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Weak Patients

Very weak patients must be rallied; stimulants may be necessary. There may be a nervous difficulty in swallowing; the nurse should keep her wits about her. The physician may have ordered a fixed quantity, say a teacupful of some liquid food every three or four hours; the patient's stomach rejects it. Will the nurse follow the given rule? No. She will try a single tablespoonful, once an hour, or even a teaspoonful every fifteen minutes. Perhaps a stimulant is necessary. These are things-the knowledge of them that every nurse should inform herself upon and be ready to act upon.

VIII. Cookery for Invalids.

General Rules for Cooking. In addition to what has just been said it is only necessary to give these general rules for cooking: 1. There must be no smoke for broiling 2. All soups should be made with the most gentle simmering. 3. All fruits and vegetables must be perfectly fresh. 4. An hour before cooking vegetables, put them in cold water to which a little salt has been added to free them from any possible insects. Wash clean, drain, and drop into water that is boiling fast. Take them from the water and drain the instant they are done.

These general directions relating to cooking will suffice as to the processes in invalid cookery. Some special recipes for dishes palatable and wholesome will be given presently. These will, of course, consist of the most simple dishes, not highly seasoned or spiced.

IX. Table of Foods and Time of Digestion.

THE table given below is compiled to show the average time required for the digestion of different foods, but of course, it is only approximate, since in the real digestion of foods, no two systems will act precisely alike. The result will perhaps surprise many persons, who have been led into error in the supposed digestibility of certain foods. For instance, oysters are generally supposed to be among the most easily digested of foods. They are not even approximately so except when eaten raw. Roast goose is by many supposed to digest slowly, but this is a great mistake: