360 PLANTS USED BY INDIANS OF MENDOCINO COUNTY, CAT. 
red bandanna handkerchief full of the crisp stems. Under the present 
system of separate and restricted farms the latter method is now usu- 
ally adopted. At home the clover is often placed out of doors in the 
grass and carefully shielded from the withering effects of the sun by 
a blanket. Old and young and even the more civilized Indians of 
Round Valley tell me that they eat clover and that some of the species, 
especially the sweet clover and the acid clover, are very good and nutri- 
tious food, The facts are certainly unquestionable, but it is presuma- 
ble that habitual use, and perhaps inherited character, as well as the 
extended use of condiments, must have some particular effect on the 
digestibility of the material. According to chemical analysis the 
leaves contain most of the essential food ingredients. 
As in the case of cattle, however, it sometimes causes bloat, which, 
according to Powers, is relieved in case of the Patwin Indians of the 
San Francisco Bay region by the internal use of a decoction or extract 
of soaproot or by rubbing or treading upon the stomach. One case 
was cited to me where an old squaw died in the middle of a clover 
patch from the effects of bloating due to the clover which she had 
vaten. It is quite probable that the Indians have learned to eat other 
substances along with the clover which aid in the digestion and tend 
to prevent bloating, Pepper nuts seem to be so used, and nowadays 
the clover is often dipped into salt water before eating, a practice 
which formerly was not generally observed. So extensively has the 
prodigal abundance of clover entered as a factor into the lives of these 
Indians that it is not only used as a food, but special dances were 
formerly held to commemorate its appearance in spring. Powers 
shows also that it enters into the games of some of the tribes. 
Trifolium bifidum decipiens (ireene. 
Sa pots (Yuki).—A small, sparsely-leaved and rather tough-stemmed 
annual. It is eaten very sparingly and only when quite young. One 
individual stated that the seeds make good pinole. 
Trifolium ciliolatum Benth. 
Chore pots (Yuki, “ jaybird clover”’).—A small, smooth, tough- 
stemmed annual which grows under trees, and is consequently called 
hd-la’ xo (tree clover) by the Pomo. There is a very considerable dif- 
ference of opinion in regard to the edible quality of this species. The 
Yuki, some of the Pomo, and especially the Concow, claim that it is 
not fit to eat, and one of my best informants in the latter tribe cited a 
case where a young girl was said to have been poisoned by eating it. 
One Yokia and one Wailaki informant told me that it was good to 
eat. Horses are said to eat it with impunity. 
