FOOD AND FOOD-PLANTS 125 



very important as food in Ireland, but there 

 they are of course helped out by other kinds of 

 food. Though some kinds of roots are very 

 nutritious yet, as a general rule, they are poor in 

 proteid, and so must be used with other foods, and 

 especially with some kind of seeds, such as cereals 

 (wheat, oats, etc.) or pulse (peas, beans, etc.). 



As to fruits, we find that, as a general rule, 

 they are much more important in warm than in 

 cold countries. We must not suppose that this is 

 because fruits only grow and ripen in hot countries. 

 On the contrary, what gardeners call the " small 

 fruits " will only thrive in cool countries. Nowhere 

 do strawberries grow as they do in such countries 

 as England where the summers are not very hot. 

 In the high Alps, and in Norway and Sweden also, 

 there is in autumn a wealth of berries such as 

 bilberries, cowberries, cranberries, and so on which 

 is quite peculiar to these parts, and is not even 

 suggested in hot countries. 



But while fruits almost satisfy the appetite of the 

 inhabitants of hot countries, in cold countries they 

 only form a dessert, an extra. There is so little in 

 them but sugar and flavouring matter that they 

 hardly count as real food, except in those countries 

 where very little food is required. 



In addition to giving man food in the form of 

 seeds, roots, or fruits, the vegetable world gives 



