The Coolidge examiner., 1935-06-21


either In the gathering. the trans
portatlon or the preparation. 9th
.erwise. why be rich?
7 The early Greek and the early
Romans were a fairly healthy peo-
PIE. They used many herbs. Then
they waxed rich and herbs became
too ordinary. So scurvy developed
among them. not among the rich
who got their fruit juices. but
among the slaves In their house.
holds. who were fed only upon the
scraps
Z And a curious thing happened.
when the slaves got the loathsome
scurvy. their employers drove them
out of their houses. and rs there
was no other place to go. they took
refuge IN the mountains or the for
esis. There they had to live upon
whatever they could find - Wild
plants. roots. herbs. fruits. with an
occasional morsel OF snake. scor-
plon. toad or worm for fayorIng.
The green things OF course cured
the seurvy. but. as they didn't know
that. when they returned to the city,
they gave the credit 10 the snakes
and the scorpions and the toads.
Quncks and charlatans took up
these cures. and so through the cen.
turtles there have been some weird
broths and stews recommended for
the cure Of scurvy.
Now. though. there IS hardly a
person who hasn't heard that veg
etables and fruits are very essen
tial II We are 10 have n healthy.
balanced diet There ls no million
alre-lf any mllllonairies are left
who Is so rich that be can get
along without the common vegeta.
hles on hls table. lie can't Danish
The cabbage family and not regret
I n. and carrots and spinach and dan.
delIons come on his table. too He
has learned that II you want to be
healthy. you have 10 obey the rules
OF health. and one of those rules is
green vegetables. and the more
common the vegetable the better
Indeed. the strange fact is that
now the people In this country who
use the fewest vegetables are the
farmers who make their living from
the soil This indictment does not
hold true OF course for all farmers.
There are many farmers who live
most senslbiy and lntelligently.
They set the best table imaginable.
But 10 each Of these there are hun
dreds whose meals day after day
consist OF bread and cereals. meat,
potatoes. beans. jams. pie and cake
and coffee. They can 20 weeks on
end without having fresh fruit or
single vegetable. and unless there Is
a small child In the house. they
seDd all the milk to the dairy.
THE automobile is undoubtedly
partly responsible for this limited
menu. In the old days every farm.
er. no matter what his major crop
was. planted a kitchen garden. Or
maybe hls wife did It.
Now what has happened? Since
the advent OF the automobile, no
one wants 10 stay home to tend the
garden or 10 put up fruit. The
women argue. 'The Gamers do such
good job OF canning. why should
we bother?" And the men say.
''Nodern refrigeration cars have
made ii possible to ship green veg
etables from California or Texas or
Florida all winter now, and they sell
very cheaply.'
This is all good logic and it would
be fine If il were carried through.
But the trouble is the money crop
on the farm doesn't always bring
in money, and then there isn't the
cash TO buy these foods from the
grocer, for after all the grocer does
charge more than if you raised them
yourself. And then gasoline costs
money.
I am not arguing against automO-
biles. The automobile has made
the farmer a citizen Of the world
and has been an immeasurable boon
TO the farmers wife who often was
practically imprisoned on the farm.
But Il is not wholly a blessing If it
is the cause OF the farmers limiting
his food until he becomes a leather
skinned, prematurely old individ-
ual, who is always tired and list
less. with dry, dead hair and brit
tie finger nails. These are infal-
llble signs OF nutrition deficiency.
1t would seem logical that farmers
and village people who may have
clean air just by stepping outside
their doors, should be the nations
healthiest people. But it is the
city people that have the distinc-
ton. And the reason Is chiehy-an
abundance Of green vegetables in
the diet.
- Ess.ern NavSpaper Union