PURE AND IMPURE FOODS. 



149 



For the early crop the plants are started 

 in hothouses and transplanted to the field, 

 being carefully cultivated and protected 

 from insect enemies and fungous diseases. 

 The chief advantage of the house-grown 

 plant lies in the increased earliness of the 

 product. Sometimes there is little differ- 

 ence in the time of the maturity of the 

 first fruits, but the main crop from set 

 plants, it is claimed, is always considerably 

 in advance of that from seed sown in the 

 open. 



According to Professor Craig, of the 

 Cornell University Experiment Station, 

 who has devoted much time to a study of 

 the industry, to know just when to pick a 

 muskmelon is a matter of judgment ac- 

 quired by practical experience. Each vari- 

 ety has its characteristic coloring when ripe. 

 The stem end of the fruit colors and soft- 

 ens first, and the melon must be picked 

 before it has softened at this critical poinr. 



It is as important to grade melons as 

 peaches or apples, and no progressive fruit 

 grower now thinks of marketing such 

 fruits without grading them. Grading 

 melons according to size has a distinct ad- 

 vantage for the buyer, since it frequently 

 happens that one consumer wishes a small 

 size, while another prefers larger ones. The 

 work of grading and packing is done best 

 in the packing house, or in a shaded cor- 

 ner of the field. 



In Western New York 3 types of pack- 

 ages are used for muskmelons, namely, 12- 

 pound baskets, bushel baskets and crates. 

 The 12-pound basket usually holds 16 mel- 

 ons, while the bushel basket and crate hold 

 30 to 45 melons each. A favorite crate 

 measures 9x11x22 inches. Baskets are neat 

 in appearance and easily handled, but are 

 not suitable for shipment to distant mar- 

 kets. For long-distance shipment the crate 

 is undoubtedly the best package, economy of 

 space and ease of handling considered. In 

 Western New York most of the product is 

 shipped by canal boat. Small melons like 

 Netted Gem pack nicely in 12-pound bas- 

 kets, while the larger varieties are more 

 conveniently handled in bushel baskets. 



FOOD VALUE OF BUCKWHEAT. 

 The grain of buckwheat and its various 

 by-products are used to a limited extent for 

 feeding farm animals, as are also the green 

 plant and the straw. Buckwheat flour and 

 grits are used as human food. The plants 

 are sometimes grown as bee-plants for the 

 honey they furnish, the Japanese buck- 

 wheat being especially satisfactorv for this 

 purpose. The buckwheat grain has the 

 following percentage composition : Water, 

 12.6; protein, 10; fat, 2.2; nitrogen free 

 extract, 64.5 ; crude fiber, 8.7 ; and ash, 2. 

 It contains rather more crude fiber and 



less nitrogen free extract than other com- 

 mon cereal grains. 



The hulls are woody and have no value 

 as food. Buckwheat flour is proportionally 

 richer in nutrients than the whole seed, 

 as the crude fiber is practically all removed 

 in milling. Buckwheat flour is used largely 

 in this country for making griddle cakes or 

 pancakes, less commonly as breadstuff and 

 in other ways. Much is used in the manu- 

 facture of pancake flour, which consists of 

 a mixture of flour, salt, and baking powder, 

 so that the cakes may be made by simply 

 mixing the material with water or milk to 

 a proper consistency. 



In Russia buckwheat porridge is a com- 

 mon article of diet, being eaten in large 

 quantities by the peasants in certain 

 regions. Buckwheat flour is often adulter- 

 ated with wheat middlings. Buckwheat has 

 been used for brewing and for the manu- 

 facture of distilled liquors. 



BREAD FRUIT. 



Bread fruit is a common article of diet in 

 the West Indian islands, Hawaii, and other 

 tropical regions. According to a Hawaiian 

 report it is similar to the banana as regards 

 general chemical character. In the Sand- 

 wich islands the tree produces generally 2 

 crops of fruit, but the successive ripening 

 periods are short and the fruit can not be 

 kept after it ripens. When just ripe the 

 fruit contains little sugar. If picked at that 

 stage it has a fibrous texture suggesting 

 lightness and resembles somewhat a loaf of 

 wheat bread. The flavor is agreeable and 

 characteristic, yet suggesting slightly that 

 of old chestnuts. Before the fruit is fully 

 ripe it is dry and flavorless. As it ripens 

 the starch in it changes rapidly to sugar 

 and a peach-like aroma is developed. The 

 fragrance is unaccompanied by any corre- 

 sponding flavor, and is wholly dissipated in 

 cooking. The pulp of the fruit if cooked 

 at this stage is soft and somewhat gummy, 

 yet it is said that many persons prefer it at 

 this stage on account of its pronounced 

 sweetness. A Hawaiian chemist found that 

 bread fruit pulp contained 68 per cent 

 water, 1.03 per cent sugar, and 0.83 per cent 

 ash, the chief ash constituents being chlor- 

 ides and sulphates. 



Attempts have been made in Jamaica to 

 produce a bread fruit flour similar to that 

 which is made by drying and grinding 

 bananas. This may assume commercial im- 

 portance in the future, though it is doubtful 

 if it is made in any considerable quantity at 

 the present time. 



I have read your magazine ever since it 

 was first published, and consider it the 

 best sportsmen's journal published. 



Geo. H. Reimers, New York. 



