﻿Report 
  on 
  the 
  Metabolism 
  of 
  Female 
  Munition 
  Workers. 
  81 
  

  

  workers 
  (the 
  large 
  majority 
  women), 
  reached 
  3463 
  as 
  the 
  average 
  man 
  value.* 
  

   Hence 
  2874 
  would 
  be 
  the 
  value 
  for 
  an 
  average 
  woman. 
  But 
  this 
  general 
  

   summary 
  includes 
  some 
  hostels 
  for 
  which 
  the 
  values 
  were 
  extremely 
  low, 
  and 
  

   their 
  largest 
  homogeneous 
  sample 
  (about 
  7000 
  women 
  in 
  a 
  great 
  explosives 
  

   supply 
  factory) 
  yielded 
  a 
  ".man 
  " 
  value 
  of 
  3951 
  calories 
  and 
  a 
  " 
  woman 
  " 
  

   value 
  of 
  3279 
  substantially 
  identical 
  with 
  our 
  experimental 
  approximation. 
  

   Perhaps 
  this 
  concordance 
  gives 
  a 
  somewhat 
  greater 
  credibility 
  to 
  our 
  pro- 
  

   visional 
  conclusions. 
  It 
  is 
  even 
  possible 
  that 
  the 
  3279 
  represents 
  a 
  slight 
  

   excess, 
  because, 
  if 
  allowance 
  is 
  made 
  for 
  \\ 
  rest 
  days 
  (vide 
  infra), 
  our 
  experi- 
  

   mental 
  figures 
  of 
  3322 
  is 
  reduced 
  to 
  3039. 
  

  

  One 
  important 
  inference 
  may 
  be 
  drawn 
  from 
  these 
  figures. 
  The 
  energy 
  

   requirement 
  of 
  the 
  lightest 
  class 
  is 
  about 
  74 
  per 
  cent, 
  of 
  the 
  heaviest. 
  But 
  

   the 
  remuneration 
  of 
  the 
  kinds 
  of 
  work 
  included 
  in 
  our 
  heaviest 
  class 
  is 
  much 
  

   less 
  than 
  that 
  of 
  several 
  operations 
  needing 
  many 
  fewer 
  calories. 
  If 
  we 
  

   supposed 
  that 
  so 
  small 
  a 
  sum 
  as 
  10s. 
  would 
  purchase 
  an 
  adequate 
  weekly 
  

   diet 
  for 
  a 
  member 
  of 
  the 
  lowest 
  class, 
  then 
  assuming 
  that 
  the 
  If 
  non-working 
  

   days 
  require 
  the 
  same 
  allowance, 
  which 
  we 
  may 
  put 
  at 
  1800 
  calories 
  per 
  

   diem, 
  for 
  all 
  classes, 
  the 
  total 
  weekly 
  needs 
  are 
  16,615 
  calories 
  and 
  21,538 
  

   calories, 
  so 
  that 
  the 
  worker 
  in 
  the 
  heavier 
  class 
  must 
  spend 
  nearly 
  13s. 
  

   a 
  week. 
  

  

  Section 
  5. 
  

  

  The 
  issue 
  raised 
  at 
  the 
  end 
  of 
  the 
  last 
  section 
  is 
  of 
  such 
  importance 
  that 
  

   we 
  may 
  be 
  permitted 
  to 
  discuss 
  it 
  in 
  more 
  detail 
  than 
  might 
  seem 
  fitting 
  in 
  

   a 
  physiological 
  report. 
  

  

  The 
  data 
  collected 
  by 
  the 
  Board 
  of 
  Trade 
  in 
  1904 
  showed 
  that 
  for 
  families 
  

   in 
  receipt 
  of 
  less 
  than 
  25s. 
  weekly, 
  67'3 
  per 
  cent, 
  of 
  total 
  outgoings 
  were 
  

   expended 
  upon 
  food, 
  the 
  proportion 
  only 
  falling 
  as 
  low 
  as 
  57 
  per 
  cent, 
  in 
  

   families 
  earning 
  40s. 
  or 
  more 
  weekly. 
  Even 
  in 
  the 
  families 
  of 
  the 
  poorest 
  

   class 
  studied 
  by 
  Bowntree, 
  where 
  the 
  expenditure 
  upon 
  food 
  was 
  estimated 
  to 
  

   provide 
  less 
  than 
  a 
  maintenance 
  diet, 
  51 
  per 
  cent, 
  of 
  outgoings 
  were 
  for 
  food. 
  

  

  The 
  Working 
  Classes 
  Cost 
  of 
  Living 
  Committee 
  which 
  reported 
  in 
  1918 
  

   (Cd. 
  8980, 
  1918) 
  provided 
  data 
  from 
  which 
  the 
  following 
  percentages 
  have 
  

   been 
  calculated 
  : 
  — 
  

  

  * 
  Medical 
  Research 
  Committee, 
  Special 
  Report, 
  No. 
  13. 
  

  

  