The Farm Table. 665 



being carried on to determine the best ration for a dairy cow. Professor 

 Dietnck, also of the Ilhnois Agricultural Experiment Station, has re- 

 cently finished a most valuable series of experiments with swine. The 

 accompanying illustration (Fig. 172) shows the results of part of his 

 work. The two pigs are from the same litter and were exactly alike 

 when put on the experiment at three months of age. The picture is taken 

 after three and one-half months' feeding. The pig on the left shows the 

 result of being fed on a balanced ration ; the other pig was fed an unbal- 

 anced ration, though he had all he wanted of corn meal. 



If, then, it is so important to study the feeding of animals, (and men 

 have long appreciated this) ought we not to study the feeding of the 

 human animal? To ascertain the ration best adapted to the needs of 

 the human being is no easy task, since his demands are so varied. The 

 putting on of flesh is not the point. We must eat the food that will pre- 



FiG. 1 72. — The result oj good feeding and poor feeding with pigs. 



pare us for the most efficient work in whatever lines that work may be, 

 be it physical or mental energy expended. Poorly nourished men and 

 women will suifer in clearheadedness, bodily strength, and in the case of 

 children, in bodily development. Professor W. O. Atwater and his asso- 

 ciates of the Middletown Experiment Station have devised a method for 

 studying the income and outgo of man, even measuring the energy ex- 

 pended as heat. 



In considering the choice of food we must take note of the economic 

 selection, dietetic selection, and if you will permit me, the hygienic selec- 

 tion, though the dietetic and hygienic are almost inseparable. One can 

 but hint at the points to be considered, and first of all we must have some 

 understanding of the food requirements of the human being. This was 

 discussed in Bulletin 13 of series III, Farmers' Wives' Reading-Course, 

 Those who have not this Bulletin at hand should send for it. 



