The Hickman courier., 1871-04-15

SpeciaItfea 0f fhe Kentucky Cuf-
sine JuicIly Discusned.

Spectatttea Of the Kentucky Cui-
sine Sufciiy Discussed.
When the grass begins to show
healthy green on the hillsides--when
the buds begin to swell, the fish to bits.
the lambs to frisk, and the birds 70 pair
LIN short. when spring. etheresl mild
ness, no longer fingers in the lap Of win
ter, the appetite Of man, like that OF the
brute, Graves q change Of diet The
horse tires Of his yellow corn, chopped
oats hay and bran, and his mouth wa
ters for the emerald grass and the tender
shoots Of herbage that spring up in the
fence corners When turned out. his
festive heels cIeave the ambient air. and
ne laughs--a veritabie horse laugh--at
the prospect of filing up with green's
So il is with man He gets through the
winter admirably on sirloiu steaks, poul-
try, oysters, canned fruits. ''and sich."
but when the spring comes he feels .
| gnawing and hspkering in his..innards," J"
j which neither the grocer uorthe butch
cr can satisfy. His stomach resDits &C
porter house; mutton mortally ofends
him, and he turns up his eontsmptuous
nose at poultry. He loathes homiuy
and rice, and bis inmost soul with deep
disgust is stirred at the bare thought Of
idried apples. Hereviews the history Of
Nebuchadnezzar, and the fate OF that
ruminating biped does not strike bin ss
being particularly hard. He feels an al
most irresistible inclination TO go on all
fours and bark the fruit trees as the
horses do. Even his matutinsl cocktail
"goes sgin him." and he is generally
out Of sorts.
In many parts Of our beloved country
our fellow-men aud women annually pass
through this uncomfortable phase Of ex-
isteDce without knowing what is the
matter with them, aud suffer gastric sg-
ony until the crisp radishes come upo1
the table. But in Kentucky we know
what this mysterious craving of the ap-
petite means, and how TO satisfy IL. We
understand ourselves, and know what's
the matter with Hannah. The human
system, impoverished in certain elements
by the long use Of winter grub, needs
something to supply the waste. What
we need is jowl and greens Other less
favored communities have bacon and
greens, or greens plain, boiled to pulp
and served up with perhaps n slice or
two of hard boiled egg to aid the impo-
sitiou, but in Kentucky alone do 80
that grandest combination of cuN ~
science-that dish it for the gQds7z&Fl
and greens The jaunty dandeliodybe
"lamb's quarter" the broad leaf of the
water dock, the pungent wild mustard, or
the more civilized spinach and tqkRip
top, furnish the tender, toothsome gHhi
ture for the royal jowl, salted TO q nicely,
smoked to a golden brown, aud brought
upon the table with just tiDge of that
creosotic favor so enjoyable 10 cured
meats and Scotch wbiskies. Jowl and
greens exists in sporadic form in other
States. 1t may be occasionally encoun-
tered in farm houses throughout Indiana
and Illinois, while in the Southern States
it is more common. But in Kentucky
alone is it epidemic and found in it's
hishsst 4 ssats = !. oi
ed its proper position in the list Of good
things, combining the attributes Of the
necessary and the luxury. In season il
is given the place of honor on our hotel
bills of fare. shaming by the imposing
grandeur of its democratic simplicity
the frothy frumpery of French dslusions
and snares with which it is associated.
The eye of the jaded epicure, passing
hurriedly over the preteDders. rests with
s a sense ,e.o.. Of satisfied e0mpla'en'y o. j0wi
An indispensable auxiliary to jowl and
greens is corn bread, and here again
Kentucky proudly challenges thsRpm-
petition of the world. None oCyour
vile compounds Of alkali aud acid& with
which the housewives Of otherl States
persecute the stomach, and ho.lffy the
gastric juice-nor the soddsn mass Of
dough, moIasses and "injun meal, with
which the brgoted Yankee does penancs,
for his sins-but the sweet, palatabls
pulp, baked TO turn, and melting on the
enraptured palate with richness that
fingers like sweet remembrance OF ia
ded joys. The corn bread of Tennessee
is good. The cora bread OF the West
has no distinctive character, being some
times good and sometimes bad. The
corn bread of Boston Is a naineless hor-
ror. The corn bread Of Kentucky is
| ioy forever. Bot to return 70 our cohoH.
We believe humanity is indebted TO Luke
CuIlus, one of the pioneers, for the
grand combination Of jowl and greens.
| Mr.. Cullus is a linesl descendant Of ths
great Emperor of the same name, who
fooled away his time in devising fimsy
dishes of peacocks' tongues, while he
might have had jowI and green's
There Is one element IN the African
which redeems him from hopeless bar.
barism-- one streak Of higher organiza-
ton which encourages Us in the hope Of
ultimate civilization and enlightenment.
He takes kindly to jowl aud greens. He
snakes the ghastly catfish from its lair
| in the ooxy bed of Beargrass, and
.yanks" the tender pullet from the mid
night roost He dotes on the fat, per-
simmon fed and prehensiIe tailed oYos-
sum, baked with sweet 'taters but his
religion is jowl and greens. And in this
devotion, wealth and refinement strike
hands with Boiling poverty. Jowl and
greens is tfe one touch Of nature which
makes US all akin.
If there is any envious reader from
the lands to the north of us who thinks
we have taken up too much space with
this gastronomic rhapsody, weretort that
we scorn his suggestions. The man
who don't like jowi aud greene isa fraud
"a fit subject for treason. strstsgem and
spoils. We shall continue to eat in de-
Il 6ance of his structures. There 10 nntri-
ment in jowl and greens. IL Is hygienic:,
soothiu. satisfyin', fllin' and relishin'
t j Jorl and green's Ben. Las''dy's Table
Talk.
Il The Barberss lPole.