The New Orleans crescent. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1866-1869, 1868-01-26
REASON AND EATING.

under which each individual and each family
looked out for themselves, amounted to an
exquisite continuance to defeat convenience
and economy, and the diffusion of comfort
and even luxury. There has been organized
in New York city, under the superintendent
of Professor Blot, an eating club, which will
prove perhaps, the pioneer of the spread OF
such organizations, or at least of the system
proposed by this club, into all the large cities
of the country.
The project is based on the cooperative
principle; and it is intended, if the first ex-
pertinent succeed in the business center of the
city, TO establish houses up town for supply
ing families with meals, either at cooper
alive tables or at their own homes, and at
rates cheaper than the same food and the
same cooking could be obtained on private
terms and by domestic arrangements. The
system once introduced, no cooperative
stock or cooperative management would be
needed TO maintain it. 1t would perpetuate
itself by force of its own merits; being in not
greater danger of falling into disuse than the
steam engine, the spinning jenny or the
sewing machine Families at length,
seeing the unreasonableness of the
old plan, would no more think of
havings private kitchens than they would
think of having private slaughter houses.
The patriarchs of old were their own
butchers. But as society emerged from that
primitive time and experienced the need and
the advantage of distribution of labor,
butcheling became distinct trade instead of
a regular incident of household administra-
ton. The same social development is now
demonstrating the sutility of disseminating,
where practicable, domestic cooking, and of
making the preparation and the furnishing of
food for private tables a commercial avoca-
ton; as much so as that of the butcher or the
grocer, who, supplying alimentary commodi-
ties in an uncooked state, stand only one re-
move from such an avocation.
When we turn from considering methods
of feeding to inquire what substances admit
of being utilized as nourishment we are APP
palled at the results to which astronomy
describing prejudices, and guided by reason
alone, would conduct On the one hand we
behold opening resources which utterly dis
sipate the apprehepsions of those economical
philosophers who wish to establish q maxi
mum for marriage and the fruits of marriage
in order TO prevent population from exceed
ing the limits of subsistence. On
the other hand, we perceive that
the unsentmental utilization to which reason
commends US, is prepared to do nothing
short of leapjng the chasm which separates
- /, nv.
man who eats and relishes steak from lis
own horse, as many do in France, and as a
few profess to have done in England, already
stands, indeed on the brink of this fearful
gulf As to France, so advanced is CASTRO
nomic utility there that Paris has its hippo
phagic market, and its population is settling
down to the regular consumption of all Grip
pied and superannuated horses possessing
esculent availability, even though they may
have borne the imperial person or done the
ration service on the battles bloody marge.
In England the reform is in its tentative stage,
as may be judged from the remarks of the
Englishman who writes to the London Times,
saying that he 'gaye a dinner of a grey
pony" (ss though in his country people
usually dined where Gen. Pope once made his
military headquarters before exposing his
military headquarters to the enemy "and that
it was quite equal to beef" The uncertainty
as to whether this dinner was off or Of the
pony, is removed by guest who describes it
as pony dinner" and bears witness to the
epicurean edibility of grey ponies. "Take
the favor of butchers meat aud of
game, writes this enthusiastic witness, Gas
your two extreme points of COM
parison - the flavor of horsefesh will
occupy the mean between them. -
Whether the butchers meat referred to is
beef, veal, mutton or pork, and whether the
game referred to appertains to the category
of Gratis and mice, and such small deer, or
to the category of the partridge aud grouse,
and such wild fowl, are questions upon which
he does not enlighten the public and there
fore, we may construe the phrase "mean be-
tween them to signify that horse flesh COM
bines in equal proportions the qualities Of all
animals known to butchery and to venery.
With so emphatic q recommendation as is
thus given to horse-eating, it can hardly be
doubted that the practice will, in time, obtain
a firm footing in England, and then gradually
extend itself TO the United States. Such a
prospect recalls again the startling length to
which gastronomic reform must lead if pur-
sued in logical extension from this practice.
1.-THE most curious thing" says the London
Saturday Review, "about the proposed re-
form, is the strength of the prejudice by
which it was opposed. Assuming that horse
flesh is really a savory and nutritious food,
why should any one object to eat it? The
purely sentimental objection is obviously tri-
fling" Trifing, forsooth! And yet if the
testimony of the Fejean to the savory and nu-
tritious qualities of roast missionary may be
credited, nothing separates anthropophagy
from bippophegy but a purely sentimental
objection, an obstacle which, according to the
Saturday Review, is obviously trifing.
What but sentiment, call it a sense of frater.
nifty, natural adherence, religious scru-
| pie, or what not deters men from
eating enemies slain in battle? What