USES OF THE TERMS FRUIT , SEEDS , ETC. 245 
during the late war, the hungry cried for bread more than 
for any other article of food. A diet consisting of bread 
and nuts furnishes all the elements of food. 
Modern methods of grinding the cereals detract from their 
healthfulness as food because, in the refining process, all the 
coarser parts are removed, some of which contain substances, 
vitamines, essential to stimulating digestion. 
Not only are the cereals the most important article of 
food, but they are the basis of a great part of the world’s 
work. The raising of cereals, their preparation for food, and 
their distribution give employment to a greater number of 
persons than any other industry. Much more attention is 
now given to agricultural education than formerly, because 
its importance as an industry is better appreciated. Be¬ 
sides supplying man with food directly, many cereals are 
used to feed the animals which 'he raises for the meat, 
milk, butter, cheese, and eggs which they produce. Man’s 
beasts of burden live largely upon cereals too. 
The articles of food commonly known as fruits, — apples, 
oranges, berries, bananas, and others, — are valuable, their 
chief use being to supply variety to the diet. The fruits 
obtained from the vegetable garden,—tomatoes, cucumbers, 
squashes, egg-plant, melons, and others, — furnish some 
foodstuffs. Their main value, however, is to supply the 
bulk so necessary to the proper working of the organs of 
digestion. Incidentally, they add variety, and serve to 
make other food more appetizing. 
216. Uses of the Terms Fruit, Seeds, etc. —It will l?e evi¬ 
dent by this time, that the words fruit, seeds, and nuts have 
a different meaning in botany from their ordinary use. The 
term “ seed corn ” and “ seed wheat ” used by farmers is 
correct in the sense that it indicates the corn or the wheat 
which is planted or sowed to produce a new crop. The so- 
called Brazil nut of commerce is in reality a seed. The fig 
is a “ fruit ” composed of a thickened and hollow receptacle, 
