Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1918-05-09
EDIBLE FRUITS OF
FOREST TREES

60 into the wilderness with only a
rifle aAd sack of salt and live in
comfort on the game and other wild
food which the woods afforded. While
few people want to try that sort Of
thing nowadays, persons who know
the food value of the fruits Of our
native trees and shrubs are, accord
ing to foresters, able to use them to
good advantage in supplementing
other foods.
Aside from the numerous edible
mushrooms, roots, fruits of shrubs
and smaller plants, the trees of our
forests afford large variety OF
edibles which are highly priced by
woods connoisseurs. First in impor-
tance, of course, are our native nuts
beech nuts, butternuts, walnuts,
chestnuts and chinquapins, hazel nuts,
and several kinds of hickory nuts, in
cluding pecans. The kernels of all
these are not only toothsome but
highly nutritious and are used by
vegetarians to replace meat. The Oil
of the beech nut is said to be little
inferior to olive oil, while that of but
teInuts and walnuts was used by some
of the Indians for various purposes.
The Indians, it is said, also formerly
mixed chestnuts with cornmeal and
made a bread which was baked in
corn husks, like tamales. In parts of
Europe bread is made from chestnuts
alone. The chestnut crop in this
country is being reduced each year by
the chestnut-blight disease which in
some sections is gradually killing out
the tree.S
Acorns are commonly thought to be
fit only for feeding hogs, but many
kinds of them can be made edible
and nourishing for people as well. The
Indian custom was to pound or grind
the acorns up and leach out the tan
min, which makes most of them unfit
for eating when raw, by treating the
pulp with hot water. The resulting
flour, which contained considerable
starch, was made either into por-
ridge or baked in small cakes of
bread. AS a rule, the acorns Of the
various white oaks having less tannin
are the ones best suited for food, but
Indians also used these of the black
oaks, even though they contain much
tannin. The acorns of the basket or
cow oak, the chinQuapln oak, shin or
Rocky Mountain oak, live oak, and Of
several other species, are sweet
enough to be eaten raw.
Another nut which is not suited for
eating raw, but from which pala-
table food is said to have been pre-
pared by the Indians is the buckeye.
The kernels of these nuts were dried.
powdered, and freed of the poison
which hey contain when raw by fill
teration. The resulting paste was
either eaten cold or b1.ied.
Several western pines have seeds
which play an important part in the
diet of the local Indians. Perhaps the
best known of these is the fruit of
the nut pine or pinon which forms
the basis for local industry of some
size. Not only is 1t extensively eaten
by local settlers and Indians, but
large quantities are shipped to the
cities where the seed is roasted and
sold on the street. The similar seed
Of the Parry pine and the large Dig
ger pine seeds are eagerly sought by
the Indians. The latter tree is said
to have gained its name from its use
as food by the Digger Indians. The
seeds of the longleaf pine are edible
and are improved by roasting. Indeed
1t may be said that most nuts are
more digestible when roasted than II
eaten raw.
One of the best known fruits, the
foresters say, Is the persimmOn,
which is edible only after it is thor
oughly ripe. AS this is usually not
until late in the fall, 1t is commonly
thought that the fruit must be frost
bitten. II the persimmon Is eaten be-
fore it is well ripened, the. tannic
acid which the fruit contains has
strongly astringent effect, which JUS
titles the story Of the soldier in the
Civil War who said he lad eaten
green persimmons SO as to shrink his
stomach up to fit his rations. The
pawpaw, 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 different
kinds of wild cherries have food
value and are used for various pur-
poses. Wild plums are abundant in
certain sections and occur in partic-
ularly plentiful quantities along the
streams in the Eastern and Middle
Western States.
Several varieties of wild crab ap-
pies make delicious jellies. Some Of
the largest, which attain the size of
small apples. are more or less abun-
dant throughout eastern North Caro-
lima. Dlderberries are frequently
used for pies and for sauce. Those
found in the West are sweeter and
have better flavor than the eastern
varieties.
The berries of the blackberry, or