The Natural Cure of Consumption, Constipation, Bright's Disease, Neuralgia Part 7

CHAPTER IX.

THE FLESH-FOOD FALLACY

[See Chapter III.]

demands more than the pa.s.sing notice accorded to it in the chapters on Consumption: The facts of chemistry are eternal and indisputable, as are all the truths of science; but, as between two kinds of aliment, or two substances which are being considered as to their adaptation to the purpose of nouris.h.i.+ng the body, while chemistry accurately points out which contains the greatest amount of this or that const.i.tuent, and is often of service, as affording data for a presumption, in the absence of definite knowledge, she often fails to discover--despite the chemist's, or rather his blind pupil's dogmatic a.s.sertion to the contrary--which is really the _most natural_, and consequently the _best adapted_ for the purpose of alimentation. In nothing do we observe this more strikingly than in a comparison between flesh and vegetable foods. A three-column criticism of a former work (How to Feed the Baby), in one of our leading magazines, and which sums up its merits by "hoping the book will be read by all on whom devolves the important duty, the care of children; for it is an effort to inst.i.tute the correct principle of feeding 'the baby,'"

contains the following upon the subject of animal _vs._ vegetable food: "We discover," says the critic, "on page 98 that our author is a vegetarian, after all. In speaking of a nutritious diet whereby to enrich the breast milk, he makes the following startling statement: 'Unleavened bread, or mush, made from the unbolted meal of wheat, rye, or corn, has _very much more nutriment_, pound for pound, than is contained in beef or mutton, notwithstanding the fallacy that cla.s.ses the latter as hearty food.' This is only a declaration without proof, contrary to all authority on foods. We take the following table from Prof. Johnston's 'Chemistry of Common Life':

Lean beef. Wheaten bread.

Water and blood 77 40 Myosin or gluten 19 7 Fat 3 1 Starch 0 50 Salt and other mineral mat. 1 2

"From which is deduced the fact, that ordinary flesh is about three times as rich in myosin or gluten as ordinary wheaten bread, or, in other words, a pound of beefsteak is as nutritious as three pounds of wheaten bread. In a second edition of Dr. Page's book, we hope he will correct this great error."

It should be stated that bread made from whole, _i.e._, unbolted and _unsifted_, meal, is much richer in gluten and certain invaluable salts, than shown in the figures here given.

Because the most careful observation on the part of intelligent and conscientious men who have had the best opportunities for ascertaining the relative merits of these two cla.s.ses of foods, viz.: nutrients proper, and the stimulo-nutrients, or, in other words, foods which are naturally adapted to the human organism, and those substances (as, for example, the flesh of animals) which, along with a great deal of nourishment, contain elements which, being of an excretory and noxious character, _excite_ or _stimulate_ the organism, and are, consequently, to that degree injurious--because, I would repeat, the proof is, in my estimation, overwhelmingly in favor of vegetable food, more particularly the cereals and fruits, so far from contemplating the "correction of this great error," I desire to rea.s.sert, most emphatically, as a fundamental truth in dietetics, and in no sense an error, that, pound for pound, the cereal grains are not only more nutritious (speaking of their effects upon the human organism) than flesh, but, physiologically speaking, they are free from the impurities which abound in the latter, and which are often rendered still more noxious by the presence of actual disease among animals _fattened_ for human food.

The advocates of flesh-food have a marvelous faculty for misrepresenting some facts, and for the non-presentation of others which should appear if the discussion is for the purpose of deciding the question on its merits.

To ill.u.s.trate: I find in Johnson's Encyclopedia (Article on Hygiene, by a prominent physician) the following: "It must be admitted that men can, under favorable circ.u.mstances, exist through long periods without meat.

This is shown in the instances of many tribes in Asia and Africa, who live almost entirely on rice and other grains, and also by many of the peasantry of Continental Europe, and the Scotch Highlanders who are confined to a diet containing very little animal food. Yet it is equally true that men can exist on meat alone, as is done by the Indian riders of the South American pampas, for months together." But the writer of the above (from ignorance of the fact, doubtless,) does not add, that those races who live upon a well-selected vegetable diet excel in every way--mentally, morally, and physically--those races or tribes who subsist entirely on flesh. What would the above authority call "favorable circ.u.mstances" such as would enable men to "exist" without meat? Was he thinking of the French officers, prisoners of war, who were fed, for a year or more, on rice and Indian corn exclusively, with water for their only drink, to return to their commands in improved health, to receive promotion by reason of vacancies occasioned by the death of comrades who had been favored with an abundance of meat? Or of the muscular j.a.panese, hard-working men and finely developed women of whom a recent sojourner in j.a.pan says: "The quant.i.ty of food they eat is astonis.h.i.+ngly small when compared with the food devoured by meat-eaters from the Western world....

Seemingly their frames are as tough as steel, not susceptible of cold or intense heat--going thinly clad in freezing weather, and not shrinking from the sun in its most oppressive season.... They are a marvel of strength, and ill.u.s.trate the lesson that health, strength, and endurance may exist on a light and scanty diet of rice and vegetables, together with fish. The Rikisha men are not so heavily molded, being of much slighter build, but they are also full of muscle, though not so prodigally developed [as with the cla.s.s of laborers before referred to]. The fatigue these men undergo and withstand can be partially estimated when it is remembered that it is not considered an extraordinary feat for them to travel forty miles a day with their seated pa.s.senger. No matter how hot it may be, while the pa.s.senger is complaining of the heat, he is being whirled along and protected by his umbrella from the rays of the sun, and the motive power never flags. This Rikisha man keeps up a pace like a deer, his body generally bare to the sun, being guiltless of clothing that could inconvenience the free movement of the body or limbs. He takes but the slightest quant.i.ty of refreshment while on the road--a cup of tea and a modic.u.m of rice being the extent of his gormandizing during the travel.

And they repeat these exploits day after day, never eating meat." Of the women this writer remarks: "With beautifully rounded arms and limbs, with smallest of feet and hands, and small-boned, they present the spectacle of what the human form should be in its natural grace and finish.... The women, young and old, are seen bearing loads upon their backs that the uninitiated in such work would not be able to stand up under. They will travel miles laden this way with a speed that would suffice to tire an average Western woman if entirely uninc.u.mbered. In fact few of our women could at all walk the distance the old women do here while bearing heavy loads. And all this is performed on an abstemious vegetable diet." Thus it would seem that "the most favorable circ.u.mstances," to use the language of Johnson's contributor, to enable men and women to live "without meat," are plenty of hard work in the open air,[55] and a somewhat restricted diet; for it must be remembered that the people of whom we have been speaking, are from necessity the least able to indulge in unlimited quant.i.ties of their peculiar food of all the people in the land.

[Footnote 55: It is very generally agreed by the most eminent medical men of all schools of practice, that in the absence of free exercise in the open air, animal food _must_ be abstained from.]

As to the moral aspect of the question, I grant that a man can not sin without knowledge. If he believes it necessary and right for the higher animals, elevated human beings, to slaughter and feast upon the lower--the gentle, mild-eyed creatures who serve and minister unto us so patiently, so faithfully, and, indeed, so lovingly--then to kill and devour is, for him, no crime. But if men were as ready to learn from their instincts, as they are to yield to their artificial cravings, the natural loathing which all, or most people, feel at the sight of bloodshed, and which so many experience at the bare thought of taking life, would teach us the unnaturalness and therefore the harmfulness of a flesh diet. (See Appet.i.te.)

Finally, there remains to be answered, one argument, the most rational of all that are put forward in favor of the continued use of flesh-food, viz.: heredity and habit, and a "second nature" resultant therefrom. Even some hygienic writers argue stoutly the necessity of recognizing this law, as particularly applicable to this question, and declare the absurdity of the position a.s.sumed by those who demand the abandonment of flesh-food for all who would insure to themselves the blessing of health. While affirming that the vital organism may in a few years, even, become accustomed to the _use_ of almost anything, no matter how repugnant or destructive it naturally is, as opium, liquor, tobacco, etc., provided the process be gradual enough, they still hold that with regard to animal food, a substance acknowledged by them to be unwholesome, the organism can not become accustomed to its _non-use_ until generations of better habits have remodeled the organism to suit the conditions. Theoretically, it would seem grossly absurd to say that when, as is the known fact, cats, dogs, bears, and the like, can thrive perfectly on a strict vegetarian diet (I have, myself, tried this successfully with the first two), that _man_ alone has no hope this side the grave of being able to abandon animal food! In practice, it is found that the only thing required is to convince the mind of an individual of the unnaturalness and unwholesomeness of flesh-food; _then_ if he be conscientious the battle is won, and it only remains to furnish him with a diet suited to his needs, (the selection and preparation of which, many hygienists, however, are far from comprehending fully; hence the only reason I can find for the continuance of the mixed diet in any case). But if he be either unconvinced or lacking in moral force, he can not be harmed by the presentation of the vegetarian _theory_, for he will continue his flesh-eating and take the consequences.

So long, however, as any hygienist favors even a moderate indulgence in animal foods as a necessity for most people throughout their lives, his followers will take it upon themselves to decide as to what const.i.tutes moderation, just as is the case with coffee, liquor, and tobacco-users, only the former (by reason of their ignorance as to what const.i.tutes health and symptoms of disease) have no such means of recognizing the symptoms of excess, as have the latter. The truth is that "abstinence from _all_ unwholesome practices, only, is easier than temperance."

NOTE.--This chapter is particularly recommended to the notice of members and friends of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

CHAPTER X.

AIR-BATHS.

With a view to the exaltation of the condition of the entire organism, as well as simply that of the digestive and a.s.similative system--and in addition to the reform already suggested as to clothing, _i.e._, a reduction in the number and weight of garments habitually worn, when these have been superabundant,--I would say to all cla.s.ses, sick or well, that great advantage will be derived from habituating themselves to transient exposure of the entire surface of the body to the air. Often enough, we observe persons sitting heavily clad, in a warm room and close to the fire, and yet feeling "s.h.i.+very" and sure of having "caught cold." To throw off all clothing would banish such chills _instanter_, especially if the person begins to give himself a brisk hand-rubbing. The skin is sweltered, and is numb for want of circulation in the capillaries. In the case supposed the person has _prevented_ a "cold." Next to the water-bath, which is, of course, or ought to be, an air-bath and water-bath combined, the simple air-bath is invaluable as a prophylactic or a curative; and in very many instances, say for several mornings in each week, and whenever the usual water-bath is not convenient, the air-bath will prove an excellent subst.i.tute. In place of _dodging_ from the sweltering bed into his heavy day-clothing, the _robust_ man will be far more likely to maintain his vigorous condition by doffing his night-s.h.i.+rt and indulging for the s.p.a.ce of, say, five minutes or less, in brisk hand-rubbing all over, however cold his sleeping-room, and again on going to bed; while the delicate ones should, with due caution, inaugurate the same system (some _will-power_ has to be exerted), but graduated, as to temperature and duration, to their special conditions--advancing as their physical condition improves under its influence until they are no longer members of that immense army--the victims of "aerophobia." Patients themselves too weak for even the exercise of self-rubbing will still derive great benefit from the air-bath, in a temperature, say, of 65, with an attendant to rub them briskly from neck to heels. Set in practice in a rational manner this custom will never injure the most delicate person, but on the contrary will always prove beneficial. It will not bring the dead to life, nor, indeed, "cure" the moribund; but it is one of Nature's most efficient aids--it is Nature herself, in very truth--and I have seen patients who were thought to be hopelessly ill, begin to take on what seemed to be renewed life, largely through this new use of fresh air, and the _dismissal_ of the _unnatural dread of it_. For example:

CHRONIC DYSPEPSIA CURED BY FASTING AND FRESH AIR.

A patient, Mrs. T., of New Hamps.h.i.+re, a very bright lady indeed, and one who appreciated the necessity of fresh air, had yet, through a very deep decline, in addition to a life-long invalidism, become hyper-sensitive to cold, wrapping and over-wrapping to guard against chilliness, fearful of the least current of air. Both relatives and friends were discouraged as to her recovery--it even being urged, after I had taken the case, that if, as it seemed, there were no hopes of her getting well, she ought to have some "medicine to ease her pathway to the grave."[56] This was in the month of October of the year 1882, when she came under my care. I induced her to leave off eating, since eating was particularly disagreeable, and only served to keep up the chronic inflammation of the entire digestive and neighboring viscera, causing her a great deal of suffering and threatening her with starvation. [Referring to her first letter (written by her sister), describing her condition, I find such expressions as these: "My physician, who feared heart disease, as my mother and one sister had died of it, becoming alarmed at my symptoms, desired a consultation, and Dr. ----, Professor of Cardiac Diseases at ---- ---- College Hospital, was called. He said heart was all right, but lungs weak.

I was well drugged, but when they stuffed me on cod-liver oil and beefsteak I would have inflammation of the stomach and liver and, of course, grew worse, with such a terrible ache at the base of my brain....

Was brought to N. H. (from Brooklyn, N. Y.) in May, and had congestion of the liver shortly after. My physician, here, ordered iron and strychnine, but it did no permanent good. All my friends say I am starving to death, and unless you can advise me, I fear that I shall, for I am terribly emaciated even now.... My aesophagus, stomach, and liver are in an irritated condition,... am sore all over,--can not sleep at night; have taken chloral by physician's advice. My flesh has a yellow-purple color--arms and hands grow quite purple at times," etc., etc.] I directed her to throw away her medicine--iron and strychnia, aconite and chloral--_bottles and all_,--as the first step, telling her that whether she was to live or die, she should be made more comfortable without, than with medicine. For the exhausted digestive organs, I directed entire rest, as before stated; and for seven days she swallowed nothing but _cool_ or _hot_ water.[57] _For the first three or four days many of her symptoms increased in severity_--not a bad sign. At the same time I succeeded in removing from her mind the dread of air-currents, improving the ventilation of both the sleeping and sitting room, and she, furthermore, begun the system of air-bathing here enjoined. On the seventh day she reported by letter that she felt as though something "more nouris.h.i.+ng than water would be very acceptable," that she had some very nice pears and Delaware grapes, and would like to try them. I directed her to take a breakfast of fruit every morning; and, at night, a dinner of two or three unleavened gems (made from _unsifted_ wheat-meal and mixed stiff with cold water), with a very little fruit, and a cupful of skimmed milk (no b.u.t.ter, cream, or any kind of animal fat), beginning with a single gem; the milk to be taken last, by itself, and each swallow to be held for a moment in the mouth. Under this treatment she is making excellent progress--not rapid and fict.i.tious, as we often enough witness under a stimulating regimen, but a real, natural growth healthward. She rides out in all weathers, walks a mile or two every day to and from the neighbors, aids in the work about the house, and on December 9th, about two months after she began the "natural cure," she reports by postal as follows: "I am still on the hygienic tack and growing stronger, though I still have some aches to a.s.sure me that I am mortal. I 'sleep beautifully,' with window open in all weathers. I enjoy my air-baths every morning in the hall (a portion of the time), with the mercury at zero!" (She is now in robust health.)

[Footnote 56: Her disease was chronic dyspepsia: the stomach was so irritable that it could seldom retain anything--at least a portion of even the smallest ordinary ration would be ejected--the liver was very much congested and enlarged; the bowels were obstinately constipated; there was extreme emaciation, and but little strength, though, generally, great good nature and cheerfulness in spite of her ailments. Had been taking chloral for wakefulness, and iron and strychnine as a tonic. She took no medicine after becoming my patient.]

[Footnote 57: See note 3 in Appendix, p. 279.]

Benjamin Franklin had observed the invigorating effects of this practice and would often, in moderate weather, rise from bed in the morning and, entirely nude, write for an hour or more, and then dress for breakfast.

When wakeful at night, the great philosopher found that by throwing off the bed-coverings for a few minutes he could then re-cover and fall asleep and sleep soundly.[58] Finally, so deeply was Franklin impressed from his own experience and observation in this direction that he proposed to cure all diseases by means of the air-bath, combined with plain and abstemious living. His idea concerning the most popular of all disorders may be inferred from the following: "I shall not attempt to explain why 'damp clothes' occasion colds rather than wet ones, because I doubt the fact. I imagine that neither the one nor the other contributes to this effect, and that the causes of colds are totally independent of wet and even of cold."

(Essays, p. 216.)

[Footnote 58: One may be partially stifled and made wakeful by confined air about the skin, as well as asphyxiated with bad air in the lungs. The eminent Dr. B. W. Richardson, of London, lays great stress upon the necessity, and has himself devised a means, of ventilating the s.p.a.ce about the person in bed--a very gradual change of the air being insured. Next to any special mechanical device for the accomplishment of this object, and perhaps all sufficient generally, comes the use of loosely woven sheets and blankets, instead of heavy linen or cotton sheets and "comfortables"

which are well-nigh airtight.]

Dr. James R. Nichols, of Boston, the well-known scientist, thus emphasizes the importance of this form of bath:

"One of the most sagacious, far-seeing men this country has produced was Doctor Franklin. He was in all that he did and said far in advance of his age and of his opportunities, and his wisdom was of that rare kind which does not grow old. His discoveries and devices were not partial and imperfect, but such as have needed little revision or improvement.

"The lightning-rod he devised is to-day the best form we have, and his method of applying it to buildings needs no special modification. His open-fireplace stove is still largely in use, no better one having been devised. His philosophical theories and speculations were so rounded out, so clearly and sagaciously developed, that many of them stand to-day as fixed facts in philosophy and science. Among his important discoveries was the 'air-bath,' a sanitary or curative agent which is of the highest consequence to the welfare of mankind. It may be said that he did not present the matter in much practical detail, but he suggested it, used it, and gave reasons for believing in its high importance.

"We have made the air-bath a matter of careful study, and wish to call the attention of the readers of the _Journal_ to it, as a means of securing and preserving health, which is of the first importance. It is impossible for physicians or individuals of ordinary sagacity to fail to see that a large proportion of invalids and semi-invalids do not bear well the application of either cold or tepid water to the body. A man or woman must naturally be of strong const.i.tution and in robust health to arise in the morning, in cold climates, and stand under the icy streams which come from a shower-bath, without breaking down in health at an early day. The sponge-bath is less injurious, but it saps the vitality of many to a fatal extent, and feeble persons are rarely in any degree benefited by its use.

The tepid bath, as a curative means, constantly followed weakens rather than strengthens, and many can not continue it for the s.p.a.ce even of a week. Bathing, beyond the needs of perfect cleanliness, is not generally to be recommended. Mankind are not aquatic animals, like ducks and geese; they are not born on or in the water, and nature never designed that they should be splas.h.i.+ng about in that element within the lines of the temperate or frigid zones....

"The air-bath is a means of recuperation which needs to be intelligently and carefully adopted, and like all other good things must not be abused.

There are hundreds of thousands of people of both s.e.xes, in this country, who lead miserable lives, and yet they are not in bed, not perhaps confined to their dwellings; they suffer from nervous prostration, from imperfect digestion and a.s.similation, from worry, from overwork, from the care of households, etc. A vast number in the mighty army of invalids are not themselves to blame for their physical weaknesses; their idiosyncrasies of organization come by inheritance....

"Now, the air-bath comes to the feeble and physically impoverished as a kind and good friend; and let us see how we can obtain from it the highest good. Nearly all semi-invalids are inclined to sedentary habits, and as the circulation is languid the body in winter is under a persistent chill.

In the morning, upon getting out of bed, the clothing can not be too quickly adjusted, as the body is in a s.h.i.+ver; and the air of a cool room is a thing to be dreaded.

"The morning is the time for the air-bath, and all that is required is a hair-cloth mitten [a towel, or even the bare hand alone will answer, however,] and a moderately cool room. When the invalid steps from the bed to the floor in the morning, let the hair glove or mitten be seized, and without removing the night-clothes proceed to rub gently all parts of the body, at the same time walking about in the room until a feeling of fatigue is experienced; then drop the glove, and gently pa.s.s the hand over all parts of the body before resuming the clothing. [Unless the nude body is extremely sensitive to cold, it may be exposed to the air for a few moments, even on the first morning]. The next morning jump out of bed in a moderately cool [never a 'close,' but always a ventilated] room, and go over the same process as before, remaining a little longer exposed to the air after the rubbing. The third morning repeat this treatment; and on the fourth, or at the end of a week, take off all the night-clothing, and briskly apply the hair glove, first with the right hand and then with the left, all the time walking about. Follow up this, as the degree of strength permits, morning after morning, until the body is so rejuvenated and the blood so attracted to the surface, that the cool air is felt to be a luxury. Let the body be entirely nude, no socks upon the feet, no scarf about the chest. At first, or after the first week, perhaps, the exposure to the pure cool air may be three or four minutes; soon increase the exposure, until, after a month or two, the air-bath may continue for twenty minutes or half an hour. Do not fail to walk about during the first month, using the hands in polis.h.i.+ng the skin. After the first month the patient may sit in the air of the room part of the time, but constant, gentle exercise is best.

"Now, another most important curative agent connected with the air-bath is _sunlight_. In summer, sunlight is accessible, but in winter only the late risers can secure its benefits. [There is no reason why morning should be regarded as the only appropriate time for this skin-airing. On the contrary, some will find midday even better, though morning is for most persons the most convenient time. Many can not devote any other hour to this work; others will not have the energy, _i. e._, the good sense to disrobe for an air or sun bath during the day.] If possible, sit and walk in the sunlight during the bath. It is astonis.h.i.+ng what the direct actinic rays of the morning sun can do for an invalid, when the whole nude body is brought under its influence."

SCROFULA.

A sick niece of the Mrs. T. whose case is reported on p. 168, living in New York, learning of her aunt's "miraculous cure," resolved to renounce medication and come home for hygienic treatment. Her disease is scrofula, and her condition was such that her friends had well-nigh abandoned all hope of her recovery. With non-healing ulcers, increasing in number on body and limbs; weak, languid, with neither strength nor ambition to move about; emaciated from 120 to 88 pounds--it did seem as though her case was a most critical one, indeed. Nevertheless, on the clean, pure, nutritious diet which had restored her relative--largely "natural," wholly abstemious, and free from all animal fats (see foot-note, page 232)--modified to suit her particular needs--taken morning and night with appropriate air and water baths, etc., she soon began to show signs of improvement. After two months' trial, her aunt writes that her niece is certainly gaining. This gain must be real instead of fict.i.tious, since it is impossible to attribute it to any artificial stimulation. The sores are beginning to heal; her strength is increasing, by exerting it daily--drawing, at first moderately, but increasing her drafts from day to day, upon the "reserved force," each draft being overpaid, so to say, by subsequent rest, food, sleep, etc., thus daily increasing her physical bank account,--there now seems every prospect that this young wife will ere long be restored to her home as good as new. [Both aunt and niece take their meals in their private rooms, alone, the total quant.i.ty and variety to be taken at each meal only appearing on the table; there is, therefore, no temptation for "trying a little more" of this, that, and the other thing, which almost inevitably leads to excess, and consequent impairment of appet.i.te; no taxing of the sick brain to be "agreeable" to a "tableful"

of healthy persons, to interfere with the digestion.]

CHAPTER XI.

SALINE STARVATION--CAUTION.

The danger to which I am about to allude--a real danger, as I believe--does not refer to abstinence from artificial salt, but rather to the loss of certain essential elements contained in the grains, fruits, and vegetables, owing (1) to their being cooked at all, and (2) to bad cooking. Vegetables form a large proportion of the food of even those who live on the "mixed diet"; and unless cooked (see Natural Diet) in the best manner, a large part of certain of their elements may be lost, and a degree of starvation result therefrom. For example: potatoes, when peeled and over-boiled, lose nearly one-half of their potash. So, too, when they are kept boiling until the skins break open--the "mealy" potato, often preferred,--more especially if they are permitted to remain in the water any length of time thereafter, a large additional percentage of valuable matters must be dissolved and turned away with the water. The chief aim should be to retain all the elements contained in the food articles, whether the cereals, vegetables, or fruits. Hence all of those substances that are acceptable in a raw state should be thus eaten; and when any of them are cooked, it should be (referring particularly to vegetables) done upon the principle adopted by well-informed cooks in boiling meat; they put the meat into _boiling_ water, let it boil vigorously for a sufficient length of time (say ten or fifteen minutes) to "close the pores," as they say, and confine the juices within the meat, and then the kettle is set back where the water will keep hot, just "simmering," until the work is completed (four to eight hours, according to size of the piece of meat).

The same plan should be used in cooking vegetables, except as to time--they are "done" when the fork pa.s.ses through them easily. The impoverishment of vegetables, as sometimes cooked, is poorly compensated for--not at all, in fact, except in flavor--by the use of artificial salt; while this substance, so universally used, is altogether unnatural and injurious, in proportion to the amount swallowed. The loss of the natural salines, in the manner referred to, is especially observed by vegetarians who dine at ordinary tables, where exclusion of animal food and white bread is the only selection they can make. It is of vital importance for food-reformers to understand and guard against this danger--not that they will suffer more than those who take the mixed diet, for in fact the reverse is true (their whole-meal bread being a great aid)--but being, as it were, on exhibition before the world, it is important for them to obtain and enjoy all the advantages pertaining to the system they advocate.