The Elbert County tribune., 1905-02-23

Ahe wafer we buy as Scslu fo0d.
What we buy as solid food is not solid.
1t is partly water; some of the common
est foods are almost entirely composed
OF water.
Bought as food, water is tolerably
expensive luxury. In several instances
it costs something like two dollars and
fifty cents glass.
Let us begin with breakfast.
Look at.that loaf of bread. To all ap-
pearance it is solid enough. But it is
not When it came into the hands Of the
baker as wheat -four it contained water
only to the extent of II per cent. In
working up the materials into dough, by
kneading and other manipulation, and
IN baking, great change takes place,
and the quantity OF water has more than
doubled. The wheat. flour loaf contains
nearly 40 per cent. of water. Curiously
enough, Its value as a food is increased
thereby. The percentage OF water in the
crust is about half that in the soft inside.
Cured pork does not contain large
proportion of water; in fact, wherever
there is good deal OF fatty matter, there
Is also a scarcity of moisture. SO the
man who enjoys his slice of breakfast
bacon may comfort himself with the re-
Election that he is getting fairly solid
value for his money, because bacon con
tains only y per cent. of water.
Fresh eggs, on the other hand, are
composed OF no less than 90 per cent. OF
water.
The best dairy made butter, no matter
how carefully prepared, contains com
paratively regal percentage OF water.
Out of 1900 samples of butter examined
by well-known authorities, small num-
Der contained over 16 per cont Of water;
the larger number contained between IL
and l3 per cent. Carelessly manufact-
ured or adulterated butter often con
tains much more water than is permiss-
able by law, and the breakfast table may
include a supply OF butter containing as
much as 20 per cent. of water.
1t is only to be expected that milk, ow-
ing to its origin, should vary consdcra-
bly, in its composition. Much depends on
the health and surroundings of the ami
NAL yielding it.
1t is interesting to know that morning
milk, as it comes from the COW, is by no
means as nourishing as the evening sup
ply; there is more water in the former.
The daily quart of milk even in its purest
state contains an average of 81 g per cent.
OF water.
The choicest fish contain the largest
percentage Of water. Thus, turbot and
sole are credited with 10 per cent; sal
mon 10 per cent; while the commoner
inhabitants of the deep blue sea are con
tent with from 40 to GO per cent, us in
the case of the homely herring.
"As cool as a cucumber is house
hold term. The GOODNESS is easily ex-
planned. Cucumbers are almost entirely
composed OF water-that is, % per cent,
or over IA per cent. more than is con
tanned in milk, which is Itself liquid
Lettuce must not be forgotten. Here is
a further instance of how little substance
may be in an apparent solid, for the cab
bage lettuce holds 92 per cent. of wpter-
1t will be seen that most OF the good
things of life are largely composed Of
water: but it is better for us that it is So
Nature knows more about our digestive
powers than we know ourselves, and she
has designed her products fish, flesh,
fowl, and fruit-with so cunning hand
that the water contained in each is es-
sential.
Food containing very little water in its
composition is not, as rule, good to eat
until suitable process of cooking has
rendered it safe by adding further sup
ply of water to it, and boiling, as is well
known, is the process that renders our
food most wholesome and easy of di-
gestion.-Pearson' Magazine.