COPYRIGHT, 1889, BY IRVING A. WATSON, SECRETARY AMERICAN PUBLIC HEALTH ASSOCIATION. PUBLISHED BY PERMISSION. PREFACE. Perhaps there is no better way of presenting to the public the facts which led to the creation of this valuable work than by inserting the announcement which resulted in the exceedingly lively and able competition for the prize, as well as the merited honor which was certain to fall upon the successful competitor. It read as follows: AMERICAN PUBLIC HEALTH ASSOCIATION. THE LOMB PRIZE ESSAYS. Two Prizes for 1888. Mr. Henry Lomb, of Rochester, N. Y., now well known to the American public as the originator of the "Lomb Prize Essays," offers, through the American Public Health Association, two prizes for the current year, on the following subject: PRACTICAL SANITARY AND ECONOMIC COOKING ADAPTED TO PERSONS OF MODERATE AND SMALL MEANS. First Prize, $500 Second Prize, $200. Judges: Prof. Charles A. Lindsley, New Haven, Conn.; Prof. George H. Rohé, Baltimore, Md.; Prof. Victor C. Vaughan, Ann Arbor, Mich.; Mrs. Ellen H. Richards, Boston, Mass. ; Miss Emma C. G. Polson, New Haven, Conn. Conditions: The arrangement of the essay will be left to the discretion of the author. They are, however, expected to cover, in the broadest and most specific manner, methods of cooking as well as carefully prepared recipes, for three classes,- (1) those of moderate means; (2) those of small means; (3) those who may be called poor. For each of these classes, recipes for three meals a day for several days in succession should be given, each meal to meet the requirements of the body, and to vary as much as possible from day to day. Formulas for at least twelve dinners, to be carried to the place of work, and mostly eaten cold, to be given. Healthfulness, practical arrangement, low cost, and palatableness should be combined considerations. The object of this work is for the information of the housewife, to whose requirements the average cook-book is ill adapted, as well as to bring to her attention healthful and economic methods and recipes. All essays written for the above prizes must be in the hands of the secretary, Dr. Irving A. Watson, Concord, N. H., on or before September 15, 1888. Each essay must bear a motto, and have accompanying it a securely sealed envelope containing the author's name and address, with the same motto upon the outside of the envelope. After the prize essays have been determined upon, the envelopes bearing the mottoes corresponding to the prize essays will be opened, and the awards made to the persons whose names are found within them. The remaining envelopes, unless the corresponding essays are reclaimed by the authors or their representatives within thirty days after publication of the awards, will be destroyed, unopened, by the secretary. None of the judges will be allowed to compete for a prize. The judges will announce the awards at the annual meeting of the American Public Health Association, 1888. It is intended that the above essays shall be essentially American in their character and application, and this will be considered by the judges as an especial merit. Competition is open to authors of any nationality, but all the papers must be in the English language. IRVING A. WATSON, CONCORD, N. H., February, 1888. Secretary. The above circular was extensively distributed and published throughout the United States and the Dominion of Canada, with the result of bringing to the secretary, within the specified time, seventy essays upon the subject announced. The arrival of these essays covered a period of nearly five months, and they were forwarded to the chairman of the committee of award nearly as fast as received, thus giving the committee ample time for their exceedingly laborious work of examination. The decision of the judges was announced at the sixteenth annual meeting of the American Public Health Association, and was as follows: REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON THE LOMB PRIZES. Your committee, to whom were referred the essays upon “Practical Sanitary and Economic Cooking adapted to Persons of Moderate and Small Means," respectfully report that they have perused with thoughtful and considerate attention the three score and ten essays which were submitted to them. A few of them were presented in beautiful specimens of typewriting, but the great majority of them were in manuscript, and some of them not in the most legible characters, a circumstance which, it will be appreciated, became an important matter, when considered in connection with the large number of competitors, and the fact that many of their papers were each of several hundred pages in length. The result of the labors of the committee is, that by unanimous approval the first prize of $500 is awarded to the author of the essay bearing this inscription: "The Five Food Principles, illustrated by Practical Recipes." Your committee would further report that although there were among the remaining sixty-nine a number of essays of considerable merit, there was no single one so prominently superior to others as to command the approval of the majority of your committee, nor was there any which did not contain some errors of statement which your committee did not feel justified in indorsing with the approval of this association by the bestowal of a prize, or else which did not fail to meet some of the conditions upon which the prize was offered, or which was not otherwise objectionable because of literary defects. Your committee would therefore respectfully report that no essay was found among those submitted to them which they judged deserving of the second prize of $200. The committee consider it a duty, in awarding the prize, to emphasize the fact that of all the essays submitted, the one selected is not only pre-eminently the best, but that it is also intrinsically an admirable treatise on the subject. It is simple and lucid in statement, methodical in arrangement, and well adapted to the practical wants of the classes to which it is addressed. Whoever may read it can have confidence in the soundness of its teachings and cannot fail to be instructed in the art of cooking by its plain precepts, founded as they are upon the correct application of the scientific principles of chemistry and physiology to the proper preparation of food for man. All of which is respectfully submitted. C. A. LINDSLEY. ELLEN H. RICHARDS. The American public is to be congratulated upon this useful and valuable contribution to the needs of its great army of working people, made possible through the humanitarian benevolence of a private citizen. This was the fifth prize offered by the same citizen, through the same channel, for the noble purpose of ameliorating, in some degree, the hardships which befall mankind in the tireless struggle for existence. That this essay may be placed in the hands of every family in the country is his earnest desire as well as that of the association; therefore, a price barely covering the cost has been placed upon this volume. It is to be hoped that government departments, state and local boards of health, sanitary and benevolent associations, manufacturers, employers, etc., all purchase editions at cost, or otherwise aid in distributing this work among the people. Although a copyright has been placed upon these essays for legitimate protection, permission to publish under certain conditions can be obtained by addressing the secretary. We commend this volume to the public, believing it to be an unequaled work upon "Practical Sanitary and Economic Cooki ng, adapted to persons of moderate and small means.” IRVING A. WATSON, Secretary American Public Health Association. |