Louisiana capitolian. (Baton Rouge, La.) 1879-1881, 1879-08-30
AS YOU LIKE IT,"
EDITOR CAp1roLrAN:

OF the tastes of different nations and thu
various classes of men-how little they
depend upon any inherent quality ii
the thing eaten, and how very depen
dent upon custom and cultivation. Ii
fact, it would seem that one thing is az
good to eat as another, if not better
The king Of Owyhce dined with Capt
Cook Oh his visit to the Sandwich Is.
lands, and for the first time ate bread
which so disgusted him that he spat it
out and returned home with pleasure
to his roast dog and decayed fish. The
New Hollanders surfeit themselves with
stale shark and earth worm, but abhOl
bntter-bread; while the negroes of the
West Indies revel in the luxuries OF
baked snakes, finger long palm worms,
fried in their own fat, but their delicate
stomachs revolt at rabbit stew. Rus
slalls eat tallow candles, Greenlanders
drink train oil an Esquimaux will eat
twenty pounds Of meat and oil per day.
The Chinese eat half Matched eggs,
shark fins and birds nest soup.
To the first of these the Irish seem not
to be averse. Upon one occasion, when
everything was very high, chickens be-
ing worth Sl.5O, eggs two for twenty
cents, and everything else in proportion,
an Irishman had ordered eggs at the
restaurant, and finding a young chicken
in Que of them, his friend said: "Swal-
low it down quick, Pat, or they'll charge
you for eggs and chickens both," which
he did before the waiter could stop him.
Capt. Cook vouches for the excellence
of dog, though the Philosopher of Cos
recommends it boiled, when every one
who has tried knows the superiority of
roast dog. Sir Robt. Schomburgk found
monkey very palatable, though before
dissection it looked very like roast
child. We could not vouch for the del
icacy of the baked missionary of the
New. Zealand cuisine, the under done
human thigh of the Feejee Islander
aid the broiled fingers which are
thought "a dainty dish to set before
the King" of Sumatra. The father of
young Stokes, who went as mis-
sionary to New Zealand, received the
following consoling note from native
Ofhigh rank: "Dear Stokes-Yours0 son,
the Rev. VIM. Stokes, arrived all right,
and we found him very tender and fine,
though not as juicy as was expected. If
you have any more sons of a pious turn
ofm,nd, send them on they are great
delicacy."
The Jews reject pork as unclean, while
we, perhaps for better reasons, turn up
our noses at Limburger cheese. We
laugh at the South Sea Islanders use of
buckskin breaches, who stutfs pair with
selweed and boil them for dinner; but
at the time of the great Londo13 Ixposi-
ton. in 1851, it is known that so extern
slvely were buffalo hides and sheep and
calf-skins boiled down into ,jellies that
the price ofSNlose staple articles rose
considerably in all English ports. With
the Chinese, where dogs are regularly
fattened for table use, roast puppies or
puppy stew is considered the greatest
delicacy; the former dish is cooked in
such % way as to contribute very much
to its gastronomic success. A hole is
dug in the ground and fire made in it;
stones are then thrown in, and when
they become very hot, the dog is laid on
these on it's back, the body iscovered with
leaves and stones, then with earth, and
the heather Chinee impaticntly awaits
theunearthing of his savory mess. When
done, the interior is full of the finest
juices of the animal, which makes q de-
li;ious gravy. Oxtail soup is said to be
far inferior to rat soup. The Ceylonese
eat the bees after robbing them of their
hbney. The African bushmen eat all
caterpillars they can find. The Austria
lfns are notorious as maggot eaters.
The Diggers of California fatten them
solves on grasshoppers. Many persons
Have eaten spiders in different ways,
from the plain raw spider to baked spi-
ders, mashed in butter and spread on
bread.
! The Dutch eat cheese called GLAND
Case" made into balls and allowed to
stand until long white milk worms ap-
pear sometimes one-half to ee-fourths
Of an inch in length, then they eat so
many worms to each ball of cheese, and
I am told, there's nothing like it. q
am ready to accept this fact as true.)
Americans eat oysters, while in Eu-
rope snails are prime luxury. At Cape
Coast Castle the great African snail,
which attains a length of eight inches,
is made into soup; those which have
been tattened on Strawberries bringing
the highest price.
In the Arctic regions to drink water is
nnheard of. You eat your daily allow
ance of ships rum and ask your intimate
friend for a chew of brandy and water.
How grateful then to the Esquimaux
palate must be the yielding tallow can
die, which, having eaten, he carefully
iraws the wick between his teeth to save
the remaining morsels of fat. The great
est luxury of the Greenlandcr is half
putrid whales tail; and next to it comes
the gum of the right whale, which the
Tusli call their sugar, and which Brit
sh officer reports to be delicious, tasting
rs much as possible like crcam-cheese.