What Harm Do They Do, Doctor?

"Well, if they are cooked until they are soft, cabbage is likely to be swallowed in large stringy lumps as the fibers or strings are not easily dissolved, and it is very likely to remain in the stomach for a longtime. If chopped fine and boiled without fat it is sometimes useful. People cook cabbage with fat meat and then eat it strings and all and I suppose that is the reason why so many people can taste the cabbage for half a day or a day after eating it."

Is There Any Way Of Overcoming This Difficulty, Doctor ?

"The only way it can be overcome is by grinding it up fine. It makes very little difference whether it be raw or cooked; if raw, it is usually tough and not likely to be re-duced to a very fine powder and if cooked, it is likely to be swallowed strings and all. The only thing that can be especially said in favor of cabbage is that it is an antiscorbutic, which makes it especially useful in some classes of diseases. It contains considerable mineral matter, a large part of which is sulphur and if there is any malfermentation, the sulphur is the cause of the unpleasant odorous gases that are produced."

What About Sour Kraut, Doctor?

"Well, sour kraut is the most perfect representation of indigestible food that is known."

What Do You Mean By That?

"Well, as explained under the article on digestion, the digestibility of any food depends first upon its solubleness (how easily its particles can be separated) and second, upon how quickly it will ferment. Now, sour kraut is a tough, fibrous substance, and is extremely difficult to dissolve,while the starch it contains is already in a ferment."

Then According To This, Doctor, Sour Kraut Is Not A Desirable Food?

"No, it is difficult to see where any conditions would arise that would require sour krout, and the best that could be said of it, is that it is an enemy of the human family, although persons doing hard physical labor and having strong digestion might eat some of it without injury.

"Cauliflower is of close kin to cabbage only more palatable, less stringy and altogether a more desirable food; when boiled, it is fairly digestible and people in good health may eat it, but those having a tendency to dyspepsia should not 'call for this flower.' As to Seakale well bleached, is about equal to cauliflower."

"The beet is a popular American vegetable. There are two varieties, the one known as ordinary beets and the other the sugar beet. The sugar beets have never been extensively cultivated in this country, except for a short period in Nebraska. In Europe the sugar beet is the principal source from which sugar is derived - a great deal of which is exported to this country. The ordinary beet contains about 90 or 95 per cent of water, a little sugar and a small amount of other matter, not important enough to take much account of as a food. It is therefore almost amusing to read the statement made by a scholarly man 'that young tender beets are very nourishing.' If by nourishing is meant that a half peck or peck of them would furnish enough sustenance to last a person for a day they may be considered nourishing."

If There Is So Little Nourishment In Them What Value Have They As Food?

"A great many people are fond of beets. They make a very pleasant salad with vinegar and oil, and in that way may be used to a limited extent as a relish, but generally speaking, they have but little value as food and they have no other use worth mentioning except to fill the stomach when rich food is not desired.

"Carrots are classed with succulent roots. They contain between 85 and 90 per cent of water, 6 or 7 per cent of sugar a little nitrogen and a great deal of waste, which we ordinarily call stringy fiber. About the same can be said of the carrot as of cabbage. When they are cooked, one is likely to eat them strings and all. There is no objection particularly to them, if sufficient care be taken to guard against swallowing too much of the stringy fiber. The effect of this has already been explained."

What Can You Say Of Parsnips?

"The parsnip contains over 90 per cent of water, about 2 or 3 per cent of sugar and an equal quantity of starch. It has a rich flavor and a large amount of vegetable fiber. It is used extensively for stock food, but some people like the flavor very much and when young and proper precautions are taken to guard against eating the strings it contains, there are no particular objections to it."

Then I Suppose You Would Consider It A Wholesome Food?

"Only for people who are in good health and who do hard labor. For persons of weak digestion it is likely to cause flatulence."

I Suppose You Like The Turnip Because It Has A "Nip" At The End?

"It sounds rather paradoxical to say that a 'turnup' should be turned down, although turnips are slightly more nutritious than carrots and parsnips. They contain about 85 per cent water, 3 per cent of nitrogen, 8 per cent of starch, and some mineral matter, nearly 2 per cent of woody fiber."

Have They Any Uses For Food?

"Like parsnips and carrots, they might be useful for people who live largely on meat and need some coarse substance. It would be far better though, if we left turnips for cattle and depended more upon the cereals to supply the waste matter."

What Can You Say Of Kohl-Rabi?

"It is an astringent vegetable and has no particular value as food.

Salsify, oyster plant, is a vegetable, which some people prize. It is not extensively used but has some food value and is moderately digestible. Artichokes is a tuber similar to that of the carrot. It is usually known as Jerusalem artichoke. It is said to be a much inferior in quality to many other tubers. It is raised principally as a food for hogs, although it is occasionally used as a food for man."