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tainly not widely recognized by the laity, though the medical profession 

 have repeatedly attested the truthfulness of the statement. 



From a hygienic standpoint, therefore, we must admit the useful- 

 ness of that knowledge which tells of the true nu ritive value of the 

 different foods and the amounts of them required to sustain health and 

 vigour — a knowledge that will enable us to use with discretion those 

 foods best suited to our wants and as a result experience mens sana in 

 corpote sano. 



But the importance of the subject may be urged from another 

 aspect— the economic one. " Half the struggle of life is a struggle for 

 food," says Edward Atkinson, and though this may appear an extreme 

 statement, reflection assures us of its truth. Evidence in its support is 

 supplied in abundance by our large cities where competition is rife and 

 the inhabitants are massed together. When the scourge of famine 

 overtakes a country, the misery and horrors which attend such a 

 catastrophe emphatically attest its accuracy. Surely, then, food-econ- 

 omy is a subject well worthy of study, lor from it governments and 

 individuals may learn how to obtain the most nutritious food for the 

 least outlay, and thus in times of distress be enabled to alleviate much 

 suffering. But nearer home there seems to be ample room lor improving 

 our own condition in this matter of food-economy. I do not here refer 

 to that wilful waste of food in our homes, which I must designate a sin 

 against mankind, nor to that excessive use of food that engenders 

 disease. I wish, rather, to direct your attention to the study of con- 

 trasting the money value of foods with their nutritive value. For by 

 such we shall be enabled to make choice of the most nutritious and 

 palatable viands at the least cost. Then, perhaps, while spending a little 

 less on our stomachs, we should have somewhat more to expend on 

 other and no less noble objects in life — the improvement of our 

 faculties and mental enjoyments — to say nothing of the noblest of all, 

 the benefitting of our fellow man in one or other of the ma.iy ways now 

 open to us. 



And there is yet a third side to the question — that of pleasure. 

 This is, undoubtedly, a legitimate one for our consideration. The 

 pleasure of eating and drinking of the good things provided for us is 

 assuredly a right one, and one that has been so recognized from all 



