16 THE VITAMINES 



been foreseen when the first edition of this book appeared. The 

 war, first of all, prevented the normal interchange of foodstuffs 

 among the various countries. Subsequently, this was followed by a 

 disturbance in the entire mode of living, due to the necessity of 

 making war, the utilization of farm labor for other purposes, and the 

 lack of means of transportation. Although, as this is being written, 

 more than two years have elapsed since the end of the war, conditions 

 have become worse instead of better, according to available reports. 

 Similarly, notwithstanding the national rationing of food both 

 during and after the war, the people have suffered because of the 

 mistakes made during the war. In the face of higher prices, general 

 unrest and unwillingness to settle down again to some productive 

 work, the abnormal conditions already mentioned will likely prevail 

 for several years to come. It is not our purpose to suggest that 

 knowledge of the vitamines will solve the present difficulties. Still, 

 we shall call attention to facts and principles which, at present, are 

 of universal interest principles which may contribute to the allevia- 

 tion of the wretchedness of stricken Europe. 



Considering more closely the dietaries of farmers and of the rural 

 populations in various parts of the world, it is easy to see that no 

 knowledge of vitamines is necessary to keep those people in good 

 health. From generation to generation, their nutrition has been 

 regulated according to the climate, the economic situation, and the 

 exigencies of the work performed. Of course, in some oriental 

 countries, where conditions are not so well known to us, instinct some- 

 times does not choose the correct food and hence the prevalence of 

 beriberi. All in all, we see that the white races have a wholesome 

 knowledge of their food requirements, which is only natural. In 

 certain provinces, before the war, it was possible to see examples of 

 particularly monotonous and simple dietaries accompanied, on the 

 whole, by no pathological conditions. We may be sure, however, 

 that since these same peoples apparently subsisted on a practically 

 unchanging diet for hundreds of years, they would most certainly not 

 have survived if their choice of diet had been anything but correct. 



When the usual equilibrium is disturbed by extraneous conditions 

 such as war, a financial crisis or a catastrophe, then the practical 

 knowledge of centuries suddenly becomes useless to the people, and 

 they are obliged to seek some other basis of existence. Untold 

 hardships are endured till this is accomplished, the population func- 



