BY FRITZ NOETLING, M.A., Ph.D., ETC. 303 



I have pointed out above that too large a quantity of 

 shell fish could not possibly be con-mmed, on account of 

 the limited supply. I therefore think that lOO oysters per 

 day are too high an estimate, and that the deficiency had 

 to be made good by the consumption of meat. 



We will therefore assume the diet consisted of — 



Meat, 2,oco gram. \ 



Oysters, 35^1 grn: \ l 4,687 grs!!i 



Native bread, 2,333 gram. I 



This quantity would be increased by 4,667 gram, up to 

 a total of 9.358 gram, if the vegetables consisted of fern 

 tree only, because more than 7,000 gram, would be re- 

 quired of this stuft. 



We have therefore the following total weight of the 

 food consumed daily per head: — 



(a) If the carbo-hydrates w^re chiefly supplied by the 

 consumption of fungi — min. 4,141 gram. gib. max. 4,687 

 gram.=iolb. 



(b) If the carbo-hydrates were chiefly supplied by the 

 consumption of fern roots — min. 8,679 gram.^ ri9lb. max. 

 9,354 gram.-..r2olb. 



It may be questioned whether a human stomach could 

 digest such enormous quantities of food, in particular 

 the large vegetabilic portion. It is much more certain 

 that the Aborigines did not consume anything near the 

 quantity of vegetabilic food theoretically required. 



It is therefore certain that their diet was considerably 

 in excess of protein and greatly deficient in carbo- 

 hydrates. There was no possible way of making good 

 the latter deficiency, and this accounts for their voracity. 

 They were bound to consume enormous quantities of 

 meat and shell fish in order to get even a small supply of 

 ca^bo-hydrates. They attempted to add to this by eating- 

 certain vegetables, but the percentage of carbo-hydrates 

 in them was so small that it did not assist materially 

 unless enormous quantities, which no human being could 

 digest, w^ere consumed. It is pathetic to think that the 

 whole existence of this race was a permanent struggle to 

 satisfy the craving of the body for carbo-hydrates, but 

 that they w^ere never able to provide a sufficient supply. 



