PURE AND IMPURE FOODS. 
be deranged by the presence of much un- 
digested bread and pudding. ‘These, if not 
well masticated, must be detained there 
until the animal products are dissolved, 
when the entire contents reach the small 
intestine (duodenum), where digestion of 
the starchy matters is effected by contact 
with the pancreatic juice which renders 
them soluble and capable of being absorbed 
as nourishment to the system.” 

SOME COOKING EXPERIMENTS. 
Scientific studies of the changes brought 
about in food by cooking, the effect of dif- 
ferent methods of cooking on the composi- 
tion and digestibility of food, the losses in 
‘weight in cooking, and similar topics, are 
not numerous, and especial interest attaches 
therefore to the recent work of Richter, a 
German investigator. 
He was himself the subject of digestion 
experiments, each of 2 days’ duration, in 
which about 600 grams of cooked peas were 
eaten each day. In the first test the peas 
were cooked to a purée in distilled water, 
and in the second in hard water, and in 
both cases the material was passed through 
a sieve. The peas cooked in distilled water 
were better borne and caused less digestive 
disturbance than the others. When cooked 
in distilled water the peas had the following 
coefficients of digestibility: Dry matter, 
92.86; protein, 89.84; fat, 87.56; and ash, 
81.09. When the peas were cooked in hard 
water the coefficients were as follows: 
Dry matter, 91.08; protein, 83.40; fat, 58.92; 
and ash, 51.78. The observed inferior as- 
similation of peas cooked in hard water was 
attributed in part to the formation of alka- 
line earth albuminates and alkaline earth 
soaps which are not broken down by cook- 
ing or by the digestive juices, and in part 
to digestive disturbances caused by the alka- 
line earth salts, especially magnesium chlo- 
rid present in the hard water used. 
In an article recently published in a Bel- 
gian journal, Carpiaux reports some studies 
of the composition of eggs and the losses in 
weight in cooking, selecting for his tests 
the eggs of a number of breeds of hens. 
In every case the eggs were cooked for an 
hour in a steam bath. It is stated that the 
loss in weight during cooking was insig- 
nificant, ranging from 0.03 to O.I gram 
per egg. As was to be expected, the weight 
of the eggs varied within rather wide lim- 
its, the Braekel eggs weighing on an aver- 
age 66.45 grams each, being the -heaviest, 
and the eggs of bantams (Barbu d’Anvers), 
weighing 209.55 grams, being the smallest. 
It was found that the proportion of yolk 
is greatest with the eggs of bantams and, 
generally speaking, with the eggs of the 
breeds best suited for fattening. Both the 
~ 
155 
yolk and the white of the eggs of the dif- 
ferent breeds varied somewhat in compo- 
sition, and the author discusses the differ- 
ences at some length, attention being called 
especially to the lecithin content of the yolk 
and its importance in nutrition. 

ADAPTING FOOD TO BODILY NEEDS. 
All persons are alike in that they must 
have protein for the building and repair of 
the bodily machine and fuel ingredients 
for warmth and work, but individuals dif- 
fer in the quantities and proportions they re- 
quire, and even among those in good health 
there are many who are obliged to avoid 
certain kinds of food, while invalids and 
people with weak digestion must often have 
special diet. 
For people in good health and with good 
digestion 2 important rules are to be ob- 
served in the regulation of the diet. The 
first is to choose the things which agree 
with them, and to avoid those which they 
can not digest and assimilate without harm. 
The second is to use such kinds and quan- 
tities of food as will supply all the nutri- 
ents the body needs and at the same iime 
will not burden it with superfluous mate- 
rial to be disposed of at the cost of health 
and strength. 
For guidance in this selection, Nature 
provides us with instinct, taste and experi- 
ence. Physiological chemistry adds to 
these the knowledge, still new and far from 
adequate, of the composition of food and 
the laws of nutrition. In our actual prac- 
tice of eating we are apt to be influenced 
too much by taste; that is, by the dictates 
of the palate. We are prone to let natural 
instinct be overruled by acquired appetite, 
and we neglect the teachings of experience. 
We need to observe our diet and its effects 
more carefully and to regulate appetite by 
reason. In doing this we may be greatly 
aided by the knowledge of what our food 
contains and how it serves its purpose in 
nutrition. 
Though there may be differences among 
abnormal persons, for the great majority 
of people in good health the ordinary food 
materials—meats, fish, eggs, milk, butter, 
cheese, sugar, flour, meal, and vegetables— 
make a fitting diet, and the main question 
is to use them in the kids and proportions 
fitted to the actual needs of the body. 
When more food is eaten than is needed, 
or when articles difficult of digestion are 
taken, the digestive organs are overtaxed, 
if not positively injured, and much energy 
is thus wasted which might have been 
turned to better account. The evils of over- 
eating may not be felt at once, but sooner 
or later they are sure to appear; perhaps 
in excessive fatty tissue, perhaps in general 
debility, perhaps in actual disease. 
