starch; indeed this is the general procedure. This diminishes its nutritive value and also interferes with its digestibility. In the form of chocolate, it is modified by liberal additions of cane sugar, starch in some form, and various flavoring extracts. Taking into account the percentage of contained proteids, fat and carbohydrates, the beverage called cocoa is more nutritious, pound for pound, than beefsteak. It has, however, always been difficult to treat the nutritive elements in such a way as to render them soluble and assimilable. That the leading manufacturers have practically and signally failed in bringing out all the real nutritive value of this product is abundantly proved by the results of analysis. Taking nine of the more popular brands now in use, the chemist tells us that the insoluble constituents vary all the way from 31 to 44 per cent.

There is really no dietetic objection to either the fat or starch in cocoa, if they can be rendered digestible and agreeable to the stomach. The chemists have practically pointed out the way, which consists in changing the starch to dextrine or invert sugar, which is perfectly soluble and easy of digestion. Then by emulsifying the fat it ought also to be made easy of digestion. It this were done, the insoluble portions remaining in the finished product would be reduced to a minimum. We need not particularize methods or processes, all of which are now familiar to the manufacturers of food products. Removing portions of the fat instead of treating it in a way to make it palatable and agreeable to the stomach and assimilable in the system, is neither scientific nor economic. Adding starch is only increasing the indigestibility of the product, unless the starch itself has been changed or modified. All these processes and subterfuges cheat the purchaser and delude the consumer. To call these fabrications cocoa or chocolate is a palpable misnomer. They are robbed of their most essential element and are for the most part arrant adulterations and dietetic impositions for which there is neither commercial warrant nor moral excuse.

The active principle of cocoa, as already noted, is commonly called theobromin. It resembles but is not identical with caffein and thein. Technically speaking, it is called dimethylxanthin, and, while the technical equivalent of caffein and thein is trimethylxanthin, the chemical symbol for thebromin is identical with that of meat extract, lacking one oxygen atom. It really lacks two equivalents of carbon and two of nitrogen of being chemically identical with thein and caffein.

The appetite for stimulants, other than alcoholics is universal. The indefatigable Russian, the staid Hollander, and the burly Englishman make tea their national drink. The fascinating Frenchman, the ease-loving German, the dreamy Turk, and the wandering Bedouin can neither fascinate, nor dream, nor wander without the fancy-fostering fragrance of their Mocha or Mysore. The dark-eyed Spaniard and the passionate Italian warm to their work under the inspiration of steaming chocolate; while the Irish peasant contents himself, for the most part, with the simple infusion of cocoa shells.

Here in America we are cosmopolitan, consuming everything the world offers in the way of artificial beverages. Of this fact no other evidence is needed than that the consumption of these three products, tea, coffee, and cocoa, in the United States amounts to 12 or 13 pounds per annum for each man, woman and child accounted for in the Census Returns. When we take into consideration the fact that one-fourth of the population consists of infants and children, a majority of whom are not allowed to partake of any of these beverages, the average consumption per capita is proportionately increased.

A use so universal of a narcotic so potent as caffein and its chemical analogues must wield an almost immeasurable influence over the physical, mental and moral status of the race. For this reason, and aside from any mere economic consideration, the question of the use, abuse and disuse of tea, coffee and cocoa merits the profoundest

study alike of the physiologist, philanthropist and philospher.

Abd-al-Kadir-Anasara Djezeri Hanabali, son of Mahomet, thus discourses:

"O coffee! thou dispellest the cares of the great; thou bringest back those who wander from the paths of knowledge; thou art the beverage of the people of God, and the cordial of his servants who thirst for wisdom! When coffee is infused into the bowl it exhales the odor of musk and is of the color of ink. The truth is not known except to the wise, who drink it from the foaming coffee cup. God has deprived fools of coffee, who, with invincible obstinacy condemn it as injurious."

It is the stimulo-narcotic and exhilarating effect of both tea and coffee that made them and keeps them so popular. The aroma is pleasant, but it is transient, and it is the narcotic that is potent. It is this that allays the sense af hunger and fatigue, that retards metabolism and by this means lessens tissue-waste.

Of the ultimate and aggregate effects of tea and coffee on the general health of every community it is pertinent to inquire more in detail.

Throughout all Asia the same appetite, the same habit prevails, and this habit has been catered to and indulged in various ways. Wherever in either Asia or Africa the dreamy and inviting faith of the prophet counts its millions of devotees, coffee lends its narcotic aid to intensify the fervor of their religious zeal. From China, its native habitat, it has scattered itself to the four corners of the earth, pausing neither at desert wastes, mountain barriers, nor measureless oceans. Its votaries and victims are scattered from Siberia to the Southern Sea and from the North Pole to Patagonia.

Taken in large quantities or in strong decoction, the action of tea is to precipitate the gastric ferments, usually grouped under the generic name of “gastric juice." In this way it necessarily retards digestion, which accounts for the quoted fact that it lessens the demand of the system for food.

Persisted in, the strong-tea habit sooner

or later induces chronic gastric irritation which culminates in chronic gastric catarrh. Whether this condition is reached early or after a long series of years depends very much upon the other habits of the user, the kinds of tea employed, and the mode of its preparation.

India teas are found to contain a greater proportion of tannin than those grown in either China or Japan. This means that the popular Ceylon varieties carry more of the astringent principle, and are therefore more obnoxious to the digestive organs. Boiling the leaves extracts the tannin, and if the leaves remain for some time in the decoction the same result is produced. Special care in "drawing" the beverage can be made to reduce its hurtfulness to a minimum.

The cheaper grades are always more or less adulterated, sometimes with the leaves of other harmless shrubs, but oftener with tannin, catechu, plumbago, salts of iron, Prussian blue, indigo, or other coloring

matter.

Some of the other deleterious results of the free and continuous use of tea are, constipation, insomnia, "nervousness," muscular unsteadiness, sensory disturbances, palpitation of the heart, etc., etc.

As with all such indulgences, tea affects the sedentary and those who live most of the time indoors much more disastrously than those who are active and who live much in the open air.

Coffee is variously adulterated. Artificial berries are fabricated from clay or other earthy material, and these bogus berries are not so easily detected as one would at first suppose. Ground coffee is often a fearfully and wonderfully made-up mixture of spent grounds artificially flavored; peas, beans, peanuts, dried sweet potato, parched ground acorns, date-stones, corn-cobs, and, according to current tradition, extract of logwood or logwood chips, burnt corn, scorched bran, caramel and floor-sweepings! Ochre, charcoal, lead chromate, burnt amber, Prussian blue, burnt sugar and dark molasses are cited as coloring materials, to tone up and tint these delectable mixtures.

Chicory is a very common and very reputable adulterant. Chicoried coffee is considered rather less harmful than unmixed coffee, since chicory contains no caffein and is a harmless, appetizing bitter. Many people of taste prefer the flavor of Mocha and Java as modified by chicory.

Its presence in a suspected sample can be detected by the use of chlorinated soda, which quickly bleaches its coloring matter, while acting slowly on the coloring matter of true coffee.

The effects of an habitual use of coffee, especially of strong coffee, are quite similar to those caused by tea.

It retards digestion, precipitates the peptic secretions, causes muscular tremors, mental dread, and disturbances of vision. The degree of insomnia induced is sometimes distressingly severe. Dyspepsia, heartburn, torpid liver, constipation, precordial distress, bradycardia and sallow complexion are among the other complications that arise in confirmed coffee drinkers.

Any one who doubts the reiterated statements as to these untoward effects has but to abruptly stop the habit for a few days to be convinced of the profound influence it has acquired over his system. Headaches, mental hebetude, languor, and longings for the tipple will make life miserable until the cups are resumed or the habit effectually broken up. The reaction is not unlike that in case of the discontinuance of the other narcotics-morphin, alcohol, cocain, etc. Few people, after long indulgence, care to make, and fewer still to repeat the experi

ment.

Cocoa is perhaps less frequently adulterated than either tea or coffee, except that sugar and starch or arrowroot are openly added as modifiers of the prepared product.

The published analyses of cocoa differ quite materially. For example, in his work on "Practical Dietetics," Prof. Thompson first endorses an analysis that gives the proportion of fat in cocoa at 30.51 per cent., and then on the same page states that the cocoa bean contains 50 per cent. of cacao-butter. He says the nutritive proper

ties of cocoa depend wholly on its fat and a small percentage of soluble albumin, assuming that its starch is insoluble and indigestible. The compiler of a text-book on the subject of dietetics has no business to contradict himself, or rather to let the authorities from whom he makes his compilations contradict each other.

But the chief fault with the popular brands of cocoa is that they contain raw, unutilized, because practically insoluble, starch and non-emulsified fat. If the starch were made available the large percentage of fat would be much less if not entirely unobjectionable. Cacao-butter is not very difficult of digestion per se, and most nervous people consume too little fat.

The cacao bean contains, according to the most reliable analyses, nearly 30 per cent. of proteid matter, 23 per cent. of carbohydrates, chiefly starch, and nearly 50 per cent. of fat, with only 3 per cent. of theobromin.

It is therefore chemicaly more nutritious, pound for pound, than beef or bread. In comparison with tea and coffee its narcotic effects are very mild.

If the chemists and the manufacturers will combine in an effort to make its fat, proteids and carbohydrates soluble, digestable, assimilable, and at the same time grateful to the majority of palates, they will have accomplished a great feat in dietetics.

Cocoa should be made to displace tea and coffee very generally as a popular table beverage.

Of the available substitutes for tea and coffee something may be said in a future paper.

"HE who knows not, and knows not that he knows not, is a fool. Avoid him. "He who knows not, and knows that he knows not, is simple. Teach him.

"He who knows and knows not that he knows, is asleep. Awake him.

"But he who knows and knows that he knows, is a wise man. Follow him.

-From the Arabian Proverbs.

FOR CHEAPER FOODS.

APROPOS of an editorial in the June Gazette we reproduce the following from the Chicago Interocean:

The present high prices of meat have led to many inquiries concerning the possibility of securing cheaper products which may be regarded as substitutes for the highpriced meats. Vegetarianism is likely to become a fad if the present prices continue, not so much by reason of any superior merit of its principles, as because economical consideration compel its adoption.

There is no doubt of the fact that meat eating is not essential to human life, and that man can be nourished, and well nourished, without resorting to a flesh diet. The principal argument for the use of meat is based upon taste, since it is admitted by all that the function of foods, so far as the human animal is concerned at least, extends considerably beyond the necessities of nutrition.

Food is a factor in social economy, and an important one in domestic economy. Not only do we demand that our food be nutritious, but also that it be palatable. Just at the present time, however, the necessities of nutrition are pre-eminent, and questions are presented which demand careful scientific and technical study.

Comparative anatomy has shown that man is an omnivorous animal, and, therefore, there can be no question of the right and propriety of flesh eating. In addition to this, the taste of well-prepared meats is most delightful, and man in his normal state has a craving for a meat diet, or, at least, one in which meat figures to a considerable extent. This craving may be satisfied, in some degree, without indulging too freely in the expensive luxury of meat eating at the present prices.

Very few people realize what they buy when ordinary meats are purchased. In the first place, almost every piece of meat purchased in the market has a large quantity of refuse, viz: the bones, gristle, tendons, and other parts unsuitable for the table.

These, of course, are put in at the standard rates, and the result is that the actual meat which is fit for consumption for which say 20 cents a pound is paid in the market, is worth 25 or 30 cents a pound before it is ready for cooking.

The average percentage of water in meats also is always high, and after losing 25 per cent. of the meat in refuse, the purchaser can safely count upon having 50 per cent. of the rest of the meat consist of water. So, after all, in purchasing meats in general in the open market, only about 25 per cent. of the total weight received can be regarded as of nutritive value.

Since the flavor and taste of the meat is one of the desirable things, it is evident that a considerable saving can be secured in meat by utilizing the waste portions for making soup. The bones, especially, are available for this purpose, and to secure the best results, should be broken into small pieces before being treated for making stock for soup.

Again, the flavor of the meat is imparted in a most agreeable way to stews and other preparations of a similar nature, where the principal ingredient is potato or some other vegetable and only sufficient meat is present to give the desired taste and flavor.

Portions of meat also which are not edible in the ordinary forms in which they exist can be made quite palatable by being worked into hash and other similar preparations where vegetables are added in large quantities and seasoned with appropriate condiments. By the practice of a little ingenuity the housewife can utilize to excellent advantage portions of meat which otherwise would be wasted.

At the early breakfasts which Americans are wont to indulge in-that is, a hearty meal before going to their daily work-the omission of meat is to be earnestly advised. Many of the ordinary breakfast foods are to be preferred, especially oatmeal with sugar and cream; and this, together with a couple of eggs, a few slices of toast, and a cup of coffee, makes a breakfast which is entirely sufficient for the man of sedentary

employment, and, with a little addition of materials of the same kind, quite enough for a laboring man.

In so far as actual nourishment is concerned, the very cheapest and best that can be secured is presented by the cereals, viz., Indian corn, wheat, oats, rye, rice, etc. These bodies contain all the nourishment necessary to supply the waste of the body and the energy and heat necessary to all animal functions and hard labor, in a form well suited to digestion, and capable not only of maintaining the body in a perfect condition, but also of furnishing the energy necessary to the hardest kind of manual labor.

The waste material in cereals is very small, and, as compared with that in meats, there is practically none at all. In fact, the ordinary wastes, such as the bran and germs, are among the most nutritive components of the cereals, and both health and economy would be conserved, as a rule, by their consumption instead of rejecting them, as in the ordinary processes of milling.

The ordinary cereals of commerce contain only about 10 per cent. of waste, and this is an exceedingly small proportion as compared with the percentage in meats.

It is well known that men who are nourished very extensively on cereals are capable of the hardest and most enduring manual labor. Meats are quickly digested, furnish an abundance of energy soon after consumption, but are not retained in the digestive organism long enough to sustain permanent muscular exertion.

On the other hand, cereal foods are more slowly digested, furnish the energy necessary to digestion and the vital functions in a more uniform manner, and thus are better suited to sustain manual labor for a long period of time.

Cereals contain as their most abundant constituent an element of food which is practically absent in meats, viz., carbo-hydrates, of which starch and sugar are types. Starch and sugar alone are not sufficient to give permanent nourishment to the body, since they fail to contain the elements necessary

to the nourishment, especially of the muscular tissues, of the body.

In cereals, however, the starch is combined with an abundant supply of nitrogenous materials, of which the gluten of wheat flour is a type. It so happens that the cereals contain all the elements necessary to the nutrition of the body, having in themselves the types of food which are represented by the fats, the nitrogenous or protein bodies and the carbo-hydrates. In addition to these they contain those mineral elements of which the bony structure of the body is composed, viz., lime and phosphoric acid.

If, therefore, man were confined to a single article of diet, there is nothing which would be so suitable for his use as the cereals. Starch and sugar are primarily the foods which furnish animal heat and energy and hence should be used in great abundance by those who are engaged in manual labor.

The workingman of our country especially, should consider this point, and accustom themselves more and more to the use of cereals in their foods. When properly prepared and properly served they are palatable as well as nutritious, and their judicious use in this way would tend to diminish the craving for flesh, which, however, it is not advisable to exclude entirely from the diet.

AFTER hearing evidence in an assault case between man and wife, in which the wife had had a deal of provocation, the magistrate turning to the husband, remarked: "My good man, I really cannot do anything in this case."

"But she has cut a piece of my ear off, sir."

"Well," said the magistrate, "I will bind her over to keep the peace."

"You can't," shouted the husband, "she's thrown it away."