FAT. 155 



last is for the table, the white being more ornamental, but 

 rarely used. 



Select young fruit that has just reached maturity. Par- 

 boil them, and drain off the water. When cool, slice them 

 about an inch thick, and fry them in batter made of egg, 

 milk, and flour, or dip each slice in egg, and then in grated 

 bread-crumbs that are seasoned with salt and pepper. Fry 

 them a delicate brown. They are much used at the South, 

 where they are thought to resemble soft crabs in taste. 



EIDER-DOWN. The down of the Eider-duck, called 

 also the Gothland duck. This duck is found principally in 

 Iceland, in the Hebrides, Shetland, and Orkney Islands, 

 though it is found as far south as the Fame Isles off the 

 coast of Northumberland, and in the rocky islets beyond Port- 

 land in America. The down, so highly esteemed for bed- 

 quilts, is collected from the nests of the birds. When the 

 nest is stripped for the first time, the female again supplies 

 it from her breast ; but a second robbery brings the male to 

 her rescue, who then furnishes the nest with down from his 

 breast. 



FAT. According as this part of animal flesh differs in 

 different animals, its name varies ; in the horse and bear it 

 is called grease, in the ox and sheep, tallow, fat, suet ; and 

 in the hog, hog's lard. 



The characters which indicate a disposition in the ox and 

 other domesticated animals to secrete fat, are fineness of 

 the bones, the largeness of the body as compared with the 

 smallness of the extremities, limbs, head, and neck, the 

 broadness of the chest, the roundness of the body, and the 

 soft, elastic touch of the skin. This form is not the same that 

 is looked for in the female ox as showing a disposition to se- 

 crete milk, where, as it has been remarked, the limbs should 



