The Chemistry of Cookery

and bitch. The latter is a moderately carnivorous animal, nearly approaching the omnivorous character commonly ascribed to man. The following is the statement: +------------------------+-----+------+------+------+-------+-------+ | |Woman| Cow | Goat | Ass | Sheep | Bitch | +------------------------+-----+------+------+------+-------+-------+ | Water | 88·6| 87·4 | 82·0 | 90·5 | 85·6 | 66·3 | | Fat | 2·6| 4·0 | 4·5 | 1·4 | 4·5 | 14·8 | | Sugar and soluble salts| 4·9| 5·0 | 4·5 | 6·4 | 4·2 | 2·9 | | Nitrogenous compounds | | | | | | | | and insoluble salts | 3·9| 3·6 | 9·0 | 1·7 | 5·7 | 16·0 | +------------------------+-----+------+------+------+-------+-------+ According to this it is quite evident that Nature regards our food requirements as approaching much nearer to the herbivora than to the carnivora, and has provided for us accordingly. If we are to begin the building-up of our bodies on a food more nearly resembling that of the herbivora than that of the carnivora, it is only reasonable to assume that we should continue on the same principle. The particulars of the difference are instructive. The food which Nature provides for the human infant differs from that provided for the young carnivorous animal, just in the same way as flesh food differs from the cultivated and cooked vegetables and fruit within easy reach of man. These contain less fat, less nitrogenous matter, more water, and more sugar (or starch, which becomes sugar during digestion) than animal food. Those who advocate the use of flesh food usually do so on the ground that it is more nutritious, contains more nitrogenous material and more fat than vegetable food. So much the worse for the human being, says Nature, when _she_ prepares the food. But as a matter of practical fact there are no flesh-eaters among us, none who avail themselves of this higher proportion of albuminoids and fat. We all practically admit every day in eating our ordinary English dinner, that this excess of nitrogenous matter and fat is bad; we do so by mixing the meat with that particular vegetable which contains