512 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1917. 



At least one genus of Phasmidse serve as food for man, the natives 

 of Woodlark Island eating a species of Kwrabidioii> Gryllidse, too, 

 are eaten, field crickets being an article of diet in Jamaica when that 

 island was first discovered,^ and the natives of Africa eat quantities 

 of Bracliytruyes^ which they dig from their burrows and prepare 

 for the pot by removing the legs and wings.^ Tlie Orthoptera most 

 extensively used as food are, as stated above, locusts, or grasshoppers. 

 There is no doubt but that wholesome and palatable dishes may be 

 prepared from the bodies of these insects and a somewhat extensive 

 use is now made of them for this purpose by the natives of many 

 regions- Ansorge says that Jolin the Baptist needs no pity by reason 

 of his entomological diet as he should tire of honey sooner than of 

 locusts.* That the flavor of well-cooked locusts is not distasteful is 

 vouched for by no less an authority than Dr. C. V. Riley. A some- 

 what extensive experiment was seriously carried out by Doctor Riley 

 and others and the results summed up in his candid statement that, 

 from personal experience, he considered our conunon locust more 

 palatable when cooked than some anunals commonly served on our 

 tables.^ In this experiment, which was given considerable news- 

 paper notoriety at the time, locusts were prepared in various ways, 

 all proving satisfactory. Ancient and recent literature is rich- in 

 reference to this subject and an interesting compilation of older ac- 

 counts may be found in Cowan's Curious Facts, pages 120-131. I 

 wish here to refer to but one of these ancient items, a poetic inventory 

 of the larder of a poor Athenian family. The writer, Alexis, says : 



For our best and daintiest clieer, 

 Ttirougli tlie briglit lialf of tlie year, 

 Is but acorns, onions, peas, 

 Ochros, lupines, radishes, 

 Vetches, wild pears nine or ten, 

 With a locust now and then. 



Under the title "^Vliy not eat insects?" Vincent M. Holt has 

 published an undated booklet of 99 pages treating of insects as 

 food, and, while the menus suggested seem ludicrous, he is evi- 

 dently sincere in his arguments. Recipes are given for the prep- 

 aration of locusts, and the writer attests their palatability from 

 personal experience and the testimony of others. I quote a menu 

 from this work as a matter of interest, though locusts do not happen 

 to be included in it: 



1 Montrouzier, Fauna Woodlark, p. 82 (1855). 

 ^Sloane, Hist, of Jamaica, vol. 2, p. 204 (1707-25). 

 sWellman, Est. News, vol. 19, p. 29 (1908). 

 ••From Under the African Sun (1900). 

 "Proc. Amer. Assoc. Adv. Sci., p. 208-214 (1875). 



