FOOD AND DRINK 97 



17. Cold is one means of preserving meat from decay. In 

 the markets of northern Russia, the frozen carcasses of animals 

 stand exposed for sale in the winter air for a considerable time, 

 and are sawed in pieces, like sticks of wood, as the purchases 

 are made such meat, when thawed, being entirely fit for 

 food. Beef and pork are preserved by salting down in brine, 

 and in this condition may be carried on long voyages, or kept 

 for future use. Salted meat is not as nutritious as fresh, since 

 the brine absorbs its rich juices and hardens its fibres. Long- 

 continued use of salt meats, without fresh vegetables, gives 

 rise to the disease called scurvy, formerly very prevalent on 

 ship-board and in prisons, but now scarcely known. 



18. Cooking. The preparation of food by the agency of fire 

 is of almost universal practice, even among the rudest nations. 

 The object of cooking is to render food more easy of digestion 

 by softening it, to develop its flavor, and to raise its tempera- 

 ture more nearly to that of the body. A few articles of flesh- 

 food are eaten uncooked in civilized lands, the oyster being 

 an instance. Raw meat is occasionally eaten by invalids 

 with weak digestive powers, and by men training for athletic 

 contests. 



19. The cooking may be so conducted as to rob the meat of 

 its tenderness, and of its flavor. The proper method, in order 



8. A Summary Concerning Diet. " The food on which the man who 

 would be healthy should live, should be selected so as to insure a variety 

 without excess. Animal food should not be taken oftener than twice 

 daily. The amount of animal and vegetable food combined should not 

 exceed 30 ounces in the 24 hours ; and for the majority of persons an 

 average of 24 ounces of mixed solid food, a third only of which should be 

 animal, is sufficient. All animal foods should be eaten while they are 

 fresh, and after they been have well cooked. The habit of eating under- 

 done flesh is an almost certain cause of parasitic disease. The amount of 

 fluid taken, in any form, should not exceed the average of 24 ounces 

 daily. Water is the only natural beverage." Dr. B. W. Richardson, 

 The Diseases. of Modern Life. 



17. Cold as a preserver ? Meat in Russia ? Beef and pork, how preserved ? Salted 

 meat as food ? Scurvy ? 



18. The antiquity of the custom of cooking food ? Object of cooking ? The oyster ? 

 Eaw meat as an occasional food ? 



19. Effect of boiling meat ? How may the cooking be done ? The proper method ? 

 Effect? Making of soup ? 



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