If any constituent is deficient we must supply it; hence variety in food is not only agreeable but necessary to health. Albumen, fibrin, casein and gluten build up the muscles and tissues, while starch, sugar and fat produce the warmth and energy of the body. The mineral substances are necessary for the framework—the bones. Grains, fruits and vegetables contain starch and sugar and more or less gluten; meats contain fibrin and albumen; milk, casein, etc. Beef and Bread have the following composition: Lean Wheaten beef. Bread. Water 77 40 Fibrin or gluten 19 7 Fat 3 1 Starch 0 50 Salt and other 1 2 minerals ―――― ―――― 100 100 This shows that the main difference between beef and bread is that the meat contains no starch, and nearly three times as much of the muscle making fibrin as the proportion of gluten (which is similar in many respects) in wheaten bread. The water, climate, season, age, habits, etc., all have to do with the choice of food we eat. Besides the quantity of nourishment contained in the food, there is also the question of the ease and completeness with which it can be digested and assimilated. It is not always fat eaters who are the fattest. Milk. Woman’s milk is considered the type of human food when the conditions approach that of the child, as the milk of the mother is the natural food of all young animals. Milk partakes of the nature of both animal and vegetable food. It contains: Human Cow’s milk. milk. Water 89-1/2 87 Casein 1-2/8 4 Butter or milk fat 2-1/4 3-1/2 Sugar of milk 6-1/8 4-3/4 Salts or ash 1/4 3/4 ――――――― ―――――― 100 100 These are average analyses. The casein is equivalent to the gluten of vegetables or the fibrin of meat, and the sugar to starch. With these few general observations, let us pass on to consider in detail the Grocer’s Goods. THE CEREALS. WHEAT.