MEATS, BREAD ETC. 185 



not all that is required in alimentation ; and those who have the responsi- 

 bility of regulating the diet of a large number of persons must bear in mind 

 the fact that the organism demands considerable variety. Fresh vegetables, 

 fruits etc., should be taken at the proper seasons. It is almost always found, 

 when there is of necessity some sameness of diet, that there is a craving for 

 particular articles, and these, if possible, should be supplied. This was fre- 

 quently exemplified in the civil war. At times when the diet was necessarily 

 somewhat monotonous, there was an almost universal craving for onions and 

 raw potatoes, which were found by army surgeons to be excellent antiscor- 

 butics. 



With those who supply their own food, the question of variety of diet 

 generally regulates itself ; and in institutions, it is a good rule to follow as 

 far as possible the reasonable tastes of the inmates. In individuals, particu- 

 larly females, it is not uncommon to observe marked disorders in nutrition 

 attributable to want of variety in the diet as well as to an insufficient quan- 

 tity of food as a matter of education or habit. 



A full consideration of the varieties of food and of the different methods 

 employed in its preparation belongs properly to special works on dietetics. 

 Among the ordinary articles of diet, the most important are meats, bread, 

 potatoes, milk, butter and eggs ; and it is necessary only to treat of these 

 very briefly. 



Meats. Among the various kinds of muscular tissue, beef has been found 

 to possess the greatest nutritive value. Other varieties of flesh, even that of 

 birds, fishes and animals in a wild state, do not present an appreciable differ- 

 ence, as far as can be ascertained by chemical analysis ; but when taken daily 

 for a long time, they become distasteful, the appetite fails, and the system 

 seems to demand a change of diet. The flesh of carnivorous animals is rarely 

 used as food ; and animals that eat animal as well as vegetable food, such as 

 pigs or ducks, acquire a disagreeable flavor when they are not fed on vege- 

 tables. Soups, broths, and most of the liquid extracts of meat really pos- 

 sess but little nutritive value and they can not replace the ordinary cooked 

 meats. The following is the composition of roasted meat, no dripping be- 

 ing lost, according to the analysis of Ranke, quoted by Pavy : 



Nitrogenous matters 27-60 



Fat 15-45 



Saline matters 2-95 



Water 54-00 



100-00 



Bread. Bread presents a considerable variety of alimentary constituents 

 and is a very important article of diet. The constituents of flour undergo 

 peculiar changes in panification, which give to good bread its character- 

 istic flavor. Bread, especially coarse, brown bread, as a single article of 

 food, is capable of sustaining life for a long time. It contains a large pro- 

 portion of starch, but its important nitrogenized constituent is gluten, which 

 is not a simple substance but contains vegetable fibrin, vegetable albumin, a 



