384 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



cuisine. Sea- weeds, as laver, and the whole tribe of mushrooms should 

 be named, as ranking much higher in nutritive value than green vege- 

 tables. Pumpkins, marrows, and cucumbers, chestnuts, and other nuts 

 largely support life in some countries. The bread-fruit is of high 

 value ; so also are the cocoanut and the banana in tropical climates. 



Lastly must be named all those delicious but not very nutritive 

 products of most varied kind and source, grouped under the name of 

 fruits. These are characterized chiefly by the presence of sugar, acid, 

 vegetable jelly, and some saline matter, often combined with scent and 

 flavor of exquisite quality. Derived from grapes as its chief source, 

 stands wine in its innumerable varieties, so closely associated by all 

 civilized nations with the use of aliments, although not universally ad- 

 mitted to rank in technical language as a food. Next may be named 

 sugar in its various forms, a non-nitrogenous product of great value, 

 and in a less degree, honey. No less important are the tea-plant, the 

 coffee-berry, and the seeds of the cacao-tree. 



There is a single element belonging to the mineral kingdom which 

 is taken in its natural state as an addition to food, namely, common 

 salt ; and it is so universally recognized as necessary that it can not be 

 omitted here. The foregoing list possesses no claim to be exhaustive, 

 only to be fairly typical and suggestive ; many omissions, which some 

 may think important, doubtless exist. In like manner, a rapid survey 

 may be taken of the animal kingdom. 



First, the flesh of domestic quadrupeds : the ox and sheep, both 

 adult and young ; the pig ; the horse and ass, chiefly in France. Milk, 

 butter, and cheese in endless variety are derived chiefly from this 

 group. More or less wild are the red deer, the fallow deer, and the 

 roe deer. As game, the hare and rabbit ; abroad, the bison, wild boar, 

 bear, chamois, and kangaroo, are esteemed for food among civilized 

 nations ; but many other animals are eaten by half -civilized and savage 

 peoples. All these are rich in nitrogen, fatty matters, and saline ma- 

 terials. 



Among birds, we have domestic poultry in great variety of size and 

 quality, with eggs in great abundance furnished chiefly by this class. 

 All the wild fowl and aquatic birds ; the pigeon tribe and the small 

 birds. Winged game in all its well-known variety. 



Of fish it is unnecessary to enumerate the enormous supply and the 

 various species which exist everywhere, and especially on our own 

 shores, from the sturgeon to whitebait, besides those in fresh-water 

 rivers and lakes. All of them furnish nitrogenous matter largely, but, 

 and particularly the white fish, possess fat in very small proportion, 

 and little of saline materials. The salmon, mackerel, and herring 

 tribes have more fat, the last-named in considerable quantity, forming 

 a useful food well calculated to supplement cereal aliments, and largely 

 adopted for the purpose both in the south and north of Europe. 



The so-called reptiles furnish turtle, tortoise, and edible frog. 



