od requires that all the
food selected should be rich in nutritious elements, and well cooked. To
announce a standard by which all persons shall be guided in the
selection and preparation of their food is impossible. Especially is
this the case in a country the inhabitants of which represent almost
every nation on the face of the globe. Travelers are aware that there is
as much diversity in the articles of food and methods of cookery, among
the various nationalities, as in the erection of their dwellings, and in
their mental characteristics. In America we have a conglomeration of all
these peoples; and for a native American to lay down rules of cookery
for his German, French, English, Welsh, and Irish neighbors, or _vice
versa_, is useless, for they will seldom read them, and, therefore,
cannot profit by them. There are, however, certain conditions recognized
by the hygienic writers of every nation. The adequate nutrition of the
organic tissues demands a plentiful supply of pure blood, or the
digestive apparatus will become impaired, the mental processes deranged,
and the entire bony and muscular systems will lose their strength and
elasticity, and be incapacitated for labor.

DIFFERENT KINDS OF FOOD REQUIRED. The different periods and
circumstances of life require their appropriate food, and the welfare of
mankind demands that it should supply both the inorganic and organic
substances employed in the development of every tissue. The inorganic
elements employed in our construction, of which _Phosphorus, Sulphur,
Soda, Iron, Lime,_ and _Potash_ are the most important, are not
considered as aliments, but are found in the organic kingdom, variously
arranged and combined with organic materials in sufficient quantities
for ordinary purposes. When, however, from any cause, a lack of any of
these occurs, so that their relative normal proportions are deranged,
the system suffers, and restoration to a healthy condition can only be
accomplished by supplying the deficiency; this may be done by selecting
the article of food richest in the element which is wanting, or by
introducing it as a medicine. It must be remembered that those
substances which enter into the construction of the human fabric, are
not promiscuously employed by nature, but that each and every one is
destined to fulfill a definite indication.

_Lime_ enters largely into the formation of bone, either as a
_phosphate_ or a _carbonate_, and is required in much great