Chapter VI: Part 6

I cannot finish this Essay, without taking notice of a difficulty which frequently occur in giving employment to the Poor, that of disposing to advantage of the produce of their labour:--This is in all cases a very important object; and too much attention cannot be paid to it.--A spirit of industry cannot be kept up by making it advantageous to individuals to be industrious; but where the wages which the labourer has a right to expect are refused, it will not be possible to prevent his being discouraged and disgusted.--He may perhaps be forced for a certain time to work for small wages, to prevent starving, if he has not the resource of throwing himself upon the parish, which he most probably would prefer doing, should it be in his option; but he will infallibly conceive such a thorough dislike to labour, that he will become idle and vicious, and a permanent and heavy burden on the public.

If "a labourer is worthy of his hire," he is peculiarly so, where that labourer is a poor person, who, with all his exertions, can barely procure the first necessaries of life; and whose hard lot renders him an object of pity and compassion.

The deplorable situation of a poor family, struggling with poverty and want,--deprived of all the comforts and conveniences of life--deprived even of hope; and suffering at the same time from hunger, disease, and mortifying and cruel disappointment, is seldom considered with that attention which it deserves, by those who have never felt these distresses, and who are not in danger of being exposed to them. My reader must pardon me, if I frequently recall his attention to these scenes of misery and wretchedness. He must be made acquainted with the real situation of the Poor--with the extent and magnitude of their misfortunes and sufferings, before it can be expected that he should enter warmly into measures calculated for their relief. In forming Establishments, public or private, for giving employment to the Poor, it will always be indispensably necessary to make such arrangements as will secure to them a fair price for all the labour they perform. They should not be OVER-PAID, for that would be opening a door for abuse;--but they ought to be generously paid for their work; and, above all, they ought never to be allowed to be idle for the want of employment. The kind of employment it may be proper to give them will depend much on local circumstances. It will depend on the habits of the Poor;-- the kinds of work they are acquainted with;--and the facility with which the articles they can manufacture may be disposed of at a good price.

In very extensive Establishments, there will be little difficulty in finding useful employment for the Poor; for where the number of persons to be employed is very great, a great variety of different manufactures may be carried on with advantage, and all the articles manufactured, or prepared to be employed in the manufactures, may be turned to a good account.

In a small Establishment, circumscribed and confined to the limits of a single village or parish, it might perhaps be difficult to find a good market for the yarn spun by the Poor; but in a general Establishment, extending over a whole country, or large city, as the quantity of yarn spun by all the Poor within the extensive limits of the institution will be sufficient to employ constantly a number of weavers of different kinds of cloth and stuff, the market for all the various kinds of yarn the Poor may spin will always be certain. The same reasoning will hold with regard to various other articles used in great manufactories, upon which the Poor might be very usefully employed; and hence the great advantage of making Establishments for giving employment to the Poor as extensive as possible. It is what I have often insisted on, and what I cannot too strongly recommend to all those who engage in forming such Establishments.

Although I certainly should not propose to BRING TOGETHER, under one roof, all the Poor of a whole kingdom, as, by the inscription over the entrance into a vast hospital began, but not finished, at Naples, it would appear was once the intention of the government in that country; yet I am clearly of opinion that an institution for GIVING EMPLOYMENT TO THE POOR can hardly be too extensive.

But to return to the subject to which this Chapter was more particularly appropriated, the relief that may be afforded by private individuals to the Poor in their neighbourhood; in case it should not be possible to get over all the difficulties that may be in the way to prevent the forming of a general Establishment for the benefit of the Poor, individuals must content themselves with making such private arrangements for that purpose as they may be able, WITH SUCH ASSISTANCE AS THEY CAN COMMAND, to carry into execution.

The most simple, and least expensive measure that can be adopted for the assistance of the Poor will be that of furnishing them with raw materials for working. Flax, hemp, or wool, for instance, for spinning; and paying them in money, at the market price, for the yarn spun. This yarn may afterwards be sent to weavers to be manufactured into cloth, or may be sent to some good market and sold. The details of these mercantile transactions will be neither complicated nor troublesome, and might easily be managed by a steward of house-keeper; particularly if the printed tickets, and tables, I have so often had occasion to recommend, are used.

The flax, hemp, or wool, as soon as it is purchased, should be weighed out into bundles of one or two pounds each, and lodged in a store-room; and when one of these bundles is delivered out to a poor person to be spun, it should be accompanied with a printed spin-ticket, and entered in a table to be kept for that purpose; and when it is returned spun, an abstract of the spin-ticket itself, should be bound up with the bundle of yarn, in order that any frauds committed by the spinner, in reeling, or in any other way, which may be discovered upon winding off the yarn, may be brought home to the person who committed them. When it is known that such effectual precautions to detect frauds are used, no farther attempts will be made to defraud; and a most important point indeed will be gained, and one which will most powerfully tend to mend the morals of the Poor, and restore peace to their minds. When, by rendering it evidently impossible for them to escape detection, they are brought to give up all thoughts of cheating and deceiving; they will then be capable of application, and of enjoying real happiness, and, with open and placid countenances, will look every one full in the face who accosts them: but as long as they are under the influence of temptation --as long as their minds are degraded by conscious guilt, and continually agitated by schemes of prosecuting their fraudulent practices, they are as incapable of enjoying peace or contentment, as they are of being useful members of society.

Hence the extreme cruelty of an ill-judged appearance of confidence, or careless neglect of precautions, in regard to those employed in places of trust, who may be exposed to temptations to defraud.

That prayer, which cannot be enough admired, or too often repeated, "LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION," was certainly dictated by infinite wisdom and goodness; and it should ever be borne in mind by those who are placed in stations of power and authority, and whose measures must necessarily have much influence on the happiness or misery of great numbers of people.

Honest men may be found in all countries; but I am sorry to say, that the result of all my experience and observation has tended invariably to prove, (what has often been remarked,) that it is extremely difficult to KEEP THOSE HONEST who are exposed to continual and great temptations.

There is, however, one most effectual way, not only of keeping those honest who are so already, but also of making those honest who are not so; and that is, by taking such precautions as will render it EVIDENTLY impossible for those who commit frauds to escape detection and punishment: and these precautions are never impossible, and seldom difficult; and with a little address, they may always be so taken as to be in nowise offensive to those who are the objects of them.

It is evident that the maxims and measures here recommended are not applicable merely to the Poor, but also, and more especially, to those who may be employed in the details of relieving them.

But to return once more to the subject more immediately under consideration.--If individuals should extend their liberality so far as to establish public kitchens for feeding the Poor, (which is a measure I cannot too often, or too forcibly recommend,) it would be a great pity not to go one easy step further, and fit up a few rooms adjoining to the kitchen, where the Poor may be permitted to assemble to work for their own emoluments, and where schools for instructing the children of the Poor in working, and in reading and writing, may be established. Neither the fitting up, or warming and lighting of these rooms, will be attended with any considerable expense; while the advantages which will be derived from such an Establishment for encouraging industry, and contributing to the comfort of the Poor, will be most important; and from their peculiar nature, and tendency, will be most highly interesting to every benevolent mind.

END OF ESSAY TWO.

Footnotes for Essay II.

[1] This English Reader is desired to bear in mind, that the Author of this Essay, though an Englishman, is resident in Germany; and that his connections with that country render it necessary for him to pay particular attention to its circumstances, in treating a subject which he is desirous of rendering generally useful. These is still another reason, which renders it necessary for him to have continually in view, in the Treatise, the situation of the Poor upon the Continent, and that it is an engagement which he has laid himself under to write upon that subject.

[2] The only step which, in my opinion, it would be either, necessary, or prudent, for the legislature to take in any country where an Establishment for the Poor is to be formed, is to RECOMMEND to the Public a good plan for such an Establishment, and repeal, or alter all such of the existing laws as might render the introduction of it difficult or impossible.

[3] This is an object of the utmost importance, and the success of the undertaking will depend in a great measure on the attention that is paid to it.

[4] This measure has been followed by the most salutary effects at Munich. The commissaries of districts flattered by this distinction have exerted themselves with uncommon zeal and assiduity in the discharge of the important duties of their office. And very important indeed is the office of a commissary of a district in the Establishment for the Poor at Munich.

[5] It will be best, if it be possible, to mention and describe the place, in the Proposals.

CONTENTS of ESSAY III.

of FOOD and particularly of FEEDING the POOR

Introduction.

CHAPTER. I. Great importance of the subject under consideration. Probability that water acts a much more important part in nutrition than has hitherto been generally imagined. Surprisingly small quantity of solid food necessary, when properly prepared, for all the purposes of nutrition. Great importance of the art of cookery. Barley remarkably nutritive when properly prepared. The importance of culinary processes for preparing food shown from the known utility of a practice common in some parts of Germany of cooking for cattle. Difficulty of introducing a charge of cookery into common use. Means that may be employed for that purpose.

CHAPTER. II. Of the pleasure of eating, and of the means that may be employed for increasing it.

CHAPTER. III.
Of the different kinds of food furnished to the poor in the
house of industry at Munich, with an account of the cost of them.
Of the Expense of providing the same kinds of food in Great
Britain, as well at the present high prices of provisions,
as at the ordinary prices of them.
Of the various improvements of which these different kinds of
cheap food are capable.

CHAPTER. IV. Of the small expense at which the Bavarian soldiers are fed. Details of their housekeeping, founded on actual experiment. An account of the fuel expended by them in cooking.

CHAPTER. V. Of the great importance of making soldiers eat together in regular messes. The influence of such economical arrangements extends even to the moral character of those who are the objects of them. Of the expence of feeding soldiers in messes. Of the surprising smallness of the expence of feeding the poor at Munich. Specific proposals respecting the feeding of the poor in Great Britain, with calculations of the expense, at the present prices of provisions.

CHAPTER. VI. Of INDIAN CORN. It affords the cheapest and most nourishing food known. Proofs that it is more nourishing than rice. Different ways of preparing or cooking it. Computation of the expense of feeding a person with it, founded on experiment. Approved Receipt for making an INDIAN PUDDING.

CHAPTER. VII.
Receipts for preparing various Kinds of cheap Food.
Of MACCARONI.
Of POTATOES.
Approved receipts for boiling potatoes.
Of potatoe puddings.
Of potatoe dumplings.
Of boiled potatoes with a sauce.
Of potatoe salad.
Of BARLEY
Is much more nutritious than wheat.
Barley meal, a good substitute for pearl barley, for making
soups.
General directions for preparing cheap soups.
Receipt for the cheapest soup that can be made.
Of SAMP
Method of preparing it
Is an excellent Substitute for Bread.
Of brown Soup.
Of RYE BREAD.

ESSAY III.

INTRODUCTION.

It is a common saying, that necessity is the mother of invention; and nothing is more strictly or more generally true. It may even be shown, that most of the successive improvements in the affairs of men in a state of civil society, of which we have any authentic records, have been made under the pressure of necessity; and it is no small consolation, in times of general alarm, to reflect upon the probability that, upon such occasions, useful discoveries will result from the united exertions of those who, either from motives of fear, or sentiments of benevolence, labour to avert the impending evil.

The alarm in this country at the present period[1], on account of the high price of corn, and the danger of a scarcity, has turned the attention of the Public to a very important subject, THE INVESTIGATION OF THE SCIENCE OF NUTRITION;--a subject so curious in itself, and so highly interesting to mankind, that it seems truly astonishing it should have been so long neglected:-- but in the manner in which it is now taken up, both by the House of Commons, and the Board of Agriculture, there is great reason to hope that it will receive a thorough scientific examination; and if this should be the case, I will venture to predict, that the important discoveries, and improvements, which must result from these enquiries, will render the alarms which gave rise to them for ever famous in the annals of civil society.

CHAPTER. I.

Great importance of the subject under consideration. Probability that water acts a much more important part in nutrition than has hitherto been generally imagined. Surprisingly small quantity of solid food necessary, when properly prepared, for all the purposes of nutrition. Great importance of the art of cookery. Barley remarkably nutritive when properly prepared. The importance of culinary processes for preparing food shown from the known utility of a practice common in some parts of Germany of cooking for cattle. Difficulty of introducing a charge of cookery into common use. Means that may be employed for that purpose.

There is, perhaps, no operation of Nature, which falls under the cognizance of our senses, more surprising, or more curious, than the nourishment and growth of plants, and animals; and there is certainly no subject of investigation more interesting to mankind.--As providing subsistence is, and ever must be, an object of the first concern in all countries, any discovery or improvement by which the procuring of good and wholesome food can be facilitated, must contribute very powerfully to increase the comforts, and promote the happiness of society.

That our knowledge in regard to the science of nutrition is still very imperfect, is certain; but, I think there is reason to believe, that we are upon the eve of some very important discoveries relative to that mysterious operation.

Since it has been known that Water is not a simple element, but a COMPOUND, and capable of being decomposed, much light has been thrown upon many operations of nature which formerly were wrapped up in obscurity. In vegetation, for instance, it has been rendered extremely probable, that water acts a much more important part than was formerly assigned to it by philosophers. --That it serves not merely as the VEHICLE of nourishment, but constitutes at least one part, and probably an essential part, of the FOOD of plants.--That it is decomposed by them, and contributes MATERIALLY to their growth;--and that manures serve rather to prepare the water for decomposition, than to form of themselves--substantially, and directly--the nourishment of the vegetables.

Now, a very clear analogy may be traced, between the vegetation and growth of plants, and the digestion and nourishment of animals; and as water is indispensably necessary in both processes, and as in one of them, (vegetation,) it appears evidently to serve as FOOD;--why should we not suppose it may serve as food in the other?--There is, in my opinion, abundant reason to suspect that this is really the case; and I shall now briefly state the grounds upon which this opinion is founded.-- Having been engaged for a considerable length of time in providing Food for the Poor at Munich, I was naturally led, as well by curiosity as motives of economy, to make a great variety of experiments upon that subject; and I had not proceeded far in my operations, before I began to perceive that they were very important;--even much more so than I had imagined.

The difference in the apparent goodness, of the palatableness, and apparent nutritiousness of the same kinds of Food, when prepared of cooked in different ways, struck me very forcibly; and I constantly found that the richness or QUALITY of a soup depended more upon a proper choice of the ingredients, and a proper management of the fire in the combination of those ingredients, than upon the quantity of solid nutritious matter employed;--much more upon the art and skill of the cook, than upon the amount of the sums laid out in the market.

I found likewise, that the nutritious of a soup, or its power of satisfying hunger, and affording nourishment, appeared always to be in proportion to its apparent richness or palatableness.

But what surprised me not a little, was the discovery of the very small quantity of SOLID FOOD, which, when properly prepared, will suffice to satisfy hunger, and support life and health; and the very trifling expence at which the stoutest, and most laborious man may, in any country, be fed.

After an experiment of more than five years in feeding the Poor at Munich during which time every experiment was made that could be devised, not only with regard to the choice of the articles used as Food, but also in respect to their different combinations and proportions; and to the various ways in which they could be prepared or cooked; it was found that the CHEAPEST, most SAVOURY, and most NOURISHING Food that could be provided, was a soup composed of PEARL BARLEY, PEASE, POTATOES, CUTTINGS OF FINE WHEATEN BREAD, vinegar--salt and water in certain proportions.

The method of preparing this soup is as follows; The water and the pearl barley are first put together into the boiler and made to boil; the pease are then added, and the boiling is continued over a gentle fire about two hours;--the potatoes are then added, (having been previously peeled with a knife, or having been boiled, in order to their being more easily deprived of their skins,) and the boiling is continued for about one hour more, during which time the contents of the boiler are frequently stirred about with a large wooden spoon, or ladle, in order to destroy the texture of the potatoes, and to reduce the soup to one uniform mass.--When this is done, the vinegar and the salt are added; and last of all, at the moment it is to be served up, the cuttings of bread.

The soup should never be suffered to boil, or even to stand long before it is served up after the cuttings of bread are put into it. It will, indeed, for reasons which will hereafter be explained, be best never to put the cuttings of bread into the boiler at all, but, (as is always done at Munich,) to put them into the tubs in which the soup is carried from the kitchen into the dining-hall; pouring the soup hot from the boiler upon them; and stirring the whole well together with the iron ladles used for measuring out the soup to the Poor in the hall.

It is of more importance than can well be imagined, that this bread which is mixed with the soup should not be boiled. It is likewise of use that it should be cut as fine or thin as possible; and if it be dry and hard, it will be so much the better.

The bread we use at Munich is what is called semel bread, being small loaves, weighing from two to three ounces; and as we receive this bread in donations from the bakers, it is commonly dry and hard, being that which, not being sold in time, remains on hand, and becomes stale and unsaleable; and we have found by experience, that this hard and stale bread answers for our purpose much better than any other, for it renders mastication necessary; and mastication seems very powerfully to assist in promoting digestion: it likewise PROLONGS THE DURATION OF THE ENJOYMENT OF EATING, a matter of very great importance indeed, and which has not hitherto been sufficiently attended to.

The quantity of this soup furnished to each person, at each meal, or one portion of it, (the cuttings of bread included,) is just ONE BAVARIAN POUND in weight; and as the Bavarian pound is to the pound Avoirdupois as 1,123842 to 1, --it is equal to about nineteen ounces and nine-tenths Avoirdupois. Now, to those who know that a full pint of soup weighs no more than about sixteen ounces Avoirdupois, it will not, perhaps, at the first view, appear very extraordinary that a portion weighing near twenty ounces, and consequently making near ONE PINT AND A QUARTER of this rich, strong, savoury soup, should be found sufficient to satisfy the hunger of a grown person; but when the matter is examined narrowly, and properly analyzed, and it is found that the whole quantity of SOLID FOOD which enters into the composition of one of these portions of soup, does not amount to quite SIX OUNCES, it will then appear to be almost impossible that this allowance should be sufficient.

That it is quite sufficient, however, to make a good meal for a strong healthy person, has been abundantly proved by long experience. I have even found that a soup composed of nearly the same ingredients, except the potatoes, but in different proportions, was sufficiently nutritive, and very palatable, in which only about FOUR OUNCES AND THREE QUARTERS of solid Food entered into the composition of a portion weighing twenty ounces.

But this will not appear incredible to those who know, that one single spoonful of salope, weighing less than one quarter of an ounce, put into a pint of boiling water, forms the thickest and most nourishing soup that can be taken; and that the quantity of solid matter which enters into the composition of another very nutritive Food, hartshorn jelly, is not much more considerable.

The barley in my soup, seems to act much the same part as the salope in this famous restorative; and no substitute that I could ever find for it, among all the variety of corn and pulse of the growth of Europe, ever produced half the effect; that is to say, half the nourishment at the same expence. Barley may therefore be considered as the rice of Great Britain.

It requires, it is true, a great deal of boiling; but when it is properly managed, it thickens a vast quantity of water; and, as I suppose, PREPARES IT FOR DECOMPOSITION. It also gives the soup into which it enters as an ingredient, a degree of richness which nothing else can give. It has little or no taste in itself, but when mixed with other ingredients which are savoury, it renders them peculiarly grateful to the palate[2].

It is a maxim, as ancient, I believe, as the time of Hippocrates, that "whatever pleases the palate nourishes;" and I have often had reason to think it perfectly just. Could it be clearly ascertained and demonstrated, it would tend to place COOKERY in a much more respectable situation among the arts than it now holds.

That the manner in which Food is prepared is a matter of real importance; and that the water used in that process acts a much more important part than has hitherto been generally imagined, is, I think, quite evident; for, it seems to me to be impossible, upon any other suppositions, to account for the appearances. If the very small quantity of solid Food which enters into the composition of a portion of some very nutritive soup were to be prepared differently, and taken under some other form, that of bread, for instance; so far from being sufficient to satisfy hunger, and afford a comfortable and nutritive meal, a person would absolutely starve upon such a slender allowance; and no great relief would be derived from drinking CRUDE water to fill up the void in the stomach.

But it is not merely from an observation of the apparent effects of cookery upon those articles which are used as Food for man, that we are led to discover the importance of these culinary processes. Their utility is proved in a manner equally conclusive and satisfactory, by the efforts which have been produced by employing the same process in preparing Food for brute animals.

It is well known, that boiling the potatoes with which hogs are fed, renders them much more nutritive; and since the introduction of the new system of feeding horned cattle, that of keeping them confined in the stables all the year round, (a method which is now coming fast into common use in many parts of Germany,) great improvements have been made in the art of providing nourishment for those animals; and particularly by preparing their Food, by operations similar to those of cookery; and to these improvements it is most probably owing, that stall feeding has, in that country, been so universally successful.

It has long been a practice in Germany for those who fatten bullocks for the butcher, or feed milch-cows, to give them frequently what is called a drank or drink; which is a kind of pottage, prepared differently in different parts of the country, and in the different seasons, according to the greater facility with which one or other of the articles occasionally employed in the composition of it may be procured; and according to the particular fancies of individuals. Many feeders make a great secret of the composition of their drinks, and some have, to my knowledge, carried their refinement so far as actually to mix brandy in them, in small quantities; and pretend to have found their advantage in adding this costly ingredient.

The articles most commonly used are, bran, oatmeal, brewers grains, mashed potatoes, mashed turnips, rye meal, and barley meal, with a large proportion of water; sometimes two or three or more of these articles are united in forming a drink; and of whatever ingredients the drink is composed, a large proportion of salt is always added to it.

There is, perhaps, nothing new in this method of feeding cattle with liquid mixtures, but the manner in which these drinks are now prepared in Germany is, I believe, quite new; and shows what I wish to prove, that COOKING RENDERS FOOD REALLY MORE NUTRITIVE.

These drinks were formerly given cold, but it was afterwards discovered that they were more nourishing when given warm; and of late their preparation is, in many places, become a very regular culinary process. Kitchens have been built, and large boilers provided and fitted up, merely for cooking for the cattle in the stables; and I have been assured by many very intelligent farmers, who have adopted this new mode of feeding, (and have also found by my own experience,) that it is very advantageous indeed; that the drinks are evidently rendered much more nourishing and wholesome by being boiled; and that the expence of fuel, and the trouble attending this process, are amply compensated by the advantages derived from the improvement of the Food. We even find it advantageous to continue the boiling a considerable time, two or three hours, for instance; as the Food goes on to be still farther improved, the longer the boiling is continued[3].

These facts seem evidently to show, that there is some very important secret with regard to nutrition, which has not been yet properly investigated; and it seems to me to be more probable, that the numbers of inhabitants who may be supported in any country, upon its internal produce, depends almost as much upon the state of THE ART OF COOKERY, as upon that of agriculture. --The Chinese, perhaps, understand both these arts better than any other nation.--Savages understand neither of them.

But, if cookery be of so much importance, it certainly deserves to be studied with the greatest care; and it ought particularly to be attended to in times of general alarm on account of a scarcity of provisions; for the relief which may in such cases be derived from it, is immediate and effectual, while all other resources are distant and uncertain.

I am aware of the difficulties which always attend the introduction of measures calculated to produce and remarkable change in the customs and habits of mankind; and there is perhaps no change more difficult to effect, than that which would be necessary in order to make any considerable saving in the consumption of those articles commonly used as Food; but still, I am of opinion, that such a change might, with proper management, be brought about.

There was a time, no doubt, when an aversion to potatoes was as general, and as strong, in Great Britain, and even in Ireland, as it is now in some parts of Bavaria; but this prejudice has been got over; and I am persuaded, that any national prejudice, however deeply rooted, may be overcome, provided proper means be used for that purpose, and time allowed for their operation.

But notwithstanding the difficulty of introducing a general use of soups throughout the country, or of any other kind of Food, however palatable, cheap, and nourishing, to which people have not been accustomed, yet these improvements might certainly be made, with great facility, in all public hospitals and work-houses, where the Poor are fed at the public expense; and the saving of provisions, (not to mention the diminution of expence,) which might be derived from this improvement, would be very important at all times, and more especially in times of general scarcity.

Another measure, still more important, and which might, I am persuaded, be easily carried into execution, is the establishment of public kitchens in all towns, and large villages, throughout the kingdom, whence, not only the Poor might be fed gratis, but also all the industrious inhabitants of the neighbourhood might be furnished with Food at so cheap a rate, as to be a very great relief to them at all times; and in times of general scarcity, this arrangement would alone be sufficient to prevent those public and private calamities, which never fail to accompany that most dreadful of all visitations, a famine.

The saving of Food that would result from feeding a large proportion of the inhabitants of any country from public kitchens, would be immense, and that saving would tend, immediately, and most powerfully, to render provisions more plentiful and cheap,--diminish the general alarm on account of the danger of a scarcity, and prevent the hoarding up of provisions by individuals, which is often alone sufficient, without any thing else, to bring on a famine, even where there is no real scarcity: for it is not merely the FEARS of individuals which operate in these cases, and induce them to lay in a larger store of provisions than they otherwise would do; and which naturally increases the scarcity of provisions in the market, and raises their prices; but there are persons who are so lost to all the feelings of humanity, as often to speculate upon the distress of the Public, and all THEIR operations effectually tend to increase the scarcity in the markets, and augment the general alarm.

But without enlarging farther in this place upon these public kitchens, and the numerous and important advantages which may in all countries be derived from them, I shall return to the interesting subjects which I have undertaken to investigate;-- the science of nutrition, and the art of providing wholesome and palatable Food at a small expence.

CHAPTER. II.

Of the Pleasure of Eating, and of the Means that may be
employed for increasing it.

What has already been said upon this subject will, I flatter myself, be thought sufficient to show that, FOR ALL THE PURPOSES OF NOURISHMENT, a much smaller quantity of solid Food will suffice than has hitherto been thought necessary; but there is another circumstance to be taken into the account, and that is, the PLEASURE OF EATING;--an enjoyment of which no person will consent to be deprived.

The pleasure enjoyed in eating depends first upon the agreeableness of the taste of the Food; and secondly, upon its power to affect the palate. Now there are many substances extremely cheap, by which very agreeable tastes may be given to Food; particularly when the basis or nutritive substance of the Food is tasteless; and the effect of any kind of palatable solid Food, (of meat, for instance,) upon the organs of taste, may be increased, almost indefinitely, by reducing the size of the particles of such Food, and causing it to act upon the palate by a larger surface. And if means be used to prevent its being swallowed too soon, which may be easily done by mixing with it some hard and tasteless substance, such as crumbs of bread rendered hard by toasting, or any thing else of that kind, by which a long mastrication is rendered necessary, the enjoyment of eating may be greatly increased and prolonged.

The idea of occupying a person a great while, and affording him much pleasure at the same time, in eating a small quantity of Food, may, perhaps, appear ridiculous to some; but those who consider the matter attentively, will perceive that it is very important. It is, perhaps, as much so as any thing that can employ the attention of the philosopher.

The enjoyments which fall to the lot of the bulk of mankind are not so numerous as to render an attempt to increase them superfluous. And even in regard to those who have it in their power to gratify their appetites to the utmost extent of their wishes, it is surely rendering them a very importance service to show them how they may increase their pleasures without destroying their health.

If a glutton can be made to gormandize two hours upon two ounces of meat, it is certainly much better for him, than to give himself an indigestion by eating two pounds in the same time.

I was led to meditate upon this subject by mere accident. I had long been at a loss to understand how the Bavarian soldiers, who are uncommonly stout, strong, and healthy men, and who, in common with all other Germans, are remarkably fond of eating, could contrive to live upon the very small sums they expended for Food; but a more careful examination of the economy of their tables cleared up the point, and let me into a secret which awakened all my curiosity. These soldiers, instead of being starved upon their scanty allowance, as might have been suspected, I found actually living in a most comfortable and even luxurious manner. I found that they had contrived not only to render their Food savoury and nourishing, but, what appeared to me still more extraordinary, had found the means of increasing its action upon the organs of taste so as actually to augment, and even prolong to a most surprising degree, the enjoyment of eating.

This accidental discovery made a deep impression upon my mind, and gave a new turn to all my ideas on the subject of Food.-- It opened to me a new and very interesting field for investigation and experimenting inquiry, of which I had never before had a distinct view; and thenceforward my diligence in making experiments, and in collecting information relative to the manner in which Food is prepared in different countries, was redoubled.

In the following Chapter may be seen the general results of all my experiments and inquiries relative to this subject.--A desire to render this account as concise and short as possible has induced me to omit much interesting speculation which the subject naturally suggested; but the ingenuity of the reader will supply this defect, and enable him to discover the objects particularly aimed at in the experiments, even where they are not mentioned, and to compare the results of practice with the assumed theory.

CHAPTER. III.

Of the different kinds of food furnished to the poor in the
house of industry at Munich, with an account of the cost of them.
Of the Expense of providing the same kinds of food in Great
Britain, as well at the present high prices of provisions,
as at the ordinary prices of them.
Of the various improvements of which these different kinds of
cheap food are capable.

Before the introduction of potatoes as Food in the House of Industry at Munich, (which was not done till last August,) the Poor were fed with a soup composed in the following manner:

SOUP No I. Weight Cost in Ingredients Avoirdupois sterling money. lb. oz. L. s. d. 4 viertls[4] of pearl barley, equal to about 20 1/3 gallons ... ... ... 141 2 0 11 7 1/2 4 viertls of peas ... ... ... ... 131 4 0 7 3 1/4 Cuttings of fine wheaten bread ... 69 10 0 10 2 1/4 Salt ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 19 13 0 1 2 1/2 24 maass, very weak beer--vinegar, or rather small beer turned sour, about 24 quarts ... ... ... ... ... ... 46 13 0 1 5 1/2 Water, about 560 quarts ... ... ... 1077 0 -------- ------------- 1485 10 1 11 8 13/22

Brought over 1 11 8 13/22 Fuel, 88lb. of dry pine wood, the Bavarian clafter, (weighing 3961 lb. avoirdupois,) at 8s. 2 1/4d. sterling[5] ... ... ... ... ... 0 0 2 1/4 Wages of three cook-maids, at twenty florins (37s. 7 1/2d.) a year, makes daily ... ... ... 0 0 3 2/3 Daily expence for feeding the three cook-maids, at ten creutzers (3 2/3 pence sterling) each, according to an agreement made with them ... ... 0 0 11 Daily wages of two men servants, employed in going to market--collecting donations of bread, etc. helping in the kitchen, and assisting in serving out the soup to the Poor ... ... ... 0 1 7 1/4 Repairs of the kitchen, and of the kitchen furniture, about 90 florins (8L. 3s. 7d. sterling) a year, makes daily ... ... ... ... ... ... 0 0 5 1/2 ------------- Total daily expense, when dinner is provided for 1200 persons ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 1 15 2 1/4

This sum (1L. 15s. 2 1/4d.) divided by 1200, the number of portions of soup furnished, gives for each portion a mere trifle more than ONE THIRD OF A PENNY, or exactly 422/1200 of a penny; the weight of each portion being about 20 ounces.

But, moderate as these expenses are, which have attended the feeding of the Poor of Munich, they have lately been reduced still farther by introducing the use of potatoes.--These most valuable vegetables were hardly known in Bavaria till very lately; and so strong was the aversion of the public, and particularly of the Poor, against them, at the time when we began to make use of them in the public kitchen of the House of Industry in Munich, that we were absolutely obliged, at first, to introduce them by stealth.--A private room in a retired corner was fitted up as a kitchen for cooking them; and it was necessary to disguise them, by boiling them down entirely, and destroying their form and texture, to prevent their being detected:--but the Poor soon found that their soup was improved in its qualities; and they testified their approbation of the change that had been made in it so generally and loudly, that it was at last thought to be no longer necessary to conceal from them the secret of its composition, and they are now grown so fond of potatoes that they would not easily be satisfied without them.

The employing of potatoes as an ingredient in the soup has enabled us to make a considerable saving in the other more costly materials, as may be seen by comparing the following receipt with that already given.

SOUP, No II.

Ingredients. Weight Cost in Avoirdupois. sterling money. lb. oz. L. s. d. 2 viertls of pearl barley ... ... 70 9 0 5 9 13/22 2 viertls of peas ... ... ... 65 10 0 3 7 5/8 8 viertls of potatoes ... ... 230 4 0 1 9 9/11 Cuttings of bread ... ... ... 69 10 0 10 2 4/11 Salt ... ... ... ... ... ... 19 13 0 1 2 1/2 Vinegar ... ... ... ... ... 46 13 0 1 5 1/2 Water ... ... ... ... ... ... 982 15 --------- Total weight 1485 10 Expenses for fuel, servants, repairs, etc. as before ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 0 3 5 5/12 -------------- Total daily expence, when dinner is provided for 1200 persons ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 1 7 6 2/3

This sum (1L. 7s. 6 2/3.) divided by 1200, the number of portions of soup, gives for each portion ONE FARTHING very nearly; or accurately, 1 1/40 farthing.

The quantity of each of the ingredients contained in one portion of soup is as follows:

In avoirdupois weight.
Ingredients. Soup, No I. Soup, No II.

Of pearl barley 1 1058/1200 0 1129/1200 Of peas ... ... 1 960/1200 0 1050/1200 Of potatoes ... ------ 3 84/1200 Of bread ... ... 0 1114/1200 0 1114/1200 ----------- -------------- Total solids 4 772/1200 5 977/1200 Of salt ... ... 0 316/1200 0 316/1200 Of weak vinegar 0 748/1200 0 748/1200 Of water ... ... 14 432/1200 13 127/1200 ----------- -------------- Total 19 968/1200 19 968/1200

The expence of preparing these soups will vary with the prices of the articles of which they are composed; but as the quantities of the ingredients, determined by weight, are here given, it will be easy to ascertain exactly what they will cost in any case whatever.

Suppose, for instance, it were required to determine how much 1200 portions of the Soup, No. I. would cost in London at this present moment, (the 12th of November 1795,) when all kinds of provisions are uncommonly dear. I see by a printed report of the Board of Agriculture, of the day before yesterday (November 10), that the prices of the articles necessary for preparing these soups were as follows:

Barley, per bushel weighing 46lb. at 5s. 6d. which gives for each pound about 1 1/2d; but prepared as pearl barley, it will cost at least two pence per pound[6].

Boiling peas per bushel, weighing 61 1/4lb. (at 10s.) which gives for each pound nearly 1 1/2d.

Potatoes, per bushel, weighing 58 1/2lb. at 2s. 6d. which gives nearly one halfpenny for each pound.

And I find that a quartern loaf of wheaten bread, weighing 4lb. 5oz. costs now in London 1s. 0 1/4d.;--this bread must therefore be reckoned at 11 25/69 farthings per pound.

Salt costs 1 1/2. per pound; and vinegar (which is probably six times as strong as that stuff called vinegar which is used in the kitchen of the House of Industry at Munich) costs 1s. 8d. per gallon.

This being premised, the computations may be made as follows:

Expence of preparing in London, in the month of November 1795, 1200 portions of the Soup, No I.

lb oz s d L. s. d. 141 2 pearl barley, at 0 2 per lb. 1 12 6 131 4 peas, at 0 1 1/2 ------ 0 16 4 69 10 wheaten bread, at 0 11 25/99 ------ 0 16 6 19 13 salt, at 0 1 1/2 ------ 0 2 5 1/2 Vinegar, one gallon, at 1 8 ------ 0 1 8 Expences for fuel, servants, kitchen furniture, etc. reckoning three times as much as those articles of expence amount to daily at Munich ... ... ... ... ... 0 10 4 1/4 ------------- Total 3 9 9 1/4

Which sum (3L. 9s. 9 1/4d.) divided by 1200, the number of portions of soup, gives 2 951/1200 farthings, or nearly 2 3/4 farthings for each portion.

For the Soup, No II. it will be, lb. oz. s. d. L. s. d. 70 9 pearl barley, at 0 2 ------ 0 11 9 65 10 peas, at 0 1 1/2 ------ 0 8 2 230 4 potatoes, at 0 0 1/2 ------ 0 13 9 69 10 bread, at 0 11 25/65 ------ 0 16 6 19 13 salt, at 0 1 1/2 ------ 0 2 5 1/2 Vinegar, one gallon ------ 0 1 8 Expenses for fuel, servants, etc. ------ 0 10 4 1/4 ------------- Total 3 4 7 3/4

This sum (3L. 4s. 7 3/4d.) divided by 1200, the number of portions, gives for each 2 1/2 farthings very nearly.

This soup comes much higher here in London, than it would do in most other parts of Great Britain, on account of the very high price of potatoes in this city; but in most parts of the kingdom, and certainly in every part of Ireland, it may be furnished, even at this present moment, notwithstanding the uncommonly high prices of provisions, at less than ONE HALFPENNY the portion of 20 ounces.

Though the object most attended to in composing these soups was to render them wholesome and nourishing, yet they are very far from being unpalatable.--The basis of the soups, which is water prepared and thickened by barley, is well calculated to receive, and to convey to the palate in an agreeable manner, every thing that is savoury in the other ingredients; and the dry bread rendering mastication necessary, prolongs the action of the Food upon the organs of taste, and by that means increases and PROLONGS the enjoyment of eating.

But though these soups are very good and nourishing, yet they certainly are capable of a variety of improvements.--The most obvious means of improving them is to mix with them a small quantity of salted meat, boiled, and cut into very small pieces, (the smaller the better,) and to fry the bread that is put into them in butter, or in the fat of salted pork or bacon.

The bread, by being fried, is not only rendered much harder, but being impregnated with a fat or oily substance it remains hard after it is put into the soup, the water not being able to penetrate it and soften it.

All good cooks put fried bread, cut into small square pieces, in peas-soup; but I much doubt whether they are aware of the very great importance of that practice, or that they have any just idea of the MANNER in which the bread improves the soup.

The best kind of meat for mixing with these soups is salted pork, or bacon, or smoked beef.

Whatever meat is used, it ought to be boiled either in clear water or in the soup; and after it is boiled, it ought to be cut into very small pieces, as small perhaps, as barley-corns.--The bread may be cut in pieces of the size of large peas, or in thin slices; and after it is fried, it may be mixed with the meat and put into the soup-dishes, and the soup poured on them when it is served out.

Another method of improving this soup is to mix it with small dumplins, or meat-balls, made of bread, flour, and smoked beef, ham, or any other kind of salted meat, or of liver cut into small pieces, or rather MINCED, as it is called.--These dumplins may be boiled either in the soup or in clear water, and put into the soup when it is served out.

As the meat in these compositions is designed rather to please the palate than for any thing else, the soup being sufficiently nourishing without it, it is or much importance that it be reduced to very small pieces, in order that it be brought into contract with the organs of taste by a large surface; and that it be mixed with some hard substance, (fried bread, for instance, crumbs, or hard dumplins,) which will necessarily prolong the time employed in mastication.

When this is done, and where the meat employed has much flavour, a very small quantity of it will be found sufficient to answer the purpose required.

ONE OUNCE of bacon, or of smoked beef, and ONE OUNCE of fried bread, added to EIGHTEEN OUNCES of the Soup No. I. would afford an excellent meal, in which the taste of animal food would decidedly predominate.

Dried salt fish, or smoked fish, boiled and then minced, and made into dumplins with mashed potatoes, bread, and flour, and boiled again, would be very good, eaten with either of the Soup No. I. or No. II.

These soups may likewise be improved, by mixing with them various kinds of cheap roots and green vegetables, as turnips, carrots, parsnips, celery, cabbages, sour-crout, etc. as also by seasoning them with fine herbs and black pepper.--Onions and leeks may likewise be used with great advantage, as they not only serve to render the Food in which they enter as ingredients peculiarly savoury, but are really very wholesome.

With regard to the barley made use of in preparing these soups, though I always have used pearl barley, or rolled barley(as it is called in Germany), yet I have no doubt but common barley-meal would answer nearly as well; particularly if care were taken to boil it gently for a sufficient length of time over a slow fire before the peas are added[7].

Till the last year, we used to cook the barley-soup and the peas-soup separate, and not to mix them till the moment when they were poured into the tubs upon the cut bread, in order to be carried into the dining-hall; but I do not know that any advantages were derived from that practice; the soup being, to all appearances, quite as good since the barley and the peas have been cooked together as before.

As soon as the soup is done, and the boilers are emptied, they are immediately refilled with water, and the barley for the soup for the next day is put into it, and left to steep over night; and at six o'clock the next morning the fires are lighted under the boilers[8].

The peas, however, are never suffered to remain in the water over-night, as we have found, by repeated trials, that they never boil soft if the water in which they are boiled is not boiling hot when they are put into it.--Whether this is peculiar to the peas which grow in Bavaria, I know not.

When I began to feed the Poor of Munich, there was also a quantity of meat boiled in their soup; but as the quantity was small, and the quality of it but very indifferent, I never thought it contributed much to rendering the victuals more nourishing: but as soon as means were found for rendering the soup palatable without meat, the quantity of it used was gradually diminished, and it was at length entirely omitted. I never heard that the Poor complained of the want of it; and much doubt whether they took notice of it.