* All carcasses of animals which are to be cooked, are placed on a block of wood, and pounded until every bone Is broken, care being taken not to tear or bruise the skin. They are then boiled or roasted on an open wood- fire, in hot sand or ashes, without removing the hide or feathers. The cooking is of a very inferior grade; the only spices used being salt and pepper. The kitchen utensils consist of common earthen or wooden ware. Very little time is taken for setting or decorating the table; knives, forks, napkins, &c., &c. , are dispensed with. All victuals are served in large wooden vessels. After the members of the chief's household and his guests have assembled, each person is sup- plied with a wooden spoon, and selects whatever he wishes out of the different vessels, using his hands in eating it. In the line of vegetables, they have also several dishes well liked by Europeans. N'gutti-N'sengo is a dish eaten all over Africa. It consists of egg-plant, small fish, somewhat like our sardines (N'sengo), and the roots of the cassava or manioca plant (called N'gutti), which have a knotty appearance, and often weigh as much as twenty pounds. As the latter contains poison, they soak the manioca in water for three to four days, to extract the poisonous substance. They are cut and 414 THE TABLE. sliced, adding small tomatoes. All is placed in a vessel with water, and seasoned with salt and pepper, and boiled. Moambo,or, as the Europeans call it, palm-chops, is also a favorite dish. The palm-nuts are first boiled in water, until the pulpy substance loosens from the pit. Then the shell, which contains a very delicious oil, is placed in a wooden mortar and crushed to obtain the oil. Then whatever the meal consists of, meat, fish, mussels, &c., all is put in a vessel, adding the oil and the pulpy part of the palm-nut, also red pepper and salt, and is boiled. Roast or boiled squash (Loenge) is generally eaten with it. Sweet potatoes (M'balla Benga) are more farinaceous, and sweeter than ours, but do not taste so good. They are boiled or roasted in the same way as we do here. Bananas (Bitaebe) weigh about a half pound each, and are about fifteen inches long. When half ripe they are cut in slices, adding much salt and pepper, and are boiled in water. N'sensi is a little red bean, which is boiled in water without adding salt or pepper. Peanut bread (Chisulu): the peanuts are first roasted, then crushed. This mass is then rolled and put into the skin of a banana, adding a little pressure, forming it into a body. It readily retains this shape from the presence of the oily substance in the peanut. fttnttt. China. Bow Ha Mai. Boiled Prawns in Oil. Chow Chop Sucy. Bits of Pork Chops. Ham ob Dau. Preserved Eggs with Ducks' Gizzards. Ob Gau Bow Vo Toway. Ducks' Livers and Boiled Ham. Chow Ju Aw. Boiled Pork, Kidney ed. Show Ju N Gow. Roast Pork-tongues. Bow N Gwei. Cuttle Fish. Yen Wo' Gong. Bofled Pigeon Eggs and Bird-nest Soup. CURIOUS MENUS OF VARIOUS NATIONS. 41 Bow Hai. Boiled Crabs. Bow Yu Chee. Boiled Shark Fins. Yuen Tsyai. Rice Cakes. Bow Ob. Duck-tongues and Mushrooms. Ju Tow N Gow. Fried Roofs-of-the-Mouths of Pigs. Chow Ob Jun. Ducks' Feet. Chow Gai Pien. Fried Chicken Wings. Lein Chi Gong. Lily-seed Soup. Hong Yin Gong. Almond Soup. Dein Som. Sweetmeats and Jellies. Yueh Biung. Mincemeat Cakes.

AI-modernized reading of the original text

* All carcasses of animals which are to be cooked, are placed on a block of wood, and pounded until every bone Is broken, care being taken not to tear or bruise the skin. They are then boiled or roasted on an open woodfire, in hot sand or ashes, without removing the hide or feathers. The cooking is of a very inferior grade; the only spices used being salt and pepper. The kitchen utensils consist of common earthen or wooden ware. Very little time is taken for setting or decorating the table; knives, forks, napkins, &c., &c. , are dispensed with. All victuals are served in large wooden vessels. After the members of the chief's household and his guests have assembled, each person is supplied with a wooden spoon, and selects whatever he wishes out of the different vessels, using his hands in eating it. In the line of vegetables, they have also several dishes well liked by Europeans. N'gutti-N'sengo is a dish eaten all over Africa. It consists of egg-plant, small fish, somewhat like our sardines (N'sengo), and the roots of the cassava or manioca plant (called N'gutti), which have a knotty appearance, and often weigh as much as twenty pounds. As the latter contains poison, they soak the manioca in water for three to four days, to extract the poisonous substance. They are cut and sliced, adding small tomatoes. All is placed in a vessel with water, and seasoned with salt and pepper, and boiled. Moambo,or, as the Europeans call it, palm-chops, is also a favorite dish. The palm-nuts are first boiled in water, until the pulpy substance loosens from the pit. Then the shell, which contains a very delicious oil, is placed in a wooden mortar and crushed to obtain the oil. Then whatever the meal consists of, meat, fish, mussels, &c., all is put in a vessel, adding the oil and the pulpy part of the palm-nut, also red pepper and salt, and is boiled. Roast or boiled squash (Loenge) is generally eaten with it. Sweet potatoes (M'balla Benga) are more farinaceous, and sweeter than ours, but do not taste so good. They are boiled or roasted in the same way as we do here. Bananas (Bitaebe) weigh about a half pound each, and are about fifteen inches long. When half ripe they are cut in slices, adding much salt and pepper, and are boiled in water. N'sensi is a little red bean, which is boiled in water without adding salt or pepper. Peanut bread (Chisulu): the peanuts are first roasted, then crushed. This mass is then rolled and put into the skin of a banana, adding a little pressure, forming it into a body. It readily retains this shape from the presence of the oily substance in the peanut. fttnttt. China. Bow Ha Mai. Boiled Prawns in Oil. Chow Chop Sucy. Bits of Pork Chops. Ham ob Dau. Preserved Eggs with Ducks' Gizzards. Ob Gau Bow Vo Toway. Ducks' Livers and Boiled Ham. Chow Ju Aw. Boiled Pork, Kidneys. Show Ju N Gow. Roast Pork-tongues. Bow N Gwei. Cuttle Fish. Yen Wo' Gong. Boiled Pigeon Eggs and Bird-nest Soup. Bow Hai. Boiled Crabs. Bow Yu Chee. Boiled Shark Fins. Yuen Tsyai. Rice Cakes. Bow Ob. Duck-tongues and Mushrooms. Ju Tow N Gow. Fried Roofs-of-the-Mouths of Pigs. Chow Ob Jun. Ducks' Feet. Chow Gai Pien. Fried Chicken Wings. Lein Chi Gong. Lily-seed Soup. Hong Yin Gong. Almond Soup. Dein Som. Sweetmeats and Jellies. Yueh Biung. Mincemeat Cakes.

The table