ly a large amount of
nutrients, but the way in which it is prepared, by combination with
butter, bread crumbs, and eggs, makes it a nutritious and palatable
dish, the food value being derived mainly from the materials with which
it is combined, the eggplant giving the flavor and palatability.

51. Squash and Pumpkin.--Squash has much the same general composition
and food value as beets and carrots, although it belongs to a different
family. Pumpkins contain less dry matter than squash. The dry matter of
both is composed largely of starch and sugar and, like many other of the
vegetables, they are often combined with food materials containing a
large amount of nutrients, as in pumpkin and squash pies, where the food
value is derived mainly from the milk, sugar, eggs, flour, and butter or
other shortening used.

52. Celery.--The dry matter of celery is comparatively rich in
nitrogenous material, although the amount is small, and the larger
proportion is in non-proteid form. When grown on rich soil, celery may
contain an appreciable quantity of nitrates and nitrites, which have not
been converted into amids and proteids. The supposed medicinal value is
probably due to the nitrites which are generally present. Celery is
valuable from a dietetic rather than a nutritive point of view.

53. Sanitary Condition of Vegetables.--The conditions under which
vegetables are grown have much to do with their value, particularly from
a sanitary point of view. Uncooked vegetables often cause the spread of
diseases, particularly those, as cholera and typhoid, affecting the
digestive tract. Particles of dirt containing the disease-producing
organisms adhere to the uncooked vegetable and find their way into the
digestive tract, where the bacteria undergo incubation. When sewage has
been used for fertilizing the land, as in sewage irrigation, the
vegetables are unsound from a sanitary point of view. Such vegetables
should be thoroughly cleaned and also well cooked, in order to render
them sterile. Vegetables to be eaten in the raw state should be dipped
momentarily into boiling water, to destroy the activity of the germs
present upon the surface. They may then be immediately immersed in
ice-cold water, to preserve the crispness.

54. Miscellaneous Compounds in Vegetables.--In addition to the general
nutrients which have been discussed, many of the vegetables contain some
tannin, glucosides, and essential oils; and occasionally those grown