670 



FARMERS' REGISTER— REPLY TO J. M. G. 



would serve, undoubtedly, both profitable and cor- 

 rect. 



But J. M. G. v\^as not content to overthrow this 

 sentence in its admitted weakness: he gives it 

 first a lactitious importance, of" which I liad no 

 thought, by calling it more than once an "axiom," 

 as if I had dignified it with that term, and speaks 

 of it "as designed as a kind ol' corner-stone for 

 much of my superstructure." So far firora this 

 being the case, nothing whatever rests upon this 

 "corner-stone" — and if it had been used to erect 

 conclusions on, it would only have been necessary 

 for him to point out the connexion, afier having 

 kicked avv'ay the corner-stone, and let the whole 

 superstructure tumble. An axiom is a self-evi- 

 dent proposition, so pimple as not to require, and 

 scarcely to admit ol proof: and if I had main- 

 tained that the truth of this condemned assertion 

 was as evident as that "a part is less than the 

 whole," (which would have been necessarily im- 

 plied in declaring it an axiom,) then my opponent 

 might indeed have had good ground to denounce 

 and deride so absurd a position. But though 

 nehher of these grounds assumed by J. M. G. 

 can be maintained, I am content to yield wiiat 

 may be made good, viz: that the sentence in ques- 

 tion was not expressed clearly, nor in the best 

 manner — nor as deliberately weighed as an im- 

 portant matter would have been, before being ut- 

 tered — and that indeed it is worthless, and has 

 served no purpose whatever, except as a supposi- 

 tious "corner-stone" for J. M. G's. syllogisms, 

 and to produce all this "much ado about nothing." 

 In fine, I heartily repent me of my two lines, and 

 again ask the reader's pardon ior having preached 

 eolon<r upon a text of so little worth. 



The second objection urged by J. M. G. is to 

 the Ibllowing passage (p. 501.) "Raw meat and 

 " vegetables contain more nutritive matter for the 

 " human stomach than after the loss necessarily 

 " sustained by their being coolced; yet the remain- 

 " der, after this process, is [better] fitted for the 

 " sustenance of man, and therefore is more valua- 

 " ble than the whole was before the change, and 

 " the waste caused by cooking." This, (whether 

 ri""ht or wrong,) vras stated merely as an illustra- 

 tion of the undoubted fact then under considera- 

 tion: and the main force of argument is brought 

 by J. M. G. to bear, not on the proposition as to 

 the necessary preparation of manures, but upon 

 the illustration — leaving the substance to pursue 

 the shadow. J. M. G. needs not to be informed 

 that an undoubted truth may be attempted to be 

 sustained by mistaken facts, and thereibre false 

 evidence — and that the exposure of such evidence, 

 does not serve to overthrow, or weaken, the propo- 

 sition, fi'om v/hose support it is taken away. As 

 there is the most abundant proof that the fiir great- 

 er proportion of all vegetable matters must in some 

 v.'ay or olhcr, pass through the fermentative pro- 

 cess, (and not the less so on J. M. G's. plan, than 

 on any other,) to be prepared to act as food for 

 planis, I might, as before, yield the illustration 

 used, as not at all wanling to sustain the position. 

 I readily confess that my knowledge of animal 

 physiology, as of logic, is almost nothing, and I 

 should neither be ashamed, nor unwilling to be 

 correctctl in any erroneous views, entertained and 

 expressed because they were supposed to be un- 

 doubted truths. But neither does this confession, nor 

 my high sense of respect for my critic, require me to 



yield the opinion that cooked food is more suited to 

 the digestive powers of man, than raw meat, vege- 

 tables, or grain. Such rare cases as he mentions 

 as con ti-cadict ions to my assertions, even if not 

 "misunderstood," (and thereibre presenting what 

 I have called false facts,) would simply be excep- 

 tions to the general laws of digestion, which every 

 man knows irom his own observation and exjie- 

 rience, admit of numerous exceptions and viola- 

 tions. Yielding to J. M. G. that Nebuchadnezzar 

 ate grass for several jears without damage — that 

 gourmands may not seem to lose fat byeatingbeef 

 so raw that the blood follows the knile — that most 

 stomachs (not all however) can, without apparent 

 injury, admit raw salads as a small part oi' their 

 food — and that Dr. Beaumont's wounded soldier 

 actually digested raw cabbage with uncommon 

 ease and rapidity — all these, and a thousand such 

 facts would not overthrow my very unimportant 

 assumption (that is, unimportant to the discussion 

 of the operation of manures,) that cooked food is 

 better suited to sustain man, than raw. 



But even if the many striking and notorious ex- 

 ceptions did not exist to the digestive powers of 

 the human stomach, the facts adduced by .J. M. 

 G. could have no weight, unless raw food was 

 used altogether by the individuals brought for- 

 ward — and of this there is no case, excepting the 

 first one named. In all others that are adduced by 

 J. M, G., and in all that can be adduced in the 

 history of men who have made even a single ad- 

 vance above a brutish state, the use of cooked 

 food is the general habit of ever}- individual, and 

 that of raw food, form only partial and very limit- 

 ed exceptions. To give his argument any weight 

 as to any modern and well known examples, 

 enough persons must be confined altogether to raw 

 i'bod, to be compared with, and to prove its being 

 as nourishing as if cooked. The case of Nebu- 

 chadnezzar is certainly a strong support to J. M. 

 G's. argument. He did not cat "raw vegetables" 

 only, which might be considered as roots and 

 salads — but "he "did eat grass like oxen," as is 

 thrice stated in holy writ. But a miraculous and 

 special exercise of God's just, but temporary ven- 

 geance on offenders, is surely altogether unfit to 

 be cited as an example of the ordinary course of 

 the laws of nature. If Nebuchadnezzar's expe- 

 rience is a fair proof that grass, or even raw food 

 of any kind, is equally nutritious for man as cook- 

 ed food, it would be an equally admissible and 

 sound argument, to prove by the case of Jonah, 

 that all chemists are mistaken in supposing that 

 man's life cannot be long sustained without some 

 change of air in lireathing. But I will contend no 

 farther — and wiliingly leave the decision of this 

 question to the opinions of either the learned in 

 physiology, or of those as plain and ignorant as 

 myself 



'" The last of J. B's. assertions," says J. M. G. 

 " against which I beg leave to enter my dissent, 

 " is that wherein lie speaks of the coarse manure 

 " of our farm-pens, composed, in great Jiart, of 

 " corn stalks. Of this he says, among other as- 

 " sertions, that 'every corn-stalk serves as a flue 

 " or ciiimney, to carry off the gases vidiich are 

 " evolved.' Nov\r, unless there are such things as 

 " flues and chimneys stopped at both ends, which 

 " can still carry off such subtle vapors as g'ases — 

 " or corn-stalks without joints, of which I have 

 " never yet heard — this last assumption is equally 



