64 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. [Vol.38 



phosphorus (1.44 gm. per man per day), 40.2 per cent were low in calcium 

 (0.69 gm. per man per day standard), 19.6 per cent were low in iron (15 mg. 

 standard ) , and only 2 per cent had less than 75 gm. of protein. 



If energy was sufficient the other food factors seemed to be adequately sup- 

 plied also. Deficiencies frequently occurred where there was enough money to 

 supply the needed food values but the food was poorly chosen. Relatively 

 high expenditure for meat seemed to be more at the expense of vegetables and 

 fruits than of any other type of food. The amount of calcium and the energy 

 value seemed to decrease with the increase in expenditure for meat. As the per- 

 centage expended for grain products increased the total cost of the dietary de- 

 creased. At least i qt. of milk per man per day was needed to insure the proper 

 calcium requirement. 



Fats and sugars averaged about 20 per cent of the total dietary. There was a 

 decided decrease in the percentage of calories from fats and sugar as the 

 amount of iron increased. 



A scheme is appended for calculating the value of foods according to their 

 calorie, calcium, phosphorus, iron, and protein content, and tables showing the 

 score value of some common typical foods. 



The food of working women in Boston, Lucile Eaves ( [Boston] : Women's 

 Ed. and Indus. Union, 1917, pp. 21S). — The study was conducted from December 

 to March, 1915, and covered economic and social phases, as well as the nutri- 

 tive value, of the food. A large number of studies were made dealing with 

 noon lunches, food problems of women not living with families, the food of 

 women in cooperative houses, the Y. W. C. A., etc., and the food of certain dis- 

 pensary patients. 



The menus, on the whole, showed a healthful variety but no evidence was dis- 

 covered of an intelligent effort to get a balanced ration at minimum cost. 

 Bread constituted 33 per cent of the total range of food eaten by women earn- 

 ing less than $6 per week. There was a small use of other cereals. Tea and 

 coffee and protein foods were taken on an average of 16 times a week. The 

 diet of higher wage women contained more mineral and less protein and was 

 less constipating. 



In the cooperative houses, the Y. W. C. A., etc., the lowest protein consump- 

 tion was 58.6 gm., and the highest 100.1 gm. per day. The lowest calorie con- 

 sumption was 1,760 per day, and the highest was 3,350. There was a great 

 variation in the dietary from day to day. 



A new form of food chart: The inometer, T. Johnson (Dept. Agr. anl Tech. 

 Instr. Ireland Jour., 17 (1917). No. S, pp. US-450).— The chart here described 

 represents an attempt to arrange common food materials according to their fuel 

 value and at the same time to show the cost and the ratio of protein to energy 

 of each, and also to indicate the commonly accepted energy requirements for 

 men of varying muscular activity. The practical utility of the chart is impaired 

 by the fact that while the energy values are based on edible portion data, the 

 prices quoted are for material as purchased. All figures used for computing 

 fuel values are based on analyses published by the U. S. Department of Agri- 

 culture. 



ANIMAL PRODUCTION. 



The selection problem, R. Pearl {Amer. Nat., 51 {1917), No. 602, pp. 65-91). — 

 This is a brief review of some of the more important findings regarding the 

 selection problem that have accumulated in the experimental study of evolu- 

 tion, and a plea for more investigations as to the causes of genetic (factorial) 

 variation. 



