16

Thus for wheat ata in the Behar diet we had to arrange for a series of diets
on the following plan:—

[Each of these diets entailed one week's work ].

a, b, c, d, and e are gradually diminishing quantities. And the same had to
be done to get the curve of absorption for the protein of rice and to a smaller ex-
tent also for dal. To have done this for all the different kinds of dais in use would
have taken months of work, and more time than we could spare; it was, therefore,
carried out for two of the principal dais, and by other methods of investigation the
relative nutritive value of the other kinds of dal was estimated. Besides investi-
gations of this nature to discover the quantities of the food-stuffs and the combina-
tions of those quantities from which the maximum absorption is obtainable, many
other observations on the effects of meat, fish, wheat ata on Bengalis, etc., were
carried out. Some most interesting results were obtained, amongst the more
important of which were the influence that an animal protein exerts in causing an
increase in the protein absorption seemingly out of proportion to the a mount of
protein it contains, and the favourable influence that wheat ata has on protein
absorption when it is added in small quantities to the ordinary Bengali diet.

    We have discussed the nutritive value of Indian jail dietaries nearly always
from the point of view of the absorption of protein, leaving the carbo-
hydrates and fats out of consideration. This is due to the fact that protein is of
pre-eminent importance in a diet. Major Macnamara sums up the reasons
for attaching much greater importance to protein than to the other proximate
principles as follows:—

         1. A certain amount of nitrogenous substance must be present in all
              dietaries, and cannot be replaced by any other aliment.

         2. All nitrogenous articles of diet also contain carbon, whilst all carbon-
               aceous substances do not contain nitrogen.

         3. All diets composed largely or entirely of vegetable substances, such
               as are those of the natives of this country, are not likely to be deficient
               in carbon if the nitrogenous principles are present in sufficient
               amount.

We shall have more to say regarding the excess of carbohydrate in the Bengal
jail dietaries when we come to the work dealing with the composition of those
dietaries.