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POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



Reprints : Allen, H., M. D., and Moore, H. F. : 

 A Biographical Sketch of John Adam Ryder 

 (Proceedings of the Philadelphia Academy of 

 Natural Sciences, April, 1896). Atkinson, Archer : 

 Longevity (Virginia Medical Journal, February, 

 1894). Bolton, H. C. : Review of Berthelot'e 

 Cc ntributions to the History of Chemistry (Jour- 

 nal of the American Chemical Society, May, 

 1896). Brewer, W. H. : Earth Tremors at Niag- 

 ara Falls (Yale Scientific Monthly, May, 1896). 

 Brinton, D. G. : An Ethnologist's View of His- 

 tory (New Jersey Historical Society, January 28, 

 1896). Clarke, Henry L. : The Life History of 

 Star Systems (Popular Astronomy, No. 30). 

 Dorsey, George A. : History of the Study of 

 Anthropology at Harvard University (Denison 

 Quarterly, Vol. IV, No. 2, Granville, Ohio). Fair- 

 child, H. L. : Kame Areas in Western New York 

 South of Irondequoit and Sodus Bays (Journal of 

 Geology, February and March, 1896), and the 

 Kame Moraine at Rochester, N. Y. (American 

 Geologist, July, 1895). Hague, Arnold : The 

 Age of the Igneous Rocks of the Yellowstone 

 National Park (American Journal of Science, 

 June, 1896). Hale, E. M., M. D. : The Heart at 

 the Beginning and Ending of the Menstrual Life 

 (Hahnemannfan Monthly, June, 1896). Halibur- 

 ton, R. G. : Dwarf Survivals and Traditions as to 

 Pygmy Races (Proceedings of the American Asso- 

 ciation for the Advancement of Science, Vol. 

 XLIV, 1895). Hopkins, T. C. : The Carboniferous 

 Sandstones of Western Indiana (Twenty-sixth 



Annual Report, Department of Geology and Natu- 

 ral Resources of Indiana). Johnson, H. L. B. : A 

 Contribution to the Study of Atresia of the Uter- 

 ine Canal after the Menopause, with a Report of 

 Three Cases (Journal of the American Medical 

 Association, December 7, 1895). Keyes. Charles 

 Rollin : An Epoch in the History of American 

 Science (Annals of the Iowa Historical Quarterly. 

 Third Series, Vol. ID, and Missouri Building and 

 Ornamental Stones (Stone, Vols. XII and Xin, 

 1896). Mason, O. T. : Introduction of the Iron 

 Age into America (American Anthropologist, 

 June, 1896). Sturtevant Prelinnaean Library of 

 the Missouri Botanical Garden (Seventh Annual 

 Report of the Missouri Botanical Garden, St. 

 Louis, 1896). 



Ross, Hon. George W. : The School System 

 of Ontario (Canada) (International Education 

 Series). New York : D. Appleton & Co. Pp. 203. 



Shcrborn, C. D. An Index to the Genera and 

 Species of the Foraminifera. Part II. Nou to 

 Z (Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections, 1031). 



Spratt, Leonidas. Nature of an Universe of 

 Life. Jacksonville, Florida : Vance Printing 

 Company. Pp. 210. 



Tuttle, Herbert B. Chemistry at a Glance. 

 New York. Pp. 59. 60 cents. 



Witchell, Charles A. The Evolution of Bird 

 Song. New York : Macmillan & Co. London : 

 Adam and Charles Black. Pp. 248. $1.75. 



XK%mzuts of gttimtt. 



Nutritive Value of Meats. In a recent 

 article on the value of meats as food, in the 

 Dietetic and Hygienic Gazette, Prof. R. H. 

 Chittenden corrects several very widespread 

 misconceptions regarding meat values. He 

 says : " The cheapest food is that which sup- 

 plies the most nutriment for the least money. 

 The well-known maxim that ' the best is the 

 cheapest ' is not true of foods, for the term 

 best in this connection is ordinarily applied to 

 that which has the finest appearance, the finest 

 flavor, the most tender structure, etc. Thus, 

 there is no more nutriment in a pound of pro- 

 teid from tenderloin steak than in the same 

 weight of proteid from the neck or shoulder, 

 and yet note the great difference in cost. The 

 tenderloin will not supply the body's needs one 

 particle better than the coarse-grained meat 

 from some other quarter. A great deal of 

 money is spent by people who can ill afford 

 it, because of this notion that the more ex- 

 pensive cuts are the more nutritious ; much 

 of it is perhaps attributable to lack of knowl- 

 edge of the art of cookery. The housewife, 

 not knowing how to properly prepare the 

 cheaper grades of meat so as to make them 

 palatable and attractive, concludes that they 

 are not as nutritious as the more tender and 



juicy cuts that can be bought only at a 

 higher price, and which require little judg- 

 ment or skill to prepare for the table. Here 

 is a field for missionary labor that will well 

 repay the cultivation. Knowledge of this 

 kind may be advantageously acquired by 

 those whose means render it perhaps less 

 vital ; for a waste of food material is a crime 

 against both pocket and morals." In speak- 

 ing of the value of meat as a food in relation 

 to the other food stuffs, Prof. Chittenden 

 says : " Various extractives, active principles, 

 etc., all endowed with more or less physi- 

 ological properties, are likewise ingested as a 

 part of the meat, and add their effects, per- 

 haps to aid in keeping up the tone and vital- 

 ity of the organism. Meats have certain 

 stimulating properties, which distinguish 

 them from the grosser vegetable foods. In 

 this respect they might perhaps almost be 

 classed with such articles as tea, coffee, etc., 

 in their power of ministering to the wants cf 

 the brain and nerves. As Sir William Roberts 

 well says : ' The struggle for existence, or 

 rather for a higher and better existence, 

 among civilized men is almost exclusively a 

 brain struggle, and these brain foods must 

 be regarded as a very important part of the 



