WJJJJJJJ^jf
 
 <r/ 

 
 
 ON EDUCATION. 
 
 by 
 
 PRATT, I FRANKLIN, 
 
 DE GENLIS, 1 &c. 
 
 ">>A%?:,>H/'»^.ii 
 
 rrinted and sold by G. Nicholson, I'oiighiiiH, near Ludlow. 
 
 Sold also, in London, by 
 
 Champante .V Whitrow, Aldgate. M. D. symonds, I'aternostcr-row 
 
 Lockington, Allt-n, Ar Co., Vinsbury-squarci 
 
 and all otl.tr Uookscllers. 18t6.
 
 ON EDUCATION. 
 
 BY MR. PRATT. 
 
 I see too plainly custom forms us all : 
 
 our thoughts, our morals, our most fix'd belief, 
 
 are consequences of our place of birtli : 
 
 born beyond Ganges, I had been a Pagan ; 
 
 in France, a Christian; I am here a Saracen. 
 
 T is but instruction all ! Our parent's hand 
 
 writes on our hearts the first faint characters, 
 
 which time retracing deepens into strength 
 
 which nothing can etface but death or heaven.— Z^r^. 
 
 Just as the twig is bent the tree's inclin'd. — Pope. 
 
 ILet us imagine, as an elucidation of the above as- 
 sertions, a child born under every favourable event 
 of temporal prosperity; the fatiier rich, and the 
 mother beautiful; it's cradle is soft and downy, it's 
 pap is made of the whitest bread ; and every accom- 
 modation that the little stranger demands, is furnish- 
 ed with the most pompous parade, and in the high- 
 est perfection. It will not be long before these soft- 
 nesses will have so great an influence on the body, 
 that the infant must imbibe from these blessings aQ 
 idea of luxury. This idea will be constantly recur- 
 ring, and every day's illustration of the points which 
 first produced it, will expand on the imagination, 
 which, like the passions and appetites, is no foe to 
 delicacies. Voluptuous images, thus associated, are 
 easily admitted into the young heart, and every- 
 thing which does not correspond with those images, 
 will in proportion, be rejected. Accustomed to light 
 and spacious apartments, he would not venture into 
 
 Literary Miscellany, No. '[^^■..n^.-i >;, -rVr "
 
 ON EDUCATION. Pratt. 
 
 (..<►.>.. 
 
 a dark passage without his nurse or governante. 
 Suppose, on the other hand, a child, the offspring of 
 laborious and indigent parents; it's birth is effected 
 upon the straw, or upon sacking, without curtains; 
 the wind blows hard through the casement; the mother 
 lies down contented with her small-beer caudle, and 
 on the third or fourth day she is up, and dandling 
 the babe upon her knee, or dancing it in her arms. 
 The mother of the other, meanwhile, is gradually 
 recovering from the painsof labour, upon a couch of 
 down; stops up every crevice of air, *' lest the breeze 
 of heaven should visit her too roughly." Dares not 
 rise till she is sufficiently weakened by the forms of a 
 fashionable lying-in, as it is, in this case, emphati- 
 cally called; and, at last, after much effort and 
 more ceremony, she ventures abroad, on some au- 
 spicious, sun-shiny day, under the fortification of 
 cloaks, hoods, and handkerchiefs, just to take an air- 
 ing, with the glasses other carriage drawn up, and 
 then returns to her chamber, shivering at those gale^ 
 vhich fan the face of the poor woman, who inhales 
 them as the most natural restoratives of health and 
 beauty. • About the time that the rich child 
 
 begins to know the delicacy of it's condition, the 
 poor one would find itself promising and hardy, and 
 in some degree inured to the storms of life. Let them 
 be at this period each five years old ; the one has ac- 
 quired a sepsation of softness, the other a habit of 
 hardiness. Suppose then, about this time, it were 
 possible for them to change situations. The penny- 
 less lad shall go into the warm villa, the rich strip- 
 Hug into the cold cottage; what would be the con- 
 sequence? Exactly the same as if the two mothers 
 '^Xi^ fathers were to exchange. All would be di^-?
 
 ON EDUCATION. 
 
 tress, dilemma, confusion, and awkwardness: the 
 pampered youtli would croud over the wretched bit 
 of a blaze, made by two sticks laid across a brick; 
 and the lad who was bred in a tempest, and seasoned 
 to wind and weather, would very probably toss his 
 plaything against the hne sash-window to let in the 
 air, and prevent suffocation. Thus far I have 
 
 spoken respecting the intluence of early habits on 
 the hody. Let us now see what effect they have on 
 the miyid. The connexion between our mortal and 
 immortal part, is far closer than betwixt man and 
 wife. Nothing can befal the one which is indifferent 
 to the other: sympathy implanted by nature is pow- 
 erfully reciprocated ; and the tie is at once tender 
 and forcible. Consequently, the minds of those two 
 boys, must be affected very sensibly by their respec- 
 tive educations and customs. As they grow up, those 
 customs will so strengthen, that nothing but ** death 
 or heaven" can reconcile them to an innovation 
 either in thought, word, or deed. The poor bov hav- 
 ing heard nothing but unpolished language, ate noth- 
 ing but coarse food, and passed his day amon? 
 clowns and cattle, will continue in the track, and if, 
 by any unlucky stroke of chance, he be called to 
 new pursuits, his misery must be dated from the dav 
 in which he deserted the spade, the ploughshare, o'r 
 the flail. The rich boy, in the mean time, rises into 
 man, amid the clash of carriages, the comfort of 
 couches, aud the luxuries of laziness. His ears are 
 accustomed to music, fashion, and flattery; his eyes 
 are daily charmed with objects of dissipation or de- 
 light. No possible accident could be jnore fatal to 
 his peace, than a sudden deprivation of these pleas- 
 ures. Take him again into the hut, he finds himself
 
 6 ON EDUCATION. Pratl. 
 
 like a fish upon land, out of his element: the great- 
 est transports of the peasant, are to him agony; and 
 every thing around, and within him, is as strange as 
 if he had stepped into a new world. Why is all this ? 
 Merely because they have been taught to think, 
 and feel, and act differently. We will pro- 
 
 ceed, gentle reader, if you please, to further familiar 
 illustrations. Imagine that when these children were 
 five weeks old, the mother of the poorest, reduced to 
 extreme necessity, puts her infant into a basket, and 
 lays it at the door of a person equally celebrated for 
 wealth and benevolence, the gentleman takes it into 
 his house, clothes, feeds, and educates it as his own. 
 That very infant, which with ih^ parent would be 
 the lout I have described, would, with \\.\ protector, 
 be as different a creature as could exist. His pains, 
 passions, pleasures, and ideas, totally reversed. Im- 
 agine, likewise, that some gipsy steals, or kidnaps, as 
 it is called, the rich child from the cradle, and strolls 
 with it up and down the country: it will have it's 
 education in the open air, it's lodging in a barn, and 
 it's dirty diet under a hedge. Probably it will im- 
 bibe the craft and subtlety of the gipsy, and limit 
 it's utmost ambition to trick the traveller out of six- 
 pence, cross the palm with silver, and tell the events 
 which have happened, or are still to be brought for- 
 ward, by the Hue of life. Thus in every other in- 
 stance (with a few peculiar exceptions, which have 
 nothing to do with general rules), habit and education 
 form the mind, and colour the human character. 
 There are, doubtless, some constitutions so adapted 
 by nature to virtue, that no troubles, situations, nor 
 temptations, can subdue or extirpate their amiable 
 propensities, but ninety-nine times put of a hundred.
 
 ON EDUCATIONi 7 
 
 a character takes it's bias and bearing from mere tu- 
 ition and the line it is either led or thrown Into irt 
 the first stage of the huirian journey. If there be 7io 
 innate ideas, it follows that the mind of every nevv- 
 born babe is equally pure. If there he those infan* 
 tine seeds of the understanding and little embrios of 
 intellect, they are easily turned into what channel 
 the parent thinks proper, so that I cannot but think 
 the father of a family one of the most awful charges 
 upon earth. Jt is admitted, that many chil* 
 
 dren are unlike their parents both good and bad ; 
 yet you will observe, where the notions of parents 
 and children are dissimilar, the dissimilitude arises 
 rather from ditierence of ages, or improper culture, 
 than any thing else; in general, children arenotliker 
 in features than habits, and family-?72/w(^5 are as often 
 transmitted as iMwW^^ -faces. There is a tractabihty 
 in youth which receives, likesnovv, every impression, 
 and it is almost as difficult to erase the impression 
 of one as the other. If a son be trained up early to 
 decency of manners, and have the example of digni- 
 ty living and moving before his eyes (unless his tem- 
 per be particularly untoward) he will turn out an 
 elegant character. If he be trained up in diiferent 
 principles, he will act accordingly. The hoyden and 
 the prude, among the other sex, take not their tint 
 of character one time in ten from nature, but from an 
 early neglect of giving them a proper idea of deport- 
 ment. It may be opposed, that very sedate women 
 have romping, runaway daughters, and very prudent 
 fathers have very perverse sons. I mean to say no 
 more than this, that generally m^w -xn^ women act 
 and think as they are taught while they are onlv 
 able to lisp out their meaning; that education will 
 1^
 
 8 ON EDUCATION. Pvait. 
 
 have some influence on the most abandoned; and 
 that, on the whole, virtue and vice depend very es- 
 sentially on our primary sentiments and examples ; 
 which, whether good or ill, will eternally attend us, 
 in some measure, through all possible transitions, 
 from the time we leave our cradles, to the time we 
 shall be deposited in our coflins. Habit ope- 
 
 rates with equal energy on man and beast. Evi- 
 dences of the fact appear continually. Cast your 
 eyes on that horse now engaged in dutiful drudgery, 
 and on the herds and flocks which are grazing or 
 sporting in the adjoining pasture ; but we will con- 
 fine ourselves to our own species, which are certainly 
 the most interesting objects of speculation. I was 
 about to observe, that custom has much to do with 
 our characters. There are certain actions so natur- 
 ally and palpably good or evil, that neither sophistry 
 nor slander, nor address, can either injure, mend, or 
 mar them. To question the light at noon day, or 
 the dark in the zenith of the night, would argue a 
 malady beyond madness: so, in like manner, to dis- 
 pute, whether downright wickedness be wickedness, 
 and evident excellence be excellence, would be a lu- 
 nacy in ethics, so absurd, that the poetical frenzy of 
 poor Lee would be cool argument to it; on the other 
 hand, if you live and mix long with mankind, you 
 yillfind many of yopr fellow-creatures, pining away 
 existence under the lashes, the bleeding lashes, of 
 reproach, merely because it is the custom to call one 
 thing right and another wrong, without tracing either 
 to the bottom. It is a maxim that the Vox Populi, 
 is the Vox Dei, that "what every body says must 
 be true." J know nothing so deserving refutation as 
 a collection of those old saws and proverbs, which.
 
 OF EDUCATION. 9 
 
 acquiring force from antiquity, and estimation from 
 rust, (for tliere are virtuosos in letters, as well as in 
 coins) are at length considered as utterly incontesti- 
 ble. Now, certain T am, that on an examination in- 
 to those very maxims we put so much credit in, some 
 will turn out futile, some disputable, and many un- 
 faitfiful. This is not a place for minute scrutinies, it 
 will be sufficient to look into fhat which I have just 
 mentioned, and there is none moreimplicity believed. 
 *' What every body says must be true." 1 have seen 
 many instances to disprove this; I will recur to one 
 only which is uppermost in my memory. A young 
 gentleman of my particular acquaintance, has for 
 some time been deserted by his old companions, and 
 branded as a man of unsteady principles, whose heart 
 I know to abound with all those sensibilities which 
 hurried him into the vortex of liberality, till he has 
 become an object of liberality himself. He has those 
 glowing feelings and sentiments which do at once 
 honour and service to human nature ; notwithstand- 
 ing which, embarrassments have beset him, and the 
 world puts him down as an undone man. The world 
 gets hold of a prejudice, and then it is called Vox 
 Dei. The Vox Populi, is given as the sentiment of 
 everT/ bodj/, and thus many reputations are mistaken 
 and misrepresented, which deserve a better fate. 
 There are various persons likewise particularly re- 
 probated for a few indelicate concessions to which 
 necessity may, in violence of their better judgments, 
 have constrained them to yield, who, had they pos- 
 sessed happier circumstances, would have made a 
 much more respectable figure than those who now 
 mark them with infamy. There is one cruelty 
 
 in the Vox Populi, which is certainly against every
 
 10 ON EDUCATION. Pratt. 
 
 notion of the Vox Dei. 'Tis the customof abandoning 
 the weakest part of our species to that ruin which the 
 artifices of our sex have perpetrated ! nor can any 
 future repentance remove the sense of their error, or 
 restore them to the bosoms of more fortunate women : 
 
 " They set like stars to rise no more." 
 
 1 had a wife, with whom I mourned many years. 
 She died of a broken heart. We were robbed of 
 an only child, by a man whom we held near our 
 hearts. It was my incessant business for five years 
 to recover oUr darling, but in vain! My wife fell 
 into a deep and rapid consumption; she grew 
 weaker every hour. We received, by a special mes- 
 senger, a packet, from our beloved, misguided, 
 repenting wanderer! She had thrown the pathetic 
 parts of her story into poetry.* We received, at the 
 same time, an attested account that our child was 
 under the protection of that institution which ofifers 
 an asylum to insulted penitence. My wife had only 
 power to press the paper, trembling, to her bosom. 
 She feebly lifted her eyes to heaven, and died ! 
 
 " Liberal Opinions." 
 
 •See « The Distresses of a Daughter," in the 59th xVo., or Elegiac 
 Pieces, of this Miscellany.
 
 ON GYMNASTICS. 
 
 BY THE COMTESSE DE OENLIS. 
 
 Without recurring to antiquity for instances of that 
 bodily strength which would in the present day ap- 
 pear miraculous, a view of the armour of ourancient 
 French knights is suflficient to shew how greatly the 
 human species is, in this respect, degenerated. Where 
 is the man now to be found who could walk a mile 
 clad in a suit of such armour, without sinking under 
 it's enormous weight? Yet every Knight wore it for 
 months together; and travelled, ran, and fought un- 
 der the load. Since the execrable invention of gun- 
 powder, an artificial and succedaneous strength has 
 rendered personal vigour nearly unnecessary in war: 
 but in common life the exercise and perfect develope- 
 ment of man's physical powers are still equally nec- 
 essary. The object of gymnastics, considered as a 
 part of education, is to strengthen the constitution 
 establish the health, enable us to undergo fatigue, 
 give agility, address, suppleness, force, and that con- 
 fidence which confirms courage, and makes us per- 
 form extraordinary actions without danger; in fine, 
 to fortify us against all the accidents of life, and de- 
 termine the growth of the body to the last degree of 
 extension that nature can give it. For it is not to be 
 supposed that a young man, brought up effeminate- 
 ly, will acquire that shape and size which a good ed- - 
 ucation would have procured him. Effeminacy and 
 corruption of manners in early youth oppose nature's 
 efforts and intentions, stop her slow but wise pro- 
 gress, and produce rickety and dwarfish beings, those
 
 12 ON GYMNASTICS. Genlis, 
 
 weak effeminate creatures, full grown at sixteen and 
 decrepit at forty-five. For some years I was en- 
 trusted with the care of a child (my nephew), to 
 whom I paid as much attention as my duty to my 
 pupils would permit. My care was particularly 
 turned towards his health, which was in a deplorable 
 state: we were apprehensive for his lungs, and that 
 he would be deformed ; and he was besides little, 
 weak, and thin to an extreme degree. I gradually, 
 and with proper care, madejliim pursue the exercises 
 performed by my pupils : like them I made him sleep 
 upon wood, a custom excellent on a thousand ac- 
 counts, particularly as to the shape and the lungs, as 
 it prevents catching cold, which is generally occa- 
 sioned by perspiration at night, excited by the heat 
 of matresses, and checked on getting out of bed (par- 
 ticularly in winter) by the cold morning air. Six 
 months ago I returned this child to his father, and I 
 do not think there can be found a finer, stronger, or 
 more active young man, of the age of fifteen, better 
 and more regularly formed, or of a more robust con- 
 stitution. The following are the means 1 adopted 
 with respect to this part of education. 
 
 SHOES WITH LEADEN SOLES, 
 
 which my pupils wore from the time they were put 
 under my caire to their quitting me. These soles were 
 at first very thin, and their thickness was insensibly 
 increased. When M. de Chartres left me, each of 
 his shoes weighed a pound and a half, consequently 
 the two weighed three pounds, and with this weight 
 he ran, leaped, and walked, three or four leagues at 
 a round pace, without being in the least fatigued. 
 The shoes of Mademoiselle d' Orleans weigh at pres- 
 ent two pounds ; she never wears any other?, except
 
 ON dYMNASTICS. 13 
 
 when she dances; she walks and runs with them 
 without any appearance of being thus loaded ; in the 
 mean time her constitution is naturally very delicate, 
 and she is not yet fourteen years of age. Besides the 
 strength and swiftness which the habit of wearing such 
 heavy soles must necessarily give, it has two other 
 advantages attending it ; that of guarding the feet 
 from all dampness, and promoting the growth by 
 gently stretching the muscles of the legs. 
 
 THE EXERCISE OF DUMB BELLS, 
 
 which I directed to be performed before breakfast, 
 and which continued only for ten or twelve minutes. 
 It is an ancient exercise which Galen prescribed to 
 his convalescents: a full account of it may be seen in 
 the £nci/clopedie, from whence I took it, under the 
 word halteres. After this exercise the childern car- 
 ried, for an equal portion of time, pitchers full of wa- 
 ter. In the country they crossed a considerable space 
 of the garden, filled their pitchers at a natural foun- 
 tain, and carrying it into their chamber filled the de- 
 canters for dinner. As this exercise had an useful 
 object, they performed it in the country with pleas- 
 ure; but at Paris, where we had no natural spring, 
 they carried pitchers full of sand from one apartment 
 to another, and as it was then merely a lesson, it was 
 repeated without desire or alacrity. These exercises 
 therefore should have an appearance of utility, which 
 is very easy in the country, but very difficult at 
 Paris. The size of the pitchers is to be increased as 
 the children grow older : they should be round, with 
 a small opening, and the handle, instead of being on 
 the side, should cross the mouth. The two exercises 
 just mentioned, were perfotmed on ri?ing in the 
 morning and before breakfast.
 
 l* ON GYMNASTICS. GeuUs. 
 
 THE EXERCISE OF THE PULLEY. 
 
 M. Tronchin originally invented this, and formerly 
 practised it with success in amending the shape of 
 deformed children. He related the circumstance to 
 me thirteen years ago, and I immediately applied the 
 idea to education. This pulley, fixed to the wainscot, 
 resembles exactly that of a well, but instead of a 
 bucket a leathern bag filled with sand is fastened to 
 the rope. Round the pulley I directed a close bal- 
 ustrade to be placed to prevent any accident from 
 the fall of the weight. In performing this exercise 
 the child must stand perfectly upright, his feet close 
 together, never rising upon his toes when he pulls the 
 rope, and not letting it slide through his hands in 
 lowering the weight. In thecountr)' it was performed 
 at real wells placed in the children's little gardens. 
 The wells were constructed of large casks, over which 
 the pulley was fixed, and from these they drew wa- 
 ter ; and as the size of the buckets could not |be in- 
 creased, because it was necessary to proportion them 
 to that of the well, I contrived buckets with a double 
 bottom into which weights might be put at pleasure. 
 
 THE EXERCISE OF THE DOSSER.* 
 
 This I had ordered so as to interrupt the drawing 
 lesson for a quarter of an hour. In the midst of the 
 lesson the children rose, took upon their shoulders 
 dossers proportioned to their size, and loaded accord- 
 ing to their strength, and with these they went down 
 and up several pairs of stairs. When M. de Chartres 
 set off for Vendome, he could carry in'his dosser two 
 hundred and twenty-five pounds, which no person be- 
 longing to the house could do with forty pounds less. 
 
 * A sort of basket to be carried upon the shoulders.
 
 ON GYMNASTICS. 15 
 
 ^"' THE EXERCISE OF THE ROPE. 
 
 This is a large rope fastened to a staple in the ceiling, 
 In the middle of the room. The exercise, which is 
 fit only for boys, consists in ascending to the ceiling 
 by means o this cord ; this is very difficult without 
 the assistance of the legs, that is, by keeping them 
 asunder, instead of twining them round the rope, be- 
 cause all the weight of the body rests entirely on the 
 wrists. Difficult, however, as it is, M. de Chartres, 
 his brothers, and my nephew, performed the exercise 
 equally well in this manner. This capability of as- 
 cending and desending readily by the help of a sin- 
 gle rope, may be of great use on a thousand occa- 
 sions in life. In case of a fire, if the flames should 
 render it impossible to escape by the doors; in trav- 
 elling, if we wish to descend into those deep and cu- 
 rious grottos, which many travellers, for want of this 
 practice, have not been able to see, or at least have 
 incurred great danger. This exercise, as well as that 
 of the pulley, I employed as a relaxation between 
 their studies ; and in the winter, at Belle Chasse, be- 
 tween each language-lesson, and after our reading, 
 my pupils exercised themselves in one of these two 
 ways, or in a trial of 'strength of wrists (lutte des 
 poignets) for ten or twelve minutes. 
 
 THE EXERCISE OF WEIGHTS AT THE FEET. 
 
 This was an invention of M. de Montpensierandmy 
 nephew, who practised it every day for six months. 
 This exercise astonishingly increased their growth. 
 The pupil fixes to each foot a weight as heavy as he 
 can carry, without great exertion; he then raises 
 himself by his hands on the rope fixed to the ceilings 
 till his feet are at some distance from the ground, and 
 for some minutes contracts and extends his legs al- 
 No. 19. 2
 
 16 ON GYMNASTICS. Genlis. 
 
 ternately with considerable force. The weights which 
 M. de Montpensier fastened to his feet last winter 
 amounted together to fifty pounds, consequently 
 weighed twenty-five pounds each. 
 
 LEAPING. 
 
 There are three modes of leaping; first, horizontally; 
 secondly, over something raised above the ground ; 
 thirdly, from a high place to the ground. The last is 
 dangerous, as in this kind of leaping there is a risk of 
 breaking the leg, if it deviate ever so little from the 
 proper direction in falling. This exercise, therefore, 
 should be proscribed ; especially as a perfect master 
 in the other two modes will leap well in this, if ever 
 he should beunderthenecessity of risking it, to avoid 
 a great danger. In the garden of the country-house, 
 where we spent our summers, 1 caused a piece of 
 ground about twenty feet square to be dug up. This 
 piece of ground which was called the leaping ground 
 (sautoir),wassituated under the windows of my chairj' 
 ber, and on a large green where the exercises of run^ 
 ning were performed, so that without qutting my 
 chamber I could see the children run, leap, and play 
 at prison-bars. As the earth in this leaping-ground 
 was spff; they could receive no injury by falling. They 
 thus leaped at full speed, that is to say, taking a dis- 
 tance tp run: this distance should neither be too 
 short nor tpolong; twelve or fifteen paces are suffi- 
 cient. In leaping, the feet should not be separated 
 from each other, and the legs should be thrown for- 
 ward, so that if the child fall, his position might be 
 that of sitting upon the ground : if he fall upon his 
 knees it is a proof that the leap was not well perform- 
 ed. For the high leap 1 placed two forked sticks up- 
 on the border of the leapipg-ground^ and belvveen
 
 ON GYMNASTICS^ 17 
 
 them suspended a cord. The object is to leap over 
 this cord, which may be done in two ways, either by 
 taking a run, or with the feet close, that is, without 
 a run. The cord is only to be hung upon the sticks 
 and not fastened to them, in order that it may give 
 ■way, if the child should not clear it; for, if his feet 
 were to be caught in it, the resistance would make 
 him fall in a dangerous way upon his back, and out 
 of the leaping-ground. When the pupil is perfectly 
 master of this mode, he may venture to leap over 
 real bars, taking care that their height be less than 
 he is accustomed to clear with ease ; for instance, if 
 he commonly leap four feet with the loose cord, the 
 bar should be no more than three feet, and we may 
 be sure that if any imminent danger should require 
 his leaping over a bar, or any similar obstacle, he 
 would then rise as high as if it were only a cord. 
 At this kind of exercise M. de Charters did not ex- 
 cel therestof my pupils; but in the horizontal mode, 
 he could clear, at a runningjump, a space of twenty- 
 one lengths of his own foot. 
 
 RUNNING. 
 
 This exercise I divided into two kinds ; one a trial 
 of speed, the other of long-windedness. In the latter 
 the pupil does not exert all his force, and by habit a 
 child may run a long time. Mademoiselle d* Or- 
 leans, at twelve years, ran a league without stopping 
 or walking a single instant. No one is ignorant, that 
 in walking the body should be erect, the toes turned 
 out, and the leg advanced before the body at each 
 step ; for it is impossible to walk well if we advance 
 the body and the leg at the same time. In running, 
 it is quite the reverse; the body must be inclined for- 
 wards, the toes turned neither in nor out, and the 
 body advance with the legs.
 
 18 ON GYMNASTICS. Genlis. 
 
 WALKING, RUNNING, AND LEAPING UPON THE 
 TIGHT ROPE. 
 
 I employed a rope-dancer a whole winter to teach 
 my pupils this exercise. They took their lessons 
 when they rose from table, as it is not at all fatigu- 
 ing, and requires no exertion. This exercise gives 
 agility and boldness: it teaches a person to walk 
 with address and safety in the narrowest and steep- 
 est path, which in travelling, and on many other ac- 
 casions, is of no small utility. 
 
 RIDING. 
 
 Of this M. d' Orleans gave his children the first les- 
 son, and has since presided at almost all they have 
 taken. They all mount upon horseback with cour- 
 age and skill, leap bars, ditches, &c. M. de Char- 
 tres, tho' he does all these things, has the least incli- 
 nation to this exercise, and M. de Beaujollois is in 
 this respect a most astonishing youth. Like his 
 brothers, he will travel twenty leagues upon horse- 
 back, and two or three upon foot, in the same day, 
 without being in the smallest degree fatigued ; but it 
 must be observed that he has been exercised from 
 his earliest infancy in every thing that could render 
 him strong and hardy. When he was put under my 
 care he was only three years old ; and there is not a 
 child living, of his age, who possesses his agility, 
 address, and strength. If these happy physical qual- 
 ities were sedulously cultivated, at seventeen he would 
 assuredly be a prodigy in this respect : but of this I 
 have not the smallest hope, since within the four 
 months that he has been no longer under my care, 
 he has been made to give up almost all the exercises 
 which I directed him to perform, and in which he 
 excelled.
 
 ON GYMNASTICS. 91 
 
 SWIMMING. 
 
 Of this too M. d' Orleans gave his children the first 
 lessons, and has frequently swum with them since. 
 They all swim perfectly well, leaping into the water 
 head foremost. M. de Chartres saved the life of a 
 man (inspector of bridges and roads at Vendome) 
 who was on the point of being drowned, by leaping 
 into the river the moment he heard his cries. 
 I know nothing of this art, but I recommended two 
 things; that they should sometimes be thrown into 
 the water with all their clothes on, because people are 
 commonly in this state when they fall in by acci- 
 dent, and that they should be carefully instructed in 
 the methods proper to be pursued to succour and 
 bring to shore a person in danger of being drowned. 
 
 ARCHERY. 
 
 Neither M. de Charlies nor his brothers were fond 
 of this exercise, which has in it more of gracefulness 
 than utility; but Mademoiselle d' Orleans, and the 
 young persons brought up with her, handled thebbw 
 with considerable dexterity. 
 
 SHOOTING. 
 
 As I was very desirous that my pupils should never 
 be enamoured with the sports of the field, the delight 
 only of the idle, and a passion fatal to the people be- 
 fore the revolution, I never encouraged them in this 
 exercise, and they were therefore very indifferent 
 about, and scarcely ever pursued it. 
 
 MILITARY EXERCISE, 
 
 which they partly learnt under my inspection. To 
 this they applied themselves with zeal and activity. 
 
 BILLIARDS. 
 
 I had no desire that they should excel in this, for I 
 
 wished them to have as little inclination for gaming 
 
 5*
 
 so ON GYMNASTICS. Genlis, 
 
 of any kind as for the chase. They played at bil" 
 liards only by way of exercise, when the weather 
 would not permit them to walk out ; yet they played 
 tolerably well. 
 
 SHITTLECOCK. 
 
 In this I procured a tennis-player to give them les- 
 sons. To play well, the racket must not be held be- 
 fore the player, near the stomach, nor above the 
 head, but by the side, and thus the shittlecock is to 
 be struck. Children should be accustomed to play 
 equally with both hands. 
 
 DANCING, 
 
 may also be included in this recital of gymnastics. 
 
 These are all theexerciseswhichl made them pursue, 
 and the success exceeded my expectation, for in this 
 branch of education I was less seconded and more 
 thwarted than in any other. It was particularly on 
 account of these that I was accused of having a sys- 
 tematic turn of mind, of being wedded to systems, &c. 
 Those leaden soles, beds of wood, baskets, dumb- 
 bells, pitchers, and pulleys, were thought cruel and 
 whimsical inventions. It was said at first, that such 
 foolish conceits, such extravagant systems, would kill 
 the poor children, whose delicate constitutions were un- 
 able to support so Spartan an education. Afterwards, 
 when all these delicate children grew visibly more 
 robust ; when the defective shape of some of them 
 entirely disappeared ; when their health became dai- 
 ly more confirmed ; when, without effort, they were 
 able to bear fatigue which men would with difficulty 
 have supported ; when (their tempers and disposi- 
 tions feeling the effects of their happy cunstiUition 
 of bofly), they became cheerful, active, and liver,
 
 • ON GYMNASTICS. 24 
 
 nothing more was said. My coadjutors, however, 
 never presided with any degree of zeal at these ex- 
 ercises, which were in general performed well only 
 "when I was present. Either what 1 directed was for- 
 gotten, or was regarded with indifference and inat- 
 tention. The six winter months which we spent in 
 the capital were also detrimental to many of these 
 exercises, particularly after the residence of the king 
 was fixed at Paris. Before that period, we had a very 
 charming garden within the precincts of the Thuil- 
 leries, where I had caused a leaping-ground to be 
 made, and where my pupils went every morning to 
 exercise themselves in running, jumping, and climb- 
 ing trees. But having for the last two years been 
 deprived of this garden, it was impossible they should 
 make the same progress. I was very desirous of 
 passing a whole year together in the country with 
 my pupils, in a solitary place, and at a distance from 
 any capital. Had it not been for the troubles by 
 which France has been agitated, I should have exe- 
 cuted this project during the last year that M. de 
 Chartres was with me, and it is in this manner 
 that every education ought to be finished : but I have 
 never been able to effect but in part, and very im- 
 perfectly, the plans I have formed. I mention them, 
 however, as far as I am able, in the hope that other 
 preceptors may follow them, improve on them, and 
 experience in their execution fewer obstacles and 
 contradictions. Besides the moral advantages which 
 would have accrued from a whole year of absolute 
 solitude, and from studies pursued without interrup- 
 tion, at an age when the faculty of reason is expand-, 
 ed, I could have wished to accustom my pupils to 
 the rigours of a winter in the country. 1 would have^
 
 22 6N GYMNASTICS. * Genlis. 
 
 have exercised them in sliding upon the ice, running 
 in the snow, braving the severest cold, climbing slip- 
 pery rocks covered with ice: fori would have chosen 
 a wild and picturesque situation, and they would 
 have admired nature under a new and austere form. 
 Instead of this grand and striking spectacle, they 
 have seen, during their winters, nothing but mist and 
 mud, and their eyes have never been struck with the 
 bright splendour of sheets of ice, and pure dazzling 
 snow. Before I terminate this article on the 
 
 subject of gymnastics, I ought to make one observa- 
 tion, which is of no small importance ; that all bodily 
 exercises are salutary only when their performance 
 requires no painful exertion. If they fatigue, if they 
 depress, if they leave behind them a continual sensa- 
 tion of pain and weariness, they debilitate insteadof 
 strengthen; but a due gradation in applying them, and 
 an habitual use, render easy the most violent. The 
 gradation must be varied according to the subject, 
 and the best and safest rule that can be laid downis, 
 to examine attentively and consult the child on every 
 exercise which he is directed to perform. He should 
 exert all his strength, but the weight should be di- 
 minished if it appear to occasion him the least pain. 
 I will only say, in general, that the method of mak- 
 ing a daily insensible addition is a very bad one. 
 Twelve years ago I made this experiment, as to the 
 pulley. Every day I put into the bag a tea-spoon-full 
 of sand, and I found that the child strained as much 
 to hoist it at the end of two months at the first day, 
 which ought not to be the case. I then took out of 
 the bag sixty tea-spoons-full. The child did not ap- 
 pear to raise it any easier at first, but in a fortnight 
 jhe could do it with extreme facility. Thus at every
 
 ON GYMNASTICS. 23 
 
 new exercise, or new addition, the child ought to 
 strain a little, but without finding thisetfort painful. 
 At the end often or twelve days he should not strain 
 at all. If the contrary should take place, it is a proof 
 that the weight is too great, and it ought to be di- 
 minished a little ; and when the child has acquired the 
 capability of hoisting or carrying a weight without 
 difficulty, he ought to persevere for three or four 
 months, at the end of which time the weight is to be 
 increased to what he can bear without great exertion, 
 unless the exercise has been interrupted; and in that 
 case, on resuming it, the weight should be somewhat 
 less than it was on his quitting it. When a 
 
 child is in his fifth year, we ought to begin to exercise 
 him in running, to make him carry light burdens, 
 drive wheelbarrows, proportionated to his size, at first 
 loaded with grass, afterwards with branches of trees, 
 sand, &c. When he has completed his fifth year, 
 leaden soles, very light and thin at first, should be 
 added to his shoes. In the case of a girl, these soles 
 should be fastened to the shoes by a ribbon passed 
 round the bottom of the leg. This precaution is not 
 necessary for boys, whose feet are not concealed by 
 their clothes, and whose leather shoes are less liable 
 to come off than stuff slippers. At six he should be- 
 gin to carry the dosser and pitchers, and successive- 
 ly in the course of the year, all the exercises should 
 be begun with light weights. My grandaughter,. 
 vhom I am now educating, and who is just turned of 
 five, hosts up thirteen pounds with the pulley, with- 
 out any exertion. Three months hence, when the 
 hot weather is over, I shall add two pounds more, 
 for we saould always take care to avoid increasing 
 the weight during the excessive heat of summer.
 
 $4 ON GYMNASTICS. Getdis, 
 
 Her shoes, with leaden soles, which she has been in 
 the habit of wearing for four months, have, during 
 the two past months, weighed ten ounces and a half; 
 thoseof a child of the same age and size, weigh, with- 
 out leaden soles, three ounces, and thus she carries 
 an extra weight of seven ounces and a half, that is to 
 say, nearly half a pound. This weight I shall not 
 encrease these three months, and then only half an 
 ounce, because the progressions of v^reight should be 
 particularly slow and insensible, from the age of five 
 to eight, on account of shedding the teeth, which 
 takes place in that interval, during which we should 
 be careful not to fatigue the child, tho* it is at the 
 same time highly necessary to augment his strength. 
 Another child, nine years of age, whom I have had 
 imder my care for twelve months, but whose physi- 
 cal education was before very defective, and whose 
 constitution is extremely delicate, began these exer- 
 cises only three months ago. She hoists with the 
 pulley twenty pounds; her shoes, with leaden soles, 
 weigh twelve ounces; those of Mademoiselle weigh 
 two pounds; each shoe consequently weighs a pound. 
 Mademoiselle carries in her dosser sixty-two pounds; 
 but it is to be remarked, that the revolution in her 
 health, occasioned by my departure, and the nerv- 
 ous effects that were the consequence, have thrown 
 her back in all those exercises; she could not resume 
 them till after an interruption of three months, and 
 then with a diminution of all the weights. For ex- 
 ample, before my departure she hoisted forty pounds 
 with the pulley, and now she can hoist only thirty- 
 four. Eight months ago M. de Beaujollois hoisted 
 forty-seven pounds : he was then only eleven years 
 old. I must observe, that a person never will be able
 
 ON GYMNASTICS^ 25 
 
 to raise with a pulley so great a weigiit as lie can car- 
 ry in his dosser. Mademoiselle d' Orelans carries in 
 this way sixty-two pounds, yet she can hoist but 
 thirty-four. M.deChartres carries two hundred and 
 twenty-six pounds, and hoists only ninety-six : mean- 
 while this was more than any man who came to the 
 house could hoist with ease. From numerous ob- 
 servations which 1 have made, it appears to me, that 
 the strongest man cannot hoist a weight greater than 
 that of his own body, yet by habit he may be able to 
 carry three or four times that weight. I have farther 
 observed, that the increase of strength is particularly 
 perceptible from fifteen to seventeen, especially in 
 the last year. M. de Chartres, for example, carried 
 at seventeen, two hundred and thirteen pounds; two 
 months after he carried two hundred and twenty-six; 
 at the expiration of three months he was preparing 
 to increase this weight, when he set off for Vendome. 
 Unfortunately 1 have only been able to pursue this 
 progression to the age of seventeen, never having had 
 an opportunity of prolonging an education beyond 
 that term; but I have reason to believe that this in- 
 crease of strength continues at least to the age of 
 twenty-fouror twenty-five. Hence it would follow, that 
 a young man, accustomed from his infancy to these 
 progressive exercises,* and continuing them to that 
 age would acquire a degree of strength of which we 
 can scarcely form an idea. In this recapitu- 
 
 * These exercises gave M.de Chartres and his brothers a degree of bodi- 
 ly strength superior, beyond comparison, to what is usual at their age ; 
 yet, notwithstanding my vigilance, these exercises were in general neither 
 well nor regularly performed. M. Lebrun, as I have said, disliked them, 
 and they were therefore'indolently executed, except under my own eyes. 
 Judge then from the accounts I have given of the degree of bodily strength 
 tliese children would have acfjuired, liad all the tutors, in this respect, 
 jjossessed my zeal and punctuality,
 
 26 ON GYMNASTICS. GefiilS. 
 
 lation it has been seen, that I made them pursue cer- 
 tain studies and exercises with a view to the utility 
 which may be derived from them in travelling. Tiie 
 following was my motive: I am of opinion that the 
 education of a young man cannot properly be finish- 
 ed till the age of nineteen or twenty. 1 knew that 
 my pupils would be taken from me as soon as they 
 should have attained their seventeenth year; and I 
 anticipated it, if not with dread, at least with regret, 
 the moment when I should see them enter on an 
 empty, trifling world, were the least fault to be ac- 
 quired is a habit of idleness, and a dislike of study 
 and serious conversation. I had sufficient confidence 
 in the principles I had taught them, not to fear their 
 falling into th.e vices and shameful irregularities so 
 common in the present day: but I beheld them ataa 
 age when the mind is as yet not perfectly formed, 
 and surrounded with all the examples and seductions 
 which retard the progress of reason, blind the under- 
 standing, deprave the taste, and debilitate the soul. 
 The only way that appeared to me calculated to pre- 
 serve them from these dangers was to inspire them 
 early with a desire of travelling as soon as they should 
 be their own masters. It is by no means dithcult to 
 impart this desire to those who have imbibed every 
 species of knowledge which can render travelling 
 truly agreeable. I took care that they should learn 
 to travel with advantage, to make a journal, to 
 discriminate wisely, to enquire, to listen, and to de- 
 rive information from every thing they might see. 
 After these cares, I was certain that, if they were 
 permitted, the first use they would make of their 
 liberty would be to traverse all the provinces of 
 France, and then to visit foreign nations. 1 Iiere
 
 ON GYMNASTICS. 27 
 
 '■4-^>- 
 
 they might without my assistance, have completed 
 their education. Travelling cannot benefit an ignor- 
 ant young man, who has no knowledge of history 
 and the arts: upon the road, he travels post from 
 place to place; in cities, he goes to the play and 
 other public amusements, is presented at the houses 
 of the great, and spends his time in visits. He might 
 as well stay in Paris. But a well-informed youth, 
 properly educated, sees every thing with a degree of 
 interest and curiosity ; he will not be constantly shut 
 up in a carriage, but will perform the greater part of 
 his journey upon foot, or upon horseback; he can 
 admire a beautiful landscape, and knows how to 
 transfer it to paper: he will examine the plants with 
 which he is unacquainted; the manners of the peas- 
 ant will be far more interesting to him than those of 
 the metropolis; frequently will he stop at the door 
 of a cottage; willingly will he repose in a barn ; he 
 who has been accustomed to sleep upon boards will 
 not be distressed because his lodging is homely. If 
 in order to see a natural curiosity, a grotto, a singular 
 cascade, it be requisite to climb steep rocks, to walk 
 in narrow paths, formed by nature, upon the brow 
 of a precipice, to descend into a deep cavern by the 
 help of a ladder or a single rope, he will not hesitate 
 he will go without fear and without danger, for these 
 were the sports of his infancy. Should it be neces- 
 sary, in a desert that can be traversed only upon 
 foot, to carry two days provision, he will cheerfully 
 share the fatigue with his guide; he will say; This 
 burden is nothing, my dosser weighed a hu?idred and 
 fij'ty pounds more * Should he visit a sea-port, he 
 
 * Three years ago M.de Chartres made this answer to a person who ask- 
 ed him the day on which be was admitted a knight of the order, if he wefe 
 No. VJ. 3
 
 38 ON GYMNASTICS. Genlis, 
 
 will make some stay there; he will compare the 
 wealth, industry, and resources of this foreign mart 
 with those of his own country ah'eady familiar to 
 him. He will go into all the manufactories, into the 
 dock-yards, on board the vessels; he will enjoy, and 
 feel all the value of the esteem shewn him by his con- 
 ductors, who in their turn will be astonished to see a 
 Frenchman of seventeen well informed without be- 
 ing vain. Having satisfied the veteran seamen with 
 the solidity of his knowledge, he may possibly have 
 ihe ambition to astonish the young mariner by his 
 activity, and, before he quits the ship, spring with 
 agility to the yard-arm or the mast-head, [n cities 
 he will frequent society, to learn their manners and 
 customs, but it will be society of his own choosing: 
 as he loves neither gaming nor the pleasures of the 
 table, he will not visit those who keep open houses; 
 he will seldom also be seen in palaces of kings: 
 he seeks new objects, all courts resemble each other, 
 and he who has seen one knows all. Fond of litera- 
 ture and the arts, he will be eager to find out those 
 who cultivate them with success; he will derive no 
 small pleasure in conversing with them in their own 
 language, in shewing them that he is not ignorant of 
 the history of their country, and that he is a stranger 
 to no kind of knowledge. With them he will visit 
 the cabinets of the curious, and the workshop of the 
 artist. All the studies which he has just quilted will 
 thus repass before his eyes ; and the celebrated pic- 
 tures, the monuments, and chefs d'oeuvres of the arts 
 of every kind which he sees will be engraven so much 
 the more deeply in his memory, as he is acquainted 
 
 not oppressed with the immemeiveight of his velvet cloak, embroidered 
 with gold.
 
 A PETITION. 29 
 
 with them before-hand from accurate descriptions. 
 On his return to his hotel, he will not be idle; he 
 knows how to write a journal, a work that will ha- 
 bituate him to every kind of composition: in his will 
 be found sound criticism, striking relations of cus- 
 toms and manners, sage reflections on laws and gov- 
 ernment, curious anecdotes, fragments of history, 
 descriptions, and every thing that can paint men and 
 interest the world. In this manner, I dare believe, my 
 pupils would have acted, had it been in their power 
 to travel when they quitted me; and this hope and 
 these motives had a considerable influence in the 
 plan of education I pursued. 
 
 «* Lessons of a Governess to her Pupils." 
 
 A PETITION, 
 to those who have the Superintendency of Education. 
 
 BY BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 
 
 T address myself to all the friends of youth, and 
 conjure them to direct their compassionate regards 
 to my unhappy fate, in order to remove the preju- 
 dices of which I am the victim. There are twin sis- 
 ters of us : and the two eyes of man do not more re- 
 semble, nor are capable of being on better terms with 
 each other, than my sister and myself, were it not for 
 the partiality of our parents who make the most in- 
 jurious distinctions between us. From my infancy, I 
 have been led to consider my sister as a being of a 
 more elevated rank. I was suffered to grow up with- 
 out the least instruction, while nothing was spared in 
 her education. She had masters to teach her writ- 
 ing, drawing, music, and other accomplishments ;
 
 30 A PETITION. Franklin. 
 
 but if by chance I touched a pencil, pen, or needle, 
 I was bitterly rebuked : and more than once I have 
 been beaten for being awkward, and wanting a grace- 
 ful manner. It is true, my sister associated me with 
 her on some occasions ; but she always made a point 
 of takingthe lead, calling on me only from necessity, 
 or to figure by her side. But conceive not, 
 
 sirs, that my complaints are instigated merely by 
 vanity. No ; my uneasiness is occasioned by an ob- 
 ject much more serious. It is the practice in our 
 family that the whole business of providing for it's 
 subsistence falls upon my sister and myself. If any 
 indisposition should attack my sister (and I mention 
 it in confidence, on this occasion, that she is subject 
 to the gout, the rheumatism, and cramp, without 
 making mention of other accidents) what would be 
 the fate of our poor family ? Must not the regret of 
 our parents be excessive, at having placed so great a 
 difference between sisters who are so perfectly equal? 
 Alas ! we must perish from disiress: for it would not 
 be in my power even to scrawl a suppliant petition 
 for relief, having been obliged to employ the hand of 
 another in transcribing the request which I have now 
 the honour to prefer to you. Condescend, 
 
 sirs, to make my parents sensible of the injustice of 
 an exclusive tenderness, and the necessity of distrib- 
 uting their care and affection among all their chil- 
 den equally. I am with a profound respect, 
 sirs, 
 your obedient servant, 
 
 THE LEFT HAND.
 
 31 
 
 ON THE ART OF SWIMMING. 
 
 BY THE SAME. 
 
 The specific gravity of some human bodies, in 
 comparison to that of water, has been examined by- 
 Mr. Robinson, in the American Philosophical Tran- 
 sactions, volume 30, page 30, for the year 1757. He 
 asserts that fat persons with small bones float most 
 easily upon water. When I was a boy, I made 
 
 two oval pallets each about ten inches long, and six 
 broad, with a hole for the thumb, in order to retain 
 it fast in the palm of my hand. They much resem- 
 ble a painter's pallets. In swimming I pushed the 
 edges of these forward, and stuck the water with 
 their flat surfaces as I drew them back. I remember 
 I swam faster by means of these pallets : but they fa- 
 tigued my wrists. I also fitted to the soles of my 
 feet a kind of sandals; but 1 was not satisfied with 
 them, because I observed that the stroke is partly 
 given by the inside of the feet and the ancles, and 
 not entirely with the soles of the feet. We 
 
 have here waistcoats for swimming, which are made 
 of double sailcloth, with small pieces of cork quilted 
 in between them. I know, by experience, that 
 
 it is a great comfort to a swimmer, who has a consid- 
 erable distance to go, to turn himself sometimes upon 
 his back, and to vary in other respects the means of 
 procuring a progressive motion. When he is 
 
 seized with the cramp in the leg, the method of driv- 
 ing it away, is to give to the parts affected, a sudden, 
 vigorous, and violent shock ; which he may do in 
 the air as he swims upon his back. During 
 
 the great heats of summer, there is no danger in bath- 
 3*
 
 32 ON THE ART OF SWIMMING. Franklin, 
 
 ing, however warm we may be, in rivers which have 
 been thoroughly warmed by the sun. But to throw 
 onesself into cold spring water, when the body has 
 been heated by exercise in the sun, is an imprudence 
 which may prove fatal. I once knew an instance of 
 four young men, who, having worked at harvest in 
 the heat of the day, with a view of refreshing them- 
 selves, plunged into a spring of cold water: two died 
 upon the spot, a third the next morning, and the 
 fourth recovered with great difficulty. A copious 
 draught of cold water, in similar circumstances, is 
 frequently attended with the same effect in North 
 America. The exercise of swimming is one 
 
 of the most healthy and agreeable in the world. Af- 
 ter having swum for an hour or two in the evening, 
 one sleeps cooly the whole night, even during the 
 most ardent heat of summer. Perhaps the pores be- 
 ing cleansed, the insensible perspiration increases, 
 and occasions this coolness. It is certain that much 
 swimming is the means of stopping a diarrhoea, and 
 even of producing a constipation. With respect to 
 those who do not know how to swim, or who are af- 
 fected with a diarrhoea at a season which does not 
 permit them to use that exercise, a warm bath, by 
 cleansing and purifying the skin, is found very salu- 
 tary, and often effects a radical cure. I speak from 
 my own experience, frequently repeated, and that of 
 others to whom I have recommended this. 
 The ordinary method of swimming is reduced to the 
 act of rowing with the arms and legs, and is conse- 
 quently a laborious and fatiguing operation when the 
 space of water to be crossed is considerable; there is 
 a method in which a swimmer may pass to great dis- 
 tances, with much facility, by means of a sail. This
 
 ON THF ART OF SWIMMING. 33 
 
 discovery I fortunately made by accident, and in the 
 following manner. When I was a boy, I a- 
 
 mused myself one day with flying a paper kite; and 
 approaching the bank of a pond, which was nearly 
 a mile broad, 1 tied the string to a stake, and the kite 
 ascended to a very considerable height above the 
 pond, while I was swimming. In a little time, being 
 desirous of amusing myself with my kite, and enjoy- 
 ing at the same time the pleasure of swimming, I re^ 
 turned; and losing from the stake the string with 
 the little stick which was fastened to it, went again 
 into the water, where I found, that, lying upon my 
 back and holding the stick in my hands, I was drawn 
 along the surface of the water in a very agreeable 
 manner. Having then engaged another boy to carry 
 my clothes round the pond, to a place which I point- 
 ed out to him on the other side, I began to cross the 
 pond with my kite, which carried me quite over 
 without the least fatigue, and with the greatest pleas- 
 ure imaginable. I was only obliged occasionally to 
 halta little in my course and resist it's progress, when 
 it appeared that, by following too quick, I lowered 
 the kite too much ; by doing which occasionally I 
 made it rise again. I have never since that time 
 practised this singular mode of swimming, tho' I 
 think it not impossible to cross in this manner from 
 Dover to Calais. The packet-boat, however, is slili 
 preferable. 
 
 I
 
 ^^ Franklin* 
 
 ON SLEEP. 
 
 BY THE SAME. 
 
 As a great part of our life is spent in sleep, it may 
 not be useless to examine what is the art of enjoying 
 undisturbed repose. To this end it is, in the first 
 place, necessary to be careful in preserving health 
 by due exercise and great temperance; for, in sick- 
 ness, the imagination is disturbed; and disagreeable, 
 sometimes terrible,ideas are apt to present themselves. 
 Exercise should precede meals, not immediately fol- 
 low them: the first, promotes, the latter, unless mod- 
 erate, obstructs digestion. If, after exercise, we feed 
 sparingly, the digestion will be easy and good, the 
 body lightsome, the temper cheerful, and all the ani- 
 mal functions performed agreeably. Sleep, when it 
 follows, will be natural and undisturbed. While in- 
 dolence, with full feeding, occasions night-mares and 
 horrors inexpressible: we fall from precipices, are 
 assaulted by wild beasts, murderers, and demons, 
 and experience every variety of distress. Observe, 
 however, that the quantities of food and exercise are 
 relative things: those who move much may, and in- 
 deed ought to eat more; those who use little exer- 
 cise should neat little. In general, mankind, since 
 the improvement of cookery, eat about twice as much 
 as nature requires. Suppers are not bad, if we have 
 wot dined; but restless nights naturally follow hearty 
 suppers after full dinners. Indeed, as there is a differ- 
 ence in constitution, some rest well after these meals; 
 it costs them only a frightful dream, and an apoplexy; 
 a/ter which they sleep till doomsday. Nothing if 
 more common in the newspapers, than instances os
 
 ON SLEEP. 35 
 
 people who, after eating a hearty supper, are found 
 dead in bed in the morning. Another means 
 
 of preserving health, to be attended to, is the having 
 a constant supply of fresh air in your bed-chamber. 
 It has been a great mistake, the sleeping in rooms 
 exactly closed, and in beds surrounded by curtains. 
 No outward air, that may come in to you, is so un- 
 wholesome as the unchanged air, often breathed, of a 
 close chamber. As boiling water does not grow hotr 
 ter by longer boiling, if the particles that receive 
 greater heat can escape; so living bodies do not pu-? 
 trify, if the particles, as fast as they become putrid, 
 can be thrown off. Nature expels them by the pores 
 of the skin and lungs, and in a free open air they are 
 carried off; but, in a close room, we receive them 
 again, and again, tho' they become more and mo^e 
 corrupt. A number of persons crowded into a small 
 room, thus spoil the air in a few minutes, and even 
 render it mortal, as in the Black Hole at Calciatta. 
 A single person is said to spoil only a gallon of air 
 per minute, and therefore requires a longer time to 
 spoil a chamber-full ; but it is done, however, in pro- 
 portion, and many putrid disorders hence have their 
 origin. Physicians, after having for ages con- 
 
 tended that the sick should not be indulged with 
 fresh air, have at length discovered that it may do 
 them good. It is therefore to be hoped that they 
 may in time discover, likewise, that it is not hurtful 
 to those who are in health ; and that we may be then 
 cured of the aerophobia that at present distresses weak 
 minds, and makes them choose to be stifled and 
 poisoned, rather than leave open the window of a 
 bed-chamber, or put down the glass of a coach. 
 Confined jiir, when saturated with perspirable mat-
 
 36 ON SLEEP. Franklin. 
 
 ter,* will not receive more : and that matter must 
 remain in our bodies, and occasion diseases: but it 
 gives some previous notice of it's being about to be 
 hurtful, by producing certain uneasiness, slight in- 
 deed at first, such as, with regard to the lungs, is a 
 tickling sensation; and to the pores of the skin a kind 
 of restlessness which is difiicult to describe, and few 
 who feel it know the cause of it. But we may rec- 
 ollect, that sometimes, on waking in the night, we 
 have, if warmly covered, found it difficult to get 
 asleep again. We turn often without finding repose 
 in any position. This fidgettiness, to use a vulgar 
 expression for want of a better, is occasioned wholly 
 by an uneasiness in the skin, owing to the retention 
 of the perspirable matter; the bed-clothes having re- 
 ceived their quantity, and, being saturated, refusing 
 to take any more. To become sensible of this by an 
 experiment, let a person keep his position in the bed, 
 but throw otf the bed-clothes, and suffer fresh air to 
 approach the part uncovered of his body; he will 
 then feel that part suddenly refreshed ; for the air will 
 immediately relieve the skin, by receiving, licking 
 up, and carrying otf, the load of perspirable matter 
 which incommoded it. For every portion of cool air 
 that approaches the warm skin, in receiving it's part 
 of that vapour, receives therewith a degree of heat 
 that rarefies and renders it lighter, when it will be 
 .pushed away, with it's burden, by cooler, and there- 
 fore heavier fresh air; which, for a moment, supplies 
 it's place, and then, being likewise changed, and 
 warmed, gives way to a succeeding quantity, This 
 
 * What physicians call the perspirable matter, is the vapour which 
 passes off from our bodies, from the lungs, and through the pores of the 
 akin. The quantity of this is said to be five-eights of what we eat.
 
 ON SLEEP. 37 
 
 is the order of nature, to prevent animals being infect- 
 ed by their own perspiration. He will now be sensible 
 of the difference between the part exposed to the 
 air, and that which, remaining sunk in the bed, de- 
 nies the air access: for this part now manifests it's 
 uneasiness more distinctly by the comparison; and 
 the seat of the uneasiness is more plainly perceived, 
 than when the whole surface of the body was affect- 
 ed by it. Here, then, is one great and gener- 
 al cause of unpleasing dreams. For when the body 
 is uneasy, the mind will be disturbed by it, and dis- 
 agreeble ideas of various kinds will, in sleep, be the 
 natural consequences. The remedies, preventative, 
 and curative, follow: 1, By ea.ing moderate- 
 ly (as before advised for health's sake), less perspir- 
 able matter is produced in a given time; hence the 
 bed-clothes receive it longer before they are saturat- 
 ed ; and we may, therefore, sleep longer, before we 
 are made uneasy by their refusing to receive any 
 more. 2. By using thinner and more porous 
 bed-clothes, which will suffer the perspirable matter 
 more easily to pass through them, we are less incom- 
 moded, such being longer tolerable. 3. When 
 you are awakened by this uneasiness, and find you 
 cannot easily sleep again, get out of bed, beat up 
 and turn your pillow, shake the bed-clothes well, 
 with at least twenty shakes, then throw the bed open, 
 and leave it to cool ; in the meanwhile, continuing 
 undrest, walk about your chamber, till your skin has 
 had time to discharge it's load, which it will do soon- 
 er as the air may be drier and colder. When you 
 begin to feel the cold air unpleasant, then return to 
 your bed; and you will soon fall asleep, and your 
 sleep will be sweet and pleasant. All the scenes pre-
 
 38 ON SLEEP. 
 
 ented to your imagination will be of the pleasing kind, 
 lam often as agreeably entertained with them, as by 
 the scenery of an opera. If you happen to be too 
 indolent to get out of bed, you may, instead of it, 
 lift up'your bed-clothes with one arm and leg, so as 
 to draw in a good deal of fresh air, and, by letting 
 them fall, force it out again. This repeated twenty 
 times will so clear them of the perspirable matter 
 they have imbibed, as to permit your sleeping well 
 for some time afterwards. But this latter method is 
 not equal to the former. Those who do not 
 
 love trouble, and can afford to have two beds, will 
 find great luxury in rising, when they awake in a hot 
 bed, and going into the cool one. Such shifting of 
 beds would also be of great service to persons ill of a 
 fever, as it refreshes, and frequently procures sleep. 
 A very large bed that will admit a removal so distant 
 from the first situation as to be cool and sweet, may 
 in a degree answer the same end. One or 
 
 two observations more will conclude this little piece. 
 Care must be taken, when you lie down, to dispose 
 your pillow so as to suit your manner of placing your 
 head, and to be perfectly easy ; then place your 
 limbs so as not to bear inconveniently hard upon 
 each other, as, for instance, thejoints of your ancles: 
 for tho' a bad position may at first give but little 
 pain, and be scarcely noticed, yet a continuance will 
 render it less tolerable, and the uneasiness may come 
 on while you ali asleep, and disturb your imagina- 
 tion.
 
 59 
 
 A CURIOUS AND MOMENTOUS CALCULATION. 
 
 The difference between rising every morning at six 
 and at eight, in the course of forty years (supposing 
 a person should go to bed at the same times he other- 
 wise would) amounts to 29,000 hours, or three years, 
 one hundred and twenty-one days, six hours: so thatit 
 is just the same as if ten years of life (a weighty con- 
 sideration) were to be added; to which we might 
 command eight hours every day, for the cultivation 
 of our own minds in knowledge and virtue, or the 
 dispatch of business. 
 
 This calculation is made without regard to the bes- 
 sextile, which reduces it to three years, one hundred 
 and eleven days, sixteen hours; and at eight hours a 
 day, will want about a month of ten years. 
 
 ON EDUCATION. 
 
 Whatever tends to impress habits of order on the 
 expanding mind may be reckoned the most beneficial 
 part of education : for by this means the surest foun- 
 dation of virtue is settled without a struggle, and 
 strong restraints knit together before vice has intro- 
 duced confusion. It has been a custom too 
 prevalent, to make children learn by rote long pas- 
 sages from authors, to whose very expressions they 
 could not annex an idea, not considering how vain 
 and cruel it is, to compel them to repeat a round of 
 unintelligible words. Parents are often led astray by 
 the selfish desire of having a wonderful child to ex- 
 hibit; but these monsters very seldom make sensible 
 men or women : the wheels are Impaired by being 
 
 No. 19. 4
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 40 
 
 set in motion before the time pointed out by nature, 
 and both mind and body are ever after feeble. 
 When children arrive at a more advanced age, it 
 would be useful to make them read a short lesson, 
 and then transcribe it from memory ; afterwards let 
 them copy the original, and let them remark the 
 mistakes they have made. 
 
 Preface to " Cresswick's Reader," 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 On Education, by S. J. Pratt 
 On Gjmnastic-s, by tlie Conit- 
 esse de Genlis - - . - 
 A Petition to those who have 
 the Superintendency of Edu- 
 caution, by Dr. Franklin 
 
 pa^e. 
 - 3 
 
 29 
 
 page 
 On the Art of Swimming, by the 
 
 same --3I 
 
 On Sleep, by the same - - 3^ 
 A curious and momentous Cal- 
 culation .-.,•'• 3i 
 On Education , - , - - Si 
 
 G Niclwlson PoughniU,
 
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 ADVERTISEMENT. 
 
 It has been objected to a former edition of this pam- 
 phlet, that " the free and open discussion of some subjects 
 relating to the animal economy, renders any purpose of put- 
 tmg it into the hands of children and the female sex im- 
 proper." It is readily acknowleged, that a book of the 
 greatest utility to an adult, may be prematurely put into 
 the hands of a child; and a very slight mspection into the 
 plan of the publication, of which this forms one number, 
 will discover that a few subjects only are immediately in- 
 tended for the use of children. In obviation of the 
 latter part of the charge, the compiler cannot allow that 
 man is a being privileged to investigate the arcana of na- 
 ture, to the exclusion of woman ; especially where both sex- 
 es are mutually concerned and interested. There appears a 
 degrading intention couched in such conduct. A lady might 
 not, indeed, choose to receive a physical treatise from the 
 hands of a very distant acquaintance, from a fear of his de- 
 ducing an unfavourable or dishonourable opinion of her 
 character, but a well-informed woman would not hesitate 
 a moment to receive such a book from a parent, a guardian, 
 or a friend, and it might furnish subjects for conversation, 
 without any impression of indecorum, impropriety, or in- 
 delicacy. Most undoubtedly, if books, treating of 
 the human frame were more read and understood, the pas- 
 sions would be better managed or controuled, mankind 
 rendered more virtuous and healthy, and many evils avoid- 
 ed into which inexperience plunges them. Why should 
 subjects, serious in themselves, be ever lightly treated? 
 Can even the sexual propensity deserve a more irifiing dis- 
 cussion, or advertence to, than that of any other animal 
 propensity, to which mankind are addicted? "Take 
 shame to yourselves, ye men of discretion," who wantonly 
 join in such violations ! 1 he sexual intercourse is daily 
 adverted to, by servants and superiors of families, in the 
 presence of children, in a manner the most ambiguous and 
 mysterious ; a manner, above all others, calculated to awak- 
 en curiosity and enquiry; accompanied, as the subject al- 
 
 Literary MisceUany^ No. ^7, I
 
 ADVERTISEMENT. 
 
 ways is, with much apparent interest, emotion, or risabili- 
 ty. It may be asserted with confidence, that more serious 
 injury'has been excited in the morals and health of children, 
 by this abominable conduct in their seniors, than by the 
 whole train of children's usual bad habits put together. 
 Let, by all means, the passions be kept dormant as long as 
 possible, yet let not any enquiry be evaded, but judiciously 
 answered, having regard to the age and constitution of the 
 child ; and let the structure of the human frame be explain- 
 ed, accompanied by salutary admonitions and cautions. A 
 German writer, the Rev. C G. Salzmann, says, " Impurity 
 is now spread so far that even children are infected, and by 
 it the germe of every virtue, as well as the germe of their 
 posterity, which the Creator has implanted in them, is des- 
 troyed." And adds, " I am thoroughly persuaded that 
 the most efficacious method to root out this dreadful evil, 
 which poisons the source of human happiness, would be to 
 speak to children of the organs ot generation as freely as we 
 speak of the other parts of the body, and explain to them 
 the use which they were designed for, and how they may 
 be injured." 
 
 In this compilation we are indebted for a very considerable 
 portion of the important, salutary, and ingenious advice 
 therein contained, to Dr. Faust's " Essay on a peculiar and 
 notional Dress for Children," translated from the German, 
 l2mo, Johnson, London; to Dr. Vaughan's "Essay, phil- 
 osophical and medical, concerning modern Clothing," 8vo. 
 Robinsons, London ; and to Dr. Willich's " Lectures on 
 Diet and Regimen," 8vo. Lon^^man and -Co.,.London,
 
 ON CLOTHING. 
 
 On the Custom of wearing Clothes. 
 " On a supposition that mankind had always been 
 accustomed to wear clothes, it is not easy to conceive 
 how any number of them should ever determine to 
 throw them aside again, and go naked; because a 
 regard to their health, which would sutfer extreme- 
 ly by so disadvantageous a change, and a regard to 
 modesty and shame will also ever incline them to the 
 contrary : and yet we find the practice of going nak- 
 ed is still persisted in by several nations ; which evi- 
 dently indicates it to have been the natural, univer- 
 sal, and original state of all mankind. There are 
 some nations who being accustomed to no defence 
 for their bodies, never trouble themselves for any, 
 even when they go to war, but whole armies of naked 
 men engage in the hottest actions." [Charron *' On 
 Wisdom," b. 1.] Much perhaps might be 
 
 said against the necessity of an indiscriminate use 
 of clothing in general, in the mildest seasons of every 
 climate. It is plain, that custom only renders that 
 impossible to us, which really is not so. For of those 
 nations, who have no idea of clothing, some are sit- 
 uated under the same climate with ourselves, and 
 some under much severer climates. And, besides, 
 our most tender parts are always exposed to the air, 
 such as the eyes, mouth, nose, and ears; and our 
 peasants, like our ancestors in former times, go open- 
 breasted to the waist." [Montaigne, b. 1.]
 
 6 ON CLOTHING. 
 
 The air, which has the most salutary influence on 
 the vegetable and animal kingdoms, without which 
 plants and animals wither, is by our clothes secluded 
 from the body. This is a most pernicious effect of 
 clothing, and makes the body wither also. 
 The skin has not only evaporating, but also absorbent 
 "vesels, without number. The atmosphere of acrid 
 'vapours and mephitic air, created round the body 
 by warmth and perspiration, cannot be dispelled by 
 the fresh external air on account of our preposterous 
 mode of clothing. These acrid vapours and me- 
 phitic air are therefore re-absorbed by the number- 
 less vessels of the skin, hence it is evident why the 
 body and the life of man are so wan, feeble, and 
 joyless. The heat and vapour generated by 
 
 clothing, and the want of fresh air, enervate the body, 
 subject it to frequent colds, and rheumatic com- 
 plaints, which are the lot of almost every mortal. 
 By this heat the human body, like the plant in a hot- 
 house, ripens sooner than it ought to do in the com- 
 mon course of nature. 
 
 On the Materials of Dress. 
 
 The property of receiving, repelling, and emit- 
 ting heat and cold, depends not only on the sub- 
 stance from which our dress is made, and it's shape 
 and form, but also on the colour. Clothes of a light 
 colour have the least attraction for heat, and there- 
 fore are the most proper in hot weather. 
 Dazzling colours are offensive, and a person who 
 suffers from weak eyes will injure them still more by 
 wearing crimson or scarlet, or being much in com- 
 pany with others thus dressed. For a similar reason, 
 splendid white dresses, steel-buttons, gold and silver
 
 ON CLOTHING. 7 
 
 lace, and all ornainents of this sort, are detrimental 
 to vision. Animal Wool produces a mod- 
 
 erate warmth, on account of the stimulus and gentle 
 friction it occasions on the skin. By it's use, animal 
 electricity is elicited, perspiration promoted, the 
 perspired humours are absorbed, and again easily 
 evaporated, on account of the porous nature of this 
 substance. This covering may therefore be particu- 
 larly and strongly recommended to those afflicted 
 with rheumatic or gouty complaints. Linen 
 
 Cloth, by diminishing the elasticity of the skin, in- 
 creases the internal warmth, and, at the same time, 
 by it's compactness, retains too readily the perspir- 
 able humours, and does not part with them so read- 
 ily as wool. Soiled shirts therefore produce a disa- 
 greeable cooling sensation, and stop perspiration, 
 especially if made of thick strong cloth, and not reg- 
 ularly changed. Silk occasions a gentle 
 stimulus, but does not sufficiently promote perspira- 
 tion, tho' it attracts less humidity from the atmos- 
 phere than linen. Oil-skin, or wax-cloth, 
 increases perspiration in an uncommon degree, but 
 does not admit it to evaporate again, and is there- 
 fore applicable only in certain diseases. Cot- 
 ton stands between animal wool and linen; it in- 
 creases warmth and perspiration, imbibes and re- 
 tains the perspired humours, to the injury of the 
 wearer, and, like wool, readily attracts infectious 
 matter. All kinds of Fur are more noxious 
 than useful, both with respect to their structure and 
 constituent parts. They contain many alkaline and 
 oily particles ; the leather is too compact and does 
 not suffer the perspiring particles to fly off. The 
 consequence is, that a continual vapour-bath is form-
 
 S ON CLOTHING, 
 
 cd between the fur and the skin, that a great part of 
 the impure matter is again thrown back on the body, 
 and imbibed by it. Fur soon acquires an intolera- 
 ble smell, and more than any other substance attracts 
 and retains contagious effluvia. Experience informs 
 us, that nations who dress in fur, particularly in hot 
 countries, are frequently exposed to diseases, owing 
 to a want of cleanliness and free perspiration ; sucli 
 are the putrid fevers of Hungary, the plague among 
 the Turks, and the singular disease of the hair in Po- 
 land, called plica polonicuy which curls the whole hair 
 into a number of twists, that have the appearance of 
 so many greasy strings, and afford a ghastly specta- 
 cle. We ought, therefore, to choose a dress agree- 
 able to the season and weather, as well as to the con- 
 stitution of the body. In our variable climate, it 
 would be preferable to adopt a species of dress, which 
 is nearly uniform in all seasons. There appears no 
 danger in doing this ; on the contrary, it is the most 
 beneficial plan of managing the body, with regard 
 to the most important function, namely, that of per- 
 spiration. 
 
 On covering the Head. 
 
 Coverings of the head are very detrimental to health 
 ofbody and mind. The brain receives one-fifth of 
 the whole mass of the blood, and eight times more 
 than the other parts of the body. [Haller " Element. 
 Physiolog." t. iv. 1. x. sec, v, § 20.] The warmth 
 occasioned by covering the head increases the quan- 
 tity still further, and if In addition to this the veins 
 ofthe neck are pent up and the reflux of the blood im- 
 peded by shirt-collars, stocks, and cravats, a per- 
 ennial accumulation ofthe blood, and pressure of the
 
 ON CLOTHING. 9 
 
 brain, are inevitable, the whole frame languishes un- 
 der a slow paralysis: stupidity, drowsiness, indol- 
 ence, and lameness, must be the consequence; the 
 secretion of the nervous fluid in the brain goes on 
 heavily, and cannot vivify body and mind : the tur- 
 gid brain is incapable of clear sensual impressions, 
 and man staggers through life, void of sense, reason, 
 and joy. VERMiNand scaldheads are anoth- 
 
 er consequence of warm coverings of the head and 
 want of fresh air ; the mischief they do is astonishing ; 
 they are certainly to be reckoned among the great 
 plagues of the human race. The head naturally has 
 a small inclination to the earth; by the weight of 
 coverings it becomes depressed ; this is an additional 
 reason for abolishing coverings of the head in the 
 dress of children. For some years the ladies, 
 
 instead of those horrid masses of frizzled hair, which 
 used at once to injure their health, and disfigure their 
 faces, happily returned to beautiful and elegant na- 
 ture; having their hair hanging down in graceful 
 ringlets, while the only artificial covering was a sim- 
 ple turban, or an ornamental bandeau. Of late, 
 however, this tasteful style of decoration has been 
 succeeded by unnatural, disgusting, and unhealthful 
 wigs; a fashion probably introduced by some ugly 
 and bald woman, to reduce her gay and beautiful 
 imitators to her own standard of deformity. 
 The well known and excellent rule, of keeping the 
 head cool and the feet warm, is too much neglected, 
 especially by the lower classes of the people in many- 
 countries, as in Scotland, Holland, and Germany, 
 and likewise among people of a certain age anddes- 
 scription in this country. The Scotch peasant wears 
 his heavy bonnet, the Dutchman his cap, and the
 
 IQ ON CLOTHING. 
 
 Turk his turban, without considering that sucli heavy 
 loads are stupifying, and that, while no attention is 
 paid to keeping their feet warm and dry, their heads 
 are virtually con verte<l into vapour-baths. In all coun- 
 tries, the man who lives at his ease, carefully covers 
 his head with a warm night-cap; he spends perhaps 
 one half of the day in this unnatural dress, and pre- 
 pares his head for frequent colds, at every sudden 
 change in the atmosphere. Besides, weakness of the 
 head, pains, eruptions, local plethora or fulness of 
 blood, loss of the hair, lethargy, and at length stupor 
 or insanity are often the ejects of this imprudence. 
 In our moderate climate we might safely accustom 
 our youth to go with the head uncovered: as nature 
 has already provided it with hair for that purpose. 
 In very cold or hot countries, however, the head 
 must be slightly covered, to shelter it from cold, or 
 from the still more dangerous vertical rays of the 
 sun. To go with the head uncovered, in sunshine, 
 is certainly improper, both for children and adults; 
 but black hats are ill calculated to avert the mis- 
 chief, as they do not reflect the heat, but rather 
 concentrate it in the most sensible manner upon the 
 head. ThispROPERTY of colour hasbeen frequent- 
 ly demonstrated by placing black and light drab-col- 
 oured pieces of cloth upon snow, while the strong 
 rays of the sun have fallen upon them. The snow 
 began to melt round the black, while that about the 
 light colours was not more affected than the snow up- 
 on which no pieces were laid. A burning lens will 
 set fire to dark coloured substances, while light col- 
 ours are with difficulty or not at all affected. Hats of 
 a white, or other light colour, made of straw or similar 
 light materials, would be far preferable, particularly
 
 ON CLOTHING. 11 
 
 .••<-0>" 
 
 ■for people labouring in the fields, soldiers, and trav- 
 ellers. In very hot weather, a piece of white paper 
 may be fastened witii advantage upon the crown of 
 the hat. As the hat ought likewise to shelter the 
 eyes from too vivid a light, the brim should be broad 
 enough to protect them, and the innerside ofa green 
 or blue, but not of a black, or a dazzling colour. 
 Persons suffering from periodic head-achs, or whose 
 heads are otherwise unhealthy, should have their 
 hair cut short. By this petty sacrifice, they will 
 promote the necessary perspiration, the head will 
 remain cool, and ihecold bathing of it can be prac- 
 tised with more advantage. In this point of view, 
 wigs cannot be altogether condemned, as long as 
 hair-dressing, artificial braids, and other ornaments, 
 form an essential part of fashionable tiress. A light 
 wig is justly preferable to a head enveloped in an ar- 
 tificial paste of powder and pomatum. The 
 ancients went with their heads uncovered: Suetonius 
 says of Julius Caesar, "He was perfect in the use of 
 arms,and in equestrian exercises, inured to labour 
 bevond conception: he marched at the head of his 
 troops, sometimes upon horseback, oftener upon foot, 
 bareheaded, whether it was rain or sunshine;" [Sue- 
 tonii Jul. Caesar, p 45. Lugdun. Batav. 1645,] and 
 Silius Jtalicus, says of Hannibal, "a noble leader of 
 the thronging host, the Carthaginians saw him give 
 the rule, his head uncovei'd, heedless of the storm." 
 [Silius Italicus, 1. 1. v. 219—252.] "KingMassi- 
 nissa, to an extreme old age, could never be prevailed 
 on to go with his head covered, how cold, siormy, 
 or rainy soever the weather might be; the same thing 
 is related of the emperor Severus. Herodilus says, 
 that in the battles fought between the ?2gpytiansand 
 No. 47. 2
 
 12 ON CLOTHING. 
 
 ..<>.>.. 
 
 the Persians, it was observed, both by himself and 
 others, that of those who remained dead upon the 
 field, the heads of the Egyptians were, without com- 
 parison, harder than those of the Persians, because 
 the latter cover their heads from their infancy, first 
 ■with biggins and then with turbans, whereas the 
 former go always shaved and bare. And king Age- 
 silaus, to a descripit age, made it a rule to wear the 
 ■same sort of clothing in winter and summer. Plato 
 strongly advises, for the health of the whole body, to 
 give the head and feet no other covering, than what 
 is bestowed by nature." [Montaigne, b. 1.] 
 
 Neck Bandages. 
 
 The nerves, arteries, veins, and muscles, which run 
 along tiie neck up to the head of the wind-pipe, the 
 •organ of speech and song, as well as the wind-pipe 
 itself, are much injured and debilitated by stocks, 
 and other bandages round the neck, which tho' in 
 general worn by males only, operate nevertheless on 
 the female sex by propagation. Compressing the 
 neck has caused a loss of voice; [Hist, de I' Acad, 
 de Paris, 1705.] and injuring the muscles of the 
 larynx, weakens the voice, because these muscles re- 
 ceive nerves from the recurrent branches of the eight 
 pair. "1 have seen," says Dr. VVillich, 
 
 ** several instances of people attacked with shortness 
 of breath and difficulty of speech, from this reason 
 only, because the blood cannot circulate freely, iftlie 
 neck and wrists be tietl or buttoned up too closely. 
 I was once present where a young man, playing at 
 rackets, was suddenly seized with an apoplectic fit, 
 the cause of which seemed at first inexplicable. As 
 soon, however, as his shirt collar, wristbands, and gar-
 
 ON CLOTHING. 13 
 
 ters were loosened, he recovered." Neck-cloths, 
 
 cravats, ribands, and necklaces of all sorts, when 
 they are too tight, stop the access and retreat of the 
 blood to and from the head, occasion accumulations 
 of the blood and other fluids, head-achs, faintings, 
 stupor, apoplexy, corrosive ulcers of the skin, and 
 innumerable other maladies. All coverings of the 
 neck ought therefore to be constantly worn loose. 
 People who are liable to sore throats, and diseases 
 of the breast, might gradually accustom themselves, 
 in mild and dry weather, to gO with their necks as 
 slightly covered as possible, and if fashion would 
 permit it, to have no other covering but the collar 
 of the shirt. In cold and moist weather, a thin 
 handkerchief might be added. But the modern era- 
 vats, filled with astitfening of cotton or wool, are ex- 
 tremely injurious to the part which they are intended 
 to protect. For, by occasioning too great heat, they 
 render the neck unnaturally sensible to every change 
 of the atmosphere. It is rather surprising, that from a 
 due sense of their perniciousness, we have rejected all 
 coverings of the neck in children, as being trouble- 
 some and useless: and yet in defiance of reason and ex- 
 perience, wecontinuetoincumberourown necks with 
 such bandages. Neck-laces and ribands, likewise, 
 are generally tied so close, as to press with violence 
 upon that supposed deformity of the throat, vulgarly 
 called Adam's apple, which projects less in the fe- 
 male than in the male sex. These ribands and neck- 
 laces, when worn tight, are the more inconvenient 
 and dangerous, if they be narrow and edged. On 
 taking them off, which is too frequently neglected at 
 night, they leave an impression on the neck, clear- 
 ly proving that they impede the free muscular ac-
 
 14: ON CLOTHING. 
 
 action, and occasion stagnations, pain, and other 
 dangerous consequences. The neck and throat, 
 beingalternately expanded, and contracted, inspeak- 
 ing, chewing, and swallowing, it is the highest degree 
 of imprudence to obstruct it's motion, either for 
 the sake of appearance, vanity, or fashion. Equally- 
 objectionable are those black stocks, that were form- 
 erly much in fashion, and are still worn by some old 
 beaux and military men. The latter, indeed, de- 
 serve our compassion, from being obliged to wear 
 those uncomfortable collars; but the formeroughtto 
 consider, that they expose themselves to dangers, in- 
 creasing as they advance iii age, and rendering them 
 every day more liable to apoplexy. " 1 knew a regi- 
 ment of soldiers on the continent," says Dr. Willich, 
 ** whose colonel was so excessively fond of what he 
 considered a martial appearance, that be caused his 
 officers and men to have every article of their uni- 
 form remarkably tight, particularly the stocks, waist- 
 bands, and knee-garters. The consequence was, that 
 in the course of a few months, above the half of his 
 regiment became subject to very obstinate cutaneous 
 diseases, and other obstructions, so that they were 
 unable to perform duty. Other regiments in the 
 vicinity also sullered from this destructive custom; 
 but the proportion of their disabled soldiers was like 
 one to ten of the former." The late Dr. Fothergill 
 asserts, that these tight stocks are productive of apo- 
 plexy, if a person look for. some time, with his head 
 turned, without moving; his body. By this alone, he 
 believes, people have brought on apoplectic symp- 
 toms. For such a turn of the neck, when the body 
 stands fixed, diminishes the diameter of the jugular 
 veins so much, that a proportionate quantity of blood
 
 ON CLOTHING. 15 
 
 cannot return to them, from the vessels of the head 
 and the brain. 
 
 Coat and Gown Sleeves, SCc. 
 
 The arm of a woman is by nature somewhat taper 
 from the tip of her shoulder, becoming smaller down- 
 wards to her wrist t but that of a man is always, or 
 ought to be, largest a little below his elbow. Hence 
 it appears why the sleeves of a woman's gown may 
 compress generally, and why the sleeves of a man's 
 coat can only compress partially. Very tight coat 
 sleeves prevent the hand from grasping and holding 
 any thing long; and if nothing be grasped, the veins 
 upon the back of the hands will swell. Neither can 
 a person write in such sleeves, or with proper steadi- 
 ness and command ; nor lean upon a desk without 
 benumbing the fingers. Now if partial com- 
 
 pression below the elbow can excite such inability 
 and pain, what may not the general compression of 
 a woman's sleeves excite? The ends of shift 
 
 or gown sleeves, whether they be simple hems, or 
 bands, like the wrist-bands of a shirt, may compress 
 in a very great degree: for they yield little, or not at 
 all, when the arms are moved. The ends of shift- 
 sleeves compress like the ligature applied previous to 
 blood-letting; and they have been known to compress 
 as much. Instances are not wanting where the gown- 
 sleeves were so tight that the blood could not be 
 stopped till they were cut. 
 
 Stays, Waistcoats, ^'c. 
 
 The tightness ot our clothes, and the dilferent 
 
 bandages of which they consist, compress the veins 
 
 and lymphatic vessels immediately under the skin 
 
 2*
 
 16 ON CLOTHING. 
 
 and injure the animal economy exceedingly. 
 The weight and pressure of our heavy tight clothing 
 cramp the whole frame, and particularly narrow the 
 breast. That our bodies are cramped is ascertained 
 beyond a doubt (proofs of it may be found in the 
 Recherches et Considerations sur la Population de la 
 France, par M. Moheau, tom. i. c, 9). The 
 
 pressure of the female dress upon the breasts not only 
 enfeebles and spoils the breasts but in a great meas- 
 ure destroys the nipple, even during childhood; 
 many new-born infants suffer exceedingly on this ac- 
 count. And tho' the nipple may not be totally des- 
 troyed, it is always poor and feeble, witness the ex- 
 cuciating sufferings of mothers from sore nipples, by 
 which they are often rendered incapable of suckling 
 their children. The dress of the female sex has 
 
 been very exceptionable. How far it was elegant and 
 tasteful, may not properly be decided here. It is 
 well known, that a loose and easy dress contributed 
 much to give both sexes those fine proportions of 
 body, that are ob«;ervabIe in the Grecian statues, and 
 which serve as models to our present artists; nature 
 being too much disfiiTured among us to afford them 
 any such. The Greeks knew nothing of those gothic 
 shackles, that multiplicity of ligatures and bandages, 
 with which our bodies are compressed. Their women 
 were ignorant of the use of whalebone stays, by which 
 some of our's yet distort their shape, instead of dis- 
 playing it. Can it be a pleasing sight to behold a 
 woman cut in two in the middle, as it were, like a 
 a wasp ? on the contrary, it is as shocking to the eye, 
 as it is painful to the imagination. A fine shape, like 
 the limbs, hath it's due size and proportion; a dim- 
 inution of which is certainly a defect. Such a de-
 
 ON CLOTHING. VI 
 
 form ity also would be striking in a naked figure; 
 ■wherefore, then, should it be esteemed a beauty in 
 one that is dressed? Fortunately, laced stays 
 
 are among the higher ranks of society, at present, 
 out of fashion, and the Grecian costume is very justly 
 preferred; but so transitory is fashion, and so little 
 founded on reason, that the example of a court lady 
 is amply sufficient, to introduce again, [he sirait Jack- 
 et, with it's extremes of ungracefulness and evil; and 
 amply as the Grecian form allows women to dress at 
 ease, it is observable that tight coverings are yet pre- 
 dominent. All that has been said re.specting laced 
 stays, is also applicable to tight coverings ofthe breast 
 and abdomen. If such a dress as stays be admissable, 
 they should be made of soft and pliable materials, 
 as the knitted and elastic substance used for stock- 
 ings or gloves. How absurdly dc^es fashion vary in 
 extremes! The unnatural and unhealthful custom of 
 tapered waists was no sooner relinquished, than 
 the fair sex endeavoured to conceal the waist entire- 
 ly. Instead of a cincture round the middle ofthe 
 body, as nature and tasie directed, they bound them- 
 selves over the breasts, a custom not less preposter- 
 ous than injurious to health. 
 
 Gloves. 
 
 It is improper and unhealthy to wear any other but 
 woollen gloves, which ought to be worn by all fe- 
 males, who wish to improve the skin of their hands 
 and arms; no cosmetics or washes are so certain and 
 so powerful in their effects : on the contrary, all ex- 
 ternal applications, unless assisted by internal reme- 
 dies, are attended with the positive ruin of. skin, 
 bloom, and health.
 
 5^ ON CLOTHING. 
 
 Leathern Breeches. 
 
 The compression of tight leathern breeches, how- 
 ever general, is not always equal. Every man may 
 have felt, at some time, a numbness of one or both 
 inferior extremities, from sitting upon a hard seat. 
 This sensation is frequently iuduced to the same de- 
 gree by wearing a tight pair of leathern breeches, and 
 remains for many hours after they are drawn off. 
 Elastic leathern breeches frequently cause a numb- 
 ness and coldness of the external part of the thighs 
 and hips, a painful pressure of the pudenda, and are 
 undoubtedly a very improper and injurious article 
 of dress. They are certainly handsome, and very fit 
 to expose a muscular thigh ; but they are inconveni- 
 ent in walking. The most convenient form 
 of this vestment is, on the whole, that o{ pantaloons ^ 
 if made sufficiently wide, of a thin cooling substance 
 an summer, and of a warm elastic woollen-cloth in 
 ■winter. Leather is an improper substance for this 
 part of dress; as, on account of it's close texture, it 
 is apt to check insensible perspiration. If the waist- 
 band be too strait, the free motion of the internal 
 parts of the abdomen will be obstructed, the absorb- 
 ent vessels of the intestines prevented from perform- 
 ing their offices, and hypochondraical complaints be 
 easily induced. This inconvenience may be entirely 
 avoided, by the use of braces, now almost generally 
 adopted, and which, as they render a tight cincture 
 altogether unnecessary, cannot be too much recom- 
 mended both to men and women, for the sake of 
 liealth as well as comfort.
 
 ON CLOTHINC?; 19 
 
 Gariers 
 
 are worn both above and below the knee : but they 
 are equally improper in both places. They cause a 
 disagreeable appearance and unnatural hardness of 
 the part. They dispose the legs to dropsy, render 
 walking tiresome, and are a very common cause that 
 many stumble, fall, and dislocatt- or break their knee- 
 pans. Garters are unnecessary to men, except 
 when wide pantaloons are used, and then a good 
 way may be to suspend ihem by tape to the waist. 
 A still better method, in this case, is to wear a kind 
 of stocking made on purpose, rising about midway 
 up the leg, and of sufficient elasticity to keep up. 
 If females cannot do without garters they should gar- 
 ter loosely below the knee, with worsted stutf, as 
 elastic as posible ; but if any contrivance could be a- 
 dopted in their place, it would amply compensate for 
 any little trouble. I'he stockings might certainly be 
 easily tied to some tape fastened to the waistband. 
 
 Stockings. 
 
 There is not a greater and more important emunc- 
 tory in the whole human system than the feet. The 
 connection between the feet and the head, the stom- 
 ach, the uterus and the urinary passages is such that 
 fits of the iiout, suppressions of the menses, and pains 
 resembling those of the stone, are frequently and al- 
 most instantaneously brought on by cold applied to 
 the feet. I am even persuaded, says Dr. Vaughan, 
 that cancer, inflammation, and even abortion are fre- 
 quently occasioned by wearing cotton and silken 
 stockings. Cotton, like linen, once saturated 
 
 with the moisture discharged from the feet, can re-
 
 80 ON CLOTHING. 
 
 ceive no more: and as it can part with little or none 
 to the atmosphere, the excretion must be more or 
 less impeded, and a sense of coldness and clamminess 
 must be inevitable. Nothing stops the excretion 
 from the feet sooner and more effectually than cold. 
 Kor are fads wanting to convince those who are 
 open to conviction that cotton worn next the skin 
 is a plentiful source of uncleanliness. Let any one 
 desirous to see it proved, wear cotton stockings one 
 day and worsted the next, and afterwards say which 
 •was the more free from humidity and smell. Cot- 
 ton saturated with the sweat of the feet (and cotton 
 can contain more than linen), soon rots. Cotton 
 stockings will not last so long as worsted for this 
 very reason. Mankind seem ignorant of the 
 
 calamities which may arise from the spontaneous 
 changes which the sweat of the feet, stagnating in the 
 stockings, undergoes; of the calamities which may 
 arise from the mutual action of the sweat and the 
 Jeather and it's impregnations. In short, they who 
 wear cotton stockings ought, from regard to delicacy 
 as well as health, to change them once a day. 
 The use of socks or worsted feet, within cotton 
 stockings would be attended with advantage; or, 
 ■which is still better, cotton stockings with worsted 
 feet. As to the legs they require no covering; and 
 it would be far better if they were exposed to the 
 air. It is scarcely necessary to mention silken 
 
 stockings: they are so thin and such easy conductors 
 of heat, that they are never worn alone by prudent 
 people, but over worsted or yarn. There can be no 
 great objection to this custom. Altho' the 
 
 feet are as great and important an emunctory as any 
 in the human body, yet it has never been proposed.
 
 ON CLOTHING. 21 
 
 ••4-0->- 
 
 ■to solicit a discharge from them. On the contrary 
 it has been repeated as a rule, particularly in the 
 polite world, that suppressing their discharge is the 
 most certain and effectual method of keeping them 
 dry and free from smell. Hence old women have 
 set about suppressing the discharge, and an unsus- 
 pected fatality must often have overtaken the unwary, 
 who contided in their anile injunctions. Dry feet are 
 preferable to moist; but those means which encrease 
 their perspiration are the only means which can pre- 
 serve them dry, and prevent their smelling offensive- 
 ly. No person can seriously doubt the importance 
 of a free perspiration from the feet. Keeping them 
 in warm water has frequently removed pains and e- 
 ven inflammations of very distant parts ; and a copi- 
 ous discharge from them has in all such cases been 
 known to precede the cure. So that if the pain and 
 inflammation were not caused by suspension of the 
 perspiring faculty of the feet, they were at least cer- 
 tainly cured by exciting or increasing it. 
 By what change of clothing then are the feet to be 
 kept dry and tree from smell? When we run and 
 when we dance, do not our feet perspire much, and 
 do not the feet of some become clammy and offen- 
 sive after such exercises, within a short time, not- 
 withstanding all their endeavours to prevent it? Our 
 body perspires most when it is driest, and dryness is 
 preserved by wearing such a covering as conveys a- 
 way the vapour perspired before it has time to con- 
 dense into a fluid form. Such a covering should be 
 woollen. Therefore if persons wearing cotton, thread, 
 or silken stockings feel a coldness and clamminess, 
 and if their feet exhale a disagreeable smell, it is be- 
 cause their stockings instead of conveying the va-
 
 22 ON CLOTHING. 
 
 pour perspired away before it changes it's form, ab- 
 sorb and retain it in contact with the skin, in a heat 
 most favourable to putrefaction, and thus obstruct all 
 future perspiration. Our feet are not as easily kept 
 dry as our bodies; for the vapour of the skin after 
 passing through even worsted stockings, must in some 
 measure be secluded from the atmosphere by the 
 leather of the shoes. Be this as it may, worsted 
 stockings convey the vapour from the feet, and do 
 not readily retain it condensed : so that if the vapour 
 only assume a tiuid state, on the outside of the stock- 
 ings, between them and the shoes, we are at least 
 more likely to feel less coldness and clamminess than 
 if we wore stockings which more readily absorb wa- 
 ter than vapour. But the most disagreeable sensa- 
 tion which they ever feel, whose feet sweat, is be- 
 tween the toes. Here it is that the more fluid part 
 of the sweat being absorbed, leaves the gross and 
 glutinous part to accumulate and putrefy. This can 
 only be prevented by presenting even to the skin, 
 between the toes, a woollen covering ; in other words, 
 by making our stockings with toes, as we do our 
 gloves with fingers. 1 hat the feet are more 
 
 exposed to the effects of cold, and to stagnations of 
 the fluids, than any other part of the body, is un- 
 questionable: 1st, Because they are the most remote 
 parts from the heart, and the i^uickness of the circu- 
 lation of the blood decreases in proportion to that 
 distance; and 2nd, 'i'he blood circulating downwards 
 makes it's way to the heart somewhat slower, on ac- 
 count of it's own gravity. By this slowness in the 
 circulation, more watry particles are deposited by 
 the blood. Jt is therefore necessary to keep the feet 
 somewhat warmer than the rest of the body, in order
 
 ON CLOTHING. 23 
 
 .<>••>- 
 
 to encootage the motion of the fluids to the upper 
 parts. For the same reason, it is proper to prevent 
 all moisture from without, by means of water-proof 
 shoes, provided with cork soles, for the winter, or 
 with elastic socks of horse hair. 
 
 Boots, 
 
 made too small, and of thick hard leather, are so 
 pernicious to health, and so disagreeable in walking, 
 that it is surprising any sensible being should confine 
 himself in them, for the silly purpose of shewing (as 
 nearly as such an unmanagt-able material as leather 
 is capable of) the shape of his legs. The effects 
 which they occasion may easily be understood from 
 what has been said, and from what is more to be ex^- 
 plained hereafter. The constant use of boots 
 
 contracts the size of the legs, particularly thecalves, 
 as may be observed in military men, and the fashion- 
 able loungers of Bond-street, and Pall-mall. 
 
 Shoes. 
 
 How frequently do we smile at the Chinese, who, 
 from a tyrannical custom, squeeze and compress their 
 feet, that they may remain small and crippled. Yet 
 these feeble Orientals proceed more rationally in this 
 practice, than their European rivals. They begin 
 with it gradually, and from the earliest infancy. 
 We(\o not think of contracting the feet of our chiN 
 dren, till they have almost attained the natural size, 
 and thus endeavour to counteract the progress of na- 
 ture, when it is too late to do it with impunity. Our 
 knees would be more flexible, and our toes more 
 pliable, more useful, and better adapted to perform 
 the various motions of the feet, if they were not con- 
 No. 47. 3
 
 24 ON CLOTHING. 
 
 tinually pressed and palsied by this improper case- 
 \vork. Nature has designed the toes to be as move- 
 able as the fingers. Examine the feet of a peasant's 
 child who has never worn shoes. Instead of the toes 
 being crooked or bent inwards to a point, they are 
 straight as their fingers, and the inner side of the 
 foot forms nearly a straight line from the heel to the 
 tip of the first toe. Those unfortunate beings, who 
 are born without hands, learn to perform with the 
 toes the most astonishing tasks, to write and cut 
 pens, to sew, to draw ; in short, to supply almost 
 completely the want of their hands. Our feet would 
 be more comfortable, easy, and useful, if we were 
 not at the greatest pains to deprive them of their 
 elasticity and vigour. The numerous nerves cross- 
 ing them, in every direction, plainly evince that na- 
 ture has endowed them with peculiar powers, of 
 which we can scarcely form an adequate conception. 
 "Why are mankind determined to convert the natural 
 shape of the foot into a geometrical figure? or why 
 do they not take it into their heads to new-model 
 some oiher part of the body, which may happen to 
 be irregular in it's form ? He who is regardless of the 
 pain and trouble occasioned by warts, excrescences, 
 and callosities of various forms; he who wishes to 
 convert his feet and toes into so many barometers, 
 to indicate the present state, and to foretel the future 
 changes of the weather, will ever agree with his shoe- 
 maker, to save as much leather as possible; and he 
 is scarcely to be pitied for his imprudence. But such 
 a person cannot pretend to walk, and if he be unable 
 to provide a horse or a carriage for his excursions, 
 lie must submit to abridge himselfof many pleasures; 
 and such cessations from exercise are undoubtedly
 
 ON CLOTHING. 25 
 
 extremely detrimental to health in general, and they 
 may be registered among the pre-disposing causes of 
 the gout, rheumatism, and dropsy. Many people 
 are thus almost deprived of the use of their legs ; and 
 the pain of the more virulent species of corns, as 
 well as of the nails, when grown into the flesh, is ex- 
 cruciating. For these obvious reasons the sole of the 
 shoes ought to be sufficiently broad, and easy; in 
 short, they should be made to the natural form of 
 the foot. It is astonishing that mankind, al- 
 
 most with one consent, should determine to become 
 the vassals of fashion. Not long since they deemed 
 the foot handsome when it was compressed by an in- 
 strument into a shoe a full inch shorter than is nec- 
 essary for a free use of the foot; at present, the foot 
 is deemed handsome by being reduced to a narrow 
 and long pointed shape. Instead of bending the toes 
 ■with their nails inward, they must now be squeezed 
 together so as to lie one over the other. We can 
 scarcely regret that such folly is sometimes rebuked 
 on striking the foot against a stone, if reflections on 
 the evil be induced; but not even punishment can 
 rouse some people to a sense of outrages against comr 
 mon sense and nature. A shoe ought to be 
 
 made sufficiently long, with thick soles, and the up- 
 per-leather soft and pliable. If shoes be deficient in 
 any of these requisites, the skin will be rendered cal- 
 lous; the perspiration indispensable to those parts 
 will be stopped ; warts and corns will appear in num- 
 bers ; the nails will grow^ into the flesh, and various 
 complicated maladies be produced, which not only 
 affect tlie feet, but the whole body. Shoes 
 
 should have low heels ; and have the true shape of the 
 foot, which at the toes is broad, the heel small, and
 
 26 ON CLOTHING. 
 
 the length of the inside is greater than the outside. 
 They should be made from two lasts, as the shape of 
 the feet indicate. The following figures demon- 
 strate the propriety and necessity of a reformation in 
 the shape of shoes. Fig. 1, is the shape of the sole of 
 a foot not compressed or deformed by small shoes. 
 Fig. 2, shews how the sole of the shoe ought to be 
 formed. Fig. 3, shews clearly that the shoes usually 
 vora, made on one last, do not fit. 
 
 Fig. I. Fig. 2. Fig. 3. 
 
 Each foot may be placed upon a piece of paper, and 
 it's exact outline drawn with a pencil, after which the 
 lasts may be made, attending carefully to the shape 
 of the dilTerent parts of the foot. In taking the size 
 of the sole from the foot, it will be necessary to al- 
 low sufhcient room for the toes, which are constantly 
 pushed forward in walking, by the bending of the 
 foot. By wearing this kind of naturally shaped shoes, 
 a person will be able to walk with perfect ease, and, 
 of course, a longer time ; and corns will be effectu- 
 ally cured or prevented. With respect to the
 
 ON CLOTHING. 2/ 
 
 mbslauce of which shoes should be made, no other 
 general rule can be given, than that it ought to be 
 sufficiently compact, to prevent the water from pen- 
 etrating; so elastic and soft, as to admit an easy- 
 motion of the whole foot ; and adapted to the weath- 
 er, exercise, and soil in which it is to be used. Ta 
 those who have not the means or opportunity of pro- 
 curing the patent water-proof leather, the following 
 method of preparing this species of leather may be 
 adopted at a very tritiinij expense. One pint of dry- 
 ing oil, two ounces of yellow wax, two ounces of spirit 
 of turpentine, and one ounce of burgundy-pitch, are 
 to be carefully melted together, over a slow fire. 
 Those to whom the smell of pitch and turpentine is 
 unpleasant, may add a (tw drachms of some cheap es- 
 sential oil, as of lavender, thyme, and the like. With 
 this composition new shoes or boots are to be rubbed, 
 either in the sun, or at some distance from a fire, with 
 a sponge or soft brush : this operation is to be repeat- 
 ed as often as they become dry again, until they be 
 fully saturated. In this manner, the leather at length 
 becomes impervious to wet; the shoes or boots thus 
 prepared last much longer than they otherwise would, 
 acquire such softness and pliability, that they never 
 shrivel or grow hard and inflexible, and thus pre- 
 pared, are the most effectual preservatives against 
 cold and chilblains. 
 
 Advantages to be derived from zc-earhig alxi-ays one 
 Kind of Covering. 
 
 Bears and foxes, which inhabit cold climates, can 
 maintain the natural temperature in all sea-^ons, aiul 
 be in health and vigour, with one and the same cov- 
 ering; why may not man maintain his natural tern-
 
 28 ON CLOTHING. 
 
 perature and remain in health and vigour, with one 
 and the same covering also? There is no season or 
 climate, however warm, in which bears, foxes, and 
 many other animals are not covered with some hair ; 
 and it often falls off even in the coldest seasons and 
 climates. It seems natural that the old hair should 
 fall off to make room for new; that the hair should 
 be regenerated as well as the other parts of the body. 
 And the hair being thicker in cold than in warm 
 climates and in cold than in temperate seasons, does 
 not prove than it is unnecessary in warm climates; 
 and much less that any thing better might be sup- 
 plied. The utmost it proves is that less might suf- 
 fice. The more obvious advantages to be de- 
 rived from wearing always one kind of covering may 
 be easily understood from the following considera- 
 tions. Uneasiness, itching, and pain, most common- 
 ly attend the change of one kind of covering for an- 
 other, even when there is no suspicion of dampness. 
 A skin used to the feel of fine linen cannot bear that 
 of coarse. The brother of Louis xi v, who was se- 
 cluded from society in the Bastile of Paris is report- 
 ed to have worn very fine linen, because coarse linen 
 made him uneasy. [Mem. du Marchal Due du 
 Richlieu, &c.] Ann of Austria was under a similar 
 necessity of wearing fine linen. A skin used 
 to the feel of linen cannot bear, with equal pleasure, 
 the feel of cotton. And flannel, which seems in it's 
 effects most like the hairy covering of animals, is re- 
 garded with a degree of antipathy by those who have 
 long accustomed their skin to linen or cotton. Sir 
 Benjamin Thompson says, there is no luxury greater 
 than that of wearing flannel, when one is used to it. 
 [Phil. Trans, v. 77. p. ii. 240.] To change
 
 OV CLOTHING. 29 
 
 our apparel as often as the weather changes is at- 
 tended with a great loss of time, and supposes a fit 
 opportunity, and a certain degree of independence. 
 Such time and opportunity are seldom at the dis- 
 posal of sailors, soldiers, and husbandmen. 
 Consider the dormouse: it is so clothed with hair, 
 which slowly communicates heat, that Mr. Hunter 
 could not freeze it, even in a freezing mixture, till he 
 had thoroughly wetted it's hair. [Observ. on certain 
 Parts of the Animal Economy, p, 89.] And if such 
 a reptile as this be qualified, by a covering of hair to 
 maintain a similar degree of heat in all seasons and 
 climates, will my reader believe that man might not 
 also more effectually brave inclemencies of weather 
 if he had such a covering? The practice of 
 
 wrapping ourselves up in flannel at the approach of 
 winter, changing it for calico at the approach of 
 spring and autumn, and wearing linen only during 
 the summer, is equally absurd aud hurtful; many 
 have fallen martyrs to it; for it prevails equally 
 among the strong and the weak, those of thirty and 
 those of sixty. Besides the temperature is seldom 
 the signal for these changes, it is the day of the 
 month! No man can certainly foretell what 
 
 covering may be most suitable for to-morrow, and 
 the states of the weather are too inconstant and vari- 
 able for him to possess a covering proper for every 
 one. People in ease and affluence tell us that clothes 
 should be changed as often as the weather changes, 
 appearing to have only the care of themselves at 
 heart; for poverty will always preclude the labouring 
 poor from the aclvantages of so frequent a change, 
 provided it be ever so necessary.
 
 30 ON CLOTHING. 
 
 On bearing Cold. 
 
 It is hoped that men will begin to consider the 
 folly and mischief of a warm regimen, which in 
 health often prepares them for sickness, and in sick- 
 ness often encreases the disease, and hastens death ; 
 a regimen which would be much more proper for one 
 that is to have a sudden passage into a warm coun- 
 try, than for us who are to prepare ourselves for the 
 bearing of cold ; an inconvenience we cannot fly from, 
 and therefore ought to accommodate ourselves, and 
 which is neither formidable nor dangerous. 
 The inhabitants of England formerly went naked, 
 and were more healthy than we are now. The peo- 
 ple of Canada, and all the cold continent behind 
 Newfoundland, go much after the san)e manner, 
 without any inconvenience from it, but are rather 
 fortified against the accidents they would be subject 
 to, if their pores were much opened, and relaxed 
 by too much w^armth ; and we may readily distin- 
 guish the rational from the savage part, by as thin a 
 habit as decency will permit. It is strange that peo- 
 ple should be fond of supplying their skins, and keep- 
 ing their pores too open ; as if a man did not really 
 perspire, when there is no sensible moisture upon tlie 
 skin. If men considered how much sweat impairs 
 the skin, and inclines it to wrinkle, as Sanctorius re- 
 marks in one of his aphorisms, they would be fully 
 persuaded that nature can make discharges by finer 
 and better ways than those which are so perceptible, 
 and that flannel is scarcely necessary on this side of 
 old age. The nervous parts of the skin have cer- 
 tainly a very great elasticity, and are capable of be- 
 ing strengthened by good and suitable management.
 
 ON eiOTHlNG, 91 
 
 even to a habit, as well as those of other f^arts. When 
 the glands of the skin throw out a very sensible quaa- 
 ty of sweat in some particular parts, these parts grow 
 accustomed to the air, or other moisture, and receive 
 little or no hindrance in their discharges from it; as 
 we see the palms of the hands sweat copiously, not- 
 withstanding the external air immediately striking 
 upon them; and none are more strong and healthy 
 than those who are accustomed to have their feet 
 wet, without changing their shoes and stockings. 
 The stomach placed in the midst of the body, and 
 consequently exquisitely warm, is so adapted as to 
 bear large draughts of the coldest liquor without the 
 least danger or inconvenience, unless the body has 
 been extremely heated ; and tho' it's office seems to 
 require great and continual heat, yet it is not ob- 
 structed in it by the admission of cold things; nor 
 are it's glands benumbed or constringed, so as to 
 hinder the secretion of digesting juices; and can we 
 suppose the fabric of the skin less perfect and exqui- 
 site, when by it's position it is to be immediately sub- 
 ject to the effects of the external air ? Can we think 
 it's vessels are not endued with a strength sufficient 
 to answer the force and weight of the incumbent air? 
 and it's glands of such a make, as that the particles 
 tiiey strain shall be of so fine a texture, as to pass the 
 skin, when it seems to us to be too close to permit 
 any transition? The effects of too much 
 
 heat is evident in the maladies of hot countries. Let 
 us instance the disease of the cholic, which, when it 
 seizes any one among us, the chiefest care is. to be 
 secured from cold. Now the cholic is the epidemi- 
 cal distemper of hot countries, and so common at 
 Surat, that about noon the whole town will smell of
 
 32 ON CLOTHING. 
 
 assafoedita, which they mix in most of their dishes,' 
 to preserve them from that tormenting distemper, 
 which the heat of the air (so far from exempting 
 them) renders them liable to, by rarefying the blood 
 and humours, and opening their pores; by which it is 
 probable many among us bring on accidental cholics. 
 When muffs were worn universally, men were accus- 
 tomed to let them hang upon their bellies. I have 
 heard a healthy man complain, that on leaving off 
 his muff for a day or two he has been griped. Any 
 one in the world will from hence infer, that keeping 
 the part too warm prepared it for the ill effects of 
 the air, and that the same may happen in any part of 
 the body ; so that it is folly for people, in most cases, 
 where the lungs are not concerned, to nurse up a dis- 
 temper, which was at first perhaps in a great part ow- 
 ing to a tender way of life, and by continuing that 
 course, must be increased rather than perfectly root- 
 ed out. [Fuller's Medicina Gymnastica.] 
 
 Advantages to be derived from a Woollen Covering next 
 the Skin, contended for . 
 
 '' It is a mistaken notion," says Sir Benjamin 
 Thompson, " that flannel is too warm a clothing for 
 summer. I have worn it in the hottest climates, and 
 in all seasons of the year, and never found the least 
 inconvenience from it." [Phil. Trans, vol. 77.] 
 " And I can aver," says Dr. Vaughan, " that I have 
 worn it several years, in summer as well as winter, 
 in the warmest rooms, and under the most fatiguing 
 exertions, withoutever feeling the least inconvenience. 
 Nay, since I have worn it, 1 have never once felt any 
 complaint in my breast, which I frequently did before. 
 In short, since I have worn it, I have never experi-
 
 ON CLOTHING. 33 
 
 enced an hour's ailment. " But why is linen 
 
 and calico preferred to flannel? We are told, it is 
 because flannel heats more than linen or cotton. Now, 
 it must be allowed it is not the heat of our covering 
 that is ever disagreeable to us, but it's being soaked 
 in sweat and confined next the skin. Did any one 
 ever feel uncomfortable from mere heat ? No; he 
 could not: he can only have felt uncomfortable from 
 his wet shirt sticking to his skin. " Flannel is 
 
 preferable to linen, because with the former we can 
 perspire without danger, and exercise ourselves with- 
 out any unpleasurable feeling. But who can do so 
 when linen is next the skin ? If one dance with flan- 
 nel next the skin, the perspiration is necessarily en- 
 creased, the matter perspired is conveyed through the 
 flannel to the atmosphere, and the skin remains dry, 
 warm, and comfortable. If one dance with linen next 
 the skin, the perspiration is also necessarily encreased, 
 but the matter perspired is not conveyed through the 
 flannel to the atmosphere; much of it being con- 
 densed into a fluid state, retained in the linen, and 
 kept in contact with the skin. Here then are two 
 sources of heat, which those who wear flannel next 
 the skin are never subject to ; these are the condensa- 
 tion of the vapour of the skin (all vapours in becom- 
 ing fluid, and all fluids in becoming solid giving out 
 heat) and the greater capacity of linen for heat. 
 *' Suppose, again, that after dancing and perspiring 
 greatly, necessity obliges me to go into the open air. 
 I have done it many times with flannel next my skin ; 
 but 1 never caught cold by it, nor did I feel uncom- 
 fortable. And doubtless the reason is because my 
 skin was kept dry by the flannel conveying away the 
 matter perspired, before it lost it's form of vapour.
 
 3^ OVt CEOTrtlNG. 
 
 Suppose after dancing and perspiring freely, necessity 
 ^oukl oblige one, with linen next his skin, to go sud- 
 denly into the cold air; what will be his sensation ! 
 what his risque! His linen will be soaked in sweat, 
 afnd, like every thing excrementitious, disgustingly 
 stinking; he will feel cold and shiver, his teeth will 
 chatter, and it is a thousand to one but he catches 
 cold ; a hundred to one but his lungs become inflam- 
 ed ; for he is subjected to a source of cold, which 
 those who wear flannel next the skin seldom or never 
 are: this is the evaporation of the condensed fluid 
 from their linen, which will be greater in proportion 
 as it is exposed to more wind. " Thus it 
 
 appears how effectually a covering of wool can de- 
 fend our bodies from sudden and excessive heat and 
 cold; how exactly it co-operates with the powers of 
 generating heat and cold in living systems, and how 
 constantly it preserves us in that temperature which 
 rs most pleasurable as well as most natural and bene- 
 ficial. " As to the benefits derived from flan- 
 nel as an electric, I cannot conveniently enlarge on 
 them. [See Brydone's Tour through Sicily, &c.} 
 It must suffice, at present, to have proved that heat 
 and dryness are necessary to perspiration [SeeHome's 
 Med. Facts and Exper. p. 245] ; and that our clothes 
 never feel so pleasant as when the matter perspired 
 and the evaporation from our clothes are in such a 
 given ratio to each other as to preserve us dry." 
 
 " Wool," says Dr. Willich, " on account of it's 
 rough surface, is more calculated to absorb infectious 
 morbid matter than a more smooth substance; but 
 tve have nothing to apprehend from tlannel upon the 
 skin, and under the usual dress. I am rather of opin- 
 ion, that it is a b'^tter preventive against contagion
 
 ON CLOTHING, ^ 
 
 than any other; because, v.hile it encourages perspi- 
 ration, it at the same time removes the inhaled poi- 
 sonous particles, particularly if, in cases of danger, 
 perspiration be increased by other suitable means» 
 Hence people wearing flannel upon their skin, never 
 suffer from cold. 1 have been informed, that the 
 manufacturers in the different founderiesof Birming- 
 ham, as well as the iron-works of Colebrook-dale and 
 Kettley, in the most intense heat, wear no other but 
 flannel shirts ; and that without these it would be im- 
 possible to prevent continual colds, and the most fa- 
 tal diseases. These advantages strongly recommend 
 the use of flannel to every one anxious to preserve 
 his health, but particularly to those who are exposed 
 to all kinds of weather, as husbandmen, fishermen, 
 mariners, soldiers, and travellers. Those who 
 
 complain of cold legs and feet, are never comfortable 
 nor healthy : if they could be prevailed on to wear 
 worsted stockings and flannel drawers, they would 
 acquire a quicker circulation of the blood in the low- 
 er extremities, and prevent many troubles and indis- 
 positions, from which, without this precaution, they 
 cannot escape. By continuing the use of flan- 
 
 nel sufiiciently long, and changing it frequently, the 
 most obstinate gouty and rheumatic complaints have 
 often been removed, and many other imminent dan- 
 gers averted. Children afflicted with rickets, cannot 
 be better relieved than by a proper diet, and flannel 
 shirts, which may be daily fumigated with amber, 
 petroleum, or other fragrant substances; a process 
 which has been frequently ])roductive of the most 
 beneficial effects.'' [Lectures on Diet and Regimen. J 
 
 ^o. 4T.
 
 aC OM CLOTHING. 
 
 Objections to the foregoing Doctrine, 
 
 If an excess of perspiration be induced by warm 
 or stimulant clothing, as by wearing flannel in con- 
 tact with the skin in the summer months, a perpetu- 
 al febricula is excited, both by preventing the access 
 of cool air to the skin, and by perpetually goading 
 it by the numerous and hard points of the ends of 
 the wool ; which when applied to the tender skins of 
 young children, frequently produce the red gum, as 
 it Is called ; and in grown peojDle, either an erysipe- 
 las, or a miliary eruption, attended with fever. 
 Shirts made of cotton or calico stimulate the skin 
 too much by the points of |the fibres, tho* less than 
 flannel ; whence cotton handkerchiefs make the nose 
 sore by frequent use. The fibres of cotton are, I sup- 
 pose, ten times shorter than those of flax, and the 
 number of points in consequence twenty times the 
 number ; and tho' the manufacturers singe their cali- 
 coes upon a red-hot iron cylinder, yet 1 have more 
 than once seen an erysipelas induced or increased by 
 the stimulus of calico, as well as of flannel. 
 The increase of perspiration by heat either of clothes, 
 or of fire, contri butes much to emaciate the body ; as 
 is well known to jockies, who, when they are a stone 
 or two too heavy for riding, find the quickest way to 
 lessen their weight is by sweating themselves between 
 blankets in a warm room ; but this likewise is a prac- 
 tice by no means to be recommended, as it weakens 
 the system by the excess of so general a stimulus, 
 brings on a premature old age, and shortens the span 
 of life; as may be further deduced from the quick 
 maturity, and shortness of the lives, of the inhabit* 
 ants of Hindostau and other tropical climates.
 
 ON CLOTHING. 1? 
 
 M. Buffon made a curious experiment to shew this 
 circumstance. He took a numerous brood of the 
 butterflies of silk- worms, some hundreds of which left 
 their eggs on the same day and hour ; these he divid- 
 ed into two parcels; and placing one parcel in the 
 south window, and the other in the north window of 
 his house, he observed, that those in the colder situa- 
 tion lived many days longer than those in the warm- 
 er one. From these observations it appears 
 that the wearing of flannel clothing next the skin, 
 which is now so much in fashion, however useful it 
 may be in the winter to those who have cold extrem- 
 ities, bad digestions, or habitual coughs, must great- 
 ly debilitate them, if worn in the warm months, pro- 
 ducing fevers, eruptions and premature old age. 
 [Darwin's Zoonomia, v. 2. p. 23.] The cele- 
 brated Professor Hufeland, lays down the following 
 conditions and limitations, in what relates to the use 
 of flannel. " On the whole," says he, " I am of opin- 
 ion that it would not be adviseable, at least to child* 
 dren and young persons, universally to adopt a wool- 
 len texture foe the covering of the skin. It is, how- 
 ever a salutary dress to tho^e who, in all probability, 
 have com njenced the second half of their lives; to all 
 cold or phlegmatic temperaments; to all who lead a 
 sedentary life; to individuals subjected to catarrhs, 
 or frequeni: rolds, gout, diarrlioea, and partial con- 
 gestions of the b'ood ; to all nervous patients and con- 
 valescents from severe chronical disorders; to per- 
 sons who are too susceptible of the impressions of the 
 atmospheie; and, lastly, in such climates and pur- 
 suits of life as are exposed tc frequent and sudden 
 changes of air. It is, on the contrary, hurtful to all 
 those, without exception, who are already subjected
 
 '38 ON CLOTHING. 
 
 to violent perspiration, or troubled with cutaneous 
 erruptions, and who cannot afford to change their 
 under-dress as often as is consistent with cleanliness,'* 
 He also says, in his *' Art of prolonging Life," 
 ** Warm coverings upon the bare skin are to be re- 
 commended only during intense cold, or for weakly 
 people subjected to the rheumatism. In infancy and 
 youth, and for those whose bodies are sound, it is far 
 preferable to wear, next the skin, either linen or cot- 
 ton, with a vest of the same in summer, and in win- 
 ter one of woollen." [English translation, vol. 2. 
 p. 241.] In tiie compiler of this pamphlet is afford- 
 ed an instance of the pernicious effects of flannel 
 when worn next the skin. Having adopted this 
 kind of clothing for one winter, now fifteen years 
 since, he induced a dry habit, which he has not yet 
 been able entirely to overcome. 
 
 THE DRESS OF CHILDREN. 
 
 The Children of the Poor and Rich compared. 
 
 The dress of our children is void of order and uni- 
 formity. It is various and chequered like the whims 
 of their parents. This is very prejudicial: it bewil- 
 ders them ; scatters seeds of confusion in their brain, 
 which spread through life, and gives it the cast of a 
 tragi-con)ic farce. The children of the rich 
 
 are clothed sumptuously, and thereby rendered proud 
 and senseless ; opinion stifles truth, dress becomes the 
 • standard of merit, and the poor man is consequently 
 despised. The children of the poor are hud- 
 
 dled up in rags, hardly sufficient to cover their nak- 
 edness; the consequence is, they are debased and
 
 ON CLOTHING. 39 
 
 abandoned to the contempt of themselves and of 
 others. But tho' the children of the poor are 
 
 clothed with rags, these rags are expensive from their 
 multijilicity and artificial construction; and this in- 
 crease of expense is unfavourable to marriage and po- 
 pulation. [De la Monarchic Prussiene sous Frederic 
 le Grand, par M. Mirabeau, t. 1. p. 167. 4to.] 
 The cast unclean rags, worn by most of the children 
 of the lower classes of the people, which contain the 
 infectious seeds of many distempers, are the cause of 
 great ill health and mortality among them; thy per- 
 petuate and disseminate epidemic diseases. And 
 while the children of the poor are huddled in rags, 
 the extir|)ation of the small-pox (and why not the 
 measles, scarlet-fever, hooping-cough, itch, and all 
 other infectious diseases?) so much to be desired, will 
 be impossible. 
 
 Close Garments attended with bad Effects, 
 
 Our clothes are fetters to the body, the invention 
 of gothic, barbarous ages. In infancy, when the bo- 
 dy ought to be freely formed by unconstrained easy 
 movement and play, when man ought to gather 
 strength, flexibility, and firmness, when he ought to 
 be made invulnerable like Achilles, when freedom 
 and gladness ought to be woven into his existence, 
 his clothes impede every natural easy motion. By 
 these fetters children are robbed of their imprescript- 
 ible rights to free and unconstrained activity of bo- 
 dy, sport, and play ; they grow up into beings feeble, 
 sluggish, and awkward in body; little, stupid, im- 
 feeling, and servile in mind. Real activity and in- 
 dustry are to be expected then only, when the hu- 
 man body from it's earliest infancy shall have been 
 4*
 
 40 ON CLOTHING. 
 
 free and unshackled. "'Children in gen- 
 
 eral are too warmly clothed, particularly in their j 
 earliest infancy. It is much better to inure them to j, 
 cold than to heat. The former will never hurt them i| 
 if they be exposed to it from an early period ; but ll 
 thelooseand porous texture of their skin, leavingtoo li 
 great an opening for perspiration, subjects them to j; 
 an inevitable waste of strength and spirits, from ex- ' 
 treme heat. Hence it is that more die in August j 
 than in any other month of the year. Besides it is I 
 evident, on a comparison between the inhabitants of 
 northern and those of southern climates, that man- 
 kind grow more robust by supporting excessive cold, 
 than they do by bearing excessive heat. However, 
 as the child grows up, and his fibres gather strength, 
 you should inure him step by step to bear the rays of 
 the sun; provided you advance gradually you may 
 inure him, without risk, to the scorching heat of the 
 torrid zone." [Rousseau's Emilius, v. 1. p. 228.] 
 
 On the Causes and Consequences of a too early Secre- 
 tion and E?7iission q/ Semefi. 
 
 During the first fifteen or sixteen years of life, the 
 testicles ought to receive only so much blood as is 
 necessary to keep open the veins and channels for the 
 future secretion of seed, that the want of blood and 
 warmth in the testicles may prevent the secretion of 
 any seed during childhood. A boy is hardly 
 
 three years old but he must be a man, he must wear 
 breeches. In his frock the boy was easy, and free to 
 jump and gambol at his pleasure; in his breeches he 
 is, 1, Pent up and shackled, and by way of compen- 
 sation his mind is stuffed with opinion and folly. 
 He bears the burden of his breeches wthout a mur-
 
 ON CLOTHING. *!. 
 
 mer, because he is taught to believe his breeches fine, 
 honourable, and manly. 2, During the first and sec- 
 ond year the boy can neither button nor unbutton 
 his breeches, and he is continually in a sad condition. 
 3, To make water he must pull and strain his little 
 pipe to get clear of his breeches ; for a year and more 
 he is unable to perform this operation himself; chil- 
 dren, maids, and valets, lend their assistance in pull- 
 ing and playing with his private parts. By this pull- 
 ing, handling, and playing, the boy (and the girl too 
 who frequently assists, and to whom the innocent 
 boy often tries to return the friendly office), acquire 
 an intimate acquaintance with the genitals. And 
 this is one source of that hurtful practice which Tis- 
 sot has proved to be so injurious to the human race. 
 *' Nursery-maids, domestics, and others ought to 
 be watched with the utmost care, that they may not 
 foster the first germ of dissipation. I have met with 
 some instances, where children became onanists 
 merely through the nursery-maids, who, when they 
 cried and would not sleep, knew no other method of 
 soothing them than to handle and sport with their 
 privites. The sleeping together of two ought never 
 to be suffered." (Hufeland's Art of prolonging Life, 
 V. 2. p. 161. transl. 1797.] From the third 
 
 year of his life, sometimes earlier, the boy wears 
 breeches, which in general are made of wool. Every 
 avenue of the beneficent air to the testicles is shut up, 
 they are not cooled, not braced, not quieted. On 
 the contrary, the breeches generate a humid warmth, 
 which is greatest about the private parts, where the 
 shirt convolves, and where all the heat and acrid va- 
 pours of the upper and lower parts of the body are 
 concentrated. The heat and vapour about the pri-
 
 is ON CLOTHING. 
 
 vate parts certainly exceed that of the abdomen and 
 thighs by several degrees. The great warmth and 
 humid acrid vapours about the private parts, not un- 
 like a warm, humid, irritating vapour-bath, operat- 
 ing for the long period of eight or ten years, relax 
 and debilitate the solid parts of the testicles, draw 
 the blood and juices (perhaps the nervous fluid) into 
 them, and the relaxed, mollified, dilated, and full- 
 blooded testicles of a well-nonrished full-blooded 
 body, instead of being cool and unconstrained, free 
 from irritation and pressure, with little blood in 
 them, are thus heated, pressed, irritated, brooding, 
 and distilling in a waim humid, acrid vapour-bath, 
 and continual hot-house, for the long period of eight 
 or ten years, or to the twelfth year of a boy's life, 
 not less than twelve or fifteen hours every day. Of 
 necessity then there must be a secretion of seed. The 
 breeches therefore are the principal and most pow- 
 erful cause of the early secretion of seed in the tenth 
 or twelfth, instead of the fifteenth or sixteenth year. 
 And the consequence of this precocity is, that chil- 
 dren pollute themselves, that mankind are destitute 
 of vigour and virtue, that man does not stand in his 
 true relation to himself, to the female sex, and to his 
 species; he withers '* like the vine, which, having 
 been forced to bear fruit in the spring, languishes and 
 dies before the autumn." From the rock of 
 
 Elliot to that country where Maupertuis measured 
 the earth, breeches are the general fashion, excepting 
 only the highlands of Scotland. Here from their in- 
 fancy, instead of breeches, the males wear a sort of 
 petticoat (probably derived from the tunica of the 
 Komans,) which ends above the knee. Their thighs 
 and genitals, like those of the Romans, are bare, and
 
 ON CLOTHING. 45. 
 
 exposed to the air. It is evident that breeches, 
 
 by the warmth, vapour, pressure and irritation, which 
 they occasion, must of necessity draw the blood into 
 thetesticles prematurely, and that of necessity a pre- 
 mature distillation and secretion of seed must be the 
 consequence. In former ages, breeches were cooler, 
 wider, and more easy than at present, particularly 
 during childhood ; children ran half naked and for a 
 longer time in frocks. [Pomponius Mela, I. iii. c. 3.] 
 In former ages children were kept must colder, hard- 
 ier, and rawer, much morelikesavages: the brain and 
 nerves were at rest, they grew up in simplicity, mod- 
 esty, and order, and formed a race much healthier 
 and better than the present. The supposition 
 
 that our ancestors were perfectly healthy and vigor- 
 ous, and that the present much decayed generation 
 proceeds from a healthy unimpaired stock, and owes 
 it's imbecility merely to it's own misconduct, is errone- 
 ous. The root of the evil lies much deeper, audit 
 may be traced to a long series of generations. The 
 baneful influence of breeches has worked upon the 
 constitutionsof our ancestors, notwithstanding all the 
 counteracting severity of their mode of living. 
 
 Causes of Ruptures. 
 Dr. Faust estimates that France has 43,000 parish- 
 es, which in general consist of two or three villages. 
 That 3 ruptured males to each parish is 129000 
 400 large towns at 20 each is - - - 6000 
 1600 small towns at 10 each is - - -16000 
 
 153000 
 We shall be enabled to ascertain by a comparison of 
 the number of inhabitants, the proportionate number
 
 44 ON CLOTHING. 
 
 of ruptured males in England. Thus France, on the 
 authority of Guthrie, contains twenty-five millions of 
 inhabitants, and England seven millions. In this pro- 
 portion there are 42840 ruptured males in England ! 
 Women are likewise subject to ruptures, but the num- 
 ber of ruptures among women is to that among men 
 as one to twenty-five. A very great and striking dif- 
 ference! The reason is, that the groin and abdomen 
 of the woman are kept much cooler than those of the 
 man, with whom the heat and vapour, created by the 
 breeches from his earliest infancy, soften, debilitate, 
 relax, and dilate, the muscles and aponevroses, by 
 which the abdominal rings are formed. The sup- 
 position of the harder labour of the men being the 
 cause of this striking difference is in a great measure 
 erroneous ; for many women undergo hard labour as 
 well as the men; through the greatest part of France 
 they carry astonishing weights, even upon their heads, 
 by which the abdominal ring might easily suffer; 
 probably one half of all the ruptures are occasioned 
 by sudden violent concussions, such as coughing, 
 sneezing, falling and the like, to which women are 
 as liable as men, besides the dangers of child-bearing 
 and high-heels, which are peculiar to the sex. 
 Ruptures then, with all the miseries they entail on 
 the human race, are in a great measure also to be at- 
 tributed to the wearing of breeches in the years of in- 
 fancy/. If we be perfectly moderate and indulgent, 
 and place only twothirdsof the whole number to the 
 score of breeches (in which case the proportion of 
 female to male ruptures still remains as one to eight 
 and a third), there will be in England no less than 
 31980 ruptured miserable human beings, in one gen- 
 eration, 6400 of whom die in the greatest torments.
 
 ON CLOTHING, 45 
 
 victims to the practice of wearing breeches in their 
 infancy. The idea of steering a middle course, 
 
 by giving thinner and wider breeches to children, 
 and those some years later than usual, would be un- 
 fortunate. Even wide breeches of linen or cotton 
 create warmth, pressure, and irritation, and exclude 
 the all-powerful influence of the cooling, soothing, 
 invigorating air. By covering and buttoning up the 
 private parts of children they are considered in good 
 custody, the main point of education is neglected, 
 and the child ruins itself. Away then with the 
 breeches of children ! Some time must elapse, 
 
 before the weakness of the abdominal rings, brought 
 on by breeches, transmitted by propagation (proba- 
 bly to the female sex also) ; and increased by both, 
 through a series of generations, can subside, and be- 
 fore the abdominal rings can recover their natural 
 tone and vigour. It must be made a point of 
 
 manners that children, particularly boys, are not to 
 touch their private parts. The general introduction 
 of this custom will be easy. " I put a boy," says Dr. 
 Faust, " of three years, who had already worn 
 breeches for some time, into a frock. At first he 
 touched his private parts frequently: I forbade it 
 seriously and watched him. The open air, cooled, 
 soothed, and strengthened his private parts and he 
 overcame his bad habit entirely. 
 
 Caps, 
 
 or something like them, are fixed upon the heads of 
 our children soon after birth, and made to bind the 
 external ear closer to the skull than it was ever nat- 
 urally intended. Mothers and nurses think nothing 
 more unbecoming an infant than prominent ears; and
 
 46 ON CLOTHING. 
 
 ladies are in general so averse to them that they hide- 
 them as a deformity. Hearing is lessened by flat- 
 tening the ears. Nature seems to have made the hu- 
 man ears moveable, like those of dogs, horses, &c.; 
 otherwise v^hy are they furnished with muscles. For 
 tho' the number of the muscles of the external ear be 
 different in different subjects ; yet there never was a 
 subject in whom there was not some, as well belong- 
 ing to the whole external ear as to it's several part&. 
 
 Miscellaneous Hints on the Dress of Children. 
 
 The dress of children ought to be wholesome, 
 cheap, free, easy, open, cool, and simple. The wise 
 and excellent abbot Barthelemy says of the Lacedae- 
 monians, *' Their dress consists in a tunic, or kind 
 of short shift, and a robe which descends to the heels. 
 The girls who are obliged to employ every moment 
 of their time in wrestling, running, leaping, and other 
 laborious exercises, usually only wear a light garment 
 "without sleeves, which is fastened over the shoulders 
 with clasps, and which a girdle prevents from falling 
 below the knee. The lower partis open at each side, 
 so that half the body is naked. Lycurgus couid not 
 subject the girls to the same exercises as the men 
 •without removingevery impediment to their motions. 
 He had, no doubt, obsersed that man did not cover 
 himself till after he was become corrupted, and that 
 his garments multiplied in proportion to his vices: 
 that the charms, which seduce him, frequently lose 
 their attraction by being constantly exposed to his 
 view, and that, in fine, the eyes only defile those 
 minds which are already defiled. Guided by these 
 reflections he undertook by his laws to establish such 
 a harmony of virtues between the two sexes, that the
 
 ON CLOTHING. 47 
 
 -<•■■«>.• 
 
 temerity of the one should be repressed, and the 
 weakness of the other supported. Thus not content- 
 ed to decree the punishment of death against hini 
 who should dishonour a maiden, he accustomed the 
 youth of Sparta to blush only at vice. Modesty de- 
 prived of a part of it's veil was respected by both 
 sexes, and the women of Lacedemon were distin- 
 guished for the purity of their manners. I may add 
 that Lycuxgus has found partisans among the phi- 
 losophers. Plato in hisrepublic would have the wom- 
 en of every age follow their exercises in the Gym- 
 nasium, with no other garments than their virtues." 
 The Romans went with their arms naked, and they 
 held it indecent to cover them with sleeves. [Aulus 
 GeUius, 1, vii. v. 12.] The old Germans also went 
 with their arms naked. The Lacedemonians, as 
 nientioned by the Abbot Barthelemy, observed the 
 same rule, and Ellis says of the Indian women of 
 Hudson's Bay, ''the sleeves of their upper habit are 
 frequently separated from the body, and taken on 
 and off at pleasure, being only tied with strings at 
 their shoulders; so that their arm-pits, even in the 
 depth of winter, are exposed to the cold, which they 
 reckon contributes to their health." [Voyage to 
 Hudson's Bay, p. 186.] 
 
 . Agreeably to the reasoning pursued in the former 
 pages, the following peculiar, uniform, equal dress 
 for children of both sexes, is proposed. 
 I, The head and neck uncovered, the breast open, 
 the hair cut short all round, without curls and pow- 
 der. 2, A wide shirt not extending beyond 
 the knees, open at the breast down to the stomach, 
 with a collar falling backwards, the sleeves of equal 
 width,, ending above the elbows, neither tied nor but- 
 No. 47. 5
 
 48 ON CLOTHING. 
 
 toned, but open, so as to give the air free access to 
 the upper part of the arm-pit, and breast. 
 3, In summer, a wide frock to be worn over theshirt. 
 This properly constitutes the dress, and has the fol- 
 lowing immutable form. About the neck and breast 
 it is cut out wide, with a slit down to the stomach, 
 buttoned with three buttons. It has no slit or op- 
 ening at the sides. A great deal may be said against 
 pockets for children in general, but if pockets are to 
 be allowed they must be on the outside, by no means 
 on the inside of the frock. The sleeves end above 
 the elbow, they must be wide and open, for the same 
 reasons which have been given in the second article. 
 The arm, the chief instrument of man, must be kept 
 quite free and unconstrained, perfectly accessible to 
 the air, from which it is to derive health and vigour. 
 The frock must not exceed three inches in length be- 
 low the knee. Behind it must be cut open, so as not 
 to create the least obstruction in walking or jump- 
 ing. The extremities of the frock may be bound, 
 and doubled in, so as to admit of being let out, ac- 
 cording to the growth of the child. The materials 
 may be linen, cotton, or silk. Undoubtedly it would 
 be best, if the free open garments of children did 
 not end below but above the knee: the tunica of the 
 Romans ended above the knee, and the Romans were 
 good judges of propriety and decency. 
 4, In winter, an additional frock of the same form, 
 made of wool or cotton, may be worn under the 
 other. 5, The stockings must end below, not 
 
 above the knee, that the knee may be free and nak- 
 ed, invigorated by the influence of the air. In sum- 
 mer it is best for children to go without either shoes 
 oi stoGkings. Clgthes should not be dried ia
 
 ON CLOTHING* 49 
 
 stoves or ovens, where the steam cannot ascend as in 
 a chimney, because they become tainted with cor- 
 rupt air. ** The practice of putting many 
 clothes upon children, indulging them in sitting over 
 the fire, sleeping in warm rooms, and perserving them 
 from being exposed to the various inclemencies of 
 the weather, relaxes their bodies and enervates their 
 minds. If children, along with such an effeminate ed- 
 ucation, are pampered with animal food, rich sauces, 
 and such other diet as overcharges their digestive 
 powers, they become sickly as well as weak. A!) 
 •that class of diseases which arise from the catching of 
 cold, or a sudden check given to perspiration, is 
 found only among the civilized part of mankind. 
 An old Roman or an Indian in the pursuits of war or 
 hunting, would plunge into a river while in a profuse 
 sweat, without fear or danger. A similar hardy edu- 
 cation would make us all equally proof against the 
 bad effects of such accidents. The greater care we 
 take to prevent catching cold by the various con- 
 trivances of modern luxury, the more we become 
 subjected to it. We can guard against cold only by 
 rendering ourselves superior to it's influence. There 
 is a striking proof of this in the vigorous constitu- 
 tions of children braced by the daily use of the cold 
 bath; and still a stronger proof in those children 
 who go thinly clad and without stockings or shoes 
 in all seasons and weathers. Nature never made 
 any country too cold for it's own inhabitants. In cold 
 climates she has made exercise and even fatigue ha- 
 bitual to them not only from the necessity of their sit- 
 uation, but from choice, their natural diversions being 
 all of the athletic and violent kind. But the softness 
 and effeminacy of modern manners has both deprived
 
 to 6^N CLOTHING.. 
 
 usofour natural defence against the disease moistlnci- 
 tJent to our own climate, and subjected us to all the 
 inconveniences of a warm one, particularly to that 
 debility and morbid sensibility of the nervous sys- 
 tem, which lays the foundation of most of our dis- 
 eases, and deprives us, at the same time of the spirit 
 and resolution to support them. These few observa- 
 tions are selected from a great number that might bo 
 mentioned, to prove that many of the calamities 
 complained of, as peculiarly affecting the human spe- 
 cies, are not necessary consequences of our constitu- 
 tion but entirely the result of our own caprice and 
 folly in paying greater regard to vague and sballow 
 reasonings, than to the analogous constftutiOTis of 
 other animals. If we would inquire into the cause 
 of our weak and sickly habits, we must go back to 
 the state of infancy. The foundation of the evil is 
 laid there. There is the highest probability that if 
 we led natural lives, we should retain to the last the 
 full exercise of all our senses. There is no reason to 
 doubt but it is in the power of art to protract life 
 even beyond the period which nature has assigned to 
 it." [Dr. Gregory's Comparative View, discourse i.] 
 
 The Power of Habit instanced. 
 
 Numerous instances might be adduced of the pow- 
 er of habit in forming the health and vigour of thfe 
 human constitution. But they would swell tbe size of 
 *hrs tract unnecessarily. Besides, if the reasoning al- 
 ready produced proves ineffectual in reclaimilig meh 
 from ridiculous and silly customs, ho example what- 
 ever can influence. We beg leave, howev^er, 
 for the sake of those who are capable of admitting 
 the truths 6f fact and experience, to give a recent iir-
 
 ON CLOTHING, -51 
 
 stance, in the person of John Howard, as related 
 by Mr. Pratt, who, after a life devoted to the assist- 
 ance of the mostmiserableof the human kind, whom 
 he sought in recesses where they are seldom looked 
 for, died at Cherson, in Russia, Jan. 20, 1790, aged 
 about 63, the victim of a disease, the ravages of 
 which he was exerting every effort to restrain. 
 ** He was singular in forming many of the habits of 
 his life; particularly in the use of damp sheets, lin- 
 en, and clothes. Both in rising and going to bed, 
 he swathed himself with coarse towels dipped in the 
 coldest water he could get; in that state he remain- 
 ed half an hour, and then threw them off, freshened 
 and invigorated. He never put on a great coat in 
 the coldest countries; nor had been five minutes 
 under or over the time of an appointment, so far as 
 it depended on himself, for six and twenty years. 
 He never continued at a place, or with a person, a 
 single day beyond the period prefixed for going; 
 and he had not for the last sixteen years of his ex- 
 istence ate any fish, flesh or fowl ; nor sat down to his 
 simple fare of tea, milk, and rusks, in all that time. 
 His journies were continued from prison to prison, 
 from one group of wretched beings to another, night 
 and day; and where he could not go with a carriage 
 he would ride, and where that was hazardous he 
 walked. Such a thing as an obstruction was out 
 of the question. Some days after his first return 
 from an attempt to mitigate the fury of the plague 
 in Constantinople, he favoured me with a morning 
 visit in London. It rained torrents, and the wet 
 dripped from every part of his dress like water from 
 a sheep landed from it's washing, He would not 
 even have attended to his situation, having sat him-
 
 52 ON CLOTHING. 
 
 ielf down with the utmost composure, and began 
 conversation, had I not made an offer of dry clothes, 
 &c. ** Yes," said he, smiling, " I had my 
 
 feafs, as I knocked at your door, that we should go 
 over th'e old business of apprehensions about a little 
 rain water, which tho' it does not run off my back, 
 as it does from that of a duck, goose, or any other 
 aquatic bird, does me as little injury; and after a 
 bug drought is scarcely less refreshing. The coat I 
 have now on has been as often wetted through al- 
 most as any duck's, and, indeed, gets no other sort 
 of cleaning. I do assure you, a good soaking show- 
 er is the best brush for broad cloth in the universe. 
 You, like the rest of my friends, throw away your 
 pity on my supposed hardships with just as much 
 reason as you commiserate the common beggars, 
 who, being familiar with storms and hurricanes, ne- 
 cessity and nakedness, are a thousand times, so forc- 
 ible is habit, less to be compassionated than the sons 
 and daughters of ease and k xury, who accustomed 
 to all the enfeebling refinements of feathers by night, 
 and fires by day, are taught to feel like the puny 
 creature stigmatized by Pope, who shivered at a 
 breeze. All this is the work of art, my good friend ; 
 nature is more independent of external circumstances. 
 Nature is intrepid, hardy, and adventurous; but it 
 is a practice to spoil her with indulgencies, from the 
 moment we come into the world. A soft dress, a 
 soft cradle, begin our education in luxuries, and we 
 do not grow more nianly the more we are gratified: 
 on the contrary, our feet must be wrapped in wool 
 •or silk, we must tread upon carpets, breathe, as it 
 were, in fire; avoid a tempest, which sweetens the 
 air, as we.would a blast that putrifies it, and guarding
 
 ON CLOTHING. 53 
 
 tvery crevice from an unwholesome breeze, when it 
 is the most elastic and bracing, lie down upon a bed 
 of feathers, that relax the system more than a night's 
 lodging upon flint stones. 1 am a living in- 
 
 stance of the truths I insist on. A more *' puny whip- 
 ster" than myself, in the days of my youth, was never 
 seen. I could not walk out in an evening without being 
 Avrapped up : If 1 got wet in the feet a cold succeed- 
 ed ; 1 could not put on my shirt without it's being 
 aired; 1 was, politely enfeebled enough to have del- 
 icate nerves, and was occasionally troubled with a 
 A'ery genteel hectic. To be serious, I am convinced 
 that what emasculates the body debilitates the mind, 
 and renders both unfit for those exertions which are 
 of such use to us as social beings. I, therefore, en- 
 tered on a reform of my constitution, and have suc- 
 ceeded in such a degree, that I have neither had a 
 cough, cold, the vapours, nor any more alarming 
 disorder, since I surmounted the seasoning. Prior to 
 this I used to be a miserable dependent on wind and 
 weather; a little too much of either would postpone, 
 and frequently prevent, not only my amusements, 
 but my duties ; and every one knows that a pleasure 
 or a duty deferred is often destroyed. Young has 
 justly called procrastination the thief of time. And 
 if pressed by my affections, or by the necessity of af- 
 fairs, I did venture forth in despite of the elements, 
 the consequences were equally absurd and incom- 
 modious, not seldom afflictive. I was muffled up 
 even to my nostrils; a crack in the glass of my chaise 
 was sufficient to distress me; a sudden slope of the 
 wheels to the right or left set me a trembling. Mul- 
 led wines, spirituous cordials, and great fires were to 
 comfort me and keep out the cold, as it is called, at
 
 S4 ON CLOTHING. 
 
 every stage: and if I felt the least damp in my feat 
 or other parts of my body, dry stockings, linen, &c. 
 were to be instantly put on ; the perils of the day 
 ■were to be baffled by something taken hot going to 
 bed, and before I pursued my journey the next morn- 
 ing, a dram was to be swallowed to fortify the 
 Ktomach. In a word, I lived, moved, and had my 
 being so much by rule, that the slightest deviation 
 was a disease. Every man must, in these cases, be 
 his own physician. He must prescribe for, and prac- 
 tise on, himself. I did this by a very simple, but, as 
 you will think, very severe regimen ; namely, by de- 
 nying myself almost every thing in which 1 had long 
 indulged. But as it is always much harder to get 
 rid of a bad habil than to contract it, I entered on my 
 reform gradually; that is to say, I began to diminish 
 my usual indulgences by degrees. I found that a 
 heavy meal, or a hearty one, as it is termed, and a 
 cheerful glass, that is to say, one more than does one 
 good, made me incapable, or at best, disinclined to 
 any useful exertion for some hours after dinner; and 
 if the diluting powers of tea assisted the work of a 
 disturbed digestion, so far as to restore my faculties, 
 a luxurious supper comes so close upon it that I was 
 iit for nothing but dissipation, till! went toa luxurious 
 bed, where I finished the enervating practices, by 
 sleeping eight, ten, and sometimes a dozen hours on 
 the stretch. You will not wonder that I rose the 
 next morning with the solids relaxed, the nerves un- 
 strung, the juices thickened, and the constitution 
 weakened. To remedy all this, I ate a little less at 
 every meal, and reduced my drink in proportion. 
 Jt is really wonderful to consider how imperceptibly
 
 ON CLOTHING. 55 
 
 a single morsel of animal food, and a tea spoonful of 
 liquor deducted from the usual quantity daily, will 
 restore the mental functions without any injury to 
 the corporeal : nay, with increase of vigour to both. 
 I brought myself, in the first instance, from, dining 
 on many dishes, to dining on a few, and then to be- 
 ing satisfied with one; in like manner, instead of 
 drinking a variety of wines, 1 made my election of a 
 single sort and adhered to it alone. My next busi- 
 ness was to eat sparingly of that adopted dish and 
 bottle. My ease, vivacity, and spirits augmented. 
 My clothing, &c. underwent a similar reform; the 
 eifect of all which is, and has been for many years, 
 that I am neither affected by seeing my carriage 
 dragged up a mountain, nor driven down a valley. 
 If an accident happen I am prepared for it, I meaa 
 so far as respects unnecessary terrors^; and I am proof 
 against all changes in the atmosphere, wet clothes, 
 . wet feet, night air, damp beds, damp houses, transi- 
 tions from heat to cold, and the long train of hypo- 
 chondniac affections. Believe me, we are too apt to 
 invert the remedies which we ought to prescribe to 
 ourselves; thus, we are for ever giving hot things 
 when we should administer cold. I am satis- 
 
 'fied that if we were to trust more to nature, and suf- 
 fer her to apply her own remedies to cure her owa 
 diseases, the formidable catalogue of human maladies 
 -would be reduced to a third of their present number. 
 Dr, Sydenham, for example, I think, reckons sixty 
 different kinds of fevers; of these I caimot suppose 
 less than fifty are either brought about, or rendered 
 worse by misapplication of improper remedies, or 
 by our own violation of the laws of nature. And
 
 56 
 
 OM CLOTHING, 
 
 tb€ same may be said of other disorders.** 
 " Gleanings in Wales," &c., vol. i.] 
 
 [Pratt'9 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 On the Custom of wearing 
 
 Clothes, - - - page 5 
 On the Materials of Dress, 6 
 On covering the Head, - 8 
 Keck Bandages, - - - 12 
 Coat and Gown Sleeves, 
 
 &c„ - 15 
 
 Stays, Waistcoats, &c., - 15 
 
 Gloves, 17 
 
 Leathern Breeches, - - 1 8 
 
 Garters, 19 
 
 Stockings, 19 
 
 Boots, 23 
 
 Shoes, 23 
 
 Advantages to be derived 
 
 from wearing always one 
 
 Kind of Covering, - - 27 
 On bearing Cold, - - - 30 
 Advantages to be derived 
 ' from a woollen Covering 
 
 next the Skin, contended 
 ^. Nicholson) Poughnill. 
 
 for, - - - - : . 32 
 Objections to the foregoing 
 Doctrine, - - - - 36 
 
 THE DRESS OF CHIL- 
 DREN. 
 
 The Children of the Poor 
 and Rich compared, - 38 
 
 Close Garments attended 
 with bad Effects, - - 39 
 
 On the Causes and Conse- 
 quences of a too early 
 Secretion and Emission 
 of Semen, - - - - 40 
 
 Causes ef Ruptures, - - 43 
 
 Caps, ------ 45 
 
 Miscellaneous Hints on the 
 Dress of Children, - - 46 
 
 The Power of Habit in- 
 stanced, - - ... 50
 
 O.^' F'OOIi^ 
 
 JVaturt IS /-'riit/al, and lit r fv ants are ffu\ 
 
 ■y o ^^i> 
 
 .»'<>/(/ in Lotldrit hji 
 Jf.U .SymcruU. TatemoJtrr Jlriv.- ('hiimf/ant:: K'Whitrcw Al-l^atc: 
 K.Biekerttaff Str.w^ :T. Ct//iJ/r JiudkUrtbury ; 
 Laddiifftim.AlUn. b C^ftnehiry .^piare s 
 ■f7ul •ill 4'thfr Sookicll£ri.
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 // is a remark frequently 7nade, that " if ani- 
 mal food were not eaten, we could not have a suficieni 
 variety for the supply of our tables. ^^ To obviate this 
 objection to a vegetable diet, has been a leading purposd 
 in the following compilation, from which it will appear 
 that a variety of not less than one hundred perfectly 
 palatable and highly nutritious substances may easily 
 be procured, at an expense much below the price of the 
 limbs of our fellow animals. Our secondary objects 
 have been to diffuse more generally an acquaintance 
 with simple compounds, not coyntnonly known ; and to 
 impress the propriety of refraining from some pernici- 
 ous ingredients J which are almost universally used as 
 articles of diet. A consideration very different from 
 aiding the luxury of those who revel in what they term 
 *' Table Joys,^^ has had also considerable weight. What- 
 ever savings can be made in the article of food, may, by 
 those who are provident and economical, be wisely con- 
 verted to the purpose of mental gratifcaiions. Some 
 of the recipes, on account of their simple form, will not 
 he adopted even by those in the middle rank of life ; yet 
 they m.ay be valuable to many of scarify incomes, who 
 desire to avoid the evils of want, or to make a reserve 
 for the purchasing of books and other mental pleasures. 
 In forming this conipilation, the materials have been 
 collected fvom those who have written on the different 
 subjects with uncommon attention ; from the experi- 
 ence of friends ; or from observation. A complete book
 
 li PREFACE. 
 
 of cookery has not been intended ; the preparations of 
 food, therefore, most universally known, have been o- 
 mitted. From the unreflecting, from those who 
 
 conjorm implicitly to custom, or from those whose 
 minds are prejudiced, the compiler expects to receive wnr 
 qualified censure ; but by those, at least, who have adopt- 
 ed afrugivorous diet, this tract will be favourably re- 
 ceived. From the latter, communicatioris, corrections, 
 and enlargements, for a future edition, are respectfully 
 solicited.
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 Of food in general, page 
 Rules for preserving health 
 
 in eating and drinking, 
 
 by Dr. Baynard, 
 Farina or grain, - - 
 Legumes or pulse, - - 
 
 Fruit, 
 
 Leaves and stalks, - - 
 
 Roots, 
 
 Miscellaneous vegetable sub 
 
 stances, .... 56 
 Of preserving vegetables, 58 
 Breads, ----- 63 
 
 Cakes, 88 
 
 Ovens, ----- 120 
 COMPOUNDS. 
 
 Soups, 91 
 
 Puddings, - - - - lOO 
 Ties, ----- 115 
 
 SEASONINGS. 
 
 Salt, 
 
 Sugar, 
 
 Mollasses, - - - - 
 Fungus, - - - - . 
 LIQUIDS. 
 
 Water, 
 
 Tea 
 
 Coffee, 
 
 Milk, 
 
 Butter, 
 Cheese, 
 
 Wines, . . . 
 Spirituous liquors, 
 Vinegar, 
 Yeast, . . . 
 
 116 
 117 
 119 
 119 
 
 122 
 131 
 137 
 13^ 
 
 144 
 
 147 
 148 
 
 162 
 170 
 »7x
 
 OF FOOD IN GENERAL. 
 
 No animal eats such a variety of food as man. 
 He devours the productions of every climate; and 
 calls in the aid of cookery, an art peculiar to himself, 
 by which things prejudicial, or even poisonous, can 
 be rendered wholesome and salutary. The 
 
 excesses of mankind have reduced Cookery almost 
 to a Science, and their departure from nature and 
 simplicity has contaminated their minds and bodies ; 
 from hence arises an inexhaustible source of imbecil- 
 ity and disease. It is a maxim, as ancient, 
 perhaps, as the time of Hippocrates, that "whatev- 
 er pleases the palate nourishes." If this could be 
 clearly ascertained and demonstrated, the business of 
 cookery would have a respectable place among the 
 arts. In the consumption of food we are subject 
 to error, especially as to quantity. It may be held up 
 as a salutary rule, that a small portion of food should 
 betaken at a time; because a large portion cannot be 
 so conveniently digested or converted into chyle. 
 An immoderate quantity also injures the coats of the 
 stomach, distends the vessels, and destroys their pow- 
 ers. Dr. Willich has given the follovi'ing rule, from 
 some reasoning on this subject; '^ eat as much only as is 
 necessary to supply the zcaste suffered by the body ;" 
 urging, that "if we transgress against this rule, w-e pro- 
 duce too much blood ; a circumstance as detrimental, 
 though not so dangerous to life, as that of having too 
 little. The most simple dishes are the most nourishing. 
 
 1
 
 9 OF FOOD IN GENERAL. 
 
 The multiplied combinations of substances, tho* they 
 may please the palate, are not conducive to health. 
 All substances containing much jelly, are nourishing; 
 for this alone affords nutriment ; the hard, wa- 
 tery, and saline particles of food cannot he assimilat- 
 ed or converted into chyle." In the course of this au- 
 thor's remarks on Food and Drink, he says, "It is 
 an important rule of Diet, to eat, if possible, of one kind 
 of food only, or, at all events, to eat of that dish first, 
 tchich is the most palatable. The stomach is enabled 
 to prepare the best chyle from simple substances, 
 and will thence produce the most healthy fluids. At 
 a table dietetically arranged, those dishes which are 
 most difficult of digestion, should be partaken of first, 
 and the meal finished with the most ea^y ; because 
 theformcr require stronger digestive powers, and more 
 bile ^nd saliva, all of which become defective towards 
 the end ofa heavy meal. 1 o begin meals as the French, 
 Germans, and Scots generally do, with soups or broths 
 is highly improper. These liquid dishes are ill cal- 
 culated to prepare the stomach for the reception of sol- 
 id food ; as they not only weaken and swell it by their 
 bulk and weight, but also deprive it of appetite for the 
 succeeding part of the dinner. Besides, thin broths 
 and soups require little digestion, weaken the stomach, 
 and are attended with all the pernicious effects of other 
 Avarm and relaxing drinks." **Man," saysBuf- 
 
 fon, ** like other animals, might live on vegetables; for 
 flesh, however analogous it may be to flesh, does not 
 afford better nourishment than grain, pulse, or bread. 
 True nourishment is that which contributes to nutri- 
 tion, growth, subsistence and longevity, and not that 
 inanimate matter which seems to constitute the tex-* 
 ture of the herb or flesh, but the organical nioiecu-
 
 OF FOOD IN GENERAL. 5 
 
 ••<■■«•■•>- 
 
 Ik, or nutritious particles, contained in the one or the 
 other; as an ox, which feeds on grass, acquires as 
 much flesh as man, or any other carnivorous animal. 
 The only real difference between one kind of ali- 
 ment and another is this, that an equal quantity of 
 flesh, corn, and grain, contains more organical 
 moleculcE or nutritious particles, than grass, or the 
 leaves, roots, and other parts of vegetables ; as has 
 been ascertained from infusions made with these dif- 
 ferent substances." This profound naturalist main- 
 tains, that in corn is contained a very large quantity 
 of the organical moleculae in a small volume, which he 
 ranks with flesh as equally nutritious ; but thinks, 
 that without corn, man cannot take into the stomach a 
 suflicient quantity of the light parts of a plant to be 
 sufficiently nourishing. — Natural History of the Horse, 
 In point of economy, it is an important considera- 
 tion that four times the quantity of ground is requir- 
 ed to support an ox that is necessary to maintain a 
 man; or, in other words, if an acre of ground, or it's 
 ■Vegetative production, be sufficient to support a man 
 during a year, which is near the truth, four are neces- 
 sai'y to afford pasture for an ox. " In the same pro- 
 portion," says an anonymous writer," as the consump- 
 tion of animal food increases, in whatever form, the 
 production of the farinaceous food of man must nec- 
 essarily diminish. The diminution of the produc- 
 tion of corn, is farther augmented, by the greater ex- 
 pense, trouble, and risk, connected with agriculture, 
 compared with what appertains to pasturage, as well 
 as by the direct operation of tythes. If the great 
 quantity of vegetable food that must be condensed 
 into the body of an ox, before he become fit for 
 the food of man, be duly considered, it will be ev-
 
 4 OF FOOD IN GEMERAL. 
 
 ••<•■<>•■>.•• 
 
 ident, that nothing can be gained in point of c- 
 conomy, by eating even the coarsest pieces of flesh. 
 The lower classes of the Scotch and Irish scarcely ev- 
 er taste of animal food ; but were any preparation 
 of it, even in soup, cheaper than oatmeal, or pota- 
 toes (the articles on which they subsist), they would 
 be induced to eat it in preference. The art of 
 
 cookery is of infinite use to mankind, yet there is per- 
 haps no country where it is less understood than by 
 the lower classes in England. Their whole system 
 seems confined to baking the limb of an animal in an 
 oven, as often as they can afford it, and when they 
 cannot attain this supreme object, they live on bread 
 and cheese. Soups and even the various preparations 
 of milk, the proper nourishment for children, are al- 
 most unknown in many counties of England. The 
 poor in Scotland, and on the continent, manage much 
 better. Among the former, oat-meal porridge, and 
 milk constitute their breakfasts -and suppers. When 
 they use flesh, they form with it barley-broth, us- 
 ing a variety of vegetables, by boiling the whole a long 
 time. The quantity they make serves their families 
 several days. At other times, they compose a broth 
 ofbarley, and vegetables, with a lump of butter ; all of 
 •which they boil for many hours, and this with oat- 
 cakes or other bread, forms their dinner." — Cochrafie's 
 SeamerHs Guide. The perfection of cookery con- 
 
 sists in augmenting the nutritious properties of food. 
 It is the refinements of cookery only which become 
 mischievious, rendering unwholesome many substanc- 
 es naturally possessed of salubrious qualities; and di- 
 minishing that quantity of nourishment which they 
 possess. T\\\^ complicated ?,y%\.QY\\ of cookery, in which 
 the n;ost dissimilar articles form a compound undec
 
 ON FOOD IN GENERAL. 
 
 the name of oglio, is the bane of health. In fashion- 
 able circles, such heterogeneous compounds, in which 
 expensiveness never fails to be one of the ingredients> 
 ZXQ preVsiidedly relished. 
 
 RULES FOR PRESERVING 
 HEALTH IN EATING AND DRINKING. 
 
 BY DR. BAYNARD. 
 
 All aged and decriped persons ought to eat often, 
 and but a little at a time, because weak and wasted 
 bodies are to be restored by little and little; and by- 
 moist and liquid food also, rather than by solid, be- 
 cause moist and liquid diet does nourish soonest, and 
 digest easiest. 
 
 When struck in years strong drink forbear, 
 
 especially of wine beware ; 
 
 old men of moisture want supplies, 
 
 and wine of all sorts heats and dries. 
 Keep constantly to a plain diet; those enjoy most 
 health, and live longest, that avoid curiosity and var- 
 iety of meats and drinks, which only serve to entice 
 to gluttony. 
 
 Accustom, early in your youth 
 
 to lay embargo on your mouth ; 
 
 and let no rarities invite 
 
 to pall and glut the appetite; 
 
 but check it always, and give o'er, 
 
 with a desire of eating more ; 
 
 for, where one dies by inanition, 
 
 a thousand perish by repletion. 
 The less food the sick person eats, the sooner he 
 ■will recover ; for it is a true saying, The more ^oiijill 
 foul bodies, the more you hurt them, 
 \*
 
 6 ON FOOD IN GENERAL. 
 
 To miss a meal sometimes is good, 
 
 it ventilates and cools the blood ; 
 
 gives nature time to clean her streets 
 
 from filth and crudities of meats; 
 
 for too much meat the bowels fur, 
 
 and fasting 's nature's scavenger. 
 All men find by experience, that, in the morning 
 before they have eaten, they are light and pleasant- 
 ly easy in their bodies; but after they have indulged 
 their appetites with plenty of food, they find them- 
 selves heavy and dull, and often sleepy: which suf- 
 ficiently shews, that those full meals are prejudicial 
 to the health of the body. The most unhealthy 
 
 are found among those who feed high upon the most 
 delicious dainties, and drink nothing but the strong- 
 est and most spirituous liquors ; whereas others, who 
 want this delicate fare, are seldom sick, except they 
 have such insatiable appetites as to eat much. 
 That to sup sparingly is most healthful, may be infer- 
 red from the experience of an infinite number of per- 
 sons who have received the greatest benefit from light 
 suppers. The stomach not being over-burdened, sleep 
 is rendered more pleasant; from sparing suppers the 
 production of humours which cause defluxions, gouts, 
 rheumatisms, dropsies, giddiness, and corruption in 
 the mouth from the scurvy, is prevented. 
 
 Let supper little be and light ; 
 
 but none makes always, the best night: 
 
 it gives sweet sleep without a dream, 
 
 leaves morning's mouth sweet, moist, and clean. 
 Many indispositions are cured by fasting, or a very 
 spare diet. That men in health may prevent dis- 
 
 eases, I advise, that one meal should not be eaten, till 
 the other, which was eaten before, has passed out of the
 
 OF FOOD IN GENERAL. .T 
 
 stomach ; which is not done till the appetite of hun- 
 ger calls for another supply : by this means the food 
 will be converted into good chyle, and from good 
 chyle, which is a milk-like substance, good blood will 
 be produced, and from good blood arises generous 
 spirits, on which depend a healthy constitution. On 
 the contrary, when too great a quantity of food is tak- 
 en, which the stomach cannot easily digest, the chyle 
 %vill be raw and corrupt, which will foul the blood, 
 3nd render the body disordered and unhealthy. 
 
 Till hunger pinches, never eat ; 
 
 and then on plain, not spiced meat: 
 
 desist before you 've eat your fill ; 
 
 drink to dilute, but not to swill ; 
 
 so no ructations you will ff?el. 
 Two meals a day is said to besufticient for all per- 
 sons after fifty years of age, and all weak people ; 
 and the omission of suppers always conduces to the 
 health of the weak and aged. Misers, who eat and 
 drink but little, live long. It was the opinion 
 
 of an eminent person, formerly physician to St. Bar- 
 tholomew's hospital, that fasting, rest, and drinking 
 water, would cure most diseases. And there seems 
 much reason in this assertion ; for fasting will give 
 time to the stomach to unload itself of the cause of 
 distempers, which begin in that bowel ; to which 
 cleansing, the drinking of water plentifully will much 
 contribute. Some years since a neighbour be- 
 
 came very feverish, and he was persuaded to go to 
 bed. 1 paid him a visit, when I found the windows 
 close shut, the curtains of the bed drawn, and the 
 room very hot. Tt was July. He was burning hot,- 
 and complained for vraui of breath. I threw open 
 the curtains, covered him warm, and opened the
 
 $ OF FOOD IN GENERAL. 
 
 •windows. The wind then blew into the room, 
 and he presently told me his shortness of breath had 
 left him. I persuaded him to drink some water, 
 which refreshed him. After I had taken my leave of 
 him he called for more water. While he had the 
 cup in his hand the apothecary came in, who find- 
 ing him about to drink of water, told him if he did 
 he was a dead man ; but instead of forbearing, he 
 drank it up in his presence; on which the apothecary 
 took his leave, saying, he would have nothing more to 
 do with him. However before night, the person arose 
 went abroad, and found his fever had left him. This is 
 one instance among many that might be given, of the 
 benefit of fresh air to a person while warm in bed ; for 
 thereby his body was cooled inwardly, and his breath- 
 ing made more free by the air, which was drawn into 
 his lungs, refreshing and cooling the blood as it pass- 
 ed through them. By keeping the blood cool as 
 well as clean, is to be understood, not only moderation 
 in diet, but to feed mostly on cooling food made of 
 "wheat, barley, oat-meal, rice, and ripe apples ; as also 
 on milk, which joined to oat-meal, is the chief food of 
 those lusty and strongmen, the Highlanders of Scot- 
 land, who abound in children. Dr. Cheyne informs 
 us, in his treatise on the Gout, that milk and oat-meal 
 are most strengthening food, and keep the blood in a 
 proper good state; so that therewith and drinking 
 water, as the High-landers do, mankind may subsist 
 better than on beef, pork, venison, and other meats 
 hard todigest. Cheyne gives a striking instance of the 
 efficacy of a cooling milk diet in a doctor of Croy- 
 den, who had long been afflicted with the falling-ev- 
 il. By slow observation, he found the lighter his 
 meals were, the lighter were his fits. At last he cast
 
 ON FOOD IN GENERAL 9 
 
 •.♦■•<>•■►" 
 
 olit' all liquids except water, and found his fits weaker, 
 and the intervals longer. Finding his disease dimin- 
 ish in proportion as it's fuel was withdrawn, he be- 
 took himself to vegetable food and water entirely, 
 which put a period to his tits without any relapse. That 
 food, however, became too windy for him, so he took 
 to milk, of which he had a pint for breakfast, a quart 
 for dinner, and a pint at supper, without fish, flesh, 
 bread, or any strong orspirituous liquor, or any drink 
 but water, with which he lived afterwards for fourteen 
 years, without the least interruption of health, 
 strength, or vigour, but died afterwards of a pleurisy. 
 I have often observed that diet alone has a most un- 
 common elfect in curing diseases, particularly that 
 which is temperate and cooling, as milk, the roots and 
 seeds of vegetables, i. e. potatoes, turnips, wheat, rice, 
 barley, oatmeal, and full ripe fruit. In shortj 
 
 temperance or a spare diet, void of dainties, never was 
 injurious to the strongest constitution ; and without 
 it, such as are weak and sickly cannot long subsist; 
 for the more such persons eat and drink, the more 
 weak and disordered they will still tind themselves to 
 be: if the strong despise temperance, the comfort of 
 weak, sickly, and pining people entirely depends 
 thereon, which custom will soon render easy, and as 
 much pleasure will be had in the denial of intemper- 
 ate desires as before in what was falsely styled good 
 eating and drinking; for nothing is good which in- 
 jures health. Custom renders gluttony and drunken- 
 ness agreeable : a contrary custom would make them 
 abhorred. Temperance enables us to live most at 
 ease, and enjoy life the longest. It frees age from de- 
 cripitude and makes death easy. 
 
 So reader, if thou art so wise 
 
 to put in practice this advice.
 
 10 GRAIN. 
 
 the world shall wonder to behold 
 thou look 'st so young and art so old. 
 
 Instances are mentioned of persons who have ha- 
 bitually practised excesses in eating and drinking, 
 and yet their lives have been long ; but they can on- 
 ly be accounted as exceptions to a general rule ; and 
 we may confidently infer that if such persons lived 
 to a great age, notwithstanding their practices of in- 
 temperance, they would have lived much longer if 
 they had pursued a regular course of wholesome diet. 
 
 FARINA, OR GRAIN. 
 
 It is a matter of regret that Britons are so much 
 attached to trade, neglecting the most rational and 
 natural of employments. While the husbandman is 
 raising food for his fellow-creatures, he is laying the 
 foundation of health and longevity to himself and 
 his offspring. No manufacture is equal to the manu- 
 facture of grain. It supplies food for man and beast, 
 while the surplus tends to enrich or to procure the 
 conveniencies or elegancies of life. It depends 
 
 not on fashion, caprice, or the uncertainty of trade. 
 The great consumption of animal food, and the im- 
 mense number ot^horses kept in this country areamong 
 the causes that Britain is not able to raise grain for the 
 supply of her own inhabitants. Mr. Mackie com- 
 putes the number of horses in this country to about 
 two millions, and that every horse on an average, 
 consumes the produce of three fertile acres; conse- 
 quently the produce of six millions of fertile acres is 
 annually consumed by horses. Two hundred and
 
 GRAIN. U 
 
 sixty thousand of these amimals are kept for pleasure ! 
 Boiled Grain. Simple boiling precludes all 
 adulteration, is an operation less laborious than 
 artificial baking, and a mode of cookery the most 
 wholesome. *' Were wheat used as a part of diet, 
 immediately after being deprived of ifs external husk, 
 either by being passed through a mill, or by the 
 method formerly in universal use in this country, of 
 beating it in a stone mortar with a wooden pestle, it is 
 evident" says an elegant anonymous writer, *' that ' 
 all the labour of grinding, all the diminution of quan- 
 tity caused by separating the bran, all the expense 
 of carrying it to the oven, and all the profit belong- 
 ing to the baker, would be saved ; and, what is of 
 more consequence, all the tricks played during the 
 process of reducing the corn into flour; for it is in 
 this stage of the process that the heterogeneous, and, 
 too frequently, unwholesome substances are mingled 
 with it, would be avoided. All these advantages 
 any person may obtain, who will eat grain boiled in- 
 stead of baked. So strong however, are the 
 prejudices of the vulgar of this country in favour of 
 Citing the farinaceous part of their diet, made inta 
 the shape of a loaf, that not only every other mode 
 of preparing the farinacea for food has fallen into 
 disuse, but potatoes, rice, barley, &c. are converted 
 into this favourite form. In the operation of 
 making fine bread, not only the nutritious properties; 
 of the gluten are greatly diminished, but full a third 
 part of the original corn is previously taken away in 
 the form of bran Nature unquestionably intended 
 that man should use the whole of wheat as food. A 
 convincing proof of which is, that although fine flour 
 simply boiled lies heavy on the stomach, whole
 
 12 GRAIN. 
 
 wheat, cooked in the same manner, usually tcrmcu 
 furmenty, or coarse flower made into dumplings or 
 unfermented cakes, can be eaten by those who havi: 
 the most delicate stomachs without inconvenience. 
 This difference depends on the bran being mixed 
 with the tlour, by means of which the glutenous part 
 is more divided, as well a$ an account of it's being 
 in a smaller proportion to the whole. In so far as a 
 smaller proportion of gluten is contained in coarse 
 flour, and particularly where that coarseness depends 
 on the mixture of other ingredients besides bran, it 
 is liable to be ^more completely spoiled by the heat 
 of the oven ; such bread, in fact, contains little or no 
 nutriment. That the nature of this gluten, 
 
 or eminently nutritious part of flour, is destsoyed by 
 a degree of heat much inferior to what bread is ex- 
 posed to in the oven, may be satisfactorily proved by 
 attending , to the common process of making paste. 
 If a table spoonful of fine flour be carefully mixed 
 with half a pint of cold water, and brought to a de- 
 gree of heat a little under that of boiling w^ater, and 
 kept in the same heat for about ten minutes, being 
 careful that it does not quite boil, it will be convert- 
 ed into a tenaceous adhesive paste; but if suffered 
 to boil briskly for the same length of time, it's adhe- 
 sive properties will be destroyed ; and, on cooling, 
 the flour will separate from the water, and subside. 
 Those who are in the habit of using paste, know that 
 it is tenacious in proportion to the goodness of the 
 flour from which it is prepared ; and that to inferi- 
 or kinds alum must be added, with the same inten- 
 tion that the baker mixes this ingredient with bad 
 flour, to augment it's tenacity, by which the sponge 
 . rises the better, not, as is commonly supposed, to
 
 GRAIJf. 13 
 
 fender it more white. A knowledge of this 
 
 fact, that the gluten of wheat is destroyed by exposure 
 to any degree of heat superior to that of boiling wa- 
 ter, is subservient to other important purposes in the 
 economy of grain. It teaches, that flour duly tem- 
 pered with water, and exposed to a degree of heat 
 not exceeding the boiling point, not only coagulates 
 itself, but will impart it's coagulating property to 
 other species of farinacea, not themselves possessed of 
 it, in some measure answering the purpose that eggs 
 do in puddings, and by imparting a degree of solid- 
 ity to a mass of heterogeneous materials, will render 
 substances susceptible of the digestive action of the 
 stomach, which would otherwise not be so. 
 It is on the farinacea that mankind always have, and 
 always must depend for the chief source of their food. 
 Man can live in perfect health on vegetable diet with- 
 out animal food, but not the contrary. The happiness 
 and prosperity of nations, as well as the health and 
 strength of individuals, appear to be connected by na- 
 ture with the cultivation of grain. The bodily 
 strength of the ploughman far exceeds that of the sed- 
 entary artificer, and the agricultural nation must al- 
 ways eventually overbalance that which subsists by 
 hunting, or by trade. That a smaller quantity 
 
 of unfermented farinaceous food than of fine bread 
 will enable a man to support hard labour better, is 
 not matter of opinion, but of experiment: what des- 
 cription of men undergo more fatigue than British 
 sailors ? and the chief part of their diet consists of un- 
 feruTented biscuit, made of coarse flour ; pease-pud- 
 ding, boiled oat-meal, and similar provisions. It was 
 an observation of Brindley, the celebrated canal-en- 
 gineer, that, in various works in which he liad been en- 
 2
 
 14 GRAIN. 
 
 gaged, where, the workmen being paid by the piece, 
 each exerted himself to earn as much as possible, j 
 men, from the north of Lancashire and Yorkshire, 
 who adhered to their customary diet of oat-cake and 
 hasty-pudding, sustained more labour, and obtained 
 jnore money, than such as lived on bread, cheese, ba- 
 con, and beer, the general diet of the labourers of the 
 south. And, that those individuals who ate their food 
 cold, were capable of more exertion than those who 
 used it hot. The northern counties are proverbially 
 known to produce the tallest and stoutest men of 
 which England can boast: a strong proof that their 
 habitual diet of unfermented farinacea, must be wholes- 
 some and natural. The greater part of man* 
 kind always has subsisted, and at present does subsist, 
 on unfermented grain. The inhabitants of Asia live 
 on unfermented rice; the Chinese are unacquainted 
 with the art of making bread ; (at least we are inform-* 
 ed by late travellers that they prepare the farinaceous 
 part of their food by boiling it in water or in steam) 
 the natives of America simply boil their maize; and, 
 as far as we are informed, the art of making ferment- 
 ed bread is unknown throughout the continent of Af-r 
 rica. But to come nearer home, the common diet of 
 our neighbours, the Dutch, who are a very- healthy 
 people, is boiled barley ; and the hardy and enter- 
 prising Scots, it is well known, live on oatmeal sim- 
 ply boiled, and unfermented cakes made of the same 
 kind of grain, or of pease, or barley-meal. 
 By using such food, besides the advantage of eating 
 genuine and unadulterated grain, with all it's bran, it 
 is evident that the money usually paid to the miller 
 and the baker remains in the pocket of the consumet. 
 If there be ^ny children, whut is left by the parents,
 
 GRArv. 15 
 
 -«..0">- 
 
 will afford them an excellent diet, which cannot be 
 said of thedrainings ot' a tea-pot, or the dregs of beer. 
 Nor does the preparation of such dishes require any- 
 more fuel than is necessary to boil a tea-kettle. Those 
 made of the whole grain maybe advantageously pre- 
 pared over night and warmed at the time of eating." 
 — Practical Eco}io7ny, CA\o\v, 1801. Eiceis 
 
 a general article of diet, and may be made into a vari- 
 ety of dishes. Simple boiling is all that is required 
 to render it palatable. It may be eaten alone or with 
 milk. Grains which make a harsh and unpleasant 
 sort of bread, are often rendered very agreeable by 
 boihng. This is the case with all the legmninous 
 class of plants, as pease, beans, &c. Even oats and 
 barley, are more agreeable, as well as more whole- 
 some, when boiled, than made into bread. Pease and 
 beans contain an equal quantity of sugar with wheat, 
 oats, or barley, and at the same time a greater pro- 
 portion of oil, consequently are more nourishing. 
 The people of England are little accustomed to the 
 use of boiled grain, though in many countries it is eat- 
 en as a luxury. Boiled barley, so greatly approv- 
 ed by the Dutch, may be eaten with milk, butter, or 
 moUases. It is capable of thickening a great quanti- 
 ty of water, and has a far greater degree of nourish- 
 ment than any other European grain of the same ex- 
 pense. Barley may therefore be considered as the 
 rice of Great Britain. Barley is one of the best in- 
 gredients in soup. Perhaps grits or coarse oat-meal, 
 may answer the purpose as well. Oatmeal is fre- 
 quently made into bread, but is more wholesome in 
 hasty pudding, and eaten with milk, because it 
 has a tendency to induce costiveness in some con- 
 •stitutions. That wholesome bread may be
 
 16 GRAIN^. 
 
 procured at a price inferior to any hitherto suggest- 
 ed, is well ascertained, by mixing the fine flour of 
 Indian corn with that of wheat in equal propor- 
 tions. No substance used as aliment, has been more 
 fully and satisfactorily proved to be nutritious than 
 this corn, which has of late been much imported from 
 North America, where it forms a large share of the 
 diet of the rich and poor. «' The flour of this corn 
 possesses, to most, an agreeable sweet flavour ; so that 
 some persons who have accustomed themselves to the 
 bread made of it, find a difficulty in returning to the 
 use of any other; and I have known", says Dr. Lett- 
 Bom, ** individuals so fond of it, as to import it on their 
 own accounts." Some persons indeed have raised ob- 
 jections to this grain, which often have arisen from the 
 grinding of the corn, or mismanagement in baking 
 the bread. The corn should be ground with 
 
 care, as a part of the interior edge of the grain is com- 
 posed of a ligneous spongy substance, the middle of 
 which is of a dark brown colour and of a bitter taste ; 
 which, if ground into the flour, produces a disagreea- 
 ble flavour ; to avoid which, the mill-stones should be 
 set so wide, as only just to burst the thick or farin- 
 aceous part of the grain, which should be passed 
 through a sieve, in order to separate such bitterish 
 substance; the grain should than be ground with the 
 stones set in a manner to render it sufficiently fine; 
 by this precaution the flour is as white as that of 
 the finest wheat, and full as pleasant to the taste; it 
 possesses the peculiar quality of preserving the bread, 
 made from a mixture of it, in a moist state for many 
 days, which, at least, in dry weather, is no inconsid- 
 erable advantage. The English settlers in A- 
 merica, make a food of Indian Corn called Samp, hj
 
 CfRAlN. 17 
 
 soaking the grain in water about half an hour, and 
 than beating it in a mortar ; or grinding it in a hand or 
 other mill, till it be reduced to the size of riee, sifting 
 the flour and winnowing the hulls from it. They then 
 boil it gently till it becomes tender; and with milk 
 or butter and sugar, make a very palatable and 
 wholesome dish. This food was often prescribed by 
 the learned Dr. Wilson to his patients in London. 
 The Indians, who live chiefly on this corn, are re- 
 markably healthy ; and the stone, in particular, is a 
 disease rarely known among them. 
 
 Barley. Of this grain a rich substance may 
 be composed, by taking one pound of it in a hulled 
 state and steeping it a sufticient time in milk. The 
 milk and barley may then be slightly boiled. Cream, 
 mace, cinnamon, salt, and sugar may be added. 
 
 ANOTHER. 
 
 Let one pound of hulled barley be boiled in four 
 quarts of water, till soft. Add raisins, currants, but- 
 ter, rose water, and sugar. 
 
 ANOTHER. 
 
 Haifa pint of hulled, or, as it is called, Scotch bar- 
 ley, boiled slowly in a proper quantity of water, will 
 produce nearly a quart of very nutritious food, which 
 eaten with coarse sugar, treacle, or melted butter and 
 salt, is very palatable. In this process a quantity of 
 water has the appearance of being changed into a 
 solid, and converted into nutriment. 
 
 Rice may be prepared and eaten in the same 
 manner. The crispness peculiar to rice cooked as in 
 India, is produced by throwing the grain, as soon 
 as boiled sufficiently soft, into a sieve or cullender, 
 and permitting a stream of cold water to run through 
 it. It may be warmed, when eaten, by setting the
 
 1§ PULSE. 
 
 dish containing it within another with hot water. 
 
 Cut Groats, prepared in the same manner, 
 are very wholesome, and afford most substantial 
 food. 
 
 Wheat, deprived of the external husk and af- 
 terwards boiled, called in somie parts of this countrj 
 Creeled or Creed Wheat, isa very nourishing food; 
 a small quantity of which will enable a man to sustain 
 the hardest labour. 
 
 The expense of these dishes, allowing threepence 
 for the grain and as much for the seasoning ; or where 
 flour or meal is used, two-pence, and one penny for 
 milk, which will produce more food than two people 
 can eat at a time, does not exceed sixpence; which 
 compared with that of a breakfast on tea for two peo- 
 ple, Tea 2d. Sugar 2d. Milk |d. Bread 4d, at Is. 
 6d. the quartern, butter 3d. amounts to elevenpence 
 half-penny, may fairly be considered as double, 
 \vithout any thing remaining. 
 
 LEGUMES OR PULSE. 
 
 Bean. The common Bean. (Ficia Faba.) 
 The green, unripe seeds of this well known vegetable, 
 are a favourite summer-food in this and other couH' 
 tries. But the meal obtained from the ripe and dried 
 seeds is seldom made use of. Yet, when mixed in a 
 small proportion with wheaten or rye-flour, it yields 
 a sufficiently palatable and not unwholesome bread, 
 and may therefore be occasionally used in this way, 
 in order to save wheat-flour. When bean-meal or 
 iloiir is used for bread, it is, in some places, steeped
 
 FL'LSE. 1^ 
 
 •■<■••<>•>•• 
 
 in water, to take off the harsh flavour, and afterwards 
 when mixed with wheat flour, the taste is scarcely 
 to be perceived. Specimens of very good bread have 
 been produced before the Board of Agriculture, made 
 of the fallowing proportions. 1 lb. bean flour, 1 lb. 
 potatoes, and 4 lb. of wheaten flour. The flour or 
 meal, both of beans and |)ease, by being boiled 
 previous to being mixed with wheaten flour, incor- 
 porate more easily with that article, and probably is 
 much wholesomer than otherwise it would be. 
 
 KiDKEv-BEAN. ( Phuseoliis vulgaris.) la 
 this country the ripe seeds of this plant are seldom 
 eaten; but when boiled and freed from their skins, 
 they are much esteemed abroad, where they are eat- 
 en, cold, as a salad, seasoned with vinegar and pepper. 
 They are very farinaceous and nutritive. The meal 
 mixed with a proper quantity of wheaten flour, may 
 be made into bread. 
 
 Pea. The garden pea, (Pisimi sativum.) when 
 boiled in a fresh or green state, is less flatulent and 
 easier of digestion, than after it has matured. 
 Bread formed of peas alone is solid, heavy, and un- 
 wholesome; bvit three parts of rye flour and one of 
 ground peas, afford a more palatable and nourishing 
 bread then if made of wheat or rye alone. 
 
 Stewed Peas. 
 This dish is made by taking a pint and a half of peas 
 while green, and putting them into a stew-pan, with 
 butter, parsley, scallions, and a cabbage-lettuce cut. 
 Let them stew with their own juice over the Are, an 
 hour and a half, or till they be sulikiently done, and 
 the sap consumed. Add a little sugar, a very little 
 salt, and the yolks of two eggs beaten with some 
 cream. Thicken the whole over thafire. Some use
 
 29 PULSE. 
 
 neither cream nor eggs, but serve the peas simply ia 
 their own sauce, which should be thick. 
 
 Some difficulty has frequently been found in boil- 
 ing peas soft, and the defect has been generally at- 
 tributed to the peas, but the cause is always in the 
 kiTid of water. The proper water is that which is 
 pure, clear, and without taste, smell, or colour; in 
 which soap will readily dissolve. 
 
 Vetch. The common vetch or tare. (Ficia sali- 
 va.) Much inferior, as food for man, to peas and 
 other pulse; but in times of scarcity, vetch-meal, pre- 
 viously soaked in water (as recommended to be used 
 with bean-meal) may be made into bread, with a 
 large proportion of wheat or rye flour. 
 
 Dried Peas, Beans, and every kind of grain, if 
 put in warmish water till a little sprouted, and then 
 used, as if green, will be found to possess the same 
 taste and flavour 'as if really fresh. 
 
 Buck-wheat, (Polygoiiuni fagopyrum.) is a 
 species of the Persecaria^ also called French-wheat or 
 Crap, which during the last thirty years has excited the 
 attention of able agriculturists, but another variety of 
 this grain was, about a century ago, introduced into 
 Germany, and has lately also been cultivated m Brit- 
 ain, known by the name Siberian Buck-wheat. 
 It possesses considerable advantages over the former; 
 because it is not only a fourth part heavier in the 
 grain, but also more palatable, in this respect resem- 
 bling rice. It thrives in the poorest soil, is not affec- 
 ted by cold, and being much disposed to branch out, 
 requires scarcely one half of the seed necessary for the 
 cultivation of the preceding species. For cul- 
 
 inary purposes the grain of the Buck-wheat is used in 
 various forms, and affords k nutritious meal, which
 
 PULSE. 21 
 
 •.♦•0">" 
 
 is not apt to turn sour on the stomach. Mixed with 
 barley, it is, in Tuscany, baked into bread, which 
 possesses the property ofretaining it's moisture much 
 longer than that of pure wheat; and tho' of a darker 
 colour, it is equally nourishing. In Germany, a very 
 palatable grit, or granulated meal, serving as an in- 
 gredient in pottage, puddings, &c. is prepared of 
 buck-wheat ; and if the seed be pure, the produce of 
 each bushel is ten pecks. In the electorate of Branden- 
 burgh, not only ale and beer are brewed from a mix- 
 ture of it with malt, but likewise a very excellent 
 spirit of a bluish shade is obtained by distillation ; the 
 flavour of which resembles that of French brandy. 
 From this, as well as the former species of Buck- 
 wheat, the Tartars prepare a delicious food, by sim- 
 ply blanching the seeds, without mills or ovens, in a 
 manner very ingenious, and applicable to most oth- 
 er species of grain. They first pour cold water on 
 the seed, and stir it well, in order to bring the light 
 and imperfect grains to the top, which are thrown 
 away with the water. Then the wet corn is put in 
 sacks, where it is suffered to remain from ten to 
 twelve hours: thus, after swelling a little, it is roast- 
 ed over a slow fire in iron pans, and continually stir- 
 red, till the grain becomes tolerably hard, so as to 
 feel tough and elastic between the teeth. In this 
 manner the husks soon crack, and may easily be sep- 
 arated from the kernel, in a wooden mortar, or a 
 bruising machine made of the hollow trunk of a tree. 
 By this process, the grain acquires a yellow transpar- 
 ent appearance, and is much improved in taste. 
 Further particulars respecting it's cultivation may be 
 found in Dr. Willich's " Domestic Encyclopedia." 
 This plant has hitherto been cultivated in this coun-
 
 22 FRUIT. 
 
 try rather for the purpose of feeding hogs and poul- 
 try with the seeds, and of obtaining fodder and man- 
 ure from the stalks and leaves, than with a view to 
 procure an aliment for man. Yet the meal ground 
 from the seeds is very wholesome and nutrimental, 
 and is much used in several parts of Europe instead 
 of wheat-flour. It is commonly made into thin cakes. 
 Formerly, it was eaten in Russia, not by the lower 
 classes only, but by the nobility. Boiled and then 
 buttered, this seed was so much valued by the great 
 Czar Peter, that he is said seldom to have supped oa 
 any thing else. 
 
 Fft.Ult. 
 
 Almond. The sweet almond. (Amygdalus 
 eomniunis.) Eaten in the usual way, with the skins 
 on, and slightly chewed, are digested with diffi- 
 culty, and sometimes disorder the stomach. But when 
 freed from their skins, or blanched, and reduced to 
 a paste by trituration, with a little loaf sugar or gum 
 arable, they become sufficiently light and digestible, 
 and afford, bulk for bulk, almost as great a quantity 
 of nourishment as any other vegetable substance. In 
 this state of a paste, they may, with a small admix- 
 ture of wheat or other flour, be made into cakes, 
 which will satisfy the appetite and support the body 
 more effectually than twice as much wheaten-bread. 
 The almond paste may also be made into puddings, 
 with ground rice or millet ; or it may be put into soups, 
 which it serves to thicken and render more nutritious. 
 Lastly, the almond paste may be further employed
 
 FRUIT. 23 
 
 for making a liquor that will in a great measure sup- 
 ply the place of milk. This liquor or emulsion, is 
 easily prepared by triturating the paste with boiling 
 water, which should be added to it little by little (that 
 they may mix together very smoothly) and in such 
 quantity as to give the whole the colour and consis- 
 tence of new milk. The proportion should be three 
 quarters of an ounce, or at most an ounce, of blanched 
 almonds, with two tea spoonfuls of powdered gum ar- 
 able, and three or four lumps of sugar, to a quart of 
 water. The sugar is not absolutely necessary. This 
 will be found to be a very pleasant and wholesome 
 morning and evening beverage, and an excellent sub- 
 stitute for tea. If the almond milk should create flat- 
 ulency, this inconvenience may be easily obviated, 
 by triturating along with the almonds some carraway- 
 seeds, which will give an agreeable aromatic flavour 
 and pungency to the liquor. The kernels of the 
 
 almond may be preserved either in dry bran, or in 
 sand; but they ought -previously to be dried oa 
 shelves or boards in an open situation. 
 
 Apples, (Pyrus mains.) boiled or coddled, and 
 eaten with milk, make wholesome, and pleasant food. 
 They may be made richer by being sliced and fried 
 in butter. Then eggs, cream, sugar, rose-water, and 
 nutmeg maybe beaten, and the whole fried together. 
 
 Bilberry. (Vaccinium Myrtillus.) This plant 
 growb abundantly in woods and heaths. The berries, 
 when ripe, are of a dark blue colour. In Scotland 
 they are eaten by the Highanders, in milk ; and com- 
 monly used in tarts and jellies. The species f'iV- 
 isldcea, or lied Wortle-berry, produces a cooling and 
 acid fruit. In Sweden, it is eaten in the form of a 
 jelly. The species of the FucQitiium, called Oa^-
 
 24 FRUIT. 
 
 eocms, or Cranberry, grows abundantly in the north of 
 England, likewise on Dersingham moor, in Norfolk, 
 and in Scotland and Ireland. These berries are a de- 
 licious ingredient in tarts. A considerable traffic is 
 carried on with cranberries, in the northern counties. 
 This fruit may be kept in a fresh state for many years, 
 by immersing it in a bottle filled with spring water 
 and closely stopped. 
 
 Cherry, a species of the Primus, or plum-tree. 
 This fruit is not much valued in culinary prepara- 
 tions ; but in a ripe state is said to be an excellent 
 antiscorbutic, and a valuable medicine in putrid fe- 
 vers and the dysentery ; but is not easy of diges- 
 tion. 
 
 Chesnut. The common chesnut, or sweet 
 Chesnut. (Fagmcasf.aTiea.)Th\'!, fruit, freed from the 
 husk, well dried and ground, yields a palatable and 
 nutritious meal, which, in the southern parts of Eu- 
 rope, and particularly in the island of Corsica, is 
 made into cakes and loaves. 
 
 Cucumber. The common Cucumber. (Cucu- 
 7nissath'us.) The best mode of preparing this fruit for 
 the table, is stewing it. When so prepared, it is read- 
 ily digestible, and considerably nutritious. In this 
 way it may be eaten pretty freely. To prevent flat- 
 ulence, it is proper to season it with a little pepper. 
 
 Currants. The fruit of the red and white cur- 
 rants are deservedly much esteemed for the table. 
 Black currants are disliked by some on account 
 of their flavour, but are very wholesome. Their 
 juice is frequently boiled down to an extract or syr- 
 up with the addition of a small quantity of sugar; in 
 which state it is called rob, and gives relief in sore- 
 throats and quinsies.
 
 FRtJIT. S.5 
 
 ' CxOOSEBERRY ("Ribfs). This ffuit ehtcTS Com- 
 monly into several compositions in food, but like all 
 other fruit, should never be used till quite ripe. It is 
 the most saccharine production we possess, and may 
 Avith great advantage be converted into wine, as one 
 pound of the juice expressed from the ripe berries, 
 requires only one ounce of soft sugar, whereas the 
 ripest currants require double that quantity, to induce 
 the vinous fermentation. Gooseberry-fool 
 
 may be made without milk, by scalding one pint of 
 gooseberries, and breaking them very small in some 
 of the water; then beat the yolks of two or three eggs< 
 M'ith a spoonflil of rose water; stir in a piece of but- 
 ter to melt; afterwards put in the eggs; then place it 
 on the fire to thicken. 
 
 Gourd. The common or bottle Gourd. (Cu- 
 curhita lagenaria.) When this fruit is about half 
 grown, it may be dressed in the same way as the cu^ 
 Cumber, with which, at that period of it's growth, it 
 agrees in all it's properties. 
 
 Grapes, the fruit of the Common Vine, ov iri- 
 tis Vinijera, is a native of Japan, and the warmer 
 regions of Asia, but has, for centuries, been cultivated^ 
 with great success, in Britain. This fiuitis universal^ 
 ]y esteemed. 
 
 Hazle-nut. (Corylus Avellana.) This fruit 
 may be applied to the same purposes as the Almond* 
 Melon. Cucmnis melo, or Common, or Musk 
 Melon, is a native of Asia, from whence it has beert. 
 hitroduced into the South of Europe, and also culti-* 
 vated in Britain, on account of it's delicious fruit* 
 The properties of melons resemble those of cucum-* 
 bers. They are however preferable to the latter> bein^ 
 more aromatic, and wholesomCi
 
 SS FRUIT. 
 
 •■♦•■<>•>.• 
 
 Peach. The fruit o( Amygdalus Persica, a well 
 known exotic, is much valued on account of it's delici- 
 ous taste and flavour. If eaten in a ripe and fresh state, 
 Peaches are wholesome; but if preserved in wine, 
 JDrandy, or sugar, they lose their good properties. 
 
 Pear. The Pyrus communis, or Pear-tree, is a 
 Yaluablearticleof cultivation, particularly in Worces- 
 ter and the adjoining counties. The fruit, betides it's 
 utility for domestic or culinary purposes, affords a 
 mild pleasant liquor called Perry ; yet is held in less 
 esteem than the apple, both for this and every other 
 purpose. 
 
 Pine-apple. {Broinelia ananas.) This delici- 
 ous fruit is a native of Mexico and the Brazils, but 
 cultivated very sucessfully, by the opulent, in this 
 country. 
 
 Plum. Of the Common Plum-tree, or Pyrus 
 domestica, there are numerous varieties, of which the 
 Apricot is one. In a dried state they are called 
 Prunes, and are eminently useful as a laxative. 
 
 Raisins, wliich are dried grapes, eaten with 
 bread, and sweet almonds, make an excellent meal. 
 
 Raseerry.('^//i6//.? idcEUs.} This fruit, in a na- 
 tural state, is grateful and cooling. When used, as in 
 sweetmeats, or fermented with sugar, and converted 
 into wine, or vinegar, it's flavour is greatly improved. 
 
 Strawberry. (Fragaria vesca.) Strawber- 
 ries are a wholesome delicious fruit; they may be eat- 
 en alone, with sugar, or with milk, and very agreea- 
 bly with wine. An infusion of the leaves, while young 
 and tender, makes excellent tea ; but they ought to 
 ^e dried in the shade. 
 
 Wallnut. (Juglans regia.) This fruit is 
 much the same, in it's nuU'imental properties as the 
 ^iazle-nut<
 
 FRUIT. 2T 
 
 On Apples, pears, apricots, peaches, 
 
 PLUMS, GOOSEBERRIES, CURRANTS, OF any Othe? 
 
 common well approved fruit, a person of imvitiated 
 appetite, with a slice of bread, may frequently m.ake 
 an excellent breakfast. 
 
 The Art of preserving Fruits, by boil-^ 
 ing with sugar, is certainly a pernicious invention* 
 Old Tyron cannot imagine whom they were intend- 
 ed to please, unless children and fools, or for the 
 indulgence of gluttons, who are compelled to pay- 
 severely enough by indigestions and the loss of their* 
 appetite for wholesome food. Thousands o£ 
 
 parents by a foolish indulgence of their children, in 
 giving them such costly improper food, are the agents 
 of their premature dissolution. ** Tell me," says he, 
 ** my good dames ! what have you to say in favour oi 
 these curio^ties? What benefit, what advantage do 
 you receive from them ? Are you more sound, healthy 
 or strong than the poor honest country-woman, who 
 has none of them? Are you more free from sudden 
 qualms or settled distempers ? Have you better ap- 
 petites ? Have you more pleasure in eating your larks 
 and pheasants, your dainty bits, with rich poignant 
 sauces, and delicious costly wines, than they in a 
 mess of good milk-pottage, or a lusty piece of bread 
 and cheese, and a cup of nut-brown ale of their own 
 brewing ? Do you sleep more soundly on your beds 
 of down, doubly fortified with silk or sarsnet, than 
 they on their matresses of moss or straw, exposed to 
 the pure air which whistles through the decayed case- 
 ment or broken pane ? Are you more free from colds, 
 fortified with flannel shifts, drawers, quilted waist- 
 coats, and petticoats, set on in quantities which make 
 you look like Dutch-women, and would set up a
 
 •SI FRUIT. 
 
 leng-lane broker?" [The present Jan. 1802, exhib- 
 its the ladies in dresses very ditferent from those of 
 J 692, in which Mr. Tryon wrote, dresses which shade 
 only, not cover. The instances have been numerous, 
 however, in which the fair sex have suffered from this 
 contrary extreme.] ** Are yon, I say, with all this 
 furniture, free from catching cold, any more than the 
 rosy-compleiioyied lass that courts the sweet kisses of 
 the air in her smock sleeves, and trips over the dewy 
 plains in a winter's frosty morning with but one brace 
 of linsey-woolsey coats, not long enough to conceal 
 her well proportioned leg ? Or are your children born 
 more lusty, or more free from diseases, or better com- 
 plexioned, or straighter-limbed, or handsomer shap- 
 ed, or in any kind more active, sprightly or vigorous 
 than their's ? Alas ! none of this ; the advantage lies 
 pij the other side." — Good Housewife. 
 
 LEAVES AND STALKS. 
 
 Artichoke. (Cynarahortensis.) This is a 
 well known plant, the flowers, or a part of them, are 
 esteemed a delicious viand. It is little valued by 
 economists, being very unproductive; on this account 
 it is eaten chiefly at the tables of the opulent. 
 
 Asparagus affords a delicious article of nour- 
 ishment. It may be boiled and eaten with bread, but- 
 ter, and salt. The young buds of hops have 
 been recommended as a substitute for asparagus, be- 
 ing more easily procured, and are both grateful and 
 •wholesome.
 
 tEAV£S. 25 
 
 ..<..<>■•>.• 
 
 Beet. The Beta hortensiSy or common white 
 Beet, is cultivated in gardens for it's leaves, which 
 are frequently used in soups. The Beta vulgaris, or* 
 red beet, is possessed of mild aperient quaUties, and 
 afibrds but a weak nourishment. It is easy of diges-^ 
 tion, and is recommended as a very proper supper 
 for persons of costive habits. It may be eaten with 
 some potatoes; or with parsley, celery, &c. 
 
 Borecole, is a species of the Brassica, and an 
 excellent vegetable for the table. The leaves may 
 be cut without retarding it's growth, and a new crop 
 obtained in a month or six weeks. It's growth is rap-^ 
 id, and so hardy as to withstand the severest frosts* 
 
 Cabbage, (Brassica.) was Pompey's favourite 
 dish. The ancients venerated this plant, calling it 
 divine, and swearnig per Brassicum. It has been 
 highly celebrated by Cato, Pythagoras and Chrysip- 
 pus the physician. — De R. R. cap. clvii. Some 
 
 object to the large Scotch Cabbage, but when they 
 are well boiled they are very tender, mellow, and 
 pleasant. In the months of March, April, May, 
 
 and June, greens and other vegetables are often scarce* 
 Those who have gardens, instead of throwing cab* 
 bage stalks to the dunghill, ought to preserve them 
 for spring greens, by putting them in the ground 
 around the borders or other convenient places. They 
 ^vould produce abundance of tender shoots prope? 
 for greens in the spring of the year till spinage and 
 summer cabbages Ije ready. 
 
 Take Cabbage, and cut it as for pickling, let it theft 
 be half boiled. Drain the water from it in a sieve, 
 and cover it with a cloth till cool. Let it stand in a 
 warm place or in a malt-kiln till dry. It will then, 
 if close covered up, keep good for years. When 
 3*
 
 ^0 LEAVES. 
 
 wanted for use, it may be boiled, and some salt put 
 to it. It will be found as good as when fresh cut. 
 Spinage, Parsley, Lettuce, &c. may be pre- 
 served the same way. Great quantities of Sorrel or 
 Green-sauce, preserved in this manner, are stored in 
 ^hips and eaten as an antidote against the scurvv. 
 
 Cardoon. (Cynara carduncidus.) This spe- 
 cies diifers from the common artichoke in growing 
 much taller, in the leaves being more finely cut, thick- 
 er set with spines, and in having smaller and round- 
 er heads. The gardeners blanch the stalks, as they 
 do celerj'. They are eaten raw with oil, pepper, and 
 vinegar ; or boiled or stewed, and sometimes laid 
 upon a toast and cheese. 
 
 Cauliflower, (Boirytis.) a variety of the 
 Brassica oleraceuy or sea cabbage, is a native of the 
 Isle of Candia, but of late years, has been greatly im- 
 proved in this country. It is one of the most nour- 
 ishing of succulent plants, and most easy of diges- 
 tion. Perhaps the best method of preparint^ 
 this culinary vegetable is to let it first be parboiled; 
 then immersed in cold, hard water for some time; 
 and afterwards being boiled only for a few minutes, 
 it will become more firm and crisp than usual. 
 
 Celery. The garden celery. (Apiiim grave- 
 olens.) In it's wild state this plant is known by the 
 name Smallage. It is commonly taken raw; but 
 is much better stewed, in which state it may be eaten 
 freely, so as to afford considerable nourishment. In 
 this way it is a light and wholesome vegetable. 
 
 Chive. (Allium scJi£e?ioprasiwi.) The leaves 
 of this plant are valuable for mixing with salads in 
 spring,
 
 LEAVES. 31 
 
 Choux de Mil LAN, or Savoy Cabbage, is a 
 species o( the Brass ica ch'xeiiy cultivated for winter 
 wse, being preferred after being nipped by the frost. 
 
 Cress or Cresses, Sisymbrium, a genus of 
 plants consisting of a great variety of species. The 
 nasturtium or common water-cress is universally eat- 
 en as an early and spring salad, being an excellent 
 antiscorbutic and stomachic. The Lepidium 
 
 sativu??i, or Garden Cress is a native of Germany. 
 This plant is generally sown for spring salad, and eat- 
 en young. It will bear cutting several times. It is 
 a wholesome warm stimulating vegetable, and ma- 
 ny are so partial to it as to make frequent suppers of 
 it with vinegar, and bread and butter. 
 
 Jack by the Hedge. (Erysimum alliaria.) 
 This is a very common plant in hedge rows, the leaves 
 of which are eaten by poor country people with their 
 bread, and on account of the relish given, they call it 
 Sauce-alone. 
 
 Lettuce (Lactuca), ever was, and still con- 
 tinues, the principal foundation of the universal tribe 
 of salads, which is to cool and refresh. *' It is," says 
 Mr. Evelyn, *' indeed in it's nature more cold and 
 moist than any of the rest, yet less astringent, and so 
 harmless that it may safely be eaten raw in fevers; 
 ft»r it allays heat, bridles choler; extinguishes thirst, 
 excites appetite, kindly nourishes, and above all re- 
 presses vapours, conciliates sleep, mitigates pain." 
 This salad has been extolled by Galen; was the fa- 
 vourite vegetable of Tacitus ; and Augustus, it is said, 
 erected a statue and built an altar in memory of a 
 cure effected by this plant. 
 
 Parsley, the common, or Apium Petroseli- 
 71UJ71, is a well known essential ingredient in salads.
 
 52 LEAVES. 
 
 Purslane, the common ox Portulacaoleracea, id 
 a tender exotic, annually raised in hot beds, or warm, 
 borders. It is a favourite article in summer salads, 
 but is too cold and moist for winter use. It produc- 
 es laxative elfects when eaten freely. 
 
 Savory, or Saiureia, a genus of plants of 
 ■which the species hortensis and moiitana, are the 
 principal. Their warm aromatic and pungent leaves 
 are much esteemed in salads, and are frequently put 
 into cakes, puddings, &c. 
 
 Sorrel, the common, or Sorrel bock, Ru- 
 mex Jcetosus, is cultivated as an ingredient in soup* 
 and salads ; in the latter it is esteemed for it's cool- 
 ing properties, tending to allay thirst. In Ireland the 
 leaves of this plant are eaten with milk ; and in Lap- 
 land the juice is used as rennet. Mr. Bryant says, 
 ** the leaves of the Oxalisacetosella, or Wood So rr e l, 
 afford one of the most grateful acids of any in na- 
 ture, far preferable to that of the common garden 
 Sorrel, being cooling and serviceable., against intlam- 
 matory disorders. Beaten with sugar, they make an 
 elegant conserve; and boiled with milk, form a most 
 agreeable whey." 
 
 Spinach, or Spinage, tlie common, Spinacia 
 oleracea. This is an excellent laxative, especially 
 when stewed with butter; but as it tends to pass 
 speedily through the bowels undigested, it should 
 neither be commonly used in this way, nor by per- 
 sons of weak and relaxed habits. It is more whole- 
 some eaten as a salad. 
 
 Succory, or Endive, (Cichorlwn emlivia.) h 
 an exotic annual, which is reared in our gardens 39 
 an ingredient in winter salads.
 
 LEAVES. 33 
 
 Turnip-stalks, if taken when they begin to 
 run to seed, so far as liiey will easily break down- 
 wards; peeled and tyed in bundles, then boiled like 
 asparagus, and eaten with melted butter, will be 
 found very palatable. 
 
 Boiled Plants. Early in the spring, nettle- 
 tops, spinage, corn salad, the young buds of cabbage 
 and coleworts, which grow on stalks, being well boil- 
 ed, and eaten with melted butter, compose an excel- 
 lent wholesome dish. In April, May, and June, 
 there are lettuce, spinage, parsley, mint-tops, pen- 
 nyroyal, borage, endive, succory, white and red 
 beets, besides the red-dock, dandelion, comfrey, 
 and others in the fields, which boiled in plenty of 
 good water, with a brisk fire, make good wholesome 
 food. When herbs begin to boil, the lid of the ves- 
 sel should be taken off, and when they are well boil- 
 ed, may be eaten with salt, butter, and bread. If 
 they retain any unsavoury taste the water should be 
 changed a second or a third time. 
 
 Salads, consist of lettuces, endive, cresses, cel- 
 ery, radishes, onions; to these may be added, purs- 
 lane, corn-salad, chervil, spinach, and other fresh es- 
 culent herbs, which are usually seasoned with salt, 
 vinegar, oil, and mustard ; to which are sometimes 
 added, boiled eggs, sugar, pepper, and other spices. 
 
 If the leaves happen to be frozen, or frost-bitten, 
 during severe winters, they should be immersed in 
 spring water for two or three hours, previously to be-? 
 ing used, by which means their taste and celour will 
 be completely recovered. 
 
 Sal LADS by Tryon. 
 
 1. Spinage, parsley, sorrel, lettuce, onions. 
 Q, Lettuce, spinage-tops, pennyroyal, sorrel, and a-^
 
 34 LEAVES. 
 
 few onions and parsley. 3. Lettuce, sorrel, pep- 
 
 per-grass, spinage, tops of mint, and onions. 
 4. Spinage, lettuce, tarragon, and parsley, with a few 
 leaves of balm. 5. Sorrel, tarragon, spin* 
 
 age, lettuce, onions and parsley. 6. Tops of 
 
 pennyroyal, mint, lettuce, spinage, sorrel and pars- 
 ley. 7. Lettuce, spinage, sorrel, "onions, penny- 
 royal, balm and sorrel. 8. Sage, lettuce, spin- 
 age, sorrel, onions, and parsley. 9. Sage, pen- 
 nyroyal, mint, balm, a few lettuce, and some sorrel. 
 10. Lettuce, sorrel, endive, celery, spinage, and 
 onions. 11. Young coleworts and onions. 
 12. A salad for winter maybe composed of colewort 
 plants, sorrel, lettuce, endive, celery, parsley, and 
 old onions. *' Herbs in winter !" some will cry out, 
 *' they are cold and injurious, who can or will 
 eat them ?" and this false doctrine has been handed 
 by tradition from one to another, without either ex- 
 perience or trial. A well managed salad in Decem- 
 ber or January, if the season prove open and mild, is 
 as cheering, being eaten with good bread, as two or 
 three glasses of wine, and far more pleasant and na- 
 tural. Each of the above salads is to be seas- 
 oned with oil, salt, and vinegar. Those who dislike 
 oil, will find a very excellent substitute in melted but- 
 ter poured upon the salad. 
 
 Of Sallad-dressing, 
 
 from Evelyn's "Acetaria." 
 
 The various salads being gathered and proportion- 
 ed, let the Endive have all it's outside leaves strip- 
 ped off, slicing in the white. In like manner. Celery 
 is also to have^the hollow green stem or stalk trim- 
 med and divided, slicing in the blanched part, and
 
 LEAVES. 55 
 
 cutting the root mto four equal parts. Let- 
 
 tuce, Cresses, Raddish, ^-c. must be well picked, 
 cleansed, washed and put into the strainer; swinged 
 and shaken gently, and, if you please, separately, or 
 all together; because some like not so well the 
 blanched and bitter herbs, if eaten with the rest. 
 Others mingle Endive, Succory, and Rampions, 
 without distinction, and generally eat Celery by it-, 
 self, as also Sweet Fennel. From April till' 
 
 September, and during all the hot months, Guinea 
 Pepper, and Horse Raddish maybe left out. 
 Your herbs being parcelled and spread on a napkin 
 before you, they are to be mingled together in an 
 earthen glazed dish. Then for the Oxoleon, take of 
 clear and perfectly good Olive Oil, three parts; of 
 sharpest Vinegar, Lemon, or juice of Orange, one part; 
 and therein let steep some slices of Horse-raddish, 
 with a little salt. Some gently bruise a pod of Gui- 
 nea pepper, in separate vinegar, straining both the 
 vinegars apart, so as to make use of either, or one a- 
 lone, or of both, as they like best. Then add as much 
 dry Mustard, as will lie upon a half-crown piece. 
 Beat and mingle all these very well together ; but pour 
 not on the oil and vinegar, till immediately before the 
 salad is ready to be eaten ; and then with the yolk 
 of two new-laid eggs break and mix them all togethr 
 er with a spoon ; and lastly, pour it all upon the herbs, 
 stirring and mingling them ; not forgetting the sprink- 
 lingof aromatics, and flowers, if you think fit, and gar- 
 nishing the dish with thin slices of Horse-Raddish, 
 Red-beet, Berberries, &c. The liquids may be made 
 more or less acid, as most agreeable.
 
 36 LEAVES. 
 
 Salads may be agreeably improved and diver* 
 sifiedby the leaves of several neglected herbs, as the 
 Water Avens, Genm rivale. Brooklime, Fero- 
 
 nica Beccabunga. Burdock, Arctium LappUf 
 
 may be eaten by stripping the tender stems of their 
 rind, before the flowers appear. The upland 
 
 Burnet, Poteriwn sanguisorba, is a choice salad herb 
 in winter and spring. Lungwort, Pulmonaria 
 
 officinalis, is a good ingredient in salad, especially 
 in early spring. The flowers of Borage, Bo- 
 
 ago officinalis^ imparts an agreeable flavour to lettuce 
 salad. The young leaves of Ox-Eye, Crysan- 
 
 themum Leucanihemum. Some prefer bread 
 
 and butter, or bread and cheese, with salads, instead 
 of oil ; and with some habits they agree much better. 
 
 Sour Crout is much in use in Holland and 
 Germany. It has been found of singular benefit to our 
 sailors on long voyages, being an antidote, as well as a 
 cure, for scorbutic and other putrid complaints, occa- 
 sioned either by moisture, bad or foul air, so frequently 
 engendered in the houses of the lower class of people^ 
 both in town and country. This favourite dish of the 
 Germans is not very palatable to strangei-s ; but the 
 taste is soon formed to it, and is highly relished ever 
 after. It is produced by stripping the cabbages 
 
 of their outward leaves; with a pointed knife, cut- 
 ting out the stalks; a longish box, open at the top, is 
 provided for cutting them into; when cut, which 
 should be done very small, take a tub, the bottom of 
 which is to be covered with a thin layer of salt; then 
 a layer of cut cabbages, four or five inches thick ; a 
 handful of salt, thrown in, and a layer of cabbages a- 
 gain. In this manner proceed till the cask be filled, 
 taking care to press down each layer as close as pes-'
 
 LEAVES. 37 
 
 ..v.o..>.. 
 
 sible. Some aromatic herbs are frequently scattered 
 with the salt. Juniper berries are also sometimes 
 beaten in a mortar and applied with the salt, in the 
 proporliou of three pounds weight to the hogshead. 
 A board, titled to the cask is to be laid on the top, 
 and heavy weights are to remain upon it. In fourteen 
 or twenty days, a fermentation will commence. 
 When entirely covered with it's own fermented wa- 
 ter, it is fit for use. A portion may be then taken out, 
 which wash thrice in pure cold water ; drain and 
 squeeze it well; then stew it for three hours, without 
 any water. Some fry onions cut small in butter, and 
 after the Sour Crout is put on the dish, the onions 
 are poured over it. The dish is then served up and 
 eaten with dumplings. Jf any be left it may be warm- 
 ed up a second time, with butter, and in this state 
 some prefer it to the former. Turnips may be pre- 
 served the same way ; as also a species of the Kid= 
 ney-bean, with very large pods. 
 
 Tobacco. The use of tobacco is in every forni 
 pernicious. If smoked or chewed, much of the saliva> 
 so necessary for digestion, is lost, and the organs of 
 taste are injured. Taking snuff is a bad cus* 
 
 tom, as respiration is obstructed by it, the important 
 sense of smell destroyed, and uncleanlinessand want 
 of health induced. In Mr. De Bomare's words, 
 **The least evil which you can expect it to produce, 
 is to dry up the brain, emaciate the body, enfeeble 
 the memoryj and destroy the delicate sense of smel- 
 ling." '* Merchants frequently lay this herb in bog* 
 houses, that becoming impregnated with the volatile 
 salt of the excrements, it may be rendered brisker, 
 stronger, and more fetid." — A Treatise on the danger 
 ef using this herb hy Simon Paidli, physician to th6 
 A
 
 08 LEAVES. 
 
 ••*■<>••>■• 
 
 King oj Denmark. ''- A dealer in this article," says 
 
 » writer in the ''Analytical Review," June 17.97, "once 
 acknowledged to me that he sprinkled his rolls and 
 leaves frequently with stale urine to keep them moist, 
 and to preserve the flavour ! A friend of mine, whose 
 curiosity led him to see tobacco-spinning, observed 
 that the boys who opened out the dry plants, had a 
 Yessel of urine by them witji which they moistened 
 the leaves, to prepare them for the spinner ! Do the to- 
 bacco-chewers know this, and yet continue in this 
 most abominable and disgraceful practice? Can a^ 
 ny person think of the above impune, with a quid in 
 his mouth?" The poisonous nature of the oil of 
 
 Tobacco has been observed by several, and particu- 
 larly by Fontana, in his Treatise on Poisons, vol. ii, e- 
 dit. 1795. He made many experiments on this herb 
 and ranks it wnth the veg-etable poisons. A single drop 
 of the chemical oil of tobacco being put on the tongue 
 of a cat produced violent convulsions, and killed her 
 jn the space of a minute. A thread dipped in the 
 same oil, and drav/n through a wound made by a 
 jieedle in an aninial, killed it in the space of seven 
 minutes. — Jones's Medical Erroj's rejuted. 
 That tobacco is unfriendly to animal life may be va- 
 riously proved. A poultice of it laid to the pit of 
 the stomach, proves dreadfully emetic in a short time. 
 An ointment made ofbutter and snuff, and applied to 
 the sore or broken out head of a child of seven years, 
 has produced spasms in the stomach, violent retch- 
 ings, and incessant vomitings. The loss of 
 time in the amusement of smoking is a serious con- 
 sideration with those who value time. Many people 
 spend three or four hours of the day in this employ- 
 iwent, The ^reat virtues of a pipe taken in thg
 
 LEAVES. 39' 
 
 ■■<■<>->■• 
 
 morning fasting, are extolled by many; " because," 
 say they, *' it brin2[s a quantity of cold phlegm from 
 the stomach," Without insisting, that nothing can 
 be taken out of the stomach except by vomiting, it 
 may be observed, that the substance which is thus 
 hawked up, is the mucus and saliva, which are not 
 less requisite in their respective places, than the blood 
 itself. Every medical man knows well, that the sail- 
 va which is copiously drained off by the quid and 
 pipe, is the prime and greatest agent which nature 
 employs in digesting food. No young person, 
 
 especially of a lean habit, should smoke ; (for tho' it 
 may have some beneficial etfects to persons of gross, 
 phlegmatic, and corpulent habits, and to such as are 
 liable to catarrhs, during chilly and damp weather, if 
 moderately taken,) it is to them extremely detriment-' 
 al; besides, by this practice many contract the dis- 
 gusting habit of parting with their saliva every min** 
 ute; and have eventually smoked themselves into a 
 consumption. ^' A person of my acquaintance," 
 
 says Mr. Adam Clarke (the author of a Dissertation 
 on Tobacco), " had been an immoderate snuff-taker' 
 for upwards of forty years, was frequently afHicted 
 ■with a sudden suppression of breathing, occasioned 
 by a paralytic state of the muscles, which serve for* 
 respiration ; these affections grew more and more a- 
 larming and seriously threatened her life. The only 
 relief she obtained in these situations, was from tak- 
 ing cold water. At length she left off snuff, the mus^ 
 cles re-acquired their proper tone; and in a short 
 time she was entirely cured of a disorder occasioned 
 solely by her attachment to the snuff-box, and to^ 
 vhich she had nearly fallen a martyr,"
 
 40 
 
 ROOTS. 
 
 Artichoke, Jerusalem (Helianthus tuberth 
 fus). This plant, which is a native of America, 
 thrives well in our gardens. It is a species of sun- 
 ilower. The roots consist of knots, tubercles, or bulbs, 
 which in a good soil run to a considerable size, and 
 when baked, roasted, or boiled, become perfectly 
 rnealy, like potatoes : they are rather sweeter, but 
 are quite as wholesome and nutritious, and might on 
 all occasions be used in their stead. In favourable 
 situations the number of bulbs which this plant pro- 
 duces is considerable; and the leaves would become 
 fodder for cattle. Mr. Peters, the author of 
 
 ** Winter Riches," 1772, asserts, that from one acre 
 of ground, he obtained between seventy and eighty 
 tons of this root. He is of opinion, that seven acres 
 will yield three hundred and ninety six tons. Anoth- 
 er celebrated agriculturist found the produce of this 
 root to be about four hundred and eighty bushels, 
 Winchester measure, per acre, without any dung. 
 When these roots are given to horses, they should 
 be washed, and ground in an apple mill: the propor- 
 tion given at each time is eight pounds, with two 
 ounces of salt, and a bite of hay, thrice daily. 
 The chief recommendations of this root are the cer- 
 tainty of a crop ; it's flourishing almost upon any soil ; 
 not requiring manure, and being proof against the se^ 
 verest frosts. The culture is the same as that of po- 
 tatoes. This root is one of the best that ct(n 
 l)§ qiade use of in soups.
 
 ROOTS. 41 
 
 ••<■■•©■••>» 
 
 Alt ROW-HE AD, common (Sagittaria sagittifo^ 
 tia), is one of those neglected plants, which tho* 
 growing wild in many parts of England, especially 
 on the banks of rivers, are not converted to any use* 
 fui purpose. It is represented in English Bolaiiyi 
 p. 84. The root of the Arrow-liead is compos- 
 
 ed of numerous strong fibres, which strike into the' 
 mud ; the footstalks of the leaves are of a length pro- 
 portionate to the depth of the water in which the/ 
 grow; they are thick, iungous, and sometimes three 
 feet high. It's sharp pointed leaves resemble thg 
 point of an arrow, and float upon the water. At the 
 lower extremity of the root, there is always, even ill 
 it's wild state, a bulb which grows in the solid clay^ 
 beneath the muddy stratum. This esculent 
 
 root is industriously cultivated in China and Ameri- 
 ca, where it attains to the size of several inches in di^ 
 ameter; while, in this country, of which it is a wd^ 
 live, we suffer it to undergo spontaneous dissolution* 
 As it constitutes a considerable part of the Chinese 
 diet, no reason can be alledged, why it should not 06 
 resorted to in times of scarcity, when a poor cottager^ 
 in some parts of the country, might in one day, with 
 his family, collect a sufficient quantity of these nour* 
 ishing and palatable roots, to serve them a fort-* 
 night, as excellent substitutes for bread. With, re^ 
 spect to the manner of dressing and preparing such 
 vegetables, we shall give the necessary directions un- 
 der the article Bread. The Arrow-head fe^ 
 quires a low, cold, marshy situation, and a claye/ 
 soil, where scarcely any other plant would thrive* 
 Here it grows luxuriantly, and produces an oblongs 
 thick, bulbous root, which, from it's mealy nature^ 
 may be easily converted into starch, or fiour. Tht're 
 4*
 
 4$ ROOTS. 
 
 ^re two methods of propagating this beneficial plant ; 
 either by the wild growing fibres of the root, or by 
 the seed; and we earnestly recommend it's culture, 
 from a conviction of it's great utility. 
 
 Beet. The red Beet. (Beta vulgaris.) This 
 root, when well boiled or roasted, affords considera- 
 b1^' nourishment. On account of it's sweetness, it re- 
 quires to be seasoned with a little vinegar, in order to 
 be adapted more agreeably to the palate. It may be 
 eaten with cheese. A little ginger prevents it from ly- 
 ing heavy on the stomach and from being too loosening, 
 
 GiCHORY. Succory or wild Endive. (Cichor' 
 ium hilyhus.) The roots of this plant, gathered be- 
 fore the stems shoot up, and boiled, are wholesome 
 »iid nourishing. 
 
 Dandelion. Pissabed. (Leoiitodon Taraxa- 
 cum.) The roots of this vegetable, so common in ev- 
 ery hedge and field, are deprived of their hot and 
 pungent quality, and of most of their bitterness (in- 
 cleed of all that is disagreeable) by boiling or stewing. 
 Thus prepared, they are like Cichory, salutary and nu- 
 tritious, and deserve to be brought to the table as much 
 as any of our garden roots. They are greatly valu- 
 ed abroad ; and we are told, that when a swarm of 
 locusts once destroyed the harvest in the island of 
 Minorca, many of the inhabitants subsisted upon 
 this plant. 
 
 LiQu o R IG E . (Glycyrrhha glabra.) This root, 
 which is cultivated in some parts of England, when 
 dried and reduced to powder, may be made into 
 <?akeS; with a double or triple quantity of flour. These 
 cakes are very palatable and wholesome. 
 
 Onion. (Allium Cepa.) This is a well known 
 VJiplespiue and uutritious root, especially when boi^
 
 ROOTS. 43 
 
 ed or roasted. Garlick, Shallots, and the other sorts 
 oi Alliiwi, are to be considered rather as seasonings, 
 or medicines, than as food. The Turks are 
 
 so fond of Onions tliat they eat them roasted, as we 
 do bread, and hope to be indulged with them in Par- 
 adise. This root was also a grtat favourite with the 
 Egyptians. In Spain they are very mild, and a root 
 ■weighing two pounds will grow from a single seed. 
 
 They are best when boiled, being rendered there^^ 
 by mild, easy of digestion, and go off without leaving 
 any disagreeable heat on the stomach or in the bow- 
 els. A few raw parsley leaves, eaten immediately af- 
 ter this root, will effectually, it is said, overcome the 
 scent communicated to the breath. The Leek 
 
 is used as a pot herb in most parts of Britain, espec- 
 ially in Wales and Scotland. It is an excellent ingre- 
 dient in soups. 
 
 The Orchis root, if introduced into common 
 use, would furnish a cheap, wholesome, and most nu- 
 tritious article of diet, and the growth of it provesuffi- 
 ciently profitable to the farmer. It is assiduously cul- 
 tivated in the East ; and it's root forms a considerable 
 part of the diet of the inhabitants of Turkey, Persia, 
 and Syria. From it is made the alimentary powder 
 called SALE p ; which, prepared from foreign roots, is 
 sold at five or six shillings per pound, though it might 
 befurnished by ourselves at the sixth part of that price. 
 The Orchis mascula is most valued for this purpose. 
 A dry and not very fertile soil is best adapted to it's 
 growth. The properest time for gathering the roots 
 is when the seed is formed, and the stalk ready to 
 fall ; because the new bulb of vvhich the salep is made, 
 is when arrived at it's full maturity, and may be dis- 
 tinguished from the old ojie, by a white bud rising
 
 44 KooTSs 
 
 ••<••<>■>•• 
 from the top of it, which is the germ of the otchis of 
 the succeeding year. This time also is proper for 
 transplanting them. They should be put three inch- 
 es deep in the earth. The nots, alter they are 
 gathered, are to be well washed, and freed from the 
 line brown sicin, w'hich covers them, by means of a 
 small brush, or by dipping them in hot water, and 
 rubbing them with a coarse cloth. After the roots 
 have been thus cleansed they are to be put on a tin 
 plate in a hot oven for ten minutes, till they assume 
 the appearance of horn^ then laid for a few days to 
 dry, and afterwards ground to a powder. Each 
 ounce of this powder added to the hot water with 
 which bread is to be kneaded, will increase the bulk 
 and weight of the loaf six ounces; adding to it also 
 the appearance of lightness. There is not any known 
 vegetable substance, which in so small a compass con- 
 tains so much nutriment. One single spoonful of sal- 
 ep, weighing less than a quarter of an ounce, put in- 
 to a pint of boiling water, forms the thickest and 
 most nourishing soup that can betaken. It is therefore 
 often j)acked with portable soup and kept on board 
 ships, to be used for the sick, and in case of failure 
 of provisions. One ounce of salep powder and one 
 ounce of portable soup, prepared in two quarts of 
 boiling water will support the health and strength 
 of a lusty man for a day. Salep has the singular 
 property of concealing the taste of salt water, and is 
 good in milk pottage when tlie cow is fed on grains, 
 because it very much retards the acetous fermenta- 
 tion. Tdke a quart of water, boil it a quarter 
 of an hour, then add one quarterof anounce ofsalep- 
 powder, and let it boil gently for half an hour longer. 
 Stirring it often. This may be drank with bread and
 
 ROOTS. 45 
 
 ■■<■■<>■■>■• 
 
 butter in the manner of Coftee, Tea, or Chocolate, 
 and is infinitely preferable. It may be sweetened and 
 seasoned with wine and lemon-juice, or with cinna^ 
 mon, &c. Salep-powder answers much the same 
 
 purpose in puddings that eggs do, or the glutenous 
 water from boiled bran, rendering very little liower 
 necessary. Salt is not a seasoning for salep-pow- 
 
 der ; yet it is disagreeably tasteless without sugar or 
 some other seasoning. — Dr PercivaVs Essays, vol. 2. 
 
 Parsley. (Apium Petroselinum.) Parsley 
 roots, when well boiled, afford a light nourishment. 
 The large-rooted parsley, (cultivated in the gardens 
 round London, and which was first introduced into 
 this country from Holland, by Mr. Miller, in the 
 the year 1727) is a valuable vegetable. The roots of 
 this sort run to the size of an ordinary carrot, and are 
 very sweet and tender. They may be eaten alone, 
 boiled or stewed, or used in soups. 
 
 Parsnep. The garden Parsnep. (Pastinacasa' 
 tiva.) A well-known wholesome and very nutritive 
 root ; but disagreeable to many palates on account 
 ofit'ssweetness, which, however, may be easily correct- 
 ed by seasoning it with vinegar. A small quantity of 
 pepper, or other spice, is further useful, preventing 
 it from proving flatulent to some constitutions, which 
 U otherwise does, sometimes, when eaten freely. 
 They contain a considerable quantity of sugar, 
 and are among the most pleasant and nutritive of 
 roots. They may be kept for ten years, if rendered 
 hard by drying ; and by boiling in water their primi- 
 tive taste and goodness are recovered. The 
 yellow kind is preferred, being less string}'. It is eat-? 
 en with milk to cure the consumption and scurvy. 
 The tops, when young, make very pleasant greens^ 
 ;jnd the tender sprouts excellent sallad.
 
 46 ROOTS. 
 
 •••«-0">- 
 
 PoTATOE, (Solanum tuberosum.) The good 
 effects of this root are fully proved by the daily use 
 which whole nations make of them. The faculty of 
 medicine at Paris, says Mr. Parmentier, being consult- 
 ed by the Comptroller-general on the wholesomeness 
 of Potatoes, which had been charged with causing 
 diseases in some of the provinces, made a report 
 highly favourable, and calculated to dissipate all ap- 
 prehensions. In the most populous provinces of Ger-* 
 many many millions of men subsist almost entirely on 
 this food. The chief nourishment of the Irish consists 
 of potatoes, who are robust, and strangers to many dis- 
 eases; their country abounds with aged people, and 
 twins are commonly seen playing about the hut of 
 the peasant. Potatoes, in their natural state, 
 
 contain three distinct and essential principles, viz, 1, 
 a dry powder, resembling the starch contained in 
 grain ; 2, a light fibrous matter of a gray colour, and 
 of the same nature as that contained in the roots of 
 pot herbs; 3, a mucilaginous juice, which has no 
 peculiar properties, but may be compared to the 
 juice of succulent plants, such as borage and bugloss. 
 On distilling potatoes in a retort, they give out an 
 immense quantity of water, which towards the end of 
 the process becomes more and more acid ; there next 
 passes a light and heavy oil, resembling that general- 
 ly obtained from the parts of 'plants containing 
 flour. A pound of these roots leaves scarcely thir- 
 ty-six grains of earthly residuum which has all the 
 characters of vegetable earth. The boiling of these 
 roots tends to combine these different principles more 
 ultimately, and to form a whole more soluble and of 
 easier digestion. To divide the potatoes afterwards 
 by means of a grater or to set them under the press
 
 ROOTS. 47 
 
 ••♦•■©••>- 
 
 would be to no purpose: it would be impossible to 
 express a single drop of water, or to precipitate a 
 particle of starch. The vililiers of" this inesti- 
 
 mable plant, have imputed several diseases to it, de- 
 duced from the circumstance of the vessel, in which 
 they have been boiled, being coloured green and 
 leaving a slight acrimony, sufficiently sensible to the 
 throat. But these properties do not belong to any 
 part of the root besides the external red skin. Sever-, 
 al other roots present the same phoenomena, such as 
 radishes, which lose their colour as they come in 
 contract with boiling water, tinging it with a green 
 hue, and at the same time parting with their well- 
 known pungency ; besides this colouring matter, with 
 which the skin of the potatoe furnishes water, is sim- 
 ply extractive, and contains nothing virulent or sa- 
 line. How can this green colour be noxious, 
 since roasted potatoes, which retain it, are not found 
 less wholesome than boiled ones? Prepared in the 
 former manner they are more savoury and delicate; 
 an advantaj;e arising from the dissipation of the aque- 
 ous tluid and perhaps trom the same extractive mat- 
 ter which communicates the green colour to water. 
 The vegetable kingdom'atibrds no food more whole- 
 some, more easily procured, or less expensive than the 
 potatoe. The eagerness with which children eat it; 
 the preference they give it to many other kinds of 
 food ; and persons of all ages and temperaments feed- 
 ing on it without experiencing the slightest inconve- 
 nience; shew that it is well adapted to the constitu- 
 tion of man. Every author who has paid attention 
 to the nature and culture of potatoes regards them as 
 light and nutritious, and bestows the most ap- 
 proving epithets on then>. Another objection
 
 48 ROOT3. 
 
 against the wholesomeness of potatoes, is/that, asthejf 
 belong to the family of Solanum, they must needs pos- 
 sess narcotic properties. Experience has long since 
 shewn how little such botanical analogies are to be 
 depended on. Is it not well known that the family of 
 convolvulus, which is generally acrimonious, pungent* 
 and caustic, and supplies medicine with it's most 
 drastic purgatives, affords in the Batata a mild sac- 
 charine aliment, which, to be used for food, needs 
 only to be boiled? Indeed says Dr. Lettsom, a 
 well boiled or roasted mealy potatoe is at once a 
 a little loaf, and forms the cheapest substitute for that 
 of wheat. The potatoe possesses the valua- 
 
 ble property of improving the quality and increas- 
 ing the quantity of the milk of animals. 
 
 There is nothing that would tend more to pro- 
 mote the consumption of potatoes, than to have the 
 proper mode of preparing them as food generally 
 known. In London this is little attended to ; where- 
 as in Lancashire and Ireland, the boiling of potatoes 
 is brought to very great perfection. When prepar- 
 ed in the following manner, if tiie quahty of the root 
 be good, they may be eaten as bread, a practice not 
 unusual in Ireland. The potatoes should be as much 
 as possible of tiie same size, the large and small ones, 
 boiled separately. They must be washed clean, and, 
 without paring or scraping, put in a pot with cold 
 water, not sufficient to cover them, as they will pro- 
 duce, themselves, before they boil, a considerable 
 quantity of fluid. They do not admit of being put 
 into boiling water like greens. If the potatoes are 
 large it will be necessary, as soon as they begin to boil, 
 to throw in some cold water, and occasionally to re- 
 peat it, till the potatoes are boiled to the heart; they
 
 ROOTS. 49 
 
 will otherwise crack and burst in pieces on the out- 
 side, whilst the inside will be nearly in a crude state. 
 During the operation of boiling, to thro'v in a little 
 salt occasionally is found a great improvement ; and 
 the slower they are cooked the better. When boiled, 
 pour off the water, and evaporate the moislare, by re- 
 placing the vessel in which the potatoes were boiled, 
 once more over the fire. This makes their; remark- 
 ably dry and mealy. They should be eaten as bread. 
 
 Nothing but experience can satisfy any one, how- 
 superior the potatoe is thus prepared, if the sort be 
 good and mealy. Some prefer roasting potatoes ; but 
 this mode is equal, if not superior. Some have tried 
 boiling potatoes in steam, thinking by that process 
 that they must imbibe less water. But immersion in 
 water causes the discharge of a certain substance 
 "which the steam alone is incapable of doing, and by 
 retaining which, the flavour of the root is injured ; 
 and they afterwards become dry by being put over 
 the fire a second time without water. — Frotii a Re- 
 port of the Board of Agriculture. Potatoes be- 
 
 ing properly boiled and skinned, may be cut into 
 thin slices, and the same sauce which is commonly 
 used for salads of lettuce, poured over them. Some 
 mix anchovies with this sauce. Boiled potatoes cut 
 in slices, fried in butter, and seasoned with salt and 
 pepper is a palatable and wholesome dish. 
 Roasted potatoes will keep in that state many years, 
 and when grated down will be found perfectly sweet 
 and as fit for making soup as on the day they were 
 roasted. 
 
 Potatoes and Cabbage. Potatoes, boiled 
 with one third or one fourth part of white cabbage, 
 and one or more onions, and mashed with a very 
 
 5
 
 50 ROOTS. 
 
 ••<■■<>••>" 
 
 small quantity of butter, pepper and salt, is an excel- 
 lent dish, extremely cheap, palatable and nourishing, 
 and very wholesome food for children. This 
 
 dish may be found at the tables of the opulent on ac- 
 count of it's excellency, and yet it is happily accessi- 
 ble to every poor person. It should never be forgot- 
 ten when the large drum cabbages are in season. 
 
 A potatoe-apple was hung to dry in the month of 
 March. The small seeds were separated by wash- 
 ing in water. Three of those seeds were dried and 
 in the latter end of April sowed in a lightish ground, 
 rather moist, mixed with rotten straw, cut small. Af- 
 ter some time the plants were slightly moved, without 
 separating the earth from the roots, and grew till the 
 beginning of November, when they were found to 
 have produced 203 full grown roots. 
 
 TheliADisH (Raphanussativus.) abounds with 
 an almost insipid watery juice, which, in some, in- 
 duces flatulency. The outer skin is briskly pun- 
 gent, and therefore should never be scraped off, as 
 it tends to correct the phlegmatic part. Boil- 
 
 ed radishes are scarcely exceeded by Asparagus; but 
 for this purpose they should be drawn rather small 
 and dressed immediately, like the Asparagus. They 
 require one hour's boiling before they become ten- 
 der. 
 
 Salsafy, or Purple Goat*s-beard. (Tra- 
 gopogon porrifolium.) The roots of this plant, which 
 grow wild in our meadows and pastures, and which 
 is also cultivated in many of our kitchen gardens, are, 
 when boiled, wholesome and nourishing. The same 
 may be said of the Yellow Goat's-beard, (Tra- 
 gopogon pratense) the roots of which taste like aspar- 
 agus, and are nearly as nutritious.
 
 ROOTS. 51 
 
 Skirret. (Slum Sisarum.) This plant is 
 much cultivated in our kitchen gardens. In a favour- 
 able soil, the roots grow to the length of six inches or 
 more, and become at least as thick as one's finger. 
 They are white and have a sweet taste, similar to that 
 of parsneps. When boiled, stewed, or fried, they are 
 tender and nutritious. They are frequently stewed 
 in miJk, and put into soups, which they serve to 
 thicken and flavour. 
 
 Turnip. {Brassica Rapa.^ A sweet mucila- 
 ginous and wholesome root; but by no means so 
 nutritious as the Potatoe, Jerusalem Artichoke, and 
 some other roots. 
 
 The Boiling of Vegetables thoroughly, 
 extricates a considerable quantity of air, and prevents 
 them from producing flatjlency. 
 
 Of Reducing Roots into Flour, for the 
 purpose of making Bread, &c.] Potatoe meal 
 
 or pulp, is made by mashing them with a rolling-pin, 
 while they are warm and moist from the boiler. 
 Besides potatoes, turnips, carrots, parsnips, 
 JERUSALEM ARTICHOKES, may in cases of neccessi- 
 ty be made into very good bread, by reducing them 
 to a pulp in the same manner as potatoes ; after which 
 they may be mixed up with flour of wheat, Indian 
 corn, rye, or other meal, according to the directions 
 for making potatoe-bread, under the article Breads. 
 It is certain that next to potatoes, carrots may be 
 reckoned among the most wholesome and nutritive 
 roots. Like potatoes, they are cultivated at little ex- 
 pense, and like them may be laid up in stores, and, 
 with proper management, be kept good throughout 
 the winter. The common way of preserving them, 
 by burying them in sand, is imperfect. The best
 
 52 ROOTS. 
 
 method is either to lay them up in beds lined with 
 straw and covered over with earth, as is practised with 
 potatoes; or else to pile them up against a wail, in a 
 store-room or other dry place, in even rows, upon 
 each other. In either case, it will be necessary to cut 
 off the tops of them before they are laid up, iest they 
 should sprout, 
 
 AoNTHER Method of making flour from these 
 roots, is as follows. Take full grown carrots, wash 
 them well, and cut or scrape off any parts of the out- 
 side which may not be thoroughly cleansed in the 
 washing. Then cut them into thin slices, in the same 
 manner as cucumbers are sliced for the table. Put 
 the sliced roots into sieves, and place them in the 
 sun, or before the fire, that all the moisture may drain 
 or evaporate from them. When they are become 
 quite dry and hard, they may be sent to the mill to 
 be ground down to meal. If they should not be 
 made completely hard and dry, by being exposed to 
 the sun or fire, they should be put in an oven, after 
 bread has been drawn out, and remain there for two 
 or three hours. This carrot-meal, mixed with twice 
 as much wheat flour, or one part wheat flour and 
 one part flour of Indian Corn, makes a very cheap, 
 savoury, and nourishing bread. In this man- 
 
 ner Succory, of Wild Endive may be sliced, 
 well dried, and ground down, so as to make, with a 
 proper proportion of wheat or rye flour, a wholesome 
 bread. 
 
 Starch of Roots. 
 After having well washed a quantity of raw potatoes, 
 in order to detatch from them the earthy adhering 
 matter, rasp them with a tin grater set in a wooden 
 vessel and resting over a fine sieve, which may be
 
 ROOTS. 55 
 
 emptied, when full, into a larger vessel. The potatoe 
 thus grated raw, affords a liquid paste, which grows 
 darker coloured on being exposed to the air ; pour 
 some water on this paste, and stir it about with a 
 stick or your hands, and pour the whole into a fine 
 sieve or bolter, placed over another vessel. The tur- 
 bid water which passes through, carries the starch 
 along with it, and deposits it at the bottom of the ves- 
 sel. The reddish vrater is to be thrown away, and 
 fresh quantities are to be added till it be no longer 
 tinged. When the powder has settled to the buttoni 
 of the vessel, after being well washed, the water should 
 be gently poured off, and the powder taken out, di- 
 vided into parcels, and spread upon boards exposed 
 to the sun, in order to dry gradually. As it dries, 
 the dirty gray colour will change to a shining white. 
 
 What remains upon the sieve may serve, like bran, 
 for feeding cattle or poultry In like manner 
 
 Starch may be made from the roots of Skirret. 
 Starch is contained, says Mr. Parmentier, not only in 
 roots, bark, stalks, and seeds of vegetables, but in fruits 
 likewise. Most of the following seeds and roots have 
 never been thought to contain any alimentary prin- 
 ciple, because it was not known that they contained 
 starch ; that starch was the essential part of farinaceous 
 substances ; and that it may be separated from the oth- 
 er parts, and reduced to the form of bread ; they have 
 always been ranked among poisonous substances, in 
 which medicine has sought specifics, and the arts re- 
 sources, which have not always been confirmed by 
 observation and experiment. Take any of the 
 
 following roots, when ripe, strip them of their skin, 
 divide them by a grater, pour water on the grated 
 mass, which, as it passes through a close sieve or 
 
 3*
 
 5t ROOTS. 
 
 scarce, will carry along with it a matter which will 
 deposit itself gradually at the bottom of the wooden 
 or earthen vessel set to receive it: after some time, 
 pour off the liquor, and wash the deposited matter 
 repeatedly with fresh water, till it becomes perfectly 
 insipid ; then expose it to the most gentle heat; as it 
 becomes dry, it turns white, and presents a friable 
 matter, without colour, taste, or smell, exhibiting 
 all the characters that distinguish starch. 
 The plants intended for this purpose should be gath- 
 ered in autumn, be chosen fresh and succulent, clear- 
 ed from their hairy filaments and coloured coats ; they 
 should also be washed till the water appears quite 
 transparent and colourless. As all the bitter- 
 
 ness of the horse chesnut, the asperity of the acorn, 
 the causticity of thearumand ranunculuses, the burn- 
 ing acrimony of the bryony, &c. remain in the wa- 
 ter employed to separate and wash the starch, it is 
 proper to use wooden instruments to stir the mixture, 
 as the hands might be injured. The Starch separat- 
 ed from the following seeds and roots, when well 
 washed and dried, is perfectly indentical: but it is 
 not sulBcient to separate it from the substance in 
 which it is contained ; it is also requisite to give di- 
 rections how to convert it into food. It may be in- 
 troduced, either alone or mixed with the pulp of po- 
 tatoes, into the dough of various grains, to make 
 an addition to the quantity of bread. Bread may be 
 made without flour of any kind by this process ; but 
 if the potatoe should also fail, the pulpous fruits of 
 the cucurbitaceous family, such as the pompkin, 
 which are sometimes added to wheaten dough in va- 
 rious proportions, may be substituted : lastly, should 
 every other resource, in times of scarcity, fail, the
 
 ROOTS. 55 
 
 -♦■•<>••>- 
 
 starch representing flour, would still serve for food ; it 
 would be sufficient to dilute it in some vehicle, in or- 
 der to obtain a very nutritious broth or jelly. 
 I have used, says Mr. Parmentier, the several starches 
 extracted from the follov.ing plants, without distinc- 
 tion, nor was it possible to tell from which it had been 
 procured: when there is a slight difference percepti- 
 ble injthe taste, smell, orcolour, itshouid beattributed 
 to the number of washings rather than to any essen- 
 tial difference of quality. 
 
 The Acorn, 
 
 The Horse Chesnut. 
 The roots only of the following vegetables afford 
 starch inconsiderable quantity. 
 
 Common Burdock, 
 Deadly Nightshade, 
 Bistort Snakeweed, 
 White Bryony, 
 Meadow Saffron, 
 Meadow-Sweet, 
 Masterwort, 
 Black Henbane, 
 
 Arctium Lappa. 
 Atropa Belladonna. 
 Polygonum Bistorta^ 
 BryoJia alba. 
 Colcliicu7n autumnale. 
 Spirica fdipendula. 
 Imperaloria Os truth turn. 
 Hijoscyainus niger. 
 
 Pimpernel-leaved Dropwort, (Enanthe Pimpinelloides. 
 
 Obtuse leaved Dock, 
 Sharp-leaved Dock, 
 
 AVater Dock, 
 
 Wake Robin, 
 Bulbous Crowfoot, 
 Knotted Figwort, 
 Dwarf Elder, 
 Common Elder, 
 Common Flag, 
 Stinking Flag, 
 
 Rumex 
 
 Rumex ohtusifolius. 
 Rumex acutus. 
 
 C Aquaticus. 
 
 \ Brittanica. 
 Arum maculatum. 
 Ranunadus bulbosus. 
 Scrophularia nodosa. 
 Sumbucus ebulus, 
 Satnbucus 7iigra. 
 Iris pseudacorus. 
 Irisfcetidissijna.
 
 66 
 
 MISCELLANEOUS VEGETABLE SUBSTANCES. 
 
 Gum-Arabic. This valuable gum, which is 
 largely imported into this country, exudes from the 
 trunk and branches of a tree of the Acacia tribe, 
 ■which grows naturally in Arabia, and is called by- 
 naturalists, Mimosa nilotica. In nutrimental quali- 
 ties it agrees with Salep, made from the Orchis root. 
 It is however more mucilaginous, and, weight for 
 weight, even more nutritive than the dried Orchis 
 root. There are daily instances, says Dr. Lind, of per- 
 sons being supported for many months by gum ar- 
 able alone. Mr. Hasselquist, in his voyage to 
 the Levant, relates an instance of the extraordinary 
 nutritive virtues of this gum, which happened to the 
 Abyssinian caravan, in t740, whose provisions were 
 consumed, when they had still two months to travel. 
 " They were then obliged to search for something 
 among their merchandise, wherewith they might sup- 
 port nature; and found nothing more proper than 
 gum arabic, of which they had carried a considerable 
 quantity along with them. This served to support 
 above one thousand persons for two months ; and the 
 caravan at last arrived at Cairo without any great loss 
 of people either i)y hunger or diseases." Whole negro 
 towns have subsisted on this gum, during a scarcity of 
 other provisions, occasioned by failures of their crops 
 of millet and rice. And the Arabs, who twice a year 
 collect this gum in the inland forests on the north- 
 side of the river Niger, have no other provisions to 
 live upon for some months. It may be used in vari'.
 
 MISCELLANEOUS SUBSTANCES. 57 
 
 •■<•••<>•>•• 
 
 ous ways, dissolved in water, or in rnilk. It may 
 also be employed with great advantage for mixing 
 oily liquids with water. Such mixtures are exceed- 
 ingly palatable and nourishing. Cherry-tree 
 Gum is nutritive, but in a less degree than Gum-Ar- 
 abic. 
 
 Tapioca. This is a mucilaginous substance ob- 
 tained from the roots of a species o{ Jatropha, or Cas- 
 sava, and is imported into this country from the West 
 Indies and South America. It is highly nutritious, 
 and requires no other preparation than to be moist- 
 ened w'ith hot water, or boiled therein. A little sug- 
 ar and spice, or wine, are palatable and wholesome 
 additions to it. By boiling it in milk, a thick pottage 
 or hasty pudding is obtained. This is very strength- 
 ening, but rather too heavy for delicate stomachs. 
 Tapioca may be made into puddings in the same 
 manner as rice. 
 
 Sago. This farinaceous substance is prepared 
 from the pith of a palm-tree which grows in the East 
 Indies, and to which botanists have atiixed the name 
 oi Cycas circinalis. An inferior sort, from a differ- 
 ent tree comes from the West Indies. Indeed the 
 pith of most of the palms is of a similar mucilagin- 
 ous and mealy nature, ^ago is prepared for the ta- 
 ble in the same manner as Tapioca, with which it coin- 
 cides in every respect. 
 
 Oil. Sweet Oil, or Salid Oil. This is obtain- 
 ed by pressure, from the ripe fruit of the olive tree. 
 (Oleo europcea.) In Italy, and the more southern 
 parts of Europe, it, in a great measure, supplies the 
 place of butter. By triturating it with a sufficient 
 quantity of Gum-arabic (previously made into a 
 thick jelly or mucillage with warm water) it may be
 
 SS OF PRESERVING VEGETABLES. 
 
 made to incorporate with water, so as to give a milky 
 liquor similar to that ah'eady mentioned under the 
 article Almonds. The proportion should be half 
 an ounce of oil, with one ounce of the jelly or muci- 
 lage of gum-arabic, to a quart of water. A little sug- 
 ar and aromatic seeds, such as carraway, will render 
 this liquor more palatable, and prevent any nausea. 
 This, like the almond-emulsion, might supply the 
 place of milk, and supercede the use of tea. 
 
 Of the foregoing substances it should be remarked 
 that tho' Gum-Arabic, Tapioca, Sago, and Sweet-Oil, 
 be sold at high prices, in estimating their expense, we 
 should attend, not so much to their bulk, as to their 
 nutritive qualities; which, in some of them, is eight 
 or tenfold greater than that of flour or other meal. 
 
 OF PRESERVING VEGETABLES. 
 
 A Method of Keeping Vegetables of eve- 
 ry Description in a sabid State, for many years, ex- 
 cepting Cucumbers and Radishes.] In the year 
 1772, Mr. Eisen, a Livonian clergyman, published in 
 the German language, a method of preserving veget- 
 ables in their fresh state. The substance of this in- 
 genious invention is given by Dr. Willich, in the fol- 
 lowing words, ** After numberless experiments made 
 with a view to ascertain the relative moisture contain- 
 ed in different plants, the excellent Mr. Eisen has 
 clearly convinced the world, by actual proofs laid 
 before Frederick the Great of Prussia, that " vegeta- 
 bles may be preserved in their natural state, so as to 
 retain their juices, their colour, taste, and alimentary
 
 OF PRESERVING VEGETABLES. 59 
 
 properties, for a series of years, by a proper method 
 of drying and packing them. This method 
 
 simply consists in drying them on a plastered floor, 
 or an oven, moderately heated by a fire made below 
 the structure; so as to avoid singeing or burning the 
 leaves, stalks, &c. ; the whole process being conduct- 
 ed in the manner about to be described, and requir- 
 ing no farther care in regulating the degrees oi' heat, 
 than is necessary in baking thin biscuits; provided 
 the former be exposed on their surface to the open 
 air, for dissipating the moisture, while the latter are 
 confined in an oven. In order to succeed com- 
 
 pletely in this useful business, the herbs and roots, as 
 -well as every species of fruit to be preserved, ought 
 first to be cleaned, either by wiping, washing, and 
 otherwise cleansing it in a manner similar to that 
 practised for culinary purposes. The water should 
 be completely drained, by placing the different artic- 
 les on sieves or frames on which canvas is expanded, 
 or perforated boards, or similar contrivances. Af- 
 ter repeatedly turning the leaves, stalks, or fruits, so 
 that each side may become dry, they must be spread 
 over a floor or oven, constructed on the principle be- 
 fore mentioned, till all their moisture be thoroughly 
 evaporated; for, if the least humidity remain with- 
 in the substance of such vegetables, they will become 
 mouldy and corrupted. The best criterion for ascer- 
 taining the due degree of exsiccation, is that of the 
 stalk breaking readily, and the leaves being easily 
 reduced to powder between the lingers. In this 
 shrivelled state, however, they could neither be pack- 
 ed nor conveniently transported : hence, it will be 
 proper to remove them previously to a cellar, or 
 other damp place^ till they have become so pliable by
 
 60 OF PRESERVING VEGETABLES. 
 
 absorpsion of moisture, as to be compressed without 
 crumbling to pieces. This degree of humidity, is, 
 acording to experience, not detrimental to the pres- 
 ervation of the plants, and in it's effects very different 
 from that retained in their interior parts. Next, the 
 vegetables thus prepared, ought to be packed either 
 in strong paper, formed in the manner adopted with 
 tobacco-leaves, or in wooden boxes which have been 
 completely dried ; as otherwise they will acquire the 
 flavour peculiar to the wood. If the directions here 
 given, be strictly followed, vegetables may not only 
 be preserved for a long time, without losing any of 
 their essential propeities, but they may also be re- 
 duced to the 16th, or 20th, or even to the 24th part 
 of their natural bulk. Eight tons, or 32,000 pounds of 
 fresh herbs and roots, may be thus concentrated in- 
 to the compass of 16 cwt. or the twentieth part of 
 their bulk, so that a single horse might remove vvith 
 ease what otherwise would have required the united 
 efforts of twenty. When such provisions are to be 
 dressed, it will be necessary either to infuse them for 
 a short time in hot water, before they be exposed to 
 the tire ; or, to steep them, particularly leguminous 
 fruits, in cold water, so that they may swell to near- 
 ly their natural size; after which they may be treat- 
 ed in every respect like other culinary substances." — 
 Domestic Encyclopdccia. 
 
 On a small scale. Cherries, Plums, &c. may be 
 dried, by placing them on hurdles, madefor the pur- 
 pose, and put into an oven after the bread is drawn 
 out. The fruit should be sound and ripe, with the 
 stalks on, and not laid upon each other in drying. 
 Let them remain in the oven while there is any heat, 
 and if not sufHciently dry, put them in again at the
 
 OF PRESERVING VEGETABLES. 61 
 
 ••<-0->" 
 
 first opportunity. When quite cool, let them be tied 
 in bunches and kept in a dry place. The larg- 
 
 er fruitSj as peaches, should be split in halves, the 
 stone taken out, and when half dry, flattened on a 
 clean board, to make them dry equally. 
 Pears would be belter if peeled, and the stalks left ori; 
 The kernels of the peach, apricot and plumb ; are e- 
 qual to the bitter almond in puddings. 
 
 A simple but effectual Mode of Preserving Po^ 
 T ATOES, without Fire, sweet and good, for a great 
 Length of Time. 
 
 Take, for instance, on a small scale, 3| lb. of po- 
 tatoes, and having peeled and rasped, or groimd, or 
 beaten them in a wooden mortar, they then are to he 
 put into a coarse cloth, bet-veen two clean boards ia 
 a cheese, or linen press, or any other strong pressure 
 which can be increased by degrees, till the pulp be 
 reduced to a dry cake, hardly so thick as a verv 
 thin cheese. The cake may be placed on a shelf^ ag 
 oil cakes are, to dry. To the juice, expressed from 
 the potatoes, which will be about a quart, if the same 
 quantity of water be added, and suffered to stand a- 
 bout an hour, grains of very white starch, or floury 
 will be deposited, proper for making fine pastry; 
 The juice may also be madfc into a very wholesome 
 and agreeable wine. A cake prepared in the preced- 
 ing manner in the year 1797, was produced, by Lang- 
 ford Millington, esq. in January ISOO, at a meet- 
 ing of the "Society for bettering the Condition of 
 the Poor." In size, it occupied a sixth of the com- 
 pass of the potatoes. In weight, it had lost about 
 two thirds by the process, but on being drest, either 
 by steam, or otherwise, siich cakes were found W
 
 §2 OF PRESERVING VEGETABLES. 
 
 produce very nearly the same weight and quantity of 
 ibod, as three pounds, and a half of potatoes, proper- 
 ly dressed for table would do. Some potatoes, 
 ^vhich were quite frozen, were prepared in this way. 
 The cake continued afterwards perfectly sweet, while 
 some that were left, and not pressed, rotted and 
 spoiled in a few days. 
 
 Another. Take five pounds of potatoes, and 
 \vithout peeling theni, let them be well cleaned and 
 pounded in a mortar. Then put them into a small wine 
 press, and squeeze them into a thin cake; completing 
 tlie process as before. The cake produced in this way 
 appears to be sweet and wholesome; but it has not 
 ihcLt clean whiie, which the other cakes have; nor has 
 it been ascertained whether it will keep as well as that 
 made of peeled potatoes. Tho' the peeling of 
 
 the cake be not absolutely necessary, yet it greatly 
 improves the cake; and the clearing tliem from all 
 discoloured and frost bitten specks appears to be 
 necessary. On a large scale, grinding them would 
 probably be an easier operation, unless the instru- 
 inent aj)plied in the West Indies tor rasping Cassada 
 bread should be made use of, which is cheap, simple, 
 and likely to answer the purpose. It is prob- 
 
 able that the cakes might be made at once, by merely 
 pressing the potatoes, without any previous prepara- 
 tion, by a very powerful mjichine. A cominon cy- 
 der press might be used ; or a cheese press, with a le- 
 ver added to increase it's pcwer. The most ma- 
 terial thing is to ascertain fully the best niode of pre- 
 paration and it's effect in preserving the root. Pro- 
 cesses for abridging labour are so speedily invented 
 and completed in England, that there can be little ap- 
 |)rehension but the mere mechanical process will very
 
 BREAbs. 63 
 
 ?o6n be made perfect, and adapted to general use. 
 On the invention itself, it will not be too much to say| 
 that if it's benefit were confined to supplying the Navy 
 of Great Britain, in every station of the globe, >vitli 
 abundance of this wholesome and nutritive vegetable, 
 it would be an object of no small moment ; but when 
 it is considered that it may be the means of saving in 
 an abundant season, for a time of scarcity, and of pre- 
 serving for years, an article of food so important, and 
 subject to decay ; that the potatoe so prepared mav 
 be packed in one-sixth of it's former space, and suppiv 
 not only our navy, but our manufactures, and our 
 Soldiers at home and abroad ; and that it may afiford 
 acceptable employment, within doors, for the poor^ 
 during the severest part of the winter, it will appear td 
 be deserving of great attention. 
 
 BREADS. 
 
 Of all the aliments Bread holds the principal 
 place. It's use is proper at all seasons, and it is adapt- 
 ed to all constitutions, and may therefore be justlv 
 denominated an universal aliment. The texture of 
 the parts of bread is admirably adapted to the nature 
 of the nutricious juices; for it is mixed with mild^; 
 oily, and mucilaginous particles, and also with a sub- 
 tile acid salt, which is very grateful to the stomachy 
 and quickens the dissolving power of the juices. But 
 as all bread is not made of one and the same grain, 
 so one kind of bread is preferable to another, with 
 regard to it's healthful qualities. The best and most 
 nourishing bread is made of rye-meal, not very while j
 
 pi, BREADS. 
 
 ..<..<y..>- 
 
 but mixed with the smaller and finer parts of the 
 bran. For blackish coarse bread yields by distillation 
 jnore oil, which has a more agreeable flavour, and 
 rnore effectually recruits strength, than that drawn 
 from line bread. — Di' Hoffman on Aliments. 
 Bread, or something resembling it, makes a part of 
 the diet of all nations. Hence it is emphatically A^- 
 \iom'\\\2i\.e<\ the staff of life. It may however prove 
 hurtful when taken to excess. The French consume 
 vast c^uantities of bread, but use also a copious pro- 
 portion of soups and fruits. The great art of 
 preparing food, is to blend the nutritive part of ali- 
 ment with a sufficient quantity of light substance. 
 Bread is an expensive mode of using grain, and is bur- 
 dened with the miller and baker's additional charges. 
 The former often grinds extraneous matter with the 
 wheat, and the latter as frequently bakes it with the 
 addition of lime, chalk, allum, and other pernicious 
 substances. The most wholesome bread is 
 made by grinding down the whole grain, and only 
 separating the coarser bran ; or what is called niesliyi 
 bread, consisting of wheat and rye ground together. 
 All the different kinds of grain are occasionally made 
 into bread, some giving the preference to one and 
 some to another, according to custom or prejudice. 
 The people of south Britain generally prefer bread 
 made of the finest wheat flour, while those of the 
 northern counties eat a mixture of flour and oatmeal 
 or rye-meal, and many give the preference to bread 
 made of oatmeal alone. The common people of Scot- 
 land also eat a mixed bread, but more frequently 
 bread of oatmeal only. In Germany the common 
 bread is made of rye, and the American labourer 
 thinks no bread so strengthening as that which is made
 
 SEE ads; C3 
 
 Cf Indian Corn ; nor can it be doubted but the laplarid- 
 er thinks his bread made of the bones of fishes is the 
 best of any. Bread made of different kinds of 
 
 grain is more wholesome than if made of one only, as 
 their qualities serve to correct each other. For exam- 
 ple; wheat flour, especially the finer kind, being of a 
 starchy nature, is apt to Occasion constipation. Bread 
 made of rye-meal, on the other hand, proves often toc^ 
 slippery for the bowels. For the active and laborious, a 
 mixtureof rye with the stronger grains, as pease, beans; 
 barley, oats, Indian corn, and the like, may be recom- 
 mended. They should be blended in different propor- 
 tions according to inclination or the preference of taste» 
 When potatoes, or boiled grain, are used, bread 
 ceases to be a necessary article of diet, a considera- 
 ble part of bread alone is improperly consumed by 
 children. When the child desires to eat, a piece of 
 bread is ready, and is put into it's hand to save the 
 trouble of making a more proper (ood.—Buchan ori 
 Diet. 
 
 The generality of English people, entertairJ a hof 
 tion that no vegetable substance, as an article of 
 food, is so proper as wheat-fiour, fermented and 
 baked. This is a great mistake; for, we repeat, that 
 the natives of the East, whoHve almost entirely upon 
 rice, enjoy as much health and strength as we do ; the 
 German peasants, who taste no other bread than such, 
 as is made of rye, are hardy and hale; the inhabitants 
 of the noi-thern parts of Sweden, and of some parts of 
 the Alps, vvhose bread is made of barley-meal, are 
 remarkable for enduring harshlps and iaW, and for 
 braving the inclemencies of their native clime. Iri 
 like manner, the Scotch Highlander, whose chief ali- 
 ment is oat cake, is distinguished by a stout and athlet-'
 
 BREADS. 
 
 \c frame; and lastly, the hard-working people of the 
 North of [reland, whose food is potatoes, surpass us in 
 strength as well as in size. In the Northern parts 
 
 of North America, the common household bread is 
 composed of one part of Indian meal and one partof 
 rye-meal. When it is mixed with wheat flour, it 
 will greatly improve the quality of the bread, if the 
 coarser part of the bran has been separated, previ- 
 pusly mixed with water, and boiled for two or three 
 hours. This boiling will take away a certain disa- 
 greeable raw taste, which simple baking does not so 
 effectually. 
 
 Of Grinding Wheat. 
 The great power of machinery at present in use, 
 together with the late improvements in cleaning the 
 -wheat before it be ground to flour, enable the nnllers 
 to grind the coarse flour so (ine, that the quality can- 
 not easily be discovered on inspection, either by the 
 fineness of the flour, or by the colour; and hence 
 they have opportunities of robbing the flour of a cer- 
 tain proportion of the soojah or roulan. This mode 
 of grinding is very prejudicial, as, from the severe 
 pressure of the stones, the flour is rendered dead ; a 
 term and quality well understood by bakers ; which 
 always v/ill be the case when the stones are set to fin- 
 ish the grinding at once. The perfection of making 
 ^our consists in grinding, at different times, and not 
 at once ; that is to say, the wheat should be ground, 
 the first time, so as to yield half it's weight in flour, 
 partof the coarse bran extracted, and the remainder 
 returned to the hopper to be reground ; all the sharps 
 to be constantly returned to be reground into flour. 
 Fiour thus ground is far better than that ground at 
 vnce^'^.Cochrmc's SeamaiCs Guide,
 
 breads. st 
 
 Means of discovering the real Fineness 
 
 AND Quality of Flour. 
 It has been a disideratum to ascertain the real 
 fineness and Cjuality of flour. The following experi^ 
 nient, if carefully made, will effectually check all 
 fraud ; and is therefore of the utmost consequence as 
 a guard against imposition. Take a pound of 
 
 flour, properly ground, of a standard quality of wheat, 
 and from which it is certain nothing has been extract- 
 ed. Moisten it with water, and make it into paste, 
 then knead it in pure water; which repeat at different 
 times, until the farinaceous parts are washed away, 
 and nothing but a substance like an elastic gum, 
 remains. Dry this and weigh it ; which weight 
 establish as the standard fineness of flour, bolted 
 through a cloth of certain fineness to a pound weight. 
 When the quality of any flour is to be tried, proceed 
 in that method, to see whether the proportion of the 
 gummy part be more or less than the standard. If less, 
 it hasJDeen robbed of so much of theroulan ; and the 
 quantity may be ascertained to the utmost nicety. 
 It will also discover, whether the flour has been adul- 
 terated by other grains, as wheat is the only grain 
 which contains that glutinous substance to any extent. 
 '"Cochrane^ s Seaman'' s Guide. 
 
 Adulteration of Bread 
 
 is owing, it has been asserted, to the legal distinc- 
 tions in the quality of it, and to our making colour 
 the standard of goodness. Dr. Darwin ob- 
 
 serves, that where much allum is mixed with the 
 bread, it may easily be distinguished by the eye: 
 when two loaves so adulterated, have stuck together
 
 63 BREAD?. 
 
 ••■<"0>" 
 
 in the oven, they break from each other, with a 
 much smoother surface, where they had adhered; 
 than those loaves do which contain no allum, 
 
 Mr. Dossie's General Directions for mak- 
 ing Bread. 
 
 The most simple and approved method of making 
 bread for household purposes, at the least expense, 
 is as follows : 
 
 Take Flour, 6 Pounds, 
 
 Water, 24 pints, in weight 2 pounds, S ounces, 
 
 — — Yeast, 4 ounces, or 8 spoonfuls, 
 Salt, 2 ounces. 
 
 Let the water be made warm, but not boiling hot, 
 and then hi a part of it be put into a vessel with the 
 yeast ; which should be well niixed with it by beat- 
 ting them together with a whisk. Let the salt be put 
 into th'e other part of the water and stirred in till it be 
 dissolved. Afterwards, add both the quantities of flu- 
 id gradually to the flour, and knead the mass well 
 till the whole be perfectly mixed. Let the dough, 
 thus made, stand for about four or five hours, or till 
 the exact moment of it's behig fully risen, and then 
 shaped into loaves, v^^hich must be placed immedi- 
 ately into the oven and baked. 
 
 Salt, when used in making bread, gives a dry, 
 hard quality to the loaf, it is a^efli.vow/;/^, which much' 
 destroys it's agreeable sweetness and moisture. 
 What is called laving bread in sponge, i. c. adding 
 the necessary quantity of yeast and water to the flour 
 a'n hour before you knead the whole mass, performs 
 the office of fermentation more effectually ; and if the 
 effervescent state of the barm be doubtful this mode 
 very much assists it,-
 
 BREADS. 69 
 
 In making bread, it has been ascertained, that if 
 five pounds of the bran be boiled in as much water 
 as will knead (allowing for waste) 56 lb. of tiour and 
 afterwards drained from the bran, and the flour 
 kneaded with the water drained therefrom, to the us- 
 ual consistence, adding thereto the common quantity 
 of yeast and salt, the loaves will weigh before baking 
 93 lb. 13 oz. after being baked 2 hours, and suffered 
 to cool, they will weigh 83 lb. 8 oz. The same quan- 
 tity of tiour made at the same time, in the common 
 way, produced 69 lb. 8 oz. The bran is as good 
 
 for fowls, &c. afterwards as ever. 
 
 French-Bread 
 
 is prepared in the following naanner. Take Haifa 
 bushel of the best wheaten flour, and dilute one pint 
 of good yeast with three quarts of warm water; let 
 the whole be properly mixed, and cover it with flan- 
 nel till the sponge be formed. After the dough has 
 sufBciently risen, six quarts of lukewarm skimmed 
 milk, and one pound of salt, are to be worked in 
 with the fingers, till the sponge be weak and ropy ; 
 when it must again be covered, and kept warm. The 
 oven being now made very hot, and the paste mouldr 
 ed into bricks or rolls, they are put in expeditiousr 
 Jy; the former requiring one hour and a half, but 
 the later only half an hour. As soon as the bread is 
 sutlficiently baked, it must be taken out. When the 
 milk is added to the sponge, two ounces of butter 
 is sometimes incorporated; but this addition being- 
 immaterial, it may be omitted. 
 
 Rice-Bread. 
 To make rice bread, whole rice boiled answers the
 
 70 fiREADS. 
 
 fiurpose nearly as well as the flour of it. Two pounds 
 of rice, when boiled, weighs four pounds ; it may 
 then be kneaded with wheat flour, or the meal of oats, 
 barley, rye, or ditferent proportions of them ; with 
 the usual additions in making bread, affords excellent 
 loaves ; this quantity of rice requires about a pint and a 
 half of meal Or flour. In London, natives of differ- 
 ent couiltries are attached to different kinds of grain ; 
 by this familiar mode of making bread every palate 
 might be gratified. Rice, in every composi- 
 
 tion is wholesome, and in the composition of bread 
 is very productive. The rice is to be previously 
 boiled in three times it's weight of water, which is 
 put to it cold. Thus, ten pounds and a half of flour, 
 (the quantity used in three quartern loaves) when 
 made into dough, with one pound and a half of 
 "whole rice, will produce six loaves instead of four. 
 
 Bread of IlrcE and Wheaten-flour. 
 
 Where the wheaten flOur is very good, and great at- 
 tention paid to the mixture, one pound of boiled 
 rice and three pounds of flour, will produce seven 
 pounds of bread; but, in general, one-fifth of rice is 
 the best proportion. The best mode of preparing it 
 is as follows. Set the sponge with six pounds 
 
 of flour, and One-third of a pint of well settled yeast, 
 mixed with a pint of warm water; put it in a warm 
 situation to ferment; then wash two pounds of rice, 
 and set it to boil in two gallons of water; when it 
 boils and thickens, pour in more water to prevent 
 the rice from sticking together, and when it is per- 
 fectly tender, and fully saturated with the wa- 
 ter, without running together, cool it on a coarse 
 sieve or cullender. The rice will require about an:
 
 BREADS. 71 
 
 ••♦••o~>- 
 
 hour and a half for the boiling; and when it is cool- 
 ed to the temperature of new milk, which will be 
 in about an hour and a half more, the sponge will 
 be risen so as to be formed into dough with it. Then 
 knead the whole well, and work in, gradually, a 
 handful of salt, and four pounds of flour. Leave the 
 dough to rise for two hours; it will then require a- 
 bout another pound of flour to make it into four slilf 
 loaves; put them immediately into the oven, and 
 bake them nearly three hours. The bread will keep 
 moist eight or ten days, and ought not to be eaten till 
 two or three days old. 
 
 Another. 
 
 Boil a quarter of a pound of rice till it be quite soft ; 
 then put it on the back part of a sieve to drain; 
 and when it is cold, mix withlit three quarters of a 
 pound of flour, a tea-cupful of yeast, a tea-cupful of 
 milk, and a small table spoonful of salt. Let it stand 
 for three hours : then knead it up ; and roll it in a- 
 bout a handful of flour, so as to make the outside dry 
 enough to tit it for the oven. About an hour and a 
 quarter will bake it; and it will produce one pound 
 and fourteen ounces of very good white bread. It 
 should not be eaten till it be two days old. 
 The Carolina rice bakes well without any prepara- 
 tion ; but the East India rice, though adapted for 
 boiling or stewing, does not in general answer for 
 baking, without being previously prepared, by soak- 
 ing a day or two, in cold w'ater. 
 
 Another. 
 An excellent way of making bread of rice is, by 
 boiling three-fourths of wheatea flour and one fourth
 
 72 BREADS. 
 
 of rice separately. The rice should be well boiled> 
 the water squeezed out (which may afterwards be 
 used as starch for linen, there being no better), and 
 the mass should then be mixed with the flour. It is 
 'made in the same manner as common bread, and is 
 very nutritive. One pound and a half of flour mix- 
 ed with half a pound of rice, will produce a loaf 
 weighing from three pounds to three pounds and two 
 ounces, which is greater than that obtained by baking 
 bread of wheat-flour only. Rice l:as also been tried 
 in the same proportion with barley, and makes good 
 bread for labouring people; but the gain in baking 
 is by no means equal to that obtained by mixing it 
 with wheat. 
 
 Of seventy mixtures exhibited in bread before 
 the Board of Agriculture on the lOth of November, 
 1795, with a design to ascertain the best substitutes 
 for wheat, none made bread equally good with rice 
 not ground, but boiled quite soft, and then mixed 
 with wheat-flour. One tJiird rice, and two thirds 
 wheat, made good bread; but one-fourth rice, makes 
 a bread superior to any that can be eaten, belter ev- 
 en than all of wheat. As the gain, therefore, in bak- 
 ing is more than wheat alone, and as rice is to be 
 had from the East Indies in any quantity, and may 
 be afforded here, it is said, so low as one penny three 
 farthings, or at the utmost, two-pence per pound, it 
 appears to be an object of very great importance, 
 more especially, as there can be no doubt of it's nu- 
 tri live quality. 
 
 Another Bread from Rice alone 
 
 may be made by grinding the rice in a mill : after- 
 wards, a portion of the flour is to be put into tli?
 
 BREADS. 73 
 
 kneading trough ; a little of the rice should be pre- 
 Tiously boiled in water, till a thick and glutinous de^ 
 coction be obtained. When the liquor has become 
 of a lukewarm state, it may be }3oured upon the rice 
 flour, and both well kneaded, with a proper quantity 
 of leaven, or yeast. In order to impart a greater con- 
 sistence to the whole, a small portion of wheat-flour 
 may be added. The dough is then to be covered 
 with warm cloths to assist it's rising. During this 
 time the oven may be heated. When sufficiently 
 light, the dough should be poured into a tin pan, fur- 
 nished with a long handle, and covered with a sheet 
 of paper. The pan is then to be carried to the 
 part of the oven where it is intended to lie for baking, 
 and expertly inverted. The heat will prevent the 
 paste from spreading and losing it's form. This 
 
 bread is said to acquire a fine yellow colour in the 
 oven. It has been found very wholesome, and it's 
 taste agreeable ; but, on becoming stale, loses these 
 good qualities.— /c//7-wa/ des Sciences, 
 
 R\fE-BREAD. 
 
 In several parts of the kingdom, a mixture of rye 
 and wheat is reckoned an excellent kind of bread. 
 In the V/est Riding of Yorkshire, at certain times of 
 the year, large quantities of bread made entirely of 
 rye is brought to the makets. As rye is well known 
 to be a wholesome and nutritious grain, it's consump- 
 tion cannot be too strongly recommended. 
 The following method of making a new kind of house- 
 hold bread, on long trial, has been found to answer 
 extremely well. Supposing half a bushel of rye 
 weigh 30 lb ; add to it one fourth part or 7 1 lb of rice. 
 This should be all ground together, and the broad 
 7
 
 74 BREADS. 
 
 bran only taken put, which seldom exceeds two and 
 a half pounds. Fourteen pounds of this flour, when 
 baked into bread, and well soaked in the oven, will 
 produce twenty-two pounds weight of bread, which 
 is a surplus of three pounds and a half, in fourteen 
 pounds, over and above what is usually produced in 
 the common process of converting wheat flour in- 
 to household bread. The astringent quality of the 
 rice, thus mixed Avith rye, corrects the laxative qual^ 
 ity of the latter, and makes it equally strong and 
 jiourishing with the same weight of common wheaten 
 bread. — Exper. tried hi/ the Board oj J gr (culture. 
 
 The celebrated Hoffman, speaking of a malig- 
 nant epidemy which prevailed in Germany, states, 
 that the inhabitants of Westphalia were entirely ex- 
 empted from it's attacks. He ascribes their security 
 to the circumstance of their eating rye-bread; and 
 so well assured v.'as he of the antiseptic quality of 
 this foQc|, that in the above malignant epidemy, he 
 ordered rye gruel for his patients. The success of this 
 diluent, answered every expectation he had formed 
 of it. The cooling and relaxing qualities of rye, make 
 it highly probable, that a mixture of rye with wheat- 
 en flour, would obviate, in weak stomachs, tbe com- 
 plaints which have been sometimes made against the 
 latter, namely, that not being easy of digestion, it is 
 apt to Ipad the stomach and bowels with crudities, 
 and to occasion worms. It is said that labourers in 
 the country, who live entirely ou fine wheaten breads 
 are liable to these complaints. Such bread therefore, 
 is not so essential to them as is commonly imagined, 
 at least it h^s, with it's advantages, it's defects. — ibid^
 
 SREADSi ^1 
 
 Barley-Bread. 
 
 Barley, mixed with wlieat, half and half, dr potatoes 
 one fourth and three-fourths barley, makes good 
 bread. The follo\^ing proportions have been 
 
 tried and strongly recommended. To four pecks of 
 wheat, ground to one sort of flour, extracting only a 
 very small quantity of the coarser bran, add three 
 bushels and a half of barley flour, bolted through a 
 twelve or fourteen shillings cloth. The oven should 
 be hotter than when bread is made of wheat alone, 
 and the loaves should remain in the; oven three hours 
 and a quarter. 
 
 Potatoe-Bread. 
 Whilst Potatoes were considered only as an addition- 
 al luxury of our tables, their usefulness as a food was 
 little attended to* They did not become a serious 
 object till the possibility of converting them intd 
 bread, that is, of increasing the quantity of that pre- 
 pared from the flour of different grains, was perceiv- 
 ed. In the form of bread this root would cer- 
 tainly prove a most useful addition, in times of scar- 
 city of grain, and at all times would be a sure way of 
 making it serve from one harvest to another. 
 It ought to be observed that potatoes can nourish 
 only in proportion to the quantity of substantial mat- 
 ter which they contain ; and it would be ridiculous to 
 require as much nourishment from a watery root as 
 from a dry seed, which in order to be used as a food, 
 must previously be combined with a fluid. 
 Next to wheat, Rye is the most valuable grain ; both, 
 mixed or separate, alibrd, if well prepared, a very 
 excellent bread, without the necessity of any addi- 
 tion ; but when they are scarce, the potatoe wotild
 
 76 BREADS. 
 
 make a saving of other grains, and prpve of consider- 
 able advantage to tlie indigent. The practice 
 of using potatoes with barley, buck-wheat, maize, 
 oats, millet, &c. is extremely wholesome; but bread 
 made entirely of any of these grains is constantly 
 heavy, close, and ill-tasted. In these cases, the ad- 
 dition of an equal part of potatoes would occasion 
 very desirable changes in these several kinds, by giv- 
 ing tenacity and viscidity to the dough, by promot- 
 ing the fermentative motion, by weakening and even 
 destroying the disagreeable taste peculiar to each of 
 them. The quantity of bread will not only be in-f 
 increased but the quality improved. The fol* 
 lowing Receipt for the Composition of a 
 
 Mixed Bread, 
 
 v,i\\ serve as a model for every kind made in this way 
 with farinaceous sub>tances. Take any quan- 
 
 tity of potatoes, well crushed and bruised ; mix them 
 with the leaven prepared the evening before, in the 
 usual manner, with the whole of the flour designed for 
 making the dough, so that one half may consist of 
 the pulp of potatoes and theother half of tlour; knead 
 the whole with the necessary quantity of warm wa-? 
 ter; observing that less water is required to make 
 dough where potatoes form a part, than where flour 
 alone is employed. When the dough is sufficiently 
 prepared, put it into the oven, which should not be 
 heated so much as usual, nor shut up so soon; the 
 bread should also be left longer in ; without these 
 essential precautions, the crust of the bread would be 
 hard and short, while the inside would have too much 
 moisture and not be soaked enough. Whenever 
 
 it is proposed to mix potatoes with the dough of dif- 
 ferent grains, either to save a part, or to improve the
 
 BREADS. a 
 
 bread, these roots should be reduced into the form of 
 a glutinous paste, because in this state they give ten- 
 acity to the flour of small grain, which is always de- 
 ficient in this respect. No way of preparing po- 
 tatoes before mixing them with the flour, is so advan- 
 tageous as boiling. The addition of a small propor- 
 tion of ground rice, prevents the crumbling of thef 
 breadj and it is a more economical practice. 
 
 ANOf HER. 
 
 A quantity of potatoes is boiled in the skin, over ^ 
 slow fire, by which method they fall to pieces through- 
 out more effectually. After long boiling, they ard 
 peeled, and the most mealy selected ; these are weli 
 bruised by a broad wooden spoon ; and equal quan- 
 tities, by weight, of this and flour are kneaded up 
 with yeast for the oven. A small quantity of bran 
 and milk, with a little salt, takes off the bitterness of 
 the yeast. [Impure yeast may be improved by mixing 
 it with the quantity of water required, and then filter- 
 ing it through a hair-sieve half filled with by-an ; ut 
 passing through this substance it will be purified. It 
 is of more importance, be assured, to attend to the 
 cleanness and sweetness of yeast, than to any other 
 ingredient in bread.] Milk adds much to the white- 
 ness of bread, and is foitnd to make it eat shorter and 
 pleasanter. These, after standing about an hour, are 
 to be run through a coarse hair sieve. After the 
 whole is kneaded into dough, it is placed on a dish, 
 laid on the hearth before the fire, and lightly covered 
 with a cloth for about an hour, which promotes st 
 kind of fermentation, and renders the bread lighter.- 
 — Caiiimunicated hy J. CoOk of Barkingy to Di\ Lett-' 
 so?n. " Hints 07i Tefnperance, &"c." v. I. p. 4:6. 
 7*
 
 "75 BREADS, 
 
 Another. 
 
 By Dr. Fothergill. 
 
 Take two or three pounds of potatoes, according to 
 the size of the loaf you would make, boil them as in 
 the common way for use; take the skin off, and, 
 whilst warm, bruise them with a spoon, or a clean 
 hand does belter ; put them into a dish or pan before 
 the fire, to let the moisture evaporate, stirring them 
 frequently, so that no parts grow hard ; when dry, 
 take them up and rub them as fine as possible between 
 the hands; then take three parts of flour and one part 
 of the prepared potatoes (or equal quantities of each) 
 and with water and yeast make it, as usual, into 
 bread It looks as fine as wheaten bread, and tastes 
 agreeably ; it will keep moist a week, and should not 
 be cut till it be full a day old, otherwise it will not 
 appear sufl^iciently baked, on account of the moisture 
 which the potatoes give it. Never cut potatoes into 
 slices with a knife, either raw or boiled ; but break 
 or bruise them with the hand or spoon, or they will 
 not be soft. 
 
 Another. 
 Take fourteen pounds of potatoes, boil thera in the 
 skin, then peel and crush them well, adding boiling 
 water, till they form a stiff glutinous pulp: let it stand 
 till it be not warmer than new milk; add two table 
 spoonfuls of yeast, mix them well, setting the whole 
 near the fire in a wooden dish (as wood seems to pro- 
 mote this fermentation more than earthen vessels) for 
 an hour or two till the whole assumes the appearance 
 of a large quantity of yeast ; to this add fourteen 
 pounds of good sound wheat flour, and as much warm 
 water as will make the whole into a stiff paste, let-
 
 BREADS. 79 
 
 ting it stand, as is usual, to ferment a proper time; but 
 the fermentation goes on so rapidly, that it will gen- 
 erally receive three or four pounds more of fresh 
 ■u'heat-tiour, when the bread is made up into loaves 
 for the oven. 
 
 Another. 
 Take sixteen pounds of large mealy potatoes, boil 
 them well, and break them in pieces. They must 
 then be set out in the open air for half an hour to let 
 the watery particles eva*)orate; then rub them in 
 with twenty-eight pounds of flour, till all the lumps 
 be reduced ; after which mix a proper portion of 
 yeast, and knead it into dough. This is for 
 
 2 large baking; but may be reduced by only allow- 
 ing two pounds of potatoes to three pounds and a half 
 of flour ; or six pounds of potatoes to eight pounds of 
 fiour. The weight of the potatoes is considered in the 
 state just previous to being mixed with flour. 
 I'o bread, a few carrawaysor aniseeds may be added, 
 ■with advantage. 
 
 Dr. Darwin asserts, that if eight pounds of good 
 raw potatoes be grated into cold water, and after 
 stirring the mixture, the starch be left to subside; and 
 ■vthen collected, it be mixed with eight pounds of 
 boiled potatoes, the mass will make as good bread as 
 that from the best wheaten flour. He likewise ob- 
 serves, that hay, which has been kept in stacks, so as 
 to undergo the saccharine process, may be so manag- 
 ed, by grinding and fermentation, with yeast, like 
 bread, as to serve in part for the sustenance of man- 
 kind, in times of great scarcity. As an instance of the 
 very nutritive quality of hay, it is mentioned, that a 
 cow, after drinking a strong infusion of it, for some 
 time, produced above double the usual quantity of
 
 80 BREADS* 
 
 milk. Probably, a nutritive beverage may be prepat-* 
 ed from hay, either in it's saccharine state, or by fer-» 
 menting it into a kind of beer. 
 
 The flour of Barley is more nutritious than that 
 of wheat and is generally cheaper. Four pounds 
 of potatoes, simmered to a pulp in clear soft w^ater, 
 mixed with one pound and a half of wheat flour, and 
 the like cjuantity of barley flour, kneaded dry and 
 stiff, and baked hastily, makes very excellent bread. 
 
 Leaven of Potatoes. 
 
 Mix half a pound of pulp of potatoes with an equal 
 quantity of the starch of this root, and four ounces 
 of boiling water ; set the mixture in a warm place: 
 in forty eight hours a slight vinous smell should be ex- 
 haled from it ; and then a fresh portion of starch, pulp, 
 and water should be added, and the mass again ex- 
 posed to the same temperature for the same space of 
 time: this operation should be repeated a third time. 
 The paste thus gradually turned sour; may be con- 
 sidered as a first leaven. In the evening, dilute 
 the first leaven with warm water, mix equal quanti- 
 ties of starch and pulp, in the proportion of one half 
 of the dough • so that for every twenty pounds of 
 dough, ten of leaven must be prepared. When the 
 mixture is exactly made, put it in a basket, or leave 
 it in the kneading tub all night, taking care to cover 
 it well, and keep it warm till morning. 
 The tedious and troublesome preparation of the first 
 leaven will be avoided after the f^rst baking, because 
 a piece of the dough may be kept. 
 
 After all that has been said, it is certain that 
 nothing is gained on the score of economy by mak- 
 ing potatoes into bread, yet some people may prefer
 
 BREADS. 81 
 
 them when brought into that form ; and in times 
 •when grain is scarce, they become an excellent sub- 
 stitute. 
 
 In the north of England Cakes are made of 
 dough prepared in every re>pect as for loaves, and 
 baked on stones over a coal or wood fire. It is ob- 
 servable that bread made in this manner is far more 
 sweet and of a better colour than when made into 
 thick loaves and baked in close ovens. From hence 
 it may be inferred that ovens deprive bread of some 
 of it's active qualities. 
 
 Breads of Indian Corn. 
 
 Very good bread may be made of Indian Corn or 
 Maize, (Zea Mays.') but it requires particular manage- 
 ment, If it be mixed into a stiff paste, it will not be 
 so good as if made only a little stiffer than for pud- 
 dings. The paste of this consistence should be baked 
 in a very hot oven, remaining therein all day and all 
 nrght. It should be baked in tins ; but these must not 
 be of any great depth, otherwise tlie paste or dough 
 ■will not rise well in the baking. If the Indian Corn be 
 properly ground and sifted, so that all the coarser part 
 of the hull be separated from it, bread made of it will 
 be of a pale yellowish colour. A sufficiently white 
 bread, if colour and not nutriment be regarded, may 
 be produced by mixing it with half as much, or a third 
 part of potatoe-meal. This corn is sometimes 
 
 blended with half or a third part of rye or wheat meal, 
 and made in the usual way, with leaven or yeast, into 
 loaves of very good bread. Potatoe meal is an ex- 
 cellent addition. 
 
 The Milanese, according to the late Mr. How-v 
 ard'j. report, make their bread of Indian Corn in the
 
 S2 BREADS. 
 
 ■•<-^>">" 
 
 following manner: To 48 ounces of the flour of this 
 corn, 2 ounces of rye corn is added, as it will not 
 adhere without it; 21 ounces of leaven, made of the 
 flour mixed with water, and standing 24 hours ; to 
 this quantity the baker always puts in, at two dif- 
 ferent times, a pint and a half of warm water, and 
 lets it stand one hour to rise; after which, putting a 
 little rye on his hand, to prevent it from sticking, he 
 divides it into saleable cakes of 12f ounces, made 
 round, and about an inch and a half thick in the 
 middle. 
 
 Another sort of bread of Indian flour is made as 
 follow^s: 24 ounces of fine flour of Indian Corn, 12 
 ounces of rye, and 6 ounces of millet, worked up as the 
 other, with warm water, and suffered to stand one hour 
 to rise before it be put into the oven. It requires more 
 baking than common bread, as it is moister, and be-' 
 comes better when stale, or four days old. In the Mil- 
 anese (the northern part of Italy), when the weather is 
 very cold, it will keep eight days, but not otherwise. 
 From half an hour to three quarters, according to 
 the heat of the oven, the cakes or small loaves must 
 continue, to be properly baked. This bread, is 
 
 with milk, the chief food of most of the peasants and 
 artisans in and about Milan. Mr, Howard was him- 
 self so fond of it, that he used no other bread whilst 
 he was there. Instead of a leaven of flour and wa- 
 ter, yeast may be used, which is preferable; and in- 
 stead of the flour of rye or millet, we would recom- 
 mend potatoe-meal to be mixed and kneaded with 
 the dough or paste of the Indian Corn. It may be 
 added in the proportion of one half or one third. 
 The bread made in this way will be of a better colour 
 and much lighter than that which contains an ad-
 
 BREADS. 83 
 
 mixture of rye, barley, or millet-flour. The potatoe 
 meal improves the quality of the dough, promotes 
 the fermentation or rising of it, and weakens or des- 
 troys the peculiar taste of the Indian corn. In this 
 way, not only the quantity of bread will be increas- 
 ed, but the quality of it will also be improved. 
 
 A very wholesome and well-tlavoured bread may 
 be prepared from a mixture of wheat-tlour or of flour 
 of Indian corn, rye flour, and fine oatmeal. Instead 
 of using so much flour it will be more economical to 
 employ only half the quantity, vvith an equal portion 
 pf potatoe-meal. The proportions may then be, 
 flour of wheat or Indian corn, half a bushsel ; pota- 
 toe meal, half a bushel; rye-flour, 2 quarts; fine 
 oatmeal, a pint. Kpead them, as usual, with warm 
 water, sweet ale yeast, and a proper quantity of salt. 
 Let your dough rise a proper time, according to 
 the season of the year ; then kiiead again, form the 
 loaves, and bake. 
 
 Turnip-Bread. 
 
 Various substances have been used for bread, instead 
 of wheat. In the years 1629 and 1630, when there 
 was a dearth in this country, bread was made in 
 London of turnips, on the recommendation of Dr. 
 Beale. In 1693, also, when corn sold at a very high 
 price, a great quantity of turnip-bread was made in 
 several parts of the kingdom, but particularly in Es- 
 sex, as appears from a receipt registered in the " Phil- 
 osophical Transactions." The process is, to put the 
 turnips into a kettle over a slow tire, till they become 
 soft; they are then taken out, squeezed, and drain- 
 ed as dry as possible, and afterwards mashed and mix- 
 ed v/ith an equal weight of flour, and kneaded with
 
 S4 BREADS. 
 
 yeast, salt, and a little warm water. The fol- 
 
 lowing is 
 
 Another Method 
 of making bread of Turnips, which deserves recom- 
 mendation, on account of it's cheapness. Wash, 
 cleanse, pare, and afterwards boil, a number of tur- 
 nips, till they become soft enough to mash ; press 
 the greatest part of the water out of them, then mix 
 them with an equal weight of wheat meal, make the 
 dough in the usual manner with yeast, &c. ; it will 
 rise well in the trough, and, after being well knead- 
 ed, may be formed into loaves, and put into the oven. 
 Bread prepared in this manner has a peculiar sweet- 
 ish taste, which is by no means disagreeable ; it is as 
 light and white as the wheaten, and should be kept 
 about twelve hours before it be cut, when the smell 
 and taste of the turnip will scarcely be perceptible. 
 
 An admixture of currants or raisins in the dough 
 for bread very much improves it's paiatableness, but 
 crnnot be recommended as common food. There 
 are very uncongenial qualities in these foreign fruits. 
 The natives who pack them in casks, by treading 
 them down withth^ir feet, become leprous and scab- 
 by, and they rarely eat them either alone or mixed 
 among their food. An experienced writer says, that 
 our own hawthorn or elder berries, are not quite so 
 improper. By way of experiment, he advises 
 
 that a person eat a pint of plain watcr-gruel with 
 bread and butter, and at another time take a pint 
 with currants and sugar, and let him observe which 
 is most cooling, and easy of digestion, and after 
 which his spirits appear most active or lively. 
 
 It is a wholesome and economical practice never 
 to consume any kind of Bread which has not been 
 wenty four hours baked.
 
 BREADS, ^5 
 
 PoTATOE Biscuit. 
 Mr. Parmentier has shewn that a very wholesome 
 and nourishing biscuit may be made from potatoes 
 alone, in the following manner : mix a little yeast or 
 leaven, diluted with hot water, with one pound of the 
 pulp of boiled potatoes, and as much of the starch of 
 potatoes (the manner of preparing whicli will be here- 
 after described). Of the whole form a dough, and 
 knead it a long time; after which, divide it into 
 pieces, flatten them and form them into the shape 
 and size of common sea biscuits. A dram of salt ad- 
 ded to every pound of potatoe starch, will render 
 the biscuit made from it less insipid. The dough 
 should be set upon plates, and remain about an hour 
 before it be put into the oven, first pricking it with 
 an iron skewer (the regular biscuit-makers have an 
 iron instrument furnished with teeth for this pur- 
 pose), in order to prevent it from swelling. As this 
 dough contains but little water, it is more difficult to 
 be baked ; hence it must be left in the oven two hours 
 at least longer than the bread. When the 
 
 biscuit is taken out of the oven, it should be set in a 
 warm place, that it may cool gradually, and be de- 
 prived of it's moisture; and it should be kept in as 
 dry a place as possible. This potatoe-biscuit, when 
 well prepared, has all the properties of common bis- 
 cuit. 
 
 The kind of Macaroon called Tagliali 
 
 is made by taking any number of fresh laid eggs and 
 breaking them into a bowl, beating them without 
 frothing, and adding as much fine wheat flour as is 
 necessary to form a dough ofth.e consistence of paste,
 
 So breads', 
 
 ..<..0">" 
 
 Work tliis paste well, and roll it out into very thin 
 leaves ; lay ten or twelve of these leaves one upon the 
 other, and with a sharp knife cut them into very fine 
 threads. These threads are to be laid on paper 
 and dried in the air. It is commonly eaten with milk 
 instead of bread. It is sometimes fried in butter. 
 An inferior kind of cut paste may be made simply 
 of water and wheat-flour. 
 
 Substitutes for Flour and Bread. 
 
 The following is a compendious view of the various 
 substitutes which might advantageously be employ- 
 ed in the manufacture of this article of human sub- 
 sistence, whether indigenous or exotic, and especial- 
 ly such as have been actually used, on the authority 
 of creditable evidence. 
 
 I. Farinaceous Seeds: — Wheat-grass, or 
 Triticnm Spelta ; Millet, or Fanicum miliaceum; 
 Common Buckwheat, or Pohj^onumfagopyrnm\ Sy- 
 berian Buck-wheat, or Fobji^ommi tataiicum ; \\'ild 
 Buck-wheat, or Poh/go?ium convolvnlns ; Wild Fescue- 
 grass, or Festuca jiuitans ; Maise or Indian Corn, the 
 Mays Zea; lUc^, or Ori/za saliva ; Guinea Corn or 
 White Kound-seeded Indian Millet, the Holcus So?-- 
 gknrn; Canary-grass, or Fhalaris canarietisis ; Rough 
 Dog's-tail Grass, or Ci/nosurus echinatus ; Water Ziz- 
 any, or Zizania aquatica; Upright Sea Lime-grass, 
 ov Elijnius arenarius ; Sea-reed, Marram, Helme, or 
 Sea Matweed, the Calaniagrostis, or Arundo arenaria. 
 The following mealy T'ruits, however, deserve a 
 decided preference over many of the preceding: viz. 
 Water CaltropSj or the fruit of the Trapa nutans; 
 Pulse of various kinds, such as Pease, Lentils, Beans, 
 Ruu the seeds of the common Vetch, Fetch, or Tare'
 
 BREADS. . S7 
 
 •■<•<>•>- 
 
 acorns, and especially those of the Quercus cerris and 
 escidus; the seeds of the White Goose-foot, Common 
 ^ Wild Orage, or the Cheriopodiuni albuui ; the seeds 
 and flowers of the Rocket, or Brassica eruca; the 
 seeds of the Sorrel, or Rumex acetosa; of the different 
 species of Dock, or Laphathum ; of the Yellow and 
 White Water-lilly, or Nymphcea lutea and alha ; of 
 the Corn Spurry, or Spergula arvensis; of the Spin- 
 age, or Spinacia oleracea ; of the common Gromvvell, 
 or Gray mill, the Lithospermum officinale; of tlie 
 Knot-grass, or Paniculian avicnlare ; the Beachnut; 
 the husks of the Lintseed, &c. 
 
 II. Farinaceous Roots : namely, those of 
 the Common and Yellow Bethlem Star, or Ornitho- 
 galum luteum and utnbellatinn ; of the Yellow As- 
 phodel ; of the W^ake Robin, oy Arum maculatum{2ii- 
 ter being properly dried and washed) ; of the Pile- 
 wort, or Lesser Celandine, the Rammculus ficaria ; 
 of the Common Dropwort, the Spircea jjlipendula; 
 of the Meadow-sweet or Spircea ulmaria; of the 
 "W^hite Bryony, or Bryonia alba ; of the Turnip-root- 
 ed Cabbage, or Napo-brassica ; of the Great Bistort, 
 or Snakeweed; of the Small, Welch, or Alpine Bis- 
 tort; orthe Common Orobus or Heath Pea ; the Tu- 
 berous Vetch ; the common Reed; both the Sweet 
 Smelling and Common Solomon's Seal ; the Common 
 Corn-flag, or Gladiolus communis ; the Salt marsh 
 Club-rush, or Scripus maritimiis, Sec. 
 
 III. Fibrous AND less juicy Roots: viz. 
 those of the Couch-grass, or Creeping Wheat Grass; 
 the Clown's or Marsh Woundwort ; the Mai'sh 
 Mary-gold, or Meadow Bouts ; the Silver-weed, or 
 Wild Tansey ; the Sea Seg, or Carex arenarius, 6,'c.
 
 8$ 
 
 CAJ>^ES. 
 
 The simplest Cake is made by mixing flour of 
 any kind with mere water, to as light a consistence 
 as will bear rolling out. It was in this manner that 
 the pedestrian J. Stewart, could subsist in any part 
 of the world. He strictly abstained from animal 
 food, yet he found no place where wholesome grain 
 or flour was not to be had, and he readily could ren- 
 der them palatable by boiling the former, or making 
 the latter into cakes. The benevolent Howard, in 
 similar circumstances, found great difficulty in being 
 able to subsist ; probably owing to a want of incli- 
 nation to unbend to the employment of cookery. 
 Mr. Stewart was so partial to this kind of cake, that 
 he preferred it to any other, even when in London, 
 generally making it himself. If no other means of 
 baking offered, he had recourse to a clean gridiron, 
 over a clear fire. 
 
 Poor Robin's Cake. 
 
 Mix two pounds of fine flour, two spoonfuls of warm 
 water, and two spoonfuls of yeast, together. Warm a 
 pint of milk sufficiently to melt a quarter of a ponnd 
 of butter. Beat in four eggs, and a little salt. Mix 
 them well together. Let the paste stand a sufllicient 
 time to rise ; put it on tins in the oven ; half an hour 
 will bake them. 
 
 A COMMON Seed Cake. 
 Take two pounds of flour, put into it half a pound 
 of powdered sugar, one ounce of carra way-seeds beat-
 
 CAKES. 89 
 
 cn; have ready a pint of milk, with half a pound of 
 butter melted in it, and two spoonfuls of new barm ; 
 make it up into a paste, set it to the fire to rise, flour 
 your tin, and bake it in a quick oven. 
 
 Plain Plum Cake. 
 
 Take a pound of flour, rub into it half a pound of 
 butter, the same quantity of sugar, boat four eggs very 
 well (leave out half the whites) with throe spoonfuls 
 of yeast, put to it a quarter of a pint of warm milk, 
 and make it up light; set it to the fire to rise ; just 
 before you put it into the oven put in three quarters 
 of a pound of currants. 
 
 Bath Cakes. 
 
 Rub half a pound of butter into a pound of flour, 
 with one spoonful of good yeast, warm. I'ake e- 
 rough of cream to make it into a light paste, set it to 
 the fire to rise, make it into round cakes, the^size of a 
 French roll, bake them on sheet tins. 
 
 Light Wigs. 
 To three quarters of a pound of fine flour puthalf a pint 
 cf milk, made warm ; mix in it two spoonfuls of light 
 barm, cover it up, set it half an hour by the fire to 
 rise, work into the paste four ounces of sugar, and 
 the same quantity of butter ; make it into wigs with 
 as little flour as possible, and a few carraway-seeds; 
 set them in a quick oven to bake. 
 
 PoTATOE Cake. 
 Wash your potatoes, and pare them well ; grate them 
 into water in a large earthen pan, (after washing the 
 grater, otherwise it will make them black) then put 
 them into a hair sieve, wash the flour from them ; 
 8*
 
 90 CAKES. 
 
 as soon as it settles, pour the water from it and pii. 
 on fresh, changing it thus three times. Then tak( 
 the flour out of your pan, and spread it on an earth- 
 en dish, dry it gradually before the fire; when dry- 
 ing, be sure to s;ir it often, then beat it a little in a 
 stone mortar, and pass it through a lawn sieve ; to a 
 pound of this flour add three quarters of a pound of 
 butter, one pound of sugar, one pound of eggs, and a 
 small wine glass of brandy and wine mixed. Separ- 
 ate the whites of the eggs from the yolks, put the 
 yolks first to the butter, then beat the whites very 
 light, and add them to the butter. Some like a few 
 seeds. Remember to mix your ingredients with a 
 wooden spoon and put your sugar in last. It must 
 be baked in a quick oven for an hour and a half.
 
 91 
 
 COMPOUNDS. 
 
 SOUPS. 
 
 It is fashionable to decry the use of Soups or liq- 
 uid nourishment, but the moderate use of them is 
 certainly wholesome ; and it is astonishing that a- 
 ny should imagine they tend too much to relax the 
 stomach. Does not all the liquid we take, even tho* 
 cold, become in a few minutes a kind of warm soup 
 in the stomach; and does not the stomach retain the 
 same temperature during the whole day ? Be care- 
 ful only not to use soup hot, in too great a quantity 
 at one time, nor too watery, and the use of it will 
 be attended with great advantages. It supplies the 
 place of other beverages, particularly to men of letters, 
 women, and all who do not drink, or drink very lit- 
 tle except at table, and who, when they give over 
 soup, receive into their blood too little moisture. 
 Fluids, used in the form of soup, unite much better 
 and sooner with our juices than when drank cold and 
 raw. On this account soup is a great preventive of 
 dryness and rigidity in the body, and therefore 
 the best nourishment for old people and those who 
 are of an arid temperament. It even supplies the 
 place of medicine. After catching cold, in nervous 
 headachs, colics, and different kinds of cramp in the 
 stomach, warm soup is of the greatest service. It 
 may serve as a proof of the utility, or at least harm- 
 Jessness, of soup, when I remark, that our forefathers, 
 who certainly had more strength than we have.
 
 92 SOUPS. 
 
 used soup ; that it is used by the peasantry, who arc 
 much stronger and more healthy than those in pol- 
 ished life; and that all the old people with whom I. 
 ever was acquainted, were great friends to it." — Ai'i 
 of prolonging Life, from the German of Huf eland, vol. 
 2. p. 252, 253. 
 
 Soup is a dish of the greatest antiquity, and tho* 
 capable of being made extremely delicious, yet it is 
 not a favourite one in this country. People are fond 
 of what they call solids, yet make them into soup 
 by swallowing much drink after them.. The only 
 difference is, the foreigner makes soup in a pot, and 
 tiie Englishnian makes his in the stomach. 
 This kind of diet not only saves bread but beer. 
 The labourer who lives on hasty pudding and soups, 
 seldom has occasion for drink ; while he who is burnt 
 up with dry bread and cheese, or salted tlesh, has a 
 continual thirst, and spends the greater part of his 
 earnings in liquor. This, by acting as a powerful sti- 
 iTiuIous, may make him do more work for sometime, 
 but it generally cuts him off in the middle of his days. 
 The English labourer, who works hard and drinks 
 freely, seldom lives long, and is an old man when he 
 should be in his prime. If it be said that slopa 
 
 are here recommended; they are such as the great- 
 est heroes of antiquity lived on ; and such as produce 
 the most calm and happy dispositions, the greatest 
 degree of bodily health and strength, and extenuate 
 the "Span of life to it's utmost length. The peculiar 
 advantage of soups is, that they receive into their com- 
 position the greatest variety of nutritive substances, 
 and may be prepared many different ways, so as to 
 become adapted to any palate. Those who are once 
 accustomed to such diet prefer it for the rest of their
 
 SOUPS. S3 
 
 .■<••■<>•■ 
 
 lives. If children (for the habits of grown peo- 
 
 ple are often inveterate, and error will be retained, 
 even at the expense of reason and common sense) 
 were accustomed to a simple wholesome diet they 
 would always relish such a way of living. 
 But, what parents like themselves, however improper, 
 they make their children take at every meal. 
 The German on his polenta, the American on his 
 viush, and the Scotchman on his hasty-pudding, can 
 make a hearty meal for a tenth part of what a tea 
 breakfast would cost, and infinitely more wholesome. 
 = — Buchan. Count Romford says, that a sim- 
 
 ple infusion of tea, drank boiling hot, as the poor 
 generally drink it, is certainly a poison, which 
 though it sometimes be slow in it's operation, never 
 fails to produce fatal effects, even in the strongest 
 constitution where the free use of it is continued for 
 a considerable length of time. The prepara- 
 
 tion of Hasty-pudding is a less tedious process than 
 that of boiling a tea kettle, and as little fire is neces- 
 sary for making soup, which is always best when 
 made slowly. Water is a compound element, 
 
 and it is very probable it acts a more important part 
 than is commonly assigned to it. It constitutes at 
 least one part, and probably an essential one, of the 
 food of plants. Count Romford has, by a vari- 
 
 ety of experiments, and after five years' experience in 
 preparing food for the poor at Munich, ascertained, 
 that the cheapest, most savoury and nourishing food 
 that could be provided, was a soup composed of 
 pearl, or Scotch barley, pease, potatoes, cuttings of fine 
 wheatenbread, vinegar, salt, and water, in certain pro- 
 portions. The method of preparation is as follows. 
 The water and barley are first put together into a ves»
 
 94 SOUPS. 
 
 ..<«<>.>.. 
 
 sel and made to boil ; the pease are next added, and 
 the boiling continued over a gentle fire about two 
 hours; the potatoes are then put in, (having been 
 previously peeled with a knife, or having been boiled, 
 in order to their being more easily deprived of their 
 skins) and the boiling is continued for about one 
 hour more, during which lime the contents of the 
 boiler are frequently stirred about with a large wood- 
 en spoon, or ladle, in order to destroy the texture of 
 the potatoes, and to reduce the soup to one uniform 
 mass. When this is done, the vinegar and the salt 
 are added ; and last of all, at the moment it is to be 
 served up, the line and thin cuttings of bread. If 
 the bread be dry and hard it will be better, as it will 
 prolong the duration of the enjoyment of eating. 
 A portion of this soup weighing 20 ounces, making 
 nearly one pint and a (juarter, is generally found 
 quite sufficient to make a good meal for a strong 
 healthy person. In the composition of food, re- 
 
 gard should be had to prolong as much as possible the 
 pleasure of eating. The enjoyments which fall to 
 the lot of the bulk of mankind are not so numerous as 
 to render an attempt to increase them superfluous. 
 If a glutton can be made to gormandize two hours 
 on two ounces of food, it is certainly much better for 
 him, than to give himself an indigestion by eating 
 two pounds in the same time. There are many 
 
 substances extremely cheap, by which very agree- 
 able tastes may be given to food, particularly when 
 the basis or nutritive substance is tasteless; and tiie 
 efifect of any kind of palatable solid food may be in- 
 creased, almost indefiniti.'ly, by reducing the size of 
 the particles of such food, and causing it to act on the 
 palate by a larger surface. And if means be used to
 
 SOUPS. 95 
 
 prevent It's being swallowed too soon, which may be 
 easily done by mixing some hard substance, such as 
 crumbs of bread rendered hard by toasting, or any 
 thing else of that kind, by which a long mastication 
 is rendered necessary, the enjoyment of eating may 
 be greatly increased and prolonged. 
 
 Soup. 5f oz. Barley, 5 oz. peas, 18 oz. pota- 
 toes, 5f oz. of cuttings of bread, salt, and vinegar, 
 to the taste; water in proportion to the consis- 
 tency most palatable. This soup may be 
 improved, if necessary, by frying the bread in butter, 
 by which it is not only rendered much harder, but be- 
 ing impregnated with an oily substance, remains hard 
 after it is put into the soup. The bread may be cut 
 in pieces of the size of large peas, or in thin slices; 
 and after it is fried, it may be put into the dishes, and 
 the soup poured on when it is served. This soup 
 may .likewise be improved, by mixing with it various 
 kinds of roots and green vegetables, as turnips, car- 
 rots, parsnips, celery, cabbages, sour-crout, &c. ; as 
 also by seasoning it with line herbs and black pepper. 
 — Onions and leeks may be used with great advan- 
 tage, as they not only serve to render the food in 
 which they enter as ingredients peculiarly savoury, 
 but are really very wholesome. Cheese may 
 likewise be made use of for giving an agreeable rel- 
 ish to the soup ; and a very small quantity of it will 
 be sufiicient, if it has a strong taste and be grated to 
 a powder, and asmall quantity thrown overthe soup 
 after it is dished out. Barley-meal with all 
 the bran in it, has been found to answer quite as well 
 as pearl or Scotch barley, especially if boiled gently 
 for a sufficient length of time before the peas be ad- 
 ded. The peas should be put in when the water is
 
 99 SOUPS. 
 
 boiling or they may not become soft. The 
 
 management of the fire in cooking is in all cases, a 
 matter of great importance. From the beginning of 
 the process to the end of it, the boiling should be as 
 gentle as possible. If it were possible to keep the 
 soup always just boiling hot, without actually boiling, 
 it would be so much the better. Violent boil- 
 
 ing, does not expedite, in the smallest degree, the pro- 
 cess of cooking, but occasions a waste of fuel; and 
 by driving away with the steam many of the more 
 volatile and savoury particles of the ingredients, ren- 
 ders the victuals less good and less palatable. Wa- 
 ter once made boiling hot, tho' it only boil gently, 
 cannot be made hotter, however large and intense the 
 fire under it may be made. To prevent the 
 
 soup from burning, the boiler should be made dou- 
 ble at the bottom, the two sheets of iron being in con- 
 tact with each other. 
 
 A VERY CHEAP SoUP 
 
 may be made by taking 8 gallons of water, and mix- 
 ing with it 5 lb of Barley meal, boiling it to the con- 
 sistency of a thick jelly. Season it with salt, pepper, 
 vinegar, sweet herbs, and crumbs of strong cheese. In- 
 stead of bread, add to it 5 lb of Indian Corn made in- 
 to Samp. Samp is Indian Corn deprived of 
 it's external coat by soaking it ten or twelve hours in 
 a lixivium of water and wood-ashes. This coat or 
 husk, being separated from the kernel, rises to the 
 surface of the water, while the grain remains at the 
 bottom; which grain thus deprived of it's hard coat 
 of armour, is boiled, or rather simmered for a great 
 length of time, two days for instance, in a vessel of
 
 SOUPS, 97 
 
 wzter placed near the fire. The kernels when suffic- 
 iently cooked will be found swelled to a great size 
 and burst open. 
 
 Brown Soup. 
 Take a small piece of butter and put it over the fire 
 in a clean frying pan made of iron (not copper, that 
 metal being poisonous); put to it a few spoonfuls of 
 wheat or ryemeal ; stir the whole about briskly with 
 a broad wooden spoon or a knife^ till the butter has 
 disappeared, and the meal is uniformly of a deep 
 brown colour; great care being taken by stirring it 
 continually, to prevent the meal from being burned 
 to the pan. A very small quantity of this roasted 
 meal, (perhaps half an ounce would be sufficient) be- 
 ing put into a sauce-pan and boiled with a pint and 
 a quarter of water, forms a portion of Soup, which 
 when seasoned with salt, pepper, and vinegar, and 
 eaten with bread cut fine, and mixed with it at the 
 moment it is served up, makes a palatable kind of 
 food. This soup may be made in a short time, an in- 
 stant being sufficient for boiling it. This food 
 is much used by the Bavarian wood-cutters, who 
 take provisions for a week. They consist of a large 
 loaf of rye bread ; a linen bag of roasted meal ; some 
 salt, and black-pepper ; with a small pan. This 
 method might be useful to travellers. 
 
 Soup made at Iver, ix Bucks. 
 
 Take two gallons and a half of water ; a quart of split 
 peas, previously soaked for twenty four hours ; two 
 pounds of potatoes which have been well boiled the 
 day before, skinned and mashed ; herbs, salt, pepper, 
 and two onions ; and boil them very gently together 
 for five hours, covering it closely up,- and allowing as
 
 58 SOUPS. 
 
 little evaporation or steam from it as possible. Then 
 set it by to cool. It will produce rather better than 
 two gallons of soup ; and, if properly made, there will 
 be no sediment; but the whole will be blended and 
 mixed together, when it is warmed for use. Were it 
 not for the advantage of saving time to labouring fam- 
 ilies. Soups and Broths are best when eaten at the 
 time they are made. Warming these liquids lessens 
 their first palatableness. 
 
 Pease Soup. 
 
 Take the water in which pease have been boiled and 
 add to it some flour and butter; also a little pepper 
 and salt. Let this boil till the rawness of the flour 
 be gone. Add to it, when served up, a small portion 
 of good cream v^'ith some of the peas. Split- 
 
 peas are preferable to whole pease, although the form- 
 er are much dearer; they impart their virtues much 
 more freely in the process of boiling. It often 
 
 happens that whole pease are with difficulty made to 
 burst, and sometimes cannot be made to do so at all. 
 To remedy this defect, they should be first steep- 
 ed in water for a few hours, and then put into a sieve 
 to dry for twelve hours more. The boiling water 
 will afterwards soon soften them. Pease that burst 
 with difficulty, should be broken in a mill. 
 
 Egg Soup. 
 
 B'^at two eiigs with a lump of butter, pour gradually 
 a quart of boiling water upon it, stirring it quickly all 
 the time. Put it on the fire till it simmers, continuing 
 to stir it. Then pour it from one vessel into another, 
 till it froth. Simmer it a little again and season it to 
 your taste.
 
 SOUPS. 99 
 
 Milk Soup. 
 
 Boil a pinlof milk, with a little salt, and, if you chuse, 
 sugar ; arrange some sliced bread in a dish ; pour o- 
 ver a part of your milk to soak it, and keep it hot, 
 taking care that it does not burn. Beat up the yolks 
 of five eggs, and add them to the remainder of the 
 milk just when you are going to serve it up. 
 
 Or, 
 
 Boil three pints of milk with a bit of lemon peel, a 
 few coriander seeds, a bit of cinnamon, a little salt, 
 and about three ounces of sugar, till it be reduced to 
 one half; strain it through a sieve, and finish your 
 soup as before. 
 
 Frentch Soup. 
 
 In proportion as the soup is intended to consist of on- 
 ions, turnips, cabbage, or celery, let tJiem be parboil- 
 ed; then stewed with a little water, butter, and salt. 
 While this is going on, put a lump of butter into a 
 stew-pan, with some onions, carrots, parsnips, and a 
 head of celery, cut small; thyme, basil, cloves, pars- 
 ley, chervil, &:c. may be added. It should be observ- 
 ed, that the vegetables which are to be sent to table in 
 the soup, are not to be put into the stew-pan ; those 
 which are stewed apart will be sufficient to give it the 
 necessary flavour. Let all the vegetables you have be 
 put into the stew-pan upon the fire for an hour and 
 a half, turning them frequently till they be done; 
 then add water, and let them boil for half an hour. 
 Strain them through a sieve, and add the vegetables 
 you have reserved apart to serve with the soup. 
 When it is properly seasoned, mix bread with it.
 
 lOQ 
 
 PUDDINGS 
 
 are most commonly made of flour, eggs, milk, raisins 
 or currants, and sometimes with butter, spices, &c. 
 the preparations of which are so well understood by 
 every experienced housekeeper, that it is unnecessary 
 to particularize them. It may be remarked, 
 
 that rich puddings are unwholesome, as a constant di- 
 et, and palling to the appetite. More simple com- 
 pounds are preferable on every account. Upon flouf 
 and milk, or eggs and bread, or fruit and bread, a 
 person might subsist many years without distaste or 
 injury. Milk, is not essentially necessary in making 
 good puddings. Where milk is scarce, ^vater, with 
 the assistance of Eggs, may be employed. Pancakes, 
 (a delicate fried pudding) eat very well made with 
 water instead of milk, if a larger portion than usual 
 of flour be added. 
 
 Yeast Dumplings. 
 
 The method of producing yeast from hops or the 
 use of leaven, (see Yeast) is of important utility in 
 remote situations or at sea. Surely it is better to 
 have a large light substance than a heavy indigestible 
 mass. This mode of raising flour for dumplings is at- 
 tended with another beneficial effect, and which al- 
 so deserves attention, it absorbs and takes up a much 
 greater proportion of water than the simple mixing 
 of flour and water. Take flour, a sufficient 
 
 quantity, add water to make it into paste, put to it a 
 little salt, spices and yeast. Set it before the fire to
 
 PUDDINGS. 101 
 
 ..<..0->" 
 
 ferment and rise, like leavened bread. Make it in- 
 to small round pieces and put them into boiling wa- 
 ter, let them continue to boil a sufficient time. Mo- 
 lasses, all-spice, and ginger, are frequently added ta 
 make them more savoury. These kind of dump- 
 
 lings are a good resource to the poor, when milk, 
 and eggs are scarce and expensive. 
 
 x\ppLE Dumplings, 
 eaten with butter and sugar, are perhaps the best of 
 all dumplings, affording excellent nourishment, and 
 are easy of digestion. 
 
 Gooseberry Puddings 
 are also an excellent kind. 
 
 Herb Pudding 
 
 is made of spinage, beet, parsley, and leeks, a hand- 
 fid of each. Wash, scald, and shred them very fine. 
 Have ready a quart of groats steeped in warm water 
 for half an hour, and butter cut in small pieces, three 
 large onions chopped small, and three sage leaves 
 hacked fine; put in a little salt, mix all together and 
 tye them up close. It will be necessary to loosen the 
 string in boiling. 
 
 Rice Puddings. 
 T. Bernard, Esq. treasurer of the Foundling Hospital, 
 during the scarcity of wheat in 1795, recommended 
 to that institution, to substitute rice puddings for 
 those of flour. The flour puddings had taken one 
 hundred and sixty-eight pounds of flour; the rice 
 puddings required only twenty one pounds of rice, 
 to make the same quantity and weight of pudding. 
 9*
 
 102 PUDDINGS. 
 
 ••♦•<>••>••• 
 
 The result was, that one pound of rice went nearly 
 as far as eight pounds of flour. The use of these pud- 
 dings have ever since been continued at the hos- 
 pital. 
 
 Boil a quarter of a pound of unground rice, tili 
 it be quite soft; put it on the back of a siv-^veto drain, 
 and, when cold, mix it with three quarters of a 
 pound of flour, a table spoonful of yeast, a tea cup- 
 ful of milk, and a small table spoonful of salt. Let 
 it stand for three hours ; then knead it up, and roll it 
 in a handful of flour, so as to make the outside dry 
 enough to be put into the oven ; about an hour and 
 quarter will bake it. It will weigh 1 lb. 14 oz. and 
 •will keep eight days. 
 
 Another. 
 
 Let a quarter of a pound of rice, and double that 
 quantity of raisins, be tied loosely in a cloth, and boil- 
 ed for two hours; at the expiration of which time, 
 it may be put into a dish, and carried to the table. 
 Or, the rice may be boiled in a cloth for one hour, 
 when a quarter of a pound of butter is to be stirred 
 in, and the pudding sweetened to the taste: it should 
 then be boiled for another hour, after which it will be 
 fit for immediate use. 
 
 Another. 
 
 If a quarter of a pound of rice be tied loosely in a 
 cloth capable of holding five times that quantity, and 
 then slowly boiled, it will produce above a pound of 
 solid food ; which eaten with sugar or boiled milk, 
 forms a very palatable dish. And, if an egg, togeth- 
 er with a quarter of a pint of milk, a small quantity 
 of sugar, and grated nutmeg be added, it will afford 
 a very agreeable pudding.
 
 PUDDINGS. 103 
 
 •■<•••<>•>•• 
 
 Rice with Milk. 
 
 Soak the rice overnight in water; bake twelve ounces 
 of rice with four and a half pints of milk, and three 
 ounces of sugar. 
 
 Sweet Eice Pudding. 
 
 Put a pound of rice in five pints of cold water, and 
 boil it gently for two hours, by which time it will be 
 ofthe consistency of thick paste; then add two pints 
 ofmilk, and four ounces of treacle, and boil the whole 
 gently for another hour ; it will produce nearly nine 
 pounds of sweet rice pudding. 
 
 Rice without Milk. 
 
 Put one pound of rice into three quarts of boiling wa^ 
 ter, let it remain for twenty mi.iutes, then skim the 
 -water, and add one ounce of butter, a little salt and 
 spices. Let it simmer gently over the tire, closely 
 covered, for an hour and a quarter, when it will be 
 fit for use. It will produce rather more than eight 
 pounds of savory rice. It is not necessary to strain 
 the rice. 
 
 Rice and Barley Pudding. 
 
 One pound of rice, one pound of barley meal, a quar- 
 ter of a pound of treacle, and one ounce of salt, boil- 
 ed in two gallons of uater, over a slow tire, make six- 
 teen pounds of nutritious food; the whole cost a- 
 mountiiig to ninepence. 
 
 A Composition of Barley and Rice. 
 
 To one pound of rice, and one pound of pot or Scotch 
 barley, add two gallons of water. Let them boil ov-
 
 104 PUDDINGS. 
 
 er a slow fire for four hours, and be continually stir- 
 red. Before taken off the fire, add four ounces of 
 sugar, and an ounce of salt. These articles will pro- 
 duce more food than ten people can eat. 
 
 Macaroon Rice. 
 
 Put a pound of rice into five pints of cold water, and 
 boil it gently for two hours, when it will be of the 
 consistency of thick paste; then add two pints of 
 iiiilk,andtwo ounces of strong Cheshire cheese, grat- 
 ed fine, seasoned with pepper and salt. The whole 
 to be boiled gently for another hour. It will produce 
 nearly nine pounds. 
 
 Mucilage of Eice 
 
 is obtained by boiling two ounces of fine rice flour 
 with a quarter of a pound of lump sugar, in a pint of 
 water till it become an uniform gelatinous mass: on 
 being strained through a cloth, and suffered to cool, 
 it constitutes a salubrious and nourishing food. 
 
 Cheap Rice Pudding. 
 
 During the scarcity of 1800, some humane people 
 bought 32 lbs of Rice, 6 lb of butter, IZ lb of treacle 
 
 ' or molasses, and 8 quarts of milk ; these i^igredients 
 were made into a pudding, the whole expence of 
 which amounted to one guinea. It was found to sup- 
 port 156 people for two days, who otherwise would 
 have been subjected to want of food. 
 
 /- It is worth remarking, to economists atleast, that 
 the water in which rice has been boiled, answers ev- 
 ery purpose of starch.
 
 puddings. 105 
 
 Boiled Potatoe Pudding. 
 
 Boil half a pound of potatoes till they become soft., 
 when they must be mashed, and rubbed through a 
 sieve. Half a pound of fresh melted butter is then 
 to be combined with a similar quantity of sugar; and 
 all the ingredients are to be mixed up with six eggs, 
 and a little brandy. The whole is then to be pour- 
 ed into a cloth, and boiled for half an hour, when it 
 may be served, with some melted butter, sweeten- 
 ed with sugar ; to which a small portion of wine 
 may be added. 
 
 Another. 
 
 12 ounces of potatoes, boiled, skinned, and mashed, 
 1 oz of butter. 
 
 1 oz ( or 1 - 16 of a pint) of milk, and 
 1 oz of Gloucester cheese. 
 
 Total, fifteen ounces, mixed with as much boiling wa- 
 ter as is necessary to bring it to a due consistence, 
 and then baked in an earthen pan. 
 
 Another. 
 
 To two pounds of potatoes, boiled, peeled and mash- 
 ed, add one pint of milk, three eggs, and two ounces 
 of moist sugar, mix them well together, and boil 
 them in the usual way for near an hour. 
 
 PoTATOE Dumplings 
 
 are made by taking any quantity of potatoes, half 
 boiled ; skin or pare them ; grate them with a coarse 
 grater; mix them up with a small quantity of flour, 
 one sixteenth, for instance, or less ; add a seasoning 
 of salt, pepper, and sweet herbs ; mix the whole up 
 with boiling water to a proper consistency, and form
 
 106 PUDDINGS. 
 
 the mass into dumplings of the size of a large apple. 
 Roll them, when formed, in flour to prevent the wa- 
 ter from penetrating them. Boil them till they rise to 
 the surface of the water. 
 
 Baked PoTATOE Pudding. 
 
 The Potatoes: should be first well boiled, then freed 
 from the skin, and afterwards set for about half an 
 hour in the open air, if dry, or before the fire, in order 
 to let the watery particles evaporate. The potatoe 
 pulp is to be beaten up with milk and eggs and then 
 baked. Instead of baking, it might be boiled in a 
 pudding cup, tied over with a thick close cloth, in 
 the usual way; but baking answers better. Thispud- 
 ding is exceedingly palatable and nourishing. To 
 give it a better consistence, a small quantity of flour 
 may be beaten up with the potatoe pulp. 
 
 Another. 
 
 Take twelve ounces of potatoes, boiled, skinned and 
 mashed; one ounce of milk; two eggs; half an 
 ounce of grated cheese; mixed well together, and 
 baked in a pan. 
 
 Pease Pudding 
 
 is made by boiling the pease quite tender in a cloth. 
 It is then to be untied, and a good piece of butter, a 
 little salt, and some beaten pepper is to be mixed. 
 The pudding is then to be tied up again, and boiled 
 an hour longer. 
 
 Cheap Pease Pudding. 
 
 To a pint of pease, when made into pudding, add 
 two pounds of potatoes, boiled and well mashed. 
 This mixture eats as if it were entirely pease-pud- 
 ding.
 
 PUDDINGS. lOT 
 
 Pudding of Carrot. 
 
 Pare off some of the crust of fine white bread, and 
 grate off half as much of the rest as there is of the 
 root, which must also be grated. Then take half a 
 pint of fresh cream or new milk, half a pound of fresh 
 butter, six new laid eggs (taking out three of the 
 whites) mash and mix them well with the cream and 
 butter. Then put in the e^rated bread and carrot, 
 with nearly half a pound of sugar, a little salt, some 
 grated nutmeg and beaten spice. Pour all into a con- 
 Tenient dish or pan, which has been buttered, to keep 
 the ingredients from sticking and burning ; set it 
 in a quick oven for about an hour. In this manrjer 
 a pudding may be made from any root. — Evdyri's 
 Aceiaria. 
 
 Pudding of Pennyroyal. 
 
 The cream, eggs, spice, &c. as in the foregoing, but 
 not so much sugar and salt. Take a good quantity 
 of pennyroyal and marigold flowers, &c. very well 
 shred, and mix them with the cream, eggs, &c. ; 
 four spoonfuls of sack; half a pint more of cream, 
 and half a pound of butter; the gratings of a twopen- 
 ny loaf. Stirring all well together, flour the bag be- 
 fore you put it in, and tie it fast. It will besufficient- 
 Jy boiled within the hour; or it may be baked in the 
 pan like the carrot pudding. The sauce for both is 
 a little rose-water, less of vinegar, with butter beaten 
 together, sweetened with the sugar-caster. 
 
 Spinage Pudding. 
 
 Take a sufficient quantity of spinage, beat it and 
 strain out the juice ; put to it grated fine bread, the
 
 108 PUDDINGS. 
 
 yolk of as many eggs as in the former composition of 
 tlie carrot pudding ; butter, nutmeg, sugar, some cur- 
 rants ; a few carraways, and rose or orange-flower wa- 
 ter, to make it grateful. Mix all with a little boiled 
 cream ; and set the dish or pan in the oven with a 
 garnish of puff-paste. It will require but very mod- 
 erate baking. — EvelyiUs Acetaria. 
 
 Sago Pudding. 
 
 Boil four ounces of sago in a quart of good milk till 
 soft, when cold, put in six eggs, leaving out three of 
 the whites, well beaten ; add grated bread, sugar, nut- 
 meg, and wine, to your taste. Half an hour will boil 
 it. Sauce may be made of melted butter, wine, and 
 sugar. 
 
 Bread Pudding 
 
 seems an unnatural preparation. Surely nothing can 
 be proper which is twice prepared, if the first prepar- 
 ation be perfect. However, if expedition be 
 required, a wholesome dumpiing may be made by 
 piercing well with a fork the two-penny loaves called, 
 in some places, manchets, and puttitig them into soup 
 when boiling. Melted butter, sugar, and vinegar, 
 may be used as a sauce. 
 
 Batter Puddings, Apple Dumplings, Gooseberry 
 Puddings, Plain Puddings, Plumb Puddings, and 
 Hard Dumplings, are so well known that it is not 
 necessary to particularize their composition. 
 
 Burgoo or Burgout, 
 
 is a nutritive dish eaten by mariners, and much used 
 in Scotland. Some say it is made of groats boiled 
 in water till they burst, and mixed with water: others, 
 that it is made by gradually adding two quarts of wa-
 
 PUDDINGS. 109 
 
 -<•<>••>•■ 
 
 ter to one of oatmeal, so that the whole may mix 
 smoothly; then boiling it for a quarter of an hour, 
 stirring it constantly, after which a little salt and but- 
 ter should be added. It is in either way a cheap and 
 nutritive dish. 
 
 Common Hasty Pudding 
 
 is made by taking equal quantities of milk and wa- 
 ter, and when it begins to boil, sift in, with the hand, 
 wheat Hour, very gradually, till it be of the consis- 
 tence desired ; remembering to keep stirring it, and 
 not to put it in so quickly as to prevent it from boil- 
 ing all the time. This pudding may be eaten with 
 milk, or sugar and butter. 
 
 Another. 
 Let equal parts of milk and water, suppose a pint 
 each, with a little salt, be made to boil gently; stir 
 gradually into it two table spoonfuls of flour, pre- 
 viously well mixed with half a pint of cold water; 
 keep this over the tire for ten minutes, scarcely boil- 
 ing, and it will produce about a quart of very pleas- 
 ant pudding, or pottage. It may be rendered pala- 
 table by a little sugar and ginger, or nutmeg. 
 
 Oat-meal Hasty-Pudding. 
 
 In the north of England, hasty-pudding is made en- 
 tirely from oatmeal and water. (In Yorkshire called 
 water-pottage.) The water is first put into a pan, 
 with a little salt; when it boils, the oatmeal is sprink- 
 led into it by degrees, as in the former article, till it 
 has acqiiired the consistence of molasses. When it 
 is cool enough for eating it will have acquired some 
 firmness. It may be eaten, like the former, with 
 
 Uiilk, ale, small beer, sugar, molasses, butter, &c. 
 10
 
 no PUDDINGS. 
 
 .<>.>.. 
 
 Herb Pottage. 
 
 Take four quarts of spring water, tuo or three oni- 
 ons, stuck with some cloves, two or three slices of 
 lemon peel, salt, whole white pepper, mace, a scrap- 
 ing or two ot" ginger, tied up in a fine cloth, all to be 
 boiled for half an hour. Then having Spinage, Sor- 
 rel, white chard Beet, a little Cabbage, a few small 
 Tops of Gives, washed and picked clean, shred 
 them well and cast them into the liquor, with a pint 
 of blue pease, boiled soft, and strained with a bunch 
 of sweet herbs ; the top and bottom of a roll. Suf- 
 fer it to boil for three hours, and then dish it with a- 
 nother small roll, and slices of roll about the dish. 
 Some cut bread in slices, and frying them brown, 
 put them into the pottage, just when it is going to be 
 eaten. The same herbs, clean washed, brok- 
 
 en and pulled assunder only, being put in a close cov- 
 ered pipkin, without any other water or liquor^, will 
 stew, in their own juice and moisture. Some add 
 a whole onion, which after a while should be taken 
 out, remembering to season it with salt and spice, 
 and serve it up with bread and a piece of fresh but- 
 ter.— EvelyiH s Acetaria. 
 
 Breakfasts and Suppers. 
 
 If thick water gruel, well boiled, with a small quan- 
 tity of milk, treacle, or, occasionally, rice, were giv- 
 en to children, instead of bread and butter, they 
 would be found infinitely more nourishing, equal- 
 ly palatable, and very much cheaper. It is also the 
 most proper supper for children, and greatly to be 
 preferred to the practice of feeding infants with bread 
 and butter, or bread and cheese and malt liquor.
 
 PUDDINGS. Ill 
 
 Boiled potatoes and milk make an excellent break- 
 fast or supper. 
 
 Pease Pottage. 
 Take four quarts of water, to which put a pint of split 
 or other peas, set them on a gentle fire, and let them 
 boil slouly for three or four hours. Add a little dry 
 sage or mint rubbed into powder, and shred an on- 
 ion into it. After the herbs are boiled, put two spoon- 
 fuls of wheat-flour, made into batter, with cold wa- 
 ter. When boiled up it will be ready. This w^ill make 
 about two quarts of excellent food at a very trifling 
 expense. 
 
 Flour with Eggs. 
 Take a quart of good water and set it on the fire to 
 heat. Then put two spoonfuls of wheat flour, and 
 two or three eggs into some water and beat them well 
 together. When the water nearly boils the thicken- 
 ing may be put in, keeping the whole in motion with 
 a spoon till it be ready to boil ; then take it off and 
 add to it bread, salt, and butter. Let it stand to cool 
 till it be nevv-milk warm. 
 
 Flumery 
 
 was the ancient gruel of the Britons, and is still re- 
 tained among the Welch. It is made in the follow- 
 ing manner. Take two or three spoonfuls of oat- 
 meal and put it in a portion of water, where let it re- 
 main till it be rather sour. It may then be put in a 
 proper vessel and placed on a quick fire till it becomes 
 hot and begins to rise. To prevent it from boiling, 
 move it with a ladle for five minutes, and then it will 
 be ready. It was anciently used in different 
 
 ways, as with ale mixed in it, and eaten with bread ; 
 others mixed with it milk, cream, &c. but the best 
 way is certainly to eat plain bread with it.
 
 112 PUDDINGS. 
 
 •■♦•<>•>" 
 
 Modern Flumery. 
 
 Let half a peck of oatmeal or wheat bran, not over- 
 much boulted or sifted, be put to two gallons of wa- 
 ter, and left to soak for three or four days. Then 
 strain, or rather press out the liquid ; boil it to a jelly 
 by reducing it by evaporation to one third. In this 
 state it will keep long. When used, sweeten it with 
 sugar, and put in orange flowers, or rose water. 
 Some prefer cream or milk, and others wine or ale. 
 
 Welch Dishes. 
 
 Take three handfuls of oatmeal, mix it in two quarts 
 of fair spring water, which let stand a .day and a 
 night; gently drain off the water, and throw it away, 
 add the same quantity of water again, and drain it 
 through a sieve to clear it from the bran, &c. it may 
 then be boiled, and sugar or treacle added. 
 
 Slice boiled potatoes, while hot, into milk, and 
 add a little salt. 
 
 Milk and wheat flour, boiled ; some sugar added. 
 
 Hasty Pudding made of Indian Corn. 
 
 The cheapest and most advantageous method of us- 
 ing Indian corn as food, is by making the flour of it 
 into hasty pudding, in a manner very similar to wa- 
 ter-pottage (a food made of oat-meal in the North of 
 England and in Scotland). A (juantity of water, pro- 
 portioned to the quantity of hasty pudding intended 
 to be made, is put over the fire, in an open iron pot 
 or kettle, and, a proper quantity of salt for seasoning 
 the pudding being previously dissolved, as soon as 
 the water begins to boil, the Indian meal is stirred in- 
 to it, by little and little, with a spatula of wood fov
 
 PUDDINGS. 11a 
 
 ..<..o.>™ 
 
 the purpose, or a spoon, while the water is kept con- 
 tinually boiling. Great care is to be taken to put in the 
 meal gradually and slowly, by taking a handful and 
 passing it through the fingers, stirring the water at 
 the same time with the other hand, to mix the meal 
 so as no lumps be formed. When the substance 
 
 attains the thickness of gruel, half an hour longer 
 should be employed in adding the additional quanti- 
 ty of meal necessary for bringing the pudding to 
 the pro|)er consistency. We repeat, that during 
 the whole time it should be constantly stirred 2l\\^ kept 
 boiling. When completed, it should be of a con- 
 sistence sufficient nearly to suspend the spatula or 
 spoon upriorht. It may be eaten with milk, or with 
 butter, sugar, or molasses, 
 
 Indian Corn may be made also into what the A- 
 merlcans call a 
 
 Plain Indian" Pudding, 
 which is formed by taking tliree pounds of Indian 
 meal and stirring it well with five pints of boiling wa- 
 ter, then add three quarters of a pound of molasses 
 and one ounce of salt. When stirred well together 
 put the mixture into a bag, leaving a space of one sixth 
 of if s contents to give room for the pudding to swell. 
 Boil the bag and contents in water, six hours, without 
 intermission. The loss of water by evaporation is 
 to be supplied with boiling water from another ket- 
 tle. The best form for a bag is a truncated 
 cone. The bag should be wet before the pudding is 
 poured into it. An agreeable variety may be made 
 in this pudding by the addition of cuttings of apples. 
 
 These apples may be cut in small pieces as soon as 
 
 10*
 
 114 PUDDINGS. 
 
 gathered from the tree, and by drying them in the 
 sun, they may be kept good for several years. In A- 
 nierica, various kinds of berries, found in the woods 
 are preserved in this manner. 
 
 HOMMONY 
 
 is prepared by removing the husk and skin of the In- 
 dian corn, which is generally done by a small portion 
 of the lye of wood-ashes mixed with water; it is then 
 commonly boiled with kidney-beans, and when cook- 
 ed, forms a kind of mess like hasty-puddiug; it is 
 frequently eaten with milk, and sometimes fried af- 
 ter it is cold, in which state it is excellent. 
 
 Panado 
 
 is made by grating bread into hot water, and adding 
 currants, mace, and cinnamon, when boiled to a tol- 
 erable consistency, put in sugar, yolks of eggs, and 
 white wine ; or currants and some butter only may 
 be added to the bread.
 
 115 
 
 PIES, 
 of Apples, Pears, Cherries, and Plumbs are very 
 wholesome, provided that the fruit be thoroughly 
 ripe ; that no improper ingredients, such as sugar, be 
 added ; and that the crust be made without butter, 
 which renders it exceedingly diillcult of digestion. 
 
 The best pies, of whatever kind of fruit, are made 
 by making a pa<te of good wheat flour, and warm 
 milk and water with a little leaven or yeast. 
 In baking pies, the mouth of the oven should be left 
 a little open, in order to preserve their natural col- 
 our, taste and smell. When they are drawn out 
 of the oven a hole should be open in the top of each. 
 They are rendered less wholesome when eaten hot 
 with butter. 
 
 Pie of Herbs. 
 
 A herb pie is thus made. Boil fresh cream or milk, 
 with a little grated bread or Naples biscuit, to thick- 
 in it; a good parcel of chervil, spinach, beet, or 
 whatever herbs you are partial to, being first parboil- 
 ed and chopped. Then add macaroon or almonds, 
 beaten to paste, a little sweet butter, the yolk of five 
 eggs, rejecting three of the whites. To these add some 
 currants, plumped or boiled in milk. Then sugar and 
 spice at discretion, and stirring all together, over the 
 fire, let it be put in a tart-pan and baked. 
 
 Another. 
 
 Take a sheaf of young parsley, six onions, and sweet 
 beet ; a penny loaf crumbled, and two eggs ; shred
 
 lie SEASONINGS. 
 
 ..K..o.>.. 
 
 the herbs fine, grater the bread, and add the eggs 
 when beaten with a suflicientseasoningof pepper and 
 salt. Put into your dish a lump of butter and cover 
 the whole with paste. To bake it, in a moderate 
 oven, requires an hour. 
 
 SEASONINGS 
 
 Salt, 
 
 as an article of diet, seems to act simply as a stimulus, 
 not containing any nourishment, and is the only fos- 
 sil subsiance which the caprice of mankind has yet 
 taken into their stomachs along with their food ; and, 
 like all other unnatural stimuli, is not necessary to 
 people in health. Tho' it may be useful as a medi- 
 cine, it's common use has a debilitating effect. It 
 seems to be the imn)ediate cause of the sea scurvy, 
 as those patients quickly recover by the use of fresh 
 provision; and it is probably a remote cause of scro- 
 phula (which consists in the want of irritability in the 
 absorbent vessels) and is therefore necessary to these 
 patients, as wine is necessary to those whose stomachs 
 have been weakened by it's use. The universality, 
 however, of the use of salt with our food, and in our 
 cookery, has rendered it difficult to prove the truth 
 of these observations. If a person unaccustomed to 
 much salt should eat a couple of red herrings, his in- 
 sensible perspiration will be so much increased by the 
 siimilus of the salt, that he will find it necessary in a- 
 bout two hours to drink a quart of water: the effects 
 of a continued use of salt in weakening the action of
 
 SEASONINGS. 117 
 
 ■•<"«">" 
 
 the lymphatic system may hence be deduced. — Dr. 
 Darwin's Bot. Garden, pt. ii. pa. 159. 
 
 Sugar. 
 
 Dr. Benjamin Rush, Professor of the Institutes of 
 Medicine in the University of Pennsylvania, in his 
 account of the manner of obtaining sugar from the 
 sugar Maple Tree, ( Acer sacchariniun) says, "Sug- 
 ar affords the greatest quantity of nourishment, in a 
 given quantity of matter, of any substance in nature. 
 It has this peculiar advantage over most kinds of ali- 
 ment, that it is not liable to have it's nutritious qual- 
 ities affected by time or the weather: hence it is pre- 
 ferred by the Indians in their excursions from home. 
 They mix a certain quantity of maple sugar, with an 
 equal quantity of Indian Corn, dried and powdered, 
 in it's milky state. This mixture is packed in little 
 baskets, which are frecjuently wetted in travelling, 
 without injuring the sugar. A few spoonfuls of it, 
 mixed with half a pint of spring water, afford them 
 a pleasant and strengthening meal. The plenti- 
 
 ful use of sugar in diet, is one of the best preventives 
 which has ever been discovered, of the diseases pro- 
 duced by worms. Nature seems to have im- 
 planted a love for this aliment in all children, as if on 
 purpose to defend them from those diseases. 
 Sir John Pringle has remarked, that the plague has 
 never been known in any country where sugar com- 
 poses a material part of the diet of the inhabitants. 
 
 The sugar obtained from the Maple-tree is prefera- 
 ble to the West India sugar from it's superior clean- 
 liness. It is prepared in a season when not a single 
 insect exists to feed upon it, or to mix it's excretions 
 with it, and before a particle of dust, or the polen of
 
 118 SEASONINGS. 
 
 plants, can float in the air. The same observations 
 cannot be applied to the West India sugar. The 
 Maple-sugar leaves less sediment, when dissolved 
 in water than the West-India sugar. It has 
 
 been said, that sugar injures the teeth, but this opin- 
 ion now has so few advocates, that it does not deserve 
 a serious refutation. The nutritious proper- 
 
 ties of sugar, taken in a solid form, are now univer- 
 sally acknowledged. As dissolved in tea they are 
 lost. It is worthy of observation also, that sugar taken 
 intothe stomach in substance never disagrees, where- 
 as in a diluted solution, as in tea, it frequently pro- 
 duces heart-burn. Besides, a much smaller quantity 
 suffices to impart an agreeable sweetness to a solid, 
 than is reciuisite to conceal the acrid bitter of an in- 
 fusion of tea," — Practical Economy. Yet the 
 improper use of sugar has it's pernicious effects. 
 Qualified with this seasoning, fruits are gathered and 
 eaten in an immature state ; particularly gooseberries, 
 having; no more virtue in them than the leaves or stalks 
 
 A Substitute for Sugar 
 
 has been proposed to be obtained from honey, by 
 Father Giovane Batista da St. Marine, an ingenious 
 Venetian monk: his method is as follows. — To three 
 parts (by weight) of honey, eight of water must be 
 added ; together with one part of charcoal, broken to 
 pieces, but not reduced to powder. This mixture 
 should boil for one hour, when it should be filtered; 
 and, after having been thus purified, it is to be evap- 
 orated over a slow fire, till it acquire the consistence 
 of a thick syrup, which will be as palatable as sugar.
 
 SEASONINGS. 119 
 
 MOLLASSES 
 
 maybe divested of it's iiiawkish taste, and rendered 
 fit to be used as a substitute for sugar, in the follow- 
 ing manner. Let twenty four pounds of molasses, a 
 similar quantity of water, and six pounds of charcoal 
 coarsely pulverized, be mixed in a kettle, and the 
 whole l3oiled over a slow lire. V\"hen the mixture 
 has simmered for the space of half an hour, it must 
 be decanted in a deep vessel, that the charcoal may 
 subside; after which the liquid should be poured off, 
 and again placed over the fire, that the superfluous 
 water may evaporate, and restore the syrup to it's 
 former consistence. Twenty-four pounds of molas- 
 ses t]]us refined, will produce an equal quantity of syr- 
 up. This method has been successfully prac- 
 tised on a large scale, in Germany ; and, we conceive 
 it might be advantageously imitated ; for the molas- 
 ses thus become sensibly milder, and may consequent- 
 ly be employed in various articles of food. For dish- 
 es, however, in which milk is an ingredient, or for cor- 
 dials which are to be mixed with spices, it will be 
 preferable to niake use of sugar. — Domestic Encyclo- 
 pcedia. 
 
 Fungus. 
 
 Let it not appear surprising, that among the season- 
 ings, we have enumerated no species of Fungus, 
 tho'they all grow spontaneously on the hills, and in 
 the woods and plains. Most of these singular plants 
 contain a poison of great activity ; and, uniiappUy, 
 we are deficient both in chemical and botanical means 
 of establishing certain marks of distinction betweed 
 them, which may serve to characterize their effects,
 
 120 OVENS. 
 
 ..<>.>- 
 
 and at the same time prevent the fatal mistakes every 
 day made in choosing them: it would then be bet- 
 ter, as Geortery expresses it, to return mushrooms 
 reared in beds to the dunghill whence they spruncr. 
 
 Mushr(M)ms are not nutritious; they only contain 
 a savoury substance, which may easily be dispensed 
 with; and, since there is no way to distinguish the 
 mushroom which is essentially poisonous, from that 
 which may be rendered poisonous by numerous ac- 
 cidents, let us not hesitate to proscribe it from the 
 class of seasonings, by substituting the heart of arti- 
 chokes, celery, and the root of parsley and other 
 ijr.rden plants ; in wiiich it would be easy, on enquiry, 
 to di>cover the seducing relish of the deceitful mush- 
 room.^ — Purvichtier. 
 
 The odour of most Fungi is mephetic. They have 
 also a very septic and corroding power, consuming, 
 within a year, the trunks of trees on which they grow. 
 Altho' some of them are less poisonous than others, 
 yet those who collect them, are neither able, nor take 
 any pains to distinguish them. 
 
 OVEXS. 
 
 I'he lowest part of the community are often de- 
 barn-d from the benefit of an oven from the expense 
 of erecting one with brick and lime. The following 
 method of making ovens, universally practised by ev- 
 ery farmer in Canada, is worthy of imitation and ad- 
 option, as the poorest person may make one at little or 
 ijoexpence,savea tritling portion of i:ains and labour
 
 OVENS. IQl 
 
 ••<-0.>" 
 
 At a convenient distance from tiie house make a plat- 
 form, of about six or seven feet square, of earth, 
 stone, or moocI ; raise it about three feet from the 
 ground ; procure a quantity of clay, and one third 
 of sand ; beat and mix it well with water to the con- 
 sistence fit for making bricks. With this clay cov- 
 er the top of the square about six or seven inches 
 thick, and make it perfectly smooth and level. Pro- 
 vide a number, of laths, twigs, or small branches of 
 trees, which will easily bend into an oval shape. On 
 the moist clay, mark out the size of the oven; then 
 bend the twigs, or other materials, into the shape 
 and size of the oven, leaving at one end, a vacancy 
 for the door of the oven, in proportion to the size, 
 sticking the ends of them into the clay. When fin- 
 ished, it will appear like a basket, turned upside down. 
 The next step is to plaster it over with clay, about an 
 inch at a time, letting it dry a little at each time of 
 plastering, till the thickness of eight or nine inches 
 have been added. Then fill the oven with wood or 
 coals, and set it on fire ; and where any cracks ap- 
 pear in the arch, work in some clay, and plaster it 
 over. The fire must be continued till the whole is 
 burnt to the state of a brick. An oven made in this 
 manner, if properly covered from rain, will last a Jong 
 time. — Cochrane s Scamen^s Guide. 
 
 11
 
 122 
 
 LiquIDS. 
 
 We should never neglect to use a sufficient-quan- 
 tity of drink. It too often happens that people, by 
 inattention to the calls of nature, neglect drinking 
 entirely, which is the grand cause of aridity, obstruc- 
 tions in the abdomen and a multitude of diseases 
 to be found so frequently among men of letters, and 
 females, who lead sedentary lives. But let it be ob- 
 served, that the best time for drinking is not while 
 one 13 eating, as the gastric juices are thereby render- 
 ed too thin, and the stomach weakened — but about 
 an hour after meals. " The best drink is 
 
 WATER, 
 
 a liquor commonly despjsed, and even considered as 
 prejudicial. I will not hesitate however," says Dr. 
 Iliifeland, "to declare it to be one of the greatest means 
 of prolonging life. But one great point should be re- 
 garded, namely that the water be fresh, that it be re- 
 cently drawn from a spring or running stream, and be 
 put into a vessel well stopped ; for all spring water, like 
 mineral, contains fixed air, which renders it strength- 
 ening and favourable to digestion. Pure, fresii water 
 has the following advantages, which ought to inspire us 
 with respect for it. The element of water is the great- 
 est and only promoter of digestion. By it's coldness 
 and fixed air, it is an excellent strengthener and reviver 
 of the stomach and nerves. On account ofit's abun- 
 dance of fixed air, and the saline particles it contains, 
 Jt is a powerful preventive of bile and putrefaction. It
 
 WATER. 123 
 
 assists all the secretions of the body. Withoiut water 
 there could be no excretion ; for according to the 
 latest experiments, oxygeneis a component part of it. 
 By drinking water we actually imbibe a new stimulus 
 of life. — Art of preserving Life, vol. 2,p. 250, 251. 
 
 It seems unreasonable to suppose that the water 
 which we drink does not furnish a part of our subsis- 
 tence. The following fact seems to confirm this i- 
 dea. It is given by Dr. Anderson, in his " Bee,'' vol. 
 xi, p. 167, as follows. About twelve years ago, (Oct. 
 1792) a woman in Rossshire lived several years with- 
 out tasting any other kind of food, besides pure wa- 
 ter alone. The fact was authenticated in the most un- 
 deniable manner ; and Sir John Lockhart Ross assured 
 me, that he visited her after she bad been on that regi- 
 men several years, and found her complexion fresh and 
 clear, her breasts plump, and her body far from be- 
 ing in that emaciated state he expected." 
 " The very great benefits I have myself experience 
 ed," says Mr. Sandford, (the ingenious author of " Re- 
 marks on Wine and Spirits," &c. 12mo. Cadell and 
 Davies,) ** in exchanging the usual stinmlant bever- 
 age of fermented liquors, for a more diluting one, 
 leave me no hesitation in pronouncing pure Sprifig 
 IVater to be unquestionably (with some few excep- 
 tions) the best liquor to betaken with our meals, tho' 
 condemned as prejudicial by some, and rejected, for 
 no just reason, by others. The following' advantages 
 resulting from it's use, may possibly recommend it to 
 those who are unacquainted with it's general proper- 
 ties, viz. that it is a great promoter of digestion in 
 healthy stomachs, and by it's coldness assists to 
 lower the heat usually generated in this process. It 
 is a powerful preventive of bilary concretions or gaU-
 
 124 WATER. 
 
 stones, as they are called, and of urinary calcu- 
 li, or gravel. It also assists all the secretions of 
 the body; and as, according to the latest satisfac- 
 tory experiments of Lavoisier, Oxi/gen, or vital air, 
 is a component part of it, by drinking water, we ac- 
 tually receive fresh vital power. It is a liquor too, 
 Avhich may be found naturally in all climates; and is 
 agreeable to most palates ; many take no other drink 
 during their whole lives, and yet enjoy good health, 
 tho' engaged in laborious occupations ; a proof that 
 M'ater is well suited to answer every ordinary purpose 
 of the animal oeconomy. Sir John Fioyer tells 
 
 us, agreeably to ihe himioural doctrines of his day, 
 that " those who use cold water for their common 
 drink have their humours least rarefied, and escape 
 those diseases which ati'^ct the head, as apoplexy, pal- 
 sy, blindness, madness, &c. If the virtues of cold 
 Avater were duly considered, every one would value 
 it as an important medicine. To the use of it chil- 
 dren should be bred from their cradles, because all 
 strong liquors are injurious to their constitutions." 
 Good wholesome water is, according to Fourcroy, 
 generally to be discovered by the following charac- 
 teristic distinctions : it is very clear and limpid, 
 no extraneous body alters it's transparency ; it has 
 no kind of smell ; it has a lively, fresh, and almost 
 pungent taste; it boils readily without losing it's 
 transparency; it entirely dissolves soap in such a 
 manner as to form a fluid, seemingly homogene- 
 ous. Spring or river water, which filtrates, or flows 
 through sand, is in continual motion, and not pollut- 
 ed with the putrefaction of animal or vegetable sub- 
 stances, is found to possess all these properties. This 
 kind of water passes easily through the stomach and
 
 WATER. 125 
 
 ••<••■<>•>■• 
 
 intestines, and is therefore favourable to digestion. 
 On the contrary, water which stagnates in subterrane- 
 ous cavities ; which has no current ; is overgrown 
 with plants or abounds with insects; is very shallow, 
 and has a soft muddy bottom, consisting of putrid 
 vegetables, or containing calcarious salts, or clay ; 
 all such water is unwholesome. Waters, impregna- 
 ted with the latter substances, are called crude or 
 hard, and are oppressive to the stomach and unfav- 
 ourable to digestion. Armstrong has given di- 
 rections for the choice of water in the following lines. 
 
 ** What least of foreign principles partakes 
 is best; the lightest then what bears the touch 
 of fire the least, and soonest mounts in air. 
 The most insipid, the most void of smell. 
 
 Tho' thirst were e'er so resolute, avoid 
 the sordid lake, and all such drowsy iioodd 
 as fill from Lethe Belgia's slow canals 
 (with rest corrupt, with vegetation green ; 
 squalid with generation and the birth 
 of little monsters), till the power of fire 
 has, from prophane embraces, disengag'd 
 the violated lymph. The virgin stream 
 in boiling wastes it's finer soul in air." 
 
 It appears that water owes it's pleasant, fresh taste^ 
 to air, which is combined with it; for, when boiled, 
 the first bubbles that rise consist of air, and the wa- 
 ter after it has lost them, has no longer the same 
 lightness or relish. It recovers these properties by 
 being exposed for some time to the atmosphere, or 
 by being briskly shaken. By distillation, vva- 
 
 ' 11*
 
 1^6 WATER. 
 
 ••■<•<>•■■>■• 
 
 ter is obtained peiTeclly pure and separated from 
 the earthy and saline matters generally contained 
 in it, which are left at the bottom of the vessel. 
 Distilled water has an insipid taste, and when drank 
 oppresses the stomach with a kind of weight; but 
 having been exposed to the open air, and briskly 
 sliaken, it recovers it's taste, and may be drank vyith 
 safety; for distillation does not alter water, it on- 
 ly deprives It of the air, which is always united to it, 
 in it's ordinary state. No natural fiuid is 
 
 susceptible of more combinations than water, and it 
 has on this account, long held the name of the great 
 Solvent of Nature. The scientific author of 
 
 *' Zoonomia," ranks water amongst the nuirientia^ 
 or substances affording nutriment, in his arrange- 
 ment of the materia medica, contained in that work, 
 and observes that " water must be considered as part 
 of our nutriment, because so much of it enters into 
 the composition of our solids, as well asof our fluids ; 
 and vegetables are now believed to draw almost the 
 ■whole of their nourishuKMit from this source; it has 
 however other uses in the system, besides that of a 
 nourishing material, as it dilutes our fluids, and lubri- 
 cates our solids; and on all these accounts a daily 
 supply of it is required. It was formerly believed, 
 that waters replete with calcarious earth, such as en- 
 crust the inside of tea-kettles, or are said to petrify 
 moss, were liable to produce or to increase the stone 
 in the bladder. This mistaken idea has lately been 
 exploded by the improved chemistry, as no calcarious 
 earth, or a very minute quantity, was found in the 
 calculi analysed by Scheele and Bergman- The wa- 
 ters of Matlock and Carlsbad, both of which cover 
 ^he moss which they pass through, with a calcarious
 
 WATER. 127 
 
 ••<-0">- 
 
 cfust, are so far from increasing the stone of the 
 bladder or kidnies, that those of Carlsbad are cele- 
 brated for giving relief to persons labouring under 
 these diseases. Those of Matlock are drank in great 
 quantities without any suspicion ofinjury ; and i well 
 know a person who for above ten years drank about 
 two pints a day of cold water from a spring, which 
 very much incrusts the vessels it is boiled in, withcal- 
 carious earth, and affords a copious calcarious sedi- 
 ment with a solution of salt of tartar, who yet enjoys 
 a state of uninterrupted health." The too prev- 
 
 alent and mistaken idea that " Water impoverish- 
 es the blood, and is therefore hurtful to the constitu- 
 tion ; that it has a tendency to diminish the strength, 
 and depress the spirits; has, I believe, prevented 
 many persons from adopting the use of it: but we 
 have abundant instances in contradiction to these sup- 
 positions, in ancient, as well as in modern, times. 
 
 The illustrious Haller attributed to the use of wa- 
 ter alone, the perfection of all his senses, and par- 
 ticularly that of sight, tlio' he exercised his eyes very 
 much in microscopic observations, even to a late pe- 
 riod of his life. The late Dr. Benjamm Frank- 
 lin, who died at the advanced age of 84, appears to 
 have been well acquainted wdth the good effects of a 
 water regimen, as well as of the necessity of nourish- 
 ing the body by solids, rather than h\ Jfuids ; which 
 he had proved in his own person. He states, that 
 when a jov.rneyman printer, he never drank any liq- 
 uid besides water, during his work. When his fellow- 
 labourers ridiculed him for his temperance, and told 
 him that it was impossible to work at the press with- 
 out strong drink in considerable potions, he discov- 
 ered to them that he never drank strong liquors, and
 
 128 . WATER. 
 
 yet could work better than they who did. He de- 
 monstrated to tliem, likewise, that there was more 
 nourishment in a penny loaf, than in a quart of ale ; 
 because there was more grain in one than in the other, 
 and consequently that the former would go farther 
 towards enabling a man to work, than the latter. 
 John Wilson of Sosgill, Cumberland, died in April 
 1799, at the advanced age of 100. He exercised the 
 trade of a blacksmith during sixty years, in all which 
 time his beverage was milk and water, with the ex- 
 ception of only two glasses of ale, and one of spirituous 
 liquors, during the whole course of his life. It 
 has been asserted by the late Dr. Johnson, who for 
 many years never tasted wine, that Waller, who was a 
 lively and cheerful companion, was a, water-drinker; 
 notwithstanding which, he was enabled, by his fertility 
 of mind, to heighten the mirth of Bacchanalian assem- 
 blies; and that his friend Mr. Saville said, **no man 
 in England should keep him company but Ned Wal- 
 ler, without drinking." — Bosszre/fs Johnson, 
 The late celebrated Mr. John Hunter drank no wine 
 for the last twenty years of his life ; notwithstanding 
 which, his mind and body, except disturbed occa- 
 sionally by some very extraordinary paroxysms, were 
 never more vigorous and active, than during this pe- 
 riod; of which many of the philosophical works of 
 this able anatomist and physiologist, now in the hands 
 of the public, may be regarded as alfording ample 
 proof. Mr. Hunter was, notwithstanding, well known 
 in his younger days to have been a ban vivant. — 
 Home's Lije of Hunter. Dr. Hufeland men- 
 tions an instance of a very respectable surgeon-gen- 
 eral of the German army, a Mr. T , who ascribed 
 
 his healthy and long life of more than eighty years.
 
 WATER. 129 
 
 chiefly to the daily use of fresh spring water, which 
 he drank for upwards of forty years. Between his 
 thirtieth and fortieth years, he was a most miser- 
 able hypochondriac, oppressed with the deepest 
 melancholy, tormented with palpitationsof the heart. 
 Sec. and imagined he could not live six months; but 
 from the time he began a u-uier regimen, all these 
 symptoms disappeared, and in the latter half of his 
 life, he enjoyed better health than before, and was 
 perfectly free from hypochondriac affection. — Art of 
 prolonging Life. The great advantages which 
 
 the ingenious Dr. Darwin experienced by leaving off 
 fermented liquors, may be seen detailed by himself 
 in the 2nd vol. of his *' Zoonomia," p. 452; where, 
 after having described his own case of gout, and ob- 
 served that "example has a more forcible effect than 
 simple assertion," he says, *' that for upwards of 
 twenty years, he has been in the habit of drinking 
 water, and has been kept in perpetual health, except 
 accidental colds from the changes of weather ; that 
 before he abstained from fermented liquor, he was 
 subject to piles, gravel, and gout, neither of which lie 
 has since experienced, except the latter, and that in 
 a very slight degree." Dr. A. Fothergill m.en- 
 
 tions the case of his friend Dr. B. Pugh, of Midford- 
 castle, who having from early youth abstained from 
 wine and spirits, declares that at that moment he not 
 only enjoyed superior health and vivacity, but felt 
 himself as capable of every mental and corporeal ex- 
 ertion as he did at 25, tho' then in his 82cl. year. 
 J believe there are no instances on record of persons 
 halving really injured their health, and endangered 
 their lives by drinking water. On the contrary, it 
 may be urged, with Dr. Armstrong, that,
 
 130 WATER. 
 
 " Nothing like pure and simple element dilutes 
 the food, or gives the chyle to soon to flow." 
 Sandford's Remarks, p. 120 to 139, passUn. 1799. 
 
 Charles Macklin, that veteran of the London stage, 
 who died July 1 1, 1797, in his 9yth year, used to say, 
 that when he found himself ill, during the long course 
 of his life, he always went to bed, took nothing but 
 bread and water, and that, by this regimen, he was 
 generally relieved from every slight indisposition. 
 
 Method of puriEying putrid Water. 
 
 If water be putrid, it may be rendered sweet by 
 charcoal powder. This is one of the greatest and 
 most beneficial discoveries of modern times, for which 
 we are indebted to Mr. Lowiz of Petersburgh. Wa- 
 ter become putrid, may almost immediately be freed 
 from it's nauseous taste, as well as it's bad smell, and 
 be converted into good palatable liquor, by the fol- 
 lowing process. — Take some burnt charcoal, and re- 
 duce it to a fine powder. Mix about a table spoon- 
 ful of this powder in a pint of water; stir it well, and 
 suffer it to stand for a few minutes. Let it then run 
 slowly through filtering paper into a glass, and it 
 will be found quite transparent, without any bad taste 
 or smell, and perfectly pure for drinking. Charcoal 
 powder may be preserved along time in small bottles 
 well corked, and conveniently carried in travelling. 
 
 Liquids are intended by nature to quench thirst, or 
 to dilute food; not to gratify the palate or to strength- 
 en the stomach. All warm drinks weaken the 
 stomach and body ; they do not cleanse the bowels 
 or purify the blood.
 
 131 
 
 INFUSIONS, DECOCTIONS. 
 
 Tea. 
 
 The subjects of Great Britain are said to consume 
 a greater quantity of this herb than the whole inhab- 
 itants of this quarter of the globe. As tea contains 
 no nourishment for young or old, there must be bread 
 and butter to eat along with it. To a heavy, 
 
 sluggish, phlegmatic man, a moderate use of tea may 
 not prove pernicious; but where there is a debilitat- 
 ed stomach and an irritability of fibre, it never fails 
 to do much nurt. With many it has the effect of 
 preventing sleep. Tea will induce a total 
 
 change of constitution in the people of this country. 
 Indeed It has gone a great way towards effecting that 
 evil already. A debility, and consequent irritabili- 
 ty of fibre, are become so common, that not only 
 women, but even men, are affected with them. That 
 class of diseases which we call nervous, has made al- 
 most a complete conquest of the one sex, and is mak- 
 ing hasty strides towards vanquishing the other. 
 The mischief from tea arises chiefly from it's being 
 substituted for solid food. The higher ranks use 
 tea as a luxury, while the lower ranks make a diet of 
 it. — Dr. Buchaji. It is probable, that people, 
 
 particularly females, are fond of tea and coffee, be- 
 cause, for want of exercise, they have no natural or 
 real thirst ; and because they have been used to them 
 from their infancy, but they do not know that the se- 
 dative effects of tea produces disorders of laxity and
 
 132 TEA. 
 
 debility. It's excessive use is known to abate courage, 
 vigourand steadinessof mind. "The destructive 
 
 elTectsof teaon the health ofthecommon peopleof this 
 country are well known to every man whose profession- 
 al duty renders him acquainted with their diseases. 
 A conviction of it's tendency to augment the miseries 
 of the poor, by inducing them to waste that money on 
 a noxious herb, with which they might purchase 
 wholesome food, has often induced the writer to join 
 in the wish of the benevolent Tissot, "That this fam- 
 ous leaf had never been introduced into Europe." The 
 aronia, the heat, and the bitter of tea, like all other 
 stimuli, tend so much to injure the tone of the stomach 
 that it becomes unable to digest brown or second 
 bread ; which, instead of going through the digestive 
 process runs into a state of fermentation, producing 
 what is termed heart-burn, and liatulence. It was not 
 therefore without just cause that the inhabitants of 
 London complained, in the scarcity of 1 800, t hatbrown 
 bread would not agree with them ; but they did not 
 advert to the real reason, whicii was, that they had 
 injured their digestive faculties by improper food, and 
 intemperance. The faintness and sinking whicii 
 
 in a few hours succeed to the temporary irritation pro- 
 duced by tea, too frecjuently lead the lower ranks to 
 the use of ardent spirits, in order to alleviate the un- 
 easy sense of depression. The thirst and feverish- 
 ness consequent on dram-drinking, again call for the 
 diluent j)ov/ers of tea; and thus do such unthinking 
 victims pursue this fatal round of stimulatir.g the vital 
 powers into inordinate action, till the fatal course ter- 
 minates in palsy, dropsy, or general imbecility ; from 
 which, after lingering a few nionths in a workhouse, 
 they drop unheeded into the grave. *' I have
 
 TEA. 133 
 
 known," says Dr. Lettsom, in his Natural History 
 of the Tea-tree, &c., several miserable families, thus 
 infatuated, throw away their earnings on this fashion- 
 able herb, their emaciated children labouring under 
 various ailments depending on indigestion, debility, 
 and relaxation: some at length have been so enfee- 
 bled, that their limbs have become distorted, their 
 countenances pale and a marasmus [consumption] has 
 closed the tragedy. These eiiects are not so much 
 
 to be attributed to the peculiar properties of this cost- 
 ly vegetable, as to the want of proper food, which the 
 expense of the former deprived these people from pro- 
 curing. I knew a family of this stamp, consisting of 
 a mother and several children, whose fondness for tea 
 was so great and their earnings so small, that three 
 times a day, as often as their meals, they regularly- 
 sent for tea and sugar, with a morsel of bread and 
 butter, to support nature; by which practice they 
 daily grew more enfeebled; emaciated habits and 
 weak constitutions characterized this distressed fami- 
 ly, till some of the children were removed from this 
 baneful nursery, who afterwards acquired tolerable 
 health." if such then are the effects of an immoder- 
 ate use of tea, every degree has it's proportionate in* 
 salubrious effect. The obvious alteration in 
 
 the constitutions of the inhabitants of this country, 
 principally indicated by the increase of what are term- 
 ed nervous complaints, has, by many accurate ob- 
 servers, been attributed to the prevailing use of this 
 beverage among all ranks of people. The pernicious 
 habit of swallowing ardent spirits has no doubt some 
 share in producing these disorders. About fifty years 
 ago, however, before the present high duties were 
 imposed on malt spirits, much larger quantities of 
 12
 
 134 TEA. 
 
 •■<••<>•>•• 
 
 them were drank than at present ; but since that pe- 
 riod these disorders have encreased to an alarming 
 degree. Their origin must therefore be sought else- 
 where. And in the general habits of living in this 
 country no other apparent alteration has taken place, 
 to which they can be referred. With the greatest 
 share of truth, they may, perhaps, be attributed to 
 their joint operation. As the sedative properties of 
 tea produce an inclination for spirits, so by weaken- 
 ing the nerves, their irritating impressions become 
 more deleterious. Of nervous diseases. Palsy 
 
 may be considered as the aggregate representative, 
 or type. This monster appears of late years to have 
 swallowed up all minor degrees of the evils of which 
 it is the chief. The shaking head, and the trembling 
 hand, formerly the concomitants of advanced life, are 
 rarely now to be met with. But in their stead the 
 eyes are shocked, in every street, by the appearance 
 of some unhappy being, exhibiting an example of the 
 torture of Mezentius, dragging along a living bodi/, 
 joined to a dead one. If to these be added the num- 
 bers who do not expose their infirmities to public 
 view, the giant strides of this deplorable malady, the 
 more dreadful, as it does not instantly destroy it's vic- 
 tim, but leaves him a wretched burden to himself 
 and to others, must indeed appal us. The 
 
 following is a statement of the numbers dying an- 
 nually of palsy within the bills of mortality, in dif- 
 ferent periods, copied from Black's ** Tables of Mor- 
 tality," 8vo. Dilly, 178.9. Since that time it is taken 
 from the annual bills of mortality.
 
 TEA. , 135 
 
 .•■<..o->" 
 
 From the year 1701 to 1717 died of the palsy, 332 
 
 1717 - 1732 530 
 
 1732 - 1747 621 
 
 1747 - 1762 1021 
 
 1762 - 1777 1020 
 
 1777 - 1792 1062 
 
 At the beginning of the eighteenth century, tea was 
 but little known in this country. At that time the an- 
 nual import did not exceed a hundred thousand 
 pound?. Nor can it be considered as a general arti- 
 cle of diet till after the middle of it, when the quanti- 
 ty annually ifnported exceeded two millions of 
 pounds. In the year 1777, the importation was up- 
 wards of sixteen millions ; and, from the most authen- 
 tic documents, the present annual importation is sup- 
 posed not to be less than thirty millions ! Can it be 
 doubted that a new article of diet could be adopted 
 to such an astonishing extent, without producing some 
 adequate change on the constitutions of the consum- 
 ers of it ? In a period of thirty years, reckon- 
 sngfrom 1717, when the use of tea was yet uncom- 
 mon, palsy increased nearly in the ratio of two to one. 
 In the next fifteen years, when tea-drinking was gen- 
 erally diffused, especially in the capital, the ratio of 
 this disease augments as three to one, and continues 
 nearly the same during forty-five succeeding years : 
 and, if the average of the last seven years from 1792 
 be taken, palsy appears again on the encrease, in a pro- 
 portion of about four to one. It would not be a 
 difiicult task to prove that the use of this infatuating 
 beverage has produced a remarkable change, not only 
 in the health, but in the moral as well as political 
 character of the inhabitants of this country. 
 In no point of view is tea to be considered as a nee-
 
 136 SUBSTITUTES FOR TEA. 
 
 ■•♦■•<>••>- 
 
 essar}' of life. All it's nutritive qualities remain to 
 be extracted from it's concomitants, sugar, milk, but- 
 er, and bread. To any proposal to abstain from 
 
 tea, even when it's use is evidently prejudical to health, 
 the immediate objection is, what can be substituted 
 in it's stead? This question may be readily answer- 
 ed by another; what did our ancestors subsist on, 
 before tea was heard of? The writer is ac- 
 
 quainted with a lady, equally respectable for her age 
 and her virtues, who distinctly recollects the intro- 
 duction of tea, as a novelty, into her father's family 
 in Kent, the leaves were then boiled in a kettle, and 
 the liquor drank as an afternoon's regale. At that 
 time the general breakfast in the neighbourhood was 
 frumenty, and something of a similar kind was used 
 in other parts of the country. — Practical Economyy 
 Callow, 1801. 
 
 Substitutes for foreign Teas. 
 
 As the tea-tree grows principally between the 30th and 
 40th degrees of latitude, it might be easily raised in 
 Europe: indeed, from the success with which planta- 
 tions of this shrub have lately been established by a 
 society of nuPiS in Franconia, near Wiirzburg, there is 
 great reason to believe, that it would also prosper in 
 the southern counties of Britain, if proper attention, 
 were paid, till it became habituated to our climate. 
 But there are many indigenous vegetables which 
 might be substituted with great advantage; such are 
 Sage, Balm, Peppermint, and similar spicy plants ; 
 the flowers of the Sweet Woodroof; those of the Bur- 
 net, or Pimpernel Rose; the leaves of Peach and Al- 
 mond trees ; the young and tender leaves of Bilberry, 
 and Common Raspberry; and, lastly, the blossoms
 
 COFFEE. 137 
 
 of the Black-thorn, or Sloe tree; most of which, 
 when carefully gathered and dried ia the shade (es- 
 pecially if they be managed like Indian tea leaves, 
 by drying on an iron plate over a fire), can with dif- 
 ficulty be distinguished from the foreign teas, and 
 are of superior flavour and salubrity. — Dr . WillicK s 
 Domestic Ency. 7 he Dutch dry and prepare 
 
 red sage (which is a variety of Salvia officinalis, or 
 Common Large Sage), like other teas, and carry it 
 to the Indies as a very precious article. They there 
 find a good market for it, the Chinese prefering it to 
 the best of their Indian tea ; and for every pound of 
 sage they give in exchange four pounds of their tea, 
 the high price of which is well known in Europe. 
 
 A Substitute for Tea and Coffee. 
 
 Boil in a double bottomed sauce-pan, a pint of milk, 
 for fifteen minutes, stirring it often, beat an egg and 
 put it in, also a small proportion of Churchman's plain 
 Chocolate, or a little pounded cinnamon. Pour it 
 from one bason into another to cool. It may be eat- 
 en with slices of bread. 
 
 The dried and roasted roots of Succory, or 
 Wild Endive have, of late, been much used in Ger- 
 many, and other parts of the continent, as a substi- 
 tute for Coflee. 
 
 A palatable Drink 
 may be made by mixing a spoonful of vinegar, and 
 a spoonful of sugar with a quart of spring w-ater. A 
 little rosemary might be added. 
 
 Coffee, 
 
 *^o be good, must either be ground to an almost im- 
 palpable powder, or pounded in the Turkish manner, 
 12*
 
 138 COFFEE. 
 
 in an iron mortar, with a heavy pestle. The 
 Turks first put the coffee dry into the cofifee-pot, and 
 set it over a very slow fire, or embers, till it be warm, 
 and sends forth a fragrant smell, shaking it often; 
 then from another pot they pour on it boiling water (or 
 rather water in which the grounds of the last made 
 coffee had been boiled, and set to become clear) ; 
 they then hold it a little longer over the fire, till there 
 be on it's top a white froth like cream, but it must 
 not boil, but only rise gently; it is then poured back- 
 wards and forwards two or three times, from one pot in- 
 to another, and it soon becomes clear; they, however 
 often drink it quite thick. Some put in a spoonful of 
 cold water to make it clear sooner, or lay a cloth dipt 
 in cold water on the top of the pot. The reason 
 
 our West India coffee is not so good as the Yemen 
 coffee, is, that on account of the climate it is never suf- 
 fered to hang on the trees till it be perfectly ripe ; and 
 in the voyage it acquires a taste from the bad air in the 
 hold of the ship. This may be remedied in Italy, by 
 exposing it to the sun two or three months ; with us, 
 hot water should be poured upon it, and suffered to 
 stand till it be cold ; then it must be washed with other 
 cold water, and, lastly, dried in an oven. Thus pre- 
 pared, it will be nearly as good as the best Turkey- 
 coffee. It should be roasted in an open earthen or 
 iron pan, and the slower it is roasted the better. As 
 often as it crackles it must be taken off the fire. The 
 Turks often roast it in a baker's oven while it is heat- 
 ing. — Elon's Survey of the Turkish Empire.
 
 139 
 
 xMILK 
 
 is not a simple substance; it is a mixture of three ; 
 namely, coagulable matter, expressed oil, and sug- 
 ar. Coagulable matter is that which will unite, 
 and become solid, leaving the rest thinner and more 
 fluid, viz. the curd ; and expressed oil is such as 
 can be procured from any substance by pressing, as 
 oil of almonds, olives, &c. : by expressed oil in milk, 
 we understand the cream. This coagulable 
 
 matter, in milk, is fluid indeed when taken, but there 
 is a juice peculiar to the stomach, very different from 
 an acid, which renders it solid. We find the stomach 
 of a calf, tho' cleared of every thing that is acid, to 
 have this property. Aw infusion of a few grains of 
 the inner coat will coagulate or curdle several quarts 
 of milk. That the expressed oil, which is the 
 
 cream, helps digestion, is evident, from the indiges- 
 tible nature of milk when it is skimmed, the curd being 
 harder. The cream and the sugar being mixed with 
 the curd, separate the different parts of it more from 
 each other, so that the natural fluid of the stomach 
 will penetrate the easier, and fermentation go on bet- 
 ter. And as to sugar it is favourable to the opera- 
 tion of fermentation, and of course will facilitate diges- 
 tion. — Anoityjiunis. 
 
 The most wholesome way of using milk is un- 
 doubtedly in it's raw state, after it has come from the 
 cow and stood two hours, eaten with untoasted good 
 bread ; but it enters into a variety of food, which it 
 is not necessary to enumerate, being well known to
 
 140 MILK. 
 
 ■•■<-0">" 
 
 every notable housewife. A simple method or two 
 of using it may be particularized. 
 
 Milk with Wheat Flour. 
 
 To two third parts of new milk, add one third of 
 spring water, set it on a clear fire. In the mean while 
 make some batter of wheat flour and milk and wa- 
 ter. When the milk is ready to boil, put in the 
 thickening, and stir it a short time. When it is again 
 just ready to boil, take it off and add bread and salt 
 to it, letting it stand in basons to cool, without be- 
 ing stirred. If this dish be desired richer, 
 an egg to each pint may be beaten with the thicken- 
 ing, and sugar added. 
 
 Milk with Oatmeal. 
 
 Take two thirds of milk and one part of water, to 
 ■which add what quantity of oatmeal you chuse, tak- 
 ing care not to put too much, so as to make it thick. 
 Set it on a clear brisk fire, and when it begins to boil 
 take it off, and continue to pass it from one vessel to 
 another eight or ten times, to cause the fine parts of 
 the oatmeal to incorporate with the milk. Then set 
 it again on the fire, and as soon as it is ready to boil 
 take it otf. After standing a little, the bran of the 
 meal will sink to the bottom and may be separated. 
 Bread and salt may then be added, and left to cool; 
 or eggs, by beating them in a little milk and wa- 
 ter in which the meal also may be put, as in the form- 
 er milk and flour. 
 
 Milk with Bread, 
 or milk with hasty pudding, is so common as a break- 
 fast in the North of England, that to children, they
 
 MILK. Hi 
 
 ••■<-^">- 
 
 universally supplant the use of tea, while in thesoutli, 
 they are scarcely heard of. In the former district, 
 the children are well known to be much stouter and 
 more healthy. In some parts of the latter, however, 
 money cannot always procure milk. The wealthy 
 farmer's wife alledges, to the poor man who is wear- 
 ing out his body in her service, (or which amo ints 
 to the same, in the service of her husband) that to let 
 his wife have a quart of milk a day for the children 
 •would spoil her cheese. But in what manner the differ- 
 ence of a few quarts from the milk of six, a dozen, 
 or a score of cows, can be so accurately calculated, 
 when those very cows vary in producing milk, much 
 more than that quantity every day, is an insolvable 
 paradox. On the score of interest, she will allow that 
 by selling the milk, at the customary price, she could 
 make more profit than in any other way. 
 At what hidden crevice of the dispositions then of such 
 farmers or their wives does humanity enter? Why, 
 at none. Did the least spark of virtue exist in such 
 people they would put themselves even to some slight 
 inconvenience to benefit unfortunate beings, born like 
 themselves to live. Unfortunate indeed, if on no 
 other account than being compelled, by necessity, to 
 be subject to such treatment. In summer, cannot 
 whey be had at a reasonable price? and, in winter, 
 skimmed milk? No; even these are denied. It is 
 thought more necessary to feed pigs than poor men's 
 wives or their children. 
 
 Frumenty 
 
 is composed of wheat, divested of it's external husk, 
 as described page 11, under the article Boiled Grain 
 and mixed with milk, with the addition of sugar, 
 spice, and fruit, at pleasure.
 
 142 MILK, 
 
 Skirret Milk 
 
 is made by boiling the roots tender, and the pulp be^ 
 ing strained out, put into cream, or new milk boiled 
 with three or four yolks of eggs, sugar, large mace, 
 or other spice. . In this manner may be compos- 
 ed any other root milk. Skirrets, of all the root kind 
 least occasion flatulency. This root was so valued 
 by the Emperor Tiberius, that he accepted them for 
 tribute. 
 
 CORSTORPHINE CrEAM, 
 
 much esteemed in the vicinity of Edinburgh, is a pe- 
 culiar form of curd, slightly acidulated. It receives 
 it's name from the village of Corstorphine, in the coun- 
 try of Mid Lothian, for which that place has been fa- 
 mous for centuries past. The most approved pro- 
 cess for making it is very simple and is as follows. 
 The milk when fresh drawn is put into a barrel or 
 other vessel provided with a perforation and peg, and 
 is subjected to a certain degree of heat, generally by 
 being immersed or placed in warm water. This ac- 
 celerates the progress of fermentation. It is there 
 suffered to remain till the milk coagulates, and the 
 watery part has subsided, which is drawn off by with- 
 drawing the peg in the lower part of the vessel. 
 What remains is put into the plunge churn, and af- 
 ter being agitated for some time, is fit for use. 
 
 Curds or Flittings, 
 
 made in the following manner, are eaten three or four 
 days in the week, in Northumberland, both for din- 
 ner and supper. Take whey just strained from the 
 cheese-curd, (whey of new milk is preferable) and 
 put a panful over the fire, till it has acquired a brisk
 
 MILK. 143 
 
 lieat ; then add to it some very old butter-milk. Short- 
 Jy white flakes will arise in the pan, which will collect 
 into lumps of a tine white, mellow, bland-tasted sub- 
 stance. This curd may be eaten with milk, ale and sug- 
 ar, or wine and sugar, seasoned with nutmeg and gin- 
 ger, as the parties can afford. With this, and such like 
 rnilk diet, the labourers in the North of England con- 
 tmue strong, healthy, and well looking, and do twice 
 as much work as the labourers in the counties of Sal- 
 op, Hereford, and Worcester, who distend their 
 stomachs so much with capacious potions of cyder 
 and loads of solid food as to have rendered themselves 
 the greatest eaters and drinkers in the island. 
 
 Ale-Posset 
 
 is also much used in the north, which is thus made. 
 Take a quart of milk and warm it over the tire, and 
 pour it on a pennyworth of good bread. Warm also 
 half a pint of ale, which should not be too stale, least 
 it cause the milk to curdle. Add the ale, by little 
 and little, to the milk. Sweeten the whole with brown 
 sugar, and season it with ginger, grated in. The ex- 
 pense of tliis posset is trifling, and it will make a 
 breakfast for t\^o working men.
 
 144 
 
 BUTTER. 
 
 Since milk is made liito butter and cheese, and since 
 the former contains it's oily, and the latter it mucila- 
 genous and terrestrial parts, it is evident that these two, 
 especially with the addition of bread and water, must 
 afford very valuable and universal nourishment, fit 
 for persons of all ages and constitutions. The newer 
 the butter, the more grateful itis to the stomach, and 
 more conducive to health ; but when kept long, it 
 grows fetid and rancid. The too great and too con- 
 stant use of it, however, by relaxing the fibres of the 
 stomach, weakens it's tone, and excites nauseas. — 
 — Dr. Hoffman on Aliments. 
 
 Butler, tho'a good article of diet, may be used too free- 
 ly. To weak stomachs it is hurtful, even in small quan- 
 tities, and when used freely, it proves prejudicial to 
 the strongest. Butter, like other oily things, 
 
 has a constant tendency to turn rancid. This pro- 
 cess, by the heat of the stomach, is greatly accelerat- 
 ed. Oils of every kind are with difliculty mixed with 
 watery fluids. They are of a relaxing quality, and 
 tend not only to impede the action of digestion, and 
 weaken the stomach, but to induce a debility of the 
 solids, which paves the way to many maladies. 
 
 Children, without exception, are disposed to dis- 
 eases arising from relaxation. They are frequently 
 troubled with gross humours. As childten abound 
 with moisture, bread alone is better for them than 
 with butter. Women who lead sedentary lives
 
 BUTTER. 14' 
 
 .<>...>.. 
 
 Vei'y commonly eat teabread, which is so contrived as 
 to suck up butter like a sponge. It is no wonder 
 they complain of indigestion. Dr. Fothergill is of 
 oj^inion that butter produces the nervous or sick head- 
 ach, so common among women of this country, for 
 it is generally cured by an emetic. Butter is 
 
 rather a gross food, and fitter for the athletic and la- 
 borious, than the sedentary and delicate. It is less 
 hurtful when eaten fresh than salted. Bread made 
 ■with butter is almost indigescible ; pastries on this ac^ 
 count are little better than pohoi\.—Bucha?i on Dief* 
 
 ** In modern times, the art of making, improving, 
 and preserving butter, has kept pace witii the un- 
 wholesome custom of eating this oil, from an early 
 period of infancy. Thus, we have reason to think 
 that many diseases of children, especially those of a 
 scrophulous nature are wantonly induced, or at least 
 rendered more malignant. To render butter less hurt- 
 ful it should be perfectly fresh, and free from rancid* 
 ity; which it easily acquires, if the butter-milk has not 
 been completely separated. Fried or burnt butter, 
 is still more detrimental to health, as it is thus convert- 
 ed into an acrid, and even caustic tluid, which cannot 
 fail to disorder the stomach, to render digestion dif- 
 ficult and painful, to excite rancid belchings, and, ul- 
 timately, to taint all the fluids with a peculiar acri- 
 mony. Hence, hot toast with butter, should never 
 be eaten by persons who value their health. Nor 
 can we recom.mend the prevailing custom of melting 
 butter with flour and water; for, in this manner, it 
 forms a compound more indigestible than sweet but- 
 ter is in it's natural state. — Domestic Encydopcedia. 
 
 The Professor Beckman, in his " History of In 
 ventions," having collected in chronological order, ev-* 
 
 13
 
 146 BUTTER. 
 
 ery thing which he could find in the works of the an- 
 cients respecting butler, concludes, that it is not a 
 Grecian, and much less a Roman invention, but that 
 the Greeks were made acquainted with it by the Scy" 
 thians, the Thracians and the Phrygians; the Ro- 
 mans by the people of Germany. He is likewise decid- 
 edly of opinion, that when those two polished nations 
 had learned the art of making it, they used it not 
 as food, but only as an ointment, or sometimes as a 
 medicine. *' We never find it," says he " mentioned 
 by Galen and others, as a food, tho' they have spok- 
 en of it as applicable to other purposes. No notice 
 is taken of it by Apicus; nor is there any thing said 
 of it in that respect by the authors who treat of agri- 
 culture, tho' they have given us very particular in- 
 formation concerning milk, cheese, and oil." 
 
 The butter which is mostly used in Constanti- 
 nople, comes from the Crimea and Ruban. They 
 do not salt it, but melt it in large copper pans over 
 a very slow fire, and skim off what rises ; it will then 
 preserve sweet a long time, if the butter was fresh 
 ■when it was melted. We preserve butter mostly by 
 salting. I have had butter, which when fresh was 
 melted and skimmed in the Tartar manner, and then 
 salted in our manner, which kept two years, good, 
 and fine tasted. Washing does not so effectually free 
 butter from the curd and butter-milk, which is nec- 
 essary to be done, in order to preserve it, as boiling 
 or melting; when salt is added, we certainly have 
 the best process for preserving butter. The melting 
 or boiling, if done with care, does not discolour or in- 
 jure the taste. — EtorCs Survey of theTurkish Empire. 
 
 In the management of Cream intended to be 
 churned into Butter, cleanliness, on the part of the
 
 CHEESE. 147 
 
 ..<-..0" 
 
 dairy maid is indispensibly necessary; yet it often 
 happens (especially where only one cow is kept) that 
 the greatest care of the vessel where it is deposited 
 till a sufficient quantity be collected for churning, is 
 insufficient to preserve it sweet. In order to obviate 
 this unpleasant rancidity in the butter and milk, put 
 the size of an hazle nut of nitre into the cream-mug, 
 while gathering the quantity intended for the churn. 
 A few spoonfuls of vinegar accelerates the process 
 of churning, without imparting any thing unpleasant 
 to the taste of the Butter-milk. 
 
 CHEESE, 
 
 as a diet, is injurious to health. It should be eaten 
 as a desert only. Butter, joined with cheese, 
 
 is very nourishing, but cheese should be neither too 
 new nor too old. If too new, it loads the stomach, 
 and binds the belly ; if too old, it increases the acri- 
 mony and impurity of the humours, and it has a poig- 
 nant taste and fetid smell. — Dr. Hoffman on Ali- 
 ments. Cheese generally possesses a costive 
 quality; but it differs in proportion to the quantity 
 of oil in the coagulable part. The more rich or oily 
 parts there are in cheese, the more nutritive and solu- 
 ble it is; that is, the readier it will digest; the leaner the 
 cheese, the more difficult it is of digestion. Cheese, as 
 food, is nourishing and substantial for healthy robust 
 working people. No men are able to hold out in hard 
 labour with those who live on good wheaten bread 
 and rich cheese- ** Let four men," says the respect-
 
 148 EGGS. 
 
 able Thomas Tryon, ** eat bread and good cheese, 
 with pudding, milk-meats, and raw salads, seasoned 
 with vinegar, salt, and good oil, and have for their 
 drink, good, sound, well prepared beer or ale, not too 
 strong ; and let four others of equal size and strength, 
 live on the varieties of flesh, with bread, and the 
 same liquor; put both parties to the same hard la- 
 bour, and in six months' time it will be found that 
 the former assisted by their plain wholesome food, 
 will have much the advantage of the latter, outdoing 
 them almost beyond belief." The reason of which, 
 Mr. Tryon insists, is owing to the gross and phleg- 
 matic humours egendered by flesh, while bread, 
 cheese, puddings, pottages and herbs, are clean, 
 sound, and free from impurities; and, in consequence, 
 produce better nourishment, finer blood, and pure, 
 brisk, sparkling spirits, which impart strength and vig- 
 our to the body. 
 
 The Laplanders use the juice of common Sor- 
 rel, (Rumex acetosa, Lin.) as rennet for their milk. 
 
 People of delicate constitutions should eat cheese 
 sparingly; i.e. a little cheese and much bread, so 
 that the cheese may serve only to relish the bread. 
 
 EGGS, 
 
 if new laid, and not boiled hard^afford a very strong 
 nutriment. The yolk contains many unctuous, fat, 
 and sulphureous parts ; the white, on the other hand, 
 consists of moist, balsamic parts, like those of the se- 
 rum. Eggs are of all substances most proper in a 
 •weak habit of body, through loss of blood, or the
 
 EGGS. U9 
 
 wastings of a fever, which require immecliate'and sub- 
 stantial nourishment. They are very beneficial to old 
 inen, who stand in need of good nutriment, and such 
 as is easy of digestion — Dr. Hoffman on Aliments. 
 
 Boiled. Eggs ought to be used when perfect- 
 ly fresh, and the best way of preparing them for the 
 table, perhaps, is to coagulate them by pouring boil- 
 ing water on them and letting them remain for about 
 ten minutes. Or they may be put into a pan when 
 the water is cold, and the instant it boils to be taken 
 off the fire and the eggs suffered to remain afterwards 
 for five minutes. 
 
 To ascertain whether eggs have been well pre- 
 served it is only necessary to examine their transpar- 
 ency by a candle, and to reject such as appear of a 
 turbid colour. When 
 
 Poached, and eaten with bread, butter, and 
 vinegar, they are preferred by many. The most ex- 
 ceptionable way is when 
 
 Fried with butter. They are very palatable 
 done in this manner, but to some are very difficult 
 of digestion. 
 
 Eggs with Sorrel and Parsley. 
 
 Eggs, and a little sorrel and parsley mixed and stirred 
 in a pan over the fire, with butter. Some butter and 
 vinegar may be added before this dish be put on the 
 table. 
 
 Eggs with Ale. 
 Take one or two eggs, beaten in a little water. Take 
 also a pint of good ale or beer, sweetened with sug- 
 ar, put it on the fire, making it boiling hot; then 
 brew them together from one vessel into another, and 
 a rich liquor will be produced. 
 13*
 
 150 EGGS. 
 
 ..VS>->" 
 
 Eggs with Mi lk. 
 
 Take three eggs, and beat them up with half a spoon- 
 ful of flour, a bit of sugar, about the size of a wahuit, 
 a little salt, and three quarters of a pint of miliv ; put 
 them in the dish you mean to serve them in, and 
 place it in a gentle heat for a quarter of an hour. 
 
 To DRESS Eggs with Bread. 
 
 Put half a handful of crumbs of bread into a stew- 
 pan, with a gill of cream, and a little salt, pepper, 
 and grated nutmeg. AVhen the bread has imbibed 
 all the cream, break in six eggs, and make an omelet. 
 
 Of Preserving Eggs. 
 
 The best methods of preserving eggs seems to 
 be that of covering them with a cheap varnish, by 
 ■which the air will be prevented from penetrating 
 their pores; or ofsuspending them in a running stream 
 of water, by means of a net. 
 
 The Gloucester Jelly. 
 
 Take Pearl Barley, Sago, Rice, Eryngo-root, of each 
 one ounce. Boil these ingredients in six pints of water 
 till reduced to three. Then strain the liquor, and 
 add to it a pint of new milk, with sugar to your 
 taste.
 
 151 
 
 WINE AND SPIRITS. 
 
 The juice of the ripe grape is a nutritive and agreea- 
 ble food, consisting chiefly of sugar and mucilage. 
 The chemical process of fermentation converts this 
 sugar into spirit ; converts food into poison! and it 
 has thus become the curse of the christian world, pro- 
 ducing more than half of our chronical diseases ; which 
 Mahomet observed, and forbade the use of to his 
 disciples. The Arabians invented distillation ; and 
 thus by obtaining the spirit of fermented liquors in 
 a less diluted state, added to it's destructive quality. 
 A Theory of Diabsetes and Dropsy, produced by 
 drinking fermented or spirituous liquors, is explain- 
 ed in a Treatise on the inverted motions of the lym- 
 phatic system, published by Dr. Darwin. — Bot. Gar- 
 den, pt. ii, pa. 119. 
 
 Wines 
 
 over heat, without procuring strength, and cannot be 
 converted into good blood, flesh, or bone. They are 
 useful as medical potions to comfort those who are 
 sick and have weak stomachs ; but if drank con- 
 stantly by healthy people, the tongue loses it's deli- 
 cacy of taste, and rejects water and mild simple food ; 
 the stomach grows cold and loses it's natural vigour, 
 and man, under the false idea of giving warmth tq 
 his stomach, gains by degrees, a passion for drinking, 
 which leads him to habitual ebriety. Dr Saun- 
 
 ter's asserts, in his "Treatise on Diseases of theLiv-
 
 152 WINE AND SPIRITS. 
 
 er," 8vo. Tlobinsons, that in many cases, the abuse of 
 vinous spirit disposes to jaundice of the most unfav- 
 ourable kind, because generally accompanied with a 
 diseased structure of the liver ; and that the stomachs 
 of persons who have died under the habit of drinking 
 drams have, on dissection, generally been found in a 
 flabby and inelastic state, capable of secreting only 
 diseased fluids. This loss of tone in the stomach, 
 is often accompanied by tremors, heat, and a propen- 
 sity to palsy, loss of memory," occ. He also 
 remarks, that "when dimi?iished secretion of bile is 
 attended by indigestion, flatulent eructations, &c. 
 the quantity of food taken at one meal should be 
 moderate, and that water should be the only liquid 
 drank with such meals, as more effectually promot- 
 ing digestion, than fermented liquors of any kind." 
 
 Dr. Maclurg, treating of spirits, bitters, &c. in his 
 *' Experiments (m the Human Bile," 8vo. Cadell, 
 says, ** By the short-lived force they occasion, they 
 have obtained the name of strengtheners, and may 
 indeed answer a temporary purpose, but their ha- 
 bitual use will certainly prove pernicious. Un- 
 happily," continues he, *' they are recurred to for 
 present relief, by those who have most reason to 
 dread their debilitating effects ; such persons would 
 certainly do well in exchanging, by cautious degrees, 
 all the varieties of spirituous liquors, for simple cold 
 u-ater^ Wines prepared with ripe fruits, as 
 
 currants, raspberries, &c. would be a pleasant ex- 
 change for the more potent wines of Portugal, &c. 
 tho' at first they commonly disagree with persons who 
 have been long accustomed to take the foreign wines, 
 their stomachs having been so habituated to the latter, 
 thatthey cannot bear any thing of an opposite quality.
 
 WINE AND SPIRITS. 153 
 
 withoutbeing affected with heartburn, flatulency, and 
 cholic: a little time and management would subdue 
 such ertects, and the state of the stomach and it's ap- 
 pendages, would be greatly benetited by the gradual 
 exchange. That conviction does not always re- 
 
 sult from serious and invincible argument, is too evi- 
 ident. A little irony has in some instances succeed- 
 ed more effectually. The following is an interesting in- 
 stance. " It happened," says Mr. Sandford, " that 
 soon after a heavy tax had been levied on foreign 
 wines, I was dining with a lady, who, as she poured out 
 a glass of port wine for her child, about five years old, 
 then sitting at the table, wished, for the child's sake as 
 well as for her own, that the duty had been laid on 
 something else. I observed to her, that tho' it was 
 probable she had been too long in thehabit of drink- 
 ing wine to relinquish it without great care, and prop- 
 er management, yet, that she might easily substitute 
 something for the child which would be less expen- 
 sive as well as answer all the purposes of wine ; and I 
 assured her that a tea spoonful or two of spirit of lav- 
 ender, mixed with a little water, would have a simi- 
 lar effect ; and if that was not found sutiicient to pro 
 duce exhilarating effects, she might add a few drops 
 of laudanum to each glass !" The lady told me, 
 
 *' she was surprised to hear me recommend medicine 
 to a child in perfect health and high spirits." I repli- 
 ed that she was in the daily habit of giving her child 
 just such a medicine, and which could not fail to 
 have as pernicious an effect as what I had proposed, 
 and perhaps worse, because the child becoming by 
 degrees habituated to wine, it's effect as a cordial 
 would soon be lost, if illness should ever occasion her 
 to have recourse to it ; besides which, it must be re'
 
 154 WINES AND SPIRITS. 
 
 -<■••«>■>•• 
 
 marked, that the practice was no other than an ear- 
 ly and very natural introduction to stronger liquors. 
 This has been observed by Dr. A. Fothergill, in his 
 " Essay on the Abuse of Spirituous Liquors," who re- 
 lates the case of a young man, " who having rapidly 
 run through the scale of intemperance, beginning with 
 malt liquors, then wine and water, next brandy and 
 water, with sherry taken at his meals, as freely as 
 small beer; then brandy alone, and, at last, highly 
 rectified spirit of wine. But before he had emptied 
 the third bottle, he died of extreme old age, at the 
 early period of twentij-eightP The lady took 
 
 no further notice at this time, but I had soon after the 
 satisfaction of being informed, that she had gradually 
 left off the practice of giving her child wine." 
 ** It is true that the excitability, when exhausted in 
 part, by the application of a temporary stimulus, is 
 capable of being repaired and renovated in some de- 
 gree by the recruiting powers of sleep, rest, &c. and 
 little injury will seem to have been sustained by per- 
 sons who have applied stimulants to their constitu- 
 tions pretty liberally: yet to suppose that no injury 
 has been thus received, and that frequent application 
 of excessive stimulants, daily repeated, will, in the 
 end, and after some years, produce no ill effect, does 
 not appear to be warranted either by reason or by ob- 
 servation. Time will shew the falacy of such a con- 
 clusion, tlio* in some cases it's ravages may be more 
 slow than in others; but in all, some effect must be 
 produced, so as to bring the person nearer and near- 
 er, after every repetition, to the extreme degree of ex- 
 citability, or that point where inexcitability commen- 
 ces, and death ensues. Thus, however renovated 
 after each excess, this property may be, still on the
 
 WINE AND SPIRITS. 155 
 
 "<•■<>•>•• 
 
 M'hole, some deduction has certainly been made from 
 it; and the greater or more frequent that deduction, 
 the greater must be the injury sustained by the con- 
 stitution on the whole. Nature, by the means before 
 mentioned, may possibly, in some measure, recruit her 
 exhausted powers; but still these powers are, by the 
 repeated violence thus offered them, prematurely 
 weakened and diminished. Now, if we apply this 
 reasoning to the case of dram drinkers, we shall then 
 perceive, that let the real age of the person be what 
 it may, he will be so far advanced in his progress to- 
 wards inirritability,inexcitability, orthe pointbeyond 
 which every stimulant will cease to produce effect, as 
 to be, comparatively, very old, and consequently, in 
 the same proportion, to be near the termination of 
 his life." [*' Practical Remarks on the Medicinal 
 Effects of Wine and Spirits," 12mo. Cadell and Da- 
 vies.] This doctrine is ingeniously illustrated by 
 the following figurative extract from Jackson's *' Four 
 Ages," &c. " Know, stranger, that before thy heart 
 began to beat, the number of it's pulsations were de- 
 termined: no art or earthly power can add to the 
 sum, but it depends on thyself, whether they shall 
 be exhausted sooner or later; of these a certain num- 
 ber, is daily expended : if, instead of this allowance, 
 thou wWi/orce thy heart to beat twice as many, al- 
 tho' thy destiny be not changed, thou livest but half 
 thy time. By a life of reason and temperance the 
 last stroke is long delayed, but by wasting thy spirits 
 in folly and riot, the appointed number is quickly ac- 
 complished." " It may not be useless to in- 
 form such persons as are in the habit of taking wines, 
 strong perry, or cyder, that(ifthey fortunately be in- 
 clined to lower the strength of the liquor by mixing
 
 J56 WIKES. 
 
 •■•<■•<>•>.. 
 water with it) iftlie water he first poured into the glass, 
 and the wine immediately after, most of the fixed air, 
 contained in such wines, &c. will be absorbed by the 
 water, and the mixture will not have that flat and 
 mawkish taste which it generally has, particularly 
 if the wine be first poured into the empty glass, when 
 great part of the fixed air would necessarily escape. 
 A very pleasant liquor, resembling claret in flavour, 
 may be obtained by adding, in a similar way, about 
 one part of xi-ater impregnated ivith fixed air, to two 
 parts of port wine; and the composition would be 
 still better if mixed in a decanter, into which the wine 
 should be first poured, in order to absorb all the fixed 
 air contained in the wsLievr—Sandford. 
 
 BiRCtt Wine. 
 
 About liie beginning of ?v]arch, when thebuds begin io 
 be proud and turgid, and before they expand into 
 leaves, with a chissel and a mallet cut a slit almost as 
 deep as the very pith, under some bough or branch of 
 a well spreading Birch; cut it oblique, and not long 
 ways, (as a good surgeon would make his orifice in a 
 vein) inserting a small stone or chip, to keep the lips of 
 the wound a little open. Fasten therefore a bottle, or 
 some such convenient vessel appendant ; this produces 
 the effect as well as perforation, or tapping : out of this 
 aperture will extil a limpid and clear water, retaining 
 an obscure smack both of the taste and odour of 
 the tree. To prevent thisjuice from fermenting, till a 
 sufficient quantity be procured, the bottles in which it 
 is collected, ought to be immediately stopped. 
 To every gallon of Birch-water put a quart of honey, 
 well stirred together; then boil it almost an hour 
 with a few cloves and a little lemon-peel, keeping it
 
 WINES. 157 
 
 ti'ell skimmed ; when it is sufficiently boiled, and be- 
 come cold, add to it three or four spoonfuls of good 
 ale to make it work, which it will do like new ale; 
 and w hen the yeast begins to settle, bottle it up as you 
 do any other vinous liquors. It will, in a competent 
 time, become a most brisk and spirituous drink. This 
 wine may, if you please, be made as successfully with 
 sugar, instead of honey, one pound to each gallon of 
 water ; or you may dulcify it with raisins, and compose 
 a raisin wine of it. I know not whether the quantity 
 of the sweet ingredients might not be somewhat re- 
 duced, -and the operation improved. The author of 
 the *' Vinetum Brit." boils it but a quarter, or half an 
 hour, then setting it to cool adds a very little yeast 
 to ferment and clear it ; and so barrels it with a 
 small propoition of cinnamon, and mace bruised; 
 about half an ounce of both to ten gallons, close- 
 ly stopped, bottling it a month after. Care must 
 be taken to set the bottles in a very cool place, to 
 preserve them from flying ; the wine is rather for 
 present drinking than of long duration, unless the 
 refrigeratory be extraordinarily cold. Be- 
 
 sides this. Beech, Alder, Ash, Sycamore, Elder, &c. 
 should be attempted for liquors: thus Crabs, even 
 our very brambles, may possibly yield us medical 
 and useful wines. The Poplar was heretofore es- 
 teemed more Physical than the Birch. — Hunter's 
 Evelyn's Siha. b. l.'c. 18, sec. 9. 
 
 Clary Wine. 
 
 Wine of the Garden clary. Salvia sclarea, Lin, To 
 five gallons of cold water, put four pounds of Lisbon 
 sugar and the whites of three eggs well beaten; let 
 these boil gently together for about an hour, then
 
 158 WINES. 
 
 ••■«-o..>.. 
 
 skim the liquor, and when it is almost cold, add 
 of the small Clary leaves and the tops in blossom, 
 one peck, and half a pint of ale yeast. Put the whole 
 into a vessel, and stir it twice a day, till it has done 
 working. It must then be stopped close for eight 
 weeks. At the expiration of that time draw it off in- 
 to a clean vessel, adding a pint and a half of good 
 brandy. In two months it may be bottled. 
 
 Cowslip Wine. 
 To every gallon of water put three pounds of lump sug- 
 ar, which are to be heated on the fire tilijust ready to 
 boil ; then put two or three whites of eggs, well beaten, 
 into the water, stirring it well. Let it^boil three quar- 
 ters of an hour ; then let it stand till blood warm, and 
 add to each gallon, a gallon of the flowers of cowslips, 
 (or rather the upper part of the petals separated from 
 the tubular part, cut olfwith scissors, and measured 
 in their fresh, light state) and to each gallon two par- 
 ed lemons with the peelings. A proper quantity o 
 yeast should be admixed, and the whole sulfered to 
 ferment for two days, stirring it three or four times 
 each day. It should then be well strained and put into 
 a cask. When the fermentation ceases, the cask should 
 be closely stopped ; and, when clear, bottled. 
 
 Currant Wine 
 is an excellent drink during the heat of summer, es- 
 pecially with the addition of water. It may be made 
 in the following manner. Gather the currants when 
 they are perfectly ripe; strip them from the stems, 
 break them into a tub, and when the juice is pressed 
 out, measure it, to which add an equal proportion of 
 water, and to each gallon, three pounds of soft
 
 WINES. 159 
 
 sugar ; when the sugar is dissolved the mixture may be 
 barrelled. The juice should not be left to stand a 
 night, as the fermentation during that time would take 
 place, and it should not till the ingredients be put to- 
 gether. Currants and raspberries mixed make 
 a more pleasant wine than currants alone, and there 
 is also a saving in regard to sugar, as the extreme 
 acidity of the currants is corrected by the sweetness 
 of the raspberries. 
 
 Ginger Wine. 
 
 To six gallons of water add eighteen pounds of brown 
 sugar, three and a half ounces of ginger, two penny- 
 worth of stick liquorice sliced, three lemons, and 
 three Seville oranges pared and cut into small pieces. 
 Let them boil slowly together for an hour, skimming it 
 well. Shake a pint of brandy round the inside of your 
 cask, and put into it a toast, with a pint of good ale 
 yeast spread over it. When these ingredients have 
 become new-milk warm, barrel them, putting in the 
 rinds of the lemons and oranges. When the fermenta- 
 tion has ceased, let the cask be close corked and stand 
 a year before it be bottled. Be cautious in chusing 
 the largest and whitest races of ginger, and use them 
 whole. If you cannot obtain fruit, a quart of elder syr- 
 up may supply it's place. 
 
 Another. 
 
 To five gallons of water add twelve pounds of sugar. 
 Let them boil half an hour, skimming the liquor all 
 the time. Then take the rind of ten lemons, and five 
 ounces of ginger, bruised. Boil them in a quart of 
 the sugar and water, till tender, and add them to the 
 rest. When cold, barrel it with five pounds of chop-
 
 160 WINES. 
 
 ped raisins, one ounce of isinglass and half a pint of 
 fresh barm. Vv hen done fermenting, stop it close. In 
 three months it may be bottled with two table spoons- 
 ful of brandy in each bottle. The juice of three 
 lemons may be added, but in this case, half a pound 
 of sugar will be required in addition to each gallon. 
 
 Wine of Gooseberries 
 
 may be made with considerable advantage, as it re- 
 quires only one oz. of sugar to one pound of the ex- 
 pressed juice. After standing several years in bottles 
 well corked, it becomes equal in quality to Musca- 
 dine or other sweet Italian wines. Bryant says, that 
 if the flower buds of this shrub be added to a cask 
 of any other flavourless wine they will impart to it 
 the taste of genuine Muscadine. 
 
 Wine of Milk. 
 
 Take any quantity of milk, of a day old only, add 
 to it a sixth part of water, and pour the mixture into a 
 wooden vessel, then add, as a ferment, one eight part of 
 the sourest milk, cover the vessel with a thick cloth, 
 and let it stand in a place of moderate warmth for 
 twenty four hours, when a thick substance will be 
 found on the top, and the milk sour. Then, with 
 some convenient instrument, beat the whole carefully 
 together till it appear smooth and of one substance. 
 Let it stand again for 24 hours ; then stir and mix it 
 as before. If it have altered to a sweetish sour it is 
 done. Put as much sugar to it as you choose. It 
 may be put in jars, closely covered, for use. A little 
 brandy will cause it to keep long. Before it 
 
 be taken out for use, it should be stirred with a spoon. 
 Equal quantities of this wine of milk and raisin wine.
 
 WINES. 161 
 
 produce a delicious beverage, yielding about one third 
 part of nutriment. The solid parts of the milk com- 
 bined by this process, is completely hindered from de- 
 positing the hard substance of cheese in the digestive 
 operation, therefore is easily turned to chyle. 
 
 Wine of Quinces 
 
 is made by mixing one quart of the juice of quinces 
 with one pound of sugar, and then suffered to ferment. 
 But by adding to the same quantity, one pint of the 
 best French brandy, and four ounces of sugar, a cel- 
 ebrated liquor is prepared on the continent, and 
 which is greatly prized as a cordial and stomachic 
 when taken in the small quantity of two or three 
 spoonsful. 
 
 Raspberry Wine. 
 Gather the raspberries when fully ripe and quite dry. 
 To every quart of raspberries, as collected, let one 
 pound of sugar be immediately added, and well crush- 
 ed and mixed together. Some attention to this part 
 of the process is necessary, as the rasps, would other- 
 wise lose their flavour in two hours. When the quan- 
 tity you intend to make is obtained, to every quart 
 of rasps add two pounds more of sugar, and one gal- 
 lon of cold water. Let tlie whole ferment for three 
 days, stirring it five or six times each day. When bar- 
 relled, put in two whole eggs, taking care that they 
 be not broken. Close it well up and let it stand three 
 months. Then bottle it off, putting rosin upon the 
 corks. 
 
 Raisin Wine. 
 Let one cwt. of raisins be deprived of their stalks, 
 chopped, and put into a wide, but not too deep a ves- 
 sel. Two thirds, or fourteen gallons of water, are to 
 14*
 
 162 SPIRITUOUS LiaUORS. 
 
 ••<•■<>•>•• 
 
 be added, and the whole suffered to stand for fifteen 
 days, being carefully stirred once every day. At the 
 end of that period, the raisins must be strained, press- 
 ed, and the liquor obtained from them, poured into a- 
 nother vessel. The remaining third part, or seven gal- 
 lons of water, should next be added to the fruit, thus 
 pressed, and likewise stand for the space of one week. 
 The liquor is then again to be strained, and the two 
 runnings Sire to be poured into a barrel, capable of con- 
 taining twenty-one gallons, together with a quart of 
 brandy. In order to colour the wine, three quarters 
 of a pound of refined sugar must be set upon the fire, 
 and burnt with a little of the liquor, which ought to 
 be added to the whole; and as soon as the fermen- 
 tation ceases, the barrel may be closed, and suffered 
 to stand till it's contents be ready for bottling. 
 
 SPIRITUOUS LIQUORS. 
 
 Vegetation has united in corn, by means of air and 
 water, spirituous and earthly elements ; which, com- 
 bined, form a sweet and nourishing substance; if this 
 intimate junction be destroyed or resolved by fermen- 
 tation, the spirituous part is separated from the ear- 
 thy, which is then deprived of it's body, and is no long- 
 er a sweet nourishing substance; but is fiery, and de 
 5troys like fire. A few hundred years ago bran- 
 
 dy was not known among us. At first, it was consid- 
 ered as physic, and did not gain any degree of general 
 request till the close of the 16th century. Our fore- 
 fathers did not use brandy or any spirituous liquor; 
 and they were much more healthy and strong than
 
 SPIRITUOUS LIQUORS. 163 
 
 the present generation. It has been observed 
 
 in all countries, in England, Scotland, Sweden, 
 Xorth America, and Germany, that in proportion to 
 the quantity of spirituous liquors consumed, were the 
 evils which health, strength, reason, virtue, industry, 
 prosperity, domestic felicity, theeducation of children 
 humanity, and the life of man had to encounter. 
 Sydenham, with great justice and propriety, exclaims, 
 " Would to God brandy were totally abstained from, 
 or used only on occasions to support nature, not to de- 
 stroy it ; or that the internal useof it were prohibited 
 and left entirely to surgeons for bathing ulcers and 
 burns. " On comparingmy ownobservations,says 
 Dr. Willan, (in his Reportson the Diseases of London,) 
 with the bills of mortality, I am convinced, that con- 
 siderably more than one-eighth of all the deaths which 
 take place in the metropolis, in persons above twenty 
 years old, happen prematurely, through excess in 
 (.\nnk\ng spirits. These pernicious liquors are general- 
 ly supposed to have an immediate and specific effect 
 on the liver; which has been found, after death, in 
 drinkers of spirits, hardened or altered, as to it's tex- 
 ture, discoloured, and diminished. It appears, how- 
 ever, that the stomach and bowels suffer first from the 
 use of spirits ; and that their baneful influence is af- 
 terwards extended gradually to every part of the 
 body, producing the following symptoms. 
 1. Indigestion, attended with a disrelish for plain 
 food; with frequent nausea, and oppressive pains at 
 thestomach ; together with an inexpressible sensation 
 of sinking, faintness, and horror; and with sudden 
 convulsive discharges from the stomach into the 
 mouth, of a clear, acid, or sweetish fluid. 
 C. Racking pains, and violent contractions of the bow-
 
 164 SPIRITUOUS LIQUORS. 
 
 cls. These symptoms often return periodically, about 
 four in the morning, attended with extreme depres- 
 sion, or languor, a shortness of breath, and the most 
 dreadful apprehensions. 3. In persons of a 
 
 sanguine habit, tedious inflammations of the mem- 
 brane which covers the bowels, producing intense 
 pain, so that the slightest pressure on the belly can- 
 not be endured. 4. Swelling of the body ; ema- 
 ciation of the limbs, with frequent cramps ; and pains 
 of the joints, finally settling in the soles of the feet. 
 These symptoms are succeeded by a degree of palsy, 
 or, at least an incapacity of moving the limbs with 
 any considerable effect. 5. Sallowness of 
 complexion, with dryness and scaliness of the skin. 
 As the powers of circulation are more and more im- 
 paired, the red vessels disappear from the white of 
 the eye ; the secretion of bile is imperfectly perform- 
 ed ; and the small hairs of the skin fall off, leaving 
 the surface, especially of the lower extremities, very 
 smooth and shining. 6. Jaundice and drop- 
 sical swellings of the legs, with general redness or in- 
 flammation of the skin, terminating in black spots and 
 gangranous ulcers. 7. Ulcers in the mouth, 
 throat, &c. and an offensive smell of the breath, sim- 
 ilar to that of rotten apples. 8. Profuse dis- 
 charges of blood from the nostrils, stomach, bowels, 
 kidneys, or bladder; and from the lungs, in persons 
 of a consumptive habit. 9. An entire change 
 in the state of mind. At first, low spirits, strange sen- 
 sations, and groundless fears, alternate with unsea- 
 sonable, and often boisterous mirth: a degree of stu- 
 pidity, or confusion of ideas, succeeds. The memory, 
 and the faculties depending on it, being impaired, 
 there takes place an indifference towards usual occu-
 
 MEAD. 165 
 
 paiions, and accustomed society or amusements. No 
 interest is taken in the concerns of others: no love, 
 no sympathy remains. Even natural affection to 
 nearest relatives is gradually extinguished ; and the 
 moral sense seems obliterated. These wretched vic- 
 tims of a fatal poison, fall, at lengthy into a state of 
 fatuity; and die, with the powers both of body and 
 mind wholly exhausted. Some, after repeated fits 
 of derangement, expire in a sudden and violent phren- 
 zy. Some are hurried out of the world by apoplex- 
 ies: others perish by the slower process of jaundice, 
 dropsv, internal ulcers, and mortification in the 
 Iimbs> 
 
 Mead 
 is an agreeable liquor, prepared of honey and water, 
 with the addition of spices. Various methods are prac- 
 tised in the brewing of mead ; which however, do not 
 essentially differ from each other : the following is one 
 of the most approved. Let the whites of six 
 
 eggs be well incorporated with twelve gallons of wa- 
 ter, to which twenty pounds of honey are to be add- 
 ed. These ingredients should boil for the space 
 of one hour ; when a little ginger, cloves, cinnamon, 
 and mace, together with a small sprig of rosemary, 
 are to be put into the liquor. As soon as it is cool, 
 a spoonful of yeast ought to be added, and the mead, 
 poured into a vessel, which should be kept full dur- 
 ing the time of working. When the fermentatioa 
 ceases, the cask ought to be closed, and deposited for 
 the space of six or eight months in a vault, or cellar, 
 of an equal temperature, and in which the liquor is 
 not liable to be affected by the changes of the weath- 
 er. At the end of that period, it may be bottled, and 
 is then fit for use. A more simple, and, to some
 
 166 BEER. 
 
 palates, more agreeable method j is, to mix the honey 
 in the proportion of one pound to a quart of water ; 
 which is to be boiled, skimmed, and fermented in 
 the usual manner, without the addition of any aro- 
 matic substances. It ought to be preserved in a sim- 
 ilar manner, and bottled at the expiration of the 
 same period of time. Mead was formerly the 
 
 favourite liquor of the ancient Britons and Anglo Sax- 
 ons. It still retains it's place at country feasts in the 
 western parts of this island ; where considerable quanti- 
 ties are brewed annually. Being a wholesome and 
 pleasant beverage, it is far preferable to brandy, gin, or 
 other pernicious spirits ; tho' it does not always agree 
 with the bilious, asthmatic, or those whose breast and 
 lungs are in the least affected. But if it be kept for 
 a number of years in proper vessels, and dry cellars, 
 it acquires a flavour and strength equal to the best Ma- 
 deria, or even Tokay wines: in this state, mead is a 
 true medicine to the aged and infirm, when used with 
 moderation. — Domestic Encyclopedia. 
 
 Table Beer. 
 
 Take fifteen gallons of water, and boil onehalf of it, 
 or as much as can conveniently be managed; put the 
 part of the water thus boiled, while it is yet of it's full 
 heat, to the cold part, contained in a barrel or cask; 
 and then add one gallon of molasses, commonly cal- 
 led treacle, stirring them well together: add a little 
 yeast, if the vessel be new ; but, if it has been used for 
 the same purpose, the yeast is unnecessary. Keep the 
 bung-hole open till the fermentation appear to be a- 
 bated and then close it up. The beer will, in a day 
 or two afterwards, be fit to drink. It is usual 
 
 to put the tops of the Spruce Fir into the water whicii
 
 BEER. 167 
 
 is boiled for making this beer ; it is then called Spruce 
 beer. But tho' this be done at sea (when such top 
 can be obtained), on account of the scurvy; yet it i 
 not necessary, and may very well be omitted, where 
 they are not to be easily procured. Scurvy-grass, or 
 other herbs, or drugs, used in making purl, gill-ale, 
 or any other flavoured malt liquor, may be added 
 at discretion. But a little of the outer rind of an or- 
 ange-peel, infused in the beer itself, and taken out as 
 soon as it has imparted a sufficient degree of bitter- 
 ness, will both be found grateful, and assist in keeping 
 the beer from turning sour. A very little gentian 
 root, boiled in the water, either with a little orange- 
 peel, or without,' gives also a very wholesome, and 
 pleasant bitter to this beer. — Museum Rusticum. 
 
 A Substitute for Beer. 
 
 Take rye or wheaten bran, and boil it in soft water; 
 then strain it, and fill a barrel with it; afterwards 
 mix a leaven, eight days old, in it, and if the weath- 
 er be hot, fermentation will take place in less than 
 twenty-four hours ; as soon as the foam that will arise 
 from the bung-hole, begins to sink, stop it carefully 
 up, and let the liquor rest for some days that it may 
 become clear. When the bran has been hindered 
 from acquiring any bad taste, this liquor is very a- 
 greeable, has a vinous and acidulous taste; it is, tru- 
 ly the lemonade of the poor. So easy indeed 
 is water made to acquire vinous properties, and to 
 quench thirst, that it is unnecessary to rob the cattle 
 of their bran ; a little honey or sugar, and a few sac- 
 charine roots diluted in much water, might suffice. rr- 
 Parmentier.
 
 168 BEER. j 
 
 To MAKE Beer of Treacle. 
 
 To eight quarts of boiling water put a pound of trea- 
 cle, a quarter of an ounce of ginger, and two bay or 
 balm leaves. Let these boil for a quarter of an hour, 
 then cool and work it with yeast, iji the same man- 
 ner as other beer. 
 
 Another. 
 Take one bushel of malt, with as much water and 
 hops as if two bushels of malt were allowed ; put sev- 
 en pounds of the coarsest brown sugar into the wort 
 while boiling. This is as pleasant, as strong, and 
 
 will keep as long without being sour or flat as if two 
 bushels of malt had been put in. The two re- 
 
 cipes above, by Dr. James Stonehouse, appeared in 
 the Gentl. Mag. for January 1758 ; who adds, that the 
 latter is the preparation used in the Shrewsbury Infir- 
 mary, and he does not hesitate to attest it's wholesome 
 and nutritive properties. 
 
 Another. 
 
 To half a bushel of malt, add four pounds of treacle, 
 and three quarters of a pound of hops; this will make 
 twenty-five gallons of beer ; the cost of which would not 
 exceed twopence a gallon, if the materials were pur- 
 chased to the best advantage. The beer will be good, in 
 a fortnight, and fit for use, but not calculated for keep- 
 ing in warm weather. " I have tried this receipt," says 
 T. Bernard, esq. in the Reports of the Society for hettsr- 
 ing the Condition of the Poor; '* and found the beer very 
 good." He justly observes, that it would be desira- 
 ble that the poor should be able to supply themselves 
 with beer of their own brewing, without being oblig-
 
 BEER. 1^9 
 
 ..<..0">- 
 
 ed always to recur to the alehouse. I am aware of 
 the inconveniences of brewing in small quantities; but 
 that would be compensated for by great advantages, 
 and by the superior flavour of beer brewed and drank 
 at home. 
 
 Bitter medicines, are frequently found useful by 
 assisting the absorption of chyle, when the digestive 
 functions have been weakened by disease, yet their 
 too frequent use, must, in ways not immediately ap- 
 parent, be injurious to the constitution. On 
 this principle Dr. Darwin is of opinion, that the 
 ** hop made use of in beer drank at our meal-^, may, 
 as a medicine, be taken advantageously ; but, like 
 all other stimuli, must be injurious as an article of 
 our daily diet; and by adding to the noxious quality 
 of the spirit contained in malt liquor, must contribute 
 to the production of various diseases." The 
 country people of ^^'est-Cothland in Sweden, employ 
 the roots of Buck-bean, or Menyanthes trijoliata, for 
 imparting a bitter taste to ale ; for which purpose two 
 ounces are equally efficacious as one pound of hops. 
 Dr. Darwin recommends the leaves as a substitute 
 for hops ; and adds they would be equally wholesome 
 and palatable. 
 
 If the roots of the Garden Carrot be mashed and 
 brewed like malt, they yield a sweet liquor, which 
 being properly worked or fermented with yeast be^ 
 comus a strong drink, like ale. In like manner ■ 
 
 the roots of Parsley, Parsneps, and Skirret, may be 
 employed. 
 
 The taste and colour of stale beer may be much 
 improved, by adding a small quantity of the ilour of 
 the grain of Siberian Buck-wheat. 
 
 Alehouse keepers impregnate their malt-liquor 
 15
 
 -170 BEER. 
 
 viih Cocculus Indlcus, Coriander seeds, and Capslr 
 turn ; the last is not, however, very hurtful ; it resem- 
 bles ginger, and gives a pleasant warmness to the ale. 
 
 By putting small bits of ginger-root into an ale- 
 barrel, the liquor will be found, in a short time, to 
 have improved, and will continue more clear to the 
 last. 
 
 It has been found, by experiment, that one pound 
 ofcorianderseedimpartsaquaiity by decoction, which 
 stupifies and intoxicates in a much greater propor- 
 tion than the quantity of ale produced from a bush? 
 f 1 of malt. 
 
 VINEGAR, 
 
 t>f an excellent kind for family use, may easily be made 
 by taking a five gallon cask, with a pretty large bung- 
 hole at one end. Season it two or three days with 
 common vinegar, then pour it out, and put into it 
 four pounds of raisin stalks, and four ounces of gin- 
 ger, bruised. Then take four gallons of good sound 
 ale or wine, let this be just brought to boil with a very 
 quick fire, and immediately add it to the stalks and 
 ginger. Place the cask either in the hot sunshine, or 
 near a fire, slightly corked, shaking it every day, and 
 in a little time it will be converted into excellent vin- 
 egar. 
 
 Another. 
 To every gallon of spring water let there be allowed 
 three pounds of Malaga raisins. Put them in an 
 parthen jar, and place them where they may have
 
 VINEGAR. ITI 
 
 the hottest sun, from May till Micbaehnas. Then 
 pressing them well, tun the liquor up in a very strong 
 iron hooped vessel, to prevent it's bursting. It will 
 appear very thick and muddy, when newly pressed, 
 but will refirie in the vessel, and be as clear as wine. 
 Then let it remain untouched for three months, be- 
 fore il be drawn off, and it will prove excellent vine- 
 gar. — Evelyn's Acetaria. 
 
 Another. 
 
 To every gallon of spring water add one pound and a 
 half of the coarsest soft sugar, boil it a quarter of an 
 hour, when luke warm add new yeast to it, work it four 
 or five days; then tun it into a clean iron hooped bar- 
 rel on raisin stalks, and bung it very closely up. If 
 you make it in the fruit season, some green goose- 
 berries may be put into the barrel, with the size of an 
 hazle-nut of alum. It will require to stand eight 
 months after tunning. By some attention to keeping 
 the cask constantly well-closed after the first prepara- 
 tion, vinegar may be readily produced from such 3 
 sour taste. This vinegar will preserve all kind of 
 pickles except Mushrooms and Walnuts. 
 
 YEAST. 
 A Method of generating Yeast. 
 
 The ingenious Mr. Thomas Henry of Manchester, 
 found by experiment, that by the addition of some 
 fixed air to a decoction of malt, in proper circum- 
 stances, real yeast might be produced, capable of rais-
 
 172 YEAST. 
 
 ing bread, possessing every other known quality of 
 yeast obtained by the usual mode of fermentation. 
 This process, however, on account of it's requiring a 
 particular apparatus, and materials, with which the 
 iabouring class are in general unacquainted, has nev^ 
 er, that we have heard of, been applied to any use in 
 economy or arts. The account was published 
 in the second volume of *' Memoirs of the Literary 
 and Philosophical Society of Manchester," 1785. 
 
 Since that time it has been discovered, that yeast 
 may be actually produced at pleasure, from a decoc- 
 tion of malt, without the addition of fixed air, or a- 
 ny thing else whatever. This discovery was made 
 by Joseph Senyor, servant to the Rev. William Ma- 
 son of Aston, near RoLherham in Yorkshire, and is 
 published in the eighth volume of the " Transactions 
 of the Society for Encouragement of Arts," Scifl, 
 ■who, after making the experiment, and finding it to 
 succeed perfectly in every respect, awarded to him 
 a bounty of twenty pounds. The discovery appears 
 to be, " that yeast is not some peculiar and unknown 
 substance, necessary to be added to wort in order to 
 put it into a fermenting state; but that malt boiled 
 in water will generate it, as the chemists say, per se, 
 if the following circumstances be attended to. 
 1st, that the process be begun with a small quantity 
 of the decoction. 2dly, that it be kept in an 
 
 equal degree of heat. 3dly, that, when the 
 
 fermentation is begun, it should be assisted and aug- 
 mented with fresh decoctions of the same liquor." 
 The method is as follows. 
 
 *' Procure three eaithen or wooden vessels, of dif- 
 ferent sizes and apertures, one capable of holding 
 two quarts, the other three or four, and the third five
 
 YEASTi 17} 
 
 or six: boil a quarter of a peck of malt for about 
 eight or ten minutes in three pints of water; and 
 when a quart is poured off from the grains, let it stand 
 in a cool place, till not quite cold, but retaining that 
 degree of heat which the brewers usually find to be 
 proper when they begin to work their liquor. Then re- 
 move the vessel into some warm situation near a fire, 
 where the thermometer stands between seventy and 
 eighty degrees (Fahrenheit,) and there let it remain 
 till the fermentation begins, which will be plainly per- 
 ceived within thirty hours; add then two quarts more 
 of a like decoction of malt, when cool as the first was ; 
 mix the whole in the larger sized vessel, and stir it 
 well in, which must be repeated in the usual way, as it 
 rises in a common vat: then add a stiil greater quantity 
 of the same decoction, to be worked in the largest 
 vessel, which will produce yeast enough for a brew- 
 ing of forty gallons." The Society say, after 
 having repeated the above process, that " Some of 
 this yeast, being mixed with a due proportion of flour, 
 ■water, and salt, answered all the purposes intended, 
 for bread ; and might certainly liave been equally 
 ■well applied to brewing, in the common me'.hod. la 
 fine, being pure and good yeast, it will ansver all the 
 intentions oi that useful article." 
 
 To MAKE Yeast. 
 
 Thicken two quarts of water with four ounces of fine 
 flour; boil it for half an hour; then sweeten it with 
 three ounces of brown sugar, not the brownest. 
 When almost cold, pour it upon four spoonfuls of 
 yeast into an earthen jar, deep enough for the yeast 
 to rise: shake it well together, and place it for a 
 day near the fire ; then pour off the thin liquor at 
 15*
 
 5H YEAST. 
 
 ••<••<>••>■• 
 
 top; shake the remainder, and close it up for use; 
 having previously strained it through a sieve. To 
 preserve it, let it be placed in a cool cellar, or hung 
 at some depth, in a well. Some of this must always 
 be kept to make the next quantity. As it is not quite 
 so strong as yeast from ale, use rather more than four 
 spoonsfpl, for making new yeast. 
 
 The Process of making Yeast, 
 
 as practised at Edinburgh. 
 
 Take one ounce of hops ; boil them for an hour in one 
 gallon of water; then pour the liquid upon four or 
 five pounds of flour, at)d stir it very well into a paste. 
 Do this about eleven in the forenoon. Let it stand 
 till six o'clock in the evening; then add about a 
 pint of yeast, to forward the fermentation, mixed 
 ^^'e]\ together. Next morningadd as much more flour 
 and water as will be suflicieiit tomake it into dough; 
 and in the afternoon it will be fit for setting sponge 
 and baking. Reserve always a piece of the old dough 
 to mix with the new batch, instead of the yeast; 
 which is necessary only the first time, to hasten the 
 process. The said quantity of hops will suffice for 
 sjxty quartern loaves. 
 
 To make Potatoe Yeast. 
 
 To a quart of potatoes, boiled and well mashed, add 
 a teacup till of good yeast, and a spoonful of coarse 
 brown sugar, with as much warm water as will bring 
 the whole to the consistency of good yeast. This will 
 ferment togetherin a few hours, and will befitfor use. 
 When this quantity is half expended, more potatoes 
 and sugar may be added, and in this manner it may be 
 J^eptin a serviceable state, without any more yeast, for
 
 YEAST. 175 
 
 ..<•.<>- 
 
 many weeks. There must be a little more of this 
 yeast allowed for the bread than of common yeast. 
 
 A Method of causing a very small Portion 
 OF Yeast to serve the Purpose of Baking 
 A large Quantity of Flour. 
 
 From Dr. Anderson's " Bee," vol. iii, p. 229. 
 
 " Take four table spoonsful of pure water, heated to 
 the warmth of new-drawn milk ; add thereto some 
 flour and about a tea-spoonful of good yeast, stir- 
 ring and mixing it well, till it be of the consistence 
 of thick cream or batter for making pancakes: cover 
 it up and set it in a place where the temperature is 
 moderate, that is, in a warm chamber in winter, and 
 in one without fire in it, or that is not exposed to the 
 sun in summer. In six or eight hours a fermentation 
 will commence, the surface will heave up, and at the 
 end of twelve or fourteen hours, it will have acquir- 
 ed the appearance and consistency of tine light yeast. 
 You may then add to it twice as much water, as 
 you employed at first, still milk warm. Stir the 
 ■whole, so as to mix it thoroughly ; then add more 
 fresh flour, and stir it up, as at first, till it be again of 
 the consistence of batter ; cover it up again, and 
 let it stand as before; the fermentation will imme- 
 diately commence, and in a few hours, it will again 
 assume the appearance of fine light yeast. If you 
 have now a quantity suf^cient for your purpose, it 
 may be used instead of yeast for bread ; but if you 
 still want more, you may again double the quanti- 
 ty, by adding as much water as you had employed at 
 both the former times, and mixing it up with flour, as 
 before, and leaving it again to ferment. How 
 
 often this process may be thus repeated," says Dr.
 
 176 YEASr. 
 
 Anderson, " I cannot tell. I am however certain it may 
 be repeated three times, as here described, without a- 
 ny risk of becoming sour; and the time required for 
 this purpose, will be about twenty-four or thirty hours. 
 One tea spoonful of yeast my recipe said, might serve 
 for a bushel of flour. When you have obtained as 
 much of this kind of yeast as would be sufficient of 
 the best common yeasl, to bake your quantity'of bread j 
 you need not proceed farther. Mix up this yeast in 
 your paste, as you would do any other; and when it 
 is well kneaded into it, form your paste into the 
 shape you mean your bread to be ; but take care to let 
 it lie upon the board for some hours after it has been 
 kneaded up, before it be put into the oven. Then let 
 it be properly baked, and you will have, if your flour 
 has been good, fine, sweet, and light bread, perfect- 
 ly free from any taste of sourness, and equally free from 
 the bitterness which is often communicated to bread by 
 yeast from beer. The above is not a fanciful 
 
 receipt founded on theory, but one of which I can 
 speak with certainty, having witnessed it's use in my 
 own family for more than a dozen years. In the 
 country, families are often subjected to great difficul- 
 ty in obtaning new whcaten bread tVom the want of 
 fresh yeast ; this induced me to have this method tried 
 which is no invention of my own, but picked up ac- 
 cidenlally, and after so many years' experience of 
 bread made of it, I can speak with certainty. 
 Al'.ow, me, however, to observe, that in this method of 
 baking, as well as in every other mode, much depends 
 on the judgnient, attention, and practice of the bak- 
 er. An unskilful person may make it very bad; but 
 by attention and care, those of my family who took 
 charge of that department, had acquired such a know-
 
 YEAST. 177 
 
 ledge of the circumstances that varied the process, that 
 I could, when I pleased to order it, jhave bread of any 
 kind I required. It could be made close and weigh- 
 ty, tho' well baked, for those who desired it so, or 
 light and spungy to any degree required, so as even 
 to leave scarcely any crumb at all, to those who lik- 
 ed crust better than the crumbs of a roll. In short, 
 by this process, the bread could be made to suit the 
 taste of the person who was to eat it, whatever it was. 
 I cannot specify all the particulars which produced 
 those properties, for they fell not immediately under 
 my own cognisance. They were the charge of one 
 Avho was more attentive, and more capable of judging 
 than myself, but who now, alas! can never communi- 
 cate any part of that knowledge to others. If any one 
 try this method of augmenting yeast and do not suc- 
 ceed, the failure must be attributed to want of prac- 
 tice, or slovenly carelessness, and to nothing else." 
 
 Method of Preserving Yeast. 
 
 It is done by drying, in which state it may be kept 
 for a long time, without losing it's fermentable prop- 
 erty. It is performed in the most simple manner: 
 the only difference in the methods used for that end, 
 consists in the choice of utensils or vessels employed 
 for the purpose. Where only smaller quantities are 
 required, a w^hisk or rod of twigs is used. This is dipt 
 in the yeast (which is put into a deep vessel) and 
 then hung up till it be dry. The operation is repeat- 
 ed till the whole of the yeast be taken up, and reduc^ 
 ed to a dry mass, adhering to the whisk, which is 
 then to be kept in this state, in some proper place, 
 till it be wanted for use. Where greater quantities 
 of yeast are required to be preserved, the most con*
 
 Its YEAST. 
 
 M<.0">" 
 
 venient method is to fill a large wooden bowl with 
 it and to place the bowl so filled in a gentle heat be- 
 fore the fire, till it grows dry. A crust of yeast will 
 then be formed against the sides of the bowl ; after 
 which the bowl must be again filled, and the drying 
 performed as before. The same must be repeated 
 till the bowl has a considerable quantity of dried yeast 
 in it, which may be scraped out and put into Small 
 jars, such as are used for preserves and pickles. In this 
 manner it may be kept from air and moisture. 
 When the yeast, thus preserved, is wanted for use, it 
 must be cut off tUe mass on the whisk, or in the bowl 
 or jar, and rubbed to powder. Warm water being 
 added to it, in a proper vessel, they must be well 
 beaten together, and suffered to stand two or three 
 hours, when the mixture will gain the appearance and 
 qualities of new yeast, and be fit for the same purpose. 
 Where yeast cannot be procured, a leaven may be 
 used in it's stead ; but bread made with this is not so 
 good as if prepared with yeast. When yeast is re- 
 
 quired to be preserved a short time only, for instance, 
 from one baking day to another; put it into a stone 
 bottle, and tye down the cork. It will keep a fort- 
 night. If the bottle be immersed in running 
 water, the yeast will thereby be preserved good for 
 three months. 
 
 Another, 
 
 with an economical Mode of usittg Yeast, 
 Take good clear yeast, not over bitter, but yet a little 
 so, because it will keep better. Put it into a coarse 
 linen or fine woollen bag, and by a gentle and increas- 
 ing pressure in a cloth or napkin squeeze or twist out 
 the thin liquid till the remainder is a dryish substance 
 like a conserve, which must be carefully preserved
 
 YEAST. 
 
 179 
 
 by potting it closely. When you would raise any 
 quantity of dough, as a bushel or more, take a tea- 
 spoonful of this yeast, and mix it thoroughly in a 
 pint of warm water. Put your flour into a knead- 
 ing trough; make a hole in the middle large enough 
 to hold two gallons of water; pour the mixture of 
 water and yeast into the hole, and with a clean stick 
 or spatula, stir it till of the consistence of batter for a 
 pudding. Strewsomedry flour over it, and leave it for 
 an hour, or till the liquid has broken the crust form- 
 ed by the sprinkled flour. Then add another quart 
 of warm water, strewing flour over it as before, and 
 leave it tw^o hours. Then add three quarts of warm 
 water, leaving it for three or four hours. You may 
 then knead up the whole, and in four or five hours 
 bake it. It will be found of a proper lightness. As 
 any other employment may be pursued during the 
 intervals, there is in reality no time lost by the slow- 
 ness of the process.
 
 INDEX 
 
 Adulteration of bread, . page 67 
 
 Ale posset, 143 
 
 Almond, 
 
 Apj)le dumplings, 
 
 22 
 101 
 
 Apples, . 2'i 
 
 Arrow-head, 41 
 
 Artichoke, . . . 
 Artichoke, Jerusalem 
 Asparagus, . . . 
 
 B 
 Barley and rice, . . 
 Barley, boiled, . . 
 
 Barley bread, 75 
 
 Bath cake, - 89 
 
 Baynard's (Dr.) rules for preserv- 
 ing health, 5 
 
 Beet, 29,42 
 
 Bean, 18 
 
 Beer, table, 166— a substitute for, 
 
 167— beer of treacle, 
 Bilberry, .... 
 Birch wine, . . . 
 Biscuit of potatoe, . 
 Boiling of Vegetables, ... 51 
 
 Borecole, 29 
 
 Bread, 63— adulteration of, 67— 
 of making, 68 — Frendi-bread, 
 69 — rice bread, 69, 72— bread 
 of rice and fiour, 70— rye bread, 
 73— barley bread, 75— potatoe 
 bread, 75— mixed bread, 76— 
 breadsof Indian corn, 81— tur- 
 nip bread, 83 — bread pudding, 
 108 
 Breakfasts and Suppers, . . 110 
 
 Buck-wheat, 20 
 
 BufTon's decision respecting the 
 
 nutritive quality of grain, - 2 
 Burgoo, - 108 j 
 
 Cabbage, 29 
 
 Cake, poor Robin's, S8 — common 
 seed cake, 88— plain plum 
 cake, 89— bath cake, 89— light 
 wigs, 89- potatoe cake, . 89 
 
 Cardoon, 30 
 
 28 J Carrot pudding, .... 107 
 
 40 Cauliflower, 30 
 
 28 I Celery, 30 
 
 Cheese, 147 
 
 103 j Cherry, 24 
 
 15]Chesnut, 24 
 
 Chive, 30 
 
 Choux de Millan, .... 31 
 
 Clary wine, 157 
 
 Coffee, 137 
 
 Cookery, as a science, 1 — it's re- 
 finements and complications, 2 
 Corstorphine cream, . . . 142 
 
 168 Cowslip wine, 
 23 Cucumber, . , 
 
 156 j Curds or flittings, 
 85 1 Currants, . . - 
 
 Currant wine, 
 
 Dandelion, 
 
 158 
 24 
 
 142 
 24 
 
 159 
 
 42 
 
 Eating and drinking, rules re- 
 specting^, 5 
 
 Eggs, 148— boiled, 149— poached, 
 149— fried, 1 49— with sorrel 
 and parsley, 149 — with ale, 149 
 —with milk, 150— with bread 
 150 — of preserving, - . 150 
 
 Egg-soup, 98 
 
 Endive, -32,42 
 
 F 
 
 Flour, a method of discovering it's 
 real quality, 67 
 
 Butter, 
 16 
 
 144 ' Flour with eggs, - - 
 
 - Ill
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Food, variety of, i-^nanti/y of, i 
 quality of, 2-_sitnplicity of, 2 — 
 kind to be first partaken of, . 2 
 
 Flummery ii, ng 
 
 French breac), ...... 6g 
 
 French soup, gg 
 
 Fruit, 22 — of preserving, . . 27 
 
 Framenty, i<ji 
 
 Fungus, -•-.--- ijQ 
 
 G 
 Ginger wine, -----. i^g 
 
 Gloucester jelly, - - - - 150 
 
 Gooseberry, ...... 25 
 
 Coosebeiry wine, .... ifio 
 
 Gourd, ........ 25 
 
 Grain, nutritive qualities of, 2 — of 
 the importance of cultivating, 
 10 — of boiled, 1 1 — of the gluten, 
 12 — of the nutritive qualities of 
 
 grain, 13 
 
 Crapes, ........ 25 
 
 Grinding wheat, - - . . . 66 
 Gum-Arabic, ...-.- 56 
 
 H 
 Hazle-nut, ...... 25 
 
 Hasty-pudding, 109 — of Indian 
 corn, ........ 112 
 
 Health, rules for preserving, by 
 Dr. Baynard, - . . . . ^ 
 
 Herb pudding, loi — pottage, 110 
 
 —pie, 115 
 
 Hippocrates's maxim, - . . 1 
 Hommony, ...... u^ 
 
 Horses, evils arising from keeping, to 
 
 Jack by the Hedge, .... gj 
 
 Indian corn, 16 — pudding, • 113 
 
 Indian corn bread, .... 8) 
 
 Iversoup, -..-.-- gy 
 
 K 
 
 Kidney-bean, .--... ig 
 
 Leaven of potatoes, .... 80 
 
 Legumes or pulse, .... 18 
 
 Lettuce, --.-... 31 
 Liquorice, ....... 42 
 
 M 
 Macaroon, 85 — Macaroon rice, 104 
 Mead, --.--... J64 
 Melon, ----.... 25 
 
 Milk, 139 — with wheat flour, 140 
 — with oatmeal, 140 — with 
 
 bread, 140 — skirret milk, 142— 
 wine of milk, ..... ,6* 
 
 Milk soup, ...... gg 
 
 Mixed bread, ...... 76 
 
 Mollasses, .......ng 
 
 Mucilage of rice, .... 104 
 
 O 
 Oatmeal, 15 — pudding, - - 109 
 
 ^"' 57 
 
 Onion, --...... 42 
 
 Orchis root, ...... 43 
 
 Ovens, ........ 120 
 
 P 
 Panado, --••••.114 
 
 P»"'«y 31,43 
 
 Parsnep, ^g 
 
 Pea, 19 — pudding of, 106 — pottage 
 
 o^ Ill 
 
 Peach, 26 
 
 Pear 26 
 
 Pease soup, ...... gg 
 
 Pennyroyal pudding, ... 107 
 Pi" J15 
 
 Pine apple, -.-... 26 
 
 Pium, 26 — cake, .... 89 
 
 Poor Robin's cake, .... 88 
 
 Potatoe, 46— method of preserving 
 
 51 — bread, 75 — leaven of, 80 — 
 
 biscuit, 85 — cake, 89 — pudding, 
 
 105 — dumplings, .... 105 
 
 Preserving vegetables, - - - 58 
 
 Puddings, .-.-... loo 
 
 Pulse, 48 
 
 Purslane, ....... 32 
 
 Quinces, wine of, .... 161 
 
 R 
 Raddish, ....... ^o 
 
 Raisins, 26 — wine of, - - - 161 
 Rasberry, 26 — wine of, . - i6i 
 Rice and barley pudding, . - 103 
 Rice, boiled, 17, — bread, 69,72 — 
 pudding, 101, io4_with milk, 
 103 — without milk, 103 — Muci- 
 lage of rice, 104 
 
 Roots, of reducing them into flour, 51 
 Rye bread^ --..... 73 
 
 S 
 Sago, 57— pudding, .... 108 
 Salads, •>.-.... 09 
 
 Salt,. ,fj 
 
 Salsafy, ^o
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Savory, ...... 
 
 Seedcake, ~ . . . , 
 
 Skiiret, 
 
 Sorrel, 
 
 Soups, Count Romford's, 92 — 
 cheap soup, 96 — brown soup, 92 
 -— Iver soup, 97~Pease soup, 98 
 —Egg soup, 98— Milk soup, 99 
 —French soup, 
 Sourcrout, .... 
 
 Spiaage, 32-— pudding, - 
 Spirituoas liquors, • - 
 Starch of roots, - • . - . ^2 
 Stewed peas, ...... 19 
 
 Strawberr)-, ...... 26 
 
 Substitute for flour or bread, - 86 
 Succory, ...... 32, 42 
 
 Sugar, 117 — a substitute for, . 118 
 Sweet lice pudding, - . - . J03 
 
 T 
 Tapioca, 57 
 
 32 I Tea, 
 
 31, substitutes for . 136 
 
 00 j Tobacco 37 
 
 51 Turnip stalks, 33, root,5i — bread,83 
 3*1 V 
 
 I Vetch, 20 
 
 I Vinegar 
 
 W 
 
 j Wall nut, 
 
 99 i Welch dishes, na 
 
 36 ! Water, 122 — of purifying, . . 13c 
 
 107 I Wheat, creeled iS 
 
 162 I Wigs 
 
 Wines, 
 
 Y 
 Yeast, a method of generating 17 1 
 — potatoe yeast, 174 — a method 
 of causing a small portion of 
 yeast to serve, 175 — of preserv- 
 ing yeast, 177 
 
 Yeast dumplings 100 
 
 170 
 26 
 
 89 
 '51
 
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