By LOUIS DECHMANN.
1918.
When physiological chemistry has isolated and classified the component
elements of the various organs, tissues and fluids of the body, it must
analyze and classify the vegetables, fruits and meats on which man feeds
in order that we may not only know how to arrange a perfectly balanced
ration for the healthy, but shall be able to add lacking elements to the
diet of the diseased. This classification of foods naturally leads, if
there be a deficiency of any essential element, to the analysis of the
soil on which this food was raised.
In the course of my studies in physiological chemistry and biology,
which have extended over a period of more than thirty years, I have been
led to grappel with problems in agriculture, in horticulture, and in
aviculture, for the purpose of finding solutions to problems in human
nutrition. Very early in my studies I learned the value of the mineral
elements in our foodstuffs. I was led to attempt to augment the quantity
of mineral salts in various foods, and my efforts were crowned with
success. But this is not the point, however, to enter into a detailed
discussion of that aspect of the subject.
It may be wise for the sake of clearness to divide this statement into
two parts, as follows: