School hygiene : a lecture delivered at the request of the council of the Parkes Museum of Hygiene, July 12, 1883 / by Charles Henry Ralfe.

  • Charles Henry Ralfe
Date:
1883
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: School hygiene : a lecture delivered at the request of the council of the Parkes Museum of Hygiene, July 12, 1883 / by Charles Henry Ralfe. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    Next in importance to the amount and nature of the food, comes the question of the meal hours. With young persons, as well as with the aged, long intervals between the meals should be avoided. For- merly, at many schools, and it may be the practice of some now, for no food to be administered from the substantial tea at six or seven o'clock in the evening, till breakfast the next morning at eight o'clock. Thirteen to fourteen hours constitute too long an interval to keep the growing frame without food, especially as some hours of study follow the tea hour, and an hour is generally spent in the schoolroom before breakfast is served. In all cases a light supper of bread and cheese should be served out the last thing before retiring to rest, and a crust of bread or a draught of milk given to each boy on leaving the dormitory in the morning, especially if any work has to be done before breakfast. This and dinner should be the two substantial meals of the day, and in the case of the older boys, who have meat twice a day, the extra allowance of meat should be given at breakfast and not at the later meals of tea or supper. For the younger boys honey, marmalade, or any kind of preserved fruit should be served with the breakfast in lieu of meat. The greatest possible attention should be paid to the quality of all food supplied, and in order to insure this all provisions brought to the school should be inspected on delivery by some person connected with the establishment who can have no interest in allowing food of an inferior quality to be palmed olT when the best has been contracted for. The necessity for such supervision is recognised by the management of our large hos- pitals and public institutions, but is too much neglected in our house- holds and private establishments. Such an important matter should not be left to the discretion of the cook or housekeeper. Minute attention should be paid to all the details of cooking the food and serving it. The meat should be dressed so as to retain its juices, and not to increase the value of the cook's perquisites from the dripping pan. There should be such supervision as wrould render it impossible for the vegetables to be served sodden or the tea made with smoky water. No excuse ought to be accepted for serving food in a tepid or lukewarm state or on cold plates and dishes. Badly cooked and slovenly served food is not only unpalatable but highly indigestible, and in schools where these particulars are not attended to, a low state of health is sure to result. The food too, whilst simple in character, should be as varied as possible, the practice of having certain joints and certain
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