The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1874-03-19
Clay Eating.

A writer in the Food Journal, dis
coursing on strange dishes, communi-
Gates some interesting notes MS to the
employment and mode of preparation
OF that strangest of all edible sub
stances, clay. Humboldt, on the 9TH
OF June, 1900, spent n day at q station
occupied by tho Otomacs, tribe of
clay on the Orinoco. He de-
scribes the earth eaton by them MS an
unctuous, almost tasteless clay, true
potters' earth. This is carefully picked,
and kncaded into balls of from four to
six inches in diameter, which are then
baked before n slow fire, until the outer
surface becomes of areddish color. The
earth is said to possess different kinds
OF flavor, and it is selected by the pal
ate aim st as carefully as our more
dainty provisions. Before being eaten
the balls are moistcned with water.
The Otomacs, however, do not appear
to adopt this article of food from
choice, nor do they cat it the whole
year round. When the waters of the
Orinoco and Meta are low they subsist
on turtles and fish; but during the peri
odical swelling of these rivers the Oto-
macs devour enormous quantities of
clay balls, which are kept piled up in
heaps in their huts. Humboldt was in
formed that an Indian would consume
from three.quarters to one and one
quarter pound of this food daily, with
out any apprecable injury to health.
The Otomacs are by no means singu-
lar in their adoption of earth as an ar
ticlo of food, for the same practice pre-
walls among several other tribes, chiefly
in the tropics. Tt has been stated by
Humboldt and other travellers that the
women employed in the small village of
Banco, on the Magdalcna, in burning
earthenware pots, continually fill their
mouth with large humps of clay. At
San Roia an Indian child was observed
which, according to the statement of its
mother, would hardly eat anything but
earth. Tho negroes of Guinea arc also
in the habit of eating yollowish kind
of earth called c0OUac. While the
slave trade between Africa and the West
Indies was in existence, these negroes
on their arrival at the plantations would
endoavor to procure some similar spe-
cies of food, maintaining that the earth
they devoured was harmless. 1t was
found, however, that the c00udc of the
West Indies had n deleterious effect on
the health of those partaking of it, and
its use was strictly forbidden.
In Java the same practice prevails. |
In 1S47 some edible clay was sent for
analysis from Samarang to Berlin, and
was found to be fresh-water formation
deposited in tertiary limestone, and |
mostly of animalcules. Ac-
cording to Labillardiere, the natives of
New Caledonia cut Jumps of a friable
kind of soapstone, in which Vauquelin
detected certain quantity of copper.
Among some northern races, too, clay
,ating prevails. A careful analysis of
,he earth food of the Laplanders showed
hat it contains large portion of or
yanic matter from the erUrin of inf1so-
'ial animals. Among the lower animals
he earthworm and some others are
Known to feed upon earth and the
Spatnngus (heart urchin) and ArcUi.
:oi0 (sandworm) fill their stomachs
With sand. The chief use of clay in
he human economy would appear to be
or producing distention of the walls
If the stomach, which seems to allay
I