Note 542 — LETTER X.
Reading edition
Baron Humboldt asks (Person. Narr. VI. i. 8. note)—"What are those worms (Loul in Arabic) which Captain Lyon, the fellow traveller of my brave and unfortunate friend Mr. Ritchie, found in the pools of the desert of Fezzan, which served the Arabs for food, and which have the taste of Caviare? Are they not insects' eggs resembling the Aguautle, which I saw sold in the markets of Mexico, and which are collected on the surface of the lakes of Texcuco?" For this latter fact he refers to the Gazeta de Litteratura de Mexico. 1794. iii. No. 26. p. 201. It appears from this note of the illustrious traveller that insects are used as food in their egg as well as their other states.