NUTRITIVE VALUE OF CEREAL PREPARATIONS. 235 
THE RELATIVE ECONOMY OF CEREAL PREPARATIONS. 
Since the nutritive value of any food material is determined 
by the amounts of protein and energy it actually supplies, the 
real cheapness or dearness of the food depends upon the actual 
cost of the protein and energy it contains. ‘That is, in deter- 
mining the pecuniary economy of the material it is essential to 
consider both its price per pound and its chemical composition. 
The relative economy of different materials may be illustrated 
in a very simple manner by a comparison of the quantities of 
protein and energy that will be obtained in them for a given 
sum. Such a comparison is given for a number of the cereal 
products and for a few other common foods by the figures -in 
the following table, showing how much total protein and energy 
each will supply for 10 cents. The figures of the cereal prod- 
ucts are based upon the analyses given in Table 90. It would 
be far preferable to compare quantities of digestible protein and 
available energy, but the digestibility of several of the cereal | 
products is not yet sufficiently well known. 
The prices here given for the various products are those of 
several different localities. In some cases considerable varia- 
tion was found in the price of the same brand, as shown in the 
table. In such cases the average price was used in computing 
the amounts of protein and energy for ro cents. The weight 
per package and the amount of cereal food in the package are 
also, in the majority of cases, averages of several weighings. 
In some instances an appreciable difference was found in the 
weight of the contents of two packages of the same brand. For 
a number of the brands not enough information was at hand 
regarding the weight of the cereal contents; and such brands 
are. omitted from the table. This accounts for the fact that 
the list in this table is smaller than that in Table 90. ‘The 
number of brands here included, however, is quite sufficient to 
indicate average variations in relative economy. 
The figures in the table are readily understood. For ex- 
ample, the first item, Cream of Wheat, varied in price from 13 
to 17 cents per package in different localities. The average 
price was taken as 15 cents. The average weight of the con- 
tents of a package was 1.82 pounds. This would make the 
actual cost of the food 8.2 cents per pound. ‘The amount of 
cereal that 10 cents would pay for would furnish, according to 
