1 Dec., 1901.] QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. 575 
Directions ror Seypine Sampies or Grass To THE Laporatory. 
A square yard has to be plotted out with pegs in the middle of the crop 
which is to be sampled, strings or wires stretched from corner to corner, and 
all the plants collected which grow in this square yard, cutting them close to the 
ground. The whole is at once carefully weighed; after weighing, dried in a 
protected shady place and weighed again, and the whole sent securely packed to 
the laboratory. In some cases it is advisable to take the roots also, but they 
have to be kept separate. It is not advisable to send the green stuff, as it 
might get mouldy during transit. When sending the sample it is important 
to send, at the same time, full particulars with regard to age of the crop, 
conditions under which grown, description of soil, if manured, &c. 
SUGAR AS A FOOD. 
Sugar is a carbo-hydrate—that is, a compound of carbon, hydrogen, and 
oxygen, in which the hydrogen and oxygen are present in the proportion in 
which they exist in water. * * The great feature in the metabolism of all 
these carbo-hydrates is that they are completely oxidised in the body into water 
and carbonic acid without any waste and leaving no residue. 
It has been amply proved that sugar can under certain circumstances be 
converted into fat, in which form it can be stored in the body, and so be capable 
of producing heat and force in the future. It is also what is called a proteid- 
sparing food—that is, it will save the wear and tear of the proteids of the body. 
Then, again, it is pleasant to take, and thus acts as a relish, stimulating the 
activity of the digestive processes. 
It should, therefore, be an admirable food, not indeed for building up 
_ tissues, but for producing heat and energy. It has the additional advantages 
that it can be stored in a very small space, and that it will keep for a practically 
unlimited time. — 
In 1893 Mosso made careful experiments upon men with his ergograph. 
He found that much less muscular deterioration occurred under a sugar diet, 
and also found that, when the muscles were fatigued and incapable of further 
work, a sugar diet quickly rendered them fit again. 
In Berlin, in 1895, Staff-Surgeon Schumberg experimented upon various 
men, both of weak and strong muscular physique, taking special care to exclude 
all possible influence and suggestion. He found that in half to three-quarters 
of an hour 30 grams (28 grams are equal to 1 oz. avoirdupois) of sugar 
restored the power of work to muscles so tired that they had previously given 
hardly any appreciable results. His practical conclusion was that sugar being 
so easily absorbed, and so soon available as a source of energy, forms a 
veritable and most valuable muscle food, and in small doses is well adapted to 
help men to perform extraordinary muscular labour. He also made the 
remarkable discovery that sugar is able, through its influence on the nervous 
system, to overcome the feeling of fatigue. 
At the same time that these experiments on sugar were being carried on, 
men who were actively engaged in athletic pursuits were beginning to find out 
its usefulness. The ever-increasing army of cyclists discovered its value, not 
merely as a muscle food, but also as a potent and speedy recuperator in case of 
fatigue. Alpine climbers, too, gave up their old custom of relying on alcohol 
as a restorative and stimulant, and took to sweet stuffs instead. In Holland: 
Birnie advocated sugar training for athletes. It was tried by several 
rowing clubs, and it was found that the young men who took large quantities 
of sugar bore the training better than their fellows, and did not become stale 
or overtrained. Their example was followed by the rowing society of Berlin. 
In December, 1897, the question of the usefulness of sugar as a food for 
soldiers was raised in the German Parliament, and, in consequence of the 
discussion that ensued, a further investigation took place at Metz during the 
autumn manceuvres of 1898. Twenty men were selected from each company ; 
