ON THE FECULA OF POTATOES, &C. jgy 



the name of potato-starch, and they are no strangers to the 

 method of procuring it from the fresh root ; but they are 

 not sufficiently aware of the nutritious property which this 

 substance possesses. And it is principally with the view of 

 making it more generally known, that I am induced to lay- 

 before the public these experiments and observations*. 



It will appear ludicrous to many, to assert in the present The science of 

 age of the world, that the science of nutrition is yet in its in- nutrition kitie 

 fancy; but truth obliges us to confess, that such is abso- 

 lutely the fact. The cause of our ignorance it is not my 

 intention to investigate. 



It is, I believe, a general opinion, that the nutriment of Cookery. 

 our food, especially the vegetable part of it, is greatly in- 

 creased by cooking. This is therefore an art, which claims 

 the attention of the whole human race. It is an art, so inti- 

 mately connected v/ith the welfare of our species, that it is 

 absolutely essential to its existence, in a state of civilized 

 society. 



In the present tottering state of the Lavoisierian doctrine Water essm- 



of chemical science, it is fortunately of no consequence to t'al to nutri- 



1 • 11 1 11 tion. 



our subject, wnether water he a compound substance or a 



simple element. And we have no fear of contradiction when 



we assert, that it is essential to the nutrition of animals, as 



well as of vegetables. 



When water in its simple state is taken into the stomach in its simple 



along with our food, its principal effect in assistinsr digestion ^'^^® assists di- 

 ... 1 geitionmecto- 



is perhaps mechanical only, by givmg the food a certain de- nically 



gree of consistence, most favourable for the gastric fluid to 



act upon it, and according to Mr. Home's late imporlunt 



discovery, the superfluous quantity is conveyed into the 



circulation by the intervention of the spleen*. For as the 



whole internal surface of the stomach is endowed with the 



* Man}' yea;r3 ago an article was sold in canisters by tlie name of sago 

 powder, which I believe was chiefly if not .solely made from potatoes: 

 but it fell into disuse, whether from prejudice alone, or from negligence 

 in preparing it, I cannot say. I also remember the fecula of potatoes be- 

 ing strongly recommended as a substitute fur salep, pariiculany as keep- 

 ing better, as well as for sago, by a writer in the Journal da Mede- 

 cine. C 



• See Journal, p. 103 of the present vol,, and p. 347 of vol. XX. 



power 



