374 SECTIONAL TRANSACTIONS.—L. 
The Commoner Factors affecting Rate of Growth and Efficiency : 
(a) The Dietary.—If, as is often the case, the diet be drawn up on purely empirical 
lines, there may be a shortage of one or more of the essential constituents, or there may 
be an excess. 
(b) Bad Cooking.—The diet may be admirable on paper, but much of its value as a 
whole or in part may be destroyed by bad work in the kitchen. 
(c) Faulty Service.—The diet may be admirable and the cooking fair or even good, 
yet the value of the food supplied at the table may be diminished considerably by 
slovenly service, bad carving, or by allowing the food to get cold, or by the imperfect 
cleaning of utensils. 
(d) Too little time allowed for the meal to be eaten. 
This will especially affect the smaller pupil, who requires pro rata at least as much 
food and also requires longer time in which to eat it than his bigger fellow. 
(e) Lack of Variety in the Daily Menu.—This is a most important point, and is 
much too often the case in institutional feeding. 
(f) Insufficient Seasonal Variation.—One appreciates the vegetable difficulty, but 
in the great majority of schools not nearly enough use is made of vegetables (cooked 
and raw) and fresh fruit. 
(g) Early School and Chapel.—It is entirely wrong to allow any growing child to 
do any work—mental or physical—or to be exposed to cold or bad weather, &c., on 
an empty stomach. 
It is equally wrong to give a snack of fodd at 7 a.m., and then extract an hour’s 
work before the ordinary breakfast. 
Mr. D. P. BrErriper.—Lessons Taught by the War upon School 
Dietary. 
1. The ratio given in most text-books that the daily waste of carbon and nitrogen 
is 15; 1 is probably too low in the case of schoolboys ; the large amount of exercise they 
take requires more carbon. 
2. The chief sources of carbon are (a) fats, (b) carbohydrates ; the average boy 
prefers the latter, therefore the college ‘ grub shop’ is a useful institution. 
3. There is always a tendency for the more well-to-do class to take more nitrogen 
than is required. This was reflected in the dietary of the more expensive schools in © 
1914; the rationing system stopped this, and the general health of the boys improved. 
4, It is not sufficient for the schools to provide an adequate quantity of good food ; — 
it is necessary also to supply good cooking, variety, clean linen and good service. The ‘ 
cook is almost, if not quite, as important a member of the domestic staff as the 
matron. { 
5. Variety can be obtained best by providing a choice of both meat and pudding i 
at the midday meal: it is very little more trouble to provide, say, two joints of beef : 
and one of mutton than to provide three joints of beef ; if this choice is offered, the ~ 
pupils think they are being better fed simply because they are able to take what : 
they like best. | 
Dr. F. C. SHrussaLt.— Diet and Health. 
Health, growth, and efficiency are dependent: on all the factors on the credit side 
of balance sheet of metabolism. Where any one of these is conspicuously lacking for { 
an adequate period there are outbreaks of ill-health. Generally speaking, the standards _ 
of living have steadily improved in the last century ; at an earlier date some factors 
improved, others deteriorated. 
Mankind needs an adequate supply of fresh air, light, and food, the latter having — 
to be considered from the standpoint of caloric value, vitamin content and balance of cs 
the salts contained. Certain forms of ill-health are associated with social practices ¥ 
affecting these needs. Health improved with conditions of housing, largely because of - 
the better lighting and ventilation. x 
Caloric value of a diet is not the only consideration ; when necessary foods rich in ~ 
vitamin and balanced in their mineral constituents are cut off, ill-health follows: when 
they are supplied, health returns. Vegetable oils and lard will not replace eggs, butter, 
animal fat, and fresh vegetables. This was exemplified in the War, and is shown even — 
now in a comparison of town with country. In Denmark ill-health followed the 
large export of fresh animal fats. In England those who lived in strictly rationed 
institutions suffered, but the poorer population generally gained by the rationing and 
