Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1888-11-15

Cullen says the snail is Of tender sub
stanoe, and therefore easily dlgested, and
from its gelRtinous state 1t is supposed TO
be very nourishing. I verify believe IL
to be 30, but in what proportion Is not
asosrtained. They are commonly en-
ployed upon the superstition Of theiE nu-
tiitious qualities in cases of emaciation,
and they have been often, in that view,
employed in cases Of hectic lever. In
msleEia medica Writers they are con.
stantly mentioned as refrigerant; but
nothing can be greater mistake, for
they are still animal substances. and
nothing Of this kind can be refrigerant,
though some of them may be less heating
than others"
A century ago some 1900. 900 snsils
were annually exported from Ulm in
''kegs" Of 1000, fetching from as to 40
forms keg.
Snail eating has been prevalent in Italy
for many centuries. In Pliny's time
Barbary snails stood frs. in repute, those
of Sicily ranking next, and IL was the
custom to fatten the creatures for the
table by dieting them upon meal and new
wine.
The ancient Romans valued the coch-
leana and fattened them until they
reached truly gigantic dimensions. Hor-
ace informs us they were served up
broiled upon silver gridirons to give q
relish to wine.
Many are familiar with the passage in
Pliny (Hist. lib. tx, o 56), who, on the
authority OF Varro, relates the incredible
size to which the art OF fattening had
brought the snails. Even assuming the
snails were African Achatina or Bulimi,
there must, one should think, be some
mistake in tho text, which says "Oujus
arts gloria in cam magnitudinem per-
Quota sit, ut octoginta quadrantes caper-
emit singularem oalioes." Penant, refer
ring to this and to varro Ode Re Rustioa),
says: 'H we should credit Varro, they
grew so large that the shells of some
would hold 10 quarts"
But this IL Misrepresentation, the
quadEans referred TO being a small COP.
per coin three quarters Of an inch in dia.
meter, about the size Of n sixpence and
one. sixteenth Of an inch thick.
Shortly before the outbreak Of the civil
war with Pompey, Fluvius Hirpinus was
the first in the TarquiniHn district to
establish snail ponds He arranged
them in separate divisions, one for the
white snsils from ReatiDe, one Tor the
Illyrisn snails, distinguished by their
great size, one for the African snaiis,
which are very fruitful, aud another for
the SolitaniRn snails, which are the finest
Of all. He even invented special kind
OF food for them, prepared of thick must,
-four, aud other Ingredients, and by
means Of this artificial diet they grew TO
/ On enormous sizs. The aneients knew
how to prepare even sea urckins and star
I fish as dainty dishes.
The capucins OF Lorraine also carried
on this industry of fattening snails.
The large Roman or edible snail is re-.
nowned both as delicacy and on acoouus
! of its reputed virtues as remedy in cases
OF consumption, which il is said has in
several instances been entirely cured by a
regimen Of the mucilage from these
snails. On the continent the Roman
snail is considered great delicaoy, but
the garden and yellow banded snails are
the kinds more commonly eaten. A snail
feast is held Annually in the south Of
France, on Ash Wednesday, when large
numbers OF them are consumed. An
analogous custom is said to prevail Ia
England amongst the operatives Of Ian
cashire and ct Newcastle.