INTRODUCTORY AND GENERAL. 13 



M. Bojir, writing in " Hooker's Botanical Miscellany," 

 III., p. 253, remarks : — " The principal food delicacy in 

 Madagascar is the flesh of an unborn and but half- 

 formed calf, to obtain which they destroy the cows, an. 

 inhuman practice, which, since our visit to Emerina, has 

 been forbidden by Government." 



Marrow. — The marrow of bones is a dainty at European 

 dinners, and is esteemed as a luxury even among savages. 

 The Indians of North America hold it in high estimation, 

 particularly that of the bones of the buffalo, the elk, the 

 moose, and the deer. The round bones of these animals 

 are roasted in the coals or before the fire, then split with 

 a stone hatchet, and in some cases with a wedge driven 

 in between the condyles, when the bone has these termi- 

 nations. The marrow is then scooped out with a piece 

 of wood in the form of a spoon, and eaten on the instant 

 by the members of the party seated around the camp 

 fire. 



A feast of this kind can only be fully enjoyed after a 

 successful hunt, when the marrow is collected in quan- 

 tity for storing during the hunting season, which occurs 

 usually twice a year ; the bones of the larger animals 

 are broken into small fragments and boiled in water, 

 until all the marrow which they contain, and the grease 

 which adheres to them are separated and rise to the 

 surface, when they are skimmed off" and packed in blad- 

 ders, or in the muscular coat of the stomach and in the 

 larger intestines, which have been previously prepared 

 for this use. tNot only is the marrow of the large 

 bones of the limbs preserved in this manner, but also 

 that of the vertebral column. The bones of this are 

 comminuted by pounding them -with a stone hammer 

 similar to those which are occasionally ploughed up 

 in the Eastern States. 



The marrow still warm from the natural heat of the 

 animal is considered among the Laplanders and the 

 Greenlanders the greatest delicacy, and a dish of honour 

 which they offer to strangers and to the employ^ of 

 the Government. 



