362 REVIEWS — DB. lankester's lectures. 



—such alkaloids as are found in tea and coffee, and cocoa ; 6tli. Nar- 

 cotics, as tobacco and opium. The third class forms a seventh group, 

 and these include all the varieties of human ibod. It is the object to 

 shew from the constitution of our frame in what way each is required, 

 and then practically by what articles of ordinary food each is supplied. 

 The interest of the subject will be generally appreciated ; we can but 

 touch on a few points. Under the head of Nitrogeneous or flesh- 

 forming materials, we meet with the following remarks in connection 

 with the albumen contained in blood : — ■ 



" This leads to a question on which I wish to say a few words ; and that is, 

 as to whether we are wise economically, and are justified in bleeding animals 

 to death and throwing away all the blood, which is, after all, good food. 

 When you recollect that we take from 5 lbs. to 20 lbs. from a sheep or an ox, 

 and multiply that by the number of sheep and oxen killed in the course of a 

 year, you will find that it amounts to something which is quite frightful to 

 contemplate. Now, I have no hesitation in saying that the blood you take 

 away is just as good as tlie blood you leave in, and that you would do much 

 better to leave the blood in the animal. There are other ways of killing 

 animals than bleeding them to death. These are unpleasant things to think of; 

 but, after all, we have no hesitation in eating the mutton and beef after it ia 

 slain, and we ought to be able to give a reason for our extravagance. We do 

 not take the blood away from hares and rabbits : they are brought to the table 

 and eaten by the most fastidious. So also with birds : pheasants and partridges 

 —we do not bleed them ; and I tell you more — if you did, they would not be so 

 pleasant to eat ; they would lose some of their gamey flavour. Dr. Carson, of 

 Liverpool, many years ago pointed out the loss incurred in the present mode of 

 killing animals, and suggested a method of killing them by which blood was 

 saved ; and Dr. Carson induced a certain number of people of Liverpool to try 

 meat killed in his way, and they declared it so much better, that a butcher 

 was induced to kill his animals in that way, and the result has been that he 

 has surrounded himself with customers. Mr. Carson, son of the late doctor, 

 was kind enough to send me up a quarter of a sheep which had been killed in 

 this way ; I invited a few friends to partake of it, and they one and all pro- 

 nounced it delicious. Economically, this is an important question, and it ought 

 to be a consideration whether we are justified in throwing away so large a 

 quantity of nutritious albumen." 



This is immediately followed by remarks on the non-nutritious 

 character of gelatine, which, being opposed to a very general preju- 

 dice, and yet conveying a well-established truth, we may extract as a 

 specimen of the useful influence of the book : — 



"The quantities of fibrine and albumen in butcher's meat are about the same ; 

 but T have now to draw your attention to another constituent, which hag 



