Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1901-04-26
FOODS OF THE FILIPINO.
THE GRASSHoPPER THE MOST CON-
MON ARTICLE OF DIET.

Dish-ihe fSat Is OIten Eaten.
Some interesting information may
be given concerning the way in which
the Filipino makes up a good dinner
at low cost, writes George d. Rice.
Probably the most common article of
food that would not be desired by
Americans or others than the Filipinos
is the grasshopper. In these islands
the grasshoppers not only grow in
great numbers, but the size of the in
sect in large.
The mode of catching the grasshop-
pers in the Philippines is interesting.
There are always two or three bell
boys stationed in the towers of the
big church of each city, town or barrio
of the Philippine group, these boys be-
ing there for the purpose of sound
ing the various bells. There are GER
tain strokes for funerals, others for
births, and at present there are sig
nails for the approach of an army.
These boys in the tower keep a sharp
lookout for indications of the ap-
proach of grasshopper swarms. Dur
ing the hopper season they are par
ticularly active. and announce the ap-
proach of the swarms as soon as seen,
for the grasshoppers often merely pass
over town. but usually low enough
to permit the natives to catch many Of
them. AS soon as the bellboys see
that there are some scattering grass
hoppers in the air, as an advance
guard to the main body, they sound
the hopper signals on the bells and
hundreds of expert grasshopper catch
ers with their nets turn out.
There are several methods used by
the natives for catching grasshoppers.
The most effective is the net. This
is large butterfly net, arranged with
netting placed over hoop, and to the
latter is fixed a long handle The ma
tive takes this handle and with the
mouth of the net toward the grasshop-
pers he rushes forth, bagging consider
able numbers at each run. The grass.
hoppers always go in swarms, except
the advance guard and the stragglers,
and if anything occurs to disturb their
flight they get confused and tumble
into bags readily or fall into the open
mouths of nets. They fly so closely
that they cannot well escape, as when
they turn Slightly out of their course
they come into contact with other
grasshoppers next to them
Grasshopper catching is a profitable
business in the Philippines. Grasshop-
pers sell at So per sack, gold, in the
larger cities of the islands, where the
people do not have chance to get the
insects in the fields. The sacks of the
islands hold about a bushel. The
grasshopper is a regular article in the
markets for the entire year, as after
drying out the hopper can be kept in
definitely. 1t is in the operation of
drying that the grasshopper is made
eatable. l never saw a native eat a
green grasshopper, but | have seen
them eat the dried ones by the pocket
full on the street or in company at
entertainments, and by the dishful at
the table at their homes. Your CORE.
spondent has tried the prepared grass.
hopper, and has experienced no seri
GUS result. The hopper is first SO
thoroughly dried out in the heat of
the sun or in the bake oven that there
is nothing left that is really objection.
able, and nice, crispy article of food
results. This tastes sweet of itself,
and something like ginger snaps. The
natives usually sweeten the grasshop-
pers more by using a sprinkling of
brown sugar. Then the confectioners
make up grasshopper with sugar,
chocolate trimmings and colored cand-
les in such a way that nice tasting
piece of confectionery is obtained.
The housewife of the Philippines
takes considerable delight in placing
before you a nice grasshopper pie or
cake. The srasshopper pie is the most
wonderful dish, as the big hoppers are
prepared in such way that they do
not lose their form or any of their
parts. Care is taken to keep the grass
hoppers intact, and they are artistical-
ly arranged on the top crust of the
pie, while on the interior are some
of the broken hoppers mixed with
special foods. The grasshopper cake
has the grasshoppers sprinkled through
it, and resembles plum or raisin cake.
In some sections of the islands the
natives grind the crispy hoppers into
a fine powder, and this powder is used
for making articles OF food, and in
some places it is reduced to liquid
form and taken as an article of drink
Another article Of food which is rel
ished by the natives is procured by col
lecting large quantities of moths from
the rocks of the mountainous regions.
In several spots in the mountains in
Panay and other islands of the south
ern portion of the Philippine group l
saw moths existing so thickly in the
rocky tissues that they could be
scraped off into buckets by the quart
The moths seemed to mass in the crev-
ices and there hang. One could get a
barrel of the moths in very short
while. The natives have not failed