Synopsis:
Donald and the nephews are on vacation in the deep woods and Donald tries to take pictures of a deer. But it is not that cooperative...

Comments:
Barks presents grandiose scenery in this story filled with different sorts of botanical details characteristic of American forests. Little did he know that just a few years ahead he would visit numerous forest areas in the company of his last wife Garé. She was an excellent landscape painter with forest scenes as her primary motif, and her husband often drove her so that she could make preliminary sketches.
In WDCS274 Gall of the Wild Barks made a similar, naturalistic story; Donald wanted to teach his nephews how to survive in the wild and we are taken to different forestry areas.

Synopsis:
Donald is embarrassed that he is an ignoramus about flowers and he decides to become an expert on the subject. But the plants soon take over...

Comments:
From the beginning it is clear that Donald knows absolutely nothing about flowers. Soon it becomes evident - even to Donald himself - that he has bitten off more than he can chew, and he succumbs to the fact that hastily gathered knowledge cannot compete with hard-earned experience.
In WDCS132 'Scouting Outing' Donald tries to convince his nephews that he used to be a better boy scout than they are now, but his lack of basic botanical knowledge soon cuts him down.

Synopsis:
Chisel McSue presents Scrooge with a legal paper that enables him to obtain all of Scrooge's wealth. It can be avoided, though, if he finds a certain case of horseradish at the bottom of the sea...

Comments:
Although the horseradish has a primary role in the plot, we actually never get to see it! In the last panels we are presented to a case supposed to contain the root, but it could for that matter contain anything. It is not important for the overall story. The reason why Barks chose horseradish is probably that his brother Clyde at the time was living in Tulelake, California, which was known as the Horseradish Capital of the World producing 1/3 of USA's harvest.
In U$16 Back to Long Ago! the ducks hunted another treasure chest with a diffuse content. As it turned out, the chest contained old, rotten potatoes...

Synopsis:
The Money Bin has been undermined by gophers so Scrooge's money has to be moved immediately. But how does one get past the cunning Beagle Boys?

Comments:
Haven't we all tried to hide undesirable bits of food under a leaf of lettuce on our dinner plate? Barks really took advantage of this 'disguising' ability in this story, and he took it to a higher level; Scrooge hid all his dollar bills in lettuce heads! An added advantage was that dollar bills and lettuce are of the same colour.
In U$31 All at Sea Scrooge sailed home with a billion dollars in gold. But the Beagle Boys were following so he grinded the gold and disguised it as corn!

Synopsis:
Donald reads a book about black wishing stones on a tropical island and the nephews make fun of him for believing the story. But soon after they are all on their way...

Comments:
On arrival Donald finds himself the unwilling owner of a whole year's harvest of coconuts which the natives force upon him.
In U$29 Island in the Sky the ducks experience a much more acceptable and joyous event; they arrive at an asteroid where an abundance of all sorts of fresh, appetizing fruits grow for the taking.

Synopsis:
Donald longs to win a prize for his apples at the county fair and he is nursing them all summer long. To little avail...

Comments:
The story takes off by presenting Donald as a somewhat dedicated gardener who wants to grow first class apples. But he lacks the basic skills to see the project through. Still, Barks describes a compliant amateur with great patience, which is uncharacteristic for Donald and his usual short-temper.
In WDCS189 'Backyard Garden' Barks describes Donald with a considerably shorter fuse; Donald starts off with flying colours in an attempt to beautify his backyard garden, but bleak reality soon creeps in...

Synopsis:
Donald and the nephews travel into the jungle to find Razor Wasps which can destroy the Pickle Haters that threaten the pickle harvest in Duckburg...

Comments:
The ducks have often journeyed to faraway places, but rarely for a botanical reason. In this story they have a genuine and unselfish wish to save pickles...
In WDCS117 'The Daisy Picnic' the triggering factor is less impressive - but still equally devoted; Donald and Gladstone are both trying to court Daisy at a picnic by finding a real daisy for her.

Synopsis:
Scrooge likes his nutmeg tea after a hard day's work but suddenly the deliveries of the special nutmeg stop. Off he goes to solve the mystery...

Comments:
Nutmegs - or rather the lack of them - are very important to this story's plot, although they are just seen in one panel. Barks could just as easily have chosen any other plant as an excuse for the ducks' journey. Ordinary tea leaves, for instance...
In U$46 The Lemonade Fling the nephews use huge amounts of lemons to be sold from their stand. Again, Barks could have chosen several other fruits from which to make juice.

Synopsis:
Gyro gets a new neighbour and - lo and behold - he turns out to be an inventor as well. Soon a feud has started to see who is the better inventor!

Comments:
The two inventors take turns in inventing one botanical impossiblity after another. They conjure up a breadfruit tree with real loafs of bread, a cherry tree with fruitcakes, an apple tree with apple pies, a peanut butter sandwich tree, a salad fruit tree, and many more.
The vegetables shown in U$23 The Fabulous Tycoon took botany to a greater scale - literally. Donald and Scrooge pay a visit to a tycoon who grows gigantic potatoes, peas, tomatoes, watermelons, and more.

Synopsis:
Scrooge finds an S.O.S. message - someone on an unknown island seeks help. He quickly takes off in the hope of earning a bundle on the rescue expedition...

Comments:
Scrooge's favourite food, at least in this story, is cabbage - loathed by Donald and the nephews for its taste and smell! In the plot the specific vegetable plays an important role by luring one of the Beagle Boys into captivity. He loves boiled cabbage! (Another Beagle Boy is known to love prunes, but that is another story (U$58 The Giant Robot Robbers to be precise))...
It is hardly a coincidence that Barks chose cabbage as Scrooge's favourite food, because it was actually his own favourite, too. His favourite meal was the American dish Corned Beef an Cabbage. If you examine the stories closely you will find many references to cabbage; WDCS068 'The Kite Maker', WDCS129 'Swimming Pool Garden', and WDCS189 'Backyard Garden' are examples.