Most of the sugar we take into the body we really eat in the form of starch, but the saliva in the mouth turns the starch into sugar. The secretions of the liver do this also. Rice is a starchy food. It contains a great deal of starch, and before we eat it, it should be well cooked, so that it is soft enough to be acted upon by the saliva and turned into sugar; otherwise, the liver has all this work to do. Corn, potatoes, meal, bread, are all starchy foods, and we get with them nearly all of the mineral substances needed; but to most of our food we need to add a little salt. Bananas and other fruits, when they are ripe, all have sugar, and in this country people are fortunate in having the sugar cane to eat. If one does not eat too much of this, it is pleasant and wholesome, and it is very good for the teeth; it makes them white and keeps them healthy. Besides what he takes in with his solid food, a man should drink three pints of water a day. If he drinks tea or coffee he will get some water with these, and so will not need so much, but three pints of liquid are needed daily to keep the body well. People in this country drink also the sap of the cocoanut tree and the water contained in the cocoanut itself. These are both good and wholesome, when fresh. But if they are not fresh, they can do much harm. Why this is we shall see in another chapter. People who live in the tropics need less fat than those in colder countries. Away in the frozen north the Esquimaux eat great quantities of fat meat and oil, and even tallow, from which candles are made. They need much fat to keep them warm. In the tropics, on the other hand, people should eat but little fat. Lean meat is good, especially beef, but pork raised here is very unwholesome. The pigs themselves eat all manner of unclean things. They are the natural scavengers of the country, and the food which they eat makes their flesh unfit for us. The flesh of the carabao is not so good as beef. It gives really very little nourishment, and is tough and dry. The mutton which is grown in these islands is not so good as it might be if more pains were taken. Sheep ought to be shorn twice a year, not only for the value of the wool, but because it adds to the comfort of the sheep and makes the flesh better. Dry and salt meats are of little value here, and they spoil quickly. The fish of the Philippine Islands are rich in albumen, which the body needs. They should always be fresh, as we have seen, and should always be eaten hot. Even cooked fish, after it has grown cold, is not good for food. It is likely to produce skin diseases and certain kinds of poisoning. Many of the shellfish cause this disease also, particularly the crabs of these islands. In fact, shellfish should all be used sparingly, as they are not easy to digest and are often the cause of diarrhœa and dysentery.