Pointe Coupee Democrat. [volume] (False River [i.e. New Roads], Parish of Pointe Coupee [La.]) 1858-1862, 1858-10-16


; the flavor Of an almond, and the spider
that Of the tilbcrt He gives the pref
, erence to the latter as being the most
delicate. g
/ The nutritious and substantial quail
ties Of certain insects have been SO well
appreciated that they have been prefer
red to all other ailments for their resto-
ratlve properties and their supposed
conservative influence upon life, health,
and beauty. The Roman ladies, Of the
Empire. resumed the ample forms of
the Cornslias, of the Republic, by the
assiduous use of the Cassus. The Sui
taras Of the Oricnt-in those voluptu-
ons climes where Love delights in swell.
ing forms and rounded contours-regale
themselves upon the larvae of the bee,
and attribute their freshness and enbon.
lpoint to the nutritive properties of this
succulent insect ...s
For the most part, however, the in.
sect has been converted into food by
the human family, by way of reprisal
for the ravages it has committed upon
|vegetatlon, and by that means deprived
them of their usual support. The terri.
| ble locust whose hordes have 80 often
devastated the Oriental countries, has
therefore been pursued and in their turn
devoured By the people of the Orient.
That this necessity was the real cause
of their first employment. there seems
to be no reason to doubt. Habit. and
an acquired taste afterwards confirmed
their use; and destructive as they are
to the vegetation, their disappearance,
or even their dimunition, would be seri-
ously felt as public calamity. Under
the Caliphat of the Omar Ben el-Kottah
they entirely disappeared. Omar was
profoundly troubled, and dispatched cou-
riers in every direction into the prov
ince of Cham, of Yamen, and of Irak.
to search for the missing guests. The
courier from Yamen returned with .
handful and Omar returned thanks to
Allah for this proof of his bounty.
In Arabia they are used as food by
both men and camels. They are eaten
both fresh and dried, after removing the
head, wings and legs, either fried, boil.
ed, or mixed with kouskoussou. Dried
in the sun they are reduced to powder.
and either cooked with milk, or, formed
with -four into paste and fried in but
ter. This usage is permitted by the
Mahomedan law, provided that the in-
sects have been taken alive and killed
10y the hand of a Musulman; if they
have been destroyed by cold, or have
been taken by the hand of an infdel,
their flesh is impure, as their 1maums
have decided Their use is moreover
sanctioned by the example Of the Proph-
ct, and his words, according to his fol:
lower, Abdallah Ben Ali.
an Meriem Bent Aotnramt having ask
ed permission of Allah to partake Of q
flesh in which there was no blood, Allah
sent her some locusts."
"We have been in company with the
Prophet in numerous expeditions during
which we have subsisted upon locusts,
Ind he has eaten with u.s." sf@
From which testimony it appears in
lubitable, that "by the bounty Of Allah,
he locust has been given to man for
lis nourishment." s..
y 4
Here rests my case. .......-...
The subject of my article furnishes a
lish that is more substantial-one far
icher in aliment than the locust. Why .
hen should we hesitate in making 80
lseful reprisal7 .,3
And moreover. lis nous ont manges.
VALE.
ArcHAFALAYA, Oct. 8, 1858. s' ~
8E ~ Il G3 Es
by modern nations, we refer more particularly
nations of the Western Hemisphere-to those
no term themselves par ezcsQnce enlightened. 2
will be seen that ] afterwards allude to the
lstoms of Oriental nations in this respect.
THE Virgin Mary. Koran, chap. 1x. g 81
ia a.s rss