elect one in which the
cartilage at the end of the breastbone is soft and pliable; the
pinions (lower part of the wings) and the feet should be soft and
readily bent. The breastbone of a fowl is firmer and the wings and
feet harder than those of the younger chicken. The young chicken has
an abundance of pin feathers while the old fowl has not. In fact, one
of the means of differentiating between the old chicken and the young,
even if they are practically of the same weight, is the presence of
the long hairs instead of pin feathers. The fowl selected for broth
should not be very fat, as this fat will melt into the broth, causing
it to be greasy and unpalatable. Turkey, even when it is young, is not
quite so digestible as young chicken; the fibers are longer and the
connective tissue more abundant. Goose and duck are richer in fat and
not so desirable as chicken in the invalid dietary. Squab, quail, and
young squirrel are all palatable and readily digested. The squirrel
must, however, be young, or the flesh will be tough and more difficult
of digestion.

~Fish.~--Fish should be given consideration in the dietary of the
invalid since it is a valuable source of protein and readily digested
in the majority of cases. As a rule fish is not so well liked as meat,
but since it contains a smaller percentage of ~extractives~ and
~purin~ bases it is exceedingly valuable in certain pathological
conditions. The lean varieties of fish, halibut, flounder, trout,
perch, haddock, turbot, whitefish, are more readily digested than the
dark fish, which contain a higher percentage of fat. To this latter
class belong the bluefish, mackerel, salmon, shad, and herring.

~Shellfish.~--Of the shellfish, the oyster and the clam are
exceedingly useful. The soft parts of the oyster are palatable and
easily digested. They are not highly nutritious, but give a nice
variety to the diet. When used in broth or for the juice, clams are
particularly useful. Many cases of nausea are relieved by the taking
of iced or very hot clam juice when they resist other remedies. The
necessity of having both oysters and clams absolutely fresh is of the
greatest importance, since a type of poison results from tainted
shellfish which is exceedingly dangerous.

~Pork in the Diet.~--Fresh pork is rarely ever included in the invalid
dietary save in diabetic diets. Meat from this animal must always be
thoroughly cooked, not only because underdone pork is exceedingly
indi