Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1899-04-25
NATURES DAINTIES.
CURIOUS ARTICLES OF FOOD THAT
 ARE BUT LITTLE KNOWN.

Rhinoceros Meat Not Without Admirers
 Lion Flesh Said to Be Good Eating.
 Ii was Punch who pathetically com pIained of the monotony or eternal beef and mutton, and prayed for the invention of q new meat. Inceed, the English bill of fare is an exceedingly limited one. and many besides Punch have sometimes wished that new meat could be invented. But we do not take advantage of all the dalntes which nature offers: it is not necessary to invent a new meat, but simply to acquire courage to taste and cat hith- erto uneaten animals, birds and rep tiles.
 The COW. sheep. pig. various fowls, game and fish furnish all the items of the various bills ef fare; indeed the food of the vast majority of the people simply consists of beef and mutton, with occasional changes to pork and fish There are. however, many other animals which, prejudice apart would furnish just as nourishing ard tasty and more novel food. Horse flesh Is regarded with popular horror, but the dislike is one simply founded on preju-
 
 out nags is neither very paIatable or nOurishing. But horse which from it's birth is intended for food, and fed and cared for like an OK, supplies ex- cellent meat. It is much finer in flavor than beef O. mutton, and much more expensive. In Paris the restaurants include horse beef in their daily menus h England it is sometimes served at great feasts as a novelty, and 10 shillfngs a pound is the usual price paid for it. Similarly. donkey flesh is very good eating, provided it is young. i donkey more than eight months old is not edible. In taste it is said to much resemble q turkey though very much finer in flavor. Two shillings a pound is the price for don key meat, but a big demand would, of course. reduce this to q reasonable fig ure; the same remark applies to horse flesh. In Arabia the horse $ eaten and considered a great delicaey.
 Custom and prejudice alone prevent many really tasty and common ami mals being used for food. Of all ami mals the pig. with it's filthy, groveling habits and food, seems the most un- likely to be appreciated by human be- ings. Yet the pig whose Dame is q synonym for all that is low anG bestial. is eaten without fepuguance-nay. with relish Charles Lamb wrote a prose epic in praise Of roast pork 1 dainty lady will eat and enjoy roast pork. but she would scream aLd shud- der at the very idea of eating a roast rat. Yet the rat is vegetarian. and most cleanly in it's habits while no- body can claim that for the Jig. Rat pie is great deI5eaey, and was q dish of which The Rev. J c. Wood the celebrated naturalist. was ex- tremely fond.
 During the siege of Paris. in 1871. the starving inhabitants ate up all the animals in the zoo. Elephant and lion steaks and the flesh of oil CT wild animals were eaten. and, though it was a case of Hobson's choce-that or none at all-the Parislans found that they were very palatlUe Even now the g0Urmets Of Paris delight in the flesh of cameis. lions and ele- plants. Gamelas flesh is brought from Algeria, and is said to be remarkably like beef. It is as tender B. cal. and the Arabs regard ii as very nutri- tious The hump Of 8 camel is the tit- bit of the beast and when plump and fat is a dainty indeed.
 In the South of France snakes are sold, ready for cooking under the name of hedge eelF Prank Auckland. the famous naturalist stated that he once made a hearty meal off a boa con strictOr, it's flesh being exc, edinglv white and firm. and hot unlike veal in taste Fried CT steHea rattlfsnake is very like eel, which people cat with out qualm of stomach or conscience.
 Lion flesh is said to be very good eating, but tiger is tough and sfnewv. Nevertheless, the latter is eaten in In- dia, as there is superstition that it imparts strength and cunning to the eater. Bears flesh is great favorfte in Germany, and smoked tongues and hams are considered great delicacieS. on account of the rarity Of bruin they are expensive. SaHsage-s0 dear to the Teutonie hedrt-and st0mach-is also made with bear liver: 2 pounds of sausage can be made from n sfnoIe liver.
 There appears to be considerable diversity of opinion as to the merits of elephants flesh Tn India aud Africa 1t is a faYorite dish with th4 natives but European who has travelled much in Africa says: T nave tasted elephant over and over again It is more like soft leather and glue than anything else can compare it to-" Another traveller, however. declares that he cannot imagine how an animal so coarse and heavy can produce sucb delicate and tender flesh. All authori- ties, however. agree in commendina elephants foot Even the traveller quoted above, who compared ele- phant s flesh To leather and glue. ad- mIts that baked elephants foot is !ilsh 1t for king. When an elephant Is shot in Africa the flesh is cut into strips and dried; it is then called 'bfl- tong. The elephants foot is crt off