pear before the second year. The leaves can be eaten raw after they have 
     
     been peeled and the roots are excellent in stews or cooked by themselves. 
     
    

    
     As a fresh vegetable, take the first-year leaves, peel off the skin 
     
     and eat them raw with a little salt if desired. As a cooked vegetable, 
     
     they are best in a stew. Take the roots, clean and scrape them and split 
     
     them four ways. Use them in a stew asyou would normally use carrots or 
     
     parsnips° 
     
    

    
     Another weed that is greatly overlooked as a natural food is the 
     
     Great Burdock. They are a familiar nuisance because of their nasty habit 
     
     of attaching themselves to your pants or your dog when brushing against 
     
     them. Some varieties are even cultivated in Japan and the Far East where 
     
     they are highly prized as food. 
     
    

    
     In gathering it for food, it is wise to look for the first-year's 
     
     foots as they are milder in taste. The first-year plant is easily recog- 
     
     nized by the biennial stems which have no flowers or burrs. Because it 
     
     is easily distinguished and cannot be mistaken for anything else, it 
     
     makes excellent survival food for hikers and hunters lost in the bush. 
     
    

    
     The tender roots are prepared the same way you would peel a par— 
     
    
   
   
    
     snip. Sliced, they make an excellent potherb. If picked early enough, 
     
    
   
   
    
     they young leaves can be boiled and served as greens. The rapidly growing 
     
     flower stalk is the tastiest part of the plant, but every bit of the bit- 
     
    
   
   
    
     ter skin must first be removed by peeling. The pith of the flower stalks 
     
    

    
     , One plant that is certainly overlooked 
     
    

    
     as a source of natural food is the Thistle, 
     
     for a very obvious reason. Despite the un- 
     
     likely appearance for an edible plant, this 
     
    

    
     rough-looking vegetable makes a dandy dish 
     
    

    
     when properly prepared. 
     
    
   
   
    
     “mu-mil, 
     
    
   
   
    
     [3.1014 . 
     
    
   
   
    
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     widespread pest in pastures and along road- 
     
     sides on Prince Edward Island. 
     
    

    
     As a fresh vegetable, the leaves are 
     
     edible after the prickles have been removed. 
     
     Wear gloves! It can be eaten either cooked 
     
     or raw. 
     
    
   
   
    
     can be made out of young thistle leaves, 
     
     hard-boiled eggs and sliced tomatoes. 
     
    

    
     If you find yourself lost in the woods 
     
     without food, you can skin the stalks, cut 
     
    
   
   
    
     THISTLE 
     
    
   
   
    
     It should be no pro— 
     
     blem finding enough for a meal as they are a 
     
    
   
   
    
     The stalks are also edible after the 
     
     tough skin has been peeled off. A nice salad 
     
    
   
   
    
     1 
     
    
   
   
    
     them into two-inch pieces and boil them in salted water. Many an outdoors— 
     
    
   
   
    
     man has survived for weeks by using thistles both as a diet and material 
     
     for making fishing lines and snares. 
     
    

    
     The Dandelion, a well-known pest on Island lawns, 
     
     edibles to appear in the spring. The tender young leaves are excel- 
     
     in a salad or eaten raw. Later in the spring they become bitter and 
     
     be cooked in two lots of water to remove the bitterness. 
     
    

    
     They are one of the most commonly eaten wild plants and are well 
     
     known for their high vitamin A content. The plants contain 25 times more 
     
     vitamin A than tomato juice and 50 times more than asparagus. 
     
    

    
     Used as a fresh vegetable, the young dandelion leaves impart a nice 
     
     delicate flavor to a salad. Clean and wash them under cold running water, 
     
     add to a tossed salad and moisten with a little corn or maple syrup for 
     
     sweetness. They also make a good tea. For a strong tea that is good for 
     
     colds, simmer the leaves for about 10 minutes. 
     
    
   
   
    
     wild 
     
     lent 
     
     must 
     
    
   
   
    
     If you are one of those people who still removes this weed from young: 
     
    
   
   
    
     10 - 
     
    
   
   
    
     is one of the first