216 
STATE AGEICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
economical value arises from its enhancing the value of other 
food with which it is consumed. By the figures in the table, 
it may be seen that if half a pound of fiour, that will cost only 
four or five cents, is converted into bread, and consumed with 
a pound of cheese, the two together will furmsh a little more 
nutriment than two pounds of meat. The figures which rep¬ 
resent their value stand thus : 
t 
Flesh¬ 
forming. 
Fat¬ 
forming. 
One pound cheese. 
24.0 
31.0 
....... 
One-half pound flour. 
6.9 
36.0 
4 
Two pounds meat. 
29.9 
28.8 
6'7.0 
69.8 
The pound of cheese and the one-half pound of flour will 
cost 25 cents, and two pounds of meat 40 cents. Cheese sus¬ 
tains a similar relation to all the cereal grains, and in fact to 
almost all the food derived from the vegetable kingdom, and 
is therefore used with that class of foods with great advantage. 
Thus consumed, it has an economical value that pertains to 
no other animal food. We cannot use butchers’ meat, for in¬ 
stance, with wheat flour and produce any increased value over 
using them singly ; for meat, as a rule, contains just the right 
proportions of flesh and fat (1 to 21-4). It has nothing, 
therefore, to offset with the excessive starch in the flour. 
Hence, when meat is consumed with bread, potatoes, roots, &c., 
all the excess of starch or sugar they contain is wasted. The 
only valuable purpose they can serve is to supply the deficient 
bulk in the meat. It cannot possibly utilize them. This re¬ 
lation of cheese to food containing an excess of the supporters 
of respiration ought to be better appreciated by our people 
than it now appears to be. We live mostly upon food that 
contains an excess of fat, starch, or sugar, which we pay for 
at a heavy expense, without its contributing anything toward 
