The above data show that the edible portion of the muskmelon contains more nutrient matter than that of the watermelon, the difference being chiefly in the content of water and carbohydrates.
Okra.
—The French name for okra is gombo; Italian, ibisco; Spanish, gombo.
Okra is a vegetable grown very largely in the United States and especially valued for use in soup making. For this purpose the young seed-vessels are employed. The seed pods of the okra are long, tapering, and rigid by reason of quite sharp angles. The okra is often known as gombo or gumbo.
Composition.—
| Water, | 87.41 | percent |
| Ash, | .74 | „ |
| Protein, | 1.99 | „ |
| Fiber, | 3.42 | „ |
| Starch, sugar, etc., | 6.04 | „ |
| Fat, | .40 | „ |
Onion.
—The botanical name of the onion is Allium cepa L. The French name is ognon; German, Zwiebel; Italian, cipolla; Spanish, cebolla.
The onion is a plant which is valued for edible purposes throughout the whole world. It is supposed to have been indigenous to Asia, but its exact origin is not known with certainty. Both the pulp and the part of the stem immediately attached thereto are edible. In fact in very young plants the whole plant is edible. Its highly aromatic character and flavor rather than its nutritive qualities give it its chief value. The onion is eaten both raw and in various cooked forms. Cooking the onion, especially boiling, expels a large part of its most pungent character, so that the cooked onion does not manifest itself so unpleasantly in the breath when eaten as is the case with the raw onion. The onion is also very commonly eaten in this country fried, especially with beefsteak. The variety of onions cultivated is legion, but they are due rather to different methods of cultivation, etc., than to botanical character.