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. No. 112.] 339 



100 lbs. Long Prickly. 100 lbs. White Spine. 



Fresh Fruit. Dry Fruit. Fresh Fruit. Dry Fruit. ' 



Fat, wax and resin, ... . 0.31 0.682 0.029 0.629 



Fiber, 9.61 21.000 .826 17.924 



Drymatter, 4.576 100.000 4.572 100.000 



Water, 95.354 99.921 



In the proximate organic analysis I obtained less water than I 

 did when the percentage of w^ater, dry matter and ash were de- 

 termined. This resulted from the fact that portions used for the 

 proximate analysis lost some of their water by evaporation before 

 the analysis was commenced. Besides the above bodies, the 

 cucumber contains a small quantity of malic acid and a still 

 smaller quantity of citric. One ton of the fresh fruit of the 

 Long Prickly variety contains of sugar 56.52 lbs, of albumen 

 and casein. 7.8 lbs., of dextrine and starch 7.12 lbs. One ton of 

 the fresh fruit of the White Spine variety, contains of albu- 

 men and casein 8.18 lbs., of dextrine and starch 5.34 lbs., of 

 sugar 60.72 lbs. By far the greater part of the dry matter of 

 the cucumber, is sugar. 



Ultimate Organic Analysis 



Long Prickly. White Spine. 



Nitrogen, 1.236 1.301 



Oxygen, 41.806 41.832 



Carbon, 40.984 40.467 



Hydrogen, 6 879 6.723 



Inorganic matter, 9.955 11.252 



The indigestibility f»f the cucumber is almost proverbial. In 

 fact it has scarcely a parallel example in all the cultivated edible 

 plants. In studying its composition, we can scarcely refrain from 

 making the inquiry : what does this much esteemed fruit contain, 

 to unfit it so much for easy digestion ? • 



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One would naturally sujtpose, from the tendency it has topasg 

 through the organs without bein^ materially acted upon 

 by the digestive process, like most other food, that it is coustitu- 



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