March, 1911. 



KNOWLEDGE. 



91 



houses these should be put on one side for tlie 

 garden). The latter should be used for making up 

 the fire. The other bin may be used for organic 

 refuse such as cabbage leaves and stalks, lettuce 

 leaves, potato peelings and pieces of unused vege- 

 tables (tea leaves are often kept for use in sweeping 

 floors), bones, after being used for soups, bits of 

 meat. Bread and toast should never be thrown 

 awav, as thev often are, even in the streets of the 

 poor. All these things are to be regarded as valuable 

 bye-products of the house. Some means ought to 

 be devised for regularly collecting this matter from 

 house to house ; attempts in this direction are being 

 made here and there by the Salvation Army and 

 certain Sisters of Mercy. \\'e presume that soup is 

 made of this material, but a far better plan would be 

 to use it for pig-feeding, in which way it would be 

 more completely used and converted into bacon 

 (which, at present, commands a high price). 



The keeping of pigs by country labourers, farmers 

 and others would thus be encouraged. The local 

 authorities in towns, who at present take away all 

 the house refuse, would be extremely glad to see 

 such a change as this, for their carts would onl\- be 

 required to take away the inorganic matter, and thus 

 much trouble and expense would be avoided, and 

 that would mean a saving in rates (which in most 

 places are rapidl\- rising). On the other hand, 

 municipal piggeries might be worth considering. 



Ladies might well devote more attention to tlie 

 subject of food and diet. Our health depends 

 partlv on the food we eat. and the way it is 

 kept and prepared. It may safely be stated 

 that the hygiene of the larder and scullery in 

 most houses is somewhat neglected. Meat guards 

 might be used much more extensively. Rats and 

 mice should be ruthlessly exterminated, as well as 

 cockroaches and flies. Tinned meats should be 

 avoided, especially tinned lobsters, oysters, shrimp 

 paste, and so on. Even tinned fruits are not quite 

 safe. Meats are now often done up in glasses, but 

 air occasionalh' finds its way into these, causing 

 decomposition. Ladies who do not study the 

 hygiene of food would be surprised if they knew of 

 the dangers that lurk in tinned foods. A good plan 

 would be to give a general order to the cook that 

 no such preparations be allowed to enter the 

 house. Raw oysters are by no means safe — they 

 should be cooked, and so should escallops and mussels; 

 the latter are very wholesome and nourishing. 

 Wholemeal bread is far preferable to the ordinary 

 white kind, which unfortunatelv lacks some of the 

 most important constituents of the wheat grains. 



Steam cookers both for meat and vegetables should 

 be used ; in this way valuable salts and juices are 

 retained, which bv ordinary methods are lost. 



The adulteration of food is a subject on which 

 much instruction is wanted. More public analysts 

 and public inspectors are greatly needed. Magistrates 

 should inflict severe sentences in those cases where 

 the evil-doers are brought to justice. In all our large 



towns a great deal of diseased meat is sold to the 

 poor, especially in the form of sausages. Vegetarians 

 avoid these dangers, and they set a good example; but 

 those who do not wish to abandon a diet of flesh 

 might well take less of it, and pay more attention to 

 fruits, vegetables, milk and cheese, which are quite 

 sufficient to keep us in health. We should then 

 hear less about ptomaine poisoning, which is 

 frequenth' connected with the eatiuL' ■ ' k^pies. 

 Fruits might be used by all classes a gr^ .,. i more. 

 Every countrv in the world can send its fruits to 

 Great Britain and Ireland free of anj' tax. This is 

 a great national blessing, and one which is hardly 

 appreciated as it ought to be. Young people might 

 be encouraged by their parents to eat apples, oranges, 

 grapes, nuts, figs, raisins, dates, plums, currants, and 

 so on, and at the same time to consume less of pastry, 

 sweets, pickles and sauces. Parents ma}- reph' that 

 many fruits are expensive. To this we may say, 

 apples and oranges can be obtained cheaply by 

 buving in large quantities, especialh' from the stores. 

 The very finest apples, for example, can be purchased 

 at about \\A. each by buying a large box containing 

 about one hundred and twenty. The same with 

 oranges. The fruit ma\" easilv be stored on wooden 

 shelves in a wine cellar, and the riper ones picked 

 out for present consumption, leaving the rest to 

 ripen graduallv for a month or two. They do far 

 more good to the \'0ung people than luedicines. 

 Their use tends to keep down doctor's bills. 

 Unfortunately, the less educated portion of the 

 public still puts great faith in patent medicines and 

 patent foods, and their credulity is incomprehensible ; 

 Iving advertisements, and the promises held out 

 therein, are accepted with a faith that is simjily 

 amazing. Nothing but education can stop this 

 growing evil, for no Government has the courage to 

 warn foolish people in such matters ! Much might 

 be said about the excessi\'e use of stimulants, 

 narcotics and drugs, but it is impossible to deal 

 adequateh' with the subject here. Suffice it to sa}-, 

 that for most people the less alcohol they consume 

 the better. Man)- old people have attributed their 

 long lives to total abstinence. Even the doctors are 

 much less in favour of alcohol than in former times. 

 But with regard to tea and coffee much might be 

 said ; onl\- we fear the ladies will not thank us for 

 saving that the excessi\'e use of tea (and coffee) by 

 all classes is really a grave danger! It is taken far 

 too strong and too frequently, and it should be 

 poured off into another vessel after standing three 

 or four minutes. Medical men are beginning 

 to realize the magnitude of this evil. On all sides we 

 hear of people suffering from " nerves,"' and yet they 

 continue drinking large quantities of tea. When to 

 these habits the}- add want of exercise, excessive 

 eating (often of over-rich food, highly spiced with 

 sauces), and somewhat idle habits, what wonder 

 is it that they become depressed, morbid and 

 unhappy ? When the mind is left uncultivated by the 

 verv best literature and art, the effects are still worse. 



( To he cuntiiiiicd I, 



