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The Bulletin. 



cause of their dense, compact structure. This can be overcome, either 

 by thorough mastication or by grinding, as for nut butter or nut flour. 

 Still another reason is that their nourishment is very concentrated. 

 For example, cheese contains 35 per cent water, eggs 68.2 per cent, 

 lean beef 75 per cent, bread 39 per cent, and pecans only 3.4 per cent. 

 These figures show how condensed the food is within the shell of the 

 pecan. 



Fig. 22. — Commercial Package of Pecans. 

 {Photo by S. B. Shaw.) 



All these difficulties may be readily overcome by chewing the nuts 

 well and by eating them at meal time. Many people believe that salt 

 eaten with nuts renders them more digestible, but a number of ex- 

 periments conducted by the United States Government have failed 

 to prove this theory. If it aids at all, it may be due to the fact that. 

 salt excites a flow of saliva which dilutes the flesh of the nut. 



