The Life of jhe Grasshopper 



vered garum, the famous sauce made from 

 the entrails of rotten fish. Would it not be 

 a meritorious work to give the epicures their 

 tettigometra again? 



On a morning in July, when the sun is up 

 and has invited the Cicadae to leave the 

 ground, the whole household, big and little, 

 go out searching. There are five of us en- 

 gaged in exploring the enclosure, especially 

 the edges of paths, which yield the best re- 

 sults. To prevent the skin from bursting, as 

 each larva is found I dip it into a glass of 

 water. Asphyxia will stay the work of 

 metamorphosis. After two hours of careful 

 seeking, when every forehead is streaming 

 with perspiration, I am the owner of four 

 larvae, no more. They are dead or dying 

 in their preserving bath; but this does not 

 matter, since they are destined for the 

 frying-pan. 



The method of cooking is of the simplest, 

 so as to alter as little as possible the flavour 

 reputed to be so exquisite: a few drops of 

 oil, a pinch of salt, a little onion and that 

 is all. There is no conciser recipe in the 

 whole of La Cuisiniere bourgeoise. At din- 

 ner, the fry is divided fairly among all of us 

 hunters. 



52 



