> until some local Indians taught them
> to use some kind of pine  or spruce (I forget exactly) needle to
> prevent it. It wouldn't take much to clear the obvious symptoms of
> scurvy,

I make tea from pine-needles in winter. They taste good (as tea) and are
supposed to be a source of vitamins.  I try to walk into the woods as
far as I can before harvesting because our overcrowded poluted country
knows no clean pines anymore.
People that walked across while I was doing that asked me why I picked
that tree.When I told them it was for tea they nearly called the men in
the white jackets ;-)

Christy