_stale_, _musty_, or _mouldy_, such as
mouldy bread or fruit, or tainted meat, is unfit to be eaten, and is
often a cause of very severe sickness. Canned fish or other meats spoil
very quickly after the cans are opened, and should be eaten the same
day.

~7. Adulterated Foods.~--Many of our foods are sometimes spoiled or
injured by persons who put into them cheap substances which are harmful
to health. They do this so as to make more money in selling them. This
is called _adulteration_. The foods which are most likely to be injured
by adulteration are milk, sugar, and butter.

~8.~ Milk is most often adulterated by adding water, though sometimes
other things are added. Sometimes the water is not pure, and people are
made sick and die. The adulteration of milk or any other food is a very
wicked practice.

~9.~ Butter is sometimes made almost wholly from lard or tallow. This is
called _oleomargarine_ or _butterine_. If the lard or tallow is from
diseased animals, the false butter made from it may cause disease.

~10.~ A great deal of the sugar and syrups which we buy is made from
corn by a curious process, which changes the starch of the corn into
sugar. Sugar which has been made in this way is not so sweet as cane
sugar, and is not healthful.

~11. Condiments or Seasonings.~--These are substances which are added to
our food for the purpose of giving to it special flavors. Condiments are
not foods, because they do not nourish the body in any way, and are not
necessary to preserve it in health.

~12.~ The most common condiments are, mustard, pepper, pepper-sauce,
ginger, cayenne-pepper, and spices. All these substances are irritating.
If we put mustard upon the skin, it will make the skin red, and in a
little time will raise a blister. If we happen to get a little pepper in
the eye, it makes it smart and become very red and inflamed. When we
take these things into the stomach, they cause the stomach to smart,
and its lining membrane becomes red just as the skin or the eye does.

~13.~ Nature has put into our foods very nice flavors to make us enjoy
eating them. Condiments are likely to do us great harm, and hence it is
far better not to use them.

~14. Tobacco.~--Most of you know that tobacco is obtained from a plant
which has long, broad leaves. These leaves are dried and then rolled up
into cigars, ground into snuff, or prepared for chewing.

[Illustration: Tobacco-Plant.]

~15.~ Tobacco has a smarting, sick