206 THE VITAMINS 



mary 90-day period. This indicates that watermelon is at least one-third 

 as rich in vitamin C as the tomato. 



The immature seed-pod of the string bean has been found comparable 

 with many leaves and fruits in its content of vitamin C. Campbell and 

 Chick (1919) considered 5 grams of the green pod to be the minimum 

 protective dose. Quinn, Burtis and Milner (1927) found that 4.3 

 grams daily gave complete protection from scurvy and allowed con- 

 siderable growth. They used green string beans purchased in retail 

 markets and were careful in their feeding tests to include not only the 

 flesh of the pod but the immature seeds. Scheunert (1929) found wax 

 beans to be as rich in vitamin C as green beans, both being considered 

 "good" sources of this vitamin. 



Quinn and his associates also tested green peppers but in this case 

 discarded the seeds and cores and used only the flesh of the pods. The 

 peppers proved to be about 4 times as rich in vitamin C as the string 

 beans. An allowance of 0.9 gram daily gave complete protection from 

 scurvy and produced good growth. "This concentration is comparable 

 with the highest which has been reported for any plant material, such 

 as the raw leaf tissue of cabbage or spinach or the juice of orange or 

 lemon." 



MacLeod and Booher (1930) found that canned pimiento pulp 

 protected guinea pigs in 2 grams daily doses, thus showing that its 

 vitamin C potency is of the same order of magnitude as that of lemon 

 or orange juice or tomatoes. 



Immature seeds alone have been studied in the case of green peas. 

 Eddy, Kohman and Carlsson (1926) found that 1 gram daily of un- 

 graded raw green peas from the city market was not protective, but 

 that 2 grams daily aflforded complete protection against scurvy in guinea 

 pigs for periods of 90 days. In their opinion raw peas are about as 

 rich as tomatoes and oranges in vitamin C. It required 5 grams of 

 home-cooked peas (12 to 15 minutes at 100° C.) to afiford the same 

 protection as 2 grams of the raw peas. The commercially canned peas 

 tested were of three sizes: Nos. 1, 3, and 6, representing "Petit pois," 

 medium size, and large or marrow-fat type. On the basis of protection 

 against scurvy with smaller amounts of the peas from No. 1 and 3 

 grades than from No. 6, it was concluded that immature peas are 

 richer in vitamin C than mature. From the relative richness in vitamin 

 C of the immature seed and the flesh pod which feeds it, as shown 

 in these studies on green peas, string beans, and peppers, and the dis- 

 appearance of the vitamin as the seed matures and its reappearance 

 when the seed sprouts, it is plainly suggested that in the mature resting 



