November, 1910.] 



405 



Edible Products. 



The best results from the dietetic use of 

 fruits come from eating those that are 

 fresh, healthy, and well matured. 



Fine fruits are the flowers of edible 

 commodities. They please the eye, 

 gratify the taste, and minister to our 

 health. If we appreciate them at their 

 worth, we should use them more freely 

 and our markets would be better sup- 

 plied with this wholesome, palatable 

 class of food products. 



The increasing interest manifested in 

 food reform, which has already resulted 

 in the more general use of a balanced 

 ration for the human stomach, should, 

 in view of high cost of living, consider 

 the dietetic value of nuts as well as 

 fruits. 



It is not unlikely that our present 

 dietaries will be so modified in the near 

 future as to include a larger use of these 

 two important classes of food products. 



The use of nuts, particularly, may well 

 be encouraged at this time, when meats 

 of all kinds are so high as to be almost 

 prohibitive, and a more purely vege- 

 table diet is demanded on the score 

 of economy. As is well-known a large 

 part of our vegetable foods are deficient 

 in fat, Nuts excel in fat. Chemical 

 analysis has shown that the kernels of 

 the butternut may contain as high as 

 60 per cent, of tat, the black walnut 50 

 per cent., and the American chestnvit 

 15 per cent. This proves that a compar- 

 atively small quantity of nut kernels 

 will supply the requisite amount of this 

 ingredient for a well balanced daily 

 ration. 



Nuts are also comparatively rich in 

 proteids. 



The Waste and Economic Value op 

 Nuts. 



In the following comparisons the term 

 nut is used in the commercial rather 

 than in the structural or botanical sense. 



The first table shows the number of 

 nuts in a pound f i>r the various kinds 

 examined. The smallest numbers are 

 represented by the black walnut, large 

 hickory nuts, Brazil nuts and foreign 

 chestnuts, while the largest numbers 

 are found with the peanut, filbert and 

 American chestnut. There is a marked 

 difference between different species of 

 varieties of hickory nuts. For example, 

 it takes nearly four times as many of 

 the shell-bark hickory nuts to weigh 

 a pound as it does of the large or " king " 

 hickory nuts. The table also shows the 

 percentage of kernel or edible portion 

 and the percentage of shell or waste. 



It will be seen that the largest per- 

 centage of kernel (87 per cent.) is found 

 iu the Spanish chestnut. The second 

 highest (75 per cent ) is given by the 

 American chestnut. This is closely 

 followed by the peanut, which contains 

 72 per cent, of kernel or edible portion. 



The lowest parcentage (20) is found in 

 the large hickory nut. The black walnut 

 and butter nut also stand very low in 

 percentage of kernel. Comparing the 

 Madeira nut (English walnut) with the 

 black walnut, another species of the 

 same genus, we observe that it has 

 nearly twice the amount of kernel. 



A comparison of the two varieties of 

 chestnuc well illustrate the influence 

 of cultivation and selection in the im- 

 provement or amelioration of our nut 

 fruits. The difference makes the ratio 

 of shell to kernel 1 to 3 iu one case, and 

 1 too in the other ; or iu other words, the 

 shell or waste of the Spanish chestnut 

 has been reduced one-half. It might be 

 inferred from the comparative size of 

 the two varieties as indicated by the 

 respective number it takes to make a 

 pound of each, that there should be a 

 still greater difference in the weights 

 of the kernel. Inspection shows, how- 

 ever, that the kernel of the larger chest- 

 nut is not compact and solid like that 

 of the small variety. 



It should be noted that the sample of 

 Brazil nut examined was poor, a con- 

 siderable portion of the nuts being bad, 

 which has the effect of reducing the 

 percentage of kernel. 



It was found during the course of the 

 investigation that with the most careful 

 cracking of some of the larger nuts, 

 there is a " milling " or cracking loss of 

 nearly two per cent, of the total weight 

 of kernels. 



Table No. 1. 



Percent- 

 Percent- age of 

 age of kernel or 

 Number in shell or edible 

 Kind of nut. one pound, waste. part. 

 Large black Walnut ... 20 82 18 

 Small black Walnut ... 56 797 20"3 

 English Walnut ... 64 58 42 



Butternut 41 79-4 20 6 



Large Hickory ... 54 80 20 



Shell-bark Hickory ... 179 68 32 



Spanish chestnut ... 37 12'5 87 5 



American chestnut ... 230 25 75 



Filbert 2 >'i 55 45 



Large pecan .. ... 100 51 49 



Small pecan 216 6 '8 38"2 



Brazil nut 48 62-3 377 



Almond .. ... 83 7a - 5 27 - o 



Peanut 256 26.5 73-6 



Table No. 2 shows the financial side of 

 the question. The small boy with a 

 burning nickel in his pocket, or any one 

 with an unsatisfied appetite for nuts, 

 will find this table of great value. If we 

 throw individual taste and consider the 



