338 
REV. M. C. H. BIRD ON ACORNS. 
The albumenoids containing T01 nitrogen. In the meal as 
formerly used for making cakes for human consumption, the 
indigestible fibre would be eliminated by the previous removal 
of the husks. In a fresh state acorns are calculated to contain 
55 3 Water 
348 Nitrogen, free extract 
44 Fibre 
2’5 Protein 
1-9 Fat 
1-0 Ash 
Mr. W. L. Sutton, in his Report to the Norfolk County 
Council last December on the feeding value of acorns, from 
one sample of meal submitted to him for analysis, found the 
food units to be 81, and stated that, on paper, it showed a 
better feeding value than an artificial food stuff which was 
then realising .£6 per ton, and with a little more drying they 
would have given an analysis closely resembling that of locust 
beans, although not containing so much sugar. They con- 
tained some however, namely, about 5 per cent. Theoretically, 
therefore, they are a nutritious food, especially when dried 
and ground and given sparingly, and may thus be used to eke 
out other foods to advantage. 
In former days acorns were used in times of scarcity for 
human food. In the days of Queen Mary, Bulleyn says : — 
“Bread was so scant that the plain people did make very 
much of acorns, and a sickness or sore fever did sore molest 
the commons.” It is interesting in this connection to 
remember the previously mentioned prevalence of a peculiar 
disease amongst Wood Pigeons in 1906, which was then 
attributed to their having surfeited on this astringent food. 
In conclusion, here is the copy of a recipe for Acorn Cake — a 
novelty for 4 o’clock tea — culled from the Dictionary of Daily 
Wants, published in 1840 : — “ Take ripe acorns, peel off their 
skins, and bruise them into a paste; let them lie in water for 
a night, and press them dry, this will remove their astringent 
