XIV. THE FRUIT GIFT. 229 



* fruit. ' But the essential and separate fruit-gift is of 

 two substances, quite distinct from flour, namely, oil and 

 wine, under the last term including for the moment all 

 kinds of juice which will produce alcohol by fermenta- 

 tion. Of these, oil may be produced either in the ker- 

 nels of nuts, as in almonds, or in the substance of ber- 

 ries, as in the olive, date, and coffee-berry. But the 

 sweet juice which will become medicinal in wine, can 

 only be developed in the husk, or in the receptacle. 



5. The office of the Chief Butler, as opposed to that 

 of the Chief Baker, and the office of the Good Samari- 

 tan, pouring in oil and wine, refer both to the total 

 fruit-gift in both kinds : but in the study of plants, we 

 must primarily separate our notion of their gifts to men 

 into the three elements, flour, oil, and wine ; and have 

 instantly and always intelligible names for them in Latin, 

 French, and English. 



And I think it best not to confuse our ideas of pure 

 vegetable substance with the possible process of fermen- 

 tation : so that rather than ' wine, ' for a constant 

 specific term, I will take 'Nectar,' this term more 

 rightly including the juices of the peach, nectarine, and 

 plum, as well as those of the grape, currant, and apple. 



Our three separate substances will then be easily 

 named in all three languages : 



Farina. Oleum. Nectar. 



Farine. Tluile. Nectare. 



Flour. Oil. Nectar. 



