Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1906-08-23
FLETCHERISM.
The Large Economic md Physical
Benefits OF Thorough MnsticatiOn.

During a voluntary experiment in diet
at a normal school in Connecticut thirty
students tof whom rwenty-seven were
women between the ages of twenty-five
and forty) obtained substantial and VA
ried food at a cost Of little more than .
cents per day for each student. Fletcher
ism does not demand such extreme fru-
gality; it merely declares that no one
who masticates his food with thorough
ness Will care for more than onc-half of
the amount of food customarily taken.
At a missionary agriculture college in
Tennessee, where the students earn their
tuition and board while pursuing their
studies, a six months test Of Fletcher
ism Through mastication) resulted in
freedom from illness, increased, energy,
strength and endurance, and a saving of
onc-half Of the drafts on the commissary.
\ rough calculation. which, however in
accurate, is certainly Illuminating. has
been made of the possible economy
which Fletcherism could effect for the
entire United States. A saving of one
half n pound a day in the food of each
individual would mean "A reduction Of
about LOCO tons OF food daily In our pop
ulations Of seventy millions. At the rate
of the cost OF flour, the saving to the
nation would he more than $1,000, 900 a
day, or 1861, oQ0,o Do a year.
Fletcherism, however, Is not an agila-
ton for money economy pure and simple.
Its central aim Is to bring about a higher
efficiency in the individual, the home,
and the State, and this aim Is indicated
only by the broader meaning of econ
omy.' 'Thc cost to the pocket said
Mr.. Fletcher, that is saved by economic
nutrition is Of little matter as compared
witt tho saving of the waste of energy
and the danger Of disease. Where mental
or even physical Improvement in eff
cheney to be purchased at high prices,
and could lack of efficiency be had for
nothing, the high-priced article would be
well worth its cost, no matter what it
might be, for the reason that total lack
of efficiency is equivalent to death, and
any proportionate lack is the next thing
to death"
Thorough chewing is a cure for all the
ills which come crowding upon the hasty
and careless eater. The body needs Il
certain amount of food to keep up its
power; "A small portion in excess of this
requirement does no service to the body,
but demands a waste of energy to get rid
of II, and every additional portion of food
does more than proportionate harm. one
cannot rid himself OF a glut or excess
without an enormous expense of brain
and body energy. 1t is this continual
taxing of our physical and mental power
whlch is responsible for most of the dis
ease, ineihciency, and pauperism with
winch the world is burdened. A faithful
adherence to the teachings of Fletcher
Ism VIII brine it "A complete freedom
from indigestion and its brood of dis
eases, a large increase In productive ca
pacity, and n far keener enjoyment of
eating than IS possible under customary
ways of boiling food. All this means
household economy in every sense of the
word-saving OF money. OF time, and of
work involved by table service, together
with large income from the family wage
learners.-Good Housekeeping.