The code of health and longevity, or a general view of the rules and principles calculated for the preservation of health, and the attainment of long life / by Sir John Sinclair.

  • Sinclair, John, Sir, 1754-1835.
Date:
1816
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The code of health and longevity, or a general view of the rules and principles calculated for the preservation of health, and the attainment of long life / by Sir John Sinclair. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The University of Glasgow Library. The original may be consulted at The University of Glasgow Library.

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    ceed to consider the different classes of animal food used by men, under the following general heads : 1. Quadrupeds. 2. Birds. 3. Fish, and, 4. Amphibious animals. 1. Quadrupeds.—This extensive source of animal food, which affords more nourishment to man than all of the other conjoined, may be considered under seven heads. ]. Cattle. 2. Sheep. 3. Pork. 4. Goat. 5. Venison. 6. Hare, and, 7- Rabbit. 1. The flesh of oxen, well fed, and of a proper age, is justly accounted the most nutritious of all kinds of animal food, and is easily digested by persons in health *. Cow beef is tenderer when the heifer is young, but is frequently tougher, because the cow is commonly older than the ox when slaughtered. Veal is tender and nourishing, but not so easily digested, from its glutinous quality. To weak and indolent stomachs, its digestion requires to be assisted by the addition of vegetable acids, as lemon or vinegar. In regard to the various sorts of wild cattle, their flesh is in general much inferior to the domestic ox. Beef is constantly in season, since by the improvements in agriculture, cattle can always be abundantly supplied with food, even during the depth of winter. 2. Mutton is well known to be a highly nutritious and wholesome meat, and is perhaps more universally used, and, indeed is more generally relished, than any other sort of ani- mal food. Wedder mutton is most esteemed, and is gene- rally accounted the sweetest and most digestible ; but a ewe, that has not had a lamb the season before she is kill- ed, yields as good mutton as a wedder of the same age. The quality of the flesh depends in a great measure upon the nature of the pasture, and the age of the animal. When fed upon a dry pasture, especially if mixed with w'ild herbs, and kept to four, five, or six years of age, no meat can be jnore savoury f. Lamb, when properly roasted, and of a proper age, that is, from four to six months old, is an ex- * The following fact proves the nutritious qualities of beef. Humphries the pugilist, was trained by Ripsham, the keeper of the jail at Ipswich. He was sweated in bed, and afterwards w,a$ twice physicked. He was weighed once a-day, and at first fed on beef; but as on that food he got too much flesh, they were obliged to change it to mutton. f Wedder mutton, when fed on dry pasture, near the sea shore, and at five years of age, is in its highest state of perfection. Roasting is the best 'form of eating it. Some have observed, that the fat of nrutton, from its tendency to coagulate, is less easily assimilated in the stomach than the fat of most other animals. The lean of mutton, therefore, is the preferable part for food.—Turnbull't Mdital Works, p. £4.