278 ANIMAL FOOD. 



but to prevent further loss of nutritive properties it is best eaten 

 cold. 



EXTRACT OF MEAT should consist of the concentrated essence of 

 the juice of flesh; but a good deal that is sold as such is solidified 

 soup, with the addition of gelatine. Good extract is slightly acid, 

 of a pale, yellowish-brown color, with an agreeable, meat-like odor. 

 It should be perfectly soluble in cold water, and should not contain 

 albumen, fat or gelatine. It is a stimulant rather than a nutritious 

 food. It is deficient in albumen, and, as in the case of soup and 

 beef-tea, its nutritive power must be assisted by vegetables and 

 other substances which are rich in nitrogenous matter. Biscuits 

 are now made combining the extract with a proper proportion of 

 flour. The extract may often prove a fair temporary substitute for 

 beef -tea when there is not time or convenience to make the latter, 

 but it must not supersede it in the sick-room. When taken during 

 fatigue it has been found to be remarkably restorative, increasing 

 the power of the heart, and removing the sense of fatigue following 

 exertion. Mixed with wine, Dr. Parkes states, it has been employed 

 with great success in rousing men in collapse from wounds. It was 

 the means of saving the lives of many wounded men in the Austrian 

 army in 1859, and in the war between the Northern and Southera 

 States. It would, therefore, be useful after surgical operations. 



Birds occupy an important place among the sources of food, 

 especially in the diet of the sick-room. Their flesh consists of deli- 

 cate muscular tissue, without any admixture of fat, being in some 

 cases white, in others dark-colored. The juices are deficient in red 

 blood, and have a more delicate flavor than those of adult animals. 



POULTRY, such as fowl, turkey and Guinea-fowl, is white- 

 fleshed, has a delicate flavor, and is tender and easily digested. As 

 the flesh is milder and less stimulating than that of ordinary meat, 

 it is well adapted to those whose powers of digestion are enfeebled. 

 But it is not very nourishing; it contains too little fat and needs 

 pork or bacon to supplement this deficiency. Sexless birds, as the 

 capon and pullet, grow larger, fatten better, and are more tender and 

 delicate than ordinary poultry. 



DUCKS and GEESE are not so well adapted as poultry for the 

 sick-room, for their flesh is harder, richer and more nighly flavored. 



Game Pheasant, partridge, grouse, woodcock, snipe and 

 quail have a delicate flavor, which improves by keeping (fuller and 

 stronger than that of domesticated birds), is strengthening, tender 

 and easily digested. It is thus tempting to the appetite, and is well 

 adapted to a weak stomach. It therefore forms a valuable diet for 

 the sick-room, and can be taken when other meat and poultry are 

 rejected. But the darker flesh of game requires culinary manage- 

 ment to render it digestible. 



WILD-FOWL, with its close, firm flesh and strong flavor, is not 

 adapted for dyspeptics and invalids. 



