The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1875-03-19

both of which are sometimes eaten, al
/ the hefeathered dtribes seem to have been en-
/ ployed asfood, when necessity or luxury
has demanded their death. The only really
curious fact connected with bird food
lis that which exists among the Chinese
where the nests of species Of swallow
formed of mucilaginous substance, il
'considered aluxury, the constituent quail
( tiles fpf which have never been ascer.
tanned by analysis
But'in regard to the reptile race, the
barbarous epicures of the world practice
some singular habits. The true lizard,
called the iguana, is considered, in most
tropical countries, as but little inferior
to the common fowl in flavor the alli-
gator and crocodile, III all the countries
where they are found, are considered fit
for food, and are said to resemble veal,
both in appearance and taste some of
the tribes of Southern Guinea eat the
boa constructor in Ceylon the flesh of
the anaconda is esteemed as food by the
natives, and in various parts of America
the rattlesnake is pronounced capital
food, while in France, as is we'll known,
frogs are deemed luxury.
What has been said in regard to birds
is quite as applicable to the fishes of the
rivers and the sea, and there is nothing
very curious OF 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 awfully
queer-looking creatures, are known by
such outlandish names, and 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 market, but
refuse to eat even when half starved
English epicures consider the john
dory a delicacy, but the inhabitants of
Devonshire, in England, and of Ireland,
never touch them.
In Scotland an eel is rejected as if it
were a snake.
Along the coast of New England the
sword-fsh is heartily enjoyed, but in the
markets of New York it meets with little
patronage.
In former times the Creoles and Indi-
ans of South America looked with horror
upon turtle, and yet in the United
States none but the rich enjoy the fare.
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 weevil
is considered as something delicious in
the West Indies, in Sulinam, and the
Island of Mauritius the larvae of the
coeoanut beetles are enjoyed by the
inhabitants of British Guiana, and in
South America and Western Africa GER
tain mammoth beetles are eagerly de
voured, some specimens of which, in
former years, have been sold for
English cabinets at the rate of ESQ 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 immemo-
rial, 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 not be as pala-
table as q dish of shrimps I; n curry OF ants
eggs is deemed luxury in Siam /; various
kinds of water-bugs are eaten in Mexico !;
butterflies in Australia are more highly
esteemed for their flavor than their
beauty spiders form an article in the
list of Bushmens dainties in South Af-
rica, and roasted spiders are spoken of
as enjoyed by the people of New Gale
the French astronomer,
having been fond of them-and Hum
boldt tells us he has seen the centipede
eagerly devoured by the children in
South America.
In Italy cockchafers are candied and
served up with other confectionery, and
in Austria large wood ants are served up
and eaten alive.
different parts of the world in regard to
food would seem to confirm the proverb
that zone mans meat is another mans
poison" In very many instances, what
is highly esteemed in one country is alb
horred in another.
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 favorite articles of
food with them, As for pork, it is on
religious grounds that the Jews and Mo-
hammedans abstain from it, as the Him
docs do from beef But the Christians
OF the East seem to have nearly an equal
aversion to it; and the like prevailed
until lately in Scotland.
Maize or Indian corn has been intro
dllced into New Zealand by the mission-
aries. and the people.cultivate aud highly