364 ANIMAL FOOD RESOURCES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. 



this line, wrote : ' We boiled them rather slowly for three 

 or four hours, seasoned the fluid with a little butter, 

 salt, and pepper, and it made an excellent soup, actually ; 

 we would like to have it even in prosperous times.' 

 Mrs. Johonnot, who is sick, and Professor Johonnot pro- 

 nounced it excellent.' I sent a bushel of the scalded 

 insects to Mr. John Bennet, one of the oldest and best 

 known caterers of St. Louis. Master of the mysteries 

 of the cuisine, he made a soup which was really delicious, 

 and was so pronounced by dozens of prominent St. Louis- 

 ans who tried it." 



Shaw, in his " Travels in Barbary " (Oxford, England, 

 1738), in which two pages are devoted to a description 

 of the ravages of locusts, mentions that when sprinkled 

 with salt and fried, they taste like crayfish; and Mr. 

 Bennet declares that this locust soup reminded him 

 of nothing so much as crayfish bisque, which is so highly 

 esteemed by connoisseurs. He also declared that he 

 would gladly have it on his bill of fare every day if he 

 could get the insects. His method of preparation was 

 to boil on a brisk fire, having previously seasoned them 

 with salt, pepper, and grated nutmeg, the whole being 

 occasionally stirred. When cooked they are pounded in 

 a mortar with bread fried brown, or a puree of rice. 

 They are then replaced in the saucepan and thickened 

 to a broth by placing on a warm part of the stove, 

 but not allowed to boil. For use, the broth is passed 

 through a strainer and a few croutons are added. Fried 

 locusts have been tasted by numerous persons, including 

 the members of the London Entomological Society and 

 of the Society Entomologique de France. Without ex- 

 ception, they have been pronounced far better than was 

 expected, and those fried in their own oil with a little 

 salt are yet good and fresh ; others fried in butter have 

 become slightly rancid — a fault of the butter. 



When dense flights of locusts visited India, the natives 

 fried and ate them. Mr. C. Home, F.Z.S., writing to 

 Science Gossip about swarms of locusts which visited parts 

 of India in 1863, says : " In the evening I had asked two 



