Norwich bulletin. [volume] (Norwich, Conn.) 1895-2011, 1909-03-06

I
ancestors. No one knows all the laws
of heredity and it won't do, in any
/ particular case, to reckon entirely
/ without them. If you're sick, there's
I always the possibility that it smay be
I the fault Of your great grandfather
/ bOther-in law. But this possibility Is
| somewhat more remote than the prob
| en- that you oukht not to.
Indeed, think that a considerable
! majority of our ails can he laid to our
ignorance or our self Indulgence in
diet. Now, don't get disguised, and
think I'm going to preach graham
bread and skim milk I'm no food
patience with the cranks who can't
eat this, or who must have that; who
swallow all the advertisements of new
foods but can't swallow a fried oyster
Of hard-boiled egg. But there's rea-
son in all things. and there ought TO
be reason in our treatment of the FOOD
question. hope the women folks
won't think I'm Just another fool of
a man" disclosing my own ignorance,
but / can't help wondering in how
many country kitchens the question Is
ever considered. in selecting or pre-
pairing foods, of their nutritive value
and their due balancing:
Progressive and successful cattle
rasers consider these questions very
carefully. In the library Of dairying
neighbor, the other day, I saw no less
than five well~thumbe1 books and
pamphlets devoted to reports on and
discussion Of the various feeds for
dairy COWS. The varying protein and
carbohydrate contents of each food
were given in table after table; the
amount of digestible matter in each;
the average properties of each which
went into muscles and bones, or fat
and milk; the degree of heat each
gave out, etc, etc. There were tables
showing how to combine the foods rich
in protein with those mostly starchy,
so as to fully nourish the animal sup
ply all its body building needs repair
ali its wastes. stimulate its milk pro-
duction. All this as a matter of theo-
ry. There were pages and pages Civ
ing the results OF actual experiments
to indicate how far theory could be
translated into practice.
And all to bring about a little bet
ter butter yield in a lot Of cows. But
when one suggests that men and wo-
men and boys and girls are as rapport
ant as cows and ought 10 be fed with
as much regard for their health and
Bodily welfare-why, that's another
thing.
don't want to be WetuaIIed three
tin es a day with fixed ration piankeG
down before me. one carefully calcu-
lated to contain just so many units Of
protein and so many Of carbohydrates
and so many Of fat. but compounded
without any reference to my tastes or
TO its attractvenese. Saints forbid
We don't feed our COWS stuff they don't
like because It is high in nutritive
value. On the other hand. we Adon't
feed our COW her full Of dry corn-meal,
seldom do il more than once TO a COW
There isn't apt to be any COW for
second trial. We try to give the cows
something they like and will eat UP
clean, and at the same time we try to
select and combine their feed so that
II will make 'em better cows.
Why on earth isn't II possible 10
show as much consideration for the
tastes Of human critters as for bovine,
and also as much reasonable regard
for their proper nourishment for all
round physical health2
The other day saw the contents OF
the dinner pail which one mother had
filled for the schoolboy's lunch. l.
consisted OF two doughnuts GREASY
ones. tool. a slice Of heavily buttered
corn bread, q big piece of cream pie
and a quantity of strong green tea.
Starch ana fat fat and starch! and
not enough protein in the whole pail
to grow a single inch OF hair on his
towheadl You see, he hikes" dough-
nuts and he likes" pie and he "Iikes'
strong tea. Perhaps this mother didn't
know that the stuff she gave him, while
filling his stomach. wasn't properly
nourishing his body. But 1t was her
business TO know and 1t may well
have been her own fault if she didn't
She might easily have had all the
necessary information and instruction
which the centuries have been gaining
through scientific study and expert
nent, in free bulletins from the nation
al government. at the total cost of one
ce1t-for the postal card on which she
asked for them.
Isn't it = queer sort OF system which
leads men to give constant care and
rainstakirg diligence and deer thought
to the breeding Of better horses and
the development Of eggsier hens and
the perfecting Of dairy cattle, while at
the same time they ignore and neglect
the simplest laws Of human nutrition
on which the physical we'll being Of the
race depends?
THE FARMER.