THE FARMER AT HOME. 269 



matter of indispensable necessity ; but many of those who take 

 luncheon find it to spoil the digestion both of itself and of their dinner ; 

 much more will this be felt by the dyspeptic patient, who needs his 

 stomach to be undisturbed during the digestion of his regular meals, 

 and who should not exhaust his powers by calling them too frequently 

 into action. If additional food be taken before the former portions 

 are assimilated, the process will be disturbed ; and however plausible 

 may be the maxim, that the stomach will be best managed and the 

 strength improved, by taking small quantities of food very frequently, 

 yet this is not found to be true ; in fact, the invalid thrives much 

 better by regular meals at proper intervals, than by that constant 

 throwing in of supply as fast as a morbid craving calls for it, or as a 

 false theory says it should be swallowed. 



The number of meals to be taken cannot be subjected to any con- 

 stant rule. Most people take three in the day ; one copious and 

 substantial, the others more sparing, and with a larger proportion of 

 fluid. Some hardly consider tea as a meal, and some dispense alto- 

 gether with supper. Those who dine plentifully, and dine late, that 

 is to say, any time after five, may well dispense with supper ; but 

 those who dine before three, will find it for their comfort to take a 

 light supper before going to bed. The quantity of food to be taken at 

 each meal, it is quite impossible to limit by weight or measure. It 

 is a moral duty to stop short at the point where nature is satisfied, as 

 indicated by a certain feeling of satiety that few persons may not be 

 conscious of experiencing at every meal ; and those who are at all in 

 bad health, especially with dyspeptic symptoms, ought to be still more 

 watchful of the coming on of this sensation. 



It is proper for those who in general feed to the full, to practice 

 abstinence occasionally, by avoiding solid food, and taking some weak 

 broth. By incessant copious feeding, that state will be induced which 

 is called high health, but from which the transition is easy and proba- 

 ble, to fevers and various other complaints. Convalescents should be 

 very cautious not to urge too hastily their return to strength and 

 vigor. After an acute disease, the person, weak and emaciated, has 

 a good appetite ; but it is dangerous to indulge this, lest he bring his 

 system too rapidly to that state which, relatively to him, is that of 

 high excitement ; and liability to inflammatory diseases. When habits 

 are once formed with respect to the quantity and quality of food, they 

 should not be suddenly altered. Some have no doubt been successful, 

 in rapidly changing from a nutritious and stimulant diet to a spare 

 one ; but it is generally safer to alter the habits by degrees, provided 

 it be really and steadily done. On the other hand, it is equally well 

 known, that those who have been long fasting run the greatest risk of 

 suffering, even fatally, by the sudden use of too much nourishing 

 food. 



MECHANICAL PO YERS. The mechanical powers are simple 



