i^OODS HUMAN NUTRITION. 461 



iFood inspection decisions, H. W. Wiley, F. L. Dunlap, and G. P. McCabe 

 ((7. N. D( i>t. Ai/i:. Food lin^ji. Derisions 77, pp. 6; 78-79, pp. '/). — The topics cov- 

 ored by these decisions are c-ertificate and control of dyes permissible for use in 

 coloring foods and foodstuffs, the use of labels after October 1, 11)07, and the 

 collection of samples. 



A preliminary communication on the toxicity of some anilin dyestuffs, 

 (}. M. Meyer (Jour. Amci: Chem. Soc, 29 {1907), \o. (1, pp. 892-909).— irieveral 

 commercial organic dyestuffs (curcumin.S, tartrazin, naphthol red S, carmoisin 

 B, naphthol yellow S, gold orange and ponceau 2R) were studied as to their gen- 

 eral effects on dogs when administered in varying amounts and for fairly long 

 periods (2 weeks). 



" None of these dyestuffs under the conditions above indicated exhibited any 

 marked degree of toxicity. There was only one fatal result, which may have 

 been due to influences independent of the action of the colorant. 



" The dyestuft's were all excreted, in part unchanged, with the feces and to a 

 slight extent in the urine. Their presence was demonstrated in the bile but 

 they were not secreted in the milk (bitch). 



'* Peptic digestion experiments have shown that these dyes like many other 

 substances inhibit peptolysis in vitro. The interference noted may have been 

 due to the associated inorganic matter." 



A study of metabolism in a healthy vegetarian, W. G^ Little and C. E. 

 IIahris {Bio-Chcin. Jour., 2 {1907), No. 5-6, pp. 230-2S9). — The income and 

 outgo of nitrogen and iron, the urea content of the urine, and other factors were 

 recently determined in the case of a man who, the authors state, had been a 

 vegetarian for about 20 years, with favorable results to his health. Some data 

 are also recorded regarding specific gra\ity and comiiosition of the urine of the 

 same subject at an earlier period on the same kind of diet. 



As shown by the menus quoted, milk and eggs were used as well as vegetable 

 foods. For the 14 days covered by the more complete investigation the average 

 jtrotein consumption was about 50 gm. per day. Thirty per cent of the nitrogen 

 eaten was excreted in the feces. The average intake of iron as estimated for 7 

 days was S mg. per day and the output in the feces 3 mg. The subject weighed 

 127 lbs. and this weight was fairly constant. The exercise taken was appar- 

 ently moderate. 



>V comparison of the excretion of inorganic constituents in the urine of the 

 vegetarian and a gouty subject who ate meat was made. "The difference Mil 

 calcium output is the most interesting fact [observed] . . . , especially when it 

 is remembered that the total amount of urine execreted by the gouty patient 

 was more than double that of the vegetarian. The figures suggest that per- 

 verted calcium excretion may be a factor in the pathbgeuy of gout, and that in 

 gout an excess of calcium is being excreted by the kidneys, which under normal 

 conditions would be removed by intestinal excretion." 



The effect of a meat diet on fertility and lactation, B. P. Watson {Prnc. 

 Roy. Soc. Eiliuh., 27 {1906-7), No. 1, pp. 6-10, pJ. i).— From experiments with 

 white rats the author concludes that a meat diet is prejudicial to the occur- 

 rence of pregnancy in rats, and that in rats fed on a meat diet the mammary 

 develoi)ment of nursing mothers is less than in rats fed on bread and milk. 



The influence of an excessive meat diet on the osseous system, C. Watson 

 (Proc. Roy. Soc. Edinh., 27 {1906-7), No. 1, pp. 2-5, pis. //).— The investiga- 

 tions reported, which were made with white rats, led the author to conclude 

 that " the bones of animals fed on an excessive meat diet present an ai)pear- 

 ance of delayed and imperfect ossification, with increased vascularity, and an 

 increase in the number of red blood corpuscles." 



