Coryphaena novacula. Razor Coryphene. This is one of the most superior kinds of edible fish.

Coryphaena quinque-maculata. Five-spotted Coryphene. This fish forms an article of commerce as important to the inhabitants of the Molucca islands as that of the cod-fishery among the Europeans.

Coryphæna chrysurus. Gilt-tailed Coryphene. Very excellent food.

Gobius niger. Common Goby. This is an edible fish, but is not held in much estimation.

Gobius jozo. Blue-finned Goby. As a food is not held in much esteem.

Gobius plumieri. Plumier's Goby. This species is held in great estimation as an article of food.

Cottus gobio. River Bullhead. This animal is of very disagreeable appearance, but it is regarded as a delicate, edible fish. The flesh turns of a red or salmon colour on boiling. It is admitted only at the tables of persons of inferior rank.

Cottus grunniens. Grunting Bullhead. This species affords tolerable food, but the liver is said to be injurious.

Cottus scorpius. Lasher Bullhead. This fish is

much esteemed as food about the coasts of Greenland. Scorpæna didactyla. Didactyle Scorpæna. This is regarded as an excellent fish for the table.

Zeus comer. Brasilian Dory. This is a savoury kind of fish, but being very thin, is not held in much estimation.

Pleuronectes marmoratus. Marbled Sole. This is ALIalso a native of the Indian seas, and much esteemed MENT. as an article of food.

Those

Pleuronectes tuberculatus. Turbot. This species unquestionably affords the most superior food. It is light, savoury, wholesome, and nutritious. caught off the coast of Holland are most esteemed. Chaetodon imperator. Imperial Chaetodon. This fish affords a savoury and delicate food. It is held in high estimation by the Japanese, and is said to be superior to the salmon in flavour.

Chaetodon catesbeii. Angel Chatodon. This species is much esteemed on account of its delicacy. Chaetodon vagabundus. Wandering Chaetodon. This species is considered excellent food.

Chaetodon rostratus. Jaculator. A white and welltasted fish.

Chaetodon bifasciatus. Bifasciated Chaetodon. This is a large species, frequently weighing upwards of twenty pounds. It is much esteemed as a food resembling the sole in delicacy.

Chaetodon glaucus. Glaucous Chaetodon. species is regarded as wholesome food.

This

Chaetodon sordidus. Sordid Chaetodon. This is an edible fish, and much esteemed.

Acanthurus nigricans. Blackish Acanthurus. This fish is esteemed for the table. It is a native of the Indian, American, and Arabian seas.

Trichopus goramy. Goramy Trichopus. This fish is greatly esteemed in China as an article of food.

Sparus aurata Gilt-head Sparus. This fish, which was much admired by the ancient Greeks and Romans, and by the former nation consecrated to Venus, is a native of the Mediterranean, Atlantic, and Indian seas, and held in considerable estimation as a food.

Sparus spinifer. Spined Sparus. A very delicate fish, and much esteemed.

Sparus mana. Sparus. A savoury food, but sometimes disorders the stomach and bowels.

Labrus scarus. Scare Labrus. This fish was in high

Zeus faber. Common Dory. This species is savoury, and easy of digestion. It is much esteemed. Pleuronectes hippoglossus. Halibut. This fish is not very easy of digestion. The Greenlanders cut it into slips, and dry it for winter use.

Pleuronectes cynoglossus. Lesser Halibut. Superior to the former.

Pleuronectes platessa. Plaise. A very light, savoury, nutritious, and wholesome food. The moderatesized ones are the most esteemed.

Pleuronectes limanda. Dab. This fish affords a superior food to either that of plaise or flounder. Pleuronectes lævis. Smear Dab. This fish is regarded as equally good food with the preceding. Pleuronectes limandoides. Long Dab. This species is also held in great estimation.

Pleuronectes flesus. Flounder. A light, wholesome, and nutritious food.

Pleuronectes solea. Sole. This is a firm, white, well-flavoured meat. The moderate-sized ones are the best. Regarded as next to turbot in point of delicacy among the whole genus.

Pleuronectes zebra. Zebra Sole. This species is highly esteemed by the natives adjoining the Indian seas.

the Romans as one of the principal delicacies of the table.

Ophicephalus punctatus. Punctated Ophicephalus. This first is considered as a delicate and wholesome food.

Ophicephalus striatus. Striated Ophicephalus. This is held in equal estimation with the preceding, and is recommended as a proper diet for convalescents.

Perca fluviatilis. Perch. This is a firm, palatable, and easily-digested food. It was held in high estimation by the Romans.

Scomber scomber. Mackarel. This is a savoury fish, but not very easily digested. Caviar is made from the roes of this fish.

Scomber thynnus. Tunny. This is a coarse fish. The Romans, however, held it in great estimation. When taken in May they are full of spawn, and are then esteemed unwholesome, as being apt to occasion headaches and vapours; to prevent, in some measure, these bad effects, the natives fry them in oil, and afterwards salt them. The pieces when fresh appear exactly like raw beef, but when boiled they turn pale, and have somewhat the flavour of salmon. The most delicate parts are those about the muzzle. Those fish which the inhabitants are not able to use immediately are

Salmo alpinus. Charr.

Salmo salmarius. Salmon Trout. These are similar, but inferior to the salmon.

Salmo eperlanus. Smelt. This is a palatable, but not a very nutritive fish.

Salmo albula. Whiting. This fish is neither very palatable nor very wholesome.

Salmo thymallus. Grayling. A white, firm, and delicate food; wholesome, and readily digestible.

Esox lucius. Pike. A firm and palatable fish, easy of digestion. On the continent it is much esteemed, and, being in abundance, is dried and exported.

Mugil cephalus. Mullet. Difficult of digestion, and not very wholesome.

Clupea harengus. Herring.

Clupea sprattus. Sprat.
Clupea alosa. Shad.

Clupea encrasicolus. Anchovy. These are nutritive, but not very digestible fishes. Cyprinus barbus. Barbel. wholesome fish.

This is a coarse, un

Cyprinus carpio. Carp. A sweet, nutritive fish, easy of digestion.

Cyprinus gobio. Gudgeon. A palatable fish, and easily digested.

Cyprinus tinca. Tench. A soft and slimy fish, not easily digested. In season from September to June.

Cyprinus cephalus. Chub. A coarse fish; best in

December and January. Cyprinus leuciscus. Dace. This is a superior kind of fish to the preceding, but is full of bones; it is best in February.

Cyprinus rutilus. Roach. This is a light, wholesome fish, but not in much esteem, on account of the number of its bones. It is best in February and March.

Cyprinus alburnus. Bleak. Cyprinus brama. Bream. These species, as articles of food, are inferior to the preceding ones.

ORDER VI.-Chondropterygii.

Accipenser sturio. Sturgeon. This is a nutritive, but not a savoury fish. Caviar is prepared from the spawn.

* Bingley's Animal Biography, v. iii. p. 156.

Limax rufus. Red Slug. Of a slimy nature, and but lightly nutritious.

Edible Sea Urchin. This is

Sepia sepiola. Cuttle Fish. Echinus esculentus. difficult of digestion.

We are informed by Mr. Bingley, that at Marseilles, and in some other towns on the continent, this species is exposed for sale in the markets as oysters are with us, and is eaten boiled like an egg. It forms an article of food among the lower class of people on the seacoasts of many parts of this country, but does not seem to have made its way to the tables of the opulent. The Romans adopted it, and dressed it with vinegar, mead, parsley, and mint.

Pholas dactylus. Dactyle Pholas. This animal is considered as a very great delicacy at the tables of the luxurious. It is common at Ancona, in Italy. ORDER III.-Testacca.

ALIMENT.

ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES SELECTED FROM THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

The nutritive qualities of vegetables have, by chemical analysis, been found to depend upon the relative quantities of mucilage, fixed oil, sugar, starch, and gluten, with which they abound. This kind of aliment is much less stimulating than that which is afforded by the animal kingdom; the nutriment, too, is probably more readily extracted from it, or some kinds of it, by the process of digestion, though the quantity of chyle yielded by it is much inferior to that obtained from flesh meats; hence the great quantity of vegetable matter necessary to be taken for the support of a system wholly dependent upon this kind of food.

The seeds of certain plants which belong to the natural order of gramina, and the leguminous family of plants, seem to yield more nutritive matter than any other vegetable substance. Potatoes, yams, grains, &c. claim the next rank. To these succeed the beets, carrots, acido-dulcescent fruits, such as grapes, dates, plums, apricots, &c.; and, lastly, the oily seeds, such as almonds, chesnuts, filberts, &c.

In enumerating the principal substances selected from the vegetable kingdom as alimentary articles, we shall range them under the following heads:

Apium petroselinum. Parsley. The roots and leaves of this plant are slightly aromatic, sweet, and nutritive. The seeds are more aromatic than any other part of the plant, and are esteemed for a diuretic property which they are said to possess.

Apium graveolens. Celery. The blanched stalks of this plant are mucilaginous, aromatic, and slightly nutritive.

Asparagus officinalis. Asparagus. This is a mucilaginous, nutritive, and slightly stimulant vegetable. It is very easy of digestion, and well adapted to sickly persons.

Brassica oleracea. Colewort and Cabbage. The different species of cabbage afford but little nutriment: they are very watery, and apt to create flatulence. The best of the family is certainly the cauliflower. The substance commonly known by the name of sauer kraut is prepared from sliced cabbage, salted, and closely pressed with aromatic seeds; it is then made to ferment; by this process it becomes savoury and easy of digestion. Brassica italica. Brocoli. Is exceedingly delicious and nutritive, but very flatulent.

Cichorium endivia. Endive. A bitter, wholesome vegetable, but not very nutritious.

Crambe maritima. Sea Kale. The blanched stalks of this plant are dressed and eaten like asparagus, to which it is but little inferior.

Cynara scolymus. Common Artichoke. A sweet, mucilaginous, and nutritive vegetable. The receptacle is the only part that is eaten. Lactuca sativa. Garden Lettuce. A wholesome vegetable. It is more digestible when boiled than in its crude state. It is both diuretic and slightly narcotic. Lepidum sativum. Garden Cress. A pungent, bitter, and aromatic vegetable. It is very wholesome.

Portulaca oleracea. Garden Purslane. This vegetable is but slightly nutritive, and when eaten too freely it acts as a laxative.

Rumex acetosa. Common Sorrel. This vegetable contains both oxalic and tartaric acid; it is wholesome when moderately used. It is much esteemed in France as a sauce, for which it is well adapted.

Sisymbrium nasturtium. Water Cress. This is a wholesome, bitter, pungent vegetable. Spinacia oleracea. Spinage. This vegetable is very apt to produce flatulency, and is not very nutritious. 2. RADICES.-Roots.

Allium ascalonicum. Shallot. A very acrid vegetable, fit only as a sauce.

Allium cepa. Onion. A very stimulant and nutritive vegetable. Allium porrum. Leek. Similar qualities to the above, but not so stimulant. Allium sativum. Garlic. The properties of this vegetable are similar to those of the shallot. Allium scorodoprasum. Roccambole. preceding.

Similar to the

Beta vulgaris. Red Beet. This is a very nutritive vegetable; it contains a large quantity of saccharine matter: it should be boiled till it becomes quite tender.

Beta cicla. White Beet. Of similar properties to the preceding.

Beta hybrida. Mangel Wurzel. The leaves of this beet are well tasted and wholesome.

Brassica rapa. Turnip. This vegetable is light and nutritious.

Cichorium intybus. Succory. A bitter, but nutritious vegetable; it is employed as aliment in various ways: the fresh root is put into broths and decoctions; young herb is eaten in sallads: the roots, dried and roasted, are very generally used in Germany, as a substitute for coffee.

the

ALIMENT

ALI

ENT

}

Jatropha manihot. Bitter and Sweet Cassava.
Jatropha janipha. S

The well-known substance called tapioca is prepared from the roots of these plants, which is light and nutritious.

Maranta arundinacea. Indian Arrow Root. Similar to the above. Very mucilaginous.

Orchis mascula. Salop. This is highly nutritive. It is very sweet and mucilaginous.

Pastinaca sativa. Parsnip. This is a very nutritious and sweet vegetable, but inferior to the carrot. Raphanus sativus. Radish. Radish. Warm, acrid, watery, and but lightly nutritious.

Scorzonera hispanica. Viper's Grass. This is mucilaginous, and slightly nutritive. It is much eaten in Spain and the southern parts of Europe.

Siun sisarum. Skirret. This is a very sweet, nutritive vegetable. It is very easily digested.

Solanum tuberosum. Potatoe. This is a most important vegetable. It abounds with amylaceous matter, and when good is readily digested.

Tragopogon porrifolium. Salsafi. The root has a sweet taste, but is not very nutritious.

3. FRUCTUS.-Fruits.

Artocarpus incisa. Bread Fruit. This is very wholesome and nutritious. In taste it resembles the sweet potatoe rather than wheaten bread.

Amygdalus persica. Peach and Nectarine. These are very wholesome and delicious fruits.

Annona muricata. Common Custard Apple, or Sour Sop. This is a cooling, agreeable, and wholesome

fruit.

Berberis vulgaris. Barberry. With sugar forms an agreeable and wholesome sweetmeat.

Bromelia ananas. Pine Apple. An acid, agreeable, and wholesome fruit. The other species are more acid than this one.

Brosimum alicastrum. Bread Nut. A wholesome, and not unpleasant kind of food. Similar to chesnuts. Cactus opuntia. Indian Fig, or Prickly Pear. This is a wholesome and nutritious fruit.

Citrus aurantium sinense. China Orange. An exceedingly grateful and refreshing fruit.

Citrus aurantium hispalense. Seville Orange. The juice of this fruit is rough, sour, and bitter. The rind is very aromatic.

Citrus medica. Lemon. Forms a wholesome and pleasant sauce. Its acid is very grateful.

Cucurbita citrullus. Water Melon. A juicy, cooling fruit. If eaten too largely, it is apt to produce disorder of the bowels.

Cucumis sativus. Cucumber. A watery, mucilaginous fruit difficult of digestion.

Cucumis melo. Melon. The different species of melon are all watery, but sweet; they cannot be considered wholesome.

Ficus carica. Fig. A very mucilaginous and nutritious fruit. The dried fig is more wholesome, more pleasant to the taste, and more nutritious.

Fragaria vesca. Strawberry. A very pleasant, cooling, and wholesome fruit; best eaten with milk or

cream.

Garcinia mangostana. Mangosteen. A very fineflavoured, wholesome, and highly nutritious fruit. Mangifera indica. Mango. This is a wholesome

VOL. XVII.

and agreeable fruit. The unripe fruit are pickled and sent over to Europe.

Mespilus germanica. Medlar. A rough and astringent fruit, not proper for eating until it begins to decay; it is then wholesome.

Morus nigra. Mulberry. A very grateful and cooling fruit; but if eaten largely, apt to produce disorder of the bowels.

Musa paradisiaca. Plantain Tree. A very wholesome and nutritious aliment. It is used as a substitute for bread.

Phoenix dactylifera. Date. A sweet, mucilaginous, and nutritious fruit.

Prunus armeniaca. Apricot. This, when ripe, is a sweet, nutritious, and wholesome fruit. Its nutritive qualities exceed either those of the peach or the nectarine.

Prunus domestica. Plum. Pleasant and nutritive, but very apt to disorder the bowels.

Prunus cerasus. Cherry. A pleasant fruit, but not wholesome.

Punica granatum. Pomegranate. This is also pleasant and cooling, but apt to disorder the bowels. Pyrus communis. Pear. A wholesome, refreshing fruit, but with some persons produces flatulency. Pyrus cydonia. Quince. When prepared with sugar this fruit forms the sweetmeat called marmalade. Pyrus malus. Apple. On the whole a palatable and wholesome fruit."

Ribes grossularia. Gooseberry. A cooling fruit, but apt to produce disorder of the bowels.

Ribes nigrum. Black Currant. A pleasant, cooling, and sub-acid fruit.

Ribes rubrum. Red Currant. Similar to the former, but more acid. Very wholesome. Rosa canina. sweetmeat.

Hip. This fruit is used chiefly as a

Rubus idaeus. Raspberry. This is a very cooling, agreeable, and wholesome fruit.

Vaccinium myrtillus. Bilberry.

Vaccinium oxycoccus. Cranberry. These berries. are pleasantly acid; they are also astringent. They form good sweetmeats.

Vitis vinifera. Grape. This fruit is very palatable, cooling, and wholesome. It contains a large proportion of saccharine matter.

4. SEMINA.-Seeds.

Amygdalus communis. Almond. The sweet almond abounds in oil, and is therefore not easy of digestion. The husk is exceedingly acrid. The almond is pleasantly flavoured and nutritious.

Anacardium occidentale. Cashew Nut. The kernel is sweet and palatable; but, like the almond, difficult of digestion.

Avena sativa. Oat. A moderately nutritious, demulcent, and laxative aliment. Forms the principal sustenance of a great number of persons.

Cocus nucifera. Cocoa Nut. This is not easily digested. The milky fluid contained within it is cooling and agreeable.

Corylus avellana. Hazel Nut and Filbert. The husk is acrid, the nut pleasant, but difficult of digestion. It is, however, when eaten in a moderate quantity, wholesome. Fagus castanea.

Chesnut. More nutritive than 2 T

Holcus sorghum. Guinea Corn. This forms the common food of the negroes in the West Indies. It is very nutritious, but not easily digested, unless by persons who lead a laborious life.

Juglans regia. Walnut. The husk is very bitter, acrid, and astringent. The nut is exceedingly pleasant and nutritious.

Oryza sativa. Rice.

Whole tribes are supported by this kind of grain. It is very nutritious and whole

some.

Panicum miliaceum. latable and nutritive. not readily digested. Phaseolus vulgaris.

Millet. This seed is both paWhen formed into bread, it is

.Kidney Bean. Both the pods and the seeds are articles of aliment; the former, when young, are wholesome and digestible; the latter are farinaceous, and very nutritive.

Pistacia vera. Pistacia Nut. This nut possesses similar properties to the almond, but is more easily digested.

Pisum sativum. Pea. When young, peas are wholesome and excellent food; when full grown, they afford strong nutriment; when made into bread it is unpalatable and very heavy.

CONDIMENTS.

Condiments, properly speaking, ought not to be considered as alimentary substances; yet they derive an importance from the assistance they afford in the digestion and assimilation of different foods with which they are generally mixed. Their common effect is to render the aliment more savoury and stimulating. In the tropical climates they are most extensively employed, and, certainly, the most needed. When used in moderation they are serviceable, particularly to aged of secretion fail; also to persons whose powers persons who lead studious and sedentary lives. Dr. Pearson has arranged them under the following heads: 1. Saline condiments. 2. Aromatic condiments. 3. Oily condiments. 4. Sweet condiments. 5. Acid condiments.

1. Saline Condiments.

Muriate of Soda, better known by the term common salt, is the most universal and essential of all condiments; it stimulates the glands about the mouth, throat, &c. and produces a copious flow of saliva and

Secale cereale. Rye. Not so nutritive as wheat, but very wholesome. Bread made of rye is very heavy, and apt to disorder the bowels.

Theobroma cacao. Chocolate Nut. This is exceedingly nutritious and palatable.

Triticum æstivum. Wheat. The most nutritive and most wholesome of all grain. Contains a very large quantity of starch, mucilaginous matter, and gluten. A pound of wheat flour will yield four ounces of gluten, eleven ounces two drachms of starch, and six drachms of saccharine, mucilaginous matter.

Vicia faba. Broad Bean. Nutritive, but flatulent. It is more astringent than peas. Indian Corn.

Zea mays. This grain is very nutritious, gently laxative, and wholesome; it forms the chief article of sustenance in North America, and some parts of the West Indies.

5. ALGA.-Lichens and Sea Weeds. Lichen islandicus. Iceland Liverwort. Bitter, but very mucilaginous and nutritive.

Fucus esculentus. Eatable Fucus. This and several other species of fucus is mucilaginous and nutritive. They are eaten in the northern parts of this island, and

in Ireland.

6. FUNGI.-Mushrooms.

Agaricus campestris. Common Mushroom. This is a savoury, stimulant, and nutritive food, but rather difficult of digestion.

A great number of fungi are edible. It is important

readily carried on. When taken to excess, however, it is highly injurious, producing scorbutic affections, &c. Meat slightly salted is easier of digestion than fresh. The desire for salt is an instinct universal in the human species, and is universally employed to give a relish to almost every kind of food. This relish of salt, Dr. Cullen has observed, is an institution of nature, the efficient cause of which we cannot explain; but we presume, very confidently, that it is adapted to serve some beneficial purpose in the economy, although we do not well understand either the cause or the purpose of this.

2. Aromatic Condiments.

The different species of allium (garlic, leek, shallot, onion) have already been noticed. When moderately used they are wholesome condiments. They promote Mustard the secretions, and administer to health. and horse-radish act in a similar way, but are more stimulating. Thyme and sage are very stimulant, but not unwholesome. Pepper, black and white, is the most common of all spices. In the East and West Indies it is used in very large quantities, and enables the residents to endure the debilitating effects of a hot climate. Cayenne pepper is the most stimulant of all spices, and should only, in this climate, be employed medicinally. Pimento, cinnamon, and cassia, are palatable spices: they are also wholesome. The nutmeg is a strong pungent aromatic, and perhaps the least wholesome of all the spices. Cloves are an agreeable and wholesome spice. Ginger is also a very article in this division.

useful