The Camden chronicle. (Camden, Tenn.) 1890-current, 1901-11-29
CAMPERS WILD GARDEN
NO NEED FOR THE WooosMAN TO
BE WITHOUT VEGETABLES.

Good Forest substitutes II OF Aths
From May until December no woods
nan who will take the trouble to
study or learn from another's expe-
rience a little OF the botany OF the
woods need 60 without sufficient
supply of vegetables from his wide
stretching wild garden. Or perhaps
II he will only watch the deer ana
bear for n while, instead Of shooting
them on sight, he will learn, as the
newspapers say, something to his adj
vantage"
There are times when It seems to
the meat-clogged hunter and fisher
man as II he would give half his king
dom for a mouthful Of some tart or
peppery or bitter vegetable, to cleanse
and purge his allmentary canal ana |
get the leaden feeling out Of his stom-
ach. At such times, instead of signing |
for the vegetable pots Of civilization
let him devote half an hour to gather
ing a bunch of the roots of the tooth
wort or crinkled root, which may be
eaten, like radishes, dipped In salt, ana
will lend a delicious SAVIOR to 4 meal OF
meat and bread Another pungent
root, or tuber, growing plentifully In
the woods is the ground-nut, or dwarf
ginseng. You can find 1t In almost any
moist clearing, though you must dig
deep for the small round tuber that
tastes so grateful to a meat-jaded pal
! ate.
I hesitate to speak Of mushrooms as
an article Of woodland diet, because
plentiful as they are about old stumps,
logs, etc, a special knowledge Of them
is necessary to guard against confus-
ing them with poisonous toadstools,
which they 60 closely resemble. But
If some member of the party only pos
sessed this knowledge, what a feast
might be enjoyed far from the luxuries
of civilization!
The woodsman's wild garden, how
ever, grows many varieties Of whole
some and delicious greens" which,
In the spring, any camper may easily
recognize and have for the picking.
Along the brookside in how many old
beaver meadows have 1 crushed, while
trout-fshing, the luscious leaves and
stalks of marsh marigolds or cOwslips
None in the river meadows Of the set
Elements grows finer than this unmar
keted vegetable of the wild woods
And how these cowslip greens refrest
the whole system, when boiled in thu
camp-pot and served with a dash O.
vinegar, salt and pepper! Ever!
camper should take q small jug of vim
egar with him into the woods, lust TO
green's" as the boys say.
, Then there is that other wholesom
y and delicious pot-herb Of the wood
, called Familiarity cow-cabbage. Thi
. has not so wide a range as the mars
marlgold, but in localities where 1t
/, found it grows abundantly, and ha
; the advantage of leafng out earle
:, than cowslips, and remaining tendC
- and edible for a longer period. Tri
/, liums also make excellent greens, an
: as the camper will find them bloomin
= late in June in the open woods, he ca
= prolong with them his pot-herb diet Il,
- til the very height Of the trouting Sc
- son.
I The wild parsnip, found grown
70 along water edges in May and June,
fully as palatable as the cultivated V
20 riety, and is an excellent appetiz
or when fried or Drowned in the can
o+ spider. The Indian cucumber roc
# which any field botanist can unear
or for you in the fall is not much behil
N the garden cucumber in succulen
bo and flavor. The Indians used it for
On relish, and the woOdsman will find
,lo q welcome addition to his bill of ia
90 Serve with vinegar, pepper and salt
IN The roots of the yellow pond Il
ba chopped fine and fried, have a VI
90. pleasant taste, and make wholeso
and readily accessible vegetable *
- in the woods. Wild radish, If y
,on know 1t and can find it, is a re0
net Grips and pungent relish, with mi
~ the same taste as the garden radi
80, which was derived from it.
tbo Almost every boy should remem
-. the watercresses he used to gather
-; the cool brooks about his native to-
= D, The camper will find 1t in the quiC
reaches Of mountain streams, and
der the banks of mountain lakes.
up the latter, too he will find the wild
l''u cry Of which ducks are so fond,
which is grateful also to a discrimil
ing human palate. How nicely eli
lme the cress or the via ceIeiy specs
He guides biscuits and the 1aky pink