ACCESSORY FOOD-FACTORS 51 



and sterilizing, its disappearance is much more rapid. 

 Boiling for an hour gravely diminishes the amount, 

 and after sterilization at 120 C. for an hour the 

 vitamine is reduced to a very small proportion of 

 its original amount. Even the pasteurization of milk, 

 at temperatures below boiling, seriously diminishes 

 the vitamine content, and it is necessary to remember 

 that prolonged cooking at a low temperature will 

 involve as much risk as rapid cooking at a much 

 higher one. Thus the use of such an apparatus as 

 the hay-box may have a very serious drawback when 

 food -stuffs are submitted to moderate temperatures 

 for very many hours. This question is being further 

 investigated by Dr. Delf, as being one of consider- 

 able economic importance. Among poor families the 

 chief source of anti-scorbutic vitamine is their meat 

 and vegetables, especially potatoes. If these are left 

 to stew for hours in the hay-box, the diet may become 

 definitely deficient in anti -scorbutic vitamine; more 

 particularly is this likely to be a danger when the 

 price of fresh fruit is as high as it is now. 



Since the vitamine will not keep, even at room 

 temperature, it is clear how difficult is the problem 

 of keeping armies, far from their bases, constantly 

 supplied with fresh food. 



Beriberi in War-time. That there was a need for 

 research in this direction in connection with the war 

 was first indicated when Colonel Martin, Director of 

 the Lister Institute, wrote home from Lemnos to his 

 assistant, Dr. Chick, saying that a few cases of beri- 

 beri had developed on Gallipoli. On receiving this 

 information the problem was to devise any easily 

 portable addition to the ration, which should be rich 

 in anti-beriberi vitamine. 



What the ration was which produced these cases 

 we have never been fully informed; it probably con- 



