280 



ANIMAL FOOD. 



HADDOCK, WHITING, FLOUNDER, COD, TURBOT, etc., are wliite fish, 

 whose flesh contains little fat, except in the liver. Whiting, the 

 chicken of fish, is the most delicate and easy of digestion. Haddock 

 is firmer, not so delicate nor BO digestible. Flounder is tasteless, 

 but also harmless. Cod is close, firm, tough, and indigestible by a 

 weak stomach. Fried cod is like veal-cutlet, but drier. Turbot has 

 richer flavor, but does not stand high as food for invalids. The skin 

 when boiled, appears to be gelatinous, but though preferable as a 

 delicacy for the healthy, is not suitable for the weak. 



FISH-BROTH contains nearly the same component parts as meat- 

 broth, and in some countries fish-soups are as much esteemed as 

 those of meat. 



ISINGLASS, obtained from the air-bladder of the sturgeon, is a 

 valuable vehicle for the administration of other ingredients of food. 



Shell-fish, with the exception of oysters, are less nutritive 

 than other kinds of fish, less digestible, and more likely to disagree 

 with weak stomachs than most kinds of animal food. In some 

 persons they produce gastric irritation and disorders, and in others 

 nettle-rash and similar eruptions ; indeed, so marked is this effect 

 on some constitutions that it is necessary to forbid shell-fish alto- 

 gether. 



LOBSTER and CRAB, though very agreeable to many persons, 

 are not suitable for those whose digestive organs are weak, and con- 

 sequently should not be introduced into the sick-room. Some per- 

 sons in ordinary health cannot take them, because they are not 

 easily digested, even when stimulants of the gastric juice are added 

 in the form of vinegar and pepper. 



SHRIMPS belong to the same family as the lobster, and are 

 somewhat more readily digested, but they are not suitable for in- 

 valids. 



TURTLE-SOUP is luxurious and rich, and in small quantities at 

 a time is often very restorative to invalids whose digestion is in good 

 order. 



MUSSELS and all other shell-fish, except oysters, are not suit- 

 able for invalids. 



Oysters are nutritious, and readily digested even by delicate 

 stomachs. Recent researches have shown that they are self-diges- 

 tive. The hard muscle by which the fish is attached to the shell 

 should not be eaten by invalids. They should eat them raw, and 

 masticate well before swallowing. To eat them with vinegar is to 

 commit a dietetic mistake. They should only be eaten from Sep- 

 tember till May. As a means of conveying phosphates they are 

 invaluable. 



Fresh oysters are most grateful in chronic dyspepsia, where 

 nausea is present, in the case of consumptives, for the trouble of 

 morning sickness, and in chronic diarrhea. They can be eaten with 



