Among some curios lately brought from Mexico, is a cake made of the eggs
of water beetles.
This odd sort of edible resembles, outwardly, a biscuit made of coarse
brown or oatmeal flour. In taste it is not unlike the same wholesome
article of diet. As a matter of fact, water beetles hold a high place in
the domestic economy of the poorer natives of Mexico.
Their collection is, therefore, quite an industry, and one in which the
Indians, particularly, are adepts.
This is the plan of operation: Reeds are cut and placed along the
margins of lakes and ponds. Soon these reeds are covered by an
incredible number of eggs so minute that it is necessary to shake them
on a cloth to gather them.
These eggs are then put in bags and pounded.
The result is a coarse flour, which may be cooked in a great variety of
ways. All highly nutritious and stimulating. A vast number of beetles
are also collected and used as food for chickens, but notwithstanding
this immense demand, the supply suffers no appreciable diminution.
Louise Jamison.