Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1892-04-16

may acquire more or iess poisonous qualities
rom noneus vegetables but this is no more
People eat cheese mites without hesitation on
the ground that they are merely cheese. In
Tie Same mansar 10 may be argued that cab
hage easerpillars are only cabbage. WHY,
then, should not the gourmet Of educated
palate have cabbage served upon his table with
. delicately favored fringe Of the grubs which
feed upon the vegetable? Many OF the moths
and Butterflies which ~ BY night have escu-
lens qualities to recommend them. Are they
NOS living store houses OF nectar gathered from
sueh matters ~ these seems 10 have acquired
tntsnsisy since our grandmothers' time, when
centipedes we're given incidentally for iaun-
dice, cockchafsrs for the plague, lady birds for
collie and measles and wood iico pills for feyerA
IL Is seriously commanded that many kinds
OF insects are much better fitted for human
food than some so-oalled delicacies which now
are highly priced Chemical analysis shows
that their flesh 10 composed OF the same sub
stances a. are found In that Of the higher ant
malA Most Of them live upon vegetable INST
ter and there 10 no need TO include In the
dietotio list such unclean feedcrs a. the COM
mon ~, the carrion beetle and tho church
yard ny. II one does not fancy the chew Of
TOBACCO which every grasshopper seem. con-
stanfly engaged In masticsting, 10 10 easy
enough to remove the heads before cooking.
Loosters and ees are scavengers which con-
sumo by preferences everything that is puirid,
and yet they are regarded with the utmost
favor by epicures. To the orisntal palate the
Pig and the raw oyster are equally impossible.
The Rourmet OF ancient Rome fattened the
large grubs OF the stag beetle for the table
with ell the care that IL nov bcstous upon
pixie porkers They were very fond Of grass
hoppere, roasted to Q golden yellow, and &C ulp-
lures In Nineveh, showing men Carrying
lunches o. the same insects on sticks on an oc-
cssicu OF festival, prove that the ''hoppers"
we're highly thought OF by she Assyrians OF old.
Palm weevils, which grow TO the sixe Of mans
thumb, are considered deiicacy wherever thew
arc found In the west Iudies these larvae OF
beetles are much relished by the natives. who
eau them "sru-gru" One may venture to az
sors that, during the siege OF Paris a swarm Of
grasshoppers would have been regarded q. a
blessing like unto mama, and infinitely prefer
able to stswed rats.
AN INSECT xrsu.
For the benefit Of any ono who NAV desire 70
give An experimental hnner OF insects the fol-
lowing menu is suggested:
w~p drass Fsisd ia the Comb.
MOTHS a1ss ss ip Butssr.
A1t Lemonade
One OF the assistant entomologis.s OF the De-
partment OF Agriculture made an sffort some
time ago 10 discover ways IN which the So
called seventcen-ysar locusts could DO rem
eots1 colulo Dy CooAuX- Unfortunately those
insects, nos being real loousts but o, the mar
vest fly family, are hardly more than shells,
containing very small amount Of foah They
supplied mere phantom banquets, which were
far from satisfactory.
Another novel use suggested Tor grssshop-
pers In the event o. plague, Is IS eais Tor tish
African locusts have boon employed most
probably in the sartine fisheries OF the Medi-
terranesn, their flesh resembling that OF the
crawnsn, OF which tho s'rdiaes are very fond.
For this purpose the insects are prepared by
he,sS saIsed and Pressed in large quantities.
The same sort OF bait, prepared BY western
farmers during grRsshopper years, might be
disposed OF adyan;aSsously 10 the fishermen of
the Atlantic and Pacific coasts
Science has net yot discovered arv effective
method me- for preventing grssshoPpes plagGes.
Ons such ahiicuon, in 1874 caused loss OF
s50,0O0,oCo in tbe Mississippi valley, where tina
more tniokly settled districts wore attacked by
dense swarms- Kansas was tho worst srlrsrer.
During tho nsxs year the young were hstohed
III incolculable numbers from eggs lald by
those Of tho season before and Missouri alone
lost Si5, 900 COO Trains we're stopped by the
svarms, go that il was n.cssssry to clear avYy
the Insects from the rails before further pro-
gress could be made. Nothing snort of IRE
VIII oppose these armies Oh The march. Wster.
unless IN wide rivers. is bar to their passage.
In 1875 she Big AMI L!itio Blue rivers, trib a.
taries of the Missouri, were crossed at nuusr-
Gus places by Vas. bodies OF grasshoppers.
which would proceed ~ the waters edge and
begin jumping In, one upon another. Until they
pontoonod the stream, so as to effect a cross
Ing. Two such mighty hosts met. one moving
east the other west, on q river bluff in the same
locality. Both together turned their coarse
downward from 4 perpendicular cliff, twenty
feet hiS b, and passed over ii in n sheet six or
seyeo inches thick, producing q roaring noise
Ike that OF cataract Of wator.
aRAssHoPRER REPRODUCTION,
The methods by which grasshoppers repro
duoe their species is very Interesting. When
about to lay her eggs the female drills . hole
In the ground with the horay extremity O. her
abdomen. In this way she 10 able within a 10 "
moments to dig deep enough 10 bury near y
Zoe wnoie OF her h:nder part IL tao Garth.
This accomplished she permits TO cxuGs frog,
tho Up OF her body a quantity o. mucous mat
ter. which ills up the bottom OF tine hole. In
the secretion thus prepared she lays one egg.
1hsn she deposits so;ne more mucous ard
another egg. continuing in this fashion un;h
sac mas Completed Asr "iay, which consists OF
abcut twenty eggs, tbs mucous matter b!udiaS
them FL N nass. Enoaga OF sho same ma
terisl Is put In nnaily to nii up ihe neck OF II
burrow, which is thas rendered mere or .e,s
impsrvioua TO water.
Zach eSs has very tough sovsring, 70 .kat
strong pressure bstweea o1e's ihgm5 and
tosshagsr II required to break il, erd il nigh,
seem cutie puz8io how the embryo succee d
IN InakiaS iss escape from such a prlsoa The
brittle she! Of the BIRDS egg Is .as:.y cracked
by the beak OF is tenant; shs hatcaiag cater
PILLAR, cur.ed Within lbs littls t4ao,asut. has
sprae enough to move It's Jaws and eat its vxy
out; the egg coverings OF riary insects are SO
delicate that the nero swelling Of the occupan,
Affords means OF release; thoss OF others are
so constructed that door nics opsa or a II!
lifts whom pressure Is broughs 10 bear; ir ao.ae
the small creature u furnished vita a spoc :al
apparatus called An ''eyg-barstsr," tho use ui
which IL to cut or rupture tbs shsil But the
young ycasshoppsr hss n such contrivances,
and SO nature provides thai warmth aud rnois-
tore shall aocompose the material Of its iuclos-
irs walls, thus enabling the embryo to secure
its freedom by the aid of its muscular efforts
and the swelling OF Its body.
Grassteppsr plaques are frequent ia apcian.
history. Ono told about BY St Auyu..ine caused
the death OF SOC, 900 people. Ia the region
about Venice in l47s 30,O0a people died OF
famine oaoasionea by Srxsshoppers There i.
but one remedy for the farmer who is threat
eued with starvation bJ gr&sshoppers. LIE,
him eat them and grow fat
STREET CARS IN EUROPE.
HOW THEY Am MANAGED ACCORDING TO TIE