FOOPR irUMAN NTTTRTTTON. 865 



snmmor nso and a largo iiiiinlKM- oi' i-i'cijies f^ivcii of iiicxponsivc dislios fnuii 

 which snch nu'iuis may ht> made up. 



Golden rules of dietetics, A. L. Benedict if>t. Loui.s, 1!)0S, pp. .'lOl). — In 

 this volume the author has summarized and discussed data on physiolojiieal 

 chemistry with special reference to nutrition, food re(iuiremeuts of tlie human 

 body, dietary standards, quantitative estimation of food, cookery, the impor- 

 tance of the different food constituents, and other general data, and also pre- 

 sents chapters on infant feeding and diet in relation to various diseases. The 

 volume is designed particularly for the use of medical practitioners. 



Linnaeus' lectures on diet, A. (). Lindfoks {Uppsala Univ. Aarsskr. 1007, 

 Linurfcut »S'7.t. 2, jtp. 2 '/'J). — This translation was made from Linnjeus' origin:il 

 ni.-iterial. 



Concerning the physiological protein minimum, L. Michaud (Ztfirlir. 

 I'ln/siol. Vlinn., 59 {I'JO!)), A'o. 5-6, pp. Ji05-Ji!)J, pi. /).— The results of an ex- 

 tended series of tests with dogs are reported in which different kinds of protein 

 were studied with reference to the determination of the minimum amount re- 

 quired for physiological processes. 



According to the author's summary, failure to maintain nitrogen equilibrium 

 in former experiments with a quantity of protein equal to that excreted after 

 long continued fasting is due, apart from resorption and circulation in the body, 

 principally to the character of the proteid molecule. It must be assumed that 

 when proteids are sujtplied the body selects those proteid cleavage products 

 which are needed for the regeneration of body substance and rejects those not 

 fitting for this purpose. The latter constitute the proteid materi;il in excess 

 of that essential for attaining nitrogen equilibrium. 



In harmony with this theory it was found in the experiments reported that 

 it was not possible to attain nitrogen equilibrium when the plant proteids, 

 gliadin and edestin, dissimil;ir in character to the body proteids, were supplied 

 in an amount eipial to the minimum excretion in fasting. On the other hand, 

 nitrogen efiuilibrium was attained with such a quantity when the proteid se- 

 lected was of the same character as the body proteid; that is, in the case of 

 dogs with dog muscle, dog blood serum, or best of all, with a ground mixture 

 of the internal organs of a dog. In the last case apparently the selective function 

 of the body is done away with or reduced to a minimum. The greater the dif- 

 ference between the proteid supply and the body proteid, the greater the difli- 

 culty of attaining nitrogen equilibrium. The lack of extractives in plant proteids 

 in comparison with animal proteids apparently did not exercise any marked 

 effect. 



In fasting experiments a long fasting period is requircnl to attain the mini- 

 nuim nitrogen excretion. If fasting periods and periods with food are alter- 

 nated, it is possible to diminish nitrogen excretion to a small quantity, namely, 

 0.1 gm. ]ier kilogram body weight. 



Protein consumption in the animal body, C. A. Pekelhabing (Zcnthl. 

 (Icsdin. riiiisiol. II. I'dth. mofficcchnvlx, n. ncr., ', iHX)!)), No. S, pp. 2S9-3tO).— 

 In this address, delivered in Amsterdam, the author ])resents a digest and dis- 

 cussion of data on the metabolism and utilization of pi'otein in the body. 



The influence of nitrogen-free energy-yielding substances upon the rate 

 of protein cleavage, W. Fai.ta and A. Okion ( Bioclicni. Zfscin:, l.i (tDOS), \<>. 

 !i-'i. pp. 2(i7-27'^). — Acc(n-ding to the i-csults of the authors' investigations, the 

 comi'osition of standard diets may have a marked effect upon tlie rate of cleavage 

 of tile supplementai-y ration in the bod.\- in exi)erimental work. 



The action of the most important digestive glands, the glands of the 

 stomach and the pancreas, on fish and meat diets, W. N. Boi.uyreff (Arch. 



