Please bear in mind that the above is just the primer of the vitamin A B C's. For an exhaustive (and brain-exhausting) study of the subject, I recommend "The Vitamins," a symposium prepared by thirty experts, and put out the The American Medical Association in 1939. Within a limited time I have tried to delve a little into what fish have to offer us in the way of vitamins - and find it extremely interesting. Heretofore I thought that the cod and the halibut were our best friends, when they yielded up their liver oils. But it seems that shark oil is much richer in vitamin content. Then I read - only yesterday - in a little book written by Dr. Harry Holmes, that the Japanese black sea bass, called "stereolepsis ishinagi" is richest of all in vitamin A. (He ought to be good - with such an impressive name). Dr. Holmes states that the oil of this sea bass is 600 times as strong as cod liver oil, I wonder why. Those things don't just happen, do they? One of the best sources of Vitamin A is the carotene of grass, converted by our loyal friend, the cow, into milk. The grass is sun-kissed; yet, with fish, yielding the same vitamin, the deeper and colder their habitat, the better. It is said that the shark of the Pacific yields better vitamin-oil than the shark of the warm Gulf stream around Florida. (Maybe that's just California propaganda). Well, anyway, my dear readers, if you can't have a hunk of Japanese black sea bass, you will find vitamins galore in milk, butter, eggs, carrots, broccoli, cabbage, kale, lettuce and turnip greens. Vitamin A is our "first line of defense against infection."

Vitamin B1 is a guard against fatigue, nerve exhaustion, etc. The best sources of B1 are yeast, liver, kidney, ripe beans, peas, lean pork, whole grain (or, rather, the outer layer of the grain). B2 is a preventive against pellagra. Best sources of B2 are wheat germ, buttermilk, lean and corned beef, canned chicken (give me fresh - every time), canned haddock, lean pork, rabbit, canned salmon, green peas (canned), canned tomato juice, etc. Vitamin C is needed for a high level of positive buoyant health. Best source is the juice of citrus fruits. "An orange a day keeps scurvy away." Bean sprouts are invaluable to the Chinese, Dr. Holmes says, "Thank Heaven for the tomato juice cocktail fad."

Vitamin D is the bone-building vitamin. It prevents or cures rickets. The viosterol we gave our babies is Vitamin D. The pasteurization of milk destroys much of that valuable vitamin. The good, up-to-date dairies are adding D in chemical form.

Vitamin E is a guard against sterility. But the "Symposium" says that clinical evidence is needed to establish the usefulness of Vitamin E therapy among human beings.

How did I get started on this subject? By visiting the Miller Laboratories, vitamin capsule-making firm in Cleveland, and one of two that exist in the United States. The other is The Gelatin Products Co., of Detroit, Mich. An old friend of mine, who has been studying about vitamins for years, suggested that we make a tour of these places that contribute directly to the superabundant health of us mortals. My friend made the appointments - with this firm and with a large dairy products company - and I got in on her pass. What a profitable day! I decided, then and there, that I want to be a reporter. You are treated so royally. Naturally, these firms want the visitors to get a good impression, and, in the case of writers, to say nice things about them. The dairy company took us all through their plant, treated us to delicious ice cream, and presented each of us with a dandy book of recipes. The Miller laboratories, in addition to the friendly interview, granted by Louis B. Miller himself, and the leisurely tour of the laboratory, gave us each a box of 100 capsules - containing all the vitamins I have mentioned. Mr. Miller read us a letter, just received, from a dealer in shark oil - and that's how I learned about the shark, who unwittingly gives you vim and vitality, but if you swim into his domain, gladly "prunes" you, limb by limb. There is so much to tell - of Mr. Miller's and his head chemist's predictions for the future; so much to tell of the fascinating process of mixing these oils and chemicals, and pressing them into capsules in a wonderful machine that required two years of study and experiment to perfect; there is so much to tell that I must save it for another time. In the meantime I'll take two capsules a day - and watch the column grow peppier!

Sincerely,
Florence B. Taylor.

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