Among the many lyrical passages about food which filled the
diary of that kindly but gourmand parson, the Rev. James Woodforde is a reference to bread which suggests that the fashion for whiteness (accompanied by an acknowledgment of its lack of savour) was beginning its unhappy vogue as long ago as 1793. He wrote, perhaps a little petulantly, that the bread was " all brown Wheat-Meal with one part in four Barley Flour." But he continues, " The Bread was well made and eat very well indeed, may we never eat worse." With this may be compared a letter published during the week from Mr. Noel Buxton on the subject of National Mark flour. We may all have bread that " eats very well indeed " (as indeed eggs, beef and the rest) if we will acquire the habit of insisting on National Mark food. Such sympathetic preference, with its real dietetic advantages, short-circuits the controversy between free- and fair-traders. Charity to the stomach begins at home.
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