Cocoanuts

the cocoanut is a product of the palm tree, and, while quite distinct from our nuts of the temperate climate, is a very valuable and abundant food, deserving more extended use. Cocoanut is about one-half fat, contains 6 per cent protein and 28 per cent carbohydrates. The milk of the cocoanut is an excellent article of food, and used by the natives in the tropics in many remedial and medicinal ways.

peanuts - value of pea-nuts and soy-beans peanuts, which are so widely used as food, are on the boundary line between nuts and legumes. They were classed as peas by some of the early botanists, and as nuts by others. The name indicates the compromise that was made between the two theories. Another legume, which is largely used in japan and china is the soy-bean. Both the peanut and the soy-bean are better balanced, and more nutritious than common beans and peas. They are similar in composition, and contain about equal quantities of protein and fat, some peanuts yielding as much as 48 or 50 per cent oil. Neither are palatable in their natural state, but both are very delicious when their starch content is converted into dextrin by roasting. The japanese have a method of preparing the soy-bean by a process of fermenting, which renders the proteid material very digestible. Soy-beans have not yet been introduced into this country, hence there will be little opportunity to use them, and they will, therefore, not be discussed here at length.

legumeslegumes are the seeds of a certain group of plants grown in pods. The term comes from a very ancient word, "Legere," meaning to gather. Beans and peas are the most familiar types of this group.