FOODS NUTRITION. 895 



up the ration of enlisted men of the PhiUppine Scouts, when on garrison or field 

 service, are noted and other topics connected with the army ration are treated of. 

 It is stated that the emergency ration, discussed at length in a previous publication,^' 

 has been quite generally used in the Philippines, "though it has not proved wholly 

 a success, but experiments are still in progress, and it is expected that in due time a 

 ration of this character will be evolved which will prove satisfactory in every respect." 



What one eats in the Philippines, A. W. Greeley [LacUeii' Home Jour., 20 

 [I'JOS) , Xo. 4, p- 10). — The author briefly discusses the fruits, vegetaljles, meats, and 

 fish use<I in different localities in the Philippines, methods of preparation, diet of 

 natives and foreigners, and related topics. 



Alcohol and muscular energy, L. Schnyder {Arch. Phymol. [PfJuger], 99 

 {190S), No. 9-10, pp. 451-4^4, figs. 7). — In the experiments reported muscular work 

 was performed with a Dubois ergograph, which is a modification of the apparatus 

 devised by INIosso. The following conclusions were reached: Small doses of alcohol 

 have a favorable effect upon muscular action when taken fasting and when the bodily 

 strength is, to some extent, reduced as a result of individual condition. The favor- 

 able effect is less than that of a food of like energy value. At the same time the 

 alcohol hinders the action of the nervous system, the amount being jiroportional to 

 the physiological condition of the subject. When sufficient energy is provided by 

 the food, alcohol has no value, but on the other hand its effect on the nervous sys- 

 tem is more pronounced and results in a diminution of muscular power. 



A physiological study of nucleic acid, L. B. Mendel, F. B. Uxderhill, 

 and 15. White [Amer. Jour. Phi/.^ioI.,8 {1903), Xo. 5, pp. 317-403, <hjm. l).—ln this 

 article, which has to do with the chemistry, physiological action, and fat in the body 

 of nucleic acid, the authors review at length the previous investigations on the sub- 

 ject, and report experiments with lower animals and with man, the work being sum- 

 marized as follows: 



"The more important observations recorded in this paper indicate that the vege- 

 table nucleic acid obtained from the wheat embryo resembles, in its physiological 

 effects, the guanylic acid of the pancreas. Introduced in sufficient doses into the 

 circulation, it may produce a fall in arterial pressure; a change in the coagulability 

 of the blood; an increase in the flow of lymph and a change in its composition; and 

 perhaps, also, a degree of immunity toward subsequent injections. 



"The ingestion of nucleic acid is followed in man by an increased output of uric 

 acid, and in the dog by the excretion of allantoin. These pro<lucts correspond in 

 either case to only a portion of the purin radicals introduced. In animals, allantoin 

 excretion was also observed after the introduction of vegetable nucleic acids into the 

 body per rectum, intravenously, intraperitoneally, and subcutaneously. Some fea- 

 tures of intermediary purin-metabolism are discussed." 



Notes on the "protag-on" of the brain, W. W. Lesem and W. J. Gies {Amer. 

 Jour. Physiol., S {1902), No. 3, pp. 183-196) .—Chem\c&\ studies, including elementary 

 analyses, led the authors to the conclusion that "the protagon oi the brain is a mix- 

 ture of substances, not a chemical individual, [and that] the mixture called protagon 

 does not contain the bulk of the phosphorized organic substance of the brain." 



Camp fires in the wilderness, E. W. Bi'rt (Boston: National Sportsman Press, 

 1902, pp. 164, JjIs. 23). — In addition to other matters pertaining to camps and camp- 

 ing, the author discusses food and its preparation in camjo, giving a number of recipes 

 and an estimate of the kinds and amounts of food sufficient for 3 men on a 2 weeks' 

 camping trip. 



How I live without cooking, W. T. Larned {Ladies' Home Jour., 20 {1903), No. ■ 

 3, p. 18). — The author states that for some 2 years he has lived almost exclusively on 

 a diet of raw cereals, fruits, nuts, vegetables and milk, butter and eggs, with the addi- 



«Com. Gen. Subsist. U. S. Army Rpt., 1901, pp. 54-98. 



