The Washington times., 1909-10-31
Department of Agriculture
Experts Use Machines to
Prove Claim.
NEW POISON" SQUAD
WILL BE ENLISTED
Claim Now Is Made That Too
Much Chewing Interferes
With Digestion.
Have you been FIetcherizing?

Have you been Fletcherizing?
No?
But of course you believe in it? Would
II you had the courage to stick at 1t
and chew every bite thirty-two times?
Certainly.
we'll
It's All fake Nothing to it. Doesn't
promote digestion. Doesn't increase the
nutritive results of your food. Isn't
good for you; is liable to be positively
bad for you. Yes, that's so; everybody
agreed that it's a splendid thing but
that merely proves once more that the
things on which everybody is agreed
are liable to be awfuIly mistaken.
The calorimeter has discovered the
error OF chewing your food too much.
The calorineter looks like a cross be-
tween a bar-room's zinc-lined ice chest
and an electric chair in which to exc
cute the death penalty. If you can
imagine the cheerfulness Of being lock-
ed in q huge refrigerator. with an cleo
trio chair TO sit on, and absolutely moth
ing 20 do: with electrical instruments
all around you that you didn't dare
touch; with three. four, or six or seven
days Of that sort Of thing ahead of
you, you would have some appreciation
of the interesting stunt for which
new poison squad is to be organized at
the Department Of Agriculture
What they want is a calorimeter
squad.
DR.. c. f. LangwOrthy, expert in nu-
triton, and boss calorimetrician, is out
for volunteers.
For Bright Young Men.
Any bright young man anxious to sit
for a week in a metai-lined air-tight,
heat-proof, absolutely insulated vault.
and have his breath measured out to
him, his exhalations tested and meas
ured. his food passed IN by the gramme
after. careful tests-anybody wanting to
try this experience can make himself
very solid with DR.. Langworthy.
But about the calorimeter and Flet-
cherizlng.
FLETCHER is the auafable old gentleman
who discovered that you should chew
all your food until II just sort of Inn
palpably slipped down your gulleu with
out being exactly swallowed. he IN
sisted that the soups and cOnsommes be
chewed thoroughly, and that il really
would be good business TO chew our
water fifteen or twenty times; while as
for beefsteaks and potatoes and hard
crackers with Roquefort Oh eese-why,
they just must be chewed till all the
flavor IS gone and they slip down with
out knowing it.
Won't Eat So Much.
Chew thus. declared Fletcher. and you
win only want to eat about half as
much; you will always have good d.
gestiOn: you'll never be obese or sHna-
ciated; your complexion viii be good.
your hair viii not turn gray, you'll live
TO be 100 years old or therea bouts-end
youH enjoy all of it. So Fletcher said,
and he drummed up mighty big fol-
lowing.
Comes now DR.. Langworthy and his
CalOrimeter. and demonstrates, by put
ting Fletcher himself into the machine
for a straight week. and measuring up
his food and his breath and his heat
units. that this masticatlon business
is not only useless, but IN many cases
positively bad.
II is not only possible 10 chew your
food too much, but il is very easy. II
you chew II too much, you head OF Ger
tain digestive and assinailatiVe processes
that are presumed L. be performed after
the food Is swallowed. If you fOrestall
these processes. YOU deprive yourself OF
much of the value Of the food.
Prof. Fletcher declined TO accept the
= conclusions Of the Government scien-
J lists and was not convinced OF the
error OF his system but the scientists
merely smiled and Went on with their
demonstrations They have proved a
large number OF things to be true which
everybody has always assumed were
untrue. and they have disproVed a large
number Of things which have been uni
versally accepted as fundamental.
Working New Science.
They are working out a new science
OF nutrition and dietetics Secretary
Wilson has them at work just now
with a series of tests on cheeses as
food. He believes, and the experiments
thus far indicate. that cheese is one
OF the best. cheapest and easiest dis
gested foods. Then there are to be
series Of experiments TO determine the
food values OF nuts. all kinds Of cereal
preparations and all the different cuts
of meats.
This meat program is intended to be
OF great value. With pork chops worth
= cents or thereabOuts, and steaks de-
MED 10 all save the very rich. the
problem OF how TO prepare the cheaper
cuts OF meats so as TO make them most
palaiabIe. and also most nutritious. IS
demanding attention. This Is TO be
Eorked out Just as rapidly as possibly.
The calorimeter recently has been set
up al the Agricultural Department for
these experiments. II was for a long
time operated by its inventor. Prof. W
o Atwater in Connecticut, but on his
death the machine was brought here,
and Is Just now looking for victims.
The young men in the department are
going 10 be offered Jobs sitting IN II
and being studied.
What Machine Does.
The machine exactly can measure the
energy a man uses in sitting stiU and
merely breathing. the energy he used
in pumping a bicycle; that which IS
employed saving wood. and so on.
One OF the most remarkable discOv-
cries made with n IS that a man work.
ing very closely with his brain appears
20 generate no whit more energy than
one sitting still. Several men taking
civil service examinations have been
put into the machine 20 do their work
and they are shown to have produced
exactly the same energy, to have con-
sumed exactly the same amount ~ it's
sue. as when they sat still with folded
hands.
This has wrecked q theory that the
whole world had accepted for genera
lions about the heavy tax which men
tai effort Imposes on the system.
OWL BITES MAN.
CHESTER, Pa. Oct 3l-William