THE FOOD VALUE OF VEGETABLES. 



23 



mating to half a ton in weight is required to produce the merest 

 pinch of vitamine. 



This particular member of the group is soluble in alcohol and 

 water, and is not destroyed by the temperature of boiling water. 



Similar substances are found in fresh fruit and vegetables, but 

 unfortunately some of them are broken up by boiling. A proof of 

 their value, though long in receiving correct interpretation, was 

 observed by the crews of sailing ships on far voyages. Long deprived 

 of fresh food, an outbreak of scurvy was of so common an occurrence 

 among them that lime juice became a fixed and recognized part 

 of the plenishing of the ship. We read that Sir James Ross, during 

 his Antarctic expedition, stopped at Kerguelen's Island for " South 

 Sea Cabbage/' and that his scurvy-ridden crew were much benefited 

 thereby. Hutchinson, referring to the writings of Letheby, reminds 

 us that we are told by the latter that Sir Gilbert Blane, in his work 

 on Diseases of the Fleet, alludes to the beneficial action of potatos 

 in scurvy. That such a virtue resided in certain plants was common 

 knowledge, as witness the name of " scurvy grass," an example of 

 which we have on our own coasts in Cochlearia officinalis. 



In this connexion, too, it is of interest to recall that Bywater 

 refers to the differing fattening qualities of two adjacent fields in 

 the Romney Marsh, where the vegetation is apparently identical. 

 The inference is naturally that the herbage of one contains vita- 

 mines in large quantity, while that of the other is deficient in that 

 respect. 



It is easily observed that when an animal is fed on vitamine- 

 containing food the gain in weight is out of all proportion to the 

 amount of food ingested. Thus it would seem that another attribute 

 a vitamine possesses is to cause an increase in the assimilation of 

 other foods taken by the animal. Therefore it follows that, 

 providing vitamines are present in the diet, a much less amount of 

 nourishment is required, and less strain is thrown on the organs of 

 digestion and assimilation. 



To summarize then : — 



Vitamines are substances present in many foods including fresh 



vegetables and fruit. 

 They control growth and nutrition to such an extent that they 



are indispensable. 

 Their presence in a diet economizes food. 



In treating of food values for our present purpose it is important 

 to deal with those of cooked foods, as we are fortunately not in the 

 unhappy case of that king of Babylon, who, as a punishment for 

 his crimes, was made to eat his vegetables raw. Now in the usual 

 plan of preparing vegetables for the table — namely by boiling — there 

 is a considerable loss of nourishment. This occurs both by reason 

 of the solvent action of boiling water and from the fact that many 

 vegetables absorb a quantity of water in process of cooking. As 



