12 \l A iV|'¥> M 1 mL* JL V I HEALTHS { By PR. J. T. ALLEN I I i,Oft Spfcialiat i, Author of "Eatin/i for u j "Purpose."' "The yVetii 5 f.Djpr/ of Health," Etc. | Smaauu (Copyright, by Joiwph H. Howies.) WHA T SHALL WE EA T? If it is true as many eminent au thorities say, that health, happiness, beauty and efficiency depend upon eating ruore than on anything else, it is worth while to know what to eat. Henry Ward Heecher said Ilint a man with a poor liver can't be a gooil Christian. Certainly it is easier to exercise the Christian graces when one Is free from biliousness. When Hishop Fallows says that "You can make a man good or bad according to the way you feed him," he is not denying the importance of the condition of the heart, but em phasizing the importance of the state of ihe stomach. Daniel prepared him self and his companions for the won derful ordeals through which they passed by dieting as well as by prayer, and the Master himself by fasting 40 days. As we watch the amoeba, the typ ical unicellular organism, which closely resembles a blood cell, under the microscope, we find it changing Its form, gradually, continually. It is all stomach, enwrapping its food and digesting it as a single organ; and as a single organ it adapts means to ends in securing a meal, "as perfect ly," says i Cope, the eminent biologist, "as a statesman adapts means to ends In organizing a government." Tiie body, therefore, is made up of a myriad of cells, each seeking its own nutrition, its primary, funda mental function, yet possessing the power of socialistic, harmonious ac tion, organized as lungs, liver, heart, etc., subject to the influence of the sympathetic nervous system, which binds all the bodily organs together, so that if one suffers all must suffer in sympathy; carrying on the vital processes into which the nutritional function is organized, unceasingly, while life lasts, yet ever amenable to suggestion through the sovereign, con scious will. Digestion is not a purely physical process, performed independently by a set of digestive organs. The entire organism is engaged in the process, controlled by the sub-conscious mind, subject to the influence of the con scious mind, the sovereign will. And, conversely, the influence of feeding is not confined to the special digestive organs, nor to certain effects which we denominate "physical." The influence of feeding is all-pervading. It is the mainspring of the mental-physical life. In its essence spiritual, it mani fests the life through the use of ma terial substance, food. And upon the quality of the food and the degree of expenditure of vitality in the process of nutrition, depends largely the quali ty of the life, mental, moral and phys ical. The question: "What Shall We Eat?" becomes in this light doubly important. The essential substance of which all animal tissue is made, from the amoeba to the brain of man, is albu men. This albumen is found in the food of ail animals. The white of egg is almost pure albumen; and in milk, the food of the young of all the mam malia, albumen is a large constituent. Experiments have been made to de termine what foods will alone support life, determining that wheat gluten, which is almost pure albumen, sup ports life indefinitely longer than any other single element. Flesh, of which the lean is principally albumen, will support life indefinitely, as will milk, eggs, ni;ts, beans, wheat, corn, oats, dates, which contain a large percentage of albumen with other food elements. Milk has been called the perfect food because it contains, in addition to al bumen, all the other elements neces sary to build brain, muscle and bono; and the same is true of wheat and of some nuts and fruits. The milk of all the mammalia contains the same food elements, differing chiefly in the amount and kind of the albumen. Cow's milk is not a perfect infant's food because it contains a larger per centage of albumen than its natural food and of a somewhat different char acter. This important subject will be treated in a subsequent article. Albumen is found in large per centage in all nuts, in beans, peas and entire wheat bread. Peanuts contain about 30 per cent, of albumen, with 50 per cent, fat not inferior to olive oil, and four per cent, mineral. Recent experiments have shown that, the percentage of albumen re quired for perfect nutrition is much less tl.cn was formerly supposed. The growing child requires probably three times as much us the mature man be cause il must build new tissue besides repairing waste. An insufficient sup ply of albumen for the child, if long continued, leads to serious results. A case was recently brought to our at tention in which an infant had been fed for several weeks on fresh cream, because it was found that the stomach retained that while the entire milk was persistently rejected. At first there was an apparently satisfactory Kain in flesh, but this gave place to extreme weakness and wasting. The cream was mixed with a part of the balance of the milk, gradually increas- 1f r (' • nnoiint of n»>< \ •'lrnxnt of nutrition, and normal i-oiidltloni »iM>n returned Arid l-r- II in ay be remarked that • 112 fatly t! in- In nt) indication of «!ia oe. IT >it ll| health The nm <■ btv albumen «an !>•> ob tained from fl«- h bceati •# It I n tier e « < iiiiii'-ni if Hi. fl. Ii of nil animal Including fL-h. Hut I 1«• h con tain* a small |ierecni*g«» of wuii> mat *' i n! ill aiiii ii * I«■ 111 It tin In on ri'p' i < l\ Mh<iwit Hint fli'.'i fi m nt ni.ijr communicate ill- •;!«>, il ■ i itc the In a|» ■> i in. ami Ihc human iilimenUt'y rnnal Ik not as well adapted In the di • • tin<■n «if Hi-h hh I* the organism of the rariilvura. In which tln* ntiunn It mid lUer nri* relat ivol> much larger and the lnt> -itin« much shorter than In man. The well-known t«»-ta of en durance recently made at Yale uni versity proved that non flesh caters hail much greater sustaining power. In nil tlie gnat walking contemn In Germany and America the winners have bet n abstainers from Ileal! meat. The best source* of albumen, aside from meat, are nuts, beans, eggs and whole wheat or graham bread. Hut the character of the albumen is important. Albumen coagulates at a temperature of 100 P., and Is then a-."initiated with difficulty. It Is fc.r this reason, partly, that the egg is found to be more nutritious uncooked than cooked. And it is for this reason, chiefly, that such apparently wonderful results have been obtained from ihe use of raw cereal foods, despite the indigestibiiity of raw cereal starch. Understanding, then, that the essen tial element of food is albumen, in its natural state, ihe question arises: What is its best and most economical source? Considering economic con ditions, which exclude the pecan, wal nut, and other expensive nuts, the answer is: The peanut, which fur nishes an abundant supply 'if easily assimilable albumen together with fat, which vies in nutritive value with olive oil. This, with a small amount of graham bread, gives the ideal pro toid and fat ration. The state of Texas alone can furnish the staple food of our people. The rapidly in creasing consumption of tin- peanut with the corresponding rise in price should induce the planting of a still larger crop the coming season. The incoming crop is the largest ever pro duced in this country. Not less than 80 per cent, of the solid part of our food should be that which supports combustion, maintain ing heat and muscular energy. This is taken as fat or oil, starch or sugar. A certain percentage of fat is neces sary for the best nutrition. If it be true, as many careful students of diet believe, that nuts and fruits are the most natural food of man, this per centage of fat should bo large. Animal fats, even milk fat when separated, are assimilated with difficulty and they, particularly lard, are open to oth er objections. The consumption of olive oil has increased rapidly during the past few years. It is not general ly known that peanut fat, as in Ihe un cooked nut or in peanut butter in which fatty acid lias not been de veloped by excessive dry roasting, is equal, if not superior, in nutritive qual ities to olive oil, being assimilated with wonderful facility, as the ex treme degree of its solubility in water would indicate. There are serious objections to cereal starch as the major element of food, which it now is in the dietary of the American people. The potato, es pecially if baked, is much to be pre ferred to fine white bread. Rice is far superior to the ordinary cereals as a source of carbon, as the example of the Japanese would indicate. Sugars are the most easily assimilat ed of foods (including honey), and fruit sugar should be substituted for a large part of our cereal food, cane sugar being inferior. And the best sources of fruit sugar are the ripe banana (almost unknown in this coun try) figs, dates and prunes. Fruits are better eaten separately from other foods. Nuts and meat digest in the stomach, chiefly, requir ing about three hours there; fruits digest in about one hour, in the in testine chiefly. There is as much ob jection to mixing them as there is to eating and drinking at the same mo ment. Now without here considering fur ther the requirements of an ideal diet, does it not seem evident ihat we have already a knowledge of facts that would enable us to make a wonderful gain in good feeling and efficiency by improving the nutritive supply and saving a kirge part of the vital energy daily wasted in digesting and eliminat ing improper and unnecessary food, if not for the average person who is slow to realize the benefit to be ob tained, at least for the athlete who can quickly demonstrate a gain in efficien cy by right diet, for the invalid who needs, to conserve his vitality and for the aged whose stock is low (but who has, alas, lost to a great degree the power of adaptation)? Hundreds of invalids who have gradually changed their diet have found new life. Many who have had only the desire for greater efficiency and immunity from disease have made the change. A well-known merchant of Aurora, 111., for example, who has for nearly a year followed an exclusive d.et, of juiqy fruits in the morning, peanuts with a slice of Graham bread at noon and prunes only in the evening, drinking only water bel ween meals, declares lliat nothing could tempt him togo back to the old way. He says, and his clerks corroborate the statement, that he Is worth three times as much in his business; he can write a bet ter advertisement, a better letter; his mind is clear, his conception brilliant, his judgment prompt, his execution sharp, decisive. He rises two hours earMer than formerly and enjoys hi* work as never before. Here, surely, is food for thought. CAMERON COUNTY PRESS, THURSDAY DECEMBER 10, ipofi AN* 1 fINVENTJOK A I'SF.FoL PINCUSHION. Fasten* on Sewing Machine and I* at Hand When Needed. At flr*t glance the pincushion In vented by h T t iiiii hum* man does not appear to be a very Iniporiunt addition to the thousands of labor and Hme caving devlci but second thought No Need to Stop for Pins. will show that it has its uses and Ihat they are not so insignificant, after all. It is a horseshoe-shaped affair, with a bowed clamping spring arranged In side, and it fastens on the arm of a sewing machine wherever it is needed. Tlie operator can thus have a cushion full of pins right at her hand, where she can get them without stopping the machine or delaying her work for an Instant. Only a woman who does a great of sewing can appreciate the time and trouble that will be saved by this little device. CASTS OF FOSSILS. Nature the First One to Make Repro ductions of Animals. Commenting on Mr. Carnegie's gift of a huge reproduction of his diplodo cus skeleton to the museum in Paris, La Nature remarks: "It would seem that the public do not well understand the interest that attaches to a cast of a large fossil. We have all heard it said; "Why so much fuss over a reproduction? If it was an original, we could understand!' This way of looking at the matter has in it both truth and error. It is true that from the collector's point of view there is as much difference between a real fossil and a reproduction as be tween a masterpiece and its best copy. The error lies in the importance that is attached to this difference. Scien tifically the study of a cast is exactly as instructive as that of an original. Again, from the point of view of in struction, the interest of a cast is of the first degree—and nothing proves it better than the feeling of stupefac tion experienced, even by people well acquainted with paleontology, before this wonderful skeleton —because noth ing can take the place of direct and personal sight of things in which we are interested. Finally, we must not forget that in paleontology, what is called an original is after all nothing but a cast made by nature herself slowly in the course of ages."—Trans lated for the Literary Digest. BORES HOLES IN CORNERS. New Bit Brace Enables Users to Get Different Angles. Carpenters should erect a monument to a man in New York, for he has over come the difficulty they have en countered for years of boring holes in corners. This man has invented a bit-brace that will bore a hole in any y Handy for Carpenters. corner and at any angle, and the man who uses it need not be a contortion ist, either. The brace has a supporting bar of angular form that holds within It the rotating driver, one end of which engages and turns the socket that holds the bit. The cut describes this tool better than the mechanism can be explained in words, for a lay man. The importance of this inven tion can not be understood tiy people who have little use for tools, but it means that the corner bugaboo no longer exists for carpenters and that the change from the old methods of working in Buch places is almost revo lutionary. Treating a Carbon Brush. A soft carbon brush that sparks may sometimes be cured by raising It to a red heat and ttien plunging into a oi ordinary lubricating oil. DO PLANTS «£»£• Investigation* of Scientist* Sm>*i to Prove Thty Do. Tie nn«wer to till* que*!ton *rcm* to d» j'cnd, tike hii many other que* j Hon*, on a definition. What d« cm of *etiKili*e|M - s» '«» light merit* the tiltlllM of vision? If to respond to light slim- I illation by appropriate movement* I* I to "nee," plant* certainly do HO; while If nothing abort of ihe forma tion and apprehension of n definite Image of outside objects may be dig nified by the name of night, then the plant world is still blind. The recent discovery of the part played by cer tain leaf cell* In plant*, In concentra ting and directing the ray* of light, reminds lis of the function of the lenses in our own eye*, and Ihe most of tills fact lias been made of late In tlie dally press, in articles wise 1 and otherwise, serious and Jocose. The sensitiveness of plants to light, and the influence of this on their move ments, have of course, been known ever since the sunflower was first ■ seen to turn toward the sun. It may ! be doubted whether we are any bet ! ter fitted to-day to answer the ques ; tion at the head of this article than i was the prehistoric witness of this I common phenomenon—all would de pend with him, as it does with us, on ! a definition. Says Dr. D. T. Mcdou | gal, director of the department of bo tanical research of the Carnegie In stitution, writing on"The Faculties of Plants" in The Scientific American: "Light is, perhaps, the most impor tant factor in the existence of plants, since energy is absorbed directly from its rays and is used in build ing up complex foods from sim ple substances obtained from the soil and air. If the plant is to obtain energy from light, the supposition would lie near that it must present its surfaces to the rays in such a manner as to enable it to do this advantageously, for the amount of benefit to be derived from the rays would depend directly upon their intensity, and upon the angle at which they strike the surfaces. With this fact in hand one would at once suspect that the plant might M Leaves and Light. Loaf-blade Receiving Rays of Light at n Stimulating Anglo After tlie Signal Travels Down the Stalk to the Motor Organs. Kpidermal Cells Which Con verge the Rays and Are Sensitive to Ob lique Rays. have developed some power of meas uring the intensity and direction of the rays. . . . "Any group of window-plants may be seen bending toward the glass in such a manner as to present the broad upper surfaces of the leaves at right angles to the strongest illumination. The whole shoot appears to be con cerned in the reaction, and - e must use the blindfolding method to ascer tain what parts are sensitive to light. "If prepared sections of the blades of some of the more delicately react ing plants are placed under the mi croscope it will be found that the out er walls of the epidermal cells are curved outward, making lenses which converge the rays upon the inner walls, ana allowing them to be trans mitted to the cells beneath where they play upon the green color-bodies in which the construction of food-nia terial takes place. Imagine one of these epidermal cells to be a room j with a convex skylight roof and a glass floor. When the rays come through and fall upon the floor they pass through to the room below, and drive the chlorophyl-mills making sugar and other substances. The lat eral walls of the skylighted room are lined with a living layer sensitive to light, and if Ihe leaf or the building is moved so that the rays strike the sensitive layer a signal is sent to a distant shifting mechanism. Slowly, but with unerring precision, this gets in motion and brings the leaf to a po sition where the rays once more come through the condensing skylight and pass through the floor to the food making cells below. In accordance with this action the plant moves all of its leaves into fixed positions, in j which they receive the dally illunaina j tion most advantageously. In certain j cases the leaf-blade performs delicate ly gauged movements by which it re j eeivos the rays until they become so ' intense as to be harmful, and then the surfaces are turned away from | the source of the rays. The manage ment of the leaf-screen in either of these cases demands an automatic , mechanism capable of delecting very | minule variations In the intensity of ! light, and one which may also accom ! plish rapid and accurate movements." The exactness with which the plant can measure intensity of illumination is so great, we are told, that if a small rapidly growing shoot, such as that of a young mustard, is placed in the dark for a few hourß and then two standard candles are placed on oppo site sides, the leaves will feel the un equal stimulation when one candle is j an inch nearer than the other, and the shoot, will begin to curve toward It as toward a window. It ha* been found. Dr. Maedougal savs, that some ! plants can appreciate a difference so small as one three-hundred-thousandth I of the Intensity of a candle at a di» tailco of a yard. ppfCTEM MiNrrl PAT'S SECRET. | ii |t~" N. AT I* a healthy Irishman. .V | I \ l'r-«h from the sod of > I <| JHe has no fear of any JT ■s§s. And Pat's a worker-he 4 /' The frMleit tank with Hi 's cheerful, very gen- L- erous, Patient and keen to J ' ' * please. "What Is your secret, fat?" I asked, "No man in any station B'lt envies your content and health." "Mo saeret?--Moderation! "1 ates whin I am hungry, nor. I dhrlnks when I am dhry; I laves olt whin I've hail enough; And that's the ralson why." "Kennel Maids." Here, In America, we ask: What Is a "kennel maid?" Hut that is be cause we are behind the times; we do not know that In England it is consid ered essentia! to have one's pet dog, of fancy breed, or just plain dog, per fectly groomed, fed hygienically, and tended with the care we bestow on our infants. And, that this may be all done decently and in order, there are in our mother country "canine spe cialists," women specially trained for the work. Of doggie's toilet they make an art, and a prominent woman who calls her self "canine ecialist," earns more money than anybody not familiar with the foreign coins would take the trouble to figure. Suffice it that this is really a legitimate and thriving busi ness, and £l5O a year is considered a moderate salary for the educated "ken nel maid." Two Time Savers. To save trips up and down stairs, have a small table at the head and foot of the steps. All things belonging on either floor can be placed 011 their re spective tables and carried up or down as members of the family happen to be going. It saves mother's strength and steps. And the things will be in their proper place when needed. Round cookies are the bane of the cook. They take so much time. Try making square cookies. Roll the dough tliin and cut it into the squares of any size desired with a thin knife. It saves rolling the dough over and over again, and has the advantage of requiring less space in the cake box. THE "HOME BAKERY." N THE suburbs of a city where I hie me At evening, when from work the day is free. Past the station, on my way home. I espy me, A quaint, old-fashioned shop "Home Bak ery." In the window there's a salad, appetising, And soma pies, they say; "like mother used to make," And I linger there a space; It is surprising. How I love that window, Just for old times* sake. For the smell of baking things comes thro' the doorway. I.lke incense from my childhood's cen sor flung; We may not scorn them—things so plain and simple Made up the whole of lift* when we were young. And so I linger by that bakery window; Go In? Not I, for that would break the spell; For me the place Is filled with friendly phantoms. No real folk there could please me half EO well. Powdered Mlik. The latest demonstration of the ten dency toward the condensed mode of living—the approaching epoch of the vest-pocket dinner—is powdered mWk. This preparation is actually on the market, and has already found favor because It solves the problem of "short notice" coffee. If there is no cream in the house, mix a little of the new stuff with cold water, and presto, cream for the emergency! It ig recom mended for daily use, also. At night, pour boiling water over the powder, . let it stand until morning, when cream can be skimmed from it, bringing the , country comfort to the breakfast ta- ] ble by the use of the magic powder. Truly, the days of Aladdin's lamp are upon us. A French Steak. Place a thick sirloin steak in baking pan, in which a few bits of suet have be<vi browned. Salt, pepper it, and add a few tiny bits of loinon and suet. Cover with a thin layer of sliced on 'ons, and 011 this pour tomato catsup. 1 Bake about half an hour. The onions 1 should be brown, but the steak rare. Experience will govern this. j Bridget's Beatitudes. Blessed is the cold water poured into pots and pans. Then set them away from the heat; they should 1 never be put on the stove to soak; this makes them harder to wash. Blessed are the vegetables housed j ' In the cellar for winter use. Keep j 1 pumpkins in the dryest part, apples 1 next, and turnips in tho damp end ' away from any heat. Blessed is the little boiling water added to the omelette to prevent its jeing tough. ( I THE "HOMELY" THINGS. NCK on n lime a tortoise of |\ A pluiilnf ■tnitifiii t nini I \WM Ji'i-tiil at, laugh* <1 ot. taunted by A boastful, tr. t:i'm: ' "lory then go. son to ■ flow Tortoise itoppod s?•Jffim&fiT *how, though lie was "* I£ " t *' iere > u -' the T' a so with womankind— | one may Bo learned In bookish lore, Another pets the fo» Pn, l J erliiips knows nothing more. Indeed, your sweet, domestic girl 13 oft behind tha times; She dopsn't take to Ibstn, Nor fathom Browning's lines. But when a wife Is wanted, Is any one to blame. If the girl who loves the "homely" things, Should get there, Just the same? A Word on Garnishing. A table neatly garnished is a joy forever, but beware a careless decora tion; it iti much worse than none. The parsley should be fresh and green, the lettuce crisp (nnd well dried), the celery leaves pale yellow and standing upright as if growing on the dish. The greenish, larger leaves are not fit for garnishing. And, too. Winy a dish has been spolied because the lemon was sliced too soon, and had a suspiciously dark, disintegrated appearance, or the grcons, of what ever kind, were limp and faded, giving a most unappetizing air. Salad, espe cially, requires careful garnishing or it. will, from the mixed nature of the dish, be suggestive of stale left-overs —or worse. Grape Juice. Now that grapes are in market, at a moderate price, and the cook is turn ing them into grape juice, it is well to remember two important facts in connection with fruit juice of all kinds. First, that clear, unfermented fruit juice is one of the best brain and nerve foods —nourishing and stimulat ing. Second, that it must, however, be entirely free from fermentation, for it has been proved by chemical analysis that the nourishing elements of the sweet fruits are entirely consumed by the process of fermentation, and that while fermented juices will stimulate, they will not nourish, the body. Banana Puffs. Mix together one cupful each ot flour and sugar, one teaspoonful ba king powder, three eggs, well beaten, and a quarter cup milk. Into this bat ter stir three sliced bananas. Half fill custard cups and steam an hour. Serve with lemon sauce. THE STUDENT-WAITER. HEY say Johnny B 's gone to college, And they tell me he's working his way, Doing all sorts of jobs for the fellows— For his brains they are willing to pny. He does writing, runs or rands, and even Helps to coach fellow students less able, And three times a day earns his living By waiting on others at 1 table. But John keeps his dignity ever; S S vro <5 A gentleman—none can forget It. And if any one tries to "get funny," John calmly will make him regret It. When once an impertinent Freshman Stopped John as he carried some plates— "Say, are you the waiter who studies?" "No," said John, "I'm the student who waits." Macaroni a I'ltalienne. Boil macaroni until tender in water to which has been added an onion stuck with three or four cloves, and a tablespoon of butter, with salt to taste. Drain and blanch by pouring over it cold water. Reheat, and cover with sauce made of tomatoes (one half can), cooked with a teaspoon of sugar, a dash of herb and salt. Mix in a half cup of mild, grated cheese, and pour over all a cupful of good brown stock. Bring to the boiling point and serve hot. The French dressing, too, the mix ture of olive oil and vinegar, is rather new to this country, and old-fashioned folks are yet shocked at our reckless use of oil in salads and cooking. "Matrimony." This is a West Indian dish, and takes its name from the fact that it is "a perfect combination," as the peo ple there nai'vely say. Grape fruit is sweetened and pre pared with a dash of lime-juice; it is then (having been first cut in halves), piled high with noesberries—a fruit which has a simple substitute in pears —tasting very like them. Add sliced bananas to the whole, and you have what the people of Jamaica call the "perfect combination." The cynic who thinks he would not care for the m xture, may still not object to the name, and the disagreeable man has even been known to think the title very apt.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers