Water Crops 



381 



be prized by men, for when cooked they are both pleas- 

 ing in appearance and very palatable. 



A number of rushes of different sorts were in aborigi- 

 nal times used for coarse weaving of mats, etc.; and 

 one of these, the narrow-leaved cat -tail, we have of late 

 begun to use in new ways; in paper making and in 



Fig. 228. Tubers of the sago pondweed. 

 Potamogeton pectinatus. 



cooperage. The initial cut on the preceding page shows 

 a field of cat-tail carefully cut and shocked for use in the 

 calking of barrels that are to hold watery liquids. The 

 leaves are placed singly between the staves of the 

 barrels, where they swell when wet, packing the joints 

 tightly. 



It may be that none of these plants will ever be cul- 

 tivated. Some are abundant enough for present needs 



