EDIBLE TUBERS, BULBS OR ROOTS 



this little root is palatable and somewhat resembles 

 the taste of the common potato. The Indian method 

 of preparing it, however, is the best. '^ 



This method, which embodies really the principle 

 of our present day tireless cooker and has been em- 

 ployed by the aborigines from time immemorial for 

 cooking numberless things, is briefly this : A hole of 

 perhaps three feet in diameter and a foot or so in 

 depth is dug in the ground and lined, bottom and 

 sides, with flat stones. A fire of brushwood is then 

 maintained in the hole until the stones are 

 thoroughly heated through, when the embers are re- 

 moved and fresh grass or green leaves (or, failing 

 these, dampened dried grass) are spread upon the 

 hot rocks and ashes. Upon this the bulbs are laid, 

 covered with another layer of verdure or wet hay; 

 and the whole is then topped with a mound of earth. 

 In this air-tight oven the bulbs are left to steam 

 for a day and a night, or even longer. The pit is 

 then opened and the Camas will be found to be soft, 

 dark brown in color, and sweet — almost chestnutty — 

 in taste. The cooked mass, if pressed into cakes 

 and then dried in the sun, may be preserved for 

 future use. 



There are several species of Camas, but the one 

 best known is the botanist's Camassia esciiloita, 



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