IT

Edible Fruits of Forest Trees.

T is said that Daniel Boone and some of our other early pioneers could go into the wilderness with only a rifle and a 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 native trees and shrubs are, according 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 the forests afford a large variety of edibles which are highly prized by woods connoisseurs. First in importance, of course, are the native nuts -beech nuts, butternuts, walnuts, chestnuts and chinquapins, hazel nuts, and several kinds of hickory nuts, including 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 butternuts 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.

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 tannin, 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 a porridge 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 those of the black oaks, even though they contain much tannin. The acorns of the basket or cow oak, the chinquapin 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 a palatable food is said to have been prepared by the Indians is the buckeye. The kernels of these nuts were dried, powdered, and freed of the poison which they contain when raw by filtration. The resulting paste was either eaten cold or baked.

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 a local industry of some size. Not only is it 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 Digger pine seeds are eagerly sought by the Indians. The latter tree is said to have gained its name from its use as a food by the Digger Indians. The seeds of the longleaf pine are edible and are improved by roasting. Indeed, it may be said that most nuts are more digestible when roasted than if

eaten raw.

One of the best known fruits, the 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 that the fruit must be frostbitten. If the persimmon is eaten before it is well ripened, the tannic acid which the fruit contains has a strongly astringent effect, which justifies the story of the soldier in the Civil War who said he had 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 preserved in different parts of the country, while those of several different 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 jellies. Some of the largest, which attain

the size of small apples, are more or less abundant throughout eastern North Carolina. Elderberries are frequently used for pies and for sauce. Those found in the West are sweeter and have a better flavor than the eastern varieties.

The berries of the hackberry, or sugar 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 valued in some sections for feeding hogs and poultry and some species are occasionally cultivated.

Many people like the fruit of the shad 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 pickled in vinegar. Honey locust pods, often locally called "honey-shucks," contain a sweetish, thick, cheese

like pulp, which is often eaten. Those of the mesquite furnish the Mexicans and Indians with a nutritious food. The Creoles of Louisiana, famous for cookery, are reported to use the young buds of the sassafras as a substitute for okra, in thickening soups.

P

Leaves as a Fertilizer.

ROFESSOR FRANKLIN MENGES, of the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, has prepared a statement of the value as fertilizer of falling leaves, which will prove of interest. He says:

"The composition of the leaves of different species of trees varies. A hundred pounds of leaves as they fall from the trees in the autumn, partly dry, contain 60 per cent. water, 9 per cent. nitrogen, 2 per cent. phosphoric acid, 4 per cent. potassium and about 2 per cent. lime. A ton of leaves will contain 18 pounds nitrogen, 4 pounds phosphorus and 8 pounds potassium and about 4 pounds lime. The nitrogen, valuing it at forty cents a pound, would be worth $7.20 and the potassium, at the same rate, would be worth $3.20. Leaving the value of the phosphorus, the lime and the organic matter out of consideration, a ton of leaves would be worth at the abnormal prices now prevailing, $10.40.

"In order to conserve the fertility contained in the leaves, as well as to make it available and prepare them to be applied next spring on the gardens, they should be composted, that is piled up in piles ten to twenty feet square and four to five feet deep and tightly compacted. Put down a layer of leaves and any other rubbish such as corn, tomato, potato, cabbages and other stalks, free from disease, to a depth of twelve to eighteen inches, compact well and cover the whole with caustic lime to a depth of two inches. Put down another layer of leaves to the same depth and cover with lime the same as

before and so on until the compost heap is five feet deep. Leave it until the leaves begin to break up and become fine, then fork it over and pile up to a depth of four feet. Continue this operation whenever necessary during the winter and in the spring the compost will be in splendid condition to be applied with the seed and plants as a fertilizer."

If you are burning resinous wood, such as pine, and your chimney becomes clogged with soot, throw a few pieces of sheet zinc on the fire.

PRO

ROF. F. W. BESLEY has issued a book bearing the above title, containing a splendid description of Maryland's forest resources, representing the results of twelve years of investigation.

The total area of the State of Maryland is 12,210 square miles. The land area comprising 6,330,039 acres, or 9,891 square miles, consists of 2,228,046 acres of woodland, representing 35 per cent.; 3,222,982 acres of improved farm land, 51 per cent.; 674,955 acres of waste lands, 11 per cent.; and 204,056 of salt marsh land, 3 per cent.

When the first settlers came to Maryland some 275 years ago forests covered the entire area of the State, with the exception of marshy areas which at that time probably comprised not over 5 per cent. These forests were different from those that now exist. The species of trees represented then were tion has changed materially. The original forests much the same as now, but their relative propor

is a large proportion of pine, specially in sections

were nearly all of the hardwood type; now there

where land as soon as cleared has been allowed to

grow up again in forest.

These alterations were brought about by injudicious cutting, fires, grazing and tree diseases.

The forest fire damage in Maryland was reported as amounting to $129,844 in 1914, and $108,966 these figures. There is at present a State proin 1915, but incidental losses will largely increase tective fire organization which consists of 148 Forest Wardens working under the direction of the State Forester. Two kinds of lookout stations

have been established: one where a Forest Warden is constantly on duty on dry days during the fire season, the other where observations are made There are one of the former and two of the latter three times a day, viz.: morning, noon and night. now in use. The State co-operates with the U. S.

Forest Service in the matter of fire protection.

The important timber trees and the native forest trees are all listed, and this shows that there are

seventy species of trees in Maryland which may be classed as native, although it is admitted that some of them are of little importance.

The tabulated list which is presented shows the trees according to their commercial importance and indicates the section of the State in which they are found. Tables are also given showing the land area of Maryland classified according to present use.

with a very small proportion of hemlock.

This

represents a value at the mills of $3,823,463. Most of the pine lumber is cut on the eastern shore and southern sections of the State, while the bulk of the hardwood comes from central and western Maryland. The lumber production of the State has decreased in the last few years because of the exhaustion of large stumpage holdings in the western part of the State, so that now the lumber business is more generally distributed, but is not so important.

While the manufacture of lumber ranks first in the use of the forest, the pulpwood business takes second place with a value of $449,029 and a cut of 74,002 cords as reported in 1914. Fully ninetenths of the pulpwood is furnished by three species scrub pine, red gum and tulip poplar.

In 1914, according to the report, there were 925,392 railroad ties cut, valued at $440,685. White oak, which is always preferred for ties, formerly constituted the larger portion of the product, but this variety is now becoming scarce and other oaks are being largely substituted, specially where preservative treatment is possible. Considerable of the white and red oak is made into piling. The cord wood business, as well as the manufacture of mine props, tan bark staves and heading, shingles, lath, mine ties, posts, etc., consume considerable amounts of timber

The special uses of the forest include the growing of basket willows, which is an important industry in the vicinity of Baltimore. Maple syrup and sugar are also made in large quantities, as the sugar maple is indigenous to the mountain section. The maple trees are tapped each spring, the amount of sugar or syrup depending upon the season. production of charcoal is also another use of the forest resources of Maryland, although it is not so important now as it was a number of years ago.

The

There are altogether 1,168 wood-using establishments, employing 16,790 men with an output which is valued at $31,381,837 per year. The industries included in this list manufacture rough lumber, shingles, cooperage materials, finished lumber, sash, doors, blinds and interior finish and wooden packing boxes. The woods used differ widely in amounts and kinds-from 130,699,500 board feet of loblolly pine, 27,889,000 feet of longleaf and 22,030,800 feet of white oak, to 52 feet of Turkish boxwood. Twenty per cent. approximately was state-grown, the balance being imported. Regarding the disposition of the great amounts of wood brought into the State for manufacturing purposes, it is stated that the makers of boxes, crates and packing cases absorb a greater amount of wood than any other single industry, nearly 48 per cent. of the total consumption being so used.

Prof. Besley gives the average annual increment of wood per acre for all the forests of the State as 15 cubic feet. The total growth on the basis of this consumption is 33,420,690 cubic feet; the annual cut is at present 46,949,181 cubic feet, and the amount of timber now standing 317,871,408 cubic feet. The annual growth is

but 71 per cent. of the total production, which in turn amounts yearly to 15 per cent. of the whole, showing that the timber is being cut faster than it is grown.

The transportation, markets and general conditions in the lumbering and wood manufacturing industries of Maryland are given consideration in a special chapter.

A State forest nursery was established in 1914 at College Park, and in 1915 and 1916, 130,000 trees were distributed.

The State now owns four forest reservations of 2,746 acres, three being in Garrett County, and the fourth on the Patapsco River. Some of the cities of the State have secured municipal forests to protect their water supplies. The two notable examples being 5,000 acres owned by the City of Baltimore at Loch Raven, about its reservoir, 1,000 acres being submerged. The City of Frederick has approximately 1,200 acres, covering part of the mountain from which its water supply is secured.

The forests in the individual counties are taken up in detail; a map of each county showing graphically its forest resources, tables giving the wooded area, stand and value of saw timber by election districts.

The monograph ends with the forest laws of the State.

NOTES.

One of the very few towns where no taxes are assessed is Freudenstadt, Germany. This town of 7,000 has an annual governmental expense of $25,000 and pays it all from the revenue of 6,000 acres of town forest.

Said the late Simon B. Elliott, one of the pioneer foresters of America :-"I can come to no other conclusion than that of the 10,000,000 acres of non-agricultural land in Pennsylvania at least sixty per cent. is now, or soon will be so devoid of uninjured trees of valuable species that it must be planted to justify the payment of taxes."

Do you want to add 25 per cent. to the life of your fence post? Write to the U. S. Department of Agriculture for Farmers' Bulletin No. 744.

New Publications.

H. D. Tiemann, 8 vo, 316 pages, illustrated, Price, $4.00. J. B. Lippin

The Kiln Drying of Lumber.
M. E., M. F.
bound in cloth.
cott Company, Philadelphia.

This is both a practical and theoretical treatise, and Prof. Tiemann has had a varied experience, being in charge of the Section of Timber Physics and Kiln Drying Experiments of the U. S. Forest Service, also Special Lecturer in Wood Technology and Forestry, at the University of Wisconsin.

In the introduction, the principal objects of kiln drying of wood instead of the slow air process are enumerated as follows:

1. To improve the condition of the wood for the purpose for which used.

2. Reduce losses which occur in air drying. 3. To reduce the time necessary to carry stock in the yards.

4. To reduce shipping weights without waiting for the long time required to air-dry the material. If the present losses in preliminary air drying, due to warping, checking, case-hardening and honey-combing, estimated at considerable over 12 per cent. for hardwoods and 5 per cent. for soft woods, could be reduced to 2 per cent. by the best methods of kiln drying direct from the green condition, there is a possible annual saving of

$17,178,000.

An idea of the contents of the book can be gained by glancing over the chapters on

The Structure and Properties of Wood.
Common Practices in Drying.

How Wood Dries: Shrinkage, Warping, Case-hardening.
The Principles of Kiln Drying.

The Circulation and the Method of Piling.
Special Problems in Drying.

The Improved Water Spray Humidity Regulated Dry Kiln.
Drying by Superheated Steam and at Pressures other than
Atmospheric.

Theoretical Considerations and Calculations, Humidity, Evaporation, Density, the Drying Cycle, Amount of Air and Heat Required, Thermal Efficiency.

Effect of Different Methods of Drying upon the Strength and the Hygroscopicity of Wood.

Instruments Useful in Dry Kiln Work and Methods of Testing Wood.

Temperatures and Humidities for Drying Various Kinds of Lumber.

Humidity Diagram.

Closing with an Appendix on Special Woods for War Use.

The numerous tables and illustrations aid in giving a thorough understanding of the best methods. of kiln drying woods, and thus aid in conserving our wood supply, which will be drawn upon to the limit to supply the ravages due to the present disastrous war. Wood manufacturers can obtain much of value from a perusal of this volume.