1434 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PRACTICAL HORTICULTURE 



tein, the filbert 16.5 per cent, tlie wal- 

 nut 18-2 per cent, the hickory nut 15.4 

 per cent, the pinenut 14.6 per cent, the 

 pecan 12.1 per cent, and the dry chestnut 

 but 10.7 per cent. The dry acorn, fresh 

 chestnut and cocoanut, with 6.4, 6.4, and 

 6.6 per cent, respectively, are not as rich 

 in protein as bread. 



Of the nuts here included the richest in 

 fat is the pecan, with an average of 70.7 per 

 cent, but seven other varieties— the Brazil 

 nut, butternut, candlenut, filbert, hickory 

 nut, pinenut, and walnut— contain upward 

 of 60 per cent. The almond, cocoanut, and 

 pistachio yield between 50 and 60 per cent 

 of this nutrient. The beechnut, peanut, 

 and pignolia contain about 50 per cent. 

 In other words, in 13 of the varieties of 

 nuts appearing in the foregoing table, half 

 or more of the edible portion is fat or oil. 



Only a few of the commonly used nuts 

 yield any notable amounts of total carbo- 

 hydrate matter, the dry chestnut, with 73 

 per cent, rating highest. Beechnuts, pine- 

 nuts, and peanuts have about 18 per cent. 

 The guantity of starch found is, with 

 some exceptions, quite small, ranging from 

 3 per cent in the beechnut to 27 per cent 

 in the chestnut. 



Nuts are, comparatively speaking, well 

 supplied with mineral matter, this con- 

 stituent in the majority of nuts exceed- 

 ing 2 per cent. The ash of the walnut, 

 almond, etc., is rich in phosphoric acid, 

 and in this regard compares favorably 

 with that of cereals. It would appear 

 from the data on the digestibility of nuts 

 that the mineral matter is as well assimil- 

 ated as that from other common foods. 



It is a matter of observation that the 

 nuts of any given species produced in dif- 

 ferent regions, and indeed those from dif- 

 ferent trees of any given region, vary de- 

 cidedly in size, flavor, and composition, 

 the hickory nuts, for instance, from one 

 tree being much more oily than those 

 from another in the same locality. Ad- 

 vantage is taken of such natural varia- 

 tions in selecting wild nuts for cultiva- 

 tion, notably in the case of pecans, where 

 the range in size and quality is very 

 noticeable. 



Digestibility of Nuts 



With the exception, perhaps, of certain 

 rich pies and puddings, no food material 

 has the reputation for indigestibility that 

 has been accorded to nuts. Discomfort 

 from them is certainly not uncommon, 

 and when it occurs, it seems tair to say, 

 is largely due to insufficient mastication 

 and to the fact that nuts are often eaten 

 when not needed, as after a hearty meal 

 or late at night; though it is undoubtedly 

 true that nut protein as ordinarily eaten 

 is not so easily or so completely digested 

 as meat protein. Very likely the concen- 

 tration of nuts, with but 3 to 5 per cent 

 water, as compared with meats containing 

 from 50 to 70 per cent water, is a con- 

 tributing cause. If careful consideration 

 were given to this matter, and if attention 

 were paid to the proper use of nuts and 

 their correct place in the diet, there would 

 be less unfavorable comment on their di- 

 gestibility. 



The results of investigations carried on 

 with fruit and nut diets at the California 

 Agricultural Experiment Station afford 

 tentative conclusions regarding thorough- 

 ness of digestion which should be of value 

 to those who wish to use nuts as a staple 

 article of food rather than as an occasion- 

 al article of diet. This work has com- 

 prised 15 dietary studies and about 100 

 digestion experiments with elderly men, 

 young men, women and children, of whom 

 some had been vegetarians for years, and 

 some had even limited their diet almost 

 exclusively to fruit and nuts; ethers had 

 previously lived on the usual mixed diet. 

 The average coefficients of digestibility re- 

 ported for 2B experiments with two men 

 and one woman on a fruit and nut diet 

 were: Protein, 90 per cent; fat, 85 per 

 cent; sugar, starch, etc., 96 per cent; 

 crude fiber, 54 per cent; and ash, 68 per 

 cent, with 86 per cent of the energy avail- 

 able. The corresponding figures for three 

 experiments with the same subjects in 

 which no fruit or nuts were used are: 

 Protein, 94 per cent; fat, 92 per cent; 

 sugar, starch, etc., 96 per cent; crude fiber, 

 49 per cent, with 88 per cent of th^ energy 

 available. The latter coefficients agree 

 very closely with those in the average 



