(i 4 o) 



may cite the pleurisy root and tuckahoe, roots poisonous 

 in their natural condition, but which were important foods 

 among the aborigines, who destroyed the poisonous prop- 

 erties by prolonged baking. Some of the East Indian 

 yams yield the deadly prussic acid, but may be prepared 

 as foods by prolonged washing of the thinly sliced root, in 

 running water. Tapioca also is made from a deadly 

 poisonous root, rendered harmless by the process of 

 extraction. 



The number of vegetable foods is so very large that it 

 has been found necessary to divide them into a number of 

 groups, namely (i) roots and other underground portions, 

 (2) herbage, stems and flowers, (3) fleshy or fresh fruits, 

 (4) nuts and seeds used in the dried state, and (5) the 

 cereal grains and products derived from them. The articles 

 in each of these classes are then arranged in the natural 

 sequence of the families of plants to which they belong. 



Roots, Rootstocks, Tubers, and Bulbs 



3201. Cat-tail roots. — The rootstock of Typha angnstifolia L. (Typhaceae — 



Cat-tail Family). Native of North America and abundant in swamps. 

 It was an emergency food of the aborigines. While not very palatable, it is 

 capable of sustaining life. Collected by H. H. Rusby in the Arlington 

 Marshes of New Jersey, February, 1906. 



3202. Broad-leaved cat-tail roots. — The roots of T. latifolia L. Same region and 



use. Collected by J. A. Shafer in February-, 1906, in the New York 

 Botanical Garden. 



3203. Arrow-head tubers. — The corms of Sagittaria latifolia Willd. (Alismaceae — 



Water Plantain Family). In swamps, United States and Canada. An 

 important aboriginal food. Collected at Lancaster, Pennsylvania, October, 

 1906, by J. K. Small. 



3204. Tule roots. — The bulbous stem-bases of Scirpus occidentalis (S. Watson) Chase 



{Cyperaceae — Sedge Family). Native of western North America. An 

 important aboriginal food. Collected at Toledo, Oregon, in July, 1909, 

 by H. H. Rusby. 



3205. Chinese water-chestnut. — The corm of a species of Eleocharis (?). (Same 



family). Native of eastern Asia. An important Chinese food. From 

 the New York market. Presented by H. H. Rusby. 



3206. Chufa. Nut-grass. Rush-nut. Earth-nut. — The corms of Cyperus esculen- 



tus L. (Same family). Widely distributed. An important pig-food and 

 also eaten by man. 



3207. Calla. Water Arum. — The corms of Calla palustris L. {Araceae — Arum 



