71 
showed by Dr. Beaumont, whereas a hard egg has hardly undergone 
this process at the end of three hours and a half. Must I add that it 
is of the greatest importance that eggs should be perfectly fresh ? For 
choice, look through the egg, fresh eggs are more transparent in the 
centre, old ones at the top. Dissolve one ounce of salt in ten of water, 
good eggs sink, indifferent swim, bad eggs will float even in pure water. 
Amongst the preparations having eggs for base I want to particularly 
point out what is called "American Cream." It consists in beating two 
yolks together, in adding some powdered sugar and then flavouring 
with rum or sherry. This mixture is very easily digested and exceed- 
ingly nutritious. You may conceive how precious it is for sick persons 
as ""well as for weak stomachs which require a strengthening food under 
a small volume. This mixture constitutes also the first meal recom- 
mended by Coats in training pugilists. I regret, gentlemen, that time 
and the limits of this paper do not permit my saying a few words upon 
this marvellous method employed by sportsmen in their training for 
competitions. 
I heard, in Paris, Professor Bouchardat speak most emphatically of 
the excellence of alimentary diet, united to exercise, used by these 
athletes to obtain that perfect ponderation of muscular powers which 
permit their going everywhere and disputing prizes in races, on foot or 
horseback, rowing, fencing and boxing. He contended that these 
trainers knew and applied better than anybody the laws of hygiene the 
observance of which is the sine qua non condition of perfect health. 
Here we are now, gentlemen, at the solid joints of our bill of fare, 
that is the meats of mammifers, such as beef, mutton, pork and veal. 
Those are the aliments to which is entrusted the repairing of our tissues, 
owing to the large proportion of azote they contain. According to 
Beaumont, the most digestible meat is that of mutton, then beef and 
lastly pork. But the age of the animal bears a considerable influence 
upon digestibility : for example veal is more digestible than beef, lamb 
more than mutton. I mean, of course, the digestibility and not the 
nutritive value of these nutrients, or else the order would have to be 
changed. In fact adult animals are those that give the most nutritious 
meats. According to Payen, the composition of roast beef cut up in 
slices three centimeters thick, is as following : 
