A reform, however, which is at the same time feasible and, in most instances, sufficient, speaking generally,——and which, as elsewhere remarked, already has its hundreds of thousands of adherents in this country alone,——would be the adoption of the “fruit and bread,” or the ordinary vegetarian diet even——banishing all doubtful dishes, condiments, spices, hot drinks——stimulants all——making a lunch (or two, even) in the course of the day, of fruit, with a biscuit or two at one of them, perhaps; and at eve, when the tired ones are rested, a regular “full meal,” consisting of various bread dishes——wheat, corn, rye and oatmeal, with various admixtures of the same, which may well furnish a different flavor (several, indeed) for every day in the month——fruit, milk (for those with whom it “agrees”), vegetables and nuts. Following _this direction_, and aiming constantly, but _comfortably_, to maintain the balance between diet and labor——between the food eaten and the needs of the organism for nutriment——one may not only enjoy, as he ought, the pleasures of the table, but, in very many cases, absolutely and largely increase these pleasures, in the aggregate, considering, more especially, his exemption from sickness with its occasional involuntary fasts, and with many, the quite frequent periods of slight, or non-satisfaction, through nausea and lack of appetite arising from an injudicious dietary. This regimen lessens by one-half the housewife’s burdens, as well as the cost of living, while it adds immeasurably to her health and that of her household. CHAPTER XVI. MALARIA——SEWER GAS. These are very vicious companions, and cause a deal of mischief. The scientists have much to say of the prevalence, and of the deleterious effects of sewer gas, from faulty plumbing, etc.; but they do not insist upon, scarcely indeed mention, the plain fact, that if this insidious destroyer can, as is now known, get into a dwelling through a foot of stone or brick wall, it can and will _get out through an open window_; and that, in any event, if there be abundant ventilation there will be such dilution of these gases as to render them comparatively innoxious. It is not so much the letting in of bad air, but rather the confining of it——the breathing of it, “pure and unadulterated”——that causes disease. There is more _malaria_ in a close bedroom in the most favored mountain-region, and in the alimentary canal of a constipated or drug-swallowing dyspeptic, than about the swamps and bayous of Louisiana or the dreaded Roman Campagna, where wrapped in a single blanket, the author has slept night after night——to prove his faith in the theory, as well the theory itself. The “Roman fever,” so alarming to visitors of the holy city, is the joint product of stuffy hotel bedrooms and a diet better suited to the climate of Iceland than Italy. * * * * *