92 ALIMENTATION. 



pose no other grain can take its place. The oat-cakes, which 

 are so common in Scotland, are apt to produce diarrhoea in 

 persons not accustomed to their use. 



Barley is not a very important article of diet. In com- 

 position it resembles rye. Barley-water, a mucilaginous 

 drink made by boiling barley, contains gum and a small pro- 

 portion of nutritive material, and is often used in therapeu- 

 tics as an agreeable demulcent drink. Malt, which is so 

 largely used in brewing, is produced from barley which has 

 been made to germinate by heat and moisture. It is in this 

 process that the ferment called diastase is produced. 



Rice is produced in abundance in low, swampy lands in 

 certain parts of the United States, particularly South Caro- 

 lina. Millions of people in Eastern countries are said to sub- 

 sist almost exclusively on this article. For this reason it is 

 regarded by many as highly nutritive, though analysis shows 

 that it contains a comparatively small proportion of nitro- 

 genized matter, its chief ingredient being starch. The pro- 

 portion of starch in rice is nearly ninety per cent. It is prob- 

 able that the nutritive properties of rice have been much 

 exaggerated. When it constitutes the greater part of the food, 

 it is consumed in enormous quantities ; and in those coun- 

 tries in which the inhabitants are said to live exclusively 

 upon it, other articles which contain an abundance of fatty 

 and nitrogenized principles are mixed with it. Although 

 rice is considerably used in civilized countries, it is not a very 

 important article of diet. It is used chiefly in puddings, del- 

 icate cakes, and sometimes in soups, or simply boiled. 



Bread. 



There is probably no animal nor vegetable article of food 

 that presents so admirable a combination of alimentary prin- 

 ciples as that which is appropriately denominated " the staff 

 of life." This fact is corroborated by its universal accept- 

 ance as the prime article of diet in all civilized countries. 

 It is an article which never becomes distasteful from monot- 



