ts of lactating mothers and
wet nurses, a year or so ago, compared the value of proteins from animal
and vegetable sources for the elaboration of milk. He found that a
mixture of the almond, English walnut, peanut and pecan, furnished
proteins that were equal to the animal food tried, and far superior to
other vegetable proteins. Here then is evidence that nuts provide the
necessary building stones to form milk that food par excellence for the
newly born individual. Drs. Mendel and Osborn, experimenting on white
rats have shown that the principle proteins of the Brazil nut will
maintain animals through the growing period. Bureau of Chemistry workers
and others have found similar results with the coconut and the peanut. I
have now, experiments underway at New Haven, on the biological value of
the filbert, English walnut, pine nut, almond, and pecan. While these
tests are yet incompleted, it can at least be said that to date there is
no evidence that the proteins of these nuts are in any way less
satisfactory than those of the peanut or Brazil nut that have been
thoroughly tested out.

As to the vitamine content, abundant quantities of water soluble
vitamine have been found in the peanut and the coconut. Experiments that
we have in progress as well as a series conducted here at Battle Creek
under Dr. Kellogg's direction give promise to increase this list of
vitamine containing nuts to include at least many of our common nuts.
Along with our vegetable oils in general, coconut oil and peanut oil
contain insufficient quantities of the fat soluble vitamine to maintain
growth in young animals. Whether the other nut oils will prove more
efficacious in this respect, is now under investigation. As far as I am
aware, the antiscorbutic properties of nuts have not been studied.

With the population of the world on a steady increase, it continually
becomes necessary for mankind to seek out new sources of food, and
utilize products that formerly had received little attention as possible
foods. Conditions that disturb normal food production and distribution,
such for example as were brought about by the world war, produce serious
food shortages in the world, and emphasize how close is the margin that
determines whether the peoples of the world have adequate quantities of
food or whether they are faced by shortages, and, in many cases, by
starvation. In this continual development of our food resources, nuts
stand out prominently as off