It is difficult to make a decided distinction between sweet and acid fruits. The best guide is in the amount of sugar required to make them palatable. Some species of cherry are distinctly sour, while others are sweet. The same is true of apples, peaches, plums, etc. Under _sweet_ or _bland_ fruits are pears, raspberries, grapes, bananas, blackberries, blueberries, melons, apricots, and some peaches, apples, and plums. The large majority of fruits do not contain sufficient sugar to make them valuable for nourishment. Their chief value is in their appetizing flavor, and in the acids, and salts. Dates, figs, prunes, and dried grapes (raisins) are exceptions. As will be noted by the following table, these fruits contain a large amount of carbohydrates in the form of sugar. The larger amount of protein in these sweet fruits is largely in the seeds and, as the seeds are not digested, they have no real food value to the individual. Figs and prunes are laxative,—probably the laxative effect of figs is due to the seeds, and of prunes to the salts and acids. However, prunes are free from tannic acid. TABLE III—FRUITS ————————————————+———————+———————+———————+————————+—————+—————+————— | | | Ether | Carbo- | |Cell-| | Water |Protein|Extract|hydrates| Ash |ulose|Acids Food Materials | Per | Per | Per | Per | Per | Per | Per | Cent | Cent | Cent | Cent | Cent| Cent| Cent ————————————————+———————+———————+———————+————————+—————+—————+————— Acid: | | | | | | | Apples | 82.50 | 0.40 | 0.5 | 12.5 | 0.4 | 2.7| 1.0 Apricots | 85.00 | 1.10 | 0.6 | 12.4 | 0.5 | 3.1| 1.0 Peaches | 88.80 | 0.50 | 0.2 | 5.8 | 0.6 | 3.4| 0.7 Plums | 78.40 | 1.00 | 0.2 | 14.8 | 0.5 | 4.3| 1.0 Cherries | 84.00 | 0.80 | 0.8 | 10.0 | 0.6 | 3.8| 1.0 Gooseberries | 86.00 | 0.40 | 0.8 | 8.9 | 0.5 | 2.7| 1.5 Currants | 85.20 | 0.40 | 0.8 | 7.9 | 0.5 | 4.6| 1.4 Strawberries | 89.10 | 1.00 | 0.5 | 6.3 | 0.7 | 2.2| 1.0 Whortleberries| 76.30 | 0.70 | 3.0 | 5.8 | 0.4 |12.2| 1.6 Cranberries | 86.50 | 0.50 | 0.7 | 3.9 | 0.2 | 6.2| 2.2 Oranges | 86.70 | 0.90 | 0.6 | 8.7 | 0.6 | 1.5| 1.8 Lemons | 89.30 | 1.00 | 0.9 | 8.3 | 0.5 | 1.5| 1.8 Pineapples | 89.30 | 0.04 | 0.3 | 9.7 | 0.3 | 1.5| 7.0 | | | | | | | Pears | 83.90 | 0.40 | 0.6 | 11.5 | 0.4 | 3.1| 0.1 Blackberries | 88.90 | 0.90 | 2.1 | 2.3 | 0.6 | 5.2| 1.6 Raspberries | 84.40 | 1.00 | 2.1 | 5.2 | 0.6 | 7.4| 1.4 Mulberries | 84.70 | 0.30 | 0.7 | 11.4 | 0.6 | 0.9| 1.8 Grapes | 79.00 | 1.00 | 1.0 | 15.5 | 0.5 | 2.5| 0.5 Watermelons | 92.90 | 0.30 | 0.1 | 6.5 | 0.2 | 1.0| 0.5