122 PHYSIOLOGICAL CHEMISTRY. 



able to continue this diet for two, or at most for three days, owing to 

 disturbance of the general health. The unpleasant symptoms disap- 

 peared on his return to a mixed diet. In some instances a restricted 

 diet of this kind has been borne for a longer time. Parkes* kept two 

 soldiers on non-nitrogenous food for five consecutive days without their 

 exhibiting serious signs of physical exhaustion. Hammond, j" in experi- 

 ments upon himself, lived for ten days on a diet of boiled starch and 

 water. After the third day, however, the general health began to dete- 

 riorate, and became much disturbed before the termination of the ex- 

 periment ; the prominent symptoms being debility, headache, pyrosis, 

 and palpitation. After the starchy diet was abandoned, it required some 

 days to restore the health to its usual condition. 



Nitrogenous Ingredients of the Food. 



The nitrogenous or albumenoid matters enter so largely into the 

 constitution of the animal tissues and fluids, that their importance, 

 as elements of the food, is easily understood. No food can be long nu- 

 tritious, unless a certain proportion of these substances be present. 

 Owing to their abundant quantity as ingredients of the body, their 

 absence from the food is more speedily felt than that of any other 

 substance except water. Albuminous matters, however, when taken 

 alone, are no more capable of supporting life indefinitely than the 

 rest. It was found in the experiments of the French " Gelatine Com- 

 mission "J that animals fed on pure fibrine and albumen, as well as those 

 fed on gelatine, become, after a short time, much enfeebled, refuse the 

 food offered, or take it with reluctance, and finally die of inanition. 

 This result has been explained by supposing that these substances 

 excite after a time such disgust that they are either no longer taken, or 

 if taken are not digested. But this is simply an indication that the 

 substances used are insufficient and finally useless as articles of food, 

 and that the system demands other materials for its nourishment. It 

 is well described by Magendie, in the report of the commission above 

 alluded to, while detailing his investigations on the nutritive qualities 

 of gelatine. " The result," he says, " of these first trials was that pure 

 gelatine was not to the taste of the dogs experimented on. Some of 

 them suffered the pangs of hunger with the gelatine within their reach, 

 and would not touch it ; others tasted it, but would not eat ; others 

 still devoured a certain quantity once or twice, and then obstinately 

 refused to make any further use of it." 



In one instance, Magendie succeeded in inducing a dog to take a 

 considerable quantity of pure fibrine daily throughout the whole course 

 of the experiment ; but the animal nevertheless became emaciated, and 

 died at last with symptoms of inanition. 



* Proceedings of the Eoyal Society of London, March 2d, 1871. 

 f Experimental Researches, being the Prize Essay of the American Medical 

 Association for 1857. 



J Comptes Rendus de 1 J Academic des Sciences. Paris, 1841, torn. xiiL, p. 267. 



