IfEAV FOOD PLANTS. 



377 



The fruit of the Cijcas angulata forms the principal food of the 

 Australian aborigines during a portion of the year. They cut it 

 into thin slices, which are first dried, afterwards soaked in water, 

 and finally packed up in sheets of tea- tree bark. In this con- 

 dition it undergoes a species of fermentation ; the deleterious 

 properties of the fruit are destroyed, and a mealy substance with 

 a musty flavor remains, which the blacks probably bake into cakes. 

 They appear also to like the fruit of the Pandamcs, of which large 

 quantities were found by Dr. Leichardt in their camps, soaking in 

 water, contained in vessels formed of stringy bark. 



The flour obtained from the seeds of Spurry {Spergula safiva), 

 when mixed with that of wheat or rye, produces wholesome bread, 

 for which purpose it is often used in I^'orway and Grothland. In 

 New Zealand, before the introduction of the potato, the roots of 

 the fern were largely consumed. 



Many species of Bolitus are used as food by the natives in 

 "Western Australia, according to Drummond. 



The thick tuberous roots of a climbing species of bean {Pacliy- 

 rhizus angulatus, or Doliclios hulhosus) are cultivated and eaten 

 in some parts of the Polynesian islands. The bulbous roots of 

 some species of Orchidese are eagerly sought after in New South 

 "Wales by the natives, being termed "boyams," and highly 

 esteemed as an article of food for the viscid mucilage w^hich they 

 contain. The root of the Berar {Caladium costatum) is eaten 

 by the natives of the Pedir coast (Achin), after being well 

 washed. 



The pignons or edible seeds of Pinus Pinea are consumed 

 occasionally in Italy. In Chili the cone or fruit oi the peJiue?i, or 

 pino de la tierra, are considered a great delicacy. The pinones are 

 sometimes boiled, and afterwards, by grinding them on a stone, 

 converted into a kind of paste, from which very delicate ]3astry is 

 made. The pine is cultivated in diflferent parts of this province 

 on account of its valuable wood and the pinones. The seeds from 

 the cones of the Auracanean pine, collected in autamn, furnish 

 the Pa wenches (from pawen pine) and Auracanians with a very 

 nutritious food. "\Yhen cooked, the flavor is not unlike that of 

 the chesnut, and as they will keep for some time, they constitute, 

 when the gathering season has been favorable, a great part of 

 their diet. 



The seeds of the cones of the nut pine (Pinus monophyllus), a 

 noAV species described by Dr. Torrey, and alluded to by Col. 

 Premont in his exploring expedition to the E-ocky Mountains, 

 are largely used by the North American Indians. The nut is 

 oily, of a most agreeable flavor, and must be very nutritious as it 

 constitutes the principal subsistence of many of the native 

 tribes. 



The cone of another magnificent pine (Attracaria Pidwillii), 

 indigenous to the Eastern coast of Australia, about the Moreton 

 Bay district, is frequently met with twelve inches in diameter, and 

 containing 150 edible seeds as large as a walnut. The aborigines 



