Cheese.--"The separation of the whey from the cheese may be effected by rennet, or by bitartrate of potash, or tamarinds, or alum, or various acids and acid wines and fruit juices." (Dr. Weber.)
Eggs may be dried at a gentle heat; then pounded and preserved. This is a convenient plan of making a store of portable food out of the eggs of sea-birds, or those of ostriches.
Fish-roe is another kind of portable food. The chemists declare its composition to be nearly identical with that of ordinary eggs. (Pereira.) Caviare is made out of any kind of fish-roe; but the recherché sort, only from that of the sturgeon. Long narrow bags of strong linen, and a strong brine, are prepared. The bags are half-filled with the roe, and are then quite filled with the brine, which is allowed to ooze through slowly. This being done, the men wring the bags strongly with their hands, and the roe is allowed to dry. Roe-broth is a good dish.
Honey, to find, when Bees are seen.--Dredge as many bees as you can, with flour from a pepper-box; or else catch one of them, tie a feather or a straw to his leg, which can easily be done (natives thrust it up into his body), throw him into the air, and follow him as he flies slowly to his hive; or catch two bees, and turning them loose at some distance apart, search the place towards which their flights converge. But if bees are too scarce for either of these methods, choose an open place, and lay in it a plate of syrup as a bait for the bees; after one has fed and flown away again, remove the plate 200 yards in the direction in which he flew; and proceed in the same sort of way, until the nest is found.
Honey-bird.--The instinct of the honey-bird is well-known, which induces him to lead men to hives, that he may share in the plunder. The stories that are told of the apparent malice of the bird, in sometimes tricking a man, and leading him to the lair of wild animals, instead of to the bees' nest, are well authenticated.
Revolting Food, that may save the Lives of Starving Men.--Suspicion of Poison.--If any meat that you may find, or if the water of any pool at which you encamp, is under suspicion of being poisoned, let one of your dogs eat or drink before you do, and wait an hour to watch the effect of it upon him.
Carrion is not noxious to Starving Men.--In reading the accounts of travellers who have suffered severely from want of food, a striking fact is common to all, namely, that, under those circumstances, carrion and garbage of every kind can be eaten without the stomach rejecting it. Life can certainly be maintained on a revolting diet, that would cause a dangerous illness to a man who was not compelled to adopt it by the pangs of hunger. There is, moreover, a great difference in the power that different people possess of eating rank food without being made ill by it. It appears that no flesh, and very few fish, are poisonous to man; but vegetables are frequently poisonous.
Dead Animals, to find.--The converging flight of crows, and gorged vultures sitting on trees, show where dead game is lying; but it is often very difficult to find the carcase; for animals usually crawl under some bush or other hiding-place, to die. Jackal-tracks, etc., are often the only guide. It may be advisable, after an unsuccessful search, to remove to some distance, and watch patiently throughout the day, until the birds return to their food, and mark them down.
Rank Birds.--When rank birds are shot, they should be skinned, not plucked; for much of the rankness lies in their skin; or, if unskinned, they should be buried for some hours, because earth absorbs the oil that makes them rank. Their breast and wings are the least objectionable parts, and, if there be abundance of food, should alone be cooked. Rank sea-birds, when caught, put in a coop, and fed with corn, were found by Captain Bligh to become fat and well-tasted.
Skins.--All old hides or skins of any kind that are not tanned are fit and good for food; they improve soup by being mixed with it; or they may be toasted and hammered. Long boiling would make glue or gelatine of them. Many a hungry person has cooked and eaten his sandals or skin clothing.