276 FISH DIET. 



The medicinal effects of cod-liver oil in mitigating or 

 curing pulmonary affections is well known, and appears 

 also to be due to the presence of iodine, the value of 

 which in the treatment of that shocking malady goitre 

 is likewise acknowledged. The most recent authority 

 on this matter isM. Le Docteur Fonssagrives,the learned 

 author of ' Traite d' Hygiene Alimentaire.' What he says 

 of oysters may perhaps, within certain limits, be applied 

 to all marine shell-fish. " May we," he asks, " not be- 

 lieve that these molluscs, living in a medium rich in 

 iodine, store up this substance, and communicate it to 

 those organisms which they feed, without causing them 

 to incur the least risk of that constitutional iodisrn which 

 epicures constantly incur with impunity when feasting 

 on the products of Ostend and Cancale ? I am in the 

 habit of recommending oysters to weak, lymphatic, soft- 

 fleshed children, and of making them drink a consider- 

 able quantity of the liquid which the oyster pours out 

 when opened ; and I think experience justifies me in 

 ascribing to this treatment a very favourable effect in 

 various forms of lymphatism." 



M. Charles Bretagne, in a communication to the 

 ' Bulletin of the Imperial Society of Acclimatation,' de- 

 clares that the species of clam scientifically known as 

 Venus verrucosa, is " an alimentary pearl," deserving to 

 be extensively used, and requiring protection, because, 

 inhabiting sandy shores, it is easily discovered by chil- 

 dren, walkers, bathers, and everybody. He recommends 

 that it be introduced to the shores of the Mediterranean 

 shores which will soon be frequented by all consump- 

 tive patients, who will sometimes find a cure for their 

 maladies, very often a prolongation of life, and, at all 

 events, an easier death. 



" Shell-fish," he maintains, " will here be specially 

 appreciated, for, besides being an agreeable food, it is 

 a powerful auxiliary in curing chest-complaints. Doc- 

 tors are now unanimous in combating poverty of the 

 blood by means of iodine. Men of science desire that 



