87 



are a well known luxury at the tables of eastern 

 epicures, and are not unfrequently imported into 

 Britain, and used in flavouring soups, and dress- 

 ed dishes. Among birds, the liver is the smallest 

 in the accipitrine, and the largest in the diving 

 and wading species ; in some of which, as the 

 goose, it is sometimes artificially enlarged for the 

 purposes of luxury, a practice which originated 

 with the ancient Romans who used to gloat 

 over the 



" Magno jecur ansere majus" 



in the true style of epicurism and is still pre- 

 pared and used on the Continent, particularly in 

 the composition of the celebrated Strasburg pies. 

 The gall-bladder is wanting in many birds, as 

 the parrot, ostrich, peacock, guinea-fowl, dove, 

 pigeon, &c., whence, perhaps, has originated the 

 epithet pigeon-livered, as applied to poltroons, 

 who are represented as 



" Wanting gall to make oppression bitter." 



The gullet of quadrupeds, in general, presents 

 nothing very remarkable. The stomach is in 

 many species, as the hare and rabbit, divided by a 

 transverse constriction into two cavities ; while 

 in others, as the kangaroo, it is drawn tight in 

 several places, so as to give it a sinuated appear- 

 ance. In the rat, the stomach is protruded into 

 several distinct pouches, and similar pouches are 

 attached to the left portion of the stomach of the 



N 



