TROPICAL TRIBES AND RACES 181 



dietaries of Bengal, and much valuable material on their influences 

 has been collected in Risley's book, " The People of India," and 

 in the first volume of the " Imperial Gazetteer of India." From 

 the point of view of their effects on physical development it is 

 unnecessary for us to attempt to measure and appraise their 

 value for the following reason : 



By contrasting the nutritive conditions of the different tribes 

 and races in which the several factors enumerated by Dr. 

 Kellogg are common to all, the level of protein interchange 

 forming the main point of difference we can eliminate the 

 influence of the sun's rays, early marriages, climate, sexual 

 excesses, etc. in fact, everything except the role played by diet 

 in the several factors that go to make one class superior to another, 

 or one tribe or race superior in efficiency to another tribe or race. 



In the following pages we shall, therefore, attempt to gain 

 definite and precise information on the effects of diet per se by 

 contrasting the developmental conditions obtaining amongst 

 the people, tribes, and races who are in every respect, except with 

 regard to diet, strictly comparable. 



We have already given strong evidence of the determining 

 effects of diet on different classes of Bengalis, subject to all the 

 different causes advanced by Kellogg as fully accounting for 

 poor physique. In this connection nothing could be more con- 

 vincing than a comparison of the average weight, height, and 

 chest measurement of the ordinary working population and 

 the physical development of the better fed, assurable classes as 

 evidenced by Dr. Caddy's records. Similar results were obtained 

 from observations on students of the same and different colleges, 

 living under similar conditions, but regarding whom the levels 

 of protein interchange differed considerably. A full account of 

 these observations will be found in the preceding chapters, so 

 that it is unnecessary to do more than call attention to them in 

 the present connection. 



The rice-eating Bengali may be contrasted with his nearest 

 neighbours, the people of Behar, as the conditions of life for these 

 people are very similar. From work done on the protein metabo- 

 lism of the Behari,* it was shown that the level of nitrogenous 

 interchange is at least 20 per cent, higher than is the case in the 

 Bengali. In accordance with this the Behari shows a much 

 superior physical development, greater capabilities for muscular 

 * Scientific Memoirs, Government of India, No. 38, pp. 206-209. 



