The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1893-01-02
THE LUxuRlEs OF THE SEASON.

Those who have driven out to the terrapin
farm and watched the delicious little moD-
sers gamboling in the mud have seldom
realized that they were gazing upon an.
American Industry with. possibilities IN
finite Ia the future. In the dark ages OF
astronomy the rade. ilncultnred savage
made no distinction between the eoInni0n
swapping turtle and the noble cIeasHfe
which bears the Simple nahie OF the Mala-
colemmys nsIustris;: but when Lafayette
returned to this country zcurieus; isn't II.
how m any goQd things date from the;vtsjt
of that glorious Frenchman?- American
cook realized that tie Dogs OF our: coast
districts con tanned an animal which; treated
with sizlf, would have. drawn tears from
Anicius and would have Taught the Roman
3 epicare that there is a fneE.dish than night
fnea1es;tougues. &c..
|: 1t Was.in Maryland that the -terFapin FIRST
rose TO fame. and.th time. was In those hal:
eyOn days when tile Southern planters ruled
the roast at Washington, ate their cotton
crop before. it was planted: and went about
with packets fuETl0f Northern plOaeS which
! fher.kad borrowed, and. as chance fell 1at,
. which they never repaid. IH.these days
Worinley's g. was tbe place wkare. Henry.
Clay and other Judges of good Things: got
|. theirsappets, and the ehuce dish was. ter
tapin. stew. made with Madeira Wire, The
price Of the i3terrapins was i bout S12:a
d5gen--at least; that was. Yaiq.for nae. fat,
juicy feinales in egg. Males, like the males
Of: onr Species are an inferfer article and
were only WORTH IS or S4@ -!
i The .trouble.w@th- the PseudeiAyS tribe is
tiat il is NOT actively reproductive. The
n n, Nv
the taste for them grows with ths deyet0p-
ment of wealth ana luxury. Before fhe
war ..the wild; uiltgtofed: European: went
down 10 his grave without ever having
tasted a.tefrapin stew. and only those whe
wefe very Endd ever. got: it in New York or
Balfimore or Fhfiadelphia OF late years,
. since ;tbe oufhfeaR of Angfoma nia in tire
EsLst. Englts lrsIlep. when they were very
fasefn ating, haya been permitted TO taste it.
Hence demand has sprung ND for the deli
|: cary w fich the marshes of the Delaware
+ and Chesapeake are unable to supply. AT
|: gfaHl dinners In Paris and london it is
: now expeeted that terrapin will figure ON
the:table. The: consequence has been that
the price OF The deiicacy has risen to SD
and $50 a :dozen. while "a dozen lately or
deied by James Gordon Bennett for dim
ner:he: gave in London cost $40 apiece.
+ Such prices wil1::be likelyto divert Califor-
pia terfapiR from our local: markets.: TO
-:thGse Of the East and Of Europe. -
+: lAnether ARTICLE Of luxury wbich:is. grow
ring scafee; here. in consequences of the de-
mand for consumption in the East is The
!: cativaSback-: The bird Is not as plentiful
iii this State as: is COMMONLY supposed.
:GgieT ducks. cemmewdtble in favor, are
ffeQRe entity s6fd in our markets for canvas
blocks. But tIete@has been a -Suprlyrof real
cetery+Ted ;ealyasbQckS. which has been
adequate 10 supply the wan IS of this State
a {. from 50 80 to IS pair IN: the season.
+. Tits Is siowgeing TO change Last week
: fhe pairs Of. .canvasbacks sold. in New
York: fer SIS, and: orders from England
were not executed owing to the scarcity eli
the bids The New. York M fket is nanly
supplied from the Chesapeake Bay. where
the wild celery flourisbes !; but if the price.
is maintained at say S5a pair. birds shot in
this. State VIII be apt to be shipped East,
as. at: that price the hblne: demand will
fail off:
/. 9.wo of the cfaicest game birds, the
partridge and the wooGcoek, are not found
on;this coast. and even the prairie chicken
=. seldom crosses. the mountains. But they
|. Will have, in a. year or two,:a supply: of
gapanese pheaSants in Oregon which Will
be large enough to. leave. a surplus for ex-
port to tire East. and If our neighbors in
. the hofth.- took measures TO prevent the ex-
+ ti5pati6n of tie Oregon grouse that would
be another artiele of rpxury which would
+ command. "a fancy price among Eastern
gontmands:- When in. .geod condition the
Oregon grouse is. not surpassed by the
| Canada partridge: But so long as the New
Yark. markets are supplied with prairie
chickens. from Illinois and partridge from
|. PennsyIvanis:and. Ohio al 81 80 pair. the
demand for grouse and .pheasarts from
the. Pacific Coast IS not likely to. be very
:aetive. =.
IL might be: worth while to try:to domi-
:cHiata in. this. State either the Eastern or
NdrtherR partridge. or The prairie chicken.
a: sharp game law, strictly enforced. would
accomplish tie result. and would add a
delicious dish to.eur diuner-tabfe. =: