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THE

PHILOSOPHY OF EATING.

BY

ALBERT

J.

BELLOWS,

M.

D.,

LATE PROFESSOR OF CHEMISTRZ, PHYSIOLOGY, AND HTaiENI.

TWELFTH

EDITION. REVISED AND ENLARGED.

HOCG^HTON, MIFFLIN
1881.

BOSTON: AND COMPANY.

ntncd according to Act of Congress, In the yeat 1870, tff

A. F. Biixows,

to tb0

Offlce of the Librarian of Congress, at

WashingtOB.

BITESaiDZ, OAUBBISSI:
tlOITED BX H.
0.

HOUSHIOH ahv ooufaht.

TO

THE FIVE THOUSAND LADIES

WHO, JEOM
1838 TO 1858,

ATTENDED MY lECTUKES ON PBTSIOIOGY,

CEEMISTET, AND HIGIEKE.

Deab Pbibnss

In the reminiscences of the past twenty-nine years many pleasant interviews at yonr firesides, in social gatherings, on steamboats,

and elsewhere, are

reminded
hygienic,

recalled, in

which some mother or teacher has

me
;

of facts or statements, physiological, chemical, or

ten, twenty, or twenty-five years before, but
still

made

remembered
ers,

and often has the kind suggestion been made, that

treasured in the memory, might be more useful to
if

those teachings, which had been useful to them as mothers or teach-

when only

their children

and pupils

collected and printed.

These kind suggestiona, together with the fact that the application of science to hygiene has been almost utterly neglected, have induced
to

me

to collect

and condense the ideas of my old

lectures, adding

them such as modem improvements in practical science have suggested, and leaving out such as have become obsolete and the
;

volume thus produced I take the liberty

to dedicate to the
it.

Mends

who

will be

most

likely to be interested in

With

sincere regard.

Yours

aflectionately,

A. J.

BELLOWS.

PREFACE TO REVISED EDITION.

SmcE the publication of the previous

the author, during a visit

edition*,,

to England, by the

assistance of the best authorities there, carefully

revised the work,

making many improvements

The Philosophy

and

alterations, particularly in the tables.

He

also decided to unite with "

of Eating " the best of the contents relating to

food, of "

How

not to be Sick," a sequel to the

former work, thus presenting the whole in a much improved, more compact, and cheaper
form.

PREFACE.
We have

excellent practical treatises on Agri-

culture and Horticulture, and every intelligent

farmer or gardener
deficient, in

may

learn

what element

is

order successfully to cultivate his

;

grapes, his vegetables, or his grains

and having and

grains,

also chemical analyses of these fruits

and of the materials from which to obtain his deficient elements, he has the means of adapting his
soil to all

desirable productions.
treatises

We
cattle,

have

also

on raising

horses,

hens, pigs, fishes,

and even bees and

canary birds, but not a single practical treatise

on raising

children.

We

know

perfectly

well that our horses will not, without care in

regard to their food and training, be developed

in beauty, strength, or docility.

be cared

for,

or they furnish

Our cows must little milk. Our

fur-

hens must have appropriate food, or they

nish

no

eggs.

Our bees must have their proper

life

conditions of

and health complied with, or

(3)

PREFACE.
die.

they furnish no honey and

All this everylive,

body knows

but children are expected to

and be perfectly developed, both mentally and

physically, without care or consideration.

And

so

perfectly ignorant

are

people gen-

erally of the laws of nature, that

they give their

pigs the food which their children need to de-

velop muscle and brain, and

give their chilfat.

dren what their pigs need to develop

For

example, the farmer separates from milk the

muscle-making

and brain-feeding nitrates and

phosphates, and gives

them

to his pigs in the

form of buttermilk, while the fattening carbonates he gives to his children in butter.

He

sifts

out the bran and outer crust from the wheat,

which contains the nitrates and phosphates, and

gives

them

also to his pigs

and

cattle,

while the
car-

fine flour, containing little else

than heating

bonates, he gives to his children.

Cheese, which
is

contains the concentrated nutriment of milk,

seldom seen on our

tables, while butter,

which

contains not a particle of food for brain or mufecle, is

on every table at

all

times of day.

To supply

this deficiency in practical science,

and to correct these erroneous and dangerous

habits of society,
is

the object of this treatise.

A.
J.

B.

CONTENTS.
PASB 390 321 417
305
69, 216, 2L8, 266, 268
75,

Apoplexy
Apples
Appetite
Allspice

Alcohol

Anim al Food
.

...

378

Acidulous Drinks Analysis of Food

Acids

Aromatic Drinks Active Animals take Phosphorus

Active Children
Agassiz on Fish Diet Barley

.... ....

236, 247
.

24,49,68,120,123
236, 247

....
.

214
93

83, 85

Banting Bread-making Bread Beans and Peas Buckwheat Brain Phosphorus in

314 104 362, 410 . . . 36, 45 43 58, 105, 121, 123, 330 121, 123
86
30, 31, 133,

it

Butter

134

Beef Blood
Beets

How to purify
. .

it

110,123 152,386
74

Beer

214

Classification of

Food
for

16,

132 137

Corn Cold Weather Food ChUdren Food for

50, 103, 121, 123

89,143,149

Coffee

Cocoa

....

....

209, 213
.

Chocolate

214 214

VI

CONTENTS.
, . . . .
. .

Carrots

TS,
,

PAGE 122 303 305 367

Cloves

Capsicum
Climate

Adaptation of Food to

.
.

. .

Cheese
Cooking, etc

121 243 214

1

Cider

Cabbage, Cauliflower

23

Cucumbers
City Hospital
Cassia

123 269
303 302

Cinnamon
Clams Condiments
Corpulence

124
for

Cxae

Dust of the Ground

Distilled Spirits

299 405
its

Elements

9
234, 235

Diet in Sickness Diet in Hospitals

253, 269, 272

259-264
370
361

Dyspepsia

Diseases cured by Diet

Digestion

374
. .

Elements of Food in all Living Things Economy of eating Natural Food Eatiag slowly, important

.......
_ '

Eggs
Eels

Eating
Fishes

How
'

126 343 422 124 123

to enjoy it

30
41
78,

French Bread-making
Farina Fermentation

124 49
261

Fine Flour injurious

Fruits

34, 35, 135, 271

Farmers

Food
Food

Variety necessary
for

How degenerated
. .

321

326
.
.

...

337 134

Fat Meats

Hard Workers

136, 323 211, 292, 296

Flavor important

CONTENTS.
Food
for

vii

rAGE

Old People

.142
804
,

Ginger Greenland

Gout its Cause and Cure Haddock, Herring, Halibut Hernia cured by Diet
Heart, Diseases of

Food in

358
307

.123
8G2 400
259 151

How cured
.

Hospitals

........

Impure Blood Kingbird

83
.

Lean Meat

133

Lamb
Laboring

Men

Food

123
for

823 280 129

59, 121, 123
.

Laws of
Lobster
Lentils

Nutrition

Leanness

How cured

414
286, 287
9

From the Dust of the Ground Mothers sacrifice their Children Meats Mental Health depends on Diet Muscle-making Elements Muscular Power Milk Mutton
. .
.

Man Man

before and after the Fall

351, 398
75, 110, 122, 123,

330

80, 87
. .
. .

100, 117

93, 126,
98, 109, 110,

337
123
66

HI, 123
284 304
54, 104, 120, 123

Moss
Natural Food

Nutmeg

....
*.
.

Oats Organized Elements only accepted

Oysters

156 129
^>'
. .
.

Onions Phosphates in Food promote Vital Action

Parents

Responsibility of

318 347-349
167, 168 158, 166

Peas Preadamite Preparations

Poisons
Prize-fighters

58, 121, 123

-.10,

323

Viu
Precocious Children

CONTENTS.
PASS
.

89
73

Parsnips

Pepper Phosphorus and Phosphates Pork

Bations for Soldiers, etc

Kye
Reptiles
.
.

Rice

305 16, 18, 38 76, 78, 123 Ill, 112, 115 49, 121, 123 . 128 . 55, 121, 123
.

Sago
Sedentary People

Summer

Food

Food

65
for

for

352 367
68

Sugar Searweed
Starch
.

65
61

Soups
Salt

245
296
29

Superfine Flour

Southern
Sick

Com
to be

60,108,120,123
113
277 313 394
64
73,

State Prison

made pleasant Thinking men Food for Teeth, as affected by Food

Room

Tapioca Turnips

108

Tea Tape-worm
Turtle

281, 205, 212

282

Tables of Analyses Vegetable Food

Effects of
for

128 120-124
.

79
82, 48, 120,

Wheat

Winter^Food
Water Wines

123 357

167, 183

.233

THE

PHILOSOPHY OF EATOTG,
The Human Body
" And the Lord

Its

Wants and Resources.

of the dust of the ground."

God formed man

This statement, incomprehensible

as
it

is,

is

to the human mind most beautifully confirmed by chemical

least
it is

analysis.

At

proved, that the elements of the

soil,

human system and

the elements of the

taken anyto

where on the surface of the earth, from the equator

the poles, are identical
;

and

it is

also

proved that the

" grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit-tree yield-

ing fruit after his kind," which the earth brought forth
before

man was made,

to

all

are

endowed with power

to
fit

lake from the soil these elements, one by one, and

them
the

be received and appropriated directly to the

supply of the

human

system, or indirectly accomplish

first

same purpose by being

appropriated by the
air,"

" beast of the field

and the fowl of the

and then

in their flesh to furnish these necessary elements to

man.
not
that

Geological evidence

is

conclusive that

man was
(9)

made

tUl this

whole arrangement was perfected, so


10

THE PBEADAMTTE EARTH.

live,

wherever he chooses to

in Africa or Greenland,

he finds at hand food adapted to his wants in the cliimate

in

which he

finds himself.

But when we attempt

to

trace the process

tiful

by which this complicated and beauarrangement was made for man, we are lost in

wonder and admiration.

constitute the great
all

The mineral elements, which

solid rock,

mass of the surface of the earth,

from

came

originally

and must have

been produced by

the slow process of disintegration,

by

which, by the action of heat, cold, and water, particle

by

particle

it

accumulated, age after age,

till

the great

mass was formed which should afterwards become the

place of deposit for water, salt, coal, &c., which

man

must have, and which

system.

also furnishes the fourteen differ-

ent minerals which were to

make a

part of the

human

And
to

then ages of time more must have been required

produce the organic elements, which were formed by

the growth and decay of plants and trees, which

grew
soil

one after another, as the appropriate elements of

were accumulated, and gave way

fect vegetation,
till

in turn for

more perwhole

organic elements had accumulated

in sufficient quantity to supply the surface of the

earth with all that should be needed for the composition

and repair of the human system.

Then

other ages

still

were required to

float these

crudely mixed elements over the face of the earth, and

80 intimately

mix them

that

some portion of every

ele-

ment necessary should be

the face of the earth.

ft^und in every foot of soU on

PREPARATION OF THE EARTH FOR MAN.

11
fitted

And

after all this preparation the

till

world was not

for naan

ages more of time were consumed in raising

the hUls and the mountains, so that the ocean misht

be formed and dry land appear, and mists, condensed

into rain

and dews, be collected

in brooks

and

rivers,

to carry the waters back to the ocean, to be

again

evaporated, and a supply be insured, and the atmos-

phere prepared with

nitrogen.

its

due proportion of oxygen and

the fourteen necessary ele-

And when
and laws

all

ments were prepared in the water, and the atmosphere,

and the

soil,

instituted Ijy

which they should be

forever at his

command and
;

forever perpetuated, then

fail to

man was made

and then, that he might never

be supplied with everything he should need,

God gave

him "dominion over

fowl of the
air,

the fish of the sea, and over the

and over every living thing that moveth

face of all the earth, and every tree
all

upon the
which
in
is

earth," which, with " every herb bearing seed

upon the
is

which

the fruit of a tree yielding seed," should

contain the necessary elements, so that any one of them

would sustain

life.

Having thus

bountifully provided for every contin-

gency of climate or circumstance, he gave man a test by which he could select that which would be appropriate

and

reject that

which would be injurious

that

article

which contained the proper elements rightly organized and adapted to his condition at any time,

the appetite would

demand and

the palate and stomach

;

receive gratefully and pleasantly

while that which was

had^afterwards ;not organized according to this plan, or

12

THE TASTE A GUARDIAN OF THE SYSTEM.

become disorganized, or contained the wrong elements,

or the

right

elements in wrong proportions, should

offend the taste, and be rejected with disgust; or, if

forced into the stomach, should cause an excitement,
efforts to

by

get rid of

it,

which would be more or

lesa

poisonous or injurious according to the degree of

harm

which

it

was adapted

to

do the system.

For example,
it is

sugar contains important elements rightly organized to

supply the system with requisite heat, and

to the healthy palate,

pleasant

and gratefully received

in proper

quantities by the stonjach when needed; but alcohol,

which

is

sugar decomposed, and which contains the

in the

same elements

same proportions,
and
if

is

offensive

to the natural taste,

forced on the stomach,

is

produces an immediate excitement, which

injuri-

ous and poisonous to the organs engaged in the effort

to resist
it.

Fish, which was prepared with

all

the elements rightly

organized, and in right proportions to be appropriate

food,
is

pleasant to the taste

when properly cooked,

;

and

is

gratefnlly received

and quickly digested

but

being exposed to a hot sun for a single hour, and disorganization or decomposition commencing,
disgusting and poisonous.
it

becomes

Phosphorus, which
the brain, c&c,

is

valuable and necessary food for

in fish, or peas, or oat;

when organized

meal, &c.

is,

when once
there

disorganized, a virulent poison

as in ethics,

and thus in physiology

"in keeping the

commandments

is

great reward."
is

To obey
and

the
the

simple laws of our being

to enjoy eating,

THE SCIENCE OF EATING.

health, vigor,

13

and happiness which come from the approand

faculties
;

priate exercise of all om- functions

to seek to

while

enhance our enjoyment by unnatural combina-

tions of food is to clog the appetite, to lose all real

enjoyment in eating, and to burden the system with

untold miseries, to be suflfered through
ted to children " to the third
life

and transmit-

and fourth generation."

important, as
it is

If
to be,

science in

farming

is

proved

m,ay not science in eating he m,ore important ?

scientific
it

The

farmer analyzes his

contains
;

soil,

and ascertains

what elements

then analyzes his grains and

vegetables, and ascertains wliat elements they require

then analyzes the different manures and composts, and

ascertains which contains, in the best combination, the

elements to be supplied.

This gives him an immense

advantage over the unscientific farmer, who, not knowing the requirements of his
soil,

wastes his compost by

using

many

materials not necessary,

and too large a

supply of elements that m5,y be necessary, while

important elements will be omitted altogether.

many

I propose, upon the same principles, to give an analysis

of the

human

system,

show the

elements

it

con-

tains,

and the necessity

for their constant supply,

and
farmer

then to give an analysis of the food which Nature has

furnished for the supply of these necessities
it
;

and I think

can be readily proved that as the

scientific

has advantages in point of economy, the

scientific eater

vastly !ias not, only advantages in economy of living, but hapand health greater advantages in the enjoyment of
piness.

And

as a matter of

economy,

it

can be shown

14

THE ELEMENTS OF THE HUMAN BODY.

more than half the expense of
expense of guano would

that in all our large cities

food

is lost

by want

of adjustment of the proportions of

requisite elements, just as all the

be

lost

on the land already supplied with phosphorus and

ammonia.

Chemical Composition of the

Hnman

Body.
ele-

The human body

ments,
all

is

composed of the following

and

of which are found also in the food provided

in air or water,
all

by nature, or

must be supplied,
:

day by day, or some bad

results are sure to follow

Oxygen, a gas, in quantity sufficient to occupy lb. .111 . a space equal to 750 cubic feet, Hydrogen, a gas, in quantity sufficient to occupy
. .

oz.

gr.

3000

feet,

which, with oxygen, constitutes

water, the weight of the two indicating nearly

the necessary

Carbon, constituting
to create

amount of water, fat, and used

....

14 21

also for fuel

animal heat,
sup-

Nitrogen, which constitutes the basis of the

muscles and solid tissues, and which

plied

is

by that part of food which we shaU

3
vitality,

denominate Nitrates,
Phosphorus, the physical source of

and

the most important of the mineral elements,

wUl represent

the whole class which

we

shall
1
is

denominate the Phosphates,

Calcium, the metallic base of lime, which
the base of bones,
Fluorine, found combined in small quantities in

12 190

bones,
Sulphur,

20 02
2 210

.w

COMBINATION OF ELEMENTS IN THE SYSTEM.

Chlorine, constituting, with sodium,
salt,

15

common
2
.

found in the blood,

.

47

Sodium, the base of all the salts of soda, Iron, which is supposed to give color
blood,

2 116

to the

100
all

Potassium, the base of

siau salts,

the salts of potash,

290
12
2

Magnesium, the base of magnesia and magne-

...
which
is

Silicon, the base of silex,

found in the

hair, teeth,

and

nails,

The elements

of a

man weighing

....
Human

154

lbs.

Proximate Principles in
1.

tlie

Body.
lb.

Water, composed of oxygen and hydrogen

gases, as in the preceding table of ulti-

oz.

gr.

2. Gelatine,

3.

4.

Ill mate elements, of which the walls of the cells and many tissues of the body are composed, .15 12 Fat, which constitutes the adipose tissue, Phosphate of Lime, forming the principal
.

5.

part of the earthy matter of the bones, Carbonate of Lime, also a part of the com.

5 13

position of bone,
6.

Albumen, found
every organ,

in the blood

and

in almost

7. Fibrin,

forming the muscles and the

clot

of

the blood,
8.

Fluoride of Calcium, found in the bones, found in the brain"

.030
400
100
.,

10 43 44

9.

Phosphate of Soda,
Phosphate of Potash

and nerves, and constituting the physical

10.

elements of

vitality
.

or vital energy,

WASTE AND SUPPLY.

17

being a combination principally with lime to form the

bones, and the soluble being combinations with potash

and soda, and as

to

work the brain and nerves

but our

analyses as yet are too imperfect to allow a subdivision,

all

the mineral elements are

all reside

more or

less

com-

bined with each other, and

together in arti-

des of food, we

shall

include all mineral elements

under the term Phosphates.

The
as

waste, and consequently the supply, of these

is

three classes of elements,

very different, four times

much carbonaceous

food being required as nitroge-

nous, and of the phosphates not more than two per

cent, of the carbonates.

Altogether, the waste of these

principles will

average in a

man

of moderate

size,*

with moderate heat, more than one pound in a day,

varying very
cise

much
all

according to the amount of exerin

and the temperature

which he

lives.

These

elements must

be supplied in vegetable or animal

food, not one being allowed to

become a part of the

organized with other

system unless

it

has been

first

elements of food, in some vegetable, or in water, or the

atmosphere

but being appropriated by some animal,

remain organized and adapted to the human system,

BO that animal

and vegetable food contain the same

and are equally adapted

elements in the same proportions and nearly the same

uhemical combinations,

to

supply

all

necessary elements.
* Of
solid matter.

18

THE CLASSES OF FOOD.

The Carbonates
furnished in
are \-ci^
. .

In Animal Food,

<

J 1

Albumen,

The

Nitrates in

I Fibrin, and

J Casein.
Sugar,

} Starch,
In Vegetable Food, <
a
little

and
Fat.

Gluten,

} Albumen,
and Casein.

The Phosphates,

in both animal

and vegetable food,

none

are found inseparably connected with the nitrates,

being found in any of the carbonates, and generally in

the proportion of from two to three per cent, of
all

the principles in vegetable, and from three to five in

animal food.

The Carbonates of both animal and vegetable food

are chemically alike

fat,

sugar, and starch,

all

being

composed of carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen, and in

about the
tions.

same chemical combinations and proporalso

The
ments,

Nitrates,

Albumen, Gluten, Fibrin, and

combinations and elenitrogen,

Casein, are

alike in chemical

being

composed
little

of

oxygen,

and

hydrogen, and a

carbon not digestible.

EACH OEGAN SELECTS

ITS

OWN

FOOD.

19

Tlie

Wants of the Unman System, and

for them.

the Reason

In the foregoing tables are found fourteen

elements of which the

different

human system

is

composed, not

one of which

is

permanently fixed in the system, but

it

each, after performing the duties assigned

shorter or longer,
duties,

for a time,

according to the nature of those

becomes

effete,

and gives place

to other particles

of the same elements, which must be supplied in food.

Each organ

requires different elements, and has the power of taking such as are required from the mass of

elements circulated together in the blood, and of reject-

ing

all

other elements
all

and while these fourteen

ele-

ments,

having been organized in some plant or

vegetable, are supplied as they are wanted, peace and

harmony
enjoyed
tion
;

prevail in the system,

and perfect health

ia

but let any other elements enter the circulais

and an excitement
effort to

produced, and each organ

makes an

reject

them.
is
is

Take

alcohol,

for

example, and the stomach

first

excited and heated

by efforts to expel
or
kidneys, and

it.

It

then thrown into the

circulation so as to be expelled

by

the lungs, or skin,

the whole system becomes excited,

especially the brain, in efforts to eject this

all its

enemy

to

functions.
all

Phosphorus, iron, and

stances,

other disorganized sub-

whether elements of the

human system
or less

or

not, are thus rejected with

more

excitement,

20

DIS0E6ANIZKD ELEMENTS AEE EEJEOTED.

according to their capacity for harming the system

and thus can be clearly read the lessons of nature,

teaching us to keep

out

of the

stomach and lunga

everything but these fourteen elements, and to admit

them only as they

articles

ire

organized and prepared as in

in

of natural food

Nature's

laboratory

the

Vegetable World.
in very diflFerent

But

these

elements

are required

amounts, according to the amount of

exercise of the different faculties

and the temperature

live.

of the atmosphere in which

we

And

here

we have
is

the foundation

for a scientific
life.

adaptation of food to our different employments in

The man who

zero,

chopping wood in an atmosphere

sits

at

and he who

stUl, or

uses only his brain, in

a room at 'the temperature of seventy degrees, con-

sume very
tions,

different elements in

very different propor-

and therefore require

different elements of food.

The one needs

other needs

the muscle-producing nitrogenate ele;

ments and the heat-producing carbonates

very few nitrogenates,

while the

and only cirbo-

nates enough to supply the breathing operations with

fuel
;

but he needs more of the phosphates to keep the

brain in working order, and

that nature

we

shall find

on inquiry

has furnished food just adapted to these

life,

and other conditions of

and

shall find also that,

following these suggestions of nature,

we

shall

obtain

a rich reward, both in the enjoyment of healtli

the

and

in

enjoyment of eating.

HOW THE ELEMENTS ARE

SUPPLIED.

21

Resources for Supplying the Wants of the

System.

Human

The

soil

on the surface of the whole earth constitutes

reservoir of crude

the great

elements of the

human

body, and
terials

man

is

kept alive as he was made by ma-

obtained from "the dust of the ground," but,

as has already

been intimated, these elements cannot

of the system
till

be

made

to enter the composition

they are organized

or,

being organized, are eaten

their organization,

by some animal, and retaining

adapted
still,

are

in the flesh of the animal, to supply the

demand
all

of the

human

system.
effete,

These elements, becoming

are excreted from

animals that eat them, and, being then decomposed,

soil,

enter again into the

to be reorganized in other
instituted,

vegetables

and thus, since these laws were

lost

no elements have been

it

and none created

to

indeed,
an

is

no more

in the

power of man

annihilate

element of matter than to create one.

ganize elements,

He

can disor-

as he does in converting sugar into

alcohol, but he only produces carbonic acid gas, &c.,

which

are again taken

up and reorganized
;

in

some

vegetable, and are reconverted into sugar

thus entering

again their natural circle to go their perpetual rounds.

Every crop of corn, or potatoes,

tables deprives the
soil

or grass, or vege-

of

all

the elements of which

if

these crops are composed, and,

carried off

and

sold,

impoverishes the

soil proportionately.

This the farmers

underptand, and are therefore careful to supply, with

22

LAWS OF AKIMAL

LIFE.

the natural excretions of

animals, the elements thua

removed, or with decomposed animal, vegetable, and

mineral substances containing them
this
is
;

and, so perfect has

it

knowledge of agricultural chemistry become, that

just

known

what elements are needed

after each crop,

and just how these elements can be supplied

use only organized elements
nature.
It is

vege-

tables using only disorganized elements, while animals

beautiful provision of

known

also

what food and management

and make them subserve

will best develop our animals,

our interests.
Scientific

laws are applied also to the care of our

beautiful, strong, swift, healthy,

horses, to

make them
;

and docile

and

to our cattle,

and

pigs,

and hens, to

enable them to furnish us with their invaluable contributions to the necessaries and luxuries of
life
;

and our
on

farmers
to

know

just

what food

to give

them

in order best

develop these resources.

We- have

also books

bees and canary birds, teaching what they must have and

what they must not have

our children, without

in order to be healthy.
all

But

whom

these other blessings

would be of

little

value, are left to die, or

grow up

if

they are sufficiently tough, without the application of

science,
ture.

or even

common

sense, to their care or cul-

What two
much

mothers can be found to agree iu

regard to the diet or regimen of their children ?

studies as
to learn

Who
how to we not
them

how

to feed himself as

feed his cattle, or even his pet

better then they?

dog ?

But

are

Did God give laws

and our

for feeding

and no law^

for feeding us

c!:.ildren ?

THE ORIGIN OF WHEAT.

23

Wheat its
The

Origin and Chemical Composition.

plant producing wheat belongs to the order of Grasses, and undoubtedly came originally from some
grass

whose seeds are

so

unhke the grains of wheat,

as

developed after centuries of cultivation, as not now to be recognized. It is not found wild in any part of the
world,

but Hke the

other grains,

and

roots,
fruits,

and
has

leguminous and succulent vegetables and

been changed from the " herb of the

the
fall,

field,"

which, after

was the

basis, or

emblem
;

at least, of all the

resources that were left to

man

so that almost literally,

his

from the "herb of the

field,"

by the sweat of

brow,
all
is

he has obtained not only his necessary food, but

the choicest luxuries which he
the

now
it is

enjoys.

Wheat
all

most extensively cultivated and the most generally

;

used of any of the grains

world, but
it

indeed,

grown

over the

flourishes best

between the parallels of

twenty-five and sixty degrees of latitude.

The

varieties

of wheat are very great, over four hundred being described

by the French Academy of Arts and Sciences, and i* furnishes the principal food of more people than any other
grain.

Of

these varieties

some have sharp awns

or

beards, and
red,

some

are beardless.

The

grains of

some are

some brown, and some

white.

Some

contain more

carbonaceous elements, and are therefore better adapted

to the

supply of heat than others.

Some have more

phosphates,

nitrogenous materials, and therefore are better adapted

to give

muscular power.

Some have more

and therefore give more mental and nervous energy.

24

ANALYSIS OF WHEAT.
distribution of these elements

But the average

more

nearly corresponds with the requirements of the

human

system, under ordinary circumstances, than any other

grain
;

and

life

and health can be continued on wheat

by

alone for an indefinite period, with good water and

good

air.

Wheat

will,

therefore, be the standard

articles of food.

which to compare other

Analysis of Wheat.
The Water,
Gluten,
a/verage Comiposition of one

hundred Farts.
14.0

14.0'

Watei-,
Nitrates, or musclemal:er,

12.8
1.8

Albiuuen,
Starch,

.......

14.t6

59.7
5.5 1.7 1.2 1.7
1.6,
J-

Carbonates, or beat

Sugar,

and fat-producers,
Phosphates, or food
for brains, nerves,

69.8

Gum,
Fat,
Fibre,

&c

1.6

Minerals,

These principles are made

trp

of the fourteen ele-

ments which constitute the human system, and the

proportion of the muscle-making, the heat-producing,

and brain and nerve-feeding elements, are about the

average proportions required,
in

moderate weather,

with moderate exercise of physical and mental faculties.

But the
in all

distribution

of these elements
;

is

not

equal
is

parts of the grain

and

this,

we

shall see,

very important to be understood, as ignorance of this

fact has led to the sacrifice of the

most important

ele-

ments.

This we can understand hj reference to the

following

wood

cuts

Fig. 1 being the natural size of

MCSCLE-MAKINGt F0OI> LOST FROM FLOUE.

25

wheat, and Fig. 2 being magnified to three or foiu

diameters.
Fiff. 1.

Fig.

2.

Flg.5.

/"
Sgutheni Com.
Flint Corn.

a. Nitrates,
h.
c.

or Musck-naakers.

Carbamates, or Heat or Fat-producers. Phosphates, or Food for Brains and Nerves.

to

These drawings are intended

show the

positiou

and the
ciples

relative quantity of the three important prin-

the muscle-makers, occupying or constituting

a crust around the outside of the grain, being from

twelve to fifteen per cent, of the whole grain
or fat-producers,
;

the heal

occupying the centre,

;

being from

sixty to seventy per cent.

and the food

chit or

for the brains

and nerves, occupying the and a half to three per

ciples are not,

germ, being from one

limits of these prin-

cent.

The

however, as circumscribed in the grain

cent, of nitrates

as appears

by the drawing, a small per mixed with the

being mixed with the carbonates, and a part of the

[tbosphates being
nitrates
;

indeed, the
is

phosphate of lime, which goes to form bones,

almost

aU mixed with the

ble phosphates,

nitrates in the crust

while the solu-

which feed the brain and give mental

vigor, are mostly found in the

germ

and

this arrange-

26

BEAIN FOOD LOST FEOM FLOXJE.

is

ment

found to exist in

all

the grains

and

all

the seeds

seed showing same organization cut of wheat, smaller

of grasses,
the smallest the the

under the microscope

as that exhibited in the

seeds, however, containing

much
The

larger proportions of the nitrates

and phosphates,

being intended for the support of birds of great activity.

practical importance of understanding this arrange-

ment will be

better understood

by reference

to a

drawing

of the transverse section of a grain of wheat magnified

to eighteen diameters

from the section in Fig.

Kg.
6.

1.

To
and
it

undv'/rstand

how

large a part of the phosphates

nitrates is lost in bolting to

make

superfine flour,

will be necessary to explain that gluten,

which

is

the

principal nitrogenous element in wheat, is tenacious or

adhesive
is

while the starch, the carbonaceous element,

;

globular and crumbly

the consequence
is

is,

that in

grinding, the glutinous crust

is sifted

separated in flakes, and

entirely

out, leaving the flour

composed almost

of starch, which contains no food for brain or muscle.

IMPOETANCE OF SUPPLYING LOST ELEMENTS.

27

The

outer layers of the wheat, constituting twelve or

fourteen per cent, of the whole grain, which are repre-

sented by the darkened lines, a, in the plates, contain a large part of

all

the muscle-making elements of the

it is

wheat
the
is

and, being adhesive,

easily separated

from

more crumbly

particles of the starch below,

which

represented by the white part within the outer lines,

it is

b; consequently,
bolting,

separated from
it

it

in grinding

and

and much of

is

lost

with the bran.

The
c,

germ

also,

which contains, with the gluten, the soluble

is

phosphates, which
in the drawing,
off
is

represented by the darker lines,

also tenacious,

and much of
or

it

goes

with the bran.

The

insoluble

bone-making
is

phosphorus,
lost.

being mixed with the nitrates,

also

Nothing, therefore, can be more clearly proved

flour,

than that in using perfectly white, superfine

sacrifice

we

the most important elements

of the wheat
is

merely to please the eye.

flour
all

And

yet this

the kind of

which probably makes more than nine tenths of

bread in American
cities,

the

besides the large

amount used
out of which

for cakes, puddings,

and pastry.

The farmer knows

is

that wheat will not

grow

in soil

taken any of the essential elements that

;

constitute that grain

and he

either supplies these ele-

ments, or he makes no attempt to raise wheat.

Yet

how many

of our citizens are attempting to raise chil-

dren on superfine flour, and butter, and sugar, neither

of which contains food for the muscles, or bones, or
brains,
sufficient

to

keep these organs from actual

starvation

28

THE EVILS OF EATESG DEFECTIVE FOOD.

also

Every one
,a

who keeps

fowls knows, that to get

supply of eggs, and raise chickens, hens must be

supplied with other food than Indian corn meal, which

contains too

many

of the carbonates, or fattening ele-

ments, and too few of the phosphates and nitrates, to supply the shells of the eggs or muscles of the future
chick.

They

are therefore fed with ground. bones and

egg-shells for the one,

and meat or

insects for the other

purpose.
ers,

But how many expectant and nursing mothflour bread,

not knowing or considering their responsibilities,

live

on superfine

and

butter,

and puddings,

and sweet sauce, and cakes, and confectionery, which

contain
little

else

than the three articles of food before

mentioned, and in which are only found the carbonates,

or fat and heat-producing elements, and only very
little
I

of food for the muscles and tissues, or bones, or brain

The

results are inevitable.

One

half of the children

die before they are five years old,

and many before that

If they live to
to their

age have, for the want of the phosphate of lime, defective teeth

and

soft

and rickety bones.

grow up under the same disregard

tissues

natural

requirements, their muscles are poorly developed, their

are weals,

and susceptible

to disease for the

;

want of the nitrogenous elements of food

and
brains, for the

their bonea,

and nerves are weak, and subject to disease

;

want of the phosphates

and ready

whUe, by over feeding

with the carbonates, the whole system is heated and

excited,
to be inflamed

by the

first

spark of

disease

and the inevitable

results are inflammations,

fevers, neuralgic pains, consumptions, defective teeth,


CABBONACEOUS FOOD.
reactive exhaustion, chlorotic weaknesses,

29

and

diseases

and pains innumerable.

It

seems to

me

that the arch fiend,

as " walking about seeking

whom

who is represented he may devour," has

never devised a more effectual plan for tormenting and devouring the human race than this.

The

penalties for the breach of Nature's laws are

always severe in proportion to the importance of the purposes to be subserved by them, and they must
follow the transgression as effect must follow the cause.

No

punishments than those mentioned above could be expected to follow the utter disregard for that
less severe

wonderful arrangement by which ia a single grain of

wheat could be supplied

the growth or support of

all
all

the elements necessary for the organs and functions

an arrangement which even

effect

Infinite

Wisdom

could not

but by a process that required countless ages of

time.

To

these penalties

we

shall

have occasion to

refer again

when

treating of diet for the sick.

Batter, 8n:ar,

and Saperfiue

floor.

The only
upon
this

articles, the

common

use of which brings

community the

terrible evils to

which I have

referred, are fine white flour, butter,

articles,

and sugar.

These

made up

'almost entirely as they are of heat-

producing nourishment, are wholesome and necessary

food to the extent of more than three fourths of
all

our

solid nutriment, that great proportion of the carbonates

being required to supply fuel and

fat

but they contain

60 few of the elements that support the muscles and

30
solid tissues,

HOW TO ENJOY

EATING.
vital

and so few that give us

power, that
life

either alone, or all three

combined, could sustain

only for a very limited period

probably
and

not two

months.

These three important elements of food are

found in abundance combined with the other important elements which the system requires,
in

many

they are found combined in just the proportion re-

quired; indeed, in

all

food in such proportions as to

adapt them to the different temperatures and circumstances in which

we may be placed

so that

no necessity, or even apology, for separating

has thus joined together.
Starch, of which fine white flour
is is

we have what God

mostly composed,

found in the entire grain of wheat, and in

grains

many

other

and leguminous seeds, combined with

muscle-making and brain-sustaining elements, in just

the right proportions.

Butter

is

found in milk, also combined with

in

all

other

necessary elements

exactly the right proportions

and sugar
that

in vegetables
for,

and

fruits

and,
in,

it is

a fact
these

our relish

and enjoyment

eating

different combinations of necessary food are in exact

proportion to their

adaptedness to our wants at the

time

we

take them.

But
should

for the perversion

of oui

appetites,

caused by eating these three articles in nu

unnatural state,

we
and
best

always desire most wbiit

all

we most
of

need,

could always eat

like.

we want
after

what
have

we

And,

even
find,

our

tastes

become

pnrverted,
that

we
the

on giving

attention

to this

subject,

more nearly we

HOW TO ADAPT FOOD

conform
of
food,
to

TO THE

AV

BATHER.
the

HI

Nature's

requirements

in

selection
eatall

the

more we enjoy the pleasures of

bg;

so that in the pleasures of the table, as in

other pleasures, they enjoy the least

iously inquire,

"Who
who

will

who most anxshow us any good?" while

they enjoy most

of duty.

only expect pleasure in the lino

We
and
eat,

all

instinctively

desire,

also,

more of these

heat-produding articles in cold weather than in warm,

without considering the reasons for doing so,
of the fats of animals, and Butter, and

much more
mer
and

buckwheat-cakes, with sirup, in winter than in sum;

as spring opens

we begin
fruits,

to desire cooling
this desire in-

green vegetables and acid

creases
till

and

in very

warm
is

weather we loathe the food we

;

most esteemed in winter

and

if

our appetites

fail in

warm weather
in

it

because our housekeepers persist

fat

supplying us with the same

meats and the same

farinaceous puddings, with sauce of butter and sugar,

which were

furnished

in

winter.

Let

our

house-

keepers just keep in

mind
to

the fact that these articles

only stand in the

inclinations
tliat

way

of gratifying our tastes and

food,
is

in

regard

and they

will

find

the

science of cooking

very simple, and the

for.

wants of a family are very easily provided

But
arti-

we need not abandon

cles entirely.

either of these perverted

Let us only consider how

to correct

the errors into which

creatures of

we have

fallen,

and use "all the

to be de-

God

which are good and not

spised," so as to

make them

contribute to our health

32

THE MODE OF ANALYZING GRAINS.

and happiness.
wheat
is

Of

this

perverted trio of good things

the most important, because most extensively

used, and by far the most valuable.

Microscopic Analysis of Wheat.

Fig.
7.

a.

The

outer coat,

or

true

bran,
iron,

consilica,

taining

and some other elements required in the

human
in

system,

and
but

not found elsewhere

the

wheat,

Magniflea 160 diameters.

composed mostly of indigestible woody fibre, which is also

in

useful as waste to keep the bowels

action
3.5.)

even

the

outer bran should therefore be saved,

h.

(page

Grluten cells, surrounded

by

diffused gluten

and bound

by

it

to the true bran, so that in sifting or bolting a large

is lost.

portion

ments reside

the muscle-making eleand also the phosphates of lime and soda, of which bones are made the most of which are lost in fine white flour. c. Cells forming the central mass of the wheat, composed mostly of starch, with a little albumen and gluten intermixed, and also some of the phosphates connected with the gluten.
all

Nine tenths of

in this coat or crust,

Starch, though a valuable element of food, and thd

principal element in vegetable food to keep
heat,
is

up animal

so perfectly destitute of the essential element

for sustaining life, that living

on that alone, as proved

by experiment, any animal will die in thirty days.

'

DIFPEEENT METHODS OF ANALYSIS.

33

glance at this plate will enable any one to understand

and believe the estimate of M^ge Mouries

that there are fourteen times as

to

be true,

much

of the phosphates

and

nitrates " in
;

commercial bran as in commercial superthis

fine flour

"

and

important fact
:

is

proved by three

separate and distinct calculations

by M^ge

Mourids

by chemical analysis of the bran and flour by Dr. A. A. Hayes, of Boston, who first suggested
jf France,
the idea of applying tests to the whole grain, showing

the arrangements of elements as delineated in Fig. 2,*

and other
carefully

plates, the

truth of wliich statements I have

tested,

as

have

other chemists

and Mr.

Thomas
copist

J.

of great assiduity
years
in

Hand, of New York, an amateur microsand skill, who has spent

microscopic
observations

many
and
to

on wheat,

whom

am
7,

indebted for the original drawings

of plates 6 and

and

also for

many

other facte

and observations,
stated.

fully

substantiating the facts abovs

cleai

There can be, therefore, no proof more

is

^nd positive than that superfine white flour

deprived

of a large portion of the most important elements of

food.

Bread-Making.

The most important use of wheat making. For this purpose, on many
l)etter

is

for

breadit is

accounts,
is

than any other grain, and being better,

more

fjxtensively used in every civilized country.

As

bread

is

the staff of
is

life,

wheat, of which

it

is

most extensively made,

called the " queen of cereals

* Appendix A. page 343.

34

BREAD-MAKING.

and though by producing sickness, and suffering, and

death,

her reign

is

one of terror, especially in

it

this

country and in Europe,

dethrone her
;

would not be desirable

to

but

it

would be desirable to inaugurate

such a change as to make her reign a reign of mercy.

The

necessity and importance of a change in regard to

the use of white bread can be understood

by

consider-

ing a few facts.

It
ill

is

estimated that*ninety-five per cent, of bread used

is

Boston

made

of wheat flour, out of which has been

all

taken,

by the process of grinding and bolting,

five

but
life-

about

per cent, of

its

muscle-making and

supporting elements, so that fifteen barrels are required

to furnish as

many

of these elements as one barrel of

unbolted wheat meal.

This will

be
split

fully

compre-

hended by reference to the grain of

under a microscope. Fig.
nitrates,
6,

wheat, drawn

and the proportions of

and carbonates, and phosphates, delineated

by

different colored lines in plates oi a previous page.

Carbonates white, nitrates in lines, and phosphates in

darker lines.
separable

The

nitrates

and phosphates

are

in-

by mechanical means, being bound together

it

by gluten, of which
carbonates,

is

mostly composed, while the

being mostly starch,

is

which

is

granular,

and loosely adherent,

tinous crust

easily separated

from the glu-

by the process of grinding and bolting.

flour twenty-five per cent, of the

In making superfine
irieal
ts

goes off in the siftings, of which fifteen per cent.

of the nitrates and phosphates, and ten per cent, of

carbonates.

BRAN AS FOOD FOR HORSES AND CATTLE.

35

glance at Fig.

6 will also

show us the value

of bran as food for horses, working cattle, and fowls,

and growing pigs, and give us some hints as

right

to the

the

These animals require about same proportions of nitrates and carbonates as man,
it.

way

of using

under similar circumstances as to temperatures, &c., from twelve to eighteen per cent, of the one to sixty
to

eighty of the other.

to

The microscopic

analysis above

referred

gives

only

about ten per cent,

of

the

muscle-making elements and phosphates, while chemical

analysis gives fourteen

but they are both correct,

microscopic analysis recognizing only these elements

ns they exist in the

outer shell of the grain,

whUe

chemical analysis recognizes them as mrKcd with the

carbonates.*

That superfine white

the

flour bread does not contain all

elements necessary to keep the system in order,

life,
is

under any ordinary condition of

mitted by
all

universally ad-

who bave
is

given attention to the subject

and

that there are objections to the usual

also well

manner of

making bread,
shall

known by

all scientific

men

and the question has become an important one,

How

wheat bread be made a

reliable "staiF of life,"

it

instead of the broken reed which

to

is

now

admitted

be?

* Since writing the above Mr. Hand has sent me a microscopic analysis ti cattle, in which he finds the flakes of bran in the excrements of horses and

which in the the very important fact that the silex and iron, digestion, leavmg almost exclusively in the outer hull, are all taken out by explain the fact that This may foi-m. it in keep to fibre woody only the
lorses and cattle never have chlorosis or bad teeth.

cereals reside

'i56

TWO NEW PLANS OP

Two New Plans
Have been

BKEAD-MAKINff.

of Bread-Making

devised by scientific men.

One by an

American, and the other, by M^ge Mouri^s, of Paris.

Both of these have been extensively

tried.

The new American

it

plan consists of an attempt to re-

store to the fine flour the phosphatic elements of

which

was deprived by

bolting,

through the introduction

af phosphorus or phosphoric acid obtained

from calcined

bones.

This
as
it

is

open

to

very grave objections, and, involving

does the

life

and health of those who adopt

critical

it,

cer-

tainly
ical

demands a candid, but

and

faithful

chem-

and physiological consideration.

first

My

objection to this plan

is,

that

it

does not atflour,

tempt to restore the muscle-making elements of the

of which
it is

mostly deprived by the process of bolting,

but leaves out these important parts as a sacrifice to a

ridiculous caprice of the community,,

a
its

whim, on

acele-

count of which, flour deprived of

its

most important

ments of nutrition, and those which give

relish, is
Virhite,

most delicious
it is

preferred and universally used only because

;

colored bread being unfashionable

.

and

this idea

appears the more absurd,

same

flour

is

frequently
articles

when we consider that this colored to make many common

of food,
as

and fashionable
cake, etc.

gingerbread,

rich

The
made

first

impulse of science would seem to be to teach

us to use wheat, as every other gift of

it,

God, just

as

He

adding nothing to

it,

and taking .nothing from

OBJECTION TO THE
't
;

NEW AMERICAN

PLAN.
is

37
per-

and

this,

I propose in another place to show,

fectly practicable.

Serious Objection to the

New American Plan for

flaking.
is,

Bread-

But my great

objection to this plan

that instead of

recommending that the

pliosphatic elements usually taken

out with the nitrogenous elements in bolting should be

restored in Nature's

own way,
all,

or rather that they should

is

not be taken out at

the attempt

made

to restore
disor-

them from the

ganized,

laboratory,

by phosphates chemically
and
less

a plan

utterly at variance with Nature's laws,

;

and therefore utterly impossible

failure, the objection

if it

were simply
;

would be of

consequence

but,

like all other attempts to

thwart the purposes of God, the

very

efiPort

brings

its

penalty.

God's plan, as clearly revealed in his book of nature,

as I

have elsewhere partly explained,

of.

is this

having, at

infinite

expense man,* and supplied the soil with every element which and having ordained that the human system requires
;

time and labor,

made

the world for

the vegetable kingdom should be his great laboratory, placed in which these elements should be fitted for, and
in

harmony with

the assimilating powers of the differ-

ent organs, so that these elements should be gratefully received as they are wanted, to supply the roquisite

nutriment; God, in
tect the

infinite
all

wisdom,

in order to pro-

organs from

elements not thus organized

these very elements poi-

in

some vegetable, has made

different sonous, so that they shall be rejected by the

*

Writing after the manner of men.

66

DISOEGANIZED ELEMENTS POISONOUS.

organs at whose gate they shall call for admittance,

and they are therefore made poisonous more or

according to their relative importance in the

less

human

economy.
Phosphorus, being the element on which the brain

and nerves depend, and,

of
life itself, is,

therefore, the physical source

when not

thus organized according to

Nature's plan, the most virulent poison of any element

found in the

human

system, indeed one of the most

virulent poisons in nature;

and

it

is
is

susceptible of

proof that the form of phosphorus which

in

recommended,

making phosphatic bread,

is

not one of the mildest,

but one of the strongest and most poisonous combinations.

Dr. J. Francis Churchill, of Paris,

who has devoted

differ-

more time than any one

else to

experiments on the

ent preparations of phosphorus, with a view to find the

best form for the treatment of consumption,
self believe that while

makes him-

the combinations of phosphoric

this

acid, the acid

ing,
is

which

is

used in

plan for bread-makof phosphorous

as medicine,

very poisonous

the combinations

acid,

which he (Dr. Churchill) recommends

being

much

milder, are perfectly innocent, if carefully

used; but he has the candor to quote from Dr. Buckhelm, a celebrated chemist, the following opinion from
four other celebrated

German

chemists, in regard to his

:

own
upon

milder form of phosphorus

" Woehler and Frenich, basing their opinion as

their

much
pois-

own experiments

as

upon those of Wei'ge land

Krug, have concluded that phosphorous acid has a

OPINIONS OP LEARNED CHEMISTS.

onous eifect analogous to arsenic,
the
.

89
acts
. . .

and

upor

economy exactly
also holds

like

phosphoric acid.
salts

The

same

good with the

(phosphatic salts) of

soda."

And

this opinion completely covers the

ground of the
is

phosphatic bread.

" The phosphoric acid used

pre-

pared from the only practicable source of phosphorus

the

bones of beef and mutton.

They

are boiled,

then calcined."
the bones, and

This burning of course disorganizes

the phosphorus
is

then in the condition

of all disorganized phosphorus, unfit for assimilation and

poisonous.

Now,

if

we apply

to this case the

law to which

I have referred, that elements once disorganized can

never be restored to their normal condition

till

they

have been returned to the

soil

and reorganized in any organ of the

the inventor de-

some

plant, and, unless thus organized, can never be

to enter into the composition of

made

human

system,

we

can understand

how

ceives himself.
physiologist,

Being an

analytical chemist,

and not a

he does not understand that chemical laws

to vital laws, as all
:

must always yield

lower law must

ele-

subserve the higher

the laws

which control the

laws which

ments of the earth must yield

the
life

to the

control

of man, for

whom

the earth was made.

at

" The French army was

one time supplied with

soup-cakes, prepared from bones, with the aid of Papin's

digester.

The bones

thus hquefied at an elevated tem-

perature and pressure, supplied phosphates in quantity

greatly beyond the normal wants of the soldiers' diet

40

OBGANIZED PHOSPHOEUS IN BONES-

but Nature appropriated sucb portions of the nmtrimeHt

offered as she required,

and the remainder was rejected."

Does
some

this
?
:

prove that disorganized phosphates are wholeit

Then

also proves that nitric acid is

is

whole-

some

for nitrogen

known

to

be the

basis,

of bejefsteak
illustrate the

as well as of nitric acid.

It does,

however,

dependence of chemical law on

Phosphatic
salts in

vital law.

bones were organized there through

the grass and the grain which the animal ate, which
contain these substances
;

and the process of cooking or

softening did not disorganize them.

fore,

They were,

there-

ready in the soup, to be taken up and appropriated

by the organs which needed these elementsv and were

wholesome
;

but the phosphatic

salts,

made

as they are

from calcined bones, are of course disorganized, and, instead

of being

wholesome, are poisonous, just as the

is

nitrogen in aqua-fortis, not being organized,

a poison

while the beefsteak, being composed of organized nitrogen,

is

eminently wholesome, although

ther

elements of

beefsteak and aqua-fortis are the same,

ilar proportions.

and

in not dissim-

"

The

advantages of the

new method "

method
of
m.iixed, or

of bread-making over those of the ordinary

making

it

" light " with acids and alkalies

sour

milk and saleratus, or tartaric acid and soda, are not to

my mind

obvious;

while the disadvantages are in just

is

the proportion as phosphoi-ic acid

more poisonous than

the acids in

common

use for that purpose.

FRENCH PLAN OF BKEAD-MAKING.

41

M%e

Mouries' Plan of Bread-Making.

to

The other new method Mege Mourids, now quite

which I referred

that

ol

to

extensively adopted in Paris

is

not liable to the objections which have been made the American plan. It neither leaves out of the

flour

any important elements, nor adds thereto anything

It simply restores

injurious.

elements of the

" eroats

and bran,"

as nearly as possible in their, original propor-

tions, to the superfine flour

out of which they have been

taken; but the question to

trouble

my mind
it

is,

why

be at such
at

and expense

to get out the bran,

and then be
?

equal trouble and expense to get

back again

All the object claimed to be gained by Mourids' process

is,

that while
it

it

makes a ferment
but

to raise the bread

or

make

light,

it

takes out the color of the bran, and

;

leaves the bread white

it

also takes out the sweet

is

natural taste of the unbolted wheat bread, and

objectionable on the ground that the bran from

also

mouldy
in to
is

and otherwise diseased wheat cannot be detected

detached
attempt

bran
to

as

in

unbolted

flour.

But thus
perfect,

improve what

God

has

made

too absurd, philosophically,

to be
less

worthy of any exdangerous than the

tended comments

and though

mnilar

eflfort

of his American contemporary.

What
or

advantages, then, has either the

new French

new American method over the common method of

Both make science subservient
to " prejudice against

Dread-making by yeast?
color" of bread, and seem to think that, at any rate.

42

THE OBJECT GAINED BY THE FEENCH PLAN.

;

bread must be white

while the one, to some extent,

saves the evils of the loss of the muscle-making ele-

ments of wheat, and the other saves the evUs of yeast,

and substitutes an
that of yeast
;

evil

a thousand times worse than

it

and while

has no advantages over the

in

common

substitutes for

yeast,

the production of

carbonic acid gas, as cream of tartar and soda, sour

milk and saleratus, or any other mixture of acids and

alkalies, is as
is

much moi^
be

injurious as phosphoric acid

more

injurious than the acids in

object to

common
simply

use.

The

gained by using any of these

is

materials for raising bread,

especially superfine flour,

this

Flour,

when wet becomes compact,

some kinds of
will

or solid
pastry,

and

if

thus cooked, as in

and thus eaten,

allow the juices of the

stomach, which produce digestion, to have access only

to the surface of the morsel,

and of course must be

of flour are sep-

slow of digestion

but

if the particles

arated from each other, as in light bread, the juices

have access to every part, and the process of digestion

is

commenced

in every part immediately.

To

effect

this object,

some substance

is

intimately

mixed, by kneading, so as to intervene between the

particles,

which,

when heated

in the oven, or

by gentle

heat beforehand, will be changed into gas, and thus

separate the particles from
flour

each other

then,

if the
till

be sufficiently glutinous to hold the gas

is

the

Dread
bread
its

baked, the particles remain separated, and the

light
;

is

but superfine flour

is

is

deprived of

much

of

gluten, and therefore

not sufficiently tenacious

without the most scrupulous care to be well raised or

THE OBJECT OF EAISING BREAD.

to retain its lightness flour,

i'6

after standing.

Unbolted wheat
is

having in

it all its

natural gluten,

much more

easily

managed, and indeed may be

shall further explain.
aerial

raised without the

addition of any other than natural and useful elements,

as

we

Two
tion,

substances
acid
it

are

produced by fermenta-

carbonic

and

alcohol.

These expand the

flour

and make

light,

and though both are poisonous,

tlicy

they do no essential harm to the bread, because

are

removed from
is all

it,

or should be, before eating.

in baking,

The

alcohol

removed

and the carbonic acid

the bread

gas

is

very soon displaced by oxygen and nitrogen, on

air,

being exposed to the

the
air,

and

if

is

placed

in oi

the pores will be

filled

with pure

air instead

carbonic acid gas.

is

Bread

raised with yeast, therefore,

after bak-

not

unwholesome, unless eaten too soon

ing, while bread raised with phosphatic, or any other

acid or alkaline

salts,

leaves

these foreign,

unnatural
is

elements in the bread after the cax'bonic acid gas

evolved.

Yeast,

however,

consumes

in

fermentation

a portion of the gluten and sugar of the flour, which, in superfine flour, are already greatly deficient; but
this evil in

unbolted wheat flour

is

of very

little

conse-

quence.

Unbolted flour bread, raised with yeast, loses

six

perhaps

per cent, of

its

muscle-making element.

Bolted flour bread, raised 'with phosphatic salts, has

lost

seventy per cent, of these elements.

is

What, then,

the True Method of

is

mahiug Bread 7
perfectly fair,

My

"ideal loaf"

made from wheat

;

and free from smut or other disease

not having been

44

THE EFFECT OF YEAST ON BREAD.

wet and moulded either before or after harvestingj and

not having been heated before or after grinding
fully
;

care-

kept clean after being properly ground so as to

sifting,

need no

and, not being bolted,

it,

it

retains every

part that belongs to

cold water

and needs no addition, except

salt.

and a

little

Such bread has been made

digestible, sweet

light,

and of course

and

delicious to the taste, and, cou"

taining as

it

does in just the right proportion every

element required by the

sufficiently

human

system,

and being

porous to allow access to every part by the

juices of the stomach,

and containing
its

in its cells neither

carbonic acid gas, or in

or soda, or potash,

substance any phosphorus,*

is

or other deleterious materials,

perfectly adapted to fulfil every requirement of nature,

without,

so far as I

know

for general use, a single

drawback.

Such bread I have known placed on the table of

a large, particular, not to say fastidious family, with
the nicest and whitest family bread, and every

member

take

it

in preference.

Light bread cannot be thus

made from
and
this is

bolted flour for want of the natural gluten,

an additional evidence tbat "true bread"

its

requires for

construction no additions to, or sub;

tractions from, its natural elements

indeed, the conthat

after

elusion
infinite

is

to

my mind

irresistible,
soil,

such

pains in collecting in the

and making laws

by which they should be collected in a single grain of

ivheat,
all

the elements in just the right proportions

and combinations necessary to su[)ply the wants of the

* Disorganized Phospiiorus.

NATUEAL BEEAD.

45

human
this

system, our heavenly Father would not leave food so imperfect as to require either addition or
it

subtraction in order to render

digestible.

Recipe for making Natural Bread.

Bread, light, sweet, delicious, and eminently whole-

some,

may be made by mixing good

unbolted wheat

meal with cold water,

making a paste of proper

by experiand placing
quickly as

consistence, which can only be determined

ments, pouring or dropping

it

quickly into a heated

is

pan,* that with concave departments

it

best,

quickly in a hot oven, and baking as

possible without burning.

The heat of

the oven and

pan
cle of

suddenly coagulates the gluten of the outside,

partiflour,

which retains the steam formed within, and each

water being interspersed with a particle of

and expanded
cells,

into steam, separates the particles into

is

and being retained by the gluten, which

till
it

abun-

dant in this natural flour,

is

cooked, the mass

remains porous and digestible, and, containing no carbonic acid gas,

is

wholesome when eaten immediately,

cold.
till

and of course equally so on becoming

But
in

for family bread, if not eaten

air till the

it

has stood
is

pure

carbonic acid gas in the cells

the
air,

exchanged for the oxygen of

important objection to bread

there

is

no

made from good unbolted

It contains all the ele-

wheat meal with fresh yeast.

ments necessary for feeding the muscles and brains,

and for producing

all

the fat and animal heat required,

essentially deleterious
;

and contains no materials

The pan must be
sissing hot,

and

and the oven

as hot as possible.

46 THE DIPFEEENT METHODS OF BEBAD-MAKING.

bread thus

made from good

and
it

superfine
its

flour

is

onlj

negatively deleterious, having lost

food for muscles

if

and brains
at the

need not, therefore, be discarded

same meal these elements are supplied

fish,
;

in lean

meat,

or cheese, or other food containing similar

elements

but

if

eaten with butter or sugar only, and

nothing
idiots.

else,

would soon make of us bloated and stupid

Different kinds of superfine flour retain different

proportions of food for brains

retain some.
flour

and muscles, and

all

Indeed, bread could not be raised from deprived of gluten,

absolutely

which contains

these elements.

Gluten absorbs water, and causes the paste to swell.

That
and

flour is therefore

best which
it

is

most glutinous,

it is

also

most economical, as
of

will in

make

the most

bread.

The proportion

gluten

wheat varies
which

greatly according to cultivation and time of harvesting,

and to the amount of nitrogen in the

grows.

soil in

it it

And by

a beautiful provision of Nature,

varies also in a

much
it

greater degree according to the

this is true of all other

climate in which
grains.

grows, and

In northern climates, where

more heat

is

required, a larger proportion of starch and other car

bonates are found,

so

as

to

get with the requisite

amount of food

for

muscle and brain more heat-pro-

ducing elements.

Many
results.

hundreds of analyses have

difierent

been

made

in

Europe by

chemists

with very remarkable

In England and the more northern states the

DUTEEBNT QUALITIES OF FLOUE.

47

average amount of gluten in the best flour was but ten per cent., while some samples from Italian and Turkish wheat yielded as high as thirty-five per cent, of gluten.
In this country, also, a similar difference, but not so great, has been observed between the nourishing
quahties of flour from southern and northern wheat.

Chemical analyses have not, so

far as I

know, been

made
is

to determine the comparative

amount of gluten

in southern

and northern

flour

but the comparison

made by a
is

different process,

and the difference bein

tween flour from Georgia wheat and that raised

Canada

at least twenty-five per cent.*

The report of the Patent Office for 1848 states that Alabama flour yielded twenty per cent, more bread
than flour from Cincinnati.
quality of flour

Upon

this

principle the

may

be tested in a tube graduated like

a thermometer, only being large enough to hold an

appreciable

amount of dry
rise in

flour,

which, on being wet,

win swell and

experiment

the tube in proportion to the

in the sample used
;

amount of gluten contained

or the

may

be varied by noticing the degree of

expansion under regular increments of heat.

the

Upon

same

principle housekeepers judge of the " strength"

of flour,
the

which

is

only another term for expressing

amount of gluten or strength-giving element, by

a similar vessel in which
being
prepared for

noticing the height to which a given quantity will rise

it

is

baking; and when we consider that

flour

with the

most gluten

is

not only twenty-five per cent,

more

iconomical than flour with the

minimum

of that im-

-* Southern flnur alpo i-nntain^ more phopphoriis than Northern-

lb

SOUTHERN FLOUE BBTTBK THAN NOETHEEN.

is

portant element, but

ble

also sweeter
it

and more

digesti-

in

the

same proportion,

becomes a matter of
its

great importance to be able to judge of

gluten.

richness in

Another

fact

worthy of notice in

this connection,

and which may be made of some practical importance,

is,

that the gluten of southern wheat, or of

any other

southern grain, does not, to so great an extent as in northern wheat, reside in a crust around the surface of
the grain, but
is

more enclosed

in the starch in the centre

for the protection of

a provision of nature probably

the the plate. Figs. 3
fine

germ from inclement weather.

and
4, in the
flour,

This

is

shown

in

drawing of corn.

Superis

therefore,

made from southern wheat,

same quality of
is

much

richer in gluten than the

flour
less
;

from northern wheat, while the difierence

much

between the unbolted flour from the different regions

and

this I

think

accounts

for

the

well-known

fact

that Italian maccaroni is

much more

nourishing than

American.

Wheat
form of

is

also

made

into very valuable food in the

grits, or

cracked wheat.
state, all the

In

this

form we

get,

in their natural

elements of the
all there,

human
which

system
are

even the iron and silex are

sifted out of

much

of the unbolted flour in the

outer or true

bran.

This

bran

is

also the

natural

stimulant to keep the bowels in proper action, and, for

the

few exceptional cases

in

which

it

proves too

irri-

tating, the " cerealina," or grits,

from wheat, deprived

This

of

its

outer hull,

is

the very perfection of food.

ANALYSIS OF RYE.

49
is

Dew

article

has been lately introduced, and

in Philadelphia.

used to

some extent

Farina,

Also, as
tion,

made by Hecker,

is

an excellent prepara-

in

which most of the elements of wheat are

of some of
gluten, but being

retained in a form very acceptable to delicate stomachs.

It is deprived
its

made

from the
element,

varieties of
is

wheat which are richest in that

valuable, especially for those

who

find the

grits too irritating.

Rye.

Next

to wheat, especially for bread-making, rye

is

the best of the cereals.

It is a favorite article of diet

of the people of northern Europe, especially Russia,

where

it is

called " black bread."

It contains

more of

the heat-producing but less of the muscle and brain-

feeding elements than wheat, as

may

be seen by com:

paring the following analysis with that of wheat

One hundred
Water,
.
.

parts of rye contain

50

OEIGIN OP CORN.

gtimulating or laxative to the intestinal canal, and

therefore be useful in a constipated condition.

may

maize, or Indian Corn.

Fig.
8.

Fig. 9.

Fig. 10.

Fig.

11.

Tuscarora

Com.

Koithenj Cpm.

Sweet Corn.

Sonthem Com.

This cereal

is

generally supposed to be a native ot

America

but having seen and planted a sample that

folds that

was taken from

had enveloped a

mummy

for

at least three thousand years,

which sprouted and grew,

stalks

and which produced the grain on a bundle of

like

those of

broom

corn, or as if the

seed-bearing

stalks of the

broom corn had been

tied together

and

had adhered, as I have described

I

in another chapter,
it

am

of opinion, that, like the other cereals,

was

cultivated

from grass, at a period too remote to be

its

traced to
species as

origin,

and that

it

came from the same

It contains less
fat-

broom-corn and sorghum.

muscle-making materials and more heaters and

makers than wheat, and consequently

fattening cattle

is

much used
it is

in

and

pigs, for

which purpose

better

than any other grain.

Why
animals

this grain is better

is

than wheat for fattening

that
it

seen

by the

fact
oil.

contains

more

than six times as

much

Starch, sugar, and fat

fat

are classed together as carbonates, or

and heatfrom the

producers, but the effect of each

is

diflFerent


ANALYSIS OF CORN.
Other of these elements.

51

Fat giving two and a half

times as

much

heat as starch, there should be added at

the heaters eighty-nine.
parts of

least sixteen,

making
about,

The average composition of one hundred

Indian corn
is

Water,

52

INDIAN CORN AS FOOD.

will

and heat-producing elements, as

be seen by refer

ence to the plates, Figs. 2, 3, 9, 11.

Indian corn has too

little

gluten to

make good
is

light

bread alone

but mixed with rye meal, which

very
is

glutinous, the

most wholesome and best of bread

in

made, which in many places

New England
which
is

consti-

tutes the staff of life to the laboring classes.

iny,

Hom-

especially "large hominy,"

merely the
is
it

grain
food,
is,
is

cracked into two

or three pieces,
corn, as

excellent

and

if

made from southern

generally

contains a full share of muscle-making material, and

well adapted to laboring

men

it

also contains a large

is

share of the life-giving principles, and

to sedentary

well adapted
"

and
is

literary

employments.

Small homis

iny," which
ly

mostly used in
flint

New

England,

general-

made from

corn, which contains less of the food

is

for muscles

and brains, and more of the heaters, and

therefore best in cold weather.

tains

Hulled corn also conwhich

alkali,

the elements of the corn, except those

in the hull
is
;

reside

and being soaked

it

in

some

the oil
food.
cate
it,

removed, and

is

therefore

good summer

Well washed from

it

the alkali used to decorti-

is
it.

unobjectionable and wholesome to those

who

like

Bnckwheat.
Fig.
12,

Buckwheat, or "brank," as
in

it

is

called

England,

is

cultivated

more

for feeding-

fowls and birds in winter than for food for

man.

It is inferior to

wheat

in its nutritive

BtrOKWHEAT.
elements, containing more heaters

53

and "not half the

therefore,
it ia

muscle and brain-feeders.

not

Eaten alone,
;

much better than

superfine flour

but with beefsteak

it

or fish, to furnish requisite nutriment,

will serve to

keep up the heat for a winter's day. In one hundred parts of buckwheat are,

14.2
8.6

Water,
Gluten,
Starch,

.... .... ....

14.2
8.6

50.0
2.0

Water,

....
. . .

Gum,
Sugar,
Fat,

Muscle-makers,

....
.

Heaters, 2.0 ror,<

75.4

Food

for brains
.

1.0

Woody fiibre,

and bones,

1.8

20.4
1.8,

Mineral matter,

Containing a large amount of woody

waste, buckwheat
is

fibre,

which

ia

good

for constipated habits.

Barley.

This cereal compares well with wheat in nutritive

elements, but does not form light bread, and therefore
is

nowhere used

for that purpose, but

is

in

many
it

places

used for making barley-cakes, which are valuable for

persons inclined to constipation, containing, as
does,

more of waste, which

bowels.

is

the natural stimulant of the

also for

Barley

is
it

peculiar
contains,

the

amount of

phosphates which

amount contained

in wheat,

more and

than twice the

therefore might be

made

useful to literary

men

of sedative habits, adapted,

54
as
it is,

BAELET.
both to promote the action of the brain and

bowels.

For
which

this

purpose

it

would be useful and

or porridge.
its

palatable in
barley,
ttlso

the form of cakes

is

Pearl
ia

barley deprived of

outer coat,

very valuable in sickness when vitality

parts of barley contain,

One hundred
Water,

is

low.

OAT.
land,

55
for hard

and furnishes the most material

work of

any known grain. Water, Gluten and

One hundred
13.6

parts of oat contain,

al-

56
extensively cultivated in

EICE.

marshy grounds

in Asia, the

southern parts of Europe, and in some of the southern states of America.

It
is

more largely consumed

poor in materials

by the inhabitants of the world than any other grain,

wheat, perhaps, excepted; but
for the support of brain or
it is
;

muscle

and

rice-eaters are

everywhere an effeminate race.

It contains, as will be
less

Been by the following analysis,

than half

the

muscle-supporting elements of wheat, and only one

quarter of the supporters of brain and nerve, and containing, as
it

does, a large

amount of

starch, can only

support a

life

of indolence and feebleness.

parts of rice contain,

One hundred
Water,
Gluten,
Starch

.... ....
....

13.5
6.5

74.1 0.4

i-Water,
S'Or,-^

....
.
.

13.5
6.5

Sugar,

Muscle-feeders,

Gum
Fat,

1.0 0.7

Heaters,
bones,

79,5
0.5

For brains and

. . .

Fibre,

....

3.3 0.5^

Mineral matter,
Rice

may be

useful as a part of a meal, vrith beef;

steak or vegetables that contain no starch

cases of sickness,
little is

or, in

some

when

the stomach

is

weak, and when

life

wanted of food but to keep the bellows of

;

blowing

but for mental or muscular strength

it is

the

poorest article in the

common

lists

of nutritive food

and
as

this

shows the worthlessness of " standard tables,"

they are called, and as they are found in our physio-

"standard tables" of nuteiment.

logical school-books

57
as

and health journals, showing,

they profess

to

show, the amount of nutriment

in

different articles of food,

but making no See

is

distinction
fuel

between nutriment which feeds the system and the

which really consumes the system.

parative "

table of

com-

amount of nutriment,"

in Hall's Journal of

Health, page 211, in which rice

said

to

contain

eighty-eight per cent, of nutriment, while beans contain eighty-seven per cent.
;

whereas, by analysis, rice

while

contains

but seven per cent.,

beans

contain

twenty-seven and one half per

cent, of real nutriment.

This table would indicate that, except in regard to

ease of digestion,
it

would make very

beans
;

little

difference

whether we ate

rice or

whereas one pound of

beans would support

life,
is

in action, as long as four

pounds of

rice.

This

only a specimen of articles

in the " standard tables,"

and shows the importance of

to

new

" standard "

by which

judge of the nutritive

value of articles of food.

Beans.

Having given an
i.ion

analysis of all the c.ereals in com-

use

for food, let

us

now examine

the leguminous
all rich

seeds, or those produced in pods.

These are

in nutritious materials; but their muscle-making ele-

ment

is

cheese

a substance

not gluten, as in the grains, but casein, as in not so easily digested as gluten,
to strong healthy persons with

and therefore adapted

good powers of digestion.

58

BEANS.

Water,

PEAS.

59

In one hundred parts of peas are,

Water,
Casein,
Starch,

Sugar,

.... .... .... ....

14.1

23.4

37.0
2.0 9.0 2.0

'Water
>0T,< Heaters,

14.1

Muscle-makers, 23.4
.
.

Gum,
Fat,

60.0
2.5

Food

for brains
.

Woody
Peas

fibre,

10.0
2.5^
green,
are

and bones,

Mineral matter,
also,

when

excellent

in

warm
but

weiither, containing less

starch

and

less

casein,

more sugar than dried peas.

or other heaters.

They

also require butter

Lentils.

Lentils also contain

peas.

They

are not

much casein, even more than much used for food, except at the
to

East, where they are the favorite food in connection

with rice

and they seem

be intended to supply the

deficiencies of each other, rice containing too

lentils too

few and

many muscle-making-

materials, in propor-

tion to their carbonates, as will be seen

to

by reference

their

tables of analysis.

himdred parts,

Lentils contain, in one

Water,

'Water,
or, <

....
. . .

14.0

Muscle-feeders,

26.0
58.5
1.5.

Heaters,

Food

for brains
.

and bones,

60

LENTILS.
It will be seen that while rice contains but half itn

true

proportion of muscle-making element,

100,
tion,

as

6.5

lentils contain

much more

than their proper

or

26
is

in

100.

When

used together, there

fore,

customary with the

Hindoos, they givt

sufficient
It will

muscular power for such an inactive people

lentils

be seen, also, that both

;

and

rice

are

deficient in food for brains

and

this

may

likewise be

a providential arrangement to adapt the proportion of

food to the proportion of brain to be fed.
is

This idea

perhaps corroborated by the fact that the higher

classes in the East,

who

furnish brains for the lower,

and do

all their

thinking, use food containing

little

more of

the phosphates, the

seeds of the huge grasses,

of the sorghum species, called millet, which forms a

large part of their food, being admirably adapted for
that purpose, used in connection with rice.
It is

curious fact, developed by scientific researches, that the

smaller the seed in proportion to the plant of which

is

it

the germ, the larger

it

is

the proportion of phosphates

which

contains.

Millet, being the small

germ of

the

large plant sorghum, abounds in elements of food for

the brain, the physical

germ

of

human

vitality.

practical

use

may

be made of

this

principle,

especially with those

who use much

which

of fine flour, or
is

butter, or sugar, in either of

trace

found only a
all

of the phosphates, remembering that in

our

nourishment

we need but two

per cent, of phosphates. elements to produce a

fruits

We

can get

sufficient of these

sensible

eflf'ect

from the seeds of

and berries

STAEOH.

61

many
most
teeth.

of tbem, like those of the tomato, are digestible

without crushing; others, like those of currants and

berries

and apples, should be crushed with the

rejected.
;

The

core of the apple should always be chewed,

and the fibrous envelope

fruits

The

pits

of

all

and nuts are

rich in phosphates

a small quantity

are therefore useful as a dessert after a meal of too

carbonaceous food.
Starcb.

Of

the three principal heat-giving principles of food,

starch, sugar,

and

fat, starch is
all

the most abundant and

It constitutes,

most important in

vegetable food.
all

indeed, more than nine tenths of

principles of our grains

the carbonaceous

and leguminous seeds on which

we mostly depend. The ultimate elements

and
fat,

are the

same

in starch, sugar,
their

carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen, and

is

use in the system

the
fuel

not in building up the structure of

its

body or

in repairing

waste, but
heat.

is

in fact the
is

which keeps up animal

office,
all

This, however,
it

not a subordinate

requiring, as

does,
it

more
;

than three fourths of

our food to accomplish

and

the adjustment of scientific principles,

so as to keep

the internal temperature of the body in summer and winter, in violent exercise or at rest, at just 98 Fahrenheit, is wonderful;
flo

and yet
it

it

is

found that under

circumstances does

vary more than one or two

degrees.

The most important

principle in the production of

62
heat
is

GRAIfTJLES
starch,

OP STAEOH.
found in
all

which

is

vegetable food

except the fruits.

It exists size

in irregularly

shaped granules, varying

of

in
in

from

gw^

to

^^

an inch in diameter,

different species of plants, each plant furnishing its

own

peculiar granules.

These granules are insoluble

it,

in cold

water, but are readily diffused through

so that by

bruising or crushing the grain or potato that contains

it,

and washing

in cold water, the starch is separated

specific

from the other principles, and, being of greater

gravity than water, settles to the bottom of the vessel

containing
less

it,

and may thus be obtained

all edible

in greater or

amounts from
being

vegetables and

grains.

On

mixed with water of a temperature of

becomes
glutinous
this state is

180, starch

and

loses its gran-

ular character,
arts to

and in

much used

in the

give

firmness

and

inflexibility to

fabrics of

clothing, &c.

Starch

is

turned blue by iodine, and the extent of

its

presence in any grain can therefore be easily tested by

carefully- slicing

and soaking the grain and applying

a solution of iodine.
treated, the

From wheat and

corn, &c., thus

drawings were made for Figs. 2, 3, 4, &c.

principles

The nitrogenous and phosphatic

lineated

may
its

be de-

by other appropriate
starch
is

tests.

When
is

taken as an article of diet,

carbon

burned in the lungs in contact with the oxygen of

the air,

and gives out heat

to

warm

the system, just as

the carbon of
air,

wood, uniting with the oxygen of the

gives out heat to

warm

our apartments ;* but before

T). TiaffG .S43.

* ArmpTivliY

STARCH CONVERTED INTO SUGAR.

it is

63
a

thus appropriated by the lungs,

it

must undergo
it

change in the process of digestion, so that

Bugar
it
;

becomes

and

all

starch

is

thus changed into sugar before

to be used in the

can be taken into the circulation

lungs or skin.

When

starch

and sugar,

therefore, are taken into the

is first

stomach together, the sugar

the starch
is

used for fuel

then
the

converted into sugar, and used

till

demand
sugar
is

is

supplied, and all that remains unchanged into

cast

from the system as waste, and

if oil

or fat

of any kind be taken with sugar and starch, the fat will

only be used for fuel

failed to

when

the sugar and starch have

supply the demand.

this fact

From
fiiel,

we may

derive the important practical

lesson of giving to the most feeble stomach sugar for

and next

starch,

and depending on

fatty substances

only in the most robust, and in the cold weather, when,

being more concentrated,

it is

useful.

Starch exists in a state of almost absolute purity in

arrowroot, tapioca, and sago.
are therefore only useful

These

articles

of food
the

by themselves when

muscles and brain are in a state of absolute

rest, as in

some

cases of sickness.

Potatoes, rice, and Tuscarora

com
life

also contain so little nitrogen or phosphorus, that

can scarcely be sustained on them alone, but are

very useful with lean meat, peas, beans, &c., which,

being deficient in carbonates, need some such articles

to

supply the defliciency.

The proportion of carbonates

corn,

to the nitrates in potatoes, rice, or Tuscarora

is

fourteen or fifteen to one;

while in the standard

64

AEEOWEOOT.

article of food,

TAPIOCA. wheat, only

it
is is first

four

to

one.

During the growth of plants sugar

in all
is

formed, so that

green vegetables what

is

little

of carbonaceous food
is

obtained
starch

in the

form of sugar, which

plant progresses,

converted

into

as

the

and when the

little

grains, or leguminous seeds, are perfected, very

sugar

is left,

and starch

is

predominant ; but in

fruits,

the sugar increases as they ripen, and,

when

perfectlj'

matured, sugar

is

almost the only principle of nourish-

ment.

Arrowroot
Is a form of starch obtained from the root stocks of
plants.

The most common

is

source

is

the

maranta,

which

a native of tropical America

and the West

this

India islands.

From

these islands

and Bermuda

country and England are principally supplied.

other species of the maranta
is

Anis

said to yield the East

Indian arrowroot, and the French tous-les-mois

prois

duced by another plant of the same order, which

native of Peru, and
is

called canna.

In China arrowthe
root of

root

is

said

to

be obtained from

the

water-lily.

Tapioca
Is starch

from the mandioc plant, a native of South

This plant contains prussic acid,

America.

and

is

very poisonous.

The poison

is,

however, separated

from the root, which,

after preparation, yields cassava

is

and tapioca.

The

cassava, being formed into cakes,

SAGO.
eaten mostly
starch cells

SEA-WEEDS.
natives,

65

by the

while the granules of

and tapioca are extensively used in Europe

and

this

country for the same purposes as rice and

arroTproot.

Sago
Is obtained from several plants, the most-

common

being the sago-palm, which grows in the islands of the

Indian Archipelago.

The sago

is

obtained from the

celular tissue or pith in the interior of the trunk of the

tree,

and some of these palms, being very

large, yield

sections of sago pith as large as the

body of a man.
employment

A single tree, therefore, yields some hundreds of pounds

of sago, and the preparation of
for
it

furnishes

a large part of the inhabitants of Java and the

Islands, which
it is

Philippine and Molucca

all

furnish

it

to

the world.
it

In many places

much used

for the

sick,

being erroneously understood to possess some

peculiar virtues.

Moss and Sea-weeds.

The
sist

nutritive properties of these articles of diet constarch, to

mostly in

but are

all

too

poor in any

nutritive properties

be of much consequence, the

it is

gelatinous substance, on account of which

mainly

used in making blanc-mange, &c., being like the gelatine in fish

and animal

flesh, entirely indigestible,

and

only useful as waste to keep the bowels in order.

nice jelhes

The
or

made from
5

calves' feet,

or isinglass,

the mosses, are all destitute of nutriment.

66

MOSSES.

Reindeer Moss.
Reindeer moss, however, must contain some nutritive
qualities, as
it

seems to be a provision of nature to sup-

port the reindeer in a climate where almost nothing else

grows.

In Iceland and Lapland,

to

in spite of the

extreme cold

which

it

is

subjected, this lichen

grows in great

abundance, and during the winter season, which constitutes the

most of the year, the reindeer has no other

for
it

means of support, digging down

through the deep snow
their extremity
;

with his nose

and some

arctic navigators in

have been obliged to resort to the same

miserable diet, but only with temporary success, the

gastronomic capacity of

man

being too limited to con-

tain a quantity sufficient to sustain life but for a very

limited period.

Irish Moss.

sea-weed

known under

the

names of carragheen

mosB, pearl moss, and Irish moss, grows on the rocky

sea-shores of Europe, especially those of Ireland and

the north of
little

England and Scotland.

is

It contains but

nutriment, but

used in England, and sometimes

vrith
;

in this country,

perhaps

advantage, with our too

it

concentrated nourishment

but alone

can sustain

life

but for a short time.

the poorer classes

It is,

however, resorted to by

on the sea-shores of Ireland when the

ordinary crops of corn and potatoes have failed, aSd for

a time will keep them from actual starvation.

A CHINESE

LXJXtJRT.

67

Several other sea-weeds are used in England and Scotland as gelatine, to thicken and flavor soups and
ragouts, and other dishes of food
flavor of the sea
;

but in

all

there

is

which renders them objectionable and

keeps them from general use.

Edible Bird's Nest.

In China, however, the people are very fond of seaweeds, and many kinds are collected and added to
soups, or
are

eaten

alone with

sauce.

They
for

also
it

esteem the edible bird's nest a great luxury, making

an important

article of

commerce, and paying

from youth

it it

great price, a large

trade,

number of persons making

else to old

and doing nothing

age but
of

hunt for these nests in caves of rocks so

access that none but adepts attempt
nests of a swallow, which are
it.

difficult

They

are the

made from

the gelatinous

substance of sea-weeds, and are therefore valueless for

nourishment, and would be almost tasteless but for the

flavor imparted

by the excretions of the

;

families

which

have made them their home

but, having been thus

is

occupied, they have a flavor which

ingly

relished exceed-

by the

aristocracy of

Chma, who

alone can aflbrd

the expense of such a luxury.

68

THREE KINDS OF 8UGAE.

Sugar.

Sugar and starch have very nearly the same chemical composition,
ties

but in some of their physical proper-

they are very diiFerent.

is

Sugar

is

soluble in water,
it.

while starch

only diffusible through

Sugar under;

goes the process of fermentation, starch does not

has a sweet taste, starch
is

sugar

almost tasteless.

Starch,

however,
all

is

convertible into sugar, and then assumes

the characteristics of other sugar, being capable of

fermentation and of thus being converted into alcohol.

It
is

converted into sugar by the juices of the mouth

this is the first process of digestion

and stomach, and

with starch.

Sugar,

therefore,

is

more quickly pre-

pared to be absorbed into the blood, and better adapted

as a heat-giver for the

young, and in

warm
This

weather
is

when
cated

the digestive organs are enfeebled.

in children

indi-

by the almost universal love which

it,

they manifest for food containing

nishes
it

and Nature

fur-

in the milk of all animals,

and in the summer

indi-

in fruits

and berries and green vegetables, clearly

cating the importance and the appropriate use of sugar.

Sugar assumes
articles of diet,
ical

three

different

forms in

common
These

which, though very nearly alike in chem-

composition, have yet the same peculiarities.

are called cane sugar, grape sugar,

and milk sugar.

:

They vary

in composition as follows
Carbon.

Hydrogen.

Cane sugar,
Grape sugar,
Milk sugar,

12

10

12
11

ALCOHOL.

Cy

They
the cane

are all alike sweet and soluble in water; but

and milk sugars

till

differ

from the grape

first

in that

they do not ferment

into grape sugar.

they have

been converted

Sugar

is

found in almost

all

plants at certain periods

of their growth and development.

The Process of Malting.

germination of
seeds,

Sugar
is

is

formed

in the

as

well illustrated

in

the

process called malting, which consists in placing the

grain,

generally barley,

in a condition

to favor

its

germination.

When
is

in the process of growth the starch

is

is

con-

verted into sugar, that process

arrested and the sugar

secured for the purpose of fermentation.

Alcohol.

All kinds of grain

may

be thus converted into malt,

beer, and distilled spirits

and used
indeed,

for

making wine,
and

all grasses,

fruits,

and vegetables, which

to just the extent of the
;

contain sugar or starch,

sugar or starch,
the process
is

can

and

be converted into alcohol

but

one of decomposition, and therefore,

according to principles already described, sugar and

starch are then brought into a condition to be poisonous.

The same elements and

the

same chemical com-

binations which in sugar are nourishing food, are in alcohol poisonous

distffted spirits
;

and while the beers, and wines, and

afford nourishment on account of

may

the sugar

and

starch,

and other

nutritive elemeuts in

70

8UGAE IN VEGETABLES.

them, and although the system

may become

so accus-

tomed to the influence of the alcohol mixed in them as

not to be in all cases, in their moderate use, positively
or perceptibly injurious,
is still

their habitual

employment

useful or injurious in just the proportion as their

carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen are organized as they

came from the

grain, or disorganized

by fermentation.

Sugar in the Sap of Trees.

Sugar

is

circulated in the sap of trees

;

and plants just

species,

before the unfolding of the buds

as the birch

and in some

and maple,

is

then found in such quantities

quantities.

as to be collected

and manufactured in large

is

The sap of
land,

the birch

collected in the spring in Scotis

and fermented, and thus birch wine

;

manufac-

tured

and

in the northern part of the

New England

States and

New York

sugar

is

annually manufactured

from the sugar maple to the amount of hundreds of tons.

Vegetables

and Fruits, and

roots also, contain sugar,

;

and can be fermented into intoxicating beverages

and

from some, as the beet and mangel-wurzel, large quantities

of sugar are manufactured, especially in France.

as the sugar cane and sorghum,

The Huge Grasses,

contain
it,

however, in the largest proportions, and are

Treacle or molas-

the principal sources of its supply.

ses is that portion of the
tallize,

sugar which will not crys-

and which

is

therefore separated
it is

by draining

from the brown sugar before

purified, and'il not

objectionable as carbonaceous nutriment.

EDIBLE ROOTS AND TUBEB8.

7]

Potato.

Of
stands

the class of edible roots and tubers, the potato

at

the

head.

It

contains

but

little

musclestarch,

forming

material,

and a large proportion of

and

is

therefore well adapted to be eaten with lean

meat, which consists chiefly of nitrogen, and has no

digestible carbon.
Its native country is Chili, but
in
it is

also found wild

it

Mexico.

Before being cultivated

is

a gnarly,
this root

bulbous root, not considered edible.

From

grows a stalk, which blossoms and bears seeds.

seeds, being planted in a

These

new

soil,

produce improved

tubers, which, being transplanted,

improve from year to

as
to

year,
color,

and form a

distinctive

character

shape,

&c., and receive a distinctive

is

name by which

the variety

known,

as " kidneys," " reds," " blues,"

"whites," "pink-eyes," &c., each of which after a few

years degenerates, and, going out of use, makes

way

for

new

variety,

produced in the same way

it

and thus,

within the last three hundred years,

has been introis

duced into

all

Europe and America, and

an

inesti-

mabk
To
meat,

blessing to their teeming populations.

this
it

country especially, where every one eats

invaluable,

is

supplying,

as

it

does, the
to

elements wanting in that food,

and waste material

counteract the influence of our too concentrated nutri-

ment.

It is also very valuable to the laboring classes

it is

of England, Ireland, and Scotland, used as

with

u
oat meal, beans,

POTATO.

and peas, which supply the musclein

making elements

which

it is

deficient.

In one hundred parts of the potato are,

Water and
waste,
.

78.4

Albumen. &c.
Starch,
.

'Water and
waste,
.
. .

1.4

78.4

15.5

^or,-^ Muscle-makers,

1.4
19.3

Dextrine,

0.4
3.2 0.2
0.9,

Heaters,

Sugar,
Fat,
.

Food

for brains,

0.9

Mineral matter,

All the muscle and brain-feeding principle in the

potato resides in the rose end, about the eyes or germ.

Sweet Potato.

The sweet
It differs

potato

is-

used mostly in tropical climates.

little,

from the other potato but

and

that

difference consists

mainly in their relative amounts of

sugar and mineral matters.

Water and Water and

waste,
. .

68.50
27.10

Muscle-makers, 1.50
''''i

Heaters,

Food for
&c.,

brains,
.

..

2.90

VEGETABLES.

73

Parsnips, Turnips, Carrots, Beets, Onions.

The
this

different varieties of the roots

above named are

bU, besides the potato, that to any extent are used in

country as food for man.

is

So large a proportion

of their bulk

made up
is

of water and waste that the

stomach of

man

not sufficiently capacious to contain

enough of
for that

either to support life

and health alone

but

reason they are valuable adjuncts to concen-

trated food, especially in

these,

warm

weather,

and other similar vegetables

when but for and fruits, we should

not get the bulk and waste necessary for proper digestion

and

intestinal action.

In one hundred parts are,

90.8
1.2

In Parsnips.

Water and
Heaters,

waste,

Muscle-makers,

7.0 1.0

Food

for brains, &c.,

In Turnips.

Water

and waste,

94.4
1.1

Muscle-makers,
Heaters,

4.0
0.5

Food

for brains, &c.,

In Garrots.

Water and

waste,

91.8 0.6
6.6

Muscle-feeders,

Heat-givers,
Brain-feeders,

1-0

74

BEETS.

Beets contain more sugar, and therefore more heating elements, than other vegetables, but contain the

Bame proportions of nutrition and waste, while onions

are
still

more nearly

all

water and waste.

Other green vegetable food, as cabbage, cauliflower,

lettuce,

cucumber, &c., and

all

the fruits and berries

which are kindly furnished

at the season in

which they

are most needed, are useful for the same reasons as

stated above,

and a choice in them can only be made

to

by reference

the particular

taste

and power of

digestion of each individual; that which relishes best

is

generally most easily digested.

is

No

one, therefore,

can judge for another what

or

is

not wholesome.

Every
system
is

article of

food containing the elements of the

if it

wholesome

can be eaten with a relish

article is

and be digested, and on the other hand, any

unwholesome which contains elements not needed, and

which cannot be relished or digested; and generally
they are most desired when most needed, and will be
digested if they can be eaten with a good natural relish.

The taste, unperverted, is a sentinel that admits no enemy and rejects no friend to the human system. It is folly, therefore, to dispute among ourselves, or to ask
the doctor, whether this article or that
is

wholesome.
all

Having determined beforehand,

providers easily
ciples

as

intelligent

may by

reference to the simple prin-

herein

explained,

what

class

of elements

is

wanted to adapt the food to the circumstances of the

family, they have only to select
ety of articles

from the great

vari-

which

God

has given such as will be

; :

ANALYSIS OF BEEF.

75

best relished, and, with very rare exceptions, nothing

thus selected and properly cooked will ever prove indigestible or

unwholesome, and these exceptions

'

will

only be found where the digestive organs are deranged

by previous imprudence.
Animal Food.

The

flesh of animals, fat

and lean together, contains,

every one of the fourteen
is

as does a grain of wheat,

elements of which the

human system

composed, but

not in the same proportions, or in the same proximate

principles.

In one hundred parts of the carcass of an ox, of

average fatness, are of food for brains, &c., about 4;
for muscles

and

tissues,

15

for

heat and

fat,

30
for

water, 50.

In wheat, for brains, &c., about 2;

;

muscles and tissues, average 14

water, 14.

for heat

and

fat

70

The muscle-making
and albumen, while

principles in

wheat are gluten

in beef they are fibrin

and albu-

men

but each of these principles so perfectly agrees in

chemical composition as to be considered mere modifications of the

same substance, and being

same elements and

dried, con-

tains precisely the

in the

same prowheat are

little

portions.

The heat and fat-producing

fat,

principles in

sugar and starch, principally starch, with very

while in beef
it

is fat only

and

as fat produces

two and a half times as much heat as sugar or starch,

and beef contains more than three times as much watei

?6
as

ANALYSIS OP DIFPEEENT MEATS.

wheat, the differences of the heat-giving powers of

beef and wheat are

at first appear.

much more

nearly alike than would

The
country

five articles

of animal food on which in this

we

principally

depend

differ in their proportions

of nutritive qualities,
different temperatures

and are therefore adapted to and

different circumstances,

as

may
each.

be seen by the following condensed analysis of

In one hundred parts

Mineral matter, or food for brains, &e.

are,

tissues,

Fibrin and albnmeu,

or food for muacles

and

Fat, or food for heat.

Water,

Veal,.
Beef,

...
.

4.5 5,0
3.5

16.5

16.5

62.5

....
.

15.0
12.5

30.0 40.0
34.0 50.0

50.0 44.0 50.5 38.5

Mutton,

Lamb, ... 3.5

Pork,

12.0
10.0

...

1.5

By
little

this table it is

seen that while veal contains but

principles that

more than an equal quantity of the

of the heaters
is

support muscle and heat, pork contains five times as

much

as of the

muscle-feeders.

Of

course pork

best adapted to food for cold weather,

and veal for warm weather

Under ordinary circumstances we

as

require four times

much

of food for producing heat as for making

is,

muscle, that

four times as

much sugar

or starch as

albumen,

fibrin, gluten,

or casein; but one

pound of

fat contains an equivalent for two and a half pounds

of sugar or starch, and therefore in animal food the

BEANS AND PORK.

77

carbonates, always being furnished in the form of fat,

less

than half the bulk of animal food

is

required than
it

the best vegetable food.

This, also, renders

neces-

sary to take more animal food in winter than in sum-

mer

and hence the provision

is

for animal heat in cold

climates

the fat of animals, while in

warm

climates

sugar

is

the principal provision,

or sugar and staich

as in fruits

and vegetables.
formed on the supposition that we
;

But

this table is

use an average of fat and lean meat

true in the small meats, while in beef

yet this

is

only

and pork we take

fat

very

little,

having an average mixture of

all

and lean.

In lean beefsteak we get almost

principles, while in fat

muscle-making

pork we get

all heaters.

With

steak, therefore,

we

require some butter, or fat of pork,

food, as potatoes, rice,

or

some farinaceous vegetable

;

Indian corn, or wheat

while with fat pork,

we

require

beans, peas, or lean meat, to furnish food for muscle

and

if

our labor or exposure to cold requires such con-

centrated nourishment, nothing can be more wholesome

than beans and pork

the

the one containing heaters in

most concentrated form, and the other the most of muscle and life-giving principles of any vegetable
food.

But what an absurd meal

is

that of beans and pork

on a hot summer's day, especially on a Sabbath mornand yet, from the landing of our Pilgrim fathers ing
I

this

has been the

Sunday morning breakfast of

majority of

New England

people, and I have some-

where seen an estimate made by a quaint old divine, as

78

IS

POEK HEAI.THY?

a part of his sermon, of the number of tons of beans

and pork preached

to in

New

England every Sunday

and con-

while the owners were asleep.

On

the other hand, seeing the stupefying,

gesting,

and heating, and blotch-making influence of

these articles on sedentary people,

some housekeepers

condemn them
and

as altogether
is

and always unwholesome,

under any

especially pork, which

all

supposed to cause scrofula

manner of
it

diseases,

and

will not,

cir-

cumstances, use
reason,

in the family.

But why not use our

is,

and consider what pork

and
treat
it

and what

it

was

made
fat

for,

as the creature of

God, and

there-

fore good,

and not

to

be despised?
all

The elements of the

other meats, as also

of pork and fat of beef, and

oil

of butter, and the

are precisely the

of corn and

oils

of the vegetables,

same, except the osmazome, which

distinguishes the taste of each,

relish

and gives to one a

beef.

for

mutton and another for

All are

wholesome or unwholesome as they are taken at the

right time in the right proportion to other food, &c.,

and

all

unwholesome

if

taken without regard to

cir-

cumstances.

"Fishes of the Sea."

"Everything wherein there

is

life,"

God gave

In

man
we

" for

meat even

as the green herb,"

and of course

find in all these

living things

the same elements

as in the

products of the green herb.

An

analysis of codfish

and haddock gives the same

elements, and in just about the same proportions, as

POOD FROM
lean

FISHES.

79
differ-

beef and mutton,

the

only remarkable

ence being in the amount of phosphates, which are

much

larger in the fish

but varying more in propor-

tion in fishes than in mutton,

and varying according

to

the habits of the fish in regard to muscular power.

Codfish, haddock, halibut, stand in relation to each

other in regard to the three classes of elements

nitrates,

the

carbonates,

and

the

phosphates
less

the
as

beef, mutton,

and pork

halibut having

of the

nitrates

and phosphates, and more of the carbonates,

less of the

than codfish or haddock, as poi-k

former
Fishes

and more of the

latter

than beef and mutton.

of the same species also have more or less of the carbonates,

according to climate,

being

providentially

adapted, as are the grains and the land animals, to

supply the heat of

man

according to his necessities.

In regard to the nitrates and phosphates, a great

difference
is

found in the different species, those which

have the most muscular power having, of course, more

of the nitrates, or muscle-making element, and those
the most of the phos-

which have the most

activity,

phates, which not only furnish food for the brain, but
for the nerves,

and which give

facts,

vitality

and

activity.

From
to give,

a collection of

which

I will

now

proceed

may, I think, be deduced an inference of great

practical importance, both in regard to the selection of

food adapted to different degrees of activity of mind

and body in health, but

also adapted to different de;

grees of vitality in sickness

and as

this,

so far as I

know,

is

an application of science

to

dietetics

not

BO

MENTAL STRENGTH DEPENDENT ON

made, and
as, indeed,

DIET.

hitherto

no such

effort

has been

made

to apply the plain laws of

Nature to the supply

system, as have

of the natural wants of the

human

been made by Johnston and others to apply them to

the wants of vegetable, I
facts,

propose to bring together

and show the principles upon which I deduce

the

corollary which I place at the head of the next

chapter.

Mental as well as Physical Health, Strength, and

Activity, can be regulated by, as
extent dependent on. Diet.
it is to

a great

The

vitality of plants, the

muscular activity of
well as

all

animals,

and the mental

as

muscular and

organic health and vigor of man, depend on phosphorus.

These are legitimate inferences from

clearly, as

facts,

presented

you

shall see, in the organization of plants,

animals, and man.

In grains, and
vitality,

all

seeds, the phosphates

for the brain

which give
re-

and furnish food

and nerves,

side in the

germ or

"chit," while the fixed phosphates,

which are devoted to bones, &c., are mixed with gluten

in the

crust under the hull,

as seen in the plates of

corn and wheat. Figs. 2, 3 &c.

That the phosphates are concentrated

all

in the

germ of
grain or

seeds,

and that they vary in

different seeds, is easily

ascertained
seed,

by chemical

tests applied to the

and the drawing of these plates above was sugfirst

gested from experiments

made by Dr. Hayes,

of

PHOSPHATES IN SEEDS.

81

Boston, and then introduced by Dr. Jackson into hia

geological

and mineralogical survey of

New Hamp-

shire, in colored plates,

showing the extent of phos;

phates and other elements

but I have not been content

without re-testing, and getting re-drawn, each speci-

men. The process

is

very simple, and the discovery of

it

very important, as I have elsewhere intimated.

In

this

manner can be shown

phates, nitrates,

just

the proportion of phos-

and carbonates each eeed contains

is

and therefore which and which

to feed

best adapted to feed the muscle,

the brain, and

give vitality, and

which to furnish heat.

It is thus ascertained that

some seeds and some grains

as

contain two
others.

or

three times

much phosphates
two per

as

Wheat,

for example, contains

cent.,

while millet four per cent.

Grass seed from six to

seven per cent., and some, as clover and herdsgrass,

from seven to nine.

In

all seeds,

and

roots,

and nuts,

which germinate from

chits

or eyes, the phosphates

is

centre about these eyes, and what

not found there

is

always found connected with the muscle-making part

of the grain or fruit, showing that the phosphates are

connected with vitality and the life-giving principle.

flesh,

The same thing is shown in animals by a test of their and by their manner of living. The flesh of
the proportion to their natural
activity, wild

quadrupeds, and birds, and fishes contain phosphorus

in just

animals

much more than

6

domestic.

The most

active

birds, like

the pigeon and the migrating birds,

much

82

STRENGTH OP

DSTSBCTS,
birds.

more than domestic fowls, and quiet and lazy

The migrating
enables

fishes,

whose astonishing muscular power

falls,

them to swim up rapids and over

and comparatively dormant.

contain

more phosphates than the flounder and

are clumsy

halibut, which

Insects
activity

abound

in phosphorus in proportion to their

and strength of muscle, and among them are

the greatest gymnasts in the world.

is

The

leap of a flea

as great, in proportion to size of muscle, as if a

man

should jump over the Atlantic Ocean, from Boston to London and a beetle, not weighing a scruple, will lift and move a junk bottle, with contents, weighing a weight more than one hundred nearly a pound in proportion, as Dr. Windship could times as great,
;

lift

(and the beetle wears no yoke).

Being wanted

for

scientific

purposes, a beetle was placed, for safe keepfilled

ing,

under a bottle partly

with liquid,

in the

inverted cup

made

in the bottom of the bottle.

little

Imoff

mediately the plucky

insect

was seen walking

the basement of
feet

with the bottle on his back,

as if the strong doctor,

being shut up in his

own

ofiice in

Park
high,

Street Church, with a steeple

two hundred
all,

should hoist the old thing, steeple and

cemetery.

over into the

AOTIVf; AMMAIiS

EAT THE MOST PHOSPHATES. 83

Quadrupeds, Birds, and Insects instinctively

select

Food

containing Phosphorus in Proportion

to thai
to

of which they are composed, and in Proportion

their Activity.

The

active bird lives

on active

insects or small seeds,

which contain the most phosphorus, whUe the sluggish

hen or robin
tain
is

content with corn or worms, which con-

much

less of the life-giving

element

and migratory
live

birds, while they

remain quiet, raising their young,

on worms and

berries, but in the fall get a supply of

strength for annual flight by "eating seeds and active

insects.

The kingbird
all

is

the smartest

little

bird in

New
from

England, and gets

his

name from

the fact that he

governs
his

other birds, large and small, or drives them

if

domain
is

they give him offence.

Even

the

hawk, which
a source of

such a terror to other birds, seems to be

to the kingbird.

amusement
this
little

Many

a'

time

have I seen
the

bird, not one tenth as large as

his

hawk, flying just over

back

in the air,

keeping

out of

Ms way by

superior activity, occasionally poun-

cing on him, and giving him such annoyance that he

was glad

to leave the neighborhood to escape his little

tormentor.

brace of these jolly and eccentric

little

kingbirds are just

the denizens

now

affording infinite

amusement

to

and

visitors of Chester Square, in Boston.*

Having, according
lies,

to the

custom of other royal famicity residence for a part

selected a beautiful

of

the year, and having

built their nest,

in

and the queen

to

being actively engaged

matters pertaining
1867.

the

June,

84

THE KINGBIED.
is

perpetuation of royalty, the king

tain visitors.

obliged to enter-

This he does by pouncing on the backs

;

of dogs and driving them from the square

the bright buttons on the policemen's coats
off tall,

diving at

knocking

black,
at

awkward

stove-funnel hats, &c., &c.

Looking out
Open

my

office

window, which looks over an

I saw this king-

lot to the square, the other day,

bird pouncing with tremendous vigor into a thicket of

shrubs, and soon

came out a big

at his

cat, escaping, as for

dear

life,

to the nearest shelter, with the little bird every

moment

striking

back and head.

This

little

kingbird lives on bees and hornets,

bial for their industry, strength,
ity,

insects prover

and on

and persevering activ

keeps them up in the
in

flies,

whose

activity

air for

amusement, and the bird amuses himself

catching them.

The wild pigeon, which

is

said to fly

more miles

in

a day than any other bird, chooses for his food, in

preference to all other grain, the millet

and barley,

which contain three times the phosphorus of other

grain, leaving
all

other grains untouched while these

can be had.

This, the boys in the country understand,

millet, or grass

and they take great pains to use barley,

seed to

decoy them to their nets

is

but the domestic

is

pigeon, which
corn
,

comparatively inactive,
containing

content with
less

or the other grains

;

much

phos-

phorus

and thus

it

is

clearly established that active

animals require food which contains more phosphorus

than inactive animals, and the inference
is

conclusive

FOOD
that

FOti

THE NERVES.
less activity

85 of brain

man

also will

have more or

or muscle in proportion to the elements he takes to feed

the brain and muscle.

In the preceding chapters we have seen that in the

germ of

life is

found phosphorus in proportion

to

the
is

future wants of the plant, and that the phosphorus

supplied by, and taken from, the soil as

it is

required.

We have
ment
is

seen that quadrupeds and birds also depend

for their muscular activity,

on phosphorus

and

this ele-

supplied by the seeds of plants, and by insects

it.

and other animal food containing

We
and

come now

to

consider that highest and most

is

important order of vitality which

to see if the

peculiar to

man,
does

same element, although

in a different
it,

combination, and the same law for applying not pertain to that, as to the lower orders of

vitality.

Of

the

soM
is

matter of the brain, one twelfth, on an

average,

found by chemical analysis to be phosis

phorus, and the proportion of phosphorus

found to

be in proportion to mental development and mental

activity.

A celebrated French

chemist has

made many
differ-

analyses of brains of children, idiots,

and men of

ent degrees of intellect and mental activity, and the

uniform results were, that the brains of those whose

minds were most developed and active contained most

phosphorus.
1 will transcribe one of his tables.

Ob

WASTE OF PHOSPHORUS BT MENTAL EFFOKT.

Composition of Brain and Nervous Substance.

In Infants.
Souths
Adults.

Aged.

Idiots,

Albumen,
Cerebral
fat,

6.67

10.20
5.30
1.65

9.40

8.65

8.40

8.05
.76

6.10
1.80

4.32
1.00

5.00
0.85

Phosphorus,

Osmazome
and
salts,

5.67

8.59

10.19
72.51

12.18 73.85

14.82
70.93

Water,

78.85

74.26

100.00

100.00

100.00

100.00

100.00

By

this table it is seen that the brain

of infants and

idiots contains less

than half the average of that element

in adults.

Another

fact,

established also

by chemical

analysis,

which, with that above mentioned, proves to a demonstration that the action of the

mind

is

dependent on

phosphorus, and

is

subject to the

same law of waste

:

and supply as other

faculties, is the following

Imme-

diately after active mental labor the excretions exhibit

a larger proportion of phosphates than at any other

time, e. g., on

Mondays and Tuesdays

in clergymen,
this

and

at court times in lawyers.

Experiments of

kind have gone to show that the amount of phosphates

ased up and excreted
is

in exact proportion to the

;

mtensity and continuance of the mental effort

these times,
told

and, at

observing clergymen

and lawyers have

me

their appetite calls for phosphatic food, as fish,

L'heese,

unbolted wheat bread, oat meal, and barley

FOOD FOE THE BRAIN.

cakes, &c.,

87

and some

desire,

and

will have

made
all

foi

them, cakes of bran, which contain most of

the

phosphorus of the grain from which

it

is

taken.

Food for the Brain and Nerves.

That mental and nervous power
is
is

dependent on food,

an idea that may at

first

strike the
;

mind

as absurd,

and unworthy of investigation

but the same process

that proves muscles to be dependent for development,

and vigor, and health on food containing nitrogen,

proves the brain and nerves to be dependent for the

development, and health, and the vigorous exercise of

their functions

on food containing phosphorus.

it

This subject, being somewhat new, and, as

to

seems

me, of vast importance, requires a

little

in detail

the reasons for the belief that the

same laws apply to

the brain as to the muscular system, and that as the

muscles can be trained, and their power developed by

appropriate

food as well as appropriate exercise,

so

that the brains of our children

may

be developed in the

dining-room as well as in the school-room

the caterer
school-

and cook being important

master.
All nature
is

auxiliaries

to the

governed by one comprehensive and

perfect system of law.

The law which

plant controls

controls the cirit

culation of sap in one

plants.

in all other

The law by which

the bones of one animal are

so constructed as to adapt

them

to the conditions in
is

which

the animal is destined to live,

the law which

all

governs the construction of the bones of

other ani-

88

MENTAL ACTIVITT DEPENDS ON PH08PHOEU8.

mals, so that the naturalist will take a single bone of

any animal which he has never seen, and from

construct the animal from which
it

it

will
his

was taken, show

disposition, the arrangements of his digestive organs,

his habits,

and the kind of food on which he was accusthis general principle to the question

tomed

to live.

To apply
which
which
it

under

consideration,

we

find that

wheat contains phosphorus,

in

gets from the soil

which

it

grows, and
If the soil
is

is

necessary for

its

development.

deficient in phosphates the grain will

this

be deficient in
it

element, and the proportions which

contains

within certain limits are in exact accordance with those

of the
all its

soil.

Now
is

the ultimate purpose of wheat and

elements

evidently to supply these elements to

the

human

system, and that a part of these elements

is

are intended to give mental support,

proved, I think,

by the

fact, that the brain contains

its

phosphorus in pro-

portion to
efforts,

activity

or

power of producing mental

is

and that phosphorus

consumed and

carried

from the system in proportion to mental

efforts, just as

muscle contains nitrogenous elements in proportion to

its

size

and power

and these elements are consumed,

in proportion to

and must be supplied,

cise.

muscular exer-

That mental exercise does thus consume phosis

phorus,

proved,
;

as

I have elsewhere shown, by

is

chemical analysis

proof of the above assertion

therefore complete.

Let any man observe and

sirup, or

his feelings

and mental capacity

after a breakfast of white

bread and

butter, or griddle-cakes

any other such

PEECOCIOtJS CHILDEEN.

89
sure he will

carbonaceous articles of food, and I

find himself as

am

unable to perform the same mental labor

fish

he can on a breakfast of beefsteak, or

or unbolted

and

potatoes,
articles

bread and milk, or any other

Brains can no

abounding in the phosphates.

more be made or worked without phosphorus than

Egyptian bricks can be made without straw.

Why
children,

not,

then, apply these plain laws to raising

their minds, as

and cultivating

we do

to the

raising of wheat,
their properties

and hens, and bees, and developing

and powers.
understands his business would expect

No man who
to raise

wheat

in soil in

which

is

no nitrogen, lime, or on food contain-

phosphorus, or

make hens

profitable

ing no lime for egg shells, or keep bees on a desolate

bland where no flowers could be found.

Why,

then,

expect to develop brains on white bread, griddle-cakes,

and doughnuts

Precocious Children.

Many

of the most promising children are sacrificed

to a desire to

bring them forward in advance of other

this

children, and
instincts.

desire

is

stimulated

by natural
" as a strong

Every

living

creature

rejoices in the use

it,

of the faculties which

God

has given

man

to

run a race."

The boy whose muscles

still,

are well

developed will never keep

thing,

but

is

ready for any-

good or bad, in which he can

is

stir himself.

To

Buch a one study

a punishment.
feeble,

But the boy whose muscles are

and whose

90
brain
is

ACTIVE BIEDS EAT MOST PHOSPHOEUS.

largely developed,
sits
still

and reads, and the

appetite of course conforms to

exercise.

th.e

kind and amount of

his'

If he wastes his muscles by exercise,

appetite will

demand

the muscle-making nitrates to

supply the waste.

the brain
restore
it.

If he exhausts the phosphorus of

will desire phosphatic food to
fat

by study, he While the

and stupid boy, who has

will
;

neither

muscles nor brain,

crave

carbonaceous
in these

articles to feed his stupidity

and indulgence

appetites will of course increase the peculiarity.

I have seen the plucky

little

kingbird, after an hour

of extraordinary exertions in driving from the neigh-

Dorhood an intruding hawk, devote the next hour to

catching and
eating

bees

and hornets, which abound

energy
while the dormant

ooth in nitrates and phosphates, as a means of restoring

his

muscular

and

vital

robin would be content to live on cherries and worms,

which contain very

nerve.
living as

little

food for either muscle or

The
it

bird

is

safe in following his inclinations

does according to natural laws, and having

faculties,
it

no abnormal development of

and no abnor-

mal appetites,

it

can eat what

desires,

and

as

much,

with perfect impunity.

But

the child, changed in

its

condition as

it

may be

by the ignorance and

its

folly of its parents,

even before

birth, is

abnormally developed, and of course has

abnormal appetites.
Indulging these appetites in case of precocity of the
brain, of course increases the excitement of the brain,

and the result

is

inflammation and premature death

PRECOCIOUS CHILDREN AND PHOSPIIATIO FOOD. 91

and so common

is this result,
is

that

it is

well understood

that a precocious child

short-lived.

And

is it

inevi-

table that the fondest hopes of parents

must always be

blasted?

child with a precocious brain, or

who
is

ia

very forward, to use the

course

common
if

expression,

of

more

liable to
;

dangerous diseases of the brain

but
parents would give the

than other children

subject thought,

and use

their reason in this,

aa in

other less important matters, these diseases might generally be

warded

off.

If our eyes have been overworked, or are

liable to inflammation,

weak and

we
;

avoid over-using them, espe-

cially in too strong light

light,

and

if

so inflamed that the

and

all

use of them gives pain,

we
to

shut out the

light altogether,

and give them

rest

till

they recover.
the eyes
in

Both

light

and seeing are pleasant

health,

and absolutely necessary

to give

them

health

and strength, but when diseased, are both

rious,

alike injutill

and we avoid the influence of both

they

recover.
diseased,

And when
we

only weak, and not absolutely

are careful to have the light, or use the

eye only moderately and carefully.

So of any other
it

organ or faculty,
health,

that

which

is

necessary to

in

must be carefully used

in tendency to disease,

and abstained from in actual

disease.

Apply
bi'ain
is

this

principle to a precocious

brain.

The
and a

as dependent

on appropriate
is

exercise,

eupply of phosphorus in health, as

cise

the eye on exer-

and light; and as we withdraw the exercise and Hght from the eye in weakness and disease, so should

92

EFFECTS OF CAEBONACEOTJS FOOD.

the brain to rest

we allow

from exercise and phosphatio

food in case of disease or predisposition to disease.

child

with a precocious

brain

would probably

desire fish, lean meats, beans

and peas, &c., in which

phosphorus abounds

and while in health and perfectly

but

developed, this desire would be an indication that these

articles of

food were good and necessary

when

the
it

desire

is

the result of too great activity of the brain,

should -be more or less scrupulously and perfectly resisted in proportion to the degree of precocity,

and we

should give instead cooling fruits and vegetables, with

bread and milk, and other articles containing starch

and sugar,
of

to furnish the necessary heat,

more or

less,

according to the temperature in which he lives, instead

fat,

and

oils,

and butter,

in

which the carbctnates are

more concentrated and more stimulating.

Of

the effects of diet mostly carbonaceous,

we can

judge from the testimony of Rev. Mr. Dall, missionary

at Calcutta.

In describing the character and habits of

live

Asiatics,
as

who

mostly on

rice,

an

article containing,
little

you

will see

by the analysis, very

like

else

than
he

starch,
says, "
in the
ttight,

and therefore very

our superfine

flour,

With

the thermometer at one hundred degrees

to eighty-eight in the
is

day time, and eighty-five

wakefulness
is

mle

the exception and drowsing

the

the poor, old or young,

"

who

brings you a note

from his
delights)
,

master

'

(a

word

in
it

which Asiatic reverence

than he flings himself
is

no sooner delivers

on his back at full length, and

quarters of a minute, so that

sound asleep in three

hard to arouse him
if

it is

'

MUSOtTLAK AOTIVITT.

93
This Indian

you are

five

minutes penning your reply.

faculty of literally dropping asleep used to

make me

smile

but I've got used to

'

it.

now

expect to see

Bengal

gentlemen

'

asleep in their carriages on their

way

to office,

and

less wealthy, as

a matter of course,
the rajahs, &c.,
sec.

asleep in their palanquins.

When

English people dancing at the Government House, they

ask, in wonder,
'
'

Why

not let your servants do this ?

Eternal sleep
!' is

is

the bliss of
is

God

and never be born

is

again

Hindooism,

Buddhism,

Asianism,

is

the

Oriental, as

compared with our idea of religion."

stupidity
is

That
dimate,

this
is

not induced entirely by the

proved by the fact that the English never

there,

become so by a residence

however long, and by

live

the fact that other people

who

on

less carbona-

ceous food, in climates equally hot, are not thus inactive

and sleepy; but

it is

the legitimate effect, as I

have elsewhere explained, of living on food that has

no nourishment for brain or muscle.

Precocity of Muscular Activity.

This

is

less

dangerous, as the steam of vital force

can be
witliout

let off

through the muscles

till

it is

exhausted,
StUl the

much

danger, except to outsiders.

same law pertains

to the muscles as to the brain, and,

as a matter of convenience, at least to parents and

BchoolmastP"'-, such boys should

be

limited

in their

supply or

muscle-making materials, and

might

be

indulged to a greater extent with the carbonates.

Let

94

AMOUNT OF FOOD NEEDED.

fill

them
tables

the stomach with crackers and milk, or vegefat pork,

and

and there would be no room for

nitrogenous articles of food

or, at least,

they could

not be over-stimulated by them.

The daUy Amount of Food necessary, and the Proportion of Nitrates and Carbonates.

Experience sustains fully the chemical and physiological deductions of the preceding chapters.

Animals
and the

have been fed on pure starch, or sugar, or fat alone,

and they gradually pined away and died

nitrates in all the fine flour bread

which the animal can

days
;

eat will not sustain life

beyond

fifty

but others,

fed on unbolted flour bread, would continue to thrive for

an

indefinite period.

It is

immaterial whether the gen-

eral quantity of food

be reduced too low, or whether

either of the

muscle-making or heat-producing princiis

ples

be withdrawn while the other

effect will

fully supplied.

In either case the

will
later,

be the same.

The animal
die sooner or

become weak, dwindle away, and

according to the deficiency
is
;

and

if

food

is

eaten

which

deficient in either principle, the appetite will

it

demand
plied.

in quantity

till

the deficient element

is

sup-

All the food, therefore, beyond the amount

is

necessary to supply the principle that

is

not deficient,

not only wasted, but burdens the system with efforts

it.

to dispose of

Food, therefore, containing the right

is

proportion of heaters and muscle-makers

best,

not only

but most economical.


EFrECTS OP DIPFEEENT KINDS OP FOOD.
95
a

To make
dish gravy,

this

statement plain, suppose

we have

meal composed of roast

rye and Indian, and
if

beef, rare, with potatoes

and

and as much of unbolted wheat bread, or

fruits,

and cheese, and perhaps,

the beef be lean, or with green vegetables, butter

or fat pork, to give

them

their heating principles.

satisfied

Of

such a meal the appetite would be

the

with just

amount of food necessary

to supply either the heat-

ing or the muscle-making principles, and they would

be taken in the right proportions.

But suppose,
fine

instead,

we

tried to satisfy the appetite

with a meal composed of fried fat pork and potatoes,

wheat bread and butter, griddle-cakes and sirup

almost entirely destitute of food for muscle

articles

or

brain.

When
there

the stomach was

stUl

filled

with these
for

articles,

would

be

demand
should

the

nitrates

or

phosphates,
to

and

we

still

crave
the

some

article

supply the deficiency,

the

and

all

carbonates

above those which

system

required

would be wasted.

On

the other hand, if

we

ate only lean meat, or fish,

and green vegetables and

carbonates,

fruits,

which are

deficient in
arti-

we

should require a quantity of these

cles in proportion to that deficiency, or the lungs

would

not be supplied with fuel sufficient to

chine."
cities,

"run
in all

the

ma-

But

in Boston,

and probably

American

a large part of the expenses of the table are for

butter, superfine flour,

and sugar, neither of which condays, as has been proved by

tains enough of the muscle or brain-feeding element

to sustain life

over

fifty

96

MIXTURE OF DITPBEENT ELEMENTS.

flour,

experiment with
not sustain
life

while butter and sugar would

a single month without other food.

articles of

As

far as

we have

food deficient in car-

bonates,

we can

use, without loss, butter or sugar to

;

supply the deficiency

but most of our natural food,

contains a due

both animal and vegetable,

tion,

propor-

and

if

with them

we

use butter or sugar, they

cannot be appropriated by the system, and are therefore lost.

All meats, fat and lean together,

all

grains and
or

milk, contain all the carbonates that are needed

can be used to furnish heat in moderate weather.

All

the butter or sugar, therefore, that is added to either

of these

common

articles of food, as

they are used in

making

cakes, custards, pies, &c., are not only lost,

but by adding too

much

fuel, increase the

tendency to

inflammations, embarrass the stomach, and induce dyspepsia, congestions, obstructions, &c.

With
toes, or

beefsteak, or

any lean meats, or

fish,

or pota-

any green vegetables, or dried beans or peas,

seems to be needed, as
all

some

oily substance

these

articles are deficient in carbon,

and in common use we

oil,

have the choice between lard, sweet

perhaps
fat

or butter, or

pork,

all

of which are precisely alike in

is

chemical construction, and that one

most wholesome

which

is

best relished.
also is

Sugar

needed with the acid

fruits

and

berries,

eind especially

with apples, which in

New England

are

the most valuable of all fruits, either with or without

cooking, and which, with sugar, furnish excellent food,

THE MINIMUM OP NECESSAEY FOOD.

especially in winter

97
cannot

and spring, when other

fruit

be had.

But

to find a

good use for superfine

its

flour, out

of which has been taken nine tenths of

food for

muscle or brains,
possible in health
;

is

exceedingly
it

diflScult,

indeed, im-

and

can only be useful in disease

where the

irritability

of the stomach or bowels forbids

the use of their natural stimulant, just as inflammation

of the eye makes

it

necessary to exclude the light.

Experiments on Prisoners as to
needed.

tlie

Amoont of Food

The

best test of the influence of kind and quantity

life

and health can be made in prisons, where the habits are all alike, and where the In five prisons in test can be made on a large scale. the smallascertain Scotland experiments were made to est amount of food, and the proportions of nitrates and
of food in sustaining
carbonates, that would keep the prisoner

weight whUe doing nothing, with results

the following table
:

up to his as shown iq

Unscle-maMng Food,

98

EXPERIMENT ON PEIS0NEE8.

Percentage of Prisoners

who

lost or
;

gained Weight.

Edinburgh.

18

lost

11 lbs. each

82 held their own

33 4 gained Aberdeen. 34 4 own gained weight. 34 4 own or gained weight. 4 Dundee. 50

Glasgow.
lost

or gained weight.

lbs.

each; 67 held their

own
their

or

weight.

lost

lbs.

2 oz. each

66 held 66 held

or

Stirling.

lost

lbs.

2 oz. each

their

lost

lbs.

5 oz. each

50 held

their

own

or gained weight. the result of observations for a term of

The above

is

imprisonment for two months.

The

Effect

on Prisoners of substituting Molasses for

Hilk.

It is

a remarkable

fact,

which shows the importance

of connecting science with practice, that the deterioration in the quality of the diet in
sisted

in

substituting

molasses for

Dimdee prison conmUk, which had

been previously used with oat-meal porridge and oat-

meal cakes, molasses being entirely destitute of muscle-

making
and

material,

whUe milk

contains a full proportion

of these important principles.

its results,

This one experiment,

are worthy of study

in the land.

by every mother
If

and every housekeeper

any

class of

persons would suffer less than others from the use of

MOLASSES AND MILK.

too
it

99

much carbonaceous and would be that class who

fat

too

little
;

nitrogenous food,

are idle

and yet the one

hundred prisoners of Dundee, with one ounce a day

more of the
half pounds,

and heat-making
the same

principle than those

of Edinburgh, lost two hundred and seventeen and one

whUe

number

in

Edinburgh

lost

aly twenty-seven pounds; the difference in their diet

being, as stated in the report, that the prisoners of

Edinburgh had milk with

while those of

their

porridge and cakes,

instead.

Dundee had molasses

on
children,

If the same experiment had been tried on

active life, or

men

in

who

are never

still

except

Tfhen asleep, the results

would have been more remark-

able, in proportion to the greater waste of muscle in

those

who

are active, and the greater

;

demand

for nitro-

genous food

and yet how few mothers stop

to consider,

or take pains to know, whether gingerbread,

fine flour,

made of

brain,

which has but a trace of food for muscle or and sugar or molasses, and perhaps butter,

which have none, or cakes made with unbolted wheat, mixed with milk or buttermilk, ^U of which abound in
muscle and brain-feeding materials,
a growing, active chUd
child
is
;

is

the best food for-

indeed, the whole food of the

given with the same want of knowledge or con-

sideration.

But, in view of these simple experiments in the

Scotch prisons,

who can doubt

that a

want of consid-

eration of these principles of diet is the

means of con-

eigning to the
children.

An

tomb many of our most promising intelligent farmer knows how to feed


100

FOOD

ACTIVB LIFE.

his land, his horses, his cattle,

and

his pigs

but not
is

how

to feed his children.

He

knows

that fine flour

not good for pigs, and he gives them the whole of the
grain, or perhaps takes out the bran

and coarser

part,

which contains food for muscles and brains, and gives

them
dren.

to his pigs,

whUe

the fine flour, which contains

neither food for brain or muscle, he gives to his chil-

He

separates also the milk,

in

and gives

his pigs
all

the

skim-mUk and buttermilk,

which are found

the elements for muscle and brain, and gives his chil-

dren the butter, which only heats them and makes them
inactive, without furnishing a particle of the nutriment

which they need.

The Amount and Proportion of Mascle-makin^ and

Heat-prodncing Elements of Food in Active
ployments.

Em-

We

see

by the preceding

table that prisoners, with-

out exercise, could not be sustained with an amount of food short of four ounces nitrogenous food and thirteen

ounces carbonaceous
insufficient to

all

short of that

amount being

supply the waste, and the remainder was

itself,

drawn from the body

its

constantly diminishing in

weight

and

that,

whether the diminution was in the

nitrates or carbonates.

To

supply four ounces nitrogen and thirteen ounces

carbon in the most concentrated food, requires of

HOW TO GET THE

Lean beefsteak

REQUISITE AMOUNT OP FOOD. 101

Weight.
NitrateB.

Carbonates,

oz.

1 oz.

oz.

Fat pork, or fat of beef, or

any meat,
Unbolted wheat bread,
. .

2 8 8
2
1

2
5

Beans or peas,
Butter,

4
2

1^

lbs., or

24
48
58

oz.

4oz.
8

13 oz.

With

active exercise,

26 *
31
-f

Active exercise in winter,

10

Food

thus concentrated would be adapted only to the

in the coldest weather.

most active employment

us, therefore,

Let

make another bUl

to

of fare, in which

we

shall get the thirteen ounces carbonates

and four ounces

nitrates in a

form adapted

warm

weather.

102

NOUEISHMENT IN ONE POUND OP WHEAT.

bill

This

would be extremely
;

diluted, as the first

is

extremely concentrated

but both together will show

how
the

greatly our food can be varied in quantity to get

same amount of nourishment.

little

And

with the

fol-

lowing tables, with a

study,

would enable a house-

keeper to adapt the amount and variety of food to be

provided to the number and circumstances of her family.

Average amount Nutriment in One Pound of Wheat.

Water,
Gluten,
.
.

2oz. 2
> Nitrates.
\

215

gr.

Albumen,
Starch,
.

146
,

215

Sugar,
Eat,
Fibre,
. .

^ Carbonates. <
J

52

104
I
.

Waste.
Phosphates
in

Gum,

104
108

Mineral matter,

Amount of Nutriment
Water,
Gluten,

One Pound of Rye.

2 oz.

.... ....
> Nitrates.
. . .

35 gr.

318

Albumen,
Starch,

[l
<

213
79

Sugar,
Fat,

.... ....

>

Carbonates.

262
66

Gum,
"

371
I

Woody fibre,

Waste.
Phosphates

284
.

Mineral matter,

122

SOUTHEEN AND NOETHEEN OOEN.

103

The average Amount of Nutriment in One Pound of Northern Corn (Maize).

Water
Gluten
Starch,
.
.

2oz. 105 gr.

Mtrate.
1 9
>

402
262
21

Sugar,

Carbonates. <
.

Fat,*

....
fibre,
.

101

Woody

Waste.
Phosphates.

350
70

Mineral matter,

The average Amount of Nutriment in One Pound of

Southern Corn.

Water,
Gluten
Starch,
. .

3 oz.
Nitrate

gr.

215

218
>

Sugar,
Fat,

Carbonates. <

200 20
21

....
fibre,
"

Woody

Gnm, ...
Mineral matter,
*
.

Waste.
Phosphates.

<

200
250
oi

Or

oil,

two and one half times more fattening than starch

ingar.

104

BARLEY, OATS, AND BEANS.

The Amount of Nutriment in One Pound of Barley.

Water,
Gluten,
.

2oz.

Albumen,
Starch,
.

'\m Nitrates.

Sugar,
Fat,
.

^Carbonates.-

Mineral matter,

Phosphates.

Average Amount Nutriment in One Pound Oat Meal.

Water,
Gluten,
1
>

2oz. 100 gr.

(-2
Nitrates.
<

Albumen,

...

.J

350

PEAS AOT) BUCKWHEAT.

105

The Amount of Nutriment in One Pound of Peas.

"Water,

2oz.
Nitrates
. . .

Casein
Starch,

Sugar,
Fat,

>

Carbonates. <

....
fibre,
.
. "l

Woody
Gum,

Waste.
Phosphates.

J
.

Mineral matter,

106

EIOE AND POTATOES.

The Amount of Nutriment in One Pound of Rice.

Water
Gluten,
Starch,
. .

2oz.
Nitrates.
.

26gr.

rii
>

360 370

Sugar,

Carbonates.

<

Fat

L
.
. .

30
40

Gum,
Fibre,

I
.

Waste.

215 20

Mineral matter,

Amount of Nutriment
Water,
Starch,
.

in

One Pound of Potatoes.

12 oz.
2
gr.

205

Sugar,
J?

>

Carbonates.

<

215
L

MU 9

Albumen,

Nitrates.

142

Woody
Grum,
.

fibre,

354
i Waste.
<
.

20
.

Mineral matter,

Phosphates.

354

SWEET POTATOES.

107

Amount Nutriment in One Pound of Sweet Potatoes,

Ounces.
Grains.

Water,
Starch,
,

10
2
>

340
249 277
18

Sugar,
Fat,

Carbonates. <
L

....
. .

Albumen,
Fibre,
.

Nitrates

105

35
I Waste. Waste

Gum, ....
Mineral matter,
.

77

Phosphates.

210

Amount of Nutriment
Water,

in

One Pound ofParsnips.

13

Albumen,
Sugar,
Starch,

....
'

Nitrates.

> Carbonates.

<

Fat,
Fibre,

....
.

Gum, ....
Mineral matter,

Waste.
:}
.

Phosphates.

108

TUENIPS.

OAKKOT8.

The Amount of Nutriment in One Pound of Thirnijps.

Ounces,
Grains.

Water
Albumen, &c.,
Sugar,
.

14
Nitrates.

213
77
28

Carbonates.
1

Gum,
Tibre,

Waste.
Phosphates.

107 168

\
L

J
.

Mineral matter,

35

Amount of Nutriment
Water,

in

One Pound of Carrots.

14
6

Albumen,

....
> J
1

Nitrates.

42

Carbonates.

Fat

Jo i:
r

14 70

Gum,

_ Fibre,
Mineral matter,
.

>

Waste.
Phosphates.

<

231
70

Amount of Nutriment in One Pound of Cow's Milk

Water
Casein
Nitrates,
T ^ J
.

13

533

350
f

Butter

245
215
70

Carbonates. <
L

Sugar
Mineral matter,

Phosphates.

MILK.

109

dmount of Nutriment in One Pound of Human Milk,

Ounces.
Grains.

Water,
Casein,
Butter,
_,
-j

14
Nitrates.
1

41

210

210

>

Carbonates.

Sugar,

jo

>

300
35

Mineral matter,

Phosphates.

Amount of Nutriment
Water,
Casein,
Butter,

in

One Pound of Goafs Milk.

10

....."
Nitrates.
1

325
f

230
280
70

>

Carbonates.

-;

Sugar,

J
.

Mineral matter,

Phosphates.

The
in the

casein

and phosphates are

in larger proportions

milk of the cow and goat than in human milk,

to adapt

them

to the different conditions of their

young.

The

calf

and the kid, being active from

their birth, re-

quire the nitrates for feeding the muscles, and the phos-

phates for vital power, at

first

while the child, being

dormant and

helpless, requires less of these principles;

to substitute the milk of the

and therefore, and a

milk,

cow
is

or goat

for food for the child,

little

about one third water

little

required,

sugar

but

more

for cow's than goat's

the difference between the

mUk

of the cow

110 and that of the goat

be at

ANIMAL FOOD.
is

too

little

to

much

trouble for the choice.

make it an object to The proportions

it

vary in different cows, and therefore

in raising children
suits,

is

important,

on cow's milk, to get the milk that

and then use the same cow's milk constantly.

The Four Principal Meats, of average

Fatness, com-

pared with Vegetable Food.

The Amount of Nutriment in One Pound of Beef of

average Fatness.

MUTTON.

POEK.
Ounces. Grains.

Ill

The Amaunt of Nutriment in One Pound of Mutton.

Water,
. .

16

Fibrin and

Albumen ,}
Fat,
.
.

Nitrates.

385
Equal to 2i times

Carbonates.

6 1

1761
.

as much sugar oi starch 16 oz.,

or 1

lb.

Gelatine,

Waste.
Phosphates.

52

Mineral,

241

The Amount of Nutriment in One Found of Pork.

Ounces. Grains,

Water,

112

soldiers' rations.
nitrates
is

and one half ounces

nates
;

and twenty ounces carbobelow iSghting condition.

but with this diet he

Rations of the French Soldier. The diet of the French soldier is very different from that of the English or
still

Dutch, they using much more of liquid food

the proportion or
is

amount of

nitrates

and carbo-

nates

not very dissimilar.

He

gets about four and

three fourths ounces nitrates and twenty-four ounces

carbonates, and on this

condition

is

always kept in a fighting

three or four ounces of

probably wasting

the carbonates.

English Soldiers in the Ghelsea Hospital have

bonates remain the same

their

nitrates reduced to three or four ounces, but their car;

as also the sailor in the

Greenwich Hospital;
need

but, having no exercise,

they

less carbonates as well as less nitrates, it

being

known
nates
to the
is

that the

demand
exercise.

for both nitrates

and carbo-

equally increased or diminished in proportion

amount of

three

They have Rations of Greenwich Pensioners. and one half ounces nitrates and twenty ounces

carbonates.

They have four Rations of Ghelsea Pensioners. and one fourth one half ounces nitrates and twenty and
ounces carbonates.

Rations of Old Men of Gillespie's Hospital, EdinThey have three ounces nitrates and twenty burgh.

ounces carbonates.

In all the workhouses of Rations of Paupers. England, Scotland, and Ireland, the average is daily

HOSPITAL EATIONS.
three

113

and one half ounces

nitrates

and sixteen and one

half ounces carbonates.

Rations of Boys of Ten Years old. In the English schools two and one half ounces nitrates and fifteen
ounces carbonates are allowed daily.

Rations of Boys in Christ's Hospital in London. Only two and one half ounces nitrates and fourteen
ounces carbonates are allowed
not stated.
;

is

but the average age

Massachusetts State Prison.

Prisoners, 545 .

Average Number of Food consumed in one Week :

114

STATE PRISON RATIONS.

comparing the above
it

By

bill

of fare with the stan-

dard already given,

will

be seen that the muscle-

making elements
third too high.

are three fourths of an ounce below

the standard, while the

carbonates are at least

onft

It should

be considered that living

in

a moderate

and uniform temperature, and using only

car-

moderate muscular exercise, neither nitrates nor

bonates need be above the average,

probably
;

not

more than twenty ounces of carbonates are consumed

all

the remainder

is

cast

oflf

as waste

and not being and

the natural waste, tends to derange the stomach

bowels, and clog and render dormant the whole system.

The

prisoners

may

be

fat,

and

may

look healthy,
their regular

and indeed may be, and should be, with

habits, healthy, afid the bill of mortality be

the average

but they cannot have

much below much muscular or

on the
bill,

mental energy.

By
made

changing the

first

two

articles

saving of more than one hundred

in a week,

dollars

would be

and a

bill

be made giving them more

agreeable food, and giving them more of the nitrates

and phosphates, and therefore more energy of mind and

muscle.

Half the amount of unbolted wheat

the
nitrates, with

flour,

made from good wheat, would give more than

amount of

same

about one pound less of car-

bonates, and the bread would be equally satisfactory;

and then half the amount of Southern corn

bushels) meal,

(thirty

made from
is

the variety of corn repre-

sented by Fig. 3, would give

more

nitrates

and more
of

phosphates

than

obtained from

sixty

bushels

Northern corn, and the bread would be lighter and

AEMY
better,

RATIONS.

115

which would

also reduce the

amount of
the
bill

car-

bonates perhaps one pound more.

be
still

And

might

further improved by substituting for the four

rice as

and one half bushels of

many

bushels of peas,

which would add an ounce

to the nitrates

and subtract
be seen by

another pound from the carbonates, as

the analysis.

may

The Bill of Fare of Chinese Passengers from China

to California.
Carbonates.

Rice,

1^
|^ |-

lbs.
lb. lb.

17 oz.

li oz.

Beef or
Tea,

fish,

IJ

oz.

oz. oz.

Salted vegetables,

1 oz.

87 gr.

....
. . .

J
3

oz.
qts.
19-|-

Water,

oz.

2 oz.

87 gr.

Having a

full

supply of carbonates, and only half the

life,

amount of

nitrates necessary for active

probably

they sleep most of the time.

A.merican

Army Rations.
Carbonates.
Nitrates.

Pork or bacon,
Fresh or

|
1^

lb. if all fat, lb.

12

oz.

oz.

salt beef,

average fatness,

7 oz. 2 oz.

Bread or

flour,
.

1 lb. 8 oz. or

1 lb. 6 oz. 2 oz.

Hard

bread,

12 oz.

11 oz. 1 oz.

Corn bread,
10
lbs. rice

oz.
;

loz.Joz.
or, in lieu,

8 qts. of beans in one

hundred rations
;

twice a

week

or, in lieu,

150 oz. dried potatoes and 100 oz. dried vegetables

I lb. tea,

15

lbs. sugar.

116

AMERICAN DIETETICS.
unscientifically

These rations are very

I

made

up.

If

understand the

bill,

man may have

else,

three fourths of

a pound of fat pork and twelve' ounces of hard bread

on the same day, and nothing

three

and get twenty-

ounces of carbonates and only one ounce of

;

nitrates

or he

may have one pound and one

fourth

of fresh beef and one pound and one half of flour

bread, and get twenty-nine ounces of carbonates and
four ounces of nitrates
tity
;

or he

may have

the same quan-

of fat pork, which contains no nitrates, and bacon,

if

which,

of average fatness, would give a good share

It is evident that in

of nitrates.
rations

any combination the

give too large a proportion of carbonates to

beget activity and energy, and a large amount of flour

or hard bread

must be wasted.

A great improvement
This

would be made by leaving out three fourths of the

flour

and

all

of the rice, and giving instead Southern

corn bread or hominy

and beans and peas.

would give much more muscle power, and would save

a large

amount of expense.

The great dietetic fault of the nation lies in eating much carbonaceous food, especially with that part of the people who have followed old English habits.
too

Probably the Massachusetts state prisoners live more

nearly in accordance with physiological laws than
five

any

hundred men outside

but

we

see that they waste

one third of their food in superfluous carbonates.

By
and

all

the bills of fare for soldiers and prisoners,

it

all

other tables by which

could be ascertained
is

how mujh of muscle-making nutriment

required

ELEMENTS OF FOOD.
under different circumstances,
sedentary
life,
it

117

is

seen that

men

in

in this country or

Europe, are not con-

tent with less than four ounces of the nitrogenous ele-

ments of food, and,

in considerable degree of activity,

;

they demand, and will have, five ounces

and

in the

same way
as

it is

ascertained that from four to five times

much

of the If food

carbonates are required as of the

is

nitrates.

set

before us

containing these

proportions of elements,

we

shall eat only just

enough
;

to furnish the system with the elements required

if

but

we have

before us food containing ten times as

much
eat

of the carbonates as of the nitrates, twice as

we should then

much

of the carbonates as

are required, in

order to satisfy the demands of the appetite for the

necessary supply of nitrates.
this proposition.

We

will

demonstrate

To

get muscle-making food in right proportions, take

natural food

Carbonates.

Nltratea.

1 lb. milk, 1 lb. beef, roasted,

1 lb. potatoes,
1 lb.
1

oz.

245

gr.
gr.

oz.

350

gr.

oz.

340

1 oz.

122 gr.

3 oz.

145

gr.

unbolted bread,

10 oz. 165 gr.

3 oz.

2 oz. 110 gr.

lb. apples.

145 gr.

21 oz. 313

gr.

oz.

335

gr.

To

get muscle-making food in unnatural proportions,

118
take food in
state, others

PEOPOBTION OP ELEMENTS.

common
not
:

use,

some of which

is in

a natural

EEEORS OP DIET.
from bread and milk alone
at rest, the
;

119

indeed, for a

warm

day,

amount of
;

nitrates

and carbonates would

both be too large

the beef,

or,

with one half or one fourth of

articles in

you would take more of the other

proportion, and could thus safely trust your appetite

to the full extent of its

demands without harm.

you must take double

But with

the last bill of fare,

the quantity to get the requisite amount of muscle-

making and brain-feeding nutriment, and consequently

one half of
all

the food taken would be lost.

All the

sugar and butter, and more than half of the

flour,

would

be thrown from the system as waste, and not only lost,

but by giving extra and unnatural work for the excretories,

embarrass their functions and render them liable

;

to disease

while the presence of these heating articles

renders every organ more liable to inflammation and

disease,

and the

efforts of the

stomach and bowels to

dispose of these oflfensive materials, together with the

fermentation of these undigested elements, would cause

flatulence, acidity, dyspepsia,

and the thousand and one

pains, inflammations, liver are liable to attack us,

and bowel complaints, which

especially in

warm

weather,

when

the system

is

not as well able to resist these

influences.

When we consider how many families, especially among the poor, live very nearly on the same kind of food summer and winter, eating in warm weather
butter, fat pork, superfine flour, lard, &c., is
it

strange

that in the height of the

warm

season

we have bowel

and liver complaints, gastric and typhoid fevers, dysen-

120
teries,

ANALYSIS OP FOOD.
dyspepsias,

&c.
are

think

that,

aonsidering

the articles wasted

among

the most

expensive,

am

sustained in the assertion that

more than one half

of the expense of food in Boston, to say nothing of all

the diseases,

would be saved by adapting our food

and that we should enjoy

to

the wants of the system,

life,

and especially the pleasures of eating, as we never can

while living in disregard of Nature's laws.

Analysis of Articles of Food in a Dry State.

Articles.

Wheat,

Barley,

Oats,

Northern corn,

Southern corn,

ANALYSIS OF POOD.

121

Articles.

I
(

Tuscarora com,

6.0 90.7

1.3

2.0

Tuscarora corn is used mostly for making

"I

^starch.

Buckwheat

is

useful

Buckwheat,

10.0 61.8

2.1 26.1

only for a ride in the cold, having few nitrates Lfor the muscles.

Rye

is

excellent for

Rye,

15.9 64.2

2.0 17.9

persons inclined to constipation, and with com

meal makes good bread, nourishing and digestiIble.

'

Beans and peas, containing

double
nitrates

the

amount of

and

Beans,
Peas,

28.2 46.9 27.2 47.7

4.1 20.8
2.9 22.2

phosphates, and treble of waste necessary, are appropriately used with pork or butter to supply the carbonates, Ac; and being hard of digestion,
are excellent for active

people whose stomachs are strong. If eaten too heartily the waste gives
pain.

Lentils and rice

grow

together naturally, and are evidently intended to

Lentils,

30.2 45.41 1.7 22.7

5.6 90.2

supply each other's

ciencies.

defi-

Neither, alone,
life,

Rice,

0.5 7.4

3.7

would be capable of sustaining

Cheese,* about 48.5 44.1

but for op-

posite reasons; the one

containing double, the other one half the ni_trate8 necessary.

fiubstance.

more than twice the amount of nutriment of any other known must therefore be used in small quantities, and with such articles as fruits, or fine flour, which contain little nitrogen. It is hard of digestion, but almost any one who is in good health can teach the stomach to digest it by
* Cheese bas
It

taking very

little at

a time early in the day.

122

ANALYSIS OP POOD.

Articles.

Sweet

potatoes,

4.6

Parsnips,,

10.2
6.3 5.6

Carrots,

Potatoes,

Turnips,

12.5

Beef,i

54.3 54.3

Lamb,,

Mutton,
Veal,
.

56.8 51.6

Pork,

49.1

ANALYSIS OF FOOD.

123

Analysis of Articles of Food in their Natural State.

Articles.

Nitrates.

Phosph.

Wheat,
Barley, Oats,

N'brthem corn, or Southern corn, Buckwheat, Eye, Beans,

.

ihaize.
.
. .

14.6 12.8 17.0 12.3 34.6 8.6 6.5 24.0

Peas,
Lentils, Eice,

23.4 26.0
5.1

Potatoes, Sweet potatoes, Parsnips,

1.4
. . .

1.5
2.1

Turnips,
Carrots,

1.2
1.1

66.4 52.1 50.8 67.5 39.2 53.0 75.2 40.0 41.0 39.0 82.0 15.8 21.8 14.5 4.0
12.2 6.2 4.6
1.7

Cabbage,
Cauliflower,

1.2

3.6

Cucumbers, Milk of cow,

Human
Veal, Beef,

nulk,

.... ....

0.1

5.0

Lamb,
Mutton, Pork,
Chicken,
Codfish,

3.0 17.7 19.0 19.6

21.0
17.5 21.6 16.5 14.0 17.0 14.0 15.0 14.0 16.9 15.0 17.0 20.0 17.0 18.0 19.0

8.0 7.0 14.3 14.0 14.3 14.0 16.0

1.9

1.0
0.6 0.8

Haddock,
Sole, Plaice,

very

little

Flounder, Turbot, Trout, Whiting, Smelt,

some
very
very very

fat

little

0.8
little little

Salmon,
Eels,

Herring,
Halibut,

some some some some

fat fat fat

fat

FISH AS FOOD,
Articles.

Nitrates.

Oarbouates

Oyster,

Clam,

....
.

Lobster,

Eggs, white of, Eggs, yolk of,

Butter, Artichoke,
. . .

12.6 12.0 14.0 13.0 16.9

1.9

.
.
.

Asparagus, Bacon, Carp,

.

....
.

0.6 8.4

Cheese, . Cherries, . Chocolate,

. .

18.0 30.8
0.6 8.8 3.5 0.9
5.0 0.3

.
. . .

Cream,

Currants, Dates, fresh

Green gages

Ham,

35.0
0.1

Horseradish Kidney, Lard,

.

21.2 26.3
0.5 4.7 0.1 .23.0 3.9 1.2

.
.

.
.

Liver,

Onions, Pearl barley,

.

Pears,

Pigeon, . Prunes, . Kadishes,

.

.
.

Suet,

.
.

Venison,

. . .

"Vermicelli,

20.4 47.5

Whey,

FISH AS FOOD.
of fat; the gelatinous principle, although

125
containing

carbon,

is

not digestible, and therefore furnishes no

;

carbonaceous food

the nitrates consist mostly of al-

bumen, which
cular

is

easily digested, but furnish less

fibrine of red-blooded meats.

mus-

power than

Fishes, therefore, aiFord better food for students and

sedentary

men

than for those who work hard.

fatty fishes,

Except the

most of them require

and

to be

cooked with lard,

fat pork, or butter,

to be eaten

with potatoes, or some farinaceous food, to furnish the

requisite carbonates.

There

is

a class of fishes, how-

ever, like the salmon, halibut, &c., which are quite well

supplied with the carbonates

or not, as they contain

they are easily digested,

less fat
;

more or

and the cod,

if rel-

haddock, trout, shad, &c., are excellent food,

ished, for invalids, convalescents, &c.
fishes
;

while the fatty

suitable for
air,

and the preserved

fishes

are

more

those

who

take active exercise in the open

and

have better powers of digestion.

Peesekted Fish.
&c.
Pickled

Various
and

methods are devised

for keeping fish, as pickling in salt, drying, smoking,

fish are objectionable,

having

lost

most

of their nutritive element

their soluble phosphates.

The brine
the

in

which

fish as well as

beef has been pic-

kled has been analyzed, and found to contain most of

albumen and the phosphates which are adapted to give vigor to the brain and nervous system ; but not the fibrine, which makes muscles, or the phosphates, which

make bones.
is

Fish, therefore, which has been in brine,

suitable for laboring

men, but not

for sedentary per-

sons, or those

who

use their brains.

12S

LIFE

ANB POWEK TO MOVE.

" Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you."

This promise was made to

man on

the basis of imlife

mutable law.

In every living thing,

and power to

move
thing

is

found to .depend on the same elements,

to

phosphorus and nitrogen,

is

and of course every

life
;

living

capable of imparting

and power to move

every other living thing which has digestive powers by

which to appropriate these elements

been intimated,
cular
this

and, as has before

life

power of imparting
article of

and mus-

power

in

any

food

is

in proportion to in
it.

the phosphorus

and nitrogen contained

On

the

other hand, "every

moving thing

that liveth" contains

its

these elements in proportion to

own

vital activity

and muscular power, so that we need not analyze every

living thing in order to

know

its dietetic

value.

This

principle

is

not only established by chemical analysis,

but by observation on the habits of animals, and the

experience of every man.

(See page 84, 86.)

Who
and

has not experienced the difference of power

activity of

mind and muscle produced by

different

kinds of food?

For example, by a dinner from the

muscles of an ox, that have been developed by hard

work, and one from the muscles of a dormant hog?

Indeed, the difference
is

perceptible between the used

and the unused muscles of the

same

creature.
is

The

breast of the chicken or turkey, which

is

made

up of the unused muscles of the wings, and comparatively

white, dry,

insipid, containing but little phos-

phatic or nitrogenous food,

while the muscles which

IS

POEK WHOLESOME?

127

move

the legs are dark, juicy, rich in flavor, and con

tain a very

much

larger proportion of the life-giving

and muscle-making elements.

these elements,

On

the other hand, the

breasts o the birds which live on the

wing are
side

rich in

and

their thighs

and

bones are

covered with poor, dry meat.

This principle holds

good in
fishes,

relation to all animal food,

from quadrupeds,

fowls,

and reptUes
and- in

and

it

may

be useful

in

assisting to determine the comparative value of differ-

ent

articles,

adapting them to our circum-

stances,

full

understanding of

this

principle in the

com-

munity wiU relieve the doctor from that inevitable

question, which meets
sick

him wherever he

goes.

In the

room

or at the dinner table, in the horse cars or

is,

at the social circle, wherever he

somebody bores

him with the question. Doctor, is pork wholesome? Are potatoes wholesome? &c., &c. questions which
;

can be answered yes or no, or both yes and no, with

equal propriety, unless, with the answer, he goes into

a disquisition on the peculiar properties of each, and

the circumstances

which make them wholesome

at

one

time and hurtful at another.

A rattlesnake,
i;iou3

all

but the head, would

to a

make a

deli-

and wholesome meal

man who was

starving,

and could get nothing

else,

while the most delicate

to a

woodcock would be poison

typhoid fever.

man

prostrated with

That

abstract question, then, so often

is

asked

(is this

or that kind of food wholesome) ,

only

consummate nonsense,

128
"

THE GEBEN TUETLE.

Every moving thing
is

that liveth,"

and

''

every herb
is

bearing seed which

upon the face of the earth,"

wholesome under some circumstances, and unwhole-

some under other circumstances. Of

Reptiles.

Crustacea and mollusks, and indeed "every creeping

thing," either from necessity or choice, in
the world,
is

some part of

eaten by

man

but in this country and in

England only a few

species are used.

Turtle.

Of

reptiles, the

turtle

only

is

eaten, unless under

this title

from the

we class eels. The green turtle is brought West India Islands and the Bahamas. It as
eel,

seldom crawls on the land as the

and, indeed, has

little
;

no

feet,

having in the place of them

it

paddles,

with which

swims with great swiftness

its

and being

very muscular aild active,

flesh is
fat,
its

very nitrogenous
is

and phosphatic, and not being

article of

an excellent
I

food taken fresh from

native element.

Iiave eaten it

cooked in four different ways

fried,

broiled, fricasseed,

and

in soup,

and found

it

a pala-

table

and highly nutritious

it

article

of food.

In

this

country

is

seldom used except in soup.

taste,

It is very

different, in

its

and

far inferior in its nutritive

its

qualities, after
in

being kept out of water, on

back,

the

cruel

manner

in

which

it

is

kept on the

passage.

Fresh from the water, some parts of the

LOBSTER.
turtle resemble

l-^d

the flesh of the chicken, other parts

have a fishy

taste,

other parts are albuminous, like

the white of an egg, and all parts

tious.

seem

to be nutri-

Crustacea.

Many
some are

of the species of this class are esculent, and

excellent food.

In

this

country and England

the thorny lobster or

are used the

common

lobster,

sea crawfish, the river crawfish, the large edible black-

clawed crab, the

common

or small edible crab, the

prawn, and the shrimp.

characteristics.

They have

all

the

same

Being

active in their habits,

and having

powerful muscles, their flesh abounds in nitrates and

phosphates, but
fore requires
is

rather hard and compact, and there-

good powers of digestion, and they are

to assist

adapted for food to active, healthy persons

in the labor of the day, but they are most miserably

misapplied to evening entertainments in the form of
salads.

The

lobster
is

is

the most valuable of this class

of food, and

much

the most extensively used.

JHoUnscoas Animals.

In

this

country the only species of this class used as

;

food to any extent are clams and oysters

and

in

Eng-

land, besides the oyster, the mussel, the cockle, the

scallop,

the periwinkle, the limpet, and the whelk.

in this class of

But the oyster holds the highest rank

food, and
is

used among

all classes,

forming a branch

of trade very extensive and important.

130

OYSTERS.

This class of animals differs from the Crustacea in

this,

that

while

the

Crustacea

have

powerful

and

active muscles, the mollusks

at all,

have almost no muscles

having no motion except the opening and shut-

ting of the bivalves, and a slight contractile

power by

which they imbibe their food.

Of

course they have

not as food the muscle-making elements of the Crustacea or other active fish; and although their chemical

composition indicates
salts

phosphatic salts, they are

mostly
to

of lime, which go to form the shell and

rather than afford food for the brain and

make bone

nervous system.

Oysters, therefore, are very unsatis-

factory food for laboring men, but will do for the sedentary,

and

for a supper to sleep on.

They contain

but twelve and one half per cent, of solid matter,

including fibrin, albumen, gelatine, mucus, and osma-

zome, and much of that

is

gelatine,

which affords no

nourishment, while butchers' meat contains on an aver-

age twenty-five per cent. , and the poorest fishes contain

fourteen per cent, of pure nitrates.

The
like

nitrates in oysters are in the

;

form of albumen,

the white of the egg

they are therefore more

easily digested in a

raw

state

than when cooked, but

stewed are not indigestible, and for feeble persons and

convalescents are better stewed than raw, as in this
state

they are relished with less stimulating condi-

ments.

To
kinds

oysters,

9,3

to all shell-fish,
is

and indeed
objection

to all

of

fish,

there

the

serious

that

great care must be used to avoid eating

them

after the

POISON FISH.
slightest decomposition has

131

commenced, otherwise they

may

occasion serious disturbance of the digestive or-

gans, and even in some cases terrible and fatal diseases.

There
effect

is

also

occasionally a very serious poisonous

from

fish perfectly fresh

and apparently healthy,

1

in which chemistry can detect nothing deleterious.

have known but few cases of the kind in Boston, and

they were occasioned by eating mackerel
;

but in the

Bahama
ate a

Islands I

saw a man, who,

of

fifteen years before,

meal from a

fish called there fish

blue

fish,

though

very different from the blue

New England coast,

which in two hours brought on excruciating internal

distress,

with painful eruption of the skin, and these

turns of awful distress had occurred occasionally ever

afterwards,
entirely
unfitting

him

for

any kind of

business, and

making

his life a burden.

fishes is poisonous,

l^ot one in a

hundred of these

but no

man

has sagacity sufiicient to detect the good

eat

from the bad; and therefore the inhabitants

of these fishes
till

none
test.

they submit them to a curious

They
it

place a piece of fish in the

is

way

of a species of
it,

ant which

common
if
;

there

if

the ant eats

it,

they eat

with impunity;
it

do not eat
idea

an example which of Pope,

" Eeason raise In
this
'tis

the ant rejects

they of course

gives force to the

o'er instinct as

you can
'tis

God

directs

in that

man."

'

132

FOUR CLASSES OP FOOD.

Classification
1st Class.

of Food in common
in

use.

That
is

which the proportion of heat-

producing elements

too large for the

common wants
life

of the system, and which alone would sustain

only

for a time, shorter or longer in proportion to the

amount

of other elements which they contain.

Lard, butter,

sugar, or any animal fats being capable of sustaining

'

* life,

without other food, only from twenty to thirty

;

days

and superfine

flour,

being mostly composed of

starch, has been

proved by experiment on animals to

life,

be capable of sustaining

without other food, only

from

fifty to

sixty days.

These are the Carbonates,

described in another chapter.

2d Class.

That

in

which the muscle-making

ele-

ments are too large in proportion to

their carbonates.

Some
life

of these articles would be capable of sustaining

only for a limited period without articles of the

class

first

to

keep up the steam.

These are the

Nitrates, described before.

3d
vital

Class.

That

in

which the proportion of

ele-

ments which support the brain and nerves, and give

energy both of mind and muscle,
is

too large

br the

common

duties of

life.

These are the Phos-

phates.

4th Class.
material
in

That

in

which there

is

too

much waste
and

proportion to

nutritive

principles,

which,
.

therefore, if eaten alone,

produces diarrhoea

and

debility, but which, taken with other

more

nutri-

PMNCIPAI* AETICLES IN EACH CLASS.

133

dve food, subserves the important purpose of giving

distention,

and keeping the bowels

in action,

and the

system free and cool, by preventing a surplus of stimulating food.

The

representative articles of these four classes are

:

as follows
1ST Class.

134

FOOD WHICH PRODUCES STUPIDITY.

consideration of this classification will help us to

understand and correct

many important
articles

errors in diet.
after a

Every observing person has noticed that

in

meal

which the predominant

were

chiefly
is

composed
stupid, or

of fat meat, fine flonr, batter or sugar, he

sleepy,
cle
;

and indisposed to exercise

is

either

mind or muslittle

and the reason

plain
is

as very

food for
articles

either brain or

muscle

found in either of the

named, and

this torpor will

be found to be in exact

proportion to the excess of these carbonates over their

proper proportion.

And

this is the inevitable conse-

quence of separating the important principles which

G^d

has joined together, and furnished in every article

of appropriate food, in the right proportions, as nour-

ishment for every faculty.

If the fat meat had been eaten as
it

was made, mixed

with an appropriate amount of lean, and instead of the

flour, the

bread had been made of meal from the whole

it

wheat as

was created, and milk had been substituted

and the sugar taken as
it

for the butter,

to

was intended
fruits,

be taken, with the vegetables and delicious

mixed with such other elements as the system required,

then the appetite might have been indulged to the fullest
extent,

and no organs or

faculties

would have been op-

pressed and overburdened while others were not supplied,

and every part of the system would have been

prepared, without stupor or sleepiness, to perform the

duties assigned
it.

If

we

take our food as

Infinite

it is

made, with the elements

mixed by

Wisdom, we need use our judgment

PEEVERTEI) ARTICLES OP FOOD.

f^nlj in
J5t it

13fc

cooking

it

so as best to develop

its

flavor

and

for digestion,

and our appetite would

safely direct

us, both as to the articles to be eaten

and the amount

required.

But presuming

than our Maker

food,

how

to

we have

spoiled

as we do to know better mix the different elements of some of our best articles of

nourishment, and have at the same time so perverted

our appetites and tastes that they are no guide, at least

so far as relates to the use of the articles with which

we

have thns interfered.

The only

articles of diet in this

country which to any

extent are thus

perverted are wheat and milk, and

these are perverted in the

rejecting the nitrates

same way, by taking out and

our

and phosphates, and using the

effects, especially in
cities,

carbonates only.

The

are manifest ia our liability to inflammatory diseases

in our feebleness

and weakness of muscle, and mental

for

want of
want of

the nitrates
lime, &c.
;

in our defective, aching teeth, for

in our physical
;

debility, for

want of the phosphates

rotic girls, for

and in our ash-colored, chloiron,

want of the
all in

all

of which ele-

ments, except the carbonates, being entirely wanting in

butter,

and almost

very nice white

flour.

See

plate of wheat, Figs. 2, 6,

and

7.

136

FOOD FOR COLD WEATHEE.

Practical Application of the Analysis of

different Conditions in Life.

Food

to the

Food for Out-of-door Work, with

below Zero.

the

Thermometer

Let us

first

take a case requiring the most concen-

trated nourishment, or, in

common

parlance, the most

hearty food.

A man works- in
weather
:

the open air in the coldest winter

what

articles of diet will best sustain

him ?
mus-

Under

these circumstances he

must

exercise his

cles to their fullest capacity or

he will freeze, and he

as

will therefore require

more than twice

much muscle-

making food
cise
:

as he

would need with moderate exer-

then he would require of the most concentrated

five

heat-producers

times as
is

much
the

as

of

the flesh-

makers.
article

Fat of animals
of carbonates,

most concentrated
at

and yet we are astonished

the

amount necessary

to support animal heat in cold

climates.
It is said that

an Esquimaux

woman will

eat a gallon

of whale

oil in

one day, or ten or twelve pounds of

the necessary muscle-making

tallow candles, besides

food.

The stomach

will not, therefore, in active life in

life,

the cold, contain food sufficient to sustain

in its

except

most concentrated form.

fat

For a man,

therefore,

chopping wood in the cold,

articles

and lean meats are the

fat containing

mostly to be depended on,

two

and one half times the heating power of the vegetable

FOOD FOE COLD WEATHER.

carbonates, sugar

137

and

starch,

while the muscle of

for

meat contains, of course, the concentrated elements

working power.

Of
may

vegetable food adapted to accompany pork and

beef, beans, peas,

and northern corn bread are

best, as

be seen by reference to the analytical table, beans

nitrates

and peas containing more of the

and phosphates
than other
article

than any other vegetable food, and Indian corn containing more carbonates, especially more
grains.
oil,

Cheese

is

also a

good concentrated

with corn bread.

These

articles

of food are not easily

digested, but are the better

on that account, the stom-

ach being subject to the same law as other organs and

faculties,

"the more work

to do, the

more strength

to

do

it."

Exposure

to cold, without exercise, requires differ-

ent and more digestible articles.

Carbonates, such as

sugar, buckwheat or flour cakes, rice, &c., and even

the less digestible articles which cannot be eaten in

summer, as cheese, beans and pork, &c., may be eaten

with impunity in winter, upon the principle stated
above,

much more

food

being

required

in

winter

than in summer,

proportionate

powers of digestion
hence

are given to correspond.

And

we seldom
it

find

trouble from dyspepsia in cold weather, especially with

those

who

exercise in the open air

and

is

always

best, in order to strengthen the stomach, to take articles of food that will tax the full

power of
on

digestion,

just as

it

is

best to take active exercise in order to

strengthen the muRcles.

One who

lives

rice,

can

138

FOOD FOE WARM WEATHEE.

but one

digest nothing else;

who can

eat

and digest

beans, cheese, &c., can generally digest everything.

What

Articles of

Food

are best adapted to

Warm

Weather ?
If
it

be true that in cold weather we need, and the

appetite demands, concentrated carbonaceous food, as

has been explained in the preceding chapter,

true, as

it is

also

might be expected, and as we

all

know, that

the appetite

demands

in
;

warm weather a
and the reason

very different
obvious.

class of articles of food

is

Four

fifths

of our food being devoted to the produc-

tion of heat,

we need

four times
If,

as

much

in cold

weather as in warm.
articles in
.

therefore,

we

ate the

same

summer

as in winter,

and only what our

nature required, the stomach and bowels would collapse

into one quarter of their size,

and could not properly

cold, food in

carry on their functions.

Nature, therefore, provides for

warm
all

climates and the

summers of

which

the elements are greatly diluted, and in which the

proportions of carbonates are

much

smaller than those

provided for cold weather.

analysis

This you will see in the'

of

southern

and northern corn, in a very

remarkable degree (Figs. 3 and 4).

tion of northern corn
is

While the proporone of

six of the carbonates to

the nitrates, the proportions of these principles in south-

ern corn are nearly equal

six times the

it

would therefore require

and

bulk of southern corn as of northern to

;

support the same degree of heat

this disparity is

"

FOOD FOE WAKM WEATHER.

still

139

more

strikingly seen if

we compare

northern corn

with some of our

common

vegetables.

Corn

contaiiis

seventy-three per cent, of carbonates, turnips four per

cent.,

and cucumbers one per

pounds of cucumbers,

cent.

Consequently

it

would require eighteen pounds of

three

turnips, or seventy-

to furnish as

much

heat aa

one pound of northern corn meal.

The comparative
trates

proportions of carbonates and niall

in wheat,

and indeed

the cereals that

grow

both in northern and southern climates, as well as

those of all other natural products of the
declare the will of
soil,

plainly

God

in regard to

summer and winter

and buck-

food, as do also our appetites and tastes.

In the spring we
vegetables.

lose our desire for butter

wheats, and begin to crave some acid fruits and green

And

yet

how many

thoughtless housekeep-

ers at the north

go through nearly the same routine of

as in winter, with just about as

cooking in

summer

much
fat

butter and lard and fat beef, and even pork, and
;

gravy, and flour puddings, with butter sauce

it

not

because they like

as well, or think

it

as wholesome,
!

but only because " their mothers did so before them

And
tiful

so powerful

is this

thoughtless and absurd habit in

it is

the Southern States, that

said that

however plen-

may

be the supply of milk, and cheese, and green

vegetables, fresh lean beef, and fruits, &c., a southern

family always has on the table a smoked of pork," and their vegetables are
fat
;

ham

or a " side
in

cooked swimming

an appetite, they use the most stimuIn short, their food in lating spices and condiments.

and

to force

140"
the

MAU EXPECTED TO UNDEKSTAND THE I^W.

hottest weather
is

suitable
Is
it

only for the coldest

strange that diseases

northern winter weather.

prevail ?

We

need in summer or winter, whether using musor neither, every day food containing

cles or brains,

carbonates for the lungs, nitrates for the muscles and

tissues,

and phosphates

for the vital powers, but

we

need them in very different proportions, according to

the temperature in which

we

live

and our habits of

life.

These elements are furnished

at our hands, varying in

proportions so as to be adapted to the different temperatures and habits

;

and

for animals that

have instincts

and not

intellects to

guide them, from the elephant to

the smallest animalcule, these different elements are so

mixed and prepared, and the appetite so adjusted

to

them, that they always want, and always have, and

always eat the right kind of food at the right time, and
the right quantity.

But man, who has

the

intellect, is

expected to under-

stand the laws of his being, and to adapt his food to

wants

of his

nature,

varying

it

according

to

circumstances.

We
;

are creatures of habit,

and our

systems have wonderful power in adapting themselves

to circumstances

and therefore we do not

all die,

how-

ever thoughtlessly

we

live,

and however perse veringly

to

continue the

wrong
evils

habits

which we have been

falling
in

accustomed;
habits,

and our appetites

of

with our

the

wrong

living

are

perpetuated.

StUl

it is

true everywhere that the average

amount of
in

health and

the average

length of

life

are

exact

RESPONSIBILITY OF WIVES AND MOTHERS.

proportion to the care

141

we

take to live in accordance

with the laws of our being.

This

statistics

show, and

our

own

observations confirm.
responsibility these considerations place
to have,

But what a

upon wives and mothers, who have, or ought

the direction of these matters
!

To them,

in provi-

dence, as in the word of God, the injunction emphatically

is, "

Keep my commandments,
life,

for length of days,

and long
to thy

and peace shall they. add to thee," and

This
important promise
to
is

family.

fulfilled

literally to

those

who study
its

obey physical laws,

however figurative
moral law.

fulfilment

may be

in regard to

Does any one doubt

plaints,

that peace

to the digestive

organs, and freedom from fevers and

summer comwould
result

and many other

strict

fatal

diseases,

from a

observance of the law, so clearly re-

vealed, that fat meats,

and

butter,

and

fine flour,

and

other stimulating carboniferous food should be avoided

in

warm

weather, while such articles should be substi-

tuted as contain the carbonates in a less concentrated

form, combined with such acid fruits and vegetables,

and the grains which contain

less oil

and

starch,

and

more of the

nitrates

and phosphates ?
is

With
music,

half the study that

required to learn a com-

plicated piece of needlework, or

difficult piece

of

any intelligent housekeeper could and

institute

learn the

dietetic laws,

an an-angement adapting

them to the mental or muscular employment of her

family, so as to give

them the

requisite variety of

142 wholesome food

brain or

FOOD FOR OLD PEOPLE.

for

summer and winter

;

for

work of

work of muscles
life

and add immeasurably to

the length of
family.

and to the comfort and health of her

little

But how

attention

is

given to this im-

portant subject

Adaptation of Food to different Conditions and

Employments in

Life.

Food for Old People.

Is your fat, good-natured old grandfather living
fat

on

beef and pork, white bread and butter, buckwheat

till

cakes and molasses, rice and sugar,

he has lost
sit

all

mental and physical energy, and desires to

from

morning
ister,

till

night in the chimney-corner or at the reg-

saying nothing and caring for nothing?

give him
fish,

change
and un-

his

diet,

beefsteak,

potatoes,

bolted wheat bread, or rye and Indian, with one half

or three quarters of the carboniferous articles of his

former

diet,

and in one week he and

call for his

will cheer

you again

.with his old jokes,

hat and cane.

Is he lean,

and cold, and

fattest

restless,

and

irritable?

give
ter,

him the

meats, with the best of butdesires,

and as much sugar and molasses as he

not taking
muscles,

away

entirely

food
to

for
his

the

brain

and

but adapting
his brain has
fitful

them

circumstances.

Perhaps
tion

been overworked, and exhausIf so, he needs

and

action follow.

some

form of phosphatic food to which he has not been

FOOD FOE NUESING MOTHEES.

143

accustomed, as oat-meal porridge, or oat-meal cake,

with milk, or a diet of
soup.
fish,

and pearl barley, or pea

Or perhaps
:

his restlessness

comes from

inactivity

of the bowels

if so,

he needs

fruits, vegetables,

unat

bolted wheat bread, &c., with care to keep his

ease,

mind

and

to

have only such company as

is

soothing

and agreeable.

Or perhaps his irritability arises from the use of too much meat and other phosphatic food if so, keep him
:

on a
flour

diet in

which the phosphates are

deficient, as rice,

bread and butter, &c., with other food adapted

to his other conditions

and

habits.

But that a regard

to these different conditions,

and an adaptation of food

to

conform to them, will very much contribute to com-

fort
is

and happiness

in the declining years of life, there

not a shadow of doubt.

Food for
Is

Children.
old, feeble

your nursing babe, eight months

and

inactive, its teeth

coming through the gums already

its soft,

black and defective, and

a want of muscular

fibre ?

change your
and
fine flour,

flabby flesh indicating

own

food at

once, and give

up

butter,

and cakes, and

puddings with sweet sauce, and take instead beefsteak,

oat-meal or barley porridge, with milk and unbolted

wheat bread,

grits,

pea soup, &c., which abound

in

phosphates and nitrates, and in one week you shall see

an improvement in the condition of the child

your own
health will not

but

if

admit of such a change, wean

144
the babe,

FOOD FOB CHILDEEIT.

and give
;

it

the milk of the cow, oat-meal

gruel, &c.

and

for the next child, be sure

and com-

mence furnishing
least fourteen

the material for bone and muscle at

earlier,

months

and

its

teeth will not

be

defective, or its muscles feeble

and flabby.

Nor
furnish

are defective teeth and undeveloped muscles the

only or the greatest evils that accrue from neglect to

suitable

material for the foundation

is

of that

structure which

so important as to be denominated

the "temple of

God."

"Know

ye not that ye are the

temple of God, and the Spirit of

God

dwelleth in you?"
testifies

All nature, as well as the word of God,

the crowning other creative

that
all

work of

creation

was man; indeed,

for

work was but a preparation

man, and

so far at least as relates to this planet,

all creative

work

ended in making man.

But man was not created from nothing, but from

elements which had for ages
" dust of the

been collecting in the

at first taken these

ground

"

and having
soil,

elements directly from the

fect

and constructed a peras incomprehensible to

man, God, with wisdom

as that

man

by which the
all

first

maa was

created, insti-

tuted laws

by which
soil

necessary elements should be

plants,

taken out of the

by

and so organized as

under certain laws and conditions to be able to construct other perfect

human

beings, and thus perpetuate

the race, as

we have

before explained.
first

These fourteen elements, which were at

directly

taken
all

from the

soil

and atmosphere, are now

found deposited in the grains, and

flesh of animals,

FOtTRTEEN ELEMENTS EEQUIEED.

145

and

fruits

and vegetables, and

for the construction of

all

a perfect

human being must

be used,

at

first

through the mother's system, and afterwards directly

from the food in which they are deposited.

Thia

wonderful arrangement can be better understood by

further explanation.

grain of wheat, as proved by analysis, contains

every one of the elements found in the

human
is

system.

Plant a grain of wheat in

soil in

which

no lime, or

phosphorus, or nitrogen, and the plant

may grow from

it

the carbon and hydrogen, and other elements which

can get from the

soil,

the

air,

and water, but the grain

would not be developed, and analysis would show that

phosphorus, lime, and nitrogen would be wanting in the
plant and grain as
it

was wanting

in the soil.

Now,

as in such imperfectly developed grain the phosphorus,

and lime, and nitrogen, which were intended

brains,

for forming
is it

and bones, and muscles, are not

there,

not

certain that such grain could not develop brains,

and

bones, and muscles?

for if

wheat does not contain

soil in

phosphorus, lime, and nitrogen, unless the

it

which

grows contains these elements,

is

it

not certain that

food wanting

the
ill

human system cannot be developed by

any other important elements ?
containing as
little

these or

In

soil

phosphorus, lime, and

nitrogen as are found in superfine flour bread and

butter, the grain of
all
;

wheat would not be developed

at

and can a

child, for

which wheat was made, be

developed on white bread and butter?

Milk of the
system,

cow contains

all

the elements of the

human

10

146

PEEMATXIRB DEATHS.
;

and in the right proportions

or if the stomach

and

if

concentrated,

were large enough

to contain these
sufficient quanti-

elements in their diluted state, in

ties,

would support the

life

and health of any man and

indefinitely.

Primarily

it

was intended

to develop the calf,

;

it

does develop every part perfectly

but feed the calf on

die in

cream alone, or butter, and

it

would

two weeks.

And yet Can butter, then, develop a how many expectant and nursing mothers thoughthuman being?
lessly provide themselves

and

their precious little ones

with food made up mainly of superfine flour, butter,

and sugar, without knowing or thinking that sugar and

butter have no elements at all for muscles, or bones, or
brains,

and white

flour very little.

If they ate nothing else, of course their children

would

all

die within a

month

and as

it

is,

only one
all

half in

all

Christendom, and not one eighth in

vital

Heathendom, have
the
first

power

to carry
live

them through
life

five years.

Those that

have a

of

struggle with disease and

suffering in just the propor-

tion as they are deprived of food containing elements

adapted to develop the whole system, and give power

to resist

and overcome

disease.

The

inevitable effects
is,

of the diet almost universally adopted

all

to stimulate

the organs

which the butter,

'

by the undue proportion of carbon, of fine fiour, and sugar are composed,
diet,

which form so large a part of our

render
all

and which

organs
;

more

susceptible to inflammations

and other diseases

while the deficiency of the nitrates

EFFECTS OF HEATING FOOD.

147

and phosphates, weakening the organs and diminishing

the

powers of

life,

renders them less able to resist and

throw off diseases as they occur.

Take, for example, the lungs, whose duties are to

keep up the steam and "run the machine,"
importance of which
single
is

duties, the

seen by the fact that, if for a

moment
is

they cease to act, every operation of the

life

system

suspended and

becomes

extinct.

Over-

burdened with work

excess of
feeble for
fuel

in order to dispose of the great

tissues
;

imposed upon them, the

their

are
is
it

want of

appropriate food

and

strange that they fad, and become diseased?

Or, take the brain and nervous system, which, being

overheated with carboniferous blood, and weakened by

want of phosphorus, become sluggish and

act fitfully,

inactive, or
;

and headache and neuralgia ensue

irritable,

or,

being nervous and

imaginary, render

a thousand

ills,

real

and

life

a burden.

Or, take the

liver,

whose

office is to eliminate effete

elements from the system and assist digestion.

Over-

burdened with work, especially in the spring,

after the

steam has for months been kept up to the highest

practicable point,
bile
it

gets tired

and sluggish, and the

organs are made

becomes obstructed, and jaundice and many other

bilious difficulties ensue,

and thus
and

all

more susceptible

to disease,

less able to resist it,

little

by too much of the carbonates and too

nitrates

of the

and phosphates.
all

While, therefore,
living as they

animals, in their natural state,

to

do according

natural laws, raise

all

148
their

APPROPRIATE FOOD FOE CHILDREN.

young, and bring them perfectly developed
to full

maturity, a perfectly developed

young man or woman,

and sound lungs,
is

at full maturity, with perfect teeth

and well developed muscles and brains,

tion to the general rule
;

a rare excep-

and to every
:

reflecting

mind

the reason

must be obvious

we

neglect to learn, and

utterly disregard the plain laws of

terrible sufferings

our being, and these

and bereavements are the natural and

just penalties for our disobedience.

Can any

other explanation be given,

why

beings sup-

ported by the same elements, and subject to the same

physical laws, should be found in such different physical conditions?

Mothers' milk,

if

the mother live on

it is

proper food,
ral

is

undoubtedly the best, as

till

the natu-

food for children

teefh are formed, which indi-

cate a maturity that requires

sickly mothers,
butter,

some other food

live

but

and those who

on white bread and

would subserve the

interests of their children

by

weaning them, and substituting the milk of the cow.

For young children

the

cow
;

furnishes milk with too

much

of nitrogenous matter
is

and the reason

for this

provision

obvious, as I have explained.

is

When

other food than milk

required, that contain-

ing some nourishment for the muscles and brain should

always be selected, which can readily be

reference to the tables of
analysis
;

known by

but starch, and

all

arrowroot, and sugar,

and cream,

of which are

sometimes given in ignorance of their character, contain

no element of food but carbon, and would only

;

tend to develop torpidity and foolishness

but, on the

FOOD TO DEVELOP VITAL POWEE.

other band,
articles

149

beefsteak and oat-meal,

and such other

of food as contain large proportions of nitroge-

and phosphatic elements, tend to develop the muscles and brain too rapidly, and render the child
nous
liable to congestion of the brain
;

and a special regard

is

should be had to this consideration where the child

very active and precocious.

Such children always

is

die

young, unless special care

general management.

taken of their diet and

Food for Children

deficient in

Vital

Energy and

Muscular Power.
.That muscular power
is

increased by exercise has

been long known.

before
the

More than seven hundred

era
in

years

Christian
consisting

the

Olympic

games were
leaping,

celebrated,

throwing

quoits,

wrestling, boxing, &c., which were held on a certain

day corresponding
five

to

the

11th of July, and lasting

days, for which the competitors prepared them-

selves

by training

in the
at

gymnasium
least these

for ten months.

For a thousand years

games, with a

few temporary interruptions, were regularly celebrated,

occupying the minds of the whole Grecian nation
lit
;

and

that age the

training

of muscles was considered

the training of mind.
little is

vastly

more important than

the diet used in this training but

Of now known

but Pliny says, " the gladiators ate only barley bread,

and hence they were called Hordearii," hordeum being

the

Greek name

for barley.

150

FOOD TO DEVELOP MUSCLES.

Jackson, the noted English trainer of prize-fighters,

feeds his

men on

the lean muscle of fat beef and mut-

ton, with coarse

barley and wheat bread.

It is not

likely that ancient gladiators or

modern

prize-fighters

understood either the chemical elements of the

human
but

system, or the adaptation of those articles of food to

supply the requisite elements of muscular power

it is

interesting to notice that experience brought

them

to the

same conclusions

as

chemical analysis.*

The

muscles of beef and mutton contain the same elements

as
ish

human

muscles, and are therefore adapted to nour-

them, while unbolted wheat and barley furnish also

;

a due proportion of flesh-making materials

and

also in

each of these articles are the phosphates, which give

vital force,

wheat containing them

exercise,

in proportions necesflesh of

sary for

common

and barley and the

beef and mutton more than double the proportion of

those of wheat.
If,

then, both science and experience

show

that

mus-

cular
is it

power can be increased by muscle-making food,

not reasonable that feeble children should be

made

stronger by application of the same principle?

What

duty, then, can be clearer than the duty.of feeding our

dormant, sleepy, and feeble children on food containins;

a fuU share of nitrates and phosphates, as lean^meat,
oat meal, barley cakes, beans, peas, &c., rather than

the

stupefying

carbonates,

as

fat

meat, fine flour,

butter, sugar, or puddings

and
?

pies, cakes, &c.,

which

are

made up
little

of these articles

* Jockeys also reduce their weight

by

living

on

fish

and lean moat

with

carbonaceous food.

IMPURE BLOOD.

151

How

the Blood becomes Impure.

analysis that the blood
is

We find by cliemical

comthe

posed of the fourteen elements which

different parts of the system,

make up

and such other elements

go
into the circulation,

as have been taken into the system with improper food

and drink, and are allowed

to

although not wanted for the use of any organ or function,

because they cannot be removed in any other

the lungs, or skin, or kidneys, and

way th^n through

must go

into the circulation to get out of the system.

They

are,

of course, not permanently found in the

blood, but vary in proportions

and character accord-

ing to the care

drink.

we

take in regard to our food and

If

we

ate only natural

food,

and drank only pure

water, and breathed only pure air, the blood would

consist of the fourteen elements only which constitute

the

solids

and juices of the human system.

is

It

is.

evident, therefore, that pure blood

air,

made from pure

and that while

pure water,
is

and natural food,

nothing else

admitted into the system, the blood

;

cannot be impure

and
it

if
is

the blood in any case

is

foxmd to be impure,
or air are
natural,

because the food, or drink,

not plentifully supplied, or are not pure or

in just the

and

proportion as they are not

sufficient

pure and natural, or are not supplied in

quantity.

come, then, at once to the only way in which the blood can be kept pure, or renovated when found to be

We

152
impure.

PUEE BLOOD.
If the blood
is

impure in consequence of

additions to its natural element derived from the food,

or air, or water, our of impurity

is

first

duty

is

to see that the source

stopped, and then Nature will soon reIf

it

move
plain,

the impurities.
its

is

impure from want of

is

supply of
for

natural elements, then our duty

also in

every

necessary element

is

supplied

natural food, and

in

we have only
articles

to

use our judgment

selecting

the

which contain such as are

leeded.

How

can we know what Elements are wanted to make the Blood Pure?

Just as
requisition

we determine what

is

wanted to supply any

by comparing the supply with the demand.

deliver only eleven articles, he

If a merchant were required to furnish a dozen different

articles

of merchandise, including gloves, and should

by mistake
no
wanted,

would have

difficulty in
if

determining that gloves were the item

the other articles had all

been supplied.

Suppose we have a daughter of sixteen, ash-colored,

feeble,

and undeveloped.

If

we

look over the

list

of

elements, and the proportions of them required to keep

the system

and blood in perfect condition, as shown

different
articles of food,

by the table of analysis of

find as

compared with elements of the human system,

we

shall probably find that, instead of the necessary

slie

elements for the blood and the vital powers,

has

been accustomed to food made up to a great extent of

WHY BLOOD
butter, superfine flour,

IS

NOT

PtTRE.

153

and sugar, which contain but

vital

very

little

nutriment for the blood or

powers,

mixed perhaps with other

site

articles containing the requi-

elements, but out of proportion to the wants of the

&jstem.

Being supplied

to repletion with carbonaceous

food, there

was no room

for other requisite principles,

and the

results

were inevitable.
is

Her blood
and

is

colorless

and impure, and she

good blood.

feeble

chlorotic, because

her food was deficient in the elements which constitute

I have investigated scores, and perhaps hundreds of

such cases, and invariably find the principal cause to
be, that

from childhood they have been fed on white

which had kept the system

bread and butter, sweet cakes, flour puddings, piecrust, confectioneries, &c.,
in

a heated, feverish condition, with a deficiency of

fruits

and vegetables, that

assist

in eliminating

from

the system the impurities engendered

by the excess of

carbon in the system, and a deficiency of coarse bread,

milk,
fish,

lean meat, &c., which contain the phospho-

rus, iron,

and other mineral elements necessary

;

for the

purity of the blood

a])petites

and they had generally

lost their

for the necessary articles of food,

and had

Bcquired instead a morbid desire for something strange

and unnatural,

as chalk, slate pencils,

pungent

spices,

pickled limes, &c.

erally increased

The

evils of these habits are

off"

genaccur

by

want of exercise to carry

mulated impurities, and the blood becomes too poor to

be able to carry on the functions of the system.
tissues of the lungs

The

break down under the burdens

154

HOW

TO PUEIFY THE BLOOD.

imposed upon them, consumption ensues, and we lose

our daughters, murmuring, perhaps, at the mysterious providence by which

we

are so afflicted.

How

to Purify the Blood.

We have
excess of
that

seen that impurity of the blood consists of

deficiency of others,

some elements and

list

and

by comparing the
list

of elements required with

the

habitually supplied,

we can

ascertain
;

what

ele-

ments are wanting and what are in excess

and having

an analysis of

all all

the articles of food in

the elements of the

which contain

common use, human system

com-

in dififerent proportions,

we have but

to use our

mon

sense in selecting such as will supply the deficient

elements, or avoid the excessive.

The
will not

intelligent farmer finds that

some of

his

land

produce wheat

and by analysis he

will be sure

to find that the

elements of wheat are wanting, or are

excessive.

If wanting, he supplies them in .such ma-

nure as

is
;

known

to contain

them, and

is

sure of a crop

of wheat

or, if excessive,

he plants the ground with

other crops that need the excessive elements, and after

they are thus removed he can get a crop of wheat.

What
wheat,

should

we

think of the farmer whose land

else,

needed phosphorus, and nothing

for a crop

of

who should

follow the advice of his neighbors,

as ignorant as himself,
salt,

and use lime, and ashes, and

and a dozen other things that contained no phos-

phorus, because somebody else had used some of these

HOW TO
articles

PUEIFT THE BLOOD.

f

155

on land perhaps entirely

different,

and had

found them useful.

No

article in the

world could do

good unless

it

contained phosphorus, but might do

harm
plied,

if it

contained elements already sufficiently supin excess.

and perhaps already

But

this is the

method almost universally adopted by mothers,

to purify the

in order
is

blood of their children.

That mother

indeed a rare exception,

ter is pale,

who

does not,

when her daugh-

and she

fears

impurities of the blood, or

perhaps to prevent such an evU, resort to something

which somebody says

tried
it,

is

good

for the blood, for she has

without stopping to consider the absurdity of

it

the experiment, or whether

may

not, as

it

must, do

harm by

troubling the stomach with elements never

intended for the

rily injurious.

human

system, and therefore necessa-

In

this

way

are annually expended millions of dolor Plantation Bitters, " Important that

lars in Purification,

Medical

Discoveries,

cure

all

humors but the

Thunder Humor," Oxygenated Gas, Compound Sarsaparilla,

and the thousand and one other advertised

sovereign remedies, not one of which contains a single

element of the blood, or can by any possibility do

good, and
all

must, from their want of adaptation to

the plain requirements of the system, if not from their

poisonous character, do more or less harm

they cannot as medicines do good, can be
principles as simple.

and that

shown by
be consid-

But

this subject will

ered elsewhere.

156

MESTEEAL ELEMENTS.

All

Elements of Food must have been organized in

some Vegetable, or they are

rejected.

Not only

is it

impossible to purify the blood by the

use of articles recommended by ignorant empirics, as

we have endeavored

to

show, and useless to attempt

any purification except by the common-sense expedient

of supplying deficient elements, and removing or with-

holding redundant ones, statements, the truth of which

will be understood

and appreciated by

all,

learned or

unlearned
prove,

but

it is

also true, as I shall endeavor to

it

that

no element, however much

to

may be

wanted in the system, can be made

become a con-

stituent of the blood, or be appropriated

tissues, unless that

by any of the

element has been organized in some

plant,

and

is

thus fitted to be received according to the

law of nature.
I

make

this

proposition with diflSdence, because

it

has not been considered by our scientific physicians

and every day, chlorotic

girls

and other patients are

furnished with disorganized iron, and other elements

from the shops, with the expectation that they will supply
the deficiency of the elements which are supposed to

be wanted to restore the blood to

its

normal condition

and one learned professor,

as I

have before stated,

is

endeavoring to supply the posphorus, which had been

taken out of the wheat, where
it

was organized and

prepared to supply the system with that important

aUj elements must be oegaotzed.

element,

157
dis-

by adding

to the flour salts

made from
great

organized phosphoric acid.

I have
nature,

elsewhere referred to
all

the

plan of

by which

the

elements

necessary to be

used in making or repairing the system were deposited in the soil before

man was made,

and
fruits,

to be taken

up

in

the sap of plants, and vegetables, and fruit trees,

in the seed,

and deposited
trees

and juices of these

and plants,

in just the proportions necessary to

;

supply every organ and function

digested,

then to be eaten, and

and made a constituent of the blood, and

;

appropriated by the organs and tissues

oflf

then to be cast
soil,

by the excretions, and again deposited in the

to

be again taken up by vegetation, and continue their

rounds perpetually.

Now

this is

undoubtedly the best arrangement for

supplying the

ments that

human system with all necessary eleeven God could make an arrangement, to

short-sighted

man, wonderful and incomprehensible;

and

is

it

for us,

who have not

intellect sufficient to
this

understand one of the processes by which

executed, to say that any part of
that iron
it is

unnecessary?

plan

is

and phosphorus, prepared from crude, unor-

ganized materials, in the laboratory of any chemist, are

just as well adapted to supply the wants of the

system, as these elements prepared in Nature's

laboratory?

human own

Why

not,

then, take carbon and nitro-

gen, or the other elements, directly from the ground,

and repair the whole system, or make a new man, by

shorter and cheaper process?

158

WHAT CONSTITUTES A

POISON.

The Penalty for taking into tlie Stomach Elements of Food not organized.
After such
ing the
infinite pains to perfect a

plan for supplyit

human system

with every necessary element,

seems to

me

reasonable, and perfectly consonant with

Nature's other laws, that an ordinance should be instituted requiring that no elements should be admitted
into the system except in accordance with this arrange-

ment, and that every attempt to introduce them should

be visited by punishment, more or
to the importance of the element
;

less severe,

according
find to

and

this

we

be true.

Not an element
that
if

is

allowed to be incorporated into,

tissue,
;

and become a part of the blood, or any organ or

is

not

fitted for digestion in

is

some vegetable

and

any element

offered that is not thus prepared, a

rebellion

ensues,

more or

less

energetic and

severe,

according to the importance

rebellion, or

of the

element.

This

excitement,

is

injurious

to the system,
;

and
is

all

the organs and functions involved

is

and

this

what

meant by the word poison, and

constitutes

the penalty.

Phosphorus, for example,

is

a very important ele-

ment, being the element on which the action of the

biain depends, and the physical source of vitality, and

an important constituent, as well, of bones and other

Bolid tissues.
to be nearly

In a common-sized

man

there are found

its

two pounds of soHd phosphorus, doing

MOST IMPORTANT ELEMENTS MOST POISONOUS.

important work quietly and harmlessly
;

159

but take two

grains of the two pounds which have been disorganized

as can easily be done
to

by calcining a bone, and attempt

put them back and reorganize them, by giving them

at once to a healthy

man, and such an excitement

is

pro-

duced, especially of the brain, that delirium, inflammation,

and death might ensue within a

single hour

but

give ten times that amount, organized in oat-meal or

barley cake, or any other natural food containing

it,

and

the system will quietly and gratefully appropriate what

it

needs, and reject the remainder without excitement

or harm.

And
wheat

can

we

resist or

gainsay the evidence thus fur-

nished, that oat-meal and barley cakes, and unbolted

flour, are the appropriate

means of introducing

phosphorus into the system, rather than phosphatic

bread, the phosphorus in which was taken from cal-

cined bones?

The Penalty of taking Disorganized

Iron
the
is

Iron.

a necessary, but less important, element of

human system

than phosphorus.

It is

found in the

bran of wheat and other grains, and vegetables, and,

being transferred from them,
is

found also in the mus-

des and blood of animals, and

appropriated by the system

in the curd of milk,

and

other natural food,' in quantities as large as can be

;

and

this is

proof to

my

mind that Nature intended

it

to be furnished through

these articles of natural food.

160

moN
less

IS

POISONOUS.

Being

important than phosphorus, the penalties

it

for attempting to introduce

in

any other way are

still

less

severe and less manifest, but are

sufficiently

appar-

ent to corroborate

my position.
effects

Dr. J. Francis Churchill, a French author, who has

given great attention to the
elements on the
"

of different mineral

human
in

system, in an article headed

Danger of Iron

Consumption and Chlorosis," says,

that

M.

Trousseau, another very celebrated French

is

physician, whose authority in this country to-day

as

high as that of any

man

living, has carefully investi-

gated the effects of iron, and from a synopsis of a

report of these investigations he

makes the following

quotations
to

"

M.

Trousseau has just given utterance

will,

an authoritative and positive statement, which

no doubt, surprise the profession everywhere.

He

declares that iron in any form, given in chlorotic affections, to patients

in

whom

the consumptive- diathesis

exists, invariably fixes the diathesis,

develojpment of the tubercles.

factitious return to

The

health

the

and hastens the may induce a physician may flatter

iron

himself that he has corrected the chlorotic condition

of his patient;

but to his surprise, he will 'find the

fall

patient soon after

into

a phthisical state,

from
its

which there is no return.

hastening,
assertion
is

This result, or at least

M.
is

Trousseau attributes to the iron.

startling

The
he

a most

one.

M. Trousseau
says,

nevertheless so certain of

what he (The

that

denounces the administration of iron in chlorosis as

criminal in the highest degree."
Italics are as in

DISORGANIZED ELEMENTS NEVEE USED.

the quotation.)*

161

This opinion

is

confirmed by

my own

observation in a practice of forty years, and furnishes

proof sufficient that iron as well as phosphorus must

be introduced into the system only as organized for
digestion in

some

plant, or a penalty

must be paid.
is

The excitement
active

that follows the taking of iron

less

and

less

dangerous than after taking phospholess

rus, because
it

it is
;

important to the system to reject

it

immediately

but

illustrates

the arrangement of

Providence, and establishes the same principle.

Can phosphorus,
constitute the
stituent of the

iron, oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen,

carbon, or any other of the fourteen elements which

human

system, be made to form a con-

blood, or any organ or tissue, unless

introduced as they are organized for that purpose, in

the atmosphere and water, and in vegetable and animal
food, before they have

become fermented or decom-

posed ?

To comprehend
us
first

the importance of this question, let

glance at the various methods in which impor-

tant elements are forced

upon the human system, with

and appropriin accordance with

the expectation that they will be received

ated as if they were introduced natural laws, keeping in

to

mind what I have endeavored

all

prove in the preceding chapters, that

elements

oflTered

are either kindly received and appropriated, or

are rejected as poisonous.

Thousands of invalids, feeble children, and especially

feeble girls, are taking every
* Since

day some preparation of

M. Trousseau has deceased.

making

this quotation

11

162

A PHYSIOLOGICAL EEROE.
it

iron, with the expectation that

will supply the sup-

posed deficiency of that element, and thus give them

health and strength.

Phosphorus,

also,

is

introduced in superfine flour

it

bread, with the understanding that

can be made to

take the place of that element, which had been bolted

out

and

it is

also used to supply the

supposed deficien-

cy of that element in consumption and other diseases.

Oxygen,
the blood

likewise, in the

form of gas,

is

taken to purify

and give vigor

to the system.

Carbon and hydrogen are taken

in the

form of alco-

hol, with the expectation that they furnish natural heat to the system.

These ideas seem to have come from Liebig, a very

learned

German

chemist,

who gave

to the

world much

valuable information on the subject of the chemistry of

food,

and whose ideas

for the last

twenty years have

vital

been very generally adopted, but who ignored the

law as controlling chemical laws, and classed alcohol

with sugar and other carbonaceous food, because
tains the
it

con-

same elements, and who

alcohol and

offered the analytical

table of

sugar which I have copied in

another chapter, as proof that alcohol must be nutritive

because sugar was nutritive, notwithstanding the

fact that the taste

and smell, and perceptible

alike than

efifects

of

the

two

articles,

were no more

any other two

which

articles

containing diiferent elements.

still

The same argu-

ment

is

used by eminent

chemists,

may

be condensed from an argument already quoted, as

follows:

Phosphorus, taken from bones without de

EKRONBOU6 OPINIONS.
oomposition,
is

163

wholesome, as proved by experiment

therefore phosphatic bread, although containing phos-

phates chemically decomposed,

cannot

be unwhole-

some.

Arguments
he

relied

on

to to

ized Elements,

and

sustain the Use of Disorgan,prove that such Elements may

into the

and are incorporated

Blood and Tissues.

generally conceded

Practically, as has been said,

that elements
plied,

it is

wanted by the human system can be supbe received, whether they have been
but

and

will

prepared in any vegetable organization or not;

when

the question

is

put directly to our chemists and

scientific physicians, as it lately

was before the commitsale of alcohol,

tee of the Legislature

on licensing the

" Is alcohol, or

any other disorganized element, actu-

ally appropriated

by the organs or
;

tissues as food,

and
is,

incorporated into them as nutrition?" the answer

"

That question

is

not settled
it is.

"

very few being ready

to

make

the assertion that

is

And

the reason

obvious.

There

is

no proof that

a single element ever was

made

to enter into the blood,

or any organ or tissue, as a part of their constituents,

unless
it

was taken with, and formed a part

I find but one author

of,

some

food organized directly or indirectly by passing through

some vegetable.
shown

who

claims to

bring such proof, and this proof I think can be clearly

to be fallacious.

Frederick William Headland, of the Royal College


64

THE EFFECT OF IKON ON THE SYSTEM.

of Physicians in London, has written a book on the

action of medicines, which has recently been published
in this country,

and which

is

adopted as a standard
into the subject than

work.

It goes

more thoroughly

any other author.

He

places alcohol as a stimulant

it

and narcotic, withor fat, or even

;

out the pretence that

can be appropriated by the

its tissues

system, to

make any

part of

be used as fuel to produce animal heat

that iron

but in proof

from the shops does enter into the blood as a

it,

part of

he says, " In some cases of chlorosis the

it

blood was analyzed before giving iron and after

had

been given for a few weeks, and the blood was found
to contain

more of Ted globules

after taking the iron

than before."

And

this is accepted as

proof positive

that the red globules, or at least the color of the globules,

were produced by the iron thus introduced.

scores of cases can be brought, where, under a

But more

different treatment, the results

were the same, and even

;

striking, without using a particle of iron

is,

and

my

explanation

that the effect of the iron

was that of a

mere stimulant, promoting sanguification, from food

taken in the

mean time

containing iron.

Of

abun-

dance of testimony on that point, I will bring only one

witness.

Dr. Churchill,

whom

I have already quoted as conits

demning iron on account of

tubercles, says, in his

tendency to develop

book on "Pulmonary Phthisis

its

and Tubercular Diseases," that phosphoric acid and

preparations
" are

the

most valuable blood-creating

IRON MUST BE TAKEN AS FOOD.

agents known, as
idly
is

165

shown by
;

the fact that

more rapto prove

than any other medicine

"

it

increases the quantity

and color of the blood

it

and he gives cases

referred
to

by Dr. Headland, and thus the proof that iron produces the
red globules directly
is

quite as remarkable as those

entirely neutralized.

Now

let

us bring into one view the diiferent parts of

that wonderful,

and to us incomprehensible arrange"

ment, made "in the beginning," when

the heavens and earth," by which
that
all

God

created

the solid elements

man

should ever require should be placed where,

for that purpose, they should be pul
scattered,

by laws ordained
verized,

and mixed, and

be

and deposited, and

all his

after countless ages

fitted to

supply

physical

wants.

And

then

" the

Lord God formed man of the

dust of the ground," and instituted laws by which the

elements of which he was made, and which would ever

afterwards be needed for his repair and reconstruction,

should be taken up in the sap of herbs, and grasses,

and and

fruit trees,

and deposited

in seeds,

and

juices,

and

grains,

and

fruits, or in the flesh

of animals, and birds,

fishes, in

such abundance and profusion over the

face of the earth, that anywhere, and in all circumstances, to the

end of time, these elements should be

ready at his hand, requiring only the use of his intellect

and physical

faculties to procure

tHem and

fit

them

for

his digestive organs.

With

this

arrangement, so perfectly adapted to

all

the exigencies of

plan of Infinite

human life, so clearly revealed Wisdom, is it reasonable that we

as the

short-

166

BEEFSTEAK AND NITEIO ACtD.

sighted beings should presume to say that any part of

it is

unnecessary or unimportant, and that elements not

it

prepared in accordance with

this

are just as good, and

on no other ground than that they have the same

chemical character as organized preparations of the

#ame elements ?

while

the evidence before us

is

abun-

dant that the same elements, with the same chemical

combinations, are wholesome food or virulent poisons
as they are or are not organized according to this
derful plan ?

won-

Beefsteak and nitric acid both owe theii

;

distinctive characteristics to nitrogen

but one

is

whole-

some nourishment, the other a virulent poison.

Sugar

and alcohol contain not only the same elements, but very
nearly the same chemical combinations
taste alike, or smell alike, or, if
;

but they neither

taken into the stomach,

produce any

effects

on the system in common.

is

In short,

one

is

good carbonaceous food, the other

folly, then, to
its

a poison.

What

attempt to decide on the influence

chemical combination
!

of any substance by

Chemical

must always obey

vital law, as

lower law the higher.

Note to Fifth Edition, Maech

American
Institute,

12, 1869.

In a recent lecture before the

is

Professor Horsford offered the following extraordinary

certain that the nutritive

indorsement of his claims by Baron Liebig: " It

value of flour will be increased ten per cent, by your phospbatic bread preparation, and the result is precisely the same as if tlie fertility of our wheat fields had been increased by that amount " There is no claim that phospbatic yeasl
!

powder adds any element of nutrition but phosphorns, and the average amount of all the phosphorus in unbolted wheat meal is less than two per cent. Eight per cent, therefore of the Professor's improvement is an improvement on natural trheat. It is easy to prove that not a particle of nutriment is added by this or any other chemical process; but if it were, what would be gained? Why be at such pains to get out the phosphorus, and then at such pains to get it back <igain ? Why not take wheat as God made it ?

WATEK.

167

WATEE.
We
ural

have seen that mineralogy, geology, and natall

history

corroborate

that

incomprehensible

statement of the word of God, that

man was made

from the " dust of the ground

"

and I have endeav-

ored to delineate also the great law of nature by which

the solid elements of the

human system
less
is

are constantly

supplied

and we have seen that

than one quarter

of the weight of the system

composed of solid matter,

more than three quarters being water.

We

come now

to consider the arrangement, equally

wonderful, and above

water, without which

human comprehension, by which

could not have been begun or

life

continued for a single day, should, with unfailing certainty, always be supplied.
find in the

And

here

we

shall also

book of nature the same

interesting

and

complete corroboration of the word of God.

Away

back in the ages of eternity, farther than the

imagination of the
beginning,
the sun,

human mind can

stars,

reach,

"in the

God

created the heavens and the earth,"

moon, and
;

and every element of matter

contained in them

but for ages the condition of things

was such that

all

all

we could understand, and

is,

therefore

that

is

revealed,

that the "earth

was without form

and void."

168

PKEADAMITE AltflANGEMENT FOE WATER.

first

The
ment

intimation
is

we have

of the particulars of

its

construction,
:

made

concerning water, in this state-

"

And

the Spirit of

of the waters."

And
first

this is all

God moved upon the face we know, or could be

is

made

to understand,
till

and therefore

all

the explana" God said,

tion given

the

day, or period,

when

Let there be
ened by

light,

and there was

light."

This, too,

being incomprehensible to the

scientific

human mind,
is

unenlighlr

developments,

not explained.

In the description of the second day, or period, we

begin to get a glimpse of the condition of things.
" And

God made

the firmament, and divided the waters

which were under the firmament from the waters which

were above the firmament."
earth
"

In the beginning," the

:

was made of molten rocks

this is clearly

under-

stood by the condition in which

we

find it;

and of

course the water existed only in a state of vapor, or in

gaseous elements.

To

" divide the

waters from under

the firmament from the waters above the firmament,"

was, therefore, to cool the outside and form a crust of

the earth, so that the vapor could be condensed into

water, and thus be separated from the vapors in the

regions above the earth.

The second day,

or period,

seems, therefore, to have been devoted to a preparation

of the supply of water for man,
ated
till

who was
when

not to be creall

the sixth day, or period,

necessary

preparations for

him should be completed.

seems to have been devoted to the
for thfe supply

The

third period

same work of perfecting an arrangement

of water.
"

And God

said.

Let the waters under the

"let the det land appear."

heaven be gathered together in one place, and

169
let the

dry land appear."

How

this

was accomplished can

book of naas they

now be read much more

Th^
by the

clearly in the "

ture " than in the written word.

internal fires of the earth, pent

up

were

solid crust that enclosed them, began, in their

efforts to escape, to

throw up the surface of the earth

into ridges,

and

hills,

and mountains, and of course the

hills,

waters retired from these ridges, and

tains,

and moun-

and they became dry land

and one third of the

earth being thus raised, the other two thirds were of

course depressed, and there the waters gathered into

oceans, and seas, and lakes
:

and thus was completed

the third period of preparation for supplying

water.

man

with

That the mountains were once raised from

layers, or strata,

level

which had previously

is

for ages been

covered with water, there

reflecting

not in the mind of any

facts,

man, who knows the

into

a shadow of

doubt.
in

Look

any cave, or excavation, or mine,

earth,

any mountain on the face of the

and we can

see that the strata of different materials, such as coal,

elate,

&c., which must have been formed under water,

level,

and of course on a

have been pushed up from a

level to the position in

which they are now seen, by

some power from beneath, as if the wet leaves of a pamphlet had been pushed up into an inverte'd cup,
and there
left to

dry.

Finding such a semi-globular

mass of printed matter afterwards, and separating these

leaves, it could

be seen that they once were on a

level.

170

THE FOURTH PEEIOD OP OEBATION.

and that in that position the words must have been imprinted on them.

In a similar manner can be seen, in

the leaves or strata of sandstone, evidence, in the position of the strata,

and in the

shells

and other materials

thalT these

imbedded in them, evidence unmistakable

strata
level,

were for ages under water, and of course on a

and had been pushed up

left to

to their present position,

and there

dry and consolidate.

Thus was

so far accomplished the

work of supplying
;

water for man, that some vegetation could grow

before the close of the third period

and

we

find

"the herb

yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit,

whose seed was

in itself after his kind."

for

But the earth

was not yet ready

man,

for mists and clouds in the

heavens had not yet dispersed, so that the sun had ever
shone, or even penetrated but imperfectly the darkness that shrouded the earth, " for the

Lord God had

not caused

it

to rain

on the earth, but there went up a

mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the

ground."

But
earth,

the fourth period of creation seems to have been

devoted to clearing off the mists from the face of the

so that the

rays of the sun could penetrate

;

through them, and divide the day from the night

then for the
first

and

time appeared the sun and the

moon

Moses, as if they had just been created and set there, " the greater light to rule
in the revelating vision to

the day,
if

and the

lesser light to rule the night

"

and as

then

"He made

the stars also," their light having

never before reached the earth.

Then came the

fifth

ARRANGEMENT FOR WATER PERFECTED.

period,

171

when

the sun, having cleared off the mists and

clouds from the earth, a system of distillation could be

commenced from
in

the surface of the ocean and the earth,

to

and pure water be taken up

be condensed, and
into rivulets,

fall

dews and

rains,

and be collected

and

streams, and rivers, and the great system be inaugurated which to the end of time shall circulate the waters

from the ocean

to the air

and from the

air to the ocean,

supplying men, and animals, and the minutest insect,

without cessation, with this necessary element.

Then, and not

animals, whose

till

then,

was the earth prepared

for

life

depends on a constant supply of

water for the

circulation; of the food, for perspiration,

and the necessary

created
" every

secretions

and not

till

then were
"

living

creature that moveth,"

and

every winged fowl after his kind," that could in any

way

contribute to
then,

the

support or comfort of man.

And

everything being
first

made

ready,

God

said,
if

using for the

time the plural pronoun, as

the

councils of heaven were called for the crowning

work
of

of creation, " Let us

likeness
;

make man

in our image, after our

fish

and

let

them have dominion over the

the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the.
cattle,

and over

all

the earth, and over every creeping

thing that creepeth on the earth."

Let us now review the history of

for

this

preparation

the

advent of man, and notice the perfect har-

mony

between, the revelation to us through Moses,

twenty-five hundred years after the

work was

finished,

and the revelation to us

in the mountains,

and rocks,

172

THE REVELATION TO MOSES.

rivers,

and
that

and the chemical character of the elements

compose them.

This harmony -is the more striking when

that

we

consider

Moses knew but

little

of astronomy, mineralogy,
evident from his descrip-

geology, or chemistry, as
tions, in

is

aU of which he gives us not the actual condidevelopment of events, but

tion of things, or the actual

only a description of things and events as they appeared

to him, or as

by a kind of panoramic

vision they were

revealed, to be described in his

own words.
stars,

Thus, in his description of the sun, moon, and

as they appeared
to reveal

when
if

the mists had cleared off so as

them, as

they were then created, he says,

great lights, the greater to rule
;

"

And God made two

the stars also."

the day, and the lesser to rule the night

"

"

and he
in the

made

"

And God

set

them

firmament of the heavens to give light upon the earth."

This was on the fourth day, but on the second day, he
says, "

when

"

God said. Let there be light God moved upon the face of
It
is

"

and

this

was

the waters," and

the mists were so far condensed that light from the sun

began to shine through them.

that

evident, therefore,

Moses wrote

in his

own language

a description of

appearances, as revealed by a kind of panorama, as

suggested by

Hugh

Miller in "

The Testimony of

the

Rocks."
First, he

saw the

earth, so enshrouded in mists that

its

not a ray of light could penetrate to

surface,

and

it
it

appeared

" without

form and void

" then, next, as

appeared when the mistg were partly condensed into

THE REVELATION TO MOSES.

water, so as to let in a
tains
little

173

light

then, as the

moun-

and

hills

were raised, and the waters

;

settled into

seas

and oceans

and

finally,

when

the arrangement

was

fully perfected, so that every blade of grass,

little

and

every

insect should be sure of a supply of water,

fully prepared for the advent of

and the earth was

man,

for

whom

all this

preparation was made.

all

Now,
Moses,

astronomy,
that all that

geology,

and chemistry

demonstrate

was thus revealed

to the vision of

and

all

he describes as appearances, were in perfect

of, scientific

accordance with, though not a revelation

truth.

The

earth must have been enshrouded in dark-

ness, for water cannot exist at a temperature above

212

and of course a temperature

sufficiently
all

high to

melt the rocks must have driven

the water into

little

vapor around the earth.

gathers over a city, as
it

Now,

if

the

fog which

sometimes does over the city

of London, can so obstruct the light as to leave the

inhabitants groping in darkness, what must have been
the darkness the earth
?

when

the whole ocean was in vapor around

And

as the surface of the earth cooled,

and the vapor

condensed, after a while the light of the sun must have

begun to shine through, according

of the
first

to the description

day, and there would be a manifest divis-

ion between the water and the fog, described as the

firmament dividing the waters below from the waters

above, which constituted the work of the second day.

And when

the hills and the mountains were raised, as

geology teaches they wese raised, to form the dry land

174

OPINION OF CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHEES.

of every continent, then the waters

must

necessarily

have been " gathered together in one place."

The sun

must have been

in the heavens
it

when "darkness was

could not "divide the

upon the
and

face of the earth," but

day from the night," and " be for signs and for seasons,
for days

and

for years,"
its

till

the mists should have

been dispersed so that

earth.

light should shine

on the

And

then,

to

complete the harmony of the

testimony of Moses and the testimony of nature, in the

chemical composition of plants and animals,

we

find a

description of the earth as being covered with vegetation,

and the animals

as being created,

which was to

finish the preparation of the earth for

the arrangement

man, just when was completed by which vegetation

the view of Dr. Kurtz, that the

and animals could be perpetually supplied with water.

If,

then,

we

take

narrative

of Moses was " simply prophecy described

backwards," and of Chalmers, Pye Smith, and

Miller,

Hugh

and other Christian philosophers, "that the

Mosaic account of creation can only be regarded as a

record of appearances,"

we

find in the record of

Moses

respecting the formation of water, and the arrangements

for
its

perpetual supply, and in the records of geology

consis-

and chemistry, the most perfect harmony and

tency.
tions of
is

That

this

view

is

true, not only of the revela-

Moses but of

all

Old Testament

revelations,

now

almost universally admitted by

;

all
is

Christian

philosophers

and, being admitted, there

no longer was

among them

the least anxiety lest the truth of the Bible

should be overturned or weaksned.

But

until this

A REVELATION OF APPEAEANCES.

175

understood, there was a constant jealousy lesi some

astronomer or geologist should discover some discrepancy between the written word of God and the book of nature. Thus, wheg Galileo announced the discovery through his telescope that the earth revolved around
the sun, the Christian philosophers of his day, with
that strange perversion of intellect

by prejudices which always characterized the human mind, demanded as

security for their precious Bible that he should retract
his

opinion,

and

let

the

sun go on

its

revolutions

around the earth, and even demanded that he should do so on pain of death. Not one of them dared to
look into the telescope,
lest

they might be convinced

;

of the revolution of the earth

for if the earth did re-

volve, then Joshua's testimony

said,

was not

true.

Joshua

when

" the sun stood

still

in the midst of the

. .

heavens, and did not go

down about a whole day,"

it

"there was no day like that before

ileo said the

or after it."

Gal-

sun had always stood

still,

and the revo;

lution of the earth divided the

day from the night

and

so determined were these philosophers to preserve the

Bible from harm, and so darkened were the minds of

these the best

men

of the age, that they deliberately

life

concluded to take his

as a choice of evils,

is

the

life

of one man, even one of the best of men, being considered of

little

value compared with the value of the

precious

word of God.

But now
no

that

it

under-

stood that Joshua only described a miraculous event,

as
it

appeared to him, there

is

difficulty

on

that

1.76

"good's book of natuee."

point in the

mind of any
also,

intelligent Christian, whether

philosopher or not.

In our day,

we have

seen the jealousy awakened

among
phers,

intelligent

Christian

men, and even philosothat the earth,

upon the statement being made

its

according to

geological construction, could not have

been formed in a single week.

All Christendom was

lest the

thrown into alarm and excitement again,

might be discredited, and

Bible

many an anathema was

to

heaped on the names of good men who dared

interpret the Bible

by the revelations of Nature.

remember, as
five

if it

were but yesterday, though now

forty-

years since, the day and the

room

in

which I began
of Nature,"
struck

to read the then recently published "

Book
first

by J.

Mason Good,
meant

in

which the idea

my

mind
really

that the six days of creation, as recorded

six periods, or ages,

by Moses,

of indefinite and

inconceivable length.

The

idea did literally strike

my

mind with such

stunning
;

force as to produce

an

effect

almost

and

for that

day I read not another word in

the book, but gave

up

my mind

to the strange reveries

fall

which

it

excited.'

I trembled lest the Bible should

under such a plausible statement of geological revelation

;

but, looking into the subject, I found that the

record of Moses and Joshua must be understood as a

record of appearances
;

and since then I have

felt

no

apprehensions for the revelations of the Bible, and no

difficulty in reconciling

them

vrith the, revelations of

geology or chemistry.

A CHEMIGO-VITAL PROCESS.
Uses of Water in the

177

Uuman

System.
see

By

the table of analysis of the

human body, we

that three fourths of its weight consists in water.

Withcould

out water no vital process could be carried on for a

single

moment.

The blood must be Hquid

or

it

not circulate, and not circulating, no elements could be

supplied, and none could be removed
;

and then oxygen

in the

and hydrogen are very important elements

position of the organs as well as the blood.

comthus

And

water occupies a position in the economy of the system

which fully explains the importance which seems to be

attached to
it

in nature, rendering

it

necessary to insti-

tute that complicated arrangement for its production,

circulation,

and minute

distribution over the face of the

earth which

we have been

considering.

But one of
vital process

the most important, and to

me

the most

interesting purposes subserved

by water,

is

that chemicois

by which, the temperature of the body

all
it

regulated so as, under

circumstances and external

temperatures to which

can be exposed, internally to

remain of the same temperature.

That certainly

is

an

udmirable adjustment of vital and chemical principles,

which, without regard to external clothing, or external
temperature, or the kind of food taken, or the amount

of exercise used, shall keep the internal temperature

98, so that in the same individual, under
circumstances in health,
it

at

all

'ordinary

will not

vary from that point

or winter, at

more than one

or

two degrees,
12

in

summer

rest or in violent exercise.

178

A OHEMICAIi LAW.
series of

In a

experiments on one hundred and four-

teen individuals, of both sexes, of different ages,

among

various races, in different latitudes, and under various

temperatures, Dr. J.

Davy found

that a thermometer

placed under the tongue indicated a temperature vary-

ing only from 96.5 to 102

only 5J

and the extremes

of these cases were found very rarely, and

aWays

in

individuals of great peculiarities of constitution.

The process by which

is

this

adjustment of temperature

made, as I have

said, is partly vital

is vital

and partly chemi-

cal.

That part which

;

I will not attempt to exr

is

plain

but the chemical process

in accordance with a

law

instituted " in the beginning,"

and

instituted espe-

cially for this

very purpose

(if

we

believe that the earth

was made
This law

for
is

man, and

all

the laws which govern it).

easily understood,

and

is

worthy of par-

ticular consideration.

If a solid
gas, heat
is

is

changed into a
is

liquid, or a liquid into a

required, which

taken from surrounding

objects to

supply

it.

If you place a pot of cream

it

within a vessel, in which

will

be surrounded by

ice

and
salt

salt,

both of which being solid, the action of the

ice

on the

changes
it

it

into water, which, requiring

is

more

heat, takes

from the cream, which

it

the nearest

object,

and freezes

into ice-cream.

If you allow moist clothing to remain touching the

surface of the body, the moisture,

by the heat of the

into

body, or by the atmosphere,

is

changed

vapor,
I have

and produces a dangerous sensation of cold.

often

amused the

class to

whom

I was lecturing by an

COLD PRODUCED EY EVAPORATION.

application of this law, in freezing water in a

179

warm
in

lecture-room.

Take two watch

crystals,
little

and put
ether,

one a

little

water, and in the other a

which

being light, boUs at the temperature of the atmosphere

when

the pressure

is

taken

off.

Put these

together,
:

under an air-pump, and take off the pressure

the

ether will boil, and give off vapor, which, abstracting

the heat from the water, causes

it

to freeze

so that in

the same temperature

we have

the processes of boiling

and freezing

at the
is

same time.
used in

This principle

warm

climates in cooling

water and other drink.

A porous jug, called a monkey,

it, is

or a bottle with a wet cloth around

always seen
is

hanging in the window 'where the breeze

drawing

through, and the evaporation from the surface of the

jug or bottle abstracts the heat from the water within and I have drank
it

as cool as

was

desirable, with the

sun directly overhead.

We have
its

seen also the operation of this principle in

heating and boiling water.

Apply heat
comes up

to water, to

and
then

temperature increases

till it

212
is

a violent agitation commences, and steam

evolved

more or
and

less rapidly in

proportion to the heat applied

this evolution

keeps the water at the same temin the

perature, so that
raise the

no amount of heat

open

air

can

temperature above 212.

And

this is the principle

which regulates the temit

perature of the

human

system, and keeps

at

98,
do

regulated by the operation of a vital law which

we

not understand, and the evaporation of water, as before

180

POWER TO

RESIST THE EFFECTS OP HEAT.

described, so as to keep the internal parts of the

at 98, while water,

body

under the regulation of physical

boiling, at 212'

law alone,

is

kept,
all

when

By

this

law

animals can, to some extent, adjust

;

themselves to different temperatures

but each species,

being intended to occupy only a limited range of heat

and

cold, each being limited to a

few degrees of

lati-

tude, have not the necessity for that power to a very

great extent.

But man, who

is

destined to have domin-

ion over all animals in

to

all latitudes,

must have power

In

adapt himself to a great range of temperature.

many
and

parts of the tropical zone, the thermometer rises

every day, through a large portion of the year, to 110,

in British India
it is

occasionally recorded at 130

it

while the arctic voyagers frequently record

as

low

as

55 below, and Captain Franklin

at 58,
;

and one record

by Captain Back
70 below

is

made

as

low as 70
live

of temperature in which

men

making a range from 130 above to

some
places,

two hundred
room where
was

degrees.

Workmen in furnaces
to enter a

are accustomed, in

the floor

is

red hot, and the

;

temperature of the

air stands at

350

and the

"

Fire

King
at a

" Chabert

in the habit of entering

;

an oven,
it is

temperature of from 400 to 600

and

not

an

uncommon
it

feat to take beefsteak into

;

an oven and

wait for

to be cooked

indeed, the temperature which

Chabert was accustomed to endure would crisp a steak

to charcoal.
j.

This almost miraculous power of resisting the

of heat
is

effects

evidently not purely chemical, as

is

shown

EFFECTS OF COLD ON THE HEALTH.

by the
living
different effects of the

181
tha

same temperature on

and dead muscle

but that chemical law comea

to sustain extraordinary heat,

into play in this

is

power
body
it is

shown by the

fact that the evaporation of water

is

on

the surface of the

in proportion to the degree

of heat to which
is

exposed, and of course the heat

evolved from the body according to chemical laws.

is,

It

therefore,

vital,

great changes

a power partly chemical and partly

can therefore be endured with

vital

impunity only by persons with good

in

powers and
greatly
is

good health.

Young

children

suffer

by

changes of temperature, and many an infant

killed

by treatment which would be

safe at maturity,

the

nurses or mothers exposing them to the influence of

cold air or cold water, not knowing their want of

power

to resist the cold, or perhaps having the idea

that exposure will render

them tough.
to changes,

Old people
statistics

also suffer

from exposure

and

show

that from the age of eighty

as

and upwards

more than twice

as in

many

die in

January and February

all

July and August; indeed, the mortality of

is

ages

greater in winter than in summer.

M.
of

Quetelet gives, as the results of a large number

observations in Brussels, the following

statistical

table of the

mean monthly

mortality at different ages,

reckoning the average of the whole year at one hun-

dred per month

182

MONTHLY MOETALITY.

Mean Monthly

Mortality in Brussels.

POWER TO

RESIST THE EFFECTS OF COLD.

183

another reason for the difference of mortality in infanta

and old people in summer and winter.

Probably in

Brussels, where the winters are long and cold, as a

matter of economy in heat the houses are not well ventilated,

and infants and old people, not being able

impure
air,

to

go

out, are exposed constantly to

which would

help to account for the facts presented in

bill

M.

Quetelet's

of mortality.

In July and August old

;

men and

infants breathe pure out-of-door air

in

January and

February that luxury perhaps cannot be afforded.

There
is,

however, no doubt that the power of genis

erating heat and of resisting cold

different ages
;

very different at

and

this

depends entirely on the degree

pig,

of activity.

The young Guinea

its

which can run

it is

about and pick up food for

is

itself as

soon as

born,

no longer dependent on
and

mother for heat, or the

;

power of
cats,

resisting the effects of cold

rabbits,

but young dogs,

which are born blind, do not for some

resisting the effects of cold,

weeks acquire the power of

and would die but

mother.
mals, and

for the
is

warmth imparted by the

all

The
is

infant

the most helpless of

ani-

longest in arriving at maturity sufficient

to resist the cold air,

and

it

cannot be too carefully

it

protected, unless in our care to protect

from cold we

deprive

it

of pure

air,

which

is

quite as essential as a

regular temperature.

Demand
warm

for

Water

in the

Hnman

System.
especially in
I

Besides the great

demand

for water,

weather, for the purpose of evolving heat, as

184

AMOUNT OF WATEE BXCBETED.

it

have described,

is

wanted in large quantities to

effete

supply the excretions, and thus carry off

matter
is

from the system.

water
;

Three quarters of the system

and

if

the waste of water were no

more rapid

than that of the solids,

we should

require half a gallon

in a day, the waste of solids being reckoned at nearly

two pounds, but the waste of water in warm weather

and

in active exercise
solids.

is

many

times greater than the

waste of the

The amount of water

excreted by the kidneys varies,

being to some extent in the inverse proportion to the

excretions from the skin.

In summer

it is

less

than in

winter

the quantity, therefore, excreted in twenty-four

It is estimated at

hours cannot be exactly ascertained.

about thirty ounces in summer, and forty ounces in

winter, for a
requires
;

person

who only

drinks

what nature

but

many
as
is

persons drink, from mere habit,

twice as

much

needed, which must of course pass

off in excretions.

From

the skin

is

excreted, in ordi-

nary circumstances, from one pound and three fourths

to five

pounds in twenty-four hours, and in extraordihas amounted to sixteen or

half as
is

nary circumstances, as in the case of glass-blowers,

furnace workmen, &c.,
it

twenty pounds.

More than

much

as the ordi-

nary excretions from the skin

also excreted

from

tlie

lungs, besides an indefinite and very variable

amount
to

from the bowels.

functions in healthy

We require,

therefore,
all

from four

twelve pounds' of water daily to keep

the organs and

working order.

WATER

EST

THE HtMAN SYSTEM.

186

Importance of Using Pure Water.

Water, to perform perfectly the duties assigned

the

it

in

human economy, must be

perfectly pure

nothing

but oxygen and hydrogen combined can pass through

the system to accomplish the various purposes which I

have described, and every element combined with them

in

water must be disposed of by the excretories, and

to the

must be a source of embarrassment and disease

delicate organs

whose duty
the

it is

to expel all intruding

elements

from

system.

Our

study,

therefore,

should be to get water as pure as possible.

Nature

has provided, in two ways, never-failing sources of

supply of pure water,

in the juices of all natural

food, animal or vegetable,

and

in the condensation of

vapor in the atmosphere.

of the
food,

By comparing
find

the analysis

human body with that we shall be interested to

as in the system,

of different articles of

on an average as
natural

much water
state

in the different articles in their

and that

to

compensate for

the increased

expenditure

of water in summer, the

amount of water
for

in the fruits
is

ajd vegetables intended

is

summer food

vastly greater than

found in the

grains and fat meats that are intended for winter.

The

average amount of water in fruits, and vegetables, and

berries, is

more than ninety per

at all.

cent.,

whUe

seal oil,

of which an Esquimaux will eat a gallon in a day,

3ontains
i)f

no water

This interesting provision

nature will be impressed on our minds by bringing

186

WATER

FOOD.

together the different articles of food, with the amount

of water in each, as in the following table, from analyses already given

:

Quantities of Water in

One Hundred Pounds of

Vegetable Food.

CAN WATEE BE SUPPLIED

EST

FOOD?
;

187

of the food usually eaten consists of water

fore,

and there-

using an average amount of vegetable food, we more water than the natural proportion of that element in the human system. And if our liquid excretions were no greater in proportion than the solid, we
get

should need no drink.

Noticing this

fact,

some of our

ultra dietetic reformers have inferred that the intention

of Nature was that water should be supplied through

food alone
for a

and Alcott succeeded

all

in abstaining entirely

whole year from

kinds of liquids except such

as

were furnished
&c.
;

in natural food, as milk, vegetables,

fruits,

but I often thought, when seeing hiin

the
streets,

moping

about

looking

like

a walking

mummy,
highly

that his personal

appearance did not very

recommend

his principles.

He

said,

however,

that he did not experience the sensation of thirst

more

than two or three times, and that after copious perspiration from working in hot weather.
entirely vegetable,

His food was

in a day,

and he
five

ate

six

pounds

which would give him

amount,
it

pounds

of fluid

daUy,

an
such

would seem, abundantly

sufficient for

a desiccated specimen of humanity.

He needed more
his

nutriment rather than more water,

gastronomic

capacity not being sufficient to contain, in such food,

the requisite

amount of

nutrition.

But
to

that Nature intended partially to supply water

the system through the

medium

of food,

is

evident

from the fact to which I have before alluded, that food

produced in
weather,

warm

climates,
is

and intended

for

warm

when water

most needed

to supply the

188

WATEEED MILK.
much
larger proportion of water

excretions, contains a

than food intended for cold climates and cold weather.

This

is

seen in the above table, the green vegetables

and

fruits

showing from eighty

to ninety-seven per

cent, of water,

whUe
be,

the fat of all animals contains

none.

Still,

there

are

very few animals, whatever

water.

their food

may

who do not drink

Mice,

quails, parrots,

and a few other birds and quadrupeds,

;

are said to drink no water

but cattle, which live

or.

grass alone, containing

more than ninety per

it

cent, of
;

water,
to

still

require drink, and perish without

which

me
It

is

proof positive that food was not intended to

the water needed in the system.

supply
is,

all

however, best to use as far as practicable food

containing water, especially in places where pure water

cannot be obtained, as water combined in natural food

is

absolutely pure, and perceptibly different from the

purest water obtained outside of this natural organization.

This, in regard to milk, has been proved

by
and

experiment.

Carefully add to a dish of pure

fresh

milk a few drops

of pure

Cochituate

water,

almost immediately, under a microscope, can be seen

commencing a change which

tion.

will result in decomposi-

Place a dish of pure milk, containing eightyit

seven per cent, of water, as

came from the cow,

where
beside

it it

will

keep sweet twenty-four hours, and place

another dish of the same milk, adding only

one per cent, of pure water of the same temperature,

ind the

mUk

last

named

will be

changed

in less than

twelve hours.

When

our milkmen, therefore, dilute

NO WATER

IS

ABSOLtTTELT PUBE.

189

their milk, they not only defraud

by
it

selling water foi

mUk, but they

of that term.

actually adulterate

in the true sense

From this

fact housekeepers

and milkmen

may

get an important hint.

It is not only necessary,

in order to

keep milk from changing, to have the dish

it

or can containing

well scalded and sweet, but also per-

fectly dry, a single

drop of pure water being

sufficient

to start the process of fermentation, or change,

and the

more impure the water

the greater will be

its

influence.

No

water can be obtained perfectly pure, as even

that which

comes

directly

from the clouds contains

slight traces of mineral, animal,

and vegetable matter.

Carbonate and muriate of ammonia have been obtained

by
is

distillation

from pure river water, and

this

ammonia
is

the cause of that feeling of softness which

even

greater than in pure distilled water.

Collected in the cleanest and purest vessels,

contains organic matter and the

it

also

germ of animal and

in large

vegetable
cule

life sufficient to

produce putrefaction, animal;

and vegetable moulds

and when collected

cities it is less

pure than in the country, containing

as

it

does, besides the impurities already mentioned,

creosote, carbonic acid gas,

and other materials

result-

ing from combustion, decomposition, and evaporation.

Still,

next to water contained in milk, and the juices of

fruits, rain

water

is

the purest.

Snow Water.
Snow, being rain congealed, contains the same ammoniacal impurities
;

but being congealed in the upper

190

SOUECES OP mOEGANIO MATTEE.

it

and purer regions of the atmosphere,

with
it

brings

down
is

less of the organic impurities,

but being in other

respects the same, cannot be injurious to health, as

commonly supposed.
thirst unless

It

will
it

not,

however, quench

melted before

goes into the mouth, the

loss of heat in

melting counteracting entirely the natu-.

ral effect of water, so that the natives of arctic regions,

according to the testimony of Captain E,oss, "prefer

enduring the utmost extremity of

attempt to remove
it

thirst
;

rather than
it is

by eating snow

"

but after

melted

it is

as nearly pure as

any water, and quenches

thirst as well.

Spring Water.

Water
sand,
till

falling in rain

on the surface of the earth

substratal

percolates through the soil and

it

gravel or

comes down
it

to
all

an impervious stratum,
soluble substances that

carrying with

of course

have been taken up but not

through which
it

filtered

out by the sand

passes.
till

It passes along this imper-

vious substratum

it

comes

to

some opening

in a
It

valley, or remains to be obtained through a well.

is

of course affected by the salts of the

soil,

and by the

soluble minerals in the gravel, or sand, or rock through

which

it

passes,

and the quality of the water depends

If the
soil

on the character of the soil and the gravel.

be thin and poor, and the foundation rock and gravel

be granite, as in
salts or

New

England, there are few soluble

is

minerals to be taken up, and the water

pure

but

if the soil is rich,

and the subsoil and rocks are

WHAT ELEMENTS AEE WANTED

UST

WATER.
as in

191

mixed with soluble mineral compounds,

with organic and mineral matters, and

most of
is

the rich valleys of our great rivers, the water

is

fiUed

the source of

many

diseases.

River Water
Is generally a mixture of rain water

and spring water,

and of course

varies in

its

impurities according to the

it is

character of the soil of which

the wash, and rocks

and gravel through which

to the

it is

filtered,
it

and according
receives in
its

amount of

impurities which

passage to the ocean.

From water

the system obtains nothing of value but

oxygen and hydrogen.

This, I think, has been

shown
and

by the explanation of the law which makes provision

for the fourteen elements in pure air, pure water,
in

organized vegetable matter.

I cannot, therefore,

agree with Dr. Lankester in his " Guide to the Food

Collection in the South Kensington

Museum."

That

waters from

rivers, surface wells,

and deep artesian

in solu-

wells, containing saline

and mineral matters

tion, " provided they are not in quantities so large as

to act injuriously

on the system, may become a source

of supply of these constituents to the body."

Having

proved, as I think I have, that Nature accepts of no

* I take pleasure in acknowledging

my indebtedness
many

to Dr. Iian-

kester for

many

analyses of grains, &c., and for

other interest-

ing facts which have been of great service in the preparation of this
treatise;

also to Drs. Johnston, Pereira,

and other distinguished

English authors.

192

HOW WATER

IS

USED IN THE STOMACH.

Bupplies of elements but in accordance with her

definite

own
ex-

provision for

these

elements,

as

before

plained, I cannot think that she trusts to chance supplies,

and would allow the human system

to

depend

for

the supply of

any elements on waters, some of which

elements,

contain no

inorganic

and some quite too

process in the use

many.

On

the contrary, the

is

first

of water in the system

to

remove aU elements but

If the drink con-

oxygen and hydrogen from drinks of any kind as soon

as they are taken into the stomach.
tains sugar, or the juice of meat, or

any other appropri-

ate element of food, these elements are first abstracted

and digested, and

if it

contains inorganic substances,

or organic substances not needed in the system, they are

first

cast

oflF

by the
If

excretories, so that whatever

is

we

drink, nothing but pure water

used, or can be

used, by the system.

we

take brandy, or wine, or

beer, or coffee, or tea, or whatever else

we

take,

it

quenches

thirst

because

it

contains water, and to just

the extent of the water.

It is therefore

important that

our drinks should contain nothing deleterious.

The importance of pure water,

serving health,
will

as a

means of

pre-

be understood by aU who have

given attention to the laws which I have endeavored

to explain,

by which

all

elements not organized in pure

water, pure air, and appropriate food, are rejected by

the system as poisonous
;

but

we have

also facts

which
at

place the subject in a very strong light.

the

In a case
it

Nottingham Assizes,

in July, 1836,

was proved
in

that dysentery in

an aggravated form was caused

IMPITRE
cattle

WATER THE CAUSE OP

DISEASE.

193

by the use of water with putrescent vegetable

matter, produced

by

the refuse of a starch factory;

proving

my

position true, that nutritious elements, if

disorganized,

become

poisonous.

The

fish

(perch,

gudgeon, pike, roach, and dace), and even frogs in

the

pond through which the brook ran, were destroyed.

this

All the cows, calves, and horses which drank of

water became sick, and in eight years the plaintiff

twenty-four cows and nine calves,
all

lost

of dysentery.

It

was

also

shown

that the mortality

was

in proportion to

the quantity of starch

made

at different times,

and that was

when the water containing

and the frogs and
fishes

the putrescent matter

not allowed to pass into the brook the mortality ceased,

were restored.
Cork, found
till

Dr. Bell, surgeon

dysentery prevailing

to the barracks at

among

the soldiers,

he sus-

pected that

it

arose from water contaminated by the

drainage from the city, and, changing the water to that

of pure spring water, had no
in our
soldiers
late rebellion,
it

more of the

disease

and

was found

that whenever the

were obliged to drink water containing organic impurities, as in the swamps of Chickahominy, they
soon became sick of dysentery, or some other disease
if

the digestive organs,

13

194

HARD WATER.

Waters containing Inorganic /Substances usually

denominated

Hard

Waters.

Those waters which are usually obtained -from wells,

contain salts of various kinds, derived from the soU and
Bubsoil through

which they "percolate, and of course are

more or

less

injurious as they contain elements

and

combinations more or less active.

salt

The most common

found in hard water

is

sulphate of lime, the ele-

ments of which and the elements of soap have a mutual

affinity for

each other, and when soap

is

used with such

water a double decomposition takes place,

the sul-

phuric acid unites with the alkali of the soap, setting

free the fatty acids, which, uniting with the lime,

form

an insoluble earthy soap, which

floats

on the surface,

and the soap losing

These

its

influence, the water feels hard

and very imperfectly performs the functions of

salts also

ablution.

have a very unfavorable

effect in the

animal economy, as the elements not being wanted in

the system have to be cast out through the excretories,

causing, in their passage out, diseases of the kidney

and of the skin, and

it is

found that gravelly deposits

in proportion to

and eruptions of the skin are frequent

the inorganic substances in the water habitually used.

Horses seem instinctively aware of the

evils

of hard

water, and prefer even turbid river water to hard well

water.

Mr. Youatt, an English

Horse, published
in

writer, in his

book
says,

on
"

the

London,

1831,

Hard water, drawn make the coat of a

fresh from the well, will assuredly

horse, unaccustomed to

it,

stare,

THE PUREST WATER COEEODES LEAD

and
it

PIPE.

195

will not unfrequently gripe

and otherwise injure

him."

And Mr.

Chadwick, in

his report to her Majes-

ty's principal

Secretary of State for the

Home

Depart-

ment from the Poor

Law

Commissioners, on an inquiry

into the sanitary condition of the laboring population

of Great Britain in 1842, observes that "water containing animal matter, which
is

the most feared, appears

is

to be less frequently injurious than that which

est,

clear-

namely, spring water, from the

latter

being oftener

impregnated with mineral substances."

erations are suflBcient to

These considis

show

that pure water

;

impor-

tant for the preservation of health

but in one respect

pure waters are more dangerous than those containing

salts,

especially the salts of lime.

Pure water

will,

under some circumstances, corrode lead pipes, and

solve

dis-

more lead than those containing

salts

of lime,

especially carbonates,

which form a crust on the surface

of the pipes, and thus protect them from the action

of water, while even rain water, on surfaces of lead

exposed to

air

and water

alternately, as in lead gutters,

cisterns, pipes, &c., acts with considerable energy, as

may be
at

seen by examining any pipe at the surface of a

cistern of water, or

any

cistern lined with zinc or lead,

the surface of ,the water, or the top of a closed

cistern,

where the steam or moisture gathers.

The

drops of water which condense on the top of a cistern

of water are impregnated with the oxide of zinc or
lead

(both to some extent poisonous), and dropping

into the water,

it

impregnate the whole mass, and render

unfit for drinking purposes.

There are

also places

196

THE DELETERIOUS INFLUENCE OP LEAD.

and
all

in all lined cisterns,

pipes where two metals

are united or
tery

come

in contact, forming a galvanic bat-

as

in soldered joints, supporting bars of iron,

copper faucets, &c., and the action on the water, however pure, in these parts will cause decomposition of
the metals
it
;

and thus

in the purest water, if

we

obtain

through lead pipes, or zinc-lined

cisterns, or

copper

boilers,

we

get some very deleterious mineral matters,

which

affect the

system, even though

we
it is

get them in

very minute quantities.

The worst
a long time,

of this influence
effects

is,

that

cumulative

and no particular

being perceived, perhaps, for

we come

to

doubt whether water which

for

we

have used with apparent impunity

months, and per;

haps years, can in any way be injurious

disease, such as colic,

and many a
charged to
is

numbness, pain in the bones,

is

constipation,

fits,

spasms, cramps, &c.,

cause of which
is

something

else, or the

not known,

really induced
zinc, or copper

by the cumulative

influence of lead,
linings,

from our water pipes or cistern

&c.

Cases frequently occur in which whole families

are afflicted with

diseases,

some mysterious and complicated

suffer for

from which they

months and years,

all their useful-

and which destroy

ness, and even the

all their
life

comfort and

of some of the members, before

;

they

suspect

the

cause

but when
is

scientific investi-

gation
pipes,

is finally

obtained, the cause

found to be lead

from which they had used water from the same well for years, much of the time enjoying good health. Not one half of the evils from metallic water pipes

METALLIC SERVICE PIPES.

are

197

discarded,

known, or ever can be known, and we experience the

scientific

till

they are utterly

blessings of health

which come from pure water.

Every

realizes these evils to the

man, and every other man who community, ought to "cry

till

aloud and spare not,"

our city authorities, anil

every individual householder, shall open their eyes to

see

them,

and

shall

banish forever

all

unprotected

metallic service pipe.

their

Let the people once make up

no water poisoned with
it

minds they

will drink

lead, or zinc, or copper, whatever

may

cost to get

pure water, and there will be found means of procuring

pure water

but as long as

we

deceive ourselves as
suffer

we

do with the idea that however others may

from

water impregnated with lead, or zinc, or copper, we

are safe,

our

well of water, and our Cochituate, or

Croton, or Schuylkill water does not corrode pipes,

we

shall continue to take water poisoned with lead

and

Bther mineral matters.

The

truth

is,

we who laugh

at the silly ostrich for

poking her head under the sand, and thinking herself

safe because she can see
little

no danger, are

after all

but

wiser.

We
their

blind our eyes to a thousand evils,

and

bear

consequences

rather

than take the

trouble to

remove them.

Ask a man who lives on the border of Chickahominy Swamp, or any other notoriously vile and sickly locally, about the health and comforts of his home, and he
will tell

you he has "a heap" of good and pleasant

things about him, and no annoyances or sickness of

198

GALVANIC ACTION ON WATER PIPES.

"

any kind.
fever

They have the dysentery and

a few miles
off,

bilious

over the other side,

are

and the

mosquitoes
troubles.

awful

"

but

he has

none of these

Ask

a man, as I did,

who had always

lived

on the

Mississippi Eiver, and always drank water so thickened

with organic and inorganic impurities that

gruel more than like water,

it

looks like

vUe

stuff,

and he

will tell

why he did not filter the you, as he told me, " There
more healthy water
better without filterif in his

was never sweeter, or

drank in the world
ing, as
it
;

better, or
is

it

much
it."

has more body to

I asked him

neighborhood they were not subject to dysenteries,

bowel complaints,
said,

bilious fevers,

and the

like.

He

Yes

but the water had nothing to do with such

troubles.

Ask the
and they

Cochituate Water Board about Boston water,

will tell

you
city

truly that

it is

the purest water

;

used by any large

on the face of the earth

it is

that,

according to Prof. Benjamin Silliman,

capable of

dissolving only forty-six hundredths of a grain of lead

in a gallon,

and therefore cannot corrode leaden pipes

tell

but they will not

pipe that
is

you

that,

open any cistern or any

not

all

the time

full,

and you

will find the

lining coated with carbonate of lead,

and that near the

is

soldered joints a galvanic and chemical action

con-

stantly going on, so that the pipes are eaten off

and

burst very frequently (in

iff

my

house the pipes are eaten

a year, and always neai

and hurst

five or six times

some soldered

joint)

ORGANIC MATTEKS IN WATEE.

Deceive ourselves as we may, there
is

199

no water inca-

pable of acting on lead, or zinc, or copper, under some

circumstances, and these metals should never be used
for, or

connected with service pipe

and the sooner the

people fully understand this fact the better.

shall

But how
It takes a

we

protect ourselves in the

mean time ?

long time for the most palpable truths to get control of

corporations, proverbially conservative.

Meantime we

should

never use water to drink or for cooking that

has stood for any length of time in the pipes, and never
use at
all for

these purposes water that comes from a

leaden or zinc-lined cistern.

Water
through
water,

containing organic matters can be filtered

sand

and

charcoal.

Boiling

also

purifies

the salts

that

are

held in solution by caror

bonic acid,
of iron,
or

as the carbonate of lime,

lead, the

carbonate

heat of boiling water driving

off the carbonic acid, and leaving the lime, or iron,

or lead deposited on the vessel in which

it is

boiled.

In travelling in regions where the water

nated with hme, or organic materials,

is

imprega good

if is

precaution to drink no water that has not been boiled,

and a better plan

still,

to get as

much

as

possible

of the necessary supply for the system from mUk, and vegetables, and fruits, from which we get water
absolutely pure, and fitted to be appropriated, without

any process of purification, in the stomach. Another reason for not drinking water which contains organic
matters, without boiling,
is,

that all such waters con-

and vermin, tain animaculffl, and the eggs of insects

200

WATEB ALONE QUENCHES

THIBST.

some of which are capable of resisting the action of the gastric juice, and will live and grow in the stomach
thus leeches, and snakes, and other disgusting creatures

have been known to be taken in impure or stagnant

water in which they are hatched, and
for a long time, causing great
live in the

stomach
distress.

annoyance and

No

animalcules are found in water absolutely pure, and

to exist that are not destroyed

none are known

ing water.

by

boil-

And now,
such
infinite

having explained the process by which, at

expense, water
is

furnished to every living

thing, everywhere and at all times, and having

shown

that pure water, and nothing else, can dilute the blood

and prepare

it

to circulate, carrying to every part the

nourishment needed, and taking from every part the

effete

materials no longer wanted,

and that nothing

else

can supply the hydrogen, and other elements, as

all

they are needed in the system, and that, therefore,

other drinks subserve these different purposes because

they contain water, and in just the proportion as they

contain water,
all

other drinks might

;

be summarily

disposed of as useless and injurious

but wedded, as

every nation
scientific

is,

to

some

artificial

drink, and biased, as

men

are, in favor of that to

is

which they them-'

eelves are accustomed, there

istry,

need of applying chemsense to our drinks, as

it

physiology, and

common

well as to our solid food.

For, though
is

be true, as

we have

said, that

pure water

the only true drink,

for it;

and that therefore there can be no substitute

and though
it

be true that

all

the living creatures which

SUBSTITUTES FOE WATEE.

201
seen, are

God
the

has made, some of which, as

we have
as

subject to the

same physiological laws

man, and take

conform to his
needs some

same kind of
all

food, all take water alone for drink,

it
;

and are

contented with

still,

to

cosmopolitan character,

man sometimes

modificationof water for drink to avoid and counteract the influence of

impure water,

to which, in

our
evil,

present ignorance of the means of correcting the

we
to

are sometimes subject.

Even
his

a teetotaller ought

be excused for breaking

pledge

if

so

situ-

ated that he could get nothing

else,

and must choose

little

between wine, although

ous
rials

it

did contain a

poison-

alcohol,

and

impure waters, containing

matelittle

a thousand times more deleterious than a

alcohol.

The

substitutes for water,

commonly adopted
tea, coffee,

in civ-

ilized nations, are alcoholic drinks, including distilled

spirits, beers, cider,

wines,

and

and choc-

olate

each of which deserves, and shall have, a passing

notice.

Tea.

That infusion which

which
itants
is

is

usually denominated Tea,

used by

five
is

hundred millions of the inhab-

of the earth,

made from

the leaves of several

varieties of a small shrub

tind

found in China and India,

other parts of the world.
till

now

cultivated in

many

The leaves
year.

are not gathered

is

the plant

is

four years

old; and the plant

renewed every tenth or twelfth

The shrub

is

closely allied to the well-known

202
Camellia Japonica.

TEA.

The

difference

between teas of the

two general
black teas
different

classes in
is

common

use

the green
,

and
by
is

accounted for in different ways

authors.

Lankester says the difference

partly the result of soil and growth the

and partly from

mode

of curing.

"Black tea
and

consists of leaves

slightly

fermented,
is

washed

twisted.

Genuine

green tea

made of

exactly the

same
;

leaves,

washed

and twisted without

'

fermentation

but

commercial

green

'

teas are often black teas colored with Prussian

blue."

While Mr. Eeeves, whose

opinion, according

to the authority of Pereira, is entitled to great weight,

expresses his surprise "that any person

in China, or indeed

who has been

differ-

any one who has seen the

ence in the color of the infusions of black and green

tea, could

suppose for a

moment

that they were the

product of the same plant, differing only in the mode

of cxiring, particularly as they do not grow in the same

neighborhood of each other."

But whether the

differ-

ence consists in the manner of preparing, or the species

or varieties of plants, chemical analysis shows that green
tea, as it

comes

to us, contains

more tannin, and more

is

of that peculiar principle which

tannin, which
is

found combined with

called theine, or theina,

which

is

the

same

principle
is

found in

coffee,

and called
its

caffeine.

The tannin
effects,

injurious on account of

astringent
to

and the theine and

caffeine are injurious

many people on account of

ness.

their peculiar influence

on

the nervous system, inducing restlessness

and wakeful-

On

that account green tea disagrees with

more

AMOUNT or TEA CONSUMED.

people than black tea, and, in this country,
is

203
almost

given up for black tea.

Dr. Lankester estimates that

lions of

in the

United Kingdom

above thirty-two thousand tons, or seventy-three milpounds, are annually used, or about two pounds
for every person in the
relative

and three quarters

kingdom
consump-

and he has given a table showing the

tion of tea in different countries
his estimate for the
;

and I transcribe below

United Kingdom, France, Bussia,

and the United

States.

Annual Consumption, in Ounces, per Head of

Population.

the

United Kingdom,
France,
!Russia,

....

35^
1

oz.

"
" "

4
16

United States,

The property which

distinguishes the different kinds

is

of teas from each other, and gives them their flavor,

found in the form of volatile

oil.

This flavor, or osma-

zome,

is,

as I think can be shown, the source of all the

benefits that

can be derived from tea, and the source of

evils

one class of

which

arise

from

its

use in excess.

By

the chemical analysis of pure tea, of any variety,

we

find

no elements capable of doing harm

to the system,

except tannin and osmazome.

to

Osmazome

in tea seems

be a flavor universally admired, and therefore the

its

cause of

extensive use all over the world.

It

ia

204

DELETERIOUS PEOPEETTES IN TEA.

only injurious

when taken

in excess, being the element

diffused through all natural food,

in giving a relish

and which

is
;

useful

and in promoting digestion

but in

excess, produces nervous

excitement and subsequent

are,

depression.

These

effects

however, evanescent,
is

and soon pass away unless the cause

continued.

But tannin, or tannic

nent in
its

acid,

is

a medical agent, permato the

effects,

and undoubtedly injurious

its

system in proportion to

use.

It is

found combined

with theine, the peculiar principle of tea, and constitutes

more than twenty-five -per

cent, of the

dry

leaf.

According
contains

to

Dr. Lankester, one pound of good tea

Water,
Theine,

oz

350 gr
210

Tannic
Casein,

acid,

...
.

4
2

87

175

Aromatic
Sugar,
Fat,
. .

oil,
.

52
211

280
87

Woody
Gum,

fibre.

Mineral matter,

350 385

The chemical
teas

difference

between black and green

may
:

be seen by the following table from Mulder,

comparing two kinds of green tea with two kinds of

black

BliACE

ASD GEEEN TEAS.

CmSESB.
Green.
Black.

205
Japanese.

Chlorophyll,

2.22 0.28

1.84
.00

3.24
0.32 1.64

1.28
.00

Wax,
Eesin,

2.22
8.56

3.64
7.28

2.44

Gum,
Tannin,
Theine,
Extractive matter,

12.20
17.56 0.60 21.63
.00

11.08

17.80
0.43

12.88 0.46

14.80
0.65

22.80
.00

19.88
1.48

18.64
1.64

Apotheme,

Ext. obtained by hydro

chloric acid,

23.60

19.12
2.80

20.36

18.24
1.28

}
3.00 17.08
0.79

Albumen,
Fibrous matter,
Volatile
oil,

3.64
18.20
0.98

28.32 0.60

27.00
0.65

By

this table

we

see

why
it

green tea

is

more

injurious

than black, containing as

does nearly one third more

tannin, and from one third to one quarter

oil,
is

more

volatile

while of the other important element, theine, there

little

more

in the black tea.

volatile
oil,
is

That
that

it is

not theine,
tremor,

but

tannin

and

produces

anxiety, sleeplessness, &c.,

tea containing

therefore proved, black

least of

most theine, and yet producing

these nervous symptoms.

On

the other hand, I cannot

believe with Liebig that theine or caiFeine have

any im-

portant influence in the change of the tissues or in the

composition of the

bile,

and "are better adapted

to this

purpose than

all

other nitrogenized vegetable principles.''

206 COFFEE AND TEA USEFUL FOR I'HEIR FLAVOR.

We

have seen that every principle, important to the

for,
all
;

human economy, is so carefully provided wherever man may choose to live, he finds
principles prepared for
caffeine

that

these

his use

ready at hand

but

and theine are only found

in tropical climates,

and are indeed quite

find, also,

local in their production.

We
the

that

more than

three quarters

of

all

people in the world live and enjoy health without ever

tasting these principles.
in this matter, as in facts

Liebig's theories, therefore,

others, are not sustained

many

by

or general principles.

Theine, caffeine, or any

other peculiar principles found in tea or coffee, cannot

be proved to be essential to health in any circumstances

or conditions of
life
;

but I

am

not, on the other hand,

prepared to prove that to everybody they are essentially

injurious.

The
ists,

truth,

it

seems to me,

lies

between the extrem-

on the one hand, who think theine and caffeine, to

use again the words of Liebig, " are capable of supply-

ing the place of the nitrogenized product produced in

the healthy state of the body," and the extremists.

On

the other hand,

who condemn
;

tea

and

coffee " as evil,

and only

evil,

and that

continually.''

Tea and

coffee

are sometimes useful

but not for nutriment, or to take

:

the place of nutriment

Nature furnishes no substitutes.

They

are useful for their

osmazomes, and are useful or

injurious as they are used or not used in accordance

with the purposes of that principle

as well as

and here, perhaps,

is

anywhere, I
its

may

explain what

meant by

osmazome, and

purposes in the economy of nature.

OSMAZOMB.

207

The Principle which gives Relish to Food and Drink.

Much
ologists,

too

little

has hitherto been thought by physithat

and almost nothing has been written on

useful as food or drink

beautiful provision for our happiness

by which every-

thing that

is

is

made agreeable

to the palate, so that the

article, the

higher our relish for any given

is
it

more

perfectly

digested and

made

to

supply the wants of the system,

we have

therefore a

natural guide to the right kind of food at the right time,

and, on the other hand, have a disrelish for articles

which, not being suited to our condition, would be

injurious.

But a

little

reflection will

show us

that,

in this adaptation of our palates to the peculiar taste

or osmazome of every distinct article of food,

we have

a faithful sentinel, inviting the admission of friends and

protecting us from the approach of enemies.

Place before a child,

who has never

tasted of sugar,

or butter, or superfine flour, or

any other elements of

food that have been separated from their natural connections,

and whose

tastes are therefore unperverted,

milk, unbolted bread, meats, fruits, or any other natural food, and he will choose just that article which
best adapted to his condition at the time, and
trusted to eat as
is

may

be

much

as he pleases.

At

first, after

being weaned from his primary milk,

he will prefer the milk of the cow, and after a while

need, and choose with
it,

some more concentrated food,

as unbolted wheat, or other bread from grains in their

natural state, and then meats, and potatoes, and fruits,

208

HOW THE

TASTE
;

IS

PEEVEETED.
will desire
is

according to their season

and he never
till

any other than natural food

his appetite

per-

verted by sugar, or butter, &c., which, being separated

from their natural elements, contain

in a state too

their

osmazome
his

concentrated.

After that,

bread

will be insipid without butter,

and

his

milk must have

sugar, and the natural relations of his tastes to natural

osmazomes

is

broken up.

And

so dependent are

the digestive organs

on the osmazome to which they

are used, that, after becoming accustomed to butter,

sugar, tea, coffee, or any other food or drink in which

is

a concentrated and agreeable flavor, they will not

readily digest food without them.

Thus we become
articles of

accustomed

to,

and dependent on,

food and

drink which are temporarily useful, but permanently

injurious.

Many
suffers

man becomes

so accustomed

to alcoholic

drinks, as wines, beers, and even laudanum, that he

from indigestion and

loss of appetite unless they

this, as

are constantly supplied.

is

Now

I understand
coffee.
all

it,

the source of

benefit

from tea and

The
other

agreeable osmazome promotes digestion, as

agreeable flavors do
;

and with a dinner or breakfast of

food which, from improper cooking, or for any other

reason,
is

not relished, a small cup of pure aromatic

coffee or tea is

undoubtedly a real benefit.

to understand this principle

The French people seem

better than the English or Americans, not only in

regard to tea and coffee, but in regard to

all

kinds of

food and drink, adjusting the articles to each other, so

COFFEE AND TEA.

as not to

HOW TO BE MADE.

209

burden the system with redundant carbonates

while the nitrates and phosphates are deficient, and

always making them relish by delicate condiments.

Instead of drinking with a breakfast three
or

four

cups of coffee or tea, boiled so as to extract aU the

tannin and lose most of the aroma, they take only

moderately of an infusion made so quickly as to extract only the aromatic properties, while the

more

dele-

terious tannin remains with the dregs.

all,

And

this, after

to

my mind

is

a solution of that vexed question

which has so puzzled and deceived Liebig and other

physiologists.

That
drinks,

coffee, tea, fragrant wines,

and other alcoholic

&c., do under some circumstances take the

place of food, or at least enable

men

to

keep the

flesh
is

and strength with

less

food than without them, there

is

no doubt
tissues,"

but that this

done according to the theory

the metamorphosis of the

of Liebig,
or

"by retarding

by furnishing actual

nourishment from
in coffee

alcohol
there
is

or any peculiar principles

or tea,

not a shadow of proof.

is

On

the

ither

hand,

the evidence

clear,

that not in proportion to the

alcohol, or theine, or caffeine contained in these articles is the benefit to

be derived from them, but in prois is

portion as the

osmazome of each
;

agreeable to those
derived from the
this agree-

who take them

able osmazome.

and the benefit

is

perfect digestion of food which

caused by

No man

of careful observation has

failed to notice that a little food, well relished, will keep

us in better condition than large quantities of the most

14

210

OtIR

DUTY TO EAT GOOD FOOD.

appropriate elernents so badly cooked, or so miserably

Berved, as not to be eaten with relish
plains the well-known
fact that
;

and

this ex-

Frenchmen
less

live

and

keep in good condition at one third

expense than

Americans or Englishmen.

Having now given my views of the sources of

benefit to

be derived from tea,

coffee,

and

all

other

agreeable beverages, and shown that they are useful

in

promoting digestion by their osmazome, and not

special principle contained in them,
it

by any

will

be

useless to

go into an analysis of each beverage.

:

whole matter may be summed up as follows

The The

system needs the three classes of elements included

in the terms Nitrates, Carbonates,

and Phosphates, and

pure water; and these elements, to be rightly appropriated,

must be presented
so as
to

to the digestive

organs
this

flavored
flavor is

be

agreeable to

them

and

as important as the other elements.

tried of shutting
all

The experiment has been

up a dog,

with good natural food, containing

needed elements

but osmaztune, but having been cooked and re-cooked

tUl all

taste

and smell were removed

it,

the stomach
until
it

would not receive

although
periment,

and the dog pined away

starve without
this

was evident he would

all
it

element,

others were supplied.

And

this

one ex-

seems to me,

is

worth more than a volume

If

of commentaries on the importance of osmazome.

shows us not only that

it is

duty to eat good food, conit is

taining nutritive elements in right proportions, but

duty to eat

it

also with a

good

relish.

DELICATE FLAVORS MOST WHOLESOME.

211

fruit,

Does any one say he cannot afford to eat good ripe and berries, and well-flavored meats, and vegelet

tables?

him make a

calculation,

comparing the

amount of amount of
tables,
lessly

fine flour, butter, sugar,

and other carbona-

ceous food consumed by his family, with the requisite

that class of elements,
calculate the

as

shown by

the

and

amount of money thus usehis

expended, and he will find that, by bringing

rules,

commissary department under physiological

will

he

have surplus funds

is

sufficient to

procure every natto enjoy, to

ural luxury which

needed to enable him

the fullest extent, the very highest gustatory pleasures

of which he

is

capable.

And

here again

we

are liable to err.

Our

gusta-

tory pleasures are not in proportion to the amount of

osmazome

in our food or drink.

Nature's flavors are

is

very delicate, and the very choicest relish

that pro-

duced by very
ple, take

slight traces of

osmazome.

For examwhich
will to increase

nutmeg, a very

slight grating of

flavor a large

bowl of porridge.

Attempt

the relish

by increasing the quantity of the

spice,

and
less
till

you

utterly fail,

making your beverage

less

and

agreeable as
it

you increase the quantity of nutmeg,

and
all

becomes disgusting, and positively injurious

;

to the

digestive process
ments,,

this is true of all other condi-

and indeed

other

good things.

Delicate

flavors are

agreeable and useful in promoting digesarticle

tion

but every

which

is

capable of promoting
is

health

and happiness,

in appropriate quantities,

capa-

ble of doing

harm

in unnatural quantities, just as every

212

HOW WE DECEIVE
is

OURSELVES.

Other blessing

converted into a curse by being per-

verted and misused.

Just here

human

nature, especially
itself.

Yankee human

nature, is prone to deceive

self

man

finds

him-

very happy with his family in a

little

tasteful

cottage home, with an income

sufficient to

meet

his

expenses, and save a

gencies
;

little

every year for future contin-

but he wants a larger income, that he

may

increase his conveniences, enlarge his establishment, and

lay up

more money.
?

But does

his

enjoyment increase

with his means

On

the contrary, his cares increase,

till

and

his

real

enjoyment diminishes at every step,

is

long before he becomes a millionnaire he

miserable.

decidedly

The

doctor thinks by taking medicine twice a day

his patient

may

get well in two

weeks
if

but the patient

his

pxefers to wait only one

week, and therefore takes

:

medicine four times a day

but

the directions were

judiciously given, the patient finds himself worse and

not better at the end of the week.

A cup of very weak,

well relished

well-flavored tea or coffee

may
not

be very agreeable, and promote digestion, and be of

real service, especially if taken with food
;

which

is

but

if

we

follow our inclinations, and

attempt to increase the enjoyment and the advantage of

the beverage

by increasing

its

strength or

its qufvntity,

we mav

get instead nervous excitement, restlessness,

and

indigestion,

and a thousand other troubles, and the

and

evils

will increase, while the pleasures

benefits will di-

minish, pro rata.

And thus we find everywhere the same

WHEN WE NEED OSMAZOME.

213

law, encouraging us to be content with Nature's simple

arrangements for our welfare and happiness, and warning us of the danger of disregarding them.
tion in regard to condiments
this
:

My posiis

and aromatic drinks

If

we

could

always get good natural food,

it

adapted to our constitutional condition, and have

cooked so as best to develop

if

its

natural osmazome, and

we

could get with

it

pure water, we should need

nothing else to enable us to enjoy to the fullest extent

our gustatory pleasures,

and the enjoyment arising

activity of all

from the highest degree of health and

our faculties
water,
;

but that, with unsavory food and impure

we

derive great benefit from delicately flavored

condiments and aromatic beverages in moderate quantities

;

that a choice in these beverages

is

to be deter;

mined by consulting the

the

taste of each individual

is

that

in preparing these beverages the question

how

to get

osmazome without
it is

getting the deleterious qualities

;

with which

connected

and that the advantages to

be derived from osmazome are never in direct proportion

to the

amount taken, but are more nearly

while the
deleterious

in the inverse

proportion,

elements connected

with almost aU the beverages in

in direct

common

use increaBe

proportion to the quantity used.

The

deleterious element in tea and cofiee

we have

already shown to be tannin, and this element can be

avoided

by making these beverages quickly, never

allowing but a few moments in steeping.

process the osmazome, being volatile,
is

By

this

all

obtained,


214

AKOMATIO BEVERAGES.

while the tannin, being extractive, remains with the

dregs.

Made

in this

way, and used mod^ately, there

are very few individuals to

whom

they are injurious.

Beer, Cider, Wine, &c.

Of

the other aromatic beverages in

common

use,
is

beer, cider, wine, &c.,

the
is

deleterious principle

alcohol

but the principle which distinguishes each,

its

and constitutes
ciples of

value,

osmazome

all

other prin-

any consequence, are sugar,

starch, &c.,

which

they hold in

common

with articles of food, and which

are derived from the grains and fruits from which they
are

made
their

but the osmazome in these beverages, as in

those already considered, constitutes their commercial

and

real value.

The only chemical

difference

between the highest and the lowest priced wines consists in

the " bouquet," or osmazome, but alcohol

for
;

is

the

principle

which these

beverages are universally

is still

demanded
extent,

and as there has been, and

to

some

a difference of opinion

among

chemists and

physiologists respecting the relation of this principle to

the

human

system,

it

will

be necessary to give

it

careful consideration.

(See page 220.)

Cocoa and Chocolate.

The

chocolate plant, of which cocoa

is

the seed,

is

small tree, with dark green leaves, growing in Mexico,

Caraccas, Demerara, and other places.
It produces

COCOA-NIBS.

215

an elongated

fruit, in

shape like a cucumber, but more

blunt, which grows from the stem or

main branches.

The

seeds, or beans, that furnish the cocoa, are imfruit in

bedded in the
are about

rows, in a spongy substance, and

fifty

or sixty in each fruit.

When

ripe, the

The best made from seeds shelled and roasted, but inferior cocoa is made by grinding with the seeds a part of the shell. Oocoa-nibs are made from seeds
seeds
are
is

taken out, cleaned and dried.

cocoa

merely roasted and crushed

paste
is

after being shelled

Oocoa-

the seed ground down, and mixed with sugar

and

if flavored

with vanilla,

it is

called

Chocolate.
it is

Cocoa

differs

from tea and

coffee in that
it

rich in

nutritious food,

and having in
its

no tannin or other

deleterious elements,

theobromine, or characteristic

property, being connected with albumen

a muscle-

making element;

as the characteristic element of tea,

theine, is connected with tannin.

Containing also a

large share of butter, and four per cent, of phosphates,

it is

supplied with
to those

all

the requisite elements of food,

it is

and
and

who

like its flavor,

all

a very agreeable

and useful beverage, having

the advantage of tea

Its nu-

coffee, without their deleterious qualities.

tritive

elements are, however, too concentrated to agree

with very delicate stomachs, as

the

following

analysis.

contam,

may be inferred from One hundred parts cocoa

216
W"ater,

ANALYSIS OF COCOA.
.
.

ANAIiTfilS

OF ALCOHOL.

2l7
fer-

Alcohol

is

sugar disorganized by the process of

is

mentation, and

subject to the

same law

as phosphorus

and

iron.

It is
is

composed of carbon, hydrogen, and

from which
it

oxygen, as

also sugar,

is

made,

elements which are wanted in the system, as well as

phosphorus and iron, and

if

taken into the stomach

all

organized, as in sugar-cane or beet, are

received and easily digested
;

gratefully

but taken in a disorgan-

ized state, as in alcohol, they cause immediate excite-

ment, by the
intruders.

efforts of all the

organs to expel them as

Let us see how nearly

fermentation.

alike, chemically, are

sugar

and alcohol, and the change

effected

by the process of

One atom
Carbon.

of sugar contains,
Hydrogen.

Oxygen.

12 atoms.

12 atoms.

12 atoms.

These are converted, by fermentation, into two atoms

of alcohol, containing,
Carbon.

Hydrogen.

Oxygen.

8 atoms.

12 atoms.

4 atoms,

and four atoms of carbonic acid gas, which accounts for the lost carbon and oxygen, the carbonic acid gas containing,

Carbon.

Hydrogen.

Oxygen.

4 atoms, and " 8

12 atoms.

None.
12 atoms.
12 atoms.

8 atoms, and

4
12

"
atoms'.


218
liebig's theory.
see that the

Thus we
tions

same elements are fouad

in

sugar as in alcohol, and combined in the same propor;

but sugar, being organized for digestion,

is

is

agreeable to the natural taste, and

readilj appropri-

ated as carbonaceous food, while alcohol, being disor-

ganized, creates a rebellion, and

is

rejected

from the

system as an intruder

so that

we

find in alcohol, as in

the preparations of phosphorus and iron, the elements

are agreeably and usefully appropriated

by the system
this considera-

or rejected as poisonous, as they are or are not organized in Nature's

tion, it

own
is

laboratory.

And

would seem, should forever

nutritious,

settle the

question

whether alcohol
vital
it ;

and clearly show that

law

is

higher than chemical law, and must control

and that therefore the same chemical combinations

of elements

may

be poisonous or nutritious as they are

or are not subject to vital law, as

in combinations of

we have

before seen

phosphorus and iron.

Liebig's

Theory respecting the

Alcohol.

JVntritire Qaalities

of

It is

now more

than twenty-five years since Liebig

commenced
and
that
its

his valuable chemical investigations of food,

relations to the

human

system.

He

discovered

some elements of food

carbon, hydrogen, &c.

to

were appropriated for the purpose of producing heat,

while others were devoted to the growth and strength

of the muscles
be composed

and finding sugar and alcohol both

of these carbonaceous elements, he classed

PROFESSOR carpenter's OPINION.

them together as heat-producing
that idea
articles of food
;

219
and

has since been adopted

by many, perhaps
;

most chemists, and some physiologists

bination of elements

but I have en-

deavored to show (pages 37-41) that the same com-

may

be,

and

are, nutritious

or

poisonous as they are or are not organized by the process which Nature has provided
;

and that while sugar

is

a valuable principle in food, alcohol contains no power

of sustaining
the

life,

but,

on the other hand, produces in and only

evil,

human system
;

"evil,

and that contin-

ually

"

and

this

I shall endeavor to prove.

Professor Carpenter, of the

London

University, has

published a book on physiology, which as late as 1860

has been republished in Philadelphia, edited by Professor Francis

Guerney Smith.
the

From
:

that Physiology,

which
" It

is

now

standard work in this country and

Elngland, I copy these words

may

be safely affirmed that alcohol cannot answer

is

any one purpose for which the use of water

in the system, but,

required

on the other hand,

it

tends to antag-

onize

many

of those purposes."
is

"Alcoholic liquids cannot supply anything which

essential to the

due nutrition of the system."

"

The

action of alcohol

upon the

living

body

is

essen-

tially that

of a stimulus, increasing, for a time, the of the body,

but being followed by a
is

vital

activity

corresponding depression of power, which

the

more

prolonged and severe

in

proportion as the previous

excitement has been greater."

The U.

S.

Dispensatory,

compiled

by Professor

220

ALCOHOL ONLY A STIMULANT.

of Philadelphia, the
States,

Wood,

standard work on that

also

subject in the United

expresses

similai

opinions on the character and eiFects of alcohol.

fessor Bigelow's Materia Medica, the standard

Pro-

work
a

when

was a member of Harvard School, expresses

All agree that alcohol
is

similar opinion.

a stimulus

which,

literally,

means a goad, a whip.

When
we

horse gets stuck with a load too heavy for him,

the

use

goad or whip
hill.

to excite the muscles to take the load

up the

But, when once up, the careful driver

will be sure that next time the load shall

be lighter, or
should

the horse

made

stronger with oats.

What

we
he

say to the teamster

the

who

persisted in the opinion that

to the horse because

whip afforded nourishment

could be

made

to

draw a heavier load by whipping,

in

and therefore persisted

as his strength

whipping him more severely

became exhausted ?

But

if this is
is

not

the position of those

who

think that alcohol

nutri-

tious I cannot understand them.

Is alcohol useful in promoting digestion, or in con-

sumption or general debility ?

Keeping

in

mind the

fact
is

that,

upon the highest

medical authority alcohol

only a stimulant, I have

far alcohol
is

no dilHculty in determining how

useful

and how

far injurious.

I have sat by the bedside, and, watching the sinking

pulse,

and fearing

lest

Nature might not be able to

carry the load, have put in the goad, and in three minutes have felt the circulation rise
;

but in a few minutes

more

it

would sink again, and the stimulant must be

DR. bell's opinion.

221

reaewed, or
ful

it

would sink lower than

a

before.

By

care-

watching and spurring I have kept up the heat and

till

circulation

little

nourishment could be digested,

and perhaps the patient saved.

I

But

this is all the

use

have ever made of alcohol as a medicine.

To whip and spur poor human nature all the way down through consumption to the grave, increasing the
stimuluO at every step as nature flags, seems to
abstivd, cruel,

me
If
its

and unphilosophical

in the extreme.

stimulants should be thus applied to a jaded horse,

owner would be

tried for cruelty to his beast

and yet

there are said to be hundreds and thousands of

men,

women, and even children, now subjected mode of treatment in Boston and vicinity.
dollars,

to a similar,

In an essay which obtained the prize of two hundred

and which. Dr. Churchill says, displays great

research upon the subject of the effects of alcohol. Dr.

Bell comes to the following conclusions
:

"1. The opinion so largely prevailing as

offects

to

the

of the use of alcoholic liquors, viz., that they

have a marked influence in preventing the deposition

of tubercle,
" 2.
is

destitute of

any foundation.

On

the contrary, their use predisposes to tuber-

cular deposition.

"3.
effect

Where

tubercle already exists, alcohol has no

in modifying the course usually run by that sub-

stance.
" 4.

Neither does

it

mitigate the morbid effects of

in

tubercle

upon the system

any stage of the disease."

Dispensatory,
says
the

Professor

Wood,

in

his

222

DE. BIGELOW'S OPmiON.

alcoholic drinks produces deplorable

habitual use of

consequences.

Carpenter's Physiology says the physio-

logical objection to the habitual use of even quite small

quantities of alcoholic drinks rests

upon the following

produce a morbid

grounds

"

They

are universally admitted to possess a

"

poisonous character."

They tend

to

condition of the body at large."

"

The

capacity for

enduring the extremes of heat or cold, or mental or

bodily labor,
their habitual
is

diminished rather than increased by

employment."

In a lecture of Professor Jacob Bigelow, in 1825,

he used the following words, which I recorded at the
time
"
:

Alcohol

is

highly stimulating, heating, and intoxiare so fascinating that,

is

cating,

and

its effects

experienced, the danger

that the desire for

patients have

when once them may

be perpetuated."

"

Many

become grad-

ually and imperceptibly intemperate under the sanction

and guidance of a physician."

How

often has

my

heart been saddened

by witness-

ing illustrations of Professor Jacob Bigelow's statement

concerning patients being led to intemperance by the

guidance of their physician.

Not long
came
to

since

an

inter-

esting lady, not thirty years old,

me

for advice.
terrible

She had been

internal

subject, for

two or three years, to

cramps from indigestion, and was advised by

her physician to take gin.

At

first
it

she only took

relieved

it

when

the cramps occurred, and

it

her, but
it

soon she took

to

prevent their recurrence, and

;

Beemed

for a time to succeed

but as she never knew

AN EXAMPLE.
when
the pains were coming, she never
:

228

knew when
no quaninebriation

to stop the gin

and

after

two years her system had

become so accustomed
tity short

to the stimulus that

of that which produced

actual

would

either prevent or relieve the distress.

In that

condition I found her, and of course advised to break

off the habit at once,

and take appropriate remedies.

In two days she returned, and said she had had no

return of the cramps,

but

felt

as if she should die

unless I allowed her gin, or a substitute.

I put the

case as

it

plainly stood.

She must break away from

it

gin then, or be a slave to

self

up

to

the resolution

"I

for life.
will
;

She braced herdie

now, sober,

rather than live to be a drunkard

since has she thanked
lution.

"

and many a time

me

for assisting; her in that reso-

And many

a similar case has

in
this,

come under my

observation, only able to

differing

they never were

break away from the snare that had caught

them.
Is alcohol useful by preserving the tissues,

and

thus

increasing the term of

life ?

There may be a sense

in

which
it

this question

may be
difficult

answered in the affirmative, but

to conceive a case in

seems

to

me

which tissues thus preserved would

;

be of value sufficient to pay the expense of the process

but this
idea

having been recently advanced

by a

learned professor, deserves a passing, though not a

serious notice.

Professor Yeomans, of

New

York, says, "It has

prevent the

oeen demonstrated that alcoholic drinks

224

PEOPESSOK TEOMANS'S OPINION.

natural changes going on in the blood, and obstruct the

nutritive

and reparative functions."

That

Carpenter's Physiology says, "Alcoholic drinks diminish the

waste of the tissues."

is,

alcohol suspends

the action of the whole system, brain and muscle, and

tends to bring us

snakes and toads,

down to a state of torpidity, who have wonderful powers of

by masterly
inactivity.

like

pre-

serving their tissues

fessor

The proit

did

not prescribe the form in

which alcohol
in

should

be taken, nor the regime to accompany

;

order best to succeed in preserving the tissues

" holding the mirror

but,

up

to nature," I think I

can see

and supply the deficiency.

In the
first

place,

you should
against the

sit

perfectly

still, for,

every motion tends

tissues
;

preservation

of the
air

then you should live in the most impure

for

possible,

every breath of air containing oxygen

burns up the waste of the tissues, and counteracts the

viesired influence
;

and then you should keep the

tissues

well preserved in lager beer, this form of alcoholic

drink being best adapted to bring us into a state of

torpidity.

You
in

have seen, perhaps, a toad, a motley-faced,

blubber-lipped toad, sitting in the corner of the garden,

one spot, hour after hour, and day after day, with
fly if

just energy enough to wink, and to catch a

he

comes within an inch of

his nose

perfect personifi-

cation of a bloated, beer-drinking, Pennsylvania

Dutch-

man, who

will

sit,
till

it

is

said, in

the chimney-corner

from morning

night, with just energy sufficient to

HOW ALCOHOL
mug

PEESERVES THE TISSUES.

and
to call for

225
his

raise the beer to his lips,

is

more when

empty.

How

long he can succeed in preserv;

ing his tissues has not been fully ascertained

but his

prototype, the toad, sometimes succeeds wonderfully.

Before a rain, a toad will sometimes muster up energy

sufficient to
fill

crawl up into the fork of a tree, and there

his big

mouth with
coming

air,

and blowing

it

through his

lips, will utter a

kind of trumpet sound, to notify us

;

that a rain

is

and when

it

comes, he crawls
tree,

under the rough bark in the fork of the

waits and winks
till

and there
said to

the rain

is

over.

Now

it is

have happened that, waiting too long, and the old bark

becoming dry, he

is

bound

in

and can never get

out.

Year

after year

he stays there, winking in summer and

suspending his work in the winter.

Meantime the
is

tree

grows over him, and

after

many

years, perhaps,
alive

cut

down, and there the toad

is, still

and winking.

Now
the

this is not exactly

an

illustration of the

power

of alcohol to preserve the tissues, unless the toad has

power of manufacturing

his

own

alcohol out of the

all

carbon and hydrogen with which he was

surrounded, but
it

the time

does illustrate the condition towards

to

which

all tissues

must be brought

be preserved by

ulcohol.

And

the question comes up.

?

What

is

the use
for

of suet tissues

What
morbid

is

Dutchman good
is

who

does nothing but drink lager beer?

eon's cabinet of

Professor Jack-

tissues
is

too small to accom-

modate him, and that

the only place for morbid

tissues preserved in alcohol.

The

professor's predecessor used to teach us that

it

15

226

CABNAKO.
to preserve the tissues
;

was not desirable

that the

more

we

exercised and wore out the tissues, and the purer

the air

we

lived in,

and the more we avoided the stupe-

fying influence of alcohol, the oftener the tissues would

be renewed, and the more healthy and useful

we might

become.

The only argument now depended on

alcohol in any beverage
is

to prove that
is

useful to the system,

founded on experience, and experience in

in all others in
is

this case, as

which there is no careful observation, merely " the post hoc ergo propter hoc error " which

imputes the cause of everything to that which comes

just before
it.

This was the reliance in the recent

struggle in the Massachusetts legislature to establish

the character of alcohol for usefulness as nutriment,

and the eminent counsel referred to the extraordinary

case of Carnaro,

who

lived fifty-eight years

on twelve

ounces of solid food and fourteen ounces of light wine

each day, and he quotes Professor Lewes as saying,
"

he wonders that intelligent men, in view of

such

facts,

can doubt that alcohol

is

nutritious."
all

The wine

which Carnaro drank, as indeed

other sugared alco-

holic beverages, contained excellent aromatic nourish-

ment.

Why

'then

impute the results to alcohol, of

is

which in light wine there

can say in favor of the
that
it

but very

little ?

All

we
is,

little

alcohol in light wines

would probably do no harm,

as the stomach

may become accustomed by habit

only of
alcohol
in

to the presence not

moderate quantities,

but

other

poisons, as opium,

tobacco, and even arsenic, so as

ALCOHOL NOT NUTKITIOUS.

ko digest

227

food and perform

its

functions in spite of

them, and those

who

take these poisons

;

may

live per-

haps as long as Carnaro

but does that prove that

I once heard of a

opium and
farmer

arsenic are nutritious?

that

who claimed

sawdust and Indian meal-

wo\ild fatten hogs, for he

had

tried the mixture

but

when asked what proportions were

and the more meal the
better.

best adapted to the

fattening process, he said he thought the less sawdust

Let two starving men have nothing but alcohol and

water, and let one drink the pure water and the other

a mixture of alcohol and water, and the water drinker

will live the longest

the experiment has been tried

many

a time, accidentally on man, and for the sake of

experiment on other animals.

The opinion of Liebig,

that " alcohol

is

burnt in the

lungs, giving oif carbonic acid and water, and serving

to support the temperature of the

body,"

is

proved to a

demonstration to be wrong.

All arctic explorers con-

cur in the opinion that alcohol has a decidedly injurious

effect

on men exposed

to the cold.

Sir

John Ross

testifies that

he experienced in his own

person the beneficial effects of abstaining wholly from

spirituous drinks,

and he proposed

to his

men

that they

should try the

same experiment, which was done with

very gratifying results.

He

says, "

When men

under

hard and steady labor are given their usual allowance

or draught of grog, or a dram, they

become languid

and

faint, losing

their strength in reality, while they

attribute

that

to

the

continuance

of their fatiguing

228

ALCOHOL WILL NOT FUENISH HEAT.

exertions.

He who

will

make

the corresponding expe-

riments on two equal boats' crews, rowing in a heavy

sea, will

soon be convinced that water-drinkers will far

outdo the others."

Eev.
of

W.

Scoresby, before a committee of the

testified

House
ob-

Commons,

as follows

"

My

experience
it is

has been in severely cold climates, and there

servable that there
is

a very pernicious effect in the I did not use

reaction after the use of. ardent spirits.

them myself, and I was

use of them.
as tea

better, I conceive, without the

am

well assured that such beverages

and

coffee, or, I

doubt not, milk and water, are

in every

way

superior, both for comfort

and health,

for persons exposed to the weather, or other severity.

Spirits are decidedly injurious in cold climates.

The

men who have been assisted by such stimulants, have been the first who were rendered incapable of duty.
They became
erally

perfectly stupid,

skulked into different

parts of the ship to get out of the way, and were gen-

found

asleep.

In case of a storm, or other

sudden

difficulty,

I should most decidedly prefer the

water-drinkers to those
of

who were under

the influence

any stimulant."
Dr. Kush says, in his "Medical Inquirer," "There

cannot be a greater error than to suppose that spirituous

liquors lessen the effects of cold

on the body.

On

the

eontrary, they always render the body

more

liable to

be affected

and injured
is

warmth they produce

ness."

The temporary always succeeded by chilliby

cold.

EXAMPLES.

229

Backus
point,

gives some striking facts illustrating this

which I will quote.

"In

the winter of 1796, a

vessel

was wrecked on an

island off the coast of Massa-

chusetts.

There were seven persons on board.

Five

of them resolved to quit the ship during the night, and

seek shelter on the shore.
four of

To

prepare for the attempt,

spirits,

them drank a quantity of

and the
:

fifth

drank none.

They

all

leaped into the water

;

one was
four
cold,

drowned before reaching the shore

the other

came

to land, and, in deep

snow and piercing

directed their course to a distant light.

spirits failed,

All that drank

and stopped, and

froze, one after another

the

man

that drank none reached the house,

still

and about

two years ago was

alive."

"A few years ago a

Island.
off.

brig from Russia, laden with iron,

ran aground upon a sand bank near Newport, Rhode

The master was desirous to unload and get her The weather, however, was extremely cold, and
to

none could be found

vessel
ice,

undertake the task, as the

was

at a distance

from the shore, covered with

and exposed

to the full effects of the

wind and
abstained

cold.

packet-master of Newport,

who

from the use of spirituous

to

liquors, at length

engaged
do the

unload the brig, and procure his

Six

men

to

work.

men were employed

They began
if

in the hold,

which

was

full of water.

to

work with

the free

but temperate use of ardent

spirits,

supposing they

would need

it

then

ever

but after two hours' labor

After having

they began to give out, chilled through.

warmed and

refreshed themselves, they proceeded to

230

ALCOHOL WOESB THAN NOTHING IN THE COLD.

make another attempt, ilsing cider only through the day. They now succeeded better, but still suffered much from the effects of the cold. On the second day the men consented to follow the direction of their employer, and drank nothing but milk porridge, made
rich,

and taken as hot as the stomach would bear

it.

Although the weather was equally as severe

as before,

they were, after this change in their diet, enabled to

continue their

work from four

it

to seven hours at a time,

all chilled.

and then come up from

not at

With

this

same beverage, handed round every half hour, they

continued their work from day to day, with not one

drop of intoxicating liquor,

untU the iron was

all

handed out and brought on shore. had a finger

frozen."'

Not one of them

" In the winter of 1825 two vessels were coming into the harbor of

New York
The

during an extremely inclement

night, the temperature being several degrees below the

freezing point.

captain of one of these vessels

supplied his crew with

warm

alcoholic drinks during

their exposure, while that of the other dealt out

nothing

but hot coffee to his men.

The

result was, that

on

arriving next morning, a large proportion of the crew

of the former vessel were severely frost-bitten, while

that of the other wholly escaped, not a single

man
facts

having suffered any injury from the cold." were published in the
find are

These

New York

papers at the time,

of our readers

within the recollection of

many

(See Appendix to American edition of J. Pereira's

Treatise

on Food and Diet.

Appendix by C. S. Lee.)

ALOOHOIi INJXJEE8 THE STOMACH.

231

That alcohol ^er

I

se

is

not nourishing, but poisonous,

have never known questioned except where some

is

point

to be

made, as

in the late struggle for a license

law in the Massachusetts legislature.

Professor Yeomans, of

New

York, in a very able

paper on Alcohol and the Constitution of Man, says,

"

Chemical experiments

have demonstrated that the

is

action of alcohol on the digestive fluid

its

to destroy

active principle, the pepsin, thus confirming the

its

observations of physiologists, that

use gives rise to

the most serious disorders of the stomact, and the most

malignant aberrations of the entire economy."

" It is evident that, so far

from being the conservator

of health, alcohol

is

an active and powerful cause of

it

disease, interfering as
circulation,

does with the respiration, the

;

and the nutrition

" Nothing can be

nor

is

any other

result
it

possible."
is

more

certain than that

a powerful antagonist of the digestive process."

"It

prevents the natural changes going on in the blood."

"It impedes the liberation of carbonic acid, a deadly

poison."
" It obstructs

the nutritive

and reparative
liver."

functions."

"It produces disease of the

"It

has a powerful affinity for the substance of the brain,

being, indeed,
eflfects

essentially a brain poison."

If these
shall

do not prove alcohol poisonous, where

is

we

look for proof that any substance

poisonous?

But

experiment caa never

settle this question,

nor any other

question pertaining to vital chemistry.

He who made

man and knows how

to

keep him in repair, has plainly

232

ALCOHOL NEVER USEFUL

ITSELF.
all

given us laws of nutrition, and, as in

other impor-

tant matters, has fixed a penalty for the breach of His"

laws.

If alcoholic drinks are useful then, they are useful

not on account
in them,

of,

but in spite

of, the alcohol contained

and are useful in proportion as sugar, starch,

nutritious principles, together with
;

and other

osmazome,

predominate over alcohol

and thus we have a standard

by which

to test the value of alcoholic drinks.

That

article is best

which contains the most agreeable osma-

zome and
being of

the least alcohol, the elements of nutriment

little

consequence, unless, as sometimes hap-

pens, the stomach will receive nutriment through the

medium

of aromatic beverages better than in any other

This, however, in

combination.

my

experience and
is

observation in a practice of forty years,

never only

a temporary expedient, and in cases of extreme debility,

which give place

to

more

substantial nutriment,

containing no alcohol, the

moment

the digestive powers

It

so react as to be able to bear them.

may

therefore

be desirable to have an analysis of the wines

beverages in

and other

common

use.

ANALYSIS OP WINES.

233

Wines.

European wines,

in one imperial pint, contain, ac-

cording to Lankester,

234
to

SPIRITUOUS BEVERAGES.

Claret,

Hock, and the

is

light wines

from Europe.

The

acid in grape wines

the tartaric, which forms

an insoluble
is

salt that collects

on the wine-casks

and

the source of our cream of tartar and tartaric acid.

called cider,

Wines from apples are

pears are called perry
;

and those from

distinctive taste

each having
its

its

from the osmazome of

own

fruit.

Analysis of Distilled Spiritaons Beverages.

BEEBS

AST) ALES.
in this

235
coun-

Whiskey
try

is distilled

from grain, mostly

its

from corn, and obtains

it

flavor

from

fusil oil,

which

gives

a peculiar smoky
is

taste.

Hum

distilled

from fermented sugar and molasses,

is

which, very frequently,

flavored with pine apples.

In

New England

it

has been extensively

made without the

over the world as

flavor of pine apples,

and

is

known

all

New England Rum.

Brandy
is is

is

distilled

from wine, and

oil

its

peculiar taste
it

unparted by the essential

distilled.

of the fruit from which

This taste

is,

however, imitated by the use

of sorrel and other vegetables that contain prussic acid.

Arrack

is

obtained from fermented rice, butternuts,

and the sap of various species of palm.

Analysis of Beers and Ales.
Water.
Alcohol.

Sugar.

Acetic Acid.

London

Stout,

ISJ
19| 17^ 18f
18

oz.

IJ

oz. oz. oz.

281

grs. grs. grs. grs.

54
45

grs. grs.

London

Porter,
.
.

oz.
oz. oz.

|
2J
IJ

267

Pale Ale,

240
280

40

grs.

Mild Ale,

oz.

38 grs.

Strong Ale,.

oz.

2 oz.

^ Jg^^^'^ |
is

54

grs.

The above

analysis of beers and ales

made from

beverages containing no elements but those which are derived from malt, hops, and water, the alcohol being
malting, is obtained from starch, which, in the process of fermentaof process the in then, and changed into sugar,
tion,

changed into alcohol, the sugar also coming mostly

236

ACIDULOUS DEINKS.
it is

from starch, but partly from the barley, as

there,

found

and

is

not

all

changed

to alcohol

by fermentation.

The

color

and

flavor of the different beers

and

ales is

obtained by

roasting,

more

or less, the malt.

Acidulous Drinks and Fruits.

That vegetable
the

acids perform important services in

is

human system
They

evident from various considera-

tions.

are found in almost all fruits

and vegeta-

bles, and" all nations,

savage and civilized,

this

make con-

stant use of

them

in

some form, and modern

times.

has been true

in ancient as well as

Moses speaks of

vinegar as being in

common

use in his day, and Boaz,

smitten by the charms of "the Moabitish damsel that

came back with Naomi out of the country of Moab,"

and desirous of expressing
his appreciation of

her kind-

ness to her mother-in-law, said to

her, "at meal time

come thou

hither and eat of the bread, and dip thy

morsel in the vinegar."

(Ruth

ii.

14.)

This universal

appetite, however, only goes to

show a demand of the

system for some acid, but

it

does not prove the whole-

someness of vinegar as produced by the process of fermentation, as

It has

we

shall see

on further investigation.

been clearly proved by repeated experiments

is

that

some vegetable acid

necessary for the preserva-

tion of health, or, at least, that the complete abstinence

from succulent vegetables or

|uices, is the
will

fruits, or their

preserved

cause of scurvy

disease which nothing

cure but the vegetable acids.

VINEGAR.

237

It is also proved that acids that are organized in fruits

and vegetables are much more

efficient in

preventing or

curing scurvy than acetic acid (vinegar,) or any other

acid not thus naturally combined with esculent principles
;

indeed,

it

is

certain that

some such organized

combinations are necessary either to prevent or to cure

scurvy
;

and I think

it is

evident further that an abun-

dance of these acids are furnished in organized food, so

that if

we took
in.

every day apples or other

fruits, either

green or preserved by desiccation, or exclusion from

the air as

canned

fruits, or ate

with our meats every

day plenty of potatoes, squashes, or other vegetables,

we should need no
centrated acids.
acid

vinegar, or any disorganized or condiet deficient in these subis,

But with a

and succulent principles, vinegar

to

some

extent,

beneficial.

Vinegar, like alcohol,

is

the product of fermentation,

and, like alcohol, comes also from the same element.

Sugar and

starch,

and everything that contains sugar

or starch, will, by a fermentation called the vinous fer-

mentation, produce alcohol, and by a second or acetous

fermentation the same material will produce vinegar.

At

first

sight

we seem

to

have here an exception to the

all

law, which I have elsewhere described, which makes

substances which are disorganized poisonous, in order

to protect the

system from their deleterious influences

is

but the exception

trate
still

only apparent, and goes to

illus-

further the design of nature in

making such
if

elements only poisonous as are injurious

be admitted into the system.

they could

Vinegar

is

not admitted

238

VINEGAB.

into the syatem as a principle to supply

nutrition, or to furnish heat;

any organ with

but only as a chemical

agent, to combine with th6 alkalies evolved from the

liver

and other excretory organs,

to eliminate these effete

elements from the system, and thus purify the blood

and cleanse the system from the impurities which would

otherwise remain in
it.

Vinegar, therefore,

is

merely

a chemical agent, and, as such, useful in the absence of

natural, organized acids,

and not a

nutritive principle

but alcohol

is

neither a chemical agent in the system nor

a nutritive principle
if

the one being useful

is

received,

taken in proper quantities, without exciting the systo reject

it,

tem

while the other, having no useful puris

pose to subserve, produces an excitement, and

as

expelled

an intruder.

Still,

vinegar

is

not an organized ele-

ment, and not harmless.

Vinegar, therefore,

is

not necessary, and not useful

as a beverage or a condiment, except in cases where

the organized acids are not to be obtained,

and cannot

take the place of of disease.

them

either as a preventive or curer

The

liberal use of

lemon

juice, or tomatoes,

or any other organized acid fruits will prevent the scur-

vy for an indefinite period, as has been proved on sailors

in

very long voyages

but we have abundant testimony

liberal use of vinegar will

that

on similar voyages the

not prevent this terrible disease.

These experiments

show

that vinegar

is

not the form of acid naturally

it

adapted to the requirements of the system, and that

should only be used

when

the acid fruits and succulent

vegetables cannot be obtained.

rUSTEGAE.

239
is

The
holder

best vinegar in this country

obtained

ft

cm

the

eider of apples,

and
his

in farming communities each house-

makes

own
by a

vinegar by exposing a barrel

;

partly filled with cider to the sun and open air

fer-

mentation
or skin

is

started

little

of the mucilaginous coat

which forms on the surface of vinegar, called

'"mother," and which consists of myriads of exceeding

minute vegetables, in which are generated the microscopic animalcules called eels, which

may be the cause

no

of

some of our obscure

diseases

at least, there is

evi-

dence that the heat of the stomach or the gastric juice

is

capable of destroying them

and no heat short of

boiling water will kill any animalcule, and

we seldom
is

use vinegar except on cold food.

that

There

evidence

some animalcules
and of
living,

are capable of resisting the gastric

juice,

and growing, and producing many

depend for our neces-

troublesome diseases in the stomach and intestine canal.

It is at least safest, therefore, to

sary acids on the fruits and vegetables, of which

we can

always procure an abundance at an expense vastly less

than that of the superabundant carbonates which we
waste in using
flour, sugar,
^

and

butter,

which are not

only wasted, but which produce a state of the system

tJiat

makes

these acids necessary.

If

up

all

superfluous carbonates, therefore,

all

we we

should give
should need

no vinegar, as

necessary acids would be furnished

in the food that would naturally take the place of these In England, vinegar is mostly made from articles.

malt or

new

barley subjected to acetous fermentation,

acetic, as that of the

which produces the same acid, the

240
cider vinegar
;

VESTEGAK.

but to give
is is

it life

and character a

little

sulphuric acid

allowed in England, by law, to be

injurious than acetic acid,

added.

This

much more
affinity for

having a stronger

many

elements in the sys-

tem, especially for the lime in the teeth, than acetic

acid.

Vinegar in large quantities

is

known

to

be injurious,
;

and

in the long-continued use of small quantities

by

disturbing the functions of digestion and preventing the

proper formation of chyme,

triment,

it

stops the supply of nu-

and produces paleness and wasting.

it is

On

this

account

in repute

among such
its

silly

young

ladies

as prefer to be pale

and

sickly, rather

than rosy and

plump, and many such, by

foolish standard of beauty.

constant use, succeed

their

most lamentably in reducing themselves to

own

The following
"

case

is

quoted from Portal by Pereira

A few years ago a young lady, in easy circumstances,

;

enjoyed good health

appetite,
lilies.

she was very plump, had a good

and a complexion blooming with roses and

to look

She began
;

upon her plumpness with

fat,

suspicion
afraid of

for her

mother was very

like her
;

and she was

becoming

accordingly she consulted

nnegar

woman, who advised her to drink a small glass of daily. The young lady followed her advice,
She was delighted with
it
;

and her plumpness diminished.

the success of the remedy,

and continued cough

for

more
it

than a month.
dry at
cold,
its

She began

to have a

but

was

commencement, and was considered as a

off.

slight
it

which would go

Meantime, from dry

be-

ACIDtlLOUS FRUITS.

241

breathing

came moist; a slow fever came on, and a difficulty of her body became lean and wasted away ; and a diarrhoea terminated her
ar.

night sweats, swelling of the feet and legs succeeded,

life.

On
filled

examination
with tuber-

the lobes of the lungs were found

cles, find

somewhat resembled a bunch of grapes."

by simply canand such abundance
produced,

Now

that fruits can be so well kept

air,

ning them and excluding the

and such a variety of

fruits are

now

we can

have, at an expense very trifling compared with their

value, all the acids the system requires, at all times of

year, in a form at the same time agreeable and whole-

some ; and have,

in the

therefore,

no necessity

for using acid

form of vinegar, which certainly has no advan-

tages over fruits and vegetables, and which has, to say

the least,

some very

suspicious characteristics as a sani-

tary agent.
rels

The expense

of one of the half dozen bar-

of flour which almost every family wastes in the

year would do
acids of

much towards supplying

if judiciously

the necessary

any family,

expended in pleasant

sour apples or good ripe tomatoes, with cans or bottles

to

keep them
fruit.

in,

and dried apples from carefully

select-

ed

Let every family have these agreeable

acids

on their

table every day, morning and noon, during the

fruits are absent,

whole season in which the summer

and let every member, young and old, eat all they will, and there would be no necessity for vinegar, or any
other objectionable acid, which a morbid appetite only
will crave.

Inquire into the habits of the school-girls

who

flock

16

242
to the grocers at

tnsroooKED feuits. every recess, for lemons, pickled limes,

find every one of

and cucumbers, and you shall

living

them

on

fine flour,

butter, sweet cakes,

and confec-

tionery, with

no natural acids to eliminate these carbo;

naceous principles from the system

or if they do have

any of these acid

fruits,

they are taken with the last

meal at night, when the powers of digestion are exhausted, and not able to get from them their appropriate

elements

and taken then, perhaps, in the shape of

between two layers of rich cake, the car-

some

jelly,

bonaceous elements of which are more than sufficient

to counteract

any

benefits that

might be derived from

the acid.
Fruit, as I have elsewhere explained (see page 211),

and in

fact every other class of food, is

it

most whole-

some

in the condition in which

flavor.

has the richest and

most agreeable
cooked.

Fruits have the best flavor unin

There may be some exceptions,

is

which the

osmazome

best developed

by cooking, of which, to
;

my

taste,

the

tomato

is

an example

but apples,

peaches, pears, and almost all the fruits and berries,

have their richest flavor developed by Nature's

linary process
;

own

cu-

and science has now devised so many

fruits,

means of preserving
that
all

and

all

other articles of food,

at

no good reason can be given why we may noi , most

times of year, have a constant supply of natural

fastidious

acids in a variety sufiicient to satisfy the

tastes.

And

it

is

to be

hoped the time

will speedily

come when

all fruits,

vegetables, or meats preserved in

vinegar, salt, sugar, smoke, or alcohol,

wUl be discarded

NTJTEIMENT LOST IN COOKING.

as being unnatural

243

and unwholesome
life,

articles, either as

necessaries or luxuries of
all do,

either imparting, as they

injurious elements, or chemically changing or

withdrawing the nutritive elements, or at least changing

their relative proportions, so as to be unfit for digestion

Elements of Food Lost in Cooking.

In another chapter (page 16)
it is

shown that food

which will

must contain three

and
tissues,

classes of elements, those

feed the brain and nerves, those which feed muscles

and those which furnish heat and

so

fat.

These elements may be found combined

cooked
in

as to

be

soluble in water, cold or hot, or both, and therefore,

if

water, are

lost.

The muscle-feeding
flesh of

ele-

ments

of all

meats and

fish consist in fibrin

and albuall

men

(see

tables,

page 77), and in the

young animals, as veal and lamb, and fish albumen predominates.

in all kinds of

Albumen

is

soluble
solid

in

cold water, but coagulates

and becomes
and

in

hot water.
is

For example, the

white of an egg, which

albumen,

may be

dissolved

lost in cold water, but on being dropped into hot

water immediately coagulates and becomes

insoluble.

All meats, therefore, lose a portion of their nutrition,

and some a very large

water, or
boiled at

portion,

by being soaked

in
if

by being put
all,

into cold water to boil, and

should be put into boiling water, unless

the water in

which they are boiled

is to

be saved as

244
Boup.

NUTRIMENT LOST IN COOKING MEATS.

In that case, the flavor and nutritive properties

of the soup are

much

better

by being

first

soaked in

cold water and boiled in the

same water.

Besides albumen, other valuable elements are lost

in water,

whether hot or cold, as

is

shown by chemical
up
fine,

analysis.

If the flesh of animals or fish be cut

filtered, the

and washed and

water

is

found to contain

not only the albumen, but the osmazome which gives

the flavor,

the phosphates which feed the brains and

the

nerves,

and

all

the

soluble

salts

of the blood,

while there remains nothing nutritious but fibrin and

the insoluble salts, which constitute the basis of bones.

By
we

boiling, instead of roasting or frying

meats or

fish,

lose therefore that

which gives them

relish,

much

of

the true nourishment, and

some other valuable elements.

On

the other hand, by soaking in cold water, and

boiling gradually, and retaining the liquid,

we

get

all

the valuable properties of meat.

all

The

liquid contains

the soluble properties,

and indeed

all

the important

properties necessary for sickly or sedentary persons

and the

solids contain the fibrin

and lime which are

regard to soups,

wanted
bone.

for muscular

power and strength of sinew and

in

Another

practical error

relates to the nutrition in the

gelatinous portions of

soup obtained from the cartilages and tendons of the

joints of meat,

which are usually selected under the

impression that the more gelatinous the more nutritious the soup,
tine
is

whereas

it is

found to be true that gelaIts

in

no sense nutritious.

only use in the

living

system seems

to be mechanical,

forming protec-

PORTABLE SOUP.
tion to the joints as a kind of cushion,

245 and attaching the

muscles to the bones, and, as food, answering as waste

material to keep the bowels in action.
all

This

is

true of

animal

jellies, as calf's foot, isinglass,

&c.

Portable Sonp, or Extract of Beef.

Thirty-two pounds of beef, without bone or

fat,

if

put into cold water, gradually heated and boiled for a

long time, and

finally strained,

and the liquid boiled

of true extract

down

to dryness, will
all

make one pound

of beef, containing
for one

the nutritive properties necessary

who

is

sickly or sedentary.
little salt,
is

One ounce

of this

extract, with a

will

make

a quart of soup or

beef tea, which

rich

and palatable, retaining the

natural flavor of well-cooked beef, and which

may be
if

otherwise

seasoned to suit the

taste.

This extract

will keep, in

a dry place, for an indefinite time, and

be and
is

made,
beef
is

as

it

may

in the

Western States where

;

cheap, need not be very expensive

and by the

saving in expense of transportion, might be

profitable
It is

made

way

of disposing of beef.
all apothecaries,

kept by almost

and

if it

could

be depended on as genuine, might be the

quickest,

best, surest,

and

most economical
to

mode

of

supplying
;

wholesome animal food

the sick

and feeble

but
sold

uufortunately a cheaper and far inferior article

is

under the same name, which contains only enough of

ijie

genuine extract to give

it

flavor, all the rest being

gelatine,

which contains no nourishment.

246

EXTRACT OF BEEF.
spurious artiextract about

The genuine may be known from the Of the pure cle by the following test
:

eighty per

cent,

is

soluble

in

eighty-five

per cent,

alcohol, while that

made from

gelatine will yield to that

menstruum only from four to

five

per cent.
is

Portable soup might be used, and to some extent

used, for provisioning ships on
fresh

long voyages, where This idea

meat and vegetables cannot be had.

first

was
beef

suggested by Professor Liebig,

who

ascer-

tained by chemical analysis

is

that the brine in which

salted contains the soluble constituents of the

beef, even to a greater extent than concentrated soups.

Salted

beef,

therefore,

especially

after
is

it

is

boiled,

contains nothing but fibrin, which

not

much wanted

in sedentary life, as that of a sailor

on a long voyage.
let

With such meat and hard bread

gets and

us see what he

what he

loses of necessary elements.

He

gets in the

meat
and

fibrin,

which

is

but

little

wanted
phos-

while inactive,

some

insoluble

salts,

as

phate of lime, which are needed also only in proportion

to active

exercise,

and

in the hard-tack

he gets

little

but starch, which contains carbonates for breathing, but almost no food for the brain and nervous system,

and none of the acids and

to eliminate the
life

alkalies that are necessary

impurities from the blood

and give

and

activity.

The system, consequently, becomes

and
filled

dormant and

inactive,

with scorbutic sores,

desti-

and other diseases, such as are induced by food

tute of the principles
tables, especially if

found in fresh meats and vege-

used without taking

much muscular

exercise.

HOW

TO MAKE BEEF TEA.

247

Another excellent substitute

in desiccated vegetables,

for fresh food is found

life

which saved many a

from

diarrhoea

and other scorbutic diseases

still

in the late South-

ern rebellion, and which are

more

useful at sea,

where fresh food cannot be obtained.

toes

Of

these, pota-

are

best,
all

but carrots,
good, and

turnips,

pumpkins, and

squash are

many
"*

families dry

them

for

use in that season of the year in which green vegetables

are not easily kept fresh.

Beef Tea.

The

best
is
it

and quickest mode of preparing nourishing

to

beef tea
broiling

chop up lean beef into

fine pieces, first

lightly to develop the

osmazome, add

to

it

an

equal weight of cold water, slowly heat to boiling, and

after boiling three

minutes strain and season to

taste.

In

this

manner

the elements are retained and the natis

ural flavor, and a soup

obtained of as

much

strength

and better flavor than by boiling the same piece of meat

for hours.

Acidnlons Drinks.

The juices of
various
alkaline

all fruits,

and some vegetables, contain by combining them and

acids which are useful in eliminating from the system

impurities,

making them

soluble,

and they may have some other

;

uses in the system which are not perfectly understood

but they never enter the system as an element of nutrition,

but seem to act on chemical, or perhaps chemico-

248

OXALIC ACID.

CITRIC

ACID,

TARTAEIC ACID.

vital principles.

Different fruits contain different acids,

as malic, oxalic, tartaric, citric, &c.

but so far as

is

known
sorrel,

they are

all alike useful.

Oxalic acid exists in a number of plants, as

common

wood

sorrel, &c., but the only plant

employed
pud-

at the table containing this acid is

garden rhubarb, or
tarts,

pie-plant,

whose

leaf-stalks

are

used for

dings, sauce, &c., which are perfectly wholesome, not-

withstanding the fact that oxalic acid in a disorganized

state is

very poisonous

which

is

another example of the

principle I have endeavored to bring out, that an ele-

ment may be wholesome

shops

or poisonous as

it is

or

is

not

organized in some vegetable.

is

The

oxalic acid of the

obtained by the chemical action of nitric acid

tu

on sugar or molasses, changing them from nutriment

poison.
Citric acid.

This
fruits,

acid

is

a constituent of the juice

of the lemon, the orange, the lime, the citron, the shaddock, and otiier
acid.

which owe their sourness

to

tliis

The

cranberry, the red currant, the strawberry,

the raspberry, the cherry, the bilberry, and the tama-

rind also contain

it,

mixed with an equal quantity of

tama-

malic acid.

Tartaric acid.
rinds,

This

is

the
also

acid

of grapes,
in

and pine-apples.

It

exists,

combination

with potash, as bitartrate of potash, or cream of tartar,

in grapes,

tamarinds, and mulberries, which, collecting

on the
is

sides of the cask during the fermentation of wine,

tartar, or argol.
it is

termed crude

This cream of
purified

tartar,

and

tartaric acid, as

called,

when

and sepa-

MALio AOH).
rated from
the potash,
is

249
as a substitute

much used
if it

for the juice of the

lemon, and

be not disorgannot be objec-

ized in the process of purification,

tionable.

may
is

Malic acid, or

acid of apples,

very extensively
in

distributed in the vegetable

kingdom, being found

apples, pears, quinces, plums, apricots, peaches, cherries,

gooseberries,

currants,

strawberries,

raspber-

ries, blackberries, pine-apples,

barberries, elderberries,
is

grapes, tomatoes, tamarinds, and other fruits, and

frequently accompanied with citric acid
it is
;

and of course

the acid of wine, cider, and beer in an unfermented

state.

These acids exist in most of the

fruits, in

connection

with a principle called pectine, which means coagulum,

which gives them the property of becoming gelatinous,

or of making
jellies.

Jellies

may

be made of currants

(red, white, and black), apples (both sweet

and sour),

pears,

quinces,

plums,

apricots,

the

cucurbitaceous

fruits (as

melons and cucumbers), gooseberries, tomalemons, guava, and tamarinds.

toes,

oranges,

The

carrots,

turnips, beets, onions,

and other vegetables,

also contain pectine

and

pectic acid.

By

boiling with
is

malic acid pectine

ble in water,

is

changed into an acid that

soluin

and the vegetable albumen contained

fruits assists also in

making the change

and

this Ex-

plains

why

the juice of a fruit, by prolonged ebullition,

its

often loses
say,

property of gelatinizing (or, as the cooks

not come)
that fruit
.

why

it Avill
is,

Another reason why

is

jelly

will not

come

used before

it is

perfectly

250
ripe.

WHY

JELLIES WILi NOT ALWAYS COME.

fruit contains

Unripe

very

little

pectine, but

it is

formed by the action of the acids on the pulpy matter

while in the process of ripening; and if the fruit be

gathered early, this process goes on afterwards

till

it

becomes
jelly

soft.

Currants, for example, will not

first

make
till

when they

turn red.

It is then that the pec-

tine begins to form,

and

this

formation continues
jellies afford

decomposition commences.

Vegetable

the

means of making agreeable acidulous drinks, and are

useful in sickness.

They

afford but little nourishment,

but are not objectionable.

Animal
less,

jellies,

as calf's-foot, &c., are nearly worth-

containing no nourishment, and no flavor except

is

what

imparted to them while being made.

jlceiic acid, as I

have explained,

is

the product of
fruit,

fermentation.

It

is

not found in any sound

and

not in the juices of any of them, as wine, cider, &c.,

till

they have

first

undergone the process of vinous

fermentation, which produces alcohol, and the acetous fermentation,

or acetic acid.

which changes the alcohol

to

vinegar
is

Whenever,
into use,

therefore,

fermentation

prevented, as
recently

it

can be in preserving houses such as have

come

we might have

in the juices of

the grape, apple, pear, and indeed of any fruits or berries,

the most delicious beverages,, containing acids in

their natural state,

usefiil

and other elements, refreshing and

both in health and sickness, without the disorganprinciples of alcohol

xed and unhealthy

and vinegar.
itself to

This thought has not before suggested

my

HOW
mind
tion
;

TO KEEP UNFEUMENTED WINES.

251

but

it

impresses

me

as very important in connec-

with the use of the preserving house.

this subject,

Let us ex

amine

and see what

is

in

it.

Fermentation.

All matter
laws.

is

under the control of

vital or

chemical

While

life

continues, either in animal or vegetais

ble matters, vital law

supreme, but when

;

life

ceases,

chemical law assumes control

has had
life

and

in all matter that

itself in

chemical law manifests

fermenta-

tion, either vinous,

acetous, or putrefactive,

and the

conditions in which these chemical changes take place

are the

same

in each.

There must be present, and

in

contact with, or a part of, the substance to be fermented,

oxygen, hydrogen, carbon or nitrogen, or both.

And

these must be in an atmosphere above a temperature of

32, and to have the process go on with any degree of

lapidity the temperature

must be above 60.

A well-constructed

preservator prevents the presence

of oxygen and hydrogen, and keeps

down

the tempera-

ture almost to 32, and thus three of the conditions

on which fermentation depends are wanting

periment has shown that
putrefactive
is

and ex-

it

effectually

prevents the
therefore,

fermentation.

The

inference,

irresistible, that it will

prevent the vinous and ace-

tous fermentations.

Why not, then, every man

have

his

cask of Catawba
the

or Isabella wine, or his cider,

from

most fragrant and

delicious apples, or pears, or the

juices of currants, cherries, gooseberries, strawberries.

252

HOW TO PEESBEVE ALL

KINDS OF DEINK3.

raspberries, blackberries, pine-apples, peaches, quinces,

or any other fruits

tor,

and, placing each in his preserva-

with an arrangement to draw tnem through the year round, his choice of
fifty different

side, have, the

beverages, all of which would be delicious and whole-

some, containing in their natural condition the acids

which the system requires, without the addition of alcohol, or vinegar, or

any other disorganized or deleterious

elements ?

FOOD

eioKNESs.

253

DIET IN SICKNESS.
Having examined
tions,

the laws that are to guide us in

the selection of food in health, for the different condi-

employments, and temperatures in which

us

it is

our

lot to live, let

now

see if there

may

be considera-

tions

which
first

will be of service in sickness.

The

hint in regard to food in sickness,

is

we have
is

in the fact that the appetite

taken away, which

clear intimation that food will

no longer be

beneficial,

but injurious

and

if

sudden sickness occur while the

if

stomach contains food, or

a serious accident occur,

which would

be followed
evil

by inflammation, Nature
the

guards against the

by causing

stomach to

throw off the food, and thus stop the supply of nourishment that would keep up the inflammation.

man

falls

on

his head, or accidentally receives a his foot

blow that jars the brain, or a wheel runs over

and crushes
that

it,

or any other serious accident occurs,

result in inflammation,

would naturally

and the

first efforts

of Nature for protection and cure are seen

in vomiting, which relieves the stomach of all food,

and thus cuts

organ.

off the supply of blood

from the

affected

Can we have a
first

clearer intimation that in such

cases all food should be withheld ?

In the

stage of any serious disease

we

have,

264

NEVER EAT "WITHOUT AN APPETITE.

and can see the absurdi-

therefore, no question of duty,

ty of urging sick friends to eat,

when

food
it

is

not only
is

not desired, but absolutely loathed, as

all serious illness
;

generally

in

and we find that such advice,

evil consequences.

if

fol-

lowed,

is

always succeeded by

In the
is

mean time there

is

generally strong thirst, that

;

best satisfied with pure cold water

and
is

this also is a

clear intimation that pure cold water

the best thing,

;

and the only

thing, that

Nature in such cases requires

and I have never seen a case in which the

slightest

harm came from

extent,

gratifying this
filling

demand

to the fullest

not^ by
be.

the stomach at once, especially

with very cold watey, but by gratifying the desire in a

more
cold

effectual
it

way

by
I

constantly sipping

it,

however

may

And

have indulged inany a patient,

in keeping up, without

and have found great advantage

five minutes'

cessation, the

cooling influence of cold

water on the tongue and in the stomach.

After a time, longer or shorter, according to the violence of the fever, Nature

becoming exhausted, demands

little

nutriment

but the stomach cannot digest food

for

want of gastric juice. Dr. Beaumont had for many years a young man who had the stomach opened by a musket shot, which carried away the surrounding integuments and left it open for inspection, by simply raising a kind of trap-door made
by folds of the integuments that remained. This gave him an opportunity, which no other physiologist ever
had, of witnessing the process of digestion under
circumstances, in sickness or health, and noting
all

many

NO GASTRIC JUICE IN FEVER.

phenomena not before known
the gastric juice, and
liquids
its effects

255

in regard to the use of

on

different substances,

and

solids, the time required for digesting differfirst

ent articles, the

process of digesting liquid nour-

ishment, &c.

Dr. Beaumont says,

or no gastric juice
is

"

In

febrile diseases

very

little

secreted.

Hence

the importance

of withholding food from the stomach in febrile complaints.

It

can afford no nourishment, but

is

actually

a source of irritation to the organ, and consequently to

the whole system."

In another place he says, "The

drinks received are immediately absorbed, or otherwise

disposed of, none remaining in the stomach ten minutes

after being swallowed.

Food taken

in this condition

of the stomach remains undigested for twenty-four or

forty-eight hours, or more, increasing the derangement

of the whole alimentary canal, and aggravating the

general symptoms of the disease."

The

first

process

of digesting liquid food

leave the solid
in the
is

is

to absorb the
;

liquid

and

stomach

indeed,
first

both liquid

and

solid

food

digested

by

being

brought

into a semi-fluid state.

If too liquid,

by the process
;

just described of carrying off the liquid

if

too solid,

by bringing
less

into the

stomach from the system, un-

they are supplied from without, the liquids neces-

sary.

But there

are

some forms of nourishment which

are absorbed without digestion, and go directly into the

system to supply the demands of nature.

of nutritive articles in

Of this

class

common

use, are barley-water,

toast-water, beef-tea, and infusions of

any of the

grains.

266
In
all

THE CALLS OF NATURE TO BE REGARDED.

of these articles the elements abstracted and ap

propriated are evidently the nitrates and soluble phos

phates, the carbonaceous elements not being soluble,

and the only carbonaceous or heat-producing element

that seems capable of being directly appropriated to the

supply of heat without digestion

is

sugar.

Here, then, we have a

which nature requires in
indications are

clear indication of the diet

febrile diseases

and

these

corroborated by the natural appetite.

At

first,

there

is

a loathing of everything but pure cold

water;
water,

and anything but cold water, even barleyis

disagreeable to the stomach.

little

Then,

after a

while, a

barley or toast- water

after a little

is

agreeable and

refreshing; and then,

longer time, the

is

luscious fruits are relished,

and the sugar in them

appropriated, without taxing the digestive powers, to

sustaining the
sorption of fat.

necessary heat,

and checking the abis

At

first

the heat

supplied from the

absorption of fat from the system, and the patient

rapidly loses fat and becomes emaciated, the adipose

matter of the body being

absolutely

burned up to

keep up the heat while the digestive powers are prostrated,

and unable

to digest the farinaceous food on

which the system generally depends.

the gastric juice
is

After a while

secreted sufficient to digest starch,

is

which next to sugar

food, having only to

the most digestible carbonaceous

undergo the process of being conit

verted by the saliva and gastric juices into sugar, as

always must be to be prepared to supply the lungs with

fuel
;

and then the appetite

will

demand gruel made

IN SICKNESS

TAKE WHAT APPETITE DEMANDS.

257

from some of the farinaceous grains, and thus we shaU

find,

by watching
but

the appetite, that

it

will call for the

its

right thing at the right time, as long as

calls are

heeded

if

physicians or nurses act on their

own

judgment, and give farinaceous food before the system

is

ready for

it,

the disturbance and flatulence produced

will prevent the

natural calls,

and we lose

all

the

advantage of the natural appetite.

ideas

Adopting these

more than twenty-five years ago, I have never

little

since refused a patient a

of anything which the

indigestible

appetite really

demanded, even to the most

substances,

as

cucumber, dandelion greens, cheese,

&c., and have never seen a case in which they were

injurious even temporarily.

careful, discrimination
fitful

must, however, be made between the

whims by
desire

which a perverted

appetite
it

will

by turns

thousand things, and lose

again before they can

it

be obtained, and the steady desire by which

the same thing hour after hour and day

craves

after

day

if

not obtained, and judgment must always be used in

regard to the quantity given at

first

at least I

have

always feared the consequences of indulging the appetite

to

the

fullest extent

after

long abstinence, but

it

have been

astonished at the

impunity with which

article

may

be indulged for any particular

it

of food,

however inappropriate

might seem to be.

I had at one time the care of an old nurse sick with

pneumonia, and so sick that for weeks she would take

Bcarcely a particle of nutriment,

and

for a

long time

17

258

THE APPETITE IN

SICKJSTESS.

was reduced so low as not

one day to another.
told patients of

to be expected to live

from

I told her, as I had frequently

whom

she had the care, to take a

little

of

anything

the

appetite

demanded,
day,
after

but

gare

no

particular

directions.

One

an abstinence
found her de-

from food

for

nearly four weeks,

first

cidedly better, and for the

exhibit her usual vivacity.
after

time able to talk and

She told me that soon

before,

my

visit,

twenty-four hours

she

felt

strong desire for a cucumber with salt and vinegar,

and ordered her daughter

to

get a good large one,

it

which she ate with a feeling that

was

just the thing

required; and, not being satisfied with one, she obtained another, and another,
four,
till

she had eaten three or

and she assured

me

she

felt

not a pain or any in-

convenience from the repast, and from that day she

took other food and rapidly recovered.

danger, indeed, from that indigestible
contained very
little

There was
article,

less

which

nourishment,

than would have

been from eating immoderately of more concentrated

nourishment, though
digestible.
it

might have been much more

This statement

is

illustrated

by another case
his parents to
little

young man, recovering from a

by

fever, seventeen

miles from home, was urged

go home
nourish-

before he had been able to take but very

ment.

Contrary to advice,

while

stopping to rest

seven miles from home, being o^'ercome by the de-

mands of

his

appetite,

and having no one

to restrain

him, he obtained and ate heartily of beefsteak, pota-

HOSPITAL DIETETICS.
toes,

259

bread and butter, &c., and in one hour was dead.

restoration so suddenly of the natural elements of

the blood probably produced apoplexy.

forcibly illustrate the statement
article of food

These cases

on page 128, that any

or poisonous accordit is

may be wholesome

ing to the circumstances under which

taken.

cucumber was wholesome

poison.

The
deadly

the beefsteak

These cases also show that while the appetite may

be trusted in regard to the
article to

be eaten,

it

cannot

be trusted in regard to the quantity, especially after the

system has been exhausted by disease

the unperverted appetite

so that though

may

in health be trusted with

its

natural food to the extent of

it

demands, in sickness

can only be trusted in relation to the appropriate be eaten, and not in regard to the quantity

article to

required.

We

therefore need

some

dietetic rules

by which
all

to

regulate the diet of the sick.

In almost

hospitals
diet for

patients are divided into classes,

jach

and have a

under different names.

In
They have

8t.

Thomas's Hospital of London

FaU diet
MJIk
diet.

'2 pints

beer,

14

oz.

12

oz. bread,

bread, water gruel.

Breakfast.
Dry

1 pint of milk.

diet.

Fever diet

14 oz. bread, 2 pints of

beer, water gruel.

12 oz. bread,
2 pints of beer.

260

LONDON HOSPITALS.
FuU diet
Milk
diet.

lb. beef,

twice

when dressed, a week 4 oz.

;

1 pint of

milk four
;

times a week

rice

butter, or 6 oz. cheese,

thrice

puddings thrice a

a week

1^

lb.

week.

mutton,
Dinner.

when

boiled,

twice a week.*

Dry

Diet.

Fever

diet.

OZ. butter four times

lb.

beef for tea.

week
and 4

rice

pudding

oz. butter thrice

a week.
Full diet.

Milbdlet.

Supper.

1 pint of broth, four times

. .

1 pint milk.

a week.

In London Hospital
They have per day
C
ter

Common diet.

Middle diet

12 OZ. bread,

1 pint por-

Same

as

common.

men, ^ pint porter

;

Breakfast.

women

gruel.

Low diet.

Milk

diet.

oz.

bread

gruel.
diet.

12 oz. bread
Middle

gruel

Common

diet.

8 OZ. mutton, with pota- The same, except 4 toes, five times a week oz. meat instead of
;

8
Dinner.
.

oz. potatoes

and soup,

8oz.

<

with vegetables, twice

a week.
Low diet.

MUk diet.
1 pint milk.

Broth.
* All the

London

hospitals have,

when ordered by the

spirits, porter,

physician,

'n addition, chops, steaks, fish,

wine,

&c.

DIET OF HOSPITALS.
^
Supper.
Low diet.
Milk
diet.

261

Common diet.
1 pint of broth.

Gruel or broth.

1 pint milk.

In
They have
r

/St.

Bartholomew's Hospital
Common diet.
Broth
diet.

Milk porridge, 12 oz. bread, 6 oz. mutton or beef, 1

pint broth with peas or potatoes, four times

Milk

porridge,

12

oz. bread, 2 pints

broth, 1 pint beer,

2 pints beer for

pint for

a week men, 1

1 oz. butter.

women

1 oz but-

ter thrice a week.

DaUy.

Tliin, or fever diet.

Milk

diet.

Milk porridge, 12
1 pint

oz. bread,

Milk porridge, 12
with
tapioca,

oz.

milk, with tapioca,

root, sago, or rice,

bread, 2 pints milk,

ar-

arrow
as

may be

prescribed

bar-

row

root, sago, or

ley water.

rice; barley water

1 oz. butter

bread

pudding 3 times a

week
dered.

when

or-

In Guy's Hospital They have

r
Ftdl diet

Kiddie

diet.

Low diet.

MUk diet.

Fever diet

14 oz. bread, 12 OZ. bread, 12 ounces 12 ounces 6

ounces
bread,
oz.
1

1^

oz. but1
qt.

1^

oz. but-

bread, 1
oz.
ter,
biit-

bread, 1
oz.
ter,

ter,

ter, 1

pint

but-

but-

table beer,

table beer,

tea
su-

ter,

tea
su-

8 oz. meat

when
For each

it

is

4 oz. meat, and J pint

broth.

and
gar.

pints of

and
gar.

milk.

L dressed.
diet,

gruel or barley

lb.

beef for beef tea, or arrow

water, as required.

root, or

sugar when ordered.

262

DIET OF HOSMTALS.

At
They have
Bxtra
diet.

St. George^s Hospital

Ord'yBiet.

12 oz. bread,

2 pints beer
Daily.
for

men;

pint of beer
for

women,

Brealcfast.

I'lpint tea, IJ pints milk.

'
.

'12 oz.

meat,
bone,

with
Dinner,

roasted,

days; boiled, 3 days ; J

lb. potatoes,

pint gruel,

Supper,

{'^ pint

milk.

DIET OF HOSPITALS.

1:03

In
They have

the

Middlesex Hospital

Meat diet.
Daily.

Breakfast.

Dinner.

Supper.

"

264

EXPLANATION OF DIET TABLES.

In North London Hospital

They

liave
FiHl diet.

Middle

diet.

Low

diet.

MUk diet.

16 oz. bread, \ pt. 16 oz. bread, J 8 oz. bread, J pt. 17 oz. bread, 3 milk, ^ lb. meat, pt. milk, 1 pint milk, oatmeal pints milk.

Daily.

.{

and | lb. potatoes, soup or rice. four days 1 pint of rice or soup three days.
;

gruel,

According to Pereira, from whose

tetics

treatise

on

die-

the above tables are taken,

and who was con-

nected with one of these hospitals, these several diets

are

employed

for the following reasons

Full,
sions

Common,
it

or

Meat

Diet.

"

On many

occa-

where

is

desirable to restore or support the

satisfy

powers of the system, patients are permitted to

their appetite for plain vegetable

and animal food.

In

many

indolent diseases, in scrofula, in

some

affections

of the nervous system, as chorea and epilepsy, and in

the stage' of convalescence after acute maladies, &c.,
this

kind of diet

is

frequently directed.

In these cases
is

beer and sometimes wine are permitted, and spirit

occasionally required.

In some diseases

of,

and

acci-

dents occurring in confirmed drunkards,

it is

frequently

found injurious to withhold the stimulus to which the

patient's

system has been long accustomed, and thus

wine, gin, rum, or brandy are ordered according to

circumstances

This
think,
at the

full

or

common
its

diet is in general founded, I

upon correct general

time of
adoption
;

principles,

as understood

but in the light of some

new

scientific revelations

might be greatly improved.

EXPLANATION OP THE TABLES.

For example,
in each table of full
diet

265
for all the

London

hospitals is given from twelve to sixteen ounces

of bread, and from the remark of Pereira, page 149,

that " the fine bread, prepared from flour only,
is

the
fine

most nutritive and digestible," I conclude that

white bread
sion
"
is

is

the article prescribed, and this conclu-

favored by the remark on the same page, that

is

notwithstanding that bread

life,

denominated the staff

of

alone

it

does

not

appear to be capable of
existence.

supporting prolonged

human
it

Boussingault

came
tity

to this conclusion

from observing the small quancontains

;

of nitrogen which

and the reports of

the inspectors of prisons, on the effects of diet of bread

and water, favor

of bread

this notion."

These remarks are true of

flour bread, but not true

its

made from wheat

in

natural state, as

is

seen by analysis, page 24.

in this diet

That a great improvement

would be made by substituting unbolted

in

wheaten bread, or cracked wheat

not be disputed by any one
already referred to.
cult also for us in

part, I think will

who

will consider the facts

It is diffi-

(See pages 26 and 27.)

Boston,

who have pure

water, and

have never seen beer or porter used with meals to any

extent, in sickness or health, to understand the necessity or

advantage of giving

in

sickness two pints of

beer to
ually,

men

or one and
as
in

a half pints to

women

habit-

especially

almost

all

kinds

of sickness

patients desire to return to primitive food

and drinks,
prefer

whatever their

habits

when

well,

and

pure
bff

water; but with such water as the best that can

266
furnislied
in

AiiCOHOL

boston hospitals.

with their best arrangements in any hospital

realize the

London, we should
water.

necessity of

some

beverage which would at least cover up the taste and

smell of the
Considering, therefore, the ad-

vantages of pure water which Boston possesses, and

the
little

excuse

we have

for giving
is

any substitute, our

to

use of alcoholic beverages

criticism than that of

much more obnoxious

in

any hospital

London.

By

the

diet list it will be seen that

no alcoholic beverages are

given out regularly

of disbursements,

but by the superintendent's report

see that in the year

we

1866 the

sum

of seventeen hundred and forty-nine dollars and

seventy-seven cents was paid out for liquors, and seven

hundred and seventy-one dollars and eighty-one cents

for ale

and porter

twenty-five hundred and twenty-

one dollars and

fifty-eight cents.

Nearly

fifty dollars

a week for one hundred and twenty-eight patients.

Now, considering the effects of alcoholic drinks on human system, according to the views of Professor Carpenter, who is the standard authority in the college
the

under whose auspices

ture

this hospital is

conducted, I ven-

the

assertion

that less

than one dollar a week

in all forms in

would cover the expense of alcohol

which
77, "
it

would be of any

essential

service to

the

patients.

Carpenter says, in his Physiology, page

operation of alcohol upon the living body
is

The

essentially that of a stimulus, increasing for a time,

like

other stimuli, the vital activity of the body, and

especially that of the nervo-muscular apparatus, so that

ft

greater effect

may

often be produced in a given time

"

ALCOHOL ONLY A STIMULUS.

under
its

267
it,

use than can be obtained without

but

being followed by a corresponding depression of power,

which

is

the

more prolonged and severe

in proportion

as the previous excitement has been greater.

Nothing,
ia

therefore,

is

in the end gained by their use, which

only justifiable where some temporary emergency can only be met by a temporary augmentation of power,

even at the expense of an increased amount of subsequent depression, or where (as in the case of some
individuals

whose digestive power

of

is

deficient)

it

affords

aid

in

the introduction

aliment into

the

system

which nothing

else can so well supply.

These excepin propor-

tional cases, however, will be less

numerous

tion as

due attention

is

paid

to

those other

means of

pi'omoting health which are more in accordance with

nature."

Will any physician contend that from seventy

"

to one
to

hundred applications of stimuli are necessary daily

goad " the flagging powers of nature

in

these one

hundred and twenty-eight patients up

to their

duty?

A stimulus
ter,

is literally

a goad, and, according to Carpensensible physiologist, alcohol

is

and every other

is

stimulus, and

never to be used only as a discreet

horseman would use a goad or a whip when other

inducements fad to excite the necessary exertion
will
;

and

any one contend that

" these

exceptional cases

in a year are so numerous as to require an expense to

meet them of twenty-five hundred and twenty-one

lars

dol-

and

fifty-eight cents ?
it

But the expense,

aifioant to

seems to me,

is

trifle

too insig-

be mentioned (except as a means of estimating

268

DANGER OP USING ALCOHOL.

the extent of the practice) compared with other evils

resulting

from such

practice.

Professor Jacob Bigelow,

iu

in a lecture to a class of
cal School, in

young men

Harvard Medi-

1825, of which I was one, uttered words

have so influenced

on

this subject that

my
is
;

practice, that

in forty years I have never used or

recommended as
prescribed in

much

alcohol to be taken internally as

the Boston City Hospital in one

week

and while I

have the pleasure of knowing that I never made a

drunkard by precept or example, I have equal assurance that no patient of mine has ever had an additional
pain or an additional hour of sickness for the want of
alcohol in any form.

To

quote again Dr. Bigelow

" Alcohol

is

highly
effects

stimulating, heating,

and intoxicating, and

its

are so fascinating, that,

when once

experienced, the

danger

is

that the desire for

them may be perpetuated.

Many

patients have

become gradually and impercepti-

bly intemperate under the sanction and guidance of a

physician."

These assertions are denied only by those whose

practice

makes a denial necessary

and being

for justification,

and

they are as true in relation to hospital as to private

practice
;

true, the inference

is irresistible

that

scores of intemperate drinkers are

made every year by

the practice of giving convalescents alcoholic beverages.

They
ale, or

feel better for

a while after a glass of wine, or

whiskey, and, having " the sanction and guid-

ance of a physician," they continue the habit after

leaving the hospital, with a determination, perhaps, to
discontinue
it

as soon as they recover their stren;^h;

BOSTON CITY HOSPITAL.

269

but, unfortunately, they never recover so as to be able

to

do without

their beverage, or at least so as not to

make
it

iU health an excuse for continuing the habit; and

till

grows upon them

they go

grave, cursing, perhaps, the doctor

down to a drunkard's who first set them

Such cases I have
that

out on the road to destruction.

frequently seen,

and have heartily thanked God

Buch an awful responsibility never rested on me.

Boston City Hospital.

Diet List.

Dinner.

Mondays.
Tuesdays.

Soup, potatoes, bread (wheat, Graham,

and brown)
.

and puddings.

Boiled corned beef and vegetables, bread

(three kinds)

Wednesdays.
Thursdays.

Fresh

fish (fried

and boiled), potatoes,

,

bread (three kinds)

.

and puddings.
and

Koast

beef, or mutton, vegetables,

bread as above.
Fridays.
.

Salt fish and potatoes, bread as above,

and puddings.
Saturdays.
.

Stewed meat and vegetables, bread

above.

aa

Sundays.

Koast beef or mutton, vegetables, bread

as above.

Breakfast and 8u])per.

Each day of the week

of the physician
;

tea and coiFee, at the discretion

shells, cocoa,

bread (wheat, Graham.

butter, &c.

and brown)

milk and sugar,

if

Cold meat,

steak or chop,

ordered.

270

BOSTON CITY HOSPITAL.

in

Bread always

abundance

potatoes always

other

vegetables in their season.

of mutton or chicken,
is

In addition, broth, either

that
it

made each day,

called the

may

be

in readiness for patients, if prescribed

by the

physicians.

The above
or

is

what

is

House

Diet, which

takes the place of the "Full Diet," " Ordinary Diet,"

"Common

Diet," of the

London

hospitals.

But

there are no tables of

"Middle Diet," "First Diet,"

"Milk Diet,"
a

"Low

Diet," "Fever Diet," or "Broth

hospitals.
filled

Diet," as in the
is

London
is

bill

of fare, which

But in every ward up every morning and

to the wishes

evening by the nurse, under the direction of the physician,

and generally according

:

patient, thus

of each

Orders for Food for Patients.

Ward

Date.

THE GEEAT DIETETIC FAULT OF BOSTON.

271

the City Hospital being the last great establishment

finished in the country,

and the trustees having taken

all,

great pains to examine the diet tables of

and make

improvements on them.
diet is

Like every other

hospital, ita

modified by the habits of the community in

it

which

is

situated.

The great dietetic fault of Boston consists in using much too large a proportion of carbonaceous food,
which
is

the result of the use of superfine flour, butter,

and sugar, instead of the natural combinations of these

elements, as found in the grains, and fruits, and milk,

from which these principles are separated.

On

page

34, I have estimated the proportion of white bread to

all

other bread used in Boston to be ninety-five per cent.

in the hospital estimates the proportion of

The cook

bread used by the patients to be ninety per cent, of

flour bread,

while the proportion used by the other

the family
is

members of

much

greater,

making the

estimate nearly the same

as that for the whole city.

great improvement would undoubtedly be

substituting bread

made by made from unbolted wheat, ground

from selected wheat,

that which

is

denominated Graflour,

ham

bread being generally an inferior quality of

is

mixed with bran, which

article.

a different and very inferior

Of

twenty-six hundred and forty-eight dol-

lars

and

fifty cents

paid for bread, probably two thou-

sand dollars are lost in the excess of carbonaceous food, which does much harm by creating a tendency to
inflammations and fevers, and by prolonging this class
of diseases.

Of

the twenty-nine hundred and seventy-

272
eight dollars
that part of

MILK IN THE CITY HOSPITAL.

and eighty-eight cents paid
it

for butter,

all

used with flour bread

its

is

lost,

and worse

than

lost,

adding only to
its

redundant carbonates, and

;

increasing

heating qualities

but any part that

may

be used with lean meats or vegetables,

may be

useful,

being more digestible than the

fat

of meats, and being

useful in supplying the carbonates,

which are

deficient

both in lean meats and green vegetables.

The amount

of sugar used does not appear, being included with

other groceries, but probably enough to add consider-

ably to the superabundant carbonates.

The amount of milk used

in this hospital

is

very

great, being, in the whole year, thirty-nine thousand

nine hundred and fifty-two quarts, at a cost_ of twentynine hundred and fieventy-six dollars and seventy cents,
or four and one half quarts a

week
and

for every inmate.

This

is

an excellent investment

if,

with

all this

milk

used, there were as

much

of unbolted wheat bread, or

cracked wheat, or hominy from southern corn, as the apoetite

demanded, the improvement would be very

great.

Adaptation of Food to

dififerent Diseases.

In order to make a general adaptation of food to

different diseases,
it

and

different conditions of the sick,

will be useful to recur to the table of the representa-

tive articles of the four different classes of

alimentary

BulDstances,

which will be found on page 134.

first

The

leading articles of the

class

(the carbonates or
buttqr, sugar,

heat-producers) are, the fat of meats,

THE LUXURY OF CONVALESCENCE.

and
are
fine flour,
all

273

of which, and

the last especially,

to

used in Boston in excess

sufficient

account,

undoubtedly, for

many
liable,

of the inflammatory diseases to

which we are so

keeping up the steam, and heat-

ing up the timbers constantly, to the point almost of

ignition,

and making

it

more

diflScult to

quench the

flames

when once

started (if I

may

be allowed again
to describe

to recur to the figure already once

employed

the condition of the system induced by a diet unnat-

urally heating)
diet

This figure

is

also suggestive of the

adapted to inflammatory diseases.

Remove

the

combustible material and use water.

This treatment
loss of appetite

Nature strongly suggests

also,

by the

for all carbonaceous food,

and the demand

for cold

water in
first

all

fevers

and inflammatory

diseases.

The

effect

of following these intimations will be to

cause emaciation, the adipose substance being used to

supply the lungs with

fuel,

which they must have every

it

moment

and
an

at the

beginning of sickness

is

cer-

tainly not

evil to lose this fat,

and thus prepare the

it

system for fresh, clean, and new clothing whenever

returns to a condition to need
it.

We

need not be
sure of
are able

anxious to retain our old clothes if we can be new ones, without extra expense, whenever we to make good use of them.

One

source of that delightful sensation which constiis

tutes the luxury of convalescence,

that sense of freshis

ness and newness of every part, as the body

being

reclothed with newly-formed adiposea and muscle.

anxiety, therefore, which

This

we

so

often

see

manifested

18

274
lest

REST OF MIND AND MUSCLE.

we

or our friends should lose flesh

least unnecessary.

Of

this

when we can judge by

sick, is at

adverting

to

our experience or observation of the difference befever, in

tween the luxury of convalescence from a

which the
flesh

has been removed, to be again restored,

and that from dropsy, or rheumatism, or gout, where

the effete old

body of

flesh still clings to us.

first

In

all

attacks of inflammatory disease, then, the

tion is to stop the supply of fuel,

direc-

and

let

Nature supply

the necessary heat, burning up the rubbisli and cleans-

ing the premises at the same time.

If
first

we need no supply

of carbonaceous food in the

attack of inflammatory diseases,

we

certainly need

none of the

nitrates or phosphates, for the muscles

rest,

and

mind both need absolute

supplied with

and therefore need not be

are

elements which
activity.

only necessary in
here, too,

muscular or mental

And

we have

but to follow the intimations of Nature, not only in re-

gard to the supply of nutriment, but also

the rest which
is

in

regard to

demanded, both

for

mind and muscle.

In regard
are not

to the exercise of

muscles in sickness we

much
which

inclined to err, as

we seldom

use the

muscles, or urge our friends to do so, in that state of

lassitude

accompanies inflammatory diseases

is

but forgetting or not knowing that the mind

to the

subject
left to

same laws

as the muscles, the

it

mind

is

not

enjoy that absolute rest which

requires,

and nurses,
all

and mothers, and friends

sorts of subjects, if they

tire patients

with talk on

do not
;

insist

on answers from
to pages

them

to all sorts of questions

but,

by reference

MAKE EVEETTHINO PLEASANT TO

87, 88, and 89,
it

PATIENTS.

275

will be seen that the brain requires

is

nourishment as well as the muscles, and

active exercise.

as

much

ex-

hausted by efforts of the mind as the muscles are by

While, therefore, phosphatic food cannot be borne, the mind should be pernritted to hare
absolute rest, being exercised only in

making known
That friend

the necessary requirements of the system.

is,
till

therefore, kindest

who keeps

out of the sick chamber

her services are required.

is it

Nor

right to consult the patient on the subject

of seeing friends or neighbors.

The very

efforts neces-

sary to decide the question are injurious, and until after

decided convalescence, and both mind and body have

been recuperated by appropriate nourishment, the world,

and everything pertaining

to

it,

mentally or physically,

should be absolutely shut out of the sick chamber, and

when again

admitted, should be admitted very carefully

and gradually.

Another important consideration

is

to

CONSULT THE FEELINGS, WISHES, AND TASTES OF PATIENTS IN EVERYTHING.

Mind
thing in

is
it,

the motive

power of the world, and every-

mental or physical.
is

And

the

human

system,

sick or well,

more dependent on
all

the harmonious action

of the mental faculties than

other influences com-

bined beside, not only for

for its comfort

its

health and efficiency, but

for
its

when

sick,

and

recovery to health.

First, then, put the

mind of

patients at ease in re-

gard to everything in which they are interested,

doctor, the nurse, the room, and everything in
it,

the
al-

lowing nothing in

it

disagreeable.

Then allow them

to

276
take a

TAKE NOTHING WHICH OFFENDS THE TASTE.

little

of anything they desire to take, and to taste

of nothing disagreeable, of food, drink, or medicine.

I

have already alluded to the

fact that in health the ap-

petite

and sense of

taste are placed as guardians to pro;

tect the

system from injurious substances (page 12)

it

and can we believe

to be duty,

when

suffering from

pain and sickness, to add to our suffering by taking dis-

gusting drugs, making no effort to render them palatable

and innoxious?

But the argument

in favor of

this practice is, that

Nature has furnished drugs which,

in their crude state, are disagreeable, but which, never-

theless,

do sometimes relieve suffering and cure disease.

Does

this

argument prove that we should take drugs

If so,

in

the crude, disagreeable state in which they are naturally

provided?
nothing.

it

proves too much, and, therefore,

Our food

is

furnished us mostly in a crude, unpala-

table condition, but

we were provided with

it

intellects to

show us how
requirements

to
;

cook

and adapt

it

to our tastes

and

and when we rightly use our

adaptation to our wants.

intellects,

and rightly prepare our food, we both

conscious of
its

relish it

and are
evi-

So God

dently intended

we should

use our brains in preparing

medicines, and in adapting them to our taste and req^uircments,

and when we do so we are rewarded by the

its

same evidence of

adaptation to our requirements.

find the system disturbed,

If instead of relief

we

we

may be
given
it

sure
in

we have mistaken

the remedy, or have

an improper condition or quantity, just as we

are always sure

of gratified appetite

we have taken improper food, if, we get disturbance from it.

instead

MAKE THE

SICK

ROOM

I>LEASAJ>TT.

277

Other animals are furnished both with food and medicine in a state

adapted to their wants, because they

have not sense to prepare them.

The

sick cat takes

it,

with relish the simple catnip provided for

does good and not

and

it

harm
it

but the sick child must swalof,

low drugs which

disturbs all
its

shudders to think

and which

functions for days and weeks, and some-

times for

life.

All animals, in their natural

state, take

with impunity whatever they desire, sick or well, and

nothing else

and

until our appetites are perverted

by

unnatural food,

we

also can take

and give our children

everything, ia a natural state, which they desire, sick or

well
;

and when prostrate with sickness, however per-

verted our tastes

itive

may have

been,

we

return to our primloses

his

appetites

and

desires.

The drunkard
for his cigar,

desire for alcohol, the

smoker

and the

gormand for his rich food. All come down to the same simple demands of nature, and all can be trusted to eat
and drink what they choose, and wUl
all

be benefited

by

rejecting everything offensive to their tastes.

it

Is
at

reasonable that our heavenly Father should be

infinite pains to

such

adapt the world to the comfort

and happiness of man, and give him a natural relish for everything that is best for him to have in health,
but

when

sick

and in pain, should intend

to

add

to his

suffering

by consigning him to the torments of hot irons, cataplasms, and disgusting drugs?

blisters,

Our
tions

reason, therefore, as well as our humanity, ex-

perience,

and common sense, accords with plain deducfrom Nature's common laws, and demands thai

278

REQUIREMENTS IN SICKNESS.
diet,

everything offensive to the patient, whether of

regimen, or medicine, should be excluded from the sick

chamber.

Following these intimations, we

shall find that articles

of the second and third class (page 134) will not be

demanded
ithe

till

there

is

decided convalescence, and then

soluble portions.

These sustain

life

without fur-

nishing fibre for the muscles or solid phosphates for

bones, and are, therefore, called for before the muscles

can be used.

Beef

tea, or broth

from lean meat or

chicken, for example, in which are infused the albumen

and soluble phosphates, the one furnishing food for the dormant tissues, and the other nervous or vital power j
while the appetite for solid meat or fish will be reserved
till

the muscles shall require fibre for use, and the bones

the solid phosphates.

is

Liquid food, therefore,

is all

that

needed in severe sickness of any kind, and such food

generally
all

is

that the appetite craves or the stomach

will receive.

Sometimes, however, the appetite, having

in giving nutriment

been blunted by some interference

in spite

of her remonstrances, ceases to demand the

right food at the right time,

and we are obliged

to use

judgment

in adapting the nutriment to circumstances.

In that case great assistance

Dietetic Tables
;

may
too

be obtained from the

when

there

is

much

heat, abstaining

from the carbonates, except as nature has combined

them with cooling

acid, as in the succulent fruits, and

when

cold and lifeless, giving some easily-digested car-

bonate, as starch, or .some of the life-giving nitrates

and phosphates, as in the broth of meats, or the phos'

ohatic flesh of the active fishes or birds.

"WHEN THE DIGESTIVE ORGANS MUST REST.

279

The

fourth class of representative articles of food,

its

being in

characteristic effects rather mechanical than

vital, is to

be selected with reference to the condition

If there
is

of the digestive organs.

inactivity of the
is

stomach, or bowels, or

liver,

and constipation

the con-

sequence, then this class of food should be freely used

but

if,

on the other hand, there

is

irritability of these

organs, and diarrhoea, dysentery, or cholera, then these

organs should be permitted to rest from the natural

influ-

ences of waste, which are necessary in health, and nutri-

ment be taken,

like the juice of beef, flour porridge, &c.,

;

which contain no waste

eye,

just as in inflammation of the

it

we

shut out the light, and give

rest

and time

to

recover, or in inflammation of the brain,

all

we

prohibit

exciting influences, and abstain from all phosphatic

food, using only

common
it

sense in the application of

the laws of our being to our particular circumstances,

as the farmer uses
in supplying the necessary elements

for the crop to be produced,

rest

and allowing the land to

when overworked and

sick.

The Development and Preservation of onr

Facilities

Demand
est for
all

appropriate food and drink, taken at proper

;

imes and in suitable quantities

appropriate sleep and

the faculties, alternated with regular and

;

ippropriate exercise

suitable protection

from the cold,

purity of the air night and day, personal cleanliness,

avoiding sudden changes

of habits

or

temperature,

Keeping out of the stomach everything injurious, and

280

THE LAWS OF

NTJTEITION.

the right use of the

means which God has provided

and
faculties

for restoring to health the organs

which

may become

diseased.

On
to

each of these subjects might be written an elab-

orate treatise, but I propose to write a chapter only,

show

as clearly and familiarly as possible the indica-

tions of

Nature as

to the principles

which are to guide

us in these important matters.

First,

The Laws of Mtrition. Every

living thing requires nourishment,
is

and every

living thing
just

provided with food within

its

its

own

reach,
liv-

adapted to

own
is
its

peculiar wants

and every

ing thing but

to

man

provided with instinctive powers

use just the elements that are

appropriate to

needed, and, under ordinary circumstances, to reject every element that

is

not needed or

is

hurtful, as I

have already explained.

It is interesting to notice the

wonderful provision of Nature, by which every creature,

from the elephant to the minutest animalcule, comes

into life just

where and when

its

natural food

is

ready

for

it.

See the paterfamilias of the canker-worm family,

tugging up the trunk of the apple-tree with his helpless
wife on his back, to place her where she can deposit

her eggs beside the buds out of which

is

to

come the
will

tender leaf by the influence of the same degree of heat

that will hatch its eggs, so that the

young worm
time
!

aave food

fitted for it at just the right

And

the

WONDEKPUL PROVISIONS OP
provision by which a similar result
creatures
is still

NATCTRE.

281

is

effected with other

more remarkable.

The
of the

larva of a species of gad-fly can live and grow

life

only in the intestines of the horse, and the whole

fly after it
is

has obtained wings, which

is

only a

few days,

devoted to the task of depositing on the

legs of the horse its eggs.

These eggs are covered with

to the hairs,

gluten,

by which they adhere

and binding

them together produce an

lieve

irritation, and, trying to re-

that tickling with the teeth,

some of the eggs

adhere to the teeth and are swallowed, and thus arrive

at their destination
;

and

it is

remarkable that the eggs

are never deposited on

any parts of the horse except

those which can be reached and relieved of irritation

by the

teeth, otherwise they

would

lose all chances of

arriving at their destination.

Another species of
very often seen in

fly

can be produced only in cap-

sicum (Cayenne pepper).

this

The
;

fly is,

of course, not

country

but I have seen, in a

neglected pepper-box, a flourishing famUy luxuriating

and developing into perfect

ments.

flies

on their natural

ele-

But the most remarkable example of complicated and

far-seeing provision of nature to bring a living creature
into the situation

where

its

natural food

is

provided,

which has yet been brought out from Nature's great storehouse of wonderful things, is found in the tape-

worm.

The

facts

on which

this

statement rests were

developed by a learned and persevering

German, whose

name

is

Kiichenmeister.

282

THE ORIGIN OF THE TAPE-WOEM.

been known that small sacks, r
cysts,

It has long

containing, together with serum, a rudimentary form of

animal

life,

are sometimes found in the liver and other

organs, and sometimes in the flesh of the hog and other

animals
If this

and hogs thus infested are said

is

to be " measly."

pork
in

eaten uncooked, as

it

frequently

is

in

Germany,
fat pork,

Bologna sausages, and

in

ham made

into

sandwiches, and sometimes in this country in uncooked

and one of these cysts enters the stomach, the

natural home,

sack

is

broken, and the young tape-worm, having arits

rived at
peculiar

commences

life

in its

own

way.

At

first
it

it

has only a head and four

its

suckers, through which

draws

nutriment from the

coats of the stomach, and a double circle of hooks, with

which
on the

it

attaches itself firmly to the side of the stomach

mucous membrane.
;

Here

it

remains during

its

lifetime

but

its

body, consisting of joints like pieces

of tape, from one quarter to one half inch in length,

grow.i, one joint after another,
itself in

from the head extending

the iiltestines, tUl
it

the stomach and

among

reaches the length of ten, twenty, thirty, and sometimes forty or

fifty

feet,

new

joints

being constantly

formed from the head, and pushing the old ones away,

and thus the joiats farthest from the head are oldest and
most mature.
pieces,

These

joints, after a while,

fifteen or

break off in long; each

cast oiF,

sometimes of

twenty

feet

joint containing

numerous eggs or germs, are

and if they find a lodgment on the grass or in water,

where they

may be

taken into the stomach of another

first

animal, are hatched in their stomach, and in their

TUB ORIGIN OP THE TAPE-WORM.

283

form have the power of crawhng through the integu-

ments into the

liver or flesh,

forming new cysts or sacks,

to be taken into the

and thus are prepared again

human

stomach, to go again their rounds.

'

The eggs
;

will not

hatch except in the stomach of a quadruped

and the

developed animal cannot live except in the

ach.

human stomis

The only chance,

shall get

therefore, of perpetuating itself

is, first,

the chance that some animal which

eaten by

man man

an egg into

its

stomach, and that some

shall get it after the first process of

development

into his stomach, which chance would seem to be very

email in this country, where so

little

raw meat
to the

is

eaten,

and where so few animals have access

obtaining the eggs.

means of

While, therefore, every tape-worm may, in the course

of
its life

(sometimes of

many

years) , cast

off"

as

many

esss as there are inhabitants on the face of the earth,

the chances of the conditions being fulfilled, on which
their

perpetuation depends, are so small

it

that, in this

country,

is

very rarely found.

it is

When

once
it.

it

gets

hold, however,

very

difficult to

dislodge

I once

gave two ounces of

spirits of turpentine,

which brought

away

twenty-five feet of the

still

worm
lived
is

but the head reflourished.

mained, and the creature

and

To prove that the tape-worm

cysts taken

developed from the

from measly pork, Kiichenmeister performed the following experiment on a criminal condemned to
death
:

He

administered, during three days, seventy-

five of these cysts, giving them time to develop before

execution.

After execution he found ten young tape-

284

THE
in
;

NATXTEAI,

FOOD FOE MAN.

worms
their

the intestines, six of which were destitute

of hooks

but the remaining four were attached by

hooks to the mucous membrane.

to prove the other part of the theory,

some pigs were fed with segments of tape-worm, and subsequently killed. The flesh was filled with the cysts in different
stages of development, from the
first

And

commencement

to

the perfect formation, in proportion to the

amount eaten

and the time which had elapsed, while a pig of the same litter, not so fed, was entirely free from this formation.*

And
only on
to

that interesting parasite, called louse, can live

its

own animal
is

or plant, and
;

if

transferred

any other species

will soon starve

its

and thus every

living thing

provided with
it

appropriate food, and

limited sphere.

with means of getting

in its

own

But man has no

limits to his

range of enterprise, and

no limit to the variety of food on which he can subsist

and yet no animal has such a struggle with

diflSculties,

not only iu selecting food suitable for his powers of

digestion, but in adapting
it

to his varied circumstances.

What

is

the IVatural Food for

Man?
for

When God
earth,

created

man, he gave him

is

meat "ev-

ery herb bearing seed which

upon the
is

face of the

and every
;

tree in the

which

the fruit of a tree

yielding seed

"

and when, afterwards, he blessed Noah

See Kflchenmeister's Manual of Animal and Vegetable Parasites.

NECESSITY FOE VARIETY OF FOOD.

for his faithfulness, he

285

gave him, in addition to his bill of fare, " every beast of the earth and every fowl of the
air,"

"and

all

the fishes of the sea," and told

liveth shall be

him that
for him,

"every moving thing that

even as the green herb."

meat

This would enable him to

fulfil his

destiny, and have

dominion over

all

other creatures, and to live with the

polar bear almost at the north pole, or with the

monkey

at the equator, having in each of these extremes of

temperature food adapted to his wants.

chooses to
live, in a cold, or hot, or

Wherever he

temperate climate,

he finds prepared at his hand the kind of food best

adapted to his wants, and has a relish for just the article best fitted to

supply his wants.

If he lives in

Grreenland, he desires and has the heat-producing fat

of whales and seals, the very thought of which would

disgust

him

in Africa

and

if in

Africa, he desires and

has the cooling fruits and

freeze

vegetables
;

which would
in the climate
all

him

to death in

Greenland

and

where cold and heat

alternate,

he has

the variety

best adapted to his changing circumstances.

To comprehend
our food
of
life,

the necessity of this variety of food,

and to understand the principle on which we can adapt

to.
it

the different conditions and employments

will be

necessary

first

to

understand the

physiological necessity for food.

Besides the necessity

of providing for the growth of the young, food

sary, principally, for three essential purposes
1.
:

is

neces-

To supply

the waste which

is

constantly going on

in

the tissues, especially in the muscular or moving

part of the system.

286
2.

man's condition before the fall.

To
To

supply the fat and the animal heat of the

Bystem.
3.

supply food for the brain and nervous sys-

tem, the bones and solid tissues, and some essential

elements in pure red blood.

Now,

if

we examine any one

whole
bill

article in

its

natural

state in the

of fare which

God

has given us,

either of the

vegetable or animal kingdom,

of
elements,

we

shall

find

these

three classes

but find them

find

combined
ly, also,

in diflferent proportions, in a condition to require

and

them mostto
fit

some cooking
exercise

them

for

digestion,

and thus

find

for

our
it,

mental

faculties,
it

both in selecting food and cooking

to our varying circumstances.

so as to adapt

In

this respect

man, and

all

other animals, are placed

in very diiFerent circumstances.

All animals but

man

are

endowed with
is

instincts to direct

them

to the right

food which

prepared for them, and which requires

;

no cooking and no preparation

but the destiny of

man

was, that he should use his intellect to study Nature's

laws, and to use
food,

them
it

in the selection of appropriate

for digestion.

and

in preparing

What
fall,
is

his condition in regard to food

was before the

not clearly revealed

but even in the garden

of

Eden he had something to do, for it is said, " And the Lord God took the man and put him into the
garden of Eden, to dress
it

and keep
"

it."

But

after the fall, his condition is clearly revealed to

Adam
for

in these awful sentences

Cursed

is

the ground
it

thy sake.

In sorrow shalt thou eat of

all

the

man's condition after the fall.

days of thy
life."

287
it

"

Thorns

also,

and

thistles shall

bring forth to thee, and thou shalt eat of the herb of

the field."
"

In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat

bread

till

thou return unto the ground."

After that sentence,

whatever his variety of

fruits

and vegetables might have been before, he seems

have been almost
field,

to

literally

driven to the herb of the

including, perhaps,

some farinaceous seeds of the

and
berries, that out

grasses,

and some wild

fruits

of

them, by the use of his wits and by the sweat of his

face,

he should cultivate the grains, and

fruits,

and
their

vegetables,
variety,

and

to

the

end of time increase and

fit

improve their

taste,

them, not only to

become the
of
life.

necessaries, but also the choicest luxuries

it

And

is

interesting to trace, as far as

we

may, our grains,

delicious fruits,

and succulent vegeand green herbs.

tables, to their original wild fruits

Many

of our grains

and vegetables were so early

their history has not

changed by cultivation that

been

preserved, and their original grass, or tree,

or herb

cannot

now be found

or recognized

but enough have

been traced to their origin, and the wonderful changes

noticed

which have been wrought by

cultivation,

to

warrant the belief that farinaceous grains, and our valuable vesetables and fruits, which cannot be found wild
in

any part of the world, are so changed by

Cabbage, in
varieties,
to,

cultivation

that their original grasses or plants are not recognized.

all
its

cauliflower, broccoli,

fee, have

all

been traced

and cultivated from the

in a natural branching

kale, col wort, &c.,

which grew

way, without forming a head

at all.

288

CHANGES WROUGHT BY CULTIVATION.

is

Celery
called

cultivated from a very disagreeable herb,

apium.
originally

All the delicious varieties of apples

came

from the crab apple, which grows wild in every part of England, and in many parts of this
country,

a bitter, sour, disagreeable fruit.

is

And

the peach

still

more remarkable example

of the eiFects of cultivation and change of climate.

When

first

introduced into Europe from Persia

bitter,

its

pulp was hard, disagreeable,

and sour, resem;

bling the pulp of a walnut in a green state

and

it is

generally supposed that by some change of climate or

culture the green pulp of the fruit, or nut of the al-

mond, the

pit or kernel of

which

it

almost exactly re-

sembles in appearance and taste,

character of which
it

and the botanical was

also very nearly resembles,

prevented from drying into a shell or nut, and by continued culture has

come

to be a delicious fruit.

At any

was first known it has changed from a disagreeable substance, which afforded no nutrirate, since its history

ment, to a very valuable and delicious

fruit.
all all

Eye, barley, wheat,

teristics

oats, &c.,

have

the charac-

of the grasses, and the seeds of

our

common
the

grasses, as well as all the grains, contain

nitrates, the carbonates,

alike

and the phosphates, and these

all

elements of food are found in

proportions, and

in nearly the

same
to

in nearly the right proportions,

supply

all

the wants of the

human system
But

in ordinary

temperatures and circumstances.

grains
is

neither of these

found wild in any part of the world, and the

is

inference

fair

that they were

changed from

their

ORIGIN OP INDIAN CORN.

Diiginal grasses so early identity has not

289
that their

and so radically

been transmitted to us.

Our
tics

maize, or Indian corn, has also the characteris-

of the gigantic grasses, and must have come from

the

same source

as the sugar-cane, the

sorghum, and

broom-corn.
orated

And

this suppostion, I think, is corrob-

by a very curious circumstance which came

under

my own
some

observation.
oflicers

More than
in the

twenty-five

years ago

in the

United States service

integuments of
It

brought from Egypt a

mummy,

which were found some peculiar grains of maize.

had not probably been exposed to the

thousand years, and on being planted
the season proved too short, and
as to
it

air
it

for

three

grew; but

was not so perfected

be capable of being perpetuated.

was planted in

Some which my own garden grew like common

and grains of corn were

Indian com, tasselled out,

formed, not on a cob, but on a bundle of small stalks,

as if the stalks

of the top of broom-corn had been

firmly tied together,

and had adhered, and the grains

this

of

com grew
The

around
inference

bundle of sticks in a conical

form.

to

my mind

was,

that at the

period at which this corn grew, the ear of

com was

undergoing a process of change from the large seeded

umbelliferous plant, like the broom-corn, to the solid,
cvlindrical ear,

on a cob, as we now find

a
still

it.

The

potato

is

more recent and interesting

illus-

tration of the

power of climate and

cultivation to transarticle of

form a useless tuberous root into a valuable

diet.

19

290

OTHEE CONSIDEEATION8 IN REGARD TO FOOD.

The plant from which the potato is cultivated is now bund growing wild in Chili and Montevideo, and is 3
useless, gnarly root
;

but within the last two or three

article

centuries

it

has been changed into a standard

of

Europe and North America, supporting, to a great extent, in some places, thousands of working
diet in all

people.

Thus, if we will build on Nature's own foundations, we can improve almost every living thing, animal or
vegetable, and add to our bill of fare indefinitely, not

only the necessaries but the luxuries of

ing
all

life, still
;

retain-

the elements needed by the system

food,

but when

we attempt to improve our natural what we call the best parts of any
have before explained.

by abstracting

article,

we make

sad

mistakes, and have to suffer the consequences, as

we

Besides the appropriate supply of the elements required for

all

the organs, functions, and faculties, other

considerations

demand our

attention in regard to the

selection of articles of food.

Some
less
less

articles of

food contain more nourishment and

waste than others.

Some

require

more and some

powers of digestion than others, &c.

Is that article most wholesome which contains most

nourishment 9
all

Certainly not in this country, where

we
is

get too

much nourishment. Food

containing waste

absolutely necessary every day, not only to produce the

necessary distention of the stomach and intestines, but

to

produce the natural stimulant for which

this

waste

was intended; and one of the prominent

evils,

and

FOOD EASILY DIGESTED NOT MOST WHOLESOME. 291

perhaps the greatest next to the
evils

produced by the

want of

essential elements, in the use of our fine flour,

is

sugar, and butter, in their various combinations,

evil

the

of constipation, which

is

the natural consequence

arti-

of the too constant and too exclusive use of these

cles,

which contain no waste materials.

A^re those articles which are most easily digested the

most wholesome 9

Certainly not, for the stomach, like

every other organ and faculty, needs exercise to acquire

or keep
fore,

up

its

energy and healthy action

article of

and therebest, other

on the contrary, that

being equal,
;

food

is

things

which most

fully
is

exercises

the

powers of digestion

but that article

;

not wholesome

which overtaxes these powers

exercise
is

just as that muscular

best which most fully develops the powers

of the muscles, but does not overtax them.

Beans and
amounts of

rice, for illustration, contain

nearly equal
to

nutrition, each containing

from eighty
all

ninety per cent., and each contaiaing some of

the

elements of nutrition required, but in different proportions, as

we

see

by the

tables

but the power and time

required for digesting these articles differ materially,

beans being one of the hardest and rice one of the easiest
articles to

be digested. can say, abstractly, which

is

Now who

most whole-

some, beans or rice?

To
which

the laboring

man, who has

they are more

powers of digestion

sufficient for beans,

is

wholesome than

rice,

too soon disposed of, and

too soon leaves a desire for other food, and gives too
little

strength of muscle

but to the sedentary invalid,

292

OSMAZOMB.

whosfe powers of digestion are feeble, rice would be

wholesome, while beans might be distressingly unwholesome, and for a permanent

alone, both
little

article of diet, to

be eaten

would be unwholesome,

as

one contains toe

waste for the healthy action of the bowels, and the

other too much.

Osmazome.

The

taste

and appetite are placed as

sentinels

to

guaird the portals of the stomach, and, through the

stomach, the whole system; and, under the direction

of instinct, in
all

animals in their natural condition,

are absolutely or very nearly infallible, both as to ad-

missions and rejections.

Offer an elephant a piece of

tobacco or a glass of whiskey, and he will not only

reject
it,

but reject you with disdain for the insult

his natural food,

but

give

him

and he will take

all

that his
for him,

appetite demands, and all that would be

good

and no more.

The same thing is true of man The little child always verted.
food,

till

his taste is perits

it

relishes

natural
all

and may be
;

safely trusted to take of

he

wants

but offer him unnatural food, or unnatural

it.

irugs or medicine, and he rejects

A
as
it

perverted

appetite, however, cannot be trusted,

demands
and ex-

and relishes
It
is

articles

which are positively hurtful.

interesting to notice the great variety

quisite

delicacy with which Nature has flavored the

different articles of food,

no two

articles

having the

same

flavor,

although in other respects almost exactly

FOOD DIGESTS BEST WHICH TASTES BEST.

ftlike.

29
the

Beef and mutton,

for

example, contain

Bame elements, and are almost exactly

tinctive flavor

alike except in

regard to the osmazome, which constitutes their dis;

but this difference

is

of very consideraconsider that that

best.

ble importance practically,

when we

which relishes best always digests

We

should
is

therefore never allow ourselves to eat that which

dis-

agreeable to our
of
it.

own

taste,

whatever others

may

think

And

this is true of every article of food in the

animal or vegetable kingdom, and other things being

equal, and they generally are equal, that which

we

love

best in its natural state

is

best for us.

Another noticeable
its

fact is, that this

osmazome

is

in

perfection only

when

the food
articles

is

in a perfect condi-

tion for digestion.

Those

which require cook-

ing have their flavor most perfectly developed just at

the time

when they

are properly cooked, and ready to

be eaten and easily to be digested, and any considerable

delay, or a second cooking, always diminishes the flavor.

Beefsteak, for example,

is

much more
first

palatable and
it

much more

digestible

when
its

cooked, than when

has been exposed, and

when warmed over

indeed,

osmazome evaporated, or all meats are better when

all

once well cooked, to be eaten cold, than to be warmed

or cooked over, and this
is

understood by

cooks,

who

always add some

second cooking.

spices to

make meats

palatable on a

Soups from meats and vegetables have a much more delicious flavor when made from raw meat and vegetables than

when made from meat and

vegetables previ-

294

EACH ARTICLE Or FOOD HAS

ITS

OSMAZOME.

ously cooked, and the most delicious soups are

made
fre-

without other spices than are found in vegetables and

meats.

Most meats and vegetables become, by

quent cooking, so insipid as to be unpalatable and

unwholesome, as I have elsewhere explained, merely from the loss of the osmazome and this natural stim;

ulant of digestion can be only very imperfectly supplied

by aromatic condiments. and the

rich fruits

On

the other

hand

berries,

which need no cooking, have their

most delicious
at

flavor already developed,

and any attempt

less

improving them by cooking only makes them

palatable and less digestible.

We have, therefore, a clear intimation that we

of food and to the manner of preparing
it.

should

consult our appetite and taste, both in regard to the kind

No
real

one can realize

till

he

tries it,
life

what an amount of
by simply studying

enjoyment can be added to

Nature's laws in regard to food, and by applying them

to every-day
life,

in the

mere enjoyment of meals,

as

Well as in the freedom from sickness and pain, and in

the increased value of all our faculties.

And

these

laws are very simple and easily understood.

In every variety of food furnished

for

man on
its

the

face of the earth, every article contains in

state,

natural

with

all

other essential elements, that peculiar

is

element called osmazome, which

with the wants of the system at

in correspondence

all

times,

and induces

an appetite and relish for just the article most needed.

The osmazome of whale

Fery disgusting to

oil,

for example,

would be

man

living under the "squator,

CONDIMENTS.
while to a

296

man

exposed to the cold of Lapland nothing

;

could be more agreeable

delicious in
for

and the orange, which

is

so

warm

climates,

would have no

attractions

one living in cold climates.

Condiments.

In view of the

fact, so clearly revealed, that food, to

be well digested, must be made

to relish, condiments

are of no small importance in the philosophy of cook-

ing;

for,

though Nature has furnished

natural state,

to all suitable

food in
that
is

its

needed, except
it is

salt,

when properly cooked, all to make it palatable and

it

digestible, still

quite impossible always to get our

food in just the right condition, and to eat

while the

osmazome remains.

We

often need a substitute for

the natural flavor, and Nature seems to have furnished

that substitute in the aromatic herbs, and seeds, and
flowers.

Certain

it

is,

that

mixed food, or re-cooked

food, as minced meat, or sausages, or soups from re-

cooked meats and vegetables, are made more digestible

by being made palatable with condiments

as in everything
else, that

bnt in

this,

cooking

is

best which best

imitates Nature.

The

flavors of all natural

and valu-

able food are delicate, not strong or pungent, except in

the onion,

and other worthless

is

articles

and to

all
is

but only

perverted tastes food

delicately flavored,

most agreeable which

and nothing can be more

any one of which,

certain

than that the pungent spices, as horse-radish, mustard,

cloves, red pepper, &c.,
if applied

296
to the skin,

SALT.

would produce inflammation, must be

inju-

rious to the delicate stomach, as they are generally

used.

This, indeed, has been proved beyond ^11 doubt.

All condiments, indeed, must be used as a choice of

evils.

If

we

could at

all

times get the requsite elefield,

ments of food, either from the beasts of the

or

the fowl of the air, or the grains, and vegetables, and

fruits, just

developed,

when they have their natural osmazome fully we should need no condiments but if we
;

cannot get appropriate food

till

after its natural flavor

has evaporated, or has been dissipated by re-cooking,

then some delicafe condiments are useful to

palatable and digestible.

make

it

When
till

obliged to dine on
is

food that

is

not relished, the stomach

oppressed, and

the food remains undigested

we

take a bit of cheese,

or a few nuts or raisins, or

some agreeable condiment,

which, though indigestible in themselves, will arouse

the stomach to action, and the dinner will be digested.

Some
this

part, at least, of every

meal must have an

agreeable flavor in order to be well digested.

For

reason, a small cup of aromatic coffee will some-

times
is

make amends

for a very

poor dinner

but a

little

better than more.

Salt.

Salt has

some

characteristics peculiar to itself, differ-

ing from aU other elements or compounds, organic or It is not in any sense nutriment, as it does inorganic.
not furnish support to

any organ or function, and does

life,

nothing towards sustaining

as has been often proved

SALT.
in the

297
sailor,

shipwrecked and famishing

who, instead of

relieving his sufferings, has added to

salt water,

them by taking
Neither
is it

even in very small quantities.

a chemical agent, combining with

in

some other element

matter

the system to effect a necessary change, as the acids

effete

combine with alkaline bases and remove

from the system in the excretions.

It is chloride of

sodium, wherever found, in the stomach, in the blood,

or in the excretions, and
is

what

its office is
it

in the system,

not

known

but undoubtedly
its

has some beneficial

influence besides

use as a condiment.

This seems to

be indicated by the fact that other animals seem to require salt, and have a natural desire for
it,

and seem
it.

to

suffer if for a length of time they are deprived of

And

this is

not confined to domesticated animals, as

the buffalo and the deer of the western prairies

make

paths to the salt licks by their frequent

Still
it

visits after salt.

is

not an absolute necessity in the animal

economy,

at least not farther than

is

may

be met by the
all

chloride of sodium, which

found in almost

animal
theii

and vegetable food,

food

as

whole nations of men and

salt,

domestic animals live without

in
;

except as

it is

found

and

this relieves us

from the apparent excep-

tion

which

salt furnishes to the

law which I have enbe incor-

deavored to

develop,

that all elements to

porated into the

human
salt in

system, or any other animal

system, must

first

be organized in some vegetable.

There
count

is

enough

common,

natural food, to ac;

for all
it

the salt actually incorporated in the system

indeed,

is

yet an unsettled

physiological question

298

SALT.
salt is actually incorporated in

whether any

the blood

or in any of the organs.

But whatever
Bait, its essential

else is

accomplished in the system by

that of a condiment, exciting

use

is

the secretory organs to do their duty.

it

Certain

it is

that

does incite to action the salivary and other glands.

in the

Take

mouth a

bit

of salt

fish,
is

or bacon, or any

other savory article, and the

mouth

immediately

filled

with saliva

and when

it is

received into the stomach,

the gastric juice also immediately gushes out.

effects

Of these

on the glands of the mouth and stomach we can

have no doubt, as they are under the observation of

our senses
creas,
;

but of the

effects

on the

liver, the

pan-

and the other glands, we have only

;

to judge.

by

inference

but the inference

is

certainly fair if the

is

glandular system, as far as

lated to action

we can know,

stimu-

by

salt

the other glands, whose action

we cannot

observe, but whose duties are also connected

with the process of digestion,

may

also

be affected
is,

by the same agent.

salt, like

My

conclusion, therefore,

that

other condiments, promotes digestion by ex-

citing

the

glands and inducing the production and

flow of their secretions.

the salt
is

And

the principal value of

in its savor

so that the question, " If the salt

it

have
all

lost its savor,

wherewith shall

be salted?" like

other questions from the divine Master, contained a

philosophical truth as well as an apt illustration.

Like

all

other condiments, salt

it

is

useful or injurious,

according as
A. little

is

taken in large or small quantities.

is

gives a better relish than more, and therefore

CONDIMKXTS.

299

more

useful, while the larger the quantity the

more
it is

in-

jurious.

The only

rule, therefore, for the use of

;

to

use as

little

as will give to food a relish

and the amount

except in
flesh of

necessary for that depends very

much on habit,

regard to that which

animals.
Salt
is

is

found in plants and the

an inorganic substance, and the only

one demanded and extensively used as a condiment, and

1

the only one so universally and so abundantly furnished

and

this fact alone

;

would indicate

its

importance in the

animal economy

but some nations of men, and some

animals in every nation, do not require salt;

and to

eome, as the birds,

tities
;

it

is

a poison, in quite small quan-

and

this fact,

on the other hand, would indicate

that

it is

not, like the nutritive elements, necessary for

life.

the support of animal

Other condiments are from the vegetable kingdom,

and mostly from

tropical climates
to

and from the very

,

narrow range of temperature

are limited,

which the most aromatic

were not intended

we may
;

infer that they

for universal use

but each probably possesses some

medicinal
diseases of

quality adapted to
locality.

some

peculiarity of the

its own The cinnamon is

said to be indigenous only to the

is

Island of Ceylon, and even there

district in the

confined to a small

south-western part of that island.

The clove is a native of the Molucca Islands, and the nutmeg of the same islands. Ginger is a native of the The Bouth-east coast of Asia and the adjacent islands.
pimento or allspice grows spontaneously
and one writer says, "it
is

in Jamaica,

purely a child of Nature,

300 and seems to mock

ors to extend or

CONDIMENTS.
all

the labors of
its

man
:

in his endeav-

improve

growth

not one attempt

in fifty to propagate the

young

plants, or to raise their

seeds, in parts of the country

where

it

is

not found

growing

spontaneously,

having

succeeded."

These

spices, therefore,

were evidently not intended for uni-

versal use

nevertheless,

upon the

principles which I

have elsewhere explained, they

may be
is

useful in prodestitute of, or

moting the
deficient in

digestibility of food

which

osmazome

not by any special virtue in

them, but upon the general principle, that whatever

agrees with the taste excites the glands to secrete the
fluids

necessary for digestion.

in these digestive fluids is the

Sometimes a deficiency
something savory
tive

cause of a want of appetite, and the appetite craves

;

and, taking a hint from this instinc-

demand

of Nature, I have, for the last twenty-five

years, practised giving a sick patient, especially after

passing the

crisis

of disease, a

little

of anything which
pickles,

the appetite demanded.

Salt fish,

smoked ham,
in the

anything else savory and agreeable at the time to the

patient,

by only being chewed and held

mouth
will

will excite the secretions,

and then the stomach

be

prepared for simple and natural nourishment, and will

call for
it,

as before stated.

may be carried too far, and is frequently, in warm weather and warm climates, where carbonaceous
This practice
food
the
is

not needed.
spices,

The

appetite

is

then stimulated by
theii

pungent

which do harm not only by

\)wn exciting influence, but

by inducing the taking

of

CONDIMENTS.
unnatural and stimulating food.

301
this

In

way the people

off so

of our Southern States prepare themselves for the bilious fevers

and other diseases which carry

and

this

has been proved by the fact that those

to abstain

many among
;

them who have sense enough

spices,

from alcohol,
fruits,

and pork, and

live

on the cooling

and

vegetables, and grains of their

own

climate, are

exempt

from these diseases.

Those

spices are best

which are best relished, as

their

value consists in gratifying the taste, and thus exciting

the secretions.

Of

course no one can judge for an

;

other in regard to the spice to be used

and cooks must

not consult their

for

own
;

taste,

but the taste of the family

whom

they cook

for a spice that

relished

by one, and

therefore

may be highly wholesome, may for anThe

rules,
:

other be disagreeable and unwholesome.

therefore, for selecting
First, use

and using spices are very simple

none

at all with food that can be relished

.without

it.

Second, use that which best agrees with

Third, use the smallest quantity that

the natural taste.

wUlbe

satisfactory to the unperverted taste,

and never
gustatory

allow the quantity to

be increased.

Our
life,

pleasures, like all other pleasures of

are best en-

joyed by the moderate use of the good things that are

kindly provided for us.

And
as

the greatest sufferings

which come from them, come,

ical sufferings,

do most of our phys-

from deceiving ourselves with the idea

that if a little of

any good thing

will give us pleasure,

the pleasure
tity.

may

be increased by increasing the quan-

Instead, therefore, of being contented with the

302
delicate

OrNNAMON.
and wholesome flavor which may be imparted
little

by a very

pepper or any other spice, we are

till

in-

clined to increase the amount,

we

take into the deli-

cate stomach these spices of strength sufficient to

a blister on the skin if applied to

10

it,

and can they

draw
fail

be injurious ?

Cinnamon.

Cinnamon
tree

is

the bark of twigs or

young shoots of a

which grows in Ceylon to the height of twenty or

It has

thirty feet.

been the source of a great trade for

its

more than three hundred years, and

been admired from time immemorial.
the

fragrance has

By

a report of
since,
it

Eoyal Asiatic Society, made some years

is

stated that the

number of people engaged

in the cinna-

mon department
ty-six

of trade was from twenty-five to twen-

thousand persons, and that the amount exported

was two hundred thousand tons.

At one

time,

when under Dutch government and mo" the selling or giving

it

nopoly, the degree of rigor with which this monopoly

was maintained was so great that

away
the

the smallest quantity of cinnamon (even were

,

but the single stick)

the exporting of
oil either

it,

the peeling of

bark, extracting the

from that or the

leaves, or the

camphor from the

roots, except

by the

servants of the government, and by their order, as well

us the wilful

injuring of a cinnamon plant, were all

made crimes punishable with death, both on

who should connive
at it."

the persons

committing them, and upon every servant of government

*

* Bertolacci's Ceylon, p. 241.

CASSIA.

CLOVE.
"M. Beaumere

303

And

in order to

keep up the price when the supply

was greater than the demand, the government ordered

the destruction of all the surplus.
lates that

re-

on the 10th of June, 1760, he beheld, near

the admiralty at

Amsterdam, a blazing

pile of these

aromatics, which were valued at eight millions of livres,

and an equal quantity was burnt the next day.

air

The
oils,

was perfumed with

from

this incense

the essential

freed

their confinement, distilled over,

mixing

in

one spicy stream, which flowed at the feet of the spectators

;

but no person was suffered to collect any of

this, nor,

on pain of heavy punishment, to rescue the

smallest quantity of the spice from the wasting ele-

ments." *
Cassia.

Cassia

is

supposed to be an inferior quality of cinna-

mon, and
of tree
is
;

to

come from a

variety of the
it

same

species
It

but botanists consider

a distinct species.

not brought from Ceylon, but principally from China,

and both the bark and buds are used.

They have the

same kind of aroma

gree of flavor.

as cinnamon, but inferior in de-

Clove.

Europeans are said to have known

this

spice for

more than two thousand years. It is a product of the Molucca Islands, and was for a long time under the
* Lankester's Vegetable Substances used for the
p.

Food

of Man,

202.

304
control of the

NUTMEG.

GINGER.
the

Dutch government, who monopolized

first

trade in this as other spices,

having driven off the

Portuguese,
it

who

discovered the source from which

It is the
is

came

to

Europe.

product of a beautiful
;

tree,

every part of which

is

fragrant

but the only part

used

the calyx of the flower, which, while in the

is

form of an elongated bud,

dried for the market.
flavor,

beaten from the tree and

It has

an exceedingly pungent
in very small

and should therefore be used only

q^uantities.

STntmeg.

The nutmeg
tree,

is

the kernel of the fruit of a beautiful

;

a native also of the Moluccas

islands,

but

now

cultivated

in

many

and in the southern part of the penin-

sula of India, the mountains,

and some other

places.

The

tree furnishes

two
is

spices, the

nutmeg or

kernel,

and the mace, which

the

membranous
is

tunic or cover-

ing of the shell in which the nutmeg

contained.

The

flavor of the

nutmeg

is

much
is

less

pungent than

that of the clove,

injurious.

and therefore

less stimulating

and

Gingeri

Ginger came originally from Southern Asia, but

at

an early period was transplanted in South America and

the

West
It

Indies, from

which places

it

was exported

to

Europe
ii.)

as early as 1547.

(Edwards' West Indies, vol.

joints
is

comes from the tuberous and in commerce

or roots

of

the ginger pltint,

distinguished as

PEPPEE.
black and white ginger;

ALLSPICE.

305

both kinds, however, come

from the same plant, the difference of color depending

on the mode of preparation.

Pepper.

There are said to be at

per,

least sixty varieties of pep-

some of which are found

in every part of the

is

world.

The

black pepper of commerce, which

is

the

most extensively used,

found native on the mountains

is

on the coast of Malabar, and

cultivated to a great

extent in Sumatra and Java, and forms the principal

article of

export in these places.

It

grows on a creep-

ing or climbing plant, and resembles,

are
off,

when

the leaves

very closely the grape vine.

Pimento, or Allspice.
This spice
ful tree.
is

the unripe fruit of a large and beauti-

The
off,

berries are gathered just after the flower

has fallen

as they lose their fragrance and

become

valueless if suffered to ripen.

The

crop, in a favorable

season,

is

sometimes enormous, a single tree yielding

fruit after losing

one hundred weight of dried

in curing.

one third

The

allspice

has a flavor which seems to

spices,

combine the properties of many other fact is the origin of its proper name.

and that

Capsicum
Is a native of India, but has been acclimated in this

country and England, of which there are three kinds,

20

306
the cherry pepper,

VANILLA..
the guinea pepper,
all

and the

bell

pepper.

The green pods of

and the ripe ones

these varieties are used

for pickles,

for seasoning pickles,

&c.

Vanilla.

Vanilla
India.

is

a native of Mexico and some parts of

It is a parasitical plant, with lanceolate leaves,

eighteen inches long and three inches wide, and bears

slender pods, containing, besides

numerous seeds, a
and balsamic when
strongly inhaled,

substance which

is

black,
its

oily,

recently gathered, and

odor,

when

produces a kind of temporary intoxication.

These

pods are gathered and dried, and constitute the vanilla

which

is

used for making chocolate, and for flavoring

ice-creams, cakes, blanc-mange, &c.

These foreign
herbs, which
this country,

spices, together with

many

seasoning

grow spontaneously

or are acclimated in

such as parsley, fennel, purslain, horse-

radish, mint, spearmint, thyme, sage, marjoram, &c.,

are used for

seasoning meats, cakes, soups, broths,

their fragrant
oil,

&c.

They owe

and spicy
its

qualities to

volatile or essential

each having

own, which

may, by
in

distillation,

be collected, and, being dissolved

alcohol,

are

called essences.

In that form they

spices

are generally kept

and used instead of the crude

and herbs from which they were taken.

GOUT.

307

GOUT: ITS CAUSE AM) CURE.

In the chapters on general inflammations and neuralgia,

we have

seen that the predisposing cause of inflamis

mations and pains

carbonaceous food, heating, as

it

does, the blood, the internal organs, and the nerves, as

the

fire

of a steamboat heats the combustible materials

boiler,

around the
to ignition.

and renders them more susceptible

is

This illustration

particularly applicable

to the gout,

which

is

eminently painful and inflamma-

tory

and

it is

corroborated by the fact that subjects for

the gout are generally fat,

and

live high,

which, ac-

cording to the English and American acceptation of

that term,
of butter,

means

that their food

is

greatly composed

fat, starch,

and sugar, which are only the and

heat-producing elements, without either strength-giving

principles for the muscles, or food for the brain

nerves.

But there are some

distinguish
it

peculiarities of the gout

all

which

from

other

inflammatory

diseases.

One

exciting cause of gout

is

violent, exciting, or

long-continued mental action

an
;

exciting cause of

no other inflammatory disease

peculiar irritability of mind,

at least the efiects are

is

peculiar to gout, and the disease

accompanied with
temper, and

irascibility of

308

GOUT.
it

frequently with deposits of certain effete matter as

passes from the systen:!.
ties

Let us see

if

these peculiari-

are not susceptible of explanation.

What

physical effect on the system

is

produced by

violent, exciting, or long-cpntinued

mental action, such

as induces gout?
It has
solid

been already shown that one twelfth of the

is

matter of the brain

phosphorus, which

is

com-

bined with other mineral principles, the most important

of

which

is

soda; and that the amount of phosphorus

varies in different brains according to

mental capacity,

children
)f

and

idiots

having

less

than half as

much

as

men

common
It
is

intellects.

also

shown

that this phosphorus

exercise,

is

used up in

thinking,

and in any mental

and thrown from

is

the system as effete matter, just as nitrogen

and thrown

off in

working the muscles

clergymen
other
after

used up

excreting more phosphorus on

Monday than any

day of the week, and lawyers excreting more

court days than at any other time.

The Want of Phosphorus the Canse of Goat.

Assuming, then, that the want of phosphorus
system
is

in the

the cause of the characteristic

symptoms which
diseases,

distinguish gout

from other inflammatory

all their

we

have a rational explanation of

phenomena, and

a theory of prevention and cure, corroborated by the

experience and observation of those

who

are best ac-

quainted with the disease.

GOUT.

309

Phosphorus not only promotes the action of the brain,

and produces mental activity and power, but it promotes the action of the muscles, and is the source of
all

nervous or vital power and physical health and

activity.

This

is

proved by analyses, which show that

the most active animals, birds, or fishes have most phos-

phorus in the composition of their

flesh,

and require
This
chapter of

most phosphatic food

to sustain their activity.

first

principle is also fully explained in the

this

book, on Food for Thinking Men.

I have also explained, in another chapter, the well-

known
live

fact that nursing

and expectant mothers who

suffer

on carbonaceous food

from excruciating neuphosphorus

ralgia, toothache, &o., because, not taking

enough in food

to

keep the nerves of the mother and

child both in a healthy condition. Nature favors the child at the expense of the mother.

And

here

we have

a hint of the cause of the excru-

ciating pain

accompanying gout, and the reason why

all

not only gouty people, but

too

other fat people

who

eat

much carbonaceous
on natural food.

food, suffer toothache and all

other painful diseases

live

more

severely than those

who

aao

GOUT.

The Rationale of the Gont,

Gouty people
fat of

aM

ite

Treatment.

are always such as eat top. lasge a

proportion of carbonaceous food, either butter, qv the

meats, or fine flour, which,

all

is

mostly starch, or
ajl at

sugar, or

combined

and sometimes
little

a single

meal.
particl^.

Of

course they get too.

phosphorus, not a
in, fat,

of that element being foupd

starch, or

always keeping
Still,

sugar, and are steonglx predisposed to inflajnms-Jionft

the timbei; hot, especially if to.thpse

carbonaceous and heating aEticles of fopd are addi^d the

unnatxxral) stimulus of alcoholic drinks..

having wondfirful powers

ofi-

cosforijiing to

oifi-:

cumstances, Nature keeps the machine running cowr

paratLvely well,
till

some excitement

of mind, oc muscle of endurance,

exhausts the phosphorus below

the- poij;it

and Nature
heat.
after

cries,

out in agony for more vitality and. less

The

fuel being stopped' th heat subsides,

and

a few days, by heating up gradually, the mchine

will

work again,

till

it

is

again overheated, apd

to.

thjs

exciting.,

cause again renewed),

go through the same

agony and the same process of temporary curq.

If the excitement which exhausts the phosphorus, and
causes the
fit

of gout, be mental, the soda which

in the brain
is

is

combined with phosphorus

set free, and,

uniting with uric acid, forms the urate of soda, which

constitutes the urinary calculi

and the chalky deposits

found that

peculiar to gout.

And

it

will probably be

these deposits occur in gouty

men

of mental activity,

G&UT,

311

and

in, fits

of gout produced by mental exciteiiaent or

mental exhaustion.

Again; gouty people are always sedentary in their habits and here we get also a corroboration of the
;,

theory that want of phosphorus

is

the cause of gout.

Ry
it

referenqe to the tables of analyses, pages 120-123,

wiU be seen that the phosphates and nitrates are always united, these articles containing the most musclemaking food, which contain the most phosphorus
it
;

and

will

be seen also that those who exercise the muscles

Active men,

most require most nitrogenous food.

therefore, require

and

will

have more nitrogenous food

it

than sedentary men, and with

phosphorus.

get, of course,

more

And

this explains the fact that laboring

men
is,
it.

never have the gout.

other peculiarity of gout usually mentioned

The only
But

that gentlemen, and not ladies, are most subject to

this,

I think,

is

equally true of

all

inflamma-

tory diseases, which are induced, not only by carbona-

ceous food, but by alcoholic drinks.

tion is this
:

And

the explana-

gentlemen

" tarry long at the

wine "

after

the cloth

is

removed and the

ladies are dismissed.

Dyspepsia, derangements of the stomach, bowels,

&c., are
is

all

accounted for on the same principles, as

explained in the chapter on Dyspepsia, &c.

My

belief, therefore, is,

that living according to the laws

of

life,

as explained in Philosophy of Eating, no one,

to
it,

however predisposed

will ever

have the gout.

its

And

if

living otherwise he

gets into

screws, the

312
quickest

GOUT.

way

to get out of

them

is first

to let off the

steam, not by exhausting medicine, but by stopping

the supply of fuel,
vital equilibrium,

and then restoring the nervous and

in a

by taking,

form

to

be relished,

food prepared from active fishes, birds, or animals, with

bread or plain puddings from wheat, barley, or oatmeal,

with cheese, as
it.

can be well digested, and enough of

butter, OT other agreeable carbonates, to supply

any

deficiency of fat in the fish or lean meat,

relish to the food,

and

to give
fruits

and enough of some agreeable

or vegetables to furnish the necessary acids

and waste

which

is

wanting in cheese.

FOOD FOK THINKING MEN.

313

FOOD FOE THINKING MEN.

That one set of principles in food enables us to use the muscles, that another set enables us to keep up the animal heat, and another promotes the action of the
brain and nerves, and enables us to think, I have en-

deavored to show.

That phosphorus
is

is

used up in thinking, as nitrogen

used in working the muscles, and carbon in furnishfat,

ing animal heat and

demonstrated.

I think has also been clearly

This idea, though not new

to

physiologists,

has

never been made practical, and, indeed, I have seen

no attempt to develop
practical purposes.

it

either for

philosophical

or

Vauqualin and L'Harittee, two celebrated French

chemists, laid the foundation of
its

development in their

analyses of the

human
is

brain, proving, as they did, that

the brains of infants and idiots contain less than half

the phosphorus that

found in the brains of

men

of

common

intellect,

and that the proportion of phospho;

rus found was in proportion to the intellect

but for

more than a quarter of a century

it

has remained with-

out development or practical application.

Meantime

it

has also been proved by analysis of the

secretions, that the

more

active

the brain, the

more

314
phosphorus
is

FOOD FOR THINKIKG MEN.

used up and thrown off by the system,

clergymen using up more on Sunday, and lawyers on

court days, than at other times.
eional

And

yet our profes-

men have

lived as other

men

live,

eating what

has come before them, without coasidering whether the

elements they take are adapted to develop stupidity or

mental vigor
cles as

eating, perchance,
fat pork,

mA

stupefying artibutter,

ham, or

aJ white bread and

while making or preaching a

s^mon,
and

sand

such phos-

phatic food as tronts and other fish, with unbolted bread,

vegetables, and fruits,

when

idle

rusticating.

Bwt

little

observation would show a vast difference in the

made and preached on carbonaceous Or phosphatic diet and the estimate of the old divine, " of the number of tons of bealis and pork
quality of sermons whether
;

preached to in

New England

evety Sunday, while the

offset

owners were asleep," might be

the

by an estimate of

number of congregations, not only in New England,

all

but in Old England, and

starch eating world,

the rest of the fat and

who

are put asleep by sermons

made from stupefying

fat beef,

principles extracted
flour.

from

fat pork,

and superfine

The

principle that mental activity depends

on phos*

phatic food, I have been gratified to notice, has been

recently endorsed

by Professor Agassiz,

in Ils address

before the committee of the legislature of Massachusetts

on the propagation and preservation of

fishes.

He said,
It is

as reported in the

Boston Journal,

"

The

fish

enters largely into the requisition of the

human

system.

a kind of food which refreshes the

eystefia, espe-

FOOD FOE THINKJN'G MEN.

sially

316
is

after

intellectual

fatigue.

There

no other

article

of food that supplies the waste of the heaid so

fish diet
;

thoroughly as

and the evidence of

it is

in the

f^ct that all the inhabitants of the sea shores, the

world Fish

over, are the brighter population of the country.

contains phosphorus to a large extent,

a
;

chemical

element
health.
fish

which the

brain

required

for

growth and

He

would not say that an

ex:clusive use of

would make a blodkhead a wise man

but that the

its

brain should not be wanting in one of

essential

elements."

But man cannot

animal heat

live

on

fish alOne, that

food being

generally deficient in carbonaceous elements to furnish

;

and we need a variety of food, one

article
;

being adapted to Supply the deficiencies of others

and

everywhere in the

habitable

world nature has furit

nished this variety, adapting

tastes, constitutions,

to different climates,
life.

employments, and habits of

For every

anilnal but

man

appropriate food

is

placed,

already cooked and prepared for digestion, within the

teach of eVery species, in

its

own

limited sphere, and

its instincts direct with unerring certainty to the food

best adapted to

its

development and health

expected to use
it

but man,

having

intellect, is

in studying the

wants of the system, and in analyzing food to ascertain

its

adaptedness to supply those wants, in the desti-

tute condition in

which he
is

is

placed, as implied in the

:

sentence, " Cursed

the ground for thy sake

it all

in sor-

row
nlyo

shalt thou eat of

the days of thy

life
;

thorns

and

thistles shall it

bring forth to thee

and thou

316

FOOD FOE THINKING MEN.

In the sweat of thy face

shalt eat the herb of the field.

shalt thou eat bread

,

till

thou return unto the ground."

of this
to food

DiiFer as

passage,

we

we may in regard to the meaning find man in a condition in regard

from that of other animals.
his

very

dififerent

Instead of

having everything ready at

the herbs,
grains,

hand, he must cultivate

roots,

and the grasses, and tuberous

fruits,

the

and vegetables, and

and every luxury and

his industry.

must be obtained by dint of

and small imperfect

his wits

All he finds growing spontaneously are a few berries

fruits,

and perhaps the

;

juices of

some plants and vegetables everything else must be cooked and prepared to be capable of digestion
and of furnishing nourishment,

all

our delicious

apples, and peaches, and grapes, and other fruit, are

brought to the perfection in which we

now

find

them

by cultivation from these

fect natural fruits.

berries

and small imper-

And

all

our grains and succulent

plants and vegetables, which are our main dependence

for food, are cultivated

from the seeds of grasses, and

articles, that the
still

from plants so unlike these excellent

origin of

many

of them, though doubtless

growing

wild,
this

is

not recognized.

For

interesting examples of
articles of food,

change, wrought in

many common

see pages 287-289.

To

assist in selecting articles of food

with suitable

proportions of elements for muscles and brains, under

different conditions

and occupations

in life,

you

will find

analyses of about fifty articles, embracing most if not

FOOD FOR THINKING MEN.

all articles

317

of food in

common

use in the civilized world,

see pages 120-123.

They

are selected with great care, from English,

French, German, and American analyses, but cannot

in the nature of the case

be positively, but only proxiarticle,

mately correct; for no two specimens of any

growing on
proportions.

different soils

and

in different climates, are

found to contain precisely the same elements in the same

For example

Of

the four hundred dif-

ferent varieties of wheat, described

and analyzed by the

French Academy of Arts and Sciences, no two are found

to contain the

same elements
as a

in precisely the

same pro-

portions.

Still,

means of comparing one kind of

grain and food with others, and of adapting them to

our particular conditions and circumstances in

these tables cannot
fail to

life,

be practically valuable to any

to

one who shall give attention

them.

It will be seen that in ordinary circumstances of tem-

perature, muscular and mental exercise, &c., the proportions required are about fifteen per cent, of the nitrates,

or muscle-making elements, to sixty-five to seventy of

;',arbonates,

or heat-producing elements, and two or three

per cent, of phosphates, or food for brains and nerves,

or a

little

more than four times

as

much carbonaceous

food as nitrogenous, while the proportion of phosphates

vary much, and are to be used more or less according

to

mental and physical

activity,

and that the proportions

arti-

of thjse different elements are various in different

3les, giving a wide field for selection and adaptation.

318

FOOD FOR THINKING MEN.

in

And

the selection of animal food,

it

is

of gr6al

practical use also to recur to the principles explained.

See pages 82*'90.

The amount of
parted by
it,

phosphatic food contained in the

flesh

of any animal, and the physical and mental activity imis

in exact proportion to the activity of

that animal, the flesh of the trout, pickerel, or salmon

imparting
that of the

much more mental and

dormant pout,

physical vigor than

eel, or flounder,

and the

flesh

of the wild bison or hog more than that of the domestic

ox or hog of the same

species,

and of the active

Calf,

working ox more than that of the dormant hog or

which are fed and fattened in a pen, without exercise.

.

And

the

same remark holds true

in relation to the flesh

of wild and domestic fowls.

Without going
assistance can be

to tables of analysis, therefore,

much
by
a

had

in selecting food for the brain

reference to this principle.

In comparing these various

articles of food, with

view to determine their adaptation to our particular

cumstances,
table on
tlie

cir-

considerations mentioned heretofore in

page 120^ and elsewhere mvist be noticed.

it is

On

page 16,

intimated that the phosphates should

this for
it

be subdivided into soluble and insoluble, and

thinking
to

men

is

an important distinction, both as

its

relates

the selection of food, and

preservation and preparafish,

tion.

Take,

for

example, beef or

which contain both

soluble phosphates for the brain

for

and

insoluble phosphates
sol-

the bones.

In pickling in brine, or in boiling, the

FOOD FOR THINKING MEN.

uhle phosphates and
the water,
is

319

much

of the albumen are lost in

salted beef or fish

and of course boiled or

not suitable food for the

it

thinking man,

although,
fibrin,

retaining as
it

does the insoluble phosphates and

may

be good food for the laboring man.

And

the

same considerations enter

or preparing
all

into the question of cookinp

meats and vegetables.

all

The

nitrates

and phosphates of

meats and vegeta

bles are partly soluble

and partly

insoluble,

and therethat
is

fore in soaking in cold water, all lose

much

important, especially to the

water, albumen
the
is

thinking man.

In cold

dissolved or lost, but in hot water

;

albumen

is

coagulated, and mostly retained

but in

hot water as well as cold the soluble phosphates are

lost.

Neither

fishj

nor meats, nor vegetables should

therefore ever be pickled in brine, nor should they be

boiled, unless in a little water, as in the admirable ar-

rangement of Zimmermann' or Duncklee, where

in the water that is necessary to

all

the

soluble materials, as well as all the flavor, are retained

keep up the steam, and

the elements are saved,

being used as gravy or soup,

as nature intended.

all

In roasting

also, or broiling, or

indeed in any man-

ner of cooking, care must be taken not to burn up or

otherwise destroy or lose any of the juices of either
vegetable or animal food
for thinking
;

especially is this important

men and

for those

whose digestion

is

feeble,

the

power of the stomach

as well as the

power of the

brain being dependent on soluble phosphorus.

especially
is

And

the power of the stomach dependent on

320

FOOD FOE THINKING MEN.

shown.

the flavor of food, as elsewhere

try the

Let any one

fish,

experiment of cooking meats,

potatoes,

carrots, turnips, or
in a

any other food, animal or vegetable,

all

steamer in which the flavor and

the steam are

distilled

back and saved, and compare the taste of them

all

with that of the same food cooked so that

these de-

ments are

lost,

and he

will be astonished at the differ-

ence in flavor, digestibility, and mental and phj'sicaJ

energy imparted by

it.

Other

articles

of food

may
is

be wholesome to the

laboring man, that are not wholesome to the thinking

man.

Cheese, for example,

very strengthening to

bones and muscles, containing not only the concentrated

nitrates of the milk, but also a large share of its phos-

phates

but the phosphates are mostly insoluble, the solCheese,

uble phosphates having gone off in the whey.

therefore, while
it

may be excellent food

little

for the laboring

is

man, and

for children who'se bones are feeble,

too

indigestible,
to

and contains too

food for the brain,

be very valuable to the sedentary thinking man,

it

especially as

tends to constipation, containing as

it

does almost no waste material.

tion, all articles of

But with

this

excep-

common

food, cooked so as to retain

their natural elements, are useful to thinking

men

in

proportion to the phosphates indicated -by analyses, containing, as they all

as well as insoluble

do in their natural condition, soluble

phosphorus.
of soluble phosphorus in animal food,
I

Of the amount we can judge, as

analysis,

have before mentioned, without an

activity of the

by the degree of

animal, as

FOOD FOE THINKING MEN.

321

ouly soluble phosphorus gives either activity of brain or

muscle

but of the soluble phosphorus in vegetable food

to judge

we have
ment
fibre,
is

by a

different estimate.

phates of succulent vegetables and fruits,

The phoswhen nourishmostly woody

mostly in their juices, are of course mostly

soluble,

and

as their solid material

is

and

indigestible, they also furnish waste,

which

ia

very important to sedentary men, inclined as they are

to constipation.

They

also contain the acids

which are

needed every day, especially in sedentary men, the

action of

whose
which,

liver is
if

sluggish, to eliminate effete

in

matters,

retained

the system,

produce

inaction of the brain, and indeed of the whole system,

causing jaundice, sleepiness, scurvy, and troublesome

diseases of the skin.
bles are
in

Acid

fruits

and succulent vegeta-

needed therefore every day of the year, especially

in winter

summer, and

by those who
;

live in

warm
re-

rooms, without much exercise

freshing

and the amount of

is

nourishment in them

much

greater than

would

at first

appear as the result of analysis.

As

they

contain from

seventy-five to ninety-seven per cent, of

water, and only from three to twenty-five per cent, of

solid matter, the per cent, of nitrogenous

and phosphatic

nourishment

is

greater than in

more

solid food in pro-

portion to the

amount of water.
:

For example
and about two
\s

In wheat there

is

eighty-six per cent,

is

of solid matter, of which fifteen per cent,

nitrogenous

per cent, is phosphatic.

In apples there
five

but sixteen per cent, of solid matter, of which

nitrogenous and one per cent,
is

per

oent. is

phosphatic, so

21

322

FOOD FOE THINKISa MEN.

is

that in apples there

nearly twice

thie

food for muscles

and, considering that in wheat the phosphates are partly

insolublie, there is
l)rain in

more than four times the food

for the

apples than in wheat.

And

this estimate is not

utifair j biecausie there is as

much water used

all

in the digesis

tion of

wheat as in that of apples,

that

needed in

the

wheat being demanded and taken as

driiik.

In

other fruits and vegetables the proportionate

of nitrates and J)hosj)hates
readily be understood
is
still

amount
it

greater,

and

can
car-

why,

in

warm

weather,
fruits

when

bonaceoiis food

is

not

much needed,

and vegeta-

bles are so plentifully provided,

and why they furnish

Buch healthful action of the system and each vigor of

mind.

FOOD FOB LABOIUNG MEN.

323

FOOD FOE LABOEING MEN.

That muscular power and
the use of
activity is greater

under

some kinds of food than

for

others has been

years.

known and recorded

stantly trained

more than two thousand

Before the Christian era the gladiators were so con-

on barley bread that they were

called

hordearii, hordeum being the Greek

name

for barley.

And

if

we

look at the analysis of barley (refer to table

on page 121},

we

shall see that

it

contains

more

nitrog-

enous, as well as more phosphatic elements, than wheat,

or

any other grain adapted

and

to

bread-making.

Prize-fight-

ers

professional pedestrians prepare themselves

and

sustain their extraordinary powers of action

and endur-

ance on the muscles of the ox or sheep and on unbolted

bread.

Horses,

also,

are trained for the race on food

containing a large proportion of nitrogenous and phosphatic elements, as oats, barley, the bran of wheat, or

Southern corn
flour,

never

on Northern corn or fine wheat

but not to strength and

which tend to

fatness,

activity.

Indeed, the experience of practical

men

the

world over corroborates the important truths developed

by analyses of
tific

difi'erent articles

of food, and the scien;

inferences deduced from

them

and the

tables,

pages
the

120-123, are therefore confidently referred

to, for

324

FOOD FOR LABORING MEN.

purpose of assisting laboring

of food will
the

men

to

determine what kind

in

give most muscular strength, and what, of living,

is lost.

common way

It will

be seen that most of the kinds of natural

food, as the meats of our domestic animals, fat

and

lean together, with unbolted wheat, potatoes, vegetables,

milk, corn, rye, barley, &c., contain a due pro-

portion of food for the muscles, nerves, and for animal

heat, without the addition of such heating materials as
fine flour,

bread, butter, fat pork, or lard.

And
it

as

neither of these last-named articles contain any, or but

little

of any, strength or life-giving elements,

fol-

lows, that, used with the food containing the natural

mixture and proportions of

all

the elements required,

these heating elements, not being wanted, are either

thrown

off

and wasted,

or,

by increasing the amount

of heat and by embarrassing the system, tend to pro-

duce inflammations and disease.

But

it

will also be

seen that other valuable articles, as beans and peas,

and many

fruits

and vegetables, not containing enough

of these carbonaceous materials, do require with them,

or at the

same meal, some

butter, or other fat,

or

starch, or sugar, to give

them the

requisite heating

power, especially in cold weather.

to

little

attention

these tables,

and the principles upon which they

service, not only for the

are

made, would be of great

preservation of health and strength, but for economy.

It will be noticed that the kinds of food

most wasted,
the not

when not wanted by the system, are The article most used when most expensive.
because eaten

FOOD FOE LABOEING MEN.

wanted, in Boston,
is

32.J

superfine flour,
its

out of which
nitrates

has been bolted a large portion of

and

phosphates. This being used with butter and sugar,

furnishes very
article
little

but heating materials.

is

The next
enough

on which most money

expended and wasted,

because most used with other

of carbonaceous elements,
is

articles containing

butter,

which contains not

a particle of strength or life-giving material, and therefore

is

never useful, except with food deficient in carbon.

another article most
extensively
is

And
for the

used,

and,

same reason, wasted,

sugar, which, though

useful with too acid fruits, and as a part of a meal in

which
is

is

too large a proportion of nitrogenous food,

cakes,

worse than useless in confectionery,

&c.,
is

especially if eaten between meals,

and when food

not wanted, as

it

not only adds to the superfluous heat,

but causes fermentation in the stomach and bowels,

and causes, or tends

pepsia,

to cause, flatulence, colic, dys-

and the thousand and one troubles of the

digestive organs, which

vegetables and fruit,

we when

are apt to impute to green

the fact
is,

these extra car-

bonaceous substances, in their passage out of the system, embarrass the digestion of natural food, and cause
it

to give us these troubles

and

this is

proved by the

fact that those

articles

may

eat

who avoid these expensive and useless as much as they choose of green
it

vegetables and fruits, and

gives

them no

flatulence,

and produces no

irritation.

Our

puritanic forefathers,

who

lived

on beans, peas,

326

FOOD FOE LABO^ESTG MEN.

toieats,

Unbolted grains, and the

as they the

veg'etaMes, an<l fmits

simple

came from their fields and 'gardens, codfeed in manner best calctilated to develop their them
ibr digestion,
j

natural flavor and prepare

were
&Ci

not troubled with flatulence, colic

indigestion,

And

our foremothers were not the pale-faced, flabby-

muscled, toothless, chlorotic, consuniptive, and senti-

mental rac^i
llie

as

are

their deg'enerate

datiglktets

'of

present generation.

Having plenty of nitrogen

silex for the teeth, iron for

for the muscles, lime

and

the blood, and all strength-giving articles of food for

the lungs and digestive Organs, and phosphoriis for

the
it^

brain,

in

natiiiTal

food

as

God had

furnished

and

their systems not being heated

up and em-

barrassed

by the

exti'a

carbonaceous food furnished

in superfine flour, butter,

and sUgar, on which our

had
all

daughter^ try, but

fail,

to live, they

the ele-

ments necessary to promote the vigorous health of

every organ and faculty^ and none of the extra carbon

which heats up

thte

system, embarrasses the digestive

tt>

organs, and renders ua more liable

able to resist
it.

distease

and

less

Even our

farhiers,

and

their wives

and daughters^
Instead of
the

have bec^ome terribly degenerated.

robust and healthy men, and the full-chested, healthy,

rosy^heekedj

beautifiil

women, of former
as feeble
is

generations,
city

we

see a people almost

and sickly as

people.

And

the reason

apparent.

The outer

crust

of the wheatj and the buttermilk, which contain the

nitrogen, phosphorus, and iron on which strength and

FOOD

FOlR

LABORING MEN.

327

energy, mental and physical, and beauty of complexion,

depend,

is

given to the cattle and pigs, while

th'ey

take

themselves, instead, the butter, fine flour and sugar,

which contain only the heating and disease-producing

carbonates.

The robust Irishmen and Scolchmrai,

from their
potatoes-,
oattueial,

also,

who come

here with strong, energetic muscles, and sound teethj

wheat, and barley cakes, with their

fall

buttermilk, and cheese, soon

habits,

into our

starch

and grease eating

and become, or at

least their children

less as

become, as pale, puny, and toothIndeed, bringing with

pure-blooded Yankees.

them, as they do, especially the laboring Irish, their

clannish and unclean habits, and therefore breathing
air

impregnated with
die

impurities,

they suffer

much

more and
its

much

faster thaii

Yankees, whose habbetter.

of

life,

in

this respect, are

(See stateto

ments and
length of

statistics,
life,

in another chapter j relating

&e.)

Articles of

Food best adapted

Power.
Cheese.

to

impart

ffuscnlar

By
will

the tables of analysis, so often referred to,

it

be seen that cheese contains more elements of

to

strength
article in
It

the. muscles

and bones than any other

common

use in this country or in England.-

contains from sixty to seventy per cent, of nitrbge-

nous matter, and seven per eent. of phosphatic, to

.528

FOOD FOE LABORING MEN.

carbonaceous
;

only nineteen of

and the phosphates

it

being of the insoluble or bone-making class,

imparts

strength to the bones and working power, in a more

concentrated form than

any other known

it

article

of

food;

and, being hard of digestion,

has also the

or, as the

good quality of staying by, or holding on,

farmers say of salt beef and beans, "it
to lean over
is is

a good prop not natural

It

when

at

work."

But

it

food, being only a part of the natural food, milk.

therefore needs additional elements to

some

for
it

where,

make it wholea single meal. By a calculation made elsewill be seen that to eat three times a day we

should require, at one meal, less than two ounces of food

for the muscles.

And we

find that

two ounces would

be contained in three ounces of cheese, whereas, to

produce the natural distention, nearly eight times as

much bulk

of fpod

is

required

and, therefore, on a

meal of cheese

sufficient to

supply muscular power, the

in

stomach would collapse into a condition

which the

gastric juice could not be properly produced,

and the
in

digestive process could not go on.

Then, again,

three ounces of cheese only one ounce of carbonaceous

food would be produced, whereas there should be at

least twelve

ounces,

to

give

its
is

natural proportions.

Then, again, in cheese there

therefore cheese alone
in

almost no waste, and

fatal constipation

would produce

a very short time.

Cheese, therefore, to be wholein small quantities,' and, to get

.eome,

must be eaten
and

j,ppropriate

carbonaceous food, must be eaten with

for this purpose white bread

bread

would not

FOOD
oe objectionable, if
If,

JPOR
it

LABOEING MEN.

329

contained the requisite waste.

therefore,

we

ate three ounces of cheese

and three

fourths of a

pound of wheat bread, we should get

the nitrates

nearly half

and carbonates needed

for

twenty-four hours, and in about the right proportions.

But

still

we should

get no waste, and only a part of the

;

phosphatic elements needed

but with the addition of

apples, or other fruits, or coarse bread, to supply the

deficient elements, cheese

would be excellent and cheap

food for the laboring man.

Southern

Com.
Southern corn,

Next
such as

to cheese, the long, tooth-shaped

is

delineated in figure 3, page 25, contains most

its its

nitrogen and phosphorus, compared with

its

carbon

and

phosphates being partly soluble, and

nitrogen in
it is

the form of albumen and gluten instead of casein,

more
tivity

easily digested,

and

it

imparts more vigor and actherefore better adapted to

than cheese, and

is

work requiring

rapidity of motion, but less continuous

is

action than that to which cheese

adapted.

It requires

some addition of carbon, having but one part of nitrogenous to three of carbonaceous elements, whereas there
is

need of one
It

to four in

warm
;

weather, and one to five

in cold.

is,

therefore, appropriately eaten with

fat

modiet

lasses, or meats,

and lean
is

and even the negro

of " hog and

cool weather.

hominy "

not a bad one, especially in

830

FOOB: :fOE LABOEING; MEN.

Beans and Peas.

Next come
Ijeans

and

peas,

which,

being very

nearly ali^e in their proportions of necessary elements,

wiill

be considered; together.
per cent, of
tQ.

They

also contain too

large a proportipn of muscle-making principles, having

twenty-rfoiH:
nitra,l;es

to seventy of carbo-

nates,

%q4 three

four per cent, of phosphates, partly

soluble and partly insoluble, so that if

we

retain the

liquor in which they are cooked, as in bean porridge or

pea soup, they are good

ing

articles
if

not only for laborthey have good diges-

men

but for thinking men,

tive powers.

These

al^Pi requijce

additional carbon,

and

are appi;opriately eaten with butter, or fet pork and

potatoes, with

more of thp

v;egetg,ble

carbonates in sum-

mer

ajid

of the animal in winter.

Lean Flesh of Meats.

Lean meats,
or muscles gf animals,, contain about the
nitrates

same proportion of

and phosphates

as

beans and
or at leagt
is

peas, but they contain no carbonates, at

all,

the gel9,tine in them, which, is carbonaceous,

gestiblp, but is

not di-

used as waste, to keep the bowels- in

action, gelatine in meats ap8wei;ing. the

as

same

pujrpose

woody

fibre

answers in vegetable fopd.

It is gelatine

which; gives consistence to soups, especially those

of joints of meat, and
idea that the

made
the

many

people are deceived by the

the

more gelatinous

more nourishing

FOOD FOR LABORING

soup
;

Mi5N.

33]

but nourishment comes from other elements.

old people, and sedentary people

Still, to

who

are in-

clined to costiveness, they are

wholesome and valuable,

office in the

and the gelatine performs an important

motion of health.

pro-

The

lean,

of beef contains twenty-JSve per cent, of

food for muscles, seventy-five per cent, being water

and waste.
fresh,

It is, if tender, very

easUy digested while

and hard-working men prefer that which has

it

been saJted, as

"stays

by"

better;

and as
is

all

the
it is

insoluble phosphates and

all

the fibrine

retained,

goodj food for them, although the soluble phosphates

and the albumen are

lost

ini

the brine.

Lean meat can

it

never, of course, be eaten alone, not having in

the

necessary carbon to keep up steam to run the machine,

but requires either fat or starch to supply the lungs

with fuel, more or less according to temperature, &c.,
fat

being best adapted

to

supply
;

its

carbonates in winare eaten with

ter

and starch

in

summer

and

if fruits

meat, sugar algo

may

be eaten without injury.

Sugar
keep

seems to accord
mal.
the

w^ith vegetable diet rather than, ani-

There seems, however,

to be required, to

system in good order, some variety, containing

fat,

some

some

starch,

and some sugar

but

it

is

always better to get these principles combined with

food in Nature's
trated
tlour,

ow;n,

way, rather than

find,

in the concen-

form

in

which we
;

them in

lard, butter, fine

to

and sugar

and the more nearly we conform

Nature's arrangements in this respect, as in

the better every

all others,

way.

332

FOOD FOE LABORING MEN.

Fish.

The only

other article of food in

common

use, in

which the nitrates and phosphates are

carbonates, are
climate.

in excess of the
fish in
is

the

common

varieties of

our

The only

available carbon in fish

all

in the fat,

of which, in most species, indeed in

as food in this country or

species used
is

England, there

but
is

little,

the gelatine, of which in

many

species there

a large

proportion, being used for the same purpose as gelatine

in red meat.
It is carbonaceous,

but not digestible,

but serves the valuable purpose of keeping the bowels

in

order.

The carbonates necessary

fish diet,

to

keep up the

steam must, in a

be furnished either in butter,

the fat of other animals, or in the starch of vegetables,

and grains, of which, perhaps, the potato furnishes

Fish
is

the

most valuable supply.

it

more

easily digested
It is

than red meat, but

gives less muscular power.

not, therefore, satisfactory to those

in lifting or steady

whose labor
;

consists

muscular exertion
it

but, having a

larger share of phosphates,

gives activity of muscle,

especially the flesh of such fish as are themselves active,

and may be adapted therefore

to those

whose labor
certainly

re-

quires great activity of muscle, and

diet for

it is

good

work which

requires study and judgment.

To
1

enable us to judge of the amount and proportions of

sarbonaceous

and nitrogenous elements necessary,

FOOD FOR LABOEING MEN.

would
refer to

333

some

practical

experiments collated.

See pages 97-111.

The English government has

fully

for

many

years careit is

experimented on food for soldiers, and

found

that to keep

them

in

good fighting trim,

five

ounces of

nitrogenous and twenty ounces of carbonaceous food

are required daily, and while in active service their
rations always contain this

amount of nourishment.

The Dutch
and
five

soldier has twenty-one ounces carbonates

ounces nitrates while fighting, or preparing to

fight; but in garrison, twenty ounces carbonates

and

three and one half ounces nitrates.

But our American commissaries seem not

given
sufficient

to have

attention

to

the

subject,

even

to

learn the difference between fat pork and lean beef.

Accordingly, at one time our soldiers were obliged to

march a whole day on twelve ounces of fat pork, which

contains not a particle of food for muscles, and hard
tack, which, being

made of

flour out of

which

is

bolted

a large part of

its

nitrates, could not in all that could

be eaten contain one quarter of the nitrates necessary

while at another time the rations might consist of lean
beef,

which has

in

it

little

else than

muscle-making

food.

By

all

the facts that can be gathered from

bills

of

fare of soldiers, sailors, prisoners,

and other working

it is

men whose

diet is accurately observed,

ascertained

that at the average temperature in which

men work,

and with the average

activity, five

ounces of nitrates and

twenty-one ounces of carbonates are required; and in

334

root)

FOE laboring men.

the staple articles of natural food, such as the meats, fat

and lean together, and bread from unbolted grain, milk,

eggs, &c., these necessary principles are found mixed
in about the right proportions
;

and

in eating

them the
he has

appetite will be satisfied with the

amount of food neces;

sary to furnish these twenty-six ounces

set before

but

if

him unnatural

food, that

is,

food from which

has been taken some of

its

principles, as butter, cheese,

or beefsteak, fine flour, or sugar, his appetite will not

direct

him as

to quantity.

For example

He may

eat of white bread and butter all the stomach will contain,

and not be

satisfied,

because nature demands and

for the muscles

the appetite craves

more nutriment

and

brain

or,

on the other hand, he

nifty eat

of cheese, or

beefsteak alone, twice as

muscles, while

theJire is
till

mUch as is needed for the still a demand fbr carbon, which

some other
In either case he will

will not be satisfied

biread, or potatoes, or

carbonaceous food
eat too

is

supplied.

much
and

but if he have before him a variety of

natural food, such as meats or grains or fish, and vegetables

fruits,

he

may

indulge his appetite, espe-

cially in the early part of the day, to the fullest extent,

without harm.

Eating too much, then,

comes of

eating unnatural food.

nials,

Why

should not other ani-

who have Unrestrained access to their natural food, eat too much? But how shall we guard against eating too much,
while indulging in food not
all in its

natural condition?

We

have seen that some

its

articles of food in

common

use, both in

natural and unnatural condition, con-

FOOD FOR lABOElNG MEN.

tain too

335

much

of the carbonaceous and some too

much

of the nitrogenous elements, and

we have

seen by the
it is

tables of analysis, so often referred to, that

easy to

learn which articles contain the right proportions, and

which contain an excess of

ing in
it is

either principle,

and bear-

mind the proportions of each

principle consumed,

easy to adjust a dinner so as to supply the princi-

ples in right proportions.

If the meal consists of meats of average fatness,

more or
weather,

less fat

cooked by

according to the temperature of the

itself,

and

its

juices saved, un-

bolted wheat bread, potatoes and other vegetables, with

milk, and plain puddings from any grain in

state,

its

natural

and any good ripe

desired of any or

fruits,

we might

eat as

much

as

we

all

the articles before us, with-

out varying essentially the proportions of nitrates and

carbonates, and without eating too

much

or, if

we

have

articles too nitrogenous

or beans, or peas

as beefsteak, or cheese,
it is

for dinner,

only necessary to

use with them articles like butter, fat meats, and starch
or sugar,

and vegetables,

to supply the deficiency.

food,

The diflSculty is, that not knowing the constituents of we use together articles which are deficient in the
as white bread butter,

same elements,
liard

and butter, pork and

flour,

tack, sugar,

and

as in cake and

pastry.

(Refer to tables of analysis, pages 120-123

Assistance

may

also

be obtained from the following table,

articles of food in

which shows what quantity of

nse
is

common

required to get the five ounces of nitrates needed

336
daily,

FOOD FOR LABORING MEN.

and how much of carbonaceous food
is

had

at the

same time.

To get the requisite five

ounces of nitrates requires, of

FOOD FOR LABOKING MEN.

Lbs. Oz.
Total.

337
Pr.
ot,

Oz.
Nitr.

Oz.
Ciirb.

Pr. ot

Waste,

Water.

Pork,

5
1 1 1 1 1

110

n
7

38
70 70
75

Lean beef, Lean mutton. Lean veal, Lean pork. Lean fish.
Butter,

4 4 4
5

5 5
5 5 5
all

6*
6

10

60
75

10

Lard,

Fat of
Starch,

all

meats.

75
. .

Sugar,

75

Why

is

a Variety of Food necessary?

Besides the three staple principles for the supply of

muscles, and animal heat, and the brain and nerves,
included under the terms Nitrates, Carbonates, and

Phosphates, other principles are needed and other conditions required to

keep the digestive organs in perfect

condition and the system in perfect working order.

1.

We need

food in amount or bulk sufficient to pro-

duce a proper degree of distention, else the digestive process cannot

go on properly.

The vegetarian

eats

on an

average, perhaps, six pounds in a day, while of mixed

food, of meat, unbolted bread,

and vegetables, and fruits,

If, then,

the average

may

be four pounds.

we

should

undeitake to live on cheese alone, the stomach would col-

22

338

FOOD FOE LABOEING MEN.

its

lapse into one eighth of

natural size, and could not

all.

secrete the necessary juices, or digest at

With

cheese, then,

we must have

vegetables or fruits, or

other less concentrated food, for the purpose of distention

;

and the same remark applies

to meats, beans,

peas, &o., but to a less extent.

3.

We

must have

also waste,

which

is

the natural the diges-

stimulant to produce the healthy action of

tive organs.
If,

all

then,

we

ate only cheese, or white

bread and butter, or confectionery, or pastry, yre should

soon die of constipation.

3.

The

acids

and juices provided

in fruits

and succu-

lent vegetables are

needed also every day, but more in

warm
tem

weather than in cold, to eliminate from the sysmatter; and

:

effete

all nations, civilized

if

OP savage,

make use of them

comes

and

they are not had, the liver

becomes engorged, the brain and the whole system beinactive, and, after a while, the skin breaks out

in sores,

and that degenerate condition or disease superis

venes which

denominated scurvy, to which soldiers

are subject,

and
of

who are deprived of them which so many are known to die,

sailors

and

4.

Food,

to be well digested

and assimilated, must

;

be adapted to the taste of each individual

ner

and a din-

made up of the necessary elements, but of articles Against which we have an antipathy, or so cooked as to
offend the taste, will not be digested at
rejected
all,

but will be

by the stomach, even while the system requires

nourishment.

FOOD FOE LABOEtNG MEN.

339

With

these considerations in mind, let us examine

the foregoing table with a view to a

more

practical

application

to

the

every-day wants of the laboring

man.

What Combination

of Food will meet the daily Requirements of the Laboring Man?

are five ounces of solid nitrates

The daily requirements

for the muscles,

twenty to twenty-two ounces of carbo-

nates for janimal heat, two or three per cent, of phos-

phates for bones and for nervous power, with waste and

water to give
ter

it

bulk, and acids to eliminate effete matthis

from the blood through the liver; and

and not be too easily digested.
the foregoing table

food

must be so prepared and cooked

relish,

as to be eaten with a

By
five

we

see

where we can get the

is

ounces of nitrogenous food, which

the

first

daily

requisite for the laboring

articles of

man, and we

see that in the

food which come unchanged from Nature's

storehouse,

we have

at the

same time a part of

all

the

other requisites, some containing too majay for the ordi-

nary demands of the system, and some not

sufiicient,

making a

variety of food necessary

and we have seen

taste directs to the

also that the natural appetite

and

use of such articles of natural food at the same meal

as will
If,

supply

all

the

demands of the system.

then,

we had

before us every variety of natural

food,
to

and nothing

else,

we might

follow our inclinations

the fullest extent of our capacity without suffering

340
evil

FOOD FOE LABORING MEN.

consequences
;

but perverted as are our tastes and

butter, sugar, starch,
their food for

appetites

by the constant use of

and

lard,

which are separated from

mus-

cles, nerves,

and brains, our appetites and

tastes are

not a true guide, and

we form

a habit of taking too

much carbonaceous
elsewhere described.

food, with consequences such as are

Under
sense.

these circumstances,

it

becomes us

to put our

appetites under the guardianship of reason

and common

And

after

all

the

mystery and darkness in

permitted this subject

which, in our ignorance,

to be enshrouded,
it

we have

is

not a complicated question in-

volving great mental power to comprehend, or

to retain its principles.

memory
very

On

the other hand,

it is

simple, easily understood, and easily remembered.

Articles of

Food in common Use containiu^ an xcess of JVitro^enoos Matter.

all

These are very few, and may

following articles
:

be embraced in the

Cheese, southern corn, beans, peas,

fruits
;

lean meats,
require
as

fish,

green vegetables, and

and these

more

or less food containing carbon in excess,

may

be seen by the degree of deficiency noted in the

;

preceding table

and

all

we have

to

do

is

to supply the

deficiency with the articles containing an excess of car-

bon, as shown also in the table

only remembering

that

we
five

require about twenty ounces carbonaceous food to

ounces nitrogenous.

FOOD FOR LABOBINa MEN.

341

Airticles

of Food in

common Use

containing an Excess

of Carbonaceous Matter.

These consist of

fats

and

oils,

including butter, and

of starch and sugar; and the articles of natural food

in

common

use containing an excess of either of these

are rice, buckwheat, potatoes,

principles

sweet potadomestic ani-

toes, carrots, beets,

and the meats of

all

mals, as they are usually fattened for the market, and

some

species of fish used in northern regions.

But the

articles

from which we derive most of our excess of

heating food are the unnatural articles,

butter, sugar,

lard, superfine flour (flour only containing anything but

heating food, and that only a

fat pork.

little)

and

in

some places
study

With
to

these data before us,

it

requires but

little

understand what

articles of

food are to be used at

articles

the

same meal, and what combination of

It

should
live

be avoided.

would be

folly to

undertake to

on

cheese, or beans, or peas, or lean meat, or fish alone,

or all of

them combined.
die, for

We

should lose our

fat,

and

become cold and

blood.

want of natural warmth of

on
butter, sugar,

It is equal folly to try to live

fine flour, or lard, or all

combined, as in pastry, cake,

to the

&c.

Animals submitted

experiment of such a

combination alone, have died in from thirty to forty

days

and probably three fourths of

bills

all

the deatha

recorded in our

of mortality are the results of

over-heated blood, and consequent inflammations and

342

FOOD FOE LABOEING MEN.

by the excess of carbonaceous food
thei?"

diseases induced

on the organs and functions, rendered weak? and

recuperative

power

lost or greatly impaired, for

want

of the strength-giving nitrates and phosphates required,

as has

been elsewhere explained.

How

few and simple, then, are the requirements

necessary so to combine the principles of food that are

within the reach of
all

industrious families in this coun-

try at least, as to insure at the

same time economy, the

life,

pleasures of eating, health, long

and usefulness

and to

all

but the most perverse and

ungrateful, cheer!

fulness,

and domestic peace and happiness

I venture

the assertion that with one quarter of the time, and

without any of the expense that

is

devoted to the
the

silly

and ridiculous

foibles

made necessary by
losingi,

demand
all

of fashion, these blessings might be secured to

telligent families
;

in-

and instead of

as they
to

now

do, one half of their children before they

rity;

come

matu-

and finding most of the other half

feeble, sickly,

and worthless, except, perhaps, a very few who might

die

from casualties and from diseases inherited from a

"

degenerate ancestry, their sons would

be as plants

grown up

in their youth,"

and

their daughters

"as

comer-stones, polished after the similitude of a palace."

THE ECONOMY OF LIVING NATUKALLT.

343

THE ECONOMY OF TAKING FOOD NATURAL PEOPOETIONS.

Bt
something
is

IN

like

a telegraphic arrangement the

stomach

kept informed of the wants of every organ

;

and function

and, through the appetite, a

demand

is

made

for nitrates for muscular strength, or carbonates

for animal heat, or phosphates for bones,

and nerves,
if

and brain,
food in
its

until

all

are supplied.

And

we

take

natural state, so as to supply

all

these de-

mands

at the

same time, the

appetite

is satisfied

with-

out waste material.

For example, take unbolted wheat

bread and milk, containing, as ,they both do, a due

proportion of elements for muscle, animal heat, and
brains.

The

appetite

is

satisfied

when

just

enough

food

is

taken to supply the ten ounces of carbonates

for twelve hours'

and two and a hal^ ounces of nitrates,

supply.

But suppose we

take, instead, white flour

bread and butter.

When we

have taken the ten ounces

of carbonates which the system requires for the meal,

we have
nitrates

received less than one quarter of the necessary

and phosphates, and

until these principles are

;

supplied the appetite demands more food

and

if

we

attempt to satisfy these demands by the same food,

we must take

four times as

much

of carbonates as are

needed, and the surplus, not being wanted, after em-

344

THE ECONOMY OF

LXVING-

NATUEALLr.
is

barrassing the system for a time,

into the vault.

finally

thrown

off

And

thus,

by our

daily habit of using,

with articles already having their natural proportion of

carbonates, butter, sugar, and fine flour, as
cakes,
pastry, confectionery,
all

we do

in

sweet sauces, &c,,

we

waste three quarters of

these expensive articles.

is

With
on these and

less

than half the expense that

thus wasted
bills,

articles, to

say nothing of the doctor's

loss of time occasioned

all

by inflammatory diseases,

we might purchase
pleasures

the choice fruits,

and vegetables,

and meats necessary

of

to give us the highest gustatory

which we

are

capable

and,

at

the

same time, save

sickness.

doctor's bills

and

loss of

time from

On

natural food, therefore, judiciously se-

lected, a family can

be raised, in the

full

enjoyment

of robust health, and substantial, enduring happiness,

for less

than half the cost of trying to keep alive our

feeble, pale-faced, sickly children

on white bread and

butter, pies, cakes,

and candy.

THE PLEASUEES OP LIVING NATUEAU^Y.

845

NATUEAL FOOD AFFOEDS THE HIGHEST GUSTATORY ENJOYMENT.

That
is

certainly a beautiful provision of our heavis

enly Father, by which perfect happiness

consist in perfect obedience to his laws
tains
to'
;

made

to

and

this per-

every department of our nature, moral and

physical.

Indeed, there can be no real, unalloyed

to moral, mental,

enjoyment but in perfect obedience

physiological,

or physical

law.

It

may

be true in
liveth

dietetics, as it is in morals, that "

no man

and

sinneth

not,"

and therefore no man

enjoys perfect,

unalloyed pleasures in eating; but in the one case,

as in the other, he enjoys most

who most
is

nearly obeys

the laws of his nature.

Every

article

of natural food
flavor,

provided with

its

own
is

particular
it

or osmazome,
article
;

which
this
is

distin-

guishes

from every other

and
it

osmazome

most perfectly developed just when

so prepared

as to be best adapted to furnish us

wholesome nour-

ishment.

Beefsteak has

its

most agreeable flavor defits

veloped with just the amount of cooking that best

it

for digestion.
;

And

this is

true of all meats and

vegetables

while the peach, and other fruits which

flavor

need no cooking, have their most agreeable

developed without cooking, and, when fully ripe, the

346

THE PLEASTJEES OF LIVING NATDEALLY.

amount of cooking diminishes
their
flavor,

Blightest

their flavor, as

any extra cooking or re-cooking of meats and vegetables

diminishes

and renders them

less

wholesome.
This principle, osmazome, seems to be imparted
foy

no other purpose than to xaqke food agreeable, and

give us gustatory pleasure.
ral
taslies

And

of course our natu-

aye jpiade to harmonize with these natural

to

flavors,

so as

enable us to appreciate and enjoy

them
them

and^ until they are perverted,

we do

enjoy

just as all other pleasures of the senses afford

till

pleasure unalloyed

perverted.

A child who

has never tasted of pies, cakes, candy,

yi^ill

or any other unnatural food,

much
tihem.

prefer wheat

bread and milk, or

fruit, to

any of

This I have
eaten noth-

seen in a grandson four years old,

who had

ing but milk, unbolted meal bread,

fruit?,

and other
little

natural food, and who, in a large party of

all

ooes,

eating cakes and confectionery, could not be intill

duced to eat a thing,

he found an apple, which he

recognized as natural food.

The

inference, then, that

butter and sugar must be good, because children love

them,

is

fallacious.

Their natural love

in milk

is for butter

and sugar as they are found

and

fruits, in their

natural combinations with other necessary elements.

The
tJie

first

time sugar or butter

is

is

given to a child

sensation

such as to produce a shudder, and the

little

victim clearly indicates a disapprobation of such

;

concentrated sapidity

but he so soon yields to his fate

KESPOKSIBILITY OF PARENTS.
that parents

347

eome

to think his love for these things is

natural.

The
life,

taste is generally

tampered with in the

its

fiist

hour of
ful

by the sugar and water which

lest the

thought-

nurse administers

poor thing might starve

it
;

before Nature gets ready to provide for

for the hiccups

and thon,
is

which

this

unnatural feeding
;

sure to

produce,
is

it

must have pure sugar

first
is

and thus the taste

life,

perverted in the
solid food that

week of

its

and then the

is,

first

put into

its

mouth

probably,

white bread, spread, perhaps, with butter.

No, no

Nature

is

not so inconsistent as to give us

a natural taste for unnatural food.

Nothing, to

my

mind, can be clearer than that the responsibility of

the love

of

concentrated carbonaceous food,

which

undoubtedly causes, directly or indirectly, three fourths

of all the sickness, suffering, and death of our children, rests on parents.

And

yet

how hard

it

is

to

convince them that what their mothers did for them,

and what they lived through, can be wrong.

In vain you remind them of their
less

hardy brothers

and

sisters,

who have long

since been laid in the grave

from inflammations and other diseases induced by heating food.

In vain you show them the reasonableness

of obeying Nature's laws, and the fact that animala

who do obey them enjoy

offspring."

health,

and
is,

lose

none of

their

Their only answer

"I

feed

my

child

as

my

mother fed me.

I did very well.

I guess the

little

sugar, and cake,

and white bread and butter

But, I thank God,

which I give won't hurt them."

348

RESPONSIBILITY OF PAEENTS.

there are those

who have

sense enough to see the folly

of such persistence in wrong, and who, giving reason

and common sense control over

the right as soon as they learn

silly prejudices,
it.

pursue

Such

will

have the

happiness to see their brains transmitted to healthy and

useful children, while those
their

whose only rule

is to

do as

mothers did before them will transmit a race more

silly, feeble,

and degenerate than themselves (for the

of disobedience accumulate from genera-

evil

effects

tion to generation),

and

will see

them

living a

life

of struggle with disease

turely

and

suffering, or will

prema-

bury them, murmuring, perhaps, at the cruelty

of their fate.

Suppose a mother,

in

ordinary health, having a

healthy husband, should always live on natural food,

or, at least,

should commence, seven or eight months

is

before her child

lips

born, and allow nothing to pass her

all

but food containing

it,

the elements that nature

in

has furnished in

and should take no elements

Nature furnishes
and
pure water,
till

liquids but such as

fruits,

in the juices of

vegetables,

milk,

and conis

tinue that course, without exception,

old
for

the child

enough to be weaned

having

all

the materials

making a

perfect child, just as they are naturally

fail to

provided, will Nature

to

use these materials, so as

?

leave any organ or function defective

Having

lime, silex, potash, and insoluble phosphates for the

bones and teeth, with no foreign elements to interfere

with the process of forming them, perfect teeth will
surely be formed.

Having nitrogenous elements

for

EESPONSIBILITY OF PARENTS.

849

muscles and solid tissues, soluble phosphates and other

materials for the brain and nerves, carbon and hydro-

gen for adipose matter and to furnish animal heat,

and
tions

all

these elements and principles in the combina-

and proportions which she herself has adjusted,

fail to

Nature cannot
parts

furnish a child perfect in all

its

and functions.
it

Then, supposing

continues to be furnished with

natural food and drinks, allowing no foreign elements

to enter the system,

and conforming

to other necessary

requirements as to pure
fortable

air, cleanliness, exercise,

com-

temperature, protection, &c., when can the

organs or functions begin to be imperfect, or to become

diseased?

Indeed,

if

he should not, in

all

respects,

conform

to laws of his being, his constitution, being

kept in order by natural food, will have recuperative

power
again,

to

ward

oflF

or overcome

the evil effects, and

health, nevertheless, be continued or restored.

Then,

with recuperative powers, derived from con-

forming to Nature's laws, and living on natural food,

diseases from external causes, as small-pox, measles,

&c.,

could

all
it

be controlled,
is

and made harmless.

Surely, fhen,

a sin and a shame, as well as a

misfortune, to have feeble, half-developed, sickly chil-

dren

and, instead of murmuring at the Providence

that removes

them from

us,

we should

repent, in dust

and ashes,

that,

by our neglect of the clearly-revealed

it

laws of Nature,

becomes a merciful necessity

to re-

move them from

the evil to

come; and

if

too late, for

benefit to ourselves

and our children, to do works meet

350

SOME

XjTVFj

is spite or

weong

habits.

for repentance)

we

should cease not to teach the young

health,

the laws of life

and

and "

to

warn every one,

night and day, with tears," to escape the punishment

which has been

inflicted

on us

for our transgressions.

But we

shall

meet a

class of cases

harder to reach

than those

who have

suffered the loss of health

and

the loss of children.

Those

who

live

and seem to enjoy Health wrong Habits of Uving.

in spite of

An
key or

old toper,

who has kept

his copper hot with whis-

rum

for half a century,

and yyho has outlived

all his

drinking companions by scores of years, cannot

is

see that he lives because he that which has killed

all

too tough to be killed

by

Ms

old toper friends, but very

likely thinks he should

have been dead long ago but for

alcohol.

the preserving

power of

An

excellent old lady of seventy-five years,

till

who had
it

taken green tea from her youth,

by the tannin

contained her skin had been dried ap.d tanned into the

resemblance of what indeed

it

really was,

dark-brown

leather, said to a friend, in sober earnest, "

There

will

probably be very few more old people in Boston, for

everybody

is

leaving off drinking green tea."

lived
fifty-eight

After Carnaro

.years

on twelve

ounces of solid food and fourteen ounces of light wines

each day, containing a mere
trifle

of alcohol. Professor
,

Lewes

(hinjself a drinker of alcohol)

"

wonders that

SOME LrVE IN SPITE OF WRONG HABITS.

intelligent

351

men,

in view of such a fact, can doubt that

alcohol

is

nutritious."

I have tried in vain to persuade a young mother,

has inherited a good constitution, and
children, all but

who

who

is

one of six

two of

whom

lived to rpaturjty, the

remaining four, however, being subject to dyspepsia,

neuralgia, colics, and
all

the other sufferings induced

by too heating food, to bring up her child in obedience

to Nature's laws, trying to

show hpr

that the chances

of

its

living to

grow up

will be doubled,
it

and her exwill

emption from suffering vastly greater, as

liable to sickoess,

be

less

and have greater recuperative power

is

to

overcome

it

but she says she

willing to trust her

child with the

lived through,

same

treatnient that she herself had,

and

and so

in the first winter of life the top

it

of
is

its

lungs are exposed by low-neoked dresses, and

fed with sugar, cakes, white bre9,d and butter, &c.,

as
it

and now,

has lived through the winter and spring

without lung fever,

is

as I told her
is

it

might not,

she
it

fuUy confirmed that she

its
life

right,

and

will probably
till,

go on risking

further and further

unless

proves tougher than the majority of children, some in-

flammatory disease will take

then
it is

it

from them

and even

hardly probable she will be convinced of her

responsibility in the case.

And

thus

it is

now,

as in the

times of Ecclesiastes the Preacher, " Because sentence

against an evil

work

is

not executed speedily, therefore

the heart of the sons of

evil."

men

is

fully set in

them

to

do

352

FOOD FOE BEDENTABY PEOPLE.

FOOD FOR SEDENTAEY PEOPLE.

By
fire

experiments made on
in

five

hundred prisoners, in
least their

jails

Scotland,
that

it

was found that the

in a

amount of food
perature,

would keep men up to

still

standard weight while sitting

moderate tem-

was four ounces of

solid

nitrogenous food

and thirteen ounces of carbonaceous.

that soldiers in active service,

And we

also see
re-

and laboring men,

quire from twenty to twenty-three ounces of carbonates

and

five

ounces of nitrates.

By

these data

we can

estimate the

amount of

these

principles required in different degrees of exercise, but

we must

also consider the difference in quality of food

adapted to different conditions.

Laboring men require

as gives

more of such nitrogenous f6od

most

fibre

and

strength of muscle, as the flesh of active animals, cheese,

beans, peas, &c., which contain fibrine and casein, which

make
quire
fish,

fibrine for the muscles; while sedentary

men

re-

more of gluten and albumen, which are found

eggs, grain,

in

&c.
to

Then, again, the carbonates

sedentary
life

which are adapted

starch, rather than

are

sugar and

most of the

fat of meats,
effete

and they

need more of acids to eliminate

liver,

matter from the

activity.

which accumulates for want of

They

FOOD FOE SBDENTAP.Y PEOPLE.

353

need, also, more waste material, to keep the bowels in

action,

and therefore require, besides the grains

in their

natural state, more vegetables and fruits, which furnish

waste as well as acids

c'ples are

and these waste and acid prin-

needed more in spring than at any other time,

especially the acid fruits.

Not

that that

is

Nature's ar-

rangement, or that these requirements would be needed

if

we

lived in winter as

we should

but sedentary peo-

ple spend

most of

their time in winter in a

warm

atmos-

phere, and need, therefore, vegetables and fruits almost

as

much

as in

summer; but not having them, and

eat-

ing more of the fatty materials which produce this state

of things, the liver becomes engorged with effete matter,

which vegetable food alone

is

adapted to remove.

This can be tolerated in winter, when the system has

more physical energy,

is

especially if a part of the time

air.

spent in the open

on,

But when warm weather

becomes dormant, the

comes
liver,

and

the

system

partaking of the general inactivity, cannot per-

form the extra duties of disgorging matter thus accumulated, and jaundice, and other bilious
ensue.
the liver
difficulties

In such cases medicines which act directly on

may

afford temporary relief; but Nature's sovis

ereign remedy
tables.

found in the juices of

fruits

and vege-

Sedentary people not only need

diflPerent
it

kinds of
differently

food from active laborers, but they require

cooked.

Active

men can

live

and thrive on salted and

boiled meats, as I have before explained, out of which

have been taken the soluble phosphates and the albu23

354

FOOD FOE 8EDEKT4RY PEOH^B.

give

men, because they retain the elements which

strength to bones and mtiscles
are essential to sedelitary
;

but these last elements

also the sugar,

men, as are

albumen, and soluble phosphates of vegetables, which

are lost in soaking

and boiling

in water, unless the

is

water in which they are boiled or soaked

retained

and used as gravy or soup.

Active men, having also good digestive powers, can
dispose of food out of which
is

taken, by salting, or

soaking or boiling, the osmazome, or flavor, which so

essentially assists in the digestion of food; but those

who have
all

little

out-of-door exercise, and require less

food, having less powers of digestion, need the aid of

these flavors, and every other auxiliary to digestion.

therefore, have all their food so

They should,
to retain

cooked as

every element and every quality which Nature

it,

has provided in
the taste,

so as to

make

it

most agreeable

to

and most

digestible.

Flavor,

which
tile,

is essential

to ^ood Digestion, is volalost in cooking.

and may be

That principle which gives

relish to food,

and wh."ch

distinguishes one article from another, called

[
;t

osmazome,
to

have explained, and I propose here only

can be preserved in cooking.

show how

Go
find

into

any house where meats and vegetables are

combined
of every

being cooked in the open air iu the basement, and you

the air
filled

with the

flavor

FOOD FOR SEDENTAKT PEOPLE.

article.

"5f.

Of

course

all

the flavor thus diffused

it,

is

losi

for the purpose for

which Nature intended

and the
it is

food

is

rendered insipid to the extent to which

thus

diffused,
Tliis is

and

to the

same extent
fact

it

becomes

indigestible.

proved by the

adverted to (page 214), where

good meat was boiled

zonie

in the

open

air

till

all

its

osma-

was removed, but which retained

;

all

other essential

elements

and the stomach of the dog, which was allowed

it

no other food, so rejected

that, rather

than eat

it,

he

would have died of starvation.

All meats and vegetables should therefore be cooked

by a process which not only saves the soluble

the

nitrates,

phosphates, and carbonates, as before stated, but also

osmazome

and

for that purpose, the steamer inis

vented by Zimmermann, and improved by Duncklee,

an admirable arrangement, saving, as

flavor,

it

does, all the

and condensing
is

it

in the

water at the bottom,

80 that the smell

not perceptible in the house or

kitchen in which

it is

cooked, and so that

it

may

all

be

returned to the meats or vegetables, vastly improving

their flavor

and

digestibility.

The
them

flavor of soups

may

also

be greatly improved by
first

putting together every article to be used,

in cold water,

soaking
in the

and using that water only

steamer, then steaming them gently, so as not to allow

the steam to escape,

and serving

all

the liquid that re-

mains, diluted more or less to suit the taste.

Soup

thus made, with a variety of vegetables, and one kind

of meat not before cooked,

is

to

an unperverted

taste

356

FOOD FOR SEDENTAET PEOPLE.

single condiment

delicious, without the addition of a

except a
relish

little

salt,

(and the

taste

may be
;

trained to
is

soup and other food without

little
is

salt

but there

no

evidence that a

injurious.

Cattle that have

access to salt eat all they

want without injury.)

Of

course

its

flavor

may be

varied to suit the tastes of the

famUy, by using such vegetables as are most agreeable,

and by avoiding any
any.
article

known

to be offensive to

Roast meats

may

also be greatly

improved by

first

steaming them for a short time with the vegetables to

be used, and saving the water, to be used with the drippings of the meat for gravy, instead of the vile stuff

made of

flour

and butter and

spices,

which

is

usually

served for gravy.

Only one kind of meat should ever be cooked

same steamer or roaster
by mixing the no variety.
flavors, all

in the

at the

same time
alike,

otherwise,

meats taste

and we get

For

this reason, hotel life

soon becomes

tiresome, and the food loathsome.

All the meats being

cooked in the same oven, and served, with the same

gravy, you

may

call for beef,

pork, veal, mutton, or

chicken, but cannot tell by the taste which

you

get.

FOOD FOR WINTEE.

S57

FOOD FOE WINTEE.

That carbonaceous food furnishes animal heat is clearly proved, and that, therefore, we need more starch, or fat, to keep us warm in winter, just as we need more coal and wood to warm our apartments, there is no doubt. Some hypercritical professor, who rides theoretical physiology as a hobby, may again object to the
comparison, unless I fully explain the difference be-

tween combustion of which animal heat

to explain to
is

fuel

and the
;

vital
if

process

by

produced

but

am

able so

common-sense minds the use of carbonaits

ceous food, as to enable them to obtain

benefits

and

avoid

its

evUs, I care very

little

for cavilling criticism.

fats

I have already explained the fact that

and

oils,

having in them no water, contain two and one half

times
I

more carbon than

starch and sugar, that contain

large per cent, of water.

Fats and

oils, therefore,

are adapted to cold weather,

when

large supplies of
this

heat are needed

and accordingly Nature furnishes

principle in cold climates, in the adipose covering of

the flesh of seals, whales, and other animals which need

it

for their

own

protection from the cold, and also in

the corn and grains, which contain oil as well as starch

proportion to the cold of the climate in which

it

358
grows.
lander

FOOD FOR WINTER.

(See plates on page 00.)

So that the Greenfor heat supplied

may have

his excessive

demand

by the excessive

fatness of the seals

and bears of that

oil

region, and the Canadian can be supplied by the

and

starch of his corn, either directly in his corn cakes, or

indirectly in the fat
cattle.

which they furnish to

his pigs

and

People who

live in the

open

air in cold climates are

not in danger of eating too

much carbonaceous
is

food,

even the gallon of whale

dles,

oil,

or twelve pounds of cansaid to eat in a day,

which an Esquimaux

woman

being only enough to keep up the necessary heat.

they

But

who live in warm houses, and seldom go out in the cold, may and generally do eat too much carbonaceous food and not having in winter so much of the coun;

teracting influence of fruits

suffer

and succulent vegetables,

even more from that cause than in summer.

is it

Why

that

we

suffer

more from inflammatory

as

dis-

eases, especially of the throat, air passages

in winter

and lungs,
in winter,

than

iri

summer ? Eating,

we do

more
less

fat

meat, buttered cakes, buckwheats, &c., with

of fruits and vegetables, and spending most of our

time in

warm rooms, we keep up

that heated condition

it

of the system which predisposes

to inflammations,

and exposing, as we do, perhaps, for twenty-three out

of the twenty-four hours, the nasal organs, air passages

and lungs,

to a

warm and

relaxing atmosphere, and

then for one hour, perhaps, exposing them to air below

the freezing point,

and perhaps

at zero, the vessels of

the

mucous membranes are

first

expanded and

filled

FOOD FOR WINTER.

359

with blood, and then suddenly contracted and the blood

expelled.

This naturally causes inflammation of the parts thus

exposed, rather than other parts not thus exposed, and
thus in winter

we have

catarrh, sore throat, bronchitis,

king fevers, &c., unless perchance

we

get a chill on some

air

muscles or other organs by exposure to currents of

or

damp

clothing

then

we may

have, instead, rheuma-

tism or gout, or some other disease to which

predisposed.

we may be

Nature evidently made provision

us to live mostly in the open air
starch in grains
all
;

in each climate for

for

we

find that the

fat in
ele-

and seeds, and the proportion of

proportion

animals, compared with the

are

muscle-making
to

ments,

furnished

in

the

average

amount of cold

for the year of the climate in

which

the animals or grains

grow

or live.

For example
to

The weight of wheat

gluten
;

is

mostly made up of starch and

and hundreds of analyses have been made

ascertain their relative proportions in different climates

of Europe, and

it is

found to vary from the cold north-

ern states of Scotland and Northern Kussia, from ten per cent, of gluten in these northern climates to thirtyfive

per cent, in Italy and Turkey and the more south-

ern climates, the remainder being mostly starch. the

And
in this

same

fact has

been shown by comparing the wheat

of

Canada with

that of Georgia and

to

Alabama

country.

And

show

that this

is

not an accidental

circumstance, wheat from Canada has been sown and

raised in Georgia,
.

and the

first

year

it

will

produce

360
nearly the

FOOD FOR WINTER.

amount of starch
if

as

the

same kind

in

Canada
gia, the

but

the product be

again raised in

Georit

next crop will contain less starch, and

if

will

thus continue to diminish,

pro2)ortions are the

continuously raised,

till its

same

as

Georgia wheat

and the

change will be reversed by raising Georgia wheat in

Canada

and the same

effect is

produced by the same

process on corn and other grain.

For

those, therefore,

who
er,

in this climate live mostly in

little

warm

houses, and

spend but

time in open

air,

and for warm weathis

bread from Southern corn and Southern wheat

much more wholesome than from Northern corn

wheat.

or

OHEONIO DISEASES CURED.

361

CHEONIC DISEASES CUEED BY DIET.

In another chapter I have shown that extra carbonaceous food, by keeping up the heat of the blood above
its

natural temperature, predisposes the whole system

to fevers

and inflammations, and renders these fevers

less easily cured, just as

and inflammations

exposure of
renders
difficult

wood and other combustible substances to heat them liable to combustion, and makes it more
to

subdue the flames

if

once commenced.
is

Extra carbonaceous food, then,

the predisposing

cause of catarrhs, sore throats, lung fevers, and inflam-

mations generally.

The

exciting cause

is

change of

temperature, producing undue contraction and expansion of blood vessels

;

but

if there

is

sufficient recu-

perative

power

in the

system, these diseases will be

off.

prevented or immediately thrown

Accordingly we find that the same exposure which

will

produce disease in one person will be entirely

;

harmless in another

and some

facts

have recently

come
those

to light

which go to corroborate the idea that

who

take no extra carbonaceous food have power

not only to resist the encroachments of disease, but

have recuperative powers that produce wonderful

in the cure of disease
ture's laws,
:

effects

so that, living according to

Na-

we may

not only hope to be exempt from

362

HEKNIA CURED BY DIET.

diseases, but
infirmities of

new
and

may

also get rid of chronic diseases

even twenty-five years' standing.

first

My

attention

was

called to this fact

by the

state-

ment of Banting,

the fat

Englishman, who reduced his

weight by abstaining from carbonaceous, and eating

freely of nitrogenous

and phosphatic food, that while

living

on

this diet,

a hernia, for which he had worn a

truss for

many

years,

was almost

entirely cured

and

during the
tion
still

last year-

a case has come under

my observabeen

more remarkable.

A gentleman who has

is

obliged to wear

a truss for inguinal hernia for nearly

twenty-five years, and

who

now

sixty-four years old,

having for the

last

two years eaten no extra carbo-

naceous food, has been gradually recovering from the

hernia,

and now for some months has

left off his truss

entirely.

At
;

first

these cures seemed to

me

almost

miraculous
the cause

at least I could see

effect;

no connection between

and

but on reflection, I
:

am

convinced

that the explanation

is this

Hernia

is

caused by want

of tone and consequent relaxation of the abdominal

muscles, occasioned, perhaps, generally by want of

cient nitrogenous food.

suffi-

The tendons
intestines,

are not

drawn

together suflSciently taut at the ring to retain perfectly

the

flowing
;

and slippery

and

they pass

through

but by leaving off extra carbonates, and tak-

ing instead the nitrogenous food, which gives streno'th

to muscles, their tone is restored, the

tendons are drawn

taut,

and the bowels are retained.

following case of family idiosyncrasy I think
light

The
gives

some

on the influence of nitrogenous food

EFFECTS OF FOOD TOO NITEOGENOUS.

on the muscular
tissues
:

363

A few years

since, a physi-

cian in Boston, in a

good but not harassing

practice,
for a

became so
long time

affected

by disease of the heart that

think a year

he

could not attend to

to the

business, and at times

was brought apparently

point of death.
sulting all the
especially

He

travelled from city to city, conin the counti-y,

most eminent physicians

such as

made

heart disease

a specialty.
;

They

all

agreed that his case was anomalous

his father

and

inasmuch as

and one brother had died of a

similar disease, they naturally supposed his

fatal also.

would prove

But he recovered, and

that he

is

now

enjoying good

health and engaged in active practice.

Knowing

was an extravagant

eater of cheese,

the most concentrated nitrogenous food,

and
food in

nlsii

seeing the

extraordinary

effects

of such

tlie

cases just referred to, and, therefore, suspecting that

cheese might have had something to do with the case,

I called on him, and obtained the following facts

His father and

all

his brother, as well as himself,

;

were

extravagant eaters of cheese

eating

it

at all times in

the day, and in great quantities;

course, great powers of digestion
(ian digest
:

and they had, of

for a

stomach that

cheese in half-pound quantities can digest

anything.

And

the old gentleman died at eighty-four,

heai-t,

of what was considered organic disease of the

retaining his digestive powers to the last.

The brother
;

died C(jmparatively young, with similar

symptoms

and

the doctor, after struggling for a long time with similar

364

EFFECTS OF FOOD TOO NITROGENOUS.

eymptoms, seemed to be approaching a similar end,

when he gave up cheese

recover.

for a time,

and soon began to

Since then, for two or three years, having

half his former quantity of cheese,

eaten less than

he seems perfectly well.

The
and

doctor's case wasjiot, of course, organic disease,

my

diagnosis of the three cases

is this

All eating

probably two or three times more nitrogenous and phosphatic food than was necessary to supply the requisite

muscular and nervous power, and, as in the cases referred to, where the right proportions of this kind of food

gave new tone to the abdominal muscles, and enabled

them

to

overcome a hernia and cure

it,

so in their

cases, excess of the

same food produced an excessive

tone and tension to the muscular system, and the heart,

being a muscular organ, the action of which must be

regular and not excessive to perform
,

its

functions prop-

erly, that

was the organ on which

this excess of tone

itself,

and tension most clearly manifested

and the

symptoms were

precisely such as might have been ex-

pected under such circumstances.

The
full

circulation
irregular,

was very rapid, and the pulse very

and
at times,

and

for

eighteen hours

without ceasing, the heart would beat with such force

as to jar the

bed on which the doctor lay, and then

if

suddenly, as
rest.

exhausted, would calm

down

as if to

With

recuperative powers such as

is

induced by such

food and such powers of digestion. Nature holds out

wonderfully, and for a whole year she was able to grap-

EFFECTS OF FOOD TOO NITROGENOUS

pie with the difficulty,
till

865

relief finally

came by remov-

ing the cause

and now,

if

he will allow himself to take

is

no more nitrogenous food than

ounces in a day, his chances of
of any other
respects.

necessary, say five

are as good as those
in other

life

man

in the

same circumstances

His brother, continuing

his extra nitrogenous diet to

the last, and, having less recuperative power, perhaps,

succumbed
His
father,

to the first attack in

two or three weeks.

vital

having extraordinary

energy, endured

the strain of extra nervous and muscular

power

to a

good old age, but, continuing

the last, he yielded also to the

his extraordinary diet. to

first

attack.

But other
dencies, abscess,

cases

show more

directly the recuperative

effect of natural food.

gentleman of scrofulous ten-

who had had

was induced,

for eight or ten years

an open
his gen-

for the

improvement of

eral health, to abstain

from extra carbon, and take food

rich in nitrogen

and phosphorus, and almost immediately

to heal,

the abscess

began
and

and

in a

few weeks

it

ceased
it.

to discharge,

this

without any local application to

Another gentleman had a kind of gouty enlarge-

ment of
to walk.

the great toe joints,

which had become chronic,

to enable

and which required boots of extra width

him

For improvement

in general health,

he also

adopted natural food exclusively, and in a few months

could wear narrow, genteel boots, without the least pain
or inconvenience.

These three very suggestive cases have come under

my

observation within the last year

and among the

366
large
" the

CHEONIC DISEASES OUEED.

number who have already adopted

Philosophy of Eating " (even

practicallj'

now reckoned by

hundreds) , there are probably other cases that have not

been brought to

my

notice.
suflScient to establish

These cases, though not

an im-

portant theory, at least give us reason to hope for more

benefit

from living philosophically than I had dared

to

anticipate.

They show

at least that, to

some

extent, ab-

staining from extra carbonaceous food

that which
is

and using instead

nitrogenous and phosphatic, the system has

increased power not only to resist the encroachments of

diseases, but also to

overcome and cure them.

NOTE TO THE SECOND EDITION.

Dec.
24, 1868.

In the four months since this chapter was written, I

have seen

cases,

showing that by the combined influence

food and homceopathic

of nitrogenous and phosphatic

medicines, scrofulous ulcers, tubercles, and ulceration of

the lungs, scrofulous and fatty tumors, can be cured

and in one

case,

two ovarian tumors, producing enorin

mous

distension,

were entirely removed

two months,

leaving the patient in

more vigorous health than she had

been before for years.

FOOD FOE SDMMBB.

367

FOOD FOR SUMMER.

In warm climates Nature provides
for necessary

starch and sugar

animal heat, not

;

fat;

and gluten and albufat

men

for

muscular power

while in cold climates

and starch are the carbonates.

Ripe

fruits

and green

vegetables have mostly sugar for their carbonates, and

gluten and albumen for their nitrates.

Grains and

seeds have mostly starch for carbonates, and gluten

and albumen

for their nitrates

and

it

is

worthy of
in the
oil,

notice that while grain, especially corn

growing

Northern States and Canada, has a large share of

the corn of Southern states has not a sixth as

much.

Animals, also, of northern climates, eating the grain

that contains fattening oil,

have much more adipose

covering to their flesh than the same species in southern

climates.

These are clear intimations that sugar and

starch are appropriate principles for furnishing animal

heat in
weather.

warm

weather, and fat and

starch

in

cold

We

also find a larger proportion of starch in

wheat

and corn (Southern corn having but half the starch in

proportion to gluten as Northern corn) , and, indeed, in
all

grains in northern climates.

We

find, also, that the

warmer

the climate the greater the

abundance of sue-

368

FOOD FOR SUMMEE.

fruits,

culent vegetables and

whose carbonates
from
all

consist al-

most entirely of sugar.

And

these facts

we

are

shown

that vegetables, grains, and fruits are intended for

warm

weather, and that meats, especially fat meats, are

Fish, however, of every
for

better adapted to cold weather.

climate,

furnishes

appropriate food

that

climate
those
of

those

of Northern waters

being fatter than

Southern.

A little reflection on these data will

fare for

suggest a

bill

of

warm

natural state,

avoiding Northern corn and wheat,

come along,
the
in the

weather, consisting of the grains in their

vegetables, fruits and berries, as they

most succulent being furnished

warmest part of

the season, with lean meats and fish, and only enough

of butter or fat to
especially,

make them

palatable, avoiding,

stimulating

condiments

and concentrated

combinations of heating food, as pastry, cakes, flour

puddings, white bread and butter, &c., these carbonaceous articles of food being undoubtedly a predisposing
cause of the dysenteries, dyspepsias, liver and bowel
complaints, that are so prevalent in

warm

weather.

And
ers
;

it is

not an argument against this theory that

nursing children are as liable to these diseases as othfor,

according to the doctrine I have endeavored

to establish, the influence of

carbonaceous food

is

the

same on the nursing

the

child,

through the mother, as on

weaned

child

directly.

Nor

is

it

an argument

against the free use. of fruits and vegetables, that, if

taken only occasionally, and in excess, they produce or

excite these very diseases
;

for

it

is

true in this case,

FOOD FOR SUMMER.

369

as in every other, that that which in regular use and

appropriate quantities

is

wholesome, in irregular use

and

in excess is the source of suffering and diaease.

Besides, if children were constantly supplied with fresh

and wholesome
eat

fruits

and vegetables, they would never

them

in excess.

24

370

DYSPEPSIA

ITS

CAUSE AND ODKB.

PEEVENTION AND CUEE OF DYSPEPSIA.

The
grand port of entry for the human system
is

the

stomach, and the senses of taste and smell are placed,

as sentinels, to

guard

its

portals

and,

if

not tampered

with and demoralized, they would not, under any pretence, allow a particle of matter, solid or liquid, to

enter

it,

except food as organized and prepared in

Nature's

own

laboratory, and drinks composed of milk,

;

the juices of fruits and plants, and pure water

these

and

would only be admitted

as they are needed to

supply the necessary elements as fast as they are used

up- and cast off from the system. All animals in their natural state range at large in
the sphere assigned them, and have access to everything,

good and bad

but their appetites and tastes,

as sentinels and guardian angels, allow, not a particle that

would be injurious

to enter the stomach.

Though
in the

there might be found

in the

same

field,

and even

same plant, the natural food and the deadly poison,

they are directed, with unerring certainty, to take such
food as contains the elements required to keep them in
health,

and

to reject everything that

all

would be

injuri-

ous.

Having, therefore,

that

is

requisite to

keep

the stomach

and digestive organs

in health,

and noth-

ing to disturb their secretions and functions, they never

dyspepsia: its Cilse and oueb.

371

have dyspepsia, or any other disease, except such as

by accident. Does any one doubt that man would be as exempt from dyspepsia, and, indeed, from
are induced

perfectly
all

other

diseases, if he lived as entirely on natural food, and

obeyed as perfectly
believe otherwise
is

all

the laws of his nature?

believe
that

To

to

our Maker has

taken less care of his most perfect work than of his

inferior productions.

Do you

say that

man

has less

power

to discriminate

between the good and the bad

because his senses of smell and taste are less acute?

That may be true

but are not his intellect and reason

for

more than an equivalent

mal senses ?

any deficiency

in his ani-

Our

senses of smell and taste are,

how-

ever, sufficiently acute to guide us, if unperverted by

the use of food out of which has been taken some of

its

essential elements,
it

and by poisonous

articles.

And,
natural
;

as

is,

they are faithful sentinels

still,

as far as they
its

are allowed to be, and admit no food in

condition but at

the right time and

in right quantities

BO that, in regard to the grains, meats, milk, vegetables,

and

fruits, in their natural state, if

we

ate noth-

ing else,

we might

eat as

much of them

as the appetite

demanded, without injury.

But

a faithful sentinel might admit to the gairison one

to

who might prove

though, at
first,

be the

vilest traitor or

spy

and

he might be suspicious of him, might,

to
like

after a while,

come
officer;

him, and treat him with

kindness,

if,

at first,

he had been ordered to admit him

by a superior

so these sentinels of the stoni-

572
aich

dyspepsia: its cause and cure.

admit, and

come

to

have confidence

in,

and even

ardently love, not only butter, sugar, starch, fat, and

other articles which are injurious, in that unnatural,

concentrated state in which

vilest

we

use them, but even the

weeds and compounds containing the most poisonous principles, as tobacco, alcoholic drinks, opium,
hashish,
<S;c.

Under these circumstances,

it

may

be

questioned whether, with these perverted appetites and

tastes,
it

is

possible to return to natural food alone, so

as to bring

back the system to

its

normal condition,
to

and make
which
it is

it

exempt from the diseases and suffering

thus

made

liable.

Whether or not it is possible to restore a degenerate and diseased body to a state of perfect health, one thing
is

encouraging

we

find,

by the testimony of

all

who

resolve to live as nearly right as possible, that they

succeed in improving their condition far beyond their

expectations, and that just in proportion as they ap-

proximate to Nature's standard

is

their approximation
;

to health, as also to the enjoyments of eating

and

in

just the proportion as they eat natural food, properly

cooked, and allow nothing else to enter the stomach,

are they free from dyspepsia, and the thousand

and one

pains and

ills

that are connected with

their natural
state

it.

Animals
dyspepsia,

in

never suffer from

till

because, from the day of their birth

the day of their death, being left free to follow their

natural appetites and tastes, they never take into their

stomachs a particle of matter, solid or liquid, but natural food

and pure water

but the appetites and tastes

dtspjepsia: its peevention

of children are not
left

and cure.

373

unper verted for a single day,

at
is

"they go astray as soon as they be born,"

child
is

and

that

a lucky exception

who
:

escapes unnatural food

as if

for the first six hours of life

fault as not to provide

Nature was so
it

nourishment as soon as

needed.

As
first

a natural consequence, the symptoms of

dyspepsia, such as flatulence, colic, &c.,

commence
and pains

on the

day of

life

and then come the catnip

and camomile

teas, to relieve the flatulence

induced by the sugar, which are sure to induce other

pains worse and more enduring; and thus, on the
first

day of
at the

life

is

inaugurated, not only dyspepsia, but,

per-

same time, a system of treatment which

all
life,

petuates

manner of

diseases

and

sufferings to the

end of
of
life

and which diminishes the average length

" threescore years

from

and ten

" to

from

thirty

to thirty-three years.
evils is also laid

And

the foundation for these

during the period of nursing, and even

before birth, as I have before explained, by the neglect

of the mother to furnish elements for a perfect organization,

and by furnishing,

instead, elements which, not

being needed, are injurious.

And

having, in such culpable ignorance, laid the

foundation, and inaugurated a system, and formed appetites for unnatural food,

by which these diseases and

fol-

sufferings are so early

commenced, we, of course,

low on, thoughtlessly, in the way in which our parents have started us, in the use of heating food and deleterious drugs,
till

we

inevitably fall a prey to the dis-

eases which are thus induced and perpetuated.

And,

3T4
to

dyspepsia: its prevention and cure.

is,

every reflecting mind, the wonder

not that so

many

are troubled with dyspepsia, but rather that any

escape.

The Process of Digestion.

The most important agents

pancreas
the

in the process of digestion

are the juices of the mouth, the stomach, the liver,

and

the gastric juice being the most important,

others

being only auxiliary.

These juices are

changed day by day, in certain

qualities, so as to be

adapted to the digestion of different kinds of food, and,

like

muscles which have regular duties to perform,

'have power given them according to the duties required.

If

we

live

on food requiring

little

power of

digestion, like rice, fine flour, fresh fish, soups, &c.,

the powers of digestion will, after a while,

become so

enfeebled that, if suddenly

we

take' solid
first,

meat, cheese,

&c., suitable juices not being, at

furnished, indi;

gestion, or temporary dyspepsia, follows

but continue
will

the use of these articles,

and the appropriate juices

be furnished, and the powers of digestion will rally and

perform the task assigned them.

It is a mistake to
is

suppose that the most digestible food

best for those

who

are predisposed to dyspepsia; on the other hand,

the powers of the stomach are capable of cultivation,

and become strong or weak according

to the regular

work imposed on them

come strong
used.
or

to do, just as the muscles be-

weak

as they are or are not actively

But

in the

one case, as in the other, strength

can

be imparted only by regular and gradually in-

DYSPEPSIA: ITS PREVENTION AND CURB.

creasing exercise.

375
is

Perhaps, for example, there

not

one stomach in twenty which, after a lengthy absti

nence from
there
is
it,

could readUy digest cheese

and yet

not one stomach in a thousand that could not

it

be made to digest

readily,

by beginning

its

use in

small quantities early in the day, and increasing the

quantity daily
as
;

and thus we may teach the stomach,

imposed on
This

we may

teach the muscles, to perform any reasonait.

ble task regularly

is

an important

consideration, both as a

means of preventing and curing

relates to the prin-

dyspepsia.

Another important consideration

ciple

which gives

relish to food, called

osmazome
juices

a
re-

principle without which the digestive

secreted,
at all.

are not

and without which digestion cannot go on

This
is

proved by the experiment already

ferred to, in which the dog, shut

all its
it,

up with meat having

elements preserved but the flavor, would not eat

it

because

could not be digested, although he was

experience
also

starving.

Our own

shows us how
our

much our
it

digestion depends on the relish with which

is

taken.

And we

are thus taught that

it

it

is

bounden duty
life.

to enjoy eating as

is

our duty to enjoy

But we

find in the one case, as in the other, that

true

enjoyment comes only in connection with obedience

laws of our being
;

to the

so that they enjoy most

is

who

only study to

know what
after

duty, while they enjoy least

who only seek

So

enjoyment in eating, and most asis

siduously inquire what can be had that

good

to eat.

also in the one case, as in the other, the pleasures

376

IMPOETANOE OP EELISHmG POOD.

which we do enjoy, in the unnatural excitements of

excess, are fraught with evil consequences,

and pro-

duce subsequent reaction, depression, exhaustion, or

suiFering

as, in the other case, the pleasures

derived

from the

taste of sugar, butter, flour,

and

their

combi-

nations, give us, in just the proportion as their flavor

-s

excessive and unnatural, subsequent gastric exhaus-

tion, debility, disease,

and pain.
gustatory enjoyment

To

get, then, all the

we

are

capable of receiving,
the kind

we have but
for that

to take, every dgy,

to the condition

and variety of food best suited

and duties of the body

day

so kind

is

our

heavenly Father, in providing that, in keeping his com-

mandments, physical and moral, there

reward, and in thus makiag
happiness to do right.
it

is

always great

promote our highest

say,

But some one may

butter,

"I

am

so

wedded

to

my

and sugar, and pastry,

Well,

and cakes, and they have so become second nature,

that I cannot do without them."
if

you cannot
in
that.

make

the sacrifice of a radical reform, try a partial

course,

and you

shall

find a

reward even

Take, for example, good, clear, light-colored wheat,

and have

it

well ground, and kept in a close, tight

cask, so that there shall be no need of 'sifting, and

make from

it

unleavened bread,

according

to

rule

already given

(page 45), or from good sweet yeast,

till

and not eaten

air,

it

has been for some hours in pure

to

exchange
that, or

its

carbonic

acid

gas

for

oxygen,

and use

rye and Indian, entirely, and a large

it,

majority will prefer

at

first,

to

fine

white bread

DTSPEPSIA and though, at

stomach to do
in

ITS

PEEVENTION AND CURE.

it

377

first,

being harder of digestion,

may

cause flatulence, yet, follow the rule for teaiching the

its

duty, and you will soon be rewarded

improved digestion and improved health.

But

in

confirmed dyspepsia a more radical course will be

needed

and

in just the proportion as

you return and you

to

natural food

wiU be your enjoyment of

do cheerfully
it,

digestion, your
will
fife.

freedom from flatulence and

find yourself able to

colic pains,
all
is

the duties of
their

Hundreds have
testimony
;

tried
if

and

this

unanimous

and

there are exceptions, they are only

apparent, and are dependent on want of perseverance

sufficient

to

overcome the

effects

of long-continued

perversion of the digestive powers.

fore

At any

time, be-

there

is

actual disorganization of some organs

connected with digestion, which, from continued transgressions, will sometimes occur, a radical change,

and

conformity to Nature's laws, not only regarding food,

but
air,

exercise, friction of the skin, &c.,

wiU

effect

a radical cure.

(For other important considerations

relating to digestion, see chapter

on Leanness.)

378

EEEOE or VEGBTAKIAN8.

IS

AOTMAL FOOD ALWAYS INJUEIOUS?

first

In the
able that

place,

it

seems to

me

perfectly unreason-

God,

in blessing

Noah

after the flood for his

faithfulness, should give

him control of "every beast

air,

of

the earth,

and every fowl of the

earth,

and

all
;

that

moveth

upon the
tell

and the

fishes

of the sea

"

and should
and should
wanted

him

that " every

moving thing

that liveth shall be

;

meat

for you, even as the green herb

all

"

cause to be deposited in

these living creatures the

are

same elements,
in the

in the

same combinations as

human

system, and as are found in the "green

herb," or vegetable food, and should, at the same time,

make one
injurious.

class to

be appropriate food and the other

That each

class of food does contain the

same

ele-

ments, in the same combinations, and nearly the same

proportions, has

been seen.

Take two

articles

beef

and wheat, for example.

Beef contains of carbonaceous

contains of carbonaceous

food thirty per cent., nitrogenous sixteen, phosphatic

five,

and water

fifty.

Wheat

food seventy per cent., nitrogenous fifteen, phosphatic

two, and water fourteen.

per cent, of fat
is

Now,

considering that thirty

equal to two and a half times as

much

starch, in heating power, or seventy-five to that of

ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE FOOD ALIKE.

wheat at seventy, these two
articles, the

379

beef being of

average fatness, in strengthening and heating qualities

are nearly alike
;

but the beef has more than twice the

nerve and brain food as the wheat.

In this last respectj however, beef and wheat

less

differ

from each other than some other

articles entirely

vegetable.

For example
and a half per
is

Northern corn contains but

one per cent, of nerve and brain food, while beans contain three

cent.,

and Southern corn four.

Where,
one
is

then,

evidence, in chemical structure of ani-

mal, as compared with vegetable food, to show that the

wholesome and the other injurious?

'

And

then

as to the practical results of living exclusively on ani-

mal or vegetable food

perfection

where

is

found the proof of

the advantages of the one over the other, either in the

and

size of the

body or

in the vigor or length

of

life

which they impart?

is

The Patagonian
clusively

the largest, and, perhaps,

live

the

most vigorous race of men, and they

almost ex-

on animal food, while the vegetable-eating

is

Hindoo

a race

among

the most inferior.

On

the

other hand, the vegetable, and milk and cheese-eating

Bushmen
the

are well formed, athletic, and vigorous, while

meat-eating Esquimaux are

an inferior race of

men.

And
shown

then

statistics,

while they prove, as I

life,

have

in another chapter, that length of

as well

as health

and happiness, depends on the

free but

tem-

perate use of the good things that Nature has furnished,

both of food and remedial agents, and on rejecting

380

ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE FOOD ALIKE.

air,

everything injurious in food, drink, medicine, or

give not an item of proof that vegetarians live a day

longer, or have less sickness or pain, than those
eat meat, but

who

who

live, in other respects, as

temperately

and carefully as

their vegetarian friends.

Nor has such

proof been furnished from any other source.

CONSUMPTION OF THE BLOOD.

381

CONSUMPTION OF THE BLOOD.

That
which
is

peculiar greenish or ash-colored appearance

seen in our feeble, undeveloped daughters,

chlorosis,

and which indicates the disease called

the color of the skin,

blood,

being

from

a watery state of the

is
;

supposed to be caused by want of iron in

the system

and hence such

pills,

girls

are always found

taking iron, in

or drops, or in some other crude

preparation, with the vain hope of thus restoring iron

to the blood.

And
;

as, for a while, the appetite

is

improved, and the strength apparently increased, the

remedy

is

continued

but the improvement

to

is

deceptive,

and never, according

effects a

my

experience and observation,

permanent cure.

And

this

opinion

is

con-

firmed by the highest medical

authority,

as I have

quoted before.

One

sentence from Trousseau

it

is

so important in this

connection, that I will repeat

here, there being no

higher authority on this or any other medical subject.

As

quoted by J. Francis Churchill, a celebrated French

physician,

who

confirms the statement, "

M. Trousseau
exists,

declares that iron, in

tions, to patients in

any form, given

in chlorotic aifec-

whom
The

consumptive diathesis

invariably fixes the diathesis, and hastens the develop-

ment of

tubercles.

iron

may

induce a factitious

382

COKSUMPTION OF THE BLOOD.

;

return to health

the physician

may

flatter

himself that

he has corrected the chlorotic condition of his patient

but, to his surprise, he will find the patient soon after
fall into

a phthisical state, from which there is no reits

turn.

This result, or at least

hastening,
assertion

M. Trousis

seau attributes to the iron.

startling one.

The
is

a most

M.

Trousseau

nevertheless so certain

of what he says, that he denounces the administration of iron in chlorosis as criminal in the highest degree."

No
cians,

attempt has ever been made, to

my

knowledge,

to refute the opinions of these

two celebrated physi" no elements are

and

it

corroborates the doctrine that I have elseto establish, that

where endeavored

allowed to be incorporated into and become a part of the

blood, in any organ or tissue, that are not fitted for digestion in

some vegetable," but

that,

on the other hand,

tlie

they become poisonous or injurious to

yet, if

system.

And

you ask the

first

ten green or ash-colored girla

you

shall

meet, what they are taking as medicine, nine

will probably tell

you

iron.
it

And
this is

the most of tliem, if they have taken

but

:t

short time, will declare they feel better for

it.

And

accounted for on the same'^principle that alcohol,

another article composed of disorganized elements, deceives the feeble patients

who take

it,

by making them

at first feel better, but afterwards, as the stimulus loses

its

power, depressing them in the same proportion as they

Iron, however,
is

had been stimulated.

a slower and

more permanent stimulant, and

therefore

more decep'

CAUSE OF CONSUMPTION OF THE BLOOD.

tive.

383

For a time, however,

like alcohol,

it

increases

the powers of digestion, and causes, perhaps, iron to

be appropriated from the food

for sometimes the color

it

of the cheeks and the blood return, and

apparently

becomes thicker and better

but that the strength and

color of the blood in that case are produced

ulant,

by the stim-

and not from the iron

directly, is

proved by the

fact that alcohol,

and phosphorus, and some other stim-

ulants, will do the

iron.

same thing, and even quicker than

however, these stimulants leave the
at last,

In

all cases,

system more depressed

and thus hasten the deeither of the lungs

velopment of incurable consumption,

or bowels.

What

is

the Canse of Chlorosis

I have investigated scores of cases, and found their

history to be uniformly the same.
its birth,

From

the time of

and months

before,

till

the child was weaned,

little

the mother had lived on food which contained very

iron, or any of the elements of which
is
its tissues

or blood

composed.
Butter contains not a particle of iron, sugar none,

I have found many a and superfine flour very little. young mother whose principal food consisted mostly of
white bread and butter, cakes, pastry, confectionery,

and

coffee

and

tea, neither of which,

nor

all

together,

would

contain, in all she could eat, of iron, phosphoilis,

nitrogen, or lime, sufficient to

make

blood, bones, or

muscles in good condition for the child alone, while her

own system would

be

left

unsupplied.

384

THE CAUSE OF CHLOROSIS.

It is a curious physiological fact, that in such cases

Nature provides

first

for the child,

and

if

the expectant

mother
self

fails to

supply elements sufficient for both her-

and the

child, the child will be first supplied at the

;

expense of the mother

and we often see white bread

and butter, and cake and pastry-eating mothers pale and

feeble,

and suffering intensely from defective

for'

teeth

and neuralgia,

want of

iron,'

phosphorus, nitrogen,
be born in a condition

and lime, while the infant

may

comparatively well developed and healthy.

And

then in nursing, though the child gets the best

still it

of the elements furnished,

can never get good

blood from such food as does not contain the elements

of good blood
;

and when

it

is

weaned,

its

food will
its

probably be of the same kind as that on which

mother

lives.

And

thus

if it lives at all, it will

;

grow

up feeble in muscle, for want of nitrogen

teeth, for
ical,

dfefective in

want of lime

neuralgic, nervous, and hyster;

or perhaps stupid, for want of phosphorus

and

pale
girls

and ash-colored,

for

want of

iron.

Such are the

who have a morbid, indefinite craving for something, they know not what, and therefore add to their
troubles

by eating such unnatural and abominable things

magnesia, pickled limes, &c.,

as chalk, slate pencils,

their systems being deficient in important health-giving

elements.
I once
thlorotic

made a post-mortem examination in case of a young lady, who died after intense and longand we found a
ball of

continued sufferings, the cause of which could not be

ascertained while living
;

mag-

RATIONAL CURE OF CHLOROSIS.

nesia that

385

weighed a pound, and other smaller ones,

in the intestines, obstructing the passage, and

embedded

finally stopping it altogether.

records of similar cases.

And there are numerous And if they do not thus acand tend to develop tuberdiseases.

cumulate,
off

all

unnatural or undigested articles in passing

irritation,

must produce

cles of the bowels

and other

Having, then, the

cause of this disease, or at least the foundation of what

is

called consumption of the blood or bowels, as well

as consumption of the lungs, to which so

many

of our

daughters are sacrificed,

inquiry.

it

is

certainly

an important

What

will cure this terrible

malady?

What
If

is

the rational iHode of cnring Chlorosis

is

my

position

true,

that chlorosis

is

simply the

want of iron and other necessary elements in the blood,

and

if it

be also true, as I have elsewhere shown, that

these elements are all furnished and at

hand

in

" every

herb bearing seed, which

earth,

is

upon the
is

face of all the

and every. tree in the which

and every fowl of the

the fruit of a tree

yielding seed," and also in the flesh of " every beast of

the earth,
air,

and everything
is

that creepeth

upon the earth wherein there

life,"

which, having obtained in their flesh the elements as

organized in the herb, and the seed, &c., and being
thus fitted to be food for man, were given to

Noah

and

his posterity as a blessing, for food, " even as the

;

green herb

"

and
25

if

it

be also true, as I think I

386

RATIONAL CURE OF CHLOROSIS.

have skown, that neither iron, nor any other element

not thus organized, can be assimilated as an element of the blood, but, on the other hand,
poisonous,
is

interdicted as
is

then

surely the rational

mode of cure

clearly pointed out.

We

have but to take food freely

which

is

known

to contain iron

and other elements

as

they are needed.

But how can we ascertain whether any Elements are wanted to make the Blood pnre in any ^iven Case, or, if so, what are the deficient Elements of the
Blood ?

Why
an

not use
it

common

sense, as our mechanics

and

chemists use

in their every-day operations ?

Suppose

intelligent

soap-maker should find that a

lot of soap,

which a blundering

man had

attempted to make, was

good

for nothing because the necessary elements

were

not mixed in the right proportions,

ascertain

how

would he
of it?
oil

what was wanted

just

Knowing

make good soap how much alkali and how much

to

or

grease were necessary for the quantity before him, he

would ascertain how much of each had been used

.f

and

pound of potash was wanting, would add

;

it

to the

mixture

and

if

other necessary conditions were com-

plied with, he

would be sure of good soap.

But supwould he

pose he should not

know what was needed, and should

pound of grease
principle, if

add
get

at hazard a

instead,

good soap?
the

Upon

same

we

see a feeble, sickly,

RATIONAL CUKE OF OHLOBOSIS.

undeveloped
organ,
girl,

38?

without disease of any particulat

we know

that something

must be wanting
is
,

in the

blood

and what that something

we can know by
If she

ascertaining what she has omitted to supply.

has lived principally on superfine flour bread and butter,

or cakes and confectionery, or any other food of which
starch, butter, or sugar
is

the predominant principle,

we know

that she has omitted to supply her blood with

iron, nitrogen, phosphorus, lime, &c., as these articles

of food do not contain these elements. does

What,

then,

common

sense dictate, in such a case, but to omit

is

such articles of food, and take instead such food as

known

to contain these deficient elements?

Just as, in

the supposed soap case, the intelligent soap-maker omitted the grease

and added

alkali.

A woman in the country once gave me

what she
soap.
called her

an account of

bad luck

in attempting to

make

soft

She put together,

and
;

as she thought according to

rule, hev grease

lye,

and boiled them, and added

it
;

the right quantity of water, and stirred

"

but the soap

wouldn't come

"

and not knowing what was the

trouble, she asked a neighbor,

who

told her she

to

had

heard that
of
salt,

salt

was good, and advised her

day.

add a pint

and

stir it all

She followed the advice,

her the

and

still it

wouldn't come.
told

She consulted another neighbor, who

trouble was, that she stirred
it

a part of the time one

way and a
at

part of the time the other, and thus undid

:

one time what she did at another

she must

stir it
it.

always with the sun, and that would certainly fetch

388
"
it

CAUSE AND OUEB OP CHLOEOSIS.

stirred
it,

She

and.stirred

it

but the more she stirred

Finally she consulted

the more

it

wouldn't come."

a very old and experienced housekeeper,

who

assured

her

it

would come

if

she stirred

it

when

the sign

was

right.

She must get old Isaiah Thomas's Almanac,

as before directed, vigorously,

and look up the signs of the zodiac, and when the sign

was right she must

stir

with the sun, and her trouble would soon be over. followed advice, but after
all lost

She

her soap.

Now, absurd and

the

ridiculous as

were these whims of

the grandmothers of the past generation in regard to

making of soap, they were not a whit more absurd

treatment of what are called humors,

or ridiculous than those of the mothers of the present

in

regard to

the.

or impurities of the blood,, especially of that condition

of which

we

are

now
who,

treating,
lost.

and from which so many

is

of our daughters are

rare exception

Indeed, that mother

after iron

has failed, does not

resort to beer, or wine, or oxygenated bitters, or

some

medical

discoveries,

or something
tell

else_
is

which some

neighbor or quack doctor shall

blood, although not one of

her

good

for the

them

all

has more power to

cure chlorosis, or to purify the blood, than the signs of

the zodiac have

more power

to

make soap but they have do harm, and that harm is incalculably
power
to
;

more important.
it is

And

yet, to carry out the illustration,

no more certain that good soap can be made withcertain that pure blood can be

out failure by using the right materials in the right

way, than

it is

made by

the right use of the elements which constitute good

blood.

CAUSE AND CUEE OF CHLOROSIS.

389

But what kinds of food

different articles

contain iron ?

Analyses of

have not yet been made to determine

;

the proportion of iron which each article contains

but

a general statement will be

purposes.

sufficient for all practical

The

flesh of all

animals contains iron, and

of course milk, grains, fruits, and vegetables, which

make

the muscle or flesh of animals, contain

all

it.

Iron, phosphorus, lime, and

other mineral ele-

ments, are connected together with nitrogen, for making muscles and blood, but not one
is

found connected

with carbon, which furnishes fat and heat, so that those

articles of

food which are found in the tables to con-

tain the

most nitrogenous and phosphatic elements gen-

erally contain

most

iron.

To
all its

prevent chlorosis, therefore, mothers have only to

see that their daughters always live on food containing

natural elements

and

to cure

it,

they have but

to select the articles of natural food

which contain most

phosphatic elements.

890

FOOD AS AFFECTING NERV

^DS DISEASES.

HOW
By
fat,

TO PREVENT APOPLEXY, NEURALGIA, AND NERVOUS DISEASES.

brain

analysis the

and nerves are found and water

to be

composed of albumen, a
phosphorus, mineral

fatty substance called cerebral

salts
;

and that the

mature, healthy, adult brain contains more albumen,

moi-e phosphorus,

and more mineral

salts,

but less

cerebral fat, or idiots.

and less water than the brain of infants

The elements
found in
all

that are thus

shown

to be needed are

natural food, combined with nitrogenous,

car-

or muscle-making principles, but not with the

bonaceous, or heating principles

in

milk, and eggs,

and

fish,

and the grains, &c.,

in their natural state,

but not in starch, any fatty substance, or sugar.

therefore,

Those,

who

live

mostly on white bread, butter, and

little

confectionery, which contain none, or very

of these

elements which keep the brain and nerves in a healthy

condition, are those

who

suiFer

most from headaches,

neuralgia, and nervous diseases, and those who, finally,

die of apoplexy.

We

have noticed, also,

in

another chapter, that

nursing and expectant mothers,

who

live

on carbona-

ceous food, are peculiarly liable to toothache, headache,

HOW TO PREVENT

APOPLEXY.

391

neuralgia, and nervous disorders, because Nature favors

the infant at the expense of the mother,
if

and therefore,
These

the right elements are not furnished suflScient for

child

and mother, the mother

suffers

first.

hints clearly indicate the course of diet necessary to

prevent headache, neuralgia, nervous excitements, apoplexy, and

all

other diseases dependent on the healthy

;

action of the nerves or brain

and

this

on the simple

principle, so often explained, that

no organ or function

can perform

its

appropriate duties, or keep in health,

without a constant and regular supply of the elements

composing or used in that organ or function.

For

all these sufferings

from headache, neuralgia,

suffer so

hysterics, &c.,

from which the young

is

much,

and many so intensely, the remedy

tain.

simple and cerarticles of food,

Avoid the heating, unnatural

of which

out

have been taken the elements before

enumerated as necessary to keep the brain and nerves

in order,

such

as white bread, butter, fat, and sugar,

and

all the

pastry and confectionery which are

made up

of those heating principles,

and

take, instead, only

natural food, in which are retained the elements needed,

and the cure Apoplexy,

is

certain.

also,

which seldom, I think never, occurs

for a long time overfed

except in those

who have been

with carbonaceous food, almost never occurring in persons under forty years of age, and not in persons so

young

as that, unless they have

added

to carbonaceous

food the stimulus of alcoholic drinks or strong spices and

condiments,

is,

of course, prevented by abstaining from

392
the articles

HOW TO CUKE APOPLEXY.

which cause
it,

and taking, instead, those

which contain the elements necessary for the healthy

action of the brain.

My

attention was,

many

years ago, particularly di-

rected to this subject from motives of strong personal

interest in
it
;

and I have often had occasion to prescribe

for others the course that I have found useful to myself,

with a success which fully confirms

the subject just given.

me

in the

view of

At

the age of forty

my

father

commenced having
slight attacks,

premonitory symptoms of apoplexy, and from the age

of forty to
fifty
;

had a number of
but he

and

one quite severe

made no change

in his habits,

eating habitually highly-carbonaceous food, and drinking, as the

custom then was, brandy, or some other

alcoholic drink, three or four times a day, and, at the

age of

fifty-four,

he died suddenly of apoplexy.

At
the

the age of forty I also, having inherited hia form and

constitutional
characteristics,

commenced having
after the

same kind of premonitory symptoms of apoplexy,

which also continued and increased
of
fifty,
till

age
all

although, supposing then that that was

that

would be necessary, I abstained from

;

all alcoholic

drinks and stimulating condiments

but having an

at-

tack that rendered

I found something

me unconscious

for

an hour or more,
to save

more was necessary

I

me

from

my

father's fate.

After that I gradually diminished

till

my

carbonaceous food

came up, I

think, to the true

philosophy of eating; and now, at the age of sixtyPour, I have, I think, eradicated all hereditary tendency

HOW
to

TO ODliE APOPLEXY.

393

apoplexy, not having had, for some years, even a

it
;

headache, or other premonitory symptom of

besides

and,

having disposed of other

infirmities,

I have

more energy, more power of endurance, mentally and

physically, and

more recuperative power, than I had

at the age of forty.

I

make

the sacrifice of publishing these personal items

hope of benefiting others who may have similar hered-

itary tendencies,

and

in the

hope of corroborating,

if

not

confirming, the opinion elsewhere expressed, that hereditary diseases are not necessarily incurable, nor hereditary

tendencies ineradicable.

394

DEFECTIVE TEETH.

THE CAUSE AND PREVENTION OP

FECTIVE TEETH.
In one important respect the
organs of the animal
tive

DE-

teeth differ

from other

economy

they have no recuperathis defect,

power.

But, to compensate for

they

are

made of materials more

;

indestructible than those of

any other organs

so that being properly supplied with

the elements requisite for their formation and nourish-

ment, and used in accordance with Nature's laws, they

last the lifetime of the

animal, and are not subject to

disease.

Thus we

find in animals in their natural state

life.

sound teeth to the end of

The elephant a hundred years

teeth, unless they

old has no defective

have been injured by accident, or

have been made to eat improper food in the service

of man.

But animals
less

subjected to unnatural food have

defective teeth, and, if shorter lived than

man, and the

by improper

enamel
food.

firm, are sooner influenced

The
live

teeth of the cow, for example, that is

distilleries,

made

to

on the dregs of breweries and

begin to

decay in a very short time.

of the decay
for it
is

But

in this case the cause

not physiological so
is

much

as mechanical,
less

is found that the decay

more or

rapid ac-

cording to the temperature of the swill which they are

THE OHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF TEETH.

obliged to eat

395

those

at a distance
it

from the

distillery,

whose food gets cold before

their teeth longer

reaches them, preserving

it

than those who, being near, take

hot from the vat.

This brings us to a consideration of the

laws, the disobedience of which
is

diflferent

the cause of de-

fective teeth, as it is of all our diseases

and

sufferings.

The

universe, and everything in

it,

whether of mind

or matter, from the inorganic atom that can be seen

only with a microscope to the mind of the highest

archangel,
fixed laws
;

is

moved, and changed, and regulated by

to act

and while these laws are permitted

all
is

harmoniously,
brings
its

well, but disobedience to

any one

penalties.

All suffering and

all defects

may,

therefore, be traced to the disobedience of

some law of

our being

and the question before us

is,

Why

do not
life-

our teeth, like the teeth of other animals, last our

time?

That they are made as

perfect, if the right

materials are furnished, there cannot be a doubt.

But

are the necessary elements furnished to children

as they are to the

young of other animals ?

their natural

And

do

we not

subject our teeth to deleterious influences from

instincts

which animals that obey

are

exempt ?

The forming young

of other animals, while depen-

dent on the mother, get lime, and phosphorus, and potash, and silex, and all the other elements of which

milk of the the teeth are composed, from the blood or mother, and she gets them from the food which Nature
proprovides containing these elements in their natural
portions.

356

THE CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF TEETH.

child in
its

But where can the

pally on starch,

forming state get

these necessary elements, whose mother lives princi-

and

butter,

and sugar, neither of which

contains a particle of lime, phosphorus, potash, or silex?

Nature performs no miraples.

is

She makes teeth as glass

made, by combining the elements which compose

to her

them according

own chemical
more

principles.

And
com
very

this illustration is the

forcible, because the

position of the enamel of the teeth

and of glass

is

nearly identical

both, at least, requiring the combina-

tion of silex with

If, then, the

some

alkaline principle.

mother of an unborn or nursing infant

lives

on white bread and butter, pastry, and confectionwhich contain no

silex,

ery,

and very

little

of the other

elements which compose the teeth, nothing short of a

miracle can give her a child with good teeth, and especially with teeth well enamelled.

Nature does what she can for innocent and helpless

unborn and nursing

naatepials,

infants,

by using

all

available

even getting them from the teeth of the

naother.

And

hence,

it

is

well known, that starch,

suffer

butter,

and sugar-eating young mothers always

their teeth,
is

most from
an infant

and go

to the dentist most, while

dependent on them for support, as they

suffer also, at these times,

from neuralgia, headaches,

dyspepsia, &c.,

as

have elsewhere explained, for

want of the elements which keep the brain and nerves

in

a healthy condition.

Thus, instead of "visiting the iniquity of the fathers

upon the children," Nature, as

far as possible, protects

HOW TO GET SOUND TEETH FOE

innocent children, and
alty for their
visits

CHttDEEN. 397

on their mothers the pen-

own

transgressions.

But

there are cases

where, in accordance with natural law, children must

suffer for the transgressions of their parents 1

And

de-

fective teeth are

an

illustration of this statement.

it is,

The

enamel of the
nature of
its

teeth, wanting, as

and from the

recuperative

composition must be, in

all

power,
stored,

if

once broken or defective can never be re-

and the toothache that follows from the inflammother alone

;

mation and exposure of the nerves, &c., the child must

suffer, while the
is is

responsible.

But

this

an exceptional case

all

other organs, having recu-

perative power, are capable of restoration, even though

they

may be

feeble

and

defective in consequence of the

this

mother's neglect;

and even

exception may, by
first

restoring deficient elements, be confined to the

set of teeth.

This, being a very important practical

point, deserves to be strongly presented.

Second Teeth

may

be

made Sound where

Defective.

the

first

were

The second
furnished in
in forming
little

tooth of a child

is

formed from materials

the.
it

blood, secreted, or taken up, and used

to the

by a mysterious power imparted

gland, or nucleus, placed for that purpose directly

first

under the

tooth, but entirely independent of

this,

it.

This mysterious power acts in

as in all other
if

organs, with unerring certainty, and

the right ele-

ments are fu:^nished

in the blood, will

be sure to find

398

HOW

TO GET SOUND TEETH FOE CHILBEEN.

them, and furnish them in right proportions to the

forming tooth.
It is, therefore,

no more certain that glass can be

made by using
than
it

the right materials in the right

way
be

is

certain that teeth,

good and sound,

will

made by using

the right materials in the right way.

Cheer up, then, disconsolate mothers, who weep and

mourn, as you must,

one, for which

for the toothache of

your

little

you

feel to

be responsible.
still

If the second

feeth are yet to come,

you have

space for repent-

ance, and works meet for repentance.

of food will make good teeth? make good teeth, for it makes them for calves. Good meat will make good teeth, for it rdakes them for lions and wolves. Good vegetables and fruits will make good teeth, for they make them

But what

articles

Good milk

will

for

monkeys.
corn,
oats,

Good

barley,

wheat, rye, and indeed

everything that grows, will

in their natural state,

make good

teeth, if eaten
;

no elements being taken out

for

*very one of them does

gheep, or

make

teeth for horses, cows,

some other animal.

not

But

starch, sugar, lard,

r butter will
<11

make good

teeth.

You
failed
all
;

tried

them

with your child's

first teeth,

and

and your

leighbors have tried them, and indeed

lias

Christendom
or

tried

them, and the result

is is

that a

man

woman

*t

forty with good, sound teeth

a very rare exception.

Nothing, then, can be clearer than your duty to keep

VJrom youi childien confectionery, pastry, white bread

and buttei, ^ngerotead and sweet cakes, and feed

IS

SUGAR INJURIOUS TO TEETH?

399

them instead on milk, unbolted bread, meats, eggSj

fruits,

vegetables, or anything else in short which they

best relish, from which have not been taken any of

their native elements.

But you must attend

to

this

early; for if children live on carbonaceous food, and

the necessary elements are not furnished tiU the second
teeth are formed, " there remaineth
sin,

no more

sacrifice for

but a fearful looking for of judgment."

The

teeth
will

will either

come

in a defective state, or the

enamel

be thin and easily broken, and the juices of the mouth,

being admitted into the tooth, cause
the possibility of cure.
filled,
its

decay, .without

For a time,

the orifice being

the decay

may

be suspended; but the enamel

being imperfect and thin, will soon give way in some

other place, and there
is

no saving them.

iOO

DISEASES OF THE HEAKX.

HOW
The
tion,
it

TO PKEVENT DISEASES OF HEART.

circulation of the blood
is

a mechanical opera-

and the action of the

hea,rt;on the blood,

drawing

from every part of the system through the veins, and

it

sending

to every part through the arteries,

is

like the

action of a fire-engine drawing water from a cistern

through a hose, and sending

it,

at

the

same time,

through another hose, into every part of a buUding on

fire..

And

the arrangement of valves

is

by which

this

double action
tions.

accomplished

is

alike in both opera-

Many
there
is

of the

difficulties

and embarrassments of the

Sometimes
can never
is

action of the heart are also mechanical.

an organic congenital malformation by which

is

the heart

imperfect, and, of course,

it

perfectly perform its function,

and the

circulation

irregular

and

defective.

Sometimes the valves get

out of order, or become hardened like bone, and act

very imperfectly in preventing the regurgitation of

blood,

and,

of

course,

the

circulation
fat

is

deranged.

Sometimes the accumulation of

prevents
its

around the heart

its

free expansion,

and embarrasses

action.

Sometimes contraction of the chest, as in tight dressing,

embarrasses the action of the heart, and palpitation and
fainting are produced
;

and

this,

indeed,

is

so

commonly

DISEASES OP THE HEAET.

401

the cause of fainting that everybody almost instinctively

cuts the strings at once, in such cases, as a rational

means of

relief.
is

Sometimes the embarrassment

vessels

from

increased

pressure of the blood, causing distention of the blood-

and of the

heart.

Sometimes the embarrassirritability

ment and irregular action are caused by

the neivous system,

of

and sometimes by overheated and

stimulating blood.

We may
all
;

not be able perfectly to

understand the cause of

or diseases of the heart

these different difficulties

all

but they are

undoubtedly

connected with erroneous diet or erroneous habits, for

other animals in their native conditions have none of
these troubles or diseases, although the circulation
effected
is

by the same mechanical arrangement.

congenital defects, or ossification of the valves
;

How

are produced, I do not profess to understand

but the

cause and means of preventing and curing, or, at least,

alleviating the other difficulties, I think can be under-

stood and explained.

As we
repairs
;

cannot stop the heart, to repair

as

its

valves

when once deranged,

we

can stop an engine for

in the nature of the

and as Nature cannot,

case, repair ossified or displaced valves, that trouble

can never be removed, when once established.

this is true

And

of enlargement of the heart, or arteries,

or veins about the heart, or indeed of any other oro-anic affection.

And

in such cases the question to

be considered
to

is,

How
26

can such persons

difficulties?

live,

so as

be comfortable, with such

The

right

102

HOW

TO TREAT OEGANIO DISEASES OF HEART.

course of treatment in such cases can be illustrated

and enforced, perhaps, by the management and results

of two cases.

More than

thirty years

ago I was consulted in two

cases of organic diseases of the heart very nearly alike,

and very clear cases of incurable disease.

Both of

about the same age, free livers, and accustomed to

stimulating food and

some stimulating drinks, but of

;

very different

tempers

of religious

character,

and

power of

self-control,

and both so seriously

affected as

frequently,

when

excited or fatigued, to fall into an

it

unconscious state, and remain in

for hours.
their

They
hands,

were both told their

lives

were in

own
;

and advised

to abstain

from carbonaceous food, stimuavoid

all

lating drinks,

condiments, and medicines

excitements,

mental and physical,

and never allow

if their

themselves to run or get fatigued, even

houses

should burn
deliberately

down over

their heads
let

in that case just

walk out and

them burn, rather than

fight the fire themselves.

Their reception of the advice was characteristic of

the

two men, and the

results such as
after a

might have been

silence,

expected.

One

said,

few moments of
I

but in great agitation,

lar
;

"About dying,
I

am

not particu-

but while I do live I shall have

fat

my
all

brandy and

my

beef as usual.

am

not to be

subject to
three

bondage

for fear of death."

In

my

lifetime

less

than

weeks some neighbors'

logs got into his garden,

fat beef,

just as

he had finished his dinner of

and had

taken his brandy to

make

it

digest.

In great excite-

HOW

TO CUKE DISEASES OF THE HEART.

after

403
in the

ment he ran out

garden.

them, and

fell

down dead
clearly
into

The

other gentleman

said,"

"It

is

my

duty. to

'keep under

my

body, and bring

it

subjection,'
is

according to the example of the Apostle."

living, at the

He

now

age of seventy-six, and enjoying com-

fortable health, having, for thirty years, lived " a quiet

and peaceable
distressed

life, in all

godliness and honesty," and

fits

having been exempt from those fainting

which so
he had
tlian

and alarmed

his friends

indeed, having enif

joyed vastly moie in eating and drinking than

put no restraints on his appetites, and even more

if

he had only put on them such restraints as are custlie

tomary in

class of virtuous

and excellent people to

which he belongs.
If palpitation, shortness of breath on going up stairs,
fainting
fits,

distress

about the heart, any or

all

are

produced, as they often are in persons predisposed to

obesity,

by accumulation of
is

fat

about the heart, the

remedy
fat is

simple and sure

for if the material of

which

made, but

made be not if made

symptoms

supplied, fat will not only not be

will

be absorbed.

Follow, there-

fore, the directions given in the chapter on Corpulence.

If these

are produced

by

tight lacing, the

remedy

is

equally simple, and upon the same principle

strings,

stop the supply of

and

belts,

and

corsets.

If they are produced by heating food, stimulating

drinks and condiments, of course these are also to be

withdrawn, and the cure

is

certain.

If by derange-

ment of the nervous system, follow the directions in

404
the

HOW
chapter

TO CURE DISEASES OF THE HEAKT.

on Apoplexy,
Neuralgia,

and Nervoua

Diseases.

While, therefore, I do not deny that there are cases

of enlargement of the heart and arteries that must prove
fatal in spite of all treatment, yet, in

most

cases,

by

following the foregoing suggestions, 1 have not a doubt

that in functional cases a radical cure can be effected,

and in organic, a great modification and improvement

of the symptoms.

HOW TO PKEVENT

ANT)

CUKE COEPULENOB.

405

HOW

TO CUEE CORPULENCE.
or fat,
:

Adipose substance,
from cold,
or, in other

is

deposited under the

protect the system

skin for three purposes

1.

To

words, to retain the heat of the

2.

body, fat being a good non-conductor of heat.

To

form an insensible cushion

gans from the
3.
eiFects

to protect the internal or-

of concussions, pressures, &c.

To

fill

up

the angles and interstices formed by the

attachments of muscles to the prominences of bone,

&c., so as to leave the outlines of the body rounded

and

beautiful, Nature's lines of beauty being always

curved, while sharp and angular lines are given for

utility.

This

fat is

composed of the same carbonaceous

ele-

ments as are used by the lungs to furnish animal heat,

and,
if

not otherwise supplied, as in case of sickness,

fat

when

or other carbonaceous food

cannot be di-

gested, or in fasting, they are supplied

this adipose covering,

by absorbing

and

this

we

call losing flesh, or

growing poor.

On
lean

this
;

account fat

men

bear fasting longer than

men

and on

this principle hibernating animals,

as the raccoon, badger,

and the brown bear,

is

fat

up

in

the

summer on

the abundance of food that

then fur-

nished them, and in winter crawl

into their dens

and

406
live

HOW TO PREVENT AND CUEB

new

OOEPDLENCB.

on themselves, coming out in the spring poor and

supply.

haggard, and ready for a

And

here

we

have the foundation for philosophical cure for obeSity.

"Butter, the fat of meats, starch,

and sugar furnish

in

animal heat, and also the adipose covering which,

excess, constitutes corpulence.
ples the lungs

Some

of these princifor

must have every moment, or we die

heat.
If, therefore,

want of animal

these carbonaceous

principles are not supplied jn food, they are taken frojn

the fatty accumulation? under the skin

the deposits

being withdrawn in case of necessity, just as a banker

uses his surplus funds

when he
is

gets into a pinch.

This

withdrawal of fatty deposits

seen every day in fevers

digested?

and other
is

diseases,

when food cannot be

and

seen also in fastings, as in shipwrecked mariners, &c.

it

and

has been proved in such cases that fat

men

live

longer than lean ones.

By

experiments on prisoners in Scottish prisons (set

it is

page 98),

seen that fourteen ounces of carbona-

ceous food are required, in a moderate temperature, at

rest,

to

keep up the weight of the body, and by the

it is

rations of English soldiers, etc.,

also seen that in

active service from twenty to twenty-two ounces are

necessary.

If less than these amounts are supplied, the

balance
as has

is

withdrawn from the deposits under the

skin,

been proved over and over again by experiment.

five

The

hundred

prisoners, in five different jails in

Scotland, above referred to, had, on an average, thirteen ounces each day for

two months, and they

lost in

HOW TO PEBVENT AND CUBE

CORPULENCE.

401

weight six hundred and fifty-three pounds, varying

somewhat

ia diflferent prisons, according to the

diflfergnt artieles

differ-'
;

ent nutritive value of the

used

buj
a*

in like circumstances losing in just the proportion

the sugar, starch, or fat

fell

below the requisite amount.

We have,
requisite

then, a standard

by which

to

judge of

the

amount of starch or sugar necessary

to keep thj

deposit of fat good.

We
all

must, however, remember tha

butter and the fat of

meats contain two and one

hall

times as

much

fattening qualities, in a given weight,

as starch or sugar, containing, as they all do,

no water,

while starch
water.
If,

and sugar contain seventy-five per cent, of

then, a

man

of average weight, say one hundred

and

fifty

pounds, wishes to retain the deposits as they

now

are,

and continue that weight,

in,

perhaps, nine-

teen cases in twenty he will succeed, and remain, year

after year,

by eating any of the

articles in the foregoing

table in such proportions as to get, with his necessary

niirates,

from fourteen to twenty-one ounces of car-

bonates, according to his exercise, in moderate weather

in hot weather less,

and

in cold weather more.

is
it

But

it

is

not expected, nor

desirable, that
is

he

should weigh out

hw

food, and the table

;

not pre-

pared for that purpose

still it will

be found useful to
different articles of

have in mind the relative value of

food in heating and nutritive properties, both while

fujruijBbiBg

and eating

his dinners.

If he lives on articles of food as Nature has furnisthed

108

HOW

TO PREVENT AND CURE OOEPUIiENOB.

them, his appetite will direct him both in regard to the

quantity to be eaten, and the articles to be eaten to-

gether

but, as I have elsewhere explained, if he add

to these articles of food either fine flour,

which

is

mostly

starch, or sugar, he will, in proportion to the

amount
he add

used, increase the

amount of heating and fattening food

;

without increasing the strengthening

and

if

butter, or lard, or the fat of meats, he adds, in pro-

portion to the
as

amount used, two and one half times

carbonates,

much

to

his

without

increasing his

nitrates.

In that case one of two undesirable consequences will

follow

he

will increase in fatness, if predisposed to

will

obesity,

and the blood

it

become heated by

this extra

carbon circulating in

before being deposited, and also

by retaining the heat

unnatural waste,

in the system as a non-conductor,

or the extra carbonaceous material will be cast off as

and being unnatural will ferment,

causing flatulence, and irritation, and the colics, and

bowel complaints, which are the natural consequence.

If,

on the other hand, he takes food containing

less

than from fourteen to twenty-one ounces of fat and

heat-producing food, he will draw on his deposits to

an amount proportionate to the deficiency, and to the

amount of

exercise which he takes.

Moreover, inas-

much

as corpulence,

or extra

fatty deposits,

comes

generally from extra, and not from natural, carbona-

ceous food,
Btitutional

it

is

not necessary, except where the conis

tendency to obesity

very strong, to reduce

the supply of natural food at all, as the cause is re-

HOW TO PREVENT AND OUEE

moved by And,
lence
is

CORPULENOB.

409

cutting off the extra carbon, and the extra

fat is absorbed.

besides, in cases

where the tendency to corpuit

not constitutionally strong,

is

often only

necessary to abstain from that one principle of car-

bonaceous food which has the strongest tendency to

produce
fat

doing

it,

not by the process of digestion,

of fat from one animal to

but by a mere

transfer

another, whereas sugar has to be digested to be con-

verted into fat, and starch has

first to

be converted into

sugar before

it

can be converted into

fat.

Of

this

very simple process of curing obesity,

let

me

give an illustration.

A gentleman of

ordinary height,

who weighed two hundred and ten pounds, and his wife, rather short in stature, who weighed, I think,
one hundred and sixty pounds, under
tried the experiment of abstaining

my

direction

from butter, and

mostly from the fat of

necessary with steak,
in this principle
;

all

meats, except as they were &c., which were deficient

fish,

but eating sugar and fine flour mod;

erately, as usual

never, however, using butter with

white bread or other farinaceous food, but eating cheese

instead.

In a few months
twenty-five

the

gentleman had withdrawn

deposits,

pounds of

fatty

and the lady

about

fifteen.

And,

being satisfied with their improvelast three years,

ment, they have, for the

remained

at

the same weight, by simply being careful not to eat

an excess of any carbonaceous food

butter and
all

eating, however,

kinds of fat within the limits prescribed.

ilO

flow TO PEEVBNT

AJSTD

OTIBE COEPULENCE.
is

Williaiifl

Banting, the Englishnaan,

also

an exam
from

pie of cure of obesity

by abstaining only

partially

extra carbonaceous food.

He

reduced himself, accord-

ing to the statement in his pamphlet, from two hundred

and two

to one

hundred and fiftysix pounds, by "ab*

staining as miich as possible from breadj butter, milk,

sugar, beer, potatoes,

and some kinds of wines,

beef, mutton,

aa

port;

and living on

and other meats

except pork, and any vegetables except potatoesj with

good Madeira,
cap."

claret,

and sherry wines, and a tumbler

at night) as a night-

of gin, whiskey, or brandy grog, But

to

neither Banting nor his medical adviser seems

have had but an inkling of the principle upon which

the change

was

effected, the

one seeming to think

kill

it

was a process by which

to

a disease which he
it

absurdly calls a " parasite," and the other that

was

produced by some chemical

the liver
;

effect

on the secretions of

but neither comprehended the simple princi-

ple on which the whole effect -w&s produced.

Nor did they understand what

should be avoided,
or

principles in

food

why
and
to
it

they should be avoided.

Accordingly

we

find bread, milk,

fat

and potatoes Conare

demned, while alcohol

Indeed, the cure seems

meat

allowed.

have been effected by a

meie blunder, in which

happened

that,

although

the alcohol and the fat in beef

and mutton must have

and, of course,

retarded

the

process
still,

of absorption,

delayed the cure,

in

in spite of this error, the cure

his

case

was

effected

by abstaining from

starch,

HOW

TO PREVENT AND CURE COEPULENCE.

411

Eugar, and fat in other food, which brought the amount

used daily below the fourteen to twenty ounces required

to

keep up the deposits.

is

But

in the directions given

ii

the pamphlet there

ol

nothing to show that the tumblei

gin, whiskey, or brandy "nightCap"

;

was not

as im^

I'ortant in the cure as beefsteak or fish

and hundred)

who never drank these death-dealing articles before are now taking, by the recommendation of Banting
enough every night
to give

them a regular

fuddle,

ai

a part of the necessary process of curing obesity.

Am
to
thi

yet everybody knows that alcohol, in any form, tend

to produce obesity
fat,

not, however,

by adding

but by retarding absorption.

spite of these absurd

In

and

conflicting

recommenda
is

tions, those whose tendency to corpulence

not ver;
conflict

strong, have succeeded in reducing

it

by these

ing directions

but, on the other hand, those

it

whos

predispositions to

are strong, and whose appetite

for carbonaceous food are also strong, fail altogether

or, if they partially succeed, finding

the sacrifice to
agai:

great, fall back to their old habits,

their old

and take on

burdens of
set

flesh.

But those who

f.nd,
"

about

this

matter

scientifically
ti

instead

of

confining themselves

exclusively

beef and other meats except pork, any vegetable

except potatoes, with good Madeira, claret, and sherr

wines, and a tumbler of gin, whiskey, or brandy grog

a nightcap," and thus being obliged to be mor scrupulously abstemious in some things, on accoun
ig

af the counteracting

influence

of the others, takinj

412

HOW

TO PEEVENT AND CURE COEPDLENCB.

bill

from the whole

of fare which

God

has given them,

consisting of "every living that moveth,"

and every

thing that grows, that

to the palate in
principles, in
its

is,

or can be made, agreeable

natural state, or by adding such

an agreeable form, as are needed to sup-

ply necessary elements,

all

may

eat

what they please, and

fat, if

they desire, and stUl reduce their surplus

it

they

will only see to

that the carbonaceous matter cornea

below the requisite fourteen to twenty ounces.

Or

the same thing can be accomplished

by being
its

careful that

no

article of

food contains more than

due proportion of carbonaceous food, and some contain

less
;

and

if

some do contain more,

at the

that others contain-

ing less be used

same time.

For example

Suppose the meal before you consisted of unbolted

bread, milk, eggs, beef or mutton, of average fatness,

cooked

in its

own

gravy.

As

all

these articles contain

just their natural proportions of carbonaceous nourish-

ment, you might eat as much of either or

appetite

all as

the

demanded, without increasing your deposits

if

of fat; and

the beef or mutton were perfectly lean,

for the fat in butter, with
if,

you could add an equivalent

out varying the
effect.

But

instead of unbolted
flour,

meal bread, your bread was from superfine

instead of milk

and

you had

butter, thus far

;

you would
if

get nothing but carbonaceous food

and then

you

add

to

your eggs butter, and to your beef and mutton

fat pork, or flour

gravy from

and butter, you have be-

fore you, instead of food containing its natural proportions of carbonates

and

nitrates,

probably double the

HOW

TO PREVKNT AND CDRE COEPULENOE.

;

4l

necessary amount of carbonates

and

in eating all yoi

want, to get the necessary supply of muscle-making

food,

you have eaten, perhaps, a

is

third

more fat-makinc
bi
ai

food than

needed, and the surplus must either

off

added to your adipose deposits, or be thrown

waste.

Now,
and
all

this is just

what the

better classes in

England

classes in
all

New
who

England, are doing every day

and therefore

are predisposed to obesity, ant

it off,

have not exercise enough to work

are constantly
th(

waxing
These

fat,

while the lean ones are suffering from

heating food in some other way.

effects of this

facts

and these principles cannot be disproved

little sacrifice,

and
even

it

follows that, with but

most people

if

inclined to corpulence, can regulate their weigh

as they please.

Indeed there

is

not only no

sacrifici

even of the pleasures of eating, but a positivt. additioi

to gustatory pleasures, in confining ourselv(.<5 to sucl
articles of

food as are best adapted to our condition

testimony of every

And

this is the

man who
first

has hac
ol

perseverance enough to overcome the

a perverted appetite.

cravings

After the
is

first

short struggh

with

it,

unless the struggle

prolonged by an occa
course,

sional

indulgence,

which,

of

prolongs

th(

gtruggle, the appetite and taste soon conform to thei

primitive condition of craving and relishing Lest jus the food that
pie, child-like
is

best for us, and

we

return to (jur sim

love for natural food, cooked ivithou

its

abstracting

any of

essential

elements,

03

adding

anything injurious.

114

LEANNESS.

LEANNESS
All

ITS

CAUSE AND ITS CUBE.

are fat or lean as they are fed
still,

animals but

man

on carbonaceous food and are kept

or on nitroge-

nous food and are permitted to run at larger

farmer
lets his

The
till

oxen run at large, or works them,

the muscles are developed, and they are

sufficient size to

grown

to a

be profitable fOf beef, and then shuts

freely on Indian corn meal,
to fatten

them up, and feeds them

and they immediately begin

to the

up

for beef,

and

within certain limits the fat accumulates in proportion

meal they can be induced

to eat.

In some places, also, hogs are permitted to range in

woods and
sufficiently

fields

for

aCorns arid grass

till

they are

grown, and then are brought

;

in, as

poor as
ca,lcula-

hounds, to be fatted up for the market

tion can be

and a

they are

how many pounds gaining each week, by noticing how much corn
made with accuracy
as to

meal

is

consumed

and two pigs of the same family

if treated

will generally
in the

keep of about the same weight

same
let

waj'.

But
habits,

a family of

men

live

on the same food, and

have the same amount of exercise and the same general

and some members

will be lean as wolves,

and

others as fat as pigs.

lbJanness.

41f
oi

The same elements

the pig as
eral
tion,

are found to compose the flesh

flesh of

compose the

man, and the same

gen-

arrangements are found for digestion and assimila-

and generally, especially

Pigs, however, get the

in their fully domesticatec

state, the

same kinds of food are given

to

them

as

t(

men.

skimmed milk and bran

which strengthen the powers of digestion, while mei

get the butter and fine flour, which weaken the poweri

of digestion

and

this fact gives us the

means of

plaining the otherwise enigmatical question,

ex-

Why
tites,

is it

that a pig, with digestive organs and appe

if

not habits and dispositions, like his master

flourish-

should always, with good food, be "fat and

ing," while his master, with better, or at least mor(

carbonaceous food,
fleshed " as

may be

as

"ill-favored and leanif this

Pharaoh's kine ?

Let us see

enigmf

can be explained.

We
sarily

are fattened, as

we

are strengthened, not neces-

by what we

eat,

but by what

we
in

digest; ant
is

constantly overburdened as the

this

human stomach
and

(ir

among Europe among the

country
is

all

classes,

the cities of

better classes) with an excess of

carbonaceous food, such as butter, sugar, lard, starch,

&c., which
to g<
t

never

all digested, after

a while

it
it.

seem.'

discouraged and to cease to try to digest

In such cases, those

who

are predisposed to obesitj

become

fat,

but weak, languid, and stupid,

the

carbo-

naceous food being better digested than the nitrogenous

or phosphatic ness
;

while those

who
or

are predisposed to lean-

may have muscular

mental strength,

the

416

CDUB OP LBAOTJESS.

nitrogenous and phosphatic in them being digested, but

not the carbonaceous,

but become
is

lean and haggard,

and the redundant carbonaceous food, except that which

suppHes animal heat,
persons,
is

all

wasted, and that, in such

generally deficient.

But
ty,

pigs, not having predispositions, except to obesitheir digestive

and not often having

powers weak-

ened or embarrassed by extra carbonaceous food, digest

and give

credit for all they eat.

I have been told,

however, that pigs

may
and

be cloyed by overfeeding, so
is

as to lose flesh while

more corn meal

that,

before

them

than they can

eat,

by continued overfeeding,
In such cases, in
first

they will continue to grow lean.

order to fatten them, the food must
until they

be withheld
at first

become hungry, and then, by feeding

powers
will gradually recover,

sparingly, and keeping the supply below the

their digestive

demand,
and they

will fatten like other pigs.

Here, then, we have an

to the cause of leanness,
to the cure of
it.

illustration of at the

my

position as
as

and

same time a hint

The cause of

leanness, in this coun-

try at least,

is

never the want of carbonaceous food,

it,

but from overloading the stomach with

described.

as before

What,

then, can be

more

rational than to

take a hint from the farmer with his pigs, and keep the

elomach supplied with good strengthening and fattening

food only just as
it is

really

wanted and

will be digested,

never eating without an appetite, and never eating anything but good food, so cooked and served as to be eaten

with a good relish?

HOW
In
this

TO SECURE A GOOD APPETITE.

to assert, that

411

way, I venture

any man, how-

ever predisposed to leanness,

may

give his bones ar

adipose covering to any desirable extent.

But wha1

course will secure perpetually a good appetite, a good

relish for food,

and good digestion ?

How

to secure a good Appetite.

A. good appetite cannot be permanently secured

without regularity in times of eating. The stomach cannot, like the heart and lungs, work
continually, but
is

intended to have
It is,

its

time for laboi

and

its

time for rest.

however, very accommo-

dating, and will furnish the requisite juices, and per-

form the requisite labor of digesting food, once, twice,

and even four or

at regular

iive

times a day,
it

if its

task
:

is

given

it

hours

but

must have

rest

and to insure

vigorous digestion, that rest must be as long and continuous as the regular hours of sleep.

The frequency
if
is

and time of meals

for laboring

men,

they can have

not too easily

good nourishing food, and that which

digested,

are

probably three times in twenty-four

hours, say at six in the morning, twelve at noon, and

gix at night, the

morning and noon meals containing

the principal elements for muscular power, while the

evening meal

is

such as will not, in the exhausted state

of the system, require

much

digestive labor.
sufficient

sedentary

men two
this

meals are
in

one

And

for

in the

morning and one

hour.

the afternoon,

at

some regular
will

With

arrangement a good appetite

be

27

il8

EBGtILAE HOURS NECESSARY.

if

secured at every meal, especially

we

Scrupulously

avoid taking food between meals, or within three hours

of the regular time for sleep.

Digestion will go on

while

we

sleep, unless the

powers of the system are

;

greatly exhausted
is

by the labors of the day

but sleep
is

never quiet and refreshfng while the

is

stomach

oppressed with food, and digestion

while the system
sion to notice.
is

never well done

all

exhausted, as

we have

had occa-

And

here, perhaps, as Well as elsewhere, I

plain the reason for these suggestions.

Sleep

may

ex-

"tired
all

Nature's sweet restorer " ^- imparts to the system

the nervous or vital energy which
duties of the day,
is

necessary for the

and to keep

all

our functions in

healthy, harmonious action,

for food.

and secure a good appetite

This

vital

energy must be expanded during

in mental,

waking hours, partly

and partly
it all

partly in muscular,

in digestive exercise.

We

may

so expend

in intense
left for

and continuous mental

effort as to

have

none

muscular or digestive powers, as we have

seen in cases where lawyers or legislators have given

their

whole powers of mind

to

an important case

till

Nature became exhausted, and they could neither walk

nor digest food
till

partially restored
vital

by

sleep.

Or we

may
to

so

expend the

energy in muscular exertion as

exhaust the whole vital force, and not be able to

till

think or to digest food

the vital energy

is

restored

by sleep.
fire,

Of

this

we have

seen examples in

men

at a

or in a flood, or
fall

some other

similar emergency,
;

who would

down

in utter exhaustion

and to pre

HOW

TO HAVE AN APPETITE.

415

rent taxing the digestive powers in such a state. Nature

provides

that

all

food

should

be thrown from the

till

stomach, and none afterwards received

restore the exhausted powers.

sleep should

Or we may

so engorge

the stomach as to expend

tion,
cise,

all

our vital powers on diges-

and become incapable of mental and physical exer-

to destroy the powers of life. Of this we have seen frequent examples. Two miserable meu made a wager on eating eggs. The man who should

and even

eat the greatest

number

in twelve

hou

's

should be sup-

plied with grog for a week.

Before the end of twelve

hours both

fell

into a stertorous sleep,

from which one

never recovered, and the other not for some days.

From

these principles and facts

we

get

some valuable
good appe-

hints in regard to mental, physical,

and digestive mandesire a

agement, and
tite in

may
is

infer that if

we

the morning, when, having most vital power, a

good appetite
meal

most valuable, we must not eat a hearty

at night,

when

the system
its

is

exhausted, but must

its

always give the stomach

to rest
;

regular tasks and

time

and

this is

found to be true in other animals

is

whose digestive apparatus

like that of

men.

The horse
food
is

is

kept in good condition only by being fed

at regular times,

and pigs

also thrive

much
eat

better if

withheld except at regular hours.

secure a good appetite

To
seen,

we must

good food.

Food, to be perfectly digested, as we have elsewhere

must be taken only

if

in

such quantities as the

in

system demands, and

we

take only natural food,

which

is

the appropriate mixture of necessary elements,

120

HOW

TO HAVE AN APPETITE.

the appetite can always be trusted to interpret the de-

mands of
eat too

the system,

and

in that case

we

should never

much.

But

eating, as

we

do, flour, butter, and

sugar, which have but a part of the elements required,

these articles can only be digested as they are eaten

with food deficient in the elements which they contain,

and these are very few.

articles, in just

Consequently these redundant

about the proportions in which they are

eaten, remain undigested in the stomach

and bowels,

causing flatulence and derangement of the secretions

of the stomach, mouth, and
all

the digestive organs,

taste in the

and the sordes of the

they always have

teeth,

bad

mouth,

foulness of breath, and fastidious appetite, &c., which

who

live

on these concentrated car-

bonaceous

articles.

How

to secure

good Kelish for Food.

Tlie importance of eating food with a good relish

we
and

have elsewhere explained

(see

pages

207-211),

we have
in

also

shown what considerations are necessary

etc.

regard to cooking, condiments,

What we now want

to

know

is,

what course

will best

secure such a relish for every meal of food as to induce

digestion sufficient to supply the wastes of the system,

and have a surplus for

for covering

filling

up the sharp

angles, and

up the bones and muscles with a warm and

to secure this influence

comely coat, and

permanently,

according to the evident intention of Nature?

single

For

meal, that which combines a good supply of

HOW TO

EELISH FOOD.

42]

carbonaceous elements with nitrogenous and phosphatic,

in such a

manner and with such accompaniments

but extraordinary gustatory

as to secure the highest possible gustatory enjoyments,

would be most fattening

enjoyments can no more be permanent than other extraordinary pleasures, and the reaction and subsequent
disrelish for

common and

natural enjoyments are pro-

portionate to the excess.

the relish for food

And

to attempt to

keep up

by keeping up a supply of everything

would prove an
utter failure; for

especially agreeable,

they enjoy the least

who

try the hardest to tempt the

appetite with the greatest variety of good things.

Soon

becoming cloyed with everything

rich

and savory, whUe

nothing else can be relished, the choicest viands, however nicely prepared, become loathsome and even disgusting.

But the
furnishes

appetite never cloys with food as Nature

it, if

so prepared as best to develop the relish

it,

which naturally belongs to

especially if

we cook

but

a small variety for the same meal, so that some variety

can be had continually

all the variety

but

if

we cook
is

together to-day

of meats and vegetables in

common

use,

and mingle and

their flavor together, as

done

in restaurants

hotels, although

we may have

for once

an agreeable

combination of flavors, yet having, as we must have,

the

same combination to-morrow, the next day, and

it

continually,

soon becomes tiresome.

To
ing,

secure good digestion and a good adipose cover-

two things more are needed,

the other
is

one

is

to eat slowly,

and

included in that beautiful description of

422

SLOW EATING IMPOBTAITT.

a good and happy people, they " did eat their meat with
gladness and singleness of heart."

Good Digestion depends on eating

deliberately.

No

one habit in

this

country contributes so largely to

dyspepsia and leanness as that of bolting food.

Proba-

bly the average length of time devoted to the principal

meals

is

not over fifteen minutes

among

business men,

mechanics, and laborers.

That such a habit must be

productive of indigestion, and consequent leanness, will

be

made apparent by

considering the object accom-

plished

by masticating food.

One

great object

is

to

keep in the mouth, in contact with the nerves of

the savory morsel
tions of the juices,
till

taste,

its

flavor has aroused the secre-

which are the principal agents in the

process of digestion, and gathered theto not only in the

mouth, but also in the Stomach.

That the presence

in

the mouth, and even the sight and smell of food which

we

relish,

does arouse these secretions,

we cannot have
is

failed to notice.

Another object
nute
it,

in masticating food

so to

Commiand the

that

when

received into the stomach the gastric

juice will be admitted at once to every particle,

process of digestion be

commenced at once in every part of the morsel. But how diiferent from this natural condition is the food in the stomach of the man who
can be made to pass

bolts his food in morsels as large as

down, and,

in the time necessary to prepare a single

filled his

ounce for easy digestion, has

capacious

maw

IMPORTANCE OF SLOW EATING.

v^ith these

42S
!

enormous masses of

indigestible food

have seen masses of beef thrown from the stomach

after

remaining there undigested three or four days,

or even a week.

Can we wonder,
fifteen

then, that

chants and business men,

minutes for their

we find among our merwho never can spare but meals, so many cadaverous,
that, not

desiccated, "ill-favored

and lean-fleshed" specimens of

is,

humanity ?

The wonder

conforming to the

conditions on which good healthy juices are secreted,

and not comminuting the food, so that those that are

formed can come in contact with the massive morsels,
except on their surface, enough can be digested to keep

them

alive.

Good Digestion
Nothing
is

is

promoted by

Cheerfiilness.

better understood than

that there

is

connection between cheerfulness and good digestion;

and the
ophy.

trite

expression, " to laugh and

its

grow

fat,"

un-

doubtedly had

origin in observation, if not in philos-

What an

astonishing
of,

amount and

variety of
at one

food can be disposed

sitting of

and perfectly digested,

and merry, old

two or three hours, by a company of

to say jolly

cheerful

and happy, not

help digestion
as

friends,

and
to

that without alcohol, or

I

any other unnatural stimulus, and digest

I venture to say more than three times

much

as the

same individuals could

eat

in

the same time

if

each took his meals by himself.

fact is

And

this

one

worth more than

all

else I can

1:24

CHEERFULNESS PROMOTES DIGESTION.

write to

show the dependence of the

digestive

powers

on the state of the mind, and to prove that he must be

lean

and haggard who, keeping

his

his

mind constantly on
I

his business, bolts

meals in silence and solitude,

even in the presence of his family.

commend

it

to

the careful consideration of uncomfortable mortals

who

never properly digest their food, and whose bones are

too poorly clothed with flesh,

and too poorly protected and who, therefore, envy

o'

ever to allow

them

quiet rest,

"fat, sleek-headed

men, and such as sleep

nights."

From

these considerations I venture to aflSrm, that

sick,

any man not absolutely

"

who

so trusts in Provi-

dence as to be able to obey the

spirit
;

of the injunction,

Take no thought

for the

morrow

"

who keeps from

his

stomach, except as they are needed for animal heat,

such heating food as butter, starch, and sugar, and

who, therefore, digests

all

he eats

who

eats at such

regular and appropriate times as to secure rest for the

stomach and a good appetite; who never taxes the

stomach with food when

of which

tired

and exhausted

who

eats

nothing that cannot be relished, and nothing the relish

is

not natural, or allows anything to enter the

is

stomach that

not needed as food or drink

who

takes

his food so deliberately as to

have

it

properly mastihis

cated

and lubricated, and who eats

"meat with

gladness and singleness of heart," will be exempt from

dyspepsia, and his bones will be covered with a comfortable

and comely coating of

flesh.

APPENDIX TO REVISED EDITION.

A, PAGE 33. The discovery made by Dr. Hayes, that th< aiuscle-makiug elements of nourishment reside in the oiitei i:nist of wheat and other grain, is a very important one, anc
liiough
its

practical application

has been delayed for tvrenty-

five years, will

yet result in saving thousands from Apoplexy

Chlorosis, Consumption, and hundreds of other ills which come from the use of concentrated carbonaceous food in the civUizec

world

and as a counter claim

it

for the

honor of the discoverj

bas been set up, I feel

and protect

my

record.

be my duty to go for the right I have therefore pbtaiued the following

to

Dr. Samuel L. Dana, who is known and respected by every chemist and scientific man in the coun" In 1841 or 1842, Dr. Hayes showed me his try, writes process in detail of testing whole grain, which was entirely new and original at the time.'' There was also in 1844 a re:

testimony on this point.

jiort

to the
;

Patent

Office, giving

Dr. Hayes credit for the

dis-

covery

but the most marvelous testimony (considering the

new

claim) remains to be given.

In the " Report of the Geol-

ogy of

New

Hampshire," by Charles T. Jackson, M. D., page

256. speaking of this application of tests to the whole grain, are these words : " This experiment was first made by Dr. A.

A. Hayes."

The use of the terms Nitrates, Carbonates, B, PAGE 16. and Phosphates, has been criticised but the reader will re;

it

member
readers,

that the object of the

book

is to

instruct, unscientific

and that

in using the terms as I must, perhaps,

is

one

hundred times,

quite a saving of labor to write Carbonates

and Nitrates, rather than Carbonaceous Elements, Nitrogenoua Elements, etc., and as no pretense is made for scientific acjuracy, the criticism
is

hardly

fair.

426
C,

APPENDIX TO REVISED EDITION.

PAGE
;

215.

As a means of preserving

ihe flavor of tea

Old Dominion " coffee-pot is a philosophical ar rangement as is also, on the same principle, the arrangement for preserving the flavor of meats and vegetables by Ziman merman's steamer, and Duncklee's improvement on it invention of inestimable value, both as a means of economy The principle is the same in fiiel and of wholesome cookery.
and
coffee, the "

in both, but Duncklee's

D, PA&E 63.

After
to

is

more

easily

kept clean. one of the most

in the
critical

consulting

scientific scholars in

Boston, in regard to the propriety of at-

tempting to convey
cise

common-sense minds,

most con-

manner

possible, without technical

language or more of

detail

try as

than necessary, just so much of Physiology and Chemiswould enable them to understand the subject, I wrote

the sentence referred to (p. 63), and

character, not thinking
it

many

others of a similar

possible that

any man of common

all

sense would understand this to be a full explanation of

the

author
sciences

knew
;

of Chemistry, Physiology, or

any other of the

but a professor of some school or college out West,

I never before heard, covers seven pages of a respect-

of

whom

able monthly in Detroit, in quoting these sentences, and showing

how much more

is

known

of Chemistry and Physiology,

than the author seems to know,

" the

etc., etc., beginning by comparing the " Philosophy of Eating," with the philosophy of

dawdling Mrs. Jeffersoo Brick," and closing with the

informing himself in Physiology," etc'

grave advice, that the author should correct bis second edition, after first "
aU. these,

After

and a dozen more similar, imputations against the oook, and the author's knowledge of Chemistry, Physiology, Botauy, and even Grammar, capping the climax of disparageaient with " We wonder a little why his book was written, unless it was to sell," the Professor shows his appreciation of the intellect and acquirements of his professional brethren, to whom he writes as follows " In conclusion, I would recom mend the book as containing much that is instructive to most
:

orofessional, as well as non-professjpnal, readers "