know are
used extensively by the vegetarian nations. The Mongol procures his
supply of protein chiefly from the Soya bean from which he makes
different preparations of bean cheese and sauce. It is said that the
poorer classes of Spaniards and the Bedouins rely on a porridge of
lentils for their mainstay. In India and China where rice is the staple
food, beans are eaten to provide the necessary nitrogenous matter, as
rice alone is considered deficient in protein.

With regard to the pulse foods, Dr. Haig, in his works on uric acid,
states that, containing as they do considerable xanthin, an exceedingly
harmful poison, they are not to be commended as healthful articles of
diet. He states that he has found the pulses to contain even more
xanthin than many kinds of flesh-meat, and as it is this poison in flesh
that causes him to so strongly condemn the eating of meat, he naturally
condemns the eating of any foods in which this poison exists in any
considerable quantity. He writes: 'So far as I know the "vegetarians" of
this country are decidedly superior in endurance to those feeding on
animal tissues, who might otherwise be expected to equal them; but
these "vegetarians" would be still better if they not only ruled out
animal flesh, but also eggs, the pulses (peas, beans, lentils and
peanuts), eschew nuts, asparagus, and mushrooms, as well as tea, coffee
and cocoa, all of which contain a large amount of uric acid, or
substances physiologically equivalent to it.'

Dr. Haig attributes many diseases and complaints to the presence of uric
acid in the blood and its deposits in the tissues: 'Uric acid diseases
fall chiefly in two groups: (a) The arthritic group, comprising gout,
rheumatism, and similar affections of many fibrous tissues throughout
the body; (b) the circulation group including headache, epilepsy, mental
depression, anaemia, Bright's disease, etc.' Speaking with regard to
rheumatism met with among the vegetarian natives of India, Dr. Haig
writes: 'I believe it will appear, on investigation, that in those parts
of India where rice and fresh vegetables form the staple foods, not only
rheumatism, but uric acid diseases generally are little known, whereas
in those parts where pulses are largely consumed, they are
common--almost universal.'

The cereals constitute the mainstay of vegetarians all the world over,
and although not superior to nuts, must be considered an exceedingly
valuable, and, in some cases, essenti