CONDIMENTS 83 



stimulation, aside from that obtained from the natural 

 flavors of the food increased by the addition of a little 

 salt, is ordinarily not needed. 



Salt. Salt evidently serves a more important purpose 

 in the body than any mere condiment, since many ani- 

 mals, especially the herbivorous whose food is poorest 

 in salt, have such a strong craving for it that they will 

 ignore danger for the sake of reaching salt licks. This 

 is due to the fact that it is essential in the tissues in 

 order that the right proportion of water in them may be 

 maintained. Salt is being constantly lost from the body 

 through perspiration and other excretions, and this loss 

 must be made good through the salt taken as food. In 

 carnivorous animals, the flesh food supplies enough salt 

 in itself, so that they have no craving for an additional 

 supply. 



Sugar. Sugar is habitually used as a condiment be- 

 cause of its pleasant taste, but it differs from other con- 

 diments in being a valuable food. Sugar, especially in 

 the form of candy, should, however, be used with cau- 

 tion and eaten only at meal times or after other food. 

 If taken at other times, it destroys the appetite for more 

 wholesome food and may even induce painful digestion. 

 The chocolate which is combined with sugar in candy, is 

 also a valuable food, if taken at the proper times and 

 in moderate quantities. 



EXPERIMENTS AND DEMONSTRATIONS . 



Materials and apparatus : Yeast cake ; wheat flour ; corn, rye 

 and oat meal; breakfast foods; vegetables, as potato, turnip, 

 beet and cabbage; fruits, as apple, banana and orange; milk; 

 egg; meat; glucose (grape juice or raisins stewed in a small 

 amount of water) ; solution of iodine made by diluting 1 dr. 

 tincture of iodine with 1 oz. of water in which 20 grs. of 

 potassic iodide have been dissolved ; solution of copper sulphate, 



