The daily Alaskan., 1916-02-29
THE BJ8aE BEAN.
Also It's StepSiSter, the Pea, of
 the Same Family.
THE LEGUMES ARE pEDIGREED

Authoritative Discussion About One of
 Our cOmmouest Vegetables and One
 of the Most Nourishing-They Should
 Be Combined With Fats and Other
 Vegetables.
 rPrepared by the New York State College
 of Horticulture. Cornell uniycrsIty.l
 Beams and Othcr plants Of the lcgume family are of immense importance be cause of their ability to furnish nitro gen to the soil, tO animals and 10 hu. man beings Certain micro-organlsms living in the roots Of rightly cultivated Iegumes tuke up nitrogen from the air and furnish it lo the plant body The plant is then either plowed under or gathered for food If It is plowed un der the nitrogen Increases the fertility of the soil. If 1t is used as a forage crop or a human food the nitrogen fur, uishes material for building tissue.
 The leguues that are most commonly used for human food are the bean, the pea. the lentil and the peanut. These foods deserve an important place in the dietary because they furnish the body with material for the develop ment and repair of tissues, they help to keep the body in good running or der. and, generally speaking, they are cheaper than other protein foods. The extent to which the nutrients of the legumes may be used by the body as well as the ease with which they may be digested Is influenced by the method Of cooking them.
 Beans and peas have been used as human food since early times. Accord, ing to historical records, beans were cultivated by the Egyptians, the Greeks and the Romans. Peas do not seem to have been known to the Greeks and the Romans. They were introduced into Europe in the middle ages, but even in the time Of Queen Elizabeth the English obtained them only from Holland and considered them "a dainty dish for ladies, they came so far and cost so dear" It is said that before 1900 A. D. beans were cultivated on this continent as far north as the St, Lawrence river. It is evident that both beans and peas have been cultivated by the Indians of North and South America at least since the time of the early voyages of the white men to this continent Of local interest Is the fact that in the United States beans were first grown commercially in Orleans county, N T., in lS30,
 The percentage composition of the Iegumes is influenced by the form in which they are used. Thus the forms in most common use are Q) in the pod, such as string beans; 70 shelled, such as green peas and green lima beans; CS) sheIled and dried, such as navy beans, kidney beans, lima beans, peas and lentils. In a given weight of these three forms there is the least amount of water in those that are dried; ConSe- quently the percentage of protein and other nutrients Is higher than In the case of fresh legumes. The added amount of carbohydrate contained in the pods also tends to decrease the per, centage of protein in the fresh uu. shelled legume, such as the string bean This concentration of nutrients Is shown in the dried bean, for example. which contains 22.5 per cent protein in contrast to 2.3 per cent contained by the fresh string bean.
 Fat Is often combined with the leg tunes In such dishes as baked beans and pork and split peas and bacon. This gives d dish in which protein, fat and carbohydrates are well represent ed. Since, as is often mentioned. fat tends to retard the digestion of protein in the stomach, a meal in which the two are combined will tend to postpone the feeling of hunger and consequently is especially good when one wishes food that will stand by" him. as when there Is strenuous outdoor work 10 be done. Also fat. as well as vegetables of pronounced flavor. such as onions and tomatoes, improves the flavor of the dried legumes, which are fat
 He Was Sarcastic.