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Show II Science Explains That Nebuchadnezzar May Have Lived on Alfalfa E BTJ TUDENTS of the Bible have frequently Taj N been puzzled by the statement that. mm Br Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, "did Kl MM. gfass as the oxen," aud lived in that man-.Ber man-.Ber for seven years. Wfcpt' J. B. S. King, of Chicago, author of the Hfl lndard work "Too Chemistry of Food." has gSiBfat forward the interesting suggestion that the $33 Bason why Nebuchadne zzar was able to live so 2f?& la this way was that he ate alfalfa, the jtfM Jftnderf ul food-plant which has done so much Ss5 By VaEt regions of the West. Thore is evidence jgj V' show that alfalfa grew in the vicinity of -iRtot Babylon and that Its raw leaves will men. ' K?"116 story ot- Nebuchadnezzar is told iu the l' of Daniel. The great King, at the helghL , K1"'5 Power, had a strange dream, and called , W011 Daniel to interpret it, The prophet said t5 am?L.thG dream meant that: v Trejr 8tm11 drlve tnee from men and thy m W-WKS shall be with the 'beasts ot the field; shall make thee to eat grass like ozen. ' Hr ceven times shall pass over thee, until 4$; WPV know that the Most High ruleth in the Bfjijm ot mcn ani Elvel11 1L t0 VY-homsoever same bour was thG th,cS fulfilled upon jjuchadnezzar; and he was driven from aVji and did eat grass as the oxen, and his Kry wa wet with the dew of Heaven, till his Bt ero Srown like eagles' feathers, and his Ja llko birds' claws." "seven times" is understood to mean "' -' BvJIiyear8-" Tho Bible narrative tells us that ' " ?ad of that Period Nebuchadnezzar ro- - Kv V nlB homo strengthened in mind and I KL' rree from arrogant and tyrannical ten- E68 aT,d BTcatly Improved in character. Ki w to GXPlain this occurrence? We v a 'Tnan caanot livQ fr seven years, ty&k Kr mvDy daj"s' 011 what Ia ordInarily called &'(PvBaii a very occurrence may, of course, be Ki on thc Sround that it vas a divine " i - ' ln lhin casc 11 would be niorQ "I'jMi!? ,. 10 8eclt for a natural explanation.' WEL m be Provided if we find that alfalfa W Bh a.rou,ld Babylon. PJBneltory adjacent to the city of Babylon gJ1BifwKhly cultivated alluvial district Irrigated by a splendid system of canals and laterals, mainly planned by and constructed under the personal direction of King Nebuchadnezzar. The plain lying on the western bank of the Euphrates was commonly called "Edin," and Is supposed by many to have been the "Eden" of Genesis. It -was upon this fruitful plain that the Bedouin subjects of Nebuchadnezzar, captured in war, (pastured the flocks and herds of their Babylonian mastors. Here was enacted the drama played Dy the Insane king, one of the greatest and most impressive im-pressive figures In ancient history. I-le had proved himself to bo an exception to the rule that strong men In positions of power must be ruthless also. Invincible in war, undefeated throughout his forty odd years as ruler of a warlike nation, he was yet a peace-loving monarch mon-arch and devoted to the work of beautifying his capital city, improving the agricultural resources re-sources of his country and fortifying both against invasion by neighboring rulers. Twice ho marched on and captured Jerusalem. Tho second time, fiSS B. C, he sacked the city, tore down Solomon's templo and led the Inhabitants In-habitants away to tho last Babylonian captivity. captiv-ity. This act was Inspired by knowledge of the fact that the Jew3 had betrayed him to the in vadlng Egyptians, whom he overthrew . But neither Nebuchadnezzar's greatness as a military genius nor his wisdom as a civil governor gov-ernor would havo kept him alive during his period of insanity if he had not found food r.hat would sustain human life. Tho question naturally arises, therefore, could ho have eaten grass like oxen and still live? In tho light of modern science tho answer to this quostion is "Yes." Here is the explanation: explana-tion: In the year 490 B. C loss than 100- years after tho Babyloninn king is said to have lived and fed with tho beaBts Jn tho field, the Arabs brought into Greece from Persia tho seeds of a plant with which they long had been familiar "Alfalfa." At that time Babylonia had bo-come bo-come a part of the Persian Empire through conquest by Cyrus after tbo'death of Nebuchad nezzar. The Bedouins who fed the Babylonian flocks on the plain of Edin were nomadic, pastoral Arabs who had flocks and henta of their own; bred a strain of horses that has been famous r for three thousand years; roamed from place to place when they were not serving In enforced en-forced captivity; fought when they could find anyone to figb,t with; practised predatory robbery rob-bery and violence and stole everything they could get their hands on. Yet they honored with religious fidelity a code of ethics with respect re-spect to their pledged word that modern peoples peo-ples might copy to their everlasting credit. They were popularly supposed to be descendants descend-ants of Ishinael, son of Hagar, and their proper home was in the northern part of the Arabian peninsula. Southern Arabs were an agricultural, agricul-tural, commercial and Industrial people, living in cities and villages. These so-called Bedouins had known and used alfalfa for centuries before they introduced it into Europe, and they had given to it the name It now bears in this country, the meaning of which is. literally, "tho best fodder." This fact being established, it Is permitted to assume as-sume that alralfa grew abundantly on the irrigated plains 'of Babylon.. Just as it now grows luxuriantly in the irrigated valleys of Central California, in Texas and other Western States. As a matter of fact, it is not only reasonable reasona-ble to suppose such to be the case, but it would be unreasonable to doubt it. The Babylonians Baby-lonians of Nebuchadnezzar's time bad attained at-tained to a high state of civilization, and they were far ahead of all their neighbors in advanced ad-vanced agricultural methods. Thoy had tho best of everything to be found in Western Asia. Is it reasonable to suppose they did not also havo "the best fodder?" If it be trpe that alfalfa grew on the plains of Babylon In tho sixth century before Christ, there Is no element of improbability In the statement that Nebuchadnezzar ate alfalfa "like oxen." for alfalfa alone of all grasses is shown by chomical analysis to contain digestible digesti-ble nutrients in tho proportions required to sustain human llfo. All othor grasses contain so large a percentage of non-digestible fiber and other matter that the digestive organs of man cannot take from them and assimilate a sufficient quantity of nourishment to feed tho body. The analysis may be found in Bulletin No. 95, issued is-sued by the North Dakota Agricultural College, an official publication. The nnalysls differs somewhat from that of other samples made at different times and places, and it is important to note that the protein In the North Dakota sample shows a lower percentage than other samples. An analysis of a sampte of alfalfa hay grown in Wisconsin, for instance, shows 18.17 per cent, of protein, and protein is the tissue-building food element. The North Dakota Da-kota publication gives a comparison between alfalfa hay and wheat bran, the latter being commonly known to be capable of sustaining human life. Hero is the table: (--Digestible Nutrients v Dry Matter Carbo- Ether InlOOLbs. Protein, hydrates. Extract. Alfalfa 91.6 10.4 39.6 1.2 Wheat bran. 88.1 12.2 39.i! 2.7 Further proof of the food value of alfalfa is shown by the fact that alfalfa meal Is now being manufactured In large quantities, not only as food for poultry and domestic animals., but for human consumption as well. At a banquet recently held in Chicago, participated par-ticipated in by former citizens of the State of Kansas, which, b the way, Is the banner alfalfa al-falfa State, tho menu embraced coffee, tea, cake and croutons made from Nebraska alfalfa. al-falfa. Bread, biscuit, breakfast food, candy and syrup also are commercial products made from alfalfa, and alfalfa griddle cakes are said to be extremely palatable. For the purpose of making alfalfa meal tho plant is cut when It has attained a growth of. from eight to twelve days while it Is young and tender. Tho analysis from which the foregoing fore-going figures are taken was of a samplo of alfalfa hay, cut when the plants had begun to blossom, probably after a growth of from thirty to forty days. The percentage of digestible nutrients Is much higher ln tho young plants than in those that reach their full growth. Another significant fact 1b that fully 60 per cent, of the protein is found in the leaves of the plant. The leaf of tho young plant would therefore bo much more nutritious than wheat bran, and people have lived for considerable periods on tho latter. Romcmbering these facts. It seems clear that Nebuchadnezzar, by selecting young plants and eating only tho leaves, could have sustained life very easily. |