PURE AND IMPURE FOODS. 



7i 



cially in the South and on the Pacific 

 coast. The amount of fruit consumed in 

 the average household has undoubtedly in- 

 creased with the greater production and 

 facilities for shipping and marketing. 



The increased consumption of fruit has 

 apparently aroused a somewhat general in- 

 terest in its food value, and many popular 

 articles on the subject have appeared. 

 Some of these contain statements which a 

 study of the chemical composition of fruits 

 would hardly warrant. 



Many of the experiment stations have 

 reported analyses of fruits and made ex- 

 tended studies of the different methods of 

 growing fruit trees, their soil require- 

 ments, enemies, etc. 



The stone fruits constitute an important 

 group, and have been studied for a number 

 of years by the California and Oregon Ex- 

 periment Stations. Fresh peaches, apri- 

 cots, cherries, prunes, and plums are gen- 

 eral favorites, while enormous quantities 

 of these fruits are canned, dried, or pre- 

 served in some way. It is interesting to 

 compare the composition of these fruits, 

 fresh and dried, with each other and with 

 some of the staple articles of diet. 



Composition of Edible Portion of Stone Fruits and Other 

 Food Materials. 











e 















1^ 















Etc 















S^ 









u 



4-» 



"Z 





<d 3 



0) u 





T3 





« 















* 





ca 



>- — 



71 

 < 



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Per 



Per 



Per 



Per 



Per 



Per 



Fresh Fruits : 



cent 



cent 



cent 



cent 



cent 



cent 





85.0 



1.1 





13-4 



0.5 





Cherries (California) 



79-4 



1.2 



.... 



19.0 



•4 







81.3 



• Q 





*i 7 .3 



• s 



0.4 





«9-3 



•9 





9-3 



•4 





Plums (California) 



78.4 



1.0 





t20.I 



•S 



•4 



Prunes (California) 



80.2 



.8 



'"' 



Jl8.5 



-v ' 



•5 





Prunes (Oregon) 



76.4 



1-3 





§2I.O 



•Q 



•4 



Dried Fruits : 

















29.4 

 25.0 



22.3 



3S-6 



4-7 



2.8 





62.5 

 70.0 



2.4 

 2.2 



2-3 

 1.2 







.... 













73-3 

 52-7 







9-3 





■ • • • 





78.3 

 89.2 

 12.6 







18.4 



7-4 

 SQ.6 









2.3 



,22.5 





.8 









3-S 











2.9 



•9 















* Including 11.21 percent, sugar, 

 t Including 13.25 per cent, sugar. 

 X Including 16.11 per cent, sugar. 

 § Including 14 per cent, sugar. 



Apricot pits constitute about 6 per cent 

 of the fresh fruit, cherry pits 5 per cent, 

 and peach pits about 14 per cent. 



In general, all the stone fruits included 

 in the table, when fresh, have a high water 



content. The different kinds do not differ 

 very greatly in composition, and the varia- 

 tions between the specimens grown in dif- 

 ferent regions are not greater than between 

 different samples grown in flR same re- 

 gion. The dried fruit contains less water 

 and therefore has a higher food value than 

 the fresh fruits. The fresh fruits contain a 

 much smaller percentage of nutritive in- 

 gredients than white bread or dried beans. 

 Judged by their composition they do not 

 differ greatly from potatoes and are some- 

 what superior to the fresh vegetables in- 

 cluded in the table. It should be re- 

 membered, however, that the nitrogen-free 

 extract or carbohydrates of potatoes con- 

 sists almost entirely of starch The carbo- 

 hydrates of fruits consist largely of sugar 

 and bodies whose food value is not well un- 

 derstood. It has been found in the dietary 

 studies conducted under the auspices of 

 the Department of Agriculture that a 

 large consumption of fruits or fresh vege- 

 tables containing little food material and 

 a high percentage of water increases the 

 cost of a diet out of proportion to the 

 nutritive material furnished. 



As an illustration of tliis statement, the 

 case of a skilled mill workman's family in 

 New Jersey may be cited. The number of 

 meals taken by the different members of 

 this family during a dietary study was 

 equivalent to 1 man 127 days, or practically 

 4 months. During this time $2.16 was ex- 

 pended for oranges and $3 for celery, 

 making a total of $5.16 for these two ar- 

 ticles, which between them furnished 150 

 grams of protein and 6,445 calories of 

 energy. During the same time $5.16 was 

 also expended for cereal foods and sugars, 

 and 3,375 grams of protein and 184,185 

 calories of energy were obtained, or about 

 twenty-five times the amount furnished by 

 the oranges and celery. The amount ex- 

 pended for vegetables and fruits aside from 

 the oranges and celery amounted to $5.75. 

 and furnished 1,909 grams of protein and 

 58,000 calories of energy, or, in round 

 numbers, ten times as much as was ob- 

 tained in the oranges and celery. 



It must not be forgotten, however, that 

 fruits are valuable for other reasons than 

 the nutrients which they furnish. They 

 contain acids and other bodies which are 

 believed by physiologists to have a bene- 

 ficial effect on the system and doubtless 

 very often stimulate the appetite for other 

 food. They are also useful in counteract- 

 ing a tendency to constipation. Another 

 point — and one entirely apart from food 

 value — should not be overlooked. That is, 

 fruits add very materially to the attrac- 

 tiveness of the diet. It is not easy to esti- 

 mate their value from this standpoint, 

 since often the appearance of food has a 

 value which can not be measured in dol- 

 lars and cents. 



