[33] NUTRITIVE VALUE OF FISH AND INVERTEBRATES. 4C5 



m CONCLUSION— FISH AS FOOD. 



Such facts as the following are among the more important ones to be 

 gathered from the tabular statements herewith. 



The flesh of fish contains, in general, about the same proportions of 

 protein, less fat, more water, and hence, on the whole, less nutritive mate- 

 rial than that of domestic animals used for food. Thus we have in the 

 flesh of flounder only 16 per cent, and in that of cod 18 per cent, of nutri- 

 .ents,. while ordinary lean beef has from 25 to 33 per cent., and the fatter 

 meats considerably more. The fatter kinds of fish, however, as herring, 

 rtiackerel, salmon, shad, and white fish, approach nearer to medium 

 beef. Dried and salted fish also contain good proportions of nutrients, 

 the specimens of ordinary salt codfish having 28 per cent., salt mack- 

 erel 47, and desiccated cod, a material as yet less louown commercially, 

 82 per cent, of nutrients. The edible i)ortiou of shell-fish is poor in nu- 

 trients, oysters varying from 9 to 19 and lobsters averaging 18 per cent. 



Fish as found in the markets generally contain more refuse, bone, 

 skin, &c., than meats, as is illustrated in Tables V and X. With the 

 larger proportions of both refuse and water the proportions of nutrients, 

 though variable, are usually much less than in meats. Thus a sample 

 of flounder contained 67 per cent, of refuse, 28 of water, and only 5 per 

 cent, of nutritive substance, while the salmon averaged 23, the salt cod 

 22, and the salt mackerel 36 per cent, of nutrients. The nutrients in 

 meats ranged from 30 per cent, in beef to 46 in mutton and 87-J in very 

 fat pork (bacon). The canned fish compare very favorably with the 

 meats. It is worth noting that the nutrients in fresh codfish, dressed, 

 in oysters, edible portion, and in milk were nearly the same in amount, 

 about 12^ per cent., though differing in kind and proportions. 



Vegetable foods have generally less water and more nutrients than 

 animal foods. Ordinary flour, meal, &c., contain from 85 to 90 per cent, 

 or more of nutritive material. But the nutritive value is not propor- 

 tional to the quantity of nutrients, because the vegetable foods consist 

 mostly of carbo-hydrates, starch, sugar, cellulose, &c., of inferior nutri- 

 tive effect, and because their protein is less digestible than that of ani- 

 mal foods. Potatoes especially contain a large amount of water and 

 extremely little protein or fats. 



PLACE OF FISH IN DIETAKEES.— IMPORTANCE OF FISH CULTURE. 



The chief uses of fish as food are (1) as an economical source of nutri- 

 ment, and (2) to supply the demand for variety in diet, which increases 

 with the advance of civilization and culture. 



As nutriment, the place of fish is that of a supplement to vegetable 

 foods, the most of which, as wheat, rye, maize, rice, potatoes, &c., are 

 deficient in protein, the chief nutrient of fish. 



The so-called nitrogenous extractives contained in small quantities in 

 fish as in other animal foods are doubtless useful in nutrition. The 

 H. Mis. 67 30 



