ction than when ground; and as
these birds are provided with grinders in the gizzard, the concocting
their own food is more nourishing and wholesome for them. These, like
other animals, should be suffered to attain their full growth, in order
to have them in the best state for nutriment. Some parts of birds, and
other animals, are hard and viscid, as the head, neck, feet, and tail;
the parts about the wings, back, and breast of birds, are in general the
most tender, and of the finest flavour. In four-footed animals, the
upper part of the leg and shoulder, the back, breast, and long bones of
the neck, are generally superior to the rest. The heart and other
viscera are nutricious, but hard of digestion, and improper for weak
stomachs. The larger an animal is of its kind, the flesh of it will be
stronger, and more difficult to digest; the juices also will be more
rank than those of smaller ones of the same species, supposing them to
have arrived at the same maturity. Animals which abound with fat and
oily substances are harder to digest, than those of a drier and more
fleshy nature; and to persons who use but little exercise, or have weak
stomachs, this kind of food is very improper. Its tendency is to weaken
the tone and force of the stomach, the fat and oil being enclosed in
little bladders, which are with difficulty broken and separated. Hence
fat meat is not so digestible as that of well fed animals, which do not
abound with fat. The flesh of very old animals is unwholesome, being
hard, dry, sinewy, innutricious, and difficult to digest. Those which
are the longest in coming to maturity have the coarsest juices, such as
oxen, cows, and boars. These are less tender and digestible than sheep,
venison, hares, rabbits, poultry, game, and other birds. In almost all
cases, the strong and pungent in flavour are harder to digest than those
of a milder nature. The flesh of birds is lighter, drier, and easier of
digestion, than that of four-footed animals. A difference also arises
from the place of pasturage, from food and exercise. Animals living in
high places, refreshed with wholesome winds, and cherished with the warm
beams of the sun, where there are no marshes, lakes, or standing waters,
are preferable to those living in pools, as ducks and geese, and other
kinds of fowl.--FISH is less nourishing than flesh, because it is gross,
phlegmatic, cold, and full of watery superfluities: but under certain
restrictions, it may be saf