560 ANNUAL. REPORT OF THE Off. Doc. 



peuties which I have consulted, they are declared to favor diges- 

 tion; but exact and conclusive experiments have not appeared, in 

 records accessible to me, to afford a good basis for this statement. 

 We are all aware that tliey arouse a tlagging appetite, give zest to 

 eating and conduce, during that exercise, to a general sense of well- 

 being. While we eat more food as a result, sometimes too much, it 

 is not clear that either the ease or completeness of digestion is im- 

 proved. 



It is, however, known that condiments promote an increased flow 

 of the digestive secretions during eating. Even at the mention of 

 spiced foods, our mouths water. Gottlieb (Exp. Station Record, I, 

 148-9) found pepper and mustard, when introduced into the stomach, 

 to increase the flow of pancreatic juice (the secretion of the sweet 

 bread) three or fourfold. These juices were more watery than 

 usual, but had the same digestive properties for carbohydrates, fat 

 and albuminoids. 



L. K. von Korczynski (Exp. Sta. Record, 15, 390) found that with 

 healthy subjects, paprika, mustard, ginger, pepper, horse-radish and 

 onions at first increased, and then for a considerable time dimin- 

 ished the stomach secretion; a second period of stimulation followed. 



The essential oils and oleo-resins of the species are irritant when 

 taken in large quantity, and even in small amounts appear to cause 

 an increased blood-flow toward the surface upon which they act. 

 The muscular action of the stomach during digestion is also stimu- 

 lated by their influence. In each case, however, the effect of the 

 aromatic substance is but temporary, while that of tonic bitters, 

 such as gentian, w^hile purely local and promoting also an increase 

 of glandular secretion, is more permanent. 



It remains to consider, in this connection, whether the ingre- 

 dients of these condimental foods otherwise promote assimilation 

 or tend to keep the body in a healthful condition. Seegen, Voit and 

 Mayer (Bulletin 45, Office of Exp. Stations, 336 and 338) studied the 

 action of Glauber's salts in this relation and found no decided eco- 

 nomical effects. Sulphur slightly increases the secretions in the 

 alimentary tract, but does not appear to affect assimilation. Iron 

 compounds are regarded by most medical authorities to be directly 

 assimilated and to promote the abundant formation and active con- 

 dition of the red blood corpuscles. The experiments of Henry in 

 Wisconsin have shown that Avood-ashes and ground bone are favor- 

 able to healthy bone formation when added to foods lacking in 

 mineral elements, while numerous observations have shown the 

 value of carbonate of lime as an aid to egg-shell formation by poultry 

 kept upon a narrow range. 



In each of these cases, the use of the material is, however, to sup- 

 plement a ration deficient in the ordinarily recognized essentials or 

 to aid the assimilative activities of a weak or unhealthy organism. 



Let us now consider the available evidence from exact experiments 

 with healthy animals receiving a normal food; to determine what 

 the economic value of additions of condimental food is in such cases. 



The earliest practical feeding experiments on record relating to 

 the use of such foods were made by Lawes & Gilbert (J. Roy. Soc. 

 Eng., 19, Part I; Rothamstead Memoirs, II). They fed three (3) pigs 

 as much of a mash of 9 parts barley and 1 of bran, as they would 

 eat; an equal lot was fed the foregoing mash, to each 10 parts of the 



