Dr. Haig attributes many diseases and complaints to the presence of uric acid in the blood and its deposits in the tissues: 'Uric acid diseases fall chiefly in two groups: (a) The arthritic group, comprising gout, rheumatism, and similar affections of many fibrous tissues throughout the body; (b) the circulation group including headache, epilepsy, mental depression, anaemia, Bright's disease, etc.' Speaking with regard to rheumatism met with among the vegetarian natives of India, Dr. Haig writes: 'I believe it will appear, on investigation, that in those parts of India where rice and fresh vegetables form the staple foods, not only rheumatism, but uric acid diseases generally are little known, whereas in those parts where pulses are largely consumed, they are common--almost universal.' The cereals constitute the mainstay of vegetarians all the world over, and although not superior to nuts, must be considered an exceedingly valuable, and, in some cases, essential food material. They differ considerably in their nutritive properties, so it is necessary to examine the worth of each separately. Wheat, though not universally the most extensively used of the cereals, is the most popular and best known cereal in this country. It has been cultivated for ages and has been used by nearly all peoples. It is customary to grind the berries into a fine meal which is mixed with water and baked. There are various opinions about the comparative value of white and whole-wheat flour. There is no doubt but that the whole-wheat flour containing, as it does, more woody fibre than the white, has a tendency to increase the peristaltic action of the intestines, and thus is valuable for persons troubled with constipation.[4] From a large number of analyses it has been determined that entire wheat flour contains about 2.4 per cent. more protein than white flour (all grades), yet experiments have demonstrated that the _available_ protein is less in entire wheat-flour than in white flour.[5] This is probably due to the fact that the protein which is enclosed in the bran cannot be easily assimilated, as the digestive organs are unable to break up the outer walls of woody fibre and extract the nitrogenous matter they contain. On the other hand whole-wheat flour contains considerably more valuable and available mineral matter than does white flour. The two outer layers contain compounds of phosphorus, lime, iron, and soda. Analyses by Atwater show entire-wheat flour to contain twice as much mineral matter as white flour. It is affirmed by Broadbent and others, that this mineral matter is exceedingly valuable both as a nutrient, and because of its neutralising effect upon proteid wastes, and that it is because of this that flour made from the entire-wheat berry has very superior food value to that made from the berry minus the outer cuticles. Many dietetists look upon whole-wheat bread as one of the most salutary of all foods and strongly advise its