388 VITALITY AND EFFICIENCY WITH RESTRICTED DIET. 



four separate counts of 29 or 28. After several months' personal 

 practice in counting his own pulse-rate, in which he had been fre- 

 quently checked by one of our observers, this subject made a report 

 that on January 31 he counted his pulse while sitting in the class room 

 at lO^^lS"* a. m. and found it to be 32 per minute; later at 11^30°" a. m., 

 after lying down about 4 minutes in his room, he found the pulse-rate 

 as counted by himself to be 28 beats per minute. It thus seems defi- 

 nitely established that we have with this subject a clear case of a 

 pulse-rate which on two occasions was below 30 beats per minute. 



The fluctuations in pulse due to the novelty of the situation and 

 slight psychological disturbances are perhaps best shown in the 

 7 days prior to the reduction in diet. In a senSe, the average of these 

 days may be considered as the average resting pulse of these men prior 

 to dietetic restriction. In the majority of cases such an average would 

 be legitimate, but in the case of Vea the pulse-rate on the first three 

 days is obviously higher than on the last three days of the normal 

 diet period. The period of the lowest pulse-rate with the squad as 

 a whole occurred in the week between November 17 and November 

 25, inclusive. The average pulse-rate of these men prior to the re- 

 duction in diet may profitably be compared with the average for this 

 week to determine the maximum average change in pulse-rate. This 

 is done in table 81. 



Table 81. — Comparison of pulse-rate during normal diet with the lowest level of pulse-rate 

 during reduced diet^ — Squad A. (Weekly averages.) 



(Subjects in bang position, without food.] 



* See table 80 for the material from which these data have been drawn. 



Using as a basis of comparison the average pulse-rate from September 

 27 to October 4, when the subjects were on normal diet, we find in all 

 cases a fall in pulse-rate due to the diet, although the differences, 

 of course, are not so large as the differences between the maximum 

 and minimum noted in table 80. The smallest drop was with Bro 

 (5 beats) and the maximum with Moy and Tom (21 beats). On the 

 average the pulse-rate was lowered 14 beats or 25 per cent. 



