WILD FOOD ON THE TRAIL
=Edible Fruits, Nuts, Roots, and Plants=
While wild foods gathered on the trail give a delightful variety to camp
fare, be advised and do not gather, still less eat, them unless you are
absolutely sure you know what they are and that they are not poisonous.
You must be able to identify a thing with certainty before tasting in
order to enjoy it in safety. It is well worth while to make a study of
the wild-growing foods, but in the meantime this chapter will help you
to know some of them. _The italicized names are of the things I know to
be edible from personal experience._ You are probably well acquainted
with the common wild fruits such as the raspberry, strawberry,
blackberry, blueberry, and huckleberry, but there are varieties of these
and all will bear description.
=Red Raspberry=
The wild berry often has a more delicious flavor and perfume than the
cultivated one of the same species. Nothing can approach the wonderful
and delicate flavor of the little wild strawberry, unless it is the wild
red raspberry; and the fully ripe wild blackberry holds a spicy
sweetness that makes the garden blackberry taste tame and flat in
comparison.
The _wild red raspberry_ is found in open fields and growing along
fences and the sides of the road. The flowers are white and grow in
loose clusters, while the berry, when fully ripe, is a deep, translucent
red. The bush is shrubby, is generally about waist-high, and the stems
bear small, hooked prickles. The leaves are what is called compound,
being composed of three or five leaflets, usually three, which branch
out from the main stem like the leaves of the rose-bush. The edges of
the leaves are irregularly toothed.
The berry is cup-shaped and fits over a core which is called the
receptacle, and from which it loosens when ripe to drop easily into your
hand, leaving the receptacle and calyx on the stem. The sweet,
far-carrying perfume of the gathered wild red raspberry will always
identify it. The season for fruit is July and August.
=Black Raspberry=
The growth and leaves of the _wild black raspberry_ are like those of
the red raspberry, and it is found in the same localities. The fruit,
like the other, is cup or thimble shaped and grows on a receptacle from
which it loosens when fully ripe. Blackcaps, these berries are often
called. They ripen in July. The berry is sometimes a little dry, but the
flavor is sweet and fine.
=Purple-Flowering Raspberry=
The purple-flowering raspberry is acid and insipid; it can hardly be
called edible, though it is not poisonous. You will find it clambering
among the rocks on the mountainside and in rocky soil. The leaves are
large and resemble grape leaves, while the flower is large, purplish-red
in color, and grows in loose clusters.
=Mountain Raspberry, Cloudberry=
The usual home of the mountain raspberry, or cloudberry, is on the
mountain-tops among the clouds. You will find it in the White Mountains
and on the coast of Maine, and it has recently been discovered at
Montauk Point, L. I. The fruit has a pleasant flavor of a honey-like
sweetness. The receptacle of the berry is broad and flat, the color is
yellow touched with red where exposed to the sun. It does not grow in
clusters like the other raspberries, but is solitary. The leaves are
roundish with from five to nine lobes, something like the leaves of the
geranium. The plant grows low, is without prickles, and the solitary
flowers are white. In the far north, where it is found in great
profusion, the cloudberry is made into delicious jam.
=Wild Strawberry=
When crossing sandy knolls or open, uncultivated fields and pastures,
the alluring perfume of the _wild strawberry_ will sometimes lead you to
the patch which shows the bright-red little berry on its low-growing
plant. It is common everywhere, though it bears the name of wild
Virginia strawberry. In Latin it is most appropriately called
_Fragaria_, meaning fragrant. The leaves are compound with three
coarsely toothed, hairy leaflets. The small white flowers grow in sparse
clusters on rather long, hairy stems. They have many deep yellow stamens
which are surrounded by the fine white petals. In fruiting time the
leaves are often bright-red.
=Low Running Blackberry=
Among the mountains and hills, down in the valleys, and on the plains;
straggling along roadsides, clinging to fence rails, and sprawling over
rocks, you will find the wild blackberry. There are several varieties,
and blackberries of some kind are common throughout the United States.
The _low running blackberry_ belongs to the dewberry type and bears the
largest and juiciest berries. It is a trailing vine with compound leaves
of from four to seven leaflets which are double-toothed. The berries are
black and glossy and grow in small clusters. They are sweet and pulpy
when thoroughly ripe and the best ones are those which ripen slowly
under the shelter of the leaves.
Blackberries grow on a receptacle or core, but unlike the raspberry,
they do not separate from it. When ripe they drop easily from the calyx
carrying the receptacle with them. The flowers are small and white, and
grow in clusters.
=Running Swamp Blackberry=
Perhaps you have seen the blackberry with fruit so small it seems only
partially developed and, like myself, have hesitated to taste it, not
being sure that it was a true blackberry and edible. It takes a good
many of these little berries to make a mouthful, but they are harmless.
They are called the _running swamp blackberry_. They ripen in August and
grow in sandy places as well as in the swamps. There are three leaflets,
seldom more, to the stem, which are blunt at the tip, smooth, shining,
and coarsely toothed. The flowers are small and white, and the stems
prickly.
=High-Bush Blackberry=
Throughout the northern states as far west as Iowa, Kansas, and Missouri
and down to North Carolina, you may find the _high-bush blackberry_. Its
stems are sometimes ten feet high; they are furrowed and thorny and the
bush grows along country roads, by fences, and in the woods. The berries
are sweet, but quite seedy. They grow in long, loose clusters and ripen
in July.
=Mountain Blackberry=
There is another variety called the _mountain blackberry_. It has a
spicy flavor, but the fruit is small and dry. The leaves are more
elongated toward the tip than those of the others and they are finely
toothed. The branches are reddish in color.
=Thornless Blackberry=
The sweetest of all varieties is said to be the thornless blackberry. It
ripens later than the others and has no thorns. The leaves are long and
narrow.
=Eastern Wild Gooseberry=
Among the mountains from Massachusetts to North Carolina, the eastern
wild gooseberry grows. It is said that its flavor is delicious. The
fruit is purplish in color and is free from all prickles. It grows on
slender stems and, like the cultivated gooseberry, is tipped with the
dry calyx. The leaves are small, rather round, and have three or five
lobes. The flowers are greenish and insignificant. The plant is three or
four feet high, with spreading branches and smooth stems.
[Illustration: WALNUT
HIGH-BUSH BLUEBERRY
WINTERGREEN
Good food on the trail.]
=Dwarf Blueberry=
Perhaps the most satisfactory of all berries when one is really hungry
is the blueberry, of which there are several varieties. The _dwarf
blueberry_ is probably the most common. It is the earliest of the
blueberries to ripen and grows in the thin, sandy, and rocky soil which
is spurned by most other plants. You will find it upon barren hillsides,
in rocky fields, and in dry pine woods. The berries are round, blue,
about the size of peas, and are covered with bloom like the grape. They
grow in thick clusters at the end of the branch and are tipped with fine
calyx teeth. The seeds are so small as to be almost unnoticed and the
soft ripe berry will bruise easily.
The flavor of all blueberries has a nutty quality which seems to give
the berry more substance as a food. The leaf is rather narrow and
pointed at each end; the under side is a lighter green than the upper
and both are glossy. In the fall the leaves turn red and drop easily.
The bush is low and the branches usually covered with small, white dots.
=Low Blueberry=
Another variety is called the _low blueberry_. It is very much like the
dwarf blueberry, but the bush grows sometimes as high as four feet. It
is stiff and upstanding and prefers the edge of the woods and sheltered
roadsides to the dry open fields. The berries are blue with a grape-like
bloom and, like the first variety, grow in thick clusters at the end of
the branch. You can grab a good handful in passing, so many are there in
a bunch.
=High-Bush Blueberry=
On the _high-bush blueberry_ the color of the berries varies. Some
bushes bear a black, shiny berry, others a smooth, blue, and still
others blue with a bloom. The sizes differ also. The berries grow in
clusters, at times on branches almost bare of leaves; some are sweet,
others sour. The leaves are a pointed oval with the under side lighter
in color than the upper; in some cases the under side is hairy. The
flowers are pinkish and shaped somewhat like a cylinder. The bush grows
occasionally to the height of ten feet, and you will generally find it
in marshy places. I know that it grows by the edge of Teedyuskung Lake
in Pike County, Pa., where our summer camp is located, but it is found
also in pasturelands.
=Dangleberry=
Another variety is called the dangleberry. The berries grow on stems in
loose clusters; they are rather large, of a dark-blue color with a
bloom; they ripen late and are not very plentiful. The pale-green leaves
are large, white, and resinous underneath, and are oval in shape. The
flowers are greenish-pink and hang like bells on slender stems.
=Wintergreen. Checkerberry=
Almost every one knows the little cherry-red _wintergreen berry_ or
_checkerberry_, and almost every one likes its sweet aromatic flavor but
few would care to make a meal of it. The fruit is too dry for hearty
eating and the flavor too decided. The evergreen leaves are leathery in
texture and their flavor is stronger than that of the berry; they are
whitish underneath and dark, glossy green above. They are oval in shape
and have a few small teeth or none at all. The flowers are white, waxy,
and cup-shaped; they hang like bells from their short stems. The plant
grows close to the ground, generally in the woods and moist places. It
is found as far north as Maine and west to Michigan.
Do not mistake the bunchberry for the wintergreen. It, too, grows low on
the ground, but the bunchberries are in close clusters at the top of the
small plant where the leaves radiate. The berries are bright scarlet,
round and smooth, and are _not_ edible. Flower and leaf resemble those
of the dogwood-tree, to which family the bunchberry belongs.
=Partridgeberry=
Another ground berry is the partridgeberry. This may be eaten but is dry
and rather tasteless. It is a red berry and grows on a slender, trailing
vine. Its leaves are small and heart-shaped; some are veined with white.
They are evergreen. The flowers grow in pairs and are like four-pointed
stars at the ends of slender tubes. Inside they are creamy white,
outside a delicate pink. The partridgeberry likes pine forests and dry
woods.
=June-Berry. Shadbush=
There are berries on trees as well as on bushes and vines, at least they
are called berries though not always resembling them.
The June-berry is a tree from ten to thirty feet in height, while its
close relative, the shadbush, is a low tree and sometimes a shrub. The
fruit resembles the seed-vessels of the rose; it grows in clusters and
is graded in color from red to violet; it has a slight bloom and the
calyx shows at the summit. It ripens in June and is said to be sweet and
delicious in flavor. The oblong leaves are sharply toothed, rounded at
the base and pointed at the tip. The young leaves are hairy. The flowers
are white and grow in clusters.
The shadbush grows in wet places and its fruit is smaller and on shorter
stems. It is also said to be more juicy. The leaves are rather woolly.
[Illustration: PERSIMMON
SWEET VIBURNUM
Fruits found principally in the south and the middle west.]
=Red Mulberry=
Although the finest _mulberry-trees_ are said to be found along the
Mississippi and the lower Ohio Rivers, I have seen large, thrifty trees
in Connecticut and on Long Island. They grow from Massachusetts to
Florida and west to Nebraska. Birds are very fond of the mulberry. The
first rose-breasted grosbeaks I ever saw were in a great mulberry-tree
on a farm in the northern part of Connecticut. The berry is shaped much
like a blackberry; it is juicy and sweet, but lacks flavor. It grows on
a short stem and is about an inch in length. In July when the berry
ripens it is a dark purple.
There is a decided variety in the shape of the leaves on one tree; some
have seven lobes, some none at all. The edges of most are scalloped,
though I have seen leaves with smooth edges.
The _white mulberry_ is seldom found growing wild. The fruit is like the
red mulberry but perfectly white.
=Sweet Viburnum. Nanny-Berry. Sheepberry=
The fruit of the sweet viburnum, nanny-berry or sheepberry, is said to
be edible. It grows on a small tree, of the honeysuckle family, in the
woods and by the streams from Canada to Georgia and west as far as
Missouri. The tree has a rusty, scaly bark and broad, oval leaves,
pointed at the tip and finely toothed. The flower clusters are large
and, though white, they appear yellowish from the many yellow anthers at
the centre. When entirely ripe the fruit is a dark blue or black and is
covered with a bloom; before ripening it is crimson. The berry grows in
clusters on slender red stems. It is elongated and rather large. At its
summit is the calyx and stigma. The seed inside the berry is a stone
which is flattened, blunt-pointed, and grooved. The fruit ripens in
September and October.
=Large-Fruited Thorn=
The thorns, large-fruited and scarlet, are edible. As a child I knew the
fruit as _haws_ and was very fond of it. The large-fruited thorn is a
low tree with branches spreading out horizontally. You will often find
it in thickets. The bark is rough and the thorns on the branches are
long, sharp, and of a light-brown color. In flavor the fruit is sweet
and apple-like; the flesh is dry and mealy; it grows on hairy stems and
the seeds are hard, rounded, and grooved. The summit is tipped with the
calyx and it ripens in September. The leaves are thick, narrowed at the
base, and rounded at the ends, with veins underneath that are prominent
and often hairy.
=Black Haw. Stag-Bush=
The fruit of the black haw, or stag-bush, is not edible until after
frost has touched it. It is oval, dark blue with bloom, and about half
an inch long. It grows in stiff clusters on short, branching stems. The
shrub, which is sometimes a small tree, is bushy and crooked, with stout
and spreading branches. It is found from Connecticut to Georgia and as
far west as the Indian Territory. It grows among the underbrush in
forests. The bark is scaly and of a reddish-brown color, the leaves are
dark green and smooth on the upper side, paler and sometimes covered
with matted hair on the under side, where the veins show prominently;
they are two or three inches long and generally oval in shape with no
teeth. The flowers are cream-white and grow in flat-topped clusters.
=Wild Plums. Canada Plum=
There is a wild plum that is found in our New England States and in
Canada known as the Canada plum. The plant grows along fences, in
thickets, and by the side of streams. The plum is from one inch to one
and a half inches long and is red or orange in color. It has a tough
skin and a flat stone. The flavor is considered pleasant but the fruit
is generally used for preserving. The leaves have long, sharp points at
the ends and are rather heart-shaped at the base. The flowers, white in
bud, change to pink when opened. They grow in thin clusters.
=Beach Plum=
Usually on sandy and stony beaches, though at times farther inland, you
may find the beach plum. It is a low shrub and grows in clumps. The
fruit is apt to be abundant and is sweet when quite ripe. This plum,
also, is used for preserving. The color of the fruit is from red to
red-purple, it has a bloom over it and grows on a slender stem. The thin
stone is rounded on one edge, sharp on the other, and generally has
pointed ends. The fruit ripens in August and September. The leaf is
oval, has a sharp-pointed tip, is rounded at the base, and has fine,
forward-pointed teeth. There are many white flowers which grow in
clusters along the branches.
=Wild Red Cherry=
The wild red cherry is sour but edible; it is best used as preserves.
The tree is usually small yet sometimes reaches the height of thirty
feet. It is oftenest found in the woods of the north, but also grows
among the mountains as far south as Tennessee. The bark is a
reddish-brown and has rusty dots over it. The leaves are oblong, pointed
at the tips and rather blunt at the base. They are bright green and
glossy. The white flower is much like the cultivated cherry blossom but
smaller; it grows in clusters. The cherries are light red and about the
size of a pea.
[Illustration: CANADA PLUM
SCARLET HAW
WILD BLACK CHERRY
Fruits found principally in the north and the middle west.]
=Sand-Cherry=
Growing in the sand along our eastern coast as far south as New Jersey
and sometimes on the shores of the Great Lakes, the sand-cherry is
found. It is a low, trailing bush, but in some cases sends up erect
branches as high as four feet. The fruit is dark red--black when quite
ripe--and about half an inch long. It grows in small clusters or
solitary, and is said to be sweet and edible. The leaves, dark green on
the upper side, are lighter underneath; they are rather narrow, broadest
toward the end and tapering at the base. The edge is toothed almost to
the base. The flowers are white and thinly clustered.
=Persimmon=
In the Southern, Western, and Middle States, some say as far north as
New York, grows the _persimmon_. Deliciously sweet and spicy when frost
has ripened it, very astringent until ripe. It is plentiful in Kentucky
and one of my earliest memories is of going to market with my mother in
the fall to buy persimmons. There I learned to avoid the fair, perfect
fruit, though to all appearances it was quite ripe, and to choose that
which looked bruised and broken.
The persimmon is about the size of a plum, but is flattened at the
poles. It grows close to the branch and its calyx is large. The color is
yellow generally flushed with red. Some writers describe it as juicy,
but I would not call it that; the flesh is more like custard or soft
jelly.
The tree usually varies in height from thirty to fifty feet, but in some
places is said to reach one hundred or more feet. The trunk is short and
the branches spreading. In the south it often forms a thicket in
uncultivated fields and along roadsides. The bark is dark brown or dark
gray, the surface is scaly and divided into plates. The leaves are
usually a narrow oval with smooth edges; when matured they are dark
green and glossy on the upper side, underneath pale and often downy. The
flower is a creamy-white or greenish-yellow.
=Papaw=
The papaw is another fruit I knew well as a child. It is sometimes
called custard-apple because the flesh resembles soft custard. As I
write I can almost taste the, to me, sickish sweetness of the fruit and
feel the large, smooth, flat seeds in my mouth. In shape the papaw
somewhat resembles the banana, the texture of the skin is the same, but
the surface of the papaw is smoothly rounded and it is shorter and
thicker than the banana, being usually from three to five inches long.
It ripens in September and October. The tree is small, often a shrub,
and it grows wild no farther north than western New York.
There are some cultivated papaw-trees on Long Island, but I do not think
they bear fruit. Certainly none that I have seen have ever fruited. You
will find the tree as far south as Florida and Texas, through the Middle
States and west to Michigan and Kansas. It flourishes in the bottom
lands of the Mississippi Valley and seeks the shade of the forests. The
bark is dark brown with gray blotches; the leaves are large, being from
two to twelve inches long and four inches wide. They are oval, pointed
at the tip and narrowed at the base. When matured they are smooth, dark
green on the upper side and paler beneath. At first the flower is as
green as the leaves, but finally turns a deep red-purple. It grows close
to the branch and is solitary.
=May-Apple=
One of the most delicious wild fruits we have is the _May-apple_ or
_mandrake_. It is finely flavored, sweet and juicy, but being a laxative
one must eat of it sparingly. It is most common in the Middle States and
reaches perfection in Ohio.
The plant is from twelve to eighteen inches high, and the large
umbrella-like leaves are lifted on smooth, straight stems. The fruit
usually grows from the fork of two leaves. It is yellow, lemon-shaped,
and about the size of a plum. The flesh is like that of the plum and
there are numerous seeds in fleshy seed coverings. It ripens in July and
is quite soft when fully ripe. I have sometimes gathered the firm,
yellow May-apples, put them away in a cool, dark, dry place to ripen,
and in taking them out have found them in prime condition. They will
ripen in this way without spoiling if not allowed to touch one another.
The leaves frequently measure a foot in diameter; they have from five to
nine lobes, which are notched and pointed at the tips; the upper side is
darker than the lower. While the fruit of the May-apple is edible, the
leaves and root are poisonous, not to the touch but to the taste. The
flower is a clear white with from eight to twelve rounding petals and it
generally measures about one and a half inches across. The petals expand
in the morning, become erect in the afternoon, and close at night. We
are told that the May-apple is a roadside plant, but I have found it
only in the woods.
=Wild Grapes=
There are several varieties of wild grapes, all, I think, edible but not
all pleasant to the taste. The fox-grape is sweet, but has a musky
flavor and odor, a thick skin, and a tough pulp. The fruit ripens in
September but few care to eat it. The vine grows luxuriantly and is very
common. The summer grape is another tough-skinned grape. It is not musky
but is generally astringent. The vine resembles the fox-grape in growth,
being strong and vigorous. The fruit of the blue grape is sour and hangs
in long, heavy clusters. It is usually found along water-ways.
[Illustration: MAY APPLE MANDRAKE
PARTRIDGE BERRY
Fruits common to most of the States.]
=Frost-Grape or Chicken-Grape=
If you try to eat the _frost-grapes_ before frost you will find them
decidedly sour, but after a good frost they are really fine. They have a
snappy, spicy flavor all their own, and one eats them, like currants,
skin and all. They are small, round, and black with a slight bloom. The
clusters are well-filled and hang loosely. The vine grows luxuriantly,
branching from a large trunk, and is found in wet places and on the
banks of streams, though it does well in the open and in drier soil. It
flourishes in New England and down to Illinois and westward to Nebraska.
The leaves usually suggest three lobes but are mostly undivided. They
are coarsely toothed and the under side bears occasional hairs along the
veins.
=Wild Nuts. Black Walnuts=
Of all the wild-growing foods, nuts are, perhaps, the most nutritious.
The _black walnut_, not plentiful in the Atlantic States but abundant in
the Middle States and in the Mississippi Valley, has a rich, wild
flavor, and a deep-brown stain for the hands that tear it from its
ball-like covering of tough, pimply green which forms the outer husk.
The nut is sometimes oblong, sometimes almost round, with a deeply
grooved, hard, brown shell. It grows in pairs or solitary. The tree is
large, often reaching the height of one hundred feet, and its trunk is
from four to six feet in diameter. The bark is dark brown with deep
vertical grooves and its surface is broken with thick scales. The leaves
are compound, growing on a middle stem which is sometimes two feet long.
Each leaflet is a narrow oval, sharply pointed at the end, and usually
about three inches long. The nuts require frost to ripen them.
=Butternut=
While the _butternut-tree_ is much like the walnut in general
appearance, it does not grow as large. The nuts are different in shape
and in flavor, and the leaflets are hairy instead of smooth. The
butternut does not grow as far north as the walnut, but is often found
side by side with the walnut in the Middle States. The green outer
covering of the nut is oblong and sticky on the surface, and, like the
walnut, will stain the hands. The shell is hard, brown, oblong, and
pointed at one end. It is deeply grooved. The flavor is rich but the nut
being oily soon becomes rancid.
=Hickory-Nuts=
In gathering hickory-nuts you must be able to distinguish between the
edible variety and others that are fair on the outside but bitter
within. There are nine varieties of hickory-nut trees, and in general
appearance they are alike. All have compound leaves and the leaflets are
larger and fewer to the stem than the walnut, usually numbering from
five to eleven. The nuts grow in small clusters as a rule, often in
pairs, and the outer husk separates when ripe into four pieces, allowing
the nut to drop out clean and dry. The full-grown tree is of good size
and is found almost everywhere in the United States.
=Shellbark. Shagbark=
The _shellbark_ or shagbark hickory-nut is one of the best. The flavor,
as every one knows, is sweet and pleasant. It is the bark of the tree
that gives it the name of shagbark, for it separates into long, ragged
strips several inches wide which generally hold to the trunk at the
middle and give it an unkempt, shaggy appearance.
=Mockernut=
The _mockernut_ is the hickory-nut with a dark, brownish-colored shell,
hard and thick and not easily cracked. It is called the mockernut
because while the nut is large, usually larger than the shellbark, the
kernel is very small and difficult to take out of the thick shell.
=Pignut=
I will italicize the _pignut_ because, though I have never eaten it, I
once tried to, and the first taste was all-sufficient. Some writers tell
us that the flavor is sweet or slightly bitter. It was the decidedly
bitter kind that I found lying temptingly clean and white under the
tree. The thin outer husk of the pignut is not much larger than the nut.
It is broader at the top than at the stem, where it narrows almost to a
point. The husk does not open as freely as that of the other
hickory-nuts. It is inclined to cling to the nut; in some cases it only
partially opens and drops with the nut.
[Illustration: SHELLBARK HICKORY NUT
PIGNUT
Hickory nuts, sweet and bitter.]
=Beechnut=
One of the sweetest and most delicately flavored of our native nuts is
the little, triangular _beechnut_. The tree is common and widely
distributed, but few people know anything about the nut. In Kentucky the
nuts used to be plentiful, but I have seen none in New York. It is said
that a beech-tree must be fully forty years old before it will bear
fruit, and that may be the reason the nuts are not oftener found.
The soft-shelled nut is very small, no larger than the tip of your
little finger. The color is pale brown, and it is three-sided with sharp
angles. It is contained in a small, prickly husk and grows both solitary
or in clusters of two or three. When touched by frost the burr opens and
allows the nut to fall out while the burr remains on the tree.
The bark of the beech-tree is ashy gray, and the leaf is oblong, pointed
at the tip, toothed on the edge, and strongly veined.
=Chestnut=
I find that the _chestnut-tree_ is not as well known as its fruit, which
is sold from stands on the street corners of most American cities. A
round, green prickly burr is the husk of the nut, and this is lined
inside with soft, white, velvety down. Nestled closely in this soft bed
lie several dark-brown nuts with soft, polished shells. The first frost
opens the burrs, and the sweet nuts fall to the ground.
You may recognize the tree in midsummer by its long-tasselled,
cream-white blossoms, which hang in profusion from the ends of the
branches. The chestnut is the only forest-tree that blossoms at that
time, so you cannot mistake it. Later you will know it by the prickly
green burrs, which develop quickly. The tree is large and common to most
States. The leaves are from six to eight inches long; they are coarsely
toothed at the edges, sharply pointed at the end, and are prominently
veined on the under side. They grow mostly in tufts drooping from a
common centre.
[Illustration: Nuts with soft shells. Beechnut and chestnut.]
=Bark and Roots of Trees=
=Slippery-Elm=
The inner bark and the root of the _slippery-elm_ are not only pleasant
to the taste but are said to be nutritious. They have a glutinous
quality that gives the tree its name, and the flavor is nutty and
substantial.
This variety of elm is common and is found from the Saint Lawrence River
to Florida. It grows to a height of sixty or seventy feet, with
spreading branches which flatten at the top. The outline of the tree is
much like that of a champagne-glass, wide at the top and narrow at the
stem. The slippery-elm resembles the white elm, but there are
differences by which you can know it. If you stroke the leaf of a white
elm you will find that it is rough one way but smooth the other; stroke
the leaf of the slippery-elm, and it will be rough _both_ ways. The buds
of the white elm are smooth, those of the slippery-elm are _hairy_. Then
you cannot mistake the inner bark of the slippery-elm, which is
fragrant, thick, and gummy. The outer bark is dark brown, with shallow
ridges and large, loose plates. The leaves are oblong, rounded at the
base, and are coarsely toothed. They are prominently veined and are dark
green, paler on the under side.
=Sassafras=
The _sassafras_ grows wild from Massachusetts to Florida, and west
through the Mississippi Valley. It is generally a small tree, from
thirty to fifty feet high, and is often found growing in dense thickets
in uncultivated fields. The edible bark is dark red-brown. It is thick
but not hard and is deeply ridged and scaled. The cracked bark is one
of the characteristics of the tree; it begins to split when the tree is
about three years old. The strong aromatic flavor is held by the bark,
the wood, the roots, the stems, and the leaves. I have never tasted the
fruit, which is berry-like, dark blue, and glossy, and is held by a
thick, scarlet calyx; but the birds are fond of it.
Sassafras tea was at one time considered the best of spring medicines
for purifying the blood, and the bark was brought to market cut in short
lengths and tied together in bunches.
The leaves are varied; on one twig there will sometimes be three
differently shaped leaves. Some will be oval, some with three lobes, and
some mitten-shaped; that is, an oval leaf with a side lobe like the
thumb of a mitten.
=Salads. Watercress=
There is no more refreshing salad than the _watercress_ gathered fresh
from a cool, running brook. It is a common plant, found almost anywhere
in streams and brooks. Its smooth green or brownish leaves lie on the
top of the water; they are compound, with from three to nine small
rounded leaflets. The flavor is peppery and pungent. Watercress
sandwiches are good. The white flowers are small and insignificant and
grow in a small cluster at the end of the stem.
=Dandelion=
A salad of tender, young _dandelion_ leaves is not to be despised, and
the plant grows everywhere. Only the very young leaves, that come up
almost white in the spring, are good. The flavor is slightly bitter with
the wholesome bitterness one likes in the spring of the year. These
young leaves are also good when cooked like spinach. The plant is so
common it does not really call for a description, and if you know it you
can skip the following:
Growing low on the ground, sometimes with leaves lying flat on the
surface, the dandelion sends up a hollow, leafless stem crowned with a
bright-yellow, many-petalled flower about the size of a silver
fifty-cent piece. The seed head is a round ball of white down. The
leaves are deeply notched, much like thistle leaves, but they have no
prickles.