New-York tribune., 1905-01-02
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z 20 A2GlATAS'
THE FOOD FADDIsT.

People who subsist entirely nuts cereals or
fruit have become quite too common IN this country
FOR any one to pay attention TO their practice, but
apparently they still something rather new in
England. Writing in Tho Lady's Pictorial" Ella
Hepworth Dixon comments piquantly the fad
OF Food Reform Capital and RI, which, she says
has caught the imagination Of all sorts and condi-
tions OF men and women.
1T fourishes in enlightened back parlors. and
also like Christian Science it is viewed with favor
in the palaces OF the great. portrait by Holbein
by Vandyke. by Reynolds may be seen gazing
reproachfullv at some degenerate descendant max
ing his dinner with spoon. Young scionS OF
ancient houses, whose great-grandfatherS thought
nothing OF three bottles of caret consume barley
water which has been boiled, and milk which has
been sterilized. Anxious hostesses have to con-
slider a hundred details about the feeding or ex-
pected guests. The hospitable board no longer
groans with good cheer; the groans are confined
the dyspeptio guests. who never fail to let their
host and hostess know the exact state OF their
digestion. and the opinion OF all the eminent med-
cal authorities whom they have recently consulted
this interesting topic It Is not too much to
say that the digestions OF friends bid fair to
become the crying bore OF the age The question
OF food has usurped the place Of Intelligent convsr-
sation. Even scandal pales in interest before It
and very soon there will arise resoluto hostess,
who will refuse to have the secrets OF the con-
sulting revealed at her dinner table under
penalty of a fine"
bad as is the situation It is made still worse by
the internecine warfare which the faddists keep
up among themselves 1.-The Bean Brigade-as the
yegetarians pure and simple have been dubbed
by the irreVerent-look with sCorn and contempt
unon those weaker vessels who succumb the
gross delights OF light boiled eggs. morseis OF
cheese or the fascinating rice pudding. The feed
ers on cereals speak with loathing OF poisonous
peas and beams while such mild stimulants as
tea and coffee fanatically branded as unfit for
human consumption According to these. milk
from the cow must be your only upple. yet 1t Is
well known that milk may contain. by the time
It reaches your table. not only ooracio acd-which
is neither food nor stmulant-but a choice
selection of microbes end bacilli. What then. is
the earnest inquirer to do? Which way shall he
turn for hygienio salvation?
'I recently stayed in a country house with a young
gentleman Che came by the bye, from the United
States of America) who earnestly endeavored to
nersuade me that my salvation. bodily and mental
consisted IN living like furry friends the squir-
reis on nothing whatsoever but nuts, This theory
warmth; and though. just at that moment he was
pandering to the prejudces OF an effete european
civilization by making several considerable meals
a day consisting OF meat fish. game, savouries and
sweets ah9 & Utso b never failed to assure me- in the
pauses of ex-course breakfast or an elght-course
more imaginative side Of the Atlantic and pure
spring water his only drink 1t seemed pushing
snthropoid apes to extreme limits, but was willing
be convinced 1t was possible sdter All ina. Ine
is detrimental alike to mind and muscle, and that
ha6 w
tinued TO swing boughs-with prehensne toe
while we pensively cracked hlberts and walnuts
with our teeth we should all be considerably more
happy and careless than We are under our present
regime OF low gowns at o'clock and formidable
and varied menu. 80, - =, a., -. -.
In short was quite willing to believe In the nut
theory but found pressing matters. that my
theorist did not intend 10 give practical demon;
stration OF it's virtues. And though ! have heard
a good deal about this particular food rad since
have not yet met any one VINO was w!ilnE|a as tHe ne
show me how It was done. The drawback TO nuts
as the staff OF life appears to be that you must eat
such a prodigious quantity to get the necessary
amount OF nourishment required for the human en-
gine To sit down and consume handfuls OF nuts
at ono sitting is. should imagine. trying both for
the consumer and for the onlookers, but even this
pales before the spectacle Of food faddist who
ESSAYS to live entirely cereals, what our grand
SatbePs would bunty have called pap These per-
sons require such Gargantuan plates or porrtdge
such mounds OF tapioca. and such heroic quantities
Of bread and cake, as TO arouse the worst passions
of the lean meat-eaterS. who have 10 look on More
over. the earnest food reformer always carefully
weighs everything he eats pair of scales placed
beside his plate for that purpose. a proceeding
which has been known to break up happy homes
and which, to put Il mildly is not conducive to the
eayeties amenities o social life"