Experimental researches on the food of animals, and the fattening of cattle. With remarks on the food of man / By Robert Dundas Thomson.

  • Robert Dundas Thomson
Date:
1846
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Experimental researches on the food of animals, and the fattening of cattle. With remarks on the food of man / By Robert Dundas Thomson. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    DIGESTION. 5 the elucidation of the precise manner in which animals digest their food. There cannot be a doubt that if we understood the nature of the process by which the food which we swallow is converted into living flesh, im- portant results would follow in reference to the preservation of the health of animals, and the treatment of diseases. If we were properly ac- quainted with every transformation through which the constituents of the food pass after it has been masticated, until it is finally removed from the system, it is clear that, in cases where the stomach is unable to perform its accustomed functions, the assistance of art might be called in to mi- nister to digestion. Even in the present state of our knowledge, civilised nations cook their food, or, in other words, endeavour to imitate the primary stage of digestion, while the savage in his wild, untutored state, being in a condition akin to that of the beasts of the forest, scarcely stands in need of the assistance of art, and devours his prey with less of enjoyment than of necessity. It has been a favourite speculation with some philosophers, that as beasts thrive best in the forest, so man is most healthy in the savage state ; that when accustomed to brave the severity of the winter’s cold and summer’s heat, to contend with the snow and the thunder storm without the pro- tection of clothing, or pampering food, he is armed,
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