664 



Dietaries of Labouring Prisoners in Indian Jails. [part iv 



labouring prisoners who were not accustomed to eat meat and fish when in their homes 

 did not obtain these articles when in jail, as they would have done under the former 

 regulations. This implied an average daily loss to this class of prisoners of ^\ oz. of 

 animal food. The fatty (or oily) matter was reduced all round by nearly half an ounce, 

 but there was an increase of two ounces of rice and two ounces of vegetables per diem. 

 This change expressed in terms of nitrogen and carbon implied a loss of 13 grains of 

 the former (about the amount which would be contained in 1^ oz. of uncooked meat), 

 and a gain of 51 grains of carbon. If the amount of nitrogenous food allowed in Local 

 prisons in England be accepted as sufficient, then the amount in the above scale 

 of diet for Bengalis should suffice for persons of an average weight of 103 lbs. which? 

 judging from the jail returns, appears to be somewhat above the mean weight . of 

 Bengali prisoners. Those of the Bengali prisoners who were accustomed to animal food 

 when in their homes, were entitled to rations which are computed to be sufficient for 

 men weighing from 107 to 108 lbs. 



The diets in force in Bengal for labouring "prisoners from March 1879 to 

 March 1880, contrasted with the scales in force from 1860 to 1879. 



* The rice form without animal food. 



t The wheat- and-rice form without animal food. 



47. In the rice-and- wheat dietary which was adopted for Beharis there was (to such 

 of these prisoners as, owing to previous habits when at large, were not entitled to meat 

 or fish when in jail) an average daily loss of 2-3 oz. of animal food, and of nearly 

 half an ounce of fatty matter. The only increments to the dietary were 2 oz. of 

 fresh vegetables and a little less than half an ounce of pulse per diem. This diet 

 is by no means an inferior one, for the amount of nitrogenous material which 



