CHAPTER VII 



THE OAKS 



ACORNS of many species of oaks, which furnish 

 food for man as well as beast, are already used in 

 many parts of the Old World, and the Indians in this 

 country crushed acorns, which required removal of 

 tannin by washing, making the meal into bread, 

 mush and cakes. John Muir in his difficult mountain 

 climbing in California found the hard acorn cakes of 

 the Indians the most compact and strength giving 

 food to be carried on exploration trips. The white 

 oak group furnishes the larger number of species 

 with sweet acorns eaten by man in North and South 

 America. Enormous crops of nuts are borne by 

 some of these trees, and development of the acorn 

 as a starchy food supply for man and his domestic 

 animals will belong to our new work. 



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