Evening star., 1944-10-27
This and That
By Charles Z. Trace,DeH.
FALLS CHURCH, Va.

Dear Sir:
II would like to call your attention
and that Of the readers of your column
to book reprinted last year which Is,
without question, well suited to the
times 1t cannot fail to be both helpful
and OF interest to all concerned with
Victory gardens and food problems in
general.
THE book is Edible Wild Plants
written by Oliver Perry Medsger, pro-
fessor emeritus OF nature education,
Pennsylvania State College. Published
by Macmillan Co., New York. 1t Is we'll
and copiously illustrated, 1923 pages.
My copy was Christmas gift and
later the donor wrote, I am glad you
found the book interesting. I knew you
would feel as you do about not having
had it years ago dt was first printed in
1899, and there have been three reprints
since), but knew that you would have
botanical interest in 1t still and would
like introducing 1t to others and perhaps
loaning it. We had a copy last summer
in time to be encouraged by it to have
several messes Of weeds from our own
garden, weeds cultivated in Europe as
pot herbs, which We were digging out
in cultivating beans and corn, which
came to nothing because We were not
able to plant early enough
This season we have used lambs
quarters and purslane and liked them
both; in fact, preferred them to spin
ach. "A weed is a plant in the wrong
place. Sincerely, A. VIC"
Prof. Medsger's book has met wide
acceptance from persons interested in
plant life.
This is a good thing, since absolute
knowledge is necessary when selecting
plants to eat from the wild.
Not only must the gatherer know
what to pick, but also what portion of
the plant to prepare to eat and how
to prepare it.
Just as the mushroom hunter should
know what he is doing so the seeker
for substitutes for spinach ought to
value his well-being enough to prepare
himself in advance.
Country people the world around have
always known what plants were good to
eat. In Pearl Bucks The Good Earth"
there is an interesting account of the
way the Chinese poor gathered wild
plants In the spring in times of famine.
Eating too often becomes a habit, not
only in times and amounts of food
consumed, but particularly in the things
eaten.
Various illnesses and personal habits
often lead people to eat what is not
good for them, and to fail to eat what
they should, from a scientific stand
point. But scientific eating is not much
fun. One can never be quite sure that
the very thing the food scientists say
Is god for you" will not be taken from
the list next year.
For many years spinach was crammed
down the throats of juvenile America.
Today we are being told that 1t was all
a mistake, that the iron in spinach is
not very available, on account of some
thing else in spinach.
Hoarse cheers came from millions of
Americans at this. No one could fool
them. They knew all along that spin
ach was nauseous dish, no matter how
liked
Let us continue the good search for
substitutes. wild Edible Plants" can
help. The wilder, the better. Spinach
was tame enough, goodness knows, but
what, a taste! The last time we wrote
this here, scores Of good people sent in
their favorite ways Of fixing spinach
to render it palatable We tried some
OF them, but they could not hide the
plain fact that spinach Is spinach and
never will be anything else.
Three rousing cheers, then, for Prof.
MedSger, his publishers, our correspond
ent, for lambs quarters, purslane and
Good King Henry" another edible
"wsed.s 3.