Apples

They are among the most perfect of fruits. People who have difficulty in digesting a sufficient amount of cereals should eat apples almost daily. If raw apples disagree, they can be made agreeable by combining them with fat meats or oil in. the form of a salad. Baked apples and apple sauce are also good, provided they are not spoiled with too much sugar. Some apples are fibrous and muscle-feeding; others are richer in phosphates and valuable minerals. For salads use tart apples.

Grapes

Grapes are a valuable fruit for the table if eaten in the right proportion with other foods which contain fat and protein. They are rich in sugar and tartaric acid. As a medicinal fruit they may be eaten in large quantities by themselves.

Nectarines

Like the pineapple, they belong to the luxurious fruits and are adapted for people with a large purse. They are rich in sugar and starch, with a small amount of cellulose.

Oranges, Grapefruit, Lemons And Lims

They all belong to the citric acid group, and are of all the fruits, the richest in valuable acids, which in the process of digestion are converted into salts, rendering the blood more alkaline. The latter three should be used in greater quantities in countries near the coast or in low and damp districts, especially during the rainy season. The outer skin is rich in volatile oils and is useful in the preparation of fruit-and-milk soups. The white rind is useful as a medicine, for patients who suffer from malaria. A small amount of it chewed while sipping a glass of fresh milk will greatly add to the digestibility of the milk and serve as a germicide to the liver. The juice of one-quarter of a lemon may be taken in. connection with the skin of one-half a lemon, in combination with a glass of milk. During fever, the skin should be carefully expectorated.

Fruit Jellies

If prepared from fruit juice and cane sugar only, they are powerful stimulants and have little food value, for the reason that they arouse the nerve cells to extreme activity and rapid oxidation. They furnish no food for the nerve cells, and the nutritious elements in the other food materials taken in combination with these jellies pass out of the body without being assimilated, or produce congestion and inflammatory conditions. Even natural stimulants, in the form of raw fruits, can become harmful if taken in excess, or in the wrong combinations, unsuitable to the individual requirements. If the glycogen-mak-ing function of the liver becomes overburdened, the result will be diabetes, neuralgia or starch-poison.

Compotes Or Stewed Fruits

They are more wholesome and economical than jams and jellies, which are prepared with large amounts of sugar.

They are best served with the meat dish or with some substantial pudding. If served with sponge cake at the end of a meal, the digestive juice becomes acid, and produces fermentation and mal-nutrition.