The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1876-06-22
Edible Insects.

by that we could almost believe 1t to be
the enchanted land where gold was to be
found already coined, and where trees
bore Jewels for fruit, the inhabitants do
not disdain to go to the ant, and, after
considering her WAYS, to eat her. For, at
certain seasons of the year, when the
white ants, the termites, emigrate from
one place to another, you may see great
commotion among the natives. They
gather near the ant-hills and hastily dig
two holes in the earth house; on the side
opposite the wind a kettle is placed,
smeared with an aromatic herb known as
bergera, while on the windward side fire
is built with materials emitting a vile
odor. This hastens the departure of the
ants, which, it seems, have the sense of
smell, and they hurry from their hill to
take refuge IN the perfumed kettle, which,
when it is filled, the black men carry of,
and deposit the unlucky ants on hot stones
or metal plates, where they are parched.
The next thing done is to grind the
ants to powder, which is sold as cheap
-four. The poor make this into cakes,
which, largely eaten, give the consumer
rapid and fatal cholera.
In Africa there is not so much enter
prise shown in ant hunting. The natives
wait ON the borders of the rivers, into
which, in the swarming season, shoals of
the winged insects fall. When the waters
are covered the black men paddle from
shore in their tiny canoes and skim the
ants off with calabashes, then hurry back
to parch their prize, like coffee kernels,
in pots When this is done they cram
them down their greedy Threats by the
handful, without further cookingor sauce
Alexander Won Humboldt relates that
when journeying through South America
he came, at the close of a tiresome day, to
little Indian settlement where the In
dams were taking their evening meal.
This consisted of white paste covered
with black spots, eaten hot, and apparent
ly relished. Upon examination it ap-
peared to be no other than compound OF
ground ants and water, which was IA
vOrite dish in the wilds of the Rio
Negro and Guiana. The flavor of the
cakes was pleasant, being half sweet, half
acid, from the formic acid secreted by the
ant. On account of the flavor given by
this acid the insects are often distilled with
rye to flavor the cheaper brandies of
Sweden.
Let all those who love the spider, even
tanning it to make its gossamer home in
their rooms, remember this to use as an
argument against the tidy housewife who
would with cruel broom destroy the fairy
palace and its builder-that in case of
famine you could eat it; for the Boshie
men of the East consider spiders as dain-
ties, and French naturalist tells us that
in New Caledonia large quantities of a
spider about an inch in length are eagerly
sought for and devOured by the natives
after they have roasted them. Reaumer
relates of delicate young French lady
that she could never pass spider in her
daily walking in her stately hedged gar
den, where spiders always thrived, with
out selling each she saw and quickly
crunching it. A dainty morsel, truly!
But those who are fond of them say they
taste like hazel-nuts; and
Once there lived jolly Tcuton,
Who thickly did bespread
With many fat and juicy spider
His Frau'e good seeded bread.
A number Of grubs and larvae have been
and are eaten the world around. The
Roman ladies of the later Empire, when
inclined to leanness, grew tieshy on the
cossus, the grub of a caterpillar found in
the oak tree; and to accord with the SEN
suous ideas of beauty prevalent in the
East tAe sultanas fatten themselves by
eating richly-cooked grub which their
slaves bring to them. In tropical Ameri-
ca, or particularly in the West Indies, one
need not be astonished if asked at dinner to
partake of gruQu, or boiled weevil, for it
is there considered by epicures to be as
great dainty as frogs legs are thought
to be by the French, or as vipers, the
eel of the hedge" are by the Italians of
Terracina, or as birds nests are by the
Chinese. The Mexican Indians distill q
liquor from this beetle and use it as q
stimulant. Indeed, SO great is the demand
for them that the cabbage palm, which
abOunds on the islands, particularly in
San Domingo, is bored to entice the
beetles to deposit their eggs therein. When
their larvae arrive at full size they meas
ure three inches in length and one in cir
conference. Their body, which is of a
dingy yellow color, looks like piece OF
tat enveloped by thin skin and capped
by small black head. Roasted on spit
or broiled, and seasoned with salt and
pepper and eaten with dry, pulverized
bread, they grace manya Haytien table.
Why should they not? Are they not
Clearly? Have they not a delicate and
delicious flavor? Is the meat of the opos.
sum better, or the food of the pig such
that we should eat its flesh with relish?
Is the condition Of the goose before we
are able to obtain the celebrated pate de
toie grGs SO healthy that we should prefer
it to the clearly body of a harmless grub,
whose life is supported by the fresh, sweet
juices of graceful palm tree? Truly the
Romans and Haytians are more sensible
and less suueamiSh than we.
Mons. Cobweb, good monsieur, get red
hipped humble bee on the top of thistle,
and, good monsieur, bring me the honey
bag. Have a care the honey bag break
not would be 10th to have you over
flown with honey bag, signor" So says