San Francisco Chronicle from San Francisco, California • Page 34

mm 3Jfe V3gy Sliffplplms ftC fe Ms tf 3CW 4 TN 1 I 34 JSAff ffBQISCO OHBOyiCLE SimDAY 3A3tCH 17 1901 2 i3 A jfS iSMSSH i ass 53si IK IS Ife MJ fl HI Iir feS JSk1 SfSj swSJJ rfljrjMi iiaay Emm mm OBSESEiX KkKI IIP IJ BE THE HOME OFTH FRUITARIAN COLON Sf fe Ji 8 Ml RH 5411 ma 43Rftr VER NEAR Fruit vale is a colony of people who aptly call themselves Fruitarians A fruitarian is nothing new under the dietary students sun hut a whole colony of fruitar rules and regulations of the fruitarian cult is dnt tiiint for dietetic Investigators to rej Imagine eleven people content with a diet of fruit and nuts with nothing more substantia ever permitted to slip Into the menus if thest three iziriiies who are daily putting the fruitarian theory to practical lest Mrs William Kue and three children Mrs GaU and her son Miss Smith Mr and Mrs Charles Smith and two children are the members of this colony who hold that the ideal food for mankind is frui and nuts Tlse grown ups restrict thenueivos to tho fruitarian diet as a matter health and principle the children in th run acitpt it because they hae nevei known any other kjnd of food The little eight acre orchard that furnishes both men and drink to these people is tucked in a pm ut the Fruit vale hills It was purchased jointly by them Just a yenr ago and is run on the co operative plan A roomy shingled house shelU tiim all in ninte iinv but when the wether pe rdls they scatter into tents that are dHightfuliy cool and cozy The stranse thinsr about this fruitarian colony is that the two men in it are the stanchest believers in this anti everythlng bul niits and frult diet Mr Smith who is a man stii on th safe side of forty ami Mr Gale who i just a voter are both enthusiastic fruitarians Ive run the whole gamut of food fads said Mr Smith Then about five years ajro 1 hit on this and it didnt take long for me to raiz that at iast I vw on the mad healthw aid My sister and my sijier in iaw Mrs Rs gradually became converted to our ideas and they and the children joined our table for good Mrs Gaie adopted Both men are above medium height yet they would undoubtedly tip the scales under weight However there is not a little work to le done on a carefully cultured eight acre orchard and these two men except during the cherry picking seascn practically all the labor So what better proof that their diet furnishes th i ufficieRt nourishment According to Professor Jaffa the diet nrv eviierr tf in T7nlv orcit if rf tans living in one foniia ali diet laws must be adjusted orchard and strict to suit the need of the individual So ly observing the the mere fact that two men do their work on a fruitarian diec might not prove much when he multitude is considered But certainly Jim Gale and Mr Snih are living rebuttals of the statement that it is absolutely impossible for any man to labor on a fruit and nut die Not only do they work on such nourishment but evidently they thrive on it We were all living in Chicago when we became fruitarians explained Mr Smitlu My wife and I had long cherished the hope of making our home In mm A ii rJ3 Si scsT ims II liw Kisn tii isssr tMm CJpst WM3 0i tn sir lfe smM wMM wmm mm A i im AJN OPtN Alftl MEML if ws ftl fei4 5TI swt mm tK sM iimt jfecta Gentle UkM 7 3 4 i iWi t3 4m flfv shl 4V rjm tiSuJS mmi Mi ifefgl rijc wm ISt ik mir ESKi si SOME OF THECOLONy AT XUISJCHEOJM OAV Orsi A KAlNy Ste 94 lt CS 3 rjSl eli Iw PA i IV fi mjm fm msr fifaS i i wm jb i mm mi OT Vtf4jJ 4C2 Si t5 my Es4 HF AtS OUT DOOR UNCHEON the fruitarian diet for her sons eake be had always ben in delicate health iNow were able to measure muscle with a beef eater arent we Jim In answer Jim Gale swung a heaT sack ot apples aver his shoulder and varieties My started foi the cellar door ves with us California After we had adopted this manner of living our desire grew stronger California is the ideal place for the fruitarian to liver fruit is always in season and there are so many sister Miss Smith who held out for some time Three veara aem he could hardly lift against frultarianism but she was ijbts own feet put In Mrs Gale a sweet finally reconciled to It and when she jtnotberly woinan with rosy cheeks that saw how it agreed with her she became defy her gray locks on enthusiast ipf a truth though neither of the At first we hesitated about making men look like beef eaters Their skin our two children confine themselves has that peculiar transparency common strictly Jo fruit and nuts But gradu among babies and their eyes are milder ally we eliminated other articles from kndiclearer than the average womans their diet and found that they were much healthier on a pure fruitarian system My boy is 10 years old and the little girl 7 and for the last three years they have lived strictly according to fruitarian principles During this time they have never had any of the fevers colds and other childish ailments that afflict most youngsters Mrs Ross has only been a fruitarian since the death of her husband a little Over a year ago She had long believed in it theoretically but owing to her husbands strong objections had never been able to put it into practice She and her children had the same experience with the fruit and nuts that we had At first it was rather haj but ajs soon as they grew accustomed to the change their health improved and they looked better than under the old diet It was a year ajo last New Years eve that we all decided to cast our lots together in Fruitvale An old friend of the family who had owned this plice was visiting Chicago and as he was anxious to get rid of it we bought it for a very fair price We are fruitarians and communists as well The spirit of communism not only rules the grown ups in this queer little colony but it is instilled in the children They are taught the nice distinctions between irine and thine but are encouraged to share their playthings with each other All the children hive their little chores to do each according to his age and the punishment for neglect fits the crime Miss Smith who is a Vassar graduate teaches them three hours a day and although they are of all ages and sizes ranging from thirteen year old Edith Ross to little Claire Smith Just half past seven she manage to put them through their mental paces very successfully On pleasant days the schoolroom is under a spreading oak where there are none of the discomforts of the usual bare badly ventilated schoolroom Mrs Ross and Mrs Gale share the housework Under ordinary conditions two women would have their hands full keeping house and cooking for a family of eleven But under a fruitarian regime the work is reduced to a minimum They have none of the woes ard worries stove plays practically no part in the culinary make up of this household Now and then it is used for roasting nuts or baking bananas and apples but not even on Sundays or holidays is a hot bird or juicy roast tolerated in thfu fruitarian kitchen Here is the menu of theli Christmas dinner Apples and California walnuts Banana bread and pignollaei Tcmato lad Oranges and pecunn Almonds and raisins Fruit ambrosia Imagine sitting down to a Christmas dinner without any turkey or plum pudding or mince pie or the dozen other goodies that go to make the Christmas feast a red letter one But this fruitarian banquet has its advantages aside from Its gastronomic virtues The housekeepers in the fruitarian colony didnt have to spend weeks before the holidays chopping seeding and what not the thousand and one tasks that tire the conventional house keeper to the verge of nervous prostration These fruitarian ladies escaped all this Their Christmas dinner did not require more than an hours preparation And after the meal there was not the usual muss to clean up More over no spoiled tummies followed in the wake of this fruitarian feast The children did not require the usual antidotes after the Christmas feast to brace them up for the New Years dinner These strict fruitarians eschew all vegetables save lettuce and tomatoes which they consume In large quantities when in season Despite the fact that they have a fair sized vegetable garden no other vegetable ever finds Its way to their own table they are raised for the market There Is a chicken yard with scores of well tended chickens But no fluffy llttle spring chicken Is ever sacrificed for the broiler In this fruitarian farm Not even the eggs are tolerated as food Mrs Smith who looks after the chickens raises them solely for their market value The two sleek Jersey cows are kept for the same purpose to furnish butter for the market not their own menus Naturally these people use large quantities of nuts some of which they import Walnuts pecans almonds peanuts and chestnuts are the principal ones usd Besides the oil furnished the system by these nuts sweet oil Is used In abundance on salad The adults consume about three large teacups of nuts a day and the children In proportion Here are the menus for one day in this fruitarian colony they serve as a fair sample of the dally meals BRKAKFAST Nut Coffee Peanut Paste Baked Apples Oranges LUNCHEON Walnuts Raisins Apples DINNER Lettuce and Tomatoes Apple Sauce Banana Bread Pecans Almonds Baked Chestnuts As Just stated the quantity of nuts consumed at a meal amounts to a cupful for each person No stated amount of fruit is consumed though at this season of the year for instance the grownups eat about twelve applies five bananas and five oranges When the small berries are in season they make a grateful change Naturally the cest of living Is greatly reduced owing to the fact that the fruitarians raise most of their food themselves Buying in bulk and Importing the nuts as they do the cost of the nuts amounts to about 120 a month for the eleven people Altogether this fruitarian colony is as happy and healthy a band of people as one could find Their bright eyes and rosy complexions bespeak robust health Their hair is particularly beautiful And despite the vagaries in their diet they are as perfectly poised mentally as physically Art of Begging by Letter OMETIMES the letters received by the singers at the Metropolitan Opera house are more remarkable than persons unaccustomed to see them would ever believe It is understood generally that actors sing ers and other figures in public life receive many strange letters Persons write to beg for money for interviews for pictures for autographs Requests for autographs indeed are the most numerous There is little or nothing flattering to the artist in such requests Some of the artists drop the cards that are usually inclosed ready for the name into the waste basket Others more patient write their names But the autograph hunter is one of the least tolerable of all the letter writers as he appeals to all of the artists and cares no more about one than another so long as he gets their names for his book Next to the autograph seekers beggars are the most numerous They want money in the majority of cases although their ways of begging for it are varied One example of their methods occurred in the case of Mme Marcella her teacher is a good one but are not Sembrtch and Edouard de Reszke One certain This is the customary form of day Mme Sembrlch received a note the mothers letter Sometimes It from a Pole who lives somewhere In comes from the girl herself but the the eastern side of New York city It form is usually the same In nine cases was registered as most of these beg out of ten these are wholly ingenuous glng letters are In it the writer Baid letters written by people who wonder that he possessed a voice which would Why In the world they never get any make him a reputation in the world if answers to them If the principal win he could only afford to cultivate It It ers In the company spent their time an was a baritone according to the letter swering these letters there would be and a teacher In whom he had great little time for anything else In eVenr confidence would give him a series of family there Is a precocious vrmno tJ lpecna fnr A after urrilrth Yiriiill nsioA a a I a be abl and make enough to support himself sane 4 and continue his lessons in singing The writer said that Edouard de Reszke had promised to pay for half of this course if Mme Sembrlch would pay for the rest It happened unfortunately for the writer that Edouard de Reszke was at Mme Setnbrichs house when the note arrived She read it through and banded it to him Immediately he recognized the handwriting The letter was identical with one that had come to him the only difference being 1n th matter of names In the letter to Edouard de Reszke the writer had said that Mme Sembrlch had promised to pay half of the 50 if de Reszke would pay the rest The Pole got nothing It has been said frequently that tha De Reszkes have more calls made on their bounty than any of the other singers and that they respond to them with greater liberality It is true they have always been most generous In responding to the calls of their country men and not always with agreeable results In one young Polish artist Jean de Reszke took an especial interest He went so far as to fit up a studio for him and call the attention of all his friends to him After this had been done the young man reproached his patron bitterjy for not having paid the rent of his studio for a year in advance so that his mind might not be troubled in the meantime with the necessity of making money enough for that purpose Edouard who is Just as generous gives liberally to his compatriots who live In America and who appeal to him for charity These calls on him are frequent and there is scarcely one that is not rewarded to some extent One of his beneficiaries was a man to whom Edouard had given money with considerable regularity for some time His tales of woe were always eloquent and realistic It was only by accident that Edouard learned how unworthy his pensioner was Edouard rewarded him regularly under the Impression that he was a struggling artist with a family It was the agent of a Polish charitable society who proved to De Reszke that the man was an Inveterate gambler who spent all that he had in theTSast Side gambling houses Edouards faith was a little shaken by this episode but he is still liberal to his correspondents As a rule he never sees them The letter comes the money goes and sometimes there is a note of thanks but not always that Mme Sembrlch receives the customary letters from her compatriots begging for money but the most remarkable of her correspondents is an American girl who wrote signing after her name dram sop The letter came from a town so small that It is to be found only on a very large map The letter was written on paper that bore the advertisement of a small village hotel These words dram sop were puzzling for a while But the letter cleared up the mystery The Writer said that she was a dramatic soprano She Inclosed a photograph which looked dramatic The woman lived in a small town In the interior of New Torkl She had been to New York and had not heard Mme Sembrlch sing as she was not on the programme during the time that the writers excursion ticket lasted That was only an Incident of the letter Several years ago the writer bought a photograph to paint on a brass plaque The picture was one of Mme Sembrlch She wanted the singer to see it and suggested that she come to visit the prlmma donna for a while bringing the brass plaque with her 8 he was willing to act as companion br maid during that timer and indeed she was willing to serve in any capacity that would take her every night to the opera Most of these begging letters are thrown aside without being read Sometimes they contain a particular note that appeals to the receiver Then they may receive attention Persons who have written to the great singers and received no answer may take it that their letters ditt not contain the appealing note Many of these letters never reach the person for whom they are intended The husbands agents or managers throw them away Many come from the proud parents of promising youngsters I have a daughter runs the thing usually who is very musical She sings very sweetly and has so far had few lessons I took her once to the opera to hear you and she has always talked of the Impression your singing has made on her She has taken much more interest in her music ever since she heard you It would gratify me so much if you would consent to hear her some day I should so like to get your opinion on ner voice We tnlnk for 50 after which he would whose future Is a rosy dream of bllssln le to get a place in a church choir the eyes of parents who are oth rwloi parents who are otherwise fa PrTtilA vis2 iSMwif amam t4 JV Ji i i ma 31 C7 YfJk 13 13 a 1 fl I i i SQ im in I WiitgMMM ltfrffifet fevri fWSrriT i 2SJ Ttj sit.