Camping and woodcraft - Scoutmastercg.com

370 CAMPING AND WOODCRAFTing of (1) lamb's quarters, (2) poke shoots, (3)sheep sorrel, (4) dock, (5) plantain, (6) young topsof "volunteer" potatoes, (7) wild mustard, (8) cowpepper. All of these ingredients were boiled togetherin the same pot, with a slice of pork, and theresulting "wild salat," as she called it, was good.This is the first time I ever heard of anyone eatingpotato tops; but a hearty trial of them has provedthat the tops of young Irish potatoes, like the youngshoots of poke, are wholesome and of good flavor,whereas it is well kno»wn that the mature tops ofboth plants are poisonous.I am told that the young leaves of sweet potatovines *'make an excellent spinach."To give a detailed account of all the edible wildplants of the United States and Canada, with descriptionsand illustrations sufficing to identify them,would require by itself a book as large as this. 1have only space to give the names and edible propertiesof those that I know of which are nativeto, or, as wild plants, have become naturalized inthe region north of the southern boundary of Virginiaand east of the Rocky Mountains. Besidesthose mentioned below, there are others which growonly in the southern or western states, among themore Important being the palmetto, palm, yam,cacti,Spanish bayonet, mesquite, wild sago or coontie,tule plant, western camass, kouse root, breadroot, screw bean, pimple mallow, manzafilta, pinons,jumper nuts, many pine seeds, squaw berry, lyclumberry—but the list Is long enough. Those who wishfurther details should examine the publications ofthe U. S. Department of Agriculture, and especiallythose of one of Its officers, Mr. F. V. Covllle, whohas made special studies In this subject.I have given the botanical name of every plantcited herein, because without it there would beno guarantee of Identification. The nomenclatureadopted is that ot Britton and Brown In theirIllustrated Flora of the Northern States and Can"dda (Scrlbner's Sons, New York), which, as it con-