214 



Science of Plant Life 



noted that ripe fruits are made 

 up largely of water pleasantly 

 flavored with sugar, dilute 

 acids, and aromatic sub- 

 stances. The amount of food 

 actually present is usually 

 small. Fruits are valuable 

 chiefly for the variety which 

 they add to our diet. Through 

 canning, preserving, and dry- 

 ing they are made available at 

 all seasons of the year. 



Seeds and grains supply the 

 most concentrated foods de- 

 rived from plants. They pro- 

 vide the larger part of the food 

 of all human beings. Seeds of 

 cotton, corn, and coconut fur- 

 nish enormous quantities of 

 oils used in the manufacture of 

 various fats and soap, and nuts of various kinds are coming 

 to be used more and more extensively as foods. Corn oil is 

 widely used in the making of rubber. Flaxseed is the source 

 of linseed oil, which is used in the manufacture of paints. 

 From the grains we derive also starch, glucose, alcohol, 

 ether, and many related organic substances. The seeds of 

 the coffee and cacao plants supply pleasant and mildly 

 stimulating drinks. The hairy covering of the cottonseed is 

 the most important fiber used in the manufacture of cloth. 



U. S. Dept. of Agriculture 

 FIG. 131. Persimmon fruits. The 

 persimmon grows wild over a large 

 part of the Southeastern states, and 

 improved varieties are now cultivated. 



