fresh colored; if it is
dark, and discolored, the game has been hung a long time. The wings of
good ducks, geese, pheasants, and woodcock are tender to the touch; the
tips of the long wing feathers of partridges are pointed in young birds,
and round in old ones. Quail, snipe, and small birds should have full,
tender breasts.

=Fish.=--Fish is richer in flesh-forming elements than game, poultry, lamb
or veal, but it contains less fat and gelatin. It is easily digested,
and makes strong muscular flesh, but does not greatly increase the
quantity of fat in the body. The red blooded and oily kinds, such as
salmon, sturgeon, eels and herring, are much more nutritious than the
white blooded varieties, such as cod, haddock, and flounders. The
salting of rich, oily fish like herring, mackerel, salmon, and sturgeon,
does not deprive it of its nutritive elements to the extent that is
noticeable with cod; salt cod fish is almost entirely devoid of
nutriment, while the first named oily varieties are valuable adjuncts to
a vegetable diet.

Although fish contains more water and less solid nutriment than meat, it
is generally useful from its abundance and cheapness; and certain kinds
which are called red-blooded, are nearly as nourishing as meat: oily
fish satisfies hunger as completely as meat; herring, especially, makes
the people who eat it largely strong and sinewy. Sea fish are more
nourishing than fresh water varieties.

Sea fish, and those which live in both salt and fresh water, such as
salmon, shad, and smelts, are the finest flavored; the muddy taste of
some fresh water species can be overcome by soaking them in cold water
and salt for two hours or more before cooking; all kinds are best just
before spawning, the flesh becoming poor and watery after that period.
Fresh fish have firm flesh, rigid fins, bright, clear eyes, and ruddy
gills. Oysters, clams, scallops, and mussels, should be eaten very
fresh, as they soon lose their flavor after being removed from the
shell.

Lobsters and crabs should be chosen by their brightness of color, lively
movement, and great weight in proportion to their size; you ought always
to buy them alive, and put them head first into a large pot of boiling
water, containing a handful of salt; they will cook in about twenty
minutes.

=Vegetables.=--In order to be healthy we must eat some fresh vegetables;
they are cheap and nourishing, especially onions and cabbages. Peas,
beans, and lentils,