lusk: food economics 



391 



private boarding schools in the country. The total annual 

 food supply has been computed as shown in table IV. 



This amount of nourishment was taken by 355 boys and by 

 about 100 adults (masters and servants). This quantity of 

 food when computed on the basis of the individual meal served 

 appears as follows: 



TABLE V 

 Food Supply per Meal 



* 70 per cent of this is in animal protein. 



The cost of this food per meal was 20 cents, or 13.8 cents per 

 1000 calories. The food, which was bought by a purchasing 

 agent in the Boston market and was of the best quality, in- 

 cluded 193 separate varieties. Such a dietary taken by the 

 100,000,000 inhabitants of the United States would cost per 

 annum 11^ billion dollars, if the German minimum of 3000 

 calories daily per adult were allowed. This cost is twice what 

 the poor man in New York City pays for his food. 



These growing athletic boys, however, were not satisfied 

 with 3000 calories daily. They not only took 4350 calories 

 daily at the table, but they bought 650 additional calories in 

 food at a neighboring store, the principal item being chocolate. 



Data concerning the subjects of the investigation are epito- 

 mized in table VI. 



The basal requirement of boys is, as Du Bois has shown, 25 

 per cent above that of the adult. The total fuel intake was 

 three times that of the basal level, which is the heat production 

 when a boy is resting or asleep. The 5000 calories contained 

 in the ingesta is half as much again as a farmer at work would 

 require. The quantity of the calculated intake would certainly 

 not be lowered by excluding the adults who unavoidably entered 



