300 VEGETABLE FOOD. 



sand and occasionally mites ; indeed, from handling it grocers get 

 psoriasis palmarum, or grocer's itch, a very troublesome skin- 

 affection. Loaf-sugar ana sugar candy are the most free from 

 adulteration. It should be borne in mind that sweetened food is 

 apt soon to cloy the appetite of invalids and that attention must be 

 directed to what is savory to secure agreeable change. 



MOLASSES is the uncrystallized residue drained from refined 

 and raw sugar. 



GOLDEN SIRUP is molasses purified by being reboiled and 

 filtered through animal charcoal. If largely taken, these products 

 are laxative. They are appropriately taken with all kinds of 

 farinaceous food, such as bread-pudding, porridge, etc. 



HONEY is a concentrated sugar mixed with odorous, coloring, 

 gummy and waxy matters, gathered from flowers by the bee for its 

 own consumption, but undergoing some modification by the secre- 

 tions of the insect. It is of the same dietetic value as sugar, is 

 slightly laxative and is often used in the sick-room as a demulcent 

 and emollient. 



MANNA is the solidified juice of some species of ash, containing 

 a peculiar saccharine principle sweet, odorless, crystallizable, white 

 but differing from sugar in that it does not undergo alcoholic 

 fermentation when brought into contact with yeast. It is nutri- 

 tive but is chiefly used as a mild, safe laxative. 



Condiments Such condiments as vinegar, salt and pepper 

 make food more tempting to the palate, stimulate a flagging appe- 

 tite and sometimes create an unnatural one. The constant presence 

 of salt in the secretions and in the blood indicate its importance as 

 a food. This is evident in the instinctive desire of animals and 

 man, craving for it when it is not supplied in sufficient quantity. 

 It is essential to the maintenance of health, and must not be forgot- 

 ten in the diet of the invalid. Pepper, mustard, horse-radish, gin- 

 ger, allspice and nutmeg, etc., are constantly mixed up with food, 

 and there is scarcely a dish which does not contain more or less of 

 these substances. Cooks cannot leave each individual to season his 

 food as he may prefer. 



Many cases of dyspepsia and chronic inflammation of the 

 stomach are caused by condiments. When taken in immoderate 

 quantities, they cause an unnatural flow of the blood to the stomach, 

 which increases the secretion of the gastric juice. This produces 

 an excessive appetite, and the individual eats more than the system 

 requires and more than the stomach can digest. This undigested 

 food becomes a foreign body which causes diarrhea and various 

 other stomach and bowel derangements. Parents have not the 

 right to expect that their children will grow up temperate, virtuous 

 and good to say nothing of their physical health when they are 

 permitted abuse of this kind of food. Condiments render plain and 

 wholesome food insipid, by destroying the natural acuteness of the 

 taste. Pies, as well as many other articles of food, filled with these 



