THE HUMAN BODY.

King Country Chronicle, Volume VII, Issue 613, 22 October 1913, Page 7

THE HUMAN BODY.

AS A SOURCE OF ENERGY. According to the calculations of a well-known scientist, th-; human body as a source of motive power is not only • more efficient than any other engine, but will outlast five locomotives, keep in order three times as long as a printing press, and twelve times as long as a motor-car. For a given amount of fuel, the body, we are told, will do twice as much work as any other machine, and in this respect is unapproached. That the human body is a wonderful mechanism, few will deny. Nor will anyone doubt its superiority over the complicated steam engine, the printing press, or other intricate device. And yet the fact is that, in spite of its marvellous powers and good qualities, human labour has been and continues to be displaced by machinery, driven for the most part by energy artificially derived. Like all prime movers, the human body must be supplied with fuel if it is to be kept in good running order. Unlike the steam or gasoline engine, the animal mechanism has the marvellous capacity of not only performing external work, but also of making its own repairs at the expense of the food. It is a true saying that we not only eat to live but live to eat. The object of' food is not only tc supply the wastes of the organism. It must furnish also a surplus of energy for the performance of external work. Indeed, the modern r.hysiologist has come to loo'< upon the subject of food much as the engineer looks upon the subject of fuels.— "'Cass'ier's Magazine."