Health on the Farm: A Manual of Rural Sanitation and Hygiene

by H. F. Harris

As has been already explained, it is particularly necessary that starches should be thoroughly soaked in saliva, and this can only be accomplished when the bread is of such consistence that it must be chewed for a time, and so dry that it will readily absorb the salivary secretion. The writer, then, would advocate well cooked light-bread or bakers' bread, or toast made from either, as being the best of all food-stuffs of this character. The crusts of biscuit a day or so old are quite digestible, as are also waffles, if made with little grease and cooked thoroughly. The soft inner portion of biscuit and that of hot rolls, as well as batter-cakes, is decidedly unwholesome.

Graham-bread should not be constantly indulged in for the reason that it contains multitudes of sharp particles of the husk of the grain that cut the delicate mucous membrane of the stomach and intestines as it passes along, and if its use be long and continued, severe ill effects necessarily follow.

In this connection attention should also be called to the common error that particles of husk are of advantage to breads of all sorts; the former consist chemically of exactly the same thing as sand, and are quite as indigestible, and this, in connection with what has just been said of their action on the delicate mucous membranes of the intestinal tract, should be quite enough to convince anyone that they are not only useless, but injurious. It is true that the irritation produced by the husk will oftentimes cause the bowels to act, but results of the same character may be induced by many other agencies, within themselves less harmful.

Rye-bread.—There is no reason why rye-bread should not be prepared in quite as wholesome a way as is wheaten-bread, and this grain should undoubtedly rank as one of the best of the cereals. Its use, however, is so limited in this country that it is scarcely necessary to go into a lengthy discussion as to its merits. It may be remarked that the ergot fungus frequently grows on this grain, and when ground up with it occasionally poisons the consumer where the quantity of the substance is large and the bread is eaten in considerable quantities. Instances of this kind are not uncommon among the peasantry of Europe, where a black bread made from rye is the staple article of diet. Of course, when making food-preparations of rye, we should be careful to have the flour thoroughly winnowed, and to cook the bread until sufficiently dry to acquire a proper consistency for chewing.

Corn-bread and Corn Food-products.—When made from perfectly sound grain, and if not allowed to undergo fermentative changes afterward, there can be no question that food-products of corn are entirely wholesome, and, from the standpoint of chemical composition, quite as nourishing as similar articles of diet prepared from other grains. It is, however, unfortunately true that we cannot, in the majority of instances, definitely assure ourselves that our corn-bread is made from grain that comes up to the above specification, nor can we be sure that the meal is fresh, or preserved at such a temperature as would forbid the growth of various germs. It has long been known that bad corn would kill horses, but notwithstanding this, we have accepted the view that no amount of deterioration in the grain could result harmfully to man. That this latter assumption is incorrect seems now in the highest degree probable.

Pellagra.—It is known that a very curious and fatal disease called pellagra is prevalent to a considerable degree at the present time in the United States, and it is not going too far to say that all of those best capable of judging are of the opinion that the malady is the result of eating just such corn as we know kills horses.

It is likewise true that the nutritive power of this grain could in no way be increased by allowing it to decay before consumption; indeed, the contrary must be the case, and, if it were in no manner actually harmful, our sense of the æsthetic and of what is proper to eat, should make us reject in this case, as with other foods, that which is unsightly to the eye and unpleasant to the taste. We should no more eat bad grain than a rotten apple, or putrefying meat. The increased prevalence of pellagra is exciting attention all over the United States, and is very generally assumed to be the result of lack of care in the harvesting and preservation of our corn. Instead of being cut before it is ripe, and shocked in the field during the latter part of the summer, it should be allowed to ripen on the stalk, and after cold weather sets in gathered while dry, and preserved in well-covered and well-ventilated barns. Every care should be taken to keep it dry while being shipped from one part of the country to another, and similar precaution should be observed with the various food-products made from it. If kept in a cold place, meal or grits made of good corn may be preserved in excellent condition for eating throughout the winter; but as soon as the warm weather begins they should be stored in the refrigerator, and should there remain during the summer; similar precaution should be taken with meal or other corn-products during the hot months.

Over a large area of the United States corn-bread is an article of daily diet with a great majority of the inhabitants, and its wholesomeness as compared with other breads becomes, therefore, an important question. Unfortunately, corn-meal does not lend itself to the preparation of a dry bread having sufficient consistency to require chewing. It is true that the crusts of the bread made from this grain answer these requirements fairly well, and there is therefore no reason why this part of it should not be used to any extent, provided it be prepared from good meal. We should endeavor to cook thin pones of the bread rather than the thicker ones so common in the south. The objection that corn-bread can only be masticated with difficulty applies to the other preparations of this cereal, such as egg-bread, muffins, etc., and they are not, therefore, with the exception of the crusts, to be looked upon as being the best form of bread. Corn-cakes, like all batter-bread, are to be mentioned only to be condemned. Grits and hominy are soft and moist and cannot be properly chewed, and are, therefore, not to be recommended as good breads. Corn-starch preparations are likewise entirely lacking in the elements required to make good bread, and should only be used occasionally and in small amounts.

Disadvantages of Potatoes.—Irish potatoes are eaten almost as commonly in some portions of the United States as are corn-products in others, and therefore deserve the careful consideration of the hygienist. While it is not believed that, like the latter, potatoes give rise to any definite disease, it is unfortunately true that they are theoretically worse breads than those made from the grain just referred to. In whatever way cooked, they are moist and require no chewing, and as a consequence many persons with delicate digestions do not assimilate them properly.

Arrowroot.—The preparations of arrowroot are considered digestible, though here again we find that such articles of diet are generally moist and of not proper consistence to be chewed, and they are, therefore, not as valuable as are breads made from wheaten flour.