CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY David Albert Hauck Endowment CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY 1924 083 762 140 Cornell University Library The original of tliis bool< is in tine Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924083762140 FAILURES OF VEGETARIANISM FAILURES OF VEGETARIANISM BY EUSTACE. H. MILES, M.A., Formerly Scholar of King's College, Cambridge ; Honours Coach at Cambridge University ; Amateur Champion of the World at Tennis, and of the United States and Canada at Racquets and Squash-Tennis ; Member of the (Paris Exhibition) National Commission on Physical Education ; Author of "Muscle, Brain, and Diet," "Better Food for Boys," "The Training of the Body," "Lessons in Lawn Tennis," "How to Prepare Essays, etc.," "How to Learn Philology," "A History of Rome up to 500 a.d,," etc., etc., co-Editor (with Mr. E. F. Benson) of Messrs. Hurst & Blackett's Library of Games. LONDON SWAN SONNENSCHEIN & CO., LIM. NEW YORK: E. P. DUTTON AND CO. 1902 PRINTED BY Cowan & Co., Ltd. Perth THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED TO ALL THOSE WHO ARE OPEN TO CONVICTION, AND ESPECI- ALLY TO THE " VEGETARIAN" CYCLISTS. PREFACE " Vegetarians " say that " Vegetarianism " is a success, or (to put it more concretely) that they, the " Vegetarians ", are successes. The outside public says that the cause is a failure, or that its representatives are failures. There is truth on both sides. The public is right if it says that " Vege- tarianism" hitherto has been, comparatively, a failure. On the other hand, the " Vegetarians " are right if they say that the Simpler Foods ought to be, comparatively, a success. The purpose of this little book is to state why and in what respects "Vegetarianism" has been a failure, and incidentally to state why and in what respects the Simpler Foods, if properly chosen, are likely to be a success. The reader will notice at once that I take care to speak of ' The Simpler Foods '. To the general public — and I am writing for the general public as well as for " Vegetarians " and other highly-educated people — " Vegetarianism " means ' A Diet of Vege- 8 PREFACE tables'. Few of us associate with the name those Simpler Foods which I make the basis of my own food-supply, e.g. cheese, Plasmon, and milled nuts. The name is misleading. It has misled hundreds, if not thousands, into a haphazard, unscientific, un- nourishing, bulky, indigestible diet of which the physical effects may be simply lamentable. I utterly refuse to be called a " Vegetarian ", if only for this reason. I believe that I can live perfectly well without any vegetables at all. The " Vegetarians " challenge us to invent a better name. I prefer to suggest that the public should itself invent a better name (see Appendix). But, to show that the task was not beyond common human intelligence, I asked them to contrast with their name " Vegetarianism ", popularly interpreted as "The Diet of Vegetables", two alternative names, which were the first that occurred to me, and which were never offered as at all satisfactory names. (i). MAGNVS. M for Milk and Milk-products (e.g. Cheese and Plasmon). A for Apples and other Fruits. G for Grains and Grain-products (e.g. Hovis and Macaroni). N for Nuts and Nut-products. PREFACE 9 V for Vegetables. S for Salads ; or, better still, for Stimulants to be avoided as far as shall be feasible.^ (2). P.U.R.E. (Not PURE, but four separate letters). P for Proteid-containing (since, unless ' we have Pro- teid we die '), and, generally, nourishing. U for Unstimulating. R for Respecting higher life. E for Economical. The reader, after he has read the book, is asked to dismiss the words " Vegetarianism " and " Vege- tarians" from his mind, and to consider whether the Simpler Foods, the MAGNVS-foods, the P.U.R.E.- foods, properly chosen, are not likely to be a success for him or her, individually, if only they be given a fair personal trial in the way which is outlined in Part III. of this book. As yet we know too little to enable us to guarantee success as certain. The very most that we have been able to do is to point to success as possible or probable, and to point to failure as the natural and logical result of a great deal which has passed under the name of " Vegetarianism ". It is hoped that the suggestion will appeal not only to the general public but also ' See " Muscle, Brain, and Diet," p. 85. lO PREFACE to the " Vegetarians '' themselves, and that it will induce these latter to examine carefully why it is that, in spite of the vast number of powerful reasons and motives to which they can appeal, including the certainty of economy and of humanitarianism to animals and to not a few fellow-men, and the possibility or probability of improved health and athletics and brain-work and happiness, they as yet can show no success in any way com- mensurate with the strength of their logical and other arguments. EUSTACE MILES. It must not be thought that by " Failures of Vegetarianism " I mean an absolute failure of " Vegetarianism ", for I look upon " Vegetarianism '' as distinctly a success in many respects. By 'Failures' I especially mean: — (a) failures of individuals who have experimented with one sort of "Vegetarianism " according to one method (or absence of method) ; (6) failures of the "Vegetarians" in general to induce the public in general to give the Simpler Foods a fair trial or, indeed, any trial at all ; (f) the relative failure of " Vegetarianism " as a factor in the world's progress. For I regard that result which has already been achieved by " Vegetarianism," great though the result indisput- ably is, as simply trifling compared with that result which should have been achieved by a cause based on so many apparently sound principles both theoretical and practical — that result which should have been achieved by a cause appealing to so many undoubtedly powerful motives, from the desire for economy of money and time right up to the desire for a uni- versal kinship of all mankind with one another and with the animal world, and the desire for the purest spiritual life on earth. ADDITIONAL NOTES Since this book was sent to be made up into pages, the author has had many important conversations with " Vegetarians " and Anti-Vegetarians ; he has read many papers and books which bear more or less directly on the problems ; he has thought over his older and his newer ideas. He therefore considers it better to put these few Notes at the beginning of the book rather than wait for the possibility of a re-issue. P. 56 foil. {Excessive claims made by " Vegetarians "). The Yogi Vivekananda, in his celebrated lectures in America, pointed out very clearly how everywhere in the world evil is mixed with good. He was speaking, and was perhaps benefiting some of his hearers : he might be injuring others, and he was cer- tainly using up pure air in the room, and was giving out impure air. So even the ideal " Simpler Food" cult must ever admit and insist on those evils which at present are apparently inevitable. We cannot be sure that by abstaining from Flesh-foods we are not depriving large numbers of smaller creatures of sustenance. Maeterlinck's marvellous work on The Bee reveals to us one species of creature which many think to differ from ourselves in degree rather than in kind. This will show the kind of life which may 12 ADDITIONAL NOTES be injured by more than one form of " Vegetarian- ism ". Even the highest type of diet must not be put forward as harmless, but, at the most, as that which the most sensible " Vegetarians " claim that it is, viz. the lesser evil, the step towards the ideal. Nor must any one diet ever be forced dogmatically on any one individual as a certain cure. The usual statement by " Vegetarian " leaders takes the form of " No diet is better than x", x being some selection from Vegetables, or Fruits, or Grains, etc. Many if not most diets may be worth trying — some may be better worth trying than others. But at present that is the limit. Quote successes by all means, but remember that even Science cannot yet assert so simple a Law as the Law of Gravitation positively and absolutely : at the most she can state it thus — ' We have never yet seen any exceptions.' Pp. 66-6y {Anger and petulance). The "Vege- tarians " have many classes of those who, from one point of view, may be called enemies. The " Vege- tarians " usually treat these wrongly. Let me give a few illustrations. Some of the " No-breakfast " advocates say that, if one eats no breakfast, one may eat anything. What one eats is unimportant. When one eats is the only important matter. The reply ought not to be : — ' You are quite wrong. " Vege- tarianism " is the only rule of Diet. Without that, you cannot be on the right road.' The reply ought rather to be : — ' You are probably quite right to urge the experiment as worth a fair trial. We "Vege- tarians " ought to and will try it. If it suits us, we ADDITIONAL NOTES 1 3 shall thank you heartily. Will you, in your turn, try one or two of our diets, one or two of the classes of Simpler Foods, not for breakfast but perhaps for lunch ? Try this as an interesting experiment. Let us know whether this, together with the " No-break- fast " plan, suits you better than the " No-breakfast " plan by itself.' And so with the " Slow-eating " plan. The " Vege- tarians " should not rush at the advocates of it, and urge them to try the Simpler Diet as tke thing. They should rather say : ' Yes, we as a class do eat too fast — much too fast. And with our starchy foods this must be unwise. Thank you for the valuable suggestion. We will eat our foods slowly and note the results. But will not you also slowly eat our foods — we suggest several alternative diets — and note the results as compared with the results of the ordinary diet eaten slowly ? ' And so with the " Physical Culturists " who say ' Take exercise, and it will not matter what you eat. Develop your body, breathe correctly, etc., and Flesh- foods become harmless.' Here again the right law for " Vegetarians " is : ' Thank you. You have pointed out a weakness in us as a class. We have our Karl Manns, our Olleys, our Apollos, our Sandows (for he believes in Plasmon), but few of our rank and file are grand specimens of physical manhood. We will try your exercises, and let you know the effects. If they suit us, we'll recommend them. You will, we are sure, do the same with one or two of our diets.' P. J J foil. (' Wrong " Vegetarian" foods for in- 14 ADDITIONAL NOTES dividuals ' ). The different diets of the Hindus and other natives have not yet been made to bring their valuable principles to bear on the " Vegetarian " problems. Of course the Hindu diet is not necessarily our diet : very likely it is not our diet. But it has its lessons. Thus it may teach us not to combine vegetables and fruits at the same meal, not to drink at meals, to try new kinds of vegetables, and so on. Probably the majority of Anglo-Saxon individuals lead a comparatively sedentary life. For such a life an easily digested meal should as a rule be carefully selected. The individual should first note what dis- agrees with him, whether it be the pulses, or starchy foods, or stone-fruits, or oats, or something else (see next note). Such foods he should discard. P. 84 foil. {Acid Fermentation). This becomes a matter for individuals and classes of individuals. One large class undoubtedly finds that certain foods produce Acid Fermetitation as a usual result, if not as an invariable result. This Acid Fermentation need not necessarily have all the terrible effects which Dr. Densmore and Mr. Wallace so emphatically claim for it, but at least there is in many cases a strong probability of: 1. a general clogging of the system, since masses of undigested material are retained ; 2. a severe strain on the nervous system, not only in getting rid of these masses, but also as the direct result of the fermenting gases ; 3. diarrhoea, and hence loss of valuable materials which pass out before they have given the system their full value. ADDITIONAL NOTES IS P. 90 foil. {Irritating and stimulating " Vegetarian " foods). Dr. Haig in his "Diet and Food," (pp. 37, and 73-74) writes as follows : Now, so far as I know, the "Vegetarians" of this country are pretty decidedly superior in endurance [witness the cycling performances of GUey, the Pfleiderers, Newman, etc.] to those who feed on animal tissues, and who might otherwise be ex- pected to equal them ; but these " Vegetarians " would be better still, as I have for some years been pointing out, if they ruled out not only animal flesh, but also eggs, and the pulses (peas, beans, and lentils) which contain a large amount of " uric acid," or substances physiologically equivalent to "uric acid" ; also tea, coffee, and cocoa. I should be inclined to consider that the rheumatism met with among the "Vegetarian '' natives of India is rather due to direct and considerable introduction of "uric acid" or xanthins in the pulse foods which so many natives use to a large extent. And I believe it will turn out on investigation that, in those parts of India where rice and fresh vegetable substances form the staple foods, not only rheumatism but " uric-acid" diseases generally are but little known, whereas in those parts where pulses are very largely consumed they are common — almost universal. It must be remembered that careful living in other respects, and plenty of exercise, may get rid of much of the excessive " uric acid," whatever be its origin. P. 93 foil. (Tea, etc.). For the report in the Zeitschrift Physiol. Chem. some years ago, of Schultz's experiments with tea and coffee as in- fluencing digestion, see p. 155. P. 90 foil. (' Plasmon '). Sandow has recently- spoken very highly of Plasmon ; he has found it to be absolutely reliable ; and he could lake it quite a short l6 ADDITIONAL NOTES time before his performances without any appreciable ill effects. P. lOO foil. (" Vegetarian " Restaurants). I have found not a few exceptions to the general statements made here. And one must carefully distinguish from the Restaurants the Supply Stores such as those in Victoria Street, London, at 19 Oxford Street, Man- chester, and at 70-74 Legge Street, Birmingham. These Stores have good supplies of many kinds of fruits and specially prepared nut-foods and grain- foods. They have not yet studied or adopted enough articles of Indian diet, however. P. 115 foil. (' Omission of valuable helps and means'). We have spoken above of Physical De- velopment, which is sadly neglected by the average " Vegetarian ". Olley and his fellow-cyclists, and Karl Mann and his fellow-walkers and athletes, are pleasant exceptions. Few " Vegetarians " seem to give careful attention to correct breathing, though this is an essential and a comparatively simple branch of training for full and vigorous manhood or womanhood. Besides this, most " Vegetarians " usually seem to me to remain weak and negative. I know of not a few striking exceptions ; but as a rule the " Vegetarian " does not use his pure blood as an opportunity for developing his mental strength. Vast numbers of " Vegetarians " seem to me to remain dependent on a more or less narrow range of foods, even of foods which are 'lawful' to them. One would have ex- pected them, a priori, to spend much time in ' Self- ADDITIONAL NOTES 17 suggestion ' or ' Concentration ' or Prayer, and to be so peculiarly fitted for these more or less ascetic arts that they would gradually assert the power of the mind over the body, till eventually they would be able to "eat poison and it would not harm them." As a matter of fact, however, we find them the slaves of their diet rather than, like Jesus, apparently ' positive to ' an occasional use of " Uric Acid," etc. And so, except for their undoubted humanitarian- ism to most animals and to those who are connected with the meat trade, we find many of them, I am bound to say, actually inferior to ordinary meat eaters in mental control of internal conditions. I freely own that I myself am only gradually ceasing to belong rather to this class than to the class of those who are above being seriously aifected by slight variations in their diet. I am merely speaking here of the general neglect of mind-culture (or whatever one calls it) by many " Vegetarians " who claim to have the very best conditions in which such power may be developed. The " Vegetarian " literature is full of praise of the personal purity and integrity and kindness of "Vegetarians" so long as they live on their own favourite foods. But surely the test rather should be their state of mind in all sorts of con- ditions. They ought surely to be able to " go through the fire unscorched ". As it is, most of them are still far more affected by the " Uric Acid " foods than ordinary people are. P. 202. (/« defence of the word " Vegetarianism "). My reply to this was as follows : — I. ' Vegetables ' are Vegetables : t/ie word ' Vege- tables ' does not, in its popular and usual sense, B 1 8 ADDITIONAL NOTES include fruits and nuts and grains. The ' Vegetable kingdom' is another matter altogether. 'Vegetables' are pre-eminently potatoes and cabbages, etc. — at least in the English language as it now is. 2. It is easy enough to speak vaguely of " teaching the general public the true meaning of the name Vege- tarianism ". But, in the first place, what is the organ and means of teaching ? The " general public " does not read the "Vegetarian" literature. The writer suggested absolutely no single practical way of " teaching the general public ". In the second place what is the true meaning ? Not, what was it, but what is it ? I need only repeat that a name, to the public, means now what it now means, and that this is the true meaning, whatever the original meaning may have been. And, in the first paragraph, the writer confesses that this is " no doubt " what the name does " convey the impression of". And yet the writer talks of the "world-wide significance of the old name ". 3. The phrase " to soar above the belittling im- perfections, etc.," of business life (and human life in general) does indeed help to describe the most un- fortunate failure of " Vegetarianism " to secure a fair trial. How on earth can one expect to help people by soaring above them, and by utterly refusing to consider their point of view ? Would " to step down " be " a confession of weakness " ? How are these high soarers really " trying to reach " the public, so long as they continue soaring ? 4. The writer now returns to the subject of his first paragraph. He says that " it is imperative . . . to have a distinctive and expressive name", and goes ADDITIONAL NOTES 1 9 on to speak of any and every other possible substitute (including all which the offer of a Prize of one hundred pounds would elicit) " as a less expressive substitute ". Can anything be more illogical ? After admitting the very misleading and fatal impression (' a Diet of Vegetables ') which the present name does convey, the writer practically says — ' No better name can ever be devised by anyone '. What a gross insult to human intelligence and ingenuity ! And then for the writer to come back again to his utterly senseless theory that the present (generally accepted) meaning of a word is not its irue meaning, and to talk glibly and grandiosely of " educating the public " in this queer art of undoing the gradual evolution of a word, surely this is not enlightened leadership nor likely to tend to success. If a good new name would educate the general public, the millions of ordinary mortals, then it becomes a clear duty of the leaders to use every effort to find a better new name, instead of consider- ing the sentimental love of the veterans for the familiar and (admittedly) misleading old name, and instead of crassly repeating that no better new name can possibly be invented by any one in the world. There is no ' dignity ' in such an attitude, however rightly it may lay claim to ' simplicity ' of a sort. It is the attitude of those who would say ' Rather than sacrifice our own sentimental prejudices, we will not tell the public what we do mean.' The " Vegetarians " should really set themselves in the second place, for they themselves — we assume — already know what their true principles are, and do not need any old name to remind them of these 20 ADDITIONAL NOTES principles. They should set the public, the millions of ordinary mortals, in the first place, for these millions do not know what the true principles are, and do need some new name (the very best that can be devised) first to teach them and then to remind them of these principles. The decision now rests with the leaders of the " Vegetarian " Societies. " By their fruits ye shall know them." At present they are known by their Vegetables. CONTENTS PART I PACS introduction; with the causes of failure summarised - -25 PART 11 CAUSES OF FAILURE . . . . 4I PART 111 THE ABC OF A FAIR TRIAL; WITH FOOD-TABLES, AND TESTS OF SUCCESS - ■ 1 45 PART IV SUMMARY 179 PARTING ADVICE TO VEGETARIANS 1 85 APPENDIX - - 189 PART I INTRODUCTION; WITH THE CAUSES OF FAILURE SUMMARISED FAILURES OF VEGETARIANISM PART I INTRODUCTION; WITH THE CAUSES OF FAILURE SUMMARISED Most of those who have used or Why have people ^j^^ ^^^ ^^^ ^^^ Simpler Foods cboBen to eat certain , ■, ^ • a • a j ^ l „ ^ have been chiefly influenced not by Foods? , "^ "^ virtue, which implies choice, but by convenience, which is only slightly less powerful than absolute compulsion ; for they obey custom, they imitate others, not of sheer necessity, but for con- venience, and because to obey custom is to move along the line of least resistance. Comparatively few have used or now use the Simpler Foods for any other reason ; comparatively few — at least in this generation — will use them for any other reason ; comparatively few will cease to obey custom and to imitate others. We hear a great deal about the Custom as a Hypno- ^ „ ^. tt j power of Suggestion. Under cer- tain conditions, especially during certain kinds of sleep, a person is wont to hear what is " suggested " to him. Subsequently he carries out the " suggestions." The power of these "suggestions," however, is as nothing compared with the power of 25 26 FAILURES OF VEGETARIANISM custom. Throughout the day, custom is suggesting, suggesting, suggesting, with that repetition and re- iteration which is one of the open secrets of its success ; we, meanwhile, are not conscious that custom is influencing us — we are not resisting, we are not making " Counter-suggestions." And so we are, as it were, being hypnotised all the day long, generally in despite of our saner reason and in despite of our higher desire. The potency of custom backed by authority, over " the Mind of the Crowd," is such that, when opposed to custom, the strictest logic will be of very little avail. Indeed, " the Mind of the Crowd " will actually turn to logic in self-defence. Hypnotists assert that the patient who, during the sleep, has been repeatedly told that he will not go to the theatre the next evening, will not only stay away from the theatre, but may actually find and allege some excuse ■for staying away. Necessity will be the mother of invention. But this is not all, for the patient will have no idea of the real reason why he is staying away, viz. that he has been hypnotised ; he will be thoroughly convinced that the logical reason was the real reason. And, similarly, " the Mind of the Crowd," which has been hypnotised by the great hypnotiser custom, will not know that it has been hypnotised, but will be convinced that it has some other reason, some logical reason, for what it imagines to be its " decision " to feed in such and such a way. The ordinary person, therefore, who feeds in the ordinary way, i.e. on the Mixed Foods, will be moving along the line of least resistance, and will believe that he or she has good logical arguments in favour of INTRODUCTION 27 these Mixed Foods, and that these good logical arguments are the real reason why he or she uses these Mixed Foods. There is yet another reason why e immediate people continue to live on the effects of nesh-foods i.^. , t- j ^i ^1 - ^1 „ , ^ Mixed toods rather than give the are often pleasant, „. , „ , . . , . , Simpler Foods a fair personal trial. Tlfe Mixed Foods include Flesh,-,^^j^ and Flesh- foifds have as their immediate effect, at least for jStany of the impure-blooded, a feeling of well-beir^ and of pleasure, i. feeling, in fact, very like that which is produced, in similar cases, by alcohol, by tobacco, by opium. On the other hand there is often produced, in similar cases, an opposite feeling, a feeling of discomfort and dissatisfaction as the im- mediate effect if these things be withheld ; so that the person actually desires one or more of these things in order that the discomfort and dissatisfaction may be removed. That this desire need not necessarily be wholesome is easy to prove. No one would venture to assert that the desire for tobacco in a child of seven is wholesome. Yet in certain parts of the East, where even babies are taught to suck at a pipe, such a desire is not infrequent, though it will dis- appear after some time if it be left ungratified. For the present we may accept, provisionally. Dr. Haig's theory as to the cause of the desire for Flesh-foods, viz. that it is created partly by the use of Flesh-foods. What can resist these mighty influences on the side of the Mixed Foods ? What can resist convenience, custom, the belief that there is logical reason for the use of the Mixed Foods, and the actual desire for the Flesh-foods ? 28 FAILURES OF VEGETARIANISM There have not been wanting Fiuiure. of many enthusiastic prophets and preachers, •ntonsiaBtio leaders. , , ^, , , men and women most thoroughly convinced of the rightness of their cause, men and women who might have done for the Simpler Foods what Buddha — to take one example out of hundreds — did for Religion. There have been numerous leaders, some of whom have obtained a following. But the majority of these leaders have rather done for the Simpler Foods as Madame Blavatsky has done for "Theosophy." Just as "Theosophy," in itself a great Religion, having as its basis the Universal Brotherhood and kindness of men, the Universal Fatherhood and Justice of God, has come to be connected, in the popular mind, with spiritualistic stances, and an association of neurotic semi-lunatics, so " Vegetarianism " (as the cult of the Simpler Foods has been misleadingly named) has come to be asso- ciated, in the popular mind, with a diet of vegetables, and an association of anaemic and peevish faddists. Though my religion includes the above-mentioned beliefs of " Theo- popular meaning. sophy ", I refuse to be called a " Theosophist ". Similarly, though my diet includes the general principles of " Vegetarianism ", I refuse to be called a " Vegetarian ". The name has come to be connected with a meaning different from my meaning. Those examples of " Theosophy " and of " Vegetarianism " which are most before the public have helped to create this different meaning Instead of being that which they claim to be, viz. broad and wide cults, " Theosophy " and " Vegetarianism " have now, in the public understanding, become identified INTRODUCTION 29 with certain unessential fads, " Theosophy " with spiritualism, instead of with Universal Brotherhood, "Vegetarianism" with badly cooked vegetables, instead of with the Simpler Foods in general. " Theo- sophy" may try to explain its real meaning by alluding to the aim of the Society as stated in the Theosophical *publications. But the out- side public does not judge by these : it does not read these — that public judges " Theosophy " by the most prominent " Theosophists ". Orthodox " Chris- tianity " may try to explain its real meaning by alluding to the aim of the Society as stated in the New Testament. But the outside public does not judge by this — that public judges " Christianity" by the most prominent " Christians ". Similarly, " Vege- tarianism " may try to explain its real meaning by alluding to the aim of the Society as stated in the " Vegetarian " publications. But the outside public does not judge by these : it does not read these — that public judges "Vegetarianism" by the most prominent " Vegetarians ". These are not necessarily the successes, but they are the most influential exponents of " Vegetarianism ". When we ask ourselves why it is that so many people have lived and live on tlie , , . , r- ■ 1 t- 1 Simpler roods. ^o live on the Simpler Foods, «g^ np;S,t not forget this great personal foll^-my-leaderamotiv£. It has been the mainspring of most of those Religions which have opposed custom and orthodoxy, this obedience to some one enthusi- astic lawgiver or to some one of several lawgivers. Whereas, however, many have adopted the Simpler Foods through imitation of a few, most people who 30 FAILURES OF VEGETARIANISM have lived on these foods have done so without free choice, but rather because (as in Egypt) the Geo- graphy of the land almost necessitates the use of such foods for the poorer classes ; and that which was first dictated by Geography is now dictated by custom and orthodoxy. Too often do we hear the frugivorous animals and some early races of mankind spoken of as if they were noble, as if they had chosen the better of two possible diets because it was the better, the more humane, and so on. As a matter of fact most people who use the Simpler Foods use them because of custom backed by authority, and in imitation. For instance, children of parents who use the Simpler Foods are seldom free to choose. They use such foods from compulsion, or for the sake of convenience. To use these foods, therefore, in preference to the ordinary diet, i.e. the Mixed Foods, is not necessarily a sign of virtue. An Italian once told me that he ate Flesh-foods whenever he could get them, but other- wise he was forced to live on such cheap articles as macaroni. Others use the Simpler Foods in order to avoid death or disease. The benefits from the use of Plasmon in the cases of severe fever in hospitals have not been without their influence on the general public ; at present, however, more people try the diet in or^r to escape death or disease than in order to get ^ore positive health. Comparatively few have tried them for the sake of better physical training, especially with a view to athletic successes. Mr. Olley, the bicyclist, and Karl Mann, who won the great Berlin Walking Race, are still comparatively rare examples. And few adopt such foods for the sake of better intellectual work. This motive, however, will even- INTRODUCTION 3 1 tually appeal to such classes as the American business-men. Economy of money and of time, as well as of energy and intellectual effort, will be additional motives for them and for others. Many live on the Simpler Foods chiefly for the sake of greater happiness, which may exist apart from much physical or intellectual vigour. Closely connected with these, because urged on by strong desire, are those who live thus for the sake of a more spiritual life. And closely- connected with these, again, are those who live thus for the sake of kindness or duty towards the world of sentient beings. There are in- creasingly large numbers of people who hate to think of animals being unnaturally bred or fed, painfully carried in cattle-ships, driven along dusty roads, then slaughtered, perhaps clumsily in some private slaughter-house (by those who are hardly ennobled in such work), and then prepared for food — a most unpleasant occupation — ; and all for the sake of what seems a luxury rather than a necessity. Hardly any people use this diet for the sake of the nation, i.e. be- cause they want to increase the demand for the Simpler Foods, and hence the supply of Simpler Foods from our country districts, which might thus be filled again with healthy inhabitants, as Mr. Cadbury's experiment has shown to be practically feasible. There are some, one cannot say how many, who give up the Flesh-foods because of scientific theory, that is to say, because they have been convinced by the logic of the Simpler Foods, and by one or more branches of science also. For example. Dr. Haig's pathological book on "Uric Acid" has convinced a large number, who may also have studied the forma- 32 FAILURES OF VEGETARIANISM tion of man and the apes (Anatomy and Comparative Anatomy), the functions of the organs, etc., of man and the apes (Physiology and Comparative Physi- ology), the analysis of foods (Chemistry), the theory of diseases (Pathology), and the consideration of the mistakes of modern life (Sociology) ; for all help to convince the reason. The Flesh-foods may be judged to have powerful effects not only on the recognised diseases, but also on depression, alcoholism, impurity, madness, and crime, which are not usually reckoned as diseases due to human mistakes. Some are abstainers from Flesh-foods because of Religion ; others, especially in America, for the sake of novelty and change and curiosity. Most people, however, who have Combinations of i , , <^ • i -i^ 11 1 used the Simpler toods have done motives. ' so for two or more of these reasons. Thus the Indian runners, the Japanese runners, the Japanese wrestlers and weight-carriers, the weight- carriers and boatmen of Constantinople, use such a diet chiefly from economical necessity and for the sake of physical training. Personally I now use it for all the above reasons, except Religion in the ordinary sense of the word. But first I tried it chiefly as an experiment, in order to get rid of disease. Here we shall not say much Tiiis book will not ^^^^^ ^j^Qgg ^j^Q ^^g „ Vegetarians " empbaslse the argu- u u- i.i. r ^ , „ _. by birth or from necessity, or ments for the Sim- r t-. 1 ■ • r 1 pier Foods, nor the because of Religion, as, for example, many successes. the Hindus ; we shall allude mainly to those who are "Vegetarians" by choice. Elsewhere we have shown how strong an argument " Vegetarianism " has, theoretically. The INTRODUCTION 33 Diet would seem to appeal to almost every motive, from economy up to universal brotherhood, human i- tarianism, and spirituality. And the diet has really been successful in the past and in the present. In the past we may notice that, in Greece alone, we have the Spartans and the Athenians while they were at their best, to say nothing of Pythagoras among the luxurious Greeks of Southern Italy, and Epaminondas among the gluttonous Greeks of Bceotia. It is not the purpose of this book to say why people do use the Simpler Foods, nor to say how many have used and do use them with excellent results. The " Vegetarian " literature is ample, and is full of the reasons and results. Indeed, as we shall see, it is full of successful results out of all proportion to the actual successes. And, therefore, while referring the reader to " Muscle, Brain, and Diet," and " Better Food for Boys," and to the vast literature of " Vegetarianism '' itself, we shall look at " Vegetarianism " from a new point of view. We shall concentrate our attention upon the failures. The purpose of this book is rather to show why, with all its motives and successes, " Vegetarianism,' in the sense of " Vegetarianism by choice '' and not by necessity, must be reckoned as a failure. Among the reasons, which are A few string causes numerous (as the scheme on of failures of r> -n i \ ^ ^- " vegetarianism." PP" 37-38 will show), we must notice the dogmatic form of statement which the " Vegetarian " literature so often adopts. It so often states : " Our diet will certainly succeed with you." Then there is the omission of the many failures, of which the public is only too well aware. c 34 FAILURES OF VEGETARIANISM It is partly because of this omission that I object to being classed among the "Vegetarians." While I heartily admire many " Vegetarians " as individuals, and while I heartily admire many principles of "Vegetarianism," I object to being associated with a cl.ass which, as a rule, and apart from notable exceptions, does not set its failures beside its successes. The name is Another reason, and perhaps the misleading: see strongest reason, why I object to Appendix. being called a " Vegetarian," and why "Vegetarianism" itself has to a great extent failed, is that the name is terribly misleading, since to the public it means " a diet of vegetables." As to the derivation of the name, I agree with Professor Mayor ; but I maintain that a word means for the millions not what it used to mean, but what it does mean now for the millions ; and that a diet of vegetables, even though we add fruits and grains, does not give the public any idea of the range of the Simpler Foods. As so many readers hardly get be- yond the beginning of a book, it is important that the range of the Simpler Foods be made clear once for all. They include not only vegetables, fruits, and grains and the grain-products (such as Hovis and macaroni), but also milk and the milk-products, such as cheese and Plasmon, nuts and nut-products, such as nut-rolls and malted nuts, and also the various salads.^ The name " Vegetarian " gives a good idea of an important section of the Simpler Foods, but in the mind of the public the importance of this section is exaggerated. The conclusion which I adopt is that an unscientific haphazard " Vegetarian " diet is ^ See the note in the Preface. INTRODUCTION 35 not likely to produce vigorous physical and intellec- tual health, even if it produce gentleness and purity, which it does not always do. On the other hand, the Simpler Foods, of which the motto should be " Nourishment without stimulant," if they are properly chosen, may be theoretically and practically, wher- ever they have been fairly tried and adapted to the individuals, more suitable for every kind of life of which I know, for every age, for every place, and for every purpose, than the Flesh-foods or the Mixed Diet. We must judge them after a fair and scientific trial, during which abundance of Proteid is taken, and during which the immediate effects are not alone considered, or, if they are considered, are considered as partly the result of the previous diet. The im- mediate effects of the Simpler Foods, especially if the change to them be made suddenly, are not always pleasant. But, if the experiment be made gradually, then the unpleasant effects need be scarcely noticeable. However, to avoid the dogmatism Final Conclusion. . . ,, t t , - ,> t , of most Vegetarians, I do not state that the Simpler Foods such as I use will certainly suit every one else ; I only state that they have been used successfully by many, and that they are at least worth a fair trial by every one else. Let every one else experiment as thoroughly and scientifi- cally as is feasible, and let him judge by results. But let him not condemn the Simpler Foods as a whole simply because of the failures of certain kinds of " Vegetarianism." These failures can be accounted for quite easily. If only the " Vegetarians " had made enough of them and had emphasised them, they would have had the public ear long ago. 36 FAILURES OF VEGETARIANISM I should be glad to hear of other reasons for the failures of " Vegetarianism ". Doubtless there are many ' laymen ' who could have done this work far better than I have done it. Let us hope that they will add their opinions to mine in future years. I would ask those who are interested Two meanings of ... . . i- j.i ^ ^i. m the enquiry, to notice that the the word "Failures" , t^ . , ,, , word " Failures has two meanings. We may ask " Why is it that so many who have tried ' Vegetarianism ' have failed ? " ; and we may ask, " Why is it that so few, comparatively, have tried ' Vegetarianism ' at all ? " The answer to the first question will, as we shall show, be part of the answer to the second question. If so many who have tried have failed, others who might have tried will prefer to go on as before, and not to try at all. For we must remember the modern tendency to a critical habit of mind, the tendency to dwell upon failures of new experiments and to pass over successes. Why have so many " Vegetarians '' failed ? We cannot do better than quote, by Dr. Hutchison's r • , i . • i i • way of introduction, a leading authority on food, viz. Dr. Robert Hutchison. On p. 1 80 of his "Food and Dietetics", he says : — "Vegetable foods are rich in carbo-hydrates, and, with a few exceptions, comparatively poor in Proteid and fat. They are also bulky, partly from their rich- ness in starch, but also from the presence of cellulose and a large amount of water. Even though compact in their raw state, they tend to take up much water, and to become bulky on cooking. . . . The question INTRODUCTION 37 of ' Vegetarianism ' becomes a question of nitrogen (Proteid). The consistent ' Vegetarian ' is placed in a dilemma. He has either to live on a diet deficient in Proteid, or to consume an excessive bulk of food. The former of these courses tends to diminish energy, and the power of resisting disease ; the latter is apt to lead to derangement of the stomach and bowels." With a few provisos, his remarks are profoundly true, but he does not get to the root of the matter altogether. He does not distinguish between Flesh- foods, i.e. the flesh of animals that have once been sentient beings, and Animal-foods, such as milk and its products, which, so far as we know, have not been sentient beings, or at least not sentient to the same extent. All " Vegetarians " are allowed to eat eggs, and to take milk and its products. Moreover, Dr. Hutchison here omits to mention the nuts and nut- products, although he gives them great Proteid value elsewhere (on p. 250 foil.) ; and he makes no mention of Plasmon either, though of that also he speaks with the highest praise on p. 140, where he gives it a Proteid value of 69 per cent. TheTS'Sfciencyin Prc|^, however, is" iu'deed one q£ the chief reasons foE the failure of ";Vegetarianism ". It maybe con- venient for the reader to glance first through the reasons for failure, summarised in a tabular form. The Medical Profession. The popular idea of good health is too low. The popular idea of good health is absolute, not relative. — 'Education'. ^ .m^ The power of custom and orthodoxy, M^ 38 FAILURES O&'VEGETARIANISM The fatal effects of even a few failures. ( Are " Vegetarians " as healthy as they claim to be ? Why have most "Vegetarians" become "VegeO tarians " ? Dogmatic statements by " Vegetarians ". Petulance and anger of " Vegetarians ". Failures not mentioned or emphasised by " Vege- tarians ". f (j? 5 Other misleading statistics by " Vegetarians ". The wrong " Vegetarian " food for individuals. Hurry and worry ; and wrong ways of eating. Indigestible " Vegetarian '' foods. Unpleasant " Vegetarian " foods. Excessive " Vegetarian " foods. Bad " Vegetarian " combinations. Irritating and stimulating " Vegetarian " foods. Drinks and drinking. "Tnadequate " Vegetarian " foods, and unemphasised elements in diet (esp. Proteid). The name " Vegetarian(ism)", and other misleading words. '" Vegetarian " Restaurants. The ABC of " Vegetarianism " is not made clear. Immediate effects of the Flesh-foods. Violent reform. Unessential fads. Neglect or omission: — (i) of valuable tests. (ii) of valuable arguments, (iii) of the use of questions, (iv) ofvaluable helps and means, The need of a public organ. The need of more experimenters. Popular Fallacies. PART II CAUSES OF FAILURE PART II CAUSES OF FAILURE So that we may have a clear idea Some Causes of ^ ^i r r -i i . as to the causes of failure, let us SllCCfiSS first notice some essentials of per- manent success. The reader should think of a few such essentials. Let him work out the conditions under which he would succeed, if he himself tried to introduce some great change into the lives of his fellow-countrymen, then he will be more lenient in condemning the failures of " Vegetarianism." ******* There is need of authority, and of recognised and orthodox authority in particular. There is need that the advisers should have faith in their cause, faith backed up by good reasons, and backed up by good results. The advisers must appeal to all the strongest motives and means of persuasion, remembering that one of these is the eye : they must not deny the actual results which people see before them. They must take these results for granted, and not pass them over. They must know human nature, and its subservience to custom. They must know the present conditions of life, for example, hurry and worry and their fruits (p. 8i). They must be able to adapt their scheme to present conditions ; perhaps the change 41 42 FAILURES OF VEGETARIANISM should be gradual. But above all they must show candour and fairness, especially in confessing limita- tions. If possible, they should have no failures at the start. The manager of a large Company not long ago told me that it was very hard for a new article to avoid failure at the start. If one sample out of thousands were unfavourable, the amount of harm done might be enormous. Last, but not least, the cause must have a good name, especially if it is to succeed soon. The cause with a bad name may succeed, but the bad name is a hindrance. " Vegetarians " are weakest in their list of orthodox authorities, especially from the Medical Profession ; in their knowledge of human nature and present con- ditions, and in their power of adapting the scheme to these ; in their unwillingness to allow a gradual change ; in their want of candour in admitting vast numbers of failures; and, last but not least, in their misleading name. Let us consider the Medical Profession first. Dr. Sylvester Graham says : " I am fullyawareofthedeeplyhumiliating fact that mankind generally are far more ready to bow to the authority of a name than to hold to the evidence of truth. Before an individual has gained a moral sovereignty over the minds of his race, his evidence, however incontestable, and his reasoning, however irrefragable, are weighed and measured by the obscurity of his name, as being contemptible in proportion as his opinions lack the authority of great names. Li this state of things integrity, research, science, philosophy, fact and truth do not shield him against the misrepresentations, ridicule, and abuse which are heaped upon him. But CAUSES OF FAILURE 43 if by any means he can gain a conquest over men's minds, then his word is law, to which mankind sub- mit with zealous alacrity, while few concern them- selves to inquire whether that word of authority is sustained by truth or not." We might say this about the authority of another powerful body of English mind-directors, viz. the orthodox Clergymen of England. The idea seems still to be that animals are made simply and solely for man, and have no rights of their own. Moreover, the average clergyman does not study health, even the elements of it ; in contrast with his Master, he is not both preacher and healer, but, by an unfortunate division of labour and specialisation, he is preacher only. However, we shall not speak of the authority of the Church here ; we shall only speak of the Medical Profession. The " Vegetarians " are wont to abuse the Medical Profession perpetually, and not without reason. But the fault lies partly with the " Vegetarians " themselves. Let them make the ABC of their cause clear, and the Medical Profession will come round to their point of view, as soon as it sees more successes, and sees or hears of fewer failures. In the last ten weeks I have had a number of illustrations of this. Give the Medical Profession enough good examples, enough examples of real success, and it will be convinced. I am sure that this is the attitude of ^hundreds of doctors. The opinion of the Medical Profession on the subject of the Simpler Foods is rapidly changing. For example, in these past few months I have heard of numerous cases all over England where doctors, who would before have recommended beef-tea to their patients, now 44 FAILURES OF VEGETARIANISM recommend Plasmon instead. They see the splendid results, and the time is not far off when they will recommend such foods, not only to the very ill, but also to the rather ill, and then to many of the apparently well also. We must not condemn the Medical Profession without considering its point of view. If we get to the truth of the matter, to recommend the Simpler Foods would be a tremendous revolution in the face of the demand by the public for drugs and for other things to produce immediate good effects. And the Flesh-foods have, as a rule, immediate good effects. The later bad effects are put down to some obvious and incidental cause, the other and more important causes (which have prepared the way), being utterly ignored. This is noticeably the case with alcohol- ism. We hear crime attributed to alcoholism. We do not hear it carried back still further to stimu- lating foods or to inadequate foods as the previous causes of the alcoholism and therefore of the crime. And we must remember that the public not only demands stimulants and expects them to be given, but that it also expects to be ill at not infrequent intervals. It is very hard for a doctor to persuade a patient that illness is not a necessity, but rather a very expensive luxury. The doctor's own education has been too much against the view that health should be natural to man ; and the doctor, like the clergyman, feels himself more or less pledged to a system. If he opposes it, he runs the risk of losing his means of living. And so, after a time, he generally conforms to custom and to the orthodox opinion as to the method of treatment. CAUSES OF FAILURE 45 People themselves are largely to e pop ar ea bjame as well as doctors, for they of good health is , , , . , do not expect to be vigorously well ; they expect to be somewhat ill. When certain warnings of nature are given, they regard these as signs of ordinary health. They do not go to the doctor at once. They would consider this to be fussy and morbid. The doctor, then, does not often have a chance until the illness is so far advanced that the person is noticeably ill. One of the great difficulties in the way of reform is excessive self-satisfaction, jgrt^-satisfaction'in thie -sense; of contentment with a low standard of health is, ^0m have shown elsewhere, among the chief obstacles to r eayie alth. People take it for granted that most of the conditions of life are good enough. That phrase " good enough " has a terrible amount of mistakes to account for. " I am well enough," says the man with his colds and headaches, and craving for tobacco and alcohol, and so on. Surely his idea of health is very partial. He calls himself a " healthy " man, forgetting that by a healthy man he really means a man without any visible disease according to the doctor's common tests. I have tried to define what positive health really is, after pointing out what it is not. The definition will be found in " Muscle, Brain, and Diet," pp. 17 foil. I quote a few words here : — " We have seen that good health is not to be con- fused with any one or two of the factors of good health, apart from the others, whether it be the appearance, or physical success, or intellectual success. 46 FAILURES OF VEGETARIANISM Good health is a combination of many factors, and good health is not merely a temporary state of high excellence, but is a permanent level of high excellence. "Good health is not merely negative, it is not merely ' not being ill,' according to popular ideas of illness. Illness itself must include such common complaints as headaches, insomnia, nervous irritability, depression, self-distrust, etc. " Good health is also a positive and active tendency towards whatever is good, the tendency to develop, as God meant man to develop, in every direction, both physical, mental, and moral. Among other tests we may apply the following to any person. Is he generally happy ? Has he many interests, and does he manage not to waste his time ? What does he like to do when he has finished his work, or when he wants a change ? . . ." " But such a state of health is impossible," says the ordinary person. "Does not religion say, 'There is, no health in us ' ? " I certainly used to think thus, but I found that I was wrong. Few people know what real health is. It is not mere freedom from disease, it is not mere unconsciousness of the existence of one's body, as so many assert. It is pleasure in having a body. I utterly disagree with the idea that the body is to be bullied or ignored. It is to be tended carefully, to be vitalised, and to be enjoyed as a friend, though I never realised this until I tried the Simpler Foods. The body should bring such a con- tinuous enjoyment as does not pall. One should feel inclined for brain-work. Not to object to brain- CAUSES OF FAILURE 47 work is a lower stage of health. Besides, health should be an increasing quantity. One should feel not only well, but better and better as life advances. When we realise how few people insist on being well as their right, we have a powerful reason why people are reluctant to change their way of living. They cannot believe that there is for them any higher health than they have at present. The popular idea of Health is ''^'o^dT'"*'^"' not only fixed too low-it is also ^ , ^ "l decided too arbitrarily. Health is absolute, not ,_ -^ . relative relative. The "Vegetarians ' say that Brown was always ill, that he was given up by the doctors, that he became a " Vegetarian ", that he is now fairly well, and is grow- ing better every day. They appeal to many similar instances. Their literature is full of instances. What does the average person reply ? " That is all very well, but look at Smith. He eats meat three times a day, and he is healthier than Brown." The " Vege- tarians " answer : " Smith would be still healthier if he lived as Brown does." They should say : " He might be still healthier," rather than " he would be." But still the public, such is its education, will compare Smith as he is with Brown as he is, and not Smith as he is with Smith as he was, or Brown as he is with Brown as he was. Low as this standard is, this absolute standard of health, it is too high for many : it is too high for those who have for years been nearly drugged to death by ignorant doctors, or by ignorant confidence in advertisements. People should judge, not by the present condition, but by the past condition as com- 48 FAILURES OF VEGETARIANISM pared with the present, that is to say, by the tendency. We must have different conditions, and different periods of life, before we can give any verdict at all. There is no absolute standard of health to-day ; there can only be a vast number of relative standards. Later on, we shall examine the state of most " Vege- tarians '' before they tried " Vegetarianism ", and we shall see how handicapped many of them have been at the start. Considered absolutely, most of them now are still unhealthy ; considered relatively, i.e. in contrast with their past selves, most of them may be comparatively healthy. There is no need to add another attack to the many that have re- cently been made on ' Education ' in England. The censures upon our system, or want of system, are none too severe. A great writer defined English ' education ' as that which teaches us how to learn things which, when learned, are of no use whatsoever. He was wrong. English ' education ' does not even teach us how to learn such things. But it is undeniable that ' education ' omits very many valuable subjects. Although most of us eat three or four times a day, yet throughout our years at home, at school, and at the University, we learn no single word about food-values, in spite of the fact that the ABC of the subject can be mastered in a day ; and important details, such as the relative value of crust and crumb of white bread, in two or three days. We learn nothing about the diet of various nations, or even of old England. We learn nothing about health, or the principles of Physical Culture. What wonder, then, if " Vegetarians " do often make CAUSES OF FAILURE 49 mistakes, and go on a wrong path, even if their first start is in a right general direction. We learn nothing about cheap and natural cures by water, heat, light, etc. We may perhaps learn something about Anatomy and Physiology, but the information mostly consists of names and technical terms and dry facts, without obvious inferences. We do not learn how to cultivate our will and imagination ; we do not learn what modern conditions are : for instance how severe is the competition with other countries and how we may best adapt ourselves to these modern conditions. Such subjects might be neglected if we were only taught how to observe what is before us. But ' education ' is almost without method. Not only does it omit so many valuable subjects, but it omits some of the best ways of teaching many subjects. Originality, self-activity, and research in the lines of interest, are flatly discouraged. We are not told to find causes and effects by a scientific process, nor to judge by results ; we are told to accept conclusions ready-made. We are not told to scout and discover ; we are told to sit still and wait for instructions. The key-note of ' education ', at any rate in most schools, is slavish repetition of the ideas of some authority. Any deviation from the text-book is condemned. In a word, 'education' confirms custom, " Custom is the plague of wise The power of custom , , , . , , . ° , „ , _^ ^ men, and the idol of fools, says and orthodoxy, ,„.,,. the proverb ; and rieldmg aptly remarks, " Custom may lead a man into many many errors, but it justifies none ; " though, as Burke pointed out, " Custom reconciles to fortune." D 50 FAILURES OF VEGETARIANISM Psychology insists that the power of habit, through repetition, becomes a bias or tendency which is almost irresistible. Kant even asserted that we are hardly responsible for our present acts. We have confirmed our tendencies so strongly that they decide our present acts ; and he who has departed from custom is inclined to return to custom. Gustave le Bon, in his great work on " The Crowd, a Study of the Popular Mind ", shows how easy imitation is, especially if it be backed by some high authority. Why do I do so and so ? Why do I get up at more or less the same time all the year round, whether it be a lovely fresh morning at four o'clock, or a dismal dank morning at eight o'clock ? Why do I sleep by daylight and read by electric light ? Why do I dress thus, though I know that the dress is un- healthy ? Why do I talk in certain ways, and with certain idioms ? Why do I tolerate these ridiculous "At Homes"? It is all a matter of fashion and custom. If I climb outside the deep groove, people will say that I shall be lost, that I shall find no path. That may be ; perhaps I shall have to make one for myself The air above the deep channel may be better ; it may, for all that people say, be purer and more invigorating, but those below were constantly warning me that the land above is unhealthy. And at times of course I shall choose the wrong direction. Throughout I shall need great strength of will, to which not the least hindrance would be advice which is meant very kindly. Such is the power of orthodoxy and conformity, that many parents in England would rather have their sons and daughters unhealthy than un- CAUSES OF FAILURE 5 1 orthodox and absent from Church on Sundays, even if these sons and daughters be conscientious, and on their way to a freer and higher reHgion for them as individuals, for instance towards a really universal brotherhood and humaneness, such as orthodox religion does not practise. Even then they are hindered ; they are called castaways. Per- haps they are called " Theosophists,'' and accused of being spiritualists ; at any rate, they are thought to be cranks ; and probably they do go too far. Civilisation and progress rush to extremes ; the balance is only restored after many exaggerations in various directions. Authority is with the clergymen and doctors. The relatives of the tyro "Vegetarian" are generally orthodox, and accept this authority. The "Vege- tarian " himself does not accept it. His relatives are against him, and they either discourage him by telling him that he will certainly fail, and by putting down every little failure to the diet (the effect of their ' Suggestions ' may be very strong) ; or else they tolerate him, but provide for him an excess of some foods, and a deficiency of others ; and, for fear of offending his relatives, the " Vegetarian " eats what he perhaps knows to be bad for him. For there are many social disadvantages in "Vegetarianism." Food is one of the greatest bonds of union ; and too often " Vegetarians " forget this. He who at a dinner-party abstains from a large number of dishes is, as it were, a standing reproach, or a sitting reproach, to every one else, especially the host and hostess. He makes them feel uncomfortable ; he is unorthodox ; 52 FAILURES OF VEGETARIANISM he suffers the penalty. Only the other day I heard of an old man who, at the age of eighty, was still vigorous ; he had been a " Vegetarian " all his life. But he said that his sons and daughters should not be " Vegetarians " ; the inconveniences were so numerous. He himself had to eat either too much or too little whenever he entered into social life. There was a great deal of truth in this, although he who takes with him, wherever he goes, a small supply of concentrated Proteid, as, for instance, Plasmon, or nuts passed through a nut-mill, need never be afraid of getting too little to eat. He can always find time to take his nourishment privately during the day ! He who would oppose custom The fatal effects of , , , , , . and orthodoxy must make up his GV6I1 Si few failures. "^"""^ ^° ^^ ^^^'V '^'^^y successful if he has to convince others. He must be far more successful than the slaves of custom and orthodoxy, for he has to overcome an enormous prejudice. If the "Vegetarian" succeeds a little, people will say he would have succeeded anyhow. He must succeed a great deal ; but, above all, he must not fail. There is hardly any doctor, there is hardly any acquaintance of mine, who does not know one or two severe cases of failure on the "Vegetarian" diet. Their natural inclination is at once to con- demn the diet in general as a diet, to refuse to try it for themselves, and to urge others not to try it. I wish I could impress upon " Vegetarians " that the effect of one single failure is terrible, simply because the cause is unorthodox. The orthodox feeders immediately make the failure public. CAUSES OF FAILURE S3 To illustrate the difficulties that beset an unorthodox cause, if it make the slightest mistake, I remember, when I was in Germany last, the manager of a Natural Cure Establishment told me that, in the case of any death at their place, even if the patient had been given up by the Medical Profession, there was a regular outcry made by the Medical Profes- sion. The Natural Cure doctors were denounced almost as murderers, in spite of the fact that their establishments were filled with the off-scourings of the Medical Profession, with those who had been practically abandoned by the Medical Profession as hopeless cases. Out of a hundred cases that fail by orthodox treatment, ninety-nine must fail any- how, so the doctors say ; the one that fails by the unorthodox treatment would have been cured by the orthodox treatment, so the doctors say. And the doctors have the public ear. Let me take another example. When I was in America there was a craze for the cure by fasting. Those who urged this cure, of course, only mentioned the many successes ; but the Papers ignored these successes, and mentioned only the few failures. The public was warned against the cure. It was not asserted that the failures were failures because of mistakes, because of the general misunderstanding of the principles of the cure ; it was asserted that they were failures because of the general principles of the cure themselves. The cure was condemned as a whole. As to the failures of " Vegetarianism," the causes will be considered directly ; but the fact of many failures is undeniable — probably there have been 54 FAILURES OF VEGETARIANISM hundreds and thousands of failures, and each has put a nail in the coffin of " Vegetarianism." For once again we must bear in mind the point of view of the average person, who is living on the Mixed Diet. He says : " My present diet is best. There are many old men who have devoted their whole lives to. research; had any other diet been better, they would certainly have found it out." What a terrible fallacy this is, that old men are always wiser than young men ; that research, how- ever it be conducted, always leads to truth ! So the average person rather expects to fail if he changes his diet, and the expectation helps on the failure. Besides, if he tries, then — from the best possible motives — his relatives are anxious ; they think that something must be wrong, if he does not fail ; they almost hope that he will fail, if only in order that they may prove themselves to have been right. The slightest ailment is put down to the new diet, and not to the old diet (see below) or else to the natural effects of change qua change. Some ailments may well be the result of mistakes in the new diet. It is so easy to go wrong here. But anyhow there have been many failures. Let us take one of them as an example, and let us trace the effects of this failure upon the public mind. A. becomes weak and anaemic ; he suffers from indigestion. But he has not tried " Vegetarianism " for long, and it is quite easy to explain his weakness and anaemia and indigestion as the result either of his past diet, or of his choice of wrong foods now ; but the failure is put down entirely to the general principles of the Simpler Foods. Because some Simpler Foods CAUSES OF FAILURE 5S disagree, all the Simpler Foods are condemned. A. then goes to his doctor, who says, " You need nourish- ment." That is probably quite true. But, to the doctor, nourishment means meat rather than Proteid in the form of Plasmon, etc. A. returns to the Mixed Diet, which is undoubtedly rich in nourishment as well as in stimulant ; and the immediate effects of the Flesh-foods are satisfactory. He tells the doctor how much better he feels now, and the doctor warns his other patients not to try " Vegetarianism." He tells them about A. The friends and relatives have been watching, and they say, '' I told you so." They like' to talk about this case, for they find that it interests many. The failure in this one case will account for the fact of twenty or thirty or even a hundred others never experimenting at all. I know of one doctor who tried the potato-cabbage diet. Naturally, being indigestible and bulky and poor in Proteid, it was a failure. This doctor has never ceased to warn his patients against " Vegetarian- ism," and to cite his own experiment as a fair trial. To understand the effects of such a failure, let us reverse the case. Let us imagine that the Simpler Foods are the customary and ordinary foods. There would be no butchers' shops ; people would live on milk (milk-products), nuts (nut-products), grains,fruits, and vegetables. Someone tries, as an experiment, a Flesh-diet or a Mixed Diet. The experiment fails, partly because the person and his relatives hardly expect that it will succeed. Would not most other people refuse to try the Mixed Diet as a result of this failure ? If he were only about as successful as he 56 FAILURES OF VEGETARIANISM had been on the Simpler Foods, or perhaps just a little more so, people would not be convinced. Still the " Vegetarians " have not yet attributed their failure to convert the public to the effects of their own " terrible examples." Still they are almost invariably dogmatic ; they say, " /eat so and so, and you should therefore eat so and so." I know of one case of a man who is perpetually urging others to live exactly as he does. The reply of these others is — though of course the reply is not made directly to the man himself — " I would rather not be like this man ; I would rather be as I am. He does not seem to me to be at all a favourable specimen of humanity ; in my opinion he is not healthy." This one man must have prevented some hundreds of people from trying the diet at all. He is the worst kind of failure, since he advertises himself as a success. The public will be sure to ask Are "Vegetarians" u ^i, .. ir -. ■ >. n as Healthy as they ^^'^ether Vegetarians are really claim to be? successes; whether they are ap- parently better men and women than those who live on the ordinary or Mixed Diet. The answer of the " Vegetarians " should be, " We are not necessarily better specimens of humanity than others are, physically, intellectually, and morally ; but we are for the most part better than our past selves." This should be their answer ; but unfortunately it is not their usual answer. The literature of " Vegetarianism " teems with striking successes in the past and in the present. Strong and vigorous races of men are quoted ; the great names of Pythagoras, Shelley, Newton, Words- CAUSES OF FAILURE 57 worth, and other men of genius, adorn the pages. In vain I have written to one periodical, urging it to invite accounts of failures ; at present I can produce no sort of effect ; tlMwmnrfyjiiiiitriii are still of successes a "fli^j^ii^ .s,ucGeasas..waji;^^. This is among the chief reasons why the public as a rule ignores "Vegetarian'' literature, in spite of so much good and strong argument in favour of the cause. As I once heard a critic remark, " The ' Vegetarians ' claim to possess ipso facto perfect physical, intellectual, and moral well-being. In actual life we find the average far below the claim." In order to put the matter to the test, let us visit a " Vegetarian " Restaurant, or a " Vegetarian " Meeting. What do we find ? People looking like Greek gods or heroes ? No, at least not on the average. The severest description which I have ever heard was of course an exaggeration. I quote it here because it gives the extreme view. " The typical ' Vegetarian ' does not look as happy as he asserts that he is. He looks as if he suffered from indigestion, as well as from anaemia. He prefers teas and meetings in stuffy rooms to our best English games. He lays down laws for every one else as if he were a specialist in five or six sciences. He is a curious mixture of tame futility and morbid peevishness." We have here a gross exaggeration of a reality. The germ of truth has been watered by imagination till it has become a luxuriant tree. But anyhow the public notices the great contrast between the professions of " Vegetarianism '' in its literature and on its platforms, and the average specimen in actual 58 FAILURES OF VEGETARIANISM life. Which shall the public believe, the "Vegetarian " literature or its own eyes ? I do not accuse the " Vegetarians " of dishonesty, but only of ignorance. Doubtless these average " Vegetarians " think that they are all that they claim to be. But why they cannot reasonably expect to be all this, we must now explain. We shall omit those who have Why have most become "Vegetarians" through "Vegetarians" .^ u .. ■ i necessity or what is nearly as become , . ' "Vegetarians"? powerful as necessity; we may include here economical necessity, and religious ordinance. Of the rest, the great majority have become " Vegetarians " because of illness. Few have changed their diet until the necessity has arisen. Some have waited till they have come to death's door. Hence there has been an up-hill game to play. The people have been like a team of runners, or rather plodders, labouring along in a new land, with few good roads, and many pit- falls, with few to cheer them, and many to discourage or abuse them ; with heavy weights and weak limbs to check their speed, and to test their endurance to the utmost ; and perhaps with no faith that they will reach the goal. They make many mistakes, for as yet the science of food is in its infancy. Few of them study the science of food ; most of them adopt the " Vegetarian " diet in a hap-hazard way, perhaps being misled by such words as " nourishing," used freely (see p. 112) by some of the leading lights of " Vegetarianism." They read the statement that potatoes are more " nourishing " than beef, and they say, " We want nourishment, we will eat potatoes." CAUSES OF FAILURE 59 Even the best possible way may be slow at first, but, if there be wanderings from the best possible way, then the result will bring still slower progress, or even failure. Many start " Vegetarianism " from motives of humaneness. Perhaps they have seen the cattle in a cattle-ship, or in a slaughter-house ; or they may have seen the goose fed in order that it may be ready for Pate de foie gras. They vow that they will never be guilty of complicity in such murder and cruelty. Now such people are least of all likely to base their diet on scientific principles. Dr. Alexander Haig, so far as I know, says not a single word about humanitarianism throughout his great work on " Uric Acid." The whole work is carefully based on experiment ; and such a work, cold and non-humane as it may seem, is yet in reality far more valuable for the success of " Vegetarianism " than any amount of attacks upon the spirit of cruelty. These attacks are not to be omitted, but in themselves they lack a positive and scientific and practical system of living. Distinct from all these classes of " Vegetarians " is the class of those who have tried the diet simply from the desire for change. They are described as " half-hearted, restless, and curious people ". The same desire for change would by itself suffice to take them back to their former diet. And some people must be weak-minded, and weak- mindedness is fatal to success here. A very strong will or a very good temper is needed by those who would stand the ridicule and the opposition which at present are almost sure to follow the experiment. Need we wonder, then, that many " Vegetarians " 6o FAILURES OF VEGETARIANISM fail, when we remember what manner of people these were before they became " Vegetarians " — need we wonder when we remember the advice which some of the professed 'guides' have given, and the unscientific yet cocksure statements which they have made ? As we shall see below, questions Dogmatic statements , , ^ n- ^i are nearly always more telhng than l)y " Vegetarians ". ^ ° statements. 1 hey arouse more thought, they arouse less hostility. This was why Jesus so often used the question, even if the question did imply a statement. Some dogmatism is correct, and to the point. Let us take a few dogmatic and absolute statements as samples. "You must find out the best diet not by trying some one diet only ; you must learn by contrast of at least two diets, after fair personal trials.'' " Something is radically wrong somewhere in modern civilised life, with its nervousness, its indi- gestion, its constipation, its stimulo-mania, etc." " In many cases one of the radically wrong things is the excess of Flesh-foods. Many people eat too much meat ; and most of us eat meat when we can afford it." This we can almost state dogmatically, though here we are treading on dangerous ground. But at least we can say that the Simpler Foods deserve a fair experiment by every individual on the face of the earth. Perhaps the change to the Simpler Foods may be gradual ; certainly the experiment must be scientific, especially with enough Proteid. Certainly indigestible things must be discarded. Certainly each individual must judge by results. All this is dogmatic, and yet incontrovertible. But CAUSES OF FAILURE 6 1 what are the best foods for A, B, or C ; above all what is the best food-basis ? In what proportions shall we take the various elements? For example, A is very fat : some advisers would give him the same proportion of elements that they would give to a thin man. In what combinations shall we take our elements ? How shall our foods be cooked, if they are to be cooked at all ? How often shall we eat ? Dr. Dewey says never more than twice a day, at mid- day and in the evening ; or even only once a day ! His is an unjustifiably dogmatic statement. Shall we begin gradually, or all at once ? I began all at once except for tea. Ought we to give up our stimulants at once ? What other helps shall we have besides the Simpler Foods ? Shall we play games ? I cannot say, since I do not know whether A or B or C cares for games. In fact I do not know A, his constitution, his character, his will-power, his family, his friends, his surroundings, his business. A must choose for him- self. All that I can say is, " The fair trial is worth the making, and here are some lines for a trial. These are lines, but they need not be the same for all. Rather, they certainly are not the same for all." There are many other questions, besides the above, to which any single answer would be out of place : e.g. How are we to behave at meals, when others find fault with our diet ? " Vegetarians " not only claim absolute and un- erring success for their diet, without insisting on individual choice ; they not only lay down many other hard and fast rules ; they also fail because they claim that every other diet except " Vegetarianism", 62 FAILURES OF VEGETARIANISM or their particular branch of it, is fatally wrong ; they imply that others ought to be always ill, if not dead. And yet we find thousands of others who are not dead, or even apparently ill. Perhaps they are healthier than the average "Vegetarian'' himself or herself. This is not much of an argument, as we have seen above ; but still it is what the public thinks. A good example would be tobacco. The reformers quote statistics about poisons ; how a very minute quantity will kill a large quantity of cats, or rabbits, or other animals. It is implied that the effect will be immediately fatal to man. The tracts mention no benefit at all to be derived from the use of tobacco ; they claim that it is altogether harmful. But what is the experience of the impure-blooded themselves ? The effect of tobacco is almost invari- ably good at first. Such people are put ofT by those who deny this fact. They must know when they feel well and happy, and he who tells them that they are really ill and unhappy has missed what has been called " the point of contact in teaching.'' He starts by denying that which he should admit. And the same applies to alcohol, as I have shown in another work. Science is very ignorant about foods at present, except about the need for Proteid. The wisest con- fess the most ignorance. Yet the " Vegetarians ", in their literature and on their platforms, have objected to me as half-hearted in my advice, because I do not say that a certain diet will surely suit any one and every one. Really I do not know enough to warrant any dogmatic claim ; I cannot make any universal law on the strength of my own or a few other ex- CAUSES OF FAILURE 63 periences. I cannot say that " any disease which cannot be cured by diet, Water, rest, and suitable temperature, cannot be cured by any other means." No one in the world knows enough to make an assertion like this one by Mr. George Dornbusch. But the whole literature teems with such ridiculous statements ; ridiculous, I mean, in their present form. If the writer had said, " We know of not a single case where this treatment has failed," then we might be unable to contradict him. But to assume that we know precisely what will happen in the case of hun- dreds of millions of individual constitutions is, to say the least of it, unscientific. On a par with this is Lady Paget's dictum that " Vegetarians " " may be eccentric, but they are in- variably high-minded, gentle people, light and active in body, and bright and clear in mind." Some one defended these statements by saying that, unless one claims this sort of merit for a cause, one will not attract the public. He said, " Doubt damns any cause." My answer was that " Truth saves any cause ", and that, if you cannot speak the truth without throwing doubts on the perfection of the cause, then that cause has something wrong about it. The average person reads in the " Vegetarian " literature about walking or cycling records by "Vege- tarian " athletes ; about improved rapidity and endurance and strength of body ; about improved health in general ; improved brain-work ; improved morality, cheerfulness, and so on. The increased economy of money, and perhaps of time, is a fact which every one is perfectly willing to admit. But 64 FAILURES OF VEGETARIANISM the ordinary reader is led to expect the ordinary " Vegetarian " to be an absolutely ideal man or woman. Such is the impression given by the litera- ture of the cause ; and hence the attitude of the Medical Profession as a whole, towards " Vegetarian- ism " as a whole, is that " Vegetarianism " is a mad kind of craze ; that " Vegetarians " are the victims of self-delusion. Can we wonder at such a verdict ? " Vegetarians " also frequently claim that they do without stimulant. We shall deal with this question directly ; but here we may mention that tea is to many a far stronger stimulant than alcohol or the Flesh-foods. Some of the temperance drinks like ginger-beer have been known to contain more alcohol than London stout. Some of the " Vegetarian " condiments are more irritating than anything which we find in the ordinary diet. The age of dogmatic assertions is passing away. Formerly speakers could neglect exceptions, but now newspapers abound everywhere. Lectures are given in every town, and in thousands of villages. People travel. The means of refutation are ready to hand. Omissions will certainly be detected and exposed. There is another respect in which the claims of " Vegetarians " are ridiculous. It is too often the case that the leading exponents of a creed are not necessarily the best examples of it. Look at those who write on health, on religion, on teaching. Are they necessarily the healthiest men, the best men, the best teachers ? Not at all. On a priori considera- tions, all great Physiologists should be exceedingly CAUSES OF FAILURE 65 healthy and fully developed, especially in their limbs, organs, and muscles. Are they so ? Not at all. Many of the best living examples of health, virtue, and successful teaching have never published a book or an article, and perhaps have hardly ever made a public speech at all. Jesus himself was a type of health, virtue, and successful teaching. But very few authorities have carried their so-called knowledge into practical daily life. And thus it is with the " Vege- tarian " leaders. Some of them are fine specimens of their creed ; others, however, and among them some of those who write and talk most frequently on the subject, are not in themselves a living example of what they claim for their cause. One is reminded of the gentleman who not long ago advocated celibacy of the clergy, the community of goods, and some other theoretical tenets of Utopia. He himself was a married man, with his own sons and daughters, and with a very handsome private income. One of the sweetest-tempered of old men, who, in fact, has never been known by his most intimate friends to speak an unkind word, was once bullied by a lady with " Vegetarian " (and humanitarian) tendencies. This lady spoke to the old man in the most peevish and complaining tones. When she had gone, the old man was heard to remark : — " These people are very kind to the other animals ; I think they would really be kinder to me if they remembered that I was only an old beetle." Such peevishness and petulance on the part of " Vegetarians " is not by any means unusual. So long as it continues, " Vegetarianism " will not be popular — it will, at the very least, suggest dyspepsia. E 66 FAILURES OF VEGETARIANISM " There is nothing in the world to Petulance and anger , • ■ x- ,, make me angry ; anger is a sign of of "Vegetarians" . „ /tt- ■ -, if ij Ignorance. Vegetarians ' should constantly repeat this excellent ' Suggestion ' from a text-book of Mental Science. The literature and the conversations of " Vege- tarians " utterly contradict Lady Paget's statement quoted above, that " Vegetarians '' are invariably gentle people. They are as a class more inclined to be pugnacious or, rather, peevish. At first I myself was inclined in the same direction ; but later on I found that it was better simply to be as healthy and happy and successful as possible, and that this was a far finer answer to objections than any answer in words could possibly have been. Dr. Haig seems to me to have quite the right attitude towards opposi- tion ; he treats it with quiet placidity. He listens to it ; indeed he has been open-minded enough to grant the force of several suggestions which I have made. He has as much confidence as any theorist can have, that in the main he is right. Why then has he this perfect calmness and good temper ? Because he is not ignorant ; he is not ignorant of the reason why other people do not see his point of view. If we once lose sight of this aspect of life ; if we once forget that people are ignorant rather than sinful and spiteful, we are led into all sorts of false accusations. We accuse the butcher of cruelty when he kills animals ; we accuse our opponents of a petti- fogging dishonesty. When we are angry we show our own ignorance, our ignorance of the other person's point of view. Let us take an example or two. A writer on CAUSES OF FAILURE 67 " Vegetarianism " says that the disadvantage of the name " Vegetarian " (see below) is that it gives occasion for " sophistry " on the part of a " quibbling opponent." Now the one authority on food who could not possibly be called a quibbling opponent is Dr. Hutchison. It is true that he omits certain valuable foods when he considers " Vegetarianism " ; but, at the most this is a case of negligence. I am quite willing to endorse all the popular objections which have been made to the name " Vegetarian," so long as these objections do not imply that the " Vege- tarians " themselves are unscrupulous liars. While I use the Simpler Foods myself, I am anxious that they should be called by some better and less misleading name than " Vegetarianism " ; yet, merely because I point this out as a mistake, I am immediately in- cluded under the "sophistical and quibbling oppo- nents." Surely this is due to ignorance of my point of view. Petulance gains nothing, and indeed fairness gains everything. The very first requisite is not to find out and to emphasise where other people are wrong ; but to find out and to emphasise where other people are right (see pp. 12-13). Afterwards there will be time for criticism, when once we have aroused sympathy. We do need far more fairness, far more under- standing of the point of view of others. We want more writers to write on the lines which Dr. Sylvester Graham adopts, on p. 144 of his "Physi- ology of Feeding." He is speaking of the opinion of a poor person about a stimulant. " Oh, it does me good ; I could not live without it," said she ; and he goes on to say, " Doubtless she sincerely 68 FAILURES OF VEGETARIANISM felt that what she said was true." This is the kind of admission that we want ; for those who object to " Vegetarianism " do it less from spite, than from a belief that what they say is true. Not long ago Dr. J. H. Kellogg Failures not men- 11.11.^1 ^ r ^1 . , published the account of the tioned or emphasised ^ . „ _, . by "Vegetarians". ^'"'^'^'^ °^ ^ Vegetarian. This man had found that " Vege- tarianism " made him weak and depressed and generally morbid, in spite of the great amount of time that he spent in the fresh air. Dr. Kellogg emphasised the failure, and scored a point by doing so. He said that, with the diet which the patient used, such a failure was precisely what was to be expected. He warned his readers against similar haphazard experiments. This instance, quoted in Good Healtli, is a rare example. A Magazine, of which one of the radical principles is the use of the Simpler Foods, admits a failure of Simpler Foods, and — proceeds to give the reasons for it. It seems that perhaps the chief cause of the failure of " Vegetarianism," with one exception, is the amount of exaggerations and omissions by " Vegetarians." We have already spoken of their literature, and the way in which the Magazines invite records of successes, and quote these records, but do not invite the failures, or at any rate do not publish them. Such failures, however, should be invited and made public, not only in "Vegetarian" literature, but every- where in all possible Papers, which surely would be only too glad to publish the account of a failure and the alleged explanation of it. CAUSES OF FAILURE 69 Of course the mere fact of a failure is of no value. We need the exact diet, way of eating, etc. Without this the failure is valueless as evidence. Till we have the exact diet, we may fairly assume that the failure was due to ignorance — for instance, to the use of too much indigestible food, and too little Proteid. Others, however, will assume that the failure was due to the Simpler Diet in general, that is to say, to the absence of the Flesh-foods. We must not judge a cause by its failures ; but, on the other hand, those who advocate a cause must not ignore its failures, for the outside public will judge the cause by its failures, at any rate as much as by its successes. It is the same with Christianity. Christianity in its literature speaks of itself as an ideal religion. By the outside world it is judged by its failures as much as by its successes, and probably it is condemned. Christianity would do better if, in trying to promulgate its religion, it emphasised its failures, and gave reasons for them. It must be remembered that the public does not often read the " Vegetarian " publications at all. If it does read them, it likes to see in print what it knows already. It knows already that many " Vege- tarians " have failed. It does not see this in print. Quite apart from any desire for truthful candour and accurate statistics, the " Vegetarians " should publish their failures for the sake of their own success. How else can they find out their weak spots and suggest remedies ? It is the same with our navy. We hear much of the speed of crack battle-ships on a single day. Perhaps on that day the guns have been removed. 70 FAILURES OF VEGETARIANISM and the ship has been h'ghtened in other ways. We want to hear of the average speed of an average battle-ship, under average conditions, for a long while. Such information would be really valuable. We often restore equilibrium best by exaggerating in the opposite direction. If we have eaten too much we must make up for this by eating too little. I should suggest therefore that a special number of all " Vegetarian " Magazines should be devoted to failures. Notice should be given before- hand, and advertisements asking for experiences, and diet, and other circumstances, should be inserted in popular papers like the Daily Mail. Another class of one - sided Misleading statistics ... i . i t ^ „„ ^ . „ statistics may be touched on. by " Vegetanans ". . ; " Vegetarians are wont to quote a number of authorities who recommend their diet, whether these authorities themselves have lived on their diet at all, or have lived on it for a short part of their lives, or for their whole lives ; they often quote these authorities without any proviso. It is chiefly, I suppose, through ignorance and careless- ness, but the result is extraordinarily misleading. For many of these quotations should be made with the proviso such as we find in Dean Farrar's speech in 1886. " I look with the greatest possible interest upon the experiments of the food-reformers, and think their system is destined to spread. They are doing a very great public service, and they are proving that it is perfectly possible to do without a wholesale meat supply." Suppose that we stopped here, and quoted this as CAUSES OF FAILURE 7 1 Dean Farrar's opinion, we should be guilty of care- lessness ; for he goes on to say, " It has come before me as a new thing, and I do not choose to change my habits and those of my family." It is quite fair to quote that he and his family did, for many years, live upon a much decreased quantity of meat ; but the value of the opinion of one who approves of the diet and does not adopt it is surely triflingly small. We need more of the candour of Benjamin Franklin. Then, again, we do not hear enough of the suc- cesses of the flesh-eaters. It is well known that the Pampas Indians are healthy on meat alOne, and the Salisbury treatment has had numerous striking suc- cesses. The "Vegetarians" should admit these, in fact should set them prominently forward in their literature and speeches, but should point out that such a diet needs either a great deal of exercise, or a great deal of water ; and is even more incon- venient in social life and family life than the " Vegetarian " diet itself Besides, they should ask what would have been the result of a scientific Simpler Diet, e.g. of Plasmon, etc., in such cases. Then, again, they often treat those who live on the Mixed Diet as if they ate nothing but flesh. They give statistics about the land which is needed to pro- vide animals for flesh-eaters. Some of these statistics assume that people are going to eat nothing but flesh, and that all the ground so used at present might be used for the culture of vegetables, etc. We frequently hear the " Vegetarians '' say that drugs do no good. Thus Mr. George Dornbusch (already quoted) says, " Physic never did any one good who took it, but has been the dreadful cause of 72 FAILURES\,F VEGETARIANISM many an early grave." The most recent experiments have utterly contradicted this statement. Let me quote a few words from Professor Elmer Gates, who probably has better instruments for investigation than any living authority in the world. I take the liberty of simplifying the language which he uses in the American Medical Times for December 1897. Pro- fessor Gates has watched most carefully, under the microscope, the habits of one-celled organisms. " I can easily . . . stimulate the activities of those organisms . . . When I put into the liquid medium, in which the cell lives, most astonishingly minute doses of certain organic alkaloids — less than the one hundred millionth of a grain to a gallon of water — I find that the mental activities of the cell change slowly ; the foods which it formerly liked it now begins to reject, and vice versa. . . . Medicine cannot cure disease, but medicine can affect, for good or ill, the mind of a cell, and thus lead that cell to perform those functions which will bring about the cure of the disease." " Vegetarians " forget that frequently foods are not absorbed entirely, or that they are actually not absorbed at all. Thus the Table in Dr. Hutchison's book (p. II) tells us that, of the Proteid in various articles of food, only 70 per cent is generally absorbed from beans and potatoes, and only a little over 80 per cent from peas and macaroni. This makes the Tables given in almost every " Vegetarian " book singularly misleading. These Tables also, without mentioning the fact clearly, give the Flesh-foods as they are in the raw state, and not as they are in the cooked state. Meat in the raw state contains perhaps 75 per cent of water 4 CAUSES (W FAILURE 73 and 20 per cent of Proteid. In the cooked state it contains perhaps 57 per cent of water and 34 per cent of Proteid. Most of us eat flesh in the cooked state. On the other hand, few " Vegetarians " mention that we eat the pulses and other grains in the cooked state. Pulse is called the most concentrated of all foods, by a writer in " Cameos of Vegetarian Litera- ture " (p. 83). Pulse is not the most concentrated of all foods ; probably Plasmon is. And certainly pulse is not so when it is cooked ; for, although in the uncooked state beans and lentils may contain well over 20 per cent of Proteid, yet in the cooked state they contain far less because of the amount of water which they have taken up. With regard to meat, again, the statistics are often utterly misleading. Meat is said to be indigestible, whereas its Proteid is absorbed very rapidly and very thoroughly, far more thoroughly than the Proteid of most of the " Vegetarian " foods. It has been calcu- lated by Rubner and Atwater that practically all the Proteid of meat and fish is absorbed ; others give the quantity at 95 per cent, more or less. Whereas sometimes as little as 81 per cent of macaroni and of fine wheat bread is absorbed, of potatoes and beans about 70, of whole wheat bread as little as 6g^, of carrots scarcely more than 60. Not only is the percentage of Proteid absorbed by the body (and that is for us the most important con- sideration) far too high, but the factors by which the nitrogen is multiplied are far too high also, at least for the vegetables. This is a very vital consideration. In order to obtain the amount of Proteid, that is to 74 FAILURES OF VEGETARIANISM say the amount of the most essential food element, we have to multiply the nitrogen by some factor. In the case of meat, and some say Plasmon, the factor might be 6.25 ; others prefer the factor 6.37 for Plasmon. In the case of vegetables it might more accurately be 5.7. The difference can be imagined if the " Vege- tarian " multiplies the nitrogen, let us say in his wheat or pulses, by 6.25 instead of by 5.7. Then, once more, the statements are far too vague. Thus white bread is generally treated as containing a large amount of Proteid. No distinction is made between crust and crumb ; and, although Hutchison's statistics may be wrong, yet, quoting from Barral, he gives the soluble Proteid in crust as 5.70 (insoluble Proteid 7.30), and in crumb as .75 (insoluble Proteid 5.92) ; so that ' white bread ' is a misleading term. The crust is nourishing, but the crumb is much less so. And the " Vegetarian " statistics about white as compared with brown or whole-meal bread probably ignore the crust of white bread ; at any rate Atwater gives the amount of Proteid in white bread as 9.5, in brown bread as 5., in Graham bread as 8.5. Other Tables differ from this considerably. Another vague word is the word " nutritious ", of which we shall speak later on. One might almost suggest that it should be discarded from " Vegetarian " literature. For under the heading of " nutritious " are included the starches and fats, which — so far as we know — cannot possibly form any of the cells of the body and repair waste. They can only supply fat and heat and energy, and serve as sparers of Proteid, if there be Proteid for them to spare. Few " Vegetarian " writers seem to be aware that CAUSES OF FAILURE 75 Proteid can not only form the cells of the body and repair waste, but can also supply heat and energy : hence terrible mistakes are made in the advice given to the public. The statistics about diseased animals often quote only half the truth. It is probable that the following is an exaggeration, but still it is the result of careful experiment by Decroix. As Dr. Hutchison says, " He took the flesh of animals which had died of various diseases, including the flesh of a mad dog. He cooked it in various ways, and gave it to people who were ignorant both of its nature and its source. No bad effects followed its consumption. He alleges that the use of diseased meat is harmless, provided that it be properly cooked." We cannot endorse his view, but, on the other hand, we cannot endorse the view of the "Vege- tarians " that all poisons in flesh-foods are as fatal when the meat has been cooked as they were before the meat has been cooked. In "Vegetarian" literature, statements from the Bible abound. The diet of Adam is frequently alluded to. The name Adam appears prominently in the list of " Vegetarians " on the cover of the American " Vege- tarian " Magazine. We commonly hear of the events after the Flood spoken of as if they were all as histori- cally true as the events of the last few years. Thus Dr. Sylvester Graham seems to be quite sure about what Noah was allowed to eat, and about the great change in diet directly after the Flood. Modern Science does not feel quite so certain as to what actually happened. To explain away the statement in the "!(> FAILURES OF VEGETARIANISM New Testament that Jesus ate fish seems ridiculous. In fact it is very dangerous work to appeal to the Bible as justifying any particular line of diet. We have to explain away very much which an open- minded person would rather leave as it is. We have to make out, for example, that Jesus did not take fermented wine. All such suppositions are mere suppositions, and, I think, are quite unnecessary. Again, the " Vegetarians " often imply that "Vegetarian" animals are virtuous in tlieir choice of a diet,and that the great mass of peoplewho since early times have been " Vegetarians " are virtuous in the same way ; that is to say, that they have chosen the best because they knew it to be the best, and not from necessity. They urge a return to nature. This is utterly wrong. If we are going to adopt the Simpler Foods, we must adopt them because we know why they are better, and not because someone tells us to adopt them, or because early people used them as a matter of course. Early people also used Flesh-foods as a matter of course. But the list of misleading statistics, and especially of statistics misleading for the individual, who of course differs from every other individual, would fill a volume. We must pass on to a few examples of the failure of "Vegetarianism" to allow for individuality. The Ralston Health Club Text-book terselyremarks: " What to eat is a science, but a simple one. There is a brainy man going to his daily duties with a diet of heaters and muscle-makers. He will come home fretful, tired out, exhausted, and disappointed from the day's failures. School-children and students CAUSES OF FAILURE •J^ [often] break down for the same reason." This is a good example of ' want of adaptation.' The heating diet is that which the unscientific " Vegetarian " is wont to use and to recommend for any one and every one, regardless of individuality or of occupa- tion. The same text-book, however, goes on to say : " The heaviest meal of the day should be in the morning, and the lightest in the evening, convenience to wives and to business decrees otherwise ; but with convenience, as against health, ' Ralstonism ' has nothing to do." Surely there must be some weakness about this branch of ' Ralstonism ' if it cannot teach people how to be healthy under modern conditions. Obviously it is not intended for the average wage- earners in large cities, but rather for the few who have the strength of mind to break with custom. Most "Vegetarians" speak as if The wrong there were one single law of food "Vegetarian" foods, , ,, ,., ., i- .^ ,, , . . -^ , for all alike, one uniform diet that etc. for mdividuala. . . • ,, , IS certain to suit all, whatever be the individuality, heredity, and environment, and especially the work to be done (or at any rate done) directly after meals. " Health Culture " had an excellent article in allusion to this. The writer said that, if we were to wait till we could digest certain meals before we ate these meals at all, most of us would wait almost for ever. He did not suggest a way out of the difficulty, but, on the other hand, he did not lay down any single dietary for all people alike. The grain-productsof certain well-known Companies agree with thousands of people in England and America. Perhaps in America alone they have over 78 FAILURES OF VEGETARIANISM a quarter of a million patrons. Now I tried the best of these, but did not find that they suited me very satisfactorily. T found them useful in small quantities as extra foods ; and later on I shall try them again carefully in larger quantities. But at present Milk- Proteid is best for me, as a basis. I do not take eggs, sugar, oatmeal, or much potato or milk. Yet, because of this, I do not impose exactly the same diet, and exactly the same restrictions, on any one else. For I know that the Irish peasants thrive on potatoes and buttermilk, and the Scotch thrive on oatmeal and milk. Then, again, nuts agree with me excellently. They do not agree with others, at any rate unless they are first passed through a nut-mill or well pounded. Cheese agrees with me excellently. Most people find it indigestible, partly because it is a complete meal, and they take it on the top of another complete meal ; and partly because they do not grate it first. But there may be other reasons also. And we might give instances where almost any given article of food disagrees with a few or with many. Strawberries sometimes produce a strawberry rash ; but a friend of mine finds that strawberries immediately restore his health ; directly the season begins he eats them in vast quantities. Almost every thing seems to disagree with some one or other, from fruit to white or whole- meal bread. There are several general reasons for this, one of which is that most people eat too fast. In such cases the grain-foods should, as a rule, be forbidden, at any rate for the busiest meal. Plasmon or other CAUSES OF FAILURE 79 prepared foods should be taken instead, till people become so healthy that they will instinctively eat slowly. Fast eating is a sign of nervous disorder. Yet hundreds and hundreds of times I have seen or heard one arbitrary diet laid down for all, by " Vegetarian " speakers, and by " Vegetarian " writers. No " Vegetarian " Magazine or Pamphlet is free from this fault. Let me not be misunderstood. It is good for each individual to suggest to others those foods which suit him best, for he may help a great many ; but he should only offer those foods as worth a trial. They are to be judged, not by their theoretical excellence, but by their practical results. Take a parallel instance. The German Natural Cure Establishments have many methods : air, light, heat, electricity, water, massage, exercise, and so on. All these methods seemed to suit me well, except electricity. A doctor, however, told me that he seldom could tell beforehand exactly which method would suit any particular person. His point of view, therefore, was exactly like mine. He had many ways from which to choose : each way had suited certain people ; each way was therefore worth trying by others. In contrast with this freedom of choice, many of the German Schools insist on a single method to the exclusion of all others ; thus one branch of the water-cure, or else of the light-cure, is considered by certain doctors to be all-sufficient. In every branch of life we find the same mistake made. Teachers teach all their pupils according to a single system, in spite of individual differences. The mistake, however, is very natural. A man 8o FAILURES OF VEGETARIANISM was ill and seemed to be dying. He ate no food for four days, but drank large quantities of cool water. He recovered almost immediately. He is now well ; and whenever he feels at all seedy he tries the old cure, and it never fails him. He knows that all people are more or less alike in their organs, etc. ; therefore he concludes that all who are ill must starve and drink water. Dr. Dewey insists on the one-meal plan, or the two-meal plan, the midday meal and the evening meal. That, he implies, is bound to suit every one in the world. And so it is with the foods that suit one best. Plasmon suits me best, and therefore I am con- stantly recommending it. I insist, however, that though it is the best (ood-l/asis that I know for myself and many others, I cannot guarantee it for all others ; and, even if I could, I should not be able to say what form of it was most suitable. I prefer it either as biscuits (made with Hovis ilour), or simply mixed with water, or in the form of whipped cream with stewed fruit. Others prefer it dry, and sprinkled over their ordinary food. If I have this doubt about the universal suitability of what is far the best basis for myself, what can I say of other bases of food which do not suit me nearly as well ? I should like to be as emphatic as the " Vege- tarians " and to say, " So-and-so will certainly suit you " ; for the ' Suggestion ' that it w?7/ suit a person goes a long way towards success. But I do not yet know who you individually are. I should like to say, " My diet will give you no inconvenience, even at first." I should like to say, " There is no objec- CAUSES OF FAILURE 8 1 tion to it." But the science of food is in its infancy. Most dogmatism is absolutely out of place. We shall now consider one reason why the common " Vegetarian " diet fails to agree with many individuals. Very few " Vegetarian " writers Huny and worry as j^^^^ ^^^^-^^ modern Condi- factors in modern , . . , . , , , . tions with a view to adapting problems; and wrong .... r,,, ways of eating. ^^^'' ^'^^ ^° ^^°^^ conditions. The conditions they virulently abuse, but that is not the way to help people. It is much better to find the remedy, to find something to counterbalance the evil. For these conditions lead to wrong ways of eating. The habit of drinking during meals will be considered below, where we shall also notice how many wrong things, such as condiments, are added to the food. This is a great fault of "Vegetarian'' Restaurants. Such points, then, we may omit for the present, and we may content ourselves with a few details, for instance the fact that Proteid should probably come first in the meal, so as to be given the best chance of digestion by the stomach. Much might be said about the order in which foods should be eaten ; for example, that lettuce and fruit, which require (?) no saliva to digest them, should be eaten with starchy foods, which do require the saliva ; that dry foods should be added to wet porridge for a similar reason, viz. that wet porridge needs saliva to digest it, and that the dry foods excite the saliva. But we will pass over such considerations, and come to a most important reason for failure. People eat too often and too fast. This is perhaps 82 FAILURES OF VEGETARIANISM somewhat less harmful with meat foods, since they seem to pass through the inside quickly before they putrefy, and they are very rapidly digested. But too frequent eating and too fast eating are fatal mistakes when the foods are starchy, for undigested starchy foods, that is to say, starchy foods unmasticated and without saliva, are apt to ferment, and fermentation beyond a certain point is a great mischief. We shall not speak here of the helps towards slower eating, such as calm breathing, and a contented expression of face. These matters are dealt with in another book. The cause of the " Vegetarian " error is that modern conditions are ignored. City life is marked by competition of brain with brain. There is nervous tension, and there is hurry. What would be done well in three hours is done badly but quickly in one hour. Most people are generally in a state of more or less anxiety and worry. The physical effect of worry can be seen when bad news comes. It may either take away the appetite, or else it may take away the power of digestion. Some people are actually sick when they get bad news. The results of the nervous tension and hurry and worry are fast eating during meals, and work at full pressure directly after meals. That, quite apart from the drink taken during meals, hinders digestion and absorption of food. This effect the " Vegetarians " generally leave out of account. Their line should be rather to point out the errors, but meanwhile to recognise the facts, and to give their advice accordingly. The best piece of advice will be that he or she who is in a hurry should take " pre-digested " foods, or at least easily digestible foods, at that meal which is CAUSES OF FAILURE 83 nearest to the greatest strain. Obviously the evening meal is furthest from the greatest strain. Lunch is nearest to it. In fact, we must prescribe for people in modern life very much as if they were fever patients. Such patients are not given heavy dishes of vegetables. The time may come when they will be given scarcely anything but concentrated pure nourishment. It is found that, with such nourishment, fever patients recover. They are soon able to take ordinary foods. By resting the digestion for a time, we give it the power to exercise itself afterwards. We must take it for granted, ^ . „ „ , then, that people eat far too fast, tarian" Foods. ,. that they digest very little of what they eat, and that therefore to make up for this they naturally eat far too much. If they require a certain amount of nourishment every day, and if only a third of what they eat is digested and absorbed, then they are not altogether unwise in taking three times as much nourishment as they need. Let us recognise the fact, then, while we give the best advice as to how to counteract the mischief Of indigestible combinations of food we shall speak below, where we shall also mention irritants and drinks which are closely connected with indigestion. Those who inveigh against drinks during meals often forget that the effect of some cooking is almost exactly the same as the effect of drinking during meals. He who takes dry foods, and drinks with them, produces much the same results as he who takes porridge in its usual sloppy condition. Exces- sive water weakens the digestive juices, it encourages 84 FAILURES OF VEGETARIANISM US, as it were, to drink those foods — particularly starchy^ foods — which ought to be thoroughly masticated. Cooking should be a most important aid to diges- tion. The Greek word for cooking was the safne as the Greek word for digesting. " Vegetarians " are at a disadvantage because the cooking of vegetables is scarcely studied at all in England. We need to take lessons from the French. To many it seems that a " Vegetarian " diet is bound to disagree. But indigestion is not inevitable. We have already spoken of cheese and nuts as having the reputation of being indigestible. Why is this? First of all, they are a Proteid meal in themselves ; with a little salad, for e.xample, and a little starch, they form a complete food. But we are apt to take them in combination with other foods. A more im- portant reason, however, is that we seldom masticate them before we swallow them. This being so, there should be good nut-mills in every house. The difference between milled nuts and ordinary nuts, so far as digestion is concerned, is almost incredible. Nuts can be milled until they are almost as fine as flour. They then give our insides just enough work to do ; and they can be added in this form to many other articles of food, for instance to blancmange or apple pudding, etc., or even to vegetables. To others the " Vegetarian '' Unpleasant " Vege- ,. , , .... . . „ _ - diet seems not so much mdiges- tanan" Foods. . ° tible as uninteresting or even positively unpleasant. Among the most unpleasant 1 Dr. Densmore's " How Nature Cures " gives a graphic ac- count of the possible bad effects of starch, especially when eaten quickly or with too much moisture. The acid fermentation may strain the whole nervous system terribly. See further the Additional Notes at the beginning of the book. CAUSES OF FAILURE 85 " Vegetarian " foods are the " Vegetarian " drinks, which, as a rule, are ' sickly sweet ', and do not quench the thirst. Some of them are not by any means free from alcohol. But we shall deal with them in a special section. Other foods are unpleasant because of their after- effects. We may instance porridge and potatoes in a large number of cases. Another unpleasant food-basis is Casein. I used to recommend one form of dried Casein, because it suited me. I did not object to the taste at all. But large num- bers of people gave up the Simpler Foods altogether because of the taste and dryness of this Casein ; and I am almost sorry that I ever recommended it at all, except for two or three kinds of Biscuits and Cakes. Plasmon is not open to the same objection. What taste it has is not unpleasant, and it is not gritty. Another unpleasant food is a certain kind of Gluten, which, like the Casein, is rich in Proteid. Its taste is bitter and pungent. The Gluten of the Warner's Safe Cure Company is far cheaper, but some samples seem to have very little Proteid indeed. This Gluten is admirable for cooking purposes. Pleasantness in food is far more important than one might be disposed to think. People want to have foods that taste nice. The pleasure of the palate is one of the most powerful that we have. There are many who will do all kinds of things in order to get a 'good' meal. They will put up with a day or two of terrible discomfort afterwards. And this desire for the pleasures of the palate must always be taken into account. It is quite right to preach moderation, but it is fatal to forget what Graham has so well expressed in the following words : — 86 FAILURES OF VEGETARIANISM " The grand experiment of the whole human family seems ever to have been to ascertain how far they can go in indulgence; how near they can approach to the brink of death, and still not die so suddenly and violently as to know that they have destroyed themselves." Later on, he again speaks of " the great experiment to ascertain how much indulgence the human con- stitution is capable of sustaining without sudden destruction." In a word, people try to find out, not so much the smallest possible amount of nourishment on which they can live, as the largest possible amount of pleasant food on which they can live fairly well, or, at any rate, on which they do not immediately die. Study the answers of candid friends when you ask them why they do not try the Simpler Foods. Make notes of them, and you will be surprised how often the following occurs : " I could not give up my meat and fish and wine. Life would not be worth living ; eating is one of the greatest pleasures." There are two points to be noted here. One is that the ordinary stimulating diet, and the irritants, etc., with which it is eaten, create an unwholesome craving for more stimulants and irritants. If you spur a horse habitually the horse will need the spur habitually. But a still more important reason is that the cooking of vegetables is not yet studied as an art. Many years will have passed before it is. English vegetables cooked in the English way are among the least attractive items among the Simpler Foods. They should not be recommended too heartily. And, meanwhile, let us recognise as a fact the craving for flesh and for irritants. And let us do CAUSES OF FAILURE 87 our best to offer something very pleasant to the palate. I think that we should use the cold foods more than we do, even resorting to iced foods, especially iced Plasmon, or, indeed, almost anything in order to please the palate at first. People are influenced far more by what is pleasant than by what is virtuous without being pleasant. And we must make every effort to insist on the most enjoyable dishes at first, instead of telling people to stuff them- selves with masses of food which they will probably loathe. As long as so many leaders of " Vegetarian- ism " insist on the use of bulky and comparatively useless articles of diet, it will fail. Every excess in food means a Excessive " Vege- , r tir ^ . „ „ , waste of energy. We may notice taxian " Foods. , , , , that we cannot draw a hard and fast line between what is excessive and what is irritating. For instance, starchy foods may be taken in excess, in which case they will ferment, and they will then become irritating. In themselves, however, and theoretically, they are not irritating. Excessive food is often taken by those who do not understand what nourishment means (see p. 82, etc.). They are often misled by the statements of " Vege- tarian " and other authorities. They eat far too much of some elements, while they eat far too little of others. The general excess is in fattening and heating material. There is a common fallacy that " Vegetarians " have to eat two or three times as much as ordinary people ; and indeed they have to do so unless they choose their food carefully, or unless they have their food carefully chosen for them. As a rule, however, people are ignorant in their choice. 88 FAILURES OF VEGETARIANISM But ignorance is not the sole cause of excess. Too great variety is an equally important cause. Those who take many different foods at a single meal are tempted to eat too much. We hear a great deal about the necessity for variety in food. This may be true, although the exponents of this theory omit the Pampas Indians, who apparently thrive on flesh and water only, and the Arabs of the desert, who are healthy and happy, and live for far more than a hundred years, on little else than camels' milk! They scarcely know what disease is. If there is any law of variety, it is that there should be varied foods not at the same meal but at different meals. Yet we may altogether doubt if there is any science in the theory of great variety. The apes are healthy enough without it. We admit, however, that if "Vegetarians " intend to eat some ordinary foods on ordinary social occasions (such as dinner parties), they should vary their diet. At a single meal variety generally creates an unnatural appetite, a craving for something new, a hurry to get to the next dish ; and it nearly always involves bad combinations of food. It is not easy to give a five-course dinner in which there shall not be several bad combinations. And so at each single meal it is better to take one or two foods than four or five foods. The Hindus are careful in this selection of varied foods without excessive and unwholesome variety. A scarcely less common cause of excess is the number of meals which we eat. There are some who take five meals a day. One meal follows on another before the other is digested. And there comes a real hunger for food ; for there is little difference between CAUSES OF FAILURE 89 an empty stomach and a stomach full of undigested food, so far as physical energy is concerned. And thus too many meals often lead to too great meals. The way out of this excess is to cut off relentlessly one or two of the meals. Many people do best without breakfast. Some, however, including myself, do best without lunch. A biscuit can be taken at midday. It is hard to say which meal can be cut off with least social disadvantage. Probably, in most cases, lunch will be the meal, in a few cases breakfast, in scarcely any case at all the evening meal. Bad " Vegetarian " -^ „ ,, . ^ ,, . ^. Ur. Kellogg writes as follows : — " Special care should be taken to avoid the excessive use of milk or sugar and other sweets, and all soft foods ; and particular pains should be exercised to make suitable combinations of food substances. When one subsists entirely upon fruits, grains, and nuts, comparatively little attention need be given to the matter of combinations, as these food substances are man's most natural dietary, and mingle harmoniously together during the process of digestion. But, when vegetables are added, it is wise in most cases to avoid fruits at the same meal. A combination of fruits, milk, and vegetables is one of the worst that can be made. Dry food is preferable to soft food, because it must be thoroughly masticated." He goes on to say : — "A flesh dietary makes many people more com- fortable than any other, by suppressing fermentation, and especially the formation of gases and acids, such as develop in the stomach as the result of an acid fermentation." 90 FAILURES OF VEGETARIANISM This is very true, and Dr. Kellogg's work is full of similar sensible admissions ; and yet, in spite of this, "Vegetarians" will deny that Flesh-foods are digestible. Surely this is sheer madness. For the majority of people, at any rate at the start, the " Vegetarian " diet, as found in most Restaurants, is far more indigestible than a diet consisting simply of flesh, which has undoubtedly cured hundreds of their indigestion. For those who wish to study combinations of food further I must refer to another work. It will be sufficient to say here that the combinations of foods in most "Vegetarian" dietaries, at least in Restau- rants, and in haphazard households, are absolutely unscientific. Irritating and stimulating foods teting and need not necessarily be indigestible stimulating . ,, i- , ., , „„ , . „„ ^ m the ordmary sense of the word. "Vegetarian "Foods. ■' .... tor example, meat is stimulating, mustard and pepper are irritating, yet meat with mustard and pepper need not produce any feeling of indigestion. This does not prove that they are not stimulating or irritating. It may be explained by the fact that the stomach shows its sensitiveness, not directly by pain, but indirectly by other results. Some nuts may possibly be irritating only to in- dividuals. There are many who hold that the pulses are not stimulating to them. Dr. Haig is quite sure that the pulses contain the xanthins, which are akin to " uric acid ". His experiments with regard to the effects of the pulses are very striking, and cannot be passed over without notice. Dr. Hutchison him- self says that in 1854 an epidemic like scurvy broke out among the prisoners of the German prison at CAUSES OF FAILURE 91 Waltenburg, " who were fed on rye bread, groats, and pulses. It was thought that the scurvy was due to a deficiency of Proteid in the food, and so the proportion of pulses (peas and beans) in the diet was increased, yet the ravages of the malady extended." It seems likel}- to me that there was something irri- tating or stimulating in the peas and beans, quite apart from the Proteid which they undoubtedly contained. Eggs are also irritating and stimulating to certain people. Here also Dr. Haig is emphatic as to the results. Dr. Hutchison says that Eggs contain Proteid in abundance, but also, " at least in their yolk, something that may be true nuclein, which is a source of uric acid, or may be merely a paranuclein. Dr. Haig says tliat he gradually eliminated from his diet all articles that contained even the smallest quantities of this, as he got very distinct evidence that this, when taken everj- da)-, decidedly increased the excretion of uric acid." Oats need a more careful investigation than they have yet received. In my own case they produce a far more heating effect than alcohol, and indeed are altogether undesirable as an article of food. Oat-tea, that is to say water in which oats have been boiled, the water being tlien strained off and a little lemon being added, has no such effect upon me. Sugar has a bad effect upon manj', being both irritating and stimulating. This need not apply to all kinds of sugar, e.g. sugar of milk ; but man}' find ordinary sugars very like alcohol in tlieir effects. With starch they may be bad in their effects, because they seem to hinder the digestion of the starch even while they may excite the saliva. 92 FAILURES OF VEGETARIANISM Some starchy foods of themselves are irritating. Potatoes and eating-chestnuts are indigestible to hundreds of people. Then there are the highly-seasoned foods which we so often get in " Vegetarian " Restaurants. We find there Lea and Perrins' Worcester Sauce, which is one of the most powerful stimulants known. In Australia it is freely used as a pick-me-up. Pepper, mustard, and salt are also found in Restau- rants. As to pepper, its effects were visibly proved in the case of Alexis St. Martin. Pepper and mustard make the stomach blush, as it were. As to salt, its effects are much disputed. The effects of salt and water taken on an empty stomach seem to be alto- gether different from the effects of salt taken with ordinary food. Pastry is for most people indigestible, yet we frequently find it in the " Vegetarian " diet. A food which in itself need not be irritating may become irritating when it is badly cooked ; or, on the other hand, cooking may remove an irritating effect. Raw wheat may be bad, whereas moistened wheat, grated with apples, etc., may be good. Irritating substances do not merely irritate the inside ; they also pervert the taste. We recognise alcohol-mania and tobacco-mania, but we seldom recognise irritant-mania. Yet he who accustoms himself to pepper, mustard, vinegar, etc., will feel the lack of them, and will crave for them. We grant that the " Vegetarian " adviser is in a dilemma. If he rules out the irritants altogether, the ordinary foods which he recommends will taste in- sipid to the habitual stimulant-and-irritant-eaters and CAUSES OF FAILURE 93 drinkers. If he puts them in, he will increase the desire for irritants, and he will create a thirst. The thirst will be quenched by some drink, and probably more indigestion and irritation will follow. He must therefore be all the more careful to choose those foods which taste pleasant without irritants. Among the stimulants and irritants must be classed tea. Tea produces different effects on different people, especially on the impure-blooded as contrasted with the pure-blooded ; so that, instead of being the most powerful tonic to the nerves, it may even, in the case of the very pure-blooded, act as a de- pressant. It certainly often hinders the digestion of starch and of Proteid. We shall come back to it in the next section, where we shall also speak of alcoholic drinks in connection with " Vegetarianism ". We may add here that certain "Vegetarian" articles of diet are for large numbers of people almost worse than irritants and stimulants. Milk in vast numbers of cases is constipating, and the results of constipation are among the most depressing in the world. "Vegetarians " take a large num- Drinks and drinking:. , ,- ■, • ^ , . , ber of wrong drmks, which prevent the digestion of starch and of Proteid. Tea is a good example. Tea is rich in tannin and thein. Thein is akin to " uric acid ". Besides these ele- ments there are also certain volatile oils. Closely akin to tea, and yet affecting different people quite differently, is coffee. Caffein is akin to the thein of tea, and to the theobromine of cocoa. All three, tea, coffee, and cocoa, therefore contain something akin to " uric acid ". Needless to say, this applies to chocolate. Such acid or xanthin has a certain effect 94 FAILURES OF VEGETARIANISM upon fatigue. It may remove the feelings of fatigue for the time. Chocolate, which we can eat in larger quantities than we can drink cocoa, is well-known to have this effect. But in it there is terribly little soluble Proteid — perhaps only 6 per cent. A friend of mine was once attacked by two ex- tremely " Vegetarian " ladies. They told him it was wicked to eat meat, because animals suffered such pain when they were being killed. The good ladies, by the way, should rather have insisted upon the pain or discomfort during the transport, and the cruelty to those who had to kill and prepare the animals for food. The ladies then mentioned the misery that Flesh-foods had caused to many families, because they led to brutality, alcoholism, etc. My friend replied, " Tea causes equally great miseries. You, I can see, take far too much tea." He was a man of correct observation. The ladies were very much perturbed. My friend went on to explain the nervous disorders that resulted from tea- mania, and the ladies grew more and more distressed. They had not realised before that, though they might not have been eating slain animals, yet they might have been taking some poison closely akin to that which rendered the slain animals injurious as food. Eventually a bystander made the ladies completely break down by telling them that my friend had been a most strict " Vegetarian " for the last fifteen years. Though he had only been chaffing, yet he was quite right. He was right in checking the ladies while they were pulling out the mote from his eye. And he might have added that sugar had its evils as well as alcohol, at least in certain cases. And we CAUSES OF FAILURE 95 may well ask the typical " Vegetarian " what is the exact diffei'ence between the full effects of Flesh- foods, and the full effects of tea or coffee or cocoa together with some Proteid nourishment? Let such a " Vegetarian " read Dr. Haig's " Uric Acid ". Or we might ask him what is the exact difference between the full effects of alcohol and the full effects of sugar. We might refer to Professor Atwater's experiments. We do not say that the full effects of tea can be exactly the same as the full effects of Flesh-foods. In fact they cannot be. Nor do we say that the full effects of sugar are exactly the same as the full effects of alcohol. They cannot be. We only say that some of the effects may very likely be closely similar in some cases, and we might remark that few typical " Vegetarians " do not live in glass houses, and therefore that few should throw such sharp stones ; few should preach such truculent sermons. But it is doubtful whether tea, coffee, and cocoa are very much more injurious than some of the so- called " Temperance " drinks. First of all comes ginger-beer. Some specimens of it have been found to contain more alcohol than strong London stout. Most specimens of it contain, I believe, more alcohol than ordinary lager beer. In fact, many of these " Temperance " drinks are rich in alcohol. They are called non-intoxicating, and probably most of them are non-intoxicating. One would burst before one could drink enough of them to become intoxicated ! " Vegetarianism " sadly needs a good drink — a drink which shall be acid, so that it shall have some 'sting' in it, and so that less of it need be drunk. At present there is no good substitute for 96 FAILURES OF VEGETARIANISM alcohol, tea, coffee, and cocoa. Caramel-cereai or baked wheat coffee seems to be one of the best substitutes for coffee, but it makes me very thirsty to drink it. In Germany, at the Gossmann Natural Cure Establishment near Wilhelmshohe, they used to provide a good tea made of rose bulbs ; but I have never seen this on sale in England. Buttermilk was very popular there, as it is in American cities, and it is one of the pleasantest drinks though inclined to be fattening. Oat-tea is another good drink, when mixed with lemon. It has been known to cure dipsomania. Lemon juice itself is excellent, and unsweetened fruit juices generally ought to be far commoner than they are. As a rule, we cannot buy fruit juices which are not simply saturated with sugar. Fruit perhaps is the best ' drink ' of all, because the water in it is so soft. " Vegetarians " often take drink in the wrong quantities. They often take too much, because the drink itself is not a thirst-quencher ; Temperance drinks are, for the most part, tamely sweet and sickly. " Orange Champagne " is typical of them. Fat people especially are in the habit of drinking too much. Their heart gets a great deal of work to do ; for, each time that it pumps blood, it pumps less good blood if the blood be diluted with water ; therefore it has to pump more vigorously and more frequently. Other people drink too little, especially if they are dry by nature. They are told not to drink in case they should become too fat. They are not told when not to drink. They should drink at great distances from meals, and should not drink at meals. CAUSES OF FAILURE 97 Most people drink at the wrong times, particularly during meals. A cold drink (American iced water is an extreme instance) is bad at such a time for two reasons. First of all, it lowers the temperature of the stomach, which must be hot in order to digest or ' cook ' the food. Secondly, it weakens the digestive juices, which must be strong in order to act upon the food. Undigested food often ferments or putrefies. So drink should be taken especially in the early morning (it may then be followed by a walk), and late at night, when it has the whole night in which to spread through the body, and to take up, dissolve, and remove impurities. Is cold (or cool) water best? Yes, undoubtedly it is, for those who are already healthy; in fact, it is a sign of health to be content with pure cool water. But for the unhealthy it need not necessarily be the best drink. For them salt and water with bi-carbonate of soda in the early morning, salicylate of soda and water at night, may be great helps in breaking up the " uric acid" within the system, and thus in lessening the period of depression. Others may prefer water nearly boiling ; thousands have been restored to health by drinking one or two tumblers of this water early in the morning and late at night. Strange as it may sound, a good substitute for drinking in many cases is the use of the stomach- tube, which is described in " Avenues to Health ". Where the thirst is due to indigestion or fermentation in the stomach, the simplest remedy may be to remove the cause of the mischief, and to clear the stomach itself. Others find a good bath equally effective. G 98 FAILURES OF VEGETARIANISM The greatest mistake that " Vege- " V tari " tarians " make is to take too little Foods, and unem- Proteid. The importance of Pro- phasised articles of teid cannot be overestimated. I Diet, etc. should not need to quote here from Sir Michael Foster, Hutchison, Bunge, Gamgee, and others, were it not that so many people are absolutely ignorant as to what Proteid is and what it does. Prof. Sir Michael Foster, on p. 1 1 5 of his " Primer of Physiology ", says : — " Proteid matter we must have always. . . . We might indeed manage to live on Proteid matter alone, for it contains not only nitrogen but also carbon and hydrogen, and out of it, with the help of a few minerals, we might renew the whole blood and build up any and every part of the body. But ... it would be uneconomical and unwise to do so." Dr. Robert Hutchison, the latest authority on food, is even more emphatic. I quote from the most recent edition of his " Food and Dietetics ". " Proteids alone are able to fulfil both of the functions of a food. This . . . justifies the proud title of pre-eminent (tt/owto?) which the name implies. Without Proteid, life is impossible, for the daily wear and tear of tissue must somehow be made good. With Proteid, plus water and some mineral salts, life can be healthily maintained for a practically in- definite time " (p. 3). " A lack of Proteid in the food seems to be more injurious than a shortcoming in respect of carbo-hydrate or fat. An insufficient CAUSES OF FAILURE 99 supply of Proteid leads to imperfect tissue repair, more especially perhaps of the muscles and blood ; it causes the body to become unduly watery, whence the pallor and puffiness of the underfed " (p. 54). " Not only, I think, does a diet rich in Proteid make for physical and mental energy : it seems to increase also one's power of resisting disease. An abundant supply of Proteid seems to be necessary if the blood and muscles are to be kept in good con- dition. . . . The nervous system, too, seems to require a plentiful supply of Proteid. ... To growing children a deficiency of Proteid in the diet is specially disastrous " (pp. 169-170). To put the scientific verdict beyond all shadow of doubt, let us add three more quotations : — " Proteids may be regarded as the most important food-stuffs, in so far as they are the only organic food- stuffs of which it can with certainty be affirmed that they are indispensable, and that they cannot be replaced by any other nutrient material " {Bunge). " We may be deprived of starches, and yet live ; we may be deprived of sugars, and yet live ; we may go without fats ; but, unless we have Proteid, we die " (Gamgee). " In Proteid we have, as it were, the requisite starting-point for the various changes which result in the phenomena of life " (Pavy). The mischief lies partly in the free use of the word " nutritious ". Sylvester Graham on p. 145 of his " Physiology of Feeding ", and Anna Kingsford on p. lOO FAILURES OF VEGETARIANISM 125 of her "The Ideal Diet", tell us that certain foods are more " nourishing '' than meat. Now the word " nourishing " has two absolutely distinct senses. As Dr. Hutchison says, " Food may either form cells in the body and repair waste, or else it may provide heat and energy. Proteid can serve both these pur- poses. The carbo-hydrates and fats can only serve the second purpose.'' And so, if we took nothing but carbo-hydrates and fats, we should take nothing to make the cells of our body, and to repair waste. We should have to live on our own cells. It is true that carbo-hydrates and fats are Proteid-sparers, but they are not Proteid-makers. He who takes carbo-hydrates and fats needs less Proteid, but he cannot do without Proteid altogether. Nearly every scientist holds that he must have about 4^ ounces of Proteid a day. Yet the " Vegetarian " literature teems with ignor- ance about Proteid. One or two unathletic cranks almost speak of Proteid as if it were a craze and a fallacy. That it is not so can be easily proved, and has been proved a number of times. During the last few years I have practically never felt tired during matches, except on one or two occasions when I had very little Proteid before the match began. It is possible indeed to pull through without Proteid. In this case one lives on one's own capital, one uses up one's own cells. But to do this is a grand mistake. It is far better to take too much than too little Proteid. As the French proverb (quoted by Hutchison) aptly says, " Pour avoir assez il faut avoir trop." Dr. Haig is most emphatic as to the im- portance of this element of diet. No amount of food which is " nourishing " in the sense of heat-forming CAUSES OF FAILURE lOI and energy-forming can possibly take the place of Proteid. The " Vegetarian " writers who confuse the two meanings of the word " nourishing " have done immeasurable harm. There is another point besides. I believe one may safely say that most " Vegetai-ians '' take tea, or coffee, or cocoa. Any one of these must hinder the diges- tion of Proteid. Those who take them should therefore take more Proteid than the (?) 4J ounces a day. There is a further consideration as well. No one will deny that a diet of fruit and vegetables and grains is, in ordinary cases, aperient. Such a diet frequently cures constipation ; but it may produce the other extreme. Now too quick and too violent an action may carry away very much that is valuable for the system. It behoves most " Vegetarians ", therefore, to take more Proteid than otherwise they would have to take, partly because some of it is almost sure to be undigested, as the statistics at the beginning of Dr. Hutchison's book prove beyond all shadow of doubt. Some more of the Proteid may be undigested, because of the addition of tea, coffee, or cocoa. Some more may be undigested, or at least unabsorbed, because of the aperient effect of certain Simpler Foods. Yet another reason has to be added. We have already said, and we must repeat it here, that the factor by which " Vegetarians " multiply the nitrogen, in order to get the amount of Proteid in foods, is often too high, being 6.25 instead of 5.7. Of course this represents an extreme. The true amount may lie somewhere between the two figures ; but it seems that the Proteid of grains, etc., cannot all be reckoned I02 FAILURES OF VEGETARIANISM as having the same value as the Proteid of meat or Plasmon. "^, Of all the reasons why " Vegetarianism " has failed ' I should put first and foremost the deficiency of Proteid. Personally I always make a point of taking Proteid daily in slight excess. I may have to do some extra work, or for some reason or other the amount which I take may not all be digested or absorbed. As to the other elements of food, I am generally careful to take them at least once a day, but to take them more than once I believe to be probably unnecessary. Proteid, however, I insist upon taking in slight excess, and as yet I cannot trace the slightest ill-effect from this, so long as I get my Proteid from such a food as Plasmon, or from grated cheese, or from milled nuts. Excessive Proteid from peas and beans I have found to be unsatisfactory. The reason of the failure probably lies less with the excess of Proteid than (see Additional Notes) with the presence of one of the sisters of " uric acid ". The 'Salts' are mysterious elements, but, as far as we know, they may all be obtained from fruits and grains and vegetables, in abundance, if not in excess. Many " Vegetarians" themselves hold that valuable ' Salts' are lost during the cooking process ; for instance, when the water in which vegetables have been boiled is poured away. That is one fatal objection to the confidence which " Vegetarians " place in vegetables. They forget that, at present, most people ivill cook vegetables in their own way. As to drinks, the " Vegetarians" neglect the value of oat-tea, and of unsweetened fruit juices : many of their drinks they saturate with sugar. They ought CAUSES OF FAILURE 103 to devote their attention to the subject of drink, since that is one road to popularity. At present, their best drinks are tea, coffee, and cocoa, which are held by many to produce even worse effects than Flesh- foods. Some drinks are needed to take the place of these, and of alcohol. Bottled and unsweetened fruits should also appear in every " Vegetarian '' list, and " Vegetarians " should do whatever they can in the direction of preserving fruits in season at places where they are common, and where they can be obtained for practically nothing. Instead of spending so much money in literature, they ought to build vast works in the neighbourhood of fruit-growing localities. Foreign vegetables are neglected. The American egg-plant is a good example. It has a delicious taste, and in fact is not at all unlike fish-cake ; but "Vegetarians" do little to introduce this into Eng- land. As we have said already, to most people " Vegetarianism " means a diet of vegetables ; and English vegetables are, as a rule, badly cooked and monotonous. We have very few of the best vegetables in England. The pulses are often emphasised as valuable articles of diet, but not in the right way. They are cheap and nourishing, and perhaps good if there be abundant exercise. But we must carefully distinguish_ between the foods which are highly stimulating as well as nourishing, and the foods which are chiefly nourishing. To large numbers of people the pulses are objectionable. They may be emphasised strongly where a cheap outdoor diet is needed, but where an indoor diet is needed it is more than doubtful whether I04 FAILURES OF VEGETARIANISM they should be mentioned except as an occasional change. " Vegetarians " prefer to ignore Dr. Haig's valuable researches as to the effects of the pulses, etc., on blood-pressure. " Vegetarians " do not lay nearly enough stress upon cheese, and especially upon grated cheese. Grated cheese is to many far more digestible than ordinary cheese. It is wonderfully nourishing, and is free from the objection to which the pulses lend themselves, that for a sedentary life the food is too ' heating ' and stimulating. In view of the popular idea that nuts are indi- gestible, " Vegetarians " should never cease to insist that nuts should be grated or milled before they are eaten. This leaves a certain amount of work, though not too much work, for the digestion. If more work be needed, other fruit can be added. In view of the hurry of modern life, and the consequent fast eating, and the short time allowed for digestion, nuts are a bad food in their natural state. After being passed through a nut-mill they become quite soft and lose none of their flavour. The nut-mill costs only a few shillings. I have experimented recently with meals of nuts in their ordinary form, and with milled nuts. Both kinds I ate fast, on purpose. The ordinary nuts had an appreciable bad effect ; the milled nuts had not. And there are many food-products which are valuable for a similar reason. I hate to hear a faddist insist on ' natural ' foods, which almost invariably are in the wrong proportions, and are indigestible to a person who is in a hurry. It shows a want of obser- vation to keep on insisting that people should take CAUSES OF FAILURE lOj foods which they can hardly digest in their present state of mind ; and yet, when once it is asserted that most people are in far too great a hurry, every one agrees that it is absolutely the truth. " Vegetarians " will not draw the obvious deduction that we must suggest a diet suitable for such people. The London Nut Food Company has some easily-digested nut- rolls ; the International Health Company has many ' pre-digested ' or partially digested grain- and nut- foods also. These are made according to the recipes of Dr. Kellogg's Establishmeut at Battle Creek, Michigan. His " Science in the Kitchen " suggests hundreds of easily absorbed meals. Yet, in spite of this, "Vegetarians'' will insist on inflating and heat- ing oats, etc. They perpetually forget that the value of a food consists not in the theoretical value given to it by some faddist, or even by some scientific analyst; the value of a food depends upon the amount absorbed by the system, and ready for use. The Tabular list of food-values shows a large proportion of Proteid, etc., in some of these special preparations ; most of it is absorbed by the system. These foods are pure, their composition is uniform, and nearly all people find them very easily digestible. They are more likely to contain the proportions that we need than our natural foods, which many stomachs have lost the power of digesting. Shredded wheat is another good and pleasant meal, if cream be added to it. It is very popular in the Dairy Restaurants in America. Two shredded wheat biscuits in a basin of cool cream make a capital lunch. For those who prefer something dry there are the I06 FAILURES OF VEGETARIANISM Zetland biscuits, and many other wheaten biscuits as well. But the food which people should try in modern life is lighter and usually more digestible, and at the same time more nourishing, than any of these, viz. Plasmon. I have heard many " Vegetarians " object to it as being an ' artificial ' food. Such cranks do a prodigious amount of harm to their cause, and I have exposed their fallacy elsewhere. They refuse to remember that people eat quickly, and then work or take exercise directly afterwards ; and that therefore they either should not eat anything at all, or else should eat what may be easily digested and completely absorbed. A meal of pulses or porridge is one of the most inappropriate possible ; in fact, most of those foods which "Vegetarians" praise as natural are bad for modern conditions in cities. I believe that a meat meal^ would be preferable to a meal of potatoes and cabbages and bread and butter, such as so many " Vegetarians " take, and would even be preferable to a couple of certain " Vegetarian cutlets", which inflate one so much for half an hour that one can scarcely move, and then leave one with a feeling of almost absolute emptiness. A small piece of meat would, I believe, produce less harmful results. As to Plasmon being artificial, it is so. It is practically imperishable ; it is sterilised, i.e. free from germs ; is concentrated ; it may be digested quickly and easily. To that extent it is artificial, and not natural. But then we must remember that railways and cabs and clothes are artificial, and so are houses. We should as reasonably recommend a life in the 1 I here speak only of the ordinary physiological effects. CAUSES OF FAILURE 107 country — we must walk everywhere; we must not live in houses, they are artificial. It is just this which puts cranks out of touch with the public. The public replies, " Unless you can adapt yourselves to our conditions instead of telling us to adapt our whole modern life to your theories, we shall not listen to you ; we shall treat you as cranks. Tell us how to live healthily and cheaply here and now in our crowded city, and with our hurry and worry, and we will gladly listen to you." And already Plasmon has given us an answer to this question. There is no food that stands in the same class. It satisfies the desire for a pleasant taste, and for variety. I quote Dr. Hutchison's opinion of it here, from p. 140 of his " Food and Dietetics ". The Lancet gives the Proteid value as 81^ per cent. Reports by Medical men on the effects of Plasmon in numerous cases are to be found in various numbers of the Lancet, Medical Times, etc. " The most recent preparation of this class is the substance known as Plasmon. It consists of the Proteids of milk rendered soluble by combination with bi-carbonate of soda. It occurs as a yellowish- white powder containing 12 per cent of moisture, 8J per cent of ash, and 4 per cent of nitrogen (69 per cent of Proteid). It is easily soluble in warm fluids, and is devoid of taste. It is absorbed very com- pletely, only from 2 to 4I per cent being lost even when as much as 135 grammes were given daily. Metabolic experiments (by Ernst Bloch) show that it is capable of replacing all other Proteids in the food. It is the cheapest of the Casein preparations. In these forms Casein is digested with ease, and absorbed almost in its entirety." Io8 FAILURES OF VEGETARIANISM Plasmon is not merely an ordinary dried Casein, however. For an ordinary dried Casein contains acid. Plasmon contains no acid nor alkali, and Virchow pointed out that it has the Proteid and " Salts " of pure fresh milk "in an unaltered condition." Yet many "Vegetarians", knowing nothing about the food theoretically, and not having tried it, call it ' artificial ' and refuse to add it to their list. Eggs they eat, and recommend, although the yolk of eggs (see p. 91) seems to contain something akin to "uric acid ". Eggs, they say, are ' natural '. Some of the " Vegetarians " mention it occasionally ; but, when they are hard pressed by their opponents (as by Dr. Hutchison), they usually forget to mention it, though it seems to be one of the backbones of the Simpler Foods of the future. A "Vegetarian " writes to me to say that he or she objects to Plasmon for two reasons : — 1. " People of old did not use Plasmon, but were strong without it." I reply to this that people of old did not know Plasmon ; and they might have been stronger with it. And, as to strength, people have been strong with meat. That is not the point. We want, not only strength, but also capacity for work ; and there cannot be a full capacity for work so long as there is indigestion, and so long as there is insufficient nourishment. With the common " Vege- tarian " diet frequently there is indigestion, and frequently there is want of nourishment. He or she will not try Plasmon, however, but condemns it untried. 2. The second reason was that to recommend Plasmon looked like advertising a Company. This reason seems too childish for words. If the food is CAUSES OF FAILURE IO9 good, and if after experiment it is found to be suitable for modern conditions, tlien assuredly it matters little whether it be run by a Company or whether it be bought from a shop in the ordinary way. The probability is that, if it be run by a Company on a large scale, it will be sold at a cheaper rate. In my reply to the letter, I stated that at present 1 have heard of very few failures of Plasmon, though it has been applied in thousands of cases. It was found to give its full nourishing value, without raising the temperature, even in cases of very high fever. And modern life is a kind of high fever, in cities. Unlike the people of old, who might have been strong with- out Plasmon, people of to-day take hard exercise with body and brain immediately after eating. I asked whether he or she could mention any substi- tute for Plasmon in my own diet : but of course he or she was unable to do so. Let me describe what I consider to be its merits. Plasmon is a practically imperishable, and is a cheap unaltered Proteid. It has valuable phosphates to form bones, etc. By melting it in water and adding a little table salt we can turn it back again, so that it can scarcely be distinguished from the original skim-milk. It may be almost completely ab- sorbed by the system under various conditions without a rise of temperature. It contains no stimulant, no acid, no alkali, though it seems to have a general tonic effect upon the whole system. It is soluble in water, and can be added to other foods. It is not wont to combine badly with any other food, as, for example, milk or fruits do. It is free from germs, and its taste, in so far as it has any taste, is not no FAILURES OF VEGETARIANISM unpleasant ; many find it positively pleasant. To neglect a food like this seems to me to be throwing away one of the best means of appealing to the public. No wonder that a cause which is so narrow- minded has not yet influenced the lives of our millions. " Vegetarians " are apt to neglect the use of uncooked vegetables as salads. " Vegetarians " probably cook too much. Many vegetables are pleasanter raw than cooked ; that is to say, they are pleasanter as salads than as hot masses of pulpy stuiT. As a substitute for cooking, i.e. as a help to the digestion, " Vegetarians " cannot too often insist upon the use of the nut-mill for certain kinds of food. In fact, there are numbers of useful helps which they have omitted for so many years that they must insist upon their use again and again, to make up for lost time. We shall speak of the name „ „ Vegetarian more fully m a and otner special Appendix. Here we need misleading words. o^ly repeat that to the majority it suggests a diet of vegetables. The word ' knave ' originally meant ' clever ' or ' knowing ' ; it was connected with our word ' know '. Now, however, it has a sinister sense, and to call a person a 'knave' would not be excusable on the pedantic plea that 'knave' originally meant 'clever' For 'knave' now means what it does mean. And so it is with the word " Vegetarian ". I doubt if those who started it as the name of their sect connected it at all with the Latin word vegetus meaning ' vigorous '. It is more probable that they connected it with the word ' vege- CAUSES OF FAILURE III table'; anyhow that is its present association, and its present popular meaning. If " Vegetarians " wish their theory to appeal to etymologists only, let them cling to their name ; but, if they wish the public to understand what their cause is, they must certainly change their name. They have become so familiar with it that it has ceased to impress them with its absurdity. They, like so many other teachers, take for granted that what is well known to themselves is equally well known to others. " Vegetarians " forget that they have few means, or rather that they use few means, of appealing to the public. The public does not read their literature, and so the public does not get its idea of" Vegetarianism " from the " Vegetarians " themselves, any more than it gets its idea of Theosophy from the Theosophists, of Mormonism from the Mormons, of Mental Science from the Mental Scientists. The name, in so far as it means to the public a diet of vegetables, includes too little ; especially does it leave out the nuts, which are of various kinds, and can be prepared in various ways. Thus, Dr. Hutchison, in speaking of "Vegetarianism" in the summary on page i68, omits nuts and nut-products altogether. No one could accuse him of dishonesty ; he simply thought of vegetables when he thought of " Vegetarianism " ; for the word did not suggest nuts, although milled nuts are extraordinarily nourishing and easily digested by most people. Nor did " Vege- tarianism " suggest fruits to Dr. Hutchison. This able writer, together with another high authority. Sir Henry Thomson, considers that strict "Vegetarianism" does not include cheese and other milk-products. 112 FAILURES OF VEGETARIANISM Certainly the word " Vegetarianism " does not suggest these. This seems to me to be a fatal objection. The word does not connote cheese, especially grated cheese, and Plasmon. How can any one associate these things with the idea of vegetables ? Even the grains and the grain-products, such as Hovis, are scarcely suggested by the word. One does not regard the grains as vegetables, It is not so much that grains are excluded by the word vegetable, as that they are not suggested. Besides this, the word may include far too much. It seems to open up the whole vegetable world for choice. Thus pepper and mustard, tea, coffee, cocoa, tobacco, opium, are all from the plant world. At a meeting of the Vegetarian National Congress in June 1901, I suggested that the most urgent reform at the present moment was the reform of the name ; that, so long as the word " Vegetarian " was obstinately clung to, people would imagine that the diet was a diet of vegetables, and hence there would be stupid mistakes and consequent failures. People would imagine that the ideal was to eat vegetables regardless of whether they were rich in Proteid or not. Every single failure due to this fallacy would have more effect upon the future of the cause than twenty brilliant successes, for the chances against that which is unorthodox are at least twenty to one. Another misleading word is ' nutritious '. Thus Anna Kingsford, in " The Ideal in Diet ", says not only that " the various articles in the ' Vegetarian ' Diet are more digestible than the corresponding average from the flesh of animals," (this is a terribly misleading statement), but also that " fresh meat CAUSES OF FAILURE II3 contains about 25 per cent of nutritious matter, while rice, wheat, peas, and beans contain from 82 to 92 per cent, and potatoes 28 ; that one pound of bread, oatmeal, rice, or sago contains more solids than three pounds of flesh, and a pound of potatoes as much as a pound of beef" Dr. Sylvester Graham is scarcely less misleading when, on p. 138 of his "Physiology of Feeding ", he says : " Farinaceous seeds contain a greater proportion of nutritious matter than any other kind of natural aliment ; a single pound of rice absolutely contains more nutritious matter than 2J pounds of best butcher's meat." I do not accuse these writers of dishonesty ; none the less are their statements fatally misleading. ' Nourishment ' has two distinct senses, as Dr. Hutchison and every high authority on Diet insists. Part of our nourishment supplies fattening and heating material for energy- Here we class the fats and oils and starches and sugars. It seems that by no possibility can they build up one single cell of the body ; and yet we are perpetually using up cells of our bodies. The other kind of nourishment is Proteid. This does build up the cells of our bodies. It forms much of our blood and nerves and bones, etc. ; without it, according to all authorities, we die. With it and a few minerals, we may (so they say) repair any and every part of our bodies. But Proteid also supplies fatten- ing and heating material for energy. It is thus (see pp. 98-99) a food with a double function, whereas the fats and oils and starches and sugars are foods with a single function. Of the two classes of foods, heating material, and heating material plus building material, obviously the latter are the more precious. The idea 114 FAILURES OF VEGETARIANISM of comparing potatoes favourably with beef in respect of ' nourishment ' is a result of stupendous ignorance, for probably potatoes have between a tenth and a sixth part of the Proteid value of beef It must also have been careless negligence that made these two writers forget that we eat meat, and all the articles of food which they cite, after cooking, and not in their raw condition. Let us compare the Proteid in beef which is cooked, with the Proteid in potatoes which are cooked, or in rice which is cooked. The Proteid in beef which is cooked reaches up to 34 per cent. The Proteid in rice which is uncooked reaches up to six or seven or eight per cent. In rice swollen with water the Proteid scarcely reaches above four or five and may fall below two or one. Now this single word ' nutritious ' is responsible for a vast amount of failure. The ignorant person who, for some reason or other, decides to become a " Vege- tarian", goes to such authorities as the above for advice. ' Nutrition ' — that is what he wants ! "What is nutritious ? " He is told that the potato is far more " nutritious " than beef So he eats the potato, or he eats rice. But he does not know that Proteid is essential to life, whereas the other elements, how- ever valuable they may be as Froteid-sparers, cannot repair waste ; and so he grows weak, and for this reason, quite apart from indigestion or discomfort, he may decide to give up the diet, because on it he cannot maintain his strength. The " Vegetarians " would do well if they ruled this word ' nutritious ' out of their vocabulary altogether ; it gives a chance for the faddists not only to tell us that oil is highly ' nutritious ', but even to imply that it is all-sufficient, in CAUSES OF FAILURE 11$ spite of the fact that it is devoid of life-giving Proteid. It is valuable, extremely valuable, in addition to Proteid ; but abundant Proteid there must be always. Another vague word is ' bread '. How much Proteid it contains depends on all sorts of condi- tions. Thus we shall see that the crust, which is so often thrown away (e.g. when toast is made), is said to have 6.70 per cent of soluble Proteid, in contrast to the 0.75 of the crumb. From the 15 or 16 per cent in very dry Hovis we may come down to 2 or 3 or less per cent in certain white breads, a great deal of the rest of the bread being starch. Starch is in fact the backbone of many " Vegetarian " dietaries. It should not be, especially when much sugar is eaten, for sugar hinders the digestion of starch. " Vegetarians " must educate themselves and the public as to the value of Proteid in contrast with starch. Till they get this simple fact into their heads and into the heads of the public they are still grubbing in the dark. And they must get more accurate statistics about Proteid. Their Tables must give, not the full amount of nitrogen multiplied by the highest factor 6.37, but the amount of Proteid which is absorbed and is ready for use in the case of the average person. They must give the time of digestion, clearly stating that exercise and brain-work within the time to be given to digestion may interfere with the nourishing value. They must give up such vague phrases as " a nutritious diet of bread and vegetables ". They must say what bread, what part of the bread, what vegetables, and under what conditions. Il6 FAILURES OF VEGETARIANISM " Vegetarian " Restaurants are Sfood for those who know what to Restaurants. '^ _, ,-71 1 eat. But very few do know what to eat ; and in no " Vegetarian '' Restaurant have I yet seen a card of Food-values. One need not have any detailed analyses; in fact, such analyses would be beyond the needs of the moment. But to show how much of any given food in its cooked state is likely to be Proteid, and how much is water, and how much is starch, etc., this is all-important. For, as we have said, the effect of Proteid is utterly different from the effect of water, and, in one vital respect, almost utterly different from the effect of starch. The backbone of the diet must be Proteid and ' Salts '. If we ate ij ounces of Proteid at a meal, we should probably be on the safe side. Let us take a concrete instance. Jones is an ignorant man, and yet he wishes to try " Vegeta- rianism ". He might do well on Hovis, with grated cheese, and a little fresh fruit, or on stewed fruit with whipped Plasmon cream. But do such foods stare him in the face when he enters the Restaurant ? Does he not rather find grain-foods soused in water, so that little saliva is used, because little mastication is necessitated ? Sugar perhaps he adds, and that again hinders the digestion of the starch. Does he not find rich and irritating sauces and condiments ? Does he not find excess of fatty and starchy foods ? Does he not find many of the vegetables with valuable ' Salts ' boiled out of them ? Does he not frequently drink with his meal, or just after his meal, not knowing that this may weaken his digestive juices, lower the temperature of his stomach, etc. ? Does anything tell CAUSES OF FAILURE II7 him that he may be taking too little of Proteid, and too much of other things ? Jones, hitherto an eater of the Mixed Diet, enters the Restaurant in terrible ignorance of the approxi- mate value of various foods. Perhaps he has read one or two statements like that of Graham or Anna Kingsford. In the Restaurant he receives no sort of information. He receives a list of dishes, and a list of prices. He may spend his money on that which is not Proteid, and is difficult of digestion ; hence half an hour after his meal he may feel empty as well as uncomfort- able. He blames, not his own ignorance, nor the short- sightedness of the Restaurant keeper, but " Vege- tarianism " as a general principle. And no wonder, for who ever taught him a word about Food-values ? Let any one put the matter to a test by going into ordinary "Vegetarian'"' Restaurants.^ Let him notice also how stuffy many of them are. Then let him remember how essential oxygen is for the digestion of food. All " Vegetarian " Restaurants should be extra-well ventilated. There is no reason why the means of ventilation should be exposed to the public view ; it should be hidden away so that the fussy old women shall not be able to insist on every opening being shut. It is easy for the " Vegetarians " to reply that Jones should read the " Vegetarian " literature first. But here we are not discussing this ; we are simply dis- cussing why it is that " Vegetarianism " fails, why Jones gives up " Vegetarianism ", and why his twenty friends and relatives never try it at all. For you may be sure that Jones will tell his friends all about it, and ' I know of several pleasant exceptions. Il8 FAILURES OF VEGETARIANISM they will tell their friends ; and most people will say- that Jones failed because the diet did not suit him, and that he should have kept to the Mixed Diet which suited him well enough. Or, again, it is easy to say that Jones ate his meal too fast. But Jones eats every meal fast. Knowing this, why do we not provide for him foods which, when eaten fast, are still to some extent digested, and do comparatively little harm ? " Vegetarians " fail to keep their eyes open. Too many of them live in a narrow little world, and write advice which only a few ordinary people are inclined to follow. People do eat fast ; they do drink with their meals. The sauces and flavourings on which certain "Vegetarian" Restaurants pride themselves actually encourage this drinking. If any Restaurant of the kind is to succeed, it must confine itself — at any rate at the luncheon hour — to pleasant foods, which are light and easily digested, and which may also be more or less com- pletely absorbed. Such foods will suit the public. The luncheon in an ordinary " Vegetarian " Restaurant will not suit the public. It is not adapted to modern conditions. -'' We have already seen that the The ABC of " Vege- u j , ^ ■ ■ ..i , ^ name has done much to mrure the tananism is not ^ made clear. '^^"^^ ^^ suggesting vegetables as the backbone of " Vegetarianism ", and in not suggesting such foods as Plasmon, grated cheese, and milled nuts. Let me repeat — for we must constantly remind ourselves of it — the beginner in " Vegetarianism " may be compared to a runner with many disadvan- CAUSES OF FAILURE II9 tages to weigh him down and keep him back ; he is labouring along heavily in a new land with few roads and many pitfalls. For the pitfalls in " Vegetarianism " are legion. He rushes into a fresh course of life with- out any previous education. He is a traveller in an unknown land, and a hostile land too, a land full of indigestion and bulkiness. It is true that there is a mass of " Vegetarian " literature, but it tells people to try rather than how to try, or — in particular — what to avoid. The literature is arbitrary in its tone ; most of the cranks who contribute to it have special fads of their own. One says, " You will be all right if you eat no salt '' ; another says, " Take plenty of oil, and you will never die " ; another says, " Never cook your food at all " ; another says, " Eat nuts and fruit only " ; and so on. Such people, though they may have their fol- lowers, and though they may do much good, yet do great harm to a general cause, since they obscure the ABC of that cause. Let us anticipate what we shall say in the next part of this work. Let us note what the ABC of the Simpler Foods is. The Simpler Foods should be started under the easiest possible conditions, that is to say, especially during the holidays. At the beginning there should be more enjoyments than usual, whether the enjoy- ment be novels or magazines, or games of Pati- ence, or outdoor games and athletics. Another easy time for beginning would be lunch. If the beginning is successful, the severity may be gradually increased. There must be enough Proteid always ; but all the elements of food are not needed at every meal. It I20 FAILURES OF VEGETARIANISM seems that there will be quite enough work for the digestion if we give it one solid meal a day. If we adopt this rule, we can take two other light yet Proteid-containing meals without much disadvantage. The individual must avoid those foods (e.g. see p. 83) which disagree with him or her personally, whatever any faddist may say. For all individuals differ in certain respects. " Vegetarians " imply that the Inunedlate effects of -r-^, 1 r 1 1 1 1^ ^.1 ^ „ , , , Flesh-foods are bad altogether, the Flesh-foods. , 1-11 somewhat as teetotalers imply that alcohol is bad altogether. Dr. Haig seems to me to take the right point of view. He admits that the immediate effect of the Flesh-foods may be pre- eminently satisfactory, and he explains why ; but at the same time he urges people again and again to judge, not by immediate results, but by full results. Here is a case in point. Who could not furnish some instance parallel to this ? A man has jaundice, and feels altogether wretched. He enjoys a large dinner, and eats and drinks everything that is put before him ; he goes back and takes a whiskey and soda, and goes to bed. The next morning he wakes up feeling perfectly well. He continues to feel per- fectly well. Now " Vegetarians ", as a rule, utterly deny the truth of this. They ought to admit the truth of it, explain it, and go on to emphasise the fact that such cases are not very common, yet are just what we might expect ; but that the cure is not reliable ; in fact, that such a dinner might possibly bring on death. " Vegetarians " ought to repeat to the public that nature is not an immediate warner, except to the CAUSES OF FAILURE 121 pure-blooded ; that, just as the hardened criminals feel no discomfort at committing small sins, so the impure-blooded feel no discomfort at committing small errors of diet. The purer the blood, the more fioticeable the mistake — at first. In former times, when my blood was less pure than it is now, meat would only produce cramp after excessive exercise, that is to say, perhaps once every two or three months, although I ate meat two or three times a day. Now, however, even a little meat or meat-juice will produce cramp almost directly. The immediate effect, then, of the Flesh-foods, must be clearly recognised and frankly emphasised by the " Vegetarians ". They are not to deny that the immediate effect is good. If they do this, they are at once put down as at least unobservant, if not as untruthful ; and they lose the public confidence. One scarcely ever hears a " Vegetarian " say a word in praise of the Flesh-foods. Surely they might in all fairness praise the Flesh- foods heartily for their immediate effects, even while they are careful to point out what the full effects are likely to be. The worst faddists and fanatics Violent reform. , ... , , are those who msist on a sudden revolution in all cases, in spite of the claims of business or of society, etc., and in spite of the terrible depression which usually follows. The " Vegetarians " too often omit to allow for the immediate effects of the Simpler Diet. There was one learned authority, Unessential Fads. , ,. -,-, ■ •, i at a leadmg University, who devoted lecture after lecture to a discussion as to who the Pelasgi were. He went into the most intricate 122 FAILURES OF VEGETARIANISM problems in connection with the Pelasgi, without first stating to his hearers the outlines of the subject, or the outlines of the problems. His work was altogether out of proportion. He spent hours on that which, had it kept its proper prominence, might have been disposed of in about an hour. And so it is with many " Vegetarian " faddists. There is some item which, it is true, suits or does not suit certain people. It is true also that there are hundreds who need the definite word or order, the ai^ro? £(j)t], of a master or mistress. ' Christian Science ' has had its Mrs. Eddy ; Mormonism has had its Mr. Smith. The appeal to certain individuals is much stronger if there is some striking example as a guide or ruler. And this guide or ruler may have in his fad some germ of truth, some one side of truth. We do not deny that there may be much important truth in one or two, if not in the majority, of the " Vegetarian " fads. But there is a lack of proportion. Instead of having " first things first ", we have tenth or fifteenth things first. A good example of " first things first " is Mr. Henry Salt's book on humanitarianism. It is called " Animals' Rights ". It does indeed base itself upon a universal principle. It touches on an aspect of the question, which no human being can dare to ignore. On this principle is built up a certain way of living. It seems curious that absolutely at the other extreme is a writer who also sets " first things first ", viz. Dr. Alexander Haig. He, from beginning to end of his great work on " Uric Acid ", leaves utterly out of the question all " Animals' Rights ". He makes no appeal to humanitarianism, yet he arrives at nearly CAUSES OF FAILURE 1 23 the same practical result as Mr. Henry Salt, with a few noticeable exceptions. He deals with the Flesh- foods chemically, showing that they contain " uric acid " similar to that " uric acid " which in our own systems is the invariable companion of fatigue, depression, melancholia, dipsomania, gout, rheumatism, neuralgia, epilepsy, and so on. This is a thoroughly sound basis also. Dr. Haig says we must attack this " uric acid " first ; get rid of that, and it will be time to deal with other mistakes. Here are two people who might be called at least enthusiasts, and who yet are on perfectly safe ground, because they are dealing with great principles on a large scale. Humanitarianism is a fundamental prin- ciple of any and every world-religion that is worthy of the name. " Uric acid", so far as Dr. Haig's proofs are correct, is the accompaniment of almost every one of certain diseases, great or small. But, on the other hand, no vital connection has been shown between, let us say, the non-use of in- organic salt and humanitarianism, and the use of inorganic salt and these various diseases ; or between the non-use of cooked foods and humanitarianism, and the use of uncooked foods and these various diseases. Inorganic salt may be bad under certain conditions ; cooked foods may be bad under certain conditions ; but to put such notions first and foremost shows a terrible want of perspective. To attribute many of our modern mischiefs to want of humanitarianism is sound ; to attribute many of them to an excess of " uric acid " in the system is sound also. But salt, and the cooking of foods, are surely details. Directly they are given the front rank, they injure the cause 124 FAILURES OF VEGETARIANISM of " Vegetarianism " as a whole. For it is such items that the public mind is wont to seize and to ex- aggerate. The public mind is apt to judge the whole by the most prominent parts. These fads are especially fatal when such another vital truth as the importance of Proteid (pp. 98-99) is relegated to a lower place, or is actually not mentioned at all. For here we have another first and foremost principle, as, at least, every high authority agrees. No one can deny the claims of humanitarianism ; no one can deny the connection of " uric acid " with various diseases, whether it be as cause or as accom- paniment ; no one can deny the need of Proteid in our food. But many may deny that inorganic salt is always injurious. Salt and water seem to have done a vast amount of good in clearing the blood of the impure-blooded. Cooked foods, again, are not to be condemned in one great sweeping unexceptioned condemnation. Our inside, for example, seems not to be adapted to digest uncooked grains, unless care- fully prepared in a special way. In fact, cooking (see above) has a great deal to do with digestion, and in our modern hurried life we cannot afford to ignore its utility. Then there are other fanatics and faddists, who have no sort of idea of the importance of digestion and absorption. The foods which they recommend are so utterly unsuited for most people to whom they recommend them, that we wonder at these faddists having the audacity to be so cock-sure. Failure after failure does not teach them the lesson that modern conditions are modern conditions. Among these people (see p. 106 foil.) are faddists against "artificial" CAUSES OF FAILURE 1 25 foods ; they do not realise that some of these foods are almost indispensable to civilisation in cities. It is hard to say who is a faddist and a fanatic, and who is not. Dr. Haig is certainly not a faddist when he deals with " uric acid " in general. But many people would call him a faddist, when they consider his opinion about the pulses, such as beans. I used to think that he was wrong here ; but now I become more and more inclined to agree with him that, at least for a sedentary life, the pulses may be inappro- priate for many ; certainly as a regular diet they seem likely to be. It is interesting to note that, from having thoroughly disagreed with him about the pulses and one or two other articles of food, I have been obliged, by personal experiment of a more careful kind than I had tried before, to agree with him so far as my own case is concerned ; that is to say, I have agreed, against my earlier convictions, and against what I — to be perfectly candid and to confess my ignorance — should have liked the truth to be. So far, we have spoken of faddists and fanatics who are against certain articles of food, etc. Now we shall speak of faddists and fanatics who are in favour of some articles of food. Dr. Haig is in favour of milk. With his restrictions as to how milk should be taken, perhaps his advice would be open to much less objection. But for most people milk is too fattening, and too constipating, at least when it is drunk in the ordinary way ; and people will drink it in the ordinary way, not mixed with something else, and not in small quantities. Thousands are faddists and fanatics in favour of 126 FAILURES OF VEGETARIANISM the grain-foods; yet oats in every form seem to dis- agree with hundreds. Here also there are some specially good preparations, such as Dr. Kcllogg's ; but many of the faddists and fanatics will not confine themselves to such of Dr. Kellogg's foods as suit the individual. They will urge the use of grains of any and every kind. Some again are for nuts. These do not confine themselves to milled nuts or prepared nut-foods ; they recommend nuts in general, urging people to eat them slowly and to masticate them carefully. Just as if most people would ! The " Vegetarians " are not alone in this failing. The Salisbury treatment of lean flesh and water does agree with some people, at least for a time. Such a diet, as we have said, agrees well with the Pampas Indians. But to be a faddist and fanatic in favour of this cure above all others is a grand mistake, almost as grand a mistake as the plan of certain doctors, who think that any one who is ill must take a " generous " diet, with extra meat and claret and port. I am to some extent a faddist in favour of Plasmon. I urge it, however, as being worth a trial, because to many others besides myself it is nourishing, palatable, convenient, and reliable as a food-basis, and because it agrees well with other foods; and, if fruit be eaten with it, we give the digestion plenty of work. Though I should be sorry to go without it for any length of time, and though of all foods that I have tried it has been far the most successful, both for myself, and for those who have given my diet a trial, I cannot lay it down as a food certain to suit any one and every one. CAUSES OF FAILURE 1 27 Faddists and fanatics not only give absolute ad- vice to all alike as to the whole of health, but they are impatient and intolerant of opposition, and they utter all sorts of false accusations against those who do not agree with them, instead of, at the worst, accusing these people of ignorance. . . Dr. Haig's tests (p. 150 foil.) are seldom mentioned by " Vege- valuaWe tests. ■ „ 1 , tanans , and yet they at once give to all a chance to submit the eiifects of the Flesh- foods and of the " Vegetarian " diet to a very crucial judgment. Of course, it is not fair to apply all the tests immediately ; we must wait till the person has chosen the foods which suit him, and has given them a fair trial. Among other tests may be mentioned the following : — Less desire for extravagant luxuries and stimulants ; the saving of money, partly because there is less desire for such things, and partly because fewer holidays are needed, and fewer illnesses stop the progress of work. The saving of time, partly during the meal, and partly after the meal ; if the diet be carefully chosen, the digestion needs less effort. Quicker and better and easier work. The making of money,and,generally,greater success. Greater happiness and less worry. Greater freedom, e.g. because the daily food is cheaper. Better training for exercise, that is to say, more rapidity, endurance, promptitude, versatility, and self-control. Less need for regular exercise. Less fatigue and depression. 128 FAILURES OF VEGETARIANISM Greater purity, and a more spiritual life. More gentleness towards others, and towards animals. " Vegetarians " are quite right Omission of valu- . i ^ a ^ ni. to appeal to Anatomy, Fhysi- able arguments. rj^ur nu ■ t. j ology, Pathology, Chemistry, and Economy. Dr. Hutchison has justly insisted on economy as being part of the Science of Food. Humanitarianism, and personal experience (when it is successful), are also powerful arguments. And we frequently find that " Vegetarians " will quote good instances in History where custom and ortho- doxy have been wrong. E.g. when an objection is made to their diet as not being customary or orthodox, then they quote the case of slavery, which was customary and orthodox till comparatively recent years. We too seldom, however, hear them allude to the argument which appeals to so many orthodox Christians, viz. that the meat which the Jews were allowed to eat was bloodless.^ It was not the meat such as we eat to-day, but a meat comparatively tasteless, more like tripe, a meat such as few people would care to eat without a good deal of flavouring by means of sauces, etc. To me it makes little difference what the Jews ate ; to many it is an important consideration, so long as their orthodox religion is still enslaved to Jewish notions. Too seldom do " Vegetarians " insist how almost utterly ignorant 'Science' is with regard to what happens to the foods within us. They rather lay down a law as to what happens, and thus constantly 1 See one or two excellent Articles in Gocd Health. CAUSES OF FAILURE 129 fall into pits open to the unwary. They ought to insist that 'Science' knows next to nothing about foods, and that therefore each must experiment for himself or herself, and must judge by the practical results ; that each must try more than one way fairly. Fair trial they seldom define ; and yet this is most vital to the success of their cause. They should tell people to begin gradually, if this be preferable ; but especially to get their Proteid basis from the best possible source ; to discard that which is indigestible for them, in spite of what any well-meaning crank may tell them; to eat the most digestible foods at the least easily digested meal. This is why it is so hopeless to refuse to try a food like Plasmon and to discard it from the diet. The "Vegetarians", moreover, seldom call atten- tion to modern conditions, and especially to hurry and worry, as factors in the Food Problem. They speak as if people were still living quite freely ; they forget that, if work is to be done directly after a meal, the question of precisely what to eat at the meal becomes all-important. Nor do " Vegetarians " refute often enough the objection that it is a pity to worry about what one eats. They ought to say, " Do not worry about what you eat, but be careful for a week or so ; be thought- ful and scientific at the start ; and then, if you notice what agrees with you, and what disagrees with you, and are guided accordingly, you will not have to worry about food any longer, and — a great blessing — you will not have to worry about ill-health and depression." They ought to insist also that progress means the 130 FAILURES OF VEGETARIANISM conscious finding out of what is best for most. In old times a few did what was best instinctively ; but we wish to-day that most should do what is best consciously, and because they know why it is best. This would lead to an examination into the claims of the Simpler Foods. They must not be accepted as the best on the word of any master or mistress ; they must be studied and tried. Nor do " Vegetarians '' insist how other modern conditions besides hurry and worry affect the Food Problem. Division of labour and specialisation are features of modern times. They obscure the fact that animals have to be terribly treated in order that we may have them for food, and that certain people have to do the work of driving cattle, and slaughtering them, and preparing them for food. In olden times people did most things personally, for themselves. In modern life we must not expect to see a quarter of what goes on. For example, we must not expect to realise the poverty of the land, because we can so easily get all sorts of things from foreign places. In fact, the " Vegetarians '' ought not only to go below the surface more frequently than they do, and to bring the important things, which are going on around us, before the notice of the public. They ought not only to insist on the cruelty which the slaughter of animals entails, and on the poverty of our land, but they ought also to point out why it is that most of us do not observe these things. The sparing use ^'.^^ ^^^^ ^^'"^^^^^ "°ticed, some of questions. questions are practically equivalent to statements. The Hebrew word for "what?" was very often practically a negative. CAUSES OF FAILURE I3I For example, " What shall a man give in exchange for his soul ? " " Which of you by taking thought can add to his stature ? " practically meant " None of you". Yet even here perhaps a slight shade of difference was preserved. And elsewhere Jesus, and all great teachers, frequently used questions in prefer- ence to mere statements, for many reasons. (i) To arouse thought, and to prepare the way for a statement ; e.g. " What went ye out for to see ? " (2) To do away with fallacies. "A reed shaken by the wind ? " For by means of a question we, as it were, get an admission and concession from the other person. We do not make the statement so much as extract the statement from him. (3) A question can also make an objection. It may be the least obnoxious way of making this objection ; for example, " Whose image and super- scription is this ? " " By whose authority do ye do this ? " and so on. (4) Last, but not least, the question can be used for the sake of asking for information. The question may court experiment and trial. In contrast with the question, the dogmatic asser- tion (p. 64) is often not justified by Science, and it is often objectionably rude. A question may be far more " accurate " than a statement, and perhaps is far more effective, because it looks so weak and innocent. The " Vegetarians " neglect other Omission of valuable i 1 1 i 1 1 ■ i Ji r valuable helps besides the use of helps and means. . „ . , , the question, bo great is the de- pression which is often produced by the Simpler Foods at the start, by so many obstacles are people beset, that we must not refuse any help or ally. Open 132 FAILURES OF VEGETARIANISM windows will remove some depression ; extra holidays, extra amusements, such as novels or Games and Athletics ; the various water-treatments, which we have described elsewhere ; the use of Self-suggestion, whichever form it may take, and of ' Mental Science ' ; all these are possible allies that may be brought to help the experimenter at the start. People who say that our whole mental constitution rests upon our bodily condition too often forget that we feed, not only on foods in the ordinary sense of the word, but also on oxygen, and on thought. To exaggerate the importance of "Vegetarianism" is a grand mistake, for the 'Mental' and other 'Scientists' have produced equally good results without any reference to diet whatsoever. They arrived at the truth by an en- tirely different road, and their truth is no smaller, and no less important, than the truth of " Vegetarianism". Alcohol, as I have pointed out elsewhere, may be a valuable help in removing depression at the start. If we once let the depression, which Dr. Haig accounts for quite adequately, get beyond a certain point, it will be so great that " Vegetarianism " will be considered " not worth while ". The Plasmon Syndicate has started on the right lines in offering prizes to the public for various sug- gestions ; and, if the " Vegetarian " leaders are really anxious to attract the public, they also must offer prizes. It is high time that they kept pace with the Daily Papers and Magazines, and noted the simple means which succeed so well in the case of less worthy objects. The idea of suggesting prizes for the best new name for " Vegetarianism " is reserved for the Appendix. CAUSES OF FAILURE 133 In other ways " Vegetarians " mis-spend not a little money. Instead of feeding poor boys and girls scientifically, and in registering the results carefully, they spend a great deal of money with comparatively little effect. " Vegetarianism " is mis-repre- The need of a public , , ? , r , i n r\ sented m most of the Papers. Un the Other hand, no single " Vege- tarian" paper is widely read by the public. For Good Health is too wide in its scope to be classed as a " Vegetarian " Paper. We cannot here give all the reasons why the public ignores " Vegetarian " litera- ture, but among them are certainly the following. Practically no failures are ever quoted, and it is just the failures that the public wishes to know. All sorts of evidence is given for " Vegetarianism " ; practically none against it. " Vegetarianism ", till recent years, has kept itself separate from athletics, which hold so important a place in our healthiest modern life. And " Vegetarianism " has also been separated from general health, and has devoted itself too exclusively to the effects of diet as distinct from fresh air, water- treatment, etc. And the whole literature is full of theories which are utterly impracticable for ordinary mortals in ordinary business-life. It is of no use to pretend that it is " hard luck " that " Vegetarianism " has no popular organ. There is no such thing as hard luck. As soon as the leaders understand the public, and make use of this understanding, they will get their public organ directly. Any one can appeal to the public if he un- derstands the public. And a simple plan is to solicit experiments rather than merely to quote successes. 134 FAILURES OF VEGETARIANISM As Dr. Hutchison says, " As a last resort, personal experience experimenters. ' ,f -ru *. u i j u must decide . That should be one of the texts of the cause. " Try the Simpler Foods, to see if they will succeed or not. We should be wrong to assert that any particular diet will suit any particular person, however likely it may seem, and however many successes we may quote. But we do urge people to try for themselves." Physicians, especially, should not simply be abused ; they should be ignored until they have tried the diet for themselves. The one crushing reply to an ordinary physician is, " Have you given the Simpler Foods a fair trial in your own case ? " The answer almost invariably is " No." I have met with phy- sicians who have tried the diet of vegetables, but obviously such a diet is likely to be unscientific, e.g., as being too bulky, and too poor in Proteid. We must insist on a doctor giving a fair trial, in his own case, before he condemns. We must not let him put us off with such stock phrases as " What is one man's meat is another man's poison." Why, the " Vegetarians " maintain that what is any one man's meat may, for all we know, be any one man's or any other man's poison ! The Simpler Foods, properly selected, are not likely to be poison ; they have not yet been proved to be poison ; they cannot be judged at all until they have been fairly tried. Doctors also say, " Individuals differ." The obvious reply is, " Then it is likely that the Simpler Foods may suit any in- dividual, for all you know. If they were all alike, then the Simpler Foods might suit them all. But, as you say that they are all different, how do you know CAUSES OF FAILURE 1 35 that the Simpler Foods, or some form of the Simpler Foods, would not suit the majority of them ? " But the ordinary physician will not try. This being the case, it is better to leave him alone than perpetually to abuse him as a dishonest rogue. Neither will the rich try the diet, even upon their employees ! They should offer a free meal to their employees, or a cheap meal as part of their wages. I believe that those who have money would do a great deal of good, and would get a great deal more work out of their employees, if in the middle of the day they provided a cheap lunch at their office, a light lunch at, let us say, 2d. a head. Of course they should eat it themselves as well. Anyhow, " Vegetarians " should insist on experi- ment. For " Vegetarianism " is still an experiment for most people, and a very unpleasant experiment it may be, at the start. We do not yet know enough to lay down any ideal general diet for all people. Still less can we praise those cranks who urge certain articles of food as the only road to health. One of them, as we have already said, may be doing tremendous harm by treating oil as if it were the staff of life. Indeed, the " Vegetarians " should ex- periment more among themselves. They should be willing to sacrifice a little of their comfort for the sake of more knowledge and wider knowledge. It is not pleasant for them to go back to the discarded foods, even occasionally, but yet it is hard to see how else they can arrive at the truth ; for, so long as they live on the Simpler Foods alone, people will often say, " You would be much healthier on the Mixed Diet." If they went back to the Mixed Diet for a fortnight 136 FAILURES OF VEGETARIANISM they could test how far the Simpler Foods had strengthened their character, and they could give a good object-lesson to the outside world. So we need more experiments, not only by the public, but also by the " Vegetarians " themselves. Let the oil-man give up his oil for six weeks, and try, let us say, the Plasmon basis, and let us see what effect it produces. Let him make the trial long enough to enable him to adapt his digestive juices to the new diet. It is a great mistake to assume that " Vege- tarianism " has yet gone beyond the experimental stage. We may imagine that certain laws are uni- versal, such as that a certain amount of Proteid is necessary daily ; but, when we come down to con- crete instances, we find no particular law at all. There is probably no single form of Proteid which suits any one and every one better than all other forms. The ignorance of the public is thus described in a modern work on Health : " It is the common evil at all meals to set more heat-producing food before the family than other kinds. White bread, butter, and sugar, as well as potatoes, are all heat-producers, and contain but little else ; and the blood becomes seriously impoverished by inflammations . . . which follow the use of this one food to the exclusion of the others. Few mothers know that Phosphates are demanded for growing children ; and yet if they knew this fact they would not be able to tell the foods which furnish Phosphates." Probably ninety-nine out of a hundred would mention fish ! CAUSES OF FAILURE 137 We might sum up all the causes Popular FaJlacIes. ^^ ^^.^^^^ ^^ ^^^ ^^^ ^^^^ .^^^, ranee — either the ignorance of the " Vegetarians ", or the ignorance of others. Let us consider a few examples of the ignorance of others, a few Popular Fallacies. It is generally thought that " Vegetarian " foods have vegetables as their most important part, and hence that " Vegetarian " diet is unnourishing and indigestible. People forget that there are such things as nuts, and nut-mills, and cheese, and that there is such a food as Plasmon, which is not a vegetable, and not unnourishing, and, as a rule, not indigestible. As to the fallacies with regard to Physiology and Anatomy, we can only mention a few of them. It is often said that blood is life, and that hence to get life we must drink blood or eat bloody food. Dr. Hutchison aptly remarks : " It seems natural to believe that blood must be a very valuable food, for ' blood is the life ', and it would seem as if blood in itself must represent the essence of strength and energy. But it is not so, and the supposition pro- ceeds from neglect of the fact that blood is not in itself the food of the tissues, but is merely a vehicle by means of which nourishment is carried through the intestines to the places where it is wanted in the body. The French experimenters found that blood when administered to dogs, even in the liberal measure of two pints daily, did not suffice to maintain the life of the animals for more than a month. This is due in part to the fact that blood is a dilute fluid, for, out of a hundred parts of it, from 78 to 82 consist of water. Blood in fact, from a chemical point of 138 FAILURES OF VEGETARIANISM view, is not so much thicker than water after all." That the teeth and the digestive organs of man show that he was meant to eat flesh or to eat any- thing and everything, is a fallacy which *e have exposed already ; for man is nearest in formation;'-Hot to the flesh-eating animals, like the lion and the tiger, nor to the om n i vorous animals like the hog and the bear ; but to the fruit- and grain-eating animal, the ape. Let the reader contrast his own teeth with a dog's. It is often asserted that man is lord of the world, and therefore of the animals also, and that animals were sent him for food. It is scarcely necessary to answer this. The lord of everything in a country need not necessarily use everything in that country for food ! He may even have some of the sentient beings in that country as his friends, or he may make them work, or he may let them die out altogether. It might seem that the Jews were allowed to eat animals by divine order, but '' divine order " has been credited with a large number of mistakes ; and, besides, the Jews' meat was blood- less meat. The objection that, if we do not kill animals, we shall be overrun with animals, and that if we do not breed animals for food, we shall have no animals at all, practically cancel one another. Both are ridiculous. " Moderation in all things " is a grievous fallacy. One might as well say " Moderation in sin," " Moderation in cruelty," " Moderation in anj/ thing ". The phrase justifies a certain amount of error, instead of trying to sweep away the error alto- gether. It has often been thought that the healthiest CAUSES OF FAILURE 1 39 people are those who can make the most mistakes with the greatest impunity. Personally I hold exactly the opposite view, viz, that the purest blood and the strongest blood will be most affected by mistakes, at least most sensibly affected ; that, in fact, just as the purest water shows mud most clearly, so the purest blood shows poison most clearly, at any rate on our present plane of mental evolution. In future ages it may well be otherwise with respect to the effects of poisons upon our blood. " Eat and ask no questions " is a common saying. We might as well urge little girls and little boys to read books indiscriminately, and to ask no questions. We should thus fill their minds with all sorts of foul- ness. It is much better to ask questions before we eat or read, so as to find out from others what is best. For taste is not a safe guide. A vitiated taste will crave for alcohol, and the man surfeited with alcohol may kick his wife to death. The bloatedly fat person will crave for sugar, which seems to be the very thing which is not needed. In fact, a vitiated taste is a thing to be removed, not to be fostered. Custom is not a safe guide either. Custom sanc- tioned slavery, custom still sanctions tobacco, and sanctions a vast number of other things which posterity will regard as barbarisms. It is well enough to say, " Surely the Simpler Foods, if they were the best, would be recommended by wise old men, who spend all their lives in studying Science." But we must remember the case of Newton. How was it that all the wise old men, who had spent most of their lives in studying Science, did not discover the Law of Gravitation ? So it is with all dis- 140 FAILURES OF VEGETARIANISM coveries and with all truth. Frequently the wise old men who spend all their lives in studying do not reveal truth so surely as babes. The infant who refuses meat and alcohol is wiser than the old professor, who eats meat, and drinks alcohol, and smokes like a chimney — a morbid, atrophied thing, half-animal, and half-fossil. " Why do doctors condemn ' Vegetarianism ' ? Surely, if they condemn it, it must be wrong ? " This is pre-eminently a case where the opinion of a few who have not tried the thing fairly is of less value than the results of experiment. Dr. Haig says that truth is shown by control ; that, if a man has a true theory, he proves it by applying it to con- ditions, and controlling those conditions. Dr. Haig himself thinks that " uric acid " accounts for certain conditions of the blood. If this is true, then by " uric acid " he will be able to control the conditions of the blood. This he can do, either directly, or in- directly by adding acids or alkalis, and thus con- trolling the "uric acid". Now doctors do not control the conditions. They cannot control a fraction of the diseases which are rife to-day. And, since they fail to control the conditions, we cannot but conclude that they must have missed the truth. They can only prove that they have found the truth by proving that they can control health and disease. Doctors say that modern life needs stimulants. Surely the exact reverse is more likely to be true. Modern life is already too hurried. If it be held that sudden change would be in- jurious, then let the change be gradual ; but, so long as enough Proteid and 'Salts', etc., be taken, CAUSES OF FAILURE I4I there need be little actual danger in a sudden change, however great the discomfort may be. Last of all, it is a fallacy to suppose that the Simpler Foods are to be condemned merely because many " Vegetarians " are unhealthy, quite apart from any mistakes made by those " Vegetarians ". We always have to remember that people are to be judged, not by what they are, but by what they are becoming. If " Vegetarians " on the whole are feed- ing scientiiically according to our best lights, and yet are becoming unhealthier and unhealthier, then there is something wrong in their principles. But, if they are simply unhealthy, that proves nothing at all ; for they may have been still unhealthier before they tried the diet. roteid and :latine. 1-0 6-5 2-4 2-5 :tically .01 .6-6 14-9 240 60 6-3 oluble) no proteid lO'O 62-6 66-4 S4-0 57-4 50-44 Carbo- hydrates. 8-3 657 62-8 66-2 747 7-4 9-7 lo-o 31-8 4-20 Salts. o-s 2-3 (Acids I '2) 'S (Acids 27) 4*1 Extractives. 2-7 2-9 1-8 3-0 1-3 275 5-S 7-3 7-8 32 3-0 6-40 Water. 89-3 20-8 20 -o 26-4 14-0 S-8 4-6 37 6-0 3-5 5-23 nin 6-71, for other matters see Hutchison, p. 312.) PART III THE ABC OF A FAIR TRIAL ; WITH FOOD- TABLES, AND TESTS OF SUCCESS PART III THE ABC OF A FAIR TRIAL ; WITH FOOD- TABLES, AND TESTS OF SUCCESS I HOPE that Part II has already made it clear to the reader that many, if not most, of the failures of " Vegetarianism " have been because the Simpler Foods (of which the word MAGNVS, on p. 8, suggested the initials) have not been given a fair trial. Before we proceed to show, in detail, what a fair trial is, let us first see what it is not, and then what it is, in outline. A fair trial is not a haphazard and sudden abandon- ment of all Flesh- foods and stimulants, and a substi- tution of a monotonous, indigestible, unnourishing diet of potatoes, cabbages, etc. A fair trial is not a trial of this extreme kind during the daily business- life ; a trial without knowledge, e.g. as to Proteid ; a trial without external helps, such as extra amusements, exercise, water-treatments, and so on ; a trial without other helps, such as the nut-mill and good cooking. A fair trial cannot possibly be a uniform diet for all alike, such a uniform diet as some " Vegetarians " too frequently guarantee as bound to be successful in any and every case, as when they say " Bread is the best food for all." No. A fair trial is very different from this ; and what I shall say directly shall not be set forth as certain to suit any one and every one. The following I4S K 146 FAILURES OF VEGETARIANISM pages will merely state general principles, which each must choose and apply as shall seem best to him or her. These principles are as follows : — Nourishment, especially Proteid ... p. 147 Food-Tables of nourishment . . p. 148 Tests of nourishment . . . p. i SO Individual choice . . . . . p. 1 50 Tests for " [/ric Acid", etc. . . . p. 152 Effects of Tea, Coffee, etc. . . . p. 15 5 Wrong ways of cooking Proteid . . p. 156 Hurry a7id worry affect digestion . p. 156 Hard exercise soon after a meal affects digestion P- 157 Other elements of nourishment, besides Proteid P- 158 Wrong ways of cooking these . . p. 161 Absence of '^ Uric Acid" , etc. . . . p. 162 Gradual increase in severity ... p. 165 Variety and its law, with a sample . . p. 166 Easy conditions at first . . . . p. 168 Miscellaneous helps to a fair trial . pp. 146, 169 A few points about Flesh-foods . . . p- i/i These include the nut-mill, cooking apparatus, cooking lessons, fewer meals, more exercise, relaxing and repose, water-treatments, Health- establishments, Health Clubs, etc., reading, noting of experiences, understanding of reasons, " Self-sugges- tions," questions. We may now consider these headings in the above order. All individuals are somewhat alike ; all need some fresh air, some exercise, and some Proteid or Albumen. These are universal laws. All individuals, however, THE ABC OF A FAIR TRIAL 147 are more or less different ; some seem to need less fresh air, and less exercise, others seem to need less Proteid. And individuals differ, not only in their powers of digestion, etc., but also in their opportunities for reform. To take my own case, because it is the case about which I can speak with authority : — At present I appear to need plenty of fresh air, not much regular exercise, and about four ounces of Proteid a day. Plasmon Proteid suits me better than any other. My change of food, my giving up of Flesh-foods, was sudden and radical. It was without unpleasant results, and, so far as I know, without injurious results. But probably you will be somewhat different, and so for you a fair trial will have a somewhat different character. The laws therefore must be very general. The first general law is to take enough nourishment daily. Take enough Proteid daily. That seems to be a fundamental law for me. The following Table will show approximately the amount of Proteid, etc., in various well-known foods, together with a very rough idea of some food-prices in America.^ Blank spaces are left, so that each reader may correct and add prices according to his or her own neighbour- hood, etc. In other spaces may be added other foods, costs of various combinations, and so on. About all these points I shall be glad to receive suggestions. The prices are only approximate, the American prices being from a single list, for the sake of a uniform scale. Other lists would have different prices during different months, or even during different weeks or days of the same month. 1 From " Health Culture ", published in New York. 148 FAILURES OF VEGETARIANISM TABLE OF FOOD VALUES. {From " Better Food for Boys!' Dr. Hutchison's statistics are given in 7iearly every case) THE ABC OF A FAIR TRIAL 1 49 The Table only gives the approximate values of raw or uncooked foods. This makes the list somewhat misleading. For the effect of cooking is to alter the Proteid value considerably. Thus raw beef may contain 20 per cent of Proteid, whereas cooked beef may (owing to the loss of water) contain 34 per cent of Proteid. Conversely, raw rice may contain far less Proteid than boiled rice, owing to the absorption of water. Tables are fallacious for several other reasons. We must first distinguish the Proteid from the merely fattening and heating foods. Taking thus the Proteid elements first, the Proteid of some foods, especially Plasmon, seem all or nearly all to form blood and flesh, etc. The Proteid of some Grain-products, for instance, wheat, seems partly to form fat and heat somewhat as starch itself does, though chemical analysis appears to show no difference between the Proteid of Plasmon and the Proteid of wheat. A quotation from Drummond's " Natural Law in the Spiritual World " will illustrate how little an analysis may actually tell us about the changes which shall take place later on in things that at present look alike. " If the first young germs of these three plants (oak, palm, and lichen) are placed before the botanist, and he is called upon to define the difference, he finds it impossible. He cannot say which is which. Examined under the highest powers of the micro- scope, they yield no clue. Analysed by the chemist with all the appliances of the laboratory, they keep their secret. The same experiment can be tried with the ovules of animals. Take the ovule of ISO FAILURES OF VEGETARIANISM the worm, the eagle, the elephant, and of man himself . . . ". The reader had much better test the values of foods for himself Dr. Haig has very kindly written for me, with special reference to this book, a way of finding out the amount of Proteid which food has for an individual by the amount of urea. As he says in his letter to me, he wishes reference to be made to his books rather than to himself His books are for the Medical Profession chiefly, and the public is liable to make mistakes if it attaches too much value to any one method of any one man. Nevertheless, taken for what it was worth, Dr. Haig's method is the best that I know of at present. It is not infallible, but we cannot afford to dispense with it. Test of Proteid-Value of Foods. " 7^0 find out the amount of urea passed in 24 hours so that the Proteid or Albumen value of the food eaten and digested may be estimated. " Collect the urine for 24 hours and measure it in ounces. Say it is decided to collect the urine from 7.0 a.m. in one day to 7.0 a.m. the next ; let the urine be passed at 7 a.m. on the first day and thrown away, and then collect all including that passed at 7.0 a.m. the next day. " Measure the total quantity in ounces, and take a sample from the bulk, for estimation. " Urea may be estimated by the hypobromite process with the apparatus of Gerrard, to be obtained from chemical instrument makers. THE ABC OF A FAIR TRIAL 151 "Where an approximate estimation is sufficient, this may be obtained by taking the specific gravity with a urinometer and putting a point between the two last figures, which are equal to the percentage of urea. Thus, if the specific gravity is found to be 1.025, then 2.5 is the approximate percentage of urea. "If the total quantity is 45 oz. then multiply this 45 by 4.3, and the result by 2.5, and this shows that 483.75 grs. was the total urea excreted in 24 hours. "To find the Proteid or Albumen value of the food eaten, digested, and broken up, multiply the urea by 3; 483 X 3 (= 1449 grs.) is the quantity of Proteid or Albumen in the food digested. "Note. — The urea as found by the hypobromite process may be a point or two on either side of the specific gravity figures ; thus for 1.025 it may be any- thing from 2.3 to 2.7. If there is a deposit, the urea must be read higher than the specific gravity ; thus 1.025 with a distinct or considerable deposit of urates would be 2.7% of urea." Gerrard's Ureometer (price 12/6) can be obtained from Townson & Mercer, 89 and 48 Bishopsgate St. Within, London, E.C. The reader can in this way test the amount of Proteid in meat-juices, eggs, beans, lentils, peas, and other foods. He should test the effects, not only upon his urea, but upon his blood and upon the colour of his tongue, etc. Here, again, Dr. Haig has very kindly allowed me to refer to his opinion on the subject, and has written me the following note. 152 failures of vegetarianism Circulation Test for " Uric Acid ", etc. "The measurement of the 'Capillary reflux' is the measurement of the goodness or badness (quickness or slowness) of the capillary circulation. "This measurement can be made roughly by press- ing the blood and colour out of a given portion of skin with the point of the finger, and then recording as accurately as possible, by means of the second hand of a watch, the time that elapses between the removal of the finger and the complete return of the blood and colour into the area of skin that has been rendered white by pressure. "It can be measured more accurately by substitut- ing for the point of the finger a little instrument called the Capillary Dynamometer,^ which substi- tutes a known surface and a known pressure for the unmeasured quantities supplied by the finger ; and, instead of the watch, a metronome beating half-seconds is better. "A known pressure is thus applied to a known surface for a definite time (measured by metronome), and the time taken for a complete return of colour is measured by the same instrument. " The following are some common rates of reflux in half-seconds, with 15 oz. pressure applied by the Capillary Dynamometer for 6 half-seconds. Rate of reflux. Physiological conditions, morning, 5-6 half-seconds. evening, 3-4 Nerves, and Drugs which clear! the blood of 'Uric Acid' [ ^'^ To be obtained from Hawkesley, 357 Oxford Street, W. THE ABC OF A FAIR TRIAL 1 53 Rate of reflux. Dyspnoea, Bright's Disease, and drugs like alkalis and salicy- lates which flood the blood with 'Uric Acid' - 8-12 half-seconds. "This test is a guide to the amount of Uric Acid' in the blood ; for with much ' Uric Acid ' it is always slow, and with little ' Uric Acid ' it is quick. " If this test is performed on the hand, it must be held about the level of the heart, and be about the ordinary body temperature. It may be performed on the front of the chest or any part of the body when on the level of the heart. " The Capillary Reflux is also a guide to Blood- pressure, because, when the heart is natural and strong, a slow reflux means high Blood-pressure between the obstructed outflow in front (through the capillaries), and the strong heart behind. " Conversely, a quick reflux means low Blood- pressure, because the outflow through the capillaries is free. " Hence to a certain extent, and subject to the heart being strong and natural, the Blood-pressure can be estimated from the Capillary Reflux, and the following are common relations : Capillary Reflux. Blood-pressure in m.m. of Hg. 5-6 half-seconds 120 m.m. of Hg. 3-4 >. 100 „ „ 2-3 „ 70-80 „ 8-12 „ 130-180 „ " This test is thus a guide to the goodness of the capillary circulation, the Blood-pressure, the presence 154 FAILURES OF VEGETARIANISM or absence of disease, and the purity of the blood as regards the presence or absence of large quantities of ' Uric Acid." " Personal experience is an equally scientific test, if only one takes the trouble to register it correctly. But the blood must be almost as pure as a glass of water if it is to detect errors of diet immediately and accurately. There are some who prefer the scientific test. Dr. Haig says that he himself has often induced patients to consider their health by touching their skin with his finger, and showing them the circulation of the blood by that means. I had a letter only the other day from a well-known food distributor. He said that the result of my diet was most satisfactory, but that he could not get himself to believe in the science of it — to believe that a meal of milk-proteid biscuits contained as much nourishment as a pound of beef Nor could he believe that often only 94 per cent of the Proteid of beef was digested within the body. For such a man. Dr. Haig's proof would be more convincing. For others, the proof of their own feeling of well-being and energy and happi- ness for a year or two would be a thousand times more convincing than any scientific demonstration. Those people will say, " I want to feel well ; I do not care whether my blood is red or yellow or white. If I feel well day by day, that is enough for me.'' And the individual test by long experience is also important, because each has his own heredity and habits. These habits have put the digestive juices of his body into a certain condition. It will take some time before the juices adapt themselves to the new foods. THE ABC OF A FAIR TRIAL 1 55 Another reason why the Table is inadequate is that we usually eat foods in combinations. Experi- ments with tea and coffee show that some of the Proteid in the above Table does not become flesh and blood, if tea or coffee are taken at the same time or soon after. The 20 per cent of beef-proteid may not become 20 per cent of flesh and blood. It may become no more than 15 per cent. I quote from an excellent pamphlet called " Tea and Coffee," published by the Battle Creek Sanitarium Co. : " Schultz reports, in a recent number of the Zeitschrift Physiol. Chem., a series of experiments made for the purpose of determining the influence of tea and coffee upon digestion. The results are as follows : — " I. Under the conditions of the experiment, there was 94° of digestion of Proteid when neither tea nor coffee was added to the digesting mixture. " 2. On the addition of tea, the amount of digestion was only 66°. " 3. On the addition of coffee, the amount of digestion was still less, being only 61°. "4. When distilled water was used, there was practically no change in the amount of digestive work done." Experiments by Bunton, Wolff, J. W. Eraser, W. Roberts, and others, have confirmed these general results. Both Eraser and Roberts show that the effect of tea is to paralyse not only the digestion of Proteid by the gastric juice, but also the digestion of Starch by the saliva. Dr. Kellogg also found that coffee diminished the digestion by about one-third. Tea and coffee, and, we may add, cocoa and I $6 FAILURES OF VEGETARIANISM chocolate, are not the only foods that have such effects. Liquid in general often weakens the gastric juice. If we add to our foods cold drinks, they not only weaken the juice, but they also cool the stomach, which should be hot. In addition to these, certain chemical ' salts ' tend to counteract the gastric and other digestive juices. Thus Rhubarb juice may be bad. Add also the wrong ways of cooking, for there are many wrong ways of cooking, including inadeqate cooking, and we shall not trust the Table of food- values implicitly, though on the other hand it would be ridiculous to condemn it as purely theoretical. A great disadvantage of the Tables is that they do not allow for the different ways of eating. One will worry during his meal, and worrying produces a definite chemical change. Since this change takes place in the blood, which circulates throughout the body, it must affect the digestion. Professor Elmer Gates has made the most interesting experiments. But I have not space to quote from him here. It is to be hoped that his experiments will soon be published. If the person worries, he is likely also to hurry during his meal, and therefore to eat more than he really needs, or less than he really needs ; more, to make up for the small amount that he will digest, or less, if he forgets to make up for this amount. And certain foods nearly every one eats in too great a hurry. Nuts are the best example. We might almost as well pass chests full of food through a country and expect to enrich that country thereby, as eat nuts in the ordinary way. THE ABC OF A FAIR TRIAL 157 And people hurry after a meal. A well-known experiment with dogs produced interesting results. Two dogs were fed with similar meals : one dog was allowed to rest, while the other dog was made to take severe exercise. Then both dogs were killed. The dog which had rested had nearly digested its meal ; the dog which had taken severe exercise had scarcely begun to digest its meal. Exercise immediately after a meal draws the blood to the muscles which are used, for instance, in Lawn Tennis, to the arms and legs. Brain-work would draw the blood to the brain. We know well how eating at night will often produce a feeling of sleepiness. That is because it draws the blood away from the brain to the stomach for digestion. Con- versely, brain-work will draw the blood from the stomach to the brain. Warm your feet at night, and you will draw the blood from the brain, not to the digestion but to the feet. So take enough Proteid daily, and eat slowly ; do not hurry or worry during your meals, and do not hurry or worry immediately after your meals. The art of not worrying is one of the hardest to acquire in modern times. I have treated of it elsewhere.^ But, if you say that you must worry and hurry during and after meals, then take some easily digestible Proteid like Plasmon. For human beings are hampered by their habits, and the habit of worrying is not shaken off in a day ; and they are hampered by their surroundings, especially their pro- fessions, which may preclude fresh air during most of the day. If, for example, you are a clerk or a factory ' In " Avenues to Health ". 158 FAILURES OF VEGETARIANISM girl in a stuffy building, then you will find it hard to get fresh air which is necessary for the digestion of your food ; and so for your midday meal you had better take the most easily digestible food. Besides the Proteid, take the other elements of food ; and eat or drink them slowly. What are these other elements ? First come the fattening and heating elements, butter, starch, etc. Avoid excess, and especially avoid indigestible foods. The Table will show you a great choice. You can choose some fat and heat from fruits like the banana, or from grains and grain- products, like gluten, macaroni, Hovis, etc. All roots are rich in fat and heat, e.g. potatoes. Some oil (? I oz.) is said to be required daily. Starch-foods like potatoes, however, need saliva, and therefore more mastication than " pre-digested " foods, such as those which the Kellogg Companies supply. These " pre-digested " foods might be tried until the digestion is restored. Some find butter and oil still more satisfactory than starch-foods. Indeed, numerous experiments seem to show that Proteid is often saved by the eating of a certain amount of butter or oil. Nut- butter is a good form of butter for many. Sugar is another fattener and heater, perhaps one of the most rapid of all except alcohol. It has various forms, and each form may have its particular effects. Personally I have to avoid it almost alto- gether except in the form of the sugar of milk and of fruits. Each will have to choose for himself those foods THE ABC OF A FAIR TRIAL 159 which are most suitable for him, and discard those which are less suitable, as I discard not only sugar, but also as a rule potatoes, and invariably oatmeal, which still disagrees with me. You must also choose according to your weight and bulk. The following general Table does not allow for differences of breadth, but it suggests a rough average. The heavy person (apart from the heaviness which is due to excessive fat) will need more Proteid, etc., than the light person. For the right proportion for children, see " Better Food for Boys." Amount of Proteid - 125 Grammes (say 4I oz.) Carbo-hydrates 500 Grammes (say 17^ oz) Fat - 50 Grammes (say if oz.) Although various authorities put the Proteid up to 130 or down to 105, and make other alterations, we may roughly say that there should be, in ordinary cases, 5 parts of Proteid to 20 of Carbo-hydrates and 2 of fat, according to the most orthodox opinions. The weight of the body depends largely on water. The difference between fattening and heating foods and watery foods must be obvious to every reader, even if the result may, in both cases, take the form of double chins, etc. It is curious how little the public distinguishes between the fat appearance that comes from fat (which would burn in the fire), from the fat appearance that comes from water (which would fizz in the fire). People lay down general laws about the reduction of fat without realising this fundamental difference. I know of vast numbers of instances where people, whose fat appearance is mostly due to l6o FAILURES OF VEGETARIANISM water, are giving up fattening and heating foods be- cause they fail to understand the cause of their obesity. Besides Proteid, and fattening and heating elements, there is water. This is the easiest to obtain of all the materials, and the cheapest. It should not be drunk during meals (see above) but either in the early morning or late at night. Some prefer hot water, and some cold water. It seems to me that cool water would be the ideal for a healthy man, although boiling water might be more satisfactory until health has been reached. When health has been reached, there can be little doubt that the natural temperature of water is the best. Fruits and vegetables are rich in water, and water taken in this way does not weaken the digestive juices or cool the stomach nearly so much as large gulps of water do. In fact, the pleasant fruits and vegetables bring out the saliva, and so actually help to digest starchy foods. Is this all that we need, namely the Proteid, the fattening and heating elements, and the water ? No, we may need fibre, especially in order to give the bowels work. When we read an epitome of a book, we think at first that it will teach us a great deal. As we read it through we say, " How convenient ! " And then we almost immediately forget. The best example of such a book, which is of course invaluable in emergencies, is Gow's " Companion to School Classics ". This book I have read through very many times ; it seems to contain a vast amount of informa- tion. But there is no bulk and no padding ; the concentrated food remains undigested and unas- similated ; though, as I say, at times such a book is THE ABC OF A FAIR TRIAL l6l indispensable, where we have no leisure to take in the padding with the information. Nor even yet have we come to the end of the list of requisites. Proteid, fat and heat, water, bulk, these are not all ; certain ' salts ' must be added. About these less is known than about any other element in our bodies or in our foods. A few words have been said on the subject in " Muscle, Brain, and Diet ". Here we can only add that ordinary cooking often boils out some ' salts ' ; valuable ' salts ' are thrown away with the water taken from the vegetables. And so a good " cooker " is of importance. Uncooked foods have this great advantage, that they give us all the ' salts ' that the food has ; probably several foods have all the ' salts ' in exactly the right proportions for us. It may take a long time to find out which foods have our ' salts ' ; but when we have found this out we can realise the folly of cooking most foods as we do. There is a whole school of people at Chicago and elsewhere that refuses to eat cooked food. Like most fanatics and faddists, these people have one element of truth, namely that which we have just mentioned. They forget however that, as most of our insides are to-day, they cannot digest starch unless it be first cooked. The Greek word for cook- ing and digesting was the same. It is the word from which " peptone " and other words were derived. Many starch foods are not digested in the stomach unless they are first cooked outside the stomach. But all ' salts ' are not good, if we take ' salts ' in its widest sense. There are certain acids which are akin to " Uric Acid ". Apparently, if we judge by l62 FAILURES OF VEGETARIANISM certain tests, we cannot tell which is " Uric Acid " from meat, and which is " xanthin " from the pulses, or thein from tea, or caffein from coffee, or theo- bromine from cocoa and chocolate. They all must differ somehow in their effects, and yet, since analysis shows them to be alike, they must somehow be alike also ; and Dr. Haig has proved that in one respect the above-mentioned are all foster-sisters and practi- cally identical, namely in their effect on the circulation of the blood, increasing the pressure of the blood through the arteries ; therefore they must one and all affect the heart. Dr. Haig's test (see above) can be applied here, and should be applied. Selections from his Table of " Uric Acid " or Xanthins are given.^ They can only be approximately accurate. Lamb (cold roast leg) Soup (made from meat) Hospital Beef-tea Saddle of Mutton Veal (cutlet) . Beef (cold sirloin) Kidney of Sheep Liver Fowl (breast) . Mackerel . Plaice Herring (fresh) (Loch Fyne, kippered) Beef-steak (raw) Grains per lb. 3-5 1.4 7.0 1.4 3-5 I.I 3-5 6.5 17 2.2 0.2 0.2 6.4 1-3 ^ From "Uric Acid" (Fifth Edition) pp. 739, 740. THE ABC OF A FAIR TRIAL 163 Grains per lb. Meat-juice 49.7 Meat-extract 63.0 DryTea[China tea contains less than this Ceylon] i7S-0 Dry Coffee 70.0 Dry Cocoa 59.0 To this list Dr. Haig would now add : — Asparagus Beans Lentils Mushrooms Peas To illustrate the different effects of the different " uric acids " and xanthins, meat and fish almost immediately produce in me headache or cramp, according to the part of my body that I have been exercising ; thus, if I have used my arms, I shall get cramp in my arms. At first I thought this must be imagination ; I firmly believed that such could not possibly be the result. So it seems that in my case this cramp came in spite of belief in its impossibility. It is not one of the results of ' faith ', about which so many of the 'Christian' and other 'Scientists' talk so much. Beans, however, had no such appreciable effects. Even if Dr. Haig's test would reveal differences, I could not feel them. My brain-work, my power of endurance, remained to all intents and purposes unchanged in this respect. Secondly, the thein of tea produces an utterly different effect upon me when I take it in tea, i.e. 164 FAILURES OF VEGETARIANISM with tannin, etc., and when I take it in a certain kind of tea which is almost without tannin. The effect of the former thein is comparatively pleasant, the effect of the latter thein was altogether unpleasant. It made me feel giddy and sick. Cocoa, again, has an absolutely different effect upon me from tea in either of the above forms, or from coffee. Coffee affects the feeling of my heart at once. Cocoa does not keep me awake, but makes me heavy and ' loggy '. At times I have found it convenient to take cocoa when my brain, after a long stretch of work, absolutely refused to stop moving. Now I know of better ways. The great general rule then, besides the rule of what to take, is the rule of what to avoid. Take Proteid, fat and heat, water, bulk, and ' salts '. But, as a general rule, if only to save the expense, the expense of stimulants and of the desire for stimulants, and the inconvenience of depending on expensive things, avoid stimulants and narcotics as much as is possible, or rather as much as is feasible. This is a most important point. Avoid them more and more in proportion to your opportunities. Stimulants and narcotics seem utterly distinct at first. That which will make you inclined to be active with your body and brain would seem to be utterly distinct from that which will make you feel inclined to rest with your body and brain. But what is a stimulant at one time may be a narcotic at another. There are people who can send themselves to sleep by drinking tea. And what is a stimulant in one quantity may be a narcotic in another. Alcohol in a small quantity may make a man lively ; THE ABC OF A FAIR TRIAL 165 in a large quantity it may make him drunk, or dead drunk, or even dead. Stimulants and narcotics will include cocoa and its sisters (chocolate, etc.) as well as coffee, tea, alcohol, tobacco, and many drugs (such as coca, kola, opium, and so on). And they will also include the Flesh- foods (fish, flesh, and fowl), and perhaps the yolk of eggs, the pulses, etc. Some people have asked me, with reference to my other book, why I said " as much as is feasible " ; why not be strict and say " as much as is possible " ? For it is possible to give up any and every stimulant at once ; and I believe the giving up would seldom prove fatal if only one took enough Proteid, and if only one used the right helps of other kinds. Some day I hope to be able to suggest substitutes for stimulants and narcotics, and to shorten the period of self-restraint more than I can yet hope to do. I am still working on the subject, but the results are not quite ready for publication. At present many experiments have shown me the terrible depression which may result from the sudden giving up of all stimulants. The most conspicuous experiment has already been quoted elsewhere. I repeat it here, as it is important. At the time I was at Hunstanton, which has nearly the best air of all seaside places in England. I took tea regularly three times a day for some weeks, and then I gave it up altogether. For three days I merely felt some- what heavy and slack and depressed. Then I felt much worse, and there came on such gloominess as I have never known before or after. I must own that I was not taking enough Proteid at the time, for I l66 FAILURES OF VEGETARIANISM was living partly on uncooked grain foods ; but that was not the main reason. The main reason was that I had given up a powerful stimulant without putting any substitute in its place. And so, lest any one should have a similar ex- perience and give up his food-reform altogether, and until some good cures for depression are known, and known so well as to be trusted and tried, it may be better to begin gradually, and to increase the abstention gradually, meanwhile adopting every possible help such as I have suggested in other books. Variety and its Law — with a sample. Variety may be of considerable use. But " Vege- tarians ", as we have said, are in the habit of taking too many and too varied foods at the same meal. In such a case not only are some foods almost certain to disagree with some others (e.g. fruits with vege- tables), but there is a temptation to hurry through the first courses, and to eat when the natural appetite has already bjcn satisfied. Whether it be necessary to vary the foods at different meals, we cannot say. Some desert Arabs apparently live on camel's milk, and live well and long. Millions of the much-endur- ing Hindus have very little variety. But, if you insist on taking varied foods, then take varied foods not at the same meal but at different meals. Un- doubtedly, variety in the food does help to remove the depression at the start. In other ways also it is well to begin with the easiest possible conditions ; above all, we should begin where apparently there is no necessity. We THE ABC OF A FAIR TRIAL 1 67 may compare preparation for resisting temptation. People generally wait till the temptation has come, instead of getting ready before it comes. When the temptation has come, the people are met by some- thing that is too strong for them. Temptation is, as it were, a practised player, while they are without practice. And so it is with worry. You are urged to practise calm repose and muscular relaxing. How can you do this when the worry is already there ? You must practise when you are fresh and happy. And so with famine and war. We must get ready our national food-supplies, and our army and navy, long before the famine and the war. When these have come, it will be too late, for we shall not have within ourselves the materials which we shall want. And so it is with athletics, and in matches especi- ally. We must first practise and play practice-games, not making ourselves slaves to practice as so many Americans do, but on the other hand insisting upon some discipline. To apply this to food-reform. We might begin with lunch — a lunch perhaps of Hovis bread and butter and (? grated) cheese, or a lunch of Plasmon and Hovis biscuits, etc., and an apple; or of nuts ground in a nut-mill. Another entirely different plan, which I know has succeeded with many hundreds of people, is to give up breakfast altogether — to take nothing whatever till 12 or I o'clock. This will sound ridiculous, and perhaps mad, but the success of it in all these cases is enough to show that for you individually it might be a way. Personally I prefer at present a breakfast of l68 FAILURES OF VEGETARIANISM (Plasmon biscuits and) apples and a little tea. But before long I shall give the no-breakfast plan a fair trial again. If we have one meal, at 12 o'clock, and another, seven hours afterwards, or even eight hours afterwards, and if we allow one hour for the diges- tion of the first meal, and one hour for the digestion of the second meal, and one hour for the two meals themselves, thus making three hours in all, we shall be able to divide up the remaining twenty-one hours of the day into three sevens ; and seven is considered by many to be an excellent number. The day would be — Rise at 5 or 6 o'clock, lunch at 12 or i o'clock, dinner or supper at 7 or 8 o'clock. But here again we need not begin too violently. At first we might have an apple or two ^ instead of breakfast. It is said that a person who has tried the ' no breakfast ' plan will not be likely ever to want breakfast again. For an excellent account of this plan I refer to Dr. Dewey's book, or to a similar and cheaper work, which seems to me more comprehensive, and less one-sided, by Mr. Haskell.^ But, whether you begin with lunch or with the no-breakfast plan, at any rate begin the trial chiefly tn the holidays. Why have we so strange a view of holidays, for instance of our Sunday holidays ? Exercise and fresh air : that is all right ; rest for the intellect : that is all right. But why regard the holidays merely as laying up a store of health to tide you over the next time of work ? Why not regard the ' A recent experiment with fruit alone proved equally if not more satisfactory. Mr. C. Arthur Pearson adopts this plan. 2 " Perfect Health " (Fowler & Co.). THE ABC OF A FAIR TRIAL 169 holidays as a means of making you more and more independent of holidays ? Why not rest the stomach for a while, and therefore rest the nerves ? Holidays are almost the only chance that we have (or that we are likely to use) for experimenting. Other helps are numerous ; for example, fresh air, especially at night, exercise, in particular with the Macdonald Smith system,' because it is brisk and not tiring, and because it is brief and requires no apparatus. On the other hand, we should practise muscular relaxing.' Mrs. Archer, of 9 Fitzroy Square, is the best exponent of the system of relaxing, in England, and Miss Call, of Boston, Mass., in America. The methods are simple; in fact, they are a return to nature. They try to make the pupils like little children in their freedom of movement for at any rate a certain part of each day. Baths and other water-treatments ''■ are valuable ; and not the least pleasant way of taking them is to go to an establishment, whether a Hydro in England, or a Natural-cure Establishment in Germany, or a Sanitarium in America. The effect of the company, and the thought that others are doing as one is doing oneself, are considerable helps to a large number, though many prefer individual freedom. They like to begin when they are by themselves. Those who are sociable by nature, and those who depend upon company for their good behaviour, should form a club with certain rules of health, the rules being enforced either by a fine, or by honour. Experiences should be registered and exchanged. 1 See " Avenues to Health ''. I/O FAILURES OF VEGETARIANISM There should be frequent discussions, and papers should be read. The meetings should not be long, and no one should be allowed to speak for more than lO minutes, except on special occasions. Papers should be taken in. In America one can read "Good Health", " Health Culture", and "Physical Cul- ture". In England we have e.g. " Health and Strength", " Physical Development ", and the " Vegetarian ", which we hope will now add to its columns the many failures of "Vegetarians". And we have many books, also, far too many to read, so that only a few must be selected. Dr. Haig's " Food and Diet ", or his larger book " Uric Acid ", Miss A. P. Call's " Power through Repose ", and " As a Matter of Course " ; Arthur Lovell's " Ars Vivendi ", " The Wiir'j and " Concentration", and Emerson's "Essays", are just a few samples, as many as the reader will care to read at the outset. Of my own books I might mention, besides " Muscle, Brain, and Diet ", " The Training of the Body ", and " Avenues to Health ". Each one should register carefully his own personal experiences, not in a morbid self-introspective way, but in order to know what suits him as an individual. When he has found this out, there will no longer be any worry about ways of living. He will have ascer- tained by experience and by contrast what suits him better than other things do, though it will be long before he finds out what suits him best. But the experiences must be prolonged. They must last for a fair time, the conditions becoming more and more in harmony with the ideal by slow degrees. THE ABC OF A FAIR TRIAL 171 Perhaps there would be no real danger if one started on the Simpler Foods immediately, so long as one insisted on taking enough Proteid, and on dis- carding the foods that disagreed. Still there may be a feeling of danger, and it is absolutely essential to know what the cause might be. I have explained this cause elsewhere. Let us suppose that you eat Flesh-foods, whether in the form of meat or of poultry or of fish. I have already spoken of fish, and the fallacy of its being the only brain-food. I have done four or five times as much work in the last four or five years as in the rest of my life put together, if I count work by its value rather than by its quantity. But to return. You eat meat or poultry or fish, and from them you get nourishment, upwards of 20 per cent, of Proteid, and some water. Good ! And some fibre. Perhaps that is good also. But are the nourishment, the water, and the fibre, all that you eat when you eat the flesh ? No. The animal has moved. Its move- ments, to say nothing of its processes of life, such as the beat of its heart, the play of its lungs, the diges- tion and the assimilation and the excretion, have used up tissues. There has been waste, and there must have been waste-products, which include " uric acid ". The animal which has moved contains the result of fatigue, which may also be at least one cause of fatigue. When you eat this animal, you eat this ' result ' with the animal. The human being moves, his organs etc. work to digest and get rid of food etc., to say nothing of the gigantic work of the heart and lungs. Here also we have waste and waste-products, including "uric acid"; 1/2 FAILURES OF VEGETARIANISM here also the result of fatigue may be at least one cause of fatigue also. But we might easily keep the balance, not from hour to hour, but from day to day, or from week to week. At times there might be more waste-products, at times less. But week-in, week -out, there might, as I say, be a balance. We might get rid of many of our waste- products (includ- ing " uric acid ") by various means, for instance by exercise. We cannot help having waste-products, but we can help accumulating them beyond a certain point, and still more easily can we help adding to them. For why should we add, to those which we already have, those which the animal has in its flesh ? The effects of this animal " uric acid " (which must be present in the animal, because it has moved) need not be exactly the same as the effects of our home- made " uric acid ". But obviously the two kinds may be very similar, and anyhow, when we take in the animal's " uric acid ", we shall have more of one kind or another to get rid of somehow and somewhen. Perhaps the balance was still maintained in past ages, in spite of the extra quantity, owing to the healthy outdoor exercise and so on. Perhaps, on the other hand, the balance was not maintained even then, and we, the posterity, are suffering. Now, however, in modern city life, we get less air, less exercise, more brain-work, more nervous strain, more depression. What wonder, then, that we are not able to get rid of all the excess that we add to our system from the Flesh-foods ? What wonder would it be if we were not able to get rid even of that small amount which THE ABC OF A FAIR TRIAL 173 we ourselves make within ourselves ? If we daily add more, can we complain if our supply of " uric acid " mounts up, it may be slowly, but surely ? On the other hand, what if we add next to none of the ready-made " uric acid " daily, whether it be ready-made in the form of Flesh-foods or meat- juices, which are far richer in " uric acid ", or in the form of tea, coffee, cocoa, etc., all of which are said (see page 163) to be rich in "uric acid" or in one of its sisters or cousins. If, for the sake of argument, the excess be put down as 100, if each day we add 5 and get rid of 5 J, could we not soon bring down the total nearly to o ? Then what will happen ? Why should not better health result ? If you want to know what " uric acid " may do (I do not say what it will do with you, but what it may do), read Dr. Haig's " Uric Acid ". Cut off as much as you like ; make allowances for the man with the one idea ; cut off all the exaggera- tion, if there is any, and you will have something which is not only worth considering, but which also compels you to consider. It has been said that Dr. Haig's work will in future ages rank as one of the most scientific works of this century, as a work of more practical value to millions than Darwin's " Origin of Species ". Whether this be so or not, remains for posterity to prove. At present doctors condemn Dr. Haig by that useful word " crank ". Some have ventured even to call him a "' quack ". But he goes on quietly amassing his statistics about the presence of " uric acid " in cases of headache, neuralgia, rheumatism, gout, Bright's disease, epi- lepsy, and what not, even down to melancholia and 174 FAILURES OF VEGETARIANISM suicide. He does not mind what people say. He merely asks the Medical Profession and the public to examine his figures, and say where they are wrong. No more thoroughly earnest worker have I ever met. But what happens while we are getting rid of our excess of " uric acid ", if. we have any excess ? " Uric acid " circulates in the blood, before it passes out of the system (chiefly through the urine). While it circulates in the blood, it is likely to cause depres- sion. Imagine a river carrying down sewage from a city to the sea ; look at that river as the sewage passes by, and you will call it an unpleasant river and an unhealthy river ; and so it is. But what if the city has no other way of getting rid of its sewage ? Some day it may find a more excellent way ; but at present it is best for it to get rid of its sewage, even while it spoils the river for the moment. Yet, lest so much depression might result in your feeling miserable and giving up the reform altogether, I would repeat once again, " Begin gradually ". First give up the Flesh-foods, and take enough Proteid instead. I tried to repeat this often enough in my previous book, but still I have come across nearly fifty cases of those who tried to live on an ounce or two of Proteid a day. It is so hard for an author to appeal to two publics at once, to those who listen to, and mark, learn, and digest a thing which is said once, and to those who do not digest a thing until it has been said many times. Let the intelli- gent reader pardon me if I make some concession to the unintelligent reader, for I do not see how to appeal to both at once. I would rather annoy the THE ABC OF A FAIR TRIAL 175 intelligent reader a little than not appeal to the unintelligent reader at all. If you do not wish to give up Flesh-foods all at once, give them up for breakfast or lunch only, or let breakfast go altogether (see above). Anyhow, be very careful that the rest of your life shall be far more healthy than usual. This is of the utmost im- portance, and is seldom insisted on by " Vegetarians." Let it be far fuller of all enjoyments, no matter what they are, so long as they are pure. Read novels if you like, play Patience, go in for the best forms of games and athletics, do anything that will make you happy, if it will not make you unhealthy in body or mind. There must be no silly asceticism now, for heaven's sake, — unless you really enjoy asceticism. ' Mental Science ' has proved of vast assistance to numbers of people, both male and female, and this is a good time for it. At its best it is not depressing, nor is it inhuman. It can improve every relation of life. In its perversions it has to be sedulously avoided, and it generally comes before the public in its perversions, and not at its best. But I have tried to explain its best principles elsewhere. Before long the desire for Flesh-foods will probably disappear ; such has been the general experience of those who have tried to give them up. And before, or after, or at the same time, the desire for alcohol will probably disappear also, and even the desire for smoking. Then may disappear the desire for cocoa, coffee, and tea, and the desire for various condiments such as mustard and pepper. A safe rule would be to decrease the quantities. 176 FAILURES OF VEGETARIANISM and not to take such extra things as tea, unless you actually have a craving for them. If you are successful in the experiment, do not preach. There are many better ways of convincing. It is better to state your experiences, and to ask a few telling questions such as " Is it not worth a trial by you ? " or, from another point of view, " Have you ever been in a slaughter-house } Have you ever been in a cattle-ship ? " If you have been unsuc- cessful in the experiment, then write to the Vege- tarian or to some other Paper, or to myself ; but I am sure that the Vegetarian will soon accept — nay welcome — your experiences. For failure carefully recorded will be in the cause of truth, and therefore of " Vegetarianism " in so far as it is truth. In so far as it is not truth, then let it fail. But, when you write, state your exact diet very carefully. PART IV SUMMARY AND FINAL ADVICE TO VEGETARIANS M PART IV SUMMARY Eat enough Proteid in the best form, that is, in the best form for you ; it may be Milk-proteid (Plasmon) or grain-proteid (e.g. Gluten), or nut-proteid (e.g. nuts ground in a nut-mill). Eat it without hurrying and without worrying. Do not hurry or worry during or just after the meal. Do not drink just before or during or just after the meal. Add the other elements of food, which are easily obtained from such fruits and grains etc. as are best for you individually. Here, as with the Proteid, let personal experience decide what kinds are best for you, and what quantities. Discard those kinds which disagree with you, or at any rate discard them for the time being. Discard and avoid stimulants and narcotics, and any conditions which might tempt you to take these. It is only at the start that you need do this ; when you have once ceased to desire these things, then to go into such conditions will cease to be a temptation. That is the meaning of the words in the Lord's Prayer. We might render them by " Do not let us have a struggle at all " rather than by " Lead us not into temptation." Surely we are on a higher plane 179 l8o FAILURES OF VEGETARIANISM when we are no longer resisting temptation in a severe struggle, and when we find that what was once a temptation has lost its charm for us, when we are victors without effort, when there is no struggle at all, or, rather, when the efforts are moved on to a higher plane. Others may disagree with me here, and say (with President Roosevelt, the embodiment of the strenuous life) that the whole of life must be a terrible strain and struggle, or else it is worth nothing. I used to think so, but I think so no longer. Avoid the stimulants and narcotics, then, and the Flesh-foods, at least avoid them as much as is feasible for you. Begin gradually, and begin under the easiest possible conditions, especially at some one meal, for instance breakfast or lunch, and during the holidays ; and, if this is your best way, begin together with others, who might, for example, form with you an experimental club. Add other helps, such as water-applications, or water-baths (external and internal : there are several ways of applying them). Take all the healthy and pleasant exercise you can get. Do not do daily straining exercises with heavy dumb-bells, do brisk Full-movement exercises,^ or, better still, play your favourite game, as often as you can — even if you have to give up some work in order to play it. Do not neglect muscular relaxing and calm repose, which I shall describe elsewhere. At present you probably have no control over your body, in one sense ; you cannot let any part of it be absolutely dead and loose and heavy. You should be able to make any part of ^ The Macdonald Smith System. SUMMARY l8l it dead and loose and heavy, whether it be the head or the arms or the legs, etc. ; though muscular dead- ness, looseness, and heaviness is only a very partial description of muscular relaxing. Last, but not least, judge by the results in your own case after this fair trial, and, should you judge that the results are unfavourable, do not forget to make this known, at the same time explaining what your diet and your life has been. PARTING ADVICE TO "VEGETARIANS" PARTING ADVICE TO "VEGETARIANS" Do not accuse others of dishonesty. Parting advice to a j. x.u i. u i j ,.„ ^ . „ At the most you should accuse "Vegetanans" •' them of Ignorance ; and you should remember that flesh-eaters are convinced that theirdiet is the best. You should admit the immediate good effects of flesh-eating in most cases, and you should urge the trial of the Simpler Foods as worth while. Though not allowing that a sudden change from one diet to another is always a mistake, you may yet urge most people to begin the trial gradually, and under the easiest possible conditions. Set forth the easiest possible conditions, such as more recreation and less work than usual. Meanwhile, you should yourselves go in for exercise, and especially for athletics, and should encourage them in every possible way. The British have little respect for what schoolboys call a ' smug '. Make clear to the public what the best foods are, and especially those which give immediate nourish- ment. You make a great mistake in your general lists of foods. You recommend all sorts of foods which disagree with thousands, and you recommend them in the most stupidly obstinate way. You recommend foods which take a long time to digest, and which, when digested, do very little to repair the waste in the body. You ought to set forth the ABC of the Simpler Foods very clearly. i8s 1 86 FAILURES OF VEGETARIANISM You ought to reform many Restaurants; you ought to have in them more Proteid and less pastry, fewer irritating condiments, and less starch, etc. In each Restaurant you ought to have a Table of approximate Food-values, and of the approximate amount of food said to be needed by the average person, according to the researches by Voit, Atwater, etc. You should reform your own diet, and should make more experiments than you do with regard to the value e.g. of the pulses during a sedentary life, etc. Your tea and coffee, and even your cocoa, and some of your other drinks, are to many perhaps more unhealthy than the Flesh-foods themselves. Remember that, if your ideas are true, then your failures are chiefly due to the fact that you have not yet found the way to persuade the majority. The majority sees and knows many failures of " Vegeta- rianism " ; you ignore these or even deny them. Therefore invite, publish, and (if you can) explain all the failures, instead of inviting or picking out only the successes. Last, but not least, change your name, which many of your leaders admit to mean, at any rate for the public, a diet of vegetables. Get some name which will either describe your principles better, or else will give some idea of the range of foods which you are allowed to use. APPENDIX THE NAME "VEGETARIANISM" APPENDIX THE NAME "VEGETARIANISM" The following speech was made at the International " Vegetarian " Congress in London, in June iQor. An answer to it appeared in the Vegetarian of July 13, 1901. Ladies and Gentlemen, — By the time this Con- gress is over, enough speakers and writers will have praised you for your many excellences. In order to save time, I shall let these speakers be my spokes- men, so that I may devote my whole paper to one topic — I mean your name. It shall be my purpose to show you that your name " Vegetarianism " utterly fails to represent your principle or prin- ciples, or to do your cause the justice which it should claim. I will show how, by inviting the public to suggest some better name, you would force the public to find out for the first time what your principles really are. And first let me explain the utter impossibility of attaching to your name any other meaning than that which the public now attaches to it. In the Lord's Prayer we have the words, " Hal- lowed be Thy Name". Theologians say that the word ' Name ' must not be changed, since the Lord's Prayer in its present form has done so much good, and is so familiar. Now the Greek word onoma here did not mean ' name ' at all, but ' nature ' or ' charac- teristics '. God's name is God, God's nature is wisdom, 189 igo FAILURES OF VEGETARIANISM love, and justice. The word ' name ' is therefore mis- leading : it does not express nature or characteristics. People cannot attach this new meaning to the familiar old word. And, in fact, few people know of this meaning at all, because the commentaries of the theologians are seldom read. We feel inclined to blame the Church, to say that it is a grand mistake to refuse to change, so that all people might under- stand the real spirit of the Greek word ; for the real spirit is more important than any word however old it be. The time for the fresh expression of the true idea came long ago, and delay only increases the difficulty of change, which must come eventually. When the misleading nature of the word "Vege- tarianism " is pointed out, will those who manage the affairs of the Society be more open-minded than the theologians, or not ? Will they take into account the public mind, and the popular notion as to what " Vegetarianism " means ? Will they sacrifice their old word on the altar of progress, or will they set their own sentiment and temporary convenience first? Will they make an effort to teach ordinary mortals ? Although it would be easy to criticise the " Vege- tarian " movement in many respects, I shall only have time to criticise the name. I will first grant its clear meaning to you, the initiated. I will grant its association with much good in the past. I will grant the convenience of keeping to a name which has already been often before us in print. I will grant the inconveni- ence of starting a fresh name. I will grant that the name " Vegetarianism " does suggest a part of the diet, viz. vegetables ; in a word, I will grant its usefulness and familiarity up to a certain point. But I should like you to consider the proverb, " Familiarity breeds contempt " ; I should like you to ask yourselves whether it does not more often breed content, in contrast with that divine discontent THE NAME "VEGETARIANISM" I9I and dissatisfaction, without which there can be no movement forwards. I want you for a moment to come with me outside your Society, and to look at " Vegetarianism " with the eyes of the average person, unless you would rather abuse him as ignorant and stupid, and not try to help him in his generation and according to his lights and ideas. You are familiar with the name, and you are contented with it. When you have heard what the man in the street thinks of the name, I wonder if you will be equally contented — I hope not. Whatever may be said in favour of the name " Vegetarianism ", at least it does not represent the chief principle of your creed, which you claim to be the avoidance of the Flesh-foods. Whether your main object be humanitarianism or economy or health, anyhow the word " Vegetarianism " does not express that main principle. The word is popularly understood as meaning " a diet of vegetables ". It is not understood to include milk and the milk-products. I need not quote from various dictionaries, nor from Sir Henry Thomson, nor from the most recent authority. Dr. Robert Hutchison. It is common to accuse Sir Henry Thomson of dishonesty, but such an accusation cannot gain anything for your cause. Personally I have collected large numbers of answers from both educated and uneducated people, and they all give a very similar definition of the word " Vegetarianism ". To them it means " a diet of vegetables ". Although I have written on the subject of Diet, and therefore run less risk of having my own diet misunderstood, yet, when I go out to meals, I generally find large dishes of vegetables provided, especially dishes of potatoes. At the end of the meal people ask, " Do you eat cheese ? I thought ' Vegetarians ' did not take cheese, at least strict ' Vegetarians '." I am forced 192 FAILURES OF VEGETARIANISM to reply, " I am not a ' Vegetarian ' at all." The word is so terribly misleading. I can get on perfectly well without any vegetables. Some " Vegetarians " urge the derivation of the word, but for my part I do not believe that the inventors of the name thought of the Latin word vegetus (vigorous) at all. I believe they thought of the word vegetables, and added the -arian to the main part of the word, somewhat as the people who invent a new disease add -itis. And even if the word did once mean a diet of vigour, yet meanings change. The word ' knave ' once meant clever or knowing. If you called a man a knave and he objected, would you plead that the word still meant ' knowing ' ? This would be ridiculous. The word " knave ' means what the word ' knave ' means, and not what the word ' knave ' once meant. In the same way the word 'of is derived from the word apo, originally meaning ' away from ' as we see in Sanskrit, Greek, and Latin. But ' of does not mean ' away from ' now. For example, ' the way of peace ' does not mean ' the way away from peace ' ; it means ' the way of peace \% ^The word " Vegetarianism " means to the public just what it does mean to the public. All writers admit that the popular idea of " Vegetarianism " is " a diet of vegetables ". Many writers abuse the public for ignorance, and for not consulting the " Vegetarian " literature, so as to find out what is the real meaning, as they call it. But how does the general public form its notions ? By consulting a specialised literature ? No, the general public does not care for " Vegetarian " or specialised literature at all. It simply says, " ' Vegetarianism ' is the diet of vegetables ". Thus, when people try " Vegetarianism ", they, as a general rule, try vege- tables. The experience of hundreds is to have gone into a restaurant, to have" ordered a plate of vege- tables, to have eaten these, to have felt inflated, t» THE NAME "VEGETARIANISM" 193 have felt hungry soon afterwards, and eventually to claim that they have tried " Vegetarianism ". Such people are sure to tell their friends what has happened ! This fallacy, that thfe Simpler Foods have vege- tables as their basis, is the more fatal in England, because so many vegetables are poor in Proteid, and nearly all vegetables are badly cooked ; and because lunch is the meal with which busy people are most likely to begin the experiment, and at lunch they need something nourishing indeed, but not bulky, for they must work almost directly afterwards. Now vegetables are, as a rule, bulky. One failure may produce more effect than twenty successes, because your cause is working against custom and orthodoxy. I wish that you would remember this more often. It is so with " Christian Science ". It may effect twenty cures, but, if there be one death to set against the twenty cures, the orthodox will emphasise that one death. I remember how in America there was a treatment by means of comparative or complete starvation. It was wonder- fully successful in a large number of cases ; but every now and then there was a failure, and the people were educated by the daily Papers, which gloated over the failures, and did not mention the proportion of failures to successes. You say that this idea about " Vegetarianism ", viz. that it is a diet of vegetables, is due to careless ignorance ; but at least have the common-sense to recognise the fact, the power, and the extent of the idea, and then seek and find the real reason. Why should a person who wishes to try " Vegetarianism " so often begin with vegetables rather than, let us say, with Plasmon, or grated cheese, or milled nuts, as his Proteid basis ? I cannot see why, except for the name " Vegetarianism ", which suggests vegetables. The name, in fact, does not make the ABC of the Simpler 194 FAILURES OF VEGETARIANISM Foods at all clear in the eyes of the public. It ex- aggerates one part, and leaves out altogether milk and ntiilk-products, nuts and nut-products, and even many of the grain-products. There are all sorts of views as to which are the best of the Simpler Foods, but one thing must be admitted — the greater variety we bring before people for choice, the more likely they are to give the Simpler Foods a trial. Eventually after trial they may decide to discard certain foods. There are some who defend the name by saying that, though it mean to the public a diet of vegetables, and although only etymologists, and perhaps very few of them, understand it as meaning a diet of vigour, yet the name does not matter. I insist that the name does matter. So long as it is misleading, it matters far more than the title of a book. Every publisher can tell you that a book will succeed or fail, at any rate at the start, partly because of its title. Eventu- ally it will be judged by its merits. But there have been hundreds of instances of books which would not have succeeded at all without the titles that they have. Others, however, say that there is no good name to substitute for " Vegetarianism ". These are the terrible type of people who assume that because they have not found out such a name, no one else ever can or will. These people remind me of a story told me by President Low, of Columbia University. He was talking to a man on board ship at night. The man was telling President Low about the white phosphor- escence in the wake of the ship. He mentioned his own theory about its cause. The President said that he had always imagined the white phosphorescence to be formed by tiny animals. " No, no, no," replied the man, " it could not be, because / never thought of that!' And so here the fact that certain "Vegetarians" have not yet thought of a better name does not prove that a better name does not exist, or will not be found. THE NAME "VEGETARIANISM" I95 In order that my suggestions may be practical, I advise that those who have money should regard this as a golden opportunity. It is a time of commercial depression. There are thousands of people who want to earn ;£'ioo ; indeed, I have never met any one who did not want to. Now why not insert advertisements in the leading daily Papers, advertisements which shall give in brief the principles of " Vegetarianism ", and shall offer a prize of ;;fioo for the best name? Suggestions should be sent in in envelopes. A long time might be allowed, so that the colonies and America might have a chance of working at the subject. There is no reason why, when a better name has been found, the old name should not at first be put in brackets afterwards. To show that such a name is not entirely impossible to invent, let me suggest a sample, which is not at all likely to be tJie final name. The letters P. U. R. E. [not the word Pure] would suggest the initials of Proteid-containing (and, in general, nourishing). Unstimulating. Reverencing higherlife(in contrast with plant-life). Economical. There are some who object to vegetables, or else to milk, or else to eggs, and so on. There are all sorts of sects. But, so far as I know, there is not a single sect which objects to Proteid. If there is, then that sect is better outside your Society altogether. Nor does any sect insist on a stimulating diet, so far as I am aware. Nor does any sect fail to show reverence for higher life. Nor does any sect despise economy. The letters P. U.R. E. themselves suggest a word which tells its own tale. Or, again, we might take the word MAGNVS with the U written in the old Latin way as V ; but this word is not so good. M will stand for Milk and the Milk-products (such as Cheese and Plasmon). 196 FAILURES OF VEGETARIANISM A for Apples and other Fruits. G for Grains and Grain-products (such as Gluten, Hovis, and Macaroni). N for Nuts and Nut-products. V for Vegetables, and S for Salads ; or, better still, for the Stimulants which are to be avoided as much as is possible or feasible. These are the first ideas which occur to a single person who has not devoted many minutes to the subject, and — who has not had the offer of .^loo to urge him on. This offer would interest thousands, if not millions, because it would appeal to them by means of their pockets. People would have to study your principles, if they wanted to get a good descriptive name. But you may say that this would be as good as confessing that the old name is a failure. Yes, and it would be showing that you are seeking the best at all costs, that you are ready to change. And you consider that to be a disgrace ? Can you not remem- ber Emerson's words in his Essay on " Self- Reliance" ? Emerson, after speaking of the disadvantage of non- conformity, a disadvantage which most of us know only too well, says : — " The other terror that clings to us is our consistency and reverence for our past act or word But why drag about the corpse of your memory lest you con- tradict something you have stated in this or that public place ? It seems to be a rule of wisdom to bring the past for judgment into the thousand-eyed present, and live ever in a new day. A foolish con- sistency is the hobgoblin of small minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines. With consistency the great soul has simply nothing to do ; he may as well concern himself with his shadow on the wall. Speak what you think now in hard words, THE NAME "VEGETARIANISM" 1 97 and to-morrow speak what to-morrow thinks in hard words again, though it contradict everything you said to-day." Your case is better, for you yourself are not re- sponsible for inventing the word " Vegetarianism ". You are not in any way pledged to it. In fact, you need not consider yourself pledged to anything which people of old have invented. What you are pledged to is the best that is possible, or, rather, the best that is feasible. It is true that some critics would say, " This desire for a new name is an admission of weakness." But most of the real men and women would probably say, " These people wish their principles to be made clear to the public, to be examined by the public, and to be expressed in an unmistakable form." You must know what the public thinks of the present name. Will you go on abusing the public for its carelessness, or (alas, that you should use the word !) for its dishonesty, or will you remember that the public is not educated by such abuse ? Had you not better find, or make a great effort to find, some name first which shall express your opinions unmis- takably .? Why do you not try to deprive the public of its excuse for being ignorant of your real principles? Why do you allow the public to ignore the vast number of foods and food-products against which there is no law? There is never a time for change like the present. That some change will have to be made some day I do not for a moment doubt ; I think that this is the best time for making it. You have, with the best intentions, misled enough people already. And the mere holding to an old title is surely a very small consideration. You have the most powerful case from every point of view ; from the point of view of humanitarianism, of health, of economy ; from the point igS FAILURES OF VEGETARIANISM of view of anatomy, physiology, pathology, chemistry ; from the point of view of personal experience. The word " Vegetarianism " gives no idea of the strength of your cause. It rather reminds the public of those many failures which it knows only too well. It re- minds the public of those many people who have given up their nourishing and stimulating Flesh-foods, and have tried a diet of vegetables instead, and have found this diet unsatisfactory. In fact, to the vast mass of uneducated Britishers, and surely you wish to appeal to them, the word "Vegetarianism" sug- gests the fact of failures rather than of success. The public does not read your literature, but the public does see the failures, and does hear of them. I believe that, on the other hand, large numbers of people would join your cause, and would help it, if you would alter your name to something more de- scriptive or less one-sided. I, for my part, utterly refuse to be called a " Vegetarian ", chiefly because I know what the word means to the public. The course of reasoning almost invariably is that, if one is a " Vegetarian ", one must live on vegetables. Now the diet of vegetables has nothing whatever to do with my diet. The eating of vegetables is a mere detail, not a general principle. The word "Vege- tarianism ", whatever be its derivation, or its meaning to you, for the public means a diet of vegetables, not the Fleshless Diet. Your principle, I take it, is not to live on vegetables, but rather to live on any flesh- less diet which suits the individual, the principles of such a diet being represented by the letters P. U. R. E. Proteid-containing, and, in general, nourishing. Unstimulating. Reverencing higher life. Economical. This need not be your name, but for goodness' sake let your name either express nothing at all, or else express your characteristics. As I say, I offer you THE NAME " VEGETARIANISM " 199 here the results of a few minutes devoted to this missing word competition. Set the public on to the search by the promise of a reward, and you will do more than you can by any other means to make known to the public that you have so strong a cause. Your strong cause, with popular education on the subject, may lead to popular improvement in health, athletics, intellectual life, commercial and industrial life, moral life and purity, humanitarianism, agricul- ture, economy. Such are your pleas; and it seems to me that the words " Vegetarian " and " Vege- tarianism " are a most inadequate expression of these pleas. The word utterly fails to do you justice in the eyes of the public. IN DEFENCE OF THE WORD "VEGE- TARIAN " {Reply in the "-Vegetarian" of July 13, 1901 1) We felt much interested in the paper read by Mr. Eustace Miles at the recent Congress, in which he contended that the word " Vegetarianism " was mis- leading because it conveyed the impression that we lived upon Vegetables. No doubt it does, and what is that but a plain statement of the actual truth ? That which is not an animal or a mineral must of necessity belong to the Vegetable Kingdom, and is, therefore, a vegetable. The pressing need of the hour is not to invent a new name for ourselves, but to teach the general public the true meaning of the name we have been known by from the first, and which will stick to us till the practice of eating flesh goes out of fashion. For the word " vegetable " to mean nothing more than cabbage and potatoes, etc., may suit the cook and kitchen requirements of domestic life ; and it is, moreover, a distinctive term useful enough within the narrow confines of mere trade. This may do very well for the greengrocer and others of his class, but we who soar away from the belittlitig imperfections and sordid gains of business life, bearing a message of purity and love that appeals to the higher and nobler attributes of man's nature, deem it more in keeping with the far-reaching possibilities of our mission to support the world-wide significance of the ' The italics are mine. 200 IN DEFENCE OF THE WORD "VEGETARIAN" 201 word, and there take our stand with the dignity becoming a position that is scientific and therefore impregnable. To step down to the narrow concep- tions of those whom we are trying to uplift would be a confession of weakness calculated to damage our position in the eyes of those whom we are trying to reach. No doubt the offer of a prize of one hundred pounds for a new name — as suggested by Mr. Eustace Miles — would be the means of bringing our principles before the minds of a large number of competitors, but it would be at the sacrifice of the dignity and simplicity of our position. Are we really so eccentric, are our daily habits so complex, we needs must offer the outside world the handsome sum of one hundred pounds to get us out of the difficult and anomalous position of not knowing what to call ourselves ? In view of the fact that in avoiding slaughter-house food we are simply acting under the guidance of the cleanly and kindly instincts natural to us as human beings, it is irritating to men of culture to be labelled by a distinctive name of any kind. In so far as our dietetic habits are concerned, we are doing nothing remarkable in abstaining from flesh-food. Those who maintain the contrary must confess that it is remarkable for an ox to eat grass ; a monkey to revel in nuts ; then why not label them ? Man has so completely lost his way — dietetically — it is imperative, as a temporary expedient, that we have a distinctive and expressive name for those aids to instruction in the way to live, that are springing up around us ; schools of progressive thought — called Vegetarian Societies — that are teaching us what kind of animals we really are. How few there are who realise that they are quietly achieving the mighty task of introducing us to ourselves. When, by reason of pure food, we become mentally capable of realising what we are and whose we are in the scheme of 202 FAILURES OF VEGETARIANISM creation, then in thought and spirit we step out from the narrow confines of a mere " ism," and for the first time realise the true dignity of our nature as men ; so that when asked : "Are you a Vegetarian ? " the true nobility of one's nature prompts one to exclaim : " No ! I am more : I am a man. Not a Nature- defying, weather-fearing, irrational-living counterpart of a human being, but a healthy, happy, whole-souled Man." Thus far we have ventured to speak out in the most emphatic manner in defence of that good old word " Vegetarianism." So long as we are so far in the minority as to need a distinguishing title, let us keep loyally to our first love; for though our junior members may not think it, " Vegetarianism " is a word dearly wedded to the sweet associations of early life with many of us young " old " veterans who can look back upon half a century of that pure, calm, and healthful existence which is man's birthright, and who reverence that word with feelings too fond and too sacred to be lightly set aside. Possibly in the past we have had no particular use for the word " vegetable," except in the restricted sense in common use ; but now its synonym, " Vege- tarianism," has become an important element in our social and moral progress, it is surely our duty to educate the general public to an acceptance of the luord in its true and most complete sense rather than displace it with a less expressive substitute. For the answer to this, see the Additional Notes, pp. 17-20. WORKS, etc., by EU5TACE H. MILES, M.A. (WITH SOME EXTRACTS FROM REVIEWS). Muscle, Brain, and Diet. A Plea for Simpler Foods (Third Edition). Better Food for Boys. The Trainings of tlie Body (for Games, Ath- letics, Exercise, Development, and Health) : by Dr. F. Schmidt and Eustace Miles (Third Thousand). Avenues to Health, both Physical and Mental. {In the Press.) The Game of Squash. A Practical Handbook. Lessons in Lawn Tennis. (Third Thousand.) How to Learn Philology. How to Prepare Essays, Lectures, Articles, Books, Speeches, and Letters (Second Thousand). How to Remember, without Memory-Systems or with them (Third Thousand). A History of Rome up to a.d. 500, with over one hundred Essays, etc. WORKS BY EUSTACE H. milS-^o^^^^^ed. The Teaching of Jesus To-day, being the Sermon on the Mount in Modern English. Mathematical Law in the Spiritual World. THE E.H.M. IVIEIVI.-HOB.DER AND gVIEIVEORY-HEL.PER. Handsome Polished Green Case, with Cover, looo Cards, and Instructions, complete. Messrs. Stone & Son, 62 Berners Street, London, W. 10/6. Messrs. M'Hugh, 42nd Street, New York. $5.00. THE BALL..GAIVIE CPATENT) EXERCISER, for practice all the year round. Messrs. Prosser & Son, Pentonville Road, London, N., 7/-. Messrs. Wright & Ditson, Wash- ington Street, Boston, Mass. EXTRACTS FROM REVIEWS, ETC. Muscle, Brain, and Diet— A Plea for Simpler Foods. Sonnenschein, and the Mac- millan Company, New York. Third Edition. 3/6, and $1.00. Mr. Andrew Lang, in Longman's Magazine.—" Mr. Miles' is a remarkable book. . . . He makes out probably the best case for a kind of vegetarianism that has ever been stated." International Medical Magazine. — "This is in some respects an extraordinary book. The most interesting and valuable part of it is the detailed report of the author's personal experience in relation to diet. . . . Though an enthusiast in regard to dietetic subjects, he is not an extremist, and the suggestions founded on his own personal experience may be read with interest and even profit by many physicians. " Gymnasium. — "Every teacher of physical exercise should have this book and study it." Recreation. — " Valuable menus and recipes are given." Vegetarian Magazine. — " ' Muscle, Brain, and Diet ' should be in every home. It will be interesting to old and young alike." New York Medical Journal. — "Books like this cannot but be productive of very great good." Good Health. — " Should by all means be read by every seeker after the most healthful way of living." Herald of Health. — "The whole work is well worth reading for itself, and has a grand mission before it." Health Culture. — " Mr. Miles' work deals with the food question in a manner so unique and entertaining, and at the same time so practical, exhaustive, and conservative, that it makes a splendid text-book on the vexed subject of proper food. The present reviewer is acquainted with most of the works extant on the subject of dietetics, but knows of none at once so interesting, so practical, so scientifically accurate as this." The Conservator. — Judge Crosby writes : "It is to be noted that Mr. Miles, while an enthusiast, is no fanatic. The book should appeal to all men who are interested in athletics, to those who are suffering from digestive troubles and corpulence, and to physicians and students of hygiene." EXTRACTS FROM REVlEWS-cmitnaeil. Literature. — " An eloquent and ingenious plea for vegetarianism, meriting more notice than is usually given to such works, because the author is a scholar and an athlete." St. James's Gazette.— "The book undoubtedly affords interesting and instructive reading." Brotherhood. — "The author of this book writes with authority." Liverpool Daily Post.— "The book is a valuable contribution to a much debated topic." Literary World. — " His long argument in favour of a rational meatless regimen is exceedingly lively throughout." Birmingham Daily Post. — " His book is thoroughly readable, and cannot fail to interest and enlighten sympathisers and opponents alike." Bookman. — " A plea for simpler foods is here made with much good argument. There are also useful chapters on general health." Pall Mall Gazette. — "The book is well worth reading by those men and women who labour physically or mentally for long hours during the day." Bristol Times and Mercury. — "There is a lot of good advice in this book." Bradford Observer. — " Mr. Miles' book seems to us a very valuable one." Gymnasium. — ' ' A plea, and a very powerful one, for simpler (and cheaper) foods." Reynolds' Newi. — "Mr. Miles does not preach. His work is crammed with practical results, and everybody who reads it must feel his conscientious earnestness." The Training of the Body (for Games, Ath- letics, and other Forms of Exercise, and for General Development). By Dr. F. Schmidt and Mr. Eustace Miles. With numerous Illustrations. Sonnenschein, and E. P. Dutton, New York. Third Thousand. 7/6 and $2.00. Academy. — " An admirably full treatise on the culture of the body, to which games are a means, and of which they are also an end. Mr. EXTRACTS FROM TfEVinVJS.— continued. Miles is intensely scientific. The book offers a whole system of physi- cal education, and few readers will fail to find in it pages which appeal to their needs and experience." Scotsman. — "A work which must have a powerful influence for good in the acquiring and developing of physical training ... of ex- ceptional value as an aid to physical education." Leeds Mercury. — ''Not, like too many works of the kind, a mere glorification of thews and sinews, but, on the contrary, an attempt to show how physical training at its best insensibly comes to the aid of moral education. ... An admirable book." Times. — "Those who are unable to decide for themselves what re- gimen of life and what forms of exercise are best for their bodies and minds will find this book really helpful." Sheffield Independent. — "A highly valuable manual of physical training of an authoritative kind." Sporting Chronicle. — "A remarkable volume. . . . We heartily recommend the book to every athlete, amateur or professional." Reynolds'. — "A volume which says the fullest and most accurate word on this subject to date." Lloyds'. — "Mr. Miles, as champion of the world at tennis, and with a big record in other sports, speaks with authority." How to Learn PhilolOgry. A Simple Introduc- tion for School and University Use. Sonnenschein, and F. E. Grant, 42nd Street, New York, 5/- nett. The University Covres^oaA&it.—" Mr. Miles approaches the stib- iect with the genius of a born teacher, he never forgets that the particular is viore forcible than the general ; he puts instances first and thence deduces his rules. The book is divided into fifty-five short and easy lessons, covering the whole ground required at B.A. Honours (Classics), M.A. (Branch I.) London, and kindred examinations. The author uses throughout the Socratic method of question and answer with all the clearness and some of the cocksureness of the late illustrious Mag- nail, and presses into his service rhymes, key-words, and other mnemonic devices. The book is clear, accurate, thorough, and up-to-date.^' EXTRACTS FROM REVIEWS.— coniinuic/. The Athenaeum. — "Veiy useful and suggestive — a rich mine of questions and models for questions. " Pall Mall Gazette. — " 7721! book strikes us as the work of a thoroughly practical teacher." Literature. — "Much maybe learnt from it. It will certainly be useful." Spectator. — "Mr. Miles begins at the beginning, and gives plenty of really helpful suggestions and hints." The Bookman. — " Mr. Miles evidently knows his work," Morning Post. — "A concise and comprehensive work. There are complete indices." Public School Magazine. — "A thorough working book like that before us cannot fail to meet with acceptance. " Secondary Education. — " This volume contains a fund of informa- tion. The arrangement is effective." School World. — " The book will save the beginner a considerable amount of unnecessary and jnisdirected energy," Bristol Times and Mirror. — "Need has been felt of a simple work on philology. Such a work is before us. We congratulate the author on the success he has attained in handling this most difficult subject." Nottingham Daily Guardian. — " The chapters are short and especially adapted for beginners." The Academy. — "The student who works carefully through Mr. Miles' book will obtain a sound if elementaiy knowledge of philology, textual criticism, and other related matters ; and further, if the subject is taught in class on the lines laid down by the author in his preface, very gratifying results must follow." Glasgow Herald. — "A book of real practical utihty." CONSERVATION 1898