The advocate., 1897-09-01
EDIBLE WEEDS.

anist OF the department, has spent
considerable effort to examine many
Of the plants now classed as weeds"
which are capable OF sustaining vital
ity In man. He takes the position that
a wider use Of green vegetables in
the dietaries of most people, particu-
larly those with healthy digestions,
would be a marked benefit"
Chemistry has demonstrated largely
the substances which the human sys-
tenn needs, and BOtanist COVille finds
the essentials present In a great many
plants, some of which are nowhere con-
sldered as effective food for man, and
some Of which have only local use
as human food.
Mr.. COville points out that wild her
biVorOus animals feed on the fats and
carbohydrates stored up in plant seeds
in the fall They fatten on this diet
and gather in bodily fuel for the win
ter. Having exhausted their supply Of
fat by spring, they make green herbage
their principal food. This renews their
muscular VigOr and vitality. This die
tary system prevails among savage
peoples, and is largely followed by the
Indians Of the Western States Mans
food has grown more artificial with the
advance Of civilization, until, as BOta-
mist COVille says, foods are now Sc
lected more by custom than by in
stinct." The European races are more
given to eating salads and boiled green
vegetables than the people of the
United States are. The greater part of
the plant food consumed by Americans
is made up of seeds, roots and tubers
II Is because of this that the people Of
this country are bilious.
The first weed which BOtanist Coville
would have us eat is charlock. This
plant grows as a weed from New Eng
land to the Pacific coast, and is con-
sidered a troublesome weed in the
wheat districts of Wisconsin, Mime
sofa and North Dakota. 1t is closely
related to the black mustard, another
familiar weed. Charlock is known in
New York State as wild mustard"
and is considered poisonous. Charlock
was common pot herb in northern
Europe centuries ago, but it has not
been recognized as food for man in the
New World.
The leaves of the chicory plant are
also good to eat, and in some neighbor-
hoods are thus utilized. It occurs as
weed in the Atlantic and Pacific
States, and here and there in the in
terror. It's leaves grow in the form of
a rOsette, after the fashion Of the dan
deliOn. Yellow rocket Is a weed COM
mon throughout the Eastern States
which man might eat. 1t is closely
allied to the winter cress, which is
used as winter salad and pot herb
in Washington and Baltimore.
The dandeliOn Is a weed which has
already gained considerable favor as a
food in the United States, though it is |
not grown for market It is very COM |
mon throughout the United States, ex-
cept in the extreme South and west of
the great plains, though it has rooted |
itself in certain parts of Washington
and California. The truckers around |
Paris have been cultivating the dande-
lion for many years with good results
and have developed several hOrticul-
tuTal varieties. There it is used largely
as a salad, the plants being eaten green
or blanched.
The Department Of Agriculture calls
special attention to the dock, two spe-
cies Of which, the brOad-leafed and the
curled, occur as common weeds in
meadows, pastures and cultivated
fields. Several species of dock are used
widely as a pot herb in Europe. Dock
was used extensively by two tribes of
American Indians, the Pimas and the
Marlcopas. Dock grows in the arid
regions of Arizona, New Mexico and
Texas, where succulent vegetation is
rare.