The importance of mineral matter which has been vitalized by vegetable life, in our food, is about equal to the other elements.

"The principle was established long ago that animals cannot organize or vitalize matter, but simply possess the power to appropriate nourishment in the form of a substance which has already been vitalized by the vegetable kingdom." - J. H. Kellogg, M.D.

But a very small percentage of these elements are required, as will be noted by the analysis of wheat, the perfect food; but the effect of this small amount upon the human body seems to be of very great importance, as will be noted by a perusal of the following:

"Professor Forster of Munchen has made a large number of experiments to discover the importance of mineral matter in our food. Two pigeons were taken for one experiment and fed on food containing every other requisite: albumen, carbohydrates, etc., but entirely freed from all mineral matter. These pigeons took their food regularly, but soon lost all liveliness and sat dumb and motionless on the bars of their cages. After the tenth day they ate but little and lost in flesh. On the twenty-fourth day one of them had a fit, and both refused to eat. He then fed them by compulsion. One died on the twenty-sixth day by a return of the fit, and the other lived on to the thirty-first day, when it also had a fit from which it did not recover. An examination of the bodies of the pigeons revealed no traces of any disturbance of digestion.

"He then took a dog and fed him in the same manner. He soon showed signs of weariness, lay sad and dull in his corner, had sudden fits as of madness, became weak and uncertain in his motions, trembled and showed signs of nervousness, became weaker and weaker till he could scarcely crawl, and still there was no disturbance in the digestion of his food.

"Another pigeon was taken and fed on food free from mineral matter by compulsion. It died in thirteen days, and yet an examination of its body showed that it had been well nourished and the organs were sound. The food had apparently been well digested. The absence of mineral matter had not prevented digestion until after several days, but had caused death. The animals had all shown muscular weakness and trembling, and in one case a sort of paralysis, as if the spinal cord and brain had been affected. The nervous system suffered most; indeed it was apparent that the nervous weakness was caused by the absence of mineral salts, and we must from this look on them as necessary to excite and enliven the brain and nerves, and especially promote nutrition and secretion. We know that living a long time on pickled meat, salt pork or corned beef causes a sort of scurvy which is only cured by the use of fresh vegetables and fruit. Now, the brine used to preserve the flesh dissolves a considerable part of the mineral constituents of the meat which the fresh vegetables replace.

" Dr. Forester's investigations gave one other result. He found that the animals fed by compulsion on food freed from its mineral matter died sooner than those not fed at all. The explanations he gives for this is, that if no food is given the body is nourished on itself, and, consequently, a supply of mineral matter is obtained from the decomposed flesh of the body; but when nourished on food free from salts there is no demand from the body for albumen and carbohydrates, and so no mineral matter is received from its decomposition." - Dr. M. L. Holbrook.