The great West. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1889-18??, 1891-11-20
THE FARM AND HOME.
CONCERNING THE PROPERTIES
OF VARIOUS FOODS.
4 Condensed Summary of . Valuable
Bulletin-How to Make u Milk
House-Farm Notes and
Hints for Housewives.
Chemistry of Foods.

Chemistry of Foods.
In recently issued bulletin Of the
6torrs school experiment station, Con-
necticut, on the chemistry and econo-
my of foods, the following condensed
summary is laid down. They are di-
vided into four classes-p-otein, fats,
carbohydrates, and mineral matters
Among the protein compounds are
lean meat, white of egg, curd of milk,
and gluten of wheat. The fats are
mostly butter and lard. The carbohy-
drates are sugar and starch. The nu-
trients of animal foods are mainly
protein and fats, and those of vegeta-
BILE foods are largely carbohydrates.
Fat meat and some fish contain con-
siderable quantities of fat and lean
meat and other fish contain very little.
Protein is found in considerable guam
titles in beans, peas and oat meal.
In nutrition of the body protein
forms muscle, tendon and tissues gen.
orally. The fats do not form muscle,
but they form fatty tissues. The
carbohydrates may be transformed in
to fat All three serve as fuel and
yield energy in the form of heat and
muscular strength.
Many interesting facts are furnished
in this bulletin. Not far from fifty
dletaries of several hundred people in
private families and boarding houses
mostly in New England, have been
collated, and the chemical analysis of
quite a number of animal foods-meat,
fish, oysters and the like, have been
made in the chemical laboratory of the
station, since $780, and the chemical
composition of foods compiled from
American analyses. The results of
several hundred examinations of foods
are given in tabular form, and their
comparative cost and value in detail,
of which our limited space will not
permit a notice. but the following
facts in connection with these examin-
ations will be interesting to our read
ers: A pound of lean beef and quart
OF whole milk contain about the same
amounts of actually nutritive
material; but the pound of beef
costs more than the quart of milk, while
its nutrients differ not only in number
and kind, but are for ordinary use,
more valuable than those OF the milk.
In general, animal substances contain
the most nutrients, although potatoes
and turnips and allied green vege-
tables are exceptions. Meats have
more water in proportion as they con-
tain less fats; very lean beef being
MANLY fhroo 1r,fh o Of u,1,;1N
other and fatter cuts are less than one
half water. The flesh of fish is in gen.
eral more watery than that OF ordinary
meats. Flour and meal have very lit
tie water. and sugar almost none The
vegetable foods are rich in carbohy-
drates and the meats abound in pro-
tein and fats of which the vegetable
foods have usually very little. Beans
and oatmeal, however are rich in pro-
tein. while fat pork has very little.
WE notice a few facts given under
the head of Cost of Food. Although
this cost is so great, and all are so in
timately dependent on it. yet even the
most intelligent people know less of
the actual uses and values OF their
AOOo III fulfilling 1uo puIp budu
of almost any other Of the neces-
saries of life. Working men in Massa-
chusetts, with incomes from $3.50 to
$500 year, pay 81 per cent. of their
incomes for food, leaving out the cost
of preparing it for the table On in
comes of from $3.50 to 81, 200, Sc per
cent. is spent for the food. Again,
eggs at Is cents dozen furnish more
nutrients and energy for rs cents than
round of beef at Is cents or sirloin
at 20 cents a pound.
The subject of this bulletin is OBJ
viously one requiring a vast amount of
careful investigation. in which great
progress has been made within the
last twenty years. but mistake has
been ,nado by some chemists and at
some stations, in supposing that ex-
periments in the laboratory may de-
termine tho digestibility and value of
foods better than by actual expert
ments in feeding animals. Something
depends on the volition of the animals,
and more on their peculiar characters
and an animal which does not like
certain food may not be so we'll bene-
flied by it as another which it digests
with satisfaction. Country Gentle
man.