

A FORTNIGHTLY REVIEW 



OF THE 



IMPERIAL DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE FOR THE WEST INDIES. 



•-I»KA«Y 



aOTANItAL 

 OARDBftU 



Vol. XVI. No. 387. 



BARBADOS, FEBRUARY 24, 1917. 



Price \d. 



CONTENTS 



*T the pre-sent nionient when so much atten- 

 \ tion is being given to questions concerning 

 ifood, and efforts are being made to utilize 

 more fully the resources of every West Indian island, 

 it will be of assistance to have an understanding of 

 the composition of the various foods that are available, 

 and of the function of the various constituents of food 

 as well as of the requirements of men and women in 

 the matter of food supply, s.;> that there may be 

 intelligent appreciation of the extent to which new 

 forms of food may be utilized to supplement possible 

 deficiencies. 



It is recognized that the materials used as food 

 fulfil two main requirements: they serve to build up 

 and maintain the liody structure, and afford the source 

 of energy which manifests itself in body movements 

 and in work. Physiologists have found that two main 

 classes of food substances are essential to these pro- 

 ces.ses: namely the proteins or flesh-formers, and the 

 carbohydrates or heat producers. 



Proteins are various nitrogenous substances of the 

 nature of albumeii: these substances in one form or 

 other occur in all living bodies: they are essential 

 constituents of animal food, their function being to 

 supply the nitrogenous material of which flesh is built 

 up. 



It is not quite certain just how much protein 

 is required b}' an ordinary man doing a moderate 

 amount of work, but it is usually assumed that about 

 100 grams, or slightly less than a quarter of a pound 

 is necessary; some observers are of opinion that the 

 daily requirement is somewhat less than this, and 

 there are large classes of people whose daily dietary 

 contains considerably less than 100 grams. 



There is more definite information as regards the 

 amount of carbohydrates, or heat producers, and it is 

 found that the extent to which these materials serve 

 as food can be measured by the amount of heat they 

 give off when they are burned, hence it is a common 

 practice to express the food requirements in this 

 respect in terms of units of heat known as Calories. 

 It is known that a man of average weight doing a 

 moderate amount of work requires a daily quantity of 

 carbohydrates capable of giving about 8,000 Calories: 

 this \vill be effected by about 1"6 lb. of carbohydrate. 

 If the individual is doing hard work, he will require 



