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and the women and girls came to him in a very short time and said, 

 "You will have to take away this fresh air and ventilation, because 

 we cannot afford to eat as much as we are eating now." He, being a 

 wise man, said, "I will increase your wages." Invariably you will 

 find that people who are out in the open air will require more to 

 eat than those who work in closed rooms, and that is why a farmer 

 requires more to eat than a man in a store or office. 



If I should tell you that with some bread and butter, a glass of 

 milk and some of these apples, you would have just as much nour- 

 ishment as your body can take care of, would you believe it? You 

 would stand just as good a chance of being well developed as if you 

 sat down to as big a fare as could be suggested. You say you 

 would not be satisfied with it. Why ? Not because your hunger re- 

 quired more, but because you have developed an abnormal appetite. 

 Americans have this appetite more than other people, but we are not 

 any healthier than some of the other nationalities. We do not show 

 up any better when it comes to times of great muscular effort. The 

 excess food does not do us any particular good, probably some harm, 

 for lots of people about middle age have some form of stomach 

 and liver troubles, which is generally due to mistakes in diet. The 

 simple fare is quite as nourishing as the more elaborate. You will 

 get all the body requires, all the tissue-building material and all the 

 heat and energy necessary from a piece of cheese, bread and butter, 

 — and a cup of tea, if you wish. I would add to it some celery or 

 some other kind of vegetable, or some apple sauce, if you wish ; we 

 get most of the mineral matter from the vegetables and fruits. The 

 simpler the bill of fare the better it is for your health and your 

 pocketbook. 



As to the principles of cooking; it is well to spend more time 

 making things better, if you can, than to try to make so many 

 things at once. You cannot bake pies and cakes and roast beef in 

 the oven at the same time, and have them all equally satisfactory. I 

 would far rather sit down to a table with nothing on it but mashed 

 potatoes and roast beef, if they are correctly prepared, than a long 

 bill of fare badly cooked. Speaking of mashed potatoes, I do not 

 know of anything that is more likely to cause dissension in a family 

 than a watery potato served instead of that feathery, light, fluffy, 

 dish of potatoes that is like a snowdrift. There is nothing more 

 delicious or more digestible than baked potato. If it is left in the 

 oven too long it is heavy, soggy, and tough-skinned and not half 

 what it should be. 



There is no better way to prepare beefsteak than to broil it. 

 There are some men who can cook a steak better than women. I 

 have alwavs found that when a man can cook he usually does it well, 

 because he takes pride in it. He knows where the best steak comes 

 from and he is particular about rules and directions. He wants a 

 good, hot fire, glowing coals, and a broiler or a frying pan just as 

 hot as he can get it. He cooks the steak on the outside quickly, to 



