Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1875-10-01

ants, are esteemed both palataole and nu-
tritiOus. They boil them, eat them raw, or
toast them ss we DO coffee. The last mode
is considered the best, and. thus prepared,
they are sad 10 resem le sugared cream or
sweet almonds.
Dr.. Livingstone mentions . Bayeiys chief
who visited him and remained at dinner.
The doctor, after regaling his guest with
! preserved apricOts and other dalnties, "a
| fresh installment just received from the
coast inquired OF him whether the Atrl-
can country cOul1 boast Of any better food .
" Only white ants, was the prompt reply.
Nothing IS quite 50 good as white ants.
Palm-grubs and various kinds of slugs
/ are eaten nearly all over the East as are
bees, grasshoppers, and even spiders, in
some localities, not because other food Is
scarce, but because people like those queer
looking and queer-tasting dishes.
The Greeks Of the olden time used to eat
grasshOppers ; and the Chinese occasionally
convert into dainty dishes for their table,
the chrysalis of the silk-w0rm. The ne
groes Of several OF the West India Islands
eat butterflies and moths. They catch the
insects in large quantities by means of nets,
remove the wings, then dry and smoke the
bodies, and finally, after beating them into
tne powder, pack away IN jars to be used
as a relish during the winter.
We read in the Bible. that the food Of
John the Baptist was " locusts and wild
honey 4 great deal Of pains has been
taken by Commentators TO prove mat it was
not what we call locusts, but the fruit OF
the wild carOb-tree. that John ate with the
honey that he found in the wilderness
where he lived.
But do not think that any one who has
travelled in Arabia, or found rest and shell
ter in an Arabs tent, and been a CUES. at
his hospitable board, would thus Judge of
what the Bible means BY" " locusts.' In
Turkey, Persia, ARABIA, and all that region
of country, locusts-genuine bona t3e To-
clsts-have been eaten from remote anti
guilty and to this day, they form an i'm
portant item of the food used by the com
mon people. The Bedouins collect them in
immense quantities, and, after q partial
drying. PACK them in sacks. Then at their
convenience, when the season for collecting
is over. they steam the insects in close YES
selsover a hot fire. winnow them in broad
baskets to remove the legs and wings. ana
then pulyerize between fiat stones. When
wanted Tor food, they are only moistened
with little water, just as the Arabs DO in
preparing their ds;e-hlur. and then the re-
past l. all ready.
The Turks eat lOcusts In Tho same way,
and by very many other Oriental they are
regarded a. the choicest OF daln..es.
The Moors boil or fry them, seasoning
With salt, pepper, and vinegar and they
pronounce them even superior to queIls and
pigeons. The liottentots make from the
eggs delicious soup; they also roast the
locusts over a slow fire, and eat them a. We
do caramels or bon-bou Dr. Livingstone
says he used them az first from necessity.
wnen deprived Of all other food " but
strange to say, grew daily more fond of
them, and at iast preferred them TO shrimps
or oysters
In Peter Martyrs account Of the voyages
OF Columbus, he aAudes 10 the disgust of
the Spaniards when urged by the Indians
at St. Domingo 10 psrtake Of their boastei
delicacy, the iguana. The Spaniards mis-
took the odd-loOking reptile for q species of
serpent, and hence rejected it with horror
but, like many 4 tourist in the strange. far
of lands of the East, they lived to change
their minds. Martyn says quantity
These serpants are lyke unto crOcodlles
save in bygness. Unto that daye, none of
our men durste adventure to taste them, by
reason of they're horrible deformitie and
luathsomeness. Yet the Adalantado. being
enty yced by the pleasantness of the King 5
sister, Angcao ma, determined to taste the
serpauts. But when he felt the flesh there
Of - he 50 delyca.c to his tongue, he fel to
smain. without all feare. The which
thyng his companions seeing, were not be-
hyad hym in greadynesse, insomuche that
they had now none other talke than of the
sweetnesse of these serpentes which they
afirme to be Of more pleasant taste than
eyther our phesanths or PARTICLES
of the delicious birds nest soup eaten in
China, everybody has heard, but everybody
has not been privileged to partake OF that
I most delectable OF all Oriental dainties.
The nests are formed of secretions of
swallow, called by naturaiists, HirRRdO es-
cuientd, because their dwellings are eaten.
These birds are common on mos: of the In
dian Archipelagoes. but their heaG-quar-
ters are Sumatra, Java, and Borneo. they
build their nests over shelving rocks IN
places that would seem to be inaccessible to
! man.
But such is the demand for this dainty,
and 50 great its market value, THAI hun
dreds of men spend their whole lives in the
perilous work of collecting the nests from
deep caverns. by t0rchlighI, and overhang
ing rocks, frightfui cliffs, and precipices.
such as make the head grow dizzy even to
mink OF, and whence the slightest loss OF
footing must prove fatal to the adyenturer.
Multltudes OF others are constantly employ
ed in separating with delicate tweezsrs the
feathers and other impurities from the gela-
tinous portion Of the nests, and in washing
and drying them in preparation Tor the
market.
The bird makes its first nest Of a gela;ine
produced from Its own body, without any
foreign admixture but when deprived Of
this being unable to secreto a Sufficient
l IF frlfts f,r ..
IN the second a considerable portion OF
sticks, feathers. and dried glass. thus reu-
dering the nest far less desirable for edible
purposes
Again. however, the rapacious hunter,
| lying IN wait for his prey. turns out the
homeless bird. and bears off the prize and
when, for the third time, the little architect
resrs his home, 1t Is composed almost en-
tirely of stubble, with the slightest possible
sdmixture of gelatine.
This last nest being comparatively worth
less for food. the poor little builder is ordi-
narilY allowed to retain possession, aud
rears its family without farther mOies;a-
tion. The nests are about the size Of a
small tea-cup, and an eighth of AZ inch in
thickness. weighing scarcely hall al ounce
each.
The first nests collected are OF pure
creamy whiteness. and b-ing readily twice
their own weight in silver dollars These
require little cleansing, only II nc dried
aud packed bat the second gathering
must be carefully picked over. and thor
| oughly washed. The nests thos losing their
| original lusciousness, their market value is
proportionately diminished, and they sell
/ for about eighteen or twenty dollars per
pound-the poorest as low as SIX or eight.
Even the third nests are occasionally tgken.
but they bring q mere trife, and are only
used by those whose epicurean tastes ez-
ceed the length OF their purses.
Whole streets in Canton are occupied by
the preparers and venders OF birds nests !;
md about a million and nall Of dolars
are annually expended by the Chinese iu