CONTENTS.

[CHAPTER I.]
ON SELECTING FOOD AND DRINKS WITH REFERENCE TO HEALTH.
Nourishing and unstimulating Food. Nourishing and stimulatingfood. Food that stimulates without nourishing. Food that is entirelyUndigestible. Food that is unhealthful in nature, or madeso by cooking. Liquid aliments, or drinks. Other liquid aliments,or drinks,1
[CHAPTER II.]
MARKETING—CARE AND USES OF MEATS.
Selection and uses of meats. Modes of cooking and using the differentparts of animals. Beef. Veal. Mutton. Pork. Marketing.On the Cure of Meats. Directions for cutting up a Hog.To try out Lard. Directions for salting down Pork. Mr. H. H.’sReceipt for Curing Hams. To prepare Cases for Sausages.Sausage Meat. Bologna Sausages. Another Receipt for SausageMeat. Pickle for Beef, Pork, Tongues, or Hung Beef. Anotherby measure, and with less trouble. To salt down Beef to keep theyear round. To Cleanse Calf’s Head and Feet. To PrepareRennet,26
[CHAPTER III.]
BOILED MEATS.
To cook a Ham (very fine). Smoked Boiled Tongues. A la ModeBeef. Another à la Mode Beef. To Boil a Leg of Veal or Mutton.Pot Pie, of Beef, Veal, or Chicken. Calf’s Head. CurriedDishes. To Prepare Curry Powder. Veal Stew. Another VealStew (very fine). To Stew Birds. A fine Mutton Stew. A SausageStew. To Bake Beef. Beef, or Mutton and Potatoe Pie.To Cook Pigeons. Beef or Veal Stewed with Apples (very good).To Boil a Turkey. To Boil Corned Beef,36
[CHAPTER IV.]
ROASTED AND BAKED MEATS.
General Remarks. Roast Beef. Roast Lamb. Roast Mutton.Roast Veal. To Roast a Fillet or Leg of Veal. Baked, or RoastedPig. To Roast a Spare Rib. Roast Turkey. Roast Goose.Roast Chickens. Roast Ducks. Mutton and Beef Pie. ChickenPie. Mutton Haricot. To Cook a Shoulder of Lamb. RiceChicken Pie. Potatoe Pie,43
[CHAPTER V.]
FRIED AND BROILED MEATS.
General Remarks. A nice Way of Cooking Calf’s or Pig’s Liver.Fried Veal Cutlets. Fricassee Chickens. Meats Warmed over.A nice Way of Cooking Cold Meats. A Hash of Cold Meat forDinner (very good). Cold Meat Turnovers. Head Cheese.Souse. Tripe. Force Meat Balls (another Hash.) To PrepareCold Beef Steaks. A nice Way of Cooking Cold Boiled Ham.Another way of Cooking Cold Ham. A Veal Hash. Veal Balls(another Hash). Broiled Meats. General Remarks. Broiled Ham.Broiled Veal Cutlets. Broiled Mutton Chops. Broiled PorkSteaks. Beef Steaks. Beef Liver. To Poach Eggs. To BoilEggs. A Salt Relish. Egg Frizzle (very good). Frizzled Beef.Veal Cheese. A Codfish Relish. Another Way. Salt Herrings,50
[CHAPTER VI.]
SOUPS.
French Vegetable Soup. Plain Calf’s Head Soup. An ExcellentSimple Mutton Soup. Pea Soup. Portable Soup. A Rich MockTurtle Soup. Another Dry Pea Soup. Clam Soup. OysterSoup. Veal Soup. Macaroni Soup (Mrs. F.’s Receipt). SouthernGumbo (Mrs. L.’s Receipt). Giblet Soup,57
[CHAPTER VII.]
FISH.
Directions for making Chowder. To Fry Fish. To Boil Fish.To Broil Fish. Baked Fish. Cod Sounds and Tongues. ToCook Salt Codfish. To Cook Cold Codfish. To Cook Oysters.Lobsters. Scolloped Oysters. Pickled Oysters. To Crimp FreshFish. To Cook Eels. To Cook Scollops. A Good Way of UsingCold Fresh Fish. To Cook Clams,62
[CHAPTER VIII.]
ON THE PREPARATION OF HASHES, GRAVIES, AND SAUCES.
To prepare Gravy for a Cold Beef Hash, or Steak Hash. Gravyfor a Mutton Hash, or Venison Hash. To prepare a Veal Hash.Common Gravies. Drawn Butter, or Melted Butter. AnotherMode of preparing Drawn Butter. Drawn Meat Gravies, orBrown Gravies. Nice Article to use for Gravy, or Soup. BurntButter for Fish, or Eggs. Sauce for Salad, or Fish. Wine Saucefor Mutton or Venison. Oyster Sauce. Lobster Sauce. AppleSauce. Celery Sauce for Boiled Fowls. Celery Vinegar. Essenceof Celery, to flavor Soup. Herb Spirit. Soup Powder.Soy. Tomato Catsup. Mushroom Catsup. Walnut Catsup,66
[CHAPTER IX.]
VEGETABLES.
Potatoes. Boiled Potatoes. Other Modes of Cooking Potatoes.Turnips. Asparagus. Beets. Parsnips and Carrots. Onions.Jerusalem Artichokes. Squashes. Cabbage and Cauliflowers.Peas. Sweet Corn. Succatosh. Beans. Egg Plant. BakedBeans. Tomatoes. Greens. Cucumbers. Macaroni. AnotherWay. To Cook Hominy. Macaroni Pudding, to eat with Meat.Salad. Mode of Dressing Salad. Mushroom. Celeriac. Salsify,or Vegetable Oyster. Southern Mode of Cooking Rice.Common Mode of Cooking Rice. Best Mode of Cooking Tomatoes.Sweet Potatoes. Artichokes. Stewed Egg Plant,73
[CHAPTER X.]
OVENS, YEAST, BREAD, AND BISCUIT.
On Constructing and Heating an Oven. How to know when anOven is at the right Heat. How to know when Bread is Sour,or Heavy. How to treat Bread when taken from the Oven.Yeast. Potatoe Yeast. Home-made Yeast, which will keep gooda Month. Home-brewed Yeast more easily made. Hard Yeast.Rubs, or Flour Hard Yeast. Milk Yeast. Wheat Bread of Distillery,or Brewer’s Yeast. Wheat Bread of Home-brewed Yeast.Baker’s Bread. Wheat Bread of Potatoe Yeast. Potatoe Bread.Cream Tartar Bread. Eastern Brown Bread. Rye Bread. RiceBread.—No. 1. Rice Bread.—No. 2. Apple Bread. PumpkinBread. Walnut Hill’s Brown Bread. French Rolls, or Twists.Raised Biscuit. Very Nice Rusk. Potatoe Biscuit. Crackers.Hard Biscuit. Sour Milk Biscuit. A good Way to use Sour Bread,83
[CHAPTER XI.]
BREAKFAST AND TEA CAKES.
General Directions for Griddle and other Breakfast Cakes. BuckwheatCakes wet with Water. Extempore Buckwheat Cakes.Buckwheat Cakes wet with Milk. Griddle Cakes of UnboltedWheat. Best Rice Griddle Cakes. A very delicate Omelet.Wheat Waffles. Miss B.’s Waffles (without yeast). Rice Waffles.Good Cakes for Tea, or Breakfast. Fried Rice for Breakfast.Fried Hominy. Rye Drop Cake (excellent). Wheat DropCake. Corn Griddle Cakes with Yeast. Pilgrim Cake. SourMilk Corn Cake. Corn Muffins (from the South). Corn GriddleCakes with Eggs. Sachem’s Head Corn Cake. Royal Crumpets.Bachelor’s Corn Cake. Mrs. W.’s Corn Cake. Corn Muffins.Savoy Biscuit. Cream Cakes. Wheat Muffins. Albany BreakfastCakes. Sally Lunn. Cream Tea Cakes. Buttermilk ShortCakes. Wafers. Pennsylvania Flannel Cakes. Kentucky CornDodgers. Ohio Corn Cake. Scarborough Puffs. Cream GriddleCakes. Crumpets. Fine Cottage Cheese,94
[CHAPTER XII.]
PLAIN PUDDINGS AND PIES.
General Directions in regard to Puddings and Custards. LittleGirl’s Pie. Little Boy’s Pudding. Children’s Fruit Dumpling.Birth-day Pudding. Children’s Boiled Fruit Pudding. EnglishCurd Pie. Fruit Fritters. Common Apple Pie. Plain Custard.A Richer Custard. Another Custard. Mush, or Hasty Pudding.Stale Bread Fritters (fine). To prepare Rennet. Rennet Custard.Bird’s Nest Pudding. A Minute Pudding of Potatoe Starch.Tapioca Pudding. Sago Pudding. Cocoanut Pudding (Plain).New England Squash, or Pumpkin Pie. Ripe Fruit Pies. BatterPudding. Mock Cream. Bread Pudding. Sunderland Pudding.An Excellent Apple Pie. Boiled Apple Pudding. SpicedApple Tarts. Boiled Indian Pudding. Baked Indian Pudding.Rice Balls, or German Pudding. Apple Custard. Rhubarb Pie.Plain Macaroni or Vermacelli Puddings. Green Corn Pudding.Bread Pudding for Invalids, or Young Children. Plain RicePudding, without Eggs. Another Sago Pudding. Oat MealMush. Modes of Preparing Apples for the Table. Fruit Custards.Modes of Preparing Rice for the Dinner or Tea Table.Rice and Meat Pudding. Modes of preparing Dishes with DryBread, or Bread so old as to be not good for the table,104
[CHAPTER XIII.]
RICH PUDDINGS AND PIES.
Ellen’s Pudding, or Rhubarb Tart. Nottingham Pudding. RicePlum Pudding. Eve’s Pudding (the best kind). Baked EnglishPlum Pudding. A Boiled English Plum Pudding. AlmondCheese Cake. Cocoanut Pudding. Arrowroot Pudding. GroundRice Pudding. Mrs. O.’s Pumpkin Pie. Cracker Plum Pudding(excellent). Minced Pie. Marlborough Pudding. Orange, orLemon Pudding. Sweet Potatoe Pudding. Quince Pudding.Paste for Puddings and Pies. Healthful Pie Crusts. Paste madewith Butter. Directions for making Paste. Puff Paste. Saucesfor Puddings. Liquid Sauce. Hard Sauce. A Healthful PuddingSauce. An excellent Sauce for Boiled Rice,121
[CHAPTER XIV.]
PLAIN CAKES.
General Directions for Making Cake. Rose Butter. Directions forCleansing Currants. Frosting for Cake. Cake Frosting (another,which is harder). Good Child’s Cake. Ginger Snaps.Child’s Feather Cake. Best Molasses Gingerbread. SpongeGingerbread. Cider Cake. Cup Cake without Eggs. CreamCake without Eggs. Cream Tartar Cake, without Eggs. FruitCake without Eggs. Drop Cake. Sugar Gingerbread (rich).Sugar Gingerbread (plainer). Sponge Cake. Bridget’s BreadCake (excellent). Doughnuts. Cookies (plain). French Cake.Walnut Hill’s Doughnuts. Cocoanut Cup Cake. CocoanutSponge Cake. Lemon Cake.—No. 1. Gingernuts. HoneyCake. New Year’s Cookies. Boston Cream Cake. Almond,Hickory, or Cocoanut Cake. Caraway Cakes. Fruit Drop Cakes.Dr. B.’s Loaf Cake. Fancy Cakes. Fried Curd Cakes. WineCake. Egg Rusk. Citron Tea Cakes. French Biscuit (Mrs.Dr. C.),130
[CHAPTER XV.]
RICH CAKES.
Old Hartford Election Cake (100 years old). Raised Loaf Cake.Mrs. H.’s Raised Wedding Cake (very fine). Yeast for the aboveCake. Fruit Cake, or Black Cake. Pound Cake. French LoafCake. Portugal Cake. Golden Cake. Silver Cake. ShrewsburyCake. Queen’s Cake. Crullars. Lemon Cake.—No. 2.Almond Cake. Lemon Drop Cakes. Jelly Cake. CocoanutDrops. Sugar Drops,146
[CHAPTER XVI.]
PRESERVES AND JELLIES.
General Directions for making Preserves and Jellies. To ClarifySyrup for Sweetmeats. Brandy Peaches. Peaches (not veryrich). Peaches (very elegant). To preserve Quinces Whole.Quince Jelly. Calf’s Foot Jelly. To preserve Apples. Pear.Pineapple (very fine). Purple Plum.—No. 1. To preserveOranges. Purple Plum.—No. 2. White, or Green Plum. CitronMelon. Strawberries. Blackberry Jam. To preserve Currantsto eat with Meat. Cherries. Currants. Raspberry Jam.—No.1. Raspberry Jam.—No. 2. Currant Jelly. Quince Marmalade.Preserved Watermelon Rinds. Preserved Pumpkin,153
[CHAPTER XVII.]
PICKLES.
To Pickle Tomatoes. To Pickle Peaches. To Pickle Peppers. ToPickle Nasturtions. To Pickle Onions. To Pickle Gherkins.To Pickle Mushrooms. To Pickle Cucumbers. Pickled Walnuts.Mangoes. Fine Pickled Cabbage. An excellent Way of PreparingTomatoes to eat with Meat. To Pickle Martinoes. A convenientWay to Pickle Cucumbers. Indiana Pickles. To PickleCauliflower, or Brocoli,165
[CHAPTER XVIII.]
ARTICLES FOR DESSERTS AND EVENING PARTIES.
Ice Cream. Directions for freezing Ice Cream. Philadelphia IceCream. Another Ice Cream. Strawberry Ice Cream. Ice Creamwithout Cream. Fruit Ice Cream. Rich Custards. Wine CreamCustard. Almond Custard. A Cream for Stewed Fruit. Currant,Raspberry, or Strawberry Whisk. Lemonade Ice, and otherIces. Lemon and Orange Cream. Vanilla Cream. A CharlotteRusse. A Plainer Charlotte Russe. A Superior Omelette Souflée.Almond Cheese Cake. Flummery. Chicken Salad. Gelatine,or American Isinglass Jelly. Oranges in Jelly. Jelly Tarts.Sweet Paste Jelly Tarts. An Apple Lemon Pudding. ButtermilkPop. Wheat Flour Blanc Mange. Orange Marmalade. A simpleLemon Jelly (easily made). Cranberry. Fruits Preservedwithout Cooking. Apple Ice (very fine). Lemon, or Orange IceCream. Cream Tarts. Whip Syllabub. Trifles. Nothings.Apple Snow. Iced Fruit. Ornamental Froth. To Clarify Isinglass.Blanc Mange. Calf’s Foot Blanc Mange. VariegatedBlanc Mange. Jaune Mange. Ivory Dust Jelly. Apple Jelly.Another Lemon Jelly. Orange Jelly. Floating Island. AnotherSyllabub. An Ornamental Dish. Carrageen Blanc Mange(Irish Moss). A Dish of Snow. To Clarify Sugar. To PrepareSugar for Candies. Sugar Kisses. Almond Macaroons. FilbertMacaroons. Cocoanut Drops. Candied Fruits. Another Way.To make an Ornamental Pyramid for a Table,165
[CHAPTER XIX.]
TEMPERANCE DRINKS.
Ginger Beer Powders, and Soda Powders. Currant Ice Water.Sarsaparilla Mead. Effervescing Fruit Drinks. EffervescingJelly Drinks. Summer Beverage. Simple Ginger Beer. Orange,or Lemon Syrup. Acid Fruit Syrups. Imitation Lemon Syrup.Superior Ginger Beer. Lemon Sherbet. Orange Sherbet. ShamChampagne. Coffee. Fish Skin for Coffee. Chocolate. Cocoaand Shells. Tea. Ochra. Children’s Drinks. White Tea.Boy’s Coffee. Strawberry Vinegar. Royal Strawberry Acid.Delicious Milk Lemonade. Portable Lemonade,183
[CHAPTER XX.]
RECEIPTS FOR FOOD AND DRINKS FOR THE SICK.
General Remarks on the Preparation of Articles for the Sick. AnExcellent Relish for a Convalescent. Several Ways of PreparingChickens for the Sick. Milk Porridge. Rice Gruel, and OatmealGruel. Arrowroot and Tapioca Gruels. Dropped Egg. WheatGruel for Young Children with weak stomachs, or for Invalids.Another Panada. Herb Drinks. Other Simple Drinks. CreamTartar Whey. Simple Wine Whey. A great Favorite with Invalids.A New Way of making Barley Water. Panada. ArrowrootBlanc Mange. Rice Flour Blanc Mange. Another Receiptfor American Isinglass Jelly. Tapioca Jelly. Caudle. SagoJelly. Spiced Chocolate. Barley Water. Water Gruel. BeefTea. Tomato Syrup. Arrowroot Custard for Invalids. Sago forInvalids. Rice Jelly. Sassafras Jelly. Buttermilk Whey. AlumWhey. Another Wine Whey. Mulled Wine. Tamarind Whey.Egg Tea and Egg Coffee (very fine). Cranberry Tea. AppleTea. Egg and Milk. Sago Milk. Tapioca Milk. Bread andMilk. Egg Gruel. Ground Rice Gruel. Oatmeal Gruel. SimpleBarley Water. Compound Barley Water. Cream TartarBeverage. Seidlitz Powders. Blackberry Syrup, for Cholera andSummer Complaint. Remarks on the Combinations of Cooking,191
[CHAPTER XXI.]
ON MAKING BUTTER AND CHEESE.
Articles used in Making Cheese. Mode of Preparing the Rennet.To Make Cheese. To Scald the Curd. Directions for makingButter,204
[CHAPTER XXII.]
ARTICLES AND CONVENIENCES FOR THE SICK,209
[CHAPTER XXIII.]
THE PROVIDING AND CARE OF FAMILY STORES,217
[CHAPTER XXIV.]
SUGGESTIONS IN REFERENCE TO PROVIDING A SUCCESSIVEVARIETY OF FOOD.
Directions for Preserving Fruits and Vegetables,223
[CHAPTER XXV.]
ON BREAD MAKING,227
[CHAPTER XXVI.]
DIRECTIONS FOR DINNER AND EVENING PARTIES.
Setting the Table. Taking up the Dinner. Tea Parties and EveningCompany,234
[CHAPTER XXVII.]
ON SETTING TABLES, AND PREPARING VARIOUS ARTICLESOF FOOD FOR THE TABLE,243
[CHAPTER XXVIII.]
ON SYSTEMATIC FAMILY ARRANGEMENT, AND MODE OF DOINGWORK.
Directions for the Cook. Directions for the Chambermaid. Oddsand Ends,247
[CHAPTER XXIX.]
ON A PROPER SUPPLY OF UTENSILS AND CONVENIENCES FORHOUSEKEEPING.
Kitchen Furniture,252
[CHAPTER XXX.]
SUGGESTIONS IN REGARD TO HIRED SERVICE,269
[CHAPTER XXXI.]
ON THE STYLE OF LIVING AND EXPENSES,273
[CHAPTER XXXII.]
WORDS OF COMFORT FOR A DISCOURAGED HOUSEKEEPER,276
[CHAPTER XXXIII.]
FRIENDLY COUNSELS FOR DOMESTICS,280
[CHAPTER XXXIV.]
MISCELLANEOUS ADVICE, AND SUPPLEMENTARY RECEIPTS.
Weights and Measures. Avoirdupois Weight. Apothecaries’ Weight.On Purchasing Wood. Items of Advice. To make nice Crayonsfor Blackboards. Some excellent Cheap Dishes. Stewed Beef.Tomato Beef. A good Way to use Cold Rice. To prepare GoodToast. A Good Pudding. Loaf Pudding. A Plain Lemon Pudding.An Excellent Indian Pudding without Eggs. Pork andPotato Balls. Oyster Pie. Green Corn Patties (like Oysters).Ohio Wedding Cake (Mrs. K.). Best Way of making Corn Cakesof all Sorts. Molasses Candy. To make Simple Cerate. BestRemedy for Burns. Ginger Tea. Indian Bannock. Egg andBread. Floating Island. A New Mode of cooking Cucumbers,283

THE
DOMESTIC RECEIPT BOOK.

[CHAPTER I.]
ON SELECTING FOOD AND DRINKS WITH REFERENCE TO HEALTH.

A work has recently been republished in this country, entitled, “A Treatise on Food and Diet; by Dr. J. Pereira. Edited by Dr. Charles A. Lee.” “The author of this work,” says Dr. Lee, “is well known throughout Europe and America, as one of the most learned, scientific, and practical men of the age;—a physician of great experience and accurate observation, and a highly successful writer. To the medical profession he is most favorably known as the author of the best work on the Materia Medica which has appeared in our language.”

This work contains the principles discovered by Leibig, Dûmas, and Brossingault, and applies them practically to the subject of the proper selection of food. All the opinions, expressed in what follows, are sanctioned by the above work, by Dr. Combe, and by most of the distinguished practitioners of our age and country.

In selecting food, with reference to health, the following principles must be borne in mind.

First, that there are general rules in regard to healthful food and drink, which have been established, not by a few, but by thousands and thousands of experiments, through many ages, and in an immense variety of circumstances. It is these great principles, which must be the main dependance of every mother and housekeeper, to guide her in selecting healthful food and drinks for her children and family. These rules are furnished by medical writers and practitioners.

Secondly, there are occasional exceptions to these general rules, and when such occur, two errors should be avoided. One is, giving up all confidence in the deductions of a wide experience, established by extensive experiments, and assuming that we have no rules at all, and that every person must follow the guidance of mere appetite, or his own limited experience. The other is, making the exception into a general rule, and maintaining that every person must conform to it.

For example, it is found by general experience, that milk is a very safe and healthful article of food, and that alcoholic drinks are very unhealthful. But there are cases which seem to be exceptions to this rule; for some children never can eat milk without being made sick, and there are cases known where men have lived to a very advanced age and in perfect health, who have daily used alcoholic drinks, even to the point of intoxication.

Still, it is very unwise to throw away the general rule and say, that it is just as well for children to drink alcoholic drinks as to use milk,—and as unwise to claim that every person must give up the use of milk because a few are injured by it.

The true method is, to take the general rules obtained by abundant experience for our guide, and when any exceptions are found, to regard them as exceptions, which do not vacate the general rule, nor make it needful to conform all other cases to this exception.

It will be the object of what follows, to point out the general rules, which are to regulate in the selection of drinks and diet, leaving it to each individual to ascertain, by experiments, what are, and what are not the exceptions.

In the first place, then, it is a general rule that man needs a variety of aliment, so that it is unfavorable to health to be confined to only one kind of food.

The various textures of the human body are composed of chemical compounds, which differ from each other, both as to ingredients, and as to modes of combination. It is true, that every portion of the body may be resolved to a few simple elements, of which oxygen, hydrogen, carbon, and nitrogen are the chief. But the bodily organs have not the power of forming all the various animal tissues from these simple elements. Instead of this, they must be introduced into the body in various complex and different combinations, as they exist in the forms of gluten, fibrine, albumen, caseine, and other animal and vegetable compounds.

Thus the sugar, starch, and oils, found in certain kinds of food, supply the carbon which sustain the combustion ever carried on in the lungs by the process of breathing, and which is the grand source of animal heat. On the contrary, the blood, muscles, skin, cartilages, and other parts of the body, are daily nourished and renewed, some by the gluten contained in wheat, others by the albumen of eggs, others by the caseine of milk, and others by the fibrine of animals. All these are found in a great variety of articles used as food. When received into the stomach, the organs of digestion and assimilation prepare, and then carry them, each to its own appropriate organ, and then the excreting organs throw off the surplus.

In order, then, to have every portion of the body properly developed, it is necessary to take such a variety of food, that from one source or another, every organ of the body shall be sustained by its appropriate nourishment. The experiments which prove this, have been conducted on a great scale, and the method and results are detailed in the work of Dr. Pereira.

This fact exhibits one cause of the craving, sometimes felt for certain kinds of food, which usually is the call of nature for some ingredient, that the daily round of aliment does not supply. The statistics furnished in the work of Dr. Pereira, from various armies, prisons, almshouses, and asylums, show, that, where many hundreds are fed on the same diet, the general health of the multitude is better sustained by a considerable variety and occasional changes, than by a more restricted selection. Experiments on dogs and other animals, also, have been tried on a large scale, which prove that there is no kind of food, which, alone, will preserve full and perfect health; while every kind (except the food containing gluten, which is the chief ingredient of wheat and other bread-stuffs), when given exclusively, eventually destroys life. The exclusive use of wheat bread and potatoes, as found by experiment, will sustain life and health more perfectly, for a great length of time, than any other kinds of food.

The above fact is a striking exhibition of the beneficence of Providence, in providing such an immense variety of articles of food. And no less so is the instinct of appetite, which demands not only a variety, but is wearied with one unchanging round.

Having ascertained that it is needful to health, that a due variety of food should be secured, we next proceed to examine the principles that are to guide us in the selection.

It is found that the articles used for food and drink may be arranged in the following classes:—

First, articles that furnish no other stimulation to the animal functions than is secured by the fresh supply of nutrition. All food that nourishes the body, in one sense, may be called stimulating, inasmuch as it imparts renewed energies to the various bodily functions. In this sense even bread is a stimulant. But the more common idea attached to the word stimulant is, that it is a principle which imparts a speed and energy to the organs of the system above the ordinary point secured by perfect and appropriate nourishment. The first class, then, are those articles that serve to nourish and develop perfectly every animal function, but do not increase the strength and speed of organic action above the point of full nourishment. The bread-stuffs, vegetables, fruits, sugar, salt, acid drinks, and water are of this class.

Secondly, those articles, which serve to nourish perfectly all the animal system, and at the same time increase the strength and speed of all functional action. All animal food is of this class. All physiologists and medical men agree in the fact, that the pulse and all the organs of the body, are not only nourished, but are quickened in action by animal food, while speed and force are reduced by confining the diet to farinaceous, vegetable, and fruit diet.

Thirdly, those articles which impart no nourishment at all to the body, but act solely to stimulate all the organs to preternatural action. Alcoholic drinks, condiments, and aromatic oils are of this description.

Fourthly, articles that are neither nourishing nor stimulating, but pass out of the system entirely undigested and unassimilated. The bran of coarse bread is an example.

Fifthly, articles that, either from their nature or modes of combination and cooking, are difficult of digestion, unhealthful, and, of course, tend to weaken the organic powers by excessive or unnatural action. Animal oils, either cooked or rancid, and many articles badly cooked, are of this kind.