New-York tribune., 1897-08-01
ANIMALS.

ANIMALS.
New England seems TO have awakened to the
almost criminal Indifference If the American
people to the subject of food and cookery.
Cooking schools becoming popular, and period
ical publications dealing exclusively with this and
kindred topics are familiar in every household. In
a community where there is so much general INTEL
lIcence and informl ton II will not take long time
TO overset the results Of the ignorance and preju
dice of years and 1t may be safely said that In the
middle life Of th> New-England States the cooking
school will become almost as great an object or
veneratlon as was the uprising of the patriots in
her youth
a movement was inaugurated in quiet. unpre-
tentious way at Worcester. Mass. last winter that
in the opinion of thinking people to whom 1t has
become known bids fair to work physical revou-
ton I'm the American man.
II took its rise in the dissatisfaction OF some
broad minded residents of that city with the ever
recurring procession OF narrow -chested stoop-
shouldered nerveless American humanity. A mo-
ment's reflection served to compare these half
nourished specimens with the descriptions history
has handed down to us Of the tough-hbred virile,
aggressive manhood which laid low the primeval
forests drove back the wild animals-and the
wilder Indians-and made "A smiiing sarueh oi the
bowling wilderness.
Naturally the question arose, Whence this phys
| cal degeneration? Why is it that the man of to-
dav comfortably clothed. warmly housed. well fed.
should have fallen from his high estate and become
| the travesty OF his grandsireY'
II is capable OF absolute demonstration that the
man Of to-day is better clad and better housed than
his ancestors Then let us look into the third ana
most important point. Is he as we'll nourshed?
J-ndoubtedlv in the matter OF variety he mas an
enormous advantage over the early se''ers' Inc
roducts of the world are laid his feet. and yet
he IS TO all appearance "A physical degenerate
starving amid plenty a veritable modern Tantalus.
hill hrnp
, called certain wise men to their aid ana aid the
| ,n.,tor before them "Our people" they said. look
like sorvelings and act Ike starvergs Iner teeth
are rrail and defective. Their hair seems only 10
have been lent to them so short time 90 'heS re-
! tain Il Their stock Of bone and sinew and muscle
seems TO he wofully in need OF replenshihg
! Why"
For the scientist the answer was an easy one
..rhev are starved With food in plenty, and OF the
| best they throw away all that whlch makes t"e
| muscle bone sinew teeth hair. even brains ana
IN their barrel of white triple-N, best famiy
| -four they retain only the starchy elements .ha'
| supply the body with heat the carDoha'es Inc
| bol,irp cloth is like to become the shroud OF tho
nroud American race. and their place VIII be taKe'
! hv the coarser less fastidous people. whose @s
thetic taste does not blind them TO the houriSh"e
qualities of the whole wheat product.
As one said: THE most stupendous error OF any
age or any civilization is eating unnatural food Il
T. act,ve ignorance and the enemy Is insdlous an'
| therefore combines elements for mlschiei "hch Z"
| once deceive and destroy. A wild bull IN a ch'h'
| store might be called active ignorance nut he
no more unnatural or less destructive thah uh
| natural food I'm the human stomach N"t"'"' ioo"
! make natural conditions
From, mis- agit alton arose the New Era 'ookih'
School" which opened on the 5th OF lastJahual!
nc \ sourc. OF local instruction. with hc'urer v
whom the food values of various produc's "e'
familiar and II skilled professional COOK 10 WIN"
0f
nourishment with the minimum OF TAX upo" u"
! digestive powers. was an open secret
At first these lectures were received win an III
,aros, ,ha, was merely passive but soon as tn
l.rytb and depth and gravity OF the subject wer
realized It became necessary TO enlarge theit scope
A New England circuit was. therefore, es'aoiIS"e"
consisting of the principal towns ana cities vi car
access and so emphatic has been the approVal an
so nrac,ical the endorsement OF the public that T.
uen,ion only one town out of many In the city o
Middletown a small community. the regular ea'h
! er,rgs Of pupils numbers from 400 TO Jp, taxin'
tho capacty OF the auditorium. In Providence,
larger town over "A thousand women attended th
school.
Within the brief period since last January thi
circuit school has taught over one hundred thou
sana pupi,s mainly women. who belong under tina
pood o,d-fashoned classification. housewives. Whei
we reflect that each of these housewives presum
ably represents the average family OF nve. ana ina
no doubt in the majority OF cases. the other mem
hers NJ the household would bring the numbers VI
10 ten IL becomes evident that nearly one mlllio
Of people are already direct benefcaries from thi
modest school OF practical instruction and informa
ton
So great has been the interest excited, and 81
Inadequate have the ordinary school methods beef
found to satisfy the newly aroused desire Tor TN
Information. that " has become necessary 10 US
as vehicles OF instruction the cooking magazines. II