362 ANIMAL FOOD RESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. 



soon most agreeably surprised to find that the insects 

 were quite palatable in whatever way prepared." 



The tiavour of the raw locust is most strong and 

 disagreeable, but that of the cooked insects is agree- 

 able, and sufficiently mild to be easily neutralised by 

 anything with which they may be mixed, and to admit 

 of easy disguise, according to taste or fancy. But 

 the great point I would make in their favour is, that 

 they need no elaborate preparation or seasoning. They 

 require no disguise ; and herein lies their value in excep- 

 tional emergencies, for when people are driven to the 

 point of starvation by these ravenous pests, it follows 

 that all other food is either very scarce or unattainable. 



A broth, made by boiling the unfledged Calopteri 

 for two hours in the proper quantity of water, and 

 seasoned with nothing in the world but pepper and 

 salt, is quite palatable, and can scarcely be distinguished 

 from beef broth, though it has a slight flavour peculiar 

 to it, and not easily described. The addition of a little 

 butter improves it, and the flavour can of course be modi- 

 fied with mint, sage and spices, ad libitum. 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 flavour. In fact, it is a flavour, 

 like most peculiar and not unpleasant flavours, that one 

 can soon learn to get fond of. Prepared in this manner, 

 ground and compressed, they would doubtless keep for 

 a long time. Yet their consumption in large quantities 

 in this form would not, I think, prove as wholesome as 

 when made into soup or broth ; for I found the chitonous 

 covering and the corneous parts, especially the spines on 

 the tibise, dry, and chippy, and somewhat irritating to 

 the throat. This objection would not apply with the 

 same force to the mature individuals, especially of larger 

 species, where the heads, legs, and wings are carefully 

 separated before cooking ; and, in fact, some of the mature 

 insects prepared in this way, then boiled, and afterwards 

 stewed with a few vegetables, and a little butter, pepper, 

 salt, and vinegar, make an excellent fricassee. 



