A GOOD DlNtfEK. 231 



It is exceedingly difficult to lay down general rules in 

 regard to diet. To a certain extent each person must be a 

 law unto himself, for what agrees well with one may act 

 almost as a poison to another. Moderation should always be 

 observed, especially in taking foods to which we are not 

 accustomed. 



A Good Dinner. Suppose one were to sit down to eat 

 dinner when ravenously hungry. If in such a condition one 

 begins with solid food, he is likely to eat too fast. Hunger 

 is a demand of the system for food. It takes some time for 

 solid food to go through all the processes of digestion, and be 

 absorbed into the system and appease hunger. But if a soup 

 be first taken, which is readily absorbed, the demand of the 

 system will begin to be met, and there will not be the same 

 tendency to rapid eating. Further, a warm soup stimulates 

 the blood flow in the mucous membrane, and thus prepares 

 for more thorough digestion. It is more easy after a soup to 

 deliberately masticate the solid portion of a meal. Dessert 

 and sweetmeats, following a meal, are often very helpful by 

 further stimulating the secretion of the glands. Nuts, which 

 are not very digestible, are beneficial if eaten sparingly. The 

 agreeable taste stimulates the salivary glands, and the alka- 

 linity of the saliva stimulates the gastric glands to increased 

 activity. The same may be said of cheese. 



" Cheese is a surly elf, 

 Digesting all things hut itself." 



The average pie needs some extra help for its digestion. 

 Donoghue, formerly champion long-distance skater, when 

 asked if he dieted in preparation for a race, said he avoided 

 pastry. If the vigorous digestion of a man skating for hours 

 daily in zero weather cannot profitably manage pie, how in 

 the case of sedentary persons ? If pie is eaten, it should be 

 masticated with very great thoroughness. 



