And this is not the extent of the evil. Holiday feasting undoubtedly has much to do with the excessive use of intoxicants noticeable at such times. Tempted to overeat by the rich and highly seasoned viands which make up the bill of fare, the heaviness resulting from a stomach thus overburdened creates a thirst not readily satisfied. A person who has noted how frequently one is called upon to assuage thirst after having eaten too heartily of food on any occasion, will hardly doubt that indigestible holiday dinners are detrimental to the cause of total abstinence.

Then, for the sake of health and the cause of temperance, while an ample repast is provided, let not the bill of fare be so lavish as to tempt to gormandizing; and let the viands be of the most simple and wholesome character practicable, although, of course, inviting. As an aid in this direction, we offer the following bills of fare;—

THANKSGIVING MENUS.

NO. 1
Tomato Soap with Pasta d'Italia
Stuffed Potatoes
Canned Asparagus
Pulp Succotash
Celery
Graham Grits
Fruit Rolls
Graham Puffs
Buns
Canned Peaches
Pumpkin Pie
Baked Chestnuts
Grape Apples
Fresh Fruits
NO. 2
Vegetable Oyster Soup
Potato Puff
Roasted Sweet Potatoes
Parsnip Stewed with Celery
Beet Salad
Boiled Wheat with Raisins
Cream Crisps
Whole-Wheat Bread
Crescents with Peach Jelly
Canned Fruit
Cranberry Tarts
Almonds and Pecans

HOLIDAY MENUS.

NO. 1
Canned Corn Soup
Mashed Sweet Potato
Macaroni with Tomato Sauce
Canned Wax Beans or Cabbage Salad
Steamed Rice
Graham Puffs
Fruit Bread
Toasted Wafers
Canned Strawberries
Malaga Grapes
Loaf Cake with Roasted Almonds
Bananas in Syrup
NO. 2
Pea and Tomato Soup
Ornamental Potatoes
Scalloped Vegetable Oysters
Egg and Macaroni
Farina with Fig Sauce
Sally Lunn Gems
Beaten Biscuit
Graham Bread
Apply Jelly
Canned Gooseberries
Prune Pie with Granola Crust
Citron Apples
Pop Corn

PICNIC DINNERS

A picnic, to serve its true end, ought to be a season of healthful recreation; but seemingly, in the general acceptation of the term, a picnic means an occasion for a big dinner composed of sweets and dainties, wines, ices, and other delectable delicacies, which tempt to surfeiting and excess. The preparation necessary for such a dinner usually requires a great amount of extra and wearisome labor, while the eating is very apt to leave results which quite overshadow any benefit derived from the recreative features of the occasion. It is generally supposed that a picnic is something greatly conducive to health; but where everything is thus made subservient to appetite, it is one of the most unhygienic things imaginable.

A Picnic Dinner

The lunch basket should contain ample provision for fresh-air-sharpened appetites, but let the food be as simple as possible, and of not too great variety. Good whole-wheat or Graham bread in some form, with well sterilized milk and cream, or a soup previously prepared from grains or legumes, which can be readily heated with the aid of a small alcohol or kerosene stove, and plenty of fruit of seasonable variety, will constitute a very good bill of fare. If cake is desirable, let it be of a very simple kind, like the buns or raised cake for which directions are given in another chapter. Beaten biscuits, rolls, and crisps are also serviceable for picnic dinners. Fruit sandwiches—made by spreading slices of light whole-wheat or Graham bread with a little whipped cream and then with fresh fruit jam lightly sweetened, with fig sauce or steamed figs chopped, steamed prunes or sliced bananas—are most relishable. These should be made on the ground, just before serving, from material previously prepared. An egg sandwich may be prepared in the same manner by substituting for the fruit the hard-boiled yolks of eggs chopped with a very little of the whitest and tenderest celery, and seasoned lightly with salt. Two pleasing and palatable picnic breads may be made as follows:—