Evening capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1888-1893, 1891-02-07
EXPENSIVE DELICACIES.
The Delicious Food Eaten by a
Backwoodsman.
Eggs Rt Ten Dollars Apiece-They Are
. Very Scarce, of Course, But Gour-
mands Must Have Them-A
Chapter for Epicures.

very Scarce, of Course, But Gour-
mands Must Have Them-A
Chapter for Epicures.
II have eaten the egg Of many wild
birds, from the plover 20 the wild goose,
and have found some Of them very good
and many Of them very bad" said an cpl
cure to q New York Mail and Express re-
porter, "but the ruffed grouses egg is
simply morsel fit for the gods. The pam
pered palate Of no Oriental potentate ever
lingeringly dallied with 50 rich and perfect
a delicacy, and yet never ate grouses eggs
elsewhere than on the rough, uncovered Ia
bic Of some backwoodsman's cabin, the last
place In the world where the epicure might
expect 10 have his taste satisfied, let alone
glorifed. How were they preparedl Simply
boiled. Boiled until the white and yelk
were thoroughly cooked. Aruffed grouse's
egg Is big enough to make two dainty bites.
1t isn't at all likely that you will ever have
the opportunity Of breakfastinR on this del
icacy, as 1t Is more than scarce nowadays.
Besides, the law places a price on ruffed
grouse's eggs that put them out of the
reach Of the ordinary run Of egg eaters. In
the estimation Of the law these eggs are
worth $40 apiece-s120 dozen-and they
are worth IT, But in case the rare happi-
ness OF sitting down to a meal with dozen Of
them may occur 10 you some time, / had bet
ter tell you how they should be disposed Of
Don cut grouse's egg in two, nor dig the
meat from the shell with a spoon Either
would be proclamation. Gently tap the small
end OF the egg on your plate until the shell
Is cracked. Then peel the shell carefully
of Of the meat. The shell is very brittle
and the richness beneath 1t very tender
When that is barred OF its covering 1t lies
In your hand velvety elipse, white as
ivory. Do not salt or pepper it or you spoil
1t. Bite of half Of it. The meat, both the
ivory white and the old gold yelk, will melt
In your mouth like some rich, creamy paste,
and its flavor is indescribably delicious.
ut has been q long time since 1 tickled
my palate with ruffed grouse's eggs. They
are only In season for a few days in MAY,
when they are fresh laid in the nest, and of
course person has 10 be right on the
ground TO take advantage Of them.
Next TO the ruffed grouse the pinnated
grouse, or prairie chicken, lays the best
eggs for eating have known as high as
,6Oa dozen TO be paid for prairie chicken
eggs In Chicago, although in the early days
OF that city, while the surrounding prairie
still swarmed with that game bird, its eggs
were more abundant in the market tnan
hens eggs were have no doubt that eggs
OF all the numerous grouse family are supe-
rlor TO hens eggs, but l never ate any but
the two mentioned.
"ln this country there is no such thing as
the business OF gathering wild eggs but in
England the collecting Of wild birJsi eggs
for the table is regular calling, particular
ly plover eggs. The eggs Of the ployer is a
great delicacy among epicures there Go
into any OF the poultry shops In English
towns and cities during April and Nav
and you will sec an enticing display Of
plover, partridge and other edible eggs
OF wild birds. They are usually shown in
baskets fashioned in imitation of moss
lined BIRDS nests, each basket containing n
dozen eggs. Plover eggs are the most abun-
dant, but baskets made up from selections
from different kinds Of wild eggs are com
mon. Plover eggs are sofa Tor rour shil-
lmgs dozen-a0out one dollar-and, of
course, do not enter very largely into the
marketing OF the poor. The hunting Of
ploVer eggs Is profession with a
certain class OF shiftless men and
boys, The finding of the nest re.
qulres great degree of skill and cunning,
and the business is not over profitable
to the nest hunters. Three dozen eggs
day is big days hunting. The dealer
has way OF testing the eggs to satisfy
himself as 70 their soundness, and it is
rare, indeed, that two or three bad ones are
not found in each nest. The collector is
paid thirty cents n dozen for his sound
eggs. Thousands OF dozens Of plover eggs
are SAID TO be collected every spring. There
Is no law against the robbing of nests, but
the severe and general laws against tres
passing are constant menace to the egg
hunters.
''The eggs OF some wild fowl rank high
among edible wild eggs, with the accent on
the rank. The eggs OF all wild ducks, with
the exception Of the wood or summer duck.
and the egg OF the water hen, are strong
and tough. Why they should be | don't
know, as these birds, or the most of them.
are clean, vegetable feeders. The wood
duck egg Is passably good article of food.
a boiled wild goose egg, il it were round,
would make a first rate bowling ball, but a
wild swans egg is very palatable The egg
OF the wild turkey Is better than that of nnv |
domestic fowl. The semi-wlld fowls. as the !
guinea hen aud the peafowl, lay eggs that !
are more grateful than an ordinary hons |
egg to the palate OF the eplcure. The |
speckled, humming-top shaped egg Of the /
screeching guinea hen is the best poultry |
yard egg for tho table that the farmer can |
soh Spoahlhs OF the poultry yard natural |
ly suggests the pigeon. The egg OF that
bird is utterly worthless for food. The wild
pigeons egg turns 10 milk when boiled. and
smells like rancid oil The quaips egg Is a
sweet creamy, but insipid little morsel.
and, like the cherry, you can't make two
bites OF IT, l intend TO try how sparrow
eggs will touch the epicureRn taste, and II
they warrant IL, will try and Introduce
them as q table dainty. That might be a
good way toward abating these little
nuisances."