Acorns Can Be Made Edible
Still another source of food for the wild motor camper are the nuts. These, of course, are not available until fall. The most easily obtainable nuts, if we may call them nuts, are the different varieties of acorns. Some of them are quite astringent, but acorns from the white oak are least so, and even those most astringent may be dried over the fire, pounded up, placed in a cheese-cloth bag, and leached by pouring water through the mass until it runs clear without any yellowish tinge. Boil what [[167]]remains to a mush and it will be found quite eatable and nourishing.
Late in the summer the globular mushroom may be found on grassy slopes. It is called the beef-steak mushroom. When dried it becomes the common puff-ball. Sliced and fried it is better and more nourishing than the egg plant. It is not untasty raw. When old and dry, this mushroom makes a valuable fire-punk and will carry fire for a long time. When young and fresh, it is solid white all the way through, and may be easily peeled and sliced.