An excerpt:"The great question in regard to diet, viz., whether any food of theanimal kind is absolutely necessary to the most full and perfectdevelopment of man's whole nature, being fairly up, both in Europe andAmerica, and there being no practical, matter-of-fact volume on thesubject, of moderate size, in the market, numerous friends have been forsome time urging me to get up a new and revised edition of a work which,though imperfect, has been useful to many, while it has been for sometime out of print"Boiled Grains.These require less mastication than those which are submitted to otherprocesses; but they are more easy of digestion, and to some morepalatable, and even more digestible.Indian corn may be boiled, but the process requires sixhours or more, even after it has soaked all night, and there has been afrequent change of the water. And with all this boiling, the skinssometimes adhere rather strongly, unless you boil with them some ashes,or other alkali.Steaming is better than boiling. Some fry them; others stewthem with vegetables for soup, etc.The carrot is richer than the turnip, but not therefore moredigestible. It may be boiled, stewed, fried, or made into pies,puddings, etc. It is a very tolerable article of food.Asparagus, well boiled, is nutritious and wholesome. Salt isoften added, and sometimes butter. The former, to many, is needless; thelatter, to all, injurious.Muskmelons are richer than watermelons, but not morewholesome. Of the canteloupe I know but little.The cucumber. Taken at the moment when ripe;neither greennor acid;the cucumber is almost, but not quite as valuable as themelon. It should be eaten in the same way, rejecting the rind. TheOrientals of modern days sometimes boil them, but in former times theyate them uncooked, though always ripe.Greens and salads are stringy and indigestible. Besides,they are much used, as condiments are, to excite or provoke anappetite;a thing usually wrong. A feeble appetite, say at the openingof the spring, however common, is a great blessing. If let alone, naturewill erelong set to rights those things, which have gone wrong perhapsall winter; and then appetite will return in a natural way..."