The Vegan Summer 1952 by The Vegan Society

T H E VEGAN SOCIETY Founded November,

1944

A D V O C A T E S that man's food should be derived from fruits, nuts, vegetables and grains, and E N C O U R A G E S the use of alternatives to all products of animal origin.

Minimum subscription, 7s. 6d. per annum, which includes "The Life Membership, £ l 7s. Od.

Honorary

Secretary:

Mrs. HILDA HONEYSETT, Honorary

Vegan."

, Ewell, Surrey. Treasurer:

Mrs. EVELYN ROWLAND, "

, Torquay, Devon.

THE VEGAN J O U R N A L O F T H E V E G A N SOCIETY E d i t o r : Miss VERA STANLEY ALDER, Advertisement

Manager:

London, S . W . I .

Mr. JACK SANDERSON, S.W.10.

LOCAL V E G A N G R O U P S A N D LONDON.—Mr.

Donald

YORKSHIRE—Miss N r . Leeds.

Cross,

Stella

London,

SECRETARIES Hatch

End,

Middlesex.

Rex,

Garforth,

M I D L A N D S . — M r . D o n Burton, War.

, Stratford-on-Avon,

BRISTOL.—Mrs.

Knowle,

Hughes,

M A N C H E S T E R . — M i s s A n n E. Owens, S C O T T I S H SECTION.—Miss Liberton, Edinburgh, 9.

Dina

Bristol

Northenden. Sutherland,

(Please communicate with your nearest Group Secretary^

T H E Journal Vol. VIII.

of The Vegan SUMMER, 1952

Society No. 2

AN OPEN LETTER TO THE MINISTER OF FOOD Dear Minister of Food, W e would like to draw your attention to a small section of the community whose way of living should be of deep significance to your work. W e wonder if you are aware that we, the vegans, are helping to a considerable extent, per person, to relieve the pressure of the rationing situation? Whereas the vegetarians, who do not wish to kill, abstain from meat, bacon and lard rations, the vegans, who do not wish to exploit animals in any way, abstain from their egg, butter and cheese rations, and also from their milk and cream allowances as well. As there are officially about seven hundred of us vegans, besides innumerable others who are "on the way", we feel that you would consider that we merit a small place in the public conscience, because we are thus releasing yearly many hundredweights of rations for the use of others. But we must eat something! and this effort is being achieved at considerable privation to ourselves because we cannot obtain those delightful foods which to us are our essential rationsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; foods such as raisins, sultanas, prunes and apricots, which we need all the year round. W e therefore now appeal most urgently for you to do what you can for us. W e should be grateful if all the dried fruits could be made available to us as rations to replace our eggs, butter and cheese rations; and also if we could be allowed nuts at much reduced prices in place of our milk allowance, because, as you may know, we make our vegan milk from nuts, which are far too costly for us just now; and there are the little vegan children to consider also. W e do hope you will be able to help us, and thus gain the gratitude of a group of people whose uphill pioneer work is especially difficult in these times. Yours very faithfully, T H E VEGANS.

T H E VEGAN

The Summer

Rhythm

Editorial T ^ 7 H A T is the real meaning and function of summer in our lives? * » This may seem to be an unnecessary question at first sight, but let us consider it. Summer is one of the four divisions of the year, and the year as a whole may be thought of as one complete breath taken by our solar system. On a smaller scale we find the lunar month, again divided into its four quarters, each with a different influence as astrologers know, the whole forming the moon-breath or monthly breath. On a smaller scale still we have our planet's daily breath, divided into its four phases, whose high points come at dawn, noon, dusk and midnight. Finally, we see that man himself, the microcosm and mirror of it all, embodies the whole principle in his own little breath. Students of perfect breathing know that each breath is really divided into four parts. First we inspire, drawing in our breath. This is creative action, corresponding with the early morning period, and with springtime. Next we hold the breath (or should do!) whilst creation ripens within us. This corresponds to mid-day when the birds cease to sing, and to summer, the lazy ripening period. Next, we let out our breath, and with it our voice, giving the result of our creative effort. This corresponds to dusk, the completion of the day, and to the autumn with its rich fruitfulness. Then comes the fourth stage of our breathing (or it should do!)—that important inner pause and regathering of intention. This corresponds to the night, and also to the winter. Each of these four stages of the breath should be definite and complete if we are to attain radiant health. W e should also learn to tune in our lives to the four quarters of the day and night, expending our greatest effort in the morning, ripening our work quietly during mid-day, reaping the fruits of inspiration at the poetic time of dusk, and spending the night in the dark unconscious. For "Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise!" W e can now see how to tune ourselves into the Summer Rhythm, which corresponds to the pause after drawing in our breath—when we hold it! Summer is not the time for much work or activity, but for peace, fulfilment, ripening. So, whether we are on holiday or still in our jobs, let us "go slow" just a little. Let everything we do be just a bit quieter, lazier, and more savoured and enjoyed, than our energetic activities of the spring. Then all that we are capable of will have a chance to ripen within us, so that when autumn comes we too will be fruitful, each in our own way. YOUR EDITOR.

5 THE VEGAN

W E L C O M E T O A N E W L I F E M E M B E R — A N N E T T E MILLS How warmly welcome is Annette Mills to the company of the vegans! Her famous television acts with Muffin the Mule need no introduction. But the tireless work she has done for so long in the cause of humane diet and treatment of animals is, we may be sure, equally dear to her heart. Her fellowship with us should certainly bring us all much joy. AMBASSADORS' C O R N E R Let us wish Godspeed to two pioneers crossing the oceans at this time to carry on the work of the new age.. One of these is Mr. Hanworth Walker, who has undertaken a strenuous tour in America and Canada on behalf of the International Vegetarian Union, and hopes to link up with "all who are planning for and1 building the new order." W e will look forward to his news with eagerness. The other pioneer is Richard St. Barbe Baker, founder of the Men of the Trees. He is setting out on an expedition to Sahara, to launch a new phase of the movement, entitled "THE GREEN F R O N T . " This is no less than to reclaim the deserts of Africa. It will include an exciting excavating adventure, in the effort to prove that buried forests lie under the Sahara desert, which could be made once again to "bios' som like the rose." W e thank this pioneer for finding time to write us such an interesting article before he left. V.S.A. SKIN-DEEP B E A U T Y The vegan principle must surely be applied with great care to those substances which we press into our systems through our skin—such as soap and cosmetics! The latter are often made from the most obnoxious items of the animal economy. It seems, therefore, useful to begin enquiries, so I started from the top and went to Elizabeth Arden's. They were exceedingly helpful, and from their laboratory scientist I obtained the following particulars. Their famous muscle' oil is 100 per cent free from animal matter. So are their Foundation Creme de France, their lotion Lille de France, their Ardena Cleansing Cream, and one or two others. They also make a lipstick which is not only vegetarian but contains no coal tar dye, to which some people are allergic. • V.S.A. ANNOUNCEMENT H E W L E T T — BOWEN. The engagement is announced of Edgar B. Hewlett, of the Vegan Committee, and Mrs. C. A. Bowen (who is a vegetarian of 20 years' standing). The marriage will take place in the autumn. W e wish them every happiness.

6 THE VEGAN

MINE OWN ASPIRING T O W N ! " D E R H A P S no city in Britain has grown in popularity as a holiday resort in recent years so rapidly as has Edinburgh. Doubtless many people are drawn by its storied past, but as that is so full of tales of violence and "famous victories" I think the forward'looking readers of The Vegan would prefer to hear something of the wondrous beauty of some of its hills and open spaces. King Arthur's Seat and Salisbury Crags would alone set the seal of grandeur on anyicity. If only the Festival visitors could be persuaded to take an early morning walk to the summit of King Arthur's Seat, there to gaze on the vista of Highland hills, the Firth of Forth, the waking city at their feet, and the ridges of hills to the south! Here on the highest point the Druids are believed to have worshipped, and moderns still do so on at least one day of the year (May Day) at 5.30 a.m. It was the sunset scene from the road round Salisbury Crags and "a late lark singing" that moved W . E. Henley to long for his passing to be amid just such splendour, and serenity. I am tempted to go back on my intention to leave out the past, and to quote the sweetest and saddest verse from one of the sweetest and saddest ballads that tells of a forsaken bride who decides to wander over the hill and park till Death claims her: But had I wist, before I kist, That love had been sae ill to win, I had lockt my heart in a case o' gowd And pinned it wi' a siller pin. If you visit the spot will you remember it? Somehow it is only there that'its full poignancy can be felt. Another great eminence, the Castle Rock, is in the centre of the town. Here on the esplanade the view is superb, but all the buildings are dedicated to Mars and one consoles oneself with the thought that perhaps one day a Le Corbusier may be given carte blanche with the site and provide edifices worthy of Helius to be used in the physical and mental training of youth. A t the foot of the Rock are Princes Street Gardens, a green and flower-filled valley with a fountain that on a sunny day gives the last touch of delight and refreshment. A t the open-air. Pavilion the Margaret Morris Movement gave a performance during the first Festival, and rarely can even their dancers have had such a setting. The Royal Botanic Garden is on the northern fringe of the town and is the second oldest in Britain. It is a delight at any season of the year. O f t e n in tram or 'bus one hears the eager question : "Have you seen the magnolias (or rhododendrons, or azaleas) in the Botanic Gardens?" I know some busy people who forgo a meal in order to make a lunch-time pilgrimage to see some lovely bloom at its best.

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In the Rock Garden are alpines which moved a celebrated Swiss botanist to enthusiasm and to the confession that he would never have imagined that such rare and choice plants could have been made to flourish. Our town, which has ever had the reputation of being conservative and unenterprising, has amazed even its citizens with the success of its Festivals, and a vegan dares to hope that it may yet take a leading part in everything that would accelerate the forward movement of mankind. W h o knows? DINA M .

SUTHERLAND.

A VEGAN COMMUNITY HERE must be quite a few people who, like myself, accept veganism in principle but, owing to their particular personal circumstances, find it very hard to live •up to these principles in practice. All of us have surely imagined a World in which slaughter and exploitation of any kind has been out-grown, and man finds at last that environment of Love and Peace in which alone his true greatness as a spiritual creation of God can be revealed upon Earth. The fact that nature is "red in tooth and claw" should surely not absolve mankind, in its position of dominion in the world, from seeking and finding a better way. W e can only do -what is just to-day, the future is in the hands of God. If we, the highest form of creation, maintain "life" by killing—even the smallest of our earthly companions—can we expect to be granted life in all its fullness? Christians often overlook the fact that Jesus called some of His disciples away from their fishing to find and teach to mankind a vaay of life based upon Love: they were now to become fishermen of a Kingdom into whose net of Love we were all to be drawn, if we so desired. Animals were, it is true, beneath men, but can we expect more consideration from our Master than we ourselves show to those whom He has chosen to place under our care? No matter what measure of Love we may show for each other— and, despite appearances, I believe we are becoming more truly united in human brotherhood—we can only possess the earth in all its fullness when that Love in our hearts also embraces the whole animal kingdom. This belief is not without understanding that in a perfect World many forms of life that we know to-day, and find it hard to love, would perhaps change or cease to be. Anyway, the fact remains that it is hard to establish a truly vegan way of life in our present society: although no doubt many have achieved it in spite of all difficulties. I wonder if there are many of our members, who, at present living as it were in isolation (as vegans), may have considered the possibility of uniting with others, similarly positioned, in forming a community

T H E VEGAN

life? Of course, by marriage, and the building of a home with sufficient ground available to grow a great deal of one's own food, we achieve the most natural and fundamental form of community in our. own family. Unfortunately, to-day, at any rate, it is hard enough to find a few rooms, let alone a home and garden! There may, therefore, be one or two family groups, as well as individuals like myself, who will be interested in an attempt to form a community of some kind. I am employed in Forestry myself, and was hoping to obtain, eventually, at least an acre or two close enough to my employment to allow my roots to be developed in the soil. However, in unity we find happiness, and the greater our unity the greater will be our happiness and ability to find fulfilment in this life. I should, therefore, be very pleased to hear from anyone else who has already considered the possibility of such a co-operative effort, or who has found some attraction in the idea. It would at least be interesting to hear, how other members have succeeded in establishing their way of life and the way in which difficulties arise and are overcome. Above all, let us remember that, "life is more than meat, and the body than raiment", so long as we "seek first the kingdom of God. and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto us." Shall we continue to have such greed in ourselves, or so little faith in our Creator, that we must destroy life in order to provide these things? "O ye of little faith'." DOUGLAS R A M S E Y .

TREE PEN FRIENDSHIPS "\7"EGANS have responded to this interesting call. W e look for more * cards and letters telling us that the start has been made by many more members and associates. There are several, with gardens waiting for your gifts which they will tend with care when you hand them over, some years hence. Some, who are not vegans yet, have also joined the adventure. W i t h whom would you like to link? O r from where would you like to hear? A member in Australia has been offered this friendship by another member in Australia, by a member in Scotland and another in England. All four are life members of this Society. Hospitality grows apace amongst us. Some share their copy of The Vegan with their friends and this always makes a very pleasant link. T r y itâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;you will be surprised at the interest shown. H.H.

7 THE VEGAN

HOT WEATHER HEALTH By

L E S L I E CAMERON-JAMES,

PS.D.,

D.O.

AA/^HILE it is relatively rare to get high temperatures in Britain, a * * sudden heat-wave can be most distressing and often dangerous to many people. That the sun greatly stimulates life there is no doubt. Of the total rays reaching the earth 7 per cent consist of ultra-violet, 13 per. cent are visible light and 80 per cent infra-red. The ultra-violet emanation is the strongest one can get by natural methods, comparing only with electrical apparatus which gives off from five per cent as in the case of the carbon arc lamp, to 28 per cent in the mercury arc lamp. The acceleration of plant growth is considerable when the effect of the sun's rays are felt. Also, while sunlight can take colour from certain dead substances such as coloured materials, it will add colour to things which live and move. In summer, flowers bloom in all their beauty, while in the very hot climates of the world the sun must be a factor affecting the brilliant plumage of birds. The actinic rays have particular importance to the skin causing the removal of a large part of the impurities which incessantly accumulate in the system causing auto-intoxication or self-poisoning of the blood. People who have suffered with sub-health duirng the colder months should take every opportunity of getting out in the open air during the summer. One should not, however, overdo things during a heat-wave. It is best to wear only loose comfortable clothing so that the sun's rays can reach and penetrate as large an area of the body as respectability will permit. However, one must be prepared to put on more clothes the next day should the weather become colder. It is best to decide in the morning what clothes are to be worn that day. Sun bathing is very beneficial, but it is wise to be temperate. When lying under the sun, start with a period of say 15 or 20 minutes turning over during that time. Then break off and seek shade for a while. By alternating periods of sun and shade it is possible to prevent the unpleasant burning that might otherwise ensue. Meals during hot weather are a major consideration to health and the diet must be quite different from that taken in other periods of the year. A great amount of heat is produced within the body as the result of the digestion of heavy proteins, starches, sugars and fats. Such food during a heat-wave is asking for trouble. In place of these foods it is better to take plenty of fresh raw vegetable salads and fresh fruit. These contain much liquid and they are mostly light and easily digested in the stomach. One should take plenty of time over salads and masticate each mouthful thoroughly. Many delicious combinations of salads can be thought out and in addition to the usual vegetables available, such as lettuce, watercress,

THE VEGAN

mustard and cress, radishes and tomatoes, one can add chopped turnips and swedes, cabbage (shredded), dandelion leaves, with small quantities of the herbs, parsley, sweet basil, thyme, sage, etc. These herbs are a strong defence against sickness and it is a good thing to use them frequently in diet. Garlic and onions are also recommended for those wishing to keep well by eating correctly. A small portion of milled nuts will balance the meal. To replace vinegar I would suggest adding a dash of lemon juice to the salad. Vinegar, it should be pointed out, contains much acetic acid and this substance while having no food value whatsoever will interfere with digestion. Liquids should be copiously taken, though not at the same times as meals. Either fruit drinks or just water are best. They will encourage healthy elimination of impurities and toxins, blackcurrant puree and Ribena syrup when taken in warm water are refreshing as well as being nutritious. Tea and coffee should be kept to the minimum and preferably taken weak. China tea can, I understand, now be obtained, and if taken in the Russian manner with the addition of a slice of lemon will be found to be a very pleasant drink. Some people may like the various herbal teas such as Chamomile, Lime-blossom or other English herbal drinks. W i t h a carefully balanced diet, plenty of fresh air, sufficient healthy exercise and freedom from worry, we can store up radiant health which will make us physically capable of withstanding the most vigorous winter while our mental outlook will be such as to overcome any obstacles that may come our way in the months ahead.

H E A L T H ADVICE What is the medicinal value of parsley? Parsley is considered as aperient, diuretic and emmenagogue, but is principally used for its diuretic properties. Is valuable for the stone, dropsy, kidney congestion and rheumatism. The seeds contain an oil, Apiol, which is used for female disorders. When eaten raw the herb contains a good amount of iron. Can you please advise me about vitamin K? Vitamin K is a fat-soluble factor required by man. Probably much of it comes from bacteria living in the gut. Deficiency is said to give rise to haemorrhage. So far it has not been possible to assess how much is needed to maintain good health, but with a sensible whole food! diet the intake should be adequate.

9 THE VEGAN

TREE SEEDLINGS FROM WINDOW-BOXES By R I C H A R D ST. BARBE BAKER Founder of M E N OF THE T R E E S Editor of Trees and the New Earth T

I iHE use of window-boxes for growing flowers has long been observed. In these days of increasing shortages it is also not uncommon to take advantage of the sunshine and shelter they enjoy for the raising of some fresh green vegetables. But there is a further way by which everyone with a window-box can contribute even more significantly to the common task of tending plant life. It is to use the box for raising tree seedlings. W h o can resist the thrill of witnessing the germination of an acorn, knowing that something has come to life which will still be alive hundreds of years hence? More than any other species of vegetation, trees have vital functions to fulfil in maintaining the equilibrium of Nature. These functions must be appreciated and encouraged, not only for our own well-being but for our very survival. Yet tree growth need not be at the expense of food production. Indeed, food production can be directly and indirectly increased by tree-growing. The acorn, for instance, has been a standard food in many parts of the world for ages, and is high in nutrient value. A single valley oak tree in California has yielded a ton of acorns as a full crop. In Algarve, the southern-most province of Portugal, there is an ilex that bears an average of 720 litres per year. The maximum yield was 1,200 litres (35ÂŁ litres equal one bushel) of acorns. The oak, in short, is a corn tree. Acorns are easy to grow, but need great depth of soil, because the tap-root of an oak may be three or four times the length of the shoots. You can prove this by growing little oak trees in long bottles with narrow tops. When the elongated radical,' or primary root, has attained a length of two or three inches in the water or soil, and its tip is steadily plunging, with a very slight rocking movement, deeper and deeper into the earth or water, the little pumule, or primary shoot, emerges from between the very short stalks of the cotyledons which elongate and separate to allow of its exit and grows erect into the light and air. At the end of the first year the young oak-plant or seedling has a primary root some twelve or eighteen inches long, with numerous shorter side rootlets, and a shoot six to eight inches high, bearing five or six leaves. In choosing the seed, try to find a fast-growing and productive tree bearing extra large acorns. You can in fact choose the parents of all your trees. If they are forest trees consider their form well. They should rise from the ground with an erect, clean bole, with as little taper as possible. The

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more nearly a forest tree approximates to a cylinder the better. Seeds should be gathered from trees in their primeâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;neither too young nor too old. T o save disappointment you should test the germinating power of seeds. I will give two examples of tree seeds that can be tested by the sinking method : Fagus sylixLtica, the beech, and Sequoia sempervirens, the Coast Redwood. When you have collected the mast froip the beech or extracted the seed from the cone of the Coast Redwood, tip it into a bucket of water. The good will sink to the bottom and the bad remain floating on the top. Skim off the latter and throw away. Strain off the water. Carefully dry the seed or mix it with silver sand, and then sow it. I should advise boxes to be as deep as possible, with bottoms that can easily be detached. O r there could be one long side which opens out when the time comes to transplant your little trees. Holes should be provided for drainage; a layer of broken tiles or flower-pots should be spread on the bottom, with next a layer of well-broken peat or moss litter. Then fill up with sandy loam and cover the top with well rotted leaf mouldâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;beech if possible. Even if you have no window-box you can easily raise horse chestnuts in bowls filled with fibre and sandy loam. They are ornamental in the home, and when spring comes you can plant them out in the hedge-rows or. on ancient pit dumps. M y father started raising apple pips in little pots in his playroom when he was three years old. W i t h the help of his nurse he tended and watered them for two years, and then, with the help of the gardener, he planted them out in his garden. Sixty years later they were named by the Royal Horticultural Society as BAKER'S SEEDL I N G and BAKER'S S O U T H E R N W O N D E R , and for many years have been worked on to various stocks in my mother's West End Nurseries, near Southampton. The Persian Walnut, Juglans regia, may also be raised in your window box; later on you should have no difficulty in finding a permanent place for it. You never know what sort of tree will come from the nut you have planted. T o get a tree true to name it must be grafted. The best nuts have a very high oil content, and so remain unshrivelled in store. Some of the best are from a tree near Gloucester, named Excelsior of Tayntcm. Miss Elizabeth Glenn, who contributed a most valuable paper on the selection and propagation of walnuts to The Men of the Trees' Summer School, and who is devoting her life to improving walnuts for food, told us of others bearing well-filled nuts that store well, such as Lady Irene, Sutton seedling, Northdown Clawnut. The three chief French varieties, sold as "grenoble Nuts", are Franquette, Mayette and Parisienne. Another interesting variety is Chaberte. The nuts from this are of medium quality but it has the advantages of cropping when quite young, and crops regularly and well. You might be disappointed if you try to germinate the nuts you

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buy in the shops, as they , are probably kiln dried. Unless you can collect the nuts yourself in France it would be better to search for a really good parent tree somewhere in the South of England, and raise your trees from that source. Tables of food analyses show that walnuts have a higher food value than meat, grains or fruits. Six leading flesh foods, which would not interest us vegans anyway, average 810 calories per pound. Halfa-dozen nut kernels average 3,231 caloriesâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;about four times as much. Cereals at 1,650 calories are about half as nutritious as nuts. Fresh vegetables averaging 300 and fruits averaging about 275 calories per pound are less than a tenth as nutritious as nut meats. French farmers, who often grow walnuts in their fields, expect a tree to yield 150 pounds of nuts per year on the average. In my book Famous British Trees, shortly to be published by Dropmore Press, I have mentioned a number of fine trees, many of which are of great age, yet still bearing fertile seed. I have measured trees 80 to 85 feet in height by 17 feet in girth. In the village of Bossington, Somerset, I saw a picturesque old gnarled walnut tree which, at five feet from the ground, was 17 feet in girth. The roots were so-spreading that the trunk, measured close to the ground and following the sinuosities, was 35 feet round. A walnut in a field at Cobham, in Kent, measured 80 feet by 15 feet and the branches spread over a circumference of 112 paces. The contemplation of such remarkable trees will inspire you when you tend the seedlings in your window box.

H. WALKER'S TOUR B y E L S I E B . SHRIGLEY

" . . . We, therefore, see vegetarianism as a complete philosophy, not treating man as a departmental store and catering only for some of his needs, but seeing man as whole and realising that balanced progress is made when body, mind and spirit go forward hand in hand in complete and inter-dependent harmony. Further, we know that we have the experts within our ranks capable of dealing with problems on every plane of sub-human, human and super-human existence It is for us as vegetarians individually and collectively to examine ourselves with clear-sighted honesty and to judge whether we are fit to accept the responsibility that is being placed upon us. It is not enough to have Rightness of Cause, to have large memberships, to have teams of experts, to have facts and figures to support our case. W e must have singleness of purpose and unfailing unity within our ran\s. The inner friction arising from petty personal conflict is unworthy and must go. W e must realise that it is natural and healthy to have many

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different shades of opinion, for many points of view added together give breadth of vision, and every member within the great vegetarian family has his and her own contribution to make towards the final and all-embracing plan W e must have a profound and humble respect for the opinions of others, and this applies, not only to those already within the vegetarian movement but also and equally to those who have not yet joined us. This is the only path that will lead us to the Brotherhood of Man, and from this will arise that sense of unity of all beings that is the only way to the lasting peace of the world. Potentially, I repeat, potentially, the vegetarian way of life is. the greatest humanitarian cause in history. It is for. us, for you and for me, to make this potentiality a living reality . . Mr. Hanworth Walker, Secretary of the International Vegetarian Union, is on a three months' lecturing tour of the U.S.A. and this is a quotation from the end of the first speech he made in New York, on May 14th, when he landed there. Since then Mr. Walker has; given lectures in Cleveland, Toronto, Canton, Chicago, Milwaukee, Salt Lake City—to mention a few. He has broadcast twice and put over a strong case for vegetarianism. Mr. Walker will give five lectures in California, two in Mexico and back via Kansas City, Buffalo, Rhinebeck, Jamaica and New York to fly home on July 23rd. H e has had a very friendly welcome and large enthusiastic audiences. The Vegan Society is very grateful to Mr.. Hanworth Walker for his interest in the Vegan Cause and the information he is able to give us'concerning veganism, particularly that showing vegan activity abroad. W e wish Mr. Hanworth Walker every success for the remainder of his tour and a pleasant journey home on July 23rd. FIRST STEPS T O H E A L T H (Edition 2) 1.—Let us learn really to loo\ at things, not merely glance at: them and give them a name. So shall we always be filled with awe. and wonder, which is being truly alive. 2.—Our feet are our foundations, physically. They need daily massage, exercise, and an air bath. They control the condition of the eyesight and hearing. 3.—Keep the top of the neck free and loose by massage and bending. All the nerves, etc., meet here; it is the key point. 4.—Never use aluminium cooking utensils, they are insidiously poisonous. V.S.A.

THE VEGAN

RECIPES B y M A B E L SIMMONS

Fruit Soup 1 lb. apples. 1 pt. water. $ oz. barbados sugar.

4 cloves. $ lemon.

Method.—Peel apples, soak peelings in water. Grate apple, pour over lemon juice, add sugar, cloves, and apple stock. Stir well. Pour into glasses. Nut Balls (un-fired) J lb. mixed nuts (milled). Spring onions or chives. 2 tomatoes.

Mixed herbs. Thyme, etc. J lb. cereals (Weetabix, etc.).

Method.—Chop onions finely, peel and mash tomatoes, mix all ingredients well together, roll into balls, cover with Weetabix crumbs. Salads! Salads! Salads! " A salad a day should keep the doctor away." Make a salad attractive but do not put too many things into it. The following are a few health'giving salads. Green Salad Lettuce. Watercress. Spring onions.'

Mint (fresh). Tomatoes. A few washed 1 oz. nuts.

dates.

Method.—Place lettuce in circle, cut tomatoes in thin slices, place on lettuce, garnish with watercress, spring onions and chopped mint and dates, sprinkle ground walnuts on top. Mayonnaise made withi nut milk, olive oil and lemon juice is a good addition. Summer Salad Lettuce. Carrots. Young green peas.

Chives. Stuffed Tomatoes. A few sultanas or chopped prunes.

Method.—Place lettuce leaves on dish, put grated carrot on alternate leaves, also new green peas. Chop chives and sprinkle on top also sultanas or chopped prunes. Stuffed Tomatoes (un-fired) 4 tomatoes. 1 small grated carrot.

1 tablespoon chopped parsley. Grated rind of lemon.

Method.—Cut tomatoes in halves, remove centres, mix centres with chopped parsley, lemon rind, carrot, put mixture into tomato •halves, garnish with chopped parsley.

THE VEGAN

HOW CAN VEGANS BEST MAINTAIN HEALTH AND HAPPINESS? (Concluded.) B y DOROTHY M A T T H E W S

Help in maintaining our faith and in solving our psychological problems certainly comes through having relaxation and artistic outlets, as well as through devotion to our daily work. Too much intensity and feeling of heavy purposefulness, even about a very good cause, tends to react upon the health ; and now that the Vegan cause is properly and firmly established there can be a lighter, more relaxed feeling about it altogether. A n artistic outlet of a really creative kind will help to lift up and release feelings, and therefore to improve health. My own particular way of encouraging people towards an artistic outlet is that of helping them to express themselves in writing and speech. In this expression we mustn't forget the important place taken by poetry. Everyone is capable of writing poems, because poetry is the language of the heart. The best way to begin is in free verse, where the sense of release operates most readily. Each person is unique, with something of God in him, and he has his own parti' cular experience, his own thoughts and feelings which, in their totality, are entirely different from those of any other person. He therefore has something of deep interest to contribute through poetry, prose writing and speech. It is important that the artistic outlet should engage the whole person, that is, should ask for the spiritual side and the feeling side as well as the thought side, for if it is mainly intellectual, it will not help the health, and it will not release the personality. T o get this expression in right balance, the person needs to be held at the centre of his life by a deep love which flows out towards all his fellows and gives itself freely, though still retaining its central hold, thus avoiding intensity and too great a pull on others and on himself. This serene happy giving of the self is extremely helpful to others in need of healing. I tried to p u t something of this into a poem entitled " W h e n the Heart Opens " in my third collection, entitled "" O u t of the Darkness " : â&#x20AC;&#x201D; W H E N THE HEART OPENS When the heart opens And the life grows still That restlessly throbs, Grows still at the centre, Serene, outflowing, Unceasingly giving itself Yet held at the centre. Where l o v e abides.

15 THE VEGAN Then shall the words come forth W h i c h can heal A n d bring joy to the sufferer

Sometimes we are apt to criticise people who believe in veganism really, but who don't follow it out. Yet I think we should rejoice that they share our beliefs, because I am sure they help the whole life-stream of veganism, as it were, by doing so. Nor should we feel in the least critical of those who for various reasons have dropped their veganism for a period. W e should instead be glad that they are still with us in spirit, and at any moment any one of them may find it possible to begin again, coming back strengthened and renewed by the very fact that he is starting again and no doubt table to do something special for. the cause on account of it. None of us, I suppose, is as completely vegan as he would like to be,' and we have only grown to the stage we have reached probably by small stages. Don't let us forget, either, that before we were vegans we, too, ate cheese and drank milk and so forth ; so there doesn't seem the slightest reason why we should feel any kind of superiority or criticism. I think that is a very important point. Tolerance, friendliness, appreciation, sincerity, are all essential factors in health and happiness and in the success of our cause. W e must face things in the spirit of truth, certainly, but must remember that truth sees more deeply than the surface, looking upon life as growth and upon difficulties and challenges as means to a greater strength.

GROUP

N E W S

MIDLANDS Rambles again have been held every month to interesting places, around! Birmingham. In March we visited Solihull, in April Stratford-on-Avon and saw some interesting loom weaving with vegetable-dyed wool at the W e b by a local vegetarian. In May w e are visiting Bewdley. N e x t ramble, June 29thâ&#x20AC;&#x17E; please contact Secretary for details. MANCHESTER Greetings to all vegans from Manchester. Vegans in Manchester are spreading the knowledge and example of the vegan way of life. W e hear with sorrow of some who through ill health, or some other reason, give u p the vegan diet. W e have never thought of doing so. T h e vegan way of life is our ideal. W e receive encouragement and help from our various experiences which we share when opportunity offers. Such an occasion occurred in July, 1951, O n e of our group reported that he had improved in health and a!so that his optician had found definite improvement. This friend is not young in years but is certainly young in spirit and is a very keen vegan. It is very encouraging to meet one so keen. W e are not able to meet often as a group because of the distance between us but we do have individual contact which has been most helpful.

THE VEGAN

Live "WANDSWORTH,

Letters

LONDON.

I was so thrilled to read of your forthcoming tree growing, that I would like to give you a "wrinkle" from my own experience. Some years ago, when living at Banstead, and travelling to the office in L o n d o n each day, someone gave me a lovely peach! I laughingly said, "I'll .grow the stone in memory of you". A colleague at the office, whose hobby was gardening, said, "You will never have any fruit unless you have it budded from plum stock". I said, " T h e Creator knew what constituents to put in the stone, and I'm not having it budded". "Then," replied he, "I'll bet you an orange to a cigarctte you'll have no fruit." I first placed the stone in a fairly large pot, in the sunniest part of garden, until about twelve inches high, then transferred it to earth in same position. In the seventh year it had its first blossom, which fell off. The eighth year its first fruit! I had won my orange! You try it out this summer! Leave a little of the pulp on the stone to germinate in its own juice. It takes rather a long time to start, but soon g o e s ahead after! All the best success to your "apples and nuts". V.I.C. PARNHAM,

SURREY.

Thank you for sending me the Vegans and Mrs. Mayo's booklet. I am glad to be able to subscribe to the conditions for membership, and enclose the form and the cheque. M a y I briefly introduce myself. My husband and I have been vegetarians for four years, our children (Stonefield babies), three years and one year, both life vegetarians, and we have been gradually growing towards veganism in diet and general attitude. I wonder whether you have any other members from this part of the world? R.N. VICTORIA,

AUSTRALIA.

Thank you so much for your welcome air letter. I now await with pleasure your sea letter. It was indeed good of you to write so promptly, and so cheerily. Since writing to you I have had the Vegan forwarded to .me from my previous address, and that, with your lovely letter coming so soon after, bucked me up tremendously. I am so looking forward to my Vegan pen friends, it will be such a joy to write to others of similar interests. M y husband and myself are in our late thirties. W e have four children, three girls and one boy, aged seventeen, fourteen, ten and six years respectively. Apart from my husband who suffers from arthritis, we are all healthy and full of zest for living, although sometimes the food problem gets me down. T h e family prefer cooked, orthodox meals, but eat a fair amount of fresh fruit every day. Later on, when I can produce more home grown vegetables, I hope to introduce the salad a day routine, and decrease on the dairy foods. The margarine here (non animal) is very inferior to the English variety and hard to get used to after delicious Kosher. Also nuts are ridiculously expensive, mostly around 7 / 6 d . per lb. There are two types of vegetarian cooking fats, Copha and W h i t e Cloud, made up of coconut and vegetable oils. I have not yet been able to find Soya flour although now and again I have had

17 THE VEGAN Soya beans. Soya milk products seem to be "tight out of the picture, as also are nut fritter mixtures, except for tinned nut meat at a price. T o make up for these set-backs though, there is a grand variety of fruit all the year round, apples and pears predominating as they are fairly cheap. Quite often we get these by the case-full at about a third of the usual price. W e are now well into our winter and having our full share of rain and cold winds, but it is unusual if we do not get some sunshine during the day. Nearly all Australian homes go in for large open fires. W o o d is the main fuel and a cheerful log fire is very acceptable these cold evenings. D.G.G. AMSTERDAM,

HOLLAND.

Mr. Jan Jans has now been definitely appointed by the Dutch Vegetarian Society to represent the vegans in Holland and he would therefore like to continue receiving twenty-four copies each quarter for distribution. Vegans in Holland are anxious to keep in touch with our Society. Best wishes, G.A.H. WHITE

ROCK,

B.C.

W e were pleased to have the last issue of The Vegan and to note the Editor's comments. I have been for forty years a mighty strict vegetarian but to me the vegan is the complete ideal, but only now the forerunner of the new age which after all is the truth. I have just recently been able to send to the British Museum Library a number of books by, and on, the life of Thomas Lake Harris. They have quite a few of his original writings but were pleased to accept the ones I sent. I have been a T.L.H. follower for forty years, the time I first became a vegetarianâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;Okotoss, Alberta, in 1912â&#x20AC;&#x201D;at the time of the first oil boom in Calgary, Okotoks. Wishing you success in the vegan cause ahead. J.B. sends her regards too. A.J.A.B.

BOOK REVIEWS T W O H E A L T H PROBLEMS by James C. Thomson. Published by Thorsons, 91 St. Martin's Lane, W . C . 2 , at 6 / - . This book offers many unusual suggestions which may solve the problems of those who are striving to make a success of the "ideal diet". It brings to our notice nature's wonderful arrangements which establish an intimate interplay between all the kingdoms of nature, partly through the interchange of bacteria. This principle, which has been named Symbiosis, ensures that a constant supply of fresh bacteria, of the kind indispensable for our metabolism processes, passes continuously from earth to plant, to animal, to man, and thence to the earth again. These natural cultures are produced and disseminated in the droppings and excretions of all living things, and are reabsorbed during natural ways of feeding. Our so-called civilised-habits, out interference with animal life, our ways of washing and cooking our food, render most of it sterile of necessary bacteria, and thus our digestive processes are crippled. This is only one of the many valuable and arresting ideas packed into this book, which throws new light upon some of our urgent health problems, and so surely merits our careful study. V.S.A.

THE VEGAN

HAIL T O A N E W PIONEER T H E R E C O V E R Y OF C U L T U R E by Henry Bailey Stevens. Published by Daniel at 2 1 / - . W h o came first in history, the fruit-eating or the flesh-eating peoples? W h a t influence have they respectively had upon civilization? These questions are answered in one of the most wonderful books it has been my good fortune to read, The Recovery of Culture (published by Daniel at 2 1 / - ) . The author is Henry Bailey Stevens, director of University Extension Service of New Hampshire, U.S.A., and an authority on agriculture. His book proves him to be a most inspired friend to all who are seeking the ideal way of life. He writes with great charm, but when he arrives at the pith of his subject he wields a pen of flame. T h e unsuspecting newcomer to the true ethics of living is led along, entranced by the interest of the theme, until suddenly he is faced with the whole naked picture of the true situation which he had never realised. The magnitude of this sudden realisation comes to him like a thunderbolt, and his conscience is awakened with a sense of shock which he can never forget. A s for those of us who have already set our feet upon the upward trail of living humanely upon the fruits of the earth, here are all the facts which we need, all the things which we may have hoped and suspected, and even more than we have dreamed o f ! Such, I feel, is the service rendered by this new book, which should become a powerful instrument for the use of all who are working for true progress. In fact, I should say it ranks as one of the historical blessings of this century, and no one with a sense of responsibility should fail to read it. It is a real and unbiased history book, and possibly gives us the true story of the Garden of Eden. V.S.A.

"A new conception of nourishing value has been created : the sunlight value of a food and the sunlight-level of nutritive energy. Everyone feels that we human beings live by the sun, but who knew until now that fruits, nuts, green leaves and fleshy roots in the fresh state are the sunlight itself, prepared by a higher wisdom so that man, even in periods of poor sunlight, may live by the luminous warm sun?" â&#x20AC;&#x201D;M.

BIRCHER

BENNER,

M.D.

19 THE VEGAN

MISCELLANEOUS {Two