May 5, 1911] 



SCIENCE 



709 



who completed one lap. Of the replies re- 

 ceived four were from the successful contest- 

 ants, and two from the group completing one 

 lap, while one was unsigned and consequently 

 the group to which the writer belonged is 

 uncertain. It has seemed a fair assumption 

 in discussing the results that he belonged to 

 the larger group; that is, those completing 

 one round and not the entire course. The 

 circular letter made inquiry as to the number 

 of meals eaten per day and as to whether the 

 subject considered himself a medium, hearty 

 or light eater, whether he was fond of athletics 

 and kept in training, and whether his usual 

 occupation involved any considerable amount 

 of physical work. To obtain more specific 

 data regarding the food, one of the questions 

 was " Do you use all the ordinary foodstuffs 

 and beverages such as are given in the follow- 

 ing list? If there are any which you do not 

 use, please cross them out." The list included 

 bread, cereal foods, butter, milk, cheese, eggs, 

 meat, vegetables, fruit, sugar, tea and coffee. 



The majority of those who answered the 

 questions considered themselves hearty eaters, 

 and all habitually took three meals a day. 

 One considered himself a medium hearty and 

 one a light eater, while one did not specify. 



As regards the ordinary foods included in 

 the list, the answers received from the con- 

 testants show that, making allowance for some 

 individual preferences, all these men lived on 

 a mixed diet composed of the ordinary food 

 materials, and it is probable that those who 

 replied were fair representatives of the whole 

 number participating in the contest. As re- 

 gards individual peculiarities of diet, three of 

 those who furnished information stated that 

 they did not use cereal breakfast foods, and 

 one that he used them only sparingly. One 

 of the men ate little fruit except apples, and 

 two used no cheese, while two used neither tea 

 nor coffee and one other no tea. 



In the case of the four winners of the con- 

 test it seems worth while to summarize in 

 somewhat more detail the data furnished. 



F. 6., who was 24 years old and weighed 

 120 pounds (54 kilograms), stated that he was 

 fond of athletics, and while enlisted in the 



Illinois National Guards had military train- 

 ing once a week. He also stated that he 

 walked to and from work, one and a fourth 

 miles, four times daily, and considered that a 

 good deal of physical labor was required in his 

 daily occupation as a shipping clerk in a retail 

 grocery house, as goods had to be looked over, 

 checked and handled, and the various baskets 

 of goods sent out weighed on an average from 

 5 to 100 pounds. He used all of the foods 

 mentioned but stated that only a little cereal 

 breakfast food was used and that apples were 

 the fruit conmionly eaten. 



G. H. G., whose age was 40 years and whose 

 weight was 255 pounds (116 kilograms), stated 

 that he used all the foods mentioned in the 

 list, but that as regards vegetables, turnips 

 and cabbage were only used raw, while onions 

 were not eaten at all. He stated further that 

 he had not engaged in any form of athletics 

 since 18 years of age. He believed that his 

 ordinary work involved considerable muscular 

 labor, but further details were not given. 



J. B., who was 52 years of age and who 

 weighed. 180 pounds (82 kilograms), stated 

 that he did not engage regularly in any ath- 

 letic exercises, but believed that consider- 

 able muscular work was required by his daily 

 occupation. No further details were given on 

 this point. As regards the character of his 

 food, he stated that he used bread, cereal break- 

 fast foods in limited quantity, butter, milk, 

 cheese very sparingly, eggs, meat (mostly salt 

 pork), vegetables, fruit, sugar, and both tea 

 and coffee in limited quantity. A diet in 

 which salt pork is the principal meat, with 

 eggs, bread, fruit and vegetables would seem 

 to resemble more closely than any of the others 

 the diet which was once very characteristic of 

 farms in many localities, but which is less 

 common now than formerly, owing to a greater 

 abundance of ice for keeping fresh foods and 

 to improved methods of transportation and 

 other modern conveniences. J. B., who was 

 the oldest of the successful contestants, be- 

 lieved that he could have carried the load of 

 100 pounds for 15 miles. 



G. H., the remaining successful candidate 

 who supplied data, stated that he was 21 years 



