Dried peas are used in this country mostly in purées. _Beans._ Baked navy beans may well be substituted on a menu for meat, containing, as they do, 22.5 per cent. of protein. It is needless to state that beans and lean meat or eggs should not be served at the same meal. Beans have the advantage of being cheaper than meat, yet, as stated above, the protein in the legumes is less easily digested than the protein of meat or eggs. They must be thoroughly cooked and thoroughly masticated. There is but a small percentage of fat in dried beans; for this reason they are usually baked with a piece of pork. They make a very complete, perhaps the most complete food, containing nutrient elements in about the proper proportions. A bean biscuit is used for the sustenance of soldiers on a march; it gives a complete food in condensed form. In baking dried beans or peas, soft or distilled water should be used, as the lime of hard water makes the shell almost indigestible. Parboiling the beans for fifteen minutes in two quarts of water with a quarter of a teaspoon of baking soda softens the shell, making them easier to digest. _String Beans._ The string bean contains very little nutrition, as shown by Table VIII. The pod and the bean, at this unripe stage, contain nearly ninety per cent. water. Their chief value as a food consists in their appetizing quality to those who are fond of them, thus stimulating the flow of gastric juice. Like all green vegetables they stimulate the action of the kidneys. All green vegetables are particularly valuable to those who drink little water. The dried _Lima_ bean, used during the winter, may be boiled or baked. If old, they are practically indigestible. _Kidney Beans_ contain much water but are more nutritious than the string bean. _Soy Bean._ In China and Japan this bean is used extensively. Being rich in protein, used with rice it makes a well-balanced diet. The soy bean is made into various preparations, one of the most important being _shoyo_, which has been introduced into other countries. To make it, the soy bean is cooked and mixed with roasted wheat flour and salt; into this is put a special ferment. It is then allowed to stand for an extended time in casks. The result is a thick, brown liquid with a pungent, agreeable taste. It is very nourishing. A kind of cheese is also made by boiling the soy bean for several hours, wrapping the hot mass in bundles of straw, and putting it in a tightly closed cellar for twenty-four hours. _Lentils_ are not commonly used in this country, but they were one of the earliest vegetables to be cultivated in Asia and the Mediterranean countries. They are usually imported and may be obtained in the markets. They are used like dried peas and are fully as nourishing, but the flavor of the lentil is pronounced and they are not so agreeable to the average person as peas or beans. * * * * * [Sidenote: Nuts]