366 EXPEEIMENT STATION RECORD. 



"Actual underfeeding due to lack of income is the chief cause of malnutri- 

 tion. To the low wages paid to worliingmen may be attributed the real reason 

 for the underfeeding of children which so seriously menaces the vitality of the 

 next generation." 



The diet of Japanese farmers, R. Inaba {Mitt. Med. Gesell. ToMo, 21 (1907), 

 No. 21, pp. 1-88). — Diet in rural regions in Japan is discussed and the results 

 of 14 dietary studies are reported. 



In the first 7 studies the principal food was a mixture of rice and barley and 

 in the remaining studies, rice, these materials being supplemented by soy bean 

 products and similar food materials. The barley and rice diet supplied per 

 man per day 125.89 gm. protein, 31.57 gm. fat. and 6G3.40 gm. carbohydrates, 

 the energy value being 3,529 calories. The rice diet supplied on an average 

 77.79 gm. protein, 16.92 gm. fat, and 530.46 gm. carbohydrates, the energy value 

 being 2,676 calories. Considering all the studies together, the daily foods sup- 

 plied on an average 101.88 gm. protein, 24.24 gm. fat, and 597.36 gm. carbohy- 

 drates, the energy value being 3,091 calories. On an average less than half the 

 protein and about one-eleventh of the carbohydrates of the diet were supplied 

 by the foods other than rice or rice and barley. The diet supplied on an 

 average 55.90 calories per kilogram of body weight or 1,678 calories per square 

 meter of surface area. 



According to the author's results, the coefficients of digestibility for the rice 

 and barley diet were protein 69.6 per cent, fat 62.91 per cent, and carbohy- 

 drates 98.83 per cent : and for the rice diet protein 77.27 per cenr, fat 72.73 per 

 cent, and cai'bohydrates 99.44 per cent. 



Detailed studies of the urine are also reported. 



The author's conclusions were in effect as follows : 



It may be inferred from the facts reported that the farmers' families 

 studied lived almost entirely on vegetable foods. However, they select, arrange, 

 and cook their food in such a manner as to make it palatable and digestible. 

 Although the supply of protein is not sufflcient to meet the requirements of 

 Volt's dietary standard, and fat is also limited, yet the farmers carry on hard 

 labor and secui-e sufficient energy, mainly in the form of carbohydrates, to 

 compensate for the consumption of body substance. Thus, they spare protein 

 and at the same time become fat, and attain to a strong physical development. 

 Furthermore, the nearly equal apportionment of food for the several daily 

 meals keeps the digestive organs from overwork and diminishes the possibility 

 of digestive and metabolic disturbances. Their diet, however, is by no means 

 an ideal one and it is hoped that by increasing the amount of animal food it 

 may be brought up to perfection. This can not be easily realized under the 

 present economic conditions in Japan. It is necessary, therefore, to encourage 

 cattle farming as a part of agricultui'e in order to increase the supply of 

 animal food and to decrease the cost of such food. 



The article is supplemented by an extended bibliography containing a large 

 number of references to literature published in Japanese. 



[The Japanese victory in Manchuria and vegetarianism], J. J. Matio.non 

 (Rev. -SV-i. [Parifi], J,8 (WW), II, No. 9, pp. 265-269).— In his discussion the 

 author summarizes data regai'ding the ration of the Japanese troops in Man- 

 churia and directs attention to the relatively large amount of meat and other 

 animal food which it contained. 



The cost of living-, R. Luce et al. (Boston, 1910, pp. 752, dgms. 6). — This 

 report, made by the Massachusetts Commission on the Cost of Living, eom- 

 Iirises the results of an exhaustive study of living conditions, including such 

 topics as price statistics, wages and hours of labor, chief items of expenditure, 

 social and individual wastage, changes in supply and demand, and changes in 



