Card of the Day - 2026-05-26

Poulain La Zone Torride et ses produits
Cacao POULAIN [trade : chocolate : O/S - France] " La Zone Torride et Ses Produits" / the torrid zone and its products (1920s?) 19/25

Now the other two foods that Moses Maimonides advised asthma patients to avoid were nuts - and poultry. But he never seemed to make the connection that other discomforts and diseases might also be caused by people eating those products.

The most curious thing is that nut allergy and peanut allergy are two different things, though they often have the same devastating effects. But in actuality nuts grow on trees, and peanuts are legumes, not nuts at all. And it is known that people with peanut allergy are often susceptible to reactions from other legumes, including soy beans, as well as the true tree-nut.

It seems odd then that children in what we call "developing countries" seem to suffer less from this than children from other nations, possibly because their mothers often feed them peanuts in their younger days. And we think that may be a clue as to how to tackle the growing problem in those other nations, because feeding their children with peanuts in the vital ages of four to eleven months old did seem to reduce the chance of that child going on the become allergic to them, by up to 70%.  

Yet, sadly, there is not yet any complete cure for peanut allergy, except for avoiding the product, and by rigorously checking menus, hoping that the lack of peanuts listed is the honest truth. 

As for "The Torrid Zone", it does exist, but today we call it the Tropics. It covers the Equator and extends both ways, in a northernly direction to the Tropic of Cancer, and a southernly direction to the Tropic of Capricorn. 

There are still a few cards in this set for me to find, so any help is welcomed - but so far we know of  : 

  1.   L`Anona Muricata - soursop
  2.  
  3.  Le Gingembre - ginger
  4.  La Bigarada - seville orange
  5.  L`Ananas - pineapple
  6.  Le Cafeier - coffee
  7.  Le Laurier Avocat - avocado
  8.  Le Tamariner - tamarind
  9.  L`Indigofera Anil - indigo
  10.  
  11.  La Figue -  fig
  12.  La Banane -  banana
  13.  Le Papaya Sativa - papaya, or cannabis? 
  14.  La Grenadille Quadrangulaire - granadilla
  15.  Le Cajou - cashew nut
  16.  Le Cacao - cocoa
  17.  Le Pain de Singe - monkey bread
  18.  La Garcenia - the Malabar tamarind
  19.  L`Arachide - peanut
  20.  Le Pachira - saba nuts
  21.  Le Manguier - mango
  22.  Le Jatropha - physic nut
  23.  L`Ipomea Batatas - sweet potato
  24.  L`Akeesia - ackee
  25.