The Caldwell watchman. (Columbia, La.) 1885-1946, 1914-10-16
copyright. 1914. by A. S. Cray
FOOD SELECTION.

It Is frequently nOteu III IHo o"'''
nress that the average length OF life
Is increasing, and this leads many OF
US to 90 very complacently about our
business, feeling that in some way a
paternal power will watch over, care
for and guard US. This dangerous de-
fusion is entertained by very large
majority OF our people, and the result
Is shown In the steadily climbing NOR
tally percentage for ages above forty
years.
Because the infants are so helpless,
the heart OF humanity has been
stirred by the slaughter among the
little ones. and a vast amount OF or.
ganized work has resulted, producing
an enormous reduction in mortality at
the infantile end of the scale, and THIS
has had a material effect in showing
an average life extension; but as yet
society has not reached the point Of
development where it guards the ma
turing individual against the results
OF errors in diet.
If we were living life that even
Appropriated the normal there would
be little danger to be apprehended
from our food supplies, But under
the highly artificial conditions OF mod.
ern urban life so many Of our foods
are now distributed in original sterile
packages "predigested" and otherwise
processed In order to preserve them,
and we are so far removed from the
point Of origin Of our food matter
that increasing numbers are losing
all idea Of the normal appearance Of
natural foods. and the ability to meas.
ure and Judge intelligently the value
Of the claims made by manufacturers.
According to Bunge, the census
taken December l, 1900, showed that
Of the 1882 children born alive in
Berlin 1858, more than Is per cent,
died before the end of their first year.
and this mortality was distributed in
the proportion OF only one in every
IL among the breast.fed children, as
compared to one out of every two
among the handled children. Ger
many undoubtedly leads the world in
painstaking investigation of food ques.
fionr opd for yr,tI{tor1, raa Son, <hn ~1r
eminent exercises quite a stranxn nss.
ternalistic supervision over public
food supplies. Undoubtedly this will
account for the fact that statistics
seem to prove that Germany, among
all the great nations, is the only one
whose army recruits appear to show
an average increase in stature and
weight.
If we observe carefully how nature
has adapted the composition of milk
to the needs of every species of nam.
NAL, and then consider how ignorant
we are concerning the nature of food
stuffs and of the process of digestion
In general. 1t Is not matter of won.
der that In spite of the greatest eff.
forts of our experts the natural diet
Of infants has not so far been sue.
cessfully replaced by artificial food
On the other hand, in view of all the
data available we should not be sur
prised to find that wherever, through
physical necessity or as the, result of
Indifference on the part of mothers, |
are reared artificially, they'll
tend to show evidence of racial degen,
Grafton and disease and crime" on
the same principles apply te
youth and maturity as they do to In
FANCY, and therefore 1t becomes the
personal duty Of each individual 10
know what to eat, how to eat 1t and
why he eats it.
Bulletin No. %, United States d.
partment Of agriculture, being "The |
Chemical Composition of American |
rood Materials" should hang in tile |
Kitchen of every home in the United |
states. The bulletin can be bought |
rom the superintendent of documents
government printing office, Washins. |
ton, D. c.. postage prepaid, for ten |
cents.
Inc document gives a brief history |
of the investigation of the chemistry |
d foods since the first steps made nv |
Lieoig some fifty yeas ago; 1t shows |
Inc various cuts of beef, veal lamb. |
mutton and pork, and then gives ta. |
oles showing the composition in |
water, refuse, protein, fat, carbohy.
lrate and ash of various meats. ca. |
'eals, vegetables, fruits, dairy prod. |
icts and nuts, and the food value Of |
Ill as measured by the calories per |
pound. From these data it is yerv
Easy TO figure out and arrange a varied, |
ana balanced ration that will 20 far
,oward solving both the high cost Of
wing and the problem of good health
md happiness
much OF the published data on tho
SUBJECT OF diet is not readily available
% people in general, for the reason
nat SO much is compiled from foreien
"fiters' who use different system
il weights and measures and =. -
'o.n teolous and confusing to figure
'ut and transpose the values, In the
,aoies In bulletin No. 2s the values
, y ;. given in calories per pound, and
! is quite easy to harmonize thor
With foreign data NV rar,a