The philosophy of eating. By Albert J. Bellows, M.D.

260

PORTABLE SOUP.

living system seems to be mechanical, forming protection to the joints as a kind of cushion, and attaching the
muscles to the bones, and, as food, answering as waste
material to keep the bowels in action. This is true of
all animal jellies, as calf's foot, isinglass, &c.
Portable Soup, or Extract of Beef.
Thirty-two pounds of beef, without bone or fat, if
put into cold water, gradually heated and boiled for a
long time, and finally strained, and the liquid boiled
down to dryness, will make one pound of true extract
of beef, containing all the nutritive properties necessary
for one who is sickly or sedentary. One ounce of this
extract, with a little salt, will make a quart of soup or
beef tea, which is rich and palatable, retaining tlie
natural flavor of well-cooked beef, and which may be
otherwise seasoned to suit the taste. This extract
will keep, in a dry place, for an indefinite time, and if
made, as it may be and is in the Western States where
beef is cheap, need not be very expensive; and by the
saving in expense of transportion, might be made a
profitable way of disposing of beef.
It is kept by almost all apothecaries, and if it could
be depended on as genuine, might be the best, surest,
quickest, and most economical mode of supplying
wholesome animal food to the sick and feeble; but
unfortunately a cheaper and far inferior article is sold
under the same name, which contains only enough of
the genuine extract to give it flavor, all the rest being
gelatine, which contains no nourishment.