Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1894-04-10
SNAIL FARMS.


| Of well.knowu uptown restaurant 70
Tribans reporter 8 few days ago, chow
many suaIls are eaten In ihls city. !
then 10 our blu Of fare MOI many years
ago. We cooked them day after day,
displayed the fact 10 large letters on our
bllls Of fare, bat It was ell 10 vain. The
PATROLS Of tho house seemed afraid 10
Try them. We lost considerable money
In our Efforts 10 introduce them 70 New
YORK. A. nrst they remained on our
hands, and day after day Ne were oblig.
cd 10 throw our supply Into the waste
barrels 10 b carried away 10 food for
animals. But u IL different now. Peo-
pie seem 10 have overcome their prrju.
diccs. and snslls In various forms are
ordered % frequently that We have ccas.
ed TO b surprised. do not doubt 81
ell that they will become favorite dlsh
among New Workers. Fortunes, In fact,
may be made by their cultivation, and
the enterprislng Americans Who begin
farming them now will Be certain OF
large Incomes from the Industry 10 . few
years. Il will then Be unpeccss, ~ 10
Import them, ~ we do nov almost ex-
cluslvely. Many Of the snsils TO be
found In the restaurants Of New York
and on the table. of some private fam.
lilies are imported from France and
| Switzerland.
"lu the Canton Of Zurich, Switser-
land" added the hotel man, "a number
Of peasants have established large snail
farms, from which they derive hand
some incomes. SON land, covered not
too thlckiy with tres, Il the fsvorlte
breeding place for these little horned
animals. The trees snd shade must not
he too thick because the uncovered snails
will then die In great quantities. In the
autumn and early winter. In the sun
they usually get large, handsome, white
shelled houses, and the snalls With such
coverings are always the best. The
earth should contain . good percentage
Of lime or chalk, 90 that the snalls can
easily get material for their houses.
Neither should the earth BE- what wc
| call fat. n the earth does not contain
sprinkle Il With burned chalk OF sand.
The snalls lay their eggs In May. To
keep them from running away from the
farm there should be q wooden fence
about two feet high built about u. On
the fence Iron vitriol or some bad smell
log oil should be sprinkled. II IL not q
bad Idea, either. to surmount the fence
With nails placed closely together, ~
this will prevent the snsils from crawl.
Ing over.
.As rule one can raise so susils 20
q square meter of earth. One person
can easily rai.e o,coo to 2S,0oo snslis on
hfty square meters. The space, how
ever. must not be too crsmpcd. when
the sun shines too holly snsils like 10
conceal Themselves. Il IL therefore nee.
e..ary To provide hiding places, 40 To
speak. Moss along the fence about the
snsii park aud Low sheds made by plsc-
Ing boards over q framework are to be
recommended for this purpose.
"The beet food for snaIls u salsd,
cabbage, Kitchen waste, Dettle and dan
dslicn,. Ia dry weather they eat moth.
Ing, but a. soon ss u rains they seem "a
become hungry and seek food. IL the
food I. not At hand when they want !,
they will try Ia every way to escape from
their bounds. white-icaved weed.
seem Ia satisfy them also. 10 the farm
ers wish 10 make them very Fat they
sprinkle some Kind Of meal on the
leaves which they eat.
"in the beginning of about
the end of August ar the nrst at sep,em.
berthe farmer strrws the entire snail
park With NOES. II must not bc too
thick or the snsils will smother. They
crawl under the moss at this time OF the
year aud remain there until they are
wanted. When they are covered With
their shells they are sorted Out, accord.
Ing to slre and quality. II they have
finely rounded ar ysultcd houses, which
shine IN the sunlight, then they are
nice aud Eat, aud the purchaser can tell
that be has good ware.
"1hey are packed In boxes containing
from 100 In 5,Oo for shipment. Hay.
or some other soft, loose material IL
used To keep them apart. They can
stand cold better than they can heat. II
Il becomes too warm for them they will
open their she'll. aud burst the strongest
boz.
~ different method Of raising snail.
IL used In different parts 81 bavaria.
There they have ne much freedom AZ
possible until the fall. Then they are
picked up by the children Of servants OF
the farmer add thrown Into deep hole.
Grain I. put la the hole, and they feed on
this until they become fat enough TO be
sold. This 10 generally In the spring
"in Switzerland the monks Of the
Capuchln order raise large quantities OF
| snails.
"Americans have not begun Ia pay
much attention Ia their cultivation ~
Yet, but fortunes await those Who begin
at the proper time. The snail q. dell
cacy has come TO stay. and will become
more and more popular every year with
New York gourmands."-New iork
Tribune.