FLESH FOOD FURNISHED BY THE FEATHERED TRIBES. 145 



appear upon the table at some grand public or private 

 dinner, none of the guests would go into ecstasies over the 

 dish, as if its delicacy was a fact universally known. But 

 at Rome no banquet was complete without the presence 

 of the peacock. Among the other large birds, the cranes, 

 the swans, and even the ostrich, were held in high esteem. 

 Geese were also greatly prized, and they were eaten not 

 with a sauce, but stuffed with small green apples. The 

 ducks and teal were served witii the juice of the orange 

 and not that of the lemon, and they were preferred to the 

 heathcock and woodcock. As for larks and thrushes, they 

 were usually eaten at the end of the meal, with the idea, 

 true or false, that it would prove a sovereign remedy 

 against affections of the bowels. But, as already ob- 

 served, the bird most in esteem among all the subjects 

 of the Caesars was the common thrush. These birds 

 were raised and fattened in large establishments near 

 Rome, and brought very high prices. The artificial 

 rearing of these birds, which are excellent for the table, 

 would prove an easy matter. 



Of all the conquests which man has made in the class 

 of birds, and they have been numerous, the most pro- 

 ductive and usrful has been that of the cock and hen. 

 The eggs and the flesh of this race constitute in many 

 countries, and especially in France, an important part of 

 the general food. The egg has a marked place in the 

 most delicate dishes destined for the sumptuous table. 

 It is also the simple resource of the peasant. Thanks to 

 it, the labourer on returning from the fields can prepare 

 promptly and readily an evening repast. 



The details of the production and consumption of Eggs 

 will be found in a subsequent Chapter. 



All the world knows the excellence of the flesh of 

 domestic poultry. Without a fowl no feast is complete, 

 and the good King Henry, as a proof of his desire for the 

 wellbeing of his people, wished that every peasant might 

 be able to place a fowl in his pot. 



In the early ages of the Church, poultry was regarded 

 as food for fast days, the rule of St. Benedict interdicting 



