The Evansville daily journal. (Evansville, Ind.) 1870-1875, 1870-12-06
DIO LEWIS DIET.
HsW TO Live On Half a Dollar a
Week.

It eeems, according to the recent
work of Dio Lewis, that he once sub
sisted himself upon 54a ceats for a
week, a sum so small that the partic-
ulars Of the diet will be interesting
both physiologically and financially.
The following extract tells how he
lived and what work he did:
Sunday breakfast, hulled Southern
corr, with a little milk. My break
fast cost three cents. | took exactly
the same thing for dinner. Food for
the day, six cents. / never take any
supper.
Monday breakfast, two cents worth
of oatmeal, in the form of porridge,
with one cents worth of milk. For
dinner, two cents worth of whole
wheat boiled, with one cents worth
of milk. Food for Monday, six cents.
Tuesday breakfast, two cents worth
of beans, with half a cents worth of
vinegar. For dinner, one quart of
rich bean porridge worth one cent,
with four slices of coarse bread, worth
two cents. Food for Tuesday, FIVE
and half cents.
Wednesday breakfast, hominy 4 a1e
ofSouthern corn (perhaps the best of
all food for laboring men in hot
weather. two cents worth, with one
cents worth Of syrup. For dinner a
splendid beef stew, the meat Ia which
cost two cents. Perhaps you don't
believe that the meat was purchased
for two cents. But It was thought.
The fact is that from an OK weighing
500 pounds net you can purchase GER
tain parts about 100 pounds, even in
this dearest of American markets, for
three cents per pound. Two-thirds of
pound made more stew than [ could
eat. There was really enough for two
of us. &c
But, then, you know how careless
and reckless we Americans are in re-
gard to our table expenditures, al
ways getting twice as much as we
need. The very genius of waste
seems to have taken possession of me
on that fat3l day. l poured into my
stew, all at once, slap dab, a quarter
of a cents worth of Leicestershire
sauce, and, as if to show that il never
rains but it pours, closed that giut-
tonous scene by deVouring a cents
worth Of hOmjny. Food for Wednes-
day, 81 cents.
The gross excess of Wednesday led
TO a very moderate Thursday break
fast, which consisted of oatmeal por-
ridge and milk, costing about two
and half cents. For dinner, cracked
wheat and baked beans, two cents
worth of each. Food for Thursday
cost q cents.
Friday breakfast, Southern hulled
corn add milk, costing three cents.
For dinner. another of those gor-
man1ic surfeits which so disgraced
the history of Wednesday. Ex-
pense for the day. eight and a quarter
cents.
This morning when | went to the
table, said to myself: What's the
use of this economy" ami made up
my mind that for this day, at least. I
would sink all moral restraints, and
give up the reins to appetite. 1 have
no apology or defense to make for
what foiloWed.
Saturday breakfast. I began with
one cents worth OF oatmeal porridge,
with q teaspooniul of sugar worth a
quarter of a cent. Then followed a
cents worth of cracked wheats with q
half-oent's worth of milk. Then the
of milk and one cents worth of rye
and Indian bread. For dinner | ate
a small 10 obster, which cost three cents,
with one cents worth OF coarse bread
and one cents worth of hOminy salad,
and closed with two cents worth of
cracked wheat and milk. Cost Of the
days's food twelve and three quarter
cents.
In all of these statements 1nly the
est of material is given Tie cost of
cooking is not given.
Cost fer the week, fifty four and a
quarter cents.
OF course l don't pretend that
everybody can live Ia this luxurious
way. It isn't everybody that can af-
ford il. / could have lived Just as
well, so far as health and strength are
concerned, on half tho money. Be
sides, on three days i ate too much
altogether, and suffered from thirst
and du'lness. But then | may plead
that my habits are very active. Not
only have / Trittea forty odd pages
of this book during the week. but I
have done large amount Of hard
muscular labor.
Blythe way, weighed myself at the
beginning OF the week, and found lt
was just two hundred aud twelve |
pounds. Since dinner to day /
weighed again, and found that / bal
ance1 two hundred and twelve and |
half pounds, although it has been
week OF intensely warm weather. and |
/ have had unusual demands fer ex-
ertions of various kinds.
But let me feed family of ten 10
stead of one person, and l will give |
then the highest health and strength |
upon a diet which will cost here in
Boston not more than two dollars for |
the ten persons for week. Let me |
transfer my experiment. to Iowa,
where wheat corn, oats and beef are |
so cheap. and the cost Of feeding my
family OF ten would be so ridiculous,
that l dare lot mention 1t lest you
laugh at me.