INDIAN CORN AS FOOD *FOR MAN. 145 



foods rich in protein, such as beans or peas, the balance may be 

 restored. The same result may be accomplished by the free use 

 of milk instead of water in the preparation of corn foods. The 

 value of milk in thus furnishing protein is not so fully appre- 

 ciated as it should be. A quart of whole milk carries more 

 protein than one-third of a pound of beef round. Skim milk 

 is both better and cheaper for this purpose, since it carries a 

 slightly higher percentage of protein than whole milk, and con- 

 tains very little fat. Two quarts of skim milk, costing but 5 

 cents, furnish nearly as much protein as a pound of beef round, 

 and more real nutriment than a quart of oysters costing 35 or 

 40 cents. Yet the skim milk is too frequently wasted or fed to 

 calves and pigs. The intelligent housewife may easily find a 

 hundred ways in which this valuable by product could be more 

 directly and profitably utilized as a food for man. 



The use of large amounts of butter, pork, or other fatty foods 

 in connection with corn foods is to be deprecated, since the difH- 

 culties in the way of establishing a proper balance between the 

 protein and other nutrients is thus increased. The effect ot 

 syrup in depressing the digestibility of protein has already been 

 alluded to. Sugar and molasses are open to the same objection 

 and for the same reason. The craving for these food acces- 

 sories is an example of the fact that the appetite is not always 

 a safe guide. 



The coarsely milled forms in which corn is placed upon the 

 market naturally call for more prolonged cooking, not only to 

 break down the starch grains, but to rupture the walls of the 

 cells and thus expose their contents to the action of the diges- 

 tive juices. It is probable that much of the difficulty occasion- 

 ally experienced in digesting corn breads might be avoided by 

 a careful attention to these facts. At present there is but little 

 difference to the consumer in the retail cost of corn meal and 

 wheat flour. Both are among the cheapest of our foods. The 

 question of economy need not be considered in choosing between 

 the corn and wheat breads. In general it may be said that the 

 corn products are more digestible than is commonly supposed. 

 Not only their digestibility, but their cheapness and the readi- 

 ness with which they may be converted into palatable foods 

 suggest a more extended use and entitles them to a much higher 

 place in the popular estimation. 

 II 



