SUMMARY (Ridvan Askin, edited Deborah Madsen):

The article addresses a variety of water-cure treatments for women's health issues, ranging from “Menorrhagia” to “Hysteria” to “Barrenness” (122). Nichols finds all existing books on female health inadequate and he promotes the water-cure as “the only mode of treatment … that offers to woman any assurance of the permanent cure of her peculiar diseases” (122). He provides detailed descriptions of specific water-cure practices for each case. A proper veg*n diet is a crucial aspect in all treatments:

In the treatment of all uterine diseases, the diet is of great importance. I am well persuaded that a carefully selected vegetable diet is almost indispensable. In many cases, animal food, even in small quantities, appears to have a direct action upon the uterus, aggravating its diseases. The diet should be pure, sparing, and as nearly as possible adapted to the condition of the digestive organs. It should consist of farinaceous substances, milk, and fruits. Wheaten grits and coarse wheat bread I consider the basis of the best Water-Cure diet (124).