184 ALIMENTATION. 



this kind, it has been shown than an animal diet is much more favorable to 

 the development of the physical forces than one consisting mainly of vege- 

 tables. 



Climate has an important influence on the quantity of food demanded by 

 the system. It is generally acknowledged that the consumption of all kinds 

 of food is greater in cold than in warm climates, and almost every one has 

 experienced in his own person a considerable difference in the appetite at 

 different seasons of the year. Travelers' accounts of the quantity of food 

 taken by the inhabitants of the frigid zone are almost incredible. They speak 

 of men consuming more than a hundred pounds (45-36 kilos.) of meat in a 

 day ; and a Russian admiral, Saritcheff, gave an instance o a man who, in 

 his presence, ate at a single meal a mess of boiled rice and butter weighing 

 twenty-eight pounds (12 -7 kilos.). Although it is difficult to regard these 

 statements with entire confidence, the general opinion that the appetite is 

 greater in cold than in warm climates is undoubtedly well founded. 

 Hayes stated, from his personal observation, that the daily ration of the Es- 

 quimaux is twelve to fifteen pounds (5-443 to 6-804 kilos.), of meat, about 

 one-third of which is fat. On one occasion he saw an Esquimau consume 

 ten pounds (4-536 kilos.) of walrus-flesh and blubber at a single meal, which 

 lasted, however, several hours. The continued low temperature he found 

 had a remarkable effect on the tastes of his own party. With the thermom- 

 eter ranging from 60 to 70 Fahr. (51 to 57 C.), there was a persist- 

 ent craving for a strong animal diet, particularly fatty substances. Some 

 members of the party were in the habit of drinking the contents of the oil- 

 kettle with evident relish. 



Necessity of a Varied Diet. In considering the nutritive value of the 

 various alimentary substances, the fact that no single one of them is capable 

 of supplying all the material for the regeneration of the organism has fre- 

 quently been mentioned. The normal appetite, which is the best guide as 

 regards the quantity and the selection of food, indicates that a varied diet is 

 necessary to proper nutrition. This fact is exemplified in a marked degree 

 in long voyages and in the alimentation of armies, when, from necessity or 

 otherwise, the necessary variety of aliment is not presented. Analytical chem- 

 istry fails to show why this change in alimentation is necessary or in what 

 the deficiency in a single kind of diet consists ; but it is nevertheless true 

 that after the organic constituents of the organism have appropriated the 

 nutritious elements of particular kinds of food for a certain time, they lose 

 the power of effecting the changes necessary to proper nutrition. This fact 

 is particularly well marked when the diet consists in great part of salted 

 meats, although it sometimes occurs when a single kind of fresh meat is con- 

 stantly used. After long confinement to a diet restricted as regards variety, 

 a supply of other matters, such as fresh vegetables, the organic acids, and 

 articles which are called generally antiscorbutics, becomes indispensable; 

 otherwise, the modifications in nutrition and in the constitution of the blood 

 incident to the scorbutic condition are almost always developed. 



It is thus apparent that adequate quantity and proper quality of food are 



