(seq. 43)

34

Materia Alimentaria

Calcareous Earths

confined the child to an animal diet but found the least
quantity to increase the discharge. Gum Arabic was given
the child seemed to fatten on that diet, in this case the
Gum was evidently nutritious. Calcareous Earths.
This may I think be ranked amongst the nutrentia phosphate
of lime exists in many parts of the body, as in the bones &c,
and many fish are found with shels in their stomach.
Vegitables contain almost universally calcareous earths, it is
even found in their acids. The utility of lime in agriculture
is generally acknowledged, lime may also independent of
its nutritious qualities act clinically in dissolving dead
matter. Dr Darwin observes if oak bark be covered with
lime in a few months it is reduced to a fine black mould
which would otherwise require several years to produce this
effect. Lime is further serviceable to plants by attracting the
moisture of the atmosphere, it is certainly nutritious to some
animals and to most vegitables, and from analogy we
infer it is to man no mean nutriment, but in proof of this
we have more than base analogy. Barron Hombolt informs us,
Calcareous earth is eat by the people of South America as