The Springfield herald., 1914-10-23
THE DIET QUESTION.

Inquiries received prove that large
numbers Of persons grasp only with
great difncutly the fundamental princi-
pies of nutrition and do not readily
discriminate between pure food and
wholesome food. The demand IL for
some specific guide or chart a. to
what to eat. This II not the road 10
good health and happiness. but quite
the contrary: because until seh-
knowledge aid self-reliance arc at
tanned the individual IL subject to all
kinds of vague and unreasontng fears
and fsncies and is, therefore, continu-
ously in danger Of exploitation by any
plausible faddist. with all the attend
ant dangers.
Next to rice. wheat is the most uni
versally used cereal and In this coun-
try 1t leads; therefore. more than any
other plant. wheat becomes q constitu-
ent part Of our bodies.
Wheat begins to grow at II degrees
Fahrenheit and when the aggregate
temperature a. represented by the
sum of the daily average equals 1S6
degrees the germ begins to hatch" or
escape from the husks II not too deep
ly buried. II too deeply buried.
greater amount of heat 10 required pro-
portionate to the depth. and II the seed
lies at q depth lower than one foot
1t rarely terminates. Seedlings cease
to grow If the average temperature
for the day remains below AZ degrees
Fahrenheit When young plants have
been subjected to an aggregate tenn
perature of 1896 degrees Fahrenheit
from the time when sown, or OF 1716
degrees from the time of termination.
branching goes on freely and the
young ears form. Under the stimulus
of an average temperature Of IS de-
grees Fahrenheit, or little above.
the flowers are produced. But still
required for the full development and
ripening of the grain. An average Of
rs degrees is most favorable to ma
turity, with abundance of sunlight and
rain.
Given a matured wheat berry, what
has happened is that under the vitaliz-
ing stimulus of sunlight the engines
and bacteria in the soil and the
plant have taken these elements. and
many others not here mentioned. out
of the soil and the air and bound
them together with the kinetic energy
OF the sun into molecules of protein.
carbohydrate. fat. etc. the wheat berry
serving as a reservoir of potential en-
ergy until suitable machine again
converts 1t into kinetic energy. AS
suming that the wheat plant had the
power to modify its environment by
from its diet in the soil
one or more of the elements on which
Its growth and vitality depend. we
should call 1t stupid and think 1t Justly
deserving of the smut disease and the
blight that would inevitably attack 1t
because OF the weakness resulting
from the ensuing starvation.
By reason of ancestral adjustments
our digestive organs are able easily
to digest, transform and utilize this
wheat energy. The wheat berry IL
food for us because 1t is developed
practically in the same scale that we
are. But for some strange reason we
insist on radically changing our en-
vironment by eliminating from oun
diet the most important and vital part
Of the berry. thereby, throwing our
ancestral habits out of gear and Great
ing, trouble.
Blythe states that modern milling
produces nine varieties of our flour
and three brans from the wheat berry,
the original wheat showing 2.09 per
cent ash, the -four showing .65 per
cent ash. fne bran showing 6.55 per
cent ash, medium bran showing $50
per cent ash, coarse bran showing Sol
per cent ash. This ash consists Of:
Winter Spring
wheat wheat.
Potash ......... .................31.16 29.99
Soda ..............-.....-.... 2.25 l.s3