April 13, 1917] 



SCIENCE 



347 



million million calories, or 3,091 calories 

 per person per day. They assume that the 

 food requirement of 100 men, women and 

 children is the same as that of 77 "men." 

 Therefore each "man" received 4,000 ca- 

 lories daily in a diet containing 113 grams 

 of protein, 571 grams of carbohydrate and 

 130 grams of fat. 



The distribution of this food fuel for the 

 British nation appears in the following 

 table : 



TABLE SHOWING ANNUAL YIELD OF CALOEIES OF THU 



CHIEF CLASSES OF FOOD-STUFFS IN THE YEARS 



1909-13 IN GREAT BRITAIN 



Energy Value in Mil- Percent- 

 lions ol Calories age 



Cereals 17,712,000 34.7 



Meat 8,890,000 17.4 



Dairy produce (inoludiag 



lard and margarin) . , . 8,253,000 16.2 



Sugar (including cocoa 



and chocolate) 6,633,000 13.0 



Vegetables 4,812,000 9.4 



Cottage and farm prod- 

 ucts 2,655,000 5.2 



Fruit 1,077,000 2.1 



Msh 531,000 1.0 



Poultry, eggs, game and 



rabbits 461,00 0.9 



51,0247)00 99.9 



The commission points out that 30.8 per 

 cent, of the energy in the diet of the people 

 is derived from wheat. Meat yielded 17.4 

 per cent. ; sugar, 13. The three food-stuffs 

 together yielded 61 per cent, of the total 

 energy in the diet. Dairy products and 

 vegetables furnished 25 per cent., and all 

 the rest of the food 13.4 per cent, of the 

 total energy. 



The commission emphasizes the fact that 

 if the workers do not get enough to eat 

 they can not do the same amount of work; 

 that a man may by grit and pluck work 

 hard on a low ration, but he is living on 

 himself and soon his work will fail. Stress 

 is laid upon the fact that "in buying food 

 the laboring population is buying energy" 

 and that "a slight reduction of food below 

 the necessary amount causes a large diminu- 

 tion in the working efficiency of the indi- 

 vidual." Thus, the troops in the field re- 



ceive 4,300 to 4,600 calories because they 

 must accomplish hard work and are much 

 exposed to cold. Dr. Murlin has calculated 

 that the "garrison ration" of the United 

 States Army contains 4,400 calories, while 

 the "field ration" contains only 3,800. 



The food controller of Great Britain on 

 February 1, 1917, asked the population to 

 voluntarily restrict the consumption of 

 flour, meat and sugar to a measured quan- 

 tity of these materials per week. This 

 ration would yield about 1,750 calories per 

 "man" daily and leave the individual to 

 supply an equal quantity from other avail- 

 able sources. The individual allotment for 

 each individual each week is 3 lbs. flour, 

 2* lbs. meat and | lb. of sugar. The distri- 

 bution per "man" appears in the follow- 

 ing table : 



RATION PER "MAN," ADVISED BY BRITISH FOOD CON- 

 TROLLER, FEBRUARY 1, 1917 



This allotment ensures a safe protein 

 ration. 



Valuable data are given for the relative 

 cost of production of milk and various 

 meats. Thus, 2.9 pounds of "starch 

 equivalent" in the fodder will produce 

 milk containing 1,000 calories. Three 

 pounds of starch equivalent are required 

 to produce 1,000 calories of pig meat and 

 4.7 pounds and 9 pounds, respectively, to 

 produce 1,000 calories in veal and in beef. 

 Dairy products, pig meat and veal are 

 therefore far cheaper sources of protein 

 than is beef. The increased production of 

 milk is highly desirable, but it is pointed 

 out that changes in the condition of agri- 

 culture take time. 



