FRUIT 



2345 



FUCHSIA 



trade. In 1914 the United States exported 

 fruits valued at over $31,000,000, and imported 

 almost $34,000,000 worth. 



Food Value of Fruits. Fresh fruits do not 

 rank with meats and cereals in actual nutri- 

 tive value, but they constitute a desirable por- 

 tion of the diet for other reasons. Certain 

 acids and salts found in them are believed to 

 have a beneficial effect on the system, and 

 their high water content, in some cases four- 

 fifths of the whole, makes them of value as 

 laxatives. Moreover, they are among the 

 most attractive of all foods, both in appearance 

 and in taste, and the pleasure derived from 

 partaking of them has a happy effect on the 

 appetite and the digestion. Decaying and un- 

 ripe fruits should always be avoided, and it 

 is also unwise to overindulge in those at the 

 proper stage of maturity. As a rule, fresh 

 fruits eaten in moderation are thoroughly 

 assimilated. 



Carbohydrates, including sugars, starches and 

 pectin (vegetable jelly), constitute the most 

 important nutritive material in fresh fruits. 

 Protein, fat and ash, the latter the source of 

 certain acids and salts, are found in small 

 proportions. In proportion to their bulk, dried 

 or evaporated fruits contain much more nutri- 

 tive material than do fresh fruits. The car- 

 bohydrate content is also increased when fruits 

 are canned or preserved. S.L.A. 



Related Subject*. The following articles In 

 these volumes will give an idea of the many 

 varieties of fruits which are of commercial im- 

 portance : 



Alligator Pear Lemon 



Apple Loganberry 



Apricot Loquat 



Banana Melon 



Bergamot Mulberry 



Blackberry Muskmelon 



Breadfruit Nectarine 



Casaba Melon Orange 



Cherry Pawpaw 



Citron Peach 



Cocoanut Pear 



Crab Apple Persimmon 



Cranberry Pineapple 



Currant Plum 



Fig Pomegranate 



Gooseberry Prune 



Grape Quince 



Grapefruit Raspberry 



Guava Strawberry 



Huckleberry Tangerine 



Kumquat Watermelon 



See, also, the following general articles relating 

 to the subject : 



Boys' and Girls' Clubs Food Products, 

 Canning Clubs Preservation of 



FU-CHOW, or FOO-CHOW, in Southeastern 

 China, one of its five treaty ports, thrown 

 open to foreign commerce in 1843. It is an 

 ancient walled city, capital of the province of 

 Fukien, on the Min River, thirty miles from 

 its mouth. The river is crowded with junks 

 and boats, many of which are used as dwell- 

 ings. The walls of the city are six and one- 

 half miles in circumference and twenty-five 

 feet high, with seven gates guarded by high 

 watchtowers. Fu-chow is sometimes called the 

 "Banyan City" on account of the great number 

 of banyan trees in its gardens and squares (see 

 BANYAN). 



The River Min is here partly crossed by a 

 stone bridge, 1,350 feet long, called the "Bridge 

 of Ten Thousand Ages," leading to a densely- 

 populated island which is connected with the 

 opposite shore by a second bridge 300 feet in 

 length. Below this bridge ocean-going vessels 

 load and unload their cargoes. Here also is 

 the most important naval arsenal in the entire 

 country. The chief exports are tin, timber, 

 cotton goods, matches and fruits. Among the 

 principal imports is opium, forced into the 

 Chinese market by the treaty of 1843. The 

 import of this hurtful drug is diminishing un- 

 der the stringent regulations adopted by the 

 government. Population, about 624,000. 



FUCHSIA, fu'shia, a beautiful house and 

 garden plant, popular in America and Europe. 

 There are about seventy species, most of 

 which are natives of tropical America. Some 

 are merely shrubby plants, some are small 

 trees and others 

 are climbers. 

 With their grace- 

 fully-d rooping, 

 funnel-shaped 

 flowers, usually 

 white within and 

 pink, red or pur- 

 ple without, and 

 'pistils and sta- 

 mens dangling, 

 the name of 

 ladies' eardrops, 

 sometimes given 

 them, is very ap- 

 propriate. From 

 the name of their 



discoverer, Leon- FUCHSIA BLOSSOMS 

 ard Fuchs, a German botanist, the name was 

 derived. 



Fuchsias are most easily grown from cut- 

 tings. They demand a light, porous soil, plenty 



