Supplmmt to the " tropical AgrmtUurist:' [May l, l^OS. 
Banana Compote. — Pare thinly a lemon 
and squeeze the juice. Put both into a basin 
and leave for about an hour. Plnce a teacupful 
of cold water in an enamel saucepan, add to it a 
teccupful of sugar, and boil ; when boiling 
strain into it the lemon juice. Pare 4 or 5 
bananas, removing all fibre, and cut in half 
lengthwise, and then divide each half into three 
pieces, cook a few at a time in the syrup till 
traui^parent. When all are done, let the syrup get 
cool and then strain over the fruit. 
Mildew stains may easily he removed by 
wetting and soapiug the spot, covering it with 
powdered chalk, and then putting it in the sun to 
bleach. Damp it from time to time as it dries, 
and then wash it in the usual manner with soap 
and water. If necessary, repeat the process. 
Alum purifies water in a remarkable degree. 
Four gallons of wa'er may be purified by stirring 
into it a teasjioonful of powdered alum. Allow 
it to settle for a few hours, when all the impurities 
will be found to have sunk to the bottom of the 
vessel, leaving the water fresh and clear. 
Wash vessels which have contained milk in cold 
water first, and afterwards scour the m with hot 
water and soda. The use of cold water first 
insures greater cleanlii ess, for plunging at once 
into hot water is apt to set the milk and cnuee it 
to hang about the cans and pans to the detirment 
of the milk which is afterwards placed in it. 
Cold water is said to be efficacious in removing 
a tight stopper. The bottle must be thoroughly 
immersed in plenty of cold water and allowed to 
remain in the latter all night. •On removal it will 
be found that the stopper, after being carefully 
wiped all round, will come out without any 
difficulty. A small amount of vaseline rubbed on 
^t will prevent any recurrence of the trouble. 
To make liquid glue which will last for years 
put some pieces of glue into a bottle with some 
whi.-ky. Cork tightly, and set aside till the glue 
has dissolved. This should be ready for use 
without heating, but in very cold weather the 
bottle may be stood in hot water for a few 
minutes before using the glue. 
If you have not a night light, take an ordinary 
■ candle and put finely powdered salt round the 
wick up to the black part. A candle thus treated 
will burn very slowly, and give the dull light 
which is so often desirable in a sick room at 
night. 
As a c )ugh mixture for children the following 
recipe is unsurpassed :--Liquified honey, \ oz., 
lemon juice, 1 oz. Another mixture for strength- 
ening the voice, as well as for curing a tickling 
cough, is:— Glycerine, ^ oz.; fresh lemon juice, 
1 oz., whisky, one teaspoonful. A qiiurler of a 
teaspoonful taken every fifteen miuutea when 
the cough is troublesome will soon relieve it, 
The odour of onions, either on tlia hands or 
on pots and panf, is easily removed by washing 
with ground mustard mixed with a little wat&r. 
Linseed meal will answer the same purpose. 
Martua. 
PRINCIPLES OP NUTRITION AND NUTRITIVE 
VALUE OF FOOD. 
{Continued) 
It is unnecessary, for the purposes of the 
ordinary reader, to giva a description of the 
complex apparatus for ascertaining the functions 
and nutritive value of food, but it is sufficient to 
know that with such apparatus it is possible to 
learn what effect different conditions of nourish- 
ment will have on the human body. The 
methods and apparatus are very costly in time 
and money, but the results are proportionately 
more valuable tlian those from simplerexperiments. 
To summarise what has already been said : 
Food as purchased consists of an edible part (flesh 
of meat, yolk and white of egg, flour of wheat, etc.) 
and refuses (bones, sliells, bran, etc.). The edible 
X)ortion consists of water and nutrients (Protein, 
fats, carbohydrates and mineral matter). Protein 
(white of egg, curd of milk, lean of meat, gluten 
of wheat, etc.) goes to form tissue. Fats (fats 
of meat, butter, olive oil, etc.) are stored as fat. 
Carbohydrates (sugar, starch, etc.) are trans- 
formed into fat. All these three (Protein, fats, and 
carbohydrates) serve also as fuel to yield energy 
in the form of heat and muscular power. Lastly, 
mineral matter or ash (phosphate of lime, potash, 
etc.) takes part in the formation of bone, assists 
in digestion, etc. In view of the above functions, 
food may be defined as that which, taken into the 
body, builds tissue or yields energy. The most 
healtful food is that which is best fitted to the 
needs of the consumer. The cheapest food is that 
which yields the most nutriment at the least cost. 
The best food is that which is most healthful and 
cheapest. 
The value of food for nutriment depends mainly 
on its composition and digestibilitj'. Composition 
is determined by chemical analysis. In studying 
a table showing the composition of foods, one of 
the first things to be observed is the differences 
in the proportion of non-nutrients (refuse and 
water). Meat, fish, fruits, etc., as purchased, 
contain a good deal of refLi.se, which necessarily 
lessens the proportion of nutrients, while such 
refuse is usually abient in dairy products, cereal 
stuff and foods prepared from the latter (bread, 
cakes, etc.) In the edible portion the proportiou 
of water present effectii nutritive value. Water 
forms from 40 to 50 % of the ordinary kinds of 
meat, and is abundant in lean flesh, tending to 
decrease as fat increases and vice versa. In fresh 
fish wiiter is more abundiint than in meats. Fresh 
vegetables and fruit CTUtain as mucii as 80 and 
90 % or more, while dried seed and flour prepared 
from tliem contiiin roughly from 10 to 12 % only. 
Many cooked foods, of course, contain more water 
(udded during cooking) than the raw materials. 
Soups are often little more than coloured and 
flavoured water, and are hence of extremely low 
