The Sun.
London, England, 1862-11-25 00:00:00

ESSENTIALS OF FOOD.

At once, then, we wardthe Stockport Guardians against
the error, to which, if the report we have read be a correct
one, they are advised. The error, if they fall into it, will
be fatal. We warn them, and with them, all other boards
in a similar position, not to give away bacon, not to over-
burthen the poor with potatoes, not to spend much in
cheese, but to look to the essentials.
And what are the essentials? Three, only three—bread,
fresh animal substance, and a little fresh vegetable. They
shall forget everything else in these, and all will go well;
they shall forget these, and all will go ill. To put forward
a simple illustration, we will take a man weighing one
hundred and fifty-four pounds, and, presuming that be is
not actively engaged in muscular or mental work, we will
feed him at something less than a minimum ration; we
will give him per day from two to three ounces of fresh solid
animal food, six ounces of potatoes, alone or intermixed
with other vegetables, acid eight ounces of bread ; thus fed,
in so far as substantial food is concerned, the man will live,
simple water, or a little tea or coffee, doing all the rest ; nay,
we may diminish the materials here suggested a full third,
and the man will not suffer from famine fever ; but double
the bread and potatoes,and omit the fresh animal substance,
and the man will inevitably lapse into fever; or, replace
the fresh animal food by salted provision, and he will have
scurvy, or dysentery, or both.
That which we state here is simple incontrovertible truth,
it is gathered from experience, special and general ; ignored,
the worst evils roust come ; acknowledged, acted upon, the
evils of disease may be altogether avoided. To reduce the
matter to a simple reading, even at the risk of seeming
wearisome, we offer to Boards of Guardians the following
facts as principles on which they may be guided.
1. A man may live altogether on fresh animal food.; on
such food he will no more take fever or scurvy, than a lion
or other carnivorous animal.

2. A man will live altogether on vegetable foods if these
can be obtained in sufficient quantity, and can be scienti-
fically admixed. He will no more take fever or scurvy on
such food than a horse or other herbivorous animal. _

3. A man practically lives best on a mixture of animal
and vegetable foods, the animal part representing a little
less than a fourth of the vegetable.
These are the positive conditions : now for the negative.
1. A man cannot live on salted provisions : on a mixture
of salted flesh and one or two kinds of vegetable diet he
may live some time, but in the end he will suffer, land
scurvy and dysentery being the chief resultant maladies.
2. A man cannot live many weeks on brad, potatoes,
rice, or oatmeal, without lapsing into famine fever.
3. Quantity of food is nothing in the absence of quality.
Thus, two ounces of fresh animal food with three ounces of
bread and three ounces of potatoes, would excel six ounces
of bread, six ounces of potatoes, and four of bacon.
There is often the greatest oversight in respect to the
question of economy in these matters of food. The cheap-
est in food is not necessarily the best nor the worst, but
the rule of cheapness in respect to quantity is an error. If
a man says of food " I will buy this piece of bacon, because
there is so much in quantity for so much money, but I will
not buy that piece of mutton because there is a fourth less,"
that man makes a dear bargain : if times aro good and ho
can vary bacon with mutton or beef, he does not suffer :
but if times are bad and he goes on buying bacon day after
day because of the quantity he obtains, he will suffer inevi-
tably, whereas if he spend the same money in small portions
of fresh food, he will not suffer. This rule, pertinent to
man as an individual, is squally so to public boards which
have the distribution of foods, Let them not be ruled by
any hastily expressed recommendation: the truths of
science are plain, demonstrative, decisive, they may trust
them implicitly,—they can trust nothing else.—Social
Science Review.

The police authorities of Frankfort have just re-
fused to allow the United Germany Association to establish
its central seat in that city. Three years a similar demand
made by the Nationalverein Committee was also refused.
GROCERS' FUND FOR THE LANCASHIRE OPE-
RATIVES.--A list has been opened at the office of Me
Grocer for the reception of contributions in money and
clothing from members of the trade which it represents.
We extract the following from an earnest appeal on behalf
of the sufferers :—As no class benefits more largely from
the custom of the poor, and the operatives of
Lancashireent on
especially, than the grocers, it is at least
incumbent
b distress
them now to do their utmost to relieve the urgent
of those who are, when in employment, theirbestand most
constant customers. Many have, no doubt, already given
to the committee or collectors in their several
there are others who have not yet contributed;
y.
uwt localities, but
ead;sand
Leta each
help on the good work
tradesman place a box to in
no dou, -
rnecneniiv beere subscripbttions
give some on his
counter, and every customer would,
weekly
ygs t o
res towardsof
thing, however small. While theyi
he
the Christmas club, or layartesiurbs wc
laying
necessary supplies, the
urgent n
wants of the Lancashire
spinners and their familiesmight well
_be pressed upon
them, and no one woukl.be so hard-hearted as to turn a
deaf ear to such an Weal
A learned member of the French Academy has
made the profound discovery, according to a scale of
eights, chronologically arranged, that Adam could have
been no less than 1231 t. 9in. high, while Eve was about
sft, less! Since that, humanity is supposed to have been
rapidly degenerating, as the Academician only grants 28ft.
to Abratiga, and Put Uft, to NOM I—Court 4orn(4,