Sir Henry Thompson, one of the most
distinguished of English physicians, and a man noted for his popularity as
diner out and giver of dinners, writes strenuously against the prevailing
excessive use of meat, and especially protests against its over use for
children; and his opinion is shared by most thoughtful medical men. The
nitrogenous vegetables advantageously take its place; and cheese, as
prepared after the formulas given in Mattieu Williams's "Chemistry of
Cookery," is a food the value of which we are but just beginning to
appreciate.
As to quantity, with the healthy child, playing at will, there need be
very little restraint. Few children will eat too much of perfectly simple
food, such as this table includes. Let cake or pastry or sweetmeats enter
in, and of course, as long as the thing tastes good, the child will beg
for more. English children are confined to this simple diet; and though of
course a less exacting climate has much to do with the greater
healthfulness of the English than the American people, the plain but
hearty and regular diet of childhood has far more.
Our young American of seven, at a hotel breakfast, would call for coffee
and ham and eggs and sausages and hot cakes. His English cousin would have
no liberty to call for anything.
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