lg4 NATURAL HISTORY. 



largest of insects, fall far short of the stories of Pliny, who tells us of 

 locusts three feet in length, and with legs so enormous that the people in 

 the country where they live, use them for saws! The species has appar- 

 ently become extinct, for no recent naturalist has ever seen these monsters ; 

 it is possible, however, that the old author lied. 



There is another aspect of locusts which needs mention, — their use as 

 food. The Bible often refers to them in this connection, and by the Levit- 

 i.al law they were classed among the 'clean' animals. In Africa and in 

 the East they are extensively consumed. The Arabs, for instance, "when 

 tliey see a cloud of locust hovering in the air and clouding the sky, watch 

 them anxiously, and if they descend near their adwars, receive them with 

 shouts of gratitude to God and Mahomet, throw themselves on the ground, 

 and collect them as fast as possible. Previously deprived of their heads, 

 legs, and wings, the locusts well boiled in butter and served up with alcuz- 

 cuz are considered a delicious food." We could continue the references to 

 the use of locusts as food by various races and tribes to a great extent, but 

 space will prevent but one or two more. In America various persons have 

 eaten locusts, and all declare them very palatable. Professor Riley was 

 the pioneer in this line, and he gives the following story repeated essen- 

 tially in his own words : — 



Whenever occasion presented, he ate the locusts, and estimates that, pre- 

 pared in various ways, he consumed several thousand of them. The first 

 meal was partaken of with considerable repugnance, for he expected to 

 have to overcome some disagreeable flavor, but was agreeably surprised to 

 find that however prepared they were quite palatable. A broth made by 

 boiling the unfledged locusts for two hours in the proper quantity of water, 

 and seasoned with nothing but pepper and salt, is hardly to be distinguished 

 from beef-broth, though it has a peculiar flavor and one not easily described. 

 Fried or roasted in nothing but their own oil, with the addition of a little 

 salt, they are by no means unpleasant eating, and have quite a nutty flavor. 

 In fact, it is a flavor, like most peculiar and unpleasant flavors, that one 

 can soon learn to become fond of. 



" I shall not soon forget the experience of my first culinary effort in this 

 line — so fraught with fun and so forcibly illustrating the power of example 

 in overcoming prejudice. This attempt was made at an hotel. At first it 

 was impossible to get any assistance from the followers of the ars coquir 

 naria. They could not have more flatly refused to touch, taste, or handle, 

 had it been a question of cooking vipers. Nor love nor money could induce 

 them to do either, and in this respect the folks of the kitchen were all alike, 

 without distinction of color. There was no other recourse than to turn 

 cook myself ; and operations once commenced, the interest and aid of a 



