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Show FRUIT FOR FOOD. ' If a child's digestion becomes im- paired and the gastric juice becomes weakened or defective in quantity by over-eating or bad food, the wholo alimentary canal becomes clogged and filthy, and furnishes nests lor such worms as will breed there. In this weakened condition of the system sys-tem they cannot bo destroyed by the process of digestion, and hence great harm comes from them. Now, it is an interesting fact that fresh, ripe fruit in the beat preventive for this state of things. Dr. Benjamin Rush poiuted this out one hundred years ago. Hu made a aeries of experiments on earth wormB, which he regarded as more nearly allied to those that infest the bowels of ohildren than any other, with a view to te3t their powers of retaining life under the influence of various Bubstances that might be used as worm medicines. The results proved that worms olten lived longer in those Bubatunces known aa poisonous than in some of the most harmless articles of food. For instance, in-stance, in a watery solution of opium they lived eleven minutes; in infusion ot pink root, thirty-three minutes; but in the juice of red cherries they difd in six minutes; black cherries in 1 five minutes; red currants in three minutes; gooseberries in four minutes; wor tie harries in seven minutes; and raspberries in five minutes. From these experiments Dr. Hush argued that fresh, ripe fruits, of which children chil-dren aro very fond, aro the most Bpeedy and effectual poisonB for worniB. In practice this theory is found to be correct. Family Doctor. |