per cent. by volume of absolute alcohol and having a specific gravity of 0.834; or by the U. S. Pharmacopoeia alcohol is defined as a spirit containing 94.9 per cent. of absolute alcohol by volume and having a specific gravity of 0.816 at 60° F. "100° Proof" or simply "Proof spirit," as the term is used in the United States by the Internal Revenue Service, must contain 50 per cent. by volume of absolute alcohol, having a specific gravity of 0.7939 at 60° F. This proof spirit has a specific gravity of 0.9335 at 60° F. Liquors having a greater alcoholic strength are "above proof" and those less, "below proof." On this basis absolute alcohol is 200 degrees proof, and under the present revenue law one gallon of absolute alcohol pays the same tax as two gallons of proof spirit.

Whiskey, if genuine, is made from the fermentation and distillations of the wort of corn (maize) rye, and barley. Scotch and Irish whiskeys are made from malted barley-mixed with other grains. The flavor of Scotch whiskey is due to the use of malt dried over a peat fire. Kentucky Bourbon whiskey is made by the use of partially malted corn and rye, while the Monongahela whiskey of western Pennsylvania is made by the use of rye with 10 per cent. malt. Irish "poteen" whiskey has a similar flavor to the latter, obtained by the addition of one or two drops of creosote per gallon of the liquor. Gin is made by distilling grain spirits with juniper berries.

Liqueurs and Cordials are very popular abroad. They are simply alcohol, sweetened, and flavored with herbs, essences and extracts, and often brilliantly colored. Some of the best known are; "Absinth," which was introduced into the French army during the Algerian war, 1844-7, and on the return of the army became very popular in France. It is prepared from spirit flavored with wormwood, angelica root, calamus and other aromatics, and is colored green. The effects of absinth drinking are believed to be much worse, than those produced by excessive use of other alcoholic beverages, on account of the nervous symptoms induced. "Benedictine," which was made as early as 1510 by the Benedictine monks, is strong alcohol flavored with various

essential oils and herbs; "Chartreuse" is made at a Carthusian Abbey near Florence. The spirit is distilled with angelica, hyssop, nutmeg, peppermint, etc.; "Curaçoa" is made chiefly in Holland by distilling spirit with the dried peel of the Curaçao (Dutch West Indies) bitter oranges; genuine "Maraschino" is made from the small, sour cherries grown in Dalmatia. These are crushed with the pits, mixed with honey, fermented and distilled; "Vermouth," is made in France and Italy from white wine, which is "fortified" and flavored with various extracts, and exposed for sometime in casks to the direct rays of the sun.

The Maguey plant or Agave of Mexico, a species of cactus related to the Century plant, is the source of a beverage known as pulque which may be called the popular Mexican beverage. The plant grows abundantly on the sandy, arid plains at an elevation of 7000 feet. After the plant has grown for several years a bud appears in the center surrounded by the thorny leaves. At just the right time in its development, the bud is cut out and in the cavity thus produced a sweet juice daily accumulates. This is collected by the natives by sucking it out and transporting it in

goatskin receptacles (Fig. 28) to the fermentation room. Here the sugar of the juice ferments and the pulque, answering to our cider, results. It is related that not less than 150,000 gallons of this beverage are sold daily in the city of Mexico alone. Another beverage, called Mescal or Tequila, is made by the distillation of the fermented juice.

Chica is the name of a beverage made by the Indians of Peru, and other South American countries, from the fermentation of corn (maize). A bunch of wheat or barley or a wreath of flowers tied to a pole in front of a hut indicates that this beverage is for sale within. They also make a very strong white rum called aguardiente" by the distillation of fermented cane juice.1

Physiological Action of Alcohol

Since from the very earliest times alcoholic beverages have been used to excess, the physiological, medicinal and nutritive effects of alcohol have been very widely studied. The use of alcohol as a stimulant, as in medicine, it is not our province to discuss. For the reason that it is assumed to have nutritive qualities, its value in foods, or as a substitute for them, is of importance. Some beverages, such as wine and beer, have a slight food value due to the sugar, or malted starch product, which they contain, but the distilled liquors have no such value.

In some of the work carried on in the respiration calorimeter with a view of ascertaining whether alcohol acts as a food2 a certain quantity of alcohol was given as a substitute for a calorimetrically equivalent quantity of sugar and starch. It was shown that the quantity of heat produced was identical, whether the subject used alcohol or its equivalent in sugar or starch.

The influence of alcohol on work was also studied by converting the work performed into heat, and the amount of heat was the same, whether alcohol was substituted or not. Other experi1 Nat. Geog. Mag., Vol. 24, p. 568.

U. S. Dept. Agric. Ex. Sta. Bull. No. 69.

ments showed that the body tissues were slightly more used up with alcohol than with sugar.1

Although alcohol can, in some respects, be called a food, yet it is not a food of any practical importance, for it can merely replace a certain amount of fat, and perhaps of carbohydrates in the body, while its secondary effect on the nervous and vascular systems counteracts almost wholly the benefits derived from the production of heat and energy by its oxidation.

1 Hutchinson, Food and Dietetics.

CHAPTER VI

ROOTS, TUBERS AND VEGETABLES

Next in importance to the cereals as a source of carbohydrates in our food, stand the vegetables. This term is often used to cover the large class of foods not cereals, that contain considerable starch and occasionally a little sugar. Here are included those very important plants which store starch for the nourishment of the growing shoot in their roots, tubers or underground stems; also those having young stalks that are used as food, and finally the leaves which, served either raw, or cooked add variety to the

menu.

Wherever on the surface of the globe edible roots, tubers and cereals can be cultivated, there man has settled and improved the land. More arid or frigid sections are frequented by wild animals, and man is still obliged to live by fishing and hunting. Both North and South America afforded a good climate for the growth of the potato, the yam and the cassava, and the ease with which these starchy foods could be cultivated, exerted no doubt a considerable influence on the rapid settlement of these lands by European immigrants.

Composition

Vegetables in a fresh state contain from 70 to 95 per cent. of water, so there is not a very large margin for nutrients. Dehydrated vegetables have been recently introduced into the market, as they have the advantage over fresh vegetables in keeping qualities, a reduction of 90 per cent. in weight, and 50 per cent. in bulk. Over 40,000 tons were shipped to the troops overseas in 1917-19. The loss in palatability and antiscorbutic power in dried vegetables, can largely be overcome by improved methods of