~"Water Soluble C."~--The third member of the vitamine family is known for its antiscorbutic property; that is, it is the best known cure and preventive of scurvy. It likewise exerts a certain amount of influence upon the growth of the animal and must be present in the diet, in order that the health and well-being of the individual may be safeguarded. The "C" vitamine, like the "B" vitamine, is soluble in water, and is present to an appreciable extent in the fresh juices of the fruits and vegetables. Some are richer in this respect than others (orange and tomato juice), while the cereals, grains, seed of plants, sugars, oils, and meats are singularly deficient. Milk (whole) does not contain a great amount of the "C" vitamine, and this amount is still further reduced under certain methods of preparation. Milk powders, made either from the whole or the skimmed milk, are found to contain only very small amounts of this essential substance. Condensed milk and cream are supposed to be free of "C," and the same is true of eggs. ~Effect of Heat on "C" Vitamine.~--All authorities agree that the "C" vitamine is much more sensitive to heat than the other two; and for this reason much of the value obtained from this vitamine in uncooked material may be lost when the food containing it is subjected to long-continued heat. Hess claims that the temperature used for pasteurizing milk for some time, is more destructive to this vitamine than boiling water temperature continued for a few minutes only.[14] There is need for care in formulating the diet for children to see that they are given fresh fruit every day; or when that is not possible, to see that they are at least given tomato juice. This substance is rich in the antiscorbutic vitamine, and according to experiments made by Sherman, LeMer and Campbell, loses fifty per cent. of its antiscorbutic power when boiled one hour. Dr. Delf at the Lister Institute experimented with raw and cooked cabbage, and found that when this material was cooked for one hour at temperatures ranging from 80 deg. to 90 deg. C the loss in antiscorbutic power amounted to 90% in the cooked leaves over the raw material. Dr. Delf also concluded from her experiments that it was advisable to add neither acid nor alkali in the cooking of vegetables if these substances were to give their maximum value of vitamines. From the foregoing description of these vitamine factors, it is readily seen why so many dietaries are deficient in these essential substances. The limited sources from which to obtain the "A" vitamine; the sensitiveness of the "B" vitamine to the action of alkalies; the sensitiveness of the "C" vitamine to heat, alkali and acid, moreover the limitation of its presence chiefly to the fresh fruits and plant juices,--all point to the need of special care in the selection of the food materials and of the manner in which these materials are prepared for consumption. SUMMARY