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REPTILES ARE EATEN AS DELICACIES Dainty Dishes Prepared from Snakes, Alligators, lizards and Other Creeping Things. Every nation has its staple dishes; but the odds and ends are the more interesting and in their way more indicative of the general status of the civilization of those partaking of them. Mankind on the whole has an instinctive dislike to reptiles of every kind and degree; yet of the four families into which the older naturalists divided them the saurian, ophilian, batrachlan and che-lonian each affords sustenance to man, civilized or savage. So in some parts of the world it is a" "cut from the alligator," not "from tlte joint," and a darky waiter may bawl his order of "Boiled snake one!" A peculiarly dainty and nourishing dish is made with the iguana, the flesh of which is as white- as that of a chicken and just as palatable, though the appearance of the reptile, with its scaly, black-spotted green coat, is more repulsive than cither crocodile or alligator, according to a story in the Denver Times. To the inhabitants of the West Indies and the Bahamas the iguana is a much-valued source of food, and is hunted down by means of dogs, which are muzzled to prevent them using their teeth and damaging the iguanas, which are sold alive, or killed, salted and barreled for home consumption. The flesh of the reptile is usually served up boiled or steamed, together with a dish of clarified iguana fat, sometimes seasoned, into which the very savory meat is dipped as it is eaten. The eggs of the iguana are also much relished, and are like hens eggs in taste, but wholly filled with yolk and do not become hard in boiling. The horrid iguana of Santo Domingo is much appreciated by the bons vivants in the West Indies, the flesh tasting just like roebucks, although infinitely more delicate. SOME AFRICANS LIKE THE LIZARD. The common green lizard is eaten with much gusto by many tribes in Africa; and in the south of Portugal the gray lizard is eaten, both baked and, fried, the dish in both instances tasting rather like chicken. In Brazil a green and yellow snake is. consumed by all classes, while among the SardiinV ans the adder is frequently added to broths and soups. Crocodile flesh is publicly sold in the meat markets of Senaar, in Africa, and in Siam one sees the carcasses hung up for sale like sheep in butchers-shops. The flesh of this great aquatic lizard tastes somewhat like veal, although to Occidentals it has: a faint fishy smell. In South America the cayman, or alligator, affords a dish, when boiled or fried, which is said to be just as tasty as rabbit. Both crocodile and alligator eggs are much prized by certain nations. The, natives of Madagascar are particularly fond of the first and the Siamese prize the second as a great, dainty. . In flavor the eggs are said to resemble those of a duck that feeds mostly among the sea garbage of a fore shore plus a very faint seasoning of musk. It is the common sea turtle, though, which lias won the highest commendations as an edible reptile. It is a species used in the preparation of the hereditary dish at most of the city banquets throughout England, the supply being sent from Jamaica and the Antilles, the favorite resort of these much prized reptiles, which travel hundreds of miles in order to deposit their eggs. BRAZILIANS PREFER SLIPPERY TURTLE. A single turtle of the Amazon is a heavy load for a strong man, but though much larger than the Caribbean species, it is coarser in flesh. At Ega every house has its turtle pond, which is stocked for the winter when the Amazon runs low. There are several excellent methods of preparing turtle for the table. The Brazilians cut. steaks from the breast and roast them; the lean parts are also roasted; sausages are made of the stomach, and the entrails are used in preparing stock for soup. The usual way is just the simple one of boiling the turtle in its own shell. Newly hatched turtle, with, the remains of the yolk inside it, is particularly dainty and nourishing, we are told. On the continent the tortoise takes the place of the turtle, where the reptiles are fattened on bread and lettuce leaves, that is to say, in normal times; The mud tortoise is preferred in Province and Languedoc, where, as in Italy and Greece, its blood is drunk and its eggs and flesh are cooked to satisfy the Lenten hunger of the devout, the tortoise being considered by the clergy as a fish. Of the batrachians used as food, the frog is the most popular and most historical; the French, Germans, Italians and Belgians all being noted throughout the centuries for their frog-eating proclivities. The frog is in best condition for the table in the autumn, just before it takes to the water for the winter, but is most popular as food during the spring, for it is then easier to catch. The French usually eat only the hind quarters, dressed in wiua or served with a white sauce, when it is an exceedingly dainty and nourishing dish, finer in flavor than a chicken. But the Germans and the Walloons of Belgium use every part of the animal save its skin and intestines. The species in favor for table purposes is that known as the green frog, though the red frog, much eaten in Italy, is just as good. There is no doubt whatever that the toad is often served in place of the frog in countries where frogs are much used. BAKED ELEPHANT FOOT IN SOUTH AFRICA. But there are many tastes in the dietary of the nations. In many parts of Europe bears flesh is in great demand, even in normal times, being esteemed a great delicacy, and smoked bears tongue and hams are also highly prized. From bear liver are made sausages dear to the stomach of the Teuton. Tiger flesh, is eaten in many parts of India. Lions flesh is good to eat, we are told, and much in favor among the Hottentots and other South African tribes, who are also as fond of rhinoceros as any good Occidental is of a good steak. Rhinoceros flesh is said to taste something like, beef and pork blended. But it is the elephants foot which wins most tributes in South Africa, and there are Europeans who agree with the natives. Those who have eaten the baked foot of an elephant have gone so far as to say it is a dish for a king. The flesh of the elephant may resemble, when cooked, nothing more than a composition of soft leather and glue, but these experts declare there is nothing like the foot. This is cut off at the knee joint; then a hole about three feet deep is dug in the ground and the sides of it are baked hard with burning wood.; The embers are removed in time and the foot is placed in the hole, which is tlten filled up with earth tightly rammed down. A great fire is built above it and kept blazing for three. Jiours. At the end of that time the foot is removed, and the casing of hide and earth peeled off. The flesh is now like a jelly and may be eaten with a spoon. It is said to be ono -.of the greatest delicacies in the world. If we were hard pushed for a new animal food it would be a long time before bats. were: chosen for a desirable addition to the table; but the French in Tahiti anJ other islands of that grounp find the "flying fox," a. bat measuring -Some fifteen inches across the wings, an especially edible animal. It is prepared, for food by first cutting off the wings and then passing the body through the fire to remove the fur, and with it the strong foxy smell with which it is impregnated. It is then carefully scraped, split open and- grilled on the embers spatchcock fashion, when it is ready for the table,, and is capital eatings to are assured, having a rich gamy flavor somewhat like that of a linre., .. , . But in such dissimilar tilings as edible odds t. and ends the most unlooked for occurrence is often come across. Perhaps among the most singular of these is that connected with the use of the white ant as food. Eaten iu many parts of the. East Indies and in various parts of Central ,.and Soutli America, not only by flic. poor but by tiie well-to-do, the white ant Is prepared in .much the same way as obtains In different, parts .of Africa, where the ant and the wasp form a staple supply of food to. .the natives, .The method of collecting and cooking them is to skim off with a calabashes the insects that at time of swarming or migration fall into the water, then they are, patched in iron pots over a slow fire, and frequently stirred as n roasting coffee beans. In this dried state the white ant is looked upon as a most delicious food, and, strangely enough, when pounded and made, into a paste this queer edible has an exceedingly close resemblance, both in flavor and substance, to that toothsome sweetmeat,, marzipan. More than once travelers had .declared that they never tasted anything so delicious.
