68 PHYSIOLOGY AND NATIONAL NEEDS 



it would appear that the modern use of lime-juice 

 as an antiscorbutic is based on a misconception of 

 the value of this material. How this came about 

 has been elucidated by Mrs. Henderson Smith, and 

 the subject affords a striking example of the danger 

 of making even the smallest generalisation on 

 dietetic questions without a sound experimental 

 basis of fact. In the old days the term " lime- 

 juice " was applied to the juice of fruit obtained 

 from the Mediterranean countries, which chiefly 

 comprised lemons, but also probably included the 

 sweet lime {Citrus medica, var. limetta). This juice 

 was highly potent, and it was by its use that the 

 navy was freed from the terrible scourge which 

 had previously devastated it. At a subsequent 

 date, however (about 1866), the West Indian lime 

 was substituted, without experimental enquiry, for 

 the Mediterranean fruits. Scurvy was then no 

 longer to be feared at sea, except in unusual cir- 

 cumstances, such as those of Arctic exploration, 

 and the records show that from that date the 

 official '^ lime-juice " ceased to be of any value as 

 an antiscorbutic. 



It seems probable that the Admiralty in making 

 the change in 1866 were to some extent influenced 

 by the superior acidity of the West Indian juice, 

 since it was commonly held that the antiscorbutic 

 potency was due to the citric acid which is char- 

 acteristic of all these juices. It is now known, 



