This Flemish booklet 'Wilde planten op het woudloopersmenu' (wild plants on the wood trackers menu) was published in 1945 and given its age and the brittleness of the paper it's a remarkably well preserved scouting publication. The introduction is followed by a short essay that tells of a country walk ending with a wild food feast: pure outback joy that is within your reach with this publication in your knapsack. And while the fern soup described does not appeal to me much, my lacklustre attempt to research the history of foraging has here found another important avenue for future investigation. I had hoped that the writer, a certain R. Hermans, would have said something about WWII but alas: not a word.
Would Baden Powell's little soldiers still forage their own meals today?
Below are a number of pages from this book. Click to enlarge.
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