The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1872-11-02
A CURIOUS CALCULATION.

Il UUhlUUO OALOULAllOI''
DIR. DIO LEWIS SHOWS HOW CHEAPLf
A MAN GIN LIVE.
One Way OF Making Two Ends meet.
We are all the creatures of circumstance
and weak slaves of habit, and nothing 80
grows upon us, and worms Itself in our very
being, as the indulgence in luxurles. 1t is
only another tnrn to the old proverb, "Famil-
iarity breeds contempt" for habltual use con-
yerts luxury into seeming necessity. One
need but look around for a moment and OBJ
serve how Invariably increased prosperity
awakes new desires, and the appetite grows
with what 1t feeds upon. Mark in one mans life
the progress from poverty to opulence, and see
how the same old struggle to make two ends
meet follow him up. The change from luxury
to necessity is inevitable. Yet the great ma
jorlty of the world could live on halt what 1t
spends and be stronger, healthier and hap
pier, but just because it moves blindly In
these grooves of habit it must go on wasting
its money.
ECONOMY IN LIFE.
The general ignorance Of the quantity and
qaalitFef food necessary for life furnishes
good example Of this; aud some experiments
recently made by DR.. Dio Lewis come In Just
here as excellent Illustrations and convincing
demonstrations of Its truth. We present them
along with some very timely remarks by
which they are Introduced By q Cincinnati
contemporary:
To the average merchant, or manufacturer,
or professional man, says the Cincinnati Wri-
ter, who provides for his family on an income
of from three to ten thousand a year, and
thinks himself highly economical the while. it
&c would seem next to incredible that men
with large families can subslst on less than
one thousand dollars year. It Is astonishing
how artificial nearly all our wants are, and
how quickly most OF the things that we are
accustomed to consider uecessarles disappear
into the catalogue OF luxuries the moment we
areconstrained TO do without them.
ARTIFIc1ALw WANTS.
There are thousands of people, for example,
who fancy their daily or less frequent car
rIage exercise TO be not only constitutional,
but essential to their health and comfort: Yet
there are millions who never take q ride In
their lives, unless an occasional indulgence In
the luxury of street car may be considered
an exception. Again, to the multitude OF the
dwellers In cities, what they are pleased TO
consider the exigencles Of appearance demand
an expenditure on clothing Of from two hum
dred 10 five hundred dollars year each. But
nearly all country people, and the vast ma
Iority OF city residents, consume on the dress
of themselves and families rather below, than
above an average OF fifty dollars to each per-
soa. The rent question 1t Is needless to name,
elnce the difference between one house and
another will frequently represent an amount
hat ,N,,1H Eoa r IL
lies In comfort for year. AS to servants, (or
what we Americans almost universally demo-
inmate 81 elp,1 the average well-t0-dO house,
keeper seldom errs on the side OF employing
TOO few, and, whether one, two or dozen,
they are all considered indispensable adjuncls
of our wants could be more entirely artificial
than this, as is shown In the fact that The an
cAstore of most of US always did their own
work, OF all descriptions, Without any Tor
only Occasional). aid, and by the further tact
that the larger part Of civilized mankind to-
day contriye TO get along without servants.
CHEAP LIVING.
But 4t h Ia the food expenditure Of families
that the most varied and interesting expert
alter means of solving the problem Of liv-
ine: Given minimum OF cash to get out
of il, maximum Of provisions for family sub;
eistence.is the problem before mnltitudes day
6ysday. Now, there are some facts 10 physio-
logical science which Will have 10 be more
widely Known and practiced upon, before
those who are compelled to study economy 10
anpplying their tables will have learned the
rudiments of success In making both ends
meet. One OF these facts is that Americans
generally land American laborers as wel) eat
about twice as much meat (the most eXpen-
sye of all food) as essential to healthy
and vigorous existence. Another fact is, that
- hraoA frryht Ia
yersal among all classes Of our people) fur.
nIsfts less than half the nutrlment derived
fro6s ennbolted wheat, at about double the
the cost. The process commonly used to
make superine while flour gets rid Of the most
nutritious portion OF the wheat. The hull or
bran. and the gluten are usually removed In
boiling the flour, leaving little OF the original
Grain. except the starch, which is far Inferior
as food to the gluten, the essence Of the nutrl-
tive principle in wheat. 1t has been shown
conclusIvely that flour bread alone would sus-
tain life only few weeks, whereas the wheat
eaten An its natural condition. without bolt
ing, would supply all the needed elements 10
the human body, and support even vigorous
worker for an Indefinite period.
USELESS LUxUR1Es.
Anlf1al food, though perhaps essential to
olive variety and moderate stimulus 10 the
human diet, is consumed IN quantities 30 dis-
thgt beneficial to health. Plenty of families
think they cannot possibly get along Without
meat three times q day, and some persons
actually consume more meat. In pounds
weight, than of any other food. Now, as meat
costs. on the average, at least fifteen cents a
Dound, In our principal cities, the expensive
ness Of making lt the leading article OF
1eod becomes apparent when We contrast 1t
with the price of wheat unbolted, or rye
meal, or cracked wheat, which contain dou-
ble the nntriment, at cost Of from three to
Ave cents pound. Oatmeal aud hulled corn
ara stlll cheaper, and there are many ways Of
cooking and serving all these grains which
render than delicious food to almost any
palate.
As very remarkable sample of what may
be done in the direction of absolute economy
of living by those who are disposed TO try
we cite the following inventory of weeks
diet and Its cost, from the actual experience
OF DR.. Dio Lewis. Q well known physician and
writer, living In Massachusetts,:
'.It Is now Saturday afternoon, and I will
tell you In confidence little Of my personal
private experience during the past Week.
half WEEKS PRovENDER.
lo,, rc1D 1oat r