of the Fishery Board for Scotland. 



257 



The Normal Company, under the superintendence of Mr Sahlstrom, has 

 recently established a factory in Aberdeen, and has manufactured large 

 quantities of a similar extract from whale flesh. This extract presents 

 all the characters of an extract made from the flesh of the ox. Such an 

 extract forms an excellent basis for a soup, having all the flavour of an 

 extract of ox flesh. But extracts offish can be made in a similar way, the 

 product being, as far as sensible characters are concerned, indistinguishable 

 from that of ox flesh. These are points of difference depending on the 

 slightly difl'erent chemical composition of fish and flesh — for, even in the 

 same animal, there is a diff'erence in the chemical composition of individual 

 muscles. Such flsh extracts have no flavour of fish whatever, and possess 

 all the aromatic flavour of meat extract, and I understand that they can 

 be made much more cheaply than extract of meat. At a certain point in 

 the process of extraction, all the fishy flavour disappears. As a general 

 rule, these extracts are made by boiling a watery extract of the fish 

 muscles — (after acidulation and precipitation of the proteids or albumins), 

 in an open vessel with a double jacket, so that steam can be admitted 

 between the layers of the jacket, and thus keep up ebullition. Such 

 extracts will keep for a very long time, and they are available for all the 

 purposes for which meat extract is available. The question has still to be 

 tested dietetically, whether such extracts are in any way superior to those 

 of meat. In any case they are quite equal to meat extracts in stimulating 

 and restorative properties. 



Such extracts, however, can also be made from other marine animals, 

 e.g.y crabs and shell fish generally. In these cases the extract is so 

 made that it retains the flavour of the crab or shell fish, e.g., mussel. 

 Thus there may be manufactured on the spot a large amount of extract, 

 which undoubtedly has a commercial and dietetic value. In a properly 

 adjusted dietary, however, mere stimulants and restoratives are not 

 sufficient, but there must be a proper amount and adjustment of the 

 proteids (albumins) — (carbohydrates, such as starches and sugars), fats and 

 mineral salts. The question arises, then — cannot a cheap and useful 

 food be made so as to combine these substances in proper proportion ? 

 The whole order of the legume tribe represented by peas, beans, and 

 lentils, have a high dietetic value, and this fact was made use of by the 

 Germans in the manufacture of the famous ' Erbswurst,' or ' iron-ration,' 

 which played so prominent a part in the dietary of the Prussian soldiers 

 during the Franco-German War. Peas, after being boiled and ground, 

 were mixed with a quantity of fat. Peas contain a very large amount of 

 proieid or albuminous matter, and therefore represent a highly nitrogenous 

 food, which, however, when used continuously, is not perfectly adapted to 

 the digestive activities of man. Other forms of solid pea soup and lentil 

 soup are manufactured by French firms, and are supplied in large 

 quantity to the French army, but I cannot fSay that these soups are very 

 palatable, although I have frequently tasted them, and had them prepared 

 in a variety of ways. 



I can speak very highly, however, of the pea sausage and pea soup 

 manufactured by the Normal Company. The basis of both of these pro- 

 ducts is peas carefully prepared; they are ground and mixed with a 

 certain proportion of animal fat and extract of fish and flavoured with 

 herbs. Such a solid compressed soup, when boiled for a few minutes 

 in water, yields a most palatable food and one of high dietetic value. 

 The great merit, in addition to its dietetic value, is its cheapness. The 

 dry powder for making such soups can be kept for a very long time 

 without undergoing change. As a matter of fact, in most soups what one 

 obtains is really the extractives and salts and some flavouring materials. 



