R K I’ <) RT 
, OF Tl.’K 
Yo*Yt (CAuJ 
COMMITTEE ON DIET 
O F T II K 
tfWMwas’ o# |lm»taU'js Island. 
To the Board of Commissioners 
of Public Charities and Correction : 
Gentlemen,—Your Committee, appointed October 3d, “ to re- 
vise the Dietary Table of the Childrens’ Nurseries on llarrdall’s 
Island,’’ beg leave to present tbe following Report: 
We h ave carefully examined the various Departments on Ran- 
dall’s Island, excepting the Hospital Department, the dietary of 
which is already satisfactorily arranged, and have informed our- 
selves, by thoroughly interrogating the cooks and other officials, 
of the quantity and quality of the supplies furnished, the mode 
of preparation, and the manner of serving the food to the child- 
ren. Our report will embody some general considerations con- 
cerning the alimentation of children such as are received into 
the Institutions on Randall’s Island, a review of the present diet- 
ary of the Institutions, and suggestions with regard to improve- 
ments which have seemed to us necessary and practicable. 
The nurseries contain from five hundred to six hundred child- 
ren of various ages, divided as follows : the Quarantine has from 
fifty to sixty inmates, some of whom are permanent and others tem- 
porary, being removed in about ten days after their admission to 
the other departments. The permanent residents are from tw.o to 
fourteen years of age ' and the temporary residents are from five 
to fourteen. The population of this department is constantly chang- 
ing, and the numbers are very variable. The Infants’ Depart- 
ment has a population of about fifty, ranging from two to five years of asp. The other departments are, tine Small Roys, about one 
hundred in number, with ages ranging from five to seven ; tire 
Lorge Boys, about two hundred and fifty in number, with ages 
ranging’from seven to fourteen ; and the Girls, numbering about 
one hundred, from seven to fourteen years of age. The small 
b>ys and the girls take their meals together, and the large boys 
a e served by themselves. 
The small boys, the large boys, and the girls are supplied from 
th i main kitchen, where the food of all is cooked together. The 
Quarantine and the Infants? Department have each their sepa- 
rate kitchens and supplies 
In oar considerations regarding the diet of these children, the 
sick are excluded, as they are immediately transferred to the 
bos i-al. 
in the alimentation of the Nurseries, certain peculiarities inci- 
dent to the nutritive demands of the system in early life must 
b ■ recognized. The inmates of the other Institutions under 
your eh irge. being adults, have passed through the perils of early 
lif \ and their constitutions have become fully developed. In 
them, the nutritive demands of the organism are about equal to 
the.waste and the discharge of worn-out matter in the form of 
excretions. If either before or after their admission into the 
Institutions, the supply of nourishment be slightly deficient, the 
system becomes somewhat reduced ; but if this be not carried too 
fir, a sufficient diet is capable of restoring nutritive activity, and 
they soon return to their normal condition. It is a fact well 
known to physiologists, that men who have arrived at full devel- 
opment are capable of enduring hardship, and recuperating after 
priv ations, which would produce permanent injury to the consti- 
tution in young persons on the threshold of adult life. 
Children from two to fourteen years of age are not capable of 
resisting bad alimentation, either as regards quantity, quality or 
variety. At that age, the demands of the system for nourish- 
ment are in excess o' the waste ; the- extra quantity being re- 
quired for growth and development. If the proper quantity and 
variety of food be not provided, full development cannot take 
place, and the children grow up, if they survive, into puny men 
and women, incapable of the ordinary amount of labor, and liable 
to diseases of various kinds. This is frequently illustrated in 
the higher walks of life, particularly in females; for many suffer 
through life from improper diet in boarding schools, due to false 
and artificial notions of delicacy or refinement. After a certain 
period of improper and deficient diet in children, the appetite 
becomes permanently impaired, and the system is rendered in- capable of appropriating the amount of matter necessary to pro- 
per development and growth. 
We make these remarks to indicate the great importance of 
proper alimentation in children, and to show that their young and 
impressible organizations are more sensitive than the system of 
the adult, and consequently that their alimentation should be 
more carefully watched. 
Again, there are many articles of food proper for the adult, 
which cannot be taken by children ; and while, in the latter, va- 
riety in diet is of great importance, it is more difficult to provide 
in public Institutions Children soon become disgusted with a 
monotonous diet, and lose that relish for, and keen enjoyment of 
food, characteristic of y« nth. The necessity of a varied diet for 
the adult has been fully considered in a report by the Chairman 
of this Committee on the diet of the Bellevue Hospital. It is 
sufficient to say that this tseems oven more necessary in the ali- 
mentation of children. 
DIETARY OF THE QUARANTINE. 
(estimated for sixty inmates). 
At tire Quarantine, the breakfast and the supper are the same 
throughout the week, while the dinners are more or less va; ied 
every day. 
Breakfast, at 7, a. m. — Cocoa, a little more than half a ] int 
for the smaller children, and a little less than a ] int for the la ger 
children ; with bread for the larger, and bread and butter for the 
smaller children. At this meal, the bread is given in such quan- 
tity as the children desire., The cocoa is made in the following 
way : 
One-lialf a pound of the cocoa is boiled with four quarts of 
milk, (American Condensed Milk Company’s milk, to which four 
parts of water have been added),* and with water to make twenty 
■quarts. To this are added two pounds of sugar. 
Suffer, at p. m.—Bread and milk. The quantity of milk 
is from half a pint to a pint for each child, according to age. 
The Matron states that she does not consider it desirable to give 
the children at supper all the bread they can eat. One loaf of 
bread supplies about ten children ; the quantity to each being 
graduated according to age. 
* Tlie milk referred to in this report is always to be. understood as composed of one 
pari of tondeiised milk to ten of water. 4 
Dinner, at 12, m.—The arrangement of the dinners is as 
follows: 
MONDAY. 
Roast mutton, with bread. 
TUESDAY. 
Beef, potted or stewed, with bread. 
WEDNESDAY. 
Mutton soup, with the meat, and bread. 
THURSDAY. 
Roast beef or potted beef, with bread. 
FRIDAY. 
Codfish or haddock, stewed with potatoes, (ordinarily called 
“ picked-up codfish), with bread. 
SATURDAY. 
Stewed beef, with bread. 
SUNDAY. 
Roast beef and mashed potatoes, with bread. (During the hot 
Summer months they have bread and milk, as much as they want, 
for their Sunday dinner.) 
The supply of meat to the Quarantine is twenty-five pounds of 
beef or mutton (with the bones) each day except Friday, when 
twenty pounds of fish are substituted. 
We do not find much to criticise in the dietary of the Quaran- 
tine. The quantity of meat is sufficient, and it is evidently well 
prepared, being cooked in the ordinary wray, in a private kitchen. 
The quality of the cocoa is fair, though it might be improved by 
adding more milk. Potatoes should certainly be given more fre- 
quently. Crackers, between meals, are given to the smaller chil- 
dren. All the children, however, look well, and seem properly 
nourished; and we will defer our suggestions until we take up 
the diet issued from the main kitchen. The improved diet that 
we will there recommend should be applied to all the Depart- 
ments. 5 
DIETARY OF THE INFANTS’ NURSERY. 
(estimated for fifty inmates.) 
As in the Quarantine, the breakfast and supper are the same 
every day in the week, while the dinner is varied. 
Breakfast, at 6.V or 7, a. m.—Cocoa, from three-fourths of a 
pint to a pint, with as much bread as the children want. The 
cocoa is decidedly better than in the Quarantine. It is made 
with half a pound of cocoa, one and three-quarters of a pound of 
sugar, ten quarts of milk, and water added to make twenty quarts. 
This cocoa is as good as could be desired for children of the age 
of those in this Department, and the quantity given to each child 
is sufficient. 
Supper, at 5, p. m.—Bread and milk, with butter every alter- 
nate day. The quantity of milk is from three-fourths of a pint 
to a pint for each child, and the children have as much bread as 
they can eat 
Dinner, at 12, m., as follows : 
MONDAY. 
Soup, made of mutton and vegetables, with bread. 
TUESDAY. 
Beef-tea, with the meat, with bread. 
WEDNESDAY. 
Boast mutton, cold slaw, and bread. 
THUKSDAY. 
Meat and vegetable soup, with bread. 
FRIDAY. 
Codfish and potatoes, with bread. 
SATURDAY. 
Beef-tea, with the meat, and bread. 
SUNDAY. 
Roast beef and mashed potatoes, with bread. 
All the children in the Infants’ Nursery have crackers between 
meals. 6 
The daily supplies of meat and fish arc the same as at the 
Quarantine, viz : twenty-five puunds of beef or mutton each 
day except Friday, when twenty pounds of fish are substituted. 
The diet at the Infants’ Nursery seems somewhat better than 
at the Quarantine. Here it is represented that the children have 
all that they can eat; and when any child asks for more, it is al- 
ways supplied. The cocoa is decidedly better than at Quaran- 
kie, containing two and a half times more milk With these ex- 
ceptions, we have no remarks to make beyond what has already 
been said eoncering the dietary at Quarantine. 
DIETARY FOR THE SMALL ROYS, THE LARGE ROYS, 
AND THE GIRLS. 
(estimated fob four hundred and forty). 
As in the other Departments, the breakfast and supper are the 
same every in the week, while the dinner is varied. 
Rreakfast.—Cocoa, about one pint for each child, with about 
seven ounces of bread. 
The cocoa is prepared as follows :—Two and a half pounds of 
cocoa, four and a half quarts of molasses, twenty-eight quarts of 
milk, and water added to make two hundred and twenty-five 
quarts. 
Supper.—Sweetened milk and water, about one pint for each 
•child, containing twenty-eight quarts of milk, four and a half 
quarts of molasses, and water added to make two hundred and 
twenty-five quarts; and bread, about seven ounces to each child. 
Dinner :— 
MONDAY. 
Pea soup, and five ounces of bread. 
TUESDAY. 
Roast beef, (weighing eight ounces before roasting,) five ounces 
of bread, and gravy thickened with flour 
WEDNESDAY. 
Roast beef, (weighing eight ounces before roasting,) five ounces 
of bread, and gravy without flour. THURSDAY. 
Roast beef, (weighing eight ounces before roasting,) five ounces 
of bread, and gravy without flour. 
FRIDAY. 
Three and one-tenth ounces of fish, (weighed before boiling), 
three ounces of potatoes, four ounces of bread, and gravy with 
flour and butter. 
SATURDAY. 
Roiled mutton, (weighing eight ounces before boiling), one pint 
of soup, and five ounces of bread. 
SUNDAY. 
Roast beef, (weighing eight ounces before roasting), a little less 
than half a pint of gravy, made from the meat drippings, with wa- 
ter added, and five pounds of flour to the whole, (one hundred 
quarts), three ounces of potatoes, and four ounces of bread. 
The above diet table was obtained by one of your Committee', 
Dr. Whittelsey, and is believed to represent precisely what the- 
children receive. The diet table furnished to the Committee by 
the Warden is appended to the report. 
We will now direct our attention exclusively to the diet pre- 
pared in and furnished from the main kitchen. The improve- 
ments which we will suggest should, in the opinion of your Com- 
mittee, be also adapted to the Quarantine and the Infants’ Nur- 
sery. Although the diet in these Departments is good, it is sus- 
ceptible of some Improvement. It seems to your Committee de- 
sirable that tne diet at the Quarantine should be brought fully 
up to the standard at the Infants’ Nursery. 
The quantity of meat furnished to the main kitchen is suffi- 
cient. From the report of the Commissary, it appears that two 
hundred and twenty pounds of meat are issued daily, with the 
exception of Friday, when ninety-five pounds of fish are substi- 
tuted. Bread, which is of excellent quality in all the Institu- 
tions under your charge, should be given to each child without 
restriction as regards quantity. 
The deficiencies in the diet are as follows: 1. There is not 
sufficient variety. The breakfast and the supper should be- 
slightly modified during the week, whereas, at present, they are- 
absolutely uniform. The starchy element is somewhat deficient. 
Potatoes present this alimentary principle in the best form for 8 
assimilation, particularly for children. These are now given only 
on Fiiday and Sunday ; whereas, they should be given every day. 
This is impor ;;\t; for experience and physiological experiments 
have shown that starch is very favorable to the development of 
fat in the body; and, other conditions being fulfilled, the deposi- 
tion of a proper quantity of fat is a pretty good indication of the 
character of the general process of nutrition. 
The cocoa is not sufficiently rich. It contains enough of the 
coco;', which is a substance resembling, in its effects, tea and 
coffee, though not so powerful. Children do not require these 
agents to the extent to which they are desirable in the adult, and 
the preparations of chocolate are undoubtedly the best that can 
be used. It would be well to alternate the cocoa with plain 
chocolate and with broma, which are all about the same price. 
The Chairman of your Committee has had considerable expe- 
rience with the preparations of Walter Baker & Co., of Boston, 
which he has found of excellent quality. The chief nutritive 
element in the cocoa, as it is given to the children, is the milk. 
This is not introduced in sufficient quantity, though the use of 
condensed milk secures a good and a uniform article. Your 
Committee would suggest that the cocoa, chocolate or broma be 
made as follows : 
One half pound of cocoa, or the other preparations ; ten quarts 
of milk, (made by adding four parts of water to one of condensed 
milk), and ten quarts of water. The whole making twenty 
quarts ; to be carefully boiled, thoroughly stirred, and about two 
and a half pounds of sugar to be added. 
The milk which is taken with bread for supper is too dilute by 
far; and it must be lemembered that milk presents in itself the 
very best nourishment for children, containing, as it does, a great 
variety of alimentary principles. One part of condensed milk is 
now diluted with thirty-two parts of water, and sweetened with 
molasses to make it a little less thin to the taste. ,The condensed 
milk should be diluted with about six parts of water, and, in the 
main kitchen at least, sweetening is not necessary. From three- 
quarters of a pint to a pint of such milk, with bread, would make 
a sufficient, a healthful, and a palatable supper for children. 
The pea-soup as now prepared is not good. This is an excel- 
lent article of diet if skilfully made, but otherwise it is very 
distasteful to children. Small pieces of fried bread in the pea- 
soup would also be much relished; but in case the soup be not 
very well made, in the opinion of your Committee, its use should 
be discontinued 
Occasional stews, instead of soups, would be much better for 
the children, and would undoubtedly be more relished, Children do not use condiments freely, but it is desirable that 
their food should be carefully but not highly seasoned, and that 
they should get vinegar occasionally. With this view, we would 
recommend that a small quantity of pickled cabbage or beets be 
issued about twice a week, served in separate dishes, so as not 
to be mixed with the oilier articles. 
It is desirable, also, that the children should have about twice 
a week, what would be considered by them as luxuries. A bread, 
or rice, or Indian pudding, would answer this end, and would un- 
doubtedly improve the condition of the children. 
Cooking.—After proper quantity and quality of supplies, the 
item of cooking is of paramount importance. Ovens should be 
constructed for roasting and baking on a large scale, and every 
facility should be afforded for the careful and scientific prepara- 
tion of food. Your Committee do not believe that roasting (?) 
can be well done in the steam kettles which are now used for 
that purpose. We do not think it necessary to discuss the ques- 
tions of the savings and the improvement in diet which would be 
brought about by the employment of an educated and responsible 
cook. We believe that the saving alone would be so great that 
the question of salary paid to a competent person would not be 
one of much importance. The chief fault which we have to find 
in the main kitchen is that the supplies, which are entirely suffi- 
cient, are not well prepared, and that consequently much must 
be wasted. The gravies are now frequently made by simply add- 
ing water to the meat drippings. Sometimes they are thickened 
with flour; but this should always be done, and they should be 
appropriately seasoned. Again, an uneducated cook has no re- 
sources if the supplies should accidentally be deficient fora day ; 
while a good cook would always be able to carry over any such 
temporary difficulty satisfactorily. Your Committee refer the 
Commissioners to their experience in the cooking at the Bellevue 
Hospital, which we believe illustrates these facts. 
We would therefore recommend the employment of a compe- 
tent male cook, who should have immediate charge of the main 
kitchen, and exercise a supervision over the kitchens at the Quar- 
antine and the Infants’Nursery. He should have for his general 
guidance a proper diet-scale, but should have a limited amount 
of discretionary power which would enable him to vary the mode 
of cooking occasionally. 
When the cooked food is to be carried from the main kitchen 
to other buildings, it should be carefully protected so that it may 
be hot and palatable when served. For this purpose, large cop- 10 
per vessels, with well-fitting covers, should be provided. In or- 
dinary tin pails, the heat is not sufficiently well retained. 
Your Committee is of the opinion that the following diet-scale 
will effect most of the improvements which they have had the 
honor to suggest: 
Proposed Diet-Scale. 
M ONDAY. 
Breakfast-—Cocoa or hronia j bread and butter. 
Dinner—Mutton stewed with vegetables; potatoes, boiled or 
mashed ; pickled cabbage or beets ; bread. 
Supper—Bread and milk. 
TUESDAY. 
Breakfast—Hominy and milk or molasses ; bread and butter. 
Dinner—Boast beef, with gravy; potatoes, boiled or mashed; 
bread. 
Sutter—Bread and milk. 
W E D N E S DAY. 
Breakfast—Cocoa or broma ; bread and butter. 
Dinner—Stewed beef; potatoes, boiled or mashed bread; rice, 
bread, or Indian pudding. 
Supper—Bread and milk. 
T FI U B S D A Y . 
Breakfast—Cocoa or broma; bread and butter. 
Dinner—Boast beef, with gravy; potatoes, boiled, mashed or 
fried whole in the meat drippings ; pickled cabbage 
or beets; bread. 
Sup ter—Wheaten grits and milk ; bread. FRIDAY. 
Breakfast—Mush and milk or molasses:; bread and butter. 
Dinner—Codfish or haddock, with potatoes ; bread and butter. 
•Supper—Bread and milk. 
SATURDAY. 
Brea«kfast—Cocoa or broma; bread and butter. 
Dinner—Roast mutton ; potatoes, boiled or mashed; bread. 
/SuprER—Bread and milk. 
SUNDAY. 
Breakfast—Hominy, and milk or molasses ; bread and* butter 
Dinner—Roast beef, with gravy ; potatoes, fried whole in the 
meat drippings ; rice, bread, or Indian pudding. 
•Supper—Wheaten grits and milk.; bread and butter. 
Your committee .has few changes to suggest in the dietary of 
the Quarantine and the Infants’Nursery.. The only modifications 
which seem necessary are an improvement in the quality of the 
cocoa, by using more milkn(equal parts of milk and water, as be- 
fore suggested,), in the Quarantine, the use of milk less diluted 
((six parts of water to one of condensed milk) for supper, and the 
addition, daily, of potatoes to the dinner at both the Quarantine 
and the Infants’ Nursery. 
The above report, is respectfully submitted. 
A. FLINT, jun, CL, 
H. N. WHITTELSEY, 
W. B. EAGER, jun. 
Committee. 
.New York, Oct, 21, 1867. 
October 23, 1867* 
Resolved, That the Dietary Table recommended by 
the Committee appointed to revise the Dietary Table 
for Randall’s Island Nurseries be adopted, and that 
the Warden be instructed to carry the same into effect 
immediately. Adopted.