TRANSACTIONS OF THE SECTIONS. 105 



is richer commonly in the elements from which adipose matter can be formed, 

 such as starch, &c, than flesh ; the other, that carnivorous animals are commonly 

 leaner than herbivorous, the food of which is entirely vegetable. 



The strength of the first argument it is not easy to appreciate, inasmuch as cer- 

 tain kinds of animal food abound in fatty matter ; it is therefore passed by. 



The second train of argument is more important, and is more easily tested as to 

 accuracy. Now if it be true that an animal diet conduces to leanness, and this 

 as a rule, it should bear the strictest scrutiny ; we should find it confirmed bv facts 

 of an unquestionable kind, i. e. by exact observations free, as much as possible, 

 from any fallacy. The following are some which appear to lay claim to be so 

 considered. 



1. The nestling of the swallow fed entirely on insects, when fully fledged and 

 capable of taking flight, is found by the author to be heavier than the parent bird, 

 and this owing to its being fatter ; and it is found also that it loses weight after 

 leaving its nest and taking exercise on the wing, and this in consequence" of a di- 

 minution of its fat. 



2. The buzzard, like its congeners of the falcon family, subsists entirely on 

 animal food, chiefly small birds ; it, according to the argument, should be lean ; 

 but the author has not found it so. One, a female, examined in January, killed 

 in the Lake District, and in full vigour, was found loaded with fat. The bird 

 weighed about two pounds; the fat that was separable, consisting chiefly of 

 stearine, weighed six ounces and a half; and besides this, there was a considerable 

 quantity remaining, not easily detachable from the muscles, &c. The lard-like fat 

 was found externally covering a large portion of the thorax and the whole of the 

 abdomen, and internally lining the sternum and the abdominal contents, especially 

 the stomach and intestines. 



3. Many years ago, when in Ceylon, the author had the opportunity of dissect- 

 ing a full-grown Chetah (Felis pardus) ; he found it not merely in good condition, 

 but more than that, abounding in fat ; its mesentery had deposited on it a thick 

 layer of fat. 



4. Fishes, those of which the food is entirely animal matter, are many of them 

 remarkable not for leanness, but for their fatness. Very many instances' might be 

 mentioned ; two may suffice. The salmon, on its ascent from the sea, after luxurious 

 feeding there ; and the eel, on its descent from fresh water to salt — both fishes 

 actuated by a similar instinct, that of spawning, seeking water of opposite qua- 

 lities, are then in their highest condition, and abounding in fat ; on the contrary, 

 when returning, one to the sea, the other to the rivers after spawning, are remark- 

 able for being wasted and lean; this, from the loss of fat, the consequence of a 

 long comparative fast. 



These, the author hoped, may be received as verified facts, tending strongly to 

 show that a diet exclusively of animal food is no wise incompatible with fatness. 



5. If we refer to our own species, it is easy to find corroborative instances. 

 Butchers and their families, who use a large proportion of meat, are surely not 

 remarkable for leanness. The same remark applies to fishermen and their faniilies, 

 who use fish largely at their meals. The English, as a people, have always 

 been considered large consumers of meat, and especially in the olden time, when 

 vegetables were less abundant than at present. Pere Labat, who wrote his account 

 of the West India Islands towards the middle of the last century, states, when 

 giving an account of the Caribs, whom he describes as Cannibals, that he was 

 assured by them that they could distinguish an Englishman from any other race 

 of men, and that at their feasts they gave him the preference, on account of the 

 meals he yielded being richer and more juicy. Shakspeare, who of all poets sur- 

 passed in accuracy of observation, had he believed that a meat diet conduced to 

 leanness, would never have depicted his fat knight, Sir John Falstaff, who speaks 

 of himself apologetically as " having more flesh than another man, and therefore 

 more frailty," as one so addicted to capons and sack. 



6. Did a vegetable diet favour the production of fat, the Irish, living mostly on the 

 •potato, should be distinguished for lustiness, which they certainly are not. Vege- 

 tarians should especially be so distinguished ; but the author never heard it as- 

 serted that such a distinction belongs to them. 



