No. 7. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICTXLTURE. 251 



books of eminent scientists, and by putting two and two together 

 I have been able to acquire a knowledge with which I hope to bene- 

 fit humanity, by sharing with them the knowledge I possess, and I 

 should be disappointed, indeed, if I were to feel that what I am 

 going to tell you would be of no practical value to you. I have 

 had some views prepared to illustrate the subject, and after you 

 have seen them, I think you will agree with me that not all food 

 is nourishment to the human body. I am just in the infancy of my 

 knowledge, but the little I do know, simply serves to show the 

 depth and importance of this food subject. 



I want you to realize what the human body is composed of, and 

 the elements which are found in the soil and in the air — that all 

 these elements are appropriated by us in the various food sub- 

 stances which we require. There is of oxygen, lOU pounds; hydro- 

 gen, 14 pounds; they are compounded of water, so that the human 

 body consists largely of water. Then comes carbon, 18 pounds. 

 Carbon in the human body is the silage; it is the fuel we burn in 

 the form of coal and graphite. If we burn bituminous coal instead 

 of anthracite, we burn more carbon, and produce greater heat; so 

 where we eat carbonaceous foods, the combination of oxygen, 

 hydrogen and carbon gives out more heat and energy. Carbon is 

 the starch food, and in most of the solid foods you find a largo 

 quantity of the carbo-hydrates. 



Then we have another heating food, which consists of fats and 

 oils. Now, the fats and oils are composed exactly of the same 

 elements as the carbo-hydrates, but in different proportions. The 

 fats are much more heating than the carbo-hydrates. We consume 

 more carbo-hydrates than we do fats; they supply the energy. We 

 must consume sufficient carbo-hydrates to work the heart, lungs, 

 stomach, and all the organs of the human body; then, we must 

 have energy to do our work. Thus, we can consume more of the 

 carbo-hydrates than we can of the fats and oils. Our normal tem- 

 perature is 98 degrees; if it exceeds that, we burn with fever, and 

 when we have a fever, the tissues of the body commence to burn 

 and waste away. In hot weather it is wise to abstain from fat 

 foods, because they contain so much carbon, and should be elimin- 

 ated from the diet as much as possible, if not entirely. We should 

 not, of course, in hot weather, eat meats and other foods with a 

 great deal of fat. In butter and cream the oils are so combined 

 with other elements that we fail to recognize the fat. It is neces- 

 sary that we should have a certain amount of this, in order that 

 we may keep up a healthy condition of the cells of the body and 

 blood, and to do that it is necessary to use a certain amount of fat. 

 I know a great many children don't like butter and oils, and the 

 mothers don't insist, and the result is an unhealthy child in a few 

 years' time. 



Then comes the proteins. We get in this form, 42 pounds of nitro- 

 gen. The tissues of the body are so wornout by the exertions of 

 the day, that, what would we do if we didn't get this nitrogen? We 

 require less of it than v/e do of the carbo-hydrates, but we must 

 have an amount sufficient for our work. If we use a great deal of 

 muscular effort, we must have a great deal of protein food, and 

 if we have sedentary positions, a great deal less. A clerk does noi 



