558 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1921. 



Commandments of Alimentary Hygiene. 



1. Clean hands, clean plates, clean dishes makes the food appetizing and 

 wholesome. 



2. Eat at regular hours, chew carefully, rest after meals. 



3. Harken to your appetite, but be not its slave; eat what you ought and 

 you will be better for it. 



4. Avoid extremes; too much and too little are equally harmful. 



5. Meat makes the muscle, but sugar gives it strength. 



6. To climb mountains, a cake of chocolate or sugar or an apple is better 

 than a thick beefsteak. 



7. A little wine nourishes; much alcohol kills. 



8. It is with milk and vegetables, and not with meat, that our skeleton is 

 built up. 



9. We must drink water to wash internally just as we wash the skin. 



10. Spinach, chiccory, cabbage, greens, and fruits do the sweeping out of the 

 intestine. 



11. Green vegetables, potatoes, beets, turnips, and fruits alkalize the organ- 

 ism. They are the antidotes for meat and eggs which acidify it. 



12. Eat your food well cooked ; it acquires flavor, digestibility, and decreases 

 in toxicity. 



To help me in this work several of my students have drawn up the 

 commandments which seemed to them the most useful. Each has 

 put into it something of his own mind, imperative, satirical, scien- 

 tific, or artistic. I publish here one of these trials, that of Mme. 

 Requin, which by its literary form is capable of impressing strongly 

 minds sensible to the charm of poetry or of being retained by the 

 memory of children. 1 

 1. De l'hygiene si tu suis les prescriptions 

 Tu pourras du Docteur eviter les potions. 



(If you follow the prescriptions of hygiene you can avoid the doctor's 

 doses. ) 

 2. Prends toujours tes repas a heures reguliSres, 

 Ayant debarrassS tes mains de leurs poussieres. 

 (Always take your meals at regular hours, 

 Having first relieved your hands of their dirt.) 



3. Sois joyeux a l'idee de manager un bon plat : 

 Ton estomac secrete alors sans etre las. 



(Be happy at the prospect of eating a good meal, 



For then your stomach secretes without becoming tired.) 



4. Ecoute : pour avoir machg ses aliments 



Avec grand soin, Fletcher vecut quatre-vingt ans ! 

 (Take heed: Because he chewed his food 

 With great care, Fletcher lived eighty years ! ) 



5. Du berceau a la tombe utilize le lait ; 



A lui seul il nourrit; c'est l'aliment complet. 



(From the cradle to the grave use milk; 

 By itself it nourishes ; it is the complete food. ) 





1 The following commandments are given in French and translated literally. 



