BY FRITZ NOETLING, M.A., Ph.D., ETC. 



301 



granL--_r5i/2lb. meat and oysters, the potential energy of 

 his food would be equal to 2,683 calories — that is to say, 

 about the same as that of the German soldiers on peace 

 footing, whose fuel value represents 2,827 calories. A 

 reference to the diet of the German soldier will, however, 

 show that it is more judiciously composed, inasmuch as 

 the ratio nitrogenous to non-nitrogenous is 1 14.6 — 5, and 

 that it contains 641 — 893 gram, solids, while our Tas- 

 manian consumes 627 grams, of solids only, and the 

 ratio nitrogenous to non-nitrogenous substances is 

 I :o.23. 



It is more than questionable whether the Tasmanian 

 race could have existed on a diet of so small a potential 

 energy as 1,342.6 calories if we consider the active life 

 they led, particularly when their food contained such an 

 excess of protein. 



They may have, and they certainly did, supplement 

 their diet by eggs; but considering that eggs contain 

 13.5 per cent, protein, this would only tend to increase 

 the quantity of protein in a diet which is already too rich 

 in these substances. It is true eggs contain 11.6 per cent, 

 of fat, but this substance could comparatively easily be 

 supplied by consuming the more fatty animals like seals, 

 or the marrow of the bones; and, what is still more im- 

 portant, eggs can be obtained for about three months 

 only out of twelve. Eggs were largely consumed when 

 in season, but for the above reason we cannot consider 

 them to enter into the regular all-round diet of the year. 



We will now turn to the vegetabilic food, which 

 chiefly suppHes the carbo-hydrates. Xo analysis being 

 available, we will assume that fern root and the pith of 

 the fern tree contain 5.5 per cent, of carbo-hydrates,' the 

 same as cabbage, though we can be pretty certain that 

 even this is too high an estimate; therefore i kilogram 

 fern root would contain 55 gram, of carbo-hydrates. 

 Assuming their diet consisted of i kilo meat and 100 

 oysters (i), weighing in the aggregate 1,708 gram., and 

 containing — 



(i) I take this number on account of the high percentage of 

 carbo-hydrates the oyster contains. 



