REPORTS OF AUXILIARY SOCIETIES. 359 



woman, or to her condemnation as an intentional offender. Doubtless there 

 are a few of the gentler sex who are anxious to construe even the mildest criti- 

 cism or indication of a defect as originating in some sinister purpose or malign 

 spirit on the part of man, wh8m their imagination has distorted into a sort of 

 "natural foe."' But such grossly misrepresent the sex for which they gratui- 

 tously assume to speak. No matter whether man or woman may have been the 

 first to discover that the slaughter of birds for decorative purposes is doing 

 more than all other combined causes to effect their extermination — I believe 

 that the women of the land will be only too glad to learn of tbe evil tbey 

 have been unconsciously fostering, and that they will hasten to correct it. 

 And it is because of their tender sympathies, their sensitiveness to the right, 

 their keen abhorrence of wrong, and their love of song and beauty that we 

 appeal to them as most ready to discountenance a bad custom and lead in a. 

 movement that shall bring us back our birds. 



The society made a fine exhibition in strawberry time of fruits and flowers,. 

 and in raspberry time held their meeting at the fruit farm of Graham Bros. 



At the October meeting the following paper was read by Dr. Wilbur F.. 

 Hoyt: 



FRUITS FROM A HYGIENIC AND DIETETIC POINT OF VIEW. 



I beg to call your attention to a few facts and fallacies on this topic. But 

 just let me offer a thought as a tribute to the horticulturist from the medical 

 fraternity. We are indebted to your efforts for one of the most delicate and 

 yet most essential adjuncts to our dietetic resources. You have, by arduous 

 process of cultivation, cross fertilization and grafting improved native fruits, 

 eliminated deleterious constituents, and enhanced assimilable properties until 

 you have given the sick a most tempting appetizer; the well a most important 

 factor of their daily requirements. If we may ascribe " the thousand natural 

 shocks that flesh is heir to," to the prehistoric fruit of the Garden of Eden, we 

 must certainly yield to the horticulturist the honor of having redeemed the 

 innocent cause of this dire disaster. Fruit has certainly outlived any oppro- 

 brium that may have been attached to it because of this unfortunate incident ; 

 and unless we cherish childhood memories of a certain green apple that con- 

 tained, as we found to our sorrow, enough colic for a dozen boys, we will 

 accept the luscious products of horticultural skill, in grateful remembrance of 

 your endeavors. 



Let us just consider briefly, fruit itself; what we mean by the word; what it 

 is; what process it undergoes chemically before it becomes available to us; and 

 thus try to find at what stage of its development fruit is best eaten ; also the 

 nutritious values of the different fruits. We may then consider fruit as a part 

 of our diet, and its effects as such. Its effects on the alimentary canal when 

 taken at different stages of development, and in varying quantities. What 

 parts are assimilable and what not; at what periods of the day fruit is best 

 eaten; in what form and quantity. 



Botanically speaking, fruit means the seed with surrounding structures. Our 

 cereals, beans and peas, and most of our garden vegetables are properly fruits, 

 but usage has restricted the meaning of the term to include only such fruits as 

 are ordinarily used as dessert. They are limited largely to the pomaceous 

 group, including apples, quinces, pears and the like; to the orange or citron 

 group, containing the orange, lemon, lime, citron, prunella, shaddock and 



