CURRENT LITERATURE.
Food-Grains of India. By A. H. Church. (Chapman and Hall.)— Professor Church commences with an account of the necessary qualifications of food, and explains the meaning of the terms "nutrient- ratio" and "nutrient-value." The ratio of albumenoids to starch is designated the "nutrient-ratio," and the total value of these two together with the starch-equivalent of the oil (which has been con- eluded to be 2.8) becomes the "nutrient-value." The standard ratio, or, to be more explicit, the standard nutrient-ratio, i.e., 1.5, is the ratio considered to Come nearest the wants of man ; but few foods attain this ideal, and thus we find that out of fifty different kinds and varieties of grain, less than half-a-dozen come anywhere near this, or can be relied on as healthy foods for any length of time. It most be remembered what the wants of the average Indian are. His weight, indeed, is put at 105 lb. only, while that of the average European is 150 lb. ; but, after making all allowances, it still seems wonderful to find that he can keep body and soul together on food so poor as he has. We believe that the allowanee made by Govern. meat to the men employed on the great elephant-hunting establish- ments, a work which exposes them to great risk as well as labour, is 21b. of corn per day, with 21b. of salt fish, chillies, salt, &c., per month. It will not surprise as to bear that the Indian is subject to various diseases, such as encomia and scorbutic affections, and that now and again a frightful epidemic ravages the community. Each grain receives a life-size woodcut and an analysis ; some, three or four. The soil most suited to it and the irrigation required are given ; also the looalities where it is chiefly grown, with statistics, and the modes in which it is prepared for consumption, and a statement of its wholesomeness, or "nutrient-ratio." Thus the value of the grain as a food can be seen at a glance. Some of the cereals are only eaten in times of scarcity, even the Indian having a poor opinion of them. The two tables giving the albumenoids and starch in cereals and in pulse, enable rations to be made from any two grains, one from each class, with the addition of a little oil when not attainable in the mixture itself. Professor Church expresses his groat obligations to Dr. J. Forbes Watson, the pioneer on the question of Indian foods. Many of the analyses are his, and no doubt a great deal of informa- tion about the food-preparations, Ere.; but still, all those interested in India and the natives owe a debt of gratitude to the accomplished writer whose name appears on the title-page. It requires, indeed, the pen of an expert to render useful no many facts coming from no many quarters of eo vast a country as our Indian Empire. The importance of the subject cannot be exaggerated when we remember that the failure of this food supply means a disaster which baffles all remedies. That this book deals with it, and deals with it adequately es far as the materials at command permit, is sufficient praise. But a vast amount of work yet remains to be done with regard to our knowledge of Indian foods.
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