Tlie Canadian Horticnltnrisl. 



l^l 



I know. Of course, we are never 

 out of the reach of danger from some 

 quarter, and " in the midst of Hfe we 

 are in death." Still, it is but the 

 part of good sense to avoid unneces- 

 sary harm, if we wish to keep well. 

 To be continuallv in mortal terror of 

 some impentling calamity is very un- 

 philosophic — one might better die 

 and be done with it. The best we 

 can do is to do the best we know, 

 and leave the outcome "with Pro- 

 vidence." — Mhs Fisher, in R. N . Y . 



The Rind of Fruit Indig'estible. 



That the rind or skin of all fruit is 

 more or less indigestible, is a fact 

 that should not be forgotten. We 

 say all fruit, and the statement must 

 be understood to include the pellicle 

 of kernels and nuts of all kinds. The 

 edible part of fruit is pecularily de- 

 licate, and liable to rapid decomposi- 

 tion if exposed to the at mosphere ; 

 it is, therefore, a wise provision of 

 nature to place a strong and im- 

 previous coating over it, as a pro- 

 tection against accident, and to pre- 

 vent insect enemies from the seed 

 within. The skin of plums is 

 wonderfully strong, compared with 

 its thickness, and resists the action 

 of water and many solvents in a re- 

 markable manner. If not thoroughly 

 masticated before taken into the 

 stomach, this skin is rarely, if ever, 

 dissolved by the gastric juice. In 

 some cases pieces of it adhere to the 

 coats of the stomach as wet paper 

 clings to bodies, causing tnore or 

 less disturbance or inconvenience. 

 Raisins and dried currants are parti- 

 cularly troublesome in this way, and, 

 if not chopped up before cooking, 

 should be thoroughly chewed before 

 swallowing. If a dried currant 

 passes into the stomach whole, it is 

 never digested at all. In the feeding 

 of domestic animals this fact shoidd 

 be kept in mind. If grain and legu- 

 minous seeds are not crushed or 

 ground, much of the food is often 

 swallowed whole, and the husk or 



pellicle resists the solvents of the 

 stomach, causing a considerable loss 

 of nutriment. Birds, being tlestitute 

 of teeth, are provided with a special 

 apparatus for grinding their seed, 

 namely, the gizzard. The indigesti- 

 bility of certain nuts is partially due 

 to the brown skins. Blanched 

 almonds, on this account, are more 

 digestible than those which have not 

 been so treated. Popular Science 

 News. 



Fruit a Perfect Food. 



SoMK people are afraid to eat fruit, 

 thinking that fruit and diarrhcjea are 

 always associated, when, if they un- 

 derstood the true cause of the diar- 

 rhcjea they would know that it was 

 caused by eating meat. In hot 

 weather meat putrifies very quickly, 

 and during this process alkaloids are 

 formed which are very poisonous, 

 acting as emetics and purgatives. 

 'Tis true that fruit eaten green, or 

 between meals, will interfere with 

 digestion and cause bowel troubles, 

 but use fruit that is perfectly ripe at 

 meal time and only beneficial results 

 will follow. Acids prevent calcare- 

 ous degenerations, keeping the bones 

 elastic, as well as preventing the ac- 

 cumulation of earthy matters. This 

 is because of the solvent power of 

 the acids ; but manufactured acids 

 are not as harmless as those which 

 nature has prepared for us in the 

 various kinds of fruit. Fruit is a 

 perfect food when fully ripe, but if 

 it were in daily use from youth to age 

 there would be less gout, gall stones 

 and stone in the bladder. Stewed 

 apples, pears and plums are favorite 

 articles of diet. For breakfast or 

 luncheon, in the dining room or in 

 the nursery, there are few table 

 dishes more wholesome or more 

 delicious than well stewed fruit 

 served up with cream or custard. 

 There are many persons, however, 

 who cannot eat it on account either 

 of the acidity of the fruit or the ex- 

 cess of sugar necessary to make it 



