3 86 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



performed. As to any exercise of taste in the serving or in the com- 

 bining of different foods at a meal, the subject is completely out of 

 reach of the great majority of people, and is as little comprehended 

 by them as the structure and harmonies of a symphony are by the first 

 whistling boy one chances to meet in the street. The intelligent reader 

 who has sufficient interest in this subject to have followed me thus far, 

 may fancy this a sketch from savage life. On the contrary, I can 

 assure him that ignorance and indifference to the nature and object of 

 food mark the condition of a large majority of the so-called educated 

 people of this country. Men even boast of their ignorance of so trivial 

 a subject, regard it as unworthy the exercise of their powers, and 

 small compliment to their wives and sisters fit only for the occupa- 

 tion of women. 



Admitting man, then, to be physically so constituted as to be able 

 to derive all that is necessary to the healthy performance of all his 

 functions from the animal or from the vegetable kingdom, either singly 

 or combined, he can scarcely be regarded otherwise than as qualified 

 to be an omnivorous animal. Add to this fact his possession of an 

 intelligence which enables him to obtain food of all kinds and climes, 

 to investigate its qualities, and to render it more fit for digestion by 

 heat powers which no other animal possesses and there appears no 

 a priori reason for limiting his diet to products of either kingdom ex- 

 clusively. 



It is a matter of great interest to ascertain what have become, 

 under the empirical conditions named, the staple foods of the common 

 people of various climates and races what, in short, supports the life 

 and labor of the chief part of the world's population. 



In the tropics and adjacent portions of the temperate zones, high 

 temperature being incompatible with the physical activity familiar to 

 northern races, a very little nitrogenous material suffices, since the 

 waste of muscle is small. Only a moderate quantity of fat is taken, 

 the demand for heat-production being inconsiderable. The chiefly 

 starchy products supply nearly all the nutriment required, and such 

 are found in rice, millet, etc. Rice by itself is the principal food of 

 the wide zone thus indicated, including a large part of China, the East 

 Indies, part of Africa and America, and also the West Indies. Small 

 additions, where obtainable, are made of other seeds, of oil, butter, 

 etc. ; and, as temperature decreases by distance from the equator, some 

 fish, fowl, or other light form of animal food, are added. 



In the north of Africa, Arabia, and some neighboring parts, the 

 date, which contains sugar in abundance, is largely eaten, as well as 

 maize and other cereals. 



Crossing to Europe, the southern Italian is found subsisting on 

 macaroni, legumes, rice, fruits, and salads, with oil, cheese, fish, and 

 small birds, but very little meat. More northward, besides fish and a 

 little meat, maize is the chief aliment, rye and other cereals taking a 



