less. The outer part of the grain of cereals is the richest in mineral
constituents, white flour and rice are deficient. Wheatmeal and oatmeal
are especially recommended for the quantity of phosphates and other salts
contained in them. Mineral matter is necessary not only for the bones but
for every tissue of the body.

When haricots are cooked, the liquid is often thrown away, and the beans
served nearly dry, or with parsley or other sauce. Not only is the food
less tasty but important saline constituents are lost. The author has made
the following experiments:--German whole lentils, Egyptian split red
lentils and medium haricot beans were soaked all night (16 hours) in just
sufficient cold water to keep them covered. The water was poured off and
evaporated, the residue heated in the steam-oven to perfect dryness and
weighed. After pouring off the water, the haricots were boiled in more
water until thoroughly cooked, the liquid being kept as low as possible.
The liquid was poured off as clear as possible, from the haricots,
evaporated and dried. The ash was taken in each case, and the alkalinity
of the water-soluble ash was calculated as potash (K_{2}O). The quantity
of water which could be poured off was with the German lentils, half as
much more than the original weight of the pulse; not quite as much could
be poured off the others.

G. Lentils. E. Lentils. Haricots. Cooked H.
Proportion of liquid 1.5 1.25 1.20 --
Soluble dry matter 0.97 3.38 1.43 7.66 per cent.
Ash 0.16 0.40 0.28 1.26 " "
Alkalinity as K_{2}O 0.02 0.082 0.084 0.21 " "

The loss on soaking in cold water, unless the water is preserved, is seen
to be considerable. The split lentils, having had the protecting skin