Note 119 — Chapter XIV

Labat says, “Cet insecte engraisse les volailles.” I know that fowls are fond of the insect; but the peasants of Pernambuco prevent the poultry from eating it, because they say that such food gives a bad taste to the flesh; this is, I think, by no means improbable, for the copim has a most disagreeable smell. This author afterwards continues the same subject, saying, “Il y a deux sortes de bois qui ne sont pas de leur goût; l’acajou et le bois amer. Cela vient de ce que le suc et le bois de ces deux arbres est extrémement amer.”—Nouveau Voyage, tom. ii. p. 389 and 392.