74 GRAHAM LUSK 



this conception was in his mind to the end. In 1885 it was shown by 

 Rubner in Voit's laboratory that the relation between carbon and nitrogen 

 in meat protein, instead of being 3.68 C : 1 N, was really 3.28 C : 1 N. 

 Seven years after this Pfliiger's polemical arraignment cf Voit's older 

 work appeared, which was based upon a recalculation of the former experi- 

 ments of Pettenkofer and Voit (*). To this Voit made no reply, since 

 such a recalculation was merely in accord with Voit's later understanding* 



At one time I had the good fortune to talk with Pfliiger for about half 

 an hour. He saw very few people and the introduction occurred under 

 especially favorable auspices. We discussed the production of sugar from 

 protein, which he freely admitted was possible, though at the time in his 

 writings he was inveighing against the idea. He was cordial, friendly 

 and appeared to me to resemble Voit more closely than any one I had ever 

 seen. His writings seemed to belie the character of the man. 



Voit was the first to insist upon the value of flavor in the diet, A 

 food was a well-tasting mixture of foodstuffs, he insisted. A food without 

 flavor was rejected by both man and beast. 



To give in detail the later historical development appears unnecessary. 

 A Munich review of the German translation of Lusk's " Science of Nu- 

 trition" (Stoffwechsel und Ernahrung) states that the development of the 

 school of Voit was nowhere else so thoroughly expounded. 



Voit was always keenly interested in his lectures and his teaching. 

 He was precise in his statements, clear and interesting. He read his 

 lectures or presented the materials from notes, but no one in the audience 

 could tell whether he was reading from a text, as he often did, or extempo- 

 rizing. The lecture was in truth a "Vorlesung." He was conscientious 

 in every relation in life. A story is 'told that when the orders went forth 

 that the university would end on the fifteenth of the month, the professor 

 was greatly disturbed as to whether 'the order meant "including" or "ex- 

 cluding" the fifteenth. This was at a time when the average professor 

 stopped lecturing vvhen it suited his convenience, and many days before 

 the time set. His own standards which he set for himself were rigid. 

 He was an upright, honest, fearless, kindly man. At one time an assistant, 

 meaning to flatter him, said, "Your views are certainly the right ones," 

 to which he replied in tones of sharp reproof, "It makes no difference 

 who is right so long as the truth is ultimately achieved." 



Rubner, Erwin Voit (a brother), Friedrich M tiller, F. Moritz, Fritz 

 Voit (a son), Straub, Ellinger, Otto Frank, Prausnitz, Gruber, Cremer, 

 Weinland, Heilner, Atwater and I all owe allegience to the Munich school 

 of Voit. 



Voit taught that one case carefully investigated was worth more than 

 many hundreds casually examined. 



On the practical side, his investigations showed that an average labor- 

 ing man consumed food containing 118 gin. of protein and about 3,000 



