28 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. 



Pour evenly over the fern mixture. Bake eight minutes, or 

 until the eggs are set. Very good. 



To test their palatableness, the dishes were prepared in 

 quantity and offered to classes of fifteen to twenty for judg- 

 ment. Perhaps three-fourths of these pronounced them good. 

 The taste is not exactly like that of anything else, and like 

 tastes in general, cannot be described except in terms of others. 

 However, to many it suggests the almond. The fern cooks 

 up readily, being softer than asparagus ; and it has less woody 

 tissue than asparagus as bought in the market, for the wood 

 is not so near the tip as it is in asparagus. The epidermis is, 

 however, somewhat tougher. 



In food values, it compares well with other vegetables of 

 the kind, of which some common ones are given in the table 

 below, (b). 



Carbohy- Food Value 



Edible portion, drates, per lb. in 



Fresh Water Protein Fat inc. Fiber Fiber Ash Cakiries 



Green peas 74.6 7.0 .5 16.9 1.7 1.0 465 



String beans 89.3 2.3 .3 7.4 1.9 .8 195 



Okra 90.2 1.6 .2 7.4 3.4 .6 175 



Cabbage 91.5 1.6 .3 5.6 1.1 1.0 145 



Brake (c) 91.61 1.49 .34 5.32 .5(d) 1.04 141 



Radish 91.8 1.3 .1 5.8 .7 1.0 135 



Asparagus 94. 1.8 .2 3.3 .8 .7 105 



Tomatoes 94.3 .9 .4 3.9 .6 .5 105 



Lettuce 94.7 1.2 .3 2.9 .7 .9 90 



Celery 94.5 1.1 1 3.3 1.0 85 



Cucumbers 95.4 .8 .2 3.1 .7 .5 80 



(b). The chemical analyses, except that of the fern, are taken 

 from Atwater, W. O., and Bryant, A. P., The Chemical Composition 

 of American Food Materials. U. S. Dept. Agric. Bull. No. 28, Revised 

 Edition, 1899. 



(c). For the analysis of the brake I am indebted to Prof. 

 H. K. Benson, of the Department of Chemistry, University of Wash- 

 ington. 



(d). An estimate in comparison vi^ith that in asparagus. 



