The Detroit times., 1913-04-23
PORK TOO HIGH?
EAT GUINEA PIGS
SAYS UNCLE sam
Little Animals Contain More
Nutriment Than Chickens
at Less Cost
BIOLOGICAL SURVEY SAYS
THEY'RE GOOD TO EAT
Natives of Peru Esteem Tiny
P0rkers Among Rarest
of Delicacies

The guinea pig new source Of
meat supply. Object In view, To Gu,
down the cost OF living.
The government biological surve,
offers the idea II IL to utilize the
guinea pig a. q. meat producer. Tax
ing into view the extraordinary
fecundity of the animal and the eas'
with which It can be reared, whether
in town or country. It can be made tt
cheaper . diet Of the average Amer
lean fami.k very materially. The fe
male IL ready to breed at Ave months
OF age, and produces Ave filters
year.
We are not accustomed to look upon
the guinea pig az eatable, but this
say the government experts-is sheer
est Ignorance on our part. II Is OK
favored than the rabbit, and excellent
when cooked In any Of the ways that
are commonly applied to small game
Baked whole, or cut into pieces and
Tried or fricaseed, II 10 delicious; like
wise. in various kinds OF stews-with
mushrooms. with brown onions, with
green peas, and especially In curry.
The guinea pig, In fact, 10 highly es.
teemed as q game animal In parts OF
the world to which 1t Is native. II is
much hunted In parts of Brazil. Be-
fore the Spanish conquest the abort.
gines Of Peru and Bolivia had only
three domestic animals for food-the
llama, the alpaca and the guinea pig;
and the last was by far the most i'm
portant.
The Peruvian method of preparing
the guinea pig for cooking Is the one
generally adopted wherever it Is eat
en-. The animal Is killed by dislocat-
Ing It's neck, after which 1t goes
through about the same processes as
a sucking pig. It's throat Is cut, II IL
hung up for few minutes to bleed
and 1t is then scalded in water, not
>too hot at first. The hair Ia removed,
The skin scraped with knife, the WIS.,
cera taken out and the carcass washed
In tepid water. II Is then ready to be
cooked. roasting being the process
most frequently employed.
A full-grown guinea pig. in good
condition, should weigh nearly two
pounds. There are two ways to rear
the animals--in courts, or In hutches.
II kept In open or covered courts. they
have room enough for exercise-the
courts being divided into smaller
runs, each with its own hutches, or
sleeping shelters A run, ten by six
feet, will accommodate thirty to fifty
guinea pigs. In most parts OF the
United States, however, the indoor
hutch management is best, on account
of climate: and I'm cold weather artifi-
cial heat must be supplied. In fact.
guinea pigs do best when the tempera-
tive Is not allowed to fall much below
sixty-fve degrees Fahrenheit.
Rabbit hutches answer very we'll for
guinea pigs. but may be smaller.
Those used at the government breed
Ing stations are twenty inches, high
and three and one-half feet deep. One
Of these accommodates a male, three
or four breeding females and their
progeny until weaned. The door
covers nearly the whole front. is
hinged at the side and il made OF
rather heavy. square-meshed wire net.
ting. Ventilation iS afforded by a
similarly screened opening at the rear
end OF the hutch. Cheaper hutches,
made of packing boxes, laid on the
side and fitted with door In front,
will answer every requirement. A
shelf, four inches high, Is recommend
ed for the back part Of each hutch.
The space under 1t Is q convenient
retreat for females with young, while
the shelf itself Is nearly always chos-
Ell by the animals as sleeping place.
Guinea pigs require about the same
diet as rabbits. Three articles should