Daily national Democrat., 1861-06-22
What We Need to Eat.


If We are governed by appetite, aud the
sense of taste, simulated 10y all the refine
ments and invention Of gastI onomy, we are
likely to err on the side of glutony, and
bring upon ourselves serious diseases IT, on
the other hand, We are too abstemious-hut
there is so little danger of that, we need not
take time TO enlarge upon it
Even the experienced trainer of the prize
ring cannot decide what is the best food for
training men up to their greatest powers OF
endurance In England they have preju-
dice in favor of mutton chops and undone
beef steaks: but it is by no means sure that
this is best. The Roman soldiers. who con-
quered the world, and built roads from Lis
bon to Constantnople aud who were all train
ed athletes, marched under n weighty armor
and baggage that few men of our days could
carry, lived on coarse brown bread. wheat
and barley bread, w"ich they dipped i'll sour
wine.
In our day, the Spanish peasants are
among the strongest and most agile men in
the world. One of them will not hesitate to
take n bull 10y the horns. He will work all
day in copper mine or at the olive-press,
or the wine-press, under hot sun, and then
dance half the night to the music of "A guitar
What does he live on? A piece of black
|
You may see him dipping his piece of bread
into horn of oil, and then into some vine
gar made hot with pepper and garlic and he
is happy. Sometimes he gets draught of
harsh, sour wine, but not strong. All the
strong wine is sent to England.
The Smyrna porter walks off with a load
of 500 weight His only food. day after
day. is his little fruit-a handful of dates, a
few figs, bunch of grapes and some olives.
He eats no beef, pork or mutton His whole
food does not cost him penny day. And
the climate Of the South of Spain, or of
Smyrna. where the plague is almost epidemic,
cannot be considered better than ours.
The Coolie, living on his rice. can utwork
the negro fed on beacon. The Arab, living
on rice and dates, conquered half the world
Not only may the most tremendous muscular
force and great power of endurance be nour
ished on light vegesable diet but great
mental energies as we'll. For example, St
Gregory Nazinzenzen lived on bread, herbs
and salt. The great st. Embrose, of Milan,
lived in rigorous abstinence, and seldom
broke his fast before noon. st. Augustine
lived on pulse and herbs. st Bernard, the
ablest and most influential man in Europe in
the twelfth century, lived on coarse bread
soitened with warm water; and great num-
| bers of the ahlest and most eminent men, in
all times, have lived in great abstinence.
We eat too much Many people eat break
fast, lunch, dinner, tea, supper-ive meals
| day, and four of them hearty ones with vari-
Gus kinds Of flesh, meat and prepared dishes.
A majority of Americans eat flesh three
times day. Irish laborers who never ate
flesh dozen times in their lives, come here
rosy with health and strong as oxen. They
| fall into the habits OF the eounry-eatng
pork and drinking tea, coffee aud whisky
and in two or three years they lose their
rosy cheeks, their clear, bright eyes, their
strength and endurance. They have sallow
skins, bad teeth and rheumatism. 1t is TO be
attributed far more to their habits of eating
and drinking If lrishmen " ho come here
would live here just as they do at home, they
would not complain of the climate. The
smartest old lrshwoman we know of--a lit
tie woman who can roll barrel of flour up
to room in the third story, and walk ten
miles without pre- udice to IL hard days work
has not tasted meat for twenty gears, and
| lives every day on little bread aud a pen
nyworth of milk boiled up with very
weak cup of coffee.
Our sanitary reformers have not looked to
the diet question: will they allow Us to call
| their attention in that direction? The ston-
ach is the center and citadel of organic lif,
! 1t is worth Il Itlle consideration, as Wen as
the lungs and skin, which depend upon it.
"VANIrY FAIR CoRREsPoN ENcE Vanity
Fair has a war correspondent at Washington,
who writes as follows:
am living luxariously at present, on the
| top of very respectable fence. and fare
sumptuously on three granite biscuits day,
and a glass of water weakened with brandy
A high private in the Twenty regi
ment has promised to let me have one of his
| square pocket handkerchiefs for sheet the
first rainy night. and | never 60 to bed on
my comfortable window brush without think
! ing how many poor creatures there are in
| this world who have to sleep on hair mat
trasscs and feather beds all their lives. Be-
fore the great rash of Fire Zouaves and the
rest Of the menagere commenced, boarded
exclusively on front stoOp in PennsN / ania
avenue, and used to slumber, regardless of
expense, in a well conducted ash box; but
| the military monopolize all such accommodate
tions now, and give way for the sake of my
country. | tell you. my dear boy, we're
having high old times here Just now, and if
they get any higher shant be able to afford
to stay. The city is "n danger every other
hour and, as veteran in the Fire Znuaves
remarked, there seems TO be enough danger
| lying around loose on Arlington Heights to
make good blood and thunder fiction, in
numerous pages. If the viglant and well
educated sentinels happen to see a ngger on
the upper side of the Potomac, they sing out,
Here they come" and the whole blessed
army is swapping caps in minute. Then all
the reporters telegraph to their papers in
New ORR and Philadelphia that jeff Davis
is within two minutes walk of the Capital,
with few millions of men, and all the free
States send six more regiments apiece to
crowd us a little more. l.shant stand much
more crowdng, for my fence is full now, and
there were six applications yesterday to rent
an improved knot-hole My landlord says if
more than three chaps set up housekeeping
on one post, he'll be obliged to raise the rent.
The greatest confidence in zen. Scott is felt
10y all, and it would do you good to see the
gay old hero take the oath lie takes it aft er
every meal, and the first thing when be gets
up in the morning. Those Fire Zouaves are
fellows of awful suction tell you. Just for
greens, | asked one of them yesterday, what
he came here for? "Ilah !" says he, shatting
| one eye, eve came here to strike for your
affairs and your tires-especially your .fres
General Scott says that if he wanted to make
these chaps break through the army Of foe,
he'd have a fire bell rung for some district on
the other side Of the rebels. He says that
half million of the traitors couldn't keep
the Zouaves out of that district five minutes
| believe him, my boy
MINING IN SOUTHERN OREGoN.--A cores
pondent of the jacksonville Sentinel, writing