OATMEAL, 511 
sleeplessness, and lack of vigour all round. A yeast poultice, 
made by stirring Oatmeal into the grounds of strong beer, is a 
capital cleansing and healing application, to languid, sloughing 
sores. 
A useful food preparation for costive persons is “ Oatmeal 
Parkin”: “Take one pound of Oatmeal, a quarter of a pound 
of butter, one pound of treacle (the old-fashioned sort), a quarter 
of an ounce of pepper, the same of ginger, the same of crushed 
caraway seeds, half a teaspoonful of carbonate of soda, and a 
quarter of a teacupful of milk. Rub the butter into the Oatmeal ; 
warm the treacle, and add it; also the rest of the ingredients ; 
and lastly add the soda dissolved in the milk; then mix all 
thoroughly together. Grease a square tin, and into this put the 
mixture ; bake for one and a half hours; and cut it when cold 
into squares.” 
“ Porridge with Plums, and Turkey with Chine,” said the 
Art of Cookery (1708). And in Old Mortality (by Sir Walter 
Scott) Mrs. Wilson pronounces, “ They’re gude parritch enough 
if ye wad but tak time to sup them: I made them mysell.” 
For a porridge concocted of whole Wheaten meal, “ take two 
tablespoonfuls of this meal, smoothly mixed with one teacupful 
of cold water ; then put a pint of water into a saucepan; when 
it boils stir in the mixed meal, and boil for ten minutes, stirring 
all the time ; next place the saucepan on the hob, and cook the 
porridge slowly for half an hour, stirring occasionally.” This 
will agree with those persons who cannot take Oatmeal porridge 
without suffering discomfort, and indigestion afterwards. 
Quite recently a leading doctor in London, who isa specialist in 
diets, has expressed himself strongly against Oatmeal for persons 
of poor digestive powers. He goes so far as to say, “I consider 
it the curse of Scotland, and the curse of every community 
' which acquires a liking for it.” There are two classes of persons 
who partake of Oatmeal,—those doing hard manual labour with 
bodily toil; and those who work with their brains, but do only 
little with their muscles. The first division, such as Scotch 
quarrymen, find Oatmeal a good enough article of food; but 
to the second division, the people who live in towns, and who 
work with their brains, and are troubled with digestive disturb- 
ances, Oatmeal is little short of a poison. The average town diet 
of meat, potatoes, and bread, will supply such consumers thereof 
with infinitely more proteid, and phosphates, than they can 
