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THE GENESEE FARMER 



GRASSHOPPER FOOD. 



Thk g-overnment of the United States holds its 

 sway over the people of all nations, tribes and tongues, 

 and some of these are strange specimens of the genus 

 homo. The natives of nianj' parts of Africa and Asia 

 make fine feasts of roasted locusts ; but some of our 

 aborigines are equal to them in this respect, the only 

 difference being that ours use grasshoppers for want 

 of locusts. In that great country — Oalitbrnia — tliere 

 is a tribe of Indians called the " Diggere," whose 

 gastromic tastes are thus described by the Empire 

 County Argits: 



" There are districts of California, as well as por- 

 tions of the plains between the Sierra Nevadas and 

 the Rocky ^tountains, that literally swam with grass- 

 hoppers, and in such astonishing nambers that a man 

 cannot place his foot to the ground, while walking 

 among them, without crushing great numbers. To 

 the Indians they are a delicacy, and are caught and 

 cooked in the following manner : A piece of ground 

 is sought where they most abound, in the center of 

 which an excavation is made, large and deep enough 

 to prevent the insect from hopping out when once in. 

 The entire party of ' Diggers,' old and young, male 

 and female, then surround as much of the adjoining 

 grounds as they can, and each with a green bough in 

 hand, whipping and thrashing on every side, gradually 

 approach the center, driving the insects before them 

 in countless multitudes, till at last all, or nearly all, 

 are secured in the pit. In the meantime, smaller ex- 

 cavations are made, answering the place of ovens, in 

 which fires are kindled and kept till the surrounding- 

 earth, for a short distance, becomes sufficiently heated, 

 together with a flat stone large enough to cover the 

 oven. The grasshoppers are now taken in coarse 

 bags, and after being thoroughly soaked in salt water 

 for a few moments, are en^ptied into the ovens and 

 closed in. Ten or fifteen minutes suffices to roast 

 them, when they are taken out and eaten without 

 further preparation, and with much apparent relish, 

 or, as is sometimes the case, reduced to a powder and 

 made into soup. And having from curiosity tasted, 

 not of the soup but of the roast; if any person could 

 but divest himself of the idea of eating an insect as 

 we do an oyster or shrimp ; without any other pre- 

 paration than simple roasting, they would not be 

 considered very bad eating, even by more refined 

 epicures than the ' Digger ' Indians." 



Stowell Cokn.— The Ohio Cultivator gives the 

 following method of treating this corn so as to make 

 it good for winter use, the old mode of trying to keep 

 it green in the husk having generally proved a failure: 

 " Gather the ears when in full milk, and strip off all 

 but a thin covering of husk; lay these in a moderately- 

 heated oven or cooking-stove long enough to scald or 

 stiffen the milk, when the grains are shaved off and 

 kept in a close bag or canister. Boil in the usual 

 way when wanted for use. Thus treated, the corn is 

 eaad to be very fine." 



It is eajd that sm.all twigs of cedar, chopped fine and 

 nsixed with their grain, will cure a cough in horses, 

 and that this has been used with complete success. 



Horrors op the Guaxo Trade. — We have re- 

 ceived full confirmation of the horrors reported to be 

 in the course of perpetration in connection with the 

 gu mo trade at the Cliincha Islands. It is picked up 

 and wheeled to the shoots, it appears, by contract 

 The contractor has imported Chinamen for this work, 

 nearly six hundred of whom are now on these islands. 

 They arc liired for five j'ears, at the rate of $48 per 

 annum. They commence work as soon as they can 

 sec to work. They have five tons of guano to dig 

 and wheel to a distance of over one-eighth of a mile. 

 It is all, or nearly all, so hard that it has to be picked 

 up; and if they do not accomplish these five tons by 

 .5 o'clock P. M., they are flogged with raw-hide whips, 

 some five feet long, receiving one dozen stripes, each 

 of which starts the blood; then they are driven back 

 to finish their work. The guano has a veiy bad 

 effect upon them, swelling their legs and arm?, and 

 giving them bad sores on their legs, feet and hands. 

 Notwitlistanding all these, however, if they can get 

 along they are compelled to finish their task. Our 

 informant says : " I have known as many as thirty 

 flogged in a day. They have no Sunday allowed, 

 with the exception of one in a year, the same work 

 going on on Sunday as during the rest of the week. 

 The consequence of this ill-treatment is suicide in 

 various forms, such as leaping from the rocks one 

 hundred feet high, cutting their throats, and burying 

 themselves alive. This last has actually been the 

 case, to my knowledge. One morning three were 

 found who had so buried themselves; two were dead 

 and one alive. The last recovered to prolong his 

 miserable existence for a short time." It is time that 

 the voice of civilization throughout the world was 

 heard in denunciation of such horrors as these. — 

 JVew Orleans Picayune. 



Improving Wheat. — We noticed many fields of 

 wheat in San Jose county that were unusually strong 

 in the straw, and gi\'ing great promise of an abundant 

 yield. Upon inquiry, we learned that it was the prac- 

 tice of several of the cultivators to mow their wheat 

 field previous to their jointing, and thus throw back 

 the strength into the roots again, retarding the growth 

 for a time. The result woidd be a more vigorous 

 straw, a bolder, better head, and at the same time 

 an almost entire eradication of weeds, wild mustard, 

 and other grasses that would injure the crop, besides 

 giving a fine green or dried crop of tivo tons per acre. 

 We saw many fields thus completely clear of foreign 

 substances, which presented quite a different appear- 

 ance from those not thus treated. We suggest atten- 

 tion to that mode of treatment. — California Farmer. 



Cattle-feeders in Ohio. — The Sciota Gazette 

 gives a list of 64 cattle-feeders in Ross county, who, 

 it says, will averags 100 cattle apiece to the season ; 

 and some so far exceed that, that the number an- 

 nually fatted in that county may safely be set down 

 at 7,000. At present prices they will average fifty 

 dollars apiece, making the good sum of three hundred 

 and fifty thousand dollars annually for the cattle sent 

 from that county ! 



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July and August are the hottest months in the year. 



