October 16, 1896.] 



SCIENCE. 



553 



This would be a task that even the most 

 ardent admirer of this fruit could scarcely 

 be prevailed upon to attempt. Take an- 

 other illustration from the vegetable, rather 

 than the fruit garden. 



The nutrients contained in the tomato 

 are as follows : 



Carbohydrates 2.5 per cent. 



Protein 8 " " 



Fat 4 " " 



Applying the same calculation as before 

 will show that one would have to eat 500 

 ounces, or .31.2 pounds, of tomatoes each 

 day for the requisite fat ; he would have to 

 eat 525 ounces, or 32.8 pounds, for the 

 necessary protein, and for the carbohydrates 

 it would require 704.4 ounces, or about 44 

 pounds. In other words, if one should eat 

 44 pounds of tomatoes every day, he would 

 consume slightly more fat and protein than 

 were absolutely necessary for a day's sup- 

 ply and just about the right amount of car- 

 bohydrates. 



This demonstrates that, however valuable 

 strawberries and tomatoes may be as a part 

 of an every-day diet, they cannot be con- 

 sidered as foods. Their actual nutrient 

 value is exceedingly low. In order to sup- 

 port life and maintain strength, strawber- 

 ries and tomatoes must be eaten in con- 

 nection with other substances which have 

 more concentrated nutrients. Wherein 

 does their dietetic value consist? Let us 

 briefly consider. The qualities which ren- 

 der fruit and many of the more delicate 

 garden vegetables wholesome, and cause us 

 to have a natural apetite for and hence to 

 enjoy them, are their acid juiciness and 

 flavor. The juice is mainly water, but it 

 comes to us in a grateful and refreshing 

 form. The flavor is due in part to the or- 

 ganic acids already mentioned, but mainly 

 to certain volatile oils or aromatic ethers. 

 It is to these latter that those delicate 

 characteristic flavors of various varieties of 

 fruit are chiefly due. 



Chemistry and physiology have taught 

 us that, when these ' fruitj'- acids,' oils, 

 and ethers are taken into the body, they 

 undergo oxidation, which process tends to 

 lower the temperature of the blood, or at 

 least to modify our temperature sensations, 

 and thus correct, or allay, any slight fever- 

 ishness that may exist. They also tend to 

 keep the organs of secretion, the liver, kid- 

 neys, etc., in a healthy condition. We are 

 justified, therefore, in saying that fruits are 

 'cooling, aperient and grateful.' In our 

 climate, subject as we are to rapid changes 

 and extremes of temperature, passing ab- 

 ruptly, as we often do, from an arctic win- 

 ter to a tropical summer, the physical sys- 

 tem is naturally more or less debilitated. 



In this condition we are predisposed to 

 malarial troubles, particularly if we live 

 where the drainage is poor. Fruits and 

 acid vegetables are found to be good cor- 

 rectives for this debilitated condition of the 

 system. The free acids of fruits, especially 

 citric and malic acids, are highly antiseptic 

 bodies. They tend to prevent disease germs 

 from finding a lodgment and developing in 

 the body. 



The full beneficial effects of these acids 

 are only to be found in mature fruits. 

 Green, unripe fruits, although they have an 

 abundant supply of acids, are usually in- 

 jurious, on account of their indigestibility. 

 This arises, mainly, from the coarse and 

 hard condition of the cellulose. When 

 fruits are perfectly developed and properly 

 matured the cellulose is soft and fine. We 

 know that unripe fruit is not wholesome. 

 It digests slowly, often ferments in the 

 stomach, and is the cause of painful dis- 

 orders. It is unwise to take into our 

 stomachs that which will ferment and de- 

 compose ; it is certainly no less unwise to 

 eat over-ripe or wilted fruit, in which these 

 destructive changes have already begun. 

 The question is often asked whether such 

 or such a fruit is healthy, even when the 



