The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1900-09-03
SHARK FINS
And Other Chinese DeIicacies Are
Missed by American MongoIians.

And Other Chinese DeIicacies Are
Missed by American MongoIians.
New York Tribune.
The trouble in China is beginrino 70
come home to the residents of Chinatown
in an entirely new way The prospect
OF serious shortage in the food products
winch they import from the FIoWerv
hlngdom Is staring them in the face. and
with 1t comes the terrible probability
that they will be forced to learn to eat
American food Many articles of Chinese
food are now being raised in this country.
the supply for this city coming from
farms on Long Island and in Delaware
and North Carolina. Chinese fishermen at
san FRANCISCO have succeeded in finding
many OF the fish varieties of which their
countrymen are particularly fond Bit
there are many delicacies which are so
thoroughly Oriental that there is no hone
or their ever being found anywhere else.
Ihere nave been no large shipments of
Chlnese foodstuffs since trouble began.
Most OF the delicacies are of a nerisha
Die nature, and a large stock of them
cannot be kept. 1t takes regular ship
ments to keep the market supplied. Prices
nave already begun to rise in Chinatown
ana the wise Mongolians are filling their
retrigerators with advance supplies Only
a lew OF them care for American food
ana all OF the delicate morsels which thew
particularly like comes from. China.
ANY one who has ever eaten a thorough
ly Chinese dinner will realize how imnos-
sible it is to raise many Of the items on
the bill of fare in this country. Take
plrds nests, for instance. Can anv one
imagine even a heather Chinese eating
the combination of stubble leaves and
twigs which the American bird is content
to call a home? The fact of the matter
is that America has not the right kind Of
plrds. The particular Chinese bird whose
nest mas so line taste builds its home
In the rocky cliffs along the Chinese COAST
ana uses its own saliva for construction
material. The nest looks like jelly and
sells here for $3.50 a portion. although if
VIII not be sold at all should the war con-
tinue much longer
bloot gee is another Chinese food article
that is found only in the northern mart Of
the empire. 1t springs up through the
snow and is hard to find. Sloot gee is a
black, fungus looking substance, and sells
for $l6 a pound when there is anv in
the market
OF course there are plenty of sharks off
the Atlantic shore, but the fins are not
the same as those of the Chinese shark
The Chinese have tried to eat Atlantic
shark fins, but they found too manv bones
and much tough skin.
They might use celery in place of their
bamboo shoots but with hardly more de-
light than the lover of good Havana leaf
would smoke cabbage leaves should there
be a shortage of tobacco. The shoots ara
exported to America both in the natural
and preserved state, and no ATTEMPT has
ever been made to raise them here. Chi
nese think there is no comparison be-
tween the egg laid in America and the
similar article which is sent them from
China preserved in black clay They hold
the same views about oysters, and would
rather have one Chinese dried oyster. al
though it looks like leather and smells
like poor varnish, than a whole basket of
Rockaway bivalves. Duck gizzards. w.
chez nuts and dried mushrooms are other
articles which must come from China
II the Chinese taste is to be satisfied.
There are plenty of dried lizards on the
market, thanks to the enterprise of a
San Francisco importing firm. Before the
Boxers took up their big knives for the
purpose Of exterminating everything
Christian, even to the fourth generation.
this firm found that the market was short
on lizards and imported a quantity. The
price took jump, however, owing to a
decision of the customs officials The
lizard is generally used to make a medi-
cinal tea, after simmering on the stove
as the back country farmer SINNERS
herbs. Consequently the appraiser ruled
that it was a medical preparation, and
should pay % per cent ad valorem duty.
The Chinese claimed that it was an ex-
tract Of meat, and should come in for
10 per cent under the head of ''unmanu-
featured articles" Of course the GUS
toms men had their way, and dried liz
ards are almost as expensive as the food
In which the war has caused a shortage.