been thoroughly masticated and insalivated in the mouth; and completely to dissolve them, or separate their nutritious from their innutritious matter; and convert their nutritious matter into chyme; and present this to the absorbing mouths of the lacteals; and then to remove the fecal or innutritious residuum from the organic domain." "If, therefore, instead of supplying the alimentary organs with food composed of due proportions of nutritious and innutritious matter, we artificially separate the nutritious from the innutritious, and supply the alimentary organs with the concentrated nutritious matter only; we shall soon destroy the functional powers of the organs, break down the general function of nutrition, and cause atrophy and death."* Combe observes, that "farinaceous and other concentrated aliments, do not afford the requisite stimulus to the muscular fibres of the intestine; because they are in a great measure absorbed, and leave little to be thrown out.”

218. Many recorded experiments illustrate these remarks. The dog fed by Majendie on white bread and water, died in the course of seven weeks; but another fed by him on brown soldiers' bread (pain de munition), did not suffer. When dogs were fed on sugar and water, they died in a month; but if a considerable portion of saw-dust be mixed with the sugar, their health will not be affected by it, although they are naturally carnivorous animals. It was also shown, that an ass fed on rice died in fifteen days; but if a large quantity of chopped straw had been mixed with the rice, he would have

GRAHAM'S LECTURES. Vol. I. P. 540.

"Horses fed exclusively

continued to live and be well. on meal or grain, will die in a short time; but mix their meal or grain with a suitable proportion of cut straw or wood-shavings, and they will thrive and become fat. And it is an interesting fact, that if horses be fed on grain alone, with the exception of water, for a number of days, they will instinctively gnaw the boards, or whatever woody substance is within their reach." I might here give several well attested anecdotes, in confirmation of what has been now stated; but the two following will be sufficient.

219. "About the 1st of December, 1800," says Capt. John Matthews, of Maine, "I left Bath, in the schooner Betsey, with a deck load of cows, oxen, horses, and one mule. Expecting to have a short passage, I took but little hay. When we had been out several days, a gale came on; which swept away most of our hay, and drove us so far out of our course, that we were fourteen days without hay, before we made the island of Bermuda. We had plenty of corn and potatoes on board; with which we fed our stock. After three or four days, the stock all began to be indisposed, and to droop, and to be unwilling to eat the food we gave them; and they seemed to be very uneasy, and to crave something which they had not: and the mule began to gnaw a spruce spar, which lay before him. This suggested to me the thought, that my stock all required more woody matter with their food; and I immediately caused some spruce and oak spars to be shaved up with a drawing knife, and gave the shavings to the stock. All the young cattle and horses and the

mule, ate these shavings greedily; and were very soon improved in their health, and continued to do well the remaining part the voyage. The mule ate them more freely than any other animal on board; and he improved most indeed he was quite plump and sleek when he arrived in port. Some of the older cattle and horses would not eat the shavings; and every one of these died before we got in. About the year 1830," continues Capt. Matthews, "returning from Bonavista, one of the Cape de Verd islands, I brought several goats with me. Having no hay on board, I fed them on grain and shavings. They came every day for their shavings, as regularly as they did for their grain; and ate them as greedily."

220. These observations on the concentrated nature of food, are equally applicable to man as to the lower animals. Dr. Stark made many curious and whimsical dietetic experiments in his own person; and fell a sacrifice in the prosecution of his inquiries. The proposed object of his experiments was to prove, that a pleasant and varied diet is more conducive to health, than a simple one; yet most of the dishes of which he partook, were neither natural, simple, nor pleasant; but exceedingly disagreeable compounds of concentrated substances. He began with fine flour-bread and water;-from which he proceeded to bread, water, and sugar; then to bread, water, and oil-of-olives; then to bread, water, and milk; -afterwards he tried bread and water with roasted goose; then bread and water with boiled beef; then stewed lean of beef with gravy;-then oil of suet and water; then

flour, oil of suet, water, and salt;-then flour, water, and salt; then bread and fat bacon;-then infusion of tea and sugar; then bread or flour, with honey and an infusion of rosemary. A number of other dishes equally disagreeable, and some of them more so, were successively tried. He commenced in good health and vigour, which gradually declined; and, at the end of nine months, he died,—after suffering much uneasiness.

221. Dr. Stark's experiments prove quite the contrary of what they were designed to establish; and clearly show, that concentrated alimentary substances, however varied, are destructive to health and life: this case might be urged, with much propriety, against too great a variety of food, and in favour of simplicity of diet. Even nations on whom science has not yet dawned, are aware of the advantage of mixing innutritious substances with highly concentrated food. Thus the Kamtschatdales, who are frequently compelled to live on fish-oil, judiciously form it into a paste with saw-dust, or the rasped filings of indigenous plants.

222. Much has been written, by physiologists, to demonstrate the necessity of variety of food,-by which they generally mean a mixture of animal and vegetable substances; and they quote many instances of ill effects arising from simplicity of diet. I am confident, however, that all the injurious effects that have been referred to simplicity of diet, have arisen from improper and unnatural food, or from food in too concentrated a state. Müller informs us, that in Denmark, a diet of bread and water for four weeks, is considered equivalent to the

punishment of death. There must be some fallacy in this statement; but, if correct, the injury produced may perhaps be attributed to the extraordinary fineness of the flour, and the superabundance of gluten which it contains. Knight, in his Physiological and Horticultural Papers, says—" Bread made of wheat, when taken in large quantities, has probably, more than any other article of food in use in this country, the effect of overloading the alimentary canal; and the general practice of French physicians, points out the prevalence of diseases thence arising amongst their patients." All the evils said to be produced by living upon bread, are due to our modes of refining upon nature; and though it must be admitted, that bread made from the finest wheaten flour, if eaten in great abundance, and without a due admixture with innutritious matter, will be productive of serious consequences to health, yet it can be shown upon good authority, that many individuals have subsisted for years on coarse undressed wheat-meal-bread and water alone; and have not only improved in health, but become remarkably vigorous and robust. Children whose food, for a considerable time, consists of superfine flour-bread, arrow-root, and other concentrated substances (such as sugar, butter, &c.), may appear fat and well; but do not acquire strength: they generally become weak and sickly, and are often covered with sores. Hence, some physicians who have written on the diet of children, have spoken in severe terms against confining children to an exclusively vegetable diet. But if a child be put upon a diet of good bread made of undressed wheat-meal, with