The Daily Missoulian. [volume] (Missoula, Mont.) 1904-1961, 1918-04-12
Shall we eat snails?

1Hhii we eat SnaiisI
To be or not to be- that is the ques j.
ton. Eat we must, and since ouI
allies and our armies are under the
same stern necessity. the next problem
ID how To get food enough to go around
In the year 50 b. G.. Just 1908 years
ago meat famine hit Rome. Snail
culture almost solved the meat prob
lem. After the famine had spent itself
tsnaileries continued to thrive and mil
POns OF them have been used annually
In many European countries as well as
being shipped to other nations, some
to this country.
For hundreds OF years millions of
them were shipped each year down the
iGnupe river to Vienna, and the
Austrian converts. where they were
eaten under the name OF fish during
| the Lenten season.
Paris Eats Fifty Tons Daily.
Fifty tons OF snails are consumed
tdaily in Paris.
American soldiers in the French
capital writing to the folks back home
isud the snail as an appetizing dish.
the department. Of agriculture says
eat snails. Herbert Hoover's food ad-
fninistration exhorts Americans to eat
sEaiis The food administration says
success is already attending the efforts
o" the several snaileries that have been
established in this country. The de-
mand so far has been principally
among the foreign element. 4,,,
Snail eating has its charms The
advantages Of the snail over the chick
e. are without number. %
Think OF the straying chickens who
come from a neighbours premises ana
ruin your gardens with their scratch
ings and your nerves with their shriIl
hysterical eloauence.
Snails, on the other hand, are good,
quiet livestock. They do not cackle
ard they do not scratch.
Where can be found that average
american who has engaged in that out
dc or sport, catching II chicken for din
ner," who does not remember the
chase that led all over the poultry
yard, probably into the back lot,
through a crack in the fence. and Oft
times ended in disaster"
II snails are good for the French,
the food administrator says they
ought to be good enough for Ameri-
cans The fondness Of the French for
this food seems to have diminished the
natural auickness OF their tempera-
ment
A plot of ground Is feet square will
NJ Accommodate -0,9oO snails. In France
ard other European countries fence
is often built around the enclosure. but
4 lN.
opinion that no fence or barricade is
needed in America, because the snails
do not wander far and are perfectly
capable OF obtaining both food and
shelter from the plants that cover
their domain
Stock Multipliss Rapidly.
The family. once given a home in a
farmers back yard, will continue to
multiply. There would be no neces-
s'ty in restocking the plot. The farmer
would not only have his own supply
tn replace the widely used oyster. but
might also supply his less fortunate
city neighbor, with profit to both.
Snails usually retail at 5 to Z cents
the dozen. An acre plot devoted to
tho snailery would yield handsome
profits.
Snail keeping is much less expensive
than keeping chickens. Their food
consists mostly of cabbage. lettuce,
dandelion leaves, potatoes and corn
meal.
Their sense Of taste and smell Is
acute. and 1t Is said that the snail al
ways chooses the daintiest morsels
available, which would insure its being
tho choicest of foods for any table.
Snails Matched out IN June are quite
fat and well conditioned when the first
frosts come. With the opening of
winter they become inactive. almost
cease eating and congregate in masses.
In many snaileries cool cabinets are
built. containing trays on which tn.
srails are placed. Here they lie in Il
dormant state and can be kept for
many months, without deterioration; in
fact, snails have been known to live
three or four years without food.
The cooks find 1t an easy matter to