PURE AND IMPURE FOODS. 



" What a Man Eats He Is." 

 Edited by C. F. Langworthy, Ph. D. 

 Author of "On Citraconic, Itaconic and Mesaconic Acids," "Fish as Food," etc. 



EDIBLE BERRIES OF ALASKA. 



Dr. W. H. Evans, who has twice visited 

 Alaska on botanical expeditions, has de- 

 scribed the edible berries which grow so 

 abundantly there, and which form an im- 

 portant part of the diet of native and white 

 residents. He says in effect: 



"Everyone who has been fortunate 

 enough to visit Alaska in the proper season 

 has noticed the wonderful abundance and 

 variety of berries. So striking a feature 

 are they that the region has been repeat- 

 edly designated a land of berries. Many 

 of the berries enter quite largely into the 

 summer dietary of native and white popu- 

 lation and to a lesser extent are preserved 

 in various ways for winter use. Among 

 the white population the usual methods are 

 followed and canned fruit, jellies, jams, 

 and cordials are prepared for future con- 

 sumption. With the natives a different 

 process is used, and the universal method 

 of preservation is by mixing the ber- 

 ries with seal or other oil. The result 

 is a mixture very repulsive to the unin- 

 itiated, but highly prized by the natives. 

 A jar or can of such preserves is con- 

 sidered a present of no mean value. How- 

 ever, for the most part, the natives use 

 the berries in the fresh state and gener- 

 ally uncooked. Berry parties among the 

 natives are of common occurrence, and in 

 the autumn following a good berry season 

 special dances are celebrated. 



"Among the most widely distributed 

 species may be mentioned the salmon ber- 

 ries, baked apple berries, small and high 

 bush cranberries, red and black currants, 

 huckleberries, blueberries, elderberries, 

 bunchberries, and crowberries. Of less 

 common distribution, but still abundant 

 in some regions are wild strawberries, red 

 raspberries, dewberries, salalberries, thim- 

 ble berries, bog cranberries, and bearber- 

 ries. A number of others are of local and 

 limited use, but all the above are important 

 in their season. 



"Probably of first importance in the 

 above list is the so-called small cranberry, 

 Vaccinium vitis-idcua. This is found nearly 

 everywhere in the coast region and the 

 interior. The bright red berries are in- 

 tensely acid and of rather good flavor, al- 

 though a taste for them must be cultivated. 

 In some places large quantities are gath- 

 ered for food and a not uncommon method 

 of preserving them for winter's use is by 

 putting them in pure water. In this way 

 they may be kept several months. 



"The true salmon berry, or 'molina,' is 

 found abundantly along the Southeastern 

 coast region and some of the islands. Two 

 forms are met with, one having red and 

 the other yellow fruits. Specimens more 

 than an inch in diameter are common. 

 While hardly equalling the flavor of the 

 Eastern blackberry the red forms remind 

 one greatly of that berry and salmon ber- 

 ries are valuable adjuncts to the diet of 

 both natives and whites. 



"In some regions the huckleberries, 

 Vaccinium uliginosum, and blue berries, 

 V. ovalifolium, are abundant and eagerly 

 sought. The latter has, in the writer's 

 opinion, no equal in the genus as a pie 

 berry unless it be the beautiful scarlet ber- 

 ry, V. parvifolium. In the vicinity of Sitka 

 both these berries are abundant. The 

 fruit of the former is of a dark blue color, 

 with small seeds, and averages about ]/ 2 

 inch in diameter. The scarlet one is about 

 half as long and is eagerly sought by the 

 white housewife for jellies, which are of 

 most beautiful color and fine flavor. 



"In the Cook Inlet country, as well as 

 elsewhere, currants are abundant. In the 

 former place red currants, Ribes rubrum, 

 form an important food, and in excellence 

 they are scarcely inferior to our ordinary 

 garden currants. Black currants, R. laxi- 

 Horum, are also common, but of inferior 

 value. Ribes bracteosum is abundant in many 

 places, and the fruits are not infrequently 

 mixed with blueberries. 



"The strawberries are more or less coni- 

 cal, and frequently an inch or more in 

 diameter. They ripen in July and Au- 

 gust and are extensively gathered. Con- 

 siderable quantities are sometimes brought 

 to passing boats, and at other times are 

 sent as marks of especial friendship to 

 Sitka or other places. Successful attempts 

 have been made to cultivate this wild berry 

 at a number of places, and its possibilities 

 as well as those of the blueberry, scarlet 

 huckleberry, and red currant are well 

 worth investigation. 



"Limited attempts have been made to 

 cultivate some of the improved varieties of 

 berries at a number of places. Peculiar 

 success has attended the efforts with straw- 

 berries, raspberries, and currants. Goose- 

 berries have been tried, but mildew 

 seems to be a serious drawback to success- 

 ful effort with that fruit. More extensive 

 and better directed experiments have been 

 recently attempted and it is to be hoped 

 success will attend the efforts." 



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