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2G
were found to be deficient in protein content. Ten per cent. of the diets were therefore,
certainly deficient in vitamin C, and 16.5 per cent. were probably low in this
vitamin. The ease with which this defect can be remedied by ascorbic acid preparations
raises the question whether vitamin C in this form should not be available for
school children in the same way as vitamin D is available on the school doctors'
advice in the form of cod.liver oil.
As regards protein, there was no evidence of widespread deficiency; diets of
boys taking milk regularly showed no sign of deficiency in this respect.
Dr. Leslie Harris of the Dunn nutritional laboratory, Cambridge, carried out
an investigation in connection with the Poplar nutrition centre, first of child patients
attending the centre, and later of unselected boys attending a Council school in
east London. The investigation consisted in the estimation by photometric methods
of the activity of the visual purple in the retina. When the eye is exposed for a
few minutes to a bright light a proportion of the visual purple is destroyed by
bleaching, and the ability to see a dimly.lit object in the dark is lessened. The extent
to which the sight returns to normal will depend on the amount of visual purple
which can be regenerated in a given time. In vitamin A deficiency there is a
diminished degree of recovery in the dark.
The following tables have been taken from an article giving the results of the
investigation published by Drs. Maitra and Harris in the Lancet, 30th October, 1937.

Note.—Figures in brackets express percentages.