Parcimony in Nutrition Author:James Crichton-Browne Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER III PRISON EXPERIENCES AS far as I am aware, Chittenden's low proteid diet has not as yet been put to the test beyond the precincts of the labor... more »atory laboratory, certainly not on a large scale, but I am able to quote an experiment of a somewhat comprehensive description carried out long before it was dreamt of, and which throws rather a lurid light upon it, and illustrates the danger of trusting too implicitly to theoretical and scientifically arranged diets. I allude to our prison experiences in this country. Prison Up till 1898 scales of dietary were Dietary . scales. observed in local and convict prisons in England, that had been sanctioned by a Committee of the Home Office, acting with the advice of the late Dr. Edward Smith, the most eminent dietetic authority then living—indeed, the Chittenden of AN INDICTMENT 45 the period. No fault was found with these dietaries, none at least audible beyond the prison walls, and it was understood that they were physiologically correct and practically sufficient, until the Prison Bill came up for discussion in the House of Commons in the year named, when a terrible indictment was brought against them. The Right Hon. John Burns told the House, " I have had Mr. Bums- Tvt Till i T Experience JNo. i diet, bread and oatmeal. ... 1 went into prison with a strong constitution and I was there for six weeks. I never made any complaint. But what is 6 oz. of bread? It is as muchas hon. gentlemen take with their chop and potatoes, and cabbage and spinach. I had the bread at 5.30 p.m. and nothing till 7.45 next morning. I am not ashamed to say that at i or 2 o'clock in the morning I have wetted my hands with my spittle and gone down on my hands and knees in the hope of picking up a stray crumb from the meal I had h...« less