A Fleshless Diet. 

Vegetarianism as a Rational Diet. 

By J. L. Buttner, M. D. Frederick A. Stokes Company, New York, 1910. 12mo. 287 pages. $1.35 net.

 Those interested in the scientific investigation of diet which has recently engaged many of our most noted chemists will find this book a ready means of getting at the common arguments in favor of vegetarianism. It is largely a collection and resume of the work of Chittenden, Fisher and others. The author shows that anatomically man is prepared for a fleshless diet, that meat is unnecessary, and that it is unwholesome and dangerous. He suggests a rational dietetic, outlining it for a week and then shows by ergographic records and the tests of Fisher and endurance records the greater value of vegetarianism in practical life. The tendency for disease to decrease with the fleshless diet is shown. The book is not original. It is to be commended for bringing together in a readable form a considerable amount of recent dietetic work. It fails to show scientific discretion in the selection of this material. It will therefore be helpful as a popular presentaton of vegetarianism but will be unconvincing to careful students.

-E. B.