April 16, 1886.] 



SCIENCE. 



343 



Oatmeal is one of the cheapest foods we have ; 

 that is, it furnishes more nutritive material, in 

 proportion to the cost, than almost any other. 

 Wheat-bread and rice, on the other hand, are the 

 most expensive, in proportion to their cost, of the 

 staple vegetable foods. 



By taking into account all the nutritive sub- 

 stances, it is estimated that 25 cents will pay for 

 .29 of a pound of nutrients in beef sirloin, .40 in 

 round beef, and .92 in neck beef ; oysters, .12 to 

 .17 ; shad and bluefish, about .28 : smoked herring, 

 1.21 ; cheese, 1.08 to 1.35 ; milk, .99 ; wheat-bread, 

 2.08 to 2,75, etc. 



Of course, in the comparative value of foods, 

 their actual physiological use is not unimportant. 

 Foods rich in nutrients may not be readily assimi- 

 lable, and only physiological experiments can 

 finally determine their actual nutritive value. 



From a study of the dietaries of factory and 

 mill operatives, mechanics and other people en- 

 gaged in manual labor in Massachusetts and Con- 

 necticut, the most noticeable features observed 

 were the large quantities of food consumed, es- 

 pecially of animal food and fats. The total 

 amount of nutrients per man per day varies in 

 the Massachusetts dietaries from 690 grams to 

 1,052 grams ; while in the European dietaries the 

 normal range is from 653 to 863 grams. In the 

 European the consumption of fats ranges from 13 

 to 100 grams, while in the Massachusetts dietaries 

 in no case does it fall below 127, and reaches as 

 high as 304 grams. If common usage in Europe, 

 and the standards which are currently accepted 

 there, are correct expressions of the proper quanti- 

 ties of food and of fat for healthful nutrition, the 

 quantities of total food, of meats, and especially 

 of fats, in the New England dietaries examined, 

 are needlessly large, and in some instances ex- 

 cessively so. The dietaries studied all pointed in 

 one direction, indicating that in this country a 

 large excess of food is consumed, not only by 

 well-to-do people, but also by those in moderate 

 circumstances. This excess consists mainly in 

 meats and sweetmeats, which are expensive, as 

 well as physiologically injurious when consumed 

 in too large quantities. 



ELECTRIC LIGHTING IN ENGLAND. 



Owing to the restrictions imposed by the act of 

 1882, electric lighting on any large scale is still a 

 matter of the future in England, and the industry 

 has not developed to any such extent as in Ger- 

 many, Austria, Italy, or Belgium, and by no means 

 as in this country. Perhaps partly from this in- 

 terference with the development of a large sys- 

 tem of distribution for electric lighting, and 



partly on account of the existence in England of 

 large country houses in the possession of wealthy 

 owners, the electrical illumination of single 

 houses has been brought to a higher degree of 

 perfection than domestic electric lighting in other 

 countries. Men of wealth have constituted them- 

 selves into amateur electricians, the marvels of 

 electricity apparently exerting a captivating in- 

 fluence upon their minds, and its study has been 

 a hobby of many. 



The pioneers of domestic lighting in England 

 were Sir William Thomson, Sir William Arm- 

 strong, Mr. Coope, Mr. Sellon, and Mr. Charles 

 Moseley. Sir William Thomson used a gas-engine, 

 and worked his lamps directly from the dynamo, 

 not only lighting his house, but also his class- 

 room and laboratory in the University of Glasgow. 

 Sir William Armstrong obtained his power from a 

 waterfall in his ground. Mr. Coope used a steam- 

 engine ; and Mr. Sellon and Mr. Moseley relied 

 on secondary batteries, obtaming their power from 

 gas-engines. 



The good examples thus set have been followed 

 by many, and at present a great many private 

 houses in all parts of the country are thoroughly 

 and efficiently lighted. In fact, electric lighting 

 is becoming a fashion, and in the opinion of Mr. 

 Preece, as expressed at a recent meeting of the 

 London society of arts, "the only fear of its 

 ultimate general success is its falling into the 

 hands of the inexperienced and ignorant." 



Steam, gas, and water power have been satis- 

 factorily used as agents for the production of 

 power. Petroleum has not as yet had a trial in 

 England, and wind is too uncertain to be relied 

 on. Mr. Preece believes that a simple effective 

 steam domestic motor has not as yet been intro- 

 duced ; but in this opinion he was criticised by 

 Mr. Crompton of the Society of arts, who af- 

 firms that there are several English engines 

 which could be worked by a gardener or butler as 

 satisfactorily as a gas-engine. But most of the 

 high-speed engines require more technical skill 

 than is usually to be found among the domestics 

 of an ordinary household. On this account the 

 council of the Society of arts has under considera- 

 tion a plan of offering prizes for the best engines 

 designed to fill the special purposes of providing 

 power for electric lighting. The competition will 

 probably be extended to all classes of engines, — 

 steam, gas, petroleum, or what not. 



At present the gas-engines seem best adapted to 

 supply the need. According to the statement of 

 Mr. Preece, 25 cubic feet of gas will give us one 

 horse-power, or eight 20 candle - power glow- 

 lamps, or 160 candle-power all told ; but five 

 5-feet burners will give only 75 candles when 



