40 Journal of the Department of Agriculture. 



reasons, be expected in any marked degree. On the other hand we 

 have large areas unsuitable for wheat, oats, and barley, but on which 

 rye can with profit be grown. This is the cereal we advocate for 

 supplementing our deficient wheat supply, for it makes a wholesome 

 and palatable bread, either as a rye loaf or as an admixture with 

 wheaten flour. But in this country the value of rye as an article of 

 human diet is practically unknown; yet its use, even to a moderate 

 degree, would solve our difficulty. 



While wheat is undeniably the best bread cereal, other cereals 

 are often undervalued. Rye is little inferior to wheat; indeed many 

 people who have the choice between wheat and rye bread take the 

 latter in preference. Thousands of people in Europe depend on rye 

 bread as their staple form of sustenance. 



"We know what was done in other countries to conserve their 

 wheat supplies at a time of universal shortage. In this connection 

 the work of the United States Food Administration afi^ords a valuable 

 lesson in the practical use of cereals other than wheat. This Govern- 

 ment body was charged, among other duties, with the reducing of 

 wheat consumption in the United States for the purpose of supplying 

 the Allies with as much wheat as could possibly be spared. In the 

 course of their duty the question arose as to what extent the wheat 

 to which the people of the United States were accustomed in their 

 diet could be reduced without injury to the individuals of the nation. 

 The matter was laid before a committee composed of the highest 

 physiological authorities in the country and their answer, as follows, 

 to the question was direct and unequivocal. "It is the scientific 

 opinion of the committee that in a mixed diet wheat may be entirely 

 replaced, without harm, by other available cereals, namely, rice, 

 barley, oats, and corn (maize). However, we should not recommend 

 this except as an emergency measure." This pronouncement should 

 dispel the fear which many people may have as to possible ill-health 

 or malnutrition following any disturbance in the composition of their 

 wonted daily loaf. But we do not need to consider such drastic 

 action as entirely replacing our wheaten loaf; the position is amply 

 met by a moderate use of other cereals, in particular rye, which, under 

 local conditions, is the one most closely resembling wheat that can 

 profitably be produced in the Union. To attain this end the old 

 habit of demanding the pure wheaten loaf will need to be modified. 

 It is merely a matter of what we are accustomed to. We affirm, 

 therefore, that we can with advantage introduce an article of diet 

 which hitherto has not been placed before us, by popularizing the use 

 of rye meal in our bread. The matter lies primarily in the hands of 

 the consumer. 



This suggested means of making good the shortage of our wheat 

 supply, was one, it will be observed, recommended to a hundred 

 million people of the United States after careful consideration by the 

 Government of that country, for in their campaign the United States 

 Food Administration advocated the following means of conserving 

 wheat : — 



" (1) By eliminating waste in the use of all breads and cereal 

 products. 



(2) By eating more vegetables in place of other foods, especially 

 during the summer months. 



