FORBES: MINERAL ELEMENTS IN NUTRITION 433 



It is an established fact of animal physiology that the vital 

 processes require the maintenance of a state of approximate 

 neutrality in the blood and lymph. Henderson has done much 

 to show how this balance of acid and base is maintained by 

 self-adjusting chemical and excretory equilibria. The mineral 

 elements of the food contribute to one side or the other of this 

 base and acid balance; and the extent and nature of this con- 

 tribution are matters of importance in relation to acid intoxica- 

 tion, even though this condition is not commonly caused by 

 the food. Our extensive series of ash analyses show that cereals, 

 meats, and eggs have acid ash, while fruits, roughages, vegeta- 

 bles, milk, and most legumes have alkaline ash. While healthy 

 animals have means of neutralizing all ordinary excesses of 

 acid in the food it is safest that the bases should predominate, 

 since we do not know that the neutralization of acids is always 

 accomplished without expense, and since in any such physiologi- 

 cal state as causes acid intoxication (and there are many such) 

 an excess of mineral acid to mineral base in the food is undoubt- 

 edly a matter of positive disadvantage. 



Acid intoxication is met with most commonly in the feeding of 

 infants and older children suffering from fever, undernourish- 

 ment, or indigestion especially involving the fats of the food. 

 In these cases the use of whey in the diet furnishes mineral nu- 

 trients of value; and the administration of sodium citrate (1 

 to 2 grains per ounce of milk) is also a beneficial practise in that 

 it furnishes a readily oxidizable alkali salt. The presence of 

 this citrate is also favorable to the digestion of casein. Many 

 a so-called idiosyncrasy against milk protein has disappeared 

 under the influence of sodium citrate and a low-fat diet. 



Our study of the mineral nutrients of bluegrass touches a 

 subject of deep significance. Through its habit of growth 

 grass is the great conserving factor in agriculture. As the basic 

 requirement of livestock breeding it makes for all the benefits 

 of this system of farming, especially the maintenance of the 

 fertility of the land and the maintenance upon the land of the 

 presence of the family of the owner. The permanent prosperity 

 of an agricultural community is assured by the excellence of 

 its grass lands. 



