302 



THE FOOD OP THE TASMANIAN ABORIGINES. 



Gram. 



Water 1,360 



Protein 247 



Fat 43 



Carbo-hydrates 26 



Salts 30 



a deficiency of 378 gram, of carbo-hydrates, omitting" the 

 fats (i), had to be made good by eating vegetables. If 

 this were made good by eating cabbage, onions, or 

 trufifle, it would require in round figures — 



Cabbage, 7 kilogram (2)3=1 5 3^ lb. 

 Onions, 3^ kilogram=z7.7lb. 

 Truffles, 21-3 kilogramz=:5.olb. 



Taking even the most exaggerated view of the food 

 value of fern root or fern pith, it would require 7 kilo- 

 gram, or I5>^lb. of this stuff, to supply the required 

 quantity of carbo hydrates. No human being could 

 digest such a quantity of vegetabilic matter, even if it did 

 not contain such an enormous mass of wood fibres as fern 

 roots do. Supposing they had, however, always an ample 

 supply of Mylitta australis (the native bread), it would 

 still require 2 i-3rd kilo=:5.olb., to produce the sufficient 

 quantity of carbo hydrates, which would, by the way, 

 contain 1,848 gram, of undigestible wood fibre. 



The daily diet of the Tasmanians would therefore be 

 approximately — 



Meat, I to 2 kilo. 

 Oysters, 354 to 708 gram. 



Fern tree root and other vegetables, 2 i-3rd to 

 7 kilo. 



If we were to take the most favourable mixture, the 

 total quantity of food consumed would be — 



Meat, 1,000 gram. J 



Oysters, 708 gram. >4,i4i gram. 



Native bread, 2,333 gram. ) 



If no native bread be available and fern root had to be 

 consumed, the total quantity would be 8,679 gram. 



(i) Deficiency in fat could always be made good by a supply 

 of eggs or a small quantity of marrow. 

 (2) More correctly 6.871 kilogram. 



