312 



RECREATION. 



tion of the whole fruit must be enormous. 

 The activity of this peculiar digestive agent 

 is destroyed ir> the cooked pineapple, but 

 unless the pineapple is preserved by heat 

 there is no reason why the tinned fruit 

 should not retain the digestive power. The 

 active digestive principle may be obtained 

 from the juice by dissolving a large quan- 

 tity of common salt in it, when a precipitate 

 is obtained possessing the remarkable di- 

 gestive power described. 



"Unlike pepsin, the digestive principle of 

 the pineapple will operate in an acid, neu- 

 tral, or even alkaline medium, according to 

 the kind of proteid to which it is presented. 

 It may, therefore, be assumed that the pine- 

 apple enzyme would not only aid the work 

 of digestion in the stomach, but would con- 

 tinue that action in the intestinal tract. 

 Pineapple, it may be added, contains much 

 indigestive matter of the nature of woody 

 fiber, but it is quite possible that the decid- 

 edly digestive properties of the juice com- 

 pensate for this fact." 



PREHISTORIC COOKERY. 



The remains of extensive buildings, just 

 South of Tempe, in the Salt River valley, 

 Arizona, have just been discovered, accord- 

 ing to a recently published account, and are 

 even larger than the famous Casa Grande. 

 They are now but a mass of mounds, but it 

 is said that the foundations of one which 

 was recently traced measured 275 feet in 

 length and 130 feet in width. Excavations 

 have brought to light a number of estufas, 

 or ovens, of such generous proportions that 

 they might have sufficed to bake the bread 

 for entire cities. Several were found meas- 

 uring 16 feet in depth and 20 feet in width. 

 Nearly all had been lined with a copper car- 

 bonate ore, which has fused in places, form- 

 ing a metallic sheet. A study of the ovens 

 shows that after the coals had burned down 

 they were drawn out and the opening of the 

 oven was practically closed. The ovens 

 were filled with the beans, corn and mescal 

 root which were to be cooked, until the top 

 of the pile was level with the surface of 

 the ground. Over all a thick roofing of 

 mud was spread, a quantity of water being 

 added before the oven was entirely closed 

 and made air-tight. Then the mass was 

 probably allowed to cook a number of 

 hours, something after the manner of the 

 clams, chicken, and sweet corn at a Rhode 

 Island clambake. It is further conjec- 

 tured that after the corn was steam-cooked 

 it was dried and became a staple article of 

 food for winter. Such dried corn has 

 been found in earthen jars. 



In the same mounds a number of stone 

 metaiis and grinders were discovered, 

 showing the primitive process of milling 

 followed. Many pieces of pottery, some in 



excellent preservation, were also found. In 

 shape and decorations the olas, or water 

 jars, closely resemble those made to-day 

 by the Zuni, Pueblo, and Mancipa Indians. 

 The glaze and texture, however, are su- 

 perior to modern work. 



A NEW SOUTHERN FOOD PRODUCT. 



Dried sweet potatoes are a comparatively 

 new food product, a sample recently exam- 

 ined being the result of experiments car- 

 ried on at the South Carolina Agricultural 

 Experiment Station. In the process of 

 manufacture, the potatoes were boiled, 

 peeled, sliced and evaporated. When dried 

 they were packed in cardboard boxes. 



These dried sections of potato are rather 

 darker in color than the fresh material, 

 and are about as hard as leather. They 

 contain some 13 per cent or less of water, 

 3 per cent protein, and 18 per cent carbo- 

 hydrates, of which a considerable part is 

 sugar. The evaporated potatoes, it is 

 claimed, will remain in perfect condition for 

 years. They are prepared for the table 

 by being soaked in warm water a quarter 

 of an hour, and then may be cooked and 

 seasoned in a variety of ways. 



This process of drying may, it is believed, 

 secure to the Southern farmer the preser- 

 vation of the surplus of one of his most 

 prolific and important crops, in a form fitted 

 for safe and economical shipment to dis- 

 tant markets, and the manufacture of evap- 

 orated sweet potatoes should prove of great 

 benefit to Southern farmers if the product 

 is found to be as satisfactory on further 

 trials as seems probable. 



An acre of land will yield over 350 bush- 

 els of raw potatoes, under good conditions, 

 which in turn will produce about 100 bush- 

 els of the dried product. 



Landlord — I will give you just 3 days 

 to pay your rent. 



Artist — All right; suppose you make it 

 Thanksgiving, Christmas and the Fourth of 

 July. — Life. 



Mary had a hot mince pie, 



That she thought she'd like right well, 

 She took a bite, which burnt her mouth 



And Mary said, "Oh, h ! ! !" 



Recreation is the best sportsmen's 

 journal I ever read. 



Will H. DeGroff, Fleming, N. Y. 



Cannot possibly get along without Rec- 

 reation. 



John. R. Taylor, Freeport, Pa. 



