al 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
use in place of white bread. A well-known doctor states that he has
known it a cure for many diseases, and thinks that many nervous
complaints due to 'saline starvation' can be cured by substituting
whole-meal for white bread.

But in opposition to these views Dr. Haig thinks that as the outer brown
husk of all cereals contains some xanthin, it should on this account be
removed. He therefore recommends white flour, (not superfine, but
cheap-grade), in place o