FEBRUARY 2o. 19.11

gr t=_._--_-_- ._.

NEWS Y

B! IGIIIOOLA

Indian Food Plant (l)

Exactly five years Lgo (pony 19s!) i contributed to this column n lLst of ‘flndian Medicine Plants" that is. native Plants which were used by the aborigines of our land for medical purposes. ceremonial

and religious rites, and in a few ~

instances for food. Through the kindness of a friend I am now 1n P05505510“ of a list which enables me t0 wmblete the survey of vegetable products that supple- ml-llted the same diet oi the In- dians. Game. it is well known, was abundant on the Island be- forc the advent of the white man, wilile the sea provided plenty of fish: and shellfish oi several kinds afforded s. change in their sea- 5011, But a balanced diet is neces- gory to health. and we find these "plants hard under contribution. (The list follows the order of the plallts in “The Flowering Plants and Ferns of Prince Edward Ls- land" published in 1933 by the Royal Canadian Institute).

The ferns utilized as food were: m; Common Bracken, whose young sprouts were used for soup, wiliic the rootstocks were roasted over the fire after the bark had been removed: The Sensitive Fern, whose rootstocks were roasted in the same way, or cooked in a stone-lined hole in the ground: and the Cinnamon Fem, whose young fronds were boiled for soup by both Indians and pioneers.

The group of evergreens known as the Pinaceae (including also tho deciduous Larlx) provided both "meat and drink". The carn- bluln (inner bark) of the White Pine was eatcn, in years of scarc- ity, raw or cooked. "Tea” was mode from the roots of the Larch or as we erroneously call it, the "Juniper". A kind of beer was made from the new shoots of the Black Spruce, and as to the Bal- sam Fir. the exudation from the trunk and branches was used as chewing gum. The leaves oi the Canada Hemlock were boiled as a beverage. Finally the "berries" oi the Alpine Juniper were eaten, in spite of their resinous flavor, and the stems and leav boiled to make s “bee.” '

The following water-loving plants provided a. considerable variety of food. The Common Cat-tall, (our "Bulrush") was extensively used both in Canada and the U. S. A. for the young roots, the bases o! the stems, the flowering ends and the seeds, were eatcnlby the vari- ous tribes. The sweetish tubers and the bulbous base oi the stems oi"th Broad-fruited Bur-reed are known to have been eaten; while the seeds of the Seaside Arrow- grnss were parched and ground for food or roasted as a subtitute for coffee. (It may be well to recall that the Arrowgrsss has the bo- lieinicsl name Triglochin maritima 1..., and islone of the Juncagin- men; as there is a printer's error in the Institute list). The paint»- able tubers of the Common or Broad-lcaved Arrowhead were eat- en, boiled or roasted, by every tribe of Indians; as wcll as in Eur- ope and in China.

As might be expected the Grsmineae or Grasses contribut- cd largely to the bill-of-fare, though it must have taken a lot of work to collect enough of thc seeds for a square- meal. on ac- count oi their small size. The seeds of that troublesome weed, the Barnyard Grass, were ground into flour and made into bread or mush. The seeds of Fowl Meadow Grass, Sheep's Fescue. and Wild Barley used in the some way, and it is likely that a hardy variety of Maize or Indian Corn had be- come occlimatized in the Province long before the coming oi the white men. In later times this was known as the “Old French Com", and was used in many ways.

The three Aroids native here all were used, and prolonged roast- ing or boiling was required to re- move the acrid taste. ‘Fhe 00m oi the Indian Turnip, the root- stock of the Water Arum (or Marsh Calla), and lllC_l‘00tStOCk oi the Cnlamus or Swcct Flag. furnished a source oi starchy food with lit.- tle trouble in early dllys.

The Uliaccae are fairly im- portant. To the southward grow at least a dozen species oi onion (Allium), all oi which wcre exten- sively uscd by tribes in the USA Two spcclcs grow as far north as NB, but it does not scam to have occurred t.o our Indians to intro- duce them hero. 'I'lle baffle-i 0’ the I"alse spllmllu-d. and of W‘ Star-flowered Solomon's Scal were catcll, and so were those of the False Lily-oi-tho-Vallcy, and thB Clnsping-lcavcd Twisted-stalk The lubcrs oi thc Indian Cucumber- Yoot were eaten by all the Indians of the northeast.

The Poplars of the Family Sallcaceae had their uses, but I cannot find that any oi the Wil- lows were represented. The inns)’ bark and sap of the American As- pen wcre used in timcs of scarcity. the bark being boiied._ The cam-

NOTES

bml" “i W" l-arsc-ttolatu Aspl-l. 3110 01 thc Balsam ‘rophlr wa. New iii tile same lwy. Sucll bark: were consldcrcd ulltlscorbutxs.

Ftollftilc blvlflfl. rcrll (A yrloa, 85111611110119. L.) a flag-rant drink W05 prepared.

The Old Red Sandstone (l)

novelty, or change; they like sunw- "955. monotony, repetition. They love ‘old favorites’ - old tunes they've heard for ycars. old sing- ers who can no longer sing, old

the salne old voice sing dreadfully the songs she sang beautifully tilt) Y0K)"; ago—and they will enjoy" lt. Their memory is strong; it is for them the source of all scntinlent.’

In the writer's case this prefer- ence extends to old books. but they must be “worth-whiie" as ilcli as old; and in the "Old Red Sand- stone" by Hugh Millcr. both condi- tions and satisfied. It was in my early twenties when I first read the book, and for some time 1 have intended to read it again. Now tile time has come. The book in ques- tion was originally published as a. series of articles in The Wit- ness. a Scottish religious periodical in 1841, and the very first article made Miller famous.

In those days, books on Science and Art nearly always took on a politlco-economical tinge, willie

fiction of the period inclined (but I in a very pleasant way) to nloralir- '

Soiilfllmd)’. Willing of hlllgllsl. . Wilts. remarks that “this queer P901910 docs not like variety

JOKES and old comedians who crack ‘

rm: (tnARl.0"l'ra1"Q_v_v1~§”Hr;uAko1An

0.8. PUTATUSITIIATIUN ANlMiil

The 1°11°WlnS information on the United States potato situa- tion. January. 1937. will be read vnth interest. It 1s from the Bureau oi Agricultural Ehonomics. Washington:

Oulinz to the small supply o! 1936 15W P1000005 Suing into stor- age for winter and spring mar- KWHGS. potato ‘prices advanced 118F111)’ during the last month, and indications are that, aside from minor recession from time to time, the Shara Upward trend will con- tinue during the next 2 or 8 months. The peak in prices for the 1936-37 season is expected to be reached about the middle of April, at which time it is not un- usual for heavy srmplles o1 new potatoes to move from the South- ern States. Prices of early, pota- toes probably will average some- what higher than a year earlier.

The supply of all potatoes for the first half of 1937 is now in- dicated to be the smallest since 1930, when there were unusually small January 1 stocks of old pota- toes and a. relatively small pro- duction of new potatoes. The in- dications ere that only about 78,- 000,000 bushels of old potatoes were in country warehouses on January 1. 1937. and early re- ports from growers in the South- ern States which market nearly all of’ the new crop before July 1 indicate that. with average grow- ing conditions, the early crop ap- proximate 26.000,000 bushels. The production range on the intended acreage reported is from 18,000,000 to 30,000,000 bushels, the actual size of the early crop depending

ing, or "preaching" as one ]’7l‘0l(‘i~.- sor calls it. So our book (){)l‘ll.‘; with advice to the young wcrkillz men oi Scotland. "Do not scck happiness in what is misllaulcd pleasure; seek it rather in wllat is termed study." “Read good books. not forgetting the bcst. of all: there is more true philosophy ill the Bible than ill every wnl-k oi every sceptic that ever wrote; and we would all be miserable creatures without it and none more miscr- able than you."

At the time this book was pub- ‘lished. the lot of the British work- ing folk was most Unhappy, and Miller could sympathize, for he had begun life as a lad working in a stone quarry. 13y the Rciorm Act of 1832, political power had been extended to thc middle-class, who exploited those below thorn, with- out giving them any sucll' protec- tion as the old feudal aristocracy had been accustomed to afford. The laboring classes thought (and rightly) that if they were allowed to have a vote in tllc election of members, the disabilities under which. they lay would be the sooner removed. Food was too dear. work hours too long, the houses were unfit to live in, and the chil- dren grew up untaught. Many people went to “the colonies" to escape these conditions, and some 0i.’ our Island families can trace their descent from ancestors who came here in those unsettled times.

Those who remained in Britain united in. drawing up a list of dc- mands called the People's Charter. and they themselves were culled Chartists. Chartism — there was an "ism" even in those days — demands (i) Universal suffrage — everybody over 21 to iloro a vote; (2) Vote by secret ballot; (3) An- nual Parliaments (not annual meetings of Parliament); (4) Payment of members, so that a poor man might have a chance to enter Parliament; (5) Abolition of the Property Qualification, so tlllli. a man might become member whether hc had land or not; and lastly (6) Equal Electors-l Dis- tricts-thc number oi’ lll(‘flll)l"l'fi dc- pending on the number oi people.

Most oi these demands have been ,

fulfilled in out time. and l\ll‘.’(‘ be- come the law of the lam’. but at. the time tilcy were formllllltcd. they were considered "Ollil‘l"fi‘flllfi" ' The Chaviists nt lcnktll 1 cdpubuc sluuoatlu‘ b)‘ r<"'»"1“»i"='= i9

violence against (how who or- poscd them. It is an Nd .0111)’ that the Chartists of Wllllntoll

Village ncar Newcastle, placvd n loaded cannon on tllc lll.'ll\\'ly :0 rcpcl illc troops who were ulldcr- stood to be on illc WHY i0 i"'1'<‘~‘ii their lenders. i\‘llll(‘l‘ coullruris ill" compatriots not. to attend Cllalusi meetings: "leave illcul (illc {wilti- cians) to hnrllnguc unholy‘ " 59f; yourselves i0 . leisure hours in lllakiuu .\'-')iiY-‘i‘1'~'i‘“ wiser men." ‘l"ll.~l-l~ would bu. hi‘ bgnpvpd, higlacl" ulld l()'.\'l'l‘ I'l:i'\.<l'§f n5 ion", us tllc world lil.‘~l\‘(l. am. n we“: hotter tllut thc 'i":l<l'~.'~l" unrl more intelligent. of thc lwrlivr» mounted to illc llltlllfl‘ p109‘. than that thcy should. by viuiruvi‘. bring society (l()\\'ll to lllPll‘ O'.\ill love]. "Lhpfnby clearing i‘l(' \\'_-1.\' for some second Crnnlwcll nl" oolwn." Pr0i>ll“l1¢ ‘Voids! w.» s01‘ they; truth when we look llt. lllc condition of the working vlilwffi e. ‘manly; twenty ycars last Febru- ary since I first setmui- a "it" before sunrise. to makc my m5‘ acquaintance with a, llfl‘. Of lllbOl and restraint; and 1 have nlrclv

__¢_._.__--—-——

and Spring delivery.

LIME

‘IT BRINGS THE CLOVER” Orders are now being booked for immediate

Write for prices delivered your station

Brookville Manufacturing» 011-. Wi-

n. o. s. ADAMS, "mi-ii!"

"rllzit- .

iupon growing conditions. On the

basis of this information, the pro- spective total supply of potatoes for the first 6 months of 1937 is slightly in excess oi 104,000,000 bushels, compared with 124,700,000 bushels available for the corres- ponding period of last year, and the 1928-32 average of 121,500,000 bushels.

The final crop report for I936 indicated a total United States production oi.’ approximately 330.- 000000 bushels oi potatoes. or about 2.000.000 bushels less than were reported in November. The i8 surplus producing late potato States have 240 254.000 bushels. or about 31.000000 lcss than their 1935 production and 201100.000

bushels below the 1928-32 average crop. The eight. Eastern States have 5.500.000 bushels more than in 1935. End 2.500.000 more than average, but the ten Central Slates show a great shortage, nearly 43, 000,000 bushels less than in i035 and 30,000,000 below average. Pro- duction in the twclvl: \Vc.qLpg-|-, States is about. 3,500,000 bus-hog. below the 1935 crop, but about 5, 200,000 bushels above the 5-year average. ‘

Wholeale prices of eastern pom. toes at New York City adv-once‘; from $2.41 per 100 pounds u“. first week oi December to about $2.77 the first wcck oi January. They averaged ‘$1.72 a year ago.

ShlPPlTIE-Wlllt prices and cash. tO-Elower Prices also followed the broad upward swing of terminal prices during the last month.

New potatoes were moving from the South at the rate of 5 to 10 cars daily, considerably more than the movement of a year ago, and Florida Bliss Triumphs were rc- tuming shippers in the soothe-n part of that State about $2.90 per 100 pounds, while wholesale deal- ers 1c New York received 53.59101. this new stock.

Shipments of old potatoes relllil- ed nearly 4.000 cars during the last week of December, but dc- creased to about 3,600 cars the first full week of January and were not quite so large as the out- put of a year ago. The most ac- tive shipping states were lyiaillc. Michigan, Colorado and Idaho.

HUSBANIIRY .

FARM BOOKKEEPING "Farm bookkeeping has always

.~ been rather difficult to install. So

l l

l l l i I l l i

lllzuly farmers have no experience in keeping accounts of any kind, and they seem to think it is B. vcry complex business.

Keeping accurate cost accounts on a farm is not. easily done. and it is inadvisable for the ordinary farmer t.o attempt. this at first. Later on he may make his system as elaborate as he pleases, but in tile beginning, a. system of records that will show him the results of his year's work, and will indicate what part of his business is pro- fitable, and where losses are made is quite sufficient.

The simplest form of accounting that will suffice, should be the farmers first aim. We are past the stage of disputing the value of farm accounts. Everyone recogn. lzes that no business can be suc- cessfully operated without records

i being kept, as it can when data is

iavailable to show where

profits are nladc or losses are entailed.

A system of bookkeeping to be effective should enable the farmer

l to take stock of his position at the

i l

By January 9, ncarly 80,000 cars.

of potatoes had been shipped by rail or boat from the 18 surplus producing States, compared 67,000 to the sallle time last so son. The larger rail shipment this year do not indicate larger

wit} l i convenient entreis every day, oth-

markctings but are clue to the fact!

that production is relatively small in nearby market areas from which potatoes are usually moved by motor truck.

For the United States as a whole, the average price to grow- ers ior potatoes advanced to $1.22 per bushel by January 15. compared with $1.06 on December 15, 1936, about 65 cents on Janu- sry 15, 1936: and a 1909-13 aver- age oi 64 cents per bilshei. The average oi $1.22 is the highest January average price to growers since 1929.

Potatoes: Acreage and production of early crop and January 1 stocks of old crop, 19 37 with comparisons

to the end of February is our cold- ost period. Most- of our birds have gone south, but a few hardy species remain, and from the north we occasionally have winter visitors when the weather gets too rough in their homeland.

Bronze Gruckless or Blackbird:

sccn. Fob. 8, 1918. y ‘ Railroads blocked by snow, Feb. .7-12, 1922. Murray Harbor got to Bunbury at 10 p.m. on its way to town on Feb. 7th.

Black Ducks. flock flying N.W. on Feb. 8, 1930.

Ruffled Grouse (feeding

buds) noted Feb. 10, 1931. I Pine Grosbeaks observed Feb. 11, i018. Crows vocal, Ebb. 11, 193i. Little snow in wintcr of 1910; open bouts crossed from Rocky Point to town on Feb. l4, 1910.

Song Sparroivs and Chickadees ill garden Fob. 16, i928. Great gale . wltll snow. Feb. 16, 1930. Barometer lllpiilly fell 1.6 inches and as surl- (l(‘llly rose. Mucll property dani- uuc in the Province. Our courier would not make his round next ., day.

No slciglling till Feb. 17, 1900; and little afterwards that winter.

Owls booting Fcb._ 18, 1926, be- fol-c n thaw. Crows searching thc v llllzrsll. Fob. 18, 1928. Immense spot. ion sun noticed Fob. 17, 1922. On

the same datc Summerside report- cd 3o below rero and Kensingtun 35B.

Little or no sleiglling till Feb. 19.

10110; lllllcll rnln this winter. A wild storm on Feb. 10, 1020, preced- cd by 1.25 inch drop of the Baro- meter. Between 8 and 9 p.m. Char- lottetown reported s. 55 m. p. b. wind and Summerslde between 100 ‘and 125 m. p. h. (‘l’) All plate- glass windows blown in, many roofs blown off, barns blown down and cattle killed. is night the -c0ncrete hotel, (M Callumi) at Brackley Beach, was unrooied.

Mount Herbert reported 7B in (he night of Feb. 20, 1916.

Dipiera flying outside Feb. 24, i927. Great storms on Feb. 23 and 24. 1931. cost the Island Railways $50000 for shovelllng snow.

llorncd Lark (dead) brought in ‘ Feb. 2e, 19m. Blue Jay and Chick- flflbfi! observed Feb 27. 1922.

A note in Feb. 1905, tell oi heavy snowfall winter and spring. with " no trains ior weeks at a time. It

was impossible that year for thc

members oi the Legislature to get ‘to Charlottetown and the House adjourned ior two or three weeks. i It was this winter that "the snow l-cacllcd the telephone wires on the ;st. Peter's Road.” | A great incursion of Snowy Owls z took place in the severe winter of 11026-7. In eleven weeks one ob- iscrwcr saw 87 of these Owls.

1

OX1

train ,

1 Henry VII

l1) Why and how WllS the system established, and <2) has it. cvcl" been suspended and with what rc- ults? This sent m": browsing ovcr the British Hitorics.

In the Anglo-Saxon tilllcs the guilt or innocence of a member of the community was dcbatcci and settled by his fellows at a. general meeting. Vvhen the country bc- came settled, with a strong cc-

clesiastlcal influence. Trial by 0r-

deal came into force. and was practised for some ccnialricr. This in some respects. was not so satis- factory and in the famous Magnu Charter of 1215 the thirty-ninth stipulation was lnscrtcd thus: “No freeman shall be fzlkcn or im- prisoned. or disscisctl, (that is. dc- privcd of his laud) or outialvrd. or banished. or anyway dcstrorczl. nor will we pass (sentence) upon him

...unless by the lawful jtiriumcnt. of his pcers (equals) or by thc luv; of thc land." So began thr- sys- teln of Trial by Jury. us u silic- guard against thc tyranny of :1 King who wanted io bo "ll (liciu- tor."

For ovcr 270 ‘ycars tho system had occupied a plncr- ill lllc lla- uonlll lifc. till lll lilo l-clvu of llllflfi-lfiilfi), a s-mzacl- ous but despotic King. il statute was passed giving justices puvscr to judge all offcllccs, short of fc- lony: and this enactment. did away with Trial by Juljv. ‘Fills lll\\' was most. unpopular with the lliiilfill because thc justices ul. lllc can".- nland of the King laid heavy nlid unjustifiable fincs upon lllc pco- plc. on slight prcicxis. This was the era of Empson mid Dlullcv, two of Henry's most infamous ministers. When Hcnry h.".(l, _ means of these llwll. got. pos of about two million pounds,

he defied Parliament and seldom call-

ed it together. The ziolnl! "Wily with the Jury and finally nilowcd him to become ml absolute nlon- lircll.

Henry VIII on his accession. to gain popularity. repealed the statute and re-estnblisllcd Trial by Jury; though in ills later ycars he was as despotic as the former monarch. We are ill no danger today from the despotism oi Kings, but there are other mellac- ing forces and it behoovcs men to be cautious in meddling wllll thc customs which safeguard demo- cracy.

QUICK CHOCOLATE FROSTING-

One teaspoon butter. nllr-follfill pound sweet chocolate. two tablo- spoons hot wills-r. Pill. all together into the double brrlcr and stir until think, cool and boat. sprmd on the ofilke.

Acreage Production stocks 5-yr.a.v. 5-yf- EV- 1928-32 1936 1937 1928-32 1936 1937 Acres Acres Acres 1.000 bu. 1,00 bu. 1,000 bu. Fall 2,400‘ 1.100 2.100 12o as 141 Early (1) 38,400 29,700 38,500 3.033 2.807 Early (2) 82,400 75,900 98,300 8,818 11.95:: Second Early 50.000 46.000 05.400 6.243 4.225 "llrotél 4 groups 173.200 153,300 194,300 19.014 19.072 Stocks oi 1936 crop hold on Jan. 1 102.520“ _1o5,cs0 W 78,011 had a heavier heart than on that _ "nloi-niilg.” So Hugh Miller writes "Trial By .lury" of ills first day in the stone-quarry Listening ill U10 00101‘ flight. I of the old red sandstone. gathered from a. debate l)(‘l.\\'(?f"ll two “Law Schools" tlzrlt a con- A Nstllraulvs Calendar (z) siderable body of opinion I _ H .. vacated the doing away with Trial. fiebfrlgfiy tiimeouxgldgzdfiit .1322‘)? by Jury. 0n reflection tilcse an questions presented thelnsclvcsa: