Zbc pllgrime of tbe l^ear 151 



Another use of the lichens is as a food-stuff. The 

 reindeer of northern lands finds in the lichens under 

 the snow his chief food. The most nutritious of the 

 lichens is the Iceland moss, a valuable diet for inva- 

 lids. This moss, ground to a powder and mixed 

 with milk, is often the chief nourishment of poor 

 Icelanders. The Esquimaux, the red Indians, and 

 Canadian hunters in polar regions use freely the 

 " tripe lichen " which grows U2)on rocks in very cold 

 climates. On the barren steppes of Asia is found 

 the " manna lichen," growing unattached in beds 

 from four to six inches thick. It is of a gray color 

 and sweet taste, offering sustenance to dwellers 

 where no other vegetable life is found. 



Long ago lichens were much used as medicines. 

 They are harmless, as no poisonous lichen is 

 known, but they are no longer regarded as remedies. 



When the ordinar}^ flower gatherer speaks of liver- 

 worts he refers to a member of the crow-foot family, 

 the hepatica triloba, also called the liver-leaf. This 

 plant receives its common name from the shape of 

 its thick, three-lobed leaves, shaded with dark red, 

 Ijrown, or liver color. The liver shape of the leaf 

 caused the " simplers/' or herb doctors, to prescribe 

 it in liver complaints. The botanical name hepatica 

 is from the Greek for liver, also given from the shape 

 of the leaf. The true liverwort which the profes- 



