PART IV.] Nutritive Value of the Diets in Indian Jails. 655 



CHAPTER IV. 



THE NUTRITIVE VALUE OF THE DIET SCALES OF LABOURING PRISONERS AT PRESENT OR 

 RECENTLY IN FORCE IN INDIAN JAILS. 



26. The question as to how far the dietaries of labouring prisoners in India exceed 

 or fall below this standard may now be considered. Tables will be found appended 

 to this memorandum giving detailed statements of the composition of 151 hard-labour 

 diets together with computations of their nutritive values. Nominally only 8G of these 

 diets are in force at the present time ; but in practice it is found that this number 

 is considerably below the truth, even as regards labouring prisoners alone. This will 

 become evident when the chief dietaries of the provinces come under review. 



27. Every endeavour has been made to secure the correctness of the computations 

 of the nutritive values of these numerous diets, still it must be clearly understood that 

 at best such estimates can only convey an approximation of their values, although the 

 probabilities of these being over or understated are about equally balanced. In a 

 country like India, where the number of cereals and pulses resorted to as staple articles 

 of food are so numerous, the construction of a really uniform dietary is hardly possible, 

 certainly it is not possible to adopt one and the same kind of cereal and pulse for 

 uniform and constant use. 



28. Moreover, there are practical difficulties in deciding the equivalent values of 

 these various food-stuffs, not only because the chemical analyses which have been made 

 of many of them are not so complete as desirable, but there is also a want of definite 

 knowledge as to their exact position as true aliments based on their adaptability for 

 being assimilated. Unfortunately also there are some discrepancies in the results of the 

 analyses of food grains and pulses which have been published. This makes it a matter 

 of considerable difficulty to decide which of them should be taken as nearest to the 

 truth. There is no doubt that the nutritive value of cereals and pulses presents con- 

 siderable variations, not only from deterioration caused by attacks of insects, etc., but 

 also according to the locality in which they are grown. Such discrepancies are common 

 to the analyses of nearly all alimentary substances, and rice, which is said to constitute 

 the chief food of one-third of the human race, may be cited as a notable example, 

 especially as regards the important question of the proportion of nitrogenous matter 

 contained in it. 



29. The results, as the amount of albuminates in ten analyses of this cereal, which 

 are now before me, vary from a minimum of 5 to a maximum of ll*^ per cent. In 

 estimating the value of rice as an article of food it must be borne in mind that it is 

 considered to be the most digestible of all cereals, so that, although most other food 

 grains yield a higher proportion of nitrogen in the chemist's laboratory, many of them, 

 are, nevertheless, far inferior as a source of nourishment owing to their indigestibility. 

 Mayer, who analysed samples of rice at Madras, gives the proportion of dry albumi- 



