102 FOOD AND DRINK 



qualities, unless we except potatoes that are in the process of 

 germination or sprouting, when they are found injurious as 

 food. 



29. Fruits. These are produced, in this country, in great 

 abundance, and are remarkable alike for their variety and 

 delicious flavor; consequently they are consumed in large 

 quantities, especially during the warmer months. The moder- 

 ate use of ripe fruits, in their season, is beneficial, because 

 they offer a pleasant substitute for the more concentrated diet 

 that is used in cold weather. The amount of solid nutriment 

 they contain is, however, small. The percentage of water in 

 cherries is seventy-five, in grapes eighty-one, in apples eighty- 

 two. Unripe fruits contain starch, which, during the process 

 of ripening, is converted into sugar. Such fruits are indi- 

 gestible, and should be avoided; cooking, however, in part 

 removes the objection to them. 



30. Pure Water. It is important that the water we drink 

 and use in the preparation of food should be pure. It should 

 be clear and colorless, with little or no taste or smell, and free 

 from any great amount of foreign ingredients. Chemically 

 pure water does not occur in nature; it is obtained only by 

 the condensation of steam, carefully conducted, and is not as 

 agreeable for drinking purposes as the water furnished by 

 springs and streams. Rain-water is the purest occurring in 

 nature; but even this contains certain impurities, especially 

 the portion which falls in the early part of a shower ; for in 

 its descent from the clouds, the particles floating in the air are 

 caught by the falling drops. 



31. Water from springs and wells always contains more or 

 less foreign matter of mineral origin. This imparts to the 

 drink its pleasant taste the sparkle, or " life," coming from 

 the gases absorbed by the water during its passage under- 



29. Fruits ? Use of ripe fruit ? Nutriment they contain ? Starch in unripe fruits ? 

 Cooking of unripe fruits ? 



30. How should drinking-water be as regards color and smell ? Chemically pure water ? 

 How obtained ? Agreeableness of perfectly pure water? 



31. Spring and well water ? Whence the sparkle, or life ? The water supply of cities ? 

 Croton water ? Ridgewood ? 



