tracts among his friends. He visited this family lately, and found one of the brothers, who had lived in the neighbourhood, on the north shore of Lake Ontario, where it was much colder than here, and from that young man he learned that, by means of the tract left among them by the crazy brother, they had all become Vegetarians, with the exception of the mother. She felt almost outraged because none of the family except herself had any desire to eat meat; and often she would not touch it merely because the rest would not. He believed that the Vegetarian cause must work its way, like all other reforms, from small beginnings, and by the perseverance and faithfulness of its true friends. Every good cause had to force its way through many obstacles. And such would be the history of this; because, more than any other, it combined against itself all the elements of disorder and confusion in society, with the interests of an immense amount of capital now employed in the various vocations which grow out of the traffic in animal food. There were said to be thirty thousand butchers in the country; they were closely connected in interest with the farmers, all of whom, with the hog-raisers, and cattle-breeders, and the dealers, as well as all those with whom flesh-eating had become an established habit, were against the Vegetarian movement. To break up these businesses and destroy these interests was a tremendous work.

EVENING SESSION.

The Society re-assembled at half-past seven p.m., when the Business Committee presented the following preamble and resolutions, which were discussed and unanimously adopted :

The members of the American Vegetarian Society, on the occasion of its Eleventh Annual Convention, renew to their associates all over the world, and to the public, their deep and solemn conviction of the truth of Vegetarianism; that Scripture, science, and all rightly understood human experience teach that the human being is constituted to find his best and proper food in the productions of the vegetable kingdom; that his best development and highest interests can only be secured by a strict conformity to the laws which the Creator has established in his organism; and that the use of animal flesh as a diet by human beings is one of the chief causes of degeneracy among the people and decay among the nations.

And whereas all social institutions and all governmental policies are but the reflex of the prevailing character of society, while the state and condition of society is but the aggregate of individual character, and as individual character is, to a great extent, determined by the normal or abnormal condition of the bodily functions, therefore it is resolved:

1. That the basis of all substantial and enduring reforms among men is to be found in a return to the natural dietary.

2. That intemperance, dissipation, and debauchery are, in all nations, clearly traceable mainly to erroneous habits of eating and drinking.

3. That the various moral and physiological reforms of the age, and particularly the temperance and the anti-tobacco reforms, will always be subject to sudden and disastrous relapses, so long as their advocates and proselytes alike indulge in such dietetic habits as pervert the normal instincts and provoke morbid appetites.

4. That we are cheered and gratified with the many evidences of the spread of our cause, and especially with the intelligence we receive from many sources in this country an I in Europe, that the principles of our system are being earnestly studied by multitudes of thinking men.

5. That the object of all true and successful reform should be to make men healthier, wiser, better, and happier; and inasmuch as we believe that happiness, in its fullest sense, cannot exist in an unhealthy body, we believe that true reformers should labour to perfect the development of the physical man, as the chief corner-stone of all true reform.

6. That true wisdom and goodness necessarily, naturally, and spontaneously flow from a healthy physical organization.

7. That the experience of those men in all ages of the world who have practically tested in their lives the utility of the Vegetarian diet, proves the superiority of such diet, and the entire sufficiency of the same, for the most perfect development of the human system.

8. That, as a general rule, the strongest men in the world, the most beautifully organized and developed men, the fairest complexioned men, the wisest and most profound thinkers, the most moral, humane, and virtuous men, and the longest-lived men, have been Vegetarians; and facts well established abundantly prove that those who live exclusively on a vegetable diet, can and do endure the extremes of heat and cold, hard and long continued toil and exposure, and long-continued privation, better than those who live on a flesh or mixed diet.

9. That a moral, social and religious life is best promoted and improved by living a Vegetarian life.

The PRESIDENT (Rev. Dr. Metcalfe) feelingly alluded to the lamented decease of the late Dr. W. A. Alcott and James Simpson, Esq., and the great deprivation which the American and British Vegetarian Societies had thus sustained by the reinoval of their respective Presidents. After detailing the history of the British Society and Mr. Simpson's zealous efforts in its support, which are well known to our readers, he concluded as follows:- We are not to suppose that this cause is going forward with the rapidity of many other so-called reforms; on the contrary, it is one which requires application-to restrain appetites, to conform to moral principles, to be guided by the doctrines of truth, physically, morally, and religiously; and hence we are encouraged to persevere in that which we believe to be essential to the happiness of our fellow-beings.

Dr. TRALL, on being called upon, delivered an address on "The Scientific Basis of Vegetarianism."*

After some further remarks from Mr. Brown,

Dr. E. P. MILLER, of New York, was called upon, and spoke as follows:-I am deeply interested in the subject of dietetic reform, and have been for the last ten years-for it is ten years since my attention was first called to the subject of Vegetarian diet. It was not through any particular investigation I had then made that I adopted a vegetable diet; but the position I at present occupy, and the experience I have had, have grown out of the fact, simply, that I lost my health. Ten years ago I was a poor, broken-down dyspeptic, and Í was anxious to lay hold on anything which promised to aid my recovery. While in that condition, and trying various experiments with drugs and medicines, with the advice of many different physicians, I found myself growing worse instead of better. I then obtained some of the works of Dr. Trall, and others by other authors, and began to study my own case; and very soon I thought I could perceive in them great principles of truth, and laws of nature which I could rely on. From what light I could gather from these works I commenced practising their teachings. I can now say that my experience has fully satisfied me that the positions which they have taken are true. Certainly it proved so in my case. From that time to this my health has continually improved, and now I believe I enjoy as good health as people generally do in the most wholesome sections of the country. From what knowledge I can obtain from scientific books, from observation, and from the Holy Scriptures, I regard this reform, if not embracing all other reforms, as the proper foundation on which all other reforms must be built. We must come right down to the plain matter-of-fact subject of what men eat and drink, to find a desirable platform on which to base reforms of all kinds. So long as people eat and drink in such a way as to excite and perpetuate morbid appetites, the temperance cause will never prosper. The temperance organization has evidently been receding for two or three years. So long as men eat hurtful articles of food, they will have morbid cravings for stimulants. Nearly all the Washingtonians have gone back to their cups. I heard it remarked not long since, that it was difficult to point to a single one of the thousands who, a few years ago, were reformed drunkards, and members of the Washington Societies, for they all, or nearly all, had found a drunkard's grave. You will find all Maine Laws abortive, and all license laws of little or no effect in restraining the tide of intemperance, so long as people eat that kind of food which provokes the desire for strong drink. It appears to me that there is more drunkenness now than ever before in this country. Drunken men, women, and even children, are common in the streets of New York, and it seems to me that the same evidences of depravity may be seen in all of our large cities. And, for one, I believe that the reason why we do not succeed better in our temperance efforts, is because we do not go to the foundation. We do not start upon the right principles. I trust that society will yet see the truth and force of the positions advanced this evening by Dr. Trall. I am sorry that my friend Mr. Brown entertains the views he advocates in relation to stimulating medicines. I am sure that he labours under a great delusion. Although a botanic doctor, he is in precisely the same position in relation to stimulating medicines, that the allopathic doctors are with regard to Vegetarianism. They have never tried the experiment of abstinence from animal food, and are quite as ignorant of the subject as are their patients, yet they presume to advise and insist that their patients shall eat meat. Mr. Brown insists that sick persons should use stimulating medicines, yet has no experimental knowledge of the opposite plan. We have had this experience in hundreds of cases, and hence we can speak advisedly. I have a case in point. Two weeks ago a man was brought to our institution, labouring under a very severe attack of typhoid fever. There was great congestion of the brain, with almost constant delirium. He was a theological student, and after being with us a couple of days, his friends at the seminary came to see him with their family physician. This physician pronounced him in a very dangerous condition, and proposed giving him stimulus. To this we objected. He proposed brandy first, then quinine, and then beef-tea. We peremptorily objected to each and all, and gave our reasons why the patient ought not to have them. Finding that we could not be persuaded to allow the patient stimulus of any kind, the doctor, after sending down another eminent physician to examine his case, left him to us and his fate. In two or three days after this, the patient was out of all danger, and rapidly recovering. My opinion is, that if the allopathic physician had been permitted to have given him the stimulus as he proposed, the patient would not have lived three days. Nor do I agree that allopathic physicians, as a class, are dishonest, and actuated wholly by selfish motives. I repel this allegation. I believe they are generally intending to labour for the good of the community; but in their medical system they are mistaken. The error is in their system. They start on false premises, and consequently their reasoning is fallacious. They assume that stimulus is necessary, that alcohol is food, that stimulants impart strength to the system, and many other absurdities. Having an erroneous idea of the

*This address will be found at page 10.

nature of disease, and a false theory of the action of remedies, their whole system of practice cannot be otherwise than wrong. I will not prolong my remarks; but I must say that I am very happy to meet so many warm friends of Vegetarianism here to-night. I can assure you all of my hearty co-operation in the cause which has brought us together; while I rejoice to see your venerable President, with his children and grandchildren, all of whom have been practical Vegetarians from the day of their birth.

The Society then adjourned, to hold its next Annual Meeting in the city of New York, on the call of the President.

ENGLAND.

LECTURE ON THE LAWS OF DIET.-On Tuesday evening, December 3rd, Dr. F. R. Lees, of Leeds, delivered a lecture at the Lyceum, Plymouth, on "The Natural Laws of Diet." We are indebted to the Western Daily Mercury for the following report:-Dr. Lees commenced by defining his terms, and explaining the object of the inquiry. As a political or social law expressed the relation between the law-making power and the subjects of it-as the marriage-law expressed the social law between the parties married-so the law of diet expressed the kind of union, adaptation, between the subjects of that law. To understand the law, we must understand the subjects related by law-namely, the nature of diet in the first place; and the nature of the human body that wanted diet, in the second. As no one could comprehend the wants of a watch, or an engine, until they understood the works and workings of such a machine, so we could not see why the body wanted food, until we understood first the nature and mechanism of the body. Man was an organ, an instrument of action. As the Scripture said, he had to go forth from the primeval centre of the race, and "subdue the earth." To tit him for achieving such a work-a conquest of nature as the groundwork of intellectual development and social progress-he must have an adapted instrumentality. This was found in the human body, the first natural machinery, and therefore the fabricator of all the machinery of art, from the rudest axe or plough, to the most wonderful and elaborate achievements of modern mechanism. It was the type of all. The idea of an instrument implied solid matter, as distinguished from fluid; and the body was, therefore, a complicated apparatus of solid organism, literally a vital machinery and a living temple. First, in the skeleton or bones, we had the levers, the pillars, and the walls of this living machinery. In the flesh or muscles we had, secondly, the elastic vital ropes and straps that worked the bones. Thirdly, in the motor nerves we had the telegraphs that impelled the muscles, instructing them to do their work at the proper time and in the proper way. Fourthly, in the brain we had the telegraph office, where the clerk dwelt (or should dwell), whose business it was to learn the nature of himself and the world he lived in,--the true laws of life in short, and to act accordingly. To effect this, we had, fifthly, a set or sentient or informing nerves, which brought messages from the world without to the world within, opening up our relationships to nature and to each other-through light, and sound, and feeling, &c. The senses were the inlets of such information-and the nerves of sensation going from them to the brain were the telegraphic wires. Sixthly, we had an assimilating system, for the digestion, circulation, and deposit of our food, &c., and all that it implied; and seventhly, a sanitary system for getting rid of the vapour, waste matter, and noxious gases generated in the living house; thus, by means of ventilation and drainage, expelling them from the temple, which they would otherwise poison and pollute. But this complicated machinery, this palace of life, was living; and whatever lived had two attributes. As all men said in their proverbs-" Warm as life, cold as death-quick as life, still as death." Hence a living body might be defined as organised matter-warm in every part, moving in every part. This, then, was the nature of all the tissues of the body--bone, muscle, nerve, brain, &c. But this brought with it certain sequences-Heat radiated, and became lost or latent. The boiling water became cold, the red-hot iron black and frigidand the fire went out. So of the human blood and human structure. Every moment we lost the old heat-hence every moment we wanted new, fresh heat to replace it, as a condition of life. But to have heat, we must have combustible matter that yields it, fuel in short; whence, again, the first want of the body was the want of fuel-food. Again, the sequence of movement-of the working of all machinery, and therefore of the delicate and elaborate machinery of the body which worked night and day,-was change-wear and tear. We lost the substance of tissue: hence, to preserve the integrity of the temple and its enginery of life, we wanted fresh matter to buila it up; in short, nourishment. Because of this daily waste, we needed daily bread. That was bread, therefore, which either innocently warmed the blood as fuel, by union with the oxygen introduced in breathing, or which, digested and transfigured into vital blood itself, repaired the waste of the worn down organism, and made new bone, muscle, and nerve. For these two wants of the body, God, in nature, had perfectly provided two kinds of food, namely (as seen in the diagrams exhibited).-I. For Nutrition Albumen, and its two forms, fibrine and casein. In other words, the white-of-egg element-the bird-lime element of wheat-and the element of curd or cheese.-11. Elements

of Respiration: namely, Oil or Fat, Starch and Sugar. In ten parts, the nutritive elements should be as three, and the fuel as eight. Here, then, is what all perfect nature provides; a provision at once simple and sufficient. Oil or fat gives out heat enough for the coldest regions; starch and sugar, as found in fruits, roots, and grain, enough for the warmest. Now the laws impressed by God upon these gifts are expressive of a tectotal truth. In no natural element of food is either alcohol itself found, or anything with similar properties. On the contrary, starch, sugar, &c., which in various forms constitute three-fifths of all human food, are built up chemically after the fashion of water; that is, the Hydrogen and Oxygen in them exist as in water-in equal atoms, or equivalents of 1 to 1, 10 to 10, 12 to 12. In short they pair off, not like the polygamist, but the monogamist. In alcohol, as in the nettle-venom and other poisons, however, we have six atoms of hydrogen to two of oxygen. Again, all elements of food are physiologically innocent; they do not intoxicate, inflame, or disturb. Lastly, they all satisfy appetite, so that the more we eat, the less we like or want; whereas in alcoholic drinks the more men take the more they want-there is a tendency to create an appetite. The law of satiety was the teleological law; food was not a mocker. Such were the laws of food. Hence the charge of ignoring God's good creatures recoiled upon the objector: the teetotaller accepted all the elements of natural food as finished and perfect; the drinker, on the other hand, could obtain his liquor only by changing nourishing albumen of fruit and grain into rotting yeast, which, by its fermentative action, transmuted the innocent and solid sugar into carbonic-acid and alcohol, changed the solid into the fluid, the food into poison. No wonder, therefore, that bread was dear when natural food was destroyed. Teetotalism was equally a vindication of Divine wisdom as regards drink. Drink had but one great end to answer-that of a vehicle for the solution and circulation of the solids of which the body and its food consist-hence God who had given two sorts of food, had given but one drink; and that beyond question was the beverage of the teetotaller -"the Water of Life."-The lecture was listened to with great attention, and was frequently greeted with enthusiastic applause.

DISEASED MEAT.-At a meeting of the City Commissioners, held at Guildhall (London), on Tuesday, November 20th-Mr. Deputy Christie, chairman-a conversation was started by Mr. Deputy Lott, touching the disposal of the diseased and putrid meat condemned in the City markets; and it was elicited from Mr. Newman, the inspector of slaughter-houses and meat to the Commissioners, that it was taken to places in Belleisle, Islington, and in Whitechapel, where it was boiled down and destroyed as human food. Mr. Waterlow, senior, said he raised the question as to the ultimate disposal of the condemned meat in the court some years ago, being strongly impressed with the beliet then, as he still was, that a considerable portion of it, which was supposed to be destroyed, came into consumption as sausages, and in various other shapes, among the humbler classes. Mr. George Walters also bore testimony to the very general impression that the meat in question was not destroyed, and that much of it came into comsumption as human food. Deputy Lott contended that boiling in such a case was not destruction, and that cremation was the only process by which the public could be guarded against such iniquitous practices, adding that there was nothing more generative of disease among the lower classes. Mr. Waterlow held that it was more important that proper arrangements should be made for the absolute destruction of the meat than to see to the seizure of it. Mr. Dodd, the clerk to the commissioners, said it was clear at present they had not accurate information as to what was done with the diseased meat alter it arrived at the boiling place at Belleisle, which was an undesirable state of things. Dr. Letheby said, what was wanted but did not obtain was a vigilant supervision over the meat in question in its transition from the markets to the ostensible place of destruction. Some further discussion ensued on this subject, in which the chairman and other members took part, and, although it resulted in no specific resolution, it was clear, from the general feeling manifested by the Commissioners, that they will not permit the matter to rest in its present questionable position.-Liverpool.-Here, too, the Markets Committee appear to be in the same state of uncertainty as to the disposal of the diseased meat seized by their officers. At one of the usual weekly meetings, held in the Council Chamber of the Town Hall, Mr. Alderman Woodruff presiding, and the following gentlemen present-Messrs. Ridley, Shimmin, Haydock, Rogers, Kitchen, Aspinall, Johnson, and Barton, the report of the inspectors showed that during the week the following quantities of unwholesome fish and butchers' meat had been seized and destroyed: -Central district, 1,718 lbs. of meat; northern district, 1,940lbs. of meat, and 254lbs. of fish (ray) in the borough. What is Done with the Diseased About -The following report was read from the inspector of nuisances relative to the disposal of diseased meat offered for sale and seized by the inspector of nuisances :-"The inspector of nuisances begs to report that, in consequence of numerous complaints of a nuisance existing at Mr. Ellison's yard in Cresswell-street, Everton, and having reason to suspect that some irregularity was taking place in reference to condemned meat and refuse from the market, your inspector, in company with Inspector Freeney, made an examination of Mr. Ellison's premises at half-past four o'clock on the afternoon of Friday the 16th of November, 1860, when a cart-load of condemned meat was found upon the premises. The meat had not been

destroyed, but was in a cart apparently in the same state as when it had left the market. There was no market officer on the premises to prevent misuse of the meat, and part of a hind leg of beef of the same character as that in the cart was hanging up in the house where provender is prepared. Being desirous of ascertaining what became of the load of meat, and particularly whether it was destroyed on the premises in question, your inspector attended there again between nine and ten o'clock at night of the same Friday. The cart was not in the yard, and your inspector could not learn what had become of the meat.”Inspector Jones was called in and interrogated on the subject, when he stated that the meat in question was taken from the market in one of Mr. Ellison's carts, but as there were some planks belonging to Mr. Ellison on the top of the vehicle it went round past his yard in Cresswell-street, and he (Jones) walked on to the yard behind the "Logical" Gardens, where the cart subsequently arrived, and the meat was destroyed with vitriol. Several members urged that Jones had neglected his duty in permitting the cart to go out of his sight whilst conveying the meat to the place where it was to be destroyed, and, on the motion of Mr. Ridley, a special committee was appointed to investigate the matter.

Recipes, &c.

TO MAKE YEAST.-First Morning: Boil for half an hour 2oz. of the best hops in four quarts of water. Let the liquid cool down to a milk-warm heat, then put in 2oz. of common salt and half a pound of brown sugar. Beat up one pound of the best flour with some of the liquid; mix all well together. It will ferment without any yeast being put into it-Second Morning: All you have to do this day is to keep the mixture at a proper heat, and stir it frequently as on the other days. - Third Morning: Peel, bil, and mash carefully three pounds of good potatoes; when milk-warm put them into the yeast, and mix all well together.-Fourth Morning: Sieve the mixture thoroughly, then put the liquid in a large stone bottle three parts filled; when it will be fit for use. Put the corks in lightly for a few hours until it is settled, then cork it down tightly, and as soon as it is boiled, put it in a cool place.-Directions for Use: Before you take the yeast out for use, stir it well with a peeled stick or willow. Mix the barm or yeast the night before it is used, with a quart of water, milk-warm, and a little flour. Set and work your sponge, and knead your dough the same as with brewer's yeast; but let it rise two or three hours after kneading, before it is baked. Half a pint of this yeast will raise 30lbs. of good flour. It will keep for two or three months, according to the state of the weather.-N.B. The yeast will take four days in making, from the time of boiling to that of bottling; while making, it should be kept in a covered vessel, and stirred every half-hour, if possible, during that time. Be careful to stir it well from the bottom the last thing at night, and the first thing in the morning, with a wooden spoon, which can be left in the liquid, until it is sieved on the fourth day. The hops, &c., are to be left in the liquid, until it is sieved.

To Readers and Correspondents.

RECEIVED.-L. G.; J. W. S.

VEGETARIAN SOCIETY.-The Forms of Declaration required for membership can be obtained on application to the Secretary, 12, King-street, Salford, Manchester.

All Communications for the DIETETIC REFORMER should be addressed to the Secretary, the Rev. JAMES CLARK, 12, King street, Salford, Manchester. All articles or notices of meetings, &c,, intended for insertion, must be accompanied with the real name and address of the writer, not necessarily for publication, but as a guarantee of good faith.

TO ADVERTISERS.

Advertisements for the DIETETIC REFORMER, received on the following terms:

To be forwarded to the SECRETARY of the VEGETArian Society, 12, King Street, Salford, Manchester.

ALEXANDER IRELAND & Co., Printers, Pall Mall Court, Manchester.