A SONG OF FOOD-SAVING
[Being a faithful effort to versify the article written by Dr. E. I. Spriggs, at the request of the Food Controller, on the food requirements of people of different ages and build.]
Good people, who long for a lead
On the paramount crux of the time,
I pray you give diligent heed
To the lessons I weave into rhyme;
And first, let us note, one and all—
Whether living in castle or “digs”—
“Large people need more than the small,”
For that’s the first maxim of Spriggs.
Now, as most of the food that we eat
Is wanted for keeping us warm,
The requisite quota of heat
Is largely a question of form;
And the ratio of surface to weight,
As anyone readily twigs,
Is the root of the point in debate
As sagely expounded by Spriggs.
Hence the more we resemble a sphere
Less heat on the surface is lost,
And the needful supply, it is clear,
Is maintained at less lavish a cost;
’Tis economy, then, to be plump
As partridges, puffins or pigs,
Who are never a prey to the hump,
So at least I interpret my Spriggs.
Next, the harder it freezes or snows
The greater the value of fat,
And the larger the appetite grows
Of John, Sandy, Taffy and Pat.
(Conversely, in Midsummer days,
When liquid more freely one swigs,
Less viand the appetite stays—
This quatrain’s a gloss upon Spriggs.)
For strenuous muscular work
A larger allowance of grub
We need than is due if we shirk
Exertion, and lounge in a pub;
For the loafer who rests in a chair
Everlastingly puffing at “cigs”
Can live pretty nearly on air,
So I gather at least from my Spriggs.
Why children need plentiful food
He nextly proceeds to relate:
Their capacity’s larger than you’d
Be disposed to infer from their weight;
They’re growing in bulk and in height,
They’re normally active as grigs,
And exercise breeds appetite—
This stanza is absolute Spriggs.
Last of all, with an eloquent plea
For porridge at breakfast in place
Of the loaf, and for oatcake at tea
A similar gap to efface;
For potatoless dinners—with rice,
For puddings of maize and of figs,
Which are filling, nutritious and nice—
Thus ends the Epistle of Spriggs.