COMPOUND ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES. 83 



fish which are used in alimentation, or then* differences in 

 composition, etc. Suffice it to say, that a great number are 

 ranked among the most delicious articles of food, and the 

 skill of the cook is taxed to the utmost to prepare them for 

 the table. Almost all kinds of fish are easy of digestion, as 

 every one can bear witness from personal experience, except 

 perhaps those which abound in oily matters, as salmon, eels, 

 etc. Fish, to be eaten in perfection, should be taken at the 

 time of full development of the generative organs, but not 

 just before spawning, nor immediately after. The male, or 

 soft-roed fish, is considered superior to the female. It is de- 

 sirable always to eat fish as soon as possible after they are 

 taken from the water. 



The food of fish has an undoubted influence on their 

 quality. It is now not unusual to confine them in ponds, 

 where they may be fed and fattened till they grow to an 

 enormous size, and become exquisitely delicate in flavor. 

 By carefully protecting the spawn and the young fish they 

 may be multiplied to a prodigious extent ; for the eggs de- 

 posited by a single one in a season are numbered by thou- 

 sands. 



The flesh of fish resembles young meat in requiring thor- 

 ough cooking to develop its flavor and render it easy of di- 

 gestion. 



In the class of reptiles, certain varieties of the turtle are 

 the most important as articles of food. The large sea-turtle, 

 known as the green turtle, weighing sometimes several hun- 

 dred pounds, is used chiefly for soups. The flesh is some- 

 times cut into steaks and broiled, but is not very much es- 

 teemed in that form. A small animal of this class, the salt- 

 water terrapin (Emys palustris), about five inches in length, 

 is found in its perfection in brackish streams near certain 

 parts of the Atlantic coast of the United States. This is 

 considered one of the greatest delicacies peculiar to this 

 country. It is highly nutritious, its flavor is very decided, 

 and is to most persons very agreeable. Various of the small 



