March 10, 1882.] 



KNOWLEDGE 



407 



W?^i& 



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(9\\x CorifSpontifnrf £oIumn£{. 



VEGETARIAXISM. 



314] — In tho last number of your interesting joiu-nal, I observe 

 it F.R.A.S. desires a qnestion answered relating to myself 

 i •' hom he has referred to by name as a reputed advocat-e of vege- 

 tarianism) ; to wit — Am I also a vegetarian by practice ? 



Most unwilling as I am to obtrude unnecessarily any opinions of 



'lino, still more to speak publicly of my personal habits, I cannot 



1 tnit any sncli misapprehension respecting them to pass current, 



- tlie foregoing inquiry implies. 



First, as to my opiuions respecting an exclusively vegetarian 

 liift for man : these have been already so distinctly stated in a 

 little work, entitled '"Food and Feeding," which has had a wide 

 circulation, that I am astonished to learn that any one can describe 

 me as a vegetarian ; supposing that term to denote one who desires 

 to restrict himself or others to food composed of cereals and vege- 

 tables. If the term does not mean that, it is wrongly used ; for no 

 consumer of eggs, milk, cheese, or butter has the slightest claim to 

 tlic title — a remark which ought to be quite unnecessary, but is 



not so. 



To this little book permit me to make the briefest possible refe- 

 i-re. At page 21, I give my reasons why man should bo regarded 



- :in " omnivorous animal," and why there is no a priori ground 

 for " limiting his diet to products o2 either kingdom exclusively." 

 1 go on to show that the relative amounts of animal and vegetable 

 constituents in diet v.ary according to the climates, hot or cold, in 



■■'lii'h man lives. But at page 27, I express a belief that English- 



n generally eat more animal food than is desirable for health; 



1' meat, fish, eggs, and milk are generally essential for those who 

 form much mechanical labour; while tish and lighter flesh are 



tier adapted to brain-workers, &c. 



lit this I need add nothing here. 



Secondly, as to pr.actice. It is quite time that I think it worth 

 while to devote some attention to the growth of vegetables, and to 

 furnish from my garden an ample supply of fresh produce, such as 

 I can obtain nowhere eli'o. But although thus enabled to enjoy the 

 luxury of fresh green food in variety dailj- throughout the whole of 

 our long winter, I am glad to consume fish and flesh of all kinds in 

 addition, although, probably, in smaller proportion than most 

 people believe to be necessary. Let this suffice in reply. 



But now, let me further add that nothing can in my opinion be 



more unwise than to debar ourselves from the light to utilise food 

 of any and every kind. Human stomachs differ so widely — why not 

 as widely as facial physiognomy ? — that an unlimited dietary is 

 really the last thing a man who has so much to do with digestive 

 laws and tastes (my own and others) can afford to di.spcnsc with. 

 For diet, to bo wholesome, should be varied for all ; but it must also 

 differ for each, in relation to his habits, fcdcntary or active, whether 

 he is occupied with muscle work or bruin work, &c. Diet, too, 

 must differ, not merely for the young and old, but has to be changed 

 for different epochs of life, as any one who has observed the subject 

 closely, or himself has lived a good many years, must of necessity 

 have learned. How much might be said on this head. And, in 

 presence of various ailments of the body, how complex becomes the 

 subject sometimes ! How little all this seems to be taken into 

 account by people who would limit our resources in the matter of 

 food. It follows from all this, also, that I should bo the last to deny 

 that some constitutions thrive better on vegetables and cereals 

 alone, than by admixture with animal food, since this is one of tho 

 many variations which nature produces. And I think I might add 

 that an exclusively animal diet would jirobably (in our temperate 

 zone, observe) be still more rarely found the best for any man, 

 although it might, perhaps, be so for a very few. 



So many persons hastily conclude that what is best for them is 

 necessarily best for all the rest. There is no greater error, and none 

 of us can be too watchful against its influence. 



35, Wimpole-street. He.nrv Tiiomp.so.n. 



[315] — I am much surprised that "A Fellow of tiik Royal 

 Astronomical Society" (letter 215, page 362) should consider that 

 the idiosyncrasies, or some of the idiosyncrasies, of the Irish are due 

 to their feeding on potatoes. This seems to me a very absurd 

 statement to make, but I can put no other construction on his 

 words. I am sorry that he is not more definite, and docs not say 

 exactly in what way this diet can influence Irish character. If this 

 statement were worth consideration, I should ask him to show that 

 the Irish character has changed since the introduction of this tuber. 

 I believe that whether you feed a man on potatoes or on beef, if an 

 Irishman he remains an Irishman, and if an Englishman he has still 

 the characteristics of an Englishman. 



Supposing the charges made against potatoes and rice were sub- 

 stantiated, it would not militate against vegetarianism. I consider 

 that they are very unsuitable articles of food to live almost entirely 

 on, and one reason is this : AVe require a certain amount of nitro- 

 genous food (of which albumen may be taken as the type). Dr. 

 Lyon Playfair prescribes 18 parts of carbo-hydrates to 4 of nitro- 

 genons and 1 of fatty matter. This, in percentages, is 78, 172, ^i 

 respectively. Now, I do not tliink fat necessary, as the carbo- 

 hydrates can and are converted info it in the body. This makes 

 &2i of carbo-hydi-ates and fat, to 17i of nitrogenous matter. Neg- 

 lecting the water, indigestible fibre, and mineral matter, the propor- 

 tion of these two in a few foods are — Potato, 88 to 12 ; Patna rice, 

 92 to 8; fine Scotch oatmeal, 82 to IS; wheat flour, 86 to 1-1; 

 lentils and haricots, 70 to 30. It will be seen that potatoes and rice 

 are deficient in nitrogen, so that, to supply a sufliciency of this, a 

 superabundancy of other matter has to be taken. 



A Fellow of the Chejik al Societs'. 



INTELLIGENCE IN THE DOG. 



[316] — I have a very fine, large dog — a cross between a Newfound- 

 land and a retriever — that really at times astonishes me by his 

 intelligence. I have also — to make the story complete — a Skye 

 terrier, that is not over kind with his mate. Last summer, during 

 hay-time, a neighbour came to assist me one day in carting hay, 

 bringing with him a sheep-dog. This dog, whenever the cart 

 stopped in gathering up the hay, went and lay down under it. The 

 Skye terrier thought it might do the same, but this was too great 

 an intrusion to be endured by the sheep-dog, so a furious fight 

 ensued nnder the cart, the sheep-dog eventually dragging the Skye 

 into the open field. Standing about fifty yards from the cart, and 

 thinking the little rascal about to be badly used, I began to run for 

 the scene of danger. The large dog, who was near me, saw the 

 danger in which his mate was involved as well as 1 did, bounded off 

 at full speed, up with his right fore leg, and hit the cur such a 

 stroke over the side as sent him rolling twice over. The Skye 

 flew to me, evidcntlj- thankful to his powerful friend. The cur 

 retired beneath the cart. 



The same dog, only a few days ago, showed to my mind a 

 wonderful amount of sense. Two curs were fighting furiously, the 

 blood flying in\all directions. Two men were trying to separate 

 them, each seizing one by the tail. No sooner, however, were they 

 let go, than they at it again. This dog was at tho distance of a 

 hundred yards at least, with a hedge between him and the com- 

 batants, but so placed that he coukl see them. Ue looked for a 



