FOOD IN THE TROPICS 
bushes grow along the edge of a stream and the branches droop 
down so that some of the twigs and leaves are in the water, 
large catches are sometimes made by lifting the branches out 
of the water and catching the shrimps as they drop off the 
leaves. This produces better results if it is done at night as the 
shrimps seem to leave the bushes during the day when they are 
more active. All land crabs, freshwater crabs, freshwater fish, 
and shrimps should be cooked before eating . 
Shrimps are usually cooked by boiling. In the larger forms 
only the abdomen, the tail end, minus its shell, is eaten. The shell 
is easily removed after cooking. The small forms make good 
soups or stews when cooked whole, but if they form too great 
a part of the diet and are eaten continually over a period of 
time the shells may produce diarrhea. This can be avoided 
by straining the soups or stews before eating or by adding some 
other bulky food substance to it. Land and fresh-water crabs 
are cooked in the same way as the salt-water forms. See p. 42. 
FOOD PLANTS IN THE TROPICS 
Plants are one of the main sources of food in the tropics. The 
natives eat many wild and cultivated plants that are unknown 
to white men not familiar with the different areas where they 
grow. It is not possible to name and describe all of the forms 
suitable for emergency or general use but a few of the more 
common and obvious ones, those readily identified, are discussed 
in the following pages. One rule that can be relied upon is that 
whatever the monkeys eat is safe for human beings. Monkeys are 
not present everywhere, although they do occur in many of the 
places where you may go. Birds are more widely distributed but 
