Mutton, the
meat of sheep, is almost as good for food as beef. Veal and pork also
contain much body-building matter, but the stomach must work hard to
prepare them for use.

Fish is an excellent food, but it has only little more than one half
as much flesh-building matter as good beef. Poultry is a healthful
food, especially for the weak and sick, but it is more expensive than
the other meats. Oysters are largely made of water and do not contain
much to strengthen the body.

In all meat there is some waste matter. This may harm the body if we
eat too much meat. It is no longer thought healthful for most persons
to eat meat more than once a day. Too much meat used daily for several
years is likely to cause disease.

[Illustration: FIG. 12.--Each of these articles costs the same, but
the bread will furnish four times as much food for the body as the
cabbage, more than twice as much as the fish, and nearly twice as much
as the milk.]

=The Cooking of Meat.=--The best meat if poorly cooked is unfit for
eating. Broiled and roasted meats are more healthful than boiled or
fried meat. Meat is broiled by holding it in a wire frame over a
flame or hot coals. It is roasted by placing it in a covered pan in a
hot oven for two or three hours. It is boiled by keeping it in hot
water several hours.

Meat is fried by cooking it in lard or other fat in a pan. Only those
who have strong bodies should eat fried meat.

The cheap cuts of meat from the neck, breast, and legs have about as
much food matter in them as the more costly parts. Such meat may be
made more tender by boiling than by roasting.

=Soup.=--Soup, broth, and beef tea furnish but little food for the
body. They are very useful in giving us a good appetite for the real
food to be eaten later. They make the stomach go to work more quickly
than other food. Soup or broth is made from meat by placing it on the
stove in cold water, gradually heating it, and then keeping it hot
several hours.

[Illustration: FIG. 13.--Either group of foods will give the body the
same strength and nourishment for work and growth.]

=Vegetables.=--Some persons never eat meat of any kind because they
enjoy better health when using only vegetables, milk, and eggs. Peas and
beans contain much matter for making new flesh and blood and also much
starch to give heat and power to the body. Potatoes form a valuable
food. Roasted potatoes are more healthful than those boiled or fried.

[Illustra