Remembering that man does not live by fuel alone, we may find ample reasons for spending some of our food money upon things which at first thought seem to give an inadequate return.  There is an old adage, “An apple a day keeps the doctor away,” which if true means that the apple is a real economy, a kind of health insurance, for an apple costs seldom over five cents—­often only one—­and a doctor’s visit may easily cost a hundred times as much.  There is a certain amount of truth in the saying, though the apple does not have a monopoly of the supposed virtue.  It is more accurate, if less poetic, to say that an assortment of fruits and vegetables helps to keep us in good health.  Before the days of modern “cold pack” canning, mothers used to assemble their little home groups in the spring and, in spite of sundry hidings under tables on the part of reluctant Johnnies and Susies, dutifully portion out herb tea or sulphur in molasses.  Spring cleaning could never stop short of “cleansing the blood!” And after a monotonous winter of salt pork and fried potatoes no doubt heroic measures were necessary to make up for an ill-chosen diet.  Nowadays we recognize no such seasonal need.  We carry our surplus of fruits and vegetables over from summer to winter and profit not only in the greater daily pleasure of our tables but in clearer skins, brighter eyes, and less “spring fever.”

How do fruits and vegetables help to keep us well?  In the first place, by their wholesome effect upon the bowels.  As a rule we associate regular daily movements with health, but do not always recognize the part which diet plays in securing them.  If we eat little besides meat and potatoes, bread, butter, and cake or pie, we are very likely to have constipation.  This is particularly true for those who work indoors or sit much of the time.  Now, fruits and vegetables have several properties which help to make them laxative.  Many have considerable woody fiber.  In celery and asparagus we find it in actual “strings”; in cabbage, spinach, lettuce, and other stem or leaf vegetables it may not be so noticeable, but it is certainly present and we should realize that it is useful.  The skins of fruit are of this nature and may often be eaten, as in case of prunes, figs, apples, dried peaches and apricots.  The outer coats of grains, which serve the same purpose, are frequently removed by milling, but similar coats of peas and beans are not so removed except in the case of dried split peas.  In the juices of fruits and vegetables we find a variety of laxative substances.  This explains why apple juice (sweet cider), orange juice or diluted lemon juice may be a very desirable morning drink.  The effect is partly due to the acid but not wholly.  Juices which are not acid to the taste, as those of prunes, figs, onions, have laxative properties.  So from a great variety of fruits and vegetables, especially those which are fibrous or acid or both, we may obtain the substitute for “pills” in wholesome foods which are generally cheaper than drugs.