PURE AND IMPURE FOOD. 



153 



maximum of result and the minimum of 

 fatigue. For this he needs practical train- 

 ing on the one hand and proper diet on the 

 other. If the views above presented are 

 correct, the diet for men from whom in- 

 tense muscular effort is required for short 

 periods should supply liberal energy and 

 especially large quantities of protein. 



COTTONSEED OIL AS A FOOD PRODUCT 

 A recent number of the British Medical 

 Journal has the following statements re- 

 garding cottonseed oil, which is a whole- 

 some and palatable food product when 

 properly prepared. It is an article of great 

 commercial importance to the cotton pro- 

 ducer in the South, and in the opinion of 

 many students of food and nutrition its use 

 may be profitably extended. 



"At a time when so much attention is be- 

 ing very properly paid to the question of 

 food adulteration, it would be well if more 

 energetic steps were taken to ensure the 

 purity of those substitutes which are intrin- 

 sically harmless, when themselves of good 

 quality. Cottonseed oil is a case in point. 

 The extent to which it is employed at the 

 present time in this country is probably but 

 imperfectly realized by many. It is very 

 largely used in fish frying, the making of 

 cheap pastry, the manufacture of margarine 

 and lard, and in place of olive oil in the 

 preparation of sardines destined for our 

 markets. This, though too often fraudulent, 

 would be in no way prejudicial to health, if 

 only the use of the prime product, properly 

 prepared and refined, were generally en- 

 forced. The oil which consists chemically 

 for the most part of the glyceryl salts of 

 oleic and linoleic acids, is, after expression, 

 subjected to a process technically known as 

 "purging," in which the grosser impurities 

 are separted by treatment with caustic soda. 

 The dark color, unpleasant odor and taste, 

 and tendency to rancidity which remain 

 should be removed by a careful process of 

 refining. But this is too often only im- 

 perfectly carried out, and chemicals are em- 

 ployed for the purpose which merely mask 

 these faults temporarily and are frequently 

 themselves of a deleterious nature. The 

 odor of such improperly prepared oil is 

 painfully familiar in the vicinity of fried 

 fish shops, and its familiarity is evidence of 

 the widespread use of inferior oils. Whilst 

 good cottonseed oil is harmless and might 

 be legitimately emnloyed in preference to 

 animal fats of doubtful quality the con- 

 sumption of large quantities of the sub- 

 stance in a semi-crude state and often 

 loaded with injurious acids and bleaching 

 agents, can not but exercise a pernicious 

 influence on health." 



periments with sugar in the Gern:an army. 

 Believing it would prove a great aid to- 

 ward the maintenance of the physical 

 strength of soldiers, he added 50 to 60 

 grammes of sugar daily to the rations of 

 certain men, and as a result he found 

 they became much more energetic than 

 their comrades ; they suffered much less 

 from hunger, thirst and fatigue; their 

 pulse was less rapid and stronger and cases 

 of exhaustion were much less frequent 

 among them than previously. The conclu- 

 sion at which he arrives is that sugar, 

 though it is evidently not a fitting food for 

 neurasthenics or for those who are de- 

 pressed and who are obliged to lead a se- 

 dentary life, is yet admirably adapted for 

 huntsmen, soldiers and all others who live 

 much in the open air, the reason being be- 

 cause sugar supplies energy for muscular 

 work in a form in which it is readily 

 available. 



#EST INDIAN FRUITS. 



A recent writer in the New England 

 Kitchen Magazine describes some appetiz- 

 ing West Indian fruits. The greater num- 

 ber are unfamiliar to most of us, but may 

 possibly become better known in the fu- 

 ture. Methods of storing fruit and pre- 

 venting decay are being constantly im- 

 proved and rapid transit will undoubtedly 

 bring the fruit of the West Indian islands 

 to us in increasing quantities. Some of 

 these fruits beside the orange and its near 

 kin are the fan-fan, said to be a most de- 

 licious tree fruit, nase berries, and the 

 custard apple. 



"They have a way of taking green or 

 'water cocoanuts' and freezing them with 

 salt and ice. Then the nut is cut in halves 

 and the contents eaten with a spoon. 

 Sometimes they make ice cream and flavor 

 it with cocoanut freshly gathered. 



"In the way of confections there is the 

 banana preserved in sugar, something like 

 our 'candied' fruit; and banana jam, which 

 looks at first sight like gooseberry or 

 raspberry, jam. It is pleasing to the 

 palate. 



"The novel and interesting as well as 

 delicious tropical fruits and vegetables are 

 many; and in the markets in the stalls 

 presided over by turbaned black women 

 are seen freshly gathered cherimoyer, sweet 

 sop, mangoes, star-apples, cashew, limes, 

 rose apples, ackee, okra, Congo peas, and 

 kola nuts." 



The wise saw should be filed in the 

 archives of the memory. 



SUGAR FOR SOLDIERS. 

 Doctor Leitenstorfer, a military sur- 

 geon, has recently been making some ex- 



Do not fail to contribute to the Lacey 

 watch fund at once. 



