408 



MISSOURI STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIEIY. 



way the large stout tops are produced, which are better able to resist 

 the effects of drouth or the depredations of insects, and usually such 

 strong-growing tops (unless of over-size) will produce large potatoes 

 and a desirable yield. — Illinois Journal of Agriculture. 



GRAPES AS FOOD AND MEDICINE. 



There is no fruit which can be grown with as much ease and cer- 

 tainty, annually, as the grape. It is not the first time we have said it, 

 and in all probability it will not be the last. The same fruit which is 

 the most valuable as food and medicine is also the one which gives the 

 least trouble in cultivation. Why should we not be thoroughly enthu- 

 siastic on this subject and irrepressible in our often repeated advice : 

 Plant a vine, and when you have planted one plant more. 



The quantity of grapes, says Dr. Irving 0. Ross, of Washington^ 

 D. C, that one may eat with impunity, is something astonishing. Per- 

 sons at the European grape cures consume from three to six kilos (six 

 to twelve pounds) daily. Grapes constitute a perfect nutriment, which 

 includes in remarkable proportions the nitrogenous albuminoid and 

 respiratory principles indispensable to a good alimentation. According 

 to the analysis of a French chemist, a striking analogy exists between 

 the juice of the grape and woman's milk. This chemist finds in 100 

 parts of each substance, as follows : 



Albuminoid and nitrogenous matter 



Sugar, gum , etc : 



Mineral substsnce 



Water 



Human 

 milk. 



Grape 

 juice. 



1.5 



11.0 



1.3 



I 



1.7" 

 12 to 20 

 0.4 



86.01 75 to 84 



Some of the affections which the grape may be used for as a re- 

 parative medicinal agent of great value are those arising from troubles 

 in the digestive functions, diseases of the liver and spleen, suppression 

 of the hemorrhoidal discharge, menstrual derauj^ement, catarrh of the 

 air passage and the state of general exhaustion that keeps up all 

 troubles of the respiratory apparatus. The Doctor also says, that 

 over-worked persons may derive from the vegetable milk of the lus- 

 cious but inoffensive grape a rational means to re establish the physio- 

 logical conditions of clear thoughts and correct expression. 



