70 ANIMAL FOOD RESOUECES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. 



with gusto " Estouffade de leon k la meridionale," and 

 " Ooeur de leon a la Castellane." 



The flesh of the American jaguar or panther is con- 

 sidered not bad eating, and that of the wild cat of 

 Louisiana is also reported to be excellent. The former 

 is eaten in Central and South America. Mr. Darwin, 

 in his " Journal of a Naturalist," tells us that he supped 

 on it, and found the meat very white and remarkably- 

 like veal in taste. 



Mr. Wallace, when travelling up the Amazon, one day 

 had some steaks of a jaguar (Felis onca) on his table, and 

 found the meat very white and without any bad taste. 

 " It appears evident to me," he adds, " that the common 

 idea of the food of an animal determining the quality of 

 its flesh is quite erroneous. Domestic poultry and pigs 

 are the most unclean animals in their food, yet their 

 flesh is highly esteemed, while field rats and squirrels, 

 which eat only vegetable food, are in general dis- 

 repute." 



Carnivorous fish are not less delicate eating than 

 herbivorous ones, and there appears no reason why 

 some carnivorous animals should not furnish whole- 

 some and palatable food. The low Arabs do not object 

 to the flesh of the hyaena, although the smell of the car- 

 cass is so rank and ofiensive that even dogs leave it with 

 disgust. 



The natives eat the flesh of the Canada lynx {Felis 

 Canadensis, Geoffroy), which is white and tender but 

 rather flavourless, much resembling that of the Ameri- 

 can hare. The European species {F. lynx) is also eaten 

 in Switzerland and in Siberia. 



Opossums and Bandicoots. — We have not quite done 

 with the Camivora, for the flesh of some of the carnivo- 

 rous marsupials, such as the opossums, bandicoots and 

 tiger cats, are eaten by man. 



The vulpine or brushtailed opossum {Phalangista vul- 

 pina) is the staff of life to the natives of Australia. 

 Mr. Gerardt Krafft says : — "I often admired my native 

 friends, when, after a hard day's unsuccessful hunting, 



