EXTENSION COURSE IN VEGETABLE FOODS. 9 



REVIEW QUESTIONS, LESSON I. 



1. Give different methods of classifying plants. 



2. Mention five of the principal plants most used in your home. 



3. Describe the structure of some typical plant. 



4. What is cellulose? What of its food value? 



5. What proportion of some common plants is utilized for food? Give 



examples. 



6. Report your personal observation in the germination of plants. 



7. Describe the principal nutritive substances derived from plants. 



8. How may the presence of each one of these substances be recognized? 



9. Tell something of the changes produced by cultivation of plant foods. 

 10. What part have women had in the development of such foods? 



LESSON II. LEAVES AND STALKS. 



SALAD PLANTS. 



There are many plants or parts of plants that may be eaten raw, the 

 most important being the fresh green vegetables, such as lettuce, 

 water cress, and celery. Such vegetables are generally relished and 

 form a part of the diet wherever they can be obtained. 



For the present purpose such vegetables may be called salad plants : 

 but it is difficult to make an exact classification because so many of 

 these plants are used in other ways than as salads, and because salads 

 are often made of cooked vegetables, meats, etc. Lettuce, for example, 

 a vegetable which in this country is most always eaten raw, in Europe 

 is often cooked, and thus it becomes a potherb as well as a salad plant. 

 Water cress, though often used as a salad, is sometimes used simply as 

 a condiment or garnish. Peas, beans, potatoes, and vegetables such as 

 spinach, which are most commonly served as " vegetables " are often 

 put into salads. Some roots, as radish, and fruits, as cucumber, are 

 also very commonly used raw as salads. 



The whole matter will seem less confusing if what is meant by salad 

 is exactly defined. Originally the word referred to a green plant 

 rather than to a dish prepared from the plant, and its derivation in- 

 dicates that it meant one which was to be eaten with salt. Now it is 

 applied to a dish served cold with a dressing which always contains 

 vinegar or other acid and usually some kind of oil or fat, and salt, 

 pepper, or other seasonings. The basis of the salad may be vegetables, 

 either raw or cooked, fruit, nuts, eggs, meat, or fish — in fact, almost 

 any material or combination of materials of suitable flavor and con- 

 sistency, and the dressing may be simple or elaborate. 



This definition shows what a variety of salads it is possible to make. 

 Many housekeepers in their search for novelties build up strange and 

 ornate combinations, while others go to the other extreme and imagine 

 all salads are foolish "new-fangled" things which it is a waste of 



