New Ulm weekly review. [volume] (New Ulm, Minn.) 1878-1892, 1879-08-13
Let the Ckildrea Learn to Chew.

Let tho Children Learn to Chew.
Tobaccof Oh, no, nor gum either.
but bread and beef, and other whole.
some food: In some families mastica-
ton almost seems one Of the . lost
arts. Parents and children and hired
helpers sit down to the table, and there
is clatter Of dishes and noise Of
smacking and slipping, and all seem! i'm
tent upon swallowing their food in the
shortest possible time. Nearly everv
mouthful is washed down with some
warm drink before it is half masticated.
Those who eat in this manner often
lind that almost everything disagrees
with them which cannot be soaked in
the mouth or stomach with tea or
coffee. / have often wondered why
some persons cannot eat raw ripe fruit
without indigestion, when it has al
ways been most wholesome for my own
young children. But have always
taught them h0sO to eat such things.
carefully scraping out the soft pulp for
the babies, and often cautioning them
az they grew older to .chew fine before
swallowing. Unless skins Of fruit ara
finely masticated, they ought never to
be eaten at all; but persons who ara
not in the habit Of chewing cannot stop
for that; and 80 they find that raw
apples do not agree with them. Is not
this the chief reason for the dificultye
No food should 60 into the stomach
Sin chunks" but light porous bread
and cake, or food easily soaked into
particles can be managed somehow by
the stomach, when neglected by the
teeth, though greatly to the detriment
OF digestion, as this neglect Of mastica-
ton throws an unnecessary and i'm.
proper amount of labor upon the stona-
ach, and is apt to bring about some
trouble with the digestive organs. Per-
haps the chief difficulty which the
stomach has in digesting food Of this
kind arises from the lack of saliva
mixed with the food, which takes place
in thorough chewing. The saliva has
constituents which produce important
chemical changes upon starch, whether
eaten in bread, potatoes, or other
starchy food. One can discover this
by chewing raw wheat for few min
utes; it will change from q sticky.
starchy taste to q sweetness caused by
the conversion Of starch into sugar.
1t is pity for children to grow up
without the habit of properly chewing
their food; not only because it is iniu-
rious to health, but because thew. lose
the best and finest pleasure of the sense
OF taste. Accustomed to Sc bolt' their
food, nothing tastes good to them
which is not highly favored or spiced.
Everything must be peppered or
sugared unless already highly sea-
soned, in order to make some Impression
upon the nerves of taste. located in the
mouth, as the food hurries through.
While to persons accustomed to chew
their food deliberately, the plainest
forms of well-cooked, wholesome food
afford great pleasure to the palate.
Children should be encouraged to eat
WITHOUT drinking, in order that they
may be led to moisten their food
with saliva, thus preparing it for good
digestion.
The habit of washing down. the food
interferes with the habit of thorough
chewing. 1t also deluges the stomach
with an unnecessary amount Of fluid.
at least in most cases, since those who
drink at all while eating usually indulge
the habit immoderately. The animal
system requires water in ORDER to carry
on its various functions. This must be
supplied by drinks, or by eating juicy
or semi-f1uid food. But only moder-
ate quantity of liquid should be taken
with the food, and for those with good
teeth no drinking at all is necessary.
The stomach cannot work upon the
mass introduced into it at one meal
until it has disposed of enough of its
fluid contents to leave it in sufficiently
dense condition for kneading and
and stirring about BY the
strong muscles of that organ. Too
much fluid improperly dilutes the gas
trio juice which the stomach mixes
with the food in order to help its thor
ough digestion. II the fluid mixed
with the food as it is swallowed be
very cold it farther retards digestion
by lowering the temperature Of the
of the stomach below the
working point, so that digestion can.
aotgo forward until the body has suffi-
GENTLY raised the temperature of the
EOod in the stomach. With warm
meals, moderate amount Of cold
water (not ice-water) may produce no
noticeable result, but the hearty cold
water drinks had better be taken when
The stomach is empty. Poured into a.
!ull stomach, they often produce great
and sometimes result in
serious disease. Drinks with meals.
for persons with defective
Eeeth, had better be warm than very
cold. Still, l think that If you teach
your growing family to eat their food
deliberately. with no tumbler or other
thinking vessel at all placed habitually
beside their plates, SO that they natu-
ally learn to moisten the food well
With Natures own preparation for that
saliva, which pours from
The glands about the mouth with every
notion of chewing the children will
yrow up healthier in all respects for
he good habit Of deliberate and thor
ough chewing, and of drinking at
proper times. ~ Faith Rochester, in
american Agriculturist.
Curious Nodes Of Sending Secret In.
formation.
AcuriOuS list might be made of the
strange methods employed in transmit
ing many important historical meg
,ages. The intelligence which enabled
Cyrus to overthrow the Median Mon.
archy was conveyed in the body Of .
mare sent him as present. The i'm
Itigat0r Of the Ionian revolt against
Persia sent his agent . trusty slave
With verbal orders to shave his head,
when the necessary instructions ap-
noA1Aod tkeano6. lsln,.,. Tho ~l-:.>