”I
have been assured by a very knowing American of my acquaintance in
London, that a young healthy child well nursed is at a year old a most
delicious, nourishing, and wholesome food, whether stewed, roasted,
baked, or boiled ...”
"As to my own part, having turned my thoughts for many years upon this
important subject, and maturely weighed the several schemes of other
projectors, I have always found them grossly mistaken in the
computation. It is true, a child just dropped from its dam may be
supported by her milk for a solar year, with little other nourishment;
at most not above the value of 2s., which the mother may certainly get,
or the value in scraps, by her lawful occupation of begging; and it is
exactly at one year old that I propose to provide for them in such a
manner as instead of being a charge upon their parents or the parish, or
wanting food and raiment for the rest of their lives, they shall on the
contrary contribute to the feeding, and partly to the clothing, of many
thousands." - Jonathan Swift