April 1, 1901,] THE TEOPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
069 
If grass land plantations like that at Boniani 
Hill will afford as good a yield as the forest land 
plaiititious in Cliarduar, a great fuiure may be 
predicted for rubber-planting in Assam, and there 
are, or were in my time, enormous areas of waste 
grass land in that Province. — Indian Forester. 
♦ 
RICE AS A FOOD. 
Dr. John Haddon, M.D , writes to the Rangoon 
Gazette : — 
In coming to Rangoon, I noticert that there 
were two ways of boiling rice on board the ship. 
Tiie rice for the passengers, boiled by a native 
cook, was put on with cold water, i^nd poured 
as we pour potatoes. That for the lascars, also 
prepared by a native cook, was put into a 
measured quantity of water boiling very fast, 
and allowed to boil, until all the water was 
absori)ed. It was not poured. Now some may 
nob know that a large amount of the nutritive 
niaterial of the rice goes into the water in which 
it is boiled ; but that is a fact well-known to 
chemists. It is thus evident that pouring the 
rice we are lessening its food value. Some are 
inclined to regard rice as of comparatively little 
value as a food, and it is not uncommon to 
hear Anglo-Indians saying that the natives, who 
live mostly upon rice, have to eat an enormuus 
quantity of it. If it be really necessary, in 
living upon rice, to eat a larger quantity than 
the stomach can accommodate with comfort, how 
careful should those who so live be not to deprive 
the rice of any of its nutritive material, since 
it is evident chat if a certain quantity of dry 
rice must be eaten to support life (according to 
the calculation of physiological, chemists) those 
who pour ttieir rice will not be so well ted, 
as those who do nob pour it, if they both eat 
the same quantity of dry rice? And again, if 
the natives require to take an enormous quantity 
of rice, to live upon it alone, they will require 
to take more of that which has been poured, 
thari of that which has not been poured and 
retains more of its nutritive value. Granting 
my premises then, the logical conclusion is that 
rice must not be poured and, from personal 
experience, I believe it is best to put the rice 
into the water when it is boiling last, but I 
do not wish to say more about that at present. 
Perhaps the most important qutstioii with re- 
gard to rice, is as to its cleaning, or milling. 
We require, in a perfect food, a certain proportion 
of albuminoid, carbonaceous, and mineral material. 
Unless we have these in proper proportions, our 
health suffers. The albumenoids go to supply 
the waste of our tissues, caused by the vital 
processes, and the amount of niusevilar effort put 
forth in work. The carbonaceous goe-< to supply 
us with energy. It is like the loal in the 
fire, the combustion of which heats the boiler, 
and makes the steam, which gives the engine 
all its power. Starch is one of the princ'ipal 
ingredients in our food for the supply of energy, 
and it cvists in large quantity in all our cereals. 
The mineral material goes to the formation of 
bone, and supplies us with salts which are absolute- 
ly necessary for health. We are onlv just 
beginning to realise that it is the want olf these 
mineral salts in animal food (its .sin of omission, 
as it were) which helps to produce gout in its 
protean forms, making such ravages, as it does, 
in those of sedentary habits, who indulge in the 
pleasures of the table. A London physician, 
who has been studying the question of diet, in 
relation to gout, is endeavouring to obtain the 
ashes of vegetables which contain so largely what 
we may call these anti-gouty salts in such a 
form that it could be used instead of our ordin- 
ary table salt, but surely it would be wiser 
to eat such food as contains these salts. If we 
examine wheat, we find that these salts are 
contained in the bian, which is entirely removed 
friim wheat by millers in making the fine white 
flour, and given to cattle. The bran, liowever, 
contains not only the salts, but a large pro- 
portion of albuminoid material, which we require 
to build up the waste of our tissues. Such 
knowledge has induced some doctors to recommend 
the used of bread made from whole wheat meal, 
and many who have found the benefit derived 
from eating such bread keep handmills in which 
they grind the wheat as got from the farmer 
just as they require it , and they fir d the biead 
made from such freshly-ground meal much better 
than that from meal whicii they can buy, seeing 
that such meal does not keep well. Dr, Keith 
who visited Rangoon two years ago, made some 
enquiries as to rice, which he put into an article 
in Chambers' Journal. He states that so much 
as 16 per cent of what is called rice meal ia 
taken from the rice, in the process of milling. 
An analysis of the rice meal made by Messrs. 
Duncan and Plockhart, of Edinburgh proves 
that rice meal (which is sold for feeding cattle) 
contains 12^ per cent of albuminoids, ami 4^ per 
cent of phosi)lioric acid, which, in union with 
lime, as phosphate of lime, makes up : he "reater 
part of the ash amounting to 7f per cent, Parkes 
gives 5 per cent as the proportion of albuminoids 
in white rice. Thus we learn that rice meal has 
more than double the amount of albuminoids that 
the best rice contains, and as it has in addition 
all the mineral salts, which we know to be so 
necessary for the system, it is evident that rice 
meal is a valuable food, and that in takin" it 
off the rice we are making the same mistake" as 
we so long did in taking the bran off wheat 
and giving it to cattle. 
What then is the lesson we should learn from 
these fact.' ? It is > ery evident. We should leave 
as much as possible of what; rice meal consists 
of on tlie lice, and use it in that state for human 
food. If we could keep it all, we would have 
instead of only 5 per cent of albuminoid", and no 
mineral salts, 17^ per cent of albuminoids and 
plenty of the mineral salts, so that in that state 
rice alone would be an excellent food. The natives 
mix dal with their rice, and in doing so they do 
well, so long as they use white rice, since the 
dal is rich in albuminiond niaterial, but if they 
used the brown rice they would not require any 
dal. This is a question which ought to interest 
all who have the welfare of the natives in this 
country at heart and the Government miaht do 
something to encourage the millers to turn out the 
rice with its invaluable nutritive material retained. 
If it will not keep long enough for expori>5 ion 
all ground up, as we grind our wheat, wis ; v. e 
make whole wheat meal, it might be sent hoiue 
in the brown state, and ground in mills there, for 
home consumption. In that state it makes an 
excellent porridge, and might be used by our 
