lishman fed on more nutritive food; to whom he is as inferior in
mental as in physical energy. And generally, we think, the history of
the world shows that the well-fed races have been the energetic and
dominant races.

Still stronger, however, becomes the argument, when we find that the
same individual animal is capable of more or less exertion according as
its food is more or less nutritious. This has been demonstrated in the
case of the horse. Though flesh may be gained by a grazing horse,
strength is lost; as putting him to hard work proves. "The consequence
of turning horses out to grass is relaxation of the muscular system."
"Grass is a very good preparation for a bullock for Smithfield market,
but a very bad one for a hunter." It was well known of old that, after
passing the summer in the fields, hunters required some months of
stable-feeding before becoming able to follow the hounds; and that they
did not get into good condition till the beginning of the next spring.
And the modern practice is that insisted on by Mr. Apperley--"Never to
give a hunter what is called 'a summer's run at grass,' and, except
under particular and very favourable circumstances, never to turn him
out at all." That is to say, never give him poor food: great energy and
endurance are to be obtained only by the continued use of nutritive
food. So true is this that, as proved by Mr. Apperley, prolonged
high-feeding enables a middling horse to equal, in his performances, a
first-rate horse fed in the ordinary way. To which various evidences add
the familiar fact that, when a horse is required to do double duty, it
is the practice to give him beans--a food containing a larger proportion
of nitrogenous, or flesh-making material, than his habitual oats.

Once more, in the case of individual men the truth has been illustrated
with equal, or still greater, clearness. We do not refer to men in
training for feats of strength, whose regimen, however, thoroughly
conforms to the doctrine. We refer to the experience of
railway-contractors and their labourers. It has been for years a
well-established fact that an English navvy, eating largely of flesh, is
far more efficient than a Continental navvy living on farinaceous food:
so much more efficient, that English contractors for Continental
railways found it pay to take their labourers with them. That difference
of diet and not difference of race caused this superiority, has been of
late distinctly shown