1G2 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



In the sugars of ripe fruit we have an easily digestible, valuable food 

 substance. 



The chief object in writing this paper is to emphasize the value of the 

 organic acids contained in fruit as constituents of food. The chief organic 

 acid in apples, pears, plums, apricots, and cherries, is malic. Grapes con- 

 tain both malic and tartaric acids, while berries abound in malic and citric 

 acids. The value of these acids in the prevention of scurvy is well known. 

 This disease was formerly one of the most serious which afflicted sailors 

 on long voyages. These men were compelled to live upon salted meats 

 and dry bread, and scurvy prevailed among them. The discovery that 

 this disease could be prevented by the addition of fruit acids to the food 

 saved many lives, and was a great boon to commerce. Now every vessel 

 starting on a long voyage has its casks of lime-juice, and the sailor no 

 longer dreads scurvy. It must not be supposed, however, that the disease 

 no longer exists. Dr. Northrop recently reported several cases of scurvy 

 among children in New York city, and some of them were children of rich 

 parents. The extensive employment of "baby food" is found to act upon 

 children very much the same as the diet of the sailor acted upon the adult 

 one hundred years ago. The gums are softened, sometimes ulcerated; the 

 eyes become bloodshot; hemorrhagic spots occur on various parts of the 

 body; the limbs become painful, as if from rheumatism; the urine is often 

 bloody, and the disease may terminate fatally. I say that this disease is 

 not unknown to the medical profession, and I have seen two cases of it 

 here in Ann Arbor. 



The above mentioned symptoms only appear when the demand for fruit 

 acids becomes imperative, and milder cases often escape the attention of 

 the most watchful and wide-awake physician. Many more cases are never 

 brought to the attention of the. physicians. Moreover, the demand for 

 fruit acids must have its eflPect among adults as well as among children. 

 It only shows itself more promptly among the young on account of the 

 greater susceptibility of their organisms to the deprivation of any valuable 

 food substance. 



Again, the fruit acids are converted into alkali during their passage 

 through the body, and thus they tend to prevent many of those painful 

 sensations which we are accustomed to designate as rheumatism. Of 

 course, I do not claim that the more liberal use of fruit would relieve all 

 kinds of rheumatism, because the varieties of this affection are numerous 

 and the causes are often complicated. 



There is another reason why fruit should be more largely eaten with our 

 meals. The volume of food is of some importance in satisfying hunger, 

 and fruits furnish a comparatively large volume without overtaxing the 

 organs of digestion and assimilation. 



Fruits increase the peristaltic movements of the intestines, and probably 

 have some effect upon the action of the liver. 



I hope that I have said enough to convince any one who might have 

 been skeptical on the subject, that fruit should not be regarded merely as 

 a luxury, but as an essential part of our daily rations. Much more might 

 be said upon this subject, but, as I have stated, my object has been to make 

 prominent the food value of wholesome, ripe fruit. 



At conclusion of Prof. Vaughan's paper, he was asked by Mr. Garfield: 

 "Do you advise against the eating of grape seeds?" "Yes," said Mr. 

 Vaughan, "I always advise against it, but, like much other of my advice, 



