Nearly all cold cooked green vegetables, as well as the tender uncooked leaves of such vegetables as lettuce and cress, with French dressing, make palatable and sightly salads; they cannot, however, be considered sick diet. Where feeding is long continued, as in chronic rheumatism, gout, tuberculosis, chronic constipation and in certain cases of diabetes, salads are to be recommended. Do not use mayonnaise dressing, unless now and then with a peeled tomato or on very tender celery.

Use pure olive oil, with a little salt and lemon juice or pure apple vinegar.

Thick dressings, made from butter and cream or thickened milk, are not acceptable to a weak stomach. Fruit salads are, as a rule, unpalatable and frequently nauseating to the sick. The only fruits that make an attractive and wholesome salad are grape fruit and apples, served with French dressing, not mayonnaise.

Where waste food is necessary as well as bulk, green vegetable salads are excellent. They contain the salts necessary to the well-being of the blood, the oil is an important food, and the vinegar or lemon juice gives appetite, which aids in the digestion and assimilation.

In winter, hard white cabbage, shaved as fine as hair, soaked in cold water for one or two hours, drained and served with French dressing, makes the best salad in cases of rheumatism, chronic constipation or gout. It is an exceedingly nice accompaniment to plain broiled oysters. Also good as bulk food in cases of obesity.

As soon as green vegetables come home from the market put them in cold water, soak for a half hour, wash thoroughly and put in a bag or salad shaker and on ice, or in any cold place, until dry and crisp. The better way is, put them in a cheesecloth bag, on the ice; then, each time a salad is needed take out the desired quantity, which will be cold and crisp, and most important, dry.

The dressing should be made at the last minute, poured over the salad, the salad thoroughly mixed and served at once. If the dish is handsomely garnished, take it to the patient without dressing, keeping the dressing in a tiny pitcher or bowl. Pour over the dressing, mix, and allow the patient to eat it from the dish on which you have mixed it.