Evening Republican, Volume 20, Number 226, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 20 September 1916 — Page 2

What Strancge foods Have You Eaten?

Here’s a fellow who has tasted at least once every sort of outlandish, ub he’s heard of— including snake and butcher bird v v V v

HY GRANDFATHER was a devoted stamp collector. I had an aunt who spent her entire life and an annuity acquiring china plates which nobody was ever al- ’ lowed to use. My father had so much pewter In his home mat the place almost tinkled ns you crossed the threshold. My only sister has a unique assortment of samplers to show for a life of industry and vigilance. Is it any wonder that I inherited the collecting habit? asks Percy Waxman in the New York Tribune. Then he goes on to tell his •story: My acquisitive instinct, _h<>\yeyer L has taken an entirely different Turn. I am a collector of tastes. From early childhood the gustatory novelty 'has possessed an inordinate charm for me. I have a seemingly Inexhaustible curiosity where unheard-of edibles are concerned. Needless to say, this rather unusual form of the collecting mania from which I suffer has led me into many queer eating adventures, some of which have proved most amusing as well as highly instructive. As a boy I lived in Australia, and it was there that I handled my first gun. It was presented to me on my twelfth birthday. I had to promise to shoot only for educational purposes or to . obtain food. ’• Fifteen miles away from the city of Melbourne is a delightfully hilly district known as Diamond creek. I decided that Diamond creek should be the scene of my first attack on the brute creation. In and out of the gum tree cloisters I scraped and snooped and dodged, aping the heroes of all the hunting stories I had ever read. On and on I panted till at last I saw a strange looking bird alight on top of a blue gum. A joyful tremor went through me. I poised my gun. I took alm. I pulled the trigger. Bang! and oh, joy of joys! down fell my first “game.” To my boy’s eyes my bfrd seemed the largest, wildest and most ferocious thing in the world. In reality ItL was a little larger than a robin. I looked Bt the bird. It was quite strange to me. I had never seen its like before. The sun was straight overhead. That meant lunch. The brilliant inspiration came to me that in obedience to my promise I ought to eat my prey. 1 cleaned him in the creek as a boy cleans things and patiently roasted my quarry. And then 1 ate him. The flavor seemed a little did not taste anything like the kind of game Igot at home. It tasted almost “queer.” Several days later I again went shooting, this time accompanied by a much older boy, who knew lots and lots about game and bush lore and things. To my delight, shortly after we had plunged into the bush I brought down another of these gray birds and proudly came running to where my companion was, to show him my prize. To my amazed horror he burst out laughing. "And is that the kind of bird you ate?” he roared. “Do you know what that is?” “No.” “That is a butcher bird! It’s one of the buzzard family.” I don’t suppose many of my readers have ever sipped the delectable thirst destroyer known as kava. I sincerely hope not. Its native heath is Samoa. I had often read of the celestial inspiration to be derived from hashish, sake and other exotic liquids, and before landing in Apia I used to wonder If Robert Louis Stevenson’s afflatus had ever received any assistance from Ikava. It was almost under the shadow of {Stevenson’s own Vailma that my own brief, never-to-be-forgotten plunge into a bowl of kava splashed its way indelibly into my personal history. I had sneaked off by myself to pay a visit to a native hut. There in a cone-shaped, thatched, beehive-like (abode of smell I was invited to try the famous Samoan drink, a whiteygray liquid, much betrothed, resembling for all the world that which is found in the humble boiler on Mondays after the linen has just been hung out to dry. My first sip tasted all right, and I think I became perhaps a little overconfident and increased the pressure of my intake too speedily. Five minutes after my first sip I was whirling

HURT HIM TO “LOOSEN UP”

College Tightwad In Distress at Having to Pay, as He Put Up, “Two Bits a Twist." Occasionally the proverbial college spender tfnds his opposite In the padlocked pocketbook variety. One of these rar<* examples was thrown among * group of “always broke" Individuals In the close bonds of fraternal brotherJbood at DePauw. j It was well known that Irish had

through Elysian fields at one thousand miles an hour. When 1 came to I was lying in what would have been a corner of the hut if It had not been built quite round, and a rather copiously built Samoan lady was smiling tolerantly at me while' she fanned me with a Tapa cloth. I was presented with an inventory tabulating various articles of furniture and expensive heirlooms which had somehow or other been utterly destroyed during my kavagaries. And now a word or two about the manner of making this Samoan nut sundae. Large, copper-colored ladies, whose facilities for mastication are considered perfect, chew the root of the kava plant until it is time to —er — er —er —you know, into the kava bowl. Then water and cocoanut milk are added. The concoction is allowed to ferment. Then it is ready to shoot. On a fishing and shooting expedition in a remote corner of New South Wales, meat became rather scarce. One day we found ourselves almost entirely out of supplies. With no immediate opportunity of receiving any, I made up my mind to try an experiment and add roast kangaroo to the bill of fare for supper. — I make no pretenseat flattery when I pay my honest tribute to the magnificent upholstery possessed by the hindquarters of a kangaroo, alive or roasted. When I attempted to dispose of my portion of the succulent dish it seemed as If an automobile tire stricken with wanderlust had strayed into my dish. It possessed a Krupplike recoil that acted reflexly. And the flavor! Well, the, flavor of roast kangaroo is supplied entirely by the imagination. „ Experienced bushwhackers had often told me that the Australian aboriginals looked upon snakes as more or less of a table delicacy. So one day ip the bush, on a kangaroo hunt, fate led me to cross the path of a huge diamond snake. I interrupted his slumbers rather rudely by blowing his head off. When the time arrived to prepare him for dinner I bad him coiled up In.a ball of clay according to the natjvVmethod and baked. In the search for knowledge there must be martyrs, of course, but I will gracefully step aside in future and Jet who Will wrest from me without a struggle the right to inform a waiting world what it feels like to indulge in diamond snake baked. . Can you imagine having a quart of chewing gum suddenly thrust into your unwilling mouth in such a way that you cannot get it out? Well, that’s bow a mouthful of snake beSeated on the bank of a Greek one day in New South Wales. I wasTfilsily removing leeches from the* inside of my leggings, when a flash of brown fur whipped across my path. I grabbed my gun and let drive at the curious creature, and when I hopped on one leg to the scene of Its demise I picked up what looked like a colossal guinea pig masquerading as a rat. It was a bandicoot.

a plentiful supply of hard coin, but with it an ability to hold on to it through thick and thin. This tenacity was carried to an extreme that worried the empty-pocketed brothers and any shock that cost Irish a “bone” was a source of amusement. Unfortunately, the Irishman played class football and in the melee sprained a toe. With a long face he went to a prominent physician and had the Injured member bandaged. When he came home it was with a downcast front to announce “Lost four bits,”

THE EVENING REPUBLICAN, RENSSELAER, IND.

My native boy told me excitedly that bandicoot was grand to eat —“all the same them plurry pfeller pig”—' and so I had the one I shot taken home and roasted. I have never seen anything on a dish that had such a far-off, hopeless look as that particular specimen when It appeared on the table. Three bites was enough. Although I have never knowingly tasted roasted house rat, I have a well defined belief that is what the flavor of bandicoot really resembles. Here is a little inside war news. Now that Italy has taken a hand in the struggle, let me prophesy that even if her entire navy be sunk all the blockades in the world will not starve her into submission. Dn a cruise in the Mediterranean some years ago I put in at the delightful island of Ischia, in the Gulf of Naples.. In the chief hotel there I had one of my choicest gustatory adventures. I saW a name on the menu that sounded musical to me, so I pointed at it. An obliging waiter brought it. It was indeed a most curious looking dish. It appeared to be a large, horny tarantula that had committed suicide in a bowl of oil. At first I thought it must be a table decoration or a souvenir of my visit. But, no; I saw the same dish handed to other guests, who began to eat it. It turned out to be that popular Neapolitan delicacy, fried octopus. t ried octopus is a very satisfying dish. One piece satisfied me. It took several glasses of water to remove the queer feeling I had of having swallowed something alive. For years and years I had longed to meet a cup of Mocha coffee in its native lair, far from where slant-eyed suspicion could poison the cup with doubts of its genuineness. So when at last I found myself at Aden* I dashed madly to a coffee house where the delectable Arabian brew was said to be had. I do not think it could have been a very high-class coffee house. It did not smell aristocratic. But I cared not. Was I not in the sacred land of the original coffee bean? In a fever of anticipation I called for a cup of Mocha. A smiling son of the prophet salaamed gracefully and withdrew with a confident air. In a few moments he returned and handed me something semiliquid, of about the same consistency as honey, in a cup that strongly resembled the receptacle an Englishman uses for boiled eggs. I tried it. and Instantly found it guilty. I tried it again. I stirred it. That seemed to irritate the thing, and bring out all its worst characteristics. I tried coaxing it. It tasted like Portland cement through which a little —a very little— molasses had been permitted to percolate. It was too thick to drink or inhale, so I attempted to chew it. Evidently I was not educated to the stuff. I had to give it up.

Impossible.

She —I do believe there is a secret vegetable trust in the markets. ' He —Couldn’t be. There would bound to be a leek somewhere.

and his lower jaw dropped still lower. “He just looked at it and turned it a couple of times. Reckon it was two bits a twist." —Indianapolis News.

Color Harmony.

“I’d like a box of cigars, please,” said, the young wife, blushing rosily, “They're for my husband. It’s hie birthday tomorrow.” ® “Docs he prefer them light or inquired fjiejsaleaman. “Oh, light, by all means. He has d blonde mustaclin.”

SUGAR NOT NEEDED

USE BOILING WATER AS SUBSTI. TUTE WHEN CANNING FRUIT. t Experts of United States Department of Agriculture Tell How Saving In Cost May Be Effected, With Good Results. (Prepared by the United States Department of Agriculture.) (From Weekly News Letter.) Fruit for use in pies or salads or as stewed fruit can be put up or canned without the use of any sugar at all, according to the canning specialists of the United States department of agriculture. They, therefore, advise those who, because of the high price of sugar, have been thinking of reducing the amount of fruit they put up, to can as much of their surplus as possible by the use of boiling water when sugar sirup is beyond their means. Any fruit, they say, may be successfully sterilized and retained in the pack by simply adding boiling water instead of the hot sirup. The use of sugar, of course, Is desirable in the canning of all kinds of fruits and maker a better and ready sweetened product. Moreover, most of the fruits when canned in water alone do not retain their natural flavor, texture, and color as well as fruit put up in sirup. Fruit canned without sugar to be used for ssjuces or desserts must be sweetened. Can the product the same day it is picked. Cull, stem, or seed, and clean the fruit by placing it in a strainer and pouring water over it until it is clean. Pack the product thoroughly in glass jars or tin cans until they are full; use the handle of a tablespoon, wooden ladle, or table knife for packing purposes. Pour over the fruit boiling water from a kettle, place rubbers and caps in position, partially soul if using glass jars, seal completely if using tin cans. Place the containers in a sterilizing vat, such as a wash boiler with false bottom, or other receptacle improvised for the purpose. If using a hot-water bath outfit, process for 30 minutes; count time after the w’ater has reached the boiling point; the water must cover the highest jar in the container. After sterilizing remove packs, seal glass jors, wrap in paper to prevent bleaching, and store in a dry, cool place. If you are canning in tin cans it will improve the product to plunge the cans quickly into cold water immediately after sterilization. When using a steam pressure canner instead of the hotwater bath, sterilize for ten minutes with five pounds of steam pressure. Never allow the pressure to go over ten pounds.

Blueberry Cake.

No. I—lnto your mixing howl sift one pint of flour, two teaspoonfuls of cream of tartar, one of soda, one-half teaspoonful of salt and one scant cupful of sugar. Rub into this a tablespoonful of butter. Beat an egg in a cup and fill the cup with milk. Add and heat all together.. Last, add one large cupful of blueberries, stir in lightly, bake in shallow pan. Spread with butter when you eat it and be h a PPy- _ _ No. 2—One cupful molasses, one-half cupful sugar, one tablespoonful butter, one egg, one-half cupful coffee or cold tea, a pinch of salt and one teaspoonful soda sifted in one pint of flour. Last one pint of blueberries. Bake in shallow pans. Do not burn.

Watermelon Cocktail.

■ Serve in glasses as a first course at luncheon or dinner. Cut cubes of watermelons from the center of a ripe melon, well chilled. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and ground ginger root. Cinnamon may be used in place of ginger if desired. At a card party we served the following luncheon, only laclies being present: Creamed oysters in patty cases and potato croquettes, Waldorf salad, Parker House rolls, maple mousse, gold and angel cake, coffee, almonds, olives, bonbons.

Chicken a La Hollandaise.

Take out the breast bone of a large young fowl and fill up the space with a nice force meat. Make a batter as for fritters, and when the fowl is half roasted pour the batter over it, let dry and then pour on more until it is thickly coated and a rich brown in color. Remove from pan, cut up as for a fricassee, place on platter, lay corn fritters around the edge of dish, scatter some sprigs of parsley over and serve at once with melted butter and lemon quarters. Oyster force meat is nice.

Washington Cream Pie.

This is a very nice recipe. It makes two thin layers. Two tablespoonfuls of butter, one egg. one cupful of milk, one-half teaspoonful vanilla, one cupful sugar, one and. pne-half cupfuls flour, two teaspoonfuls baking powder. Cream butter and sugar; add egg unbeaten. Mix well and beat. Add milk and flour alternately.

Fruit-Stain Remover.

Fallowing is a simple method of removing fruit stains from the most delicate colors as easily as from white. Before the goods are wet moisten the spot-with r camphor and the stain will come out when washed. Stains on table linen should be treated thus before being washed.

Ironing Hint.

Iron the button side of a waist in a folded bath towel, buttons turned downward. It will prevent them from breaking.

CANNING CORN FOR WINTER

Try This Method That la Recommended by the United States Department of Agriculture. corn from cob when it is at the proper stage and In filling the cans or glass jars in which it is to be preserved put some corn in the bottom, ’'moshing this down with a cob from which the corn has been cut. until the milk comes out well. Put in another layer and mash again, and so on until the jar is full. The cans should be slightly heaping and the covers then screwed on tight. When the cans are filled and covers on they should be put In the boiler a mJ. set on a cart or frame so that they will not touch the bottom. And they should be so arranged that they will not touch each other. The boiler should then be filled with cold water, brought to a boil and alloWed to boll for four hours. Let Bta/id until water is cool; then remove cans and try covers to see if they are tight. The cans should be kept covered with water while boiling, and this may be done by keeping a kettle of boiling water handy. This method of canning is recommended by the department of agriculture as the most satisfactory for preserving corn, beans, peas and other vegetables.

SAVING TRIPS TO MAIL BOX

In These Days of Almost Universal Electricity, This Device Should Be In General Use. An invention which will no doubt prove interesting to those who live In rural or suburban districts is an improvement on the rural delivery mall boxes which are so common throughout the country now. In some places the houses, especially on farms,

are at considerable distance from the road where the mail boxes are erected on posts. In order to ascertain whether or not the postman has left any mall it is necessary to make a trip to the roadside and very often ■with the result that no mail is found. Now, the idea of this improved mail box is to save steps, as will be seen. A good idea of the construction of the device may be obtained by the illustration shown. It will be noticed that when the metal cover is lifted it comes into contact with the small brass strip affixed at the rear of the box, thus creating a complete circuit. Wires are run from this contact, and also from the metal lid, to the house where there is an electric bell, fitted with a battery, which is made to ring by the current created by the contact, thus announcing the definite arrival of the mail.

Blackberry Cordial.

Mash the blackberries and cook slowly without water for half an hour. Strain and measure the juice. To each quart add one-half pint of sugar, onehalf teaspoonful of cinnamon, onequarter teaspoonful of ground cloves and one-half nutmeg, grated. Boil onehalf hour, cool and add a gill of brandy. Bottle and keep in a cool place. This Is excellent for elderly people or for patients with a tendency to bowel trouble.

Fig Apple Jelly.

Pare five apples, core and slice into a pan with one and one-half cupfuls of water. Chop six figs and add to the apples, cover and cook five minutes. Add one and one-half cupfuls of .sugar’ and cook until apples are soft, stirring occasionally. Remove from fire and stir in two tablespoonfuls of gelatin w’hich has been soaked a few minutes in'one cupful cold water. Stir and pour into mold and set away to harden.

Raspberry Souffle.

Rub one quart of raspberries through a sieve, add two-thirds cupful of sugar and the stiffly beaten whites of six eggs. lightly, turn into a buttered baking dish and bake from 30 to 40 minutes. Serve immediately .with cream, either plain or whipped.

For Your Carpet Sweeper.

To keep the wood pulleys on carpet sweeper brushes from slipping after they have worn smooth, simply wrap once or twice with adhesive tape. This will also keep the pulleys from wearing unevenly with the grain of the wood.

New Use for Macaroni.

A stick of macaroni will serve in place of a glass tube for a parent who cannot sit up to drink, or will sometimes induce a child to drink its milk when otherwise it would not.

Lard “Chopped."

When you have any lard to try out, run the fat through the foodchopper, for it is much easier than cutting It, and besides it will try out much quicker and with less waste.

P3I Sliced Dried Bee® Both contain less heat producing) properties than heavy meats. Try them for summes luncheona picnic tidbits. Xibby, McNeill a Libby? Chicago S Insist sn Libby’s (A your grocer’*/ lOi>. Skinner’s THE HIGHEST QUALITY SPAGHETTI 36 tye Recipe Book Free SKINNER MFG.CO. OMAHA. USA AASGUV MACARONI FACTORY IN AMUICA THE~HIiHQUATITY’ BEWINO MACHINE NEV-’KOME NOT 80LD UNDER ANY OTHER NAME Write for free booklet “Points to be considered before purchasing a Sewing Machine.” Learn the facts. THE NEW HOME BEWING MACHINE CO.,ORANGE,MASB. “ROUGHon

FOUND HE COULD DO BETTER

Story of Man Who Turned From Hla Wickedness Ended in Somewhat Unexpected Manner. The late John Philip Quinn, the reformed gambler, who for 20 years traveled all over America exposing the electric roulette wheel and other cheating devices had a reform story that he would tell while exhibiting his queer paraphernalia in his private car. “Don’t be afraid of reform,” he said. “Help every poor devil who wants to reform. The way most people act, you’d think they all believed religiously In the reform story. “ ‘You stopped smoking because she asked you to?’ was the question put to a solemn-looking chap. “ ‘Yep.’ “ ‘And you stopped drinking because she asked you to?’ -r “ ‘Yep.’ “ ‘And you gave up your poker parties and went Into refined, serious society for the same reason?’ “ ‘Yep, yep, yep.’ “‘And then, I suppose, you married her.’ “ ‘Well, you see, after I’d reformed like that, I found I could do better.’ ”

Foreign Substance.

Doctor —There’s the original prescription. I can’t imagine how you mixed your signature In with the other Ingredients.

Clean Job.

Mrs. Bacon—Did you ever try to get your husband to wash the dishes?” Mrs. Egbert—Oh, yes, once. “Why only once?” “Because after the first time there were no dishes to wash.”

Unreasonable Assumption.

"Nero fiddled while Rome burned.” “I don’t believe it. No violinist would permit a pyrotechnic display on the same program with himself.”

f GrapWNuts Gets Attention— First, because of its wonderfully delicious flavor —- Then again, because it is ready to eat —fresh and crisp from the package. But the big “get attention” quality is its abundance of wellbalanced, easily digestible nourishment For sound health, every table should have its daily ration of Grape-Nuts — “There’s a Reason*.