The Washington herald., 1909-08-10
IN PRAISE OF OATMEAL

Not long ago the news was going the
rounds that a certain medicine man
had discovered that oatmeal as a diet
was responsible for the increasing num-
Der OF cases ~ ricketts, now disclosing
themselves in the British islands. The
allegation. as was natural. was vigorously
combated by many scotsmen and others.
and history certainly faVOrs the COM
batants in their contention that the doc
tors diagnosis. ike many another OF
It's class. had but little. II any. founda-
ton in fact. says a writer in the Boston
Transcript.
The cat plant. or cereal grass rather,
was known TO the ancients and priced
by them on account Of its nutritive quail
tiles. They called It broma, which being
interpreted. means aliment: food. The
Latin or botanical term is Avena saliva,
the generic name also signifying nour-
ishment
The praises Of tho inherent qualities
or Oatmeal-snd the various food prod
ucts made from or with it-have been
sung IN poetry and prose by those who
have known their worth. When Carlyle
first saw 8Iacaulay ne said: 'Ay,
any man can see that thy face is made
out Of Scotch oatmeal"
Prof John Stuart Blacl1ie in his ad-
dress on self culture" remarks: The
plainest food is often the best; and for
the highest cerebral and sanguineous pur-
poses, long experience has proved that
there is nothing better than oatmeal
and good porridge; FOR. as the poet says:
'.Buirdly c.icls and clever hissses
Arc bIad IN &c a Vay As this Is
When the Edinburgh Review was IN
its formative stage. its originators were
| casting about for a proper motto for the
magazine. Sydney Smith. then the col
laborator OF Jeffreys. suggested the fol-
lowing
''Tenui mUsam meditamur ayena"-
we cultivate literature upon a little oat-
meal" The motto. however, was rejected
by the editor-in-chief on the ground that
L might expose the poverty OF the con
ductors OF the periodical
There have. OF course. been times be-
fore the present outburst when the hale
some parritch" has been made the sub
ject OF rldIcule, chiefly through sheer
wantonness. Those who have had 6cca-
sion 20 refer TO the dictionary Of Johnson
are familiar with the cynical signifc-
alton OF the word oats as advanced by
the great photographer, "a grain which
In England IS generally given TO horses:
I'm Scotland Il supports the people" But
this definition. as one writer truthfully
s-a.a .e.r.n-as
Of the Doctors pettiness and prejudice, 20
and Johnson himself told Boswell he only
characterized the word in that manner
20 'vex the Scotch" The clever rejolnder
OF Lord Elibanks is also pretty generally
known: And whauru you ind sic
horses and sic men Even our own
whisky-and-wate humorist, simeon
Ford. had his inning recently at Scot
lands national food At q dinner OF the
Dyker's Meadow Coli Club. OF Brooklyn.
the mirth provoking boniface comments
/ as follows
The Scotch are famous for possessing
a peculiar form Of dry humor. Some say
Il comes from eating too much oatmeal
and that may be the reason why so many
OF them are scratch men. 1 noticed II
myself while there. I don't think I was
any more humorous than usual, but I
was much dryer: 1 was dry all the time %
Johnson's ridicule. however had its er-
feet on the people for a time. for Il is
said they began 10 feel ashamed OK their
national diet. until chemistry stepped in
and told OF the qualities OF the grain
richer than wheat-in muscIe-forning
properties. An eminent physician, Dr.
Frankland. has said that the same
amount OF work can be obtained from
oatmeal costing 3l-2d as from butcher
meat costing SIS. 1-62d. Here. again, the
cynio may get IN his fine work and have