forms of indigestion. There are several competing foods of less merit, the
starch being less perfectly changed; one at least of which is
objectionably salt. Properly cooked starch is readily digested by healthy
persons, and for them malted food is of no special value.

Pulse, or Legumes, includes haricots and other beans, peas and lentils.
The proteid contained is that variety known as legumin, which is either
the same, or is closely allied, to the casein of milk and cheese. Pulse is
very rich in proteid, the dried kinds in general use, contain 24 or 25 per
cent. The richest is the soy-bean, which is used in China and Japan, it
contains 35 per cent., besides 19 per cent. of fat. Pulse requires
thorough cooking, haricots taking the longest time. Split lentils are
cooked sooner, and are better digested; this is chiefly due to the removal
of the skins. The haricots, bought from small grocers who have a slow
sale, are often old, and will not cook tender. Pulse is best adapted to
the labouring classes; the sedentary should eat it sparingly, it is liable
to cause flatulence or accumulation of gas in the intestines, and
constipation. Haricots are easier to digest when mashed and mixed with
other food. Pulse was formerly stated to leave much undigested residue.
Recent experiments have shown that it is satisfactorily digested under
favourable conditions. Strümpell found beans in their skins to leave a
large proportion of proteid matter unabsorbed. Lentil meal mixed with
other food was digested in a perfectly satisfactory manner. Another
experimenter (Rubner) found that when even the very large quantity of
1-1/8 pound of dried split peas per day were eaten, only 17 per cent. of
proteid matter was unabsorbed, which compares very well with the 11 per
cent. of proteid left from a macaroni diet, with which the same man was
fed at another time. Had a reasonable quantity of peas been eaten per day,
the quantity undigested would probably have differed little from that of
other foods.