Correctly fed and properly nourished on the fat of
THE LAND, cruclty would die a natural death. But how
shall we inaugurate the change ? The instinct of children
is often more profound than the wisdom of maturity;
appeal to those in your homes ; convene in every city and
town the societies and bands of mercy that are united in
one grand cause ; to this vast army add every homeless
waif upon the continent, and ask them if it is right and
just to treat animals so kindly and later reward them for
their gentleness and pleasant comradeship by killing and
eating them ? The inconsistencies of our practical con-
duct toward living creatures are so clear children cannot
fail to perceive them. Place before the mental vision of
these youth a feast of the dead, in contrast with a feast of
nuts and fruits, and the majority would declare in favor
of the latter. Then how easy to prepare the way for the
millions of children who would be fed upon the produc-
tions of the earth if this innovation were begun in our
homes and perfected by slow degrees. How easy to teach
232 THE FAT OF THE LAND.
them that it is not right to kill anything, when the land is
overflowing with a superior order of food. To those who
live in cities but little is known of the life and habits of
the " friends " they eat, but in the country terrified echoes
from the farmyard proclaim the revolting scenes enacted
there. Children hide themselves and shut out the terrible
sounds, and evade with rapid rush too close proximity to
the suspended forms. Yet they are permitted to witness
the dissection of these dead. How wide a berth we all
grant to the scenes, sounds and odors of the abattoir.
How we shrink from the occupation of the butcher, and
"would rather be excused from viewing the process."
Yet the product of the process lies daily on our tables,
and the demand for it makes both the abattoir and the
butcher's trade necessary.
That the continual ** slaughter of the innocents " is not
conducive to the highest and best development of which
the human race is capable was made painfully apparent
at a recent " barbecue " in a neighboring city. The fol-
lowing is extracted from the report of this affair in one of
the leading daily papers :
*' Over the pits for roasting were hung 40 rounds of
beef, averaging 100 pounds, and 50 sheep impaled on
barbecue irons. Merrily the roast went on, and before i
o'clock the 50 servers, with their cutlass-like carving knives
began to attack the huge hunks of meat. When the roasts
were taken from the fire they were coal black, but a skill-
ful flourish or two with the sabre, and the juicy meat was
laid bare. After a deep end to end gash through the
roast, the carvers used both hands to tear the meat from
the bones. Then slabs, slices and hunks, as the case
might be, were struck off, slapped between huge slices of
bread and passed to the hungry crowd. In an hour and
a half the people had made way with 4,000 pounds of
FARMYARD SLAUGHTER AND KITCHEN DISSECTION. 235
meat and i,ooo gallons of coffee. The people were raven-
ous. The condition of the park was such as imagination
pictures the heath of a South Sea island when cannibals
have been enjoying a fresh batch of missionaries. Far
and wide, for acres, were strewn lumps of meat varying
in size from a finger to a fist, wooden plates and slices of
bread and exhausted melons and lemon rinds. Up to
half past four there had been consumed five tons of beef^
75 lambs, 2,000 gallons of coffee — made from 500 pounds
of coffee — two barrels of sugar and 1,590 double loaves
of bread. The basting for the roasts, which was applied
by means of large sponges at the end of poles, was com-
posed of 200 pounds of butter, 40 gallons of vinegar, 50
pounds of pepper and two barrels of salt."
Page 93
Presented as published in 1896. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
Correctly fed and properly nourished on the fat of THE LAND, cruelty would die a natural death. But how shall we inaugurate the change ? The instinct of children is often more profound than the wisdom of maturity; appeal to those in your homes ; convene in every city and town the societies and bands of mercy that are united in one grand cause ; to this vast army add every homeless waif upon the continent, and ask them if it is right and just to treat animals so kindly and later reward them for their gentleness and pleasant comradeship by killing and eating them ? The inconsistencies of our practical conduct toward living creatures are so clear children cannot fail to perceive them. Place before the mental vision of these youth a feast of the dead, in contrast with a feast of nuts and fruits, and the majority would declare in favor of the latter. Then how easy to prepare the way for the millions of children who would be fed upon the productions of the earth if this innovation were begun in our homes and perfected by slow degrees. How easy to teach
them that it is not right to kill anything, when the land is overflowing with a superior order of food. To those who live in cities but little is known of the life and habits of the " friends " they eat, but in the country terrified echoes from the farmyard proclaim the revolting scenes enacted there. Children hide themselves and shut out the terrible sounds, and evade with rapid rush too close proximity to the suspended forms. Yet they are permitted to witness the dissection of these dead. How wide a berth we all grant to the scenes, sounds and odors of the abattoir. How we shrink from the occupation of the butcher, and "would rather be excused from viewing the process." Yet the product of the process lies daily on our tables, and the demand for it makes both the abattoir and the butcher's trade necessary.
That the continual ** slaughter of the innocents " is not conducive to the highest and best development of which the human race is capable was made painfully apparent at a recent " barbecue " in a neighboring city. The following is extracted from the report of this affair in one of the leading daily papers :
*' Over the pits for roasting were hung 40 rounds of beef, averaging 100 pounds, and 50 sheep impaled on barbecue irons. Merrily the roast went on, and before i o'clock the 50 servers, with their cutlass-like carving knives began to attack the huge hunks of meat. When the roasts were taken from the fire they were coal black, but a skillful flourish or two with the sabre, and the juicy meat was laid bare. After a deep end to end gash through the roast, the carvers used both hands to tear the meat from the bones. Then slabs, slices and hunks, as the case might be, were struck off, slapped between huge slices of bread and passed to the hungry crowd. In an hour and a half the people had made way with 4,000 pounds of
meat and i,ooo gallons of coffee. The people were ravenous. The condition of the park was such as imagination pictures the heath of a South Sea island when cannibals have been enjoying a fresh batch of missionaries. Far and wide, for acres, were strewn lumps of meat varying in size from a finger to a fist, wooden plates and slices of bread and exhausted melons and lemon rinds. Up to half past four there had been consumed five tons of beef^ 75 lambs, 2,000 gallons of coffee — made from 500 pounds of coffee — two barrels of sugar and 1,590 double loaves of bread. The basting for the roasts, which was applied by means of large sponges at the end of poles, was composed of 200 pounds of butter, 40 gallons of vinegar, 50 pounds of pepper and two barrels of salt."