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Chapter III: Part 3

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Difficult however as most women think it is, to have good bread always, yet there are some women who invariably have excellent bread. I have known such women. The wife of Thomans Van Winkle, Esq. of the beautiful valley of Booneton, New Jersey—peace to her ashes!—was deservedly celebrated throughout the whole circle of her acquaintance for her excellent bread. Few ever ate at her hospitable board once that did not desire to enjoy the privilege again. I know not how often it has been my good fortune to sit at her table; but the times have not been few; and though long past, and she who presided there has slept for years in her grave, yet the remembrance of those times and of those hospitalities, awakens in my bosom a deep and fervent sentiment of gratitude while I write.

Never at the table of Mrs. Van Winkle did I eat poor bread;—and of my numerous acquaintances who had sat at her table, I never heard one say he had eaten poor bread there. Her bread was invariably good. Nay, it was of such a quality that it was impossible for any one to eat of it, and not be conscious that he was partaking of bread of extraordinary excellence.

Mrs. Van Winkle, said I to her one day, while I was feasting on her delicious bread, tell me truly, is there either a miracle or mystery in this matter of bread-making, by which you are enabled to have such excellent bread upon your table at all times, while I rarely ever find bread equally good at any other table, and at ninety-nine tables in a hundred, I almost invariably find poor bread? Is it necessarily so? Is it not possible for people by any means to have good bread uniformly?

“There is no necessity for having poor bread at any time, if those who make it will give proper care and attention to their business,” replied Mrs. Van Winkle, confidently. “The truth is,” continued she, “most people attach very little importance to the quality of their bread; and therefore they give little care to the preparation of it. If every woman would see that her flour is sweet and good, that her yeast is fresh and lively, that her bread trough is kept perfectly clean and sweet, that her dough is properly mixed and thoroughly kneaded, and kept at a proper temperature, and at the proper time moulded into the loaf, and put into the oven, which has been properly heated, and there properly baked, then good bread would be as common as poor bread now is. But while there is such perfect carelessness and negligence about the matter, it is not surprising that bread should be generally poor.”

Mrs. Van Winkle was undoubtedly correct. If anything like the care were given to bread-making that its real importance demands, a loaf of poor bread would rarely be met with. Indeed, if the same degree of care were given to bread-making, that is devoted to the making of cakes and pastry, we should far more generally be blessed with good bread.

Who does not know, that as soon as girls are old enough to go into company and to give parties, they begin to notice with great interest the qualities of the different kinds of cake and pastry which they meet with; and whenever they find anything very nice, they are exceedingly curious to learn precisely how it was made. And lest memory should be treacherous, they will carefully write down the exact rules for mixing and cooking it;—“so many pounds of flour, so many pounds of butter, so many pounds of sugar, so many eggs, and spice to your taste—the eggs to be beaten so and so, the whole mixed so and so, and baked so many minutes,” &c. &c. And thus with great care and industry they collect and write down, in a book which they keep for the purpose, all the recipes they can get hold of, for making every kind of cake and pastry used in society. And when they are preparing for company, they rarely if ever order Dinah or any other domestic to make their nice cake. They do not regard it as a menial office, but as a highly genteel employment; and their great desire to have their cake and pastry as good as it can be made, prompts them to undertake the manufacture of it themselves. And during this operation, the scales, the measures, the clock or watch, all are brought into requisition; the Recipe Book is placed upon the table before them, and carefully consulted; and everything is done with the utmost precision, and exactitude, and vigilance. And if the young lady feels any misgiving as to her own judgment, or taste, or experience, she earnestly inquires of Ma, or some one else who she thinks is capable of giving her advice in so important a matter.

If in the midst of this employment some one knocks or rings at the door, and a young gentleman is announced, she is not at all embarrassed, but perhaps hastens to the parlor with her delicate hands covered with dough, and with an air of complacency and self-satisfaction, says—“Good morning, Frank—how do you do? I am just engaged in making some cake—I hope you will excuse me for a few moments.”

All this shows that she regards the quality of her cake as of very great importance, and considers it not only perfectly respectable but highly _genteel_, for a young lady to be employed in making cake. But in regard to bread and bread-making, everything is very different; there is none of this early curiosity to learn how to make good bread. Young ladies do not on every occasion when they find excellent bread, carefully and minutely inquire how it was made, baked, &c., and write down the recipe;—but when a batch of bread is to be made for the family, they either leave it for Mother or some domestic to make, or go about it themselves as some irksome and disreputable piece of drudgery; and consequently they turn the task off their hands with as much despatch and as little trouble as possible. If all things happen to be as they should be, it is well; if not, they must answer for the present. If the yeast happens to be lively and sweet, very lucky. If otherwise, still it must be used. If the dough rises well and is got into the oven before it becomes sour, very fortunate; if not, why, “nobody can avoid mistakes—and bread will sometimes be poor in spite of the greatest care;”—and if a batch of miserable bread is the result of such an operation, then all that remains to be done is to eat it up as soon as possible, and hope for better the next time.

If Frank or Charles or Edward should call while the young lady is engaged in making bread, she is perhaps quite disconcerted, and would not for the world have him know what she is doing;—she sends word to him, either that she is out, or that she is particularly engaged, and begs he will excuse her;—or if by any means she happens unexpectedly to be caught at her employment, she is greatly embarrassed, and makes the best apology she can for being engaged in such menial services.

As a matter of course, while such are the views and feelings entertained on this subject, and while such is the manner in which this duty is performed, it will ever be a mere accident if good bread is made; and a mere accident if such girls ever become good bread-makers when they are wives and mothers.

But if parents, and especially mothers, could view this matter in its true light, how differently would they educate their children. They would then feel that, grateful as it is to a mother’s heart to see her daughters highly refined and elegantly accomplished, and able to “make the instrument discourse most eloquent music,” and to transfer living nature, with all its truth and beauty and sublimity, to the canvass, still the art of bread-making, when considered in all its relations and intimate connections with human health, and prosperity, and virtue, and happiness, and with reference to the natural responsibilities and duties of woman, is actually one of the highest and noblest accomplishments that can adorn the female character. And then, too, would they consider it of exceedingly great importance, that their daughters should possess this accomplishment, even though they may never be in circumstances which will require the exercise of it.

Some eight or nine years since, I spent several months in the delightful village of Belvidere, on the banks of the Delaware, in Pennsylvania. While there, I enjoyed for a number of weeks the kind hospitality of S― S―, Esq., a lawyer, and a gentleman of great moral excellence. Mrs. S. was born and brought up, I believe, in Philadelphia. Her father was a man of wealth, and she was the only daughter, and—almost as a matter of course—was indulged in all that she desired. But there were so many of the elements of a good wife and mother in her natural composition, that as soon as she entered into those interesting and important relations, she began to devote herself to the duties of them with a sincerity and conscientiousness which could not fail of success. Surrounded as she was, with wealth, and every comfort and convenience of life, and all of its luxuries that she desired, still she was industrious in her habits, and vigilantly attentive to all the concerns of her household. She usually kept three female domestics, who, by her kind maternal deportment towards them, were warmly attached to her. She had no difficulty in procuring nor in keeping help, because she always treated them in such a manner that they loved to stay with her; and she took much pains to qualify them for the proper discharge of their duties. They evidently loved her, and were sincerely desirous of performing all their services in such a manner as would be pleasing to her. Yet with all these advantages to justify her leaving such a duty to her domestics, Mrs. S. invariably made the family bread with her own hands. Regularly as the baking day came, she went into her kitchen and took her stand beside the bread trough, and mixed and kneaded the dough, and put it in its proper place for rising, and, in due time, moulded it into the loaf and baked it.

Do you always make your bread, madam? I inquired one day, as she returned from the performance of that task. “Invariably,” she replied: “that is a duty I trust no other person to do for me.”

But cannot your domestics make good bread? I asked. “I have excellent domestics,” answered Mrs. S., “and they can, perhaps, make as good bread as I can; for they have been with me several years, and I have taken pains to learn them how to do my work; and they are exceedingly faithful and affectionate, and are always willing to do all they can to please me; but they cannot feel for my husband and my children as I do, and therefore they cannot feel that interest which I do, in always having such bread as my husband and my children will love and enjoy. Besides, if it were certain their care and vigilance and success in bread-making would be always equal to mine, yet it is wholly uncertain how long they will remain with me. Various circumstances may take place, which may cause them to leave me, and bring me into dependence upon those who know not how to make good bread; and therefore I choose to keep my own hand in. But, apart from all other considerations, there is a pleasure resulting from the performance of this duty, which richly rewards me for all the labor of it. When my bread is made and brought upon the table, and I see my husband and children eat it and enjoy it, and hear them speak of its excellence, it affords me much satisfaction, and I am glad to know that I have contributed so much to their health and happiness; for, while my bread is so good that they prefer it to anything else upon the table, there is little danger of their indulging, to any injurious extent, in those articles of food which are less favorable to their health.”

I need not say that this lady invariably had excellent bread upon her table. But instances of this kind are, I regret to say, extremely rare, even in christian communities; and therefore when such cases are known, they ought to be held up as most noble examples of female virtue, and receive such high commendations as their intrinsic merit deserves, and such as will be calculated to beget in the minds of others an exalted sense of the dignity and importance of such duties, and prompt every wife and mother to the intelligent and affectionate performance of them.

For it should ever be remembered that, though our children, while they depend on us for protection, are also properly the subjects of our government, yet as soon as they are capable of appreciating our authority and our influence, they are, like ourselves, moral agents, and ought, in all respects, to be governed and nurtured as such; and therefore it is not enough that we can give them such bread as we think best for them, and _compel_ them to eat it; but the grand point at which the mother should always aim, in this matter, is, to place before her children such bread as is the very best for them, and at the same time, to make it the most agreeable to them, and thereby make their duty and their enjoyment perfectly coincide.

Let no one therefore say she cannot always have good bread, until she can truly affirm that she has fairly made the experiment; that she has, in view of all its relations and bearings, accurately estimated the importance of the quality of her bread in regard to the welfare of her household, and, with a proper sense of her responsibilities as a wife and mother, has _at all times_ felt that interest and exercised that care and attention which so important a duty demands, and without which it must ever be a mere accident whether her bread is good or bad.

They that will have good bread, not only for a single time, but uniformly, must make the quality of their bread of sufficient importance, in their estimation and feelings, to secure the requisite attention to the means by which alone such an end can be made certain. They must not suffer themselves, through carelessness, to get entirely out of bread unexpectedly, and thus be obliged, without due preparation, to make up a batch of such materials as they may happen to have at hand, and bake it in haste, and hurry it to the table. But they must exercise providence and foresight: they must know, beforehand, when their supply of bread will probably be out, and when they will need to make another batch; and they must see beforehand that measures are taken to secure a proper supply of all the requisite materials—see that they are furnished with good meal or flour; and they must be sure to have the best of yeast or leaven, when they need it—and when the time comes for them to make their bread, if by any means the yeast should not be good, let them throw it away and make good, before they proceed to make their bread; for it is infinitely better that the family should even do without bread one day, and eat roasted potatoes, than that they should eat poor bread three or four days; and if, from any cause, the bread should be poor, it is incomparably better to throw it away, than to set it upon the table, to disgust the whole family with bread, and drive them to make most of their meal on something else.

If a lady can ever find a good excuse for having poor bread, she certainly can find none, except perhaps extreme poverty, for setting her poor bread on the table the second time. Yet, too generally, women seem to think that, as a matter of course, if they, by carelessness or any other means, have been so unlucky as to make a batch of poor bread, their family and friends must share their misfortune, and help them eat it up; and, by this means, many a child has had its health seriously impaired, and its constitution injured, and perhaps its moral character ruined—by being driven, in early life, into pernicious dietetic habits.

It was observed many years ago, by one of the most eminent and extensive practitioners in New England, that, during a practice of medicine for thirty years, he had always remarked that, in those families where the children were most afflicted with worms, he invariably found poor bread; and that, as a general fact, the converse of this was true; that is, in those families where they uniformly had heavy, sour, ill-baked bread, he generally found that the children were afflicted with worms.

A careful and extensive observation for a few years, would convince every intelligent mind that there is a far more intimate relation between the quality of the bread and the moral character of a family, than is generally supposed.

“Keep that man at least ten paces from you, who eats no bread with his dinner,” said Lavater, in his “Aphorisms on Man.” This notion appears to be purely whimsical at first glance; but Lavater was a shrewd observer, and seldom erred in the moral inferences which he drew from the voluntary habits of mankind; and depend upon it, a serious contemplation of this apparent whim, discloses a deeper philosophy than is at first perceived upon the surface.

Whatever may be the cause which turns our children and ourselves away from the dish of bread, and establishes an habitual disregard for it, the effect, though not perhaps in every individual instance, yet, as a general fact, is certainly, in some degree, unfavorable to the physical, and intellectual, and moral, and religious, and social, and civil and political interests of man.

Of all the artificially prepared articles of food which come upon our table, therefore, bread should be that one which, as a general fact, is uniformly preferred by our children and our household,—that one, the absence of which they would notice soonest, and feel the most,—that one which—however they may enjoy for a time the little varieties set before them—they would be most unwilling to dispense with—and which, if they were driven to the necessity, they would prefer to any other dish, as a single article of subsistence.

To effect this state of things, it is obvious that the quality of the bread must be uniformly excellent; and to secure this, I say again, there must be a judgment, an experience, a skill, a care, a vigilance, which can only spring from the sincere affections of a devoted wife and mother, who accurately perceives and duly appreciates the importance of these things, and, in the lively exercise of a pure and delicate moral sense, feels deeply her responsibilities, and is prompted to the performance of her duties.

Would to God that this were all true of every wife and mother in our country—in the world!—that the true relations, and interests, and responsibilities of life were understood and felt by every human being, and all the duties of life properly and faithfully performed!

VARIETIES OF BREAD.

Rye bread. Indian meal bread. Use of sour milk, or butter-milk. Acids.
Family grinding.

I have thus far spoken almost entirely of wheaten bread, because I consider that the most wholesome kind of bread for ordinary use—for “daily bread.” When bread is made of superfine flour, the same general rules should be observed.

Rice, barley, oats, rye, Indian corn, and many other farinaceous products of the vegetable kingdom, may also be manufactured into bread, but none of them will make so good bread as wheat. Good rye, raised on a sandy soil, when cleansed and ground in the manner I have already described, and prepared in all respects according to the rules I have laid down, will make very excellent bread. Rye, coarsely ground, without bolting, and mixed with Indian meal, makes very wholesome bread, when it is well made. Good rye and Indian bread is far more wholesome for common or every-day use, than that made of superfine flour.

There are various ways of preparing Indian meal bread; and when such bread is well made, it is very wholesome—much more so, for every-day use, than superfine flour bread. “In a memoir lately read before the French Academy,” says the Journal of Health, “the author undertook to show that maize (Indian corn) is more conducive to health than any other grain; and, as a proof of this, the fact was adduced that, in one of the departments in which this grain was most abundantly and universally used, the inhabitants were remarkable for their health and vigor.”

One great drawback to the wholesomeness of Indian meal bread, however, is, that it is almost universally eaten hot, and too generally, pretty well oiled with butter, or some other kind of animal fat or oil. But Indian meal bread can be prepared in such a manner as to obviate these difficulties, and render it very wholesome.

Barley and oats may be manufactured into very wholesome bread; but they are little used for such purposes in this country.

Rice, peas, beans, potatoes, &c., may also, by mixing them with a portion of wheat or rye flour, be manufactured into bread; but, as I have already stated, there is no other kind of grain or farinaceous vegetable substance from which so good loaf bread can be made, as good wheat.

In making bread from Indian meal, and other kinds of farinaceous substances containing little or no gluten, yeast or leaven is rarely if ever used to make it light. More generally sour milk or butter-milk and saleratus or soda are used for this purpose; and they who do not well understand the principle upon which these substances make their bread light, often greatly impair their own success by their mismanagement.

It is, perhaps, most common for them to mix their sour milk or butter-milk and saleratus together, and wait till the effervescence is over, before they stir in their meal. But by this means they lose the greater part of the gas or air by which their dough should be made light.

The true way is, to take their sour milk or butter-milk, and stir meal into it till a thin batter is formed, and then dissolve their saleratus or soda, and stir that quickly and thoroughly into the batter, and then hastily add meal till the batter or dough is brought into the consistency desired.

If, instead of sour milk or butter-milk, a solution of muriatic or tartaric acid is used, the bread will be equally light. In this case, the batter should be first made with a solution of saleratus or soda, and then the solution of acid should be stirred in as above described. Batter cakes are made in this manner very light and very promptly. When from any cause batter or dough mixed with yeast fails to rise according to expectations, the thorough mixing in, first the solution of muriatic or tartaric acid, and then the solution of saleratus or soda, will, in a few minutes, make the whole mass very light; but such cakes and bread are not so sweet and savory as those raised with good sweet yeast.

I have said that recently ground meal makes far sweeter and richer bread, than that which has been ground a considerable time; but as it is not convenient for many families to send to a mill as often as they would like to have fresh meal, they are obliged generally to use staler meal or flour than they would choose. Yet every family might easily be furnished with a modern patent hand-mill, constructed after the plan of a coffee mill, with which they could at all times, with great ease, grind their wheat, and rice, and corn, as they want it, for bread and other purposes. With these mills they can grind their stuff as finely or coarsely as they wish, for bread or hominy, and always have it very fresh and sweet.

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DR. ALCOTT’S WORKS.

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THE YOUNG MOTHER,

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The “Young Mother” is designed as an every-day manual for those who are desirous of conducting the physical education of the young—from the very first—on such principles as Physiology and Chemistry indicate. It inculcates the great importance of preventing evil—especially physical evil—by implanting good habits. We believe it to be the only work of a popular character, written by a medical man, on this subject, and that it is, on this account, doubly valuable. It is recommended by the Boston Medical and Surgical Journal, and by the Press generally, as a work which should be possessed by every family. The following remarks by the editor of the Portland Christian Mirror, will give some idea of the manner in which it has been noticed in various parts of the country, though many of the best periodicals have spoken of it in still stronger terms of approbation:

“The subject of this book is of vital interest to the whole human family, and is treated by Dr. Alcott with the most intelligible simplicity. We hope it will find its way into the hands of all who are entrusted with the training and rearing of children; and that its sound views will supplant many of those hurtful maxims and practices which are lamentably prevalent, and that the existing generation of mankind will be succeeded by a more healthy and a more moral race.”

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THE HOUSE I LIVE IN,

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THE HUMAN BODY.

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The great difficulty of making a subject which has hitherto been deemed dry and unintelligible, at once agreeable and interesting to the young mind, has led the author of this volume to describe the human body as a HOUSE.

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WAYS

OF

LIVING ON SMALL MEANS.

A CHEAP MANUAL ON HEALTH AND ECONOMY.

_Fifth Edition—Enlarged and Improved._

BY DR. ALCOTT.

This work was prepared to meet the demand of the present exigency. Thousands of families, in the poorer and middling classes of society, are suffering from their unwise attempts to live in the style of those persons whose means are far greater than their own. The author has endeavored to convince them—in a brief manner—that a very few things only, are really indispensable to physical and even intellectual comfort and happiness—and that both these are within the reach of all, even in times like the present, would they be content to live in a manner at once rational, simple and healthful. It discusses the following subjects:

Estates and Business; Houses and Furniture; Equipage and Servants; Dress; Food and Drink; Medicine and Physicians; Books and Schools; Customs and Habits; Society; and gives several interesting Examples of living on small means.

With the emendations and improvements made in this edition, it is believed the work cannot fail to be regarded by every unprejudiced mind, as one of the most useful manuals of the day. Four editions, of 1000 copies each, were sold in a few weeks.

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LIBRARY OF HEALTH,

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This is a Periodical work, originally called the “Moral Reformer and Teacher on the Human Constitution.” It is published in numbers of 32 pages each, in neat book style for binding into a volume, illustrated by engravings, and is now on the third year of its publication. The numbers of the two past years are for sale, bound in two neat volumes.

This work discusses, in a familiar manner, all subjects connected with physical education and self-management. It treats on the connection of LIGHT, AIR, TEMPERATURE, CLEANLINESS, EXERCISE, SLEEP, FOOD, DRINK, CLIMATE, the PASSIONS, AFFECTIONS, &c., with HEALTH, HAPPINESS and LONGEVITY. The editor takes the ground that a proper understanding of the constitutional laws of the human body, and of all its organs and functions, and a strict obedience thereto, are indispensable to the highest perfection and happiness—present and future—of every living human being. He deems this knowledge more and more indispensable in proportion to the progress of civilization and refinement. The work is pledged to support no system nor set of principles, any farther than that system and those principles can be proved to be based on the laws of Physiology, and revealed truth, and on human experience; and consequently its pages are always open to fair and temperate discussion.

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“The Library of Health, is, in my opinion, an excellent publication. It seems to be well adapted to aid in the great reform in habits and customs which is now going on in this country and Great Britain; and which, it may be hoped, will extend to other parts of the world. I beg leave to recommend this little work to all who are desirous of promoting their health of body and tranquillity of mind.”

Many of the most respectable Journals in the country, have also given their testimony in its favor. The following are a very few of them:

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THE YOUNG MAN’S GUIDE.

BY DR. ALCOTT.

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DR. GRAHAM’S WORKS.

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A LECTURE TO YOUNG MEN,

ON

CHASTITY.

INTENDED ALSO FOR THE SERIOUS CONSIDERATION OF

PARENTS AND GUARDIANS.

_Second Edition—Enlarged and Improved, with Notes._

BY DR. SYLVESTER GRAHAM.

The second edition of this important work is nearly double the size of the first, although the price is increased but a trifle. It is selling rapidly. Notwithstanding its value is extensively known, we cannot forbear to insert two or three

TESTIMONIALS.

The following remarks, from the Annals of Education for 1834, are from the pen of WILLIAM C. WOODBRIDGE; whose long and zealous devotion to the cause of education, and whose extensive travels and researches both in Europe and America, and special attention to the subject of which he here speaks, pre-eminently qualify him to judge accurately in the matter:

“We are rejoiced to see a work published in our country, on a topic in physiology which the ‘artificial modesty’ to which we have formerly alluded, has covered up, until a solitary, but fatal vice is spreading desolation through our _schools_ and _families_, unnoticed or unknown. The experience of teachers, the case-books of physicians, and the painful exposures which accident, or the dreadful diseases which follow in its train, have occasionally produced, have at length forced it upon public attention; and we hope it will not again be forgotten. The work before us is the result of extensive observation and study; its usefulness has been tested by its influence as a lecture; and its views of this evil are in accordance with the experience of the few teachers whom we have known possessed of the moral courage to encounter it. We would offer it to those who have earnestly desired a work on this subject, as one adapted to their purposes. We would recommend its perusal to every _parent_ and _teacher_. We would warn them that those who have been most confident of the safety of their charge, have often been most deceived; and that the youthful bashfulness which seems to shrink from the bare mention of the subject, is _sometimes_ the blush of shame for concealed crime. We feel bound to add, what abundant and decisive evidence has shown, that ignorance on this subject is no protection from the vice—nay, that it is often the original cause or encouragement of it; that it gives tenfold power to the evil example and influence which are so rarely escaped; and that a cure can be effected only by the most careful instruction and long continued discipline, both physical and moral, directed by sad experience, as is presented in this work.”

The following brief but highly valuable testimony is from the distinguished superintendent of the Massachusetts Lunatic Hospital at Worcester:

“DEAR SIR:—The subject of your Lecture to Young Men, has been much
neglected, although of great importance.

This lecture, while it sounds the alarm to the young, will not fail to awaken the attention of parents, if once perused. It is couched in language as delicate as the nature of the subject will admit, and may be read with propriety and benefit by all.

The evil of which it treats, if I mistake not, is more extensively sapping the foundation of _physical vigor_ and _moral purity_, in the rising generation, than is generally apprehended, even by those who are awake to the danger, and who have witnessed the deplorable influence of it upon its victims.

Yours, with respect,

S. B. WOODWARD.”

The following is from Dr. ALCOTT; author of the works advertised on the preceding pages—addressed to Dr. GRAHAM.

“DEAR SIR:—The subject of your Lecture to Young Men is one of immense importance, and demands the profound attention of every friend of man. It is vain longer to shuffle it off, when those whose opportunities best qualify them to give an opinion, do not hesitate to say that solitary vice is rapidly gaining ground among us. It is a subject which must be met.

In this view, I rejoice to find that an increasing demand for your little work has justified the publication of a second edition. I rejoice, especially, to see such sound principles in physiology inculcated and warmly enforced. I have no hesitation in saying that it ought to be circulated throughout our country. It would thus not only save many a young person from the murderous fangs of quackery, but—what is much better—it would prevent the necessity of his applying either to quacks or physicians for relief from a situation in which he ought never to be placed.”

The following is an extract from a letter written by the chaplain of one of our New England State Prisons to a brother clergyman in a neighboring state:

“I have read the book _three_ times, and derived more benefit from the last, than from either of the other readings. I like this book. Why is it not in the hands of every young man, especially in cities, to counteract the influence of indecent pictures and corrupting books?

One excellence in Graham’s Lecture, as it strikes me, is, that it is so purely philosophical. Even an atheist might see force in his statements. A man must deny many of the best established principles of science, before he can deny most of the conclusions to which the lecturer comes.”

The Boston Recorder, and several other valuable periodicals, coincide with these testimonials.

Prices:—62 1-2 cts. single—$6 a dozen—$45 a hundred.

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A TREATISE

ON

BREAD AND BREAD-MAKING.

BY DR. GRAHAM.

There has been for some time a considerable demand for this work, and it will doubtless have a wide circulation among all classes of society.

Prices:—37 1-2 cts. single—$4 a dozen—$30 a hundred.

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MISCELLANEOUS WORKS.

We would call attention to the following valuable and interesting works, by popular writers:

THE BOSTON BOOK, for 1836 and 1837, being Specimens of Metropolitan Literature. Edited by H. T. TUCKERMAN, and B. B. THATCHER. Elegantly executed, and embellished by Vignettes of the Great Tree and Tri-Mountain.

THE ITALIAN SKETCH BOOK. By H. T. TUCKERMAN. Second edition—revised and enlarged, with a plate.

THE PARENT’S PRESENT. Edited by the author of Peter Parley’s Tales. A handsome present for youth; with cuts.

MOGG MEGONE—a Poem, descriptive of New England and its early inhabitants. By JOHN GREENLEAF WHITTIER. Pocket Edition.

BOSTON MECHANIC, and Journal of the Useful Arts and Sciences. The matter furnished by Practical Men. Valuable for mechanics and manufacturers; numerous Cuts.

SCIENTIFIC TRACTS, for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge. Complete in one volume. By B. B. Thatcher, Dr. Alcott, Dr. C. T. Jackson, Dr. Sylvester Graham, William Ladd, Lieut. R. Park, and others.

THE MORAL REFORMER, and Teacher on the Human Constitution. Edited by Dr. ALCOTT. This work contains a large quantity of matter on Health and Morals, as connected with the education of the Body. With cuts.

REMAINS OF MELVILLE B. COX, (Missionary to Africa,) with a MEMOIR. Published under the superintendence of his brother, GERSHOM F. COX. With a Portrait, and death-bed autograph.

SLAVERY AND THE DOMESTIC SLAVE-TRADE IN THE UNITED STATES. Letters addressed to the American Union for the Relief and Improvement of the Colored Race. By Prof. E. A. ANDREWS.

THE CARPENTER AND HIS FAMILY: ALSO, PRIDE SUBDUED. By the author of the “Black Velvet Bracelet,” &c. An excellent book for youth.

SKETCHES FROM SACRED HISTORY; containing the Story of the Moabitess—the Story of the Queen—and the Story of the Priest. A good book for youth.

MEMOIR OF WILLIAM WILBERFORCE. By THOMAS PRICE. Second American, from the London Edition. With an elegant Portrait, and an Appendix (not in the first edition.)

MEMOIR OF REV. S. OSGOOD WRIGHT, late Missionary to Liberia. By B. B. THATCHER. With a Portrait.

MEMOIR AND POEMS OF PHILLIS WHEATLEY. The Memoir written by a Relative of the Mistress of Phillis. The Poems from the best English Edition. With a Portrait.

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SCIENTIFIC & LITERARY JOURNAL

FOR THE

DIFFUSION OF USEFUL KNOWLEDGE.

_Semi-Monthly—$2 a Year, in advance._

This work is so well known (it being a continuation of the SCIENTIFIC TRACTS,) that recommendation is unnecessary. The first volume commenced January 1, this year. We believe all who want a scientific work which can be depended upon for its accuracy as well as general value, would be highly gratified with this periodical.

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N. B.—The most favorable terms will be offered to those who may wish to purchase any of the preceding works by the quantity, for gratuitous circulation or for any other purpose—and a liberal discount will be made for cash.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

FOOTNOTES.

Footnote A:

In this same manner the Sandwich Islanders cooked all their food, when
they were first discovered.

Footnote B:

An aged and very respectable member of the Society of Friends, in New
York, who had long been extensively engaged in the flour business in
that city, and who had always had his family bread made in his own
house, was one day asked by his daughter, why he never used the
baker’s bread:—“Because, my child,” replied he, “I know what it is
made of.”

Footnote C:

See Memoirs of Philadelphia Agricultural Society. Vol. I. p. 226.

TRANSCRIBER’S NOTE.

This eBook makes the following corrections to the printed text:

● Pg iv
○ sour milk or buttermilk
○ sour milk or butter-milk

● Pg 38
○ their bread stuff before it is ground
○ their bread-stuff before it is ground

● Pg 44
○ the well being of those who have been the consumers
○ the well-being of those who have been the consumers

● Pg 49
○ there are indviduals in every city
○ there are individuals in every city

● Pg 77
○ stir in good indian meal
○ stir in good Indian meal

● Pg 88
○ In order to this
○ In order to do this

● Pg 124
○ “Keep ... no bread with his dinner,
○ “Keep ... no bread with his dinner,”

● Pg 130
○ first the solution of muriatic or tartartic acid
○ first the solution of muriatic or tartaric acid

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○ MANUAL ON HEALTH AND ECOMOMY
○ MANUAL ON HEALTH AND ECONOMY

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○ SCIENTIFIC TRACTS

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A Treatise on Bread, and Bread-makingChapter III: Part 3

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