294 THE SNAKES OF SOUTH AFRICA. 



up boy and girl to know are usually concealed from them. 

 Surely it seems a most essential thing for boys and girls to be 

 taught how to keep the mechanism of their bodies in good 

 going order. Have you ever seriously asked yourself the question, 

 " Why do I eat certain foods, and swallow certain drinks ? Are 

 they good or bad for me ? Do they suit my constitution, my 

 habits of life, and do they contain the right elements of food- 

 material necessary for the nourishing of brain, bone, and 

 muscle ? " 



The Science of Eating. 

 The science of eating includes not only the study of the food 

 values of the various articles of diet, and how to prepare them. 

 It is necessary also to understand the physiology of digestion ; to 

 know exactly what takes place after the food is swallowed. 

 If we make a study of this, we shall find out just how long it takes 

 the various kinds of food to digest. We shall know that well- 

 cooked rice is digested in an hour and a half. Pork from five to 

 six hours, and possibly not at all if the stomach is not strong. 

 We shall know that an average meal takes about five hours to 

 digest, and that to swallow fresh food when the last meal is still 

 digesting, will sooner or later weaken the strongest digestive 

 system, because it is a violation of a natural law. 



What a Famous Physician Says. 

 In this connection, it will not be out of place to quote what 

 Dr. J. H. Kellogg, a famous medical author, says : " Eating 

 between meals is a gross breach of the requirements of good 

 digestion. The habit many have of eating fruit, confectionery, 

 nuts, sweetmeats, etc., between meals, is a certain cause of 

 dyspepsia. No stomach can endure such usage. Those who 

 indulge in this manner, complain of little appetite, and wonder 

 why they have no relish for their food, strangely overlooking 

 the real cause, and utterly disregarding one of the plainest laws 

 of Nature. This evil practice is often begun in early childhood. 

 Indeed, it is too often cultivated by mothers, and the would-be 

 friends of the little ones, who seek to gratify them by presents 

 of confectionery and other tit-bits of various sorts. Under 



