The weekly Thibodaux sentinel and journal of the 8th Senatorial District. [volume] (Thibodaux, Lna. [i.e. La.]) 1875-1898, 1897-10-02

The department CT agriculture be-
lieyes that il the pl;t2t lie q tals con
tineut may he tCuad l:.,iy .sae.u1l4s 70
our dietary. Frederick =. C0Vi!!2, hot-
anist ef tie Department. hai spa.t cox
siderable elsoIt in eSami4iEE many cf
the plants row classGl - weeds which
are capable OF sustaining y-.a-ity II
man. Ee takes tic p~osi:io4 tut !
"wider use Ct green vegetables ~ tho
dietaties Of most people, particularly
those with healthy aiscat-oa;, voa:i
be u marked benefit"
Chemistry has demonstrated largely
the substances Which the hgnlan systy.l
needs, aud B8tanist Cogille finds Jae
essentials present IL a g-esss laanT
plants, some OF which are nowhere ecu
sidered as elective food for Iatn s:4d
some of which have caly a local use rs
human food.
Mr.. Coyille points ont that wild
h%erbiyorons animals feed Oh the fats
and carbohydrates stored up ii plaaJ
seeds III the fall. They fatton on this
diet and gather in bodily fuel for the
winter. Having exhausted their supply
of fat by spring, they make green herb
age their principal food. This 1eneNs
their muscular vigor and vitality. This
dietary system prevails among savage
peoples aua is largely followed BY the
indians Ct the western states. Mans
food has grown more artificial with the
advance Of civilization, until, a. Bot
anist CoyilIa says, floods are now Sc
leoted mere by custom tLan b. in
stinct." Tie 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. 1t
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 consid-
cred a troublesome weed in the wheat
districts Of Wisconsin, Minnesota and
North Dakota. 1t is closely related 20
black mustard, another familiar weed.
Charlock is known in New York state
as wild mustard and is considered
poisonous. Charlock was a 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 occnrs as a
-1- - IL -,l DN..G 1L.@1-
and here and there in the interior. Its
leaves grow i'll the form of a ~rosette,
after the fashion of the dandelion. Vel
low rocket is q weed common through
out the eastern states which man might
eat. 1t is closely allied to the winter
cress, which is used as a winter salad
and pot herb in Washington and Balti-
more.
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-
tural varieties. There it is used largely
as a salad, the plants being eaten green
or blanched.
The department of agriculture calls
especial 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 Maricopas.
Dock grows in the arid regions Of Ari-
Zona, New Mexico and Texas, where sue
culent vegetation is rare.
Lambs quarters, orpigweed, or goose
foot, is a weed which belongs to the
Same plant family as the beet and spin
ach and ought to bo used as a table
vegetable. 1t is cultivated i'll Europe
and is very common throughout the
United States.
Marsh marigold, Or "cowslip," il o
native plant ct North America. 1t
grows III swamp land all over tHe Forth
ern part Of the United States and Brit
ish America. It has q local use as Il pct
herb, but its value il this respect is not
generally appreciated. Pigweed occurs
il many fields al over this country,
but the average American does not
know its value as a feed plant. It IL
eaten by the Indians Of the southwest
and by the people OF Mexico. Id Ia
parts of California it is cultivated b.
the Chinese.