114 REPORT 1864. 



in good times, whilst lately the quantities were reduced to Qlozs. and ISogi-s. 

 Even the same person ate at one time 20 ozs. of carbon and 373 grs. of nitrogen, 

 and at another 11 ozs. and 188 grs., whilst another person reduced her dietary fi'om 

 14jOZ9. to &I-OZS. of carbon, and from 233 grs. to lOSgi's. of nitrogen daily. 



With such facts as these, how difficult it is to prove what food is really required 

 even by the classes from which they have been derived! We cannot assume 

 that 35 OZS. of carbon are necessary for a farm laboxu'er, when others placed in very 

 similar circumstances obtain only one-fifth of that quantity ; neither are we entitled 

 to affirm that the least quantity is sufficient, seeing that such small quantities are 

 but rarely found. The proper quantity lies somewhere between the two, and pos- 

 sibly where the average is cbawn ; but since men are not fed on the average, but as 

 individuals, to assume that is to almost assume the whole argument. When dif- 

 ferent classes of persons are included in the inquiry, we may be prepared from 

 general knowledge to find some diflerence in their wants ; but can it be assumed 

 with safety, that because some needlewomen live on 4 ozs. to 5 ozs. of carbon 

 daily and keep ia moderate health, so small an amount only is necessary ? 



The extent of this abstract precludes nij oflering fm-ther observations upon the 

 dietary of the poor, but I would add in a line that the children and wives are 

 almost universally ill-fed ; that a large proportion of the infant mortality and of 

 deaths from consimiption before adult life may be properlj' traced to the tea and 

 sop — the wretchedly innutritions feeding in very early life ; that the poor of our 

 day are in danger of placing mere taste and flavour before nutrition, as m the pm-- 

 chase of high-priced bacon, fresh butter, and of high-priced food in general ; and 

 that it is not at all so thoroughly imderstood as it should be, that a man's first duty 

 is to provide sufficient nourishment for his family, and, if necessary-, to do this 

 should limit them to dry bread, or bread and dripping, or to the stirabout and 

 skimmed milk and the potatoes and buttermilk of the Irish peasantiy. He should 

 be taught how to place supply of nom-ishment first, and variety of food and pleasure 

 of the palate second. It is also to be much regretted that so much of his wages 

 are spent in beer and cider, either volimtarily or involimtarily, and that he has not 

 universally the opportunity of purchasing cheap milk and of growing an abundant 

 supply of potatoes. 



I will now indicate in a few words, and therefore very generally, the present state 

 of the dietary question in a scientific point of view, and in doing so we shall find 

 this satisfaction — that whUst more remains to be done than has hitherto been 

 effiicted, much of the knowledge which has been acquired is conclusive in its 

 nature. 



The chemical constitution of foods has been determined in an exact manner and 

 on a scale of great magnitude both in this countiy and abroad, and although in 

 calcidating the nutritive elements in foods it is still desirable to quote the authority 

 on which we rely, this is less owing to errors in the analyses, than to the qualities 

 of the various samples which are in actual use. Thus the composition of the lean 

 and fat of meat is well known, as is also the proportion which these bear to each 

 other in the whole of a well-fed or a moderately-fed animal ; but an approximation 

 to the truth only can be made when we apply this knowledge to a particular j oint 

 of meat, or to the various joints which are commonly consumed by the poorer or 

 the richer sections of the community respectively. So with regard to other foods. 

 ISIilk varies in the amount of all its constituents according to the particidar cow and 

 to the food which is supplied to it, so that one cow yields more butter and another 

 more cheese, whilst the grass of the rich lowlands affiards far richer milk than that 

 of the hills and moimtaiu-sides. Bacon varies according to its degree of dryness ; 

 butter according to the quantity of salt and of water which it contains, and cheese 

 according to its quantity of fat. Hence, whilst the analyses of foods imder many 

 conditions have been accurately made, there is and always will be, in the application 

 of this knowledge to the dietaries of individuals, a certain error ; but it is not to an 

 amount which in the least mterferes with the truthful application of this knowledge 

 on the large scale which is needful in a daily or weekly dietary. 



There is a suspicion that the analysis of a few foods, as, for example, some 

 of the very great number of varieties of these, requires correction, and in reference 

 to the odoiu's of alcohols and of fragrant substances but little advance has been 



