Morning journal and courier., 1883-01-16
Cheap Living.

1 The Hard Pan Reached by a New York
  A correspondent of the New York Joat7-9aL who has tried the question of cheap living in all it's bearings writes follows So great an interest has been awakened by your paper ] in the subject of cheap living that I feel sat- isfied you will permit me to impart some very valuable information on how to econo- mize in household expenses. Your corre- l spondent, MT. Long, means we'll and has hon. ! est economical ambition but he is very far | from the goal of absolute economy in this matter. He had not reduced the thing to it's l true minimum. As we are all working to the l same end, trust that my experiences, ob- | tained at the cost of much study and perse- verance, will throw some light upon the true solution of this problem. am young man (my age is 26.) have been narrie5 two years, and, like OUT friend I Long, am blessed with helpmate who has 1 joined me heartily in all my endeavors to get | rid of the dreadful incidents of outdoor household expense. We are, both of us, &C., l customed to the best society, and have to 1 dress genteelly, if not expensively. We go out great deal, and you will understand have to make respectable appearance. The problem was early presented to us in our married career in this shape-how shall we live and wherewithal shall we be clothed? My salary was fifteen dollars week, and soon found that the ordinary butchers and grocer's bills would consume the whole of it. When this awful fact stared us in the face you can imagine our dismay. I made pretty much every experiment that MT. Long made, but found that wherever I cheapened the diet 1t became unwholesome. Visceral meats were simply abhorrent to Mollie, and I could not, even under the lash of economy, bring myself to the work, noble and necessary as it Is, of going about among the slaughter houses buying up the intestinal cuts. l gave my days and nights to the solution of this difficulty, and victory at last crowned my eff forts.
 You will be astonished when I explain to you how beautiful and simple was the reme dy. But then all true remedies and all great inventions-are they not always beautiful and simple?
 I succeeded in SO reducing my living ex- penses that they amounted to but two dol lars month, and we secured health and hap piness at the same time.
 How did I do it?
 believe that my discovery will bring joy and peace to thousands, but to win the fight as I have won it, they must be actuated by serious purpose and be prepared to make everything else in life bend to this one pur- pose.
 I discovered in happy moment that the sweet grasses of the field were the real source of the vitality and strength of the OK. I said to Mollie when she wanted six pairs of
 
 must stop eating or cut society,"" She said, ''If we only could stop eating, darling"
 ''We can do that next best thing, love-" I rejoined. ''We have got to live to leave margin for gloves and things''
 ''If we only could," she murmured.
 ssWe can,'' said, resolutely. "Can you take the bull by the horns?'
 70, I can't live on horn steaks, if that is what you mean," she softly but firmly an- swered
 s.I don't mean anything of the sort. I spoke metaphorically. Can you overcome your prejudice and live on the sweetest, most nutritive food, to accomplish gloves and re. tain our place in society? ?" - t'Yes, " she answered. 'I can. What kind of food is it ?''
 'sHay," replied.
 At first she was increduIous. But when she came to look at it seriously she consented with many doubts to make the experiment.
 Now let me say here that no frivolous or sensual person will be able to carry out this noble economy. Its success depends first on the reason of the experimenter. Hay is absolutely the most inexpensive food in the market, but there is an ignorant human prej udice against it. say ignorant because men do not know that the sweet clover contains sugar gum starch and albumen.
 When we went into this trial we had to fight even our own natures but we tri- umphed. I bought my hay at fifty cents hundred weight. l found by experience that clover and timothy was the best, as it contained the largest amount of albuminoids., We made hay tea, hay broth, we boiled it down to a thick consistency and made hay jelly. We picked out the dandelions and roasted it and made coffee At first there was great deal of waste, but we soon learned how to economize the stems When we had perfected our system, I found that four hundred weight of hay would last with care just month.
 It is necessary to warn young beginners with the hay diet to be careful in selecting their hay It is also well to say that at first there will be some cancellation and muscular weakness, but the system soon adapts itself to the food. It is astonishing what variety of dishes can be made out of this simple ar- ticle. For example, here is Mollie's bill for last Sunday:
 MENU.
 Puree of Hay, au Natural
 Irish Stew Ia Furze.
 Haricot of Clover.