312 



RECREATION. 



about as mueh as the Harvard and Yale 

 crews in 1898, and that their food had 

 about 50 per cent, more protein and 16 

 per cent, more energy than that of the men 

 at ordinary occupations in the United 

 States whose dietaries have been studied. 

 Comparison of the amounts of nutrients 

 in the food with those in the solid excreta 

 shows the amounts that were actually 

 available. These are nearly, but not quite, 

 the same as the amounts actually digested. 

 They differ from the latter by the amounts 

 of ' metabolic products in the feces. The 

 average coefficients of availability in these 

 digestion experiments were : 



Protein 92.2 per cent. 



Fat 95.6 ;; ;; 



Carbohydrates 98.1 



Energy 9 J -8 



These figures are nearly identical with 

 those obtained by taking the coefficients of 

 availability of food as found by experi- 

 ments with men on ordinary diet and at or- 

 dinary occupations, and applying them to 

 the diet of the men in the present experi- 

 ments. . This means that the 4 athletes, on 

 the average, digested their food just about 

 as completely as the average man does. 

 There were, however, marked differences in 

 the amounts and composition of the feces 

 of the different men; such, indeed, as to 

 imply wide differences in their capacity to 

 digest itheir food. 



No especial studies were made of the 

 composition of the feces. Comparisons of 

 the urea and uric acid in the urine failed 

 to bring any results such as to warrant 

 conclusions regarding the effect of severe 

 muscular exercise on their amounts. 



One notable feature of the experiments 

 was found in the fact that the nitrogen ex- 

 creted by the kidneys and intestines was 

 considerably less in quantity than the to- 

 tal nitrogen of the food. This means that 

 there was a considerable storage of nitro- 

 gen in the body. The quantity was such 

 as to correspond to an average of not far 

 from 24 grams of protein per day, if no 

 allowance is made for the excretion of ni- 

 trogenous compounds in perspiration 

 through the skin. Even after making al- 

 lowance for a considerable excretion of 

 nitrogen through the skin, this gain is so 

 noticeable as to suggest the queries 

 whether men who are storing nitrogen to 

 such an extent are in the best physical 

 condition, and whether the quantity of 

 protein in the diet was the most appro- 

 priate for the purpose. 



Perhaps the most important conclusion 

 to be derived from the experiments is that 

 further and more detailed investigations 

 are needed to show what diet is best for 

 men under such severe muscular strain as 

 that of oarsmen in training for races. 



HOW TAMALES ARE MADE. 



Tamales, a dish made of corn and 

 chicken highly seasoned and wrapped in a 

 corn husk, are believed to be of Spanish- 

 American origin, and have become gener- 

 ally popular in the United States within the 

 last 10 years. In many of the larger cities 

 fresh tamales are sold by street venders. 

 Canned tamales are now on the market, so 

 that those who can not buy them fresh and 

 do not care to attempt to make them at 

 home need not go without them. 



In the American Kitchen Magazine Miss 

 Clara I. Price describes the manufacture 

 of 'tamales on a large scale in the San 

 Francisco factories. 



The first item to be considered in tamale 

 manufacturing is the corn husks. These are 

 shipped in great bales from corn-growing 

 States to the manufacturer. These husks 

 are carefully looked over and sorted, for 

 different grades of tamales have different 

 qualities of material, even in husks. 



After sorting, the husks are cleansed in 

 a preparation which has a bleaching tend- 

 ency, and is known only to the trade. 



The peppers, those of large, mild variety 

 being used for this purpose, are cleansed 

 by a similar process and boiled 2 to 3 hours, 

 or until reduced to a pulpy mass resembing 

 stewed tomatoes, and by the majority ac- 

 cepted as that vegetable. Its use in tamale 

 making would, however, be impossible, as 

 it sours quickly, while the stewed peppers 

 keep an incredibly long time. This pepper 

 pulp is allowed to cool at least 12 hours 

 before it is used in filling tamales. 



The paste which coats the inner husk is 

 also deceptive; for instead of being, as one 

 judges by looks or appearance, ordinary 

 cornmeal, it is made from corn shelled on 

 the premises and prepared much as is hom- 

 iny. This hominy, or hulled corn, of the 

 frontier is beaten to a pulp in a huge hand 

 mill and is boiled an hour or 2 more, then 

 allowed to grow perfectly cool before be- 

 ing used. 



Chicken forms the most tempting ingred- 

 ient in the tamale, and the chickens used in 

 the best factories, are of prime quality, 

 killed and dressed on the premises. They 

 are boiled until tender, that the bones may 

 be easily removed, an essential precaution 

 where boneless tamales are guaranteed for 

 sale. 



A filling room visited showed a number 

 of long tables, on which were huge pans of 

 corn paste, the red pepper paste, great 

 dishes of olives and pans of chickens cut 

 into small strips and carefully assorted. At 

 regular intervals and before each busy ta- 

 male maker were arranged piles of silky 

 white corn husks. 



A man with a large spoon in his hand 

 begins a tamale by spreading several strips 

 of husk with a scant spoonful of corn 

 paste. He tosses these to a companion who 



