Note 196 — Chapter VI · DIONYSUS THE MAN

It is hardly necessary to add that tea and coffee do, of course, contain no vitamines either of the disease-preventing or growth-promoting kind. In view of this, and of the enormous popularity they have enjoyed since the decline in quality of English malted liquors, we must not conclude that the appalling statistics of ill-health recently published by the Ministry of National Service are to be ascribed entirely to industrial and urban conditions. In fact the report actually calls attention to this point, and shows that ill-health is also very great in rural districts. Seeing, however, that rural districts consume just as much tea and coffee as urban and industrial centres, this is only what we should expect.