This routine is the same for every day in the week except
Saturday and Sunday. On Saturday drill and instruction in the
afternoon are omitted, and on Sundays the men are also free
from gymnasium work.
In addition to the duties mentioned above, a special detail of
two men is made every morning to assist in the weighing and
serving of the food, and from time to time details are sent
to the laboratory and reported to Dr. Mendel for such work
connected with the investigation as he might assign them.
Very respectfully,
(Signed) WALLACE DEWITT,
_1st Lieut. and Asst. Surgeon U. S. Army, Commdg. Det. H. C._
Here we have a group of men, thirteen in number, quite different in
type from the preceding group; men accustomed to living a vigorous life
under varying conditions, and who naturally had great liking for the
pleasures of eating. Further, they were men who had no personal interest
whatever in the experiment or in the principles involved. To be sure,
they had volunteered for the work, and the objects of the experiment had
been fully explained to them. Like good soldiers they no doubt desired
to obey orders, and they doubtless preferred to see the experiment a
success rather than a failure, but they had not that interest that would
lead them to undergo any great personal discomfort. This point should
be kept in mind, since it has a distinct bearing upon the possibility
of establishing physiological economy of diet in persons who would not
willingly incommode themselves or suffer personal inconvenience.
The experiment commenced on October 4, 1903, and for a period of six
months every detail bearing upon the nutrition and condition of the men
under the gradually changed conditions was carefully observed. Every
precaution to preserve the health and good spirits of the men was taken.
Pure distilled water was sent to the quarters each morning, magazines
and other periodicals were supplied through the courtesy of friends,
occasional visits to the theatre were indulged in; in fact all that could
be done to counterbalance any possible depressing influence from the
partial restraints of the experiment was arranged for.
[Illustration: _Showing a group of the soldiers at work in the
gymnasium._]
Regarding the details of the work; the twenty-four hours’ urine was
collected by each man, also the fæces for each day, and these were
subjected to chemical analysis with a view to following out the various
changes in the amount and character of the proteid metabolism going on
in the body as measured by the output of total nitrogen, uric acid, and
phosphoric acid in the urine, and by the amount of nitrogen in the fæces
with reference to the degree of digestion and utilization of the proteid
foods ingested.
During the first two weeks the ordinary army rations were given to the
men; later a gradual change was made, accompanied by a reduction in the
amount of proteid food, with some reduction likewise in the total fuel
value of the food. All the food placed before each man was carefully
weighed, and at the close of every meal any uneaten food was weighed
and the amount subtracted from the initial weights. During the balance
periods, when the income and output of nitrogen were carefully compared,
the food materials were weighed with greater care and large samples of
each article were taken for analysis, to determine the exact content of
nitrogen. Every figure for nitrogen shown in the tables was verified by
at least a duplicate chemical analysis so as to avoid any possibility of
error.
It is not necessary to give here any detailed description of the changes
made in the character of the diet, since on pages 288 to 326 may be found
the daily dietary from October 2, 1903, to April 4, 1904,—each meal of
the day,—showing the amount and character of the food given the men
during the six months period. It should be stated, however, that at no
time were the men placed on a cereal diet or on a truly vegetable diet.
The object in view was simply to study the possibilities of a general
physiological economy in diet, with special reference to the minimal
proteid requirement of the healthy man. To be sure, in doing this meats,
owing to their high content of proteid, were very much reduced in amount
and on many days no meat at all was given, but as the dietary is looked
through it will be seen that the main change was from a heavy meat diet
(rich in proteid) to a lighter diet, comparatively poor in proteid, with
an increasing predominance of vegetable and cereal foods. Condiments are
also noticeable in the diet, together with the ordinary accessories,
coffee and tea. Variety was also considered as a necessary factor, not
to be overlooked, as contributing largely to the maintenance of a proper
physiological condition.
From a study of the tables which follow, showing the chemical composition
of the daily urine, it will be seen that during the first sixteen days,
viz., from October 4 until October 20 or 21, when the men were on the
ordinary army ration with opportunity to eat an abundance of meat, the
daily urine frequently contained 16 to 17 grams of nitrogen, showing a
metabolism of over 100 grams of proteid on such days. Sliney, indeed,
averaged for four days an output of 18.19 grams of nitrogen, while
Coffman, Henderson, and Zooman showed an average daily excretion of about
15 grams of nitrogen each for the sixteen days from October 4.