Summary: Although the study of nutrition during the last forty years has received considerable attention, there are still fields of the science about which our knowledge is very incomplete. In this country, in particular, there is little information even about the gross chemical composition of our foodstuffs -- a subject which must surely form the basis of any dietry constituents present in foods is of value to anyone concerned with the planning of accurate diets, or the investigation of the nutritional status of a community. It is well known that the figures, even for carbohydrate, protein and fat, compiled by workers in different parts of the world, vary widely. In accurate work it would therefore be incorrect to use such figures which were compiled in another country. This must necessarily occur in New Zealand because at present no complete and systematic analysis of our foods had been made, and hence there are no comprehensive tables. Further-more, there are many native products for which there are neither comparable overseas figures nor any New Zealand analyses of constituents--Introduction.