Page:Boating - Woodgate - 1888.pdf/186

 was a mistake ; young men, daily wast’ng a large amount of tissue under hard work, had a natural craving for substantial food to supply the hiatus inthe system, By being docked of it at luncheon, they gorged all the more at breakfast and dinner, where there was no limit as to quantity (of solids) to be con- sumed. They would have done better had their supply of animal food been divided into three instcad of two daily allow- ances. They used to be allowed one slice of cold meat during their nine days’ stay at Putney ; it would have been well to haye allowed this alJ through training.

Dinner consists mainly of roast beef or mutton, or choice of both, It is the custom to allow ‘luxuries’ of some sort every other day, eg, fish one day, and a course of roast poultry (chicken) on another. ‘Pudding’ is sometimes al- lowed daily, sometimes jt only appears in its turn with ‘luxu- ries.’ It generally consists of stewed fruit, with plain boiled rice, or else calves’-foot jelly. A crust, or biscuit, with a little butter and some watercress or lettuce, make a final course before the cloth is cleared.

Drink is ale, for a standard ; light claret, with water, is nowadays allowed for choice, and no harm in it. A pint is the normal measure ; sometimes an extra half-pint may be conceded on thirsty days.

An orange and biscuit for dessert usually follow. In the writer's days every man had two glasses of port wine. He thinks this was perhaps more than was required (as regards alcohol) ; one glass may suffice, but there may be no reason against the sccond wineglass being conceded, with water sub- stituted, ifthe patient is really dry. Claret also may take the place of port after dinner. Fashions change ; in the writer’s active days, claret would have been scorned as un-English for athletes.

Such is the usual nature of training diet ; of the exercise of the day, more anon. There does not seem to be niuch fault to find with the régime above sketched ; in fact, the proof of soundness of the diet may be seen in the good condition usually displayed by those who adopt it.