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.