News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1889-07-25
SIGHTS IN MEXICO.
Jumbo Snails-Wonderfu1 Butterflies
-Armadillos as Food.

The trees are covered with orchids,
lively in form and hue, exquisite of
0dor, infinite in variety. In the course
of one afternoon gathered more than a
dozen species, besides n whole flower
press full of ferns and blossoms, rs an
Incidental in the collection Of butterflies
and land-shells.
OF the latter there are over one hun
dred varieties in the neighbOrhood of
Xalapa, from the tiny Stretching, newly
discovered by my hostess, who Is a full
| blooded Totonac Indian, to the great
| hermaphrodite Glandina Sowerbyana,
whose shell reaches a length of eleven
centimetres or five inches, while the ex-
tended snail not infrequently measures
eight and one-half or nine inches. And
the butterflies oh, the butterflies /
remember once cavilling at Edwin Ar:
nold's smile in "The Light of Asia, y
wherein he speaks of butterflies as 'Jew-
elled objects. The term seemed inap-
propriate to the velvety texture of the
butterfly; but bow to its accuracy, hay
ing seen the butterflies of Xalapa.
White, black, red, purple, brown, golden
they shine, and many of them glitter
with the brilliancy of gems. One par
| ticu arly beautiful variety is familiarly
known as ''the figure s." from the mark
on the under side of its wings. The
spread of wing of some of these gorge
Gus creatures is often eight or ten inches
and the night moths have wings larger
than those of doves in many species.
Armadillos are, if not abundant, not
rare herabouts, and they find ready pur-
chasers at from thirty to fifty cents. The
flesh is very delicate and savory. The
favorite mode of cooking is by q sort OF
barbecue in it's own shell. This shell is
a slightly object, with its graduated Dos
ses and corrugat ons, and it has been
utilized by def needlewomen for the
groundwork of many pretty bags and
boxes. The poems employed in field
labor use these shells to hold the seed
for sowing. To meet these purposes the
lateral edges are bent together while
green, and laced fast by cords or hide
thongs. Although it would appear to
be a cleaner animal than the atmadillo.
the opossrtm, it seems, is disdained as a
food element by the Mexicans, although
it is so plentiful hereabouts that it is
largely trapped for its depredations
in the poultry yard. Strange that
this discrimination should exist, for the
armadlllO is somewhat omniverous, and
it has been asserted that it has been
known to make ghoUllish raids on grave
yards, while the opossum is more fas-
tidious creature.
There exists hereabouts belief that
the tail of the opossum, dried and pull
verified and drunk in wine, is sover-
eign remedy for chills and fever.
animal, considered q tidbit by
the people of the lowlands, makes de
cidedly repulsive impression upon I'M
accustomed strangers. This is an
iguana or lizard, which the natives
catch and confine in the thatched rooted
peaks of their houses. Some people de-
clare, that in order to fatten properly,
the mouth of the iguana must be closed |
by few stitches to prevent it from
eating. The truth probably is that the |
wider the poor creatures mouth is left |
open the sooner it completes the process
Of fattening, as it doubtless lives on the /
various larvae and beetles bred in the |
straw OF palm of the matching. Another |
If the resources of the cOmmissary de- .
oartment is shrub which is called he
luinite, or else pitos (whistles), from .
he shape of the flowers, which are of
leep SCARLET, some three inches in length,
growing il clusters. These conica1
heads are cooked either as green's or in
he shape of forcemeat balls, and they
nave, it is said, all the flavor of good
neat. L have not tasted them.
There are mosquitoes in abundance
md vicious little gnat called rodador,
II ''rounder," whose. sting burns like
ire and leaves tiny speck of scarlet in
he flesh of its victim. Happily this
vest is not common. There are scor-
lions and other venomous insects, but
heir sting is only painful, not fatal.
There is also rattlesnake which is not
-enomous, and a horned serpent, and
tnother snake which the wiseacres were
ain TO ind a realization OF the tabled
which was said to have a
head at each end and to run with equal
AGILITY in either direction. The present
7ariety has been shown, however, to
nave the customary head and tail end,
he two being markedly alike in appear
lnce.-[San Francisco Chronicle.