ly eaten raw, most
commonly being served as a salad in combination with oil and vinegar, or
lemon juice. That the leaves possess, when treated in this way, a very
palatable taste all will perhaps agree, but they cannot be said to be of
any nutritive value, nor are the acids just referred to conducive to
their digestibility.

On account of their somewhat pungent taste, watercresses are used in many
parts of the world as ingredients of salads, but they are, of all
vegetables, the ones that are most liable to transmit disease to man, for
in addition to the possibility of contracting in this way typhoid fever,
dysentery, cholera, and the ordinary intestinal worms, the human being is
apt to receive with them the eggs of the flukes, and the spores of the
amoebae that produce chronic tropical dysentery. As they are probably
never grown under such conditions as to preclude the possibility of this
danger, it would be the part of wisdom to absolutely refrain from their
use.

_Onions, Leeks, Shallots, and Garlic._--Vegetables of this group are
eaten either raw or cooked, and of all those consumed in the former state
are least liable to transmit disease, owing to the fact that they are
nearly always thoroughly peeled before being eaten. They have the
advantage, furthermore, that they may be preserved for long periods of
time in such a way as to be fit for food, and when properly cooked have a
delicate flavor, and are quite wholesome although furnishing little food
for the body. Garlic is never eaten as a vegetable, but serves as the
basis for many of the delicate sauces for which the French cooks are so
justly celebrated.

The tomato has been used as a food only within comparatively recent
times, it having been formerly thought to be poisonous. Like the onion it
may be eaten either raw or cooked, and if taken in moderation does not,
as a rule, produce any serious harm. When eaten in greater quantities,
both on account of the acid that it contains and its relatively small
proportion of assimilable nutriment, the tomato is exceedingly prone to
cause intestinal disturbances, and should rather be regarded as a fruit
than a vegetable. Growing at some distance from the ground, it is rather
less apt to convey diseases than the majority of vegetables eaten in a
raw state.

While celery is generally eaten raw, it furnishes a palatable dish when
cooked in milk. It should not be eaten by dyspeptics or children,
particularly if raw. Simil