FOOTNOTES:

When M. De Blainville states he has never heard that any of theHolothuriæwere of much utility to mankind, but that M. Delle Chiaje does indeed inform us that the poor inhabitants of the Neapolitan coasts eat them, he appears to have forgotten the great oriental traffic carried on with some of the species, as an article of food.

Some years ago, in myColonial Magazine, I called attention to the fact, that the fishing for, and shipment of, this sea-slug to China might prove a very profitable trade, but it seems to be an employment for which European seamen are by no means well adapted.

It can be fished for in the Indian Ocean, from the Mauritius and Ceylon to New Guinea, in the Pacific; and is to be procured from any of the South Sea Islands. It abounds in the seas along the shores of the Bermuda Islands, and some is said to be shipped from Boston and other ports of the United States to Canton.

The late Sir W. Reid, when Governor of the Bermudas,endeavoured to direct the attention of the inhabitants to the collection of it round their shores, where it is common, with a view to curing it for the purpose of exportation. He even went so far as to make soup from it, and I understand, partook of it at his own table. His advice, however, does not seem to have been followed, as up to the present time none has been collected. It could be made a profitable article of export, if the Bermudians chose to try the experiment, as the curing process is very simple.

A company for carrying out this fishery was projected at Perth, in Western Australia, in 1836, but it was never prosecuted with any spirit, and soon dropped. Tripang is now carried into China from almost every island of the Eastern Archipelago, and also from Northern Australia.

The quantity sent from Macassar alone is about 9,000 cwt., and half as much from Java. Probably between 4,000 and 5,000 tons go annually to China, where the demand is perfectly unlimited.

The best and most detailed account I have met with respecting the taking and preparing of this eastern luxury, is in theNarrative of the United States Exploring Expedition in the Feejee Islands, by Commander Charles Wilkes, of the American Navy: ‘Of the bêche-de-mer,’ he says, ‘there are several kinds, some of which are much superior in quality to the others; they are distinguishable both by shape and colour, but more particularly by the latter. One of the inferior kinds is slender, and of a dark brown colour, soft to the touch, and leaves a red stain on the hands; another is of grey colour and speckled; a third is large, and dark yellow, with a rough skin, and tubercles onits sides. The second kind is often eaten raw by the natives.

‘The valuable sorts are six in number: one of a dark red colour; a second is black, from two inches to nine inches in length, and its surface, when cured, resembles crape; a third kind is large, and of a dark grey colour, which, when cured, becomes a dirty white; the fourth resembles the third, except in colour, which is a dark brown; the fifth variety is of a dirty white colour, with tubercles on its sides, and retains its colour when cured; the sixth is red, prickly, and of a different shape and larger size than the others; when cured, it becomes dark.

‘The most esteemed kinds are found on the reefs, in water from one to two fathoms in depth, where they are caught by diving. The inferior sorts are found on reefs which are dry, or nearly so, at low water, where they are picked up by the natives. The natives also fish the bêche-de-mer on rocky coral bottoms, by the light of the moon or of torches, for the animals keep themselves drawn up in holes in the sand or rocks by day, and come forth by night to feed, when they may be taken in great quantities. The motions of the animal resemble those of a caterpillar; and it feeds by suction, drawing in with its food much fine coral and some small shells.

‘Captain Eagleston stated that the bêche-de-mer is found in greatest abundance on reefs composed of a mixture of sand and coral. The animal is rare on the southern side of any of the islands, and the most lucrative fisheries are on the northern side, particularly on that of Vanua levu, between Anganga and Druan. In this place, the most frequent kind is that which resemblescrape. In some places the animal multiplies very fast; but there are others where, although ten years have elapsed since they were last fished, none are yet to be found.

‘The bêche-de-mer requires a large building to dry it in. That erected by Captain Eagleston on the Island of Tavan, is 85 feet long, about 15 or 20 feet wide, and nearly as much in height. The roof has a double pitch, falling on each side of the ridge to eaves, which are about five feet from the ground. The roof is well thatched, and ought to be perfectly water-tight. There are usually three doors, one at each end, and one in the middle of one of the sides. Throughout the whole length of the building is a row of double staging, called batters, on which reeds are laid.

‘On the construction of this staging much of the success of the business depends. It ought to be supported on firm posts, to which the string-pieces should be well secured by lashing. The lower batter is about four feet from the ground, and the upper from two to three feet above it. Their breadth is from twelve to fourteen feet. Upon the large reeds with which the batters are covered is laid the ‘fish fence,’ which is made by weaving or tying small cords together. This is composed of many pieces, the height of each of which is equal to the breadth of the batter.

‘A trench is dug under the whole length of the batters, in which a slow fire is kept up by the natives under the direction of one of the mates of the vessel. The earth from the trench is thrown against the sides of the house, which are at least two or three feet from the nearest batter, in order to prevent accident from fire. This is liable to occur, not only from carelessness, butfrom design on the part of the natives. As a further precaution, barrels filled with water are placed, about eight feet apart, along both sides of the batters.

‘After the house has been in use for about a week, it becomes very liable to take fire, in consequence of the drying and breaking of the material used in the lashings. In this case it is hardly possible to save any part of the building or its contents. To prevent the falling of the stages by the breaking of the lashings, fresh pieces of cordage are always kept at hand to replace those which are charred and show signs of becoming weak. A constant watch must be kept up night and day, and it requires about 15 hands to do the ordinary work of a house.

‘The fires are usually extinguished once in twenty-four hours, and the time chosen for this purpose is at daylight. The fish are now removed from the lower to the upper batter, and a fresh supply introduced in their place. This operation, in consequence of the heat of the batter, is hard and laborious, and 50 or 60 natives are usually employed in it.

‘Fire-wood is of course an important article in this process, each picul of bêche-de-mer requiring about half a cord to cure it. This fuel is purchased from the chiefs, who agree to furnish a certain quantity for a stipulated compensation. As much as 20 cords are sometimes bought for a single musket. In carrying on the drying, it is important that the doors be kept shut while the fires are burning. Much also depends upon the location of the house, whose length should be at right angles to the course of the prevailing winds. The batters also should be nearest to the lee side of the house.

‘Before beginning the fishery, the services of somechief are secured, who undertakes to cause the house to be built, and sets his dependents at work to fish the bêche-de-mer. The price is usually a whale’s tooth for a hogshead of the animals, just as they are taken on the reef. It is also bought with muskets, powder, balls, vermilion, paint, axes, hatchets, beads, knives, scissors, chisels, plane-irons, gouges, fish-hooks, small glasses, flints, cotton cloths, chests, trunks, &c. Of beads, in assorted colours, the blue are preferred, and cotton cloth of the same colour is most in demand. For one musket, a cask containing from 130 to 160 gallons has been filled ten times. When the animals are brought on shore, they are measured into bins, where they remain until the next day.

‘These bins are formed by digging a trench in the ground, about two feet in depth, and working up the sides with cocoa-nut logs, until they are large enough to contain forty or fifty hogsheads. If the fishery is successful, two of these may be needed.

‘Near the bins are placed the trade-house and trade-stand. In the first, the articles with which the fish is purchased are kept; and, in the second, the officer in charge of them sits, attended by a trusty and watchful seaman. The stand is elevated, so that the persons in it may have an opportunity of seeing all that is taking place around them. All the fish are thrown into the bin before they are paid for.

‘In these bins the fish undergo the operation of draining and purging, or ejecting their entrails. These, in some of the species, resemble pills, in others look like worms, and are as long as the animals themselves.

‘The larger kinds are then cut along the belly for a length of three or four inches, which makes them curemore rapidly; but care must be taken to avoid cutting too deep, as this would cause the fish to spread open, and diminish its value in the market.

‘When taken out of the bins and cut, the fish are thrown into the boilers, which are large pots, of which each establishment has five or six. These pots have the form of sugar-boilers, with broad rims, and contain from one hundred to one hundred and fifty gallons.

‘They are built in a row, in rude walls of stone and mud, about two feet apart, and have sufficient space beneath them for a large fire. The workmen stand on the walls to fill and empty the pots, and have within reach a platform, on which the fish is put after it has been boiled.

‘It requires two men to attend each pot, who relieve each other, so that the work may go on night and day. They are provided with skimmers and ladles, as well as fire-hooks, hoes, and shovels.

‘No water is put into the pots, for the fish yield moisture enough to prevent burning.

‘The boiling occupies from 25 to 50 minutes, and the fish remains about an hour on the platform to drain, after which it is taken to the house, and laid to a depth of four inches upon the lower batter. Thence at the end of twenty-four hours it is removed, as has been stated, to the upper batter, where it is thoroughly dried in the course of three or four days. Before it is taken on board ship, it is carefully picked, when the damp pieces are separated, to be returned to the batter. It is stowed in bulk, and when fit for that purpose should be as hard and dry as chips. Great care must be taken to preserve it from moisture.

‘In the process of drying, it loses two-thirds both of its weight and bulk, and when cured, resembles smokedsausage. In this state it is sold by the picul, which brings from 15 to 25 dollars.

‘Captain Eagleston had collected in the course of seven months, and at a trifling expense, a cargo of 1,200 piculs, worth about 25,000 dollars.

‘The outfit for such a voyage is small, but the risk to be incurred is of some moment, as no insurance can be effected on vessels bound to the Feejee Group, and it requires no small activity and enterprise to conduct this trade. A thorough knowledge of the native character is essential to success; and it requires all possible vigilance on the part of the captain of the vessel to prevent surprise, and the greatest caution to avoid difficulties. Even with the exercise of these qualities, he may often find himself and his crew in perilous positions.

‘In order to lessen the dangers as much as possible, no large canoes are ever allowed to remain alongside the vessel, and a chief of high rank is generally kept on board as a hostage. When those precautions have not been taken, accidents have frequently happened.

‘The bêche-de-mer is sometimes carried to Canton, but more usually to Manila, whence it is shipped to China.

‘In order to show the profits which arise from the trade in bêche-de-mer, I give the cost and returns of five cargoes, obtained by Captain Eagleston in the Feejee Group. These he obligingly favoured me with.

‘A further profit also arises from the investment of the proceeds in Canton. Capt. Eagleston also obtained 4,488 pounds of tortoise shell, at a cost of 5,700 dollars, which sold in the United States for 29,050 dollars net.

In Mr. Crawfurd’sIndian Archipelago, vol. iii., there are also the following details:—

‘The tripang is an unseemly-looking substance, of a dirty brown colour, hard, rigid, scarcely possessing any power of locomotion, nor appearance of animation. Some of the fish are occasionally as much as two feet in length, and from seven to eight inches in circumference: the length of a span, and the girth of from two to three inches, however, is the ordinary size. The quality or value of the fish, however, does by no means depend upon its size, but upon properties in them neither obvious to, nor discernible by, those who have not had a long and intimate experience of the trade. The Chinese merchants are almost the only persons who possess this skill, even the native fishermen themselves being often ignorant on the subject, and always leaving the cargo to be assorted by the Chinese on their return to port. The commercial classification made by the Chinese is curious and particular. In the market of Macassar, the greatest staple of this fishery, not less than thirty varieties are distinguished, varying in price from five Spanish dollars per picul to fourteen times that price, each being particularized by well-known names. To satisfy curiosity, I shall give a few of them, with their ordinary price:—

‘It is evident from this account that the tripang trade is one in which no stranger can embark with any safety, and it is consequently almost entirely in the hands of the Chinese. The actual fishery is managed, however, exclusively by the natives. The fish are caught by them on ledges of coral rock, usually at the depth of from three to five fathoms. The larger kinds, when in shallow water, are occasionally speared; but the most common mode of taking them is by diving for them in the manner practised for pearl oysters, and taking them up with the hands.’

*****

I have now gone through the list of ordinary and extraordinary foreign delicacies, and no doubt many of these have been read with surprise.

But there are many unexplained things in the food weEnglishmen consume even at the present time; for instance, although in the knackers’ yards we can account for every other portion of the carcase of the dead horse, no one knows what becomes of the heart and the tongue. Dr. Playfair, when lecturing at the South Kensington Museum recently, ‘on the application of Waste Substances,’ was staggered on this point, and therefore he had to inscribe it on his board ‘a mystery.’ It is questionable to my mind whether many of the smoked ostensible ox-tongues, imported from Russia, are not veritable horse-tongues.

The numerous herds of wild horses in Russia would easily furnish the 500 cwt. of tongues we import.

I am afraid that many little know too what they eat in the sausage-meat, the alamode beef, the polonies, and the mutton and veal pies of the pie-shops and street venders.

Whether the man who is said to have gone into the pie-shop, and throwing down a skinned cat on the counter in the presence of numerous customers exclaiming ‘that makes a dozen,’ did it out of malice or in the way of business, it would be difficult to determine. But it is always pleasant to see the vender partaking of his own pork or eel pies; it inspires confidence, as the witness proved to the Judge in Court.

‘You say you have confidence in the plaintiff, Mr. Smith.’

‘Yes, sir.’

‘State to the Court, if you please, what causes this feeling of confidence.’

‘Why, you see, sir, there’s allers reports ’bout eatin’-house-men, and I used to kinder think—’

‘Never mind what you thought—tell us what you know.’

‘Well, sir, one day I goes down to Cooken’s shop, an’ sez to the waiter, ‘Waiter,’ sez I, ‘gives’s a weal pie.’

‘Well sir, proceed.’

‘Well, just then Mr. Cooken comes up, and sez he, how du Smith, what be going to hav?

‘Weal pie, sez I.’

‘Good,’ sez he, ‘I’ll take one tu;’ so he sets down and eats one of his own weal pies right afore me.’

‘Did that cause your confidence in him?’

‘Yes, it did, sir; when an eatin’-house-keeper sets down afore his customers an’ deliberately eats one of his own weal pies, no man can refuse to feel confidence—it shows him to be an honest man.’

On the jamb of the door of an eating-house on the North Wall, Dublin, the curious might recently read the following announcement printed, conveying alarming intelligence to the gallant tars who frequent that port—‘Sailors’ vitals cooked here.’

Probably none of the foreign epicures, whose numerous dainties I have been placing before you, would eat hare and currant jelly, goose and apple-sauce, fish pies or parsley pasty like the Cornishman, or the squab pie of the Devonshire fisherman.

Now, while we are prone to ridicule others for their choice of food delicacies, we should look at home. Our epicures are extremely fond of woodcocks cooked un-gutted, and the standard dishes of Scotland, the haggis, sheep’s-head, tripe, and black puddings, are not palatable to every one.

We have seen, however, from our deliberate survey that whatever enriches the earth and proclaims the bounty of the Creator, illustrates His indulgent regard for Man as chief of the Animal orders. Rich provision has beenmade for his wants and for his tastes, making glad the fields, the meadows, the vineyards, the orchards, the waters, and the air, peopled as they are with things made to be quartered, and cooked, and eaten. Every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused if it be received with thanksgiving—‘Let no man judge you in meat or in drink.’ The Creator granted to the use of Man animal food as well as every green herb. Whatsoever is sold in the shambles and is set before you eat, therefore, asking no questions for conscience sake.

In the course of our investigation, we have seen how difficult it is to determine what isfoodand what really arefood delicacies; for thereupon the proverb rises before us—‘What’s one man’s meat, is another man’s poison.’

Some people eat arsenic in considerable quantities, and if not exactly food, they find it conducive to an enjoying state of existence. Certain tribes of Africans and South American Indians eat an unctuous kind of earth, which, if introduced into our workhouses as food, would raise an outcry far and wide. In some countries sea-weed is food, in others it is manure for land. While we ruthlessly destroy snails and frogs, our continental brethren fatten and feed upon them.

Thus do the food delicacies differ in different parts of the globe, the nature of the alimentary substances varying exceedingly, and the ‘daily bread’ assuming most diversified forms.

I have confined myself here to the Animal Food, because to have gone into the Vegetable Substances would have carried me too much into detail. As it is, I have only been able to skim over the surface, to make a brief enumeration of some of the more prominent delicacies.

A talented friend has well remarked—‘It is aprobable thing, that many new varieties of food will ultimately be produced artificially, but it would be difficult to persuade people to eat them knowingly. Handy Andy, in Lover’s tale, thought stewed leather breeches very fine tripe till he lighted on a button, which suddenly convinced him it was unwholesome food; and Sir Joseph Banks—so says Peter Pindar—did not think fleas equal to lobsters, though of the same genus.

‘The Berlin philosophers have been for many years trying to persuade the community that horse-flesh is good beef, unsatisfactorily; and, amongst civilized communities, it appears to be chiefly in France that people voluntarily eat cats, both as a relish and a vengeance, if we may trust the reports of the Tribunal of Correctional Police, though scandal has long accused inn-keepers, both in France and Spain, of thus feeding their guests, as a substitute for rabbits.

‘The French are chemists as well as cooks, and if fetid potato oil can be converted into a delicious scent akin to attar of roses, we may very well imagine that the partridge or venison bouquet may be obtained from other kinds of flesh.

‘Glue and scraps of gloves, boiled with garlic, are eaten in Spain, and there is, as I have already stated, an hiatus in the parchment specifications at the Patent Office, caused by an unlucky boy, who changed them away for tarts, in order that they might be stewed down, and converted into calves’-foot jelly. The mechanical problems written and graven on them were doubtless not precipitated on the delicate palates of the ladies or gentlemen consuming them at Almack’s, or elsewhere. It was but carbon gathered by the sheep inthe shape of grass from the earth’s surface—kid gloves in another form. Possibly Chemistry will ultimately enable us to make kid gloves and parchment without troubling goats or sheep for them, and artificial gelatine will become a substitute for calves’-feet. It is probable, that even now we occasionally eat old wool and hair in our gravy soups, as well as make it into what is facetiously called ‘felt cloth’—the fibres being glued instead of felted together; and in process of time we may prepare gelatinous tubes, analogous to wool and hair, from carbon, converted into gelatine. It certainly seems odd that a man’s coat should be convertible into his dinner; but ‘Imperial Cæsar,’ according to Hamlet, underwent as strange changes.[38]’

During the time of the Great Exhibition, in 1851, buffalo hides, and sheep and calf skins, advanced cent. per cent. in price. This was caused by the great demand for jellies in the refreshment rooms. Visitors then consumed jellies who never tasted jellies before; and as the usual material was not available, buffalo hides were purchased in tons in Liverpool, for the purpose of making these delicacies. Size and glue were used at first, but the hides were found to be cheapest. No one knows now what he eats in English confectionery. The natives of Java use the fresh hides of cattle as food,—nay even esteem them a dainty beyond any other part of the animal. The first pair of buckskin breeches seen in the South Sea Islands were so little understood, that the natives stuffed them with sea-weed, and had them boiled for dinner.

After the enumeration I have given you of FoodDelicacies, who shall venture to determine what is good eating? Some Europeans chew tobacco, the Hindoo takes to betel-nut and lime, while the Patagonian finds contentment in a bit of guano, and the Styrians grow fat and ruddy on arsenic. English children delight in sweetmeats and sugar-candy, while those of Africa prefer rock salt. A Frenchman likes frogs and snails, and we eat eels, oysters, and whelks. To the Esquimaux, train oil is your only delicacy. The Russian luxuriates upon his hide or tallow; the Chinese upon rats, puppy dogs, and sharks’ fins; the Kafir upon elephant’s foot and trunk, or lion steaks; while the Pacific Islander places cold missionary above every other edible. Why then should we be surprised at men’s feeding upon rattle-snakes and monkeys, and pronouncing them capital eating?

I do not know if any of the delicacies I have described may occasion what Charles Lamb calls ‘premonitory moistening of the nether lip,’ but I trust I may not have spoiled the reader’s appetite for dinner or supper. There is a saying of great truth, ‘that one half the world does not know how the other half lives.’ These pages will, I think, serve to verify the adage.

THE END.

LONDON:PRINTED BY G. PHIPPS, RANELAGH STREET, EATON SQUARE.

FOOTNOTES:[1]Stevenson’sTwenty Years’ Residence in South America.[2]Hooper’sMedical Dictionary.[3]Kohl’sRussia, and McGregor’sContinental Tariffs.[4]Johnston’sTravels in Southern Abyssinia, vol. 2, p. 226.[5]McMicking’sManila and the Philippines.[6]Ruschenberger’sVoyage Round the World, vol. 2. p. 337.[7]A Paper on Swine, read before the Worcester (Massachusetts) Agricultural Society.[8]Putnam’sMonthly Magazine.[9]Lettres sur les Substances Alimentaires, et particulièrement sur la Viande de Cheval.Par M. Isidore Geoffroy St. Hilaire. Paris, 1856.[10]Germantown Emporium.[11]Journal of the Society of Arts, vol. 2., p. 105.[12]Berncastle’sVoyage to China.[13]Bonnycastle’sSouth America.[14]Strong vinegar, veignia, or possibly catsup.[15]Query.—The dusky petrel.[16]Nautical Magazine, vol. 15, p. 5.[17]Part II.Buff. Hist.ch. 1. sec. 5.[18]Dr. TrumanOn Food and its Influence, &c.[19]MacMicking’sManila, &c.[20]History of the Fishmongers’ Company.[21]Dr. TrumanOn Food and its Influence.[22]Symonds’sObservations on the Fisheries of the West Coast of Ireland.[23]The Fish Fancier’s Own Book.[24]McCulloch’sStatistics of the British Empire.[25]Kane, inCanadian Journal, March 14th, 1858.[26]Natural History of Fishes, by Dr. Bushnan.[27]Schomburgk’sHistory of Barbados.[28]Miss Bunbury’sSummer in Northern Europe.[29]Wallace’sTravels on the Amazon.[30]Natural History of Insects.[31]Wallace’sTravels on the Rio Negro.[32]Journal de Pharmacie.[33]Annals of Natural History.[34]Kirby and Spence.[35]Symond’sObservations on the Fisheries of the West Coast of Ireland.[36]Molina’sNatural History of Chile.[37]Adam’sNatural History.[38]W. B. Adams, inSociety of Arts’ Journal.

[1]Stevenson’sTwenty Years’ Residence in South America.

[2]Hooper’sMedical Dictionary.

[3]Kohl’sRussia, and McGregor’sContinental Tariffs.

[4]Johnston’sTravels in Southern Abyssinia, vol. 2, p. 226.

[5]McMicking’sManila and the Philippines.

[6]Ruschenberger’sVoyage Round the World, vol. 2. p. 337.

[7]A Paper on Swine, read before the Worcester (Massachusetts) Agricultural Society.

[8]Putnam’sMonthly Magazine.

[9]Lettres sur les Substances Alimentaires, et particulièrement sur la Viande de Cheval.Par M. Isidore Geoffroy St. Hilaire. Paris, 1856.

[10]Germantown Emporium.

[11]Journal of the Society of Arts, vol. 2., p. 105.

[12]Berncastle’sVoyage to China.

[13]Bonnycastle’sSouth America.

[14]Strong vinegar, veignia, or possibly catsup.

[15]Query.—The dusky petrel.

[16]Nautical Magazine, vol. 15, p. 5.

[17]Part II.Buff. Hist.ch. 1. sec. 5.

[18]Dr. TrumanOn Food and its Influence, &c.

[19]MacMicking’sManila, &c.

[20]History of the Fishmongers’ Company.

[21]Dr. TrumanOn Food and its Influence.

[22]Symonds’sObservations on the Fisheries of the West Coast of Ireland.

[23]The Fish Fancier’s Own Book.

[24]McCulloch’sStatistics of the British Empire.

[25]Kane, inCanadian Journal, March 14th, 1858.

[26]Natural History of Fishes, by Dr. Bushnan.

[27]Schomburgk’sHistory of Barbados.

[28]Miss Bunbury’sSummer in Northern Europe.

[29]Wallace’sTravels on the Amazon.

[30]Natural History of Insects.

[31]Wallace’sTravels on the Rio Negro.

[32]Journal de Pharmacie.

[33]Annals of Natural History.

[34]Kirby and Spence.

[35]Symond’sObservations on the Fisheries of the West Coast of Ireland.

[36]Molina’sNatural History of Chile.

[37]Adam’sNatural History.

[38]W. B. Adams, inSociety of Arts’ Journal.

Transcriber’s Notes:New original cover art included with this eBook is granted to the public domain.Variations in spelling and hyphenation are retained.Perceived typographical errors have been changed.In the contents, Live Crablets eaten by the Chinese, corrected from 129 to 329.

Transcriber’s Notes:

New original cover art included with this eBook is granted to the public domain.

Variations in spelling and hyphenation are retained.

Perceived typographical errors have been changed.

In the contents, Live Crablets eaten by the Chinese, corrected from 129 to 329.

Back to Index Next