“ The quantity consumed in animal food is very large, constituting frequently more than half of the bulk of the food consumed. It is also found very generally present in the vegetable substances used as food. Although essential as an article of diet in certain quantities, oil is less digestible than other kinds of food, and those foods which contain it in large quantities are generally indigestible. The principal source of oil used as food from the vegetable kingdom is the Olive. ”

“ Although many things eaten as salads contain other constituents of food besides mineral matters their beneficial action in diet is due to the latter. The practice of eating salads is not so common in Europe as before the introduction of the potato, which, to a certain extent, supplies the same kind of mineral matters to the blood. The practice of eating salads is, nevertheless, to be highly commended; and many plants formerly much used might now be consumed in this way with much advantage. ”

“ Common Salt is a chloride of sodium, and exerts an extraordinary influence on animal as well as vegetable life. All marine animals and plants seem to have their existence determined by this substance. It enters into the composition of the human body, and all over the world man uses it, when he can obtain it, in its mineral form, as an addition to his food. ”

“ Fish is represented in the Collection by mounted specimens of the commoner kinds of fish brought to market, and by the analysis of a pound of salmon, mackerel, sole, conger eel, herring, and pike.
Fish yield a larger number of species used as food by man than either birds or quadrupeds. There are but few fishes caught in the fresh waters and seas of Great Britain that may not be eaten with impunity. In some countries the only animal food known is fish. The flesh of fish contains less oil or fat, and a larger quantity of mineral matters than the flesh of birds or mammals. ”

“ The Flesh and Force-producers are most abundant in those plants which yield the substantive food of man. These plants belong principally to the group of cereal grasses, as wheat, oats, barley, &c., and leguminous plants, as peas, beans, lentils, &c. Of these the most important is wheat. At the western end of the gallery are shown samples of many cultivated varieties of wheat, oats, barley, rye, and maize, in the straw, and in grain.
The Flesh and Force-producers exist also in large quantities in milk, and in the flesh of vertebrate animals, divided into mammals, birds, fishes, and reptiles. ”

“ Fungi.—The group of Fungi contains a number of plants which are eaten as food, whilst many of them act as virulent poisons. Those which are edible contain varying quantities of starch, sugar, woody fibre, and albumen, together with an acid called fungic acid. A large number of species are eaten on the continent of Europe, which are not used in this country at all. ”

“ The most common form in which alcohol is employed in this country is that of beer. Beer is distinguished from other alcoholic beverages by the addition of hops, which are the female catkins of a plant extensively grown in this country. Case 35 contains the materials from which porter is brewed, and illustrates the changes which malt undergoes during its conversion into beer. The analysis of stout, porter, pale ale, mild ale, and strong ale are exhibited in Case 35, and the quantities of water, alcohol, sugar, and acetic acid are shown in an imperial pint of each. ”

“ Potatoes are largely employed in this country for the production of starch, which is used for a variety of purposes in the arts and manufactures. Potatoes are cooked in many ways, and all the varieties of food which can be obtained from the flour of the cerealia may be procured from the potato, as starch, macaroni, vermicelli, &c. ”

“ The part of the plant which contains the oil is the fruit. The seeds of most plants contain oil in addition to starch and other principles. Many seeds are used for obtaining oil for various purposes in the arts, as the poppy, rape, mustard, hemp, and flax seeds. In Case 20 is a collection of nuts and seeds containing oil commonly eaten as food. Case 21 contains the analysis of the coco-nut ”

“ These are cane sugar, grape sugar, and milk sugar.
The action of sugar on the system is identical with starch. As it is more readily absorbed into the blood than starch, it is better adapted as a force-producer for the young. Hence it is found supplied to the young in all the mammalia, in the milk secreted by their mothers. That it is adapted for the young is shown by the instinctive propensity children display to partake of this form of diet. Although adapted for children, the facility with which it decomposes renders it frequently injurious to adults. ”

“ In Case 5 will be seen a collection of salt from various countries.
Minerals in Food.
In Case 4 are examples of some of the principal Mineral Substances, excepting water, in food. They are generally essential to proper nutrition. In the body of a man, weighing 154 lbs., there are about 8 lbs. of mineral matter. Different parts of the body show peculiar affection for particular ingredients to the exclusion of others. The mineral salts contained in plants and animals are indestructible by heat, hence they are called “ashes.” ”

“ Fibrin made by stirring blood with a rod. It is the basis of muscle or flesh. Flesh-fibrin probably bears the same relation to blood-fibrin as coagulated albumen does to soluble albumen.
4. Fibrin made from Wheat-flour. It is identical with the fibrin found in flesh, but not exactly the same as that found in blood, and is known as Gluten.
5. Casein prepared from milk, in which it is soluble, owing probably to a little alkali: when an acid is added, the Casein curdles or coagulates, and then is known as Cheese. In 100 parts of cows’ milk there are 31⁄2 parts of Casein. ”

“ Pipes used for this purpose in China are exhibited in the cases containing Chinese food, with a collection of Chinese tobaccos, most of which appear to contain Opium.
The practice of “opium eating,” as it is called, exerts a most prejudicial effect upon the system; and although not rapidly destroying life, the victim of this habit is after a time rendered perfectly miserable if not able to procure this indulgence. ”

“ Alcoholic drinks when taken into the stomach act injuriously upon the mucous membrane, and when absorbed into the blood excite the nervous system. When taken in too large quantities, or upon an empty stomach, they lay the foundation of diseases of the stomach and surrounding organs, which often terminate in death. Their action on the nervous system, though pleasant and agreeable, and even healthful in small quantities, becomes a source of fearful disease when carried to excess.
It is difficult to procure alcohol pure, and distilled spirits always contain a certain quantity of water. ”

“ During the past year the subject of local museums has been much ventilated, and as the time has now arrived when it seems a necessity to provide more room for the great national collections, we respectfully submit that it is a good and fitting opportunity to make the national collections more useful and more accessible than they now are, and I trust this splendid site may induce the Government to entertain the propositions I have the honour to submit for their consideration. ”

“ The quantities of alcohol, water, and sugar in an imperial pint of Brandy, Rum, and Gin, are shown in the Case 39.
The physical degeneracy and moral degradation attendant upon taking alcohol in excess are well known; and no language is too strong to condemn the folly and wickedness of those who thus convert one of the blessings of Providence into a curse.
In Cases 38 the visitor will see samples of alcohol obtained from various sources; also a variety of flavored spirits, or “liqueurs,” from various countries, and a Japanese spirit or liqueur, distilled from rice, called “soke,” or “saki.” ”

“ The materials for the food of man, and containing the above elements, are derived from the mineral, vegetable, and animal kingdoms. The vegetable kingdom, however, is the great source of food to man and animals, as it is in the cells of the plant that the elements undergo those chemical changes which fit them for food. The animal can only supply p. 11what it obtains from them, and the substances supplied by the animal kingdom as food are identical with those obtained from plants. ”

“ The flesh of the green turtle is consumed in considerable quantity, and of it the famous turtle soup is made. The common and edible frog are eaten on the continent; and the land tortoise, common on the coast of the Mediterranean, is eaten by the inhabitants of Italy and the Levant. The flesh of the crocodile, alligator, and iguana, is also consumed in the countries where such creatures abound. ”

“ Most plants contain sugar in their roots. But in some large quantities are deposited, as in the sugar beet, which is employed most extensively in France and on the continent of Europe for the supply of sugar for dietetical purposes. A series of specimens illustrating products from beet-root, including sugar, from Messieurs Serret, Hamoir, and Co., of Valenciennes, are exhibited in the Collection. ”

“ The extensive employment of various substances for the Adulteration of Food has led to the formation of a collection of those more commonly employed. In Cases 97 and 98 these substances are arranged according as they have been obtained from the animal, vegetable, or mineral kingdom. ”

“ Amongst the red bearded varieties is the fingered Egyptian or Mummy Wheat, which presents the peculiarity of several branches bearing fruits proceeding from its central stalk. Wheat is also called hard and soft according to its consistence, and winter and spring as it is sown at those seasons of the year. ”

“ Other elements have been found in the body, as copper and manganese, but these are probably accidental.
These elements, when combined together, form a set of compound bodies called “proximate principles,” out of which the tissues and fluids of the body are formed.
Proximate Principles of the Human Body. ”

“ We find it will require all our efforts to raise the funds to pay for the site, and under these circumstances we humbly submit to your Lordship p. 6that the Government should, in exchange for the site, take the whole matter into their own hands as a national affair.
2ndly. The scheme that commends itself most to our minds is, not to distribute the superfluities of the British Museum piecemeal amongst several local museums, but that typical collections illustrating one branch of science should be arranged in one of several museums in different quarters of the metropolis. ”

“ Brady’s offer on behalf of Bethnal Green can be adduced as the sole proof of the practical earnestness of the several districts of the metropolis to act in establishing district museums. Their Lordships, therefore, propose p. 7that the iron columns, flooring, stairs, window fittings, heating arrangements, &c. of the whole of the iron building should be re-erected as soon as practicable at Bethnal Green, on the free site provided by the locality, but that brick walls and a slate roof should be used instead of iron; and they estimate that the cost will be 20,000l. ”

“ From inquiries made since the meeting last May, it is found that it will be utterly and entirely impracticable for a permanent building to be erected by local efforts, or to maintain the necessary staff if a building were otherwise provided ”