick and dark-colored 
 syrup of a somewhat treacle-like nature. This, as may be inferred, 
 not only adds to its color and fulness, but also modifies its taste. 
 
 Certain sherries are characterized by distinct names, as, for in- 
 stance, Amontillado, Vino di Pasto, Montilla, and Manzanilla. 
 These are all dry wines, and are often found free, or almost free, 
 from saccharine matter. Amontillado has a very pronounced bitter 
 taste. 
 
 A pure and dry sherry may be said to constitute one of the most 
 wholesome liquids for general use of the fermented class. It is de- 
 void of astringency, and has not the strength-giving properties of 
 port, but forms a wine that may be drunk when other wines dis- 
 agree. There are some dyspeptics who complain of its producing 
 acidity, but, as a rule, it is borne well alike by those who suffer 
 from dyspepsia and gout. A pure dry wine, however, must be se- 
 lected for consumption. 
 
 There are various sweet wines derived from Spain. Malaga is a 
 sweet luscious wine of low alcoholic strength. Paxarette is another 
 wine of an allied nature. Rota Tent, which is chiefly used in Eng- 
 land for sacramental purposes, is also a sweet wine, with a low per- 
 vcentage of spirit. Sack is a name of antiquity as applied to Spanish 
 
WINE. 389 
 
 wine. Formerly it comprised a dry wine, of the character of 
 sherry, but the " sack " of the present day belongs to the group of 
 sweet wines. 
 
 A considerable quantity of red wine is likewise now imported 
 from Spain. It is known as Tarragona, or Spanish port, and possesses 
 the advantages of being a low-priced, sound, and full-bodied wine. 
 It may be spoken of as forming the best substitute for port that is 
 furnished. 
 
 Marsala. This forms a Sicilian wine; which has attained con- 
 siderable repute, and is largely consumed in this country. It is used 
 in the same way as sherry, for which it constitutes a good, moderate- 
 priced substitute. A price that will purchase a good Marsala will 
 only secure an indifferent sherry, and there is much truth in the re- 
 mark that for persons of moderate means it is far better that they 
 should drink a good Marsala than a bad sherry. It is rather a full- 
 bodied wine, not so free from saccharine matter as a dry sherry, and 
 of about the average alcoholic strength of wines of the fortified class. 
 
 Madeira. This is one of the choicest of the fortified wines. The 
 amount produced can never pass beyond certain limits, on account 
 of the restricted area of the island for the growth of the vine; and, 
 latterly, from the severity with which the vine disease prevailed, its 
 production has almost ceased altogether, for nothing less than rooting 
 up the old plants and replacing them with new has been necessitated. 
 Time will be required for these new plants to arrive at a state of per- 
 fection, but, from the accounts that are given, the yield of wine is 
 satisfactorily increasing, and the island promises soon again to be- 
 come a flourishing vine-producing country. 
 
 Madeira is characterized by the fulness of its body and the choice- 
 ness of its aroma. It is a wine which, like port, greatly improves 
 by keeping, and its mellowness is found to be further increased by 
 transport to a hot country and back. Hence the practice of shipping 
 Madeira to the East Indies and back, and it is probably to the effects 
 of the heat and agitation that the improvement is due. 
 
 Cape or South African Wines. Formerly, when colonial were ad- 
 mitted at a lower duty than foreign wines, these were introduced on 
 an extensive scale, but now that they do not enjoy this advantage 
 
390 ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES. 
 
 they are not much heard of. The productions in question reach us 
 as cheap imitations of port, sherry, and Madeira ; but there is one 
 Cape wine of wide renown, viz., Constantia, which stands upon its 
 own "merits, and ranks high in public estimation as a sweet or lus- 
 cious wine. 
 
 FRUIT WINES AND OTHER WINES. 
 
 Wine is made not only from the grape, but also from the juice of 
 various other kinds of fruit, and likewise from the juice of other 
 parts of plants containing sugar. Orange wine, currant wine, plum 
 wine, gooseberry wine, and many others, for example, are derived 
 from fruits; whilst palm wine, maple wine, parsnip wine, &c., are 
 derived from other vegetable products. Each possesses distinctive 
 characters of its own. None will bear comparison for purity and 
 choiceness of flavor with the fermented liquid derived from the grape. 
 It is not deemed necessary to devote space to their special consider- 
 ation. 
 
 Mead is a wine that is prepared from honey and water. It is a 
 fermented liquid of great antiquity in England, but is not much con- 
 sumed now. It is rarely to be met with, indeed, except amongst the 
 peasantry in certain localities. It is of moderate alcoholic strength, 
 and of variable sweetness according to the amount of unfermented 
 honey remaining. By keeping it improves and acquires a peculiar 
 fragrance. 
 
 SPIRITS. 
 
 Spirits are the product of distillation of fermented liquids, and 
 have as their base the alcohol which is formed during the process of 
 fermentation. Fermented liquids have been known from the earliest 
 periods of antiquity, but it was not till the twelfth century that the 
 method of obtaining spirit by distillation was discovered by Abuca- 
 sis. As the alcohol passes over, it is accompanied by other volatile 
 products, and thus the odor and flavor of the spirit vary with the 
 source from which it is obtained. This applies to the product of first 
 distillation, and accounts for the well-known difference that is notice- 
 able in the various spirits, such as brandy, whisky, rum, &c., that 
 
SPIRITS. 391 
 
 are supplied for use. By repeated distillation, or rectification as it is 
 termed, the alcohol may be separated from the other principles 
 through their difference in volatility, and made to lose the identity 
 that belonged to the original spirit. It clings, however, very tena- 
 ciously to water, and caii only be separated from this associate by ad- 
 mixture with an agent, as pearlash (carbonate of potash), quicklime, 
 &c., which has a strong affinity for it, and holds it back whilst the 
 alcohol distils over. It is in this way that pure or absolute alcohol 
 is obtained, a liquid having a sp. gr. at 60 Fahr. of 0.794, and, 
 therefore, being considerably lighter. than water. 
 
 Pure or absolute alcohol, which has been just referred to, is only 
 employed for chemical purposes. What is called rectified spirit con- 
 sists of alcohol with 16 per cent, of water, the mixture having a sp. 
 gr. of 0.838 at 60 Fahr. Proof spirit consists of an admixture of 
 alcohol and water in nearly equal proportions, viz., 49 parts by 
 weight of the former, and 51 of the latter, and has a sp. gr. of 0.920 
 at 60 Fahr. Both these latter are used for making the tinctures of 
 pharmacy. 
 
 Proof spirit is taken in England as the Government standard for 
 levying the excise and customs duty. According to the proportion 
 of alcohol and water, so will be the sp. gr., and tables have been 
 framed showing the relation between the two, and thus enabling the 
 strength of the spirit to be determined when the sp. gr. has been 
 ascertained, which is usually done by means of an instrument called 
 the hydrometer. With a larger proportion of alcohol than exists in 
 proof spirit the sp. gr. is lowered, and the spirit is said to be over 
 proof, whilst conversely with a less proportion it is raised, and the 
 spirit is said to be under proof. From the ascertained sp. gr. can be 
 learned, with the aid of the tables supplied, how much per cent, either 
 over or under proof a spirit may be; and in this way, with a given duty 
 per gallon for proof spirit, the charge to be levied, reckoned at a pro- 
 portionate rate, can be calculated for spirits of any other strength. 
 It is necessary, however, that the spirit under examination should 
 consist only of alcohol and water; and, where any foreign matter is 
 present, its separation must be effected by distillation, and the bulk 
 of the distilled product raised to that of the original liquid by the 
 requisite addition of distilled water, just as requires to be done for 
 ascertaining the alcoholic strength of a simple fermented liquid, like 
 wine, beer, &c. 
 
392 ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES. 
 
 Spirits as they reach the consumer, whilst presenting a certain 
 range of variation, may be said to be of about the strength of proof 
 spirit, or to consist, in other words, of about equal parts of absolute 
 alcobol and water. 
 
 Brandy. Brandy (a corruption from the German Branntwein, 
 French Brandevin, burnt wine, or wine subjected to the influence of 
 heat) is the name applied to the spirit procured from the distillation 
 of wine. Its quality varies with the kind of wine from which it is 
 obtained, and the care with which the process of distillation is carried 
 out. It is chiefly white wine that is used, on account of its yielding 
 a more delicate and agreeable-flavored spirit than red. The most 
 esteemed brandy is that which is made in France, and the districts 
 of Cognac and Armagnac are more renowned than any others for 
 the quality of the product. As first distilled, like other spirits, 
 brandy is a colorless liquid. By keeping in an oak cask it acquires 
 a pale-sherry tint from the tannic acid which it extracts. Dark 
 brandies are artificially colored with caramel. The flavor and aroma 
 of brandy are due to the cenanthic ether and other volatile products 
 belonging to wine which pass over with the alcohol and water in the 
 process of distillation. As with wine, from which it is derived, the 
 flavoring principles become modified and the brandy improved by 
 keeping. Thus it is that old Cognac possesses a delicacy of flavor 
 which does not belong to new. When first imported it is generally 
 1 or 2 per cent, over proof, but its strength decreases by storage in 
 cask. As sold, it may be as much as 10 or 15 or more per cent, 
 under proof. Brande places the average strength of brandy at 42 
 per cent, by measure of absolute alcohol. 
 
 Brandy occupies the first place in public estimation of all the ardent 
 spirits. Its purity and the delicacy of its flavor give it the position 
 that it holds, and render it suitable for selection in any case where, 
 either dietetically or therapeutically, a spirit is required. It is a 
 popular remedy for sickness, diarrhoea, exhaustion, spasms, and for 
 correcting indigestion, or stimulating the digestion of an indigestible 
 article of food. Burnt brandy is often specially useful in protracted 
 sickness, and will be sometimes found to be retained when other 
 articles are rejected. 
 
 Rum. In the West and East Indies molasses, the skimmings 
 
SPIRITS. 393 
 
 from the sugar boilers, &c., are mixed with water, fermented, and 
 subsequently submitted to distillation. The distilled product is 
 afterwards colored with partially burnt sugar, and constitutes rum. 
 Rum is a spirit that improves greatly acquiring a fine, mellow, soft 
 flavor by keeping. Its alcoholic strength is about the same as that 
 of brandy. Jamaica rum is considered the best. Sliced pineapples 
 are sometimes placed into puncheons containing the finer qualities of 
 rum, and the product is known as pine-apple rum. 
 
 Whisky. The term whisky is stated to be a corruption of the 
 Celtic word usquebaugh water of life. The article constitutes one 
 of the corn spirits, but, unlike gin, is derived from the malted grain. 
 It is usually made from malted barley, but in America rye and 
 maize or Indian corn are largely used. The peculiar flavor which 
 it possesses is due to the effect of kiln-drying upon the grain, and 
 during this process the nature of the fuel employed produces its in- 
 fluence on the character of the product, the use of peat and turf fires 
 giving the smoky aroma which is looked upon as a desirable prop- 
 erty. As with brandy and rum, whisky is a spirit which greatly 
 improves by keeping, a soft and mellow taste being thereby com- 
 municated to it. If the flavor be not objected to, whisky may be 
 used in precisely the same way as brandy, with which it closely 
 corresponds in alcoholic strength. Scotland and Ireland are the 
 countries that are famed for the production of whisky. A difference 
 exists in the flavor of the products of the two countries, but when 
 of good quality they may be regarded as of equal repute and utility. 
 
 Gin, Geneva, Hollands, or Schiedam. The spirit comprehended 
 under these names was originally, and, for some time, wholly, im- 
 ported into this country from Holland. It is a corn spirit, derived 
 chiefly from unmalted grain, which, after distillation, is purified by 
 the rectifier, and subsequently flavored, principally with juniper 
 berries. The name Geneva is derived from Genievre, the French 
 for the juniper plant and berries, and this by corruption has been 
 shortened into gin. As an imitation Geneva, or gin, became some 
 time back manufactured in this country, the Dutch spirit fell under 
 the designation of Holland Geneva, Hollands, and Schiedam, the 
 latter being derived from the export town of that name. 
 
 In the manufacture of gin the fermented liquid is distilled, as in 
 
394 ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES. 
 
 the case of the other spirits; but instead of the process stopping 
 here, the distillate is subjected to rectification by redistillation. The 
 object is to obtain a perfectly pure and neutral spirit as a basis for 
 the addition of the flavoring agents. Besides common alcohol, there 
 is a small amount of amylic alcohol, or oil of potato spirit -fuselol of 
 the Germans developed during fermentation. Possessing, as this 
 principle does, a strong acrid taste and nauseous odor, it forms a 
 contaminating ingredient which it is considered advisable to get rid 
 of. It happens to be of a less volatile nature than common alcohol, 
 and hence on redistillation the process can be so conducted as to 
 leave it behind in the still. The spirituous liquid thus left also 
 contains other impurities, and goes under the name of "faints." 
 To convert rectified corn spirit into gin, it is flavored with juniper 
 and various aromatics. Oil of turpentine, according to what is 
 stated, is also sometimes used. As sold by the rectifier, the strength 
 is about 20 per cent, under proof (it is not allowed by law to be sent 
 out stronger than 17 per cent, under proof), but the retailers after- 
 wards dilute and generally sweeten it. Thus sweetened it becomes 
 " cordial gin" and also passes under the name of " Old Tom" 
 
 On account of the juniper belonging to it, gin possesses diuretic 
 properties to an extent not enjoyed by the other spirits. Age, also, 
 does not improve it in the same manner as it does brandy, rum, and 
 whisky. 
 
 Several other spirits are in use in different parts of the world. It 
 will suffice to mention here that arrack is the name given to the 
 spirit obtained from a fermented infusion of rice, and also from 
 toddy or palm wine; that koumiss, which has been extolled as useful 
 in the treatment of consumption, is obtained from fermented mare's 
 (and latterly also cow's) milk ; and that robur or tea-spirit, the latest 
 novelty in spirits, consists of ordinary spirit flavored with tea. With 
 regard to this last, it may be said that a special value is claimed for 
 it as a spirit by its introducer, but looked at physiologically, it is 
 composed of agents which exert antagonistic effects upon the animal 
 system. 
 
 LIQUEURS. 
 
 Liqueurs constitute distilled spirituous liquids sweetened and 
 flavored with various fruits and aromatic substances. They are not 
 
LIQUEURS. 395 
 
 much used except as stimulants at the end of dinner. Some of them 
 are employed as appetizing agents. Their variety is great, but only 
 the best known will be referred to here, and it will suffice simply to 
 mention the principles to which they owe their flavor. 
 
 Curagoa has an aromatic bitter taste which is due to orange-peel. 
 Noyeau is flavored with the kernels of the peach and apricot, some- 
 times with those of the cherry, and sometimes with bitter almonds. 
 Maraschino derives its flavor from cherries. Kirschwasser also owes 
 its properties to the cherry. Cherries are bruised and allowed to 
 ferment. The stones are cracked and the kernels broken and used 
 as well. Distillation is afterwards performed. Chartreuse was 
 originally prepared in a monastery bearing this name in France. 
 In 1864 the Pope prohibited the monks from any longer making it 
 for sale, and, as the recipe was not published, the Chartreuse which 
 is now sold is a different liqueur from the original. Parfait amour 
 contains a number of aromatics. In a recipe for it the following are 
 enumerated : lemon-peel, cinnamon, rosemary, cloves, mace, carda- 
 moms, and orange-flower water. Anisette is flavored with aniseed 
 and coriander. Kilmmel is the principal liqueur of Russia, and con- 
 sists of sweetened spirit flavored with cumin and caraway seeds. 
 Absinthe differs from the above in being a bitter liqueur. It con- 
 sists of a sweetened spirit flavored with wormwood, and is generally 
 drunk diluted with water before a meal to stimulate digestion and 
 excite a flagging appetite. It is, perhaps, one of the most treacher- 
 ous and pernicious for habitual use of all the liquids of the alcoholic 
 class. Bitters are likewise used in a similar way, and receive their 
 flavor from various bitter agents most commonly from angostura 
 bark, orange-peel, or angelica root and seeds. 
 
CONDIMENTS. 
 
 CONDIMENTS consist of seasoning or flavoring agents. Without 
 being strictly alimentary substances, they nevertheless play no insig- 
 nificant part in the alimentation of man, and prove of service in more 
 ways than one. Their first effect is to render food more tempting 
 to the palate, and thereby increase the amount consumed. We are 
 guided in the choice of food by taste and smell, and that which 
 agreeably affects these senses excites the desire for eating. Condi- 
 ments are employed for this special purpose, and thus a flagging 
 appetite receives a stimulant. Through their aromatic and pungent 
 qualities they also assist digestion, the modus operandi being by pro- 
 moting the flow of the secretions, and increasing the muscular activity 
 of the alimentary canal. In some cases they may be further useful 
 by serving to correct injurious properties that may belong to an 
 article of food. 
 
 Standing in the position they do, it is not considered necessary to 
 give a special description of the various condiments. A somewhat 
 lengthy list of them exists. One, viz., salt, is simply of a saline 
 nature. It is the most universally employed of all. Some, as 
 vinegar, lemon-juice, pickles, and capers, owe their virtue to acidity. 
 Others owe it to their pungency, as, for example, mustard, pepper, 
 cayenne, ginger, curry, and horse-radish. Others, again, form an 
 aromatic group of condiments, which includes such as cinnamon, 
 nutmegs, cloves, allspice, vanilla, mint, thyme, fennel, sage, parsley, 
 onions, leeks, chives, shallots, garlic, and some others. Besides these 
 there are various sauces of artificial production, which are employed 
 to give zest for food by their flavor. 
 
THE PRESERVATION OF FOOD. 
 
 THE preservation of food has been practiced from time immemo- 
 rial. The ancient processes, however, resolved themselves into such 
 as simply drying, salting, &c. Food thus preserved only imper- 
 fectly represents the article in the fresh state ; but in the present age 
 of progress the art has not been allowed to stand still, and methods 
 are now had recourse to by which both animal and vegetable foods 
 are preserved in such a way as to be susceptible of being kept for 
 an indefinite period, and then being almost equal in quality to what 
 they were originally. With the improvements that have taken 
 place a new trade has been established, which has rapidly grown 
 into significance, and promises to prove of the deepest importance to 
 the human race. Food is now being utilized that was formerly 
 wasted, because it exceeded the requirements of the district, and it 
 was not known how it could be rendered available in distant parts. 
 In Australia and South America particularly the amount of animal 
 food procurable far surpasses the wants of the inhabitants, and it 
 has been the practice to sacrifice the animals for the wool, skins, fat, 
 and bones, which formed exportable commodities. The processes 
 that have been invented now enable the meat to be preserved and to 
 be transported in a fit condition for taking the place of fresh food 
 elsewhere; and, with the facility of transit that exists, countries 
 where food is scarce may be supplied from those where abundance 
 prevails, whatever the distance intervening between the two. The 
 art of preserving food has been brought to a sufficient state of per- 
 fection for this to be realized, but, at the same time, it must be ad- 
 mitted that there remains room for improvement, and, doubtless, 
 with advancing experience, improvement will follow. Much atten- 
 tion, indeed, is being given to the matter, and it may be looked 
 upon as forming one of the most important questions of the day. 
 
398 PRESERVATION OF FOOD. 
 
 The object in view is to check the change which spontaneously 
 occurs when food is exposed to ordinary conditions. I need not 
 enter here into the theoretical considerations that have been 
 broached regarding the precise cause of this change, which w r e speak 
 of as decomposition and putrefaction. Suffice it to state that there 
 are three conditions essential to its occurrence. These are the pres- 
 ence of 1, warmth ; 2, moisture ; and 3, air. The exclusion of 
 either of these conditions will prevent the occurrence of decomposi- 
 tion, and thus we are supplied at once with three means of preserv- 
 ing food, viz., by 
 
 1. The influence of cold; 
 
 2. The removal of moisture, or drying ; and 
 
 3. The exclusion of air. 
 
 There is still another principle of action that can be brought to 
 bear, and this is 
 
 4. The influence of certain chemical agents. 
 
 The effect of these is (whether by destroying or rendering inac- 
 tive the germs contained in the air supposed to excite decomposition, 
 or whatever else their modus operandi) to render the article resistant 
 to the operation of the ordinary influences. Each of these princi- 
 ples of action will be cursorily referred to. 
 
 1. Cold. At the freezing-point molecular change is entirely 
 checked, and, as long as it remains in a frozen state, an article may 
 be kept for an indefinite time. The guides at Chamouni are ready 
 to recount to visitors the incident of human remains derived from 
 an avalanche disaster that occurred to a party making the ascent of 
 Mont Blanc in 1820, having been disclosed in a perfectly fresh state 
 in 1861 and 1863 at the foot of the Glacier des Bossons, five and a 
 half miles from the seat of the accident. Immersed in the glacier, 
 they were gradually brought down by the continual advance made 
 by it to the point where they were discovered, which is where the 
 glacier is progressively melting away in proportion to its advance. 
 
 Cold is very extensively employed as a preservative agency. Ice 
 is now largely used by fishmongers and other dealers in perishable 
 animal foods, to enable them to keep their stock in a fresh condition. 
 The ice-chest is also considered almost a necessary appurtenance, 
 certainly during the summer months, for preserving food in large 
 
PRESERVATION OF FOOD. 399 
 
 establishments. In ocean-going passenger steamers meat is pre- 
 served on a large scale by introduction into an ice-room or chamber. 
 An attempt has just been made to bring meat over in a frozen state 
 from Australia. The experiment failed from the cold not having 
 been properly sustained on the voyage, but there is no reason that 
 the process should not be susceptible of being successfully carried 
 out, as far as the act of preservation is concerned. The question of 
 expense, however, will have to form an element of consideration, 
 and experience must decide whether any serious deterioration of the 
 article arises from the complete freezing that is necessary. Meat 
 that has been frozen is subsequently less resistant to change than 
 before, and butchers in this country take steps to avoid allowing the 
 frost in very cold weather to affect the contents of their shop. 
 
 2. Drying. Preservation by drying is applied to both animal 
 and vegetable foods. The practice is one of great antiquity, and it 
 enables a number of articles of ordinary consumption to be kept in 
 a state always ready for use. Latterly it has been artificially applied 
 to potatoes and other vegetables, as well as some fruits, and with 
 such success that, after being properly soaked and cooked, they 
 closely approach, both in appearance and taste, the fresh articles, 
 and thus furnish a very fair substitute for them where circumstances 
 do not permit them to be obtained. It does not answer so well for 
 animal substances, although a quantity of food (both meat and fish) 
 preserved in this way is to be met with. The drying here leads to 
 more or less loss of the natural flavor, and an unpleasant taste is apt 
 to be generated. Under the name of charqui, beef which has been 
 cut into strips or slices and dried is imported from South America. 
 Pemmican, which was formerly so extensively used by Arctic voy- 
 agers, consists of dried and pulverized meat mixed with fat. It 
 presents a large amount of nourishment in a small space. 
 
 3. Exclusion of Air. This is the principle upon which food is 
 now being extensively preserved, to some extent for home use, but 
 chiefly for transport from one locality to another. It is imperfectly 
 carried out in the domestic operation of covering potted meat with a 
 layer of melted butter or some other kind of fat. Some articles also 
 are preserved by immersion in oil. The bottled and tinned pro- 
 visions represent a more perfect application of the process. The 
 food is introduced into a suitable bottle or tin, and, after being heated 
 to drive out the air by the generation of watery vapor, the opening 
 
400 PRESERVATION OF FOOD. 
 
 is closed and hermetically sealed, to preclude the subsequent re- 
 entrance of air. When properly performed, the efficacy of the process 
 is such that after the lapse of many years the provisions have been 
 found in a perfectly good and sound condition. It is applied to 
 both animal and vegetable articles of food. 
 
 The fruit and vegetables preserved in bottles and tins enable the 
 representative of the fresh article to be had at all seasons of the year 
 and in all localities, and so closely does the preserved approach in 
 character the fresh fruit or vegetable that there is but little discov- 
 erable difference between the two. 
 
 Every variety of meat and soup, and also fish, lobsters, &c., are 
 now to be obtained in a preserved state, and importation upon a 
 very extensive scale has lately been carried on into this country from 
 Australia and elsewhere. . An important branch of trade has, indeed, 
 sprung up during the last few years in this department of commerce, 
 which is rapidly increasing, and promises ultimately to attain enor- 
 mous dimensions. The plan of preserving that is generally adopted, 
 and as described in an Australian journal, is as follows : 
 
 The meat-preserving establishments are so situated as to combine 
 as fully as may be found possible proximity to a well-supplied cattle 
 market, with facilities for the shipment of the finished product. 
 Whenever practicable, grazing paddocks are provided adjacent to the 
 works, in which to keep the stock purchased until required for use. 
 The animals are slaughtered, skinned, and dismembered. From the 
 slaughter-house the meat is removed on tramways, or by sliding it 
 along suspended from iron bars, to the " boning-room," where the 
 process of meat-preserving properly commences. Expert butchers, 
 paid by the, piece, here take the meat in hand, and, taught by long 
 practice and stimulated by the desire to earn large wages, perform 
 their work with surprising skill and rapidity. Their duty is to cut 
 the meat from the bone and remove superfluous fat ; and so thor- 
 oughly is the work done, that a hungry dog, it is stated, would have 
 to turn over a large number of bones before it could obtain a dinner 
 from the minute shreds of meat adhering to them. The meat is now 
 conveyed to the kitchen, and here it is in the first place cut into suit- 
 able pieces for tinning, and weighed. In some establishments it is 
 then partially cooked, generally by means of steam ; in others it is 
 put into the tins in a raw state, with the addition of a little salt. 
 Usually a surplus allowance of a few ounces, the number varying 
 
PRESERVATION OF FOOD. 401 
 
 according to the size of the tin, is made for the loss that occurs in 
 cooking. Sometimes some rich gravy, extracted from portions of 
 meat which are not suitable for tinning, is added to each tin. The 
 tops are then soldered on, a small hole being left in the middle of 
 each. This is one of the most critical operations in the whole pro- 
 cess, since everything depends on the tins being air-tight, and the 
 most skilful tinsmiths are employed to perform it. The canisters, 
 arranged in numbers together on a perforated tray, are next lowered 
 into a bath containing a saturated solution of chloride of calcium, 
 and there allowed to remain immersed to within an inch or two of 
 their tops, at a gradually increasing temperature, until the contents 
 are cooked, and all atmospheric air is expelled through the small 
 orifice in the top. The hole is then closed with solder, and the can- 
 ister subjected to a short, thorough immersion in the heated solution, 
 the temperature of which considerably exceeds that of boiling water. 
 All that now remains is to cool, clean, test, and paint the canisters. 
 After removal from the heated bath they are placed in cold water, 
 cleaned, and then transferred to the testing-room. This is an arti- 
 ficially heated room, in which they are allowed to remain for a period 
 of six days. Should there be the slightest leak in the solder of the 
 tin the defect will show itself within this time by the bulging out of 
 the ends due to the generation of gas as the result of decomposition 
 occurring within. The canisters that stand the test are, lastly, painted, 
 labelled, and packed for exportation. As long as their contents re- 
 main good they give signs of the absence of putrefactive gases by the 
 depression of the surface caused by the condensation ensuing after 
 the process of hermetically sealing. 
 
 Meat preserved in this way sustains no loss of its nutritive capacity, 
 and it possesses the pecuniary advantage of being free from bone. 
 The material is there with its proper aptitude for digestion. The 
 only objection is that through the heat employed to insure its pres- 
 ervation it is brought into an overcooked condition. It is proba- 
 bly impossible, in depending only on heat, to escape from this objec- 
 tion, for experiments on the putrefactive process show that not only 
 is it necessary to exclude all air containing active germs, but the 
 germs must be destroyed that are in contact with the article itself, 
 and it requires a high temperature to accomplish this result. 
 
 Milk may be preserved by the same method, but when treated 
 
 26 
 
402 PRESERVATION OF FOOD. 
 
 in the ordinary state the disadvantage arises of the butter separating 
 and not being afterwards easily miscible with the liquid. To over- 
 come this objection the milk is concentrated to a thickish consistence, 
 and is also mixed with sugar. In this state it will keep for some 
 time after the tin is opened. 
 
 4. Preservation of Food by the use of Antiseptics. There are seve- 
 ral agents that are employed for this purpose. Salt is one of the 
 most common, and nitre is frequently conjoined. The effect of a 
 saline, however, is to depreciate the nutritive value of the article by 
 extracting the soluble constituents, and by also hardening the texture, 
 so as to render it difficult of digestion. Syrup, alcohol, and vinegar, 
 form other agents in common use as preservatives. After being to 
 some extent salted, certain kinds of meat and fish are often sub- 
 jected to smoking. The empyreumatic vapor with which they be- 
 come penetrated possesses a strong antiseptic capacity, which greatly 
 promotes their power of keeping. 
 
 The analysis of brine shows that the process of salting must ma- 
 terially diminish the nutritive value of meat, for it is found to con- 
 tain a large portion of the ingredients of its juice. Not only does 
 the contraction which ensues cause the infiltrating liquid to be driven 
 out, but the liquefied salt tends further to draw out by osmosis its 
 diffusible organic and saline constituents. Liebig estimates the loss 
 of nutritive value as amounting to one-third or even one-half. Soak- 
 ing salted meat in water removes its saltness, but cannot, of course, 
 restore the nutritive principles that have been lost. 
 
 From experience it has been learned that salted and dried food 
 cannot be used continuously for a lengthened period without impair- 
 ing the health. The well-known effect is the development Of a ca- 
 chectic state which manifests itself under the form of what are called 
 scorbutic affections. 
 
PRINCIPLES OF DIETETICS. 
 
 THE physiological properties of the various alimentary principles, 
 looked at individually, were considered in a former part of this 
 work ; they here require to be spoken of collectively in reference to 
 the maintenance of life. 
 
 It happens that an article, viz., milk, is produced by the operations 
 of nature for the special purpose of sustaining life during an early 
 period of the existence of the mammalian animal. Such an article 
 may be taken as affording a typical illustration of natural food. 
 Now, we find on looking to its composition that it contains the fol- 
 lowing alimentary principles: 
 
 Nitrogenous matter (casein principally, and in smaller quantity 
 
 some other forms of albuminoid matter), 
 Fatty matter (butter), 
 A carbohydrate (lactin), 
 Inorganic matter, comprising salines and water. 
 
 The egg, also, stands in an analogous position. As all the parts 
 of the young animal are evolved from it, it must needs represent the 
 material, or contain the suitable principles, for the development and 
 growth of the body, and the same groups of principles are to be 
 recognized that exist in milk, although in the case of one of them it 
 is only present to a somewhat minute extent. (1) Nitrogenous matter 
 is largely present under the form of albumen both in the white and 
 yolk. (2) Oily matter is contained in the yolk. (3) Saccharine 
 matter, a principle belonging to the carbohydrate group, is to be 
 detected, but only, it must be mentioned, to a sparing extent, in 
 which respect the composition of the egg differs notably from that of 
 milk. (4) Inorganic matter, consisting of salines and water, com- 
 pletes the list, and for the saline matter required, that belonging to 
 
404 PRINCIPLES OF DIETETICS. 
 
 the shell is drawn upon as the process of incubation proceeds. As 
 Liebig has pointed out, there is an insufficiency of mineral matter 
 in the soft contents of the egg for the development of the skeleton 
 and other parts of the chick, but the shell forms a store of earthy 
 matter which gradually becomes dissolved by the phosphoric acid 
 generated through the oxidizing influence of the air upon the phos- 
 phorus existing amongst the contents of the egg. By the occurrence 
 of this process the shell becomes thinner and thinner as incubation, 
 or development of the chick, advances. 
 
 We thus see that in these products, which are specially designed 
 in the economy of nature for the development and nutrition of ani- 
 mal beings, it is a combination of principles that is present. This 
 may be therefore taken as suggestive that such a combination is 
 needed, and experiments upon alimentation have abundantly proved 
 it to be the case. It is not this or that alimentary principle which 
 can be separated artificially from others that will suffice for sustain- 
 ing life, but different principles associated together, just as we find 
 them in the productions of nature. As objects of nature ourselves, 
 it is the productions, of nature that form our appropriate food. We 
 are so framed as to depend for existence upon natural productions, 
 and unless we are supplied with such a combination of principles as 
 is met with in natural productions defective nutrition results. 
 
 It was formerly thought that the nitrogenous principles ought to 
 be capable of sustaining life, seeing that they not only represent 
 what is wanted for administering to the nutrition of the body, but 
 through their carbon and hydrogen can also contribute towards heat 
 production, and it excited surprise when it was discovered experi- 
 mentally that animals perished of inanition, exactly as if they had 
 been deprived of all food, when confined exclusively to these princi- 
 ples. Tiedemann and Gmelin found that geese were starved upon 
 an abundant supply of white of egg, but it is especially to the 
 researches of the Paris Gelatin Commission that we are indebted for 
 a comprehensive survey of the subject. 
 
 The labors of this Commission were instigated with the view of 
 determining whether the gelatinous extract from bones could properly 
 supply the place of meat, particularly as food for the poor. It had 
 been asserted that such was the case, and the investigation was under- 
 taken by a commission appointed by the Academy of Sciences of 
 
PRINCIPLES OF FOOD AND THEIR NUTRITIVE CAPACITY. 405 
 
 Paris and named the Gelatin Commission. After nearly ten years 
 of uninterrupted research it is stated, the report was sent in by 
 Magendie in the name of the Commission. ' The question which the 
 Commission primarily undertook to decide was : Whether it was pos- 
 sible economically to extract from bones an aliment which alone or mixed 
 with other substances could take the place of meat ; but the inquiry led 
 on to a study of the nutritive properties of the alimentary principles 
 in general. The conclusions 1 arrived at by this Commission form 
 simple expressions of well ascertained facts, and therefore, unlike 
 many physiological conclusions, stand uncontroverted by the ex- 
 perience of the thirty years which have elapsed since the report was 
 drawn up. They are of sufficient interest and importance to lead me 
 to introduce them here. They run as follows : 
 
 1. It is not possible by any known process to extract from bones 
 an aliment which, either alone or mixed with other substances, can 
 take the place of meat. 
 
 2. Gelatin, albumen, and fibrin, taken separately, nourish animals 
 but for a very limited period, and only in a very incomplete manner. 
 In general they soon excite an insurmountable disgust, so that the 
 animals rather die than partake of them. 
 
 3. These same alimentary principles artificially reunited and 
 rendered agreeably sapid by seasoning, are taken more readily and 
 for a longer period than when in a separate state ; but they have no 
 better ultimate influence on nutrition, for the animals that eat them, 
 even in considerable quantities, end by dying with all the signs of 
 complete inanition. 
 
 4. Muscular flesh, in which gelatin, albumen, and fibrin are united 
 according to the laws of organic nature and associated with other 
 matters as fat, salts, &c., suffices, even in very small quantity, for 
 complete and prolonged nutrition. 
 
 5. Raw bones can do the same, but the quantity consumed in the 
 twenty-four hours must be very much larger than in the case of 
 meat. 
 
 6. Every kind of preparation, such as decoction with water, the 
 action of hydrochloric acid, and particularly the transformation into 
 
 1 Comptes Rendus des Seances de 1'Academie des Sciences, tome 13me, p. 282. 
 Paris, 1841. 
 
406 PRINCIPLES OF DIETETICS. 
 
 gelatin, diminishes, and seems even in certain cases almost completely 
 to destroy, the nutritive quality of bones. 
 
 7. The Commission, however, is unwilling at present to express 
 an opinion upon the employment of gelatin, associated with other 
 aliments, in the nourishment of man. It believes that direct experi- 
 ment can alone throw light upon this subject in a definite manner. 
 It is actively occupying itself with reference to the point, and the 
 results will be made known in the second and last part of the report. 
 
 8. Gluten extracted from wheaten or maize flour satisfies by itself 
 complete and prolonged nutrition. 
 
 9. Fats taken alone sustain life for some time, but give rise to an 
 imperfect and disordered nutrition, fat accumulating in all the tissues, 
 sometimes in the state of olein and stearin, sometimes in that of al- 
 most pure stearin. 
 
 Looking at the above conclusions, the one which refers to gluten 
 (8) stands in opposition to the others. Surprise is expressed in the 
 report, and it does seem surprising, that whilst other isolated alimen- 
 tary principles failed in sustaining life gluten should be capable of 
 affording perfect nourishment for animals ; nevertheless, it is stated 
 that animals were kept upon it for three months without interrup- 
 tion, and presented throughout this period all the signs of excellent 
 health. The explanation suggested in the report for this discordant 
 and unexpected result is that the gluten employed did not form a 
 pure alimentary principle, but retained some starch and other non- 
 nitrogenous matter. Doubtless, also, there must have been mineral 
 matter likewise present, for it would be inconsistent, from what we 
 now know, that life should be maintained for a lengthened period in 
 the absence of this constituent of food. Under this view the discord- 
 ancy becomes reconciled, the result observed being attributable to a 
 mixture of substances being in reality consumed instead of a single 
 alimentary principle. 
 
 The Paris Commission having found that gelatin taken alone 
 failed to nourish animals, a Commission of the Institut d'Amsterdam 
 undertook to determine whether it increased the nutritive value of 
 other aliments to which it might be added. Evidence was drawn, 
 in the same manner as had been done by the Paris Commission, from 
 experiments conducted upon dogs, and the conclusion arrived at 1 
 
 1 Gazette Medicale, tome 12me, Paris, 1844, p. 176. 
 
PRINCIPLES OF FOOD AND THEIR NUTRITIVE CAPACITY. 407 
 
 was that gelatin was not only of no nutritive value when taken 
 alone, but was not made nutritive by combination with other sub- 
 stances. This conclusion, which places gelatin in the position of a 
 useless agent in an alimentary point of view, is inconsistent with 
 the now well-established fact that the ingestion of gelatin, like that 
 of other nitrogenous principles, gives rise to an increase in the 
 elimination of urea; for, as pointed out in a previous part of this 
 work, with the production of urea from nitrogenous matter a hydro- 
 carbonaceous compound is left, which is evidently susceptible of 
 being turned to account as a force-producing agent in the system. 
 
 Some experiments of Mr. Savory, it may be remarked, have been 
 interpreted and quoted as showing that nitrogenous matter, com- 
 bined only with the appropriate saline principles, suffices for the 
 maintenance of life. Thus, in "Kirkes's Physiology, seventh edition, 
 p. 259, it is stated, " Contrary to the views of Liebig and Lehmann, 
 Savory has shown that while animals speedily die when confined to 
 non-nitrogenous diet, they may live long when fed exclusively with 
 nitrogenous food." Again, Dr. Parkes (" Hygiene," third edition, 
 p. 160) says, "For though the dog and the rat (Savory) can live on 
 fat-free meat alone, man cannot do so." Bischoff and Voit found 
 that dogs could be sustained on meat deprived of visible fat, and 
 maintained at their full weight with but very slight variation, 
 whilst Ranke, it appears, could not maintain himself in perfect nu- 
 trition on meat alone. 
 
 Now, with reference to these statements, it must be borne in 
 mind that after the removal of the visible fat, flesh still contains a 
 certain amount which is brought into view by analysis. It cannot 
 be deprived of fat beyond 1 per cent., and in Savory's experiments 
 on rats, 1 the flesh (lean veal) employed was found to contain 1.55 
 per cent. But, let us look into the particulars of the experiments 
 and see what they in reality prove. 
 
 In the first place, 1.55 per cent, of fat in meat means rather over 
 6 per cent, in the dry matter of meat, about three-fourths of fresh; 
 meat being made up of water. 
 
 In one experiment a couple of rats which had been nearly 
 brought to the verge of death by restriction to starchy matter and 
 fat were fed with bread and meat for four days, and then with meat 
 
 1 Lancet, vol. i, 1863, pp. 383, 412. 
 
408 PRINCIPLES OF DIETETICS. 
 
 alone. A week after commencing the meat their united weight was 
 9 oz. 1J dr., and three weeks later 10 oz. 1 dr. Being now placed 
 on a diet of meat, with non-nitrogenous food (starch and fat), a 
 notable improvement occurred, for in three days 7 time they weighed 
 11 oz. ; four days later 14 oz. 12 drs. ; and a week later still, 14 oz. 
 4 drs. 
 
 In another experiment two rats, weighing 12 oz., were placed on 
 an exclusive diet of lean meat and water. They remained healthy 
 in appearance, but steadily lost weight, and in a month's time weighed 
 only 8f oz. They were now placed on a miscellaneous diet, and in a 
 week's time weighed 12 J oz. 
 
 In a third experiment two rats, weighing together 12 ozs. 7 drs., 
 were kept upon the meat diet exclusively. On the thirteenth day 
 one of the rats died, the weight of its body being 2 oz. 8 drs., and 
 that of the other 6 oz. 3 drs. The live one was still restricted to 
 the same food, and this died ten days later, the weight of its body 
 then being 5 oz. It is worthy of meution, as a passing remark, 
 that two other pairs of rats which had been taken at the same time, 
 one pair being fed on a non-nitrogenous diet and the other on a 
 mixed diet, remained still alive. 
 
 I have entered into these particulars because the experiments in 
 question, contrary to their true effect, have been referred to as in- 
 validating the accredited doctrine that to sustain life in an efficient 
 manner there must be an admixture of the nitrogenous and non- 
 nitrogenous alimentary principles. Before quitting the subject it is 
 right to state that a hawk was kept for two months on the same 
 meat food, and improved, it is asserted, in appearance and condition. 
 No weights, however, are given, and the quantity of food consumed 
 is not mentioned. With the 1.55 per cent, of fat in the fresh meat, 
 forming rather over 6 per cent, of the dry material, a sufficiently 
 notable amount of fat may have been ingested if the quantity of 
 food consumed was large. It is not contended that heat or force- 
 production generally, is dependent solely upon the non-nitrogenous 
 aliment supplied, for it is well known that the nitrogenous princi- 
 ples undergo metamorphosis into urea, and an oxidizable residue 
 which is susceptible of utilization in that direction ; but observation 
 tends to show that for the proper maintenance of nutrition (and it 
 must be remembered that fat is a necessary agent in the accomplish- 
 
PRINCIPLES OF FOOD AND THEIR NUTRITIVE CAPACITY. 409 
 
 merit of the formative processes) the presence of some non-nitro- 
 genous matter at least is needed in the food. 
 
 If the nitrogenous principles, from their capacity for yielding the 
 requisite material for the construction and maintenance of the tissues, 
 and likewise from their capacity for undergoing metamorphosis into 
 urea and a hydrocarbonaceous product susceptible of appropriation 
 to force production, might appear theoretically sufficient, as far as 
 organic matter is concerned, for the support of life, such even cannot 
 be said with respect to the non-nitrogenous principles. These could 
 not possibly be expected to suffice for maintaining life, as an element 
 is missing which is wanted for the formation of the tissues. Ex- 
 perimental proof, however, has been adduced upon the point. Fat 
 formed one of the articles subjected to investigation by the Gelatin 
 Commission, and its inability to support life is shown amongst the 
 conclusions that were arrived at. Boussingault also fed a duck on 
 butter only, and found that it died at the end of three weeks of 
 starvation. Butter, it is stated, exuded from all parts of the body, 
 and the feathers seemed as if they had been soaked in melted 
 butter. 
 
 Sugar, gum, and starch were submitted to experiment by Magen- 
 die on dogs, and Tiedemann and Gmelin on geese; the animals be- 
 came emaciated and more and more feeble till they perished of in- 
 anition. Like experiments have sifrce also been performed by others, 
 and corresponding results obtained. 
 
 When fat is combined with other non-nitrogenous matter, emacia- 
 tion is still one of the phenomena observed. In Mr. Savory's ex- 
 periments on rats 1 fed on equal parts by weight of arrowroot, sago, 
 tapioca, lard, and suet a mixture found to contain only .22 per cent, 
 of nitrogen the animals underwent emaciation and died of inani- 
 tion, fat having disappeared from the body as occurs under complete 
 privation of food. Notwithstanding this absence of fat from the 
 body, the fur of the animals was observed to have presented a de- 
 cidedly greasy appearance, just as though fat exuded from the skin 
 in correspondence with what Boussingault noticed in his experiment 
 where a duck was fed exclusively on butter. 
 
 It may be inferred that nitrogenous matter is required not only 
 for the formation of the tissues, but likewise for contributing, by the 
 
 1 Lancet, vol. i, 1863, pp. 382 and 413. 
 
410 PRINCIPLES OF DIETETICS. 
 
 promotion of the requisite change, to the utilization of the non-nitro- 
 genous principles, and, unless it exists in suitable amount in the food, 
 these principles fail to pass on to their proper destination. It is 
 known that the carbohydrates contribute to the formation and ac- 
 cumulation of fat, but for this to take place the concurrence of a due 
 amount of nitrogenous matter is required. Boussingault's experi- 
 ments on pigs showed that, whilst potatoes alone did not suffice for 
 fattening the animals, they grew fat with the addition of nitrogenous 
 matter; and the presence of fat also in the food seems in some man- 
 ner or other likewise to promote the transformation of the carbohy- 
 drates. Boussingault also found that the cow was insufficiently 
 nourished on potatoes and beet-root alone, although given in very 
 large quantity. 
 
 The question as to whether non-nitrogenous matter should enter 
 into the composition of food has been sufficiently discussed already, 
 but another question presents itself: Are both fats and carbohydrates 
 necessary ? If we look to the diets of different nations we almost 
 invariably find that both these principles are represented. Still it is 
 evident that fat alone will suffice for yielding the non-nitrogenous 
 matter required for the support of life, for we find in certain parts of 
 the globe that there are large numbers of persons who subsist, and 
 maintain themselves in good health, exclusively on animal food, in 
 which fat forms the only representative of non-nitrogenous matter. 
 As to whether, however, the carbohydrates can similarly supply what 
 is wanted forms a question that is not so summarily to be disposed 
 of. It is true, there are some articles of vegetable food which are 
 capable of sustaining life, and which, whilst freely containing a car- 
 bohydrate, contain a comparatively insignificant quantity of fat, but 
 the presence of fat, as has been already mentioned, appears to be of 
 service in promoting the metamorphosis of the carbohydrates in the 
 system. It also exerts a favorable influence over the assimilation of 
 nitrogenous matter and the processes of tissue formation and nutrition ; 
 and it may be said that there is strong reason to believe that the as- 
 sociation of a certain amount of fatty matter with the carbohydrates 
 is probably necessary for the maintenance of the organism in perfect 
 health. The belief is further entertained that its deficiency is some- 
 times the source of the development of the tuberculous diathesis. 
 
 Inorganic matter, under the form of saline materials and water, is 
 
ADAPTATION OF FOOD TO DEMAND. 411 
 
 equally as essential for satisfying the requirements of life as the organic 
 components of food. Although such saline materials and water do 
 not appear to be individually concerned in the interplay of changes 
 which form the source of the phenomena of life, they nevertheless 
 enter as essential elements into the constitution of the textures and 
 fluids of the body, and thus must needs be supplied, to an adequate 
 extent to meet the requirements of nutrition and secretion, with the 
 food from without. 
 
 Such form the principles that are required as components of food 
 for the maintenance of the body in a healthy condition. But as yet 
 I have only referred to the nature of the principles and not to their 
 amount. As regards the inorganic portion of food, it may simply 
 be said that enough of the several principles encountered in the body 
 must be supplied to meet the wants of nutrition and secretion. The 
 organic portion, however, cannot be so summarily disposed of, and 
 the question first arises : What relative proportion of nitrogenous and 
 non-nitrogenous principles is best adapted for administering to the 
 requirements of life? 
 
 It may be fairly concluded that the requirements as regards food 
 vary with exposure to different conditions. According to the ex- 
 penditure that is taking place, so, in a good scheme of dieting, should 
 materials be supplied which are best calculated to yield what is 
 wanted. Under exposure to hard labor and inactivity, and to a 
 high and low external temperature, the consumption of material in 
 the system differs, and the supply of food should be regulated ac- 
 cordingly. Notwithstanding the tenor of recent experiments as to 
 mechanical or muscular work being obtainable from the oxidation of 
 non-nitrogenous matter, general experience is to the effect that for 
 the maintenance of a good condition nitrogenous matter is required 
 in larger quantity under great exertion than during a state of rest. 
 The inhabitants of the colder regions also require to be more per- 
 fectly supplied with combustible matter than persons inhabiting 
 warmer climates. 
 
 The laws of nature are such as to conduce to an adaptation of the 
 supply of food to its demand. We are all conversant with the fact 
 that exercise and exposure to cold conditions which increase the 
 demand for food sharpen the appetite, and thus lead to a larger 
 quantity of material being consumed ; whilst, conversely, a state of 
 
412 PRINCIPLES OF DIETETICS. 
 
 inactivity and a warm climate tell in an opposite manner, and reduce 
 the inclination for food. A badly fed laborer is capable of perform- 
 ing but a slight day's work, and a starving man falls an easy victim 
 to the effects of exposure to cold. 
 
 Not only is there thus a correspondence between the amount of 
 food required and the inclination for taking it, but, probably arising 
 from the teachings of experience, we find the nature of the food 
 selected in different countries to vary, and to constitute that which 
 is most in conformity with what is needed. 
 
 For example, the dwellers in the Arctic regions, besides consum- 
 ing an enormous even prodigious quantity of food, partake of 
 that kind which abounds in the most efficient form of heat-generat- 
 ing material, viz., oleaginous matter. It is from the bodies of seals 
 and whales, and suchlike sources that the food of the extreme 
 northerners is obtained. It is true, the coldness of the climate will 
 not permit the production and supply of the carbohydrates by vege- 
 table growth, as occurs in lower latitudes ; but, if it did, they could 
 hardly be consumed in sufficient quantity to yield the requisite 
 amount of heat. 
 
 Sir Anthony Carlisle relates an anecdote from his experience 
 amongst the Arctic inhabitants : " The most northern races of man- 
 kind," he says, " were found to be unacquainted with the taste of 
 sweets, and their infants made wry faces and sputtered out sugar 
 with disgust ; but the little urchins grinned with ecstasy at the sight 
 of a bit of whale's blubber. 77 
 
 In the tropics, on the other hand, it is especially upon vegetable 
 products products largely charged with principles belonging to the 
 carbohydrate group instead of fat, that the native inhabitants sub- 
 sist. The succulent fruits and vegetables, says Liebig, on which the 
 natives of the south prefer to feed, do not, in the fresh state, contain 
 more than 12 per cent, of carbon. The blubber and train oil, on 
 the other hand, which enter largely into the diet of the extreme 
 northerner, contain, he remarks, from 66 to 80 per cent, of carbon. 
 
 For a temperate climate reason would suggest something between 
 the two extremes as yielding the most suitable form of food, and 
 custom, we find, has led to the selection of a mixed diet, which fur- 
 nishes the combination of the two kinds of heat-producing principles. 
 
 It is, then, upon the principle of adaptiveness to the particular re- 
 quirement existing that the diet should be made to conform. The per- 
 
LIEBIG'S ESTIMATE OF THE NUTRITIVE VALUE OP FOOD. 413 
 
 formanee of work was until recently believed, in accordance with 
 Liebig's teaching, to have its source in the metamorphosis of nitro- 
 genous matter. It was considered that muscular and nervous action 
 resulted from an oxidation of muscular and nervous tissue, and, that 
 according to the extent of action occurring, so was a supply of the 
 nitrogenous alimentary principles demanded to replace the oxidized 
 material. This gave to nitrogenous matter a special position in re- 
 lation to the manifestation of nerve-muscular activity, and Liebig 
 measured the working value of food by the amount of what he 
 styled the plastic elements of nutrition it contained. The following 
 table was framed by him to show, upon' this principle, the relative 
 working value of various articles of food in common use. To bring 
 the comparison to uniformity, the non-nitrogenous matter is all 
 reckoned as starch. The relative value of fat and starch for heat- 
 producing purposes may be reckoned from the amount of oxygen 
 respectively required for the complete oxidation of the product, and 
 it is found to stand in the ratio of 1 to 2.4. Thus, by a simple pro- 
 cess of calculation, fat, when this form of non-nitrogenous matter 
 exists in a given article of food, is easily reduced into its heat-pro- 
 ducing equivalent of starch. 
 
 Liebig's Tabular Representation of the relative value of various 
 Articles of Food. 
 
 Non-nitrogenous 
 
 Plastic nitrogenous calorifacient matter 
 matter. reckoned as starch. 
 
 Veal, 10 1 
 
 Hare's flesh, .... 10 2 
 
 Beef, 10 17 
 
 Beans, 10 22 
 
 Peas, 10 23 
 
 Fat mutton, .... 10 27 
 
 Fat pork, 10 30 
 
 Cow's milk, .... 10 30 
 
 Woman's milk, ... 10 40 
 
 Wheaten flour, ... 10 46 
 
 Oatmeal, 10 50 
 
 Rye, ..... 10 57 
 
 Barley, 10 57 
 
 Potatoes, 10 86 to 115 
 
 Rice, 10 123 
 
 It has been previously shown in this work that there is now 
 strong reason to believe that, in opposition to Liebig's view, the non- 
 
414 PRINCIPLES OF DIETETICS. 
 
 nitrogenous elements of food contribute, as well as the nitrogenous, 
 to the production of muscular force, and with this before us, nitro- 
 genous matter ceases to hold the special value as a source of working 
 power that was, till quite recently, assigned to it. 
 
 It was through the extension of the doctrine of the conservation 
 of energy (which implies that force is readily transmutable from one 
 form into another, but, like matter, not susceptible of being created 
 from nothing, nor of being destroyed) to living bodies, combined 
 with the results obtained by Fick and Wislicenus in their ascent of 
 the Faulhorn (vide p. 58), that physiologists were led to entertain 
 the view that is now held. Fick arid Wislicenus proved that the 
 oxidation of their muscular tissue, as measured by the amount of 
 nitrogen voided with the urine, sufficed only for the production of 
 a small proportion of the force expended in the accomplishment of 
 the measured work performed. The only conclusion they could 
 arrive at, therefore, was that muscular power originated from the 
 oxidation of non-nitrogenous matter, of which their food exclusively 
 consisted for a short time before, and during the period of the ascent. 
 Experiments have since been performed by other observers, with 
 corroborative results, and it may now be looked upon as a settled 
 point, that non-nitrogenous alimentary matter contributes, in a 
 manner not before suspected, to muscular force production. 
 
 As a sequel to this deduction, Professor Frankland 1 undertook 
 the experimental determination of the force-producing value of 
 various articles in common use as food. His results represent the 
 actual force evolved by complete oxidation, under the form of heat, 
 measured by means of the calorimeter. Now, heat and mechanical 
 work are not only mutually convertible, but bear a fixed quantitative 
 relation to each other. A certain amount of heat, in other words, is 
 transformable into a definite amount of motive power capable of 
 performing a fixed and ascertainable amount of mechanical work. 
 Thus, by calculation, the value of a given article of food is easily 
 represented in working power. It is in this way that the measure 
 of working power has been deduced! Professor Frankland's table 
 will be found annexed. In it the continental weights and measures 
 are employed. 2 The unit of heat is the amount of heat which will 
 
 1 Philos. Mag., vol. xxxii, 1866. 
 
 2 Expressed in English weights and measures it is the foot-pound, or the 
 power required to lift one pound one foot high, which forms the unit of work, 
 
FORCE-PRODUCING VALUE OF FOOD. 415 
 
 raise the temperature of 1 gramme (15.432 grains) of water 1 Cent. 
 (1.8 Fahr.). A kilogrammetre of force is the representative of the 
 power required to lift 1 kilogramme (2.2046 Ibs. avoidupois) 1 metre 
 (3.2808 feet) high. The value of the various articles mentioned in 
 the list in units of heat is the result of direct observation, whilst 
 that in kilogram metres of force is obtained by calculation upon the 
 basis of Mr. Joule's estimate, which represents the heat that will 
 raise the temperature of 1 kilogramme of water 1 Cent, as equiv- 
 alent to the mechanical power required to lift 1 kilogramme 423J 
 metres high, or, what is the same thing, 423J kilogrammes 1 metre 
 high. 
 
 In the following table it will be seen that the working value is 
 not the same where nitrogenous matter has to be dealt with, when 
 oxidized in the body as when burnt in oxygen. This arises from 
 the occurrence of complete oxidation in the one case, and not in the 
 other. Whilst with non-nitrogenous matters complete oxidation of 
 the elements occurs within the body, like when burnt without, it is 
 not so with nitrogenous matters. These in the system are only par- 
 tially consumed, the nitrogen escaping under the form of urea, and 
 carrying off a portion of the carbon and hydrogen in an imperfectly 
 oxidized condition. This final product of animal consumption, 
 therefore, possesses a certain amount of unexpended force (at least 
 one-seventh of that originally belonging to the material), whereas 
 the final products of burning in oxygen consisting of free nitrogen, 
 carbonic acid, and water represent fully exhausted principles. It 
 is of course assumed, in speaking of the force-producing value of 
 articles consumed in the body, that this only refers to the material 
 that is actually digested and utilized, which certainly as a rule is far 
 from comprising the whole that is consumed as food. 
 
 Taking the force-value as given above, and reckoning, in accord- 
 ance with Helmholtz's calculation, that the animal system is capable 
 of turning one-fifth of the actual energy developed by the oxidation 
 of the food to account as external work, Professor Frankland has 
 
 and 772 foot-pounds represent, according to Mr. Joule's estimate, the dynamic 
 equivalent of 1 Fahr., that is, the heat required to raise the temperature of 
 one pound of water 1 Fahr. constitutes the equivalent of the power required to 
 lift one pound 772 feet high. Kilogram metres are convertible into foot-pounds 
 by multiplying by 7.232; one kilogramme (2.2046 Ibs. avoir.) raised one metre 
 (3.2808 feet) high equalling one pound raised 7.232 feet high. 
 
416 
 
 PRINCIPLES OF DIETETICS. 
 
 determined the weight and cost of various alimentary articles that 
 would be required to raise the body-weight of a person of 10 stone, 
 or 140 Ibs., to a height of 10,000 feet. 
 
 Force-producing value of one gramme (15.432 grains} of various articles 
 of food (Franklaod). 
 
 NAME OF FOOD. 
 
 Per cent, 
 of water 
 present. 
 
 FORCE-PRODUCING VALUE. 
 
 In units of 
 heat. 
 
 In kilogrammetres of 
 force. 
 
 When 
 burnt in 
 oxygen. 
 
 When 
 oxidized in 
 the body. 
 
 Cod-liver oil, . . . . . . 
 
 Beef fat. . . . 
 
 Butter, 
 
 Cocoa-nibs, 
 
 Cheese (Cheshire) 24.0 
 
 Isinglass, 
 
 Bread crust, 
 
 Oatmeal, 
 
 Flour, 
 
 Pea-meal, 
 
 Arrowroot, 
 
 Ground rice, 
 
 Yolk of egg, 47.0 
 
 Lump-sugar, 
 
 Grape-sugar (commercial), . . 
 
 Hard-boiled egg, 62.3 
 
 Bread crumb, 44.0 
 
 Ham, lean (boiled), 54 4 
 
 Mackerel, 70.5 
 
 Beef (lean), 70.5 
 
 Veal (lean), 70.9 
 
 Guinness's stout, 88.4 
 
 Potatoes, 73 
 
 Whiting, 80.0 
 
 Bass's ale (alcohol reckoned), . . 88 4 
 
 White of egg, 86.3 
 
 Milk, 870 
 
 Apples, 82.0 
 
 Carrots, 86.0 
 
 Cabbage, 88 5 
 
 9107 
 
 9069 
 
 7264 
 
 6873 
 
 4647 
 
 4520 
 
 4459 
 
 4004 
 
 3936 
 
 3936 
 
 3912 
 
 3813 
 
 3423 
 
 3348 
 
 3277 
 
 2383 
 
 2231 
 
 1980 
 
 1789 
 
 1567 
 
 1314 
 
 1076 
 
 1013 
 
 904 
 
 775 
 
 671 
 
 662 
 
 660 
 
 527 
 
 434 
 
 3857 
 
 3841 
 
 3077 
 
 2911 
 
 1969 
 
 1914 
 
 1888 
 
 1696 
 
 1669 
 
 1667 
 
 1657 
 
 1615 
 
 1449 
 
 1418 
 
 1388 
 
 1009 
 
 945 
 
 839 
 
 758 
 
 664 
 
 556 
 
 455 
 
 429 
 
 383 
 
 328 
 
 284 
 
 280 
 
 280 
 
 223 
 
 184 
 
 3857 
 3841 
 3077 
 2902 
 1846 
 1550 
 
 1665 
 
 1627 
 
 1598 
 
 1657 
 
 1591 
 
 1400 
 
 1418 
 
 1388 
 
 966 
 
 910 
 
 711 
 
 683 
 
 604 
 
 496 
 
 455 
 
 422 
 
 335 
 
 328 
 
 244 
 
 266 
 
 273 
 
 220 
 
 178 
 
FOOD IN RELATION TO WORK. 
 
 417 
 
 Weight and cost of various articles of food that would require to be con- 
 sumed in the system to raise the body of a person weighing 10 stone, or 
 140 pounds, to a height of 10,000 feet (Frankland). 
 
 NAMK OF FOOD. 
 
 Weight in Ibs. 
 required. 
 
 At price per ft>. 
 
 Cost. 
 
 
 553 
 
 s. d. 
 3 6 
 
 *. d. 
 1 11J- 
 
 Beef fat 
 
 555 
 
 10 
 
 5 
 
 Butter . ... 
 
 693 
 
 1 6 
 
 1 Oi 
 
 Cocoa-nibs, 
 
 0.735 
 
 1 6 
 
 1 H 
 
 
 1.156 
 
 10 
 
 1H 
 
 Oatmeal, 
 
 1.281 
 
 2| 
 
 3* 
 
 
 1 287 
 
 1 
 
 1 3A 
 
 Flour 
 
 1 311 
 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 Pea-meal . . . . . 
 
 1 335 
 
 31- 
 
 41 
 
 Ground rice . . . 
 
 1 341 
 
 4 
 
 5 
 
 
 1.377 
 
 16 
 
 22 
 
 
 1 505 
 
 6 
 
 9 
 
 Commercial grapo-sugar, . . . 
 
 1.537 
 2209 
 
 3 
 6i 
 
 5 
 1 2i 
 
 Bread, 
 
 2.345 
 
 2 
 
 4| 
 
 
 3 001 
 
 1 6 
 
 4 6 
 
 Mackerel 
 
 3 124 
 
 8 
 
 2 1 
 
 Lean beef . 
 
 3 532 
 
 1 
 
 3 6i 
 
 Lean veal . . 
 
 4 300 
 
 1 
 
 4 3* 
 
 
 6.068 
 
 1 
 
 51 
 
 Whiting, 
 
 6.369 
 
 1 4 
 
 9 4 
 
 
 7815 
 
 li 
 
 llf 
 
 Milk, 
 
 8021 
 
 6d. per quart. 
 
 1 3* 
 
 White of egg 
 
 8 745 
 
 6 
 
 4 4A 
 
 
 9.685 
 
 U 
 
 1 2i 
 
 Cabbage. 
 
 12.020 
 
 1 
 
 1 01 
 
 Guinness's stout (bottled), . . 
 Bass's pale ale (bottled), . . . 
 
 6| bottles 
 9 " 
 
 lOrf. per bottle. 
 lOrf. " 
 
 5 7J 
 
 7 6 
 
 Looked at in the manner above represented, muscular work, like 
 heat, in opposition to Liebig's theory, is derivable from the oxida- 
 tion of non-nitrogenous as well as nitrogenous matter, and Professor 
 Frankland's tables show that .55 Ib. of fatty matter will furnish the 
 same amount of power as is obtainable from 1.3 Ibs. of flour, 1.5 Ib. 
 of sugar, 3.5 Ibs. of lean beef, and 5 Ibs. of potatoes. Traube even 
 inverted the proposition of Liebig, and asserted in the most de- 
 
 27 
 
418 PRINCIPLES OP DIETETICS. 
 
 cided manner that the substances by the oxidation of which force 
 is generated in the muscles are not the albuminous constituents of 
 the tissue, but non -nitrogenous principles, viz., either fats or carbo- 
 hydrates. 
 
 According to the foregoing table, wherein is mentioned the cost of 
 the various articles of food required to be consumed to accomplish a 
 given amount of work, it appears, viewing these articles purely in 
 their capacity as force-producing agents by oxidation, that the same 
 amount of work is obtainable from oatmeal costing 3 Jd. ; flour, 3}d. ; 
 bread, 4fd.; and beef fat, 5Jd.; as from beef costing 3s. 6Jd., and 
 isinglass 1 2s. OJd. 
 
 Taking all the facts at present revealed into consideration, we 
 appear to be warranted in adopting the following terms of expres- 
 sion. It is in the first place admitted on all hands that food is the 
 source from which muscular power is derived, and hence the supply 
 of food should be in proportion to the amount of work that is per- 
 formed. It was formerly thought that food must be converted into 
 muscular tissue before it could be available for the performance of 
 work, which involved the origin of work from nitrogenous alimen- 
 tary matter. The effect of recent investigation, however, is to show 
 that it is not to an oxidation of muscular tissue that we are to look 
 for the force produced. The muscles appear to stand in the position 
 of instruments for effecting the conversion of the chemical energy 
 evolved by the oxidation of combustible matter into working power. 
 Fats and carbohydrates can furnish the combustible matter required, 
 and, under ordinary circumstances, probably do largely, if not chiefly, 
 supply it. Nitrogenous matter can do so likewise, but it has to undergo 
 a preparatory metamorphosis for effecting the separation of nitrogen 
 in a suitable form for elimination. 
 
 As pointed out in a previous part of this work (vide p. 76 et seq\ 
 it is under the form of urea that the nitrogen of digested and ab- 
 sorbed nitrogenous matter mainly escapes. This body consists, be- 
 sides nitrogen, of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, and the amount of 
 oxygen is such as to leave a portion of the carbon and hydrogen in a 
 combustible or oxidizable condition. In the escape of urea, there- 
 fore, there is a loss or waste of a portion of the force-producing power 
 of the original nitrogenous principle, and, taking dry nitrogenous 
 matter, as nearly as possible one-third passes off as urea. The re- 
 maining two-thirds form the available portion for force-production. 
 
FOOD IN RELATION TO WORK. 419 
 
 But this residuary portion is made up in part of oxygen, and it is 
 only in reality 50 per cent, of the original nitrogenous matter that 
 consists of carbon and hydrogen in an oxidizable condition. Thus it 
 is that, for force-production, nitrogenous matter is of less value than 
 the fats and carbohydrates. 
 
 Observation shows that the results of experience fully accord with 
 the teachings of science. In the case of navvies and other hard-work- 
 ing men the appetite is known by the employer to form a measure of 
 capacity for work. A falling off of the appetite means, that is to 
 say, a diminished capacity for the performance of work. A farmer, 
 where wages were good, when asked " how it was that he paid his 
 laborers so well ?" replied, " that he could not afford to pay them 
 less, for he found that less wages produced less work." Indeed, one 
 might just as reasonably expect that a fire would burn briskly with 
 a scanty supply of fuel, or a steam-engine work with a deficient sup- 
 ply of coal, as that a man could labor upon a meagre diet. Men 
 have also learned, where arduous work has to be performed, and simi- 
 larly in cold climates where a large amount of heat has to be pro- 
 duced for the demand is the same in the two cases that the re- 
 quirements are best met by a liberal consumption of fatty matter 
 the most efficient kind of force-producing material with the food. 
 The fat bacon relished and eaten with his bread by a hard-working 
 laborer yields, at a minimum cost, the force he forms the medium for 
 producing. 
 
 As thus considered, the non-nitrogenous alimentary principles ap- 
 pear to possess a higher dietetic value than the nitrogenous, and 
 when regarded solely in relation to capacity for force-production, 
 there is no doubt they in reality do so. But there is a further point 
 to be looked at. The physical development and maintenance of the 
 body must be likewise taken into account, and for this, it is nitro- 
 genous alimentary matter only that can supply what is needed. 
 AVherever vital operations are going on, there exists nitrogenous 
 matter. It is, indeed, through the instrumentality of nitrogenous 
 matter that the operations of life occur. The tissues which form the 
 instrument of living action require to be constructed. in the first in- 
 stance ; and next to be constantly renovated, to compensate for the 
 loss by deterioration which is continually going on. Thus, a demand 
 for nitrogenous alimentary matter is created quite apart from direct 
 contribution to force-production ; and, further, not only is nitroge- 
 
420 " PRINCIPLES OF DIETETICS. 
 
 nous matter required for .the construction and repair of the tissues, 
 but likewise to form a constituent of the secretions, for all secre- 
 tions which possess active properties owe them to the presence of a 
 nitrogenous principle. Here, then, is an additional demand for ni- 
 trogenous matter, and it is to be remarked, that as increased work 
 leads to an increased development of the tissues employed, and 
 thereby an increased appropriation of nitrogenous matter, so it calls 
 for an increased production of secretions in consequence of the 
 larger amount of food that has to be prepared for consumption. In 
 this way, theoretically, without contributing in a direct manner 
 to force-production, the performance of work may be looked upon 
 as necessitating a proportionate supply of nitrogenous alimentary 
 matter. 
 
 Practically, it is found that hard work is best performed under a 
 liberal supply of nitrogen-containing food. The reason probably is 
 that it leads to a better nourished condition of the muscles and of 
 the body generally. Under the use of animal food, which is char- 
 acterized by its richness in nitrogenous matter, the muscles, it is 
 affirmed, are observed to be firmer and richer in solid constituents 
 than under subsistence upon food of a vegetable nature. What 
 meat is to man, corn, which of all vegetable fodder contains the al- 
 buminates in the largest proportion, is to the horse. Highly bred 
 horses require highly nitrogenous food. The Arab, says Bonders, 
 never lets his horse eat grass and hay to satiety. Its chief food is 
 barley, and in the wilderness it gets milk, and if great effort is re- 
 quired, even camel's flesh. The horses which in Sahara are used for 
 hunting ostriches are kept nearly exclusively on camel's milk and 
 dried beans. In the case of our horses, too, he continues, it is well 
 known that to do heavy work they require more than grass and 
 hay. Corn is necessary to give strength and activity. Coachmen 
 know that " the oats must be in them." In order to perform hard 
 work horses must have, not watery, but firm muscles, and the food 
 which serves best, viz., the more richly nitrogenous, to produce 
 such muscles, is afterwards necessary to maintain their condition. 
 As albuminous food produces firm muscles, so exercise makes them 
 red. To sum up, science intimates that a liberal supply of nitroge- 
 nous matter is necessary to produce and maintain muscles in a good 
 condition for work, and the result of experience is to confirm it. 
 
FOOD IN RELATION TO WORK. 421 
 
 I have been speaking of food considered in relation to the per- 
 formance of work, but it would be unphilosophical to look at it 
 only in this light. The question should be viewed under a broader 
 aspect, and the point really for the physiologist to discuss is under 
 what combination of alimentary principles the highest state of de- 
 velopment, both mental and physical, is attainable. If regarded as 
 living for the mere performance of work, and looked at economi- 
 cally, man, it may be said, would bear an unfavorable comparison 
 with a machine set in motion by steam. Mechanical work is under 
 no form so costly as under that produced by muscular agency, and 
 particularly by that of man. It has been calculated, it is true (vide 
 p. 22), that whilst, through the medium of the animal system, one- 
 fifth of the power stored up in the food consumed is realizable as 
 external mechanical work, the amount realizable from fuel is only 
 one-tenth in the case of even the best constructed steam-engine, the 
 remainder being dissipated or lost as heat. Thus far the animal 
 machine is more economical of its force than the machine of artifi- 
 cial construction ; but, on the other hand, the fuel (food) consumed 
 in the former is very much more costly than that consumed in the 
 latter. From this consideration human labor can never compete in 
 economy with steam, and hence, as suggested by Bonders, the worst 
 use to make of a man -is to employ him exclusively in mechanical 
 work a proposition which harmonizes with the increasing intro- 
 duction of machinery in our advancing age of civilization. Letheby, 1 
 on the subject of the comparative costliness of food and fuel, says, 
 " Taking a steam-engine of one horse-power (that is, a power of 
 raising 33,000 Ibs. a foot high per minute) it will require two horses 
 in reality to do the same work for ten hours a day, or twenty-four 
 men ; and the cost would be lOd. for the steam-engine, 8s. 4d. for 
 the two horses, and just 2 sterling for the twenty-four men." 
 
 From what has preceded we may conclude that, with a supply of 
 nitrogenous matter sufficient for the thorough development and sub- 
 sequent maintenance of the body in good condition, the best materials 
 for the production of working power, as well as heat, are the non- 
 nitrogenous principles, and that of these the fats are more effective 
 than the others. 
 
 1 Cantor Lectures "On Food," 1870, p. 109. 
 
422 
 
 PRINCIPLES OF DIETETICS. 
 
 Tables have been given of the relative amounts of the different 
 alimentary principles requisite for the proper support of life, such 
 tables having been framed either by ascertaining through observa- 
 tion the minimum upon which the body can be maintained in a 
 healthy state, or by stopping the supplies from without and estimating 
 the consumption of material occurring in the system from the out- 
 goings found by examination to take place. The latter method 
 must be discarded as fallacious. Existence under an absence of food 
 fails to represent the natural state, and the outgoings fall short of 
 their ordinary amount : a portion being naturally derivable from 
 food metamorphosis, as well as from the consumption of material by 
 oxidation for life manifestation. 
 
 The table given by Moleschott is generally accepted as furnishing 
 a fair representation of a standard or model diet that is, a diet con- 
 taining the requisite combination of alimentary principles for just 
 maintaining health, in a person of average height and weight, under 
 exposure to a temperate climate and a moderate amount of muscular 
 work. It is as follows : 
 
 Alimentary substances in a dry state required daily for the support of an 
 ordinary working man of average height and weight (Moleschott). 
 
 DRY FOOD. 
 
 In oz. avoir. 
 
 In grains. 
 
 In grammes. 
 
 Albuminous matter, .... 
 Fatty matter, . 
 
 4.587 
 2 964 
 
 2006 
 1296 
 
 130 
 
 84 
 
 
 14.250 
 
 6234 
 
 404 
 
 S a lt 
 
 1.058 
 
 462 
 
 30 
 
 
 
 
 
 Total, 
 
 22.859 
 
 9998 
 
 648 
 
 Thus about 23 oz. form the quantity of dry solid matter contained 
 in this standard diet, and a fifth of it is composed of nitrogenous 
 matter. If we reckon that our ordinary food contains, say .50 per 
 cent, of water, these 23 oz. will correspond to 46 .oz. of solid food in 
 the condition in which it is consumed. To complete the alimentary 
 ingesta, a further quantity of from 50 oz. to 80 oz. of water may be 
 put down as taken, under some form or other, daily. 
 
STANDARD DIET. 423 
 
 The dynamic or force-producing value of this daily standard diet 
 amounts to 3960 foot-tons. 1 
 
 It must be distinctly understood that the above quantities are to 
 be looked upon only as yielding what is necessary for the support of 
 life under medium conditions. The amount of material consumed 
 in the body, and, therefore, the food required to compensate for the 
 loss occurring, varies with the external temperature and the work 
 performed. In speaking of a standard diet, the expression must not, 
 therefore, be taken for more than it is really worth. It would be as 
 absurd to look upon a certain diet as adjusted to the requirements of 
 every particular case as to assign to a certain amount of coal the 
 capacity, when consumed in a grate, of maintaining a room at a given 
 degree of heat under varying states of external temperature; or, when 
 consumed in a furnace, of enabling a locomotive to propel a train 
 irrespective of its weight over a given number of miles. 
 
 Men are led by instinct to adjust the quantity of food consumed 
 to the particular requirements existing, and it is well known that the 
 
 1 For calculating the dynamic value the experimental determinations of Frank- 
 land are used. These, as has been previously explained, were obtained by ascer- 
 taining with the calorimeter how much heat is evolved during the oxidation of 
 a givjen quantity of a substance subjected to examination. The measured heat 
 is then transformed into its equivalent of working power; and, represented in 
 kilogrammetres, or force required to raise a kilogramme one metre high (vide p. 
 415). The following are the figures given for the under-mentioned alimentary 
 articles which have been taken as representing the three groups of organic ali- 
 mentary principles. 
 
 Force produced by the oxidation of one gramme (15 432 grains) as consumed within 
 
 the body. 
 
 In kilogrammetres. 
 
 Albumen (purified), .... 1805 
 Fat (beef fat), . . * . . . 3841 
 Starch (arrowroot), .... 1657 
 
 Kilogrammetres are convertible into foot-tons (tons lifted one foot high) by 
 multiplying by .0032285. Below are given the figures representing the foot-ton 
 value of an ounce. 
 
 Force produced by the oxidation of one ounce (437.5 grains] as consumed 
 
 within the body. 
 
 In foot-tons. 
 Albumen (purified), . . . . 16520 
 
 Fat (beef fat), 351.56 
 
 Starch (arrowroot), .... 151.66 
 
424 PRINCIPLES OF DIETETICS. 
 
 appetite is sharpened by exposure to cold and under the performance 
 of labor, and lessened by warmth and habits of inactivity. 
 
 Travellers have dilated on the large amount of food consumed by 
 the inhabitants of cold as compared with that consumed by the in- 
 habitants of temperate and hot climates. Accounts are given which 
 almost appear incredible regarding the enormous quantities of food 
 devoured by dwellers in the Arctic regions. Thus Sir John Ross 1 
 states that an Esquimaux "perhaps eats twenty pounds of flesh and 
 oil daily." Sir W. Parry, 2 as a matter of curiosity, one day tried 
 how much food an Esquimaux lad, scarcely full-grown, would con- 
 sume if allowed his full tether. The food was weighed, and, besides 
 fluids, he got through, in twenty hours, 8J Ibs. of flesh and If Ibs. 
 of bread and bread-dust, and "did not consider the quantity extra- 
 ordinary." Sir George Simpson, 3 from his travelling experience in 
 Siberia, says : " In one highly important particular the Yakuti may 
 safely challenge all the rest of the world. They are the best eaters 
 on the face of the earth." Having heard more on this subject than 
 he could bring himself to believe, he resolved to test the matter by 
 the evidence of his own senses. He procured a couple of men, who 
 had, he states, a tolerable reputation in that way, and prepared a 
 dinner for them consisting of 36 Ibs. avoirdupois of beef and 18 Ibs. 
 of butter for each of them. By the end of an hour they had got 
 through half of their allowance in Sir George Simpson's presence. 
 Their stomachs at this time projected "into a brace of kettledrums." 
 They were then left in charge of deputies, and Sir George was as- 
 sured, on returning two hours later, that all had been consumed. 
 He remarks that, after such surfeits, the gluttons remain for three or 
 four days in a state of stupor, neither eating nor drinking, and mean- 
 while are rolled about, with a view to the promotion of digestion. 
 
 It must not, of course, be considered that such accounts afford 
 ordinary examples. Illustrations can also be given of the perform- 
 ance of similar feats of gluttony by the inhabitants of other regions 
 
 1 Narrative of a Second Voyage in Search of a Northwest Passage, p. 448. 
 London, 1835. 
 
 2 Second Voyage for the Discovery of the Northwest Passage, p. 413. Lon- 
 don, 1824. 
 
 3 Narrative of a Journey Round the World during the Years 1841 and 1842, 
 vol. ii, p. 309. London, 1847. 
 
ADJUSTMENT OF FOOD TO CLIMATE AND WORK. 425 
 
 of the globe. The Hottentots and Bosjesmans of Southern Africa, 
 where food is not really required to the same extent, are equally con- 
 spicuous, according to the records of travellers, for their gormandiz- 
 ing propensities. " The Hottentots," says Barrow, 1 " are the greatest 
 gluttons upon the face of the earth. Ten of our Hottentots ate a 
 middling-sized ox, all but the two hind legs, in three days." Re- 
 garding the Bosjesmans, he says: "The three who accompanied us 
 to our wagons had a sheep given to them about five in the evening, 
 which was entirely consumed by them before the noon of the follow- 
 ing day. They continued, however, to eat all night, without sleep 
 and without intermission, till they had finished the whole animal. 
 After this their lank bellies were distended to such a degree that 
 they looked less like human creatures than before." 
 
 Putting aside these extraordinary revelations as devoid of physio- 
 logical import, the bodily experience of those engaged in Arctic 
 travelling affords sufficient evidence for our purpose. " He who is 
 well fed," remarks Sir John Ross, 2 " resists cold better than the man 
 who is stinted, while the starvation from cold follows but too soon 
 
 a starvation in food In every expedition or voyage to a 
 
 polar region," he further observes, " at least if a winter residence is 
 contemplated, the quantity of food should be increased, be that as 
 inconvenient as it may. It would be very desirable, indeed, if the 
 men could acquire the taste for Greenland food, since all experience 
 has shown that the large use of oil and fat meats is the true secret of 
 life in these frozen countries." Sir John Franklin 3 also states 
 " During the whole of our march we experienced that no quantity 
 of clothing could keep us warm while we fasted ; but on those occa- 
 sions on which we were enabled to go to bed with full stomachs we 
 passed the night in a warm and comfortable manner." 
 
 Turning now to the adjustment of food to the performance of 
 work, it is mentioned by Liebig 4 that the English navvies who were 
 sent out during the Crimean war to make the Balaclava railroad con- 
 sumed daily from 150 (5.291 oz.) to 159 (5.608 oz.) grammes of 
 
 1 Account of Travels into the Interior of Southern Africa. 1801. 
 
 2 Op. cit. 
 
 3 Narrative of a Journey to the Shores of the Polar Sea in the Years 1819 to 
 1822, p. 424. London, 1823. 
 
 4 Lancet, 1869, vol. i, p. 5. 
 
426 PRINCIPLES OF DIETETICS. 
 
 albuminate, and that the men in the Munich breweries, where the 
 work is heavy, consume on an average 165 grammes (5.820 oz.) per 
 diem, whilst the amount entering into the rations of the Bavarian 
 and English soldier, in time of peace, is about 126 grammes 
 (4.444 oz.). 
 
 Dr. Playfair 1 has collected and grouped the dietaries of persons 
 engaged in various ways. His arrangement shows that there is in 
 practice a correspondence between the amount of work performed 
 and of food consumed. The dictates of experience are seen to be in 
 harmony with the suggestions of science. In order to give a repre- 
 sentation of the relative value of different dietaries the amounts of 
 the nutritive principles require to be ascertained and set forth. 
 This is the only way by which dissimilar diets can be brought to 
 uniformity so as to allow of anything like an exact comparison being 
 made. 
 
 Now, to ascertain the amounts of the alimentary principles con- 
 tained in a given dietary, or to fix its dietetic value, the composi- 
 tion of the constituent articles requires to be known. Tables have 
 been given by different authorities representing the composition of 
 the various articles of food. No two tables, however, will be found 
 exactly to agree. The composition, in fact, of an alimentary sub- 
 stance is in no case fixed and invariable. It is not surprising, there- 
 fore, that the results furnished by different analysts should vary. 
 Taking, however, the figures of an established chemical authority as 
 a basis of calculation, sufficient reliance may be placed upon the 
 estimate yielded. It is true the amounts of nutritive principles 
 worked out must not be looked upon as representative of anything 
 like absolute precision, still they may be regarded as sufficiently near 
 for all practical purposes. The following table is drawn from Dr. 
 Letheby's work, 2 with a few additions selected from a table compiled 
 bv Dr. Parkes. 3 
 
 1 On the Food of Man in Relation to his Useful Work. Lecture delivered at 
 the Royal Society, Edinburgh, and Royal Institution, London, April, 1865. 
 
 2 " On Food," Cantor Lectures, 1870, 1st ed., p. 6. 
 
 3 Practical Hygiene, 3d ed., p. 165. 
 
COMPOSITION OF FOOD, IN ALIMENTARY PRINCIPLES. 427 
 
 Table showing the percentage composition of various articles of Food. 
 
 (From a table furnished by Letheby, with additions marked thus f from one furnished by Parkes.) 
 
 
 Water. 
 
 Albumen, &c. 
 
 Starch, &c. Sugar. 
 
 Fat. 
 
 Salts. 
 
 Bread, 
 
 37 
 
 8 1 
 
 47 4 36 
 
 1 6 
 
 2 3 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Biscuit, f 
 
 g 
 
 15 6 
 
 73 4 
 
 1 3 
 
 1 7 
 
 Wheat flour, 
 
 15 
 
 108 
 
 66.3 4 2 
 
 2.0 
 
 1 7 
 
 Barley meal, 
 
 15 
 
 6.3 
 
 694 4.9 
 
 2.4 
 
 2.0 
 
 
 15 
 
 12 6 
 
 58 4 54 
 
 56 
 
 3 
 
 Rye meal, 
 
 15 
 
 80 
 
 69 5 3.7 
 
 20 
 
 1.8 
 
 Indian corn meal, .... 
 Rice, 
 Peas, 
 
 14 
 13 
 16 
 
 11.1 
 6.3 
 23.0 
 
 64 7 0.4 
 79 1 0.4 
 55.4 2.0 
 
 8.1 
 0.7 
 2.1 
 
 1.7 
 0.5 
 
 2.5 
 
 Arrowroot, 
 Potatoes, 
 
 18 
 75 
 
 2 1 
 
 82.0 
 18 8 32 
 
 2 
 
 7 
 
 
 83 
 
 1.3 
 
 8.4 6.1 
 
 0.2 
 
 1.0 
 
 Parsnips, 
 
 82 
 
 1 l 
 
 96 58 
 
 5 
 
 1 
 
 Turnips, . . . 
 
 91 
 
 1 2 
 
 51 21 
 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 'Cabbage,! 
 
 91 
 
 2 
 
 5 8 
 
 5 
 
 7 
 
 Sii <r ar . . . 
 
 5 
 
 
 95 
 
 
 
 Treacle, . 
 
 23 
 
 
 77 
 
 
 
 "Vow milk, 
 
 86 
 
 4 1 
 
 ... 52 
 
 3 9 
 
 8 
 
 
 66 
 
 2.7 
 
 2.8 
 
 26.7 
 
 1.8 
 
 Skim milk, 
 
 88 
 
 4 
 
 ... 54 
 
 1 8 
 
 8 
 
 Buttermilk, 
 
 88 
 
 4 1 
 
 : . . 64 
 
 7 
 
 8 
 
 Cheese.f 
 
 36.8 
 
 33.5 
 
 
 24.3 
 
 6.4 
 
 Cheddar cheese, .... 
 
 36 
 
 28.4 
 
 
 31.1 
 
 4.5 
 
 Skim cheese, 
 
 44 
 
 44 8 
 
 
 6 3 
 
 4 9 
 
 
 72 
 
 19.3 
 
 
 3 6 
 
 5 1 
 
 Fat beef, 
 
 51 
 
 14.8 
 
 
 29.8 
 
 4.4 
 
 Lean mutton, 
 
 72 
 53 
 
 18.3 
 12.4 
 
 
 
 4.9 
 31.1 
 
 4.8 
 3 5 
 
 Veal, 
 
 63 
 
 16.5 
 
 
 15.8 
 
 4.7 
 
 Fat pork . 
 
 39 
 
 9 8 
 
 
 48 9 
 
 2 3 
 
 
 24 
 
 7.1 
 
 
 66.8 
 
 2.1 
 
 
 15 
 
 8.8 
 
 
 73.3 
 
 2.9 
 
 Ox liver, 
 
 74 
 
 18 9 
 
 
 4 1 
 
 30 
 
 Tripe, 
 
 68 
 
 13 2 
 
 
 16 4 
 
 2 4 
 
 2 Cooked meat, roast, no \ 
 drippingbeinglost. Boil- v 
 ed assumed to be thesamef J 
 Poultry, 
 
 54 
 74 
 
 27.6 
 21.0 
 
 
 
 15.45 
 
 38 
 
 2.95 
 1.2 
 
 White fish, 
 
 78 
 
 18.1 
 
 
 2.9 
 
 1.0 
 
 Eels, 
 
 75 
 
 9.9 
 
 
 13.8 
 
 1.3 
 
 
 77 
 
 16.1 
 
 
 5.5 
 
 1.4 
 
 Entire eg " 
 
 74 
 
 14 
 
 
 10 5 
 
 1 5 
 
 "White of e^g, .... 
 
 78 
 
 20 4 
 
 
 
 1 6 
 
 
 52 
 
 16.0 
 
 
 30.7 
 
 1.3 
 
 
 15 
 
 
 
 83.0 
 
 2.0 
 
 
 91 
 
 0.1 
 
 8.7 
 
 
 0.2 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 The nitrogenous matter in Dr. Parkes's table is put down as 0.2, but 2.0 is evidently meant. 
 Ranke's analysis. 
 
428 PRINCIPLES OF DIETETICS. 
 
 Playfair's dietaries, to which reference has been made, will now be 
 introduced. The food is brought into its equivalent in nutritive 
 principles. I have calculated and appended to each the dynamic, 
 or force-producing value, according to the determinations of Frank- 
 land. The dynamic value must not be taken for more than it is 
 really worth. It is scarcely necessary to state that the proper dis- 
 tinction must be kept in view between dynamic and nutritive value. 
 
 Subsistence diet. This is drawn from certain prison dietaries; the 
 diet of needlewomen in London ; the common dietary for convales- 
 cents in the Edinburgh Infirmary ; and the average diet during the 
 cotton famine in Lancashire in 1862. The mean of these several 
 dietaries gives a daily allowance of 
 
 Nitrogenous matter, .... 2.33 oz. 
 
 Fat, 0.84 " 
 
 Carbohydrates, . . . * . 11.69" 
 
 Dynamic value 1 of daily allowance, 2453 foot-tons. 
 
 Diet of adult in full health with moderate exercise. The dietaries 
 of the English, French, Prussian, and Austrian soldiers during peace 
 are taken as the basis of this class. The mean of these dietaries 
 stands as follows : 
 
 Nitrogenous matter, .... 4.215oz. 
 Fat, . . . . . . . 1.397 " 
 
 Carbohydrates, 18.690 " 
 
 Mineral matter, 0.714 " 
 
 Dynamic value, 4021 foot-tons. 
 
 Diet of active laborers. To represent this class Dr. Play fair has 
 placed together the dietaries of soldiers engaged in the arduous duties 
 of war, viz., those of the English during the Crimean and Kaffir 
 wars; the French during the Crimean war; the Prussians during the 
 Schleswig war; the Austrians during the Italian war; the Russians 
 during the Crimean war; the Dutch during the Belgian war; and 
 those of the Federal and Confederate armies in the American war of 
 1861-5. The mean of the above gives the following quantities : 
 
 Nitrogenous matter, .... 6.41 oz. 
 
 Fat, 2.41 
 
 Carbohydrates, 17.92 " 
 
 Mineral matter, 0.68 " 
 
 Dynamic value, 4458 foot-tons. 
 
 1 Vide note, p. 423. 
 
PLAYFAIR'S DIETARIES IN RELATION TO WORK. 429 
 
 In addition to the group just furnished Dr. Playfair points to the 
 dietaries of the Royal Engineers during peace as affording a repre- 
 sentation of the amount of food required by laboring men performing 
 a fair, but not an excessive, amount of work during the twenty-four 
 hours. In this branch of the military service, he says, the men 
 while in the depot at Chatham are actively occupied either in con- 
 structing field-works, or in pursuing their avocations as artisans, from 
 which class of people they are selected. The actual amount of food 
 consumed by 495 men belonging to different companies was carefully 
 ascertained for twelve consecutive days and reduced to its dietetic 
 value. The mean of all the returns came out as follows: 
 
 Nitrogenous matter, ..... 5.08 oz. 
 
 Fat, 2.91 
 
 Carbohydrates, 22.22 " 
 
 Mineral matter, 0.93 " 
 
 Dynamic value, 5232 foot-tons. 
 
 Diet of hard-working laborers. Dr. Playfair remarks that we do 
 not possess many well-recorded examples of ordinary laborers 7 diets 
 containing precise information as regards amounts. In those included 
 in his table, however, the actual weight of food consumed was de- 
 termined. They comprise the dietary of the English navvy engaged 
 in tjie Crimea, and in the construction of the Rouen railway; of hard- 
 worked weavers; of fully-fed tailors; and of blacksmiths. With 
 these are grouped the dietaries of the English and French sailor, and 
 the mean given stands as follows : 
 
 Nitrogenous matter, ..... 5.64 oz. 
 
 Fat, 2.34 " 
 
 Carbohydrates, 20.41 " 
 
 Dynamic value, 4849 foot-tons. 
 
 In the first and last of these dietaries nothing, it will be observed, 
 is said of mineral matter. Reckoning, however, that an average 
 amount is here supplied, the lowest of the foregoing series of dietaries 
 will comprise between 15 and 16 oz. of dry food, and the highest a 
 little over 31 oz. The amount of nitrogenous matter present stands 
 in a varying proportion of from about the one-fifth to the one-sixth 
 and a half of the whole. 
 
 The English soldier on home service, says Dr. Parkes, receives 
 from Government one pound of bread and three-quarters of a pound 
 
430 PRINCIPLES OF DIETETICS. 
 
 of meat, and buys additional bread, vegetables, milk, and groceries. 
 The nutritive value of his usual food is represented by Dr. Parkes 
 to be as follows : 
 
 Nitrogenous matter, 3.86 oz. 
 
 Fat, 1.30 " 
 
 Carbohydrates, ...... 17.35 " 
 
 Mineral matter, 0.808" 
 
 The supply of carbon in this diet, as calculated by Dr. Parkes, is 
 4718 grains, and of nitrogen only 266 grains per diem. 
 
 The dynamic value calculated in the same manner as in the case 
 of the preceding dietaries amounts to 3726 foot-tons. 
 
 By Dr. Playfair 1 the nutritive value of the English soldier's diet 
 is given as somewhat higher, thus : 
 
 Nitrogenous matter, ..... 4.250 oz. 
 
 Fat, 1.665 
 
 Carbohydrates, 18.541 " 
 
 Mineral matter, ...... 0.789 " 
 
 D3 r namic value, 4099 foot-tons. 
 
 According to Dr. Playfair 2 also, the nutritive value of the English 
 sailor's fresh meat diet stands as follows : 
 
 Nitrogenous matter, 5.00 oz. 
 
 Fat, 2.57 " 
 
 Carbohydrates, 14.39 " 
 
 Dynamic value, 3911 foot-tons. 
 
 Workhouse dietaries, although applied to large numbers of people, 
 and followed with scrupulous attention to weight and measure, fail 
 to afford information of the kind required for advancing our position 
 with reference to the point under consideration. They are framed 
 particularly for the maintenance of the aged, the infirm, the sick, 
 and the young. There are but few able-bodied people as inmates of 
 these establishments, and the diet for this particular class is, perhaps, 
 often fixed below what would be needed for a permanency, so that 
 no encouragement may be offered to a prolonged stay being made. 
 Moreover, although model dietaries are issued by the Local Govern- 
 ment Board, the local authorities have the power to frame dietaries 
 of their own, and provided they are considered to furnish sufficient 
 food, sanction to their adoption is given. Thus it happens that in 
 
 1 On' the Food of Man in Eelation to his Useful Work, Edin , 1865, p. 11. 
 
 2 Op. cit., p. 18. 
 
PRISON DIETARIES IN RELATION TO WORK. 431 
 
 point of detail great diversity prevails within the different establish- 
 ments throughout the country. 
 
 For the various county and borough gaols the same liberty exists 
 as in the case of workhouses. Dietaries have been recommended by 
 the Home Office for different classes of prisoners according to the 
 duration of sentence, and to whether it is with or without hard labor, 
 but it is left to the discretion of the county authorities to adopt them 
 or to frame others of their own. The result is, that some have con- 
 formed whilst a larger number have not, and thus, again, there is 
 much diversity to deal with. For long sentences the dietaries must 
 necessarily be adequate to meet the requirements of life, but for short 
 sentences the punishment of confinement is increased by a scanty al- 
 lowance of food. For instance, in the recommendations from the 
 Home Office, the daily allowance for prisoners sentenced for less than 
 seven days without hard labor consists of 1 Ib. of bread and 2 pints 
 of oatmeal gruel, made with 2 oz. of oatmeal to the pint; and for 
 over seven days and under twenty-one, of 1J Ibs. of bread and two 
 pints of gruel. The nutritive value of the first-named diet stands 
 thus 1.800 oz. of nitrogenous matter, .480 oz. of fat, and 10.712 oz. 
 of carbohydrates; and of the second 2.448 oz. of nitrogenous mat- 
 ter, .608 oz. of fat, and 14.792 oz. of carbohydrates. For longer 
 terms potatoes and meat are also allowed. 
 
 In the Government convict 1 establishments the prisoners are all 
 under long sentence, and uniformity is carried out in classes arranged 
 according to occupation. This constitutes a rational principle of 
 
 1 With convicts sentenced to hard labor the hours of labor, I notice, are mnde 
 to vary in the summer and winter, being 10 hrs. 40 min. per diem in the former, 
 and 8 hrs. 55 min. in the latter. "Whether this arrangement has been designed 
 in relation to food, or for some other reason of prison management, 1 do not 
 know, but it stands in harmony with what is rational in a physiological point of 
 view. Both the work performed and heat produced must be represented by an 
 equivalent of food, and under the arrangement before us the food which corre- 
 sponds to the extra amount of labor demanded of the convicts in the summer is 
 free for appropriation to the production of the extra amount of heat necessitated 
 in the winter. If the food were exactly adjusted to the requirements in the sum- 
 mer it would be insufficient for the accomplishment of the same amount of labor 
 during the winter. To provide for the production of the extra amount of heat 
 required in the. winter there must be either an increase in the amount of food or 
 a diminution in the amount of labor. The latter course in prison management 
 is observed to be pursued. 
 
432 PRINCIPLES OF DIETETICS. 
 
 dieting. The health of the prisoners must be maintained, and the 
 diet is such as has been found by experience to suffice for this end. 
 On the other hand, upon the score of economy, and likewise that no 
 unnecessary bodily comfort may be supplied, the food is reduced to 
 as short an allowance as is found to be compatible with the preser- 
 vation of health. These dietaries, therefore, should afford us illus- 
 trations of just the requisite quantity of food for supporting life 
 under the performance of different amounts of labor. For these 
 reasons I will introduce here the dietaries at the present time in use; 
 and, for the purpose of comparison, give their calculated nutritive 
 value founded on the composition of food according to the table fur- 
 nished at p. 427. 
 
 The cocoa supplied consists of prepared cocoa, which is contracted 
 for as such. It doubtless, like other forms of prepared cocoa, con- 
 tains a certain admixture of starchy, or starchy and saccharine mat- 
 ter. I have taken the average of HassalPs results of the examina- 
 tion of various samples of prepared cocoa, and reckoned that it con- 
 tains about 35 per cent, of carbohydrates in combination with the 
 pure article, the composition of which is assumed to be in accordance 
 with the analysis given by Payen. 
 
 The nutritive value of the meat is calculated from the analysis of 
 cooked meat given by Parkes. The composition of cheese is also 
 taken from the analysis furnished by Dr. Parkes, which represents a 
 medium quality. 
 
 The shins are made into soup, and I have assumed that the whole 
 of the animal matter is extracted from the bones. It was ascertained 
 for me that the shins actually supplied consist upon an average of 
 59.57 per cent, of meat and 40.43 per cent of bone. The meat is 
 reckoned in accordance with the composition of lean beef (vide table, 
 p. 427). j As regards the bone, I found by observation that a fore 
 and hind shin taken together and deprived of meat lost 15.29 per 
 cent, of water upon being dried by exposure to heat until they ceased 
 to lose weight. The dry bone is reckoned as consisting of one-third 
 animal matter and two- thirds earthy, and the animal matter is cal- 
 culated as of the same value as lean meat. 
 
 In the absence of a record of the analysis of onions they have been 
 assumed to be of the same nutritive value as turnips an assump- 
 tion which, even if not precisely correct, cannot materially influence 
 the calculated result. 
 
DIETARIES OF ENGLISH CONVICT ESTABLISHMENTS. 433 
 
 HARD LABOR DIET. 
 
 (Daily period of labor summer, 10 hours 40 minutes; winter, 8 hours 55 minutes.) 
 
 Weekly allowance. 
 
 Nitroge- 
 nous 
 matter. 
 
 Carbohy- 
 drates. 
 
 Fat. 
 
 Mineral 
 matter. 
 
 Total solid 
 matter. 
 
 oz. 
 Cocoa, .... 3 500 
 
 oz. 
 0.560 
 
 oz. 
 1.540 
 
 oz. 
 1.295 
 
 oz. 
 0.105 
 
 oz. 
 3.500 
 
 Oatmeal, ... 14 OOu 
 Milk, .... 14.000 
 
 Molasses, . . 7 000 
 
 1.764 
 0.574 
 
 8.932 
 0.728 
 5.390 
 
 0784 
 0.546 
 
 0.420 
 0.112 
 
 11.9UO 
 1.960 
 5.390 
 
 Salt, 3.500 
 
 
 
 
 3 500 
 
 3 500 
 
 Barley, .... 2000 
 Bread, .... 168.000 
 (Jheee 4 ooti 
 
 0.126 
 13 608 
 1 340 
 
 1.486 
 85680 
 
 0.048 
 
 2.688 
 972 
 
 0.040 
 
 3.8*4 
 216 
 
 1.700 
 105.840 
 2 528 
 
 Flour, .... 8.&25 
 Meat (cooked with- 
 out bone or grravy ) 15000 
 
 0.931 
 4 140 
 
 6.081 
 
 0.172 
 2 318 
 
 0.147 
 0442 
 
 7.331 
 6 900 
 
 Shins (made into 
 soup), .... 16000 
 
 3.376 
 
 
 0.640 
 
 4.144 
 
 8.160 
 
 Suet, 1 500 
 
 
 
 1 244 
 
 0030 
 
 1 274 
 
 Carrots,. . . . 2000 
 Onions, .... 3.500 
 Turnips, ... 2000 
 Potatoes, . . . 96.000 
 
 0.026 
 0.042 
 0.024 
 2.016 
 
 0.290 
 0.252 
 0.144 
 21.120 
 
 0.004 
 0.192 
 
 0.020 
 0.021 
 0.012 
 0.672 
 
 0.340 
 0.315 
 0.180 
 24.000 
 
 Total weekly allowance, 
 
 28.527 
 
 131.643 
 
 10.903 
 
 13.745 
 
 184.818 
 
 LIGHT LABOR DIET. 
 
 (Labor consists of oakum-picking, Ac.) 
 
 Weekly allowance. 
 
 Nitro- 
 genous 
 matter. 
 
 Carbohy- 
 drates. 
 
 Fat. 
 
 Mineral 
 matter. 
 
 Total solid 
 matter. 
 
 oz. 
 Cocoa, .... 3.500 
 Oatmeal, . . . 14.000 
 Milk ... 14000 
 
 oz. 
 0.560 
 1.764 
 574 
 
 oz. 
 1.540 
 8932 
 728 
 
 oz. 
 1.295 
 0.784 
 546 
 
 oz. 
 0.105 
 0.420 
 112 
 
 oz. 
 3.500 
 11.900 
 1 960 
 
 Molasses . . . 7.000 
 Salt ... 3 500 
 
 
 6.390 
 
 
 3 500 
 
 5.390 
 3 500 
 
 Barley, . . . ' 2.000 
 Bread, . . .145000 
 Cheese, . . . 4.000 
 
 0.126 
 11.745 
 1 340 
 
 1.486 
 73.950 
 
 0.048 
 2.320 
 0.972 
 
 0.040 
 3335 
 216 
 
 1.700 
 91.350 
 2 528 
 
 Flour, .... 4.625 
 Meat (cooked with- 
 out bone or afravv), 12.000 
 
 0.499 
 3.312 
 
 3.261 
 
 0.092 
 1.854 
 
 0.079 
 0354 
 
 3.931 
 5 520 
 
 Shins (made into 
 soup), .... 12000 
 
 2.532 
 
 
 0.480 
 
 3 108 
 
 6 120 
 
 Suet, 0.750 
 
 
 
 0.622 
 
 0.015 
 
 0.637 
 
 Carrots, .... 2.000 
 Onions, .... 3.500 
 Turnips,. . . . 2.000 
 Potatoes, . . . 96.000 
 
 0.026 
 0.042 
 0.024 
 2.016 
 
 0.290 
 0.252 
 0.144 
 21 120 
 
 0.004 
 O.'l92 
 
 0.020 
 0.021 
 0.012 
 0.672 
 
 0.340 
 0.315 
 0.180 
 24.000 
 
 Total weekly allowance, 
 
 24.560 
 
 117.093 
 
 9.209 
 
 12.009 
 
 162.871 
 
 28 
 
434 
 
 PRINCIPLES OF DIETETICS. 
 
 INDUSTRIAL EMPLOYMENT DIET. 
 
 (Employment as tailors, shoemakers, weavers, &c.) 
 
 Weekly allowance. 
 
 Nitro- 
 genous 
 matter. 
 
 Carbohy- 
 drates. 
 
 Fat. 
 
 Mineral 
 matter. 
 
 Total solid 
 matter. 
 
 oz. 
 Cocoa 3 500 
 
 oz. 
 560 
 
 oz, 
 1 540 
 
 oz. 
 1 295 
 
 oz. 
 105 
 
 oz. 
 3 500 
 
 Oatmeal, .... 14.000 
 Milk, 28.000 
 
 1.764 
 1.148 
 
 8.932 
 1.456 
 
 0784 
 1.092 
 
 0.420 
 0.224 
 
 11.900 
 3.920 
 
 Molasses, .... 7.000 
 Salt, . . . . 3 500 
 
 
 5.390 
 
 
 3 500 
 
 5.390 
 3 500 
 
 Barley, .... 1.000 
 
 0.063 
 
 0.743 
 
 0.024 
 
 0.020 
 
 0.850 
 
 Bread 148.000 
 
 11.988 
 
 75 480 
 
 2 368 
 
 3 404 
 
 93 240 
 
 Cheese, . . . 4 000 
 
 1.340 
 
 
 972 
 
 216 
 
 2 528 
 
 Flour, . . . 8.625 
 
 0.931 
 
 6 081 
 
 172 
 
 147 
 
 7 331 
 
 Meat (cooked with- 
 out bone or jravy), 16000 
 
 4.416 
 
 
 2 472 
 
 472 
 
 7 360 
 
 Shins (made into 
 soup) . 8 000 
 
 1.688 
 
 
 320 
 
 2 072 
 
 4 080 
 
 Suet, 1.500 
 Carrots, .... 1.000 
 Onions, .... 3.000 
 Turnips, .... 1.000 
 
 0.013 
 0.036 
 0.012 
 
 ' 6.145 
 0.216 
 0.072 
 
 1.244 
 0.002 
 
 0.030 
 0.010 
 0.018 
 0006 
 
 1.274 
 0.170 
 0270 
 0.090 
 
 Potatoes, .... 96.000 
 
 2.016 
 
 21.120 
 
 0.192 
 
 0672 
 
 24.000 
 
 Total weekly allowance, 
 
 25.975 
 
 121.175 
 
 10.937 
 
 11.316 
 
 169.403 
 
 PENAL DIET. 
 
 (For offenders against the prison laws. May be continued for three months. Also used every 
 fourth day in the place of punishment diet where punishment diet is ordered for more than three 
 days.) 
 
 Daily allowance. 
 
 Nitro- 
 genous 
 matter. 
 
 Carbohy- 
 drates. 
 
 Fat. 
 
 Mineral 
 matter. 
 
 Total solid 
 matter. 
 
 oz. 
 Bread, .... 20.000 
 Oatmeal, . . . 8.000 
 Milk, 20.000 
 
 oz. 
 1.620 
 1.008 
 0.820 
 
 oz. 
 10.200 
 5.104 
 1.040 
 
 oz. 
 0.320 
 0.448 
 780 
 
 oz. 
 0.460 
 0.240 
 0.160 
 
 oz. 
 12600 
 6.800 
 2.800 
 
 Potatoes, . . . 16.000 
 
 0.336 
 
 3.520 
 
 0.032 
 
 0.112 
 
 4.000 
 
 Total daily allowance, 
 
 3.784 
 
 19.864 
 
 1.580 
 
 0.972 
 
 26.200 
 
 PUNISHMENT DIET. 
 
 (Bread and water diet for the punishment of prisoners.) 
 
 Daily allowance. 
 
 Nitrogenous 
 matter. 
 
 Carbohy- 
 drates. 
 
 Fat. 
 
 Mineral 
 matter. 
 
 Total solid 
 matter. 
 
 oz. 
 Bread, .... 16.000 
 
 oz. 
 1.296 
 
 oz. 
 8.160 
 
 oz. 
 0.256 
 
 oz. 
 0.368 
 
 oz. 
 10.080 
 
DIETARIES OF ENGLISH CONVICT ESTABLISHMENTS. 435 
 
 Representing the nutritive value of these diets in the same man- 
 ner as that previously adopted, they come out as follows : 
 
 Hard Labor Diet per diem. 
 
 Nitrogenous matter, . . . 4.075 oz. 
 Fat, ..'.... 1.557 
 Carbohydrates, .... 18.806 " 
 Mineral matter, .... 1.963 
 Dynamic value, 4072 foot-tons. 
 
 Light Labor Diet per diem. 
 
 Nitrogenous matter, . . . 3.508 oz. 
 
 Fat, 1.315 " 
 
 Carbohydrates, . . . . 16.727 " 
 
 Mineral matter, .... 1.715 " 
 
 Dynamic value, 3577 foot-tons. 
 
 Industrial Employment Diet per diem. 
 
 Nitrogenous matter, . . . 3.710 oz. 
 
 Fat, 1.562 
 
 Carbohydrates, .... 17.310 " 
 
 Mineral matter, .... 1.616 " 
 
 Dynamic value, 3787 foot-tons. 
 
 Penal Diet per diem. 
 
 Nitrogenous matter, . . . 3.784 oz. 
 
 Fat, 1.580 
 
 Carbohydrates, .... 19.864 " 
 
 Mineral matter, .... 0.972 " 
 
 Dynamic value, 4193 foot-tons. 
 
 Punishment Diet per diem. 
 
 Nitrogenous matter, . . . 1.296 oz. 
 
 Fat, 0.256 " 
 
 Carbohydrates, . . . .8.160 " 
 
 Mineral matter, .... 0.368 :t 
 
 Dynamic value, 1541 foot- tons. 
 
 On comparing the hard labor diet with the collection of dietaries 
 framed by Dr. Playfair (vide p. 428), it will be seen that it very 
 closely conforms with the representative diet for full health and 
 moderate exercise, and is considerably under that, particularly in 
 nitrogenous matter, of active laborers. The industrial employment 
 
436 PRINCIPLES OF DIETETICS. 
 
 diet is of a rather higher nutritive value in each respect than the 
 light labor diet. The penal diet, whilst containing less nitrogenous 
 matter than the hard labor diet, surpasses it in carbohydrates, and 
 has about the same amount of fat. In force-producing value it 
 holds the higher position of the two. The punishment diet would 
 be inadequate for the support of life as a continuance. 
 
 Some extraordinary instances of subsistence upon a small amount 
 of food indeed the amount is so small as almost to excite suspicion 
 with regard to its accuracy are to be found recorded. A well- 
 known case, remarks Dr. Carpenter, is that of Thomas Wood, the 
 miller of Billericay, reported to the College of Physicians, in 1767, 
 by Sir George Baker, in which a remarkable degree of vigor is said 
 to have been sustained for upwards of eighteen years upon no other 
 nutriment than 16 oz. of flour made into a pudding with water, no 
 other liquid of any kind being taken. In nutritive value, 16 oz. of 
 flour will represent 1.72 oz. of nitrogenous matter, 0.32 oz. of fat, 
 and 11.28 oz. of carbohydrates. 
 
 A more striking instance still is that afforded by the case of 
 Cornaro, a Venetian of noble descent, who lived in the fifteenth and 
 sixteenth centuries, and attained an age of upwards of 1QO. Im- 
 pressed with the conviction that the older a man gets and the less 
 amount of power he possesses, the less should be the amount of food 
 consumed, in opposition to the common notion that more should be 
 taken to compensate for his failing power, he, at about 40 years of 
 age, resolved to enter upon a new course, and betake himself to a 
 spare diet, and scrupulously regular mode of life, after having, as 
 he says, previously led a life of indulgence in eating and drinking, 
 and having been endowed with a feeble constitution and " fallen into 
 different kinds of disorders, such as pains in my stomach, and often 
 stitches, and spices of the gout, attended by what was still worse, 
 an almost continual slow fever, a stomach generally out of order, 
 and a perpetual thirst." He also did all that lay in his power "to 
 avoid those evils which we do not find it so easy to remove. These 
 are melancholy, hatred, and other violent passions, which appear to 
 have the greatest influence over our bodies. The consequence was, 
 that in a few days I began," he adds, " to perceive that such a course 
 agreed with me very well ; and by pursuing it, in less than a year I 
 found myself (some persons, perhaps, will not believe it) entirely 
 
LIMITED DIET OF CORNARO. 437 
 
 freed from all my complaints. ... I chose wine suited to my 
 stomach, drinking of it but the quantity I knew I could digest. I 
 did the same by my meat, as well in regard to quantity as to quality, 
 accustoming myself to contrive matters so as never to cloy my 
 stomach with eating or drinking ; but constantly rise from the table 
 with a disposition to eat and drink still more. In this I conformed 
 to the proverb which says, that a man, to consult his health, must 
 check his appetite. . . . What with bread, meat, the yolk of an egg, 
 and soup, I ate as much as weighed in all 12 oz., neither more nor 
 less. . . . I drank but 14 oz. of wine." 1 Upon this scanty allowance 
 Cornaro tells us he perseveringly subsisted, "living in possession of 
 all his faculties to write a series of discourses, at the respective ages 
 of 83, 86, 91, and 95, urging others to follow a similar course. 
 These discourses, which are imbued with vigor and vivacity, and 
 contain many shrewd remarks on the subject of living, seem to have 
 excited considerable attention at the time they appeared, and for 
 many years afterwards. A translation from the Italian original 
 was published in London in 1768, from which the above extracts 
 have been taken. 
 
 Reference has been made in the foregoing pages to the actual diets 
 consumed under various conditions, .and the value of these diets in 
 alimentary principles. It will be instructive now to consider the 
 elementary components of food in relation to the outgoing elements 
 from the body. Regarded under this point of view, scientific data 
 are afforded for showing the combination of alimentary principles 
 that is best adapted for administering in the most economical man- 
 ner to the wants of the system. We can ascertain, for instance, the 
 amount of carbon and nitrogen escaping from the body as products 
 of destruction, and then with a knowledge of the composition of food 
 can define the precise kind and amount required for compensation 
 without any surplus on either side. 
 
 To assist in determining the amounts of different alimentary 
 articles required to be consumed to yield a given daily supply of 
 nitrogen and carbon, a table has been furnished by Pay en, 2 of which 
 the following is a copy, with the omission -of such as have been 
 deemed unimportant : 
 
 1 The italics are my own. 
 
 2 Substances Alimentaires, Paris, 1865, p. 488. 
 
438 
 
 PRINCIPLES OP DIETETICS. 
 
 Table, from Pay en, showing the quantity of nitrogen and carbon in 100 
 parts of various alimentary articles. Under the head of carbon is in- 
 cluded, not only this element, but likewise its equivalent of the hydrogen 1 
 existing in the compound in excess of what is necessary to form water 
 with the oxygen present. 
 
 Multiplying the figures representing the nitrogen by 6.5 gives the equivalent amount of 
 nitrogenous matter. 
 
 Nitrogen. Carbon. 
 
 Beef, without bone, 3.00 11.00 
 
 Roast beef, 3.528 17.76 
 
 Bullock's heart, 2.831 16.16 
 
 Calves' liver, 3.093 15.68 
 
 Foiegras, 2.115 6558 
 
 Calves' lights, 3.458 14.50 
 
 Sheep's kidneys, 2.655 12.15 
 
 Skate, 3.85 12.25 
 
 Conger eels, 3.95 12.60 
 
 Codfish salted, 5.02 16.00 
 
 Sardines in oil, 6.00 29.00 
 
 Herrings salted, 3.11 23.00 
 
 fresh, 1.83 21.00 
 
 Whiting, 2.41 9.00 
 
 Mackerel, 3.74 19.26 
 
 Sole, 1.91 12.25 
 
 Salmon, 2.09 16.00 
 
 Pike, 3.25 11.50 
 
 Carp, 3.49 12.10 
 
 Gudgeons, 2.77 13.50 
 
 Eels, 2.00 30.05 
 
 Eggs, 1.90 13.50 
 
 Cow's milk, 0.66 8.00 
 
 Goat's milk, 0.69 8.60 
 
 Russian caviare, . . . . . . 4.49 27.41 
 
 Mussels (fleshy substance), .... 1.804 9.00 
 
 Oysters (fleshy substance), . . . .2.13 7.18 
 
 Lobster (raw fleshy substance), . . .2.93 10.96 
 " (soft internal substance), . . . 1.87 7.30 
 
 Cheese, Brie, 2.93 35.00 
 
 " Gruyere, 5.00 38.00 
 
 Chester, 4.126 41.04 
 
 Parmesan, 6.997 40.00 
 
 " cream, 2.920 71.10 
 
 1 A given quantity of hydrogen is equivalent to three times the amount of 
 carbon in capacity of appropriating oxygen under conversion respectively into 
 water and carbonic acid. 
 
PERCENTAGE VALUE OF FOOD IN NITROGEN AND CARBON. 439 
 
 Nitrogen. Carbon. 
 
 Cheese, Koquefort, 4.210 44.44 
 
 Dutch, 4.80 43.54 
 
 " Neufchatel, fresh, .... 1.27 60.71 
 
 Beans, 4.50 42.00 
 
 " green, dried, 4.46 46.00 
 
 " Haricots, 3.92 43.00 
 
 " dried split, 4.15 48.50 
 
 Lentils, 3.87 4300 
 
 Peas, dried, ordinary, 3.66 44.00 
 
 " split green, dried, 3.91 46.00 
 
 Hard wheat from the South, .... 3.00 41.00 
 
 Soft wheat, 1.81 39.00 
 
 Flour, Parisian white, 1.64 38 50 
 
 Eye flour, 1.75 41.00 
 
 Barley, 1.90 40.00 
 
 Indian corn, 1.70 44.00 
 
 Buckwheat, 2.20 42.50 
 
 Rice, 1.80 41.00 
 
 Oatmeal, 1.95 44.00 
 
 Bread, Parisian white, 1.08 29.50 
 
 " household, stale, 1.07 28.00 
 
 " " new, 1.20 30.00 
 
 Potatoes, 0.33 11 00 
 
 Carrots, 0.31 5.50 
 
 Mushrooms, forced, 0.66 4.520 
 
 Truffles, black, 1.350 9 45 
 
 " white, 1.532 9.10 
 
 Chestnuts, ordinary, 0.64 35.00 
 
 " dried, j 1.04 48.00 
 
 Gooseberries, ....... 0.14 7.79 
 
 Figs, fresh, 0.41 15.50 
 
 " dried, 0.92 34.00 
 
 Plums, dried, 0.73 28.00 
 
 Nuts, fresh, 1.40 10.65 
 
 Almonds, sweet, fresh, 2.677 40.00 
 
 Coffee, from infusion of 100 grammes (3J oz.), 1.10 9.00 
 
 Tea, from infusion of 20 grammes (308 grs.), 0.20 2.10 
 
 Chocolate, from 100 grammes (3 oz.), . . 1.52 58 00 
 
 Lard, 1.18 71.14 
 
 Butter, ordinary fresh, 0.64 83.00 
 
 Olive oil, Traces 98.00 
 
 Beer, strong, 0.08 4.50 
 
 Alcohol, absolute, 62.00 
 
 Spirits of wine, 27.00 
 
 Wine, 0.016 4.00 
 
440 PRINCIPLES OF DIETETICS. 
 
 Dr. Parkes 1 sets forth the quantity of nitrogen and carbon con- 
 tained in the typical alimentary principles, and remarks that the 
 amount of the two elements present in a given diet may be thence 
 calculated, presuming its value in alimentary principles to have 
 been ascertained. Thus, he says : 
 
 Nitrogen. Carbon. 
 
 1 oz. of water-free albuminate contains . . 69 grains 238 grains. 
 1 " fat " 345.6 " 
 
 1 " " carbohydrate") 
 
 > a 194 2 lt 
 
 (except lactin) j 
 
 1 " " lactin " 175 " 
 
 In employing this method it is necessary, in the first place, to 
 extract, with the aid of the table at p. 427, the dry alimentary prin- 
 ciples. Then, with the use of the figures above given, the nitrogen 
 and carbon may be ascertained. 
 
 , From the investigations that have been conducted, it appears that 
 the daily quantity of nitrogen required to compensate for the elimi- 
 nation occurring under ordinary conditions of life may be said to 
 range from about 250 to 350 grains (16 to 22 \ grammes); and of 
 carbon, from 4000 to 6000 grains (259 to 388J grammes). Amongst 
 badly fed operatives the amounts upon which subsistence has been 
 maintained have been observed to be as low as about 170 grains 
 (11 grammes) of nitrogen, and 3600 grains (233 grammes) of 
 carbon. 
 
 Taking Moleschott's model diet (vide p. 422), and applying Dr. 
 Parkes's method of calculation, the amounts of nitrogen and carbon 
 come out as follows : 
 
 Nitrogen. Carbon. 
 
 4.587 oz. dry albuminate, . . . 316 grains 1068 grains. 
 
 2.964 " fat, . . . . . ... 1024 " 
 
 14.257 " carbohydrate, . 2768 " 
 
 Total, . . .316 grains 4860 grains. 
 
 These amounts, it will be perceived, correspond with about the 
 mean of the usual range of ingested nitrogen and carbon mentioned 
 above. 
 
 Let it be assumed, then, that 300 grains ,of nitrogen and 4800 
 1 Hygiene, third ed., p. 166. 
 
OUTGOING NITROGEN AND CARBON AS A DIET BASIS. 441 
 
 grains of carbon are daily required. I will proceed to show, after 
 the manner adopted by Payen, 1 in what way these elements are 
 most economically, or with the least waste of material, supplied. 
 
 The ratio of the quantities named is as 1 to 16, which implies that 
 sixteen times as much carbon is required as nitrogen. In albumen 
 the ratio, on the other hand, is about as 1 to 3.5. Hence, if albumen 
 alone were supplied, in furnishing the 300 grains of nitrogen, there 
 would only be 1050 instead of the 4800 grains of associated carbon; 
 and conversely, if the 4800 grains of carbon were supplied, there 
 would be 1371 grains of accompanying nitrogen, or rather more than 
 4| times the amount required. In bread, following Payen's analysis, 
 the ratio of nitrogen to carbon is as 1 to 30. The amount of bread, 
 therefore, that would yield 300 grains of nitrogen would contain 30 
 times the quantity, or 9000 grains of carbon; that is, nearly double 
 the amount required; and should an amount of bread be consumed 
 that would just suffice to yield the 4800 grains of carbon, only 160 
 grains, or rather more than half the quantity of nitrogen required, 
 would be supplied. 
 
 From these considerations it follows that neither bread nor albu- 
 men is adapted for economically furnishing what is wanted, and 
 what is true concerning these articles is equally so of others contain- 
 ing a preponderance of either carbon or nitrogen. It is upon a due 
 admixture of the two that the principle of adjustment is founded; 
 and as nitrogenous principles preponderate in animal food and the 
 carbonaceous or non-nitrogenous in vegetable, we see that the teach- 
 ings of science harmonize with the instinctive propensity which in- 
 clines man so universally to the emyloyment of a mixed diet when- 
 ever the circumstances under which he is placed admit of its being 
 obtained. 
 
 The following tabular arrangement will more forcibly illustrate 
 the point in question. 
 
 Let meat be taken instead of albumen. In round numbers, it con- 
 tains 1 1 per cent, of carbon and 3 per cent, of nitrogen. 43,637 
 grains, or rather over 6 Ibs., will thus yield 
 
 4800 grains of carbon. 
 1309 " of nitrogen. 
 
 1 Substances Alimentaires, Paris, 1865, p. 483. 
 
442 PRINCIPLES OF DIETETICS. 
 
 Bread contains, say 30 per cent, of carbon and 1 per cent, of nitro- 
 gen (Pay en). Hence, 30,000 grains, or rather over 4 Ibs., will yield 
 
 9000 grains of carbon. 
 300 of nitrogen. 
 
 In the first case there is the requisite quantity of carbon and a 
 surplus of 1009 grains of nitrogen, which corresponds with 33,633 
 grains, or about 4f Ibs., of meat; and in the second, the requisite 
 quantity of nitrogen and a surplus of 4200 grains of carbon, which 
 corresponds with 14,000 grains, or 2 Ibs., of bread. 
 
 Suppose, now, that a suitable admixture of bread and meat be 
 given, the result will stand as follows : 
 
 Carbon. Nitrogen. 
 
 14,000 grains (2 Ibs.) of bread contain . 4200 grains. 140 grains. 
 
 5,500 (about f Ib.) of meat)' 6Q5 16g fl 
 contain / 
 
 Total, . . . 4805 grains. 305 grains. 
 
 Hence, from 2 Ibs. of bread and about f Ib. of meat we can obtain 
 a sufficient amount of both carbon and nitrogen ; whilst rather over 
 6 Ibs. of meat and rather more than 4 Ibs. of bread, if taken singly, 
 would be respectively required to satisfy the demand in the case of 
 the two elements. 
 
 The train of reasoning here pursued is equally applicable to a 
 combination of nitrogenous food with the non-nitrogenous principle, 
 fat. By a proper adjustment of these articles the precise quanti- 
 ties of carbon and nitrogen required can in a similar manner be sup- 
 plied without waste in either case. 
 
PRACTICAL DIETETICS. 
 
 PROPER FOOD OF MAN. 
 
 UPON the supply of a proper quantity and quality of food the 
 maintenance of health and life is dependent. The records of this 
 and other nations have from time to time afforded bitter evidence of 
 how intimately disease and mortality are associated with the supply 
 of food. Plague } pestilence, and famine stand associated together in 
 the public mind; and, through an imperfect knowledge of the princi- 
 ples of dietetics, the most calamitous results have sometimes occurred 
 from improper dieting amongst large bodies of men. The consider- 
 ation of food thus becomes a matter of the deepest public importance. 
 To its physiological contemplation the previous pages have been de- 
 voted, and now its practical bearings, both in relation to health and 
 sickness, will form the subject of attention. 
 
 As has been already stated, it is to organic nature that we have 
 to look for our supply of food, and we have found it to be derivable 
 from both animal and vegetable products. Looking at the various 
 animal organisms around us, it is noticeable that some are designed 
 for subsistence upon an exclusively animal, others upon an exclu- 
 sively vegetable, and others, again, upon a mixed diet. 
 
 Let us see what kind of food is best adapted for the support of 
 man. 
 
 It may be premised by saying that no animal possesses so great a 
 power of accommodating itself to varied external conditions as man, 
 and this is true of diet as well as other things. Without this power 
 the distribution of mankind over the surface of the globe must have 
 been much more limited than it is. The difference of climate in 
 different latitudes, not only gives rise to different personal require- 
 ments as regards food, but likewise modifies the character of the 
 alimentary products that are to be found ; and it happens, as with 
 
444 PRACTICAL DIETETICS. 
 
 other portions of the plan of nature, that the two are in harmony 
 with each other. In illustration of this subject I will here introduce 
 a collection of extracts from various sources, representing the nature 
 of the food consumed by the inhabitants of different parts of the 
 globe. 
 
 Extracts from the works of various authors descriptive of the kind of food 
 consumed by the inhabitants of different parts of the globe. 
 
 ARCTIC REGIONS. The Esquimaux are mainly an animal feeding 
 people, and their food consists of the reindeer, musk-ox, walrus, 
 seals, birds, and salmon. They will, however, eat any kind of ani- 
 mal food, and are fond of fat and marrow. Lubboctis Prehistoric 
 Times, 1869, p. 485. 
 
 " Our journeys have taught us the wisdom of the Esquimaux ap- 
 petite, and there are few among us who do not relish a slice of raw 
 blubber or a chunk of frozen walrus beef. The liver of a walrus 
 (awuktanuk), eaten with little slices of his fat, of a verity it is a de- 
 licious morsel. Fire would ruin the curt, pithy expression of vitality 
 which belongs to its uncooked juices. Charles Lamb's roast pig was 
 nothing to awuktanuk. I wonder that raw beef is not eaten at home. 
 Deprived of extraneous fibre, it is neither indigestible nor difficult 
 to masticate. With acids and condiments, it makes a salad which 
 an educated palate cannot help relishing, and, as a powerful and 
 condensed heat-making and antiscorbutic food, it has no rival. 
 
 " I make this last broad assertion after carefully testing its truth. 
 The natives of South Greenland prepare themselves for a long 
 journey in the cold by a course of frozen seal. At Upernavik they 
 do the same with the narwhal, which is thought more heat-making 
 than the seal ; while the bear, to use their own expression, is ' stronger 
 travel than all.' 
 
 " In Smith's Sound, where the use of raw meat seems almost in- 
 evitable from the modes of living of the people, walrus holds the 
 first rank. Certainly this pachyderm, whose finely condensed tissue 
 and delicately permeating fat oh ! call it not blubber assimilate it 
 to the ox, is beyond all others, and is the very best fuel a man can 
 swallow. It became our constant companion whenever we could get 
 it, and a frozen liver upon our sledge was valued far above the same 
 
VARIETIES OF FOOD CONSUMED BY DIFFERENT NATIONS. 445 
 
 weight of pemniican." Kane's Arctic Explorations, 1856, vol. ii, 
 pp. 15, 16. 
 
 THE GREENLANDERS. " The choicest dish of the Greenlanders 
 is the flesh of the reindeer. But as those animals have now become 
 extremely scarce, and several of them are soon consumed by a hunt- 
 ing party, they are indebted to the sea for their permanent sus- 
 tenance, seals, fish, and sea-fowl. Hares and partridges are in no 
 great estimation as delicacies. The head and fins of the seal are 
 preserved under the grass in summer, and in winter a whole seal is 
 frequently buried in the snow. The flesh, half frozen, half putrid, 
 in which state the Greenlanders term it mikiak, is eaten with the 
 keenest appetite. The ribs are dried in the air and laid up in store/ 
 The remaining parts of the seal, as well as birds and small fishes, 
 are eaten, well boiled or stewed with a small quantity of sea-water. 
 On the capture of a seal the wound is immediately stopped up, to 
 preserve the blood, which is rolled into balls, like forcemeat." Sim- 
 monds's Cariosities of Food, 1859, p. 32. 
 
 THE ICELANDERS. " The diet of the Icelanders consists almost 
 solely of animal food, of which fish, either fresh or dried, form by 
 far the largest proportion. During the summer they have milk and 
 butter in considerable abundance; but of bread and every other vege- 
 table food there is the utmost scarcity, and among the lower classes 
 
 an almost entire privation As an effect of these circumstances 
 
 in the mode of life of the Icelanders, cutaneous diseases, arising from 
 a cachectic state of the body, are exceedingly frequent among them, 
 and appear under some of their worst forms. Scurvy and leprosy 
 are common in the island, occurring especially on the western coast, 
 where the inhabitants depend chiefly upon fishing, and where the 
 
 pastures are inferior in extent and produce Scurvy is observed 
 
 to occur with greatest frequency at those periods when there has been 
 a deficiency of food among the inhabitants, or when the snow and 
 frost of the winter succeed immediately to a wet autumnal season. 
 For its cure a vegetable diet is employed, in as far as the circum- 
 stances of the Icelanders will allow of such means. Fruits of every 
 kind are altogether wanting to them; but some advantage is derived 
 from the employment of the Cochlearia (officinalis et Danica], of the 
 trefoil (Trifolium repens), of the berries and tops of the juniper 
 
446 PRACTICAL DIETETICS. 
 
 (Juniperus communis), and of the Sedum acre, plants which are all 
 indigenous in the island. Inflammatory affections of the abdominal 
 viscera are likewise very common among the Icelanders, chiefly, 
 perhaps, in consequence of the peculiar diet to which they are accus- 
 tomed. 
 
 " The diet of the Icelanders likewise gives much disposition to 
 worms, and the ascarides are observed to be particularly frequent." 
 Mackenzie's Travels in Iceland, 1811, pp. 407-412. 
 
 SIBERIA. Lower Kolyma. "One of the women prepares the 
 frugal dinner or supper, which usually consists of either fish or rein- 
 deer meat, boiled or fried in train oil. As an occasional delicacy, 
 they have baked cakes of fish-roe or of dried and finely-pounded 
 muksuns, which are the substitutes for meal Bread is every- 
 where rare. From the meal, which is so dear that only the rich can 
 buy it, a drink is prepared called saturan." WrangeWs Expedition 
 to the Polar Sea, 1844, p. 75. 
 
 The Jakuts. " Their food consists of sour cow's milk and mare's 
 milk, and of beef and horseflesh. They boil their meat, but never 
 roast or bake it, and bread is unknown among them. Fat is their 
 greatest delicacy. They eat it in every possible shape raw, melted, 
 fresh, or spoiled. In general, they regard quantity more than quality 
 in their food. They grate the inner bark of the larch, and some- 
 times of the fir, and mix it with fish, a little meal, and milk, or by 
 preference with fat, and make it into a sort of broth, which they con- 
 sume in large quantities. They prepare from cow's milk what is 
 called the Jakut butter. It is more like a kind of cheese or of curd, 
 and has a sourish taste ; it is not very rich, and is a very good article 
 of food eaten alone." WrangeWs Expedition to the Polar Sea, 1844, 
 p. 23. 
 
 NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. "The buffalo meat, however, is 
 the great staple and staff of life in this country [Mandan Village, 
 Upper Missouri], and seldom, if ever, fails to afford them an abun- 
 dant and wholesome means of subsistence. There are, from a fair 
 computation, something like 250,000 Indians in these western re- 
 gions, who live almost exclusively on the flesh of these animals, 
 
VARIETIES OF FOOD CONSUMED BY DIFFERENT NATIONS. 447 
 
 through every part of the year." Catlings Letters on the North 
 American Indians, vol. i, p. 122. 
 
 INDIAN TRIBES OF THE INTERIOR OF OREGON. "They all 
 prefer their meat putrid, and frequently keep it until it smells so 
 strong as to be disgusting. Parts of the salmon they bury under 
 ground for two or three months, to putrefy, and the more it is de- 
 cayed the greater delicacy they consider it." Wilkes, V. S. Explor- 
 ing Expedition, vol. iv, p. 452. 
 
 MEXICO. " The Indians of New Spain those, at least, subject 
 to European domination generally attain to a pretty advanced 
 age. As peaceable cultivators and inhabitants of villages, they are 
 not exposed to the accidents attending the wandering life of the 
 hunters and warriors of the Mississippi and of the savannas of the 
 Rio Gila. Accustomed to uniform nourishment of an almost en- 
 tirely vegetable nature, that of their maize and cereal gramina, the 
 Indians would undoubtedly attain very great longevity if their con- 
 stitutions were not weakened by drunkenness. Their intoxicating 
 liquors are rum, a fermentation of maize and the root of the Jatropha, 
 and especially the wine of the country, made of the juice of the 
 Agave Americana, called pulque. This last liquor is nutritive, on 
 account of the undecomposed sugar which it contains. Many In- 
 dians addicted to pulque take for a long time very little solid nourish- 
 ment. \Yheu used with moderation, it is very salutary, and by for- 
 tifying the stomach, assists the function of the gastric system." 
 Taylor's Selections from HumboldCs Works relating to Mexico, 1824, 
 pp. 67, 68. 
 
 " The usual food of the laboring classes, throughout such states as 
 I visited, is the thin cake of crushed maize, which I have described 
 under the name of tortilla ; and it is remarkable that, notwithstand- 
 ing the great abundance of cattle in many places, the traveller can 
 rarely obtain meat in the little huts which he finds on his road. 
 Chilis are eaten abundantly with the tortillas, being stewed in a kind 
 of sauce, into which the cakes are dipped. A few fowls are at times 
 to be seen wandering near the cottages, or some pigs rambling 
 through the village, and the flesh of these creatures furnishes a feast 
 on holidays." Lyon's Residence in Mexico, 18-28, vol. ii, pp. 244-5. 
 
448 PRACTICAL DIETETICS. 
 
 PAMPAS INDIANS. " The Indians of whom I heard the most 
 were those who inhabit the vast unknown plains of the Pampas, 
 and who are all horsemen, or rather pass their lives on horseback. 
 The life they lead is singularly interesting. In spite of the climate, 
 which is burning hot in summer and freezing in winter, these brave 
 men, who have never yet been subdued, are entirely naked, and have 
 not even a covering for their head. 
 
 " They live together in tribes, each of which is governed by a 
 cicique ; but they have no fixed place of residence. Where the pas- 
 ture is good, there are they to be found until it is consumed by their 
 horses, and they then instantly move to a more verdant spot. They 
 have neither bread, fruit, nor vegetables; but they subsist entirely on 
 the flesh of their mares." F. B. Head's Journeys across the Pampas, 
 1828, p. 120. 
 
 u The ground is the bed on which, from their infancy, they have 
 always slept. The flesh of mares is the food on which they have 
 been accustomed to subsist," Ibid., p. 122. 
 
 Sir Francis Head, when crossing the Pampas, got tired at first 
 with the constant galloping, and was forced to ride in a carriage after 
 five or six hours on horseback. " But after," he says, " I had been 
 riding for three or four months, and had lived on beef and water, I 
 found myself in a condition which I can only describe by saying 
 that I felt no exertion could kill me. Although I constantly ar- 
 rived so completely exhausted that I could not speak, yet a few 
 hours' sleep upon my saddle on the ground always so completely 
 restored me, that for a week I could daily be upon my horse before 
 sunrise, could ride till two or three hours after sunset, and have 
 really tired ten and twelve horses a day. This will explain the 
 immense distances which people in South America are said to ride, 
 which I am confident could only be done on beef and water." 
 Ibid., p. 51. 
 
 GUACHOS. " We find a people living between the twentieth and 
 fortieth parallel of latitude, in the Argentine Eepublic, known as 
 Guachos [the half-white inhabitants of the Pampas]. They are a 
 mixed race of Indian and Spanish blood, who are employed at the 
 ranches or great cattle stations, and spend the greater part of their 
 time on -horseback, in hunting the half-wild cattle which roam over 
 .the wide grassy plains extending from the Atlantic coast to the foot 
 
VARIETIES OF FOOD CONSUMED BY DIFFERENT NATIONS. 449 
 
 of the Andes. . . . These people live entirely on roast beef, with a 
 little salt, scarcely ever tasting farinaceous or other vegetable food, 
 and their sole beverage is mat<3, or Paraguay tea, taken without 
 sugar." Odontoloyical Society's Transactions, vol. ii, new series, 
 p. 44. 
 
 THE NATIVES OF AUSTRALIA. "Their food consists of fish 
 when near the coasts ; but when in the woods, of opossums, ban- 
 dicoots, and almost any animal they can catch, and also a kind of 
 (/rub, which they find in decayed wood. Sometimes they spear a 
 kangaroo. They roast all the fish and animals on the ashes, skin 
 and all, just as they catch them. When it is pretty well done they 
 divide it amongst themselves by tearing it with their teeth and fin- 
 gers, and, excepting the bones, they devour every part, including 
 the entrails." Robert Dawson's Present State of Australia, 1830, 
 pp. 67, 68. 
 
 " Amongst the almost unlimited catalogue of edible articles used 
 by the natives of Australia the following may be classed as the 
 chief: All salt- and fresh- water fish and shellfish, of which in the 
 large rivers there are vast numbers and many species ; fresh-water 
 turtle; frogs of different kinds; rats and mice; lizards and most 
 kinds of snakes and reptiles; grubs of all kinds; moths of several 
 varieties ; fungi and many sorts of roots ; the leaves and tops of a 
 variety of plants; the leaf and fruit of the Mesembryanthemum ; 
 various kinds of fruits and berries ; the bark from the roots of many 
 trees and shrubs ; the seeds of leguminous plants ; gum from several 
 species of acacia ; different sorts of manna ; honey from the native 
 bee, and also from the flowers of the Banksia by soaking them in 
 water; the tender leaves of the grass-tree; the larvae of insects; 
 white ants ; eggs of birds ; turtles or lizards ; many kinds of kan- 
 garoo; opossums; squirrels, sloths, and wallabies; ducks, geese, teal, 
 cockatoos, parrots, wild dogs, and wombats; the native companion, 
 the wild turkey, the swan, the pelican, the leipoa, and an endless 
 variety of water-fowl and other descriptions of birds." Eyre's Cen- 
 tral Australia, vol. ii, pp. 2501. 
 
 NEW ZEALAND. " In former times the food of the natives con- 
 sisted of sweet potatoes, taro (Caladium esculentum), fern root (Pteris 
 esculenta), the aromatic berries of the kahikatea (Dacrydium excel- 
 
 29 
 
450 PRACTICAL DIETETICS. 
 
 sum), the pulp of a fern-tree (Cyathea medullaris) called korau or 
 mamako, the sweet root of the Draccena indivisa, the heart of a 
 palm-tree (Areca sapida), a bitter though excellent vegetable, the 
 Sonchus oleraceus, and many different berries. Of animals, they 
 consumed fishes, dogs, the indigenous rat, crawfish, birds, and gua- 
 nas. Rough mats of their own making, or dog-skins, constituted 
 their clothing. They were hardened against the influence of the 
 climate by the necessity of exerting themselves in procuring these 
 provisions, and by their frequent predatory and travelling excur- 
 sions, which produced a healthy excitement, and with it an easy 
 digestion of even this crude diet." Dieffenbach's Travels in New 
 Zealand, 1843, vol. ii, pp. 17, 18. 
 
 Fish is the principal food of the inhabitants, and, therefore, the 
 inland tribes are frequently in danger of perishing of famine. 
 " Their country produces neither sheep, nor goats, nor hogs, nor 
 cattle ; tame fowls they have none." 
 
 The vegetables eaten are fernroot, yams, clams, and potatoes. 
 
 They also eat dogs. Cook's First Voyage (Hawkesworth, vol. iii, 
 p. 447). 
 
 Roots of the fern are to the people what bread is to the inhab- 
 itants of Europe. 
 
 " The birds which sometimes serve them for a feast are chiefly 
 penguins and albatrosses." Ibid., p. 459. 
 
 THE NATIVES OF THE FRIENDLY ISLANDS. " Yams, plantains, 
 and cocoanuts compose the greatest part of their vegetable diet. 
 Of their animal food, the chief articles are hogs, fowls, fish, and all 
 sorts of shellfish ; but the lower people eat rats. 
 
 " Hogs, fowls, and turtle seem to be reserved for their chiefs." 
 Cook's Third Voyage, vol. i, p. 397. 
 
 THE INHABITANTS OF OTAHEITE. " Their food consists of pork, 
 poultry, dog's flesh, and fish ; bread-fruit, bananas, plantains, yams, 
 apples, and a sour fruit which, though not pleasant by itself, gives 
 an agreeable relish to roasted bread-fruit, with which it is frequently 
 beaten up." Wallis's Voyage, 1767 (Hawkesworth 's Voyages, vol. i, 
 pu 483). 
 
 " I cannot much commend the flavor of their fowls, but we all 
 ^agreed that a South Sea dog was little inferior to an English lamb ; 
 
VARIETIES OF FOOD CONSUMED BY DIFFERENT NATIONS. 451 
 
 their excellence is probably owing to their being kept up and fed 
 wholly upon vegetables." Cook's First Voyage (Hawkesworth's Voy- 
 ages, vol. ii, pp. 196-199). 
 
 " Their common diet is made up of at least nine-tenths of vege- 
 table food." 
 
 "Of animal food a very small proportion falls at any time to the 
 share of the lower class of people, and then it is either fish, sea-eggs, 
 <>r other marine productions." Cook's Third Voyage, vol. ii, pp. 148 
 and 154. 
 
 FEEJEE ISLANDS. " What all voyagers have said of the cocoa- 
 nut tree we found to be true, only, instead of its uses being exagge- 
 rated, as some have supposed, they are, in my opinion underrated. 
 A native may well ask if a land contains cocoanuts, for if it does 
 he is assured it will afford him abundance to supply his wants." 
 Wilkes, U. 8. Exploring Expedition, vol. iii, p. 334. 
 
 TANNA (one of the New Hebrides). " The produce of the island 
 is bread-fruit, plantains, cocoanuts, a fruit like a nectarine, yams, 
 tarra (a sort of potato), sugar-cane, wild figs, and some other fruits 
 and nuts. 
 
 " Hogs did not seem to be scarce, but we saw not many fowls. 
 These are the only domestic animals they have. 
 
 "I believe these people live chiefly on the produce of the land, 
 and that the sea contributes but little to their subsistence. Whether 
 this arises from the coast not abounding with fish, or from their being 
 bad fishermen, I know not; both causes, perhaps, concur." Cook's 
 Second Voyage, vol. ii, p. 77. 
 
 NEW CALEDONIA. The inhabitants "subsist chiefly on roots and 
 fish and the bark of a tree, which, I am told, grows also in the West 
 Indies. This they roast and are almost continually chewing. It 
 has a sweetish, insipid taste, and was liked by some of our people. 
 Water is their only liquor at least I never saw any other made use 
 of." Ibid., vol. ii, p. 123. 
 
 ISLAND OF SAVU (between Australia and Java). "The food of 
 these people consists of every tame animal in the country, of which 
 the hog holds the first place in their estimation, and the horse the 
 
452 PRACTICAL DIETETICS. 
 
 second; next to the horse is the buffalo, next to the buffalo their 
 poultry, and they prefer dogs and cats to sheep and goats. They are 
 not fond of fish." 
 
 The fan-palm is at certain times a succedaneum for all other food, 
 both to man and beast. A kind of wine called toddy is procured 
 from this tree. Cook's First Voyage (Efawkesworth, vol. iii, pp. 
 688, 689). 
 
 SANDWICH ISLANDS. " The food of the lower class of people con- 
 sists principally of fish and vegetables, such as yams, sweet potatoes, 
 tarrow, plantains, sugar-canes, and bread-fruit. To these the people 
 of a higher rank add the flesh of hogs and dogs, dressed in the same 
 manner as at the Society Islands. They also eat fowls of the same 
 domestic kind with ours; but they are neither plentiful nor much 
 esteemed by them." Cook's Third Voyage, vol. iii (by Capt. King], 
 p. 141. 
 
 "The principal food of the lower class of the population, and, in 
 fact, the favorite food of all classes, is poi" This " is a sort of paste 
 made from the root of the kalo (Arum esculentum), a water plant, 
 cultivated to a great extent throughout all the islands." "The kalo 
 is much used by the foreign residents as a substitute for potatoes, or 
 rather for bread, being for this purpose either boiled or fried." 
 
 " These (their fish) the natives prefer in a raw state, on the ground 
 that they lose their flavor in cooking, considering it as the richest 
 possible treat, when on their aquatic excursions, to haul a fish from 
 the water and literally eat it to death." Sir George Simpson's Jour- 
 ney Round the World, 1847, vol. ii, pp. 31-41. 
 
 CHINA. "The Chinese, again, have no .prejudice whatever as re- 
 gards food; they eat anything and everything from which they can 
 derive nutrition. Dogs, rats, mice, monkeys, snakes, sea-slug, rotten 
 eggs, putrefied fish, unhatched ducks and chickens." "Both in eat- 
 ing and drinking the Chinese are temperate, and are satisfied with 
 two daily meals; the morning rice about 10 A.M., and the evening 
 rice at 5 P.M. The only repugnance I have observed in China is to 
 the use of milk." "I never saw or heard of butter, cream, milk, or 
 whey being introduced at any Chinese table." Bowring (Statistical 
 Society Journal, vol. xx, p. 47). 
 
 " Their famous gin-sing, a name signifying the life of man (the 
 
VARIETIES OF FOOD CONSUMED BY DIFFERENT NATIONS. 453 
 
 Panax quinquefolium of Linnaeus), on account of its supposed in- 
 vigorating and aphrodisiac qualities, was for a length of time weighed 
 against gold. The sinewy parts of stags and other animals, with the 
 fins of sharks, as productive of the same effects, are purchased by the 
 wealthy at enormous prices ; and the nests that are constructed by 
 small swallows on the coasts of Cochin China, Cambodia, and other 
 parts of the East, are dearer even than some kinds of gin-sing. 
 Most of the plants that grow on the seashore are supposed to pos- 
 sess an invigorating quality, and are, therefore, in constant use as 
 pickles or preserves, or simply dried and cut into soups in the place 
 of other vegetables. The leaves of one of these, apparently a spe- 
 cies of that genus called by botanists fucus, after being gathered, are 
 steeped in fresh water and hung up to dry. A small quantity of 
 this weed boiled in water gives to it the consistence of a jelly, and 
 when mixed with a little sugar, the juice of an orange, or other fruit, 
 and set by to cool, I know of no jelly more agreeable or refreshing." 
 
 " The great officers of state make use of these and various other 
 gelatinous viands for the purpose of acquiring, as they suppose, a 
 proper degree of corpulency." Barrow's Travels in China, 1806, 
 pp. 551-2. 
 
 " The food of these people [Chinese laborers] is of the simplest 
 kind, namely, rice, vegetables, and a small portion of animal food, 
 such as fish or pork. But the poorest classes in China seem to un- 
 derstand the art of preparing their food much better than the same 
 classes at home. With the simple substances I have named the 
 Chinese laborer contrives to make a number of very savory dishes, 
 upon which he breakfasts or dines most sumptuously." Fortune's 
 Residence among the Chinese, p. 42. 
 
 JAPAN. Japan surpasses most other countries hitherto known to 
 us in the multiplicity of the articles of food to be met with in its 
 islands and the surrounding ocean. 
 
 " Rice, which is here exceedingly white and well tasted, supplies, 
 with the Japanese, the place of bread ; they eat it boiled with every 
 kind of provisions. 
 
 " Miso soup, boiled with fish and onions, is eaten by the common 
 people, frequently three times a day, at each of their customary 
 meals. Misos are not unlike lentils, and are small beans gathered 
 from the Dolichos soja. 
 
454 PRACTICAL DIETETICS. 
 
 " Fish is likewise a very common dish with the Japanese, both 
 boiled and fried in oil. Fowls, of which they have a great variety, 
 both wild and tame, are eaten in great abundance ; and the flesh of 
 whales, though coarse, is in several places, at least among the poorer 
 sort, a very common food." 
 
 " In preparing their victuals they make use of expressed oils of 
 several different sorts." " In their victuals they make a very plen- 
 tiful use of mushrooms, and the fruit of the Solanum melongena (egg 
 apple), as well as the roots of the Solanum esculentum (batatas), car- 
 rots, and several kinds of bulbous roots and of beans." 
 
 " Of oysters and other shell-fish several different sorts are eaten, 
 but always boiled or stewed, as likewise shrimps and crabs." 
 Tkunberg's Travels, 1795, vol. iv, pp. 35-39. 
 
 INDIA. From the earliest period the most general food in India 
 has been rice, which is still the most common food of nearly all the 
 hottest countries of Asia. It is not, however, so much used in the 
 south of Hindostan as formerly, and has been replaced by another 
 grain, called ragi. Buckle's History of Civilization , vol. i, pp. 64, 65. 
 
 " The principal food of the people of Hindostan is wheat, and in 
 the Deckan, jowar and bajra; rice, as a general article of subsis- 
 tence, is confined to Bengal and part of Behar, with the low country 
 along the sea all round the coast of the peninsula. In most parts 
 of India it is only used as a luxury. In the southern part of the 
 table-land of the Deckan the body of the people live on a small and 
 poor grain, called ragi (Cynosurus corocanus). Though these grains 
 each afford the principal supply to particular divisions, they are not 
 confined to their own tracts." Pulse, roots, and fruits are also 
 largely eaten. Elphinstone's History of India, vol. i, pp. 12, 13. 
 
 CEYLON. " The ordinary diet of the people is very meagre, con- 
 sisting of rice seasoned with salt, the chief condiment of the East, 
 and a few vegetables, flavored with lemon-juice and pepper, from 
 which they will make at any time a hearty meal. Beef is forbidden, 
 being an abomination. Flesh is scarce, and fish not always plenti- 
 ful, and when it is they prefer selling it to Europeans to keeping it 
 for themselves. It is considered anything but a reproach to be 
 sparing in diet, but rather a credit to live on hard fare and suffer 
 hunger. 
 
VARIETIES OF FOOD CONSUMED BY DIFFERENT NATIONS. 455 
 
 "The houdrew class are rather more luxurious, eating from five 
 or six sorts of food, one or two of which consist of meat or fish, and 
 the remainder of vegetable dishes. Their chief food, however, is 
 rice, the other dishes being used principally for a relish." Prid- 
 ham's Ceylon, vol. i, p. 263, 1849. 
 
 Almost endless cocoanut forests in Ceylon provide the native 
 with the most important necessary for supporting existence. 
 Voyage of the Novara, vol. i, p. 366. 
 
 EGYPT. Beef and goose constituted the principal part of the 
 animal food throughout Egypt. 
 
 " The advantages of a leguminous diet are still acknowledged by 
 the inhabitants of modern Egypt. This, in a hot climate, is far more 
 conducive to health than the constant introduction of meat, which is 
 principally used to flavor the vegetables cooked with it." 
 
 Vegetables form the principal food of the lower orders, and lentils 
 are a chief article of diet. Wilkinson's Ancient Egyptians, vol. ii, 
 pp. 368-388. 
 
 " The usual season for sowing the doura, which constitutes almost 
 the whole subsistence of the peasantry, is soon after the commence- 
 ment of the inundation." Hamilton's ^Egyptiaca, 1809, p. 419. 
 
 AFRICA. SAHARA. "Dates are not only the principal growth 
 of the Fezzan oases, but the main subsistence of their inhabitants. 
 All live on dates men, women, and children, horses, asses, and 
 camels, and sheep, fowls, and dogs." Richardson's Travels in the 
 Great Desert, 1848, vol. ii, p. 323. 
 
 NUBIA. " We have another example of a race subsisting entirely 
 on animal food, in the Arabs who inhabit the Nubian desert a dis- 
 trict which consists principally of hills varying from 1000 to 1800 
 feet high, and is destitute of all vegetable products suitable for human 
 food. Their camels subsist on the thorny shrubs growing among 
 the rocks ; and the milk and flesh of these animals (with salt) con- 
 stitute their sole ordinary food. On their occasional journeys into 
 Egypt to sell camels they usually bring home a small quantity of 
 wheat, which is never ground, but boiled into a kind of frumenty, 
 and eaten as a luxury, but it must not be reckoned as an ordinary 
 
456 PRACTICAL DIETETICS. 
 
 element in their diet." Odontological Society Transactions, vol. ii, 
 new series, p. 45. 
 
 ABYSSINIA. " An instinctive feeling, dependent upon the pleas- 
 ures of a state of warmth, has taught the Abyssinians that flesh of 
 animals eaten raw is a source of great physical enjoyment by the 
 cordial and warming effects upon the system produced by its diges- 
 tion, and to which I am convinced bons vivants more civilized than 
 the Abyssinians would resort if placed in their situation. Travellers 
 who have witnessed their ' brunde ' feasts can attest to the intoxicat- 
 ing effects of this kind of food, and they must have been astonished 
 at the immense quantities that can be eaten in the raw state com- 
 pared to that when the meat is cooked, and at the insensibility which 
 it sometimes produces." This raw meat, however, is considered a 
 luxury, and is only indulged in at festivals. Johnston's Travels in 
 Southern Abyssinia, vol. ii, p. 226, 1K44. 
 
 " The Abyssinians suffer considerably in their health from the 
 difficulty of obtaining salt." Ibid., vol. ii, p. 175. 
 
 DAHOMEY. "The diet is simple, consisting chiefly of messes of 
 meat and vegetable, mixed with palm oil and pepper, with which is 
 eaten a corn-cake, called kankee, or dab-a-dab. There is very little 
 variety. A mixture of beans, peppers, and palm oil, is made into a 
 cake and sold to travellers ; yams and cassada form the staples of 
 food. Foreign liquors are scarce and expensive ; and as palm wine 
 is forbidden by the king, the chief drinks are a very palatable malt 
 called pitto, and a sort of burgoo called ah-kah-sar." Forbes' s Da- 
 homey and the Dahomans, 1851, vol. i, pp. 29, 30. 
 
 " THE WARORI are small and shrivelled black savages. Their 
 diminutive size is, doubtless, the effect of scanty food continued 
 through many generations." " The principal articles of diet are 
 milk, meat, and especially fattened dogs 7 flesh, of which the chiefs 
 are inordinately fond, maize, holcus, and millet. Rice is not grown 
 in these arid districts." Burton's Lake Regions of Central Africa, 
 vol. ii, p. 273. 
 
 WAMRIMA OR COAST CLANS. "Their food is mostly ugali, the 
 thick porridge of boiled millet or maize flour, which represents the 
 
VARIETIES OF FOOD CONSUMED BY DIFFERENT NATIONS. 457 
 
 ' staff of life' in East Africa. They usually feed twice a day, in the 
 morning and at nightfall. They employ the cocoanut extensively ; 
 like the Arabs of Zanzibar, they boil their rice in the thick juice of 
 the rasped albumen kneaded with water, and they make cakes of the 
 pulp mixed with the flour of various grains. This immoderate use 
 of the fruit, which, according to the people, is highly refrigerant, 
 causes, it is said, rheumatic and other diseases. A respectable man 
 seen eating a bit of raw or undressed cocoanut would be derided by 
 his fellows." Ibid., 1860, vol. i, p. 35. 
 
 EAST AFRICANS. "With the savage and the barbarian food is 
 the all-in-all of life ; food is his thought by day, food is his dream 
 by night." 
 
 " The principal articles of diet are fish and flesh, grain and vege- 
 tables; the luxuries are milk and butter, honey, and a few fruits, as 
 bananas and Guinea-palm dates; and the inebrients are pombe or 
 millet-beer, toddy, and mawa or plantain wine." 
 
 " The Arabs assert that in these latitudes vegetables cause heart- 
 burn and acidity, and that animal food is the most digestible. The 
 Africans seem to have made the same discovery. A man who can 
 afford it almost confines himself to flesh, and considers fat the essen- 
 tial element of good living." Ibid., vol. ii, pp. 280-287. 
 
 CABANGO (a village situated on the banks of the Chihombo). 
 " The chief vegetable food is the manioc and lotsa meal. These con- 
 tain a very large proportion of starch, and when eaten alone for any 
 length of time produce most distressing heartburn. As we ourselves 
 experienced in coming north, they also cause a weakness of vision, 
 which occurs in the case of animals fed on pure gluten or amylace- 
 ous matter only. I now discovered that when these starchy sub- 
 stances are eaten along with a proportion of ground-nuts, which con- 
 tain a quantity of oil, no injurious effects follow." Livingstone's Mis- 
 sionary Travels and Researches in South Africa, 1857, p. 455. 
 
 KAFFIRS. "The principal diet of the Kaffir is milk, which he 
 eats rather than drinks, in a sour and curdled state. One good meal 
 a day, taken in the evening, consisting of the curdled milk and a 
 little millet, is almost all that he requires, and with this he is strong, 
 
458 PRACTICAL DIETETICS. 
 
 vigorous, and robust, proving that large quantities of animal food 
 are by no means necessary for the sustenance of the human frame." 
 A Kaffir will never touch pork. Fish is likewise abstained from 
 by him. He will eat the flesh of an ox, cooked or raw. Simmonds's 
 Curiosities of Food, p. 39. 
 
 BOSJESMANS. "The African Bushmen, who have few or no cattle, 
 live upon what they can get. Hunger compels them to eat every- 
 thing roots, bulbs, wild garlic, the core of aloes, the gum of acacias, 
 berries, the larvae of ants, lizards, locusts, and grasshoppers all are 
 devoured by these poor wanderers of the desert. Nothing comes 
 amiss to them." Ibid., p. 38. 
 
 HOTTENTOTS. "The victuals of the Hottentots are the flesh and 
 entrails of cattle, and of certain wild beasts, with fruits and roots of 
 several kinds." 
 
 They "rarely kill cattle for their own eating but when they are at 
 a loss for other sustenance. The cattle they devour between the 
 Andersmakens are for the most part such as die naturally, and they 
 reckon 'em, as I have said, very delicious eating." 
 
 "The entrails of cattle, and of such wild beasts as they kill for 
 food, they look upon as most exquisite eating. They boil 'em in 
 beast-blood, if they have any, to which they sometimes add milk. 
 This they look upon as a glorious dish. If they have not blood to 
 boil 'em in, they broil 'em. And this they do on the bare fire, for 
 they have no such thing as a gridiron." 
 
 " They eat everything in such a hurry, and with so much inde- 
 cency, that they look extremely wild and ravenous at meals, particu- 
 larly when they eat flesh, which being always serv'd up to 'em half 
 raw or more, they make a very furious use of their hands (where 
 they have no knives) and of their teeth to tear and devour it." 
 
 " Many are the sorts of fruits and roots the Hottentots eat, and 
 the fields up and down for the most part abound with 'em. These, 
 as I have said, are gather'd wholly by the women. In the choice of 
 roots and fruits for food they follow the hedgehog and the bavian, a 
 sort of ape, and will not taste of any sort which those creatures do 
 not feed upon" [for fear of poison]. 
 
 "The Hottentots have no set times for their meals. They have no 
 notion of dividing them, as we do, into breakfast, dinner, and sup- 
 
MIXED FOOD THE NATURAL DIET OF MAN. 459 
 
 per, but take 'em at random, as humor or appetite calls, without any 
 regard to the hour of the day or the night." 
 
 They "have traditionary laws, forbidding the eating of certain 
 meats, which they accordingly abstain from very carefully. Swine's 
 flesh and fishes that have no scales are forbidden to both sexes. The 
 eating of hares and rabbits is forbidden to the men, but not to the 
 women. The pure blood of beasts and flesh of the mole are forbid- 
 den to the women, but not to the men." 
 
 "The Hottentots, when they are in a great strait for food, will 
 devour the rings of leather which the women wear upon their legs. 
 They will likewise, in the same strait, eat old cast-off shoes [which 
 they lay up against a time of want]. 
 
 " Their manner of dressing 'em is this : They singe off the hair, 
 then, having soak'd 'em a little in water, broil 'em upon the bare 
 fire till they begin to wrinkle and run up, and then they devour 
 'em." 
 
 The Hottentots never eat salt among themselves, but " they are 
 not a little delighted with the salt and otherwise high-season'd 
 victuals of the Europeans." [Such food, however, disagrees with 
 them, and those who eat with the Europeans are subject to many 
 maladies, and don't attain a great age.] 
 
 " The ordinary drink of the Hottentots is milk and water." 
 
 "Men and women are doatingly fond of tobacco." Kolben's State 
 of the Cape of Good Hope, 1731, pp. 200-208. 
 
 Thus it is seen that a great diversity exists as regards the food 
 consumed by the human race in different parts of the globe. In- 
 stances are to be found where life is sustained upon a wholly vege- 
 table, a wholly animal, and a mixed diet. The mixed diet, however, 
 may be regarded as that which, in the plan of nature, is designed 
 for man's subsistence. It is upon this that he appears to attain the 
 highest state of physical development and intellectual vigor. It is 
 this which, certainly in temperate climates, he is led to consume by 
 genera] inclination, when circumstances allow the inclination to guide 
 him ; and, lastly, it is this which stands in conformity with the con- 
 struction of his teeth, and the anatomy of his digestive apparatus 
 in general. 
 
 Notwithstanding these considerations, there are those but few in 
 number, it is true who contend that vegetable food alone is best 
 
460 PRACTICAL DIETETICS. 
 
 adapted to meet our requirements. Under the style of vegetarians, 1 
 they act upon the principle they profess. It is true that vegetable 
 food, with its large proportion of non-nitrogenous matter, yields, in 
 a simple and direct manner, according to the views now entertained 
 and fully discussed in an earlier part of this work, the requisites for 
 force- as well as heat-production ; and in order to show that vege- 
 table food is better adapted than animal for contributing to the per- 
 formance of muscular work, reference has been made to our beasts 
 of burden, which, as is well known, belong almost exclusively to 
 the herbivorous tribe. That carnivorous animals, however, are not 
 unsuited for such purpose is proved in the case of dogs, which, in 
 some northern and other countries, are very extensively employed 
 for the performance of work. To regard man's maintenance too 
 closely in association with the mere performance of mechanical work 
 to look upon him, in other words, as though he were solely de- 
 signed for the conversion of food into mechanical power, is not, it 
 may be also said, taking a high view of his position. 
 
 Vegetarians, however, as has been remarked, are by no means nu- 
 merous. Indeed, the prevailing tendency, certainly in the England 
 of the present day, is to give an undue weight to the value of animal 
 food, and this has been encouraged by the teachings of Liebig re- 
 garding the origin of muscular power teachings which, during the 
 last few years, have been shown to be untenable. 
 
 Many people seem to look upon meat almost as though it formed 
 the only food that really nourished and supplied what is wanted for 
 work. The physician is constantly coming across an expression of 
 this view. Undoubtedly, a greater feeling of satiety is produced by 
 meat than by other food. It forms a greater stay to the stomach, 
 but this arises from the stomach constituting the seat of its digestion, 
 and a longer time being occupied before it passes on and leaves the 
 organ in an empty condition. 
 
 Against those who think that a large consumption of meat is a 
 sine qua non for the maintenance of health and strength, the experi- 
 
 1 Payen (Substances Alimentaires, 4me e"d., Paris, 1865, p. 561), after express- 
 ing himself in condemnation of restriction to vegetable products, pays: " Ce- 
 pendant en Angleterre, ce pays des excentricites, ou 1'on voit une belle et pro- 
 gressive civilisation marcher dans presque toutes les directions avec quelque 
 accompagnement de barbaric, une secte nombreuse tend a exclure la chair des 
 animaux du regime alimentaire de la population; elle preche d'exemple et fait 
 quelques proselytes." 
 
DIETETIC VALUE OF MEAT OFTEN OVERESTIMATED. 461 
 
 ence of vegetarians may be adduced. In the effects of the Scotch 
 prison dietaries corroborative testimony is afforded. Dr. J. B. Thom- 
 son, for instance, resident surgeon to the General Prison for Scotland, 
 writing in the " Medical Times and Gazette/ 7 vol. i, 1868, speaks in 
 favor, from ten years' experience, of a diet into which meat entered 
 very sparingly, and which contained instead a moderate amount of 
 milk. He says since the employment of the improved dietaries sanc- 
 tioned by the Secretary of State in 1854, the dietary in the General 
 Prison for Scotland for all adult male prisoners, under sentence of 
 nine, and not exceeding twenty-four months, had consisted of bread, 
 oatmeal, barley, 1 oz. of meat per diem, made into soup, with suc- 
 culent vegetables, and 20 oz. of skimmed or buttermilk. One day 
 in the week fish had been substituted for the soup. The health of 
 the prisoners had been uniformly good. Weighing on admission and 
 liberation had been carried out, and 88 per cent, were found to have 
 gained or maintained their weight. Again, as shown by one of Dr. 
 E. Smith's reports, it is not uncommon to find, amongst the agricul- 
 tural laborers of Scotland, that no meat is consumed, oatmeal and 
 milk forming their staple articles of diet. Further, Dr. Guy, 1 from 
 his observations in the case of English prisons, gives as one of his 
 deductions, " that we possess conclusive evidence of the sufficiency 
 of a diet from which meat is wholly excluded, and even of a diet 
 consisting wholly of vegetable matter." 
 
 I have introduced these particulars, not for the purpose of showing 
 that a diet without meat is to be considered desirable, but for 
 strengthening the argument that the consumption of meat to the 
 extent that many persons believe necessary for the maintenance of 
 health and strength is not in reality so. It has been before stated 
 that physiological considerations point to a mixed diet as being most 
 in harmony with our nature, and it may probably be considered that 
 the most suitable admixture contains about one-fourth, or rather 
 more, of animal food. With more animal food than this, the excre- 
 tory organs are unnecessarily taxed, and the system exposed to 
 contamination with impurities, for the nitrogen of the superfluous 
 nitrogenous matter has to be eliminated, and is found to escape, in 
 combination with other elements, under the form of certain excretory 
 
 1 " On Sufficient and Insufficient Dietaries, with especial reference to the 
 Dietaries of Prisoners." Journal of the Statistical Society, vol. xxvi, 1863, 
 p. 280. 
 
462 PRACTICAL DIETETICS. 
 
 products, without having contributed to any useful purpose. A de- 
 fective transformative and eliminative action will lead to a retention 
 of the products of metamorphosis of this superfluous nitrogenous 
 matter in the system, and there is reason to believe that gouty affec- 
 tions, and other morbid states, are sometimes induced in this way. 
 
 It has been pointed out, under the head of " Principles of Diet- 
 etics" (vide p. 441), how an admixture of animal and vegetable food 
 is better fitted to yield what is wanted than either consumed alone. 
 It is assumed that, for a man of medium stature and in moderate 
 work, about 300 grains of nitrogen and 4800 grains of carbon are 
 daily required to be introduced into the system with the food. Now, 
 this is yielded, as nearly as possible, in the case of both elements, by 
 2 Ibs. of bread and f Ib. of meat that is, 44 oz. of solid food, of 
 which about one-fourth consists of animal matter. If the lean of 
 meat only were consumed (for the proper adjustment could equally 
 be made with meat and fat), rather over 6 Ibs. would be needed to 
 furnish the requisite amount of carbon, and there would be a very 
 large surplus of nitrogen ; whilst if bread only were taken, the 
 amount necessary to supply the requisite quantity of nitrogen would 
 be rather more than 4 Ibs., and this contains nearly double the 
 amount of carbon demanded. 
 
 Whilst speaking of the proper food for man it may be stated that, 
 for the perfect and prolonged maintenance of health, it is necessary 
 that a portion of what is consumed should be in the fresh state. 
 This applies to both animal and vegetable kinds of food. Neither 
 one nor the other in a salted, cured, or dried state will serve to keep 
 the body in health. Former experience has but too painfully shown 
 that disease and death are induced by withholding all fresh articles 
 of food. There may be no lack of quantity, and yet the body shall 
 fail to be maintained in a proper state. Affections of the scorbutic 
 class are produced, which are only to be checked and removed by 
 the supply of some kind of fresh food, or, what has been found to 
 equally answer the purpose, the juice of some kind of succulent vege- 
 table or fruit. The efficacy of lemon and lime juice, for instance, is 
 well known in the cure and prevention of scurvy. 
 
DIGESTIBILITY OF ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE FOOD. 463 
 
 DIETETIC RELATIONS AND EFFECTS OF ANIMAL 
 AND VEGETABLE FOOD COMPARED. 
 
 Animal food, being identical in composition with the structures 
 to be built up and maintained, contains neither more nor less than 
 what is required for the growth and renovation of the body. It 
 might be assumed from this relation that nutrition upon a supply 
 of animal food would be carried on in a more simple way than nu- 
 trition upon vegetable food, where no such identity is observable, 
 and which contains various principles, such as lignin, cellulose, 
 starch, &c., which have no existence in the animal body. Nutrition, 
 however, is not effected in this simple manner. "With animal as 
 well as with vegetable food, a transformation has to take place be- 
 fore absorption can occur. 
 
 It was shown by Mulder, and confirmed by Liebig, that the nitro- 
 genous alimentary principles of the vegetable agree in composition 
 with those of the animal kingdom, and it has been ascertained by 
 physiologists that all alike undergo metamorphosis under the influ- 
 ence of the digestive process into a certain product, which is charac- 
 terized by the possession of properties, viz., those of great solubility 
 and diifusibility, that specially adapt it for transmission by absorp- 
 tion' from the alimentary canal into the bloodvessels, by which it is 
 conveyed to organs that elaborate and convert it into the nitrogenous 
 principles existing in and applied to the purposes of the system. 
 Thus, we elaborate for ourselves the constituent nitrogenous princi- 
 ples of our bodies out of a certain product of digestion, instead of 
 deriving them directly from our food, and this brings alimentation, 
 as far as these principles are concerned, to the same position, whether 
 upon animal or vegetable products. There is only this difference to 
 be noted that animal nitrogenous substances appear to be more 
 easily digested than vegetable. 
 
 With fats the same process occurs, whether they are of animal or 
 vegetable origin ; but, as with nitrogenous substances, it is believed 
 that animal fats are more easy of digestion or preparation for absorp- 
 tion than vegetable. 
 
 Nitrogenous substances and fat may be said to comprise the organic 
 portion of animal food. In vegetable food we encounter, besides, 
 such principles as starch, sugar, gum, lignin, and cellulose, which 
 
464 PRACTICAL DIETETICS. 
 
 belong to the group of carbohydrates. The two latter of these are 
 scarcely, if at all, susceptible of any digestion, certainly by the human 
 digestive organs, and, therefore, simply traverse the alimentary canal, 
 and add to the bulk of the alvine dejections. The others are suscep- 
 tible of utilization, and what digestion is required is, as in the case 
 also of fat, carried on in the intestine, and not in the stomach. The 
 physiological application of these principles, which are peculiar to 
 vegetable food, has previously received attention, and need not be 
 adverted to here. 
 
 Although animal food certainly taxes the stomach more than the 
 ordinary forms of vegetable food that we consume, as is well known 
 by those who have weak digestive power, yet, taking digestion and 
 assimilation as a whole, a more complex process has to be gone 
 through \vhere vegetable food has to be dealt with. Accordingly 
 we notice that the digestive apparatus of the herbivora is developed 
 upon a more extended scale than in the carnivora. The difference, 
 for instance, in the length of the intestinal canal is exceedingly 
 marked, and, as already mentioned, it is especially here where the 
 digestion of the principles that preponderate in vegetable products 
 occurs. A portion of the large intestine, also, known as the csecum, 
 which is not developed in the carnivora to any particular extent, 
 attains, in many of the herbivora, enormous dimensions, and it can 
 scarcely be doubted that this is designed for affording some kind of 
 extra assistance in the digestive process. 
 
 Looked at now in relation to their effects upon the system, there 
 are several points that call for consideration. 
 
 It is asserted by Lehmann that animal food increases the amount 
 of fibrin in the blood, and also raises the amount of the phosphates 
 and of the salts generally. A diet abounding in animal food appears 
 also to render the blood richer in red corpuscles. 
 
 Animal food with its preponderance of nitrogenous matter, tends 
 to produce firmness of muscle with an absence of superfluous fat. 
 Vegetable food, on the other hand, tends to increase the deposition of 
 fat. Messrs. Lawes and Gilbert found in their experiments that 
 animals consuming food containing an excessive quantity of nitro- 
 genous matter showed a greater disposition to increase in frame and 
 flesh. If we direct our attention to the animals around us, it is open 
 to common observation to notice that the vegetable feeders show a 
 
EFFECTS OF ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE FOOD COMPARED. 465 
 
 greater proneness to become fat than animal feeders. The animals 
 we fatten all belong to the herbivore, and even dogs and eats become 
 fatter on vegetable food a proof that it is more the nature of the 
 food than the kind of animal that makes the difference. Mr. Bant- 
 ing found that limiting his supply of vegetable food enabled him to 
 reduce his corpulence, and it is upon the application of this principle 
 that the system of " Bantingism " rests. 
 
 It appears from the experiments of Pettenkofer and Voit that 
 increasing the proportion of nitrogenous matter in the food deter- 
 mines an increased absorption of oxygen by the lungs. Nitrogenous 
 matter it is which starts the changes occurring in the system, and 
 the suggestion presents itself that upon the amount of nitrogenous 
 matter may to some extent depend the application of oxygen to the 
 oxidation of fatty matter. Under this view the success of Mr. Bant- 
 ing's system may be due, not exclusively to a restriction of the prin- 
 ciples that tend to produce fat, but in part, also, to an increased oxi- 
 dizing action promoted by the large amount of nitrogenous matter 
 consumed. 
 
 It has been observed that the amount of urine secreted is notably 
 influenced by the nature of the food. Bischoff and Voit noticed,, 
 in the case of the dog, that, upon giving a liberal supply of meat 
 after the animal had been previously subsisting upon vegetable food, 
 the urine was greatly increased in quantity. A striking example is 
 also afforded by a series of experiments by Mr. Savory upon rats. 1 
 Three pairs of rats that had been fed upon wheat were placed, one 
 pair upon non-nitrogenous food, a second pair upon lean meat, and 
 the third pair upon mixed food. The urine was collected for the 
 twenty-four hours upon three occasions, at intervals of a week, and 
 each time the urine associated with the meat diet was in very large 
 excess of what it had been previously, and of that derived from the 
 other animals. The amount of nitrogenous matter passed, in accord- 
 ance with what might have been expected from the* results that have 
 been referred to in a previous part of this work, bore a correspond- 
 ing relation, and it may be that the two stand in the position of cause 
 and effect. The effete nitrogenous matter, in escaping, may carry 
 with it a flow of water. The extra quantity of water eliminated was 
 met by an extra quantity of fluid consumed. 
 
 > Laneet, vol. i, 1863, p. 418, 
 30 
 
466 PRACTICAL DIETETICS. 
 
 Besides the influence just referred to on the amount of urine, the 
 solid matter is likewise, to a marked extent, influenced by the nature 
 of the food. There is a well-known augmentation in urea, &c., pro- 
 duced by the ingestion of animal food, and, at the same time, an in- 
 crease in the sulphates and phosphates. The reaction of the urine 
 is also modified. Under an animal diet it is strongly acid, whilst a 
 vegetable diet disposes -to alkalinity. During fasting, it is true, the 
 urine of the herbivora is acid, but after food its reaction is alkaline. 
 Bernard 1 has dilated upon this point, which must be regarded as 
 being of considerable importance with reference to the therapeutic 
 employment of food. He mentions an experiment upon himself, in 
 which, from previously presenting a strongly acid reaction, his urine 
 was rendered alkaline in the course of twenty-four hours by restric- 
 tion to a vegetable diet. In the sucking calf, as in the carnivora, 
 the urine is acid, whilst it afterwards assumes the character belong- 
 ing to the herbivora. 
 
 Animal food appeases hunger more thoroughly than vegetable, 
 and satisfies longer. In other words, it gives, as general experience 
 will confirm, greater stay to the stomach. It also exerts a greater 
 stimulating effect upon the system generally. Accounts are related 
 of the stimulant properties of animal food having sufficed, in certain 
 instances, as after starvation and in those accustomed only to a vege- 
 table diet, to produce a state resembling intoxication. Dr. Dundas 
 Thompson 2 quotes a narrative of the effects of a repast of meat on 
 some native Indians, whose customary fare, as is usual amongst the 
 tribe, had consisted only of vegetable food. " They dined most 
 luxuriously, stuffing themselves as if they were never to eat again. 
 After an hour or two, to his [the traveller's] great surprise and 
 amusement, the expression of their countenances, their jabbering and 
 gesticulations, showed clearly that the feast had produced the same 
 effect as any intoxicating spirit or drug. The second treat was at- 
 tended with the same result." 
 
 Dr. Druitt, in describing the properties of a liquid essence of beef, 3 
 which had been prepared according to his instructions, speaks of it 
 as exerting a rapid and remarkable stimulating power over the brain, 
 
 1 Physiologie Experimental, tome ii, p. 459. Paris, 1856. 
 
 2 Experimental Researches o-n the Food of Animals, p. 24. London, 1846. 
 
 3 Trans, of the Obstetrical Society, vol. iii, 1861, p. 143. 
 
AMOUNT OF FOOD REQUIRED. 467 
 
 and introduced it to notice as an auxiliary to, and partial substitute 
 for, brandy, in all cases of great exhaustion or weakness, attended 
 with cerebral depression or despondency. Correspondingly stimu- 
 lating properties have also been recognized as an effect of the copious 
 employment of Liebig's Extractum Carnis. 
 
 The general character of an animal is related to its food. Liebig 
 says 1 it is essentially their food which makes carnivorous animals in 
 general bolder and more combative than the herbivora which are 
 their prey. "A bear kept at the Anatomical Museum of Giessen 
 showed a quiet, gentle nature, as long as he was fed exclusively on 
 bread, but a few days 7 feeding on meat made him vicious and even 
 quite dangerous. That swine grow irascible by having flesh food 
 given them is well known so much so, indeed, that they will then 
 attack men." 
 
 It must be considered as a part of the plan of Nature that this re- 
 lation should exist. It need not be that the animal food gives 
 origin to the ferocity, but that the ferocity exists to enable the 
 animal to obtain its food. In the case where a bloodhound is ren- 
 dered dangerous by being fed upon flesh, and also in Liebig's cita- 
 tion, the result need not be attributable to the food otherwise than 
 by the taste of it arousing the natural instinct of the animal. 
 
 PROPER AMOUNT OF FOOD. 
 
 The amount of food required depends upon the existing circum- 
 stances. No fixed quantity can be given as suited to all cases. 
 Variations in external temperature, the amount of work performed, 
 and individual peculiarities, occasion a variation in the amount of 
 material consumed in the body ; and in a properly arranged diet 
 the food should be adjusted accordingly. For this adjustment 
 Nature has provided by the instinct or sensation with which we are 
 endowed. Appetite, or, in its more exalted character, hunger, ap- 
 prises us that food is required, and produces an irresistible desire to 
 seek and obtain its supply. By attending to its dictates a knowl- 
 edge is also afforded of the proper amount to be consumed. We 
 may ascertain by observation the precise amount by weight that is 
 necessary to keep the body in a properly nourished condition, but 
 
 1 Lancet, vol. i, 1869, p. 186. 
 
468 PRACTICAL DIETETICS. 
 
 Nature's guide was in operation before weights and scales were in- 
 vented. Speaking of the natural state, it is only where the strict 
 margin, on the score of economy, as in the feeding of large bodies 
 of men, has to be regarded, that a process of weighing need be em- 
 ployed. 
 
 In taking appetite as a guide in regulating the supply of food, it 
 must not be confounded with a desire to gratify the palate. When 
 food is not eaten too quickly and the diet is simple, a timely warning 
 is afforded by the sense of satisfaction experienced as soon as enough 
 has been taken ; and not only does a disinclination arise, but the 
 stomach even refuses to allow this point to be far exceeded. With 
 a variety of food, however, and especially food of an agreeable char- 
 acter to the taste, the case is different. Satiated with one article, 
 the stomach is still ready for another, and thus, for the gratification 
 of taste, and not the appeasement of appetite, men are tempted to 
 consume far more than is required, and also, it must be said, often 
 far more than is advantageous to health. 
 
 Whatever the precise immediate cause of the sensation constitut- 
 ing appetite, the source of it is a want of solid matter in the system. 
 Now, this want will vary with the consumption going on, .which is 
 greater under exposure to cold and during the performance of work 
 than under opposite conditions ; and in harmony it is noticeable that 
 the appetite is sharpened and diminished accordingly. The dic- 
 tates thus afforded should be obeyed. They are not likely to be 
 disregarded when the appetite is increased, and they should like- 
 wise be complied with when it is diminished. Concern is some- 
 times experienced at the falling off of the appetite that occurs during 
 the heat of summer in our own climate, and that is noticed by Eu- 
 ropeans on visiting the tropics, and attempts are sometimes made to 
 counteract it by the employment of condiments of a stimulating 
 nature to the stomach. This, however, is clearly an error, and one 
 which is calculated to lead to baneful results, as in other instances 
 where Nature's indications are set aside in favor of artificial devices. 
 
 Thirst is an expression of the want of liquid matter in the system, 
 as hunger is of that of solid. It leads us to adjust the supply to 
 the loss occurring. 
 
 Under the head of Principles of Dietetics reference has been made 
 (vide p. 428 et seq.) to the amount of food found by observation to 
 be consumed by various classes of persons. As already mentioned, 
 
AMOUNT OF FOOD REQUIRED. 469 
 
 no fixed amount can be given as suited to all individuals and condi- 
 tions. In Moleschott's representation of a model diet (vide p. 422) 
 the daily quantity of food, estimated in a water-free or anhydrous 
 state, amounts to about 23 oz. To represent the amount of food in 
 the ordinary state to which this corresponds, we must allow for the 
 water present. According to the table at p. 427 bread contains 37 
 per cent, of water, cooked meat 54 per cent., and vegetables up- 
 wards of 70 per cent. Say the food consumed contained 45 per 
 cent, of water probably a low estimate the 23 oz. of water-free 
 material would correspond to 42 oz. of ordinary food. For people 
 engaged in laborious occupations, judging from Playfair's tables of 
 the food actually consumed, this is evidently none too much, and is 
 even under the amount actually consumed by many. For people, 
 how r ever, who lead a sedentary and indoor mode of life considerably 
 less will suffice. I find from observation of my own diet, my height 
 being rather over 5 ft. 9 in., and weight rather more than 10 stone, 
 that 30 oz. fully cover what I ordinarily consume, the food consist- 
 ing of the usual admixture of animal and vegetable articles, and 
 being weighed in the state in which it is placed on the table ; 8 oz. 
 for breakfast, 6 for luncheon, and 16 for dinner, give me the out- 
 side of what I feel I require. 
 
 The middle diet at Guy's Hospital, which is the diet on which the 
 majority of the patients are placed, gives a mean daily allowance of 
 '2 { .i\ oz. of solid food, apart from the liquids supplied. Taking solids 
 and liquids together, and calculating from the composition of the 
 articles according to the table at p. 427, the water-free material 
 amounts to 16J oz. The food actually supplied consists of 4 oz. of 
 meat in the cooked state, 12 oz. of bread, 8 oz. of potatoes, 1 oz. of 
 butter, } oz. of sugar, J oz. of tea, and, say 3 J oz. (8 oz. three times 
 a week is the exact quantity) of rice pudding made of rice, sugar, 
 and milk. Besides this solid food there is a daily allowance of half 
 a pint of porter and 2J oz. of milk, with half a pint of mutton broth 
 when boiled meat is given, which is four times a week. Experience 
 shows this diet to be sufficient for bodily maintenance under a con- 
 dition of freedom from labor. A conclusion may be drawn, as the 
 subsistence on it often extends over a considerable period, and 
 amongst the inmates there are many in an ordinary state as far as 
 their constitutional condition is concerned, some local complaint, un- 
 affecting their general health, having led to their admission. 
 
470 PRACTICAL DIETETICS. 
 
 Besides treating of the gross amount of food, attention must be 
 given to the relative proportion of the constituent alimentary princi- 
 ples. Unless these are so related as to be adjusted to the demands 
 of the system, more food is required to be taken than would other- 
 wise be the case, and waste is the result. As a deduction from a re- 
 view of the dietaries referred to in a preceding part of this work 
 (vide p. 428 et seq.), the following summary account may be given of 
 the respective amounts of the alimentary principles required. The 
 table furnished at p. 427 will supply the means for determining the 
 constitution of a given diet in respect of alimentary principles. 
 
 The nitrogenous matter should constitute about one-fifth of the 
 water-free food, and, under medium conditions, from 4 to 5 oz. may 
 be looked upon as the quantity that should be supplied daily. With 
 an inactive life much less will suffice, viz., 3 or 3J oz. In Playfair's 
 subsistence-diet (p. 428) the quantity is rather under 2J oz. Ex- 
 posure to hard work leads, judging from observation, to the instinc- 
 tive consumption of food yielding a full supply of nitrogenous mat- 
 ter. In some of the collected dietaries the nitrogenous matter 
 amounts to from 5 to 6 oz. 
 
 It has been mentioned that about one-fifth of the water-free food 
 should consist of nitrogenous matter, and this, in the case of bread 
 and meat, is aiforded by an admixture of about one part of animal 
 with three parts of vegetable material. Now, such an admixture, as 
 before shown (p. 441), is also that which is adjusted to replace with- 
 out waste the carbon and nitrogen passing out of the system. It 
 was pointed out that if bread alone, or meat alone, were consumed in 
 order to supply the requisite quantity of both elements, a consider- 
 able waste of either one or the other would in each case ensue, be- 
 cause in the articles of food taken separately they are not in the 
 proper proportion to balance the loss occurring. For example, 2 Ibs. 
 of bread and f Ib. of lean uncooked beef contain, as nearly as possi- 
 ble, the amounts of carbon and nitrogen represented as escaping 
 from the body under average circumstances. In this admixture, 
 amounting to 44 oz., the meat (12 oz.) forms, with only a slight ex- 
 cess, a fourth of the whole; and if we look to the composition of it, 
 we find that in a w^ater-free state about one-fifth consists of nitro- 
 genous matter. The following representation of the amounts of the 
 alimentary principles contained in it. calculated from the table fur- 
 nished at p. 427, will be seen to bear out this statement : 
 
AMOUNT OF FOOD REQUIRED. 471 
 
 Bread' 2 Ib, T-.I. 
 
 Nitrogenous mutter, . . 2 592 oz. 2.316 oz. = 4.908 oz. 
 
 Fat, ...... 0.512 " 0.432 " = 0.944 " 
 
 Carbohydrates, . . . 16.320 " = 16.320 " 
 
 Mineral matter, . . . 0.736 0.612 " = 1.348 " 
 
 23.520 " 
 
 It may be noticed, further, that the composition of these 2 Ibs. of 
 bread and f Ib. of meat agrees pretty closely with that of the model 
 diet of Moleschott (p. 422), framed upon grounds of quite a different 
 nature. The only difference of any account is in the respective 
 amounts of fat and carbohydrates; but what is deficient in the one 
 is balanced by a surplus in the other, and, in an alimentary point 
 of view, the two are capable, to a certain extent, of replacing each 
 other. 
 
 Fat appears to influence favorably the assimilation of the other 
 principles, and to be intimately concerned in tissue formation and 
 nutrition, besides contributing to force-production ; and it is believed 
 that a deficiency of it in the food is sometimes the source of the de- 
 velopment of the scrofulous and strumous states. The supply, it 
 may be considered, ought not to be less, even with inactivity, than 
 one ounce daily, and the composition of dietaries usually shows con- 
 siderably more. About 2J oz. appears to form the average amount 
 in the diets of various working classes. 
 
 The carbohydrates may be looked upon as forming a supplemen- 
 tary group of principles. They have no existence in an animal diet, 
 and in a mixed diet should be in such quantity as to fill up what is 
 defective for force-production heat and mechanical work in the 
 other principles. Looking at the various dietaries of mixed food to 
 which the attention of the reader has been already directed, and 
 leaving out of consideration the lowest or subsistence diet, the supply 
 of carbohydrates is seen to range in amount from between 14 and 15 
 to 22 oz. per diem. 
 
 . The amount of mineral matter required may be set down at from 
 f oz. to 1 oz. daily. 
 
 Water is needed beyond that contained in our food. It may be 
 reckoned that we receive from about 15 to 25 oz. of fluid into the 
 system mixed with the solid food that is consumed ; and besides this, 
 it is advisable that about 60 to 70 oz. or even in some cases more, 
 
472 PRACTICAL DIETETICS. 
 
 should be taken. The average amount of urine passed daily may 
 be said to be about 50 oz., and there is a considerable loss of fluid 
 from the skin and the lungs. To meet these sources of elimination, 
 compensation must be effected by a corresponding ingestion, and, as 
 long as the fluid taken is devoid of noxious properties, a free supply 
 must be regarded as beneficial, forming, as it does, a means of carry- 
 ing off impurities from the system. Perhaps the benefit derivable 
 from a course of water treatment is often, in a great measure, due to 
 this cause. I am strongly inclined to think so. 
 
 Having spoken of the proper amount of food, let me next direct 
 attention to the effects produced by a deficiency and excess in its 
 supply. I may commence by saying that there is far more evil to 
 be encountered attributable to too much food being taken than to 
 too little. It is only in exceptional cases that the latter kind is met 
 with ; whilst the amount of disorder, disease, and likewise even cur- 
 tailment of life, attributable to excess in eating and drinking, is im- 
 measurably great. Where the living is plain and simple, and the 
 dictates of Nature are followed, there is no need for weights and 
 scales, but how many are there who would not be in an infinitely 
 better state if they lived upon a weighed and measured allowance 
 of food and drink. Seeking for what is pleasurable instead of 
 natural, the promptings of instinct are overruled, and it is the in- 
 clination instead of appetite that regulates what is consumed. 
 Were it not for the temptation to exceed, induced by the refine- 
 ments of the culinary art, the physician's aid would be much more 
 rarely required. 
 
 Amongst the effects arising from excess in feeding may be men- 
 tioned an oppressed stomach, deranged digestion, a loaded tongue, 
 vitiated secretions, with disordered action of the bowels, a gorged 
 liver, obesity, plethora and its consequences, a sluggish brain and 
 troubled sleep, surcharged urine, leading to deposits, perverted nu- 
 trition from the preternatural accumulation of products of disintegra- 
 tion in the system, and, as a concomitant, gouty and rheumatijc 
 affections. Such, and others too, are the ills arising from overfeed- 
 ing. Excess in animal food is worse than excess in vegetable food, 
 especially when combined with sedentary habits. It is true, vege- 
 table food specially leads to the production of obesity, and this may 
 amount to such as to constitute a serious evil, but, being less charged 
 
EFFECTS OF EXCESS AND DEFICIENCY OF FOOD. 473 
 
 with nitrogenous matter, there is less of the nitrogenous products of 
 disintegration for elimination products which, unless oxidized and 
 .metamorphosed to a full extent by free exercise, and so placed in a 
 favorable position for discharge, are apt to accumulate in the system, 
 and thence impair the performance of the functional operations of 
 life. Some of the phenomena of gout, for example, are due to this 
 defective metamorphosis and retention of nitrogenous products within 
 the system. 
 
 The effects of privation and insufficiency of food constitute the 
 well-known phenomena comprised under the terms inanition and 
 starvation. As we can have no manifestation of vital properties 
 without chemical change, a consumption of material must be con- 
 stantly going on, and, unless a supply equal to the loss is provided, 
 a progressive wasting of the body and failure of its powers must 
 ensue. These, therefore, form the necessary concomitants of starva- 
 tion, and it is only a question of time for the exhaustion of material 
 to proceed to a point sufficient to render the continuance of life im- 
 possible. 
 
 From the elaborate series of experiments performed by Chossat, 1 
 it has been shown that the immediate cause of death from starvation 
 is a decline of the animal temperature. He found during the first 
 portion of the period a gradual, but not very extensive, fall. Then 
 it diminished more rapidly, and when it reached about 29 or 30 
 (Fahr.) below the normal point the animal died. A state of torpor 
 preceded death, and it was noticed by Chossat that when this stage 
 was reached a restoration of consciousness and muscular power could 
 be effected by exposing the subject of experiment to artificial warmth, 
 and thereby raising its temperature. Some of his animals were thus 
 rescued from impending death, and afterwards completely restored 
 by supplying food. In fact, the operations of life can only be carried 
 on that is, in the case of ourselves and other warm-blooded animals 
 within a certain range of temperature, and if from any cause, either 
 external or internal, this range is passed, no matter whether on the 
 side of excess or deficiency, death is the inevitable consequence. 
 
 The usual length of time that life continues under complete absti- 
 nence from food and drink may be put down at from eight to ten 
 days. Longer periods, however, in exceptional instances, have been 
 
 1 " Recherches Experimentalcs sur 1'Inanition." Paris, 1843. 
 
474 PRACTICAL DIETETICS. 
 
 noticed, and the duration, indeed, is liable to be influenced by the 
 surrounding circumstances, such as the amount of available material 
 accumulated in the system at the commencement of starvation, the 
 surrounding temperature, and the state of the atmosphere as regards 
 the amount of moisture present. 
 
 It will be readily understood that, other circumstances being equal, 
 the greater the amount of combustible material to draw upon, the 
 longer will the capacity exist for maintaining the heat of the body, 
 and with it life. An instructive instance bearing upon this point is 
 afforded by the fat pig referred to at p. 101. In Chossat's experi- 
 ments the animals provided with most fat lived the longest, and it 
 was, moreover, found that they lived until the fat was nearly ex- 
 hausted. It seemed, indeed, as though the approach of death was 
 coincident with the consumption of nearly all the disposable combus- 
 tible material. The animals lost, as an average, about 40 per cent, 
 in weight in other words, about two-fifths of their original weight 
 disappeared before the occurrence of death. In the case of the fat 
 of the body, taken alone, the loss amounted to upwards of 90 per 
 cent. The waste of this material, it was found, far exceeded that of 
 any other. 
 
 As regards the surrounding temperature, it is a well-known fact 
 that exposure to cold in conjunction with starvation very much ac- 
 celerates death. 
 
 The presence of moisture in the atmosphere to some extent favors 
 the prolongation of life, and evidently by diminishing the exhalation 
 , j of water from the body. Persons, for instance, have been excavated 
 alive after confinement in a mine, or have continued alive whilst 
 placed under suchlike circumstances, for periods considerably longer 
 than the usual time. 
 
 In the absence of both food and drink, the distress from thirst is 
 far greater than that from hunger. With access to water and a very 
 small supply of food, life may be prolonged for an extensive period. 
 
 The Weigh fasting girl, about whom so much excitement prevailed 
 in 1869, lived exactly eight days from the time that she was placed 
 under systematic inspection. The supply of food under which, it 
 may be assumed, she had for some time previously subsisted had, 
 doubtless, been very irregular and scanty, but then she lay in bed 
 and passed her time in a perfectly quiescent state conditions that 
 would diminish, to the fullest extent, the waste or consumption of 
 
EFFECTS OF DEFICIENCY OF FOOD. 475 
 
 material. The deception was so successfully carried out, and it was 
 so stoutly affirmed by the parents of the girl that she had existed for 
 many weeks without touching food, that many believed it as a fact, 
 and she was daily visited by numbers of persons from far and near. 
 So much wonder and excitement did the case create, that it was 
 ultimately arranged to place the girl under such supervision as 
 would secure that no access to food existed. The problem, in reality, 
 that was thus systematically arranged to solve was tantamount to 
 whether a fire could continue to burn without being replenished with 
 fuel. The watching commenced at 4 P.M. on Thursday, December 
 the 9th, and the girl died at 3 P.M. on Friday, the 17th. She was 
 cheerful, and nothing extraordinary presented itself during the first 
 part of the period. As time advanced, it was found that she could 
 not be kept warm. She then sank into a state of torpor, from which 
 she could not be roused. This occurred only a short time before 
 death. 
 
 The most prominent symptoms of starvation, says Dr. Carpenter, 1 
 as they have been noted in the human subject, are as follows : In 
 the first place, severe pain in the epigastrium, which is relieved on 
 pressure; this subsides after a day or two, but is succeeded by a feel- 
 ing of weakness and sinking in the same region ; and an insatiable 
 thirst supervenes, which, if water be withheld, thenceforth becomes 
 the most distressing symptom. The countenance becomes pale and 
 cadaverous; the eyes acquire a peculiar wild and glistening stare; 
 a general emaciation soon manifests itself. The body then exhales 
 a peculiar fetor, and the skin is covered with a brownish, dirty- 
 looking, and offensive secretion. The bodily strength rapidly de- 
 clines; the sufferer totters in walking; his voice becomes weak, and 
 he is incapable of the least exertion. The mental powers exhibit a 
 similar prostration; at first there is usually a state of stupidity, which 
 gradually increases to imbecility, so that it is difficult to induce the 
 sufferer to make any effort for his own benefit ; and on this a state 
 of maniacal delirium frequently supervenes. Life terminates, either 
 calmly, by gradually increasing torpidity, or, as occasionally hap- 
 pens, suddenly, in a convulsive paroxysm. 
 
 In many respects the effects on the brain have a close resemblance 
 to those produced by exposure to cold. In consequence of the 
 
 1 Principles of Human Physiology, 4th ed., p. 396. 
 
476 PRACTICAL DIETETICS. 
 
 torpor of the brain and intellectual faculties, it is often difficult to 
 obtain from the sufferer information regarding his state. Instead of 
 showing any anxiety to communicate the particulars about himself, 
 or to relate the privations he has undergone, he generally shows an 
 unwillingness to be questioned, lies in a listless or lethargic state, 
 taking but little notice of what is going on, and seeming desirous 
 only of -not being disturbed. It is of the deepest importance that 
 such symptoms should be recognized by the medical practitioner in 
 their proper light, and that they should not be mistaken for the 
 effects of narcotism produced by drinking. 
 
 Sudden transitions are always prejudicial, and where abstinence 
 has prevailed for some days the return to a supply of food should be 
 practiced with caution. At first the supply should be very limited, 
 and then gradually increased. There is reason to believe that death, 
 which might otherwise have been averted, has been, in some in- 
 stances, occasioned by the too free ingestion of food and fluid when 
 succor has been obtained. The system should have time to accom- 
 modate itself to the new condition. No matter whether a change be 
 from the natural to the unnatural or from the unnatural to the 
 natural state, it is always a sudden change that is especially difficult 
 to be borne. 
 
 TIMES OF EATING. 
 
 Next to the quality and quantity of food, attention must be given 
 to the mode of taking it. That the food should be taken with regu- 
 larity, and at proper periods, is almost as necessary for the main- 
 tenance of health and a vigorous state of the energies as that it 
 should be of a proper nature and in proper quantity. Frequently 
 recurring instances present themselves to the medical practitioner of 
 evils arising from the non-observance of the precepts that should be 
 followed in reference to this point. 
 
 We know that a certain amount of food is required to be con- 
 sumed daily in order that the body may be properly maintained. 
 Discarding for the moment the practices of mankind, let us look at 
 the evidence that can be adduced to enable us to arrive at a rational 
 determination of the manner in which it is best that our food should 
 be taken. 
 
 Carnivorous animals appear to thrive best upon food taken at 
 long intervals. It is the custom in zoological menageries to feed the 
 
TIMES OF EATING. 477 
 
 wild animals once a day only, and it is stated that they have been 
 found, by observation, to do better when fed in this way than upon 
 the same allowance of food given to them twice daily. Now, if we 
 look to- the habits of these animals, we notice that their mode of 
 existence entails the occurrence of more or less protracted intervals 
 between the times of feeding. Their supply is precarious and irregu- 
 lar, having to be captured, as the opportunity presents itself; by the 
 exercise of stealth and cunning. The food obtained is voraciously 
 devoured to repletion, and then, from the heavy tax imposed upon 
 the powers by the loaded state of the stomach, the animal remains 
 for some time in a sluggish or inactive and drowsy condition. 
 
 Such is the result where long intervals elapse between the periods 
 of consumption of food. From the nature of the circumstances, it 
 is a matter of necessity with these animals that this should be their 
 mode of feeding. There are those amongst mankind, however, who 
 have been satisfied with one meal a day. But is it in conformity 
 with our nature that our food should be taken in this way? In 
 proportion to the length of the interval, so must be the amount of 
 food consumed at one time, and in proportion to this so will be the 
 degree and duration of the inaptitude for the performance of any 
 bodily or mental work. The feast of the glutton places him for 
 awhile in the position of the brute, that is by nature compelled to 
 fill its stomach to repletion when the opportunity occurs. The 
 monks of the monastery of La Trappe, near Nantes, says Dr. Combe, 
 make it a part of their religion to eat only once a day. While travel- 
 ling upon a French diligence journey, Dr. Combe was thrown in 
 contact for three days with one of the order, and was surprised at 
 the store of food consumed at each daily meal a store appearing 
 " sufficient to last a week instead of a day." But, as in the case of 
 the boa constrictor, under similar circumstances, remarks Dr. Combe, 
 " a deep lethargy immediately succeeded, and it was not till four or 
 five hours afterwards that his almost apoplectic features became 
 again animated and expressive." 
 
 Now, looking to our relation to the supply of food, which involves 
 no necessity for protracted intervals between the times of eating, and 
 to the fact that our mental capacity constitutes our characteristic at- 
 tribute, and that this is notably blunted after repletion of the stom- 
 ach to the extent incurred where only one meal a day is taken, we 
 
478 PRACTICAL DIETETICS. 
 
 have physiological grounds for dismissing from consideration such a 
 mode of life as unsuited to our position. 
 
 With the vegetable feeders, we pass to an illustration of the other 
 extreme. These animals, constantly within reach of their food as 
 they are, pass a considerable portion of their time in feeding. We 
 do not find that they gorge themselves at a repast so as to become 
 placed in the same inactive condition as the carnivorous animal, but 
 that they, instead, leisurely and frequently partake of the food 
 within their reach. 
 
 Is this, it may next be asked, the mode of taking food that is 
 adapted for mankind ? To consume what is eaten in small quanti- 
 ties and at frequently repeated intervals would, doubtless, serve our 
 purpose as far as alimentation is concerned, but experience shows 
 that it is not necessary, and much of our usefulness would be lost 
 by the time devoted to the consumption of food. Indeed, as we 
 are designed by Nature for a mixed diet, so it may be considered 
 that the most appropriate mode of taking food is something between 
 that adopted by the animal and the vegetable feeder and this hap- 
 pens to accord with the general practice of the majority of nations. 
 The prevailing custom and, doubtless, this has arisen from instinct 
 and from what has been found by experience to be best suited to 
 our requirements is for three meals of a substantial nature to be 
 taken during the day, at intervals of about five or six hours 7 dura-, 
 tion. Observation has shown that an ordinary meal is digested and 
 has passed on from the stomach in about four hours 7 time, and thus, 
 according to the precept laid down, the stomach is allowed to re- 
 main for a short period in a state of quiescence before it is filled 
 with food again. 
 
 It is important that we should break our fast, or, as the term 
 goes, " breakfast/ 7 without much delay after rising. The length of 
 time that has elapsed since the last meal of the previous day leads 
 to a demand for food for the ordinary purposes of life. The system, 
 moreover, at a period of fasting as experience has but too plainly, 
 and it may be said, on some occasions, painfully testified is more 
 prone to be perniciously influenced by infection, miasmata, exposure 
 to cold, and other morbid conditions, and less adapted for sustaining 
 fatigue than at any other time. In any case, therefore, where expo- 
 sure to influences of this kind has to be undergone, it becomes of the 
 deepest importance that food should be previously taken. 
 
TIMES OF EATING. 479 
 
 The size of the meal should be regulated by collateral circum- 
 stances. If food has been taken late in the previous evening, the 
 appetite is not great for food in the morning. Where considerable 
 exertion has to be afterwards sustained, a substantial meal may be 
 looked upon as advisable. Otherwise, however, a light meal will 
 be found most conducive to health and activity. A maid of honor, 
 it is stated, in the court of Elizabeth, breakfasted upon beef and 
 drank ale after it. Such may be compatible with plenty of out- 
 door exercise to carry off the meal, but not so with the indoor life 
 which is led by so many of the present generation. 
 
 Supposing breakfast to be taken at 8 or 9 A.M., the next meal, no 
 matter by what name it is called, should follow about 1 or 2. A 
 fairly substantial meal should be taken at this time, and it does not 
 signify whether it goes under the name of luncheon or dinner. 
 Some dine in the middle of the day, and make this their heaviest 
 repast. To many, however, it is inconvenient to give up the 
 amount of time that is usually devoted to the principal meal of the 
 day at such a period, and, moreover, the more or less marked dis- 
 position to inactivity that follows a heavy meal may interfere with 
 the subsequent engagements. Under these circumstances, the less 
 ceremonious and lighter repast, designated luncheon, will best fall 
 in with the daily arrangements. The dejeuner a la fourchette in 
 France represents our luncheon, but is usually more substantial and 
 taken rather earlier, the amount of food that has been consumed 
 previously having been but slight. 
 
 The error is often made of omitting to take food in the middle of 
 the day, or of only taking a biscuit or something of equal insignifi- 
 cance. There are many business or professional men who, after 
 leaving home for their office or chambers in the morning, do not 
 taste food, or, if they do, take only a minute quantity, until they re- 
 turn in the evening. Actively engaged all day, the system becomes 
 exhausted, and they arrive home in a thoroughly jaded or worn-out 
 condition. They expect that their dinner is to revive them. It may 
 do so for awhile, but it is only a question of time how long this 
 system can be carried on before evil consequences arise. They begin 
 to feel heavy, drowsy, and uncomfortable after dinner, and no wonder 
 from the amount of food that it has been necessary to introduce at 
 one time into the stomach to supply the requisite material for meet- 
 ing the wants of the system, and also from the exhaustion of power 
 
480 PRACTICAL DIETETICS. 
 
 produced by the work performed arid the long abstinence from food. 
 Vigor is required for digestion, equally as much as for muscular or 
 any other action, and it is not to be expected that it can properly 
 proceed under the state that has been described. Added to these in- 
 dications that the digestive power is not equal to the amount of work 
 thrown upon it, evidences of disordered action begin to show them- 
 selves. The sufferer becomes dyspeptic, and the heart and brain may 
 sympathize with the derangement. The physician is frequently en- 
 countering instances of the description I have depicted; and when 
 advice is given that food in proper quantity should be consumed in 
 the middle of the day, the usual answer met with is that if a lunch- 
 eon were taken it would have the effect of rendering the person un- 
 fit for his employment afterwards. It is a sine qua non, however, 
 that the interval should be broken by a repast between an early 
 breakfast and a late dinner, and no medical treatment will suffice to 
 afford relief unless attention is given to this point. When once the 
 alteration has been made and persevered in a short time, as much 
 reluctance will be felt in omitting the luncheon upon any single 
 occasion as was experienced in taking it to begin with. Often, in 
 cases where indigestion forms the chief complaint, will it be found 
 to have arisen from some unwitting breach of the principles of diet- 
 etics, and thence it frequently happens that instruction on the dietetic 
 precepts requiring to be obeyed for the maintenance of health will 
 be all that is needed to set matters right. 
 
 When the middle of the day is allotted to dinner, the evening meal 
 is designated supper, and as this is not usually taken till an advanced 
 hour of the evening an intermediate light repast is generally intro- 
 duced, under the name of tea. A heavy supper, especially if taken 
 only a short time before going to bed, is unquestionably bad. Dur- 
 ing sleep there is a diminished activity of all the bodily functions, 
 and the condition is not favorable for the due performance of diges- 
 tion. He who retires to rest with a full stomach is fortunate if he 
 escape passing a restless night, being troubled with dreams, and 
 rising in the morning with a foul mouth. The supper, when supper 
 at all is taken, should be, as far as practicable, made to approach to 
 the early part of the evening that is, supposing the usual hour for 
 retiring to rest be observed; and where the engagements of life 
 render such a course inconvenient, the meal should be light, and 
 a heavier tea consumed. 
 
TIMES OF EATING. 481 
 
 The best arrangement for health is that the third substantial meal 
 should be taken about six or seven in the evening in other words, 
 that breakfast, luncheon, and dinner should form the order observed. 
 The opportunity is thus given for digestion to have approached com- 
 pletion before the night's sleep is begun. In fashionable society it is 
 now common to find the dinner postponed till a later hour, bringing 
 it, in fact, nearly to the old-fashioned period for supper. If the time 
 of retiring to rest is proportionately late, as is usually the case, there 
 is nothing seriously objectionable in the course adopted, but if early, 
 the remark applies with equal force that has been made under the 
 head of supper. A dinner at eight or half-past eight, however, calls 
 for an intermediate light repast, under the form of tea, to break the 
 length of interval that would otherwise occur. But, besides being 
 customary under these circumstances for tea to be taken about five, 
 fashion has led to its being also taken when the dinner hour is earlier, 
 and against a simple cup of tea at this time nothing can be said. It 
 serves to refresh, although it cannot be considered as needed. Temp- 
 tation, however, is also offered to partake of food, and when this is 
 done to any extent it must be looked upon as pernicious, by impair- 
 ing the appetite for one of the principal meals. 
 
 After a late dinner, and with the observance of ordinary hours, 
 no further food is required. The tea, therefore, which is generally 
 taken afterwards, should be confined to liquid, and a cup of warm 
 tea, coffee, or cocoa, has the effect of arousing the energies, and ap- 
 parently also of favorably influencing digestion. 
 
 The error of going to bed upon a full stomach has been alluded 
 to. It is also equally (inadvisable that the stomach should be in a 
 perfectly empty condition. Fasting excites restlessness and watch- 
 fulness, and many a person has needlessly passed sleepless hours 
 through retiring to rest after too long an interval since the last meal. 
 The literary man, for example, who carries his labors far into the 
 night, goes to bed with an empty stomach and finds that he cannot 
 sleep. Let a little food, however, be taken, and it will be found to 
 exert a tranquillizing and comforting effect, and so will dispose to 
 sleep. 
 
 I have been speaking of the meals adapted for a state of health. 
 Three substantial meals morning, midday, and evening should 
 be taken, and unless the interval between one or the other be con- 
 siderably prolonged, no intermediate repast of solid food is required. 
 
 31 
 
482 PRACTICAL DIETETICS. 
 
 Indeed, it is not beneficial for a person tp be constantly eating 
 through the da} 7 . Some are in the habit of taking food at odd times 
 between the meals, but such a practice is not to be upheld. Eating 
 should be confined to the meals, otherwise a constant state of reple- 
 tion is kept up, and the stomach has no opportunity of resting. In 
 sickness, it is true, advantage is gained by the frequent administra- 
 tion of food, but then only a small quantity at a time can be taken. 
 The stomach will not bear, or the invalid cannot take, more than a 
 very limited amount at once; and to compensate for this, and enable 
 a sufficiency to be ingested, more frequent administration is required. 
 In proportion to the limited amount that can be taken at a time, so, 
 it may be said, should be the frequency of administration. 
 
 Infants and young children require food more frequently than 
 grown-up persons. They dispose of what is taken more rapidly, and 
 do not bear fasting well. Less lengthy intervals should therefore be 
 allowed to elapse between the periods of eating. The best arrange- 
 ment of meals for children that are a little older is breakfast, din- 
 ner, tea, and supper ; the supper consisting of light but nutritious 
 food. A late dinner is to be strongly condemned. There are many 
 children whose delicate health and feeble constitution is owing to 
 the error of their parents in making them join in a late dinner. 
 Instead of dining, say at seven or after, it would be better for them 
 to be going to bed, and the evils of going to bed upon a heavy meal 
 have already been adverted to. 
 
 In connection with these remarks upon the times of taking food, 
 I may refer to the following collateral points : 
 
 A hearty meal should neither immediately follow nor precede 
 violent exercise. In each case the stomach is rendered unfit for the 
 vigorous discharge of its office. 
 
 A hearty dinner taken in the evening after an unusual day's 
 exertion is sure to be followed by more or less indigestion, and it 
 may be, vomiting. Sportsmen and pedestrians are acquainted by 
 experience with this fact. The depression of general bodily power 
 occasioned by the fatigue endured, is incompatible with the posses- 
 sion of full energy by the stomach. By a little repose, however, 
 time is given for the production of fresh power to raise the system 
 from its previous state of exhaustion, and render the stomach equal 
 to the easy digestion of a moderate meal. 
 
STATES OF THE BODY IN RELATION TO TAKING FOOD. 483 
 
 The sensation experienced on undertaking any violent bodilv 
 exertion immediately after a hearty meal, is sufficient to show that 
 the task imposed is greater than the system is adapted for. With a 
 loaded stomach, the fullest amount of energy that can be given is 
 required to enable it to get through its work. We notice, indeed, 
 under such circumstances, that the energies are so concentrated upon 
 what the stomach is doing, that an indisposition, and even inca- 
 pacity, for vigorous and sustained mental or bodily exertion is in- 
 duced. Whilst after a light meal muscular or mental work can 
 with ease and comfort be performed, after a heavy meal an effort to 
 accomplish it so diverts from the stomach the energy required of it, 
 as to occasion manifest signs of incapacity for the function to be 
 discharged. The process of digestion fails to be carried on as it 
 ought to be. The food remains longer than it should within the 
 stomach, and ultimately, it may be, is rejected by vomiting. 
 
 If sharp exercise after a hearty meal is to be avoided, is it desira- 
 ble, it may be asked, to encourage the inclination for repose, and 
 allow indulgence in a siesta/ A short and light nap after dinner 
 will not be sufficient to do any harm, but if the nap is permitted to 
 pass into a profound and a prolonged sleep, unquestionably a retard- 
 ing influence is exercised upon digestion, and a prejudicial influence 
 upon, the stomach. However agreeable, therefore, it may be to 
 gratify the desire for a nap, if there is danger of its passing into a 
 lengthy and heavy sleep, it is well to have recourse to some light 
 mental or bodily employment, whether under the shape of one of 
 the various games of amusement, as billiards, bagatelle, cards, chess, 
 &c., or otherwise to obviate its occurrence. But, with a natural 
 state of things, there ought to be no strong desire for sleep after a 
 meal. If there be such, it may be concluded that some fault exists : 
 either the meal has been excessive, in consequence of yielding to 
 the gratification of the palate, or of eating largely to make up for a 
 too prolonged fast, or else the digestive power is below the healthy 
 standard. 
 
 A cheerful state of mind is conducive to the easy digestion of a 
 meal. The influence exerted by states of the mind upon the appetite 
 and digestion, as well as the nutrition of the body generally, is a 
 matter of common observation. A person receiving a piece of un- 
 welcome intelligence just before the commencement of a repast may 
 
484 PRACTICAL DIETETICS. 
 
 be unable to eat a mouthful, no matter what might have been the 
 appetite previously 
 
 - " Read o'er this ; 
 
 And after this and then to breakfast 
 With what appetite you have." 
 
 " Experience," says Dr. Combe, 1 " must have taught every one 
 with what zest we sit down to enjoy the pleasures of the table, and 
 how largely we incline to eat, when the mind is free, unburdened, 
 and joyous, compared with the little attention we bestow on our 
 meals when we are overwhelmed with anxiety, or have the whole 
 energies of the mind concentrated on some important scheme." 
 " Laughter," also says Hufeland, of Berlin, 2 " is one of the greatest 
 helps to digestion with which I am acquainted; and the custom 
 prevalent among our forefathers, of exciting it at table by jesters 
 and buifoons, was founded upon true medical principles. In a word, 
 endeavor to have cheerful and merry companions at your meals; 
 what nourishment one receives amidst mirth and jollity will certainly 
 produce good and light blood." 
 
 CULINARY PREPARATION OF FOOD. 
 
 Several important purposes are fulfilled by the process of cooking. 
 By it our food is rendered more pleasing to the eye, agreeable to 
 the palate, and digestible by the stomach. We all know, for ex- 
 ample, the influence exerted by the appearance presented by food- 
 how, if pleasing to the eye, it becomes tempting to the palate, and, 
 if revolting to the sight, the stomach may turn against it. Again, 
 food which is savory and cooking has the effect of developing 
 flavor excites the inclination in a manner peculiar to itself. Lastly, 
 by the alterations it induces of a physical and chemical nature, 
 cooking renders our food more easy of digestion, and may remove 
 an obnoxious property by killing parasites or their germs, where 
 such exist. 
 
 Cooking lessens cohesion and alters the texture in such a manner 
 as to render a substance more easy of mastication and subsequent 
 reduction to a fluid state by the stomach. 
 
 1 Physiology of Digestion, 2d ed Edinburgh, 1836, p. 300. 
 
 2 Art of Prolonging Human Life. English ed. London, 1829, p. 282. 
 
COOKING. 485 
 
 The effect upon meat is to coagulate albumen and coloring matter; 
 to solidify fibrin, and gelatinize tendinous, fibrous, and connective 
 tissues. A piece of meat, for instance, which before cooking is tough, 
 tenacious, and stringy, so as to be insusceptible of proper mastica- 
 tion, has firmness or solidity given to the muscular fibres, whilst the 
 connective tissue is transformed into a soft gelatinous material. The 
 connective tissue being softened, the muscular fibres are loosened. 
 Thus, the whole substance becomes less coherent, and is easily broken 
 down by the application of pressure. It is thereby rendered more 
 digestible, for the digestibility of meat may be regarded as standing 
 in proportion to its tenderness or want of cohesion. Tenderness and 
 digestibility are influenced by the circumstances antecedent to cook- 
 ing. If flesh, whether offish, fowl, or any other animal, be cooked 
 before rigor mortis has set in, its texture is looser, and the article is 
 thereby more easy of digestion than when cooked after this state has 
 passed off. It is rare, however seldom practicable indeed for 
 cooking to be performed at so early a period after death, and when 
 the flesh has set, its tenderness and digestibility are increased by its 
 being kept for a time. The flesh of an animal, also, which has been 
 driven or hunted just prior to death is more tender and digestible 
 than where it has been previously quiescent. Bruising loosens the 
 texture of meat, and makes it more tender when cooked : hence the 
 advantage of the process of beating to which steaks and chops are, 
 in many households, subjected. 
 
 The effect of cooking upon vegetables is to soften their consistence, 
 and so enable them to be more readily masticated or broken up in 
 the mouth. It also loosens their intercellular structure, and thereby 
 facilitates the penetration of digestive juices into their substance. It 
 further aids, in an important manner, digestibility, by its physical 
 action on the starch-granule an ingredient which enters more largely 
 than any other into the constitution of vegetable aliment. It causes 
 this granule to swell up, and its outer envelope to burst. The diges- 
 tive fluids are thus permitted to come in contact with the central 
 part. In the absence of this change, the starch-granule is much less 
 easily attacked, its outer covering being hard and offering consider- 
 able resistance to digestive action. Albuminous and fibrinous matters, 
 as with those in meat, are coagulated ; and, in the case of boiling, 
 some of the gummy, saccharine, coloring, and saline matters are ex- 
 tracted. This occurs to a less extent when vegetables are boiled in 
 
486 PRACTICAL DIETETICS. 
 
 hard water, or water impregnated with salt, than when boiled in soft 
 water, but the article is, at the same time, less tender and digestible. 
 The effect of a little salt added to the water in which vegetables are 
 boiled in preserving their color, is well known to those versed in the 
 economy of the kitchen, but the eye is pleased at the sacrifice of 
 tenderness. 
 
 The warmth imparted to food by the process of cooking aids the 
 digestive action of the stomach, and, where fatigue or exposure to 
 cold has been sustained, exerts a reviving effect upon the system. 
 
 With these observations of a general nature, I will now offer some 
 remarks on the various modes of cooking in common use, which may 
 be enumerated as follows : 
 
 Boiling, 
 
 Roasting, 
 
 Broiling, 
 
 Baking, 
 
 Frying, 
 
 Stewing. 
 
 Boiling. There is an art in cooking food in such a manner as to 
 avoid as little loss as possible of its nutritive principles. 
 
 If the object to be attained should be the extraction of the good- 
 ness of meat into the surrounding liquid, as in making soups, broths, 
 &c., the article should be minced or cut up finely, and placed in cold 
 water. After soaking for a short time, heat should be applied, and 
 the temperature gradually raised. For broths, no actual boiling is 
 needed it is desirable, indeed, that it should be avoided, so as not 
 to consolidate and lose more than possible of the albumen. For 
 soups, however, prolonged boiling is necessary, in order fully to ex- 
 tract the gelatin. It is this, in fact, which forms the basis of soup, 
 for the floating albumen is hardened or condensed and got rid of by 
 straining. 
 
 Thus treated, the principles of the meat, as far as circumstances 
 will allow, pass out into the surrounding liquid, and as this gains in 
 flavor and nutritive properties, so the meat becomes impoverished : a 
 hard, fibrous, and insipid residue being produced. 
 
 Where, however, it is desired that the flavor and nutritive proper- 
 ties should be retained in the meat, an opposite process must be 
 adopted. The piece of meat should be large, and it should be 
 
COOKING. 487 
 
 plunged suddenly into boiling water, and the process of boiling 
 briskly maintained for about five minutes. This coagulates the al- 
 buminous matter upon the surface, and leads to the formation of a 
 more or less impermeable external layer, which precludes the escape 
 of the juices from the substance of the meat. After this object has 
 been fulfilled, instead of boiling being continued, a temperature of 
 between 160 and 170 Fahr., constitutes what is wanted, and this 
 degree should be maintained until the process of cooking is com- 
 pleted. Cooked in this way, the central part of the meat remains 
 juicy and tender, and possesses, in the highest degree, the properties 
 of nutritiveness and digestibility. Unless exposed throughout to the 
 temperature named, the albuminous and coloring matters are not 
 properly coagulated, and the meat presents a raw or underdressed ap- 
 pearance. If exposed to a temperature much above 170, the mus- 
 cular substance shrinks and becomes proportionately hard and indi- 
 gestible. The usual fault committed in cooking meat is keeping the 
 water in which it is being boiled at too high a temperature after the 
 first exposure to brisk ebullition is over. 
 
 Fish is rendered firm in proportion to the hardness of the water 
 in which it is boiled. Hence, fish boiled in sea-water or in water to 
 which salt has been added is firmer, and, at the same time, more 
 highly flavored, than when boiled in soft water, on account of the 
 less solvent action exerted. 
 
 Upon the principle of endeavoring to retain, as far as practicable, 
 the soluble constituents of an article of food, potatoes should be 
 boiled in their skins, and the object aimed at is still further secured 
 by the addition of a little salt to the water. By steaming, instead 
 of boiling, the result is still more completely attained. 
 
 Boiled food is more insipid than food cooked in other ways. 
 From the lower temperature employed, no empyreumatic products 
 are developed. Being more devoid of flavor, it is less tempting to 
 the palate, but sits more easily on a delicate stomach. 
 
 In cooking, meat loses about one-fourth or more of its weight. 
 The loss varies with the quality of the meat and the process of 
 cooking employed. According to Dr. Letheby, the ordinary per- 
 centage of loss is about as follows : 
 
488 PRACTICAL DIETETICS. 
 
 Boiling. Baking. Roasting. 
 
 Boef generally, .... 20 29 31 
 
 Mutton generally, .... 20 31 35 
 
 Legs of mutton, . . . . 20 32 33 
 
 Shoulders of mutton, ... 24 32 34 
 
 Loins of mutton, .... 30 33 36 
 
 Necks of mutton, 25 32 34 
 
 Average of all, ... 23 31 34 
 
 Thus, the loss by baking is greater than that by boiling, and by 
 roasting greater than all. The loss arises chiefly from the evapora- 
 tion of water and the melting down and escape of fat, although 
 some is due to the destructive action of the heat and the exudation 
 of nutritive juice under the form of gravy. 
 
 Roasting should be conducted upon the same principle as boiling. 
 In order, as far as possible, to retain the nutritive juices, meat 
 should first be subjected to a sharp heat. This leads to the forma- 
 tion of a coagulated layer upon the surface, which subsequently 
 offers an impediment to the escape of the fluid matter within. 
 After a short exposure to a sharp heat, the meat should be removed 
 to a greater distance from the fire, so as to allow a lower heat 
 gradually to penetrate to the centre. In this way the albumen and 
 coloring matters are coagulated without the fibrin being corrugated 
 and hardened. 
 
 As has been already stated, on account of the greater heat em- 
 ployed, roasted meat is more savory than boiled. The surface also 
 is more or less scorched, and a portion of the fat is melted, and 
 drops away under the form of dripping. Some of the fat likewise, 
 under a prolonged exposure to a strong heat, undergoes decomposi- 
 tion, attended with a production of fatty acids, and an acrid volatile 
 product known as acrolein, which may cause derangement of a weak 
 stomach. In boiling, the temperature is not sufficient to incur the 
 risk of rendering the fat in a similar way obnoxious. 
 
 When properly roasted, the meat is juicy enough within to lead 
 to the escape of a quantity of red gravy when the first cut is made 
 into it. 
 
 Broiling produces the same effect as roasting, but the proportion 
 of scorched material is greater, on account of the relatively larger 
 amount of surface exposed. The principle of cooking should be 
 the same, in order to retain the central portion juicy. 
 
COOKING. 489 
 
 Baking renders meat more impregnated with ernpyreumatic prod- 
 ucts, and therefore richer or stronger for the stomach than any 
 other process of cooking. The operation being carried on in a con- 
 fined space, the volatile fatty acids generated are prevented from es- 
 caping, and thus permeate the cooked articles. Meat cooked in this 
 way is ill adapted for consumption where a delicate state of system 
 exists. 
 
 Fi'i/hig is also an objectionable process of cooking for persons of 
 weak digestive power. The heat is applied through the medium of 
 boiling fat or oil. The article of food thus becomes more or less 
 penetrated with fatty matter, which renders it to a greater extent 
 than would otherwise be the case resistent to the solvent action of 
 the watery digestive liquid secreted by the stomach. It is apt also 
 to be impregnated with fatty-acid products arising from the decom- 
 position of the fat used in the process. These are badly tolerated 
 by the stomach, and, whether generated in this way or when the 
 food is in the act of undergoing digestion, appears to form the source 
 of the gastric trouble known as heartburn. 
 
 Stewing places food in a highly favorable state for digestion. The 
 articles to be cooked are just covered with water, and should be ex- 
 posed to a heat sufficient only to allow of gentle simmering. A 
 considerable portion of the nutritive matter passes into the sur- 
 rounding liquid, which is consumed as well as the solid material. 
 Properly cooked in this way, meat should be rendered sufficiently 
 tender to break down under moderate pressure. If boiling be al- 
 lowed to occur, the meat becomes, instead, tough and hard. 
 
 Hashing is the same process applied to previously cooked instead 
 of fresh meat. 
 
 By surrounding the vessel with water in which the article of food 
 is contained, so as to secure that no burning shall occur, meat may 
 be stewed in its own vapor. For example, a chop or other piece of 
 meat taken upon a small scale may be placed in an ordinary preserve 
 jar, and this tied over at the top, and partially immersed in water 
 contained in a saucepan. The water in the saucepan is made to sim- 
 mer or gently boil; and when the proper time has elapsed, the meat 
 is found perfectly soft and tender, and surrounded by a liquor de- 
 rived from the juice which has escaped during the process. Meat 
 thus prepared is in an exceedingly suitable state for the convalescent 
 and invalid. 
 
490 PRACTICAL DIETETICS. 
 
 It is upon this principle that the action of Captain Warren's 
 "cooking-pot" depends. This consists of a kind of double sauce- 
 pan, the inner vessel containing the joint or other article to be cooked, 
 and the outer some water, through the medium of which the cook- 
 ing is effected, but without its coming into actual contact with the 
 food. The utensil constitutes, in fact, a bain-marie or water-bath. 
 There need be no loss whatever of any of the solid matter of the 
 meat, and the loss of weight that occurs in a joint is considerably 
 less than when cooked by roasting. If it be desired to increase the 
 flavor, the joint may be first roasted for a short time before being 
 stewed. 
 
 I may refer here to the "Norwegian nest" or "self-acting cooking 
 apparatus," which was introduced to notice in this country a few 
 years back. Messrs. Silver & Co., of Cornhill and Bishopsgate 
 Street, are now the patentees and manufacturers. It consists of a 
 box constructed upon the principle of a refrigerator, the only differ- 
 ence in action being that it keeps the heat in instead of keeping it 
 out. The box, indeed, may be made use of, either as a refrigerator 
 or for the purpose of cooking. It is padded inside with an non-con- 
 ducting material, arranged so as to leave a space in the centre for re- 
 ceiving the movable tin vessel in which the process of cooking is 
 carried on. This vessel is lifted out from its "nest" and filled with 
 water and the article to be cooked. Heat is applied, so as to bring 
 the water to a boiling-point, and afterwards maintain it at this for a 
 short time. The vessel is then replaced in the box and shut in by 
 the closure of the lid. The heat being prevented from escaping, the 
 process of cooking goes on away from the fire, and no matter in what 
 situation the box may be placed. The contrivance recommends itself 
 on the score of economy for household use, and the box being easily 
 carried about, it affords the means of furnishing, without a fire being 
 needed, hot food out of doors, as in campaigning, travelling, pleasure- 
 making, &G. It is also susceptible of being turned to useful account 
 as an appurtenance to the sick-room. 
 
 Soups and .Broths. The process of preparation is here directed to 
 extracting the goodness from the article employed the reverse of 
 that in the case of boiling. To accomplish what is aimed at in the 
 most complete manner the article should be chopped or broken into 
 fine pieces, and placed in cold water. After being allowed to macer- 
 ate a short time, for the soluble constituents to become dissolved out, 
 
COOKING. 491 
 
 it is gradually heated to a point which should vary according to the 
 product required. In the case of broths and beef tea, which properly 
 contain only the flavoring principle of meat osmazome and the 
 soluble constituents with finely coagulated albuminous matter, all 
 that is required is to produce gentle simmering, and this should be 
 kept up for about half an hour. In the case of soups a prolonged 
 gentle boiling is required, in order that the gelatin may be extracted, 
 this being the principle which gives to good soup its property of 
 solidifying on cooling. Bones require boiling a longer time than 
 meat. The chief principle they yield is gelatin, and its extraction 
 is greatly facilitated by the bones being broken into fine fragments 
 previous to being used. 
 
 Salting, pickling, and smoking, are processes to which articles of 
 food are sometimes subjected for the purpose of enabling them to be 
 preserved previous to cooking. The processes have been* already re- 
 ferred to under the head of " Preservation of Food" (p. 402), but 
 may be alluded to here for the sake of stating that by their harden- 
 ing action they give an article difficult digestibility, which cannot 
 be overcome by cooking. Food, therefore, which has been submit- 
 ted to these processes should be avoided by the dyspeptic, except, it 
 may be said, in the case of bacon, which happens, as a rule, to sit 
 easily on the stomach. Indeed, according to general experience, the 
 cured article (particularly the fat belonging to it) is here more diges- 
 tible than the fresh than either pork or p;g meat, that is to say. 
 
DIET OF INFANTS. 
 
 THE importance of this branch of dietetics can scarcely be over- 
 rated. At no period of life is discreet management throughout so 
 much called for as during the helpless condition of early infancy, 
 and nothing constitutes so fruitful a source of infantile sickness and 
 mortality as injudicious feeding. 
 
 The proper food during the first period of infancy is that, and 
 that only, wJiich has been provided by Nature for the young of mam- 
 mals, viz., milk. General observation and carefully collected sta- 
 tistics agree in conclusively showing that nothing can adequately 
 replace this natural food. " The infant," says Dr. West, 1 " whose 
 mother refuses to perform towards it a mother's part, or who, by 
 accident, disease, or death, is deprived of the food that Nature des- 
 tined for it, too often languishes and dies. Such children you may 
 see with no fat to give plumpness to their limbs, no red particles 
 in their blood to impart a healthy hue to their skin, their face 
 wearing in infancy the lineaments of age, their voice a constant 
 wail, their whole aspect an embodiment of woe. But give to such 
 children the food that Nature destined for them, and if the remedy 
 do not come too late to save them, the mournful cry will cease, the 
 face will assume a look of content, by degrees the features of infancy 
 will disclose themselves, the limbs will grow round, the skin pure 
 red and white, and when, at length, we hear the merry laugh of 
 babyhood, it seems almost as if the little sufferer of some weeks 
 before must have been a changeling, and this the real child brought 
 back from fairy-land." 
 
 Formed for the special object of constituting the sole nourishment 
 during the first period of infantile life, milk not only contains the 
 principles required for the growth and maintenance of the body, but 
 contains them under such a form as to be specially adapted to the 
 state of the digestive powers then existing. It must be remembered 
 that the exercise of the digestive organs only comes into operation 
 
 1 Lectures on the Diseases of Infancy and Childhood, 5th ed., 1865, p. 532. 
 
DIET OF INFANTS. 493 
 
 after birth. At the time of birth these organs are in a comparatively 
 immature state of development, and it is only gradually that their 
 full power becomes evolved. For the first few months, it appears 
 that no saliva at all is secreted ; and it is true, under natural cir- 
 cumstances, from the character of the food and the absence of masti- 
 catory organs, that it is not required. The alimentary canal is short, 
 and that portion of it called the caecum very small. The teeth, as 
 is well known, do not appear until after the lapse of several months. 
 Besides these evidences of immature development, experience shows 
 that the alimentary canal is in an exceedingly susceptible state, and 
 most easily deranged by slight deviations in the character of the 
 food. So strikingly, indeed, is this the case, that the mother, whilst 
 suckling, knows that, for the sake of her infant's comfort, it is neces- 
 sary to exercise care over what she herself eats. All this points to 
 feeble digestive capacity, and suggests a want of power of adaptive- 
 ness to alien articles of food. It may be considered that, up to 
 about the eighth month, the infant is designed to be sustained solely 
 by its parent's milk. The teeth, which about this time begin to 
 show themselves, indicate that preparation is now being made for 
 the consumption of food of a solid nature, and the most suitable to 
 begin with will be one of the fari naceous products. Bread, baked flour, 
 biscuit powder, oatmeal, or one of the numerous kinds of nursery 
 biscuits that are made, may be employed for a time as a supplement 
 to the previous food. Then, at about the tenth month, the maternal 
 supply, which should have been already lessened, should be alto- 
 gether stopped, and the child started upon the life of independence 
 that is to follow. For awhile, milk and the farinaceous products 
 referred to above still form the most suitable food ; but as the child 
 advances in its second year, and the teeth become more developed, 
 meat may be added. 
 
 Such forms the natural course to be pursued, but it often hap- 
 pens, either as the result of choice or of necessity either because 
 she will not or cannot that the mother's part fails to be fulfilled. 
 Under these circumstances, the question of the nature of the supply 
 to be provided as a substitute has to be decided upon. 
 
 Undoubtedly, the nearest, approach to the actual food which has 
 been designed to be given is the milk furnished by another woman, 
 and amongst the more wealthy classes this is often had recourse to. 
 Now, in the selection of a wet-nurse there are certain points which, 
 
494 PRACTICAL DIETETICS. 
 
 in the interest of the infant to be reared, require to be attended to. 
 It is scarcely necessary to say that the woman should be free from 
 constitutional taint and in a healthy condition. The most suitable 
 age is from twenty to thirty. The milk should be sufficient in 
 quantity and good in quality, and as its composition alters to some 
 extent as time advances from the date of confinement, it is desirable 
 that the infant should be nourished by a person who has given birth 
 about the same time as its own mother. A brunette is considered to 
 make a better nurse than a blonde. Upon the authority of the analy- 
 ses of L'Heritier, the milk of the former is said to be richer in solid 
 constituents than the latter ; but, besides this, the difference in tem- 
 perament exerts its influence in maintaining a more steady condition 
 in the one case than in the other. For example, the sanguine tem- 
 perament, with its associated susceptible organization, belonging to 
 the blonde, disposes to a greater liability of sudden alterations from 
 mental causes than the phlegmatic temperament, with its less im- 
 pressionable organization, of the brunette. 
 
 Next in appropriateness to the food supplied by a wet-nurse comes 
 the milk derived from one of the lower animals ; and this may be 
 employed either to make up for a deficient supply from the mother, 
 or as the sole article of nourishment. It is obvious that the milk to 
 be selected should be that which is readily obtainable, and which 
 presents the closest approximation to the infant's natural food. The 
 cow, goat, and ass are the animals which best answer the conditions 
 required; and reference to the analytical table at p. 188 will show 
 which of the three furnishes the most appropriate kind of milk. In 
 the first place, the milk of the ass, although it has had its advocates 
 as a food for infants, presents considerable disparity in composition 
 from that of the human subject. Whilst being richer in sugar and 
 soluble salts, it shows a marked deficiency in both nitrogenous mat- 
 ter and fat. It may be adapted for the delicate stomach of a person 
 reduced by illness to a great state of debility, but it can hardly be 
 looked upon as representing what is most suitable for a growing 
 child. The milk of the cow gives the nearest approach to what is 
 wanted, and it happens, also, that this in general is more easily pro- 
 curable than that of any other animaL In Payen's table (vide p. 
 188), cow's milk is represented as richer in all its solid constituent 
 principles than woman's, and slight dilution with water will be all 
 that is required to bring it to a sufficiently close approximation for 
 
DIET OF INFANTS. 495 
 
 serving as a substitute. The analyses given by other authorities, 
 however, render it presumable that the sugar of woman's milk is 
 underestimated in the table in question ; and that, whilst the casein 
 and butter are in less quantity than in cow's milk, the lactin, on the 
 other hand, is in excess. The practical management of infants shows 
 that in employing cow's milk it is desirable to sweeten as well as 
 dilute it. Instead of simply adding water, a solution of sugar, or, 
 what is more in conformity with the natural state, sugar of milk, in 
 the proportion of an ounce to three-quarters of a pint, may be used, 
 and at first mixed to the extent of about one-third with two-thirds 
 of milk. Later on, the quantity of the diluent may be somewhat 
 diminished. The milk of the goat is even richer in solid constituents 
 than that of the cow, and, therefore, stands somewhat further re- 
 moved from that of the human subject. Goat's milk also possesses 
 a strong and peculiar odor of its own, but, in the case of infants, this 
 does not seem to form any serious obstacle to its use, for, if repug- 
 nant at first, custom soon overcomes the difficulty. 
 
 The importance of securing, as far as practicable, that the milk is 
 derived from an animal in a healthy state, and surrounded by whole- 
 some conditions, will be readily understood. The alimentary canal 
 of infants, and particularly of some, is exceedingly impressionable to 
 unwholesome food, and the milk of cows kept, as cows in large cities 
 and owns not unfreqtiently are, in an unnatural state may prove the 
 source of violent irritation of the stomach and bowels, and lead, if 
 persevered in, to serious impairment of the health, terminating ulti- 
 mately, it may be, in a fatal result. 
 
 There can be little doubt of the desirability of always obtaining 
 the supply from the same animal, instead of indiscriminately from 
 any cow, and arrangements for this are generally made in dairies. 
 In the case of the goat, the animal is often kept solely for the 
 purpose under consideration, and has before now been domesticated, 
 and tutored to discharge its office in the manner of a wet-nurse. 
 
 Respecting the use of condensed milk as food for infants, the 
 reader's attention is directed to the footnote at p. 194. The milk, as 
 sold, is already in a highly sweetened condition. 
 
 Articles of a farinaceous nature, such, for instance, as bread, bis- 
 cuit powder, baked flour, rusks, and the variety of biscuits and 
 preparations sold at different establishments, which enter so exten- 
 sively into general nursery use, must be looked upon as foreign to 
 
4:96 PRACTICAL DIETETICS. 
 
 the diet of infants of tender age. Constituted in great part, as these 
 articles are, of a principle starch which has no existence in milk, 
 and which requires to undergo a special kind of digestion to fit it for 
 absorption, it is presumable that the digestive organs are not adapted 
 at this stage properly to meet the demand that is made when these 
 substances are consumed. From the fact that they are light and 
 nourishing for older children, there is a popular tendency to regard 
 them as forming suitable food for early infancy; but all authorities 
 concur in condemning them as improper for use at such a period. It 
 is true, later on they represent the most appropriate solid material 
 to begin with; but this is when the digestive organs have reached a 
 more advanced stage of development. Liebig, in his pamphlet 1 on 
 the " Food for Infants " devised by himself, goes as far as to assert 
 that the usual farinaceous foods are the cause of most of the diseases 
 and of half of the deaths of infants. 
 
 Looking at its composition, the sweet almond has properties which 
 furnish a food more analogous to milk than the farinaceous products. 
 Pounded and made into an emulsion, a liquid is obtained which, as 
 regards the chemical nature of its constituents and the physical con- 
 dition in which the fatty matter exists, presents a close alliance to milk. 
 
 Liebig has introduced a food for infants, devised upon chemical 
 principles, to form a substitute for the mother's milk. It is prepared 
 from malt flour, wheat flour, cow's milk, bicarbonate of potash, and 
 water. For further particulars regarding it vide p. 195. It appears 
 to be extensively used in Germany, and has been brought promi- 
 nently into notice in England. It possesses the disadvantage of 
 forming a somewhat complex article, designed for use where, it 
 must be considered, simplicity is desirable. 
 
 The amount of milk consumed by a child fed naturally at the 
 breast has been determined by weighing immediately before and im- 
 mediately after suckling. Dr. West, upon the authority of M. Guil- 
 lot's results obtained at the Foundling Hospital in Paris, says that 
 the increase in weight has been found to vary from 2 to 5 oz. in in- 
 fants under a month old, and that 2 J Ibs. avoir, has been concluded to 
 form the smallest quantity that will suffice for the daily nourishment 
 of a healthy infant during the first month of its existence. It is 
 suggested, however, that the observations made were not numerous 
 enough to furnish more than a rough approximation to the truth. 
 
 1 Food for Infants. Walton, Gower Street, 1867. 
 
DIET FOE TRAINING. 
 
 THE object of training is the preparation of the system for some 
 unusual feat of exertion, and the results which the art aims at pro- 
 ducing are (1) increased muscular strength, (2) increased power of 
 endurance, and (3) " improvement of the wind." It is principally 
 by attention to diet and exercise that these results are attained, and 
 about six weeks is the time usually devoted to the process when fully 
 carried out. Under a successful progress the muscles increase in 
 bulk, grow firmer, and become more subordinate to the influence of 
 the will, thereby leading to the production of a feeling of freedom 
 and lightness, or " corkiness," as it has been termed, of the limbs. 
 The muscular tissue, in fact, increases in quantity, and improves in 
 quality. There is a removal of superfluous fat and water, and, by 
 " overtraining," the body may become so completely deprived of fat, 
 or the muscles so finely drawn, as to lead to a loss instead of gain of 
 power of enduring prolonged exertion. The skin becomes clear, 
 smooth, fresh-colored, and elastic. There is no part of the body, it 
 is said, on which training produces a more conspicuous effect than 
 on the skin, and by its state a criterion is afforded, which enables an 
 experienced person to judge of the fitness of the individual for the 
 task in view. 
 
 The rule as regards exercise is to begin with a moderate amount, 
 and gradually increase it, and the muscles which are to be specially 
 called into play require to be systematically trained in excess of the 
 others. Running is the kind of exercise which most " improves the 
 wind," and, whatever the feat to be performed, it is usual to enforce 
 a certain amount of running daily, for the special object of making 
 the person " longer winded." 
 
 There is a general agreement regarding exercise, but respecting 
 diet and other measured most fanciful notions have been held. 
 Emetics, purgatives, and sometimes diaphoretics, were formerly 
 
 32 
 
498 PRACTICAL DIETETICS. 
 
 recognized as forming an essential part of the process of training. 
 Sir John Sinclair/ in his article on "Training," says, "With a view 
 of clearing the stomach, and getting rid of all superfluities, either of 
 blood or anything else, and also to promote good digestion afterwards, 
 medicines are given when the training is commenced. They begin 
 with an emetic, and in about two days afterwards give a dose of 
 Glauber's salts, from one to two ounces ; and, missing about two 
 days, another dose, and then a third. It is supposed that one 
 emetic and three doses of physic will clear any man of all the nox- 
 ious matter he may have had in his stomach and intestines." It is 
 scarcely necessary to state that no such heroic measures are now 
 deemed advisable, and, if our present ideas are correct, considerable 
 harm must have frequently resulted from their employment. 
 
 The tendency of the present day is not to attach so much import- 
 ance to strictness of diet as formerly, and perhaps the latitude given 
 is sometimes beyond what is desirable. There can be no doubt that, 
 to begin with, there should be no sudden deviation of a marked 
 nature from the accustomed diet, and afterwards that the restriction 
 should not be so severe as to excite any repugnance. Sudden changes 
 always incur the risk of a disturbance of health, and, unless the food 
 subsequently allowed proves grateful to the palate, the dietetic scheme 
 may fail to secure the fully nourished condition that is needed. 
 
 Lean meat has always entered largely into the diet for training, 
 and experience shows that it contributes in a higher degree than 
 other food to the development of strength and energy. If we look 
 to the lower animals, and compare the carnivora with the herbivora, 
 we notice a striking contrast in their muscular vigor and activity. 
 It has been ascertained physiologically that animal food disposes to 
 the removal of superfluous water (vide the effect in increasing the 
 flow of urine, p. 465) and fat, and makes the muscles firm and rich 
 in solid constituents. The accounts that are furnished by travellers 
 point to the aptitude of a meat diet for increasing the power of per- 
 forming muscular exertion. Dr. Livingstone 2 says, " When the 
 Makololo go on a foray, as they sometimes do, a month distant, 
 many of the subject tribes who accompany them being grain-eaters, 
 perish from sheer fatigue, while the beef-eaters scorn the idea of ever 
 
 1 The Code of Health and Longevity, 4th ed., 1818, p. 32. 
 
 2 Livingstone's Zambesi, p. 272. 
 
DIET FOR TRAINING. 499 
 
 being tired." Sir Francis Head, 1 when crossing the Pampas, got 
 tired at first with the constant galloping, and was obliged to ride in 
 a carriage after passing five or six hours on horseback ; but after, he 
 says, " I had been riding for three or four months, and had lived on 
 beef and water, I found myself in a condition which I can only de- 
 scribe by saying that I felt no exertion could kill me. . . . This 
 will explain the immense distances which people in South America 
 are said to ride, which/' adds Sir Francis Head, " I am confident 
 could only be done on beef and water." The Guachos, belonging to 
 South America, are a race of people well known for the extraordi- 
 nary number of hours they pass in active exercise on horseback, and 
 they are observed to subsist entirely on animal food. It will thus 
 be seen that evidence is not wanting to substantiate the position ac- 
 corded to meat in the trainer's regimen. 
 
 Roasting and broiling are considered to be the best modes of cook- 
 ing. All are agreed that the meat should not be overcooked, but 
 some have advocated that it should be eaten very much underdone. 
 Perhaps in the latter state it possesses higher stimulating properties, 
 but reason calls for its being cooked sufficiently to be palatable and 
 susceptible of mastication. There can be no doubt that, by over- 
 cooking, its digestibility and virtue are lessened. 
 
 Beef and mutton are the meats to be preferred, and it is not neces- 
 sary that all the fat should be excluded. Stale bread or dry toast, 
 potatoes, and some kind of green vegetable in moderation, are the 
 appropriate articles to be taken in conjunction. Water-cresses are 
 considered good. Pastry, flour puddings, sweets, and made dishes, 
 should find no place in the dietary of the man in training. The 
 farinaceous articles, as rice, sago, &c., are allowable, but should only 
 be taken to a moderate extent. To avoid too great sameness is an 
 important point, especially with those who have been previously ac- 
 customed to a liberal diet; at the same time it is not desirable that 
 the person should be tempted to eat to satiety. A full stomach, as is 
 well known, disposes to inactivity. Condiments, as pickles, sauces, 
 &c., are objectionable, on account of their effect being to force the 
 appetite, which should be simply allowed to have its natural play. 
 
 In former times it was the practice to rigorously restrain the con- 
 sumption of liquids to the lowest point that could be borne. Sir 
 
 1 Journeys Across the Pampas, 1828, p. 51. 
 
500 PRACTICAL DIETETICS. 
 
 John Sinclair 1 states, "There is no circumstance which seems to be 
 more essential in training up persons to the acquisition of athletic 
 strength than to permit them to take only a small quantity of liquid 
 food. . . . The ancient athletce were allowed but a very small quan- 
 tity of fluid. This dry diet, as it is termed, seems to have formed an 
 essential and important part of their regimen." Such a course of 
 procedure must evidently be wrong in principle. The exercise 
 undertaken involves an extensive loss of fluid, and it is only natural 
 that this should be replaced in proportion as thirst indicates its re- 
 quirement. In proof of the actual amount of loss occurring during 
 active exercise, Maclaren says, 2 "In one hour's energetic fencing, I 
 found the loss by perspiration and respiration, taking the average of 
 six consecutive days, to be about 3 Ibs., or, accurately, 40 oz., with 
 a varying range of 8 oz." The sensation of thirst may be taken as 
 affording a correct guide upon the point of the amount of liquid to 
 be consumed, but, instead of drinking freely at a draught to satiety, 
 the liquid should be sipped in small quantities, to give time for ab- 
 sorption, and thus satisfy thirst, without incurring the risk of intro- 
 ducing a surplus amount into the stomach. In this way the error 
 is not likely to be committed of drinking too much. The liquids 
 consumed must be of a simple and unexciting nature. Beer and the 
 light wines are allowable, but spirits should be scrupulously avoided. 
 Tea, coffee, and cocoa may be taken according to inclination, and, as 
 a simple diluent, nothing is better than toast and water, or barley- 
 water. 
 
 The proper number of meals to be taken during the day consists 
 of three, viz., one about 9 A.M., the second between 1 and 2 P.M., 
 and the third in the early part of the evening. 
 
 It has been mentioned that, at the commencement of training, 
 instead of plunging suddenly into a severe system of diet and exer- 
 cise, a gradual advance should be made. The same equally applies 
 to the cessation of training, and there is reason to believe that the 
 seeds of more or less serious mischief are often sown by the sudden 
 retreat that is customarily made from the life of discipline that has 
 been practiced. 
 
 Subjoined are the training tactics employed for rowing at Oxford 
 
 1 Op. cit , p 33. 
 
 2 Training in Theory and Practice, by A. Maclaren, 1866, p. 89. 
 
DIET FOR TRAINING. 501 
 
 and Cambridge, according to the tables contained in the appendix to 
 the work of Maclaren already referred to. 
 
 THE OXFORD SYSTEM. 
 
 A Day's Training for the Summer Races. 
 
 Rise about 7 A.M. A short walk or run. Breakfast at 8.30 of 
 meat (beef or mutton, underdone) ; bread (the crust only recom- 
 mended), or dry toast, and tea (as little as possible recommended). 
 Dinner at 2 P.M., of meat (much the same as for breakfast) ; bread, 
 and no vegetables (a rule, however, not always adhered to), with 
 one pint of beer. About 5 P.M.. a row twice over the course on the 
 river, the speed being increased with the strength of the crew. 
 Supper at 8.30 or 9 of cold meat and bread with perhaps a jelly or 
 watercresses, and one pint of beer. Retire to bed about 10. 
 
 A Day's Training for the Winter Races. 
 
 Rise about 7.30 A.M. A short walk or run. Breakfast at 9, as 
 for the summer races. Luncheon about 1 of bread or a sandwich, 
 and half a pint of beer. About 2 a row twice over the course. 
 Dinner at 5 of meat, as for the summer races ; bread ; vegetables, 
 the same rule as for the summer races ; pudding (rice) or jelly ; and 
 half a pint of beer. 
 
 It is particularly impressed on men in training that as little liquid 
 as possible is to be drunk, water being strictly forbidden. 
 
 THE CAMBRIDGE SYSTEM. 
 
 A Day's Training for the Summer Races. 
 
 Rise at 7 A.M. A run of 100 or 200 yards as fast as possible. 
 Breakfast at 8.30 of meat beef or mutton underdone ; dry toast ; 
 tea two cups, or towards the end of training a cup and a half only ; 
 and watercresses occasionally. Dinner about 2 of meat beef or 
 mutton ; bread ; vegetables potatoes, greens ; and one pint of beer. 
 (Some colleges have baked apples, or jellies, or rice puddings.) 
 Dessert oranges, or biscuits, or figs, with two glasses of wine. 
 About 5.30 a row to the starting-post and back. Supper about 8.30 
 
502 PRACTICAL DIETETICS. 
 
 or 9 of cold meat ; bread ; vegetables lettuce or watercresses ; and 
 one pint of beer. Retire to bed at 10. 
 
 A Day's Training for the Winter Races. 
 
 Rise about 7 A.M. Exercise as for the summer races. Breakfast 
 at 8.30, as for the summer races. Luncheon about 1 of a little cold 
 meat, bread, and half a pint of beer ; or biscuit with a glass of 
 sherry perhaps the yolk of an egg in the sherry. At 2 a row 
 over the course and back. Dinner about 5 or 6, as for the summer 
 races. Retire to bed about 10. 
 
THERAPEUTIC DIETETICS. 
 
 HOLDING the position that food does in relation to the operations 
 of life, the art of dietetics not only bears on the maintenance of 
 health, but is capable of being turned to advantageous account in 
 the treatment of disease. 
 
 Under natural circumstances, instinct guides us in the selection 
 and consumption of food and drink. Whilst keeping to simple 
 articles of diet, it may be left to the sensations of hunger and thirst 
 to regulate the amount of solids and liquids taken. In many dis- 
 ordered conditions, however, there is such a perverted state existing 
 that the promptings of nature fail to be evoked, and it devolves 
 upon reason to assume the initiative and dictate the supply to be 
 furnished. Under these circumstances, the nature and amount of 
 food administered will often exert a most potent influence for good 
 or evil, and the art of dietetics thus comes into great importance. 
 Skill and attention are called into requisition ; indeed, it is not too 
 much to say that success in the treatment of disease is largely de- 
 pendent upon a display of judicious management with regard to 
 food. 
 
 It frequently happens that the difficulty encountered in the sick- 
 room is to get what may be considered a proper amount of food 
 taken. The inclination to eat depends upon the state both of the 
 body and the mind. The food must be rendered pleasing to the eye 
 and agreeable to the palate ; and in order to rouse and keep in action 
 a flagging appetite, a suitable variety in what is provided must be 
 secured. Herein lies a great point in catering for sick people, and 
 but too often the error is committed of allowing an excess of same- 
 ness to prevail. 
 
 It must be borne in mind that the demand for food is dependent 
 upon its proper application, and failure of the appetite is often due 
 to the defective manner in which nutrition is performed. It is not 
 
504 THERAPEUTIC DIETETICS. 
 
 what we eat, but what we digest, assimilate, and apply, that concerns 
 us as regards nutrition. Food introduced into the stomach, but not 
 digested, assimilated, and employed, is calculated to prove a source 
 of irritation, and to do harm. It is not, therefore, to be thought 
 that because it is got down it must needs prove of service. Judicious 
 persuasion should be exercised ; but I believe that much needless 
 worry is often inflicted by the incessant solicitation, however well 
 meant, that is frequently made by those around a patient to get 
 food taken. The disinclination, indeed, for taking food is sometimes 
 such that the thought of it is sufficient to excite a feeling of repul- 
 sion, which, more powerful over the muscles concerned than the 
 will, overcomes any effort that may be made to swallow it. 
 
 The quantity of food administered at a time should be in pro- 
 portion to the power of digesting it, and to properly compensate for 
 a diminished quantity, there should be a corresponding increase in 
 the frequency of administration. " Little and often," is the maxim 
 upon many occasions to be followed, and much will sometimes de- 
 pend upon the strictness with which it is carried out; for, apart 
 from complying with what is wanted upon the principle that has 
 been just referred to, it meets the defective aptitude that exists in 
 sickness for sustaining any lengthened duration of absence of food. 
 
 As a natural result of the administration of food at short inter- 
 vals, no appetite is at any time experienced, even although the 
 circumstances may be such as would otherwise allow it to become 
 developed. The fact must not be lost sight of, that the return of a 
 feeling of desire for food may be kept back in this way ; and the 
 expediency must always be held in view of conforming as soon and 
 as far as is allowable with what is natural. Under all circumstances, 
 it may be said, the rule should be to follow, alike as to quality, 
 quantity, and periods of taking food, as closely as the conditions to 
 be dealt with will permit, the course that is natural in health. 
 
 It devolves upon the physician, in the dietetic management of his 
 case, to point out the suitable kinds and quantities of food to be 
 taken, but it depends upon the system of his patient whether his 
 recommendations can be carried out. It is no good to lay down and 
 attempt to enforce, as may be done in health, rigid dietetic regula- 
 tions, founded upon the number of grains of carbon and nitrogen 
 required for carrying on the operations of life. The difficulty with 
 
GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS. 505 
 
 which the practitioner is more often than not assailed, is as to what 
 can, and not as to what should, be taken. 
 
 As the principles of dietetics have become better understood, we 
 do not hear of those disastrous consequences of improper dieting, 
 affecting large numbers of people, that were formerly from time to 
 time recorded. There is still, however, a large amount of scattered 
 evil to be met with, in many instances directly dependent on the 
 food that is taken, and in others, if not directly occasioned by the 
 food, at all events removable by an altered system of dieting. It 
 may happen that this evil arises out of poverty or ignorance, but 
 more frequently it is the fruits of indiscretion. Much of the de- 
 ranged health which the physician is called upon to treat stands as 
 the offspring of some kind of error in eating or drinking, and his 
 first concern should be to find out what is wrong, in order that he 
 may know how to shape his advice advantageously. 
 
 In speaking of the appropriate diets to be employed in various 
 morbid conditions, attention will require to be directed to the partic- 
 ular diatheses or states of the body which different kinds of food 
 tend to induce, for it may be considered that the information thus 
 supplied often directs us to a rational mode of procedure in thera- 
 peutic dietetics. 
 
 It may be premised, to start with, that our natural diet consists 
 of an admixture of animal and vegetable food ; that different combi- 
 nations of alimentary principles are best suited for particular modes 
 of life; and that, if the combination supplied be wrongly adjusted, a 
 tendency to the development of an unhealthy state will exist. 
 
 The effect of a highly nitrogenized diet and it is animal food 
 which is characterized by richness in nitrogenous matter is to 
 throw upon the system a large amount of eliminative work. The 
 nitrogenous matter in excess of that which is directly applied to the 
 growth and renovation of the structures of the body undergoes a 
 process of retrograde metamorphosis, and is resolved in part into 
 certain useless nitrogenous products which have to be cast out by 
 the agency of the glandular organs with which we are provided. 
 Now, as long as free exercise is taken and the circulation is kept in 
 an active state, favorable circumstances exist for the absorption of 
 oxygen and the proper occurrence of metamorphosis and elimina- 
 tion. Thus circumstanced, a diet into which animal food enters 
 
506 THERAPEUTIC DIETETICS. 
 
 largely a diet, that is, rich in nitrogenous matter is borne with 
 ease, and indeed may be said to conduce to increased tissue forma- 
 tion and the development of a high state of bodily health and 
 strength. Conjoined with sedentary habits, however, a different 
 result is observed. The sluggish circulation which such habits tend 
 to occasion naturally entails defective oxygenation. This, in its 
 turn, leads to imperfect metamorphosis, and the two together con- 
 spire to induce deficient eliminative action. Thus the system be- 
 comes more or less clogged with effete products, which act perni- 
 ciously in various ways upon the body. For instance, there is 
 reason to believe that they may sometimes in a direct manner con- 
 stitute the source of gouty deposits in the joints. They undoubtedly 
 give rise to the presence of a preternatural amount of solid matter 
 in the urine, manifesting a proneness to become deposited under the 
 form of sand, gravel, or stone. They likewise disturb the action of 
 the liver, producing a disposition to the occurrence of bilious de- 
 rangement. Besides these effects, evidence is not wanting to show r 
 that through their influence the other functions of life are to a 
 greater or less extent interfered with. To obviate, therefore, the 
 production of these disordered actions, those who lead an inactive 
 life should not allow their diet to contain a preponderance of nitro- 
 genous food that is, they should abstain from partaking largely of 
 animal products. 
 
 Gout has been enumerated above amongst the evils that may 
 arise from the consumption of a highly nitrogenized diet, and the 
 present opportunity may be taken for referring to the appropriate 
 dietetic course to be pursued by those who are suffering from, and 
 those who desire to avert the invasion of, the disorder. Cullen re- 
 marked that gout seldom attacks persons employed in constant 
 bodily labor, or those who live principally upon vegetable diet, and 
 general observation confirms the truth of this statement. If not 
 completely proved, it is nevertheless highly probable, that gout is 
 the offspring of an undue accumulation of imperfectly metamor- 
 phosed nitrogenous products within the body, and that either an 
 excess of nitrogenous matter in the food, a deficiency on the part of 
 the metamorphosing capacity of the system (such as may be pro- 
 duced by an inactive life), or the ingestion of certain alcoholic 
 drinks which appear to contain extractive matter prone to undergo 
 
DIET FOR GOUT. 507 
 
 imperfect metamorphosis (vide p. 361), and perhaps to impede the 
 metamorphosis of other substances, may be the source of this condi- 
 tion. Whether or not the above reasoning is correct, it is known 
 as the result of experience that a highly animalized diet, sedentary 
 habits, and indulgence in the use of the richer varieties of wine and 
 beer, individually and conjointly tend to encourge the development 
 of gout. It has been previously stated, that a diet rich in animal 
 food may be consumed with advantage where much muscular work 
 is performed. It seems, under these circumstances, to be both pro- 
 motive of health and bodily vigor. Not so, however, where seden- 
 tary habits prevail, and particularly is this the case where a gouty 
 disposition exists. With those who have already experienced symp- 
 toms of gout, and those also who have grounds for apprehending 
 its invasion, it is important that an excess of nitrogenous food 
 should be avoided. The diet should be simple, in order to escape 
 the temptation of eating too much, and at the same time it should 
 be adjusted to the mode of life, the principle to observe being, that 
 the higher the degree of inactivity the greater ought to be the pre- 
 ponderance of food derived from the vegetable kingdom. 
 
 Even of more importance than what is eaten is what is drunk, 
 where the question of gout is concerned, and observation shows that 
 it is not distilled spirits, but the stronger wines and malt liquors 
 which favor the production of the disorder. Nothing is more potent 
 than port wine in leading to the production of gout, and a few years' 
 liberal indulgence in it has often been known to be instrumental in 
 bringing it on where no family predisposition had existed. Dry 
 sherry and the light wines, as claret, burgundy, hock, champagne, 
 <fec., may be drunk, certainly in moderation, with comparatively 
 little or no fear of inducing the disease, although any kind of wine 
 appears capable of sometimes acting as the exciting cause of a par- 
 oxysm where the gouty disposition is already established. Stout, 
 porter, and the stronger ales, aspecially those which have be<jome 
 hard from age, rank next to port wine in their power of predispos- 
 ing to gout. As regards the light bitter beers, which are so exten- 
 sively used at the present time, the same must be said of them as of 
 the light wines, viz., that with little, if any, disposition to induce 
 the disease, they nevertheless appear capable of sometimes exciting 
 its manifestation in a gouty subject. A pure spirit, as whisky, hoi- 
 lands, or brandy, diluted with water, often forms the only kind of 
 
508 THERAPEUTIC DIETETICS. 
 
 alcoholic drink that is found to agree with those who are suffering 
 from gout. 
 
 The effect of a deficiency of nitrogenous matter is to tell prejudici- 
 ally upon nutrition and vigor. Forming, as it does, the essential 
 basis of living structures, a definite quantity is indispensable for the 
 proper development and maintenance of the body. However freely 
 the other elements of food may be supplied, an ill-nourished and 
 feeble condition, such as was formerly noticeable amongst the potato- 
 eating Irish, must necessarily follow a scanty allowance of nitrogen- 
 ous matter. As the instrument of living action, power will be pro- 
 portionate, other circumstances being equal, to the amount of nitro- 
 genous matter existing in operation. 
 
 Fatty matter occupies a position of considerable importance as an 
 alimentary agent. Apart from its high capacity as a force-produc- 
 ing agent, its presence seems to be essential to tissue formation, and, 
 rightly or wrongly, the belief is entertained that the existence of a 
 deficiency for application in this way furnishes a source of diseased 
 action in the direction of scrofula and tubercle. Experience shows 
 the beneficial effect that is often derivable from the administration of 
 cod-liver oil in the scrofulous and tubercular diatheses. Now, it is 
 probably to the increased systematic employment of fatty matter that 
 this effect is to a large extent due, and it is only reasonable to infer 
 that a measure which proves of efficacy in removing an unhealthy 
 condition would also tend to prevent its development. 
 
 Taken in excess, fatty matter is apt to derange the alimentary canal. 
 It is always more or less trying to the stomach, and particularly so 
 when it has undergone change from keeping or from prolonged 
 exposure to heat. Reaching the bowels beyond the capacity that 
 exists for effecting its digestion and absorption, it is liable to set up 
 diarrhoea. 
 
 Starchy and saccharine matters form advantageous constituents of 
 our food, and serve to take the place that would otherwise require to 
 be filled by an extra amount of fat. Consumed in moderate amount, 
 they are utilized by application to the operations of life ; but taken 
 to a large extent, and in association with a proper proportion of albu- 
 minous and fatty matter, they lead to an advancing deposit of fat, 
 which may proceed to a point to prove a source of serious evil. They 
 possess the convenient quality of taxing lightly the digestive organs, 
 
PRINCIPLES OF DIETING FOR THINNESS AND STOUTNESS. 509 
 
 and thereby usefully contribute to afford appropriate food for sick 
 and delicate persons. Used in excess and too exclusively, however, 
 they are liable to give rise to acidity of stomach and flatulence. 
 
 The present may be looked upon as forming the most fitting op- 
 portunity for referring to the kind of food best suited for increasing 
 and diminishing stoutness. The condition of the body is to a large 
 extent dependent on the quality and quantity of food consumed. It 
 is not, however, wholly the question of food that is concerned, but 
 also the temperament or nervous organization belonging to the indi- 
 vidual. It is well known that, whatever and however much some 
 people may eat, they always remain thin, whilst others grow stout 
 although eating comparatively little. The same holds good in the 
 case of the lower animals, and fatteners of animals for the table are 
 practically made aware that a restless disposition is unfavorable to 
 successful fattening. "A restless pig," states Liebig, 1 upon the 
 strength of practical information furnished to him, " is not adapted 
 for fattening, and, however great the supply of food, it will not grow 
 fat. Pigs which are fit for fattening must be of a quiet nature ; after 
 eating they must sleep, and after sleeping must be ready to eat 
 again." 
 
 From what is contained in the foregoing pages we learn that the 
 increase of muscle is most promoted by a diet which is rich in nitro- 
 genous matter conjoined with exercise. It is simply, however, a 
 growth of muscular tissue which occurs under these conditions. The 
 fat undergoes no increase. Indeed, the effect of such a regimen is 
 to lead to a reduction of fat if a superfluity has existed at the com- 
 mencement. These are facts which have long been known, and are 
 constantly being attested by the results obtained by training. It 
 has been equally well known that the conditions most conducive to 
 the accumulation of fat are a diet which is rich in either fat or 
 carbohydrates (provided the requisite amount of nitrogenous mat- 
 ter be present for affording what is wanted for the operations of 
 life), exposure to a warm atmosphere, and inactive habits. The food 
 used for the fattening of domestic animals by those who have ac- 
 quired the knowledge by experience of what is best is of the nature 
 described. The efficacy of sugar in promoting fatness is displayed 
 by the change that occurs in the condition of the negro during the 
 
 1 Animal Chemistry, 2d ed., p. 312. 
 
510 THERAPEUTIC DIETETICS. 
 
 sugar-making season in the West Indies. The ordinary food of 
 these people, I was informed by a plantation proprietor belonging to 
 Barbadoes, consists of Indian corn meal, rice, butter, and salt, with, 
 during a portion of the year, the sweet potato, which is grown as a 
 succession-crop to the sugar cane. I learned from the same source, in 
 confirmation of what has been mentioned by others, that during the 
 season for gathering the sugar-cane, which extends through March, 
 April, and May, the workpeople are noticed to grow conspicuously 
 stouter, and they attribute (doubtless correctly) this change to the 
 habit that prevails of constantly chewing pieces of the succulent cane 
 whilst they are working amongst it. 
 
 That a supply of fat should tend to augment the accumulation of 
 fat in the body is simple and intelligible enough. Digestion, absorp- 
 tion, and accumulation, when in excess of the immediate require- 
 ments of the body, follow its ingestion as natural sequences. With 
 the carbohydrates, however, an elaborating process has to be carried 
 out they necessarily require, in the first place, to become converted 
 by assimilative action into fat before they can lead to the accumula- 
 tion of this principle. Although the point was at one time disputed, 
 precise experimental evidence is now adducible (vide p. 127 et seq.) 
 showing that this assimilative power is enjoyed by the animal sys- 
 tem, and common observation affords confirmatory testimony. For 
 the conversion to take place, the food must contain a due proportion 
 of nitrogenous matter. Without this, nutrition suffers, and the car- 
 bohydrates fail to produce an increase of fat. The presence of a 
 certain proportion of fatty matter seems also to promote the conver- 
 sion of the carbohydrates into fat. I have found, for example, in 
 experimenting upon the subject, that the addition of a moderate 
 amount of fat to a fixed daily allowance of barley meal and potatoes, 
 which had previously maintained a dog without any material varia- 
 tion in weight, caused an increase in weight beyond the amount of 
 fat administered. The food employed, also, for fattening the goose 
 and obtaining the/oie gras consists of Indian corn, which is charac- 
 terized amongst farinaceous seeds by the large proportion of fatty 
 matter it contains. 
 
 Guided, then, by the information we possess, the dietary to be 
 prescribed, where tne aim is to produce increased stoutness, should 
 comprise such articles as fat meats, butter, cream, milk, cocoa, choco- 
 late, bread, potatoes, peas, parsnips, carrots, beet-root, farinaceous 
 
REDUCTION OF CORPULENCY. 511 
 
 and flour puddings, pastry, almond puddings and biscuits, custard, 
 frumenty, oatmeal porridge, sugar and sweets, sweet wines, porter, 
 stout, sweet ales, and liqueurs. Women in the Bey's seraglio at 
 Tripoli, we are told (Mrs. Walker's "Female Beauty"), "are fat- 
 tened against a certain day by means of repose and baths, assisted by 
 a diet of Turkish flour mixed with honey." 
 
 For reducing stoutness just the converse mode of dieting is natu- 
 rally dictated ; and that there is nothing new in applying dietetics 
 to this purpose is shown by the subjoined extract from the writings 
 of Sir John Sinclair. Amongst the remedies for corpulency the fol- 
 lowing dietary rules are given: " Liquid food. Acid wines, like 
 hock, ought to be preferred to sweet wines, and cider to malt liquors; 
 for when the former is the usual beverage the people are leaner than 
 when the latter is usually drunk. Plain water, or mixed with a 
 small proportion of the best vinegar, may be taken. Vinegar is 
 better than the juice of lemons, having passed through the process 
 of fermentation. Tea and coffee should be taken by corpulent people 
 without cream. Solid food. The bread should have the bran in it, 
 so as to be more digestible. Vegetable diet to be preferred ; hard 
 dumplings excellent. If any animal food is taken, let it be fish, or 
 lean and dry meat. No eggs or butter, and the less sugar the better." 1 
 We cannot now, it is true, subscribe in their entirety to the recom- 
 mendations here furnished, for, in some respects, owing to the imper- 
 fect knowledge of physiology which prevailed in Sir John Sinclair's 
 time, they stand at variance with the precepts founded on the teach- 
 ings of modern science. 
 
 A few years ago a great stir was made about the treatment of cor- 
 pulency by the publicity given by Mr. Banting to his own case, in 
 which, after unsuccessfully trying other means, he reduced himself 
 from cumbersome to comely dimensions by dietetic measures. His 
 original dietary table, Mr. Banting tells us, consisted of "bread and 
 milk for breakfast, or a pint of tea with plenty of milk, sugar, and 
 buttered toast ; meat, beer, much bread, and pastry for dinner ; the 
 meal of tea similar to that of breakfast; and generally a fruit tart or 
 bread and milk for supper." For this he substituted Breakfast at 
 9 A.M. : five to six ounces of either beef, mutton, kidneys, broiled 
 fish, bacon, or cold meat of any kind except pork or veal ; a large 
 
 1 The Code of Health and Longevity, 4th ed., 1818, p. 530. 
 
512 THERAPEUTIC DIETETICS. 
 
 cup of tea or coffee (without milk or sugar), a little biscuit, or one 
 ounce of dry. toast : making together six ounces of solids and nine of 
 liquids. Dinner at 2 P.M : five or six ounces of any fish except 
 salmon, herrings, or eels ; any meat except pork or veal ; any vege- 
 table except potato, parsnip, beet-root, turnip, or carrot ; one ounce 
 of dry toast; fruit out of a pudding not sweetened; any kind of 
 poultry or game ; and two or three glasses of good claret, sherry, or 
 Madeira champagne, port, and beer forbidden : making together 
 ten to twelve ounces of solids and ten of liquids. Tea at 6 P.M : two 
 or three ounces of cooked fruit, a rusk or two, and a cup of tea with- 
 out milk or sugar : making two to four ounces of solids and nine of 
 liquids. Supper at 9 P.M. : three or four ounces of meat or fish, 
 similar to dinner; with a glass or two of claret or sherry and water: 
 making four ounces of solids and seven of liquids. 
 
 With this change of diet Mr. Banting states that he fell in weight 
 from 14 stone 6 Ib. to 11 stone 2 Ib. in about a year. Such is 
 nothing more than, without the aid of the experience afforded by his 
 case, would have been physiologically looked for. If he had been 
 trying before the change to increase his corpulence he could scarcely 
 have selected a more appropriate diet. The transition, having in 
 view the object to be obtained, and speaking upon the strength of 
 previously acquired physiological knowledge, was from an errone- 
 ously to a properly constructed dietary. 
 
 No new principle of action was brought to light, but there is this 
 to be said, that before the introduction of "Bantingism" it was not 
 sufficiently realized that dietetics might be turned to such practical 
 account as it is really susceptible of for the reduction of corpulency. 
 
 It must not be lost sight of that the quantity of food in Mr. Bant- 
 ing's dietary is such as would be calculated to contribute its share of 
 influence towards reducing the weight of the body ; and it certainly 
 must not be looked upon as safe to be indiscriminately followed 
 indeed, there is reason to believe that, when the popular rage for 
 " Bantingism " prevailed, many persons incurred a serious impair- 
 ment of health by keeping too strictly to the letter of the recommen- 
 dation given. The dietary provides twenty-two to twenty-six ounces 
 of solid food, with thirty-five ounces of liquids, per diem. The 
 twenty-two to twenty-six ounces of solid food may be taken as rep- 
 resenting about eleven to thirteen ounces of water-free material, and 
 if reference be made to Playfair's dietaries (vide ante, p. 428), it will 
 
DIET FOR CORPULENCY. 513 
 
 be seen that this fails to come up to what is classed as only a " sub- 
 sistence diet." The middle diet of Guy's Hospital, which forms the 
 general diet upon which the inmates of the institution are placed, 
 and which experience shows can scarcely be regarded as furnishing 
 much, if anything, beyond what is really required for the support of 
 life under a quiescent state, furnishes 29J ounces of solid food, and 
 represents 16f ounces of water- free material (vide p. 469). With 
 these comparisons the reader is supplied with data for forming his 
 own judgment upon the point in question. 
 
 Dr. Parkes, after remarking that an excess of albuminates causes 
 a more rapid oxidation of fat, says, 1 " It is now generally admitted 
 that the success of Mr. Banting's treatment of obesity is owing to 
 two actions : the increased oxidizing effect of fat consequent on the 
 increase of meat (especially if exercise be combined), and the lessened 
 interference with the oxidation of fat consequent on the deprivation 
 of starches." Whether or not an increase of meat produces the 
 alleged effect of promoting the oxidation of fat, it is practically cer- 
 tain that enough is to be found to account for what occurs in the 
 spare allowance of food and the restraint imposed in the use of fat 
 and fat-forming principles. 
 
 As a resum6 for the guidance of the corpulent, if may be said that 
 the fat of meat ; butter ; cream ; sugar and sweets ; pastry ; puddings ; 
 farinaceous articles, as rice, sago, tapioca, &c. ; potatoes ; carrots ; 
 parsnips ; beet-root ; sweet ales ; porter ; stout ; port wine, and all 
 sweet wines, should be avoided, or only taken to the most sparing 
 extent. The articles allowable, and they should be taken to the ex- 
 tent of satisfying a natural appetite, are lean meat ; poultry ; game ; 
 eggs ; milk moderately ; green vegetables ; turnips ; succulent fruits ; 
 light wines, as claret, Burgundy, hock, &c. ; dry sherry ; bitter ale 
 in moderation; and spirits. Wheaten bread should be consumed 
 sparingly, and brown bread is to some extent better than white. The 
 gluten biscuits which are prepared for the diabetic may, on account 
 of their comparative freedom from starch, be advantageously used as 
 a substitute for bread in the treatment of obesity. 
 
 In Diabetes mellitus a morbid condition exists attended with a 
 want of assimilative power over the starchy and saccharine principles 
 of food ; and in order to keep down the symptoms of the disease, the 
 
 1 On Hygiene, 3d ed., p. 161. 
 33 
 
514 THERAPEUTIC DIETETICS. 
 
 dietary requires to be framed so as to secure as far as practicable an 
 exclusion of these principles. The following is the dietary plan for 
 this complaint, introduced into my work " On the Nature and Treat- 
 ment of Diabetes." 
 
 DIETARY FOR THE DIABETIC. 
 
 MAY EAT 
 
 Butcher's meat of all kinds, except liver. 
 Ham, bacon, or other smoked, salted, dried, or cured meats. 
 
 Poultry. Game. 
 
 Shell-fish and fish of all kinds, fresh, salted, or cured. 
 
 Animal soups not thickened, beef tea, and broths. 
 
 The almond, bran, or gluten substitute for ordinary bread. 1 
 
 Eggs dressed in any way. 
 
 Cheese. Cream cheese. 
 
 Butter. Cream. 
 Greens. Spinach. Turnip tops. ^Turnips. 
 
 ^French beans. ^Brussels sprouts. 
 ^Cauliflower. ^Broccoli. *Cabbage. 
 
 ^Asparagus. *Seakale. ^Vegetable marrow. Mushrooms. 
 
 Water-cress. Mustard and cress. Cucumber. Lettuce. 
 
 Endive. Radishes. Celery. 
 
 Vinegar. Oil. Pickles. 
 
 Jelly, flavored, but not sweetened. 
 
 Savory jelly. 
 Blanc-mange made with cream, and not milk. 
 
 Custard made without sugar. 
 Nuts of any description, except chestnuts. Olives. 
 
 NOTE. Those marked with an asterisk (*) may only be eaten in moderate quantity, and should 
 be boiled in a large quantity of water. 
 
 MUST AVOID EATING 
 
 Sugar in any form. 
 
 "Wheaten bread and ordinary biscuits of all kinds. 
 
 Rice. Arrowroot. Sago. Tapioca. Macaroni. Vermicelli. 
 
 Potatoes. Carrots. Parsnips. Beet-root. 
 
 Peas. Spanish onions. 
 
 Pastry and puddings of all kinds. 
 
 Fruit of all kinds, fresh and preserved. 
 
 i These substitutes may be obtained at Mr. Blatchley's, 362 Oxford Street ; 
 Mr. Van Abbot's, of 5 Princes Street, Cavendish Square; and Mr. Bonthron's, 
 106 Regent Street. 
 
DIET FOR DIABETES. 515 
 
 MAY DRINK 
 
 Tea. Coffee. Cocoa from nibs. 
 
 Dry sherry. Claret. Dry Sauterne. Burgundy. Chablis. Hock. 
 Brandy, and spirits that have not been sweetened. 
 
 Soda-water. 
 Burton bitter ale, in moderate quantity. 
 
 MUST AVOID DRINKING 
 
 Milk, except sparingly. 
 
 Sweet ales mild and old. Porter and stout. Cider. 
 
 All sweet wines. Sparkling wines. Port wine, unless sparingly. 
 
 Liqueurs. 
 
 Experience has shown that, for the proper maintenance of health, 
 a certain proportion of the food must be consumed in the fresh state. 
 The ill effects that are producible by a too exclusive restriction to 
 salted and dried provisions, are now recognized in their true light ; 
 and with the knowledge that has been obtained, means have been 
 placed at our command for averting those calamitous results due to 
 scorbutic affections, which were formerly so common, particularly 
 amongst the maritime classes. Without being able to give the pre- 
 cise reason for what occurs, it is evident that there is something 
 absent from dried and salted food which the system requires, for 
 under restriction to its use for a lengthened period a state of poverty 
 of blood is induced, which leads to the various manifestations of 
 defective nutrition that accompany scurvy ; and, moreover, by the 
 employment of a certain amount of fresh or succulent vegetable 
 food, and even of vegetable juices (lemon-juice and lime-juice are 
 specially used for the purpose), not only may the evils of scurvy be 
 averted, but the diseased condition when established may be cured. 
 It is generally considered that the antiscorbutic virtue of the articles 
 named is owing to the vegetable acids which they contain ; but it 
 must be remarked, that the pure acids cannot be efficaciously used 
 as a substitute. 
 
 A beneficial influence may be exerted in certain states of the sys- 
 tem by regulating the amount of fluid taken. 
 
 The supply of a certain amount of fluid is as indispensable as 
 that of solid matter for the performance of the operations of life. 
 One use of the fluids taken is to furnish the requisite liquid material 
 
516 THERAPEUTIC DIETETICS. 
 
 for carrying the effete products from the body. "With increased 
 water-drinking there is an increased discharge of urine, and with it 
 an increased removal of solid matter ; and there can be no doubt 
 that, in certain states, a powerful influence for good may be exerted 
 by putting this principle of action into force. With those, for in- 
 stance, who lead a sedentary mode of life, and are accustomed to full 
 living, the effect of the free consumption of a watery fluid may be to 
 rid the system of impurities which might otherwise lead to evils, 
 such as liver disorder, gout, gravel, &c. Probably much of the 
 benefit, in many instances, derived from undergoing the course of 
 treatment pursued at a watering resort, is in great part due to the 
 eliminative effect of the water drunk. 
 
 The restriction of fluids is also sometimes capable of effecting 
 good. It constitutes a recognized therapeutic agency that is occa- 
 sionally employed in certain cases under the denomination of the 
 "dry treatment." It has been recommended for cutting short a 
 common head cold, and when so employed must be put in force at 
 the very commencement of the attack. No liquid of any kind is 
 to be drunk until the disorder is gone, the object being to avoid 
 supplying fluid for discharge from the inflamed mucous membrane 
 of the nose. The treatment is affirmed to be less distressing to bear 
 than might be thought, and to be capable of effecting a cure in forty- 
 eight hours. In pleurisy, with serous effusion, feeding the patient 
 upon the driest possible diet, and withholding liquids as far as prac- 
 ticable, has in some cases proved successful in leading to an absorp- 
 tion of the fluid. The restriction of fluids likewise forms a part of 
 Mr. Tuffnell's plan of treatment of internal aneurisms by "position 
 and diet." The treatment is specially advocated for aneurisms of 
 the thoracic and abdominal aorta, which cannot be otherwise treated, 
 and several examples of successful issue have been placed on record. 
 The points aimed at are to diminish the volume of blood and re- 
 duce the activity of the circulation, so that coagulation of fibrin 
 within the sac may be favored. Conjoined with a strict maintenance 
 of rest in the recumbent position for eight or ten weeks, the daily 
 diet recommended for use consists of two ounces of white bread with 
 butter, and two ounces of cocoa or milk, for breakfast ; three ounces 
 of broiled or boiled meat, with three ounces of potatoes or breadj and 
 four ounces of water or light claret, for dinner ; and two ounces of 
 bread and butter, with two ounces of milk or tea, for supper : 
 
REGULATION OF AMOUNT OF FLUIDS. 517 
 
 making, altogether, ten ounces of solid and eight ounces of fluid food 
 in the twenty-four hours. 
 
 The nature of the food exerts a marked influence on the urine, and 
 the effect may be turned to useful account therapeutical ly. 
 
 Physiology teaches us that the kidneys perform an eliminative 
 office. The water which they remove in regulating the amount of 
 fluid in the system is made the vehicle for carrying off solid matter, 
 consisting of useless products of metamorphosis of the food and 
 effete materials resulting from the disintegration of the tissues, which 
 poison and produce death if allowed to accumulate in the blood. As 
 long as the kidneys are acting healthily, these matters are discharged 
 as fast as they are formed, and no danger of their undue retention 
 within the body is incurred. The kidneys, however, are liable to 
 become the seat of disease of a character to lead to their eliminative 
 capacity being interfered with. Bright's disease is of this nature, and 
 one mode of fatal termination in this affection is by ursemic poison- 
 ing in other words, by coma attributable to the imperfect removal 
 of urinary products. 
 
 Now, the amount of urinary matter to be discharged is largely 
 dependent upon the nature of the food. The fats and carbohydrates 
 throw no work upon the kidneys. The products of their utilization 
 carbonic acid and water pass off through another channel. The 
 nitrogenous ingesta, on the other hand, as explained in a previous 
 section of this work (vide p. 76), in great part undergo metamorpho- 
 sis, and yield their nitrogen to be carried off in combination with a 
 portion of their other elements, under the form of urinary products. 
 In this way the kidneys become taxed by the food. Under an ordi- 
 nary mixed diet, indeed, the chief part of the solid matter of the 
 urine consists of nitrogenous products, and observation has shown 
 that it is to the nitrogenous matter ingested that these stand related. 
 Upon the principle, therefore, of endeavoring to lighten the work of 
 an affected organ, it is reasonable to infer that good may be done in 
 Bright's disease by arranging the diet so as not to lead to the intro- 
 duction of more nitrogenous matter into the system than is absolutely 
 needed, and this may be effected by allowing vegetable food to pre- 
 ponderate. 
 
 It must not be lost sight of that the escape of albumen might be 
 brought forward as affording an argument in favor of an extra amount 
 
518 THERAPEUTIC DIETETICS. 
 
 of nitrogenous matter being required in order to compensate for the 
 waste occurring. In the form of Bright's disease, however, where 
 the greatest impairment of functional capacity of the kidney is en- 
 countered, viz., in the contracted kidney, the amount of albumen 
 escaping is frequently insignificant, and sometimes, even, there may 
 be none. It may be presumably considered, in fact, that the effect 
 of the mere loss of albumen is not so much to be dreaded as the 
 danger of uraemia, which is constantly impending, and which is the 
 most likely to be staved oif for a time by the dietetic measures that 
 are calculated to lead to a limited production of urinary matter for 
 discharge. 
 
 The reaction of the urine is also susceptible of being influenced by 
 the character of the food, and this likewise may be turned to account 
 therapeutical ly. The effect of animal food is to increase the acidity, 
 whilst that of vegetable food is to diminish it, and even to produce 
 alkalinity. The urine of the dog, like that of the carnivora generally, 
 is strongly acid, but it may be rendered alkaline by a diet of potatoes. 
 The urine of the herbivora, although acid during fasting, or during 
 the intervals of digestion, tends to become alkaline and to remain so 
 for a certain period after feeding. The ordinary reaction of the urine 
 of man a mixed feeder is acid, but after fruits and other vegetable 
 articles partaken of largely it has been observed to present an alka- 
 line behavior. Bernard conducted an observation upon himself 
 bearing on this point, and obtained a strongly marked attestation. 
 His urine, to start with, was examined, and found to possess its ordi- 
 nary acid character; and, moreover, was sufficiently loaded with 
 lithates to throw down a deposit on cooling. He began in the morn- 
 ing, and confined himself throughout the day to vegetables, fruit, 
 and butter. The urine remained acid till night, but on the follow- 
 ing morning it was decidedly alkaline, and no longer threw down the 
 lithate deposit that had been noticed before. He partook at 8 A.M. 
 of coffee and milk and bread ; and at noon of meat, eggs, cheese, and 
 wine. At 2 P.M. the urine was still alkaline, but at 4 P.M. it had 
 become neutral, and at 6 P.M. acid, in which state it afterwards re- 
 mained, and again threw down the lithate deposit. 
 
 Dr. Bence Jones pointed out that the effect of the ingestion of food, 
 without reference to any special kind, is to diminish for a time the 
 acidity of the urine. He found, as the result of an examination 
 conducted at short intervals, that a notable falling oif in its acidity 
 
ALTERATION OF THE URINE. 519 
 
 was discoverable after a meal; and that in numbers of healthy 
 persons it became neutral or alkaline for two or three hours after 
 breakfast and dinner. Dr. Bence Jones regarded this result as de- 
 pendent on the witlidrawl of acid from the blood into the stomach 
 for the purpose of digestion, the blood being thereby left for the time 
 less capable of yielding acid to the urine. Dr. Roberts 1 has discussed 
 the subject, and refers the phenomenon to the effect of the entrance 
 of the newly digested food into the blood. He says, " If, as is be- 
 lieved, the normal alkalescence of the blood is due to the preponder- 
 ance of alkaline bases in all our ordinary articles of food, a meal is 
 pro tanto a dose of alkali, and must necessarily, for a time, add to 
 the alkalescence of the blood ; and as the kidneys have delegated to 
 them the function of regulating the reaction of the blood, the urine 
 immediately reflects any undue addition to, or subtraction from, the 
 blood's proper alkalescence." Without detracting from the validity 
 of the explanation suggested by Dr. Bence Jones for the abstrac- 
 tion of acid from the blood by the stomach may help to produce the 
 result Dr. Roberts's view is in harmony with the circumstance, 
 that the effect of food in the way mentioned is most strikingly appar- 
 ent in the vegetable-feeder, where the saline matter ingested has the 
 greatest capacity for giving alkalescence. In the rabbit, for instance, 
 the urine, which is acid and clear during fasting, becomes, as an 
 everyday occurrence, opaque and milky after the ingestion of food, 
 in consequence of the deposition of earthy phosphates resulting from 
 the marked degree of alkalescence acquired. 
 
 From what -has preceded, it is seen that an excess of acidity and 
 of solid matter may be reduced by means of a preponderance of 
 vegetable food in the diet. With those suffering from the lithic acid 
 diathesis those in whom the urine may throw down red sand, or 
 simply be unduly loaded and acid a most beneficial effect may be 
 produced by arranging the diet so that a limited allowance only of 
 animal food is consumed, and that succulent vegetables and fruits, 
 with the light wines, as claret, hock, &c., obtain a conspicuous place. 
 On the other hand, where there is a tendency to alkalinity and the 
 deposition of the earthy phosphates, exactly the opposite course 
 should be adopted ; but it must be remarked that the same degree of 
 success is not always in this case to be obtained ; and, where the 
 
 1 On Urinary and Kenal Diseases, 2d ed., p. 50. 
 
520 THERAPEUTIC DIETETICS. 
 
 urine is alkaline from the presence of ammonia, no decided effect 
 must be looked for* 
 
 I have hitherto been speaking of the therapeutic application of 
 dietetics through influences exerted upon the system, and have shown 
 that various morbid conditions are capable of being beneficially af- 
 fected by appropriately regulating the nature of the food consumed. 
 I will pass now to the consideration of the application of dietetics to 
 the treatment of diseased and disordered conditions of the digestive 
 organs, and, here, dealing with the immediate reciprocity that is ob- 
 served to exist, the character of the food forms an all-important 
 matter in the management of the case ; indeed, it is not too much to 
 say, that there is usually more to be done by proper dieting than by 
 the agency of drugs ; and, without some attention to dietetics, drugs 
 will rarely be found to prove efficacious in affording relief. 
 
 It is as organs in the exercise of their functional capacity that the 
 digestive organs are brought into relation with food ; and it may be 
 remarked, as a preliminary point of consideration, that, besides the 
 absolute character of the food, there are conditions of a collateral 
 nature connected with its ingest ion which exert their influence for 
 good or evil and demand attention. In the first place, much depends 
 upon the state in which the food reaches the stomach. Thorough 
 mastication affords great assistance to the performance of digestion, 
 and derangement of the digestive system is not unfrequently attrib- 
 utable to the food being swallowed in an imperfectly masticated 
 state. The dental art may here prove of incalculable service, a.nd 
 sometimes it may be found advisable to recommend that the food 
 should be finely minced before being eaten an operation which may 
 be most effectually achieved by having recourse to the aid of a 
 mincing apparatus, and small mincing machines have been specially 
 constructed for the purpose. Taking the food at regular periods also 
 tends to promote the orderly working of the digestive organs, and 
 where derangement has to be rectified, should be carefully attended 
 to. The amount of food that can be taken at a time should form 
 'the guide for regulating the frequency of taking it. The smaller 
 the amount tolerated at once, the more frequent should be its admin- 
 istration. An interval of more than four or five hours' duration be- 
 tween the meals is to be avoided. It acts perniciously in more ways 
 .than one. By inducing an exhausted state of the system, it dimin- 
 
FOOD FOR WEAK DIGESTION. 521 
 
 ishes the energy of the digestive organs, and, whilst having this ef- 
 fect, it at the same time calls for the exercise of increased energy, on 
 account of the larger amount of food which requires to be taken at 
 each meal, as a compensation for the duration of the interval that 
 has elapsed. It is with digestion as with other kinds of work : the 
 effect of allowing it to be leisurely accomplished, as by taking mode- 
 rate-sized meals at intervals of jiioderate duration, instead of crowd- 
 ing it into limited periods, as by taking larger meals with intervals 
 of longer duration, is to render it more easily performed. 
 
 In giving attention now to the kind of food best adapted for em- 
 ployment in different disordered states of the alimentary canal, the 
 rational course will be to take the influence exerted by the various 
 groups of alimentary articles as affording a guiding principle of ac- 
 tion. 
 
 The office of the stomach is to dissolve nitrogenous matter, and 
 as animal food is characterized by a preponderating amount of such 
 matter, it specially taxes the powers of the organ in question. Peas, 
 beans, and other leguminous seeds, are, amongst vegetable articles, 
 the richest in nitrogenous matter, and hence, as common experience 
 testifies, prove more trying than other vegetable products to gastric 
 digestion. 
 
 In febrile, acute inflammatory, and other conditions where an ab- 
 sence of digestive power prevails, it is not only useless to introduce 
 food of the nature above referred to into the stomach, but absolutely 
 pernicious, as, from its remaining undigested, it can only prove a 
 source of irritation and disturbance. Whatever is given should be 
 susceptible of passing on without requiring the exercise of functional 
 activity on the part of the stomach. Hence the food in such cases 
 should be confined to such articles as beef tea; mutton, veal, or 
 chicken broth ; whey ; calf's foot and other kinds of jelly ; arrow- 
 root and such like farinaceous articles ; barley-water; rice mucilage; 
 gum-water; fruit jelly; and the juice of fruits, as lemons, oranges, 
 &c., made into drinks. Besides its.objectionable nature as concerns 
 the stomach, it may be presumed that, if nitrogenous food were di- 
 gested and absorbed, it would be calculated afterwards to prove ob- 
 noxious to the system, on account of the products it gives rise to 
 creating the demand they do for the performance of glandular elimi- 
 native work. With articles of the carbohydrate group, on the 
 other hand, no such glandular work is called into requisition. 
 
522 THERAPEUTIC DIETETICS. 
 
 Where a little latitude is allowable, the employment of milk, and 
 of eggs in a fluid form, may be sanctioned. Bread jelly, which is 
 made by steeping bread in boiling water and passing through a 
 sieve whilst still hot, is also an article that may be used under 
 similar circumstances, either alone or boiled with milk. From this, 
 as the circumstances permit, an advance may be made to solid sub- 
 stances which do not throw much work on the stomach, such as 
 rice, sago, tapioca, bread and custard puddings, and stale bread or 
 toast sopped. Next may be allowed fish ; and the varieties to select 
 are whiting, sole, flounder, or plaice, which should be boiled or 
 broiled, and not fried. Whiting, of all fish, is that which proves 
 the lightest to the stomach. As power becomes restored, calves' 
 feet, chicken, game, and butcher's meat mutton to begin with 
 may be permitted to follow. The exciting action of animal food 
 upon the system of the invalid is exemplified by its liability to oc- 
 casion a relapse in cases of rheumatic fever when administered at 
 too early a period in convalescence. 
 
 I have been referring to the appropriate food to be made use of 
 where defective digestive power depends upon the general state ; 
 but cases are frequently presenting themselves where the source of 
 defect primarily belongs to the stomach, and equal care is required 
 in adapting the food to the amount of power that exists. 
 
 It may be advisable, in some cases, to refrain altogether for a 
 time from introducing any kind of food into the stomach, and here 
 recourse should be had to the employment of enemata, consisting of 
 articles fitted to undergo absorption into the bloodvessels. Amongst 
 these, in the foremost rank as a desirable agent for use in such 
 cases, is a preparation that has been made at my suggestion by 
 Messrs. Darby & Gosden, of 140 Leadenhall Street, London, and 
 called " Fluid Meat." It constitutes meat that has been reduced to 
 a fluid state by artificial digestion ; and, representing, as it does, a 
 product of digestion, it furnishes a material in identically the same 
 favorable state for absorption as that which naturally passes on from 
 the stomach. It may be mixed with sugar and thickened with 
 mucilage of starch or arrowroot ; and, if necessary, a little brandy 
 may be added. In the absence of this, the usual agents employed 
 as nutritive enemata are concentrated beef tea, eggs, and milk. 
 
 In cases of ulcer of the stomach, acute gastric catarrh, and vomit- 
 ing, whether from these or from some other cause, the food must be 
 
FOOD FOR DYSPEPSIA. 523 
 
 selected from that which is nutritious, and which, at^the same time, 
 taxes least the digestive powers. Milk and this is often better 
 borne after being boiled milk and lime-water, or milk and soda- 
 water, will frequently be found to be tolerated when other articles 
 excite irritation and are returned. Sometimes the milk may be ad- 
 vantageously mixed with isinglass, arrowroot, ground rice, or biscuit 
 powder. The addition of agents like the three last-named articles 
 increases the consistence and improves the alimentary value of the 
 food. They at the same time, by virtue of their presence, lessen 
 the cohesiveness of the mass which is formed by the process of curd- 
 ling which the milk undergoes on arriving in the stomach. 
 
 Where chronic impairment of power exists, as in ordinary dys- 
 pepsia, the patient must be guided by what it is found from experi- 
 ence will agree. Whilst avoiding that which is known to be of an 
 indigestible nature, and whatever, through idiosyncrasy, may happen 
 in particular instances to upset the stomach, the rnaxim of manage- 
 ment should be to keep the diet as closely to what is natural as the 
 circumstances of the case will permit. Frequently, because a person 
 is suffering from dyspepsia, he is recommended to leave off this and 
 that article, and may, perhaps, soon be reduced to taking exclusively, 
 or almost exclusively, liquid food. Such in itself is sufficient to 
 lower the already weak power of the stomach. The organ, getting 
 no employment, becomes weaker and weaker, and is also prejudicially 
 influenced by the defectively nourished state of the system. The 
 aim of the physician in these cases should be : rather to look to rais- 
 ing by appropriate treatment the digestive capacity to the level of 
 digesting light but ordinary food, than to reducing the food to a low 
 standard of power. The food for the dyspeptic cannot be too simple 
 or too plainly dressed. Of meats, mutton is almost invariably found 
 to be the most suitable, and will often sit lightly on the stomach 
 when even beef lies heavily. Chicken and game are allowable, also 
 white fish (boiled or broiled), as whiting, sole, &c. (but not cod). 
 Stale bread and dry toast, floury potatoes, rice, and the various far- 
 inaceous articles, form the kind of food derived from the vegetable 
 kingdom to be selected. 
 
 The fatty constituents of food pass through the stomach to undergo 
 em unification or preparation for absorption in the small intestine. 
 AN' hen fats are in a perfectly fresh state, and unless taken in excess, 
 they pass on without giving signs of producing any effect upon the 
 
524 THERAPEUTIC DIETETICS. 
 
 stomach. If taken in excess, however, they are apt to excite nausea 
 and sickness, and also subsequently, from their influence in the 
 bowels, diarrhoea. From their proneness to undergo change, and to 
 give rise to the production of volatile fatty acids, they are likewise 
 liable, under certain circumstances, to excite derangement. When 
 delayed, for instance, for a long time in the stomach, this change 
 becomes induced, and acrid eructations, with a burning sensation in 
 the stomach and throat phenomena constituting heartburn are apt 
 to follow. If the fat has been exposed to a strong heat before being 
 consumed, it is already partially decomposed, and now with great 
 facility leads to the gastric trouble that has been referred to. It is 
 for this reason that anything containing fatty matter which has been 
 baked, as pastry, &c., and fried articles, prove obnoxious to the 
 stomach unless the digestive power is strong. Dishes consisting of 
 meats, &c., cooked a second time, are similarly unsuited for the dys- 
 peptic, on account of the effect of the prolonged exposure to heat that 
 has occurred. Apart from exposure to heat, butter, or any other 
 fatty article that has undergone change turned rancid, as it is 
 termed by keeping, is also particularly prone to upset the stomach 
 and occasion heartburn. It is unnecessary, therefore, to say, that 
 fatty matter in the least degree rancid should be scrupulously avoided 
 by the dyspeptic. 
 
 As with fatty matter, the principles of the carbohydrate group are 
 not digested in the stomach. Similarly, also, they are liable to 
 undergo change, during their sojourn in the organ, that may prove 
 the source of discomfort. Starchy and saccharine matters, in certain 
 states of the stomach, seem to be transformed into lactic acid to such 
 an extent as to give a highly preternatural acidity to its contents. 
 Acid eructations that may set the teeth on edge are apt to occur ; and, 
 as though the acid diffused itself along the mucous tract, a constantly 
 sour taste is often experienced in the mouth. Sweet things are more 
 likely than starchy to give rise to acidity. Amongst the latter, oat- 
 meal and potatoes seem the most, and rice the least, disposed to prove 
 obnoxious. 
 
 A result not unfrequently arising from impaired digestion is the 
 production of an inordinate quantity of gas and its accumulation, so 
 as to give rise to an inconvenient distension of the stomach and 
 bowels. Vegetable food, it is found, is more apt to create flatulence 
 than animal, and articles belonging to the cabbage tribe are particu- 
 
FOOD FOR DISORDERED STATES OF INTESTINAL CANAL. 525 
 
 larly to be regarded as objectionable by those who have a tendency 
 to this form of derangement. 
 
 Common observation suffices to show that the bowels are suscepti- 
 ble of being in a marked manner influenced by different kinds of 
 food : diarrhoea, constipation, flatulence, and colic, constituting the 
 effects by which the influence is betrayed. 
 
 In the healthy state no particular effect is observed to be produced 
 by ordinary animal food ; but, as previously stated, the ingestion of a 
 large quantity of fat is apt, not only to derange the stomach, but like- 
 wise the bowels, and thus to produce diarrhoea. 
 
 The tendency of eggs is well known to very decidedly favor cos- 
 tiveness. 
 
 The alimentary products derived from the farinaceous seeds, and 
 also other dried farinaceous articles, are more easily borne by the 
 bowels than any other kind of food. They pass with ease through 
 the whole digestive tract, but, whilst their freedom from exciting 
 action renders their employment advantageous in irritable states of 
 the canal, they fail to supply the stimulus that is needed to keep 
 the bowels adequately moved where a sluggish disposition exists. 
 
 Succulent vegetable food, on the other hand, whether consisting 
 of fruit or vegetables, has the effect of encouraging alvine evacua- 
 tions, and thereby of promoting a free state of the intestinal canal. 
 A liberal employment of food of this kind is thus indicated where a 
 costive habit prevails; and it is not unfrequently found that, by par- 
 taking to a special extent of fruit, particularly in the early part of 
 the day, persons otherwise troubled with constipation may succeed 
 in procuring a proper activity of the bowels. Carried too far, an 
 actual state of looseness may be established ; and, from the excited 
 muscular action brought about, griping or colicky pains may also be 
 induced. As an extensive use of succulent vegetable food is indi- 
 cated in cases of costiveness, so it is contraindicated where a tendency 
 to looseness prevails. With some persons it very easily occasions 
 colic and diarrhoea ; and it is well known how readily, even without 
 such a tendency, fruit in an unripe or overripe state gives rise to 
 these phenomena. 
 
 The leguminous seeds, peas and beans, &c., and the products de- 
 rived from the cabbage tribe, seem to be the most prone of all ali- 
 mentary articles to give rise to intestinal flatulence. 
 
526 THERAPEUTIC DIETETICS. 
 
 A dietetic measure that has long met with extensive employment 
 for rendering assistance in overcoming habitual constipation is the 
 use of brown instead of white bread. The particles of bran con- 
 tained in it, being of an indigestible nature, produce a certain 
 amount of mechanical irritation, which is often found to supply the 
 requisite stimulus to glandular and muscular action to correct the 
 effects of a sluggish intestine where the want of activity is not very 
 great. 
 
 In dysentery, and other forms of ulcerative disease of the intes- 
 tine, scrupulous attention requires to be paid to diet. The object to 
 be held in view is to keep the intestine in as tranquil a state as prac- 
 ticable. The food should consist of articles, which are known to 
 exert the least stimulant and irritant action on the mucous mem- 
 brane and muscular fibres, and those which best meet the demand 
 in question are such as milk; isinglass; and the various farinaceous 
 products, amongst which rice is pre-eminently valuable. Next to 
 these come eggs ; white fish, particularly whiting and sole ; white- 
 fleshed poultry ; fresh game ; and fresh meat mutton in preference 
 to all other kinds. Salted and dried meats are highly objectionable. 
 Their pernicious effect is quickly felt, and apparently arises from 
 their difficult digestibility in the stomach, leading to an undue ex- 
 citement of the circulation throughout the alimentary canal. Fruits 
 and succulent vegetables, with the exception of a floury potato, which 
 is often easily borne, should be strictly shunned. 
 
DIETETIC PREPARATIONS FOR THE 
 INVALID. 
 
 PANADA. 
 
 TAKE the white part of the breast and wings, freed from skin, 
 of either roasted or boiled chicken ; or the under side of cold sir- 
 loin of roasted beef; or cold roasted leg of mutton, and pound in a 
 mortar with an equal quantity of stale bread. Add either the water 
 in which the chicken has been boiled, or beef tea, until the whole 
 forms a fluid paste, and then boil for ten minutes, stirring all the 
 time. 
 
 BEEF TEA. 
 
 Mince finely one pound of lean beef, and pour upon it, in a pre- 
 serve jar, or other suitable vessel, one pint of cold water. Stir, and 
 allow the two to stand for about an hour, that the goodness of the 
 meat may be dissolved out. Next, stand the preserve jar or other 
 vessel in a saucepan of water, and place the saucepan over the fire 
 or a gas-stove, and allow the water in it to gently boil for an hour. 
 Remove the jar, and pour its contents on to a strainer. The beef 
 tea which runs through contains a quantity of fine sediment, which 
 is to be drunk with the liquid, after being flavored with salt at dis- 
 cretion. The jar or other vessel in which the beef tea is made may 
 be introduced into an ordinary oven for an hour, instead of being 
 surrounded by the water in the saucepan. 
 
 Beef tea, thus prepared, represents a highly nutritive and restora- 
 tive liquid, with an agreeable, rich, meaty flavor. It is a common 
 practice, however, amongst cooks, to make it by putting it into 
 a saucepan and subjecting it to prolonged boiling or simmering 
 over the fire ; but the product then yielded constitutes in reality a 
 soup or broth instead of a tea. The prolonged boiling leads to the 
 extraction of gelatin, and the liquid gelatinizes on cooling (which is 
 
528 THERAPEUTIC DIETETICS. 
 
 not the case when prepared as above directed), but, at the same time, 
 the albuminous matter becomes condensed and agglomerated in such 
 a manner as to subsequently form a part of the solid rejected residue. 
 The liquid also loses in flavor and invigorating power. All that is 
 wanted is that the cold infusion should be heated to about 170 
 Fahr. This just suffices to coagulate the albumen and coloring 
 matter, and thus deprive the product of its character of rawness. 
 
 The difficulty is often experienced of getting beef tea made in the 
 kitchen in a careful and proper manner ; and to render the patient, 
 as far as this is concerned, independent of the cook, Messrs. Darby 
 & Gosden, of 140 Leadenhall Street, London, have arranged, at my 
 suggestion, a contrivance for conducting the process without the 
 aid of fire or lamp, in the sick-chamber or anywhere that may be 
 desired. The contrivance consists of the Norwegian box or " nest," 
 referred to at page 490, and a double tin case provided with a suit- 
 able-sized central space for receiving the vessel containing the article 
 to be cooked. The tin appliance is removed from the box and sent 
 into the kitchen for the outside chamber to be filled with water, 
 which is then to be made to boil over a gas-stove or fire. The boiling 
 water thus provided furnishes the heat which is subsequently re- 
 quired. The apparatus, with its store of heat, is carried back and 
 deposited in the non-conducting box, and the vessel containing the 
 article to be cooked is placed in the central chamber. The lid of 
 the box being closed, the heat is retained and communicated to the 
 contents of the central chamber. About an hour suffices for cooking 
 a pint of beef tea, but the beef tea may be retained in the apparatus 
 as long as may be desired for several hours or all night if neces- 
 sary and will keep hot all the while. Other articles, as a chop, 
 pigeon, &c., may be likewise cooked by the store of heat contained 
 in the boiling water; and there is this advantage in the use of the 
 apparatus, that, after sufficient time has been allowed for the process 
 of cooking, it does not signify whether the food is eaten at once or 
 not for several hours: it is always hot and ready whenever it may 
 happen to be required. 
 
 The apparatus is also susceptible of being turned to account for 
 preserving a moderate store of ice in the apartment of a sick person. 
 
PREPARATIONS FOR THE SICK-ROOM. 529 
 
 SAVORY BEEF TEA. 
 
 Take three pounds of lean beef chopped up finely ; three leeks ; 
 one onion with six cloves stuck into it; one small carrot; a little 
 celery seed; a small bunch of herbs, consisting of thyme, marjoram 
 and parsley; one teaspoonful of salt; half a teacupful of mushroom 
 ketchup; and three pints of water. Prepare according to the direc- 
 tions already furnished. 
 
 Take half a pound of raw lean beef (chicken or any other meat 
 may be similarly used) and mince it finely. Pour on to it, in a glass 
 or any kind of earthenware vessel, three-quarters of a pint of water 
 to which has been added four drops of muriatic acid, and about half 
 a saltspoonful of salt. Stir well together, and allow it to stand for 
 an hour. Strain through a hair sieve and rinse the residue with a 
 quarter of a pint of water. The liquid thus obtained contains the 
 juice of the meat with the albumen in an uncoagulated state, and 
 syntonin, or muscle fibrin, which has been dissolved by the agency 
 of the acid. It is to be taken cold, or, if warmed, must not be 
 heated beyond 120 Fahr. It will be observed that no cooking is 
 here employed, and, although much richer in nutritive material and 
 more invigorating than ordinary beef tea, the raw-meat color, smell, 
 and taste that it possesses sometimes cause it to be objected to. 
 
 CHICKEN, VEAL, OR MUTTON TEA. 
 
 To be prepared like beef tea, substituting either of the meats 
 referred to. 
 
 If broths instead of a tea are required, boil the article in a sauce- 
 pan for two hours and strain. 
 
 Pearl barley, rice, vermicelli, or semolina, may sometimes be ad- 
 vantageously added to give increased nourishing power. 
 
 The fleshy part of the knuckle of veal is the best for veal broth. 
 
 For chicken broth the bones should be used as well as the flesh, 
 and all chopped up. The feet strongly add to the characteristic 
 flavor. 
 
 LIEBIG'S EXTRACTUM CARNIS. 
 
 This article is largely sold, and, from the prestige afforded by its 
 
 34 
 
530 THERAPEUTIC DIETETICS. 
 
 inventor's name, has obtained a world-wide notoriety. Its true po- 
 sition, as I pointed out in my work on " Digestion, its Disorders and 
 their Treatment/ 7 in 1867, is scarcely that of an article of nutrition, 
 and this is now beginning to be generally recognized. The fact that 
 from thirty-four pounds of meat only one pound of extract, as stated 
 by Liebig, is obtained, shows how completely the substance of the 
 meat which constitutes its real nutritive portion must be excluded. 
 The article, indeed, is free from albumen, gelatin, and fat, and may 
 be said to comprise the salines of the meat, with various extractive 
 principles, a considerable portion of which, doubtless, consists of 
 products in a state of retrograde metamorphosis and of no use as 
 nutritive agents. If not truly of alimentary value, the preparation 
 nevertheless appears to possess stimulant and restorative properties 
 which render it useful in exhausted states of the system. It may 
 be given in extreme cases in combination with wine. Being rich in 
 the flavoring matter (termed osmazome) of meat, it is often used for 
 imparting additional flavor to soups. 
 
 FLUID MEAT. 
 
 This article forms a complete representative of lean meat. Acting 
 upon my suggestion, Messrs. Darby & Gosden, of 140 Leadenhall 
 Street, undertook its preparation, and since 1867, when it was first 
 introduced, it has steadily advanced in public favor. It consists 
 of meat which has been liquefied by artificial digestion, and, there- 
 fore, not only includes all the elements of the meat, but contains them 
 in the same state as they are naturally placed by the stomach that 
 is, in a fit state for absorption, without requiring any further aid from 
 digestion. It resembles in character a fluid extract, and is used in 
 various ways, either alone pr in combination with other articles of 
 food. 
 
 From the properties it possesses as a product of artificial digestion, 
 it may be spoken of as forming exactly what is wanted where re- 
 course requires to be had to the employment of nutrient enemata. 
 Used for this purpose, two tablespoonfuls, which about correspond 
 with a quarter of a pound of meat, may be mixed with two ounces 
 of white sugar, and dissolved in six ounces of mucilage of starch or 
 arrowroot. 
 
PREPARATIONS FOR THE SICK-ROOM. 531 
 
 ESSENCES AND SOLID EXTRACTS OF MEAT, AND MEAT LOZENGES. 
 
 These are sold at various establishments. They may be obtained, 
 as well as a number of other articles for the sick-room, at Mr. Van 
 Abbott's special dietetic depot for the invalid, No. 5 Prince's Street, 
 Cavendish Square, London; and of Messrs. Brand & Co., at No. 11 
 Little Stanhope Street, Hertford Street, May fair. Brand's " Essence 
 of Beef" has obtained a high reputation, and is very extensively 
 employed. 
 
 MILK AND SUET. 
 
 Boil one ounce of finely-chopped suet with a quarter of a pint of 
 water for ten minutes, and press through linen or flannel. Then 
 add one drachm of bruised cinnamon, one ounce of sugar, and three 
 quarters of a pint of milk. Boil again for ten minutes, and strain. 
 A wineglassful to a quarter of a pint forms the quantity to be taken 
 at a time. It constitutes a highly nutritive and fattening article, 
 but if given in excess is apt to derange the alimentary canal, and 
 occasion diarrhoea. 
 
 FLOUR AND MILK. 
 
 Fill a small basin with flour and tie it over with a cloth, or, if 
 preferred, simply tie the flour up tightly in a cloth. Immerse it in 
 a saucepan of water, and boil slowly for ten or twelve hours. The 
 flour becomes agglomerated into a hard mass, and is only wetted on 
 the surface. After drying, add one grated tablespoonful to a pint 
 of milk, and boil. A nourishing and useful article of food for 
 irritable states of the stomach and bowels, and particularly suitable 
 in dysentery and diarrhoea. 
 
 Plain biscuit powder, may be substituted, if thought proper, for 
 the cooked flour. 
 
 EGG AND BRANDY (BRANDY MIXTURE). 
 
 Take four ounces of brandy, the same quantity of cinnamon-water, 
 the yolks of two eggs, and half an ounce of loaf sugar. Rub the 
 yolks of the eggs and sugar together, and add the cinnamon-water 
 and brandy. Given in two to four tablespoonful doses as a restor- 
 ative and stimulant. 
 
532 THERAPEUTIC DIETETICS. 
 
 BREAD JELLY. 
 
 Steep stale bread in boiling water, and pass through a fine sieve 
 while still hot. A light nourishing article for a weak stomach, 
 which may be taken alone, or after being mixed and boiled with 
 milk. 
 
 OATMEAL PORRIDGE. 
 
 Mix a large tablespoonful of oatmeal with two tablespoonfuls of 
 cold water. Stir well, to bring to a state of uniformity, and pour 
 into a pint of boiling water in a saucepan. Boil and stir well for 
 ten minutes. Flavor either with salt or sugar, as preferred. Milk 
 may be used instead of water, or the boiling may be continued for 
 half an hour, and the porridge turned out into a soup-plate, and cold 
 milk poured over it : thus prepared, the porridge sets and acquires 
 a solid consistence ; and the milk and porridge are mixed together 
 little by little as they are eaten with a spoon. 
 
 If the coarse Scotch oatmeal is used and this is generally con- 
 sidered the best two tablespoonfuls may be sprinkled into a pint 
 of boiling water, and stirred and boiled for half an hour. At the 
 end of this time the oatmeal is sufficiently cooked, but many allow 
 the porridge to continue simmering for two or three hours. It may 
 be turned out into a soup-plate and eaten with milk, after the manner 
 mentioned above. 
 
 Porridge is a nourishing article of food, but is sometimes apt to 
 give rise to waterbrash and acidity, and from its slightly irritant 
 properties, whilst advantageous for constipation, must be looked 
 upon as objectionable where diarrhoea, or a tendency to it, exists. 
 
 OATMEAL GRUEL. 
 
 Mix thoroughly one tablespoonful of groats with two of cold 
 water, and pour over them one pint of boiling water, stirring all the 
 while. Boil for ten minutes, and still continue to stir. Sweeten 
 with sugar, and add, if desired, a little sherry or brandy. A sooth- 
 ing and nutritive food, holding a totally different position, on account 
 of the nitrogenous matter present, from the farinaceous preparations, 
 as arrowroot, &c. Milk may be used, if required, instead of water. 
 
PREPARATIONS FOR THE SICK-ROOM. 533 
 
 ARROWROOT. 
 
 Mix thoroughly two teaspoonfuls of arrowroot with three table- 
 spoonfuls of cold water, and pour on them half a pint of boiling 
 water, stirring well during the time. If the water is quite boiling, 
 the arrowroot thickens as it is poured on, and nothing more is neces- 
 sary. If only warm water is used, the arrowroot must be after- 
 wards boiled until it thickens. Sweeten with loaf sugar, and flavor 
 with lemon-peel or nutmeg, or add sherry or brandy if required. 
 Milk may be employed instead of water, but when this is done no 
 wine must be added, as it would be otherwise curdled. 
 
 Tous-les-mois, another farinaceous preparation, may be substituted 
 for arrowroot. 
 
 BARLEY-WATER. 
 
 Take two ounces of pearl barley and wash well with cold water, 
 rejecting the washings. Afterwards boil with a pint and a half of 
 water for twenty minutes, in a covered vessel, and strain. The prod- 
 uct may be sweetened and flavored with lemon-peel, or lemon-peel 
 may be introduced \vhilst boiling is carried on. Lemon-juice is also 
 sometimes added to flavor. A bland, demulcent, and mildly nutri- 
 tive -beverage. 
 
 ORGEAT. 
 
 Blanch two ounces of sweet almonds and four bitter almond seeds. 
 Pound with a little orange-flower water into a paste, and rub this 
 with a pint of milk, diluted with a pint of water, until it forms an 
 emulsion. Strain and sweeten with sugar. A demulcent and nutri- 
 tive liquid. 
 
 RICE-WATER, OR MUCILAGE OF RICE. 
 
 Thoroughly wash one ounce of Carolina rice with cold water. 
 Then macerate for three hours in a quart of water kept at a tepid 
 heat, and afterwards boil slowly for an hour, and strain. A useful 
 drink in dysentery, diarrhoea, and irritable states of the alimentary 
 canal. When circumstances permit, it may be sweetened and flavored 
 in the same way as barley-water. 
 
534 THERAPEUTIC DIETETICS. 
 
 GUM-WATER. 
 
 Take half an ounce to an ounce of gum arable and wash with cold 
 water. Afterwards dissolve by maceration in two pints of cold water. 
 Lemon-peel may be added to impart flavor. 
 
 LINSEED TEA. 
 
 Place one ounce of bruised linseed and two drachms of bruised 
 liquorice-root into a jug, and pour over them one pint of boiling 
 water. Lightly cover, and digest for three or four hours near a fire. 
 Strain through linen to render fit for use. A mucilaginous liquid, 
 possessing demulcent properties. Frequently used as a drink in 
 pulmonary and urinary affections. It is rendered more palatable by 
 the addition of sliced lemon and sugar-candy. 
 
 DECOCTION OF ICELAND MOSS. 
 
 Wash one ounce of the moss in cold water to remove impurities. 
 Then heat with water up to nearly the boiling-point, and reject the 
 liquid, which has extracted much of the bitter principle. Next boil 
 with a pint of water for ten minutes in a covered vessel, and strain 
 with gentle pressure while hot. A mucilaginous demulcent liquid, 
 with mild bitter tonic properties. It may be flavored with sugar, 
 lemon-peel,, white wine, or aromatics ; or milk may be used instead 
 of the water, by which a nourishing liquid is obtained. 
 
 DECOCTION OF CARRAGEEN MOSS. 
 
 Macerate half an ounce of Carrageen moss in cold water for ten 
 minutes. Remove and boil in three pints of water for a quarter of 
 an hour, and strain through linen. It possesses the same kind of 
 properties as, and may be flavored like, the decoction of Iceland moss. 
 Milk, also, may be substituted for the water. By doubling the quan- 
 tity of the moss a mucilage is obtained, and when in a highly con- 
 centrated state the product solidifies into a jelly on cooling. 
 
 WHEY. 
 
 Curdle warm milk with rennet, and strain off the opalescent 
 liquid for use. It acts as a sudorific and diuretic, and forms a useful 
 
PREPARATIONS FOR THE SICK-ROOM. 535 
 
 drink in febrile and inflammatory complaints. Holding a little 
 nitrogenous matter in solution, and containing the lactin and saline 
 matter of the milk, it possesses mildly nutritive properties. 
 
 WHITE WINE WHEY OR POSSET. 
 
 To half a pint of milk, whilst boiling in a saucepan, add one wine- 
 glassful of sherry, and afterwards strain. Sweeten with pounded 
 sugar, according to taste. A useful drink in colds and mild febrile 
 disorders. 
 
 TREACLE WHEY OR POSSET. 
 
 Pour two to three tablespoonfuls of treacle into a pint of boiling 
 milk, and afterwards let it boil up well and strain. Drunk hot, it 
 is frequently used as a diaphoretic for a common cold. 
 
 TAMARIND WHEY. 
 
 Stir two tablespoonfuls of tamarinds into a pint of milk whilst 
 boiling, and afterwards strain. It forms a refrigerant and slightly 
 laxative drink. 
 
 CREAM OF TARTAR WHEY. 
 
 Stir a quarter of an ounce of cream of tartar (a large teaspoonful 
 piled up) into a pint of boiling milk, and strain. A refrigerant and 
 diuretic drink, which is rendered more agreeable by the addition of 
 sugar. 
 
 ALUM WHEY. 
 
 Add a quarter of an ounce of powdered alum to a pint of boiling 
 milk, and strain. An astringent drink. May be flavored with 
 sugar and nutmeg if desired. 
 
 CREAM OF TARTAR DRINK. 
 
 (Potus Imperialis Imperial.) 
 
 Dissolve a drachm or a drachm and a half of cream of tartar in a 
 pint of boiling water, and flavor with lemon-peel and sugar. When 
 cold, may be taken ad libitum, as a refrigerant drink and diuretic. 
 
536 THERAPEUTIC DIETETICS. 
 
 LEMON-PEEL TEA. 
 
 Pare the rind thinly from a lemon which has been previously 
 rubbed with half an ounce of lump sugar. Put the peelings and 
 the sugar into a jug and pour over them a quart of boiling water. 
 When cold decant the liquid, and add one tablespoonful of lemon- 
 juice. 
 
 LEMONADE. 
 
 Pare the rind from a lemon thinly and cut the lemon into slices. 
 Put the peel and sliced lemon into a jug, with one ounce of white 
 sugar, and pour over them one pint of boiling water. Cover the 
 jug closely, and digest until cold. Strain or pour off the liquid. 
 
 Citron may be used instead of lemon, and likewise furnishes a 
 grateful and refreshing refrigerant beverage. 
 
 TOAST-AND-WATER. 
 
 Toast thoroughly, short of burning, a- slice of stale bread (or, 
 what is better, a piece of crust), or a biscuit, and pour over it, in a 
 jug, a quart of boiling water. Cover it over, and place aside to cool. 
 A small piece of orange- or lemon-peel put into the jug with the 
 toast greatly improves the beverage. 
 
HOSPITAL DIETAEIES. 
 
 GUY'S HOSPITAL. 
 
 FULL OR EXTRA DIET. 
 
 14 oz. of bread. 1 pint of porter, for males ; $ pint of porter, for females. 6 oz. 
 of dressed meat, roasted and boiled, alternately, with potatoes (8 oz). Ib. of 
 rice pudding 1 tbree times a week. pint of mutton broth in addition on days 
 when boiled meat is given (which is four times a week). Or, occasionally, 1 
 pint of strong vegetable soup, with meat and rice pudding, 1 twice a week. 1 oz. 
 of butter each day. Porridge, gruel, and barley-water, as required. 
 
 MIDDLE OR ORDINARY DIET. 
 
 12 oz. of bread. $ pint of porter. 4 oz. of dressed meat, roasted and boiled, 
 alternately, with potatoes (8 oz). Ib. of rice pudding 1 three times a week. 
 J pint of mutton broth, in addition, on days when boiled meat is given (which is 
 four times a week). Or, occasionally, 1 pint of strong vegetable soup, with meat 
 and rice pudding, 1 twice a week ; with the full diet allowance of bread. 1 oz. of 
 butter each day. Porridge, gruel, and barley-water, as required. 
 
 MILK OR PUDDING DIET. 
 
 12 oz. of bread. 2 pints of milk ; or, 1 pint of milk, with rice, sago, or arrow- 
 root, boiled, or made into light pudding. pint of beef tea, when ordered. 1 
 oz. of butter. Gruel and barley-water, as required. 
 
 LOW DIET. 
 
 10 oz. of bread: pint of beef tea, mutton broth, rice, arrowroot, or sago, 
 when specially ordered, oz. of butter. Gruel and barley-water, as required. 
 
 Tea, J oz. ; sugar, oz. ; and milk, 2 oz., daily, with all diets. 
 
 Fish, chops, steaks, chicken, and chicken soup, eggs, and other extras, are to 
 be specially ordered by the medical attendant, and will be given with the low 
 diet. Wines and spirits, if continued, must be mentioned each time the physi- 
 cian or surgeon attends. 
 
 1 Formula for the rice pudding Rice, 2 Ibs. ; milk, 6 quarts; sugar, 12 oz. ; 
 butter, 1 oz. ; spice, 1 drachm loss of water in cooking, say 37 oz. 
 
538 THERAPEUTIC DIETETICS. 
 
 ST. BARTHOLOMEW'S HOSPITAL. 
 
 FULL DIET (MEAT). 
 
 BREAKFAST. 1 pint of tea. Bread and butter. 
 
 DINNER. % Ib. of meat when dressed. ^ Ib. of potatoes. Bread and beer. 
 
 TEA. 1 pint of tea. Bread and butter. 
 
 SUPPER. Bread and butter. Beer. 
 
 DAILY ALLOWANCES TO EACH PATIENT. 
 
 2 pints of tea. 14 oz. of bread. Ib. of ^ieat when dressed. J Ib. of pota- 
 toes. 2 pints of beer (men); 1 pint of beer (women). 1 oz. of butter. 
 
 HALF DIET (MEAT). 
 
 BREAKFAST. 1 pint of tea. Bread and butter. 
 
 DINNER. \ Ib. of meat when dressed. Ib. of potatoes. Bread and beer. 
 
 TEA. 1 pint of tea. Bread and butter. 
 
 SUPPER. Bread and butter. Beer. 
 
 DAILY ALLOWANCES TO EACH PATIENT. 
 
 2 pints of tea. 12 oz. of bread. Ib. of meat when dressed. J Ib. of pota- 
 toes. 1 pint of beer. oz. of butter. 
 
 BROTH DIET. 
 BREAKFAST. 1 pint of tea. 
 
 DINNER. 1 pints of broth. 6 oz. of potatoes (mashed). Bread. 
 TEA. 1 pint of tea. Bread and butter. 
 SUPPER. Bread and butter. Gruel. 
 
 DAILY ALLOWANCES TO EACH PATIENT. 
 
 2 pints of tea. 12 oz. of bread. 1J pints of broth. 6 oz. potatoes (mashed). 
 | oz. of butter. Gruel. 
 
 MILK DIET. 
 
 BREAKFAST. 1 pint of tea. 
 
 DINNER. 1^ pints of milk, or 1 pint of milk with arrowroot, rice, or sago. 
 
 Bread. 
 
 TEA. 1 pint of tea. Bread and butter. 
 SUPPER. Bread and butter. Gruel. 
 
 DAILY ALLOWANCES TO EACH PATIENT. 
 
 2 pints of tea. 12 oz. of bread. 1J pints of milk, or 1 pint of milk with 
 arrowroot, rice, or sago, oz. of butter. Gruel. 
 
 LOW DIET. 
 
 Bread, broth, gruel, or barley-water, as may be ordered. 
 Children under 9 years to receive half allowances. 
 
HOSPITAL DIETARIES. 539 
 
 EXTRAS TO BE SPECIALLY ORDERED. 
 
 Mutton chops, beef steaks, beef for beef tea, fish, eggs, pudding, jelly, porter, 
 ale, wine, or spirits. 
 
 Each patient, on admission, to be placed on milk diet until a diet is ordered by 
 the physician or surgeon. 
 
 ST. THOMAS'S HOSPITAL. 
 DAILY ALLOWANCE. 
 
 FULL DIET. 
 
 12 ox. of bread, f oz. of butter. pint of tea with milk and sugar for break- 
 fast. The same for tea. 4 oz. of beef or mutton when dressed ; roast or boiled, 
 alternately. \ Ib. potatoes or fresh vegetables. $ pint of milk in the forenoon. 
 Porter, &c., if ordered. 
 
 MIXED DIET. 
 
 12 oz. of bread, f oz. of butter. \ pint of tea with milk and sugar for break- 
 fast. The same for tea. 4 oz. for men, and 3 oz. for women of mutton when 
 dressed ; roast or boiled alternately. \ Ib. of potatoes or fresh vegetables. 8 oz. 
 of rice or bread pudding, alternately. \ pint of milk. "When fish is ordered, 
 meat to be omitted. 
 
 MILK DIET. 
 
 12 oz. of bread, oz. of butter, pint of tea with milk and sugar for break- 
 fast. The same for tea. 8 oz. of rice or bread pudding alternately. \\ pints of 
 milk. 
 
 FEVER DIET. 
 4 oz. of bread. 2 pints of barley-water or gruel. 2 pints of milk. 
 
 CHILDREN'S DIET. 
 
 (Intended for all children under 10 years of age.) 
 
 MIXED. 12 oz. of bread. , oz. of butter. \ pint of milk for breakfast. The 
 same for tea. 2 oz. of mutton when dressed; roast or boiled, alternately. \ Ib. 
 of potatoes or fresh vegetables. 6 oz. of rice or bread pudding. \ pint of milk. 
 
 MILK. 8 oz. of bread. \ oz. of butter. pint of milk for breakfast. The 
 same for tea. 6 oz. of rice or bread pudding. \ pint of milk. 
 
 Wine, brandy, gin, porter, mutton chops, fish, eggs, beef tea, soda water, 
 lemonade, and other extras, to be served when specially ordered, such order being 
 renewed at each regular visit of the physician or surgeon. 
 
 Each patient, on admission into the hospital, to be placed on milk or fever diet 
 until the proper diet is ordered by the physician or surgeon. 
 
540 THERAPEUTIC DIETETICS. 
 
 LONDON HOSPITAL. 
 
 FULL DIET FOR MEN AND WOMEN. 
 
 DAILY 12 oz. of bread. 8 oz. of potatoes. 1 pint of porter. 
 
 BREAKFAST. Gruel. 
 
 DINNER. Sunday and Thursday. 6 oz. of boiled mutton. 1 
 
 Monday, "Wednesday, and Saturday. 6 oz. of roast mutton. 1 
 
 Tuesday and Friday. 6 oz. of roast beef. 1 
 SUPPER. 1 pint of broth. 
 
 MIDDLE DIET FOR MEN. 
 
 The same as full diet, except 4 oz. of meat instead of 6 oz., and pint of 
 porter instead of 1 pint. 
 
 ORDINARY DIET FOR WOMEN. 
 
 The same as middle diet for men. 
 
 MILK DIET FOR MEN AND WOMEN. 
 
 DAILY. 12 oz. of bread. 
 BREAKFAST. Gruel. 
 DINNER. 1 pint of milk. 
 SUPPER. 1 pint of milk. 
 
 LOW DIET FOR MEN AND W T OMEN. 
 
 DAILY. 8 oz. of bread. 
 BREAKFAST. Gruel. 
 DINNER. Broth. 
 SUPPER. Gruel or broth. 
 
 DIET FOR CHILDREN. 
 
 (Under 7 years of age.) 
 DAILY. 12 oz. of bread. pint of milk. 
 
 2 oz. of meat and 8 oz. of potatoes live times a week, and rice pudding twice a 
 week. 
 
 EXTRAS. 
 
 (To be discontinued unless order renewed by the physician or surgeon at each visit.) 
 Mutton chops, beef steaks, fish, beef tea, strong broth, puddings (rice, light, 
 and batter, alternately: Recipe for four diets: Rice pudding 4 oz. of rice, 2 oz. 
 of sugar. Light pudding 6 eggs, 2 oz. of sugar, 1 oz. of flour. Batter pud- 
 ding 4 eggs, 2 oz. of sugar, 6 oz. of flour. Milk in each case sufficient to make 
 up 1 quart of the mixture), eggs, bread, green vegetables, watercresses, wine, 
 spirit, porter. 
 
 1 Weighed when cooked and free from bone. 
 
HOSPITAL DIETARIES. 541 
 
 ST. GEORGE'S HOSPITAL. 
 
 BREAD At discretion, to be served to the nurses at the rate of 10 oz. daily for 
 each patient, and to be cut up by them. If more is required, this will be 
 supplied by the steward. 
 
 BUTTER. 1 oz. daily to each patient, to be served out three times a week. 
 
 TEA. To be served weekly to the nurses at the rate of J oz. daily for each pa- 
 tient. 
 
 SUGAR. To be served twice a week to the nurses at the rate of 1 oz. daily for 
 each patient. 
 
 MILK. J pint daily for each patient, for both breakfast and tea, to be served to 
 the nurses every morning. 
 
 EXTRA DIET. 
 
 DINNER. 6 oz. of cooked meat, and J Ib. of potatoes. 1 pint of porter to men 
 
 above 16 years of age. 
 SUPPER. J pint of milk, or 1 pint of soup if ordered. 
 
 ORDINARY DIET. 
 
 DINNER. 4 oz. of cooked meat for men 3 oz. for women. J Ib. potatoes. 
 
 pint of porter to men above 16 years of age. 
 SUPPER. pint of milk, or 1 pint of soup if ordered. 
 
 FISH DIET. 
 
 DINNER. 4 oz. plain boiled white fish (as whiting, plaice, flounders, or had- 
 dock). Ib. of potatoes. 
 SUPPER. J pint of milk. 
 
 BROTH DIET. 
 
 DINNER. 1 pint of broth and 6 oz. of light pudding (such as tapioca, sago, rice, 
 corn flour, or such other pudding as the superintendent of nurses shall ar- 
 range). 
 
 SUPPER. J pint of milk. 
 
 MILK DIET. 
 
 DINNER. Four days 1 pints of rice milk. 
 
 Three days J Ib. of bread or rice pudding. 
 SUPPER. pint of milk. 
 
 Beef tea, Yorkshire pudding, arrowroot, &c., to be specially directed. 
 
 Ordinary diet for children under 7 years of age to consist of 2 oz. of meat, 4 
 oz. of potatoes, and some light pudding. 
 
542 THERAPEUTIC DIETETICS. 
 
 MIDDLESEX HOSPITAL. 
 
 CONVALESCENT DIET. 
 
 DAILY. 10 oz. of bread. 
 
 BREAKFAST. $ pint of milk. 
 
 DINNER. 12 oz. of undressed meat 1 (roast and boiled alternately) for males, 8 
 
 oz. for females, and \ Ib. of potatoes. 
 SUPPER. 1 pint of gruel or 1 pint of broth. 
 
 HALF CONVALESCENT DIET. 
 
 DAILY. 10 oz. of bread. 
 
 BREAKFAST. \ pint of milk. 
 
 DINNER. 4 oz. of undressed meat 1 (roast and boiled alternately). \ Ib. of 
 
 potatoes. 
 SUPPER. 1 pint of gruel or 1 pint of broth. 
 
 PUDDING AND OKDINAEY DIET. 
 
 DAILY. 10 oz. of bread. 
 BREAKFAST. \ pint of milk. 
 
 DINNER. 6 oz. of undressed meat 1 (roast and boiled alternately). \ Ib. of pota- 
 toes. 1 oz. of beef suet and 2 oz. of flour for pudding. 
 SUPPER. 1 pint of gruel or 1 pint of broth. 
 
 ORDINARY DIET. 
 
 DAILY. 10 oz. of bread. 
 
 BREAKFAST. \ pint of milk. 
 
 DINNER. t> oz. of undressed meat 2 (roast and boiled alternately) and Ib. of 
 
 potatoes. 
 SUPPER. 1 pint of gruel or 1 pint of broth. 
 
 HALF ORDINARY DIET. 
 
 DAILY. 10 oz. of bread. 
 
 BREAKFAST. \ pint of milk. 
 
 DINNER. 3 oz. of undressed meat 2 (roast and boiled alternately) and \ Ib. of 
 
 potatoes. 
 SUPPER. 1 pint of gruel or 1 pint of broth. 
 
 MUTTON BROTH DIET. 
 
 DAILY. 10 oz. of bread. 
 BREAKFAST. \ pint of milk. 
 
 1 Leg and shoulder of mutton only, except on Sundays, when the same quan- 
 tity of roast sirloin and best round of beef is issued. 
 
 2 Leg and shoulder of mutton only, weighed with the bone before it is dressed. 
 
HOSPITAL DIETARIES. 543 
 
 DINNER. 8 oz. of undressed meat (neck of mutton only), weighed with bone 
 
 before it is dressed served in 1 pint of broth with barley. 
 SUPPER. 1 pint of gruel. 
 
 FISH DIET. 
 
 DAILY. 10 oz. of bread. 
 
 BREAKFAST. pint of milk. 
 
 DINNER. 8 oz. of fish (whiting, sole, haddock, cod, plaice, or brill). Ib. of 
 
 potatoes. 
 SUPPER. 1 pint of gruel. 
 
 MILK DIET. 
 DAILY. 10 oz. of bread. 
 BREAKFAST. pint of milk. 
 DINNER. Alternate days rice pudding, containing 2 oz. of rice, half an egg, 
 
 oz. of sugar; sago pudding, containing 1 oz. of sago, half an egg, and oz. 
 
 of sugar ; and bread pudding, containing bread, with one and a half eggs, 
 
 and f oz. sugar. EXTRA. custard, oz. 
 SUPPER. 1 pint of milk. 
 
 SIMPLE DIET. 
 DAILY. 10 oz. of bread. 
 BREAKFAST. J pint of milk. 
 DINNER. 1 pint of gruel. 
 SUPPER. pint of milk. 
 
 EXTRAS. 
 
 For supper, meat when cooked, 3 oz. Chops, Ib. each when trimmed. Or- 
 dinary beef tea, Ib. of clod and sticking of beef, without bone, to a pint. Strong 
 beef tea, 1 Ib. of ditto, ditto. Broth, without meat : Ib. of neck of mutton with 
 bone, 'to a pint; this broth is made with that for the patients on mutton broth 
 diet. Steaks: rump steak, Ib., without bone. Tripe. Chicken. Oysters. 
 Greens. Eggs. Arrowroot. Sago. Jellies. Porter. Wine. Spirits. 
 
 UNIVERSITY COLLEGE HOSPITAL. 
 
 FULL DIET. 
 
 12 oz. of bread. 8 oz. of potatoes. 6 oz. meat, dressed (rpast or boiled leg or 
 neck of mutton, or roast beef), pint of broth or pea-soup four times a week on 
 alternate days. 4 oz. boiled rice or rice pudding made with rnilk. 1 pint of 
 milk. 1 pint of beer. 1 
 
 MIDDLE DIET. 
 
 12 oz. of bread. 8 oz. of potatoes. 4 oz. of meat or 8 oz. of fish (white). 1 
 pint of milk. Soup with barley, 1 oz. ; or beef tea, 1 pint. Rice pudding made 
 with milk, instead of soup. pint of beer. 1 
 
 1 To medical cases beer is only to be supplied when ordered. 
 
544 THERAPEUTIC DIETETICS. 
 
 SPOON DIET. 
 
 2 pints of milk. 1 pint of beef tea. 12 oz. of bread. 2 oz. of arrowroot and 
 1 oz. of sugar made into a jelly. 
 
 The resident assistants to the physicians and surgeons are empowered, during 
 the absence of their superior officers, to order the following extras, subject to the 
 general supervision of the resident medical officer : Malt liquors, spirits, port, 
 sherry, eggs, strong beef tea, milk, fish, chops, steaks, custard puddings, vegeta- 
 bles, and bread. Such orders to stand good for twenty-four hours only. 
 
 KING'S COLLEGE HOSPITAL. 
 
 MEAT DIET (MEN). 
 
 Bread, 12 oz. Milk, pint. Meat, 1 4 oz. cooked. Potatoes, Ib. Porter or 
 ale, 1 pint. Eice or other pudding, Ib. 
 
 MEAT DIET (WOMEN). 
 
 Bread, 8 oz. Milk, f pint. Meat, 1 4 oz. cooked. Potatoes, Ib. Porter or 
 ale, pint. Rice or other pudding, Ib. 
 
 MILK DIET (MEN) 
 Bread, 8 oz. Milk, 1 pints. Eggs, 2. Eice or other pudding, Ib. 
 
 MILK DIET (WOMEN). 
 
 Bread, 6 oz. Milk, 1 pints. Eggs. 2. Eice or other pudding, \ Ib- 
 Children under 10 years of age same as milk diet for women. 
 
 Beef tea (on milk diet only), wine, and spirits, may be ordered by the resident 
 medical officers. 
 
 Fish or mince may be added to milk diet ; such addition to be authorized by 
 the signature of the visiting physician or surgeon, to be renewed once in each 
 week at the least. 
 
 i Sunday. Roast beef. Monday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Eoast 
 mutton. Tuesday. Boiled mutton.. Wednesday.. Soup. 
 
HOSPITAL DIETARIES. 545 
 
 ST. MARY'S HOSPITAL. 
 
 FULL DIET. 
 
 BREAKFAST. Tea with sugar. Bread and butter. J pint of milk. 
 DINNER. 6 oz. of meat (cooked). Ib. of potatoes. 
 TEA. Tea with sugar. Bread and butter. pint of milk. 
 SUPPER. Gruel. 
 
 DAILY ALLOWANCE TO EACH PATIENT. 
 
 2 pints of tea with sugar, and J pint of milk. 15 oz. of bread. 6 oz. of meat 
 when dressed. Ib. of potatoes, oz. of butter. 
 
 ORDINARY DIET. 
 
 BREAKFAST. Tea with sugar. Bread and Butter. pint of milk. 
 DINNER. 4 oz. of meat (cooked). Ib. of potatoes. 
 TEA. Tea with sugar. Bread and butter. J pint of milk. 
 SUPPER. Gruel. 
 
 DAILY ALLOWANCE TO EACH PATIENT. 
 
 2 pints of tea with sugar, and pint of milk. 12 oz. of bread. 4 oz. of meat 
 when dressed. Ib. of potatoes. oz. of butter. 
 
 HALF DIET. 
 
 BREAKFAST. Tea with sugar. Bread and butter. pint of milk. 
 DINNER. 2 oz. of meat (cooked). Ib. of potatoes. 
 TEA. Tea with milk. Bread and butter. pint of milk. 
 SUPPER. Gruel. 
 
 DAILY ALLOWANCE TO EACH PATIENT. 
 
 2 pints of tea with sugar, and 1 pint of milk. 12 oz. bread. 2 oz. of meat 
 when dressed. Ib. potatoes, oz. of butter. 
 
 BROTH DIET. 
 
 BREAKFAST. Tea with sugar. Bread and butter. \ pint of milk. 
 DINNER. Ib. of meat before dressed. 1 pint of broth. 
 TEA. Tea with sugar. Bread and butter. pint of milk. 
 SUPPER. Gruel. 
 
 DAILY ALLOWANCE TO EACH PATIENT. 
 
 2 pints of tea with sugar, and J pint of milk. 12 oz. of bread. About 4 oz. 
 of meat when dressed. 1 pint of broth, oz. of butter. 
 
 SIMPLE DIET. 
 
 2 pints of tea with sugar, and 1 pint of milk. 12 oz. of bread. | oz. of butter. 
 SUPPER. Gruel. 
 
 35 
 
546 THERAPEUTIC DIETETICS. 
 
 No extras, except porter, allowed on full diet. 
 
 No extras to be. ordered by the resident medical officers in the absence of the 
 phj'sician or surgeon, unless in cases of great urgency, a special report of which 
 must be made to the physician or surgeon at his next visit. J 
 
 WESTMINSTER HOSPITAL. 
 
 FULL DIET. 
 
 DAILY. 14 oz. of bread. 
 
 BREAKFAST. Tea ($ oz.) with milk (J pint) and sugar (f oz.). 
 DINNER. ^ Ib. of meat, roasted, boiled, or chops. J Ib. of potatoes. 
 SUPPER. Tea ( oz.) with milk (| pint) and sugar (Joz.). 
 
 MIDDLE DIET. 
 
 DAILY. 10 oz. of bread. 
 
 BREAKFAST. Tea ($ oz.) with milk (J pint) and sugar (J oz.). 
 DINNER. \ Ib. meat, roasted, boiled, or chops. Ib. of potatoes. 
 SUPPER. Tea (^ oz.) with milk (\ pint) and sugar ( oz.). 
 
 LOW DIET (FIXED). 
 
 DAILY. Ib. of bread. 
 
 BREAKFAST. Tea (^ oz.) with sugar (^ oz.) and milk (\ pint). 
 
 DINNER. No fixed diet. 
 
 SUPPER. Tea (| oz.) with sugar (| oz.) and milk (\ pint). 
 
 LOW DIET (CASUAL). 
 
 1 pint of broth (from 2 oz. of meat), or J Ib. of bread or rice pudding, or 1 
 pint of beef tea (from 4 oz. of beef), or a chop, or fish. 
 
 Composition of Bread Pudding. Bread, f Ib. Milk, \ pint. Sugar, J oz. 
 Flour, \ oz. 1 egg for every 2 Ib. 
 
 Composition of Rice Pudding. Rice, 1^ oz. Milk, pint. Sugar, \ oz. 
 
 SPOON OK FEVEK DIET. 
 
 DAILY. \ Ib. of bread. 
 
 BREAKFAST. Tea ($ oz.) with sugar (f oz.) and milk (\ pint). 
 DINNER. Barley-water (from 2 oz. of prepared barley). 
 SUPPER. Tea ($ oz.) with sugar (f oz.) and milk (J pint). 
 
 EXTKAS. 
 
 Porter, or wine, or spirits. No other extras to be allowed with full or 
 middle diet. 
 
HOSPITAL DIETARIES. 547 
 
 Every patient admitted into the hospital is to be placed upon low diet until a 
 diet is ordered by the physicians or surgeons. 
 
 No extras to be placed on the diet roll by the apothecary, or to be provided 
 by the steward or matron, other than those specified as above. 
 
 NOTE. Arrowroot, sago, vermicelli, or coffee, allowed as extras to low and 
 spoon diet, on the written order of the medical officers, communicated to the 
 matron. 
 
 INCURABLES' DIET. 
 
 Bread, f Ib. Meat, Ib. Potatoes, Ib. Milk, pint. Porter, 1 pint. 
 Each, daily, when not otherwise ordered. 
 
 SEAMEN'S HOSPITAL. 
 
 FULL DIET. 
 
 1 Ib. of bread, Ib. of meat viz., two days roast mutton, one day boiled 
 mutton, four days boiled beef, f Ib. potatoes; 1 pint of soup (on boiled-meat 
 days). 
 
 MUTTON (OR EXTRA) DIET. 
 
 1 Ib. of bread, f Ib. of roast mutton (boiled on Tuesdays), f Ib. of potatoes. 
 1 pint of soup (on boiled-meat day). 
 
 ORDINARY DIET. 
 
 1 Ib. of bread. Ib. of meat viz., two days roast mutton, one day boiled 
 mutton, four days boiled beef. Ib. of potatoes. 1 pint of soup (on boiled- 
 meat days). 
 
 LOW DIET. 
 
 Ib. of bread. 1 pint of beef tea. 
 
 MILK DIET. 
 
 1 Ib. of bread. 1 quart of milk. 1 pint of beef tea. 
 
 Tea with milk and sugar, morning and evening, with all diets. 
 
 LEEDS GENERAL INFIRMARY. 
 
 LOW DIET (ADULTS). 
 
 BREAKFAST. 8 oz. of buttered bread. 1 pint of tea. 
 DINNER. 4 oz. of bread. 1 pint of broth. 
 TEA. 8 oz. of buttered bread. 1 pint of tea. 
 SUPPER. 1 pint of rice milk. 
 
548 THERAPEUTIC DIETETICS. 
 
 LOW DIET (CHILDREN). 
 
 BREAKFAST. 4 oz. of buttered bread. ^ pint of tea. 
 
 DINNER. 2 oz. of bread. pint of broth. 4 oz. of rice pudding. 
 
 TEA. 4 oz. of buttered bread. pint of tea. 
 
 ORDINARY DIET (ADULTS). 
 
 BREAKFAST. 8 oz. of buttered bread. 1 pint of tea. 
 
 DINNER. Meat, 4 oz. (Sunday, Wednesday, and Friday, boiled beef; Mon- 
 day, roast beef; Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, roast mutton). 8 oz. 
 potatoes. 
 
 TEA. 8 oz. of buttered bread. 1 pint of tea. 
 
 SUPPER. 1 pint of rice milk. 
 
 ORDINARY DIET (CHILDREN). 
 
 BREAKFAST. 4 oz. of buttered bread. pint of tea. 
 
 DINNER. Meat 2 oz. (Sunday and Friday, boiled beef; Monday and Wednes- 
 day, roast beef; Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, roast mutton). 4 oz. of 
 potatoes. 
 
 TEA. 4 oz. of buttered bread. ^ pint of tea. 
 
 FULL DIET (ADULTS). 
 
 BREAKFAST. 8 oz. of buttered bread. 1 pint of tea. 
 
 DINNER. Meat, 5 oz. (Sunday and Friday, boiled beef; Monday and Wednes- 
 day, roast beef; Tuesday and Saturday, roast mutton; Thursday, boiled 
 mutton). 8 oz. of potatoes. $ pint of broth. 
 
 TEA. 8 oz. of buttered bread. 1 pint of tea. 
 
 SUPPER. 1 pint of rice milk. 
 
 MANCHESTER ROYAL INFIRMARY AND 
 DISPENSARY. 
 
 GENEROUS DIET. 
 
 BREAKFAST. 1 pint of tea or coffee. 6 oz. of bread, f oz. of butter. Or 
 
 boiled bread and milk ; or porridge with milk. 
 DINNER. Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. 6 oz. of beef, roasted. 
 
 4 oz. of bread. 8 oz. of potatoes. 
 Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. 6 oz. of mutton, boiled. 4 oz. of 
 
 bread. 8 oz. of potatoes. 
 
 This diet to be changed on the alternate weeks, i. e., on one week, four days 
 the beef is to be roasted, and three days the mutton boiled ; 011 the other week, 
 four days the mutton is to be roasted, and three days the beef boiled, as indicated 
 above. 
 SUPPER. The same as breakfast, except that no coffee is allowed. 
 
HOSPITAL DIETARIES. 549 
 
 COMMON DIET. 
 
 BREAKFAST. 1 pint of tea or coffee. 5 oz. of bread. oz. of butter. Or boiled 
 
 bread and milk ; or porridge with milk. 
 DINNER. Sunday, Wednesday, and Friday. 6 oz. of beef, roasted. 4 oz. of 
 
 bread. 8 oz. of potatoes. 
 Monday. 1 pint of good soup. 2 oz. of roast meat and potatoes. 4 
 
 oz. of bread. 
 
 Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. Potato hash, with 4 oz. of bread ; 
 or the option of having cold meat, with 8 oz. of potatoes and 4 oz. 
 of bread. 
 SUPPER. The same as breakfast, except that no coffee is allowed. 
 
 MILK DIET. 
 
 BREAKFAST. 1 pint of tea or coffee. 5 oz. of bread. J oz. of butter. Or boiled 
 
 bread and milk, with porridge and milk. 
 
 DINNER. Sunday and Wednesday. pint of milk. 12 oz. of semolina pud- 
 ding. 
 Monday, Thursday, and Saturday. pint of milk. 12 oz. of rice 
 
 pudding. 
 
 Tuesday and Friday. J pint of milk. 12 oz. of bread pudding. 
 At the option of the medical and surgical officers, pint of beef tea may be 
 substituted for the pint of milk. 
 SUPPER. The same as breakfast, except that no coffee is allowed. 
 
 LOW DIET. 
 
 BREAKFAST. 1 pint of tea. 3 oz. of bread. 
 DINNER. 1 pint of gruel. 2 oz. of bread. 
 SUPPER. Water gruel or tea. 3 oz. of bread. 
 
 BIRMINGHAM GENERAL HOSPITAL, 
 
 LOW DIET (MEN AND WOMEN). 
 
 BREAKFAST. 1 pint of milk. 
 
 DINNER. 8 oz. of rice or sago pudding. I pint of broth for lunch, 12 ez. of 
 
 bread. 
 SUPPER. 1 pint of broth or gruel. 
 
 LOW DIET (CHILDKEN). 
 
 BREAKFAST. 1 pint of milk. 
 
 DINNER. 8 oz. of rice or sago pudding. 6 oz, of bread. 
 
 SUPPER. J pint of broth or gruel. 
 
550 THERAPEUTIC DIETETICS. 
 
 MILK DIET (MEN AND WOMEN). 
 
 BREAKFAST. 1 pint of milk. 
 
 DINNER. 12 oz. of bread. 1 J pints of milk. 
 
 SUPPER. 1 pint of broth or gruel. 
 
 MILK DIET (CHILDKEN). 
 
 BREAKFAST. 1 pint of milk. 
 
 DINNER. 6 oz. of bread. 1 J pints of milk. 
 
 SUPPER. J pint of broth or gruel. 
 
 HOUSE DIET (MEN AND WOMEN). 
 
 BREAKFAST. 1 pint of milk. 
 
 DINNER. Cooked meat (4 oz. men, 3 oz. women). 8 oz. of potatoes. 12 oz. of 
 
 bread. 
 SUPPER. 1 pint of broth or gruel. 
 
 HOUSE DIET (CHILDREN). 
 
 BREAKFAST. 1 pint of milk. 
 
 DINNER. 2 oz. of cooked meat. 6 oz. of potatoes. 6 oz. of bread. 
 
 SUPPER. pint of broth or gruel. 
 
 MUTTON DIET (MEN AND WOMEN). 
 
 BREAKFAST. 1 pint of milk. 
 
 DINNER. Cooked mutton (4 oz. men, 3 oz. women). 8 oz. of potatoes. 12 oz. 
 
 of bread. 
 SUPPER. 1 pint of broth or gruel. 
 
 MUTTON DIET (CHILDKEN). 
 
 BREAKFAST. 1 pint of milk. 
 
 DINNER. 2 oz. of cooked mutton. 6 oz. of potatoes. 6 oz. of bread. 
 
 SUPPER. pint of broth or gruel. 
 
 FULL DIET (MEN AND WOMEN). 
 
 BREAKFAST. 1 pint of milk. 
 
 DINNER Cooked meat (6 oz. men, 4 oz. women). 8 oz. of potatoes. 12 oz. of 
 
 bread. 
 SUPPER. 1 pint of broth or gruel. 
 
 FULL DIET (CHILDREN). 
 
 BREAKFAST. 1 pint of milk. 
 
 DINNER. 2 oz. of cooked meat. 6 oz. of potatoes. 6 oz. of bread. 
 
 SUPPER. pint of broth or gruel. 
 
HOSPITAL DIETARIES. 551 
 
 NEWCASTLE-UPON-TYNE INFIRMARY. 
 
 COMMON DIET. 
 
 BREAKFAST.! pint of porridge and 1 gill of milk, or 1 pint of tea. 
 
 LUNCHEON. pint of soup. 
 
 DINNER. 6 oz. of beef or mutton (roast Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday, and 
 
 Saturday; boiled Monday, Wednesday, and Friday), and potatoes. 
 TEA. 1 pint of tea. 
 SUPPER. Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday 1 gill of milk. Monday, 
 
 Wednesday, and Friday 1 gill of boiled rice and milk. 
 
 Every male to have 14 oz. of bread, and every female 12 oz., daily. Every 
 male to have 6 oz. of meat, and every female 5 oz., daily. 
 
 MILK DIET. 
 
 BREAKFAST. 1 pint of porridge and 1 gill of milk, or 1 pint of tea. 
 
 DINNER. Sunday and Thursday Rice pudding and 1 gill of milk. Monday, 
 
 Wednesday, and Friday 1 pint of broth mixed with barley. Tuesday and 
 
 Saturday 1 pint of boiled rice and milk. 
 TEA. 1 pint of tea. 
 SUPPER. Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday 1 gill of milk. Monday, 
 
 Wednesday, and Friday 1 gill of boiled rice and milk. 
 
 Every male to have 12 oz. of bread, and every female 10 oz., daily. 
 All extras, only, by order of the medical officers. 
 
 EDINBURGH ROYAL INFIRMARY. 
 
 LOW DIET. 
 
 BREAKFAST. Bread, 3 oz. Tea, pint (tea, oz. ; milk, 1 oz. ; sugar, ^ oz.). 
 
 DINNER. Panada (bread, 3 oz. ; milk, 2 oz. ; sugar, J oz.). 
 
 SUPPER. Bread, 3 oz. Tea, pint (tea, oz. ; milk, 1 oz. ; sugar, J oz.). 
 
 HICE DIET. 
 
 BREAKFAST Bread, 3 oz. Coffee, pint (coffee, J oz. ; milk, 2 oz. ; sugar, 
 
 oz.). One egg. 
 DINNER. Beef tea (from 8 oz. of meat), pint. Rice pudding (rice, 1 oz. 
 
 sugar, oz. ; milk, 2 oz. ; half an egg ; essential oil of lemon, 1 drop). 
 SUPPER. Bread, 3 oz. Tea, pint (tea, oz. ; milk, 1 oz.; sugar, oz.). 
 
552 THERAPEUTIC DIETETICS. 
 
 STEAK DIET. 
 
 BREAKFAST. Bread, 6 oz. Coffee, J pint (coffee, J oz. ; milk, 2 oz. ; sugar, 
 
 oz.). 
 DINNER. Potatoes, 16 oz. Beef steak, 1 4 oz. Broth, 1 pint (barley, 1 oz. ; 
 
 vegetables, oz. ; meat, 2 oz.). 
 SUPPER. Bread, 6 oz. Tea, pint (tea, -J oz. ; milk, 1 oz. ; sugar, J oz.). 
 
 STEAK DIET WITH BREAD. 
 
 This is the same as " Steak Diet," except that 6 oz. of bread are substituted at 
 dinner for potatoes, and f of a pint of beef tea for broth. 
 
 COMMON DIET. 
 
 BREAKFAST. Bread, 6 oz. Coffee, pint (coffee, oz. ; milk, 2 oz. ; sugar, 
 
 oz.). 
 DINNER. Potatoes, 16 oz. Broth, 1 pint (barley, 1 oz. ; vegetables, f oz. ; 
 
 meat, 2 oz.). 
 SUPPER. Bread, 6 oz. Tea, \ pint (tea, oz. ; milk, 1 oz. ; sugar, \ oz.). 
 
 COMMON DIET WITH BREAD. 
 
 The same as " Common Diet," except that 6 oz. of bread are substituted at 
 dinner for potatoes. 
 
 FULL DIET. 
 
 BREAKFAST. Porridge, \\ pints made of oatmeal, 4 oz. Buttermilk, 1 pint 
 
 (20 oz.). 
 DINNER. Boiled meat, 6 oz. Potatoes, 16 oz. Bread, 3 oz. Broth (barley, 1 
 
 oz. ; vegetables, f oz. ; meat, 2 oz.). 
 SUPPER. Potatoes, 16 oz. New milk, pint (10 oz.). 
 
 FULL DIET WITH BREAD. 
 
 The same as "Full Diet," except that bread, 8 oz., is substituted for potatoes 
 and bread at dinner; and bread, 6 oz., for potatoes at supper. 
 
 EXTRA DIET. 
 
 BREAKFAST. Porridge, 2 pints made of oatmeal, 6 oz. Buttermilk, 1 pint 
 
 (20 oz.). 
 DINNER. Boiled meat, 8 oz. Potatoes, 20 oz. Bread, 3 oz. Broth, 1 pint 
 
 (barley, 1 oz. ; vegetables, f oz. ; meat, 2 oz.). 
 SUPPER. Potatoes, 20 oz. New milk, 15 oz. 
 
 1 In this and all the other diets, the weight is to be understood as applying to 
 the food before being cooked. 
 
HOSPITAL DIETARIES. 553 
 
 GLASGOW ROYAL INFIRMARY. 
 
 ORDINARY DIET. 
 
 BREAKFAST. Bread, 4 oz. Butter, salt (or fresh, if specially ordered), oz. 
 Tea, 4 gills. 
 
 DINNER. Bread, 6 oz. Broth or soup, 2 pints. Beef or mutton, boiled (cooked 
 weight, free of bone), 4 oz. ; or beef steak (uncooked weight, trimmed, and 
 free of bone), 4 oz. ; or, mutton chop (uncooked weight, bone included), 6 
 oz. ; or, chicken, one-fifth part of a fowl ; or, fresh fish (cleaned weight), 8 
 oz. Potatoes, when in season, instead of bread, 1 Ib. Beef tea may be 
 specially ordered instead of broth or soup, but, as a rule, beef tea with bread 
 is a dinner without beef or mutton. 
 
 SUPPER. Bread, 4 oz. Butter, oz. Coffee, 4 gills. 
 
 MILK DIET. 
 
 BREAKFAST. Bread, 4 oz. Milk, 4 gills. 
 DINNER. Rice, 2 oz. Milk, 4 gills. 
 SUPPER. Bread, 4 oz. Milk, 4 gills. 
 
 ROTATION OF BROTH OR SOUPS. 
 
 Sunday, Wednesday, and Friday broth. Monday and Thursday rice soup. 
 Tuesday and Saturday pea soup. 
 
 Chicken soup. Beef tea. 
 
 EXTRAS, WHICH CAN BE HAD TO ORDER. 
 
 Porridge and buttermilk 4 oz. meal and 4 gills milk. Milk, sweet, to por- 
 ridge, 2 gills. Milk, for drink, 2 gills. Milk, warm, 2 gills. 1 egg. Sago, 
 arrowroot, corn flour, 2 oz. Biscuits. Strong beef tea. Dry tea, 2 oz., and 8 
 oz. sugar, for a week's supply. 
 
 RICHMOND, WHITWORTH, AND HARDWICKE 
 HOSPITALS (DUBLIN). 
 
 LOW DIET (RICHMOND AND WHITWORTH). 
 
 BREAKFAST. Bread, 4 oz. Tea, pint. 
 DINNER. Bread, 4 oz. New milk, pint. 
 SUPPER. Bread, 4 oz. Tea, f pint. Whey, 1 pint. 
 
 LOW DIET (HARDWICKE). 
 
 BREAKFAST. Bread, 4 oz. Tea, pint. 
 DINNER. Bread, 4 oz. New milk, pint. 
 SUPPER. Tea, pint. Whey, 1 pint. 
 
554 THERAPEUTIC DIETETICS. 
 
 EXTRAS ALLOWED. 
 
 1 egg. Arrowroot, pint ; or beef tea, pint ; or new milk, pint ; or rice 
 milk, | pint. Wine ; or brandy ; or gin ; or whisky ; or porter, J pint, as spe- 
 cialty ordered. 
 
 MIDDLE DIET. 
 
 BREAKFAST. Bread, 6 oz. Tea, pint. 
 
 DINNER. Bread, 6 oz. Beef, boiled (exclusive of bone), lb., with broth, 
 
 f pint. 
 SUPPER. Bread, 4 oz. Tea, f pint. 
 
 EXTRAS ALLOWED. 
 1 egg. New milk, pint ; or porter, J pint ; or gin or wine, not exceeding 4 oz. 
 
 MUTTON DIET. 
 
 BREAKFAST. Bread, 6 oz. Tea, f pint. 
 
 DINNER. Bread, 6 oz. Mutton, broiled (exclusive of bone), lb. 
 
 SUPPER. Bread, 4 oz. Tea, pint. 
 
 EXTRAS ALLOWED. 
 
 1 egg. New milk, pint; or porter, pint; or wine, not exceeding 4 oz. 
 Fresh vegetables as ordered. 
 
 FULL DIET. 
 
 BREAKFAST. Bread, 8 oz. Tea, f pint. 
 
 DINNER. Bread, 8 oz. ; or potatoes, 1 lb. Beef, boiled (exclusive of bone), 
 
 $ lb., with broth, f pint. 
 SUPPER. Bread, 4 oz. Tea, f pint. 
 
 EXTRAS ALLOWED. 
 
 New milk, f pint ; or porter, pint. 
 
 Beef, with broth, to be given for dinner on five days in each week to patients 
 on middle diet. On Wednesdays and Fridays pint of gruel to be substituted. 
 
 Potatoes, on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays to patients on full diet in- 
 stead of bread. 
 
 Formularies. 
 
 TEA (6 pints). Tea, 1 oz. Sugar, 4 oz. New milk, f pint. 
 
 BEEF WITH BROTH (6 pints). Beef (exclusive of bone), 4 lb. Barley, lb. 
 Oatmeal, 2 oz. Parsley, 1 oz. Thyme, oz. Onions or leeks, lb. Pepper 
 and salt to taste. 
 
 BEEF TEA (6 pints). Beef (lean, without bone), 4 lb. Pepper and salt to taste. 
 
 WHEY. New milk, 1 quart. Buttermilk, 1 pint. 
 
 GRUEL (6 pints). Oatmeal, 12 oz. Sugar, 3 oz. Ginger to flavor. Steep 
 the meal from night before ; boil for two hours. 
 
 ARROWROOT ( pint). Arrowroot, J oz. Sugar, oz. New milk, | pint. 
 
HOSPITAL DIETARIES. 555 
 
 BETHLEM LUNATIC HOSPITAL. 
 
 BREAKFAST. Every day Tea, with 7 oz. of bread and butter for males, and 6 
 
 oz. for females. 
 
 DINNER. Every day, except Saturday 4 oz. of bread, Ib. of vegetables, and 
 1 pint of beer, with 6 oz. for males, and 5 oz. for females, of boiled beef (free 
 from bone) on Sunday ; roast mutton on Monday and Thursday ; boiled 
 mutton on Tuesday and Friday ; and roast beef on Wednesday. Saturday 
 Meat pie (16 oz. males, 14 oz. females). 4 oz. of bread. 1 oz. of cheese. 
 Beer (males 1 pint, females pint). 
 
 SUPPER. Males, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday, same as at 
 breakfast; Wednesday and Saturday, 7 oz. of bread; 2 oz. of cheese, 1 pint 
 of beer. Females, every day, same as at breakfast. 
 
 Patients in employment in the grounds, workshops, or laundry, to be allowed 
 4 oz. of bread, 1 oz. of cheese or J oz. of butter, and pint of beer for luncheon ; 
 and pint of beer in the afternoon. 
 
 Every patient to be allowed If oz. of tea, 8 oz. of sugar, 8 oz. of butter, and H 
 pints of milk, weekly. 
 
 On Christmas Day the dinner to be roast beef and plum pudding. On New 
 Year's Day a mince pie to be added to the usual fare. On Good Friday, a bun. 
 On Easter and Whit Monday 6 oz. of roast veal to be allowed instead of the usual 
 meat for the day. 
 
 The dinners to be further varied by the occasional substitution of pork and 
 bacon, when peas and beans are in season ; and also b} r the occasional substitu- 
 tion of fish, and fruit pies, when fish and fruit are plentiful and good. 
 The sick to be dieted at the discretion of the resident physician. 
 The attendants to have at all times the means of obtaining gruel for such 
 patients as may require it. 
 
 The above to be considered maximum allowances, and all quantities uncon- 
 sumed are to be taken in diminution of the next supply from the stores of the 
 Hospital. 
 
 ST. LUKE'S HOSPITAL FOR LUNATICS. 
 
 MALE DIETARY. 
 
 BREAKFAST. Cocoa, oz. Milk, pint. Sugar, oz. Bread, 8 oz. Butter, 
 
 i oz. 
 DINNER. 
 
 Sunday. Cooked meat, with bone, 6 oz. Potatoes, 12 oz. Bread, 6 oz. 
 Beer, 1 pint. Pudding (farinaceous or fruit), 6 oz. 
 
 Monday. Meat pie, with potatoes, 12 oz. Bread, 3 oz. Beer, 1 pint. 
 
 Tuesday. Cooked meat, with bone, 8 oz. Bread, 6 oz. Beer, 1 pint. 
 
556 THERAPEUTIC DIETETICS. 
 
 DINNER (continued) . 
 
 "Wednesday. Meat pudding, 12 oz. Potatoes, 8 oz. Bread, 3 oz. Beer, 
 
 1 pint. 
 
 Thursday. Same as Tuesday. 
 Friday. Cooked meat, with bone, 8 oz. Potatoes, 12 oz. Bread, 6 oz. 
 
 Beer, 1 pint. 
 
 Saturday. Same as Tuesday and Thursday. 
 TEA. Tea, \ oz. Sugar, J oz. Milk, pint. Bread, 8 oz. Butter, J oz. 
 
 FEMALE DIETARY. 
 
 BREAKFAST. Same as for males, less 2 oz. of bread. 
 DINNER. 
 
 Sunday. Same as for males, less 2 oz. of meat, 4 oz. of potatoes and pint 
 
 of beer. 
 
 Monday. Same as for males, less 2 oz. of pie and \ pint of beer. 
 Tuesday. Same as for males, less 2 oz. of meat and pint of beer. 
 Wednesday. Same as for males, less 2 oz. of meat pudding, 2 oz. of potatoes, 
 
 and pint of beer. 
 Thursday. Same as Tuesday. 
 Friday. Same as for males, less 2 oz. of meat, 4 oz. of potatoes, and \ pint 
 
 of beer. 
 
 Saturday. Same as for Tuesday and Thursday. 
 TEA. Same as for males. 
 
 1 pint of beer, 8 oz. of bread, and 2 oz. of cheese, may be had for supper in 
 the place of the ordinary tea, by those male patients for whom the medical officer 
 shall think it desirable. 
 
 Patients employed in work for the Hospital to be allowed 4 oz. of bread, 1 oz. 
 of cheese, and ^ pint of beer for lunch. 
 
 The dinners may be varied by the occasional substitution of pork, bacon, salt 
 beef, or veal, when in season ; and also the occasional substitution of fish, and 
 fruit pies, when either are plentiful and good. 
 
 Lettuce during the summer months may be substituted occasionally for other 
 vegetables. 
 
 The sick to be dieted at the discretion of the medical officers. 
 The above to be considered maximum allowances ; and all quantities uncon- 
 sumed to be returned to the kitchen. 
 
 HANWELL LUNATIC ASYLUM. 
 
 DIET TABLE FOB PATIENTS EMPLOYED. 
 
 BREAKFAST. 
 
 Males. Cocoa, 1 pint. Bread, 6 oz. Butter, \ oz. 
 Females. Tea, 1 pint. Bread, 5 oz. Butter, J oz. 
 
HOSPITAL DIETARIES. 557 
 
 LUNCHEON. 
 
 Males. Bread, 3 oz. Cheese, 1 oz. Beer, $ pint. 
 Females. Bread, 3 oz. Cheese, 1 oz. Beer, pint. 
 DINNER. 
 Males 
 Sunday. Cooked meat, free from bone (roast pork, beef, or mutton), 5 
 
 oz. Vegetables, 9 oz. Bread, 3 oz. Beer, pint. 
 Monday. Cooked meat, free from bone (boiled bacon or pickled pork), 
 
 5 oz. Vegetables, 16 oz. Bread, 3 oz. Beer, pint. 
 Tuesday. Cooked meat, free from bone (boiled Australian beef or mut- 
 ton), 5 oz. Vegetables, 9 oz. Dumplings, 4 oz. Beer, 
 pint. 
 Wednesday. Cooked meat, free from bone (meat pies), 3 oz. Pie, 4 oz. 
 
 Vegetables, 12 oz. Beer, pint. 
 Thursday. Fish (fried or boiled, with melted butter), 10 oz. Vegetables, 
 
 9 oz. Bread, 3 oz. Beer, pint. 
 
 Friday. Cooked meat, free from bone (boiled bacon or pickled pork), 5 
 oz. Vegetables, 16 oz. Dumplings, 4 oz. Beer, pint. 
 Saturday. Cooked meat, free from bone (Irish stew), 2 oz. Stew, 16 oz. 
 Bread, 6 oz. Beer, J pint. 
 
 Females 
 
 Sunday. Same as for males, less 1 oz. of meat and 1 oz. of vegetables. 
 Monday. Same as for males, less 1 oz. of meat and 4 oz. of vegetables. 
 Tuesday. Cooked meat, free from bone (boiled beef or mutton), 4 oz. 
 
 Vegetables, 12 oz. Bread, 3 oz. Beer, pint. 
 Wednesday. Same as for males. 
 
 ' Thursday. Cooked meat, free from bone (boiled Australian beef or mut- 
 ton), 4 oz. Vegetables, 8 oz. Bread, 3 oz. Beer, pint. 
 Friday. Fish (fried or boiled, with melted butter), 8 oz. Vegetables, 8 
 
 oz. Bread, 3 oz. Beer, pint. 
 Saturday. Same as for males, less 2 oz. of bread. 
 SUPPER. 
 
 Males. Tea, 1 pint. Bread, 6 oz. Butter, oz. 
 Females. Tea, 1 pint. Bread, 5 oz. Butter, ^ oz. 
 
 DIET FOK PATIENTS NOT EMPLOYED. 
 
 BREAKFAST. 
 
 Males. Cocoa, 1 pint. Bread, 6 oz. Butter, oz. 
 Females. Tea, 1 pint. Bread, 5 oz. Butter, oz. 
 DINNER. 
 Males 
 
 Sunday. Cooked meat, free from bone (roast pork, beef, or mutton), 5 
 
 oz. Vegetables, 9 oz. Bread, 3 oz. Beer, pint. 
 
 Monday. Soup, thickened with oatmeal, rice, and peas, and containing 2 
 oz. of meat for each patient, with a proportion of Ka- 
 mornie Extract, 1 pint. Bread, 6 oz. Beer, J pint. 
 
558 THERAPEUTIC DIETETICS. 
 
 DINNER. Males (continued). 
 
 Tuesday. Cooked meat, free from bone (boiled Australian beef or mut- 
 ton), 5 oz. Vegetables, 9 oz. Dumplings, 4 oz. Beer, 
 pint. 
 
 Wednesday. Cooked meat, free from bone (meat pies), 3 oz. Pie, 4 oz. 
 Vegetables, 12 oz. Beer, pint. 
 
 Thursday. Fish (fried or boiled, with melted butter), 10 oz. Vegetables, 
 9 oz. Bread, 3 oz. Beer, pint. 
 
 Friday. Cooked meat, free from bone (boiled bacon or pickled pork), 5 
 oz. Vegetables, 16 oz. Dumplings, 4 oz. Beer, pint. 
 
 Saturday. Cooked meat, free from bone (Irish stew), 2 oz. Stew, 16 oz. 
 
 Bread, 6 oz. Beer, pint. 
 Females 
 
 Sunday. Same as for males, less 1 oz. of meat and 1 oz. of vegetables. 
 
 Monday. Same as for males, less 2 oz. of bread. 
 
 Tuesday. Cooked meat, free from bone (boiled bacon or pickled pork), 4 
 oz. Vegetables, 12 oz. Bread, 3 oz. Beer, ^ pint. 
 
 "Wednesday. Same as for males. 
 
 Thursday. Cooked meat, free from bone (boiled Australian beef or mut- 
 ton), 4 oz. Vegetables, 8 oz. Bread, 3 oz. Beer, pint. 
 
 Friday. Fish (fried or boiled, with melted butter), 8 oz. Vegetables, 8 
 oz. Bread, 3 oz. Beer, pint. 
 
 Saturday. Same as for males, less 2 oz. of bread. 
 
 SUPPER. 
 
 Males. Tea, 1 pint. Bread, 6 oz. Butter, J oz. 
 
 Females. Tea, 1 pint. Bread, 5 oz. Butter, oz. 
 
 2 oz. of cheese and 1 pint of beer given to male patients for supper in lieu of 1 
 pint of tea and oz. of butter, if requested. 
 
 Formularies. 
 
 For 1 pint of cocoa oz. of cocoa, 1 oz. of treacle, and ^ pint of milk. 
 
 For 1 pint of tea \ oz. of tea, oz. of sugar, and pint of milk. 
 
 Irish stew (liquor of the meat cooked the previous day), with 2 oz. cooked 
 Australian meat (and a proportion of Kamornie Extract), with 12 oz. of vege- 
 tables, for each patient. 
 
 Currant dumplings (made with dripping or suet) are given every third Satur- 
 day, in lieu of stew, 12 oz. to the males and 11 oz. to the females. pint beer 
 at 4 P.M., and tobacco and snuff, for working patients. 
 
HOSPITAL DIETARIES. 559 
 
 COLNEY HATCH LUNATIC ASYLUM. 
 
 MALES. 
 
 BREAKFAST. 6 oz. of bread, and oz. of butter. 1 pint of cocoa. 
 DINNER. 
 
 Monday. 9 oz. of pie (containing 4 oz. of meat). 9 oz. of vegetables. 
 
 pint of beer. 
 Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Sunday. 5 oz. of cooked meat. 9 oz. of 
 
 vegetables. 4 oz. of bread. pint of beer. 
 Wednesday. 1 pint of stew, and 6 oz. of bread, as on Saturday or, 8 oz. of 
 
 fish, 9 oz. of vegetables, and 4 oz. of bread. pint of beer 
 
 (with either dinner). 
 Saturday. 1 pint of Irish stew (made with 3 oz. of meat and the liquor 
 
 from meat of previous day, 12 oz. of potatoes and other 
 
 vegetables, and 1 oz. dumpling). 6 oz. of bread. pint 
 
 of beer. 
 TEA OR SUPPER. 6 oz. of bread. 2 oz. of cheese or oz. of butter. pint of 
 
 beer or 1 pint of tea. 
 
 FEMALES. 
 
 BREAKFAST. 5 oz. of bread, and J oz. of butter. 1 pint of tea. 
 DINNER. 
 
 Monday. 9 oz. of pie (containing 4 oz. of meat). 8 oz. of vegetables. 
 pint of beer. 
 
 Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Sunday. 4 oz. of cooked meat. 8 oz. of 
 vegetables. 4 oz of bread. pint of beer. 
 
 "Wednesday. 1 pint of soup (made with 4 oz. of meat and the liquor from 
 meat of previous day, peas, rice, Scotch barley, herbs, &c.), 
 and 5 oz. of bread or, 8 oz. of fish, 8 oz. of vegetables, and 
 4 oz. of bread or, 12 oz. of currant dumpling. J pint of 
 beer (with either dinner). 
 
 Saturday. 1 pint of Irish stew (made with 3 oz. of meat and the liquor from 
 meat of previous day, 12 oz. of potatoes and other vege- 
 tables, and 1 oz. dumpling). 5 oz. of bread. pint of 
 beer. 
 TEA. 5 oz. of bread. J oz. of butter. 1 pint of tea. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 Absinthe, 395 
 
 Abstinence from food, 473 
 
 Abutilon esculentum. flowers of, 285 
 
 Abyssinia, raw meat eaten in, 456 
 
 Acajou nut, 263 
 
 Acarus domesticus, or cheese mite, 205 
 
 farina;, or flour mite, 240 
 Acetic acid, 122, 136 
 Acorn coffee, 350 
 Acorns, 259 
 Acrolein, 488 
 
 Adipocere, production of, 91 
 Aerated bread, 234 
 Africa, food in the different parts of, 455- 
 
 459 
 
 Africans (East) food of, 457 
 Agaricus campestris, 287 
 Agouti, 210 
 Air, preservation of food by exclusion of, 
 
 399 
 
 Alaria esculenta, 280 
 Albatross, 215 
 Albumen, 42, 51 
 
 Mulder's analysis of, 84 
 
 as a force-producing agent, 87 
 
 insufficient to sustain life, 405 
 
 vegetable, 44 
 Albuminose, or peptone, 45, 46 
 
 production of, 26, 51, 52 
 Albuminous group of alimentary principles, 
 
 41 
 
 Alcohol, 137-141 357, 376 
 Alcoholic beverages, 357-395 
 Ale, 362 
 
 Alimentary principles : their classifications, 
 chemical relations, digestion, assimi- 
 lation, and physiological uses, 37-146 
 
 substances, 147-396 
 Alkaline secretions, effect of, 47 
 Allium cepa, 283 
 
 Almond, 260-262 ; composition of sweet, 261 
 composition of bitter, 261 
 
 sweet, furnishes a food analogous to 
 
 milk, 496 
 
 Alum in bread, 234 
 Alum whey, 535 
 
 Amblyrhyncus (a genus of lizard), 216 
 American cheese, 203 
 American (North) Indians, food of, 446 
 Ammonia in the atmosphere, 32 
 Amygdalin, 260 
 
 Amygdalus communis, 260 
 
 persica, 299 
 Amylic alcohol, 394 
 Amyloid substarce, 118, 120, 121, 125 
 Anacardium occidentale, 263 
 Ananassa saliva, or pineapple, 311 
 Animal alimentary substances, 147-223 
 
 foods, exceptional, 206-223 
 
 system and a steam-engine, analogy 
 
 between, 22, 23 
 
 Animals, effect of different foods upon their 
 character, 466 
 
 and plants, reciprocal relation of, 34, 35 
 Anisette, 395 
 Anomin ephippium, 21 9 
 Anstie's experiments on the effect of alcohol, 
 
 138, 358 
 Antiseptics, preservation of food by the use 
 
 of. 402 
 
 Ants (white), 218 
 Apiura graveolens, 281 
 
 Appetite a guide in regulating the supply of 
 food, 468 
 
 a measure of capacity for work, 419 
 Apple, 292, 293 ; composition of, 293 
 Apricot, 300 ; composition of, 301 
 Arabs of the Nubian desert, 455 
 Arachis hypogoea, or earth-nut, 357 
 Araucaria imbricata, 314 
 Arctic food, 412, 444 
 Armadillo, 214 
 
 Arracacha esculenta, root of, 272 
 Arrack, 394 
 Arrowroot, 325-326, 533 
 
 Brazilian, 324, 326 
 
 British. 266 
 
 East Indian, 326 
 
 English. 326 
 
 Portland, 326 
 
 Tahitan, 325 
 Artichoke, 282 
 
 Jerusalem, 271 ; composition of, 271 
 Artocarpus incisa and integrifolia, 314 
 Arum esculentum, root of, 275 
 
 maculatum, 326 
 Asparngin, 282 
 Asparagus, 282 
 
 Aspergillus glaucus, or cheese mould, 205 
 Ass's flesh eaten by the Romans, 212 
 Astralagus Boeticus, 350 
 Atriplex hortensis, 279 
 
 36 
 
562 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Attacotti, cannibals of ancient Scotland, 
 
 206 
 
 Aube-gine, or egg-apple, 285 
 Australia, food of the natives of, 449 
 Avena sativa, 242 
 Avenin. 243 
 Axolotl of Mexico, 217 
 
 Bacon, 154; composition of, 155 
 
 Baked flour, 230 
 
 Baking, 489 
 
 Baking powder, 232, 234 
 
 Baly, Dr., 268 
 
 Bandicoot, 209 
 
 Banana, 313; composition of, 314 
 
 Banting's, Mr., diet, 465. 511-513 
 
 Bantingism, danger of, 512 
 
 Barberry, 307 
 
 Barcelona nuts, 263 
 
 Bark, 315 
 
 Barley, 245, 246 ; composition of, 245 
 
 Scotch, milled or pot, 245 
 
 pearl, 245 
 
 patent, 245 
 
 sugar, 319 
 
 water, 533 
 
 Barral, on the elimination of nitrogen, 55 
 Barrow on the gluttony of the Hottentots 
 
 and Bosjesir.ans, 425 
 Basilisk, crested, 216 
 Batatas edulis, or sweet potato, 265, 269, 
 
 270 
 Baudot's experiment on the effect of alcohol, 
 
 138 
 Beans, 255 ; composition of, 256 
 
 French, 256 ; composition of, 256 
 Bear, 208, 444 
 Beaujolais wine, 383 
 Becker, von, 117 
 Beef, 152 ; composition of, 152 
 
 essence of, 531 
 Beef tea, 527 
 
 savory, 529 
 Liebig's, 529 
 Beer, 3fi2-365 
 Bees, 218 
 
 experiments on, 128 
 Beet (sea), leaves of, 279 
 
 white. 279 
 
 chard, 283 
 Beet-root, 274 
 
 sugar from, 318 
 Beetles, 218 
 
 Berberis vulgaris, or barberry, 307 
 Bernard's discovery of glycogen, 120 
 
 experiments on the assimilation of 
 
 sugar, 123 
 Bernard on the acidification of fat, 99 
 
 on the action of food on the urine, 51, 
 
 466, 518 
 
 Bertholletia excelsa, 263 
 Beta vulgaris and altissima, 274, 275 
 
 cicla, 279, 283 
 
 marititna, 279 
 
 Bethlem Lunatic Hospital, dietary at, 555 
 Beverages, 328-395 
 
 Beverages, non-alcoholic, exhilarating, and 
 
 restorative, 335-357 
 Bicknell, Mr., on the use of horseflesh, 
 
 211 
 
 Bidder's experiment on the solvent influ- 
 ence of the intestinal juice, 48 
 Biffins, 293 
 
 Bigarreau cherry, 299 
 Bilberry, 307 ; composition of, 307 
 Bile, action of, in digestion, 47, 50 
 
 power of, to emulsify the fatty acids, 
 
 99 
 
 Birds' nests, soup made from, 215 
 Birmingham General Hospital dietary, 549 
 Bischoff. 465 
 
 his opinion that gelatin has a nutritive 
 
 value, 95 
 
 Biscuits, 230. 238, 242 ; composition of, 239 
 Bison, 210; its hump, 210 
 Bitters, 395 
 Black pudding, 156 
 Blackberry, 309 ; composition of, 310 
 Bladder-lock, 280 
 Blaeberry, 307 
 Blaps sulcata, 218 
 Blood of the pig and bullock, 156 
 Blubber, 209 
 Boiling of food, 486, 487 
 Boiling of water for purification, 334 
 Bole, an earth eaten by the Ottom;ics, 220 
 Bologna sausages made of asses' flesh, 212 
 Bone, relative amount of, in animals, 155 
 
 nutritive character of, 155 
 Bordeaux wines, 382 
 Borecole, 277 
 Bosjesmans, food of, 458 
 
 gluttony of, 425 
 Bourtree, or elder, 308 
 
 Boussingault on the production of fatty 
 matter, 25, 128, 130, 409 
 
 researches on the free nitrogen of the at- 
 mosphere, 32 
 Brandy, 392 
 Brandy mixture, 531 
 Brank, or buckwheat, 253 
 Brassica napus, 284 
 
 oleracea, 276 
 
 rapa, or turnip, 274 
 Brazil-nut, 263 
 Bread, 231-237 ; composition of, 236 
 
 from unbolted flour, 145 
 
 in times of famine, 315 
 Bread jelly, 522, 532 
 
 brown, 231, 236 ; use of in overcoming 
 constipation, 526 
 
 rye, 247 
 
 Indian, 248 
 Bread-fruit, 314 
 
 meal, a kind of earth, 220 
 Breakfast, 479 
 Brewing, 362 
 
 Brie cheese, composition of, 204 
 Bright's disease, diet for, 517 
 Brill, 174 
 Brinjal, 286 
 Broccoli, 278 
 
 sprouts, 278 
 
INDEX. 
 
 563 
 
 Broiling, 488 
 Brose, beef and kale, 244 
 Broths, 490 
 
 Brown, Horace T. , on the estimation of am- 
 monia in atmospheric air, 32 
 Brown bread, 231, 236, 526 
 Brunner's glands, secretion of, 99 
 Brussels sprouts, 278 
 Bucelhis wine. 387 
 Budrum (oatmeal), 243 
 Buckwheat, 253 ; composition of, 253 
 Buffalo, 210. 446 
 Bugong, an Australian moth, 218 
 Bullace, 297 
 Burgundy wines, 382 
 Bustard, 215 
 Butter, 200-202 
 
 Buttermilk, 193 ; composition of, 193 
 Butternut, 263 
 
 Cabango, food used at, 457 
 Cabbage tribe, products of, 276 
 
 red, 277 
 
 white garden, 277 
 Cacao butter, 355 
 Caffein, 336 
 Cagliari paste, 239 
 Cakes, 230 
 
 Caladium seguinum, rhizomes of, 272 
 Calorifacient group ef alimentary principles. 
 
 38 
 
 Cambridge system of training, 501 
 Camel, 210 ; its hump, 211 ; its milk, 210 
 Camembert cheese, composition of, 21)4 
 Canna edulis, 326 
 Cannibalism, 206, 207 
 Capraria biflora, 343 
 Caramel, 3 19 
 Carbohydrates, 114-136, 510 
 
 amount in dietaries, 471 
 
 assimilation and utilization of, 123 
 
 conversion into fat, 130-134 
 Carbon, amount required in food, 440 
 Carbonic acid a measure of muscular work, 
 
 107 
 
 in the air, 30 
 Carbuncles caused by eating diseased meat, 
 
 164 
 
 Cardoon, 282 
 Carlina caulescens^282 
 Carlisle, Sir Anthony, on Arctic food, 412 
 Carnivorous animals fed once a day, 476 
 Carob tree, 314 
 
 Carpenter, Dr., on starvation, 475 
 Carrageen moss, 280 
 
 decoction of, 518 
 Carrion eaten by the Zulus, 214 
 Carrots, 272, 273 ; composition of, 273 
 Carya alba, 263 
 Casein, 43, 52, 143, 185, 188, 202 
 
 vegetable, 44 
 Cashew nut, 263 
 Cassava, 323-324 
 
 bread, 324 
 Castanea vesca, 258 
 
 Castration improves the animal for edible 
 
 purposes, 149, 168 
 Caterpillars, 219 
 Catha edulis. 344 
 Cuts. 208 
 Cauliflower, 278 
 Caviare, 177 
 Celery, 281 
 Cellulose. 122 
 
 Cerasus duracina, or common cherry, 299 
 Ceratonia silique, 314 
 Cerealia, 225-254 
 Cerealin, 227 
 
 Ceylon, food of the inhabitants of, 454 
 Chaat, or Abyssinian tea, 344 
 Chalazae of the egg, 183 
 Champagnes, 383 
 
 Chard, the leafstalks of artichoke, 282 
 Charqui, or dried beef, 399 
 Chartreuse, liqueur, 395 
 Chateau d'Yquem wine, 382 
 Cheddar cheese, composition of, 204 
 Cheese, 202-205 ; composition of, 203 
 
 poisoning by. 205 
 
 Chenopodiuin quinoa, 254 ; leaves of, 279 
 Cherry, 299 ; composition of, 299 
 Cheshire cheese, 203 
 Chester cheese, 203 ; composition of, 204 
 Chestnut, earth, 357 
 
 Spanish, 258 
 Chiccory, 350, 351 
 Chicken tea, 529 
 Children require food more frequently than 
 
 grown-up persons, 482 
 China, food of the inhabitants of, 452 
 Chlorophyll, action of, in plants, ,27 
 Chocolate, 354 
 Chondrin, 44, 94 
 Chondrus crispus, 280 
 
 Chossat's experiments on death from starva- 
 tion, 473 
 
 Christison, Sir R., on unwholesome meat, 
 164, 165 
 
 on the laxative action of oatmeal, 244 
 
 on poisoning by darnel grass. 240 
 
 on test of poisonous fungi, 288 
 Chromic acid test for alcohol, 138 
 Chrysalis of the silkworm, 219 
 Chyme, the product of gastric digestion, 47 
 Cicada, an insect eaten by Greeks, 219 
 Cichorium endivia, 284 
 
 intybus, 350 
 Cider, 292, 365, 366 
 Citric acid, 136 
 Citron, 296 
 Citrus acida, or lime, 296 
 
 aurantium, or orange, 295 
 
 decumana, or shaddock, 296 
 
 limetta, or sweet lime, 296 
 
 limonium, or lemon, 296 
 
 medica, or citron, 296 
 
 pompelmoos, or pomelo. 297 
 
 vulgaris, or Seville orange, 290 
 Claret wines, 382 
 
 action of, on the human body, 139 
 Clark's process for the purification of water, 
 334 ' 
 
564 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Clay eaten in Africa, 220 
 
 Clitnate, variety of diet required according 
 
 to difference of, 412 
 Cob-nut, 263 
 
 Cochlearia officinalis et Danica, 445 
 Cockatoos, 214 
 Cockles, 181 
 Cocoa, 352-357, composition of, 355, 356 
 
 fictitious, 357 
 
 Brazilian, or guarana, 351 
 Cocoanut, 262, 
 
 value of, as food, 451, 455, 456 
 Cqpos nucifera, 262 
 Codfish, 173 : cod sound?, 177 
 Coffee, 344-350; composition of, 347 
 
 leaves, infusion made from, 343 
 
 fictitious, 350 
 
 Swedish, 350 
 Cold, or catarrh, dry treatment for cure of, 
 
 516 
 Cold as a sharpener of the appetite, 424 
 
 influence of, in preserving food, 398 
 Colewort, 277 
 Colney Hatch Lunatic Asylum, dietary at, 
 
 559 
 
 Colostrum, 189 
 Combe, Dr., on the food of the monks of La 
 
 Trappe, 477 
 Condiments, 396 
 Cones, or cones flour, 230 
 Constipation removed by brown bread, 236 
 Convolvulus batatas, 269 
 Cooking, effects of, 485 
 Cooking-pot, 490 
 Cooper, London, 364 
 Cormorant, 215 
 Corn, pop, 248 
 
 lob, or maize porridge, 249 
 
 flour, 249 
 
 Cornaro's limited diet, 436, 437 
 Corpulency, diet for the reduction of, 51 1513 
 "Correlation," Grove's definition of, 17 
 Corvisart's (Lucien) views as to the action 
 
 of the pancreas, 48 
 
 Corylus avellana, tubulosa, and grandis, 263 
 Cossus of the ancients, 219 
 Couscous, or couscousou of the Arabs, 239 
 Crab fish, 178 
 Crab apple, 292 
 Cracknells, 238 
 Crake, spotted, 214 
 Crambe maritima, 281 
 Cranberry, 306 
 Crane, 214 
 Crawfish, river or fresh-water, 179 
 
 sea, 178 
 Cream, 190, 192; composition of, 192 
 
 Devonshire or clotted, 192 
 Cream cheese, 203 
 Cream of tartar whey. 535 
 
 drink, 535 
 Cress, garden, 284 
 Crimping offish, 173 
 Crocodile, 216 ; its eggs, 216 
 Crumpets, 237 
 Cucumber, 285 
 Cuckoo, 214 
 
 Cucumis citrullus, or watermelon, 311 
 
 melo, or melon, 311 
 
 sativus, or cucumber, 285 
 Cucurbita ovifera, pepo and melopepo, 285 
 Curacoa, 295, 395 
 Curcuma angustifolia, 326 
 Curd, 193 
 Currants, dried, 303 
 
 red and black, 305 
 
 composition, 306 
 Cuttle-fish, 219 
 Cye.is, seeds of, 259 
 Cydonia vulgaris, 294 
 Cynara carduncellus, 282 
 
 scolymus, 282 
 
 Cynips, fat in the larva of. 133 
 Cyperus esculentus, or earth chestnut, 357 
 Cysticercus cellulosse, 159 
 
 Dahomey, food of the inhabitants of, 456 
 
 Daisy, leaves of, 285 
 
 Damson, 297 
 
 Darnel grass, 240 
 
 Date, 302, 455 
 
 Date plum, 314 
 
 Daucus carota, 272 
 
 Dauglish's, Dr., process of bread-making, 
 
 232-234 
 Bavy, Dr., on the value of fish as food, 171, 
 
 175 
 
 Deckan, food in the, 454 
 Dextrin, an artificial gum, 122 
 Dewberry, or gray bramble, 310 
 Dhurra, or Dhoora grass, 252 
 Diabetes uiellitus, sugar and urea, 127 
 
 diet for, 513-515 
 
 Dicotyles labiatus and torquatus, 213 
 Dietaries 
 
 hospital, 469, 537-559 
 
 prison, 431-436, 461 
 
 workhouse, 430 
 
 subsistence diet, 428 
 
 diet of adult in full health, 428 
 
 diet of active laborers. 428 
 
 diet of hard-working laborers, 429 
 
 diet of the English soldier, 429 
 
 diet of the English sailor, 430 
 Dietetic preparations for the invalid, 527-535 
 Dietetics, principles of, 403-442 
 
 practical, 443-502 
 Digestion, nature of, 45 % 
 
 states influencing, 483 
 
 of nitrogenous matter in the intes- 
 tine, 50 
 
 Digestive organs of infants, 492 
 Dinner, 479, 480, 482 
 Dioscorea saliva, alata, and batatas,' 270 
 Diospyros kaki, 314 
 
 Virginiana, 314 
 Dirt-eating, 219-221 
 Dogs, 208 
 Dogfish, 217 
 Dolichos, a pulse, 258 
 Donders on the feeding of the Arab's horse, 
 
 420 
 Donkeys, 212 
 
INDEX. 
 
 565 
 
 Doura, the chief food in India, 455 
 
 Drink included in food, 37, 38 
 
 Druitt, Dr., on the stimulating qualities of 
 
 liquid essence of beef, 466 
 Drying, preservation of food by, 399 
 Du Barry's Revalenta Arabica, 327 
 Dublin hospitals' dietary, 553-554 
 Ducks, experiments in the fattening of, 131 
 Dugong, Indian, 210 
 Dumas on the production of fatty matter, 
 
 25, 128 
 
 experiments on bees, 128 
 Duodenum, action of, in digestion, 49 
 Dupie's, Dr., experiments on the action of 
 
 alcohol, 140 
 
 Duroy's observations on alcohol, 137 
 Dutch cheese, 203 ; composition of, 204 
 Dynamic relations of food, 17-24 
 Dysentery, diet for, 526 
 Dyspepsia, food for, 520-524 
 
 Earth-eating, 219-221 
 Earth-nut, 341 
 Echinus sphwra, 219 
 
 Edinburgh Royal Infirmary dietary, 551-552 
 Edwards's (Milne) experiments on bees, 128 
 Eels, 172 ; composition of, 172 
 Eel, mud, 217 
 
 Egg, 181-185; composition of the entire 
 contents, 144, 182; of the white, 182; 
 of the yolk, 182; dry constituents, 
 183 
 
 as a typical illustration of natural food, 
 403 
 
 and brandy, 531 
 Egg-apple, 286 
 Egypt, food in, 455 
 Elderberry, 308 
 Elder rob, 308 
 
 wine, 308 
 Elephant, 213; its foot, trunk, and tongue, 
 
 213 
 
 Embden groats, 242 
 Emulsin, 260 
 Endive, 284 
 Energy, actual and potential, 18 
 
 conservation of, 19 
 
 and force, distinction between, 18 
 Entrails of animals eaten, 214 
 Ergotized or spurred corn, 240, 247 
 Ervalenta, 258, 326 
 Ervum lens, 257. 326 
 Esquimaux, food of, 424, 444 
 
 Faba vulgaris, 257 
 
 Fagopyrum esculentum, 253 
 
 Fagots, 158 
 
 Farinaceous preparations, 322-327 
 
 seeds, 224-259 
 Fasting (Welsh) girl, 474 
 Fat in relation to muscular force-production, 
 105-110 
 
 actual force value of, 111, 112 
 
 uses of, 100-102 
 
 Fat as a heat-producing agent, 103-106, 
 
 136, 419 
 
 amount required in diet, 471 
 insufficient to sustain life, 409 
 nitrogenous matter as a source of, 91-93 
 conversion of carbohydrates into, 130- 
 
 134 
 Fats, or hydrocarbons, 97-113 
 
 Fatty degeneration, explanation of, 90 
 
 matter as an alimentary agent, 508 
 Faulhorn, ascent of, byFickand Wislicenus, 
 
 58, 110, 414 
 Fea berry, 304 
 Feejee Islands, food of the inhabitants of, 
 
 451 
 Fibrin, 42, 52 
 
 insufficient to sustain life, 405 
 
 vegetable, 44 
 
 Fick and Wislicenus on the origin of mus- 
 cular power, 53-61, 109, 414 
 Ficus carica, or common fig, 312 
 Fig, common, 312 
 
 Indian, 312 
 
 key fig of Japan, 314 
 Filbert, 263 
 Filtration of water, 334 
 Fish, 169-177 
 
 composition of white, 171 
 
 boiling of, 487 
 
 dried and ground into powder in Si- 
 beria, 169 
 
 prejudice against, 170 
 
 poisonous, 170 
 
 healthiness of the fish-eating class, 171 
 
 edible qualities of, 175 
 
 shell, 177-181 
 Flies, 219 
 Flint, Dr. Austin, on elimination of nitrogen 
 
 in relation to work, 6872 
 Flounder, 173 
 
 Flour, wheaten, 228-230 ; composition of, 
 229 
 
 and milk, 531 
 
 Fluid, regulation of amount of, 515-517 
 Flummery, 242 
 
 Foie gras, 156; production of, 129; com- 
 position of, 156 
 Food, dynamic relations of, 17-24 
 
 origination of, 25-35 
 
 constituent elements of, 36 
 
 classification of, 39 
 
 preservation of, 397-402 
 
 mixture of animal and vegetable, the 
 best for man, 441, 462 
 
 proper proportion of fresh, necessary, 
 462 
 
 dietetic relations and effects of animal 
 and vegetable, compared, 463-467 
 
 proper amount of. 467-476 
 
 in relation to work, 418-421 
 
 adaptation of, to demand, 411 
 
 nutritive value of, 413 
 
 force-producing value of, 416 
 
 animal, stimulant properties of, 466 
 
 evils caused by excess of, 472 
 
 proper of man, 443-462 
 I Food for infants, Liebig's, 195, 246 
 
566 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Foods, animal, sometimes but not ordinarily 
 
 eaten, 206-223 
 Force, conservation of, 18 
 
 neither created nor destroyed, 17 
 and energy, distinction between, 18 
 Fourcroy's discovery of adipocere, 91 
 Fragaria collina and vesca, 308 
 Frankland's calculations of the force-pro- 
 ducing value of various articles of 
 food, 414-416, 423 (note) 
 experiments on the amount of energy 
 producible from nitrogenous matter, 
 61, 88 
 
 Franklin, Sir John, 425 
 Fremy's formula for pectin, 136 
 Friendly Islands, food of the natives of, 450 
 Frogs, 217 
 
 Fruit, preserved, 400 
 Fruits, 290-314 
 Frumenty, 228 
 Frying, 489 
 Fungi, growth of, exceptional, 30 
 
 esculent, 286-289 ; composition of, 287 
 
 Gages, green and purple, 297 
 
 Game, 168 
 
 Gamgee's, Prof., report on the diseases of 
 
 live stock, 162, 165 
 Garraway, Thomas, 338 
 Gasparin on the action of coffee, 349 
 Gastric juice, action of, 45, 46 
 Gelatin, 44, 94, 156 
 
 no existence in vegetable food, 25 
 in the urine after injection into the ves- 
 sels, 52 
 
 question of its nutritive value, 405, 406 
 Gelatin Commision of the Institute of Am- 
 sterdam, 406 
 Paris Commission, French Academy, 
 
 conclusions arrived at, 95, 404-406 
 Gelatinous principles, alimentary value of, 
 
 93-96 
 
 "Geophagie," or dirt-eating, 221 
 Gherkins, 285 
 Gilberts observations on the feeding of 
 
 cattle, 75, 92, 132, 464 
 Gin, or Geneva, 393 
 Gingerbread, 238 
 Ginseng root. 275 
 
 Glasgow Royal Infirmary dietary, 553 
 "Globulin, or albuminoid matter, in the 
 
 blood-corpuscle, 43 
 Gloucester double cheese, 203 
 
 single cheese, 203 
 Glucose, or grape-sugar, 317, 318 
 Gluten, 225, 227 
 
 sustaining life, 406 
 Glycerin, 98 
 
 Glycogen, or amyloid substance, 120 
 Gmelin, 409 
 Golden syrup, 319 
 
 Goose, enlarged liver of the, 129, 156 
 Gooseberry, 304 ; composition of, 304, 305 
 Goose grass, root of, 276 
 Gout promoted by the consumption of a 
 highly nitrogenized diet, 506 
 
 Graham, 121 
 
 Grape, 302-304, 368-371 ; composition of, 
 303 
 
 American, young shoots of, 284 
 Grasshoppers, 218 
 Greengage, 297 
 Greenland food, 425, 445 
 Greens, 277 
 Grits (maize), 248 
 Groats, or grits, 242 
 Groundnut, 357 
 Grove's "Correlation of the Physical 
 
 Forces," 17, 19 
 Grubs, 219 
 
 Gruel, oatmeal, 244, 532 
 Grundlach's experiments on bees, 128 
 GruySre cheese, composition of, 204 
 Guachos, food of the, 448 
 Guarana, 336, 351. 352 
 
 as a remedy for sick headache, 352 
 Guaranin identical with thein, 336, 351 
 Guinea grass, 252 
 Gull eaten during Lent, 215 
 Gum, 120-122 
 
 insufficient to sustain life, 409 
 Gum-water, 534 
 
 Guy, Dr., on the diet of English prisons, 461 
 Guy's Hospital dietary, 469, 537 
 Gyrophora, 281 
 
 Haddock, 173 
 
 Hanwell Lunatic Asylum, dietary at, 556- 
 
 557 
 
 Hare, 169 
 Haricots, or French beans, 256 
 
 blanos, 256 
 Hashing, 489 
 
 HassalTs analysis of revalenta, 327 
 examination of milk, 196, 197 
 Hazelnut, 263 
 Head's. Sir Francis, experience of food in 
 
 the Pampas, 448-499 
 Heart, 157 
 Heat, equivalent of, in mechanical motion, 
 
 18, 111 
 
 Hedgehog, 209 
 Helianthus tuberosus. 271 
 Helmholtz's researches on energy, 18, 22, 28 
 
 on the size of the sun, 27 
 Herbaceous articles, 276-285 
 Herring, 172 
 Hickory nut, 263 
 Hindostan, food in, 454 
 Hippophagy, 211 
 Hippopotamus, 213 
 
 Histogenetic or tissue-forming materials, 39 
 Hock wine, 385 
 Hoe-cake, 249 
 Hoffmann, H., 107 
 Hog, earth, 214 
 Hollands, 393 
 Holothuriae, 219 
 Hominy, 248 
 Honey, 128, 148, 320, 321 ; poisonous effects 
 
 of, 321 
 Hordeum distichon, 245 
 
INDEX. 
 
 567 
 
 Horseflesh, 211-213, 448 
 Horses, food of, 420 
 Hospital dietaries, 537-559 
 Hottentots, food of the, 458, 459 
 
 gluttony of the, 425 
 Huber's experiments on bees, 128 
 Hum us, 32 
 
 Hiineffld on cheese poisoning, 205 
 Hurtleberry, 307 
 
 Hydrates of carbon, or carbohydrates, 114 
 Hydrocarbons, or fats, 97-113 
 
 Iceland moss, 280 ; decoction of, 534 
 
 Icelanders, food of, 445 
 
 Ichthyophagi, 169 
 
 Iguana, 216 
 
 Ilex Paraguayensis, gongonha, and theae- 
 
 zans, 343 
 
 Imperial, potus imperialis, 535 
 India, food in, 454 
 Indians of New Spain, 447 
 
 North American, 446 
 
 Pampas, 448 
 
 Indian tribes of the interior of Oregon, 447 
 Indian corn, or maize, 248-250 
 sugnr from, 318 
 
 bread. 249 
 
 Indigestion caused by food taken after un- 
 usual exertion, 482 
 
 food for. 520-524 
 Infants, diet of, 492-496 
 Inorganic alimentary principles, 142-146 
 
 matter essential to satisfy the require- 
 ments of life, 410 
 Inosite, or muscle sugar, 120 
 Inulin, 271 
 
 Invalids, dietetic preparations for, 527-536 
 Irish moss, 280, 534 
 Isinglass, 177 
 Italian or Cagliari paste, 239 
 
 , 318 
 
 Jak fruit, 314 
 
 Jakuts, food of the, 424, 446 
 Japan, food of the inhabitants of, 453 
 Jatropha manihot, 323 
 Jerome, St., on cannibalism, 206 
 Jerusalem artichoke, 271 ; composition of, 
 
 271 
 
 Johnny cake, 249 
 Jones, Dr. Bence, on the digestion of starch 
 
 in the stomach, 1 16 
 on influence of food on the urine, 518 
 Joule's researches on heat, 18, 112 
 Juglans regia, cinerea, and nigra, 262, 263 
 Juniper, berries and tops of, 445 
 Juvia tree, 263 
 
 Kaffirs, food of the, 457 
 Kale, green, 277 
 
 sea, 281 
 
 Kalo, root of, 275 
 Kalong, or edible roussette, 207 
 Kangaroos, 209 ; soup from the tail, 209 
 
 Keith's, Mr., case of poisoning by diseased 
 meat, 163 
 
 Ketchup, tomato, 286 
 
 Kidney, 156; composition of sheep's kid- 
 neys, 157 
 
 Kidneys, eliminative office of, 517 
 
 King's College Hospital dietary, 544 
 
 Kirschwasser, 299, 395 
 
 Knol-kohl, 278 
 
 Kohl-rabi. 278 
 
 Kolyma, Lower, food in, 446 
 
 Koumiss, a spirituous liquor from mare's 
 milk, 188, 394 
 
 Kous-kous of the Arabs, 239 
 
 Kreutzer, Dr.. on poisoning by unwholesome 
 meat, 165 
 
 Kuiuuiel, a Russian liqueur, 395 
 
 Lacaze Duthiers on the fat in the larva of the 
 cynips, 133 
 
 Lactic acid, 119, 122, 136 
 
 Lactin, or sugar of milk, 120, 186 
 
 Lactometer. 197 
 
 Lactoscope, 198 
 
 Lactuca sativa, 283 
 
 Laotucariura, or lettuce opium, 283 
 
 Lallemand's observations on alcohol, 137 
 
 Lamb, 153 
 
 Lamballe, Princess, 207 
 
 Laminaria digitata and saccharina, 280 
 
 Langham Hoiel, hippophagic banquet at, 
 212 
 
 Larvae of ants, 219 
 
 La Trappe, monks of, eat once a day only, 
 477 
 
 Laughter a help to digestion, 484 
 
 Laver, 280 
 
 Lawes and Gilbert, their observations on the 
 feeding of animals, 75, 92, 132, 464 
 
 Ledum palustre and latifolium, 344 
 
 Leeds General Infirmary dietary, 547-548 
 
 Legumin. 255 
 
 Leguminosse, 254-257 
 
 Lehmann, 43, 135, 137, 407, 464 
 on the action of coffee, 349 
 view that fat assists digestion, 102 
 on the gastric juice, 46 
 on the absorption of gum, 121 
 observations on the escape of nitrogen 
 
 by the urine, 56, 57, 75-77 
 on peptone, 45 
 
 experiments on sugar, 1 17, 119, 120, 124 
 on the action of tea on the body, 342 
 
 Lemon, 296 
 
 Lemon-peel tea, 536 
 
 Lemonade, 536 
 
 Lentils, 257 ; composition of, 258 
 
 Lepidiuin sativura, 284 
 
 Lepidosiren, 217 
 
 Leprosy common in Iceland, 445 
 
 Letheby, table of analyses of foods, 427 
 
 on the comparative costliness of food 
 
 and fuel, 421 
 on bread-making, 235 
 on the strength of coffee, 348 
 characteristics of good meat, 158 
 
568 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Letheby, on the cooking of potatoes, 267 
 on the use of seaweeds, 280 
 on the strength of tea, 340 
 Lettuce, 283 
 Leucin, 96 
 Lexias, 303 
 L'Heritier, his analysis of woman's milk, 
 
 189, 494 
 Lichen, 281 
 Lieben, M. , 141 
 Liebig. 25, 128, 132, 134, 417, 425 
 
 table of the relative nutritive value of 
 
 various articles of food, 413 
 views regarding nitrogenized and non- 
 
 nitrogenized principles, 38 
 view that nitrogenous matter alone con- 
 stitutes the source of muscular and 
 nervous power, 54, 73, 74, 87, 413 
 classification of fat as an element of res- 
 piration, 103, 104 
 on the value of saline matter in food, 
 
 145 
 food influencing the character of ani- 
 
 ,mals, 467 
 view of the destination of alcohol in the 
 
 animal economy, 137 
 discovery of ammonia in the atmosphere, 
 
 32 
 
 on the assimilation of sugar, 123 
 Liebig's discovery of syntonin, 43 
 beef tea, 529 
 
 extractura carnis, 467, 529 
 food for infants, 195, 246, 496 
 Life, results of animal and vegetable, 34, 35 
 Lights, pig's, 158 
 Lignin, or woody fibre, 122 
 Lime, common and sweet, 296 
 Lime, phosphate of, in the animal body, 143 
 Liuae-water used in bread-making, 235 
 Limpets, 181 
 
 Lindsay, of Pitscottie, on cannibalism, 207 
 Linseed tea, 534 
 Lion eaten in Africa, 207 
 Liqueurs, 394 
 Lisbon wine, 388 
 Liver, 156 ; composition of calves' liver and 
 
 of foie gras, 156 
 fatted, of the goose, 129 
 relation to sugar formation, 124 
 Livingstone, Dr., on the relative strength of 
 
 grain-eaters and beef-eaters, 498 
 notice of carbuncle caused by eating 
 
 diseased animals, 164 
 Lizards, 216 
 
 Lobster, 178 ; composition of the edible por- 
 tions, 178 
 
 thorny, or sea crawfish, 178 
 Locusts, 218 
 
 Lolium temulentem, 240 
 London Hospital dietary, 540 
 Lotus edulis, 258 
 Love-apple, 286 
 Luncheon, should form a substantial meal, 
 
 479 
 
 Lungs of animals (lights), 158 
 Lupine, Egyptian white, 258 
 Lynx, Canadian, 208 
 
 Macaroni, 239 
 
 Mackerel, 172 
 
 Maclaren on training, 500 
 
 Madeira, 389 
 
 Magendie, his food experiments on dogs, 145, 
 
 409 
 conclusion of the Gelatin Commission of 
 
 the French Academy, 95 
 Mahomed's, Mr., results on the elimination 
 
 of urea, 78-82 
 Maize, or Indian corn, 248-250 
 
 sugar from, 318 
 Maizena, 249 
 Malic acid, 136 
 Mallow, leaves of, 279 
 Malt, 246 
 
 Manatee, or sea cow, 210 
 Manchester Royal Infirmary and Dispensary 
 
 dietary, 548-549 
 Mangoldwurzel, 275 
 Manihot utilissima, 323 
 Manna, 321, 322 
 Manna-croup, 239 
 Mannite, 321 
 Mantell's case of extraordinary prolongation 
 
 of life in a fat animal under absence of 
 
 food, 101 
 
 Maple, sugar from, 318 
 Maranta arundinacea, 325 
 Maraschino, 395 
 Marcet, Dr., 99 
 Margarin, 98 
 Marmalade, quince, 294 
 Marmelo, 294 
 Marsala wine, 389 
 Marusca cherry, 299 
 Marusquin, 299 
 Mate, or Paraguay tea, 343 
 Matlametlo, a large frog, 217 
 Mavor, Dr. Wm., on the fattening of ducks, 
 
 131 
 Mayer's doctrine of the conservation offeree, 
 
 18 
 
 Mead, 390 
 
 Meals, best times for, 476-484 
 Meat, 148-157 
 
 when the various kinds are in season, 
 
 149, 150 
 effect of the food eaten by animals upon 
 
 the character of, 150 
 effect of the mode of slaughtering upon, 
 151 
 
 overestimation of its dietetic value' 
 
 460 
 
 raw, 444, 456 
 
 cooked, composition of, 152 
 loss by boiling, baking, and roasting, 
 
 488 
 putrid flesh eaten by various nations, 
 
 165-167 
 
 unwholesome, 158-167 
 solid extracts of, 531 
 fluid, 522, 530 
 Meat lozenges, 531 
 
 Meat preserving establishments in Austra- 
 lia, 400, 401 
 
INDEX. 
 
 569 
 
 Mechanical work from fuel less costly than 
 
 from food, 421 
 Medlar, 294 
 Melon, 311 
 
 Mercurialis annua, leaves of, 279 
 Mespilus germanica, 294 
 Mexico, food in, 447 
 Mialhe on albuminose, 45 
 
 on oxidation of sugar, 135 
 Mice, 210 
 
 Middlesex Hospital dietary, 542 
 Milk, 144, 185-199; composition of cow's 
 milk, 187; solid constituents, 187; 
 composition of the milk of various 
 animals, 188 
 
 examination of, 196-199 ; specific grav- 
 ity, 196 
 
 the proper food of infants, 492 
 
 as a typical illustration of natural food, 
 403 
 
 blue, poisonous effects of, 191 
 
 buttermilk, 193 ; composition of, 193 
 
 concentrated, 401 
 
 condensed, 194, 495 ; composition of, 194 
 
 skimmed, 192; composition of, 193 
 
 sugar of, 120 
 
 and suet. 531 
 Millet, 252 
 Milt, 158 
 
 Mineral matter in food, 33, 34 
 Misos, small beans, 258 
 Molasses, 319 
 
 Moleschott's model diet, 422, 440, 468, 471 
 Monkeys, 207 
 Morchella esculenta, 288 
 Morelle. common, 288 
 Morello cherry, 299 
 Morus nigra, 310 
 Mosler, Prof., on the poisonous effects of 
 
 blue milk, 191 
 Moths, 218 
 
 Mountain meal, a kind of earth. 220 
 Muffins, 237 
 
 Mulberry, 310 ; composition of, 311 
 Mulder's analysis of albumen, 84 
 
 discoveries relating to albuminous com- 
 pounds, 25 
 
 on the acids in humus, 32 
 
 discovery of protein, 42 
 Mules, 212 
 Musa paradisiaca, or plantain, 313 
 
 sapientutn, or banana. 313 
 Muscatel raisins, 303 
 Muscovado, or raw sugar, 317 
 Muscular action, according to Liebig, de- 
 stroys muscular tissue, 72, 73 
 Mush, or Indian corn porridge, 249 
 Mushrooms, 287, 288 
 Musk ox, 211 
 
 Mussels, 181 ; composition of, 181 
 Must of the grape. 371 
 Mustard, white, 284 
 Mutton, 152 ; composition of, 153 
 Mutton tea, 529 
 
 Narwhal, 209, 444 
 
 Nasturtium officinale, 284 
 
 Nectarine. 300 
 
 Neufchatel cheese, composition of, 204 
 
 New Caledonia, food of the inhabitants of, 
 
 451 
 Newcastle-upon-Tyne Infirmary dietary, 
 
 551 
 
 Newtown pippin, 292 
 New Zealand, food of the natives of, 449, 
 
 450 
 Nitrogen an element of vegetable as well as 
 
 animal life, 32 
 
 amount of, required in food, 440 
 elimination of. 55 
 Nitrogenized diet, effect of, 505 
 Nitrogenous alimentary principles, 41-96 
 (non-) alimentary principles, 97-141 
 matter, dietetic value of, 419, 420, 470 
 Normandy pippins, 293 
 Norwegian nest, 490, 528 
 Noyaux, eau de, 301, 395 
 Nubia, food of the Arabs in, 455 
 
 Oats, 242-244 ; composition of, 243 
 Oatmeal, 242 ; composition 'of, 243 
 
 porridge, 242, 244, 532 
 
 gruel, 533 
 Olea Europaea, 301 
 Oleaginous seeds, 259-263 
 Olein, 98 
 Olive, 301 
 Onion, 283 
 Opossum, 209 
 
 Opuntia vulgaris, or prickly pear, 312 
 Orache, garden, 279 
 Orange, 295 
 Organic compounds, formation of, 33, 34 
 
 transformation of one into another 
 
 in the animal body, 25, 26 
 Orgeat, 533 
 Ornithogalum pyrenaicum, flower-stalks of, 
 
 282 
 
 Orobus tuberosus, 272 
 Orycteropus Capensis, 214 
 Oryza sativa, 250 
 Ostrich, 214 
 Oswego starch, 249 
 
 Otaheite, food of the inhabitants of, 450 
 Otter, 208 
 
 Oxalis crenata and tuberosa, 272 
 Oxford system of training, 501 
 Oxycoccus macrocarpus and palustris, 306 
 Oyster-plant, 275 
 Oysters, 179; composition of, 180 
 
 Paddy fields, 250 
 
 Palm, fan, 452 
 
 Palm wine, 394 
 
 Palms, sugar from, 318 
 
 Pampas Indians, food of, 448 
 
 Pan;id:i, 527 
 
 Panax, 275 
 
 Pancreatic juice, action of, 47-50 
 
 Pauicum miliaceutu and jurnentorurn, 252 
 
 Pappenheitu on the action of the pancreas, 48 
 
570 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Paraguain identical with thein, 336, 343 
 Parasites in meat, 159 
 Parfait amour, liqueur, 395 
 Parkes's analytical representations of foods, 
 427, 432 
 
 observations on the elimination of nitro- 
 gen, 56, 57, 62-68, 77, 110 
 
 on the nitrogen and carbon in the typi- 
 cal alimentary principles, 440 
 
 on the action of alcohol on the human 
 body, 139, 358 
 
 on the oxidation of fat, 513 
 Parmesan cheese, 203 ; composition of, 204 
 Parrots, 214 
 Parrot fish, 217 
 Parry, Sir W., on the large amount of food 
 
 eaten by the Esquimaux, 424 
 Parsnip, 273, 274 ; composition of, 273 
 Pasquil's Palinodia, 367 
 Passover cakes, 238 
 Pastinaca sativa, 273 
 Pastry, 230 
 Paullinia sorbilis, 351 
 
 Payen's table of the percentage value of 
 food in nitrogen and carbon, 438, 439 
 
 on the keeping of butter, 201 
 
 on the dietetic value of coffee, 349 
 
 on vegetarianism, 460 (note) 
 
 on sugar as a constituent of wheaten 
 
 flour, 228 
 Pea, sugar, 257 
 
 sea, 257 
 Peas, 256, 257 ; composition of dried peas, 
 
 257 
 
 Peach, 299 ; composition of, 300 
 Peach nut oil, 262 
 Peanut, 357 
 
 Pear, 293 ; composition of, 294 
 Pear, prickly, 312 
 Peafowl, 215 
 Pecari, collared, 213 
 Pectin, 136 
 Pelican, 215 
 Pemmican, 399 
 Penguin, 215 
 
 Penicillium oidium, the mould of bread, 241 
 Pepsin, 185 
 
 a neutral nitrogenized principle, 46 
 Peptone, or albuminose, 45, 46 
 Pereira on alum in brend, 235 
 
 on the action of coffee, 349 
 Periwinkles, 181 
 
 Perrin's observations on alcohol, 137 
 Perry, 293, 365, 366 
 Persimmon tree, 314 
 Persoz on the production of fatty matter 
 
 from the carbohydrates, 130 
 Pettenkofer, 465 
 
 experiments on the elimination of car- 
 bonic acid, 108 
 Phlornis tuberosa, 272 
 Phoenix ductylifera, 302 
 Phosphorus in fibrin and albumen, 33 
 Phytolacca decandra, 284 
 Pickling, 491 
 
 Pig, in a restless state, not adapted for fat- 
 tening, 509 
 
 Pig, experiments on the fattening of, 132, 
 
 133 
 
 Pigeon, 169 
 Pilchard, 172 
 Pine, Chilian, 314 
 Pineapple, 31 1 
 Piophila casoi, 205 
 Pipperidge, or piprage bush, 307 
 Pistachio nut, 264 
 
 Pisum arvense and sativum, 256, 257 
 Plantain, 313 
 Plants, absorption of carbon by, 30 
 
 and animals, reciprocal relation of, 34, 35 
 Playfair's dietaries, 426, 428, 435 
 
 subsistence diet, 428, 470 
 
 experiments on fat, 122 " 
 
 on the elimination of urea, 105, 106 
 Plum, 297, 298; composition of, 298 
 Poi, a paste made from the root of the kalo, 
 
 276 
 
 Poke, common young shoots of. 284 
 Polenta, or porridge of Indian corn, 249 
 
 or maize meal, 249 
 Pomegranate, 297 
 Pomelo, 297 
 Pompelraoos, 297 
 Pondweed, rhizomes of, 272 
 Popcorn, 248 
 Porcupine, 210 
 Pork, 154; composition of, 154 
 
 measly, 159 
 
 Porphyra vulgaris and laciniata, 280 
 Porpoise, 209 
 
 Porridge, on t meal, 243, 244, 532 
 Port wine, 286, 287 
 Porter, 361, 364 
 Posset, 535 
 
 Potamogeton natans, rhizomes of, 272 
 Potato, sweet, 265, 269 ; composition of, 
 
 270 
 
 Potatoes, 264-269 ; composition of, 266 
 Potentilla anserina, root of, 276 
 Pone, 240 
 
 Poultry, game, and wild fowl, 167-169 
 Prawns, 179 
 Prickly pear, 312 
 Prison (Scotch) dietaries, 461 
 Protein compounds, 41, 42 
 Prout's classification of food, 39 
 
 case of mutton acting as a poison, 153 
 Prunes, 298 
 Prunus armeniaca, 300 
 
 domestica, or common plum, 297 
 
 insititia, or bullace, 297 
 
 spinosa, or wild sloe, 297 
 Psoralea glandulosa, 343 
 Puddings, flour, 230 
 Pulled bread, 237 
 
 Pulque, an intoxicating liquor, 447 
 Pulse tribe, 254-257 
 Pumpkin, 286 
 Punica granata, 297 
 
 Purkinje on the action of the pancreas, 48 
 Pyrus communis, or pear, 293 
 
 cydonia, or quince, 294 
 
 domestica, or service, 294 
 
 malus, or apple, 292, 293 
 
INDEX. 
 
 571 
 
 Quince, 294 
 
 Quinoa, 254 ; analysis of, 254 
 
 Rabbit, 169 
 Radishes, 275 
 Raisins, 303 
 Rana bombina, 217 
 
 esculenta and taurina, 217 
 Ranke's analysis of cooked meat, 152 
 Rape, 284 
 
 Raphanus sativus, 275 
 Raspberry, 309 ; composition of, 309 
 Rats, 210 
 
 Savory's experiments on, 465 
 Reindeer, 211/445 
 Reine Claude, or greengage, 297 
 Rennet, 202 
 
 Revalenta Arabica, 258, 326 
 " Revet " wheat, 230 
 Rheum hybridum. palmatum, and rhaponti 
 
 cum, 280 
 Rhinoceros, 213 
 Rhubarb, 280 
 Ribes grossularia, or gooseberry, 304 
 
 nigrum, or black currant, 305 
 
 rubrurn, or red currant, 305 
 Rice, 250-252; composition of, 251 
 Rice-water, 533 
 Riche on the fat in the larva of the cynips, 
 
 Richmond, Whitworth, and Hardwicke 
 
 Hospitals dietary, 553-554 
 Ringer, Dr. Sidney, on elimination of urea 
 
 and sugar in diabetes, 127 
 Roasting, 488 
 
 Roberts, Dr., on the urine after food, 519 
 Robur, or tea-spirit, 394 
 Roe of fish, 176 
 
 Roquefort cheese, composition of, 204 
 Ross, Sir John, on the large amount of food 
 
 eaten by the Esquimaux, 424 
 Roussette, edible, 207 
 Roussillon wine, 384 
 Rubus arctlcus, or northern raspberry, 309 
 
 caesius, or dewberry, 310 
 
 fruticosus. or blackberry, 309 
 
 idseus, or raspberry, 309 
 
 procumbens, or dewberry of North 
 
 America, 310 
 Rum, 392 
 
 pineapple, 393 
 Rumex acetosa, 279 
 Runnet, see Rennet. 
 
 Running, its place in training systems, 497 
 Rusks, 237. 242 
 Rust or smut of wheat, 240 
 Rye, 246, 247 ; composition of, 247 
 
 Saccharine preparations, 316-322 
 Sack, 367, 388 
 Sago, 323 
 Sago bread, 323 
 
 Sahara, dates the chief food in the Fezzan 
 oases, 455 
 
 St. Bartholomew's Hospital dietary, 538, 
 
 5*59 
 
 St. George's Hospital dietary, 541 
 St. John's bread, 314 
 St. Luke's Hospital for Lunatics, dietary 
 
 at, 555-556 
 
 St. Mary's Hospital dietary, 545 
 St. Thomas's Hospital dietary, 539 
 Salep, 326 
 
 Otaheite, 325 
 Saline matter, 142 
 Salmon, 171, 176 ; composition of, 172 
 
 putrid, eaten by the Indian tribes of 
 
 Oregon, 447 
 Salsify, 275 
 
 stalks of, 283 
 Salting diminishes the nutritive value of 
 
 meat, 402 
 
 pickling, and smoking, 491 
 Sambucus nigra, 308 
 Samp, 248 
 Sandwich Islands, food of the inhabitants 
 
 of. 452 
 Sauerkraut, 277 
 Sausages, German, 160 
 Saussure on carbonic acid in the air, 30 
 Savory's experiments on the feeding of rats, 
 
 407, 408, 409, 465 
 Savoy cabbage, 278 
 Savu, food of the inhabitants of, 451 
 Sawdust, 315 
 Scallops, 181 
 Scarabseus sacer, 218 
 Scarus, or parrot fish, 217 
 scharling, 107 
 Scherer, 120 
 Schiedam. 393 
 Schmidt's experiment on the solvent influ- 
 
 ence of the intestinal juice, 48 
 on the amount of urea, 76 
 Scurvy common in Iceland, 445 
 
 potatoes a preventive of, 268 
 ea-cucumbers, 219 
 Sea girdle, 280 
 Sea-kale, 281 
 ea-urchin, or sea-egg, 219 
 seaweed, 281 
 Seal, 209, 444' 
 
 leamen's Hospital dietary, 547 
 secale cereale, or rye, 246 
 lecretions, nitrogenous matter essential to 
 
 the constitution of, 53 
 effect of the, 48 
 ieeds or flummery, 242 
 emolina, 239 
 emoule, 239 
 ervice, 294 
 eville orange, 295 
 haddock, 296 
 
 harks, 217 ; fins, 218 ; edible sharks, 217 
 Shell-fish, 177-181 
 Sherry, 367, 388 
 Shrimps, 179 
 Siberia, food in, 446 
 
 Simon's, Mr., report on diseased meat, 163 
 Simpson, Sir George, on the large amount 
 of food eaten by the Yakuti, 424 
 
572 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Sinapis alba, 284 
 
 Sinclair, Sir John, on training, 498, 500 
 Skunk, Hudson's Bay, 208 
 Sleep after dinner, 483 
 Sloe, wild. 297 
 Sloths, 214 
 
 Slugs eaten in China, 219 
 Smallage, 281 
 
 Smith, Dr. E., on the food of Scotch agri- 
 cultural laborers, 461 
 
 experiments on alcohol, 137, 138 
 
 on the nutritive material extracted 
 from bone, 155 
 
 experiments on the elimination of car- 
 bonic acid, 58, 65 
 
 on the consumption of potatoes by the 
 Irish, 265 
 
 on the comparative weights of tea, 340 
 
 on the action of tea on the body, 342 
 Smoothhound, or mustellus antarcticus, 217 
 Smut of wheat, 240 
 Snail, vineyard, 219 
 
 common garden, 219 
 Snakes, 216 
 Snowberry, 307 
 Solanin, 268 
 Solanum lycopersicum and melongena, 286 
 
 tuberosum, 264 
 Sole, 173 
 
 Somersetshire cheese, 203 
 Sorbus domestica, 294 
 Sorgho grass, sorghum, 252 
 Sorghum saccharatum, 318 
 Sorrel, 279 
 Soujee, 239 
 Soup, bisque, 179 
 Soups and broths, 490 
 Sowans, 242 
 Spawning offish, 174 
 
 Spaying improves the animal for edible pur- 
 poses, 149, 168 
 Spiders, 218 
 Spinacea oleracea, 279 
 Spinach, 279 
 
 mountain, 279 
 Spirits, 390-394 
 Spleen, 158 
 
 Sporendonema casei, 205 
 Sprat, 172 
 Squash, 286 
 Squirrel; 210 
 Stags, 2 1 1 
 Starch, 114-117 
 
 insufficient to sustain life, 409 
 
 from potato, 266 
 
 Starchy matter as a constituent of food, 508 
 Starvation, 473 
 Stearin, 98 
 Stenhouse's researches on thein, 336, 339, 
 
 351 
 
 Stewing, 489 
 Stilton cheese, 203 
 Stirabout, or porridge, 244 
 Stout, 361, 364 
 Strasburg/b/e gras, 129 
 Strawberry, 308 ; composition of, 308 
 Sturgeon, 174 
 
 Sucan, or flummery, 242, 243 
 Succotash, 248 
 Suffolk cheese, 203 
 Sugar, 316-319 
 
 insufficient to sustain life, 409 
 
 its efficacy in producing fatness, 509 
 
 assimilation of, 123-126 
 
 oxidation of, in the animal system, 135 
 
 eating by the negroes, 509 
 
 beet, 318 
 
 cane. 117, 118, 317, 318 
 
 its conversion into grape-sugar, 117 
 
 grape, 118-120 
 
 maize, 318 
 
 maple, 318 
 Sugar candy, 319 
 
 Sulphur in casein, fibrin, and albumen, 33 
 Sultanas, 303 
 Sun, colored rays of, influence on vegetation, 
 
 28 
 
 influence of the solar force, 20, 26-29 
 Suppers, late, unwholesome, 480 
 Swans, 215 
 Sweetbread, 157 
 Syntonin, or muscle-fibrin, 43 
 
 Tacca oceanica, 325 
 Taenia solium, 159 
 
 mediocanellata, 159 
 Tajacu, or collared pecari, 213 
 Tamarind, 312, 313 
 Tamarind whey, 535 
 
 Tanaampo, thin cake of earthy matter, 220 
 Tanna, food of the inhabitants of, 451 
 Tannese, cannibals, 207 
 Tannic acid, 338 
 Tapeworm, source of, 159 
 Tapioca, 323, 324 
 Tapir, 213 
 
 Tarragona, or Spanish port, 389 
 Tartaric acid, 136 
 Tea, 336-342 ; composition of, 339 
 
 black, 337 
 
 brick, 338 
 
 green, 337 
 
 lie, 337 
 
 representatives of, 343, 344 
 
 Abyssinian, 344 
 
 Brazilian, 343 
 
 Labrador, 344 
 
 Mexican, 343 
 
 Paraguay, 343 
 
 Tea, one of the daily meals, 481 
 Tent, Rota, 380 
 
 Thea bohea, viridis, and sasangua, 336 
 Thein, 336, 338 
 Theobroma cacao, 352 
 Theobrornin, 336, 355 
 Therapeutic dietetics, 503-559 
 Thirst, 468 
 Thistle, carline, 282 
 Thompson, Dr. Dundas, on the intoxicating 
 
 effect of meat, 466 
 
 Thomson, Dr. J. B., on Scotch prison die- 
 tary, 461 
 Tiedeinann, 409 
 
INDEX. 
 
 573 
 
 Times of eating, 476-482 
 
 Tissues, development and renovation of, 53 
 
 Toads, 217 
 
 Toadstools, 288 
 
 Toast, 227 
 
 Toast-and-water, 334, 536 
 
 Toddy, or paltn wine, 394 
 
 Tokay, 385 
 
 Tomato, 286 
 
 ketchup, 286 
 
 Tope, or galens canis, 217 
 Tops and bottoms, 237 
 Tortilla, a cake made of maize meal, 249, 
 
 447 
 
 Tortoise, 216 
 Torula cerevisiae, 233 
 Toucans, 214 
 Tous-les-mois, 326 
 Tragopogon porrifolius, 275 
 Training, diet for, 497-502 
 Traube on the non-nitrogenous principles 
 and force-production, 417 
 
 view of the source of muscular and ner 
 
 vous power. 54, 106 
 Treacle, 319 
 
 whey, 535 
 Trefoil, 445 
 
 Trichina spiralis in the pig and other ani- 
 mals, 159-162 
 Trionyx ferox, 216 
 Tripe, 157; composition of, 157 
 Tripe de roche, 281 
 Tropoeolum tuberosum, 272 
 Trout, 176 
 Truffles, 289 
 
 Tubers and roots, 264-276 
 Tuffnell's treatment of aneurism, 516 
 Tull', Mr., operation of castration and 
 
 spaying fish, 174 
 Turbot, 173, 176 
 
 Turnip, 274 ; composition of, 274 
 Turnip cabbage, 278 
 Turtle (marine and freshwater), 216 
 Typhn, young shoots of, 283 
 Typhoid fever caused by polluted milk, 192 
 (note) 
 
 Ubomi, 214 
 Ullucus tuberosus, 272 
 Ulva latissima. 280 
 
 University College Hospital dietary, 543 
 Urea the unutilizable portion of nitrogenous 
 matter, 85, 86 
 
 elimination of, 75, 78-83, 418 
 
 not a measure of muscular work, 106 
 Urine, passing off of nitrogen by the, 55 
 
 influence of different foods on, 466. 517- 
 519 
 
 albumen, casein, and gelatin in, 51, 52 
 
 Vaccinium myrtillis, or bilberry, 307 
 ozycoccus, or cranberry, 306 
 uliginosum, or bog whortleberry, 307 
 vitis idaen, or red whortleberry, 307 
 
 Veal, 151-153; composition of, 154 
 
 Veal tea, 529 
 
 Vegetable alimentary substances, 224327 
 
 Vegetable food, effects of, 524 
 
 life, action of, 29, 32 
 Vegetable marrow, 285 
 Vegetables, cooking of, 485 
 
 preserved. 400 
 Vegetarians, 460, 461 
 Venison, 155 
 Verjuice. 292 
 Vermicelli, 239 
 Vetch, tuberous bitter, 272 
 Vierordt. 107 
 Villi, the organs through the agency of 
 
 which fat is absorbed, 99 
 Virchow on fatty degeneration, 91 
 Vital principle, 19 
 Vitality, dormant, 23 
 Vitellin, or albumen in the yolk of the egg, 
 
 43 
 
 Vitis vinifera, 302 
 Voit, 465 
 
 experiments on the elimination of car- 
 bonic acid, 108 
 
 on the elimination of nitrogen. 68 
 
 on the nutritive value of gelatin, 95 
 
 Wallabies, 209 
 
 Walnut, 262 
 
 Walrus, 209, 444 
 
 Wainrima, or East African Coast clans, 456 
 
 Warori, food of the. 456 
 
 Warren's, Captain, cooking-pot, 490 
 
 Water, 142, 328-335 
 
 needed beyond that in food, 471 
 
 distilled. 331 
 
 rain, 330 
 
 river, 331 
 
 spring, 330 
 
 well or pump, 330 
 
 unwholesome, 332 
 
 purification of, 333 
 Watercress, 284 
 
 Weevil, a wheat-eating insect, 240 
 West, Dr., on the feeding of infants, 492 
 Westminster Hospital dietary, 546 
 Weston's walking feats and elimination of 
 
 nitrogen, 68-72 
 
 Westrumb on cheese poisoning, 205 
 Wet nurse, selection of, 494 
 Whale, 209 
 
 Wharton's ervalenta, 327 
 Wheat, 226-242 ; composition of, 225 
 
 unwholesome, 240-242 
 Whelks, 182 
 Whey, 193,535 
 Whitky, 393 
 Whiting, 172 
 Whortleberry, 307 
 Wild fowl, 169 
 Windsor, or broad bean, 255 
 Wine, 360-390 
 Wines (Australian), 386 
 
 Cape or South African, 389 
 
 French, 381-384 
 
 fruit, 390 
 
574 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Wines, German, 384 
 
 Greek and Itnlian, 386 
 Hungarian, 385 
 Wislicenus on the origin of muscular power, 
 
 58-61, 109, 414 
 Witheringia montana, 272 
 Wohler, 136 
 Wollowicz (Count) on the action of alcohol 
 
 on the human body, 139 
 Wolves, 208 
 Wombat, 209 
 Wood, Thomas, small amount of food taken 
 
 by. 436 
 Woody fibre, 315 
 
 Wyntoun, Andrew, on cannibalism, 207 
 Xema ridibunda, 215 
 
 Yakuti, gluttony of the, 424 
 
 Yam, 270 
 
 Yeast, 233 
 
 Yutien, an early tea, 337 
 
 Zea curagua, or Chili maize, 248 
 
 mays, or Indian corn, 248 
 Zenker, Prof., 160 
 
PAVY ON DIGESTION Lately Issued. 
 
 A TREATISE ON THE FUNCTION OF DIGESTION, 
 
 ITS DISORDERS AND THEIR TREATMENT. 
 BY F. W. PAVY, M.D. 
 
 In one handsome volume, small octavo, cloth, $2.00. 
 
 We need scarcely say that no English physician has greater right to speak with physio- 
 logical authority on matters of digestion. British Medical Journal. 
 
 Dr. Pavy's work will be read with interest both by the physiologist and the physician. 
 It contains an excellent and very complete summary of the state of our knowledge re- 
 garding the physiology of digestion. To this subject the author has himself made import- 
 ant contributions, and the present volume contains a considerable amount of original 
 matter, the fruit of his own observation and experiments. . . . We can heartily recom- 
 mend this work as giving a clear, simple, and thoroughly scientific account of the subject 
 of which it treats, to every one who wishes to become familiar with the latest advances in 
 the physiology of digestion. Dublin Quarterly Journal of Medical Science. 
 
 A special interest is imparted to it from its containing the results of his own researches. 
 Mrdico- Chirurgical Review. 
 
 There is one very commendable feature which we trace in almost every page of the work 
 before us : before forming an opinion Dr. Pavy not only avails himself of the investiga- 
 tions of the most celebrated authorities which the present day can boast of, but, whenever 
 practicable, he endeavors to satisfy himself by actual experiment as to the accuracy of the 
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 highest commendation, not only for the elegance of diction, but for the modesty of its 
 style.- Glasgow Medical Journal. 
 
 It is quite a first-rate book, and gives indications of original thought and research, 
 worthy not only to be read by dyspeptics out of the profession, but by students in it. 
 AthencEitm. 
 
 It is a model of its kind. The author has a happy faculty of entertaining as well as 
 instructing his reader, combining, so to speak, pleasure with profit. Accustomed as a 
 teacher to present salient points, he succeeds admirably in outlining his subject. New 
 York Medical Record. 
 
 In the field thus defined, Dr. Pavy has given us the most satisfactory essay yet pub- 
 lished. New York Medical Gazette. 
 
 We know no better guide to the study of digestion and its disorders than this little work 
 of Dr. Pavy. St. Louis Medical and Surgic.nl Journal, July 10, 1869. 
 
 A thoroughly good book, being a careful systematic treatise, and sufficiently exhaustive 
 for all practical purposes. Lcavenworth Medical Herald, July, 1869. 
 
 The author sustains in this brief resume his high reputation. His monograph is a model 
 of condensation, yet a perspicuous view of a most important subject. It is aphoristic, yet 
 eminently practical ; a worthy companion to Chambers's excellent treatise. Chicago 
 Medical Journal, October, 1869. 
 
 Well worthy careful perusal, and should be in the library of every practitioner. St. 
 Louis Medical Archives. September. 1869. 
 
 A very valuable work on the subject of which it treats. Small, yet it is full of valuable 
 information. Ciminnati Mtdical Repertory, June, 1869. 
 
 HENRY C. LEA, PHILADELPHIA. 
 
WORKS ON DISEASES OF THE STOMACH. 
 
 CHAMBERS ON INDIGESTION. 
 
 THE INDIGESTIONS; OK, DISEASES OF THE DIGESTIVE ORGANS 
 FUNCTIONALLY TREATED. By THOMAS KING CHAMBERS, M D., Honorary 
 Physician to H. R. H., the Prince of Wales, &c. Third American Edition, revised 
 and enlarged by the Author. In one very handsome octavo volume of 382 pp., cloth, 
 
 $3.00. 
 
 In short, with respect to the matter, we commend the work most cordially, as containing 
 an excellent summary of our present knowledge in this department of medicine, and 
 abounding in sound, practical precepts. We consider that the work is eminently calculated 
 to do much good, by substituting correct views respecting dietetics, in the place of errone- 
 ous and injurious notions which have been, and are still prevalent, both in and out of the 
 profession. We take great pleasure in commending the work as regards its manner. It is 
 written in a sprightly, colloquial style, which arrests and engages the attention. It is not 
 often that one can say of a medical treatise that it is as interesting as a novel. We may 
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 which may be taken up with pleasure when heavier reading would prove tiresome. The 
 busy practitioner who wishes to make available for improvement his irregular moments of 
 leisure, knows how to appreciate an excellence of this kind. Amer. Jour. Med. Sciences, 
 July, 1870. 
 
 We have in this little work all the elements which make it a model of its sort. We have 
 perused it carefully ; have studied every page ; our interest in the subject has been inten- 
 sified as we proceeded, and we are enabled to lay it down with unqualified praise. N. Y. 
 Med. Record. 
 
 BRINTON ON THE STOMACH. 
 
 LECTURES ON THE DISEASES OF THE STOMACH, with an Introduction 
 on its Anatomy and Physiology. By WILLIAM BRINTON, M.D., F.R.S., Physician 
 to St. Thomas's Hospital. From the second and enlarged London edition. With 
 illustrations on wood. In one handsome octavo volume ; cloth, $3.25. 
 
 The book will be read by all classes of medical men. " Practical men," as they delight 
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 men are turning to physiology now will find Dr. Brinton's physiology at once recent and 
 sound, and his histology clear, accurate, and minute. Physicians will accord the author 
 the right of speech on the ground of the immense clinical labor which is implied, but not 
 paraded, in the volume. The work is an important one, and we augur for it a great place 
 in medical literature. We should add that a good index facilitates a prompt reference to 
 every part of the book. London Lancet. 
 
 [Publishing in the Medical News and Library for 1874.] 
 FOX ON THE STOMACH. 
 
 THE DISEASES OF THE STOMACH : Being the third edition of the "Dingnosis 
 and Treatment of the Varieties of Dyspepsia." By WILSON Fox, M.D , Holme Prof, 
 of Clinical Medicine, University College, London. Revised and enlarged. With 
 Illustrations. 
 
 This work will be completed in the number for December, 1874, and will then be issued 
 in one handsome octavo volume. 
 
 For want of space we are compelled to omit any notice of the other subjects treated of 
 in this admirable work ; and in what we have written we have not been able, for the same 
 reason, to give the author's remarks on the etiology, symptoms, and diagnosis of the vari- 
 ous forms of dyspepsia, which to the student will prove the most interesting and useful 
 part of his treatise. American Practitioner, March, 1873. 
 
 The pathological and anatomical conditions in the different affections are usually well 
 described, the lines of distinction being nicely drawn. The differentiation of the obscure 
 affections is well considered, and the treatment recommended is judicious. No space is 
 devoted to the full report of cases, which recommends the work to the busy practitioner. 
 N. Y. Medical Journal, August, 1873. 
 
 HENRY C. LEA, PHILADELPHIA. 
 
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2 HENRY C. LEA'S PUBLICATIONS (Am. Journ. Med. Sciences). 
 
 succeed in his endeavor to place upon the table of every reading practitioner in the 
 United States the equivalent of three large octavo volumes, a the comparatively 
 trifling cost of Six DOLLARS per annum. 
 
 These periodicals are universally known for their high professional standing in their 
 several spheres. 
 
 I. 
 
 THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF THE MEDICAL SCIENCES, 
 
 EDITED BY ISAAC HAYS, M. D., 
 
 is published Quarterly, on the first of January, April, July, and October. Each 
 number contains nearly three hundred large octavo pages, appropriately illustrated, 
 wherever necessary. It has now been issued regularly for over FIFTY years, during 
 almost the whole of which time it has been under the control of the present editor. 
 Throughout this long period, it has maintained its position in the highest rank of 
 medical periodicals both at home and abroad, and has received the cordial support of 
 the entire profession in this country. Among its Collaborators will be found a large 
 number of the most distinguished names of the profession in every section of the 
 United States, rendering the department devoted to 
 
 ORIOINAL COMMUNICATIONS 
 
 full of varied and important matter, of great interest to all practitioners. Thus, during 
 1873, articles have appeared in its pages from nearly one hundred gentlemen of the 
 highest standing in the profession throughout the United States.* 
 
 Following this is the "REVIEW DEPARTMENT," containing extended and impartial 
 reviews of all important new works, together with numerous elaborate "ANALYTICAL 
 AND BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES" of nearly all the medical publications of the day. 
 
 This is followed by the "QUARTERLY SUMMARY OF IMPROVEMENTS AND DISCOVERIES 
 IN THE MEDICAL SCIENCES," classified and arranged under different heads, presenting 
 a very complete digest of all that is new and interesting to the physician, abroad as 
 well as at home. 
 
 Thus, during the year 1873, the "JOURNAL" furnished to its subscribers Seventy-seven 
 Original Communications, One Hundred and Twenty-five Reviews and Bibliograph- 
 ical Notices, and Two Hundred and Ninety-four articles in the Quarterly Summaries, 
 making a total of about FIVE HUNDRED articles emanating from the best profes- 
 sional minds in America and Europe. 
 
 That the efforts thus made to maintain the high reputation of the " JOURNAL" are 
 successful, is shown by the position accorded to it in both America and Europe as a 
 national exponent of medical progress : 
 
 Dr. Hays keeps his great American Quarterly, in 
 which he is now assisted by Dr. Minis Hays, at the 
 head of his country's medical periodicals. Dublin 
 Medical Press and Circular,, March 8, 1871. 
 
 Of English periodicals the Lancet, and of American 
 the Am. Journal of the Medical Sciences, are to be 
 regarded as necessities to the reading practitioner. 
 N. Y. Medical Gazette, Jan. 7, 1871. 
 
 The American Journal of the Medical Sciences 
 yields to none in the amount of original and borrowed 
 
 reputation in every country where medicine is cul- 
 tivated as a science. Brit, and For. Med.-Chirurg. 
 Review, April, 1871. 
 
 This, if not the best, is one of the best-conducted 
 medical quarterlies in the English language, and the 
 present number is not by any means interior to its 
 predecessors. London Lancet, Aug. 23, 1873. 
 
 Almost the only one that circulates everywhere, 
 all over the Union and in Europe. London Medical 
 Time*, Sept. 5, 1868. 
 
 matter it contains, and has established for itself a 
 
 And by the fact, that it was specifically included in the award of a medal of merit to 
 the publisher at the Yienna Exhibition in i73. 
 
 The subscription price of the "AMERICAN JOURNAL OF THE MEDICAL SCIENCES" has 
 never been raised, during its long career. It is still FIVE DOLLARS per annum ; and 
 when paid for in advance, the subscriber receives in addition the "MEDICA.L NEWS AND 
 LIBRARY," making in all about 1500 large octavo pages per annum, free of postage. 
 
 II. 
 
 THE MEDICAL NEWS AND LIBRARY 
 
 is a monthly periodical of Thirty-two large octavo pages, making 384 pages per 
 annum. Its "N T Ews DEPARTMENT" presents the current information of the day, with 
 Clinical Lectures and Hospital .Gleanings; while the "LIBRARY DEPARTMENT ' is de- 
 voted to publishing standard works on the various branches of medical science, paged 
 
 * Communications are invited from gentlemen in all part of the country. Elaborate articles inserted 
 by the bailor are paid for by the Publisher. 
 
HENRY C. LEA'S PUBLICATIONS (Am. Journ. Med. Sciences}. 3 
 
 separately, so that they can be removed and bound on completion. In this manner 
 subscribers have received, without expense, such works as " WATSON'S PRACTICE," 
 "TooD AND BOWMAN'S PHYSIOLOGY," "WKST ON CHILDREN," "MALGAIGNE'S SURGERY," 
 &c. <fcc. In July, 1873, was commenced the publication of Dr. WILSON Fox's valu- 
 able work " ON THK DISEASES OK THE STOMACH" (see p. 16). New subscribers, commenc- 
 ing with 1874. can obtain the portion printed in 1873 by a remittance of 50 cents, if 
 promptly made. 
 
 As stated above, the subscription price of the " MEDICAL NEWS AND LIBRARY" is 
 ONE DOLLAR per annum in advance ; and it is furnished without charge to all advance 
 paying subscribers to the "AMERICAN JOURNAL OF THE MEDICAL SCIENCES." 
 
 III. 
 
 SUPPLEMENT TO THE MEDICAL NEWS AND LIBRARY. 
 
 The publication in England of Banking's "HALF-YEARLY ABSTRACT OF THE ME- 
 DICAL SCIKNCKS" having ceased with the volume for January, 1874, its place will be 
 supplied in this country by a monthly SUPPLEMENT to the "MEDICAL NEWS AND 
 LIBRARY," containing forty-eight large octavo pages each mouth, thus furnishing 
 in the course of the year about six hundred pages, the same amount of matter as 
 heretofore embraced in the Half-Yearly Abstract. As the discontinuance of the 
 Abstract arose from the multiplication of journals appearing more frequently and 
 ] i resenting the same character of material, it has been thought that this plan of 
 monthly issues will better meet the wants of subscribers who will thus receive earlier 
 intelligence of the improvements and discoveries in the medical sciences. The aim 
 of the SUPPLEMENT will be to present a careful abstract of all that is new and impor- 
 tant in the medical journalism of the world, and all the prominent professional peri- 
 odicals of both hemispheres will be at the disposal of the Editors. 
 
 Subscribers desiring to bind the SUPPLEMENT, will receive on application at the end 
 of each year, a cloth cover, gilt lettered, for the purpose, or it will be sent free by 
 
 mail on receipt of the postage, which,, under existing laws, will be six cents. 
 
 The subscription to the "MEDICAL NEWS" and its "SUPPLEMENT," free of postage, 
 will be Three Dollars and a Half a year, in advance, containing in all nearly a thou- 
 sand pages per annum. 
 
 As stated above, however, they will be supplied in conjunction with the "AMERICAN 
 JOURNAL OF THE MEDICAL SCIENCES," making in all about TWENTY-ONE HUNDRED pages 
 per annum, the whole free of pontage, for Six DOLLARS a year, in advance. 
 
 As the .January volume of the ' HALF-YEARLY ABSTRACT" has supplied to subscri- 
 bers what is due to them for half of the year 1874, the Supplement to the Ne^s and 
 Library will be commenced with July, 1874. 
 
 In this effort to bring so large an amount of practical information within the reach 
 of every member of the profession, the publisher confidently anticipates the friendly 
 aid of all who are interested in the dissemination of sound medical literature. He 
 trusts, especially, that the subscribers to the "AMERICAN MEDICAL JOURNAL" will call 
 the attention of their acquaintances to the advantages thus offered, and that he will 
 be sustained in the endeavor to permanently establish medical periodical literature on 
 a footing of cheapness never heretofore attempted. 
 
 PREMIUM FOR NEW SUBSCRIBERS. 
 
 Any gentleman who will remit the amount for two subscriptions for 1874, one of 
 which must be for a new subscriber, will receive as a PREMIUM, free by mail, a copy of 
 STURGES' CLINICAL MEDICINE (for advertisement of which see p. 14), or of the new edi- 
 tion of SVVAYNE'S OBSTETRIC APHORISMS (see p. 24), or of TANNER'S CLINICAL MANUAL 
 (see p. 5), or of CHAMBERS' RESTORATIVE MEDICINE (see p. lo), or of WEST ON NERV- 
 OUS DISORDERS OF CHILDREN (see p. 21). 
 
 %* Gentlemen desiring to avail themselves of the advantages thus offered will do 
 well to forward their subscriptions at an early day, in order to insure the receipt of 
 complete sets for the year 1874, as the constant increase in the subscription list almost 
 always exhausts the quantity printed shortly after publication. 
 
 l^iT The safest mode of remittance is by bank check or postal money order, drawn 
 to the order of the undersigned. Where these are not accessible, remittances for the 
 "JOURNAL" may be made at the risk of the publisher, by forwarding in REGISTERED 
 letters. Address, 
 
 HENRY C. LEA, 
 Nos. 706 and 708 SA.NSOM ST., PHILADELPHIA PA. 
 
HENRY C. LEA'S PUBLICATIONS (Dictionaries). 
 
 JJUNGLISON (ROBLEY), M.D., 
 
 Late Professor of Institutes of Medicine in Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia. 
 
 MEDICAL LEXICON; A DICTIONARY OF MEDICAL SCIENCE: Con- 
 taining a concise explanation of the various Subjects and Terms of Anatomy, Physiology, 
 Pathology, Hygiene, Therapeutics, Pharmacology, Pharmacy, Surgery, Obstetrics, Medical 
 Jurisprudence, and Dentistry. Notices of Climate and of Mineral Waters; Formulae for 
 Officinal, Empirical, and Dietetic Preparations; with the Accentuation and Etymology of 
 the Terms, and the French and other Synonymes; so as to constitute a French as well as 
 English Medical Lexicon. A New Edition. Thoroughly Revised, and very greatly Mod- 
 ified and Augmented By RICHARD J. DUNGLISON, M.D. In one very large and hand- 
 some royal octavo volume of over 1100 pages. Cloth, $6 50; leather, raised bands, $7 50. 
 (Just Ready.) 
 
 The object of the author from the outset has not been to make the work a mere lexicon or 
 dictionary of terms, but to afford, under each, a condensed view of its various medical relation's, 
 and thus to render the work an epitome of the existing condition of medical science. Starting 
 with this view, the immense demand which has existed for the work has enabled him, in repeated 
 revisions, to augment its completeness and usefulness, until at length it has attained the position 
 of a recognized and standard authority wherever the language is spoken. 
 
 Special pains have been taken in the preparation of the present edition to maintain this en- 
 viable reputation. During the t*n years which have elapsed since the List revision, the additiors 
 to the nomenclature of the medical sciences have been greater than perhaps in any similar period 
 of the past, and up to the time of his death the author labored assiduously to incorporate every- 
 thing requiring the attention of the student or practitioner. Since then, the editor has been 
 equally industrious, so that the additions to the vocabulary are more numerous than in any pre- 
 vious revision. Especial attention has been bestowed on the accentuation, which will be found 
 marked on every word. The typographical arrangement has been much improved, rendering 
 reference much more easy, and every care h?is been taken with the mechanical execution. The 
 work has been printed on new type, small but exceedingly clear, with an enlarged page, so that 
 the additions have been incorporated with an increase of but little over a hundred pages, and 
 the volume now contains the matter of at least four ordinary octavos. 
 
 A book well known to our readers, and of which 
 every American ought to be proud. When the learned 
 author of the work passed away, probably all of us 
 feared lest the book should not maintain its place 
 in the advancing science whose terms it defines. For- 
 tunately, Dr. Richard J. Dunglison, having assisted his 
 father in the revision of several editions of the work, 
 and having been, therefore, trained in the methods and 
 imbued, with the spirit of the book, has been able to 
 edit it, not in the patchwork manner so dear to the 
 heart of book editors, so repulsive to the taste of intel- 
 ligent book readers, but to edit it as a work of the kind 
 should be edited to carry it on steadily, without jar 
 or interruption, along the grooves of thought it has 
 travelled during its lifetime. To show the magnitude 
 of the task which Dr Dunglison has assumed and car- 
 ried through, it is only necessary to state that more 
 than six thousand new subjects have been added in the 
 present edition. Without occupying more space with the 
 theme, we congratulate the editor on the successful 
 completion of his labors, and hope he may reap the well- 
 earned reward of profit and honor. Pkila. Med. Times, 
 Jan 3, 1874. 
 
 About the first book purchased by the medical stu- 
 dent is the Medical Dictionary. The lexicon explana- 
 tory of technical terms is simply a sine qua non. In a 
 science so extensive, and with such collaterals as medi- 
 cine, it is as much a necessity also to the practising 
 physician. To meet the wants of students and most ! 
 physicians, the dictionary must be condensed while j 
 comprehensive, and practical while perspicacious. Jt 
 was because Dunglison's met these indications that it 
 became at once the dictionary of general use wherever j 
 medicine was studied in the Knglisb language. In no | 
 former re\ision have the alterations and additions beeu I 
 so great. More than six t housand new subjects and terms | 
 have been added. The chief terms have been set in black | 
 letter, while the derivatives follow in small caps: an j 
 arrangement which greatly facilitates reference. We | 
 may safely confirm the hope ventured by the editor I 
 " that the work, which possesses for him a filial as well j 
 a an individual interest, will be found worthy a con 
 
 W : e are glad to see a new edition of this invaluable 
 work, and to find that it has been so thoroughly revised, 
 and so greatly improved. The dictionary, in its pre- 
 sent form, is a medical library in itself, and one of 
 which every physician should be possessed. N. Y. Med. 
 Journal, Feb. 1874. 
 
 With a history of forty years of unexampled success 
 and universal indorsement by the medical profession of 
 the western continent, it would be presumption in any 
 living medical American to essay its review. No re- 
 viewer, however able, can add to its fame; no captious 
 critic, however cau>tic. can remove a single stone from 
 its firm and enduring foundation. It is destined, as a 
 colossal monument, to perpetuate the solid and richly 
 deserved fame of Kobley Dunglison to coming genera- 
 tions. The large additions made to the vocabulary, \ve 
 think, will be welcomed by the profession as supplying 
 the want of a lexicon fully up with the march of sci- 
 ence, which has been increasingly felt for some years 
 past. The accentuation of terms is very complete, and, 
 as far as we have been able to examine it. very excel- 
 lent. We hope it may be the means of securing greater 
 uniformity of pronunciation among medical men. At- 
 lanta Med. and Surg. Journ., Feb. 1874. 
 
 It would be mere waste of words in us to express 
 jnr admiration of a work which is BO universally 
 and deservedly appreciated. The most admirable 
 work of its kind in the English language. Glasgow 
 Medical Journal, January, IStiti. 
 
 A work to which there is no equal in the English 
 language. Edinburgh Medical Journal. 
 
 Few worKs oi the class exnibit a, grander monument 
 jf patient research and of scientific lore. The extent 
 of the sale of this lexicon is sufficient to testify to its 
 usefulness, and to the great service conferred by Dr. 
 Robley Dunglison on the profession, and indeed on 
 others, by its issue. London Lancet, May 13, 1865. 
 
 It has the rare merit that it certainly has no rival 
 in the English language for accuracy and extent of 
 
 tinuance of the position so long accorded to it as a I references London Medical Gazette. 
 standard authority." Cincinnati, Clinic, Jan. 10, 187-1. ' 
 
 T.JOBLYN (RICHARD D.), M.D. 
 
 A DICTIONARY OF THE TERMS USED IN MEDICINE AND 
 
 THE COLLATERAL SCIENCES. Revised, with numerous additions, by ISAAC HAYS, 
 M.D., Editor of the "American Journal of the Medical Sciences." In one large royal 
 12mo. volume of over 500 double-columned pages ; extra cloth, $1 50 ; leather, $2 00. 
 It ie the best book of definitions we have, and ought always to be apontae tudect'8 table. Southern 
 Mtd. and Surg. Journal. 
 
HENRY C. LEA'S PUBLICATIONS (Manuals). 
 
 T^TEILL (JOHN], M.D., and &MITH (FRANCIS G.}, M.D., 
 
 -* Pro/, of the Institutes of Medicine in the Univ. of Penna. 
 
 AN ANALYTICAL COMPENDIUM OF THE VARIOUS 
 
 BRANCHES OF MEDICAL SCIENCE; for the Use and Examination of Students. A 
 new edition, revised and improved. In one very large and handsomely printed royal 12mo. 
 volume, of ahout one thousand pages, with 374 wood outs, extra cloth, $4; strongly bound 
 in leather, with raised bands, $4 75. 
 
 The Compendof Drs. Neilland Smith is int-ompara- i clous factstreasnred up in this little volume. A com- 
 bly themost valuableworkofitsclasHeverpublished plete portable library so condensed that the student 
 In this country. Attempts have been made in various may make it his constant pocket companion. West- 
 tiarters to squeeze Anatomy, Physiology, Surgery, urn Lancet. 
 
 the Practice of Medicine, Obstetrics, Materia Medica, 
 and Chemistry into a single manual; but the opera- 
 tion has signally failed in the hands of all up to the 
 
 In the rapid course of lectures, where work for the 
 students is heavy, and review necessary for an exa- 
 mination, a compend is not only valuable, but it is 
 
 advent of " Neilland Smith's" volume, which is quite a i m08 t a sine qua. non. The one before us is, in most 
 
 a miracle of success. The outlines of the whole are O f the divisions, the most unexceptionable of all books 
 
 admirably drawn and illustrated, and the authors 
 
 are eminently entitled to the grateful consideration 
 
 of the student of every class. N. 0. Med. and Surg. 
 
 Journal. 
 
 There are but few students or practitioners of me- 
 dicine unacquainted with the former editions of this 
 unassuming though highly instructive work. The 
 whole science of medicine appears to have > been sifted, 
 fcs the gold-bearing sands of El Dorado, and the pre- 
 
 of the kind that we know of. Of course it is useless 
 for us to recommend it to all last course students, but 
 there is a class to whom we very sincerely commend 
 this cheap book as worth its weight in silver that 
 class is the graduates in medicine of more than ten 
 years' standing, who have not studied medicine 
 since. They will perhaps find out from it that the 
 science is not exactly now what it was when they 
 left it off. The Stethoscope. 
 
 TTARTSHORNE (HENRY], M. D., 
 
 Professor of Hygiene in the University of Pennsylvania. 
 
 A CONSPECTUS OF THE MEDICAL SCIENCES; containing 
 
 Handbooks on Anatomy, Physiology, Chemistry, Materia Medica, Practical Medicine, 
 Surgery, and Obstetrics. Second Edition, thoroughly revised and improved. In one large 
 royal 12mo. volume of more than 1000 closely printed pages, with over 300 illustrations on 
 wood. (Preparing.) 
 
 The favor with which this work has been received has stimulated the author in its revision to 
 render it in every way fitted to meet the wants of the student, or of the practitioner desirous to 
 refresh his ncquaintance with the various departments of medical science. The various sections have 
 been brought up to a level with the existing knowledge of the day, while preserving the condenea 
 tion of form by which so vast an accumulation of facts have been brought within so narrow a 
 
 compass. 
 
 This work is a remarkably complete one in its way, 
 and comes nearer to our idea of what a Conspectus 
 should be than any we have yet seen. Prof. Harts- 
 borne, with a commendable forethought, intrusted 
 the preparation of many of the chapters on special 
 subjects to experts, reserving only anatomy, physio- 
 logy, and practice of medicine to himself. As a result 
 we have every department worked up to the latest 
 date and in a refreshingly concise and lucid manner. 
 There are an immense amount of illustrations scat- 
 tered throughout the work, and although they have 
 often been seen before in the various works upon gen- 
 eral and special subjects, yet they will be none the 
 
 less valuable to the beginner. Every medical student 
 who desires a reliable refresher to his memory when 
 the pressure of lectures and other college work crowds 
 to prevent him from having an opportunity to drink 
 deeper in the larger works, will find this one of the 
 greatest utility. It is thoroughly trustworthy from 
 beginning to end; and as we have before intimated, 
 a remarkably truthful outline sketch of the present 
 state of medical science. We could hardly expect it 
 should be otherwise, however, under the charge of 
 such a thorough medical scholar as the author has 
 
 roug 
 ved 
 
 already proved himself to be. N. York Med. Record, 
 March 15, 1869. 
 
 T UDLOW (J. L.), M.D. 
 A MANUAL OF EXAMINATIONS upon Anatomy, Physiology, 
 
 Surgery, Practice of Medicine, Obstetrics, Materia Medica, Chemistry, Pharmacy, and 
 Therapeutics. To which is added a Medical Formulary. Third edition, thoroughly revised 
 and greatly extended and enlarged. With 370 illustrations. In one handsome royal 
 12tno. volume of 816 large pages, extra cloth, $3 25; leather, $3 75. 
 
 The arrangement of this volume in the form of question and answer renders it especially suit- 
 able for the office examination of students, and for those preparing for graduation. 
 
 /TANNER (THOMAS HA WKES), M. />., frc. 
 
 A MANUAL OF CLINICAL MEDICINE AND PHYSICAL DIAG- 
 NOSIS. Third American from the Second London Edition. Revised and Enlarged by 
 TILBURY Fox, M D., Physician to the Skin Department in University College Hospital, 
 Ac. In one neat volume small 12mo., of about 375 pages, extra cloth. $150. ( Just Issued.) 
 *#* By reference to the " Prospectus of Journal" on page 3, it will be seen that this work is 
 offered as a premium for procuring new subscribers to the "AMERICAN JOURNAL OF THE MEDICAL 
 SCIENCES." 
 
 The objections commonly, and justly, urged againat 
 the general run of "compends," "conspectuses," and 
 other aids to indolence, are not applicable to this little 
 volume, which contains in concise phrase just tho*e 
 practical details that are of most use in daily diag- 
 
 Taken as a whole, it is the most compact vade me- 
 cinn fr the use of the advanced student and junior 
 practitioner with which we are acquainted. Boston 
 Med. and Surg. Journal, Sept. 22, 1870. 
 
 It contains so much that is valuable, presented in 
 so attractive a form, that it can hardly be spared 
 even in the presence of more full and complete works. 
 The additions made to the volume by Mr. Fox very 
 materially enhance its value, and almost make it a 
 new work. Its convenient size makes it a valuable 
 
 nosis, but which the young practitioner finds it diffi- 
 cult to carry always in his memory without some 
 quickly accessible means of reference. Altogether, 
 the book is one which we can heartily commend to 
 those who have not opportunity for extensive read- 
 
 stantly carried by him, would often render him good 5v n lft - n 
 service, and relieve many a doubt and perplexity 1U> 13/u - 
 Leavenworth Med. Herald, July, 1870. 
 
HENRY C. LEA'S PUBLICATIONS (Anatomy). 
 
 (HENRY), F.R.S., 
 
 Lecturer on Anatomy at St. George's Hospital, London. 
 
 ANATOMY, DESCRIPTIVE AND SURGICAL. The Drawings by 
 
 II. V. CARTER, M. D., late Demonstrator on Anatomy at St. George's Hospital ; the Dissec 
 tions jointly by the AUTHOR and DR. CARTER. A new American, from the fifth enlarged 
 and improved London edition. In one magnificent imperial octavo volume, of nearly 900 
 pages, with 465 large and elaborate engravings on wood. Price in extra cloth, $6 00 . 
 leather, raised bands, $7 00. (Just Issued.) 
 
 The author has endeavored in this work to cover a more extended range of subjects than is cus- 
 tomary in the ordinary text-books, by giving not only the details necessary for the student, but 
 also the application of those details in the practice of medicine and surgery, thus rendering it both 
 a guide for the learner, and an admirable work of reference for the active practitioner. The en 
 gravings form a special feature in the work, many of them being the size of nature, nearly alJ 
 original, and having the names of the various parts printed on the body of the cut, in place of 
 figures of reference, with descriptions at the foot. They thus form a complete and splendid series, 
 which will greatly assist the student in obtaining a clear idea of Anatomy, and will also serve to 
 refresh the memory of those who may find in the exigencies of practice the necessity of recalling 
 the details of the dissecting room; while combining, as it does, a complete Atlas of Anatomy, with 
 a thorough treatise on systematic, descriptive, and applied Anatomy, the work will be found of 
 essential use to all physicians who receive students in their offices, relieving both preceptor and 
 pupil of much labor in laying the groundwork of a thorough medical education. 
 
 Notwithstanding the enlargement of this edition, it has been kept at its former very moderate 
 price, rendering it one of the cheapest works now before the profession. 
 
 The illustrations are beautifully executed, and ren- I From time to time, as successive editions have ap- 
 der this work an indispensable adjunct to the library peared, we have had much pleasure in expressing 
 of ihe furgeon. This remark applies with great force the general judgment of the wonderful excellence of 
 
 to those surgeons practising at a distance from our 
 large cities, as the opportunity of refreshing their 
 memory by actual dissection is not always attain- 
 able. Canada Mr.d Journal, Aug. 1870. 
 
 The work is too well known and appreciated by the 
 profession to need any comment. No medical man 
 can afford to be without it, if its only merit were to 
 serve as a reminder of that which so soon becomes 
 forgotten, when not called into frequent use, viz., the 
 relations and names of the complex organism of the 
 human body. The present edition is much improved. 
 California Med. Gazette, July, 1870. 
 
 Gray's Anatomy has been so long the standard of 
 perfection with every student of anatomy, that we 
 
 need do no more than call attention to the improve- I has learned as a tradition of the elders, and verified 
 ment in the present edition. Detroit Review of Med. \ by personal experience. N. . Med. Gazette, Dec. 
 and Pharm., Aug. 1870. I 17, 1870. 
 
 Gray's Anatomy. Cincinnati Lancet, July, 1870. 
 
 Altogether, it is unquestionably the most complete 
 and serviceable text-book in anatomy that has ever 
 been presented to the student, and forms a striking 
 contrast to the dry and perplexing volumes on the 
 same subject through which their predecessors strug- 
 gled in days gone \>y.2f. Y. Med. Record, June 15, 
 1870. 
 
 To commend Gray's Anatomy to the medical pro- 
 fession Is almost as much a work of supererogation 
 as it would be to give a favorable notice of the Bible 
 in the religious press. To say that it is the most 
 complete and conveniently arranged text book of its 
 kind, is to repeat what each generation of students 
 
 VMITH (HENRY H.), M.D., and TJORNER ( WILLIAM E.), M.D., 
 
 Prof, of Surgery in the Univ. o/Penna., &c. Late Prof, of Anatomy in the Univ. ofPenna., Ac. 
 
 AN ANATOMICAL ATLAS, illustrative of the Structure of the 
 
 Human Body. In one volume, large imperial octavo, extra cloth, with about six hundred 
 
 and fifty beautiful figures. $4 50. 
 
 The plan of this Atlas, which renders it so pecu- I the kind that has yet appeared; and we must add, 
 liarly convenient for the student, and its superb ar- | the very beautiful manner in which it is "got up," 
 tistical execution, have been already pointed out. We j is so creditable to the country as to be flattering to 
 must congratulate the student upon the completion our national pride. American MedicalJournal. 
 of this Atlas, as it is the most convenient work of I 
 
 UHARPEY ( WILLIAM), MJL, nd QUAIN (JONES & RICHARD). 
 
 HUMAN ANATOMY. Revised, with Notes and Additions, by JOSEPH 
 
 LEIDT, M.D., Professor of Anatomy in the University of Pennsylvania. Complete in two 
 large octavo volumes, of about 1300 pages, with 511 illustrations; extra cloth, $6 00. 
 The very low price of this standard work, and its completeness in all departments of the subject, 
 should command for it a place in the library of all anatomical students. 
 
 JffODGES (RICHARD M.), M.D., 
 
 Late Demonstrator of Anatomy in the Medical Department of Harvard University. 
 
 PRACTICAL DISSECTIONS. Second Edition, thoroughly revised. In 
 
 one neat royal 12mo. volume, half-bound, $2 00. 
 
 The object of this work is to present to the anatomical student a clear and concise description 
 of that which he is expected to observe in an ordinary couise of dissections. The author has 
 endeavored to omit unnecessary details, and to present the subject in the form which many years' 
 experience has shown him to be the most convenient and intelligible to the student. In the 
 revision of the present edition, he has sedulously labored to render the volume more worthy of 
 be favor with which it has heretofore been received. 
 
 EARNER'S SPECIAL ANATOMY AND HISTOLOGY. | In 2 vols. Svo , of over 1000 pages, with more tha* 
 li#hth adition, extensively revised *nd modified. I 300 wood-cuts : extra cloth. * flO. 
 
HENRY C. LEA'S PUBLICATIONS (Anatomy). 
 
 WILSON (ERASMUS], F.R.S. 
 
 A SYSTEM OP HUMAN ANATOMY, General and Special. Edited 
 
 by W. H. GOBRECHT, M. D., Professor of Geueraland Surgical Anatomy in the Medical Col- 
 lege of Ohio. Illustrated with three hundred and ninety-seven engravings on wood. In 
 one large and handsome octavo volume, of over 600 large pages; extra cloth, $4 00; lea- 
 ther, $6 00. 
 
 The publisher trusts that the well-earned reputation of this long-established favorite will be 
 more than maintained by the present edition. Besides a very thorough revision by the author, it 
 has been most carefully examined by the editor, and the efforts of both have been directed to in- 
 troducing everything which increased experience in its use has suggested as desirable to render it 
 a complete text-book for those seeking to obtain or to renew an acquaintance with Human Ana- 
 tomy. The amount of additions which it has thus received may be estimated from the fact that 
 the present edition contains over one-fourth more matter than the last, rendering a smaller type 
 and an enlarged page requisite to keep the volume within a convenient size. The author has not 
 only thus added largely to the work, but he has also made alterations throughout, wherever thert 
 appeared the opportunity of improving the arrangement or style, so as to present every fact in its 
 most appropriate manner, and to render the whole as clear and intelligible as possible. The editor 
 has exercised the utmost caution to obtain entire accuracy in the text, and has largely increased 
 the number of illustrations, of which there are about one hundred and fifty more in this edition 
 than in the last, thus bringing distinctly before the eye of the student everything of interest or 
 importance. 
 
 HEATH (CHRISTOPHER); F.R. c.s., 
 
 *-*- Teacher of Operative Surgery in University College, London. 
 
 PRACTICAL ANATOMY: A Manual of Dissections. From the 
 
 Second revised and improved London edition. Edited, with additions, by W. W. KEEN, 
 M. D., Lecturer on Pathological Anatomy in the Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia. 
 In one handsome royal 12uio. volume of 578 pages, with 247 illustrations. Extra cloth, 
 $3 50 ; leather, $4 00. (Lately Published.) 
 Dr. Keen, the American editor of this work, in his j taining its hold upon the slippery slopes of anatoi 
 
 editor we deem is lully justified, alter an exaniina- i , omplete . Thi J Work Contaia8) a ' lbO> very perfect 
 Uou ot its contents, for u is really an excellent work, i ^lustrations O f parts which can thus be more easily 
 Indeed we do not hesitate to say, the best of its class lnderstood and 8lu died; ii this respect it compares 
 with which we are acquainted ; resembling Wilson avorab l y with works of much greater pretension 
 in terse and clear description, excelling most of the Such mauual8 of auat0 my are always favorite worn* 
 so-called practical anatomical dissectors m the scope ] wilu medical Btude uts. We would earnestly recorn- 
 of the subject and practical selected matter. ... meu d this one to their attention; it has excellences 
 In reading this work, one is forcibly impressed with | whlch make it Vttluable aa a gui ' de iu dib8e cting as 
 the great pains the author takes to impress the sub- well as ia studviag *n*torny .-Huffalo Medical and 
 ject upon the mind ot the student. He is full ot rare - 
 and pleasing little devices to aid memory in maiii- 
 
 Surgical Journal, Jan. Is 71. 
 
 THE STUDENT'S GUIDE TO SURGICAL ANATOMY: A Text- 
 Book for Students preparing for their Pass Examination. With engravings on wood. In 
 ono handsome royal 12iuo. volume. Cloth, $2 25. (Just Ready.) 
 We welcome Mr. Bellamys work, as a contribu- , We cannot too highly recommend it. Student's 
 
 Journal. 
 
 Mr. Bellamy has spared no pains to produce a real- 
 ly reliable student's guide to surgical anatomy one 
 which all candidates for surgical degreed may c in- 
 sult with advantage, and which posseses much ori 
 $i nal matter Med. Press and Circular. 
 
 tion to the study of regional anatomy, of equal value 
 to i If student and the surgeon. It is written in a 
 clear and concise style, and its practical suggestions 
 add Ivirgely to the interest attaching to its technical 
 details Chicago Med. Lxamtiirr, March 1, 1874. 
 
 We cordially congratulate Mr. Bellamy upon hav- 
 ing produced it. Mtd. Ti'ines and Cfaz. 
 
 MACLISE (JOSEPH). 
 
 SURGICAL ANATOMY. By JOSEPH MACLISE, Surgeon. In one 
 
 volume, very large imperial quarto; with 68 large and splendid plates, drawn in the best 
 style and beautifully colored, containing 190 figures, many ot them the size ot life; togethei 
 with copious explanatory letter-press. Strongly and handsomely bound in extra cloth. 
 Price $14 00. 
 
 We know ot no work on surgical anatomy which < (ions have hitherto, we think, been given. While 
 
 oan compete with it. Lancet. j ;he operator is shown every vessel and nerve where 
 
 i'he work of Maclise on surgical anatomy is of the { J.D operation is contemplated, the exact anatomist is 
 
 highest value. In some respects it is the best publi- refreshed by those clear ana distinct dissections, 
 
 cation of its kind we have seen, and is worthy of a I which every one must appreciate who has a particle 
 
 place in the libiary of any medical man, while the [ of enthusiasm. The English medical press has quite 
 
 student could scarcely make a better investment than | exhausted the words of praise, in recommending thia 
 
 this. The Western Journalof Mtdifintiind Surgery. \ admirable treatise. Boston Med. and tiurg. Journ. 
 
 No such lithographic illustrations of surgical re | 
 
 LJARTSHORNE (HENRY], M.D., 
 
 -**- Professor of Hygiene, etc , fa the Univ. ofPenna. 
 
 HANDBOOK OF ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY. Second Edi- 
 tion, revised. In one royal 12rno. volume, with numerous illustrations. (Preparing.) 
 
8 HENRY C. LEA'S PUBLICATIONS (Physiology). 
 
 MARSHALL (JOHN], F. R. S., 
 
 ML Professor of Surgery in University College, London, &c. 
 
 OUTLINES OF PHYSIOLOGY, HUMAN AND COMPARATIVE. 
 
 With Additions by FRANCIS GURNEY SMITH, M. D., Professor of the Institutes of Medi- 
 cine in the University of Pennsylvania, &c. With numerous illustrations. In one large 
 and handsome octavo volume, of 1026 pages, extra cloth, $6 50; leather, raised bands, 
 
 In fact, in every respect, Mr. Marshall has present- , tive, with which we are acquainted. To speak ol 
 us with a most complete, reliable, and scientific ; this work in the terms ordinarily used ou such occa- 
 rk, and we feel that it is worthy our warmest j sions would not be agreeable to ourselves and would 
 commendation. St. Louis Med. Reporter, Jan. 1869. : fail to do justice ;o its author. To write such a book 
 
 We doubt if there is in the English language any r ?? uil ?f a varied ? nd T d range of k . no , wled g e ' COD 
 compend of physiology more useful to the student ! ? ldei ' able P " f analysis, correct judgment, skil 
 
 6d u 
 wo 
 
 th,n this work. St. Louis Med. and Surg. Journal, \ ^ a *cgf "j^b 22* 
 
 1868. 
 
 kill 
 conscientious spn-n.-Londor, 
 
 It quite fulfils, in our opinion, the author's design ! >->^< ^an y, more accomplished anatomists 
 ofmakingittruly^catt^/nnitscbaracter-which | aad physiologists than the distinguished professor of 
 is. perhaps, the highest commendation that can be ! ?argery at University College; and h< has long en 
 asked.-^m. Journ. Med. Sciences, Jan. 1869. I Jy d the hl . he8t Deputation as a techei of physiol- 
 
 i ogy, possessing remarkable powers of clea- exposition 
 
 We may now congratulate him on having com- ! and graphic illustration. We have rareb the plea- 
 pleted the latest as well as the best summary of mod- \ sure of being able to recommend a text-boo! so unre- 
 em physiological science, both human and coiupara ' servedlyasthis. British Med. Journal, Jar 25,1868. 
 
 flARP ENTER (WILLIAM B.}, M. D., F. R. S., 
 
 ^ Examiner in Physiology and Comparative Anatomy in the University of London. 
 
 PRINCIPLES OF HUMAN PHYSIOLOGY; with their chief appli- 
 cations to Psychology, Pathology, Therapeutics, Hygiene and Forensic Medicine. A new 
 American from the last and revised London edition. With nearly three hundred illustrations. 
 Edited, with additions, by FRANCIS GURNET SMITH, M. D., Professor of the Institutes of 
 Medicine in the University of Pennsylvania, Ac. In one very large and beautiful octavo 
 volume, of about 900 large pages, handsomely printed; extra cloth, $5 50 ; leather, raised 
 bands, $6 50. 
 
 We doubt not it is destined to retain a strong hold 
 on public favor, and remain the favorite text-book in 
 our colleges. Virginia Medical Journal. 
 
 With Dr. Smith, we confidently believe "that the 
 present will more ihan sustain the enviable reputa- 
 tion already attained by former editions, of being 
 one of the fullest and most complete treatises on the 
 subject in the English language." We know of none 
 from the pages of which a satisfactory knowledge of 
 the physiology of the human organism can be as well 
 obtained, none better adapted for the use of such as 
 take up the study of physiology in its reference to 
 the institutes and practice of medicine. Am. Jour. 
 Med. Sciences. 
 
 The above is the title of what is emphatically the 
 great work on physiology ; and we are conscious that 
 it would be a useless effort to attempt to add any- 
 thing to the reputation of this invaluable work, and 
 can only say to all with whom our opinion has any 
 influence, that it is our authority. Atlanta Med. 
 Journal. 
 
 DY THE SAME AUTHOR. 
 
 PRINCIPLES OF COMPARATIVE PHYSIOLOGY. New Ameri- 
 
 can, from the Fourth and Revised London Edition. In one large and handsome octavo 
 volume, with over three hundred beautiful illustration? Pp. 752. Extra cloth, $5 00. 
 As a complete and condensed treatise on its extended and important subject, this work becomes 
 
 a necessity to students of natural science, while the very low price at which it is offered places it 
 
 within the reach of all. 
 
 JflRKES (WILLIAM SENHOUSE), M.D. 
 
 A MANUAL OF PHYSIOLOGY. Edited by W. MOBRANT BAKER, 
 
 M.D., F.R.C.S. A new American from the eighth and improved London edition With 
 about two hundred and fifty illustrations. In one large and handsome royal 12mo. vol- 
 ume. Cloth, $3 25; leather, $3 75. (Now Ready.) 
 Kirkes' Physiology has long been known as a concise and exceedingly convenient text-book, 
 
 presenting within a narrow compass all that is important for the student. The rapidity with 
 
 which successive editions have followed each other in England has enabled the editor to keep it 
 
 thoroughly on a level with the changes and new discoveries made in the science, and the eighth 
 
 edition, of which the present is a reprint, has appeared so recently that it may be regarded as 
 
 the latest accessible exposition of the subject. 
 On the whole, there is very little in the book 
 
 which either the student or practitioner will not nnd 
 
 of practical value aud consistent with our present 
 
 knowledge of this rapidly changing tcience ; and we 
 
 have no hesitation in expre>sing our opinion that 
 
 this eighth edition is one of the best handbooks on 
 
 physiology which we have in our language. N. Y. 
 
 Med. Record, April 15, 1873. 
 
 This volume might well be used to replace many 
 of the physiological text-books in use in this coun- 
 try. It represents more accurately than the works 
 of Dalton or Flint, the present state of our knowl- 
 edge of most physiological questions, while it is 
 mueh less bulky and far more readable than the lar- 
 
 ger text-books of Carpenter or Marshall. The book 
 is admirably adapted to be placed in the hands of 
 students. Boston Med. and Surg. Journ., April 10, 
 1873. 
 
 In its enlarged form it is, in our opinion, still the 
 best book on physiology, most useful to the student. 
 Phil a. Med. Times, Aug. 30, 1873. 
 
 This is undoubtedly the best work for students of 
 physiology extant. Cincinnati Med. Ntws, Sept. '73 
 
 It more nearly represents the present condition of 
 physiology than any other text-book on the subject. 
 Detroit Rtv. of Med. Pharm., Nov. 1873. 
 
HENRY C. LEA'S PUBLICATIONS (Physiology). 
 
 f) ALTON (J. C.), M. D., 
 
 U Professor of Physiology in the College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, &c. 
 
 A TREATISE ON HUMAN PHYSIOLOGY. Designed for the use 
 
 of Students and Practitioners of Medicine. Fifth edition, revised, with nearly three hut* 
 dred illustrations on wood. In one very beautiful octavo volume, of over 700 pages, extia 
 cloth, $5 25; leather, $6 25. (Late/y Issued.) 
 
 Preface to the Fifth Edition. 
 
 In preparing the present edition of this work, the general plan nnd arrangement of the previous 
 editions have been retained, so far as they have been found useful and adapted to the purposes of 
 a text-book for students of medicine. The incessant advance of all the natural and physical 
 sciences, never more active than within the last five years, has furnished many valuable aids to 
 the special investigations of the physiologist; and the progress of physiological research, during 
 the same period, has required a careful revision of the entire work, and the modification or re- 
 arrangement of many of its parts. At this day, nothing is regarded as of any value in natural 
 science which is not based upon direct and intelligible observation or experiment; and, accord- 
 ingly, the discussion of doubtful or theoretical questions has been avoided, as a general rule, in 
 the present volume, while new facts, from whatever source, if fully established, have been added 
 and incorporated with the results of previous investigation. A number of new illustrations have 
 been introduced, and a few of the older ones, which seemed to be no longer useful, have been 
 omitted. In all the changes imd additions thus made, it has been the aim of the writer to make the 
 book, in its present form, a faithful exponent of the actual conditions of physiological science. 
 
 NEW YORK, October, 1871. 
 
 In this, the standard text-book on Physiology, all that is needed to maintain the favor with which 
 it is regarded by the profession, is the author's assurance that it has been thoroughly revised and 
 brought up to a level with the advanced science of the day. To accomplish this has required 
 some enlargement of the work, but no advance has been made in the price. 
 
 The fifth edition of this truly valuable work on 
 Human Physiology comes to us with rnauy valuable 
 improvements and additions. As a text-hook of 
 physiology the work of Prof. Dalton has long been 
 well known as one of the best which could be placed 
 In the hands of student or practitioner. Prof. Dalton 
 has, in the several editions of his work heretofore 
 published, labored to keep step with the advancement 
 in science and the last edition shows by its improve- 
 ments on former ones that he is determined to main- 
 tain the high standard of his work. We predict for 
 the present edition increased favor, though this work 
 has long been the favorite standard. Buffalo Med. 
 and Surg. Journal, April, 1872. 
 
 An extended notice of a work so generally and fa- 
 vorably known as this is unnecessary. It is justly 
 regarded a* one of the most valuable text-books on 
 the subject in the English language. St. Louit Med. 
 Archives, May, 1872. 
 
 We know no treatise in physiology so clear, com- 
 plete, well assimilated, and perfectly digested, as 
 Dalton's. He never writes cloudily or dubiously, or 
 in mere quotation. He assimilates all his material, 
 and from it constructs a homogeneous transparent 
 argument, whicli is always honest and well informed, 
 and hides neither truth, ignorance, nor doubt, so far 
 as either belongs to the subject in hand Brit. Med. 
 Journal, March 23, 1872. 
 
 Dr. Dalton's treatise is well known, and by many 
 highly esteemed in this country. It is, indeed, a t,'""<l 
 elementary treatise on the subject it professes to 
 teach, and may safely be put into the hands of Eng- 
 lish students. It has one great merit it is clear, and, 
 on the whole, admirably illustrated. The part we 
 have always esteemed most highly is that relating 
 to Embryology. The diagrams given of the various 
 stages of development give a clearer view of <he sub- 
 ject than do those in general use in this country ; and 
 the text rnay be said to be, upon the whole, equally 
 clear. London Med. Times and Gazette, March 23 
 1872. 
 
 Dalton's Physiology is already, and deservedly, 
 the favorite text-book of the majority of American 
 medical students. Treating a most interesting de- 
 partment of science in his own peculiarly lively and 
 fascinating style, Dr. Dalton carries his reader along 
 without effort, and at the same time impresses upon 
 his mind the truths taught much more succes..fully 
 than if they were buried beneath a multitude of 
 words. Kansas City Med. Journal, April, 1872. 
 
 Professor Dalton is regarded justly as the authority 
 in this country on physiological subjects, and the 
 tifth edition of bis valuable work fully justifies the 
 exalted opinion the medical world has of his labors. 
 This hi^teditionisgreatly enlarged. Virginia Clin- 
 ical Record, April, 1872. 
 
 J)UNGLISON (ROBLEY], M.D., 
 
 U Professor of Institute..? of Medicine in Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia. 
 
 HUMAN PHYSIOLOGY. Eighth edition. Thoroughly revised and 
 
 extensively modified and enlarged, with five hundred and thirty-two illustrations. In two 
 large and handsomely printed octavo volumes of about 1500 pages, extra cloth. $7 00. 
 
 TEHMANN(C. O.). 
 
 J PHYSIOLOGICAL CHEMISTRY. Translated from the second edi- 
 tion by GEORGE E DAY, M. D., F. R. S., Ac., edited by R. E. ROGERS, M. D., Professor of 
 Chemistry in the Medical Department of the University of Pennsylvania, with illustrations 
 selected from Funke's Atlas of Physiological Chemistry, and an Appendix of plates. Com- 
 plete in two large and handsome octavo volumes, containing 1200 pages, with nearly two 
 hundred illustrations, extra cloth. $6 00. 
 
 J)T THE SAME AUTHOR. 
 
 MANUAL OF CHEMICAL PHYSIOLOGY. Translated from the 
 
 German, with Notes and Additions, by J CHESTON MORRIS, M. D., with an Introductory 
 Es?ay on Vital Force, by Professor SAMUEL JACKSON, M. D., of the University of Pennsyl- 
 vania. With illustrations on wood. In one very handsome octavo volume of 336 pages, 
 extra cloth. $225. 
 
10 
 
 HENRY C. LEA'S PUBLICATIONS (Chemistry}. 
 
 ATTFIELD (JOHN), Ph.D., 
 
 "^ Professor of Practical Chemistry to the Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain, *c. 
 
 CHEMISTRY, GENERAL, MEDICAL, AND PHARMACEUTICAL; 
 
 including the Chemistry of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia. A Manual of the General Principles 
 of the Science, and their Application to Medicine and Pharmacy. Fifth Edition, revised 
 by the author. In one handsome royal 12mo. volume ; cloth, $2 75 ; leather, $3 25. 
 (Just Issued.) 
 
 We commend the work heartily as one of the best 
 text-books extant for the medical student. Detroit 
 KC.V. of Med. and Pharm., Feb. 1872. 
 
 The best work of the kind in the English language. 
 N. T. Psychological Journal, Jan. 1872. 
 
 The work is constructed with direct reference to 
 the wants of medical and pharmaceutical students ; 
 and, although an English work, the points of differ- 
 ence between the British and United States Pharma- 
 copoeias are indicated, making it as useful here as in 
 England. Altogether, the book is one we can heart- 
 ily recommend to practitioners as well as students. 
 N. T. Med. Journal, Dec. 1871. 
 
 It differs from other text-books in the following 
 particulars : first, in the exclusion of matter relating 
 to compounds which, at present, are only of interest 
 to the scientific chemist; secondly, in containing the 
 chemistry of every substance recognized officially or 
 in general, as a remedial agent. It will be found a 
 most valuable book for pupils, assistants, and others 
 engaged in medicine and pharmacy, and we heartily 
 commend it to our readers. Canada Lancet, Oct. 
 1871. 
 
 When the original English edition of this work was 
 
 published, we had occasion to express our high ap- 
 preciation of its worth, and also to review, in con- 
 siderable detail, the main features of the book. As 
 the arrangement of subjects, and the main part of 
 the text of the present edition are similar to the for- 
 mer publication, it will be needless for us to go over 
 the ground a second time ; we may. however, call at- 
 tention to a marked ad vantage possessed by the Ame- 
 rican work we allude to the introduction of the 
 chemistry of the preparations of the United States 
 Pharmacopoeia as well as that relating to the British 
 
 authority. Canadian 
 Nov. 1871. 
 
 Pharmaceutical Journal, 
 
 Chemistry has borne the name of being a hard sub- 
 ject to master by the student of medicine, and 
 chiefly because so much of it consists of compounds 
 only of interest tothe scientific chemist ; in this work 
 such portions are modified or altogether left out, and 
 in the arrangement of the subject matter of the work, 
 practical utility is sought after, and we think fully 
 attained We commend it for its clearness and order 
 to both teacher and pupil. Oregon Med. and Surg. 
 Reporter, Oct. 1871. 
 
 1DLOXAM (C. /,.), 
 
 *-* Professor of Chemistry in King 1 8 College, London. 
 
 CHEMISTRY, INORGANIC AND ORGANIC. From the Second Lon- 
 don Edition. In one very handsome octavo volume, of 700 pages, with about 300 illustra- 
 tions. Cloth, $4 50; leather, $5 50. (Now Ready.) 
 
 It has been the author's endeavor to produce a Treatise on Chemistry sufficiently comprehen- 
 sive for those studying the science as a branch of general education, and one which a student 
 may use with advantage in pursuing his chemical studies at one of the colleges or medical schools. 
 The special attention devoted to Metallurgy and some other branches of Applied Chemistry renders 
 the work especially useful to those who are being educated for employment in manufacture. 
 
 It would be difficult for a practical chemist and 
 teacher to find any material fault with this most ad- 
 mirable treatise. The author has given us almost a 
 cyclopedia within the limits of aeon venient volume, 
 and has done so without penning the useless para- 
 graphs too commonly making up a great part of the 
 bulk of many cumbrous works. The progressive sci- 
 entist is not disappointed when he looks for the record 
 of new and valuable processes and discoveries, while 
 the cautions conservative does not find its pages mo- 
 nopolized by uncertain theories and speculations. A 
 peculiar point of excellence is the crystallized form of 
 expression in which great truths are expressed in 
 
 very short paragraphs. One is surprised at the brief 
 space allotted to an important topic, and yet, after 
 reading it, he feels that little, if any more, should 
 have been said. Altogether, it is seldom you see a 
 text-book so nearly faultless. Cincinnati Lancet, 
 Nov. 1873. 
 
 Pofessor Bloxam has given us a most excellent 
 and usefiil practical treitise. His 666 pages are 
 crowded with facts and experiments, nearly all well 
 chosen, and many quite new, even to scientific men. 
 . . . It is astonishing how much information he often 
 conveys in a few paragraphs. We might quote fifty 
 instances of this. Chemical News. 
 
 
 
 DLING ( WILLIAM], 
 
 Lectrtrer on Chemistry at St. Bartholomew's Hospital, Ac. 
 
 A COURSE OF PRACTICAL CHEMISTRY, arranged for the Use 
 
 of Medical Students. With Illustrations. From the Fourth and Revised London Edition. 
 In one neat royal 12mo. volume, extra cloth. $2. (Lately Issued.) 
 
 {7ALLOWAY (ROBERT], F.C.S., 
 
 ^Jf~ Prof, of Applied Chemistry in the Royal College of Science for Ireland, &c. 
 
 A MANUAL OF QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS. From the Fifth Lon- 
 don Edition. In one neat royal 12mo. volume, with illustrations ; extra cloth, $2 50. (Just 
 Isszted.) 
 
 The success which has carried this work through repeated editions in England, and its adoption 
 as a text-book in several of the leading institutions in this country, show that the author has suc- 
 ceeded in the endeavor to produce a sound practical manual and book of reference for the che- 
 mical student. 
 
 Prof Galloway's books are deservedly in nigh 
 esteem, and this American reprint of the fifth edition 
 (1869) of his Manual of Qualitative Analysis, will be 
 acceptable to many American students to whom the 
 English edition is not accessible. Am. Jour, of Sci- 
 ence and Arts, Sept. 1S72. 
 
 We regard this volume as a valuable addition to 
 the chemical text-books, and as particularly calcu- 
 lated to instruct the student in analytical researches 
 of the inorganic compounds, the important vegetable 
 acids, and of compounds and various recretions and 
 excretions of animal origin. Am. Journ. of P/iarm., 
 Sept. 1S72. 
 
HENRY C. LEA'S PUBLICATIONS (Chemistry). 11 
 
 /^HANDLER (CHARLES F.), and /^HANDLER (WILLIAM H.), 
 
 V/ Prof, of Chemistry in the N. . Coll. of Prof ,>f Chemistry in the Lehigh 
 
 Pharmacy University. 
 
 THE AMERICAN CHEMIST: A Monthly Journal of Theoretical, 
 
 Analytical, and Technical Chemistry. Each number averaging forty large double col- 
 umned pages of reading matter. Price $5 per annum in advance. Single numbers, 50 cts. 
 
 0^- Specimen numbers to parties proposing to subscribe will be sent to any address on receipt 
 of 25 cents. 
 
 *#* Subscriptions can begin with any number. 
 
 The rapid growth of the Science of Chemistry and its infinite applications to other sciences 
 and arts render a journal specially devoted to the subject a necessity to those whose pursuits 
 require familiarity with the details of the science. It has been the aim of the conductors of "THE 
 AMERICAN CHEMIST" to supply this want in its broadest sense, and the reputation which the 
 periodical has already attained is a sufficient evidence of the zeal and ability with which they 
 have discharged their tusk. 
 
 Assisted by an able body of collaborators, their aim is to present, within a moderate compass, 
 an abstract of the progress of the science in all its departments, scientific and technical. Import- 
 ant original communications and selected papers are given in full, and the standing of the " CHEM- 
 IST" is such as to secure the contributions of leaUin'r m^ in all portions of the country. Besides 
 this, over one hundred journals and transactions of learned societies in America, Great Britain, 
 France, Belgium, Italy, Russia, and Germany are carefully scrutinized, and whatever they offer 
 of interest is condensed and presented to the reader. In this work, which forms a special feature 
 of the "CHEMIST," the editors have the assistance of M. Alsberg, Ph.D., Prof. G. F. Barker, T. 
 M. Blossom, E.M., H. C. Bolton, Ph.D., Prof. T. Egleston, E.M , H. Endemann, Ph.D., Prof. C. 
 A. Goessmann, Ph.D., S. A. Goldschmidt, A.M., E.M., E. J. Hallock, Prof. C. A. Joy, Ph.D., 
 J. P. Kimball, Ph.D., 0. G. Mason, H. Newton, E.M., Prof. Frederick Prime, Jr., Prof. Paul 
 Schweitzer, Ph.D., Wnldron Shapleigh, Rorayn Hitchcock, and Elwyn Waller, E.M. From the 
 thoroughness and completeness with which this department is conducted, it is believed that no 
 periodical in either hemisphere more faithfully reflects the progress of the science, or presents a 
 larger or more carefully garnered store of information to its readers. 
 
 (GEORGE), Ph.D. 
 A MANUAL OF ELEMENTARY CHEMISTRY; Theoretical and 
 
 Practical. With one hundred and ninety-seven illustrations. A new American, from the 
 
 tenth and revised London edition. Edited by ROBERT BRIDGES, M. D. In one large 
 
 royal 12mo. volume, of about 850 pp., extra cloth, $2 75 ; leather, 33 25. (Lately Issued.) 
 
 This work is so well known that it seeins almost >ther work that has greater chums on the physician, 
 
 superfluous for us to speak about it. It has been a pharmaceutist, or student, than this. We cheerfully 
 
 favorite text-book with medical students for years, recommend it as the best text-book on elementary 
 
 and its popularity has iu no respect diminished, chemistry, and bespeak for it the careful attention 
 
 Whenever we have been consulted by medical stu- of students of pharmacy. Chicago Pharmacist, Aug. 
 
 dents, as ha frequently occurred, what treatise on 1869. 
 
 chemistry they should procure, we have always re- 
 
 eomrnend.'d Fowues', for we regarded it as the best. Here 18 a new e dl tiQ which has been long watched 
 There is no work that combines so many excellen- for *>? ea 8 er teachers of chemistry. In its new garb, 
 ces. It is of convenient size, not prolix, of plain and under the editorship of Mr. Watts, it has resumed 
 pnrspicnous diction, contains all the most recent ^^ place as the most successful of text-books. 
 discoveries, and is of moderate price. Cincinnati .*<* Xedieal Gazette, Jan. 1. 1869 
 Med. Repertory, Aug. 1869. It wlu coatiaafti a8 heretofore, to hold the first rank 
 
 Large additions have been made, especially in the is a text-book for studeuts of medicine. Chicago 
 department of organic chemistry, and we know of no Hfed. Examiner, Aug. 1869. 
 
 TfTOSLER AND FfTTfG. 
 
 OUTLINES OF ORGANIC CHEMISTRY. Translated with Ad- 
 ditions from the Eighth German Edition. By IRA. REMSEN, M.D., Ph.D., Professor of 
 Chemistry and Physics in Williams College, Mass. In one handsome volume, royal 12mo. 
 of 550 pp. extra cloth, $3. (Just Issued.) 
 
 As the numerous editions of the original attest, this work is the leading text-book and standard 
 authority throughout Germany on its important and intricate subject a position won for it by 
 the clearness and conciseness which are its distinguishing characteristics. The translation hag 
 been executed with the approbation of Profs. Wohler and Fittig, and numerous additions and 
 alterations have been introduced, so as to render it in every respect on a level with the most 
 advanced condition of the science. 
 
 WMAN (JOHN E.),M. D. 
 
 PRACTICAL HANDBOOK OF MEDICAL CHEMISTRY. Edited 
 
 by C. L. BLOXAM, Professor of Practical Chemistry in King's College, London. Sixth 
 American, from the fourth and revised English Edition. In one neat volume, royal 12mo., 
 pp. 351, with numerous illustrations, extra cloth. $2 25. 
 JftY THE SAME AUTHOR. (Xmo Rw'y ) 
 
 INTRODUCTION TO PRACTICAL CHEMISTRY, INCLUDING 
 
 ANALYSIS. Sixth American, from the sixth and revised London edition. With numer- 
 ous illustrations. In one neat vol., royal 12mo., extra cloth. $2 25. 
 
 KNAPP'S TECHNOLOGY ; or Chemistry Applied to I very handsome octavo volumes, with 600 wood 
 hhp Arts, and to Manufactures. With American engravings, extra cloth. $6 00 
 addiii >as, by Prof. WALTER K. JOHHHON. ID two I 
 
12 HENRY 0. LEA'S PUBLICATIONS (Mat.Med.and Therapeutics). 
 
 PARRISH (EDWARD], 
 
 Late Professor of Materia Medica in the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy. 
 
 A TREATISE ON PHARMACY. Designed as a Text-Book for the 
 
 Student, and as a Guide for the Physician and Pharmaceutist. With many Formulae and 
 Prescriptions. Fourth Edition, thoroughly revised, by THOMAS S. WIEGAND. In one 
 handsome octavo volume of 977 pages, with 280 illustrations; cloth. $5 50; leather, $6 50. 
 (Now Ready.) 
 
 The delay irrthe appearance of the new U. S. Pharmacopoeia, and the sudden death of the au- 
 thor, have postponed the preparation of this new edition beyond the period expected. The notes 
 and memoranda left by Mr. Parrish have been placed in the hands of the editor, Mr. Wiegand, 
 who has labored assiduously to embody in the work all the improvements of pharmaceutical sci- 
 ence which have been introduced during ohe last ten years. It is therefore hoped that the new 
 edition will fully maintain the reputation which the volume has heretofore enjoyed as a standard 
 text-book and work of reference for all engaged in the preparation and dispensing of medicines. 
 We have examined this large volume with a good ( not wish it to be understood as very extravagant 
 deal of care, and find that the author has completely 
 exhausted the subject upon which he treats ; a more 
 complete work, we think, it would be impossible to 
 find. To the student of pharmacy the work is indis- 
 pensable ; indeed, so far as we know, it is the only one 
 of its kind in existence, and even to the physician or 
 medical student who can spare five dollars to pur- 
 chase it, we feel sure the practical information he 
 will obtain will more than compensate him for the 
 outlay. Canada Med. Journal, Nov. 1864. 
 
 The medical student and the practising physician 
 will find the volume of inestimable worth for study 
 and reference. San Francisco Med. Press, July, 
 1864. 
 
 When we say that this book is in some respects 
 the best which has been published on the subject in 
 the English language for a great many years, we do 
 
 praise. In truth, it is not so much the best as the 
 only book. The London Chemical News. 
 
 An attempt to furnish anything like an analysis of 
 Parrish' s very valuable and elaborate Treatise on 
 Practical Pharmacy would require more space than 
 <ve have at our disposal. This, however, is not so 
 much a matter of regret, inasmuch as it would be 
 difficult to think of any point, however minute and 
 apparently trivial, connected with the manipulation 
 if pharmaceu'ic substance* or appliances which has 
 not been clearly and carefully discussed in this vol- 
 ume. Want of space prevents our enlarging further 
 on this valuable work, and we must conclude by a 
 .simple expression of our hearty appreciation of its 
 merits. Dublin Quarterly Jour, of Medical Science, 
 August, 1864. 
 
 &TILLE (ALFRED], M.D., 
 
 A3 Professor of Theory and Practice of Medicine in the University of Penna. 
 
 THERAPEUTICS AND MATERIA MEDICA; a Systematic Treatise 
 
 on the Action and Uses of Medicinal Agents, including their Description and History 
 Fourth edition, revised and enlarged. In two large and handsome 8vo. vols. (Pn paring.) 
 Dr. Stille's splendid work on therapeutics and ma- abroad its reputation as a .standard treatise on Mau.ii.- 
 teria medica. London Med. Times, April 8, 1865. Medica is securely established. It is second to no 
 Dr. Stille stands to-day one of the best and most ! work on the subject in the English tongue, and, in-^ 
 honored representatives at home and abroad, of Ame- I deed, is decidedly superior, in some respects, to any 
 rican medicine; and these volumes, a library in them- j other. Pacific Med. and Surg Journal, July, 1868. 
 selves, a treasure-house for every studious physician, i Still6's Therapeutics is incomparably the best work 
 
 assure his fame even had he done nothing more. The 
 Western Journal of Medicine, Dec. 1868. 
 
 We regard this work as the best one on Materia 
 Medica in the English language, and as such it de- 
 serves the favor it has received. Am. Journ. Medi- 
 cal Sciences, July 1868. 
 
 We need not dwell on the merits of the third edition 
 of this magnificently conceived work. It is the work 
 on Materia Medica, in which Therapeutics are prima- 
 rily considered the mere natural history of drugs 
 being briefly disposed of. To medical practitioners 
 this is a very valuable conception. It is wonderful 
 how much of the riches of the literature of Materia 
 Medica has been condensed into this book. The refer- 
 ences alone would make it worth possessing. But it 
 is not a mere compilation. The writer exercises a 
 good judgment of his own on the great doctrines and 
 points of Therapeutics For purposes of practice, 
 Still6's book is almost unique as a repertory of in- 
 formation, empirical and scientific, on the actions and 
 nses of medicines. London Lancet. Oct. 31, 1868. 
 
 Through the former editions, the professional world 
 Is well acquainted with this work. At home and 
 
 on the subject. N. Y. Med. Gazette, Sept, 26, 1868. 
 
 Dr Stilli's work is becoming the best known of any 
 of our treatises on Materia Medica. . . . One of the 
 most valuable works in the language on the subjects 
 of which it treats.^. T. Med. Journal, Oct. 1868. 
 
 The rapid exhaustion of two editions of Prof. Stille''* 
 scholarly work, and the consequent necessity for a 
 third edition, is sufficient evidence of the high esti- 
 mate placed upon it by the profession. It is no exag- 
 geration to say that there is no superior work upon 
 the subject in the English language. The present 
 edition is fully up to the most recent advance in the 
 science and art of therapeutics. Leavenworth Medi- 
 cal Herald, Aug. 1868. 
 
 The work of Prof. Still6 has rapidly taken a high 
 place in professional esteem, and to say that a third 
 edition is demanded and now appears before us, suffi- 
 ciently attests the firm position this treatise has made 
 for itself. As a work of great research, and scholar- 
 ship, it is safe to say we have nothing superior. It ia 
 exceedingly full, and the busy practitioner will find 
 ample suggestions upon almost every important point 
 of therapeutics. Cincinnati Lancet, Aug. 1868. 
 
 p>EREIRA (JONATHAN], M.D., F. R.S. and L.S. 
 
 MATERIA MEDICA AND THERAPEUTICS; being an Abridg- 
 
 ment of the late Dr. Pereira's Elements of Materia Medica, arranged in conformity with 
 
 the British Pharmacopoeia,, and adapted to the use of Medical Practitioners, Chemists and 
 
 Druggists, Medical and Pharmaceutical Students, <fcc. By F. J. FARRE, M.T , Senior 
 
 Physician to St. Bartholomew's Hospital, and London Editor of the British Pharmacopoeia ; 
 
 assisted by ROBERT BENTLEY, M.R.C.S., Professor of Materia Mediea and Botany to the 
 
 Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain; and by ROBERT VVARINSTON, F.R.S., Chemical 
 
 Operator to the Society of Apothecaries. With numerous additions and references to the 
 
 United States Pharmacopoeia, by HORATIO C. WOOD, M.D., Professor of Botany in the 
 
 University of Pennsylvania. In one large and handsome octavo volume of 1040 closely 
 
 printed pages, with 236 illustrations, extra cloth, $7 00; leather, raised bands, $8 00 
 
 It will fill a place which no other work can occupy I ed in the thape of a complete treatise on materia med- 
 
 in the library of the physician, student, and apothe- | ica, and the medical student has a text-book which, 
 
 ca,ry. Boston Med. and Surg. Journal, Nov. 8, 1866. for practical utility and intrinsic worth, stands un- 
 
 The Ame rican physician now has all that is need' I paralleled. tf. Y. Med. Record, Nov. 15, 1866. 
 
HENRY C. LEA'S PUBLICATIONS ( Mat. Mrfl. and Therapeutics}. 1 3 
 
 /GRIFFITH (ROBERT E.), M.D. 
 
 A UNIVERSAL FORMULARY, Containing the Methods of Pri par- 
 ing and Administering Officinal and other Medicines. The whole adapted to Physician and 
 Pharmaceutists. Third edition, thoroughly revised, with numerous additions, b? JOHN M. 
 MAISCU, Professor of Materia Medica in the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy. In one large 
 and handsome octavo volume of about SOOpages : cloth, $4 50; leather, $5 50. (Just Ready ) 
 This work has long been known for the vast amount of information which it presents in a con 
 densed form, arranged for easy reference. The new edition has received the most careful revi- 
 sion at the competent hands of Professor Maisch, who has brought the whole up to the standard of 
 the most recent authorities. More than eighty new headings of remedies have been introduced, 
 the entire work has been thoroughly remodelled, and whatever has seemed to be obsolete has been 
 omitted. As a comparative view of the United States, the British, the German, and the French 
 Pharmacopoeias, together with nn immense amount of unofficinal formulas, it affords to the prac- 
 titioner and pharmaceutist an aid in their daily avocations not to be found elsewhere, while three 
 indexes, one of "Diseases and their Remedies," one of Pharmaceutical Names, and a (ieneral 
 Index, afford an easy key to the alphabetical arrangement adopted in the text. 
 
 The youug practitioner will find the work invalu- i Directions, Poisons. Antidotes, and Treatment, and 
 abl<- in suggesting eligible modes of administering | copious indices, which afford ready access to all parts 
 
 many remedies. Am. Journ. of Pharm., Feb. 1874. 
 
 Our copy of Griffith's Formulary, after long use, 
 first in the dispensing shop, and afterwards in our 
 medical practice, had gradually fallen behind in the 
 onward march of raateria medica, pharmacy, and 
 therapeutics, until we had ceased to consult it as a 
 daily book of reference. So completely has Prof. 
 JMaisch reformed, remodelled, and rejuvenated it in 
 the new edition, we shall gladly welcome it back to 
 our table again beside Duuglison, Webster, and Wood 
 & Bache. The publisher could not have been more 
 fortunate iu the selection of an editor. Prof. Maisch 
 Is eminently the man for the work, and he has done 
 it thoroughly anil ably. To enumerate the altera- 
 tions, amendments, and additions would be an eud- 
 -k ; everywhere we are greeted with the evi- 
 dence* of his labor. Following the Formulary, is an 
 addendum of useful Recipes, Dietetic Preparations, 
 List of Incorapatibles, Posological table, table of 
 Pharmaceutical Names, Officinal Preparations and I iner, March 15, 1874. 
 
 of the work. We unhesitatingly commend the book 
 as being the best of its kind, within our knowledge. 
 Atlanta Me.ft. and Surg. Journ. , Feb. 1874. 
 
 To the druggist a good formulary is simply indis- 
 pensable, and perhaps no formulary has been more 
 extensively used than the well-known work before 
 us. Many physicians have to officiate, also, as drug- 
 gists. This is true especially of the country physi- 
 cian, and a work which shall teach him the means 
 by which to administer or combine his remedies in 
 the most efficacious and pleasant manner, will al- 
 ways hold its place upon his shelf. A formulary of 
 this kind is of benefit also to th city physician in 
 largest practice. Cincinnati Clinic, Feb. 21, 1874. 
 
 The Formulary has already proved itself accepta- 
 ble to the medical profession, and we do not hesitate 
 to say that the third edition is much improved, and 
 of greater practical value, in consequence of the care- 
 ful revision of Prof Maisch. Chicago Med. Exam- 
 
 JjJLLIS (BENJAMIN], M.D. 
 
 THE MEDICAL FORMULARY: being a Collection of Prescriptions 
 
 derived from the writings and practice of many of the most eminent physicians of America 
 and Europe. Together with the usual Dietetic Preparations and Antidotes for Poisons. The 
 wh'ole accompanied with a few brief Pharmaceutic and Medical Observations. Twelfth edi- 
 tion, carefully revised and much improved by ALBERT H. SMITH, M.D. In one volume 8va. 
 of 376 pages, extra cloth, $3 00. (Lately Published.) 
 
 This work has remained for some time out of print, owing to the anxious care with which the 
 Editor has sought to render\he present edition worthy a continuance of the very remarkable 
 favor which has carried the volume to the unusual honor of a TWBLPTH EDITION. He has sedu- 
 lously endeavored to introduce in it all new preparations and combinations deserving of confidence, 
 besides adding two new classes, Antemetics and Disinfectants, with brief references to the inhalation 
 of atomized fluids, the nasal douche of Thudichum, suggestions upon the method of hypodermic 
 injection, the administration of anaesthetics, Ac. Ac. To accommodate these numerous additions, 
 he has omitted much which the advance of science has rendered obsolete or of minor importance, 
 notwithstanding which the volume has been increased by more than thirty pages. A new feature 
 will be found in a copious Index of Diseases and their remedies, which cannot but increase the 
 value of the work a* a suggestive book of reference for the working practitioner. Every precaution 
 has been taken to secure the typographical accuracy so necessary in a work of this nature, and it 
 is hoped that the new edition will fully maintain the position which " ELLIS' FORMULARY" has 
 long occupied. 
 
 SI ARSON (JOSEPH}, M.D., 
 
 \J Professor of Maturia IT^Uc.a a nd Pharmacy in the University of Pennsylvania, Ac. 
 
 SYNOPSIS OF THE COURSE OF LECTURES ON MATERIA 
 
 MEDICA AND PHARMACY, delivered in the University of Pennsylvania. With three 
 Lectures on the Modus Operandi of Medicines. Fourth an d revised edition, extra cloth $3 
 
 DUNGLISON'S NEW REMEDIES, WITH FORMT'L.K 
 FOR THEIR PREPARATION AND ADMINISTRA- 
 TION. Seventh edition, with extensive additions 
 
 EOLESPELD GRIFFITH, M.D. One vol.Svo., pp.1000; 
 extra cloth. $4 00. 
 CARPENTER'S PRIZE ESSAY ON THE USE OF 
 
 One vol. Svo., pp. 770; extra cloth. $400. ALCOHOLIC LIQUORS IN HEALTH AND DISEASE. New 
 
 BOYLE'S MATERIA MEDICA AND THERAPEU- j edition, with a Preface by D. F. CONDIE, M.D. , and 
 
 TICS. Edited by JOSEPH CARSON, M.D. With explanations of scientific words. In one neat 12mo. 
 
 ninety-eight illustrations. 1 vol. Svo. , pp. 700, ex- volume, pp. 178, extra cloth. 60 cents. 
 
 tra cloth. $3 00. i DE JONGH ON THE THREE KINDS OF COD-LIVEB 
 
 GHRISTISON'S DISPENSATORY. With copious ad- ; OIL, with their Chemical and Therapeutic Pro- 
 
 ditions, and 213 large wood-eagraviugs. By B. parties 1 vol. 12mo., cloth. 75 cents. 
 
14 HENRY C. LEA'S PUBLICATIONS (Pathology, &c.). 
 
 PEN WICK (SAMUEL], M.D., 
 
 Assistant Physician to the London Hospital. 
 
 THE STUDENT'S GUIDE TO MEDICAL DIAGNOSIS. From the 
 
 Third Revised and Enlarged English Editiot With eighty-four illustrations on wood. 
 In one very handsome volume, royal ]2mo., cloth, $2 25. (Now Ready.) 
 
 The very great success which this work has obtained in England, shows that it has supplied an 
 admitted want among elementary books for the guidance of students and junior practitioners. 
 Taking up in order each portion of the body or class of di.eape. the author has endeavored to 
 present in simple language the value of symptoms, so as to lead the student to a correct appreci- 
 ation of the pathological changes indicated by them. The latest investigations have been care- 
 fully introduced into the present edition, so that it may fairly be considered as on a level with 
 the most advanced condition of medical science. The arrangement adopted may be seen from the 
 subjoined 
 
 OOINIDIEllSrSEID STJ3VT3VT AIR^T OF COHSTTElSrTS- 
 
 CHAPTEB I. Introductory. II. Diseases of the Heart and Pericardium. III. Diseases of the 
 Lungs. IV. Diseases of the Throat and Larynx. V. Diseases of the Kidneys. VI. Diseases of 
 the Liver. VII. Diseases of the Stomach. VIII. Diseases of the Peritoneum and Intestines. 
 IX. Abdominal Tumors. X. Diseases of the Brain. XI. Fevers. XII. Rheumatism and Gout. 
 XIII. Diseases of the Skin. 
 
 SCREEN (T. HENRY), M.D., 
 
 Lecturer on Pathology and Morbid Anatomy at Charing-dross Hospital Medical School. 
 
 PATHOLOGY AND MORBID ANATOMY. With numerous Illus- 
 
 trations on Wood. In one very handsome octavo volume of over 250 pages, extra cloth, 
 
 $2 50. (Lately Published.) 
 
 We have been very much pleased by our perusal of j thology and morbid anatomy. The author shows that 
 thiis little volume. It is the only one of the kind with he has been not only a student of the teachings of his 
 which we are acquainted, and practitioners as well confreres in this branch of science, but a practical 
 as students will find it a very useful guide; for the and conscientious laborer in the post-mortem cham- 
 
 information is up to the day, well and compactly ar 
 ranged, without being at all scanty. London Lan 
 cet, Oct. 7, 1871. 
 
 It embodies in a comparatively small space a clear 
 statement of the present state of our knowledge of pa- 
 
 ber. The work will prove a useful one to the great 
 mass of students and practitioners whose time for de- 
 votiou to this class of studies is limited. Am. Journ. 
 of Syphilography, April, 1872. 
 
 GLTJGE'S ATLAS OF PATHOLOGICAL HISTOLOGY | vation. From the second London edition. 1 vo 
 Translated, with Notes and Additions, by JOSEPH royal 12mo., extra cloth. $1 00. 
 
 LEIDY, M. D. In one volume, very large imperial 
 quarto, with 320 copper-plate figures, plain and 
 colored, extra cloth. $4 00. 
 
 LA ROCHE ON YELLOW FEVER, considered in its 
 Historical, Pathological, Etiological, and Therapeu- 
 tical Relations. In two large and handsome octav* 
 volumes of nearly 1500 pages, extra cloth. $7 00 
 
 HOLLAND'S MEDICAL NOTES AND REFLEC- 
 TIONS. 1 vol. 8vo., pp. 500, extra cloth. $3 50 
 
 WH ATTO OBSERVE ATTHE BEDSIDE AND AFTEi 
 DEATH IN MEDICAL CASES. Published under tht 
 authority of the London Society for Medical Obser 
 
 LAYCOCK'S LECTURES ON THE PRINCIPLES 
 AND METHODS OF MEDICAL OBSERVATION AND RE- 
 SEARCH. For the use of advanced students and 
 junior practitioners. In one very neat royal 12mi 
 volume, extra cloth. $1 00. 
 
 3ARLOWS MANUAL OF THE PRACTICE OF 
 MEDICINE. With Additions by D. F. CONDIE, 
 * D 1 vol 8vo., pp 600. cloth 2 50 
 
 TODD'S CLINICAL LECTURES ON CERTAIN ACUTE 
 DISEASES. In one neat octavo volume, of 320 pages, 
 extra, cloth. $2 50. 
 
 S1ROSS (SAMUEL />.), M - #> 
 
 Professor of Surgery in the Jefferson Medical College of Philadelphia. 
 
 ELEMENTS OF PATHOLOGICAL ANATOMY. Third edition, 
 
 thoroughly revised and greatly improved. In one large and very handsome octavo volume 
 of nearly 800 pages, with about three hundred and fifty beautiful illustrations, of which a 
 large number are from original drawings ; extra cloth. $4 00. 
 
 TONES (C. HANDFIELD], F.R.S., and SIEVEKING (ED. H.), M.D., 
 
 ^ Assistant Physicians and Lecturers in St. Mary's Hospital 
 
 A MANUAL OF PATHOLOGICAL ANATOMY. First American 
 
 edition, revised. With three hundred and ninety-seven handsome wood engravings. In 
 one large and beautifully printed octavo volume of nearly 750 pages, extra cloth, $3 50. 
 
 (OCTAVIUS], M.D. Cantab. 
 
 * Fellow of We Roynl dollege of Phytticianft. &c. &c. 
 
 AN INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY OF CLINICAL MED- 
 
 ICINB. Being a Guide to the Investigation of Disease, for the Use of Students. In one 
 
 handsome 12mo. volume, extra cloth, $1 25. (Now Ready.) 
 
 TABLE OF CONTENTS. I. The Sort of Help needed by the Student at the Bedside. II. Some 
 General Rules with Reference to the Examination of Patients. III. The Family and Personal 
 History of the Patient. IV. Examination of the Functions. V. Examination of the Phenomena 
 connected with the Brain and Cord VI. The Physical Examination of the Chest, its Inspection 
 and Palpation. VII. Percussion Applied to the Heart and Lungs. VIIL Auscultation of the 
 Cheft. IX. Examination of the Abdomen and of the Secretions. X. The Diagnosis. XI. The 
 Treatment. 
 
HENRY C LEA'S PUBLICATIONS (Practice of Medicine). 
 
 15 
 
 T T (AUSTIN), M.D., 
 
 *-' Professor of the Principles and Practice of Medicine in Bellevut Med. College, X }' 
 
 A TREATISE ON THE PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OF 
 
 MEDICINE; designed for the use of Students and Practitioners of Medicine. Fourth 
 edition, revise^ and enlarged. In one large and closely printed octavo volume of ahout 1 1 00 
 pages; handsome extra cloth, $6 00; or strongly bound in leather, with raised bands, $7 00. 
 (Just Issued.) 
 
 By common consent of the English and American medical press, this work has been assigned 
 to the highest position as a complete and compendious text-book on the most advanced condition 
 of medical science. At the very moderate price at which it is offered it will be found one of the 
 cheapest volumes now before the profession. 
 
 axcellently printed and bound and we encounter 
 that luxury of America, the ready-cut pages, which 
 che Yankees are 'cute enough to insist upon nor are 
 these by any means trifles ; but the contents of the 
 book are astonishing. Not only is it wonderful that 
 my one man can have grasped in his mind the whole 
 icope of medicine with that vigor which Dr. Flint 
 hows, but the condensed yet clear way in which 
 ;his is done is a perfect literary triumph. Dr. Flint 
 .s pre-eminently one of the strong men, whose right 
 :o do this kind of thing is well admitted ; and we say 
 10 more than the truth when we affirm that he is 
 <rery nearly the only living man that could do it with 
 iuch results as the volume before us. The London 
 Practitioner, March, 1869. 
 
 This is in some respects the best text-book of medi- 
 jine in our language, and it is highly appreciated on 
 ,he other side of the Atlantic, inasmuch as the first 
 edition was exhausted in a few months. The second 
 edition was little more than a reprint, but the present 
 das, as the author says, been thoroughly revised. 
 Much valuable matter has been added, and by mak- 
 ing the type smaller, the bulk of the volume is not 
 much increased. The weak point in many American 
 works is pathology, but Dr. Flint has taken peculiar 
 pains on this point, greatly to the value of the book. 
 London Med. Times and Gazette, Feb. 6, 1869. 
 
 Admirable and unequalled. Western Journal of 
 Mi:ili<-ine, Nov. 1869. 
 
 Dr. Flint's work, though claiming no higher title 
 than that of a text-book, is really more. He is a man 
 of large clinical experience, and his book is full of 
 nch masterly descriptions of disease as can only be 
 drawn by a man intimately acquainted with their 
 various forms. It is not so long since we had the 
 pleasure of reviewing his first edition, and we recog- 
 nize a great improvement, especially in the general 
 part of the work. It is a work which we can cordially 
 recommend to our readers as fully abreast of the sci- 
 ence of the day. Edinburgh Med. Journal, Oct. '69. 
 
 One of the best works of the kind for the practi- 
 tioner, and the most convenient of all for the student. 
 Am. Journ. Med Sciences, Jan. 1869. 
 
 This work, which stands pre-eminently as the ad- 
 vance standard of medical science up to the present 
 time in the practice of medicine, has for its author 
 one who is well and widely known as one of the 
 leading practitioners of this continent. In fact, it is 
 seldom that any work is ever issued from the press 
 more deserving of universal recommendation. Do- 
 minion Med Journal, May, 1869. 
 
 The third edition of this most excellent book scarce- 
 ly needs any commendation from us. The volume, 
 as it stands now, is really a marvel : first of all, it is 
 
 DAVY(F. W.), M.D.,F.R.S., 
 
 -* Senior Asst. Physician to and Lecturer on Physiology, at Guy's Hospital, Ac. 
 
 A TREATISE ON THE FUNCTION OF DIGESTION; its Disor- 
 
 ders and their Treatment. From the second London edition. In one handsome volume, 
 small octavo, extra cloth, $2 00. (Lately Published.) 
 
 The. work before us is one which deserves a wide i treatise, and sufficiently exhaustive for all practical 
 Irculation. We know of no better guide to the study | purposes. Lravenioorth Med. Herald, July, 1869. 
 of digestion and its disorders. St. Louis Med. and 
 Surg. Journal, July 10, 1869. 
 
 A thoroughly good book, being a careful systematic 
 
 A very valuable work on the subject of which it 
 treats. Small, yet it is full of valuable information. 
 Cincinnati Med. Repertory, June, 1869. 
 
 THE SAME AUTHOR. (Nearly Ready.) 
 
 A TREATISE ON FOOD AND DIETETICS, PHYSIOLOGI- 
 CALLY AND TIIERAPEUTICALLY CONSIDERED. In one handsome octavo volume 
 of nearly 600 pages. 
 
 SUMMARY OP CONTENTS. 
 
 Introductory Remarks on the Dynamic Relations of Food On the Origination of Food The 
 Constituent Relations of Food Alimentary Principles, their Classification, Chemical Relations, 
 Digestion, Assimilation, and Physiological Uses Nitrogenous Alimentary Principles Non-Ni- 
 trogenous Alimentary Principles The Carbo-Hydrates The Inorganic Alimentary Principles 
 Alimentary Substances Animal Alimentary Substances Vegetable Alimentary Substances 
 Beverages Condiments The Preservation of Food Principles of Dietetics Practical Dietetics 
 Diet of Infants Diet for Training Therapeutic Dietetics Dietetic Preparations for the Inva- 
 lid Hospital Dietaries. 
 
 / CHAMBERS (T. K.}, M.D.~ 
 
 Consulting Physician to St. Mary's Hospital, London, Ac. 
 
 THE INDIGESTIONS; or, Diseases of the Digestive Organs Functionally 
 
 Treated. Third and revised Edition. In one handsome octavo volume of 333 pages, extra 
 
 cloth. $3 00. (Lately Published.) 
 
 From this purely mate- rial point of view, setting I tents to his memory would flnd its price an invest- 
 aside its higher claims to merit, we know of no more | ment of capital that returned him a most usurious 
 desirable acquisition to a physician's library than I rate of interest. N. . Medical Gazette, Jan. 28, 
 the book before us. He who should commit its con- | 1871 
 
 J)Y THE SAME AUTHOR. (Lately Published.) 
 
 RESTORATIVE MEDICINE. An Harveian Annual Oration, deliv- 
 ered at the Royal College of Physicians, London, on June 24. 1871. With Two Sequels. 
 In one very handsome volume, small 12mo., extra cloth, $1 00. 
 
16 
 
 HENRY C. LEA'S PUBLICATIONS (Practice of Medicine). 
 
 fTARTSHORNE (HENRY], M.D., 
 
 AJ. Professor of Hygiene in the University of Pennsylvania. 
 
 ESSENTIALS OF THE PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OF MEDI- 
 
 CINE. A handy-book for Students and Practitioners. Fourth edition, revised and im- 
 proved. In one handsome royal 12mo. volume. (Preparing.) 
 
 This little epitome of medical knowledge has al- [ 
 ready been noticed by us. It is a vade mecum of 
 value, including in a short space most of what is es- i 
 sential in the science and practice of medicine. The j 
 third edition is well up to the present day in the ; 
 modern methods of treatment, and iu the use of newly ; 
 discovered drugs. Boston Med. and Surg. Journal, 
 Oct. 19, 1871. 
 
 Certainly very few volumes contain so much pre- 
 cise information within so small a compass. N. Y. 
 Med. Journal, Nov. 1871. 
 
 The diseases are conveniently classified; symptoms, 
 causation, diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment are | 
 carefully considered, the whole being marked by j 
 briefness, but clearness of expression. Over 250 for- j 
 
 mulas are appended, intended as examples merely, 
 not as guides for unthinking practitioners. A com- 
 plete index facilitates the use of this little volume, in 
 which all important remedies lately introduced, such 
 as chloral hydrate and carbolic acid, have received 
 their full s'hareof attention. Am. Journ. ofPharm., 
 Nov. 1871. 
 
 It is an epitome of the whole science and practice 
 of medicine, and will be found most valuable to the 
 practitioner for easy reference, and especially to the 
 student in attendance upon lectures, whose time is 
 too much occupied with many studies, to consult the 
 larger works. Such a work must always be in great 
 demand. Cincinnati Med. Repertory, Nov. 1871. 
 
 "WATSON (THOMAS), M. D., c. 
 r LECTURES ON THE PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OF 
 
 PHYSIC. Delivered at King's College, London. A new American, from the Fifth re- 
 vised and enlarged English edition. Edited, with additions, and several hundred illus- 
 trations, by HENRY HARTSHORNE, M.D., Professor of Hygiene in the University of Penn- 
 sylvania. In two large and handsome Svo.vols. Cloth, $9 00; leather, $11 00. (Just Issued.) 
 
 advantages of great culture and a ripe experience 
 combined with the soundest judgment and sin- 
 cerity of purpose. The author's rare combination 
 of great scientific attainments combined with won- 
 derful forensic eloquence has exerted extraordinary 
 
 At length, after many months of expectation, we 
 have the satisfaction of finding ourselves this week in 
 possession of a revised and enlarged edition of Sir 
 Thomas Watson's celebrated Lectures. It is a sub- 
 ject for congratulation and for thankfulness that Sir 
 Thomas Watson, during a period of comparative lei- 
 sure, after a long, laborious, and most honorable pro- 
 fessional career, while retaining full possession of his 
 high mental faculties, should have employed the op- 
 portunity to submit his Lectures to a more thorough 
 revision than was possible during the earlier and 
 busier period of his life. Carefully passing in review 
 some of the most intricate and important pathological 
 and practical questions, the results of his clear insight 
 and his calm judgment are now recorded for the bene- 
 fit of mankind, in language which, for precision, vigor, 
 and classical elegance, has rarely been equalled, and 
 never surpassed The revision has evidently beeu 
 most carefully done, .and the results appear in almosl 
 every page. Brit. Med. Journ., Oct. 14, 1871. 
 
 The lectures are so well known and so justly 
 appreciated, that it is scarcely necessary to do 
 more than call attention to the special advantages 
 of the last over previous editions. In the revi- 
 sion, the author has displayed all the charms and 
 
 influence over the last two generations of physicians 
 His clinical descriptions of most diseases have never 
 been equalled ; and on this score at least his work 
 will live long in the future. The work will be 
 sought by all who appreciate a great book. Amer. 
 Journal of Syphilography, July, 1872. 
 
 We are exceedingly gratified at the reception of 
 this new edition of Watson, pre-eminently the prince 
 of English authors, on "Practice." We, who read 
 the first edition as it came to us tardily and in frag- 
 ments through the "Medical News and Librarv, : ' 
 shall never forget the great pleasure and profit 'we 
 derived from its graphic delineations of disease, its 
 vigorous style and splendid English. Maturity of 
 years, extensive observation, profound research, 
 and yet continuous enthusiasm, have combined to 
 give us in this latest edition a model of professional 
 excellence in teaching with rare beauty iu the mode 
 of communication. But this classic needs no eulo- 
 gium of ours. Chicago Med. Journ., July, 1872. 
 
 JJUNGLISON, FORBES, TWEED IE, AND CO NOLLY. 
 
 THE CYCLOPAEDIA OF PRACTICAL MEDICINE: comprising 
 
 Treatises on the Nature and Treatment of Diseases, Materia Medica and Therapeutics, 
 Diseases of Women and Children, Medical Jurisprudence, &c. &c. In four large super-royal 
 octavo volumes, of 3254 double-columned pages, strongly and handsomely bound in leather 
 $15; extra cloth. $J1. 
 
 *#* This work contains no less than four hundred and eighteen distinct treatises, contributed 
 sixty-eight distinguished physicians. 
 
 ( WILSON), M.D., 
 
 Holme Prof, of Clinical Med., University Coll., London. 
 
 THE DISEASES OF THE STOMACH: Being the Third Edition of 
 
 the "Diagnosis and Treatment of the Varieties of Dyspepsia." Revised and Enlarged. 
 With illustrations. In one handsome octavo volume. 
 *%* Publishing in the " MEDICAL NEWS AND LIBRARY" for 1873 and 1874. 
 
 The present edition of Dr. Wilson Fox's very admi- 
 rable work differs from the preceding in that it deals 
 with other maladies than dyspepsia only. London 
 Med. Times, Feb. 8, 1873. 
 
 Dr. Fox has put forth a volume of uncommon ex- 
 cellence, which we feel very sure will take a high 
 rank among works that^ treat of the stomach. Am. 
 Practitioner, March, 1873. 
 
 jyRINTON (WILLIAM), M.D., F.R.S. 
 
 ^LECTURES ON THE DISEASES OF THE STOMACH; with an 
 
 Introduction on its Anatomy and Physiology. From the second and enlarged London edi- 
 tion. With illustrations on wood In one handsome octavo volume of about 300 paces 
 extra cloth. $3 25. 
 
HENRY C. LEA'S PUBLICATIONS (Diseases of Lungs and Heart). If 
 FLINT (AUSTIN], M.D., 
 
 * Professor of the Principles and Practice of Medicine in Bellevue Hospital Med. College, N. T. 
 
 A PRACTICAL TREATISE ON THE DIAGNOSIS, PATHOLOGY, 
 
 AND TREATMENT OF DISEASES OF THE HEART. Second revised and enlarged 
 edition. In one octavo volume of 550 pages, with a plate, extra cloth, $4. 
 
 The author has sedulously improved the opportunity afforded him of revising this work. Portions 
 of it have been rewritten, and the whole brought up to a level with the most advanced condition of 
 science. It must therefore continue to maintain its position as the standard treatise on the subject. 
 
 Dr. Flint chosea difficult subject for his researches, able for purposes of illustration, in connection with 
 and has shown remarkable powers of observation 
 and reflection, as well as great industry, in his treat- 
 ment of it. His book must be considered the fullest 
 and clearest practical treatise on those subjects, and 
 should be in the hands of all practitioners and stu-. 
 dents. It is a credit to American medical literature. 
 
 cases which have been reported by other trustworthy 
 observers. Brit, and For, Med.-Chirurg. Review. 
 
 Amer. Journ. of the Med. Sciences, July, I860. 
 
 We question the fact of any recent American author 
 In our profession being more extensively known, or 
 more deservedly esteemed in this country than Dr. 
 Flint. We willingly acknowledge his enoeeflB, more 
 particularly in the volume on diseases of the heart, 
 In making an extended personal clinical study avail- 
 
 In regard to the merits of the work, we have no 
 hesitation in pronouncing it full, accurate, and judi- 
 cious. Considering the present state of science, such 
 a work was much needed. It should be in the hands 
 of every practitioner. Chicago Med. Journ. 
 
 With more than pleasure do we hail the advent of 
 this work, for it fills a wide gap on the list of text- 
 books for ourschools, and is, for the practitioner, the 
 most valuable practical work of its kind. N. 0. Med. 
 News. 
 
 >F THE SAME AUTHOR. 
 
 A PRACTICAL TREATISE ON THE PHYSICAL EXPLORA- 
 TION OF THE CHEST AND THE DIAGNOSIS OF DISEASES AFFECTING THE 
 RESPIRATORY ORGANS. Second and revised edition. In one handsome octavo volume 
 of 595 pages, extra cloth, $4 50. 
 
 Dr. Flint's treatise is one of the most trustworthy 
 guides which he can consult. The style is clear and 
 distinct, and is also concise, being free from that tend- 
 eucy to over-refinement and unnecessary minuteness 
 which characterizes many works on the same sub- 
 ject. Dublin Medical Press, Feb. 6, 1867. 
 
 The chapter on Phthisis is replete with interest ; 
 and his remarks on the diagnosis, especially in the 
 early stages, are remarkable for their acumen and 
 great practical value. Dr. Flint's style is ciear and 
 elegant, and the tone of freshness and originality 
 
 which pervades his whole work lend an additional 
 force to its thoroughly practical character, which 
 cannot fail to obtain for it a place as a standard work 
 on diseases of the respiratory system. London 
 Lancet, Jan. IP, 1867. 
 
 This is an admirable book. Excellent in detail and 
 execution, nothing better could be desired by the 
 practitioner. Dr. Flint enriches his subject with 
 much solid and not a little original observation. 
 Ranking' s Abstract, Jan. 1867. 
 
 FULLER (HENRY WILLIAM), M. D., 
 
 -*- Physician to St George's Hospital, London. 
 
 ON DISEASES OF THE LUNGS AND "AIR-PASSAGES. Their 
 
 Pathology, Physical Diagnosis, Symptoms, and Treatment. From the second and revised 
 English edition. In one handsome octavo volume of about 500 pages, extra cloth, $3 50. 
 Dr. Fuller's work on diseases of the chest was so accordingly we have what might be with perfect jus- 
 tice styled an entirely new work from his pen, the 
 portion of the work treating of the heart and great 
 vessels being excluded. Nevertheless, this volume is 
 of almost equal size with the first. London Medical 
 
 favorably received, that to many who did not know 
 the extent of his engagements, it was a matter of won- 
 der that it should be allowed to remain three years 
 out of print. Determined, however, to improve it, 
 
 Dr. Fuller would not consent to a mere reprint, and ! Times and Gatette, July 2C, 1867. 
 
 w 
 
 'ILLIAMS (C. J. B.), M.D., 
 
 Senior Consulting Physician to the Hospital for Consumption, Brompton, and 
 
 LLIAMS (CHARLES T.), M.D., 
 
 Physician to the Hospital for Consumption. 
 
 PULMONARY CONSUMPTION; Its Nature, Varieties, and Treat- 
 
 ment. With an Analysis of One Thousand cases to exemplify its duration. In one neat 
 octavo volume of about 350 pages, extra cloth. (Just Issued.) $2 50. 
 
 He can still speak from a more enormous experi- 
 ence, and a closer study of the morbid prod 
 volved iu tuberculosis, than .most living men. He 
 owed it to himself, and to the importance of the sub- 
 ject, to embody his views in a separate work, and 
 we are glad that he has accomplished this duty. 
 After all, the grand teaching which Dr Williams has 
 for the profession is to be found in his therapeutical 
 chapters, and in the history of individual cases ex- 
 tended, by dint of care, over ten, twenty, thirty, and 
 e\vu forty years. London Lancet, Oct. 21, ^71. 
 
 His results are more favorable than those of any 
 
 i previous author; but probably there is no malady, 
 j the treatment of which has been so much improved 
 I within the last twenty year.- a* pulmonary consump- 
 tion. To ourselves, Dr. Williams's chapters on Treat- 
 I ment are amongst the most valuable and attractivein 
 the book, and would alone render it a standard work 
 of reference. In conclusion, we would record our 
 opinion that Dr. Williarns's great reputation is fully 
 maintained by this book. It is undoubtedly one of 
 the most valuable works in the language upon any 
 special disease. Land. Med. Times and Gaz., Nov. 
 4, 1871. 
 
 LA ROCHE ON PNEUMONIA. 1 vol. Svo., extra SMITH ON CONSUMPTION; ITS EARLY ANDRE- 
 cloth, of 500 pages Price $3 00. MEDIABLE STAGES. 1 vol. 8vo., pp. 254. $2 25. 
 
 BUCKLER ON FIBRO-BRONCHITIS AND RHED 
 MATIC PNEUMONIA. 1 vol. Svo. ft) 25. 
 
 FISKE FUND PRIZE ESSAYS ON CONSUMPTION 
 
 1 vol 8vo,, extra cloth. $1 00. 
 
 WALSHE ON THE DISEASES OF THE HEART AND 
 GREAT VESSELS. Third American edition. ID 
 1 vol. Svo.. 420 pp., cloth. $3 00. 
 
18 HENRY C. LEA'S PUBLICATIONS (Practice of Medicine). 
 
 ROBERTS ( WILLIAM], M. D., 
 
 * ^ Lecturer on Medicine in the Manchester School of Medicine. &c. 
 
 A PRACTICAL TREATISE ON URINARY AND RENAL DIS- 
 
 EASES, including Urinary Deposits. Illustrated by numerous cases and engravings. Sec- 
 ond American, from the Second Revised and Enlarged London Edition. In one Inrge 
 and handsome octavo volume of 616 pages, with a colored plate ; extra cloth, $4 50. (Just 
 Issued.) 
 
 The author has subjected this work to a very thorough revision, and has sought to embody in 
 it the results of the latest experience and investigations. Although every effort has been made 
 to keep it within the limits of its former size, it has been enlarged by a hundred pages, many 
 new wood-cuts have been introduced, and also a colored plate representing the appearance of the 
 different varieties of urine, while the price has been retained at the former very moderate rate. 
 
 The plan, it will thus be seen, is very complete, 'diseases we have examined It is peculiarly adapted 
 an 1 the manner in which it lias been carried out is 
 in the highest degree satisfactory. The characters 
 of the different deposits are very well described, and 
 
 the microscopic appearances they present are illus- 
 trated by numerous well executed engravings. It 
 only remains to us to strongly recommend to our 
 readers Dr. Roberts's work, as confining an admira- 
 ble resume of the present state of knowledge of uri- 
 nary discuses, and as a safe and reliable guide to the 
 clinical observer. Edin. Med. Jnur. 
 
 The most complete and practical treatise upon renal 
 
 to the wants of the majority of American practition- 
 ers from its clearness and simple announcement of the 
 facts in relation to diagnosis and treatment of urinary 
 disorders, and contains in condensed form the investi- 
 gations of Bence Jones, Bird, Beale, Hassall. Prout, 
 and a host of other well-known writers upon this sub- 
 ject. The characters of urine, physiological and pa- 
 thological, as indicated to the naked eye as well as by 
 microscopical and chemical investigations, are con- 
 cisely represented both by description and by well 
 executed engravings. Cincinnati Journ. of Med. 
 
 DASHAM (W. R.}, M.D., 
 
 *-* Senior Physician to the Westminster Hospital, Ac. 
 
 REN AL DISEASES : a Clinical Guide to their Diagnosis and Treatment. 
 
 With illustrations. In one neat royal 12mo. volume of 304 pages. $2 00. 
 
 The chapters on diagnosis and treatment are very 
 good, and the student and young practitioner will 
 find them full of valuable practical hints. The third 
 part, on the urine, is excellent, and >we cordially 
 recommend its perusal. The author has arranged 
 his matter in a somewhat novel, and, we think, use- 
 ful form. Here everything can be easily found, and, 
 what is more important, easily read, for all the dry 
 
 details of larger books here acquire a new interest 
 from the author's arrangement. This part of the 
 book is full of good work. Brit, and For. Medico- 
 Vhirurgical Review, July, 1870. 
 
 The easy descriptions and compact modes of state- 
 ment render the book pleasing and convenient. Am. 
 Journ. Med. Sciences, July, 1S70. 
 
 TONES (C. HANDFIELD), M. D., 
 
 *J Physician to St. Mary's Hospital, &c. 
 
 CLINICAL OBSERVATIONS ON FUNCTIONAL NERVOUS 
 
 DISORDERS. Second American Edition. In one handsome octavo volume of 348 pages, 
 extra cloth, $3 25. 
 
 Taken as a whole, the work before us furnishes a 
 hort but reliable account of the pathology and treat- 
 ment of a class of very common but certainly highly 
 obscure disorders. The advanced student will find it 
 a rich mine of valuable facts, while the medical prac- 
 
 titioner will derive from it many a suggestive hint to 
 lid him in the diagnosis of "nervous cases," and in 
 determining the true indications for their ameliora- 
 tion or cure. Amer. Journ. Med. Sci., Jan. 1867. 
 
 T INCOLN (D. F.}. M.D., 
 
 -*-* Phwfatan to the Department of Nervous Diseases, Boston Dispensary. 
 
 ELECTRO THERAPEUTICS; 4 Concise Manual of Medical Electri- 
 
 city. In one very neat royal 12mo. volume, with Illustrations. 
 
 The chief aim cf the present volume has been the analysis of the principles which ought to 
 govern our use of Electricity. The portions describing the practical applications which have been 
 ma.de of it in various disorders, may be found incomplete, but it is hoped that enough has been 
 said to satisfy the needs of the general practitioner. PREFACE. 
 
 CHAPTER I. Physical Laws. II. Modes of Generating Electricity. III. Physiology TV. 
 Diagnosis. V. Methods of Applying Electricity. VI. Medical and Surgical Practice. VII. 
 Cautions. VIII. Apparatus. 
 
 gLADE (D. D.), M.D. 
 
 DIPHTHERIA; its Nature and Treatment, with an account of the His- 
 
 tory of its Prevalence in various Countries. 
 royal 12mo. volume, extra cloth. $1 25. 
 
 Second and revised edition. In one neat 
 
 TTUDSON (A.}, M. Z>., M. R. 1. A., 
 
 1-*- Physician to the Meath Hospital. 
 
 LECTURES ON THE STUDY OF FEVER. 
 
 Cloth, $2 50. 
 
 T YONS (ROBERT D.}, K. C. C. 
 A TREATISE ON FEVER. 
 
 cloth. $2 25. 
 
 In one vol. 8vo., extra 
 
 In one octavo volume of 362 pages ; 
 
HENRY C. LEA'S PUBLICATIONS (Venereal Diseases, etc.). 19 
 
 f>UMSTEAD (FREEMAN J.}, M.D., 
 
 JL) prnftiMtnr of Venereal Di*ea*es at the Col. of Phys and Surg., New York, Ac. 
 
 THE PATHOLOGY AND TREATMENT OF VENEREAL DIS- 
 EASES. Including the results of recent investigations upon the subject. Third edition, 
 revised and enlarged, with illustrations. In one large and handsome octavo volume of 
 over 700 pages, extra cloth, $5 00 ; leather, $fi 00. (Just Issued.) 
 
 In preparing this standard work again for the press, the author has subjected it to a very 
 thorough revision. Many portions have been rewritten, and much new matter added, in order to 
 bring it completely on a level with the most advanced condition of syphilograpby, but by careful 
 compression of the text of previous editions, the work has been increased by only sixty-four pages. 
 The labor thus bestowed upon it, it is hoped, will insure for it a continuance of its position as a 
 complete and trustworthy guide for the practitioner. 
 
 It is the most complete book with which we are ao much special commendation as if its predecessors had 
 quainted in the language. The latest views <>f the not been published. As a thoroughly practical book 
 best authorities are put forward, and the information on a class of diseases which form a large share of 
 is well arranged a great point for the student, and nearly every physician's practice, the volume before 
 
 still more for the practitioner. The subjects of vis- 
 c-M-al syphilis, syphilitic affection* of the eyes, and 
 the treatment of syphilis by repeated inoculations, are 
 very fully discussed. London Lano-t. Jan 7. 1871. 
 Dr. Bumstead's work is already so universally 
 
 us is by tar the best of which we have knowledge. 
 N. T. Medical Gazette, Jan. 28, 1871. 
 
 It is rare in the history of medicine to find any one 
 book which contains all that a practitioner needs to 
 know; while the possessor of "Bumstead on Vene- 
 
 known as the best treatise in the English language on real" has uo occasion to look outside of its covers for 
 
 venereal diseases, that it may seem almost -uperflu- anything practical connected with the diagnosis, his- 
 
 ous to say more of it than that a new edition has been tory, or treatment of these affections. A 1 ". Y Mnli<-al 
 
 issued. But the author's industry has rendered this Journal. March, 1871. 
 new edition virtually a new work, and so merits a< 
 
 CULLERIER (A.}, and 
 
 *S Surgeon to the Hdpital du Midi 
 
 f>OMSTEAD (FREEMAN J.]. 
 
 *-* Professor of Venereal Diseases in the College of 
 Physiciana and Surgeons. N. Y 
 
 AX ATLAS OF VENEREAL DISEASES. Translated and Edited by 
 
 FREEMAN J. BUMSTEAD. In one large imperial 4to. volume of 328 pages, double-columns, 
 with 2fi plates, containing about 150 figures, beautifully *olored, many of them the size of 
 life; strongly bound in extra cloth, $17 00; also, in five parts, stout wrappers for mailing, at 
 $3 per part. (Lately Published.) 
 
 Anticipating a very large sale for this work, it is offered at the very low price of THREE DOL- 
 LARS a Part, thus placing it within the reach of all who are interested in this department of prac- 
 tice. Gentlemen desiring early impressions of the plates would do well to order it without delay. 
 A specimen of the plates and text sent free by mail, on receipt of 25 cents. 
 
 which for its kind is more necessary for them to have. 
 -California Med. Gazette, March, 1869. 
 
 The most splendidly illustrated work in the lan- 
 guage, and in our opinion far more useful than the 
 
 We wish for once that our province was not restrict- 
 ed to methods of treatment, that we might say some- 
 thing of the exquisite colored plates in this volume. 
 London Practitioner, May, 1869. ^ ^^ ^ ^^ ^ 
 
 As a vhole, it teaches all that can be taught by French original. Am.Journ. Med. Sciences, Jan. '69. 
 means of plates and print. London Lancet, March j The fifth and couc i u ding number of this magnificent 
 
 work has reached us, and we have no hesitation in 
 
 Superior to anything of the kind ever before issued | saying that its illu>trations surpass those of previous 
 on this continent'. Canada Men. Journal, March, '69. numbers. Boston Med. and Surg. Journal, Jan. 14, 
 
 The practitioner who desires to understand this 1869. 
 branch of medicine thoroughly should obtain this, | Other writers besides M. Cullerier have given us a 
 
 the most complete and best work ever published. 
 ni,ti,n'n Med. Journal, May, 1869. 
 
 This is a work of master hands on both sides. M. 
 Cullerier is scarcely second to, we think we may truly 
 say is a peer of the illustrious and venerable Ricord, 
 
 good account of the diseases of which he treats, but 
 no one has furnished us with such a complete series 
 of illustrations of the venereal diseases. There i, 
 however, an additional interest and value posse 
 
 , 
 
 ssed 
 by the volume before us ; for it is an American reprint 
 
 while in this country we do not hesitate to say that land translation of M. Cullerier's work, with inci- 
 Dr. Bumstead, as an authority, is* without a rival | dental remarks by one of the most eminent American 
 Assuring our readers that these illustration* tell the syphi'ographers, Mr. Bumstend. Brit, and For. 
 whole history of venereal disease, from its inception Medico-Chir . Review, July, 1869. 
 to its end, we do not know a single medical work, 
 
 ffILL (BERKELEY], 
 
 Surgeon to the Lock Hospital, London. 
 
 ON SYPHILIS AND LOCAL CONTAGIOUS DISORDERS. 
 
 one handsome octavo volume ; extra cloth, $3 25. (Lately Published.) 
 
 Bringing, as it does, the entire literature of the dis- i to whom we would most earnestly recommend its 
 ease down to the present day, and giving with great study ; while it is no less useful to the practitioner. 
 ability the results of modern research, it is in every i St. Louis Med. and Surg. Journal, May. 1869. 
 respect a most desirable work, and one which should 
 find a place in the library of every surgeon. Cali- 
 fornia Med. Gazette, June, 1869. 
 
 Considering the scope of the book and the careful 
 
 attention to the manifold aspects and details of its 
 
 In 
 
 The most convenient and ready book of reference 
 we have met with. N. Y. Med. Record, May 1,1869. 
 
 Most admirably arranged for both student and prac- 
 titioner, no other work on the subject equals it ; it is 
 
 subject, it is wonderfully concise Allthese qualities , more simple, more easily studied. Buffalo Med. and 
 render it an especially valuable book to the beginner, Surg. Journal, March, 1S69. 
 
 7EISSL (//.), M.D. 
 
 ^A COMPLETE TREATISE OX VENEREAL DISEASES. Trans- 
 lated from the Second Enlarged Germiin Edition, by FREDEUIC R. STUKGIS, M.D In one 
 octavo volume, with illut-trations. (Preparing.) 
 
20 
 
 HENRY C. LEA'S PUBLICATIONS (Diseases of the Skin). 
 
 WILSON (ERASMUS], F.R.S. 
 
 ON DISEASES OF THE SKIN. With Illustrations on wood. Sev- 
 
 enth American, from the sixth and enlarged English edition. In one large octavo volume 
 of over 800 pages, $5. 
 
 A SERIES OF PLATES ILLUSTRATING "WILSON ON DIS- 
 EASES OF THE SKIN;" consisting of twenty beautifully executed plates, of which thir- 
 teen are exquisitely colored, presenting the Normal Anatomy and Pathology of the Skin, 
 and embracing accurate representations of about one hundred varieties of disease, most of 
 them the size of nature. Price, in extra cloth, $5 50. 
 
 Also, the Text and Plates, bound in one handsome volume. Extr|, cloth, $10. 
 
 and acceptable help. Mr. Wilson has long been held 
 as high authority in this department of medicine, and 
 his book on diseases of the skin has long been re- 
 garded as one of the best text-books extant on the 
 subject. The present edition is carefully prepared, 
 ind brought up in its revision to the present time In 
 ;his edition we have als<uncluded the beautiful series 
 of plates illustrative of the text, and in the last edi- 
 
 No one treating skin diseases should be without 
 a copy of this standard work. Canada Lancet. 
 
 We can safely recommend it to the profession as 
 the best work on the subject now in existence ir 
 the English language. Medical Times and Gazette 
 
 Mr. Wilson's volume is an excellent digest of tht 
 actual amount of knowledge of cutaneous diseases ; 
 it includes almost every fact or opinion of importance 
 connected with the anatomy and pathology of thf 
 skin. British and Foreign Medical Review. 
 
 Such a work as the one before us is a most capital 
 
 ion published separately. There are twenty of these 
 plates, nearly all of them colored to nature, and ex- 
 hibiting with great fidelity the various groups of 
 diseases. Gin nnnati Lancet. 
 
 Y THE SAME AUTHOR. 
 
 THE STUDENT'S BOOK OF CUTANEOUS MEDICINE and DIS- 
 EASES OF THE SKIN. In one very handsome royal 12mo. volume. $3 50. (Lately Issued.) 
 
 JtfELIGAN (J. MOORE], M.D., M.R.I. A. 
 
 A PRACTICAL TREATISE ON DISEASES OF THE SKIN. 
 
 Fifth American, from the second and enlarged Dublin edition by T. W. Belcher, M. D. 
 In one neat royal 12mo. volume of 462 pages, extra cloth. $2 25. 
 
 Fully equal to all the requirements of students and 
 young practitioners. Dublin Me.d. Press. 
 
 ;heir value justly estimated ; in a word, the work is 
 fully up to the times, and is thoroughly stocked with 
 
 Of the remainder of the work we have nothing be- j most valuable information. New York Med. Record, 
 
 yond unqualified commendation to offer. It is so far 
 the most complete one of its size that has appeared, 
 and for the student there can be none which can com- 
 pare with it in practical value. All the late disco- 
 veries in Dermatology have been duly noticed, and 
 Y THE SAME AUTHOR. 
 
 Jan - 15 ' 1867 - 
 
 The most convenient manual of diseases of the 
 skin that can be procureo by the student. Chicago 
 Med. Journal, Dec. 1866. 
 
 ATLAS OF CUTANEOUS DISEASES. In one beautiful quarto 
 
 volume, with exquisitely colored plates, Ac., presenting about one hundred varieties of 
 disease. Extra cloth, $5 50. 
 The diagnosis of eruptive disease, however, under I inclined to consider it a very superior work, corn- 
 
 all circumstances, is very difficult. Nevertheless, 
 Dr. Neligan has certainly, "as far as possible,' 1 given 
 a faithful and accurate representation of this class of 
 diseases, and there can be no doubt that these plates 
 will be of great use to the student and practitioner in 
 drawing a diagnosis as to the class, order, and species 
 to which the particular case may belong. While 
 looking over the "Atlas" we have been induced to 
 examine also the "Practical Treatise," and we are 
 
 bining accurate verbal description with sound views 
 of the pathology and treatment of eruptive diseases. 
 Glasgow Med. Journal. 
 
 A compend which will very much aid the practi- 
 tioner in this difficult branch of diagnosis Takoa 
 with the beautiful plates of the Atlas, which are 19- 
 ma.rkable for their accuracy and beauty of coloring, 
 it constitutes a very valuable addition to the library 
 of a practical man. Buffalo Med. Journal. 
 
 TJILLIER (THOMAS), M.D., 
 
 *-* Physician to the Skin Department of University College Hospital, &c. 
 
 HAND-BOOK OF SKIN DISEASES, for Students and Practitioners. 
 
 Second American Edition. In one royal 12mo. volume of 358 pp. "With Illustrations. 
 Extra cloth, $2 25. 
 
 We can conscientiously recommend it to the stu- 
 dent; the style is clear and pleasant to read, the 
 matter is good, and the descriptions of disease, with 
 the modes of treatment recommended, are frequently 
 illustrated with well-recorded cases. London Med. 
 Times and Gazette, April 1, 1865. 
 
 It is a concise, plain, practical treatise on the vari- 
 ous diseases of the skin ; just such a work, indeed, 
 as was much needed, both by medical students and 
 practitioners. Chicago Medical Examiner, May, 
 1865. 
 
 A NDERSON (McCALL], M.D., 
 
 -*-*- Physician to the Dispensary for Skin Diseases, Glasgow, &'C. 
 
 ON THE TREATMENT OF DISEASES OF THE SKIN. With an 
 
 Analysis of Eleven Thousand Consecutive Cases. In one vol. 8vo. $1. (Just Ready.) 
 
 GUERSANT'S SURGICAL DISEASES OF INFANTS DKWEES ON THE PHYSICAL AND MBnVAL 
 AND CHILDREN. Translated by R. J. DUXULI- TREATMENT OT? CHILD VW.N Eleventh edition. 
 SON, M.D. 1 vol. 8vo. Cloth, $2 50. 1 TO), ^o. of 548 pages. $2 80. 
 
HENRY C. LEA'S PUBLICATIONS (Diseases of Children}. 21 
 
 VMITH (J. LE WIS), M. D., 
 
 A--) Professor of Morbid Anatomy in the Bellevue Hospital Mf.d. College, N T. 
 
 A COMPLETE PRACTICAL TREATISE ON THE DISEASES OP 
 
 CHILDREN. Second Edition, revised and greatly enlarged. In one handsome octavo 
 volume of 742 pages, extra cloth, $5; leather, $6. (Just Issued.) 
 FROM THE PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION. 
 
 In presenting to the profession the second edition of his work, the author gratefully acknow- 
 ledges the favorable reception accorded to the first. He has endeavored to merit a continuance 
 of this approbation by rendering the volume much more complete than before. Nearly twenty 
 additional diseases have been treated of, among which may be named Diseases Incidental to 
 Birth, Rachitis, Tuberculosis, Scrofula, Intermittent, Remittent, and Typhoid Fevers, Chorea, 
 and the various forms of Paralysis. Many new formulae, which experience has shown to be 
 useful, have been introduced, portions of the text of a less practical nature have been con- 
 densed, and other portions, especially those relating to pathological histology, have been 
 rewritten to correspond with recent discoveries. Every effort has been made, however, to avoid 
 an undue enlargement of the volume, but, notwithstanding this, and an increase in the size of 
 the page, the number of pages has been enlarged by more than one hundred. 
 
 227 WEST 49TH STREET, NEW YORK, April, 1872. 
 
 The work will be found to contain nearly one-third more matter than the previous edition, and 
 it is confidently presented as in every respect worthy to be received as the standard American 
 text-book on the subject. 
 
 Eminently practical as well as judicious in its 
 teachings. Cincinnati Lancet and Obs., July, 1872. 
 
 A standard work that leaves little to be desired. 
 Indiana Journal of Medicine, July, 1872. 
 
 We know of no book on this subject that we can 
 more cordially recommend to the medical student 
 and thepractitioner. Cincinnati Clinic, June 29, '72. 
 
 We regard it as superior to any other single work 
 on the diseases of infancy and childhood. Detroit 
 Rev. of Med. and Pharmacy, Aug. 1^72. 
 
 We confess to increased enthusiasm in recommend- 
 ing this second edition. St Louis Med. and Surg. 
 Journal, Aug. 1872. 
 
 rtONDIE (D. FRANCIS], M.D. 
 
 ^ A PRACTICAL TREATISE ON THE DISEASES OF CHILDREN. 
 
 Sixth edition, revised and augmented. In one large octavo volume of nearly 800 closely- 
 printed pages, extra cloth, $5 25 ; leather, $6 25. (Lately Issued.) 
 
 The present edition, which is the sixth, is fully up I teachers. As a whole, however, the work is the best 
 to the time* in the discussion of all those points in the | American one that we have, and in its special adapta- 
 pathology and treatment of infantile diseases which tion to American practitioners it certainly has no 
 have been brought forward by the German and French | aqaal. New York Med. Record, March 2, 1868. 
 
 WEST (CHARLES), M.D., 
 
 Physician to the Hospital for Sick Children, Ac. 
 
 LECTURES ON THE DISEASES OF INFANCY AND CHILD- 
 
 HOOD. Fifth American from the sixth revised and enlarged English edition. In one large 
 and handsome octavo volume of 678 pages. Cloth. $4 50 ; leather, $5 50. (Just Ready.) 
 
 The continued demand for this work on both sides of the Atlantic, and its translation into Ger- 
 man, French, Italian, Danish, Dutch, and Russian, show that it fills satisfactorily a want exten- 
 sively felt by the profession. There is probably no man living who can speak with the authority 
 derived from a more extended experience than Dr. West, and his work now presents the results of 
 nearly 2000 recorded cases, and 600 post-mortem examinations selected from among nearly 40,000 
 cases which have passed under his care. In the preparation of the present edition he has omitted 
 much that appeared of minor importance, in order to find room for the introduction of additional 
 matter, and the volume, while thoroughly revised, is therefore not increased materially in size. 
 
 Of all the English writers on the diseases of chil- I living authorities in the difficult department of medl- 
 dren, there is no one so entirely satisfactory to us as | cal science in which he is most widely known. 
 Dr. West. For years we have held his opinion as Boston Med. and Surff. Journal. 
 judicial, and have regarded him as one of the highest | 
 
 fiY THE SAME AUTHOR. (Lately Issued.) 
 
 ON SOME DISORDERS OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM IN CHILD- 
 
 HOOD; being the Lumleian Lectures delivered at the Royal College of Physicians of Lon- 
 don, in March, 1871. In one volume, small 12mo., extra cloth, $1 00. 
 
 GMITH (EUSTACE), M. D., 
 
 Physician to the Northwest London Free Dispensary for Sick Children. 
 
 A PRACTICAL TREATISE ON THE WASTING DISEASES OF 
 
 INFANCY AND CHILDHOOD. Second American, from the second revised and enlarged 
 English edition. In one handsome octavo volume, extra cloth, $2 50. (Lately Itsued.) 
 This is in every way an admirable book. The | scribed as a practical handbook of the common dis- 
 modest title which the author has chosen forit scarce- eases of children, so numerous are the affections con- 
 ly conveys an adequate idea of the many tubjects I sidered either collaterally or directly We are 
 upon which it treats. Wasting is so constant an at- | acquainted with no safer guide to the treatment of 
 tendant upon the maladies of childhood, that a trea- I children's diseases, and few works give the insight 
 tise upon the wasting diseases of children must neces \ into the physiological and other peculiarities of chil- 
 sariiy embrace the consideration of mauy H flections dren that Dr. Smith's book does. Brit. Med.Journ., 
 of which it is a symptom ; and this is excellently well I April 8, 1871. 
 done by Dr. Smith. The book might fairly be de- | 
 
22 HENRY C. LEA'S PUBLICATIONS (Diseases of Women). 
 
 T 
 
 HE OBSTETRICAL JOURNAL, 
 
 THE OBSTETRICAL JOURNAL of Great Britain and Ireland; 
 Including MIDWIFERY, nnd the DISEASES OF WOMEN AND INFANTS. With an American 
 Supplement, edited by WILLIAM F. JKNKS, M.D. A monthly of about 80 octavo page?, 
 very handsomely printed. Subscription, Five Dollars per annum. Single Numbers, 50 
 cents each. 
 
 Commencing with April, 1873, the Obstetrical Journal consists of Original Papers by Brit- 
 ish and Foreign Contributors ; Transactions of the Obstetrical Societies in England and abroad ; 
 Reports of Hospital Practice; Reviews and Bibliographical Notices; Articles and Notes, Edito- 
 rial, Historical, Forensic, and Miscellaneous; Selections from Journals; Correspondence, <fec. 
 Collecting together the vast amount of material daily accumulating in this important and ra- 
 pidly improving department of medical science, the value of the information which it pre- 
 sents to the subscriber may be estimated from the character of the gentlemen who have already 
 promised their support, including such names as those of Drs. ATTHILL, ROBEKT BARNES, HENRY 
 BENNET, THOMAS CHAMBERS, FLEKTWOOD CHURCHILL, MATTHEWS DUNCAN, GRAILY HEWITT, 
 BRAXTON HICKS, ALFRED MEADOWS, W. LEISHMAN, ALEX. SIMPSON, TYLER SMITH, EDWARD J. 
 TILT, SPENCER WELLS, &c. &c. ; in short, the representative men of British Obstetrics and Gynae- 
 cology. 
 
 In order to render the OBSTETRICAL JOURNAL fully adequate to the wants of the American 
 profession, each number contains a Supplement devoted to the advances made in Obstetrics and 
 Gynaecology on this side of the Atlantic. This portion of the Journal is under the editorial 
 charge of Dr. WILLIAM F. JENKS, to whom editorial communications, exchanges, books for re- 
 view, &c., may be addressed, to the care of the publisher. 
 
 *,: * Complete sets from the beginning can no longer be furnished, but subscriptions can com- 
 mence with January, 1874, or with Vol. II., April, 1874. 
 
 ^THOMAS (T.GAILLARD},M.D., 
 
 *- Professor of Obstetrics, &c., in the. College of Physicians and Siirgeongj N. T., &c. 
 
 A PRACTICAL TREATISE ON THE DISEASES OF WOMEN. Third 
 
 edition, enlarged and thoroughly revised. In one large and handsome octavo volume of 
 784 pages, with 246 illustrations" Cloth, $5 00; leather, $6 00. (Lately Issued.) 
 The author has taken advantage of the opportunity afforded by the call for another edition of 
 this work to render it worthy a continuance of the very remarkable favor with which it has been 
 received. Every portion has been subjected to a conscientious revision, several new chapters 
 have been added, and no labor spared to make it a complete treatise on the most advanced con- 
 dition of its important subject. The present edition therefore contains about one-third more 
 matter than the previous one, notwithstanding which the price has been maintained at the former 
 very moderate rate, rendering this one of the cheapest volumes accessible to the profession. 
 
 As compared with the first edition, flve new chap- We are free to say that we regard Dr. Thomas the 
 ters on dysmenorrhcea, peri-uterine fluid tumors, ' best American authority on diseases of women. Seve- 
 cornposite tumors of the ovary, solid tumors of the ral others have written, and written well, but none 
 ovary, and chlorosis, have been added. Twenty- j have so clearly an') carefully arranged their text and 
 seven additional woodcuts have beeu introduced, instruction as Dr. Thomas. Cincinnati Lancet and 
 many subjects have been subdivided, and all have Observer, May, 1872. 
 
 received important interstitial increase In fact; the We deem it 8carc ely necessary to recommend this 
 
 : has been practically rewritten, and greatly in- work to physicians as it is now widely known, and 
 
 creased lu value Briefly, we may say that we know mos( of them H i rea dy possess it, or will certainly do 
 
 no book which so completely and concisely repre- so To stm ] e nts we unhesitatingly recommend it as 
 
 sents he present state of gynaecology ; none so full the best text-book on diseases of females extant.-^. 
 
 ell-digested and reliable teaching; none which Lnuif Med p epnr ler, June. 1869. 
 
 bespeaks an author more apt in research and abun- , ,. 
 
 dant in resources. 2V Y Med Record May 1, 1872 Of a11 th<? "my of books that have appeared of late 
 
 w ,.,.,,. years, on the diseasesof the uterus and itsappendages, 
 
 We should not be doing oar duty to the profession we know of none that is so clear, comprehensive, and 
 did we not tell those who are unacquainted with the practical as this of Dr. Thomas', or one that we should 
 book how much it is valued by gynecologists, and v .mticallv recommend to the voung practi- 
 
 how it is in many respects one of the best text-books . ' ' h - ^ _ Cu Ufornia Med. Gazette, June, 
 on the subject we possess in our language. We have , S69 ' 
 no hesitation in recommending Dr. Thomas's work as 
 
 one of the most complete of its kind ever published. If not the best work extaQt or j the subject of which 
 It should be in the possession of every practitioner it treats, it is certainly second to none other, ho 
 for reference and for study.- London Lancet, April f hort time ha8 elapsed since the medical press 
 27, 1872. teemed with commendatory notices of the nrst edition, 
 
 that it would be superfluous to give an ex'tended re- 
 
 Our author is not one of those whose views "never piew of what is uow nrr nlv established as the American 
 change." On the contrary, they have been modified tex t-book of Gynaecology. N. . Med. Gazette, July 
 in many particulars to accord with theprogressma.de 17 jggg 
 in this department of medical science: hence it has the ' 
 
 fresh aess of an entirely new work. No general prac- This is a new and revised edition of a work which 
 ticioner can afford to be without it. St. Louis Med. \ we recently noticed at some length, and earnestly 
 and Surg Journal, May, 1S72. commended to the favorable attention of our readers. 
 
 The tact that, in the short space of one year, this 
 
 Its able author need not fear comparison between second edition makes its appearance, shows that the 
 it and any similar work in the English language ; ?eneral judgment of the profession has largely con- 
 nay more, as a text-book for students and as a guide flrmed the opinion we gave afthat time.- Cincinnati 
 f>r practitioners, we believe it is unequalled. In the ane( # Aug 1869. 
 libraries of reading physicians we meet with it 
 
 of ener than any other treatise on diseases of women. I It is so short a time since we gave a full review of 
 We conclude our brief review by repeating the hearty the first edition of this book, that we deem it only 
 commendation of tMs volume gi^en when we com- necessary uow to call attention to the second appear- 
 menced : if either student or practitioner 'an get but ance of the work. Its success has been remarkable, 
 one book on diseases of women tha.- book should be and we can only congratulate the author on the 
 "Thomas." Arntr. Jour. Med. Sciences, April, *>rillvant reception his book has received. N. Y. Med. 
 1872. i Journal, April, 1869. 
 
HENRY C. LEA'S PUBLICATIONS (Diseases of Women}. 
 
 TTODGE (HUGH L.}, M.D., 
 
 *-* Emeritus Professor of OkxMrics, &c., in the University of Pennsylvania. 
 
 ON DISEASES PECULIAR TO WOMEN; including Displacements 
 
 of the Uterus. With original illustrations. Second edition, revised and enlarged. In 
 one beautifully printed octavo volume of 531 pages, extra cloth. $4 50. (Lately Issued.) 
 
 hat which speaks of the mechanical treatment of dis- 
 placements of that organ. He is disposed, as a non- 
 eliever in the frequency of inflammations of the 
 uterus, to take strong ground against many of the 
 highest authorities in this branch of medicine, and 
 
 From PROF. W. H. BYFORD, of the Rush Medical 
 
 College, Chicngo. 
 
 The book bears the impress of a master hand, and 
 oiust, as its predecessor, prove acceptable to the pro- 
 In diseases of women Dr. Hodge has estab- 
 
 lished a school of treatment that has become world- 
 wide in fame. 
 
 Professor Hodge's work Is truly an original one 
 from beginning to end, consequently no one can pe- 
 ruse its pages without learning something new. The 
 book, which is by no means a large one, is divided into 
 two grand sections, so to speak : first, that treating of 
 
 *peal 
 f the 
 
 the nervous sympathies of the uterus, and, secondly, 
 
 the arguments which he offers in support of his posi- 
 tion are, to say the least, well put. Numerous wood- 
 cuts adorn this portion of the work, and add incalcu- 
 lably to the proper appreciation of the variously 
 shaped instruments referred to by our author. As a 
 contribution to the study of women's diseases, it is of 
 great value, and is abundantly able to stand on its 
 own merits.^. Y. Medical Record, Sept. 15, 1868. 
 
 WEST (CHARLES], M.D. 
 
 LECTURES ON THE DISEASES OF WOMEN. Third American, 
 
 from the Third London edition. In one neat octavo volume of about 550 pages, extra 
 cloth, $3 75 ; leather, $4 75. 
 
 As a writer, Dr. West staua, m our opinion, se- seeking truth, and one that will convince the student 
 cond only to Watson, the " Maraulay of Medicine;' that he has committed himself to a candid, safe, aad 
 
 valuable guide. N. A. Med.-Ghirurg Review. 
 We have to say of it, briefly and decidedly, that it 
 
 'Macaulay of Medicine 
 
 he possesses that happy faculty of clothing instrnc 
 tion in easy garments; combining pleasure with 
 
 profit, he leads his pupils, in spite of the ancient pro- - - 
 
 verb, aluug a ruya i rort(1 to learning. His work is one is the best work ou the subject in any language, and 
 which will not satisfy the extreme on either side, but * hat it stamps Dr. West as the facile pnncepa of 
 it is one that will please the great majority who arf British obstetric authors. Edinburgh Med. Journal. 
 
 T>ARNES (ROBERT], M. D., F.R.C.P., 
 
 -I-* Obstetric Physician to St. Thomas' x Hospital, &c. 
 
 A CLINICAL EXPOSITION OF THE MEDICAL AND SURGI- 
 CAL DISEASES OF WOMEN. In OTIP handsome octavo ^olume of about 800 pages, with 
 169 illustrptions. Cloth. $5 00; leather, $6 00. (Just R?ady.^ 
 
 The very complete scope of this volume and the manner in which it has been filled out, may 
 be seen by the subjoined Summary of Contents. 
 
 INTRODUCTION. CHAPTER I. Ovaries ; Corpus Luteum. II. Fallopian Tubes. III. Shape of 
 Uterine Cavity. IV. Structure of Uterus. V. The Vagina. VI. Examinations and Diagnosis. 
 VII. Significance of Leucorrhoea. VIII. Discharges of Air. IX. Watery Discharges. X. Puru- 
 lent Discharges. XI. Hemorrbagic Discharges. XII Significance of Pain. XIII. Significance 
 of Dyspareunia. XIV. Significance of Sterility. XV. Instrumental Diagnosis and Treatment. 
 XVI. Diagnosis by the Touch, the Sound, the Speculum. XVII. Menstruation and its Disor- 
 ders. XVIII. Amenorrhoea. XIX. Amenorrhcea (continued). XX. Dysmenorrhosa. XXI. 
 Ovarian Dysmenorrhopa. Ac. XXII. Inflammatory Dysmenorrhoea. XXIII Irregularities of 
 Change of Life. XXIV. Relations between Menstruation and Diseases. XXV. Disorders of Oid 
 Age. XXVI. Ovary, Absence and Hernia of. XXVII. Ovary, Hemorrhage, Ac., of. XXVIII. 
 Ovary, Tubercle. Cancer, Ac, of. XXIX. Ovarian Cystic Tumors. XXX. Dermoid Cysts of 
 Ovary. XXXI. Ovarian Tumors, Prognosis of. XXXII. Diagnosis of Ovarian Tumors. XXXIII. 
 Ovarian Cysts, Treatment of. XXXIV. Fallopian Tubes. Diseases of. XXXV. Broad Liga- 
 ments, Diseases of. XXXVI. Extra-uterine Gestation. XXXVII. Special Pathology of Ute- 
 rus. XXXVIII General Uterine Pathology. XXXIX Alterations of Blood Supply. XL. 
 Metrifis. Endotnetritis, Ac. XLI. Pelvic Cellulitis and Peritonitis, Ac. XLII Haematocele, Ac. 
 XLIII. Displacements of Uterus. XLIV. Displacements (continued). XLV. Retroversion and 
 Ketroflexion. XLVI. Inversion. XLVII. Uterine Tumors. XLVIII. Polypus Uteri. XLIX. 
 Polypus Uteri (continued). L. Cancer. LI. Diseases of Vagina. LII. Diseases of the Vulva. 
 
 Embodyingthelongexperience and personal obser- 
 vation of one of the greatest of living teachers in dis- 
 eases of women, it seems pervaded by the presence 
 of the author, who speaks directly to the reader, and 
 speaks, too. as one having authority. And yet, not- 
 withstanding this distinct personality, there is noth- 
 ing narrow as to time, place, or individuals, in the 
 views presented, and in the instructions given; Dr. 
 Harnes lias been an attentive student, not only of Eu- 
 ropean, but also of American lite "ature, pertaining to 
 diseases of females, and enriched his own experience 
 by treasures thence gathered ; he seems as familiar, 
 for example, with the writings of Sims, Emmet, Tho- 
 
 mas, and Peaslee, as if these eminent men were his 
 countrymen and colleagues, and gives them a credit 
 which must be gratifying to every American physi- 
 cian. Am Journ. Med. 8ci , April, 1874. 
 
 Throughout the whole book it is impossible not to 
 feel that the author has spontaneously, con-cienttous- 
 ly, and fearlessly performed bis task. He goes direct 
 to the point, and does not loiter on the way t> i;i>--ip 
 or quarrel with other authors. Dr. Barnes's book 
 will be eagerly read all over the world, and will 
 everywhere be admired for its comprehensiveness, 
 honesty of purpose, and ability The Ohntet. Journ. 
 nf (frtat Hri'nhi nnd Ireland, March, 1874. 
 
 OHTTRCHILL ON THE PUERPERAL FEVRR AND 
 OTHER DISEASES PECULIAR TO WOMEN. 1 vol. 
 8vo., pp. 450, extra cloth. $2 50. 
 
 DEWEES'S TREATISE ON THE DISEASES OF FE- 
 MALES. With illustrations. Eleventh Edition 
 with the Author's last improvements and correc 
 lions. In one octavo volume of 536 pages, with 
 plates, extra cloth. #300. 
 
 WEST'S ENQUIRY INTO THE PATHOLOGICAL 
 IMI-OKTAXfE OF ULCEKATION OF THE OS 
 UTERI. 1 vol. Svo., extra cloth. $1^. 
 
 ON WOMAN: HER DISEASES AND THEIR 
 
 REMEDIES A Series of Lectures to his Class. 
 
 Fourth and Improved Edition. 1 vol. Svo., over 
 
 700 pages, extra cloth, *"> 00 ; leather, *6 00. 
 MEIGS ON THE NATURE, SIGNS, AND TREAT- 
 
 MENT OF CHILDBED FEVER. 1 vol. 8vo., pp. 
 
 385, extra cloth. *2 00. 
 ASHWELL'S PRACTICAL TREATISE ON THE DIS- 
 
 EASES 1'ECI'LIAR TO WOMEN. Third American, 
 
 from the Third and revised London edition. 1vol. 
 
 8vo., pp. 528, extra cloih. $3 50. 
 
24 
 
 HENRY C. LEA'S PUBLICATIONS (Midwifery}. 
 
 fTODGE (HUGH L.}, M.D., 
 
 *-* Emeritus Professor of Midwifery, &c , in the University of Pennsylvania, &c. 
 
 THE PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OF OBSTETRICS. Illus- 
 
 trated with large lithographic plates containing one hundred and fifty-nine figures from 
 original photographs, and with numerous wood- cuts. In one large and beautifully printed 
 quarto volume of 550 double-columned pages, strongly bound in extra cloth, $14. 
 The work of Dr. Hodge is something more than aj We have examined Professor Hodge's work with 
 simple presentation of his particular views in the de- [ great satisfaction; every topic is elaborated most 
 partment of Obstetrics; it is something more than an i fully. The views of the author are comprehensive, 
 ordinary treatise on midwifery; it is, in fact, a cyclo-'and concisely stated. The rules of practice are judi- 
 
 ptsdia of midwifery. He has aimed to embody in a 
 single volume the whole science and art of Obstetrics. 
 An elaborate text is combined with accurate and va- 
 ried pictorial illustrations, so that no fact or principle 
 is left unstated or unexplained. Am. Med. Times, 
 Sept. 3, 1864. 
 
 We should like to analyze the remainder of this 
 
 cious, and will enable the practitioner to meet every 
 emergency of obstetric complication with confidence 
 Chicago Med. Journal, Aug. 1864. 
 
 More time than we have had at our disposal since 
 we received the great work of Dr. Hodge is necessary 
 to do it justice. It is undoubtedly by far the most 
 
 ;ne remaina ji uu original complete, and carefully composed treatise 
 
 excellent work, but already has this review extended OQ he Viaciples and tice of Obstetrics which has 
 beyond our limited space. . We caa ,? otC 2 ucl l lde A h 1 1S ever been issued from the American press.-Paci/Zc 
 
 aotice without referring to the excellent finish of the 
 work. In typography it is not to be excelled ; the 
 paper is superior to what is usually afforded by our 
 American cousins, quite equal to the best of English 
 books. The engravings and lithographs are most 
 beautifully executed. The work recommends itself 
 for its originality, and is in every way a most valu- 
 able addition to those on the subject of obstetrics. 
 Canada Med. Journal, Oct. 1864 
 
 It is very large, profusely and elegantly illustrated, 
 and is fitted to take its place near the works of great 
 obstetricians. Of the American works on the subject 
 
 Med. and Surg. Journal, July, 1864. 
 
 We have read Dr. Hodge's book with great plea- 
 sure, ad have much satisfaction in expressing onr 
 commendation of it as a whole. It is certainly highly 
 instructive, and in the main, we believe, correct. The 
 great attention which the author has devoted to the 
 mechanism of parturition, taken along with the con- 
 clusions at which he has arrived, point, we think, 
 conclusively to the fact that, in Britain at least, the 
 doctrines of Naegele have been too blindly received. 
 Glasgow Med. Journal, Oct. 1864. 
 
 it is decidedly the best. Edinb. Med. Jour., Dec. '64. 
 
 #*# Specimens of the plates and letter-press will be forwarded to any address, free by mail, 
 en receipt of six cents in postage stamps. 
 
 JIANNER (THOMAS H.), M. D. 
 ON THE SIGNS AND DISEASES OF PREGNANCY. First, American 
 
 from the Second and Enlarged English Edition. With four colored plates and illustrations 
 In one handsome octa,vo volume of about 500 pages, extra cloth, $4 25. 
 
 on wood. 
 
 The very thorough revision the work has undergone 
 has added greatly to its practical value, and increased 
 materially its efficiency as a guide to the student and 
 to the young practitioner. Am. Journ. Med. Sci., 
 April, 1868. 
 
 With the immense variety of subjects treated of 
 and the ground which they are made to cover, the im- 
 possibility of giving an extended review of this truly 
 remarkable work must be apparent. We have not a 
 single fault to find with it, and most heartily com- 
 mend it to the careful study of every physician who 
 would not only always be sure of his diagnosis of 
 
 pregnancy, but always ready to treat all the nume- 
 rous ailments that are, unfortunately for the civilized 
 women of to-day, so commonly associated with the 
 function. AT. T. Med. Record, March 16 1868. 
 
 We recommend obstetrical students, young and 
 old, to hav< this volume in their collections. It con 
 tains not onlj a fair statement of the signs, symptoms, 
 and disease* of pregnancy, but comprises in addition 
 much interesting relative matter that is not to be 
 found in anj other work that we can name. Edin- 
 burgh Med Journal, Jan. 186S. 
 
 &WAYN (JOSEPH GRIFFITHS], M. D., 
 
 ^ Physician-Accoucheur to the British General Hospital, &c. 
 
 OBSTETRIC APHORISMS FOR THE USE OF STUDENTS COM- 
 MENCING MIDWIFERY PRACTICE. Second American, from the Fifth and Revised 
 . London Edition, with Additions by E. R. HOTCHINS, M. D. With Illustrations. In one 
 
 neat 12mo. volume. Extra cloth, $1 25. (Now Ready.) 
 
 * ; * See p. 3 of this Catalogue for the terms on which this work is offered as a premium to 
 subscribers to the "AMERICAN JOURNAL OP THE MEDICAL SCIENCES." 
 
 it is really a capital little compendium of the sub- answers the purpose. It is not only valuable- for 
 ject, and we recommend young practitioners to buy i t young beginners, but no one who is not a proficient 
 and carry it with them when called to attend cases of in the art of obstetrics should be without it, because 
 
 labor. They can while away the otherwise tedious 
 hours of waiting, and thoroughly fix in their memo- 
 ries the most important practical suggestions it con- 
 tains. The American editor has materially added by 
 his notes and the concluding chapters to the com- 
 pleteness and general value of the book. Chicago 
 Med. Journal, Feb. 1870. 
 
 The manual before us containsin exceedingly small 
 compass small enough to carry in the pocket about 
 all (here is of obstetrics, condensed into a nutshell of 
 Aphorisms. The illustrations are well selected, and 
 serve as excellent reminders of the conduct of labor 
 regular and difficult. Cincinnati Lancet, April, '70. 
 
 f>ii i a a most admirable little work, and completely 
 
 it condenses all that is necessary to know for ordi- 
 nary midwifery practice. We commend the bo<ik 
 most favorably. St. Louis Med. and Surg. Journal, 
 Sept. 10, 1870. 
 
 A studied perusal of this little book has satisfied 
 us of its eminently practical value. The object of the 
 work, the author says, in his preface, is to give the 
 student a few brief and practical directions respect- 
 ing the management of ordinary cases of labor ; and 
 also to point out to him in extraordinary cases when 
 and how he may act upon his own responsibility, and 
 when he ought to send for assistance. N. Y. Medical 
 Journal, May, 1870. 
 
 }\ 
 
 TINCKEL 
 
 Professor and Director of the Gynaecological Clinic in the University of Rostock. 
 
 A COMPLETE TREATISE ON THE PATHOLOGY AND TREAT- 
 MENT OF CHILDBED, for Students and Practitioners. Translated, with the consent of 
 the author, from the Second German Edition, by JAMES READ CHADWICK, M D. In one 
 octavo volume. (Preparing.) 
 
HENRY C. LEA'S PUBLICATIONS (Midwifery). 
 
 25 
 
 T EISHMAN (WILLIAM], M.D., 
 
 Rrr/ius Professor of Mitltrifrry in the Univerfd f y of Glasgow, &c. 
 
 A SYSTEM OF MIDWIFERY, INCLUDING THE DISEASES OF 
 
 PREGNANCY AND THE PUERPERAL STATE. In one large and very handsome no- 
 tavo volume of over 700 pages, with one hundred and eighty-two illustrations. Cloth, 
 $5 00 ; leather, $6 00. (Now Ready.) 
 
 This is one of a most complete aud exhaustive cha- 
 ractiM-. We have gone carefully through it, 'and there 
 is no subject in Obstetrics which has not been con- 
 siil.Mvi well and fully. The result is a work, not 
 only admirable as a text-book, hut valuableas a work 
 of reference to the practitioner in the various emer- 
 gencies of obstetric practice. Take it all in all, we 
 have uo hesitation in saying that it is in our judgment 
 the best English work ou the subject. London Lan- 
 c<-t, Aug. 23, 1873. 
 
 The work of Leishman gives an excellent view of 
 modern midwifery, and evinces its aulhor's extensive 
 acquaintance with British and foreign literature ; and 
 not only acquaintance with it, but wholesome diges- 
 tion mid souud judgment of it. He has, withal, a 
 manly, free style, and can state a difficult and compli- 
 cated matter with remarkable clearness and brevity. 
 Mdin. Mni. Journ., Sept. 1873. 
 
 The author has succeeded in presenting to the pro- 
 fession au admirable treatise, especially in its practi- 
 cal aspects ; one which is, in general, clearly written, 
 and sound in doctrine, and one which cannot fail to 
 add to his already high reputation. In concluding 
 our examination of this work, we cannot avoid again 
 saying that Dr. Leishman has fully accomplished 
 that difficult task of presenting a good text-book upon 
 obstetrics We know none better for the use of the stu- 
 dent or junior practitioner. Am. Practitioner, Mar. 
 K-74. 
 
 It proposes to offer to practitioners and students 
 
 i "A Complete System of the Midwifery of the Present 
 Day," and well redeems the promise. In all that 
 ! relates to the subject of labor, the teaching in admi- 
 : rably clear, concise, aud practical, representing not 
 ! alone British practice, but the contributions of 'Con- 
 tinental and American schools. ^V. Y. Mtd. Rtcr>i, 
 \ March 2, 1S74. 
 
 The work of Dr. Leishman is, in many respects, 
 not only the best treatise on midwifery that we h:ve 
 seen, but one of the best treatises on any medical sub- 
 ject that has been published of late years. Lund. 
 Practitioner, Feb. 1874. 
 
 It was written to supply a desideratum, and we will 
 i be much surprised if it does not fulfil the purpose of 
 its author. Taking it as a whole, we know of no 
 work on obstetrics by an English author in which tl.e 
 student aud the practitioner will find the information 
 so clear and so completely abreast of the present state 
 of our knowledge on the subject. Glasgow Med. 
 Journ., Aug. 1S73. 
 
 Dr. Leishman's System of Midwifery, which has 
 only just been published, will go far to supply the 
 want which has so long been felt, of a really good 
 modern English text-book. Although large, as is in- 
 evitable in a work on so exten>ive a subject, it is so 
 well and clearly written, that it is never wearisome 
 to read. Dr. Leishman's work may be confidently 
 recommended as an admirable text-book, aud is sure 
 to be largely used. Land. Mtd. Record, Sept. 1S73. 
 
 ffAMSBOTHAM (FRANCIS H.), M.D. 
 
 THE PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OF OBSTETRIC MEDI- 
 
 CINE AND SURGERY, in reference to the Process of Parturition. A new and enlarged 
 edition, thoroughly revised by the author. With additions by W. V. KEATING, M. D., 
 Professor of Obstetrics, Ac., in the Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia. In one large 
 and handsome imperial octavo volume of 650 pages, strongly bound in leather, with raised 
 bands ; with sixty-four beautiful plates, and numerous wood-cuts in the text, containing in 
 all nearly 200 large and beautiful figures. $7 00. 
 
 We will only add that the student will learn from 
 It all he need to know, and the practitioner will find 
 It, as a book of reference, surpassed by none other. 
 
 | To the physician's library It is indispensable, while 
 to the student, as a text-book, from which to extract 
 | the material for laying the foundation of an education 
 on obstetrical science, it has no superior. Ohio Med. 
 The character and merits of Dr. Ramsbotham's i and Surg. Journal. 
 
 work are so well known and thoroughly established, i When we call to mind the toil we underwent in 
 that comment is unnecessary and praise superfluous, acquiring a knowledge of this subject, we cannot but 
 The illustrations, which are numerous and accurate, envy the student of the present day the aid which 
 are executed in the highest style of art. We cannot I this work will afford him. Am. Jour, of the Med. 
 too highly recommend the work to our readers. St. Sciences. 
 Louis Mtd. and Surg. Journal. 
 
 (JHURCHILL (FLEETWOOD], M.D., M.R.I. A. 
 
 ON THE THEORY AND PRACTICE OF MIDWIFERY. A new 
 
 American from the fourth revised and enlarged London edition. With notes and addition s 
 by D. FRANCIS CONDI E, M. D., author of a "Practical Treatise on the Diseases of Chil- 
 dren," Ac. With one hundred and ninety-four illustrations. In one very handsome octavo 
 volume of nearly 700 large pages. Extra cloth, $4 00; leather, $5 00. 
 
 These additions render the work still more com- 
 plete and acceptable than ever; and we can com- 
 mend it to the profession with great cordiality and 
 pleasure. Gin dnnati Lancet 
 
 Few work? on this branch of medical science are 
 equal to it, certainly none excel it, whether in regard 
 to theory or practice Brit. Am. Journal. 
 
 No treatise on obstetrics with which we are ac- 
 
 quainted can compare favorably with this, in re- 
 spect to the amount of material which has beer gath- 
 ered from every source. Boston Med. and Surg, 
 
 Journa . 
 
 There is no better text-book for students, or work 
 of reference and study for the practising physician 
 than this. It should adorn and enrich every medical 
 library. Chicago Med. Journal. 
 
 MONTGOMERY'S EXPOSITION OF THE 
 
 AND SYMPTOMS OF FRKUXANCY. With two 
 exquisite colored plates, and numerous wood cuts. 
 In 1 vol. Svo., of nearly 600 pp., extra cloth. *'.'> 7.~>. 
 
 RiuHY b SYSTEM OF MIDWIFERY. With Notes 
 and Additional Illustrations. Second American 
 
 edition. One volume octavo, extra cloth, 422 pages 
 %250. 
 
 DEWEES'S COMPREHENSIVE SYSTEM OP MID- 
 WIFERY. Twelfth edition, with the author's latt 
 improvements and corrections. In one octavo vol- 
 ume, extra cloth, of 600 pages. $3 50. 
 
26 
 
 HENRY C. LEA'S PUBLICATIONS (Surgery). 
 
 fIROSS (SAMUEL />.), M.D., 
 
 ^-* Professor of Surgery in the Jefferson Medical College of Philadelphia. 
 
 A SYSTEM OF SURGERY: Pathological, Diagnostic, Therapeutic, 
 
 and Operative. Illustrated by upwards of Fourteen Hundred Engravings. Fifth edition, 
 carefully revised, and improved. In two large and beautifully printed imperial octavo vol- 
 umes of about 2300 pages, strongly bound in leather, with raised bands, $15. (Just Ready.) 
 The continued favor, shown by the exhaustion of successive large editions of this great work, 
 proves that it has successfully supplied a want felt by American practitioners and students. In the 
 present revision no pains have been spared by the author to bring it in every respect fully up to 
 the day. To effect this a large part of the work has been rewritten, and the whole enlarged by 
 nearly one-fourth, notwithstanding which the price has been kept at its former very moderate 
 rate. By the use of a close, though very legible type, an unusually large amount ol matter is 
 condensed in its pages, the two volumes containing as much as four or five ordinary octavos. 
 This, combined with the most careful mechanical execution, and its very durable binding, renders 
 it one of the cheapest works accessible to the profession. Every subject properly belonging to the 
 domain of surgery is treated in detail, so that the student who possesses this work may be aaid to 
 have in it a surgical library. 
 
 It must long remain the most comprehensive work ( hesitation in pronouncing it without a rival in our 
 
 on this important part of medicine. Boston Medical 
 and Surgical Journal, March 23, 1865. 
 
 We have compared it with most of our standard 
 works, such as those of Erichsen, Miller, Feigusson, 
 S}iue, and others, and we must, in justice to our 
 author, award it the pre-eminence. As a work, com- 
 plete in almost every detail, no matter how minute 
 or trifling, and embracing every subject known in 
 the principles and practice of surgery, we believe it 
 stands without a rival. Dr. Gross, in his preface, re- 
 marks "my aim has been to embrace the whole do- 
 main of surgery, and to allot to every subject its 
 legitimate claim to notice;" and, we assure our 
 readers, he has kept his word. It is a work which 
 we can most confidently recommend to our brethren, 
 for its utility is becoming the more evident the longer 
 It is upon the shelves of our library. Canada Med. 
 Journal, September, 1865. 
 
 The first two editions of Professor Gross' System of 
 Surgery are so well known to the profession, and so 
 highly prized, that it would be idle for us to speak in 
 praise of this work. Chicago Medical Journal, 
 September, 1865. 
 
 We gladly indorse the favorable recommendation 
 of the work, both as regards matter and style, which 
 we made when noticing its first appearance. British 
 and Foreign Medico- Chirurgical Review, Oct. 1865. 
 
 The most complete work that has yet issued from 
 the press on the science and practice of surgery. 
 London Lancet. 
 
 This system of surgery is, we predict, destined to 
 take a commanding position in our surgical litera- 
 ture, and be the crowning glory of the author's well 
 earned fame. As an authority on general surgical 
 subjects, this work is long to occupy a pre-eminent 
 place, not only at home, but abroad. We have no 
 
 language, and equal to the best systems of surgery in 
 any language. N. Y. Med. Journal. 
 
 Not only by far the best text-book on the subject, 
 as a whole, within the reach of American students, 
 but one which will be much more than ever likely 
 co be resorted to and regarded as a high authority 
 abroad. Am. Journal Med. Sciences, Jan. 1865. 
 
 The work contains everything, minor and major, 
 operative and diagnostic, including mensuration and 
 examination, venereal diseases, and uterine manipu- 
 lations and operations. It is a complete Thesaurus 
 of modern surgery, where the student and practi- 
 tioner shall not, seek in vain for what, they desire. 
 San Francisco Med. Press, Jan. 1865. 
 
 Open it where we may, we find sound practical in- 
 formation conveyed in plain language. This book is 
 no mere provincial or even national system of sur- 
 gery, but a work which, while very largely indebted 
 to the past, has a strong claim on the gratitude of the 
 future of surgical science. Edinburgh Med. Journal, 
 Jan. 1865. 
 
 A glance at the work is sufficient to show that th 
 author and publisher have spared no labor in making 
 it the most complete "System of Surgery" ever pub- 
 lished in any country. St. Louis Mtd. and Surg. 
 Journal, April, 1865. 
 
 A system of surgery which we think unrivalled in 
 our language, and which will indelibly associate his 
 name with surgical science. And what, in our opin- 
 ion, enhances the value of the worx is that, while the 
 practising surgeon will find all that he requires in it, 
 it is at the same time one of the most valuable trea- 
 tises which can be put into the hands of the student 
 seeking to know the principles and practice of this 
 branch of the profession which he designs subse- 
 quently to follow. The Brit. Am.Journ., Montreal. 
 
 Y THE SAME AUTHOR. 
 
 A PRACTICAL TREATISE ON FOREIGN BODIES IN 
 
 AIR-PASSAGES. In 1 vol. 8vo. cloth, with illustrations, pp. 468. $2 75. 
 
 THE 
 
 8 -EY'S OPERATIVE SURGERY. In 1 vol. Svo. GIBSON'S INSTITUTES AND PRACTICE OF SUB- 
 
 jloth, of over 650 pages ; with about 100 wood-cuts. 
 *3 2fl. 
 
 COOPER'S LECTURES ON THE PRINCIPLES AND 
 PRACTICE OF SURUERY. In 1 vol. Svo. cloth, 750 p. $2. 
 
 GERT. Eighth edition, improved and altered. With 
 thirty-four plates. In two handsome octavo vel- 
 umes, about 1000 pp., leather, raised bands. $6 50. 
 
 MILLER (JAMES), 
 
 JJJL Late Professor of Surgery in the University of Edinburgh, &c. 
 
 PRINCIPLES OF SURGERY. Fourth American, from the third and 
 
 revised Edinburgh edition. In one large and very beautiful volume of 700 pages, with 
 two hundred and forty illustrations on wood, extra cloth. $3 75. 
 
 DY THE SAME AUTHOR. 
 
 THE PRACTICE OF SURGERY. Fourth American, from the last 
 
 Edinburgh edition. Revised by the American editor. Illustrated by three hundred and 
 sixty-four engravings on wood. In one large octavo volume of nearly 700 pages, extra 
 cloth. $3 75. 
 
 OARGENT (F. W.), M.D. 
 OiN iJAJNDAUljNG AND OTHER OPERATIONS OF MINOR 
 
 SUR9ERY , New edition, with an additional chapter on Military Surgery. One handsome 
 roy&i IJJnio. volume, of nearly 400 pages, with 184 wood-cuts. Extra cloth, $1 75. 
 
HENRY C. LEA'S PUBLICATIONS (Surgery). 27 
 
 ASHHURST (JOHN, Jr.), M.D., 
 
 Surgeon to the Episcopal Hospital, Philadelphia. 
 
 THE PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OF SURGERY. In one 
 
 very large and handsome octavo volume of about 1000 pages, with nearly 550 illustrations, 
 extra cloth, $6 50; leather, raised bands, $7 50. (Just Issued.) 
 
 The object of the author has been to present, within ns condensed a compass as possible, a 
 complete treatise on Surgery in all its branches, suitable both as a text-book for the student and 
 a work of reference for the practitioner. So much has of late years been done for the advance- 
 ment of Surgical Art and Science, that there seemed to be a want of a work which should present 
 the latest aspects of every subject, and which, by its American character, should render accessible 
 to the profession at large the experience of the practitioners of both hemispheres. This has been 
 the aim of the author, and it is hoped that the volume will be found to fulfil its purpose satisfac- 
 torily. The plan and general outline of the work will be seen by the annexed 
 
 CONDENSED SUMMAKY OF CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. Inflammation. II. Treatment of Inflammation. III. Operations in general: 
 Anaesthetics. IV. Minor Surgery. V. Amputations. VI. Special Amputations. VII. Effects 
 of Injuries in General : Wounds. VIII. Gunshot Wounds. IX. Injuries of Bloodvessel.-;. X. 
 Injuries of Nerves, Muscles and Tendons, Lymphatics, Bursee, Bones, and Joints. XI. Fractures. 
 XII. Special Fractures. XIII. Dislocations. XIV. Effects of Heat and Cold. XV. Injuries 
 of the Head. XVI. Injuries of the Back. XVII. Injuries of the Face and Neck. XVIII. 
 Injuries of the Chest. XIX. Injuries of the Abdomen nnd Pelvis. XX. Diseases resulting frooa 
 Inflammation. XXI. Erysipelas. XXII. Pyaemia XXIII. Diathetic Diseases: Struma (in- 
 cluding Tubercle and Scrofula); Rickets. XXIV. Venereal Diseases; Gonorrhoea and Chancroid. 
 XXV. Venereal Diseases continued : Syphilis. XXVI. Tumors. XXVII. Surgical Diseases of 
 Skin, Areolar Tissue, Lymphatics, Muscles, Tendons, and Bursae. XXVIII. Surgical Disease 
 of Nervous System (including Tetanus). XXIX. Surgical. Diseases of Vascular System (includ- 
 ing Aneurism). XXX. Diseases of Bone. XXXI. Diseases of Joints. XXXII. Excisions. 
 XXXIII. Orthopaedic Surgery. XXXIV. Diseases of Head and Spine. XXXV. Diseases of the 
 Eye. XXXVI. Diseases of the Ear. XXXVII. Diseases of the Face and Neck. XXXVIII. 
 Diseases of the Mouth, Jaws, and Throat. XXXIX. Diseases of the Breast. XL. Hernia. XLI. 
 Special Herniae. XLII. Diseases of Intestinal Canal. XLIII. Diseases of Abdominal Organs, 
 and various operations on the Abdomen. XLIV. Urinary Calculus XLV. Diseases of Bladder 
 and Prostate. XLVI. Diseases of Urethra. XLVII. Diseases of Generative Organs. INDEX. 
 
 Its author has evidently tested the writings and j Indeed, the work as a whole must be regarded as 
 experiences of the past and present in the crucible \ an excellent and concise exponent of modern sur- 
 of a careful, analytic, and honorable mind, and faith- < gery, and as such tt will be found a valuable text- 
 full y endeavored to bring his work up to the level of j book for the student, and a useful book of reference 
 
 the highest standard of practical surgery He is 
 frank and definite, and gives us opinions, and gene- 
 rally sound ones, instead of a mere resume of the 
 opinions of others He is conservative, but not hide- 
 bound by authority. His style is clear, elega nt. and 
 scholarly. The W( rk is an admirable text book, and 
 a useful book of reference It is a credit to Amei ican 
 jirof>.*sional literature, and one of the first ripe fruits 
 of the soil fertilized by the blood of our late uuhappy 
 war. JV. r. Mad. Record, Feb. 1, 1872. 
 
 for the general practitioner. N. . Mad. Journal, 
 Feb. 1872. 
 
 It gives ns great pleasure to call the attention of the 
 profession to this excellent work. Onr knowledge of 
 its talented and accomplished author led us to expect 
 from him a very valuable treatise upon subjects to 
 which he has repeatedly given evidence of having pro- 
 fitably devoted much time and labor, aud we are in no 
 way disappointed. Phila. Med. Times,eb. 1, 1872. 
 
 1IRRIE ( WILLIAM], F. R. S. E., 
 
 Pmfessor of Surgery in the University of Aberdeen. 
 
 THE PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OF SURGERY. Edited by 
 
 JOHN NEILL, M. D., Professor of Surgery in the Penna. Medical College, Surgeon to the 
 Pennsylvania Hospital, Ac. In one very handsome octavo volume of 780 pages, with 3J6 
 illustrations, extra cloth. $3 75. 
 
 H 
 
 'AMILTON (FRANK H.}, M.D., 
 
 Professor of Fracture* and DixlufUion*, Ac. t in Bdleoue. Hosp. Med. College, New York. 
 
 PRACTICAL TREATISE ON FRACTURES AND DISLOCA- 
 TIONS. Fourth edition, thoroughly revised. In one large and handsome octavo volume 
 of nearly 800 pages, with several hundred illustrations. Extra cloth, $5 75 ; leather, $6 75. 
 ( Just Issued. ) 
 
 It is not, of course, our intention to review in ex- 
 tenno, Hamilton on "Fractures and Dislocations." 
 Eleven years ago such review might not have been 
 out of place ; to-day the work is au authority, so well, 
 so generally, and so favorably known, that it only 
 remains for the reviewer to say that a new edit.iou is 
 just out, and it is better than either of its predeces- 
 sors. Cincinnati Clinic, Oct. 14, 1871. 
 
 Undoubtedly the best work on Fractures and Dis- 
 locations in the English language. Cincinnati Med. 
 Repertory, Oct. 1871. 
 
 We have once more before us Dr. Hamilton's admi- 
 
 rable treatise, which we have always considered the 
 most complete ana reliable work on the subject. As 
 a whole, the work is without an equal in the litera- 
 ture of the profession. Boston Med. and Sura. 
 Journ.,0ct. 12, 1S71. 
 
 It is unnecessary at this time to com mend the book, 
 except to such as are beginners in the study of this 
 particular branch of surgery. Every practical sur- 
 geon in this country and abroad knows of it as a most 
 trustworthy guide, and one which they, in common 
 with us, would unqualifiedly recommend as the bigh- 
 et authority in any language. N. Y. Med. Record, 
 Oct. 16, 1871 
 
HENRY C. LEA'S PUBLICATIONS (Surgery). 
 
 &RICHSEN (JOHN E.}, 
 
 *-" Professor of Surgery in University College, London, etc. 
 
 THE SCIENCE AND ART OF SURGERY; being a Treatise on Sur- 
 
 gical Injuries, Diseases, and Operations. Revised by the author from the Sixth and 
 enlarged English Edition. Illustrated by over seven hundred engravings on wood. In 
 two large and beautiful octavo volumes of over 1700 pages, extra cloth, $9 00 ; leather, 
 $11 00. (Just Ready.) 
 
 Author's Preface to the New American Edition. 
 
 ' ' The favorable reception with which the ' Science and Art of Surgery' has been honored by the 
 Surgical Profession in the United States of America hns been not only a source of deep gratifica- 
 tion and of just pride to me, but has laid the foundation of many professional friendships that 
 are amongst the agreeable and valued recollections of my life. 
 
 "I have endeavored to make the present edition of this work more deserving than its predecessors 
 of the favor that has been accorded to them. In consequence of delays that have unavoidably 
 occurred in the publication of the Sixth British Edition, time has been afforded to me to add to this 
 one several paragraphs which I trust will be found to increase the practical value of the work." 
 LONDON, Oct. 1872. 
 
 On no former edition of this work has the author bestowed more pains to render it a complete and 
 satisfactory exposition of British Surgery in its modern aspects. Every portion has been sedu- 
 lously revised, and a large number of new illustrations have been introduced. In addition to the 
 material thus added to the English edition, the author has furnished for the American edition such 
 material as has accumulated since the passage of the sheets through the press in London, so that 
 the work as now presented to the American profession, contains his latest views and experience. 
 
 The increase in the size of the work has seemed to render necessary its division into two vol- 
 umes. Great care has been exercised in its typographical execution, and it is confidently pre- 
 sented as in every respect worthy to maintain the high reputation which has rendered it a stand- 
 ard authority on this department of medical science. 
 
 These are only a few of the points in which the states in his preface, they are not confined to any one 
 present edition of Mr. Erichsen's work surpasses its j portion, but are distributed generally through the 
 predecessors. Throughout there is evidence of a subjects of which the work treats. Certainly one of 
 laborious care and solicitude in seizing the passing the most valuable sections of the book seems to us to 
 knowledge of the day, which reflects the greatest be that which treats of the diseases of the arteries 
 credit on the author, and much enhances the value and the operative proceedings which they necessitate, 
 of his work. We can only admire the industry which In few text-books is so much carefully arranged in- 
 has enabled Mr. Erichsen thus to succeed, amid the formation collected. London Ned. Times and Gaz., 
 distractions of active practice, in producing emphatic- f Oct. 26, 1872. 
 
 ally THE book of reference and study for British prac- j Tbe entire work, complete, as the great English 
 titioners of surgery. London Lanctt, Oct. 26, 1872. treatise on Surgery of our own time, is, we can assure 
 
 Considerable changes have been made in this edi- our readers, equally well adapted for the ruost junior 
 tion, and nearly a hundred new illustrations have] student, and, as a book of reference, for the advanced 
 been added. It is difficult in a small compass to point practitioner Dublin Quarterly Journal. 
 out the alterations and additions ; for, as the author 1 
 
 f)RUITT (ROBERT), M.R.C.S., See. 
 
 THE PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OF MODERN SURGERY. 
 
 A new and revised American, from the eighth enlarged and improved London edition Illus- 
 trated with four hundred and thirty-two wood engravings. In one very handsome octavo 
 volume, of nearly 700 large and closely printed pages. Extra cloth, $4 00 ; leather, $5 00. 
 
 practice of surgery are treated, and so clearly and 
 
 All that the surgical student or practitioner could 
 desire. Dublin Quarterly Journal. 
 
 It is a most admirable book. We do not know 
 when we have examined one with more pleasure. 
 Boston Med. and Surg. Journal. 
 
 In Mr. Druitt's book, though containing only some 
 seven hundred pages, both the principles and the 
 
 oerspicuously, as to elucidate every important topic 
 We have examined the book most thoroughly, and 
 can say that this success is well merited. His book, 
 moreover, possesses the inestimable advantages of 
 having the subjects perfectly well arranged and clas- 
 sified, and of being written in a style at once clear 
 tnd succinct. Am. Journal of Med. Sciences. 
 
 ASHTON (T. J.). 
 ON THE DISEASES, INJURIES, AND MALFORMATIONS OF 
 
 THE RECTUM AND ANUS; with remarks on Habitual Constipation. Second American, 
 from the fourth and enlarged London edition. With handsome illustrations. In one very 
 beautifully printed octavo volume of about 300 pages. $3 25. 
 
 T>1GELOW (BENRY J.}. M. />., 
 
 -U Professor of Surgery in the Massachusetts Med. College. 
 
 ON THE MECHANISM OF DISLOCATION AND FRACTURE 
 
 OF THE HIP. With the Reduction of the Dislocation by the Flexion Method. With 
 numerous original illustrations. In one very handsome octavo volume. Cloth. $2 50. 
 (Lately Issued.) 
 
 T AWSON (GEORGE], F. R. C. S., Engl., 
 
 U Assistant Surgeon to the Royal London Ophthalmic Hospital, Moorfields, &c. 
 
 INJURIES OF THE EYE, ORBIT, AND EYELIDS: their Imme- 
 
 diate and Remote Effects. With about one hundred illustrations. In one very hand- 
 some octavo volume, extra cloth, $3 50. 
 
 It is an admirable practical book in the highest and best sense of the phrase. London Medical Times 
 and Gazette, May 18, 1867. 
 
HENRY C. LEA'S PUBLICATIONS (Surgery). 
 
 29 
 
 f>RYANT (THOMAS], F.R.C.S., 
 
 D Surgeon to Guy's Hospital. 
 
 THE PRACTICE OF SURGERY. With over Five Hundred En- 
 gravings on Wood. In one large and very handsome octavo volume of nearly 1000 pages, 
 extra cloth, $6 25 ; leather, raised bands, $7 25. (Just Issued.) 
 
 Again, the author gives us his own practice, his 
 own beliefs, and illustrates by his own cases, or those 
 treated in Guy's Hospital. This feature adds joint 
 emphasis, and a solidity to his statements that inspire 
 confidence. One feels himself almost by the side of 
 the surgeon, seeing bis work and hearing his living 
 words. The views, etc , of other surgeons are con- 
 sidered calmly and fairly, but Mr. Bryant's are 
 adopted. Tims the work is not a compilation of 
 other writings; it is not an encyclopaedia, but the 
 plain statements, on practical points, of a man who 
 has lived and breathed and had his being in the 
 richest surgical experience. The whole profession 
 owe a debt of gratitude to Mr. Bryant, for his work 
 iu their behalf. We are confident that the American 
 profession will give substantial testimonial of their 
 feelings towards both author and publisher, by 
 speedily exhausting this edition. We cordially and 
 heartily commend it to our friends, and think that 
 no live surgeon can afford to be without it Detroit 
 Review of Med. and Pharmacy, August, 1873. 
 
 As a manual of the practice of surgery for the use 
 of the student, we do not hesitate to pronounce Mr. 
 Bryant's book a first- rate work. Mr. Bryant has a 
 good deal of the dogmatic energy which goes with 
 the clear, pronounced opinions of a man whose re- 
 flections and experience have moulded a character 
 not wanting in firmness and decision. At the same 
 time he teaches with the enthusiasm of one who has 
 faith iu his teaching; he speaks as one having au- 
 thority, and herein lies the charm and excellence of 
 his work. He states the opinions of others freely 
 
 and fairly, yet it is no mere compilation. The book 
 combines much of the merit of the manual with the 
 merit of the monograph. One may recognize in 
 almost every chapter of the ninety-four ot' which the 
 work is made up the acuteness of a surgeon who has 
 seen much, and observed closely, and who gives forth 
 the results of actual experience. In conclusion we 
 repeat what we stated at first, that Mr. Bryant's book 
 i^ on*' which we can conscientiously recommend both 
 to practitioners and students as au admirable work. 
 Dublin Journ. of Med. Science, August, 1S73. 
 
 Mr. Bryant has long been known to the reading 
 portion of the profession as an able, clear, and graphic 
 writer upon surgical subjects. The volume before 
 us is one eminently upon the practice of surgery and 
 not one which treats at length on surgical pathology, 
 though the views that are entertained upon this sub- 
 ject are sufficiently interspersed through the work 
 for all practical purposes. As a text-book we cheer- 
 fully recommend it, feeling convinced that, from the 
 subject-matter, and the concise and true way Mr. 
 Bryant deals with his subject, it will prove a for- 
 midable rival among the numerous surgical text- 
 books which are offered to the student .AT. Y. Med. 
 Record, June, 1873. 
 
 Thi is, as the preface states, an entirely new book, 
 and contains in a moderately condensed form all the 
 surgical information necessary to a general practi- 
 tioner. It is written in a spirit consistent with the 
 pre-ent improved standard of medical and surirical 
 science. American Journal of Obstetrics, August, 
 1873 
 
 w- 
 
 'ELLS (J. SOELBERG), 
 
 Professor of Ophthalmology in King's College Hospital, &c. 
 
 A TREATISE ON DISEASES OF THE EYE. Second Americar, 
 
 from the Third and Revised London Edition, with additions; illustrated with numerous 
 engravings on wood, and six colored plates. Together with selections from the Test-types 
 of Jaeger and Snellen. In one large and very handsome octavo volume of nearly 800 
 pages ; cloth, $5 00 ; leather, $6 00. (Now Ready.) 
 
 The continued demand for this work, both in England and this country, is sufficient evidence 
 that the, author has succeeded in his effort to supply within a reasonable compass n full practical 
 digest of ophthalmology in its most modern aspects, while the call for repeated editions has en- 
 abled him in his revisions to maintain its position abreast of the most recent investigations and 
 improvements. In again reprinting it, every effort has been made to adapt it thoroughly to the 
 wants of the American practitioner. Such additions as seemed desirable have been introduced 
 by the editor, Dr. I. Minis Hays, and the number of illustrations has been largely increased. The 
 importance of test-types as an aid to diagnosis is so universally acknowledged at the present day 
 that it seemed essential to the completeness of the work that they should be added, and as the 
 author recommends the use of those both of Jaeger and of Snellen for different purposes, selec- 
 tions have been made from each, so that the practitioner may have at command all the :is.-i.<t- 
 ance necessary. Although enlarged by one hundred pages, it has been retained at t,he former 
 very moderate price, rendering it one of the cheapest volumes before the profession. 
 A few notices of the previous edition are subjoined. 
 In this respect the work before us is of much more found difficult to the student, he has dwelt at length 
 
 service to the general practitioner than those heavy ' 
 compilations which, in giving every person's views, j 
 too often neglect to specify those which are most in 
 accordance with the author's opinions, or in general 
 acceptance. We have no hesitation in recommending 
 this treatise, as, on the whole, of all English works 
 
 and entered into full explanation. After a careful 
 perusal of its contents, we can unhesitatingly com- 
 mend it to all who desire to consult a really good 
 work on opbhtalmic science. Leavenworth Mde. Her- 
 ald, Jan. 1870. 
 
 Without doubt, one of the best works upon the sab 
 
 on the subject, the one best adapted to the wants of ; ect w , hich has eve r been published ; it is complete on 
 the general practitioner. -Edinburgh Med. Journal, the su i,j ect O f which it treats, and is a necessary work 
 
 for every physician who attempts to treat diseases of 
 the eye Dominion Med. Journal, Sept. 1869. 
 
 March, 1870. 
 
 A trea'ise of rare merit. It is practical, compre- 
 hensive, and yetcoucise. Upon those subjects usually 
 
 JT A URENCE (JOHN Z.), F. R. C. , 
 
 Editor of the Ophthalmic Review, &c. 
 
 A HANDY-BOOK OF OPHTHALMIC SURGERY, for the use of 
 
 Practitioners. Second Edition, revised and enlarged. With numerous illustrations. In 
 one very handsome octavo volume, extra cloth, $3 00. (Lately Issued.) 
 
 For those, however, who must assume the care of edition those novelties which have secured the confi- 
 di~ea>es and injuries of the eye, and who are too 1 dence of the profession since the appearance of his 
 much pressed for time to study the classic works on last. The volume has been considerably enlarged 
 the subject, or those recently published by Stellwag. : and improved by the revision and additions of its 
 Wells, Bader, and others, Mr. Laurence will prove a ; author, expressly for the American edition. Am. 
 safe and trustworthy guide. He has described in thit ' Journ. Mtd. Sciences, Jan. 1870. 
 
30 HENRY C. LA'S PUBLICATIONS (Surgery, &c.). 
 
 /THOMPSON (SIR HENR F), 
 
 -* Surgeon and Professor of Clinical Surgery to University College Hospital. 
 
 LECTURES ON DISEASES OF THE URINARY ORGANS. With 
 
 illustrations on wood. In one neat octavo volume, extra cloth. $2 25. 
 
 These lectures stand the severe test. They are in- I tical hints so useful for the student, and even more 
 structive without being tedious, and simple without valuable to the young practitioner. Edinburgh Mud. 
 being diffuse; and they include many of those prac- | Journal, April, 1S69. 
 
 fiY THE SAME AUTHOR. 
 
 ON THE PATHOLOGY AND TREATMENT OF STRICTURE OF 
 
 THE URETHUA AND URINARY FISTULA. With plates and wood-cuts. From the 
 third and revised English edition. In one very handsome octavo volume, extra cloth, $3 50. 
 (Lately Publislted.) 
 
 This classical work has so long been recognized as a standard authority on its perplexing sub- 
 jects that it should be rendered accessible to the American profession. Having enjoyed the 
 advantage of a revision at the hands of the author within a few months, it will be found to present 
 his latest views and to be on a level with the most recent advances of surgical science. 
 
 With a work accepted as the authority upon the I ably known by the profession as this before us, must 
 subjects of which it treats, an extended notice would | create a demand for it from those who would keep 
 be a work of supererogation. The simple announce- I themselves well up in this department of surgery. 
 ment of another edition of a work so well and favor- | St. Louis Med. Archives, Feb. 1870. 
 
 J^Y THE SAME AUTHOR. (Just Ready.) 
 
 THE DISEASES OF THE PROSTATE, THEIR PATHOLOGY 
 
 AND TREATMENT. Fourth Edition, Revised. In one very handsome octavo volume of 
 
 355 pages, with thirteen piates, plain and colored, and illustrations on wood. Cloth, $3 75. 
 
 This work is recognized in England as the leading authority on its subject, and in presenting 
 
 it to the American profession, it is hoped that it will be found a trustworthy and satisfactory 
 
 guide in the treatment of an obscure and important class of affections. 
 
 WALES (PHILIP S.) t M. D., Surgeon U.S.N. 
 
 MECHANICAL THERAPEUTICS: a Practical Treatise on Surgical 
 
 Apparatus, Appliances, and Elementary Operations : embracing Minor Surgery, Band- 
 aging, Orthopraxy, and the Treatment of Fractures and Dislocations. With six hundred 
 and forty-two illustrations on wood. In one large and handsome octavo volume of about 
 700 pages: extra cloth, $5 75; leather, $6 75. 
 
 TAYLOR (ALFRED s.), M.D., 
 
 *- Lecturer on Med. Jurisp. and Chemistry in Gtuy's Hospital. 
 
 MEDICAL JURISPRUDENCE. Seventh American Edition. Edited 
 
 by JOHN J. REESE, M.D., Prcf. of Med. Jurisp. in the Univ. of Penn. In one large 
 octavo volume. Cloth, $5 00; leather, $6 00. (Now Ready.) 
 
 In preparing for the press this seventh American edition of the " Manual of Medical Jurispru- 
 dence" the editor has, through the courtesy of Dr. Taylor, enjoyed the very great advantage of 
 consulting the sheets of the new edition of the author's larger work, " The Principles and Prac- 
 tice of Medical Jurisprudence," which is now ready for publication in London. This has enabled 
 him to introduce the author's latest views upon the topics discussed, which are believed to bring 
 the work fully up to the present time. 
 
 The notes of the former editor, Dr. Hartshorne, as also the numerous valuable references to 
 American practice and decisions by his successor, Mr. Penrose, have been retained, with but few 
 slight exceptions; they will be found inclosed in Drackets, distinguished by the letters (H.) and 
 (P.). The additions made by the present editor, from the material at his command, amount to 
 about one hundred pages; and his own notes are designated by the letter (K.). 
 
 Several subjects, not treated of in the former edition, have been noticed in the present one, 
 and the work, it is hoped, will be found to merit a continuance of the confidence which it has so 
 long enjoyed as a standard authority. 
 
 ^Y THE SAME AUTHOR. (Now Ready.) 
 
 THE PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OF MEDICAL JURISPRU- 
 
 DENCE. Second Edition, Revised, with numerous Illustrations. In two very large 
 
 octavo volumes, cloth, $10 00; leather, $12 00. 
 
 This great work is now recognized in England as the fullest and most authoritative treatise on 
 every department of its important subject. In laying it, in its improved form, before the Ameri- 
 can profession, the publisher trusts that il will assume the same position in this country. 
 
HENRY C. LEA'S PUBLICATIONS (Psychological Medicine, &c.}. 31 
 rrUKE (DANIEL HACK], M.D., 
 
 -L Joint author of " The Manual of Psychological Medicine" &c. 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE INFLUENCE OF THE MIND UPON 
 
 THE BODY IN HEALTH AND DISEASE. Designed to illustrate the Action of the 
 Imagination. In one handsome octavo volume of 416 page?, extra cloth, $3 25. (Now 
 Ready.) 
 
 The object of the author in this work has been to show not only the effect of the mind in caus- 
 ing and intensifying disease, but also its curative influence, and the use which may he made of 
 the imagination nd the emotions as thernpeutic ngents. Scnttered facts bearing upon this sub- 
 ject have long been familiar to the profession, but no attempt has hitherto been made to collect 
 and systematize them so as to render them available to the practitioner, by establishing the seve- 
 ral phenomena up in :i scientific basis. In the endeavor thus to convert to the use of legitimate 
 medicine the means which have been employed so successfully in many systems of quackery, the 
 author has produced a work of the highest freshness and interest as well as of permanent value. 
 
 &LANDFORD (G. FIELDING), M. D., F. R. C P., 
 
 *-* Lecturer on Psychological Mtdicine at the School of St. George's Hospital, &c. 
 
 INSANITY AND ITS TREATMENT: Lectures on the Treatment, 
 
 Medical and Legal; of Insane Patients. With a Summary of the Laws in force in the 
 United States on the Confinement of the Insane. By ISAAC RAY, M. D. In one very 
 handsome octavo volume of 471 pages: extra cloth, $3 25. (Just Issued.) 
 This volume is presented to meet the want, so frequently expressed, of a comprehensive trea- 
 tise, in moderate compass, on the pathology, diagnosis, and treatment of insanity. To render it of 
 more value to the practitioner in this country, Dr. Ray has added an appendix which affords in- 
 formation, not elsewhere to be found in so accessible aform, to physicians who may at any moment 
 be called upon to take action in relation to patients. 
 
 It satisfies a want which must have been sorely 
 felt by the busy general practitioners of this country. 
 It takes the form of a manual of clinical description 
 of the various forms of insanity, with a description 
 
 actually seen in practice and the appropriate treat- 
 ment for them, we find in Dr. Blaudford's work a 
 considerable advance over previous writings 011 liie 
 subject. His pictures of the various forms of mental 
 
 of the mode of examining persons suspected of in- i disease are so clear and good that no reader cau tail 
 sanity. We call particular aitention to this feature to be struck with their superiority to those given in 
 of the book, as giving it a unique value to the gene- >rdinary manuals in the English language or (so far 
 ral practitioner. If we pass from theoretical conside- as our own reading extends; in any other. London 
 rations to descriptions of the varieties of insanity as Practitioner, Feb. 1871. 
 
 W: 
 
 T 
 
 INSLOW (FORBES), M.D., D.C.L., t?c. 
 
 ON OBSCURE DISEASES OF THE BRAIN AND DISORDERS 
 
 OF THE MIND; their incipient Symptoms, Pathology, Diagnosis, Treatment, and Pro- 
 phylaxis. Second American, from the third and revised English edition. In one handsome 
 octavo volume of nearly 600 pages, extra cloth. $4 25. 
 
 A (HENRY C.). 
 SUPERSTITION AND FORCE: ESSAYS ON THE WAGER OF 
 
 LAW, THE WAGER OF BATTLE, THE ORDEAL, AND TORTURE. Second Edition, 
 Enlarged. In one handsome volume royal 12mo. of nearly 500 pages; extra cloth, $2 75. 
 
 (Lately Pub! if lied.) 
 
 We know of no single work which contains, in so \ interesting phases of human society and progress. . 
 
 small a compass, so much illustrative of the strangest The fulness and breadth with which he has carried 
 
 operations of the human mind. Foot-notes give the out his comparative survey of this repulsive field of 
 
 authority for each statement, showing vast research history [Torture], are such as to preclude our doing 
 
 and wonderful industry. We advise our confreres justice to the work within our present limits. But 
 
 to read this book and ponder its teachings Chicago here, as throughout the volume, there will be found 
 
 JHed. Journal, Aug. 1870. a wealth of illustration and a critical grasp of the 
 
 As a work of curious inquiry on certain outlying philosophical import of facts which will render Mi. 
 
 auts of obsolete law, "Superstition and Force" is Lea ' 8 la , bors ; of />>* value to the historical ,tu- 
 
 po 
 
 one of the most remarkable books we have met with. 
 
 London Athenaeum, Nov. 3, 18tf6. 
 
 He has thrown a great deal of light upon what must 
 be regarded as one of the most instructive as well as 
 
 dent. London Saturday Review, Oct. 8, 1670. 
 
 As a book of ready reference on the subject, It is of 
 the highest value. Westminster Review, Oct. 1867. 
 
 THE SAME AUTHOR. (Late y Published.) 
 
 STUDIES IN CHURCH HISTORY THE RISE OF THE TEM- 
 PORAL POWER BENEFIT OF CLERGY EXCOMMUNICATION. In one large royal 
 12mo. volume of 516 pp. extra cloth. $2 75. 
 
 The story was never told more calmly or with 
 greater learning or wiser thought. We doubt, indeed, 
 if auy other study of this field can be compared with 
 thif tor clearness, accuracy, aud power. Chicago 
 E.i'it/iiner, Dec. 1870. 
 
 Mr. Lea's latest work, "Sf udiesinChnrch History," 
 fully sustains the promise of ihe tirst. It deals with 
 three subjects the Temporal Jfower, Benefit of 
 Clergy, and Excommunication, the record of which 
 has a peculiar importance for the English student, aud 
 is a chapter on Ancient Law likely to be regarded as 
 final. SVe can hardly pass from our meuuou of Mich 
 works as these wiih whiru tiiat ou ".mcerdotal 
 Celibacy'' should be included without nwtiug the 
 
 literary phenomenon that the head of one of the first 
 American houses is also the writer of some of its most 
 original books. London Atheneeum, Jan. 7, 1871. 
 
 Mr. Lea hau done great honor to himself aud this 
 couutry by the admirable works he has written on 
 ecclesiologicalaudcoguate subjects. We have already 
 had occasion to commend his "Superstition aud 
 Force" and his " History of Sacerdotal Celibacy." 
 The present volume is fully as admirable in its me- 
 thod of dealing with topics aud in the thoroughness 
 a quality so frequently tacking in American authors 
 witii which they are investigated. N. Y. Journalof 
 ftiychol Mtdicine, July, 1870. 
 
HENRY C. LEA'S PUBLICATIONS. 
 
 INDEX TO CATALOGUE. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 American Journal of the Medical Sciences . 1 
 
 American Chemist (The) ... . . .11 
 
 Abstract, Half-Yearly, of the Med Sciences . 3 
 Anatomical Atlas, by Smith aud Homer . . 6 
 Anderson on Diseases of the Skin . . .20 
 Ashton on the Rectum and Aims . . . .28 
 
 Attfield's Chemistry ...... 10 
 
 Ashwell on Diseases of Females . . . .23 
 
 Ashhurst's Surgery ...... 27 
 
 Barnes on Diseases of Women .... 23 
 
 Bellamy's Surgical Anatomy .... 7 
 
 Bryant's Practical Surgery ..... 29 
 
 Bloxain's Chemistry ..... 10 
 
 blandford on Insanity ...... 31 
 
 Basham on Renal Diseases ..... 18 
 
 Brinton on the Stomach ..... 16 
 
 Bigelow on the Hip .... .28 
 
 Barlow's Practice of Medicine . . . 14 
 
 Bowman's (John E.) Practical Chemistry . . 11 
 Bowman's (John E.) Medical Chemistry . . il 
 Buckler on Bronchitis ..... .17 
 
 Bumstead on Venereal ...... 19 
 
 Bumstead and Cullerier's Atlas of Venereal . 19 
 Carpenter's Human Physiology .... 8 
 
 Carpenter's Comparative Physiology ... 8 
 Carpenter on the Use and Abuse of Alcohol . 13 
 Carson's Synopsis of Materia Medica . . .13 
 Chambers on the Indigestions . . . .15 
 
 Chambers's Restorative Medicine . 15 
 
 Christison and Griffith's Dispensatory . . 13 
 Churchill's System of Midwifery . . . .25 
 
 Churchill on Puerperal Fever ... | 23 
 Condie on Diseases of Children . . . 21 
 
 Cooper's (B. B.) Lectures on Surgery . . 26 
 
 Cullerier's Atlas of Venereal Diseases . * 19 
 C yclopedia of Practical Medicine . * 16 
 
 Dalton's Human Physiology .... 9 
 
 De Jongh on Cod-Liver Oil . . . . * 13 
 
 Dewee&'s System of Midwifery ... * 25 
 
 Dewees on Diseases of Females . 
 Dewees on Diseases of Children . 
 Druitt's Modern Surgery 
 Dunglison's Medical Dictionary 
 Dunglison's Human Physiology 
 Dunglison on New Remedies 
 ' 
 
 Ellis' s Medical Formulary, by Smith . 
 
 Erichsen's System of Surgery 
 
 Fenwick's Diagnosis ..... 
 
 Flint ou Respiratory Organs . . . . 
 
 Flint on the Heart ...... 
 
 Flint's Practice of Medicine . . . . 
 
 Fownes's Elementary Chemistry . . . 
 Fox on Diseases of the Stomach . . . 
 Fuller on the Lungs, &c ..... 
 
 Green's Pathology and Morbid Anatomy . 
 Gibson's Surgery ...... 
 
 G luge's Pathological Histology, by Leidy . 
 Galloway's Qualitative Analysis . . . 
 Gray's Anatomy ...... - 
 
 Griffith's (R. E.) Universal Formulary . 13 
 Gross on Foreign Bodies in Air-Passages . 26 
 Gross's Principles and Practice of Surgery . . 26 
 Gross's Pathological Anatomy . . . 14 
 Guersant on Surgical Diseases of Children . 20 
 Hamilton on Dislocations and Fracture* . 27 
 Hartshorne's Essentials of Medicine . . 16 
 
 Bartshorne's Conspectus of the Medical Sciences 5 
 Hartshorne's Anatomj and Physiology . . 7 
 Heath's Practical Anatomy ..... 7 
 
 Hoblyn's Medical Dictionary .... 4 
 
 Hodge on Women ....... 23 
 
 Hodge's Obstetrics ....... 24 
 
 Hodges' Practical Dissections . ..'.. .6 
 Holland's Medical Notes and Reflections . . 14 
 Horner's Anatomy and Histology ... 6 
 Hudson on Fevers ...... 18 
 
 Hill on Venereal Diseases ..... 19 
 
 Hillier's Handbook of Skin Diseases . . 20 
 
 Jones and Sieveking's Pathological Anatomy . 14 
 
 PAGE 
 
 ; Jones (C. Handfield) on Nervous Disorders . 18 
 
 Kirkes' Physiology / . . . 8 
 
 I Koapp's Chemical Technology . .11 
 
 Lea's Superstition and Force . . . .31 
 
 1 Lea's Studies in Church History . . . .3] 
 
 I Lincoln on Electro Therapeutics . . . .18 
 
 I Leishman's Midwifery ...... -5 
 
 La Roche on Yellow Fever 14 
 
 La Roche on Pneumonia, &c. . . . .17 
 Laurence and Moon's Ophthalmic Surgery . . 2f> 
 
 I Lawson on the Eye 28 
 
 Laycock on Medical Observation . . . .14 
 Lehmann's Physiological Chemistry, 2 vols. . 8 
 Lehmann's Chemical Physiology .... & 
 Ludlow's Manual of Examinations ... 6 
 
 Lyons on Fever 18 
 
 Maclise's Surgical Anatomy 7 
 
 Marshall's Physiology 8 
 
 Medical News and Library 2 
 
 Meigs's Lectures on Diseases of Women . . 23 
 Meigs on Puerperal Fever . . . . ' . 23 
 
 Miller's Practice of Surgery 26 
 
 Miller's Principles of Sargery . . . .26 
 Montgomery on Pregnancy . .... 25 
 Neill and Smith's Compendium of Med. Science . 5 
 Neligan's Atlas of Diseases of the Skin . . 20 
 Neligan on Diseases of the Skin . . . .20 
 
 Obstetrical Journal 22 
 
 Odling's Practical Chemistry .... 10 
 
 Pavy on Digestion 15 
 
 Pavy on Food 15 
 
 Prize Essays on Consumption .... 17 
 Parrish's Practical Pharmacy .... 12 
 
 Pirrie's System of Surgery 27 
 
 Pereira's Mat. Medica and Therapeutics, abridged 1 2 
 Quain and Sharpey's Anatomy, by Leidy . . 6 
 
 Roberts on Urinary Diseases 18 
 
 Ramsbotham on Parturition 25 
 
 Rigby's Midwifery 25 
 
 Royle's Materia Medica and Therapeutics . . 13 
 Swayne's Obstetric Aphorisms . . . .24 
 
 Sargent's Minor Surgery 26 
 
 Sharpey and Quain's Anatomy, by Leidy . .6 
 
 Skey's Operative Surgery 26 
 
 Slade on Diphtheria 18 
 
 Smith (J. L.) on Children 21 
 
 Smith (H. H.) and Homer's Anatomical Atlas . 6 
 Smith (Edward) on Consumption . . . .17 
 Smith on Wasting Diseases of Children . . 21 
 
 Still6's Therapeutics 12 
 
 Sturges on Clinical Medicine . . . .14 
 Tanner's Manual of Clinical Medicine ... 6 
 
 Tanner on Pregnancy 24 
 
 Taylor's Medical Jurisprudence . . .30 
 
 Taylor's Principles and Practice of Med Jurisp. 30 
 Tuke on the Influence of the Mind . . .31 
 Thomas on Diseases of Females . . . .22 
 Thompson on Urinary Organs . . . .30 
 
 Thompson on Stricture 30 
 
 Thompson on the Prostate 30 
 
 Todd on Acute Diseases 14 
 
 Wales on Surgical Operations . . . . 3W 
 
 Walshe on the Heart 17 
 
 Watson's Practice of Physic 16 
 
 Wells on the Eye 29 
 
 West on Diseases of Females . . . .23 
 West on Diseases of Children .... 21 
 West on Nervous Disorders of Children . . 21 
 
 West on Ulceration of Os Uteri 23 
 
 What to Observe in Medical Cases . . .14 
 
 Williams on Consumption 17 
 
 Wilson s Human Anatomy 7 
 
 Wilson on Diseases of the Skin .... 20 
 Wilson's Hates on Diseases of the Skin . . 20 
 Wilson's Handbook of Cutaneous Medicine . 20 
 Winslow on Brain and Mind .... 31 
 Wohler's Organic Chemistry . . . .11 
 
 Wiuckel on Childbed 24 
 
 Zeissl on Venereal 19 
 
 For "THE AMERICAN CHEMIST" FIVE DOLLARS a year, see p. 11. 
 For "THE OBSTETRICAL JOURNAL" FIVE DOLLARS a year, see p. 22. 
 
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