The Goodland republic. [volume] (Goodland, Kan.) 1891-1907, 1891-12-11
THE FARM AND HONE
cONcERNIrIo THE PROPERTIES
OF VARIOUS FOODS.
\ COsdsnssd Summary OF vaIaabis
BuIIstin-How 40 kzks - AIiIk
House-FaFm NOsss end
HInts for Housewives.
chsmI.t-y OF rood.

In recently issued bulletin OF the
Storrs 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-protein. fats,
carbohy drates and mineral matters.
Among the protein Compounds are
lean meat white OF egg curd OF milk.
end gluten OF wheat The fats are
mostly butter and lard. The carbohy-
drates are sugar and starch. The nu-
trients of apimal 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 rs 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 1880. and the chemical
composition of foods complied 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 n 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
nearly three fourths water. while the
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 50 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
food for fulfilling its purposes than
of almost any other of the neces-
saries of life. Working men in Massa-
chusetts, with incomes from $3.50 to
$4OO a 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 800 To $1,000. Sc per
cent Is spent for the food. Again.
eggs at Is cents a dozen furnish more
| nutrients and energy for % cents than
a round OF beef at Is cents or sirloin
at 20 cents 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. a mistake has
been made by some chemists and at
some stations in supposing that ex-
| periments In the laboratory may de-
termine the digestibility and value OF
J 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 q
certain food may not be so well bene-
flied by it as another which IL digests
with satisfaction Country Gentle
| man.