STRANGE FOOD.

Otago Witness, Issue 1974, 19 September 1889, Page 32

STRANGE FOOD.

As far as is known, no spf cies of bird is absolutely uneatable, at any rate none is poisonous. Once, when a lad, I stewed a jackdaw, and, though the flesh was tough, the gravy was most savoury and tempting. Few four-footed animals are uneatable, and it is only among fishes and fruits that we find poisons. My brother once brought me two squirrels which he had shot, and having read that gipsies relished them, we watched our opportunity, and, in the absence of the family, set to work over the dining room fire and stewed them; and I must confess that, whether it was owing to the share we had had in preparing them, or to the omnivorous nature of boys' appetites, we had no cause to complain that the dish lacked tenderness, flavour, or wholesomeness; but I do not suggest that these charming little rodents should be slaughtered by way of general experiment. Jugged cat I have not eaten; but a clergyman once told me that he and some clerical friends, living in rooms together, were much tormented by the frequent visits of a venerable clerical brother, •w-bo would drop in when least wanted, and who was not satisfied unless a rich r meal was forthwith prepared for his capacious appetite. One day these young scapegraces obtained a large cat, which the book most skilfully prepared for the delectation of che old clergyman, who had been duly invited, . thus forestalling one of his usual visits. Some excuse was made, and the old fellow, much to his joy, found himself the sole partaker of a large and delicious dish of hare, and he ate as only the rectorial appetite could eat. Never had he tasted anything co choice ; the flavour, the tenderness, the gravy, and the jelly were most tempting. The sequel to the 3tory is not, however, what I could wish. At last, when his appetite had been, satisfied, one of his host began uttering cries like those of the cat, and after a little time the guest awoke to the startling consciousness that he had demolished a large cat. He was almost at once taken ill, and for some days was in extreme danger. W.hether that was due to the character of the meal or the enormous quantity he had contrived, to dispose of was never ascertained. He stoutly maintained the former and his

hosts the latter. However that may be, the experience of the siege of Paris is conclusive that, in moderation, hardly any animal is unwholesome ; for not only were horses, dogs, and cats eaten when they could be got, but hippopotami, elephants, and mules. — " Strange Food," in the " Oornhill Magazine."