FRUIT-YEGETABLES 85 



Fig. 90. — Egg Plant {Solami.m Mdonrjena, Nightshade Family, Solanaceac) . 

 Plant in fruit, A). (Vilmorin.) — An annual; flowers similar in form to 

 those of tomato, but violet in color; fruit dark violet, or whitish. 



lism.^ The forming of a carbohydrate in sunlight is called photo- 

 synthesis. - 



Food-making being the peculiar task of green herbage 

 renders foliage as a rule less useful than other parts for the 

 storage of food. Hence we find leafy shoots accumulating 

 food only incidentally, and then generally in largest amount 

 where least exposed to light. The main work of foliage is to 

 utilize sunlight for the making of food, and in so doing it keeps 

 the surrounding air fit for animals to breathe. 



37. Fruit-vegetables, as the name impHes, are succulent 

 fruits which are used in the same manner as herbage and 

 earth-vegetables. The most important examples are the 

 cucumber, the various sorts of squash and pumpkin, the 

 tomato, and the egg-plant (Figs. 80-90). To these must 

 be added the so-called "string-beans" and "wax-beans" 

 which are merely varieties of the kidney-bean already noticed 

 wherein the green esculent pod plays a more important part 

 than the unripe seeds. 



From the fact that they are used more as "vegetables" 

 than as "fruits" we should expect fruit-vegetables to re- 

 semble more nearly the former in chemical composition. 

 We find this to be the case. In their percentage of water, 



1 Cat-ab'o-lism < Gr. kata, downward. 



^ Pho-to-syn'the-sis <C Gr. photos, light; synthesis, a putting together. 



