meat, wheat, rye, barley, rice, milk, sugar, fruit, peas,
beans, lentils, macaroni, and the roots of vegetables; we gain flesh
from lean meat, unbolted flour, oatmeal, eggs, cheese, and green
vegetables; and, if we want to think clearly, we must use fish, poultry,
the different grains, and a good variety of fruit and vegetables.

The food most generally in use among the masses is just that which meets
their requirements. No hungry man will spend money for what he knows
will not satisfy his appetite, and a natural appetite may always be
trusted. For that reason the receipts given in this book treat of the
articles in common use, with the exception of lentils and macaroni,
which are foods that I earnestly beg all to try. In meals made up of
bacon, potatoes and bread, of corned beef and cabbage, and of pork and
beans, there exists an equal and sufficient amount of nourishment; but
if other dishes are added to these, the variety will result in better
general health and contentment. If we were to live day after day on
rice, bread, potatoes, or any one other article of food, we would not
long be strong enough for any kind of work. In matters of diet variety
is not only the spice of life, it is the necessity.

In estimating cost, I have naturally supposed that the family consists
of father, mother, and children of different ages, and not of six
adults; for them the quantities given would, of course, be insufficient.
I allow a meat dinner every day; but in order to have this the meat
itself must generally be used one day, with bread or vegetables, and the
next day the breakfast must be the broth or juice of the meat, which, if
prepared according to my directions, will afford equal nourishment.

I wish to call your attention to the following important fact. The hardy
and thrifty working classes of France, the country where the most rigid
economy in regard to food is practised, never use tea or coffee for
breakfast, and seldom use milk. Their food and drink is BROTH. Not the
broth from fresh meat, for they do not often eat that; but that which is
made from vegetables, and perhaps a bit of bacon or salt pork.

If you will reflect on the reasons I give in the next chapter for
boiling food, instead of roasting or baking it, you will learn two
important lessons in economy, namely: that boiling saves at least one
fourth the volume of food, and that the broth which is produced, when
properly managed, always gives the foundation for