1442 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PRACTICAL HORTICULTURE 



higher percentage of protein than the 

 original nut. Some attempts have been 

 made to thus utilize peanut-cake meal, 

 hut the results have not been very satis- 

 factory. 



Pecuniary Economy of JVnts 



The composition and digestibility of 

 nuts have been discussed in the forego- 

 ing pages, but little has been said regard- 

 ing the cost of nutrients and energy 



which they supply as compared with other 

 and more common food materials. The 

 table which follows shows the compara- 

 tive cost of a pound of protein and 1,000 

 calories of energy when furnished by dif- 

 ferent nuts and nut products and some 

 other staple foods, and also the amounts 

 of nutrients and energy which 10 cents- 

 worth of these foods would supply, rating 

 the foods at certain average prices per 

 pound. 



Pecuniary Economy of 'Nuts and Nnt Px'oducts 



KIND OF FOOD 



Nuts and nut prodiicte: 



Almonds 



Brazil nuts 



Chestnuts 



Cocoanuts 



Hickory nuts 



Peanuts 



Pecans 



Pignolias 



Pistachios 



Walnuts 



Almond paste 



Peanut butter 



Peanut candy 



Other foods for comparison- 

 Porterhouse steak. 



Who'emilk 



Cheddar cheese . . . 



Wheat flour 



Beans, dried 



Potatoes 



Price 



per 



pound 



Cents 

 20 

 20 



8 



5 



9 



7 

 16 

 25 

 20 

 20 

 40 

 20 

 25 



4 



10 



Cost of 



one 

 pound 

 protein 



Dollars 

 1.76 

 2.26 

 1.48 

 1.16 

 1.55 

 .32 



.'74 



.88 



2.60 



3.17 



.68 



2,42 



1.31 



'm 



.26 



.22 



Cost of 



1.000 



calories 



energy 



Cents 

 13.0 

 12.6 

 8.3 

 2.7 

 7.1 

 3.6 



8.4 



6.1 



16.0 



21.0 



7.1 



11 , 



22.5 

 12.0 

 7.5 

 1.8 

 3.1 

 6.4 



Amount for 10 cents 



Total 



weight 



of food 



material 



Pounds 



0.50 



.50 



1.25 



2.00 



1.11 



1.43 



.67 



.40 



.50 



.50 



.25 



.56 



.40 



,40 

 2.50 



.62 

 3.33 

 2.00 

 5.00 



Protein 



Pounds 

 0.06 

 04 

 07 

 08 

 06 

 31 

 04 

 14 

 11 

 04 

 03 

 15 

 04 



.07 

 .08 

 .17 

 .38 

 .45 

 .09 



Fat 



Pounds 

 0.14 

 .16 

 .06 

 .73 

 .28 

 .45 

 .23 

 .20 

 .27 

 .13 

 .06 

 .23 

 .07 



07 

 10 

 23 

 03 

 03 



Carbo- 

 hydrates 



Pounds 

 0.14 

 .02 

 .44 

 .29 

 .04 

 .20 

 .04 

 .03 

 .08 

 .03 

 .10 

 .09 



.2a 



.13 



.03 

 2.50 

 1.19 



.74 



Energy 



Calories 



767 



789 



1,196 



3,662 



1,404 



2,767 



1,003 



1,182 



1,124 



633 



475 



1,412 



845 



444 



815 



1,330 



5,495 



1,660 



The common nuts — though, with the ex- 

 ception of the peanut, they are more ex- 

 pensive sources of protein and energy 

 than meat and a number of the common 

 foods — may yet be considered reasonably 

 cheap sources of nutrients and energy, 

 and hence may be I'egarded as justifiable 

 additions to the diet on the score of econ- 

 omy. For the vegetarian or fruitarian, 

 who looks to nuts as the chief source 

 •of protein in the diet, the peanut must 

 be considered as much the most econ- 

 'Omical. As may be seen by a reference 

 to the table, 10 cents will purchase more 

 protein and energy when expended for 

 the flours and meals than for any of the 

 other foods, but it must be remembered 

 in this connection that these are the raw 

 materials requiring considerable prepara- 



tion before they are palatable. This is 

 not necessary with fruits and nuts, ex- 

 cept in the case of the peanut and chest- 

 nut, which are usually roasted before they 

 are considered palatable by most persons, 

 though there are those who prefer them 

 raw. When considering nuts, it is readi- 

 ly observed that 10 cents will buy about 

 the same amount of nut protein as of 

 animal protein, except in case of cheese 

 and skim milk. If spent for peanuts, it 

 will purchase more than twice the pro- 

 tein and six times the energy that could 

 be bought for the same expenditure for 

 porterhouse steak. 



It is of more than passing interest to 

 note that 10 cents' worth of peanuts will 

 contain about 4 ounces (120 grams) of 

 protein and 2,767 calories of energy, 



