=Canned Food (Tomatoes).=--In the course of canning, as in dehydrating, most vegetables and fruits lose their antiscorbutic properties. A general denunciation, however, of all canned foods is incorrect, as there are exceptions to this rule. It has been shown by Hess and Unger that canned tomatoes possess a high degree of antiscorbutic power (Fig. 13), and it is probable that most of the acid fruits and vegetables are able to withstand the canning process. It was found, in an experiment embracing many series of guinea-pigs, that 4 c.c. daily of strained, canned tomato are sufficient to afford protection, even when a lot was used which had been prepared a year previously. This is indeed remarkable, considering that the food undergoes a two-fold heating in the course of canning, during one of which ("processing") the temperature is raised to fully 230° F. Tomatoes have another advantage over most other vegetables in that they are richly endowed with the water-soluble vitamine, as shown by our tests on pigeons suffering from polyneuritis, and by the experiments on rats of Osborne and Mendel, who found tomatoes far superior in this respect to turnips, onions, beetroots or beans. They are also rich in the fat-soluble vitamine. In view of the availability of canned tomatoes and their excellent keeping quality they are well suited to an extended use as an antiscorbutic. In the subsequent chapter we shall discuss their employment in infant feeding and in the army ration. =Germinated Cereals and Pulses.=--In 1912 Fuerst reported that although the resting seed--the cereal grain, the pea, bean and lentil--are poor in antiscorbutic vitamine, they develop this principle as soon as they germinate. They possess, in other words, latent antiscorbutic properties, and are potentially antiscorbutic. This observation is not only of scientific interest but of practical value, as these pulses are well suited for transport and do not readily deteriorate. For this reason, Chick and her co-workers at the Lister Institute, who were searching for an antiscorbutic foodstuff for the army, directed their attention to the utilization of the pulses. In the course of a thorough investigation (1919) they found that although it required 30 to 40 g. daily of dry green peas to prevent scurvy in the guinea-pig, a consumption of 10 g. of the germinated peas afforded satisfactory protection.[45] The soaked seeds have an antiscorbutic value comparable to many of the fresh vegetables; by no means as great as cabbage, but somewhat greater than that of carrots. As the result of cooking, their potency was found to be reduced about 75 per cent. We shall have occasion to refer to this antiscorbutic food in the chapter on treatment in connection with the rationing of armies.