Middletown transcript., 1868-02-01

COpenhagen, and one OF the latest 4gastr0-
nomic innovations in France and Germany
is the use Of horse flesh. The Pcrsians
and Tartars hold the flesh of the common
and wild ass in high esteem; and where
ever the camel and the giraffe are found,
they are frequently eaten, the tongue of the
former and the marrow of the latter being
considered dclicacics. ...-.,s 30, .,... D. :,
The ornithological tastes of the human
race are more appropriately and generally
diffused than is the case with the mammals !;
and with the exception Of few such birds
as the crow and the bustard, both of which
arc sometimes eaten,g all the feathorcd
tribes seem to have been employed as food,
when necessity or luxury have demanded
their death. The only real curious fact
connected with bird food is that which ex-
lists among the Chinese. where the nest of
a species OF swallow, formed of muoilag-
ilous substance, is considered luxury,
the constituent qualities of which have
never been ascertained by analysis. e.,.
r. But in regard to the reptile race, the
barbarous, epicures of the world practice
some, singular habits n The tree lizard,
called the iguana, is considered in most
tropical countries as but little inferior to
the common fowl in flavor the. alligator
and crockodilc, in all the countries where
they are found, are considered fit for food,
and are said to resemble veal both in ap-
pearance and taste; some of the tribes of
Southern Guinea cat tire boa-constrictor;
in Ceylon the flesh of the anaconda is es-
teeined as food by the natives, and in va
rious parts of America the rattlesnake is
pronounced capital food and in France,
as is we'll known, frogs are deemed lux
ury. +. g ~ q deii 4rp it.r.-s.r iEr
What has been said in regard to birds is
quito as applicable to the fishes of the rivers
and the sea, and there is nothing very Gu,
rious or alarming in employing any of them
for food, not even excepting the varieties
Of shell fish, That some few Of them
are poisonous cannot be doubted, but
these are such awfplly queer looking crea-
lures and known by such outlandish names.
and are SO rare that they may be permitted
to pass on their way rejoicing. In the
Shetland Islands Holsters and crabs abound,
which the people catch for the London mar
ket, but refuse to eat even when half
starved.
English cpicurcs consider the john-dory
delcacy, but the inhabitants Of Devon
shire, in England, and of Ireland never
touch them. In Scotland an eel is rejec-
ted as if it were snake. Along the
coasts of New England the sword-fsh is
heartily enjoyed, but in the markets of
New York ii meets with little patronage.
In former times tho Crcolcs and Indians Of
South America looked with horror upon
turtle, and yet in the United States none
but the rich cnjoy the fare. '''' = 3'.'' -.'.
But when we come to consider the in
sect races, We find that they furnish more
food delicacies than is generally supposed.
The grub Of the palm weeyil is considered
as something delicious in the West Indies,
in Surinam, and the island of Mauritus j;
the larvae Of the cocoa-nut beetles are en-
joycd by the inhabitants of British Guiana
and in South America and Western Africa
certain mammoth beetles are eagerly de-
voured, some specimens Of which, in for
mer years, have. been sold for English
cabinets at the rate of fifty pounds sterling;
in Australia many worms, bred in decayed
wood, are collected for human food va
rious members of the locust family are
now, and have been from time immemorial,
employed as food in various parts -of the
world, and as they live on vegetable food,
it is difficult to understand why q mess of
grasshoppers may. mot be as palatable as a
dish of schrimps q curry of aunt's eggs
is deemed aluxury in Siam; various kinds
Of water bugs are eaten in Mexico; butter
flies in Australia, are more highly esteemed
for their favor than their beauty; spiders
form an article in the list of the bushman's s
daintics in South Africa, and roasted
spiders are spoken of as enjoyed by the
people Of New Caledonia--Lalande, the
French astronomer, having been fond of
them; and Humboldt tells US that he has
seen the eentipcde eagerly devoured by
children in South America. IN Italy cock
chafers are .candied and served up with
other confectionery, and in Austria large
wood ants are served up and eaten alive
| i The diversity of tastes prevailing in diff
fercnt parts of the world in regard to food
would seem to confirm the ptoverb that
lone mans meat is another mans poison. y
In very many instances, what is highly
esteemed in one country is abhorrcd in
another.rtT v''ue,ar afmHYtaa.a5. ssa :
/ Milk, as an article of food (except for
sucking babies, } is loathed by the South
Sea Islanders. Goats have been intro
duced into several of the islands but the
people deride the settlers with using the
milk, and ask them why they do not milk
their sows. On the other hand, dogs and
rats are fayorite articles Of food with them.
As for pork; II is on religious grounds
that the Jews and Mahommedans abstain
from il. as the Hindoos do from beef. But
the Christians Of the East seem TO Rave
nearly an equal aversion to IL; and the
like prevailed until lately in Scotland.
4 Z Maize or Indian corn has been intro
duced into New Zealand by the missionaries
and the people cultivate and highly esteem
it. But their mode of preparing It for
food is to civilized people most disgusting
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