DIVERSITY OF FOODS.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume V, Issue 1328, 30 August 1886, Page 2

DIVERSITY OF FOODS.

The old saying that what Is one man's meat is another man’s poison Is realised in the opposite tastes of people.—Tbs Turks shudder at the thonght of eating oysters. The Digger Indians of' the Pacific Slope rejoice din the great locnst swarms of 1875 as a dispensation of the Great Spirit, and laid in a afore of dry locust powder sufficient to last them for several yean.—The French aat frogs, anai's, and the diseased liven of geese, bat they draw the line at alligators.— The late Frank Buckland declared the tests of boa constrictor good, and mnch like veal.—Quaas, the fermented cabbage water of the Russians, is their popular tipple. It is described as resembling a mixture of stale fish and soapsuds in taste, yet, next to beer, It has more votaries than any other fermented beverage- A tallow candle washed down with quass formt a meal which It would be hard to be thankful for.—ln Canton and other Chinese cities rats are sold at the rata of IQs a dtzsn, and the hind quarters of dogs are hang up in the butchers’ shops alongside of motion and lamb, bat command a

higher prise. The birds' netto of the Chinese are worth twice their weight in sliver, the finest variety selling for as much as £6 a pound.—The negroa of the West Indies eat baked snakes and palm worms fried In their own fist, bat cannot be induced to eat stewed rabbits, —ln Mexico parrots are eaten, bat they are rather tongh.—The Onaohos of the Badda Oriental are in the habit of hunting skunks for the sake of their flesh.— The octopus, or devil-fish, when boiled and then roasted. Is eaten in Corsica and

esteemedadelicaqy.—ln the Pacific Islands and West Indies lizards’ e*gs are eaten with gusto. The natives of the Antilles eat alligator eggs, and the eggs of the turtle are popular everywhere, though up to the beginning of the last century turtle was only eaten by the poor of Jamaica.—Ants are eaten by various nations. In Brazil they are served with a reainoDs sanoa, and in A frioa they are stewed with grease or butter. The East Indiana catch them in pita and carefully wash them in handfuls like raisins. Ir Siam a curry of ants' eggs is a costly luxury.—The Ceylonese eat the bees after robbing them of their honey.—Caterpillars and spidere ate dainties to the African bushman.—After they have wonnd the silk the eoobon the Chinese eat ?he chrysalis of the silkworm.—Spiders roasted form a sort of dessert with Kew Caledonians,