1916] FOODS HUMAN NUTRITION. 861 



Cost of food for an adult woman, Miss C. E. Collet (Jour. Roy. Slatis. «or., 

 79 (1916), No. 3, pp. 300-308) .—The data presented in this paper show the 

 average cost of food per person per week in households of adult women (in all 

 of which some one was especially in chars,'e of the housekeeping) and for adult 

 wage-earning women having no one at home in charge of the housekeeping. 

 The paper is followed by a discussion. 



The cold school lunch, Bab Bell (Univ. Missouri, Col. Agr. Ext. Serv. Circ. 

 10 {1916), pp. 8, figs. S).— Suggestions are given for the choice of foods, the 

 belection of the container, and the packing of the lunch. 



Restricted diet and nutritional deficiency, E. Weill, G. Moubiquand, and 

 P. Michel (Conipt. Rend. Soc. Biol. [Paris], 79 {1916), Nos. 2, pp. 87-39; 5, pp. 

 189-199; 9, pp. 382-386) .—The authors state that the terra "restricted diet" 

 may have different meanings, some restricted diets permitting of normal nutri- 

 tion while others result in illness and, in some cases, in death. In their opinion 

 deficiency diseases are due to depriving the food of some essential substances 

 (vitamins) either by removing the outer coats of cereals or by sterilization of 

 the food. 



Experiments with laboratory animals (cats) are reported which showed 

 that diets of raw, frozen, or salted meat did not produce symptoms of nervous 

 degeneration due to deficiency of the diet. Cats fed exclusively upon sterilized 

 meat showed symptoms similar to those produced in pigeons fed upon exclusive 

 diets of cereals which had been sterilized or those from which the outer layers 

 had been removed. 



It is the authors' belief that sterilization in the case of moat or grains 

 removes some ferment which is essential to normal nutrition of the body, espe- 

 cially the nutrition of the nervous system. Pigeons w-hich were fed exclusively 

 upon a diet of raw polished rice showed nervous degeneration due to the dietary 

 deficiency. Sterilization of the grains produced the same effect as a removal 

 of the outer coat, and sterilization of the grains after the removal of the outer 

 coat hastened the appearance of the symptoms in the case of pigeons. 



The importance of vitamins in relation to nutrition in health and disease, 

 C. VoEGETLiN {Jour. Wttsh. Acad. ScL, 6 {1916), No. 16, pp. 575-595).— lu this 

 lecture the author outlines briefly recent advances in the science of nutrition, 

 especially with reference to the importance of the presence in the diet of small 

 quantities of substances essential for the maintenance of health. The subjects 

 considered are the deficiency disease, beri-beri ; the isolation and chemical 

 properties of vitamins ; the physiological action of vitamins ; and the distribu- 

 tion of vitamins in foods. A discussion of the factors which tend to reduce 

 the vitamin content of the diet is included. 



The digestibility and utilization of egg proteins, W. B. Bateman (Jour. 

 Biol. Chem., 26 {1916), No. 1, pp. 263-291).— The author reports the results of 

 an extended study of the behavior of egg white in the alimentary tract by 

 means of experiments with laboratory animals (dogs, rats, and rabbits) and 

 human subjects. The data reported may be summarized as follows : 



" Raw egg white is found to be a decidedly indigestible substance. It may 

 cause diarrhea in dogs, rats, rabbits, and man when ingested in any large 

 quantity. Its utilization by the body is poor since it is used only to the extent 

 of from 50 to 70 per cent. Subjects can acquire a certain tolerance for the 

 native protein after ingesting it for several days so that it no longer causes 

 diarrhea and is somewhat better utilized." 



It was found that raw egg white could be made digestible through coagula- 

 tion by heat ; by precipitation with alcohol, chloroform, and ether ; by incuba- 

 tion with dilute acids or alkalis; by partial digestion by pepsin; or by 

 conversion into alkali-metaprotein. The well-cooked whites of from four to 



