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Canadian Forcslri/ Journal, January, 1918 



the case" observes the Globe editorial 

 columns, "is in the fact that large 

 areas which have been stripped of 

 Limber are unlit for profitable tillage. 

 More inexcusable still is the fact that, 

 in the presence of a clearly recognized 

 fuel shortage, no well-defined plan is 

 being followed for the reafforestation 

 of land unsuitcd to the production of 

 lield crops. Measures are not even 

 being taken to prevent the premature 



cutting of trees which have barely 

 passed beyond the sapling stage. 



The future needs of this Province 

 from a fuel standpoint have been, and 

 are being, ignored. The removal of 

 wind-breaks and of farm woodlots 

 has given free sweep to destructive 

 winds, has reduced the moisture 

 supply for growing crops, -and has 

 dried up streams and rendered the 

 water supply in wells uncertain." 



Taking Food From Forest Trees 



It is said that Daniel Boone and 

 some of our other early pioneers could 

 go into the wilderness with only a 

 ritle and a sack of salt and live in 

 comfort on the game and other wild 

 food which the woods afforded. While 

 few people want to try that sort of 

 thing nowadays, persons who know 

 the food value of the fruits of native 

 trees and shrubs are, according to 

 foresters, able to use them to good 

 advantage in supplementing other 

 foods. 



Aside from the numerous edible 

 mushrooms, roots, fruits of shrubs 

 and smaller plants, the trees of the 

 forests afford a large variety of 

 edibles which are highly prized by 

 woods connoisseurs. First in im- 

 portance, of course, are the native 

 nuts — beech nuts, butternuts, wal- 

 nuts, chestnuts and chinquapins, 

 hazel nuts, and several kinds of 

 hickory nuts, including pecans. The 

 kernels of all these are not only 

 toothsome but highly nutritious and 

 are used by vegetarians to replace 

 meat. The oil of the beech nut is said 

 to be little inferior to olive oil, while 

 that of butternuts and walnuts was 

 used by some of the , Indians for 

 various purposes. The Indians, it is 

 said, also formerly mixed chestnuts 

 with cornmeal and made a bread 

 which was baked in corn husks, like 

 tamales. In parts of Europe bread is 

 made from chestnuts alone. The 

 chestnut crop in this country is being 

 reduced each year by the chestnut 

 l)light disease, which in some sections 



is gradually killing out the tree. 



Acorns are commonly thought to be 

 ht only for feeding hogs, but many 

 kinds of them can be made edible 

 and nourishing for people as well. 

 The Indian custom was to pound or 

 grind the acorns up and leach out 

 the tannin, which makes most of 

 them unfit for eating when raw, by 

 treating the pulp with hot water. 

 The resulting flour, which contained 

 considerable starch, was made either 

 into a porridge or baked in small cakes 

 or bread. As a rule, the acorns of the 

 various white oaks having less tannin 

 are the ones best suited for food, but 

 Indians also used those of the black 

 oaks, even though they contain much 

 tannin. The acorns of the basket or 

 cow oak, the chinquapin oak, shin or 

 Rocky Mountain oak, live oak, and of 

 several other species are sweet enough 

 to be eaten raw. 



Another nut which is not suited for 

 eating raw, but from which a palat- 

 able food is said to have been pre- 

 pared by the Indians is the buckeye. 

 The kernels of these nuts were dried, 

 powdered, and freed of the poison 

 which they contain when raw by 

 filtration. The resulting paste was 

 either eaten cold or baked. 



Several western pines have seeds 

 which play an important part in the 

 diet of the local Indians. Perhaps 

 the best known of these is the fruit 

 of the nut pine or pinon, which forms 

 the basis for a local industry of some 

 size. Not only is it extensively eaten 

 by local settlers and Indians, but 



