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extent. In tenderness and thickness these leafy-shoots 

 are very like asparagus. Tender as these young shoots 

 are, neither horse now cow will eat them. But the reason 

 for this is evident when one finds the whole leaf -stalk, 

 the younger parts in particular, densely covered with 

 hairs, which are bitter to the taste. From the view point 

 of the fern this is a splendid arrangement, for the large, 

 succulent young shoots would certainly be much eaten 

 by animals if they were not protected in some way. 



It was conceived that these succulent shoots might be 

 valuable as food, so in the spring of 1906 material was 

 gathered for experimental purposes. The upper portion 

 of the shoots was used. It will be observed that the 

 tender part is longest just before the leaf-blade is un- 

 rolled. The extreme tips are so rolled up and covered 

 with hairs that it takes too long to clean them, hence 

 they were cut off. The tender part is much longer than 

 that in asparagus, but the bases are woody, as in aspara- 

 gus, so they were not used. In stalks three feet long 

 as much as one foot is tender. The hairs or scales are 

 loosely attached, and may therefore easily be removed 

 by an ordinary vegetable brush. The stalks were then 

 cooked by various recipes. 



To test their palatableness, the dishes were prepared 

 in quantity and offered to classes of fifteen to twenty for 

 judgment. Perhaps three-fourths of these pronounced 

 them good. The taste is not exactly like that of any- 

 thing else, and like tastes in general, cannot be described 

 except in terms of others. However, to many it suggests 

 the almond. The fern cooks up readily, being softer than, 

 asparagus ; and it has less woody tissue than asparagus 

 as bought in the market, for the wood is not so near the 

 tip as it is in asparagus. The epidermis is, however, 

 somewhat tougher. 



In food values, it compares well with other vegetables 

 of the kind, its nutritive value being near that of cab- 

 bage. In comparison with asparagus, which it most 

 resembles, it proves to be superior, containing .87 as 



