52 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



[April, 



mouy with them on pretty much all subjects 

 save eatiug. No man, no matter how healthy, 

 robust or physicall}' strong he is, can afford to 

 impose upon his organization by forming a 

 habit of indiscriminate eating. Nor can he 

 do so with impunity, for he will be drawing 

 drafts upon his physical constitution that 

 must some day be paid, whether that day 

 matures "sooner or later." True, he may 

 claim that "he knows himself" — that he 

 knows exactly what to do, and what to leave 

 undone — in which he is liable to be mistaken 

 — and that with him it makes no difference at 

 all when, where, what and how he eats. As 

 a nation, it is said that Americans eat too 

 rapidly ; do not sufficiently masticate their food ; 

 eat too irregular, and too large a quantity at 

 a time. Be this as it may. It is not the quan- 

 tity, nor yet always the quality of the food we 

 eat, that furnishes the greatest nourishment 

 to the human system ; but the amount that is 

 assimilated ; and assimilation is a process 

 that is subordinate to physiological laws ; 

 and, whatever hinders, retards, or subverts 

 the proper execution of those laws, in a de- 

 gree defeats assimilation; and, instead of 

 food being a physical support, it becomes a 

 physical burden. Man may accustom himself 

 to eat but one meal a day (although we hardly 

 think it advisable) or two, three, four, or 

 even five meals in a day ; provided he eats 

 them at regular periods, in reasonable quantity, 

 and properly masticated, and also eats noth- 

 ing between meals, the diflferent number of 

 daily meals may not materially affect the 

 general health of the man. In other words, 

 if it requires ten pounds of food, daily, to 

 support a man, it perhaps would be little 

 matter whether he ate it in one meal, or five 

 meals, provided he ate it at regular periods, 

 and did not exceed the daily amount of ten 

 pounds. But if he ate ten pounds twice, 

 thrice, four times, or five times a day, when 

 he really only required ten i)ounds in all, it 

 seems clear that he could not possibly assimi- 

 late it, and hence all over the ten pounds 

 would be a "dead weight," and hence an in- 

 jury. 



.Judging from outward appearances alone, it 

 would seem that there are many people in the 

 world who do not recognize, or are perfectly 

 oblivious to the fact, that the human body is 

 governed by fixed laws— that it is, as it were, 

 a niaclmie, which will endure for a longer 

 period, and more efficiently, when inoperly 

 used, than it will when improperly abused ; 

 and perhaps the haliit of eating hetwem 

 meals is more injurious than "gormandiz- 

 ing" at meals. If the human stomach was 

 endowed with speech, it doubtless would 

 make many "awful complaint.s" against ty- 

 rannical masters, for the heavy burdens im- 

 posed upon it. If it were a copper-lined tub, 

 into whicli all manner of food-substances were 

 thrown— Dutch cheese, bologna sausages, 

 salted herring, mince pies, orange peal, fat 

 pork, cocoa crumbs, raw onions, saur-kraut, 

 and a hundred other things— almost every 

 moment during the day, expecting to form 

 healthy food out of it, there would be as lit- 

 tle good to hope from it, as there is from the 

 heterogeneous mass of "all sorts" that is 

 forced into the human stomach every hour of 

 the day, by many untimely and indiscriminate 

 eaters. Perhaps the health, happiness and 



prosperity of all animated nature, including 

 the human family, depends more upon eating 

 than upon any one other thing in life's opera- 

 tions, and perhaps, also, man is the only be- 

 ing that does not eat habitually, "in decency 

 and in order " ; and yet, it is a self-evident 

 faet, that he cannot long exist usefully witli- 

 out eating. We are admonished that we 

 should "eat and drink to the glory of God," 

 and it is, perhaps, the only thing in which we 

 are the least subordinate to the laws of God. 

 We are not willing to allow the stomach rest, 

 or time for digestion and assimilation, but 

 continue to impose upon it one burden after 

 another in rapid succession, before it has had 

 time to dispose of its first burden. 



Of course, something depends upon human 

 exercise and occupation. The man who has 

 much rugged, active and wearing exercise, is 

 likely to have a better appetite, better diges- 

 tion and assimilation than the man of seden- 

 tary or indiscriminate habits, and what might 

 affect the latter injuriously, would have a dif- 

 ferent efl'ect upon the former ; but we cannot 

 always know the evil effects of abusive eating, 

 or any other debauch, immediately after in- 

 dulgence in it. These evil eftects sometimes 

 only manifest themselves long after the wan- 

 ton indulgence, when the physical energies 

 become weakened by age. Then, when we 

 have learned through stern experience, wo 

 wonder we could not have seen the folly while 

 we were yet in the prime of life. 



EXCERPTS. 



Dr. M. S. Leslie, of Lexington, Ky., says 

 that the best remedy in ordinary hiccoughs is 

 about twenty-flve grains of common table salt 

 placed in the mouth and swallowed with a 

 sip of water. 



The pine forests discovered lately in the 

 Province of Ontario are now estimated to 

 yield 24,000,000,000 feet of timber, which can 

 easily be brought to market. 



A few drops of ammonia added to a gallon 

 of water and applied once a week to all pots 

 of flowers will do much good and keep the 

 pots and earth from souring. 



Never wear a good woolen dress into the 

 kitchen without the protection of a large 

 apron. 



No flannel that has not been carefully 

 washed, and is not perfectly soft and fleecy, 

 should ever touch the skin of an infant. 



Your fat must be boiling when you put 

 your meat in it to fry. 



"Middlings" flour contain the best elements 

 of wheat. 



Slow and long cooking will make tough 

 meat tender. 



There were zoological gardens in China 

 lyore than two thousand years ago. 



The use of green or damp fuel 'of any sort 

 is very unprofitable. A large amount of the 

 heat wliicli it would yield, if dry, is absorbed 

 and lost in the evaporation of the sap or 

 moisture. 



Dr. Luton, of Rheims, reports that he has 

 discovered that the ergot of rye associated 

 with phosphate of soda produces on those to 

 whom it is administered a hilarious excite- 

 ment similar to that which is brought on by 

 laughing gas, 



When oil is heated sufficiently in a closed 

 vessel, from which the air is excluded, it 

 turns to gas, which occupies many times the 

 bulk that the oil did. This is the philosophy 

 of pop-corn and explains its tendency to burst 

 into curious forms on being roasted. 



At a meeting of the American Association 

 of Window Glass Manufacturers lately, in 

 Washington, the product of the past year was 

 reported to have been nearly 2,250.000 boxes, 

 valued at about $6,000,000. Tlie demand for 

 consumption has taken the entire product. 



The Prefetti of Italy have been Instructed 

 to use all their influence to prevent laborers 

 from going out to Panama. There are more 

 men on the isthmus already than can be em- 

 ployed and it is the intention of those in 

 charge of the canal excavation to depend 

 mainly on Chinamen. 



Chloral hydrate has proved an efficient anti- 

 dote in several recently reported cases of se- 

 vere poisoning by belladona in England. 



Charred corn is one of the best things which 

 can be fed to hens to make them lay, not as a 

 regular diet, but in limited quantities each 

 day. 



It costs but very little per head to raise 

 sheep. Not only will they pay as farm stock, 

 but as is commonly known, sheep restore fer- 

 tility to land. 



Anybody can have grape vines by cutting 

 them properly. Trim off a portion of the old 

 vine and leave a bud at each end. Stick one 

 end in the ground and it will take root. 



Strawberry plants should be set out as early 

 in the season as possible in order to avoid a 

 dry spell. Nothing is so fatal to young plants 

 as lack of moisture after being transplanted. 



In breeding fowls for eggs, use the Leghorns, 

 Houdans, Black Spanish and Hamburgs — non- 

 setters. For market chicks, the Plymouth 

 Rocks, Brahmas and Cochins should be tried. 



Those feeding bran should not lose sight of 

 the fact that wheat ground by the "new pro- 

 cess" converts the best part of the bran into 

 flour, and what is left is of but little value as 

 cattle food. 



One cow well fed and comfortably cared for 

 will produce quite as much milk and butter as 

 two that are allowed to run at large, lie on 

 the wet ground and be subject to the expos- 

 ure of the weather. 



An application of 100 pounds of nitrate of 

 soda to an acre of wheat, where the crop looks 

 weak, will show its benefit in a few days, not 

 only improving it in growth but largely in- 

 creasing the yield. 



Ensilage is nothing new, as far as preserva- 

 tion is concerned. It is simply keejting gi'een 

 food through the winter by the exclusion of 

 air. It is on the same principle as cauning, 

 only on a larger scale. 



Onions are the first vegetables that get in 

 the ground. Tlie land should be very rich. 

 Tliey can be grown in tlie same place every 

 year, as they are very nearly equally propor- 

 tioned in the constituent elements derived 

 from the soil. 



Alum water is recommended for preventing 

 bugs and worms from infesting flour mills. 

 Dissolve two pounds of alum in three quarts 

 of warm water and supply with a brush to 

 crevices where insects m^y be concealed. 



