The Daily News. FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 1903. SOME INTERESTING FIGURES.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XXXXV, Issue 240, 6 November 1903, Page 2

The Daily News. FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 1903. SOME INTERESTING FIGURES.

Some interesting statistics by Sir William Crookis show that it is the pe.ple with large appetites who b come the chief nations of the world, and that the nature of the food eaten has a striking relation to national character. This reminds one of Ben Jonstra'a saying that "if a man drinks beer he thinks beer. Sir William has pointed out that wheat is the distinctive food of the dominant races, and his emphasise:' the danger of exhausting the wheatgrowing lands by reckless wastaga of nitrates. The third of mankind that, lives on rice is markedly subservient to the eaters of wheat, apd if Japan is the exception that proves the rule, it must be mentioned that, with the avowed ihtentisn of national improvement, the dwellers in the laud of the chrysanthemum have added meat to their hitherto almost purely vegetable diet, I hat the nations that feed well coroe first is amply borne out by figures pub lished by a contemporary. Compare the daily expend iMire per hu&d on fuod with the expor s of a country, and it will be found that the people who eat moat work more : -- Expenses on Annuual Food Exports in per head. millions. •United Ftates ... 29d per day £21)9 United Kingdom 23d per day .£2BO Germany ... 21d per day £221 France 19d per day £166 Italy 9d per day £54 As flash-eaters Australians are well ahead of any other peop'e, the average consumption of meat for the Cornstalk being s|lb a week, compared with the 31b of (be United States, 21b soz of Great Britain, and l|lb of Fiance. The German cats a litile lass meat than his neighbour, aDd the Russian consurass but one pound in days, while the Italian is content with hss hm half that amount. All the maritime nations eat sugar largely. Bri'ain leads the way in fondness for sweet thing*. John Bull's Bweet tooth requires 70) b cf sugar a year, aod half the ships on the seas fly the Union Jack. Tho next, great maritime Power is the United States, Uncle Sam eats 671b of a year, and on tne strength of this is extending his navy (natiooal and mercantile). Germany follows third in the number of ships, but Che consumption of sugar is only 171b per head. France is the fourth sea Power, though it surpasses Germany with 301b of p?r annum. Xea is the essential driiik at progress. In a single century Australia has made itself, and the Austra•ian beats tho rest of the world by drinking 7|lb cf tea in twelve mqnths Canadians manage 6!b, whioh is nho the quantity that tfce home bred John Bull requires to quench his thirst. The American has a preference for coffee, which, added to his tea, mnkrs him Jt ink no less than the Bri'isher. 0;j •he other hand, Germany's national depression is distinctly due to her consumption of a" mere 2oz of tea per head per annum. Russia takes but lib of tea, while the Spaniard drinks only half a pint of tea in a year. It is noteworthy that the United StatfS, now making such giant strides, drinks less than half the alcobolio liquor imbned by Germany, Fiance, and Britain, 1