UC-NRLF Resources DIFFERENT NATIONS P. L. SIMMONBS ii 111 MiiiiiiimM ■^ L^^ ' V,' 1^' -•^a REESE LIBRARY OS- UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA Received . . _ y^-^^^'^^'^'H-^Z^ , iS8 p A c cessions No. .-^ ^f^^ Shelf No. -30 i^iiimal Jaod |le;iOur(|i!s of iifercnt Jlattona. THE l^itimal Jfoob §lfSDiir«s of giffcrcnt ^atbns, "WITH MENTION OF SOME OF THE SPECIAL DAINTIES OF VARIOUS PEOPLE DERIVED FROM THE ANIMAL KINGDOlA. P. L. SIMMONDS, Author of'A Dictionary of TJseful Animals,'''' *' The Commercial Froducts of the Sea^* etc. " There's no want of meat, Sir ; Portly and curious viands are prepared To please all kinds of appetite." Massinger. " A very fantastical banquet, Just so many strange dishes." ■!!:!r>^^ Shakespeare. T3>^ LONDON: E. & F. N. S P N. 12 5, STRAND. NEW YORK: 35, MURRAY STREET. 1885. LONDON : PKINTEU BY WERTHEIMER, LEA AND CO., CIRCUS PLACE, LONDON WALL. J^^f^ PEEFACE A QUARTER of a century ago I published a work on '' The Curiosities of Animal Food," based chiefly on a Lecture I had delivered at a Literary Institution. Although the volume merely dealt cursorily with the wide subject in a popular point of view, it was favour- ably received and much quoted by various eminent scientific authors, writing on the Food question. That book has, like many of my other works, long been out of print. The subject, however, of the Animal Food supply has since then risen into great importance. Having given much attention to this matter, I have endeavoured to condense into the present volume a large amount of practical and useful information not generally accessible, combined at the same time with some pleasant reading. P. L. SIMMONDS. 85, FiNBOROUGH Road, South Kensington. February, 1885. Digitized by the Internet Arciiive in 2007 witii funding from IVIicrosoft Corporation http://www.arcliive.org/details/animalfoodresourOOsimmrich CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. Introductory and General. PAGE Man an Omnivorous Animal — Some Eastern Nations eschew Animal Food — Yarieties of Food of Different People — Man the only Cooking Animal — Variable Food in Different Ages and Climates — Less Animal Food Eaten in Tropical Regions than in Temperate and Arctic Regions — Various Food Delicacies — A Chinese Dinner — Wild American Animals as Food — Marrow — Tinned or Preserved Meats — Statistics of Imports of Animal Food from America — Charqui — Dried and Jerked Meats of Different Countries — Pastoormah — Dendeng — Frozen Carcases — Choice Morsels held in Special Estimation — Value of our Imports of Animals and Animal Products for Food in 1883 — Advance in Prices — Meat Consumption in France — Meat Pro- duction and Consumption in Russia — United States Consumption — Mutton despised in many Countries — Large Consumption in Great Britain — Slaughter of Sheep in Buenos Ayres — Goats' Flesh very little Eaten — Our Foreign Supplies of Animal Food — Average Individual Consumption — Value of Cheese as Food — Imports of Butter and Cheese from Abroad — Diseased Meat as Food — Not considered to be In- jurious — German Legislation thereon — Extensive Use of Animals which have Died by a large Low- Caste Population in India — M. Decroix's Personal Experience of a Quarter of a Century Feeding on the Flesh of Diseased Animals — Medical Evidence taken on this Subject before the Irish Cattle Trade Defence Association — Diseased Lung of a Bullock Cooked and Eaten — Opinion of the Lancet on Diseased Meat 1 Vlll CONTENTS. CHAPTER II. A Few Words on Cannibalism. PAGE Flesh of Whites not esteemed — Statements of Old Chro- niclers on the Practice of Cannibalism in Europe, Asia, and America — Assertions of Modern Travellers — Evidences of Shipwrecked Sailors and Others — Cannibalism Common in the Pacific Islands and Australia, especially in the Fiji Islands — Evidence of many Writers — Practised also in Islands of the Eastern Archipelago, Celebes, Sumatra, Malacca — Many African Tribes Anthropophagi — Statements of Sir S. Baker, Bruce. Captain Cameron, P. du Chaillu, Thompson, and Layland 40 CHAPTER III. Flesh Food from Mammals. Flesh of Monkeys Eaten in Africa, the West Indies, South America, Ceylon, and Borneo — The Lemurs in Mada- gascar — Bats Eaten in the East and in Australia — Insectivora — The Hedgehog — Carnivorous Planti- grades — Bears — Skunk — Badger — Sea Otter — Civet Cat — Dogs' Flesh Eaten by North American Indians. Chinese, Africans, and other People — Foxes and Wolves Eaten — Lion's Flesh — Jaguar — Hyaena — Lynx — Carnivorous Marsupials — Opossums — Bandi- coots — Kangaroos — Wombats — Phalangers — Mar- mots — Squirrels — Rats — Rat Pie — Dormouse — Hares and Rabbits — Prodigious Increase of Rabbits in Australasia — Flesh of the Beaver — Porcupines — Agouti — Sloth— Anteater — Armadilloes ... 54 CHAPTER IV. Flesh Food from MkMUAi&.— Continued. Pachyderms — Elephants — Hippopotami — Rhinoceros — Tapir — Peccary — Swine — Immense Numbers in North America — Our Large Imports of Bacon, Hams, etc., from the United States — Wild Boars — Statistics of Swine in Various Countries — Consumption of Pork in France — Horseflesh Eaten in China, Europe, CONTENTS. IX PAGE and America — Statistics of Horses — Increase of Con- sumption of Horseflesh in Europe ''^ — Asses and Mules also Eaten — Quagga and Zebra — The Ruminants — Statistics of Horned Cattle over the World — Con- sumption in the United Kingdom — Average Weights in Different Countries — Beef Imported into England — Quantity Sold in the London Markets — Average Prices — Buffaloes — Statistics of Sheep in Various Countries — Large Imports of Carcases from New Zealand — Imports of Sheep to the London Markets and Comparative Prices — Average Weight of Dif- ferent Kinds of Sheep — Goats' Flesh — Flesh of the Camel Tribe — Alpaca — Giraffe — Vem son — Reindeer — Moose or Elk — Antelopes — Eland — Bison — Marine Mammals — Whales — Seals — Sea Lion — Sea Elephant — Walrus — Dugongs — Dolphins — Porpoises . . 82 CHAPTER V. Flesh Food Furnished by the Feathered Tribes. Buzzard, Kite, and other Birds of Prey Eaten — Beccafico — Guacharo — Larks — Thrushes — Blackbirds — Bunt- ings— ^ Fried Canaries — Starlings — Rooks — Ortolans — Edible Birds' Nests — Statistics of Supply — Parrots — Toucans — Domestic Poultry — Fowls in Egypt and Morocco — Weight of Different Fowls — Statistics of Poultry in the United Kingdom — in France — in Austria — in the United States — Value of the Poultry Imported from Abroad — Turkeys — Christmas Sup- plies — Statistics of Turkeys in France — Wild Tm-- keys of America — Peacocks — Formerly Served at Royal Banquets-r-Bustards — Partridges — Game Birds Consumed in Great Britain — Snipes — Woodcocks-*— Grouse — Pheasants — Capercailzie — Game Birds of Sweden — Prairie Hens — Ruffs, Reeves, and Godwits — Quails — Game Pies of France — Pktes de Foies Gras — Tragopans — Pigeons, Domestic and Wild — * While this work was passing through the Press (but too late for notice in its proper place), an important article has appeared in the "Bulletin of the Societe d' Acclimation," Paris, for August, 1884, p, 617, by M. Decroix, giving a resume of the consumption of horses, asses and mules in France from 1876 to 1883, accompanied also by numerous recipes for cooking horseflesh in various ways. CONTENTS. PAGE Ostrich Meat — Flamingoes, Cranes, and Herons — Ducks and Geese — Statistics of in France — Wild Geese — Swans — Plovers — Teal — Canvas-back Ducks — Pelicans — Penguins 134 CHAPTER VI. Eggs of Various Kinds as Food. Eggs of Domestic Poultry — Nutritive Value and Chemis- try of Eggs — Average Weight of Eggs — Quantity and Values of our Imports of Eggs — Range of Prices — Number of Eggs Received from France — Estimated by Weight on the Continent — Testing Eggs — Egg TraflSc of the United States and Canada — Prices — Condensed Eggs — Various Modes of Preserving Eggs — Pickled Eggs — Easter Eggs — Ostrich Eggs — Emeu Eggs — Plovers' and Lapwings' Eggs — Eggs of Sea Fowl — Gulls — Terns — Penguins — Petrel — Albatross — Eggs of Reptiles — Turtles — Land Tor- toises — Alligators — Lizards' Eggs — Snakes' Eggs — Insects' Eggs — Fish Spawn — Cod Roe — Herrings' Eggs — Sturgeon Caviare — Modes of Preparing — Roe of Sandre, Bream and Mullet — Fish-bread from Roes — Mode of Preparation — Eggs of Crustacea — Lobster Spawn 184 CHAPTER VII. Reptiles, Snakes, and Amphibians Eaten as Food. Turtles and Tortoises — Land, Marsh, River and Sea Tor- toises — Flesh Largely Eaten in Various Countries — Terrapins of America Great Food Delicacies — Turtle Soup and Dried Turtle Flesh — Sources of Supply of Turtle — Recipes for Cooking Turtle — Flesh of Loggerhead Turtle not Good — Crocodiles and Alli- gators Eaten Lizards Eaten — Monitors — Iguanas — Snakes Eaten in Many Countries — iSnake Wine — Amphibians — Frogs Eaten in Europe, America, and Asia — Modes of Catching Them — Recipes for Cook- ing Them — Salamander and Axolotl Eaten . . . 216 CONTENTS. XI CHAPTER VIII. Food Products of the Sea— Some Fish Delicacies. PAGE The Harvest of the Sea— Nutritive Value of Fish— The Office of the Food Taster — A Chinese Fish Dinner — An American Fish Dinner — Supply of Fisr^h to Lon- don — Imports of Fish in the United Kingdom — Supply of Birmingham, Dublin, etc. — Imports of European States — Supply to New York — Commer- cial Classification — The Cod Family — Statistics of the Fisheries — Norwegian Fisheries — Capelin— Fish Flour and Bread, Extracts, and Other Preparations — Fish Sauces — Flat Fish — Soles, Turbot, Plaice, etc. — Herrings — Extent of the Fisheries — Pilchards — Whitebait — Fish Supply of Paris — Statistics of the French Fisheries — Sardines — Anchovies — Skates — Mackerel — Mullet — Tunny — Conger Eels — Fresh Water Eels — Large Consumption in Italy — Minnows 254 CHAPTER IX. Food Products of the Sea — Fishes — Continued. Fisheries of Sweden — Of Roumania — Lampreys— Stur- geons — Balyk — Mode of Preparing — Russian Fisheries — Fisheries of Tunis— Of Egypt and West African Coasts — Indian Fisheries — Choice Fish — Statistics of Imports and Exports — Trade in Sharks' Fins and Fish-maws — Bonito — Gourami — Fish of Guadaloupe — Consumption of Fish in West Indies — Barbados — Jamaica — Honduras — Sharks as Food — Their Flesh Eaten in Various Countries — Swordfish — Oulachans, Large Fishery for — Carp Family — Trout and Salmon— Statistics of British Trade in — Salmon Fisheries of Canada — Tinned Salmon, Enor- mous Trade in — Halibut — North American Fisheries — Fish Preserved in Ice — White Fish (Coregonus) and other Lake Fish — Flying Fish — Consumption of Fish in Zanzibar — New Zealand Fish — Tasmanian Fish — Fish of Ceylon, China, and the Indian Seas — Of Japan — Brazilian Fish — Fish of River Plate and Paraguay 302 Xll CONTENTS. CHAPTER X. Various Insects Eaten as Food. PAGE Cockchafers or Vers Blanc Eaten — Mo^es of Cooking — Bees and Ants Eaten — Cossus of the Ancients — Gru-grus or Palmworms — Caterpillars — Xobacco Worms — Locusts — Extensive Use of Locusts in Africa, Asia, and America — Various Modes of Cook- ing — Termites Eaten in India and Africa — Silkworm Chrysalids — Red Ants — Honey — Statistics of Pro- duction — Lerp and Trehalose 347 CHAPTER XL Animal Food Furnished by the Crustaceans and mollusca. Lobsters — ^Chemical Composition of the Lobster — Trade in, from Norway and Sweden — American Lobster Trade — Canned Lobsters — Cape Lobsters — Lobster Fisheries on the American Shores — Shrimps, varieties of — Prawns — Dried Shrimps — Feasting on Live Shrimps — Crayfish — Crabs, varieties of — Land Crabs — MoUusca — Univalves — Edible Snails — Limpets — Whelks — Periwinkles — Haliotids, or Ear-shells . .376 CHAPTER XII. Animal Food Furnished by the Mollusca and Radiata. Bivalves — Cockles — Oysters, Classification and Varieties of — Statistics of French Production — Magnitude of American Oyster Trade — Green Oysters — Ship- ments of Oysters in Barrels and Cans — Statistics of American Production — Canadian Oysters — Scallops — Razor-fish — Clams, varieties of — Clam Bake Feasts in the United States — Other Species of MoUusks, Tapes, Venus, Pholas, &c. — Mussels — French Trade in — British Consumption — Zoophytes, Actinia — Modes of Cooking — Curious Fish Dinner — Cephalopods, Sepia, Octopi, Squids, Sea-Urchins — Trepang or Beche-de-Mer — Varieties of — Large Consumption of in China — Indian Exports — Leeches and Worms Eaten 411 THE imimal (^ooil ^efjcur^e^ of gijfeitnt Rations. CHAPTER I. Introductory and General. Man an Omnivorous Animal — Some Eastern Nations eschew Animal Food — Varieties of Food of Different People-^Man the only Cooking Animal — Variable Food in Different Ages and Climates — Less Animal Food Eaten in Tropical Regions than in Temperate and Arctic Regions — Various Food Deli- cacies — A Chinese Dinner — Wild American Animals as Food — Marrow — Tinned or Preserved Meats — Statistics of Imports of Animal Food from America — Charqui — Dried and Jerked Meats of Different Countries — Pastoormah — Dendeng — Frozen Carcases — Choice Morsels held in Special Estimation — Value of our Imports of Animals and Animal Products for Food in 1883 — Advance in Prices — Meat Con- sumption in France — Meat Production and Consumption in Russia — United States Consumption — Mutton Despised in many Countries — Large Consumption in Great Britain — Slaughter of Sheep in Buenos Ayres — Goats' Flesh very little Eaten — Our Foreign Supplies of Animal Food — Average In- dividual Consumption — Value of Cheese as Food — Imports of Butter and Cheese from Abroad — Diseased Meat as Food — Not considered to be Injurious — German Legislation thereon — Extensive Use of Animals which have Died by a large Low-Caste Population in India — M. Delcroix's Per- sonal Experience of a Quarter of a Century Feeding on the Flesh of Diseased Animals — Medical Evidence taken on this Subject before the Irish Cattle Trade Defence Association — Diseased Lung of a Bullock Cooked and Eaten — Opinion of the Lancet on Diseased Meat. Professor Owen has well observed that — "Whatever the animal kinordom can aiford for our food or clothino:, for our tools, weapons, or ornaments — whatever the lower B 2 ANIMAL FOOD RESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. creation can contribute to our wants, our comforts, our passions, or our pride, that we sternly exact and take at all cost to the producers. No creature is too bulky or formidable for man's destructive energies ; none too minute and insignificant for his keen detection and skill of capture. It was ordained from the beginning that we should be the masters and subduers of all in- ferior animals." Our range of food already is specially wide and varied. All the world is laid under tribute to supply our tables, and we are learning to imitate or improve on the culi- nary processes of every nation and every age. In Europe and in America — aye, and we may also add in the far East — men have hunted high and low, on land, in the air, and in the sea, to obtain a variety of food, and this not only in times of war and famine, but when peace and plenty reigned. Not only will men have variety, but they will have it at every meal. There are not, perhaps, ten people in a thousand who eat a single meal consist- ing of only one article, provided they can get variety. Science has taught vis that as in nature clay produces one plant and sand another, so man also requires a variety of food to provide for all the elements of which he is made. Other creatures are generally restricted to one sort of provender at most. They are carnivorous, piscivorous, or something-ivorous, but man is the uni- versal eater. He pounces with the tiger upon the kid, with the hawk upon the dove, and upon the herring with the cormorant. He goes halves with the bee in the honey-cell, but turns upon his partner and cheats him out of his share of the produce. He grubs up the root with the sow, devours the fruit with the earwig, and demolishes the leaves with the caterpillar ; for all these several parts of the members of the vegetable kingdom furnish him with food. Life itself will not hinder his appetite, nor decay nauseate his palate ; for he will as soon devour a lively young oyster as demolish the fungous produce of a humid field. This propensity is, indeed, easily abused ; viands of such incon- INTKODUCTORY AND GENERAL. 3 ^ruous nature and heterogeneous substances are sometimes collected as to make an outrageous amalgamation, so that an alderman at a City feast might make one shudder ; but this is too curious an investigation — it is the abuse of abundance too, and we know that abuse is the origin of all evil. This fact should lead us to another point, the appreciation of goodness and beneficence. The adap- tation of external nature has often been insisted on — the adaptation of men to all circumstances, states, and conditions is carrying out the idea. The inferior animals are tied down, even by the narrowness of their animal necessities, to a small range of existence ; but man can seldom be placed in any circumstances in which his universal appetite cannot be appeased. From the naked savage snatching a berry from the thorn, to the well- clad, highly-civilised denizen of the town, surrounded by every comfort, every luxury; from the tired traveller who opens his wallet and produces his oaten cake beside the welling lymph which is to slake his thirst, to the pursy justice, "in fair round belly with good capon lined," who spreads the damask napkin on his knees, tucks his toes under the table, and revels in calipee and calipash, — what an infinite diversity of circumstances ! The Word of God tells us : " Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you ; even as the green herb have I given you all things." Still Animal food is even now but sparingly used in Eastern countries, and by some nations held in utter abhorrence. All great legislators of the Orient have, moreover, forbidden the use of certain animals which they call unclean. Moses, Manu, and Mahomet proscribed them alike. Buddhism makes the killing of a living animal sinful. Nor does a,ny nation on earth yet subsist on Animal food only ; even the lowest in the scale of civilisation, those who live as fishermen and hunters, mix some vegetables with their diet. That which characterises especially meat and fish, is the abundance of nitrogenous matter which can be assimilated into our tissues, and which conduces to b2 4 ANIMAL FOOD RESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. healthy nourishment, and it is these foods the repro- duction of which has to be encouraged, for the supply is at present insufficient, and hence the want is calcu- lated to injure the health of the people, especially the labouring classes, whose daily work demands a nutrition more reparative. The diversity of substances which we find in the cata- logue of articles of Food is as great as the variety with which the art or the science of cookery prepares them ; the notions of the ancients on this most important sub- ject are worthy of remark. Their taste regarding meat was various. But they considered it, as we still do, the most substantial food, hence it constituted the chief nourishment of their athletes. Camels' and dromedaries ■flesh was much esteemed, their heels more esj)ecially. Donkey flesh was in high repute. Maecenas, according- to Pliny, delighted in it, and the wild ass brought from Africa w^as compared to venison. In more modern times, we find Chancellor Dupret having asses fattened for his table. The Romans seem to have indulged in as great a variety of Animal food as the epicures of the present day. A passage from Macrobius, quoted in Soyer's " Pan- thropheon " furnishes the following menu of a supper given by the Pontiff Lentulus on the day of his recep- tion : — " The first course was composed of sea hedgehogs. (Echinus), raw oysters in abundance, all sorts of shell- fish and asparagus. The second service comprised a fine fatted pullet, a fresh dish of oysters and other shell-fish, different kinds of dates, univalve shell-fish (as whelks, conchs, etc.), more oysters, but of different kinds, sea nettles, beccaficoes, chines of wild boar, fowls covered with a perfumed paste ; a second dish of shell-fish and purples (? lobsters), a very costly kind of Crustacea. The third and last course presented several hors cTceuvrey a wild boar's head, fish, a second set of Jiors d'oeuvre, ducks, potted river fish, leverets, roast fowls, and capi- tones (a large kind of eel) from the marshes of Ancona." An eminent French economist justly observes : — "A INTRODUCTORY AND GENERAL. 5 population which does not consume meat is not in a liealthy condition ; they have in themselves a deplorable cause of inferiority in works of strength and of mortality by diseases." "^ Man is the only animal that cooks, and, indeed, hu- manity may be said to be divided into two epochs, that preceding and that following the discovery of cookery. Pre-historic man resembled savages of the present day, whether on the Continent of America, in Australia, or Polynesia, where fish, animals, and loathsome insects are eaten raw, as a kind of change from fruits. Man was not, as some savants allege, originally a vegetarian ; the latter is perhaps an artificial kind of alimentation. Brahmins only became frugiferous where agriculture put within their reach that kind of food. Vegetables are easily consumed by birds and cattle, because they have gizzards and paunches — appropriate organs, but wanting to man ; hence the necessity of the culinary art, to make rice and millet digestible. But to cook, it was essential to have fire, and for a long time humanity had not dis- covered this element. Indeed, it was even a marketable commodity, and some tribes still carry living embers as they camp. Dr. W. Roberts tells us that the changes impressed on food by cooking form an integral part of the work of digestion — a part which we of the human race get done for us by the agency of fire-heat, but a part which the lower animals are compelled to perform by the labour of their own digestive organs. The late Mr. John Crawfurd, in the "Ethnological Transactions," remarks : — " By his anatomical structure man is an omnivorous' animal, and all the races, when attainable, will equally consume animal and vegetable food. A very few, the result of dire necessity, live on animal food only, such as the Esquimaux, who could not exist amid ice and snows if they did not. No race lives •exclusively on a vegetable diet, for their position has * Chevaher, " Des forces alimentaires des Etats," p. 47. 6 ANIMAL FOOD KESollRCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. never rendered a restriction to it indispensable ; the nearest approach to it is probabty among the higher classes of Hindoos, but these are greater consumers of milk and butter, of vegetable oils and pulses, which con- tain the same chemical elements as animal food. Some tropical races, such as the Malays, have been supposed to> be almost exclusively consumers of fruits and vegetables,, which is not true, for they are large consumers of fish and of vegetable oils, or of substances containing these oils, as the cocoanut and ground pea or earth nut." A recent writer, speaking of human diet, observes : " It is a remarkable circumstance that man alone is pro- vided with a case of instruments adapted to the masti- cation of all substances — teeth to cut and pierce and champ and grind ; a gastric solvent too, capable of con- tending with anything and everything, raw substances^ and cooked, ripe and rotten, nothing comes amiss to^ him." If animals could speak, as ^sop and other fabulists make them seem to do, they would declare man the most voracious animal in existence. There is scarcely any living thing that flies in the air, swims in the sea, or moves on the land, that is not made to minister to his appetite. The daily food, however, varies in different ages and difterent climates. Queen Elizabeth and her ladies breakfasted on meat, bread and strong ale. Our modern ladies take tea and coffee and thin slices of toast or bread. The Esquimaux drink train oil, and the Cos- sacks koumiss, an ardent spirit made from mare's milk. The inhabitants of France and Germany eat much more largely than we do of vegetable diet, and drink at ali times of the day thin acid wines. In Devonshire and Herefordshire an acid cider is the common beverage, and in the Highlands of Scotland oatmeal porridge is in a great measure the food and whisky the drink of the inhabitants. The Irish peasant lives chiefly on potatoes, and the Hindoo on rice. Yet all this variety and much more is digested, yields nutri- ment, and promotes growth ; affording undeniable evi- W'' -"-^ r^t ir^ IXTEODUCTORY ANDlp3J;^fiALEB:3IT"J \ 7 ^C4 / I p Q p Nl i A^^ dence that man is really omnivoron^js^^yief^cran be supported by great varieties of food. In warm climates meat is often poor, dry, insipid and hard stuff, because perhaps it cannot be kept to render it in general fit for any man who has not the teeth of a shark, or the snout of a saw-fish. In tropical countries Animal food ought to be indulged in as sparingly as is consistent with the digestive powers ; for, on the whole, animal food is more easy of digestion than vegetable ; and it may be added (en parenthese) that the flesh of the mature animal is more easily absorbed into the human system than that of the young of the same kind. Thus, five-year old mutton is more whole- some than lamb ; beef than veal ; goat than kid. This may seem strange to those who have never studied the subject, but the physiologist assures us that such is the fact. This being so, there was perhaps something of an unconscious wisdom in that party of sailors who once drank a bowl of punch on the summit of Pompey's Pillar in Egypt, on Christmas Day, in choosing for their dinner a tough billy-goat, in preference to a younger animal, for the all-sufficient reason that it took more " chawing," and that, consequently, the flavour would linger on the palate much longer than if it had been less miature. Still, while conceding that Animal food is necessary for the sustentation of human strength and health, it cannot be denied that an abundant supply of vegetables is highly beneficial to the great omnivore — Man, and particularly so in tropical climates. There can be no doubt that a bountiful Providence has adapted the food of man to his necessities in all climates, so that the pro- duct of any particular country is best suited to the people inhabiting it. Habit, as is well known, will do much in accustoming the stomach to particular descriptions of food. Many persons live exclusively, or almost so, on vegetables, others on animal substances, and particular kinds of diet are forced on the inhabitants of many regions of the globe ; 8 ANIMAL FOOD RESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. but as far as Englishmen are concerned, a due mixture of vegetable and animal matter is not only most palat- able, but most conducive to health. Let us briefly take a preliminary glance at some of the various articles which different people relish. Be- sides the local peculiarities of the vegetable and animal foods which are most abundant and attainable, we have the influence of those instinctive appetites for particular articles of food, which certainly exist, however difficult of explanation they may be. Religious or superstitious usages are also most important factors in the result in many instances, although they will not always serve to explain the abstention from certain perfectly wholesome and nutritious foods, or the consumption of absolutely noxious or useless materials like clay. — Professor Church's " Food." Sir George Grey, in his '' Travels in Australia," gives a graphic account of the food of the Australians, and particularly tells us of the feast of a whole tribe on a stranded whale. " It was a sorry sight (he says) to see a pretty young woman entering the belly of the whale, then gorging herself with blubber, and issuing forth anointed from head to foot, and bearing in each hand a trophy of the delicacy in question." A young lady of the Sandwich Islands, even now, will swallow half a dozen raw mackerel for breakfast, without the smallest inconvenience to herself. Sir E. Belcher, in a visit to some Esquimaux at Icy Cape, found the winter store room under the floor of their yourt or den, pretty well supplied with a mixture of reindeer, whale, walrus, seal, swans, ducks, etc., but none fresh. It was frozen into a solid mass beneath, but loose from those on the surface, and seemed to be incor- porated by some unexplained process into a gelatinous snow, which they scraped up easily with the hand, and ate with satisfaction, fish and oil predominating. It was not offensive or putrid. How many years the frozen mass may have remained there he could not determine. In North America, fish eyes, the roes of salmon, and INTRODUCTORY AND GENERAL. 9 other small scraps, are buried in the earth by the natives until putrid, and then eaten cooked or raw. These sub- stances produce a horrible stench when exposed to the air. The Chippewa Indians are said to indulge in this diet. The Sioux prepare a favourite dish, used at great feasts, called '' washen-ena," consisting of dried meat pulverised and mixed with marrow, and a preparation of cherries, pounded and sun-dried. This mixture, when eaten raw or cooked, has an agreeable vinous taste. The Emperor Napoleon once partook of an African dinner, with tortoise broth for turtle soup, porcupine, gazelle, and loin of the wild boar for ^neces de resistance, salmis of Carthaginian hens, antelope cutlets, and bustards for entrees, an ostrich for a roast, and for side dishes ostrich eggs in the shell, pomegranate jelly, and all manner of sweetmeats with unpronounceable names like " scerakboracs." Ostrich, by way of roast chicken, is however rather tough eating; and we wonder the Governor, who was his host, did not add a slice or two of lion to the entrees, and pickled rhinoceros' foot to the side dishes. They certainly would digest much better than Arab sweetmeats, which, with the exception of '* hulwah " are abominable. The late Marquis of Compiegne, writing on the tribes of Equatorial Africa, states that some of them will eat any substance, however putrid, and he relates that they took from the river the floating body of a kind of flying squir- rel {Anoma lariis), which had evidently been dead ten or twelve days and was green and horribly swollen, and the skin gone. And yet they roasted and ate this dis- gusting viand, without even disembowelling it, and con- sidered it an exquisite repast. Arabs often eat raw sheep's liver or kidney, seasoned only with salt ; some tribes of Bedouins consume other parts of the sheep in an uncooked state. Others eat gazelles and horseflesh, but this latter is never an article of diet of the northern Bedouins. In Sweden roast reindeer steaks and game are dressed 10 ANIMAL FOOD EESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. in a manner preferable to that which prevails with us. The flesh is first perforated and little bits of lard in- serted, and after being baked in an oven, it is served in a quantity of white sauce. Some of the purely national dishes, such as lut-fisk on Christmas-eve, are most extra- ordinary things. A writer in "Temple Bar," giving an account of a grand Chinese dinner of which he partook, says : — " Some of the intermediate dishes were shark's fin ; birds' nests brought from Borneo (costing nearly a guinea a mouth- ful) ; fricassee of poodle, a little dog rather like a pig, except for its head ; the fish of the honk shell, an elastic substance like paxwax or india-rubber, which you might masticate but could not possibly mash ; peacock's liver, very fine and recherche ; putrid eggs, nevertheless very good ; rice, of course; salted shrimps ; baked almonds ; cabbage in a variety of forms ; green ginger ; stewed fungi ; fresh fish of a dozen kinds ; onions ad lihitum ; salt duck cured like ham, and pig in every form, roast, boiled, fried : FouChow ham, which seemed to be equal to Wiltshire. In fact, the Chinese excel in pork, but Europeans will rarely touch it, under the superstition that pigs are fed on babies. Of course a pig will eat a baby if it finds one, as it will devour a rattlesnake, but that does not prevent us eating American bacon, where the pigs run wild in the wood, and feed, from choice, upon any vermin they can find and are fattened with garbage. When in the Southern States I got two magnificent rattlesnakes, and my pigs ate them both. That did not prevent the pigs being eaten in their turn ; and I think I would as soon eat transmutation of baby- flesh as of rattlesnake, especially the rattle. But I believe the whole to be a libel. The Chinese are most particular about their swine, and keep them penned up in the utmost cleanliness and comfort, rivalling the Dutch in their scrubbing and washing. They grow whole fields of taro and herbs for their pigs, and I do not believe that one porker in a million ever tastes a baby. The whole was cooked without salt, and tasted very INTRODUCTORY AND GENERAL. 11 insipid to me. The birds' nests seemed like glue or isin- glass ; but the cocks'-combs were palatable. The dog meat was like very delicate gizzard well stewed — a short close fibre and very tender. The dish which I fancied the most turned out to be rat ; for upon taking a second help after the first taste, I got the head, and I certainly felt rather sick upon this discovery. But I consoled myself by the remembrance that in California we used often to eat ground-squirrels, which are first cousins to the flat-tailed rats ; and travellers who would know the world must go in boldly for manners and customs. We had tortoise and frogs ; a curry of the latter was superior to chicken. We had fowls' hearts, and brains of some bird — snipe I think. And the soup which terminated the repast was surely boiled tripe, or some interior ar- rangement, and I wished I had halted a little time ago." Dr. Macgowan, of Shanghai, tells us that in China little distinction is made between materia medica, and materia alimentaria, therapeutic properties being as- cribed to all articles that are used as food. Nearly all portions of animals, the human frame included, are supposed to be efficacious in the treatment of disease. Some animal substances are macerated in fermented or distilled liquors, and are termed wines — thus, there are mutton wine, dog wine, deer wine, deer-horn wine, tiger- bone wine, snake wine, and tortoise wine. In the shops of Hong Kong fat pork chops dried and varnished to the colour of mahogany are seen suspended with dry pickled ducks' gizzards, and strings of sausages cured by exposure to the sun. The diet of the Cochin Chinese is, to European ideas,, often gross and disgusting in a high degree. Dogs' and alligators' flesh, rats, mice, worms, frogs and other rep- tiles, maggots, entrails, and putrid meats are among their favourite dishes. Ducks are boiled, and eggs ar& not valued until they are rotten or nearly hatched. Fish pickle is their favourite condiment, into which nearly every morsel they eat is plunged : elephants* flesh is eaten only by the sovereign and nobility. 12 ANIMAL FOOD RESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. In Java the dried inner skin of the buffalo, as well as that of the gourami (Osphro menus olfaoo) and other fish, a-re parboiled, and fried or made into a stew. In Chili the universal dish is the " casuelo," which con- sists of boiled chicken, potatoes, onions, carrots, tomatoes, and eggs, the whole being well seasoned with grease, aji (a species of capsicum), and a little garlic. The grease and aji are '' browned " in an '* olla '* and poured over the dish just at the moment it is served up. In spite of its incongruous materials, to a hungry stomach this mixture is far from being despicable. Horace Greeley, in his " Letters from the American Plains," thus relates the general opinion as to the wild animals used for food : — " Buffalo meat I found to be a general favourite, though my own experience of it makes it a tough, dry, wooden fibre, only to be eaten under great provocation. I infer that it is poorer in spring than at other seasons, and that I have not been fortunate in cooks. Bear, I was surprised to learn, is not generally liked by the mountaineers — my companions had eaten every species, and were not pleased with any. The black-tailed deer of the mountains is a general favourite ; -SO is the mountain-hen, or grouse : so is the antelope, of course; the elk and mountain-sheep less decidedly so. None of our party liked horse, or knew any w^ay of cooking it that would make it really palatable, though, of course, it has to be eaten occasionally, for necessity hath no law — or rather, is its own law. Our conductor had eaten broiled wolf, under compulsion, but could not recommend it ; but he certified that a slice of cold boiled dog — well boiled, so as to free it from rankness, and then suffered to cool thoroughly —is tender, sweet, and delicate as lamb. I ought to have ascertained the species and age of the dog in whose behalf this testimony was borne — for a young Newfoundland or King Charles might justify praise, while it would be utterly unwarranted in the case of an old cur or mastiff — but the opportunity was lost, and I can only give the testimony as I re- ceived it." INTRODUCTORY AND GENERAL. ' 13 M. Bqjir, writing in " Hooker's Botanical Miscellany," III., p. 253, remarks: — "The principal food delicacy in Madagascar is the flesh of an unborn and but half- formed calf, to obtain which they destroy the cows, an inhuman practice, which, since our visit to Emerina, has been forbidden by Government." Marroiv. — The marrow of bones is a dainty at European dinners, and is esteemed as a luxury even among savages. The Indians of North America hold it in high estimation, particularly that of the bones of the buffalo, the elk, the moose, and the deer. The round bones of these animals are roasted in the coals or before the fire, then split with a stone hatchet, and in some cases with a wedge driven in between the condyles, when the bone has these termi- nations. The marrow is then scooped out with a piece of wood in the form of a spoon, and eaten on the instant by the members of the party seated around the camp fire. A feast of this kind can only be fully enjoyed after a successful hunt, when the marrow is collected in quan- tity for storing during the hunting season, which occurs usually twice a year ; the bones of the larger animals are broken into small fragments and boiled in water, until all the marrow which they contain, and the grease which adheres to them are separated and rise to the surface, when they are skimmed off* and packed in blad- ders, or in the muscular coat of the stomach and in the larger intestines, which have been previously prepared for this use. Not only is the marrow of the large bones of the limbs preserved in this manner, but also that of the vertebral column. The bones of this are comminuted by pounding them with a stone hammer similar to those which are occasionally ploughed up in the Eastern States. The marrow still warm from the natural heat of the animal is considered among the Laplanders and the Greenlanders the greatest delicacy, and a dish of honour which they offer to strangers and to the employes of the Government. 14 ANIMAL FOOD RESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. Various additions have been made from time to time to the supply of Animal food for Europe, for which there are incessant demands. The preserved mutton and beef which have been largely supplied from Australia, although consumed by the public as makeshifts, have not been generally popular from their insipidity and the difficulty of recooking them, or giving them gist and flavour. The trade has, however, grown, for in 1877 200,420 cases of preserved meats were received from Australia. In 1879 the imports had reached 566,758 cwt., valued at nearly £1,700,000. In 1883 the quan- tity of preserved meat imported had risen to 609,335 cwt., the value of which was £1,751,584, but more than half of this came from the United States, the relative supplies being, from — Cwt. Australia 226,059 United States 308,303 Other countries .. . ... ... ... ... 74,973 609,335 Let us glance at the statistics of our imports of ani- mals and animal products from the United States, taking first the live stock. In 1880, we imported as many as 156,490 head of horned cattle. In 1883, the number had decreased to 154,928. Of sheep we received 118,000 in 1879, and only 89,083 in 1883. A few years ago we imported from America 16,000 live pigs, and now we receive none. If we pass next to animal products, we find the import trade is large, although scarcely so large and important as formerly. Some five years ago we received from the States 4,500,000 to 5,000,000 cwt. of bacon and hams, now this quantity has dropped to 3,000,000 cwt. In 1882 we received 1,731,000 cwt. of fresh beef, which is about the average received in the three previous years. The imports of salted beef keep pretty steady at about 280,000 cwts. a year. Butter and butterine have dropped from 301,000 cwt. in 1879 to 120,163 cwt. in 1883. The imports of American cheese have also declined from 1,345,744 cwt. INTRODUCTORY AND GENERAL. 15 in 1878 to 991,000 cwt. in 1883. Lard has declined from 901,214 cwt. in 1878 to 751,128 cwt. in 1883. Fresh and salted mutton is about the same — 42,841 cwt. in 1878, and 41,000 cwt. in 1883. Preserved meat (other than salted) was as high as 472,086 cwt. in 1880, and only 309,579 cwt. in 1883. Of salted pork, 322,148 cwt. w^as imported in 1878, and but 247,667 cwt. in 1883. At a recent meeting of the National Wool Growers' Association at Chicago, it was stated that sheep-farming in the States yields £30,000,000 sterling in wool and mutton, there being 1,020,000 sheep farmers pursuing the industry, with £100,000,000 capital invested in it. Further details of our foreign supplies of animal food will be given in subsequent pages. Jerked Meats. — Among the dried and smoked foods eaten by various people are jerked bear's meat, jerked seal and walrus, and porpoise meat, used by the American Indians ; jerked and smoked buffalo meat, dried and smoked beef, dried and smoked venison, hams of various kinds, jerked squirrels, and other small mammals, desic- cated meat, and meat extract. The dried meat so largely prepared in South America and shipped to Brazil and the West Indies, as animal food for the negroes, has been tried for Europe, but met with no approval. It is known as " charqui," '"tasago," -or jerked meat. From 650,000 to 900,000 cwt. of this is shipped annually from Buenos Ayres and Montevideo, about half as much from the Southern provinces of Brazil, and some from Chili. Beef jerking is confined to the hot and dry summer months, the jerking season in Chili being looked forward to like harvest time in England. In well regulated estab- lishments the labour is divided; the jerkers having nothing to do with the killing, skinning, etc. So expert are they as to excite the astonishment of novices at the rapidity with which they slice the animal up, in slices so thin as to admit of a quick sun-drying on hurdles well elevated above the ground. The climate of Chili, from its extreme dryness, is 16 ANIMAL FOOD RESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. better adapted for the curing of meat than Buenos Ayres, where there is a certain degree of humidity. The meat of Chili is of richer flavour and more approaching that of venison. In preparing it in Chili the bones and fat are removed from the flesh, which is cut into strips, a quarter or three-eighths of an inch thick, and hung up in the full rays of the sun, and in about eight hours it is dried almost as hard as a piece of glue. The slices are made into long bundles and packed in raw hides, which shrink upon it, and keep it very tight. Meat dried in this way does not putrefy, but after a time mites are found in it. In Buenos Ayres, where it is partially salted and afterwards dried, the fat is used, and the meat becomes rancid, but with the negro population it is a great treat to get some fat. In using the shreds of meat, they are roasted thoroughly brown over the embers of a fire, and pounded in very small pieces on a flat stone. For all purposes of soup or stew it is a valuable food. In Wallachia and Moldavia beef is much consumed by the people under the name of " pastourma " or " pastoor- mah." The meat is salted and sun-dried, and seasoned with spices and garlic when cooked. The tongues, sinews, etc., are sold to the sausage- makers, who generally season them highly. The mar- row, carefully extracted from the bones, is preserved in goat-skins, and other vessels, and under the name of " cerviche " is much employed for culinary purposes in Constantinople. The flesh of the beasts fattened on distillery refuse has a disagreeable odour. There is a large trade in pre- served meat in Moldavia, One house, Messrs. Powell & Co., employ 240 workpeople, and turn out 5,000 boxes daity, containing about 33,000 lbs. of meat. In Siam elephants' flesh is dried and stored up for food. Goats' flesh is also thus prepared. Dendeng is the Malay name for the jerked meat of commerce, that is of animal muscular fibre, preserved by drying in the sun, nearly the only mode of curing INTRODUCTORY AND GENERAL. 17 flesh in the Eastern Archipelago. Dendeng is made of the flesh of deer, oxen and buflalo, and by the Chinese of that of the wild hog. It is a considerable article of native trade in the East. In India pieces of mutton are dried in the sun and cured with spices and a little salt. It is exported to Burmah and used locally. It is said to be very good when roasted and pounded. This custom of drying meat in the sun is also prac- tised in Africa. It is thus described by Captain Burton in his " Lake Kegions of Central Africa." " The African preserves his meat by placing large lumps upon a little platform of green reeds erected upon uprights, about eighteen inches high, and by smoking it over a slow fire. Thus prepared, and with the addition of a little salt, the provision will last for several days, and the porters will not object to increase their loads by three or four pounds of the article, disposed upon a long stick like gigantic kabobs. They also jerk their stores by exposing the meat upon a rope, or spread upon a flat stone, for two or three days in the sun ; it loses a con- siderable portion of nutriment, but it packs into a con- veniently small compass. This jerked meat when dried, broken into small pieces and stored in gourds or in pots full of clarified and melted butter, forms the celebrated travelling provision in the East, called kavurmek ; it is eaten as a relish with rice and other boiled grains." The charqui of South America, salted, is a product of sun-drying ; and the desiccation of carcases, without de- composition, on the plains has been a matter of common observation. It is stated in Turner's " Embassy to Thibet " (4to, London, 1806, p. 301), that the flesh of animals is pre- served frost-dried — not frozen — and it keeps without salt. He says, " I had supplies of this prepared meat during all the time I remained at Teshoo Loomboo, which had been cured in the preceding winter. It was perfectly sweet, and I was accustomed to eat heartily of it, without any further dressing, and at length grew c 18 ANIMAL FOOD RESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. fond of it. It had not the appearance of being raw, but resembled in colour that which has been well boiled. It had been deprived of all ruddiness by the intense cold." Frozen meat, unless losing greatly in weight by evaporation, owing to the dryness of circumambient air, will, like frozen fish, decompose on exposure to warmth. The decomposition is activated by atmospheric im- purity ; and it is easy to understand how, in the moun- tains of Thibet, the rarefied air, of great dryness, mobility and freedom from putrefactive germs, would satisfy the conditions for abstracting sufficient moisture, even from frozen meat, whilst eifectually preventing decay. Pure dry air, either hot or cold, being an admir- able desiccant, is under suitable conditions an excellent preservative. Frozen meat has kept for ages, and during the Russian and North American winters, the people are compelled to put up with it. Freezing is, however, prejudicial to the meat, and commercially somewhat expensive, since it necessitates the construction not only of ordinary ice-houses, but of freezing chambers at the ports of shipment and landing, and there are innumerable impediments in the way of getting the frozen produce delivered untainted to the customer. Experimentally the process is simple and quite successful, but not as a means of supplying the nation's food. It has, however, of late years been brought more success- fully into practice in the importation of carcases from Australia and America. It is curious to notice the various parts of animals that are eaten, or selected as choice morsels by different persons or classes. Sheep's head, pig's head, calf's head and brains, ox head, the heads of ducks and geese, ox tongue, horse tongue, reindeer tongue, walrus tongue, cranes' tongues, cods' tongues, etc. Fowls' and ducks' tongues are esteemed an exquisite Chinese dainty. The pettitoes of the sucking pig, or the mature feet and hocks of the elder hog, sheep's trotters, calf s feet, cow heel, bears' paws, elephants' feet, the feet of ducks and geese INTRODUCTORY AND GENERAL. 19 and their giblets: ox tail, pig's tail, fat sheep's tail, kan- garoo tail, beaver's tail. And the entrails again are not despised, whether it be bullock's heart or sheep's heart, liver and lights, lamb's fry or pig's fry, tripe and chit- terlings, goose liver and gizzard, the cleaned gut for our sausages, the fish maws, cod sound, cod liver, and so on. The moufle, or loose covering of the nose, of the great moose deer or elk is considered by New Brunswick epicures a great dainty. The hump of the buffalo, and the trunk of the elephant, are other delicacies. Deer's sinews, and the muscle of the ox, the buffalo, and the wild hog, jerked or dried in the sun, and then termed " dendeng," are delicacies of the Chinese, imported at a high price from Siam and the eastern islands. Under the name of sweetbread there is a delicate food, which should be the thyroid and sublingual glands of the ox, but the pancreas goes under the same name. That of the calf is most esteemed, but the sweetbread of the lamb is not unfrequently substituted for it. The eggs of different animals, again, form choice articles of food, whether they be those of the ordinary domestic poultry, the eggs of sea-fowl, of the plover, and of game birds, of the ostrich and emu, of the tortoises and other reptilia, or the eggs of insects, and of fishes. A remarkable instance of the increase in the sale of imported ox tongues is afforded by the trade done at Paysandu, a little town in Uruguay, from whence about 150 tons are packed in hermetically sealed tins and shipped annually to Great Britain. The Russian tongues received are believed to be prin- cipally horse tongues dried and smoked. Reindeer tongues are another Northern delicacy, of which many are imported, and we also eat in this country sheep's and pigs' tongues. The tongues which are imported dried, require long soaking in cold water before being cooked. Besides the dead meat brought into London, there are received at the Metropolitan and Foreign Cattle Markets an average of 320,000 head of cattle, 50 per cent. c2 20 ANIMAL FOOD RESOUECES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. being foreign ; 1,400,000 sheep, of which 60 per cent, are foreign, and 12,000 pigs, nearly all of which are from abroad. In 1870 it was officially estimated that the meat con- sumption in the United Kingdom was about 96 lbs. per head per annum. Later estimates gave it, in 1872, at 108 lbs. per head. We paid for the food substances of animal origin which we imported into this country, in 1883, the sum of nearly fifty-one and a-half millions sterling, made up as follows : — Living Animals — cattle, sheep, and swine ... £11,978,996 Bacon 8,178,123 Beef 2,878,264 Butter and butterine 11,755,419 Cheese 4,882,502 2,728,396 1,773,027 1,823,352 2,243,956 1,863.539 759,651 591,367 Fish, cured Hams Lard Beef and mutton, fresh or preserved Pork Poultry and game £51,456,662 This is a pretty good round sum for foreign imports, exclusive of our home meat supply, dairy produce, game, and fresh fish. The prices of meat are, generally speaking, advancing year by year, as the following wholesale prices of butchers' meat (per stone of 8 lbs.) in the Metro- politan Cattle Market shows : — 1870. 1880. 1882. 8. d. s. d. s. d. Large prime beasts .. 4 11^ . .. 4 llf •• ^ ^t Southdown sheep ... 5 7i . .. 6 9^ .. 7 Of Lambs ... 6 10 . .. 8 li .. 7 10 Small prime calves ...6 5 . .. 5 llf .. 6 Of Small neat porkers ... 5 8i . .. 4 lU .. 4 10^ In 1862 the consumption of butchers' meat in Paris (exclusive of pork) was said to be as high as 108 lbs. per head. INTRODUCTORY AND GENERAL. 21 Adding together the aHmentary products derived from the bovine, ovine, and porcine races, to those obtained from fowls, game, fish, eggs, and cheese, it was officially stated that the population of the eighty-nine depart- ments of France consumed in 1862 only 57 grammes of nitrogenous food, while the average daily ration of animal food of the Parisian was 273 grammes. In 18G4, with a population of 1,696,141, the following amounts were returned as consumed in Paris : — lbs. Butchers' meat 200,205,970 Pork of all kinds ... ., 15,908,418 Charcuterie, cooked ham, sausages, &c. ... 3,600,548 Meat pates, &c. 225,858 In 1865 the value of the import and export commerce of France in animal food amounted to over seven and a- quarter millions sterling, of which three-fourths was imports. In France, as with us, there has been an almost general advance in the price of meat in the last ten years, as shown by the following comparison of prices per kilo, in the market of Villette, Paris : — 1872. 1880. Francs. Francs. Ox beef 1'53 1-59 Cow beef 1-40 1-36 Mutton 1-60 1-82 Pork 1-55 1-73 A calf weighs ordinarily at its birth 90 lbs. It con- sumes on an average about 3 J quarts of milk per day. At about three months it will weigh 360 lbs., and is sold to the butcher for about 6d. per lb. in France, where large veal is held in great esteem, being one of the most popular and general articles of food. From official returns we find that the consumption of fresh meat for Paris in the year 1872^ was as follows : — * " Enquete de la Chambre de Commerce de Paris." 22 ANIMAL FOOD RESOHECES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. At the five food : — Oxen Cows Calves Sheep Goats i>igs Horses Asses and mules slaughter-houses there were killed for 159,916 47,517 160,184 1,343,852 298 154,477 4,041 ... 612 The meat sent out for consumption yielded by these animals was — Kilos. Beef , veal, and mutton 101,116,269 Pork 12,312,745 Horseflesh 1,010,250 114,439,264 Of this quantity all but 5,500,000 kilos., sent to the^ suburbs, was consumed in Paris. The population of the city in 1872 was 1,851,792, and in 1881 it was 2,269.023. A peculiar feature of the business in the French slaughter-houses is that of blowing up the carcass as soon as the head and legs are cut off, which is done as follows : The body being placed on the dressing frame, an incision is made in the breast near the neck, and the nozzle of a bellows inserted. A man then works the bellows for about fifteen minutes, until the whole carcass is swollen out like a small balloon. The reasons given for this are that it makes the meat look better, more plump than it otherwise would, and that it enables the person who skins the carcass to get the hide off quicker and easier, without injuring it. All bullocks, calves, sheep, etc., slaughtered in these establishments are blown up in this manner. The imports of meat into France were in — Beef. Salted and cured Pork. Kilos. Kilos. 1879 5,850,000 35,675,000 1880 7,519,000 38,713,000 1881 5,741,000 19,710,000 ( INTEODUCTORY AND GENERAL. 23 The other salted meat imported in 1881 amounted to 4,146,000 kilos. The imports of pork were sensibly reduced by the stringent measures against American bacon, in consequence of the trichinosis. The total quantity of butchers' meat consumed in Paris in 1883 was about 167,000 tons. In Russia the production of meat may be roughly estimated from the animals slaughtered annually. This number cannot be very accurately determined, but may be approximately given. Not less than 3,500,000 head of large cattle are sent to the butchers, of which 2,200,000 are oxen, and 1,300,000 cows. The number of calves killed is on the average 4 millions, and of sheep 12 mil- lions. We may assume, according to official data, for each head of cattle, 450 lbs. of meat and 60 lbs. of suet (an ox will give 550 lbs. of flesh and 100 lbs. of tallow, a cow 200 lbs. to 300 lbs. of meat and 150 lbs. of tallow) ; and hence we get a total produce of 700,000 tons of beef, irrespective of tallow. The 4 millions of calves at 80 lbs. give 140,000 tons of veal. Reckoning the sheep killed at 30 or 40 lbs. of meat each, exclusive of 10 lbs. of tallow, we have 170,000 tons of mutton ; and 6 million pigs killed will yield 200,000 tons of pork.^ In the United States pork is the principal flesh food, constituting fully half the meat consumption. In France pork forms 30 per cent., and beef 55 per cent, of the meat production, and mutton 13^. In Great Britain mutton and beef share more equally in the food supply, swine flesh occupying nearly the place that mutton does in France. About 130 lbs. per head would seem to be the average annual meat consumption in the United States. In the town of Bremen the consumption of animal food per head in the five years 1872-76, averaged as fol- lows, in kilogrammes of 2^ lbs. : — * Buschen, " Aper9u statistique des Forces productives de la Russe," 1867. 24 ANIMAL FOOD RESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. Kilos. Beef 33-56 Mutton 3-29 Pork 18-72 Game and poultry 2'58 Flesh generally 58-15 or about 128 lbs. A remark may here be made of the general objection to mutton as food in Germany, Holland, and other parts of the Continent. I remember offending a learned Dutch professor by providing at dinner when he visited me, as a choice dainty, a quarter of lamb, not knowing the Dutch objection to the flesh of the sheep. The best of it is, a great deal of cow beef is used in Holland, a meat which we do not hold in esti- mation. In other foreign countries mutton is disliked, or at least rarely eaten. The Calmucks and Cossacks seldom touch it, and the Mongols make a wine of it. In some parts of America and in Spain, mutton is scarcely con- sidered fit for food. The dried flesh of the wild sheep, however, forms an article of commerce in Kamtschatka. A sheep to be in high order for the palate of an epi- cure, should never be killed earlier than when five years old ; at which age the mutton will be found firm and succulent, of a dark colour, and full of the richest gravy ; whereas if only two years old, it is flabby, pale, and savourless. Wether mutton is always considered far superior to that of the ewe. Harrison, who died in 1593, described our sheep as " very excellent, and for sweetness of flesh they pass all others*" The last three centuries have added greatly to the improvement of the breed and the quality of their flesh. Southdown mutton in point of flavour and deli- cacy is thought equal to any that is killed. The older the mutton, the finer the flavour. In highly fattened sheep the quantity of meat obtain- able may reach as high as 65 per cent, of the carcase, but this figure will not be obtained from ordinary sheep. INTRODUCTORY AND^^IjMl. 25 In well-fed sheep a yield of 55 tow^er;!&!aii*«a^ be reckoned on, and 45 to 55 per cent, may be considered a fair average. Mutton is seldom or never salted in England; in France k gigot premie is a popular dish, but this is only mutton grazed near the sea coasts. The annual consumption of home-grown sheep and lambs in this country, according to a reliable estimate, is more than 14,000,000, out of a total of 28,000,000. This was supplemented in 1883 by the importation of over one million live sheep. There has been an esti- mated loss of five and a quarter millions of sheep and lambs of late years by the rot, hence the foreign imports have to be largely supplemented to meet the food supply of the nation. The value of the flesh of 14 million sheep which are now annually slaughtered for food in the United King- dom may be taken to be worth over £20,000,000. Each year in the province of Buenos Ayres, 10 million sheep are boiled down solely for their tallow and skins, hence a great waste of serviceable food occurs. The boiling down of sheep in Australia has been in a great measure abandoned. GoaU Flesh. — The flesh of the goat is harder, tougher, and stronger food than mutton ; it is very commonly eaten in Switzerland and other mountainous regions of the world. The haunches are frequently salted and dried. The flesh of the kid is generally esteemed, and has a flavour not very unlike that of venison. The Malabar goat, that browses on the rocks in Ceylon, is said to be a delicate animal. Of the consumption of goats' flesh for food it is difficult to form any accurate estimate, but in those countries where the animal abounds it is no doubt eaten in the young state. In England, however, the goat is not legally held to be a food animal. Morocco, Spain, and India are the countries where the largest number of goats are found, but it is scarcely necessary to particularise the numbers, as they are kept more for their milk, hair, and skins than for their flesh. 26 ANIMAL FOOD KESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. We imported m 1880 into the United Kingdom the following quantities of Animal food supplies ; — Quantity. Value £. Live animals for food (except pigs) ... 1,330,845 head 10,000,396 Bacon and hams ... 5,334,648 cwts 10,985,642 Beef, salted and fresh 1,017,956 „ 2,424,943 Butter 2,326,305 „ 12,141,034 Cheese 1,775,997 „ 5,091,514 Eggs 747,408,600 No 2,235,451 Fish, cured or salted... 1,343,434 cwts 1,666,710 Lard 927,512 , 1,852,160 Meat, salted or fresh... 149,010 „ 429,073 „ preserved ... 655,800 „ 1,905,717 Pork, salted or fresh... 409,267 „ 684,192 Poultry and game ... — 421,645 £49,898,477 The proportionate quantity we consumed per head of foreign provisions of Animal origin is officially given as follows : — 1879. 1882. lbs. lbs. Bacon and hams 14'84 8*85 Butter 6-57 6-72 Cheese , 5*74 5-20 No. No. Eggs 22-44 23-04 Cheese scarcely receives its proper place as a food material with us. Some systems do not take to it kindly, and such persons should not press it upon their digestive economy. Much cheese, too, because it is poorly made, is indigestible. These facts should be borne in mind. And yet as a food possessing great strengthening power and adapted to those who have hard physical labour to perform, there are few substances so satisfactory as rich and well cured cheese. We may give some authorities on this point. Dr. Austin Flint says : " Old cheese taken in small quantity towards the close of a repast, undoubt- edly facilitates digestion by stimulating the secretion of the fluids, particularly the gastric juice. Here its effect INTRODUCTORY AND GENERAL. 27 is attributed to a different principle than that of its fermenting quality, but an active ferment may also in- crease the effect of the gastric juice." Dr. Flint adds : " New cheese is a highly nutritious article, as is evident from its composition." The long experience of English, Scotch, and Irish labourers proves cheese to be a whole- some as well as nutritious food. A small quantity of cheese, with them, takes the place of a larger quantity of meat, and enables them to endure such hard labour as the American thinks he can only perform upon a generous meat diet. In Germany farm labourers depend largely upon the curd of milk after being skimmed for butter. This curd is frequently used in a fresh state, and makes an important part of the labourer's diet. It is related of a certain Dane that he could carry a stone so heavy that it required ten men to lift it on his shoulders : that he performed such wonderful feats of strength upon a diet consisting of large quantities of thick sour milk, tea, and coffee. His enormous strength must have been sus- tained by the curd of the milk. This case refutes the common error, that milk does not furnish a diet for vigorous manhood. There are numerous cases in which a milk diet has sustained the system under the most exacting labour. The American Encyclopsedia says : " The peasants of some parts of Switzerland, who sel- dom or never taste anything but bread, cheese, and butter, are a vigorous people. Our American women are not such flesh-eaters as men, and with their love of sweet- meats the nervous system becomes ill nourished. They may almost be said to be made of starch and sugar. If they would make cheese a more constant article of diet, and use more unbolted flour, with more open air exer- cise, they would soon become the most healthful and robust, women in the world." Cheese is less liable to putrefactive change than flesh, and thus much less likely to develop in the human system those scrofulous diseases attributed to animal food. It is believed that we produce in the United Kingdom about 126,000 tons of ripe cheese, and 29,285 tons of 28 ANIMAL FOOD RESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. butter per annum. From America and Canada we im- port about 60,000 tons of cheese per annum, and from other sources 30,000 tons, which together amount to about four-fifths of our home production. Imports of Butter and Cheese into the United Kingdom. Butter. Cheese, Quantity. Quantity. cwts. cwts. 1861 992,772 706,395 1871 1,334,783 1,216,400 1881 2,047,341 1,840,090 1883 2,334,473 1,799,704 The value of the butter and cheese imported in the last named year was £16,664,333. Diseased Meat as Food. — As their religion forbids their killing animals for food, the Burmese generally eat those that have died of disease. The flesh of all animals that have died is not, as generally assumed, necessarily unfit for food. It is an old and widespread popular error that the unfitness of such flesh for human food is due to its not having been drained of blood ; an error that seems to have come down to us from ancient times, when it was held that all diseases originated and were centred in the blood, and that as this contained the materia peccans, the flesh of a diseased animal would be perfectly wholesome if only all its blood were abstracted. Or this general belief may be partly owing to the methods of slaughtering commonly employed. Bleeding is, however, no essential part of proper slaughtering ; indeed, for a time the sys- tem of killing without much loss of blood was strongly advocated and widely practised, more especially in England, on the ground that the blood itself is quite as nutritious as the meat, and that the latter is far tenderer and better flavoured when a portion of the blood is retained in it. The system of slaughtering with ab- straction of blood holds its own chiefly because meat thus killed keeps longer and is supposed to look better. INTRODUCTORY AND GENERAL. 2^ That people should be deterred from eating meat that is good, simply because it has not been bled is of compara- tively little importance ; the real danger of the error lies in the assumption that the flesh of diseased animals is harmless if only their blood be abstracted in the death-struggle. In Germany diseased animals are often killed and their flesh eaten. In certain localities these are killed and their meat served up in the household, or for the domestics and work-people. In other cases the flesh of diseased animals is openly sold as meat of a reduced value. In country districts there are no lack of pur- chasers, who while knowing that the animals were not thoroughly healthy before they were killed, believe that the use of the meat will have no fatal eflect. According to the Prussian law relating to diseased animals, those suflering from pulmonary complaints may be slaughtered, and the flesh after it is properly cooked may be sold ; but the slaughter must be effected under the surveillance of a veterinary surgeon. In a great number of cases where the animals are attacked with disease, they are secretly killed, and the purchasers do not know they are buying diseased meat. There are many butchers whose business it is to kill animals in bad health. In many diseases to which animals are subject, the flesh does not undergo any change which renders it dangerous to human health, or reduces its value as food. Frequently the slaughter of the animal is due to the impossibility of a cure, such for instance as the fracture of a limb, severe wounds, &;c. In certain internal diseases, which would ordi- narily terminate fatally, it is found best to kill the animal, and the flesh does not show, at least in the first stages, any considerable change. The flesh of sheep attacked by the staggers, that of ruminants suflering in the lungs without having had the fever, and of animals showing symptoms of fractures, &c., can generally be used as food without danger. But occasionally in these and other diseases, the flesh may 30 ANIMAL FOOD RESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. undergo a transformation which will render it dangerous, when the disease has attained any height, and especially when it has changed the blood. The usage of the flesh of animals which have died of gangrenous diseases, is often the cause of great danger to man. It has been found that the meat of one diseafsed animal has affected more than 100 persons, terminating in the death of many. Allusion may here be made to some recent cases, well known. Many hundreds of persons at Nordhausen, 206 at Wurzen, and 197 persons at Zeitz, were more or less seriously attacked, of whom many died. The great intensity of the poison shows that it cannot be checked by the ordinary preparation of food and insufficient cooking. In many of the diseases from which animals suffer, the poisonous property is not always in the flesh, but changes are brought about, so that the meat decomposes rapidly after it is killed, and it becomes extremely dangerous as human food. This is especially noticeable in those which have had severe fever, and where what- ever may have been the disease, they have been killed just before they would have died naturally. According to an official report for the year 1S73, there were killed from necessity (Nothschachten) 4,189 ruminants and 6,002 pigs. In other States where this necessitous slaughter is not controlled, it is pro- bable that this is often done. The meat is generally sold for food, and it is frequently the case that animals, in the last death struggle from disease, are killed to dispose of the meat. The following is a summary of Animal food that is injurious, according to the German laws : — 1. The flesh of animals that have died a natural death. 2. That of rabid animals, those suffering from glanders, bloody spleen, gangrenous affections, whether of the internal or external organs. 3. That of animals killed during the disease, after INTRODUCTORY AND GENERAL. 31 having shown typhoid symptoms, and a falling away in flesh. 4. That of beasts which have been poisoned, or which shortly before being killed have taken poisonous sub- stances, in considerable quantity. 5. Measly or trichinous meat ; also that of scrofulous and tuberculous animals. C. Meat visibly tainted or decomposed. The value of meat is diminished, without its being injurious, in the following instances: — 1. In all febrile affections, as well as intermittent fevers, in which a wasting of the animal takes place. 2. The flesh of calves killed before they are eight or ten days old has little or no nutritive value. 3. The nutritive value of polonies, or h^rd sausages, is diminished by the addition of flour and water. 4. Horseflesh is often sold as beef, and at the same price. The following is an extract from a letter written to a friend in this country from Northern India, by the Eev. Dr. Marcus N. Carleton, a missionary twenty-five years resident in that country. The statements made are certainly very remarkable, but doubtless truthful. The matter is one which cannot fail to attract attention among physicians and the guardians of health every- where : — '' In India, for at least twenty -five hundred years, we have had a class of village ' Kamius ' (low caste), called Chumars. I seldom, if ever, saw a village so small as not to have at least one family of Chumars in it, and some towns have three hundred families. These people are tanners and shoemakers. Under ancient, as well as modern, Hindoo rule, and under English rule, they have a legal status and a legal right to all dead cattle. " These people, the Chumars, are a large and thriving class, and eat all dead cattle, dying from whatever disease. The Hissar district is nearly as large as one half the State of Massachusetts. It is a great cattle- growing district, and a very large Chumar population is 32 ANIMAL FOOD EESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. found in it. About twenty-two years ago, Dr. Adam Taylor, a distinguished English surgeon, was in charge of the district, and from his lips I heard the following statement : — " A fatal epidemic broke out in the district among the cattle. Dr. Taylor, by repeated post-mortem exami- nations, declared that the disease, as far as he could dis- cover, was like a form of typhus often called putrid fever in the human subject. The epidemic raged for months, till forty thousand head of cattle perished ; and all these dead bodies were eaten by law, by legal right, by the Chumar population. After the epidemic was over, and these forty thousand head of cattle had all been eaten, Dr. Taylor made a careful examination of the Chumar population, and he could find no traces of any disease among them caused by eating the dead cattle, but on the whole they were more healthy than any other class of villagers. " During the last twenty-five years I have examined nearly fifty such cases. I will mention one. In the Hindoo village of Kamius there were twenty-two hun- dred head of cattle. An epidemic broke out among them, and in five months about six hundred of them died. In this village there are twenty-two families of Chumars, of about eight persons to a family. These families ate in five months about six hundred head of cattle, all dying of a very fatal disease. I visited these Chumars, saw their baskets of meat, saw in every house large earthen pots, filled with meat, on the fire. I saw little children, eighteen months old, sucking small bones of this meat, as little New England children would suck the leg of a roast turkey on Thanksgiving Day. I visited these families after their generous meat diet, and found them all in as good health as any of the people. I have now lived twenty-five years among the Hindoos, I have been in medical attendance on every class (there are some thirty-six classes), and I do not think that even among the Brahmins, the strictest vegetarians in the world, there is better health than amonsr the INTRODUCTORY AND GENERAL. 83 Ghumars, who for twenty-five hundred years have by law eaten all the cattle of India, dying by whatever disease." M. Decroix (a confirmed hippophagist in France for twenty years), argues strongly that diseased animals are not unwholesome, and enters somewhat generally into the argument. M. Decroix made it a practice to eat the cooked flesh of horses killed in his service, which had had glanders or farcy, and, whether thoroughly or parti- ally cooked, he found no evil results to his health. He has even gone further than this in his inquisitorial experiments as to whether the flesh of animals which have died was unwholesome. Ever since 1861 he has eaten the flesh cooked of all animals that have died within his reach, no matter from whatever disease. Desirous of ascertaining whether the flesh of cattle, sheep, and calves, seized by the inspectors of meat in Paris was really unwholesome, for six months he re- ceived from M. Chevreul, Director of the Jardin des Plantes, parts of the flesh thus seized, and given to the beasts of the menagerie. Several times a week during this period, he ate of this flesh, without any inconveni- ence to his health, except certain timid apprehensions and the natural repugnance resulting from prejudice. After a personal experience of fifteen or twenty years, and a number of observations collected from others, he affirms that one may eat with impunity the flesh cooked (not putrid) of any of the domestic animals, no matter what they had died of — glanders, typhus, hydrophobia, etc. Instead of the flesh of animals which have died naturally having a more repugnant appearance or a particular flavour, he states that he has placed the two kinds side by side in the same stew-pan, and with the same sauce, and in serving to different persons, many of them connoisseurs, the meat of the animals that have died has invariably been found superior to that of meat from the slaughter-houses. If the flesh of animals which have died, or were diseased, is unwholesome, he and those to whom he has given it, would have been 34 ANIMAL FOOD RESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. victims long since. The "Veterinarian," and other publications have discussed this subject from time to time. We can never realise to its full extent the effect of the process of cooking in destroying organic poisons, which in their natural state might exert a deadly in- fluence on our organism. Take game, winged or other, say a partridge ; before cooking it appears almost in a state of decomposition. On the table, after proper cooking, it is splendid. Who would like to eat venison fresh ? Unless kept until in a high condition it is uneatable. Certainly the flesh of animals which have died of anthracoid diseases, has proved actively poisonous when eaten in the raw state, but when sufiiciently cooked has been perfectly innocuous. Of the fact that there is a large consumption of diseased meat, viz., the flesh of animals affected with pleuro-pneumonia, foot-and-mouth disease, and various febrile aflections, no doubt can be entertained by rational people, and it is readily admitted that no obvious mischief results from eating such food ; the evidence, in fact, of the unwholesomeness of the flesh of diseased animals is absolutely nil It is quite true that the idea of eating diseased meat is distasteful — to a sensitive stomach it may be nauseating — but the fact remains, that, with few exceptions, there is no proof that the meat is really deleterious after it has been submitted to the action of fire. The Irish Cattle Trade Defence Association, was at great pains lately to obtain professional testimony to prove that the flesh of animals affected with pleuro- pneumonia may, under certain conditions, be used with impunity as human food. That we habitually eat the flesh of diseased animals, there can be no reasonable doubt. Whether we suffer by it, and if so, to what extent, are questions which have not been satisfactorily answered. Our knowledge of this subject is very imperfect, and we have but little trust- worthy data to guide us. There are, however, some INTRODUCTORY AND GENERAL. 85 well-authenticated facts. It has been proved that the ilesh of animals which have been suffering from malig- nant fevers has caused sickness, diarrhoea, febrile symp- toms, and death ; and it has also been proved that the flesh of such animals may sometimes be eaten with ap- parent impunity. Trichinised meat has produced the most disastrous results, and the flesh of animals contain- ing tuberculous deposits is capable of transmitting the disease to carnivorous animals. There is no doubt at all about this; but, at the same time, abundant testimony has been adduced to show that this kind of diseased meat has often been used as food without any percep- tible evil resulting. Our immunity from evil consequences when we con- sume diseased meat appears to rest solely on culinary operations. We must suppose that by boiling our milk and thoroughly cooking our meat, we destroy these germs as we destroy parasites like Trichinse, which, ac- cording to Cobbold, succumb to a temperature of 170 to 180 degrees Fahr. No one can prove that our health is not impaired and our lives shortened by the systematic consumption of diseased meat, and that many of the ills to which the human race is heir may not be found indirectly to arise from that cause. But as we cannot yet prove that these evils are so produced, and as we cannot afford to throw away anything which appears to be fit for human food, we have no alternative but to get rid of our cattle- diseases in the interests of sanitary science, as well as in those pertaining to agriculture. The medical men who reported for the Defence Asso- ciation were Drs. R. Macnamara, Alex Macalister, and J. E. Reynolds. They state : There is no case on record wherein the flesh of cattle slaughtered while suffering from pleuro-pneumonia in any stage has ever been proved to give rise to disease in man. Reynal states that the flesh of animals who have suffered from this disease has been in daily use in Paris for the past twenty years without any appreciable results. Loiset asserts that for d2 36 Animal food kesources of different nations. nineteen years the flesh of 18,000 diseased animals has. been used as food in Lille, and that during that time there were no appreciable alterations in the death-rate, nor any unusual accessions of disease. Dr. Fleming, in his work on " Veterinary Sanitary Science," says, in speaking of pleuro-pneumonia : — "Since the malady has been recognised it may safely be asserted that the flesh of millions of diseased animals has been consumed as food in every part of the world, and yet there is not to my knowledge a single instance of any accident attendino- or followino- its use." From these considerations it is warrantable to con- clude that the consumption of the flesh of cattle slaugh- tered in the early stages of pleuro-pneumonia is perfectly harmless, and the destruction of such meat is a wasteful expenditure of a material which is capable of supplying a perfectly wholesome animal food. We have proved that meat of the kind referred to has been largely used in this and other countries, and the fact that not in any one case has disease been traced to the consumption of the flesh of a pleuro-pneumonia animal is a point of the most significant and conclusive value as evidence, more especially as we have precise and positive information relating to the deleterious effects attending the consump- tion of the flesh of animals aflected with anthrax, milz- brand, etc., and also the decomposed flesh of healthy cattle. The above remarks apply to the fresh and un- changed meat of animals which have been slaughtered in the earlier period of the second stage of the disease, but we are not prepared to advocate the use of the flesh of animals markedly reduced in condition. It is certain that the use of the seriously tainted or putrescent meat of healthy and diseased animals alike is attended with danger, and there can be little doubt that effects attri- buted to the virus of one or other of the diseases to which cattle are liable have frequently been due to a state of incipient decomposition of the food consumed. It is true that there are some who prefer tainted to fresh and wholesome meat, and who seem to be pro- INTRODUCTORY AND GENERAL. 37 ■fcectecl from the consequences of eating it partly by habit, partly by the culinary art, and in part by a species of •dietetic disinfection almost unconsciously practised by persons of epicurean tastes. But these cases notwith- standing, there is no doubt that the general statement just made is true. It follows, then, from the foregoing that the fresh and unchanged meat of animals slaughtered during an attack of pleuro-pneumonia may be safely consumed ; and that such meat is not sensibly less in nutritive value than that of other animals unaffected by any disease, but that it is of lower quality, owing to its greater tendency to undergo change. I may here publish an anecdote which is given in an Australian paper, the Geelong Advertiser : — " Mr. , we shall call him Mr. Yellum, of Melbourne, is blessed with the friendship of Mr. , we shall call him Mr. Stockwhip — whose cattle-station is not a hun- dred miles from Echuca. Stockwhip is in the habit of sending down tongues, potted butter, rolled beef, and fifty other little up-country niceties to his town friend as presents. On Tuesday last arrived at Vellum's office a good-sized keg, the address card in the usual well- known handwriting. It was late in the afternoon, just about time to start for Paradise Villa, South Yarra ; the gift was safely stored in the buggy, and off Vellum started with the treasure ; while tea was getting ready the keg must be opened. ' How heavy it is,' says one. * What on earth can he have sent this time,' says another. Speculation was not allayed when the lid was prized open, and only dry salt presented to view. ' Dive deeper,' was the order of Paterfamilias, ' there must be something else in it.' The salt was carefully removed, and with considerable difficulty something bulky was dragged out, of indefinite shape and texture. 'Perhaps it's a Murray cod/ said one of the juveniles. * Seems to be some preparation of pork,' remarked Vellum ; ' however, let's have some fried for tea, and see how it eats.' Fried -a slice or two of it ; everybody tasted, but nobody liked 38 ANIMAL FOOD EESOUECES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. it ; it was horribly tough. Perhaps we don't know how to cook it properly, suppose we try it to-morrow for breakfast ; stewed it was, and certainly it tasted a little more savoury, but still tough. The proper mode of cooking it had evidently not yet been hit upon ; a piece was ordered to be boiled for dinner, and Vellum started for the day's business in Chancery Lane. There was the usual pile of letters to open, but one in Stockwhip's^ handwriting had the preference, and here it is — ' Dear , The scourge has reached us at last. Two of my finest bullocks were found dead in the paddock yester- day morning, and on being opened the indications of pleuro-pneumonia were unmistakeable. The left lung of one of them Dr. here says is the most perfect specimen of diseased structure he ever saw. I want Dr. Macadam and Mr. Miscamble to see it, and therefore I send it to you packed in salt.' Vel- lum's eyes began to swim. He did not dine at home that day." The following remarks from the Lancet on the quality^ of meat deserve consideration : — " Those who perpetuate the old English custom of living on food which is so far honestly cooked for the table that the eater may know what he is eating — who do not in fact use made dishes which may be made of anything — must have noticed of late a considerable depreciation in the quality of meat. It is either soft and flabby, or stringy, tough, and poor in flavour. This is a serious matter, and may be taken as a foretaste of what is to come, unless something can be done to stay the plague of reckless importation. It may be safe,, though we doubt the conclusion — to eat the flesh of un- healthy animals, some suffering from the loathsome febrile and wasting diseases, and killed to prevent their dying naturally ; but it is not nice or prudent to do so ;: better diminish the proportion of animal food in our ordinary diet than eat measly pork, the flesh of sheep, affected with liver disease, induced by the fluke parasite^ and the wasted, or, which is quite as revolting, the arti^ INTRODUCTOEY AND GENERAL, SD ficially fattened, carcasses of unhealthy bullocks and cows. Poultry loaded with fat by a process initiated from the phenomena of disease, are appreciated by the palate. It does not, however, follow that these things ' are really good for food.' We believe that those who would be healthy should use healthy nutriments. It is impossible to provide this luxury in sufficient quantities. Let the public pursue a sensible course, and resort to articles of diet which supply an equally serviceable material, less costly, and more under control. "We have no sympathy with the vegetarian craze, but unless Animal food can be furnished at a fair price, and in healthy condition, it will soon become necessary to prefer vegetable diet. The slaughterers of cattle and those who prepare their flesh for food are able to recog- nise many hideous diseases, and have terms of their own with which to designate them. For example, they know tuberculous disease when they see it, and yet they are content to remove the sickening mass and send the residue for human consumption, as though the whole animal were not poisoned." 40 ANIMAL FOOD RESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. CHAPTER II. A Few Words on Cannibalism.-^ Flesh of Whites not esteemed — Statements of Old Chroniclers ou the Practice of Cannibalism in Europe, Asia, and America — Assertions of Modern Travellers — Evidences of Shipwrecked Sailors and Others — Cannibalism Common in the Pacific Islands and Australia, especially in the Fiji Islands — Evi- dence of many Writers — Practised also in Islands of the Eastern Archipelago, Celebes, Sumatra, Malacca — Many African Tribes Anthropophagi — Statements of Sir S. Baker, Bruce, Capt. Cameron, P. Du Chaillu, Thomson, and Lay- land. It is sad for the honour of mankind that we must still include man himself in the list of Animal food, but there is comfort in the sure hope that the rapidly fading horror will soon vanish entirely as civilisation and Christianity extend unto the dark pagan districts of the globe. In the anthropological section of a literary congress held at Lille, one of the subjects discussed at some length was the practice of anthropophagy. M. Broca thereat made some remarks on the different nature of the flesh of various nations. He said that the cannibals, perhaps fortunately for us, do not like the flesh of whites ; they find it bitter and salt, whilst, notwithstanding the latter quality, it does not keep well. Their special dainty is the flesh of the negro, of which they like the flavour, ■^ In my former work on " Curiosities of Food," I was taken to task by some critics for having overlooked or not alluded to the practice of Cannibalism. The subject is a revolting one to deal with, and I should have preferred to pass it over without notice, but that it has been brought prominently before the public this year by one or two uncontrovertible instances where necessity has compelled persons to feed on the bodies of their fellow men. A FEW WORDS ON CANNIBALISM. 41 and which becomes dry by keeping rather than decom- poses by the natural process. Locke, in his Essay on Government (sec. 57), quotes the following paper from Garcilasso de Vegas' " History of the Incas of Peru": — "In some provinces they were so liquorish after man's flesh that they w^ould not have the patience to stay till the breath was out of the body, but would suck the blood as it ran from the wounds of the dying man ; they had public shambles of man's flesh, and their madness herein was to that degree, that they spared not their own children which they had begot on strangers taken in war, for they made their captives their mistresses, and choicely nourished the children they had by them till about thirteen years old ; they butchered and eat them, and they served their mothers after the same fashion when they grew past child-bearing and ceased to bring them any more children." Gibbon, in the twenty-third chapter of his history, states that " a valiant tribe of Caledonia, the Attacotti, the enemies and afterwards the soldiers of Valentinian, are accused by an eye-witness (Jerom., vol. ii., p. 75) of delighting in the taste of human flesh. When they hunted the woods for prey, it is said that they attacked the shepherd rather than his flock, and that they curiously selected the most delicate and brawny parts, both of males and females (pastonim nates et feminanim pcqnllas) , which they prepared for their horrid repasts." Strabo (IV., v., sect. 35) says that the inhabitants of Jerne are more savage than those of Britain, and deem it honorable to devour their deceased fathers. In reference to the last passage, Aubrey, in his " Re- mains of Gentilism," mentions a holy maul preserved in Wiltshire to his day, and previously used for braining the incurably sick and old. According to Herodotus, the Massage t83 (i., 216) and the Padai (iii., 99) ate their relations. There is, therefore, credible evidence that cannibalism existed in Europe, Asia and America. It might, there- fore, be reasonably expected to be found in Africa. Thus 42 ANIMAL FOOD RESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. Schweinfurth states that cannibalism is practised to some degree among the Niam-niam, and to a still greater ex- tent among the Monbouttons between the 3rd and 4th degrees of N. lat. Cannibalism has existed almost universally among races living in a savage state, sometimes as a means of subsistence, as among the Monbouttons and some other African tribes, where shambles for human flesh are openly kept ; sometimes with the idea of appropriating to themselves the qualities of the deceased.^ Wallace states the Cobeus of South America are cannibals. In a history of French Guiana, published by M. Mousie, an account is given of acts of cannibalism committed by a band of escaped convicts in January, 1856, who murdered and ate two of their comrades on the Kiver Lacomte. One, who escaped and reached the fortress^ informed upon the criminals, who w^ere pursued. Of the band of fourteen, two had been eaten and two had dis- appeared. Three of the principal culprits were hanged, and their accomplices were condemned to various punish- ments. When they were recaptured, the band were in the midst of their hideous feast, having broiled the tongue, the liver, the legs, and flesh of one of the slain. It is not necessar}^ here to enumerate the instances of those who, from shipwreck and starvation, have been driven to feed on their fellow creatures. Of this we have a lamentable instance in the details which have leaked out in America of the survivors of the Greeley Expedition. Although attempts have been made to throw doubts on the statements, the facts and evidence of the exhumed bodies of the dead corroborate the sad story. It is unfortunately true that shipwrecked mariners and men in long sieges have been driven to an extremity which even the once cannibal Maoris did not reach, and * Topinard's " Anthropology." A FEW WORDS ON CANNIBALISM. 43 have supported life on the bodies of their own dead. The famous w^reck from which Byron drew his passage about " two boobies and a noddy " is a case in point ; the survivors of the yacht Mignonette, killing and eating the boy Parker in 1884 is another ; and the horrors of the siege of Jerusalem naturally recur to the imagination. Where the ghastly habit has survived into nascent civilisation, it has been through some connection with religion, as in Mexico, or (as in a recent case in the Soudan) with the purpose of sating revenge, or for some magical reason, that the eaters may acquire the strength and wisdom of the victim. In such cases, allowing for the wildness of the people who retain the practice, we feel much less horror than in face of the naked fact of cannibalism practised by civilised men for the sake of dear life. I merely here cite cases where the practice is indulged in for no such necessity. A benevolent whaling captain, who undertook to do something towards civilising Easter Island in the Pacific, took a young man home with him, and gave him an education and the habits of civilised life, and returned him to the island. No sooner did he set foot on shore than his affectionate friends, finding him fat and in good condition, took him to a convenient place, but- chered, cooked, and ate him in the shortest possible time. Dr. Dunmore Laner, in his interestino^ account of the aborigines of Australia, mentions the following curious fact : — *' The dead body of an enemy slain in battle is. never eaten by his enemies, but by his own tribe and friends." In another part of his work, he says : — " The fights of the aborigines are frequent, and occasionally bloody ; and on such occasions the dead of both parties of the combatants are carried off, skinned, roasted, and eaten by their res2occtive friends ! Davies had seen as many as ten or twelve dead brought off by one of the parties engaged, after one of their fights, all of which were skinned, roasted, and eaten by the survivors. There were so many assembled on such occasions, that the bodies of the dead were cut up and eaten in a 44 ANIMAL FOOD RESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. twinkling, there being scarcely a morsel for each." This description of the Rev. Dr. Lang will remind the classical reader of Juvenal's picture of the abominations of the ancient Egyptians : — " Ast ilium in plurima sectum Frusta ac particulas, ut multis mortuus unus Sufficeret, totum corrosis ossibus edit Victrix turba. . . . . Ultimus autem Qui stetit absumpto jam toto corpore, ductis Per terram digitis, aliquid de sanguine gustat." Oceania had always been the land of cannibalism until civilisation shed its humanizing influence. All the Polynesians from the Sandwich Isles and the Marquesas to New Zealand, have been more or less given to anthro- pophagy. New Guinea, the Fijis, the Louisiades, certain parts of the Phillipine group, notwithstanding the vicinity of the Spanish colonists, killed men to eat them. The Kanatis of the French colony of Nouka Keva with difficulty renounced the practice. " Why do you eat your enemies ? " demanded M. Gar- nier, an engineer, of one of these men. " Because," he re- plied, " they are good eating, as excellent as pork or veal." A little deformed infant having been born, was washed in the sea and cooked with the yams, and eaten by, among others, the mother. Cannibalism is altogether unknown in the Banks Islands, but is more or less practised nearly everywhere else in Melanesia. The Tongans are not cannibals. Some of the Tongan warriors who visited Fiji and fought in the wars there, became man-eaters, but they were looked upon with horror by their countrymen. This statement finds con- firmation in the fact that there are no cannibal words in the Tongan language. The Fijian, on the contrary, is full of them."^ * " Transactions of the Royal Society of Victoria," vol. xvi. p. 134. A FEW WOEDS ON CANNIBALISM. 45- Captain Erskine in his " Journal of a Cruise among^ the Islands of the Western Pacific," says : — " Although direct and authoritative proof may be necessary to con- vince some humane sceptics of the existence of this, abominable practice, a visitor to the Feejee Islands need at once feel all doubt dispelled, which he may have entertained upon the subject ; as the necessary details of every-day life abound with examples, which, if not spoken of by the white residents without disgust, ex- hibit at least no surprise. So habitual has the sight of the dead body for food become, that the missionaries assert that the Feejeean language contains no word for a simple corpse, but the word used ' bakola ' conveys the idea of eating the body, and a term which, when translated, we at first considered a jest, ' paka balava ' or long pig, is employed in serious parlance, to express the difference between the human body and that of a hog, to which the epithet ' dina ' or true, is in distinction applied. "The supply of human flesh was formerly, in all parts, of Feejee, and is still in the districts to which the influence of the missionaries has not extended, furnished from different sources, the luxury being in general denied to women and slaves, although they are supposed some- times to satisfy their curiosit}' or inclination in secret. All enemies killed in battle are, as a matter of course, eaten by the victors, the bodies being previously pre- sented to the spirit. This source of supply, to which it is now believed all the negro races of the Pacific have recourse, as well as to the bodies of shipwrecked persons, in whose disfavour a strange superstition seems to have existed, even in countries now civilised, is by no means sufficient for the Feejeean demand, whose customs require that on occasions of ceremony, when strangers of conse- quence are entertained, the magnificence of the chief shall be exhibited by a feast of human victims. The method of furnishing these, by kidnapping neighbours, generally females, has been shown on the occasion of the Butoni visit to Bau ; and sometimes much diplomacy is exerted to calm the excited feelings of the tribe whose 46 ANIMAL FOOD RESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. women have thus been carried off. The chief of the fishermen whose duty it is to procure the supply, is, when a remonstrance is made, subjected to a public re- proof, until he apparently conciliates, after a feigned dis- grace, by an apology and present of whales' teeth, the favour of the reigning chief, whose object of entertaining his visitors properly is thus gained without the sacri- fice of his popularity with his neighbours. It has been even asserted, that the Feejeeans do not object to banquet on the flesh of their dearest friends, and also that, in times of scarcity, families will make an exchange of children for this horrid purpose. This assertion I have heard contradicted, but it admits of no denial that children have been offered by the people of their own tribe to propitiate a powerful chief, and more than one white man has seen the canoe of Tanoa, after a con- descending visit to Ovula, returning to Ban with the bodies of infants, offerings from the people of Levuka, ostentatiously hanging at the yard-arms." Dr. Harvey, in a letter to Mr. N. B. Ward, says that "a large number of the inhabitants of the Feejee Islands are savages of the worst character. They are cannibals to a fearful extent ; habitually feeding on human flesh, not from revenge or from necessity, but because they prefer it to other food. They eat their enemies or prisoners when they can ; but if unsuccessful in catching these, their law- ful prey, they will cook their own wives or children. " Not long ago, a case occurred at Feejee, when a wretch ordered his wife to heat the oven, and when she had heated it, she asked him, ' Where is the food ? ' * You are the food ! ' was the savage reply, as he instantly clubbed her, and then cooked her for himself and party ! " The captain of our vessel tells me that when he was in Feejee, in 1847, he saw a hundred human bodies laid out at one time readv for cookino^ at a great feast. Sometimes they cook a man whole (which they call a ^' long pig "), then put him in a sitting posture, with a fan in his hand, and ornamented as if alive, and thus they carry him in state, as a grand head-dish for a feast. A FEW WORDS ON CANNIBALISM. 47 Others chew little bits of raw" human flesh (as sailors chew tobacco), and put them into their children's mouths." The natives of the Marquesas Islands are in the habit of wooing the fairest damsels they can find, wedding them and then eating them up. In l^ew Caledonia can- nibalism still prevails. The inhabitants of Formosa were accused by the Chinese of being cannibals. Cannibalism was the universal practice of the races in the Pacific Islands. Cook had been specially instructed to institute inquiries on this point. There were many persons at home who were sceptical on the existence of cannibalism among any people. The result of his daily observations was to leave no doubt of its existence, and to establish the fact that it was not merely an occasional excess to which those who practised it were impelled by fury and the spirit of revenge against an enemy, but that human flesh was their almost daily and habitual food. A provision basket was seldom seen without having in it a human head, or other evidence of the fact. It is true that they told him that they ate only their enemies ; but so incessant were their invasions of each other, that enemies were never wanting, or if the supply failed, slaves taken in former raids were substitutes at hand, and constantly killed in cold blood for the purpose. The native religion of the blacks of Hayti, called " Vandouism," has its stated feasts, at some of which human victims must be sacrificed. These great feasts are held at midnight, in the depths of primeval forests, ■and all intrusion is carefully guarded against. The eating of human flesh, it has been suggested, is of religious origin, though it is not always confined to reli- gious occasions. The taste for such food is said to be easily acquired among certain people of peculiar tem- perament. It is not always renounced on professing Christianity, and the absolving Minister knows well what is meant when the convert discloses at the confes- sional that he has eaten a black pig without hair.* * Major R. Stuart, " Embassy Reports for 1877," part ii., p. 110. 48 ANIMAL FOOD RESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. The mountains of the interior of the island of Celebes were inhabited, according to Crawfurd, by savages, who, like the wild races of Borneo, were professed head- hunters, and some of them alleged to be cannibals. The Bataks, natives of part of Sumatra, he also tells us, undoubtedly practised cannibalism. The victims were enemies, criminals, and now and then a slave. The skulls were preserved as trophies, or sold at a handsome price to the friends of the victimised. Mr. Anderson, who visited there in 1822, writes : — "I am fully justified, not only from what I saw, and the proofs in my possession, but from the concurring testimony of the most respectable and intelligent natives whom I met, in asserting that cannibalism prevails, even to a greater extent on the east side of Sumatra, than, according to the accounts received, it does on the west. For the sake of humanity, however, be it mentioned that it is rapidly decreasing as civilisation and commerce are advancing. It is not for the sake of food that the natives devour human flesh, but to gratify their malignant demon-like feelings of animosity against their enemies." More recent Dutch writers, in like manner, testify to the cannibalism of the Bataks, stating at the same time, that those subjected to the Dutch authority are readily dissuaded from it. The cannibalism of these people seems earl}^ to have been known to the Portuguese, for De Barros, speaking of the natives of the interior of Sumatra says : — " This was the race called Bataks, who eat human flesh, the most fierce and warlike people of all the land." (Decade 3, Book V.) The Bataks inflicted the penalty of being eaten alive on criminals who infringed their laws. Sir Stamford Raffles, who was a spectator at one of these executions in the commencement of the century, states that the vic- tim, who was one convicted of adultery, was lashed to a post, and the executioner, who was one of the principal chiefs, demanded of the husband what part of the crimi- nal he wished to eat. The ear being selected, it was cut off* with a stroke of the sword and handed to him, and A FEW WORDS ON CANNIBALISM. 49 after dipping it in a sauce which had been prepared, he ate it before the assembled multitude. Then the various assistants cut and ate from the criminal such parts of the body as they considered the most appetising. Out of respect to the foreigner present the death was hastened by piercing the heart. Formerly their aged and infirm parents were slaughtered and eaten by these people. The population of parts of the interior of Malacca are said still to be cannibals. Some of the more savage tribes, both on the east and west coast of Africa, have from time to time acquired the ill renown of cannibalism — whether with justice or not is still matter of dispute ; but at least it cannot be denied that the charge is of very ancient date, and has often been repeated. It must have been a current belief in Shakespeare's time, for he notes among the wonders told by Othello to Desdemona, in running through the story of his life, " the cannibals that each other eat, the anthropophagi and men whose heads do grow beneath their shoulders." These must refer to Africa, as their^ birthplace. The only place in the Old World in which an African Prince could be supposed to meet with such adventures was his own, his native land.^ The old accounts of Arab navigators are full of deplor- able statements of the negro men-eaters, who inhabited the coasts from Babel Mandeb to Sofala. Sir Samuel Baker relates a scene of which he was witness : — " One of the fen^ale slaves having endeavoured to escape, her owner fired at her, and she fell wounded. She was very fat, and from her wound there dropped a quantity of yellow fat. The Makkaukas no sooner saw this than they tore out handfuls of this fat, and dis- puted for this horrible prey. They then despatched the woman with lances, and cut up and divided the body among them for eating. The other female slaves and children, horrified, fled and hid themselves among the * " Food Journal," vol. ii., p. 232. E 50 ANIMAL FOOD KESOUKCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. trees, where they were pursued, and many of the children were killed and eaten, and a horrible feast ensued. Bruce relates that in his time there was still alive a man of the name of Matthews, who was present at a banquet of human flesh on the west coast of Africa, to the north of Senegal. Snelgrave fixes the stigma on the kingdom of Dahomey, and says that although he did not actually see it, his not doing so was solely due to his having been so thoroughly sickened by the pre- vious atrocities of the horrible customs of which the banquet was to be the appropriate wind-up, that he could stand it no longer, and was glad to escape from the dreadful scene. Norris corroborates him, but still not from personal observation, and Stedman, in his narrative of Surinam, quotes with an almost suspicious profusion of circum- stantial details, the reports of the Africans : — " I should not forget," he observes, " to mention that the Gango negroes are supposed to be anthropophagi or cannibals, like the Caribbee Indians, instigated by habi- tual and implacable revenge. Among the rebels of this tribe, after the taking of Boucou, some pots were found on the fire with human flesh, which one of the officers had the curiosity to taste, and declared it not inferior to some kinds of beef or pork. I have since been assured by a Mr. Vangills, an American, that having travelled for a great number of miles inland in Africa, he at length came to a place where human legs, arms, and thighs hung upon wooden shambles, and were exposed for sale like butchers' meat in Leadenhall Market." Cameron, in his work " Across Africa," speaking of the inhabitants of the district of Manyuema, states that they are filthy cannibals. •' Not only do they eat the bodies of enemies killed in battle, but also of people who die of disease. They pre- pare the corpses by leaving them in running water until they are nearly putrid, and then devour them without any further cooking. They also eat all sorts of carrion, A FEW WOEDS ON CANNIBALISM. 51 and their odour is very foul and revolting. I was enter- tained with a song setting forth the delights of canni- balism, in which the flesh of men was said to be good, but that of women was bad, and only to be eaten in time of scarcity ; nevertheless, it was not to be despised when man meat was unobtainable." Du Chaillu asserts the following with a precision of detail derived only from personal observation and in- quiry :— *' The next morning we moved off for the Fan village, and now I had the opportunity to satisfy myself on a matter on which I had cherished some doubt before, viz., the cannibal practices of these people. I was satisfied but too soon. As we entered the town I perceived some bloody remains which looked to me to be human, but I passed on still incredulous. Presently we passed a woman who solved all doubt. She bore with her a piece of the thigh of a human body, just as we should go to market and carry thence a roast or steak. . . I was told by one of them afterwards that they had been busy dividing the body of a dead man, and that there was not enough for all. The head, I am told, is a royalty, being saved for the king." Again : " Eating the bodies of persons who have died of sickness is a form of cannibalism of which I had never heard among my people, so that I determined to inquire if it were indeed a general custom among the Fans, or merely an exceptional freak. They spoke without em- barrassment about the whole matter, and I was informed that they constantly buy the dead of the Osheba tribe, who in return buy theirs. They also buy the dead of other families in their own tribes, and besides this, get the bodies of a great many slaves from the Mbichos and Mboudemos, for which they readily give ivory at the rate of a small tusk for a body." Other recent travellers confirm the statement, and Mr. W. C Thomson, formerly, and for many years one of the United Presbyterian missionaries at Old Calabar, now settled and practising as a physician in Liverpool, E 2 52 ANIMAL FOOD RESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. leans to the belief that it is true. He says, in a letter addressed to my friend, the late Mr. Andrew Murray : — " All flesh — human flesh, and that of the leopard or panther and the common vulture excepted — is edible in Calabar ; indeed, some of the imported slaves, and above all those who come from the Eboe country, do not except even flesh of their human kind, and boast of the sweet- ness of the human hand, and have been known to have their flesh-pots extra busy and extra well filled when the bodies of decapitated criminals have become acces- sible to them." We all know how like in personal appearance the paws of a bear are to the hands of a man, and the paws of the bear, like the pettitoes of a pig, are esteemed the greatest delicacy of that animal, both in Europe and in North America. Human flesh, therefore, I think must be reckoned an occasional article of food among the more savage tribes of Western and Central Africa, when accidental circum- stances give them a supply, and when they have an excuse for eating it — such as tradition, custom, enmity, or hunger. A paper in the " Journal of the Ethnographical So- ciety " for 1869 testifies to the recent existence of com- munities of cave-dwelling cannibals in the territory of the Basutos, close to the frontiers of the Cape Colony. Mr. Layland, the writer, after describing a cavern near to the mission station of Cana, the floor of which was strewn with human bones piled together and scat- tered about at random in the cavern, adds : — " Skulls especially were very numerous, and consisted chiefly of those of children and young persons. These remains told too true a tale of the purpose for which they had been used, for they were hacked and cut to pieces with what appeared to have been blunt axes or sharpened stones. The marrow-bones were split into small pieces, the rounded points alone being left un- broken. Only a very few of the bones were charred, showing that the prevailing taste had been for boiled A FEW WORDS ON CANNIBALISM. 53 rather than roast meat. These people inhabited a fine agricultural country, which, moreover, abounded with game, yet they were not contented with hunting and feeding upon their enemies, but preyed much upon each other, many of their wives and children falling victims to the practice in times of scarcity." They are reported to have abandoned the practice for a good many years, but Mr. Layland observed remains in which the marrow and fatty substances testified to a recent origin. He adds that thirty years ago the whole country from the Moluta to the Caledon River was in- habited by cannibals. 54 ANIMAL FOOD RESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. CHAPTER III. Flesh Food from Mammals. Flesh of Monlfeys Eaten in Africa, the West Indies, South America, Ceylon, and Borneo — The Lemurs in Madagascar — Bats Eaten in the East and in Australia — Insectivora — The Hedgehog — Carnivorous Plantigrades — Bears — Skunk — Badger — Sea Otter — Civet Cat— Dogs' Flesh Eaten by North American Indians, Chinese, Africans, and other People — Foxes and Wolves Eaten — Lion's Flesh — Jaguar — Hyasna — Lynx — Carnivorous Marsupials — Opossums — Bandicoots — Kangaroos — Wombats — Phalangers — Marmots — Squirrels — Rats — Rat Pie — Dormouse — Hares and Rabbits — Prodigious Increase of Rabbits in Australasia — Flesh of the Beaver — Porcupines — Agouti — Sloth — Anteater — Armadilloes. I NOW proceed to notice some of the mammals whose flesh occasionally serves as the food of man. Monkeys. — The flesh of monkeys is more extensively eaten as food than is generally suy)posed. African epi- cures esteem as one of their greatest delicacies, a tender young monkey, highly seasoned and spiced, baked in a jar or pan set in the earth, with a fire made over it, gipsy fashion. Governor Connor, in one of his reports to the Colonial Office, mentions that they are eaten on the Gold Coast. Young gorillas, it is said, are eaten when they can be got, and their flesh, with that of the chimpanzee and other monkeys, forms a prominent place in the African bill of fare.* Dr. Livingstone, in his last Journal, says, " The flesh " (of the Soko, a species of Gorilla) "is yellow, and the eagerness with which the Manynema devour it, leaves the impression that eating sokos was the first stage by ■^ Cassell's " Natural History," vol. i., p. 9. FLESH FOOD FRDH :R*AMMALS. ) 55 which they had arrived at being cannib^s ; they say the flesh is delicious.'' But it is in Brazil, especially in the valley of the Amazon, that they are most eaten, for the animals found in the greatest numbers there are the monkeys. Monkeys are said to be publicly sold in the markets of Kio Janeiro. The barrigudo {Lagothrix Sumholdti, Geoff.) is much persecuted by the Indians, on account of the excellence of its flesh as food. From information given to Mr. Bates he calculated that one troop of these Indians, numbering about 200, destroyed 1,200 monkeys a year for food. Mr. Wallace tells us that having often heard how good monkey was, he had one cut up and fried for breakfast. He found the meat somewhat resembled rabbit, without any peculiar or unpleasant flavour. My friend, the late Sir Robert Schomburgk, told me that when travelling in the interior of Guiana he had often tasted the smaller kinds of monkeys, but could never bring himself to par- take of the great spider monkey (Ateles sp.) and others eaten by the Indians, which approach so nearly to the human form. It is a remarkable circumstance that among the South American Indians, monkeys are much more fre- quently used as food than among the inhabitants of the Old World, and on the Orinoco the broiled limbs of the marimonda (Ateles JBelzebub, Geoffroy) was frequently seen by Humboldt in the huts of the natives ; and at Emeralda he examined roasted and dried bodies in an Indian hut, which were prepared for an annual harvest fSte. Roasted monkeys, particularly those that have a round head, display a hideous resemblance to a child ; the Europeans, therefore, who are obliged to feed on them, prefer separating the head and hands, and serve only the rest of the animal at their tables. It is not at all improbable, from the close resemblance of a monkey, with the hair removed and ready to be 56 ANIMAL FOOD EESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS, cooked, to the human body, that with regard to some savage nations, accusations against them of cannibalism have been unjustly laid. Dr. Vidal, speaking of the mammals of Japan eaten as food (Bulletin of the Society of Acclimatation, Paris, vol. 22, p. 436), says that the flesh of the monkey is publicly sold there. A large species he has seen exposed on the butchers' stalls of the markets, but he is not aware whether other kinds are eaten. Monkeys are, however, not very common there. A French writer, speaking of monkeys as a dish, says, " They are excellent eating, and a ' soupe au singes ' will be found as good as any other, when you have con- quered the aversion to the bouillon made of their heads, which look like those of little children." In Ceylon some of the natives feed upon them. Several species of monkeys are relished as food by the aboriginal inhabitants of the Malayan Peninsula and the Dyaks of Borneo. The Indians and some of the negroes of Trinidad, used to eat the flesh of the great red monkey, and reported it to be delicious, and yet it is the most vociferous and un- tameable of the Simian tribe. Father Labat, in 1700, mentions the existence of mon- keys in the West Indies. It was on this occasion, the good Father informs us, that he first ate monkey. " It is true," he says, "I was a good deal shocked when I saw four heads in the soup, very much resembling infants' heads, but when I tasted of the dish I had no difficulty in overcoming my scruples, and continued to eat with pleasure ; for," he adds, '' C'est une chair tendre, delicate, blanche, pleine d'un bon sue, et qui est egalement bonne a quelque sort de sauce qu'on la mette." The worthy Father feelingly dwells upon the admir- able qualities of young monkey in the form of soup or otherwise. The people of St. Christopher and Nevis might benefit by the experience and example of good Father Labat. Why not try young monkey as an article of diet generally ? The planters would thus FLESH FOOD FROM MAMMALS. 57 receive some compensation for the destruction of their canes and provisions by this troublesome mammal. The flesh of the red fronted lemur (Lemur rufifrons) of Madagascar, is said to be as good as that of the hare, and the flesh of a large bat in the same island is very deli- cate eating. Bats as Food. — We come next to the bats, the finger- winged animals, some of which are preferred to the finest game by the natives of the Eastern Archipelago, their flesh being compared to that of hare or partridge in flavour. The large flying lemur {Galeopithecus volam), though it diffuses a rank, disagreeable odour, is eaten. Yet bats must be palatable, since one species has been specially named by Jiaturalists " the eatable " (Pteropus edulis). Its flesh is stated to be white, delicate and remarkably tender, and hence considered a dainty. The common Indian fruit bat, or flying fox (Pteropus medius) of Ceylon is eaten ; but unless great care is taken in skin- ning them their flesh is said to acquire a musky and unpleasant odour, which is a matter of some importance, as the larger species constitute a favourite article of food in the countries which they inhabit. It is a great stretch of fancy, however, to imagine a frightful animal like a weasel, with extended leathery wings of about two feet each, being served up at table. Dr. Leichardt found the fruit bat in Australia {Pteropus Gouldii) an excellent article of food. After it had fed upon the flowers of the so-called tea-tree it was un- usually fat and delicate. Dr. Oxley, speaking of the kalong {Pteropus Javanicus) says, '' Their flesh is eaten by the natives, but no real fox smells, to my mind, so rank as they do. Methinks a rat would be palatable food compared with these." The Mosaic prohibition of the bat as an article of food to the Jews, no doubt related to a species of Cynonycteris, which may have been commonly eaten in Egypt or in Syria. Insectivora. — Turning from the Cheiroptera to the In- sectivora, we find a few animals here applied as food for 58 ANIMAL FOOD KESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. man. The mole is said to be eaten by some of those who trap them. The Greeks devoured the flesh of the hedgehog {Eri- nacem Europceus). When it has been well fed it is said to be sweet and well flavoured, and the flesh is eaten in many places on the Continent. It is during winter in his dormitory that the animal is fat and in good order. A gentleman who tried them stewed, says they reminded him a good deal of quail. In the neighbourhood of Oxford I met an old gipsy woman, who, although squalid and dirty, was proud in being able to claim relationship with Black Jemmy, the king of the gipsies. She informed me that there were two ways of cooking a hedgehog, and seemed much sur- prised at my question whether her tribe ever eat them, as if there could exist a doubt on the subject. I ex- pressed a wish to know the process, the receipt for which I subjoin in her own words : — " You cut the bristles off 'em with a sharp knife after you kills 'em fust, Sir ; then you sweals them," (Oxfordshire, burn them with straw like a bacon pig,) " and makes the rind brown, like a pig's swealings ; then you cuts 'em down the back, and spits 'em on a bit of stick pointed at both ends, and then you roasts 'em with a strong flare." It appears that hedgehogs are sometimes in season and sometimes out of season. My informant told me that they are nicest at Michaelmas time, when they have been eating the crabs which fall from the hedges. " Some," she added, " have yellow fat, and some white fat, and we calls 'em mutton and beef hedgehogs ; and very nice eating they be. Sir, when the fat is on 'em." The other way of cooking hedgehogs has gone out of fashion. The gipsy's grand- mother used to cook them in the following manner, but it appears they are best roasted : — The exploded fashion is to temper up a bit of common clay, and then cover up the hedgehog, bristles and all, in it — like an apple in paste, when an apple dumpling is contemplated, — then hedgehog, clay and all, is to be placed in a hole in the ground and a fire lighted over it ; when the clay is found FLESH FOOD FROM MAMMALS. 59 to be burning red, the hedgehog is done, and must be taken out of the hole ; the clay-crust of the pie being opened, the hedgehog's bristles are found sticking to it, and the savoury dinner is ready. The fashion of eating hedgehogs was not, in former days confined to gipsies. There was a farmer's family living at Long Compton, near Oxford, who were supplied with hedgehogs by our informant's grandmother; this family used also to breed them, keep and fatten several litters, " and," said the gipsy, " they used to eat up every litter they bred, dressing 'em just when they wanted 'em, like they did the fowls." Sometimes a nest of young hedgehogs is found by the gipsies : if they are too small for eating, they are pre- served till fit for use, or, as it is called in Oxfordshire, " flitted," that is, a string is tied to the hind leg, and the doomed animal is allowed to wander about the length of his tether, picking up what he can get ; under this system, if well fed, he will fatten wonderfully. Carnivora. — We next come to the animals of prey. Bears. — Of the carnivorous Plantigrades, the flesh of our friend Bruin is occasionally devoured. The bear was eaten by the Romans, but it is clear that it was con- sidered a rarity, and not relished by everybody. In the famous narrative which Petronius gives of the dinner at Trimalchio's, he represents a man who had dined at another house dropping in to dessert, and describing the feast enjoyed at the house he had just left. " We had," he said, " a joint of bear, which my wife Scintilla was rash enough to taste. On the other hand, I ate more than a pound of it, for it tasted like boar itself ; and for my part, I say, that if bear eats man, man has a much greater right to eat bear." The liver of the American bear is a peculiar luxury when dressed on skewers, kabob fashion, with alternate slices of fat. The liver, however, of the Polar bear is said to be unwholesome and dangerous. Liver-sausage is regarded as an exquisite delicacy throughout Germany, and it would appear from a quaint 60 ANIMAL FOOD RESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. achievement recently effected in Berlin that its maximum of toothsomeness can only be attained when the material composing it is extracted from the carcass of a bear. At an Exhibition of Culinary Art lately, at Hamburg, the Berlin committee of restaurateurs, desiring to contribute thereto an edible worthy of their gastronomic renown, applied to Dr. Bodinus, the managing director of the Zoological Gardens, for leave to purchase and slay one of the Society's bears, in order to convert the ursine liver into a sausage of paramount excellence. Having a bear to spare, the learned doctor parted with one for the moderate consideration of ten guineas, and the com- mittee, twelve in number, proceeded to the doomed one's den, where Herr Wiese, the proprietor of " Sommer's Salon,*' shot Bruin through the head, and afterwards narrowly escaped mutilation by venturing to stroke the luckless beast's furry coat before it had quite given up the ghost. The beast's liver was duly chopped up, spiced, and manufactured into a gigantic sausage weigh- ing twenty-five pounds ; and, his remains having been artistically set up by a noted taxidermist, he was then made to occupy an honourable and rampant position at the chief entrance to the Hamburg Exhibition, support- ing upon his fore -paws a silvern platter containing the dainty comestible prepared from his own body."^ In Sweden the State pays for the destruction of a bear nearly £3, for a wolf or a lynx half as much, and for a glutton 12s. ; and this has greatly thinned them and driven them off into the forests of Lapland and the north. [See " Lloyd's Field Sports of North Europe."] Bears are fast passing away both in Northern Europe and America. Many hundreds used to be killed in the winter in some of the American States. The mode of serving up the bear as a first course was, to roast it whole, entrails, skin, and all, as one would barbecue a hog. Most of the planters preferred bears' flesh to all other meat. Bears' paws were long reckoned a great * Daily Telegraph, March 31, 1880. FLESH FOOD FROM MAMMALS. 61 delicacy in Germany, and after being salted and smoked were reserved tor the tables of princes. The tongues and hams are still in repute when obtainable. A species of black bear, of medium height, is common in the mountains of Japan, and is especially numerous in the island of Yeso. The flesh is much esteemed by the Japanese, who consider it an excellent game. But it is only in winter that it is chased, when the snow obliges it to descend into the valleys. It is during this season that it is found in the markets, and the price is high. The Europeans do not eat the flesh, except by way of curiosity. The flesh of the Polar bear {Ursus maritimus) is eaten by the Esquimaux and the Danes in Greenland, and when young and cooked after the manner of beefsteak, is by no means to be despised, although rather insipid. Dr. Scoresby tells us that the muscular fat is well- flavoured and savory. " I once," he adds, " treated my surgeon to a dinner of bear's ham, and he did not know for above a month afterwards but that it was beef- steak." Some Russian sailors who wintered at Spitz- bergen found bears' flesh to be much more agreeable to the taste than the flesh of the reindeer. The Esquimaux prefer its flesh at all times to that of the seal."^ When care is taken not to soil the carcass with any of the strong-smelling fluid exuded by the animal, the meat of the skunk of America {Mephites Americana) is con- sidered by the natives to be excellent food. The flesh of the American badger {Meles Lahradoris) is said to be not inferior to that of the bear. That of the European species {M. Taxus) is reckoned a delicacy in Italy and France, and may be cured like hams and bacon. In China the flesh is a most common food, but in Europe, the hind quarters are the only parts eaten ; the hams being considered by many superior in flavour to those of the hog. In North America the flesh of the musk-rat (Fiber zibethicus, Cuv.), is occasionally eaten in winter, being out * See Parry's " Fourth Yoyage." 62 ANIMAL FOOD RESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. of season in summer, but it is insipid. With the Indians however, it forms a constant article of diet at their winter feasts. The animal is chiefly sought by the trappers for its fur, the carcass being mostly thrown away. The flesh of the young sea otter {Enhydra marina) is reported to be very delicate food, not unlike lamb in flavour. I do not know that the flesh of the European land otter {Lutra vulgaris, Erkl.) is eaten, although many hundreds are killed yearly in Hanover and other States. The Muskars, a low class of woodmen in India, eat the flesh of the Asiatic civet cat ( Viverra Zihetha), and the Chinese the flesh of the wild cat of Formosa {Felis viverrina, Hodgson), although it has a strong civet odour. Bogs' flesh as food. — Arriving at the canine animals of prey we find that among the ancient Greeks and Romans the dog was dished up at table, and, according to Pliny, roasted puppy dogs were considered excellent. Hippo- crates was convinced that it was a light and w^holesome food. They were served up at sumptuous feasts and at the festivals in honour of the consecration of the pontiffs. Dogs were regularly fed by the Romans for the table, and roast dog was one of the dishes most in vogue."^ Galen represents dog-meat as a highly desirable diet. M. E. Blaze, a French author^ remarks : — " J'ai mang^ plusieurs fois a I'armee du chien et du chat ; je prefere cette viande a celle du cheval." Many of the North American tribes look upon an entree of dog as the greatest possible honne houche they can set before a stranger. Sir Leopold McClintock re- lates that in the Sandwich Islands he had most profuse apologies offered to him because there was no puppy to be had for a feast to which he was invited. The Esquimaux, too, look upon a dish of young dog as a great treat ; and it is related that a Danish captain pro- vided his friends with a feast of this kind, and when * Martin's " History of the Dog." FLESH FOOD FROM MAMMALS. 63 they praised his mutton, sent for the skin of the beast and exhibited it to them ! "^ Many nations still consider the flesh of the dog excel- lent. In the Society Islands and parts of Africa, young puppies are considered a great delicacy. In China the poorer classes eat the flesh of all dogs, but the rich only once or twice a year, under the idea that dog's flesh is a stimulant to the digestive functions. " The dog mostly consumed by the Chinese is of a small size, and usually of a light brown colour, covered with a coat of soft, short hair, so thick as to look almost like wool. But the Chinese housewife refuses to cook dogs in the family pot, or in the domestic kitchen, and they are driven to the alternative of being boiled in the streets. On any morning, in certain open spaces at street corners, the execution of a certain number of unfortunate chow-chow dogs may be witnessed; after which, being skinned, they are forthwith placed in a suspended cauldron and the disjecta membra are then to be seen simmering, and inviting the passer-by to stop and dine, which they do, there and then." "f Captain Burton says the principal article of diet among the Warori is fattened dogs' flesh, of which the chiefs are inordinately fond. Schweinfurth states the flesh of the dog is not disdained by the Mittoo tribes inhabiting the territory within the 5° and 6° northern latitude. The Niam-niam also consider dogs dainty food. Lapdogs are fattened and used as food by the Western Balonda. The Somrais of Central Africa raise dogs, their flesh forming an article of food luxury. Bosnian, in his " Description of Guinea," says, " the negroes are great lovers of dogs' flesh, and they will willingly give a sheep for a good-sized dog. They prefer dogs' flesh for their eating to that of cattle, and accord- ingly esteem a meal of that the best treat they can take or give." The Africans of Zanzibar hold that a stew of * Cassell's " Natural History " and Ellis's " Hawaii." t CoUingwood's " Rambles of a Naturalist." 64 ANIMAL FOOD RESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. puppies, as amongst us in the days of Charles II., is a dish fit for a monarch. Humboldt tells us that, though the custom of eating the dog is disused on the banks of the Orinoco, it still exists in some parts of Guiana and Mexico. In Australia the aborigines will even eat the wild dingo when hard pressed for food. The Chinese, it is well known, have more curious habits and customs than any other people under the sun; fattening dogs for the purpose of human food is one of them, and in which a considerable trade is done. They are small, and fed on an exclusively vegetable diet. Mr. Cooper, who has been labouring to establish an overland route from China to India, says that one morning, as he was sitting down to breakfast at a " tea- shop " in Hung-zachien, in the country of the Upper Yang-tse-Kiang, he was informed that he was in luck, as the proprietor just then happened to have a dog-ham in cut, some slices of which he should have fried, a deli- cacy reserved only for mandarins like himself. At first he was on the point of ordering away the horrid dish, but, on second thoughts, he proceeded, with " stoical fortitude to taste doggie ; one taste led to another," and, in summing up, he pronounced the dog-ham to be de- licious in flavour, well-smoked, tender, and juicy. " It was small, not much bigger than the leg of a good-sized sucking-pig; the flesh was dark, and the hair had been carefully removed, while the paw had been left as a stamp of its genuineness, as the proprietor remarked. Dog-hams are justly considered a great delicacy in China, and as such bring a very high price, costing as much as five taels (1 tael = 6s. 6d.) per pound. They are chiefly cured in the province of Hoonan, where dogs of a peculiar breed are fattened for the purpose. Hoonan is also famous for its pigs, and possesses a large trade in bacon and ham, especially in pig-hams which have been cured in the same tubs with dog-hams, and are thereby considered to have acquired a finer flavour." In Cochin- China also dogs and foxes are eaten. FLESH FOOD FROM MAMMALS. 65 Mr, Gray, in his work " Fourteen Months in Canton/' thus speaks of cats and dogs as human food : — " The black cat is much more prized for food than any other of the feline race. We went upstairs leading to the saloon, where several small dining tables were placed. At one of these tables we saw a man with a little basin full of steaming stew. We went to him and said ' Mean ? ' (cat), and he answered ' Yau ' (yes). It had a very dark appearance (warranted black cat, I should think), and had a most savoury smell. On the wall a bill of fare was placed, stating the cost of a repast of dog and cat. This is the correct rendering : ' One tael of black dog's flesh, 8 cash ; one tael weight of black dog's fat, 3 kan- dereens of silver ; one basin of black cat's flesh, 100 cash ; one small basin of black cat's flesh, 50 cash; and one pair of black cat's eyes, 3 kandereens of silver.' These restau- rants are crowded at the celebration of the Hachi, or fes- tival of the summer solstice, by men of all ranks. To eat dog's flesh, especially black dog's flesh, on that day is to secure the eater against sickness for the summer." The young dogs are brought to market in baskets made of bamboo, as also are young cats intended for the table. When delivered to the cook they are killed, scalded in boiling water, and the skin scraped with the blade of a knife to remove the hair, as is done with a pig. When boiled, the flesh is cut up into small pieces that can be eaten with the chopsticks, each piece being dipped in soy and mixed with flsh or rice. The young dogs and cats are highly esteemed as food dainties by the rich Chinese, while the poorer classes do not disdain the old animals. The Japanese eat dogs' flesh, but only ex- ceptionally. Never was the ancient adage, " there is no accounting for tastes," more quaintly illustrated than in a surprising story related in the London Daily Telegraph of March 20, 1880 : — " One Peschka, an innkeeper of Neustadt, in Bohemia, was bitten some weeks ago by his own house- dog. Unwilling to slay the animal on bare suspicion of F 06 ANIMAL FOOD RESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. its sanity, he consigned it to the town grave-digger, enjoining that functionary to take care of it until fur- ther orders respecting its ultimate fate should be im- parted to him. A few dsijs later, however, Peschka was attacked by hydrophobia, of which horrible malady he died in excruciating agony. The sanitary authorities of Neustadt forthwith applied to the gravedigger for the mad dog committed to his custody, intending to have it destroyed. Their astonishment may be more readily conceived than described when the sexton, in answer to their requisition, calmly observed, ' The mad dog ? I have eaten him ! ' ' You have eaten the mad dog ? ' in- credulously exclaimed a horror-stricken sanitary oflScial. ' Better that than he should eat me ! ' rejoined the philo- sophical grave-digger. It would appear not only that this man of strange appetites had swallowed and digested the rabid animal, but that it had agreed with him ; for, as the story runs, he is still in the enjoyment of robust health, and pursues his professional avocations with unabated vigour." In May, 1842, a butcher of Besan^on was sentenced by the Tribunal of Correction to three months' im- prisonment for selling dog instead of kid to his cus- tomers. How the tastes of men differ ! Forster, in his " Voyage Round the World," thus expresses himself : " In our cold countries, where animal food is so much used, and where to be carnivorous perhaps lies in the nature of man, or is indispensably necessary to the preservation of health and strength, it is strange that there should exist a Jewish aversion to dogs' ilesh, when hogs, the most un- clean of all animals, are eaten without scruple. Nature seems to have expressly intended them for this use by making their offspring so very numerous and their in- crease so quick and frequent." Mr. Wilson, who quotes the above, adds : " There is no reason why it should not be more extensively prac- tised in Europe. We know, for example, that Captain Cook's recovery from a serious illness at sea, if not FLESH FOOD FROM MAMMALS. 67 entirely owing to, was at least greatly ameliorated by the broth and flesh of a dog." * "Amongst the Society Islands," says Mr. Frederick Bennet, " the aboriginal dog, which was formerly eaten as a delicacy by the natives, is now extinct or merged into mongrel breeds by propagation with many exotic varieties. At the Sandwich group, where the inhabit- ants have been more remarkable for the use of this animal as food, and where that custom is yet perti- naciously retained, the pure breed of the Poe dog has been better protected, and although becoming yearly more scarce, examples of it are yet to be met with in all the islands, but principally as a delicacy for the use of the chiefs. As late as October, 1835, I noticed in the populous and well-civilised town of Honolulu, at Oahu, a skinned dog suspended at the door of a house of enter- tainment for natives, to denote what sumptuous fare might be obtained within." f Anson, in his voyage Tound the world, speaking of Juan Fernandez, says : " These dogs, who are masters of all the accessible parts of the island, are of various kinds, some of them very large, and are multiplied to a prodi- gious degree. The}^ sometimes came down to our habi- tations at night and stole our provisions, and once or twice they set upon single persons ; but assistance being at hand, they were driven off without doing any mis- chief. As at present it is rare for goats to fall in their way, we conceived that they lived principally on young seals ; and indeed some of our people had the curiosity to kill dogs sometimes and dress them, and it seemed to be agreed that they had a fishy taste." Foxes as Food. — The flesh of the Arctic fox, particularly when young, is edible, whilst that of the red fox is ill- tasting, rank, and disagreeable, and eaten only through necessity. Sir John Franklin's party and other Arctic * Wilson's " Essays on the Origin and Natural History of Domestic Animals." t " Dogs, etc.," by Lieut.-Colonel C. Hamilton Smith, p. 211. F 2 (58 ANIMAL FOOD RESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. voyagers agreed with Hearne in comparing the flavour of a young Arctic fox to that of the American hare. Captain Lyon considered it to resemble the flesh of a kid. In Ross's voyage they were named lambs, from their resemblance in flavour to very young lamb. " The flesh," observes Sir James R-oss, " of the old fox is by no means so palatable, and the water it is boiled in becomes so acrid as to excoriate the mouth and tongue. During our late expedition they constituted one of the principal luxuries of our table, and were always re- served for holidays and great occasions. We ate them boiled, or more frequently parboiled, roasted in a pitch kettle." Mr. Kennedy, in his " Voyage to the Arctic Regions," speaks of the delicacy of a fox pie, which was pronounced by competent authorities in his mess to be equal to rab- bit, but then he honestly admits that there were others to whom it suggested uncomfortable reminiscences of dead cats, and who generally preferred the opposite side of the table when this dish made its appearance. Tastes, however, seem to diflfer, and much no doubt depends on the keenness of the appetite and the choice there may be at table. At a dinner given after a grand wolf hunt at Genis (Dordogne) by M. Piston d'Aubonne, master of the wolf- hounds, a dish of cutlets was served from one of the animals killed, but they were found very tough and insipid. At another sportsman's dinner in the department of Correze, fillets of fox flesh were cooked and declared to be excellent eating. They eat foxes in Italy, where they are sold dear, and thought fit for the table of a cardinal. Passing now to the feline or cat-like animals of prey — the terrible wild hunters of the forests and deserts — we find many of these are in turn devoured by man. Lions. — The flesh of the lion is eaten by the Hotten- tots ; and a tribe of Arabs between Tunis and Algeria, according to Blumenbach, live almost entirely upon it when they can get it. After a lion has been killed and FLESH FOOD FKOM MAMMALS. 69 the skin removed the flesh is divided, and the mothers take each a small piece of the animal's heart and give it to their male children to eat, in order to render them strong and courageous. It would seem from the Journal of the Marquis of Hastings, when Governor-General of India, that this superstition as to eating lion's flesh is as strong in India, for it is stated : — " Anxious interest was made with our servants for a bit of the flesh, though it should be but the size of a hazel-nut. Every native in the camp, male or female, who was fortunate enough to get a morsel, dressed it and ate it. They have a strong conviction that the eating of a piece of lion's flesh strengthens the constitution incalculably, and is a preservative against many particular distempers. The idea that a person imbibes the characteristics of an animal which he eats is very widely distributed. The Malays at Singapore used to give a large price for the flesh of the tiger, not be- cause they liked it, but because they believed that the man who eats tiger s flesh will become as wise and power- ful as that animal." The Dyaks of Borneo have a pre- judice against the flesh of the deer, which the men may not eat, though it is allowed to the women and children. The reason given is that if the men were to eat venison they would become as timid as deer. The Caribs will not eat the flesh of pigs or of tortoises, lest they should get small eyes. The Dacotahs of North America eat the liver of the dog that they may become as wise and brave as that animal. The flesh of the lion has been eaten with gusto even by Europeans ; for Madame Bedichon, in her work on " Algeria," states that at Oran a lion was killed which three days before had eaten a man, and the Pr^fet gave a grand dinner, the principal dish being part of the lion, which the French guests assembled ate with great relish. More recently a magnificent quarter of a lion, shot in the neighbourhood of Philippeville, Algeria, by M. Con- stant Cheret, was sent to the Restaurant Magny, Paris, and served up to a party of nineteen guests, who enjoyed 70 ANIMAL FOOD RESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. with gusto " Estouffade de leon a la meridionale," and " Goeur de leon a la Castellane." The flesh of the American jaguar or panther is con- sidered not bad eating, and that of the wild cat of Louisiana is also reported to be excellent. The former is eaten in Central and South America. Mr. Darwin, in his " Joiirnal of a Naturalist," tells us that he supped on it, and found the meat very white and remarkably like veal in taste. Mr. Wallace, when travelling up the Amazon, one day had some steaks of a jaguar (Felis onca) on his table, and found the meat very white and without any bad taste. " It appears evident to me," he adds, " that the common idea of the food of an animal determining the quality of its flesh is quite erroneous. Domestic poultry and pigs are the most unclean animals in their food, yet their flesh is highly esteemed, while field rats and squirrels, which eat only vegetable food, are in general dis- repute.'^ Carnivorous fish are not less delicate eating than herbivorous ones, and there appears no reason why some carnivorous animals should not furnish whole- some and palatable food. The low Arabs do not object to the flesh of the hysena, although the smell of the car- cass is so rank and offensive that even dogs leave it with disgust. The natives eat the flesh of the Canada lynx (Felis Canadensis, Geoffroy), which is white and tender but rather flavourless, much resembling that of the Ameri- can hare. The European species {F. lynx) is also eaten in Switzerland and in Siberia. Ojyossums and Bandicoots. — We have not quite done with the Carnivora, for the flesh of some of the carnivo- rous marsupials, such as the opossums, bandicoots and tiger cats, are eaten by man. The vulpine or brushtailed opossum {Phalangista vul- pina) is the staff" of life to the natives of Australia. Mr. Gerardt Krafft says : — "I often admired my native friends, when, after a hard day's unsuccessful hunting, FLESH FOOD FROM MAMMALS. 71 they dropped in at the camp empty-handed, how care- fully they would examine the large flooded gum-trees fringing the river banks, how nimbly they would get a footing upon some hollow limb, and with what perse- verance ' Possum ' was dislodged and perhaps accidentally dropped into the river, whence it had to be rescued by the black fellow's better-half ; for it was the question of ' to eat or not to eat.' " The flesh of that most malodorous marsupial, the com- mon opossum {Didelphys Virginiana) is eaten in some of the States of North America, and is said to be white and well tasted. In Rio Grande do Sul and other provinces of Brazil, they bury it in the earth until the flesh is free from its characteristic oflensive smell ; before cooking, the axil- lary glands must first be extracted. An American named Chancey has lately started a novel business at Hawkins ville, near Savannah, for raising opossums on a farm enclosed with wire fencing. As the average piney wood opossum finds a ready sale at about 2s., a fine fat stall-fed opossum will bring double that amount. The flesh of the Australian bandicoot (Perameles ohesula) is delicious, especially when done in the native style, that is, the hair removed and the game roasted upon the coals. The native tiger cat {Basyiirus Geof- froyi), the most bloodthirsty of the marsupial animals of Australia, is eaten by the natives. Kangaroos. — The flesh of all the herbivorous marsupials is good. The f orequarters indeed of the larger kangaroos are somewhat inferior, and are usually given to the dogs ; but from the hinder quarters some fine steaks may be cut. These cooked in the same manner as venison col- lops, are, to most palates, very little inferior to the latter. The flesh of the large kangaroo, as well as that of the wallaby, is often dressed in the shape of a hash, and in this form also it is excellent. But the most admired part of the kangaroo is his tail. This is of enormous size in proportion to the rest of the body, the tail of a full- 72 ANIMAL FOOD RESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. ^rown forester usually weighing ten or twelve pounds. It makes a superb soup, very much superior to ox-tail. The wallaby,, too, is most commonly used for soup. The early settlers in the Australian colonies were more driven to eat kangaroo flesh than the present ones. On the 21st April, 1806, we find the following entry in a book on Tasmania : — *' There being a necessity for making every possible saving of the salted meat remaining in His Majesty's stores, the commissary will receive kangaroo or emu at one shilling per pound, if brought to the stores on Mon~ days and Fridays, taking in only the hind quarters perfectly sweet, and issuing the same at the rate of two pounds of fresh for one of salted meat." The forester is the largest of the kangaroo family, and is frequently found of two hundred pounds weight. The large male of the species is generally called the "old man kangaroo " by the colonists. The wallaby {Halmaturus sp.) and the pademelon (H. thetidis) are much smaller; the average weight of the wallaby is about twelve or fourteen pounds, and that of the pademelon nine or ten pounds. The pademelon when cooked like a hare affords a dish with which the most fastidious gourmand might be satisfied. The kangaroo rat {Bettongia rufescens) seldom weighs more than three or four pounds ; it is not, as its name would import, anything of the rat species, but a perfect kangaroo in miniature. The flesh of the kangaroo rat resembles that of a rabbit, and it eats best when cooked in the same manner. This small animal is but little eaten, except by thorough bushmen, owing to the pre- judice excited by the unfortunate name which has been bestowed upon it ; but those who have once conquered this prejudice usually become fond of it, as the flesh is very palatable. The flesh of the great red kangaroo (Osphranter rufus) is very palatable, indeed more so than that of Macropus major. That of the bridle nail-tailed kangaroo (Onycho- galea frcenata) is white and well tasted. FLESH FOOD FROM MAMMALS. 73 The flesh of the hare kangaroo {Lagorchestes leporoides) is delicious ; in fact Mr. Kreft says it yields some of the best meat he ever tasted. The wombat {Phascolomys womhat) is another Aus- tralian marsupial, which sometimes weighs 140 lbs. The flesh is said by some to be not unlike venison, while others compare it to lean mutton. The flesh of the taguar or great flying phalanger {Petaurista taguarioides) , a native of Australia, is said to be very good, and as the animal is a tolerably large one, it is a favourite article of diet among the white and black inhabitants of the country. It is, however, so extremely difficult of capture, that without the assist- ance of native aid, the white man would seldom be able to make a dinner on this creature.^ The oil which can be obtained from a fat wood chuck (Ardomys monax, Lin.) has some value, and when rightly killed the meat is relished by some as food ; the Indians consider the flesh of the hoary marmot (A. pruinosuny Pennant) as delicious food. Considerable parties of Indians have been known to subsist for a time on the tawny marmot {Ardomys Richardsoniij Sabine) when the larger game is scarce ; their flesh is palatable when they are fat. The flesh of the Hudson's Bay squirrel, or red chickaree (Sciurus Hudsonius, Pennant), is tender and edible, but that of the male has a strong murine flavour. Among the squirrels which are eaten are the fox squirrel (Sciurus cinereus), the gray squirrel (S. caro- linensis), the California gray squirrel {S. fossor), the tuft-eared squirrel (S. aberti), and the flying squirrel {Sduropterus voluceUa). In the San Francisco market squirrels sell at 3s. to 4s. the dozen, and wild rabbits at 7s. to 8s. per dozen. The flesh of the squirrel is said to taste like that of the rabbit, but more juicy. All the rodents are eaten by the natives of Australia, * Routledge's "Natural History." 74 ANIMAL FOOD RESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. but only in case of no other food being at hand, as a large number of these little creatures are wanted to satisfy the hunger of a black fellow. Rats. — Williams, in his Account of China, tells us that rats are very abundant, and furnish the common people with meat. Rats and mice, that shun the light of day, are not only eaten now by the Mongol races, but by other more civilised people. The Mongol fattens them like pigs, butchers them with care, and carries them on long white poles to market. The wild cat is a very dainty dish among the West Indian negroes."^ The negroes in Brazil, like the abori- gines in Australia, eat every rat they can catch. It is a remarkable fact that there are no rats in the islands of the Pacific Ocean. Repeated attempts have been made to acclimatise the rodents there^ as the flesh is much relished by the natives as an article of food, but the attempts thus far have failed, for they invariably die of consumption. The mouse, to the Esquimaux epicure, is a real bonne houche, and if he can catch half-a-dozen he runs a piece of horn or twig through them, in the same manner as the Leadenhall poulterers will larks ; and, without stop- ping to skin or divest them of their entrails, broils them over the fire, and considers them a tit-bit. I do not see why field rats should not be well tasted and wholesome meat, seeing that their food is entirely vegetable, and that they are clean, sleek, and plump. The negroes on the West India plantations will often roast the cane-piece rats in the stoke-holes of the sugar- boiling houses, and those who have tasted them declare them to be very good eating. So fat do the rats become in the West Indies, from feeding on the sugar canes, that most of the blacks esteem them highly, and, with the addition of chillies and other spiceries, make of them a delicate fricassee, not to be surpassed by a dish of frogs. As there is a rat- ■^ Brown's "History of Jamaica." FLESH FOOD FROM MAMMALS. 75 catcher on every estate, who is paid a reward of so much per dozen for the rats' tails he brings in, rats are very cheap. These rats' tails might perhaps be utilised, for a paragraph going the round of the papers tells us, that at a recent banquet at the Trois Freres, Paris, the novel feature of rats'-tail soup was introduced ; but it did not come up to ox-tail by any means. Everyone has heard of rats being eaten during the siege of Paris ; but perhaps it is not known that in Belgium a society of rat-eaters has been formed. After the siege of Paris, when rats' flesh was at a premium and the rodents were nearly exterminated in the crusade carried on against them, these animals once more increased prodigiously, until the great sewers which run beneath the streets of the city now swarm with them, and hence frequent battues have to be made with packs of terriers by the municipal authorities. The Rev. J. G. Wood, a well-known naturalist, lec- turing recently, spoke very favourably of rat pie. " It is made," he says, " in precisely the same manner as rabbit pie, the only difference being that in the case of the rat pie the result is far more delicious. The cook should be careful to procure as fine rats as possible, cut off their tails, skin, dress, and wash them, then cut them into four pieces, and add a few morsels of pork fat. When cooked and cold the pie is full of the most delicious jelly." Ho had often, he added, been dining with his friends when they left the most delicious viands on the table untouched, while every scrap of the rat pie had been devoured. Dr. Buller says a native rat formerly abounded to such an extent in the wooded parts of New Zealand, that it con- stituted the principal animal food of the Maori tribes of that period. The introduced Norway rat {Mus decumanus) has now exterminated and supplanted its predecessor. The loir or dormouse {Myoxus glis, Lin., Desm.) was once in great request as a dainty for the table, numbers being cooped up and artificially fattened by the Romans. It is even now^ eaten in Italy. 76 ANIMAL FOOD KESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. Hares and Babbits. — Of the rodents the hares and rabbits are, however, best known as food, and con- tribute very largely to the European meat supply. In France about 70,000,000 of hares and rabbits are consumed annually, and in this country some estimates set the numbers down at 30,000,000. Those sold by the dealers form but a small proportion of what are eaten. A few years ago the average price of a hare was half-a-crown or three shillings ; but it has now risen considerably, not owing to a decreased supply, but, as is the case in many other instances, to the increase of the number of persons who can afford to indulge in luxuries. It is a forbidden food to Jews and Mahomedans, and our British ancestors also refused to eat hares, from some religious objection to them. The rabbit is very popular with the working classes, and in almost any form is good and acceptable food. The flesh in its general character more resembles that of a fowl than does the hare. Both wild rabbits and Ostend bred rabbits have advanced a third in price of late years. Each case of Ostend rabbits contains, on an average, six dozen. They are sent from Antwerp, Flushing, and Calais, as well as Ostend, but are all sold as Ostend. About 200 tons come in weekly. About 2,000,000 rabbits were imported in the first five months of 1880 ; but this was far below the average of the previous years, the wet season of 1879 having killed large numbers of rabbits. So rapidly have rabbits increased in the Australian colonies since their introduction, that the colonists find a difiiculty in keeping them down, and they are slaugh- tered wholesale merely for their skins, their flesh being a drug. Some establishments have, however, set to work to preserve them in tins, and they are now shipped to England, stewed, boiled with onions, curried and fricasseed. As an instance of how the work of rabbit extermina- tion is going on in some of the up-country districts, the Tuapelm limes, of New Zealand, states that on one day FLESH FOOD FROM MAMMALS. 77 40,000 skins were brought to the railway station, there to be despatched to Port Chalmers for shipment to the London market. Those skins were brought from Strode and Fraser^s Earnscleuch Station, Clyde. These gentle- men employ eighteen poisoners on the station, while six men with pack-horses (known as " packers ") are engaged in conducting traffic between the Home Station and the rabbiters' camp in the ranges, carrying out poisoned wheat and necessary supplies, and returning with the rabbit skins. Two men and a clerk find full employ- ment at the station in making up poisoned wheat, and fixing up and despatching the bales. A waggoner is engaged in conveying wheat to the Home Station, and bales of skins from there to Lawrence. Some days pre- vious he brought down 22,000 skins ; on one day, as we have said, he had 40,000, and at the station, when he left it, there were other 40,000 in readiness to be despatched to the railway ; and still there are no symp- toms of the traffic diminishing. Messrs. Strode and Fraser supply the rabbiters with poisoned grain at the rate of 8s. per 100 lbs., and purchase the rabbit skins at 2d. each. The men are earning from 20s. to 30s. a day, and more men would be taken on, but cannot be had. Some of the so-called " unemployed " were offered work, but declined it, preferring their chance of loafing on the industrious along the road. While these particulars refer to Earnscleugh Station, it is only fair to mention that the other runholders are pursuing similar measures in concert, and by arrangement arrived at in public meeting. South Australia has gone in largely for preserving rabbits for shipment to Europe. At Kapuna Factory the rabbits are caught at night, disembowelled on the ground, and then carried to the company's works. Here, one after another in quick succession, heads (subse- quently boiled down for jelly) and legs are removed, and the skins pulled off in a twinkling. The bodies are slightly salted (to remove the blood) and then washed. Thirty men are employed by the company, and more lads 78 ANIMAL FOOD RESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. are required. The tins are made by three or four men in the same room, each man turning out 800 or 400 tins a day. These tins — the chopped up rabbits having been placed in them — are tied in a crate, and then lowered into a tank, where being hermetically sealed, they are boiled for eight hours by steam; At the end of this period the tins are removed and the little hole at the top is reopened in order to permit the steam, which has accumulated during the process of cooking, to pass off. Before any air can enter, the hole is again soldered. The tins are then left to cool, and subsequently painted, branded, and boxed. In 1877, 764 cases of these tins of preserved rabbits were received here from South Australia. During 1881 8^ millions of rabbit skins were exported from New Zealand, valued at £84,744, and in 1888 we received from thence 12,361,224, valued at £119,461. From Victoria there were shipped in the same year 5,570,841 skins, valued at £67,271, but we have no in- formation as to what quantity of the rabbits were con- sumed for food. A premium of 3d. per skin is given by the Government. Although rabbits are plentiful in the southern parts of Chili and on the islands of the coast, the Spaniards and Indians have as great a prejudice to their flesh as the Jews to pork ; hence they are never eaten. The negroes in the West Indies also dislike rabbits, while they will eat almost any other kind of animal food. The inhabitants of many islands in the Greek Archi- pelago live almost entirely on rabbits' flesh. Beaver. — The flesh of the beaver is much prized by the Indian and Canadian voyageurs, especially when it is roasted in the skin, after the hair has been singed ofl". In some districts it requires all the influence of the fur trader to restrain the hunters from sacrificing a considerable quantity of beaver furs every year, to secure the enjoy- ment of this luxury ; Indians of note have generally one or two feasts in a season, wherein a roasted beaver is the prime dish. The meat resembles pork in flavour, but FLESH FOOD FROM MAMMALS. 79 the lean is dark-coloured, the fat oily, and it requires a strong stomach to sustain a full meal of it. The tail, which is considered a great luxury, consists of a gristly kind of fat, as rich, but not so nauseating, as the fat of the body. Porcupines. — The Indians and hunters in the United States and about the Rocky Mountain ranges, eat the flesh of the Canadian porcupine {Hystrix pilosus, Catesby), but to a more refined taste it would be unpalatable. The flesh of the common crested porcupine {Hystrix cris- tata), like that of most purely vegetable -feeding rodents, is considered very delicate food, and is often eaten at din- ners in Rome, being sold at 5d. per pound, the porcupine being not uncommon in the Campagna. It is said there that they should be cooked like a hare, or with wine sauce, like a wild boar. Porcupines are common in Algeria and parts of the west coast of Africa, and their flesh is much liked. Porcupine and palaver sauce is an esteemed dish at Fernando Po. The flesh of the young porcupine is very good eating and nutritious food. To be cooked properly it should be boiled flrst and roasted afterwards. This is necessary to soften the thick, gristly skin, which is the best part of the animal. The Dutch and the Hottentots in Southern Africa are very fond of it. The flesh is said to eat better when it has been hung in the smoke of a chimney a couple of days. The flesh of the tree porcupines of South America {By nether es prehensilis and >Si. villosus) is also said to be delicate and tender. If so it very much belies the odour which proceeds from the body. There are two species of paca or agouti, the Coelogemys fulvus and C. suhniger. The flesh of the agouti is white, tender, and well-tasted, and when fat and well-dressed is by no means unpalatable food. Waterton, however, says its flesh is dry, with scarcely any fat. It has been sometimes termed the rabbit of South America. The flesh of the cavy, a smaller species, also resembles it. The paca or spotted cavy {Ccelogemys paca), is one of 80 ANIMAL FOOD RESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. the best game animals of Brazil. Its flesh is said to be much esteemed, and forms a staple article of food in many parts of South America. The flesh of the guinea pig is white and savoury. It used to be served up at table as a rarity in former times. That of the wild species {Cavia caprera), common in Central America, is very delicate. The flesh of the biscacha {Calomys hizcacha), when cooked, is very white and good, but is seldom used, other animal food being so abundant in South America. There are a few of the toothless animals [Edentata) which are laid under contribution for food. Wallace tells us he found the flesh of the sloth tender and palat- able ; it is esteemed a great delicacy by the Indians, who hunt the animal for the purposes of food. The echidna, or native porcupine of Australia, which belongs to this order, is said to taste well. The flesh of the great anteater {Myrmecophaga juhata) is esteemed a delicacy by the Indians and negroes in Brazil and Western Africa, and though black and of a strong musky flavour, is sometimes even met with at the tables of the Europeans. Feeding largely on the so- called ants' eggs, the flesh of the anteater of Australia is delicate meat, resembling that of a young sucking pig, and is considered superior to hare. Most of the varieties of armadillo are used for food in South America. Waterton considered their flesh strong and rank, but throughout the whole of South America roast armadillo is highly esteemed, and may be seen in all the cafes and restaurants of the cities turned on their scaly backs feet uppermost, and the interior filled with a rich sauce composed of lemons and spices. Peludos, or armadillos {Dasypus s&xcinctus), are con- sidered a very dainty dish by the natives and colonists when roasted in their skin, and served up in their shell or case. Mulitas (D. hyhridus) are almost the same as peludos, and have such powerful claws, that if once they get their heads underground it is impossible to pull them out. The flesh of another species, the tatou FLESH FOOD FROM MAMMALS. 81 {Dasypus villosus), of the River Plate, is one of the most exquisite meats that can be eaten. " Possessed of a most overpowering and unpleasant smell of musk, the taurec {Centetes ecaudatus) is not an animal which would be supposed to furnish an agreeable article of diet to any one, except to a starving man in the last extremity of hunger. Yet the natives of Mada- gascar esteem it among their rarest luxuries, and are so tenacious of this very powerful food, that they can hardly be induced to part with a specimen which they have captured, and which they have already dedicated in anticipation to the composition of some wonderful specimen of the cook's art."* They hybernate from June to December, and as they are very fat when they first burrow, they are regarded as delicacies in Madagascar and Reunion, and pursued with great avidity. . * Routledge's " Natural History." 82 ANIMAL FOOD RESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. CHAPTER IV. Flesh Food from Mammals. — Continued. Pachyderms — Elephants — Hippopotami — Rhinoceros — Tapir — Peccary — Swine — Immense Numbers in North America — Our Large Imports of Bacon, Hams, etc., from the United States — Wild Boars — Statistics of Swine in Various Countries — Consumption of Pork in France — Horseflesh Eaten in China, Europe, and America — Statistics of Horses — Increase of Consumption of Horseflesh in Europe — Asses and Mules also Eaten — Quagga and Zebra — The Ruminants — Statistics of Horned Cattle over the World — Consumption in the United Kingdom — Average Weights in Different Countries — Beef Imported into England — Quantity Sold in the London Markets — Average Prices — Buffaloes — Statistics of Sheep in Various Countries — Large Imports of Carcases from New Zealand — Imports of Sheep to the London Markets and Comparative Prices — Average Weight of Different Kinds of Sheep — Coats' Flesh — Flesh of the Camel Tribe — Alpaca — Giraffe — Venison — Reindeer — Moose or Elk --Antelopes — Eland — Bison — Marine Mammals — Whales^ — Seals — Sea Lion — Sea Elephant — Walrus — DugoDgs — Dolphins — Porpoises. We now have to treat of flesh food obtained from the pachyderms, ruminants and amphibious mammals. We will take first the thick-skinned quadrupeds. The great pachyderms belong chiefly to the African continent, although some are common to Asia. Among them are the elephant, hippopotamus, and rhinoceros. Elephants' flesh. — The flesh of this great animal, when it cannot be eaten fresh, is in Africa, Asia and Ceylon either simply sun-dried or salted and smoked. The whole of the flesh is cut into thongs like the reins of a bridle, which are hung in festoons on the branches of trees till they become perfectly dry. Gordon Gumming thus speaks of it : — " The flesh of the elephant is cut into strips, varying from six to twenty FLESH FOOD FROM MAMMALS. 83 feet and about two inches in breadth and thickness. It is then placed on poles and allowed to dry in the sun for two or three days, after which it is packed into bundles, each man carrying off his share to his wife and family." He then speaks of the dainty dishes of baked elephant's feet and elephant's trunk. The flesh of the elephant is relished by the inhabitants of many districts of Africa and Asia. Major Denham speaks of it as being esteemed by all, and even eaten in secret by the first people about the Sheik, and he adds that though it looked coarse, it was better flavoured than any beef he found in the country. The ancient Romans considered the trunk as the most delicious part, but others fancy the foot to be the best. What are sheep's trotters and insipid boiled calves' feet compared to baked elephants' feet f Gordon Gumming thus describes the whole art and mystery of the pro- cess of preparing them : — " The four feet are amputated at the fetlock joint, and the trunk, which at the base is about two feet in thick- ness, is cut into convenient lengths. Trunk and feet are then baked, preparatory to their removal to headquarters. The manner in which this is done is as follows : — A party, provided with sharp-pointed sticks, dig a hole in the ground for each foot and a portion of the trunk. These holes are about two feet deep and a yard in width ; the excavated earth is embanked around the margin of the holes. This work being completed, they next collect an immense quantity of dry branches and trunks of trees, of which there is always a profusion scattered around, having been broken by the elephants in former years. These they pile above the holes to the height of eight or nine feet, and then set fire to the heap. When these strong fires have burnt down, and the whole of the wood is reduced to ashes, the holes and the surrounding earth are heated to a high degree. Ten or twelve men then stand round the pit and take out the ashes with a pole about sixteen feet in length, having a hook at the end. They relieve one another in quick succession, each man g2 84 ANIMAL FOOD KESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. running in and raking the ashes for a few seconds, and then pitching the pole to his comrade, and retreating, since the heat is so intense that it is scarcely to be en- dured. When all the ashes are thus raked out beyond the surrounding bank of earth, each elephant's foot and portion of the trunk is lifted by two athletic men, stand- ing side by side, who place it on their shoulders, and, ap- proaching the pit together, they heave it into it. The long pole is now again resumed, and with it they shove in the heated bank of earth upon the foot, shoving and raking until it is completely buried in the earth. The hot embers, of which there is always a great supply, are then raked into a heap above the foot, and another bon- fire is kindled over each, which is allowed to burn down and die a natural death ; by which time the enormous foot or trunk will be found to be equally baked through- out its inmost parts. When the foot is supposed to be ready, it is taken out of the ground with pointed sticks, and is first well beaten, and then scraped with an assegai, whereby adhering particles of sand are got rid of. The outside is then pared otf, and it is transfixed with a sharp stake for facility of carriage. The feet thus cooked are excellent, as is also the trunk, which very much resembles buffalo's tongue." These certainly not "petit " toes when pickled in strong toddy, vinegar and cayenne pepper, are considered an Apician luxury in Ceylon. Le Vaillant tells us that he found baked elephant's foot was food fit for a king. " I had often heard (he adds) the feet of bears boasted of, but I could not con- ceive how an animal so heavy and coarse as the elephant could produce so tender and delicate flesh. ' Never (said I to myself), never can our modern Luculli display upon their tables a dish like that which I now enjoy. In vain with their riches do they change and reverse the seasons; in vain do they boast of laying all Nature under contri- bution ; their luxury has never yet attained to this grati- fication ; bounds are prescribed to their sensuality.' And I devoured without bread my elephant's foot, while my FLESH FOOD FROM MAMMALS. 85 Hottentots seated near me regaled themselves with other parts, which they found no less excellent." Opinions seem to differ on this head, for Captain A. Lindley, an African traveller, observes : " I cannot say much in favour of elephant's foot, though it is the honne bouche of all Kaffirs. The Umzielas cooked it in an oven they made in the ground and then piled up fire on top. In flavour it was more like very soft leather and glue mixed together than anything else that I can compare it to." Cuvier remarks that the trunk, being composed of a mixture of delicate muscular fibres and rich fat, would necessarily, when properly prepared, afibrd an article of food that might be very palatable. Pliny, in his " Natural History," having never perhaps tasted this viand, observes : — " Luxury has discovered even another recommendation in this animal, having found a particu- larly delicate flavour in the cartilaginous part of the trunk, for no other reason, in my belief, than because it fancies itself to be eating ivory." But ivory is ab- solutely frequently eaten now, for the ivory dust col- lected from the ivory turners is sold at about 6d. a pound and makes excellent jellies. Hippopotami— The ivory hunter on the bank of an African river having killed a hippopotamus for the sup- per of his negro attendants, leisurely watches their pro- ceedings in preparing the feast, and observes that the entrails, without being cleansed, are carefully preserved as the choicest morsel, and subsequently cut up and dis- tributed in shares to the party according to rank. When slightly roasted they are devoured with unmis- takable signs of enjoyment. Being disposed, philoso- phically, to inquire into the nature of things, the hunter tries the taste of the extraordinary food, and leaves on record that the savages are certainly not without reason for their preference. The flesh of the hippopotamus is much eaten by the natives of Africa, and even by Europeans it is not to be despised, although travellers seem to disagree as to its 86 ANIMAL FOOD RESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. merits. Gumming says the flesh is excellent eating, and Baker appears to agree with him, while Dr. Living- stone speaks of it as being pretty good food when one is hungry and cannot get anything better, but that it is a coarse-grained meat, having a flavour something between pork and beef. The flesh of the hippopotamus is well esteemed, and the meat, according to Du Chaillu, does not taste unlike beef. He considers it rather coarse-grained, and not fat, but a welcome and wholesome dish. A fine young specimen which was exhibited in the Crystal Palace was roasted alive when the eastern wing of that palace was burned, in December, 1866. The hippopotamus was a black, leathery- looking, charred mass. Upon being more closely examined, it did not at all appear so distasteful a morsel as at a first glance. True, the skin was leathery and charred, but it had split in places, like cracknel, exposing a beautifully- delicate white meat or fat underneath. Dr. Crisp se- cured it, and he has given an account of his dissection of it in the " Proceedings of the Zoological Society, 1867," p. 601. He there tells us that one side of the animal was well roasted, and that he supplied some of his friends with the meat thus cooked — gipsy fashion — and partook of it several times himself. He reports the flavour as ex- cellent, and the colour of the flesh whiter than that of any veal he ever saw. The fat lay under the skin as in the hog, and not in the interior as in the elephant ; it was about 1-J inches in thickness. In South Africa hippopotamus meat is in request both among natives and colonists, and the epicures of Cape Town do not disdain to use their influence with the country farmers to obtain a preference in the matter of " sea cow's speck," (as the fat which lies immediately under the skin is called,) when salted and dried. Dr. Schweinfurth says he always found hippopotamus bacon unflt for eating, and when cut into narrow strips and roasted it was as hard and tough as so much rope. FLESH FOOD FROM MAMMALS. 87 The same may be said of the tongue, which he often had smoked and salted. The meat is remarkably fibrous and is one continuous tissue of sinews. Captain A. Lindley, in his work " After Ophir," says : " We dined oft* hippopotamus steak. It was not much relished, however, and we did not care to try it again ; but then the dark-coloured, coarse, and peculiarly flavoured flesh — a little more beef than fowl, and a little more fish than beef — though pretty tender and fairly succulent, could not be compared with the sweet wild-fowl and delicious venison we generally had at table." The flesh of the rhinoceros is devoured in Abyssinia, and by some of the Dutch settlers in the Cape Colony it is held in high esteem. So is hippopotamus meat, as we have seen, which is eaten either roasted or boiled. The fat with which these animals are covered is con- sidered delicious ; it is used in making puddings instead of butter. When salted it is greatly prized not only for the table, but for its reputed medicinal qualities. The Portuguese settlers on the east coast are per- mitted by their priests to eat the flesh of this animal in Lent, passing it oflP as fish, from its amphibious habits, and hence their consciences are at ease. The flesh of the American tapir {Tapirus Americanus) although described by Europeans as unsavoury, coarse and dry, is considered palatable by the Indians. It somewhat resembles beef. The fatty protuberance on the nape of the neck is a delicacy which would do honour to the table of a modern Lucullus. The feet and groin cooked to a jelly are also morsels for a king. Most wild swine are, however, horribly rank, but by proper feeding they become delicious. A boar's head is, however, an appreciated delicacy of old reputation. There are two species of peccary (Bicofeles) met with in South America. Both have on the back a fetid open gland, which must be cut out as soon as the animal is killed, for if allowed to remain the flesh would be un- eatable. The peccaries are said by all those who have r 88 ANIMAL FOOD RESOUKCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. partaken of them to be excellent eating, and Sonnini frequently mentions his delicious repasts on them in the forest. Swine. — The wild boar, the peccary, and other of the pig tribe are less common than the domestic hog, but the pig plays an extensive part in the culinary service of man- kind in nearly all parts of the world ; and a delicate sucking pig, a Bath chap, or a good rasher of bacon are tit bits not to be held in light esteem, common as they are with us. There are nearly three million pigs in the United Kingdom, and about half of these are slaughtered annually. Ireland has nearly half the number — 1,348,314. Lord Brougham hoped to see the day when every man in the kingdom would read Bacon. To which Cobbett is said to have replied that it would be much better if his Lordship would use his influence that every man in the kingdom could eat bacon. The phrase of ** going the whole hog " must certainly have originated in Chicago, for in that American city they slaughter annually four or five millions of pigs, and the inhabitants are theref orov certainly the most hoggish community in the worlcLy Pigs' ears, a dainty and gelatinous morsel, are at tlie pork -packing establishments in the United States pre- served and canned. American bacon is not so fat as good English or Irish bacon; it is better boiled than grilled or fried; when grilled it is apt to waste, and some of it also emits a peculiar flavour. The pig may be considered quite a classical animal. The ancients sacrificed it to Ceres the goddess of har- vests. In the island of Crete, the pig is considered sacred and honoured as such. It was highly esteemed in Rome, but not in a religious point of view, only for raising and fattening for food. Sensuality elevated it to such a point that the Emperors made a sumptuary law for it. The rich Romans cooked the animal in two very costly ways. The first consisted in serving the pig entire, cooked in such a way that one side was roasted FLESH FOOD FROM MAMMALS. 89 and the other boiled, without the two modes being con- founded. The second way was the Trojan, because it represented the wooden horse fraudulently introduced into Troy. The pig was gutted and cleaned, deli- cately cooked and stuffed with thrushes, beccaficoes, oysters, and a great quantity of birds or of rare and costly fish, soaked with exquisite wines. Among the Gauls, pork was the principal article of food, and that most esteemed ; of this many proofs may be cited. The Salic law treated more at length of this than of any other animal, for there is an entire chapter devoted to laws against stealing pigs. The principal revenue of the Church consisted of the tithe of pigs. The dishes on which their flesh was served had a particular name, they were called baccon or bacconique, derived from baco, which signifies fat pork. It was only permitted to eat pork in Egypt once a year, on the feast of the new moon, and the Egyptians vied with each other in sacrificing a great number to this planet. The pig is not less honoured among modern nations ; the taste of the Germans for fat pork has almost passed into a proverb. In Spain the sausage (chorigo) is a national meat. In France and in England it forms the base of public feasts. In Ireland the pig deserves even more public notice, for it is there the friend and the sustenance of the poor peasant ; it shares with him his hut, and his potatoes, and its flesh afibrds the sole agree- able and strengthening animal food he can obtain. The net weight of available flesh food in the pig is much higher than in the ruminants. The quantity will of course vary somewhat according to the breed. In well fed animals there will only be a total loss of 10 or 15 per cent, of offal not available for food, but then as the blood, intestines, liver and heart are eaten, this waste is reduced to about 6 or 7 per cent. North America has more swine than any other country ; nearly 44|^ millions of pigs are officially recorded in the 90 ANIMAL FOOD RESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. latest statistics of the United States. Russia stands second of all countries for its pigs, having about 12 millions. Pork raising is an important element in the agricultural wealth of the great transatlantic republic, and they ship annually for foreign consumption an enormous supply of pork products. According to the Census returns of 1880, there was exported from the United States — Quantity. Value. Live hogs 83,434 £84,000 Bacon and hams... lbs. 759,773,109 10,200.000 Pork „ 95,949,780 1,200,000 Lard „ 374,979,286 5,600,000 £17,084,000 rather a large figure for hog products. The following are the official figures of the imports of foreign pork into the United Kingdom. We received from various countries in 1883 38,863 live pigs ; and of— Quantity. Value. Bacon ... cwts. 3,080,162 .. ... £8,178,123 Hams 602,025 .. .... 1,823,352 Pork, salted ... ... „ 328,768 .. 635,280 „ fresh ... ... „ 47,346 .. 124,371 Lard ... „ 852,150 .. .... 2,243,956 4,910,451 £13,005,082 Nearly all this came from the United States. Now, judging from these imports (none of which are re-shipped, and adding our home production of pork, there are about 4,000,000 pigs in the United Kingdom), the flesh of swine enters more largely into the British food-supply than would be generally supposed. More than 250,000 pigs are annually sold in the Paris markets, besides those killed annually for domestic use in the households, and some 500 tons of smoked flesh is disposed of at the annual ham -fair. To give an idea of the importance of the elevation of swine in America, w^e have only to look at the figures of FLESH FOOD FROM MAMMALS. 91 the wholesale annual slaughter in the States, where pigs are salted by millions. Official data gave the following as the number of pigs slaughtered in the different States in 1871, but the trade has largely increased since then : — Cincinnati and Ohio 626,305 Chicago and Illinois .. 1,425,079 St. Louis and Missouri ... 538,000 Milwaukie and Wisconsin 303,500 Louisville and Kentucky 302,240 Indianapolis and Indiana 196,317 Kansas City and Missouri 180,922 Total 3,572,699 At the Vienna Exhibition in 1873 many models of special American slaughter-houses were shown, where pigs are prepared for export in astonishing numbers. The comparative number of hogs packed in 1860 were 1871 „ 1880 „ 2,350,882 3,572,699 6,950,451 Fifteen or sixteen years ago the swine in America were nearly all of the white breed, now they are all black. The Berkshire breed has been found to have hardier skins, and are therefore less affected than the white variety by exposure to sun and wind, mud and frost, incident to their crude management in that country. Pork occupies the third place in nutritive value of the animal food substances, ranking after beef and mutton. All the world now-a-days knows that the nitrogenous animal substances or meats are the most easy of diges- tion and the most nourishing, because they approximate most closely to our nature, but occasionally there is a necessity for special hydrogenous products, such as fat, starch, etc., to assist respiration, and the development of animal heat. For this object pork may be considered the best of foods, because it contains both of these matters — tlesh and fat, while beef and veal contain more flesh 92 ANIMAL FOOD RESOUKCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. and less fat. The following comparative analysis shows the composition of pork compared with other flesh : — Beef. Veal. Pork. Water 77-5 ... 79-7 .. ,. 78-2 Fleshy fibre, vessels, nerves... 17-5 ... 15-0 .. ,. 16-8 Albumine and red colouring matter 2-2 ... 3-2 .. ,. 2-4 Non-coagulable matters soluble in water 1-3 ... 1-0 ., .. 0-8 Matters soluble in alcohol ... 1-5 ... M . .. 1-7 Phosphate of lime 0-08 ... 01 ., — (Schlossberger, in Berzelius' " Annual Reports.") Pork forms part of the food of the people in Greece, but it is chiefly consumed in winter, with the exception of sucking pigs, which are eaten in summer. In general, however, pork is not much eaten in Greece, but in the Ionian Islands and some of those of the Archipelago, smoked hams and sausages are eaten, and even exported. In China the domestic pigs are believed to be derived from the stock of Sus leucostymaXy Temm., of Japan. Pork is undoubtedly the favourite meat in China, and pigs are kept in great numbers.^ In the Austrian forests about 1,700 wild boars are killed yearly. Wild boars were formerly very common in Algeria. To the Arabs pork is forbidden meat. Numbers used, however, to be brought into the markets, and were sold to the French at 5s. or 6s. each. Although the Moors regard the boar as an unclean animal, many of them make no scruple of eating the flesh. The proportion of foreign bacon and hams consumed per head in the United Kingdom is about 16 lbs. annually. The quantity of pork products imported into the United Kingdom have been as follows : — Pork, salted and Bacon and fresh. Hams. Lard. cwts. cwts. cwts. 1861 136,416 515,953 324,691 1871 296,144 1,093.838 477,568 1881 381,526 4,627,484 854,322 1883 376,899 3,695,992 853,541 * CoUingwood's "Eambles of a Naturalist." FLESH FOOD FROM MAMMALS. 93 The aggregate value of these imports in 1883 was £13,045,213. The average price of salt pork the last few years has been about £1 18s. per cwt. ; of bacon, £2 13s. ; of hams, £2 16s. ; of lard, £3 10s. The price of pork has not risen proportionately with other meat : — Large Small neat Hogs. Porkers. 8. d. s. d. 1861 4 1 4 llf 1871 3 10 4 8i 1880 4 4 4 Hi The number of pigs imported into London from abroad is about 20,000 annually. The City of Rio Janeiro consumes about 18,000 pigs annually, besides bacon and salt pork, and 19,000 sheep, and 102,000 oxen. It may be interesting to give the numbers of swine m various countries : — Afric-^, &c. Cape Colony 1875 132,373 Natal 1882 18,512 Mauritius 1875 30,318 Reunion 1874 71,490 252,693 America and the West Indies. United States 1883 44,200,893 Dominion of Canada ... 1881 1,218,253 Newfoundland 1870 6,417 Uruguay 1874 12,000 Argentine Republic ... 1871 257,368 Falkland Islands 1875 6,000 French Guiana 1874 5,311 Jamaica 1870 9,086 Other British W.I. Islands 1874 20,000 Guadeloupe 1874 12,123 Martinique 1874 15,352 45,762,803 94 ANIMAL FOOD RESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. Europe. Eussia 1877 . 10,839,093 Sweden 1882 430,648 Norway 1875 101,020 Denmark ... 1881 527,417 German Empire . 1883 . 9,205,791 Holland ... 1882 403,618 Belgium ... 1880 646,379 France 1880 . 5,565,620 Portugal ... 1870 776,868 Spain 1865 . 4,264,817 Italy 1881 1,163,916 Austro-Hungary . 1880 7,164,820 Switzerland 1866 304,428 Greece 1867 55,776 Roumania ... 1873 836,944 United Kingdom . 1883 India, 1879. 3,986,427 46,273,582 Assam 293,677 Punjab ... ... 41,161 Central Provinces ... 93,681 Mysore ik 29,221 Coorg 10,551 Berar ... 2,726 Madras Australasia, 1883. 232,174 703,191 New South Wales ... ... ... . 154,815 Queensland ... 52,809 Victoria ... 237,917 South Australia ... 108,714 Western Australia 18,512 Tasmania ... ... ... . 55,774 New Zealand ... ... 200,083 828,624 In Tasmania and other Australian Colonies, there are very fine breeds of pigs, and they are frequently fattened up to 1 ,000 lbs. weight. Shepherds invariably keep pigs FLESH FOOD FROM MAMMALS. 95 and make a good addition to their wages, and their table thereby, as pork forms an agreeable change to continual mutton. Pork is the meat most used in France, and, indeed, in most of the countries of Europe. Almost all the country people depend chiefly on pork. Some localities will not eat mutton, others do not like beef ; but there is not a village or hamlet, not a cottage where pork is not the basis of the daily food. It is with pork that the soup is made, and with the fat that the vegetables are cooked. The statistics give under 6,000,000 as the quantity of swine in France, but the number must be much larger than this, and may be fairly estimated at 8,000,000. Pigs are also imported, and much dead meat. There are about 12,000,000 heads of families in France, and there are very few that do not consume one pig a year. There are many that use three, four, or five annually. In France the consumer of pork deems the lean part not so good as the fat. The Frenchman likes the firm and savoury fat of his prime Celtic pork, and not the oily, soft melting fat of the English breed. In many parts of France beef and mutton are beyond his means, and pork is his only meat ; hence it is important that this should be of the best quality. The French peasant farmer prefers to sell his milk and his butter, and to supply his domestic wants with fat pork, or as it is termed, " lard." Pig butchery in Paris is conducted upon a novel plan. The pigs are taken into a large round house, having a cupola in the roof to let off the smoke, the floor being divided into triangular dens. A dozen or so of pigs are driven into each den at a time, and a butcher passes along and strikes each one on the head with a mallet. After being bled, the defunct porkers are carried to the side of the room and arranged methodically in a row. They are then covered with straw, which is set on fire, and the short bristles quickly burned off". After a thorough scorching the pigs are carried into the dressing- room, hung up on hooks, and scraped by means of a sort 96 ANIMAL FOOD RESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. of drawing-knife, handled by a skilful operator, who performs his work at the rate of about one pig a minute. Then the bodies are washed, and the entrails taken out and cleaned. Every part of the animal is utilised in Paris and much which the American throws away as worthless is made to subserve some use in the Frenchman's economy. The blood is employed in the manufacture of the large black sausages which meet with such extensive sale in Paris. Roast pork, with its delicious crispy rind, is very gene- rally relished. Pig once tasted could never hope for a reprieve from the butcher's knife. Though forbidden to the Jews by the Mosaic law, the Greeks ate him in the heroic ages, and before the advance of luxury had given birth to professional butchers the warriors of Homer killed their own pork as well as dressed and devoured it. With the advance of refinement came the butchers, who spared their patrons the disagreeable task of slaughter, and sold meat by the pound in the markets of Athens, weighed in the scale as now. The Romans were especi- ally a pig- eating race, and retained their fondness for pork from the foundation to the decline of their euipire. The Cretans abstained from it in order to offer it to Venus ; the Egyptians fled from the sight of pigs as un- clean beings whose presence defiled them. Neither the Phoenicians, the Indians, nor the Mahomedans would eat them. On the other hand, the Greek and Roman sages maintained that nature had created the pig for man's palate — that he is especially good to be eaten, and that there are many ways in which his flesh can be cooked — an opinion which seems to have been practically fol- lowed down to our own day. The Romans discovered fifty difierent flavours in pork, and under the hands of their skilful cooks swine's flesh was often transformed into delicate fish, ducks, turtle-doves, or capons. With them the Trojan hog, as we all know, was a favourite dish — it was a gastronomic imitation of the horse o£ Troy, its inside being stuffed with asafoetida and myriads of small FLESH FOOD FROM M ^^ ^ The mode of its preparation is Soyer, in his celebrated work. The ancient mode of killing- swine was as refined in barbarity as in epicurism. Plutarch tells us that the gravid sow was actually trampled to death to form a de- licious mass fit for the gods. At other times pigs were slaughtered with red-hot spits, that the blood might not be lost. The famous Hungarian pork sausage or " salami," as big as a man's arm, is very largely consumed throughout Austria. It is a great favourite with the poorer classes, who not only eat it at home, but take it to the beershops with them. Indeed, in the smaller suburban gardens it is the only solid food, besides bread and cheese, to be got, and is generally purveyed by a provision pedler, who carries Emmenthaler cheese and salami with him, together with an enormous pair of scales. A good deal of the salami comes from the Tyrol. With the prevalence of trichinous pork both in America and Europe, great care ought to be exercised in eating any products of swine not thoroughly cooked. The number of " Wurst," or sausages, sold in Austria is bewildering to those who are unacquainted with the German love for this style of food : there are " Mett- Wurst," " Leber- Wurst " (liver sausages), " Blut- Wurst " (black puddings), " Hammel- Wurst " (mutton sausages), etc. In many country and farm-houses a " Rauchkam- mer," or smoking chamber, is frequently attached for the sole purpose of smoking sausages, but modern houses dispense with them, and modern science teaches the dubious substitute of brushing the sausages over with pyroligenous acid, so as to give the smoky flavour. Many of the sausage-makers know that a small quan- tity of starch or ordinary flour boiled, absorbs a great quantity (about one-fifth) of the water, and forms a thick paste. They take advantage of this property to incorpo- rate the paste in their sausages. To overcome the ab- sence of colour in this fraudulent addition, they add fuchsine to the sausages. This food product, while con- H 98 ANIMAL FOOD llESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. taining 27 per cent, of meat and G7 per cent, of a com- bination of flour and water, has the appearance of a perfect sausage. It is asserted by some that an addition of flour is necessary, but this is not true. This addition becomes unwholesome when the sausages are kept for any time, for a fermentation is developed of the flour and the water, and as the value of the sausage is largely diminished, in Germany the sale of these adulterated products is prohibited, when discovered. Horseflesh. — We now come to speak of horseflesh, which has of late years become largely utilised for the food of man, instead of being given to the dogs. There is much ancient testimony in favour of its use although repug- nant to many minds. The nomad tribes of Northern Asia make horseflesh their favourite food, though they have numerous herds of oxen and flocks of sheep. The flesh is eaten in China, and the leg and hoof are left on by the butchers to indicate the animal. Monseigneur Perny (" Bull, de la Societe d'Acclimata- tion," 1884, p. 607,) tells us that in nine out of eighteen provinces of China horseflesh is eaten by the poorer classes, who let nothing go to waste, and its use seems to be extending, as there are horse-butchers' shops in all the principal towns. Munoro Park mentions wild horses being eaten in o o Africa. Dr. Duncan tells us, in " Cassell's Natural His- tory," that " The horse was universally used for food by man before the historic period, and would be used now in Europe more generally than it is, were it not for an edict of the Church in the eighth century. During the Roman occupation of Britain, it formed a large portion of the diet of the inhabitants. As Christianity prevailed over the heathen worship, it was banished from the table. It appears, however, that it was used in this country as late as the year 787, after it had been prohibited in Eastern Europe. The ecclesiastical rule, however, was not always obeyed, for the monks of St. Gall, in Switzer- land, not only ate horseflesh in the eleventh century, but returned thanks for it in a metrical grace, which has FLESH FOOD FROM MAMMALS. 99f survived to our times on account of its elegance and beauty." Mares' flesh is the choicest morsel, the daintiest bit, of the Chilian Indians, who do not eat cows' flesh except when pressed by necessity. There is one fact connected with the use of horseflesh as an article of human diet, which, with other considera- tions, is likely to interfere with its general adoption. The Pampas Indians, who habitually live on mares' flesh, exhale a peculiarly disagreeable and even sickening odour. In the saladeros of Buenos Ayres and Monte- video, the Indian labourers are subject to the same nau- seous emanations. At Buenos Ayres, when Kosas re- turned from his expedition against the Pampas Indians in 1835, bringing with him several young captives, these children, who were most hospitably received, severely tried the endurance of their protectors by the smell of the wild horse which emanated from their persons for several months. The Argentine General Mansilla, well known for his elegant and distingue manners, having on one occasion requested a young Corrientine lady to dance with him, was pertinaciously refused, and when he urged her to assign a reason for this affront she at last said to the General: "You smell like the Indians!'* General Mansilla had that very day been making a re- past of mare's flesh, not having been able to procure beef. Sir John Richardson in his zoology of the northern parts of America, states that the Spokans, who inhabit the country lying between the forks of the Columbia, as well as other tribes of Indians, are fond of horseflesh as an article of food ; and the residents of some of the Hud- son's Bay Company's posts on that river were at one time under the necessity of making it their principal article of diet. By way of curiosity we may give the number of horses in different countries, although but a very small propor- tion are consumed as food, especially in those countries where other domestic animals are plentiful : — h2 100 AXIMAL FOOD RESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. Europe. Austro-Hungary 1880 3,282,790 Belgium 1880 271,974 France (with mules and asses) 1880 3,515,478 Germany 1883 3,522,316 Italy (with mules and asses) 1877 1,625,658 Russia in Europe ... 1877 17,589,188 Sweden and Norway ... 1882 621,519 Denmark 1881 347,561 Holland 1882 270,456 Spain and Portugal ... 1870 752,275 Turkey 1874 1,100,000 United Kingdom ... 1884 1,904,515 34,803,730 America. 1883 11,169,683 1881 1,059,358 1876 5,600,000 United States Canada River Plate States 17,829,041 Australasia IN 1883. Victoria 286,779 New South Wales 328,026 Queensland 236,154 South Australia ... .. 164,360 "Western Australia 32,884 Tasmania... 26,840 New Zealand 161,736 1,236,779 One of the most important revivals of late years is ihe use of horseflesh, which for centuries had been under -ecclesiastical ban* Curiously it was through the people whose prejudice against horseflesh remains most intense that the revival began. During the siege of Copenhagen by the English, in 1807, the scarcity of provisions compelled the Danes to eat their horses ; and the practical knowledge of the quality of the meat thus gained led them to continue its use after the original necessity had passed aAvay. Possibly the example of their Icelandic allies may have had a FLESH FOOD FROM MAMMALS. 101 good deal to do with the breaking down of Danish pre- judice in the matter. In Iceland, the practice had sur- vived from the first. The islanders were willing to have their souls saved by the Church, but they would not submit to any interference with their stomachs ; so, rather than lose them, the Church gave them special per- mission to eat the " execrable food," which they have continued to do to this day. The first State to imitate the example of Denmark was Wlirtemburg, which legalised the sale of horseflesh in 1841. Bavaria followed m 1842, Baden in 1846, and Hanover, Bohemia, Saxony, Austria, and Belgium the year after. In 1853 the prejudices of Switzerland and Prussia were overcome, and two years later Norway and Sweden were added to the list of countries authorising the sale of the long rejected food. The ancient Germans and Scandinavians had a marked liking for horseflesh. They possessed a certain race of white horses to be sacrificed to Odin, and after the sacri- fice they boiled the flesh and feasted on it. The struggle against religious prejudice continued long in France, and now an impression prevails that the revival is a Gallic eccentricity, rather than the result of Germanic good sense. In 1841 horseflesh was openly adopted at Ochsen- hausen, where it continues to be publicly sold under the surveillance of the police, and &yq or six horses are w^eekly brought to market. A large quantity of horse- flesh is also sold at the Lake of Constance. In 1842 a banquet at which 150 persons assisted, inaugurated its public use at Konigsbaden near Stuttgart. In 184G Schaff'hausen authorised its public sale, and in 1857 Weimer and Detmold witnessed public banquets of the hippophagists, which went off" with much eclat; in Karlsbad and its environs the new beef came into general use, and at Zittau 200 horses are eaten annually. At one time the feeling against the use of this here- tical diet must have been exceedingly intense in the land 102 ANIMAL FOOD RESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. of good cooking, for it is on record that as late as 162D a man was condemned to death and executed in France for the crime of eating horseflesh on a Saturday in Lent. A hundred and fifty years later, the use of the ab- horred flesh was publicly advocated by a French phy- sician. Not many converts to the doctrine were made, however, until the retreat from Moscow. During that terrible march, when the alternative was starvation, the French soldiery ventured to eat their disabled horses, and discovered that horseflesh would not only sustain life, but was really savoury and inviting. Several ot the surviving officers afterwards endeavoured to break down the prejudice against horseflesh, and advocated its regular use in times of peace, but without much effect. Hugard, an eminent veterinary surgeon, states, that in the scarcity which followed the Revolution of 1789, the greater part of the meat consumed in Paris for six months was horseflesh, and that it caused no ill effect on the public health. In Russia the custom has always prevailed, the Greek Church never having meddled with the matter. The distinguished army surgeon, Baron Larry, made his wounded patients eat horseflesh in the campaigns of the Rhine, of Catalonia and of the Maritime Alps, and he ascribes to it the cure of a great number of his sick in Egypt. The sale of horse-meat has now become a legalised and recognised trade in many of the Conti- nental States, especially in France and Germany. The Prefect of Police of Paris before legislating, ap- pointed a commission of eminent and competent judges to inquire into the quality as human food, of the flesh taken from horses which had died, or were killed, in the city and its environs. Although prejudiced at first against horseflesh like the general public, the commis- sion ultimately reported that the meat was good and savoury, and there was little sensible difference found between it and beef. Since 1860, when the first slauffhterin^r of horses for FLESH FOOD FROM MAMMALS. 103 food took place in Paris under tlie patronage of the *' Society for Promoting the Use of Horseflesh," the con- sumption of this meat has been steadily increasing. About 66,000 horses were slain in Paris in 1871 to fur- nish food during the siege of the city by the Germans. Th.Q piece cle resistance then was curried horseflesh, or a cat's thiorh strono^ with garlic. The distaste for horse- flesh among the besieged led to the invention of many bouquets of garlic, peppercorns, cloves, coriander, and ginger to impart a pleasant flavour to the insipid meat. According to M. Decroix's full statistical tables pub- lished in the '' Bulletin of the Society of Acclimatation,'* for February, 1873, p. 98, there had been slaughtered in Paris from the opening of the first horse-butcher's shop, in July, 1866, to the end of December, 1872, 83,071 equine animals for food, yielding a net weight of over 34;^ million pounds of meat. The net weight of meat he calculated at 418 lbs. for horses and mules, and 110 lbs. for asses, not including the offal, liver, heart, tongue, brains, etc., which are sold like those of oxen. In 1875 the horse butcheries of Paris furnished for public consumption 6,865 horses, asses, and mules ; in 1876 they supplied 9,271, giving over 3,700,000 lbs. of meat. At Lyons the number killed for food in the two 3^ears 1875 and 1876, was 2,350. There are sixty horse butcheries in Paris, and seven in Lyons. At Marseilles there were slaughtered at the horse butchery in 1881, 321 donkeys, which were chiefly con- sumed in the town, and in the first three months of 1882, 182 horses, 140 mules, and 113 asses were killed for food. Some very interesting statistics have been published by the Society for promoting the use of horseflesh and the flesh of asses and mules as food, showing how steadily the consumption of these articles of diet has been in- creasing in Paris and the provinces since the foundation of the society in July, 1866. These show that 160,080 borses, 6,690 donkeys, and 895 mules, had been sold in Paris alone for food up to the end of 1881, furnishing 104 ANIMAL FOOD RESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. G7,800,4GO lbs. of meat. The weight had increased from 171,300 kilos. (2-1- lbs.) in 18G6 to 1,789,010 kilos, in 1881. In the principal cities of the provinces the consumption of horseflesh may be considered to have fairly taken root. At Marseilles, in 1870, there were 599 horses eaten ; 1,031 in 1875 ; and 1,533 in 1878. At Nanc}^ 165 in 1873, over 350 in 1876, and 705 in 1878; at Eheims, 291 in 1874, 423 in 1876, and 384 in 1878; at Lyons, 1,839 in 1873, and 1,313 in 1875. In both the latter cases some difficulties had been thrown in the way by the town authorities, as was the case recently at Chalons-sur- Marne, where the Mayor fixed the price of horseflesh at a higher rate than that of beef. Horseflesh is capable of being prepared in many by no means unappetising ways, such as pot-au-fetc, boiled, roast, hashed, haricot, jugged, fillet, &c.^ The official calculation now is, net meat from the horses and mules, without including tongue, heart, brains, liver, and kidneys, 456 lbs. ; for the asses, 120 lbs. Horses which formerly were only worth 15 to 20 francs in the knacker's yard, now fetch 90 to 150 francs, according to the season and the condition of the animal. Horseflesh is sold at half the price of beef, for corre- sponding pieces, thus fillet is Is. 2d. per lb. instead of 2s. 6d., and pieces of the breast and other parts, 2Jd. and 3d., instead of 5d. and 6d. per lb. A banquet of horseflesh was served at the Langham Hotel, London, on 6th Feb. 1868, to about 150 persons, including Sir Henry Thompson, Sir John Lubbock, Dr. Buckland, and others. Attempts have been made to keep open butcher's shops for the sale of horseflesh in London, but they proved unsuccessful, and the en- deavours to popularise the use of this meat in England have utterly failed. The innovation gains ground rapidly on the Continent, * An elaborate paper on " Hippophagy, the Horse as Food for Man," by A. S. Bicknell, in the " Journal of the Society of Arts,'* vol. xvi. p. 349, may be consulted with advantage. FLESH FOOD FROM MAMMALS. 105 and the public sale of horseflesh for human food is now- general in Austria, Bohemia, Saxony, Hanover, Switzer- land, and Belgium. At least ten thousand of the inhabitants of Vienna are hippophagists. A recent American paper says : — It may be de- monstrated that, in not utilizing horseflesh as food, w^e are throwing away a valuable and palatable meat, of which there is suflficient quantity largely to augment our existing aggregate food supply. Sup- posing that the horse came into use here as food, it can be easily shown that the absolute w^ealth in the country would thereby be materially increased. In France the average price for horse-meat, as compared with similar cuts from the steer, is about two-fifths less. A horse is there sold to the slaughterer for from £2 to £3. Estimating from this that £2 is the gross value of every horse in the United States, over and above his worth for working purposes, it remains to be seen how- much of that sum may be set apart as to be derived from his utilization for food alone. As will be seen further on, the French butchers derive a revenue from hide, hoofs, hair, etc., and, as is well-known, the same portions of the animal find industrial uses here. Placing" the value of these parts of the carcase at oOs., we find that 1 2s. is the net value of each horse for alimentary pur- poses. In round numbers there are about eleven million horses in the country. According to the above showing, we must add 12s. to the value of each horse, since, in addition to his value as a worker or as a raw material for manu- facturing, he now has a new one as food. Consequently the aggregate value of all the horses is increased by about £6,000,000. But this accretion to the wealth in the country is of course not convertible into actual money, for, so long as the working value exists, the food value as well as the manufacturing value are practically at zero ; neither could be realised without great loss, and hence both are negatived. But there is a certain easily ascertained annual proportion of the horses of which the 106 AN1MA.L FOOD RESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. working value becomes less than the sum of their food and manufactu.ring values, and this proportion includes the class of Avhich the working value is more than their manufacturing value, but less than the above sum. We may estimate roughly that one-tenth of all the horses reach this condition yearly. Then, on this million animals, the food value is directly realisable, and there- fore the wealth of the country may be considered as actually increased by the £6,000,000 derivable therefrom. Moreover, in order that the horses should be available to the butcher, they must not be diseased or worn out. By this the owners are directly benefited, since, while on one hand they are obliged to sell their horses in fair condition, they are saved the expense of keeping the animals when the latter become used up and are unable to do but light work, though requiring more attention and more feed. So also with colts, which, whether they become good or bad horses, cost about the same to raise. If the animal bids fair to turn out poorly, he can be dis- posed of at once and at a remunerative price. The result of this weeding out in youth and destroying when old, coupled with the facilities which the former affords of selection of the best types, will naturally con- duce to the improvement of breeds and a general benefit to the entire equine population of the country. We can adduce no more striking example of the art of utilisation than the mode in which the French deal with their superannuated chargers. On the 1st of January last, France contained fifty horse abattoirs, and during last year consumed 2,850,144 lbs. of horse, mule, and ass meat. The flesh of each horse weighs about 450 lbs. The skin is sold to the tanner for 10s. 6d. The hair of the mane and tail fetches IJd. The hoofs are bought by comb, or toy, or sal ammoniac, or Prussian blue, makers. The tendons are taken to glue factories. There are about ninety pounds of bone, worth 2s. 6d. The intes- tines, for purposes of manure, or as food for dogs, cats, and pigs, bring 2^d. The blood is purchased principally by the sugar refiners, but also by fatteners of poultry and FLESH FOOD FROM MA]MMALS. 107 fertilizer manufacturers. Twenty pounds of dried blood, which is the average, are worth nearly 2s. The fat goes to the soap kettle, or is transformed into genuine "bear's grease," which, delicately perfumed and elegantly put up, fetches some exorbitant prices in the apothecary stores of the United States ; or else it is used as harness grease or as lamp oil. The yield is from eight to twelve pounds, at a value of 5d. a pound. Finally, it is said that even the waste flesh is allowed to decompose, and the maggots gathered as pheasant food, but this seems rath/?r apocryphal. These utilisations are of course entirely outside the food supply. Horse flesh, in comparison with the price of ordinary meat, is not dear. The relation of nitrogenous material is found by analysis to be higher in horse than in ox- flesh. In two horses, both lean and healthy, the following was found by analysis to be the composition (the ash not estimated being about one per cent.) : — Horse A. Horse B. Constituents. Neck. Loin. Thigh. Neck. Loin. Thigh. Water Fixed material Muscle- substance Fat 75-02 24-98 22-85 0-95 76-0 24-0 21-76 1-24 75-22 24-78 23-26 0-52 75-1 24-9 2216 1-76 77-3 22-7 20-64 1-06 79-28 20-72 18-35 0-86 M. Decroix, the strongest advocate for the use of horseflesh, says that this meat is to that of bullocks what seconds bread is to fine bread — not quite so palatable but more nutritious. M. Engstrom, in his Consular report from Gothenburg, in December, 1855, stated that the great rise in the price of beef and other meats (averaging 5Jd. per lb.), had led of late to the use of horse-flesh among the poorer classes. 108 ANIMAL FOOD EESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. at a cost of l^d. to IJd. per pound. But the advaiiice in the price of meat in the 30 years that have elapsed since then has been enormous. At Gothenburg horseflesh is generally sold to the poorer classes, who cannot aflbrd the higher prices of beef In the last seventeen years nearly 30.000 horses have been killed and their flesh used as food in Berlin. In 1853 there were but five slaughter-houses, and only 150 horses sold ; in 1865 the number had increased there to 2,240. Setting aside the prejudice against the flesh of the horse which most Englishmen entertain on the subject, we confess we see nothing that is repulsive in adopting it as an article of food. The horse, like the ox and the sheep, is granivorous and herbivorous, and a far more cleanly feeder than the pig, which will devour any filthy garbage ; and the fiesh of a young horse cannot but be 2[ood eatinsf. The mother of the celebrated William Godwin once had a fine young horse, three years old, that broke its leg in a gate. She instantly had it killed; and being a strong-minded lady, and free from prejudice, she directed a butcher to dress it and cut it up exactly as he would do a bullock. She then sent presents of it to her friends, requesting them to cook it the same as " other beef" Her request was complied with, and one and all pronounced it to be equal to any beef they ever partook of. Whether this movement will be followed up by a partial adoption of horse-flesh in England, is a question that time alone can determine. There is, however, another view of it that must be decided before the middle and upper classes can be brought to patronise the plan. At w^hat age then are horses to be fattened and slaughtered ? and is the slaughtering for sale to be confined to the poor, old, broken-down hacks of the cabs, omnibuses, and costermongers ? On the face of the pro- position it appears so, for assuredly a horse under ten or twelve years, generally speaking, is too valuable for work, if he has been well treated by his owner, to be FLESH FOOD FROM MAMMALS. 10^ sold for sucli a purpose. Young horses are quite out of the question, unless, as in the case of Mrs. Godwin's horse, they by an accident are rendered unfit for work and useless. The slauorhterincr for the market will there- fore, in England, be confined to the old and worn-out horses that are past work. Asss Flesh. — Mules and asses are numerous in many countries, but although in some parts of Europe their tlesh is eaten, it is not usual. In Spain there are about 2,500,000 mides and asses, in the United States about 1,500,000, in Italy and Morocco each about 1,000,000, and in the South American States from one to two millions. The Greeks ate donkeys, and we must suppose they had their reasons for it. The flesh of the ass is still esteemed a delicacy in some countries. The northern climate, pasturage, and freedom may have some effect on the flesh. The Roman peasants found the flesh of the ass palatable, and the celebrated Maecenas having tasted it, introduced it to the tables of the great and rich ; but the fashion of eating it lasted no longer than his life. Galen compares the flesh of the ass to that of the stag. The flesh of the wild ass is said to be very delicate and good, but when killed in a tame state it is hard and unfit for food. The skin of the wild ass is used for making a gela- tine, which, scented with musk, is prescribed in chest diseases. It is sold in flat, rectangular, reddish pieces, translucid, and, like all the substances of great value, is wrapped by the Chinese in paper of vermilion colour. A gelatine made with cow-skin, is often substituted. The wild ass, called Koulan by the Persians, is still common in many parts of Central Asia, from 48° North latitude to the confines of India. The Persians and Tartars hold its flesh in high esteem, and hunt it in preference to all other descriptions of game. Olearius assures us that he saw no fewer than thirty-two wild asses slain in one day by the Shah of Persia and his court, the bodies of which were sent to the royal kit- chens at Ispahan ; and we know from Martial that the 110 ANIMAL FOOD RESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. epicures of Rome held the flesh of the Onager, or wild ass, in the same estimation as we do venison. Cum tener est Onager, solaque lalisio matre • Pascitur ; hoc infans, sed breve nomen habet. Martial, xiii. 97. From a passage in Pliny (lib. viii., c. 44) it would ap- pear that the Onager inhabited Africa ; and that the most delicate and best flavoured lalisiones, or fat foals, were brought from that continent to the Roman markets. Asses' milk is universally known and approved of as a specific in many disorders. It is light, easy of digestion, and highly nutritious. The Hottentots and other natives are very fond of the Quagga {JEquKs quagga, Lin.), the flesh of which, though coarse, is eaten. Lieutenant Moodie ("Ten Years in South Africa") says — " Being one morning at the house of a neighbouring farmer who had just shot one of these animals, I re- quested that he would have a piece of the flesh cooked for my breakfast. His ' f row ' expressed some disgust at my proposal, but ordered a small bit to be grilled, with butter and pepper. I did not find it at all unpalatable, and certainly it w^as better than horse-flesh." Capt. Burton, in his " Central Africa," says, " Of wild flesh the favourite is that of the Zebra ; it is smoked or jerked, despite which it retains a most savoury flavour." Ruminants. — We come now to a better-known class of food-yielding animals, the Ruminants. A writer in " The Farmer " well observes that " the consumption of meat increases with the increase of popu- lation, and in a higher ratio, as the world progresses in civilization, it consumes more animal food, as the best restorative of the daily exhaustion of bodily and mental forces. Farinaceous food and feebleness occupy the same zone. To get up and keep a good meat-appetite, man must live and work several degrees from the Equator. And in this truth the whole future meat question is con- FLESH FOOD FROM MAMMALS. Ill tained. The Northern nations, who are the meat eating people, multiply and govern the earth, and thus the future demand must be immense, and such as the herds and flocks of the whole world w^ill but satisfy. To English, Scottish^ and Irish pastures and feeding- stalls, North and South America, Asia and Australia, may join supplies, but Europe is not likely to see over-cheap meat ; and Christ- mas fat stock may always be looked for as a characteristic of the season/' Professor Atwater has tabulated the results of several authoritative investigations as to the nutritive value of different kinds of foods. As a basis the professor has taken medium quality beef — that is, beef neither very fat nor very lean — as having a nutritive value of 100^ and upon this standard he forms the following table : — Meat Game, and Fowl. Nutritive Value Beef (lean) 91-3 Beef (medium) 100-0 Beef (fat) 112-0 Veal (fat) 92-4 Mutton (medium) 86-6 Pork (fat) 116-0 Smoked beef 146'0 Smoked ham Venison Hen Duck 157-0 88-8 93-9 104-0 There are probably two or three facts here which will sur- prise the uninitiated. Few, for instance, would imagine that smoked beef, or smoked ham, contained nearly twice as much nutritive value as venison or mutton, nor will the fact that pork is more nourishing than any other kind of meat not cured, be generally received as a tru- ism. The great nutritive value of the smoked meats is due to the evaporation from them of all moisture, and the compression of the tissues, and the same circum- stances apply in the case of other cured meats, of which the nutritive value averages very high. A second set of figures, computed on the same basis and proportion, shows the strength of various kinds of animal produce 112 ANIMAL FOOD RESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. -milk and its manufactured products and eggs, in the following table Animal Produce. Cows' milk (normal) Cows' milk (skimmed) Cream from cows' milk Butter Cheese (from whole milk) Cheese (from skimmed milk) Cheese (from milk with cream added) Nutritive Value. 23-8 18-5 56-0 124-1 151-0 159-0 103-0 72-2 The salient feature here is the nutritive value of skimmed cheese, a food which in common with the fat pork whose great nutritive properties we have already mentioned, is most largely consumed by the rural classes. It is a little curious to note that the cheese made from skimmed milk is much more nutritive than the product of milk and cream mixed, and equally notable is the nutritive excel- lence of eggs, which weight for weight seem to be nearly equal to that of mutton. Professor Atwater states that the calculation as to the value of eggs is based upon several hundreds of analyses, which, however, only showed a variation of from 71'0 to 73*5, so that one egg seems to be practically as good as another. Some fair idea of the amount of beef and veal con- sumed may be gained from the official returns of cattle in various countries. Thus, if we take Europe first, we find, according to the latest statistics available, the following numbers : — HORNED CATTLE. EuRorE. United Kingdom European Russia Sweden Norway ... Denmark Holland Austro-Hungary France Italy 1884 10,422,762 1877 27,323,219 1882 2,257,048 1875 1,016,617 1881 1,470,078 1882 1,427,936 1880 13,181,620 1880 11.446,253 1881 4,783,232 FLESH FOOD FROM MAMMALS. » 113 Germany 1873 15,785,322 Belgium 1880 1,382,815 Spain 1865 2,904,598 Portugal 1870 520,474 Switzerland 1866 993,241 Greece 1875 188,651 Roumania 1873 1,866,990 96,970,856 America. United States 1883 42,547,307 Dominion of Canada ... 1881 3.514989 Uruguay 1876 6^0921488 Argentine Confederation 1876 13,493,000 Brazil 1880 20,000,000 Falkland Isles 1879 15,610 Newfoundland 1875 13,938 85,677,332 For Paraguay, Chili, Peru, Venezuela, and other South and Central American States, there are no reliable data on which to form even an estimate. The West Indian Islands have about 500,000, of which 84',20G are in Jamaica. Africa. Egypt 1871 132,666 Algeria 1861 1,053,086 Cape Colony 1875 1,329,445 Dutch Republics and Kafirs — 1,000,000 Natal 1882 545,010 4,060,207 Asia. British India, about ... — 50,000,000 Asiatic Russia (half in Siberia) 1863 2,628,000 Java 1873 4,358,105 Ceylon 1883 1,091,500 Mauritius 1875 29,545 Reunion 1866 6,000 58,113,150 114 ANIMAL FOOD EESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. Ko. OF Horned Cattle (Cows, Bullocks, and Buffaloes) IN 1879. Assam 1,436,706 Punjaub Central Provinces British Burmah Berar Mysore Coorg Madras Presidency Bombay 6,121,417 5,374,234 1,404,168 1,728,786 2,361,615 116,419 Aymer and Mhauwarra 143,161 2,938,838 2,808,794 24,434,138 For Bengal there are no statistics available. Nearly 25,000 head of cattle are imported yearly into British Burmah from countries beyond the border. Of China, Tartary, Japan, and other Eastern States there are no returns to be obtained. According to the census taken in the Punjab, Central Provinces, etc., in 1879, there were supposed to be in India about one head of horned cattle to every two human beings. This would give about 100 millions of cattle, worth at the very lowest calculation £75,000,000. But this assumption is clearly too high, and 50 millions of cattle may be a fair estimate. About 8,000,000 hides are annually exported, so that number must certainly be killed or die, exclusive of the hides locally tanned. The Piver Plate Republics cannot consume their abundance of animal food; and they export largely dried meat, extract of meat, tongues, etc. In 1872 and 1873 as many as 19,000 tongues were shipped from Montevideo, but in 1875 this number had fallen to 7,000. From the republic of Uruguay there is also shipped annually from 30,000 to 40,000 tons of dried salted meat, known as tasago or charqui. It is estimated that the cattle slaughtered yield on an average 117 lbs. of meat when salted and dried. The late Sir Harry Meysey Thompson, in a paper con- tributed to the Royal Agricultural Society's Journal in 1872, calculated that 25 per cent, of our entire stock FLESH FOOD FROM MAMMALS. 115 went annually to the butcher, and Mr. J. W. Pease, M.P., in a later paper read before the South Durham and North Yorkshire Chamber of Agriculture at Darlington, in 1878, assumed the same proportion. This would give for 1883 2,600,000 animals, the whole number of cattle in the United Kingdom in that year being over 10,400,000. These may be estimated to weigh 600 lbs. per head, equal to 13,928,571 ewt. The total foreign imports in that year were 288,530 head of cattle. These would average 520 lbs. per head, or 1,339,603 cwt.; besides this, we received 764,260 cwt. of dead meat from America and the Continent. This refers alone to the supply of beef Agricultural returns recently issued contain some in- teresting estimates of the respective average weights of the animals imported from various countries. Cattle : Danish, 560 lbs., French, 828 lbs., Schleswig-Holstein, and Netherlands, 680 lbs., Norwegian and Swedish, 624 lbs., Portuguese, 692 lbs., Spanish, 568 lbs., Canadian, 720 lbs., United States, 808 lbs. Cattle in Australasia (Retukns of 1883). Queensland 4,246,141 New South Wales 1,859,985 Victoria 1,297,546 South Australia 319,620 Western Australia 64,558 Tasmania 130,525 New Zealand 698,637 8,617,012 Hawaiian Isles 1866 60 000 The very large number of cattle and sheep in Aus- tralia not only makes meat cheap, but it is impossible to consume the flesh for food. Sheep are not now boiled down as formerly, simply for their tallow ; strong efforts are being made to obtain a field for their consumption by exportation as frozen cargoes of meat, and preserved or tinned. The exports of preserved meat from the i2 116 ANIMAL FOOD RESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. Australian colonies were : — From New South Wales in 1879 to the value of £136,613, from Victoria in the same year to the value of but £69,054. The shipments which in 1871 were 14,876,000 lbs. from Victoria fell in 1879 to 2,867,633 lbs. Queensland shipped preserved meat to the value of £24,563 in 1879, against £79,962 in 1871. ^ew Zealand shipped 20,815 cwts. in 1879, about one- third of what was exported in 1872. The quantities of meat received in England from New Zealand were in 1882 8,839 carcases of mutton, in 1883 120,893 ditto, and 728 quarters of beef. The shipments this year are expected to be about 300,000 carcases, and this will probably reach soon to 400,000 to 500,000 carcases per annum, a quantity that can easily be increased to a million a few years hence. The salted beef imported into the United Kingdom is shown by the following figures : — Quantity. Value, cwts. £ 1861 141,683 231,502 1871 280,075 581,211 1880 290,501 535,213 Fresh or slightly salted beef — cwts. £ 1861 10,952 30,666 1871 22,004 54,142 1880 727,392 1,889,730 Of unclassed beef, salted or fresh — cwts. £ 1861 1,101 2,754 1871 42,340 107,814 1880 149,010 429,073 Preserved meat and tongues, etc. — cwts. £ 1861 4,334 15,944 1871 254,833 662,280 1880 .... 655,800 1,905,717 FLESH FOOD FROM MAMMALS. 117 The quantity of dead meat imported into the United Kingdom in 1883 was as follows : — Cwts. Beef, fresh ... ... . 804,794 „ salted ... ... 289,214 Mutton, fresh ... . 236,496 Pork, fresh ... .,, , 47,346 „ salted ... ... . 329,553 Bacon ... 3,089,830 Hams 606,162 Fresh or salted meat, unemimerated . 36,353 Preserved otherwise than by salting . 610,400 6,050,148 The beef was principally from America, Kiissia, Ger- many, and Australasia ; the mutton from Australasia, Holland, and America. The fresh pork from Belgium and Holland, Germany and France ; the salted pork from the United States, Germany, and Denmark; the pre- served meat from Australasia, North America, and the River Plate States. In 1864 we only imported 1,650,796 cwts. of meat of all kinds from abroad ; in 1883 the quantity had risen to 6,050,148 cwts., besides 6,283,472 cwts. of fish, lard, butter, and cheese, and a quantity of game, poultry, and eggs, valued at £3,323,950. The number of live cattle imported into London from abroad in 1880 was 170,366, and the home supply to the Metropolitan Market then 173,290 beasts. The quantity of each kind of meat and produce de- livered at the London Central Meat and Poultry and Provision Markets in 1883 was as follows : — Country killed meat and produce Town killed ,, „ General Foreign killed meat and produce ... American killed Fresh meat Australian and New Zealand killed Fresh meat Cwts. 2,172,820 1,492,700 228,280 535,980 93,420 4,523,200 118 ANIMAL FOOD RESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. The fluctuations in the price of butchers' meat in the Metropolitan Cattle Market (at per stone of 8 lbs. sink- ing the offal) has been as follows : — 1861. 1871. s. d. s. d. 3 3^ ... 3 11^ 4 ... 4 lOi 4 6 ... 5 4| 4 10| ... 6 8| 4 3^ ... 4 0^ 5 2^ ... 5 4f Inferior beasts ... 2nd class 3rd class, large prime 4th class, Scots ... Coarse calves Small prime 1882. s. d. 4 3f 4 9| 6 10^ 5 4| 5 m In 1883 the prices were as follows for live meat: — Beef. Foreign. British. s. d. p. d. Inferior 4 3 4 4 Second ... ... ... ... 5 First 5 Mutton. Inferior ... 5 Second ... ... ... ... 6 First 6 Taking the prices by the carcass, they were as follows in the London Central Meat Market, per lb. : — 18G4. 1883. Beef 4fd. to 6^d 5d. to ^^. Mutton 5|d. to 7d. 5|d. to 9|d. The imports into the United Kingdom of preserved meat, which in 1860 were only 6,131 cwt., advanced in 1870 to 83,081, and rose in 1880 to 655,800; much of this was, however, mutton. The following were also other Foreign supplies we received in the same periods : — Salted Beef, cwts. 1860 261,259 1870 215,748 1880 1,017,956 The beef product of the United States in 1873 was stated at 2,926,571 tons, of which 2,866,365 tons were Fresh or slightly salted Meat. cwts. 935 34,300 149,060 FLESH FOOD FROM MAMMALS. IID consumed, leaving a surplus of 60,206 tons, of which about 12,000 tons were exported. Since then the horned cattle have increased by more than 6,000,000 head, and many live animals (in 1880 to the value of £3,177,000) are now shipped from thence to Europe. In 1880 there was ex^ ported from American ports 84,717,000 lbs. of fresh beef, and 45,237,000 lbs. of salted beef, or nearly 65,000 tons. Yery many of the European States besides our own are obliged to import supplies of foreign meat. France imported in 1880 55,400 tons of fresh and salted meat, Belgium 42,500 tons, Denmark about 5,700 tons, and Italy 6,000. Greece imported in 1875 about 4,500 tons. Buffaloes. — This species of ox {Buhalus huflus) is found in large numbers in various parts of India and the East- ern islands, and to a limited extent in Eastern Europe and Africa. It is the chief draught animal of Asia. There are five or six millions in British India. In India animal food is hardly at all used by the natives, but in the large towns there are markets for buffalo beef for the low caste and poorer Mussulman population. The flesh is stringy, and gives off a musky odour ; but the veal is considered good. The hump on the back is considered a delicacy. In Java the inhabitants cook the fresh hide for food, esteeming it a dainty beyond any other morsel. There are about 3,000,000 buffaloes in Java. In Sumatra they dress their meat immediately after killing it, while it is still warm, which is conformable with the practice of the ancients, as recorded by Homer and others, and iu this state it is said to eat tenderer than when kept for a day ; longer the climate will not admit of, unless it is pre- served by the method of sun-drying and called "dendeng." The flesh of the young yak or grunting ox {Foeplmgua (jrunnicns), according to Sir J. Hooker, is delicious, much richer than common veal. Opinions differ as to that of the old yak. Pallas says the flesh is hard and bad- tasted ; Hue, on the contrary, asserts it to be very good. The Lepchas eat not only the flesh, but the entrails, and singe and fry the skin. They also jerk the meat, which when dried is called " shat-chew," and is a very common 120 ANIMAL FOOD RESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. and palatable food in Thibet. A large trade is carried on in dried meat from the islands of the Eastern Archi- pelago to China and Japan. Shee2) ami Mutton. — Passing now to mutton supplies, I will start with the number of Sheep and Lambs in various countries. Europe. Russia 1877 51,822,238 Sweden 1873 1,388,329 Norway 1875 1,686,306 Denmark 1880 1,648,613 Iceland ... 1866 800,000 German Empire 1883 19,185,362 Holland ... 1879 745,187 Belgium 1880 365,400 France 1880 22,516,084 Portugal 1870 2,706,777 Spain 1865 22,054,967 Italy 1881 8,596,108 Austro-Hungary 1880 13,093,465 Switzerland 1866 447,001 Greece 1875 2,291,917 Turkey 1870 16,000,000 Roumania 1873 4,786,294 United Kingdom 1883 29,256,528 199,290,574 Africa. Egypt 1871 184,899 North Africa and Persia about — 55,000,000 Algeria 1873 9,699,111 Cape Colony 1875 11,279,743 Natal 1882 454,235 76,617,988 . America. United States 1883 50,626,626 British America 1881 3,048,678 Uruguay 1876 12,200,000 Argentine Confederation... 1880 70,000,000 Falkland Islands 1875 60,000 Newfoundland ... 1875 28,760 Remainder of America ... — 6,000,000 141,964,070 FLESH FOOD FEOM MAMMALS. 121 Asia. India, estimated about ... — 30,000,000 China, Japan, &c., ditto... — 20,000,000 Ceylon 1883 68,672 Mauritius 1875 28,036 50,090,708 The following figures are from a census taken in 1879, Lut both sheep and goats are mixed up in the returns, marked with a "^ : — *Bombay Presidency 2,728,866 Madras... 4,544.904 ^Mysore... ... ... 1,693,108 *Berar 391,959 *Coorg 6,373 *Aymer and Mhairwarra 186,823 *Assam ... 317,445 •^Punjaub 3,864,013 ^Central Provinces 702,359 ^British Burmah 16,389 14,452,239 No returns for Bengal. AUSTKALASIA, 1883. New South Wales 31,796,308 Queensland 11,507,475 Victoria 10,739,021 South Australia 6,677,067 Western Australia 1,315,155 Tasmania 1,831,069 New Zealand 13,384,075 77,250,170 West Indies. Jamaica 1869 21,761 Martinique and Guadaloupe.. 1865 23,607 45,368 It was stated recently in The Times that in the nine months, January to September (1884) we received from Australia and New Zealand no less than 238,130 cwts. of frozen mutton, compared with 60,532 cwts. in the 122 ANIMAL FOOD RESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS corresponding period of 1883, and 32,063 cwts. in 1882. Reckoning at GO lbs. the weight of a carcass, this import is at the rate of 592,600 sheep in the year, or an aver- age of 11,400 sheep per week. This is equivalent to doubling the number of sheep, though not doubling the weight of mutton, at the Metropolitan Cattle Market, as there were shown in that market in the year 1882 just r)61,600 head, or 10,700 per week. The year's total of liome and foreign live sheep at the Metropolitan and Deptford market together gives an average of 25,800 head per week. The prices of sheep in the Metropolitan Cattle Market have been, per stone of 8 lbs. (sinking the offal), as fol- lows : — 1861. 1871. 1881. 1882. s. d. s. d. s. d. s. d. Inferior 3 6^ ... 4 1 ... 5 0^ ... 5 7 2nd class 4 3^ ... 4 10^ ... 5 Sj ... G li 3rd class, long coarse wool 5 0^ ... 5 10^ ... 6 6f ... 6 9f 4th class. Southdowns ... 6 5| ... 6 5 ... 6 9^ ... 7 Of Lambs 6 6 ... 7 3 ... 8 U ... 7 10 The quantity of sheep imported into London from abroad in 1888 was 803,341, and the home supply sent to the Metropolitan Market was 465,450. Ireland ex- ports about 500,000 sheep and lambs. The average weight of the sheep we import is found to be about as follows : — Belgian 70 lbs., Danish 64 lbs., French oG lbs., Schleswig-Holstein 64 lbs., Netherlands 70 lbs., Norwegian and Swedish 48 lbs., Canadian 68 lbs.. United States 60 lbs. In Spain and Southern Europe, the mutton is better than in the north, and replaces beef at the tables of the rich. Mutton is the flesh food almost exclusively of the pastoral people of Asia and Africa. In Holland and Germany mutton is held in disrepute. Goat's flesh is much eaten by the Arabs in Northern Africa. Goats being very plentiful in Greece, their flesh forms the principal animal food in the provinces. That of the kid is considered as good as lamb, and the flesh of the she-o-oat and buck are both eaten. FLESH FOOD FROM MAMMALS. 123 Flesh of the Camel tribe. — Camels are less numerous than other domestic animals, and are limited to a few countries. Their flesh is not so generally eaten as that of other animals. In the north of Africa there are very- many camels. Algeria has about 200,000, Tunis probably half as many. In Central Asia and parts of India there are large numbers ; the Punjaub possesses about 130,000. Wild camels are met with occasionally in troops about Lake Lobnon in Asiatic Russia. Their flesh, which is fat in autumn, is eaten by the natives. The flesh of the camel was eaten both by the Greeks and Persians. Heliogabalus had camel's flesh and camel's feet served up at his banquets, and by the Arabs the flesh of the young dromedary is considered equal to veal. The natives of Africa esteem camel's flesh more than that of any other animal, but in other quarters it is not held in equal favour, being considered hard and un- savoury and little esteemed even by the Tartars. They however use the hump cut into slices, which dissolved in tea serves the purpose of butter. In Barbary the tongues are salted and smoked for exportation to Italy and other countries, and they form a very good dish. Alpaca Tribe. — The flesh of the alpaca of South America is but little inferior to mutton, and it yields about three or four times the weight of flesh that a sheep does. The meat of the fawn is best and most delicate, but it is used sparingly, the principal object being the wool. The flesh of all the tribe, either fresh or dried, affords a wholesome meal. That of the wild guanaco is the best of the class and is highly esteemed. The flesh of the vicuna, salted and dried under the name of " charqui," is eaten, but is not generally considered so good as that of its congeners the guanaco and alpaca. Opinions on this point however seem to difter, some con- sidering the flesh of the vicuna equal to venison. The giraflfe is hunted in Kordofan chiefly for its flesh ; that of the young is said to be very delicate. The Hottentots in Southern Africa used to hunt the animal 124 ANIMAL FOOD EESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. principally on account of its marrow, which is a delicacy • they set a high value on. Venison. — The deer tribe, both in their wild and domes- ticated state, contribute largely to human food, their ilesh being wholesome and nutritious. It will only be necessary to instance a few of the least common. The flesh of the little Japanese deer (Cerinis sica) is ex- cellent. They fatten well, and their legs contain layers of fat, which are highly appreciated by connoisseurs. Lord Powerscourt acclimatised them in Ireland, and has more than a hundred head, and the young are sold in the London market for venison. These deer, however, attain rarely a weight of more than 100 lbs. in our southern climate, while in the north they are double that weight. Reindeer. — In the winter many families of Laplanders arrive in St. Petersburo- brincvino: with them herds of reindeer for sale to the rich proprietors. These are killed, and the saddle of meat is considered an exquisite dish ; but the tongue is the most dainty morsel. The stomach of the reindeer, distended with well masticated willow sprigs in a half digested state, is highly esteemed. This is dried over the fire or in the smoke of the huts for winter use, and when mixed with melted suet, oil and snow, is highly relished. It is deemed a powerful anti-scorbutic. Every part of the carcass of the reindeer serves the natives of the northern regions for food. In the Russian Empire there are computed to be about one million rein- deer, in Norway about 100,000, one-fifth of the domesti- cated ones are yearly killed for food, and in North America there are many thousands. A fine reindeer will sometimes yield*120 lbs. of meat and forty of tallow. The Esquimaux hunter breaks the leg of a recently slaughtered deer and swallows the marrow still warm, with avidity ; the kid- neys and other parts of the intestines are also eaten raw ; the large gut, when roasted or boiled with all its fatty ap- pendages, is one of the most savourj^ dishes that can be offered, either to Indian or white settler in North America. FLESH FOOD FROM MAMMALS. 125 Some Indians and Canadians leave this savoury mix- ture to ferment or season for a few days before they eat it. The blood, if mixed in proper proportion with fat meat and cooked with some nicety, forms a rich and highly nutritious soup. After all the flesh is consumed the bones are pounded, and a large quantity of marrow extracted by boiling ; this is employed in preparing pemmican. Reindeers' tongues are much liked by many in this country, large quantities being imported annually from Russia. They are snow-cured, no salt whatever being- used, the mildness and richness of flavour in the meat is preserved, and they are rendered extremely acceptable to refined palates. The flesh of the moose or elk is more relished by the Indians and persons resident in the fur countries of America than that of any other animal. It bears a greater resemblance in its flavour to beef than to venison. It is said that the external fat is soft, like that of a breast of mutton, and when put into a bladder is as fine as marrow. In this it diflers from all other species of deer, of which the external fat is hard. A buck in its grease will weigh as much as 800 lbs. without the offal. When in good condition the flesh is sweet and tender, and is highly esteemed as an article of food. The *' moufle " or loose covering of the nose is considered by epicures the greatest delicacy of the North-west, con- testing the palm with bear's paw, beaver tail, reindeer tongue, and buffalo boss. In a few years, unless legislation interferes, there will be no elk, buffalo, mule-deer, or antelope left to hunt in the Western States and Territories. In Minnesota, Montana, and Wyoming alone 20,000 deer are annually slaughtered, and in one year between the Yellowstone and the head waters of the little Missouri 25,000 buffaloes were killed. Even if this extermination of the noble fauna of America was the result of legitimate sport it would be matter for regret. But sport has nothing to do with it. The price of an elk's skin is 126 ANIMAL FOOD KESOUKCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. three dollars, and the trade in buffalo robes is always brisk. Hence all the resources of civilisation are en- listed in the cause of the almighty dollar against the wild nature of the New World. A large party of hunters^ with repeating rifles, each man killing from six to twelve beasts from every herd they come across before it can get beyond range, are calculated to thin the magnitude of those herds rather rapidly ; and as the number of hunters increases annually while the herds decrease, it is an easy calculation to determine when the bottom of the basket will be reached. There are a considerable variety of antelopes in South Africa, and a very great number of species in every dis- trict. The flesh of most is in universal esteem among all the people. It is well flavoured when fat, and of a delicate taste. It makes very fine venison when pro- perly dressed, and the legs and shoulders of the anima are much esteemed as a relish when dried down into- "biltong," a most convenient and palatable article of diet,, perfectly familiar to the colonists. In this form it can- be kept almost any length of time, and has frequently been brought to England. It is extremely nourishing and digestible, and can often be taken by individuals when other food is rejected by the stomach. The flesh of the gemsbok {Oryx Qazclld) of Africa ranks next to the eland, and at certain seasons of the year they are very fat. Sir Cornwallis Harris, speaking of the Eland, says : — " By all classes in Africa its flesh is deservedly esteemed over that of any other animal. Both in grain and colour it resembles beef, but is far better tasted and more deli- cate, possessing a fine game flavour and exhibiting the most tempting looking layers of fat and lean, the surpris- ing quantity of the former ingredient with which it is nterlarded, exceeding that of any other game quadru- ped with which I am acquainted. The venison fairly melts in the mouth, and as for the brisket, that is abso- lutely a cut for a monarch. During the greater part of our journey it was to the flesh of this goodly beast that FLESH FOOD FROM MAMMALS. 127 we principally looked for our daily rations, both on ac- count of its vast superiority over all other wild flesh, and from the circumstance of its being obtainable in larger quantities with comparatively less labour." We have now to examine the food furnished by other mammals, which is an important necessary to many of the northern tribes. Bison. — The existence of the North American Indians is bound up inseparably with that of the so-called " buffalo " {Bos Bison). These animals exist in vast numbers on the prairies, and it is computed that half a, million are killed yearly, mainly for their furs or " robes " and the tongue, much of the flesh being wasted. The late Horace Greeley, writing from the plains, remarks, *' What strikes the stranger with the most amazement is. their immense numbers. I know a million is a great many, but I am confident we saw that number yester- da3^ Certainly all we saw could not have stood on ten miles of ground. . . I doubt whether the domesticated horned cattle of the United States equal the numbers, while they must fall considerably short in weight of the wild ones." The flesh of a bison in good condition is very juicy and well flavoured, much resembling that of well-fed beef. The tongue is reckoned a delicacy, and may be cured so as to surpass in flavour the tongue of an Eng- lish ox. The hump or flesh covering the long spinous processes of the first dorsal vertebrae, consisting of fat and muscles, is much esteemed. It is named hos by the Canadian voyageurs, and icig by the Orkney men in the service of the Hudson's Bay Company. The wig has a fine grain, and when salted and cut transversely it is al- most as rich and tender as the tongue. The flesh of the bison is largely used as food, and the hunch on the shoulders is esteemed a great delicacy. Each buffalo will produce from 50 to 70 lbs. of tallow, but a bull bison, when fat, will frequently yield 150 lbs. weight of tallow, which forms a considerable article of commerce. 128 ANIMAL FOOD RESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. One of the most useful applications of buffalo meat consists in the preparation of pemmican, an article of food of the greatest importance from its portability and. nutritious qualities. This is prepared by cutting the lean meat into thin slices, exposing it to the heat of the sun or fire, and when dry, pounding it into a powder. It is then mixed with an equal weight of buffalo suet and .stuffed into bladders. Sometimes venison is used instead of buffalo meat. One bison cow in good condition fur- nishes dried meat and fat enough to make a bag of pem- mican weighing 90 pounds. Marine Mammals. — The flesh of the whale has been already alluded to as furnishing food to the natives in many countries — New Zealand, Brazil, Japan, and espe- cially the Arctic regions. In Barbados, when obtain- able, the flesh of the hump-backed whale {Megaptera Americana) is eaten by all classes, being preferred to beef, which is there tough. The flesh of the whale is also eaten in Tobago, St. Lucia, and the Grenadines. A South Sea harpooner will tell you that, excepting the ^lelicacy of a draught of the yellow, creamy milk taken from a freshly-speared she-whale, whale fins, properly cooked, are the greatest of conceivable dainties. The rank, rich, heat-producing flesh of the seal vies, in the opinion of an Esquimaux, with the merits of blubber cut from the flanks of a stranded whale. He will eat the raw flesh of the whale with the same apparent relish, when newly killed, or after it has been buried in the ground for several months. There is no food more delicious to the taste of the Esquimaux than the flesh of seals, and especially that of the common seal {Phoca vitalina). Whales and walruses they capture when they come in their way, but the seal is their daily food. This animal is as useful to them as the sheep to us. This meat is so unlike the flesh to which Europeans are accustomed, that it is not surprising that we should have some difficulty at first in making up our minds to taste it; but when once that difficulty is over- FLESH FOOD FROM MAMMALS. 12D -come, everyone praises its flavour, tenderness, digesti- bility, juiciness, and its decidedly warming after-effects. Its colour is almost black, from the large amount of venous blood it contains, except in young seals, and is therefore very singular looking and not inviting, while its flavour is unlike anything else, and cannot be de- scribed except by saying " delicious." To suit European palates there are certain precautions to be taken before it is cooked. It has to be cut in thin slices, carefully re- moving any fat or blubber, and is then soaked in salt water for from 12 to 24 hours, to remove the blood, which gives it a slightly fishy flavour. The daintiest morsel is the liver, which requires no soaking, but may be eaten as soon as the animal is killed. The heart is good eating, while the sweetbread and kidneys are not to be despised. The usual mode of cooking seal's flesh is to stew it with a few pieces of fat bacon, when an excellent rich gravy is formed, or it may be fried with a few pieces of pork. The flesh of the hair-seals is said to be more juicy and sweet for food than that of the fur-seals, which are chiefly composed of blubber. The flesh of a young fur- seal, placed in running water overnight and then broiled, is, however, far from disagreeable, in fact it is said to taste exactly like mutton chop. The young sea-lion (Otaria), of which there are several species, is said to he even better eating. Anson, in his " Voyage Kound the World,'' speaking of Juan Fernandez, writes : — " There is another amphibious creature to be met with here called a sea-lion, which bears some resemblance to •a seal, though it is much larger. This, too, we eat, under the denomination of beef. They are extremely fat, so that after having cut through the skin, which is about an inch in thickness, there is at least a foot of fat before you can either come at lean or bones ; and we experi- enced more than once that the fat of some of the largest aflforded us a butt of oil. "We killed many of them for food, particularly for their hearts and tongues, which w^e esteemed exceeding good eating, and preferable even to K 130 ANIMAL FOOD RESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. those of bullocks." The flesh of the female sea-lion is said to be delicate, while that of the cub can scarcely be distinguished from roast pig. Capt. J. N. East, R.N., says that the tongues, fins, and kidneys of these enormous animals are excellent eating. The flesh of the sea-elephant {Macrorhmus angmtirostrisy is not only black, oily and indigestible, but not easily separated from the fat. The tongues alone supply good aliment, and they are salted with care and sold in som& markets. The heart is sometimes eaten, but it is hard and indigestible ; and the liver, which is esteemed in some seals, according to Dr. Hamilton after repeated trials, would appear to be hurtful. Among the savage inhabitants of the Arctic regions the flesh of the walrus {Triehechtis rosmarus) is much valued and esteemed ; it is greedily eaten along with the blubber, and even the skin. The flesh is strong, coarse> and of a game-like flavour, but the large tongue, heart and liver are often eaten by whalers for want of better provisions, and are passably good. The animals of the Sirenia family are hunted for their flesh both in the eastern and western hemispheres. Being herbivorous animals their flesh is much appre- ciated. The dugong {Halicore Indicus or H. Dugong) is the eastern representative of the family, and it is cap- tured about Ceylon and Northern Australia. The wes- tern species is the Manatiis America nus. The dugong is considered by the Malays a royal fish, and the king is en- titled to all that are taken. The flesh when roasted has the flavour of pork combined with the taste of veal. It is esteemed a great delicacy by the Mahometans, who naturally seek a compensation in this dish for the pro- hibition under which they suffer respecting the porcine tribe terrestrial. When cured the flesh is considered in Queensland a relishing article of diet for the breakfast table, having the flavour of good bacon with just an agreeable "bloater" twang added. The tail, which is very fat, is much esteemed, and is generally soused or pickled. FLESH FOOD FROM MAMMALS. 131 The flesh of the full grown dugong is good and palat- able, resembling fair beef. The meat of the young ani- mal, salted and cured with the flesh and fat in its alternate layers, produces excellent bacon which cannot readily be distinguished from the orthodox pig, and meets with ready sale in .Queensland. The oil properly boiled out from the fat and used on hot toast is equal to fresh but- ter, and it can also be made to serve exactly the same purpose in cooking. The oil from the fat is free from that rancid odour common to animal oils, and is held in high esteem. The flesh of this animal affords excellent food in the countries where it is captured. Humboldt compares it to ham, and Von Martins says he never tasted better meat in the Brazils. When properly dried and salted in the sun, the flesh will remain sweet for a whole year. Amongst the South American monks, it is regarded, from an ecclesiastical point of view, as a fish, together with whales, seals, and other water-loving mammals ; hence they fare sumptuously upon its flesh during Lent. Mr. Bates describes the capture of a manatee or vacca marina^ during his canoe voyage on the Upper Amazon; but does not praise the flavour of its flesh as other travellers have done. He says : — " The meat was cut up into cubi- cal slabs, and each person skewered a dozen or so of these on a long stick. Fires were made, and the spits stuck in the ground, and slanted over the flames to roast. The meat has somewhat the taste of coarse pork ; but the fat, which lies in thick layers between the lean parts, is of a greenish colour, and of a disagreeable fishy flavour." The flesh of the manatee of South America is edible, and pronounced by Humboldt and others sweet and palat- able. When salted and sun dried it will keep for a year or more. The true manatees or lamantines are confined to the Atlantic Ocean. The largest species {Manatus^ later odr in) is found in the United States upon the Florida coast ; another species inhabits the mouths of the rivers in South America. In Africa, the M, Senegalensis and a second species,. k2 132 ANIMAL FOOD RESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. provisionally named by Professor Owen, Manatm Vogelli, is a royal perquisite, like the sturgeon in Britain, and is generally taken to the chiefs table. Dr. Vogel speaks of it as very good, its flesh and fat being like pork and very well flavoured. There is no reason why it should not be so. It reaches ten feet in length, and becomes very fat. Do/phins and Porpoises. — At the Faroe Islands, the inhabitants of which principally live on fish, about 2,000 dolphins or bottle-noses (Deljihinus glohiceps) are taken annually ; the flesh is eaten either fresh or salted, and tastes like coarse beef The fat is removed, some being used for domestic pur- poses. The flesh is cut into long bands as thick as the arm, salted, and hung around the houses in the air to dry. It has a black exterior coating and soon exhales a disagreeable odour, which passes away when it becomes thoroughly dried, and it may then be kept a long time. In former years a dolphin was thought a fit and worthy present to be made to a Duke of Norfolk, who again divided its flesh among his friends; it was roasted and eaten with porpoise sauce. The flesh and blubber of the dolphin (Platanista gange- tica) are eaten by some low caste Indians. That of Del- 2:>Jiimts tursis and D. Delpliis is eaten along the coasts of the Adriatic. Brand states that porpoises were sold for food in the Newcastle market in the year 1575. In the time of Edward I. the price for the best sea-hog was 6s. 8d. At the dinners of the Goldsmiths' Company in olden times we find, besides ordinary fish, the seal and porpoise mentioned. The porpoise then constituted one of the standard dishes of a public feast. It was eaten with a sauce composed of sugar, vinegar, and crumbs of fine bread. Sailors will, however, scarcely eat it. M. de Bouganville, in his " Voyage to the Falkland Isles," writes : " We had some of the porpoise served up at dinner the day it was taken, which several others at the table besides myself thought by no means so ill-tasted as it is generally said to be." FLESH FOOD FROM MAMMALS. 183 Porpoise flesh is sold at Bridgetown, Barbados, to the negroes at 3d. to 6d. per pound, and the flesh of the shark at a penny per pound. The porpoise was at one time, even in this country, es- teemed a voluptuous article of food. Malcolm IV. granted to the monastery of Dunfermline, those which were caught in the neighbourhood; and it is said to have been introduced at the tables of the old English nobility as late as the time of Queen Elizabeth. Much later than this, it was a great article of consumption in some coun- tries professing the Roman Catholic faith, especially dur- ing the season of Lent, and accordingly, in spring, it was the peculiar object of pursuit. Sailors on long voyages, in lack of fresh provisions, were often happy to have recourse to it. Thus, Capt. Colnett, in 1793, mentions that, when ofl" the coast of Mexico in the Pacific, they saw porpoises in abundance, and took many of them, which they mixed with their salt pork, and so made excellent sausages : " They became/' he adds, " our ordi- nary food." Like most of the cetacea, its flesh has a very strong- oily flavour, which, however, relished by an Esquimaux, is not very agreeable to the palate of a European epicure of the present day. With modem times a change has taken place in the tastes of cultivated society ; but in high northern lati- tudes porpoises' are still, as they have ever been, highly esteemed as articles of food. Thus Egede states that " The flesh is by the Greenlanders reckoned a great dainty ; and the oil they find a beverage, than which, according to their taste, nothing can be more delicious."* * Naturalists' Library, Mammalia. 134 ANIMAL FOOD RESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. CHAPTER V. Flesh Food Furnished by the Feathered Tribes. Buzzard, Kite, and Other Birds of Prey Eaten — Beccafico — Guacharo — Larks — Thrushes — Blackbirds — Buntings — Fried Canaries — Starlings — Rooks — Ortolans — Edible Birds' Nests — Statistics of Supply — Parrots — Toucans — Domestic Poultry — Fowls in Egypt and Morocco — Weight of Different Fowls — Statistics of Poultry in the United Kingdom — in France — in Austria — in the United States — Value of the Poultry Imported from Abroad — Turkeys — Christmas Supplies — Statistics of Turkeys in France — Wild Turkeys of America — Peacocks — Formerly Served at Royal Banquets — Bustards — Partridges — Game Birds Consumed in Great Britain — Snipes — Woodcocks — Grouse — Pheasants — Capercailzie — Game Birds of Sweden — Prairie Hens — Ruffs, Reeves, and Godwits — Quails — Game Pies of France — Pates de Foies Gras — Tragopins — Pigeons, Domestic and Wild — Ostrich Meat — Flamingoes, Cranes, and Herons— Ducks and Geese — Statistics of in France — Wild Geese — Swans — Plovers — Teal — Canvas- back Duck— Pelicans — Penguins. The class of Birds, like that of Fishes, furnishes the most abundant resources to various people who depend a good deal for their daily food on the fisheries and the chase, and there are very few, with the exception of birds of prey, that are refused. The flesh of those birds which feed on grain or other vegetable products, is less strongly flavoured than that of carnivorous birds. One of the chief characteristics of the flesh of fowls (observes Prof. Church), notably those which are wild, is the almost entire absence of fat. When much fat is present the flavour of the meat is often less delicate and its digesti- bility, especially when roasted, decidedly difficult. As game, numerous wild birds, especially the water fowls, contribute largely to human food. Haptores. — Among birds of prey there are not many that furnish food for man, or that are relished when they have FLESH FOOD FURNISHED BY THE FEATHERED TRIBES. 185 "been tasted. The buzzard {Buteo vulgaris) used to be com- monly eaten in France, and the Pern or honey-buzzard was also there esteemed a delicacy. The Chinese and Japanese eat the flesh of the kite and other birds of prey. In the " Annals and Magazine of Natural History," for July, 1857, we read of the carrion kite of Northern Australia (Milviis affinis), which is hardly distinguishable from the common kite of India and China, that " these birds are excellent eating, and certainly excel any other game we have in flavour and tenderness." The kite stands A 1 as a table delicacy in the estimation of Dr. M. Elsey, surgeon to the North Australian expedition under Gregory. True he states that they feed entirely on grasshoppers; but what brought them in hundreds on the trees round the camp ? Why to pick up all sorts of refuse undoubtedly that is edible by a carrion bird in any shape. The flesh of the hawk tribe is regarded by us as totally unfit for food, yet one species is so much in request in South Morocco, that the birds are sent from Mogador as presents to the Sultan ; it is a small bird resembling the sparrow-hawk. (Leared's *' Morocco.") F((sscrc,s.—\i\ this order we do not find many which contribute generally to human food. The beccafico {Sylvia hortensls), a bird about the size of a linnet, is highly prized by the Italians for the deli- cacy of its flesh, particularly in autumn, when it is in excellent condition for the table. The Cypriots preserve them for winter use partially boiled in Commanderia wine. The guacharo (Steatornis caripcnsis) is much sought for in certain caves in the West Indies and Central America for the fat obtained by melting down the young birds. The oil is semi-fluid, .transparent, inodorous, and so pure that it will keep above a year without turning rancid. If eaten when taken from the nest these birds are pro- nounced by epicures unrivalled, and their flesh is also considered a delicacy when salted. Preserved larks have been shown in the Italian section 136 ANIMAL FOOD RESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. at several of the International Exhibitions. They will keep good, it is said, for three years. Thegriveas {Alaiida arvensis) and thrushes are much in esteem and generally introduced at table at Nice, roasted on toast with a thin layer of bacon fat over them. We have our delicate tit-bits in spitted larks ; as many as four thousand dozen have been known to be taken in the neighbourhood of Dunstable between September and February. What the number sold in our metropolitan markets may be annually, it is impossible to say, but 400 dozen can be bought in one day. A few centuries, ago larks were sold in London at 6d. a dozen, and black- birds at lOd. a dozen. Larks are chiefly the produce of Cambridgeshire, with a smaller proportion from Bedford- shire. They are of easy sale now at about Is. a dozen, and are generally roasted; at one time they were fashionable in pies. Larks are taken in much larger numbers in Germany, where there is an excise upon them, which has yielded as much as £1,000 a year in Leipsic. The larks of that place are famous all over the German Empire as being of a most delicate flavour. In the Italian markets, besides carrion crows, strings of thrushes, larks, and even robin redbreasts are sold. Each year in the autumn, in the south of France and Italy, there is an enormous destruction of small birds, which migrate to pass the winter in a warmer climate. Owing to the number of robin redbreasts which are eaten in Lorraine, these pretty songsters are becoming scarce. Swallows, redbreasts, and larks are all shot for eating. The flesh of the young fieldfare {Ttirdus pilaris) is ac- counted very good eating, and preferable to that of the thrush. It is much eaten in Germany. They migrate here in October staying till February, and are best in Pecember and January. The flesh of the white Lapland sparrow is so good that in Sweden it is considered equal to the ortolan. The Italians are said to be fond of the flesh of the cuckoo, and those who have tasted it state that the FLESH FOOD FURXISHED BY THE FEATHERED TRIBES. 137 young cuckoo is a most delicious morsel, but it has sel- dom or ever been eaten in this country. The great spotted cuckoo {Coccytes glandarius) passes Greece in flocks from the north in August. This bird with the guepier {Mcrops apiaster, L.), and the hoopoe (UpKpa epops, L.), are all sought for in Greece for food. In winter they catch by thousands in Sweden, by means^ of hair springs or snares, a number of small birds which pass under the general name of grives, such as various species of thrush, the waxwing of Bohemia {Ampeli^ garniUs), the common bullfinch (Pyrrhula europea), etc. There are annually sent to the Continent from Corsica between 350,000 and 400,000 blackbirds {Tnrdtis merula). They come in vast numbers each winter to feed on the berries of the myrtle and arbutus, with which the moun- tains are covered. In the month of December they be- come very fat, and the flavour and perfume given by this food cause them to be much esteemed by the gourmeh of Paris. A pate de foie de merle is considered a great delicacy. The common bunting {Emheriza miliaria) is often taken in nets and brought to market, where they are sold for larks. The snow bunting {Plectrophanis [Emheriza'\ nivalis) when fat is excellent eating. When the ice on the Neva leaves St. Petersburg, innu- merable flocks of snow buntings arrive. They almost line the banks of the river, and are killed in great quan- tities, being fat, but they do not merit the name of orto- lans, given to them when served at table. A favourite dish at some of the cafes of St. Michael's, Madeira, is "fried canaries" {Fringilla canaria, Lin.). They don't pay 10s. or £1 a piece for canaries there, only a dollar the hundred in the season. Was it not Vitellius who betrayed a weakness for a stew of nightingales' tongues ? They are as materialistic in Madeira. It is some satisfaction to know that cooked canary is no better than sparrow pie. Starlings (Stumus vulgaris, Lin.) are frequently shot or trapped in the winter and eaten. 138 ANIMAL FOOD RESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. The flesh of the stone-chat {Saxlcola cenanthe) is rather savoury, and that of the bristly-bearded mouse {Calomo- philus hiannlcus) is palatable. Dr. Daubeny, in his " Lectures on Roman Husbandry," says: — "The ancient Romans had large preserves, not only of poultr}^ and pigeons, but even of thrushes and q^uails enclosed in pens which were called ' omithones/ from which they could draw their supply for the table at pleasure. We are told, indeed, of two sorts of orni- thones, the one merely aviaries stocked with birds for the amusement of the proprietor ; the other kind, con- structed with a view to profit, which were often of vast ex- tent, to supply the demands of the Roman market for such articles of luxury. In the Sabine country particularly, we read of extensive pens, filled with birds for the latter purpose. For thrushes alone there were large rooms pro- vided, each capable of holding several thousand birds. As they were put in to be fattened, the place had only just light enough to enable the birds to see their food, but there was a good supply of fresh water accessible. And I may remark that, whilst nothing is said by the Roman writers about the fattening of oxen and sheep, particular directions are given for fattening poultry and other birds — a strong additional argument of the little importance they attached to the larger animals as articles of food." One of the most delicious birds is the American rice- bunting {BolicJionyx oryzlvora, Lin.). This bird migrates over the continent of America, from Labrador to Mexico, and over the great Antilles, appear- ing in the southern extremity of the United States about the end of March. Towards the middle and close of August, they enter New York, and Pennsylvania on their way to the south. There, along the shores of the large rivers lined with floating fields of wild rice, they find abundant subsistence, grow fat, and their flesh becomes little inferior in flavour to that of the European ortolan, on which account the reed, or rice-birds, as they are then called, are shot in great numbers. When the FLESH FOOD FURNISHED BY THE FEATHERED TRIBES. 139 cool nights in October commence, they move still farther south, till they reach the islands of Jamaica and Cuba in prodigious numbers to feed on the seeds of the guinea grass. Epicures compare the plump and juicy flesh of this delicacy to the ortolan, v As they go southward in the fall, the favourite meadow singers, the bobolinks, take to the marshes and become "reed-birds," much sought after by sportsmen and pot-hunters. At Chester, Delaware, the headquarters of the bird shooters of the State, there are forty pro- fessional "pushers." The shooting begins the 1st of Sep- tember. The Tliiladelphia Times makes a brief estimate of the results of a month's shooting. " At Chester, at the Lazaretto, and the two hundred club-houses that line both banks of the Delaware from League Island to Marcus Hook, there will be at least nine hundred shooters daily. At the former two places 2,000 birds daily — taking the scores of those who push themselves and of the pro- fessional shooters — will be killed. Eight hundred gunners daily from the private club-houses is but a fair count, and, giving them each a score of 10 birds daily, the total will be 10,000 birds killed every day in the month of September, an aggregate of 300,000 scored at the above places alone. This is but a meagre approxi- mation of the grand total, probably ranging over 1,000,000 when the marshes from Bombay Hook to Bordentown are included in the estimate." Lawson affirms that the flesh of the Carolina crow is as good meat as a pigeon, for it never feeds upon any carrion. Young rooks, when skinned and made into pies, are esteemed by some persons, but they are very coarse eat- ing although wholesome food ; rook pie can hardly com- pete with a pigeon pie, although it is said to have a fulness and luscio'usness of flavour which excels any dish of graminivorous birds. The ortolan {Emhiriza hortidand) is much esteemed by epicures for the delicacy of its flesh. They are specially fattened in dark chambers till they become mere lumps 140 ANIMAL FOOD RESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. of fat, and are so rich as soon to satisfy the appetite of a professed gourmand. A great traffic was formerly carried on from the Island of Cyprus in these birds. They are caught in vast numbers there, and pickled in casks, each containing from 300 to 400, prepared with spice and vinegar. In some years the number of casks exported has amounted to 400, or upon an average 140,000 of these highly-prized morsels. In India they fatten what passes for ortolan, but are birds quite of another kind, being a species of the lark family {CalandreUa hrachydactyla, Temm). Those commonly served at table in Calcutta are mostly un- fattened birds, brought alive to the bazaar, of the species referred to when procurable in abundance, but often mingled with other kinds of larks and pipits,, more especially the Corydalla Richardi, and not unfre- quently they are of this species exclusively. Edible Birds' Nests. — There is a curious Chinese food dainty in the gelatinous nest of a species of swift, of which about eight millions are said to be annually sold in China. The nest and bird are figured in Gray's " Genera of Birds," where he names it Collocalia Troglodytes, Bonaparte names it Salangana {Collocalia) fuciphaga. Thunberg also gave it the name of Hirmido fiiciphaga from the supposition that the mucilaginous matter em- ployed in the construction of the nests was obtained from ^seaweed eaten by the birds. But it is now ascertained beyond doubt that the substance in question is secreted by greatly developed glands. The most recent analysis, of the nests we owe to Professor Troschel, of Bonn. He finds that the material does not consist of specially nourishing or stimulating substances, but is quite similar in composition to any animal saliva. Whether C. esculenta, C. fuci2ohagay and C. nidifica are one and the same species is not yet settled. The bird producing this esculent nest is found all over the Malay and Philippine archipelagos, wherever there are caves to afford it shelter and protection. But Java and Borneo seem to be their chief resort. The celebrated Ll^r^^ FLESH FOOD FURNISHED BY THE Fl caves of Karano^-bolong, situated in Bag] in in Java, and on the shore of the Southern sea, may be taken as an example. There are three periods for making the collection — April, August, and December. The nest gatherers are persons bred to their dangerous calling, and the nests are collected with long bamboo ladders. After the crop has been taken, the caves are hermetically sealed against human ingress. The whole annual gathering here, which is effected with little cost, amounts to about 28,000 lbs. These nests are by no means confined to the sea coasts, for they are obtained in caves in the interior, both of Java and Borneo, and no doubt exist also in other islands. On the north-western side of Borneo, and not far from the banks of the river Baram, birds'-nest caves are found 140 miles from the sea by the coarse of the river. The prices paid for these nests in the Canton market vary greatly, according to the quality. Williams tells us, in his work on China, that those of the best sort used to fetch the enormous price of 3,500 dollars the picul of 133 lbs., or more than £5 10s. the pound; the second -quality produces 2,800 dollars per picul, and the third, or uncleaned, not more than 1,600 dollars. But the prices are now lower, viz., 2,500, 1,500 and 1,000 dollars. The nests resemble much a piece of fibrous isinglass badly cooked, of a reddish-white colour. They are little thicker than a silver spoon, and vary in weight from a quarter to half an ounce. When dry they are brittle and rough on the surface. In size they are a little larger than a goose egg. They are cleaned with great care, dried in the shade, and packed away. A large portion of the best quality nests are sent to Pekin for the use of the Court. In some parts of China as much as £9 per .catty (rather more than 1^ lbs.) has been paid for these birds' nests. The value of the collection of these birds' nests in Siam, where it is a government monopoly, was stated by Crawfurd, many years ago, to be about £12,500 annually. 142 ANIMAL FOOD EESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. These expensive articles of food are principally em- ployed in making soup, which owes most of its flavour to the ingredients that are added ; but they are also made use of in various ways, and are regarded as a great delicacy by Chinese epicures. When newly formed these nests are perfectly clear, of a yellowish-white colour, and wholly soluble in water ; but when old they become deeply soiled and mixed with feathers, and their value is immensely deteriorated. Hence they are broadly dis- tinguished into white and black, of which the first are by far the most scarce and valuable, being found in the proportion of one only to twenty-five. The white nests- sell in China for nearly their weight in silver. Besides birds'-nest soup, it is made into a jelly, prepared in the following manner : — They steep the nest in water during one night, then with great trouble clean it. This being done it is boiled in water, to which sugar candy is added till the whole forms a jelly. A single nest prepared in this way is enough for one person. These nests being very dear, only the wealthy Chinamen can obtain this delicacy. The rich opium smokers take in the morning a cup of it, for the purpose of refreshing and strengthen- ing their debilitated frames. Persons attacked by con- sumption are advised by the Chinese practitioners to take these nests ; they prescribe them also to those who are reduced by a protracted illness. The birds which build these nests, of which there are two or probably more species, are found in great abun- dance in all parts of the Eastern Archipelago, and also on the Continent of India ; the nests are collected in great quantities, and constitute an important article of commerce with China. About 250 lbs. of these birds' nests are collected annually in Lower Cochin China, and fetch from 290 to 405 francs the kilo. The nests taken which are still inhabited by birds are clean, but those which have been abandoned contain a great quantity of agglutinated feathers and excrements. The gelatinous substance of which they are composed FLESH FOOD FURNISHED BY THE FEATHERED TRIBES. 143 swells in cold water like gum tragacanth, and is only partially dissolved in boiling water. 120 grammes are required to make about half a litre of soup. They are washed in cold water, and cooked in a bain marie for about eight hours. A fowl is then boned and the flesh pounded, the gravy of which is added to the nests, with seasoning, and the whole is then boiled for a quarter of an hour. Crawfurd in 1825 estimated the value of the nests annually imported into China at £243,000, but this appears excessive, judging by later returns. Some are imported from Caltura on the western coast of Ceylon,, where the Chinese have rented caves from the Govern- ment. The average annual imports of birds' nests- into China in the four years ending 1870 were 531 piculs, and in the five years ending 1875, 645 piculs- (86,000 lbs.) The value of these birds' nests exported from Bruni in Borneo in 1857 was £2,800. In the three years ending 1865, edible birds' nests to the value of £2,880 were exported from Sarawak, and in 1880 to the value of £2,567. There Avere imported into Labuan from Borneo and the Sulu Islands in the years 1869 and 1870, 26,730 cat- ties of birds' nests, valued at £17,000. In 1872 672| piculs of birds' nests were imported into China in foreign vessels, which was a large increase on previous years. From Singapore the quantity reshipped to China in 1867 was 254 cwt., valued at £19,000. Scansores. — Among the Scansores, or climbing birds, there are very few that have been tried for food. The Indians of Guiana find the flesh of the Ara very good. The flesh of the macaw of the West Indies is hard, but it is in great esteem among many, especially the French. The green parroquet is a favourite food of the natives of Paraguay, who make an excellent soup with it, but the flesh is tough. Parrots in Jamaica are generally reckoned very deli- cate meat, and are not unlike pigeons in flavour ; they are 144 ANIMAL FOOD llESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. frequently served up at table in all the country parts of that Island.* Parrots in Australia are in considerable estimation for food. Mr. Gould describes the flesh of the ground parroquet {Pezoj)onis formosus) as excellent, and much more delicate in flavour than that of the snipe, equalling, if not surpassing, that of the quail. Mr. Davidson, in his book " Trade and Travel in the Far East," tells us that cockatoos make an excellent dish, and that they occasionally furnished part of his dinner when in Australia. The bluish flesh of the toco toucan {Ramphastof^ toco^ Gm.), notwithstanding its enormous and unsightly beak, is a wholesome and delicate meat ; and there are no birds that give the epicure a more delicious morsel. It is one of the most omnivorous of birds, and its powers of digestion and impunity to poisons are remarkable. Waterton also says the flesh of the large toucan {R. maximus) is delicate. Domestic Poultry. — The great Gallinaceous tribe of birds contribute most largely to human subsistence, and all are esteemed, whether it be the domestic reared fowls, turkeys and guinea fowl, the pheasants, par- tridges, grouse and ptarmigan, or the pigeon tribe. It is curious to observe the change of taste that epi- cures have experienced with regard to diflferent birds. Even to-day the tastes of two neighbouring people — the English and the French — are much more unlike in this respect than one would imagine. In England, for ex- ample, the goose is held in almost as much esteem as the turkey, while across the Channel the former is sold at scarcely half the price of the latter, and is regarded as nothing better than a vulgar dish. But if we compare our present habits with those of seventeen or eighteen centuries ago, the contrast will be much more remarkable still. To-day we never see a poulterer's shop adorned with rows of peacocks ; and should one of these beautiful birds * Brown's "History of Jamaica." FLESH FOOD FURNISHED BY THE FEATHERED TRIBES. 145 appear upon the table at some grand public or private dinner, none of the guests would go into ecstasies over the dish, as if its delicacy was a fact universally known. But at Rome no banquet was complete without the presence of the peacock. Among the other large birds, the cranes, the swans, and even the ostrich, were held in high esteem. Geese were also greatly prized, and they were eaten not with a sauce, but stuffed with small green apples. The ducks and teal were served witii the juice of the orange and not that of the lemon, and they were preferred to the heathcock and woodcock. As for larks and thrushes, they were usually eaten at the end of the meal, with the idea, true or false, that it would prove a sovereign remedy against affections of the bowels. But, as already ob- served, the bird most in esteem among all the subjects of the Caesars was the common thrush. These birds were raised and fattened in large establishments near Rome, and brought very high prices. The artificial rearing of these birds, which are excellent for the table, would prove an easy matter. Of all the conquests which man has made in the class of birds, and they have been numerous, the most pro- ductive and useful has been that of the cock and hen. The eggs and the flesh of this race constitute in many countries, and especially in France, an important part of the general food. The egg has a marked place in the most delicate dishes destined for the sumptuous table. It is also the simple resource of the peasant. Thanks to it, the labourer on returning from the fields can prepare promptly and readily an evening repast. The details of the production and consumption of Eggs will be found in a subsequent Chapter. All the world knows the excellence of the flesh of domestic poultry. Without a fowl no feast is complete, and the good King Henry, as a proof of his desire for the wellbeing of his people, wished that every peasant might be able to place a fowl in his pot. In the early ages of the Church, poultry was regarded as food for fast days, the rule of St. Benedict interdicting L 14)6 ANIMAL FOOD EESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. only the flesh of quadrupeds, and that of St. Columbanus permitting the consumption of poultry in default of fish. The cock was an object of worship in Syria; among the Greeks and Romans he figured more as a warrior than an esculent, but was gladly eaten by the lower orders. The hen was reckoned a bird of ill omen among the ancients, who sought to diminish the number by eating them. In Rome the art of fattening them, and of imparting a peculiar flavour to their flesh, was perfected by M. L. Strabo, a Roman knight. The rage for fat hens grew at length so great, that C. Fannius, the Consul, passed a decree forbidding the fattening process, fearing that not a living hen would be left in the Empire. Fortunately the new law said nothing about young cocks, and the capon was invented, and was received with such transports of delight that the destruction of birds was greater than ever, and the Consul repented too late that he had only named hens in his sumptuary law. In old times the Egyptians hatched chickens in ovens ; in the last century Reaumur recovered this art, which was thought to be lost, and it is practised at the present day with the most satisfactory results. More than six million fowls and four million pigeons are artificially reared annually in Egypt. The Romans were so fond of various birds that some Consular families assumed the names of those they most esteemed. Catius tells us how to drown fowls in Falernian wine, to render them luscious and tender. The fowls of Morocco are of a very large size, often weighing 14 lbs. or more. For the table the French breed of fowls is preferable to the Asiatic. They have small bones, well-developed muscles, the flesh is tender, white, and savoury, the skin white and thin; they fatten readily and attain to a remarkable degree of perfection. The pullets of Mans are noted for the delicacy of their flesh. The average weight of barndoor fowls sold from farm- yards is 3 J lbs. From this must be deducted 3 ozs. for FLESH FOOD FURNISHED BY THE FEATHERED TRIBES. 147 feathers, and 12 ozs. for offal, before they become food. The gamecock rarely exceeds 4^ lbs., but by crossing with the Malay they may be brought up to 6 lbs. or 7 lbs. in weight. Dorkings, when not inbred, but well and carefully fed as chickens, will reach to 7^ lbs. as pullets, and to 9 lbs. as cockerels ; higher weights, such as 10 lbs. for hens and 12 lbs. for cocks, can be obtained, but these are exceptional. The Dorking and Surrey fowls are beyond question the best for the table, in delicacy and weight of flesh ; the game fowl the most savoury, although deficient in size; the Brahmapootra not so delicate in flavour as the others, but hardy, weighty, and easily fattened ; the Houdan have the good without the bad qualities of the Dorking — are precocious and small boned. A fattened pullet of the Houdan breed killed at four months and a-half, weighs (the crop and intestines empty) 2 kilos. 200 grammes, or about 4^ pounds; thus divided: — Intestines empty 100 grammes. Sand in the gizzard and feathers ... 60 „ Bones 250 „ Flesh, including the liver and gizzard... 1.800 „ 2.200 ,^ If we abstract the weight of the flesh of the head and feet, in fact all called " the giblets." or about one kilo, and a-half, we shall find that the bones of this species form barely one-eighth, while the bones in butcher's meat will averaoje one- fourth of the weio^ht. It is difiicult to arrive at any precise estimate of the number of domestic birds and poultry in various countries, but a few figures may not be out of place, although statistics are by no means pleasant reading. The number of poultry in Ireland in 1883 was 13,382,430, composed as follows :— 796,187 turkeys; 2,052,372 geese ; 2,836,847 ducks ; and 7,697,024 ordinary fowls. Estimating the geese and turkeys at an average market price of 3s. each, and ducks and ordinary fowl at 2s. 6d. per pair, the poultrv in Ireland would repre- l2 148 ANIMAL FOOD RESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. sent a value of £1,085,651. The number of poultry was about 600,000 more in the two previous years. For Great Britain we have for the first time details this year (1884). The numbers were given as follows : — Turkeys Geese Ducks Fowls Great Britain 500,770 888,313 2,368,390 12,303,539 mel Islands, Ireland. 706,567 1,183,518 2,618,530 7 537,433 the number for Great Britain is given at 28,944,249, but this must be taken with all reservation, and is certainly far below the real total. It can scarcely be believed that Ireland exceeds Great Britain in the number of turkeys and geese, considering that in the last two years there has been a very large decrease in the number of Irish poultry. It is probable that few persons are aware of the extent of what may be termed the poultry industry, or can appreciate the contribution to animal wealth in various countries by the common barn-yard fowl. According to official statistics published, the following was the number of poultry returned for France: 1872. 1884. Fowls Geese Ducks 45,179,084 3,296,023 3,522,292 43,858,780 4,170,650 3,600,500 Turkeys Pigeons 1,073,898 6,212,042 1,800,500 Guinea fowls — 2,588,700 68,283,339 56,019,130 Mr. Masson, a French writer, estimated in 1884 the number of fowls in France at 43,858,780, which at the average price of 3 fr., is equal to 131,576,340 fr. Each year a fifth of these are sold for food, viz., 8,771,756, at 3 fr., making 27,855,268 fr. Also 2,100,000 cocks or capons sold at the same price for 6,300,000 fr. There remains, therefore, 32,982,024 hens, producing yearly 101,000,000 chickens, from which are selected 11,000,000 as repro- ducers, to replace those killed, and we may attribute to FLESH FOOD FURNISHED BY THE FEATHERED TRIBES. 149 disease and accidents a loss of 11,000,000; in all 22,000,000 chickens have to be deducted from the 101,000,000 produced ; * there remains, therefore, 79,000,000, which sold at 1 fr. 75 c. each, yield a sum of 138,250,000 fr. To these figures must be added about 7,000,000 fr. for superior fowls, capons, and fat hens. The summary for these fowls is 179,405,268 fr. Further- more, the 32,787,024 hens lay each year on an average 100 eggs each. From this we must deduct 100,000,000 eggs employed for hatching, which leaves 3,187,702,400 at '07 cents each, which gives a product of 223,139,168 fr. It may therefore be affirmed that the 43,858,780 fowls would yield on the one hand 179,405,268 fr. for poultry, and also 223,132,168 fr. for eggs, in all 402,537,436 fr. Guinea-fowl are seldom met with on farms, and are chiefly found in the poultry-yards of amateurs or large proprietors ; we are therefore surprised at the figures given by Mr. Masson, which can scarcely be correct. He states that there are in France 2,588,700 Guinea- fowls, worth 4 fr. each, equal to 10,354,800 fr. Of these, 647,740 are annually sold ; at 4 fr. apiece, these wiU yield 2,590,960 fr. There remain 1,940,960 hens, producing annually 6,000,000 chickens. From these, 600,000 are chosen as reproducers, replacing those killed, and about 600,000 are carried ofi* yearly by sick- ness and accidents. There remain, therefore, 4,800,000 young, which, sold at 2 fr. each, yield 9,600,000 fr. If we add 500,000 fr. for fine and choice birds, we have for those sold, 12,690,960 fr. Besides the eggs saved for hatching, the 1,940,960 hens will lay on an average 200 eggs each yearly, or 388,192,000 at "05 cents, equal to 19,409,600 fr., which, added to the value of the birds, makes 32,100,560 fr. In Paris in 1883, 26,000 tons of poultry and game were sold. The price of poultry has increased very- much during the last few years, and fowls, the wholesale price of which was rather less than 3 fr. in 1879, were last year over 5 fr. The wholesale price of ducks has gone up during the past ten years from 2 fr. 72c. to 4 fr., 150 ANIMAL FOOD RESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS, rabbits from 1 fr. 95c. to 8 fr. 50c., partridges from 2 fr. 10c. to 2 fr. 80c., and hares from 5 fr. 30c. to 6 fr.. Pheasants, upon the other hand, have slightly fallen in price, from 6 fr. 90c. in 1873, to 6 fr. 25c. The largest portion of the poultry and game consumed in Paris comes from the provinces, but 1,200,000 pigeons, 40,000 quails, 24,000 turkeys, and 20,000 fowls came from Italy; 280,000 hares, 11,000 deer, and 200 wild boars from Germany; and a great number of partridges, woodcock, and snipe from Spain. Most of the game and poultry condemned as unfit for food are sold, according to the report published by the Inspector of Markets, by the railway companies, and this is accounted for by so many boxes of game and poultry being unclaimed or having had the addresses rubbed off. The contents are then sold, and, as may be imagined, they are generally very " high." Summarising the total annual value of poultry in France we arrive at the following figures : — Francs. Sterling. Fowls 402,544,464 £16,021,780 Turkeys 33,701,120 1,348,045 Guinea-fowls ... 32,110,560 1.284,422 Geese 82,344,836 3,293,793 Ducks 23,277,020 931,081 573,978,030 £22,879,121 When we consider that we derive from France poultry to the value of £180,000, and eggs to the value of £8,100,000, besides eggs from other European States, which bring up the total to close upon £9,000,000 yearly, the poultry trade of the Continent assumes large proportions. The consumption of poultry in Chili is very l^rge. There is not a family, rich or poor, that has not its boiled fowl (poule a pot or cazuela) at least once or twice a week. It is therefore no exaggeration to esti- mate the number of fowls, ducks, and pigeons at two millions, and these average in value about lOd, each. FLESH FOOD FURNISHED BY THE FEATHEEED TRIBES. 151 The number of fowls in Austria is very difficult to be ascertained, but official authorities state that there may safely be quoted an average number of 60 millions, valued at 10 million florins. Those annually consumed are replaced, and 2,400 million eggs are supplied, representing a value of 4 millions sterling. They are chiefly consumed in Vienna, Prague, Steyer, and other large towns. In Roumania the domestic poultry are reckoned at about 14,000,000, of which half are consumed yearly. Thirty years ago the poultry in the United States were valued at £4,000,000. The statistics of poultry and eggs in the States were gathered for the first time by the census of 1880. The number of barnyard fowl reported, exclusive of spring-hatching, was 102,272,135 ; of other fowl, 23,235,187; the number of dozens of eggs, 456,910,916. At 12 cents. (6d.) a dozen, certainly a moderate estimate, the annual value of the egg product to the farmers would reach nearly £11,000,000 ; while we may suppose 150,000,000 to 180,000,000 pounds of meat sold annually out of the stock of fowls reported. There were twenty-seven States which reported more than 1,000,000 of barn-yard fowls each ; seventeen which report more than 2,000,000 each; thirteen which report more than 5,000,000 each. Not much can be said in praise of the poultry of the United States, with the exception of the turkeys, which are generally good, and are raised without much difficulty. They do not, however, appear to reach the great weight of our English birds, being of a slighter form, approaching that of the wild stock. The fowls are exceptionally badly bred. If it may be said of the Texan cattle that they are all " legs and horns," the American fowl may be described as all "legs and elbows," and when plucked presents with his bright yellow skin a most uninviting appearance. They are, however, in request for a change from the perpetual repetition of tender loin and fillet of beef. In Detroit market ducks sell at about Is. each, fowls lOd., and 152 ANIMAL FOOD KESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. turkeys GJd. per lb. At Lexington, Kentucky, when the loin of beef was from 5d. to 6^6. per lb., turkeys ready for cooking were 5d. per lb., geese, good birds, 4d. per lb., and fowls T^d. each. On the Continent generally fowls are bred on a much larger scale than in England. In Egypt, China, and some other countries, the quantity of fowls and ducks used for food is so great, that it has been found neces- sary from time immemorial to hatch the young by artificial heat. Our foreign supplies of poultry, etc., have progressed as follows : — 1861 £73,975 1871 174,518 1880 456,124 1883 591,367 The annual value of the poultry and game we import from abroad (including rabbits) now exceeds £600,000. In 1883 it came from the following countries : — Belgium £299,997 France 164,839 Other countries 126,575 £591,411 Turkeys are supplied to the London market chiefly from Cambridge and Norfolk. Besides the general sale to the public, usually in the Christmas week 10,000 or 11,000 turkeys are sent as presents to the metropolis, and it is generally considered that a line fat turkey with sausages and hamper, carriage, etc., costs about £1. They are killed simply by breaking their necks, and the breast-bone is also broken before they are sent off to the poultry salesman, in order to give the breast a plumper appearance. The cocks, if sold out of their feathers to the neighbouring gentry, will fetch Is. 2d. per lb., and the hens Is., or sometimes only 9d., when a very plentiful season has knocked down prices, or they are not fed up to the mark. The larger they are, the FLESH FOOD FURNISHED BY THE FEATHERED TRIBES. 153 higher their value per lb., on the same principle that salmon of 20 lbs. and upwards fetch 6d. more in the spring and early summer months for the large West-end dinner parties. The great bulk of these go in their feathers to the London salesmen ; but the wives of the small farmers take them picked to Norwich, and sell them in the market, where very large ones, trussed and ready for the spit, have made Is. 6d. per lb. at Christmas. Hen birds, which get fat sooner, and are generally killed ofi' before the end of November, are thought to be a daintier morsel than the " gobblers." Some two-year- old cocks (beyond which age they are very seldom kept) have been killed at 30 lbs., when a heavy weight is wanted for an audit dinner ; and with very high feeding, in one or two rare instances, prize birds have turned the scale at 40 lbs. The turkey was long unknown to the Greeks, there being no turkeys in Europe during their palmy days. Sophocles is the first who mentions it. In Egypt it was still more rare. It was first introduced into Rome in the year 115 before our era, where it was regarded as an object of uncommon curiosity. A century later they had greatly multiplied, but afterwards declined again. Two were exhibited as curiosities at Athens about the middle of the sixth century. It is said that the moderns owe their introduction to the Jesuits, who imported them from America. Hurtant asserts that the first turkey was introduced in France at the wedding dinner of Charles IX., and that it was admired as a very extraor- dinary thing. Bouche, the historian of Provence, de- clares that the French are indebted for the turkey to King Rene, who died in 1480 ; and Beckmann again denies its existence in France previous to the sixteenth century. The Englijsh first tasted this new dish in 1525, the 15th year of the reign of Henry YIII. There are about 1,800,500 turkeys in France, worth 8 frs. apiece, equal to 14,404,000 frs. A fifth of these with about 70,000 males, or 430,000, are sold for food, and, valued at 8 frs. a-piece, yield 3,441,120 frs. The 1,370,360 154 ANIMAL FOOD EESOUECES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. females remaining produce annually 16,000,000 young turkeys ; 5,000,000 of these are reserved to replace those killed, and an average of 5,000,000 are carried off by disease. There remains, therefore, 6,000,000 turkeys which, sold at 8 frs. each, produce 30,000,000 frs. The higher price given for first-class birds may be estimated at 260,000 frs., which gives a total result of 33,701,120 frs. The breast of the wild turkey of North America {Meleagris gallo-pavo), nicely fried in the oil of the black bear, would furnish a dish calculated to tickle the palate of a London alderman. Its flesh has a very charac- teristic flavour, different from that of the tame bird ; it has a gamey taste, and the flesh after cooking is blacker than that of the domestic turkey. " Always partridges " has become almost proverbial, and we find from Lawson (" History of Carolina") how a repetition of the most delicious food palls. " We cooked our supper," says that traveller, " but, having neither bread nor salt, our fat turkeys began to be loathsome to us, although we were never wanting of a good appetite, yet a continuance of our diet made us weary;" and again he adds, "by the way our guide killed more turkeys and two polecats, which he ate, esteeming them before fat turkeys." The flesh of the turkey is unlawful food among the Mohammedans. The prejudice arises, it is said, from the tuft on the breast, which bears some resemblance to hog's bristles. Feacocks were carefully reared by the ancients in the island of Samos. The guinea fowl was considered delicious by the Romans, but they knew not the turkey. We no longer hear of peacocks and pies of cranes' tongues. As for peacocks, they have entirely gone out of fashion, and it is doubtful whether anyone living ever tasted peacock in England ; yet peacock pies, with the heads and tails of the birds protruding from the crust, were formerly common enough at Christmas. William IV. is said to have partaken of peacock when dining with FLESH FOOD FURNISHED BY THE FEATHERED TRIBES. 155 the Governor of Greenwich, and this is the last instance on record of peacock eating. The peacock had prodigious success among the Romans. Quintus Hortensius was the first who had them served in a banquet ; and the novelty made an extraordinary sensation at Rome, becoming so much the fashion that no feast was thought complete without them. Marcus Aufidius Livio contrived a way to fatten them, and made above £50,000 by the sale. Horace preferred them to the finest poultry. Tiberius reared them, and put to death a soldier who had the misfortune to kill one. The peacock was considered during the ages of chivalry not merely an exquisite delicacy, but a dish of peculiar solemnity. After being roasted it was again decorated with its plumage, and a sponge dipped in lighted spirits of wine was placed in its bill. When it was introduced on days of grand festival it was the signal for the adven- turous knights to take upon them vows to do some deed of chivalry " before the peacock and the ladies." Ulti- mately they were voted indigestible, and were served up in their skins and feathers to be looked at, but not eaten. The peacock is stated to have been one of the famous dishes at the costly royal banquets of old, and the re- ceipt for dressing it is thus given : — " Take and flay off* the skin with the feathers, tail, and the neck and head thereon; then take the skin and all the feathers and lay it on the table abroad, and strew thereon ground cumin; then take the pea- cock and roast him, and baste him with raw yolks of eggs ; and when he is roasted, take him off and let him cool awhile, then take him and sew him in his skin, and gild his comb, and so serve him forth with the last course." Game Birds, — The little bustard {Otis tetrax, Tetrax campestris. Leach) is taken in nets in France like the partridge ; it weighs about 25 ounces. The flesh has the appearance of a young pheasant. The Bengal flori- ken {Sypheotides bengalensis, Gm.), an Asiatic species^ is 156 ANIMAL FOOD KESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. much sought for by the Indian sportsman as a delicacy for the table. Many of the family of the Tetraonidm, called by the natives of Buenos Ay res partridges, are very much hunted on account of their savoury flesh. Perdrix grises is a name adopted in commerce, and by cooks in France, for young partridges under a year old. There are three stages very distinct in their culinary appreciation. In the first three months they feed only on ants' eggs, insects, and tender herbs — food which gives the flesh a bad taste ; and they are only eatable about the end of July, or in August or September, when they have attained the fourth of their size, and have fed upon grains. But they are really not delicious till the close of the year, when they have amply fed on germi- nated grain and young buds. It is at this period their crop is filled with fermenting grain ; this fermentation continues in their stomach and gives them that succulent gamey flavour. Their flesh is very delicate and easy of digestion. Among the game-birds largely sold are grouse and blackcocks, ptarmigans, partridges, and pheasants, wood- cocks, wild ducks, etc. An estimate of the game birds consumed in Great Britain, made in 1880, gave the numbers and value as follows : — 510,000 grouse aud black game, at 4s. ... £102,000 376,000 partridges, at 2s 37,600 335,000 pheasants, at 4s 67,000 Woodcock, snipe, wild duck, &c 30,000 £236,600 Snipes {Becassine of the French), are sent in great numbers from St. Omer, in France, in the neighbour- hood of which they are shot. They are generally fat and in good condition ; their fat is of an exquisite flavour. This bird is always cooked ungutted. The flesh of the woodcock (8colopax rusticuld) is esteemed a great delicacy, and they generally attract a FLESH FOOD FUENISHED BY THE FEATHERED TRIBES. 157 good deal of the sportsman's attention. Woodcocks have occasionally been shot as heavy as 20 ounces, but 12 ounces is about the average weight. The curlew, com- mon on our coasts, is often sold for woodcock when these birds are scarce. The American woodcock is Philohela minor. The best woodcocks in France are sent to Paris from Nancy, Ardennes, Burgundy, and Berry. To ascertain their quality, the belly should be examined, this should be hard and full when they are fat. The rump and the loins should also be furnished with firm, white fat. Around the neck will be seen a vein of the same fat of the colour of ivory. In order to ascertain if the bird is young and tender, the bones at the extremity of the stomach should be tested ; if these bend the bird is young and tender ; if not, it is old and tough, and only fit to cook in a pasty or stew. Woodcocks weigh generally 450 to 500 grammes, or about one pound. The wood- cocks sent from Nantes, Rennes, Brest, and all Brittany, are about one-third less in size, and are rarely fat. They are sent m great abundance to the markets of Paris in October and November, The woodcock may be kept fit for eating long after killing, and many prefer them high. Of grouse, besides our home supply of red grouse {Lagopus scoticus) from the Scotch moors, we import immense numbers of ptarmigan or white grouse (Lagopus vulgaris) from the north of Europe, and some ruffed grouse {Bonasia umhellata) from the United States, but not in great quantity. Of European grouse one ship has brought over from Norway 24,000 ptarmigan, and one poulterer in London will sometimes receive 15,000 of these birds. The Scotch grouse are smaller than those from Sweden and Norway. Their flesh, although of a grey colour, is excellent, and has a flavour very agreeable and aromatic. The gelinotte {Bonasa hetuUna) or grouse of Russia is rather smaller than that obtained from Germany. The flesh is of a whitish-rose colour ; when cooked it is of a darker colour but delicate flavour. It is esteemed for 158 ANIMAL FOOD KESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. its good culinary qualities, and its property of keeping good long. The flesh is delicious and of easy digestion, and is good at all times. The partridge (Perdrix cinerea) is common in Britain, but is also widely distributed, and there are many other species. The red-legged partridge (P. rubra), is delicate but not equal to the English bird ; we get it from the eastern countries as from Russia and other parts of the Continent. The Greek partridge (Caccabis saxatilis, Meyer) is another European species largely sought for in the south. Partridges and pheasants for the London market chiefly come from Norfolk and Suffolk ; ptarmigan from the north of Scotland and Norway. About 150,000 to 200,000 partridges are sold in London annually. The price of pheasants in England is very much affected by the great demand there is for them in France, where a great many are sold for their plumage, while they make the bodies into pies. From the Aus- trian forests about 70,000 pheasants and 700,000 par- tridges are annually obtained. In severe winters 9,000 or 10,000 of ptarmigans have been received in a day from Norway. Holland contri- butes the great stock of wild duck for London tables. The duck deco^^s are objects of great care there. The largest supply of plovers and woodcocks is also from Holland. The capercailzie {Tetrao urogallus, Linn.) may be called the king of the grouse or Tetrao tribe. He often weighs 8 lbs. and 10 lbs. The hen bird is much smaller, weighing only 4 or 5 lbs. This bird is delicious eating, feeding as it does on the cranberry, whortleberry, and bay leaf. Nor do the pine shoots or juniper give an unpleasant flavour. The same may be said of the black-game of Norway. Most epicures would, we should imagine, prefer the capercailzie, with its rare flavour, to the turkey. The black-game weighs 7 lbs. and 8 lbs. a brace. The capercailzie has been known to reach 14 lbs. in weight, and to attain the length of 2 ft. 9 in., whilst FLESH FOOD FURNISHED BY THE FEATHERED TRIBES. 159 he is as plump as a partridge. The blackcock {Tetrao tetrix) are brought over in large numbers from Russia, Sweden and Norway. In Sweden the following birds fit for food are the objects of chase more or less productive : — Large and small cock of the wood {Tetrao urog alius, and T. tetrix), gQ\moiiQ{Bonasia betulina),gTej partridge {Perdrix cinerea), quail (Coturnix communis), plovers, as the guignard (Charadrius morinellus), the ordinary woodcock (Scolopax rusticola), snipes (Gallinago major, G. media and G. gallinula, Totanus ochropus, T. glariola, and T. glottis). These birds are chased with pointer dogs. The curlew {Numenius arquata), the whimbrel (iV". phceopus, Lin.), which is often passed off to the unwary as a woodcock, and various wild ducks. The flesh of the curlew and whimbrel are alike excellent. Hundreds of thousands of the large game birds are consumed yearly in the country, and sent to the southern provinces of Sweden and to England. We get an abundance of prairie-hens and canvas-back ducks from the United States. These are frozen by machinery on the other side of the Atlantic, packed in barrels, and brought over in capital condition. In New York one man has been known to receive in a single consignment 20 tons of prairie hens {Tetrao cupido, Cupi- donia cupido) ; allowing two pounds as the weight of each bird (a very fair average), the enormous number of 20,000 pinnated grouse would remain, received by one person in a single day. Some of the large poultry dealers in the same city will sell in six months 200,000 game-birds ; others 150,000, and others again 400 dozen, and so on down- wards through the scale until the final result of all these amounts, if it could be accurately obtained, would make one stand ao^hast at the incredible numbers which are slaughtered every year.^ "^ " Report of Department of Agriculture, WashiDgton, 1864,' p. 383. 160 ANIMAL FOOD RESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. Ptarmigan, blackcock, and capercailzie are sent over in the winter from the northern countries, frozen na- turally, in cases containing from eighty to a hundred each, shipped at Christiansund, landed at Hull, and brought up to town by rail. Holland is good enough to send us, sometimes forty or fifty baskets of two hundred each in one steamer, of her delicious wild ducks and those curious little birds the fighting snipes, called ruffs and reeves {Machetes pugnax), which are about the size of godwits, and the male of which has most wonderful plumage, with a pretty crown of grey feathers on his head, given to make him look handsome and attractive at courting time. These birds are good when fat. Though considerably larger than the ruff*, the godwits {Limosa cegocephala, Lin.) are not in such high estimation as an article for the table. Even wild turkeys and other birds from the back- woods of America are occasionally seen in the shops of our London poulterers, transmitted in a frozen state by the A-tlantic steamers. St. Petersburg is supplied with game in a like manner, from the distant wilds of Tartary and Siberia. But our most curious importation is the quail from Egypt and Algeria, which feeds us to this day as it fed the Israelites in the desert, and is brought over, alive, in consignments of from thirty to fifty thousand. These birds are shipped at Alexandria and Algiers, and sent on to Marseilles in charge of a native attendant to minis- ter to their bodily wants. Thence they are "railed" across France in cages holding 100 birds each, lodged for the time at Smithfield, and then dispersed to all parts of the kingdom. So carefully are they transported that not more than seven per cent, of them perish by the way. Of the quail there are several species spread over Europe, Asia, and America, but that frequenting Europe, and especially the coasts of the Mediterranean (Co^wrwi^ communis^ Bon.), is the best known. They are easily taken in nets when they arrive in FLESH FOOD FURNISHED BY THE FEATHERED TRIBES. 161 August fatigued with their flight. The women in Greece pluck them and gut them, cutting off their heads and feet, flatten them between boards loaded with stones, and afterwards pack them in jars with layers of salt. They form an article of commerce, and are shipped in small casks. They are eaten in winter roasted on spits, or prepared in various other ways. In certain parts of the Peloponessus the quail forms one of the riches of the country. The supply of live birds to our English markets is derived from Egypt, Italy, and Algeria. In Egypt, at the proper season, they are so plentiful that the people cannot consume, in a fresh state, the number captured, and therefore salt them down for future use or dry them in the sun. At the time of their migration the islands and shores of the Mediterranean absolutely swarm with them. Such great quantities used to be captured in the Isle of Capri, near Naples, as to afford the Bishop the chief part of his revenue, and he was called, in conse- quence, " the Bishop of Quail." An almost incredible number of quails is supplied to the great towns and cities of the Continent. Those imported into Paris from Italy alone are valued at about £50,000 annually. Leadenhall Market is the great depot for the English supply, and as many as 200,000 are often brought there in a month during the season. Temminck tells us that hundreds of thousands arrive in Naples and Provence and are so fatigued that for some days they suffer them- selves to be taken by hand. It is almost impossible to speak too highly of the quail in a gastronomic point of view, though Yarrell considers it " heating food." The French proverb, " hot as a quail," probably had its origin in the pugnacious temper of the bird to which we have just alluded. Our opinion is, that the flesh of the quail is anything but '' hot," and stimulating. It may lack what is considered a " gamey " flavour, but it is as delicate and succulent a morsel as the most educated gourmet can desire. Wither, in his Satires, says — M 162 ANIMAL FOOD RESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. " He that feeds on no worse meat than quails, And with choice dainty pleaseth appetite, Will never have great lust to gnaw his nails, Or in a coarse thin diet take delight." The most approved way of cooking a quail is to envelop it in a very thin slice of bacon, tie it up in a large vine leaf, and then roast it. A cold quail pie is also a capital dish. The Virginian quail {Ortyx Virginianus) is inferior to the European or African. Numbers are imported from America in barrels. The pin-tailed sand-grouse, "el katte," (Pterocles alchata), of which enormous flights may be sometimes seen in the East, is believed to be the veritable quail of the Israelites. There is an Arabian quail, the bones and tendons of which are said to be so small and tender, that every part of the bird can be eaten. Many of the towns of France have a reputation for their game pies. Chartres, which is situated in the centre of an abundant game district, is noted for these pies, which are composed of partridges, quails, larks, and hares, also for those made with plovers and dotterels. The town of Pithiviers is well-known for its pates de mauviettes ; these are in season from the time of fogs or mist up to January. Rouen is renowned for its pates de poulardes, boned and seasoned with ham. Amiens is noted for its pates de canards, in originating which De- gand, a man celebrated for his cooking, realised a for- tune of a million of francs. Montreuil on the sea has a high reputation for its " woodcock pates'' while Strasbourg is noted for its pates de foies gras. Formerly there was a strong objection among foreigners to eating these, from the cruel practice resorted to by the Jews to enlarge the liver at the expense of the other parts of the body. The geese were placed alive in an oven, which was gradually heated until the liver attained its greatest size. This has long been abolished, and the birds are now only shut up, like cloistered nuns, in small confined cells, which prevent FLESH FOOD FURNISHED BY THE FEATHERED TRIBES. 163 their moving. They are fed with nourishing paste, and their drink is sulphurised water. To Toulouse belongs the truffled jo^^es defoies de canard, built up in the form of huge towers, which fetch £50 to £60, and are in demand for great occasions ; but those for ordinary consumption are prepared in earthenware pots. These pates are more unctuous than those of Strasbourg, but they are improved by adding a glass of sherry. Perigord makes pates of truffled partridges in terrines, which, being well-seasoned, will keep for many months, and they have acquired a universal reputation. Courtoy, who gave his name to this delicacy, made a splendid fortune out of it. The Tragopans {Ceriornis satyr a and C. temmincki) are game birds of Asia, species of pheasants which are sought for by sportsmen. They make a near approach to the ordinary turkey and fowl. Pigeons. — Of the domestic pigeons much need not be said, except that they are largely bred for food purposes ; but of some of the wild ones a brief mention may be made. The passenger pigeon of America (Columba [JEctopistes] migratoria) is a very large and well-flavoured bird, which migrates in certain seasons in dense flocks. Wilson and Audubon describe having seen flocks which they com- puted to number respectively from thousands of millions up to upwards of a billion each. In one day seven tons of these pigeons have been brought into the New York Market by the Erie railroad. The Indians often watch the roosting places of these birds and knocking them on the head in the night, bring away thousands. They preserve the oil or fat for use instead of butter. In their breeding places, herds of hogs are fed on the young pigeons or " squabs," which are also melted down by the settlers, as a substitute for butter or lard. The felling of a single tree often produces two hundred squabs, nearly as large as the old ones, and almost one mass of fat. They are very tender and delicate, and much more esteemed as food than the adult bird. Pennant, in his M 2 164 ANIMAL FOOD RESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS- Arctic Zoology^ says, Sir William Johnstone told him, that at one shot, he brought down with a blunderbuss above a hundred and twenty pigeons. Wagon-loads of them are poured into the towns, and sold as cheap as a half-penny up to two-pence the dozen. The flesh, which is dark, tastes like that of the common wild blue pigeon, but is, if anything, better flavoured. The wonga-wonga pigeon of Australia (Leucosarcia picata, Lath.) is not only of considerable size, but a first-rate bird for the table, possessing a whiteness and delicacy of texture in its pectoral muscles, which are unapproached by any other species of this widely spread and useful family, the one at all approximating to it being the Geophaps scrip ta. The common bronze-winged pigeon of Australia [Phaps chalcoptera, Lath.) is a plump heavy bird, weigh- ing when in good condition fully a pound ; and is con- stantly eaten by every class of persons resident in Australia. The New Zealand wood pigeon {Carpophago Novce-Zealandice, Gm.,) becomes exceedingly fat in the autumn. It is esteemed most by amateurs when feed- ing on the masts of the Miro, which imparts a peculiar flavour to the flesh. They are speared and snared in great numbers by the Maoris, an expert hand some- times taking as many as sixty in a single day. These pigeons and the tui or parson birds, {Prosthemadera Kovoe Zealandice^ Gm.,) are potted for keeping by the Maoris, after their own elaborate and peculiar fashion. The birds, which are large, are denuded of their feathers and thoroughly cleaned; they are then carefully baked, in order to extract the oil, and closely packed in a species of basket woven for the purpose, the fat being poured over them. Secured in this manner from atmospheric influences, they are said to keep for years, and form a highly esteemed article of food amongst the Maoris. The appearance of these closely- woven calabashes, each containing upwards of 150 of these delicacies in the poultry department, is fanciful in the extreme, and the manner in which they are each mounted on what might FLESH FOOD FURNISHED BY THE FEATHERED TRIBES. 165 be termed a tripod, and fantastically decked out with a variety of feathers, specially prepared for the purpose, is highly suggestive of the complicated Indian preserves of this nature. The flesh of the passerine ground dove of America ( Chamcepelia passerina, Ijinn.) is very delicate and much sought after in the Antilles. Wood pigeons are so numerous occasionally in parts of Scotland that special funds are raised to promote their destruction. They arrive in great flocks from Norway, Denmark, and Sweden, and at least 17,000 are annually killed, according to the returns of the United East Lothian Agricultural Society. The fields of red clover are occasionally blue with the number of these pigeons feeding. The flesh of the turtle dove (Columba turtur, Linn.) is considered much superior to that of the wild pigeon. Dampier, when he visited the Gallapagos Islands, in 1684, says "there are great plenty of turtle doves, so tame that a man may kill five or six dozen in a fore- noon with a stick. They are somewhat less than a pigeon, but uncommonly fat." The flesh of the Penelope is white, delicate and nutritious, and more tender and less dry than that of the hocco, or crested curassow {Crax aledor), called the royal pheasant by the Mexicans, and for this reason esteemed more choice. It is to be feared that all kinds of these game birds will in time become very scarce. The flesh of the American guans, especially Penelope marail, Gm., is excellent, and resembles that of the pheasant ; it has been domesticated in France and England. Penelope cristata, furnishes an excellent dish for the table, and might advantageously be added to our domestic stock of poultry, as its flesh is delicate. Ostrich-meat. — Those who have tasted Ostrich-meat state that it is both wholesome and palatable, although, as might be expected in the case of wild birds, it may be somewhat hard and tough. Where the birds have been domesticated, however, and fed on lucerne, clover 166 ANIMAL FOOD RESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. and grain, the meat becomes juicy and tender. The fact of its prohibition by the Jewish legislation would indicate that ostrich-meat was employed as food in former times. Firmus, one of the kings of Egypt, it is said, used to dine off ostrich flesh ; and according to Lampridius, the Emperor Heliogabalus, on the occasion of a great feast, caused the brains of six hundred ostriches to be served up in one dish. Africanus especially commends ostrich brains. It is related of Leo Africanus that he partook of ostrich-meat in Numidia, where it is said young ostriches w^ere then fattened expressly for the table. Strabo gives a curious account of the Strutho phages, a black tribe on the Upper Nile, who hunted and lived upon ostriches, and clothed them- selves with the skin of this bird. A recent observer, Canon Tristram, has remarked that the Arabs of the present day eat ostrich-meat, and that he himself has tasted it and found it palatable enough. Mr. John Parkes, of Wheat lands, in the Cape Colony in 1875, killed a young bird that had broken its leg, and had the meat converted into steaks and " biltong " or dried meat. It was said to eat " like young beef, juicy and tender, with just a suspicion of a sweetish flavour, usually undiscoverable in the legitimate article." A kouskoussou surmounted by cutlets of fat taken from the breast of the ostrich, is said to be a royal dish of the desert; while the steam from the boiled fat imparts an unctuous taste and gamey flavour to the whole. The best account, however, we have of the gastro- nomic flavour of the ostrich is furnished in the details of a dinner given at Marseilles in Nov., 1871, as recorded in the " Bulletin of the Society of Acclimatation of Paris " (vol. ix., p. 154). A young ostrich, one of a brood of eleven, which was being raised with care in the gardens of the Society there, had the misfortune to break its leg. Thereupon the President of the local Society, M. Ad. Lucy, summoned a meeting of the council to decide upon the food qualities of the young bird. Stripped of its FLESH FOOD FURNISHED BY THE FEATHERED TRIBES. 167 feathers and cleaned, it weighed 78 lbs., and the in- terior parts 18 lbs. The first surprise in cutting up the bird was that in place of what is known in the fowl as the most fleshy parts, the breasts and the wings, there was nothing but a bony skeleton with scarcely any flesh, more resem- bling the ribs of a lean sheep. But in place of flesh there were found two large masses of fat weighing not less than 12 lbs. The thighs, however, presented an enormous development, and could only be compared, when separated from the articulated joint, to a fat leg of Down mutton, the weight of each being not less than 12 lbs. The giblets, which could not be kept for the feast, were made into soup, and the liver, weighing over 2 lbs., cooked in a stewpan like that of a deer. The appreciation of the giblets, the wing pinions, the neck, etc., was general, and elicited the exclamation "It is remarkably good," whilst the liver resembled that of venison, of which it had the flavour and firmness, without being hard. For the grand dinner, to which the chief magistrate of the town and other notabilities were invited, the menu was as follows : — 1. Tendons, fa^on filet de bceuf a la financier e. 2. Cuissot en daube. 8. Pate en timbale. The following were the opinions pronounced on these : — (1.) Financiere. If the meat had been well-kept, not one of the guests who partook of the dish would have doubted that it was beef served, the tenderness, suc- culence and flavour of the meat were generally acknow- ledged, and it was unanimously declared to be first rate. (2.) La Daube. The vocabulary of praise for this dish was prodigious. On every side resounded, " perfect and excellent, rich, exquisite." The chief magistrate declared it recalled the flavour without disadvantage of "lange de boeuf a I'ecarlate." (3.) Then followed the timbale, which on being opened met with equal favour. A pate of Chartres or of Pithi- 168 ANIMAL FOOD RESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. viers could not have met with more compliments, each special dish having been successively put to the vote by the chairman. While agreeing that all met with ap- proval, the daube was considered the- best, the tendons a la financiere second, and the timbale a good third. It was thus proved that the young ostrich furnishes excellent food for the table, and in view of the progress making in domestication and artificial incubation at the Cape Colony, Algeria, Australia, and elsewhere, there is great probability of this bird appearing more frequently as a dish on the tables in Europe. The young of the B,hea are eaten in South America. The flesh of the Ibis is savoury and good, its eggs are nearly as large as those of the duck, and of a bright sky blue colour. The glossy ibis {Plegadis falcinellas, Linn.) is shot in Hungary and other parts in Europe. The flesh of the flamingo {Phcenicopterus antiquorum) is pretty good meat, though rather fishy ; the young are thought by some to be equal to partridge. This bird was not only esteemed as a bonne-bouche of old, but as most valuable after dinner; for when the gluttonous sensualists had eaten too much, they introduced one of its long scarlet feathers down their throats to disgorge their dinner. The flesh is red and coarse, and even the fat part partakes of the crimson hue. According to Viellot, " the flesh of the Phmnicojjterus is a dish more sought after in Egypt than in Europe ; however, Catesby compares it for its delicacy to the partridge. Dampier says it has a fine flavour, though lean and black. Dutertre finds it excellent, notwith- standing its marshy taste ; the tongue is the most delicious part." Apicius has left receipts for dressing it with more than the minute accuracy of a modern cooking book, and the Phoenicopterus ingens appears among the luxuries of the table in Juvenal's eleventh satire. The brains and the tongue figure as one of the favourite dishes of Heliogabalus, and the superior excel- lence of the latter was dwelt upon by the same Apicius, FLESH FOOD FURNISHED BY THE|'^E;4^THERED TRIBEk 169 and noticed by Pliny. Neither hik it escaped the pointed pen of Martial. Dampier does noH^iiget" this delicious tongue of the flamingo, observing that a dish of these tongues is worthy of a place at a prince's table. The tongue is remarkable for its texture, magnitude, and peculiar armature. The whole length of the tongue is three inches ; its circumference two and a-half inches. The substance is not muscular, but is chiefly composed of an abundant yielding cellular substance, with fat of an almost oily consistence. In general, the flesh of the common heron (Ardea cinerea) is good or bad according to the country where they are bred, and the food on which they feed. It is commonly said that the flesh of a young heron is food for a king, but for w^hat reason it is hard to say, for it is usually flshy and of a disagreeable flavour. Leibaut calls the heron a royal viand. It was formerly in con- siderable estimation as an article of food, and is still eaten in some countries. Soyer, in his " Panthropheon," tells us, " Some modern nations — the French among others — formerly ate the heron, crane, crow, stork, swan, cormorant and bittern ; the first three especially were highly esteemed, and Tail- levant, cook of Charles VII., teaches us how to prepare these meagre, tough birds. Belon {Hist, des Oiseaux) says that in spite of its revolting taste when unaccus- tomed to it, the bittern is, however, among the delicious treats of the French. This writer also asserts that a falcon or a vulture, either roasted or boiled, is excellent eating, and that if one of these birds happened to kill itself in flying after the game, the falconer instantly cooked it. Ducks and Geese. — We come now to treat of some of the most useful of the class of birds in a food point of view, the ducks and the geese. The duck, being such a good swimmer, was sacrificed by the ancients in compliment to Neptune, Ducks were always served at the tables of the rich Greeks, but the more wealthy Eomans only offered to their guests the breast and head, returning 170 ANIMAL FOOD RESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. the remainder to the kitchen. The goose had its praises sung by Homer, and it was the favourite dish of the Egyptian monarchs. A sentiment of gratitude endeared them to the Romans, as by their noisy clamour they had formerly saved the capitol, and they were reared both in town and country to guard the house. At the anniversary of the deliverance of the capitol from the Gauls, the Roman people regaled themselves with boiled dog. At this solemnity a goose, laid on a soft cushion, was carried in triumph, followed by an unhappy dog nailed to a cross, whose loud cries amused the populace ; thus they commemorated the signal service rendered by one animal, and the fatal negligence of the other. But time effaces the impression of gratitude, and for a cen- tury at least before the time of Pliny, the Romans had learned to eat goose ; and by a perfidious art they fattened them delicately in darkness in preparation for the spit. The most luxurious eaters, however, valued only the liver, and this they contrived to increase to such a size that it often weighed over two pounds. Pliny says that Apicius found means to increase the livers to a size almost equalling in weight the whole body of the bird. The modern gastronome will see, therefore, that it is to the Romans he owes these table luxuries of our day. Thus Horace says — "Pinguibus et picis pastum jecur anseris albi." Goose is eaten in England on Michaelmas Day, because, says report. Queen Elizabeth was dining on goose when the news was brought her of the defeat of the Spanish Armada. According to the latest statistics there are in France 8,600,500 ducks, worth, at 3 fr. each, 10,801,500 fr. From these there are sold for food 1,720,100 ducks at 8 fr., equal to 2,160,300 fr. ; 2,860,000 drakes, castrated, at 8 fr., equal to 1,080,000 fr. The 3,600,500 ducks will produce 10,000,000 ducklings in the year, from which 2,000,000 will be set aside for reproducing, and 2,000,000 FLESH FOOD FURNISHED BY THE FEATHERED TRIBES. l7l more may be deducted as killed by disease and acci- dents. There will remain therefore 6,000,000, which, sold at 2| fr. each, produce a sum of 15,000,000 fr. If we add for extra fine birds an added value of 500,000 fr., we have a total of 18,740,300 fr. The 2,520,400 ducks will lay on an average 30 eggs each yearly, in all 75,612,000 eggs, which, sold at 6 centimes each, yield a sum of 4,536,720 fr. ; this, added to the poultrv value, gives a total of 23,277,020 fr., or nearly £1,000,000 for ducks and their eggs. The best ducks of France are raised in the neigh- bourhood of Rouen. The ducklings of Rouen are sought after for roasting, those of Amiens for their livers, which serve to make excellent pates ; those of Toulouse are also in request for their fat livers which are of first-rate quality ; there is an enormous trade carried on in them either in pates or in terrines with truffles, and in cookery they are employed under a thousand names as entrees or hors d'oeuvre. When well hung, a Rouen duck is a splendid table bird, but for maturity and delicacy in early spring it must yield to its white rival — the Ayles- .bury. It is not an uncommon thing for a ton weight of ducklings to be despatched from Aylesbury in a single night. Now a ton of young ducks from six to eight weeks old will comprise perhaps 450 birds, worth in the best part of the spring, 6s. to 10s. a couple. Considerable supplies of ducks are brought from Holland, and some turkeys as well ; but the Norwich dealers' duck supplies are mostly gathered in the county. Rouens and Aylesburies have not been much used for crossing ; and the supplies are generally of the small mixed-brown-and-cinnamon sort, which has sub- sisted since the flood. The cottagers do not force their ducklings, but sell them to the dealers, one of whom takes 30,000 a year, principally in the duck-and-green- pea season. They come to him about 3 lb., in weight ; and after a week in the lean and three in the fat yard, they are turned out in prime condition, with fully 1 lb. gain in flesh. 172 ANIMAL FOOD RESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. In Brittany they have a plan of salting well fatted ducks after drawing them. When the flesh has been in a tub of salt with bay leaves and saltpetre about a fort- night, and has acquired a fine red colour, the bird is cut into four quarters, larded with cloves, and put into a pot with some spice. Geese and ducks' breasts are also pickled for three weeks or a month, then rolled in wheat or rye bran, strung together on long wooden skewers, and suspended in a light smoke for a week. They are then hung up in a draught for three days, after which the coating of bran is brushed off and they are stored in any suitable dry and airy place. In Java and the principal Philippine islands, large flocks of ducks are kept for their flesh and eggs ; the first being preserved by drying, and the last, when salted, forming a principal part of the stock of animal food in native sea voyages. Salted ducks form the basis of a larofe commerce from Cochin China to the Chinese Empire. " In China ducks are usually cut open and made per- fectly flat and then dried ; and a man will hawk about near a hundred such dried ducks hanging on a pole across his shoulders. What particular delicacy there can be in ducks' bills I did not make trial of, but they are common articles hanging suspended in the provision shops. So also are dried rats, similarly split open and hung up in front of the shops for sale, their rodent teeth betraying them in their otherwise disguised condition." — Collingwood. The tongues of ducks are among the dainties of Chinese epicures. A writer in the Chinese Repository says : " One article in the shop puzzled me much, and by inquiry I found it to be nothing more nor less than a string of dried tongues obtained from ducks. They were stretched out to the utmost length, resembling awls in shape, and hardened almost to the firmness of iron." The great antiquity of the goose as an article of food, may be determined by examining some of the Egyptian TLESH FOOD FURNISHED BY THE FEATHERED TRIBES. 373 monuments in the British Museum, or Rosellini's mag- nificent work on Egyptian antiquities, where we find geese represented alive, plucked, and prepared for the table. Geese. — Mention has already been made of the fattening of the geese and of their livers carried on in Alsace and at Strasbourg. This fattening is also a speciality of Languedoc and Toulouse. Geese are sometimes preserved for keeping either by smoking or boucanading, as they do hams ; they are also cooked and then preserved by covering them with fat. From recent statistics there are in France 4,170,650 geese, worth 4 frs. each, equal to 16,682,600 frs. A fifth of these are sold for food for a sum of 3,336,520 frs., as well as 834,131 ganders fattened and sold at 4 frs., equal to 3,336,524 frs. The 2,502,392 females will raise 37,535,895 goslings, from which 3,753,589 will be re- served for breeding; about 3,713,589 goslings will have to be deducted for losses by death and accidents ; there will remain, therefore, 3,068,718 young geese, which, sold at 2 J frs., will produce 75,171,792 frs. If we add for fine and choice birds an increased value of 500,000 frs., this brings up the total for geese to 82,344,836 frs. The French goose has of late years become a formid- able rival of his fellow-geese from the Emerald Isle. Formerly there was a prejudice against French geese ; the trade would not look at them, and the public would not eat them. But gastronomical prejudices are short- lived. Whether it be due to the soothing influence of sage and onions, or to the quality of the noble bird itself, it is certain that the French goose is now very popular on this side of the Channel, for the poulterers say that they sell large numbers of them at good prices. Indeed, so successful is the French goose that great quantities of his race are imported into England in an attenuated condition during the summer, and are sent into the country to be fattened for the London market at Michaelmas. A large trade is carried on in France at Berry, Tou- 174 ANIMAL FOOD RESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. louse, etc., in ^eese. Their livers in pates and in ter- rines with truffles are consumed all over Europe. Geese are dressed in many ways in different countries for Michaelmas and Christmas; the fillets and pectoral muscles salted and smoked serve instead of ham ; the thighs cooked and covered with the grease keep well. There are consumed annually in Paris about 150 tons of foie gras and truffled poultry, 80 tons of pates of Amiens, Chartres, and Pithiviers, and 539 tons of other pates. At Pau they boil down the geese for their fat but do not eat them. In preparing the enlarged goose livers, when the birds are considered ripe they are killed, and the livers are conveyed to the- truffling house. The carcases, shrivelled out of all knowledge, are sold for about Is. apiece to the peasants, who make soup of them. The livers are first cleaned and then weighed, and they will often scale two and a-half to three pounds each. The next step is to take each liver and to lard it with truffles in the proportion of half-a-pound of truffles to one pound of liver, and then to convey it to an icehouse, where it remains on a marble slab for a week, that the truffle perfume may thoroughly permeate it. At the end of a week, each liver being removed is cut into the size required for the pot which it is to fill, and introduced into that pot between two thin layers of mincemeat made of the finest veal and bacon fat, both truffled with the liver itself, and one inch depth of the whitish lard is then spread over the whole that none of the savour may escape in baking. The baking takes about five hours, and the fire must never blaze too high or sink too low. When the cooking is over, nothing remains but to pack the dainty either in tin, earthenware, or wood, according as it may be needed for home or foreign consumption, and to ship it to the four points of the compass. Enormous flocks of geese are bred in Lincolnshire, containing from 2,000 to 10,000 birds each ; but it is to Norfolk and Suffolk that we look for goose-management on the largest and most economical scale. The goose FLESH FOOD FURNISHED BY THE FEATHERED TRIBES, 175 trade of the great Norfolk dealers resolves itself into two branches — the green geese and the Michaelmas. In March and April they begin to get in their gosling supplies from farmers or cottagers near the commons, in both these counties. Most of these goslings are about five 'weeks old, and many of them in very poor plight ; but six or seven weeks of feeding under stages, on barley-meal, maize, wheat-tailings, and brewers' grains mixed, make them all ripe for the green-goose market. The Michaelmas geese take their places under the stages in August; and Norfolk and Sufiblk are pretty well scoured before the dealers fall back upon the Irish, French, and Dutch supplies. The Dutch, which are principally grey, come from Rotterdam ; and one of the largest Norwich dealers imports occasionally seventeen tons' weight of live birds in the year. They come over by steamers and sailing vessels, packed in big flat baskets, but not to any great extent after the 1st of October. In the dealers' hands they are fed on the same principle as ducks — low fare to begin with, and then on a gradually-ascending scale. The goose-pens of Messrs. Boyce, of Stratford, are capable of holding four thousand geese for fattening. On the western moors of Cornwall everyone keeps geese ; and they are bought up by jobbers in thousands, for the stubbers. Summer Court, on September 25th, is the " goose fair " of the county. Farmers all over England are supplied very largely both from Holland and Ireland. Geese are extensively bred in Moravia; and the hilly districts in Germany and Holland are peopled by numer- ous goose-farmers, who get their living entirely by them. The Hussenheim goose market is a very large one, and of great antiquity ; and, according to local tradition, the town owes its name to the bird of its choice. The Dutch hucksters buy goslings from the cotters — who, like the burghers, are remarkable for turning the penny the right way — at prices varying from Is. 6d. to 2s. They are driven to Rotterdam, where they are packed up in crates, which are capable of holding about fifty or sixty each. 176 ANIMAL FOOD KESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. Their voyage to Hull by the steamers is charged at 18s, per cwt., or about £5 for 300 or 400 birds ; and they are not fed until they are landed, and then with oats. From Hull they are forwarded to central market-towns in railway trucks, each of which is capable of holding 230 birds. A small percentage of the more weakly ones die from being trampled on ; and these casualties, with the expense of transit and sale, bring up the price to about 3s. 9d., when they are pitched in the market during August and September. The Irish collections are managed on a similar principle. If the goslings are purchased within reasonable distance of Dublin or Dundalk, they are driven to those ports ; and if not, they are sent by rail. Liverpool, like Hull, is quite a "board of supply" for English dealers during the season. There is a variety of goose called the snow goose {Anser hyperhoreus), which is very general in the northern parts of America and in northern Europe, and is much prized for the delicacy of its flesh Dr. Richardson says it is much superior to the Canada goose {Bernicla Cana- densis, Lin.) in juiciness and flavour. In those countries where the latter abound they are killed in vast numbers by the natives, who pluck and gut them, and without any other preparation bury them in the ground. The earth freezing above them, keeps them perfectly sweet through the severe winter. Dr. Richardson tells us that the arrival of the Canada goose in the fur countries is anxiously looked for, and hailed with great joy by the natives of the woody and swampy districts, who depend principally upon it for subsistence during the summer. It makes its appearance in flocks of from twenty to thirty, which are rapidly decoyed within gunshot, by the hunters, who set up stalls and imitate its call. Two, three, or more, are so frequently killed at one shot that the price usually given for a goose is a single charge of ammunition. A Canada goose which, when fat, weighs nine pounds, is the daily ration of one of the FLESH FOOD FURNISHED BY THE FEATHERED TRIBES. 177 Hudson's Bay Company's servants during the season, and is reckoned equivalent to two snow geese, or three ducks, or eight pounds of buffalo meat, or two pounds of pemmican, or a pint of maize, and four ounces of suet."^ In favourable seasons there are as many as 6,000 or 7,000 killed and barrelled up for winter provision. Among the animals forbidden to be eaten by the Jews (Levit. xi.) were the cormorant, swan, pelican, stork, heron, and lapwing ; as well as the bat, lizard, snail, and tortoise. Sir Robert Schomburgk assured me that cormorants were very good eating after being skinned. The swan was fattened for the table by the Romans, who first deprived it of sight. The cygnet used to be a dainty dish, though now held in little esteem. They were fattened in London and Norwich for the corporation banquets. In the Mayoralty of Sir James Hawes (1575) we find in his tariff the selling price of the cygnet in the metropolis at 6s. till Allhallows Evetide, and 7s. from thence to Shrovetide. The flesh of the old swans is hard and ill-tasted, but among the items of consumption at the five days' open house feast given by the Serjeants at Law at Ely House, in November, 1531, twenty-four dozen of swans are enumerated. There are a large number of swans on the Thames, which belong to the Dyers', Vintners', and other Livery Companies. These are all marked or nicked on each side of the bill, and an annual excursion is made, called swan upping, to nick or mark the young cygnets. An island, called Kalguyef , in the Petchora River3 north coast of Russia, is much resorted to by the fishermen, who wage an easy and inglorious warfare against the wild geese, swans, eider and other ducks which flock thither in vast numbers in spring time. The fattest and heaviest birds are driven into nets spread out to catch them, and they then fall easy victims. Ten men, in the * Richardson's " Fauna Boreale Americana." N 178 ANIMAL FOOD RESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. course of a month, will thus bag about 8,500 good-sized birds, some of which are generally retained for home consumption, the rest being exported. The brent goose {Anas hernicla, Bernicla leucopsis, Bechst.), a winter visi- tant, is a good bird for the table, the flesh being excellent and free from fishy flavour. The grey duck of Australia {Anas super ciliosa, Gmel.), as an article of food, is in its prime during the autumn and commencement of the winter; but the quality of the game diflers according to the locality, those from the lakes and rivers of the interior (Dr. Buller tells us) liaving a richer flavour as a rule than birds living in the vicinity of the seashore, where the feed is coarser. Few birds are better flavoured than a fresh snipe {Gallinago media), and they are most delicious eating. " Snypes " were among the birds admitted to the Earl of Northumberland's table ("Household," 1512); they were then charged 3d. the dozen. The flesh of all the snipes is palatable and good, including the Gallinago species, many of which come from Ireland and Holland. Among these are the curlew {Numenius arcuatus), common on our coasts, and nearly the bulk of a chicken ; the jack snipe {Gallinago gallinula), also called the judcock ; the pool snipe (Tetanus stagnatilUs) ; the strand snipe {Tringa cinerea); the stint {Tringa minutella), often sold for snipe when those birds are at a high price ; and the blue-footed swordbill or European avocet {Recurvirostra avocetta, Lin.). The knot (Tringa camitas) visits our shores in large numbers in autumn, and the birds come to market mostly from Lincolnshire. The flesh is considered inferior to others of the tribe. The American snipe is Gallinago Wilsonii, and there is a red-breasted snipe {Macrorhamphus griseus). The flesh of the Indian Jacana {Hydrophasianus chirurgus) is said to be excellent. The moor-hen {Gallinula chlorojms, Lin.), if killed in the autumn, is very good eating. The flesh of the rail {Ralhis aquaticus is also palatable, that of the corn-crake or land rail {Ortygometra crex, Crex pratensis, Bechs.) is very FLESH FOOD FURNISHED BY THE FEATHERED TRIBES. 179 delicate and good for the table. It bears the name of " king of the quails " in many countries. The black-tailed godwit {Limosa cegocephala) is some- times caught and fattened, with the reeves, for the table, but though considerably larger it is not held in such high estimation. Another family of wading birds is the Plovers, whose flesh is very good, and their brown speckled eggs are regarded as a great delicacy. The golden plover {Charadius pluvialis, Lin.) especially is an excellent bird for the table. In the United States the following are the edible birds passing under the name of plover : — The black billed (Squatarola helvetica); the golden (Charadius pkwialis, var. Virginicus) ; the killdeer {^gealitis vociferus, Lin.); Wilson's (^. Wilsonim) ; the ring-neck (^. semipalmatus) ; the piping {2E. melodus); the ruddy (Calidris arenaria) ; and the upland plover (Aetiturus bartramius). The bustards form a kind of link between the Gallinacpe and the Plovers. The great bustard (Otis tarda, Lin.) is still plentiful in many parts of Europe. The large African kori bustard {Eupodotis cristata, Scop.) often weighs from 30 lbs. to 35 lbs., and is excellent eating. The flesh of the trumpeter of South America (Psojyhia crepitans, Lin.) is eatable. The common teal and the Garganey teal {Querquedula crecca, and Querquedula circia, Lin.), are better than any other of the wild duck family, and are good game birds, but lean. The flesh of the American species is excellent, viz., the green-winged (Q. carolinensis), the blue-winged (Q. discors), and the red-breasted (Q. cyanoptera). The pin-tail {Dafila acuta) is abundant and its flesh better than that of the wild duck. Considerable num- bers of these as well as of teal are imported from Holland. The clucking hen (a species of Ardea), is considered in Jamaica the best description of wildfowl. Some of the coots are occasionally served up, but they taste a little fishy. The flesh of the sand grouse (Pterocks arenarius) N 2 180 ANIMAL FOOD KESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. is good eating if kept long enough ; at first it is rather hard and tough, but that of the young birds is delicious, and is much prized, " The rotge is excellent eating, and is highly prized by every taste. I have heard the eider duck and the long- tailed duck and even the loon denounced by persons whose tastes were really fastidious, but I never heard a word against the little auk (Mergulus alee). Its flesh, and that of sea-fowl generally in the Arctic regions, improves very much by keeping for a few weeks after being shot ; indeed, it is not uncommon to use them after they have been three months hanging to the booms around the ship's quarter." — Sutherland's Journal. Captain Mark Law tells us that they feasted largely, in the Arctic regions, on loons (as Brunnock's guillemots are invariably called). In one harbour called Nameless Bay, a companion and himself, in less than two hours, bagged 600, and had they required it many hundreds more could have been obtained in the same space of time. The crew revelled for some time on such delicacies as " loon soup," " stewed loon," " curried loon," and other ingenious methods of cooking those birds. The young of the albatross {Diomedia), when first taken from the nest, are said to be delicious. The flesh of the Lapland duck or crested grebe (Podiceps erisfatus) is stated to be tender. That of many of these water-fowls is, however, greasy. The smoked flesh of sea-birds with wild garlic, leeks and rice, forms an article of food with the Japanese. Many of the islands in Bass's Straits are inhabited by men who follow the precarious trade of sealers and mutton bird procurers ; this bird is a species of shearwater or petrel {Puffinus sp.). The immense number of mutton birds annually destroyed may be inferred from the fact that two and a-half tons of feathers formed the export of one season (each bird furnishing only the twentieth part of a pound weight) or 112,000 birds. The birds themselves are salted, dried and smoked for use in the winter, like the dried fish of the poor on the coast of FLESH FOOD FURNISHED BY THE FEATHERED TRIBES. 181 Great Britain, and sold in Launceston and Hobarton for threepence a-piece. Three-fourths of the bird consist of pure white fat, and one-fourth of red meat and tender bones. The flavour is rather fishy, but if once used to it it is not bad at all, only rather too fat. They eat best when salted and smoked a little, then boiled a short time and afterwards eaten cold. If properly salted they might form an article of trade in that quarter, like herrings in Europe. The fat when clean is quite white, and looks like goose fat, but the taste is rather oily : however, it may be used for a good many other purposes than for food ; it burns very well in small shallow tin lamps, which get warmed by the light and melt the fat. One species of petrel (Fuffinus hrevicaudus) is very abundant on the coasts of Australia and New Zealand. At certain seasons the natives of New Zealand collect large numbers of these birds and preserve them in cala- bashes, potted in their own fat, either for future use or gifts to neighbours. The canvas-back duck {Fuligala valisneria), which is lean on its first arrival in the United States, becomes in November about three pounds in weight, and in high order for the table; there are few birds which grace the board better. Zostera marina and Ruppia maritima form their food., as well as the fresh- water Valisneria, which last is limited in distribution. The Prince of Musignano is eloquent in praise of this delicacy : — " Carne . della massima squisitezza, grandi- mente ricercata dai gastranomi. Le migliore della Anitre-Forse il miglior uccello d' America." Everybody, says the Baltimore Sun, has heard of Chesapeake canvas-backed ducks and diamond-backed terrapins, and a great many people know something of how they taste when served up for the table, but not many are acquainted with the manner in which they are handled by the dealers in these and other famed gastro- nomic luxuries. There is an establishment in Baltimore which has been fitted up especially for this trade, where 182 ANIMAL FOOD RESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. canvas -backs and all kinds of game are kept by the thou- sands, in apartments in which the temperature remains at 18° above zero, and where terrapins in multitudes live and grow fat on nothing. There are five large closets on the premises, built in the walls, similar to bank vaults, and these, by a scientific process, are arranged to keep their interiors at a very low temperature, by the use of ice, but in a different manner from the freezing process of a refrigerator. In one of these the canvas-backs and other wild game are kept perfectly fresh ; in another there are all varieties of fish, including shad from Savan- nah, white fish from the lakes, rock and perch from the Chesapeake tributaries, and blue fish, haddock and codfish from the North. In another closet the smaller and more common fish are kept, and all of the closets are filled with some of the special products dealt in. Shipments of canvas-backs by the barrel are made to London, Liver- pool, and Paris by the steamships from New York and Baltimore. The birds are taken from the cold closets, and, when on board the steamers, are put in ice and reach their destinations in excellent condition. There is an enormous slaughter of pelicans in Cochin China for their feathers. As many as 2,000 are killed nightly for several nights in their great haunts. Most of the flesh of the birds is left to the . crows, as there is no appliance for preserving it ; some is, however, dried, and stated to be very good, and something like beef. Cranes were by no means despised by people of taste among the Romans. The flesh of the young crane (Grus cinereus) is well flavoured and wholesome, for it does not feed on fish, but grain and seeds. According to Schweinfurth that of the West African crane {Balearica pavonina, Lin.) is more palatable than that of the goose. Cranes, herons, bitterns and swans roasted, were served at table some five hundred years ago, and at the feasts in the time of Richard the Second. The bittern {Botaurits stellaris) was formerly held in some estimation as an article of food for the table ; the fiesh is FLESH FOOD FURNISHED BY THE FEATHERED TRIBES. 183 said to resemble that of the leveret in colour and taste, with some of the flavour of a wild fowl. Young penguins are good eating, but the old ones are dark and tough when cooked. A voyager says : — "The flesh of the penguin is black, and has rather a perfumed taste. We ate of them several times in ragouts, which we found to be as good as those made of hare." ^ The penguins form regular rookeries, or perhaps they may be more correctly termed " penguineries," sometimes situated even miles from the shore and far removed from salt water. The breeding places are often of as great an extent as 500 yards by 50, the eggs being placed so close together that it is impossible to walk without treading on them. Young puffins {Fratercula arctiea, Lin.), though exces- sively rank from feeding on sprats and seaweed, are pickled and preserved with spices, and by some people are much admired. * " Journal of a Voyage to the Falkland Islands." 184 ANIMAL FOOD EESOUKCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. CHAPTER VI. Eggs of Various Kinds as Food. Eggs of Domestic Poultry — Nutritive Value and Chemistry of Eggs — Average Weight of Eggs — Quantity and Values of our Imports of Eggs — Range of Prices — Number Received from France — Estimated by Weight on the Continent — Testing Eggs— Egg Traffic of the United States and Canada— Prices — Condensed Eggs — Various Modes of Preserving Eggs — Pickled Eggs — Easter Eggs — Ostrich Eggs — Emeu Eggs — Plovers' and Lapwings' Eggs — Eggs of Sea Fowl — Grulls— Terns — Penguins — Petrel — Albatross — Eggs of Reptiles — Turtles — Land Tor- toises — Alligators — Lizards' Eggs — Snakes' Eggs — Insects' Eggs — Fish Spawn — Cod Roe — Herrings' Eggs — Sturgeon Caviare — Modes of Preparing — Roe of Sandre, Bream, etc. — Mullet — Fish-bread from Roes — Mode of Preparation — Eggs of Crustacea — Lobster Spawn. Omnivorous man feeds indiscriminately on a great variety of animal products ; and among others, the eggs of Birds, reptiles, and fishes contribute somewhat largely to his sustenance. Let us first take a glance at those of Birds, which are the most important, and then notice some others. It is a curious study to pass in review the number, size, form, weight and colour of eggs, according to the different species of birds, and the inferences we may draw in natural history from these oological characters in classifying the birds. According to the number of eggs they lay, birds may primarily be grouped into two great classes. Those which are destined to furnish food for man, as the Gallinaceous tribes, lay the greatest number of eggs ; and when we find that in domes- tication the ostrich has laid as many as seventy-two to eighty-four eggs, we have reason to think it may shortly be ranked among regular domestic poultry. The eggs of all domestic poultry are edible, but it is only those of the hen in which there is any very extensive EGGS OF VARIOUS KINDS AS FOOD. 185 commerce. The eggs of the goose, duck and turkey, when not employed for setting, are usually locally con- sumed. Turkeys' eggs are very good in pastry, and when mixed with hens' eggs they improve omelets. There is no egg of a bird which is not useful for food, or which could noi: be eaten by an hungry man. Eggs are an article of cheap and nutritious food which we do not find on our tables in the quantity economy demands. Persons probably do not fully com- pi^ehend how valuable eggs are as food ; like milk, an egg is a complete food in itself, containing everything necessary for the development of a perfect animal, as is manifest from the fact that a chick is formed from it. It seems a mystery how muscles, bones, feathers, and every thing that a chicken requires for its perfect development are made from the yolk and white of an egg ; but such is the fact, and it shows how complete a food an egg is. It is also easily digested, if not damaged in cooking. A raw or soft boiled egg is always as easily assimilated as is milk, and can be eaten with impunity by children and invalids. The average egg weighing a thousand grains is worth more as food than so much beefsteak. Indeed, there is no more concentrated and nourishing food than eggs. The albumen, oil, and saline matter are, as in milk, in the right proportion for sustaining animal life. Two or three boiled eggs, with the addition of a slice or two of toast, will make a breakfast sufficient for a man, and good enough for a king. The weight of an ordinary fowl's egg is one and a-half to two ounces, whilst that of the duck is two to three ounces; of the sea-gull and turkey, three to four ounces; and of the goose, four to six ounces. One reason why the eggs of wild birds are so highly esteemed is owing to the flavour acquired by the food consumed. Another is that the proportion of yellow in the eggs of wild birds is considerably larger than in those of domesticated ones, and this adds to the ratio of nutritive elements. The solid matter and the oil 186 ANIMAL FOOD RESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. in the duck's egg exceed those in a hen's egg by about one-fourth. According to Dr. Edward Smith, in his treatise on " Food/' an egg weighing an ounce and three-quarters consists of 120 grains of carbon, and eighteen and three-quarter grains of nitrogen, or 1525 per cent, of carbon and two per cent, of nitrogen. The value of one pound of eggs, as food for sustain- ing the active forces of the body, is to the value of one pound of lean beef as 1,584 to 900. As a flesh- producer, one pound of eggs is about equal to one pound of beef. The consumption of poultry and eggs is so large in this country as almost to exceed belief. Besides our foreign supplies the home production is considerable. The Midland Railway brings up 150 tons of eggs, and the Great Eastern over 5,000 tons of poultry and game, annually. But this is a mere flea-bite in the course of the year. It is no uncommon thing in the early spring months for the Aylesbury Railway to carry two or three tons weight of ducklings and eggs in one night to London, and nearly £20,000 per annum is returned for ducks to the neighbourhood of Aylesbury alone. Ireland produces nearly 500,000,000 eggs, and the Continent supplies us with over 940,000,000 ; and if to this is added the annual production of Great Britain, the enormous consumption may be approxi- mately estimated. In 1850 we only imported 105J millions of eggs from abroad; in 1870 this had risen to 431 millions, in 1878 to 784| millions, in 1883 to nearly 940^ millions, and probably as many more eggs are consumed of home pro- duction. Value of the eggs imported into the United Kingdom : — 1861 ... £550,557 I 1881 ... £2,322,607 1871 ... 1,263,612 | 1883 ... 2,732,055 Eggs therefore form no unimportant item in the Englishman's bill of fare. On eggs and milk, indeed, EGGS OF VARIOUS KINDS AS FOOD. 187 man may not only live, but prosper exceedingly. But the price of a new-laid egg runs up to 2d. and 2Jd. in the metropolis, and even then they are often difficult to obtain. High as this price is, it is not however so dear as the price of eggs in the city of Lima, where they fetch a dollar a dozen, or 4d. a-piece. The average wholesale price of eggs per great hundred (120) in London was : — s. d. s. d. 1861 ... ... 6 5 1880 ... ... 7 2 1871 ... ... 7 7 1883 ... ... 7 6 In 1873 and 1874 they were as high as 8s. 7d. The already large and increasing consumption of eggs in England and France shows a growing appreciation of this form of food compared with any other. Our consumption of foreign eggs is about thirty per head annually. As a proof of the vast consumption of eggs in this country we may refer to the annual reports of our hos- pitals. In one of these it is stated that 800 dozen are required and made use of in the year, and taking into consideration the allowance of four eggs a day to some of the patients, the published statement does not cause so great amazement as at first sight it creates. More- over, it goes to prove how important a part is played by our hens in keeping up or restoring strength in those who are suff'ering through some of the many ills to which flesh and bone is heir. Of course, such an item as that mentioned is something more than an atom of the annual expenditure ; in fact, it is one of very serious amount. Eggs during the winter months are so ex- travagantly dear that people with large incomes have almost done without them ; but their regular use in places devoted to the care and nurture of the sick seems to signify that no suitable substitute has yet been found. Our receipts of eggs from France in the last five years have been as follows : — 188 ANIMAL FOOD RESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. Great Hundreds (of 120). 1878 ... 3,734,920 1879 ... 3,441,131 1880 ... 3,151,158 1881 ... 3,099,991 1882 ... 2,812,110 1883 ... 3,080,349 The import of eggs has about doubled in the last ten years and yet the price has risen. French eggs, which in 1864 were 5s. ll^d. the great hundred, were in 1883 6s. Ofd. The total imports from the Continent were in 1864, 335,298,240, valued at £835,028, and in 1883, 940,436,160, of the value of £2,732,055. The duty on eggs, which had been 4d. and 8d. per cubic foot measurement, according as they were of British or foreign produce, was repealed in 1860, involving a then loss to the Kevenue of about £20,000 a year. The im- ports at that time were only about 203 millions. France produces about 10 milliards (each a thousand million) of eggs annually; of this number about 400 millions are exported, chiefly to England. This com- merce is very important for the northern departments. Paris consumes annually 400 to 500 millions : the quan- tity of eggs consumed in that city in 1883 was 40,000,000 dozen. The French Customs estimates the shipments of eggs by weight. The exports were : — Kilos. Kilos. 1870 . .. 24,969,000 1880 . .. 21,414,000 1875 . .. 34,417,000 1881 . .. 21,414,000 1879 . .. 22,887,000 After repeated trials it has been decided in Paris that 20 eggs count as a kilogramme or 2|- lbs. In America there has long been an agitation for selling eggs by weight, and in Massachusetts a law has been passed to that effect. The exports of eggs from Italy were, in : — 1870 4,876,798 kilos. 1875 9,071,000 „ 1880 25,097,000 „ In France eggs are sorted and sized by passing them EGGS OF VARIOUS KINDS AS FOOD. 189 through a ring. The average-sized ones must enter a ring 4 centimetres in diameter, the small ones a ring 3 centimetres 8 millimetres in diameter. The legalised charges in the public markets of Paris are ; for mirage, or examining the eggs, 6d. the 1,000 ; testing their size by the ring, IJd. the 1,000. In a dark cellar in Paris, under one of the markets devoted to the sale of dairy produce, by the light of a candle, the troublesome operation of examining eggs is carried on, for not a single egg enters into consumption in Paris without having been thus examined. It is to be regretted that similar official scrutiny is not followed in London. It is said that oval eggs are better than round ones. No less than 200 modes of cooking an egg have been published. The fowls which lay large eggs, averaging about seven to a pound, are La Fleche, Houdans, Crevecoeurs, and Black Spanish. Those laying medium eggs, averaging eight or nine to the pound, are Leghorns, Cochins, Brahmas, Polands, Dorkings, Games, and Sultans. The Hamburgs lay smaller eggs, eight or ten to the pound. There are many debatable points yet to be settled about eggs. Has the hen in her ovary more or less than 600 eggs ? Are there races of fowls which pro- duce more eggs than others, and do hens lay in a short space of time all the eggs they will produce in the year. The egg traffic of the IJnited States is now exceedingly large. The aggregate transactions in the city of New York alone are said to amount to £1,600,000 in value. In Cincinnati and other cities the sale is proportionally great, and the total sales of eggs in the States have been estimated to reach £12,000,000 in value annually. Large as is, however, the indigenous production, the im- ports of eggs reach 5,000,000 or 6,000,000 dozen a ye^r, chiefly from Canada. The export of eggs from Canada doubles about every four years. In 1882, 10,500,000 dozens, valued at 190 ANIMAL FOOD RESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. £330,000, were shipped, principally to the American Republic, and 370,134 dozen to Great Britain. Over 20,000 car-loads of live and dressed poultry are carried into New York city yearly, and 25,500,000 dozens of eggs go to the same market. According to the best estimates, the United States produce nine thousand million of eggs annually. This is a nice little item for the consideration of those who call chicken business — egg raising — a small thing. The American farmer, however, has been shrewd enough to discover that eggs pay better than birds, and he has turned attention to their production and preparation in large quantities for distant markets. The price paid by collectors seems good. In Minnesota, on the spot where fowls sold at 6s. 3d. a dozen, eggs made 5d. a dozen; while at Lexington, with fowls at T^d. each, eggs made as much as Id. each, and never lower than 4d. a dozen. They are packed in millboard partitions, an egg in each square cell, thirty-six in each layer resting on card- board sheets, one above the other, and the whole con- tained in a handy sized packing-case. The counting is thus made easy, and few eggs are broken. Another way is to pack seventy dozen in a wooden barrel in oats. These are treated as fresh meat, chilled and kept for months in cooled chambers; collected at about 3d. a dozen in the middle States, and thus preserved, they are sold in New York at from lid. to Is. a dozen when eggs are scarce ; the oats making the cost price a gain to the packer. They come over 1,500 miles, and one dealer was known in 1878 to have cleared £3,000 by sales on a rise of prices. The abolition of slavery has affected the value of eggs, the free blacks keeping round their little houses a good stock of hens, but even now prices are sometimes remarkably high. In January, 1874, eggs sold at 20d. a dozen in New York, though before the month was out they fell to 6d. The egg trade of Chicago is assuming large propor- tions. The average annual sales amount to 399,360 EGGS OF VAKIOUS KINDS AS FOOD. 191 cases, which at thirty dozen each, makes the total number 143,769,600. The perishable nature of eggs has naturally detracted from their value as a standard article of diet. The peculiar excellence of eggs depends upon their freshness. But lately the process of crystallising has been resorted to, and by this process the natural egg is converted into a vitreous substance of a delicate amber tint, in which form it is reduced seven-eighths in bulk compared with case eggs, and retains its properties for years unimpaired in any climate. This is indeed an achievement of science and mechanical ingenuity, and has a most important bearing on the question of cheaper food, by preventing waste, equalising prices throughout the year, and regu- lating consumption. In this form eggs may be trans- ported without injury, either to the equator or the poles, and at any time can be restored to their original condi- tion simply by adding the water which has been arti- ficially taken away. The chief American egg-desiccating companies are in St. Louis and New York. No salts or other extraneous matters are introduced in the process of crystallising, the product being simply a consolidated mixture of the yolk and albumen. Condensed eggs to the value of £4^00 are annually imported into America. Mode of Preserving Eggs. — Immense quantities of eggs are preserved in the spring of the year by liming. Thus treated they are good for every purpose except boiling. A similar desiccating process is carried on in Germany. Herr von EfFner's preserved eggs are put up much like other preserved articles of diet, in securely closed tins, and so protected from hygrometric variations in the atmo- sphere. They are prepared in three forms, the first con- taining the principles of the entire egg, while the others include those of either the white or the yolk only. When required for use it is only necessary to restore the water that has been eliminated, by moistening the flour till it has acquired the consistence of an ordinary egg as beaten up ready for the frying-pan in the preparation 192 ANIMAL FOOD RESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. of omelettes. The dried yolk forms an agreeable adjunct to soups, or may be mixed with powdered biscuit, in which form it is particularly recommended by the in- ventor as a material out of which a palatable, whole- some, invigorating^ and highly-nutritious cake can be quickly made for travellers or soldiers on the march. In the counties of Hants and Dorset, pickled eggs con- stitute a very prominent feature in the farmhouse and store-rooms, insomuch that they would be considered by the industrious housewife but indifferently furnished without them. The mode in which the good dames pickle them is simply thus : — At the season of, the year when their stock of eggs is plentiful, they cause some four or six dozen to be boiled in a capacious saucepan until they become quite hard. They then, after remov- ing the shells, lay them carefully in large mouthed jars, and pour over them scalding vinegar well seasoned with whole-pepper, allspice, some pieces of ginger, and a few cloves of garlic. When cold they are bunged down close, and in a month are fit for use. Where eggs are plenti- ful, the above pickle is by no means expensive, and, as an acetose accompaniment to cold meat it cannot be out- rivalled for piquancy. At the London Dairy Show in 1884 there were up- wards of thirty entries of eggs preserved in different ways, and there was a great variety of methods adopted. Quite a number were simply packed in common salt, and these were all sufficiently preserved for cooking purposes, and better than very many shop eggs, though the appearance was scarcely so good, for the salt had absorbed a rather large portion of the water of the albu- men or white, consequently, there was a considerable air cavity at the larger end, the presence of which was evident by the sound produced when the eggs were shaken. The taste and smell were unobjectionable ; but it is probable that these eggs would not sell well. The third-prize eggs, exhibited by Mr. 0. W. Pearce, of Buckingham, packed by this method, and Dr. Benson's second-prize lot were first rubbed in butter and then EGGS OF VARIOUS KINDS AS FOOD. 193 packed in salt, but this made no difference to the preser- vation of the eggs, except that the white was more watery than when only salt was used. The other second prize was given to Mr. Percy Marigold of Edgbaston. These eggs were " preserved with beef and mutton drip- ping, melted together, a little painted over each egg, and then wiped with a cloth." They were quite fit for kitchen purposes, and equal to shop eggs, but, from the fact of the pores having been closed, there had been no evaporation, and, as in the case of the butter and salt system, the white was watery. The three lots of eggs preserved in liquids were good in quality, showing that this is a safe system, but those preserved in melted wax or paraffine were unfit for use. The result of this experiment is that as yet no system has been adopted which will preserve the eggs equal to new laid. Most of the eggs were quite fit for cooking, and there are several systems equally good in this re- spect, but no one was fit for the table. In China eggs are preserved after the following fashion : — They are covered with a paste of quicklime, sea salt and oak ashes, and thus packed away for three months in boxes, separated from each other by rice husks. As a matter of taste they are not nice, the w^hite being coagulated, and the yolks having turned green, while the smell is anything but pleasant. Eader Eggs. — In many countries there is a large consumption at Easter of hard boiled eggs, dyed red, or ornamented with designs caused by wax tracings. The Easter eggs, otherwise called "Paques eggs," whose life is so faithfully preserved by the French confectioner, are the commonest form of present in almost every country of the world. They are traced in Egypt, Persia, and Mesopotamia, in Greece and in Ger- many, and are extensively used to this day in Russia as a formal addition to the customary greeting and kiss of peace, "Christos vos Christe." In nearly every case they are ordinary eggs dyed red, and occasionally tinged yellow, as in the neighbourhood of Newcastle, with the o 194' ANIMAL FOOD RESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. furze-blossom or "whin bloom." They are variously decorated and inscribed by the simple process of mark- ing them when hot with the end of a tallow candle, and then steeping them with cochineal or some other attractive dye. When elaborately designed or engraved, the " Pace eggs " in old English times were preserved in a deep long-stemmed ale glass, and kept in the family corner cupboard as love relics or toys for the children. At any rate, the religious significance of the Easter egg in its connection with the deliverance from the Deluge, the departure from Egypt, the Passover, and the Resurrection, was soon lost sio^ht of in Old Ensr- ^ CD C> land, for the boys used them as they do cob-nuts in Wiltshire " to try the conqueror," the winning egg by reason of hardness of shell over many smashed com- panions being considered by the boys of the village a famous tough customer, and accordingly a valued prize. The custom of giving Easter eggs to one's relations and friends is a very old one in France, and there is no fear of the usage dying out. But it has risen into an expensive matter, for the imitation eggs are now of the costliest kind, and made to contain all sorts of fancy presents. In 1533, an Archbishop of Paris, authorised by a bull from Pope Julius III, being disposed to permit the use of eggs during Lent, the Parliament took offence and prevented the execution of the episcopal mandate. It is this severe abstinence from eggs during Lent which gave rise to the custom of having a great number of them blessed on Easter Eve to be distributed among friends on Easter Sunday, whence comes the expression " to give Easter eggs." Pyramids of them were carried into the king's cabinet after high mass. They were gilded, or admirably painted, and the prince made presents of them to his courtiers. The origin of these Easter eggs is said to have sprung from the fact that during several centuries no permis- sion could be obtained from the clergy to eat eggs during Holy Week. The rigid observance of that season pro- EGGS OF VARIOUS KINDS AS FOOD. 195 vduced the custom of preserving cooked those articles which could be neither eaten or sold. They were not ■coloured before the reign of Louis XIV. The first person who sold them red was a man named Solirene, established at " the descent from the Pont-Neuf, near the Samari- taine." That innovation had a great success, and St. ■Simon informs us in his " Memoires," that the custom was on Easter Eve to raise in the cabinet of the Grand Monarque, pyramids of coloured eggs, which his Majesty afterwards presented to his courtiers. Since that period the community has undergone so many improvements that it is no longer eggs, properly so called, but boxes with unexpected contents, jewel cases, sometimes costing as high as two or three thousand francs, which are pre- sented. Macfarlane, in his *' Southern Italy," mentions an amusing mistake of a hurried tourist, who, happening to be a day or two at Naples during Easter week, made a brief remark in his note-book that, contrary to the general habit of their species, all the Neapolitan hens laid red eggs ! Ostrich Eggs. — Passing from the ordinary domestic poultry, let us now glance at the huge eggs of the ostrich, which may ere long be more generally utilised for food. As many as sixty eggs are sometimes found in and around an ostrich nest ; but a smaller number is more common. Each female lays from twelve to sixteen, some say twenty-five to thirty eggs, in August and September. But it often happens that several couples unite to hatch together. The eggs of each pair are disposed in a heap, always surmounted by a conspicuous one which was the first laid, and serves a special purpose. When the " delim," or male bird, perceives that the moment of hatching has arrived, he breaks the Qgg which he deems most matured, and at the same time he bores with great care a small hole in the surmounting Qgg, This serves as the first food for the nestlings, and for this purpose, though open, it continues long without spoiling, which is the more o2 196 ANIMAL FOOD RESOtJRCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. necessary, as the delim does not break all the eggs on the same day, but only three or four, and so on, as he hears the young ones stirring withm. This egg is always liquid, but whether by a provision of nature in its original composition, or through the instinct of the parent birds in avoiding to keep it covered like the rest, is not ascertained. The young ones having received this their first nourishment, are immediately dried in the sun, and begin to run about ; in a few days they will follow the parent birds to the pastures,, always returning to shelter under their wings in the nest. An ostrich egg is considered as equal in its contents to twenty-four eggs of the domestic hen. These eggs form a considerable item in the bushman's cuisine, and they are esteemed by the hunter, but in domestication they are too valuable for rearing in incubators to be handed over to the cook. The eggs of domesticated ostriches are too costly at pre- sent to be given up for the table ; their importance, how- ever, can be estimated when we consider that the female occasionally lays 82 eggs (each equal to 32 fowls' eggs), that is above 2,624 of the latter, in the season. An ostrich egg roasted in the embers with truffles has been served up to august personages as a choice dainty, and in an industrial point of view the albvimen they contain is considerable. MncM Eggs. —The eggs of the Australian emeu (Droniceus NovcB Hollandice) are nearly as large as those of the ostrich,, but of a dark green colour. These birds, at one time abundant in Australia, are now becoming extinct, for natives and Europeans are fast^ thinning them out, the former eating the eggs and hunting down the birds for food, but they do not allow boys or women to partake of the flesh, it being reserved for warriors or counsellors. The eofors, althouo-h somewhat strone^ in flavour, are fre- quently eaten by settlers in the bush with great gusto. The flesh of the emeu is excellent, resembling good beef,, and is dressed in a similar manner. The rump part is EGGS OF VARIOUS KINDS AS FOOD. 197 ■considered to be as delicate as fowl, the legs coarser in flavour, being more like beef, but still tender. In the Pampas of South America, from 40 to 50 and even 70 eggs have been found in one nest of the Rhea Americana, the eggs lying on one another, tier upon tier. Perhaps twenty eggs will lie at the bottom of the nest, the others at the top of these. When fresh, the eggs are of a yellow colour, with clear white spots like wet lime attached to the surface. When stale the egg becomes white, and loses the spot-like appearance. These eggs form a staple commodity of food during the months of September, October and November. Plovers' Eggs. — A popular periodical quaintly asks : — " Where do all the plovers' eggs come from ? They are seen at all sorts of meals — dinners, wedding breakfasts, show luncheons, pic-nics, evening-party refreshment tables, ball- suppers.. In all sorts of forms, too, do they appear ; nestling in moss, held in bondage caressingly by •succulent jelly, pearly and cool, the golden yolk just sug- gested through the semi-transparent white. Prodigiously good they are, in whatever shape presented, but pro- digiously mysterious also, in their faculty of turning up in •enormous quantities for the London season, and then dis- appearing with equally strange and inexplicable despatch. Very rarely does one encounter these plovers' eggs except during the London season ; and as to the plovers them- .selves, now and then, in crossing a breezy upland, the pedestrian's attention is caught by their shrill, plaintive •cry, and their rapid flight round and round his head, as .they seek to draw him away from the nest which lies 'zb7 to 160 eggs, as large as those of the turkey, and these are much eaten by the natives. Mr. Joseph, in his " History of Trinidad," states that he had eaten the eggs of the caiman (without knowing what eggs they were) and found them very good. My relative, Mr. R. B. Walker, tells me he has often eaten them in Western Africa. The shell of the Qgg is rough, and filled with a thick albumen without trace of yellow. In Senegambia the natives are fond of these eggs, but they are said to have a disagreeable flavour, especially the yolk or yellow part. According to Crawfurd they are eaten in Siam. Lizards' Eggs. — The eggs of the large tree lizard, known as the Iguana (which looks like an alligator in miniature), are deserving the notice of gourmands. One of these lizards will sometimes contain as many as four score eggs, about the size of a pigeon's Qgg, but with soft shell, which, when boiled, are like marrow. It would be a refreshing sight to see some aldermanic dignitary who has gone the round of all the dishes which native and foreign skill have been able to pro- duce, partaking for the first time of a dish of lizards' eggs garnished with anchovies. Brown, in his work on Guiana, says : — " One of these reptiles captured at its burrow, when killed and cut for cooking, was found to contain ten eggs of an ellip- toid form, shell-less, and midway in size between a pigeon and a hen's egg. These are good eating when boiled for about five minutes and then allowed to get quite cold. They then require some manipulation. A Iiole is made in one end of the skin, and the albuminous part, which never coagulates, is squeezed out ; then the skin is stripped off, and the semi-hardened yelk, of the consistency of butter, is eaten with salt." The eggs of a large lizard ( Far anus hivittatus), those of fish and of turtle, are eaten by the Malays and Chinese. The large eggs of the boa constrictor are regarded as a rare dainty by the Africans from the Congo. One of these snakes killed on an estate in 208 ANIMAL FOOD RESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. British Guiana, in 1884, had 50 eggs, which were eaten by the negroes. The eggs of the common teguexin {Teiu-s teguexin, Lin.), and other large species of lizards, are eaten in South America. Insect Eggs. — The eggs of some insects are also eaten. The larvae and nymphse of ants are not only good food for poultry, but they are considered a choice relish by many people spread on bread and butter, and are excellent curried. They are eaten in Siam, forming, with edible birds' nests, an esteemed article of food, but being costly they are only obtain- able by the rich. Ants' brood are subject to an im- port duty in some of the northern countries of Europe, especially in Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. In those countries they are steeped in boiling water, and a kind of vinegar or formic acid is obtained. Among the other objects of insect products useful to man are the eggs obtained in Mexico from three species of hemipterous insects belonging to the group of aquatic beetles. These eggs are made into a sort of bread or cake called " Hautle," consumed by the people, and it forms an article of commerce in the markets. In the fresh waters of the lagoons, bundles of reeds or rushes are laid, on which the insects {Corixa femorata and C. mercenaria, Geoffroy,and Notonecta Americana) de- posit their eggs. The bundles of rushes are then with- drawn, dried, and beaten over cloths, to detach the myriads of eggs. These are cleansed and sifted, and put into sacks and sold like flour, to form cakes, Avhich are excellent eating, but have a fishy and slightly acid flavour. The custom seems to have been long prac- tised, for it is mentioned so far back as 1625 by a mis- sionary, Thomas Gage, who, travelling in Mexico, states that these cakes were being sold in the markets. Brantz Mayer, in his " Mexico as it Was, and as it Is," published in New York, in 1844, speaks of having noticed on the Lake of Tescuco, men occupied in collect- ing the eggs of flies on plants and sheets. "These EGGS OF VAEIOUS KINDS AS FOOD. 209 eggs, called axayatl, are a substance favourably known to the Indians long before the Conquest, and which cooked in cakes were not different from fish spawn, having the same appearance and flavour. After the frogs of France and the birds' nests of China, I fancy they would be considered delicacies, and I found they were not disdained on the fashionable tables of the capital." The eggs of another species, Corixa esculenta, having the appearance of manna, are also eaten in Egypt. Ill Mexico the dried insects themselves are sold in the streets and markets as food for birds, the dealers crying " Moschitos," " Moschitos," just as in Europe they cry " Food for your singing birds." " A large fly deposits its eggs in the frothy edge of the surface of Mono Lake, in California, each of which when hatched becomes a larva of considerable size, and is called * Ke-chah-re ' by the natives. These larvae when dried and pulverised are mixed with meal made of acorns, to be sun-dried or baked as bread, or mixed with water and boiled with hot stones for soup. The colour of the powdered larvae being similar to that of coarsely ground black pepper, gives a forbidding appearance to the compound." "^ Fish Spawn. — By those who have not looked into the subject, it would scarcely be conceived how extensive is the commerce, and how varied the uses of fish spawn. Even the variety in shape and extent of production of fish ova is a curious matter of investigation. The eggs of various fishes dift'er remarkably in external appear- ance. Some would scarcely be believed to be eggs at all ; take for instance the skate's egg. It looks like a flattened leather bag or purse, with four horns or handles at the corners. The yolk is the size of a walnut, larger or smaller according to the species. The yolk of the egg of the dogfish {Galcus acanthias), which is about the size of a pigeon's egg, is used in parts of ■^ Report of Commissioner of Agriculture for 1870. Washington. 210 ANIMAL FOOD RESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. Sweden as a substitute for other eggs in their domestic economy. This subject of the eggs of fish is one that is as yet but imperfectly understood, although the late Mr. Frank Buckland, by his investigations, has thrown much light upon many disputed points, and accumulated a good deal of valuable information in his " Report on the Sea Fisheries of England and Wales," 1879, p. 240. Cod-roe is sent off in tins to Australia and India in a salted state. It is sold in London in a dried form, smoked and thus darkly coloured. It is a delicious dish when partly salted, parboiled, and then fried. Mr. Frank Buck- land states that in 1868 he examined a cod-roe weighing no less than 7J lbs. ; they often weigh five pounds. By careful examination he found the average was 140 eggs to the grain. This gives 67,200 eggs to the ounce, so that in the whole mass of this one cod-roe, allowing three-quarters of a pound for skin, membrane, «Sz;c., there was no less than 7,526,400 eggs. Herrings' eggs in North America are used for human food. In the spring of the year myriads of herrings, closely allied to our own species, arrive in shore to spaw^n. The Indian men, women and children scoop up the spawn in large quantities, and use it as food. Herrings' eggs are about the size of, and look very much like sago. Each egg has, like that of the salmon, its own oil vesicle. The roe of the ling is said to be better eating than that of the cod. The eggs of a species of herring {Alausa macrurus) are eaten by the Chinese. The largest use of fish spawn is for bait on the French coasts in the sardine and anchovy fisheries, and pre- served for food in the form of caviare and dried roes, &c. The export of cod-roe for fish bait from Norway averages 40,000 barrels annually. Oviparous animals, it is well known, are the most prolific, and of these fish excel all others. A small cod- fish will produce two millions of eggs, and it is said that a single pair of herrings, if allowed to reproduce undis- turbed, and multiply for twenty years, would not only EGGS OF VARIOUS KINDS AS FOOD. 211 supply the whole world with abundance of food, but would become inconveniently numerous. The average number of ova in a salmon is stated at twelve thousand ; if it were possible that all those eggs produced fish and they arrived at maturity, there would be twelve thousand salmon, or six thousand pairs, whose pro- duce, at the same rate, would be seventy-two millions. "Were it not that vast numbers of the eggs are de- stroyed, fish would so multiply as to fill the waters com- pletely. There are many anomalies connected with the growth of fish which naturalists have apparently never been able to resolve. We know of the great waste of fish life which must take place in the sea, of the number- less eggs that are never impregnated by the milt, and of the countless millions which are devoured by enemies ; we know also that out of a million of young codfish only a small percentage will ever reach the market or become of any commercial value ; but what we should like to know is, how it comes that a fish counting its spawn by the million is scarcer than fishes which yield their eggs only in thousands ? A codfish of fair dimensions sheds upwards of three millions and a half of eggs, a flounder ^Iso gives its eggs by the million. A small one of this species, which was weighed and the ova counted, actually spawned 1,351,400 eggs. The fish next in order as to quantity of spawn is the mackarel, which yields about 500,000 ova. The yield of a herring is 37,000 eggs. Now, the herring excels most of the fish we have named in plentifulness, and we have never yet seen 'an explanation of the cause. Can any naturalist tell us for certain that these large fishes deposit their spawn annually ? We have some doubts of the fact ourselves, and for the very obvious reason that the herring, with its 37,000 eggs, is our most plentiful fish, whilst the cod, with its 4,000,000 or more of ova, is annually becoming less plentiful. Sturgeon Caviare. — In Russia, when the eggs of the -sturgeon have been taken from the fish, they are carried p2 212 ANIMAL FOOD RESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. in packets to the corner of the fishing stage set apart- for the preparation of caviare, of which there are four- kinds made : — 1. The grained spawn or eggs entire. 2. The hard, or pressed. 3. The salted. 4. The blind eggs. The choicest caviare is made with the effgrs of the beluga {Acipenser huso), which are large and handsome. Those of the common sturgeon {A. Guldenstadtii) the sevruga {A. stellatm)^ and the bastard sturgeon, mixed, furnish a less esteemed kind ; while the e^ofs of the sterlet {A. ruthenus), which are extremely small, do not- enter into commerce, but are used locally by the fisher- men and workpeople. In preparing caviare, the roe of the several kinds of sturgeon is spread out on a net with narrow meshes forming a sieve, and stretched over a wooden frame, then the grains are passed through the meshes by slightly pressing the whole mass till nothing remains on the sieve but the cellular tissue, the fat, and the muscle. The grains, which are black or brown, fall through the sieve into a wooden receptacle placed underneath. For manufacturing grained caviare the roe is sprinkled with very clean and fine salt, and the whole mass is stirred with a wooden fork having eight or ten prongs. The less the fresh caviare is salted the more it is esteemed. The roe mixed with the salt presents at first a doughy appearance when it is stirred ; but when every grain has been impregnated with salt, the whole mass swells, and in stirring it a slight noise is perceptible like that of stirring small grains of sand. This noise is the sign that the caviare is ready. In manufacturing pressed caviare the brine is made stronger, and when the eggs are well impregnated with salt, the grains are put into a sack made of the bark of the linden tree, which is placed under a press, in order to get all the brine out of the caviare, and to transform it into a solid mass. In thus pressing the caviare, a EGGS OF VARIOUS KINDS AS FOOD. 213 large number of the grains are crushed, and a portion of their contents flows out with the brine. After having taken the pressed caviare from the sacks, it is packed in casks containing 30 pouds (1,080 pounds), the in- sides of which are covered with napkin linen ; this being the reason why the caviare is also called " napkin caviare." The finest quality of pressed caviare, that which has been less pressed and salted, is placed in straight linen bags of a cylindrical shape, and is then called cast caviare. Caviare is also shipped in tin boxes hermetically closed and soldered. The exports of caviare from Eussia in 1879 amounted to 201,746 pouds of 3G lbs. each. Mullet Caviare. — The fishermen in the Gulf of Foz, the salt lakes of Caronti, Berre, and other bays and creeks of the Mediterranean, prepare a species of caviare with the Toes of the mullet and other species of fish, which is called boutarge, or botargo. It is sold at from six to fifteen francs the kilogramme (2s. 6d. to 6s. 6d. the pound), according to the quantity obtained during the season. It is thus prepared: — The fish is opened when the ovaries have reached maturity, and the roes are removed •entire and cleaned. They are then placed between planks loaded with heavy weights, and the week follow- ing the roes are washed with brine and replaced under the press. It is then sold without any other preparation. This caviare is well known in Sicily, Greece, Syria and Turkey, and is much esteemed on all the coasts of the Mediterranean. At the tables of the rich it is served as a hors-d'oeuvre ; cut in small slices, steeped in olive oil, and before eating sprinkled with lemon juice. The roe of the grey mullet is in great request all over the Mediterranean ; 70,000 pairs per annum are col- lected at Tunis, and sent across to Italy, where they fetch lOd. to Is. 8d. per pair. Under the general name of " botargo " the roe of the mullet and the spawn of the tunny fish are prepared on the coast of the Mediterra- nean and sold in Italy, Egypt, Turkey, and Barbary. The best is said to be made at Tunis, but it is also 214 ANIMAL FOOD KESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. prepared at Cagliari. The mullet which is caught is the Miigil cephahis, Lin., and the eggs are salted, bruised,, and made into a cake, which is sometimes smoked and dried in the sun. In Honduras and parts of the West Indies, the roe of the callipeva {Miigil liza) is dried, and considered a delicacy. The late Sir John Kichardson tells us that very good bread can be made from the roe of the poUach (Gachis- pollachius), and that when well bruised and mixed with a little flour, the roe of the methy (Lota maculosa) can be baked into very good biscuits, which are used in the fur countries as bread. The Chinook Indians collect the spawn of the herring, which they squeeze into balls and dry. The roe of the sandre {Leucioperca sandra) is prepared in Russia for exporting to Greece and Turkey. This is done principally in the Sea of Azov, and especially by the Cossacks of Kouban, who make annually from 15,000 to 20,000 pouds (of 36 lbs. each), by leaving the spawn in the ovaries, which hardens, and is then packed in casks with layers of salt. Of late years the Greek islanders have commenced to- prepare the roes largely for shipment, as they obtain them from the fishermen for nothing. They use those of the lestiche or bream {Ahramis hrama), of the sandre, and of the vobla (Leuciscus rutihs). The little bags containing the roe are thrown together promiscuously, and each layer is covered with a certain quantity of salt. The whole is then pressed between boards weighed down by heavy stones as already described. This caviare remains thus for a month, after which the Greeks put it into casks, and ship it chiefly to Turkey and the mainland. Caviare which has been thus prepared, is cut into slices shaped like discs, and is much sought after in those countries bordering on the Mediterranean. Formerly a kind of caviare was prepared for the Armenian and Turkish markets, by adding spices, cinna- mon, cardamoms, nutmegs and cloves to the pressed kind, and drying it in the sun after salting, as is still done EGGS OF VARIOUS KINDS AS FOOD. 215 with the roes of the mullet, held in high estimation by the Greeks. The salted and dried roe, of enormous size, of the Trubu, a species of shad, which frequents the great rivers of Siak, in Sumatra, constitutes a consider- able article of commerce in the western parts of the Malayan Archipelago. The roe of the okorune {Pcrca fluviatiUs), and of the Yerschi {Acerina vulgaris), is dried in ovens specially con- structed for this purpose in Russia, and is used as a seasoning during Lent. The eggs of fish are sought for in the rivers of India and made into cakes. The eggs of the kari {Laheo calhasu) and kalmuri {Diseognathiis larnta) are highly prized. There is also a destruction by mankind of the ova, or spawn, of the Crustacea — lobsters, crabs and shrimps — which are carried under the tail. The lobster produces 15,000 to 20,000 eggs, the crayfish upwards of 100,000. The lobster is never so good as when in the condition of a " berried hen." Berried hens occur most frequently in April, May, and June. They begin to lose their berries about July, Almost the only use to which the berries are put is cooking. They are employed in many pre- parations by the West-end chefs, especially for the colouring and enriching sauces. The chefs are also fond of the coral out of the body of the lobster. As much as six ounces of berries can be taken off in May from a lobster weighing three to three pounds and a-half. There are about 6,720 eggs in an ounce of lobster spawn. The eggs from female crabs are also used for colouring various sauces, they are mashed up with the sauce, a little anchovy added, and then it is called " lobster sauce." The eggs of the king crab (Limulus moluccanm) are collected on the north coast of Java, and much esteemed by the natives. This crustacean is in some localities so plentiful as to be used for manuring land. 216 ANIMAL FOOD RESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. CHAPTER VII. Reptiles, Snakes, and Amphibians Eaten as Food. Turtles and Tortoises — Land, Marsh, River and Sea Tortoises — Flesh Largely Eaten in Various Countries — Terrapins of America Great Food Delicacies — Turtle Soup and Dried Turtle Flesh — Sources of Supply of Turtle — Recipes for Cooking Turtle — Flesh of Loggerhead Turtle not Good — Crocodiles and Alligators Eaten — Lizards Eaten — Monitors — Iguanas — Snakes Eaten in Many Countries — Snake Wine — Amphibians — Frogs Eaten in Europe, America, and Asia — Modes of Catching Them — Recipes for Cooking Them — Sala- mander and Aloxotl Eaten. ^ Reptiles. — Of these we find that many are eaten with eagerness all over the world, and neither want of beauty nor abundance of venom protect them against omnivorous man. In vain they assume all manner of ugly shapes ; in vain they move, creeping and hopping and sliding, although they suggest to us by form and motion all that is false and unfair, hideous and horrid ; even God's curse of the serpent does not shield it ; and from the humble frog of the pond to the colossal crocodile of Egypt, they are all but so much food for their master. Taking the first order, Tortoises or Turtles, we find the flesh of many kinds is tender and palatable, and the eggs of most are much esteemed as food. Of the eggs we have spoken in the last chapter. Professor Dumeril has classed the tortoises, according to their habits, into four families : — 1. Chersites, or land tortoises. 2. JElodites, or PalucUries — marsh tortoises. V 3. PotcmiiteSy or FluviaJes — river tortoises. 4. Thalassites, or sea tortoises. Speaking generally, it may be stated that the flesh of REPTILES, SNAKES AND AMPHIBIANS EATEN AS FOOD. 217 all tortoises is edible, for there are people who eat dif- ferent kinds in various countries, but as the flesh of some is better flavoured than others, those are necessarily most sought after. 1. The Land Tortoises (Testudo). — In Sicily and Italy land tortoises (T. Grceca) are sold in the markets princi- pally for making soup, in which mode of cooking it is more esteemed than prepared in any other way. The flesh of the gopher, or Florida terrapin ( T. jmlyphemuSy Holbrook, T. Carolina, Lecomte), is said to be excellent, and it is therefore sought after for the table. Certain species of tortoises (Pelfoastes, Chersina, and HomopJms) are eaten in the Cape Colony. Darwin gives a good account of the great elephantine tortoise, which he terms T. indicus. The flesh of this animal is largely employed, both fresh and salted, and a beautifully clear oil is prepared from the fat. When a tortoise is caught the man makes a slit in the skin near its tail, so as to see inside the body whether the fat under the dorsal plate is thick. If it is not, the animal is liberated, and is said to recover soon from this strange operation. While staying in the upper district of St. James's Island, where a party of Spaniards were employed in catching tortoises, Mr. Darwin and his companions lived entirely on the meat of these animals. "The breast- plate roasted with the flesh attached," he says, " is very good, and the young tortoises make excellent soup, but otherwise the meat, to my taste, is very indifferent." Some of the largest of the land tortoises of the Gallapagos group weigh 800 or 400 pounds, but their common size is between 50 and 100 pounds. Capt. B. Hall, " Extracts of a Journal in Chili and Peru," gives a better opinion of the meat : — " Their flesh without exception is of as sweet and pleasant a flavour as any that I ever eat. It was common to take out of one of them 10 or 12 pounds of fat, when they were opened, besides what was necessary to cook them with. This was as yellow as our best butter, and of a sweeter flavour than hog's lard." 218 AXIMAL FOOD RESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. Porter, in his " Journal of a Cruise made to the Pacific Ocean in 1813," stated that some of the great land tor- toises captured by him weighed from 300 to 400 pounds, and that on one island they were five feet and a half long, four feet and a half wide, and three feet thick in the body. He expatiates on the luscious and delicate food that the long-necked and small-headed and other kinds produce. They have been so hunted that at the present time it is most probable that the gigantic tortoises are very rare where they were formerly so abundant. The land tortoise, or terrapin, which is brought from Aldabra, is a favourite article of food with the inhabi- tants of Mahe, Seychelles, but it has become scarce. Green turtle are, however, common there from November to April. The turtle is unlawful food among the Mahomedans, but particular classes of Bengalis eat certain Emydes or terrapins, more especially the Tetmodon Lessoni, of Du- meril and Bibron, which is kept for sale in shallow tanks, many hundreds of them sometimes together. The eggs also of the different water tortoises are brought to the bazaar. In Greece the flesh of the tortoises is abhorred by the people as being that of an impure animal. A large black terrestrial tortoise with red spots, which attains the weight of twenty pounds, is eaten in Brazil. In Japan some tortoises are met with in the markets; that principally eaten is a species of Trionyx, one of the mud or soft-shelled tortoises. The flesh of all are very nice. A Southern Indian kind {Cryptojms granosus, Bibr.) living in fresh water, is rather common on the coast of Coromandel. It forms an article of diet. The flesh of the European box tortoise {C. Europcea), though not very delicate, is nevertheless eaten on the Continent. It is said, however, to be greatly improved by feeding the animals for some time on grain, bran, and other vegetable aliment. 2. Of the marsh tortoises we have no details to furnish. 3. The river tortoises of Africa, Asia, and America are highly esteemed by man as food. EEPTILES, SNAKES AND AMPHIBIANS EATEN AS FOOD. 21^ Le Vaillant ("Travels in Africa," vol. i., p. 116) thus- speaks of the tortoises there: — "Next morning, the weather being cool and cloudy, we marched six hours in order to reach the borders of a very large pond, abound- ino- with small tortoises, of which we cauo^ht about twenty ; we broiled them all in the same manner on the coals and found them excellent. They were from seven, to eio:ht inches in leno^th and about four in breadth. The shell on the back was of a whitish-grey colour, inclining a little to yellow; when alive they had a disagree- able smell, but by roasting this was entirely destroyed." M. da Silva Coutinho, a member of the Brazilian Com- mission at the Paris Exhibition in 1867, in an article on the tortoises of the Amazon,^ states that " The flesh of the Podocnemis expansa, of the family of Emydes, is the most savoury of all. It is with this the best dishes are prepared, and it will of itself constitute the base of a. repast the most delicate. According to the part of the body employed, and the manner of preparing the flesh,, the flavour will vary and resemble either veal, fowl, or pork. The natives feed continually on it. When I made a voyage of exploration in the region of Para I lived on the flesh of this tortoise for more than two months with- out being surfeited. Its flesh is of such easy and healthy digestion that it replaces fowl for the sick, as is practised in the military hospital of Manaus." This species is the most abundant of aU the turtles of the Amazon region. Its flesh is good for food, and its eggs are converted into an oil, which is generally used for burning, but when fresh it has little flavour, and might be utilised in preserving food, as it already is in the local preparation known as Mexira. A turtle of three feet, which costs in the Amazon region about 5s., will support a family of six persons for three days. The fat can also be employed, being more palatable and healthy than lard. An ordinary animal will furnish five pounds of fat, and as this is worth Is. a * " Bulletin of the Society of Acclimatation, Paris," vol. xv.> p. 147. 220 ANIMAL FOOD RESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. pound, it represents the whole price of the animal ; the flesh being obtained for nothing. The salt water terrapin of North America {Clcnimys ierrcqnn, Schoepf) is in great request, its flesh being highly esteemed as a delicacy for the table, especially at the close of the summer, when the animals have retired to their winter dormitory. They are then fat, and con- sidered as a delicacy. The painted terrapin {Clemmys pictd) and the red-bellied terrapin {Clemmys Muhlenhurgii, Schweigg, Pseudemys rugosa, Shaw) are now less common in Central New Jersey, being sought after by restaurant keepers, who palm them off on their customers as the diamond-back terrapin (Malacodemmys palustris, Gmelin), but no cooking, however skilful, can deceive those who are accustomed to the genuine article. The latter is met with on the American coasts, from New York to Texas, the red-bellied from New Jersey to Virginia. The Southern terrapin is Pseudemys mobiliensis, Hollbrook ; the Florida river terra- pin (P. concinna). The American box tortoise {Cistudo Carolina) has a wide distribution. Its flesh is said to be excellent. The terrapins inhabit North America, from Hudson's Bay to the Floridas. There are so many species that it is difficult to enumerate those which are eaten. They are found at the mouths of rivers and in salt marshes in North America, and their flesh is considered a very ■delicious article of food. To show the importance of the tortoise trade in the United States, I may quote the following account of a Baltimore establishment from an American paper : — " The most novel feature in the house is the terrapin department. This room is kept warm and the terra- pins luxuriate in air-tight chests, each from Ave to ten bushels capacity. These are packed full of terrapins, which number many hundreds in the aggregate. The most of them are the Chesapeake diamond-back variety, and all are at least seven inches across the under shell, that being the measurement the terrapin must reach EEPTILES, SNAKES AND AMPHIBIANS EATEN AS FOOD. 221 before, in the opinion' of 'the epicure, it is fit for the table. " There are also kept in some of the chests hundreds- of sliders or red fender terrapins, a fresh-water variety, chiefly from the James river. The habits of the terrapin have been made a study by the dealer. He keeps them in air tight chests without food, and says they not only exist deprived of air, but grow fat ; and if kept in the chests for six months, will each weigh four to six ounces more than when put in. If the terrapins are allowed to have liberty or free air, even in the most limited space, they become very poor, as they seem to draw sustenance from themselves, but do not take food. All the terrapins in the chests are in the enjoyment of vigorous existence, as proved by their movements when the lids are raised. " The terrapins are principally sold to hotelkeepers to be served up at extra junketings, and they bring from twenty-five to thirty-six dollars a dozen during the season. In the terrapin season one house in Baltimore will sell a thousand dozens." It is in Lent that terrapin commands its highest prices. A dozen terrapins consist of twelve diamond- backs, no one of which must be less than a " count ter- rapin," that is, should measure seven inches in length on the under shell. The largest known do not exceed ten inches in length and eight pounds in weight, and such prizes are extremely rare ; usually they weigh about 3J lbs. each. The seven-inch terrapin averages four pounds in weight. " Sliders," the common river turtles of almost all the rivers of the South, grow to a much larger size. They bring from 6 dols. to 9 dols. a dozen. The two or three men who control the trade in Balti- more say that they sell almost exclusively for private tables. Terrapin are caught all the way from Savannah and Charleston to the Patapsco and Gunpowder rivers, but the genuine diamond-back belongs almost exclu- sively to the upper Chesapeake and its tributaries. The majority of the sliders come to Baltimore from the James 222 ANIMAL FOOD RESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. Tiver and streams adjoining. An active terrapin catcher sometimes makes fifty dols. a week, but the find varies, and often runs down as low as five dols. The reptile is discovered by probing the mud in the shallows with a stick. He is dormant and easily captured. The females are more highly prized and are known as *' cow " terrapin. They are generally fatter and contain about thirty eggs, some of which a visitor has a right to •expect to garnish the dish at 1 dol. 25c. a plate. Many restaurateurs, reckless of their fair fame, have resort to the eggs of the pigeon made into a paste and rolled into a substitute for the genuine article. Thirty years ago the largest dealer in Baltimore found it difiicult to dis- pose of the terrapin he received at six dols. a dozen. The negroes who bring them to market say that they are growing scarcer yearly, and nothing but the high price stimulates them to keep up the supply by a more ex- tended and persistent search. The painted turtle {Chrf/senif/s picta, Henma and Gray) may be found in many of the American ponds, lakes, creeks and rivers, from New Brunswick to Georgia. Though not considered eatable, it is nevertheless sold along with several other tortoises, and figures as a " diamond-back " in the famous terrapin supper. Indeed in some seasons there are more wood turtles (Chelopus inscul^otus, Le Conte) and red-bellied terrapins sold in the Philadelphia markets than edible salt water terra- pins or diamond-backs. In examining a netful of terra- pins at a game store a short time ago, all of them were of the riigosa species. Many of them were dead, and two were so " verf/ dead " that their eyes had dried up and sunk deeply into their sockets. And yet the wily caterer will buy them and stew them with wine and spices, and the epicure will smack his lips over this reptilian carrion, and exclaim, " How delicious ! " Mni/s tecta, Gray, abounds in the Hooghly, and is sold for food. The flesh of an Emys is eaten in China, and is considered medicinally pectoral and emollient. The shell cut up in small pieces is given in decoction. The cara- REPTILES, SNAKES AND AMPHIBIANS EATEN AS FOOD. 223 pace is, however, carefully examined to observe if there ^re nine divisions or markings at the sides, for if so„ its value is great. It is boiled in vinegar and water to form a jelly, much prescribed in rheumatism, debility, ^nd other disorders. The flesh of the hairy tortoise is considered excellent in many maladies. The long-headed Chinese tortoise {Platysternon mega- aephaluni) is sometimes sold in Canton. The flesh of the matamata terrapin {Chelys matamatay Brug.) is highly esteemed, and in Cayenne and Guiana, incessant warfare has been maintained against it, so that it has become scarce. The flesh of the tailed tortoise of North America (Chelydra serpentina, Schweig.), and of the alligator snap- per {Macrochelys laxiutina, Schw.), is considered un- palatable, and has a musky odour. That of the fringed snouted tortoise [Chelys fimhnata), is, however, excellent mating. To the family of Testudo belongs the jaboty {Testudo carhonaria, Spix.), an exclusively terrestrial species, the flesh of which is much esteemed as delicate food, rivalling in flavour that of the Podocnemis exjoansa. The flesh fried is considered one of the best meats met with. The greaved tortoises (Podocnemis expansd) are ex- tremely numerous in the northern rivers of South America. Bates, when travelling on the Amazon, had to live for a considerable part of the year on this tortoise. It was the only animal food, except fish, which was to be had ; and although all the arts of the native cuisine were employed, he got thoroughly tired of it, so that opinions difler regarding this food. The flesh of many of the mud or soft tortoises (Trionycides) is very nice. Trionyx sinensis is eaten in China. 4. Sea Tortoises. — We come now to the marine turtles, ■and of these, in commencing his notice of them, M. Lace- pede well remarks : — " This is one of the best presents which Nature has given to the inhabitants of equatorial 224 ANIMAL FOOD KESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. countries, one of the most useful products which it has deposited on the confines of land and water." Of these we may notice the green turtle, the loggerhead or hawk- hill turtle {Chelone imhricata, Schweig), furnishing the tortoiseshell of commerce ; and the luth or leathery turtle (Sp/iargis coriacea, Rondelet). The flesh of some species of marine tortoises, but par- ticularly of the green turtle {Chclonia My das, and C. virgata, Schw.), is in the greatest request as a luxury for the table, at least in England, and the animal itself is an object of commerce. The arrival of a cargo of '' lively turtles " is by no means a thing of trifling importance. Of late years the flesh is imported dried, which has placed it within the reach of general consumers. The flesh is also salted in some quarters. All the turtles afford a considerable quantity of oil, which is employed for various purposes. In some of the West Indian islands, it supplies, when fresh, the place of butter or salad oil for culinary purposes, and it is also used for burning in lamps. Turtle would seem to have been first introduced in England as an article of food about the eighteenth cen- tury, for a record in the " Gentleman's Magazine," under date August 31, 1753, shows that it was then a rarity ; and they did not know how to dress it. It states : — " A turtle, brought by Admiral Anson, weighing 350 pounds, was ate at the ' King's Arms,' Pall Mall ; the mouth of an oven was taken down to admit the part to be baked." Steam communication has greatly increased the im- ports of this reptile. About 15,000 are now introduced into our ports, and from thence to our kitchens, every year. They are usually brought in casks open at the top, the sea water being replenished. They weigh from \ cwt. to 3 cwt. Not that all these shielded animals so arriving can be called " lively turtle," for the voyage has very often a damaging effect upon them, and they have to be brought into flesh before they can be used for the table. EEPTILES, SNAKES AND AMPHIBIANS EATEN AS FOOD. 22:5 Dr. Browne, in his " History of Jamaica," speaking of the turtle, saj^s, " it is delicate, tender food while young, but as it grows old it becomes more tough and gristly, and is not so agreeable to the stomach in those warm countries; the juices, however, are generally reckoned great restoratives, and often observed to heal and smooth the skin in scorbutic and leprous habits ; nay, it is said to cure even the most obstinate venereal taints." In Portugal, syphilitic patients are often sent to the Cape Verde Isles to be cured by feeding on turtle flesh. The flesh of the green turtle is eaten in the West India Islands generally, in all the maritime cities of the United States, Brazil and Peru, in England, in Africa, the Cape Verde Islands, and among the natives who inhabit the Western Coasts of Africa, Guinea, and Congo, the islands of Mauritius and Keunion in the Indian Ocean, at the English Presidencies of India, Java, and in Australia. There is not a four-footed animal, a voyager tells us, the flesh of which the Japanese esteem like that of the kecame or turtle. The flesh of the turtle is thus, we find, a universal food, if we except some of the States of Europe, which do not seem to appreciate it as a delicacy. I may add that this has been so in all ages. Diodorus of Sicily, Pliny, and Strabo speak of it. The former named " Chelonophages " certain people inhabiting islands at the entry of the Red Sea, whose principal occupation was catching turtle. There are in the turtle two pieces of flesh very white, compared to knuckles of veal. It may be larded and made into fricandeaux and pate's, equal to those of Rouen or Pontoise. Every part of the flesh is edible. The bones being easily saturated with the gravy, are left in the ragouts which are made, and the fat, which is very fluid, serves instead of butter or lard. The two most choice preparations of the turtle in the West Indies are the soup and the boucan or plastron. The soup made there is flavoured with sherry, and seasoned with strong spices, capsicums, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg. It is considered Q 223 ANIMAL FOOD RESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. to be excellent when, after having eaten, one is obliged to rest with the mouth wide open, and cool the fevered palate with Madeira or port. So that, to appreciate this iiery soup, the taste has to be acquired. The plastron of boucaneered turtle is made by mincing the flesh fine, and cooking it in its own shell. Here is a receipt given for preparing and cooking it: — "The plastron or buckler is the shell of the belly, on which is left three or four inches of flesh, with all the fat, this being green, and of a very delicate flavour. The plastron is placed in the oven. It is seasoned with lemon juice, capsicum or cayenne, salt, pepper, cloves and eggs beaten up. The oven must not be too hot, as the flesh of the turtle being tender, it should be cooked slowly. While it is baking the flesh should be pierced from time to time with a wooden skewer, so that the gravy may penetrate all parts. It is sent up to table in the shell, and the meat carved out from it. I have never eaten anything more appetising or better flavoured." This is not the receipt of a royal chef cle cuisine, or of an ordinary cook, but of Father Labat, a Dominican monk, and we know that in all that relates to the table, and especially the food of fast days, monks are good authorities. The old buccaneers from whom this dish was named, having no ovens, cooked their turtle in a trench covered with lighted charcoal, and this mode of cooking was said to be preferable. But in whatever manner dressed, all agree that the flesh of the turtle is an excellent and palatable food. Griflith, in his " Animal Kingdom," says : " It would be quite superfluous to dilate on the enthusiastic venera- tion in which turtle soup is held by our wealthy and discerning citizens." Dried turtle and the dried flesh for soup is now prepared in America and the West Indies. A manufactory at Key West, Florida, puts up in airtight cans for exportation 200,000 pounds yearly, and employs ten vessels and sixty men in collecting: the turtle. It is sent to Enofland and Cuba chiefly. At Jamaica some factories are also doing a REPTILES, SNAKES AND AMPHIBIANS EATEN AS FOOD. 227 ^ood business in a preparation worthy of the gastronomic patronage of an aldermanic banquet, so rich is it in green fat and calipee, calipash, and those delicate gelatinous morsels appertaining to the fins. A steady supply of live turtle is obtained monthly through the West India and Pacific steamers from Colon, besides those brought from the Caymanas. 10,805 pounds of prepared turtle, valued at £660, was shipped from Jamaica in 1880. Although all the varieties of the edible turtle are palatable, yet they are distinguished by the localities from whence they are obtained, and some are preferred to othersi Those of the Bay of Honduras are most esteemed in England. Of the Cape Verde Islands, those of St. Vincent are considered the best. Dampier tells us that they are not so large as those of the American islands. The flesh is white, and intermixed with the green fat, which is firm and of good flavour. Jamaica is the principal mart in the West Indies to which the turtle are brought from the coasts of the Gulf of Mexico, from Trinidad to Vera Cruz, principally from Honduras and the Tortugas. From Jamaica they are sent to England and the United States. The island of Ascension ships about 3,000 turtle yearly, some weighing from 400 to 800 lbs. Lemaire states that, at Cape Blanc, the turtles are of such a size that some with the bones removed yielded a barrel of flesh without the head, throat, tail, fins, tripe, and eggs, and would furnish a good meal to thirty men. (Firmin, " Voyage in Equinoctial Holland," p. 80.) But it is not these large turtles that are most •esteemed ; those of 10 lbs. or 25 lbs. weight are the best flavoured. At Martinique the flesh of the turtle is cooked in various ways, and with different sauces. It is made into soup, roasted on a spit, stewed, fricasseed, in pates, etc. It may be said of the turtle as of the pig, that every part of it is good, from the head to the foot. Here is a receipt; according to M. Chevet, senior, for making turtle soup in the French style, given in the Q2 228 ANIMAL FOOD RESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. 6th vol., p. 424, of the " Bulletin de la Soci^te d'Acclima- tation," Paris. " Soak in lukewarm water the fins and the plastron of the turtle to remove the shelly parts, then cut these in pieces and add the intestines and other flesh. Place in an earthen marmite about two lbs. of the turtle flesh with a litre and a-half of water. Cook it as for a pot-au-f eu, skimming it with care. Add salt, ordinary vegetables, as carrots, leeks ; let it boil on a moderate fire two hours and a-half. Add a little sherry or Madeira, and cayenne pepper, a little flour, tapioca, sago, or other fecula to thicken. An excellent bouillon is thus obtained, very refreshing, nutritive, gelatinous, and which leaves the mouth fresh. "In place of water, bouillon may be added, and quenelles made of the lower flesh of the animal and the eggs when there are any. The eggs should be well washed, and cooked separately, so as not to discolour the soup. This soup we are told forms the principal dish of the dinner." In whatever fashion cooked, the flesh of the turtle is very agreeable to the palate. And according to all voyagers it is so easily digestible that any quantity may be eaten without inconvenience. Dr. Rufz, in an interest- ing descriptive article from which we quote, states that during a practice of twenty years in Martinique, where it is largely consumed, he never heard of any accident arising from it. It is there in demand by all classes of the population, and within the reach of all; at Lent especially it is an invaluable food resource. It is sold in the public markets like beef and mutton, at about Is. per pound. The flesh is much firmer than that of most fishes, and more nourishing. It approaches veal, of which one preparation, " tete de veau en tortue," gives the best idea of real turtle to those who have never tasted it. In a compilation of Voj'ages and Travels, published in London in 1745, we find the following panegyric on turtle : — " The flesh is white, larded with a green fat. EEPTILES, SNAKES AND AMPHIBIANS EATEN AS FOOD. 229 firm and well tasted, having this advantage over the fat of all other animals, that it is not cloying or disagreeable, but may be eaten alone. The delicacy of the flesh makes it not fit for salting ; but when fresh it is highly nourish- ing, and of so easy a digestion, that, eat ever so much^ it never incommodes you, being alike agreeable, dress it which way you will. The best piece is the belly, taking also the shell that covers it with the thickness of two fingers of the meat it contains. This they put in the oven whole, seasoning with lime-juice, salt, pimento, and common pepper mixed with cloves, and baked with a slow fire ; it makes an excellent dish." In Honduras and Jamaica the flesh of the turtle is cut ofl" in strips and dried in the sun ; that from the back being the calipash, and that from the belly the calipee, of a somewhat lighter colour. Its appearance and con- sistency thus dried is like that of thin cakes of glue, and it requires three or four days soaking in water before it can be made into soup, the processes of drying and soak- ing taking from it nothing of its real nutriment or flavour. It is not the largest turtle which are the best for eat- ing. Those of 10 to 25 lbs. are the most esteemed. " In this respect," says Audubon, at the Tortugas, ''I could have had one weighing 700 lbs. for very little more than another weighing but 50 lbs. To every person of taste, there is not a meal to be compared to that of a turtle of 10 lbs. well dressed." It is said the flesh of the females is preferable to that of the males, but they are generally lean after depositing their eggs. The flesh of the turtle is more or less green in dif- ferent localities, and at various stages. Professor Dume- ril distinguishes four varieties of the green or edible turtle, according to certain colorations of the shell ; but these distinctions are not regarded by those who collect and eat them. The English markets are principally supplied with turtles from the West Indies ; about 200 are sent annu- -ally from Honduras ; but the high price of the article 230 ANIMAL FOOD RESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. would seem to indicate either that the natural supplies^ are not equal to the demand, or that the methods adopted for catching and sending over the produce, are not of tlie most economical kind. The turtles from which- the highly-prized soup is made are sent over to this country in three different ways: either alive, or sun- dried, or preserved in tins like the Australian tinned meats. In all three branches the industry is capable of great extension, not only in the West Indies, but in Fiji, North Australia, and probably in other of our tropical or sub-tropical colonies. The market price of sun-dried Jamaica turtle is about 8s. per lb., while a tin of pre- served fat costs 4s. or 5s., and a small tin of soup ready for consumption as much as half a guinea. These prices must be very remunerative to either the producer or the middleman. Considering the little difficulty there is in catching these reptiles, which have only to be turned on their backs as they come to the surface or reach the shore, and considering the numbers in which they exist on the submarine plateaux off the shores of the numerous islands and continents within the tropics, the supply of turtles ought to be both regular and abundant ; while as they may be kept alive for a long time with nothing to eat and without requiring any great attention, no branch of the fishing industry could well be more profitable. Turtles are getting scarce in the Indian seas. They should be protected more than they are. Colonel Dove- ton, in his " History of the Burmese War," states when scurvy broke out among the troops, a ship was sent ex- pressly to Diamond Island, at the mouth of the Bassan River, Pegu, for a cargo of live turtle : — " The flesh was served out to the troops by the commissariat by the pound, as beef or pork. We usually dressed it like a^, beef-steak, which it much resembled, both in taste and. appearance. What fell to my share was wanting neither- in eggs nor green fat, though I suspect these dainty adjuncts were not duly appreciated by many of us, in the absence of those condiments so requisite for serving- up the dish in the true aldermanic style." Ten years EEPTILES, SNAKES AND AMPHIBIANS EATEN AS FOOD. 231 ago boats' loads of turtle eggs were taken to Moulmein ; now a man thinks himself lucky to get a few small basketfuls. The turtle eggeries are sold by auction in the same manner as fisheries. Thalassochelys corticata is sold as coarse food in the markets of Southern Italy. The long necked tortoise {Chelodina longicoUis) is found in considerable numbers in the Murray River, and its tributaries, Australia. It affords food to the natives, especially during the summer, when the lagoons are dry, as it can then be procured in large numbers without difficulty. The Testudo hitaria is found about the Ganges. They are 18 inches in diameter, and weigh from thirty to fort}^ pounds when full grown. They are only eaten by the lower orders, being a dirty, omnivorous sort of animal. The flesh of the Tyrse, or soft-shelled tortoise of the Nile, is considered good food. That of the loggerhead, or hawk's-bill turtle {Caretta imbricata), is tasteless, and considered unhealthy. The eggs are used for food, and the oil obtained from the flesh is used in the preparatioii of leather, etc. Dr. Browne (" History of Jamaica ") states he tasted the flesh of the loggerhead turtle, which agreed pretty well with his stomach ; it was fat and rich, but of a strong rank fishy taste. The flesh of Sphargis hith is said to be excellent. We know not why the flesh of the vegetable-feeding tortoises should not be adopted, as well as that of the green turtle, among the various articles which are in request for the table. There is much in habit and asso- ciation of ideas ; and though persons who would not refuse turtle might turn from tortoise with disgust, they may rest assured that, in Sicily and Italy, these land tortoises are sold in the markets principally for being made into soup, which is more esteemed than the flesh prepared in any other way. Having dealt somewhat in detail with the Tortoises, we come now to treat of some other reptiles. Alligators, 232 ANIMAL FOOD RESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. Snakes, and Amphibians, whose flesh furnishes food to different people. Crocodiles are highly valued in their native countries on account of their flesh and excellent eggs. Herodotus speaks with favour of the huge giants of Elephantine on the Upper Nile, where they are still caught with an angle and universally eaten, in spite of their strong musky odour. Even the alligator of the Southern States of America is by no means despised, and finds ready acceptance as food with the negroes and some white people. Dr. Holbrook states that he found the flesh of the alli- gator tolerable eating, although Catesby considered its peculiar taste and odour disagreeable. In Guiana the negroes do not disdain to eat the flesh of the caiman, or alligator, which is white but hard, and of a musky flavour. The alligator forms the chief food of the Indians of Brazil. The flesh is said to be like veal, and good eating. In Siam the crocodile attains a length of 25 feet, with a voracity proportioned to its size. Its flesh is sold for food in the markets and bazaars. Pallegoix ("Siam," vol. i., p. 174) says : — '* Un jour je vis plus de cinquante crocodiles, petits et grands, attaches aux colonnes de leurs maisons. lis vendent la chair comme on vendrait de la chair de pore, mais a bien meilleur marche." The flesh of the Nile crocodile (Crocodiliis niloticm) is eaten by the negroes. fin Dongola the crocodile {C. vulgaris) is caught for the sake of its flesh, which is regarded as a delicacy. The flesh and fat are eaten by the Berberines, who con- sider these excellent, but both have a strong smell of musk. Dr. Madden tells us that in Egypt he tasted a piece of young crocodile broiled. The flavour a good deal resembled that of a lobster, and, though somewhat tough, it might certainly be considered very excellent food. Crocodiles are very abundant in many parts of Africa. They are found in nearly all the rivers east of the Um- REPTILES, SNAKES AND AMPHIBIANS EATEN AS FOOD. 233 zimvoobo in South Africa, and swarm especially in the waters running into Lake N 'garni. The flesh has the appearance of veal and forms a royal repast for the natives. A correspondent of the Globe, in December, 1881, writes of crocodile steaks : — " Some years ago, I, in com- pany with others, was sent 400 miles up the Zambesi and Shire Rivers, in Central Africa. We were short of food ; for a drought prevailed, and the domestic animals of the country had been eaten up. One of our party killed and landed a crocodile, and left it for the benefit of the starving natives. But I was caterer for our little community, and, unknown to my friends, cut from the tail of this creature two fine steaks. At dinner they ^were served up nicely broiled, and they looked nice. * Hullo ! what have you got there ? ' said one. * Eat, and be thankful, and ask no questions,' said I, handing him a portion. I served out to others also, and then helped myself, and it seemed to me something like tough pork that had been fattened on fish. ' It is not so bad ' was the general testimony. ' But what is it ? ' one and all demanded. ' Crocodile,' said I. The effect of pre- judice upon the palate and the appetite was instantly manifested. One left the table, looking pale ; another, the doctor, remembered that it was a reptile, and laid down his knife and fork ; another thrust his plate from him in disgust ; and, with the exception of myself, no one did justice to the provision. Well, it was tough, greasy, and fishy. Very hungry, one might eat it jand be glad. Otherwise, I think xQvy few would care for it. We did not try it again." The flesh of the alligator wa^s a favourite dish among the Port Essington settlers, and the seamen employed in the surveys of the northern coasts and rivers of Australia. It is, however, believed to have a strong- liking for human flesh when that delicacy can safely be obtained. Mr. Henry Koster, author of " Travels in Brazil," writes : — " I have been much blamed by my friends for 234 ANIMAL FOOD RESOUKCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. not having eaten of the flesh of the alligator, and in- deed I felt a little ashamed of my squeamishness when I was shown by the same friend a passage in a French writer, whose name I forget, in which he speaks favour- ably of this flesh. However, if the advocate for ex- perimental eating had seen an alligator cut into slices, he would, I think, have turned from the sight as quickly as I did." Waterton, speaking of his negro Quashi, says, " He had a brave stomach for heterogeneous food ; it could digest and relish too, cayman, monkies, hawks and grubs. He made three or four meals off" a cayman, while it was not absolutely putrid, and salted the rest."" A cayman boiled was found sweet and tender, and Waterton remarks, he does not see why it should not be as good as frog or veal. The Rev. Mr. Haensel, in his *' Letters on the Nicobar Islands," tells us that " Part of the flesh of the crocodile or cayman is good and wholesome when well cooked. It tastes somewhat like pork, for which I took it, and ate it with much relish when I first came to Nancan- weny, till on inquiry, finding it to be the flesh of a beast so disgusting and horrible in its appearance and habits, I felt a loathing, which I could never overcome ; but it is eaten by both natives and Europeans." The aboriginal natives of Trinidad considered a boiled slice of alligator as a dainty morsel, and Mr. Joseph, the historian, records having tasted it, and found it very palatable. The Indians relish the white and savoury flesh of the yecare, as it is called in South America, the spectacled cayman {Alligator sclerops) although it is dry and coarse. The flesh ai^d fat are occasionally eaten by natives in Africa and other parts. Alligators are killed in large numbers in the South American lakes and parts of the River Amazon for their fat. Mr. Wallace, in describing an alligator hunt on the lakes of Mesiana, an island lying ofl" the mouth of the Amazon, states that about eighty were killed in EEPTILES, SNAKES AND AMPHIBIANS EATEN AS FOOD. 235 two days. They are cut open, and the fat, which ac- cumulates in considerable quantities about the intestines, is removed, and made up into packets in the skins of the smaller ones, taken off for the purpose. The fat is boiled down into oil and burned in lamps. It has rather a disagreeable smell, but not worse than train oil. These various products render this animal much more valuable than it was supposed to be in the days of Romeo, when starved apothecaries, to show that learning and not beef was their aliment, hung up in their " meagre repertories " alligators stuffed. Leaving the Reptiles we come now to Lizards and Snakes, which one would suppose to be the least accept- able of flesh food. Lacerta. — Lizards are eaten by the natives of New Zealand, and the great Cyclodus {C. gigas, Bodd.) is prized by the Australian natives as a choice article of food. Lizards are dried and sent in packages to be used by the Chinese physicians in their practice. The larger kind of lizards seem to have disappeared from parts of New Zealand. They appear to have been eaten in former times by the Maories. The Rev. J. W. Stack, in a paper in the " Transactions of the New Zea- land Institute/' records the following anecdote. " Hakopa, a well-known Kaiapoi chief, who was taken prisoner by Te Rauparata, and spared on account of his great valour, while in captivity at Otaki, was invited one day by his masters to share the afternoon meal. When seated by the basket containing the food, his master asked him whether he would have some fish. ' Yes,' he replied, ' but where did you obtain it ? ' ' Ask no questions,' was the answer, ' taste and see how you like it.' He did taste it, and found it very good. When the meal was over his master told him he had eaten the flesh of a lizard." He often joined afterwards in lizard hunts, when as many as forty were sometimes caught and eaten. Kelaart says that the natives of Ceylon are partial to the flesh of the common Indian water lizard (Monitor ^3G ANIMAL FOOD RESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. [VarmiKs] dracaena) and he once ate some excellent soup made from a guana, which tasted like hare. At Trin- •comalee they used to be hunted down by dogs, and sold in the market. Another monitor is also eaten in the East, Hydrosaurus salvator. The lowest castes of Hindoos capture these lizards by digging them out of their bur- rows on the banks of rivers for the sake of their flesh, which is greatly relished by these people. Some indivi- duals attain to nearly seven feet in length.* The meat of the Aonhlyrhyncus sicbcristafiis, Mr. Darwin tells us, when cooked is white, and by those whose stomachs rise above all prejudices it is relished as very good food. Humboldt has remarked that in inter- tropical South America all lizards which inhabit dry regions are estimated delicacies for the table. The eggs of these animals, which are numerous, large and oval, are esteemed by the inhabitants of the Gallapagos islands as food. Manj^ of the lizard race, as the Iguana deUcatissima have long held and still maintain a high rank as articles of luxury for the table ; and the flesh and eggs of the xjommon Teguixin, a large species, of Brazil and other parts of South America, are eaten. The Salempenta (Teiiis Tcguexin, Linn.) of South America, is a large species of lizard. Like the iguana, it aflfords very delicious food, which is thought to resemble the flesh of a very young chicken. New comers are at flrst averse to eating a lizard of any description, but they very soon find out their mistake, and would even prefer ^n iguana or salampenta cutlet to a chicken.-f- The ugly looking large tree lizard called the Iguana, which is like an alligator in miniature, is certainly not very attractive in appearance, and yet by most persons in tropical countries its flesh is highly esteemed, being reckoned as delicate as chicken, and but little inferior to turtle in flavour. The eggs, which are somewhat smaller * Cassell's " Natural History." t Waterton's " Wanderings in South America." KEPTILES, SNAKES AND AMPHIBIANS EATEN AS FOOD. 237 than those of the domestic pigeon, are pronounced by Sir Robert Schomburgk and others to be delicious. These are deserving the attention of gourmands. One of these lizards will sometimes contain as many as four score eggs, about the size of a pigeon's egg, but with soft shells, which when boiled are like marrow. It would be a refreshing sight to see some civic dignitary who has gone the round of all the dishes which native and foreign skill have been able to produce, partaking for the first time of a dish of lizard's eggs garnished with anchovies. The incessant destruction of the iguanas, for the sake of their flesh, has rendered them very scarce, if not alto- gether extinct in localities where they were once abun- dant. They were formerly so common on the Bahamas Islands, that Catesby tells us they furnished a great part of the subsistence of the inhabitants. They used to put them into the holds of the sloops and carry them alive for sale to Carolina, or salt and barrel them up for the use of their families at home. Browne, in his " Natural History of Jamaica," says, "" The flesh of this creature is liked by many people, and frequently served up in fricassees, at their tables, in which state it is often pre- ferred to the best fowls." Iguanas are eaten in Brazil and Trinidad ; indeed, we find these reptiles are eagerly hunted for food by the natives alike of Africa, Australia, America, and Asia. Iguanas are very large and plentiful in the Bahamas, group ; they are hunted with a small kind of hound,, and if taken alive, the mouth is sewed up with twine and they keep alive a month or six weeks without food. Nassau the capital is chiefly supplied with the iguana, from the Berry Islands. This reptile is reported to be particularly plentiful in the Island of St. Vincent, and one was measured nearly ten feet from nose tip to tail end, the body being nearly as thick as that of a man. They do not usually, however, attain such dimensions. This lizard subsists on vegetables, earth-worms, and insects. 238 ANIMAL FOOD RESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. In Costa Kica the large iguanas attain the size of small crocodiles, and form a game which the people of the country highly prize. Although often roasted, a frequent native mode is to boil them, taking out the leaves of fat, which are melted and clarified, and put into a calabash or dish, into which they drop the flesh of the iguana as they eat it. The iguana and white- throated monitor {Monitor alhogularis, Daud.) are some- times employed as food at the Cape Colony, but their flesh, though white, is there thought to be dry and insipid. The large saurian, Cyclure pectine (confounded with the iguana), is often eaten in warm countries. The flesh is white, tender, and very savoury ; the tail and the lum- bar regions have a fine flavour like eel, which Mr. Alfred Duges, of Mexico, says he has also tasted in the rattle- snake (Crotalus rhomhiferus) and the Pityophis of Deppe, ophidians which attain a suflicient size to be served with white sauce like a fowl. It was long before the Spaniards could conquer their repugnance to the iguana, the favourite delicacy of the Indians, but which the former had regarded with disgust as a species of serpent. They found it, however, to be highly palatable and delicate, and from that time forward the iguana was held in repute among Spanish epicures. The story is thus related by Peter Martyn :—" These serpentes are lyke unto crocodiles, saving in bygness ; they call them guanas. Unto that day none of owre men durste adventure to taste them, by reason of theyre horrible deformitie and lothsomnes. Yet the Adlantado being entysed by the pleasantnes of the king's sister Anacaona, determined to taste the serpentes. But when he felte the flesh thereof to be so delycate to his tongue, set to amayne without al feare. The which theyre com- panions perceiving, were not behynde hym in greedy- nesse ; insomuche that they had now none other talke than of the sweetnesse of these serpentes, which they affirm to be of more pleasant taste than eyther our phesantes or partriches." REPTILES, SNAKES AND AMPHIBIANS EATEN AS FOOD. 231) Ophidians. — We now come to snakes and serpents, which one would suppose to "be even more repulsive and ob- jectionable as food than alligators and lizards, but tastes differ, and we are told of an innkeeper in some tropical country who used to inquire of his guests which they would have served, land eels or water eels. Snakes are frequently, however, eaten by civilised and savage man, but not always from choice. Seeing the loss of human life occasioned by snakes, any means of destroying them is useful. Official accounts state that 19,519 persons were killed by snakes in India in 1882, and 3,000 by wild animals ; 212,776 snakes were killed in 1880, and 59,488 in 1882. Mr. Frank Buckland tells us that he once ate a piece of -a boa-constrictor ; it tasted, he says, like veal, the flesh being exceedingly white and firm. A narrative in the *' Penny Magazine " describes a supper off fried rattle- snake, which was served up under the name of "Musical Jack." The flesh of serpents was held in high repute by the ancients medicinally, and when properly prepared :seems to have been a very agreeable article of food, corresponding with the turtle soup of the present day. Vipers are much used on the Continent, whether for food or for medicine, I cannot tell. The Italians, however, regale themselves with a jelly made of stewed v^ipers. There is a large edible snake spoken of as found in Kiang-se, China, which being dried and smoked is pared off in thin slices, like smoked beef, and is found a con- venient condiment by travellers. Several kinds of snake wines are sold in the apothecaries' shops, and used in palsy. The snake thus employed appears to be peculiar to the mountains of Kiang-se. To assure purchasers that the article is genuine, a strip of the skin of the animal is fastened to the top of the containing vessel. This wine is in high esteem as an anthelmintic, and is an antidote to malaria. Wulu, on the Yang-tse, produces a snake wine which is in high repute. An adder wine is also used in paralysis and insanity. 240 ANIMAL FOOD RESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. Sea snakes {Hi/dropJiidcB) are eaten by the inhabitants- of some of the countries on whose shores they are found. The Indians of Western Nevada eat snakes of different kinds. The reptile is, while yet alive, impaled length- wise on a stick, and held writhing over the fire until broiled.* Browne in his "History of Jamaica" tells us (p. 461) that " many of the negroes eat the yellow snakes, and look upon them as a rich and delicious food ; but they generally preserve the fat, which is considered as a good resolutive, and highly recommended for such purposes." In an account of Jamaica, published in 1683, it is related that " the snakes were eaten by the Indians as regularly as the guanas by the Spaniards. The latter is but small, and of the shape of an alligator ; the flesh is sweet and tender." Many lizards are sought for on trees, and in their holes in the sand by the borders of moors. McFarlane in his "Southern Italy" says: — "Although no Homan or Neapolitan peasant will eat of a tame goose, I have seen great black snakes fried and eaten both in Calabria and Sicily to this day. Celsus recom- mends vipers as wholesome and luscious ; in China they are salted and pickled. The lizards of the American Continent are a most delicate dish, and not long since the leguana of the Antilles was brought in large num- bers to South Carolina. At home they are raised and fattened upon chicory and rice. Snakes also find a ready market in Eastern countries. The giant snake of Java, well niorh ten feet lonor and of the thickness of a man's arm, infests the pepper plantations, and its venom is fatal ; still it is caught and eaten with relish. The huge boa-constrictor is said to furnish an exceedingly fat meat, and the negroes of its native country prefer it to the daintiest food of the white man. The anaconda of Brazil supplies the table of the poor, though the * S. Powers, in " Smitlisonian Report for 1876," p. 453. REPTILES, SNAKES AND AMPHIBIANS EATEN AS FOOD. 241 Portuguese only use the rich fat it contains. The natives of South America eat almost all snakes, and the far West has taught many a fastidious palate from over the sea to relish, with the Red Indian, the fatal rattlesnake." Kaempfer tell us that snakes are eaten in Japan, and Anderson states that the Battus of Sumali, in Africa, eat snakes and alligators. The flesh and skin of several serpents is employed in China as medicine, care being taken to cut off the head and tail, where it is supposed their poison accumulates. A kind of adder, 8 or 10 feet long, is eaten by the people, although it is believed to be rather poisonous. A species of serpent from one to three feet long is caught, and after being gutted and washed is shaped into a circle with bamboo pins and dried on a slow lire. It is made into medicine. The San Francisco Bulletin remarks : — " The ingredients of a witch's cauldron, as described by the poet, could not have been more repulsively disgusting than are the articles and compounds shipped to the Chinese physi- cians of this city from their native country and used as medicines here. There seems to be just at the present time an extra demand for a venomous serpent closely resembling the rattlesnake, of which hundreds are received constantly. A Custom House official brought a specimen of these cheerful looking creatures to this office yesterday — a coiled snake of about four feet long, fanged, and with hideous head scales like a crest. How these animals are taken by patients of Chinese doctors is not known. One would be a fair dose if disguised in a coating of sugar. They are to be taken in sections three times a day, as they are desiccated, or they may be boiled down or pulverised, and taken in powders or rolled into pills." Among the Amphibians we have Frogs, the Salamander, and Axolotl utilised. Frogs are eaten in many countries, not only in France and the United States, but also in South America, China, and the Indian Archipelago. The 242 ANIMAL FOOD RESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. species most esteemed is the green frog (Bana esculenta), but others are eaten, as R. Cateshiana and R. clamitans. Frogs are considered an excellent food dish by some in Brazil. The American green frog (Rana halecina), is eaten in Guatemala. The Indians catch them to eat, spearing the larger ones, and netting the larvae. In Surinam and other parts of South America the flesh of Rana paradoxa is eaten. In the Antilles bull frogs {Rana pipiens) are reared in a state of domestication for the table, and the hind legs are said to afford excellent eating. The matlametlo of the Africans {Tomoptera adspersa) is edible, and according to Dr. Livingstone, is said to resemble chicken in flavour. It is usual to associate frog-eating with Frenchmen, as the people of that nation were, without doubt, the first to make use of them as a table dish, and to intro- duce them to the epicures of other countries, who were nob long in acquiring an appetite for these dainties, and soon grew as fond of them as their neighbour. It is more than three hundred years since they were first placed among the dishes at the nobles' feasts, and the favour which they found has been continually increasing until now, when they are used as food in nearly all the countries of Europe and America. The frog, as an article of food, has not, however, been introduced in the London Market. We have not yet thought of this way of manifesting the friendly feelings and intimate union existing between England and France. We have adopted many French tastes and customs, but the frog must hop about a little longer before it can mount on the table of the average Englishman. He has, however, his eye upon us, and we shall have to eat him yet. He has tempted successfully our cousin ; how can we hope to resist much longer ? The JSFew York Times informs us that frogs are now inscribed daily on the bills of fare of the most prominent restaurants of that city, and are becoming a favourite dish among the epicures and gourmands whose purses correspond to their tastes. What can be more emphatic REPTILES, SNAKES AND AMPHIBIANS EATEN AS FOOD. 243 fchan this ? Not only do the Americans eat the frog, but they pay a high price for the privilege. These are our cousins who are thus distinguishing themselves by their adventurous spirit. They were allied to France in the time of Lafayette — before we were — and they are the first to eat the frog. The physicians of Europe early made use of the nutritious properties of the flesh of the frog in their practice, prescribing it generally in the shape of broth for various affections of the chest, and particularly con- sumption. This practice is still in vogue throughout the sparsely-settled districts of North America, and in the Western States it is a common occurrence for those who are affected with diseases of the chest to live on a frog diet. Frogs cooked in oil and salt were considered by the ancients an excellent antidote to the poison of ser- pents, and when boiled in vinegar were used as a remedy for the toothache. Of the dozen or more varieties common to the United States and Europe, only a few are considered edible and used as food by man. The celebrated edible, or green frog of Europe, which naturalists call Rana esculenta, is the greatest favourite and the most sought after in the European countries. In the United States the species called bull-frogs or shad-frogs, are about the only kinds that are used for culinary purposes. The European edible frog is of a bright green colour above, with round circumscribed black spots, a light coloured line along the back, and of a yellowish colour underneath. The American bull-frog is familiar to almost every one who has been in the tropics, and somewhat resembles the common European frog. As a general rule, only the hindquarters of the frog are eaten, but in Germany every part, with the exception of the intestines and skin, is made use of as food. Many persons will not eat frogs, believing that they are un- clean, yet they have no hesitation in partaking of crabs or lobsters that feed upon the refuse animal matter which they find inihe water. The flesh of the frog is very white 24:4i ANIMAL FOOD RESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. and tender, nutritious and delicately flavoured, and when nicely cooked is one of the most dainty dishes that the gustatory sense of an epicure could desire, surpassing in flavour any of fish, flesh, or fowl. They are cooked in various ways, in all of which their extreme delicacy is apparent. They can be made into a broth, fried, stewed, or fricasseed, as the eater may desire ; but most people who eat them prefer to have them fried. The manner in which they are fried at the prominent American restau- rants is very simple. The legs, after being well skinned, are parboiled for about five minutes in slightly salted water ; they are then plunged into cold water for a few minutes, and are taken out to drain, after wliich they are placed in a hot pan and fried in the usual way. The broth can be made in the same way as chicken or beef broth. The marshes between Detroit and Lake St. Clair in North America are the resort of millions of frogs ; and it is asserted that more frogs are sold in Detroit than in any other city of its size. During the frog season heavy shipments are made to New York, Boston, and other Eastern cities. The Free Press, which pronounces the commercial frog as suspicious as a wolf, as wild as a deer, and as shrewd as a fox, describes the work of frog hunting as follows : — " Most of the frogs are caught for this market by men. One or two boys have some fame as successful frog catchers, but it has been demonstrated that the average boy lacks the necessary qualifications to make the busi- ness of any profit to him. We know of one old fisher- man and hunter who has followed the frog catching business for the last twelve years, and he has sometimes made it pay as high as 15 dollars per week. While there is only one way of killing a goose there are several ways of killing a frog. Frog hunting would be a great finan- cial success if the jumpers would take a seat on a log and permit a man to walk up and crack 'em over the head with a club, but the frog is utterly opposed to any such proceeding. His eagle eye detects the enemy afar REPTILES, SNAKES AND AMPHIBIANS EATEN AS FOOD. 245 off, and the approach must be cautious. The outfit con- sists of a frog spear, a hook and line, a fish pole with a pointed iron in the end, and sometimes a small shot gun is taken along. First discover your frog. He may be sitting on a log ten feet from shore. He feels quite safe at that distance and will probably wait for developments. The hook and line can be used here. The line is stout and the hook big enough to hold a twenty pound bass. The idea is to fish for the frog without bait. A careful hand will manoeuvre the line until the hook is under the frog's throat, and then a sudden jerk takes him off his meditative roost and gives him into the power of his enemy. The spear, which is provided with a long handle, can sometimes be used, though a frog will dodge a sudden thrust as quick as a pickerel. If the shot gun is used it is with a light charge of powder and very fine shot, and the head is the point aimed at. Some of the froggers work the banks and are provided with boats, but success depends a good deal on circumstances. A good hunter has been known to bag 200 frogs per day, but three or four dozen legs are called a fair day's catch. A frog will probably live ten or fifteen years if steering clear of acci- dents. They are not worth catching until they are two years old, and are not " prime " until they reach the age of five. A frog sees his palmy days from five to ten. Before reaching five he is giddy and thoughtless. After that he settles down to a life of ease and contentment, and the days come and go and leave him no sorrow. Frogs have been caught in the St. Clair marshes weigh- ing as high as seven pounds and having legs almost like drumsticks. One was caught at the head of Belle Isle two years ago which kicked the beam at nine, and one weighing only half a pound less was on exhibition at the Central Market last spring." In America the season for frogs extends from March until November. They are in the best condition for table use in the fall, just before going into winter quarters, although more are eaten in the spring and early part of the summer, because they can be caught much easier at 246 ANIMAL FOOD RESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. this season of the year. They are taken sometimes by beating them with long poles as they sit on the banks of the streams and ponds. The extreme voracity of the frog is easily taken advantage of, as it will leap after and seize almost anything that floats on the waters near the banks, having the appearance of life, and in motion. A hook and line, baited with an insect, or covered with a piece of red flannel, serves as a good tempter to the frog, who will generally seize it without hesitation or difti- culty. After being caught, they are preserved in large frog ponds, or froggeries, as they are called, until they are required for the market. There are a number of these froggeries on Long Island, in Westchester county, and in New Jersey, from whence the city markets are sup- plied. The proprietors of these froggeries send the frogs to market at regular intervals, and they are kept alive until the customers purchase them. The principal places where they are sold in quantities in New York city are Fulton, Catherine, and Washington markets, where they can be obtained from a number of dealers. The prices range from 50 cents to 2 dollars per dozen, according to the size, appearance, and quality; but when they reach the restaurants their value becomes much greater, de- pending upon the purses and appetites of the customers. Several of the hotels and large restaurants are supplied directly from the froggeries, and do not purchase from the market dealers, but the majority obtain them from the marketmen as their demands require them. A correspondent in a Troy newspaper states that he watched two men catching frogs in a swamp. "They would strike them with clubs where they could reach them, but most of them they caught with a wire snare. They had a large basketful, more than a hundred pounds in weight. One of them said he made a good deal of money catching frogs for the New York market, having in one month last season caught 1,600 lbs. of dressed frogs, for which he got 30 cents a pound, making 480 dollars for his month's work. Part of the time he had two boys to help him. One week, near Hudson, he REPTILES, SNAKES AND AMPHIBIANS EATEN AS FOOD. 247 caught upwards of 500 lbs., and sold them for 160 dollars, or at an average of 22 cents a pound. These stories seemed to me incredible, and yet he assured me it was truth. He can clear 28 cents a pound, he says, easily. He seemed to be an honest man, and from the ease with which they caught the frogs, I was led to believe that he had not stretched the truth much, if at all." The question whether any four-legged creature can properly be described as a fish may not at first sight seem very debateable, and yet it has occupied for some time past the serious attention of certain transatlantic authorities. The discussion arose out of a rather curious trade which has been going on for years between Canada and the cities of the Republic. Our American cousins have, as it seems, quite got over those prejudices which in this benighted island still militate against the admis- sion of frogs to the cuisine, and they are now so fond of the delicacy which was once considered the distinctive food of Frenchmen, that the produce of their own ponds and ditches does not suffice for the demands of the market. Accordingly, the Canadians, whose waters seem to be specially prolific in these creatures, have been driving a large and flourishing trade with the towns across the border, and especially with New York, in supplying them with the edible parts of the frog, which until lately were transported free of Customs duty under the designa- tion of " Canadian fish." Some official busybody at last found fault with this easy-going definition, and claimed duty on the imports ; and the Treasury on appeal decided that frogs are not Canadian fish within the meaning of the Washington Treaty, and therefore are not free of Customs duty. The Canadians were, however, not dis- couraged, and possibly may have thought that as the mummy of a Pharaoh travelled under the name of salt fish in Egypt, so a dead frog might fairly be allowed to travel in America as fresh fish. As " fresh fish destined for immediate consumption" they accordingly essayed to pass their valuable commodities, but without success, 2i8 ANIMAL FOOD RESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. as the Secretary of the Treasury at Washington has again rejected their claim. Still the exporters are not convinced, and are now hoping to get their goods ad- mitted as "fish to be used for bait,'* which is also exempt by virtue of the treaty. So obstinate a con- viction that the creature which " would a wooing go " belongs to the tribe sometimes described as " finny/* seems to show that the distinction between beasts, reptiles, and fishes is not quite so clear as naturalists ought by this time to have made it.* From a recent article in the St. James's Gazette we quote the following remarks: — " De la Keyniere, in his Annual for 1806, said frogs were only good in spring ; and the late Mr. Dallas, in his ' Book of the Table,* copied this statement in 1877. It may have been true that, as Lenten fare, they were formerly only seen on Parisian tables during those forty days ; but they are decidedly at their best later on, and are essentially a light summer dish. Indeed, the French gourmet we have already quoted goes on to point out how in Auvergne, one Simon of Riom had amassed a couple of hundred thousand francs by serving them in fricassee all the year round, at the price of three a penny. It is absolutely impossible, says this enthusiastic gourmand, to bring on an indigestion of frogs, no matter what quantity you eat ; and this fact is thought to have turned much to Simon's advantage. He had such an enormous custom that he could not afibrd to trust to markets ; and so he filled his cellars with tanks, his tanks with water, and the water with the ' pretty little things ; ' and there fed and fattened them, and fricasseed and sold them, until he distanced all competition. And although he went by the nickname of ' Old Simon the Frog,' and although, too, his surname — as we believe on the word of Hebrew scholars — means snub-nosed, neither he nor any of his customers had cause to turn up their noses at frogs, as too many do even at the present day. * The Globe. REPTILES, SNAKES AND AMPHIBIANS ^IJSr^is^i'ib'l)'. 549' In his time people who drew the line at fiT5§i"f«*t u^'Cters and snails too at the far side of it ; ' so voluntarily de- priving themselves of three great pleasures/ says De la Reyniere. But the brave have shown the way to oysters, and snails and frogs are now eaten in all parts of France where vines flourish or have flourished, and reeds grow in ponds. " There are many ways of cooking a frog, or rather the only joints of him that are eaten — namely, his hind-legs, to which a portion of the back is left attached, chiefly to hold those limbs together. Old Simon's way is as good as any. The edible portions should first be thrown into plenty of fresh cold water to blanch ; next, they should be drained and dried; then put to soak awhile in white of eggs well beaten up ; now powder them over with flour ; and finally fry them in plenty of fine olive- oil until they are crisp as 'the whitebait of the Minister, that treasure of the sea,' and the bones are changed into something so rich and strange that they melt in the mouth. Add a lemon, red pepper, brown bread and butter, to complete ' the loaves and fishes ' illusion, and say if a ' fricassee de grenouilles ' be not much easier to eat than to pronounce, and a species of ' small deer ' by no means to be abandoned to Poor Tom. You can devil them like the ' bait,' too, if you like ; and they make a tip-top curry. Or they fry well in batter ; or you stew them in butter and white wine, with parsley and enough garlic to swear by chopped up fine. But, no matter how they be cooked, they are very pretty eating, and make a delicious entree — tenderer than the youngest chicken, and still with a fiavour and a velvety texture all their own. There is a painful French proverb — 'il n'y a pas de grenouille qui ne trouve son crapaud ' — and it has a dreadful double-edged explanation. It means that there is no girl so — well, so unbeautiful that she cannot find an uglier husband. We put something like it long ago in a much prettier way when, in ' Froggy would a woo- ing go,' we sang, ' A lily-white duck came and gobbled him up.' But, ugly or not, froggy 'eats' well; as we 250 ANIMAL FOOD RESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. shall all probably acknowledge some day when we have sufficiently overcome our insular prejudice about him." At Paris there is a regular market held once a week in the Rue Geoffroy St. Hilaire for the sale of this Batrachian. The vendors bring their merchandise in large casks pierced with holes, in which the frogs are packed in hundreds in wet moss. They are sold, if of good size, at 75 to 85 francs the hundred, a good price for this wretched animal. Many are bought by gardeners, as they are great destroyers of insects. In France effi)rts are being made to prevent cruelty in supplying this table delicacy. The Soci^t^ Protectrice des Animaux has issued a strong protest against the present mode of providing frogs for the dinner table in France. It appears that the poor creatures when caught, have the upper part of their legs, or edible portion of their bodies, ruthlessly cut off with a pair of shears. The frogs in their mutilated state being useless, they are thrown aside. Numbers of them are stated to have been found eight or ten days after their mutilation crawling about on their forelegs in a pitiable condition. The Society, therefore, recommends that some plan of killing them in the first place should be adopted. Many of the frogs brought to the markets in Paris are caught in the stagnant waters round Montmorenci, in the Bois de Vincennes, Bois de Boulogne, etc. The people employed in this traffic separate the hind quarters and legs of the frogs from the body, denude them of their skin, arrange them on skewers, as larks are done in this country, and then bring them in that state to market. In seeking for frogs, these dealers often meet with toads, which they do not reject, but prepare them in the same way as they would froos ; and, as it is impossible to de- termine whether the hind quarters of these creatures, after the skin is stripped off, belong to frogs or toads, it continually happens that great numbers of the supposed frogs sold in Paris for food are actually toads. " The exportation of frogs from Belgium to France," says the Echo du Luxembourg, " has developed consider- REPTILES, SNAKES AND AMPHIBIANS EATEN AS FOOD. 251 ably of late. A man named B., of Vance, has forwarded 200,000 in the last three weeks ; on Thursday he sent off 80,000. They are chiefly sent to Eheims, Nancy, and Paris. A. thousand frogs fetch VS francs (10s. 6d.), and weigh 50 kilogrammes ( 1 cwt.). They enter France duty free. At Rheims 25 pairs of frogs' legs can be bought for 60 centimes (6d.). The thighs, as everyone knows, (des succulents rotis) are served with white sauce and in a fricassee. They are thus a dish by no means to be despised." But the rest of the body, and the skin — the sticky, slimy skin — what is done with that? Why they make — turtle soup of it ! Yes, that savoury //2cc^ turtle over which gourmands lick their lips, has for its chief foundation the amphibians which haunt the marshes and the fields of Luxembourg. The autumn and the spring are the best time of year for frogs. In Vienna, where the consumption of frogs is considerable, they are preserved alive and fattened in froggeries {grenouillieres) constructed for the express purpose. Wallace, in his " Travels on the Amazon," states that " his Indians went several times early in the morning to the gapo to catch frogs, which they obtained in great numbers, stringing them on a sipo, and boiling them entire, entrails and all, and devoured them with much ffusto. The froffs are mottled of various colours, have dilated toes, and are called jui." The large frog, or crapaud, of Dominica {Cystignathm ocelatus), is a part of the dietary of the people of all classes in that colony. According to Dr. Imray it is very wholesome and much relished. It is much esteemed as an article of food, the flesh when fricasseed being preferred to chicken, and made into soup, it is recom- mended for the sick, especially in consumptive cases. Its extensive destruction by the mischievous opossum has been a great evil to the country, but its extermina- tion would be a serious loss. Happily, however, it ap- pears to be gaining ground of late, though it can never abound as formerly, while the " Manicou," or opossum, which feeds upon it, exists in the woods. 252 AN1MA.L FOOD RESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. Frogs are considered an excellent food dish by some in Brazil. In America, the flesh of the huge bull-frog (Rana pipiens, Harl. ; It. mugiens, Catesby) is said to be tender, white, and afibrds excellent eating. Some bull-frogs weigh as much as half a pound, but the hind legs are the only parts used as food. The natives of parts of Australia when pinched for , food, capture large numbers of the common golden tree frog {Hyla aiirea) by the light of a torch at night. Other tribes in Western Australia eat a species that burrows in the sand, the aboriginal name of which is Guy a or Goya. It is in season in the months of April and May. There is also a frog called Tolun-jar, eaten about King George's Sound, and another called Tuck, from the noise it makes. Thus the taste for this food extends to the East. Mr. R. Fortune, in describing a Chinese market, ob- serves : — " Frogs seemed much in demand. They are brought to market in tubs and baskets, and the vendor employs himself in skinning them as he sits making sales. He is extremely expert at this part of his busi- ness. He takes up the frog in his left hand, and with a knife, which he holds in his right, chops off the fore part of its head. The skin is then drawn back over the body and down to the feet, which are chopped off and thrown away. The poor frog, still alive, but headless, skinless, and footless, is then thrown into another tub, and the operation is repeated on the rest in the same way. Every now and then the artist lays down his knife, and takes up his scales to weigh these animals for his cus- tomers, and make his sales. Everything in this civilised country, whether it be gold or silver, geese or frogs, is sold by weight." Rana tigrina is the frog eaten in China. Many kinds of toads are believed by the Chinese to have medicinal properties. Dr. Soubeiran, in his *' Materia Medica of the Chinese," states that several REPTILES, SNAKES AND AMPHIBIANS EATEN AS FOOD. 253 species of frogs are used by them. They prepare soups with them, and a gelatine considered excellent for con- valescents. A brown frog with black spots on the head is especially esteemed for making broths and soups. The eating of frogs seems to be indulged in in the Philippines, for a traveller tells us that — " After the rains there may generally be procured, by those who like them, frogs, which are taken from the ditch round the walls in great numbers, and are then fat and in good condition for eating, making a very favourite curry with some of the Europeans, their flesh being very tender." (McMicking's " Manila.") Frogs are occasionally eaten also in Japan. The spotted salamander (Salamandra maculosa, Laur.) is in high repute in China as an aphrodisiac, and is also prescribed against epilepsy. The old Mexicans loved the speckled salamander, and ate it with capsicum or Spanish pepper ; the Spaniards learned the odd fashion, and as late as the sixteenth century this ugly creature was brought to their markets and roasted for the table. The axolotl [Siredon Mexicanus, Shaw) is commonly sold in the markets of Mexico, and dressed in the manner of stewed eels, it is esteemed a great delicacy. 254 ANIMAL FOOD RESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. CHAPTER VIII. Food Products of the Sea — Some Fish Delicacies. The Harvest of the Sea— Nutritive Value of Fish— The Office of the Food Taster — A Chinese Fish Dinner — An American Fish Dinner — Supply of Fish to London— Imports of Fish in the United Kingdom — Supply of Birmingham, Dublin, etc. — Imports of European States— Supply to New York — Com- mercial Classification — The Cod Family — Statistics of the Fisheries — Norwegian Fisheries — Capelin — Fish Flour and Bread, Extracts, and Other Preparations — Fish Sauces — Flat Fish — Soles, Turbot, Plaice, etc.— Herrings — Extent of the Fisheries — Pilchards — Whitebait — Fish Supply of Paris — Statistics of the French Fisheries — Sardines — Anchovies — Skates — Mackerel — Mullet — Tunny — Conger Eels — Fresh Water Eels — Large Consumption in Italy. There is a great difference in the production of animal food on land and in the sea. Poultry, game, and live stock derive their food from the produce of the earth ; but the produce of the sea fisheries, whether fish, Crus- tacea, or shell fish, can be obtained in illimitable quan- tities by the sole resources of the sea, and at little or no expense to man. In respect of fish, no natural causes prevent their co-existence, in the greatest abundance, with man in the highest state of civilisation and refine- ment, in the midst of the greatest agricultural and manufacturing opulence. The fishery has over agriculture one great advantage — nature alone is charged with sowing the field which the fisherman reaps. The products of the sea, like those of the land, enter largely into the food resources of man. The fisheries supply our markets for daily consumption, and also furnish to commerce articles for export. The fisheries have their regional coasts, which are regularly FOOD PRODUCTS OF THE SEA — FISHES. 255 fished, and their great seas which are explored, and have the distinction applied according to the field worked, the different means employed, and the capital required. It is the coast or the sea fisheries, as we speak of small or large farms, when treating of the soil. In the one case, it is the nature of the banks or depths and the instincts of the fish which have to be studied ; in the other, the com- position of the earth and the requirements of plants. This is found to be true at the present time in a better appreciation of the grand industry of the waters, as shown by the coining and adoption of two new words now applied to the fisheries, aquiculture and pisciculture. Hence the fishery is the agriculture of the sea ; and science has now consecrated the use of this definition, which is not new, but which had for a long time wanted application. Every sea and every marine shore has its special in- habitants, and the main point is, to ascertain how far these may be made to subserve the wants of man. The number of savoury species of fish is so great, that there are few persons so fastidious as not to be satisfied with some one or more kinds of fish. Man treats with carelessness and neglect a food supply sufficient for the sustenance of millions — perhaps hundreds of millions — of human lives. Enormous quantities of food-fishes are given the go-by altogether. Numberless species, which are both palatable and nutritious, are left untouched. That the sea and the lakes and the rivers already teem with fish suitable for human food, and that vast districts of the earth's surface which are covered with water are capable of being made to produce food equal in nutri- ment and money value to the product of the same num- ber of acres of land, scarcely admits of a doubt Nearly- all the species of fish are edible, and those only are refused which are absolutely poisonous, or the flesh of which has a disagreeable flavour. The value of fish as an article of food is very generally under-estimated. In many parts of the world, and 256 ANIMAL FOOD RESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. especially along the northern shores of Europe, Asia, and America, where vegetation is of the scantiest description, fish forms the chief, if not the only, food of the in- habitants. Some pertinent remarks on fish supply were lately made in the Lancet : — " Whatever may be the nutritious value of fish as food — and we believe that to be very great — it must be evident that a full and cheap supply of fish would react so as to produce a lowering of the price of butcher's meat. The 'purveyors,' as they like to be called, are encouraged, and, in truth, enabled, to keep up the price of flesh because there is nothing to compete with it as a staple of the common food of the people. A revival of the old and healthy habit of living largely on fish would place the meat supply on an entirely new footing. This is manifest on the face of the facts ; but what may not be equally apparent, though it is scarcely less noteworthy, is the consideration that nervous diseases and weak- nesses increase in a country as the population comes to live on the flesh of warm-blooded animals. This is a point to which attention has not been adequately directed. ' Meat ' — using that term in its popular sense — is highly stimulating, and supplies proportionally more exciting than actually nourishing pabulum to the nervous system. The meat-eater lives at high pressure, and is, or ought to be, a peculiarly active organism, like a predatory animal, always on the alert, walking rapidly, and consuming large quantities of oxygen, which are imperatively necessary for the safe disposal of his dis- assimilated material. In practice we find* that the meat- eater does not live up to the level of his food, and as a consequence he cannot, or does not, take in enough oxygen to satisfy the exigencies of his mode of life. Thereupon follow many, if not most, of the ills to which highly civilised and luxurious meat-eating classes are liable. This is a physiological view of the food question, and it has bearings on the question of fish supply which ought not to be neglected." FOOD PKODUCTS OF THE SEA — FISHES. 257 The prejudices of some people in regard to food are curious. The celebrated Erasmus, though a native of Kotterdam, had such an aversion to fish, that the smell of it threw him into a fever. Ambrose Pare had a patient who could never see an eel without fainting; and another who would fall into convulsions at the sight of a carp. What would have been the effect of an electric eel on these gentlemen? Joseph Scaliger and others could never drink milk. Gardan was disgusted at the sight of eggs. Professor Atwater, of the Agricultural College of the State of Connecticut, e^ives us the followinoj as the relative nutritive value of fresh and prepared fish and shell fish : — ■ Fisii (Fresh). Per Cent, of Nutritive Edible SoHds. Value. Halibut 21-45 87-9 Flounder 5'97 82-4 Cod 11-45 68-2 Haddock 8'88 74-9 Eels 22-50 95-G Mackerel 15-48 90-9 Salmon 32-99 107-9 Salmon trout 14*38 95-7 Brook trout 10*77 84-2 "White fish 13*69 104-5 Smelt 12-51 73-8 Herring 11*52 100*4 Turbot 15-61 84*4 Peepared Fisii and Invertebrates. Boned cod 30*91 106*9 Salted cod 20*45 102-5 Smoked halibut 31*63 102-2 Smoked herring 28*66 163*2 Canned salmon 29*95 107*2 Salt mackerel 30*97 111*1 Lobsters 7*98 50*3 Scallops 17*47 68*8 Oysters — 21*8 It must be noted in this table that the percentage is given of edible solids, i.e., the actual amount of nutritive s 258 ANIMAL FOOD RESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. materials in the samples analysed, as well as the nutri- tive value. The nutritive value in all these cases is therefore only that of the fish after bones and non-edible parts have been removed. The fact makes all the dif- ference in the world in a consideration of the nutritive value of fish proportionately with that of other foods. White fish, as an instance, is returned in- the table a nutritious value of 104'5, but this is only a value based upon 13"69 of the whole fish. And herring, which is returned as being a somewhat higher nutritive value than medium beef, is seen, if allowance be made for the consideration we have named, to be little more than one- tenth as nourishing. Some other facts are noticeable in this table. The small nutritive value of lobsters, scallops, and oysters is remarkable. Oysters are com- monly enough spoken of as being notably strengthening, and having other special virtues. Yet here we find that the nutritive value of this food is in point of fact less than that of the same weight of milk. The occupation of the food-taster is not yet extinct, but it is now^ chiefly restricted to securing the safety of monarchs of savage tribes. The late Captain Pilkington, R.E., when at Lagos, on the Western coast of Africa, some years ago, and visiting its King, had practical demonstration of the custom much to his disgust. Rising to take leave of the sable monarch, he asked permission to bring fowls for an evening meal, upon which the king promised to send him his supper. In due time appeared a jet black man, carrying something on his head, which he solemnly placed upon the table. It proved to be the promised supper, in a tray covered with a white cloth, which had obviously been just unfolded. This fair promise of cleanliness prepared the captain's mind for a well served supper, which after his long- journey in the canoe, was no ungrateful anticipation. " When uncovered by the bearer, a delicious looking fish presented itself to view, which I eagerly surveyed from side to side ; but had scarcely expressed my entire FOOD PRODUCTS OF THE SEA — FISHES. 259 willingness to accept it, ere the cook resumed possession of the dish, stooped his head, and put out his huge tongue, with the too evident intention of licking it from head to tail. I interposed, o£ course, in great alarm, and, seizing the dish with one hand, and his woolly head with the other, I struggled hard to prevent the execu- tion of his foul design, which he, on the other hand, seemed equally resolved to accomplish. "The interpreter, who had followed him, interposed at length, saying, imploringly, which heightened not a little the comedy of the whole scene — " ' Pray, Massa, let he lick the fish 1 ' " ' Oh no ! ' I exclaimed, ' I really will not.' " ' If you do not, Massa, he no leave de fish ! ' " ' Why so ? ' said I, in undisguised astonishment. " ' Cause, Massa, if you go dead, King will kill he, sup- pose he no lick um, Massa.' " ' Oh,' replied I, ^ I am not at all afraid ; I know it is not poisoned.* " ' No, no, Massa ; cook won't trust a dat, for you can get sick in the night, may be you catch one cold, and you die. Den King ask me, if cook lick de fish. Suppose I say. No, King ; den King cut the cook's head off".' " Seeing therefore, no alternative, I let go my hold, consoling myself with the reflection that the other side of the fish would be, at all events, free from this un- g^ainly process ; but Sir Cook had no sooner carefully finished that side of the fish than he immediately pro- ceeded to operate upon the other. In great dismay, I turned from this exhibition, the strangers took their leave, and when the gate had closed upon them, I pro- ceeded, with the help of James, to strip the skin from the devoted fish, and after making the best meal I was able, retired to my basket bed." This same operation is performed upon every article of food prepared for the King. The whole suspicious process is the result of that tyranny which authorises the odious traffic in slaves ; and the monarch who thus, instead of being the protector of his subjects, betrays s2 260 ANIMAL FOOD EESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. them to the agony of expatriation and a servitude more- terrible than death, finds the system in some degree recoil upon himself, becoming the slave of his own fears, and thus living in perpetual dread of poison or assas- sination. Here is a way of cooking a fish to make it taste excel- lent, at least when you are camping out far-a-field, in some distant quarter : — " Take some nice clean clay and work it up a little,, then, without either scaling or dressing, plaster your fish all over with the clay, about an inch thick, and put him right into the hot ashes. When 'tis done the clay and scales will all peel off", and you'll have a dish that would bring to life any starved man, if he hadn't been dead more than a week. That's the ordinary way ; but if you want an extra touch, cut a hole in him, and stick in a piece of salt pork, or bear's fat if come-at-able, and a few beech nuts or the meat of walnuts, or butter nuts,, and you'd think you were eating a water angel." ^ The fish culturists, when in session at the Centennial Exposition, in 1876, treated themselves, during their stay in Philadelphia, to a fish dinner, which was certainly ex- traordinary and unique in its way. The bill of fare em- braced fifty-eight different kinds of fish, and in its en- tirety is much too long for publication here. Some of the delicacies, however, were remarkable. Under the head of hors d'muvresfi'oids (the menu, by the way, was organised with the utmost elaboration) were Norwegian pollack fish, Portuguese conger eel, and Spanish conger eel, with tomatoes, Turkish botargo or mullet roe, Japanese shaki or dried salmon, cray-fish from the Cape of Good Hope, French tunny fish, Chinese white and black shark fins, Alaska oulachans, Portuguese sword-fish and squid, Russian caviare, Chinese dried fish-maws, and, most astonishing of all, " desiccated octopus eggs." Noted scientists were honoured by having their names applied to the various sauces. Thus there was^/ez' of English soles- ■^ Mayo's Kaloolah. FOOD PRODUCTS OF THE SEA — FISHES. 261 d la Bucklancl, sheepsheads with Agassiz sauce, aspic of •eels a la Huxley, and bisque of lobster, Seth Green style. It was a memorable feast, and taxed the culinary skill of the cooks at the Centennial to the utmost. One par- ticular dish seems to have puzzled even the most in- genious ehcfs, and that was kanten (Japanese seaweed) d la Sekizawa Akekio. The aid of the Japanese cook in the employ of the Japanese Commission was at last in- voked, and he proved equal to its toothsome prepara- tion. The bill of fare of a regular Mandarin supper given by Sir Charles Macdonnell at Hong Kong in 1867 to the Due de Penthievre, the Comte de Beauvois, and some other French gentlemen, contained the following items : hsh roe in sweet caramel sauce ; shark's fins in gelatinous sauce ; cakes of coagulated blood ; hashed dog with lotus sauce; bird's-nest soup; whale's nerves with sweet sauce ; sturgeon's gills in compote ; croquettes of fish and rat ; shark's fat soup ; stewed sea snails with tad- poles ; and a sweet course composed of fish fins, fruit, ham, almonds and essences. Mr. J. Bertram published some ten years ago a work, under the title of " The Harvest of the Sea " (London : Murray); but it was more descriptive and theoretical than practical, or useful as to detg-ils concerning the general supply of fish, and was restricted to the British food fishes. Mr. Buckland's reports on the sea fisheries of England and Wales were much more full and important, and from these I have been able to quote largely. The fresh fish supply of London, in 1880, was thus officially returned : — Brought in by rail 87,884 tons. ,, at the wharves 5,487 „ „ by water 37,258 „ 130,629 „ The following table gives the sources whence drawn. 262 AXIMAL FOOD EESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. by rail or water, with a comparison of the quantity received in 1875 : — Return of the Quantity of Fish Delivered at Billings- gate Market, or its Immediate Vicinity, in 1875 and 1880. Delivered by Railway. 1875. 1880. Tons. Tons. Great Western . 5,039 .. ... 6,724 Great Northern . 24,501 .. ... 26,543 Great Eastern . 25,977 .. ... 30,381 Southwestern . 3,556 .. ... 2,297 London, Chatham, and Dover .. . 2,984 .. ... 2,530 London and North Western . 5,477 .. ... 8,089 London and South Western . 1,663 .. ... 1,623 London, Brighton & South Coas t 1,094 .. 605 Midland . 1,076 .. ... 9,092 71,367 .. ... 87,884 Landed at Wharves. General Steam Navigation Com « pany (estimated) 1 .. ... 2,580 Nicholson's 211 .. 872 Aberdeen Steam Navigation Com - pany . 1,194 .. ... 2.001 MillwallDock 67 .. 34 1,473 ... ... 5,487 Water-carriage Fish landed at th e Market . 22,109 .. ... 37,258 Totals. Delivered by Railway . 71,367 .. ... 87,884 Landed at Wharves . 1,473 ... ... 5,487 Water-carriage Fish landed at th< 3 Market . 22,109 .. ... 37,258 94,949 ... ... 130,629 A reference to the monthly returns of the Fishmongers" Company shows that the imports of fish into London, have been as follows : — Tons. 1882 (4 months to December) 52,543 1883 125,428 1684 129,099 FOOD PRODUCTS OF THE SEA — FISHES. 2G3 The average imports seem to be about 11,000 tons per month. The quantity of spoiled fish seized is propor- tionately very small, only about 10,000 to 12,000 cwt., and the same of shell fish per month, except perhaps in the exceptionally hot months of summer, when it may reach a somewhat higher figure. The total imports of fish into the United Kingdom were in : — Cwts. Value. 1861 337,517 £376,561 1871 605,330 711,295 1881 1,530,219 2,332,605 1883 1,295,754 2.311,966 1884 (Cured) 814,648 1,493,485 In 1883 we imported 427,826 cwt. of fresh fish not of British take, valued at £522,445, and of cured or salted fish 868,125 cwt., of the value of £1,773,027. The supply of fresh fish to the London market does not keep pace with the increase of population and wealth, and may be said to be less by about 20,000 tons than what it was ten years ago. It appears to be now about 130,000 tons in quantity, and as the largest portion of what is caught on our coasts comes to London, the consumption of fish is not as great as it might be if the fisheries were better carried on, and the prices reduced by retailers, instead of maintained, by frequently destroying whole- some fish, rather than selling it below a certain price. According to Mr. W. Smith Scott, fish-salesman of Birmingham, about 100,000 tons of fish per annum reaches that town for the use of its population and that of the surrounding districts, which have a population numbering about two millions. Deducting one-third for weight of packages and waste, this leaves a little over 60,000 tons as food, or about twenty ounces per head of the population. The heaviest weight is herrings and mackerel and salmon from Ireland and Norway, the Scotch salmon going principally to London and Man- chester. The sale of fish in Dublin, in 1878, was stated as follows : — 264 ANIMAL FOOD RESOUKCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. Salmon, 2,880 cwts Herrings, 19,920 mease Mackerel, 4,900 packages Haddock and cod, 3,000 packages Eels, 1,000 packages Prime trawl fish, 2,304 hampers Oifal, 8,856 hampers Lobsters, crabs, shrimps, cockles, &c. Value. .. £16,128 19,920 4,900 6,000 1 ,500 6,912 8,856 1,500 £65,716 What is termed " ofFal fish " by the dealers, are had- docks, sprats, herrings, mackerel, skate, and perhaps cod. There is nearly double the quantity of fish brought into Liverpool that used to be. The demand has in- creased, and the supply has kept up with the demand. Soles are nearly twice as dear as they were formerly. In 1880 we imported of fresh fish (not of British taking) 550,737 cwt., valued at £438,789, and of cured or salted fish from abroad 792,697 cwt., valued at £1,227,921. The fresh fish was mostly consumed in the kingdom. The exports consisted of 6,333 cwt. of salmon, 41,259 cwt. of cod, 1,072,397 barrels of herrings, and 11,770 head of pilchards — the latter to Italy. The value of the herrings exported in 1883 was £1,643,622, and of the other fish sent away £466,334. We import about 130,000 cwt. of fish from France, of the value of £400,000. Owing to religious observances, fish is more in request in Catholic countries than in England. 150,000 cwt. of fish were consumed in Berlin in 1873. According to the latest statistics the following were some of the imports of fish into different countries in 1880. Germany 737,137 tons of herrings, Spain 44,203,000 kilos, of codfish, Italy 43,204,000 kilos, of fish of all kinds, Russia 350,000 to 400,000 barrels of salted herrings yearly. Sweden imports 775,000 to 1,000,000 cubic feet of herrings annually ; a curious trade measure. The undeveloped fishing resources of North America FOOD PRODUCTS OF THE SEA — FISHES. 265 are very great. Many of the fishes and invertebrates which in Europe are highly valued by the poorer classes, are never used there ; only about 150 of the 1,500 species of the fishes known to inhabit the waters of the United States are ordinarily found in the markets. The following statement compiled by Mr. G. M. Lamphear was read at a recent meeting of the American Fish Culturists' Association. It shows the amount of the various kinds of fish, tortoises, Crustacea, etc., received in the wholesale markets of New York for ten months, from March 1, 1880, to Jan. 1, 1881 :— Flounders . Halibut Cod ... Pollack Haddock . Frostfish or tomcod Blackfish ... Mackerel ... Spanish mackerel . Weakfish ... Kingfish Porgies Sea bass Striped bass Bluefish Smelt Salmon Shad, counts 923,474 Herring „ 463,884 Eels... Sturgeon Black bass Pounds. 1,186,469 2,211,742 5,269,607 611,295 1,643,554 68,831 184,171 3,236,197 346,678 1,213,141 10,732 55,586 1,565,836 284,602 478,716 4,284,613 575,005 150,642 993,248 46,170 Pounds. Pickerel and pike ... 516,317 Yellow pike 151,001 Sisco... 435,988 Whitefish 872,144 Brook trout 5,995 Salmon trout 35,720 Catfish 36,267 Small freshwater fish 394,358 Terrapin 1,219 Green turtle 2,494 Lobsters, Ko. 1,311,981 Scallops, gallons 29,499 Turbot 86 Redfish ... . ... 22,854 Perch 143,332 Buffalo fish 3,398 Pompano 1,768 S wordfish ... 1,285 Small salt water fish 393,325 Mullet 11,658 Bonita 67,231 Total 2 7,540,218 The value of the fish, fresh, dry, pickled, etc., imported into the Uiiited States in 1880 was returned at 3,403,000 dollars. After these few preliminary and general remarks, let us pass on to consider the fish-capture of various coun- tries, and the groups or families that furnish the chief supply. 2G(j ANIMAL FOOD RESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. Commercial fish may be divided generally into " round fish" and " flat fish.'' The round fish include the cod, conger, haddock, hake^ herring, ling, mackerel, torsk, pilchard, whiting, etc. The principal flat fish are soles, turbot, halibut, plaice, skate, and brill. The fish families that yield the largest food supply are- the Gadidce, embracing the codfish, the haddock, ling, hake, whiting, etc. ; the Fleuronectidce, embracing the turbot, sole, brill, flounder, and other flat fish ; the C/upeidcB, furnishing the herring, sardine, sprat, etc. Then we have the family of the skates, known scientifically as the Raiidce. The mackerel is also a plentiful fish, and when procured in a thoroughly fresh state, it is of excel- lent service for table purposes. The Murenidce, or eel family, is also in great demand. It is scarcely possible to follow any systematic classifi- cation in treating of the catch and consumption of fish in various countries, nor can they be arranged entirely under families, hence the remarks and descriptions must, to some extent be disjointed and discursive. Codfish. — The following was the take of cod, ling, and hake by the Scotch fisheries in 1878. Number of fish taken and cured in vessels, 2,560,142 fish, of which were cured and dried 55,257 cwt. Number cured on shore 3,658,583, of which 128,552 cwt. were cured and dried, and 9,219 barrels in pickle. This shows a total of 6,218,725 fish taken. The exports were 94,970 cwt. (out of 183,809 cwt.), which is the largest export for many years. Iceland appears to be a more reliable field for the cod- fishing than either Faroe or Kockall. At Stornoway, and upon other parts of the west coast of Scotland, the fishery did well. The fish are cleaned, split, slightly salted and packed in barrels, twenty to twenty-four fish in a barrel. They are sold at Aberdeen at 40s. to 55s. a barrel. The flesh of the cod contains a large quantity of creatine. The fish are in best condition from October to January. It has been remarked that the immense- FOOD PKODUCTS OF THE SEA — FISHES. 2C7 fecundity of the cod seems to be an appointment of Providence in affording a supply of food to bleak and frozen countries that are unfit for the production of grain ; not only so, but the cod supplies all Europe with a considerable quantity of provision. The black cod (Gadics carbonarius), formerly C8il\ed coal fish, abounds in the waters of the Pacific, on the coasts of North West America. This fish is highly spoken of in America, and is considered far superior to the cod of New^foundland, the flesh being richer and of finer fibre. It received its popular name of coal fish from the dusky pigment which tinges the skin and soils the fingers when handled. In England it is considered a coarse fish and principally eaten by the poor, but in America it is salted and sold by the hundredweight. The hake {Merlucius imlgaris) is an excellent fish, and considered good eating, especially when cut in fillets and fried in butter. The fish which passes under the name of hake on the coasts of America is the Phycis ckuss, Wall., P. americmms, Storer. This is sometimes called ling by the fishermen, but differs in many points from the ling of Europe. The squirrel hake is Phycis tenuis, Mitchell, and there is another American species, the long-finned hake, P. chesterii, Goode and Bear. The whiting {Merlangus [Gadus'] vulgaris), a small deli- cate fish, seldom exceeding a pound and a half in weight, is one of the cod family. In Devonshire and Cornwall whiting are salted and dried in the sun immediately after being caught, and when sufficiently dry are tied up in bundles of six or up\\^ards ; but most of those caught are now sent fresh to the London market by the fast trains. The whiting of North America is Menticirrus nehulosus, [Mitch.] Gill, also known as the king fish. The fish which pass under the name of whiting in India are Selago schama, Forsk., and 8. pama, the flesh of which furnishes a light and nourishing diet. The haddock {Gadus [Morrhua] ceglefinus) fishing is of 268 ANIMAL FOOD RESOUECES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. . great importance to this country, inasmuch as it affords occupation to a large number of poor fishermen during the winter months. They are in the greatest perfection for the table from October to the beginning of January, just before they are about to spawn. A great many small haddocks are sometimes caught by the trawlers ; they are largely sold to the poor, and fetch from 8d. to Is. 6d. per basket, weighing three stones. In some of the Scotch cities these small haddocks dried are sold under the name of '' speldrings," and also under the name of " Finnon haddocks," from the name of the village near Aberdeen, where they were first cured and smoked by burning the green branches of fir. Thousands and tens of thousands of haddocks are cured in every possible state of freshness ; but none are equal in quality to the Scotch cured. The fish there are cured all but alive. Some are dried with peat smoke instead of sawdust, which is used in the London curing. The Norway had- dock is Sebasfes Norvegicus. The cod (Gadus onorrhua, Lin.) and its allies, G. navaga, G. tirens, contribute largely to human food. The annual average catch on the great breeding grounds of the species, and where the finest fish are obtained, as on the banks and shores of Newfoundland and the coasts of Labrador, is about 4,000,000 cwt. As- suming fifty fish to the cwt., this gives a yearly take of 200,000,000. In 1872 the take of cod in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and the Lower British American Provinces (exclusive of Newfoundland and Labrador) was 824,411 quintals. In 1880 Canada exported 996,870 cwt. of dried fish, and 27,084 cwt. and 264,953 barrels of pickled fish. In 1882 the value of the fisheries of Canada was given at £3,217,734. The export of cod-fish from Newfoundland of British take in 1874, reached a total of 1,250,000 cwt, worth more than one million sterling ; in 1882 it was 1,463,439 cwt., valued at £1,170,751» The cod fishery, which is the staple produce of New- FOOD PRODUCTS OF THE SEA — FISHES. 269 foundland, is prosecuted from June till October, and affords occupation to the mass of the population, who carry on this fishery around the shores of the island and ' on the coast of Labrador, from whence one-third of the annual catch is now, during a prosperous season, taken. The fishery on the banks is almost exclusively confined to the French and Americans. It is remarkable that the cod fishery shows very little progress, and the fluctua- tions are considerable. In 1820 there were exported 901,159 cwt. ; in 1850, 1,089,182 cwt. ; in 1866, 716,690 cwt.; in 1874, 1,240,320 cwt.; in 1878, 694,339 cwt.; in 1879, 994,334 cwt.; and in 1880, 1,419,503 cwt. Thus, while the population has more than doubled, there has been scarcely any increase in their chief means of support, which, it will be observed, is precarious. Cod to the value of £59,000 are caught by the French in Newfoundland. The largest export of the cured fish is made to Spain, Portugal, Italy, and Greece, which, together, take about half the catch, and Brazil one-fourth : the rest goes to the West Indies, the British North American provinces, and the United Kingdom. The local consumption of fish in the island of Newfoundland is estimated at 1^ to 2 cwt. per head of the population per annum. Of cods' tongues and sounds salted, about 3,000 barrels- are sent away annually from each of the provinces of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, besides large quanti- ties from Newfoundland. At Archangel, if the fishing is good, every fishing boat can gather, in the season, about 3,500 lbs. of cod fish tongues. They are salted separately, 15 lbs. of salt being-^ used to ? 00 lbs. of tongues. These tongues sell at about l-|d. a pound. The coasts of Norway are another great haunt of the edible fish of the cod family, as well as of herrings. The yield of cod in Norway in 1877 was the most abundant of which we have any record, the catch having been 76,000,000 fish, of the estimated value of £1,220,000. The total value of the Norwegian fisheries averaged in 1876 and 1877 nearly £3,500,000— a large amount for a country having hardly two millions of inhabitants. The following was the export of fish from Norway in 1878 :— Dried codfish Klip fish, salted cod Fresh or Hving fish Other sahed fish Spring herrings Other herrings Anchovies 320,511 centners* 819,221 44,420 Gl,644 tondes. 35,534 „ 641,467 „ 201,081 duntres. Salt fish is prepared there in two ways, as klip fish flattened, or as stock fish and round fish. The prepara- tion of klip fish was first introduced at Christiansund, in Norway, by the English about the close of the eigh- teenth century. In preparing it in this way it is cleaned soon after it is caught, salted and carefully dried. If the fish remain more than ten days in the wet they are unfit for klip fish. The best salt is required to prepare cod fish properly. Stock fish is not salted, but merely dried in the sun and wind for local consumption. The oldrfashioned plan of keeping the fish in brine has been nearly abandoned since the more general adop- tion of salting and drying. About two -thirds of the fish caught are salted and prepared as klip fish, and one-third sun-dried, known as round fish. The quantity of cod fish taken annually ranges from fifteen to seventy-six millions. In 1871, 24,000 tons were caught at the Lofoden isles, which is the largest and most renowned of the Norwegian fishing grounds. The Russian fishermen buy annually from the Nor- wegians twenty-six to thirty-six million pounds of cod and other fish. From Iceland five to seven million pounds of cod fish are annually exported. * The centner is not quite 1 cwt., but only 109f lbs. The toiide of fish is 3*186 bushels. The duntre is a small keg. FOOD PRODUCTS OF THE SEA — FISHES. 271 Besides the smoked, salted, and fresh fish locally con- sumed in Norway, about 250,000 lbs. is sent annually to England, packed in ice ; 1,000 to 1,200 barrels of salted .salmon is exported, and the sale of salmon brings in about £100,000. Norway exported in 1880 — Dried or split cod kilos. 72,215,000 Herrings hectolitres 536,333 Other salted fish • • * )) 118,348 Anchovies „ 11,755 And fresh fish to the value of £51,000. For home consumption in Iceland, under the name of heingefish, the cod is split along the back and hung up unsalted to dry, in sheds, when it has a shrivelled up appearance. It is eaten uncooked by the natives, who likewise dry and eat the refuse heads with great relish. The export of fish products from Norway averages about 170,000 tons per annum, of which 1^ per cent, is fresh or iced fish, and the remainder salted, dried, pickled, spiced, or smoked fish, roe, and fish oil. The value of the exported fish will average now about £2,500,000 ; and if all the fisheries are put together, there is an average export dried and dry-salted fish of 75,000,000 yearly, which would answer to about 375,000 tons of live fish, leaving out of account the home consumption. The number of species of known fish in Swedish waters is at present about 170, of which, however, only fifty are commonl}^ caught. The Baltic herring (stroemming), a smaller variety of Cliipea hareiigus, Lin., is sold either fresh in the towns along the coast, or else salted in barrels. The barrelled article is generally sold in Sweden, salted herring being the daily food of the Swedish peasant, but of late years it has also been exported to Germany. In Northern Europe the herring of the second year is •called " Christiania herring," in the third year " middle herring," in the fourth "merchant's herring," and in the 272 ANIMAL FOOD EESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. fifth " spring herring." There is no essential difference between these varieties, except the size and the greater or less development of the sexual organs. There are also some other classifications, as boundary herring, winter herring and fall herring. Sprats are partly sold fresh and partly pickled or spiced, while some are prepared as "anchovies," and sold under that name, although of course they are a different kind of fish to the true anchovy. Capclm. — In the month of June, each year, the shores of Newfoundland are visited by enormous shoals of capelin (Mal/otus arcficus) for the purpose of spawning. The masses of them in the various bays and harbours are so great that two men with a small landing-net will fill a boat in a couple of hours. So little account is taken of this delicious little fish that it is largely employed in manuring the fields and gardens, as sprats often are in England. The flavour of it, when fresh, is delicious, and its size is about that of the sardine. There is little doubt that, if properly cured, the capelin might compete with either sardines or anchovies, which are so profitable to the fisher- men of the Mediterranean. If merely pickled and dried it is worth more than a dollar per barrel. But no atten- tion is paid to this little fish, the supply of which seems inexhaustible. It is principally used by the fishermen as bait for the cod. About 100 barrels of capelin, salted and dried, are sent to England. In Switzerland the imports of fish amount to about 45,000 lbs. annually, chiefly fresh fish. It is an incontestable fact that although since 1830 prices have at least doubled, the sale of sea-fish has grown enormously in Belgium. Fish always abounds in the markets of Ostend, and the supply reaches 2,000 tons yearly. The annual proceeds of the sale of fish at the Ostend market averages about £140,000. The fishery products on the coast of Spain for the year 1882 were estimated at about 8,000 tons weight ; half of the catch was salted and preserved ; about fifty- FOOD PRODUCTS OF THE SEA — FISHES. 273 five tons of fresh fish were exported and the same quan- tity of pickled fish ; 380 tons of sardines were salted and pressed, and 100 tons of shell fish exported. In some countries, fish when tainted, or even putrid, is preferred to that which is fresh. The inhabitants of the banks of the Senegal and Orange rivers in Africa pound some small fish of the size of sprats in a wooden mortar, as they are taken from the stream, and after- wards make them up into conical lumps, like our sugar- loaves, which they dry in the sun. In this state they soon become slightly decomposed, and give out a most unpleasant odour ; notwithstanding which these people consider them a luxury. Several northern nations possess the art of preparing fish in a variety of ways unpractised in Europe, such as in the form of flour, bread, etc. Sir John Eichardson mentions that a very good bread may be made from the roe of the pollack [Pollachius carbonarius) and of the methy, and this is used in the fur countries as tea bread. A kind of fish flour or powder is made from the stock- fish in Norway, which has a high nutritive value. It may, therefore, when compressed into the form of biscuits realise, under certain circumstances, the problem sought by armies in the field, of having the largest amount of nourishment in the smallest compass and least weight. There are at present two houses which make this fish-flour at the Lofoden Islands, but the manufacture is likely to extend. About 2,000 packages of fish flour (of 2 lbs. each) were made at the factory of Llyngvser, Norway, in 1876, and 2,424 packages in 1877. Crackers of fish-meal made by Mad. Rosing, Christiania, were shown at the Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition in 1876. The biscuit is made in Norway out of this fish-flour in the following manner : — 500 grammes of the dry fish- flour are mixed with three litres of water, and 4i pounds of oatmeal are added and all well kneaded. The paste is then rolled out and cut into squares and cakes. These are pierced with holes and dried in an oven, but T 274 ANIMAL FOOD RESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. not at a sufficiently high temperature to cook or bake them. They should be turned several times while in the oven. From the experience of M. Rosing, Professor of Agricultural Chemistry at the Royal model farm at Aas, it results that these biscuits are very nutritious, being four times richer in albuminoid principles than beef, four and a half times than fresh cod, and six times richer than milk or rye bread. And it has also the advantage of being very rich in phosphates. The Siberians also bake bread with a meal formed by grind- ing down the dried remains of fish. An extract of fish is now made from the juice of the flesh of the menhaden {Breevoostra tyrannus), also called the ocean trout, by S. L. Goodale, Saco, Maine. Professor Johnson, of the Sheffield Scientific School, Yale College, formerly a pupil of Baron Liebig, writes of it, " I find your extract of fish both by actual use, and by chemical analysis, in all respects equal to the best Liebig's extract of beef." The menhaden is un- known in Europe, but in the herring, its near relative, Professor Almen, of the University of Upsala, reports finding eighteen per cent, more of extractive matter, and fifty per cent, more of soluble salts (these two to- gether constituting flesh extract) than in beef. Mr. Goodale states : " From each barrel of menhaden fish as taken, I get three pounds of extract when flesh alone is used, and four pounds if the spine is retained in dressing. Considering the large amount of fish an- nually taken and hitherto treated for oil and manure alone, the juices of which have been allowed to run back into the ocean as a worthless bye-product, I can- not avoid the conclusion that a new source of food is within reach, which at no distant day may contribute materially to human welfare." Mr. Goodale estimates that the fish used by the oil factories in the towns of Bristol and Booth Bay, Maine, in 1873, 1874, and 1875, allowing the product to equal one-fifth of the weight of the live fish, would have yielded in either year upwards of a million of pounds, or 500 tons of extract of fish. FOOD PRODUCTS OF THE SEA — FISHES. 2/0 Carrying out the same calculation for the entire catch of the Atlantic States, the potential yield of the menhaden fisheries would exceed ten millions of pounds of "extract of fish." Among various food preparations of fish and other sea animals put up in America are the following : — Cod-fish balls, canned fish chowder (cod and haddock), smoked smelts and canned smelts (Osmerus mordax), canned mackerel {Scomber), smoked Spanish mackerel {Cymhium maculatum) , smoked halibut (Hippo glossus vul- garis)^ pickled clam chowder, pickled scallops (Pecteu irradians), pickled mussels (Mytilus edulis), pickled oyster crabs {Pinnotheres ostreum), and devilled crabs. Some of the purely national dishes of difterent nations are most extraordinary things, such as the Swedish lut- fisk on Christmas eve. Lut-fisk is the salted stock or cod fish steeped in a solution of potash until, in fact, decomposition takes place. On Christmas eve, the great evening of Sweden, this mess is boiled and eaten with oil, and this and grot, which is simply boiled rice, are the Christmas dishes of Sweden, just as roast beef and plum pud- ding are with us. The smell of the lut-fisk is terrific, but a true Swede clings to his national dish on Julaften as much as any beef-eating Englishman does to his. Very many food fishes are preserved in oil, and thus form considerable articles of commerce and food dainties, such as the tunny, the halibut, the sardine, menhaden, and small pilchards. Fish Sauces. — We have our anchovy, lobster, and shrimp sauce for fish, but the ancients and some of the Eastern nations also indulged in fish sauces, as their garum, balachong, gna-pee, and other condiments prove. Balachong is a compound made of prawns, sardines and other small fish, pounded and pickled. This article, is of universal use as a condiment, and one of the largest articles of native consumption throughout both the Malay and Philippine Archipelago. It is not confined T 2 276 ANIMAL FOOD EESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. indeed as a condiment to the Asiatic islanders, but is also largely used by the Burmese, the Siamese, and Cochin-Chinese. The garum, or celebrated fish sauce of the Romans, was principally made out of the Scicena umbra and the mackerel, the entrails and blood being macerated in brine until they became putrid : " Experantes adhuc scombri de sanguine primo, Accipe fastosum munera cara garum." — Martial. Galen affirms that this disgusting preparation was so precious, that a measure of about three of our pints fetched two thousand silver pieces. So delightful was the effluvium of the garum considered, that Martial in- forms us it was carried about in onyx smelling-bottles. Flat Fish. — Let us now glance at some of the principal flat fish used for food. For the London market, and the British public in general, soles (8olea platessa) are the most important of sea fish. They are required by all classes of society; the higher classes get those of the best quality, the poorer, the smaller fish known in the trade as " tongues " and " slips." Two thousand tons of soles are sent up by the railway from Brixham in a year. In " London Labour and the London Poor," Mr. Mayhew stated that in 1864 the number of soles sold at Billings- gate Market was 97,520,000, and that the weight was 26,880,000 lbs., or 12,000 tons. Another good authority, Mr. Poole, gave the number of soles sent to the London market a quarter of a century ago as 100,000,000. The turbot {Pleuronedes maximus) is the rich man's fish, its flesh being delicate, sweet and fine, and being so valuable, the fishermen pay rather more attention to its abundance or scarcity than to that of almost any other sea fish. Six to seven hundred tons of turbot are received yearly in London. The Jews are forbidden b}^ law to eat anything that has no scales ; the question is whether the turbot has or has not scales, and upon this decision depends whether the Jews may or may not eat turbot. FOOD PRODUCTS OF THE SEA — FISHES. 277 When turbots are scarce, hotelkeepers frequently serve up brills {Rhombus vulgaris) as turbots. Many persons prefer them to turbot if taken before spawning. The brill is distinguished from the turbot not only by size and quality but by the perfect smoothness of its skin, which is covered with scales of a moderate size. These fish have been caught of very large size in the North Sea, near the Silver Pits ; sixteen pounds is about the largest seen at the Yarmouth fish market. The best are caught by the Dutch off* their coasts. The American turbot is Platessa oblonga, Dekay, which is fully equal to the English turbot. The fish known as turbot in Newfoundland is Reinhardtius hippoglossoides. In Scotland the halibut is called a turbot. Of the smaller flat fish the fiounder {Pleuronectes flexus) is perhaps the best for the table. In North America the common fiounder is Pseudo- rhombus dentatus [Lin.] Gunther ; the southern flounder C. oblonga, the smooth flounder Pleuronectes glaber, and the sand flounder Lophopsetta maculata. On the west coast of England these flat fish are generally called "fiukes," the white fiuke is the fiounder, the gar fluke the dab (Platessa limanda), and the plain fluke the plaice. Plaice {Pleuronectes platessa) at certain periods fetch high prices; as much as 7s. 6d. each has been paid. The plaice is a favourite fish with the Jews, being a food which they are permitted to eat at all their feasts and fasts. Eaten cold, dressed as the Jews cook this fish, it is a most delicious article of food, and they usually lay in a stock sufficient for several days' con- sumption. The plaice may be considered the poor man's fish ; it is nevertheless highly nutritious, and affords good, wholesome and cheap food. They are in season from May to December, but are finest at the end of May although sold all the year round. To ensure firmness in this fish it should be powdered with salt and hung up for a day. Enormous quantities of plaice are sold all over the country. Mr. May hew reports that there were 278 ANIMAL FOOD RESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. sold in Billingsgate in 1864, chiefly to the costermongers, over 33^ millions, averaging one pound each. A large number are also consumed in the shops that sell fried fish. The plaice is there cut into junks, and sold from a half-penny to two-pence a junk. The fish is first dipped in batter and then fried in boiling oil. The John Dorey {Zeus faher) is also called St. Peter's fish, on account of the dark mark on each side, like the impression made by the human thumb. The common name is said to be derived from the French jaime (yellow) and dore, referring to the golden yellow of the hsh when fresh. Although an ugly fish, it is thought a delicacy by epicures. The dorey is a very voracious fish, and the more a sea fish is carnivorous the better will be its flesh. That of the dorey is not unlike that of the turbot, and is es- pecially good from January to March. The most important members of the Clupedice are the common herring {Clupea Jiarengus), the sardine {C. Sar- dlna), the sprat {0, sprattus), and the pilchard {C. pil- chardus), the whitebait and the anchovy. Herrings. — The Dutch became a great nation princi- pally by the herring fishery, and Amsterdam, they say, is built on a foundation of herring bones. Even at present the Dutch herrings, though caught on the same ground as the English or Scotch, bear a higher price than any other in the world, and are eaten raw as a relish in Holland and Germany. The first barrel of new herrings that is taken, is forwarded to the King at the Hague. It is carried in procession with banners and military music — the day is one of public rejoicing, and a few of the new herrings are sent as presents to the nobles of the land. The captured herrings are for the most part cured almost immediately they are taken and on board ship, while another portion are first salted prior to being smoked and sold as red herrings to the trade. Those gutted and salted on board, are acknowledged to be much superior in quality, being more tender and fatter than all other kinds, preserving their agreeable flavour •FOOD PRODUCTS OF THE SEA — FISHES. 279 even till the following year. The first Dutch herrings in former times frequently brought £60 per barrel, and were sold by small quantities from 2s. to 3s. a piece. In the year 1815 the first 195 barrels were sold for rather over £3,450, thus averaging about £17 per barrel. Ban- quets were held, of which herrings formed the principal dish, and the hosts sang their praises : " Who first between his teeth The dainty morsel takes Enjoys a glorious treat." The production has of late years remained prosperous, reaching in .1880 about 227 million, and in 1881 197i million of fish, representing a market value of from £250,000 to £330,000. The principal destination of the salted herrings is Germany, the smoked ones being sent to Belgium. The export of cured herrings increased from 80,000 barrels in 1872 to 139,500 barrels in 1882. The quantity of fresh fish exported chiefly to Belgium ranges from 4J to 7 million kilos., 10,000,000 to 15,500,000 pounds. The herring fishery of Ireland in 1878 resulted in a catch of 193,606 mease, valued at £220,278, or an aver- age of £1 2s. 9d. per mease of say 630 fish. In 1883 the Irish herring fishery only resulted in 109,250 mease, valued at £105,738. The number of fish landed at Tyne- mouth, North Shields, in 1878-79, was 2,785 lasts of herrings and 2,286 tons of white fish. The "last" is 100 long hundreds of 132, or 13,200 fish. The herring fishery of Scotland in 1878 resulted in 905,768 barrels being cured, which proved the fishing of the year to have been remarkably good, and so much above an average fishing as to have been exceeded only by the great fishings of the years 1873, 1874, and 1875. Of the quantity exported (623,934 barrels) 608,970 barrels went to the Continent, principally to Germany and Russia. It was stated in the Report of the Herring Fishery Commissioners for 1878, that 2,400,000,000 herrings are 280 ANIMAL FOOD RESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. caught annually by the British, French, Dutch, and Nor- wegian fishermen. The take of herrings in Scotland varies from 600,000 to 1,000,000 barrels, that is, reckoning the quantity cured, exclusive of those eaten fresh. The quantity sent abroad ranges from 500,000 to 700,000 barrels. The Norfolk fishery obtains about 64,000 tons of her- rings, and the Dutch catch about 35,000 tons. Spiced herrings, known as kryddsell, are much sought after in some places of Sweden, and especially in North Germany. They are thus prepared. The fresh-caught herrings are immediately put into vinegar, with one- fourth water and some salt. After remaining in this mixture for twenty-four hours, the herrings are taken out and the vinegar drained off. The fish are then placed in a keg with a mixture of the following spices, reckoning these quantities for every fourscore herrings : one pound fine dry salt, one pound pulverised sugar, half an ounce each of pepper, bay-leaves, and saltpetre, a quarter of an ounce of ginger and a very little hops and cloves ; others add double the quantity of pepper, all- spice, and cloves. The herrings must be left in this mixture for two months before they are fit for use. Pilchards. — The pilchard fishery {Clnpea pilchardus), which is confined to the coasts of Cornwall and Devon, is variable in its yield, reaching sometimes 4!7,000 hogs- heads, as in 1871, and at others not a fifth of this quantity are caught, as but 9,477 hogsheads in 1877. It takes nearly 4,000 summer pilchards and 3,000 winter pilchards to fill a hogshead, which will weigh when well pressed 467 pounds gross. Besides what are consumed locally fresh, the ship- ments, when salted, go almost entirely to Italy, where they are largely consumed during Lent. Whitebait. — The whitebait which are reported so great a delicacy in London are composed in reality of the fry of various small fish, but they consist chiefly of those of sprats and herrings. Their capture has hitherto been confined to the neighbourhood of London, but it is now FOOD PRODUCTS OF THE SEA — FISHES. 281 rapidly extending to other places, and continually in- creasing quantities of young herrings and young sprats are annually consumed in various parts of this kingdom. There are tons of whitebait caught in the Thames about Greenwich and Gravesend. They are much moi*e numerous than they were. At one time they were con- fined to the estuary from Blackwall to Gravesend ; now they have extended to the Medway and the Crouch to Harwich. The fishery for whitebait commences when Parliament meets, and ends with the session, or from February to August. About £40 a week for twenty-six weeks is paid at Queenborough for wages in catching whitebait. From £1,500 to £1,800 is expended in catching white- bait. The average quantity of fish caught during the season is about half a ton a day. It fetches from Is. to to 2s. a quart wholesale, and a pint will weigh about eighteen ounces. Twice a year the coasts of the South Sea Islands are visited by innumerable hosts of tiny fish, which, from their resemblance to the small fry caught in the estuary of the Thames, and so highly prized during the " Lon- don season," have been christened by the general name of " whitebait." Nobody knows really of what species this little fish consist ; but there is no doubt that, like their English prototypes, they consist of the young of many difierent varieties of fish in the earliest stages of 'their growth. Their appearance is hailed with delight by the natives, who are inveterate fishermen, and who take advantage of the harvest while it lasts. The waters of the South Pacific teem with many kinds of edible fish, and most of the other islands of the Pacific are visited by shoals of these " whitebait " in one form or another. The Fiji islands boast of a special delicacy in the shape of a species of annelid, known to the natives as " balolo " (Palolo viridis, Gray), which swarms round their coasts about September, and is eagerly sought for by both the natives (who cook them in ovens dug out of the earth) and by European settlers and visitors. Although not an 282 ANIMAL FOOD RESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. actual ''fish," these little marine worms are as highly- esteemed as any Thames whitebait, which they closely resemble in flavour; and both they and the various forms of fish life are eagerly sought for. Fortunately the destructive powers of the natives — terrible " poachers " as they are, killing the fish by means of poisons and explosives, and using old sails, baskets, and all kinds of instruments of a very unsportsmanlike character — are out of all proportion to the productiveness of the waters, and as the disappearance of the " whitebait " is as sudden as their appearance, they have not much time to make any impression on the stock of fish in the sea. The Maori is looking forward to the time when he may be able to supply England with salmon; and the Fiji islanders may possibly some day be sending us over supplies of " whitebait " to grace the table of the English epicure. France. — Much as fish is appreciated in France, and essential as it is as food, owing to their fasts and religious observances, the consumption is after all com- paratively small. In a paper b}^ Captain Lemonssu, published in the " Bulletin of the Society of Acclimatation," Paris, in 1860 (vol. vii. p- 832), he stated that the average annual consumption per head was about as follows : — 250 grammes of fresh fish ; 1 „ prawns ; 1 decagramme of crayfish or lobsters ; and 3 oysters. or about nine or ten ounces in all. Of other molluscs the consumption is also very small, although they might be cultivated and multiplied extensively. Of fish preserved in oil, or marinaded, the consumption is equally limited. Each individual uses of Sardines ... ... ... 6 Anchovy... ... ... .. ... 2 „ Tunny 3 grammes. FOOD PRODUCTS OF THE SEA — FISHES. 283 From this it will be seen how restricted is the con- sumption of sea fish, etc., notwithstanding the increasing price of the other food necessaries of life. And yet this providential manna passes and repasses the coast, and might be taken and utilised at a price four or five times below that at present charged. In 1860 the sales of fresh fish in the Paris market were to the value of £450,000. The quantity was about 12,000,000 kilos.; 2,000,000 kilos, of salted fish is consumed in Paris, and 500,000 kilos, of marinaded or fish preserved in oil. The value of the fresh water or river fish sold is set down at about £80,000. The weiofht and kinds of fish consumed in Paris in 1877 were given as follows :- Eels .. Barbel ... Bream ... Pike Smelts ... Gudgeon... Lampreys Perch ... Tench ... Trout ... Various hmall w hite fisl 1 lbs. 328,000 23,826 94,176 354.232 290.454 39,060 286 28,738 154,674 5.128 1,157,434 2,476,008 There was sold of sea fish at the central markets 31,500,000 lbs. From four to five million pounds of salted and smoked cod, herrings, mackerel, and salmon is also sold in Paris. The trade in sea fish in that city has doubled in value in the last ten years, and now amounts in value to about 40,000,000 frs. (£1,600,000). The consumption of fish in Paris in 1883 was about 22,400 tons, or 1,000 tons more than in 1882, and nearly a fourth of the whole were herrings, sold at an average wholesale price of 3d. per lb. About a fourth of the whole supply of fish came from abroad, chiefly from England. 284 ANIMAL FOOD RESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. The official statistics of the French fisheries gave as the total value of the catch for — 1876. 1878. Boat fishery £3,341,220 £3,239,276 Angling or hand fisheries 218,405 239,600 3,559,625 £3,478,878 The aggregate quantity of codfish sent from France to her colonies in the five years ending 1876, was close upon 41,000,000 kilos., or over 8,800 tons per annum. The shipments were less in 1877, and have been on the decline since. The quantity of herrings, fresh or salted, brought into French ports in 1877 was 861,574 metrical quintals. The total weight of fish caught by the French fishermen averages about 120,000 tons. The following was the weight and kinds of fish obtained by the French sea fisheries, in kilogrammes, in — 1876. 1878. Cod, Newfoundland ... ) o^ qqr a^o S 16,070,560 „ Iceland } 27,886,472 | 12,951,751 Herring 26,061,536 21,764,707 ~" " ' 11,863,478 7,368,143 1,167,728 860,347 42,577,902 44,134,983 Mackerel... Anchovy Other specieg 109,557,116 103,150,497 Sardines ... No. 1,198,402,181 1,919,302,829 In 1878 the French had 685 vessels engaged in the Newfoundland cod fishery, employing 13,217 men, who received in premiums of fifteen to fifty francs each a sum of 594,120 francs (nearly £24,000). The shipments of cod were from the seat of the fisheries — Kilos. To the French Colonies 1,689,344 From French ports to foreign countries .. 1,337,196 To Algiers and Sardinia 1,879,139 Cod roe imported ,.. 273,970 5,179,649 FOOD PRODUCTS OF THE SEA — FISHES. 285 The aggregate premiums paid by the State on these were 786,201 francs for the fish and 54,794 francs on the cod roes imported for bait in the sardine fisheries. The bounty varies from twelve to twenty francs per 100 kilos. The total value of the fish taken by the French fisheries in 1883 was £4,289,076, being £570,000 more than in 1882. The quantities caught were 34,000 tons of cod, 36,000 tons of herrings, and 6,000 tons of mackerel. The catch of sardines was also nearly double that of the previous year. In Newfoundland 17,683,289 kilogrammes of cod were caught by the French in 1881, and in Iceland 9,695,411 kilos. The take of fresh table fish (usually called " La Maree fraiche") in 1881 was about 50,000,000 kilos., which comprised turbots, brill, soles, plaice, flounders, rays, gurnets, mullets, whiting, conger, salmon, lampreys, sturgeons, &c. The sea fisheries for the whole Republic in 1881 resulted in sales of fish of the value of nearly three millions and a quarter pounds sterling. The fresh-water fish of France are divided into two categories, according to their degree of utility for public consumption. The first comprises the shad, the pike, carp, chevenne (chub), sturgeon, lamprey, ombre {ThymaUus vexiUifer), perch, salmon, tench, trout, eel, barbel and bream. The second includes the bleak, dace, bullhead, stickleback, roach, gudgeon, loach, rotengle {Leuciscus erythrophthalmus), vandoise (X. vulgaris), veron {L. 2)hoxinus), &c. Besides the cod, herring, mackerel, and sardine coast fisheries, the "other species" of fish comprised in the French returns are " barbues " (brills), turbots, soles, carrelets (flounders), limandes (dabs), merlans (whiting), skate, rougets, mullets, congers, salmon, lampreys, stur- geons, &c. Of these there were caught in — 1875 41,.500,121 kilos. 1876 1878 1879 1880 42,557,902 44,134,983 47,207,964 48,324,308 286 ANIMAL FOOD RESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. Sardines. — Few have any idea of the great importance of the fishing for that diminutive fish the sardine, or the extent of the commerce in it. The largest shoals of these fish are found on the coasts of Sardinia, whence the popular name they bear, which has been incor- porated into the specific name, Clupea sardina, Cuv. The preserved sardine is said to have been brought into fashion by Henry IV. The sardine is a dainty morsel in any way, whether delicately cooked, fresh in his paper- casing like a mummy embalmed in spices, preserved in oil, or salted as in Italy. In Norway they are put up spiced, and also preserved in sugar. The French fisheries on the coast of Finisterre and Morbihan are of very great importance. In some years the sardines are very plentiful ; in others they are more scarce. The sardine fishery is eminently French, although also prosecuted in Italy. It is carried on from the Gulf of Gascony to the east. The fish are sold all over France fresh (when this is possible), half salted, and salted pressed in barrels. But the preservation of sardines in oil forms the most important branch of the trade, the shipments when prepared being usually estimated to be over one million sterling in value. Indeed, the annual value of the French fisheries on the western coast are stated at twelve to fourteen million francs, divided among about 140,000 inhabitants. This delicate fish has been termed " the manna of the sea." On the French coasts it gives employment to no less than 13,000 boats in Vendee and Brittany. Con- carneau alone has 500, which in 100 days' fishing will bring in on an average of years one million and a half of fish. The little tin boxes with French labels are found all over the world, and the fish is everywhere held in good repute. They are mostly put up in what are called half and quarter tins, weighing sixteen or eighteen ounces and seven ounces. If properly prepared, and not too salt, the longer the tin is kept unopened the more mellow do the fish become. FOOD PRODUCTS OF THE SEA— FISHES. 287 Sardines and anchovies to the value of 723,000 dollars are imported into the United States. The whole boxes of sardines are 5x4x3^ inches ; the half boxes, 5 x 4 X 1|- inches ; the quarter boxes, 4| x 3 J x 1^ inches. Over 10,000,000 tins are yearly exported from the coasts of Brittany to other countries. The fish as brought in are taken to the market, and either sold to dealers, who pack them off by rail to Paris and other towns, where they are used fresh, or they are bought by the local factories for preserving in oil. The av^erage annual value of the sardines caught on French coasts, in the three years ending 1870, was officially returned at £400,000, but this was only the nominal declared value, and of late years the amount is much larger. The sardine fishery increases every day in importance, and so do the preserving establishments. At D'Auray, in 1870, there were about twenty of these. The number of fish tinned was 17,300,000 ; pressed and salted, 774,000 ; consumed locally, 1,500,000 ; and sent fresh into the interior, 10,000,000 ; and yet in that year it was only half an average catch. At the port of Croisic, where the value of the catch was returned in 1870 at £8,000 for the fresh fish, they sold at twenty francs (16s.) the 1,000, and were readily bought b}^ the preserving factories at Tremblade, Croisic, and Polignen. At Sables d'Olonne the five or six preserving establishments at Gujan, Mestres, &c., put up annually about 1,000,000 lbs. In some years the porpoises are very destructive, frighten ofi" the fish, and break the nets. In 1883 the total number of sardines caught on the French coasts was 1,148^ millions, or rather more than twice the take of 1882. The sardine fishery in Tuscany is carried on chiefly around the islands of Elba, Giglio, Orbitello, and Grossito, and produces about 450,000 lbs. of fish. They are generally salted and shipped in barrels of about 130 lbs. The sardines of Gallipoli are excellent, but badly pre- pared. The quantity of sardines and anchovies caught on the coast of Italy amounts to about 1,600,000 lbs., to 288 ANIMAL FOOD RESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. which has to be added the product of the fisheries of Genoa and Sicily. Other countries have attempted to enter into competition in the preservation of fish in oil. Brazil, Spain, Italy, and the United States have tried ; but their efforts, more or less successful, have not been able to compete with the French production. In North America they have tried to preserve in this manner the young of a species of herring, the Alosa menhaden. Lately, too, a company was formed in Cornwall to convert young pilchards into sardines ; and no doubt a good many sprats are occasionally put up in tins as sardines. Anchovies. — The anchovy (Engrauiis encrasicolus) is another fish, the catching and preserving of which gives extensive employment on the French Atlantic coast and in the Mediterranean. The value of these fish caught on the French coasts is returned at about £16,000 per annum. The fishing is carried on from May to October. Bayonne, Port Vendres, St. Jean de Luz, Marseilles, D'Agde, Douarnenez, and L'Orient are the principal ports for anchovies. At Marseilles the annual average value of fresh fish caught is over £1,000. A smaller and more delicate kind of anchovy {E. meletta, Lin.), is also caught in the Mediterranean. Small sardines are very often put up as anchovies. After gutting and removing the head, they are washed and simply placed in barrels with layers of salt, and a little reddish ochrous earth added to give them colour. The mineral used to colour the fish is rather dangerous, but fortunately the fish are never used without being previously well washed in water, which removes most of the colouring substance, that might otherwise prove injurious. The Romans used to prepare with the intestines of the anchovy a sauce of a detestable odour, and so strong that it burnt the tongue and the palate. Mr. Couch, in his " Cornish Fauna," says the anchovy abounds there towards the end of summer and if atten- tion were paid to the fishery, enough might be caught to supply the consumption of the British Islands ; and also adds that he has seen it in the Cornish seas of the length m^. LIBI FOOD PKODITCTS OF THE SEA^-^KHES. .^^^^^:. 289 of seven inches and a half. Anchovies are also caught in the Zuyder Zee, Holland. The catch is, however, extremely uncertain, for while in abundant years it sometimes amounts to over 70,000 baskets, each of about 3,500 fish, in poor years the whole may be put down at 1,000 baskets. If the fisheries on the Spanish coasts cannot compete in importance with those of some of the other European States in the supply to foreign markets, they at least furnish sufiicient for the interior consumption. There are about 37,000 fishermen employed in boats, and the fish taken averages about 78,700 tons per annum, of which half is consumed fresh and half is salted, some few hundredweight being marinaded. At Corunna there are 220 establishments for salting and pressing sardines and pilchards, a trade of much importance. In 1871 salt pilchards sold there at 1 J- to 2^ dollars per thousand. •They are caught very largely on the coast in favourable years, and promptly cured or salted for removal. The value of the fish caught in 1871 was estimated at £350,000. Many of the skates and rays are caught by our fisher- men, but for some reason the British public do not readily eat this fish, and they are therefore exported in large quantities to France and Holland. The French chefs have many ways of cooking rays, of which " Raie au beurre noir '' is about the best. The commonest of these fish in the British markets is the blue skate (Eaia hatis or vulgaris), and the thornback or rough ray {R. clavata). Another, the Homelyn ray {R. maculata), is also generally sold as skate in the London market. The sharp- nosed ray {R. oxyrhynchus) is the favourite species with the French. In Iceland they eat the ray when it is half rotten. At Nantes, under the name of " goules rondes," the heads of rays are sold separately in bundles of twenty^ and the}^ are regarded as dainty morsels, somewhat as their backs were esteemed by the ancients according to Antiphanes. Mackerel — The mackerel {Scomber scomhrus) fishery i« prosecuted on many parts of the British coasts, but it is 290 ANIMAL FOOD RESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. difficult to state with precision the quantity taken. On the Cornish coast about 1,600 to 2,000 tons are caught in some years. In 1875 about 4,000 long hundred (120) were taken on the Norfolk coast. In 1876 the Irish mackerel fishery yielded 139,000 boxes of six score fish each. The mackerel fishery in 1878 resulted in a take of 92,626 boxes, as compared with 114,562 boxes in 1877. In 1883 the catch of mackerel in Ireland by 270 boats amounted to 242,975 boxes, averaging 14s. per box, and realising £170,624, the largest amount ever received in •one year. On the Sussex and other coasts they are also taken ; 10,000 to 12,000 tons are sold annually in London. The average catch on the French coasts is greater than that of Ireland. A large quantity are sent from Norway in ice. On the North American coasts a very extensive trade is done in pickled mackerel. About 200,000 barrels are taken there yearly in British waters, and 350,000 barrels in American waters. In 1870, 16,000 barrels of mackerel were cured in Prince Edward Island, and in 1883, 93,000 barrels in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. Fishing for mackerel and herring is not pursued to so great an extent as might be the case if the demand were greater and the expense less. The fishery returns for i872 were — Herring. Mackerel. Barrels. Barrels. Nova Scotia 170,657 115,833 Quebec 29,069 1,759 New Brunswick 124,157 2,217 Ontario ^ 6,974 — 330,857 119,809 Besides the salted mackerel a good many are put up in hermetically sealed tins, about 351,000 cans were exported from New Brunswick and Nova Scotia in 1883 valued at 7 Jd. per can. From a careful diagram of the mackerel catch of Massa- chusetts it appears to have grown steadily from 7,000 FOOD PRODUCTS OF THE SEA — FISHES. 291 barrels in 1804, to 385,000 barrels in 1831. In the next ten years it declined to 50,000. The scale has since been fluctuating, being for 1880 about 150,000. This account is only of salt mackerel, and is not appreciably affected by the use of pounds, weirs, and traps, all caught thus not exceeding 5,000 barrels yearly, most of which are consumed fresh. The number of barrels used in this way, in 1876, was for the whole United States but 27,000. Evidently causes different from mere methods of capture must account for the partial disappearance of mackerel, and much is yet to be learned as to this valuable but singular fish, upon whose migratory movements so many depend for a living. In early spring they strike the coast of Virginia, moving northward in immense shoals, visiting successively Cape May, Sandy Hook, Block Island, Cape Cod, and various points as far as Labrador. Captain N. E. Atwood, in illustration of the vicissitudes of mackerel fishing, states that with the help of a boy he has caught in one night off Cape Cod 2,050 fish, and the next night 3,520 ; but on another trip he fished all the way from the Grand Bank to the Azores and caught only one mackerel ! The mackerel is much esteemed, its flesh having an excellent flavour, but it is fat and not easily digested. Mullet. — There are several kinds of mullet. Those principally seen in the markets are the grey muUet {Mugel capito), an excellent fish, and the red mullet {Mullus surniulletus). The grey mullet is an estuary fish. The name mullet is said to be derived from mullus, the scarlet sandal or shoe worn by Roman consuls. This fish is also termed the woodcock of the sea. The red mullet seldom come into the market with their scales on, as the fishermen generally scrape them oft' with their thumb nails immediately they are caught, else the rich crimson hue invariably fades, but the bared skin becomes brilliantly red. This fish is also called the striped surmullet, from the circumstance that its bright red colour is relieved by three longitudinal stripes of yellow. The flesh is white, U 2 292 ANIMAL FOOD RESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. iirm, and remarkably free from fat, and has always been esteemed one of the epicure's greatest luxuries. Its flavour improves with the size, and small fish deprived of the liver are more or less insipid. The method of cooking by rolling them in paper to prevent injury to the skin has been observed for at least two thousand years. Th& red mullet was held in such a distinguished category ximong the genteel fishes of the Romans, that three of them, although of small size, were known to fetch up- wards of £200, Midlus surmulletus is called on some of the French coasts " barbarien," and Mullus barbatus "rouget," or "le ])arbarien petit." The mullet was one of those fish which was most .sought for in Rome. It is difficult for us to realise the enormous value w^hich the Romans placed upon this fish, for as it never reaches any great size, they did not hesi- tate to pay its weight in gold if it was unusually large. Seneca and Suetonius have given us in their writings descriptions of the extravagant taste in the preparation of the mullet for the table of the rich. According to Seneca (Epistle 95) the Emperor Tiberius sold at auction a mullet, w^eighing four pounds, to Apicius and Octavius jointly for the sum of 4,000 sesterces (£32). In this country they do not usually exceed three pounds and a half in weight. The scarus, mursena, tunny, and sword-fish were other esteemed fishes among the ancients. They knew how to preserve some, first frying them in oil with bay leaves, salt, and spices, and then pouring boiling vinegar over them. They were more appreciated when brought alive and gradually allowed to die immersed in the delicious garum, when the Romans feasted their eyes in the anticipated delight of eating them, by gazing on the dying creature as he changed colour like an expiring dolphin. Seneca reproaches them with this refinement of cruelty, " Oculis quoque gulosi sunt." The most re- nowned of Apicius's culinary discoveries w^as the alec, a compound of their livers. FOOD PRODUCTS OF THE SEA — FISHES. 203 Several fishes were immortalised by the ancients ; the Murmna Hellena was raised in their ponds, and rendered so tame that it came to be killed at the tinkling of hm master's bell or the sound of his voice, *' Natat ad magistrum delicata mursena," says Martial. Hirtius ceded six thousand of these fish to Csesar as a great favour, and Vitellius delighted in their roe. One of the mullets, M. ccphalus, and its roe are now largely em- ployed in the Black Sea and the Mediterranean coasts, and the prepared roes have been mentioned in the Chapter on Eggs, ante, p. 213. The mountain mullet of Jamaica (Dajaus monticola, Ouv. and Val. ; Mngil monticola, Bancroft) is a very deli- cate fish. The flesh is remarkably sweet and white, and the roe is a most recherche morsel. In general it is found nearly as large as the fish itself. There are two modes of dressing them for the table, first wrap them up in a plantain leaf and put them in hot ashes, and there let them remain for an hour, or they may be fried. The fine large roes should not be treated in any other way for the gourmet. It is the best mode of preparing them for the table. The mountain mullet weighs from half a pound to a pound. The long-nosed mullet (Mngil D RADIATA. 443 name of bitoig (pronounced bitotche) or violet, of which considerable quantities are taken daily. It is believed to have special properties against affections of the chest, and marvellous cures are attributed to it. It can be kept fresh out of the water several days. Many of the ascidians, or sea squirts, are esteemed as articles of food in Brazil, China, and the Mediterranean. M. Charles Bretagne, in a report on Edible Mollusca to the Paris Society of Acclimatation, observes, " The sepia is a cephalopod which is eaten in many localities, and on our coasts from the ocean to the Mediterranean. Although very abundant in our seaports, it is to be regretted that it is not brought to Paris. Its repulsive aspect in its raw state has hitherto kept it from our tables, which yet encourage frogs. It only requires to be disguised to become an agreeable and wholesome food, according to the manner in which it is prepared. I have made successful efforts in this direction, and have marinaded some, after bleaching them in boiling water, and my guests were satisfied with them as hors-d'oeuvre." The polypus or octopus is fished for at Tunis, and is exported to the Levant and the Greek market during Lent, there being no prohibition against them in the orthodox Church. In a good year about 6,200 cwt. are obtained, and they fetch from 6d. to Is. 8d. a pair. Pre- pared octopi are higher in price, as they have to be macerated by beating them on a slab, then salted and dried. Octopus brevipes, Orb., is eaten in Norway. Octopus vulgaris is dried, and under the name of Tako, is exported from Japan. Eledonne octopodia smaller, and a Sepia J known as Ik a, Loligo sagitatta, and Echinus escu- lentus, under the name of " Uni," are all eaten in Japan and China. The Sepia is very abundant on the coasts of Cochin China and Tonkin. It is much esteemed by the rich there, who eat it with their tea. It sells at one shilling and sixpence the pound. Of the Radiata or Echinodermata there are only two requiring prominent mention here, the common sea-egg or sea-urchin and the Kolothurididce. Of the former 44 i ANIMAL FOOD RESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. several species are eaten, among others Echinus esculentus, E. sphcera, Muller, and E. granulosus. Sea-urchins crowd in vast numbers all around the shores of Europe, Africa, and the East Indies ; they feed upon crabs and sea-nettles, and are, in return, eaten by millions. Their bright saffron-yellow bodies may be seen in every market from the Ganges to the Loire, and from Benares to Marseilles. They furnish an ample pro- portion of the daily bread of the lower classes. In Naples they are especially valued just before they deposit the roe, as the aggregate egg-masses are termed, being larger and in as much repute as the soft roe of the herring. They are highly esteemed by the inhabitants of Chili, the Faro Islands and other districts, and are usually eaten raw like oysters, being cut into four quarters, and the flesh eaten with a spoon. When cooked this becomes red like crab, and is said to resemble it in flavour. In the Italian markets, near the rocky coasts of Italy, may often be seen baskets of sea-urchins (Echini), of which the following species are commonly eaten. Echinus melo, E. lividus, E. brevispinosus, E. saxatilis, and E. coclenterata. Two species of anemone used as food in Italy are commonly known under the name of " Ogliole," they are Actinia viridis and A. equina. Trepang or Beche-de-Mer. — In all that pertains to a due appreciation of sea-worms — if that term is admis- sible — the Chinese must be acknowledged as feast- masters. They ascribe to mollusks peculiar virtues, and pay most extravagant sums for their favourite kinds. Among these the trepang holds probably the first rank — an ugly, shapeless, fearfully-smelling Holothuria of Eastern seas. Thousands of Malay, English, and American vessels are annually busy in those waters catching the disgusting, worm-shaped animal. Its principal homes are the coral-banks of the South Sea and Australian waters, but Chinese fishermen go as far as New Guinea, and American ships to the Caroline Islands, in pursuit of this favourite of the Chinese taste. The greatest market FOOD FROM THE MOLLUSCA AND RADIATA. 445 for the trepang is Macassar, where not less than thirty- six varieties are exposed for sale, the choicest of which bring incredible prices. The worm is caught either by long pointed sticks, that are thrust down at random, or is brought up from the deep by skilful and well-paid divers. In Sumatra they are thrown alive on heaps of coral lime, which induces them to disgorge their whole contents ; at other places they are cooked for two whole days, when they begin to resemble calfs- foot jelly, and, by the aid of powerful spices, become fit for the table. This food-article, which is of large consumption in China, gives rise to considerable fisheries and an exten- sive commerce. It is known as Trepang or Bedhe-de- Mer, or edible Holothuria. The best-known species of the family are Holothuria eduUs and JS. nigra, but there are more than thirty species, varying greatly in size and general aspect. These animals do not present much elegance of form when living; and when cured, the trepang is an un- seemly-looking substance of a dirty light or dark- brown colour, hard, rigid and repulsive, with a strong fishy odour. The largest kinds, when alive, sometimes attain the length of two feet; but when dried they shrivel up to half that size. The length of those brought to market averages from four to eight or nine inches. Fashion and custom have caused each variety to have a different market ; while the gourmand of the south smacks his lips on the juicy brown and black kinds, the less cultivated taste of the people of the north is satisfied with the red a.nd white inferior kinds. In the process of curing, the animal is split down one side, the viscera removed, boiled, and pressed with a weight of stones, then stretched open with strips of bamboo, dried in the sun, and afterwards in the smoke for four days, when it is fit to be packed away in bags, but requires to be examined at intervals and exposed to the sun, as it soon imbibes moisture and mildew. For fuller details of the fishery, commerce, and pre- 446 ANIMAL FOOD RESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. paration of Trepang, I must refer the reader to another volume of mine.* Some species of Holothuria called " Namako " are eaten raw in Japan, and when steamed and dried are largely shipped to China. The mode of cooking trepang is as follows: — Soak it in cold water for an hour, then clean it and scrape it carefully. Boil it for eight hours in water with a little salt added, wash, scrape and clean it anew ; and soak it in cold water for two hours. Then cover it with meat gravy, season and cook it for half-an-hour more, and serve it hot. The export of trepang from the French island of New Caledonia amounts in value to £4,000. The specimens shown at the Paris Exhibition in 1878, from New Cale- donia, were thus classed and priced : — 1st quality, black, 1.90 to 2 francs, the kilo. 2nd quality, small black, 1.25 to 1..30 francs, the kilo. 3rd quality, red fish, 1 franc, the kilo. Large white, 70 cents, the kilo. 9,131 kilos of trepang, value 7,255 francs, were shipped from Tahiti, in 1875, they are taken principally at the Pomotous. From a careful investigation of the returns of im- ports at the Chinese trade ports, the receipts of trepang in 1871 were about 10,000 piculs, or 12,500 cwt. In 1875 it was 21,360 cwt. The average annual imports into China of marine food products, were in the five years ending respectively as follows : — 1870. 1875. Beche-de-mer 16.674 Piculs 19,487 Piculs. Fish, dried and salted ...38,437 „ 36,439 „ Isinglass 2,953 „ 3,943 „ Shell fish and Crustacea, ] Awaba (Haliotids), V 10,060 „ 17,439 „ dried shrimps, &c. J The picul is a little over 133 lbs. avoirdupois. * "The Commercial Products of the Sea," Griffith and Fairau. FOOD FROM THE MOLLUSCA AND RADIATA. 447 Lbs. Value, £. 9,255 96 70,220 1,032 26,596 469 15,056 264 10,072 141 21,104 347 28,957 359 23,630 379 52,117 937 The following quantities of Beche-de-mer were caught on the Indian coasts and shipped from India, chiefly to Singapore :— 1875-6 1876-7 1877-8 1878-9 1879-80 1880-1 1881-2 1882-3 1883-4 In 1884, 10,430 lbs. were imported into India from Ceylon and the Straits Settlements. 807,032 lbs. of foreign catch was shipped to Hong Kong. Much of this is imported and then re-exported. The trepang abounds on the reefs that fringe, for so many hundred miles, the northern coast of Queensland, and many stations have been established for curing the different edible species. Of late some of the hordes of Chinese who have poured into the colony, have taken up this fishery, and a regular junk, manned by Mon- golian sailors, trades between the fishing stations and collects the dried slug for export. There are probably 600 tons annually exported from the northern coast of Australia. There formerly existed on the coasts of the peninsula of Giens in the Mediterranean, a species of Ascidian, popularly termed " Violet " or " Vichet," which was much esteemed by the gourmands of Marseilles and Toulon. In consequence of excessive dredging it has almost disappeared. They used to sell in the Marseilles market at Id. and l^d. each, and owing to the seaweed beds among which they were found, they had an excep- tionally pleasant flavour. About the Bahamas and other parts of the West Indies, the edible Beche-de-mer abounds, but there is no demand for them. It is quite possible, however, that an enterprising individual, or firm, might reap such a harvest as would make it worth while to participate in 448 ANIMAL FOOD RESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. the Eastern trade. The improved means of preserving such products in a commercial form in tins or bottles, as well as the old-fashioned method of sun-drying, however, suggest the possibility of opening up quite a new market in America and in Europe. A soup made of Beche-de-mer is extremely nutritious and very palatable, and if introduced in an attractive form, and under a taking name, might prove a formidable rival to the time-honoured turtle. Even if England should prove sceptical, France would in all probability welcome this addition to her list of food delicacies. Worms. — There is a minute American variety of leech which attaches itself to the native mollusks ; they are eaten alive in large numbers by the hard-clam lovers. Mr. A. W. Roberts says he had a mess of these leeches collected and cooked, and found them very palatable, and of the flavour of the highly prized little neck clams, from which brand they had been taken. The Chinese regularly eat both marine and fresh-water leeches. * The leech was one of the forbidden meats of the Jews. The Fall Mall Gazette gravely reports that a group of French gourmets have tested the edible qualities of the common earth-worm, whose agricultural services have been recently demonstrated. " Fifty guests were present at the experiment. The worms, apparently lob- worms, were first put into vinegar, by which process they were made to disgorge the vegetable mould. They were then rolled in batter and put into an oven, where they acquired a delightful golden tint, and, we are assured, a most appetising smell. After the first plateful the fifty guests rose like one man and asked for more. Could anything be more con- vincing ? Those who love snails, they add, will abandon them for ever in favour of worms." Scientific American.' INDEX A Asses and mules eaten in France . . 103 Abalones . 409, 435 Auks . . 180 Actinia 435, 439 Avocet . 178 Agouti eaten 79 Awabi . 410 Albatross 180 Axolotl eaten . 253 Albatross eggs 202 Aylesbury ducks . 171 Alligators eaten 233 Alligators' eggs 206 Alpaca tribe 123 B. American lobsters 387 American oysters 41 6^ 424 Bacon, American 88, 90, 92, 93 Amphibians eaten 241 Bacon and hams, average Anchovies 270—272 , 284*, individual consumption . 26 288, 320 Bacon and hams imported . 14 Anemones . 436, 444 Badgers' flesh . 61 Animal food, less req uired Balachong . . . 275 in the tropics . 7 Balolo . 281 Animal food more di gesti- Balyk . . 305,307 ble than vegetable 7 Bandicoot eaten . . 71 Animal food, value c f im- Barbarien . . 292 ports into United '. King- Barbel . 283 dom . 20 Barber . 339 Animals, live, imports j into Barbues . 285 London . 19 Barndoor fowls. average Anteater . 80 weight . 146 Antelopes . 126 Barracouta . . 340 Antelope cutlets . 9 Barrel oysters . . 422 Ants eaten . . 360 Barrigudo, a kind of mon- Ants' brood eaten 208 key . . . 55 Ara eaten . 143 Bastard trumpeter . 340 Arctic fox . , , 67 Bats as food . 57 Armadilloes eaten , 80 Bears' flesh . 12, 59 Asses' flesh . . 4 , 109 Bears' paws . 52, 60 G G 450 INDEX. Beavers' flesh . . . 78 Buffalo hump, a delicacy . 119 Becassine . . . .156 Buffalo meat . . 12, 119 Beccafico . . . * 135 Buffalo skin eaten . . 12 Beche-de-Mer . . .444 Bull frog eaten . . .252 Beef, comparison of, with Bull trout .... 322 pork and veal . . .92 Bulos 434 Beef, fresh and salted, im- Buntings . . . .137 ports . . . .14 Bunting, the brown shrimp 396 Beef product of the United Burtah . . . .313 States . . . .118 Bustards . . 9, 155, 179 Beef, salt, imports of 116, 118 Butchers' meat, average de- Bees eaten . . . .350 cennial prices . . .118 Belgian fisheries . . 272 Butter, average consump- Belouga . 212,307,309,310 tion per head . . .26 Berlin, fish consumption . 264 Butter imports . .14, 26, 28 Biltong . . . .126 Butter, value of. . .112 Birds' eggs . . . .184 Butter fish . . . . 338 Birds' nests, edible . 10, 140 Buzzard . . . .135 Bison of America . .127 Bitterns . . .169, 182 n Bivalves . . . .411 \j. Black bass . . . .265 Californian salmon . 325, 327 Blackbirds . . . .137 Callipeva . . . 293, 316 Black cod . . . . 267 Calmar . . . .441 Black fish . , . 265, 339 Camarones .... 391 Blood cakes . . .261 Camels' flesh . . 4, 123 Blow fish . . . . 440 Canada goose . . .176 Blue fish ... . 265 Canadian oysters . . 424 Blue fish chowder . . 428 Canard pates . . .162 Blue points . . .417 Canaries eaten . . .137 Blut-wurst, black puddings 97 Cannibalism, records of . 40 Boa constrictors' eggs eaten 207 Canvas-back ducks . 159, 181 Boar's head. . . .87 Cape lobsters . . .386 Boars, wild . . 88, 92 Capelin . . . .272 Bobolinks . . . .139 Capercailzie . . .158 Bonito . . . 265, 314 Capitones . . . 4,300 Booby's eggs . . .199 Capon .... 146 Botargo . . .213, 260 Carp . 306,310,320,337,340 Box tortoise eaten .218, 220 Carrelets . . . .285 Brahmapootra fowls . .147 Carrion crows eaten . .136 Brahmins, strict vegetarians 32 Casseron .... 441 Brazilian fish . . . 344 Caterpillars eaten 351. 353, 355 Bream . 210,283,304,306 Catfish . . .'265,333 Brent goose . . .178 Cattle, average weight of .115 Brills 277 Cattle imported . . .14 Bronze- winged pigeon . 164 Cattle in Australasia . 115 Brook trout . 257, 265, 322 Cattle in America, Africa, Buffalo fish ... . 265 and Asia. . . . 113 INDEX. 451 Cattle, live, imported into London . . . .117 Cattle, London imports . 19 Cattle, statistics of, in Europe . . . .112 Cat, wild, eaten . . .62 Cats' flesh . . . .65 Caviare, varieties of . 212, 310 Cavys' flesh ... 80 Cayman . . . 232, 234 Centellas . . . .395 Centipedes eaten . . 349 Cerviche . . . .66 Ceylon, fisheries of . .311 Chama .... 411 Charqui . 15, 17, 114, 123 Charr 322 Cheese, American, imports of 14 Cheese, average individual consumption . . .26 Cheese, imports into the United Kingdom . 26, 28 Cheese, nutritive value of . 112 Cheese production in the United Kingdom . . 28 Chemaia .... 307 Chevenne .... 285 Chimpanzees eaten . . 54 China, fish of . . . 342 Chorigo, a Spanish sausage 89 Chowder .... 428 Chowder, clams . . . 275 Chowder, fish . . . 275 Chowicpee salmon . . 329 Chrysalids eaten . 349, 355 Ch imars, an Indian caste who eat all dead animals 31 Civet cat eaten . . .62 Clams 427 Clam bakes . . .427 Clam chowder . . . 275 Clams, hard and soft . . 429 Clams, hen .... 427 Clams, long . . . 429 Clovesses .... 430 Clucking hen . . . 179 Coal fish . . . 267,338 Cockatoos eaten . . . 144 Cockles . . .411, 435 Cocks' combs eaten . .11 Cod . . 257, 264, 265, 284 Codfish of French fisheries 284 Cod fisheries . . .266 Cod roe eaten . . .210 Cod's tongues . . . 269 Condensed eggs . . .191 Conger eel . . . 260, 294 Cooked food necessary to digestion .... 5 Cormorants' eggs . . 202 Corn-crake . . . -.178 Cornet . . . .442 Cossus .... 352 Counts, a class of oysters . 422 Cow-terrapins . . . 222 Crabs 394 Crabs, devilled . . .275 Cranes . . . .182 Crapaud of Dominica . 251 Crayfish . . . .388 Creatine in cod . . . 266 Crevettes . . . .393 Crocodiles . . . .232 Crow eaten . . .139 Cuckoo eaten . . . 137 Cucumber fish . . . 339 Cullycock . . . .430 Cummelmums . . . 315 Curassow . . . .165 Curlew . '. . 159, 178 Cuttle fish . . . ' . 441 Cygnet . . . .177 Cymbas eaten . . . 407 D. Dab . 277,285 Daily food, variation of . 6 Dead meat, imports of .117 Deer, black-tailed . .12 Deer tribe . . . .124 Deer wine . . . .11 Dendeng . . . 16, 119 Devilfish . . . . 441 G G 2 452 INDEX. Diamond-backa . , 222 Dingo eaten , 64 Djirim . 307 Dog fish 317 Dogs' flesh . 'lO, 12, 62 Dog hams . , 64 Dog hash . , 261 Dog wine . 11 Dolphins eaten . 132 Domestic poultry . 144 Dorade 294, 304 345 Dorey . 278 Dorkings , 147 Dormeur , 315 Dormice eaten . . 75 Dried meats . 15 Dried meat pulverised 9 Drumfish . ^ 440 Duck, grey, of Australia . 178 Ducks . . . 169 Ducks, dried, in China 10 ,172 Ducks' gizzards, pickled 11 Ducks in France , 148 Ducts in United Kingdom 148 Ducks, salted, in ' Brittany . 172 Ducks, statistics of, in France . , 170 Dugong 130 Dutch salmon . , 330 E. Ear-shells . . . 408, 410 Earth worms . . . 448 Easter eggs . . .193 Edible birds' nests . . 140 Eels . 257, 265, 283, 296, 297, 332 Egg bird, the . . .198 Egg, chemistry of .112,186 Egg trade of Chicago . 190 Egg traffic of the United States . . . . 189 Eggs, average individual consumption . . .26 Eggs, duty on foreign, abolished . . .188 Eggs exported from Canada 189 Eggs exported from Italy . 188 Eggs from France . .188 Eggs imported into the United Kingdom . .186 Eggs in the United States . 151 Eggs, modes of preserving . 191 Eggs, nutritive value of .112 Eggs, pickled . . _ . 192 Eggs, price of, in America . 190 Eggs, production and ex- port from France . .188 Eggs, putrid, eaten . . 10 Eggs, sizing of, in France . 189 Eggs, value of . . .145 Eggs, various kinds eaten . 19 Eggs, weight of . . . 185 Eggs, wholesale prices of . 187 Egypt, fisheries of . .310 Eland flesh . . . .126 Elephants' feet, mode of cooking . . . .83 Elephants' flesh, dried 16, 82 Elephants' trunk, a delicacy 83, 85 Elk meat ... 12, 125 EUeck . . . .304 Elvers . . . .298 Emeu eggs and flesh . .196 Encornet .... 442 Esquimaux food . . 8 F. Falcons eaten . . .169 Feejeean cannibals . . 45 Feet of various animals eaten . . . .18 Fieldfare . . . .136 Fire fish ... . 342 Fish biscuits and Fish balls 214 Fish bread and flour . .273 Fish cake . . . .301 Fish chowder . . .275 Fish dinner, a curious 260, 439 Fish extract . . .274 Fish imports into United Kingdom . . . 263 Fish in oil . . . . 275 INDEX. 453 Fish-maws . . 260, 313, 318 Game cock . 147 Fish, mode of cooking 260 Game pies . . 162 Fish, nutritive value of 257 Ganders . 173 Fish, prejudices against 257 Gannet's eggs . 201 Fish, sauces 275 Garfish . 338 Fish spawn eaten 209 Gar-pike . . 303 Fish supply of Dublin 264 Garum 276 Fish supply of London 261 ,262 Garusola 434 Flamingo .... 168 Gazelle flesh 9 Flat fish . . . 266, 276 Geese . 173 Flat fish of Tasmania 341 Geese in France . . 148 Flatheads .... 340 Geese in United Kingdom 148 Flesh of diseased animals Gelinotte . 157 not unwholesome food . 33 Gemsbok , 126 Floriken .... 165 Germany fish imports 264 Flounder . . 257, 265, 277 Giblets . . . . 147 Flukes .... 277 Girafee flesh 123 Flying fish, varieties of 335 Goats' flesh . 7, 16 122 Flying fox eaten 57 Godwits . . .160 179 Foies gras pMes . 162, 174 Gold Coast, fisheries of 311 Food-taster, an African 258 Golden plover . . 179 Forester kangaroo 72 Goliath beetles eaten . 349 Fowls 145 Goose livers 174 Fowls in France . 148 Gorebill . 303 Fowls in United Kingdom . 148 Gorillas eaten , 64 Fowls' hearts 11 Goslings 173 Fowls number in Austria . 151 Gourami . . .12 315 Foxes as food . 67 Grasshoppers eaten . 351 Fox pie .... 68 Gray trout . . . . 322 France, fish consumption . 282 Greaved tortoises 223 France, preference for pork in 95 Grebe . . . . 180 Freshwater fish . 285 Grenouillieres in Vienna . 251 Frills, a name for scallops . 426 Grives . . . . 137 Frogs classed as fish . 247 Ground dove 165 Frogs curried 11 Grouse . . . . 157 Frogs eaten in America 244 Grugru worm eaten . 353, 354 Frogs eaten in China . 252 Guacharo . . . . 135 Frogs, market for, in Paris 250 Guanaco fiesh . 123 Frogs, modes of cooking . 249 Guans . . . . 165 Frostfish . . 265, 337, 340 Gudgeon . . . 283, 285 Frozen meat 18 Guepier . . . . 137 Fruit bats eaten . 57 Gui guard . . . . 169 Fur seal .... 129 Guillemot's eggs. 199 Guinea fowls in France 148 G. Guinea pigs eaten 80 Gull's eggs . . . . 199 Gaboon fisheries of , 311 Gurnards . . . . 303 Game birds 155 Gurnet . . . . 340 454 INDEX. H. 257, 265, 267 Haddock . Hair seal . . . .129 Hake 267 Halibut . . 257, 329, 330 Haliotids . . . .408 Hammel-wurst, a mutton s-tusHge . . . .97 Hapuka . . . .337 Harvest of the sea . , 254 Hautle, a cake made of eggs of insects . . . 208 Hawks eaten . . . 135 Heads of various animals eaten . . . .18 Heart of lion eaten . .69 Hearts of animals . .19 Hedgehogs eaten . . 58 Heingefish, dry cod . .271 Hell-bender . . .440 Hen clams . . . .427 Herons . . . 169, 182 Herrings 257, 264, 265, 278, 284, 302 316 Herrings, British export of 264 Herrings' eggs eaten . .210 Ht^rrings in Russia . . 305 Herrings of French catch . 284 Hilsah . . . .313 Hippophagy . . .101 Hippopotamus meat . . 85 Hocco . . . .165 Honey . . . .373 Hookbill salmon . . 326 Hoopoe .... 137 Horseflesh eaten 9, 12, 33, 98, 101—108 Horseflesh, large consump- tion in France . .103 Horseshoe crab . . 439, 440 Horses, statistics of in various countries . .100 Horse tongues . . .19 Houdan fowls . . .147 Human flesh eaten by many savage tribes . . .52 Humpback salmon . . 326 Hyaena eaten . , .70 I. Ibis 168 Ibis eggs .... 202 Iguanas eaten . . .237 Ika . . . . 442, 443 Incubation artificial . .146 India fish consumption . 312 Insectivora eaten . .57 Insects eaten . . . 347 Insects' eggs eHten . . 208 Irico, dried shrimps . . 409 Italy, fish imports . . 264 Jaboty . 223 Jacana . 178 Jack snipe . . 178 Jaguar flesh eaten . 70 Jamaica, fish supply . 316 Japan fishes . 343 Jerked meats . 15 John Dorey . 278 Judcock . 178 K. Kahdwai . . 337 Kalmuri . 215 Kangaroo flesh . . 71 Kangaroo rat . 72 Kangaroo tail . 71 Kan . . 215 Kavurmek . . 17 Killdeer . . 179 King crab . . 215 Kingflsn 265, 338 King Salmon . 329 Kite eaten . 135 Klip fish . . 270 Knot . . 178 Kryddsell, spiced herrings . 280 L. Lake trout . Lamantine . 322 131 INDEX. 455 Lampreys . . 283, 304, 339 Land crabs. . . . 395 Lapwings' eggs . . .197 Lard, American . . 90, 92 Lard, imports . , .15 Larks . . . .136, 140 Last, a fish measure . .279 Lavaret . . . 302, 321 Leather carp . . .320 Leber- wurst, a liver sausage 97 Leeches eaten . . 349, 448 Lemurs eaten . . .57 Lerp 374 Lestiche . . . .214 Limandes .... 285 Limpets . . . 406, 410 Lion's flesh ... 69 Little-necks, a species of Venus .... 430 Liver and lights . . .19 Liver of dog eaten . . 69 Liver sausage . . .59 Lizards eaten . . . 235 Lizards' eggs . . . 207 Loach . . . .285 Lobsters . . 257, 265, 377 Lf>bster, chemical analysis of 378 Lobsters in North America 381 Lobsters, Norway . ,377 Lobsters, tinned . 381, 387 Lobworms .... 448 Loche . . . .315 Locusts eaten . . .351 Locusts, modes of cooking . 360 Loir eaten . . . .75 Loons .... 180 Losh 333 Lumpsucker . . . 336 Lut-fisk . . .10, 275 Lynx flesh eaten . . 70 M. Macaws eaten . . .143 Mackerel 257, 265, 284, 289, 316 Mackerel eaten raw . . 8 Mackerel smoked . . 332 Mactra, species of, eaten . 427 Mad-dog eaten . . .66 Maigre . . . .303 Malay fvjwls . . .147 Man an omnivorous animal 5 Manatee .... 131 Marare . . . .338 Maree fraiche . . . 285 Marimonda, a kind of monkey . . . .55 Marine mammals . .128 Marine mollusks . . 406 Marine tortoises . . . 224 Marmots eaten . , .73 Marrow .... 125 Marrowbones . . .13 Maskalonj^e . . . 333 Matamata terrapin . . 223 Mature animals furnish more digestible meat than young ones . . 7 Mauviette p4tes . . .162 Measly pork . . .38 Meat, average consumption in the United Kingdom 20, 26 Meat, diseased, as food . 28 Meat essential to health . 5 Meat, preserved, from Australia . . .14 Meat, preserved shipments from Australia . .116 Meat, imports of . .118 Melet . . . . .288 Menhaden . . . 274, 288 Merlans .... 285 Merles . . . .137 Methy . . . .214 Mice eaten . . . .74 Milk, nutritious value of .112 Minnows .... 300 Mirror carp . . . 320 Mollusca . . . .397 Monitor eaten . . .236 Monkeys' flesh eaten . . 54 Mopane . . . .375 Moorhen . . . . 178 Moose flesh . . .125 Morghi soup . . .317 Mossbunker . . . 440 INDEX. 19. Moths eaten Moufle of the elk Mountain hen Mountain sheep . Mules and asses, statistics of, in various countries . Mulita, a name for the Armadillo Mullet Mullet caviare Mullet roe . Musk rat eaten Mussels, black and brown . Mussels, consumption of in France . Mussels, pickled . Mussels, white . Mutton birds Mutton bird's eggs Mutton-fish Mutton, imports from New Zealand .... Mutton, prices of in Lon- don, at decennial periods. Mutton, shipments from New Zealand . Mutton wine 350 125 12 12 109 . 80 265, 291, 307 . 213 . 260 . 61 431 432 275 410 180 201 408 121 122 116 11 N. Napkin caviare Natives 213 413, 416,' 418 New York fish supply . 265 New Zealand fish . 336, 337 New Zealand pigeon . .164 Ngapee .... 314 Noan salmon . . . 326 Noddy's eggs . . .198 Norway, fish exports . . 270 Norwegian lobsters . 377, 380 Nutritive value of different kinds of flesh . . .111 Octopi Octopus 441, 443 . 260 Offal 264 Ogliole . . . .444 Old Maids, a name for species of Mya . . 430 Ombre . . . .285 Opossums eaten . . 70 Opossum feeding on frogs 251 Ormer . . . .408 Ortolans . . . .139 Ostrich eggs . . 9, 195 Ostrich meat . . .165 Ostrich meat, dinner of, at Marseilles . . .167 Ostrich roast ... 9 Otters eaten . . .62 Oulachan . . . .318 Ox tongues . . .19 Oysters . . . 257, 412 Oysters, American grades of 422 Oysters consumed in Lon- don 418 Oysters, consumption of in Paris .... 415 Oyster crabs . . .275 Oysters, dried . . . 4»7 Oysters, exports from the United States. . . 416 Oysters, green colour of 417, 418 Oysters of the Adriatic . 424 Oysters of Prince Edward's Island . . . .423 Oysters roasted . . . 419 Oysters salted . . . 424 P. Paca eaten . Pachyderms Pacou Pademelon . Painted turtle . Paires doubles . Palm beetles eaten Palm worm Palolo Palourde . . 79 . 82 . 345 . 72 . 222 . 430 353, 372 . 349 . 281 . 430 INDEX. 457 Pancreas . . 19 Para, or frost fish . 337 Paris, fish consumption of . 283 Parroquets eaten . .143 Partridges . . . 156, 158 Partridges, trufiled pates . 163 Passenger pigeons . .163 Passeres Pastoorma . . 135 . 16 . 338 . 315 . 154 . 10 . 275, 393 . 426 Patiki Pancou Peacocks Peacock's liver Pea crabs . Pearl-wombs Peccaries . Pecten, species eaten . 425, 433, Pelicans . . . . Peludo, a name for the ar- madillo . Pemmican . Penelopes . Penguins . Penguins' eggs Perch Periwinkles Petrels Petrel's eggs Phalangers Pheasants . Pholads, species eaten Pickerel . . . . Pigeons, domestic Pigeons in France Pigs consumed in Paris Pigs imported into London. Pigs slaughtered in America Pigs sold in Paris 265, 283, Pike Pilchards Pinnas Pintail Piranha Pirarucu Plaice Pleuro-pneumonia Plovers 87 435 182 80 128 165 183 200 339 407 180 201 73 158 431 265 163 148 90 93 91 150 265,283,310 . 280 . 434 . 179 . 344 . 344 . 277 36,37 . 179 265, Plovers' eggs Polar bear, flesh of Pollack Pool snipe . Pomfrets . Pompano Porcupine eaten . Porcupine's flesh Porgies Pork, comparison of, with beef and v^eal . Pork, decennial prices of , Pork, salt, imports . Pork, value of, as food Porpoises . . . , Poultry, decennial value of our imports Poultry and game sold in Paris . . . . Poultry in Ireland Poultry in Roumania Poultry in the United States . . , . Poultry and eggs, imports from France Prairie hens Prawns Prawns, dried Preserved meat, American Prussian carp Ptarmigan . Puffins Puiris Pullets 197 61 273 178 . 313 332, 346 . 9 . 79 . 265 157, . 92 . 93 15, 93 . 91 . 132 251 149 147 161 151 150 159 389 391 12 337' 158 183 439 146 Pullet, a species of Tapes . 430 Pulps . . . . • . 442 Quagga eaten . . .110 Quahogs, a name for hard shell clams . . . 430 Quail . . . .160 Quads sold in Paris . .150 Queens, a name for scallops 426 Quinnat salmon . . . 325 458 INDEX. R. Ruminants . . .111 Russia, fish imports . . 264 Rabbits, large consumption Russia, fisheries of . . 307 of . . . . 76 Rabbits, plague of, in Aus- tralia and New Zealand . 77 S. Rails . . 178 Raptorial birds . . 134 Saddlebacks . . .417 Rat pie . 75 Salamander eaten 253 Rats eaten . 11, 74 Salami, a pork sausage . 97 Rays . 289, 343 Salmon . . 257,265,322 Razor fish . 426, 427 Salmon catch of Severn and Red ants . . 369 370, 372 Tyne . . . .324 Red fender terrapin . 221 Salmon fisheries of Canada 325 Redfish . 265 Salmon from Irish fisheries 324 Red mullet . . 292 Salmon in Japan . . 343 Reeves . 160 Salmon of Sweden . . 302 Reindeer flesh . . 124 Salmon of Tasmania . . 339 Reindeer, statistics of . 124 Salmon, preserved, statistics Reindeer steaks . . 9 of 326 Reindeer tongues . 19 Salmon-supply to London . 323 Reptiles as food . . 216 Salmon-trout . . 257, 265 Reptiles' eggs . 202 Salt fish ... . 270 Rhinoceros' flesh . . 87 Salt fish, supply to the Rice bird . . 138 West Indies . . .316 Ringneck plover . . 179 Samlai . . . .342 River tortoises . . 218 Sander . . . 305,310 Roach oysters , 416 Sand-grouse . . 162, 179 Robin redbreasts eater . 136 Sarde 316 Rockaways . . 417 Sardines . . . 285,286 Rock-cod . 338, 341 Saubas, or white ants . 372 Roes of various fisli I pre- Sausages . . . .97 pared . 214 Scale-carp .... 320 Roe of cod . . 210 Scallops . . 257, 265, 4'ib Roe of herring . . 210 Scallops, pickled . 275, 426 Roe of lavaret . 321 Scansores .... 143 Roe of mullet 213, 293 Scotch lobster . . .377 Roe of okorune . . 215 Sea bass . . . .265 Roe of Sander . 214 Sea egg or urchin . 443, 444 Roe of sturgeon . 212. 332 Sea elephant . . .130 Roman snail .'398 Sea fowls' eggs . . .198 Rooks . . 139 Sea-lion . . . .129 Rotengle . 285 Seals' flesh . . . .128 Rotje . , 180 Sea-otters eaten . . .62 Rouen ducks . 171 Sea-robin, a fish. . 439, 440 Rouget 285, 292 Sea tortoises . . .223 Round fish . . 266 Seed oysters . . 418. 419 Ruffs and reeves. . 160 Seer .... 313, 335 INDEX. Seches . . . .442 Senegal, fisheries of . .316 Sepia . . . 441. 442, 443 Serranos, a species of SDail 401 Sevruga . 212, 307, 309, 310 Shad . 265, 306, 310, 316, 342 Shaki, dried salmon . . 260 Shark eaten in Japan . 343 Sharks' fins 10. 260, 314, 318 Sharks' flesh . . 317, 440 Shat-chew, dried yak flesh . 119 Shearwaters Sheep, average weight of different kinds Sheep imported . Sheep imported into Lon don ... Sheep in Asia Sheep in Australia Sheep, statistics of, in va- rious countries Sheeps' liver eaten raw Sheeps'-head fish .261, Shell fish, supply to Lon- don Shrimps .... Shrimps, dried . Shrimps, pickled Shrimps, salted . Sinews and muscles of ani- mals eaten Singally Sisco . Siscowet Skates Skilly . Slip^, a small kind of sole . Sloth eaten Slugs, dried Smelts 257, 265, 275, 283, 306 ,319 Smelts, smoked . . . 332 Smoked meats . . 15, 111 Snail, analysis of . . 402 Snails, edible . . .397 Snails, mode of cooking . 404 Suake wine . . .11 Snapper . . . 337, 340 . 180 122 14 20, 122 . 121 . 121 120 9 265 433 389 376 391 10 . 19 313, 314 . 265 . 333 266, 289 . 301 276 80 435 Snipss Snotgall trevally Snow goose Soft clams . Soles . Sozille Spain, fish imports Spanish fishery . Spanish mackerel Sparrows Spawn of fif'h, see Caviare 211 'pawn of lobster Spawn of the Crustacea Spiced herrings . Spider crab Spider monkey eaten Spiders eaten Spiny lobster Spondylus . Spoonbills' egg . Sprats Squabs Squid. . . 440, Squirrels eaten . Squirrel, flying, eaten Starlings Staten Island oysters Sterlet Stickleback Stint . Stock fish . Stone chat . Strand snipe Striped bass Stroemming Strombs eaten Sturgeons 265, 304, 310, 332 Sturgeon caviare . .211 Suleah . . . .313 Sun-dried meat . . .15 Surami .... 442 Surf smelt . . . .319 Surmullet . . . .291 Surubi . . . .345 Swallows eaten . . .136 Swans .... 177 Sweden, exports of lobsters 381 Sweden, fish imports . . 264 156, 178 .341 . 176 . 429 . 276 313, 314 . 264 . 272 265, 3.33 . 136 379 . 215 . 280 . 394 . 55 . 350 . 388 . 411 . 202 . 272 . 163 441, 442 11, 73 . 9 . 137 . 422 305, 310 . 285 . 178 . 270 . 138 . 178 . 265 . 271 . 407 460 INDEX. Swedish fisheries . . 302 Sweetbread . . .19 Swine, number in various countries . . .93 Switzerland, fish imports . 272 Sword-bill . . . .178 Sword-fish . 260, 265, 318 . 442 15, 350, Taguar eaten Tai Tail of beaver, a delicacy . Tails of various animals eaten Tako . Tapir eaten Tarakihi Tasago Tasmanian fish Tatou, flesh eaten Taurec, flesh eaten Teal .... Teguexin . Teguexin, eggs of, eaten Tench Termites eaten . Terns' eggs Terrapins . Tetard Thornback . Thrushes . Tiger cat eaten . Tigers' flesh eaten Tiochka Tom-cod Tongues, a name for small soles ... Tongues of various animals eaten . . . . Tongues of ducks Tongue of the flamingo Tongues, reindeer Tongues shipped from Monte Video . Tortoise broth . Tortoise eggs 73 343 79 19 443 87 337 114 338 81 81 179 236 208 '283 369 199 220, 265 . 316 . 289 . 136 . 71 . 69 . 308 265, 321 276 18 172 169 125 114 9 206 Tortoises, land . Tortoise wine Toucans eaten . Tragopans . Trehalose . Trepang Trepang, imports China Trepang, exports India Trepang, varieties of Trevally Trichinous meat Trout 257, 265, 283, Trubu Trumpeter Tunis, fishery of Tunny Turbot . 257, 276 Turkeys Turkeys in United dom Turkeys in France Turkey, wild Turtle dove Turtle eggs Turtle, green U. Ukali .... Ulikon Uni . , . . United States fisheries Univalves eaten . into 217 11 144 163 375 444 . 446 from . 447 . 446 337, 341 . 35 , 321, 329 . 215 179, 337 . 310 . 293 304 152 277, King- 148 148 154 165 203 265 . 329 . 318 . 443 . 331 . 406 V. Yandoise . . . .285 Veal, comparison of, with beef and pork . .92 Vegetarian, man not origin- ally a .... 5 Venison . . . .124 Venison objected to in Borneo . . . .69 INDEX. 461 Veron . 285 Wig, a name for the 1 lump Veziga . 309,310 of the bison . . .127 Vichet . 447 Wild ducks . 158 Vicuna flesh . 123 Winkles . 435 Yiolet 443, 447 Wolves' flesh eaten . 12,68 Voblas 214, 310 Wombat . . 73 Vulture eaten . 169 Wonga-wonga pigeon . 164 Woodchuck eaten . 73 Woodcocks . . 156 W. Woodcock pates . . 162 Wallaby . 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Containing 1147 illustrations, and 397 pages of letter-press. Third edition, 4to, cloth, i8j. B CATALOGUE OF SCIENTIFIC BOOKS On Designing Belt Gearing. By E. J. Cowling Welch, Mem. Inst. Mech. Engineers, Author of 'Designing Valve Gearing.' Fcap. 8vo, sewed, dd. A Handbook of Formtdce, Tables, a7id Memoranda, for Architectural Surveyors and others engaged in Building. By J. T. Hurst, C.E. Thirteenth edition, royal 32mo, roan, 5j. " It is no disparagement to the many excellent publications we refer to, to say that in our opinion this little pocicet-book of Hurst's is the very best of them all, without any exception. It would be useless to attempt a recapitulation of the contents, for it appears to contain almost everything' that anyone connected with building could require, and, best of all, made up in a compact form for carrying in the pocket, measuring only 5 in. by 3 in., and about f in. thick, in a limp cover. We congratulate the author on the success of his laborious and practically compiled little book, which has received unqualified and deserved praise from every profes- sional person to whom we have shown it." — The Dublin Builder. Tabulated Weights of Angle, Tee, Bulb, Round, Square, and Flat Iron afid Steel, and other information for the use of Naval Architects and Shipbuilders. By C. H. Jordan, M.I.N.A. Fourth edition, 32mo, cloth, 2s. 6d. Quantity Surveying. By J. Leaning. With 42 illus- trations. Second edition, revised, crown 8vo, cloth, 9^. Contents : A complete Explanation of the London I Schedule of Prices. Practice. 1 Form of Schedule of Prices. General Instructions. j Analysis of Schedule of Prices, Qrder of Taking Off. i Adjustment of Accounts. Modes of Measurement of the various Trades. ' Form of a Bill of Variations. Use and Waste. Remarks on Specifications. Ventilation and Warming. i Prices and Valuation of Work, with Credits, with various Examples of Treatment, i Examples and Remarks upon each Trade. Abbreviations. | The Law as it affects Quantity Surveyors, Squaring the Dimensions with Law Reports. Abstracting, with Examples in illustration of j Taking Off after the Old Method. each Trade. 1 Northern Practice. Billing. ! The General Statement of the Methods Examples of Preambles to each Trade. B'orm for a Bill of Quantities. Do Bill of Credits. Do. Bill for Alternative Estimate. Restorations and Repairs, and Form of Bill Variations before Acceptance of Tender. I of Estimating, Errors in a Builder's Estimate. ' recommended by the Manchester Society of Architects for taking Quantities. Examples of Collections. Examples of " Taking Off" in each Trade. Remarks on the Past and Present Methods A Complete Set of Contract Documents for a Country Lodge, comprising Drawings, Specifications, Dimensions (for quantities). Abstracts, Bill of Quantities, Form of Tender and Contract, with Notes by J. Leaning, printed in facsimile of the original documents, on single sheets fcap., in paper case, \os. A Practical Treatise on Heat, as applied to the Useful Arts; for the Use of Engineers, Architects, &c. By THOMAS Box. With i/^ plates. Third edition, crown 8vo, cloth, I2s. 6d. PUBLISHED BY E. & F. N. SPON. A Descriptive Treatise on Mathematical Drawing Instruments: their construction, uses, qualities, selection, preservation, and suggestions for improvements, with hints upon Drawing and Colour- ing. By W. F. Stanley, M.R.I. Fifth edition, with numerous illustrations, crown 8vo, cloth, ^s. Spons A^'chitects and Builders Pocket-Book of Prices and Memoranda. Edited by W. YouNG, Architect. Royal 32mo, roan, 45-. dd. ; or cloth, red edges, 3J. 6d. Published annually. Thirteenth edition. Noiv ready. Long-Span Railway Bridges, comprising Investiga- tions of the Comparative Theoretical and Practical Advantages of the various adopted or proposed Type Systems of Construction, with numerous Formulae and Tables giving the weight of Iron or Steel required in Bridges from 300 feet to the limiting Spans ; to which are added similar Investigations and Tables relating to Short-span Railway Bridges. Second and revised edition. By B. Baker, Assoc, Inst, C.E. Plates^ crown 8vo, cloth, 5J-, Elementary Theory and Calciilation of Iron Bridges and Roofs. By AUGUST Ritter, Ph.D., Professor at the Polytechnic School at Aix-la-Chapelle. Translated from the third German edition, by H. R. Sankey, Capt. R.E. With 500 illustrations, 8vo, cloth, i^s. The Builder s Clerk : a Guide to the Management of a Builder's Business. By Thomas Bales. Fcap. Svo, cloth, is. 6d. The Elementary Principles of Carpentry. By Thomas Tredgold. Revised from the original edition, and partly re-written, by John Thomas Hurst. Contained in 517 pages of letter- press, and illustrated with 48 plates and 150 wood engravings. Fourth edition, reprinted from the third, crown 8vo, cloth, \2s. 6d. Section I. On the Equality and Distribution of Forces — Section II. Resistance of Timber — Section III. Construction of Floors — Section IV. Construction of Roofs — Sec- tion V. Construction of Domes and Cupolas — Section VI, Construction of Partitions — Section VII. Scaffolds, Staging, and Gantries — Section VIII. Construction of Centres for Bridges — Section IX. Coffer-dams, Shoring, and Strutting — Section X. Wooden Bridges and Viaducts — Section XI. Joints, Straps, and other Fastenings — Section XII. Timber. Our Factories, Workshops, and Warehouses: their Sanitary and Fire-Resisting Arrangements. By B. H. Thwaite, Assoc. Mem. Inst. C.E. With 183 wood engravings, crown 8vo, cloth, pj. Gold : Its Occurrence and Extraction, embracing the Geographical and Geological Distribution and the Mineralogical Charac- ters of Gold-bearing rocks ; the pecubar features and modes of working B 2 CATALOGUE OF SCIENTIFIC BOOKS Shallow Placers, Rivers, and Deep Leads ; Hydraulicing ; the Reduction and Separation of Auriferous Quartz ; the treatment of complex Auriferous ores containing other metals ; a Bibliography of the subject and a Glossary of Technical and Foreign Terms. By Alfred G. Lock, F.R.G.S. With numerous illustrations and maps, 1250 pp., super-royal 8vo, cloth, 2/. 12s. 6d. A Practical Treatise on Coal Mining, By George G. Andre, F.G.S., Assoc, Inst. C.E., Member of the Society of Engineers. With 82 lithographic plates. 2 vols., royal 4to, cloth, 3/. I2j. Iron Roofs : Examples of Design, Description. Illus- trated ivith 64 Working Drawings of Executed Roofs. By ARTHUR T. Walmisley, Assoc. Mem. Inst. C.E. Second edition, revised, imp. 4to, half-morocco, 3/. A History of Electric Telegraphy, to the Year 1837. Chiefly compiled from Original Sources, and hitherto Unpublished Docu- ments, by J.J. Fahie, Mem. Soc. of Tel. Engineers, and of the Inter- national Society of Electricians, Paris. Crown 8vo, cloth, 9^. Spons' Informatio7i for Colonial Engineers, Edited by J. T. Hurst. Demy 8vo, sewed. No. I, Ceylon. By Abraham Deane, C.E. 2.s. 6d. Contents : Introductory Remarks — Natural Productions — Architecture and Engineering — Topo- graphy, Trade, and Natural History — Principal Stations — Weights and Measures, etc., etc. No. 2. Southern Africa, including the Cape Colony, Natal, and the Dutch Republics. By Henry Hall, F.R.G.S., F.R.C.L With Map. 3 J. 6d. Contents : General Description of South Africa— Physical Geography with reference to Engineering Operations — Notes on Labour and Material in Cape Colony — Geological Notes on Rock Formation in South Africa — Engineering Instruments for Use in South Africa — Principal Public Works in Cape Colony : Railways, Mountain Roads and Passes, Harbour Works, Bridges, Gas Works, Irrigation and Water Supply, Lighthouses, Drainage and Sanitary Engineering, Public Buildings, Mines — Table of Woods in South Africa — Animals used for Draught Purposes — Statistical Notes — Table of Distances — Rates of Carriage, etc. No. 3. India. By F. C. Danvers, Assoc. Inst. C.E. With Map, 4s. 6d. Contents : Physical Geography of India — Building Materials — Roads — Railways — Bridges — Irriga- tion — River Works — Harbours — Lighthouse Buildings — Native Labour — The Principal Trees of India — Money — Weights and Measures — Glossary of Indian Terms, etc. A Practical Treatise on Casting aiid Founding, including descriptions of the modern machinery employed in the art. By N. E. Spretson, Engineer. Third edition, with 82 plates drawn to scale, 412 pp., demy Svo, cloth, i8j. PUBLISHED BY E. & F. N. SPON. The Depreciation of Factories and their Valuation, By EwiNG Matheson, M. Inst. C,E. 8vo, cloth, 6j. A Handbook of Electrical Testing. By H. R. Kempe, M.S.T.E. Fifth edition, revised and enlarged, crown 8vo, cloth, i6j. Gas Works : their Arrangement, Construction, Plant, and Machinery. By F. Colyer, M. Inst. C.E. IVM "^y folding plates^ 8vo, cloth, 24^. The Clerk of Works: a Vade-Mecum for all engaged in the Superintendence of Building Operations. By G. G. HOSKINS, F.R.I.B.A. Third edition, fcap. 8vo, cloth, \s. dd. American Foundry Practice : Treating of Loam, Dry Sand, and Green Sand Moulding, and containing a Practical Treatise upon the Management of Cupolas, and the Melting of Iron. By T. D. West, Practical Iron Moulder and Foundry Foreman. Second edition, TvUA numerous illustrations^ crown 8vo, cloth, loj. dd. The Maintenance of Macadamised Roads, By T. CoDRiNGTON, M.I.C.E, F.G.S., General Superintendent of County Roads for South Wales. 8vo, cloth, 6^-. Hydraulic Steam and Hand Power Lifting and Pressing Machinery, By Frederick Colyer, M. Inst. C.E., M. Inst. M.E, With TT, plates, 8vo, cloth, i8j. Pumps and Pumping Machinery. By F. Colyer, M.I.C.E., M.I.M.E. With 2t^ folding plates, 8vo, cloth, I2J. dd. Pumps and Pumping Machinery, By F. Colyer. Second Part. With 11 large plates, 8vo, cloth, \2s, 6d. The Municipal and Sanitary Engineer s Handbook, By H. Percy Boulnois, Mem. Inst. C.E., Borough Engineer, Ports- mouth. With numerous illustrations, demy 8vo, cloth, I2j. dd. Contents : The Appointment and Duties of the Town Surveyor — Traffic — Macadamised Roadways- Steam Rolling— Road Metal and Breaking — Pitched Pavements— Asphalte — Wood Pavements — Footpaths — Kerbs and Gutters — Street Naming and Numbering — Street Lighting — Sewer- age — Ventilation of Sewers — Disposal of Sewage — House Drainage — Disinfection — Gas and Water Companies, &c.. Breaking up Streets — Improvement of Private Streets — Borrowing Powers — Artizans' and Labourers' Dwellings — Public Conveniences — Scavenging, including Street Cleansing — Watering and the Removing of Snow— Planting Street Trees — Deposit of Plans— Dangerous Buildings — Hoardings — Obstructions — Improving Street Lines — Cellar Openings — Public Pleasure Grounds — Cemeteries — Mortuaries — Cattle and Ordinary Markets — Public Slaughter-houses, etc — Giving numerous Forms of Notices, Specifications, and General Information upon these and other subjects of great importance to Municipal Engi- neers aod others engaged ia Sanitary Work. CATALOGUE OF SCIENTIFIC BOOKS Tables of the Principal Speeds occurring in Mechanical Engineering, expressed in metres in a second. By P. Keerayeff, Chief Mechanic of the Obouchoff Steel Works, St. Petersburg ; translated by Sergius Kern, M.E. Fcap. 8vo, sewed, (>d. A Treatise on the Origin, Progress, Prevention, and Cure of Dry Rot in Timber; with Remarks on the Means of Preserving Wood from Destruction by Sea-Worms, Beetles, Ants, etc. By Thomas Allen Britton, late Surveyor to the Metropolitan Board of Works, etc., etc. With lo plates, crown 8vo, cloth, 'js. 6d. Metrical Tables, By G. L. Molesworth, M.I.C.E. 32mo, cloth, \s. 6d. Contents. General — Linear Measures — Square Measures — Cubic Measures — Measures of Capacity — Weights — Combinations — Thermometers. Eleme7its of Construction for Electro- Magnets. By Count Th. Du Moncel, Mem. de I'lnstitut de France. Translated from the French by C. J. Wharton. Crown 8vo, cloth, 4^. dd. Electro -Telegraphy. By Frederick S. Beechey, Telegraph Engineer. A Book for Beginners. Illustrated. Fcap. 8vo, sewed, dd. Handraili7ig : by the Square Ctct. By John Jones, Staircase Builder. Part Second, with eight plates, 8vo, cloth, 3j-. 6d. Practical Electrical Units Popularly Explained, with numerous illustrations and Remarks. By James Swinburne, late of J. W. Swan and Co., Paris, late of Brush-Swan Electric Light Company, U.S.A. i8mo, cloth, \s. (>d. PhilippReis, Inventor of the Telephone: A Biographical Sketch. With Documentary Testimony, Translations of the Original Papers of the Inventor, &c. By Silvanus P. Thompson, B.A., Dr. Sc, Professor of Experimental Physics in University College, Bristol. With illustrations, 8vo, cloth, *js. 6d. A Treatise on the Use of Belting for the Transmis- sion of Power. By J. H. Cooper. Second edition, illustrated, 8vo, cloth, 1 5 J. Hints on Architectural Draughtsmanship. By G. W. Tuxford Hallatt. Fcap. 8vo, cloth, \s. 6d. PUBLISHED BY E. & F. N. SPON. A Pocket-Book of Useful Fonmilce and Memoranda for Civil and Mechanical Engineers. By GuiLFORD L. MoLESWORTH, Mem. Inst. C.E., Consulting Engineer to the Government of India for State Railways. With numerous illustrations, 744 pp. Twenty-first edition, revised and enlarged, 32mo, roan, 6j-. Synopsis of Contents: Surveying, Levelling, etc. — Strength and "Weight of Materials — Earthwork, Brickwork, Masonry, Arches, etc. — Struts, Columns, Beams, and Trusses — Flooring, Roofing, and Roof Trusses — Girders, Bridges, etc. — Railways and Roads — Hydraulic Formulse — Canals, Sewers, Waterworks, Docks— Irrigation and Breakwaters — Gas, Ventilation, and Warming — Heat, Light, Colour, and Sound — Gravity : Centres, Forces, and Powers — Millwork, Teeth of Wheels, Shafting, etc. — Workshop Recipes — Sundry Machinery — Animal Power — Steam and the Steam Engine — Water-power, Water-wheels, Turbines, etc. — Wind and Windmills — Steam Navigation, Ship Building, Tonnage, etc. — Gunnery, Projectiles, etc. — Weights, Measures, and Money — Trigonometry, Conic Sections, and Curves — Telegraphy— Mensura- tion — Tables of Areas and Circumference, and Arcs of Circles — Logarithms, Square and Cube Roots, Powers — Reciprocals, etc. — Useful Numbers — Differential and Integral Calcu- lus — Algebraic Signs — Telegraphic Construction and Formulae. Spons Tables and Memoranda for Engineers; selected and arranged by J. T. Hurst, C.E., Author of 'Architectural Surveyors' Handbook,' * Hurst's Tredgold's Carpentry,' etc. Seventh edition, 64mo, roan, gilt edges, \s. ; or in cloth case, is. 6d. This work is printed in a pearl type, and is so small, measuring only at in. by if in. by i in. thick, that it may be easily carried in the waistcoat pocket. " It is certainly an extremely rare thing for a reviewer to be called upon to notice a volume measuring but 25 in. by if in., yet these dimensions faithfully represent the size of the handy little book before us. The volume — which contains 118 printed pages, besides a few blank pages for memoranda — is, in fact, a true pocket-book, adapted for being carried in the waist- coat pocket, and containing a far greater amount and variety of information than most people would imagine could be compressed into so small a space The little volume has beea compiled with considerable care and judgment, and we can cordially recommend it to our readers as a useful little pocket companion." — Etigineering. A Practical Treatise on Natural and Artificial Concrete, its Varieties and Constructive Adaptations. By Henry Retd, Author of the * Science and Art of the Manufacture of Portland Cement.' New Edition, with 59 woodcuts and ^ plates, 8vo, cloth, i^s. Notes on Concrete and Works in Concrete; especially written to assist those engaged upon Public Works. By John Newman, Assoc. Mem. Inst. C.E., crown 8vo, cloth, 5^. Hydrodynamics : Treatise relative to the Testing of Water- Wheels and Machinery, with various other matters pertaining to Hydrodynamics. By James Emerson. IVith numerozis illustrations, 360 pp. Third edition, crown 8vo, cloth, 4^. 6d. Electricity as a Motive Power. By Count Th. Du Moncel, Membre de I'lnstitut de France, and P'rank Geraldy, Inge- nieur des Ponts et Chaussees. Translated and Edited, with Additions, by C. J. Wharton, Assoc. Soc. Tel. Eng. and Elec. With 113 engravings and diagrams, crown 8vo, cloth, 7^-. 6t/. CATALOGUE OF SCIENTIFIC BOOKS Treatise on Valve-Gears, with special consideration of the Link-Motions of Locomotive Engines. By Dr. Gustav Zeuner, Professor of Applied Mechanics at the Confederated Polytechnikum of Zurich. Translated from the Fourth German Edition, by Professor J. F. Klein, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Pa. Illustrated, 8vo, cloth, \2s. 6d. The French- Polisher s Mamial, By a French- Polisher; containing Timber Staining, Washing, Matching, Improving, Painting, Imitations, Directions for Staining, Sizing, Embodying, Smoothing, Spirit Varnishing, French-Polishing, Directions for Re- polishing. Third edition, royal 32mo, sewed, dd. Hops, their Cultivation, Commerce, and Uses in various Countries. By P. L. SiMMONDS. Crown 8vo, cloth, 4^. 6^. A Practical Treatise on the Manufacture and Distri- bution of Coal Gas. By William Richards. Demy 4to, with numerous wood engravings and 29 plates, cloth, 28^. Synopsis of Contents : Introduction — History of Gas Lighting — Chemistry of Gas Manufacture, by Lewis Thompson, Esq., M.R.C.S. — Coal, with Analyses, by J. Paterson, Lewis Thompson, and G. R. Hislop, Esqrs. — Retorts, Iron and Clay — Retort Setting — Hydraulic Main — Con- densers — Exhausters — Washers and Scrubbers — Purifiers — Purification — History of Gas Holder — Tanks, Brick and Stone, Composite, Concrete, Cast-iron, Compound Annular Wrought-iron — Specifications — Gas Holders — Station Meter — Governor — Distribution — Mains — Gas Mathematics, or Formulae for the Distribution of Gas, by Lewis Thompson, Esq.— Services — Consumers* Meters — Regulators — Burners — Fittings — Photometer — Carburization of Gas — Air Gas and Water Gas — Composition of Coal Gas, by Lewis Thompson, Esq. — Analyses of Gas — Influence of Atmospheric Pressure and Temperature on Gas — Residual Products — Appendix — Description of Retort Settings, Buildings, etc., etc. Practical Geometry^ Perspective^ and Engineering Drawing', a Course of Descriptive Geometry adapted to the Require- ments of the Engineering Draughtsman, including the determination of cast shadows and Isometric Projection, each chapter being followed by numerous examples ; to which are added rules for Shading, Shade-lining, etc., together with practical instructions as to the Lining, Colouring, Printing, and general treatment of Engineering Drawings, with a chapter on drawing Instruments. By George S. Clarke, Capt. R.E. Second edition, zvith 21 plates. 2 vols., cloth, 10s. 6d. The Elements of Graphic Statics, By Professor Karl Von Ott, translated from the German by G. S. Clarke, Capt. R.E., Instructor in Mechanical Drawing, Royal Indian Engineering College. With 93 illustrations, crown 8vo, cloth, 5^. The Priftciples of Graphic Statics. By George Sydenham Clarke, Capt. Royal Engineers. With 112 illustrations. 4to, cloth, \2s. 6d. Dynamo-Electric Machinery : A Manual for Students of Electro-technics. By Silvanus P. Thompson, B.A., D.Sc, Professor of Experimental Physics in University College, Bristol, etc., etc. Second edition, illustrated, 8vo, cloth, 12s. 6d. PUBLISHED BY E. & F. N. SPON. The New Formula for Mean Velocity of Discharge of Rivers and Canals, By W. R. Kutter. Translated from articles in the 'Cultur-Ingenieur,' by Lowis D'A. Jackson, Assoc. Inst. C.E. 8vo, cloth, lis. td. Practical Hydraulics ; a Series of Rules and Tables for the use of Engineers, etc., etc. By Thomas Box. Fifth edition, numerous plates, post 8vo, cloth, 5^-. A Practical Treatise on the Construction of Hori- zontal and Vertical Waterwheels, specially designed for the use of opera- tive mechanics. By William CuLLEN, Millwright and Engineer. With II plates. Second edition, revised and enlarged, small 4to, cloth, \2s. 6d. Tin: Describing the Chief Methods of Mining, Dressing and Smelting it abroad ; with Notes upon Arsenic, Bismuth and Wolfram. By Arthur G. Charleton, Mem. American Inst, of Mining Engineers. With plates , 8vo, cloth, I2s. 6d. Perspective^ Explained and Illustrated, By G. S. Clarke, Capt. R.E. With illustrations, 8vo, cloth, y. 6d. The Essential Elements of Practical Mechanics; based on the Principle of Work, designed for Engineering Students. By Oliver Byrne, formerly Professor of Mathematics, College for Civil Engineers. Third edition, with 148 wood engravings, post 8vo, cloth, is. 6d. Contents : Chap. I. How Work is Measured by a Unit, both with and without reference to a Unit of Time — Chap. 2. The Work of Living Agents, the Influence of Friction, and introduces one of the most beautiful Laws of Motion — Chap. J. The principles expoundedin the first and second chapters are applied to the Motion of Bodies — Chap. 4. The Transmission of Work by simple Machines — Chap. 5. Useful Propositions and Rules. The Practical Millwright and Engineers Ready Reckoner; or Tables for finding the diameter and power of cog-wheels, diameter, weight, and power of shafts, diameter and strength of bolts, etc. By Thomas Dixon. Fourth edition, i2mo, cloth, 3^. Breweries and Mailings : their Arrangement, Con- struction, Machinery, and Plant. By G. Scamell, F.R.I.B.A. Second edition, revised, enlarged, and partly rewritten. By F. Colyer, M.I.C.E., M.I.M.E. With 10 plates, 8vo, cloth, i8j. A Practical Treatise on the Manufacture of Starchy Glucose, Starch-Sugar, and Dextrine, based on the German of L. Von Wagner, Professor in the Royal Technical School, Buda Pesth, and other authorities. By Julius Frankel ; edited by Robert Hutter, proprietor of the Philadelphia Starch Works. With 58 illustrations, 344 pp., 8vo, cloth, iSj. B 3 lo CATALOGUE OF SCIENTIFIC BOOKS A Practical Treatise on Mill-gearing, Wheels, Shafts, Riggers, etc. ; for the use of Engineers. By Thomas Box. Third edition, wztk 1 1 plates. Crown 8vo, cloth, *]s. 6d. Mining Machinery : a Descriptive Treatise on the Machinery, Tools, and other Appliances used in Mining. By G. G. Andre, F.G.S., Assoc. Inst. C.E., Mem. of the Society of Engineers. Royal 4to, uniform with the Author's Treatise on Coal Mining, con- taining 182 plates, accurately drawn to scale, with descriptive text, in 2 vols., cloth, 3/. I2J. Contents : Machinery for Prospecting, Excavating, Hauling, and Hoisting — Ventilation — Pumping — Treatment of Mineral Products, including Gold and Silver, Copper, Tin, and Lead, Iron Coal, Sulphur, China Clay, Brick Earth, etc. Tables for Setting 07it Curves for Railways, Canals, Roads, etc., varying from a radius of five chains to three miles. By A. Kennedy and R. W. Hackwood. Illustrated, 32mo, cloth, 2J. dd. The Science and Art of the Manufacture of Portland Cement, with observations on some of its constructive applications. With 66 illustrations. By Henry Reid, C.E., Author of 'A Practical Treatise on Concrete,' etc., etc. 8vo, cloth, 18^-. The Drattghtsman s Handbook of Plan and Map Drawing; including instructions for the preparation of Engineering, Architectural, and Mechanical Drawings. With numerous illustrations in the text, and 33 plates (15 printed in colours). By G. G. Andre, F.G.S., Assoc. Inst. C.E. 4to, cloth, qj. Contents : The Drawing Office and its Furnishings — Geometrical Problems — Lines, Dots, and their Combinations — Colours, Shading, Lettering, Bordering, and North Points — Scales — Plotting — Civil Engineers' and Surveyors' Plans — Map Drawing — Mechanical and Architectural Drawing — Copying and Reducing Trigonometrical Formulae, etc., etc. The Boiler-maker s andiron Ship-builder s Companion, comprising a series of original and carefully calculated tables, of the utmost utility to persons interested in the iron trades. By James Foden, author of ' Mechanical Tables,' etc. Second edition revised, with illustra- tions, crown 8vo, cloth, 5^. Rock Blasting: a Practical Treatise on the means employed in Blasting Rocks for Industrial Purposes. By G. G. Andre, F.G.S., Assoc. Inst. C.E. With 56 illustrations and \2 plates, 8vo, cloth, \os. dd. Painting and Painters Manual: a Book of Facts for Painters and those who Use or Deal in Paint Materials. By C. L. Condit and J. Scheller. Illustrated, 8vo, cloth, \os. 6d. PUBLISHED BY E. & F. N. SPON. ii A Treatise on Ropemaking as practised in public and private Rope-yards, with a Description of the Manufacture, Rules, Tables of Weights, etc., adapted to the Trade, Shipping, Mining, Railways, Builders, etc. By R. Chapman, formerly foreman to Messrs. Huddart and Co., Limehouse, and late Master Ropemaker to H.M. Dockyard, Deptford. Second edition, i2mo, cloth, y. Lax tons Builders and Contractors' Tables ; for the use of Engineers, Architects, Surveyors, Builders, Land Agents, and others. Bricklayer, containing 22 tables, with nearly 30,000 calculations. 4to, cloth, $s. Laxtons Builders and Contractors Tables. Ex- cavator, Earth, Land, Water, and Gas, containing 53 tables, with nearly 24,000 calculations. 4to, cloth, ^s. Sanitary Engineering: a Guide to the Construction of Works of Sewerage and House Drainage, with Tables for facilitating the calculations of the Engineer. By Baldwin Latham, C.E., M. Inst. C.E., F.G.S., F.M.S., Past-President of the Society of Engineers. Second edition, with numerous plates and woodcuts, 8vo, cloth, i/. \os. Screw Ctttting Tables for Engineers and Machinists, giving the values of the different trains of Wheels required to produce Screws of any pitch, calculated by Lord Lindsay, M.P., F.R.S., F.R.A.S., etc. Cloth, oblong, is. Screw Cutting Tables, for the use of Mechanical Engineers, showing the proper arrangement of Wheels for cutting the Threads of Screws of any required pitch, with a Table for making the Universal Gas-pipe Threads and Taps. By W. A. Martin, Engineer. Second edition, oblong, cloth, is., or sewed, 6d. A Treatise on a Practical Method of Designing Slide- Valve Gears by Simple Geometrical Constriictio7t, based upon the principles enunciated in Euclid's Elements, and comprising the various forms of Plain Slide-Valve and Expansion Gearing ; together with Stephenson's, Gooch's, and Allan's Link-Motions, as applied either to reversing or to variable expansion combinations. By Edward J. Cowling Welch, Memb. Inst. Mechanical Engineers. Crown 8vo, cloth, ds. Cleaning a7id Scouring : a Manual for Dyers, Laun- dresses, and for Domestic Use. By S. Christopher. i8mo, sewed, dd. A Handbook of House Sanitation ; for the use of all persons seeking a Healthy Home. A reprint of those portions of Mr. Bailey-Denton's Lectures on Sanitary Engineering, given before the School of Military Engineering, which related to the "Dwelling," enlarged and revised by his Son, E. F. Bailey Denton, C.E., B.A.. With 140 illustrations, 8vo, cloth, 4.r, dd. B 4 12 CATALOGUE OF SCIENTIFIC BOOKS A Glossary of Terms used in Coal Mining, By William Stukeley Gresley, Assoc. Mem. Inst. C.E., F.G.S., Member of the North of England Institute of Mining Engineers. Illustrated with numerous woodcuts and diagrams^ crown 8vo, cloth, 5j. A Pocket-Book for Boiler Makers and Steam Users, comprising a variety of useful information for Employer and Workman, Government Inspectors, Board of Trade Surveyors, Engineers in charge of Works and Slips, Foremen of Manufactories, and the general Steam- using Public. By Maurice John Sexton. Second edition, royal 32mo, roan, gilt edges, 5j. Electrolysis: a Practical Treatise on Nickeling, Coppering, Gilding, Silvering, the Refining of Metals, and the treatment of Ores by means of Electricity. By Hippolyte Fontaine, translated from the French by J. A. Berly, C.E., Assoc. S.T.E. With engravings. 8vo, cloth, 9i-. A Practical Treatise on the Steam Engine, con- taining Plans and Arrangements of Details for Fixed Steam Engines, with Essays on the Principles involved in Design and Construction. By Arthur Rigg, Engineer, Member of the Society of Engineers and of the Royal Institution of Great Britain. Demy 4to, copiously illustrated with woodcuts and 96 plates, in one Volume, half-bound morocco, 2/. 2s. ; i , or cheaper edition, cloth, 25^. This work is not, in any sense, an elementary treatise, or history of the steam engine, but is intended to describe examples of Fixed Steam Engines without entering into the wide domain of locomotive or marine practice. To this end illustrations will be given of the most lecent arrangements of Horizontal, Vertical, Beam, Pumping, Winding, Portable, Semi- portable, Corliss, Allen, Compound, and other similar Engines, by the most eminent Firms in Great Britain and America. The laws relating to the action and precautions to be observed in the construction of the various details, such as Cj'linders, Pistons, Piston-rods, Connecting- rods, Cross-heads, Motion-blocks, Eccentrics, Simple, Expansion, Balanced, and Equilibrium Slide-valves, and Valve-gearing will be minutely dealt with. In this connection will be found articles upon the Velocity of Reciprocating Parts and the Mode of Applying the Indicator, Heat and Expansion of Steam Governors, and the like. It is the writer's desire to draw illustrations from every possible source, and give only those rules that present practice deems correct. Barlow s Tables of Squares, Cubes, Square Roots, Cube Roots, Reciprocals of all Integer Numbers up to 10,000. Post 8vo, cloth, 6j. Camus (M.) Treatise on the Teeth of Wheels, demon- strating the best forms which can be given to them for the purposes of Machinery, such as Mill-work and Clock-work, and the art of finding their numbers. Translated from the French, with details of the present practice of Millwrights, Engine Makers, and other Machinists, by Isaac Hawkins. Third edition, with i2> plates, 8vo, cloth. S^c PUBLISHED BY E. & F. N. SPON. 13 A Practical Treatise on the Science of Land and Engineering Surveying, Levelling, Estimating Quantities, etc., with a general description of the several Instruments required for Surveying, Levelling, Plotting, etc. By H, S. Merrett. Fourth edition, revised by G. W. UsiLL, Assoc. Mem. Inst. C.E. 41 plates, with illustrations and tables, royal 8vo, cloth, 12s. 6d. Principal Contents : Part I. Introduction and the Principles of Geometry. Part 2. Land Surveying ; com- prising General Observations — The Chain — Offsets Surveying by the Chain only — Surveying Hilly Ground — To Survey an Estate or Parish by the Chain only — Surveying with the Theodolite — Mining and Town Surveying — Railroad Surveying — Mapping — Division and Laying out of Land — Observations on Enclosures — Plane Trigonometry. Part 3. Levelling — Simple and Compound Levelling — The Level Book — Parliamentary Plan and Section — Levelling with a Theodolite — Gradients — ^Wooden Curves — To Lay out a Railway Curve- Setting out Widths. Part 4. Calculating Quantities generally for Estimates — Cuttings and Embankments — Tunnels— Brickwork^Ironwork — Timber Measuring. Part 5. Description and Use of Instruments in Surveying and Plotting — The Improved Dumpy Level — Troughton's Level — The Prismatic Compass — Proportional Compass — Box Sextant — Vernier — Panta- graph — Merrett's Improved Quadrant — Improved Computation Scale — The Diagonal Scale — Straight Edge and Sector. Part 6. Logarithms of Numbers — Logarithmic Sines and Co-Sines, Tangents and Co-Tangents — Natural Sines and Co-Sines — Tables for Earthwork, for Setting out Curves, and for various Calculations, etc., etc., etc. Saws : the History, Development, Action, Classifica- tion, and Comparison of Saws of all kinds. By Robert Grimshaw. With 220 illustrations, 4to, cloth, \2s. 6d. A Supplement to the above ; containing additional practical matter, more especially relating to the forms of Savif Teeth for special material and conditions, and to the behaviour of Saws under particular conditions. With 120 illustrations, cloth, Qj. A Guide for the Electric Testing of Telegraph Cables, By Capt. V, Hoskicer, Royal Danish Engineers. With illustrations, second edition, crown 8vo, cloth, a^s. dd. Laying and Repairing Electric Telegraph Cables. By Capt. V. Hoskicer, Royal Danish Engineers. Crown 8vo, cloth, 3J. dd. The Assayers Manual: an Abridged Treatise on the Docimastic Examination of Ores and Furnace and other Artificial Products. By Bruno Kerl. Translated by W. T. Brannt. With 65 illustrations, 8vo, cloth, 12s. 6d. The Steam Engine considered as a Heat Engine : a Treatise on the Theory of the Steam Engine, illustrated by Diagrams, Tables, and Examples from Practice. By Jas. H. Cotterill, M.A., F.R.S., Professor of Applied Mechanics in the Royal Naval College. 8vo, cloth, I2J. 6d. Electricity : its Theory, Sources, and Applications. By J. T. Sprague, M.S.T.E. Second edition, revised and enlarged, with numerous illustrations, crown 8vo, cloth, i5j-. 14 CATALOGUE OF SCIENTIFIC BOOKS. The Practice of Hand Turning in Wood, Ivory, Shell, etc., with Instructions for Turning such Work in Metal as may be required in the Practice of Turning in Wood, Ivory, etc. ; also an Appendix on Ornamental Turning. (A book for beginners.) By Francis C ampin. Third edition, with wood engravmgs, crown 8vo, cloth, 6j. Contents : On Lathes — Turning Tools — Turning Wood — Drilling — Screw Cutting — Miscellaneous Apparatus and Processes — Turning Particular Forms — Staining — Polishing — Spinning Metals — Materials — Ornamental Turning, etc. Health and Comfort in House Building, or Ventila- tion zaith Warm Air by Self-Acting Suction Porver, with Review of the mode of Calculating the Draught in Hot- Air Flues, and with some actual Experiments. By J. Drysdale, M.D., and J. W. Hayward, M.D. Second edition, with Supplement, with plates, demy 8vo, cloth, "js. (>d. Treatise on Watchwork, Past and Present, By the Rev. H. L. Nelthropp, M.A., F.S.A. With 32 illustrations, crown 8vo, cloth, 6j. dd. Contents : Definitions of Words and Terms used in Watchwork — Tools — Time — Historical Sum- mary — On Calculations of the Numbers for Wheels and Pinions; their Proportional Sizes, Trains, etc. — Of Dial Wheels, or Motion Work — Length of Time of Going without Winding up — The Verge— The Horizontal — The Duplex — The Lever — The Chronometer — Repeating Watches— Keyless Watches — The Pendulum, or Spiral Spring — Compensation — Jewelling of Pivot Holes — Clerkenwell — Fallacies of the Trade — Incapacity of Workmen — How to Choose and Use a Watch, etc. Notes in Mechanical Engineering. Compiled prin- cipally for the use of the Students attending the Classes on this subject at the City of London College. By Henry Adams, Mem. Inst. M.E., Mem. Inst. C.E., Mem. Soc. of Engineers. Crown 8vo, cloth, 2s. 6d. Algebra Self Taught. By W. P. Higgs, M.A., D.Sc, LL.D., Assoc. Inst. C.E,, Author of * A Handbook of the Differ- ential Calculus,' etc. Second edition, crown 8vo, cloth, 2s. 6d. Contents : Symbols and the Signs of Operation — The Equation and the Unknown Quantity — Positive and Negative Quantities— Multiplication — Involution — Exponents — Negative Expo- nents — Roots, and the Use of Exponents as Logarithms — Logarithms — Tables of Logarithms and Proportionate Parts — Transformation of System of Logarithms — Common Uses of Common Logarithms — Compound Multiplication and the Binomial Theorem — Division, Fractions, and Ratio — Continued Proportion— The Series and the Summation of the Series — Limit of Series — Square and Cube Roots — Equations — List of Formulae, etc. Spons Dictionary of Engineering, Civil, Mechanical, Military, and Naval', with technical terms in French, German, Italian, and Spanish, 31 GO pp., and nearly 8000 engravings, in super-royal 8vo, in 8 divisions, 5/. %s. Complete in 3 vols., cloth, 5/. 5^. Bound in a superior manner, half-morocco, top edge gilt, 3 vols., 6/, I2J. PUBLISHED BY E. & F. N. SPON. 15 Canoe and Boat Bidlding: a complete Manual for Amateurs, containing plain and comprehensive directions for the con- struction of Canoes, Rowing and Sailing Boats, and Hunting Craft. By W. P. Stephens. With numerous illustrations and 24 plates of Working Drawings. Crown 8vo, cloth, is. 6d. Culttiral Industries for Queensland : Papers on the cultivation of useful Plants suited to the climate of Queensland, their value as Food, in the Arts, and in Medicine, and methods of obtaining their products. By L. A. Bernays, F.L.S.', F.R.G.S. 8vo, half calf, ys. 6d. The same, in cloth, 6^. Proceedings of the National Conference of Electricians^ Philadelphia, October 8th to 13th, 1884. i8mo, cloth, 3^. Dynamo - Electricity, its Generation, Application, Transmission, Storage, and Measurement. By G. B. Prescott. With 545 illustrations. 8vo, cloth, i/. \s. Domestic Electricity for Amateurs. Translated from the French of E. HospiTaLIER, Editor of ** L'Electricien," by C. J. Wharton, Assoc. Soc. Tel. Eng. Numerous illustrations. Demy 8vo, cloth, 9^, Contents : I. Production of the Electric Current— 2. Electric Bells — 3. Automatic Alarms — 4. Domestic Telephones — 5. Electric Clocks — 6. Electric Lighters — 7. Domestic Electric Lighting — 8. Domestic Application of the Electric Light— 9. Electric Motors — 10. Electrical Locomo- tion — II. Electrotyping, Plating, and Gilding — 12. Electric Recreations — 13. Various appli- cations — Workshop of the Electrician. Wrinkles in Electric Lighting, By Vincent Stephen. With illustrations. i8mo, cloth, 2s. 6d. Contents : I. The Electric Current and its production by Chemical means — 2. Production of Electric Currents by Mechanical means — 3. Dynamo-Electric Machines — 4. Electric Lamps — 5. Lead— 6. Ship Lighting. The Practical Flax Spinner ; being a Description of the Growth, Manipulation, and Spinning of Flax and Tow. By Leslie C. Marshall, of Belfast. With illustrations. 8vo, cloth, 15^-. Foundations and Foundation Walls for all classes of Buildings, Pile Driving, Building Stones and Bricks, Pier and Wall construction, Mortars, Limes, Cements, Concretes, Stuccos, &c. 64 illus- trations. By G. T. Powell and F. Bauman. 8vo, cloth, los. 6d. 1 6 CATALOGUE OF SCIENTIFIC BOOKS Manual for Gas Engineering Students. By D. Lee. l8mo, cloth IS. Hydraulic Machinery, Past and Present. A Lecture delivered to the London and Suburban Railway Officials' Association. By H. Adams, Mem. Inst. C.E. Foldmg plate. 8vo, sewed, is. Twenty Years with the Indicator. By Thomas Pray, Jan., C.E., M.E., Member of the American Society of Civil Engineers. 2 vols., royal 8vo, cloth, 12^. dd. Annual Statistical Report of the Secretary to the Members of the Iron and Steel Association on the Home and Foreign Iron and Steel Industries in 1884. Issued March 1885. 8vo, sewed, ^s. Bad Drains., and How to Test them ; with Notes on the Ventilation of Sewers, Drains, and Sanitary Fittings, and the Origin and Transmission of Zymotic Disease. By R. Harris Reeves. Crown 8vo, cloth, 3J-. 6d. Standard Practical Phimbing ; being a complete Encyclopaedia for Practical Plumbers and Guide for Architects, Builders, Gas Fitters, Hot-water Fitters, Ironmongers, Lead Burners, Sanitary Engineers, Zinc Workers, &c. Illustrated by over 2000 engravings. By P. J. Davies. Vol. I, royal 8vo, cloth, "js. 6d. Pneumatic Transmission of Messages and Parcels between Paris and Lofidon, via. Calais and Dover. By J. B. Berlier, C.E. Small foHo, sewed, 6d. List of Tests {Reagents), arranged In alphabetical order, according to the names of the originators. Designed especially for the convenient reference of Chemists, Pharmacists, and Scientists. By Hans M. Wilder. Crown 8vo, cloth, ^. 6d. Ten Years Experience in Works of Intermittent Downward Filtration. By J. Bailey Denton, Mem. Inst. C.E. Second edition, with additions. Royal 8vo, sewed, 4J. A Treatise on the Manufacture of Soap and Candles, Lubricants and Glycerin. By W. Lant Carpenter, B.A., B.Sc. (late of Messrs. C. Thomas and Brothers, Bristol). With illustrations. Crown 8vo, cloth, los. 6d. PUBLISHED BY E. & F. N. SPON. 17 The Stability of Ships explained simply, and calculated by a new Graphic method. By J. C. Spence, M.I.N.A. 4to, sewed, y.dd. Steam Makings or Boiler Practice, By Charles A. Smith, C.E. 8vo, cloth, \os. 6d. Contents : I. The Nature of Heat and the Properties of Steam — 2. Combustion. — 3. Externally Fired Stationary Boilers — 4. Internally Fired Stationary Boilers — 5. Internally Fired Portable Locomotive and Marine Boilers — 6. Design, Construction, and Strength of Boilers — 7. Pro- portions of Heating Surface, Economic Evaporation, Explosions — 8. Miscellaneous Boilers, Choice of Boiler Fittings and Appurtenances. The Fireman s Guide ; a Handbook on the Care of Boilers. By Teknolog, fdreningen T. I. Stockholm. Translated from the third edition, and revised by Karl P. Dahlstrom, M.E. Second edition. Fcap. 8vo, cloth, 2s. A Treatise on Modern Steam Engines and Boilers, including Land Locomotive, and Marine Engines and Boilers, for the use of Students. By Frederick Colyer, M. Inst. C.E., Mem. Inst. M.E. With -^^ plates. 4to, cloth, 25J. Contents : I. Introduction — 2. Original Engines — 3. Boilers — 4. High-Pressure Beam Engines — 5. Cornish Beam Engines — 6. Horizontal Engines — 7. Oscillating Engines — 8. Vertical High- Pressure Engines — 9. Special Engines — 10. Portable Engines — ii. Locomotive Engines — 12. Marine Engines. Steam Engine Management ; a Treatise on the Working and Management of Steam Boilers. By F. Golyer, M. Inst. C.E., Mem. Inst. M.E. i8mo, cloth, 2s. Land Surveying on the Meridian and Perpendicular System. By William Penman, C.E. 8vo, cloth, Zs. 6d. The Topographer, his Instruments and Methods, designed for the use of Students, Amateur Photographers, Surveyors, Engineers, and all persons interested in the location and construction of works based upon Topography. Illustrated with numerous plates, maps^ and engravings. By Lewis M. Haupt, A.M. 8vo, cloth, iSj-. A Text-Book of Tanning, embracing the Preparation of all kinds of Leather. By Harry R. Proctor, F.C.S., of Low Lights Tanneries. With illustrations. Crown 8vo, cloth, lOj-. 6d. la super-royal 8vo, 1168 pp., with 2400 illustrations, in 3 Divisions, cloth, price 13J. 6 V. each ; or 1 vol., cloth, 2/. ; or half-morocco, 2/. 8j. A SUPPLEMENT TO SPONS' DICTIONARY OF ENGINEERING. Edited by ERNEST SPON, Memb. Soc. Engineers. Abacus, Counters, Speed Indicators, and Slide Rule. Agricultural Implements and Machinery. Air Compressors. Animal Charcoal Ma- chinery. Antimony. Axles and Axle-boxes. Barn Machinery. Belts and Belting. Blasting. Boilers. Brakes. Brick Machinery. Bridges. 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Skins, 5 pp. Small Wares, 4 pp. Soap and Glycerine, pp. 45 figs. Spices, 16 pp. Sponge, 5 pp. Starch, 9 pp. lo figs. Sugar, 15s pp. figs. Sulphur. Tannin, 18 pp. Tea, 12 pp. Timber, 13 pp. Varnish, 15 pp. Vinegar, 5 pp. Wax, 5 pp. Wool, 2 pp. Woollen Manufactures, 58 pp. 39 figs. pp. 39 134 London : E. & F. N. SPON, 125, Strand. New York : 35, Murray Street. Crown 8vo, cloth, with illustrations, $s. WORKSHOP RFXEIPTS, FIRST SERIES. By ERNEST SPON. Synopsis of Contents. Freezing. Fulminates. Furniture Creams, Oils, Polishes, Lacquers, and Pastes. Gilding. Glass Cutting, Cleaning, Frosting, Drilling, Darkening, Bending, Staining, and Paint- ing. Glass Making. Glues. Gold. Graining. Gums. Gun Cotton. Gunpowder. Horn Working. Indiarubber. Japans, Japanning, and kindred processes. Lacquers. Lathing. Lubricants. Marble Working. Matches. Mortars. Nitro-Glycerine. Oils. Bookbinding. Bronzes and Bronzing. Candles. Cement. Cleaning. Colourwashing. Concretes, Dipping Acids. Drawing Ofhce Details. Drying Oils. Dynamite. Electro - Metallurgy — (Cleaning, Dipping, Scratch-brushing, Bat- teries, Baths, and Deposits of every description). Enamels. Engraving on Wood, Copper, Gold, Silver, Steel, and Stone. Etching and Aqua Tint. Firework Making — (Rockets, Stars, Rains, Gerbes, Jets, Tour- billons, Candles, Fires, Lances,Lights, Wheels, Fire-balloons, and minor Fireworks). Fluxes. Foundry Mixtures. Besides Receipts relating to the lesser Technological matters and processes, such as the manufacture and use of Stencil Plates, Blacking, Crayons, Paste, Putty, Wax, Size, Alloys, Catgut, Tunbridge Ware, Picture Frame and Architectural Mouldings, Compos, Cameos, and others too numerous to mention. Paper. Paper Hanging. Pamting in Oils, in Water Colours, as well as Fresco, House, Trans- parency, Sign, and Carriage Painting. Photography. Plastering. Polishes. Pottery — (Clays, Bodies, Glazes, Colours, Oils, Stains, Fluxes, Ena- mels, and Lustres). Scouring. Silvering. Soap. Solders. Tanning. Taxidermy. Tempering Metals. Treating Horn, Mother- o'-Pearl, and hke sub- stances. Varnishes, Manufacture and Use of. Veneering. Washing, Waterproofing. Welding. London : E. & F. N. SPON, 125, Strand. New York: 35, Murray Street. Crown 8vo, cloth, 485 pages, with illustrations, $s. WORKSHOP RECEIPTS, SECOND SERIES. By ROBERT HALDANE. Acidimetry and Alkali- metry. Albumen. Alcohol . Alkaloids. Baking-powders. Bitters. Bleaching. Boiler Incrustations. Cements and Lutes. Cleansing. Confectionery. Copying. Synopsis of Contents. Disinfectants, Dyeing, Staining, and Colouring. Essences. Extracts. Fireproofing. Gelatine, Glue, and Size. Glycerine. Gut. Hydrogen peroxide. Ink. Iodine. Iodoform. Isinglass. Ivory substitutes. Leather. Luminous bodies. Magnesia. Matches. Paper. Parchment. Perchloric acid. Potassium oxalate. Preserving. Pigments, Paint, and Painting : embracing the preparation of Pigments, including alumina lakes, blacks (animal, bone, Frankfort, ivory, lamp, sight, soot), blues (antimony, Antwerp, cobalt, caeruleum, Egyptian, manganate, Paris, Peligot, Prussian, smalt, ultramarine), browns (bistre, hinau, sepia, sienna, umber, Vandyke), greens (baryta, Brighton, Brunswick, chrome, cobalt, Douglas, emerald, manganese, mitis, mountain, Prussian, sap, Scheele's, Schweinfurth, titanium, verdigris, zinc), reds (Brazilwood lake, carminated lake, carmine, Cassius purple, cobalt pink, cochineal lake, colco- thar, Indian red, madder lake, red chalk, red lead, vermilion), whites (alum, baryta, Chinese, lead sulphate, white lead — by American, Dutch, French, German, Kremnitz, and Pattinson processes, precautions in making, and composition of commercial samples — whiting, Wilkinson's white, zinc white), yellows (chrome, gamboge, Naples, orpiment, realgar, yellow lakes) ; Paitit (vehicles, testing oils, driers, grinding, storing, applying, priming, drying, filling, coats, brushes, surface, water-colours, removing smell, discoloration ; miscellaneous paints — cement paint for carton-pierre, copper paint, gold paint, iron paint, lime paints, silicated paints, steatite paint, transparent paints, tungsten paints, window paint, zinc paints) ; Painting (general instructions, proportions of ingredients, measuring paint work ; carriage painting — priming paint, best putty, finishing colour, cause of cracking, mixing the paints, oils, driers, and colours, vai^nishing, importance of washing vehicles, re-varnishing, how to dry paint ; woodwork painting). London : E. <& F. N. SPON, 126, Strand. New York: 35, Murray, Street. JTJ ST PUBLISHED. Crown 8vo, cloth, 480 pages, with 183 illustrations, ^s. WORKSHOP RECEIPTS, THIRD SERIES. By C. G. WARNFORD LOCK. Uniforni with, the First and Second Series. Synopsis of Contents. Alloys. Indium. Rubidium. Aluminium. Iridium. Ruthenium. Antimony. Iron and Steel. Selenium. Barium. Lacquers and Lacquering. Silver. Beryllium. Lanthanum. Slag. Bismuth. Lead. Sodium. Cadmium. Lithium. Strontium. Caesium. Lubricants. Tantalum. Calcium. Magnesium. Terbium. Cerium. Manganese. Thallium. Chromium. Mercury. Thorium. Cobalt. Mica. Tin. Copper. Molybdenum. Titanium. Didymium. Nickel. Tungsten. Electrics. Niobium. Uranium. Enamels and Glazes. Osmium. Vanadium. Erbium. Palladium. Yttrium. Gallium. Platinum. Zinc. Glass. Potassium. Zirconium. Gold. Rhodium. London ; E. & F. N. SPON, 126, Strand. New Tfork : 35, Murray Street. WORKSHOP RECEIPTS, FOURTH SERIES, DEVOTED MAINLY TO HANDICRAFTS & MECHANICAL SUBJECTS. By C. G. WARNFORD LOCK. 250 Illustrations, with Complete Index, and a General Index to the Four Series, 5s. Waterproofing — rubber goods, cuprammonium processes, miscellaneous preparations. Packing and Storing articles of delicate odour or colour, of a deliquescent character, liable to ignition, apt to suffer from insects or damp, or easily broken. Embalming and Preserving anatomical specimens. Leather Polishes. Cooling Air and Water, producing low temperatures, making ice, cooling syrups and solutions, and separating salts from liquors by refrigeration. Pumps and Siphons, embracing every useful contrivance for raising and supplying water on a moderate scale, and moving corrosive, tenacious, and other liquids. Desiccating — air- and water-ovens, and other appliances for drying natural and artificial products. Distilling — water, tinctures, extracts, pharmaceutical preparations, essences, perfumes, and alcoholic liquids. Emulsifying as required by pharmacists and photographers. Evaporating — saline and other solutions, and liquids demanding special precautions. Filtering — water, and solutions of various kinds. Percolating and Macerating. Electrotyping. Stereotyping by both plaster and paper processes. Bookbinding in all its details. Straw Plaiting and the fabrication of baskets, matting, etc. Musical Instruments — the preservation, tuning, and repair of pianos, harmoniums, musical boxes, etc. Clock and Watch Mending — adapted for intelligent amateurs. Photography — recent development in rapid processes, handy apparatus, numerous recipes for sensitizing and developing solutions, and applica- tions to modern illustrative purposes. London : E. & F. N. SPON, 125, Strand. New York : 35, Murray Street. JUST PUBLISHED, In demy 8vo, cloth, 600 pages, and 1420 Illustrations, 6s. SPONS' MECHANICS' OWN BOOK A MANUAL FOR HANDICRAFTSMEN AND AMATEURS. Contents. Mechanical Drawing — Casting and Founding in Iron, Brass, Bronze, and other Alloys — Forging and Finishing Iron — Sheetmetal Working — Soldering, Brazing, and Burning — Carpentry and Joinery, embracing descriptions of some 400 Woods, over 200 Illustrations of Tools and their uses, Explanations (with Diagrams) of 116 joints and hinges, and Details of Construction of Workshop appliances, rough furniture. Garden and Yard Erections, and House Building — Cabinet-Making and Veneering — Carving and Fretcutting — Upholstery — Painting, Graining, and Marbling — Staining Furniture, Woods, Floors, and Fittings — Gilding, dead and bright, on various grounds — Polishing Marble, Metals, and Wood — ^Varnishing — Mechanical movements, illustrating contrivances for transmitting motion — Turning in Wood and Metals — Masonry, embracing Stonework, Brickwork, Terracotta, and Concrete — Roofing with Thatch, Tiles, Slates, Felt, Zinc, &c. — Glazing with and without putty, and lead glazing — Plastering and Whitewashing — Paper-hanging— Gas-fitting — Bell-hanging, ordinary and electric Systems — Lighting — Warming — Ventilating — Roads, Pavements, and Bridges — Hedges, Ditches, and Drains — Water Supply and Sanitation— Hints on House Construction suited to new countries. London : E. & F. N. SPON, 126, Strand. New York : 35, Murray Street. THIS BOOK IS DUE ON THE LAST DATE STAMPED BELOW AN INITIAL FINE OF 25 CENTS WILL BE ASSESSED FOR FAILURE TO RETURN THIS BOOK ON THE DATE DUE. THE PENALTY WILL INCREASE Tp 50 CENTS ON THE FOURTH DAY AND TO $1.00 ON THE SEVENTH DAY OVERDUE. d^ft 2 im y\0^ 18 1936 SEI'D JAN 11 '19^ I t^-y- 7 Tz OCT 25 V:- -j'i-i 19^^"^:5S^^ R^CD LO ma H i H 4 Jan'fiZ'^! PW ^9bl ^ S ^^^ Q' t Q o^sr Nnv 9 1981 P!»A- 7 ^///?i»yv> LD 21-100to-7,'33 I L-<» I v-/ I 1 — / - .vc;2;i35S555!a««5K'«?T'