AMERICAN INSTITUTE. 243 



Dr. Waterbury remarked that one of the great advantages that 

 would result, would be enabling farmers to live upon fresh instead 

 of salt meat, which, independently of the salt, is not as whole- 

 some as fresh meat, because the act of curing with salt changes 

 the character of the flesh, and renders it less fit to be taken into 

 the human stomach. 



A desultory discussion now followed upon diet. 



Dr. Smith contending against eating so much meat as most 

 people consume in this city, as being detrimental to health. 



Solon Robinson thought variety of food more detrimental than 

 meat, and that a man might eat hearty of fresh meat if he would 

 eat nothing else. 



Dr. Waterbury thought quantity had more to do with health 

 than kind of food, and that the amount eaten must be regulated 

 entirely by a man's employment. 



Mr. Robinson remarked that the advantages of this Marie pro- 

 cess would be felt every where on the borders of our thousands 

 of roads; meat, gahie of all sorts, poultry, all meatn could be 

 thus made ready for the freight cars, go to every man's table 

 ready for action, and the offal all left in the country to 7iourish 

 the land ! Let gentlemen think for a moment of the fleet loads 

 of such stuff brought here from the country, a nuisance and dis- 

 charged through our sewers into our rivers ! 



Dr. Waterbury said it would be an unquestionable blessing to 

 us to have less salt meat; great masses of salt junk are consumed 

 and with some injury to the consumer. I say, besides this 

 method of Mons. Marie's to keep meat fresh we ought to build 

 ice houses in abundance for the keeping of our meats fresh, 

 instead of swallowing salt, salt, salt. 



Dr. Smith — I found, when in India, that our notion of strength 

 being dependent on meat is erroneous, that the rice eaters are lively 

 and strong. Four of them carry a great fat heavy perspiring Eng- 

 lishman in a palanquin all day without fatigue. So much for rice 

 vs. beef. I am a physician, and I confess my astonishment that 

 there is not more disease among our swallowers of lumps of 

 meat in large masses, and ice water- enough to drown the whole. 



Mr. Meigs said that he felt great pleasure in reading the 

 account of Boydell's grand success in producing a mechanical ox, 

 with the muscular power of sixteen horses ! and he saw an Ame- 

 rican gentleman in the room, whose talents have been long de- 

 voted to steam land locomotion. He named Mr. James K. Fisher, 

 whose beautiful painting of his steam carriage is before us, and 

 who has genius and knowledge competent to add to it powers of 



