FOOD-GRAINS OF INDIA. 



It is largely made from starch and cellulose ; seventeen parts 

 of it are equal in sweetening power to ten of cane-sugar. 



b. Leevulose, or fruit-sugar, accompanies dextrose in honey 

 and in many acid fruits ; sun-dried Mahua flowers (Bassia lati- 



folLi) contain about half their weight of " invert-sugar," a mixture 

 of equal parts of laevulose and dextrose. 



c. Inosite is found in the leaves of some plants, and in the 

 unripe pods of several kinds of pulse. 



Group iii. There are at -least five varieties of manna- 

 sugar : 



a. Mannite (C 6 H I4 O 6 ), in celery roots, olives, and some algse 

 and fungi ; and largely in ordinary manna, the exudation of 

 certain ash-trees, as Fraxinus Ornus and F. integrifolia. 



b. Dulcite (C 6 H I4 O 6 ), occurs in Madagascar manna, and in 

 the sap of several plants, as Rhinanthus crista-galli, Melampyrum 

 nemorosum, and Euonymus europseus. 



c. Sorbite (C 6 H I4 O 6 ), is found in mountain-ash berries. 



d. Finite (C 6 H I2 O 5 ), occurs in the sap of Pinus Lambertiana. 



e. Quercite (C 6 H I2 O S ), is found in acorns. 



Gum, Mucilage and Pectose. The various gummy and mu- 

 cilaginous substances occurring in plants either dissolve in water 

 or swell up therein to a jelly. They invariably leave a good 

 deal of ash when burnt, and are, in fact, lime, magnesia, and 

 potash salts of certain weak organic acids. Gum arabic, gum 

 tragacanth, and linseed mucilage may be cited as examples of 

 this group of nutritive substances. To these may be added 

 pectose and its derivatives substances which occur abundantly 

 in fleshy fruits, and which are nearly related to mucilage. The 

 exact values as food of the members of this group are not 

 known, but they may safely be assigned a position somewhat 

 inferior to starch and sugar. 



Fibre, Cellulose, etc. Man does not appear to have the 

 power of digesting the fully-formed cellular tissues of plants. 

 The basis of these is a substance called cellulose, but it is 

 probable that there are several slightly differing compounds 

 included under this term ; the percentage composition of cellu- 



