AN INVITATION TO DINNER* 343 



to endeavour to discover wherein the feeding of the animal differs 

 from that of the plant. 



Smith's invitation may aid us in our search after the essential 

 features of the food of the animal hosts ; for it can be shown readily 

 enough that there exists a close parallel between the dietary on which 

 Professor Caudal and his fellow-guests contrive to exist, and that 

 which ministers to the well-being of all other animal forms. The 

 invitation given to an animal to partake of the bill of fare which we 

 have seen to be capable of satisfying the modest demands of the 

 plant, would be equivalent, as Professor Huxley has remarked, to 

 asking the former to attend a Barmecide's feast. The water, 

 minerals, carbonic acid gas, and ammonia, on which the ordinary 

 green plant thrives, present no attraction to the animal. Imagine 

 that deliberate gourmet, Caudal, being asked to dine off such fare ! 

 We can understand the doubly effective objections social and 

 scientific which would issue from the professorial mind if such a 

 prospect were set before it. But the great scientific luminary who 

 will enjoy Smith's dinner a fortnight or so hence, is not a wit removed 

 from the animalcule in the superiority of his tastes and demands above 

 those of the green plant ; whilst he may discover that both animalcule 

 and man are not so very different, after all, in the essential nature of 

 their feeding from the fungus, or from the insect-eating vegetables. 



If we sum up the materials which our dinner at Smith's will 

 present to view, we may very readily resolve them into a variety of 

 tolerably simple substances. Furthermore, these substances will 

 prove to be not over-numerous. Smith's dinner may begin with 

 potage aux choux, a form of liquid nutriment in favour at this season 

 in the Smith's cuisine. Yoifoisson we may, let us suppose, be pre- 

 sented with sole bouillie or titrbot ; the releve's may be Caudal's 

 special tit-bit before mentioned, filets de bceuf^ or even the haricot de 

 venaison for which Smith's chef is famous. As for entree, the/atsan 

 bouilli, or a salmi de perdreaux, is a likely guess, and the rot and 

 entremets we may set down provisionally as becasses ou becassines, and 

 as foie gras and petites coquilles, respectively. 



Now, the above list appears to represent a vast number of very 

 different substances. Chemically, it can be shown to be resolvable into 

 relatively few and simple elements. Smith and his chef together might 

 feel surprised to discover that their elaborate menu was capable of being 

 chemically shown to consist probably of three-fourths water in combi- 

 nation with the solids. The analysis of the menu might be roughly but 

 approximately indicated if I said that at Smith's dinner we will feed 

 upon water ; minerals ; certain " flesh-forming " substances containing 

 nitrogen as their characteristic element ; fats and oils ; and starches 

 and sugars of various kinds and qualities. The water is a necessity 

 for animal life, as for the existence of the plant. In one form or 



