26o 



RECREATION. 



for Far Eastern produce, will keep a long 

 time without discoverable deterioration if 

 not handled much. The United States pro 

 rata of population as compared with 

 countries in Europe consumes more spices, 

 pepper, nutmegs, and mace, especially, than 

 any of them, and large quantities of pepper 

 are used in curing meats on an extensive 

 scale in meat packing establishments, and 

 on the farms in our Western States, in ad- 

 dition to household consumption." 



DESTRUCTION OF BIRDS FOR FOOD IN 

 EARLY TIMES. 

 "While there is only too much cause for 

 regretting the wholesale destruction of 

 many species of wild birds, there is reason 

 for thankfulness that the 'slaughter of the 

 innocents' is not now carried on to 

 such an extent as it used to be in order 

 to furnish dishes for the table," writes W. 

 A. Dutt in an English journal. "In glanc- 

 ing over ancient bills of fare, we can not. 

 help noticing how many birds which were 

 formerly served .at the table no one now 

 ever thinks of eating. Sir Thomas 

 Browne, who lives in the 17th century, 

 speaks of young herons being esteemed a 

 festival dish, and much desired by some 

 palates ; and, according to Mr. Harting, 

 herons were served at a dinner given in 

 Stationers' Hall as late as 1812. In the 

 Northumberland Household Book we read 

 that it was thought good 'that seagulls be 

 had for my lord's own mess, and none 

 other ; so they be good and in season' ; and 

 we know that formerly large numbers of 

 black headed gulls were sent every year 

 from the gulleries to the London market. 

 Even magpies, cormorants, rooks and jack- 

 daws were not despised as articles of diet; 

 a fact perhaps rather more surprising than 

 the serving of thrushes, starlings, linnets, 

 blackbirds, and sparrows. 'Godwits,' says 

 Sir Thomas Browne, were 'accounted the 

 daintiest dish in England, and I think for 

 the bigness, of the biggest price.' Bus- 

 tards and dotterel, too, were considered 

 'dayntie dysshes' ; and one even reads of 

 auks, petrels, and puffins being in request. 

 King Charles I. was fond of cormorants. 

 It was from a colony of these birds at Reed- 

 ham, in Norfolk, he 'was wont to be sup- 

 plied.' Redshanks were 'of common food, 

 but no dainty dish/ " 



QUEENSLAND BUTTER IN ENGLAND. 

 Butter from the United States and Cana- 

 da is exported to England, but butter from 

 the Continent is a more important article 

 of commerce there. The war between Rus- 

 sia and Japan will have some disturbing 

 influences on Great Britain's supplies of 

 butter from the Continent, and imports of 

 dairy produce from British Colonies will 



be of still greater importance to consum- 

 ers in 1904 than heretofore. 



It is satisfactory, therefore, for the Brit- 

 ish public to note that owing to the splen- 

 did seasons now being enjoyed in Aus- 

 tralia and New Zealand, the production of 

 butter is on such a large scale that a con- 

 siderable surplus is available for export to 

 England. Since July, 1903, the opening of 

 the butter shipping season, Australasia has 

 sent to Great Britain no less than 300,000 

 hundredweight ; and this quantity, coming 

 into consumption freely, has materially 

 aided the maintenance of moderate prices. 

 Butter from Australia and New Zealand 

 is made after the prime Dorset style, and 

 the higher grades of it are fully equal to 

 that well known article. 



Until lately Queensland has not been 

 able to make direct shipments of frozen 

 produce to British markets, owing to lack 

 of direct service of vessels possessing re- 

 frigerating appliances ; but now steamers 

 sail regularly between London and Bris- 

 bane, and by these vessels Queensland is 

 sending to London large quantities of but- 

 ter made in the dairies on Darling Downs. 



THE INELASTIC DOLLAR. 



Tenn sense fore lemmenade fore shee ann i. 

 tenn sense fore peenutts wich ile haffto bi. 

 tenn sense apeace for sidesho ann thatt 



maiks 

 Allmoast a haffa dollur thatt itt taiks 

 before we gett in the big tent a tall, 

 a sirkus maiks a dollar offle smal. 

 Ann wenn u pay anuther fifty sense 

 too gett us boath inside uv thee bigg tents 

 thatt leevs tenn sense ann iff she wants too 



stay 

 Too sea thee consurt part wot wil i say. 



weel haffto have thee lemmenade ino 

 becuz thee day i ast hur iff sheed go 

 shee sedd shee alwuz liked too go ann bi 

 redd lemmenade wenn she is hott ann dri. 

 Uv kors u koodunt watch thee ellyfunts 

 ann nott hav peanutts, too sax fore tenn 



sense. 

 I guess ive gott itt figgered down uz lo 

 uz possibul ann taik in the hoal sho 

 exsept thee consurt. iff shee wants too stay 

 fore thatt i wtinder wot on urth ile say. 



ive gott too taik hur cuz ive ast her too. 

 i wisht too goodness i noo wot too do 

 Too kepe her frum thee consurt ann nott no 

 ime tenn sense short uv haven enuf doe. 

 butt like uz not sheel stay rite thare ann i 

 wil haffto start too go ann tel hur wi. 

 Wot wil shee think uv me. i alwus thott 

 a dollur wuz an offle offle lott 

 Uv munney butt itt seams so turble smal 

 on sirkus day itts hardly nunn a tall. 



J. W. Foley, in Life. 



