Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1917-12-23
WHAT THE GOVERNMENT Is DOING

RNMENF Is DUlNG
foresters say, is the persimmon. which
is edible only after it is thoroughly
ripe AS this is usually not until late
in the fall. it Is commonly thought tnat
the fruit must be frostbitten. II the
persimmon is eaten before it Is well
ripened. the tannic acid which the
fruit contains has strongly astringent
effect. which justified the story OF the
soldier in the civil war who said he mao
eaten green persimmens SO as TO SHRINK
his stomach up to fit his rations. The
papaw, or custard apple, is also best
when thoroughly ripe. The fruit OF
some species of haws is eaten or pre-
served in different parts OF the coun.
try. while those OF several dlnerent
kinds Of wild cherries have a food value
and are used for various purposes Wild
plums are abundant in certain sections
and occur in particularly plentiful
quantities along the streams in the
eastern and middle western states.
Several varieties of wild crab apples
make delicious jeilies. Some of the
largest which attain the size of small
apples. are more or less abundans
throughout eastern North Carolina Ell
herberries are frequently USED Tor pies
and for sauce. Those found in the
west are sweeter and have better fla
vor then the eastern varieties.
The berries of the blackberry. or SUI
gar berry, as it is called in the south.
are dry. but have an agreeable taste
Those of the mulberry are sweet and
juicy when ripe. The mulberry Is val
ued in some sections for feeding hogs
and poultry and some species are occa-
sionally cultivated.
bush, 'sarvice" berry or june berry. as
it is variously called. In parts of the
country this fruit is used to make
Jelly.
The French Canadians are said to use
the acid flowers of the redbud, or Judas
tree. in salads, while the buds and
tender pods are picked in vinegar. The
Creoles of Louisiana. famous for their
cookery. are reported to use the young
buds of the sassafras as substitute
for okra. in thicken.ng soups
1t can easily be realized that during the
past year the resources of the bureau of
construction and re-
Construction nf pair, Navy Depart
ment, have been Sc
Naval Vessels. vere,y taxed. due to
the unprecedented amount of new con-
struction, repair and conversion work in
cident to the war. The Navy Depart
ment is aware that there was during the
whole year a shortage Of officers and
technical force available for the work of
the bureau. This shortage, 1t Is said by
officials, could not be materially remedled
by increasing the force from civil life.
because. coincident with the demand for
increased naval work, there was an
equally urgent demand for an increase OF
merchant ship construction. Under these
,nt-fg nry- n
call upon the naval constructors and c.-
william employees concerned with construc-
ton and repair work both in the de-
partment and throughout the country,
for exceptional effort. This, it is stated.
has been cheerfuny given, resulting In no
small accomplishment.
On the outbreak of the war. in addi-
ton to utilizing the full facilities Of ex-
listing navy yards. private plants were
called upon. in accordance with prear-
ranged plans. and have done a large
amount of work, experimenting that of
the navy yards.
AS regards new construction, officials
of the bureau say that during the year
orders were placed for large numbers Of
additional vessels, the order of precedence
of the various types of vessels under con-
strIcton was rearranged. and exceptional
measures taken to accelerate the COM
pieton of certain types. These measures
are producing results.
< 4
With the increasing cost of food fish
is beginning to take an important
place as substitute
Fish Products for meat, and for that
reason the work of the
ds cooo' bureau Of fisheries is
of more interest than ever. One OF
the most important services the bu-
reau can render, it is believed by It's
officials, is to send trained experts to
the fishing centers to instruct those
DESTROYS of preserving fish by methods
new to them, to ascertain by expert
ment the adaptability of various fish
cry p, oducts to untried methods OF
preservation of these products, TO IN
crease the utilization of waste fish ana
fish waste. to encourage the ADOPTION
of methods which will improve the
character of the pack and discourage
tho use of methods which produce an
unsatisfactory pack, to study and at
tempt to solve obstructive difficulties
with which the fishermen are contend
ing to furnish advice relative to equip
ment needed and Information as &c
where it may be obtained: in fact, to
serve as efficiency experts to the hsh-
cry interests.
Although handicapped by lack of ade-
ouate provision for work OF this char-
acter and inability to employ men with
the desired basic training because of
lack of funds, it has rendered impor-
tant service to cannery men and others
connected with the fisheries in the
middle Atlantic and New England
states.
The diversion of some of the men
haden vessels to Government use,
thereby diminishing the size of the
feet engaged in catching menhaden
for fertilizer; the diversion of large
amounts Of tankage from the packing
houses for hog feed, thereby reducing
the sources OF supply of ammonlates;
the general scarcity of fertilizing ma
terials, and the costliness OF feed Tor
poultry and stock, afford very I'M
usual opportunity, the officials of the
bureau believe, for increasing the uti-
IiZation of fish offal into oil, fertilizer
and fish meal. The amount of unuti-
lzed offal is very great. The bureau
has urged the fishermen to install
conversion machinery and use this
waste, in order to alleviate the short
ages of foil. scrap and meal. and has
furnished information relative to ma
chinery needed.
Experiments have recently been made
by experts of the bureau in the pres
ervation of drum, sea robin, sharks S,
whiting, menhaden and various other
neglected or little utilized products by
untried methods of preservation, to as
certain the methods best adapted to the
preservation OF those products Tor mar
ket.
The methods of smoking and cooking
smoked fresh-water fishes of various
species We're also studied. Active cam
paignS of demonstration and instruction
were begun recently, with the promise
of immediate practical results in the in
creased utilization of the coarse"
fishes