Mr. Luckcock on the Nutritive Properties of Food. 135 



that I may form my own opi- pretences whatever to chemical know- 



1823.] 



matter, 



nion as to the correctness of the state- 

 ment; and, till this is done, a reasona- 

 ble and allowable scepticism must oc- 

 cupy ray mind. One of the articles I 

 could readily approve, without farther 

 investigation, having long been of opi- 

 nion that butcher's meat was rated ex- 

 travagantly too high in the scale of 

 diet; so that, in the present estimate, 

 it seems a fair sample of the impiirti- 

 ality of the writers. I have read much, 

 though, I acknowledge, not very satis- 

 factorily, of farina, saccharine, gluten, 

 &c. as being the basis of animal nutri- 

 ment in theory ; but I have not been 

 fortunate enough to meet with sufficient 

 vouchers for their application, as mat- 

 ters of fact or experience. Our paper 

 of reference says, greens and turnips 

 contain so many parts of " solid nu- 

 tritious matter ;" is it meant by this, 

 that the solid matter, as far as it goes, 

 is equal in nutriment to the solid mat- 

 ter of the lentil? If so, there needs 

 no calculation in the case; but any 

 pressure, that should separate the 

 aqueous from tlie solid substiince, 

 would give the result at once : if not 

 so ; then what is the difference, and on 

 what properties are the assertions 

 founded ? Again, having supposed 

 them to have analyzed the substances 

 in question as expert chemists, and 

 given their opinion as men of unques- 

 tionable veracitj', yet, still it is de- 

 sirable we should be able to trace 

 their experiments on the human 

 frame, and on that of the lower order 

 of animals. 



To proceed methodically, would it 

 not be well, first to ascertain what 

 portion of our food should necessarily 

 be nutritious to sustain the body, 

 either in mental or corporeal exertion, 

 or in a state of comparative inanity ; 

 and then, how much is requisite of the 

 inferior quality, to keep the stomach 

 and intestines in a state of openness 

 iind tension, witliout possessing the 

 properties of nutriment? Were these 

 two points settled upon something 

 like a rational hypothesis, a new door 

 would thus be opened to infinite inves- 

 tigation and improvement. The per- 

 petual renovation of the blood througii 

 all its ramifications docs not aj)pear to 

 rc(piire the xu|)ply of nnich solid mat- 

 ter; and the I'xcrctions of perspiration, 

 &c. being all lluidity, may well be sup- 

 posed to b(! fed by llie penetrating ac- 

 tivity of the \ititl air, (;omI)incMl with 

 liie alniosifliciic moisture, I make no 



ledge, as connected with animal life ; 

 but have always been disposed to 

 think, that more nourishment is de- 

 rived to the human frame from the 

 water we variously imbibe, than phy- 

 siologists have generally been aware 

 of; and that the solid aliment we take 

 operates principally in decomposing 

 that water, so as to render it fit for the 

 purposes of animal life ; and, passing 

 through the system, produces, in every 

 stage, some portion of this beneficial 

 elfect. In the vegetable economy this 

 principle is, I believe, generally ad- 

 mitted, as experiments are more easily 

 made, and the results more obvious; 

 and, the closer we draw the analogy 

 between animal and vegetable nutri- 

 tion, the nearer perhaps we approach 

 to the truth. 



If 3lbs. of good bread may be consi- 

 dered as sulhcient for a day to sustain 

 a man in a state of health, (as our pri- 

 sons can abundantly verify,) then, 

 allowing the statement of Messrs. P. 

 and V. in any degree to approach cor- 

 rectness, four-fifths of this, or nearly 

 2^1bs., will be of that quality whicU 

 they consider as supplying nutriment. 

 Jiut are they, or any otlier persons, 

 prepared to say, that a mucli smaller 

 quantity would net answer the same 

 purpose, if alloyed with a sufficient 

 portion of inferior aliment? The arti- 

 cle of carrots, which has always been 

 considered as highly nutritive, from its 

 abundance of saccharine, may well be 

 brought into the comparison. This is 

 said to contain but about one-seventh 

 part in nutriment, or about 7 oz, in 

 3lbs. : how easy would it be to make 

 the experiment, to ascertain if 31bs. of 

 carrots would not keep a convict in as 

 good a stiite of body as 3lbs. of bread ; 

 and, by following up the result, to 

 learn exactly what projiortions would 

 best suit in all circumstances. Some 

 years ago, during a severe scarcity, it 

 was a subject of nmch public enquiry, 

 whether it was most economical to use 

 fine or coarse broad ; and I forget 

 whether it was the decision of a com- 

 mittee of the House of Commons, or 

 some other great public body, that, as 

 lino Hour would laUe a much larger 

 quanlity of water than that which was 

 coarse, in the same proportion was fine 

 bread the cheapest. J his might be a 

 right conclusion as far as the enquiry 

 went, but it did not meet the (|U(sliou 

 to its full extent. Jf, by the addition 

 of soiiieolher substance, notinifricndly 



