* 
 
H e alth’s Improvement: 
 
 o R, 
 
 RULE’S- 
 
 ' Comprizing and Difcavering the 
 
 Nature, Method and Manner 
 
 Of PREPARING all forts of 
 
 FOODS 
 
 Ufed in this Nation. 
 
 » 
 
 Written by that ever Famous 
 
 T H O M'A S M O F F E T, 
 
 Doftor in Phyfick. 
 
 »— ■ • ■ -- 
 
 Corre<9;ed and Enlarged by Christopher 
 B e n n e t, Do<Ror in Phyfick, and Fellow of 
 ^he College of Phyficians in London. 
 
 ■ — _ 
 
 To which is now prefix’d, 
 
 A Ihort View of the Author's Life and 
 Writings, bp Mr. Oldys. 
 
 AND 
 
 An Introduction, by R. James, M. D. ’ 
 
 L O N D O N: 
 
 Printed for T. Os born e in Grafs-Inn 
 
 MDCC XL5-I, 
 
Imprimatur, 
 
 Francis Prujean, Prefident. 
 
 Balduinus Hamey, 
 
 George Ent, 
 
 Edmund Wilson, 
 Christoph.Bennet, 
 
Dr. B E NN E T's 
 
 Epistle to the Reader. 
 
 IS not an Itch to be in Print, but 
 
 my Profeflion to keep Men alive, 
 and when gone to recover and revive 
 them, that hath induced me to this Un¬ 
 dertaking. Blame me not therefore for 
 uling Means to raife our Author out of 
 the Dud;, and long Oblivion, wherein 
 he was buried. 'Tis true, his own Re¬ 
 lations and their Interefts much folicited 
 my Help j but the Merits of the Man 
 were my greateft Motives, and his old 
 Fame mod; quickened me to redore 
 him. Serioufly, upon Perufal, I found 
 fo much Life and Pulfe in his dead 
 Works, that it had not been Charity in 
 me to let him die outright, fpecially 
 when tis for the World’s Good and 
 your Health's Improvement. This is all, 
 only if it may be any Advantage to have 
 
 my 
 
Epistle to the Reader. 
 
 j.ny Judgment, ftis a Piece for my Pa¬ 
 late, not likely to difrelifh any, where 
 fo much Pleafure is interlarded with our 
 Profit. I may fafely fay, upon this 
 Subject I know none that hath done 
 better; and were Platina , Apicius , or 
 Alexandrinus , with all the reft of Diete¬ 
 tic Writers now alive, they would cer¬ 
 tainly own and highly value this Dif- 
 courfe. Accept then kindly his Endea¬ 
 vours, that ftrives to do you Good both 
 in public and private. Farewel. 
 
 Chr. Bennet,. 
 
 THE 
 
T H E 
 
 T ABLE. 
 
 TNtrodu&ion 
 
 Chap. 1. IVhat Diet is. 
 
 Page X 
 *7 
 
 2. Who were the Authors of it. 
 
 3. 1 'Vkat Good it bringeth . 
 
 Chap. II. 1. How many forts of Diet there be. 75 
 
 2 . IVherein Diet confifleth materially. 
 
 3. IVherein Diet confjhtk formally. 
 
 Chap. III. and IV. Of Air. yg 
 
 1. How it is to be chofen. 
 
 2. How it is to be prepared. 89 
 
 3. How it is to be ufed. 
 
 Chap. V. Of Meat, and the Differences thereof in 
 Kind y Sub fiance. Temperature and Tajle. *100 
 Chap. VI. Of Meats. uy 
 
 How they differ in Preparation , Age and Sex. 
 Chap. VII. 1. How many forts of Flejh there be. 
 
 2. Whether Flejh or Fijh lucre frjl eaten of.\ and 
 whether of them is the purefi and bell Nourish¬ 
 ment. J2 (, 
 
 Chap. VIII. Of the Flefh of tame Beaffs. 1 36 
 
 Chap. IX. Of the Flefh of wild Beafs,or Venifon. 15 I 
 Chap. X. Of the Flejh of tame Birds. j 60 
 
 Chap. XI. Of the Flejh of wild Fowl 3 abiding and 
 feeding chiefy upon the Land. ° 1 y 3 
 
 Chap. XII. Of the Fief.) of wild Fowl , abiding 
 and feeding chiefy upon the Waters. \cyi 
 
 a 3 Chap* 
 
The T A B L E. 
 
 Chap. XIII. Of the Inwards and Out-wards hah 
 of Beefls and B:rds. 196 
 
 Chap. XlV. Of Milk. 20'J 
 
 Chap. XV. Of Butter, Cream, Curds, Cheeje 
 and IVhey. 2 16 
 
 Chap. XVI. Of Eggs and Blood. 222 
 
 Chap. XVII. Of FtJh generally, and the Diff erence 
 thereof. 229 
 
 Chap- XVIII. 0/ Sea-Fijh. 236 
 
 ♦.hap. XIX. Of fnjh IVater Fifh. 267 
 
 Chap. XX. Of Juch living Creatures and Meats as 
 he neither Fiejh nor Fifh, and yet give good Nou- 
 rffi.ment to the Body. 284. 
 
 Chap.XXI. Of Fruit and the Differences thereof 289 
 Chap. XXII. Of all Orchard Fruit. ib. 
 
 Chap. XXIII. Of fuch Fruits of the Garden as 
 are nourijhing. 3-12 
 
 Chap. XXIV. Of fuch Fruits of the Field as are 
 nourijhing . ' 529 
 
 Chap. XXV. Of the Variety, Excellency, Making, 
 and true Ufe of Bread. 3 33 
 
 Chap. XXVI. 0/' &?//, Sugar and Spice. 344 
 
 Chap. XXVII Of the neccfary Ufe and Abufe of 
 Sauces, wherein they confifl. 352 
 
 Chap. XXVIII. Of Variety of Meats, that it is 
 necefary and convenient. 357 
 
 Chap. XXIX. O/f the Quantity of Meats. 374. 
 
 Chap. XXX. Of the Quality of Meats. 
 
 Chap. XXXI. Of the Time,- Order, and Manner 
 of Eating. 
 
 A Abort 
 
A fhort VIEW of the 
 
 Life and Writings 
 
 o F 
 
 Dr. MO F F E T. 
 
 I F fome of thofe eminent Phyficians, who have 
 been fo fuccefsful in reiloring their Patients 
 to Health,and preferving them long among the 
 Living , had bellowed a little more of their Prac¬ 
 tice upon the Dead, efpeciaily of their own Pro- 
 fe/fion ; and preferv’d in due Time, fome Me¬ 
 morials of their perfonal Hiilory, and Deleus; it 
 might have been a grateful and ufeful Wor'c. In 
 a Biographical Collection of that kind, fuch as 
 the late Mr. Becket had defign'd us, we Ihould 
 probably have feen the Life of our learned Au¬ 
 thor reviv’d ; fo that it might have introduced 
 any new Edition of his Works, to the Publick ; 
 with the greater Advantage to the one, and Sa¬ 
 tisfaction to the other. But that Gentleman, 
 leaving his Collections unfmilh’d, has mention’d 
 nothing of our Author, as the worthy PolTefior 
 of them has courteoufiy inform’d us a : Other- 
 wife, we might poffibly have been obliged with 
 a rich and ample ProfpeCt j a Scene of manifold 
 
 a Dr. Edward Milward. 
 
 a 4 
 
 In- 
 
viii The LIFE of 
 
 In ft ruthon ; not only in the fine Scholar, the fa¬ 
 mous Phyfician, the experienced Chymift, and 
 ther profound natural Philofopher ; but in the 
 line Gentleman, the oblervant Traveller, Com¬ 
 panion of noble Peers, and familiar in the Courts 
 of Princes. We might then have feen, that 
 which render’d him fo acceptable there, to have 
 proceeded from his difcrec-t tempering thofe Parts 
 of Science, which are of a ferious and fevere 
 Nat ure, with the more florid and ornamental 
 Branches of it ; fuch as Muflc, Rhetoric, Poetry, 
 and others, wherein he was accompliflrd ; which 
 are moil apt to poiifh the Mind, to prevent that 
 Ruft of Aufterity which too often corrodes the 
 Genius of great Clerks ; and to make them more 
 affable, more cheerfully converfable; 'and con- 
 fequently, more engaging to the refined Claffes 
 of Mankind. In lhort, we fhould have fecn 
 him adminifler Knowledge in his Converfation, 
 as he does in his Writings, and as Health is com¬ 
 municated to us in our Medicines; the meft bit¬ 
 ter Ingredients whereof difgufting not the Patient, 
 when in the Pill they are gilded over, or in the 
 Potion they are convey’d in the pleafing Vehicles 
 of fweet Juleps, and palatable Cordials. 
 
 But as thofe celebrated Members of the Facul¬ 
 ty, who fo admired his Writings, as even fo 
 publifh fome of them, have yet alfo overlook’d 
 the Author ; any further than to beftow upon 
 him their general Approbations, and juft Ap- 
 plaule ; but fuftered the Memory of the Man, as 
 to any Hiltory of his Experience in the Profef- 
 lion, or other Engagements in Life, to be almoft 
 fwaliowed in Oblivion ; we, at this greater Di- 
 ilance of 1 ime, can now but faintly trace them 
 out, and recover only Fragments of his Story, as 
 
 of 
 
Dr. M O F F E T. h 
 
 of a Wreck, that had been Jong buried in the 
 Waves ; and thofe for a great part, as they are 
 incidentally fcatter’d from his own Pen ; which, 
 however, being very curious and remarkable, for 
 he never mentions himfelf, but upon foms extra¬ 
 ordinary Accident or Occafion, dcferve to be 
 Jingled out, and briefly interwoven ; as what may 
 not only enlighten other CircumJlances in this 
 imperfedt EJTay to advance his Fame, but facili¬ 
 tate the Refearches of any' happier Hand, which 
 (hall hereafter render the Eftablifhment of it more 
 com pleat. 
 
 Dr. Thomas Mojfet, for fo he wrote his Name 
 himfelf, and not Mujfett, or Moujfet, as it has 
 been ufually written by all others who have men¬ 
 tion d him, or even pubhfh’d his Vforks, was 
 born, as nearly as we can compute, about the 
 Year 1540, if not fomewhat nearer the Con- 
 clufion of King Henry VJ IPs Reign. He was 
 defeended of an ancient Family Tn Scotland. ; 
 where there is a Town of his Name, fo famous 
 for its Medicinal Waters, that a diftincf Volume 
 was written in praiJe of their Virtues, above 
 fourfeore Years fince b . There was a Family of 
 Mujfet, or Mojfet, of that Place, in Scotland, which 
 bore in their Coat of Arms, Sable , a Saltire, 
 Argent-, with a Chief, Argent c j but whether 
 they were related to our Doctor, we know not j 
 and as he appears to have been very young in 
 England, it is prefum’d, that he was born in 
 
 n \ Wells at Moffet In Annandale of Scotland-, an 3 tha 
 
 nr -PJi at „^- f athar ’ n ‘'s Chape], in the Paroch of Libbertcn s 
 Defcnbed by Matthew MackalUe . Printed at Edinburgh, for Ro¬ 
 bert Brown, 8 vo, 1664. & ■' 
 
 c As appears in the College of Arm at London > 
 
 a S (his 
 
x The LIFE of 
 
 thisKingdom. A.JVood , in hisfhort and imperfect 
 Account of him, conceives that his Birth-place 
 was in, or near the Parifh of St. Leonard Sbore- 
 ditchy in the City of London ; becaufe fome of 
 (hat Name, fuppofed to have been his Relations, 
 lived, and one, named John Muffet , died there. 
 Anno 1596 d . It was a Parifli then much inha¬ 
 bited by Perfons of good Fafhion, as may be 
 feen by their Epitaphs, and Benefadtions; and 
 Sboreditcb-Place had been formerly the King’s 
 Manour e . If the Doctor was born there, that 
 John might be a Relation, for he had two or 
 three Brothers; and he mentions himfelf, the 
 eldeft of them ; who feems to have been feated 
 at Aldbam-hall in Ejjex , as we gather from what 
 the Dodtor occafionally obferves, in his Chapter 
 of Oyjiers ; where he defcribes one, brought to 
 the Table, at the Celebration of his faid Brother’s 
 Marriage there, which had Shells a Foot long, 
 and was cut into eight Morfels, to be eaten f ; 
 •o, was a greater Rarity than what Pliny has re¬ 
 corded as fuch. The Dodtor alfo fpeaks of his 
 Mother in another Part of this Book ; as if 
 (he died of a Surfeit {he had taken, in eating fome 
 Pigs Flefh 
 
 That he was in his younger Days retained, or 
 acquainted in the noble Family of Somerfet , feems 
 to be intimated in another of his Books; where 
 having defcribed the Difference of thofe Bees 
 which are old, from the young ones, he adds, 
 
 a Atbcr.. Oxen. Fol. Edit. Lend. 1721. Vo!. I. Col. 248. 
 t y. Stoiv's Survey of London. Edit. fol. 1633. p. 474. 
 t Dr. Moffct 's Health’s Improvement, or Rules of Food, i2mo. 
 p. 252. 
 
 g 1 dm, p. 146. 
 
 “ And 
 
Dr. M O F F E T. xi 
 
 <c And thus much was made appear to the Dut- 
 chefs of Somerfet , when I was a Youth; under 
 whofe Chamber there was the very fame Swarm 
 of Bees, which had been there upwards of thirty 
 Years h .” He mentions this Age of thofe Bees 
 twice again, in another Chapter, treating of 
 thofe Infers: In one of the Paflages, we find 
 the Place where thefe Bees were, to have been at 
 her Grace’s Seat at Hanworth ; and from the 
 other, we learn, that he was afterwards her Phy- 
 fician. It is from himfelf alfo we gather, that 
 he was in his younger Days about the Court; 
 for where he {peaks of JVolmer that foul Feeder, 
 who would fwallow Glafs, OyIter-{hells, or 
 any thing ; yet at lad was overpower’d with eat¬ 
 ing of a raw Eel , he fays that he lived in the 
 Court in his Memory Another early Particu¬ 
 lar he takes notice of, in the Compafs of his own 
 1 ime, is that, where he tells us he remember’d 
 when Artichokes were fuch Dainties in England , 
 as to have been fold tor a Crown a piece k ; and 
 yet we find they did grow here, fome Years be¬ 
 fore he was born ; tho* it appears that they w’ere 
 then fo fcafce, as to be accounted a Prefent fit 
 for a King ; and fome of the Nobility and Gen¬ 
 try who raifed them in their Gardens, did fend 
 them as Prefents to King Henry VIII. There 
 feems to have been fettled Rewards appointed for 
 the Servants who brought thofe, and fome other 
 
 h InJeElorum, ftnje minim. Ar.im, Tbeatr. fol. t;. where our Au¬ 
 thor’s Words are, Id quod nobis Juvenibus Ducijfi Smnerfetia often*, 
 fum fuijje 5 fub cujus cubiculo unum idemq- } Examen ad Trictfimum 
 ufque Annum fupererat. 
 
 i Health’s Improvement, p. 376, & 123. 
 
xii the LIFE of 
 
 Garden-ProdutBs to the Court; particularly, in 
 a very curious and authentic AAanufcript we have 
 had the Opportunity of infpefting, containing 
 the Disburfements of that King’s privy Purfe, for 
 above three Years, fign’d at the hind of every 
 Month by his own Hand, one Article is this—- 
 “ Anno 22° Regis, March 19th, Paid to a Ser- 
 “ vant of Matter Treafurer’s, in Reward for 
 “ bringing Archecokks to the King’s Grace, to 
 “ Tork-Place , 3 s. 4d. ” They are otherwife 
 written in this Book, Artichokks h The fpeak- 
 ing whereof remembers us of having alfo feen an 
 old Painting, fometime in the Poffeflion of He~ 
 neage late Eail of IVinchelfca , and likely to appear 
 in Print from Mr. Vertue, reprefenting that King’s 
 Sitter, Mary Queen Dowager of France , with 
 her Husband Charles Brandon , Duke of Suffolk \ 
 and in her Hand, an Artichoke , with a Caducous 
 ttuck in it; how fully accounted for, we know 
 not, by thofe who conceive, there is in it, rather 
 an emblematical, than hiftorical Signification. 
 
 We m ght alfo mention other Obfervations, 
 whichourAuthor has .remember’d from hisyounger 
 Years : as the Remark lie made, that Bucklershury, 
 fo full of Shops of Phyfic, Drugs, and Spicery,was 
 the only Street in London which elcaped the great 
 
 1 This Acccmpt-Book of K. HcnryV III. from the 17th of Novem¬ 
 ber in the noth Year,to the 21ft of December , the 23d of his Reign, 
 iho’ a little imperfedt at the Beginning and End, contains 298 Pages 
 in largt Folio, and has many oblervable Particulars in it. In the 
 'Year 1634 it fell by chance into the Hands of Sic Orlando Bridgman f 
 afterwards Lord Keeper of the Great Seal; who probably bound it 
 in that fine, gilded, blue Turky-leather Cover it wears. In his 
 Family it continued, till it was lately fold, among the Books, Cu- 
 riofitieS, &c. of tire late Mrs. Bridgman , 
 
 t ■ 
 
 Plague, 
 
Dr. M O F F E T. xiii 
 
 Plague, brought over by our Soldiers from New - 
 haven which was in the Year 1563. 
 
 But before this Time, we are to look for him 
 at his Studies ; in which, after his more juvenile 
 Education at London , as we are told, he is faid to 
 have palled fome time at the Univerfity of Ox¬ 
 ford but we are not inform’d of what Col¬ 
 lege or Hall he was. Surely, when the long- 
 wilh’d for Hijlory of Cambridge Writers fhall ap¬ 
 pear, there will be a great Drawback made upon 
 Ant. Wood: For, notwitbftanding that the Doc¬ 
 tor might poflibly pafs fome time at Oxford , the 
 other Univerfity will, we believe, claim a greater 
 Share in him. He mentions himfelf, inthisvery 
 Book, his refiding at Cambridge\ by the fame 
 Token, that he was near being poifon’d once 
 there, with eating of a few Mufcies n . But, in 
 another Work, he more diredfly exprefles him¬ 
 felf to have been of that Univerfity ; where he 
 mentions Dr. Thomas Larkin , who v/as of 11. 
 Peter's College °, and King’s Profejfor of Phylick, 
 to have voided a Stone in a very unufual Manner, 
 which Dr. Moffet fays, he himfelf, and many 
 others of that Univerfity, faw there p. Tho’ our 
 Author mentions not his Sight of that Stone till 
 after Dr. Larkin was King’s Profeflbr, by his 
 mentioning this Title, it argues not but he might 
 
 * Health's Tmprcrv. p. 96. 
 m Athen. Oxon. Ubi fupra. 
 n Page 250. 
 
 o Fuller's Hilt, of Cambridge, Fol. 125. 
 p His Woids are,— Verum ipfe cum pluiimis aliis Academics 
 vidi calculum inftar ovi Columbini per alvum excretum Cantabrlgue 
 a Doftoi e Larkina Rcgio Medians ibidem Profefl'ore, qui dolore 
 coli Sc Atrophia diu affiictus, calculum qua dixi, forma & magni- 
 tudine, feu moleftiOimum aci partum, tandem enitebatur> ‘Ibeatr, 
 Jafecl, Fol, 283.. 
 
xiv The LIFE oj 
 
 fee it, or at leaft be of that Univerfity before. 
 To the Knowledge and Learning he acquir’d by 
 his Studies, he added the Improvements that were 
 to be gather’d from Converfation with learned 
 and knowing Men ; fuch as Dr. Caius the Foun¬ 
 der, whofe Learning he reverenced q , and whofe 
 I rowardnefs in his laft Sicknefs he rationally ac¬ 
 counts for r . Dr. William Turner the Divine, 
 a learned Pbyficianand famous Botanift,who died 
 in 1568, the fame Year that the whole three Parts 
 of his Herbal were printed at Cologn in Folio ; 
 wherein we find that he alfo wrote a Natural 
 Hi/lory of Fifties, which never appear’d, that we 
 can learn, in Print. Therein was probably pre- 
 ferv’d the Receipt that would have taught us how 
 to prepare Sprats, as our Author fays he had feen 
 of his doing, that furpafled Anchovas % Dr. Mof¬ 
 fo alfo celebrates him for having a Son excellent 
 in the h acuity ; calling him the happy Father cf 
 one Peter , who was born to give Phyfic to Phy- 
 fic itfelf'. We might further mention among 
 the learned Acquaintance he had of his Profefiion, 
 L r - Timothy Bright, Dr. William Brewer , and 
 Dr. Thomas Penny , all learned and curious Na- 
 turalifts; in the latter of whom he inftances the 
 ill ccnfequences of abftaining from Salt 11 ; and 
 fays, that he once cured him, when he lay fick 
 of an Afthma, and had long taken Hog-lice in 
 Wine to no Effect, with fmoaking of Brimjlone 
 twice or thrice through a Pipe x . Many other 
 
 q Health's Improvement, p. 283. 
 r Ibid. p. 210. 
 s Idem, p. 261. 
 t 'Theatrurn Inf eft. fol. 192. 
 u Health' 1 Improvement , p. 347. 
 X Theatr. Jnfecl. fol. 204. 
 
 learned 
 
Dr. M O F F E T. xv 
 
 learned Perfons he mentions of his Acquaintance, 
 in like manner occafionally, or on the account of 
 fome remarkable Circumftance, belides feveral 
 others of noble and honourable Diftin&ion * fuch 
 as his chief Patron, the gallant Peregrine- Lord 
 Willoughby,Robert Earl of Effex , and Henry Earl 
 of Pembroke ; alfo Sir Francis JValJingham , whom 
 he vifited often at Barn-elms, and attended in his 
 laft Iilnefs ; belides the renown’d Sir Francis 
 Drake , whofhewed him the firft Flying Fijh that 
 was brought into England y ; alfo the valiant and 
 ingenious Sir William Pelham , who gained great 
 Fame by his Sword, and might have done with 
 his Pen, had he affedfed that Honour, by pub- 
 lifhing his Compofitions; of which we have feen 
 fome polite Examples* and there was alfo a Pic¬ 
 ture to be feen of him fome Years lince at Sir 
 'John Palmer s at Wingham, The Acquaintance 
 of two learned and ingenious Knights of Norfolk , 
 Sir Thomas and Sir Edmund Knevit he gratefully 
 commemorates, in his Book of lnfefts 7 -, and their 
 Communication of feveral curious Particulars to 
 illuftrate the fame. From all whom he gain’d, as 
 Men of great Genius, refin’d Morals, and libe¬ 
 ral Accomplilhments afpire to do, the Character 
 his high Merits deferv’d, and the Happinefs of 
 being “ efieem’d a famous Ornament of the Body 
 “ of Phyficians, and the true Pattern of all po- 
 “ life and folid Literature. 1 ” But ftill being 
 ambitious of enlarging the Circle of his Obferva- 
 tion and Experience, he travel’d into divers Coun¬ 
 tries of Europe , over many Parts of Holland,Ger- 
 
 y Health's Improvement, p. 245. 
 z Theatr. Infefi. fol. 57, Sc 197. 
 a Athen. Oxon. ut fupra. 
 
 many^ 
 
xvi The LIFE c/ 
 
 many, Switzerland, Denmark, lbme Paris of 
 France, and, as he informs us himfelf,aIfo of Italy j 
 where he became known to many eminent Aden, 
 Phyficians, Chymifts, and Matters of various 
 other Sciences; among whom Joachim Camera- 
 rius, he mentions in particular; he calls him his 
 dear and learned Friend b ; and fays, that he de- 
 fcrib’d feveral Infers to Dr. Penny out of the Duke 
 of Saxony’s Mujaum of Natural Curiofities c . 
 As to theTime precifely that he firft fet out upon 
 his Travels, w r e have not diredlly met with* it, 
 but by the Remarks he made upon the Cameleon 
 in 1571, and its catching of Flies fo expertly 
 with its long glutinous Tongue, he fnould feem 
 to have been then abroad, and in feme Country 
 which is lefs a Stranger to that Animal than oursA 
 He is thought, by Ant. Wood , to have been doc- 
 torated in Phyfick in fome noted Univerttty in 
 his Travels 6 ; and he does himfelf fpeak of his 
 ttudying in the Academy at Bafil, in the Year 
 1579, under the famous Faelix PUterus, Prefi- 
 dent of the Phyficians there, and Zuingerus 
 He alfo informs us of his accompanying his noble 
 Patron the Lord TVilloughby of Eresby aforefaid, 
 when he carried over the Order of the Garter 
 from Queen Elizabeth to Frederick King of 
 Denmark ; and that he fat feven or eight Hours 
 at Dinner with his Majefty s ; and this was, as 
 we may read in the Hiftory of that Queen’s 
 
 b Health's Improvement, p, m, 
 c 1 Theatr. Ir.fe£l. fol. 152, 
 d Thejtr. In fed. fo], 72. 
 e At ben. Oxon. nbi fupra. 
 f ‘ Theatr. Infect, fo!. 297. 
 
 S Health's improvement , p. 396, 
 
 Reign, 
 
Dr. M O F F E T. xvii 
 
 Reign, in the Year 1582 h . He there became 
 acquainted with feveral renowned Scholars; as 
 Tycho Brahe the noble Aftronomer, and Peter 
 Severinus that King's principal Phyfician; who 
 having had fome Controversy with certain Anti- 
 paraceljians , and Enemies to the new Improve¬ 
 ments in Phyfick by Chymical Preparations, ap¬ 
 pear’d in Print upon that Occafion; and finding 
 Dr. Mcjfct had Experience and Judgment to re- 
 lifli and advance the faid Improvements, he in¬ 
 duced him alfo to become an Advocate in the 
 fame Caufe ; fo when he returned to London , lie 
 "wrote in Latin an ApolcgeticalDialogue , in which 
 he maintains the Ufa and Excellency of Chymi¬ 
 cal Medicines with great Add refs. He alfo wrote 
 elegantly, in the fame Language, Five Medici¬ 
 nal Epi files, to tw\) Phyficians of his Acquain¬ 
 tance. in the fir ft whereof, directed to Phi/a - 
 lelhes , a German Chymift, he endeavours to 
 clear Paracel/us from certain Imputations which 
 had been objected to him, and fome of them I 
 think by Thomas Eraflus\ as that he was obfcure 
 in his W ritings; a Proteus in his Opinions, and 
 inconfiftent with himfelf; ignorant of Method 
 in h s Compofitions, and underftood only the 
 German Tongue; was unacquainted with Lo- 
 gick, Phyficks, Aftrology, and Geometry : 
 I hat he was a Magician, held Correfpondence 
 with Demons; was given to Drunkennefs, and 
 keeping of vulgar Company. To all which 
 the Doftor has made very handfome Reply. 
 In the three following Epiftles addrefs’d to the 
 fame Perfon, he gives many Reafons why the 
 modern Phyficians are rather to be follow’d than 
 
 h Camden's Annals of E/ixjtetb, 
 
 the 
 
xviii • The LIFE of 
 
 the Antients ; and (hews what Advantages, in 
 , their Profe/fion, the Light of Art gives to that 
 of Nature, in their Co-operation. In his laft 
 Epiftle, which is diretfted, Endymloni Luddipc- 
 lenji , Cham ft a ; hefhews, how expedient it is 
 for a Phyficietn to be a Traveller , notwithstand¬ 
 ing thofe Vices which may fometimes afiault 
 him in his Travels; here produced, as writ¬ 
 ten by his Correfpondent, againft this hazardous 
 Means to a more enlarged Experience and Im¬ 
 provement in the Science. Thefe Letters were 
 written, one of them in 1582, if the Date in 
 the Edition before us be right, and the reft in 
 1583 and 1584. They were, together with the 
 Apologetical Dialogue aforefaid, printed abroad in 
 the Year laft mentioned, as fome Authors write *, 
 and they have, prefixed to them.our Doftor’s De¬ 
 dication to the King of Denmark's Phyfician 
 above-named. In Augujl 1586, he and Dr. Penny 
 attended upon the Dutchefs of Somerfet , then 
 dangeroufly fick at her Seat at Hanwortb ; as he 
 has informed us, where he is difeourfing of the 
 Bees before fpoken of; and adds, that while they 
 were fitting up and watching that Lady with her 
 
 i The Dialogue is entitled, De jure £Lf praeflantia Cbemicorum 
 Medicamentorum, Dialogus Apologeticus. Extat. at>ud Francofordia , 
 Anno Domini i 584, are the Wor s of John Pits , De illu/i. Ar.gl. 
 Script. 4to. Paris 1619. p.916. -So alfo A. JVood \ who adds, 
 that it was publish'd likewite in 8vo, Urfell. 1602. and in the 
 firft Volume of Lheatrum Cbcmicum, Argent. 1623. 8vo. That 
 Collection of Chemical Writers was publifh’d fir ft in 1602, as above, 
 in three Volumes, by Laxarus Letxnerus. The laft Edition, we 
 have feen, is in fix Volumes oSiavo, punted by the Heirs of that 
 Laxarus , who was a Bookft ller, at Strasburgb 1659. Dr. Mof- 
 fet's Dialogue is printed in the firft Volume, p. 64. beginning at the 
 Dedication; and it is follow’d with his Letters, entitled, Epijlala 
 quinyue Medicinalts , p, 89. which end at p. 108, 
 
 two 
 
XIX 
 
 Dr. M O F F E T. 
 
 two noble Daughters, Mary and Elizabeth, they 
 heard, after a Clap of Thunder, amort: amazing 
 Noife between the Joifts and Cieling under 
 them, which made the very Floor tremble; and 
 it proved to proceed from that Swarm of Bees, 
 affrighted by the faid Thunder, which had 
 remained there thirty Years, and every Year 
 yielded two or three Swarms, as they after¬ 
 wards underftood from many credible Wit- 
 neffes: F'rom w-hence he concludes thofe Infedfs 
 are much alarm’d with any great Noife or Light 
 in the Night-time, and are moft impatient of 
 Difturbance in their Reft ic . Two Years after, 
 there was another Latin Book of his publifhed 
 abroad;tho’the Author himfelf feems to have been 
 then in England ; containing the Progno/licks of 
 Hippocrates , or Symptoms of the Difeafes that are 
 difperfed in his Works, reduced into Order * 1 . 
 
 In the Month of July^ Anno 1591, the King 
 of France having refolved to take Roan and Neuu- 
 haven before the Duke of Parma could arrive 
 there to oppofe him, obtained of Queen Eliza* 
 beth a Supply of 4000 Men, under the Command 
 of the Earl of Ejfex , for his better Affiftance 
 againrt the Confederates of the League m . Dr. 
 Moffet attended upon the Earl in this Expedition 11 , 
 either as Phyrtcian to him or the Army. He pro¬ 
 bably bore him alfo Company in his difficult and 
 dangerous Journey to Noyon , where the French 
 King then was, and had Cent for the Earl to con¬ 
 
 ic Theatr. Infect, fol. 14, 21 . 
 
 1 This Work of our Author, is entitled, Nofemantica Ilippocra- 
 tea, Jive Hippocratis Prognojlica cunbia, ex omnibus ipfius fcnptis 
 met bodice digefla, Sec. Franc. 8voi;88. 
 
 m Camden's Annals of Q_^ Elizabeth, Anr.o 1591. 
 n Health's Improvement, p. 139. 
 
 fult 
 
XX The LIFE of 
 
 fult with him about the Management of the War. 
 While the Dodlor lay in the Englijh Camp at 
 Arques , Death made a Conqueft, which he could 
 not prevent. For TValter Devereux the Earl’s 
 Brother, a gallant young Gentleman, advancing 
 from the Army too near unto Roan , to reco- 
 noitre the Enemy, was there fhot with a Muf- 
 quet-Ball, and loll his Life for his Curiofity. 
 But there might be Occalion enough foon after 
 for the Dodlor to exercife his bell Skill to pre¬ 
 serve fome Englijh Lives in this Enterprize ; for 
 in the beginning of November the fame Year, 
 when the Duke of Parma was upon his March, 
 the King of France did at lall, but very back- 
 wardly, and not without great Inftigation from 
 the Queen of England , begin to beliege Roan , 
 and fent Ejfex into England for more Supplies; 
 who returning fome few Days after, upon Chrijl - 
 mas- Eve, he attack’d the Fort of St. Katharine 
 on four Sides at once; but in three of them ex- 
 pofed the Englijh to great Slaughter. The Suc¬ 
 cours requir’d at the Englijh Court, were not 
 denied; but the Queen could not forbear reproving 
 the King’s unadvifed Delays in the Siege, andfub- 
 je&ing her Army alone to the greateft of the Dan¬ 
 ger °. After the Dodlcrbs Return from Not • rnandy , 
 we cannot very dillinclly declare where he was 
 fettled in England. We may gather that he was 
 fome time an Inhabitant at Ipfvuich , and that he 
 had with him a Family ; for he mentions his 
 Maid-fervants there in this Work ?. There are 
 many other obfervable Pallages in this and his 
 other Writings which flievv that he employ’d his 
 
 o Annal, E!!z. ubi jvpra» 
 
 ; p Health's Improvement } p. 247. 
 
 Pea 
 
r Dr. M O F F E T; xxi 
 
 Pen pretty conftantly in preferving them to the 
 latter End of the Queen’s Reign ; as where he 
 fpeaks of the Lady P enrudduck , who for ten 
 Years together was prey’d upon by fome of the 
 fmalieft of Infefts, called Wheal-Worms ; occa¬ 
 sioned by drinking too much Goats Milk to cure 
 aConfumption ; againft which Worms fhe could 
 get no Remedy ; and her Death, when our 
 Author wrote thereof, he fays was frefli in their 
 Memories who belt knew and lov’d her “J. 
 
 Another Obfervation of his within the faid 
 Period of Time, feems to be that whereby he 
 confirmed an AfTertion which Platerus had for¬ 
 merly made to him, that he had found a live 
 Toad in the midft of a hard Stone; which, the 
 Do&or fays, he fhould have thought incredible, 
 had he net known the fame to have happen’d in 
 a Quarry belonging to TV. Cave> Efq; an honour¬ 
 able Gentleman in LeiceJlerjJnre'\ the fame Per- 
 fon, as we take it, who was high Sheriff of that 
 County, Anno 37th Eliz. as appears elfewhere s . 
 And not long before this we are as direftly afi. 
 fured, that from another Quarry of free Stone at 
 Har le/lone, a Mile from Holdenly in North amp - 
 tonjhlre , which was dug for the building of Sir 
 Chri/lopher Hatton's Houfe, there was a Block 
 taken up, a Yard and a half fquare, which being 
 cloven afunder, there was found in the midft of 
 it, a great Toad alive, which foon died when it 
 was brought into the Air. The Author who re¬ 
 lates this parallel Story, fays, there were five 
 hundred People who faw it, and moft of them 
 
 <j Thcat. InfeSl. fol. 266. and Health's Improvement, p. ->12, 
 
 1 neat. Inf. fol. 248. 
 
 e T, Fuller's Worthies, in Leicejl, 
 
 living 
 
xxii The LIFE of 
 
 firing when he wrote of it f . The Expedition 
 of Mr. Thomas Cavendifh and Sir Robert Dudley 
 to the JVeJl-bidies , feems alfo to have been a re¬ 
 cent Circumftance when he wrote of it, to iliu- 
 ftrate his Account of the Glow-Worm j for the 
 Night they landed, they faw in the adjacent 
 Woods, an infinite Number of moving Lights; 
 which, miftaking for the Spaniards coming upon 
 them unawares, with their Firelocks and Match- 
 lights, they fled in hafte to their Ships; tho’ it 
 feems what they faw, were no more than thofe 
 harmlefs Infedfs which are called Lanthorn Flies u . 
 But the Notice our Author takes of Richard, the 
 Uncle of that Mr. Cavendijh the famous Navi¬ 
 gator, and how he was perfectly cured of the 
 Gout, might diretffly point out the Time he was 
 writing that part of his Work, if a little En¬ 
 quiry was to be made; for he obferves upon that 
 Cure, “ That now, to the great Wonder of all 
 “ the Court, he walks alone, without any Help j 
 44 and being found, and void of all Pain, he lives 
 44 an old Man*.” The Time of his compofing 
 another part of the faid Work might alfo be 
 fettled, from what he fays upon the Locujls j 
 when the Spaniards were fo forely affli£fed with 
 the Swarms of them that flew over from Africa ; 
 the Tidings whereof arrived at the Time, fays 
 he, that we are writing of them'". Some further 
 Light in the Chronology of his Compofitions 
 may be drawn from his pleafant Allufion to Sir 
 f ohnHarrington’s Metamorphofis of A-jax z , which 
 
 t E. Hop fell's Hiftory of four-footed Beafts and Serpents. Fol. 
 1658. p. 817. 
 
 u 7 beat. Inf. fol. 112. See alfo Hakluyt 's Voyages, vol. 3. 
 r. 'Ibeat. Inf. fol. 324. 
 y Ibid. fol. 123. 
 z Health't lmprov. p. 81. 
 
 2 
 
 was 
 
Dr. M O F F E T. xxiii 
 
 was printed in 1596. We mention’d fomething 
 before of his Family at Ipfwich ; but now, in 
 the latter part of his Life, he was fettled at or 
 near Wilton , where he buried his firft Wife, on 
 the 18th of April i6oo z ; and fhe feems to have 
 left one Daughter behind her. Tho’ he furvived 
 this Wife but a few Years, he married, a Year or 
 two after fhe died, another, who was a Widow, 
 had Children, and furvived him, as will hereafter 
 appear. His noble Patron, the Lord Willoughby, 
 he mentions often, and never without fome grate¬ 
 ful Epithet of Praife ; as upon the Occafion of 
 his prefenting his Lcrdfhip with an extraordinary 
 large Pike-fijh that was a Yard and a half 
 long, he juftly calls him a Mirror of Chevalry in 
 one Place a , and his mojl honourable good Lord in 
 another b ; where he informs us what gave him 
 Relief in his moft dangerous Confumption. If 
 that was his Lordfhip’s laft Illnefs, we may trace 
 our Auther writing in the Book where it is men¬ 
 tion’d, to near the End of Queen Elizabeth's 
 Reign : The faid Lord dying in 1601°. 
 
 Thus having extracted feveral of thofe Inci¬ 
 dents from his Writings, which would beft guide 
 us in the Progrefs of his perfonal Hiftory, it now 
 remains to add what we have more to fay of thefe 
 Writing themfelves, and what we have been able 
 to gather touching his latter End. In this Book 
 of Foods, he refers to another of his compofing, 
 unmention’d by all Authors who have fpoken of 
 
 z Extract of the Church-Regijier at Wilton, communicated by an 
 honourable Friend, Sir Peter Pbompfon, High Sheriff of Surrey. 
 a Health's Impr. p. 247. 
 
 b Ibid. 33a. See alfo the Earl of Leicejier's Character of this 
 gallant Lord Willoughby, in the Britijh Librarian, 870,1738. p.272. 
 c See Camden's Annals of Q . Elizabeth, in that Year. 
 
 him, 
 
xxiv The LIFE cf 
 
 him, which would have been very proper to have 
 bore it Company. He entitles it his Treatife of 
 Drinks d : It is much to be regretted that the 
 Publick has been deprived of it ; for like every 
 Thing elfe of his writing, we doubt not but 
 Learning and Experience would have appeared 
 therein, joined with Judgment and Eloquence; 
 and that his Arguments would have been fup- 
 ported by his Knowledge, and his Knowledge il- 
 luftrated by Variety of Examples ancient and mo¬ 
 dern. But this Treatife we fear is quite loft; 
 and it is well that the reft, which he lived not to 
 publifli himfelf, have met with Regard more 
 equal to their Merits ; for befides that Dialogue r 
 with thofe Letters , and the Book of Hippocrates 
 before-mentioned, we have met with no more 
 of his Writings publifh'd in his Lifetime, except, 
 according to the Account of Ant. Wood , an im¬ 
 perfect Edition that was printed abroad of his 
 Book of Inf efts which,whether furreptitioufly, 
 or by his Permiffion, we know not, having ne¬ 
 ver feen it: But we have feen, in a fair Folio 
 Volume, the Doctor's own Manufcript, of that 
 learned and elaborate Work, which he defigned 
 for the Prefs before the Queen’s Death ; for there 
 is a Dedication at the beginning of it to her Ma- 
 jefty; and there is prefixed to that, a Frcntif- 
 piece engraved by William Rogers of London ; 
 in which Sculpture there appears, in finall oval 
 Frames, the Effigies of the four following Per- 
 fons, Conradus Gcfncr at the Top, Dr . Edivard 
 Wotton , and Dr. Thomas Penny , on each Side ; 
 and our Author, Dr. Moffet himfelf, ftiled Scots- 
 
 Anglusy 
 
 d Health' t Impro-v. p. 221. * A. Wood fay?, that fome im- 
 
 perfeft Copies cf this Book were publilhed by Lour, Scbofcius, 
 Anno 1598, &c, 
 
XXV 
 
 Dr. M O F F E T. 
 
 Anglus, at the Bottom. His Dedication to Queen 
 Elizabeth is fubfcrib’d with his Name as we here 
 fpeil it. After the Queen was dead, her Name 
 was crofs’d out, and King ^fames' s put in; and 
 under the Name of the Author at the End, there 
 was added Scoto- Anglus ; which Alterations are 
 in a Hand different from the faid Dedication, and 
 from that in which the Body of the Work itfelf 
 is written ; but they might poffibly be made by 
 the Dr. as well as the Marginal Additions through¬ 
 out the whole Volume, which alfo are in a diffe¬ 
 rent Hand from the T ext. For this, as well as 
 the Dedication, feems to be a fair Tranfcript, 
 made from what the Do&or had written, or dic¬ 
 tated as his moft finifh’d and compleat Copy for 
 the Prefs c ; through which, it was many Years 
 before it made its Way to the Publick, as we 
 (hall relate. After King yarnes came to the 
 Crown, it feems that the Time and Expence re¬ 
 quired in printing the Work, and reprefenting 
 the Infefts in Sculpture, probably firft delign’d on 
 C pper-plates, to anfwer the Title-page above- 
 mention’d, delay’d the Publication, till Sicknefs 
 and Death divided the Author from his Labours. 
 He had, torfome time before he died, refided at 
 Bulb ridge, near Wilton in Wiltjhire , as a Re¬ 
 tainer to the Earl of Pembroke ; from whom he 
 had a yearly Sailary allow’d him as long as he 
 lived, moffly through the Favour of that Earl’s 
 excellent Lady, Alary Countefs of Pembroke 
 As the Earl was Lord Prefidentof Wales , he had 
 
 e This curious Manufcript, adorn’d with Drawings of the In . 
 Jilts, is preferved in the Library of Sir Hans Sloar.e, who very cour- 
 
 teoufly obliged me with the Liberty of making thefe Obfcrvations 
 upon it. 
 
 f Aden, 0 *on, vol, I, col. 249, 
 
 b much 
 
 V 
 
xxvi The LIFE of 
 
 much Occafion to vifit and refide upon the Her¬ 
 ders of that Principality ; and that Dr. Mojfet 
 attended upon him thither, appears plainly, where 
 he is describing the Situation of Ludlozu-Cafle y 
 and mentions himfelf as a Sojourner there, while 
 he was writing this Book of Foods*. But he 
 feems to have ended his Life at, or near Wilton „ 
 He made his Will in the beginning of fune 1604, 
 and as its Brevity will apologize for our not mak¬ 
 ing any Abbreviation of it, wefhall prefent it to 
 our Readers entire ; and it is as follows. 
 
 “ |N the Name of Goo, Amen. Being af- 
 “ fured of my Refurredfion to Life, through 
 5t the only Merits of my Saviour Jesus Christ, 
 “ I commit my Body to the Earth, and my 
 “ Soule into the Handes of Him that gave it. 
 “ And now being in perfect Memorie, tho’ 
 44 weake in Bodie, I make this my Jaft Will 
 44 and Tenement, in Forme following. Firft 
 
 44 unto Si/fan, my Wife's eldeft Daughter, I 
 * 4 give and bequeath my Paire of Virginals. And 
 
 45 unto Richards, her elded Son, all my other 
 “ Inhruments of Mufique whatfoever. And 
 44 unto Martha, another of my Wife’s Daugh- 
 “ ters, I give Three Pounds in Money. And 
 44 unto the Boy Thomas Pomery, I give Thirtie 
 44 Pounds of Money. Moreover unto Dodfori 
 44 Hall , Nephew unto my Wife, I give Ten 
 44 Pounds in Money; and alfo, all my wearing 
 “ Apparel, excepting my Damaske Gowne, and 
 44 one other black Cloth Gowne, and my belt 
 44 black Cloake. All other myGoods and Chattels, 
 ** my Debts and Legacies being paide, my Will 
 
 g tfuhb's Jmfrcv, p. S7, Sc p. 152. 
 
 I 
 
 and 
 
Dr. M O F F E T. xxvh 
 
 f£ and Pleafure is, that my Wife during her 
 “ Widowhoode (hail have the Ufe of them all. 
 “ And if fhe be hereafter marryed, then the 
 “ whole do I give unto my Daughter Patience. 
 “ Provided that if my Wife do not marrie be- 
 “ fore my Daughter be eighteene yeares of Age j 
 “ then when fhe is of the Age of eighteene, that 
 “ fhe prefentlie have the one haulfe unto herfelf, 
 the Ufe of the other haulfe remayning unto 
 ‘‘ my-Wife, during her Widowhoode. And 
 “ after, if (he marrie, or chaunce to dye,the fame 
 “ haulfe to return likewife unto my Daughter. 
 
 And if my Daughter chaunce to dye, before 
 “ fire be eighteene Yeares old, then the haulfe 
 that is in my Wife’s Handes remayning, to 
 4 * remayne likewife unto my Wife forever. Alfo 
 “ I give unto my deare Frend and Father in 
 ‘‘ Chrifte Mr. Parker , my befl Englijh Bible.- 
 46 The fecond of June ; figned and fealed with 
 4t mine owne Hande : By me Thomas Mojjet — 
 * 4 Unto my Siller Thomas , I give thirtie Shil- 
 l‘ n gs, to be put into a Ringe. My Over- 
 4 ‘ feers, I make my two Brethren, William , and 
 i '‘ Peter j and give to each of them, in confide- 
 <i ration thereof, thirtie Shillings. By me Tho - 
 ‘‘ mas Moffet. Signed and fealed in the Prefence 
 ‘‘ of us, as Witnefles, Thomas Brewer, Dodfon 
 “ Hall, William CollyerP’ 
 
 Soon after he had executed thisWill, he died ; 
 for on the third Day after the Date thereof, that 
 is to fay,on the 5 th of June, 1604,he was buried at 
 V/ilto n J , and Adminiifration was granted to Ka- 
 
 \ f * 1 E* Regftr. vocal, liar to : qu. 91, ;n Cur, B'aror, Cantuar. 
 
 i Cburck-Regift < at Wilton . 
 
 b 2 therine , 
 
xxviii The LIFE of 
 
 therine , the Relidf of the Deceafed, on the 20th 
 of November following. 
 
 As to that learned Woik, his Hiftory of In¬ 
 fers, there were fome Endeavours made after the 
 Dodlor’s Death to publifh it, for the Benefit of 
 the Family, dedicated, as aforefaid, to K.James : 
 But the Expence reftrain’d its Publication, and 
 it could not for many Years ftrugsle into the 
 Light. It lay in this Obfcurity with the Author’s 
 Friends till one Darnell, who had been former¬ 
 ly the Dolor’s Apothecary, fold the Manufcript 
 above-mentioned to Sir Theodore de May erne the 
 King’s Phyfician, and it lay many Years in his 
 Study unpubhfh’d, becaufe he could not, after 
 much Solicitation, as he fays, both at home and 
 abroad, procure any Piinter to beat the Charge 
 of fetting this Orphan, as he calls it, forth to 
 the World. Then theEpiftle Dedicatory, to one 
 of thofe Princes, Sir Theodore thought would ap¬ 
 pear unfeafonable; when he publifh’d the Work, 
 after they were both dead; and he cared not 
 himielf to dedicate another Man’s Labours to 
 King Charles , who reign’d when he gave us his 
 Edition thereof, or obfeure his Majefty’s Virtues 
 with the Smoke of comely Eloquence; but be¬ 
 caufe Dr. IViUiam Paddy, a Knight alfo, and 
 Phyfician to that King (when after the Murder 
 of Henry IV. of France , King James invited 
 j'odtor de May erne into England) had enter¬ 
 tain d him very cjurteoufly here, and fhew’d 
 him other Tokens of Friendfhip and Ap¬ 
 probation; he therefore, when he publiih’d it k , 
 
 made 
 
 k Under the Title of InfeBorum, five minimerum Animalium 
 Theatrum, dim ab Edoardo Wottono, Conrado Gefnero Themaque 
 Pennio ineboatum, Tandem Tho. Moufeti Tendinitis opera fumptibuf- 
 
 4 que 
 
Dr. M O F FE T. xxlx 
 
 made a Dedication of the faid’Book to him, as 
 he informs us therein ; and has further in the 
 fame, by many Obfervations, illuflrated theWif- 
 dom of Providence, in that minute, but multifa¬ 
 rious pan of the Creation, whereof our Author 
 has fo learnedly treated. Sir Theodore has more¬ 
 over in that Dedication to Sir William Paddy, 
 fpoken very juftiy in Dr. Mcffei’s Commendation, 
 calling him, An eminent Ornament of the Society 
 of Phyftcians ; a Man of the more polite and folid 
 Learning , and renoivn'd in moj} Branches of Sci¬ 
 ence. So towards the Conclusion defires, that Sir 
 William would fufFcr a friendly Hand to ufher 
 into his Library the faid IfTue of the mod learn¬ 
 ed Mcffet , now at Jaft brought to Light ; and 
 among fo many Volumes wherewith the Shelves 
 ot his Study were fo choicely enrich’d, Locum 
 parente Cf nato dignum affgnato , &c. that he 
 would prefer it to a Place worthy of the Parent 
 and his Offspring. 
 
 Our Author, in his Preface, fets forth the 
 Progrefs that was made by his Predeceffors 
 in this Work, efpecially Dr. Penney , who 
 had beftow’d fifteen Years upon it, in read¬ 
 ing all Books treating of, and correfponding 
 with all Perfons knowing in the Subject, vet he 
 left his Papers in great Confulion ; and they had 
 been loft, for looking fo like wsfte Paper, all 
 blotted and ragged as they were, if Dr. Moffet 
 
 ? ue maxlmh condnnatum, auffum, perfeElum : Et ad •vi-vum exprejjls 
 Icortibus jupra quingentis illufiratum. Londini, ex offtcind'Typo'fra- 
 phica Tnom. Cotes, &c. Folio , 1634. The faid Figures of the In¬ 
 fers are printed from Wooden Cuts. Nor is there the Frontifpiece 
 grayed on Copper, before fpoken of, prefixed to SuTheodore's Edition. 
 This ’Theatre of Infects was pubiifo’d in Englijh by Dr .John Rowland 
 in folio, 1658, and it is joined to Edward Topfell's lljiory of Four, 
 footed Beafs and Serpents, printed the fame Year, 
 
 l 
 
 had 
 
XXX 
 
 The LIFE of 
 
 had not carefully feparated them from what was 
 allowed as fuch, to be call away, and with a 
 large Sum of Money redeem’d the Fragments; 
 chufing thereby to diminifh rather his own For¬ 
 tune, than the Fame of his Friend, who had 
 bellowed fo much Pains in defcribing the Infeffs, 
 and fo much Money upon procuring their Prints. 
 Wherefore he refolved, through many Difcou- 
 ragements, to digeft and interweave the Obfer- 
 vations which IVotton and Gefner had left alfo 
 upon this Topick, together with Penny’s , in a 
 methodical Manner; and has enliven’d the fame 
 with fuch a Spirit and Elevation of Stile,as may 
 exalt our Confiderations upon this exiguous Part 
 of the Creation, to magnify and adore the Wif- 
 dom and Power of the Creator himfelf, no Jefs 
 for his Miracles in Miniature, or in thefe 
 compendious, than in his more capacious Opera¬ 
 tions ; and yet, at the fame time, lead us to ac¬ 
 knowledge alfo, from confidering how much 
 more has been given to the fupream than this in¬ 
 ferior Order of the Creation, how much greater 
 our Obligations are, who have received his 
 Gifts in greater Perfection. Moreover, he re¬ 
 trench’d abundance of Tautologies, and in their 
 room has added many Philofophical Arguments 
 of his own, many Hiftorical Examples, and Me¬ 
 dicinal Receipts, befides above an hundred and 
 fifty Draughts and Defcriptions of new difeover’d 
 Infects, which were unknown to Gefner and 
 Penny . In fhort, the whole is fuch a copious 
 and comprehenfive Natural Hifory of this molt 
 numerous Species in that extenfive Sphere of Life, 
 that few, who have not feen the Work,would be¬ 
 lieve fo much Matter could have been amafs’d 
 
 on 
 
Dr. M O F F E T. xxxi 
 
 on fuch little Creatures, which are commonly 
 fo much unobferv’d : And there are few who 
 have been ambitious to write upon the fame Sub¬ 
 ject, but have made free with this Hiftory to 
 fupply themfelves, as from a Fountain, which 
 has had much drawn out of it, and is ftill full.. 
 But that Freedom ha9 been generally taken,with¬ 
 out making the Acknowledgments to his Name 
 which were due to it, even by the Rule of his 
 own Practice; fince he has fo faithfully produced 
 the Authorities whence he derived his Intelligence, 
 and fo frequently afcribed to every Author his 
 proper Share in the Compofition. 
 
 Laftly, for the Book before us, thefe Rules of 
 Food, now revifed and corrected by the ingenious 
 Author of the bitrodudlion prefix’d, the lefs need 
 be faid in Approbation either of its Matter, Me¬ 
 thod, or Stile, fince they carry in it, fo mani- 
 feftly, their own Recommendation i and before 
 it, that of fuch fufficicnt Judges, as were Sir 
 Francis Prujean, Sir Baldwin Harney , Sir George 
 Ent, Dr. Jfilfon, and efpecially the learned Edi¬ 
 tor Dr. Bennett His Edition was printed above 
 50 Years after the Author’s Death 1 : And tho’ it 
 is not apparent therein, whether it was publifh’d 
 from one more early in Print, or was then firffc 
 printed from the Manufcript ; yet from thefe 
 Words of the Editor, in his Epiftle at the Be-' 
 ginning, “ That, to raife our Author from Obli—. 
 “ vion, his own Relations, and their Interefts ? , 
 “ much folicited his Help, but the Merits of 
 “ the Man were the greateft Motives, idc it 
 may be fuppofed, that he then firft fet forth the 
 
 £ Ltndon? Quarto, 16.55^ 
 
 Work* 
 
xxxii Dr. M OFFE T 9 s LIFE. 
 
 Work, from the Doctor’s Original, which he 
 received from them. And our Country no doubt 
 is much obliged to them, for fCttinq; before us 
 fuch Variety of thofe Provifions which Provi¬ 
 dence has fo plentifully bellowed upon us, with 
 fuch judicious Directions for the due and difcreet 
 Ufe of them. For fince Men will beiiege and 
 demolifh their own Cattles, with that very Am¬ 
 munition which was appointed to maintain and 
 ttrengthen them; and more of them fall, bv Re¬ 
 pletion, Surfeit, and Satiety, than by the Aflaults 
 of Time itfelf; fince greater Numbers dig their 
 Graves with their own Teeth, and die more by 
 thofe fatal Inttruments, than the Weapons of 
 their Enemies; fince Nature is fatisfied with 
 Moderation, but fuffocated by Superfluity, the 
 Qualities of our Food cannot be too well known, 
 noxRules and Precautions in theChoice and Ufe of 
 it,too much recommended : among which we may 
 beft conclude, incur Aii’hor’s Way of thinking, 
 that for the Preservation ox Improvement of Health , 
 r.o &ule accords better with Nature , than our 
 chafing Exercifelox the Creator of our Appetite ; 
 none better with Reafon , than making Tempe¬ 
 rance the Carver of aur Diet. 
 
 INTRO- 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 IFE and HEALTH confifls in 
 a due Circulation of the Fluids thro* 
 the Canals deftin’d by Nature to 
 convey them. And as thefe Fluids 
 cannot perform their Offices, and 
 anfwer the Exigencies of the animal 
 Oeconomy, without a perpetual Supply, it is fo 
 order’d by Providence, that it Should be conftant- 
 ly recruited by Aliment, with which we are abun¬ 
 dantly furnifh’d. 
 
 All our Food confifts of Animal or Vegetable 
 Subftances, Salt alone excepted, and Water, and 
 many of thele require a Culinary Preparation, in 
 order to render them the more eafily diliolvable 
 by the A&ions employed for their Refolution. 
 The Bufinefs of Cookery, therefore, is to dimi¬ 
 nish the Cohefion of the Parts of Alimentary 
 Subftances, and partially digeft them'folfore they 
 are taken into the Mouth j and to harden them 
 by Dreffing, as is fometimes done, is an Error of 
 the worft Confluence with refpedt to Health, 
 however it may indulge the Palate. 
 
 A Aliments 
 
j INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Aliments, then, prepar’d, or crude, arc taken 
 into the Mouth, where they are comminuted by 
 chewing, mix’d with the Saliva , and prepar’d for 
 a future perfed Digeftion, towards which this is 
 the firft Step. Manducation, or Chewing, is 
 performed by means of the Biventer , or Digajlric 
 Mufcles; which ading, draw the Chin towards 
 the Breaft, and open the Mouth ; which again is 
 clofed by the Contradion of theTemporal Mufcles, 
 the Mafleters, the external Pterygoide, and Inter¬ 
 nal Pterygoide Mufcles, which being very ftrong, 
 prefs the Jaws together with a prodigious Force. 
 
 The firft Part of Manducation is, the bidd¬ 
 ing, or cutting the Aliment with the fore Teeth, 
 which is called Biting ; the Food is then applied 
 to the double Teeth, called Grinders, by the va¬ 
 rious Adions of the Buccinators, the orbicular 
 Mufcle of the Lips, the Zygomatics, the Eleva¬ 
 tor Labiorum Communis , the Elevatores Labii 
 Superior is propria , the Elevator Labii Inferi - 
 oris propriusy the Deprejfor Labii Inferioris 
 propriuSy the DepreJJor Labiorum conmunisy 
 the Obliquus Labii inferiorisy and the Platyfma 
 Myoides ; when thefe ad altogether, the Cheeks 
 and Lips are applied fo clofely to the Teeth, that 
 no part of the Aliment, whether folid or fluid, 
 can fall from betwixt the Teeth externally; but 
 when they ad feparately, the Aliment is applied 
 to the Teeth in fuch a manner as the Circum- 
 ftances moft require. The Tongue, alfo, has 
 a very confiderabie Share in applying the Aliment 
 properly to the Teeth. The Adion of Maftica- 
 tion is of fo much Importance to Health, that 
 Hippocrates long ago remarks, that thofe whofe 
 Teeth are good, live to a very old Age. It is 
 therefore a very great Error to fwallow the Ali¬ 
 ment before it is duly mafticated. 
 
 During 
 
INTRODUCTION. 3 
 
 During the Adtion of Madication, the com¬ 
 minuted Aliment is intimately mix’d with the Sa¬ 
 liva, difcharg’d from the Parotid Glands, the in¬ 
 ternal Maxillary Glands, the fublingual Glands, 
 from innumerable Emiflaries in the Tongue, Pa¬ 
 late, Gums, and Lips, and from Glands fituated 
 in the anterior and inferior Parts of the Palate, 
 the Uvula, and from the Tonfils. This Saliva is 
 a thin, pellucid Fluid, which does not concrete 
 by Heat, is almod void of Tade and Smell j and 
 when agitated, forms a tenacious Froth j it is fe- 
 parated by the Glands from the pure Arterial 
 Blood, and during Hunger, is more copious, 
 fluid, and acrid: after long fading, it is very 
 acrid, penetrating, detergent, and refolvent; it 
 excites and increafes Fermentation in farinaceous 
 and fucculent vegetable Subdances, and Syrups: 
 in both Men and Brutes, in a healthy State, it is 
 fwallow’d during Sleep ; and if wantonly fpit out, 
 Lofs of Appetite, Indigedion, and Atrophies, are 
 hence excited : it confids of a pretty large Pro¬ 
 portion of Water and Spirits, and a fmall Quan¬ 
 tity of Oil, and Salt, which are united into a na¬ 
 tural Soap, very well fuited to attenuate the A- 
 liment, and dilpofe it to a perfedt Solution. 
 
 Hence the Error is evident which thofe commit, 
 who lavilh this falutary Fluid, and follicit the Dif- 
 charge thereof by fmoaking, or chewing To¬ 
 bacco, or by any other Means. 
 
 The alimentary Mafs thus madicated and moi- 
 ften’d, is thrud towards the Fauces, whild the 
 Teeth are doled; the Aliment confin’d within 
 hem, by the Contraction of the Mufcles of the 
 Ups and Cheeks, and the Tongue, is fo diredted, 
 is to occupy all that Space betwixt the Teeth of 
 he luperior Jaw, and the Palate. Mean time, 
 
 A 2 the 
 
4 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 the Gcnioglojft , StylogloJJi , and Ceratoglojji , acting 
 fucceflively, from a Cavity at the Root of the 
 Tongue, under the pendulous Veil of the Palate, 
 the Uvula, andTonfils; but above the Larynx , and 
 Pharynx, and before the Membranes which cover 
 the Bodies of the Vertebrae of the Neck and pofterior 
 Mufcles of the Pharynx , and bring thither all the 
 Aliment to be fwallowed down. Then the Root 
 of the Tongue is expanded, elevated, and brought 
 forwards by the Action of the GeniogloJJi , Mylo- 
 glojji , Geniohyoidai , Styloceratohyoidei , whilft the 
 Os Hyaides is applied to the pendulous Veil of the 
 Palate, and the Foramen leading to the Nofe is 
 clofed. At the fame time the Os Hyoidcs and La¬ 
 rynx are elevated by the Contraction of the Thy- 
 rohoidaus. Hence the Aliment to be fwallowed 
 prefles upon the Epiglottis , whilft the Uvula is de- 
 preffed by its proper Mufcles, and the Chink of the 
 Glottis clofed. At the fame time the GeniogloJJi , 
 
 . MylogloJJi , Geniohyoideei , and Mylohyoidai , move 
 the Root of the Tongue. Os Hyoides , and La¬ 
 rynx. And thus the Fauces are opened, and 
 Room made for the Aliment to be fwallowed y 
 efpecially when, at the fame time, the external 
 Pterygoide Mufcles, and fome Fibres of the Maf- 
 feter, draw the intire inferior Jaw forwards, thus 
 making more Room, and bringing forwards the 
 Glojfopharingai , Hyophatyngai , Thyropharingai , 
 and Cricopharingeci. Thus the fuperior Part of the 
 Pharynx is dilated, and applied to what is to be 
 fwallowed', whilft the fuperior Orifice of the 
 Pharynx clofes, the Sty’opharyngai being contrac¬ 
 ted, and Oefophagcei contracted, for the further 
 paflage of the Aliment. At the fame time, the 
 internal and external Mufcles of the Gargareon aCt 
 in fuch a manner, as to elevate and expand the 
 
 Veil 
 
INTRODUCTION. 5 
 
 Veil of the Palate, and to prevent any Particles 
 from falling either into the Chink of the Glottis , 
 or Paflage to the Nofe. The very Inftant after¬ 
 wards, all the contracted Mufcles above-mention’d 
 are fuddenly relax’d, and both the Sternohyoidari , 
 Sternothyroidcei , and Coracoceratohyoidai , a 61 ; by 
 which Mechanifm, the broad pofterior Surface of 
 the Cricoide Cartilage is prefied downwards and 
 backwards againft the Pharynx. And at the very 
 fame Moment, the Gloffojlaphylini , Pharyngojla - 
 phylini , and Azygos Mufcle of Morgagni , a 61 with 
 a kind of convulfive Motion, and great Force, fo 
 that the Veil of the Palate then dittended and ex¬ 
 panded upwards, is fuddenly drawn downwards, 
 in fuch a manner as to prefs the Aliment into the 
 Orifice of the Oefophagus, now elevated, and di¬ 
 lated by the Contraction of the Glojfojlaphylini , 
 and Pharyngojlaphylini. With thefe concur the 
 fame kind of convulfive Motion in the Glojfpha- 
 ryngai, Hyopharyngett , and Thyropharyngai ; by 
 which theTongue,Or Hy aides,Larynx, and pofterior 
 Part of the Pharynx , are fo prefied together, as to 
 afiift, at the fame time, with confiderable Force, 
 the’Intrufion of the Aliment into the Orifice of the 
 Oefophagus. Thus the Pharynx is clofed, whilft 
 the Oefophagaus contra 61 s, and the Aliment is 
 retained in the Cavity of the Oefophagus , under 
 the Pharynx , and is immediately farther protruded 
 into the Stomach by the Contra6!ion of the lon¬ 
 gitudinal and orbicular Fibres of the mufcular 
 Coat of the Oefophagus. 
 
 By this exquifite Mechanifm is the Aliment 
 conveyed to the Stomach. Hence, however, it 
 is evident, that many Diforders in thefe Parts may 
 interfere with Deglutition, render it laborious, or 
 utterly fubvert it 5 in particular, Tumors in the 
 
 A 3 Parts 
 
6 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Parts fubfervient thereto, and Palfies of the 
 Mufcles. Deglutition may, alfo, be prevented, 
 by a continual fwallowing of dry Subftances : For 
 by this the Mucus , which lines the Infide of the 
 Fauces , Pharynx , and Ocfopbagus , is attracted, 
 and wafted; and thus the Organs, fubfervient to 
 Deglutition, are rendered too dry to perform 
 their refpeddive Offices. When the Uvula is loft, 
 or the Veil of the Palate flit, Deglutition is in¬ 
 commoded : in the firft Cafe, the Perfon thus 
 aftefted is fubjedt to a Cough when he attempts to 
 fwallovv, becaufe a Part of the Aliment is fubjedb 
 to fall into the Larynx ; in the fecond Cafe, the 
 Aliment to be fwallowed pafles into the Noftrils. 
 
 As foon as the Aliment has palled into the Sto¬ 
 mach, the fuperior Part of the inferior Mufcle 
 of the Diaphragm contracts upon the inferior 
 Part of the Gu/a, which pafles thro’ it, and thus 
 dofes up the Stomach. 
 
 The Food thus moiftened, and at the fame time 
 full of Air,depofited in the clofe, moift, and warm 
 Stomach, would there fpontaneoufly begin to fer¬ 
 ment, or putrify, according to the different Ma¬ 
 terials of which it conflfted ; and either way would 
 be greatly changed, either into an acefcent, al- 
 calefcent, rancid, or glutinous Mafs. But the 
 villous Coat of the Stomach, which immediately 
 embraces the alimentary Mafs, fupplies it perpe¬ 
 tually by innumerable Emiffaries, with a thin, 
 pellucid, frothy Humour, abounding with Spirits, 
 and a little Salt, which in the molt voracious Ani¬ 
 mals, is neither alcaline nor acid, but fomewhat 
 acrid, after long fafting ; and with a more vifcid 
 and mucus Humour, difcharged into the Cavity 
 of the Stomach, from the Emiffaries of certain 
 Glands deltin’d for the Secretion thereof. 
 
 If 
 
INTRODUCTION. 7 
 
 If it be confidered that the alimentary Mafs is 
 moiftened by the Saliva brought into the Stomach 
 perpetually, and that in large Quantities, from 
 the Mouth, Fauces and Oefofbagus , that the Sto¬ 
 mach dilutes it with theHumours above-mention¬ 
 ed ; that the Relicts of former Aliment Js mixed 
 and agitated with it; that the Air contained in the 
 alimentary Mafs rarifying, divides it intimately ; 
 and that the Heat of the Part excites and promotes 
 the Action of all thefe, ’tis evident that the Food 
 muft in the Stomach be macerated, diluted, fwell’d, 
 attenuated, fermented, and diflblved, and thus 
 render’d fit to mix with the animal Juices, and 
 pervade the minute Canals of the Body. 
 
 Befides thefe, the Adlion of the mufcular or 
 carnous Coat of the Stomach muft be taken into 
 Con fide ration, which clofely embraces all the 
 Contents of this Organ, mixes them and grinds 
 them together by a fort of vermicular Alotion, 
 expofes them to the Adfion of the furrounding 
 Parts, retains the more grofs Parts, and expels the 
 more fluid towards the Pylorus , and thence into 
 the Duodenum. - 
 
 Several other Circumftances muft be confidered 
 as promoting the Digeftion of the Aliment in the 
 Stomach ; as, firfl , The Heat communicated to 
 this Organ by all the furrounding Parts. Second¬ 
 ly , The perpetually repeated Strokes of innumer¬ 
 able Arteries in the Diaphragm, Omentum,Spleen, 
 Liver, Pancreas, Mefentery, and Peritonaeum, 
 upon the Stomach. Thirdly , The violent Vibra¬ 
 tions of th z Aorta, fituated immediately under the 
 Stomach. Fourthly , The Adlion of the nervous 
 T luid, with which no Part is morecopioufly fup- 
 plied than the Stomach ; a Circumftance not yet 
 perfectly underftood. Fifthly , The perpetual 
 
 A 4. Com- 
 
S INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Compteflure of the Stomach, and all the abdomi¬ 
 nal Vifcera, by the reciprocal A&ion of the Dia¬ 
 phragm and abdominal Mufcles, during Infpira- 
 tion and Expiration. 
 
 The Effedls of all thefe Caufes, a<fting with 
 united Force, muft be, 
 
 Firji, To levigate, diflolve, and intimately 
 mix the mod eafily mutable Parts of the Aliment, 
 and to prefs them thro’ the Pylorus into the Duo¬ 
 denum. 
 
 Secondly , To retain the more tenacious Parts ; 
 and by a Continuation of the fame Caufes, to pro¬ 
 duce the fame Effedls upon them. 
 
 Thirdly , To render juicelefs the Membranes, 
 Tendons, Cartilages, and Bones of Animals ; and 
 the Skins, Filaments, and harder Parts of Vege¬ 
 tables ; and thus to expel them out of the Sto¬ 
 mach, in order to their being difeharged by 
 Stool. 
 
 It is worthy of Remark, that all the Juices em¬ 
 ployed in bringing about the Digeftion of the Ali¬ 
 ment, are neutral and faponaceous, and neither 
 alcaline nor acid. Hence appears the Abfurdity of 
 thofe idle Dreams of Authors relative to Ferments, 
 and alcaline or acid Menftruums in the Stomach, 
 than which nothing is more abfurd. 
 
 We have thus conduced the Aliment to the 
 Stomach, whence it is expelled into the Duodenum , 
 where it undergoes fome confiderable Alterations, 
 from the A&ion of that Inteftine, and of the Bile 
 and Pancreatic Juice thereon. 
 
 In the Inteftinesthe Chyle is feparated from the 
 Fceces , which are expelled by the Periftaltic Mo¬ 
 tion of the Inteftines thro’ the Arms, whilft the 
 fame Periftaltic Motion impels the elaborated 
 Chyle into the Orifices of the la&eal Veflels, 
 
 which 
 
INTRODUCTION. 9 
 
 Which is afterwards convey’d to the Receptacle of 
 the Chyle, and thence thro’ the Thoracic Du<ft to 
 the left fubfclavian Vein, where it mixes with the 
 Mafs of Blood, and by the Vena Cava Defcen - 
 dens pafies to the right Auricle of the Heart. 
 
 The Vena Cava Afcendens and Defcendens unite 
 in one, and open into the right Auricle, where 
 they unite. There is a little Protuberance made 
 by their Coats on the Infide of the Canal, like 
 an Ifthmus, which dire&s the Blood both of the 
 one and the other into the Auricle, and fo hin¬ 
 ders them from rufhing one upon another. The 
 right Auricle in its Diaftole, receives the Blood 
 from the Vena Cava , which by its Syftole is thruft: 
 into the right Ventricle, (for the tendinous Circle, 
 which is at the Mouth of the Cava, contra&s and 
 hinders the Blood to return into it) which at the 
 fame time is in its Diaftole. 
 
 In the Syftole of the right Ventricle, the Blood 
 is thruft into the Pulmonary Artery : For it cannot 
 return into the Auricle, becaufe of the Valvules 
 TricufyedeSy which communicates with the Vena 
 Pulmonalis , which carries back the Blood into the 
 left Auricle, which in its Syftole thrufts the Blood 
 into the left Ventricle, which is then in its Dia¬ 
 ftole. In the Syftole of this Ventricle the Blood 
 is thruft into th zAo/la^ (for it cannot return into 
 the Auricle, becaufe of the Valvules Mitrales ) 
 which carries it thro’ all the Body. Now the 
 Aorta , when it comes out of the Heart, afeends 
 a little upwards, and then turns downwards to 
 form the defeending Trunk ; and from the upper 
 fide of this Turning the cervical and axillary Vef- 
 fels arife. By this Artifice the Blood collides 
 againft the Sides of the Aorta , its Force is bro- 
 
 A 5 ken > 
 
IO INTRODUCTION. 
 
 ken ; Part of it is taken in by the Mouths of the 
 afcending Branches; but its greateft Part is directed 
 downwards. 
 
 The Blood conveyed by the Arteries, is carried 
 to correfponding venous Canals, and fo again to 
 the right Auricle of the Heart. 
 
 It is obferv'd, that all animal Juices are form’d 
 either of Vegetables, or other Animals, taken into 
 the Stomach, and thence tranfmitted to the In- 
 teftines, where, by the Power of the digeftive 
 Organs, they are converted into a balfamic neu¬ 
 tral Chyle, neither alcaline nor acid ; and this, 
 fo prepared, is by the animal Adlions mixed with 
 the Blood, in fuch a manner, that the whole to¬ 
 gether forms one uniform Mafs, fit for Nutrition, 
 and adapted to fupply all the Exigencies of the ani¬ 
 mal Oe.onomy. But if the digefting and aflimi- 
 lating Organs are weak, or the Aliments taken in 
 Quantities difproportioned to their Strength, they 
 are not converted, in the manner mentioned 
 above, into a balfamic neutral Chyle, but putre¬ 
 fying in the Stomach and Inteftines, acquire that 
 fort of Acrimony, which they would produce upon 
 Putrefadfion in any Place out of the Stomach, in 
 an equal Degree of Heat and Moifture ; and in 
 this Cafe cannot properly be faid to digeft in the 
 Stomach, but rather to putrefy. Hence, as the 
 Food is either of an alcaline or acefcent Nature, 
 an alcaline or acid Acrimony prevails in the Juices 
 formed from it. Thofe Aliments are call¬ 
 ed alcalefcent, whofe Juices become alcaline upon 
 Putrefadtion; thofe are called acefcent, whofe 
 Juices upon the fame Occafion contract an Aci¬ 
 dity. 
 
 The Aliments,from which acid Juices are form¬ 
 ed, are all thofe which are ufually call’d farinaceous. 
 
 Such, 
 
 2 
 
INTRODUCTION. ix 
 
 Such, amongft many others, are, Wheat, Rye, 
 Barley, Oats, Beans, Peafe, Millet, and Rice. 
 If thefe are mixed with a fufficient Quantity of 
 Moifture, they ferment and grow acid, in a De¬ 
 gree of Heat not exceeding that of the Atmofphere 
 in warm Weather; but when mixed with a little 
 Moifture only, they do not fo eafily ferment, but 
 form a kind of tenacious vifcid Subftance like Glue. 
 Milk is to be number’d amongft acefcent Aliments; 
 and all the Parts of Vegetables, which are natu¬ 
 rally acid, or capable of being rendered fo by Fer¬ 
 mentation, fupply the animal Juices with Acidities. 
 Such are all the Fruits which are ufually termed 
 Frufius Horai , as Apples, Pears, Apricots, 
 Peaches, Nectarines, Plums, Oranges, Lemons, 
 Citrons, Cherries, Mulberries, Currants, Rafp- 
 berries. Strawberries, Elderberries, Figs, Pome¬ 
 granates, Cucumbers, Melons, Jujubs, and many 
 others of this fort. 
 
 Thefe, tho’ generally excellent Food, efpecial- 
 ly to thofe who are accuftomed to a plentiful Diet 
 of Flefh, yet become noxious, by reafon of their 
 Acidity, when taken into the Body in Quantities 
 too large for Digeftion and Aflimilation. Thefe 
 Quantities cannot be exaCtly determined, for the 
 digeftive Organs of the moft robuft may be over¬ 
 loaded, but thefe are capable of digefting and affi- 
 milating a much larger Quantity, than when the 
 Fibres of which thefe Organs are compofed are 
 relaxed and weak, and cannot aCt fufficiently upon 
 thefe Aliments, but fuffer them to retain their 
 natural or acquired Acidity in the Stomach and 
 Inteftines. Thus we find Girls in a Chlorofis, 
 ftudious, fedentary People, and Children, whofe 
 Fibres are either through Infirmity, naturally, or 
 for want of Motion and Exercife, relaxed, con- 
 trad an Acidity of the Juices, by eating acid or 
 
 A 6 acefcent 
 
i2 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 acefcent Aliment ? As Exercife braces the animal 
 Fibres, and promotes Digeftion; fo Reft, or a 
 Deleft of Motion, relaxes the Fibres, and retards 
 or hinders Digeftion and may therefore be rec¬ 
 koned amongft the Caufes of an acid Acrimony 
 in the Juices formed from acefcent Food. 
 
 A Deficiency of good Blood in the Body, may 
 alfo be numbered amongft the Caufes productive 
 of an acid Acrimony from acefcent Aliment. 
 For the Cbvle, formed from this fort of Food* 
 w 11. like Mi’k, turn acid, unlefs mixed with a 
 Quantity of good Blood fufficient for its perfeft 
 Ailimilation. Hence the Rule of Horace , 
 
 . Vacuis committere Vents 
 
 Nil nift lene decet> 
 
 maybe taken very juftly in a medicinal as well as 
 culinary Senfe. 
 
 The original Seat of this Acidity is in the Or¬ 
 gans of the firft Digeftion. Thefe are the Sto¬ 
 mach and fmall Inteftines ; but from thefe, by 
 Degrees, it is propagated to the Receptacle of the 
 Chyle, from hence to the Blood j and laftly, to 
 all the Humors leparated from it. 
 
 This acid Acrimony is produftive of many Ef- 
 fefts, both troublefome and dangerous to the ani¬ 
 mal Oeconomy, as Acid Eruftations, which have 
 in fome Cafes been fo {harp as to induce a Stupor 
 of the Teeth. 
 
 A Sensation of Hunger, by contrafting the 
 Fibres of the Stomach. 
 
 But it mull be obferved, that this does not 
 confirm the Doctrine of thofe who aflert, that 
 all Hunger is caufed by an Acid, for there is not 
 the leaft Portion of air Acid to be difcovered in 
 
 the 
 
INTRODUCTION. 13 
 
 the Stomachs of the moft rapacious, and, con- 
 fequently, the moft hungry Quadrupeds, Birds, 
 or Filh. 
 
 Cardialgia, or, as it is ufually call’d, the Heart¬ 
 burn, from a Stimulation of the Cardia, or left 
 Orifice of the Stomach, which is endued with a 
 moft exquifite Senfe, by the acid Juices contained 
 in the Stomach. This Species of Heart-burn is 
 cured by Chalk, or any other alcaline Abforbent. 
 But there is another fort caufed by an alcaline 
 Acrimony, which muft be treated with diluted 
 Acids. 
 
 Coagulations of the Aliment taken into the Sto¬ 
 mach, efpecially if it happens to be Milk; Pains, 
 Flatulencies, and fpafmatic Contractions of the 
 Inteftines, but particularly of the Ileum. Thefe 
 are caufed either by the Acrimony of the acid 
 Juices, ftimulating the fenfible Membranes of the 
 Inteftines; or, which I believe is much more fre¬ 
 quently the Cafe, by the Rarefaction of that ex¬ 
 tremely fubtilc and elaftic Vapour, which arifes 
 from vegetable Juices during the ACtion of Fer¬ 
 mentation ; which has been called by fome of the 
 Chymifts, Gas Sylvejlris. Thefe Symptoms often 
 arife to fuch a Degree of Violence, as to conftitute 
 that Diftemper which is called the Cholera Morbus , 
 and which, without a great deal of Care, will 
 fometimes be fo acute, as to prove fatal in a few 
 Hours. 
 
 As thefe Acidities mix with the Bile in (he Duo¬ 
 denum, they muft necefiarily alter its Nature, and 
 render it una&ive. And as the Bile has a con- 
 fiderable Share in aftimilating the Aliment, and 
 converting it into good Chyle, this Allimilation 
 muft be prevented, in proportion as the Bile, by 
 reafon of any foreign Admixture, deviates from 
 
i 4 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 its own Nature. The fame holds good in regard 
 to the Pancreatic Juice, and the Saliva, both which, 
 in a natural State, contribute to the Digeftion of 
 the Aliment, and the Converfion of it into a bal- 
 famic Chyle, capable of entering the la&eal Vef- 
 fels, and mixing with the Blood without com¬ 
 municating to it an) Acrimony, either alcaline or 
 acid. But when the Aiftion of the above-men¬ 
 tioned Juices is impaired by an Acid in the Primes 
 Vi#., an acid Chyle is formed, and the very Ex¬ 
 crements difcharged from the Inteftines, betray an 
 Acid in the Smell. 
 
 By a careful Obfervation of thefe Signs, we 
 may difcover an acid Acrimony to prevail in the 
 Stomach and Inteftines. And then it is theBufi- 
 nefs of the Phyfician, and Intereft of the Patient, 
 to correct it in the Primes Vies , before it infers 
 the Blood, becaufe then the Diforders, arifing 
 from it, are not fo eafily remedied. But, when 
 the Glands and glandular Secretions are affe&ed, 
 the Cafe becomes much more difficult and dange¬ 
 rous. 
 
 When the acid Acrimony reaches the Blood 
 and Juices, it is difcovered by its EfFetfts. Thus, 
 when the acid Chyle is communicated to the 
 Blood, as it cannot by the Force of the Circula¬ 
 tion be intimately mixed with it, fo as to form one 
 uniform Mafs, the Blood lofes by Degrees its florid 
 red Colour, and the Patient, in confequence of 
 this, becomes pale. Of this we frequently meet 
 with Inftances in weak Children, and Girls of a 
 lax Habit, labouring under a Chlorofis, whofe 
 Blood, as it appears when let out of the Veins, is 
 white, inftead of red, mixed with fome Streaks 
 of red Blood, Hence alfo the Serum of the Blood 
 
 is 
 
INTRODUCTION. 15 
 
 is chylous, as it appears after {landing a fufficient 
 time to feparate. 
 
 The Secretions from the Blood, thus affe&ed 
 with Acidity, are alfo frequently acid. Thus, 
 in Women of a lax Habit, we fometimes meet 
 with acid Milk. The Saliva is alfo in fome 
 Cafes infe&ed with an Acidity, and even the 
 fweat has an acid Smell. But the Acidity of the 
 Sweat is not in all Cafes a bad Symptom; for in 
 Fevers, where the Juices have had a 7'endency 
 to an alcaline Putrefa&ion, thefe Sweats are a 
 good Sign, as they difcover that the Danger 
 from an alcaline Putrefaction is at an End. 
 This Symptom is taken Notice of by Hippocrates , 
 and ranked amongfl thofe of good Prefage. 
 
 From this State of the Blood, Obftru&ions in 
 the Capillary Veflels are generated, and hence 
 troublefome Itchings of the Skin; Puftules, very 
 frequent after eating great Quantities of Fruit; 
 Ulcers which are pale, flow in their Progrefs, 
 and difficult to heal. 
 
 Hence alfo Coagulations of the Blood, which 
 render it unfit for Circulation, and confequently 
 for Nutrition, and the Ufes of the animal (Eco¬ 
 nomy. 
 
 But the acid Acrimony has yet a worfe EfFe& 
 when it reaches the Nerves, nervous Membranes, 
 and the Brain; for then, by {Emulating thefe 
 fenfible parts, it is produ&ive of Convulfions, 
 Epileptic Fits, an irregular Circulation of the 
 Blood, and at laft Death, of which Children af¬ 
 ford too frequent Examples. 
 
 From what has been faid with refpedt to an 
 Acid abounding in animal Bodies, many Difor- 
 ders, to which fedentary People, and Women of 
 a lax Habit, are fubjeft, may be difcovered and 
 
 underflood, 
 
16 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 underftood. But it will be particularly ufeful in 
 explaining the Diftempers to which Children are 
 fubje#, in whom all the Caufes of an acid Acri¬ 
 mony feem to contribute to their DeftruCtion, 
 as acefcent Aliment, Laxity, and want of Motion. 
 
 Poor People, whofe Food is principally of the 
 farinaceous Kinds of Vegetables, and who eat but 
 little Flefh Meat, are fubje# to thefe Diforders, 
 but would be much more fo without the ftrong 
 Exercife they generally ufe ; for Exercife, as was 
 before obferved, by (Lengthening the animal Fi¬ 
 bres, and promoting the Digeftion of the Ali¬ 
 ment, and Affimilation of the Chyle, prevents 
 a#1 acid Acrimony from being formed in the 
 Juices. 
 
 Artificers alfo who are concerned in the Pre¬ 
 paration of acid Spirits, or who ufe them in 
 their Trades, are very fubje# to contra# Aci¬ 
 dities in their Juices. Of this fort are thofe who 
 prepare Cerus, and fcarlet Dyers. 
 
 Diforders from a prevailing Acid in animal 
 Bodies, are to be cured, in general, by fuch 
 things as are direCtly oppofite to the Caufes of 
 Acidity. Thus, Aliments are to be ufed which 
 are of an alcalefcent Nature, or which turn al- 
 caline upon Putrefaction, Such are Broths made 
 of the Flelh of Birds, Quadrupeds, or Fifti; 
 Jellies made of the fame; and the Flefh of thefe, 
 which belt anfwer this End, either roafted or 
 boiled. 
 
 Thofe Vegetables alfo which contain an aro¬ 
 matic alcaline Oil, as they are oppofite to Aci¬ 
 dity, are in this Cafe proper in medicine or Food. 
 Of this the illuftrious Boerbaave gives the fol¬ 
 lowing Catalogue: 
 
 Wormwood, 
 
INTRODUCTION, i y 
 
 Wormwood. Greater Galangals, 
 
 Pauce all alone, or Letter Galandals. 
 
 Jack by the Hedge. Elecampane. 
 
 Garlic. 
 
 Dill. 
 
 Wholefome Wolfsbane. 
 Angelica. 
 
 Anife. 
 
 Smallage. 
 
 Long Birth wort. 
 
 Round Birthwort. 
 
 Wild Radilh. 
 
 Cuckow Pint. 
 Swallow-Wort. 
 Afparagus. 
 
 White Afphodel. 
 
 Bafil. 
 
 Cabbage. 
 
 Aromatic Reed. 
 Calamint. 
 
 Holy Thiftle. 
 
 Ladies Thiftle. 
 Carraway. 
 
 Avens. 
 
 Cloves. 
 
 Scurvy-Grals. 
 
 Onion. 
 
 Lefler Centaury. 
 
 Wild Carrot. 
 
 Rochet. 
 
 Eryngo. 
 
 Dittander. 
 Marjoram. 
 Horehound. 
 feverfew. 
 
 Spurge Olive. 
 
 Navew-Gentle. 
 
 Crefles. 
 
 Catmint or Nep. 
 Origany. 
 
 Pepper. 
 
 Leeks. 
 
 Pellitory of Spain. 
 Radifh. 
 
 Rue. 
 
 Soap-wort. 
 
 Satyrion. 
 
 Mother of Thyme. 
 Savin. 
 
 Savory. 
 
 Acrid vermiculated 
 Houfeleck. 
 Muftard. 
 
 Squill. 
 
 Thyme. 
 
 Treacle Muftard. 
 Spotted Ramfons. 
 Nettle. 
 
 Zedoary. 
 
 Ginger. 
 
 Hedge Muftard. 
 
 Agrimony. 
 
 Amongft Foods that are proper to deftroy an 
 acid Acrimony in the Juices, are, 
 
 Firft, thofe aquatic Fowls that prey on Fifli 
 Dr Frogs. Secondly, 
 
 I 
 
18 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Secondly, thofe Birds which devour InfeCIs; 
 for in thefe the volatile Salts are rendered highly 
 alcaline, having undergone a double Sublimation, 
 or rather Rectification, firft in the Body of the 
 lifh, brog, or InfeCb, and next in the p'owl or 
 Bird that eats it. 
 
 A third Species of Animals, proper in thefe 
 Diforders, are thofe which, though their Food 
 is very fimple, yet by exceffive Motion have 
 their alcaline Salts highly exalted, and rendered 
 extremely alcaline and penetrating. 
 
 A fourth fort are Fifh of Prey, and Shell-Fifh. 
 
 Amongft the firft fort is the Duck, of which 
 Lemeryi ays, that which is tame yields much Oil, 
 volatile Salt, and Phlegm; but the wild Duck 
 yields more volatile Salt, and lefs Phlegm. It is 
 for this Reafon the laft have a higher Tafte than 
 the tame fort. To this Clafs belong all Fowls 
 of the Duck kind, as the Teal, Widgeon, Ma- 
 creufe. The Bittern yields more volatile Salt 
 than the Duck. 
 
 The Goofe. All Fowls of the Goofe kind 
 yield a great deal of volatile Salt, but they that 
 are wild more than the tame fort. And it may be 
 laid down as an univerfal Rule, that wild Animals 
 yield more volatile Salts, and thofe of a mere al¬ 
 caline Nature, by Reafon of the greater Motion 
 and Exercife which they ufe, than thofe which 
 are tame. It is on account of the volatile Salt 
 in Geefe, that their Fat is very penetrating. It 
 Ihould feem that the Solan Goofe, whofe Oil, 
 upon Fufion, emits a very penetrating and fetid 
 fmell, and whofe Flefh is of a very exalted Tafte, 
 Ihould contain the greateft Quantity of alcaline 
 Salts of any of the Goofe Species. 
 
 Boerhaave reckons the Larns, or Sea-Mew, 
 amongft thefe Fowls of Prey. Amongft 
 
INTRODUCTION. , 9 
 
 Amongft the fecond fort are the Sparrow, 
 Chaffinch, Mavis, Felfare, and Lark, which 
 yields a great deal of volatile Salt, as does the 
 Partridge, Pheafant, Quail, Land Rail, and 
 Plover. Lejnery. 
 
 Of the third Species are the Woodcock, Snipe, 
 Hare, Deer, and wild Boar, all which contaia 
 large Quantities of highly exalted volatile Salt. 
 
 The Eggs of the Birds or Fowls mentioned 
 above, as well as their Flefh, are excellent Food, 
 when an acid Acrimony prevails. 
 
 Almoft all forts of Fifh may be numbered a- 
 mongft the fourth Species, becaufe they either 
 prey upon other Fifh, or Infers, and yield a 
 very volatile alcaline Salt. 
 
 That the Meaning of the Words volatile Sa/ts, 
 fo often ufed, may be underftood, I muff take 
 Notice, that the Salts of mod: vegetables are 
 fixed ; that is, they do not rife in Diftillation, 
 aeing detained by a large Portion of Earth, to 
 which they are ftrongly united. But this Earth 
 I is feparated from them by Putrefa&ion, info- 
 much, that mod: vegetables, which are putre¬ 
 fied, yield in Diftillation a volatile Salt, much 
 ike that of Animals. And as the Diffolution of 
 vegetable Food, in the Stomachs of Animals, has 
 ■he fame Effect upon it, as Putrefaction, that is, 
 iifengages the Salt from the fixing Earth, for 
 :his Reafon all the Salts of animal Bodies are vo- 
 atile, highly alcaline, and of a penetrating Na- 
 :ure. 
 
 The Salts alfo of many Plants, that have an 
 tromatic Acrimony, yield a volatile alcaline Salt 
 >y Diftillation, as Muftard, Horfe-Radifh, Scur- 
 vy-Grafs, and many other of thofe fpecified.in 
 he Catalogue given above. It is thefe Salts fn 
 
 animal 
 
20 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 animal and vegetable Subftances that neutralize 
 and deftroy the acid Acrimony prevailing in the 
 Primae Vise, and the animal Fluids. 
 
 With the Aliments fpetified above, Boerhaove 
 advifes every three Hours a Glafs of the following 
 Wine, containing one Ounce. 
 
 Take French white Wine a Pint and half. 
 
 Salt of W T ormwood two Drams, mixed together. 
 
 There are many forts of Medicines which ei¬ 
 ther deftroy the Acid, or render it ineffe&ual, 
 fo that the Acrimony thereof can do no hurt. 
 For this Reafon thefe are to be ufed in an acid 
 State of the Juices. 
 
 Abforbents feem to claim the firft Place amongft 
 thefe, becaufe when immerfed in Acids, they have 
 the Faculty of deftroying their Acrimony, and 
 rendering them mild and inofFenfive. 
 
 This Clafs confifts of the dried Bones of Fifhes* 
 as the Jaw Bone of the Pike. 
 
 Of the Eyes, Claws, and Shells of Crabs, 
 Crevices, and Lobfters. 
 
 Of the Shells of Oyfters, and other Sea-Fifh 
 of the teftaceous Kind. 
 
 Of Coral, Pearl, and Mother of Pearl. 
 
 Of Chalk, Bole, Ofteocolla, and fat marly 
 Earths. 
 
 Amongft thefe are alfo the Lapis Haematitis, 
 Filings of Tin and Iron. 
 
 Some of thefe Abforbents mix with the Vifci- 
 dities which they meet with in the Stomach and 
 Inteftines, and with them form a tenacious kind, 
 of "Mortar, if I may fo call it, which fticks to 
 
 the 
 
INTRODUCTION. 2l 
 
 the Stomach and Inteftines, and does a great deal 
 :>f Mifchief. This however may be prevented 
 i>y giving them either mixed with gentle cathar¬ 
 tic Ingredients in fmall Quantities, or elfe by 
 giving gentle Purges, repeated at proper Inter- 
 /als during their Life. 
 
 Hoffman is of Opinion, that the Medicines of 
 this Clafs do a great deal of Mifchief by increaf- 
 ng Vifcidity in the Stomach and Inteftines, un- 
 efs they meet with an Acid; and in this Cafe 
 hey are of great Service, not only by deftroy- 
 ng and taking off the Effects of the acid Acri¬ 
 mony, but by forming a neutral Salt, which is 
 )f itfelf an admirable Refolvent, and well adapted 
 o cure the Diforders proceeding from a redun- 
 lant Acid. 
 
 Hence the Mifchief that young Girls do them- 
 elves, who are inclined to what is ufually called 
 he green Sicknefs, by taking great Quantities of 
 ^halk. Lime, and other Abforbents, is accounted 
 or and underftood. They are dire&ed by Na- 
 ure to eat thefe, in order to relieve themfelves 
 inder the uneafy Senfations they perceive in 
 heir Stomachs, from the Stimulation of the acid 
 Vcrimony. But as they take them in great 
 Quantities, and without proper Purges to carry 
 hem out of the Stomach and inteftinal Tube, 
 rhen they have had their good Efte&s, they 
 orm vifcid Concretions, which hinder Digeftion, 
 top the Orifices of the La£teals, and confe- 
 uently prevent a Supply of Chyle from being 
 onveyed to the Blood, and hence Weaknefs, 
 liability to Motion, Palenefs, and the reft of 
 hofe Symptoms which Phyficians obferve in Girls 
 /ho have ufed themfelves to eat thefe Abforbents. 
 
 This 
 
22 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 This natural Inclination to Things capable of 
 relieving the prefent Diforders which affed Ani¬ 
 mals, is common in the brute Creation, and is, 
 called Inftind; and Phyficians, by a careful At¬ 
 tention, may daily difcover fomething of the fame 
 kind in Man, which dire&s to what will relieve. 
 And it is probably for this Reafon that Hippocra¬ 
 tes lays it down for a Rule, that thofe Meats and 
 Drinks , though not altogether fo proper , which are 
 agreeable to the Patient , are to be preferred to thofe 
 which are better^ but unpleafant. Aph. L. 2. 38. 
 
 Diluters alfo are fometimes proper in thefe 
 Cafes, becaufe the more an Acid is dilated, the 
 weaker it is, and confequently ads in a lefs De¬ 
 gree. Thus the ftronger Acids, in the Quanti¬ 
 ty of a fingle Drop, corrode and deftroy the 
 Skin or Flefh of any Animal that it touches. But 
 when the fame Quantity of Aid is diluted with 
 a large Portion of Water, it becomes innocent 
 and inoffenfive. 
 
 It was doubtlefs this Confideration that direded 
 Dr. Sydenham to give large Quantities of warm 
 water to one that had taken corrofive Sublimate, 
 both by the Mouth as a Vomit, and by way of 
 Clyfter. 
 
 But thefe Diluters muft be ufed 'with Care 
 and Caution, for they relax and weaken the Or¬ 
 gans of Digeftion, and thereby increafe one Caufe 
 of Acidity. 
 
 Thefe" Diluters are either Water itfelf, or 
 Decodions of animal or vegetable Subftances 
 made with Water. 
 
 Another Clafs of Medicines, which give Re¬ 
 lief in an acid Acrimony, confifts of fuch Sub -1 
 fiances as {heath the Spicula, or (harp Points of 
 the Acid; and prevent their Adion on the fen-1 
 
 fible 
 
INTRODUCTION. 23 
 
 fible Membranes, and at the fame time defend 
 the nervous Fibres from its Acrimony. But thefe 
 are fubjedt to the Inconveniencies mentioned a- 
 bove in regard to Diluters, that is, they tend to 
 relax ftdl more the Fibres of the Organs of Di- 
 
 geftion already too weak. Amongft thefe are the 
 following: 
 
 % 
 
 Almonds, both fweet and bitter. 
 
 Piftachio Nuts. 
 
 Common Nuts. 
 
 Filberts. 
 
 W alnuts. 
 
 Cocoa Nuts, of which Chocolate is made. 
 
 Seeds of the white Poppy. 
 
 The exprefled Oils of all thefe, and of Olives. 
 
 Jelly Broths of Flefh or Fifh. 
 
 To this Clafs alfo belong the oily aromatic Ve¬ 
 getables, of which I have given a Catalogue above. 
 
 There is another Clafs of Medicines of great 
 importance, where an acid Acrimony prevails, 
 Decaufe upon being mixed with Acids, they im¬ 
 mediately raife a ftrong Effervefcence, deftroy 
 he Acid, and are themfelves at the fame time 
 leftroyed, both together by their Union form- 
 ng a new Species of Salt, neither alcaline nor 
 icid, but neutral, which is endued with con- 
 iderable medicinal Virtues, being gently ftimu- 
 ating, diuretic, diaphoretic, and refolvent. 
 
 I he Subftances, which induce this great and 
 idden Alteration in Acids, are. 
 
 Fixed alcaline Salts, prepared from burnt Ve- 
 etables of any fort. 
 
 Volatile alcaline Salts dialled from animal Sub- 
 ances putrefied Vegetables, or alcaline aro- 
 f atlC Plants * Soaps 
 
24 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Soaps either fixed, as Venice Soap; or vola¬ 
 tile, as the volatile, oily, faline Spirits diftilled 
 from Blood, Urine, Hartfhorn, or Silk; the 
 Offa Helmontiana, made by the Union of a highly 
 rectified Spirit of Wine, with a ftrong Spirit of 
 Sal Ammoniac. 
 
 To this Clafs alfo belong volatile alcaline Salts 
 united, by repeated Sublimations, with an aro¬ 
 matic vegetable Oil, of which Boerhaave gives 
 the following Example: 
 
 Take the pureft Salt of Hartfhorn an Ounce, 
 Chymical Oil of Lemons a Dram ; unite 
 them by repeated Sublimations in a tall Glafi 
 Veffel. 
 
 Thefe however mull be ufed with great Can 
 and Caution, for whenever the Blood is movei 
 with too much Violence, and any Degree of 
 Fever is raifed, thefe will infallibly increafe ii 
 and the concomitant Symptoms, introduce other: 
 and endanger the Life they are intended to prcfervi 
 
 All the Clafies of Aliment and Medicine 
 fpecified above, are very good Afliftants in tl 
 Cure of Diforders proceeding from an acid Act 
 mony, but are not fuftkient alone to complete ijfl 
 for, fo long as the Organs of Digeftion remain i 
 a State of Laxity, acefcent Aliments will aga 
 produce the fame and renew the Diforder depen - 
 ing thereon. For this Reafon the Cure muft : 
 compleated by a corroborating Regimen, ai 
 ftrengthning Medicines, that is, fuch as reftore K 
 Fibres, Veflels, and Membranes, which comp e 
 the Vifcera concerned in the Digeftion and f- 
 fimilation of the Aliment, to that Tenfijji 
 which are necefiary to the Performance of tl ir 
 refperftive Functions. 
 
 2 Alim its 
 
INTRODUCTION. 25 
 
 Aliments adapted to render the weak Fibres of 
 the Digeftive Organs, and the animal Fibres in 
 general, ftrong, are fuch as require but a finall 
 A&ion of thefe Organs, in order to convert 
 them into good Chyle; and even thefe ought to 
 be taken in very fmall Quantities at a Time, 
 and to be repeated frequently, that is, the Quan¬ 
 tity, and frequency of Repetition, muff be pro¬ 
 portioned to the Power of digefting. For no¬ 
 thing can be more irrational than to imagine that 
 ftrong Aliments, and thofe in large Quantities, 
 can contribute to the Strength of an Animal, 
 whofe Organs cannot digeft them fufEciently for 
 the formation of good Chyle. 
 
 It is for this Reafon, that Hippocrates lavs it 
 down for a Rule, that the more you nourijh , that 
 is, the more Aliment you give to impure Bodies^ 
 the more Mifcbief you do them. Aph. Sect. 2. 10. 
 Aliments of the moft eafy Digeftion are, 
 
 1. Milk, which is a fort of Chyle already 
 prepared, and gives the Stomach but very little 
 Trouble to digeft it. But it cannot be a proper 
 Food wftilft there are any Remains of Acidity in 
 the Stomach and Inteftines, becaufe it will be 
 fubjedf to curdle, when mixed with thefe; but 
 when the acid Acrimony in the Primae Viae is 
 deftroyed, it affords an excellent Nourifhment, 
 it given in Quantities at a time,. not fuperior to 
 the Powers of Digeftion, for then it will not 
 be fubjedt to turn add. But Milk lofes all its 
 medicinal, and a great dead of its alimentary Vir¬ 
 tues, it once boiled. It muft therefore be taken 
 Warm from the Animal that gives it. 
 
 i he Milk of a Woman in the Flower of her 
 Age, that ufes a good Diet, and moderate Ex- 
 eiciie, is of all others the beft. Next to that 
 
 B Afles; 
 
26 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 A lies; then Goats, and laftly Cows Milk. 
 
 Boerbaave. 
 
 2. The raw white of an Egg juft laid, before 
 it has had time to cool. This approaches very 
 near the nature of the Serum of Blood, being 
 tlefigned for the Nutrition of the Chicken dur¬ 
 ing Incubation. But this, like Milk, lofes its 
 Virtue when boiled. It may be taken in new 
 Milk, mixed with an equal Quantity of Water, 
 provided no Acidity, in the Primse Viae, forbid 
 the Ufe of Milk. 
 
 3. Broths, prepared from the Flefh of 
 young Healthy Animals, accuftomed to mode¬ 
 rate Exercife, carefully cleared of the Fat. A- 
 mongft thefe, Chickens claim the firft Rank, 
 next Veal, then Mutton, and Beaf the laft. The 
 Fat is eafily feparated from them, when fuffered 
 to grow cold. They are beft when boiled in a 
 Veil'd, flopped fo clofe, as to prevent the moll 
 fubtile Parts from exhaling. Boerbaave. 
 
 4. Aliment in various Forms may be con¬ 
 trived to be made from Wheat Bread, or Bif- 
 cuit, moderately fermented, to deltroy the Vi- 
 fcidity, to which all farinaceous Vegetables are 
 fubjeCt. Boerbaave’s Directions are; to boil eight 
 Ounces of Bread, or Bifcuit, with three Pints 
 of Water for an Hour, in a clofe earthen Vefiel, 
 and then to {train it through a Sieve. This may 
 be mixed with Milk, Broth, Wine, Bear, or 
 Water, as the prefent Circumltances of the Pa¬ 
 tient fhall render either the one or the other molt 
 fui table. - 
 
 A very fmall Quantity of thefe Aliments 
 Ihould be taken every Hour, or every two 
 Hours, according as the Organs of Digeftion 
 {hall be found to be more or lefs in a State of 
 
 Imbecillity, 
 
 2 
 
INTRODUCTION. 27 
 
 Imbecillity, but never to Satiety, or, to ufe the 
 common Expreffion, till the Belly is full. Boer- 
 haave, 
 
 I am fenfible there are fome, who think Di¬ 
 rections, in Relation to Aliments of this kind, 
 deferve more the Notice of Nurfes, or thofe 
 who are employed in Culinary Offices, than 
 Phyficians. But nothing can be unworthy the 
 Regards of a Phyfician, that can in any Degree 
 contribute to the Cure of Difeafes. T hofe who 
 have been Witnefles of the prodigious EffeCts of 
 a well regulated Courfe of Food, obftinately per- 
 ftfted in, for a fufficient Length of Time, in 
 Cafes where the beft chofen Medicines have 
 proved ineffectual, will not be difpleafed that I 
 have been thus particular. 
 
 Wine is a part of Aliment not to be neglcCted. 
 Thofe that are proper, in the Cafe before us, are 
 fuch as by their abundance of Spirit, and Styp- 
 ticity, manifefled by their auftere rough Tafte, 
 contribute to the neceflary Elafticity and Ten- 
 (ion of the Animal Fibres, fuch. are Florence 
 Wines, the ftronger French Clarets, the black 
 Greek Wines, and fome of the Spanifh. And 
 to thefe the Spirits of Wine, properly managed, 
 may be added, generous Malt Liquors, and 
 ftrong Mead. Boerbaave. 
 
 Amongft Simples, all thofe that abound with 
 earthy auftere Particles, and all aromatic Bitters, 
 are adapted to brace the animal Fibres, promote 
 Digeftion, and deftroy the Original Caufe of 
 Acidity. 
 
 But nothing is more effectual, by way of 
 Medicine, in thefe Cafes, than Bitters, wherein 
 Steel is an Ingredient: For Steel has great Vir- 
 ; B 2 tue, 
 
2 5 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 tues, both as it is highly deftrudive of an Acid, 
 and effectual in corrobborating the animal Fibres. 
 
 This Regimen, and thefe Medicines, are of 
 very little Importance without Excrcife, which 
 muft be adapted to the Strength and Condition 
 of the Patient. For Motion promotes the Al- 
 calelcence of the Juices, and univerfally increafes 
 Strength, of which the robuft Legs of Chairmen, 
 and Arms of Watermen, afford obvious Ex¬ 
 amples. 
 
 I now proceed to give an Account of fuch 
 Aliments as are of an alcaline Nature, that is, 
 fuch as upon Putrefaffion do not turn Acid, but 
 contrail an offenfive Smell, like that exhaling 
 from putrid CarcafTes. 
 
 Of vegetable Aliments, the Juices of fome, 
 if expofed for a l ime to a Heat fufficient, will 
 turn four, and thefe have been called acefcent Ve¬ 
 getables. 
 
 But there is a confiderable Clafs of Plants, 
 which do not become acid by Putrefa&ion, but 
 are refolved into a fetid oily Alcali. And from 
 •thefe, it is remarkable, that no vinous Spirit can 
 be produced by Fermentation ; for Fermentation 
 is only an Effort to render Vegetable Juices acid, 
 or rather to difentangle the latent Acid, and fe- 
 parate it from the Oil and Earth, that confine 
 and difguife it. 
 
 To this Clafs belong almoft all the very acric 
 Aromatics, which by the Pungency of then 
 Tafle betray their Family. Thefe are feldon 
 taken in Quantities fufficient to produce a Difeaf 
 by their own Power, but are however capable o 
 promoting any preceding Tendency in the Juice 
 s to an Alcalefcence, and heightening it into : 
 
 Diftemper. Phyficians fhould therefore be care, 
 
 fu 
 
 
INTRODUCTION. 29 
 
 ful how they prefcribe the warm Anticorbutics, 
 bee.aufe when any Degree of the above-men¬ 
 tioned Alcalefcence prevails in the Juices, thefe 
 will not fail to increafe it by their Ufe, and if 
 long continued, the Patient will run a great Ha¬ 
 zard of incurring a Putrefaction of the Lungs, 
 Liver, or fome of the principal Vifcera, which, 
 according to the part thus afte&ed, wi 1 be at¬ 
 tended with a fetid Breath, fpitting of Blood, a 
 putrid Diarrhoea, Dropfy, or Hepatic Flux. 
 
 Amongft alcalefcent Vegetables, Bocrhaave 
 enumerates the following: 
 
 Wormwood. Scurvy Grafs 
 
 Sauce all alone, or Jack Onions 
 by the Hedge Lead Wort 
 
 Garlic Foxglove 
 
 Mad-wort Rocket 
 
 Wild Radifh 
 Cuckow Pint 
 Stinking Oroche 
 Afparagus 
 Winter Crefles. 
 Cabbage 
 White Bryony 
 Black Bryony 
 Wild Parfley 
 Treacle Wormfeed 
 Guinea Pepper 
 Motherwort 
 Meadow Crefles 
 Garden Spurge 
 Lefler Centaury 
 Germander 
 Greater Celandine 
 LefTer Celandine 
 
 Hedge Muflard 
 Spurge 
 
 Hemp Agrimony 
 Hedge HyfTop 
 Sciatica Crefles 
 Spurge Laurel 
 Dittander 
 Navew Gentle 
 Water Crefles 
 Garden Crefles 
 Oleander, or Rofe Bay 
 W ater-Pepper or Armf- 
 
 mart 
 
 Leek 
 
 Radifh 
 
 Rue 
 
 Savine 
 
 Savory 
 
 Wall- 
 
3 o INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Wall-Pepper, orStone- Squill 
 
 crop Treacle-Mu flard 
 
 Muftard Spotted Ramfons 
 
 Many of thefe are not proper for Aliment, 
 as abounding fo much with an alcalefcent Acri¬ 
 mony, that it renders them poifonous. Befides 
 the Vegetables above-mentioned, there are many 
 others which properly belong to this Clafs. 
 
 All animal Foods have a fpontaneous Ten¬ 
 dency ta an alcaline Putrefaction, the Milk of 
 foine Animals only excepted. This is obvious 
 to every one who hasobferved Flefh, when ex- 
 pofed to a certain Degree of Heat, to putrefy and 
 become foetid. But animal Foods differ very 
 much: 
 
 Firft, With RefpeCl to the Parts of the fame 
 Animal. 
 
 Secondly, With RefpeCf to the Food of the 
 Animal. 
 
 Thirdly, With RefpeCf to the habitual Exer- 
 cife of the Animal. 
 
 Fourthly, With RefpeCf to the manner of its 
 being kill’d. 
 
 Fifthly, With RefpeCt to the Seafon of the 
 Year, or Climate in which it is eaten. 
 
 I. With RefpeCl to the different Parts of the 
 Animal, Milk differs very much from all the 
 other parts, efpecially that of fuch Animals as 
 live on Vegetables only, and Water; thus the 
 Milk of the Afs, Goat, Cow, Mare, and Sheep, 
 are acefcent, that is, turn four upon Putrefaction, 
 like acefcent Vegetable Juices, from whence it 
 is prepared, and not yet perfectly converted into 
 an animal Subltance, by the Powers of Digeftion. 
 And this Milk will acquire a Difference from the 
 
 fort 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 fort of Vegetable, which the Animal that affords 
 it principally feeds on. 
 
 The Entrails of Animals alfo differ from the 
 Mufcular Parts, and have a greater Tendency to 
 Putrefaction, as being more full of Juices, and 
 of thefe Juices fome incline more to PutrefaCtion 
 than others. Thus we find, when an Animal 
 dies, the Abdomen and its Contents putrefy firft. 
 
 The Blood alfo is more fubjeCt to Putrefaction 
 than the folid Parts, and promotes Putrefaction 
 in the Solids where it abounds. Hence, the 
 more animal Aliment is cleared of Blood, the 
 leffer fubjeCt will it be to produce an alcaline 
 Acrimony in the Stomach and Inteftines, and an 
 alcalefcence in the Juices of another Aliment that 
 cats it. 
 
 II. With RefpeCl to the Food of Aliments* 
 thofe which live on Grafs, or other acefcent Ve¬ 
 getables, on ripe Fruits, or Corn, are furnifhed 
 with Juices lefs inclinable to PutrefaCtion than 
 other Animals, abound lefs with volatile alcaline 
 Salts, and thefe Salts are lefs volatilized, and 
 exalted. Hence upon PutrefaCtion they are lefs 
 fetid, and offenfive. Of this Sort are the fol¬ 
 lowing Animals. / 
 
 The Lamb, and Sheep 
 
 The Calf, Cow, and Ox 
 
 The Kid, and Goat, efpecially when young 
 
 1 he Rabbit 
 
 Swine, provided they are fed with Vegetables 
 only 
 
 The Tame Duck, if fed with Corn only 
 
 The Tame Goofe, if fed with the fame 
 
 Hens of all forts. 
 
 Turkeys 
 
 B 4 
 
 Tame 
 
32 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Tame Partridges 
 
 Tame Pheafants 
 
 The Quail 
 
 But all Animals which feed principally on other 
 Animals, or Infedb, have Juices which abound 
 with an highly exalted volatile Alcali, have un¬ 
 dergone a fort of double, and fometimes triple 
 Sublimation, or Re£tification, firil in the Or¬ 
 gans of the Aliment which ferves for Food, and 
 fecondly in thofe of the Animal which feeds on it. 
 
 III. Animal Foods differ with Refpedl to their 
 AaFtual Exercife ; for ftrong Exercife, long con¬ 
 tinued, exalts the volatile Salts of Animals, and 
 makes them approach to a State of Putrefadfion. 
 
 The following Animals, ufed commonly for 
 Food, abound wdth a volatile Salt, exalted either 
 by their Food, Exercife, or both. 
 
 Deer, both red and fallow, by Reafon of their 
 habitual Exercife, though they feed on 
 
 Vegetables. 
 
 The Hare for the fame Reafon. 
 
 The wild Boar for the fame Reafon. 
 
 Pigeons in feme Degree, becaufe of their ha¬ 
 bitual Exercife. 
 
 The Lark, both becaufe of its Exercife, and 
 P'ood, which is principally of Inf,6ts 
 
 The wild Duck, both becaufe of its Exercife, 
 and Food, which conlilfs much of fmall 
 Fifh, Frogs, and aquatic Infedls. This is 
 alfo true of all the Duck Species. 
 
 The wild Goofe, Solan Goofe, and all of the 
 Goofe Species, for the fame Reafon. 
 
 The wild Swan, or Elk, for the fame Reafon. 
 
 The 
 
 i 
 
INTRODUCTION. 33 
 
 The Bittern, becaufe of its Food, confiding 
 principally of Fifti and Frogs. 
 
 The Woodcock, becaufe of the great Exercife 
 it is ufed to. 
 
 The Snipe, for the fame Reafon; and in ge¬ 
 neral all Birds of Pafiage, very few excepted. 
 
 The Plover, and Lapwing, both becaufe of 
 their Food, which is principally of Infects, 
 and their Exercife. 
 
 The wild Pheafant becaufe of its Food, which 
 conftfts principally of Ants. 
 
 The Sparrow, and all fmall Birds which feed 
 partly on Infects, partly on Vegetables, 
 and ufe much Exercife, have Juices pro- 
 portionably alcalefcent. 
 
 IV. Animal Food is more or lefs Alcalefcent, 
 with Refpect to the manner in which it is killed. 
 Thus if an Animal is killed whilft very hot with 
 ftrong Exercife, or foon after, the Tendency to 
 Putrefaction in the Juices will be very much in- 
 creafed; infomuch that an Ox, or Sheep, killed 
 in fuch a manner, will be as fubject to Putre¬ 
 faction as an Animal whofe Juices are naturally 
 more alcalefcent, but killed whilft perfectly cool. 
 Hence Deer, and Hares that are hunted, and 
 Birds killed by hawking after a long Flight, con¬ 
 trail: an immediate Tendernefs, which is the 
 firft Stage of Putrefaction. 
 
 Animals alfo which are fhot, ftrangled, or 
 killed in any manner which prevents their Bleed¬ 
 ing, are more fubject: to an alcaline Putrefaction, 
 than thofe which are fuffered to bleed freely. 
 Of this the nice Judges of Culinary Arts are fo 
 fenfible, that they frequently kill Fowl by 
 llrangling them, in order to exalt their Tafte, 
 
 B 5 - or, 
 
3 4 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 or, which is the fame thing, increafe their Ten¬ 
 dency to PutrefaCtion. 
 
 V. The Climate, or Seafon, makes a Diffe¬ 
 rence in animal Food, becaufe Putrefaction is 
 always in Proportion to Heat, and confequently 
 the Juices of the fame Animal will be more 
 difpofed to an Alcaline PutrefaCtion in warm 
 Climates and Seafons, than in thofe which are 
 cold. 
 
 Hence the Inhabitants of very hot Climates are 
 obliged to ufe animal Food fparingly; and through 
 a NegleCl of this Confide ration it is, perhaps, 
 that many of the northern Europeans who 
 travel far to the South, contract Calentures, 
 and putrid Fevers. I am alfo perfuaded, that 
 the indifcriminate Ufe of animal Food in the 
 hotted Summers, and coldeft Winters, is pro¬ 
 ductive of many acute Diftempers and Deaths 
 in England. 
 
 Molt forts of InfeCts are highly alcalefcent. 
 
 bilh of all kinds are alcalefcent, and that in a 
 very high Degree. Thofe of frelh Lakes and 
 Rivers, however, are lefs fo than Sea-Filh; and 
 again, the fofter fort of Filh without Scales are 
 obferved to incline fooner, and more, than thofe 
 furnilhed with Scales, to an alcaline PutrefaCtion, 
 and Shell-Filh molt of all. 
 
 And it may be laid down as a certain Rule, 
 that of all forts of Animals, whether terreftrial, 
 or aquatic, thofe which putrefy fooneft, and be¬ 
 come moft offenfive when putrid, incline the 
 Juices of our Bodies moft to an alcaline Putre- 
 iaCtion, when ufed as Food. And indeed fome 
 ol them are not to be eaten fafely for this Rea- 
 i'on, without Vinegar, Salt, or acefcent Vege¬ 
 table Liquors. 
 
 From 
 
INTRODUCTION. 35 
 
 From what has been faid under the preceding 
 Articles, in Relation to the Alcalefcence of ani¬ 
 mal Aliments, one Reafon at leaft will appear, . 
 why it pleafed the fupreme Being to forbid the 
 Jews, a People that inhabited a very warm Cli¬ 
 mate, the Ufe of many forts of Aliments as Food; 
 and why they were enjoined to take away a 
 great deal of Blood from thofe they were allowed 
 to eat. 
 
 It would be prudent if we, though Inhabi¬ 
 tants of a colder Climate, would however be¬ 
 lieve, that he who cannot err, has confulted our 
 temporal Welfare in every pofitive Injun&ion he 
 has laid upon us, though the Reafons for it may 
 not always be very obvious; for this would furely 
 incline us by Acts of implicite Obedience to fe- 
 cure to ourfelves Happinefs and Health. 
 
 But that I may fet the Advantages, accruing 
 to the Children of Ifrael from thefe Prohibi¬ 
 tions, in a ftronger Light, I fhall make the fol¬ 
 lowing Obfervations on the Foods they were for¬ 
 bid to ufe, with this further Remark, that if we, 
 even in a cold Climate, would conform to the 
 Rules laid down by the wife Legifiator of the 
 Jews, Longivity would be more frequent amongft 
 us, as we fhould be much lefs fubject to be af¬ 
 fected by epidemical Diftempers, and acute Dif- 
 eafes of all forts, which carry off at leaft two 
 thirds of Mankind. Nor would chronical Af¬ 
 fections perhaps be fo terrible, and difficult to 
 conquer, as they are found to be at prefent. 
 
 It muft be remembered, that the Climate, in 
 which the Children of Ifrael lived, was very hot, 
 and that therefore every Species of Aliment which 
 is improper to be eaten in our Climate, on ac¬ 
 count of its Tendency to an alcaline Putrefac- 
 
 B 6 tion^ 
 
36 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 tion, was much more pernicious in the warm 
 Country inhabited by the Jews. 
 
 1 he Aliments forbidden the fetus were, 
 
 Blood. This is extremely fubjedt to an aka - 
 line Putrefaclion, and the Juices formed from it 
 are highly alcalefcent , and fubjecf to putrefy, 
 f or the fame Reafon all Animals whatever killed, 
 without being fuffered to bleed fufficiently, are 
 improper hood. It is well known to common 
 Obfervers, that the more fucculent, and Juicy 
 the Flefh of Animals is, the more fubject it is 
 to Putrefa&ion. 
 
 If an Animal has been heated by hunting, 
 there feems a further Reafon to let it bleed, in 
 order to lefTen the Tendency to Putrefaifion it 
 acquires by Exercife and Heat. And thus we 
 find it dire&ed, Leviticus, Chap. X VH. Ver. 13. 
 
 yJnd whatfoever Man there be of the Children of 
 Ifrael, or of the Strangers that fojourn among you, 
 which hunteth or catcheth any Beafl , or Fowl 
 which may be eaten j he J, hall even pour out the 
 Blood thereof, and cover it with Duji. 
 
 Animals which die of themfelves are un- 
 wholefome, both as they do not bleed, and as 
 their Juices are generally in an a&ual State of 
 Putrefadlion, or near it, before they die. And 
 we find the Flefh of fu.h Animals forbid in the 
 above quoted Chapter, Verfe the 15th. 
 
 The Camel. Though the Food of this Ani¬ 
 mal is only Vegetables, and Water, yet the Fi¬ 
 bres are hardened, and render’d in a great Mea- 
 fure indigeftible, and the Salts are highly exalted 
 by its habitual Exercife. 
 
 The Coney , as we tranflate it, but Bochart in 
 his Nierozoicon fays, it is a large Species of Rat , 
 and others call it a Mountain Rat. Thus Pro- 
 2 verbs a 
 
INTRODUCTION. i7 
 
 verbs 9 Cbap. XXX. Vcr. 26. Thefe Animals 
 are faid to make their Houfe in the Kochs. 
 
 As the general hood of all Creatures of the 
 Rat Species is Animal, their Juices muft be con- 
 fequently much inclined to an alcaline Putre¬ 
 faction, and ( therefore their Flelh mull: be un- 
 wholefome. 
 
 The Hare. The Animal we call thus is 
 certainly meant in this Place; the Septuagint 
 tranflates it by tieuruma, and with this the Syriac 
 and Arabic Verfions agree; and thus the Jews 
 underftood it, who abftained from eating it, as 
 We learn from Plutarch , 4 Queji. 5. and Cle- 
 mens Alexandrians , Pcedag, 2. 10. 
 
 The Hare is remarkable for being extremely 
 timorous, and this makes it ufe a great deal of 
 Exercife by way of Precaution, when he goes 
 to feek his Food, and at the Approach of any 
 Danger, either real, or imaginary ; this habitual 
 Exercife probably contributes to the Exaltation 
 of the Salts. We find in Effect that the Hare 
 has a very high Tafte, even in our cold Climate ; 
 and this high Tafle univerfally is an Evidence, 
 that the animal Flelh which gives it is ftrongly 
 inclined to an alcaline Putrefaction. It is re¬ 
 markable that the old Britons abftained religi- 
 oufly from eating Hare, as we learn from Ccefar 
 ie Bello Gallico, L. 5. 
 
 The Swine. This Animal is remarkable for 
 'ilthinefs, and feeding on all manner of Ordure, 
 ven Carrion if it falls in his Way. It is the 
 I'nly Animal in the Brute Creation fubjett to 
 he Leprofy ; and alfo fomething very like what we 
 all the King’s Evil, called in Eatin Scrofula , 
 om Scrofa a Sow ; as this Difeafe is in Greek 
 ailed Xo^aj from Xo*p?, a Swine, The Meaflesis 
 
 another 
 
3 8 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 another filthy and contagious Difeafe which this 
 Brute is frequently infedted with, infomuch that 
 it has pa{fed into a Proverb, as we learn from 
 Juvenal , who calls it Porrigo. In this Diftem- 
 per, all the flefhy Parts are full of innumerable 
 fmall, round, white, and hard Subftances fome- 
 what like Hail Stones. 
 
 Hence it muft appear to every reafonable Ob- 
 ferver, that the Flefh of this Beaft, as an Ali¬ 
 ment, muft be highly improper for a People fo 
 fubjedt to Leprofies, as the Jews appear to have 
 been, and who were Inhabitants of a warm 
 Climate, which renders every thing more incli¬ 
 nable to Putrefaction. 
 
 JU BEASTS which do not both divide the 
 Hoof, and chew the Cud. 
 
 Under this Prohibition are included all Beafts 
 of Prey, and thofe which eat Flefh, whofe Juices 
 are highly alcalefcent for Reafons before given. 
 All Animals of the Horfe and Afs Kind,^ are 
 alfo here prohibited. And we find that the Flefh 
 of all thefc is difficult to be digefted, and affimi- 
 lated by the vital Powers, and that the Juices 
 are rank and alcalefcenty perhaps becaufe they are 
 frequently heated by the habitual Exercife they 
 are obliged to ufe for the Service of Man. 
 
 I cannot explain fcientifically all the Effedts 
 which Chewing the Cud may have upon the Flefh 
 and Juices of the Animal that does it. But it is 
 w’orthy of Obfervation, that all Creatures which 
 chew the Cud live on Vegetables and Water only, 
 have a very flow Digeftion, fpend a great part oi 
 their Time in getting their Food, and the refl 
 either in chewing the Cud, or fleeping ; fo that 
 
INTRODUCTION. 39 
 
 it is accidental if they ever ufe Exercife fufficicnt to 
 heat themfelves, harden their Flefli, and exalt 
 their Salts to any confiderable Degree of Alcalef- 
 cence. Of this the Cow, and Sheep are obvious 
 Examples. Deer both chew the Cud, and divide 
 the Hoof; and their Juices are notwithftanding 
 fomewhat alcalefcent , as they are ufually kill’d 
 amongft us. The Flelh is, however, tender, 
 and eafy of Digeftion ; and if they are killed, ac¬ 
 cording to the Levitical Law, that is, if they 
 are fuffered to bleed plentifully, this Tendency to 
 an alcaline Putrefa&ion is in a great meafure re¬ 
 moved. 
 
 All FISH which have not Fins andS cales. 
 
 Thefe are what Medicinal Writers call Pifces 
 Molles. It has been obferved above, that all 
 forts of Fifh are very fubjedf to Putrefadion; but 
 thofe without Scales more than others, and Shell- 
 filh moft of all. 
 
 The Eagle. 
 
 The Ojjifrage. 
 
 The Ofpray. 
 
 It is an Eagle , fo called from his Strength, 
 which we may imagine to be the little black Eagle, 
 which is therefore called l alena. "The Syriac 
 renders it a Crow. 
 
 The Kite , fo called from his Flight, which is 
 very ftrong, efpecially when he hangs in the Air, 
 without moving his Wings. 
 
 The Merlin , a kind of fmall Hawk. 
 
 The Raven , or perhaps the NySiicorax. 
 
 The common Owl. 
 
 The Nochia , a Species of Owl. 
 
 The Cuckow . 
 
 Tho 
 
4 o INTRODUCTION. 
 
 The Hawk. It is explained a Bird with which 
 other Birds are taken, and which Fowlers carry 
 on their Fifts. 
 
 The Gofs-Hawk. Some tranflate it an Owl; 
 others, Onocratatos , a Bird which makes a Noife 
 like an Afs. 
 
 The Cormorant. 
 
 The Great Owl. 
 
 The Juices of all thefe are highly alcalefcent , 
 both as they are Birds of Prey, and as their habi¬ 
 tual Exercife is great. 
 
 The Swan , or Chough-Daw. It is of no great 
 Importance which is here meant, for the Juices 
 of both are much alcalefcent , and their Flefh rank, 
 and fcarcely digeffible. 
 
 'I he Bittern. This Fowl feeds on Fifh ; the 
 Flefh is very rank, and fubje& to Putrefa&iom 
 
 'T he Gier Eagle. It feeds on Flefh. 
 
 The Stork. 
 
 The StorJ feeds on Frogs, Serppnts, and other 
 Reptiles, which are extremely alcalefcent , and 
 therefore it mud afford Juices in a State very near 
 to Putrefa&ion. 
 
 The Heron. It feeds on Fifh, and ufes a great 
 deal of Exercife, and for both thefe Reafons has 
 Juices highly alcalefcent. 
 
 The Lapwing , a Bird almoff perpetually on the 
 Wing, and which feeds on Infects. The Flefh 
 is of a very high Taffe, and near to a State of 
 Putrefa&ion. 
 
 The Bat. It feeds on Infers. 
 
 The JVeafel. A Beaft of Prey. 
 
 The Mnufe. It feeds on Flefh. 
 
 The 'Toad. 
 
 This is fometimes tranflated th e Ferret, and by 
 fume it is called a Species of Locuji : But, as in 
 
 the 
 
INTRODUCTION. 41 
 
 the Prohibition it immediately follows after the 
 Toad , and is derived from a Word which fignifies 
 clamavit , there is great Reafon to believe it ihould 
 be underftood the Frog , literally the Crier , or, 
 the Beajl that cries , alluding to the croaking of this 
 Reptile. 
 
 TheLizard. 
 
 Bochart calis it the Salamander , a fort of 
 Lizard. 
 
 The Snail. 
 
 Bochart calls it here the Chanicelion ; in another 
 Place quoted above, the fame Word fignifies a 
 Swan , or Jack-Daw. 
 
 All thefe Reptiles are extremely fubje£l to Pu- 
 trefa&ion, as are Reptiles of almoft every kind : 
 the Smell of thefe, when putrefied, is extremely 
 offenfive; and hence we muft conclude their Salts 
 to be highly exalted, and their Juices alealefeent to 
 a great Degree. 
 
 Before I proceed farther in the Account of an 
 alcaline Putrefaction in the Juices, and its Confe- 
 quences, it is necefTary that I fpecify the Parts 
 into which the Blood is feparable by Chymical 
 Analyfis. 
 
 Firft then, if the Blood of a Perfon in Health, 
 frefh taken away, is put into a Retort, with a 
 Receiver accurately luted to it, and h then com¬ 
 mitted to a Heat much lefs than is fufficient to 
 make Water boil, a Vapour comes over, which 
 condenfes into a Liquor very little, if at all, dif¬ 
 ferent from Water, and which does not appear to 
 be either alcaline or acid, faline, pinguious, or in 
 any Degree acrimonious. And if the Fire is in- 
 creafed to the Degree of boiling Water, the fame 
 Vapour ftill continues to come over, forming 
 exa&ly the fame kind of Water, till the Blood put 
 
42 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 into the Retort lofes much about feven eighths of 
 the original Weight. 
 
 If the remaining dry Mafs is taken out of the 
 Retort and examined, it affords no Signs of con¬ 
 taining any thing the leaft alcaline, acid, or acrid, 
 but is utterly infipid, except that it taftes and 
 fmells of burning, and that not much. This 
 inclofed in a wooden Box, will keep for Ages 
 without Putrefa&ion. But by a Sand-heat, gra¬ 
 dually increafed, it yields firft a faltifh, oily, 
 bitter Liquor, fomewhat inclining to be alcaline ; 
 then a white volatile Salt; and, as the Fire in¬ 
 creases, a yellow Oil, and with it the fame kind 
 of Salt. Take the Receiver away that contains 
 what is come over, and lute on another; urge 
 the Remainder with the mod extreme Degree of 
 Fire that the Glafs will bear without melting, and 
 white Fumes will arife without ceafing, if the 
 Operation be continued ever fo long, and with 
 thefe, a black thick Oil. 
 
 The Mafs remaining in the Retort is very black, 
 and fhining, brittle; extremely light and fpongy, 
 of a difagreeable Smell, empyreumatic, bitter, 
 and fcarcely at all fait; this, when urged with a 
 Heat almoft fufficient to melt the Retort, con¬ 
 tinues perpetually to emit Fumes, and preferves its 
 black Colour fo long as it remains in a clofe Vef- 
 fel; but when expofed to a naked Fire, it flames, 
 and, lofing this Blacknefs, becomes white, and 
 is then found to be an infipid Earth, containing 
 not the lealt Portion of an alcaline Salt j but a 
 fmall Quantity of an Acid may be got from it by 
 an extreme Degree of Fire, which Boerhaavt 
 imagines to be the Offspring of the Sea Salt which 
 had been ufed in Food, and remains in the Blood 
 unaltered j but in his Obfervations on this Procefs, 
 
 he 
 
INTRODUCTION. 43 
 
 he tells us, that he had obferved the fame Appear¬ 
 ances in the Diitillation of the Blood of many 
 Brutes, and therefore this Acid cannot be owing 
 to Sea Salt, becaufe no Animal, that I know of, 
 cats Salt, except Man and Pidgeons, unlefs do- 
 meftic ones, as Dogs, and Cats, fometimes by 
 Accident, not by Choice. I am fenfible it may 
 be anfwered, that there is Salt, more or lefs, in 
 all Water that Animals drink ; and I know a Salt 
 may be procured from the Urine of Animals, 
 much refembling Sea Salt in the Figure of the 
 Chryffals, and fome other Properties. But if the 
 Source of this Salt was the Sea Salt taken into the 
 Stomach with the Aliment, human Urine would 
 probably yield more of this Salt, than that of 
 Graminivorous Animals, becaufe the Salt taken 
 in the Water of thefe Animals, bears no Propor¬ 
 tion to that which is eaten by a Man j however, 
 it appears, that the Urine of a Cow, or a Horfe, 
 yields a much larger Proportion of this Salt than 
 that of a Man. 
 
 Here then we find in the Blood, a Water, an 
 Oil, a volatile alcaline Salt , a fixed Earth, and a 
 Portion of Acid. And now, if we confider at¬ 
 tentively the Progrefs of Animal Putrefa&ion, we 
 fhall find it has exactly the fame Effects as the Di- 
 ffillation deferibed above, and that it only differs 
 from it in taking up a fomewhat longer Time. 
 For firft the watery Particles exhale; next the 
 faline Part is attenuated, and difengaged from the 
 Earth and Acid ; and thus being render’d acrid, 
 ilcaline, and volatile, rifes together with a Part of 
 :he Oil alfo attenuated, and feparated from the 
 Earth, and affects the Organs of Smell with a 
 Nidor, or Stink, peculiar to Animal Subftances in a 
 State of Putrefaction. 
 
 The 
 
44 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 The reft of the oily Particles unite with the 
 --Earth thus deprived of the finer Part of the Oil, 
 Water, and Salt; and both together form a black, 
 tenacious, vifcid Subftance, which, however, at 
 laft is refolved, and leaves nothing behind but a 
 pure Virgin-Earth, the Acid alfo exhaling. Thus 
 the Animal Juices, by Putrefaction, undergo a 
 thorough Alteration and Separation, after which 
 it is impoflible to unite the feparated Particles 
 again, fo as to make an uniform homogeneous 
 Fluid, like what it was before. 
 
 It is impoftible this PutrefaCtion ftiould prevail 
 univerfally in the Juices whilft the Animal is alive j 
 but particular Parts of the Body may putrefy, 
 without caufing immediate Death. Alcalefcent 
 Food alfo may putrefy in the Stomach and Intef- 
 tines, and caufe great Diforders in the Animal 
 CEconomy, when taken in Quantities difpropor- 
 tioned to the Powers of Digeftion. And the 
 Juices in general may have a ftrong Tendency to 
 Putrefaction; and of this feveral Birds that feed on 
 Carrion arefenfible, much fooner than Mankind ; 
 for as foon as the volatile Salts, and rancid Oils, 
 begin to exhale, the Organs of Smell, in thefe 
 Birds, are fooner affeCted than ours, infomuch 
 that they are frequently allured from confiderable 
 Diftances, to the Neighbourhood of Houfes inha¬ 
 bited by People in Fevers. 
 
 The antecedent Caufes therefore of an Alcalef- 
 cence in the Body, and the Difea'ies depending 
 thereon, may be reduced to the following. 
 
 i Alcalefcent Aliment, that is, Aliment of 
 alcalefcent Vegetables, or of Animals, the Milk 
 of graminivorous Animals only excepted. And 
 amongft thefe, I'ifh, particularly their I ivers and 
 Skins: Fowls that live on Fifh \ all Birds which 
 
 prey 
 
INTRODUCTION. 45 
 
 prey on other Animals, or InfeCts, or which arc 
 ufed to a great deal of habitual Exercife; alfo 
 Animals killed whilft heaced with ffrong Exercife, 
 incline more to an ■ alcallne Putrefaction than 
 others. 
 
 2. A Weaknefs of the Organs of Digeftion. 
 
 When this is the Cafe, the Aliment, following 
 
 its natural Tendency, putrefies in the Stomach, 
 and caufes what is ufually called a Surfeit; and the 
 Chyle enters into the Blood in a State near to 
 Putrefaction, or in part putrefied. 
 
 3. A great Strength of the digeftive and aflimi- 
 lating Organs; for this produces 
 
 4. A great Quantity of Blood highly exalted, 
 and in a State very near to Putrefaction ; and a 
 Bile in a State of Putrefaction. 
 
 It muft be remembered, that acefcent Aliments 
 are, by the ACtions of the above-mentioned Or¬ 
 gans, converted into Alcalefcent Juices, When 
 therefore thefe Organs aCt ftrongly on Eood already 
 alcalefcent, it muft be rendered more fo, and 
 brought nearer to a State of PutrefaCtion. 
 
 It is upon this Account that plethoric People are 
 more fubjeCt to epidemical Disorders than others; 
 that People in a full State of Health are more in 
 danger of falling into Fevers, and thofe of a bad 
 kind, than others whofe general State of Health is 
 not fo good ; and that luch who have very ffrong 
 Conftitutions, are more liable to peftilential Dif- 
 orders, and putrid Fevers, than Valetudinarians. 
 
 Hence Hippocrates , L. I. Aphorifm 3, advifes 
 to beware of an Excel's of Health ; for the fame 
 Strength of Conffitution which was fufEcient to 
 bring the Blood and Juices to fuch a Degree of 
 Perfection will exalt them into a Difeafe. And Celfus 
 tells us, that a full State of Health is to be fufpeCt- 
 
 ed: 
 
46 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 eft: _ Ergo ft plenior aliquis, & fpecioftor , & co+ 
 loratior faftus eft , fufpetfa habere fua bona debet. 
 Qua quia neque in eodem habitu fubftftere , neque 
 ultra progredi pojftunt , fere retro , quafi ruina quo- 
 dam , revolvuntur, 
 
 Hippocrates thinks it prudent to fubtraft fome- 
 thing from a State of Health arrived at the utmoft 
 Perfection j becaufe, as it is not poflible it fhould 
 remain long without Alteration, and cannot mend, 
 it muft neceffarily grow worfe. But with all De¬ 
 ference to fo great an Authority, I muft remark, 
 that Nature has Refources of more Importance 
 for the Prefervation of Life and Health, than 
 any Aftiftances which Art can afford her, and 
 from which the draws Help upon thefe Occafions. 
 Thus in cafe of too much Fulnefs of Blood, an 
 Haemorrhage lowers the Habit to fuch a State, as 
 Hippocrates advifes us to reduce it to by Art. If 
 the Juices are fo much exalted, as to tend too 
 much to an Alcalefcence, the Acrimony attend¬ 
 ing this State, before it becomes fenfible by any 
 ill Confequences, frequently ftimulates the Glands 
 ot the Skin, and thus caufes its own Evacuation 
 by an increafed Perfpiration; or elfe, if it happens 
 to affeCt the Glands of the Kidneys, it is carried 
 off by Urine ; but if it falls upon the Liver, the 
 moft likely Part to receive it firft, or the Pancreas, 
 or the Glands of the Stomach and Inteftines, the 
 Danger is prevented by Vomiting, or a Diarrhoea, 
 or both, fufficient for the falutary Purpofes above- 
 mentioned ; and hence the popular Opinion, 
 founded on the Experience of all Ages, that a 
 Loofenefs in the Spring and Summer is falutary. 
 Thus we fee this Acrimony fo much to be dread¬ 
 ed, is frequently, under the ConduCl of a well re¬ 
 gulated 
 
INTRODUCTION. 4; 
 
 gulated Animal (Economy, its own Antidote, 
 and the .Means of preferving, inftead of interrup¬ 
 ting Health. But here we muff fuppofe no Ex- 
 cefles are committed, and regular Exercife is 
 ufed. ■ 
 
 5. Long Faffing. For, if the Blood is not 
 perpetually diluted with frefh Chyle, it will con- 
 tradt an alcaline Acrimony, and the Breath will 
 become fetid, till in the end a Fever and Death 
 enfue from this Putrefadion. 
 
 6. A Stagnation of any Part of the Blood or 
 Juices. 
 
 Becaufe all animal Juices, which Magnate, fol • 
 low their natural Tendency, and putrefy. 
 
 7. Great Heat, whether of the Seafon, or 
 Climate ; external, or internal j natural, or arti¬ 
 ficial. 
 
 8. Violent Agitation of the Blood. Becaufe it 
 produces Heat. 
 
 9. Exceffive Exercife, efpecially if long con- 
 inued. 
 
 When any of thefe Caufes, or many of them 
 :onjointly, have produced an Alcaline Putrefadion, 
 t is manifefted by the following Signs, in the 
 °rima Via. 
 
 1. Third:. 
 
 It is obfervable that Nature, or rather the 
 Author of Nature, has given to all Animals a 
 ertain Sagacity, to enable them to diflinguifh 
 diments which would be noxious to them, from 
 lofe which arc falutary j and to dired them to 
 ie Means of curing the Diforders they labour 
 ider. This, in Brutes, is called Injlinft ; and 
 1 we the fame Propenfions calculated for the 
 me good Purpofes in Mankind, I think we may 
 roperly enough call them by the fame Name. 
 
 In 
 
4 3 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 In the prefent Inftance, Third is railed ; that 
 
 T 1 ' i*_ 4 - s-%. Annlr Ol l/lHtltlCS Oi 
 
 ,n U1C picit-ilt- -- -- . . "r 
 
 1S an Inclination to drink large Quantities of 
 fin all diluting Liquors. Now thefe Liquors dilute 
 
 the alcaline, putrid, acrimonious Salts, relieve the 
 
 prefent uneafy Senfation, and difpofe the putrefy¬ 
 ing or putrefied Matter to bedifcharged out of the 
 Stomach and Intedines, either by Vomit, or Stool. 
 But if the Propen fity is to acid Liquors, which u 
 generally the Cafe, thefe Acids, when mixed with 
 the putrid Salts, deftroy them, and are both to¬ 
 gether converted into a neutral Salt. 
 
 & It is remarkable, that alcaline animal Salts, a 
 Salt or Spirit of Harts-horn, taken internally vo 
 Utile, raifes a Third, in the fame Manner, am 
 
 for the fame Reafons. 
 
 2 . An utter Lofs of Appetite, and an Averho 
 for Alcalefcent Aliment, particularly .of that foi 
 of Aliment which originally caufed the Diforder. 
 
 This is another Indance of the Indinct above 
 mentioned ; or rather, of the IWtion of Pr< 
 vidence, which watches over us in Sickneis as we 
 as i n Health. An Appetite would be prejudice 
 when the Stomach is in fuch a Condition, as n 
 to be able to diged the Aliment taken into it 
 and Alcalefcent Aliment would increafe the Ui 
 
 ° r ^3. r *Nidorous Eru&ations, ojr Belches, whi< 
 
 affedf the Mouth with the Tade of patrefi 
 
 XT 
 
 "Becaufe a Portion of the putrid Salta, a 
 rancid Oil, is excluded, together with the rai 
 ficd Air. # —.y . , 
 
 4. Putrid Sordes upon the Lips, Teeth, long 
 
 Palate, and Fauces, which aftett the Organs 
 Tade with a Senfation of Bitternefs, becauie Af 
 mal Oils, when they grow rancid, become bitt 
 
INTRODUCTION. 49 
 
 or perhaps this Tafte may be caufed by the Bile 
 too much exalted, and tending to'Putrefa&ion. 
 
 5. A Sicknefs at the Stomach, from the Stimu¬ 
 lation of the acrimonious Salts, efpecially at the 
 Sight, or even Idea of alcalefcent Aliment, near 
 to a State of Putrefaction. This Stimulation in- 
 creafed, caufes a Difcharge of the putrefied Mat¬ 
 ter by Vomit, which is falutary, when the Dis¬ 
 orders proceed only from a Putrefaction of the 
 Aliment, in the firft Paflages; but if from a Pu¬ 
 trefaction of the Liver, Pancreas, or any other of 
 the Contents of the Abdomen, it is fometimes a 
 very bad Symptom. When this alcaline Acri¬ 
 mony afFeCts the Inteftines, it Simulates them to a 
 Difcharge of their Contents by a Diarrhoea, which 
 is alfo the Means of Cure, when the PutrefaCtion 
 is confined to the Aliment contained in the Sto¬ 
 mach and Inteftines; but is often fatal, when 
 caufed by large Putrefactions in any of the Vifcera, 
 
 Fifh that has been kept too long before it is 
 eaten, will caufe a plentiful Diarrhoea; and a very 
 fmall Quantity of putrefied Egg will have the 
 lame EfFeCI, by {Emulating the Inteftines. 
 
 6. This alcaline Acrimony produces a Sponta¬ 
 neous Laftitude, and univerfal Uneafinefs; a 
 troublefome Senfe of Heat, and inflammatory iliac 
 Pains. 
 
 The EffeCI of an alcaline PutrefaCIion in the 
 Blood, is its Diflblution into an alcaline acrimo¬ 
 nious I luid ; the watery Particles Separate from the 
 other Principles and exhale ; the fineft part of the 
 Oil grows rancid ; the reft of the Oil joining with 
 I'he Heart, they form together tenacious Obf ruc¬ 
 tions in the Vefiels to which they adhere ; and the 
 ^alts no longer uniformly mixed with the diluting 
 , ater 3 foftening Oil, and neutral Earth, become 
 
 ^ acrid 
 
5 o INTRODUCTION. 
 
 acrid and corrofive. Hence the Fluid circulating 
 in the Veflels, which, in order to be fit for Nu¬ 
 trition, and the Exigencies of the Animal CEco- 
 nomy, muft be mild, and deftitute of all Acri¬ 
 mony, is, in the prefent State, very far from be¬ 
 ing accommodated to thefe falutary Purpofes; but 
 inftead of that, {Emulates, abrades, and carries 
 away a part of the Solids; and corrodes and de- 
 ftroys the extremely minute Veflels, to which 
 thefe of the Brain are above all others fubjeft; 
 whence a Train of Symptoms which are ufually 
 called nervous, as Delirioufnefs, Convulfions, Co¬ 
 ma’s or want of Sleep. 1 
 
 This Corrofion and Deftruftion of the interna 
 Parts is nothing more than what may at any time 
 be produced on the external Skin, by confining a 
 fmall Quantity of animal alcaline Salts, for a ftiort 
 time, to any part of it, for it will then aft as a 
 Cauftic, and raife an Efcar. This may ferve as a 
 feafonable Caution to thofe who wantonly accuftom 
 themfelves to fmell to volatile Salts, efpecially 
 thofe which have their cauftic Acrimony exalted in 
 Lime in their Diftillation ; for when a Part of 
 thefe is drawn into the Lungs, it may, and with¬ 
 out Difpute has very bad Effefts on the tender 
 Membrane which lines the Lungs. 
 
 In the State of the Blood mentioned above, the 
 Liquors fecreted from it are fetid j and the Urine 
 is high-coloured, approaching to Rednefs, in pro¬ 
 portion to the Degree of Putrefaction prevailing, 
 and the Patient necefiarily labours under a conti¬ 
 nual burning Fever. 
 
 From this Account of an alcaline Putrefaftion 
 in the Blood, it is eafy to perceive, that the Con- 
 fequences muft be a Difturbance, Depravation, 
 or utter Deftruftion of all the Aftions, whether 
 
 natural, 
 
INTRODUCTION. 5 t 
 
 natural, animal, or rational; an entire Alteration in 
 the Circulation, and confequently in the Secretions 
 and Excretions which depend thereon, wuth ge¬ 
 neral or local Inflammations, which, if the Pu- 
 trefa&ion is confiderable, mud terminate in Sup-* 
 purations, or Gangrenes, Sphacelations, and 
 Death. 
 
 The different Parts of the Body which are af- 
 fe&ed by this alcaline Putrefaction, make feme 
 Difference in the Cure. Thus, if the alcaline 
 Aliments, taken in Quantities too large for the 
 digeftive Powers, putrefy in the Stomach and In- 
 teftines, and produce the EffeCts mentioned above, 
 the moft rational Method of Cure is to procure 
 their Difcharge, either by a Vomit or Purge, or 
 both ; and in this the principal Symptoms muff be 
 our Guide; for if from thefe we learn the Sto¬ 
 mach is affeCted, a Vomit is to be given; but if 
 the putrefied or putrefying Aliment is protruded 
 into the Inteftines, a Purge will fometimes be fuf- 
 ficient to promote their Exclufion. Proper Vo¬ 
 mits, in this Cafe, are warm Water, Green l ea, 
 Infufions of Carduus, or Ipecacuanha, in the 
 Quantity of half a Dram; and Purges of the Sa¬ 
 line kind feem beft adapted for this Purpole; be- 
 caufe as they increafe the natural Tendency to a 
 Diarrhoea, and thereby carry off' the offending 
 Matter, they at the fame time relieve the Symp¬ 
 toms, by deffroying a part of the Acrimony. 
 Both Vomits and Purges muff be repeated, ac¬ 
 cording as the Continuance of the Diforder fiiall 
 make them appear neceffary. In general, one 
 Vomit, but repeated Purges are required. 
 
 I have met with a popular Remedy for an Over¬ 
 charge ot the Stomach by alealefeent Aliment, of 
 too much Efficacy to be omitted; it is the Run- 
 
 C 2 net 
 
5 2 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 net with which Milk is curdled, in order to make 
 Cheefe. Runnet is thus made; the firft Stomach 
 of a Calf is falted and dried, or elfe preferved in 
 Brine ; this Brine, or an Infufion of the dried 
 Stomach in cold Water, is the Runnet. One or 
 two Spoonfuls of this Brine in half a Pint of cold 
 Water, or an Infufion of a Piece of the dried 
 Stomach, about two Inches fquare, for a few 
 Hours, in the fame Quantity of Water, if drank, 
 is faid to take away all the uneafy Senfation caufed 
 by the ftimulating Acrimony, and to promote the 
 Expulfion of the offending Matter, either by Vo¬ 
 mit or Stool. It would perhaps be fomewhat dif¬ 
 ficult to demonftrate the fpecific Adlion of the 
 Juices in the Stomach of a Calf whilfl it is alive, 
 where all the Milk it takes is found curdled, and 
 in Milk wherewith the Infufion of the fame Sto¬ 
 mach is mixed, even after the Death of the Calf. 
 I am equally at a Lofs to account for the falutary 
 Effedl of Runnet, confidered as fuch, upon a hu¬ 
 man Stomach, under the ill Impreffions of alcalef- 
 cent Aliments putrefying therein : But I am fen- 
 iible that the Salt, which preferves the Calf’s Sto¬ 
 mach from Putrefadlion, will alfo have a very 
 good Effedl upon the Aliment putrefying in the 
 Stomach, deftroy totally or in part the alcaline 
 Acrimony, and confequently relieve the Symptoms 
 caufed thereby ; but whether all the good Effedls 
 of Runnet as a Medicine depend on the Salt, I 
 will not take upon me to determine ; I am, how¬ 
 ever, certain, upon my own Knowledge, that 
 it is an excellent Medicine in the Cafe above- 
 mentioned. 
 
 When a Tendency to this Putrefadlion is got 
 into the whole Habit, and prevails in the Blood 
 and Juices, the Cure is much more difficult and 
 tedious, and the Diforder is attended with a much 
 
 greater 
 
INTRODUCTION. 53 
 
 greater or lefs Tendency to an alcaline Putrefac¬ 
 tion, the Regimen and Medicines proper to de- 
 ftory or curb this Alcalefcence are of the utmoft 
 Importance to the Art of Healing. The Regi¬ 
 men, however, is moft to be regarded, for upon 
 this the Cure principally depends. 
 
 With refpedt then to the Cure, Bleeding feems 
 proper, as it relaxes and diminifhes the Adtion of 
 the Solids upon the remaining Mafs of Fluids, 
 which leflens the Attrition betwixt the Solids and 
 Fluids, and betwixt the Particles of the Fluids 
 with each other; now, as Attrition is one great 
 Caufe of Heat, and Heat a great Promoter of 
 Putrefadtion, Bleeding promifes fair to remove at 
 lead one principal Caufe thereof. 
 
 In fuch Cafes alfo. Reft muft be ftridfly enjoin¬ 
 ed, and an Abftinence from all forts of Motion 
 rigoroully perftfted in: becaufe every Degree of 
 Motion proportionally hardens the Fibres, and ac¬ 
 celerates the Circulation of the Blood : this in- 
 creafes the Attrition betwixt the Solids and Fluids, 
 and betwixt the Particles of the Fluids with each 
 other, and confequently promotes Heat, the Pa¬ 
 rent of an alcaline Putrefadtion, and all its Con- 
 fequences. 
 
 Warm emollient Baths, Fomentations, and 
 Clyfters, are alfo of fervice, as they relax the 
 P ibres, and thereby help to remove one confider- 
 able Caufe of Hear j and as the abforbent V'eflels 
 take up a Portion of them, they become farther 
 ferviceable bv diluting the Blood. 
 
 vv ith refpedt to the Air which the Patient re- 
 fpires, it fhould be temperate and refrelhing ; if 
 too hot, it increafes the Pendency to Putrefaction ; 
 if too cold, by contradting the animal P'ibres ; it is 
 coniequentially produdtive of internal Heat. 
 
 C 3 Hence 
 
54 introduction. 
 
 Hence the Reafons are very plain, why all Heat 
 beyond Temperatenefs, whether natural, and 
 produced by the Climate or Seafon, or artificial, 
 and generated either by Fires, too many Bed- 
 cloaths, or hot Medicines, mud neceffanly be 
 pernicious in all Diftempers, where there is a 
 Tendency to an alcaline Putrefaction. 
 
 Our next Care mull be to faturate the B.ood 
 and Juices with Aliments which are acefcent 
 which have a ftrong Tendency to become acid 
 when taken into the Stomach, or which arc aflu- 
 ally acid : Such are either Milk alone, or dilutee 
 with Water, Whey, and Butter-milk. 
 
 Bread, which has been fermented, is anothei 
 Aliment of the acefcent kind ; but if it hasi beer 
 much fermented, it is a&ually acid. Of thi. 
 trreit Variety of Foods may be prepared; by boil- 
 fng it with Water, till it is of fuch a Confiftenc, 
 as anfwers the End propofed, and afterwards add 
 L to it other acefcent Ingredients as Wine, o 
 the crude or prepared Juices of Fruits. Th- 
 moft common of thefe is called Panada. 
 
 Many Sorts of Aliments, exceedingly prope 
 when there is an Alcalefcence of the Juices, ar 
 nrenared from farinaceous Vegetables, parti 
 cuhrW Barley and Oats. The Ptifan of the An 
 tients > fo famous in all Ages, was made of Barle 
 and boiled in Water, and feems to hav 
 i o Q ] which obtained difFerei 
 
 M Cn ! aC cord ng to fome Circumftances to t 
 Names, accor g The Word is derive 
 
 '^nrrlhth fi^es to M «. 
 the Hufks , this being the full part of the 
 Z its Preparation ; but the French have throug 
 an unpardonable Error, applied the Name 
 Mai to any fort of Medicinal ^on.^ 
 
 
INTRODUCTION. 55 
 
 Amongft farinaceous Vegetables the following 
 are recommended. 
 
 Buck-Wheat, or Fru- 
 mentum Saracenetum. 
 Mays, or Indian Wheat. 
 Panick. " 
 
 Spelt Wheat. 
 
 Piftachio Nuts. 
 
 Of thefe boiled in Water, and digefled for a 
 •onfiderable Time, till they acquire a Tendency 
 to Acidity, many forts of Food may be contrived, 
 very proper in an alcaline State of the Juices. De- 
 codfions and Emulfions of thefe, drank in large 
 Quantities, are of confiderable Service; firjl* As 
 they are in fome degree faponaceous, and diilolvc 
 Obftrudlions in the Veflels, which Water alone 
 cannot a<£! upon. Secondly , As they dilute the 
 Juices inclinable to an Alcalefcence with an acef- 
 cent Fluid. Thirdly, As they relax the Solids. 
 And, Fourthly , As by their oily Softnefs they in- 
 velope and obtund the alcaline Acrimony, and, 
 thereby, rendering it mild, prevent its Effedls in 
 the Body. 
 
 I rauft not omit obferving, that acefcent Ali¬ 
 ments in general feem more healthful than thofe 
 which are alealefeent; and are lefs fubjedf to form 
 Obftrudtions, provided they are taken in Quanti¬ 
 ties proportioned to the Strength of the digefting 
 and affimilating Organs, and by People inured to 
 habitual Labour and Exercife. 
 
 Thus Homer celebrates the Hippimolgi , a nor¬ 
 thern Nation, whofe ufual Food was Milk, for 
 Longevity. And the Mountaineers of Great 
 Britain , who generally live on Milk, and Cakes 
 
 C 4 made 
 
 Wheat. 
 
 Barley. 
 
 Oats. 
 
 Rye. 
 
 Rice. 
 
 Millet. 
 
5 6 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 made of Oatmeal, fermented till they grow quite 
 four, are reiharkable for Health, Strength, Ac¬ 
 tivity, and living to a very great Age, and are 
 feldom or never vifited by epidemical Diftempers, 
 in any confiderable Degree. And what Virgil 
 fays of a northern Nation is fomething to our 
 prefent Purpofe: 
 
 Pccula lai't 
 
 Fermento atque Acidis mitantur Vitea forbis . 
 
 - Palis Hyperboreo feptem Subjeffa Frioni. 
 
 Gens Ejfrcsna Virum Ripbao tunditur Euro, 
 
 There is another Clafs of Vegetables of excel¬ 
 lent Service, when the Juices tend to an alcaline 
 Putrefaction. I mean the Summer or autum¬ 
 nal Fruits, when perfe&ly ripe, as 
 
 Oranges 
 Lemons 
 Elder Berries 
 Cherries of all forts 
 Citrons 
 
 Garden Cucumbers 
 Garden Gourds 
 Figs 
 
 Strawberries 
 
 Pomegranates 
 
 Jujubes 
 
 Apricots 
 
 Peaches 
 
 Melons 
 
 Mulberries 
 
 Apples 
 
 Sweet Plums of all forts 
 Currants of all forts 
 Rafberries 
 Grapes, &c. 
 
 Of thefe confiderable LTfes may be made. 
 For they may be boiled, or roafted, and eaten 
 occafionally; or their Pulp, or crude Juices, 
 may be mixed with Panadas, Gruels, or other 
 acefcent Aliments. Or elfe the Juices, expreifed 
 after baking, or boiling them with a very fmall 
 Quantity of Water, may be mixed with Food, 
 
 or 
 
INTRO DUCT I OK 57 
 
 or given as a Medicine, firft adding to them the 
 Quantity of Sugar which (hall be judged fuffi- 
 cient. 
 
 And it muft be obferved, that boiling or baking 
 Fruits, deftroys a great Quantity of the elaftic 
 Air which they cqntain when crude, makes them 
 fit more eafy upon the Stomach, and thereby 
 renders them more fit for medicinal Purpofes. 
 
 With Refpedt to Fruits, it is a very great 
 Error to condemn them in general as unwhole- 
 fome; for on the contrary, when thoroughly 
 ripe, they are the molt admirable Remedies that 
 perhaps nature has furnifhed us with, and never 
 pernicious unlefs taken in Quantities top excef- 
 fiye, and difproportioned to the Powers of Di- 
 geftion. Nothing can be better adapted to check 
 that Tendency to an alcaline Putrefaction, 
 which the Juices are fubjeCt to contraCt during 
 the Summer’s Heat. We fcarcely meet with a 
 more powerful Remover of Obftrudtions, than 
 the Juices of ripe Fruits, if taken in Quantities 
 f^fficient, frequently repeated, and thefe con¬ 
 tinued for a confidefable time. For the Juices 
 of fruits, when neutralized by the Heat of the 
 Sun, that js, when perfectly ripe, are fapona- 
 cepus, and capable of diffolving Obftruftions in 
 the Vefiels which no other known Fluid is able 
 tp a 61 upon . effectually. Every common Ob- 
 ferver will judge, that Eruptions on the Surface 
 of the Body are fylutary, and promife a future 
 State ot Flealth. The Reafon of this is, tha£ 
 when the okftrudting Matter, which forms Con^ 
 cretions in the fmall Vefiels, is diffolved and re^ 
 duced to Particles fmall enough to circulate with 
 the Blood, the vital Powers find means of dif- 
 .charging them by the inteftinal, or urinary Glands, 
 
58 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 or elfe difpofe of them by the Pores of the Skin ; 
 now when it happens that the Particles of Mat¬ 
 ter to be difcharged are fomewhat too large to 
 perfpire, they flick in the perfpiratory VefTelsof 
 the Skin, and there fuppurate; for Suppuration is 
 one way which Nature takes to difburthen her- 
 felf of what is ufelefs or ofFenfive. 
 
 Hence thofe falutary Eruptions, which fre¬ 
 quently appear on the Skin in various Parts of 
 the Body, after a plentiful Ufe of Summer-Fruits, 
 have been erroneoufly deemed, by many, the 
 pernicious Effects of thofe Fruits, which in Re¬ 
 ality a£ted the Part of a Medicine, and re¬ 
 moved Obflrudlions, which otherwife might have 
 produced a Difeafe. It is further to be remarked, 
 that a Diarrhoea, or Loofenefs, after the Ufe of 
 the abovementioned Fruits, is fo far from being 
 dreadful, provided it keeps within due Bounds, 
 that it does good Service to the animal CEcono- 
 my, by carrying away the Matter of Obftruc- 
 tions previoufly diffolved by the faponaceous 
 Juices of the fad Fruits. But it is prudent to 
 bake or boil thefe Fruits, both for the Reafons 
 given before, as alfo, becaufe the Fire deftroys 
 the Eggs of Infers, which are fometimes depo¬ 
 sed in them, and becaufe it brings them to a 
 more exa£t Neutrality, the Sun being fcarcely 
 fufficient in our Climate to render them perfe&ly 
 ripe. 
 
 In an Alcaitftence of the Juices, watery Li¬ 
 quids, drank warm efpecially, are alfo of Service, 
 though endued with no faponaceous Quality, at 
 they relax the Solids, diffolve the Salts, and car¬ 
 ry them out of the Body, and contribute tc 
 preferve the Blood in a State of Fluidity. 
 
 As to Medicines, they may be contrived ii 
 various Forms, either from native vegetable Acids 
 
INTRODUCTION. 59 
 
 as the Juices of Oranges, Lemons, Crabs, and 
 many other acid Fruits, or the eflential Salts of 
 acid Plants, as of the Sorrels. 
 
 Fermentation alfo furnifhes us with many va¬ 
 luable Medicines in this Intention. Thus Mo- 
 ■ felle , or Rbenijh Wines, which incline to Aci¬ 
 dity, are admirable, when diluted with a fufR- 
 cient Quantity of any faponaceous Fluid. Thus 
 alfo Vinegars of all kinds, are of confiderableUfe, 
 properly diluted; and of thefe Medicines may be 
 made extremely refolvent and abfterfive, by 
 mixing them with Water, or Honey, or both, 
 or infuftng in them Vegetables fuited to anfwer 
 particular Intentions, as Squills, in making Oxy- 
 mel of Squills. 
 
 Many Medicines alfo of excellent Virtues are, 
 and more might be, prepared by infpiflating the 
 Juices of Fruits perfectly ripe to a Jelly or Rob, 
 and amongft thefe none excells Rob of Elder, 
 a Medicine which deferves the higheft Encomi¬ 
 ums. 
 
 By Diftillation we procure another Clafs of 
 Medicines which powerfully deftroy a Tendency 
 in the Juices to an alcaline Putrefaction. Thefe 
 are the acid Spirits of Sal Gemmae, Sea Salt, 
 Nitre, Vitriol, and Sulphur, commonly called 
 Oil of Sulphur by the Bell. But thefe muft be 
 taken diluted in a great Quantity of Fluid, and 
 they are never proper, unlefs in Cafes where a 
 great Tendency to Putrefaction renders the milder 
 vegetable Acids ineffectual, as in the Plague, and 
 fome very bad Kinds of the Small Pox. 
 
 There is another Clafs of Medicines of very 
 great Importance in the Cafe before us; I mean, 
 the natural, or artificial neutral Salts. The na¬ 
 tural neutral Saks are Nitre, Sea-Salt, and Sal 
 
 C 6 Gemmae, 
 
6 o INTRODUCTION. 
 
 •9 
 
 Gemmas. The two laft are feldom ufed, except 
 in Clyfters; but Nitre is, or at leaft ought to 
 be, an Ingredient in almoft every Medicine, 
 given with a View of checking the Progrefs of 
 an alcaline Putrefadion. It is well known, that 
 thefe Salts preferve all animal Subftances from 
 Putrefadion ; and Nitre has a remarkable Pro¬ 
 perty of preferving the Fluidity of the Blood, ei¬ 
 ther in, or out of the Blood-Veffels. Nitre has 
 aifo a Power of refolving Concretions already 
 formed, and of expelling the obftruding Matter 
 thus refolved by the proper Emundories, as by the 
 Glands of the Inteftines, Kidneys, or Skin; it is 
 alfo extremely penetrating, and thus it appears 
 poffeffed of every good Property that can render 
 it an eligible Remedy in all Diforders where 
 Danger is to be apprehended from an alcaline 
 Putrefadion, that is, in moft acute Diftempers. 
 It is ufually given in a Powder or Bolus, or dif- 
 folved in fome proper Fluid. 
 
 Artificial neutral Salts may be made from al¬ 
 moft every different fort of Acid, impregnated 
 or faturated with any fort of Alcali, either fixed 
 or volatile. The Acid and the Alcali muft be 
 joined in fuch a manner that neither may pre¬ 
 vail over the other. Whilft they are mixing to¬ 
 gether, a confiderable Effervefcence arifes, and 
 the Acid is deftroyed by, and deftroys the Alcali, 
 and then both, thus united, form a Body very 
 different in-every Property, Charaderiftic, and 
 Medicinal Effect from the Parent Salts. 
 
 Neutral Salts the moft generally ufed in Prac¬ 
 tice, are the Tartars Vitriolatus, made as di- 
 re&ed by Boerhaave , a Medicine very different 
 from that direded under the fame Name in our 
 Dnpenfatory, though made of the very fame In¬ 
 gredients. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 6, 
 
 gredients ; the Tartarus Regeneratus, and Tar¬ 
 tarus Tartarifatus of the fame Author. 
 
 Many extemporaneous Prefcriptions of a neu¬ 
 tral f luid may eafily be contrived to very good 
 Purpofes. Thus a Scruple of Salt of Worm¬ 
 wood will faturate about half an Ounce of Juice 
 of Lemons; or about ten or twelve Grains of 
 volatile Sal Ammoniac will faturate half an Ounce 
 of diftilled Vinegar; either of thefe mixed with 
 an Ounce of fome fimple Water, and rendered 
 agreeable by a few Drams of a proper Syrup, and 
 the fame Quantity of fome compound Water, 
 makes a very pretty Draught of confiderable Effi¬ 
 cacy, which may be repeated as Occafion re¬ 
 quires, for Example, every four Hurs. 
 
 Thefe neutral Medicines deferve the fame En¬ 
 comiums which I have given above to Nitre, 
 and for the fame Reafons. 
 
 From what has been faid above, with Refpe£i 
 to the Caufes and Cure of Difeafes from a Ten¬ 
 dency in the Juices, or any of them, to an al¬ 
 calde PutrefaSion, it appears, that in all Dif¬ 
 eafes where Danger is to be apprehended from 
 the aforefaid Putrefaction, any acid Excretions 
 are to be efteemed good Symptoms, as they are 
 certain Evidences that the alcaline Acrimony is 
 deftroyed. Thus in Diforders of the Stomach 
 from fuch a Caufe, acid Emulations of Wind 
 witnefs, that the Caufe of the Diftemper is al- 
 moft, if not entirely removed. And thus in acute 
 Diftempers, Sweats which have an acid Smell 
 have been remarked to be of good Prefage. 
 
 It has been obferved, that many who have re¬ 
 covered of the Plague, and peftilential Fevers, 
 have been affedled as their Health returned, with 
 a faltifh Tafte in. their Mouths, fomewhat like 
 
 that 
 
6 2 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 that of Sal Ammoniac; the Reafon of this ap¬ 
 pears to be this: It is well known in Chymiftry, 
 that a putrid alcaline Salt, when united with an 
 Acid, forms a neutral Salt fomewhat refembling 
 Sal Ammoniac. Now when the Juices have 
 been loaded with fuch a putrid Salt, as it hap¬ 
 pens in the Plague and peftilential Fevers, when 
 this Salt is faturated with an Acid, the alcaline 
 Acrimony is deftroyed, and the Patient by De¬ 
 grees recovers, and then all the Excretions are 
 infeCted with the muriatic Salt abovementioned, 
 like Sal Ammoniac, and amongft the reft the Sa¬ 
 liva; hence a perpetual Tafte, like that of Sal 
 Ammoniac, in the Patient’s Mouth; and hence 
 he fancies all forts of Aliments falted. 
 
 There are other Differences in Aliments arifing 
 from their greater or lefs Cohefion, or their greater 
 or lefs Tendency to form a vifcid Mafs in the 
 Stomach, when mix’d with the Juices refiding 
 there, or convey’d thither. And fome other Va¬ 
 rieties arife from Properties in Aliments, which 
 are not underftood, and which Experience alone 
 furnifhes us with the Knowledge of. Thus, 
 for Inftance, the Quail is faid to caufe the Epi- 
 lepfy in fome who feed on it. With RefpeCt to 
 thefe, Dr. Moffett has fpecify’d whatever has 
 been remark’d by the Moderns as well as the 
 Antients, in the enfuing Treatife of Foods. 
 
 I (hall conclude this Introduction, which a 
 Paffage from a Difcourfe on vegetable Food, by 
 Dr. Coccbi , an Italian Phyfician, fome time re- 
 fident in England. 
 
 A Doubt, fays he, lies between Vegetables 
 and Animals, which of thefe two Subftances are 
 moft likely to become proper and ufeful Matter 
 fqr our Bodies. Plutarch long fince (in his 
 
 T reatife 
 
INTRODUCTION. 63 
 
 Treatife againft eating Flefti) has made it a 
 Queftion, whether fuch kind of Aliment was 
 natural to Man, that is, fuitable to the Fabrick 
 of his Body. And it is now about a hundred 
 Years, as we find in the Letters of GaJJendus y 
 fince this Matter was difputed very particularly 
 amongft the Learned, who obferved that all other 
 Animals were, by their conftant Habit and Man¬ 
 ner of Life, depending on the natural StruXurc 
 and AXion of their Organs of Digeftion, readily 
 diftinguifh’d into thofe that feed on the Fruits of 
 Earth, and the rapacious and carnivorous : Where¬ 
 upon as the Queftion could not be decided this 
 way, or by any Arguments drawn from natural 
 Hiftory, the fame Queftion has fince been again 
 propofed and demonftrated, by that eminent Ma¬ 
 thematician Dr. Wallis , and that diligent Anato- 
 mift Dr. Tyfon , as we read in the philofophical 
 TranfaXions, from the greater Analogy in 
 the Fabrick of the Paflages of the Aliment, and 
 of the Organs of Digeftion in Men, with thofe 
 of fuch Animals as feed on Vegetable Diet, mod 
 of which, like Men, are furnifti’d with a Gut 
 Colon , whereof moft of the Carnivorous are de- 
 ftitute. 
 
 But leaving thefe Reflexions, which may ap¬ 
 pear too far fetch’d, we fhould rather confider, 
 that moft of the Animals which ferve for human 
 Food feed on Vegetables, except only fome few 
 Birds and Fifties, from whence it finally appears, 
 that the ultimate Matter of the two chief kinds 
 of Aliment is almoft the fame in its fiift Com- 
 pofitionj that is, always vegetable, and coming 
 originally from the Earth. Thus, for the moft 
 part, what fixes and unites itfelf to the Body of 
 Man, either from the one or the other fort of Ali¬ 
 ment, 
 
64 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 ment, is really nothing elfe but fome of the fo- 
 lid and pureft Earth. 
 
 But the Difference principally confifts, in that 
 the frefh Parts of Plants, being of a much tenderer 
 "1 exture than thofe oi Animals, are therefore 
 much eafier to be feparated, (from the leffer De¬ 
 gree of their Cohefion and internal Glew) and 
 io yield more eafily to the dividing Power of our 
 Organs. 1 he tender and frefh Parts of Plants 
 abound with Water, and that fort of Salts, 
 which by reafon of their Tafte, and Non-eva¬ 
 poration by Fire, before they are diffolved, we 
 call acid and fix’d: "1 o the Mixture of which, 
 with a moderate oily and vegetable Fluid, is ow¬ 
 ing their incorporating and diflolving Juice. Of 
 this Juice animal Food is deftitute, as it is alfo 
 entirely of the laid acid and fixed Salts ; but it 
 abounds, on the contrary, with fuch as are apt 
 to become, with a certain Degree of Heat, of an 
 alcaline and volatile Nature, and to occafion, by 
 their Mixture, the greateff Difpofition in our 
 Liquids to an ultimate and totally mortiferous 
 Diflblution. And on the leffer Quantity and lef? 
 peifedf oily Quality of frefh Vegetables, depends 
 a Difpofition in the Juices from them produc’d, 
 lefs apt, without Companion, to receive thofe. 
 fuperlative Degrees of Heat in their greateft and | 
 moft intimate Agitations, whilft they are car¬ 
 ried about in the Blood : p or Experience fhews, 
 that no Liquid is found in all Nature more ready 
 than Oil to receive or retain the Force of Fire, 
 whether apparent or latent, from whatever Sub 7 
 ftance fuch Oil is extracted; although that ojf 
 Animals feems yet more prompt and efficacious 
 than all others. 
 
 Hoyv 
 
INTRODUCTION. 65 
 
 * 
 
 How fubtle our vital Fluid mud be, is then 
 manifeft, from its forming itfelf gradually and fi¬ 
 nally, into a Subfiance, fit for infenfible Tranf- 
 Ipiration, and into that fpirituous Air that exhales 
 continually, both within and without, from eve¬ 
 ry living Body. In this Subtilty and Facility of 
 our Liquids being diflributed into the innumera¬ 
 ble Ramification of the Veflels, conllfls its Flu¬ 
 idity, without which, thofe Particles that are 
 hard and weighty would be difpofed in fome 
 Places, and would by that means fill up the Ca¬ 
 vities which ought to be kept empty and always 
 open. From the Addition then of an aqueous, 
 oily, and faline Juice, which the Chymifts call 
 faponaceous, to the Subfiance of that innocent 
 and fweet Soil, with which vegetable Aliments 
 are fo plentifully endued, arifes that fo neceflary 
 I and perfect Commixture of the diffimilar Parts of 
 our Blood, and efpecially of thofe two moft co- 
 i pious Fluids that fo conftantly avoid, and are fo 
 1 difficult to incorporate with each other, (I mean 
 [Water and Oil) and whofe Separation, when it 
 happens within us, produces fuch pernicious Ef¬ 
 fects. And the much fmaller Quantity of the 
 oleaginous Liquor that is found in frefh Vege¬ 
 tables, in Comparifon of what is found in Flefh, 
 not only prevents the Formation of a too tena¬ 
 cious Glutton, but alfo of that Vapour, which, 
 rifing with the Increafe of our bodily Heat, when 
 the fat and faline Particles grow volatile, be¬ 
 comes itfelf, at laft, venomous, and even pro- 
 dudlive of Peftilence. 
 
 I have always named frefh Vegetables, be- 
 caufe the dryed ones have almoff all the bad 
 Qualities of animal Food, particularly as their 
 earthy and oleaginous Particles are too flrongly 
 
 coherent 
 
66 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 coherent together: We fhould thus alfo exclude 
 all aromatic Spices, and {ubftitute in their ftead, 
 the green Tops of odoriferous and agreeable 
 Herbs. We {hould rejecl old Pulfe, and all fa¬ 
 rinaceous and oily Seeds, unlefs they are by Art 
 well pounded, and mingled and diflolved with 
 other ufeful Matters. We may fay the fame 
 thing of dry’d Fruits, and of whatever elfe is 
 preferv’d in various ways, and which compos'd 
 the dry’d Diet of the Ancients: 7'he which, 
 however it may have been commended as an In- 
 ftance of Hardinefs, was not perhaps of the great- 
 eft Advantage to their Healths. 
 
 / 
 
 / 
 
Health’s Improvement. 
 
 CHAP. i. 
 
 t 
 
 Of DIET. 
 
 i. What D i e t is. 2. Who were the Authors 
 of it. 3. What Good it bringeth. 
 
 I E T is defined, by very learned 
 Scholars, an exadt Order in Labour , 
 Meat, Drink , Sleep , and V°.nery : for 
 they are thought to be Pythagoras 
 his Pentangle or five fquar’d Figure; 
 wherein (as Hippocrates faith of 
 Man’s \5ody,l:deprin.) there be fevtral Confluences 
 and Concurrences, ) et but one general Sympathy 
 through all. Nevenhelefs Labour was appointed 
 for moft to invite Aleat and Drink ; they to draw 
 on Sleep , for the Eafe of our Labours; and all 
 four to perfedt Generation : which is not only 
 ejfendi fed femper ejjcndi caufa ; not only the Caufe 
 
68 H ealt ii *s Improvement. ' . I 
 
 of being, but of ever being : for indeed, after w e 
 are dead in ourfelves, we recover in our Pofterity 
 another Life. But in this Preatife I define Diet 
 more particularly (as it is ufually taken both by 
 the vulgar and alfo the heft Phyficians) to be an 
 orderly and due Courfc obferved in the Ufe of bodily 
 Hour ifoments, for the Prefervation, Recovery, or 
 Continuance of the Health of Mankind: Which 
 how and when it was firft invented, and by whom 
 collected, neither Cardan, nor Scaligcr, x\ox Vir¬ 
 gil, nor Montuus, nor Biefus , nor fafon Pra- 
 tenfs, nor Pfellus, nor any (in my judgment) 
 6ave more truly declared, than Hippocrates him- 
 Celt, Lib. de prife. med. avouching that Neceffity 
 was the Mother, and Reafon the Father of Diet, 
 for when Sicknefs crept into the World, and 
 Men gave the fame Meats to fick Folks which 
 they did to the Healthful, they perceived them to 
 be fo far from Recovery, that they rather wax’d 
 worfe and worfe. Hereupon being enforced to 
 alter either the Kind or the Preparation, or the 
 Quantity, or the Quality and Order of Nourish¬ 
 ments, they knew by diligent Obfervation what 
 was fitted for every Difeafe, for every Sex, Age, 
 and Complexion, and accordingly committed them 
 to Memory, or let them down in writing. Plu¬ 
 tarch thinks that we firft learned this Knowledge 
 of brute Beafts, /. de fol. anim. For Pidgeons and 
 Cocks, before they fight, will eat Store (if they 
 can get it) of Cummin-feed, to lengthen their 
 Breath ; and Nightingales eat Spiders to prevent 
 Stoppings ; and Lions having furfeited on Flefft, 
 aoftain trom all Meat till it be digefted. So the 
 Marlin t iught ten ier Perfons firft to keep warm 
 their feet; the Storks to remedy Coftivenels of 
 Body by the Ufe of Glifters ; the Hedge-hog to 
 
 avoid 
 
• Of DIE T. 6 9 
 
 avoid walking in windy Seafons; the little Birds 
 to bathe in Summer ; the Flies and Bees to keep 
 home in Winter. For there is no Doubt but the 
 Natures of Men were in former Ages fo ftrong, 
 that they did eat and digeft every thing as it grew. 
 Neither were Mills, Boulters, Ovens, and & arti- 
 ficial Preparations from the Beginning ; but as 
 Sicknefs of the Body increafed, fo the Mind dc- 
 vifed Remedies, teaching Men how to thrafh and 
 grind Corn, to make Bread, to boil, roaft, and 
 bake Meat, to give thin and liquid Meats to weak 
 Stomachs; and grofler Cates to them that be 
 ftrong, after the Example of every Bird, who firft 
 fofteneth and boileth the Meat in their Maws, 
 before they give it to their young ones; neither 
 fhoul-J we marvel hereat: For as'ignorant Sailors 
 (whofe Errors and Imperfections no Man could 
 perceive in a calm Sea) in a Tempeft do follow 
 every Man’s Advice ; fo the Examples of Birds 
 and Beafts did teach Tick Men Wifdom, when 
 through Self-ignorance they loft the Light of Na- 
 j ure, and knew not what was good lor them- 
 (elves. 
 
 I But leave we Plutarch 's Conceit, and let us 
 fetch the Invention of Diet from a more worthy 
 Teacher, yea, from the worthieft of all other, 
 God himfelf. For can we imagine th'at he taught 
 our Forefathers (having finned) how to dome 
 peir Bodies, and not how, and when, and where¬ 
 with to feed them ? He that taught Abel how to 
 diet Sheep, would he leave him unfkillul how to 
 diet himfelf? Or, had Cain the Art of tilling 
 the Ground, and not the Knowledge how to ufe 
 the Grain thereof? Knew Phyficians in Jacob's 
 Time how to conferve dead Bodies, and Wanted 
 they Knowledge to preferve the Living ? Where¬ 
 fore 
 
jo Health’.* Improvement. 
 
 fore how foolifhly foever fome afcribe the Inven¬ 
 tion of Diet to Apollo , ALfculapius , and that many- 
 ey’d O/iriS) or to Hippocrates^ Galen , or Afclepia- 
 des ; yet let this reft immoveable, that it fpring- 
 eth from an elder Time than that any Heathenifh 
 Chronicle is able to record the Author thereof. 
 For if the Multitude of Burials be an Argument 
 of ill Diet, and contrariwife long Life an Argu¬ 
 ment of good ; it muft needs follow, that before 
 the univerfal Flood this noble Knowledge of Diet 
 was not hid from the firft Patriarchs, but as per¬ 
 fectly perceived as it was pradtifed. For till after 
 the Flood, Men ufually lived to eight hundred 
 Years, fome to nine, many to feven, and none 
 (for ought we have heard or read) died a natural 
 Death before five. 
 
 Now if any Man fhall objedt, that the very 
 Name of Diet is not mentioned before the Flood, 
 and that therefore the Thing itfelf was not in ufe; 
 I can fhape him no better Anfwer than from the 
 Mouth of Hippocrates: Names are the Daughters 
 of Men, hut Things the Sons of Nature. So that 
 as foon as Men began to feed, no doubt they were 
 infpired with Wifdom, how much, how often, 
 
 . and of what to feed. For we muft not imagine, 
 tho’ they had as it were Oftriches Stomachs and 
 Chants Strength, (infomuch that Lamech in his 
 Wound could cruih into pieces the mightieft 
 Champion of our Age) that therefore they ne¬ 
 glected Preparation or Proportion in the ufe of 
 Nourifhments; nay, Reafon itfelf will conclude, 
 that as one Shoe did not fit every Man’s Foot, 
 nor Children and young Men fed alike in thofe 
 Days, fo every Man knew, or was taught, h s 
 peculiar Diet, moft proper, healthful, and conve¬ 
 nient for his own Lftate. Wherefore as many 
 
 Difeafes 
 
Of DIET. 7 I 
 
 Difeafes are recovered with our Phyficians, but 
 lone without Phyfic; fo albeit there lived no 
 lietary Phyficians before the Flood (if I fhould 
 rrant fo much) yet no Man can deny, that thro’ 
 ceding or fading, drinking or thirfting, taking 
 :his thing or refufing that, they preferved their 
 Life-oil (as i may term it) for many Ages, which 
 n this furfeiting and riotous Age is commonly con- 
 fumed in lefs than one. 
 
 But fome Men will further obje£t againft me; 
 What, Sir, may Diet prolong a Man’s Life? 
 why then, thro’ Diet, we may prove immortal, 
 ar at lead live as long as Adam did. Whereunto 
 [ anfwer, That albeit Immortality is denied upon 
 the Earth to mortal Men, yet fo much Life is 
 prolonged by a good Diet, by how much Difeafes 
 thereby are efchewed. For, as Solomon faith, Prov. 
 xxvii. To whom is pain of the belly, and gripings, 
 and rednefs of eyes , and want of health ? even to 
 thofe that keep no meafure, but greedily hunt after 
 wine, and rife up early to drink Jlrong drink. Some 
 in Hippocrates 's Time, feeing precife Obfervers 
 of Phyfic die as foon as they which ufed no Phy- 
 fic, conceived prefently no otherwife of Phyficians 
 than as of Kings in a Stage-play, carrying golden 
 Crowns, and Scepters, and Swords, commanding 
 for the time whole Empires, but indeed void of 
 in-born Majefty in themfelves, and of outward 
 Ability fit for fo high a Calling. So now, in our 
 Days, the Name of Diet feems but a Scar-crow 
 to the unwifer fort, who think it beii Diet, to 
 keep no Diet at all; faying, (as William Sommers 
 laid to Sir John Rainsford ) Drink IVine and have 
 the Gout, drink no Wine and have it too. Which 
 in effctt, what is it elfe than, with the Sicilians , 
 to ere& a Temple to Riot ? or, with the Barba¬ 
 rians, 
 
 2 
 
72 He alth’j Improvement. 
 
 rians, to praife Surfeiting ? or, with Ulyjfes'i 
 drunken Companions, to open Motus's Bottle all 
 at once ? whereby their Ship was fo far from pro¬ 
 ceeding, that all Art and Prayers, yea, and all 
 the Gods (in a manner) were not able to keep it 
 above the Waters. Let me laugh, faid Demo¬ 
 critus, at Men’s Follies, who diet their Horfes, 
 Sheep, Cattle, yea, their Capons and Geefe, and 
 yet themfelves keep no Diet. They forefee, by 
 porking of Ravens, flying of Kites, croaking of 
 Frogs, and bathing of Ducks, when it will rain j 
 yet forfeiting daily, they cannot forefee their own 
 Ruin. 
 
 To the like Purpofe fingeth a French Poet, 
 
 Si tu veux vtvre fainement 
 Aye pour toy tel penfcment : 
 
 Quo de ton cheval , falcon ou chien , 
 
 Ffuand autre chofe leur vint que bien . 
 
 If Sicknefs thou wilt long award, 
 
 Have of thyfelf that due Regard, 
 
 Which to their Falcons, Steeds, or Hounds, 
 Men bear, when Sicknefs them furrounds. 
 
 And truly well might the one laugh, and the other 
 ling, at fuch hollies. For albeit an exquiflte thin 
 Diet (called of Jobertus, lib. cle vulg. error, the 
 Inch-diet, wherein we eat by Drams,.and drink 
 by Spoonfuls) more perplexeih the Mind than 
 cureth the Body, ingendering a jealoufy over 
 every Meat, Sufpicion on every Quantity, Dr pad, 
 Fear, and Terror over every Proportion (bereav¬ 
 ing the Head of Quietnefs, the Heart'of Security, 
 and the Stomach confequently of good Conception) 
 yet the full Diet, as it is more ufual, lo it is in 
 
 effect 
 
 2 
 
Of D I E T. 73 
 
 effect no lefs dangerous. Would you fee the Dif- 
 commodifies of Excefs ? why then imagine you 
 faw Ferres rolling before break of Day in his own 
 Vomits, Dionyftus belching up a four and unplea- 
 fant Breath, Polyphemus ftript of Wit and Me¬ 
 mory, Cleomenes , King of Lacedemonia , playing 
 after hisDrunkennefs at Cherry-pit with Children, 
 Elpenor ( UlyJJes's Companion) breaking his Neck 
 down the Stairs, Ennius racked with the Sciatica, 
 Kiglus the Wreftler dead of an Apoplexy, Ana¬ 
 creon fo unable to fwallow any more Drink, that 
 he was ftrangled with a Grapes-l^ernel, Vibius Crif- 
 pus dying at the Stool, an old Englijh Knight dy¬ 
 ing at the Chamber-pot. On the other Side, will 
 it pleafe you to mark the Commodities of Diet, 
 and moderate nourifhing ? then behold Timotheus , 
 who being continually fick through daily forfeit¬ 
 ing, came once to Plato’s Table, w r here*he fed as 
 the Company did, and drank moderately ; the 
 next Morning he cried out with this Admiration, 
 
 “ O fweet Plato , fweet Plato ! how truly fweet 
 ‘i are thy Suppers, which make us to fleep and 
 f* awake fo fweetly ? How able am I now to all 
 <4 Exercifes, being erft fo unable to the leaft La- 
 ** hour?” No marvel Timothy; for as the Sun 
 cannot warm us when Clouds be between, fo Ex¬ 
 cefs either fetters or divides the Mind’s Faculties. 
 How careful is the Mind always to preferve Life ? 
 yet many a Drunkard finks under Water, becaufe 
 Reafon cannot teach him the Art of Swirning, 
 the inward Senfes being choaked with abundance - 
 of clammy Vapours. 
 
 Divine Hippocrates (whom I can never fuffi- 
 ciently name nor honour, compaieth Diet molt 
 fitly to a Potter’s Wheel, going neither forward 
 nor backward, but, as the World itfelf moveth, 
 
 D equally 
 
74 H ealth’j Improvement. 
 
 equally round ; mciftening that which L too dry, 
 drying up that which is too moift, refioring true 
 Flefh, if it be decay’d, abating proud FlHh, by 
 Abftinence, if it be too much, neither drawing 
 too much upward nor downward, as pee villi 
 Sawyers do •, neither clapping on too much nor 
 too little Sail, like unlkilful Mariners, but giving, 
 like a wife Steward, every Part his Allowance, 
 by geometrical Proportion, that the whole Houf- 
 hold may be kept in Health. Such a Steward was 
 Jfclepiades, who cured only by Diet, infinite Dif- 
 eafes. Such a ong w T as Ga en , that famous Phy- 
 fician, who being three or four times fick before 
 he was twenty*eight Years old, looked afterwards 
 more ftri&ly to his Diet ; in fuch fort, that a 
 hundred Years following he was never fick but 
 once ; and died only through want of radical 
 Moifture. Such a one finally was Hippocrates , 
 who lived till he was a hundred and nine Years 
 old, or at leaf! till he wasfourfcore and five, with¬ 
 out any memorable Sipknefs; and yet he had by 
 Nature but a weak Head, infomuch that he ev<*r 
 wore a Night-cap. Wherefore let us neither with 
 the Impudent, call Diet a frivolous Knowledge, 
 or a curious Science with the Imprudent; but era • 
 brace it as the Leader to perfect Health ; which, 
 (as the wife Man faith) is above Gold, and a 
 found Body above all Riches. The Romans onde 
 banilheu Pbylicians out of Rome, under pretence 
 th t Phyfic Druggs weakned the People’s Sto^- 
 tiiachs ; and Cooks, for corrupting and inf rcing 
 Appetites with fbange Sauces and Sea'onii-gsi 
 and Perfumers, Anointers, and Bath-malters, be- 
 .caufc they did rather mollifv and effeminate the 
 Rc?ria*is Min s. than any whit profit or hel. their 
 Jodies. Yet they retained Oafa, thb clnef JJ tot ill 
 
 3 
 
Of DIE T. 75 
 
 of that Time, and all them that were able, with¬ 
 out Phyfic, to prevent or cure Difeafes ; efteem- 
 ing Diet, (as it is indeed) to be fo honeft, plea- 
 fant, and profitable a Science, that even Malice 
 itfelf cannot but commend it, and her Enemies 
 are forced to retain it. 
 
 Thus much, or rather too much, in the Com¬ 
 mendation of Diet; for which fome Spartan Cen- 
 for would feverely punifh me, as /Into la ides did 
 the Orator that praifed Hercules , whom no wile 
 Man ever difcommended : For howfoever idle 
 Heads have made thefe addle Proverbs; i. Diet¬ 
 ed Bodies are but Bridges to Bhyficians Minds. 
 
 2. We J,ball live till u f e die , in fpite of Diet. 
 
 3. Every DifeaJ'e will have its CourJ'e. 4 . More 
 Rhubarb , and lefs Diet , &c. yet the wifeft Man, 
 and King of all others, hath eftablifhed it upon 
 fitch Grounds, as neither can, nor (hall ever be 
 fhaken with all their Malice. 
 
 C H A P. II. 
 
 1 . How many forts of Diet there be. 2 . Where¬ 
 in Diet confiftelh materially. 3. Wherein 
 Diet conftfeih formally. 
 
 ’ <rS *v» 
 
 J* "T 1 HERE be efpecially three forts of Diets; 
 
 a full Diet, a moderate Diet, and a th n 
 Diet. The fir it increafeth Flefh, Spirits, and 
 Humours, the fecond repaireth only them that were 
 loft, and the third lefleneth them all for a time, 
 to preferve Lite. Full Diet is proper unto them 
 vvhicn be young, growing, iirong, lull , and 
 
 D 2 able 
 
y 6 Health’; Improvement. 
 
 able through their good Conftitution to endure 
 much Exercife. Moderate Diet is fitteft for Per- 
 fons of a middle Health, whofe Eltate of Body is 
 neither perfectly {bong nor over weak. 1 hin 
 Diets are never to be ufed, efpecially in the ftridt- 
 eft kind, but where violent Difeafes (caufed either 
 of Fulnefs or Corruption) have the Preheminence; 
 wherein how much the Body wanteth iufficient 
 Food, fo much the Sicknefs wanteth his tyrannical 
 Vigour. 
 
 2 . The Matter of Diet , is neither Iron nor 
 Steel, nor Silver, nor Coral, nor Pearl, no nor 
 Gold itfelf; from which worthy Simples, albeit 
 moft rare and effectual Suftenances b.e drawn 
 (as our own Countryman, ot all other, moft 
 learnedly proveth) to {Lengthen our Body, and 
 to thicken our radical Moifture, which is foon 
 confumed (like a fine Spirit of Wine) when it 
 is too thin and fubtile: yet neither have they, 
 neither can they have a nouriftiing Power; be- 
 ,'caufe our natural Heat will be tired before it 
 can convert their Oil into our Oil, their Sub- 
 ftance into our Subftance, be it never fo cun¬ 
 ningly and finely exalted. Furthermore, if it 
 be "true (which Hippocrates and Reafon tell us) 
 that as contraries are expelled by contraries, 
 fo like is fuftained by his like, How fhould the 
 Liquors of Gold, Pearl, and precious Stones 
 (which the Chymifts have named Immortal Ef- 
 fcncesj nourifh or augment our mortal Subftance? 
 Nay, doth not that fooneft reftore decayed Flefti 
 (as' Milk, Geliy, ftrong Broths, and young 
 Lamb, which fooneft corrupteth, if it be not 
 prefentlv eaten ? Is not a young Snite more nou- 
 riihing (yet it keeps not long fweet) then a Pea- 
 cock "that will not corrupt nor putiiiy in a whole 
 
 Year, 
 
Of D I E T. 77 
 
 Year, no not in thirty Years (faith Kiranides ) 
 though it be buried in the Ground? Yet as a 
 Candle’s End of an Inch long being fet in cold 
 Water, ourneth twice as long as another out of 
 Water; not becaufe Water nourifheth the Flame, 
 which by Nature it quencheth, nor becaufe it 
 encreafeth the Tallow, which admits no Water, 
 but by moiftning the circumfluent Air, and 
 thickning the Tallow, whereby the Flame is 
 neither fo light nor lively as it would be other- 
 wife : in like fort, the Subftances, Powders, 
 and Liquors of the things aforefaid, may per¬ 
 haps hinder the fpeedy fpending of natural Heat, 
 by outward cooling of fiery Spirits, inward 
 thickning of too liquid Moiflures, hardning or 
 condenfating of flaggy Parts ; but their Durable- 
 nefs and Immortality (if they be immortal) are 
 fufficient Proofs that they are no Nourilhments 
 for corruptible Men. But they are pure Eilences, 
 and therefore fuitable to our radical Moilture, 
 which the bed Physicians derive from a Star-like 
 Subftance. Alas, pure Fools 1 what, do you 
 vaunt and brag of Purity, when the purefl: things 
 do leift nourifh ? for had not the Air, Water, and 
 Earth certain Impurities, how fhould Men,Beads, 
 Birds, Fifhes, and Plants continue? For the 
 finer the Air, the lefs it nourishes; the clearer 
 the Water, the lefs it fateneth; the fimpltr the 
 Ground, the lefs it fuccourcth ; yea, were we in 
 ,an Air (fuch as the Element of Air itfeh is defin¬ 
 ed to be) void ol invifible Seeds, and thofe im¬ 
 palpable Subdances or Refekens that are fume- 
 times defcry’d by the Sun-beams, o*r Spirits fhoulJ 
 find no more Suftenance by it, than a dry Man 
 Drink in an empty Hogfhead, And tho’ we fee 
 Piiees to live a great whiie in Citterns with dear 
 
 D j Water 
 
Health’.? Improvement. 
 
 Water alone, yet were that Water fo pure as the 
 Element itfelf, they would clean confume for 
 want of Nourifhment. T he like may he faid of 
 Plants growing in a dry, crumbling, faplefs and 
 unmingled Earth, wherein we fhould fee them 
 quickly fo far from fprouting, that for want of 
 their reftorative Moifture they would come to 
 withering. Wherefore I conclude, neither orien¬ 
 tal Stones for their Clearnefs, nor Pearls for their 
 Goodlinefs, nor Coral for his temperating of 
 Blood, nor Gold for his Firmnefs, nor Liquor of 
 Gold for. his Purity, nor the Quinteflences of 
 them all for their Immortality, are to be counted 
 Nourifhments, or the Matters of Diet. Objedt 
 not the Oftrich’s confuming of Stone and Metals, 
 to prove that therefore they may nourifh Man, no 
 more than the Duck, Nightingale, or Stork, to 
 prove that 'l oads, Adders and Spiders, are nou- 
 rifhing Meats: For our Nourifhment, properly 
 taken, is that Nature or Subftance which increaf- 
 eth or foftereth our Body, by being converted into 
 our Subftance. Now, for as much as our Bodies, 
 like the Bodies of all fenfible and living Creatures 
 die, conftft of a treble Subftance, namely, aerial 
 Spirits, liquid Humours, and confirmed Parts; 
 it is therefore necefiary it fhould have a treble 
 Nourifhment anfwerable to the fame ; which Hip¬ 
 pocrates , lib. de aer. doc. & aq truly affirmeth to 
 be Air, Meat, and Liquors. 
 
 Ale at is a more grofs and corporeal Subjlance^ 
 taken either from Vegetables in the Earth , or Crea¬ 
 tures living upon the Earth , or living ever or fome- 
 times in the Water , whereby the groffer part of our 
 Body is preferved. Liquors are thin and liquid 
 Nourifhment , Jerving as a Slea'ge to convey Meat 
 
Of DIET. . 79 
 
 to every Member , and converts mjl eafily Into Hu¬ 
 mours. 
 
 Now whereas Pliny nameth fome which never 
 eat Meat, and Apollonius and Athenecus , others 
 which never drank ; they are but few, and parti¬ 
 cular Perfons, yea, perhaps, the Sons of Devils, 
 which cannot overthrow the general Rule and 
 Courfe of Nature. It is poflible to God, as the 
 Devil truly objected, to make Stones as nourifh- 
 ing as Bread ; to feed Men with Locufts, a mod 
 fretting, burning, and fcalding Vermin, as he did 
 fohn Baptijl ; to give us Stones inftead ot Bread, 
 and to give us Scorpions when we afk Eggs ; yet 
 ufually he doth not tranfgrefs the Courfe of Na¬ 
 ture, by which, as by his Bailiff, he rules the 
 World : So that when any Man lived without 
 Meat or Drink, as Mofes and Elias■ did forty 
 Days, it is rather to be counted a miraculous 
 working, than to be imputed to the Strength of 
 Nature. 
 
 CHAP. III. 
 
 Of AIR. 
 
 I. How it is to be cbofeir . 
 
 A S Hippocrates faid of Meats, Like Food , like 
 Flcjh ; fo may I juffly fay of the Air, like 
 Air , like Spirits ; for hence cometh it that in 
 pure, clear, and temperate Air, our Spirits are as 
 jocund, p'eafant, a£Iive, and read/ as Butterflies 
 in Summer; but in thick, dark, cloudy and un- 
 feafyffable Weather, thev are dull, drowfy, idle, 
 
 dP* T-'V * 
 
 D 4 and 
 
So Health*/ Improvement. 
 
 and as heavy as Lead, working neither perfectly 
 what they ought, nor chearfully what they would. 
 Witty Cardan , lib. I. de rer. var. fuppofeth a like 
 Refemblance to be betwixt our Bodies and the Air, 
 as there is betwixt the Soul and Heaven; fo that' 
 as they incline the Soul, fo the Air altereth the 
 Body every way : Let the Air be cloudy, how 
 can the Body be warm ? Let it be hot, how can 
 that be cold ? Let it be chilled with Frolt or 
 Snow, our Skin, yea, our Inwards themfelves, 
 begin to fhiver. How ftaggers the Head, and 
 how, prefently, finks the Heart, at the Smell of 
 a Damp, or the infenfible Senfe of deadly and 
 fubtile Spirits, carried from the Yew Trees of 
 T/jafi/s , or the Hole of a Cockatrice, or the 
 breathing of Afps, or the Dens of Dragons, or 
 the Carcafies of dead Serpents, wherewith the Air 
 is not fo foon infected as the Hearts and Brains of 
 Men whereinto it is carried. Galen faith, that 
 the Inhabitants of the Palejline Lake are ever 
 fickly', their Cattle unfound, and their Country 
 barren, through the Brimtlone and pitchy Vapour 
 afcending from thence over a'l the Country, in 
 fuch fort, that Birds flying over it, or Beafts di ink¬ 
 ing of it, do fuddenly die ; and verily no Bird 
 hateth that Lake, nor the Lakes of Avernurn , Lu- 
 crine , or Padua, like unto it: no Frogs and Ser¬ 
 pents can lefs live in Ireland , Foxes in Crete , 
 Stags in Africa, Hares in Ithaca , and Fifhes in 
 warm Water, than the Heart of Man can abide 
 impure Smells, or live in Health with infedted Airs i 
 which if they do not always corrupt Men, yet 
 thev (hew their Force, and exercife their Power 
 over Cattle, Herbs, Grafs, Corn, Fruits, and 
 Waters, a great while after, poifoning us, as it 
 were at a feconfl Draught, whiift we feed of in- 
 ’ - fe&ed 
 
Of AIR. 81 
 
 fe&ed things; and, as Fclipfes are wont to do, 
 fpitting out their Venom when they are almoft 
 forgotten. 
 
 Sicily is recorded to be feldom void of the Plague, 
 and the Dwellers of Sardinia quitted their Country 
 oftentimes for the fame Caufe. But how could it 
 be othervvife, when the Wind blows there molt 
 commonly out of Africa , the Mother of all ve¬ 
 nomous and filthy Bealls ? Is not Middleburg , 
 Rotterdam , Delf, and divers other Cities in Zea¬ 
 land and Holland , if inched every dry Autumn with 
 infinite fwarms of dead Frogs, petrifying the Air 
 worfe than Carrion ? Rome alfo was greatly an¬ 
 noy’d with Agues and Peftilence, till, b y Afclepia- 
 des his Counfel, their common Sewers were month¬ 
 ly cleanfed, their privy Vaults yearly emptied, and 
 their Soil and Off-fall daily carried forth into the 
 Fields; whereby receiving the Benefit of fweet 
 Air and Health both at once, no marvel, as Mr. 
 Ajax his Father hath well noted, tho’ the Scaven¬ 
 ger and Dung-farmer (that is, Stercutius and Cloa- 
 cina ) were honoured as Gods. And verily had 
 that worthy Author lived amongft thofe Romans, 
 as he liveth in this unthankful and wicked Age, 
 wherein (to fpeak with Hippocrates) Adtnirantur 
 fatui , calumniantur plerique, intelligunt pauci :) 
 no doubt e’er this he had been very highly exalt¬ 
 ed, and flood in fome fclemn Capitol, betwixt 
 Stercutius and Cloacina , as King Lud doth upon 
 Ludgate betwixt his two Sons : For I afl'ure you 
 (and let us not but give the Devil his right) he 
 hath truly, plainly, and perfedfly fet down fuch 
 an Art of Privy-making, that if we would put 
 it in pra&ice, many a Houfe fhould be thought 
 in London to have never a Privy, which now 
 
 D 5 fmells 
 
82 Hea lth’j - Improvement. 
 
 fmells all over of nothing elfe: Neither is the Air 
 only infe&ed with venomous Winds and Vapours, 
 Sinks, Sewers, Kennels, Charnel Houfes, Moors, 
 or common Leftals (as in great Camps and Cities) 
 nor only with privy Vaults; but alfo Biefius maketh 
 mention, that a Houfe in Spain feated among 
 many Elder 'Frees, wherewithal the Grounds were 
 hedged, caft every Man out of it, like Sejus 
 Horfe, either dead or difeafed, till fuch time as he 
 caufed them to be rooted up, and fo made it both 
 vvholfome and habitable to the Dwellers. 
 
 Furthermore it is recorded, that as the Air in 
 Cyprus cureth any Ulcers of the Lungs, fo the Air 
 of Sardinia makes and enlargeth them: And as 
 the Air of Anticyra helpeth Madnefs, fo contrari- 
 wife the Air of Tbafus (efpecially in a hot and dry 
 Summer) brought aJmoft all the Inhabitants into 
 a Lunacy, wh ch no doubt happened upon thefe 
 Caufes, that Cyprus a^oundeth in Cyprus and Fir 
 'Trees, Sardinia in Alum and Copper Mines, An- 
 ticyra is repleniffed with true Hellebore, and Tha- 
 fus is full of deadly Yews, which either kill a 
 Man, or make him mad, when the Savour infers 
 him fully, as it doth in fuch hot and dry Coun¬ 
 tries. The Air may be alfo infe&ed with the 
 Smoak of Charcoal newly kindled, whereof Quin¬ 
 tus Catulus died ; or with the Smell of new Mor- 
 ter, which killed Jovinianus the Emperor in his 
 Bed ; or with the Snuff of a Candle, wherewith 
 many have been ftrangled; or with the Air of a 
 Pan of Coals throughly kindled, by which, as 
 /Emylius Vidtor ftudied in the City of Partna , he 
 fuddenly fell down dead. By the Smell of a 
 Snuff of a Candle many become, leprous, and 
 Women mifcarry of Children. What Light is 
 belt to ftudv by, of Oil, Wax, Deer’s Suet, and 
 
 Tallows. 
 
Of A I R. 83 
 
 Tallows. The very Smell of Rofes cureth Head- 
 achs, and of fome Flowers, Drunkennefs. The 
 Smell of a Wantloufe may kill a Child in the 
 Mother’s Womb. The very Smell of Phyfic 
 cureth many. 
 
 Fir ft, therefore, in the Eledlion or Choice of 
 Air, obferve this, that it be pure and void of In- 
 - feddion : for pure Air is to the Heart, as Balm to 
 the Sinews ; yea, it is both Meat, Drink, P.xer- 
 cife, and Phyfic to the whole Body. Meat, 
 whilft it is eafilv converted into Spirits: Drink, 
 whilft it alla)eth the Thirft of the Lungs and 
 Heart, which no Drink can fo well quench : 
 Exercife, whilft it moveth Humours immoveable 
 otherwife of their own Nature: Medicine or 
 Phyfic, whilft it helpeth to thruft forth Excre¬ 
 ments, which would elfe harden or putrefy within 
 our Bodies, the Vapours whereof would fo fhake 
 the Bulwark of Lite, and deft e the Rivers of 
 Blood iffuing from the Liver, that we fhould not 
 live long in Health, if haply we lived at all. 
 
 Next to Purity of Air, we mull chufe that alfo 
 which is temperate. For natural Heat is not pre- 
 ferved, faith Galen , but of Air moderately cold. 
 And Arijlotle faith, that Countries, Cities, and 
 Houfes, which, by Interpofition of Hills on the 
 North fide be feldom cooled, are lubjedd to Mor¬ 
 tality, and many Difeafes : yet muft it not be fo 
 hot as to diflolve Spirits, procure Thirft, and 
 abundant Sweat, to the hindering of Urine, and 
 decaying of Strength and Appetite ; but (as I faid 
 before) of a middle Temper, becaufe, as Nature 
 is the Mother, fo Mediocrity is the Preferver of 
 everything. Who fees not a dry Summer peel- 
 eth, and a dry Winter riveleth th£ Skin ? and that 
 D 6 contrariwife, 
 
Health’j Improvement. 
 
 contrariwife, an over-moift Air pufFeth it up with 
 Humours, and engendereth Rheumes in the whole 
 Body ? 
 
 Thirdly , That Air is beft which is mod fea- 
 fonable; namely, warm and moift in the Spring, 
 hot and dry in Summer, cooling and dry in Au¬ 
 tumn, cold and moift in Winter : which Seafons 
 falling out contrarily, as fometimes they do (efpe- 
 cially in Iflands) infinite and unavoidable Difeafes 
 enfue thereupon ; for if the Spring Air be cold 
 and dry through abundance of North-ealf Winds, 
 dry Inflammations of the Eyes, hot Urines, Fluxes 
 of Blood by Nofe and Bowels, and moft dange¬ 
 rous Catarrhs to old Perfons, follow upon it. If 
 Summer be cold and dry through the like Winds, 
 look for all kinds of Agues, Head-achs, Coughs, 
 and Confumptions ; contrariwife, if it be too hot 
 and dry, Suppreflion of Urine, and Women’s 
 Courfes, together with exceeding bleeding at the 
 Nofe is to be feared. If Autumn be full of fouthern 
 and warm Blafts, the next Winter expedf all rheu¬ 
 matic and moift Difeafes. If Winter on the con¬ 
 trary be cold and dry, which naturally fhould be 
 cold and moift, long Agues, humoral Achs, 
 Coughs and Pleurifies are to be expedled, unlefs 
 the next Spring be of a moift Difpofition. 
 
 Again, confider alfo how any Houfe or City is 
 fituated, for the Air is qualified accordingly; 
 namely, if they be placed South-eaft, South, 
 and South-weft, and be hinder’d from all Northern 
 Blafts, by oppofition of Hills, they have neither 
 fweet Water, nor wholfome Air; but there Wo¬ 
 men are fubjedb to Fluxes and Mifcarriages, Chil¬ 
 dren to Convulfions and Shortnefs of Breath, Men 
 to bloody Fluxes, Scourings, and Haemorrhoids, 
 and fuch like. But Cities, Countries, orHoufes, 
 
 fituated 
 
Of AIR. 85 
 
 fituated contrary, towards the North-weft, North, 
 and North-eaft, and defended from all fouthern 
 Gufts and Blafts, albeit the People there are com¬ 
 monly more ftrong and dry, yet are they fubjetft, 
 through Suppreflion of Excrements, unto Head- 
 achs, fliarp Pleurifies, Coughs, Exulceration of 
 the Lungs, phlegmatic Collections, Rupture of 
 inward Veins, and red Eyes. Likewife in thofe 
 Countries, young Boys are fubjedt to fwelling of 
 the Cods, voung Girls to the Navel-Rupture; 
 Men to the Difeafes above-named ; Women to 
 Want and Scarcity of their natural Terms, to hard 
 Labours, Ruptures and Convulfions, and to Con- 
 fumptions after Childbirth. Eafterly Towns, efpe- 
 cially inclining to the South, and Houfes, are 
 more wholefome than the wefterly, for many 
 Caufes: 1. Becaufe the Air is there more tem¬ 
 
 perately hot and cold. 2. Becaufe all Waters 
 and Springs running that Way, are more clear, 
 fragrant, pleafant and wholefome, refembling as 
 it were a dainty Spring ; and verily Women there 
 conceive quickly, and bring forth eafily; Children 
 provelarge, well colour’d and lively; Men health¬ 
 ful, ftrong and able to any Exercife. But weftern 
 Cities and Houfes, barren, clean of eaftern Gufts, 
 have ever both troubled Waters and unwholefome 
 Winds, which mingled with the Waters, obfcure 
 their Clearnefs, and maketh the Inhabitants weak, 
 heavy, and ill-coloured, hoarfe-voiced, dull-witted, 
 and wanting, as if they were entering the Houfe 
 of Death, Quicknefs and Vigour. But Avicen , 
 lib. i. fen. 2. do£i. 11. of all others, declares this 
 molt at large, who fliewing the Boldnefs and 
 Goodnefs of Air by the Situation, defcribes them 
 in thefe Words. “ Houfes hav ng their chief or 
 full Seat ealtward, are very wholefome, for three 
 
 Caufes: 
 
8 6 Health’j Improvement. 
 
 Caufes: i. Becaufe the Sun rifing upon them, 
 purgeth the Air very timely. 2. Becaufe it ftays 
 not there long to diflolve Spirits, but turneth weft- 
 ward after Noon. 3. Becaufe cold Winds are 
 commonly as Ufhers to the Sun-rifing, by which 
 all Corruption is killed that either was in the Air 
 or lay on the Ground. Weftern Places are worft 
 fituated: I. Becaufe the Sun beftows not his 
 Maidenhead and kingly Heat upon them, but a 
 hot and fcorching Flame, neither attenuating nor 
 drying their Air, but filling it full of Fogs and 
 Mifts. Whereupon it falls out, that the Inhabi¬ 
 tants are much troubled with Hoarfenefi, Rheums, 
 Meafels, Pocks and Peftilence. Southern Seats 
 are commonly fubjecft to Catarrhs, Fluxes of the 
 Belly, Heavinefs, Want of Appetite, Haemor¬ 
 rhoids Inflammation of E\ es ; and their Women 
 conceive hardly and mifcarry eafily, abounding in 
 menftrual and mighty Pollutions; their old Men 
 are lubjetft to Paliies, trembling Apoplexies, and 
 all humoral Difeafes ; their Children to Cramps, 
 and the falling Evil ; their young Men to conti¬ 
 nual putrefied Agues, and all kind of rebellious 
 Fevers. In northern Countries, thro’ the Diy- 
 nefs, Coldnefs, and Sharpnefs of the Wind, 
 Women do hardly conceive, and d.mgeroufly 
 bring forth ; or if they be well delivered, yet 
 commonly through want of Milk they are not 
 able to nurfe their Children. Their young Men 
 die of Confumptions, their old Men and Children 
 of cruel Cramps. They which dwell upon the 
 Tops of Hills, where every Wind blows from un¬ 
 der the Sun, are for the mod part found, ftrong, 
 nimble, long-lived, and fit for Labour. Con¬ 
 trariwise the Valley People, fo feated that no Wind 
 
 blows 
 
Of AIR. g 7 
 
 I / ' 
 
 blows upon them, are ever heavy fpirited, dull, 
 and fickly : lor as a Fire of green Wood dieth, 
 unlefs the Flame fcattereth with continual Blow¬ 
 ing.; and as a ftanding Water corrupteth in a 
 little Space, fo an idle Air, rolled about with no 
 Winds, foon putrefieth; beeaufe his difiimi’ar 
 Parts be not feparated bv winnowing, as the Chaff 
 is from the Wheat. But the beft Situation of a 
 Houfe or City, is upon the Slaunt of a South-weft 
 Hill (like to this of Ludlow , wherein we fojourn 
 for a time) neither fully barr’d of the Eaft, North, 
 and Southern Winds, clear, and free from the 
 Mills of Bogs and Fens, purify’d from the Stench 
 of commonSinks, Y'aults and Leftals, as alfo from 
 the unwholefome Breathings of Caves, Coal-pits, 
 and Copper or Brimftone Mines; not fo cold as 
 to ftupify Members, nor fo hot as to burn the 
 Skin ; not fo moift as to fwell us with Rheums, 
 nor fo dry as to parch up our natural Moifture ; 
 not too much nor too variable, as upon the Tops 
 of Hills; not fo little, nor too {landing, as in 
 low Vallies; neither fmelling of nothing, as in 
 barren Countries, nor fmell ng of bad things, as 
 in the Fens; but fragrant, without a difcerning 
 of Smell, and fweeteft of all in an unknown 
 Sweetnefs. For howfoever fome Men dream, 
 that the Smell of the Spice-trees in Arabia Felix 
 make the neighbouring Inhabitants both healthful 
 >f Body and found of Mind, which I will not 
 deny, if you compare them with the Borderers of 
 :he Palejline Lake ; neverthelefs, as Tul/y faith of 
 Women, they fmell bejl which fmell of nothing ; 
 o verily the Air that fmells of nothing is beft to 
 lourilh us in Health, tho’ otherwife in fome Sick- 
 iefs a perfumed Air is beft, and alfo to expel a 
 oathfome Stench ; or, like to the neighing of 
 
 Apollo’s 
 
88 Health’j Improvement. 
 
 ♦ 
 
 Apollo 's Horfes, to roufe up dull and fleepy Senfes. 
 In which refpeft I am of Arijlotle 's Opinion, that 
 fweet Smells were appointed to be in Flowers, 
 Fruits, Barks, Roots, Fields and Meadows, not 
 only for Delight, but alfo for Medicine : Never- 
 thelefs, as the tadlef. Water makes the bed Broth, 
 fo the fmelling Air gives the pured, 1 will not fay 
 the dronged, Nourifhment to our Spirits. 
 
 In Plutarch's time Men were grown to this 
 Wantonnefs, that every Morning and Night they 
 perfumed not only their Apparel and Gloves, 
 but alfo their Bodies, with fweet Ointments, made 
 of mod coflly Spices; buying with great Charges, 
 what fhall I fay, an idle, a needlefs, a womanly, 
 nay, verily, an unnatural and more than brutid 
 Pleafure : For every Bead loveth his own Mate, 
 only for her own Smell, whatfoever it be ; bu 
 fome Men love not their Meat, nor Drink, no; 
 the Air, nor their Wives, nor themfelves, unlef 
 they fmell, or rather dink of fweet, codly, ant 
 foreign Fumes; which being taken without Caufe 
 do the Head more Hurt, than being taken upoi 
 Caufe they do it Good. Wherefore if thy Brail 
 be temperate, and not too moid, cold, or dull 
 efchew a drong fmelling Air, fuch as comes from 
 Wall-flowers, Stock-jellyflowers, Pinks, Rofes 
 Hyacinths, Mead-fweet, Hony-fuckles, Jeflamin 
 Narciflus, Mufk, Amber, Civet, and fuch like 
 contenting thyfelf with the Ampleft Air, which 
 for found Complexions, is Amply the bed. O 
 if for Recreation and Pleafure-fake thou deflred i 
 fome time, let it not be of a full or drong Scenl 
 but mingled with fweet and four, as Violets wit 
 Thyme, and breathing rather a iharp than a fu! 
 fome Swcetncfs. 
 
 Ar 
 
Of AIR. s 9 
 
 And thus much of the Choice of Airs : Now 
 eome we to the Preparation and Ufe of them. 
 
 CHAP. IV. 
 
 Of AIR. 
 
 i. How it is to be prepared. 2. How it is 
 to be ufed. 
 
 QATTRUS, that Goat-bearded God, the firft 
 time that ever he faw Fire, would needs kifs it 
 ind embrace it in his Arms, notwithftanding that 
 3 rometbeus forewarn’d him of coming too nigh ; 
 ar he knew well enough the Nature of Fire to be 
 ach, that as in certain Diftances, Times and 
 Quantities, it may be well endured, fo in others 
 : is harmful and exceeding dangerous. The like 
 iay I lay of Hear, Cold, Moifture, and Drynefs 
 ;1 the Air, which in the firfl: or fee nd Step to¬ 
 wards them may and do preferve Life ; but the 
 earer you come to their Extremities, the neaier 
 jre you to death: fo that either you will be burnt 
 ,'itb Satyrui , or frozen to death with Philo/Iratus , 
 r dried up for lack of Moirture with Darius' s 
 duiers when they could get no Water, or die as 
 >e inhabitants of the Lakes of Egypt do with too 
 iiuch Moidure Wherefore let every one con- 
 ler his own Strength and Conftitution of Body ; 
 t. feme, like to new Wax, are diflolvqd w th 
 e leaf}: Heat, and frozen with the leall Cold j 
 hers, with Salamanders, think nothing hot 
 lough ; others, like to Silk-worms, can abide 
 d Cold j others, with Smiths and Woodcocks, 
 
 tin 
 
90 - Health’j Improvement. 
 
 can abide thofe Frofts which even the Fifties 
 themfelves can hardly tolerate: fo likewife dry 
 Conftitutions laugh and ling with the Thrufh, 
 when Rain approacheth ; when others, of the < 
 contrary Complexion, do mourn and lament, 
 with the Plouver, becaufe it is fo wet. Which 
 being fo, I fnall no doubt deferve well of every 
 Man in teaching him fo to piepare the Air, that 
 fometimes abroad, but always at home, it may be 
 tempered, according as he moft needeth, and pu¬ 
 rified from all Infedlion. 
 
 Concerning the tempering of the Air in our 
 Houfes: Is it too hot and dry ? Then cool it 
 by fprinkling of Vinegar and Rofe-water, by 
 ftrewing the Floor with green Flags, Rufhes 
 newly gathered, Reed Leaves, Water-lilly Leaves, 
 Violet Leaves, and fuch like ; Hick alfo frefh 
 Boughs of Willow, Sallow, Poplar, and Afti, for 
 they are bell of all, in every Corner. Is it too 
 cold and moift ? Amend it by Fires of clear and 
 dry Wood, and ftrew the Room and Windows 
 with Herbs of a ftrong Smell, as Mints, Penny ; 
 royal, Camomel, Balm, Nep, Rue, Rofemary, 
 and Sage. Is it too thick and mifty ? 1 hen at¬ 
 
 tenuate and clear it in your Chamber, firft, by 
 burning of Pine-rofin, as the Egyptians were wont 
 to do ; then prefently by burning in a hot tire- 
 fhovel fome ftrong white Wine Vinegar: but 
 their chiefeft Perfume of all other, called Kuphi, 
 the great Temper , was made of fixteen Simples; 
 namely, Wine, Honey, Raifins of the Sun, Cy¬ 
 pres, Pine-rofin, Myrrh, the fweet Rufh, Cala¬ 
 mus Aromaticus, Spiknard, Cinnamon, Berrie: 
 of the great and little Juniper, Lignum-aloes 
 Saffron, Fig-tree Buds, and Cardamoms: Fc 
 which Compofition, in Galen s time, Democrate 
 
Of A I R. 91 
 
 added Bdellium, and the Seed of Agnus Callus ; 
 and the Phyficians in Plutarch 's time, the Roots 
 of Calamint. 
 
 It were needlefs to write how wonderfully Apol¬ 
 lo, I mean our new Apollo, Francis Alexander of 
 Vercelles (for fo, like a proud Italian ^he calleth 
 his own Work) commends the fame in his third 
 Beam ; or how Plutarch and Avicen extol it above 
 all others, in that it not only bringeth any Air to 
 a good Temper, but alfo cleanfeth the fame of 
 unclean Spirits, openeth it when it is cloudy, at- 
 tenuateth it when it is too thick, refineth it when 
 it is full of dreggy Mixtures, and confequently dif- 
 pelleth Melancholly from the Head, Fear and ill 
 Vapours from the Heart, procuring natural and 
 quiet Sleep, and therefore not unworthily confe- 
 crated to the Gods. Now as the Egyptians burnt 
 Rofin in the Morning, and their Kuphi towards 
 Noon, fo albeit the Sun fet when many heavy 
 Vapours lie in the Air, the Antients were wont 
 to burn Myrrh and Juniper, which difperfe thofe 
 heavy Vapours, leaving in the Houfe a rectified 
 Air, quickening the Senfes, and correcting thofe 
 melancholic Fumes that pervert Judgment; where¬ 
 fore the Egyptians call Myrrh Bad and Juniper 
 Dolech , the Purifiers of Air, and Curers of Mad- 
 nefs : whereat let no Man wonder, hnce the very 
 Noife of Bells, Guns and Trumpets, breaketh 
 the Clouds, and cleanfeth the Air ; yea, Muhc 
 itfelf cureth the Brain of Madnefs, and the Heart 
 of Melancholy, as many learned and credible Au¬ 
 thors have affirmed : much more then may it be 
 tempered, and altered to the good or hurt of our 
 inward Parts, by Smells and Perfumes, whereby 
 not onF a meer Air, a*' in Sounds, is carried to 
 the inward Parts, but alio inviiible Seeds and Sub- 
 
 ftances 
 
92 Health’j Improvement. 
 
 kances qualified with variety of divers things. 
 For who knoweth not that the Smell of Opium 
 bringeth on Sleep, Drowfinefs, and finking of the 
 Spirits ? Contrariwife, the Smell of Wine, and 
 ftrong Vinegar out of a narrow mouth’d Glafs, 
 awaketh the heavieft headed Man, if poffibly he 
 can be awaked Furthermore, becaufe (linking 
 Smells (unlels one by little and little be accuftom- 
 ed to them, as our Dung-farmers and Kennel- 
 rakers are in London^ and as a Wench did eat 
 Napellus , a mod cruel Poifon, ordinarily as Meat) 
 are both noifom to the Head, and hurtful to the 
 Lungs, Heart and Stomach, in fuch fort, that 
 they "which live in a (linking Houfe are feldom 
 healthy ; It (hall be good, where the Caufe can¬ 
 not wholly be removed, to correct the Accident 
 in this fort, with fweet Waters, fweet Perfumes, 
 fweet Pomanders, and fmelling unto fweet fragrant 
 
 things. r A 
 
 Ifabella Cortefa , that dainty Lady of Italy, 
 
 comb’d her Hair, and fprinkled her Gown, every 
 Morning, with this fweet Water (ol owing, 
 whereby the Air circumfluent w s fo perfumed, 
 that wheretoever (he flood no Stench could b< 
 
 difcerned. 
 
 ' / 
 
 Take of Orange-flower Water, Water o 
 Vi lets, P ater of the Mu(k-geranium, an< 
 the M (k Rofe, Water of red and damafl 
 Fofes, of each a Pint; Powder of excellen 
 fweet Orris, two Ounces-, Powder ot Stora: 
 Calamite, Benzoin, and Indian Wood c 
 Fofes, of each half an Ounce; Civet 
 Dram and a half. Mingle all tog ther, an 
 'let them Hand in Balneo three Days. The 
 
 afti 
 
of a I R. n 
 
 after the Water is throughly cold, filter it 
 out with a fine Filter, and keep it to your 
 Ufe in a Glafs very clofe ftopt. 
 
 Mar melius maketh another, not much inferior 
 unto this, whereof this is the Defcription. 
 
 Take a Pottle of damafk Rofe-water. Benzoin, 
 Storax Calamite, Cloves, and Wood of 
 Aloes, of each an Ounce; Amber-greefe 
 and Civet, of each a Scruple : Boil them to¬ 
 gether in Balneo, in a Glafs well flopt, for 
 twenty-four Hours fpace: filter it out when 
 it is cold ; and having hang’d fifteen Grains 
 of Mufk in it, tied in a clofe Cloth, fet it 
 five Days in the Sun, and keep it to your 
 Ufe. 
 
 Thefe Waters are coftly, but verily exceeding 
 rood ; neverthelefs finceMen of mean Fortune are 
 ikewife to be preferved, I appoint for them thefe 
 >erfumed Cakes, and for the poorer fort a lefs 
 oftly Perfume. 
 
 Take of Benzoin fix Drams, Wood of Aloes 
 four Drams, Storax Caiamite four Drams, 
 fweet Orris two Drams, Mufk a Scruple, 
 white Sugar-candy three Ounces; beat them 
 into fine Powder, and with red Role-water, 
 work them into a (tiff Pafte, whereof make 
 a fort of little Cakes, no bigger nor thicker 
 than a Threepence; dry them in a cold 
 fhadowy Place, and then put them up very 
 clofe in a Glafs, and take out one or two, or 
 as many as you pleafe, and burn them upon 
 quick Coals, 
 
 The 
 
94 H ealth’j Improvement. 
 
 The poorer fort may make thefe Fire-cloves far 
 better than vou (hall find any at the Apothecaries, 
 after this Receipt. 
 
 Take of good Olbanum half a Pound, Storax 
 Calamite an Ounce and a half. Laudanum 
 half an Ounce, Coals of Juniper Wood two 
 Drams; make all into fine Powder, and 
 then, with two Drams of Gum-tragacanth, 
 mingled with Rofe-water, and macera'ed 
 three Days together, and an Ounce of Sto¬ 
 rax Liquida, form the Pafte like great Cloves, 
 or Sugar Loaves, or Birds, or in what Form 
 you lift, and dry them in an Oven when the 
 Bread hath been drawn ; kindle one of thefe 
 at the Top, and fet it in any Room, and it 
 will make it exceeding fweet. 
 
 But for as much as no Air is fo dangerous as 
 that which is infected with peftilent Influences, 
 let us confider how, and in what fort that, of all 
 other, is to be corrected. Hippocrates (for ought 
 we read of, when his own Country, and the 
 City of Athens were grievoufly furpriled of the 
 Plague) ufed no other Remedies to cure or preferve 
 the reft, than by making of great Fires in each 
 Street, and in every Houfe, especially in the 
 Night-time, to pirifv the Air; whereby the Ci¬ 
 tizens of Athens being delivered from fo great and 
 dangerous an Enem , erected to Hippocrates an 
 Image of beaten Gold, and honoured him alive 
 as if he had been a God. And verily, as run¬ 
 ning Water, like a Broom, cleanfeth the Earth ; 
 fo fire, like a Lion, eateth up the Pollutions oi 
 the Air, no Ids than it confumeth the droily 
 MetaiS : fo that Cleanlmefs and good Fires cannot 
 • but 
 
Of A I R. 95 
 
 jt either extinguiih or leflen any Infe&ion: 
 Vhereunto if we alfo add the Ufe of [other 
 utward Correctors and Perfumers of the Air, no 
 oubt it will be much if not wholly amended. 
 
 The Peftilence (as I have noted, to my Grief, 
 
 1 mine own Houfe) taketh fome, firft, with a 
 reat Chilnefs and Shaking; others, with a hot 
 Iweat, and often fainting. In fome Places it 
 eigneth moll: in Winter,others it never annoyeth 
 >ut in Summer. The firfl: fort are to correct the 
 \ir about them with good Fires, and burning of 
 lignum Aloes, Ebony, Cinnamon-bark, Safl'a- 
 >hras and Juniper, which, as Matthias recordeth 
 n his Herbal, retaineth his Scent and Subfiance a 
 lundred Years. Burn alfo the Peels of Oranges, 
 Citrons, Lemons, Myrrh, and Rofin : and the 
 loorer fort may perfume their Chambers with 
 days, Rofemary, and Broom itfelf. Make alfo 
 i vaporous Perfume in this fort. 
 
 Take of MalFc and Frankincenfe, of each an 
 Ounce ; Citron-peels, Calamint-roots, Herb- 
 grafs dried, and Cloves, of each three Drams; 
 make all into a grofs Powder, and boil it 
 gently in a perfuming Pot with Spiknard and 
 white Wine. 
 
 The fecond fort (I mean fuch as are Pick of the 
 Plague in Summer, or are the hril taken with a 
 diliolv ng Heat) fhould rather burn Sweet Cy¬ 
 pres, Lignum Rhodium, Sanders, Sprigs of Ta- 
 nurifk, Gum-tragacanth, Elemi, Cherry-tree 
 Gum, and a litr e Camphire : l.ikewife thefe 
 vapouring Perfumes fhould be of red Role-leaves, 
 Li gnum Rhouium, and Sanders, wi.h Rofe-Vvater 
 
g6 Health’j Improvement. 
 
 and Vinegar, boil’d together. So that accord in 
 to the kind of taking, and theSeafon of the Year 
 is the Air to be corrected in the time of Peftilence 
 and not alike at all Times,'with one Perfume 
 which Mcnjilius Ficinus , lib. de pefte. fo diligentl 
 obferveth, that he blameth many Phyficians fo 
 their general preferring of this or that Mahicatory 
 foine extolling the chewing of Sage as one goe 
 abroad, others the chewing of Setwall Roots 
 others of Elicampana, Cloves, Angelica, or Ci 
 tron-peel, which indeed are beft in a cold Seafon 
 but in the hot time of the Year, and a hot Plague 
 the chewing of Coriander-feeds, prepared Grains 
 Sanders, and the Pulp of Oranges, Lemons, Ci 
 trons, or Pearmains, is far to be preferred befor< 
 them. 
 
 The like may be faid of fweet Pomanders, ftronj 
 of Mufk, Civet, Amber, and Storax, which an 
 no doubt good Correctors of the peftilent Air; ye 
 in hot Seafons and Peftilences, nothing fo good a 
 the Smell of a Lemon ftickt with Lignum Rho¬ 
 dium inftead of Cloves, and inwardly fluffed witf 
 a Sponge throughly foaked in Vinegar of red Rofe; 
 and Violets. 
 
 But here a great Queftion arifeth, Whether 
 fweet Smells correct the peftilent Air, or rather be 
 as a Guide to bring it the fooner into our Hearts ! 
 To determine which Queftion, I call all the 
 Dwellers in Buckler/bury , in London , to give theii 
 Sentence ; which only Street (by reafon that it ii 
 wholly replenifhed with Phyfic, Drugs, and Spi 
 cerv, and was daily perfumed in the time of the 
 Plague, with pounding of Spices, melting o 
 Gums, and making Perfumes for others) efcapec 
 that great Plague brought from Newhaven, 
 3 whereoi 
 
Of A I R. 97 
 
 whereof there died fo many, that fcarce any 
 Houfe was left unvifited. 21530 only in Lon - 
 dcn y Anno 1563. 
 
 Of Variety and Change of Air. 
 
 Hitherto of the corre&ing and tempering of dif- 
 temper’dand infe&ed Air; which being clean and 
 purified, may yet, through Ignorance or Wilful- 
 nefs, be abufed : For as Satyrus would needs kifs 
 the glowing Coals, and Children delight to put 
 their Fingers in the Candle; fo fome know not 
 how to ufe this general Nourifhment, which is not 
 given, as all other Nourifhments be, unto one par¬ 
 ticular Man or Country, but equally and univerfally 
 unto all. 
 
 Now there be two forts of Air, as every Man 
 knoweth ; the one open and wide unto all Men, 
 the other private, fhut within the Compafs of a 
 Houfe or Chamber: that permitted to any Man 
 which is in Health ; this proper to very many and 
 fickly Perfons, who receiving but the leaf! Blafl: 
 of the outward Air, upon a fudden, fall into great 
 Extremities, and make the recidival Sicknefs to be 
 worfe than the former. Man/, and amongft 
 them my Lord Rich's Brother, can juftif/ this, 
 who almoft recovered of the Small Pox, looked 
 but out of a Cafement, and prefently was firiken 
 with Death. So likewife one Harwood of Suffolk , 
 a rich Clothier, coming fuddenly, in an extreme 
 I roll:, from a very hot Fire into the cold Air, his 
 Blood was prefently fo corrupted, that he became 
 a Leper; which is an ordinary Cauie of the fame 
 Difeafe in high Germany , as Paracelfus and many 
 other Writers have truly noted. 
 
 E 
 
 Again, 
 
98 Health’j Improvement. 
 
 Again, fume Men tie themfelves fo to one Air,*" 
 that it they go but a Mile from home, like to frefh- 
 water Soldiers, they are prefently Tick ; others are 
 fo delighted with Variety, that no one Air or 
 Country can contain them : of which Humour" 
 was Ageftlaus , Pbocion , Diogenes, Cato, yea, and. 
 Socrates himfelf, who fometimes lay abroad in the 
 Fields, fometimes at home, fometimes travelled 
 one Country, and fometimes another, that being 
 accudomed to all Airs, they might, if Neceflity 
 ferved, the better abide all. Furthermore, in 
 long Difeafes, it is not the word, but the bed 
 Phyiic to change Airs ; which few can endure that 
 are tied in Conceit or by Cudom only to one, and 
 therefore that, of both fantadical Humours, is the 
 mod dangerous. Beftdes this, the Time of go¬ 
 ing abroad in the open Air is to be confidered ; 
 Jor fome go out early, before the Dev/ be off, and 
 the Sun up, which is very unwholefome $ others 
 alfo walk at Night after the Dew falling, which 
 is as peiilous: for the Dew to Man’s Body is as 
 Rud unto Iron, in fo much that it bladeth the 
 Face, and maketh it fcabbv, efpecially in fome * 
 Months, if a Man do wafh himfelf with it. 
 Furthermore fome Men delight to travel in 
 Tempeds and Winds, which the very Hedge-hog 
 reproveth, and the Beads of the Fields efchew by 
 feeking Coverture: for drong and violent Winds 
 be,. as Cardan calls them, the Whales of the Air ; 
 rolling Clouds and Meteors where and whhher . 
 the . .id, beating down Trees, Houfes and Cadies, 
 yea, lhaicing other ' hiles the Earth’s f oundation. 
 No as fome go abroad too much, fo others with 
 over-\ : 's take ' he open Air too little, fitting 
 horn, a.-w ciamo’d Capons in a clofe Room, 
 
 and 
 
Of A I II. 9g 
 
 ^nd not daring in a manner to behold the Light; 
 better it were by degrees to go abroad, than with 
 fuch Certainty of Danger to {lay at home ; yet fo 
 that a calm, mild, and temperate Day be chofen, 
 left we make more hafte outward than good fpeed, 
 .and bewail the Alteration of Air through Decreafe 
 of Health : For as contrariety of Meats make Tu¬ 
 mults and Rebellions in our Stomachs, fo contrary 
 Changes of Air, upon the fudden, maketh dan¬ 
 gerous Combats in our Bodies : Yea, tho’ a fenny 
 Air be thick and loathfome ; yet fuddenly to e.o 
 dwell upon the high Mountains in a clear Air, is 
 a polling to Death rather than a Courfe of Life: 
 And albeit a fuuthcrn Country be pregnant of 
 Corruption, (for all Trees lofe their Leaves firft 
 on the South-fide, and on the South-fide Houles 
 decay fooneft, and the South-fide of Corn is foon- 
 eft blafted, and Malt lying in the South-fide of a 
 Granary is firft tainted with Weevels) yet fud¬ 
 denly to depart to a northern Soil, where the 
 North Wind chiefly bloweth, is to leave the Sea 
 to be frozen in Ice, and bringeth imminent Peril, 
 if not hafty Death to the Patient, yea, to them 
 that are otherwife found of Body : Wherefore ufe 
 the open Air in his due Time, Seafon, Quantity, 
 and Order, elfe fnalt thou be offended with that 
 Nouriftiment which fimply of all other is moft ne- 
 :eflary ; for as this inviflble Milk (for fo Severi- 
 1US calls the Air) in Time, Seafon, and Quanti- 
 v, nourifheth thefe lower, and perhaps the upper 
 Bodies ; fo being taken out of time, and longer, 
 md leffer than we fhould, it is both the Child, 
 he Mother, and the Nurfe of infinite Mifchiefs. 
 
 E 2 CHAP. 
 
 i 
 
ioo Health’* Improvement. 
 
 CHAP. V. 
 
 Of MEATS, 
 
 And the Differences thereof in Kind , Sub- 
 fiance, Temperature , and Tafts. 
 
 'pUrpofing now to treat of Meats, I will keep 
 this Method. Firft, I will (hew their Dif¬ 
 
 ferences ; then the particular Natures of every 
 one of them : laft of all, in what Variety, Quan¬ 
 tity, and Order they are to be eaten. Their Dif¬ 
 ferences be fpecially feven in Number; Kind , 
 Subfiance, Temperature , Tafle , Preparation , Age, 
 and Sex. 
 
 i. Concerning the firft, It is either of vege¬ 
 table Things only by Ordination, or of fenfible 
 Creatures by Permiflion: For whilft Adam and 
 his Wife were in Paradife, he had Commiftion 
 to eat only of the Fruit of the Garden; being caft 
 thence, he was enjoined to till the Ground, and 
 fed in the Sweat of his Brows upon Worts, 
 Corn, Pulfe and Roots; but as for Flefti, how- 
 beit manyBeafts were flain for Sacrifices and Ap¬ 
 parel, yet none was eaten of Men 2240 Years 
 after the Creation ; even till God himfelf per¬ 
 mitted Noah and his Family to feed of every 
 fenfible Thing that moved and lived, as well as 
 of Fruits and green Herbs. 
 
 Nay, the Indian Philofophers, called Brach- 
 rnans , did never, a great while after the Flood, 
 
 tafte 
 
Of MEATS. , ioi 
 
 tade of any fenfible Creature : And tho’ Nimrod 
 the great Hunter flew many Beads, yet Flefli was 
 even then untafted of the Babylonians , and many 
 hundred Years after, faith Herodotus. And veri¬ 
 ly, till God would have it fo, who dared to touch 
 with his Lips the Remnant of a dead Carcafe ? 
 or to fet the Prey of a Wolf, and the Meat of a 
 Falcon upon his Table ? Who, I far, durft 
 feed upon thofe Members which lately did fee, 
 go, bleat, low, feel, and move ? Nay, tell me, 
 can civil and human Eyes yet abide the Slaughter 
 of an innocent Bead, the cutting of his Throat, 
 the mauling him on the Head, the flaying off his 
 Skin, the quartering and difmembering of his 
 Joints, the fprinkling of Blood, the ripping up of 
 his Veins, the enduring of ill Savours, the hear¬ 
 ing of heavy Sighs, Sobs and Groans, the paflio- 
 nate druggling and panting for Life, which only 
 hard-hearted Butchers can endure to fee ? Is not 
 the Earth fufficient to give us Meat, bi t that we 
 mud alfo rend up the Bowels of Beads, Birds, 
 and Fifties? Yes, truly there is enough in the 
 Earth to give us Meat, yea verily and choice of 
 Meats, needing either none or no great Prepara¬ 
 tion, which we may take without Fear, and cut 
 down without Trembling, which alfo we may 
 mingle a hundred ways to delight our Tade, and 
 feed on fafely to fill our Bellies. Neverthelefs 
 we mud not imagine, that God either idly or 
 radily permitted Flefh and Fifh to be eaten of 
 Mankind, but that either he did it for Caufes 
 known to himfelf, or for fpecial Favours flhewed 
 to us. 
 
 Plutarch writeth, Symp. 8. cap. 8. that Hens 
 i Eggs in Egypt do hatch themfelves in the warm 
 iun, and that wild Conies breed every Month ; 
 
 E 3 fe 
 
102 Health’j Improvement. 
 
 fo that albeit by their Rites of Religion, the Egyp¬ 
 tians were forbidden to eat Eggs, or to kill for 
 Meat any living Creature, yet Neceffity caufed 
 them to eat both, left their Corn ftiould be de¬ 
 voured both in Seed and Blade, or they forced to 
 do nothing elfe but to bury young Rabbits, and to 
 v fquafh Esgs. Pei haps upon Forefightof the like 
 Inconvenience, God appointed Men to eat Flefh 
 and Fifn ; left haply overflowing the Earth by 
 daily Increafe, there would fcarce be any Food 
 left for Man, and Man fhould not be able to rule 
 his Subjects. But the chiefeft thing which he 
 aimed at in the Permiflion, was, in my Judgment, 
 the Health and Preftrvation of our Lives: for as 
 before the Flood Men were of {Longer Conftitu- 
 tjcn, and vegetable Fruits grew void of fuperflu- 
 cus Moifture; fo by the Flood thefewere endued 
 w ith weaker Nourifhment, and M-en made more 
 fubjeift to violent Difeafes and Infirmities. Where¬ 
 upon it was requifite or rather neceflary fuch Meat 
 ihouldbe appointed for human Nourifliment,as was 
 in Subftance and Eflence mod like our own, and 
 might, with lefs Lofs and Labour of natural Heat, 
 be converted and tranfubftantiated into our Flefti.. 
 And trulv whofoever {hall, with the Adamites , re- 
 fufe that Diet, which God and Nature hath ap¬ 
 pointed, either becaufe they think they {hould not, 
 or becaufe they would not feed upon living Crea¬ 
 tures : I dare boldly avouch, they are religious 
 without Knowledge, and timorous without Occa- 
 fion ; yea,* (unlefs naturally they abhor Fifh and 
 Flefh, as fome Men may) they fhorten their own 
 Lives, and do Violence to Nature. 
 
Of MEATS. 
 
 How Meats differ in Subftance s. 
 
 2. Touching the Difference of Meats in Sub¬ 
 ftance : Some are of thin and light Subftance, 
 engendering pure, thin and fme Blood, fit for fine 
 Complexions, idle Citizens, tender Perfons, and 
 fiich as are upon Recovery out of fome great Sick- 
 nefs; as Chicken-peepers, Rabbit-fuckers, young 
 Pheafants, Partridges, Heath-pouts, Godwits, all 
 fmall Birds being young,all little Fifhes of the River, 
 the Wings and Livers of Hens, Cock-chickens and 
 Partridges, Eggs warm out of the Hen’s Belly, &c. 
 Others are more grofs, tough and hard, agreeing 
 chiefling to Country Perfons and hard Labourers ; 
 but fecondarily to all that be ftrong of Nature, 
 given, by Trade or Ufe, to much Exercife, and 
 accuftomed to feed upon them ; as pouder’d Beef, 
 Bacon, Goofe, Swan, fait Filh, Ling, Tunny, 
 fait Salmon, Cucumbers, Turneps, Beans, hard 
 Peafe, hard Cheefe, brown and Rye Bread, &c. 
 But Meats of a middle Subftance are generally the 
 beft, and moft properly to be called Meats, en¬ 
 gendering neither too fine nor too grofs Blood, 
 agreeing in a manner with all Ages, Times and 
 Complexions, neither binding nor loofening the 
 Body, neither (Lengthening nor weakening the 
 Stomach, neither procuring nor hindering Urine 
 or Sweat, cauhng no Alteration in Coldnefs. 
 Heat, Drynefs, or Moillure ; finally, neither 
 adding to the Body by overnourifiiing, nor de¬ 
 tracting from it by extenuating, but preferving it 
 in fuch State as they found it, reftoring daily as 
 much as daily decay’d, and nothing or very little 
 
 E 4 more. 
 
104 Health’.? Improvement. 
 
 more. Of which fort may be reckoned young 
 Beef, Mutton, Veal, Kid, Lamb, Pig, Hen, 
 Capon, Turkey, Houfe-doves, Cunny, fodden 
 Lettice, Skirrets, Almonds, Raillns, &c. 
 
 I 
 
 How Meats differ in Temperature and 
 Dijiemperature, 
 
 3. As there is a certain Temperature and Dif- 
 temperature of our Bodies, fo likewife is there in 
 Meats; that temperate Bodies fliould feed of their 
 likes, and d‘({tempered of their contraries. Where¬ 
 fore God hath appointed fome Meats hot only in 
 the firft Degrees, &c. 
 
 Lamb 
 
 Hot Meats, 
 
 Sugar 
 
 Pork 
 
 Raifms 
 
 Pig 
 
 Sweet Apples 
 
 Gofling 
 
 Ripe Pomegranates 
 
 Partridge 
 
 New HafleNuts 
 
 Quail 
 
 New Almonds 
 
 Thrufh 
 
 Afparagus 
 
 Sturgeon 
 
 Borrage 
 
 Mullet 
 
 Bur Roots 
 
 Bafe 
 
 Skirret Roots 
 
 O) Iters 
 
 White Thiftle Roots 
 
 Cockles 
 
 Hop Buds 
 
 Cream 
 
 Parfeneps 
 
 Butter 
 
 Wheat, and 
 
 Figs 
 
 Rice. 
 
 Others 
 
 in the fecond Degree ; as. 
 
 Hare 
 
 T urkey 
 
 Roe Buck Peacock 
 
 Pid geon 
 
Of M E 
 
 Pidgeon 
 Duck 
 T urtle 
 
 Pickled Oyfters 
 
 Anchovies 
 
 Hony 
 
 Ripe Mulberries 
 New Walnuts 
 Pickled Olives 
 Preferved Capers 
 
 !l T S. -toi 
 
 Piftachoes 
 
 Dates 
 
 Chefnuts 
 
 Artichokes 
 
 Carrots 
 
 Pottatoes 
 
 Parfley 
 
 Radifh Roots 
 
 Eryngo Roots 
 
 Nutmegs and Saffron, 
 
 Some *bot 
 
 Scallops 
 
 Mint 
 
 Taragon 
 
 Onions 
 
 Leeks 
 
 third Degree ; as 
 Alexanders 
 Old Walnuts 
 Cinnamon 
 Ginger 
 
 Cloves, and Pepper 
 
 in the 
 
 Some are hot in the fourth Degree ; as 
 Skallions, Garlic, and Ramfons. 
 
 Now whereas all Meats hot further than the 
 fecond Degree, are reckoned by Phyficians to be 
 rather Medicine than Meat, I allow their Judg¬ 
 ment for the moft fort or Men, but not generally 
 in all; for in Scythia , and fome parts of Perfia , 
 as alfo in Scotland and Wales , many Mens Bodies 
 and Stomachs are fo full of cold, and raw Phlegm, 
 that Leeks, Onions, Water-crefTes and Garlic, 
 is made a Nourifhment unto them, which would 
 gripe, fret, and blifter temperate Stomachs. The 
 like Reafon may be given, why Adders are com¬ 
 monly eaten of the People called Ophiophagt\ and 
 venomous Spiders of many in Egypt. Yea, my 
 felf have known a young Maid, of an exceeding 
 
 E 5 moitb 
 
io6 Health’j Improvement. 
 
 moift and cold Complexion, whofe Meat for two 
 Fears was chiefly Pepper, wherewith another 
 would have been confumed, tho’ (he was nourfh- 
 ed : for it is hot in the third, and dry in the 
 • fourth Degree. 
 
 Cold Meats. 
 
 Of cold Meats, God hath likewife appointed 
 fome of the firft Degree ; as 
 
 Cow Flefh 
 Bteer Flefh 
 
 hogs 
 
 Lumps 
 
 Olafes 
 
 Frefh Tunny 
 Frefh Sprats 
 Frefh Herrings 
 Curds 
 
 All forts of Pompions 
 
 Melons 
 
 Cherries 
 
 Young Hedge- 
 Eels 
 
 Cunny 
 
 Rabbit 
 
 Strawberries 
 
 Peaches 
 
 Some Apples 
 
 Pears 
 
 Quinces 
 
 Medlars 
 
 Cervices 
 
 Sp nache 
 
 Succory 
 
 Sorrel 
 
 Goofeberries 
 Cabbage 
 Coleworts 
 Peafe and Beans 
 
 Others cold in the fecond Degree-, as 
 
 T ench 
 
 Pike 
 
 Shrimps 
 
 Crabs 
 
 Crevifies 
 
 New Cheefe 
 
 Prunes 
 
 Damfons 
 
 Apricocks, and 
 
 moft forts of Plums 
 
 Lettice 
 
 Endif 
 
 Citrons 
 
 Oranges 
 
 Lemons 
 
 Gourds and Cucumbers 
 What- 
 
Of MEATS. 107 
 
 Whatfoever exceedeth this Degree in Coldnefs 
 can never be turned into our Nourifhment; how- 
 foever Tome one Body, by a proper Sympathy, or 
 or long IJfage, (as Dr. Randal did), may digeft 
 and nourifli himfelf with Poppy Medicines. 
 
 Moifi Meat s. 
 
 Meats moift: in the firft Degree, are thefe and 
 
 fuch like, 
 
 
 Wild Boar 
 
 Dates 
 
 Lamprey 
 
 Afparagus 
 
 Barbie 
 
 Spinache 
 
 Crab 
 
 Borrage 
 
 Shrimps 
 
 Hop Buds 
 
 Crevifs 
 
 Carrots 
 
 Pine-apple Kernels 
 
 Turneps 
 
 New Filberds 
 
 and 
 
 Sweet Almonds 
 
 French Peafe. 
 
 Meats inofi in 
 
 the fecond Degree , 
 
 Hedge-buck 
 
 Olaffe 
 
 Turkey 
 
 Tunny 
 
 Young Pidgeons 
 
 T ench 
 
 Young Ducks 
 
 Eel 
 
 Young Quails 
 
 Frefh Oyfters 
 
 Frefh Sturgeon 
 
 Ruen-Cheefe 
 
 Lump 
 
 
 Meats moifi in the third Degree are only 
 Frefh Pork and Young Pigs, 
 
 E 6 Dry 
 
io8 Health** Improvement. 
 
 Dry Meats. 
 
 Neither hath Nature omitted to provide dry 
 Meats for them, who by Nature or Sicknefs are 
 over-moiftened ; whereof fome are dry only in 
 the firft Degree.; as 
 
 Peacock 
 
 Fennel 
 
 Heathcock 
 
 Artichokes 
 
 Dorry, and 
 
 Coleworts 
 
 All frefh Fifli 
 
 lightly Raddifh 
 
 pouder’d 
 
 Saffron 
 
 Strawberries 
 
 and 
 
 Sour Fruit 
 
 Cheefe-Curds through!} 
 
 Medlars 
 
 prefs’d. 
 
 Others in 
 
 the [econd Degree as 
 
 Ox Beef 
 
 Galangals 
 
 Venifon 
 
 Pears 
 
 Hare 
 
 Quinces 
 
 Cunny 
 
 Sou re Pomegranates 
 
 Partridge 
 
 Pickled Olives 
 
 Turtle 
 
 Piftachoes 
 
 Thrufh 
 
 Chefnuts 
 
 Black Birds 
 
 Succory 
 
 Mullets 
 
 Sorrel 
 
 Crabs 
 
 Parfly 
 
 Periwinkles 
 
 Onions 
 
 Cockles 
 
 Leeks 
 
 Honey 
 
 Lemons 
 
 Cinnamon 
 
 Citrons 
 
 Nutmegs 
 
 Beans and Rice 
 
 Ginger 
 
 Others 
 
 i 
 
 N 
 
Of MEATS. 
 
 109 
 
 Others in the third Degree ; as 
 
 Flefliand Fifhlongfalted 
 
 Stock Fifh 
 
 Old Cheefe 
 
 Pouder’d Capers 
 
 Cervifles 
 
 Mint 
 
 Garlic 
 
 Ramfons 
 
 Scallions 
 
 Water Crefles 
 
 Cloves and Cinnamon 
 
 Others in the fourth Degree ; as 
 
 Pepper, and all Things by Mifcookery over¬ 
 peppered. 
 
 Temperate Meats. 
 
 Temperate Meats are fuch, as hardly can be 
 lifcerned to be either hot, cold, dry, or moift ; 
 »r if they can, yet do they never exceed, yea, 
 :arcely attain the firft Degree. Of which fort, 
 young Poulet, a crowing Cockrel, a grown 
 Japon, Soles and Perches, fine Wheat, new 
 rid Eggs (eat White and all) being potcht, and 
 11 fmall Birds being young, are to be accounted. 
 
 How Meats differ in Tafte . 
 
 4. Being now come to the fourth Difference of 
 Ieats, which confifteth in Tafte, it is necelfary 
 > fhew how many kinds of Taftes be found in 
 !ourifhments, whereof fome be abominable to 
 ^rtain Perfons, tho’ good and pleafant in Na- 
 irc; others contrarily defired and liked, tho’ na- 
 TTally not appointed for Meat; which if you call 
 fympathetical and antipathetical Tafte, or an 
 t-born_tafting or diftafting, it will not be amifs y 
 
 
I io Health’; Improvement. 
 
 for tho’ the Words feem ftrange and hard at the 
 ftrft, yet Time and Wearing will make them eafy 
 and common. What is more unpleafant to moft 
 Mens Natures than the Tafte of human Flefh ? 
 vet not only fome Women with Child have long¬ 
 ed for it, but alfo the whole Nation of Cannibal 1 
 account it the fweeteft Meat of all others. It i; 
 alfo recorded, that Nero's great Gourmand, 
 thought no Meat pleafant but raw Flefh. Fer- 
 tnius Saleucius loved the Sea-horfes fo exceedingly, 
 that he daily dived for them amongft the Croco¬ 
 diles of Nilus, venturing his Life tofave his Long 
 ing. Plato thought that Olives had the beft Tafte 
 Meccznas coveted the Flefh of Afies Foals,whereb; 
 the whole Race of Afles had been extinguifhed 
 but that he died in a good Hour. The German 
 once, and now the Tartars , reckon Horfe-flef 
 for the fweeteft and beft Meats, even as our Welch 
 men efteem of Cheefe, Lane afair e Men of Egg 
 Pies, and Devonjhire Men of a brown White-poi 
 What need I write of Achilles , who in his Non 
 age living with Chiron, defired moft to feed upo 
 Lions Livers ? or of the Vandals, who long aftt 
 Foxes? or the Zygantes in Africa, that covi 
 Monkies and Apes, no lefs than the Car mania) 
 love Tortoifes, the Weft Africans Lizards, tl 
 Egyptians Grafshoppers, the Candians Serpent 
 the Corf cans and Maltefe young Whelps, tl 
 Romans and Phrygians Timber-worms, the AIL 
 mans Mites and Magots of Cheefe, and fuch filtl 
 Meats. Yea, if Herodotus and Sabellicus write 
 Truth, the Budanes defire to feed on Lice, whi< 
 a Mufcovite abhors to kill, left unnaturally or u: 
 wittingly he might flay his own Flefh and Bloo 
 It were ftrange to believe, yet Fernelius writ 
 it for a Truth, how a Nobleman of France foui 
 
Of M E A T S. 11/ 
 
 |» greater Sweetnefs in Quick-lime than in any 
 Meat befides, refrefhing his Stomach, and hurting 
 no inward Part with the continual Ufe thereof. 
 Others feed greedily upon Rags of Woolen Cloth 
 md Wall Mortar. And Amatus Lufitanus rc- 
 nembereth a certain young Maid of 12 Years of 
 Age, who did ufually eat Stones, Earth, Sand, 
 □talk, Wool, Cotton and Flax; efteeming their 
 Fafte and Subftance better than that of the fineft 
 md tendered Partridge. Marcellus Donatus faw 
 1 Girl fo longing after Lizards and Neuts, that 
 he would hunt after the one in Gardens, and af- 
 ;er the other with a Bough in her Hand, as a Cat 
 would hunt a Moufe, and eat them without Hurt. 
 Albert us Magnus , as Callus reporteth, faw an¬ 
 other Wench in Cologn, but three Years old, 
 punting as diligently after all forts of Spiders, with 
 which Meat (he was not only much delighted, but 
 l ilfo exceedingly nourifhed. Yea, Dr. Oethaus 
 .:elleth a Story of a certain Farmer in the County 
 pf Hirjberg , that feedeth chiefly upon Potfheards 
 finely beaten, and battling no lefswith them than 
 Mariners do with eating Bifket. And Joachimus 
 Camerarlus (my dear and learned Friend) report- 
 ?th, that a certain Girl of Noremberg did eat up 
 ter own Hair, and as much as elfewhere fhe 
 :ould get ; neither could fhe be perfuaded by her 
 friends to think it unpleafant or unwholfomeMeat, 
 pontrariwife, Petrus Aponenfts loathed Milk. The 
 inhabitants of the new frilling Land abhor Oil: 
 Many Men cannot abide the Tafte of Cheefe, 
 Dthers of Flefh, others of Fifh, others of all forts 
 )f Fruit; and that Bartimew Marnta his Father 
 vas almoft dead of Hares 1 lefh in a Gallimawfery, 
 s not unknown to Phyficians. Nay, fome are 
 
 naturally, 
 
112 HealthV Improvement. 
 
 i 
 
 naturally, or by Imagination, fo perverted, that 
 they cannot abide the Sight of many Meats, and 
 much lefs the Tafte. What Soldier knoweth not 
 that a roafted Pig would affright Capt. Swan more 
 than the Sight of twenty Spaniards f What J 
 Lawyer hath not heard of Mr. Tanfiels Conceit, 
 who is feared as much with a dead Deck, as 
 Philip of Spain was with a living Drake ? 1 will 
 
 not tell what Ph/fician abhorreth the Sight of 
 Lampreys and the Tafte of hot Venifon, tho’ he 
 love cold ; nor remember a Gentleman who can¬ 
 not abide the Tafte of a Rabbit, fince he was ] 
 once (by a Train) beguiled with a young Cat.] 
 . Nay, which was more, all Meat was of an abo- 
 minable Tafte to Heliogabalus , if it were not far 
 fetcht, and very dearly bought; even as fome li- 
 quorifh Mouths cannot drink without Sugar, nor 
 Sinardus’s hot Stomach could brook Wine without 
 Snow ; which dainty and foolifh Conceit, tho’ it 
 picks a Quarrel with God and Reafon, (after the 
 nice Fineneft of courtly Dames, that abhor the 
 beft Meat which is brought in an earthen Difh) and 
 maketh Ulcers as it were in found Stomachs ; yet I 
 that there is a natural liking and difliking of 
 Meats, and confequently of theTaftes of Meats', 
 both the Examples of Men and Women before 
 named do juftly prove ; and even Spaniels and 
 Hounds themfelves, (I mean of the truer kind) 
 by refufing of Venifon and wild Fowl in the cold 
 Blood, can fufficiently demonftrate. 
 
 Me ats 
 
Of MEATS, 
 
 i *3 
 
 Meats of ordinary Tajles, 
 
 Now let us come to the ordinary Taftes of 
 vleats, which are efpecially feven in Number ; 
 wveety bitter , /harp , four, fatty , fait , and fia/h . 
 
 SWtf Meats. 
 
 Sweet Meats agree well with Nature, for they 
 re of a temperate Heat, and therefore fitteft for 
 Jouriftiment; they delight the Stomach and 
 Liver, fatten the Body, increafe natural Heat, 
 11 the Veins, digeft eafily, foften that which is 
 50 hard, and thicken that which is too liquid j 
 ut if they be over fweet and gluttifh, they foon 
 am into Choler, flop the Liver, puff up Lungs 
 nd Spleen, fwell the Stomach, and caufe often- 
 mes moft fharp and cruel Fevers. 
 
 Bitter Meats. 
 
 - If any thing be very bitter (as Afparagus, Hop- 
 jrouts, and Broom-buds) they cannot much nou- 
 ifh either Man or Beaft, unlels they have firft 
 een boiled or infufed in many Waters; for other- 
 dfe they may ingender, as they do, fome cho- 
 :ric Humours, burning Blood, killing Worms, 
 pening Obftru&ions, and mundifying unclean 
 'affages of the Body ; but their Nourifhment 
 aey give is either little or nothing, and that only 
 erived to fome fpecial Part. 
 
 > 
 
 Sharp 
 
114 H ealth’j Improvement. 
 
 Sharp Meats. 
 
 Sharp Meats, (as Onions, Skallions, Leek 
 Garlic, Radilh, Muftard-feed, Crelles, and h 
 Spices) dry the Body exceedingly, being a!' 
 hurtful to the Eyes and Liver, drawing down H 1 
 mours, fending up Vapours, inflaming the Bloo ! 
 fretting the Guts, and extenuating the whc 
 Body; wherefore wc rauft either tafte them 
 they are, or not feed upon them till their Sharpm 
 be laid with Wafhings, Infufions, Boilings, ai 
 Intermixtions of fweet Things. 
 
 Sour Meats. 
 
 > • • I 
 
 Sour Meats (as Sorrel, Lemons, Oranges, C 
 trons, four Fruit, and all things ftrong of Vin 
 gar and Verjuice) albeit naturally they offend 
 newy Parts, weaken Conco&ion, cool natu; 
 Heat, make the Body lean, and haften old Ag< 
 yet they pleafure and profit us many ways, 
 cutting Phlegm, opening Obftru&ions, cleanfii 
 Impurities, bridling Choler, refilling Putrefadlio 
 extinguilhing fuperfluous Heat, Haying Loathfor 
 nefs of Stomach, and procuring Appetite : But 
 they be four without Sharpnefs (as a roalled Quin< 
 a Warden, Cervifes, Medlars, and fuch lik 
 then they furthermore flrengthen the Stomac 
 bind and corroborate the Liver, Hay Fluxes, h< 
 Ulcers, and give an indifferent Nourilhment 
 them that eat them. 
 
 Salt Meats. 
 
 Saltifhnefs is thought to be an unnatural Tal 
 becaufe it is found in no living Thing : For 1 
 
 V' 
 
0/ AIR. 115 
 
 ery Fifties are frefli; fo likewife is all Flefli, and 
 /ery Fruit, and all Herbs which grow not where 
 le Sea may waftiupon them. Wherefore, how- 
 oever Salt hath the Term of Divinity in Ho~ 
 her, and Plato calleth it Jupiter's Minion, and 
 le Athenians have built a Temple to Neptune and 
 'eres, becaufe even the fineft Cakes be unwhol- 
 -|>m and unpleafant if they be not feafoned with 
 alt; yet I hold it to be true, that fait Meats, in 
 lat they are fait, nourifh little or nothing, but 
 ither accidentally in procuring Appetite,ilrength- 
 ing the Stomach, and giving it a touch of extra- 
 rdinary Heat, as I will more perfe&ly prove when 
 treat of Sauces. . For fait Meats, efpecially if 
 ley be hot of Salt, ingender Choler, dry up na- 
 nal Moiftures, inflame Blood, flop the Veins, 
 ather together vifeous and crude Humours, 
 arden the Stone, make Sharpnefs of Urine, and 
 mfe Leannefs; I fpeak only of the accidental 
 alt wherewith we eat all Meats, and not of that 
 lborn Salt which is in all things. 
 
 Fat Meats. 
 
 Fattinefs is fenfibly found not only in Flefli 
 nd Fifh of every fort,but alfo in Olives, Cocoa’s, 
 almonds, Nuts, Piftachoes, and infinite Fruits 
 nd Herbs that give Nourifhment: yea, in Ser- 
 ents. Snails, Frogs, and Timber-worms it is to 
 e found; as tho’ Nature had implanted it in 
 very thing which is or may be eaten of Man- 
 ind. And verily as too much Fattinefs of Meats 
 lutteth the Stomach, decayeth Appetite, caufeth 
 lelchings, Loathings, Vomitings, and Scourings, 
 hoaketh the Pores, digefteth hardly, and nou- 
 ifheth fparingly j fo if it be too lean and dry on 
 
ii6 Health’j Improvement. 
 
 the contrary Side, (for a Mean is beft of all) it is 
 far worfe, and nourifheth the Body no more than 
 a Piece of unbutter’d Stock-fifh. 
 
 Unfavoury or TJnreliJhed Meats. 
 
 Flafhinefs or Infipidity ( which fome call a 
 maukifh or fenfelefs Tafte) tailing juft of nothing 
 as in Water, the White of an Egg, Melons, 
 Pompions, and Pears, Apples, Berries, and Plums 
 of no Relifh, is of no Tafte, but a Deprivation or 
 Want of all other Taftes befides} which be it 
 found in any thing that is dry, as in Spices* or in 
 things naturally moift, as in Fifh, Flefh, or 
 Fruit, it always argueth an ordinary Wcaknefs 
 in Nouriftiment, howfoever extraordinarily, (I 
 will not fay unnaturally) it may ftrongly nourifh 
 fome. Avian faith truly in his Canons , lib. 2. 
 
 uodfapit , nutrit j That which relijheth , nourijh- 
 eth : yet not fo, but that unfavoury things nourifh 
 likewife, tho’ not abundantly nor fpeedily : For 
 what is more unfavoury than frefh Water, where¬ 
 with many Fifties are only nourifhed ? What fo 
 void of Relifh as the White of an Egg ? Yet is 
 it to aguifh Perfons more nourifhing than the 
 Yolk: yea, and Stock-fifh will ingender as good 
 Humours in a rheumatic Perfon, as the beft Pig or 
 Veal that can be brought him. 
 
 t- 
 
 CHAP. 
 
Of M E A T S. 
 
 ii 7 
 
 C H A P„ VI. 
 
 Of M E A T S, 
 
 low they differ in Preparation , Age and Sex . 
 
 PHE Preparation of Meats is threefold ; one 
 before the killing or drefling of them, an¬ 
 ther in the killing or drefling, and the third after 
 oth. Of which Art ‘Timochides Rhodius wrote 
 [even Books in Verfe, and Numenius Heracletus 9 
 cholar to Dieuches that learned Phvftcian, and 
 *itaneus Parcdus , and Hegemon Phafius , compiled 
 lfo divers Treatifes of that Argument; which 
 ither the Teeth of Time, or Stomach of Envy 
 laving confumed, I muft write of this Argu- 
 nent according to mine own Knowledge and Col- 
 edlions. 
 
 Whether an Iron Ladle hinders Peafe and Rice 
 rom Teething ? Whether roaft Meat be beft, 
 md Deft tafted, larded, barded, fcorch’d or baft- 
 id? Beafts kill’d at one Blow are tendered and 
 moft wholefome? Why all Broth is beft hot, all 
 Drink beft cold ? Some Filh, Flefh, and Fruits, 
 never good but cold ; fome never good when they 
 are cold and yet we have all but one Inftrument 
 oi tailing ? 
 
 Of fatting of Meats. 
 
 Lean Meat, as it is unwholefom ', fo it feemed 
 alio unfavour) in ancien imes ; ;n fo much that 
 Quintus Curtius being Sewer at CafaP s Fable, 
 
 feeing 
 
 i 
 
n8 Health’.* Improvement. 
 
 feeing aDifh of lean Birds to be fet at the Tabl< 
 was not afraid to hurl them out at the Window 
 Alfo thePriefts of Ij'rael , yea, the Heathen Priefi 
 alfo of Rome and Egypt touched no lean Flefh 
 becaufe it is impeded till it be fat,and fitter to feec 
 Hawks and Vultures, than either to be eaten o 
 Men, or confumed in Sacrifice to holy Ufes 
 Hereupon came a Trial how to fatten Flefh an< 
 Fifh, yea, Snails and Tortoifes, as Macrobiu 
 writeth, by feeding them with filling and forcec 
 Meats ; carting not only Livers and Garbage int( 
 Fifh-ponds, but alfo their Slaves to feed thei; 
 Pikes, as did Vidius Pollio , and to make therr 
 more fat and fweet than ordinary. Hence alfi 
 came it that Swine were fattened with Whey anc 
 Figs, and that Servilius Rullus devifed how tc 
 make Brawn, and that the Egyptians invented the 
 fatting of Geefe, becaufe it was ever one Difh at 
 their King’s Table. 
 
 Amongft the Romans it was a Queftion who firrt 
 taught the Art of fattening Geefe, fome imputing 
 it to Scipio Metellus , others to Marcus Sejlius ; 
 but, without contradidion, Marcus Aujidius Lucro 
 taught firrt how to cram and fatten Peacocks, 
 gaining by it threefcore thoufand Serterces, which 
 amounteth to 3000000 /. of our Money. Cranes 
 and Swans were fatted in Rome with Ox-blooJ, 
 Milk, Oat-meal, Barley, Curds and Chalk, 
 mingled (to ufe Plutarch's Phrafe) into a mon- 
 firous Meat, wherewithal they were cram’d in 
 dark Places, or elfe their Eyes were ftitch’d up; 
 by which means their Flefh proved both tenderer, 
 fweeter, whiter, and alfo .(as it is fuppofed) far 
 wholefomer. Hens, Capons, Cockrels, and 
 T inches, were fattened by them of Delia , with 
 Bread ileep’d in Milk, and feeding in a dark and 
 
 .•••- . narrow 
 
 3 
 
Of M E A T S. 119 
 
 arrow Place, that want of Scope and Light might 
 aufe them to fleep and fit much, which of itfelf 
 rocureth Fatnefs. 
 
 In Vary o' s time Men did not only fatten Conies 
 1 Clappers, but alfo Hares, and made them, of 
 melancholic, a moft white and pleafant Meat, 
 ccording to that of Martial ; 
 
 Inter aves princeps pinguis (me judice) turdus , 
 
 Inter quadrupedes gloria prima lepus . 
 
 Amongft the feather’d Knights, fat Thrufhesdo 
 excel, 
 
 Amongft four-footed Squires, the Hare deferves 
 the Bell. 
 
 But here the Queftion may be moved, Whe- 
 ler this penning up of Birds, and want of Exer- 
 ife, and depriving them of Light, and cramming 
 lem fo often with ftrange Meat, makes not their 
 lefti unwholefome to us as well as fat ? To 
 diich I anfwer, that to cramm Capons, or any 
 iirds, and to deprive them of all Light, is ill for 
 lem and us too: For tho’ their Body be puffed 
 p, yet their Flefti is not natural and wholefome ; 
 ritnefs their fmall difcoloured and rotten Livers j 
 /hereasHens and Capons feeding themfelves in an 
 pen and clean Place with good Corn, have large, 
 uddy and firm Livers. So great is the Diverlity 
 etwixt a cramm’d, I may fay a ftrangled and cap- 
 ive Capon, and betwixt a Gentleman-Capon 
 ;eding h*mielf fat without Art. Wherefore the 
 'eft fattening of all Fowl, is, Firft, to feed them 
 vith good Meat; for like F'ood, like Flefti. 
 secondly , To give it them not continually, as 
 ■^rammers do, forcing one Gobbet after another, 
 
 till 
 
120 HealthV Improvement. 
 
 till they he fully gorg’d, but as often as they them 
 felves deiire it, that Nature be not urged abov< 
 her Strength j not in a Coop or clofe Room, fo 
 then the Air'and themfelves will fmell of thei : 
 own Dung, but in a clean Houfe fpacious enougl 
 for their little Exercife; not in a dark Place, o 
 Hitching up their Eyes, for that will caufe then 
 to be timorous, or ever fleepy ; both which an 
 Enemies to their Bodies, and confequently to ours 
 for every Man knows that Fear marreth Concoc¬ 
 tion, and Sleepinefs bereaving us of Exercife, anc 
 hindereth Digeftion. Yea, young Pidgeons, whilf 
 they are in the NeH, be they never fo fat, ar< 
 reckoned but an unwholfome Meat; but wher 
 they follow and fly a little after the Dam, ther 
 are they of great and good Nourifhment. The 
 like may be faid of the fatting of Beafls, for 
 they are not to be Hied or Hailed fo clofe that 
 they cannot Hir, but to have fufficient Room for 
 to walk in, as well as to feed in, that they may 
 be wholefome as well as fat, and not corrupt our 
 Bodies with their own Corruption: So likewife 
 Fifh kept in great Ponds where they may rove at 
 pleafure, are better than fuch as be mewed in a 
 narrow and fhallow Ditch ; which not only we 
 fliall find by inward Digeflion, but alfo by out¬ 
 ward tafling: yea, look what Difference there is 
 betwixt tame and wild Cunnies, betwixt Deer 
 fed by hand, and Deer fattening themfelves in the 
 Chafe and Copies; the like fhall you perceive be¬ 
 twixt forced Fatnefs, and Fatnefs acquired by na¬ 
 tural and gond Diet. 
 
 Another thing alfo is to be obferved before the 
 killing of any Beafl or Bird, namely, how to make 
 it tenderer if it be too old, and how to make it of 
 the beft Relifli. Patrocles affirmed, that a Lion 
 
 being 
 
Of M E A T S. J2l 
 
 being (hewed to a drong Bull three or four Hours 
 before he be killed, caufeth his Flefli to be as ten¬ 
 der as the Flefh of a Steer ; Fear diffolving his 
 harded Parts, and making his very Heart to become 
 pulpy. Perhaps upon the like Reafon we ufe to 
 bait our Bulls before we kill them ; for their Blood' 
 is otherwife fo hard, that none can diged it in the 
 Flefh; but afterwards it is fo far from being poi- 
 fonable, that it becometh tender and nourifhing 
 Food. Perhaps alfo for this Caufe old Cocks are 
 courfed with little Wands from one another, or 
 elfe forced to fight with their Betters before they 
 are killed. Perhaps alfo for thefe Caufes, fo much 
 filthy Dung is brought from common Ledals into 
 great Gardens, namely, to caufe Roots and Herbs 
 to be fatter and tenderer than they would be 5 
 which Intent I do not difallow, only I wi(h that 
 no other Soil were ufed than what proceeded from 
 the Earth, or from brute Beads. 
 
 Concerning the Manner of killing, it is divers 
 m divers Countries. The Grecians ftrangled 
 their Swine, and did eat them with their Blood. 
 The Remans thrud them through the Body witli 
 a Spit red hot, whereby Death enfuing without 
 cooling and voiding of Blood, the Flefh feemed 
 far more fweet and tender : But if a Sow were 
 ready to farrow, they trampled upon her Belly 
 bruifing her Pigs, and the Kernels of her Dues 
 with the Milk and Blood at once, eating them 
 for the mod delicate Meat, as fome delight in the 
 Bruife or Pudding of the Deer. 
 
 Plutarch alfo avoucheth, that Sheep kill’d by 
 Wolves, Birds by Hawks, Geefe by Foxes, 
 iaies or Deer by Greyhounds, eat much fweeter, 
 kindlier and tenderer than if they be killed hidden - 
 - b y ^>S ht or Violence. Yea, I have heard of 
 
122 H ealthV Improvement. 
 
 a Lady in England , that let a Score of Partridges 
 be brought unto her, fome killed by the Hawks, 
 others at the Foot of Dogs, others by Men', fhe 
 will difcern that which the Hawk killed at fowce 
 from all the reft, having tailed but one Morfel. 
 
 Furthermore as there is a Reafon of cutting 
 down Wood for Timber, namely in the prime 
 of the Moon, or about the laft Quarter, and a 
 fpecial good Seafon of moulding Bread, and lay¬ 
 ing of Leavens (this before the Full of the Moon, 
 that in the Full itfelf) fo there is like wife a Seafon 
 to kill Beafts, Birds and Fifties, and to eat the 
 Fruits of Gardens and Orchards: For Experience 
 teacheth, that Hens are beft in January ; Eggs 
 in February ; Lamb, Kid, Pidgeons and Veal in. 
 March ; Herbs in April ; Cockles in May j 
 Bucks and Salmon in June , July , and Augujl ; 
 Gurnards in September ; Oyfters in all Months in 
 whofe Name an R is found ; Pork, Bacon, and 
 Cabbage in frofty Weather, &c. 
 
 Nay further, ’tis to be confidered, whether a 
 Deer be ftruck ftone dead at a Blow, tho’ he be 
 in Seafon, or fuffered to die languiftiing upon his 
 Hurt; for his Skin, be it never fo well drefs’d, 
 will foon Ihed his Hair, and wax worm-eaten if 
 it languifh, whereas otherwife it will hardly cor¬ 
 rupt at all in a long Seafon : wherefore no other 
 Reafon can be given, than that by the one Way 
 natural Heat is inwardly reftrained, and by the 
 other Way of killing outwardly expired. So like- 
 wife there are Seafons for gathering of Fruit, 
 Herbs, Flowers, Seeds and Roots, which, who¬ 
 mever obferveth not carefully and diligently, he 
 may feeth Bones for Flefti, and, to fpeak more 
 properly, Stalks for Letticc. For all things have 
 their fcveral T imes, and there is a Seafon ioi each 
 
 Piupofe 
 
Of M E A T S. 123 
 
 Purpofe under Heaven; Eccl. viii. A time t%plant y 
 and a time to pluck up ; a tune to kill , and a time 
 to preferve. 
 
 The laft Preparation is after the killing of fen- 
 fible Creatures, or the gathering of fuch as are 
 only vegetable : all which Preparations are divided 
 into five principal Actions, garbelling, boiling 
 roafting, baking, and frying. Garbelling is & a 
 taking away of all things from any Creatures 
 which are accounted either hurtful or unneceflary ; 
 as the flaying of Beafts, pulling and Raiding of 
 Fowls, garbaging of all things that have Corrup¬ 
 tion in their Bellies, voiding of Piths, Cores, 
 Rinds, and Stones in Roots, Apples and Plums, 
 
 For albeit the firft Cooks were fo unfkilful, that 
 they roafted Oxen Skin and all; yet Reafon after 
 taught them to rejedl the Outwards, as they had 
 upon juft Caufe emptied the Inwards. 
 
 The other four Preparations are fo neceflary, 
 that all things in a manner are fubjedl to them. 
 What is raw Flefh till it be prepared, but an im- 
 perfeft Lump ? for it is neither the Beaft it was, 
 nor the Meat it Ihould be, till boiling, roafting, 
 baking, or broiling, hath made it fit to be eaten 
 af Men. Diocles being afked whether were the 
 Jeft Fifh, a Pike or a Conger ? That, faith he, 
 
 I ^ ^ be lodden ; "T his, if it be broil’d j but none 
 | setter than another if they were raw: only Oyfters 
 A all Fifh are good raw (yet he was no Coward 
 1 hat firft ventured on them) being called of Athe- 
 ! f us Prologue of F eaft ; becaufe ever, as we 
 ue them, they were eaten foremoft. Other Fifii 
 icing eaten raw, is harder of Digeftion than raw 
 eet ; for Diogenes died with eating of raw Fifh, 
 nnd JVobner (our Englijh Pandereus) digefting Iron, 
 Jiafs, and Oyfter-lheils, by eating a raw Eel 
 
124 Health^ Improvement. 
 
 was overmaftered. Nay, the Idbyopbagi them- 
 fclves feeding only on Fifh, do fir ft either road 
 them in the Sun, or prepare them with Fire be¬ 
 fore they eat them, having Stomachs far hotter 
 than ours, and confequently more proper to digeft 
 them. As for raw Flefh (befides Butchers, Cooks, 
 Poulterers, Slaughter-men, and Canibals) who 
 dare almoft touch it with their Fingers ? much 
 le(s dare any grind it with their Teeth ; no, not 
 that Egyptian who was Nero's Gourmand. 
 
 Now as Galen faith of Chefnuts, that being 
 roafted in Embers, they are fweet and drying, 
 being fodden in Broth they are fweet and moiften- 
 ing, being roafted with their Hulk they eat deli¬ 
 cately, being roafted without their Hulk they eat 
 rank and fourifh, being fodden without their Hufk 
 they prove unfavoury : fo may I fay of all other 
 Meats whatfoever, that according to the kind of 
 Preparation, they either keep, relinquifh or alter 
 their Property. If hereupon you afk me, what 
 Meats are beft boil’d, and what roafted ? I an- 
 fwer that flafhy Meats and naturally moift, fhould 
 be drefs’d with a dry Heat, (as in baking, broil¬ 
 ing, frying, and roaftjng) and Meats naturally 
 exceeding in Drynefs and Firmnefs fhould ever be 
 boiled. Temperate Meats may be ufed any way, 
 fo they be not abufed bv Mifcookery, which even 
 Diocles knew many Years ago, faying (as before 
 I noted out of Atbenaus) that a Pike is beft wher 
 he is boil’d, and a Conger when he is broil’d ; be- 
 caufe that is a firm and folid Fifb, this of a moift 
 foft, and Eely Subftance. But for as much as ij 
 my particular Difcourfes of feveral Meats, I pur 
 pofe to touch their beft preparing, I will furceaf 
 to fpeak any more generally of the drefling t 
 Meats, cither before they are bereaved of Lile, t 
 
Of MEAT S. 125 
 
 in or after their Death : only this I conclude, that 
 who feeth not a great D.fterence betwixt Meats 
 kill’d in Seafon, and out of Seafon, betwixt raw 
 Meat and parboil’d, betwixt fry’d Meats and 
 bak’d Meats, fpiced and unfpiced, Halt and frefh ; 
 betwixt Afparagus once wafh’d and twice wafh’d, 
 betwixt Cabbages once and twice fodden, Gfc. is 
 in my Judgment deprived of his Wits, or elfe 
 over-wedded to his Will. For who is ignorant 
 that Cabbages once fodden loofen the Belly, but 
 twice fodden (I mean in feveral Waters) procure 
 moft dangerous and great Coffivenefs ? Who 
 knoweth not (as Galen affirmeth) that Afparagus 
 often waflaed is a good Nourifhmcnt, but other- 
 wifc fo bitter that it wholly purgeth ? What Sto¬ 
 mach of any fuch Dulnefs, that being over-molft 
 it confefles not Amendment after theUfe of fpiced, 
 kilted, baked, and dry roafted Meats 5 and con- 
 trariwife complaineth of Hurt by frefh, liquid, 
 fodden and unfavoury Meats ? 
 
 The Difference of Meats in Age and Sex. 
 
 6. Laft of all, Adeats differ in Age and Sex ; 
 or the Flefh of Sucklings is moifteft, moft flip! 
 >ery, excremental and vifcous; the Flefhes of old 
 kafts are tough, lean, hard, dry and melancho- 
 iC : Wainlings lefs hard and dry than the one, 
 nd withal more firm, temperate, and nouriftiing 
 ban the other. But generally they are beft for 
 10ft Complexions, when they are almoft come 
 ? th f‘ r fall Growth both in Height, Length 
 nd Bignefs: for then as their Temper is beft* 
 
 > hkewife their Subftance is moft proportionable 
 
 > our natural Moifture, which is neither fo hard 
 
 . * 3 that 
 
,26 Health’* Improvement. 
 
 that it is unchangeable, nor fo thin and liquid 
 
 that it is over eafily diffolved. . 
 
 Concerning the Difference of Meats in hex, 
 the Males of Bealls, Fifh and Fowl, are more 
 if rone-, dry, and heavy of Digeftion, the females 
 tweeter, moifter, and eafier to be concoaedD 
 but yet Bealls, kerned Fowls, and barren r un, 
 are counted of a middle and better Nature than 
 them; as an Ox amongft Beads, a Capon among It 
 Birds, and a Pike wounded in the Belly can well 
 tcftify ; who therefore being unable to conceive 
 swain, fattens abundantly, as Experience daily 
 fhevveth in our London Fifh-ponds, and becometh 
 a mod delicate Meat. Now are we come to the 
 particular Natures of every Meat; and hr ft to 
 them which are called by the Name of r kin, 
 
 CHAP. VII. 
 
 i. How many forts of Flejh there he. 
 
 2 Whether Flejh or Fifh were firft eaten oj 
 ' end whether of them is the furefi and hej 
 iV our ; foment. 
 
 1 
 
 T will feem d range perhaps unto fome, th 
 we begin firft to treat of Fleih, which was oi 
 of the lad Foods appointed unto Mankind by 
 Voice of God. For (as before I touched) t 
 o Years after the Flood, we read of no h 
 or permitted to bef en .° Fmi, 
 
 Ivt^arfioce the Flood they ate f«bjea,tj 
 
Of M EATS. 127 
 
 whilft Mens Stomachs were fo ftrongand perfect, 
 that in a manner no Meat could overthrow them: 
 and verily were the Sun of fuch Power with us, as 
 it is in fouthern Countries towards the Equator, 
 to ripen our Fruits throughly, and to take them 
 as it^were upon the Tree ; no doubt, being freed 
 from their Crudities and fuperfluous Moifture, 
 they wou’d give as good Nourishment unto us, 
 and perhaps far better, than any Fiefh. But now 
 our Complexions waxing weaker, through Abun¬ 
 dance of Sin and Riot, and our Climate being un¬ 
 apt for wholefome and much nourifhing Fruits, 
 let us give God Thanks for fforing us with Fiefh 
 above all other Nations, making our Shambles the 
 Wonder of Europe , yea, verily, rather of the 
 whole World. Nov/ all the Fiefh we have is 
 taken either from Beafts, or Birds, or Things 
 creeping upon the Ground. 
 
 T'he Difference of Fiefh, 
 
 Of the firfF fort fome are tame; as the 
 
 Bull 
 
 He-Goat 
 
 Cow 
 
 She-G oat 
 
 Ox 
 
 Gelded Goat 
 
 Calf 
 
 Kid 
 
 Ram 
 
 Boar 
 
 Ewe 
 
 Sow 
 
 Weather 
 
 Hog 
 
 Lamb 
 
 Pig. 
 
 Others wild ; as 
 Venifon red and fallow Hares 
 Wild Boar Cunnies 
 
 Roe-bucks Hedgehogs and Squirreh 
 
 F 4 Amongft 
 
128 
 
 Health** Improvement 
 
 Amongft tame 
 unto us: 
 
 Birds, 
 
 thefe are moft familiar 
 
 Cock 
 
 
 Peacock 
 
 Hen 
 
 
 Goofe 
 
 Capon 
 
 
 Guiny Hens 
 
 Chicken 
 
 
 Duck, and 
 
 'i urkey 
 
 
 Pidgeon. 
 
 Amongft wild 
 
 Fowl, 
 
 fome keep and feed 
 
 chiefly upon the Land ; as 
 
 Buftard - 
 
 V 
 
 Jays 
 
 Crane 
 
 % 
 
 Wood-peckers 
 
 Heron {haws 
 
 
 Stone-chatters 
 
 Bitterns 
 
 
 Thrufhes 
 
 Stork 
 
 
 Mavis 
 
 Fbeafant 
 
 
 Pel fares. 
 
 Heath cock 
 
 
 Black-birds 
 
 Partridge 
 
 
 Stares 
 
 Plover 
 
 
 Quails, and all forts of 
 
 Lapwing 
 
 
 little Birds ; as 
 
 Cuckow 
 
 
 Sparrows 
 
 Pye 
 
 
 Larks 
 
 Crows 
 
 
 Bulfinches 
 
 Woodcocks 
 
 
 Goldfinches 
 
 Rails 
 
 
 Thiftlefinches 
 
 Red Shanks 
 
 
 Citronfinches 
 
 Gluts 
 
 
 Bramblings 
 
 Woodlnipes 
 
 
 Linnets 
 
 God wits 
 
 
 Nightingales 
 
 Smirings 
 
 
 Buntings 
 
 T urtles 
 
 
 Wagtails 
 
 Stock-doves 
 
 
 Robin-redbreafts 
 
 Rock-doves 
 
 
 Wrens 
 
 Pving-doves 
 
 
 Witrolls 
 
Of M E A T & 129 
 
 Sifkins Titmice 
 
 Oxeys Tidings 
 
 Creepers Swallow 5 and Martlets* 
 
 Others live in or 
 
 Swan 
 
 Bergander 
 
 Barnicle 
 
 Wild Geefe 
 
 Wild Duck 
 
 Teal 
 
 Widgin 
 
 Fly-duck 
 
 Shovelars 
 
 Cormorant 
 
 Curtues 
 
 Gulls 
 
 Black Gulls 
 
 upon the Water; as 
 
 % 
 
 Sea-mews 
 
 Coots 
 
 Water-rails 
 
 Sea-pies 
 
 Pufins 
 
 Plovers 
 
 Shell-drakes 
 
 Moor-cocks 
 
 Moor-hens 
 
 Dob-chicks 
 
 Water-crows 
 
 Kings-filhers 
 
 Water-fnipes. 
 
 Of creeping Things, I know none but the 
 Snail in our Country, which fome efteem not 
 only for a Meat, but alfo for a Meat very refto- 
 rative. And thus much of the kinds of Flefh. 
 
 Now let us come, for Recreation’s-fake, to 
 the Comparifon betwixt Fleih andFilh, which of 
 them is the more ancient,pure and wholefomeMeat 
 for Man’s Body ; whereat perhaps both Butchers 
 and Fifh-mongers will be much pleafed, and per¬ 
 haps no lefs offended : but I will write what I have 
 read, and leave the Determination to others that 
 can better judge. 
 
 V j Whttlitr 
 
130 Health’.? Improvement- 
 
 Whether Flefh or Fijh he the more ancient, 
 pure, and wholefome Meat. 
 
 The Carthufian Monks to the preferring of 
 Fifh before f lefh, ufe efpecially thefe Arguments: 
 hirft, I hat Chrift did feed moft upon it; for we 
 never read but once that he did eat Flefh ; but 
 that he did often eat Fifh is proved by many 
 Places, namely. Mat. xv. Lukev. 9. Markvi.8. 
 “John vi. Furthermore he reftrained by Name no- 
 kind of Fifh from the Jfra elites, but divers kinds 
 of Flefh; which fheweth that Fifh is the cleaner, 
 purer, and more holy Meat; for the Adlions of 
 Chrift fhould be our Inftrudtion, and his Works 
 our Imitation. Thus much faid Baldwin Arch- 
 bifhop of Canterbury , of whom Rainulphres writ- 
 eth this Story. When Baldwin was chofen Arch— 
 bifhop of Canterbury , he fwore, that from the 
 Time of his Inftalment to his Dying-day, he 
 would never eat Flefh ; whereby his Body was fo 
 decayed, that he fell into a Confumption. An 
 old Woman meeting him on the Way, as he 
 was carried in an open Horfe-litter,, called him 
 Xdar to his h ace : whereof being reproved by feme 
 of his Followers, Why, faid file, do you rebuke 
 me? Doth he not lie, for faying that he never ate 
 Flefh fince his Inftalment, when his Face fnew 
 eth that he furpafled the Savages in eating his own 
 Flefh? For indeed, by Fperftitious obferving of 
 his Vow, he became an Anatomy, and lived as a 
 Cypher amongft Men. 
 
 But to anfwer the Carihufians Arguments, I 
 fay this; That Chrift, in the Places of Scripture 
 pited before,afked his Difciples what Meat they had? 
 
 and 
 
Of MEATS. 131 
 
 and they anfwered, None but a few Loaves and a 
 few Fifties ; wherewith he fatisfied himfelt and his 
 Difciples, and above five thoufand Perfons at one 
 time : Neither is it to be doubted if they had had 
 Flefh, but he Would have fed the People with that: 
 for it was his Property, which every Man ought 
 to follow, to eat with Thankfgiving of that which 
 was fet before him, were it F lefti or Fifh ; as no 
 doubt he did at the Marriage in Cana, in Laza¬ 
 rus's Houfe, and the Houfe of Zaccheus , and at 
 the Feaft of the Pafiover, which albeit, for ought 
 we read, he did but once celebrate ; yet Reafon 
 and Religion teach us, that according to the Com¬ 
 mandment of God, he did every Year celebrate 
 it before, fince the time of his Childhood ; elfe 
 the Jews would have accufed him as a Tranfgref- 
 for of the Law, and by Juftice have cut him oft 
 from amongft the People: but as he fubmitted 
 himfelf to Circumcifion (being then one of the Sa¬ 
 craments of the Church) fo queftionlefs after the 
 Years of Difcrction, he did yearly eat of the Paf- 
 chal Lamb (for he came not to break any Law 
 given by Mofes , but to fulfil it) which cannot be 
 fewer than five or fix and twenty times at the 
 leaft. As for the other Argument taken from the 
 reftraining of certain Beafts and Birds by Name, 
 and that no Fifh by Name is there forbidden (fa- 
 ving Baldwin his Grace’s Reverence) it is a Lie : 
 For when God generally forbiddeth the Ifraehtes 
 to eat of any Fifh that wanteth either Fins (as the 
 Poulp, Periwinkles, Lobfters and Crabs) or Scales, 
 (as the Eel, Lamprey, Plaife, B urbot and Con¬ 
 ger, &c. ) doth he not exprefly forbid them to cat 
 of Poulps, Periwinkles, Lobfters, Crabs, Eels, 
 Lampreys, Plaife, Turbot, and Conger, and a 
 hundred Fi(h more wanting either Scales or F ins ? 
 
 F 6 Fifh 
 
132 Health’.? Improvement. 
 
 Fifli is therefore no purer Meat than Flefh, neither 
 can a Carthufian eat a Sole (being a Meat for¬ 
 bidden the Ifrae/ites) with a founder Conlcience 
 than a piece of Beef or Swine’s Flefh. 
 
 Finally, where he faith that the Aifions of 
 Chrift fhould be our Inftrucftion, and his Works 
 our Imitation ; Why do not thofe fifhy Friars eat 
 Flefh every Monday , and Thurfday , fince Chrift 
 himfelf did fo, whom we ought to imitate ? But 
 let thefe alone to the Conformity of their Church’s 
 Injunction, remembering alfo, with St. Paul , to 
 abftain from no Meats which God hath created 
 for our Life and Health. 
 
 It is recorded by St. Jercm in his Epifiles, that 
 Seneca, upon a foolifh Conceit, abftained fo long, 
 from Flefh, and fed only upon Fruit and Fifh, 
 (infected perhaps with the Leaven of the Egyp¬ 
 tian Priefts) that when upon Nero* s Command¬ 
 ment he was to bleed to Death, there did not 
 f'pring from him a Drop of Blood. The like is. 
 written of St. Genouefe, the holy Maid of Paris , 
 who, like the Egyptian Prophetefs, abftained 
 wholly from Flefh, becaufe it is the Mother of 
 Luft : file would eat no Milk, becaufe it is white- 
 .Blood ; file would eat no Eggs, becaufe they are 
 nothing but liquid Flefh : Thus pining and con- 
 Lming her Body, both againft .Nature and God- 
 iinefs, file lived in a foolifn Error, thinking Flefh 
 more ready to inflame Luft than Fruit or Fifh, the 
 contrary whereof is proved by the Iflanders, 
 Greenlanders, Orites, and other Nations; who 
 feeding upon nothing but Fifh (for no Beaft nor 
 Fruit can live there for cold) yea, having no. 
 other Bread than is made of dried Stock-fifh grind¬ 
 ed into Powder, are neverthelefs both exceeding 
 jecherous, and alfo their Women very fruitful. 
 
Of MEATS. i 33 
 
 Yea, Venus, the Mother of Luft and Lechery is 
 faid to have fprung from the Foam of Fifh, and 
 to have been born in the Sea, becaufe nothing is 
 more available to ingender Luft, than the eating 
 of certain Fifties and Sea-plants, which I had ra¬ 
 ther in this lafcivious Age to conceal from Pofte- 
 rity, than to fpecify them unto my Countrymen, 
 as the Grecians and Arabians have done to theirs. 
 What Nation more lafcivious than the fenny Egyp- 
 (ians and the Pceonians ? yet their Meat was only 
 Fifh; yea, they fed their Horfes with them, as 
 Herodotus writeth. Alfo in the Ifle of Rhodes , 
 the Mother-feat of a ftrong and warlike Nation, 
 the People heretofore fed chiefly of Fifh, abftain- 
 ing with fuch a kind of Deteftation from Flefh, 
 that they called the Eaters of it Savages and Bellies. 
 And verily if a ftrong, lufty and warlike Nation 
 Fprang from the Eaters of Fifh alone, why fhould 
 we deny that Fifh is as much provoking to Ve- 
 uery, as any Flefh. So then, I having fully 
 proved that Flefh is as lawful, as pure,°and as 
 toly a Meat as Fifh; now let us try which of 
 them is the more ancient and better Nourifti- 
 nent. 
 
 Did we but mark, faith Plutarch , the greafy 
 Foulnefs of Butchers, the bloody Fingers of Cooks, 
 md the Smell of every Beaft’s Puddings and Of- 
 al; we muft needs confefs that every thing was 
 - aten before Flefh, which even (till we naturally 
 ibhor to fee whilft it is in killing, and few touch 
 without loathing when it is killed. The Indian 
 3 hilofophers, called Brachmans , being at length 
 nduced to feed upon living Creatures, killed Fifh 
 or their Suftenance, but abftained from Flefh,. 
 ^nd tho’ the Babylonians delighted much, after 
 
 Nimrod’s 
 
134 Health** Improvement. 
 
 Ninrod' s Example, in hunting and killing of wild 
 Bealls; yet, [asHerodotus reporteth) they abftain- 
 ed from Flelh, and lived wholly upon Fruit and 
 Filh. 
 
 For Anlwer of which Obje&ions, I oppofe to 
 the Babylonians , Abraham and the holy Scriptures; 
 which making; mention of a Calf drefs’d and eaten 
 in Abraham's Houfe, before ever any mention is 
 made of eating of Filh ; it is very probable that 
 Flelh was foremoll, after the’ general Permilliorr 
 to eat both. To the Indian Sophillers I oppofe 
 Pythagoras and his Scholars, who being perfuaded 
 at length to eat of certain Bealls and Birds, utter¬ 
 ly yet abftained from eating of Filh, perhaps 
 upon thefe Caufes: Firll, Becaufe it is a cruel and 
 unmanlike thing, to kill thofe Creatures which 
 cannot poflibly hurt the Inhabitants of the Earth. 
 Secondly, What Neceflity is there to ufe them, 
 Nature having replenilhed the Earth with Fruit, 
 Herbs, Grain, Bealls alfo, and Birds of all forts ? 
 Thirdly, Had Filh been eaten firll, no doubt it 
 had been firll eaten of the Iflanders and Sea-bor¬ 
 derers ; but neither the Inhabitants of the Helle - 
 j'pont , nor the Wanders- of Pbaacum , nor the 
 Wooers of Penelope , bringing all manner of Dain¬ 
 ties to their Fealls, are ever read in Homer tc 
 have brougnt or eaten Filh: no, nor bJlyJfes his 
 Companions are recorded to have made their 
 Sea-provifion of Filh, but of Flelh, Fruit, Salt, 
 and Meal; neither ufed they any Hook to catch 
 Filh withal, till they were almoll familhed foi 
 want of Vi£lua!s, as you may read at large ir 
 Homer his XJhJfes y which is a manifell Argument 
 that Filh was not ufed, or at leal! not eaten of ; 
 till Men were unfurnilhed of other Meats. 
 
 La* 
 
Of MEATS. J 35 
 
 Laft of all, whereas Plutarch obje&eth how 
 loathfome a thing it is to fee Butchers and Cooks 
 fprinkled with Blood in killing and dreffing Flefh : 
 I anfwer him. That the Sight is not fo loathfome 
 to Nature, but to Nicenefs and Conceit: For 
 what God permits to be eaten, Nature permits to 
 drefs and kill; neither rebelleth (he more at the 
 Death of an Ox, than at the cutting down of 
 Hay or Corn. Nay furthermore, fince all was 
 made for Man’s Ufe, and Man for God, fhe giv- 
 ath us Liberty to kill all things that may make for 
 the Maintenance of our Life, or Prefervation and 
 reftoring of our Health. Hippocrates mod wittily 
 having (hewed, that fome Men are deceitful by 
 Nature, and that therefore Nature taught them 
 the Art of making Dice (the Inftruments of De¬ 
 ceit) he fheweth confequently, that becaufe Na¬ 
 ture is provident for Men’s Health, therefore fhe 
 hath hkewife invented the Arts of building,plaifter- 
 ing, weaving and Tillage: wherefore, to imitate 
 and urge Hippocrates ’s Argument, if Nature has 
 provided Flefh and Fifh (that a fubftantial, this a 
 more light Nourifhment for our Bodies) how 
 r queamifh foever we are to fee them killed, yet it 
 is no unnatural thing to fee it, no not to do it 
 ourfelves. 
 
 Concerning the laft Queftion, Whether Flefh 
 or Fifh be the better Nourifhment ? I cannot 
 rnfwer better than as Galen did, being afked the 
 ike Queftion of Wine and Water : For as Wine 
 s beft for one Man, and Water for another j fo 
 ;ikewife Flefh is moft nourifhing to fome Confli- 
 utions, and F'ifh to others. Timothy was young,, 
 put yet fickly and weak ftomached, his Youth re¬ 
 quired W ater, but his S ckr.efs Wine ; wherefore 
 l J aul, like a good Phyilcian, advifed him to drink 
 
 no 
 
136 Health’/ Improvement. 
 
 no longer Water, but a little Wine for his Sto- 
 mach’s-fake, and his often Infirmities. So like- 
 wife Severus the Emperor being fick at York of a 
 hot Gout, his Phyficians forbad him all Flefh* 
 efpecially of the ftronger fort; but he refufing their 
 Counfel, nourifhed his Difeafe with forbidden 
 Meats, and foon died. Contrariwife Seneca was 
 forbidden by Serenus the Phyfician to eat any more 
 of Fifh, being too too waterifh a Nourifhment 
 for his weak Body; which whilfl he refufed to do, 
 and forbore to eat Flefh, his Blood was all turned 
 to a gellied Water. So then in refpedf of parti¬ 
 cular Perfons, neither Flefh nor Fifh be of better 
 Nourifhment, but both alike; yet generally Flefh 
 ingendereth the better, purer, and more perfect 
 Blood, as the very Colour and Face of Men which 
 ufe either of them apart doth perfe&ly declare; 
 and confequently for found Men, it is and ought 
 to be accounted the beft Sultenance. 
 
 CHAP. VIII. 
 
 1. Of the Flejh of tame Beajis. 
 
 VEAL. 
 
 ALVES Flefh is of a temperate Conftitution, 
 ^ agreeing with all Ages, Times, and Tempe¬ 
 ratures. C Ives are either Sucklings or Wain- 
 lings : The firft are of eafier Digeftion, making 
 good Blood, and driving Choler from the Heart; 
 fo likewife are the Wainlings, but fomewhat 
 ' harder; either of them agree with hot and dry 
 
 Perfons, 
 
 J 
 
Of MEATS. 137 
 
 3 erfons, howfoever they are drefs’d ; but to flaggy 
 md moift Stomachs, Veal is unwholefome unlefs 
 t be dry roafted ; for roafted Meats give dry 
 STourifhment, and boil’d Meats moift, as Galen 
 writeth. 
 
 The Italians are fo in love with Veal, that they 
 rail Veal Vitellam , that is to fay, their little Life ; 
 is tho’ it gave not only Nouriftimcnt, but alfo 
 Life to their dry Bodies: which albeit I confefs to 
 be true, by reafon neither their Calves Flefh, nor 
 :heir own Bodies, be fo moift as ours; yet in our 
 Country it falls out otherwife, through abundance 
 of Moifture ; fo that howfoever found Bodies do 
 well digeft it, yet languifhing and weak Stomachs 
 find it too flimy, and can hardly overcome it: 
 Did we not kill them fo foon as commonly we 
 do, namelv, before they be fully a Month old, 
 they would give the more found and wholefome 
 Nourifhment; for till they be five or fix Weeks 
 old their Flefh is but a gelly hardened ; afterwards 
 it is firm Flefh, void of fuperfluous Moifture, and 
 moft temperate of Conftitution. Likewife in the 
 Choice of Veal, the Bull Calf is thought the 
 fweeter and better Flefh ; whereas in all other 
 Beafts, for the moft part, the Female is pre¬ 
 ferred. 
 
 BEEF. 
 
 Ox Beef, the older it is after his full Growth, 
 the worfe it is, ingendering, as Galen dreamed of 
 all Beef, Quartan Agues, Leprofies, Scabs, Can¬ 
 kers, Dropfies, Stoppings of the Spleen and Li¬ 
 ver, Gfc. but whilft it is young, or growing for¬ 
 wards in Flefh and Fatnefs, it is of all Meats by 
 Nature, Complexion and Cuftom, moft nourifh- 
 
138 Health’/ Improvement. 
 
 ing unto Englijh Bodies, which may eafily appeal* 
 in the Difference of their Strength, and clean 
 making, which feed chiefly upon it, and betwixt 
 them that are accuftomed to finer Meats. Chufe 
 we therefore the youngeft, fatteft, and beft grown 
 Ox, having a while firft been exerciled in Wain; 
 or Plough to difpel his foggy Moifture, and I dare 
 undertake, that for found Men, and thofe that| 
 labour or ufe Exercife, there is not a better Meatf 
 under the Sun for an Eaglijhman ; fo that it bes 
 alfo corned with Salt before it be roafted, or well 
 and fufficiently poudered before it be fodden ; foil 
 fo is it cleanfed from much Impurity, and made 
 alfo more favoury to the Stomach ; but if it be 
 over-falted, poudered, or dried, as commonly it 
 happeneth in Ship Provifion and rich Farmers 
 Houfes, that keep Beef a whole twelve-month 
 till they eat it, it is tough, hard, heavy, and of 
 ill Nourifhment, requiring rather the Stomach of 
 another Hercules , who is (aid to have fed chiefly 
 of Bulls Flefh, than of any ordinary and common 
 Plowman. Wherefore howfoever we may tafte 
 of it to bring on Appetite, let it be but a touch 
 and go; for being eaten much and often, it will 
 heat and corrupt our Blood, dry up our Bodies, 
 choke the meferaical Veins, and bring forth many 
 dangerous inward and outward Griefs. 
 
 The Romans , when they firft ventured to drefs 
 an Ox, (fearing belike what Event might follow 
 the eating of an unknown Meat) roafted the Ox 
 all at once, and fluffed his Belly with all forts of 
 fvveet Herbs, and good Flefh that the Seafon 
 yielded, making no fmall Pudding in his Belly, 
 which the People called Equusn Erojanum , the 
 *2 rojan Horfe ; becaufe it contained no fewer 
 kinds of Meats than that did Soldiers; but had 
 
 they 
 
Of MEATS. 139 
 
 they known the wholefomnefs of the Meat, and 
 our manner of dreffing, they needed not to have 
 mingled fo many Antidotes, and to have corrupted 
 rather than corredled fo good a Nourifhment. 
 
 COW BEEF. 
 
 Cow Beef is fuppofed by the Ir'tjb People, and 
 alfo by the Normans in France , to be beft of all y 
 neither do they account fo much of Oxen, either 
 becaufe they think them unperfedf Creatures, or 
 rather (as I take it) becaufe they know not how 
 to ufe and diet them in the gelding. But were 
 they as fkilrul in that Point, as alfo in the kill¬ 
 ing and dreffing of Oxen, as was Prometheus^ 
 no doubt they would make higher Eftimation ot 
 one Ox than of all the fat Cows in Ceres 's Stall. 
 
 Nevertheless I deny not, yea I affirm, with 
 Galen , that a fat and- young Heifer, kept up a 
 while with dry Meat, will prove a convenient, 
 temperate and good Nouriflrment, efpecially if it 
 be killed after the French Fafhion, as I faw the 
 Norman Butchers kill them in our Camp, whilft 
 I lay there in Camp with that Flower of Chivalry 
 the Earl of EJfex. When the Cow is ftruck down 
 with the Ax, prefently they lay her upon her 
 Back, and make a Hole about the Navel as bigas 
 to receive a Swan’s Quill, through which the 
 Butcher blows Wind fo long, till the whole Skin 
 fwell round about like a Bladder, in fuch fort that 
 the Beaft feems of a double Bignefs ; then whilft 
 one holdeth the Quill clofe and bloweth conti¬ 
 nually, two or three others beat the Cow as hard 
 as they can with Cudgels round about; which 
 beating never bruifeth the Flefh (for Wind is ever 
 betwixt it and the Skin) but maketh both the 
 
 Hide 
 
14 ° Health 9 s Improvement. 
 
 Hide to prove better Leather, and the Flefh *to 
 eat better and tenderer than otherwife it would. 
 
 BULL BEEF. 
 
 Bull Beef, unlefs it be very young, is utterly 
 unwholefome and hard of Digeftion, yea, almoft 
 .invincible. Of how hard and binding a Nature 
 Lulls Blood is, may appear by the Place where 
 they are killed ; for it glazeth the Ground, and 
 maketh it of a ftony Hardnefs. To prevent 
 which Mifchief, either Bulls in o|d time were torn 
 by Lions, or hunted by Men, or baited to death 
 by Dogs, as we ufe them ; to the Intent that vio¬ 
 lent Heat and Motion might attenuate their Blood, 
 refolve their Hardnefs, and make their Flefh fofter 
 in Digeftion. Bulls Flefh being thus prepared, 
 ftrong Stomachs may receive fome Good thereby, 
 tho to weak, yea, to temperate Stomachs it will 
 prove hurtful. 
 
 L A M B’s FLESH. 
 
 Galeriy Halyabbas , and Ifaac, condemn Lamb’s 
 Flefh for an over phlegmatic and moift Meat ; 
 breeding ill Nourifhment, and through exceffive 
 ^Vatterifhnefs flipping out of the Stomach before 
 it be half concodbed : in cold Stomachs it turns all 
 to Slime, in a hot Stomach it corrupts into Cho- 
 lerj in aged Perfons it turns to Froth and Phlegm ; 
 in a young Perfon, and temperate, it turns to no 
 wholefome Nourifhment, becaufe it is of fo flafhy 
 and moift a Nature : all which I confefs to be true 
 in fucking Lambs, who the nearer they are killed 
 to their Birth-day the worfe they are ; but when 
 they are once weaned, and have fed half a Year 
 
 upon 
 
Of MEATS. ,41 
 
 pon fhort and tender Grafs, I think that of all 
 >ther Flefh it is fimply the beft, as I will prove 
 •y divine and human Reafon : For as in the New 
 feftament, the Lord’s Supper materially confift- 
 th of two fuch things, as there cannot be any 
 3rink or Meat devifed more comfortable nor 
 nore (Lengthening to the Nature of Man, name- 
 y, Bread and Wine; fo likewife the blell'ed Sa~ 
 :rament of the Old Teftament could not conve- 
 liently be fo well exprefted as in the eating of 
 hat which was the pureft, moft temperate, and 
 noft nourifhing of all Meats: And what Flefh is 
 hat 1 pray you ? Veal, Pig, or Goats Flefh ? or 
 he Hefh of wild Beads ? or the Flefh of Birds ? 
 * 0 , but the Flefh of a found weaned Lamb of a 
 X ear old, whofe Flefh is neither too cold and 
 noifl, as is a Suckling’s; nor too dry, and hot, 
 is when it hath Strength to know the Ewe ; but 
 a mod temperate Conftitution, fitted; to res¬ 
 emble the thing fignified, who is of all other 
 )ur beft Nourifhment. 
 
 Pbilochorus is recorded to have made a Law 
 hat tire Athenians fhould eat no more Lambs 
 Flefh; not becaufe they thought it too tender a 
 Meat for Mens Stomachs, as fome foolifhly have 
 conceived, but becaufe the People found it fo 
 tfholefome, pleafant and nourifhing, that every 
 Man defiled it above all Meats ; in fuch fort, that 
 iad not the eating of them been reftrained by a 
 evere Law, the whole Race of Sheep would have 
 decayed amongft them. Upon the like Reafon 
 Valent die Emperor made a Law, that no Veal 
 Ihould be eaten; which was counted in old time 
 a princely Meat (for always it was one Difli at 
 the King’s Table in Egypt , tho’ they never had 
 but two) howfoever, through God’s fingular 
 
 Bleffing, 
 
14.2 Health’j Improvement. 
 
 Bleflmg, it is an ordinary Meat among# us ii 
 mean Houfholds. 
 
 The be# way to prepare Lamb’s Flelh is fuf- 
 ficient roafting, for boiling makes it too flalhj 
 and phlegmatic, and by over-roafting the Sweet- 
 nefs thereof is foon dried up. Yea, all Muttor 
 (contrary to the Nature of Pork, Pig, and Veal' 
 (hould rather be too raw than too much roafted : 
 according as the Frenchmen find by Experience, 
 who flalh and cut a Giggot of Mutton upon the 
 Spit, and with the bloody Juice thereof (temperec 
 with Crumbs of Bread and a little Salt) recovei 
 weak Stomachs andPerfonsconfumed. Wherefore 
 howfoever fome naturally abhor it (as my honefl 
 Friend Signior Romano) and ftrong Stomachs prove 
 better with harder Meat; yet without all Queftion. 
 a Lamb chofen and drefs’d in manner aforefaid, ijj 
 for moll Men a very temperate, nourilhing and 
 wholefome Meat, agreeing with all Ages, Times, 
 Regions and Complexions. 
 
 Arnoldus Freitagius , in his natural Hillory, 
 faith, that the hinder Quarters of a Lamb being 
 drawn with Rofemary and Garlic firfl lleept in 
 Milk, and moderately roafted at the Fire, is a 
 Meat moft acceptable to the Tafte, and alfo pro¬ 
 fitable to moift Stomachs, for which it is elfe 
 commonly thought to be hurtful. Alfo he afiur- 
 eth, that Lamb’s Flefh, being well beaten with 
 a Cudgel before it is roafted, eateth much better, 
 and is far wholefomer; which I leave to be judg¬ 
 ed by the Cook’s Experience. 
 
 MUTTON 
 
[ 
 
 Of MEATS. 
 
 MUTTON. 
 
 m 
 
 Mutton is fo generally commended of all Phy- 
 :ians, if it be not too old, that it is forbidden to 
 ) Perfons, be they Pick or found. The beft 
 utton is not above four Years old, or rather 
 it much above three ; that which is taken from 
 fliort, hilly, and dry feeding, is more fweet, 
 3rt and wholefome, than that which is either 
 1 in rank Grounds, or with Peafe-ftraw (as we 
 rceive by the Tafte) great, fat, and rank fed 
 eep, fuch as Somerfetjhire and Lincolnjhire fend- 
 1 up to London , are nothing fo fhort and plea- 
 lt in eating as the -Norfolk, IViltJhire , and Welch 
 utton ; which being very young, are beft roaft- 
 ; the elder fort are not fo ill being fodden with 
 iglofs, Borrage, and Parfley Roots. 
 
 Now if fome Ihall here objedf, that gelding 
 3 fpading be unnatural Adtions, and that Eu- 
 chs are fubjedt to more Difeafes than perfedt 
 en ; inferring thereupon a Reafon or Likeli- 
 3d, that the like may be alfo in all gelded Ware, 
 ;d confcquently in Muttons) contrary to that 
 ich Galen hath affirmed ; I will deny all their 
 Titions upon good Grounds: For even Nature 
 h deprived fome things of that which Gelders 
 away ; and that Eunuchs are freed from many 
 cafes (as Gouts, Baldnels, Leprofies) where- 
 o other Men are fubjedt, Experience in all 
 es truly avoucheth. Laft of all, it is generally 
 ifefled of all fkilful Shepherds, and namely by 
 7r ‘ es Steven and John Liebaultf that Ewes and 
 ms are iubjedf to far more Maladies than Mut- 
 ' s , requiring greater Coft, Care, Skill and 
 evidence, to maintain them in Plealth. 
 
 R A M’s 
 
144 Health^ Improvement. 
 
 RAM’* FLESH and EWE’; FLESH. 
 
 As for Ram’s Flefh and Ewe’s Flefh (that b< 
 ing too hot and dry, this too excremental an 
 foon corrupted) I commend neither of them, efpo 
 daily in this Country of ours, where there i 
 God be thanked, fuch Choice of wholeforr 
 Weathers. 
 
 KID and GOAT. 
 
 As Lamb’s Flefh is lighter and moifter thr 
 other Mutton, fo is Kid more light and moi 
 than Goat’s Flefh ; becaufe, as Hippoc7'ates re 
 foneth, it is lefs bloody, and the Blood which 
 hath is very moift, liquid, and fine. The blat 
 and red Kids are better than the white; and t! 
 younger they are (fo they be above a Forthnig 
 old) the more wholefome and nourifhing they a 
 efteemed. Their Flefh is foon and quickly c 
 gefted, of excellent Nourifhment, and reftorati 
 after a great Sicknefs; efpecially for young Perfo 
 and hot Stomachs, but naught for them which a 
 old and phlegmatic. It is better roafted th; 
 fodden, and the hinder parts are to be preferr 
 becaufe they are drier and lefs excremental. Th 
 are temperately hot and moift, whilft they a 
 under fix Weeks Age; for afterwards they grc 
 to fuch Heat and Lafcivioufnefs, that, before th 
 are wained, they will after they have fuckt, cov 
 their own Dam; after they are once waine 
 their Flefh may be fit for ftrong labouring Me 
 which would not fo well brook a tender Sucklin' 
 but for the moft part of Men it is unwholefor 
 and of bad Juice. 
 
 T 
 
Of MEAT S. , 45 
 
 The old He-Goat is fuitable to an old Ram, 
 fave that it is more tough, hard, and unpleafant; 
 his Flefh is not to be eaten, till he hath been 
 baited like a Bull to death ; and when he is dead, 
 you muft beat the FJefli in the Skin, after the 
 French Fafhion of beating a Cow. 
 
 The She-Goat being young, is lefs hurtful; 
 but an old She-Goat is worfe, and of a more (harp 
 and corrupt Juice; rather provoking Venery and 
 Sharpnefs of Seed (as alfo the Male doth) than 
 nouriihing the Body. 
 
 A gelded Goat was unknown to ancient Phyfi- 
 cians, but queftionlefs it is the beft next to a fuck¬ 
 ing Kid ; for it is more moift through abundance 
 of Fat, and alfo of more temperate Heat, becaufe 
 it wanteth Stones, in which I certainly believe a 
 more violent Heat to be placed than in any part 
 befide : yea, whereas the Liver draweth only from 
 the Stomach and Guts by the meferaical Veins, 
 and the Heart only from the Lungs and Liver, 
 and the Brain from all three ; the Stones have a 
 Heat which draweth Seed from the whole Body, 
 yea, from the Bones and GrifUes, as Hippocrates 
 writeth, and Reafon colledfeth. 
 
 Furthermore the tolerable Smell which a gelded 
 Goat hath, ftieweth that his Flefh is far fweeter ; 
 but He-Goats and She-Goats are fo rank, that a 
 \ encer of Thebes feeding much of them, no Man 
 could endure his Sweat. Alfo the chief Prieft of 
 Rome did never fo much as touch them, faith Plu- 
 tarch , becaufe they are fubjed.1 to the Falling- 
 Sicknefs ; letcherous in Life, and odious in Smell. 
 
 \ , 
 
 P I 
 
 
 G 
 
i/j.6 HealthV Improvement. 
 
 PIG, SOW, BOAR, and HOG. 
 
 Pig’s Flefh, by a long and bad Cuflom, is fo 
 generally defired and commended, that it is cre¬ 
 dibly, tho’ falfly, efteemed for a nourifhing and 
 excellent good Meat: Indeed it is fweet, lufcious, 
 and pleafant to Wantons, and earneftly defired 
 of diftempered Stomachs ; but it is the Mother of 
 many Mifchiefs, and was the Bane of mine own 
 Mother. A fucking Pig’s Flefh is the moifteft 
 Flefh fimply of all other, ingendering Crudities, 
 Palfies, Agues, Gouts, Apoplexies, and the Stone, 
 weakening the Memory (for it is moift in the 
 third Degree, procuring Fluxes of the Belly, and 
 ingendering mod vifcous, flafhy and corrupt Hu¬ 
 mours. Their Flefh is hardly digefted of a weak 
 Stomach, and their Leather Coat not eafily of a 
 ftrong. The younger they are, the worfe they 
 are; yet fome venture upon them, yea, covet 
 them, e’er they be eight Days old : yea, the Ro¬ 
 mans Delicacy was fuch, that they thought them 
 dainty Meat, being taken Blood and all out of 
 the Sow’s Belly e’er file was ready to farrow, eat¬ 
 ing them, after a little bruifing in the Blood, no 
 lefs greedily than fome do the Pudding of a bruifed 
 Deer. We do well in roafting our Pigs at a 
 blazing Fire, fprinkling them with Salt on the 
 Outfide ; but if we ftuft their Bellies with a good 
 deal of Salt as well as Sage, and did eat them with 
 new Sage, Vinegar and Salt, they would be lefs 
 offenfive. 
 
 The Danes , I remember, when I was at Elfe - 
 more , draw them with Garlic, as the Frenchmen 
 do with Lard, which is no ill Corrector of their 
 
 Sliminefs 
 
Of MEATS. 147 
 
 Sliminefs and vifcous Humour. The Boar Pig is 
 not preferred before the Sow Pig, becaufe it is 
 ftrong and rank. 
 
 Boar’s Flefh, I mean of the tame Boar, is ne¬ 
 ver good but when it is brawn’d ; which though 
 Pliny avoucheth to be firft invented by Servillus 
 Rullus , yet by Plautus it feemeth to be a more 
 ancient Meat. 
 
 The beft Way of brawning a Boar is this of all 
 other, which I learned firft of Sir Thomas George, 
 and faw pra&ifed afterwards to good purpofe. 
 Shut up a young Boar, of a Year and a half old, 
 in a little Room in Harveft-time, feeding him with 
 nothing but fweet Whey, and giving him every 
 Morning clean Straw to lie upon, but lay it not 
 thick j fo before Chrijltnas he will be fufficiently 
 brawned with continual lying, and prove exceed¬ 
 ingly fat, wholefome and fweet: As for the com¬ 
 mon Way of brawning Boars, by ftying them up 
 in fo clofe a Room that they cannot turn them- 
 felves round about, and whereby they are forced 
 always to lie on their Bellies, it is not worthy of 
 Imitation ; for they feed in Pain, lie in Pain, and 
 fleep in Pain; neither fhall you ever find their 
 Fleih fo red, their Fat fo white, nor their Liver 
 fo found, as being brawned other wife accordingly, 
 as is before rehearfed. After he is brawned for 
 I your turn, thruft a Knife into one of his Flanks, 
 and let him run with it till he die : others gently 
 bait him with muzzled Dogs. The Roman Cooks 
 thruft a hot Iron into his Side, and then run him 
 to death, thinking thereby that his Flefh waxed 
 tenderer and his Brawn firmer. 
 
 Sow’s Flefh is reckoned of Ifaac , de diat. par~ 
 tic. to ingender good Blood, to nourifh plentifully, 
 yea, to be reftorative if it be young. But an old 
 
 G 2 Sow 
 
148 Health’* Improvement. 
 
 Sow breedeth ill Juice, is hardly concocted, and 
 begetteth moft vifcous Humours. The Heliopo- 
 litans abftained from Sow’s Flelh of all others; 
 Firft, Becaufe, contrary to the Nature and Courfe 
 of all other Beafts, {he admits the Boar not in the 
 Full, but in the Wain of the Moon. Secondly, 
 they demand, How can her Flefh be wholefome, 
 whofe Milk being drunk, filleth our Bodies full of 
 Leprofy, Scurf, Tetters and Scabs? Yea, a 
 Sow is one of the moft filthy 1 Creatures in the 
 World ; her Belly is never void of Scurf, her 
 Throat of kernelly Apoftems, her Brain fo heavy 
 and moift that (he cannot look up to Heaven ; or 
 rather {he dare not, being the Rooter up, and fo 
 bad an Inhabitant of the Earth. Neverthelefs I 
 am of Ifaac’s mind, that a young Sow kept long 
 from the Boar, fweetly dieted with Roots, Corn, 
 and Whey, and kept from filthy feeding and wal¬ 
 lowing, may be made gpod and tolerable Meat 
 for ftrong Stomachs, after it hath been powdered 
 and well roafted. 
 
 , '1 
 
 PORK and BACON. 
 
 Now concerning Pork and Hog’s Flefti made of 
 a fpaded Sow, or a Hog gelded, verily let us fay 
 thereof, as ’Tbeon {aid of all forts of Swine, if it be 
 not good for Meat, wherefore is it good ? His 
 Cry is moft odious and harfh, his Smell loathfome, 
 his very Shape detefted : at home he is ravening, 
 in the Field rooting, and every where filthy, foul, 
 unhappy, and unprofitable. All which Hurts he 
 recompenceth in this only one, that of all other 
 Beafts, if Galen be not deceived, he moft nou- 
 rilheth, efpecially if he feed abroad upon fweet 
 Grafs, good Maft and R.oots; for that which is 
 
 penn’d 
 
Of MEATS. 149 
 
 Penn’d up and fed at home with Taps-drappings, 
 Kitchen-offal, four Grains, and all manner of 
 Draff, cannot be wholefome. 
 
 In Pliny 's time they were fo far from fatting 
 them with fuch Refufe, that, confidering they 
 were to be eaten of themfelves, Men ufually fat¬ 
 ted their Hogs with Milk and Figs. But fince 
 that Courfe is more chargeable than neceffary for 
 Englijhmen , either let their Hogs feed themfelves 
 fat abroad with Grafs and Maft, or at home with 
 only fweet Whey and a little ground Cum, than 
 which they cannot have a more fweet Meat. 
 
 Furthermore, to ufe Galen’s Encomium or 
 Piaifeof a Hog (whereby you may fwear he was 
 no few, nor Lopus no good Phyfician) howfoever 
 nothing lefs refembleth a Man than a Hog in Ins 
 Outwards, yet inwardly no Creature refembleth 
 him more ; for the Colour and Subftance of his 
 Flefh, the Shape, Figure, Connexion, Sufpen- 
 fion. Proportion, and Situation of his Entrails, 
 differ little or nothing from Man’s Body ; and 
 befides that, when he is of a juft Growth, his 
 Temper is alfo moft like to ours. Thus much 
 out of Galen for the Praife of Pork ; whom, al¬ 
 beit Realdus Columbus and Vefalius do oppugn in 
 their Anatomies concerning the Likelihood of a 
 Man’s and a Hog’s Entrails; yet none hitherto 
 denied Pork to be a temperate Meat, being corn¬ 
 ed and roafted, or fodden after it hath been well 
 powdered. Neverthelefs, to yield mine own 
 Opinion, I efteem it (by Galen's Leave) a very 
 } queafy Meat, howfoever it be prepared, and to 
 ! have in itfelf always, fatuofwn cbacochymicum Gf 
 [febrile quid. For if you eat it frefh, it is as dan¬ 
 gerous as frefh Sprats to an aguifli Stomach ; if 
 you eat it corned, yet is it of grofs Juice and 
 
 G 3 fpeedy 
 
 
150 Health’j Improvement. 
 
 fpeedy Corruption, unlefsby Muflard and Sorrel 
 Sauce it be corrected : if it be fodden and powder¬ 
 ed, green Sauce made of Sorrel is to be eaten with 
 it, both to cool the fiery Nature of the Salt, and 
 alfo to qualify the Malignity of the Flelh itfelf: 
 If it be faked and made into Bacon, how hard is 
 it to be digefted in moft Mens Stomachs, either 
 boiled or fried? Yea, the Caretans of Spain , 
 whom Strabo writeth to be the belt Makers of 
 Saufages and fait Meats in the whole World, 
 and the Normans in France , whofe Bacon Flitches 
 and Jambons Varro extolleth, could never fo dry 
 Bacon, or make Pork into fuch wholefome Sau¬ 
 fages, feafoned with Pepper, Salt, and Sage, but 
 that it needed a Draught of Wine more than ordi¬ 
 nary to macerate and digeft it in the Stomach.' 
 It is recorded that Leo the tenth, Pope of Rome y 
 loved Pork fo exceedingly, that he bellowed above 
 two thoufand Crowns a Year in Saufages, ming¬ 
 ling the Brawns of Peacocks with Porks Flelh, 
 Pepper, and other Spices, which were afterwards 
 called Leonis incifia y Leo his Saufages. But when 
 Adrian the fixth his Succefior perufed the Ac¬ 
 counts, and found above ten thoufand Ducats 
 fpent by his Predeceffor in that one Meat, he 
 detefted him (faith Jovius ) as much dead, as he 
 honoured him whilft he was alive. 
 
 Finally, no Brav/n, Pork or Bacon, fhould be 
 eaten without Wine, according to that old Verfe 
 made in Salernitan 's School, which fome no lefs 
 account of than the Heathen did of Apollo's 
 Oracles. 
 
 EJi caro porcina fine vino pejor ovina; 
 
 Si tribuis vina, tunc efl cibus & medicina. 
 
 A.s 
 
Of MEATS. 151 
 
 As Mutton tough, Pork without Wine 
 Is not efteem’d fo good : 
 
 But if that Wine be drunk thereon, 
 ’TisPhyfic both and Food. 
 
 Or if Wine be fcarce, drink after fuch Meats a 
 good Draught of your ftrongeft Beer well fpiced 
 with Ginger, and then labour it out, as Plowmen 
 do ; for eafe after grofs Meats is very dangerous, 
 but ftrong Labour overcometh all things. 
 
 As for the Entrails of Hogs, and efpecially the 
 Horfelet, which Publius Syria preferred before all 
 Meats, I find them to be flopping, and of bad 
 Nourifhment; yet the Livers of Pigs are counted 
 nourifhing, but their Lungs are waterifh and very- 
 phlegmatic. 
 
 CHAP. IX. 
 
 Of the Flefh of wild Beafls , or Venifon . 
 
 WILD BOAR and WILD SOW, 
 
 all Venifon, Hippocrates mofi commendeth 
 v -* the Flefh of a wild Sow, becaufe it is not 
 only an excellent nourifhing and ftrengt’hening 
 Meat, but alfo medicinal to keep us from Coftive- 
 liefs. Reafon teacheth us, that it is far above 
 tame Pork or Swine’s Flefh ; Firft, Becaufe it 
 feeds more purely : Secondly, Becaufe it hath not 
 Meat brought to hand, but gets it by travail, and 
 hath choice of Diet to feed whereon it lifteth. 
 Thirdly, It is not penn’d up, as commonly our 
 
 G 4 Swine 
 
1 5 2 Health’j Improvement. 
 
 owine be, in a little clofe and flinking Stie, but 
 enjoyeth the Benefit of a clear Air, which clarifi- 
 t th Blood as much as any Meat can augment it. 
 It is a rare Meat in England , and found only, as I 
 have been informed, in my Lord Latimer's 
 Woods, who took great Pleafure in hunting 
 them, and made alfo wild Bulls of tame ones, as 
 cui forefathers, more wifely, made tame of wild. 
 
 If they be young, fat, fully grown, and taken 
 in Chafe, in the Winter-time, prefently after Mail 
 is Mien, they are unfit for few Mens Stomachs, 
 being thus prepared as I have feen them drefs’d in 
 1 1igl'j Germany. Firfl, After the Flefh is throucth- 
 >, co.d, parboil it in Rhenijb Wine, wherein ripe 
 Juniper-Berries were fodden : then having taken 
 i- out and fliced it, feafon every Slice or Cut there¬ 
 of with Pepper, Salt, Cloves, Mace, Ginger, 
 and Nutmegs, of each a iufHcicnt Quantity : lafl 
 of all make it in Paffe, with good flore of fweet 
 i.) utter, and it will prove a mofl excellent Meat 
 to be eaten cold. 
 
 Wild Calves are common in Wales upon the 
 •vloun tains, whence one was brought this laft 
 Chriitmas to Ludlow Caflle, where I did eat of 
 it roafled and baked ; and by Tafle I find it more 
 firm and dry, and by the Effe&s of Digeftion, 
 more wholeiome and paflable than our ordinary 
 Veal. } 
 
 RED and FALLOW DEER. 
 
 Now concerning Deer’s Flefh, which Jfaac in 
 his old Age fo much longed for, fome imagine it 
 to be the world Meat of all others, and fome con¬ 
 ceive it to be the befl. Galen numbereth it a- 
 mongft hard, melancholic, and grofs Meats, 
 
 com- 
 
Of M E A T S. 153 
 
 comparing, yea, almoft preferring Abes Flefh be¬ 
 fore it; afcribing alfo unto it ill Concodtion, ill 
 Nourilhment, Stoppings, and Quartan Fevers. 
 Roger Bacon thinks it one of the belt Meats, if it 
 be fo young that we can digeft it: For, faith he, 
 Quod diu femetipfum , alios illud diu conferva re 
 potejl: That which long liveth hy its own Nature , 
 maketh alfo others to live long. But by his leave, 
 we may then feed better upon Ravens than Ca¬ 
 pons, for thefe never live above feven Years, and 
 a Raven liveth to nine hundred Years, if Rirgil 
 be not deceived. 
 
 Plutarch thinketh Deer an unwholefome Meat, 
 becaufe it is of a cold and melancholic Conftitu- 
 tion. And how proreth he that? Forfooth, r. 
 Becaufe he is fearful. 2. Becaufe if he were of 
 a hot Complexion, as the wild Boar is, his Tears 
 would be fweet, as his be ; but the Fears of a 
 Deer, and efpecially of a Stag, are fait; ergo , he 
 is of a cold and dry Conftitution. But Empedocles 
 was of founder Opinion, who afcribeth all Teat'* 
 to the working of Heat; for as Milk yeildeth 
 Whey by birring, churning and prefiing, fo any 
 violent Paffion, be it Joy or Grief, Anger or 
 Pity, churneth the Blood, ftirreth the Humours, 
 and prefleth the Brain, whereupon Tears (the 
 wheyilh part of them all) mull needs enfue. 
 
 F urthermore they are thought to be unwholefome, 
 becaufe Bucks and Stags feed upon Snakes; yea, 
 as an Afs is to a Lion’s Mouth, or Honey to 
 Bears, or t lies to Martlets, fo are Serpents to them 
 a mod defired Meat; whereupon the Grecians 
 call them Serpent-catchers. Might I be a 
 
 fufficient Arbitrator between two fo learned Men, I 
 would determine the Truth to be on either Side ; 
 for indeed young Venifon, whilft it is lucking, is 
 
 G 5 very 
 
154 Health’j Improvement, 
 
 very reftorative ; neither do I think old Ifaac , in 
 his declining Age, to have delighted more in it in 
 refpedt of Tafte, than in refpedt of Wholefome- 
 nefs and Goodnefs. Alfo a gelded Deer is neither 
 too dry nor too cold, but of a temperate Conffi- 
 tution, and fo void of fuperfluous or excrementi- 
 tious Humours, that his Horns never grow again 
 after he is gelded, which Arijlotle and all Philofo- 
 phers impute to Superfluity of Heat and Moifture. 
 Nay, young Bucks and Does, Hinds and Stags, 
 whilft they are in feafon, are a wholefome and de¬ 
 licate Meat, breeding no bad Juice of themfelves, 
 yet bearing often the Faults of bad Cooks, who 
 know not how to drefs or ufe them aright, but 
 more often the deferved Reproaches of greedy 
 Gourmands, that cannot moderately ufe the good 
 Creatures of God, either eating Venifon when 
 they fhould not, or more liberally and ufually than 
 they fhould. The Italians alfo have this Opinion 
 of Venifon, that eaten in ihe Morning, it pro- 
 longeth Life,but eaten towards Night, it haften- 
 eth Death. Contrariwife old Venifon indeed is 
 dry, and perhaps too cold likewife ; full of grofs, 
 clammy, and incorrigible Humours : fo that the 
 feme Meat may be wholefome at fome Age, in 
 fome Times, and for forrte certain Complexions, 
 which otherwife in contrary Circumftances is un- 
 wholefome j yet is it never fo precious as that a 
 Man fhould venture his Life to get it by Stealth, 
 as many do, and have done in Noblemens Parks, 
 yea, perhaps in their Princes Forefts and chief 
 Chafes. 
 
 Cardan affirmeth, that Bucks and Does have no 
 Galls in their Bodies, which is rather a Sign of 
 good Temperature and Lightnefs, than of any 
 dull, dry, or heavy Meat, This wie thing only 
 
Of MEATS. 155 
 
 I will add, that Keepers of Parks, or at the leaft 
 their Servants and young Children, have, upon my 
 Knowledge, fed all the Year long of little Meat 
 elfe, and vet remained as ftrong, healthful and 
 active, as any Perfons could be. Finally, Admit 
 Deer be dry, doth not Butter amend them ? Sup- 
 pofe they he cold, doth not Pepper and Salt, and 
 baking, give them fuflicient Heat ? Thus, how- 
 foever :t talleth out, they are either by Preparation 
 (which none can deny) or by Nature (as I verily 
 believe) a good Nourifhment, fo that they be 
 chofen in their due Seafon, juft Age, and mode¬ 
 rately fed upon : neither have we any Reafon from 
 their Unwholefomnefs to difpark our Parks, or to 
 cut down Forefis provided for their Succour; nay, 
 rather, we ought to cheriftt them for the Mainte¬ 
 nance of Hunting, whereunto if young Gentlemen 
 were addi&ed, as their Fathers were heretofore, 
 they would be more ready (whereof Hunting is a 
 Refemblance) to warlike Purpofes and Exploits. 
 
 ROEBUCK and CAPREOL. 
 
 But of all Venifon, Roebuck and Capreol bear- 
 eth away the Bell; for whereas the forenamed 
 Beafts are difcredited for their Groftnefs of Blood, 
 the Capreol’s Blood is exceedingly fine, through 
 his fwift running, and continual frifking and leap¬ 
 ing from Place to Place, whereby his Pores are 
 ever opened, and all bad Humours confumed by 
 Exercife, fo that the very Smell of his Flelh is not 
 heavy nor fulfome, as in other Deer, but fragrant, 
 quick and delightful; neither hath his Flefh the 
 ordinary Tafte of Venifon, but a peculiar and 
 more pleafant Tafte; neither lieth it heavy upon 
 any Stomach, but is digefted as foon as Kid, curing 
 
 G 6 alf* 
 
156 Health^ Improvement. 
 
 alfo (as Ifaac writeth) the Falling Sicknefs, Cho¬ 
 lic, Dropfy, and abundance of Phlegm colleded 
 in any part. It is permitted to all indifferent Sto¬ 
 machs, and forbidden only to Children, choleric 
 Conftitutions, lean and confumed Bodies, fhrunk 
 Sinews, and burning Agues. The Alps are full 
 of them in High Germany , and fome of ourMoun- 
 tains of JVales are not without them. They are 
 good roafted, fodden, or baked as Red Deer ; 
 but you need not to pepper or fait them half fo 
 much, for their Flefh, even when they are old, 
 is eafily digefted, and fcarce needeth a Cup of 
 Mine, which other Venifon neceffarily reqaireth, 
 to haften their Concodtion. Furthermore, where 
 all kinds of other Venifon are not good but at cer¬ 
 tain Seafons, yet the Capreol is never out of Sea- 
 fon, being alike wholefome in Summer and Win¬ 
 ter, and alike toothfome, as the Borderers of the 
 Alps do belt know, and our own Countrymen 
 might perceive if they made Trial. 
 
 HARE S. 
 
 Hares or Leverets, the beloved Meat of Alex¬ 
 ander Severus , taken in hunting, roafted with frefh 
 Lard, and eaten with Venifon-Sauce, cannot of¬ 
 fend a reafonable Stomach. Galen faith, that the 
 Flefh of a Hare prevents Fatnefs, caufeth Sleep, 
 and cleanfeth the Blood: Howbeit, in another 
 Place he faith, that it breedeth grofs Blood and 
 melancholic Humours, which unlefs he underftand 
 only of old, lean, and unfeafonable Hares, Expe¬ 
 rience itfelf will overthrow him : For take a 
 young Leveret, and let it blood as you do a Pid- 
 geon, the Flefh of it will be very white, tender, 
 and well relifhing j yea, little inferior to a Mid- 
 
 fummer 
 
Of MEATS. 
 
 •57 
 
 fummer Rabbit: yet I deny not, with Hippo 
 crates , that it dryeth more than ordinary Meats ; 
 for it provoketh much Urine, and fo accidentally 
 moifteneth little, tho’ it be moift enough of its 
 own Nature. 
 
 Pijfanellus writeth, and the Italians generally 
 believe it, that eating of much Hare’s Flefh 
 maketh a Man fair and merry feven Days after : 
 For which Purpofe, perhaps, they were fo much 
 n requeft amongft the Romans , who fattened 
 young Hares in Clappers, as we do Cunnies, find¬ 
 ing them fo dieted to be a delicate and wholefome 
 Meat. Tame Hares fo prepared are good at all 
 :imes, but wild Hares are beft and fatteft in the 
 lardeft time of Winter. Certain it is, that much 
 mating of Hares Flefh procureth Leannefs, becaufe 
 t is very diuretical; and common Senfe teacheth, 
 hat a Man pilling much cannot be fat, becaufe 
 he wheyifh part of Blood, called of Hippocrates 
 -£opr,<; the Sledge of Nourifjment , is fooner 
 
 expelled than it can carry Nourifhment through¬ 
 out the Body. The Nether Germans hang their 
 Tares fix or feven Days in the cold and fhadovvy 
 \ir before they flay or drefs them, whereby they 
 orove exceeding tender, tho’ a Night or two 
 Nights hanging were fuflicient. We do ufually 
 >oil the foreparts in Broth, and roaft only the 
 dnderparts ; and not without Reafon : for as in 
 Cid and Lamb the hinderparts are drieft, and 
 herefore we feethe them,the foreparts over-moift, 
 nd therefore we roaft them ; fo contrariwife a 
 fare is drieft before, and moifteft behind. 
 
 Now concerning fuch Medicines, as Matthio - 
 V avoucheth to be taken from a Hare’s Harfelet, 
 rom his Skin, Gall, Kidneys, Bones, Stones, 
 
 3 
 
* 5 ^ Healths Improvement, 
 
 Hair, Blood, and Dung, I think it impertinent 
 to the Treatife of Diet, which fheweth not how 
 to give Medicines, but to ufe Nourifhments. 
 
 C U N N I E S. 
 
 It is not to be thought ft range that Hippocrates 
 and Galen , and all the Grecians , wrote fo little of 
 Cunnies, which with us, above all other Nations, 
 are fo common a Meat; for as Ithaca never bred 
 nor foftered them, fo in all Greece they hardly 
 lived. Here, Thanks be to God, they are plen¬ 
 tiful, in fuch fort that Alborm Chafe affordeth 
 above a hundred thoufand Couple a Year, to the 
 Benefit of good Houfe-keeping, and the Poor’s 
 Maintenance. 
 
 Rabbit-fuckers are beft in March , agreeing as 
 well with old, melancholic, dry, and weak Sto¬ 
 machs, as difagreeing with ftrong and moift Com¬ 
 plexions. A Midfummer Rabbit’s Flefh is lejs 
 moift and more nourifhing ; but a Michaelmas or 
 Winter Rabbit is of firm, wholefome, tem¬ 
 perate, and raofl laudable Flefh; beft roafted, , 
 becaufe their nourifhing Juice is foon foaked out 
 with the leaft feething, making good Broth and 
 bad Meat. Chufe the Female before the Male, 
 the fat before the lean, and both from out a chalky 
 Ground and a fweet Layer. 
 
 HEDGE-HOG. 
 
 When I confidered how cleanly the Hedge-hog 
 feedeth, namely, upon Cow’s Milk, if he can 
 come by ft, or upon Fruit and Maft; I faw no 
 reafon to difcontinue this Meat any longer upon 
 Come fantaftical Diflike, fince Books, Nature and 
 
 Expe? 
 
 
Of MEATS. 159 
 
 Experience hath commended it unto us : For as 
 Martial made Hare’s Flefh the daintieft Difh of 
 the Romans , fo in Hippocrates’s time the Hedge¬ 
 hog was not of the leaft account among the Gre- 
 cains , which he commendeth for an excellent 
 Nourifhment, were it notfomething too moift and 
 diuretical. Nay, as fome affirm, it nourifheth plen¬ 
 tifully, procureth Appetite and Sleep, ftrengthen- 
 eth Travellers, preferveth Women with Child 
 from mifcarrying, diffolveth Knots and kernelly 
 Tumors, helps the Lt profy, Confumption, Palfy, 
 Dropfy, Stone, and Convulfions; only it is for¬ 
 bidden unto melancholic and phlegmatic Perfons, 
 and fuch as are vexed with Piles or Hemorrhoids. 
 
 SQ_UIR,RELS. 
 
 Squirrels are much troubled with two Difeafes, 
 Choler and th- Failing-Sicknefs; yet their hinder- 
 parts are indifferent good whilft they are young, 
 fried with Parfley and Butter: but being no ufual 
 nor warrantable good Meat, let me fkip with 
 them and over them to another Tree; for it is 
 time to write of the winged Nation, which pro- 
 mifes us a fecond Courfe of more dainty, I will 
 not fay of more wholefome Meats. Neither fhall 
 I difcourfe of Affes Flefh, which Macenas fo 
 highly loved, that all Italy was too little to find 
 him Affes enough ; nor of Horfe-flefh, for longing 
 after which Gregory III. excommunicated the Ger¬ 
 mans ; nor of Foxes Flefh, which the Vandals eat 
 for reftorative; nor of Lions Flefh, wherewith 
 Achilles was dieted in his Pupillage ; nor of Bears 
 Flefh, which the Mofcovite calls his great Veni- 
 fon ; nor of Apes Flefh, tho’ it moft refembleth a 
 Man, which the Xygantes in Africa highly efteem 
 
 and 
 
190 Health*/ Improvement. 
 
 and eat of in their folemn Feafls; nor of Lizards, 
 Tortoifes, or any other four-footed Beaffs; nor 
 of Mans Flefh, albiit the Cannibals praife it above 
 all other, as OJ'orius writeth: And Cambletes 
 King of Lydia , having eaten of his own Wife, 
 faid, he was forry to have been ignorant fo long 
 of fo good a Difh. As for the Flefh alfo of young 
 Puppies, commended of Hippocrates and after¬ 
 wards of Galen, howfoever in the Wes of Corfica 
 and Malta they are (fill efteemed as good Meat; 
 yet Cardan faith in his Hiftory, that they made 
 the People like to Dogs, that is to fay, cruel, 
 flout, rafh, bold, and nimble. MTerefore leap¬ 
 ing over thefe infolent and bad Meats, which nei¬ 
 ther Ufe nor Reafon hath confirmed, I now come 
 to treat of Birds and fowl, and then of Fifh, and 
 the Fruits of the Earth, and Waters, according 
 to my firfl Divifion. 
 
 CHAP. X. 
 
 Of the Flefh of Tame Birds. 
 
 'T' HAT tne Flefh of tame Fowl nourifheth 
 more than wild Fowl, Ifaac the Phyfician 
 proveth by three Arguments. Firjl, Becaufe they 
 are more ufually eaten of, and fo by Cuftom (a 
 fecond Nature) made more agreeable to our Sto¬ 
 machs.^ Secondly, Whereas other Birds By fronts 
 us, and are not got without Coft and Travel; j 
 Nature hath caufed tame Birds to converfe with 
 us, and to offer themfelves, as it were, to be 
 killed at our pleafure; which verily file would 
 
 never 
 
Of MEATS. 161 
 
 iever have done, had they been of a fmall or a 
 ad Nourifhment. Thirdly j Wild Fowl, for the 
 iod part, efpecially fuch as fly far for a little 
 Teat, and trud more to their Wings than their 
 'eet, tho’ they are more light in Digeftion, be- 
 aufe they are of a more fpirituous and airy Sub- 
 tance ; yet they are not of fo abundant Nourifh- 
 nent as tame houfhold Birds, which feed not at 
 andom of what they can get, but of good Corn, 
 uch as Men themfelves eat, and therefore moft 
 |tt to nourifh Man. 
 
 Now of all kind of Fowl, remember that the 
 ounged is tendered and lighted ; old Birds Flefh 
 > heavied; but they which are proceeding to their 
 all Growth are mod nourifhing ; for ungrown 
 firds, and much more Nedlers, give but a weak, 
 hin, and gelly-like Subdance, old Birds are tough 
 nd dry ; thofe which are almod fully grown are 
 >f a more flefhy and firm Nature. 
 
 Furthermore all Birds feeding themfelves abroad 
 at with wholefome Meat, are of better Nourifh- 
 nent than fuch as be cramm’d in a Coop or little 
 foufe : for as Prifoners fmell of the Goal, fo do 
 hey of their own Dung. 
 
 And thus much generally of Birds. Now let 
 is come to every Particular. 
 
 PULLI GALLENACEI. 
 
 Chickens, faith Avicen , are fo pure and fine a 
 vleat, that they ingender no Excrements in our 
 bodies, having in themfelves no illaudable Sub- 
 lance : Wherefore Caius Famius being fick of a 
 surning Fever which had almod confumed all his 
 fleffl, was advifed by his Phyficians to eat of no 
 Jther Meat than Chickens, whereby he recovered 
 
 his 
 
i 6 z Health’j Improvement. 
 
 his Confumption ; and the eleventh Year after tht 
 fecond Carthaginian War, made a Law, tha 
 nothing but Chickens or young Pullits fed in tht 
 Camp fhould be brought to him at his Meals 
 I he young Cockrels are counted the beft in thi 
 kind, being of all Fleflh the mod: commendable 
 nourifhing ftrongly, augmenting Seed, and ftirrin^ 
 up Luft : hor which Purpofe, Bolejlaus Duke o 
 Stlefia did eat thirteen Cock-chickens at a Meal.j 
 whereof he died without having his Purpofe fulfil- ( 
 led, becaufe he knew not how to ufe fo whole- ; 
 fome a Creature. 
 
 We do not amifs in England to eat fodder 
 Chickens and Bacon together; for if they were 
 eaten firft, and Bacon after, they would over-i 
 foon be digefted ; and if they were eaten after Ba-t 
 con, they would be corrupted : but they are bed 
 being roafted, becaufe they are a moift Meat; 
 and if they be fauced with Sorrel and Sugar, oi 
 with a little Butter and Grape-Verjuice, they are: 
 a moft temperate Meat for weak Stomachs, as: 
 Platina and Bucinus fet down; for no Man I 
 think is fo foolilh as to commend them to Plow¬ 
 men and Befomers. White Chickens are found 
 by Experience to be hardeft of Digeftion, as 
 Gilbert our Countryman writ a great while fince : 
 yet Grinnerius preferreth them for he£Uc Perfons, 
 becaufe they are coldeft and moifteft of Complexi¬ 
 on. They are all bell: in Summer, as contrari- 
 wife Pullets and Hens be beft in Winter. Cock- 
 chickens are beft before they crow loud, Hen- 
 chickens before the Cock offereth to tread them. 
 
 GALLI. 
 
Of MEATS. 163 
 
 G A L L I. 
 
 j 
 
 4 Cock’s Flefh, the more old it is, the lefs it 
 hourifheth j but if they be young, and kept from 
 >heir Hens, and dieted with white Bread and 
 Vlilk, or Wheat fteept in Milk, they recover 
 VIen out of Confumptions and he<ftic Fevers, 
 tnd then their Stones, Livers and Loins, are of 
 :xcellent good Nourifhment; being fodden they 
 ire nothing worth, for their Goodnefs is all in the 
 3 roth : as for their Flefh, it is good for nothing 
 )ut to dry and bind the Stomach. Galen faith, 
 hat as the Broth of a Hen bindeth the Body, and 
 he Flefh loofeneth the fame j fo contrariwife the 
 Broth of a Cock loofeneth, and the Flefh bind- 
 :th. They of the Game are efteemed moft 
 vholefome; called of the Romans, Medici Gallic 
 Docks of Phyfic, becaufe the Phyficians moft 
 :ommended them : Amongft which, if I fhould 
 prefer the Kentijh kind for Bignefs and Sweetnefs, 
 
 . fuppofe no Injury to be done to any Shire of 
 England. Chufe the youngeft, as I faid, for 
 Nourifhment: for if once he be two Years old, 
 us Flefh waxeth brackifh, tough, and hard of 
 Digeftion, fitter to be fodden in Broth for the 
 oofening of the Belly, than any way to be drefled. 
 or Increafe of Nourifhment. 
 
 G A L L I N JE. 
 
 Hens are beft before they have ever laid, and 
 yet are full of Eggs; they alfo are beft in fanu- 
 }ry, and cold Months, becaufe long Reft and 
 Ueep in the long Nights makes them then fatteft. 
 Their Flefh is very temperate whilft they are 
 
 young 
 
164 Health’j Improvement. 
 
 young, of good Juice, and large Nourifhment, 
 ftrengthening natural Heat, ingendering good 
 Blood, fharpening a dull Appetite, quickening 
 the Eye-fight, nourifhing the Brain and Seed, 
 and agreeing with all Ages and Complexions j for 
 they are neither fo hot as to turn into Choler, nor 
 fo cold as to turn into Phlegm, nor fo dry as to be 
 converted into Melancholy, (and yet Rhafis ima¬ 
 gined them to have a fecret Property of breed¬ 
 ing the Gout and Haemorrhoids) but turn wholly 
 or for the moft part into Blood, making a lively \ 
 Colour in the Face, and quickening both the Eye- 
 fight and every Senfe. 
 
 Pullets h lefh, faith Avicen , helpeth the Wit, 
 cleared the Voice, and increafeth the Seed, which 
 is a manifeft Argument that it nourifheth greatly ; 
 which alfo Galen confirmed by many other Argu- I 
 ments, but that Argument of increafing Seed is 
 the chiefeft of all, Seed being the Superfluity or 
 abundance of Nourifhment. Hens Flefh is fweet* 
 eft, w'hen they are not too much fed, but dig out 
 their Meat with their Heels in a clean Floor ; forj 
 Exercife confumeth the fuperfluous Moifture, 
 which elfe cannot but make them more.unpleafant. 
 Neverthelefs the Delians ufed to fat them with 
 Bread fteept in Milk ; and Platina , Apicius , and 
 Stendelius , fhew many ways to fatten them ; but 
 the beft way is to let them fat themfelves with 
 pure Corn caft amongft Chaff, that by Exercife 
 of their Legs in fhuffling and fcraping they may 
 make their L lefh to eat better, and prove more 
 wholefome ; and yet by your Leave, Mr. Poul¬ 
 terer, the fatteft Hen or Capon is not whole-| 
 fomeft, but that which is of a middle Fatnefs ; 
 for as in a Man too much Fatnefs is both a Caufe.. 
 of Difeafes, and a Difeafe itfelf, fo falleth it out in 
 
 their 
 
V. 
 
 Of MEATS. 1 65 
 
 heir Bodies ; and how can they be whole- 
 ome Meat unto others, when they are difeafed in 
 hemfelves ? 
 
 Of a black Hen the Broth is whiteft, and of a 
 >lack Goat the Milk is pureft: The moft part of 
 iens and Hares are fcurvy and leprous. 
 
 C A P I. 
 
 Capons of feven or eight Months Age, fatten¬ 
 ed in an open Air, on a clean Floor with pure 
 Heat, are preferred by all Phyficians, old or 
 nodern, Greeks or Latins , before all Meats. And 
 o fay the Truth, what Dilh can any Cook’s-fliop 
 tfFord, that can be compared with a boil’d or 
 oafted Capon ? which helpeth Appetite, openeth 
 he Breaft, cleareth the Voice, fatteneth lean 
 Hen, nourifheth all Men, reftoreth fick Men, 
 mrteth none but the idle, tafteth pleafantly, di- 
 ^efteth eafily; which is alfo more folid than the 
 Hefh of Pullets, more tender than Cocks, more 
 amiliar to our Nature than Pheafants or Par- 
 ridges ; not fo dry as a Cock, to be flowly di¬ 
 verted ; not fo moirt as a Chicken, to be foon cor- 
 upted ; but equally affe&ed and tempered in all 
 ^yalities, ingendering much Blood, and yet un- 
 rtfenfive, ingendering much Seed, without un- 
 latural Sharpnefs or Heat. Finally, the Flelh of 
 Japons is fo mild, temperate and nourilhing, that 
 Faventinus fears not to make it the Ground of his 
 •eftorative Ele&uary; yea, Aloifius Mundella 
 hinketh him to be defperately confumed, whom 
 Capon-geilies and Cullifes cannot recover. 
 
 Concerning the Preparation of them, I com- 
 Tiend them roafted for moirt Stomachs; but be- 
 ng boil’d with fweet Marrow in white Broth, 
 
 they 
 
i 66 Health’j Improvement. 
 
 they are of fpeedier, tho’ not of ftronger Nourifl: 
 merit. Now if a Capon be fo wholefome a Meal 
 why Ihould we not alio by Hitching up fome Vein: 
 or fearing them in the Loins, try whether w 
 may not likewife make Hen-caponets ? which th 
 Italians pra&ife to good Purpofe, and make then 
 exceeding fat; but yet in Pifanel’s Judgment the 
 eat too moift. 
 
 One Word more of the Etymology of a Capon 
 which fome derive from the Englijh by an Irony 
 Capon ; becaufe he hath not his Cap on : other 
 from the Italian , Capone , that is to fay, qua pone 
 fet it hither , becaufe it is an excellent Difli: bu 
 I like Fritagius’ s Etymology belt of all; Capone?, 
 dicimus quafi caput omnium . We call it a Capon 
 faith he in the Latin, becaufe it is Caput omnium 
 the Head or Chief of all other Meats. And thu 
 much of a Capon, whofe Excellencies had thi 
 Heralds known when Dr. Capon bought his Arm 
 of them, I fee no Reafon why they Ihould hav< 
 preferred into his Scutcheons three Cocks, all be 
 ing nothing equivalent to one Capon. 
 
 GALLI AFRICANI. MELEAGRIDES. 
 
 Turkies, tho’ they be very hardly brought up 
 and require great Coft for their feeding, yet theii 
 Flelh is mod dainty, and worthy a Prince’s Table 
 They were firft brought from Numidia into Turky , 
 and thence to Europe , whereupon they were caller 
 Turkies. There are fome which lately broughi 
 hither certain chequer’d Hens and Cocks out o 
 New Guinea , fpoted white and black like a Bar* 
 ber’s Apron, whofe Flelh is like to the Flelh ol 
 Turkies, and both of them like the Flelh of oui 
 
 i Hen 
 
Of MEATS. i6 7 
 
 cns and Cock-chickens, but that they be two 
 its hotter and moifter than ours. 7'he young- 
 fatted in the Fields or at the Barn-door, kill- 
 e alfo in Winter rather than in Summer, and 
 jnged a Day and a Night before they be drefs’d, 
 t : wholefomeft to be eaten, and of beft Nourifh- 
 pt. Their Flefh recovereth Strength, nourifh- 
 1 plentifully, kindleth Luft, agreeth with every 
 ,rfon and Complexion, faving fuch as be of too 
 )t 3. Temper, or inclined to Rheums or Gouts j 
 imuft be throughly roafted ; and if it be flicked 
 ,1 of Cloves in the roafting, or when it is to be 
 teed, which are the two beft ways to cook a 
 fjjrkey, it will foak up the Wateriftinefs, and 
 ,ke it of fpeedier Digeftion. 
 
 P A V O N E S. 
 
 Peacocks are, as Poets feign, the beloved Birds 
 Juno ; which none durft kill in old time, for 
 r of that jealous and revengeful Goddefs’s Dif- 
 afure. Among the Romans Quintus Hortenfius 
 » the firft that ever brought them to the Table, 
 3fe Commendation made them fo deflred, that 
 hin a while a Peacock’s Egg was fold for ten 
 ces of Silver, and his Carcale for twenty times 
 much. Afterwards Marcus Lurco feeing that 
 and lean Peacocks grew to fuch a rate, he 
 an to cramm them fat whilft they were young, 
 
 gained thereby in a Ihort time fix thoufand 
 erces. 
 
 X* that noble Epicurean Pope, made their 
 wns into Saufages, allowing therefore every 
 ir many hundred Ducats. It is ftrangewhat 
 Aujim writes of Peacock’s Flefh, namely, 
 
 1 in a twelve-month it corrupteth not after it 
 
i 63 Health’^ Improvement. 
 
 is drefs’d: Nay, Kiranides avoucheth, that 
 Peacock’s Flefh will not putrefy in thirty Year: 
 but remaineth then as found and fweet as if it ha 
 been new killed ; which whether it proceed of th 
 Toughnefs and Sinewy Conftitution, or the feed 
 ing upon Serpents, as fome imagine, I will nc 
 now determine: This I only obferve, that bein 
 once above a Year old, their Flefh is very hare 
 tough and melancholic, requiring a ftrong Stc 
 mach, much Wine, and afterwards great Exe.t 
 cite to overcome it. It is very ill for them th; 
 are moleited with the Haemorrhoids, and fuch ; 
 live flothfully. 
 
 Concerning their Preparation, appointet 
 them to hang upon a Hook fifteen Days, but He 
 liabbas twice fifteen before they are drefs’d. Th: 
 Italians , after they are drawn, fluff their Bodti 
 full of Nettles, which fofteneth the hardefb Cheeft 
 being laid amongft them, and then they eithe 
 bury it in Sand, or hang it in a cold dry Plact 
 with a great Weight at his Heels, and fo within 
 F'orthnight it becomes very tender. 
 
 Plutarch reports out of his Countrymen’s Ex 
 periments, that an old Cock, or an old Peacock 
 or any hard Flefh, hanging but one Night on 
 Fig-tree, waxeth very tender by Morning; other 
 aferibe as much to the hanging of them upon 
 brazen Flook, which I permit to Trial, and will 
 both as true in effect as the Reafons why the 
 fhould be fo are learnedly difputed. As for youDf 
 Peacocks fed at home with wholefome and pur 
 Meat, as Bread, Corn, and Curds, no clout 
 they are very good Meat, yeilding not only- 1 
 Talte extraordinarily Arrange and pleafant, If 
 all'o giving good Nourifhment: the older fort k 
 belt rcafted with Lard j the younger wither 
 
Of M E A T S. ,6 9 
 
 Lard : both fhould be well fouced in pure Wine ; 
 for without it they are unwholet'ome. 
 
 A N S E R E S. 
 
 Galen commendeth nothing in a Goofe befide 
 the Giblets, Stomach, and Liver, fodden in 
 Broth j which whether Scipio Metellus, or Marcus 
 Sejlius firft noted, Pifanellus durft not decide ; but 
 had he been as converfant in Pliny as he might 
 have been, he fhould have read, that a Queftion 
 was moved in Rome , who did firft fatten Geefe? 
 fome imputing it to Scipio, and fome to Sejlius. 
 But Mejfalinus Cotta , without all Controverfy, 
 was the firft that ever taught how to drefs and 
 ufe their Giblets. Neverthelefs fince the Kings 
 of Egypt feed ufually but on two Difhes, Geefe 
 and Veal; either Cuftom hath made them a harm- 
 lefs Meat, or elfe they are not fo hard, hot, 
 aguifn, a^nd melancholic a Meat as fome fuppofe 
 them. Jafon Pratenfis faith, that the Jews have 
 lo hard a Flefh, fo foul a Skin, fo loathfome a 
 Savour, and fo crooked Conditions, becaufe they 
 eat fo many Geefe. Indeed their exceeding 
 Watchfulnefs, muddy Difpofition, and Blacknels 
 ot Flefh, argue a melancholic Conftitution ; yet 
 being taken whilft they are young, green fea¬ 
 ther’d, and well fatted with wholefome Meat, 
 
 ; and eaten with Sorrel-fauce to correct their Malig¬ 
 nity, if any Malignity can remain after fuch 
 dieting, no doubt their Flefh is as nourifhing as 
 lit is pleaiant and fweet. But of all others, a 
 young Stubble-Goofe feeding itfelf fat in Wheaten 
 rields, is heft of all, being neither of too moift 
 |nor too dry a Flefh, but of a middle Conftitu¬ 
 tion. If any Goofe be eaten above four Months 
 
 H old, 
 
 - • y 
 
170 Health’j Improvement. 
 
 old, it is badly aigefted without Garlic-fuuce, 
 Exercife, and ftrong Drink. 
 
 Fritagius , in his Creophagia , having fet down 
 that young Geefe are over moift, and oid Geefe 
 very aguifh, appointeth them to be both corredled 
 in this fort: Before they be killed make them 
 to receive the Smoke of Borax down into their 
 Bodies three or four times together, then fluff 
 them with Spices and fweet Herbs, and roafl them 
 throughly ; which is a very good Way to correct 
 their fuperfluous Moifture, but nothing available 
 for their Aguifhnefs. 
 
 Savonarola maketh Geefe of a very hot Con- 
 flitution ; Jlbertus maketh them very cold ; their 
 Flefh is hard to digeft, and yet more moift, faith 
 Galen , than of any Water-Fowl befides: but 
 their natural Feeding (hews them to be hot and 
 dry, as Savonarola writeth ; for they drink infi¬ 
 nitely often, delight to be in the coldeft Waters, 
 and feed moft gladly upon Lettice, Endive, Pur- 
 fclane, Trefoil, Ducks Meat and Sow-thiflle. 
 They are fo tame and obfequious to them that 
 ufually feed and diet them, that if Pliny faith 
 Truth,they were driven, like Sheep,from Brabant 
 and Picardy to jR. ome on foot; but I fear left whilft 
 he did fo excefiively commend their Obedience, 
 he did play the very Goofe himfclf. 
 
 C Y G N I. 
 
 Swans Flefh was forbidden the Jews, becaufe 
 by them the hieroglyphical Sages did defcribe Hy- 
 pocrify; for as Swans have the. white ft Feathers 
 and the blacked Flefh of all Birds, fo the Heart 
 of H) pocrites is contrary to their outward Appear¬ 
 ance. So that not for the Badnefs of their Flefh, 
 
 * but 
 
Of MEATS. 171 
 
 but for refembling of wicked Mens Minds they 
 were forbidden ; for being young, they are not 
 the worft of Meats ; nay, it they be kept in a 
 little Pond, and well fed with Corn, their Flefh 
 will not only alter the Blacknefs, but alfo be freed 
 from the Unwholefomnefs: Being thus ufed, they 
 are appointed to be the firft Difh at the Emperor 
 of Mofcovys Table, and alfo much efleemed in 
 Eaft-Friezland. 
 
 Neverthelefs I deny not but that naturally they 
 are unwholefome, for their Flefh is hard and 
 black ; and all Flefh the blacker it is, the heavier 
 it is, the whiter the lighter ; and the more red, 
 the more inclining to Heavinefs; the lefs red, 
 the more inclining to Lightnefs and Eafinefs of 
 Digeftion ; which being once written for a gene¬ 
 ral Rule, needs not, 1 hope, hereafter to be re¬ 
 peated. 
 
 A N A T E S. 
 
 Tame Ducks feed filthily, upon Frogs, Toads, 
 Mud, Water-fpiders, and all manner of venom¬ 
 ous and foul things : Wherefore it is not untruly 
 faid of Gefner , that the bell part of a Duck are his 
 Feathers ; for his Flefh is hotter than that of any 
 tame Fowl, and withal too moift, hard, grofs, 
 of flow Digeftion, and very excremental; yea, 
 furthermore, fo aguifh, that once or twice it 
 brought Galen himfelf into a Fever, while he de¬ 
 filed to try the Operation of it. 
 
 Neverthelefs young Ducklings fed with grinded 
 Malt and Cheefe-curds, drinking nothing but 
 Milk, or Chalk-water, wax both white, fat, and 
 foft in Flefh, giving much good Nourifhmerit, 
 clearing the Colour of one’s Face, amending 
 
 H 2 floarle- 
 
iyz Health’.? Improvement. 
 
 Hoarfenefs of Throats, increafing Seed, and dis¬ 
 pelling Wind ; wherein we may fee, that Art and 
 Diet can make that wholefome, which Nature of 
 itfelf hath made hurtful. 
 
 PIPIONES. COLUMBjT. 
 
 Tame Pidgeons are of two forts, the one great 
 and very tame, breeding monthly, kept and fed 
 continually: the other fed never at home but in 
 Cad lock-time and the dead of Winter, when they 
 can get no Meat abroad, breeding only but twice 
 a Year, namely, at the fir ft and latter Seed-time. 
 They are of a very hot Complexion, and dry when 
 they are old, but whilft they are young they are 
 hot and moift; the wilder fort is moft wholefome 
 being killed after it hath flown a while up and 
 down the Dove-houfe, for then they give a purer 
 Juice, by reafon that their foggy Moifture is lef- 
 fened by Exercife ; alfo they muft be let blood to 
 Death under the Wing, which, tho’ Dr. HeSior 
 affumed to himfelf as his own Invention, yet it is 
 of no lefs Antiquity than Pliny's Writings. Be¬ 
 ing thus newly killed, and forthwith roafted at a 
 blazing Fire, their Flefh ingendereth great Store 
 of Blood, recalling Heat unto weak Perfons, 
 cleanfing the Kidneys, quickly reftoring decayed 
 Spirits, efpecially in phlegmatic and aged Perfons,' 
 for whom they are moft proper. In Galen's time, 
 faith Rbafis , they only pluckt off their Heads and 
 caft them away ; but bleeding under the Wing is 
 far better, and maketh their Flefh more cold and 
 whiter; in fo much that Galen is not afraid, to 
 commend them to Perfons fick of Agues. Nay, 
 the Italians do as ufually give them in Agues, as ; 
 we do Chickens. Pidgeons of the firft Flight are 
 counted better, becaufe the latter Flight is after 
 
 whole-1 
 
 2 
 
 
Of MEATS. 
 
 they have eaten Cadloeks, which maketh them 
 neither to eat fo fweet, nor to prove fo white and 
 wholefome: when they cannot be had, home 
 Pidgeons, I mean of the greater fort, are to be 
 taken, and to be ufed in the like manner. 
 
 CHAP. XI. 
 
 Of the Flejh of Wild Fowl, abiding and feed¬ 
 ing chiefly upon the Land. 
 
 is no fmall Difference of Land-Fowl, 
 
 A according to the Meat they feed on, and the 
 Place they live in ; for the purer their Meat, the 
 better Meat they are themfelves : They that feed 
 upon Flefti or Garbage are not fo wholefome as 
 they that feed upon good Corn, Bents, or whole¬ 
 fome Seeds; lefs wholefome are they which feed 
 upon Worms and Filh on the Sea-fhore, or Rivers 
 Banks; but worft: of all other, they that feed upon 
 Serpents, Spiders and venomous Beafts, which no 
 doubt may prove very medicinal to cure Difeafes, 
 but they cannot prove nouriftiing, keeping their 
 natural Diet, to reftore Flefb. 
 
 Concerning the Place wherein they live and 
 feed, it is certain that high and dry Countries have 
 the wholefomeft Birds ; for they which fit in low 
 and moiff Places, are of no fweet nor wholefome 
 Complexion. 
 
 Furthermore, their manner of taking alters 
 their P lefh ; for a Partridge taken in Flight, or a 
 Lark dared with a Hawk, is worth ten taken with 
 Nets, Springs and Trammels; theReafon where¬ 
 
 of 
 
i^4 Health’j Improvement. 
 
 of is already fet down in my Chapter of Prepara 
 
 tion. : 
 
 Finally, look what Bird is whiteft Flefh, tha 
 Bird is eafieft to be digefled ; what Bird is reddef j 
 of Flefh, is flrongeftof Nourifhment; whatfoeve 
 is black of Flefh, is heavy to be digefled, and o 
 flow Nourifhment; yea, fo much the heavier ant 
 flower, by how much his Skin and Flefh appearetl 
 blacker. " This fhall fuffice to be generally fpokei 
 of Land-Fowl, yea of all Fowl. Now let us de 
 fcend to their Particulars, beginning with Birds o 
 greater Volume. 
 
 T A R D JE. 
 
 Biflards or Buftards, fo called for their flow 
 Pace and heavy flying ; or as the Scots term them 
 Gufeffards; that is to fay, Slow Geefe, feed upoi 
 Flefh, Livers, and young Lambs out of Sowing 
 time, and in Harveft-time then they feed upoi 
 pure Corn. In the Summer, towards the ripen¬ 
 ing of Corn, 1 have feen half a dozen of them li. 
 in the Wheat Field fatting themfclves, as a Dee 
 will do, with Eafe and Eating ; whereupon the; 
 grow fometimes to fuch a Bignefs, that one o 
 them weigbeth almoft fourteen Pounds. Now a 
 they are of an extraordinary Bulk, fo likewife an 
 they of rare Nourifhment to indifferent ftronj 
 Stomachs, relifhing finely, reftoring Blood an< 
 Seed, offending no part of the Body, but ftrengthen 
 ing all. Chufe the youngeft and fatteft about All 
 hallow-tide, for then are they heft, and diet hin 
 a Day or two with a little Wheat-Bread, or rathe: 
 keep him altogether faffing, that he may fcou 
 away his Ordure j then let him bleed to death if 
 the Neck-Veins, and having hanged three or fou 
 
Of M E A T S. 17.5 
 
 Days in a cool Place out of the Moon-fnine, 
 either roaff it or bake it as you do a Turkey, and 
 it will prove both a dainty and wholcfomeMeat. 
 
 G R U E S. 
 
 ♦ 
 
 Cranes breed, as old Dr. Turner wrote unto 
 Gefner , not only in the northern Countries amongft 
 the Nation of Dwarfs, but alfo in our Englijb 
 Fens. Pliny faith, that in Italy they feed much 
 upon Grapes ; but with us they feed chiefly upon 
 Corn, and fenny Seeds, or Bents. Theodofius 
 efteemeth them of a cold Temperature ; but all 
 the Arabians judge them to be hot and dry. 
 k Certain it is that they are of themfelves hard, 
 tough, grofs, flnewy, and ingendering melancho¬ 
 lic Blood, unfit for found Mens Tables, ufually 
 to be eaten of, and much more unmeet for them 
 that be fick ; yet being young, killed with a Gof- 
 hawk, and hanged two or three Days by the 
 Heels, eaten with hot Galentine, and drowned in 
 Sack, it is permitted unto indifferent Stomachs. 
 In Plutarch 's time Cranes were counted a dainty 
 and good Meat, fatted after this manner: Firff, 
 they ffitched up their Eyes, and fed them in the 
 Dark with wholefome Mixtures of Corn, Milk, 
 and Seeds, to make them white, tender, and 
 pleafant of Taffe : A Day before they were killed, 
 they tempered their Meat with the Juice of that 
 Herb, or with a good Quantity of that Seed 
 whereof they would have their Flefh efpecially to 
 relifh, were it Mints, Baftl, Thyme, Rofemary, 
 Cumin, Coriander, Fennel-feed, or Anife-feed ; 
 which Courfe if we likewife obferved in the cram¬ 
 ming of Capons, and fattening of our Houfnojd 
 
 H 4 Birds, 
 
iy6 Health*/ Improvement. 
 
 Birds, without queftion they would tafte far more 
 delicately. 
 
 CICONLE, ASTERN, ARDEOLiT. 
 
 Storks, Bitterns, and Herons, neither do breed, 
 nor can breed any good Nonrifhment, feeding 
 chiefly upon little Fifties, Frogs and Worms ; yea, 
 the Stork delighteth in Newts, W^ater-fnakes, 
 Adders, and bloe-worms j but except it be almoft 
 famifhed, it will not venture upon a Toad, as 
 Caspar us Heldelinus writeth. 
 
 It was my Chance in my firft Travel into Ger¬ 
 many, to meet one Godfrey Acbtius , chief Phyfi- 
 ciart of Aqulfgrane , at Francfort Mart, whofe 
 'I reacle was there fold, and efteemed better than 
 the Treacle of Venice , whereinto he put not the 
 Flefti nor the Salt of Adders, but the Flcfti of a 
 Heronfhaw, fed a long time with nothing but 
 Rich Adders as Galen wiftieth us to chufe. Verily 
 his Conceit was not ill; and if we pradlifed the 
 like in England , it cannot be amifs, confidering 
 that the fubtileft part of the Adder is, no doubt, 
 as it were fublimed and imbibed into the Stork’s 
 Body and P Icfh : Wherefore howfoever we ufe 
 fuch Birds for Phyfic, yet let us not feed upon 
 them as upon Meats, left we take Poifon inftead 
 of Nourifhment. Nay, even all the Heronfhaws, 
 namely, the black, white, Criel-PIeronftiaw, and 
 the Mire-dromble, tho’ feeding fomewhat better 
 thin the Bittern or Stork, are but of a fiftiy and 
 ftrong Savour, unlefs they be very young", and 
 fcarce able to fly ; yea, they are not dangerlefs 
 being green roafted, but procure the Piles and 
 fmarting Haemorrhoids j of all of them chufe the 
 youngelt and fatteft, for they may be eaten fo 
 
 with 
 
Of M E A T S. 177 
 
 with much Spice, Salt, or Onions, and being 
 throughly fleept in a Draught of old Wine. Fur¬ 
 thermore, if they be drefs’d without their Skins, 
 they relifh far better, according to the French and 
 the bell Fafhion, who alfo fluff" them full of fweet 
 Herbs, and draw them with fine and fmall Lard. 
 
 PHAS'IANA. 
 
 Pheafants are of fo excellent a Conflitution, as 
 well for Subfiance as Temperature, that from 
 them as from a Centre, Phyficians do judge the 
 Complexion of every Fowl, being of a middle 
 Conflitution betwixt a brown Hen and aPartridge; 
 or, asPifanellus will have it, betwixt a Capon and 
 a Partridge, neither fo moifl as the firfl, nor fo 
 dry as the fecond, but exceeding both in Tafle, 
 Temperature and Goodnefs. Galen,' Rhafis, A~ 
 
 \vicen , Aver ho is, Arnalchis dt Villa nova , Trallian , 
 and all Writers, fo prefer a Pheafant for. the 
 foundefl and beft meat of all others; and the 
 Frenchmen think a Pheafant to be called Fai-fan , 
 becaufe it maketh a found Man. Neverthelefs 
 Savanarola willeth Men not to eat them often in 
 Health, that when Sicknefs cometh they may do 
 them the more Good. They are beft in Winter, 
 and the young ones are fittefl for weak Stomachs; 
 the old ones are to hang three or four Days by 
 the Heels, and then being drefs’d, they will eat 
 tender. In he£tic Fevers, and upon Recoveries 
 from a long or violent Sicknefs, no Meat fo 
 wholefome as Pheafant-pouts; but to flrong Sto¬ 
 machs it is inconvenientefl, efpecially to Plowmen 
 and Labourers, who eating of Pheafants, fall fud- 
 denly into Sicknefs, and Shortnefs of Breath, as 
 Pifantllus hath wittily, and perhaps truly, noted. 
 
 H 5 AT- 
 
178 
 
 Health’j Improvement. 
 
 ATTAGENES MYRIC 7 E. 
 
 Heath-cocks, whilft they are young, are little 
 Inferior to a Pheafant, very well rel fning, and be- 
 ing of good Digeftion ; when they wax old, all 
 their Flefh proves black, faving the Brawn next 
 their Breaft-bone, which is ever white, tender, 
 firm, and wholefome. 
 
 P E R D I C E S. 
 
 Partridges have a temperate Heat, but incline 
 to Drynefs in the fecond Degree ; they feed upon 
 Snails, Chick-weed, Tops of Leeks, and all man¬ 
 ner of good and ■wholefome Corn ; they are never 
 fubjedf to Pips, nor any rheumatic Difeafes, which 
 maketh them to live till they be almoft twenty 
 Years old : But beware of old Partridges, for they 
 are as dangerous as old Beef; being young and 
 tender, they agree exceeding well with cold, 
 weak, waterifh, and pale Bodies, drying up a 
 moift Stomach, {Lengthening the retentive Power, 
 eafily turning info pure Blood, fattening the Body, 
 and increafing Lull. They muft not be eaten, 
 faith Galen , being newly killed, but hang a while 
 in the cold Air: And the Wings and Breaft of a 
 Partridge, as alfo of all Birds fave a Woodcock, 
 trufting to their Flight, are better than the Legs 
 and Thighs: Nay, the Legs and Thighs of Par¬ 
 tridges are thought by Sethi, to have an extraor¬ 
 dinary Weakness in them, caufing them to go as 
 if their Back or Ridge Bone were parted in funder, 
 whereupon perhaps they had their Name, and 
 were called Part-ridges. Chufe them that are 
 young and fat, killed with the HawkatSouce, or 
 
 Their Broth is 
 good 
 
 elfe' at Foot after a long Flight. 
 
Of MEATS. 179 
 
 good for a weak Stomach, for the Jaundice, and 
 a tainted Liver. If you feethe them in Capon- 
 Broth with Marrow, Eggs and Bread, a Panado 
 made of that Broth is exceeding nourifhing, being 
 eaten next one’s Heart. But if you would have 
 a ftrensthening Broth indeed, then feeth them in 
 Broth wherein Chines of Mutton have firft boiled. 
 Roafted Partridge is beft: for mod Stomachs, it it 
 be not too dry roafted ; for then it is rather Phyftc 
 to ftay a Loofenefs, than fit Meat to nourifh or 
 reftore Flefh. They are beft at the End of Har- 
 veft, before they have either trod or laid. 
 
 RALLiE TERRESTRES. 
 
 Rails of the Land, (for there is alfo a Water- 
 Rail, which the Venetians efteem fo highly) de«- 
 ferve to be placed next the Partridge, for their 
 Flefh is as fweet as their feeding good, and they 
 are not without Caufe preferred to Noblemen’s 
 T ables. 
 
 G ALLIN AGINES & RUSTICULiT. 
 
 Woodcocks and Snipes are fo light of Digeftion, 
 and fo good in Temperature, that they agree with 
 moft Mens Stomachs, efpeciaily at their firft 
 coming in, or rather a Month after, when they 
 have refted themfelves after their long Flight from 
 beyond the Seas, and are fat through Eafe and 
 good Feeding upon fat Worms, and Snails, lying- 
 in Trees. Av'tcen and Albertus dreamed that 
 W r oodcocks and Snipes fed upon Seeds ; whereas 
 indeed no Bird with a long piked, crooked, and 
 narrow Bill can pick them up; but where they 
 perceive a Worm’s Hole, as I have feen Snipes to 
 do, there they thruft: in their Bill as far as they 
 can; and if the Worm lie deep, they blow in 
 
 H 6 fuch 
 
i8o Health’j Improvement, 
 
 fuch a Breath or Blaft of Wind, that the Worm* 
 come out for fear as in an Earthquake. If Worm; 
 fail, then they pick Snails out of their Shells, and 
 likewife devour them. 
 
 Towards their going out, either of them wax 
 drier and worfe relifhing. Woodcocks require 
 the ftronger Stomach, Snipes the weaker; both 
 are of laudable Nourifhment, but chiefly the Snipe. 
 There is a kind of Wood-Snipe in DevonJIrire, 
 greater than the common Snipe, which never 
 comes into Shallows nor Springs of Water. And 
 in Holland I remember Snipes never living out of 
 S ings, as great almolf as our Woodcocks, called 
 Hjrren-Schnepfs , becaufe they are in comparifon 
 the Lords or Chief of Snipes, or that they are 
 only fit for Lords Tables, which Gefncr therefore 
 alfo termeth by the Name of Rujliada Regalis. 
 
 COLUMBiE 
 
 PETRICOLAi. 
 
 L 1 VIAL 
 
 PALUMBES. 
 
 TURTURES. 
 
 Wild Doves be efpecially four in Number, 
 Rock-Doves, Stock-Doves, Ring-Doves, and 
 Turtle-Doves. Rock-Doves breed upon Rocks 
 by the Sea-fide, but never far from Corny Downs, 
 whether in Seed and Harveft-timc they fly for 
 Meat, living all the Year befides upon Mail and 
 Ivy-berries. The other three forts of Doves feed 
 alfo upon Corn, Mali, Haws, Juniper-berries, 
 Ivy-berries, Hurtle-berries, and Holly-berries, 
 when they are ripe. Alarcus Cato fatted young 
 Ring-Doves with Bean-Meal made into Pafie 
 with new Milk; and Didynius , Turtle-Doves 
 with Bread flteept in Wine, which Way they are 
 
 made 
 
Of M EATS. 181 
 
 made of excellent Tafte and Nourifhment, tho’ 
 alfo undieted they are good, being under half a 
 Year’s Age. Avicen , contrary almoft to the Opi¬ 
 nions of all other Writers, commendeth the Flefh 
 of Turtles above all other, as being of a good 
 Nourifhment, eafily digefted, quickening Wit and 
 Memory, increafing Seed, and (lengthening both 
 Stomach and Guts exceeding well. But Ifaac 
 reproveth that Opinion, unlefs it be underftood 
 only of young Turtles, or fuch as have been fed 
 and fatted in the Houfe by Art, with moil'd and 
 cooling Nourifhments: For otherwife, as he 
 truly avoucheth, all manner of wild Doves are fo 
 hot, hard, and dry, that they cannot prove of any 
 indifferent Nourifhment. 
 
 COTURNICES. 
 
 Quails have gotten an ill Name ever fince Pliny 
 iccufed them for eating of Hemlocks and Bear- 
 foot, by reafon whereof they breed Cramps, 
 :rembling of the Heart and Sinews; yea, tho’ 
 Hercules loved them above all other Meats, in fo 
 nuch that lolaus fetcht him out of a Swoon when 
 le was cruelly wounded by Typhon with the Smell 
 )f a Quail; yet with much eating of them he fell 
 nto the falling Evil, which ever fince hath been 
 ermed Hercules ’s Sicknefs. Avicen thinketh that 
 hey bring Cramps not only by feeding on Ilclle- 
 >orus and Hemlocks, but alfo from a natural in¬ 
 born Property. Monardus writeth thus of them ; 
 
 . allow not the Flefh of Quails neither in the 
 spring nor Winter, not becaufe the ancient Fa- 
 hers of Phyfic do condemn them, but becaufe 
 Reafon is againft them : for in the Spring and 
 iummer-time they are too dry, ingendering rather 
 'Melancholy than Blood : in Autumn and Winter 
 
 they 
 
182 Hea ith’s Improvement. 
 
 they are too moift; yea, tho’they be fat, y< 
 are they of fmall Nourifhment, caufing loathin' 
 of Stomach, and Corruption of Meat. " B apt if I 
 Fiera, Amatus Lufit anus , yea, Avicen , Rhafi 
 Jfaac and Galen, are of the fame Judgment; on] 
 Arnoldus cle Villa nova , in his Commentary upc 
 the Salernitan School, affirnieth them in forr 
 Countries to be of fine Subftance, good Juic< 
 and eafy Digeffion : nay, Kiranides faith th; 
 their Broth cleanfeth the Kidneys, and their Fief 
 nourifheth indifferently well. Were I here t 
 give my Cenfure, I would be of either Side, an 
 yet defend the Truth likewife ; for I nothin 
 doubt but Quails Flefh is bad, as Ducks Flefh i 
 of its own Nature, and heavy to be digefted 1 
 neverthelefs being taken young, before they hav 
 eaten of unwholefome Weeds, and fatted wit 
 pure Wheat, Hemp-feed, Coriander-feed ar 
 Milk, or Chalk-water inftead of Milk, I mat 
 no queftion that their Flefh is laudable, and ma 
 be counted a good and dainty Meat. 
 
 And here by the way Jet us marvel at or 
 thing, that Quails are generally forbidden becaui 
 their Flefh ingendereth the falling Evil; and yt 
 Galen commendeth their Brains, he princip; 
 Seat of that great Evil, as an Antidote again 
 the fame. What need I write that when th 
 Jfrdelites loathed Manna, Numb. xi. 31. Quai 
 were fent them as the beft and daintieft Meat < 
 all other ? And if fome curious Paraphraft woul 
 therefore fay it was the worft, becaufe whilfl: th 
 Flefh was in their Mouths, many thoufands < 
 them fell in the Wildernefs: We anfwer, that 1 
 was not through the Badnefs of the Food, bu 
 the Naughtinefs of their luffing, and temptin 
 God. 
 
 PLU 
 
Of MEATS. 
 
 ft 
 
 183 
 
 PLUVIALES. 
 
 Plovers feed upon no folid Meat, and therefore 
 being new, have no need of drawing; their Meat 
 is chiefly the Scum or Excrements of Worms lying 
 about their Holes, or "of Worms themfelves; yet 
 are they of a very fweet, delicate, and fine Flefh, 
 being taken when they are fat in Winter-time ; 
 and the grey Plover is fo highly efteemed, that 
 this Proverb is raifedof aourious and malecontent- 
 ed Stomach ; A grey Plover cannot pleafe him. Yet 
 to fome the green Plover feemeth more nourifh- 
 ing, and to others the Lapwing, which indeed is 
 favoury and light of Digeftion, but nothing com¬ 
 parable to Plovers. 
 
 C U C U L I. 
 
 Cuckows Flefh, whilft it is a Neftler, is by 
 Perot highly extolled ; but when once it comes to 
 feed itfelf, it is ill relifhing, hot and leprous. 
 Gejher afketh, how any Man dare be fo fooiifh or 
 venturous as to eat of a Cuckovv, whofe much 
 fpitting argueth a corrupt and excremental Flefh ; 
 yet by Experience we find the young ones to be 
 good Meat; yea, Pliny and AriJlotU prefer them 
 for Sweetnefs above mc'ft Birds: And albeit the 
 old ones feed filthily upon Dorrs, Beetels, and ve¬ 
 nomous Spiders, yet the young ones are fed by the 
 Titling, their Fofter-dam, with Gnats, Flies, 
 and red Worms, having no venomous nor bad 
 Quality. 
 
 F E D O JE. 
 
 _ Godwits are known to be a fenny Fowl, living 
 with Worms about Rivers Banks, and nothing 
 fweet or wholefome, till they have been fatted at 
 
 home 
 
184 Health’/ Improvement. 
 
 home with pure Corn ; but a fatGodwit is fo fin 
 and light a Meat, that Noblemen, yea, and Mer 
 chants too, by your Leave, ftick not to buy then 
 at four Nobles a Dozen. Lincolnjhire afforded 
 great Plenty of them, elfewhere they are rare ii 
 England wherefoever I have travelled. 
 
 ERYTHOPODES & GLOTTIDES. 
 
 Redfhanks alfo and Gluts feed in the Fens upoi 
 Red-feeds, Bents, and Worms, and are of n< 
 bad Tafte, nor evilNourifhment. 
 
 OCHROPODES. 
 
 Smirings live in waterifh Copfes with Worms 
 and are a fine and delicate Meat. 
 
 P I C I. 
 
 Pyesor Haggifies feed upon Flefh, Eggs, Worm: 
 and Ants; their Flefh is very hard and loathfome. 
 /unlefs they be very young, and then are they 
 only the Meat of Poverty. 
 
 G R A C U L I. 
 
 Jays feed upon Acorns, Beech-maft am 
 Worms, and never came into the Number oi 
 good Nourifhments, becaufe they have themfelves. 
 and procure unto others the falling Evil. 
 
 P I C I M A R T I I. 
 
 Wood-Peckers are fufpe£ted of the like Malig¬ 
 nity, tho’ they feed upon Timber-Worms, the 
 moft dainty Difh, and moil highly efteemed 
 amongft the Romans and Phrygians. 
 
 ORIOLl 
 
Of MEATS. 
 
 185 
 
 O R I O L I. 
 
 Witwols are of excellent good Nourifhment, 
 ceding upon Bees, Flies, Snails, Cherries, Plums, 
 ,nd all manner of good Fruit. 
 
 arquatula; terrestres. 
 
 Stonechatters feed as they do, and are of a very 
 r 3 ood Tafte and Juice. 
 
 I S P I D A. 
 
 The King’s-filher feedeth moft upon Water- 
 vorms and little Fifties, and is of a bad Relifti, 
 ind worfe Nouriftiment. 
 
 COCCOTHRAUSTES. 
 
 The Clotbird, called fometimes a Smatch, or 
 in Arling, is as big almoft as a Thrufii, feeding 
 :hiefly upon Cherries, and Cherry-kernels. 
 
 NUCIFRAGA. 
 
 The Nope feedeth upon Mall, Nuts, and 
 Cherries. 
 
 S I T T A. 
 
 So alfo doth the little Pyet, which we call a 
 Nutjobber. 
 
 U P U P JE. 
 
 Houps were not thought by Dr. Turner to be 
 found in England , yet I faw Mr. Serjeant Good- 
 rans kill of them in Charingdon Park, when he 
 did very fkilfully and happily cure my Lord Pem¬ 
 broke at Ivyckurcb'.- they feed upon Hurtle-berries, 
 1 ind Worms, but delight to feed moft: upon Graves, 
 ind Man’s Dung, and ftinking Soil; wherefore 
 they deferve to be counted very unwholefome. 
 
 TURDI 
 
186 Health’* Improvement. 
 
 TURDI & TURDEUE ANGLICANS. 
 
 Thrufhes-and Mavifes feed moll upon Haw 
 Sloes, Miile-berries, and Privot-berries; whic 
 being lean, deferve, as 'uintus Curtins ufed thei 
 at Ctsjar's Table, to be flung out at the Wir 
 dows ; but being young, fat, and in Seafon, an 
 by cunning drawing, rid of their Gall, they d< 
 ferve the nourifhing in Lucullus' s Cages, and to l 
 commended by Phyficians to Pompey’s Table for 
 moft wholefome Meat. 
 
 TURDI EXOTICI. 
 
 Felfares are of the like Food, and give almo 
 as good Nourifhment, yea, better, when Jun 
 per-berries be ripe, for then all their Flelh is per 
 fumed with the Scent thereof. 
 
 M E R U L JE. ' 
 
 Blackbirds are preferred by Baptiji Fiera far be 
 fore Thrufhes, Throftels or Felfares, as bein 
 nothing fo ffrong, hot, nor bitter; Ttralliani 
 commendeth all alike. Their Food is on litt! 
 Grafhoppers, Worms, Hurtle-berries, Juniper 
 berries. Ivy-berries, Bay-berries, and Haws ; the 
 are fufpe£led to be a melancholic Meat, becaui 
 they be never found but alone and folitary, where 
 upon the Latins call them Merulas , that is to lay 
 Solitarias. 
 
 S T U R N I. 
 
 Stares Flelh is dry and favoury, and good againf 
 all Poifon, if Kiranides be not miftaken. Gab 
 in one Place compares them for Goodnefs, wit! 
 Partridge, Thrufh, and Blackbirds ; in anothei 
 Place he difprai'ith them as much for their il 
 
 Juice 
 
Of MEAT S. - 187 
 
 uice, hard Digeftion, and bad Nourifhment ; 
 |/hich neverthelefs are both true, that being un- 
 erftood of young Stares fed with wholefome 
 Jeat, tliis of old Stares, who delight to feed of 
 nwholefome Meat as well as wholefome, namely, 
 femlocks, Dwale, and fuch like. 
 
 Amongft this Treatife of the greater fort of 
 .and Birds, I had almoft forgotten Owds, Rooks, 
 'rows, and Cadeffes, 
 
 N O C T U M. 
 
 Concerning Owls, when they be once old, 
 ley feed upon Mice, Frogs, Grafhoppers, and 
 11 kind of Flefh. Rabbi Mofes in his Aphorifms 
 lith, that the Flefii of young Owls is dainty and 
 ood, ftrengthening the Mind, and diverting 
 deiancholy and Madnefs: yea, I have heard 
 ertain Noblemen and Gentlemen avouch, that 
 10 young Cuckow or Partridge is a finer Meat. 
 
 CORVI LEGUMINALES. 
 
 Rooks cannot be ill Meat when they are young, 
 >r they feed chiefly upon pure Corn; but their 
 kin is tough, black, and bitter. 
 
 C O R V U S. 
 
 The Carrion Crow is generally condemned, 
 nd worthily defpifed of all Men ; as alfo the Ca- 
 efle or Jack-daw, which is not more unhappy in 
 Conditions than bad of Nourifhment. 
 
 Now we are come to treat of fmall Birds of the 
 .and, which we will divide according to the Or¬ 
 el' of the Alphabet; having firft admonifhed you, 
 hat no fmall Birds muft be over-much fodden, or 
 r-y roafled ; for then their nourifhing Moillure is 
 jon taken out 5 neither are they to be given to 
 
 ftrong 
 
188 Health’j Improvement. 
 
 ftrong Stomachs, left they be converted into Ch< 
 )er, when elfe they would wholly turn into go< 
 Blood. Finally, young Birds muft not hang ioi 
 before they be drefted ; for they are of an ai 
 Subftance which will not be foon evaporated. B 
 let us confider every one particularly in his Place 
 
 MONTI FRIN GIL LIE. 
 Bramblings are a kind of finall Birds, feedii 
 chiefly upon Seeds, Sloes, and Hawthorn-kernel 
 
 R U B E T R JE. 
 
 Buntings feed chiefly upon little Worms. 
 
 PYRRHACIA. 
 
 Bulfinches feed not only upon little Worm 
 but alfo upon Hemp-feed, and the Blofloms < 
 Pear-plums and Apple-trees. 
 
 CITRINELL£ 
 
 Citrinels or Straw-coloured Finfhes be ver 
 fmall Birds, feeding chiefly of white and blac< 
 Poppy Seed, but efpecially of the wild Popp} 
 called Red-weed. 
 
 CERTHI£ 
 
 Creepers feem to be a kind of Titmice, livin 
 upon the Worms which ingender in and betwh 
 the Barks of Trees. 
 
 F R I N G I L L M. / 
 
 Finches for the moft part live upon Seeds, efpe¬ 
 cially the Gold-finch, which refufeth to eat of afl) 
 thing elfe. 
 
 ACANTFIIS 
 
Of MEATS. 189 
 
 ACANTHIS ATLANTICA. 
 
 So alfo doth the Canary, Finch or Fifkin; yet 
 e Bull-finch in Hunger feeds upon fmall Worms; 
 id the Green-finch upon Horfe-dung and Nuts 
 frorty Weather. 
 
 ALAND!. 
 
 Larks are of three forts; Field Larks, Wood 
 arks, and Heath Larks. The firft fort feeds 
 >on Corn Seeds and Worms. The fecond chiefly 
 ion Worms. The third upon Worms and Heath 
 :ed. Some of each fort are high crefted like a 
 apwing; others uncrefted, which are counted 
 ie more wholefome. Their Temperament is hot 
 id dry in the fecond Degree, unlefs they be 
 Dung and fat, and then they fcarce exceed the 
 rft Degree. Galen and Rhafis write, that as 
 leir Broth loofeneth, fo their Flefh bindeth the 
 elly. 
 
 LINARIL 
 
 Linnets chiefly feed upon Flax Seed; but for a 
 leed they eat alfo the Seed of Hemp and Thirties. 
 
 A P O D E S. 
 
 Martinets are either fmooth or hairy legg’d ; 
 or neither of them have perfect Feet, but Stumps 
 lftead of Feet. Baptijla Flera , in his Treatife 
 f Birds, exclaimeth againft them, and calleth 
 hem Beggars Meat, ingendering moft hot and fe- 
 erilh Blood, fitter to be eaten as a Medicine to 
 juicken Eye-fight and Memory, than as a whole- 
 ome or nourilhing Meat; but being-taken when 
 hey are new fledg’d, Experience warranteth them 
 | dainty and good Meat, except they be over 
 oafted. 
 
 LUCINLfi. 
 
i$o Health’j Improvement. 
 LUCINI/E. 
 
 Nightingales, as Martial faid, are nothii| 
 worth when their Breath is departed ; for as the 
 feed filthily in the Fields upon Spiders and Ant 
 fo their Flefh is unwholefome at the Table. 
 
 PARI MAJORES. 
 
 Oxeys or great Titmice, feed, as ordinal 
 Titmice do, upon Caterpillars, Blofloms of Tree 
 Bark-Worms and Flies; but their Flefh is ui 
 wholefome. 
 
 RUBECULiE, 
 
 Robin-red breads feed upon Bees, Flies, Gnat 
 Walnuts, Nuts, and Crums of Bread ; and ai 
 edeemed alight and good Meat. 
 
 PASSERES. 
 
 Sparrows of the Houfe feed commonly on tF 
 bed Corn. They are hot and dry almod in th 
 third Degree, ingendering hot and aguifh Blooi 
 1 he bed are the younged, fatted, and wildef 
 Irallianus commends lean Sparrows only to fuc 
 as are fick of the Tympany ; and young Cock 
 fparrows Flefh, as well as their Stones and Brains 
 to fuch as be cold of Nature, and unable to Vcnu 
 Sports. Halyabhas willeth fuch Aden to mine 
 young Cc.ck-fparrows with Eggs and Onions, an 
 to eat them in a Gally-mawfry ; and perhaf 
 you may find them a better Medicine than Di 
 'Julius ’’s Bottle, that is faid to have cod 20 /. 
 Pint; but the red and Hedge Sparrows feed il 
 and are both unwholefome. 
 
 HIRUNDINES. 
 
 Swallows, be they either Houfe-Swailows, 0 
 Bank-Swallows, are of the Nature and Opcratioi 
 
 to 
 
Of M E A T S. I 9 I 
 
 Martlets, but that they are efteemed the hotter 
 
 both. 
 
 C U R R U C A. 
 
 The Titling, Cucknel, or unfortunate Nurfe, 
 r theCuckow ever lays her Egg in the Titling’s 
 •ft) feeds upon Gnats, Flies, and Worms; it 
 i very hot Bird, coming in and going out with 
 ■ • Nightingale, but of a delicate Tafte. 
 
 ; pari. 
 
 Titmice are of divers Shapes with us in England ; 
 ne be long, others be very fhort tail’d \ feme 
 ye black Heads, fome blue, fome green, fome 
 [jin, and fome copped \ all of them feed but ill, 
 jl nourifh worfe. 
 
 MOTACILLiE. 
 
 Wagtails live upon Flies, Worms, and fat 
 'th, being no bad Meatwhilft they are young ; 
 efs fome, becaufe their Tail is ever trembling, 
 IF therefore divine that they are ill for the 
 king Pally. 
 
 R E G U L I. 
 
 Wrens feed finely, and fometimes fill them- 
 r es fo full of little Flies, that their Bellies are 
 J to burft. Their Flelh being falted, cureth 
 ingullions, and the Stone not confirmed ; but 
 Man ever wrote that they give good Nourilh- 
 nt. 
 
 galguli. 
 
 Fellow Hammers feed, as the mod part of 
 trnice, of Seeds and Grain ; namely, the Seeds 
 white and red Rofes, Poppy, Burs, Thirties, 
 ccory and Endive, or, In the Winter-time 
 ng fat, they are counted wholefome : at other 
 ies they are lean and alfo bitter. 
 
 CHAP. 
 
192 
 
 Health’.? Improvement. 
 
 , CHAP. XII. 
 
 1.0/ the Flejh of Wild Fowl , abiding an 
 feeding chiefly upon the Waters. 
 
 SYGNI SYLVESTRES. 
 
 O F all Water Fowl, the wild Swan is tl 
 biggeft and fatteft in outward Shew : but, 
 l faid of tame Swans, it refembleth a Hypocrit 
 for his Flefh is black, melancholic, and hard 
 Di a eftion, tho* not fo hard as the tame, by re 
 fon of his much flying. 
 
 ANSERES SYLVESTRES. 
 
 Wild Geefe are for the fame Reafon better th 
 tame, for their high and long Flight breedt 
 Tendernefs of Body, and expelleth many gr| 
 and heavy Vapours ; but of all other the Beig< 
 der is the belt and lighteft. 
 
 anates fer/e. 
 
 Wild Ducks feed chiefly upon a green^narr 
 leaved Grafs, called therefore Ducks-Grafs 
 Crefcentius , which lieth upon the Waters in Mo< 
 Ponds and Plalhes, all Winter long: but they 
 likewife the Leaves, Seeds, and Roots of ot 
 Water Plants, and alfo Worms, Spawns of Hi 
 and Frogs, young Sedge, fat Mud, Water-fpid 
 and all venomous and foul Things : they are 
 lefs letcherous than Cock-fparrows, who, as 
 often treading they kill themfelves, and live 
 
Of M E A T S. ,93 
 
 (ill they be two Years old, fo wild Ducks by often 
 treading kill their Hens. 
 
 ANATES MUSCARLE. 
 
 But there is a kind of wild Duck, called Anas 
 Mufcaria , becaufe it eats nothing but Flies ; 
 which is of as wholefome and good Nourifhment, 
 as the other is bad and heavy of Digeftion. 
 
 BRANTS. 
 
 Barnicles both breed unnaturally by Corruption, 
 and tafte very unfavoury. Poor Men eat them, 
 rich Men hate them, and wife Men rejeft them 
 when they have other Meat. 
 
 QU E R Q_U ED ULJE. 
 
 Teals and Widgins feed alike upon Worms, 
 Herbs, Roots and Seeds; commonly they are 
 very fat and fweet of Tafte, much to be efteemed 
 above wild Ducks or Geefe, yet fufpeded of ill 
 Juice by many Authors. 
 
 T O T A N I. 
 
 Pool Snipes live wholly upon Fifh, and there¬ 
 fore have a ftrong and uncouth Relifh. 
 
 MERGANSERES. 
 
 Shell-drakes, or the Ducks of Italy , are of 
 moft pleafant Tafte, feeding purely themfelves, 
 ind us as ftrongly ; fometimes they wax fo fat, 
 that their Feathers being pull’d off, their Body 
 lath weighed twelve Pound Weight. 
 
 URINATRICES. 
 
 ^ Divers feed moft upon Reeds, Reed-Roots, and 
 ^addis-Worms breeding in them. 
 
 i \ SCAR- 
 
s94 HealthV Improvement. 
 
 SCARBOIDES. 
 
 Such likewife is the Dobchicks Food ; but it is 
 -of a ftrong Smell, and fatter and tenderer than the 
 moft part of Fowls that be cloven-footed. 
 
 F U L I C M. 
 
 Coots feed upon Reeds, Mud, Grafs, little 
 Snails, and fmall Fifhes they are of a ftrong and 
 muddy Savour, beft in Autumn, but never whole- 
 fome. 
 
 N I G R I T JE. 
 
 Moor-cocks and Moor-hens, as alfo Pocards, 
 be of the like Nature with Coots, fave that a fat 
 Pocard is counted a dainty, tho’ not a wholefome 
 Meat. 
 
 P I C I MARINI. 
 
 Sea-pies, as Dr. Cajus writeth, refemble other 
 Pies in Colour, but they have whole Feet like 
 Water Fowl; they feed upon Spawn, Frogs, and 
 Fry of Fifh, and are but of a bad Tafte. 
 
 M E R G I. j 
 
 Cormorants, be they grey or black, feed moft 
 of Fifh and Frogs, but efpecially of Eels, and 
 relifh badly. 
 
 A R CLU ATI. 
 
 Curtues feed wholefomely upon Cockles, Cer- 
 vifles, Mufcles, and Periwinkles, which maketh 
 them to have no ill Tafte, and to be counted re- 
 ftorative amongft the French , if they be fat. 
 
 GULONES ALBI & CINEREI. 
 
 White Gulls, Grey Gulls, and Black Gulls, 
 {commonly termed by the Name of Plungers and 
 Water-crows) are rejedled of every Man as a fifhy 
 Meat; neverthelefs being fed at home with new/ 
 l Curds 
 
Of MEATS. l 9 5 
 
 Curds and good Corn till they be fat, you {hall 
 feldom tafte of a lighter or better Meat. * 
 
 PUFINA BRITANNICA. 
 
 Puffins being Birds and no Birds, that is to fay. 
 Birds in Shew, and Fifti in Subftance, or, as one 
 may juftly call them, feather’d Fifties, are of ill 
 Tafte, and worfe Digeftion, how dainty foever 
 they feem to ftrange Appetites, and are permitted 
 i?y Popes to be eaten in Lent. 
 
 ERYTHROPODES. 
 
 Redlings or Water-Redlhanks feed as Water- 
 Rails do, and be of tire like Nouriftnnent. 
 
 RALE IE AQUATICS. 
 
 Water-Rails are preferred in Italy before 
 Thrufhes or Quails; they feed upon Water-fnails 
 nd Water-flies, and the Worms breeding in the 
 loots of Reeds : They be very fweet and pleafant 
 '/ ^ a ^ e » giving alfo a fine and wholefome Nou- 
 ifhment. 
 
 L A R I. 
 
 Sea-Mews and Sea-Cobs feed upon Garbage 
 nd Fifti, thought therefore an unclean and bad 
 leat; but being fatted, as Gulls ufe to be, they 
 Iter their ill Nature, and become good. 
 
 plated. 
 
 i Shovelars feed moft commonly upon the Sea- 
 Daft on Cockles and Shell—fifh ; being taken home 
 id dieted with new Garbage and good Meat, 
 tey are nothing infeiior to fatted Gulls. 
 
 IT 
 
 I 2, 
 
 
 C H A P, 
 
196 Health^ Improvement. 
 
 CHAP. XL 
 
 Of the Inwards and Outwards both of 
 
 BIRDS and BEASTS. 
 
 T T Aving hitherto fpoken of the Flefh of Beafts 
 -*-•* and Fowls, it remaineth now to fpeak of 
 thofe Parts which are not properly Flefh, but ei¬ 
 ther of another, or a mingled Nature; namely, 
 their Fat, Marrow, Brains, Lungs, Livers,Tripes, 
 Stomachs, &c. together with their Eyes, Ears, 
 Nofes, Feet, Pinions, Tails, Rumps, Udders, 
 Stones, and Skins; whereof I will write in order. 
 
 F A T. 
 
 Fat of Beafts, as it was forbidden the Ifraelltes 
 by God himfelf, for fome Caufe unto himfelf beft 
 known ; fo there be many Reafons to perfuade us 
 not to eat of the fame: for it takes away Appe¬ 
 tite, gluts the Stomach, hardly digefteth, turneth 
 wholly to Excrements, and decayeth the reten¬ 
 tive Powers, efpecially if it be the Fat of greater 
 Beafts, or the greater fort of Birds : for the Fat 
 of Rabbit-fuckers, and little Birds, and fmall 
 Chickens, is not difcommendable, becaufe it is 
 foon and lightly overcome of an indifferent Sto¬ 
 mach. Of fat Beafts and Birds notwathftanding, 
 the Lean is fweeteft, fo they be not exceeding fat 
 through cramming, but upon their own Feeding, 
 by reafon that it is bafted and fupplied w r ith the 
 Oilinefs thereof, and made both tender and of 
 good Relifli. Wherefore let fome commend lard 
 
Oj M* E ATS. jgy 
 
 and fat Broths never fo much, and flap it up as 
 greedily as they lift, yet they will reward us in 
 the End with many Difeafes, unlefs their Stomachs 
 be exceeding ftrong and good. 
 
 MARROW. 
 
 Marrow is the fineft Part, or, as it were, the 
 Sweat of Fat, fecretly conveyed into Bones ; 
 fweet, undtuous, and pleafant of Tafte, nourilhing 
 them whofe Bodies be dry, and Stomachs able to 
 digeft it. It is fodden ufually with Capons, Cock- 
 rels and Hens, in a nourifhing white Broth, and 
 alfo dainty Pies be made thereof; but I have 
 known many Men to have furfeited of them, and 
 therefore I dare not generally allow of Marrow. 
 Of'all Marrows, I find the Marrow of a Deer 
 eafieft to digeft, next of a young Mutton, and 
 Beef Marrow to be the heavieft. The Marrow 
 of a Goat is very offenfive, and the Marrow of 
 Lambs or Calves are not good, becaufe they are 
 crude, bloody, and imperfedl for want of Age. 
 
 brains. 
 
 The Egyptians thought it a capital Offence to 
 eat the Head of any thing, for the Brains-fake, 
 wherein they thought the Soul of every living 
 thing to be placed. And Plutarch faith, that 
 many things were thought delicate in his time, 
 which no Man before deftred or dared to tafte, as 
 the Brains of Birds and Beafts. How abjedt a 
 thing Brains were in old time, appeareth in UlyJJes ’s 
 fcoffing of Agamemnon, comparing him with a 
 Calf’s Brain, as with a mo ft abjedt and vile thing, 
 which all Men caft away. And verily Brains for 
 the moft part are exceeding phlegmatic, of grofs 
 Juice, hard Paflage, flow Concodlion, great 
 
 I 3 Heavi- 
 
298 HealthV Improvement. 
 
 Heavinefs, and fo offenfive to the Stomach, that 
 being eaten laft, or with any fat Meat, they 
 trouble the fame exceedingly, and procure Vomit; 
 wherefore we do well to eat the Brains of Calves, 
 Lambs, Kids, and Pigs, at the beginning of Din¬ 
 ner or Supper, for were they eaten laft, through 
 their unduous fuperfiuous Moifture, we fhould 
 bring up all. Likcwile I commend the toafting 
 of Pigs Brains at the Fire, being the moifteft of 
 all other; the thorough roafting of Hares Brains, 
 and Rabbits Brains ; and the mingling of Sage, 
 Salt, Pepper, and Vinegar with Calves Brains. 
 
 Concerning the Brains of Birds, none are abso¬ 
 lutely commendable, but of fuch Fowl as be of a 
 temperate Conftitution, as Cocks, Chickens, Ca¬ 
 pons, Pullets, Partridge and Pheafant. Alfo the 
 Brains of roafted Woodcocks. Snipes, Blackbirds, 
 and. all fmall Birds, are accounted wholefome; 
 but the Brains of great Birds, Water-Fowl, 
 Pidgeons, and all forts of wild Doves, are counted 
 by the old and learned Arabians very dangerous; 
 only Quails Brains are commended by Galen againft 
 the Falling Sicknefs, and Cranes Brains again!! the 
 Haemorrhoids. 
 
 TONGUES. 
 
 The Tongues of Beafts feem to be wholly of a 
 fiefhy Subftance ; which if we deny not becaufe it 
 is full of Mufcles, yet verily the Flefli thereof is 
 more fpongy and oily than of any Flefh befides. 
 JEfop and Thales called Tongues the beft and the 
 worft part ot the Body , but as an Als s Bones 
 make the fweeteft Regal Pipes of all others, thci ' 
 the living Afs be leaft -mufical; fo let the living 
 Tongues of any Bealls be never fo bad, yet they 
 are without companion the fweeteft Meat of all 
 
 others, 
 
Of MEATS. J 99 
 
 thers, when dead and drefs’d : For the Tongues 
 of Beafts are foft, temperate, light, moift and 
 fpongv, never faulty of themfelves, but marred 
 oftentimes by Mifcookery. As for Birds Tongues, 
 they are generally exceeding dry, hard, andgrifly. 
 Parrots Tongues excepted, neither could I ever 
 find any Caufe, but becaufe a curious and fump- 
 tuous Fool would have it fo, why Helicgabahis 
 Should have Pies made of Nightingales Tongues. 
 
 CHINE-MARROW. 
 
 Pith-Marrow, running all along from the hin¬ 
 der Brain, whereof no doubt it is a Portion, to 
 the End of the Back-bone or Chine of Beafts, is 
 no doubt much harder and drier than the Brain 
 itfelf, efpecially towards the further End of the 
 Back ; which Drynefs makes it lefs loathfome to 
 the Stomach than Brains are ; yea, furthermore, 
 it ftrengtheneth that Body which is able to con- 
 codt it. Many are of Opinion, that Caudles 
 made ftrong with the Pith of a Steer, and Yolks 
 of new-laid Eggs, do by a fecret Property reftore 
 Nature, and recover the Weaknefs of Loins caufed 
 by Venery. Montagnana maketh a fmgular Con- 
 fedfion of divers Marrows to that Purpofe, which 
 I will not fet down in Englijh , left Wantons be 
 too bold to follow their Follies. 
 
 HEARTS. 
 
 Hearts of all living Creatures, whilft Life en- 
 dureth, are moft adtive and effedtual to many 
 Purpofes ; but after Death there is no Part of lefs 
 i Ufe, nor lefs Nourifhment ; yea, they are harder 
 of Digeftion than any Entrail, concodfed with no 
 fmall Difficulty, tho’ chofen from the youngeft 
 
 I 4 and 
 
200 Health’j Improvement.. 
 
 and tendereft fort of Fowls or Beads ; yet if any 
 do overcome them, they give no weak nor bad 
 Nourilhment. 
 
 LUNGS. 
 
 Lungs of Beads are fofter than the Heart, 
 Liver, Kidneys and Spleens ; eafier therefore of 
 Ccncodion, tho’ of a more phlegmatic and frothy 
 Subdance. Tacuinus commendeth them greatly 
 to young Men fick of hot Agues, becaufe they 
 both temper their hot and dry Difpodtion, as alfo 
 for that they be light, and foon concoded. But 
 he faith, that therefore they are ill for drong and 
 labouring Men, whom fo light a Meat cannot dif¬ 
 fidently nourifh, but is more likely to putrefy their 
 Stomachs. The Lungs of Foxes are no wholefome 
 Meat, but rather Medicine to fore Lungs. 
 
 LIVERS. ^ 
 
 Livers of all Beads give but grofs Nourifhment, 
 and are hardly conceded, and of flow Paflage ; 
 unlefs it be of Sucklings, or of young Swine fed 
 v ith pure Meat. The Livers of tame Fowl, as 
 Hens, Capons, Chickens, Ducklings and Geefe, 
 fatted with wholefome and white Meat, pleafe the 
 Tade, clear the Eye-fight, agree w'ith the Sto¬ 
 mach, and increafe Blood. Cranes Livers fodden 
 in the Broth of Cicers afiwage the Pain of the 
 Back and Kidneys, but they are of a fmall and bad 
 Nourifhment. The Livers of Larks and Snipes 
 are very fweet and redorative, as alfo of a Wood- ' 
 cock, which hath of all other Birds (for. proportion 
 ©f his Body) the greated Liver. 
 
 TRIPES. 
 
Of M E A T S. 
 
 201 
 
 'TRIPES. 
 
 Stomachs, Paunches, and Guts of Beafts, are 
 far harder in Subftance than their X lefh, requiring 
 much Time e’er they can be conco&ed, deferving 
 fcarce the Name of Meat, becaufe they give fo 
 little Nouriihment, and fo much Excrement: yea, 
 all Tripes and Chitterlings made of elder Beafts (be 
 they Oxen, Swine, or Deer) tho’ accidentally 
 through foucing they procure Appetite, yet natu¬ 
 rally they are foul and unvvholefome Meat, ingen¬ 
 dering Scabs, Itches, and Leprofies, and other 
 filthy Difeafes like themfelves : yet the Fafte of 
 Tripes did feem fo delicate to the Romans , that 
 they often killed Oxen for the I ripes fake, not 
 caring what became of the Flefh, till fuch time as 
 their licentious Appetite was bridled by Banifh- 
 ment if any fhould attempt the like again. But 
 the Maws or Gizzards of Hens, Capons, Chic¬ 
 kens, and Geefe efpecially, are- both tender and 
 pulpy, and are fuppofed extraordinarily to corro¬ 
 borate the Stomach. So likewife the Guts of 
 Larks, Woodcocks and Snipes, give no bad Nou- 
 rifhment, being prefently roafted as foon as the 
 Birds be taken. 
 
 MILTS. 
 
 Spleens of Beafts give an unpleafantTafte, and 
 a worfe Nourifhment; and no marvel, for if 
 Livers, being the Fountains of Blood, be of hard 
 and unwholefome Juice, how can Spleens, the 
 Sinks and Sponges of the Liver, prove wholefome 
 Meat? Only fuch Hogs Spleen is commended 
 which hath fed long upon Tamarifk, whereby all 
 grofs, four, and melancholic Humours have been 
 confumed in it. Paracelfus is the firffc that eve r 
 
 X 5 com- 
 
202 Health”* Improvement. 
 
 commended an Ox’s Spleen as available to haden 
 the Courfes of Women. 
 
 KIDNEYS. 
 
 Kidneys of Beads (for Birds have none, the 
 Bat excepted, which alfo hath Breads, and giveth 
 Milk) be of a middle Temper betwixt Flefh and 
 Kernels, of hard Conco&ion and ill Juice, efpe- 
 daily in the greater forts of Beads, always keep¬ 
 ing a Smack of that which pafleth through them, 
 and being too drong for mod Stomachs ; the Kid¬ 
 neys of fucking Lambs, Calves, Pigs, and Kids, 
 are the tendered and the bed, but when they have 
 left fucking they are all too rank. 
 
 KERNELS and SWEET-BREADS. 
 
 Kernels of Beads, efpecially fuch as ly about, 
 the Throat and Bread of fucking Calves, Kids 
 and Lambs, are a very good Meat being well di- 
 geded, drawing near to the Noumhment of Flefh; 
 but if they be not well digeded, they breed raw 
 and phlegmatic Humours. Our Countrymen do 
 well fird to road and then to boil the Sweet-bread 
 of Beads, for thereby all fuperfluous Moidure is 
 confumed. Kernels of Fowls ly chiefly about the 
 Rump on either Side thereof, and are, as many 
 -Jake it, very redorative.. 
 
 The M A T R I X . I 
 
 The Matrix of Beads, yea, of a barren Doe,, 
 fo highly edeemed, is but a dnewy and hard 
 Subdance, flow of Digedion, and little Nourifhl 
 went, 
 
 EYES. 
 
Of MEATS. 
 
 203. 
 
 EYES. 
 
 Eyes of young Beafts and young Birds are not 
 unwholefome, being feparated from their Skins* 
 Fat, Balls, and Humours; for then nothing re- 
 maineth but a fweet, tender and mufculous Flefti, 
 which is very eafy of Digeftion. 
 
 EARS, SNOUTS, and LIPS. 
 
 The Ears, Snouts, and Lips of Beafts being 
 bloodlefs and of a ftnewy Nature, are more wa- 
 terifh, vifcous, and phlegmatic, than that they 
 may be commended for any good or indifferent 
 Nourifhment. 
 
 PINIONS and FEET. 
 
 The Pinions of Birds, and the Feet of Beafts, 
 are of like Difpofition ; yet the Pinions of Geefe, 
 Hens, Capons and Chickens, are of good Nourifh¬ 
 ment ; and fo are the h eet of young Hogs, Pigs, 
 Lambs and Calves; yea, alfo a tender Cow-heel 
 is counted reftorative ; and Heliogabalus the Em¬ 
 peror, amongft his moft dainty and luftful Difhes,. 
 made Pies of Cocks Combs, Cocks Stones, Night-, 
 ingales Tongues, and Camels Heels, as Larnpri- 
 dius writeth. Galen alfo for Men ftck of Agues 
 boil’d Pigs petti-toes in Barley-water, whereby 
 each was bettered by the other; the Ptifan making 
 them the more tender,- and they making the Pti¬ 
 fan more nourifhing and agreeable to the Stomach. 
 1 hat fodden Geefe-Feet were reftorative, MeJ~ 
 falinus Cotta by Trial found out, if Pliny maybe 
 credited. The Tails or Rumps of Beafts are 
 counted by certain unfkilful Phyftcians, yea, of 
 Dr. ./Atfrhimfelf, to be hard of Digeftion. Firft, 
 Becaufe they are fo far diftant from the Fountain 
 
 I 6 of 
 
204 Health’^ Improvement. 
 
 of Heat. Secondly, Becaufe they are moft of a 
 finewy Conditutiop; to which if a third had been 
 added, that they are but Covers of a Clofe-dool, 
 perhaps his Arguments would have been of fome 
 indifferent Weight; for indeed the farther any 
 part is from the Heart, it is fed and nourifhed 
 with the more fine and temperate Blood ; alfo the 
 Extremities or Ends of Sinews are of drongywhole- 
 fome and good Nouriflimcnt; but as for the Tails 
 and Rumps of Beads, it is indifferently mingled 
 of Elefh, Sinews and Fat; fo that the very Ana¬ 
 tomy of them {hews them to be a Meat agreeable 
 to all Stomachs; and verily whofoever hath eaten 
 of a Pye made only of Mutton Rumps, cannot 
 but confefs it a light, wholefome and good Nou- 
 rifhment. The Rumps of Birds are correfpon- 
 dent, having Kernels inftead of Flefh ; but when 
 they are too fat, they overclog and cloy the Sto¬ 
 mach. 
 
 UDDERS. 
 
 The Udders of Milch Beads, as Kine, Ewes, 
 Does, and She-Goats, are a laudable Tade, and 
 better than Tripes, becaufe they are of a more 
 flefliy Nature. Lean Udders mud be fodden ten¬ 
 der in fat Broth; fat Udders may be fodden alone 
 each of them need firft a little corning with Salt, 
 being naturally of a phlegmatic and moid Sub- 
 ftance. 
 
 STONES. 
 
 The Stones of a Boar work Marvels, faith Pif- 
 faneUus, in decayed Bodies, dirring up Lud thro’ 
 abundance of Seed, gathered by fuperfluous and 
 rank Nourifhment. Indeed when Bucks and .Stags 
 are ready for the Rut, their Stones and Pifels are 
 taken for the like Purpofe: As for the Stones of 
 vounp Cocks, Pheafants, Drakes, Partridges and 
 " ° Sparrows, 
 
Of MEATS. 205 
 
 Iparrows, it were a World to write how highly 
 hey are efteemed. Averrhoes thinks that the 
 itones of a young Cock, being kept long in 
 ;ood Feeding, and feparated from his Hens, do 
 :very Day add fo much Flefh unto our Bodies as 
 he Stones themfelves are in Weight. Avicen as 
 nuch efteemeth Cock-fparrows Stones, or rather 
 nore. But the Paduan Doctors (but efpecially 
 )r. Calveshead ) giveth that Faculty to the Stones 
 >f Pheafants and Partridges above all others. 
 
 SKIN. 
 
 The Skins of Beads, yea, of a roafted Pig, is 
 s far from nourifbing, that it can hardly be well 
 igefted of a ftrong Stomach. Some Birds are 
 odden or roaited without their Skins, becaufe 
 hey are black and bitter, as Rooks, Daws, Coots, 
 nd Moor-hens; and howfoever others are fpared, 
 et the Skin of no Bird turneth to Nourifhment, 
 iut rather to ill Humours or filthy Excrements, 
 'fay, the very Skin of an Egg, of a Nut, an Al- 
 nond, a Prune, a Raifin, or a Curran, and ge- 
 lerallyof all Fruit, is fo far from nourifhing, that 
 ; cometh out of the ftrongeft Man’s Body, either 
 yhole or broken, as it went in. 
 
 CHAP. XIV. 
 
 % . 
 
 Of M I L K. 
 
 ^Orafmuch as Children’s Stomachs, and old 
 “ Men’s Bodies, and confumed Men’s Natures 
 >e fo weak, that not only all hlefh and Fifh, but 
 
 1 alfo 
 
206 Health^ Improvement. 
 
 alfo the Fruits of the Earth are burdenforae to their 
 tender and weak Bowels •, Cjod tendering the grow¬ 
 ing of the one, the Preservation of the other, and 
 the redoring of the third, hath therefore appoint¬ 
 ed Milk; which the younged Child, the weari¬ 
 ed old Man, and fuch as Sicknefs hath confumedl 
 may eafily digeft. If we would define or defcribe 
 what Milk is, it feemeth to be nothing but white 
 Blood, or rather the abundant part of Blood whit- 
 ned in the Breads of fuch Creatures as are ordained 
 by Nature to give Suck; appointed properly for 
 Children and fucking little ones, but accidentally 
 for ail Men, fick either of confuming Difeafes or 
 old Age. That Women’s Milk is fitted for young 
 Children, may eafily be proved by the Courfe of 
 Nature, which converteth the Superfluity of Blood 
 in a W oman bearing her Child within her to the 
 Breads, for no other Purpofe than that fhe Ihould 
 nourjfh her own Babe: For truly nothing is fb 
 imperfect, defedive, naked, deformed, and filthy 
 as a Man, when he is newly born into the World 
 through a drait-and outdretched PaflTage, defiled 
 with Blood, replenifhed with Corruption, more 
 like to a flain than a living Creature, whom no 
 body would vouchfafe to take up and look on, 
 much lefs to wadi, kifs, and embrace it, had not 
 Nature infpired an inward Love in the Mother 
 towards her own, and in fuch as be the Mother’s 
 Friends. 
 
 lienee it cometh that Mothers yet hot and 
 fweating with Travail, trembling dill for their 
 many and extieme T brows, forget not their new* 
 born Babes, but fmile upon them in their greateft 
 Weaknefs, heaping Labour upon Labour, chang¬ 
 ing the Night’s Trouble with the Day’s Unquiet- 
 neis, differing it to tade no other Milk than that 
 
 where* 
 
Of MEATS. 207 
 
 wherewith in their Bellies it was maintained. 
 This doth a kind and natural Mother, if Ihe be 
 of a found and indifferent ftrong Conftitution, 
 for her Child ; and thus did Eve , Sarah , Rebecca, 
 and Rachel , yea, all Women which truly loved 
 their Children, and were both able and willing to 
 feed their own. There be many Reafons why 
 Mothers fhould be afraid to commit their Children 
 to ftrange Women. 1. Becaufe no Milk can be 
 fo natural unto them as their own. 2. Becaufe it 
 is to be feared left their Children may draw ill 
 Qualities from their Nurfes both of Body and 
 Mind, as it fell out in Jupiter , whom whilft his 
 Mother committed to Aega^ Olen’s Daughter and 
 Pan’s Wife, to be nurfed by her, the Country¬ 
 woman living only upon Goats Milk, could not 
 but be of a ftrong lafcivious Nature, which left 
 fuch an Impreffion in the Child, that growing once 
 to the Age of a Stripling, he was in love with 
 every fair Wench, lay with his own Sifter, forced 
 his own Neices, left no fair Woman unaflaulted, 
 if either by Gold, or Intreaty, or Craft, and 
 transforming himfelf he could obtain her Love. 
 Nay, when he was full of Women’s Company, 
 he loved Boys, and abufed himfelf unnaturally 
 in companying with Beafts. The like alfo is re¬ 
 corded of JEgyfthus, who being fed in a Shepherd’s 
 Cottage only with Goats Milk, waxed thereupon 
 lb goatifh and lecherous, that he defiled not only 
 Agamemnon ’s Bed, but alfo neighed in a manner 
 at every Man’s Wife. 
 
 Neverthelefs, if the Mother’s Weaknefs be fuch 
 that Ihe cannot, or her Frowardnefs fuch, that Ihe 
 will not nurfe her own Child, then another mult 
 ibe taken fuitable to the Child’s Conftitution ; for 
 a fine and dainty Child requireth a Nurfe like to 
 
 itfelf, 
 
20 § Health’* Improvement. 
 
 .itfelf, and the Child of ftrong and clownifti Pa¬ 
 rents, muft have a Nurfe of a ftrong and clown¬ 
 ifti Diet: for as Lambs fucking She-Goats 
 bear coarfe Wool, and Kids fucking Ewes bear 
 foft Hair; fo fine Children degenerate by grofs 
 Womens Milk, lofing or leflening that Excellency 
 of Nature, Wit, and Complexion, which from 
 their Parents they firft obtained : Neither is Wo¬ 
 mens Milk beft only for young and tender In¬ 
 fants, but alfo for Men and Women of riper 
 Years, fallen by Age or by Sicknefs into Con- 
 fumptions. Beft I mean in the way of Nourifh- 
 »- ment, for otherwife Afles Milk is beft, for fome 
 Cows Milk, and for others Goats Milk ; becaufe 
 the one cleanfes, the other loofens, and the third 
 ftrengtheneth more than the reft. Goats Milk is 
 alfo better for weak Stomachs, becaufe they feed 
 on Boughs more than Grafs. Sheeps Milk is 
 fweeter, thicker, and more nourifiling, yet lefs 
 agreeable to the Stomach, becaufe it is fatter. 
 Cows Milk is mod medicinal, becaufe with us it 
 loofeneth the Body, though in Arcadia it ftay- 
 eth the Belly, and alfo cureth Confumptions 
 better than any other Milk. Finally, the Milk 
 of any Beaft chewing the Cud, as Goats, Sheep, 
 and Kine, is very ill forRhums, Murs, Coughs, 
 Fevers, Head-achs, Stoppings, and Inflammations 
 of any inward Part; for fore E> es alfo, and fhak- 
 ino- of Sinews. Avicen faith, that their Milk is 
 hurtful to young Men, becaufe they are choleric ; 
 to fore Eyes, Head-achs, Agues and Rheums, 
 becaufe it is full of Vapours; to Convulfions and 
 Cramps, by reafon of Repletion; to Refolution 
 or Palfies, by over moiftening; to the Stone and 
 Obftructions, becaufe the Cheefy part of it is very 
 
Of MEATS. 209 
 
 Of Beafts not chewing the Cud, Camels Milk 
 ; the fweeteft and thineft of all other; Mares 
 4 ilk the next, and Affes Milk of a middle Tem- 
 er : not fo thin, but that it nourilheth much *, 
 or fo thick, as that eafily it will curdle. As Milk 
 
 thinneft in the Spring, and thickeft in Summer, 
 ecaufe then the Wheyifh part is refolved by Sweat; 
 nd all Meats then obtain a drier Faculty. 
 
 Signs of the bejl Milk . 
 
 There be four Wavs in Women and Beafts to 
 now the moft nourilhing and fubftantial Milk ; 
 amely, by the Colour, Smell, Conftftence and 
 rafte. For the beft Milk is of a Pearl Colour, 
 leither blue, tranfparent, nor grey, but white, 
 lear, and confufed j the Conftftence of it is neither 
 hin nor thick, hanging like a Row of Pearls 
 pon one’s Nail, if it be milked on it, not over 
 laftily running off. In Tafte it is not four, bitter, 
 alt, fweet, (harp, nor ftrong, but fweet, yet not 
 n Excefs, and pleafant after an extraordinary kind 
 »f Pleafantnefs : yet Galen affirmeth, that if Milk 
 ould be tailed when it is firft conco&ed in the 
 /eins and Breafts^it would feem fweeter than 
 ioney itfelf. The Smell likewife of it is pure 
 md fragrant, tho’ proper to itfelf, and void of 
 .voathfomnefs. 
 
 I 
 
 Caufes of good Milk. 
 
 Alfo it is much material to the Goodnefs of 
 Vliik, to have fpecial regard to the Diet of thofe 
 Creatures whofe Milk we ufe, or chufe for our 
 Children. Galen reporteth, that a Friend’s Child 
 of his, having loft his good Nurfe by an untimely 
 
 Death, 
 
2io Health’* Improvement. 
 
 Death, was put out to another; who in time o 
 Dearth being forced to feed chiefly upon Fruit ant 
 Roots, and Acorn Bread, infeded her Child, a 
 inc hei felf was infedted, with much grievous an< 
 filthy Scabs. And I pray you what elfe is tht 
 Caufe, that many Children nurfed in the Countn 
 are fo fubject to Frets, Sharpnefs of Urine and tht 
 Stone, but that their Nurfes for the mod part ea 
 Rye Bread flrongof the Leaven, and hard Cheefe 1 
 and drimc nothing but muddy and new Ale? Ii 
 is alfo recorded, that a young Man fick of a Con- 
 lumption ufed the Milk of a Goat to his grea^ 
 Good, fo long as it fed in his own Field; but af-. 
 teiward feeding in another Field where Store o 
 Scammony grew, and fome wild Spurge, he fel 
 into a deadly Scouring, and felt no Nourifhment. 
 
 Furthermore Care is to be taken of their Health 
 that give us Milk ; for as an unclean and pocky 
 Nurfe, which woful Experience daily proveth, in- 
 fecfeth mod found and lively Children; fo likewife 
 a clean, found and healthful Nurfe, recovereth a 
 fickly and impotent Child. Nay, which is more , 1 
 no Man can juftly doubt, that a Child’s Mind 
 is anfwerable to his Nurfe’s Milk and Manners: 
 For what made Jupiter and /Egyjlus fo lecherous, 
 but that they were chiefly fed with Goats Milk? 
 M hat made Romulus and Polyphemus fo cruel, but 
 that they weie nurfed by She-Wolves ? What 
 made Pelias , Tyrus and Neptune's Son, fo brutifh, 
 but that he was nurfed by an unhappy Mare ? Is it 
 any Marvel alfo, that Giles the Abbot, as the Saint* 
 regifter writeth, continued fo long the Love of 4 
 lolitary Life in Woods and Deferts, when three 
 Years together he fuck’d a Doe ? What made 
 i ^r-Gajus in his laft Sicknefs fo peevifh and fo full, 
 ol }’icts at Carnbridgs , when he fuck’d one Wo¬ 
 man, | 
 
0 / MEATS. 211 
 
 van, whom I fpare to name, froward of Condi- 
 ions and of bad Diet; and contrariwife fo quiet 
 nd well, when he fuck’d another of contrary 
 )ifpofition ? Verily the Diverfity of their Milks 
 nd Conditions, which being contrary one to the 
 ither, wrought all'o in him that fucked them con- 
 rary EfFe&s. 
 
 Now having (hewed what Milk is bed, and how 
 o be chofen, let us confider how it is to be taken 
 nd ufed of us. Fird, therefore, if any naturally 
 oath it, as Petrus Aponenfts did from the Day of 
 lis Birth, it cannot pofiibly give him any good 
 'Tourifhment, but perhaps very much Hurt in of- 
 ending Nature. If contrariwife any with P kili¬ 
 ms love nothing elfe, or with the poor Bizonians, 
 :an get no other Meat, or with the Tartarian^ 
 nd Arabians feed mod often willingly on Milk i 
 et them all remember thefe three Ledons. 
 
 How Milk is to be eaten and ufed in time of Health . 
 
 Firft , That they drink or eat the Milk of no 
 lorned Bead unfodden, for fo will it not eafily 
 :urdle nor ingender YVind: but Womens Milk, 
 \fies Milk, and Mares Milk, need no other Fire 
 oprepare it, for it will never curdle into any hard 
 lubdance. Secondly , To be fure that Milk (hall 
 lot curdle, feafon it with Salt, Sugar, or Honey, 
 ir.d neither drink any Wine or four thing upon it, 
 por mingle it with other Meats, but eat it upon 
 In empty Stomach, and fad an Hour after it. 
 Thirdly , Exercife not prefently upon it, neither 
 leep upon any Milk taken from Beads chewing 
 he Cud ; and when you have eaten it, w T a(h your 
 Teeth clean ; for there is no greater Enemy unto 
 hem than Milk itfelf, which therefore Nature 
 
 hath 
 
212 Health’j Improvement. - 
 
 hath chiefly ordained for them, who never had or 
 have loft their Teeth. And truly, as Marcilius 
 Ficinus noteth, Milk is not to be ufed of young 
 Men, who have found Teeth given them for 
 ftronger Meat, but of fuch as either have none at 
 all, or very few and weak ones j or tho’ they 
 have ftrong Teeth, want Ability and Strength to 
 fet them a grinding, as it falleth out in them that 
 are fallen into hediic Fevers. Wherefore when 
 Poppcea , Wife to Domltius Nero , carried 500 She- 
 Affes, fhod with Gold, continually about with 
 her, to bath her Body in their Milk once a Week, 
 and to drink of it every Day, to make her Skin 
 clear and fmooth without Wrinkles, fhe left it 
 rather a Monument of her Pride, than a Memorial 
 of her Wifdom ; for Nature taught her a better 
 Meat, tho’ Art could not appoint her a finer 
 Bath. If fhe had taken it, as the Arcadians do 
 Cow-Milk, in the Spring-time only, for a Month 
 or fix Weeks together once in the Morning, to 
 cleanfe and purge the Body of bad Humours, it 
 had been good and warrantable by Phyfic ; but to 
 ufe it continually in Health, could not lefs corrupt 
 her than Goats Milk did my Lady Penruddock , of 
 whole cruel and terrible End, caufed by the leaft 
 Worms of all other, perpetually ingendered be¬ 
 twixt the Skin and the Flefh, through Superfluity 
 of Nourifhment arifing from the long Continu¬ 
 ance of Goats Milk, I will not here rehearfe, it 
 being frefh enough in their Memories that belt 
 knew her, and moft loved her. The like may 
 I fay of Cow Milk, fo generally ufed of us, that 
 being now and then taken of found Men, not 
 lubjedt nor diftempered with hot Difeafes, it nou- 
 rifheth plentifully, increafeth the Brain, fatteneth 
 the Body, reftoreth Flefh, afTwageth Sharpnefs of 
 
 Urine, 
 
Of MEATS. 21 3 
 
 Urine, giveth the Face a lively and good Colour, 
 increafeth Lull, keepeth the Body foluble, ceafeth 
 extreme coughing, and openeth the Breaft : as for 
 Children and old Men, they may ufe it daily with¬ 
 out Offence j yea, rather for their good and great 
 Benefit. 
 
 IVhat Milk is bejl in Sicknefs and Confumptions . 
 
 Concerning them that be fick, there are few 
 Difeafes to which Milk is not offenfive being in¬ 
 wardly taken, except the Confumptions of the fo- 
 lid Parts, Marafmus, the Confumption of Flefh, 
 called Atrophia , and the Confumption of the Luno-s 
 and breathing Parts, called Pbtbifis: For Reco¬ 
 very of the firft, Camels Milk is preferred before 
 all others, becaufe it is moft moift and thin. The 
 fecond fort is beft recovered by fucking Milk from 
 a Woman’s Breaft, as moft familiar to our Livers 
 and Blood, needing no Preparation, for it is only 
 Blood difcoloured, but only Application unto the 
 Flefh. 
 
 The Cbufmg of a good Nurfe. 
 
 The Nurfe muft be young, clear of Skin, of 
 a kindly Smell, pure Complexion, good Tempera¬ 
 ture, wholefome and moderate Diet, much Sleep, 
 little Anger, neither too idle nor too toiling, no 
 Wine-bibber, no Eater of hot Spices, no ordinary 
 Wanton, and void of all Difeafes : Such a Nurfe 
 is fooner wifhed for than found ; yet fuch a one is 
 to be chofen either for found Children or fick Per- 
 fons, left drawing Corruption in fofine a Meat as 
 Milk is, our Confumptions be increafed fo much 
 
 the 
 
tr4 Health’^ Improvement. 
 
 the more, by how much Poifon given with Drink 
 is more dangerous. 
 
 ASSES MILK. 
 
 The third fort of Confumptions, wherein the 
 Flefh accidentally decayeth through Exulceration 
 of the Lungs and breathing Parts, is efpecially to 
 be cured by Afles Milk ; for which Camels Milk 
 is unfit, becaufe it is too thin and moift; as alfo 
 Womens Milk, becaufe it wholly nourifheth and 
 nothing cleanfeth; whereas AfTes Milk is both 
 Meat and Medicine,cleanfing and nourilhing alike; 
 not fo thin as to hinder Expedforation, not fo thick 
 as to caufe Condenfation of the Matter putrefied, 
 but being of a middle Temper and Confiftence, 
 and confequently moft proper for that Difeafe: 
 Neither are all Afles of a like Goodnefs; for a 
 young Afs’s Milk is of the thineft, an old Afs’s 
 Milk is too thick and dry, but one of a middle 
 Age is beft for that Purpofe. Having gotten fuch 
 a one, every Morning, four or five Hours before 
 you ufe her Milk, fhut her from her Foal, and 
 curry her well and clean, left her Skin growing 
 fcurvy and foul, ill Vapours be augmented in¬ 
 wardly for want of Expiration j then feed her 
 with grinded Malt, ftraw-dried, mingled with a 
 little fweet Fennel-feed, Anife-feed, or Carraway- 
 feed, which file will eat with great Pleafure, and 
 digeft into a fweet and wholefome Blood. An 
 Hour after that, milk her as near the Patient as 
 conveniently you can, that he may drink her 
 Milk e’er the Air hath altered it, for if it be once 
 cold it is never wholefome; this is to be done 
 twice a day, Morning and Evening, upon an 
 >€mpty Stomach, neither eating nor drinking ought 
 
 after 
 
Of MEATS. 215 
 
 t for two Hours: you may fvveeten it alfo with 
 Sugar-candy, Sugar'of Rofes, or fine Maiden- 
 Honey, and it will be the more effectual. As 
 bon as the Afs is milked, turn her and her Foal 
 nto fine Leafe, wherein ldore of Cowfiips, Tre- 
 oil, Cinqfoil, Elicampin, Burnet Filipendula, 
 Vleadow-tanfy, Horfe-tail, Plantain, Lambs- 
 ongue, Scabious and Lung-wort groweth. In 
 Winter feed her with the fweetell Hay, growing 
 n the fined and bed Meadows. If Afles Milk 
 :annot be conveniently obtained for the Luno-- 
 onfumption, nor Womens Milk for the Liver- 
 onfumption before fpecified, ufe the Milk of a 
 needy young reddifh and found Cow, feeding 
 n the like Leafe, or upon thefweeted Hay : But 
 •eware, as commonly Fools do not, that you 
 eed them not with new and much lefs with four 
 drains; for it maketh their Milk drong, windy, 
 nd unwholefome, efpecially for fuch a^ be weak 
 nd much coniumed j likewife remember to rub 
 nd droke down your Cow every Morning, and 
 er Milk will be both fweeter and more nourifh- 
 lg. Thus much of Milk, what it is, how it is 
 lade, for whom and for what Difeafes it is con- 
 enient, how it is to be prepared and ufed, how 
 lany kinds thereof are wholefome for Man’s Body, 
 r hat Milk is fitted for found JVIen, and what for 
 lem that be fick; fo there refteth no more but- 
 ) wondet at Ptiny s Credulity, who as conftantly, 
 pon hear-fay, avoucheth Mares feeding near the 
 iver Ajlaces in Ponius to give all black°Milk ; as 
 ardan reporteth blue Snows to be common near 
 ie Streights of Magellan . 
 
 CHAP, 
 
2i6 Health’^ Improvement. 
 
 * 
 
 CHAP. XV. 
 
 Of Butter , Cream , Curds, Cheefe , 
 
 T HE Milks of horned Beafts, as Cows, Ewes 
 and Goats, do confift of three Subftances j 
 Cream, Curds and Whey. 
 
 Of CREAM. 
 
 The firft, being compared to the reft, is hot and 
 unCtuous; the fecond phlegmatic and vifcous ; the 
 third of a middle Nature. Again, there be twc 
 forts of Cream ; one natural, called the Flour 01 
 raw Milk, gathered of the Milk without Fire, 
 after it hath flood in a cold Place ; the other callec 
 the Flour or Cream of fodden Milk, or clouter 
 Cream, gathered from it after it hath been thick- 
 ned upon a foft Fire. Raw Cream, how fwee 
 foever it feemeth to wanton Stomachs, yet it weak 
 neth Concoction, hindereth Retention, and i: 
 more hard of Digeftion than any Milk. Sodder 
 and boil’d Cream, fuch as we ufe in Tarts, Fool 
 and Cuftards, is lefs offenfive to the Stomach, am 
 of better Nourifhment; yet we do ill in eating i 
 laft, when the Lightnefs and UnCtuofity of it fhew 
 eth that it ought to be eaten firft. 
 
 BUTTER. 
 
 Butter, not undefervedly termed the Flemmln 
 Treacle, is by labouring and churning made c \ 
 both forts of Cream : fo that as Milk is nothin! 
 but Blood twice conco&ed, fo Butter is nothinj 
 but Cream twice laboured. Pliny fheweth th 
 
 * tru 
 
O/MEATS. Zl , 7 
 
 true making of it, lib. 28. c. 9. which I need not 
 to repeat, becaufe ic nothing or very little differeth 
 ' from ours : Only I wonder with him, that Africa „ 
 and other barbarous Countries efteem it a Gentle¬ 
 man’s Difh, when here and in Holland , and in 
 all the northern Regions, it is the chief Food of 
 the poorer fori. : for go from the Elevation of C2 
 to 84 of the North Pole, you fhall every where 
 find fuch Store of good Butter, as no where the 
 like, no not in Parma nor Placentia , nor Holland 
 itfelf, whence fo much Butter and Cheefe is dif- 
 perfed through the World. In Iceland they make- 
 fuch a Quantity, that having neither earthen Vef- 
 fels nor Calks enough to keep it in, they make 
 Chefts of Fir thirty or forty foot long, and five 
 foot fquare, filling them yearly with fait Butter., 
 which they bury in the Ground till they have Oc- 
 cafion to ufe it. 
 
 Butter is hot and moift, of grofs Nourishment, 
 Softening rather than corroborating the Stomach’ 
 haftening Meat into the Belly before it be concoc¬ 
 ted, rheumatic, and eafily converted into oik* 
 Fumes, which greatly annoy both Throat ani 
 Head. It is ill for the Stomach, Rheum, and all 
 T luxes either of Blood, Humors, or Seed ; and in 
 truth it is rather to be ufed as Sauce and Phyfic, 
 than as Meat to feed upon. It is beft at Break* 
 faft, tolerable in the beginning of Dinner, but at 
 Supper no way good, becaufe it hindereth Sleep, 
 and fendeth up unpleafant Vapours to annoy the 
 Brain, according to the old Proverb, Butter is 
 (sold in the Morning, Silver at Noon, and Lead at 
 Night. It is alfo beft for Children whilft they 
 they are growing, and for old Men when they are 
 declining; but very unwholefome betwixt thol'q 
 >wo Ages, becaufe through the Heat of young 
 
 K Stomachs, 
 
2i8 TIealthT Improvement. 
 
 Stomachs, it is forthwith converted into Choler. 
 Weak Stomachs arc to efchew all fat, oily, and 
 buttered Meats, efpecially when they fwim m 
 Butter; for naturally Butter fwimeth aloft, and 
 confequentlv hindereth the Stomachs clofing, 
 whereby Concoaion is foreflowed, and many ill 
 Accidents produced to the whole Body. The 
 Dutchmen have a By-verfe amongft them to this 
 
 Effea: 
 
 Eat Butter firjl^ and eat it laji , 
 
 And live till a hundred Tears be pajl. 
 
 And Paracelfus , in his Book deThartaro , thinketh 
 the Netketlanders to be more free of the Stone 
 than other Nations, becaufe their chiefeft Food is 
 Butter; wherein the filly Alchymift was not a 
 little miftaken, for no People in the World are 
 more fubjed to that Difeafe, as the Number and 
 Excellency of Stone-cutters in that Country may 
 plainly prove. And if Butter be lefs offenfive, 
 and more nourifhing to them than better Meat, 
 it is to be imputed either to a natural Affection 
 unto it, infufed, as it were, with their Patents 
 Seed, or elfe to a long Cuftom, which is, as I 
 before noted, another Nature. And verily their 
 natural Love unto that Meat of all others appear¬ 
 ed in this: for that as Englijh People, when the 
 Bride comes from Church, are wont to caft 
 Wheat upon her Head, and the Grecians to anoint 
 the Door-pods with fat Lard; fo when then 
 Brides and Bridegrooms return homeward frorrj 
 Church, one prefents them, as prefacing 1 lenty.l 
 and Abundance of all good things, with a 1 ot o 
 Butter; which they eiteem the foundation, tho 
 a flippery Foundation, of their Lives. The fatte 
 Butter is made of Sheeps Milk, the ftrongef 
 
Of M E A T S. 21 9 
 
 of Goats Milk, but the bed and mod of Cows 
 Milk, which caufed it of the Grecians to be called 
 Butyros. It were tedious and impertinent to fliew 
 how many and necefiary Ufts it hath in Surgery 
 and Phyfic, confidering that here we are only to 
 defcribe, as we have done, what Nourifhment it 
 giveth, not what it worketh againd Difeafes. 
 
 Of CURDS and CHEESE. 
 
 As there hath mention been made of two forts 
 of Cream, fo now alfo I mud write of two forts 
 of Curds; the one frefli, without Salt or Runnet, 
 the other mingled with the one or both. Now, 
 if the Butter be at Market when the Curds or 
 Cheefe is prefs’d at home, then are they both ut¬ 
 terly unwholefome, claming the Stomach, dopping 
 the Veins and Paffages, fpeedily breeding the Stone, 
 and many Mifchiefs; but if they be equally min¬ 
 gled w ith the butterifh part, then the Cheefe made 
 thereof is w’holefome, unlefs Age or ill Houfe- 
 wifery hath made it bad: for new, fweet, and frefh 
 Cheefe nourifheth plentifully; middle-aged Cheefe 
 nourifheth drongly, but old and dry Cheefe hurt- 
 eth dangeroufly ; for it dayeth Siege, doppeth the 
 Liver, ingendereth Choler, Melancholy, and the 
 Stone, lieth long in the Stomach undigeded, pro- 
 :ureth Third, maketh a dinking Breath, and a 
 curfy Skin: Whereupon Galen and Ifaac have 
 rery well noted, that 2s we may feed very liberal- 
 y of Ruen Cheefe, and more liberally of frefli 
 Cheefe ; fo w T e are not to tade any further of old 
 ,md hard Cheefe, than to clofe up the Mouth of 
 :>ur Stomachs after Meat. 
 
 Concerning the Differences of Cheefe in Sub- 
 Iftance ; good Cheefe is neither too foft nor too 
 hard, too clofe, nor yet fpongy, too clamy, nor 
 )j K 2 vet 
 
2 20 H ealthV Improvement. 
 
 yet crumbling, too fait, nor yet unfavoury, to» 
 dry, nor yet weeping, pleafantly, not ftrongly 
 fmelling, eafily melting in the Mouth, and never 
 burning as it is toafted at the Fire. Likewiie 
 Cheefe made of Ewes Milk is fooneft digefted, that 
 of Cows Milk is more nourifhing, but Cheefe 
 made of Goats Milk is moft nourifhing of all, be¬ 
 ing eaten whilft it is new and foft, for it quickly 
 waxeth dry, earthy, and crumbling. The weftern 
 Goths , to prevent the Drynefs of Cheefe, make 
 them fo big, that two ftrong Men with Levers 
 can fcarce move one of them ; which alfo caufeth 
 the Parmifans to be fo big, and alfo them of Pla¬ 
 centia , which Bernardtnus Scaccus , in his Annals 
 of Trent, preferreth before the Parmifans. But 
 was not that a great Cheefe, think you, where¬ 
 with Xoroajler lived in the Wildernefs 20 Years 
 together, without any other Meat ? or rather was 
 it not moft cunningly made or preferved, when at 
 20 Years end it did eat as foft as at the firft Day ? 
 Which tho’ fome do think impoflible, yet the Par- 
 jnifan of Italy will prove it true, by Age waxing 
 mellower and fofter, and more pleafant of Tafte, 
 digefting whatfoever went before it, yet itfelf not 
 heavy of Digeftion. Our Effex Cheefe, being 
 well handled, would in my Judgment come next 
 unto it, efpecially if Goats were as plentiful then 
 as Sheep, that there might be a Proportion betwix 
 the three Milks, without which it is Folly to at 
 tempt the like. Now whereas the Placentian 
 and Parmifans add Afies Milk and Mares Milk 
 and alfo Camels Milk, when they can get it, t 
 the making of their Cheefe, it is not for the Cure 
 fake, becaufe they yield no hard Curd, but fc 
 the butterilh part that is taken out of them : fc 
 
 indeed the Butter made of them is moft thin, 1 
 
 qu 
 
Of M E A T S.- . 221 
 
 quid, moift and penetrating, whereby fuch a 
 fuppeling is procured, that their Cheefes do rather 
 ripen than dry with long lying. 
 
 The Irijhmen , like to Pliny's Barbarians, have 
 not yet fo much Wit as to make Cheefe of Milk ; 
 and our Welchmen want cunning to make it well. 
 French Cheefe, in Pliny's time, tailed like a Me¬ 
 dicine ; but now the Angelots of Normandy are 
 counted relforative; which many of our Gentle¬ 
 women, and efpecially a Niece of mine own, 
 have fo well counterfeited, that they excel their 
 firft Pattern. Spain hath forgotten the Art of 
 Cheefe-making; and Portugal makes them but 
 indifferently well, tho’ fometimes the bed in the 
 World were made at Cuna , near to Cape Vincent , 
 where they alfomade Cheefes of 1000 lb. Weight 
 a-piece. 
 
 As for our Country Cheefes, Banbury and 
 Chejhire yields the mod, and are bell:; to which 
 the Holland Cheefes might be julfly compared, 
 if their Makers could but foberly put in Salt. 
 
 As for Butter-milk, and Whey, I leave them 
 to my Treatife of Drinks, becaufe they are of a 
 thinner Subltance than that conveniently and pro¬ 
 perly they maybe numbered and accounted amono-ffc 
 Meats. Now a Word or two of Eggs, and then 
 to our variable and no lefs profitable Difcourfe of 
 Fifties. 
 
 K 3 
 
 CHAP. 
 
222 
 
 Health’j Improvement. 
 
 CHAP. XVI. 
 
 Of EGGS and BLOOD. 
 
 A S the Monlans live only on Eggs and Oat¬ 
 meal, fo the Egyptians {or a great while durft 
 not eat Eggs, becaufe they are unperfeft or liquid 
 Flefli 3 neither did they eat a long time any Milk, 
 becaufe it is but difcoloured Blood . Certain Gre¬ 
 cians abftained from them, becaufe they refemble 
 a little World 3 for the Shell of them is like the 
 Earth, cold and dry 3 the White is like to Water, 
 cold and moift 3 the Foam or Froth in the White 
 refembleth Air, which is warm and moift 3 the 
 Yolk agreeth with the Fire, which is hot and dry. 
 But to omit luch frivolous Reafons, let us not 
 doubt but an Egg is a lawful and wholefome Meat, 
 tempered fo excellently well by Nature itfelf, that 
 it muft needs be accounted one of the beftNourifh- 
 ments, being eaten White and all; for they which 
 eat only the Yolk, as many do in a conceit to 
 nourift more plentifully, fall into many hot and 
 dangerous Difeafes, unlefs they have a vciy cold 
 ' Liver and a waterilh Blood. Contrariwife the 
 Whites of Eggs are fo cold, that fpongy Wood 
 heinc thoroughly overlaid with them, will hardly, 
 or not at all be burnt in a glowing Fire. Botl: 
 being taken together, do fo qualify one another, 
 that generally they agree with all Stomachs, or ai 
 the leaft offend none, if we chufe them that be 
 heft, and prepare them well after they be cholen 
 Mow all Fggs being potential Creatures, no doub 
 
Of M E A T S. 223 
 
 but they are of like Subftance and Temper with 
 that which in time they (hall be made. Where¬ 
 fore as the Flefh of Pheafants, Partridges and Hens, 
 -be of bed Juice, Temper, Quality, Nourifhment 
 and Digeftion, fo likewife their Eggs are whole- 
 fomed of all others. Contrariwife, as the Greek 
 Proverb faith, Like Crow , like Egg. Neither 
 can we imagine how any Egg (hould be whole- 
 fome, proceeding from an unwholefome or dif- 
 tempered Creature. Wherefore we condemn, in 
 the way of Comparifon, all Eggs of Turkies, 
 Peacocks, Geefe, Ducks, and all Water bowl, 
 preferring Hens Eggs before all other, becaufe 
 they are a mod: ufual, familiar, and temperate 
 Meat. 
 
 What kind of Eggs be. lejl. 
 
 In the choice cf good Eggs obferve thefe 
 LefTons; 1. That they be rather Pullets Eggs, than 
 laid by an old Hen. 2. That they be not felf- 
 begotten, but gotten by the Cock upon the Hen. 
 3. That they be new, white, and long : for fuch 
 Eggs nourifh plentifully and quickly, clear the 
 Voice and Bread:, drengthen the Stomach, re¬ 
 cover Men out of Confumptions, and increafe 
 Nature fo much, that in continuance of time they 
 make us Wantons. They nourifh quickly, becaufe 
 they are nothing but liquid Flefh : they nourifh 
 much, becaufe their Heat and Moidure is propor¬ 
 tionable unto ours: they are wholefomeft in the 
 Morning, becaufe they are then newed. They 
 are bed in Winter, becaufe Hens are then fatted, 
 dronged, and bed relifhed ; they are word in 
 Summer, becaufe Hens feed then upon Flies, 
 Snails, Cadlocks, and many ill Weeds, which 
 rather fcour than nourifh their Bodies : they are 
 
 K 4 bed 
 
224 Health’j Improvement. 
 
 beft eaten alone, becaufe being mingled with other 
 Meat they corrupt in the Stomach, filling many 
 Mens Faces full of Pimples, Morphews, and 
 Freckles. They are ill for young Children, efpe- 
 viaily being often eaten, for that their hot Bodies 
 turn them into over hot Nourifhment, whence 
 Itch, Scabs, Inflammations and Corruptions do 
 arife. They are alfo as bad for old Men, becaufe 
 they are hardly digefled of a cold Stomach ; fitteft 
 they are for temperate young Perfons, and fuch as 
 are confumed without any notable Fever. 
 
 Concerning the Nature of other Birds Eggs, 
 hefides Hens. Epenatus extolleth Peacocks Eggs 
 . before all other, and then the Eggs of Berganders, 
 and laftly of Pheafants, Partridges and Turkies, 
 whofe Judgment I would have thoroughly con¬ 
 futed, had not daily Experience, and Antonius 
 Gazius’s Arguments done it already. And verily 
 whofoever will tafte other Eggs than which daily 
 we ufe, (hall find none void of a ftjong Savour 
 and bad Relifh, faving the Eggs of Pheafants, 
 Partridges, Berganders, Oftriches, Turkies, Ducks 
 andGeefe,tho’tne three laft named be bad enough. 
 Yet if Ducks Eggs be hatched under a Hen, they 
 eat more fweetly, and Goofe Eggs alfo hatched 
 under them are thought by Simeon Sethi no un- 
 wholefome Meat. Pidgeons Eggs are exceeding 
 hot and of ill Tafle, hardly hardening by long 
 feething. The Eggs of Sparrows increafe Lull, 
 firengthen the Heart, and nourifh abundantly ; 
 As for the Eggs of other Birds, great and fmall, 
 howfoever they are eaten, as Rhajis faith, in the 
 way of Medicine, yet they give either none or 
 no good Nourifhment. But Hens Eggs are fo 
 temperate and nourishing, that Galen himfelf, in 
 certain continual Fevers, gave them ufually to his 
 
 Patients 
 
Of M E A T S. 225 
 
 Patients to reftore Spirits; and not without Rea- 
 fon, being of fo fine a Subftance, and freed in a 
 manner from all Hurtfulnefs ; for they moiflen us 
 in hedfic Fevers, they nourifh us in Ccnfumptions, 
 they ftrengthen us in Fluxes, they bridle fharp 
 Humours when they gripe us, reftore Spirits in 
 Weaknefs of Heart, they fpeedily pafs from a 
 clean Stomach, neither are they forbidden in a 
 ftrait and thin Diet, did they not nourifh over 
 foon. Gefner fheweth a good Reafon why new, 
 white and long Eggs be the beft of all other. 
 
 1. Becaufe new Eggs are ever full, but old Eggs 
 lofe every Day fomewhat of their Subftance, and 
 in the end waxing addle, ftink like Urine, where¬ 
 upon they were called of the Latins Ova Grinev. 
 
 2. The whiteft Eggs have the paleft Yolks, and 
 moft thin, fine, little bloody Strings fwimming 
 upon them. 3. The longeft Eggs are commonly 
 Cock-Eggs, and therefore of betterNourifhment. 
 Some Eggs are almoft all Yolk and no White, 
 yea, fome have two Yolks in them, others have 
 in a manner no Yolk at all, or at moft nothing 
 proportionable ; the former fort nourifh moft, the 
 other are fitteft for hot Stomachs. 
 
 The Drejfmg of Eggs. 
 
 Concerning the Preparation of them, a rare Egg 
 any way drefs’d is lighteft of Digeftion, a hard 
 Egg is moft rebellious, an Egg betwixt both is of 
 ftrongeft Nourifhment. Brajfavola reporteth a 
 Monk to have been made fo coftive with hard 
 Eggs, that no Art was available to give him one 
 Stool. Furthermore, all hard Eggs, cfpecially 
 hardened by frying, get from the hire a fmoaky 
 and hot Nature, and from the Frying-pan and 
 
 K 5 burnt 
 
226 Health’j Improvement. 
 
 burnt Butter a malign Quality, not only as ofFen- 
 five to the Stomach as rotten Eggs, but alfo fend¬ 
 ing up bad Vapours to the Brain and Heart. Eggs 
 potcht into Water or Verjuice are fitted for hot 
 Complexions, or Men didempered with Agues ; 
 fodden rare in the Shell they are fooned convert¬ 
 ed into Blood ; but being rare roaded in Embers, 
 they make the thickefl and dronged Blood, and 
 and are fitted; for weak, cold and watterifli Sto¬ 
 machs. Thus much of Birds Eggs, which in a 
 little Quantity nourifli much, and are called of 
 Ficinus the Quintefi'ence of Flefh, becaufe they 
 yield fo fpeedy and fine Nourifhment. 
 
 Nov/ it relteth to difcourfe fomething of Tor- 
 toifes Eggs, which be not poifonable nor hurtful, 
 as the Eggs of Snakes, Lizards and Chamaeleons, 
 but very fit to nourifh Men in hot Agues, when 
 all Birds Eggs may be fufpedfed of inflaming the 
 Blood ; for they are of a more phlegmatic Nature, 
 tempering hot Humours, procuring Sleep to the 
 watchful, Moidure to the dried Perfon, and in- 
 fpiring as it were a fecond Life to fuch as feem 
 defperately confirmed of hot Fevers. Sir William 
 Pelham , that worthy-and valiant Knight, kept 
 them in his Garden at the Minories , by the Tower 
 of London , where I wondered much at the Bead:, 
 and more at her Eggs ; for contrary to the Nature 
 of Hens Eggs, the mofi: fpotted were the bed, and 
 the harded of Shell the bed likewife; and they 
 are word when they are newed, bed when they 
 are three Months old. 
 
 Lad of all, as touching that Queftion made by 
 Plutarch , and difputed of him more wittily than 
 wifely of either Side, Whether the Hen or the Egg 
 he firjl in Nature ? I omit it as a foolifh and fu- 
 perduous Doubt, fince common Senfe and Reafon 
 
 telleth 
 
Of M E A T s. 227 
 
 telleth us, that the perfe< 51 er Creatures were firft 
 made, and the whole is more ancient than that 
 which is gotten of the whole. 
 
 Of B L O O D. 
 
 Blood being the Chariot-man or Coacher of 
 Life, was exprefly forbidden the Ifraelites , Lev. vii. 
 tho’ it were but the Blood of Beafts, partly be- 
 caufe they were naturally given to be revengeful 
 and cruel-hearted, partly alfo becaufe no Blood is 
 much nourifhing out of the Body, albeit in the 
 Body it is the only Matter of true Nouriihment : 
 Neverthelefs the Laconians black Broth, fo highly 
 commended of Dionyfius , was made of Kids Blood 
 fodden with Water, Vinegar and Salt; yea, the 
 B if alt a of Scythia make Pottage of Horfes Blood 
 and Milk, accounting it their befb and ftrongeft 
 Meat. Alfo in JEgira Bulls Blood is fo far from 
 being poifonable, as it is in all other Places, that 
 it is held both delicate and reftorative ; fo likewife 
 is the Blood of a Mare that was never covered ; 
 for if (he once have taken Horfe her Blood is dan¬ 
 gerous. Drufus the Tribune purpofing to accufe 
 Quintus Cccpio of giving him Poifon, drank Goats 
 Blood a good while before, whereby he waxed fo 
 pale and colourlefs, that many indeed fufpe&ed 
 him to have been poifoned by Capio-, whereby it 
 is manifeft that Blood hath been a very ancient 
 Nourifhment, and not lately devifed by our Coun¬ 
 try Pudding-wrights, or curious Sauce-makers, as 
 Jafon Praterifis and other foolilh Dietifts have 
 imagined. Nay, which is more, not only the 
 Blood of Beafts hath been given for Meat, but alfo 
 the Blood of Men and Striplings hath been drunk 
 for a Reftorative : yea, in Rome, the Seat and 
 Nurfe of all Inhumanity, Phyftcians did preferibe 
 
 K 6 their 
 
220 Health’j Improvement. 
 
 their Patients the Blood of Wreftlers, caufing 
 them to fuck it warm breathing and fpinning out 
 of their Veins, drawing into their corrupt Bodies 
 a found Man’s Life, and fucking that in with both 
 Lips which a Dog is not fuffered to lick with his 
 Tongue ; yea, they were not afhamed to prefcribe 
 them a Meat made of Man’s Marrow and Infant’s 
 Brains. The Grecians afterwards were as bold 
 and impious as the Romans , tailing of every in¬ 
 ward and outward part of Man’s Body, not leav¬ 
 ing the Nails unprofecuted. But of all other, I 
 wonder moll at Marfilius Ficlnus , a moft famous 
 Scholar, and accounted for a good Catholic, who 
 hath thus written of the Ufe of Man’s Blood. 
 No doubt, faith he, the Milk of a young and 
 found Woman is very reflorative for old Men, but 
 the Liquor of Man’s Blood is far better ; which 
 Old Women-Witches, knowing to be true, they 
 get young Children unto them, and piick or wound 
 them, and fuck their Blood to preferve their own 
 Health and Life. And why may not then old 
 Men, I pray you, for need, fuck likewife the 
 Blood of a young Man or Maid, which is merry, 
 lufly, found, and willing to fpare fome of his fu- 
 perfiuous Blood for another Man’s Life? Where¬ 
 fore I advife them to fuck an Ounce or two of 
 Blood, faffing, out of the Vein of the left Arm, 
 at a little Orifice, towards the Full of the Moon, 
 drinking prefently upon it fome Wine and Sugar, 
 c 5 c. which tho’ he protefleth himfelf to have ut¬ 
 tered as a great Secret, tho’ the Prince of Aboha'y 
 wrote as much before in his Old Man’s Diet , and 
 to be as lawful as it is helpful in Phyfic’s Practice ; 
 yet, by his leave, I dare again proteft and prove 
 the contrary ; for it is unlawful to graze upon a 
 Man’s Carwfe, and is it lawful to eat or drink 
 
Of M E A T S. 229 
 
 his Blood ? What Remedy call you that which 
 is more favage and abominable than the Grief it- 
 felf? What Law, what Reafon, nay, what Con¬ 
 jecture found out this Cannibal’s Diet ? Well, let 
 it proceed from the Americans and Barbarians ; 
 nay, from the Grecians , that were counted civil: 
 let Democritus dream and comment, that fome 
 Difeafes are beft cured by anointing with the Blood 
 of Strangers and Malefactors, others with the 
 Blood of our Friends and Kinsfolks: let Miletus 
 cure fore Eyes with Mens Galls; Artemon the Fall— 
 ing-ficknefs with dead Mens Sculls; Antheus Con- 
 vulftons with Pills made of dead Mens Brains ; 
 Apollonius bad Gums with dead Mens Teeth ; but 
 far be it from any human or Chriftian Heart, (brag 
 we of this foolifh Invention never fo much) to 
 fuck away one another’s Life in the Blood of 
 young Men, wherein CharlesYK. King of France 
 being but outwardly bathed for his Leprofy, died 
 therefore, and for other his cruel Maflacres, a 
 moft bloody Death. Wherefore let us content 
 ourfelves with the Blood of Geefe, Swans, Plogs, 
 and Sheep, in our Sauce and Puddings, which 
 yet are but a grofs and fulfome Nourifhment, un- 
 .efs they meet with a Prong and good Stomach. 
 
 CHAP. XVII. 
 
 Of F I S FI generally , and the Difference 
 
 thereof . 
 
 A S amongft Poets there is fome called the Co- 
 ryphesus, or Captain-poet, fo fareth it like— 
 wife amongft Meats; fome preferring Fruit, as 
 
 being 
 
230 He.alth’j Improvement. 
 
 facing mofl ancient, cleanly, natural, and need¬ 
 ing either none or very little Preparation: others 
 extol Flefh, as moft fuitable to flefhy Creatures, 
 and giving moft and beft Nourifhment. But the 
 fineft Feeders and dainty Bellies did not delight in 
 Flefh with Hercules , or in fruit with Plato and 
 Arcefilaus , but with Nurna and Philccrates in Va¬ 
 riety of Fifh ; which Numa made a Law, that 
 no Fifh without Scales nor without Fins fhoulu be 
 eaten of the People; whereupon I may juftly col¬ 
 lect and gather, that he was not ignorant of Mo- 
 ■fes’ sLaw. Alfo, according to the vain Dream of 
 Gregory the Great, Bifhop of Rone, and the Au¬ 
 thor of the Carthufian Order, he put more Holi- 
 nefs in Fifh than in Flefh, falfly imagining Fleih 
 to be a greater Motive to Luft and Lafcivioufhels 
 than the Ufe of Fifh ; which frivolous Conceit is 
 before fufSciently confuted in the 7th Chapter, and 
 needeth not to be fhaken again in this Place. Now 
 I will not deny that Fifh is a wholefome Meat, if 
 fuch Fifh could be always gotten as may fufticient- 
 lynourifti the Body j but now-a-days it fo falleth 
 out through Iniquity of Times, or want of Pro¬ 
 vidence, that our Sea-coaft and Rivers are more 
 barren of Fifh than heretofore, that in the Spring¬ 
 time, when we ought to feed on the pureft and 
 moft wholefome Nourifhment, our Blood is not 
 cleanfed, but corrupted with filthy Fifh, I mean 
 fait Herrings, red Herrings, Sprats, Haberdin, 
 and green Fifh, which are not amifs for Sailors 
 and Plowmen, but yet moft hurtful and dange¬ 
 rous for other Perfons. Gat is Queen of Syrio 
 made a Law that no Meal fhould pafs through the 
 *1 ear without Fifh; which if it were as firmly 
 made and executed in England , no doubt much 
 Flefh would be fpared, and Navigation and Fifher- 
 
 men 
 
Of MEATS. 231 
 
 men maintained through the Land j neither fhould 
 we need to imitate Gregory the Lr^-maker, per- 
 fuading Men to eat only Fifh at that Time, when 
 it is moft out of Seafon, moft hardly gotten, and 
 hurtful to the Bodies of moft Men. Alfo in high 
 Germany there is both Fifh and Flefh continually 
 fet upon the Table, that every Man’s Appetite, 
 Humour and Complexion, may have that which 
 is fitted for it: in which Country tho’ no Lent 
 be ohferved, except of a few Catholics, yet is 
 there abundance of Flefh all the Year long. Re- 
 ftraint being only made in Spring-time of killing 
 that which is young. 
 
 Differences of Fifh in Kmd. 
 
 c , % A f(T *,» , 
 
 Concerning the Kinds of Fifties, Pliny maketh 
 177 feveral forts of them, whereof fome being 
 never feen nor known in our Country,it were but 
 Folly to repeat them. As for them which we 
 have and feed on in England , they are either fcaled, 
 as Sturgeon, Salmond, Gradings, Shuins, Carps, 
 Breams, Bafe, Mullet, Barbel, Bike, Luce, 
 Peaich, Ruffs, Herrings, Sprats, Pilchards, Roch, 
 Shads, Dorry, Gudgeon and Umbers; or fhell’d, 
 as Scallops, Oyfters,Mufcles,Cockles, Periwinkles; 
 or crufted ov.er, as Crabs, Lobfters, CrevifTes, 
 Shrimps; or neither fcaled, fhell’d, nor crufted, 
 as Tunny, Ling, Cod, Hake, Haberdine, Had¬ 
 dock, Seal, Conger, Lampreys, Lampern^, Eels, 
 Piaife, Turbot, Flounder, Skate, Thornback, 
 Maids, Sole, Curs, Gild-poles, Smelts, Cuttles, 
 Sleeves, Pouts, Dog-fifh, Poulps, Yards, Mack- 
 rels, Trouts, 'Tenches, Cooks, Whitings, Gour- 
 nards and Rochets. To which alfo we may add, 
 Sticklebacks and Minoes, and Sphlings and An¬ 
 chovies, 
 
2%2 . Health^ Improvement. 
 
 chovies, becaufe they are alfo neither fcaled, cruft- 
 ed, nor defended with Shells. 
 
 As for the Goodnefs or Badnefs of Filh, it is 
 leflfened or increafed upon three Caufes; the Place 
 they live in, the Meat they feed on, and their 
 manner of Dreffing or Preparation. Concerning 
 the firft, fome live in the Sea, feme in Rivers, 
 fome in Ponds, fome in Fenny Creeks andMeers. 
 
 Difference cf Filh in refyefi of Place. 
 
 Sea-filb, as it is of all other the fweeteft, fo 
 likewife the leaft hurtful; for albeit they are of a 
 thicker and more flefhy Subftance, yet their Flefh 
 is moll light and eafy of Concodfion, in fo much 
 that Zeno and Crato y two notable Phyficians in 
 Plutarch’s time, commended them above all other 
 to their Tick Patients, and not without Defert; 
 for as the Sea-air is pureft of all other, becaufe it 
 is molt tolled and purified with Winds, fo the Wa- I 
 ter thereof is moft laboured, and nourifheth for us 
 the wholefomeft and lighteft Meat; lighteft, be- 
 caufe continual Exercife confumeth the Sea-fifhes 
 Superfluities ; wholeforneft, becaufe the fait Wa¬ 
 ter, like to Buck-lye, walheth away their inward 
 Filth and Uncleannefs. Of Sea-ftlh thofe are bell 
 which live not in a calm and muddy Sea, tolled 
 neither with Tides nor Winds, for there they wax 
 nought for want of Exercife j but they which live 
 in a working Sea, whofe next Continent is clean, j 
 gravelly, fandy, or rocky, running towards the j 
 North-eall Wind, mull needs be of a pure and f 
 wholefome Nourifhment, lefs moift and clammy i 
 than the others, eafier alfo of Conco&ion, fooner ■ 
 turn’d into Blood, and every way fitter for Man’s 
 Body. This is the Caufe why the Chita? and 
 
 northern 
 
Of MEATS. 233 
 
 "lorthern People live as well with Fifh alone, as 
 we do here with fuch variety of Flefh ; even I fay 
 he Goodnefs, Lightnefs, and Wholefomnefs of 
 heir Fifh, which is not brought unto us till it be 
 :ither fo ftinking or fait, that all their Goodnefs is 
 2;one or dried up. 
 
 River-fifh likewife are moft wholefome and 
 ight, when they fwim in rocky, fandy, or gra- 
 /el’d Rivers, running northward or caftward ; and v 
 he higher they fwim up, the better they are: 
 Jontrariwife, thofe which abide in flow, fhort, 
 md muddy Rivers, are not only of an excremental 
 md corrupt Juice, but alfo of a bad Smell and ill 
 Tafte. 
 
 Pond-fifh is foon fatted through abundance of 
 Meat and want of Exercife; but they are nothing 
 o fweet as River-fifh, unlefs they have been kept 
 n fome River to fcour themfelves, efpecially when 
 hey live in little ftanding Ponds, not fed with 
 rontinual Springs, nor refrefhed from fome River 
 >r Sea with frefh Water. 
 
 Fenny-fifh of all other is moft flimy, excre- 
 nental, unfavoury, laft digefted, and fooneft cor- 
 •upted j having neither free Air, nor fweet Wa- 
 :er, nor good Food to help or better themfelves ; 
 uch are the Fifh of that Lake in Armenia , where 
 til the Fifh be black and deadly : and albeit our 
 EngUjh Meers be not fo bad, yet verily their Fifh 
 s bad enough, efpecially to Stomachs of other 
 Countries, unacquainted with fuch muddy and un~ 
 vholefome Meats. 
 
 Differences of Fifh in refpeft of their Feeding. 
 
 v 
 
 Concerning the Meats which Fifhes feed on, 
 ome feed upon Salt and faltifh Mud, as near Lep- 
 
234 Health’j Improvement. 
 
 tis in Africa, and in Eubcsa , and about Dyrrha- 
 chium , which maketh their Flefh as fait as Brine, 
 and altogether unwholefome for moft Stomachs: 
 Others upon bitter Weeds and Roots, which make 
 them as bitter as Gall; of which, tho we have 
 none in our Seas or Rivers, yet in the Ifland of 
 Pene and Clazonune they are very common. Alfo, 
 if Pliny may be credited, about Cephalenia , Ani- 
 pelos , Paros , and the Delian Rocks, Fifh are not 
 only of a fweet Tafte, but alfo of an aromatical 
 Smell; whether it is by eating of fweet Roots, or 
 devouring of Amber and Amber-greafe. Some 
 alfo feed and fat themfelves near to the Common- 
 Sewers, Sinks, Channels and Draughts of great 
 Cities, whofe chiefeft Meat is either Carrion or 
 Dung ; whereas indeed the proper Meat for Fifh 
 is either Flies, Frogs, Grafhoppers, young Fry, 
 and Spawn, and chiefly certain wholefome Roots, 
 Herbs and Weeds, growing in the Bottom or Sides 
 of Seas and Rivers. Ctefar , Crajus and Curias, 
 fed them with Livers and Flefli 5 fo alfo did the 
 Hieropolitans in Venus Lake. In Champagny they 
 fed them with Bread ; yea, Vidius Pollto fed them 
 with his condemned Slaves, to make them the 
 more fat and pleafant in Tafte. But neither they 
 that are fed with Men, nor with Garbage or Car¬ 
 rion, nor with City-filth, nor with any thing we 
 can devife, are fo truly fweet, wholefome and 
 pleafant, as they which in good Seas and Rivers 
 feed themfelves, enjoying both the Benefit of frefh 
 Air, agreeable Water, and Meat correfpondent to 
 their own Nature. 
 
 •$r 
 
 Difference of Fifh in refpeVt of Preparation. 
 
 Concerning their Difference of Goodnefs in Pre¬ 
 paration, I mull needs agree with Diocles , who 
 
 being 
 
Of MEAT S. 235 
 
 being afked, Whether were the better Fifh, a Pike 
 or a Conger ? That, faith he, fodden, and this 
 broil’d: {hewing us thereby, that all flaggy, flimy, 
 and moift Fifh, as Eels, Congers, Lampreys, 
 Oyfters, Cockles, Mufcles and Scallops, are beft 
 broil’d, roafted and baked ; but all other Fifh of 
 a firm Subftance and drier Conftitution, is rather 
 to be fodden, as the moll part of Fifh before- 
 named. 
 
 Lafl of all, we are to confider what Fifh we 
 fhould chiefly chufe, namely the beft grown, the 
 fatteft, and the neweft. 
 
 How to chufe the beji Fifh. 
 
 The beft grown fheweth that it is healthy, 
 and hath not been fick, which made Philoxenus 
 the Poet at Dionyfus’s Table to requeft him to 
 fend for Mfculapius’s Prieft to cure the little 
 Barbies that were ferved in at the lower Mefs 
 where he fat. If a Fifh be fat, it is ever young ; 
 if it be new, it is ever fweet; if it be fed in muddy 
 or filthy Water, keep it not till the next day, for 
 it foon corrupteth; but if it be taken out of clean 
 feeding, it will keep the longer. 
 
 Rules to be obferved in the Eating of F ifh. 
 
 Sodden Fifh or broil’d Fifh, is prefently to be 
 eaten hot; for being kept cold after it but one Day, 
 unlefs it be covered with Wine-pickle or Vinegar,, 
 it is.corrupted by the Air in fuch fort, that fome- 
 times, like to poifonful Mufhrooms, it ftrangleth 
 the Eaters : alfo Fifh coming out of a Pan is not 
 to be covered with a Platter, left the Vapour con¬ 
 gealed in the Platter drop dov/n again upon the 
 
2^6 Health’j Improvement. 
 
 Fifh ; whereby that Fifh which might elfe have 
 nourifhed, will either caufe vomiting or fcouring, 
 or elfe corrupt within the Veins. 
 
 Finally, Whofoever intendeth to eat a Fifh- 
 Dinner, let him not heat his Body firft with Ex- 
 ercife, leaft the Juice of his Meat, being too foon 
 drawn by the Liver, corrupt the whole Mafs of 
 Blood; and let no Fifh be fodden or eaten with¬ 
 out Salt, Pepper, Wine, Onions, or hot Spices; 
 for all Fifh, compared with Flefh, is cold and 
 moift, of little Nourifhment, ingendering waterifh 
 and thin Blood : and if any fbal! think, that be- 
 caufe Crabs, Skate, Cockles and Oyflers, procure 
 Luff, therefore they are like wife of great Nourifh¬ 
 ment, the Argument is denied ; for though they 
 blow up the Body with Wind, and make good 
 Store of fharp Nature, which tickleth and incit- 
 eth us to Venery; yet that Seed is unfruitful, and 
 that Luft wanteth Sufficiency, becaufe it cometh 
 not from Plenty of natural Seed, but from an itch¬ 
 ing Quality of that which is unnatural. Thus 
 much generally of Fifh, in the way of a Preface. 
 Now let us fpeak particularly of every Fifh eaten, 
 or taken by us in this Ifland. 
 
 CHAP. XVIII. 
 
 Of S E A - F I S H. 
 
 CE A-FISH may be called that fort of Fifh which 
 ^ chiefly liveth, feedeth, breedeth, and is taken 
 in fait Water ; of which I will write according to 
 the Letters of the Alphabet, that every Man may 
 
 readily 
 
Of MEATS. 237 
 
 readily find out the Fifti’s Name whofe Nature or 
 Goodnefs he defires to know. 
 
 ENCRASICHOLT. 
 
 Anchovies are but the Sea-Minoes of Provence 
 and Sardinia ; which being poudered with Salt, 
 Wine-Vinegar and Origanum, and fo put up into 
 little Barrels, are carried into all Greece , and there 
 efteemed for a raoft dainty Meat. It feemeth 
 that the People of thofe hot Countries are very 
 often diftempered and diftafted of their Meat; 
 wherefore to recover their Appetite they feed upon 
 Anchovies, or rather tafte one or two of them ; 
 whereby not only to them, but alfo to us Appe¬ 
 tite is reftored. I could wifli that the old manner 
 of barrelling them up with Origanum, Salt and 
 Wine-Vinegar, were obferved : but now they 
 tafte only of Salt, and are nothing fo pleafant as 
 they were wont to be. They are fitted: for Sto¬ 
 machs opprefled with Phlegm, for they will cut, 
 ripen, and digeft it,and warm the'Stomach exceed¬ 
 ingly well: They are of little Nourifhment, but 
 light enough if they were not fo over-falted j they 
 are beft drefs’d with Oil, Vinegar, Pepper, and 
 dried Origanum j and they muft be freed from 
 their outward Skin, and the Ridge-bone, and be 
 wafh’d in Wine before they be laid in the Difh. 
 
 VARIATvE. ALBURNI MARINI. 
 
 Bleaks of the Sea, or Sea-Bleaks, called of Dr. 
 Cajus , Variates, or Sea-Cameleons, becaufe they 
 are never of one Colour, but change with every 
 Light and Objedf, like to changeable Silk, are as 
 found, firm and wholefome, as any Carp : there 
 be great Plenty of them in our fouthern Seas, be¬ 
 twixt 
 
2 3 8 H ealth’j Improvement* 
 
 twixt Rye and Exeter ; and they are bed fodden, 
 becaufe they are fo fine and fo firm a Meat. 
 
 ABRAMIDES MARIN/E. 
 
 Breams of the Sea be of a white and folid Sub- 
 dance, good Juice, moft eafy Digeftion, and good 
 Nourifhment. 
 
 PISCIS CAPELLANUS. ASELLUS MEDIUS 
 Cod-fifh is a great Sea-whiting, called alfo a 
 Keeling or Melwel; of a tender blefh, but not 
 fully fo dry and firm as the Whiting is. Cods 
 have a Bladder in them full of Eggs or Spawn, 
 which the northern Men call the Kellc, and efteem 
 it a very dainty Meat; they have alfo a thick and 
 gluifh Subdance at the end of their Stomach, call¬ 
 ed a Sown, more pleafant in eating than good of 
 Nourifhment; for the toughed: Fifh-glue is made 
 of that. Of all parts of the frefhCod, the Head, 
 Lips and Palate, is preferred, being a very light, 
 tho’ a flimy Meat. 
 
 PECTINES PECTUNCULI. 
 
 Cocks and Cockles are commended by Scribo- 
 nius Largus for {Lengthening.the Stomach. Pliny 
 faith they increafe Flefh, but certain it is that they 
 increafe Lud ; for they themfelves are fo hot of 
 Nature, that they leap and fly above Water like 
 an Arrow, in the Summer Nights to be cooled by 
 the Air. Alexander Benedict us reporteth, that 
 fome with eating too many Cockles have become 
 dark Fools. Their Broth loofeneth the Body, 
 but their Flefh days it. Galen commends them 
 for a good Meat, but dangerous to them that are 
 fubje£t to the Stone or Falling-ficknefs. The bed 
 Cockles keep in fandy Seas, which maketh the 
 
 Purbeck 
 
 I 
 
Of MEATS. 239 
 
 Purbeck and Selfey Cockles fo highly efteemed : 
 They are beft in the Month of May, for then are 
 they fulleft, luftieft, and clcaneft of Gravel. To 
 ivoid their Gravel, keep them in fait Water or 
 Brine a whole Day before you eat them ; and if 
 /ou fhift them into frefh Water or Brine, when 
 he Tide is coming, they will open themfelves, 
 ind fpue out all their Gravel and Filthinefs. Chufe 
 he greateft and the whiteft of them, and of all 
 hell-fifh ; they are beft broil’d in a Frying-pan, 
 ‘either are they ill being fodden in Water with 
 alt. Pepper, Parfley, dried Mint, and Cinnamon, 
 fter the French Fafhicn. 
 
 CONGER. 
 
 Conger is nothing but a Sea-Eel, of a white, 
 veet and fatty Flelh : little Congers are taken in 
 ;eat Plenty in the Severn, betwixt Glouce/ier and 
 \-wkefbury , but the great ones keep only in the 
 lit Seas, which are whiter flelh’d, and more ten- 
 •r : they feed, as Eels do, upon fat Waters at 
 e Mouths of Rivers running into the Sea : they 
 Is hard of Digeftion for moft Stomachs, ingen¬ 
 ring Cholics if they be eaten cold, and Lepro¬ 
 us if they be eaten hot after their feething. Phi- 
 the comical Poet feeing a Conger Teething 
 a Cook’s Shop for divers young Gentlemen that 
 : pake it to Dinner, fuddenly foatcht away the 
 n wherein it boiled, and ran away with it; the 
 mtlemen followed and catcht at him like a 
 imber of Chickens, whom he had crofs’d and 
 med, and mocked for a great while, till having 
 rted himfelf enough, he flang dowm Pan and all 
 ‘•h thefe Words; O human Folly! how do Fools 
 k for unwholefome Meats ? for he thought Con- 
 bad enough of its own Nature, but far worfe 
 
 if 
 
 
24O Health^ Improvement. 
 
 if it were eaten hot out of the Pan. In Englanc 
 we do not amifs firft to boil it tender in Watei 
 with Salt, Thyme, Parfley, Bays, and hot Herbs 
 then to lay it covered in Vinegar, and then tc 
 broil it; for fo is- it a meetly good Nourilhmen 
 in Summer for hot Stomachs. 
 
 M E R U L A. 
 
 The Cook-fifh is fo called of the Seamen, be 
 caufehe fo pleafantly tafteth when he is well fodden 
 as tho’ he had feafoned himfelf with Salt and Spices 
 ' They are very rare, but tender and light of Nou 
 rifhment; and there is never feen of themabov 
 one at once, which caufed the Latins to call ther 
 Merulas , that is to fay, the Solitarians, or Hermit: 
 or Blackbirds of the Sea. 
 
 CANCRI MARINI. 
 
 Crabs of the Sea are of divers forts, fome fmoot 
 crufted and fome rough crufted, as it were, ar 
 full of Prickles, called Echinometra: The fir 
 fort hath the two foremoft Claws very big ar 
 lon^, the other wanteth them j wherefore as,th* 
 no fide-ways, fo thefe move not themfelves b 
 round about like a fpiral Line: the firft fort a 
 alfo very big, or never growing to be of any re 
 fonable Size. The great ones are called Pagui 
 whereof fome weigh io lb. Weight: Furthermc 
 one fort of the great ones, which is the beft of a 
 croeth fo faft upon the Shore that the Grecians ha 
 Termed them Hippeis , or light Horfemen. T 
 little fort of Crabs is fofter {hell’d, called Ptm 
 theres , whofe Weaknefs is defended with abu 
 dance of Wit; for whilft he is little, he hides hir 
 fielf in a little Oyfter; and when he groweth^bi 
 ger, (yet is he never fo big as our common Cra 
 
.. O/MEATS. 2 4 1 
 
 he conveyeth himfelf into a bigger Oyfler: of aJl 
 Sea-crabs this is the lighteft and wholefomeft; next 
 unto them are our ordmary Crabs, but fomewhat 
 harder o Digeftion ; both of them nourifh much, 
 f u d n re h 'S ll ’y/onimended in Confumptions of 
 Lungs and Spittings up of Blood, not only by 
 Dicfcortdes Phny and Avion* but alfo by all 
 Writers, efpecially if AfTes Milk be drunk with 
 
 As for their manner of Preparation, their Vents 
 are fir fl to be flopped with a Stick’s end, and then 
 they are to be fodden in Water for fuch as are 
 coftive, or in Wine for them which are loofe 
 dhed ; fome feethe them in Vinegar, Water 
 
 ipf S f lt ** ^ Galen faith > that then they are 
 bell when fodden in that Water out of which 7 they 
 
 forthI a F en: ° f EggS ’ the bctter ^eyare 7 
 
 tor the Female is preferred. Our great Sea-crah, 
 
 e o! hCr i 0f fa fm °°D h ° r r ° Ugh kind >ll of a yellow’ 
 
 d^arl d and ftr ° ngPuIP u lufcioUS in Taft e=and 7 bought 
 dearly, are of a very hard Digeflion, except they 
 
 light upon a very flrong Stomach. They alfo 
 
 oyer-heat and inflame the Body, whereas 7 con 
 
 ^anwde the lefier fort do cool'and mol^T 
 
 The Broth of all of them con fumes the Stone, and* 
 
 -ureth Quartains being drunk every Morning fail 
 
 ng; they are beft in Seafon in the Sprin! and 
 
 ^all, as alfo at the Full of the Moon. 1 ° 
 
 CUCULI MARIN r. 
 
 Curs are fuppofed by Dr. Cajus to be all one 
 rnh our Gurnard; but it fomewhat differeth, be- 
 ig of a very firm, whitifn, dry, found and 
 jholefome: blefh ; they are befl fodden with Salt 
 " ater> Mace > Nutme gs» Parfley and Vinegar. * 
 
 Sepict* 
 
 L 
 
242 Health** Improvement. 
 
 Sepia’, rel Lolligines Calamaria. 
 
 Cuttles, called alfo Sleeves for their Shape, and 
 Scribes for their inky Humour wherewith they are 
 replenifhed, are commended by Galen for great 
 Nourifhers; their Skins be as fmooth as any Wo¬ 
 man’s, but their Flefh as brawny as any Plow¬ 
 man’s ; therefore I fear Galen rather commended 
 'them upon H ear-fay, than upon any juft Caufe or 
 true Experience. Apicius, that great Mafter-cook, 
 makes Saufages of them with Lard and other 
 things; which Compofition I would not have 
 omitted, if it had been worth the penning. 
 
 CANIS CETACEOS. 
 
 Dog-fifti is ftrong, hard, and of grofs and bad 
 Juice T albeit Hippocrates commends'it in Pleuri- 
 iies, and alfo in the Skin-dropfy or Anafdrca. The 
 Dorry is very like to a Sea-bream, of moft excel” 
 lent Tafte, Conftitution and Nourifhment, being 
 either bak’d or fodden whilft it is alive in Wine. 
 Water, Salt, Vinegar, and Penny-royal. 
 
 MUSTEL JE. 
 
 Eel-pouts are beft in April , May , and Sept cm 
 ber\ their Spawn is counted very hurtful, bu 
 their Flefh is white, firm, and of good Nourifh 
 •ment, and their Livers moft fweet and delicate 
 feethe them as you do a Dorry, and then bro 
 them a little to make them cafier o( Digeftion, c 
 elfe boil them as you do Sturgeon, and fo eat fcher 
 
 - COlJ * RHOMBI MARINI. 
 
 Sea-flounders are very thick, firm, and y< 
 'light of Digeftion, they are exceeding good fc 
 aguiftv Perfons being well fodden, and for ion 
 
 Men, being fried in Vinegar and Butter. 
 
 • ~ ^ ■ 33 - * .-B P UM 
 
 5 . * 
 
243 
 
 Of M E A- T S. 
 
 lucern/e. 
 
 Gilt-heads or Golden-poles, are very little un¬ 
 like the Gournard, fave that it feems about the 
 Noddle of the Head as tho’ it were all befprinkled 
 with Gold-filings; it is fomething harder of Di- 
 geftion, as Galen writeth. 
 
 CUCULI MAJORES. 
 
 . Gournards are of two forts, fwarthy or redifh; 
 either of them are within of a white, firm, dry, 
 and wholefome Subftance ; giving our Bodies a 
 competent Nourifhment, being fodden in white 
 Wine-vinegar, Salt, Mace, and Onions, or elfe 
 being fodden only in. Wine and then fouced. 
 
 « * * v * • i> .X ’ - ) T' v . ,4 ‘* * 
 
 ASELLUS ISLANDICUS. 
 
 Haberdine is nothing but an Illand Cod, bigger 
 fomewh&t than ours, and alfo firmer. 
 
 ASSELLULI. 
 
 Haddocks are little Cods, of light Subftance, 
 -rumbling Flefh, and good Nourifhment in the 
 summer-time, efpecially whilft Venifon is in Sea- 
 
 on. 
 
 ASSELLULI LONGL 
 
 Hakes ^ be of the fame Nature, refembling a 
 j"°d in Tafte, but a Ling in Likeneft. 
 
 AQUILA MARINA. 
 
 j The Sea-Hawk is of hard Flefh and flow Di- 
 eftion, as Galen avoucheth from Philotimns*$ 
 louth i fmelling ftrong and heavily, not to be 
 iten without Leeks, Onions and Garlic. 
 
 L 2 
 
 H A- 
 
244 
 
 Health’^ Improvement. 
 
 H A L E C E S. 
 
 Herrings are an ufual and common Ad eat, 
 coveted as much of the Nobility for Variety and 
 Wantonnefs, as ufed of poor Men for want of 
 other Provifion: it is one of the cardinal Supporters 
 of our holy Lent , and therefore not to be 
 of; vet Thomas Cogan , in his Haven of Health, 
 faith, that by eating of frefh Herrings many fall 
 into Fevers, and that red Herrings gives as good 
 Nourifhment to the Body as rufty Bacon. And 
 truly I dare avouch, that new Bloat-herrings are 
 little better, and pickled Herrings far worfe, tho 
 you correft them with never fo much Vinegar, 
 Salt, Pepper and Oil. As for fait Herrings well 
 watered, or qualified in warm Milk, they tafte not 
 111 after they are broiled, but yet they give none 
 or a bad Nourifhment, faving to Plowmen, bailors, 
 Soldiers, Mariners, or labouring Perfons, to whom 
 grofs and heavy Meats are moil familiar and con¬ 
 venient. 
 
 RH1NOCEROTES ACUS. 
 
 Horn-beaks are ever lean,- as fome think, be 
 eaufe they are ever fighting; yet are they gooi 
 and tender, whether they be eaten frefh or pou 
 rlered Highly be they commended of ALcxande 
 Benedict us in the Plague-time, becaufe they bree 
 no unwholelome or excremental Humours. 
 
 LEUCISCI MARINI. 
 
 Tavelings or Sea-darts are plentiful in the Ven< 
 Ban Gulf, and all the Adriatic Sea ; where havir 
 taken the young ones, they fait them and fer 
 them to Conjlantinople in mfipite Numbers f< 
 Anchovies •, the greater fort they fry and broil 
 home, being of a very fweet and foft Hefh. 
 
245 
 
 Of MEATS. 
 
 MILVUS MARINUS. 
 
 Keelings differ nothing but in Name from Cod. 
 The Sea-kite, called of Pliny Hirundo volans, the 
 flying Swallow, refembleth much the flying Her¬ 
 rings fo plentiful ahout the IVeJI-Indies , which 
 finding not proper Meat within the Waters, flieth 
 after Gnats and Mufketoes like a Swallow. Sir 
 Francis Drake , whom thankful Pofterity will wor¬ 
 thily efteem, did firfl fhew me one of them dead, 
 and I think he was one of the firfl: of our Nation 
 that did ever eat them ; they are of a good Tafte, 
 tender Flefh, but fomewhat aguifh after the Na¬ 
 ture of frefh Herrings. 
 
 A S E L L U S. 
 
 Ling perhaps looks for great extolling, being 
 counted the Beef of the Sea, and ftanding every 
 Fifh-day as a cold Supporter at my Lord Mayor’s 
 Table, yet is it nothing but a long Cod, whereof 
 the greater fized is called Organ-Ling, and the 
 other Codling, becaufe it is no longer than a Cod, 
 and yet hath the Tafte of Ling : whilft it is new 
 it is called green Fifh, when it isfalted it is called 
 Ling, perhaps of lying; becaufe the longer it 
 lyeth, (being conveniently turned, and the Peafe- 
 ftraw often fhifted wherein it lieth) the better it 
 is, waxing in the end as yellow as the Gold Noble, 
 at which time they are worth a Noble a-piece. 
 They are taken only in the far northern Seas, 
 where the fweeteft and biggeft live but Codlings 
 are taken in great plenty near to Bedwell , in 
 Northumberland-faire. 
 
 LOCUSTS MARINE. 
 
 Lobfters are of a ftrong and hard Flefh, and 
 hard of Conco&ion; the Belly, Claws and upper 
 
 k 3 parts 
 
246 Health’j Improvement. 
 
 parts are mod tender, the Tail-parts tough ; when 
 they are Teething, their Mouth and lower Vent 
 (hotdd be flopped with Tow, left the Liquor be¬ 
 ing bettered with their Juice, they themfelves 
 prove flafhv and unpleafant in Tafte. As the 
 River-Lobfter or CreviTs fcemeth, as Dorian faid, 
 to be made only for weak Stomachs; To I think 
 thefe are ordained only for the ftronger fort: for 
 I have known many weak Perfons venture on 
 them to their great Hurt, as contrariwife found 
 Stomachs do well digeft them. Pliny faith, that 
 in the north-weft Indian Seas there be Lobfters 
 taken of two Yards length; whereof we have 
 none, cr if we had, yet can they not befo whole- 
 fome, for the lead: is tendered, and the middle- 
 £zed is beft flefh’d ; as for the great ones, they be 
 old and tough, and will caufe Sorrow enough be¬ 
 fore they be well concodled. They come into 
 feafon with the Buck, and go out of feafon when 
 the Doe comes in ; alfo in the Wane of the Moon 
 they are little worth, and beft towards and in the 
 Full: Clove-vinegar and Jellyftower-vinegar is 
 their beft Sauce ; and if you butter them after 
 they are well fodden with ftore of Vinegar and 
 Pepper, they will give a ftrong Nourifhment to 
 an indifferent Stomach : when their Spawn lies 
 greateft in their Head, then are they in prime ; 
 but when all their Spawn is out, then is their 
 Spawn good, and they wax bad. 
 
 L U C I I. 
 
 Luces, properly called Pikes of the Sea, are fo 
 rare in Spain that they are never feen. But our 
 Englijb Seas, efpecially thpfe which wafh the fouth 
 Shore, have ftore of them, which are large, fat, 
 and good. Mr. Huzzy of Coalfield Tent me once 
 
Of MEATS. 247 
 
 a Luce out of SuJ/ex a Yard and a half long, which 
 being prefented by me to the Mirror of Chivalry, 
 the Lord IVilloughby of Erejby , was thought, and 
 truly thought a moA dainty Fifh ; for it eateth 
 more fweet, tender and crifp than our River Pikes, 
 and may be eaten of aguifh Perfons, weak Sto¬ 
 machs, and Women in Child-bed. Their Feed 
 is chiefly upon young Fry, and Spawns of Fifh; 
 and by continual fwimming, whereunto they are 
 forced by beating of the Surges, they become ten¬ 
 derer than our frefh Water Pikes, tho’ not fo fat. 
 
 O R B E S. 
 
 Lumps are of two forts, the one as round al- 
 moA as a Bowl, the other rt-fembling the Fillets of 
 a Calf; either of them is deformed, fhapelefs and 
 ugly, fo that my Maids once at Ipfwich were afraid 
 to touch it; being flayed, they refemble a foft and 
 gellied SubAance, whereupon the Hollanders call 
 them Snot-fifties. I liked not their SubAance, 
 TaAe, nor Qualities, for they were (as they are 
 written of) a crude, raw, and phlegmatic Meat, 
 much like to a Thorn-back half fodden; they are 
 beA being boiled and pickled like Sturgeon, and 
 fo eaten cold. 
 
 SCOMBRI. 
 
 Mackrels w T ere in old time in fuch requeA, that 
 two Gallons of their Pickle (called the Pickle of 
 Good-fellows) was fold for a thoufand Pieces of 
 Silver; but Time and Experience defcribed them 
 to be of a thick, clamy and fuffocating SubAance, 
 offenfive to the Brain, Head and BreaA, though 
 pleafant in TaAe, and acceptable to the Stomach : 
 Certain it is that they caufe Droufinefs in the beA 
 Stomachs, and Apoplexies, or Palfies, or Lethar- 
 
 L 4 gies. 
 
248 Health’^ Improvement. 
 
 gies, or Dulnefs, at the leaft, of Senfe and Sinews 
 to them that be weak. Frahanns rightly advifeth 
 ail Perforis fick of phlegmatic Difeafes and of 
 Stoppings, to beware of Mackrels as a molt dan¬ 
 gerous Meat albeit their Liver helpeth the Jaun¬ 
 dice, being fodden in Vinegar ; and their Flefh 
 fodden in Vinegar cureth the Suffocation of the 
 Matrix : they are beft being fodden in Wine-vine¬ 
 gar with Mints, Parfley, Rofemary and Thyme ; 
 and if afterwards they be kept in Pickle made of 
 RheniJ,b Wine, Ginger, Pepper and Dill, they 
 prove a very dainty and no unwholefome Meat j 
 they are worlt of all buttered. The Frenchmen 
 lay Southern-wood upon a Gridiron, and them 
 upon the Southern-wood, and fo broil them both 
 upon the Fire, bailing them well with Wine and 
 Butter, and fo ferve them in with Vinegar, Pepper 
 and Butter, as hot as can be ; by which Way no 
 doubt their Malignity is much leffened, and their 
 Goodnefs no lefs increafed. 
 
 R A J O L JE. 
 
 Maids are as little and tender Skates, feeding 
 chiefly upon Flefh, Livers, and Spawn of Fifh ; 
 whereas other Fifh bring forth Eggs, which are 
 in time converted into their Parents Shape; only 
 Maids-fkate and Thorn-back bring forth their 
 young ones without Eggs, after the kind of Pro¬ 
 pagation of Beafts: they are very nourifhing and of 
 good Juice, fit for weak Stomachs, and fuch as 
 have through Wantonnefs fpoiled themfelves and 
 robbed Nature. Boil them in Wine, Water and 
 Salt, with a Sprig of Rofemary, and then eat them 
 with Vinegar, Pepper, and fweet Butter. 
 
 Mugilet 
 
Of M E A T S. 249 
 
 Mugiles Marini. Italice Cephalo. 
 
 Sea-Mullets differ little or nothing in Shape 
 from Barbels, faving that they are very little or 
 nothing bearded, and thofe that have Beards have 
 them only on the Nether-lip. 
 
 There is Store of them in the Mouth of the 
 River of Ufk , and perhaps as many as at Lateran 
 In Provence. They are fo fwift, that they often 
 out-fwim the lighted Ships; which argueth them 
 to be of a light and aerial Subdance. It is drange 
 what is written of this Fifh, namely, that it 
 fhould hurt Venus' s Game ; yea, that the very 
 Broth of it, or the Wine wherein it is fodden 
 fhould make a Man unable to get, and a Woman 
 unable to conceive Children. Nay, furthermore, 
 
 *.Terpfides avoucheth, that a little of that Broth 
 being mingled with Hens Meat, maketh them 
 barren tho’ never fo well trodden of the Cock ; 
 whereupon he faith, the Poets have confccrated 
 the Sea-Mullets to Diana , as being the Procurer 
 and Preferver of Chadity •, which if it be true, as 
 I can hardly think it is, then farewel Parace/fus’s 
 cabalidical Conclufion, or rather the Follies of 
 Avlcen and many Arabians , which give the Stones, 
 Brains and Combs of mod lafcivious Birds, as 
 Cocks, Pheafants, Partridges, Drakes and Spar¬ 
 rows, to dir up Lud and increafe Seed ; for the * 
 Sea-Mullet is fo lafcivious, that a thoufand Females 
 fwim after one Male as foon as they have fpawn- 
 ed, and the Males likewife drive as much if they 
 have not choice of Females ; yea, whereas in a 
 manner all kind of Fifh fpawn but once a Year; 
 they come, like to Swine among Beads, thrice a 
 Year at the lead ; yet are they, as Men fay, and 
 as many have written dnce, Abaters of Courage, 
 Extinguilhers of Seed, and Charms as it were 
 
 L 5 againft 
 
250 Health 5 .? Improvement. 
 
 againft Conception : Neverthelefs fince their Fle(h 
 is wholefome, white, fweet and tender, and they 
 feed clean and good, I dare boldly aver them to 
 be much nourilhing, being firft well fodden in 
 Wine, Salt and Water, and then e ther fouced 
 like a Gournard, or kept in Jelly like a Tench, 
 or eaten hot with Vinegar and Pepper. Of the 
 Eggs and Blood of this Fiih mixed with Salt, 
 which muff not be omitted in this Difcourfc, is 
 al 10 made that which the Italians call Botargo, 
 from the Greek Words t or falted Eggs. 
 
 MITYL/E CUAMJE. 
 
 Mufcles were never in credit but amongfl: the 
 poorer fort, till lately the lilly-white Mufcles was 
 found out about Romer’s-wall, as we fail betwixt 
 Flujbing and Bergen-up-zom, where indeed in the 
 Heat of Summer they are commonly and much 
 eaten without any Offence to the Head, Liver of 
 Stomach; yea, m\felf, whom once 20 Mufcles 
 had almoft poifoned at Cambridge, and who have 
 feen (harp, filthy, and cruel Difeafes follow the 
 eating of Englifb Mufcles, did fill myfelf with 
 thofe Mufcles of the Low Country, being never 
 a whit diftempered with my bold Adventure. 
 Dr. JVotton faith, that the leaf! Mufcles be ever 
 bsfi, becaufe they are whiteft, fofteft, andfooneft 
 digefted, but the great ones give a (Longer and 
 larger Nourifihment; the red ones are very dan¬ 
 gerous, yellow ones are fufpe&ed, but the white 
 ones are wholefome and much commended, fave 
 unto hot and difiempered Stomachs: they are beft 
 fodden in the Water out of which they were 
 taken, which being not obtained, feethe them in 
 Water and Salt, and a little (Long Ale and Vine¬ 
 gar: broil’d Mufcles increafe Heat and Drought; 
 
Of MEATS. 251 
 
 fried'Mufcles do eafily corrupt in our Bodies, and 
 turn tobadjuice.lf they he kept in the like Pickle, 
 as lately is devifed by Serjeant Goodrons to keep 
 Oyfters in (made of Sea-water, Wine, Vinegar, 
 Bay-leaves, Mint, Pepper, Ginger and Cinna¬ 
 mon) I. durft warrant them as wholefome, and 
 queftionlefs more pleafant than the Oyfter. As 
 for Horfe-mufcles, they deferve not the Remem¬ 
 brance, fince neither Experience, Cuftom, nor 
 Reafon, approveth them a wholefome Meat; nay, 
 as Pliny faith, Salem virufque refipiunt ; they tafte 
 brackifh and ftrong, having a hidden Poifon .within 
 their Flefh ; yet have I feen them ordinarily fold 
 in Venice , which maketh me think that fome Sea 
 and River may have wholefome ones of that kind, 
 tho’ ours be neither wholefome nor pleafant of 
 Tafte. They are exceeding big in Spain and the 
 Weji Indies ; but the greateft that ever I read of, 
 is that which Juba recordeth in his Volumes 
 written to Cajus , Augu/ius' s Son, being as big in 
 Compafs as three Pecks. 
 
 MONACHiE. 
 
 EJun-fifhes were not feen in England till Sir 
 Francis Drake and Mr. Civendijb brought them, 
 (no Man knows out of what Seas) cleaving to the 
 Keels of their happy Veftels. It is a kind of 
 Shell-fifh, not winding like a Periwinkle, nor 
 opening his Shell, as Oyfters, Mufcles and Cockles 
 do, but creeping out of his craggy Cabin, like a 
 Sea-fnail, but that, as I faid, • his Hole goeth ftrait 
 inward, and windeth not: the Face of it is very 
 white, the Head is covered as it were with a bjack 
 Veil, like the Nuns of St. Bridget’s Order, where¬ 
 of I fuppofe it took the Name. It feedeth upon 
 
 L 6 - fweeC 
 
252 HealthV Improvement. 
 
 ftveet Mud flicking upon Ships-fides whilfl they 
 ly at Anchor, and is as wholefome and delicate a 
 Meat as any Periwinkle. 
 
 OSTREI. 
 
 Oyflers do juflly deferve a full Treatife, being 
 fo common and withal fo wholefome a Meat; 
 they differ in Colour, Subfiance and Bignefs; but 
 the bell are thick, little and round (hell’d, not 
 flippery nor flaggy through abundance of gellied 
 Humour, but fhort, firm and thick of Flefh, 
 fifing up round like a Woman’s Breafl, being in 
 a manner all Belly, and no Fins ; or at the mod 
 having very fhort Fins of a green Colour, and 
 lifted about as with a purple Hair, which will 
 make them indeed to be juftly called Calliblephara y 
 that is to fay. The fair eye-lidded Oyflers j fuch 
 are our JValfeet and Colcbejler Oyflers, whofe 
 good Relifh, Subftance and Wholefomnefs, far 
 exceedeth the Oyflers of Ujk, Pool , Southampton , 
 Whitjlable, Rye, or any Port or Haven in England. 
 
 Thus much concerning the Body of Oyflers;, 
 now lomewhat concerning their Bignefs : Alexan- 
 fer , with his Friends and Phyficians, wondered to 
 find Oyflers in the Indian Seas a Foot long- And ! 
 in Pliny’s time they marvelled at an Oyfter, which 
 might be divided into three Morfels, calling it 
 therefore Tridacnon , by a peculiar Name ; but I 
 dare and do truly affirm, that at my eldeft Bro¬ 
 ther’s Marriage, at Aldham-hall in Effex, I did. 
 fee a Pelden-Oyfter divided into eight good Mor¬ 
 als, whofe Shell wa3 nothing lefs than that of 
 Alexander’s : But as the Greek Proverb faith, Good- 
 nefs is not tied to Greatnefs , but Greatnefs to Good- 
 rtefs ; wherefore fince the little round Oyflers be, 
 commonly beft relifhed, apd iefs fulfome, let them 
 
 be 
 
Of MEATS. 2 53 
 
 be of the greateft account, efpecially to be eaten 
 raw, which of all other is thought to be the beft 
 
 r tv n- a en ^ aitb tbat the X are Somewhat heavy 
 j” Dl S eftlon > and ingender Phlegm j but as he 
 tnew not the Goodnefs of Englijh Beef, when he 
 »ndemned the ufeofallOx-flefh, fo had he tried 
 he Goodnefs of our Oyfters, which Pliny maketh 
 he fecond heft of the World, no doubt he would 
 lave given Oyfters a better Cenfure. That they 
 re wholefome, and to be defired of every Man 
 f be "o final! Reafon that aim oft every 
 if n tbem * BeAdes, whereas no Flefti or 
 
 therbifh is or can be dangerlefs being eaten raw. 
 tw Oyfters are never offenfive to any indifferent 
 romach. Nay, furthermore, they fettle a way- 
 ard Appetite, and confirm a weak Stomach, 
 id give good Nourifhment to decayed Members 
 ther through their own Goodnefs, or that they 
 e fo much defired. 1 
 
 finally, if they were an ill and heavy Meat 
 by were they appointed to be eaten firft ? which 
 no new Cuftom brought in by fome late Phyfi- 
 m : for one afking Dromeas , who lived lon°- be- 
 e AthencEUs and Macrobius time, whether he¬ 
 ed beft, the Feaft of Athens or Chalets f Hike, 
 he, the Athenians Prologue better than the 
 a/ciaians, for they began their Feafts with Oy- 
 rs, and thefe with Honey-cakes; which ar<m- 
 them to have been ever held for a Meat^of 
 it Digeftion, elfe had they not always been 
 
 : n Piace ; is great pity of the 
 
 s of Afelhus the Sabin's Book written Dialogue¬ 
 's betwixt the Fig-finch, the Thrufh and the 
 iters, wherein upon juft Grounds he fo pre- 
 ed them before the Birds, that Tiberius Cafar 
 awed him with a thoufand Pounds Sterling. 
 
 The 
 
254 Health** Improvement. 
 
 The fatteft Oyfters are taken in fait Water at the 
 Mouth of Rivers, but the wholefomeft and light¬ 
 ed are in the Main upon Shelfs and Rocks ; which 
 alfo procure Urine and Stools,, and are Helps to 
 cure the Cholic and Dropfy, if they be eaten raw, 
 for fodden Oyfters bind the Belly, ftop Urine, 
 and increafe the Cholic. How dangerous it is to 
 drink final! Drink upon Oyfters appeareth by An- 
 dronlcus the elder, who having made a great Din¬ 
 ner of Oyfters, drank cold Water upon them, 
 whereupon he died, being not able to overcome 
 them. And truly as Oyfters do hardly corrupt of 
 themfelves, fo if cold Drink follow them, they 
 concotft as hardly ; wherefore efpecially having 
 eaten many, drink either Wine or fome ftrong 
 .and hot Beer after them, for fear of a Mifchief. 
 Little Oyfters are beft raw, great Oyfters fhould 
 beftewed with Wine, Onions, Pepper and Butter, 
 or roafted with Onions, Pepper and Butter, 01 
 bak’d with Onions, Pepper and Butter, or pick- 
 led with white Wine-vinegar, their own Water, 
 Bays, Mint, and hot Spices ; for of all Way: 
 they are worft fodden, unlefs you feethe them it 
 that Sea-water from whence they were brought. 
 
 All Oyfters are dangerous whilft they be ful 
 of Milk, which commonly is betwixt Mayan 
 Augujl. Raw Oyfters are beft in cold Weather 
 when the Stomach is hotteft, namely, from Sep 
 timber to April ; albeit the Italians dare not ven 
 ture on a raw Oyfter at any time, but broil ther 
 in the Shell with their Water, the Juice of a 
 Orange, Pepper and .Oil; which Way I mu 
 needs & confefs eats daintily. Pickled Oyfters ma 
 he eaten at all times, and to my Tafte and Judf 
 ment they are more commendable, chiefly to colt 
 weak, windy, dift ailed Stomachs, than any w 
 
Of MEATS. 255 
 
 slfe prepared. I wonder whether it be true or 
 no which I have heard of, and Pliny feemeth alio 
 to affirm, that Oyfters may be kept all the Year 
 long covered in Snow, and fo be eaten in Summer 
 is cold as can be ; which if it prove anfwerable to 
 :he Likelihood I conceive of it, I will cry out 
 with Pliny in the fame Chapter, Pjuanti quanti 
 5 luxuria, qua: fumma montium & mar is ima com- 
 nifces? “ How great and powerful is Riot, which 
 ‘ maketh the higheft: covering of Mountains, and 
 
 the 1 owe ft Creatures of the Seas to meet to <r e - 
 L ther ''” Yet it is recorded that Jpicius the 
 \oman kept Oyfters fo long fweet, were it in 
 mow, Pickle, or Brine, that he fent them from 
 hence fweet and good to the Emperor Trajan , 
 varring againft the Parthians. 
 
 COCHLEA MARINE. 
 
 Periwinkles or Whelks are nothing but Sea- 
 lails, feeding upon the fineft Mud of the Shore, 
 Ind the beft Weeds ; they are very nourifhing 
 nd reftorative,.being fodden at the Sea-ftde in their 
 wn Sea-Water: the white"ft flefh’d are ever beft 
 nd tendered, and they which are taken in clean 
 ^reetes eat pleafant, but tff y which are gathered 
 pon muddy Shores eat very ftrongly, and offend 
 ie hye-fight. i hey are beft in Winter and in 
 ie Spring, for a Stomach and Liver refolved as it 
 'ere and difpoffefled of-Strength. Jpicius w arn- 
 di us to pick away the covering of their Holes, 
 F ls a ™oft unwholefome Thing, bein-r no- 
 ling but a Collection of all their Slime hardened 
 ith feethmg d he beft way to prepare them 
 r found Perfons, is to feethe'them in their own 
 ia-water, or elfe in River-water with Salt and 
 inegar; but for weak and confumed Perfons, 
 
 • * JpUlUS 
 
256 Health*.; Improvement. 
 
 Apictus willeth them in the Book and Chapter 
 aforefaid to be thus drefs’d; take fird the Skin 
 from their Holes, and lay them for a Day or two 
 covered in Salt and Milk ; the third Day lay them 
 only in new Milk, then feethe them in Milk till 
 they be dead, or fry them in a Pan with Butter 
 and Salt. 
 
 PASSERES. 
 
 Plaife, called the Sea-fparrows, becaufe they 
 are brown above and white beneath, are of good, 
 wholefome and fine Nourifhment. Arnoldus de 
 villa nova writeth thus of them: Of all Sea-fifh 
 Rochets and Gournards are to be preferred ; for 
 their Flefh is firm, and their Subdance pured ol 
 all other. Next unto them Plaife and Soles are 
 to be numbered, being eaten in time \ for if either 
 of them be once dale, there is no Flefh more 
 Carrion-like nor more troublefome to the Belly 0 
 Man : the bed Plaife have blacked Spots, as th< 
 bed Flounders redded, and the thicked is mof 
 commended, and fuch as are taken upon the eaderi 
 Cod, as Rye , Sandwich and Dover \ could we hav 
 Store at all times of fuch wholefome Fifh at an 
 reafonable Rate, Jackalent would be aCock-hort 
 all the Year long, and Butchers Meat would g 
 a begging. 
 
 ALAUSjE MINORES. 
 
 Pilcherds differ not only in Age, as fome dreatt 
 but even in Subdance from Herrings j for the 
 Flefh is firmer and fuller, and their Body rounde 
 neither are they of Co aguifh an Operation ; thf 
 are bed broil’d, having lain a Day in Salt, ar 
 eaten with Butter, Salt and Pepper. 
 
 POR< 
 
257 
 
 Of MEATS. 
 
 PORCI MARINI. 
 
 Porpoifes, Turfions, or Sea-hogs, are of the 
 Mature of Swine, never good till they be fat, 
 :ontrary to the Difpofition of Tunnies, whole 
 Piefh is ever beft when they are leaneft ; it is an 
 infavoury Meat, ingendering many fuperfluous 
 humours, augmenting Phlegm, and troubling no 
 efs an indifferent Stomach than they trouble the 
 Abater againft a Tempeft, yet many Ladies and 
 Gentlemen love it exceedingly bak’d like Venifon : 
 r ea, I knew a great Gentlewoman in Warwick - 
 me once fend for a Pafty of it given from a Cour¬ 
 ier, when the Prifoners of Newgate had refufed 
 he Fellow of it out of the Beggar’s Bafket. Thus 
 'ke Lips like Lettice , and that which is moft Mens 
 lane, may be fitteft to delight and nourifh others. 
 
 P O L P I. 
 
 Poulps are hard of Digeftion, naught howfoever 
 aey be drefs’d, as Platina thinketh. But fince 
 Lippocrates commendeth them to Women in 
 /hildbed, I dare not abfolutely diffuade the eating 
 f them, efpecially fince Diphilus , Paulas JEgi- 
 eta, and JEtius commend them likewife, faying 
 iat they nourifh much, and exceflively provoke 
 /uft. Indeed if any would eat a live Poulp, to 
 nger others and to kill himfelf, as Diogenes did, 
 ho fome fay that he died of a raw Cow-heel, 
 thers, that he fiifled himfelf in his Cloke) no 
 Dubt he Ihall find it a dangerous Morfel; but be- 
 ig well fodden in fait Water and Wine, and 
 veet Herbs, it is as dainty, and far more whole- 
 >me than a Mackrel. 
 
 ANATLS 
 
258 Health’* Improvement. 
 ANATES MARINI. 
 
 Puffins, whom I may call the feathered Fifties, 
 are accounted even by the holy Fatherhood of 
 Cardinals to be no Flefh, but rather Fiih; whofe 
 catholic Cenfure I will not here oppugn, tho’ I 
 have juft Reafon for it, becaufe I will not increafe 
 the Pope’s Coffers; which no doubt would be 
 filled, if every Puffin-eater bought a Pardon, upon 
 true and certain Knowledge that a Puffin was Flefh. 
 Albeit, perhaps, if his Holinefs would fay, that a 
 Shoulder of Mutton was Fifh, they either would 
 not or could not think it Flefh. 
 
 ARANEI MARINI. 
 
 Quawiners, for fo the Scots and northern Eng - 
 lijh term them, are very fubtile and crafty Fifties, 
 but utterly unwholefome for indifferent Stomachs, 
 tho’ the poorer fort of the Orcadians eat them for 
 hunger. 
 
 RUBELLIONES. 
 
 Rochets, or rather Rougets, becaufe they are 
 fo red, differ from Gournards and Curs, in that 
 they are redder by a great deal, and alfo lefs ; they 
 are of the like Flefh and Goodnefs, yet better fried 
 with Onions, Butter and Vinegar, than fodden ; 
 becaufe they are fo little, that feething would foak 
 out their belt nouriftiing Subftance. 
 
 PECTINES VENERIS. 
 
 Scallops are called Venus Cockles , cither becaufe 
 file was born in one of them, or becaufe fhe loved 
 them above all other Meat. Pliny extolleth the 
 Scallops of Alexandria in Egypt , but now the 
 moft and beft be in Spain bv CompoJIella , whithei 
 many lecherous Men and Women refort to eat 
 Scallops for the kindling of Luft and Increafe 0! 
 
 Nature 
 
Of MEATS. 259 
 
 Nature, under the Name of a Pilgrimage to St. 
 James’ s Shrine : The whited are bed, and lead 
 hot, all of them increafe Lud, provoke much 
 Urine, and nourifh drongly. Selfcy and Purbeck 
 have gotten them Credit for them and for Cockles, 
 above all Coafts of England; they are bed being 
 broiled with their own Water, Vinegar, Pepper 
 and Butter, but fodden they are held to be un- 
 wholefome. 
 
 PHOCiE. 
 
 Seals-Flefh is counted as hard of Digeftion as it 
 is grofs of Subdance, efpecially being old ; where¬ 
 fore I leave it to Mariners and Sailors, for whofe 
 Stomachs it is fitted, and who know the bed way 
 how to prepare it. 
 
 TRICHES. CLUPEiE. 
 
 Shads have a tender and pleafant Flefh, but in 
 fome Months they aie fo full of Bones, that the 
 Danger in eating them lefleneth the Pleafure: 
 they nourifh plentifully, efpecially the Severn- 
 Shad, which in my Judgment is void of that vif- 
 cous Humour, whereby other Shads, no lefs than 
 Mackrels, inforce Sleepinefs to the Eater. They 
 are bed in May , June , and July, for then they 
 are full of Flefh, and freed of Bones. 
 
 S Q_U I L L IE. 
 
 Shrimps are of two forts 5 the one crook-back¬ 
 ed, the other drait-backed : the fird fort is called 
 ot Frenchmen , Caramots de la fante , healthful 
 Shrimps ; becaufe they recover fick and confirmed 
 Perfons: of all other they are mod nimble, witty, 
 and fkipping, and of bed Juice Shrimps were of 
 ^teat Requed amongd the Romans , and brought 
 n as a principal Difh in Venus's Feads. The bed 
 
 Way 
 
26o HealthT Improvement. 
 
 Way of preparing them for healthful Perfons, is 
 to boil them in Sea or fait Water, with a little 
 Vinegar; but for Tick and confumed Bodies drefs 
 them after this fort: firft wafti them clean in Bar¬ 
 ley-water, then unfcale them whilft they are alive, 
 and feethe them in Chicken-broth ; fo are they as 
 much, or rather more reftorative than the befi 
 Crabs and Crevifles moft highly commended by 
 Phyficians. Furthermore they are unfcaled, tc 
 vent the Windinefs which is in them, being 
 fodden with their Scales, whereof Lud and Dif 
 pofition to Venery might arife, but no better noi 
 founder Nourilhment. 
 
 PRAWNS. 
 
 There is a great kind of Shrimps, which art 
 called Prawns in Engl'ijh , and Crangorus by Ron- 
 deletius , highly prized in he£tic Fevers and Con 
 fumptions ; but the crook-backed Shrimp far fur 
 pafleth them for that Purpofe, as being of a fweete 
 Tade and more temperate Conditution. 
 
 S Q_U A T I N A. 
 
 Skate is fkin’d like a File, of the fame Natur* 
 with a Thornback, but pleafanter, more tender 
 and more available to (Hr up Lechery ; it is f 
 near a Thornback in Shape, that they often coupl 
 and ingender together. 
 
 LINGULAC/E SOLENT. 
 
 Soles or Tongue-fifhes are counted the Partridge 
 of the Sea, and the fitted Meat of all other fo 
 fick Folks; for they are of a good Smell, a plea 
 fantTade, neither of too hard nor toofoft aFledi 
 ingendering neither too thick nor too thin Blood 
 of eafy Concoction, leaving none or few Excre 
 
 ment 
 
Of MEAT S. 261 
 
 merits after they be digefted. Platina fried them, 
 as we do, with Parfley, Butter and Verjuice, and 
 fauced them with Butter and Juice of Oranges ; 
 but for Tick Perfons they are bed: fodden in Wa¬ 
 ter, Butter and Verjuice, with a little Salt; it is 
 a Fifh impatient of Winter, and therefore then it 
 lurketh in deep Holes ; but in Summer it Iporteth 
 itfelf abroad, and offereth itfelf to be feen when it 
 is moft feafonable. 
 
 CHALCIDES. 
 
 Sprats need no Defcription, being one of Jack- 
 alent’s principal Pages. They fmell well being 
 new and frefh, refembling therein the River- 
 fmelt; but their Flefh is queezy, corruptible and 
 aguifli, efpecially if they light on a weak Stomach ; 
 they are worft being fmoaked or fried, indifferent 
 fodden, and beft broil’d. 
 
 CHALCIDES MAJORES. 
 
 Spurlings are but broad Sprats, taken chiefly 
 upon our northern Coaft; which being drefs’d 
 and pickled as Anchovies be in Provence , rather 
 furpafs them than come behind them in Tafte and 
 Goodnefs. Were Englijhmen as induftrious as I 
 could wifh, we fhould fell them dearer to the 
 French and Italians than their Anchovies are fold 
 to us ; for I have feen fome prepared by Dr. Iur~ 
 ner which for exceeded theirs : but ftrange things 
 are ever beft liked ; according to that Saying of 
 Galen , Peregrina , qua ignorant , magis celebrant 
 mortales , quam quod nativum eft, quodque ejfe pra- 
 clarum norunt : “ Mortal Men, faith ke> do more 
 “ extol foreign things, albeit they know them 
 “ not, than home-bred and familiar things, tho’ 
 “ they know them to be excellent. 
 
 1 
 
 APUiE 
 
262 Health’j Improvement. 
 
 APU 7 E INFUMATjE. 
 
 As for red Sprats and Spurlings, I vouchfai 
 them not the Name of any wholefome Nourifh 
 ment, or rather of no Nourifhment at all; com 
 mending them for nothing but that they are Bawd 
 to inforce Appetite, and ferve well the poor Man’ 
 turn to quench Hunger. 
 
 ASELLUS ARIDUS. 
 
 Stock-fifh, whilft it is unbeaten is called Buck 
 horn , becaufe it is fo tough : when it is beate 
 upon the Stock, it is termed Stock-fifh. Ronde 
 litius calleth the firft Merluciwn , and Stock-fif 
 Moluam ; it may be Salpa Plinii , for that is 
 great Fifh, and made tender by Age and Beating 
 Erafmus thinketh it to be called Stock-fifh, becaul 
 it nourifheth no more than a dried Stock : where; 
 fore howfoever it be fodden, butter’d, fried o 
 baked, and made both toothfome and dele&abl 
 by good and chargeable Cookery ; yet a Ston 
 will be a Stone, and an Ape an Ape, howfoeve 
 the one be fet up for a Saint, and the other ap 
 parelled like a Judge. 
 
 The Stiiliard Merchants lay it twenty-four Hour 
 in flrong Lye, and then as long again in warr; 
 Water; afterwards they boil it in abundance c' 
 Butter, and fo ferve it in with Pepper and Salt 
 which way, if any way, it is moft nourifhing, be 
 caufe it is made not only tender, but alfo mor 
 moifl and warm. Now let us flay longer upo 
 the Sturgeon, efleemed fometime the Monarc 
 of all Sea-fifh. 
 
 A C I P E N C E R. 
 
 Sturgeon is thought of Mr. Cogan to be a Fid 
 of hard Subfiance, not much better in his Judg 
 
 men 
 
 1 
 
Of M EATS. 263 
 
 ment than Bacon or Brawn, altho’ for the Rare- 
 nefs it be efteemed of great Eftates, which I will 
 not deny to be true in old and rufty Sturgeon ; but 
 young Sturgeon is fo far from being tough or un- 
 wholefome, that of all other Fifh it is and was 
 ever moft preferred. Sever us and his Followers 
 did fo efteem it, tho’ Trajan for an in-born Hatred 
 could not abide it, that whenfoever any great Feaft 
 was kept, the chief Gentleman of his Court car¬ 
 ried up the Sturgeon, all gilded over with Gold, 
 and attended with minftrelfyand carolling, as tho’ 
 a folemn Pageant or Saint’s Shrine were to be 
 carried about the City. Galen likewife and Tully 
 affirm it to be of a fweet, delicate, and good 
 Nourifhment. Cardan compareth it with Veal, 
 but indeed it is far fweeter. Sturgeons Livers are 
 fo exceeding fweet, that at Hamburgh they rub 
 them over with the broken Gall, left the Stomach 
 fliould be cloyed with over Sweetnefs. The great 
 and full grown Sturgeons are better than the lefs, 
 and the Male than the Famale; and they which 
 fuck and ly at the Mouths of Rivers, are count¬ 
 ed fweeter than they which are taken in the main 
 Sea; it feeds not, as other Fifh do, upon Flies, 
 Worms, Fifh-fpawn or Roots, but fucketh like a 
 Lamprey, becaufe it hath no Teeth, of fuch fweet 
 Morfels or Off-fall as happily it findeth. One 
 :hing is .admirable in this Fifh, that albeit clean 
 to.ntrary to. other Fifties the Scales turn toward 
 he Head; yet againft the Tide and Stream it 
 wimeth fafteft. Phyficians forbid all Sturgeon, 
 Specially the Head and Fore-part, to aguifh Per- 
 ons, and fuch as be lately recovered of Agues, be- 
 :aufe they are fo fat and oily that their Stomachs 
 will convert them into Choler. At Dtintzick and 
 Hamburgh, whence we have the beft, fom'etimes 
 
 they 
 
264 HealthV Improvement. 
 
 they are roafted, being (lick’d full of Cloves ; bu 
 then the Belly only is toothfome, which eatet 
 like Veal, or rather better, if fuch Sauce be mad 
 unto it as we ufe to roafted Venifon. Other 
 whiles they are broiled and bafted with Oil an 
 Vinegar, having been firft: a little corned wit 
 Salt; but if Sturgeon be well fodden, and the 
 kept in convenient Pickle, of all other Prepara 
 tions it is the chiefeft, being eaten with Vinega 
 and fweet Fennel. 
 
 They are firft: fodden in two parts of Water, on 
 of white Wine, and one of white Wine Vinegar 
 with fuflicient Salt, Nervine and Dill, as long r 
 one would feethe a Leg of Veal; then being cole 
 they are divided into Jouls and Rands, and put u 
 into Barrels or Kegs, with ftore of Rhenijh Wine 
 Wine-vinegar, and Sea-water j wherein havin 
 lain half a Year, they become a light, toothfom 
 and fingular good Meat to an indifferent and terr 
 perate Stomach. As for Cavialy, or their Egg 
 being poudered, let Turks , Grecians , Venetian 
 and Spaniards , celebrate them never fo muci 
 yet the Italian Proverb will ever be true. 
 
 Chi mangia d't Cavlale , 
 
 Mangia jnofchi merdi & falee. 
 
 He that eateth of Cavialies, 
 
 Eateth Salt, Dung, and Flies. 
 
 I commend the Flefti of Sturgeon chiefly to h( 
 and diftafted Stomachs, to young Men, and efpe 
 daily in Summer; at which time, eaten wit 
 Jelly-flower Vinegar, it flacketh Third, (harper 
 eth Appetite, fettleth the Stomach, delayeth Hea 
 anl giveth both a temperate and a found Nourift; 
 ment, , 1 
 
 x i ph i: 
 
O/MEATS; 265 
 
 X I P H t I. 
 
 Sword -fifties are much whiter and pleafanter in 
 Tafte than Tunny; but as hard of Digeftion, and 
 therefore unworthy any longer Difcourfe. 
 
 RAJA. 
 
 Thornbaclc, which Charles Chejier merrily and 
 not unfitly calleth Neptune's Beard, was extolled 
 by Antiphanes in Athene's Hiftory for a dainty 
 Fifh; indeed it is of a pleafant Tafte, but of a 
 ftronger Smell than Skate, over moift to nourifh 
 much, but not fo much^s to hinder Luft, which 
 it mightily increafeth. Alhertus thinks it as hard 
 to be conco&ed as any Beef, whofe Judgment I 
 fufpeif, ftnce Hippocrates permits it in long Con¬ 
 sumptions : Afluredly if not theFlefli,yet the Liver 
 is marvellous fweet and of great Nourifhment, 
 which the very Tafte and Confiftence thereof will 
 fufficiently demonftrate. Thornback is good fodden 
 efpecially the Liver of it, tho’ Dor ion the Mufician 
 laid, that a fodden Thornback is like a Piece of 
 fodden Cloth ; but the Flefh is beft broiled after it 
 hath been fodden, to confume the Watenfhnefs. 
 
 T H Y N N I. 
 
 Tunnies are beft when they are leaneft; name¬ 
 ly, towards the Fall, and the dead of Winter 
 When they are at the beft, their Flelh is unfa- 
 voury enough, cloying an indifferent Stomach, 
 and ingendering moft grofs and fuperfluous Moi- 
 ftures. As Porpoifes muft be baked while they 
 are new, fo Tunny is never good till it hath been 
 long poudered with Salt, Vinegar, Coriander, and 
 iot Spices.^ No Tunny lives paft two Years 
 !>Vaxing fo fat that their Bellies break ; at which 
 
 ime more ^ made of their Fat, by making 
 
 M 'r • 0 
 
 1VA 1 rain- 
 
 V 
 
 K • 
 
2 66 Health^ Improvement. 
 
 Train-oil for Clothiers, than Good by their Flefh; 
 which is only good, if good at all, for Spanijh 
 and Italian Mariners. 
 
 RHOMBI. 
 
 Turbots, which fome call the Sea-Pheafant, 
 were in old time counted fo good and delicate, 
 that this Proverb grew upon them, Nihil ad Room- 
 bum ; that is to fay, What is all this in comparifon 
 of a Turbot . Verily, whilft they be young, at 
 which time they are called Butts, their rlefh is 
 moift, tender, white, *nd pleafant; afterwards 
 they are harder to be digefted, tho more crumb¬ 
 ling to feel to ; and as their Prickles wax longer, 
 fo their Flefh waxeth tougher. They are beft 
 being fodden as you feethe T hornback, or rather 
 as you feethe a grown Piaife. 
 
 B A L JE N IE. 
 
 Whales Flefh is the hardeft of all other, and 
 unufual to be eaten of our Countrymen, no noi 
 when they are very young and tendereft ; yet th< 
 Livers of Whales, Sturgeons and Dolphins, fmel 
 like Violets, take moll pleafantly being faked 
 and give competent Nourifhment, as Cardan writ 
 eth. 
 
 ONISCI. ALBUL/E. MOLLICUL/E. 
 
 Whitings had never ftaid fo long in the Cour 
 of England , where they are never wanting upon 
 Fifh-day, unlefs they had done fome notable Ser 
 vice, and kill deferved their Entertainment i tb 
 beft Whitings are taken in Tweed, called Merling; 
 of like Shape and Virtue with ours, but far bigger 
 all Phyftcians allow them for a light, wholefom 
 and good Meat, not denying them to ftck Perfoni 
 
Of M E A T S. 267 
 
 and highly commending them to fuch as be in 
 Health; they are good fodden with Salt and 
 I hyme, and their Livers are very reftorative, 
 yea more than of other FifhTes; they are aifo 
 good broil’d, and dried after the manner of Stock- 
 nfh into little Buckhorn ; but then they are fitter, 
 as Stock-fifh is, to dry up Moiftures in a rheuma¬ 
 tic Stomach, than to nourifh the Body. 
 
 COLYBDtENTE. 
 
 Yards or Shame-fifhes, fo called becaufe they 
 refemble the Yard of a Man, are by Galen’s Judg¬ 
 ment as agreeable to weak Stomachs, or Crabs, 
 Shnmps and CrevifTes. Gefner, in his Book of 
 Fifnes, faith, that the Frenchmen call this Fifh the 
 Afs s Prick, and Dr. JVotton termeth it profly 
 the Pintle-fifh. How fhameful a Name foever it 
 beareth, it needs not be afhamed of his Virtues; 
 Tor it nourifheth much, is light of Concodion! 
 md increafeth Nature. 
 
 Yellowheads or Giltpoles are before fpoken of, 
 jext before Gournards. And thus much of Sea- 
 ifli. Now frefh Water-fifh challenge their due 
 Remembrance, of which we will treat in the next 
 chapter. 
 
 CHAP. XIX. 
 
 Of Frejh Water FISH. 
 
 A P I U M. 
 
 A Lderlings are a kind of Fifh betwixt a Trout 
 and a Grayling, fcaled, (as the Trout is not) 
 ut not fo great fcaled as the Grayling is; it lyeth 
 M 1 eve* 
 
263 H ealth’j Improvement. 
 
 ever in a deep Water, under fome old and great 
 Alder - , his Flefh being fodden fmelleth like to wile 
 Parfley, whereupon 1 guefs it had its Latin Name, 
 and is of indifferent good Nourifhment, and pro- 
 
 voketh Urine. 
 
 B A 
 
 R B E L L I O. 
 
 Barbels are counted nothing but bearded Mul¬ 
 lets. It is moft likely that this is the Fifh dedi¬ 
 cated to Diana the Goddefs of Chaftity; for it i« 
 a very cold, moift, and gellied Fifh, hurting the 
 Sinews, cjuenching Luff, and gieatly troubling 
 both Head and Belly, if it be ufually and mucl 
 eaten of: Some eat it hot after it is fodden it 
 "Wine-vinegar, I hyme, and Savory, which is * 
 good way to corredl it; others eat it cold laid ii 
 Geliy, which only agrecth with hot and aguifl 
 Stomachs in Summer-time : Affuredly the Egg 
 or Spawn of Barbels is very (harp, griping an< 
 corrofive, driving many into bloody Fluxes tha 
 have eaten them faffing. 
 
 ABR AMIDES. 
 
 Breams feem no other than flat Carps, ye 
 whiter of Flefh, and finer Nourifhment. Ther 
 is a kind of Bream called Scarus ruminans , whic 
 we call a Cud-bream, becaufe his Lips are eve 
 wagging like a Cow chawing the Cud : this of a 
 other is the lighted, fweeteft and beft Fifh of th 
 River, fitter for weak and fick Perfons than fuc 
 as be in Health, becaufe it is fo fine. 
 
 A very pood Way how to drefs moji part of 
 Scaled PH SPIES. 
 
 Prepare it after this fort; fet on a good Qgan 
 
 tity of white ftrong Vinegar and dale Ale, with 
 ' Curfe 
 
Of MEATS. 2 69 
 
 C-urfey of Salt, a little Mint, Origanum, Parfley 
 and R.ofemary ; and when your Liquor boileth 
 fafi upon the Fire, flop the Mouth of your Bream 
 with a Nutmeg thruft down into his Throat, and 
 call: him in flapping into the Liquor, keeping him 
 down till he be thorough dead and perfectly 
 foddtn : Drefs Pikes, Roches, Carps, Gradings, 
 Mullets, and all great Fifh of the River in the 
 like fort; for it will make them to eat pleafan*, 
 crifp, brittle and firm, not watterifh and flaggv, 
 as mod: Fifh do, becaufe w ? e know not how to ufe 
 and order them. 
 
 ALBURNI. 
 
 Bleys or Bleaks are foft flefh’d, but never fat; 
 fitter to feed Pikes than to nourifh Men; in the 
 Heat of Summer they are troubled with a Worm 
 in their Stomach, which makes them fo mad and 
 frantic, that rowing upon the Thames you fhall 
 lave three or four in an Evening leap into your 
 Boat. A Waterman once opened one, and found 
 1 little Worm in it, not unlike to them which 
 grow in Oxens Skins, wherewith they are often 
 enraged, but far lefs: they are counted a tender, 
 :ut never a wholefome Meat, becaufe they are 
 '0 fubjedl to Frenzy and Giddinefs. 
 
 j| CYPRINI. CARPIONES. 
 
 ' Carps are of a fweet Tafte, and much good 
 \ T ourifhment, in which refpechs they were dedi- 
 :ated to Ftenus, difcommended for nothing but that 
 hey will not lad long ; wherefore they are foitli- 
 vith to be drefs’d, becaufe, thro’ Lightnefs of 
 heir Subftance, they will foon corrupt. The 
 °ortuguefe fuppofe that Carps feed upon Gold, be- 
 'aufe nothing almoll is found in their Bellies, but a 
 M 3 yellow 
 
270 Health’j Improvement. 
 
 yellow glittering Sand ; which Opinion is alfo in- 
 creafed, in that they ly only at the Bottom of Wa¬ 
 ters : The River Carp is mod wholef'onie, if the 
 Ground of that River be Gravel or clean Sand ; 
 otherwife take them out of gravelly Ponds fed with 
 Springs, and fatted with convenient Meat, where 
 they will not only increafe mightily in Number 
 and Bignefs, but alfo get a very pleafant Tafte and 
 a wholetome Nature : The middle-fized Carp is 
 ever beft, agreeing with 2II Times, Ages and 
 Complexions. The Tongue is the moft nourifh- 
 T'.g part of all, but the Spawn is heavy and un- 
 wholefome however it be drefs’d. r \ he Head of 
 a Carp, the Tail of a Pike, and the Belly of a 
 Bream are mod efteemed, for their Tendernefs, 
 Shortnefs, and well relilhing. Some bake a Carp 
 with Spice, Fruit and Butter; but in my Judg¬ 
 ment being fodden like a Bream, it is of as good 
 a Tafte and better Nourifhment. A red Cavialy 
 is made of their Spawn in Italy , much eaten and 
 defired of the Jews, for that they dare not eat of 
 the Cavialy of Sturgeons, Seals and I unny, be- 
 caufe they are only to feed upon fcaled Fifh, and 
 fuch as carry Fins. Above all things fee that 
 your Carps ftink not of Mud nor lenny Filth, for 
 they cannot then be wliolelome for Man s Body. 
 
 locustellt:. astaci. car abb j 
 
 Crevifies and Shrimps were appointed by God, 
 faith Dorion^ as Athenczus writeth, for queezy 
 Stomachs, and give alfo a kind of Exercife tor 
 fuch as be weak : for Head and Bread muft firft 
 be divided from their Bodies; then each ot them 
 muft be difcaled, and clean picked with much 
 pidling ; then the long Gut lying along the Back 
 of the Crevifs is to be voided. Laftly, the ftnall 
 
 Claws 
 
Of MEATS. 271 
 
 Claws are to be broken, wherein lieth part of the 
 bed Meat. Crevifies feed upon Fidi, Water- 
 Herbs, and fweet Clay, but mod gladly upon the 
 Livers of young Beads: before we are to ufe them, 
 it were good to diet them in aCidern with Crumbs 
 of white Bread for three or four Days together, 
 fo will they be cieanfed of all Impurities, and 
 give a more ftrong and fine Nourifliment. They 
 ihould be fodden in the Water whence they were 
 taicen with a little Salt, and never kept above a 
 Day after, for they will foon fmell and putrefy : 
 we do foolifhly to eat them lad, being a fine, tem¬ 
 perate 2nd nourifhing Meat. They are bed 
 from the Spring until Autumn, and at the Full of 
 the Moon they are mod commendable. The Fe¬ 
 males likewife are better than the Males, which 
 a wife Man will foon difcern : for confumed Per- 
 fons, they are fird to be wafli’d in Barley-water, 
 and then to be fodden in Milk, being fird difcal- 
 ed, till they be tender j according as before I wrote 
 of Shrimps. 
 
 LEUCISCI. 
 
 Daces or Darts, or Dares, be of a fweet Tade, 
 a foft Flelh and good Nourilhmdnt, either fodden 
 or broiled, or pickled like Anchovies after the 
 Italian Manner. 
 
 ANGUIL L JE. 
 
 Eels have fo fweet a Flefh, that they and the 
 Lampreys were dedicated to that filthy Goddefs 
 Gala, or Gluttony ; yet withal it is fo unwhole- 
 lome, that fome Zoilus or Motnus would have ac- 
 cufed Nature, for putting fo fweet a Tade into fo 
 dangerous a Meat: for Eels, as Hippocrates writ- 
 eth, live mod willingly in muddy Places; and in 
 
 M 4 his 
 
2 7 2 H ealth’j Improvement. 
 
 his Epidemics he rehearfeth many Mifchiefs to have 
 happened to divers through eating of Eels ; they 
 give much Nourifhmenr, hut very corruptible : 
 they loofen the Belly, but bring Fluxes; they open 
 the vv ind-pipes, but If op the Liver ; they clear 
 the Voice, but infeCt the Lungs; they increafe 
 Seed, but yet no good Seed : finally, they bring 
 Agues, hurt the Stomach and Kidneys, ingender 
 Gravel, caufe the Stranguary, fharpen the Gout, 
 and nh us full of many JDifeafcs ; they are*worit 
 m Summer, but never wholefome, the elder ones 
 are leaf! hurtful; and it anv be harmlefs, it is the 
 fiiver-beilied and the Tandy Eel. Armldus de villa 
 iiaxa, faith, that no Eel is free from a venomous 
 Malignity and a kind ofgluttilh fuffocating Juice. 
 But jovius reportetb, that fome Eels are ingender- 
 e ; in a little River by Cremona , lefs a great deal 
 than our little Grigs, hurtful in no Difeafe, but 
 of a pure wholefome and good Nourifhment, which 
 I will believe becaufe fo grave a Chronicler re¬ 
 ported) it; otherwife I fhould think ill, with Hip¬ 
 pocrates , of all Eels, even of thofe little ones as 
 well as the Eds in Ganges , which are thirty foot 
 long, as Pliny writeth. Verily when Eels only 
 link to the Bottom, and all other Fifhes float after 
 they-are dead, it cannot but argue them to be 
 of a muddy Nature, little participating of that 
 aerial SuMtance which rr.ovcth and lightneth other 
 F iflies. Again, lince like an Owl it never comes I 
 abroad but in the Night-time, it argueth a me- 
 lancbolic Difpofition in itfelf, and a Likelihood to,, 
 beget the like in us. Great Eds arebeft roafted and' 
 roil’d, becaufe their malign Humour lieth more 
 next the Skin than in their Elefh,which is correct¬ 
 ed or evaporated by the Fire. Next of all, they 
 are belt poudeied and fouced, and baked with 
 
 Butter, 
 
Of M E A T S. 273 
 
 Batter, Salt and Pepper ; but worft being fodden 
 in Water, Ale and Yeft, as commonly they are ; 
 for the Yell: addeth' one Malignity to another, 
 and doth more Hurt than I can exprefs to the Sto¬ 
 mach, Liver and Blood. 
 
 RHOMBI FLUVIATILES. 
 
 Flounders, if they be thick and well grown, 
 are a moll wholefome and light Meat, being 
 fodden with Water and Verjuice, or fried with 
 Vinegar and Butter ; but the little Hounders call¬ 
 ed Dabs, as they are little efteemed of, fo their 
 waterifh and flaggy Flefh doth juflly deferve it. 
 
 THYME 
 
 Grailings, called both of Greeks and Latins , 
 'Thymi , becaufe their Flefh fmelleth like I hyme 
 when they be in feafon, are white, firm, and yet 
 a tender Meat, tailing no worfe than it fmells, 
 and nourifhing plentifully. Seethe it in fuch fort 
 as was deferihed in our Treatife before of drelfing 
 Breams, and you will find few Fifh.es comparable 
 unto if: of all Fifhes they only want a Gall, which 
 perhaps is the Caufe of their greater Excellency. 
 
 G O B I O N E S. 
 
 Gudgeons are of two forts, one whiter and very 
 little, the other bigger and blackifh ; both are as 
 wholefome as a Perch ; but if any be found yel- 
 lowifn, they are dry, lean and unfeafonable. Galen 
 commendeth their Flefh exceedingly, not only 
 becaufe it is fhort and pleafant in Fafle, being fat 
 and friable ; but alfo for that it is foon concocted, 
 nourifheth much, and increafeth good Blood. 
 They are bell which ly about rocky and gravelly 
 
 M 5 Places* 
 
274 Health^ Improvement. 
 
 Places, for Fenny and Lake Gudgeons be not 
 wholefome. 
 
 m 
 
 PAGANELLI. 
 
 Rondeletlus , in his Book of Fifties, mentioneth 
 two Sea-Gudgeons, called Paganelli , of a far 
 greater Length and Bignefs than ours are, which 
 our weftern Fifhermen call by the Name of Sea- 
 cobs : they fometimes come up the River of U/k, 
 where they are taken and brought to Exeter , and 
 accounted, as they are indeed, a raoft found, light, 
 wholefome and nourifhing Meat. 
 
 CAPITONES. 
 
 Gulls, Guffs, Pulches, Chevins, and Millers- 
 thumbs, are a kind of jolt-headed Gudgeons, 
 "very fweet, tender, and wholefome, efpecially 
 when they be with Spawn ; for their Eggs are 
 many and fat, giving good Nouriihment; and 
 tho’ their Flefh be hard in Albertius' s Judgment, 
 yet it never putrefieth, and is well digefted. 
 
 F U N D U L I. 
 
 Groundlings are alfo a kind of Gudgeons never 
 lying from the Ground, freckled as it were on 
 each Side with feven or eight Spots; they are fea- 
 fonable in Alarcb , Aprils and May ; the beft ly 
 loweft, and feed fined,' fucking upon Gravel; 
 but they which ly near to great Cities feed upon 
 Filth, and delight in the dead Carcafes of Men 
 and Beads, therefore called of the Germans , Lcij~t 
 tejfers. 
 
 All forts of Gudgeons be wholefome either 
 fodden or fried, agreeing with all Conftitutions of 
 Body, Sickneffes and Ages. 
 
 PUN- 
 
2 75 
 
 Of M E A T S. 
 
 PUNGIC1I SPINACHLE. 
 
 Hackles or Sticklebacks are fuppofed to come of 
 the Seed of Fifhes fpilt or mifcarrying in the Wa¬ 
 ter; fome think they ingender of their own Ac¬ 
 cord, from Mud or Rain putrefied in Ponds: how- 
 foever it is, they are nought and unwholefome, 
 fufficient to quench poor Mens Hunger, but not 
 to nourifh either rich or poor. 
 
 Jacks or young Pickrels fliall be defcribed here¬ 
 after, when we fpeak of the Nature of Pikes. 
 
 Kobs or Sea-Gudgeons, taken yet in frefh 
 Water, are before fpoken of in the Difcourfe of 
 Gudgeons. 
 
 LAMPRET7E MUR7EN7E. 
 
 Lampreys and Lamprons differ in Bignefs only 
 and in Goodnefs; they are both a very fweet and 
 nourifhing Meat, increafing much Luft through 
 fuperfiuous Nourifhment; were they as whole- 
 fome as fweet, I would not much difcoramend 
 Lucius Mutizna and the Nobles of England for fo 
 much coveting after them ; but how ill they are 
 even for ftrong Stomachs, and how eafily a Man 
 may furfeit on them, not only the Death of King 
 Henry I. but alfo of many brave Men and Captains, 
 may l'ufficiently demonftrate. Pliny avoucheth, 
 that they ingender with the Land-Snake; but fince 
 they ingender and have Eggs at all times of the 
 Year, 1 fee no reafon for it. Ar'flotle faith, that 
 another long FifhJike the Lamprey, called Myrus y 
 is the Sire ; which Licinius Macer oppugneth, 
 affirming conftantly that he hath found Lampreys 
 upon the Land ingendering with Serpents, and 
 that Fifhermen counterfeiting the Serpent’s Hifs, 
 can call them out of the Water and take them at 
 pleafure. They are beft, if ever good, in March 
 
 M 6 and 
 
276 Health*/ Improvement. 
 
 and April\ for then are they fo fat, that they 
 have in a manner no Back-bone at all: Towards 
 Summer they wax harder, and then have they a 
 manifeft Bone, but their Flefh is confumed. Seethe 
 or bake them thoroughly, for otherwife they are 
 of hard and very dangerous Digeftion. Old Men, 
 gouty Men, and aguifn Perfons, and whofoever 
 is troubled in the Sinews or finewy Parts, fliould 
 fhun the eating of them no lefs than if they were 
 Serpents indeed. The Italians drefs them after 
 this fort; full they beat them on the Tail with a 
 Wand, where their Life is thought to ly, till 
 they be almoil dead, then they gag their Mouth 
 with a whole Nutmeg, and flop every eyelet-hole 
 with a Clove, afterwards they caft them into Oil 
 and Malmfy boiling together, calling in after 
 them fome Crumbs of Bread, a few Almonds 
 blanch’d and minced ; whereby their Malignity is 
 corrected and their Flefh bettered. 
 
 Cajus Hercius was the fir ft that ever hem’d them 
 in Ponds, where they multiplied and profpered in 
 fuch fort, that at Ccsfar the Dictator's triumphal 
 Suppers, he gave him fix thoufand Lampreys for 
 each Supper ; he fed them with Liver and Blood 
 of Beafts : But Vidius Pollio , a Roman Knight, 
 and one of Augujlus *s Minions, fed his Lampreys 
 with his Slaves Carcaftes; not becaufe Beafts were 
 not fufficient to feed them, but that he took a 
 plesfure to fee a thoufand Lampreys fucking alto¬ 
 gether like Horfe-leeches upon one Man. 
 
 Concerning our Englijh Preparation of them, 
 a certain Friend of mine gave me this Receipt of 
 baking and drefting Lampreys, namely, firft to 
 pouder them, after parboiling, with Salt, Thyme, 
 and Origanum, then either to broil them as 
 Smatchcocks, or to bake them with Wine, Pep-, 
 
 per. 
 
Of MEATS. 277 
 
 )er, Nutmegs, Mace, Cloves, Ginger and good 
 tore of Butter. The little ones called Lamprons 
 ire be ft broil’d, but the great ones called Lam- 
 >reys are belt baked. Of all our Engli/lj Lam- 
 ireys, the Severn Dweller is molt worthily com- 
 nended, for it is whiter, purer, fweeter, fatter, 
 nd of lefs Malignity than any other. 
 
 L O C H JE. 
 
 Loches, Meat (as the Greek Word importeth) 
 For Women in Childbed, are very light, and of 
 excellent Nourifhment; they have a Flelh like 
 Liver, and a red Spleen, which are molt delicate 
 n Tafte, and as wholefome in Operation. 
 
 ipuee Cobite?, Gcfneri , Aliniatce Cali , Phoxini 
 Bellcnii. 
 
 Minoes, fo called either for their Littlenefs, or 
 as Dr. Cajus imagined) becaufe their Fins be of 
 jo lively a red, as if they were dyed with the true 
 Cinnabar-lake, called Minium. They are lefs 
 han Loches, feeding upon nothing, but licking 
 ine another. Gefner thinks them to ingender of 
 he wafte Seed of Gudgeons; others, that they 
 ngender of themfelves out of unknown Matter"; 
 et certain it is that they are ever full of Spawn, 
 rhich fhould argue a natural Copulation of them 
 vith forne little Fifn or other: they are a molt 
 elicate and light Meat, their Gall being warrily 
 oided without breaking, either fried or fodden. 
 
 M U L L I. . . 
 
 Mullets of the River be of like Goodnefs with 
 he Sea-Mullets, tho’ not fully of fo fine and pure 
 ubftance. Pholoxenus the Poet, fupping at the 
 ■>wer Mafs in Dionyftus's Court, took faddenly a 
 
 little 
 
278 Health’^ Improvement. 
 
 little lean Mullet out of the Difh, and fet his E. 
 to the Mouth of it; whereat Dionyftus laughin; 
 and afking him what News ? Marry, quoth he, Y 
 tells me of fome ftrangeNews in the River, when 
 of none, as he faith, can more fully inform ir 
 than yonder great Mullet in the upper Difh : 
 for his pleafant Jeft he got the greater j and with 
 gives us to note, that unlefs a Mullet be large ar 
 fat, it is but a frivolous Difh, making a gre 
 Shew on the Table, but little nourifhing. Ho 
 they are beft to be drefs’d, is already fpecifie 
 when I wrote of Breams. 
 
 VITULiE. 
 
 Olaffs, or rather Old Wives, becaufe of the 
 mumping and four Countenance, are as dain i 
 and wholefome of Subffance as they are large 1 
 Body. It was my Chance to buy one about Pu 
 ncy , as I came from Mr. Secretary Walftnghanx 
 Houfe about ten Years fince; which I caufed 
 be boil’d with Salt, Wine and Vinegar, and. 
 little Thyme ; and I proteft that I never did e: 
 a more white, firm, dainty and wholefome Fifh. 
 
 P E R C JE. j 
 
 Pearchesare a moft wholefome Fifh, firm, ten 
 der, white and nourifhing. dufonius calieth the i 
 delicias menf<z, the Delight of Feafts, preferrii 
 them before Pikes, Roches, Mullets, and ; 
 other Fifh. Eobanus HeJJtts , in his poetical Dietar 
 termeth them the RiverTartridges. Diodes tl 
 Phyfician writ a juft Volume in the Praife 
 Pearches, and Hippocrates and Galen moft high 
 extol them. They are ever in feafon, fave 
 March and dpril , when they fpawn. As tl 
 oldeft and greateft Eel is ever beft, fo contrarivvi 
 
 tl 
 
Of MEATS. 279 
 
 the middle Pearch and Pike is ever mod whole- 
 fome. Seethe them in Wine-vinegar, Water, 
 and Salt; and then either eat them hot, or cover 
 them in Wine-vinegar to be eaten cold ; for fo 
 they both cool a didempered feverifh Stomach, 
 and give alfo much Nourifhment to a weak Body. 
 
 Lup L 
 
 Pikes or River-wolves are greatly commended 
 by Gefner and divers learned Authors fora whole- 
 fome Aieat, permitted, yea, enjoined to fick Per- 
 fons and Women in Childbed ; yet verily, to fpeak 
 like a Lawyer, I cannot perceive quo warranto ; 
 for if fenny or muddy-river’d fillies be unwhole- 
 fome, the Pike is not fo good as Authors make 
 him, living mod naturally and willingly in fuch 
 Places where he may fat himfelf with Frogs and 
 Filth. Furthermore, when a Pike is big and full 
 grown, is not his Flefh rather to be counted 
 hard than firm ? Indeed I will not deny but a Pike 
 of a middle Size, fed in gravelly Ponds with frefii 
 Livers of Beads, fodden crifp in Wine-vinegar 
 and fvveet Herbs, is of no bad Nourilhment for 
 any Man, but fitted for hot choleric Stomachs 
 and young Perfons. Macrobius writeth, that the 
 bed Pike is taken in a clear River betwixt two 
 Bridges ; but I never faw them fat in any clear 
 River, and therefore I fufpedd their Goodnefs. 
 Certain it is that old great Pikes are very hard, 
 tough, and illtodiged; young ones, called Jacks, 
 are contrariwife too waterifh and mold. Chufe 
 therefore one of a middle Growth, for it is mod 
 likely to nouriih us bed The Germans having 
 fplit them along the Back, thrud their Tails into 
 their Mouths, and then fry them a little with 
 Iweet Butter, then they take them out of the Fry¬ 
 ing-pan, 
 
280 Health’^ Improvement. 
 
 ing-pan, and boil them, as long as one woul 
 feethe an Egg, with Wine, Water, Vinegar an 
 Salt, galloping on the Fire ; and laft of all havin 
 fprinkled it over with Powder of Cloves, Cinna 
 rnon and Ginger, they ferve it to the Table. 
 
 R U T I L I. 
 
 Roches, or Roch-fifhes, called fo of St. Rod 
 that Legendary Mfculapius and Giver of Health 
 'are efteemed and thought uncapable of any Dil 
 eafe, according to the old Proverb, As found as 
 Rodi. Hence have Men collected, that the Flel I 
 of them is light, found, and wholefome; whic 
 verily is not to be denied, being fodden like 
 Bream: they are full of Bones, which maket; 
 them the lefs regarded, tho’ wife Men know we I 
 enough that Rofes are Rofes, albeit their Tre 
 be dangerous and full of Thorns. 
 
 CERNUVE ASPREDINES. 
 
 RufFs or Ruggels are not much unlike 11 
 Pearches for the Goodnefs of their Flelh, the 
 their Skin be rougher : the belt live in fand 
 Places, where they wax exceeding fat and fweet 
 drefs them as you do Pearches: fome take ther 
 for the Bafe ; and verily by Gefner’s Defcriptior 
 they difagree as much as nothing, 
 
 S A L M O N E S. 
 
 Salmons are a fatty, tender, fhort and fwee 
 Fifh, quickly filling the Stomach, and foon glut 
 ting. Gefner commendeth them that go farthe 
 up into frefh Rivers, accounting them worft whic 
 are taken nearelt the Sea ; which I find to be tru 
 in theDifference betwixt Salmons of upper Sever A 
 (betwixt Sbreu'/bury and Beaudly) and the Salmor. 
 
 take. 
 
Of MEATS. 281 
 
 aken betwixt Gloucejler and Brijiol, Neverthc- 
 ; -fs if they go too high up the River, they wax 
 Saner for want of fufficient Nouriftnnent, as ma- 
 aifeftly appeareth, which I myfelf have feen, in 
 lie Salmon of the Rhine taken at Ringfielden be- 
 ond Bafil, and at Oppenhcim above the City of 
 Wentz. Salmons come in and go out with the 
 •luck ; for towards Winter they wax Kipper, full 
 "f Kernels under their Throats, like a meafel’d 
 ■log, and lofe both their Rednefs of Flefh, and 
 lfo the Pleafure of Tafte which elfe it giveth: 
 hey are to be fodden wholly in Wine, or wholly 
 a Water; for if they be fodden in Broth, they 
 rove tough and unpleafant: it is beft to feethe 
 hem in Wine-vinegar and Salt, or elfe parboil 
 hem only in Water, being cut into certain Pieces, 
 nd having Rick’d thofe Pieces full of Cjoves, broil 
 hem upon a Gridiron,and bafte them with Rutter, 
 nd ferve them in with Sauce made of Vinegar, 
 dinnamon and Sugar. Some have pickled Salmon 
 :s Sturgeon is ufed, and find it to be as dainty, 
 nd no lefs wholefome ; but fait Salmon lofeth a 
 muble Goodncfs, the one of a good Tafte, the 
 ther of a good Nourifhment. Hot Salmon is 
 counted unwholefome in England, and fufpecfed 
 s a leprous Me,t, without ail Reafon; for if it 
 c fodden in Wine, and afterwards well fpiced, 
 here is no Danger of any fuch Accident. 
 
 As for Salmon-Peals, which indeed are nothing 
 ut Sea-trouts, howloever they be highly com- 
 lended of the Weftern and IVelch People ; yet 
 re they never enough commended, being a more 
 ght, wholefome and well tafted Meat than the 
 alnaon itfelf. 
 
 SAL- 
 
282 Health’/ Improvement. 
 
 SAL M UNCULI. 
 
 Shuins fcem unto me a kind of Salmon, where 
 
 of plenty is taken in the River running by Cardij 
 
 Caftle ; but it furpafleth the Salmon as much ij 
 
 Goodnefs, as it is furpafl'ed by him in Length an- 
 
 Greatnefs: boil it in Wine-vinegar, Salt, an> 
 
 fweet Herbs, and you (hall find it a delicate ani 
 
 wholefome Fifh. 
 
 * 
 
 ViOLACE^ EPELANI RONDELETIL 
 Smelts are fo called becaufe they fmell fo fweet 
 yea, if you draw them, and theh dry them in 
 fhadowy Place, being feafonably taken ; they ftil 
 retain a Smell as it were of Violets. Their Flefi 
 is of the fineft, lighteft, fofteft, and beft Juice c 
 all other Filh ; their Excellency is in Winter 
 and whenfoever they are full of Spawn. Wefteri 
 Smelts have the greateft Commendation for thei 
 Greatnefs and Goodnefs. Void the Gall cleanly, 
 and then ufe the Livers, Guts, Bellies and Fat 
 for great Reftoratives. The beft are taken bj 
 Kew and Brentford , within eight Miles of London 
 and at IVeJl-chrJler. Seethe them in hot boilin' 
 Water and Salt, and take them out as foon a; 
 they are fodden ; for lying long in the Water the] 
 will wax flaggy : their Sauce is Butter and Ver 
 juice mingled with a little grofs Pepper; but i 
 you fry them in Butter, eat them with the Juict 
 of Sevill Oranges, for that is their beft Sauce. 
 
 T RUTT /E . 
 
 Trouts are fo great in Northumberland , tha 
 they feem thicker than Salmons, and are therefon 
 called Bull-Trouts; there are efpecially two fort; 
 of them, Red Trouts refembling little frefti Watei 
 Salmons, and therefore termed Salmon Trouts ; 
 
 ant 
 
Of MEATS. 283 
 
 and Gray Trouts or SkurfFs, which keep not in 
 the Channel of Rivulets or Rivers,but lurk like the 
 ^Alderlings under the Roots of great Alders; they 
 jare both a very pleafant and good Meat for found 
 jPerfons; but they are vaftly miftaken v> ho pre¬ 
 fer them in Agues before Pearches, whofe Flefli is 
 tender, friable, light, of good Juice, and fpeedy 
 Conco&ion, when they are in no one thing com¬ 
 parable unto them : they are beft being fodden 
 like a Bream and eaten hot, for being eaten cold 
 'they lofc much of their Grace, and more of their 
 jGoodnefs. 
 
 TIN C JE. 
 
 Tenches are naturally fuch Friends to Pikes, 
 ‘that pity it is they fhould be feparated ; yet fince 
 I have followed the Order of the Alphabet, I could 
 not but divide them in Name, tho’ they agree in 
 Nature. Old Writers hardly vouchfafe to men¬ 
 tion them, becaufe they were only efteemed as 
 Beggars Meat: the very Feeling and Smell of 
 them (hew, that a Tench is but a muddy and 
 flimy Fifh. Albertus living 1252 Years after 
 Chrift, was the firft that ever wrote of the Na¬ 
 ture of the Tench. His Flefh i ? hopping, (limy, 
 vifcous, and very unwholefome ; and as Alexander 
 Benediftus writeth, of a mofl unclean and dam- 
 nab e Nourifhment. Antonins Gazins faith, that 
 a fried Tench is a fecret Poifon ; and 1 remem¬ 
 ber that Dr. Cajus , whofe Learning I reverence, 
 was wont to call T enches good Plaifters, but bad 
 Nourifhers : for indeed being outwardly laid to 
 the Soles of ones Feet, they oftentimes draw away 
 the Ague, but inwardly taken they ingender Pal- 
 fies, hop the Lungs, putrefy in the Stomach, and 
 bring a Man that much eats them to infinite Dif- 
 
 eales ; 
 
284 Health’j Improvement. 
 
 cafes; they are very hard of Digeftion, burden I 
 fome to the Stomach, increafing flimy Nourift 
 mcnt, and breeding Palfies and Apoplexies in th 
 Head : h rom Afay to November they are ver 
 dangerous; afterwards hot, choleric, and labour| 
 ing Men maybe refrefhed by them, but non 
 elfe : they are worft being fried, beft being kep 
 in Geliy, made ftrong of Wine and Spices. 
 
 U M B R JE. 
 
 Umbers have a dry and whitifh Flefh, lilt, 
 the FleQi of Gray Trouts, be : ng of the liki 
 Subftance, Quality and Goodnefs, and needini] 
 no other Preparation. Fhe Belly of it is prefer 
 red before the other parts, and is wholefomefl: ii 
 the Dog-days. Pifanellus faith, that it is called 
 Umbra in Latin , becaufe it fwimeth in the Riven 
 like a Shadow ; and hecommendeth it exceeding¬ 
 ly for young and hot Stomachs, as that alfo it k 
 foon concodfed and increafeth Seed. 
 
 c H A P. XX. 
 
 Of fuch living Creatures and Meats as le 
 neither FleJh nor F;Jh , and yet give good 
 Nourtjhmeni to the Body. 
 
 COCHEL/E TERRESTRES. 
 
 NAILS are little efteemed of us in England , 
 but in Barbary , Spain and Italy , they are eaten 
 as a molt dainty, wholefome, nourifhing, and re- 
 „ Coring iMeat. Let us beware when, and in vs/hat 
 fort we ufe them ; tor they are naught whilft they 
 
 feed, 
 
Of MEATS. 285 
 
 ceed, but towards Winter having fcoured them- 
 felves from all Excrements, and batter’d themfelves 
 fat with Sleep, then are they wholefomeft : alfo if 
 they feed in Woods, or in Gardens full of Phyfic 
 Herbs,they are ftrongbothof Smell and Tafte,and 
 dangerous to eat of. They defire of all other Herbs 
 to feed of Daffadils and Afphodels; but then they 
 are not fo good as thofe that feed upon other Herbs 
 and Fruits, but efpecially upon Dew-berries. In 
 Cadiz and Spain they feed chiefly upon Orange- 
 flowers, which make them very pleafant in eating. 
 In the Iflands of Majorca and Minorca , they never 
 come out of their Caves, but live by fucking one 
 another’s Shell, hanging together like a Clufter 
 of Grapes; which no doubt are of a purer Sub- 
 ftance than ours, that fuck and feed upon all Herbs. 
 Fulvius Hilpinus , not long before the Civil War 
 betwixt Ccefar and Pompey , made in his Garden 
 feveral Snail-parks, as I may call them, keeping 
 every kind by themfelves •, there might one find 
 the white Snails of Reate , the gray and great 
 Snails of Illyricum , the fruitful Snails of Africa , 
 and the Solitan Snails mod famous and excellent 
 of all others ; which he fullered not to feed upon 
 what they lifted, but made certain Pap with fweet 
 Wine, Honey and Flour, whereby they were fed 
 fo fat, and became fo wholefome, fweet and deli¬ 
 cate, that they were highly efteemed, being fold 
 every Difhful for fourfcore Quadrants. But fince 
 no Man is in hope to gain fo much by that Occu¬ 
 pation, they which muft needs ufe them, may 
 chufe them in this fort: Firft, let them chufe 
 them of middle Size, feeding all Summer-time 
 in hilly Places upon wholefome Herbs. Secondly, 
 Let them not eat them till September be paft, for 
 by that time they are thoroughly purged of all 
 
 Excre- 
 
286 Health's Improvement. 
 
 Excrements. Alfo, they are unfit for weak, co 
 and moift Complexions, becaufe they themfelv 
 are cold in the firft Degree, and moift in the f 
 cond. They are beft for hot Stomachs, choler 
 Conftitutions, thirfty Diftemperatures, watchf 
 Brains, and Men troubled with Ulcers of tl 
 Lungs, and free from all Stoppings and Inflamm; 
 tions of the Kidneys. Pliny wills them to 1 
 firft parboil’d in warm Water with fweet Herb 
 and then to be broil’d upon the Coals, and to t 
 eaten ever in an odd Number; but if you dre 
 them as Apicius appoints Periwinkles to be drefs’t 
 which I before defcribed in the Treatife of Per 
 w-inkles, they wall prove a light, wholefome an 
 good Nourifhment. 
 
 TESTUDINES. 
 f Tortoifes are likewife no ufual Meat among! 
 us; yet becaufe I fee no reafon but that Riot ma 
 bring them in, and make them as familiar unto u 
 as Turkies are, I will write fomething of thei 
 Choice, Ufe, Hurtfulnefs, Correction and Degree 
 of Temperature. Chufe ever the greateft, fullef 
 of Eggs, livelieft eyed, and fatted at home witi 
 the beft Meat. Their Flelh nourifhes plentifully 
 and recovers Men out of Confumptions; yet is i 
 flowly digefted of weak Stomachs, ingenderint 
 thick and phlegmatic Blood, and making the Eat¬ 
 ers fleepy and flothful. Wherefore feethe birr 
 thoroughly in many Waters with fweet Herbs anc 
 hot Spices, efpecially for that it is no lefs cold that: 
 Snails, and fully as moift, agreeing only at fuel; 
 times of the Year, and for fuch kind of Perform 
 as Snails be thought convenient for. 
 
 m. 
 
 RAM 
 
287 
 
 Of MEATS. 
 
 R A MM. 
 
 Frogs are of hard Concoction, troublefome to 
 he Stomach, breeding much Phlegm, and giving 
 10 found, yea rather a bad Juice: yet Water- 
 rogs are beft of the bigger fort, and both bred 
 nd taken in a dry Seafon. Their Hinder-parts 
 nd Livers, which be two in each, are the beft 
 o be eaten ; and being thoroughly fodden in Oil, 
 lit Water and Vinegar, and eaten with Sauce 
 nade of fweet Herbs, Onions and Scallions, they 
 re no bad Meat for choleric young Men, tho’ 
 Dr old and phlegmatic Perfons they be wholly un- 
 rofitable. They are moift in the firft Degree, 
 nd cold in the fecond, and therefore to be cor¬ 
 ded with hot and drying Simples. 
 
 MEL. 
 
 Honey and Bread was a great Meat with Py- 
 mgoras and his Scholars, and counted a fuflicient 
 ood for a temperate Life : for Bread (Lengthens 
 le Body, and Honey both nourifhes much, and 
 fo cleanfeth away Superfluities. Pollio Romulus 
 ;ing afk’d by Augujlus the Emperor how he lived 
 ' long ? By nourilhing, faith he, my Inwards 
 ith Honey, and my outward Parts with Oil. 
 'he like Anfwer likewife made Democritus , be- 
 g demanded the like Queftion. Furthermore, 
 is fo general a Meat through all Rujfia , that 
 ie Children eat it on their Bread every Morn- 
 g, as ours do Butter to their Breakfaft; with 
 horn, and with old Men, it agreeth exceeding 
 ell, cleanling their Breafts, opening their Pipes, 
 arming their Stomachs, refifting Putrefaction, 
 ocuring Solublenefs and Urine, and ingenderinp- 
 'eet and commendable Blood ; but young Men^ 
 hofe Moifture is lefs than Childrens, through 
 
 2 
 
288 Health’^ Improvement. 
 
 Sharpnefs of Heat, and whofe Stomachs are hot 
 than old Mens, by much eating of Honey inflai 
 their Blood, increafe Choler, bloody Flux. 
 Wind, and Obftrudtions, together with a con 
 nual loathing of Meat, and a Difpofition to v 
 mit. Honey-cakes were wont to be a great D 
 in old times at the end of Banquets, as Gingi 
 bread is with us ; which Cuftom Macrobius a 
 Gellius have juftly reproved, becaufe fweet thir 
 being lad eaten, open the Mouth of the Stomac 
 which after Meat fliould be clofed, and as it w( 
 fealed up to help Concodfion: Wherefore Pij 
 nellus doth very well in preferring us to eat Sug; 
 rofin, or fome four Fruits after Honey, to prevc 
 the ingendering of Choler in the Stomach, and 
 help the fame whild it conco£teth. Raw Hon 
 is never good, therefore clarify it throughly at t 
 Fire; and chufe the whited, pured, cleare 
 mod: glidering and thicked, for they are Noi 
 of the bed Floney : alfo let it be Honey that r 
 and was never preffed out of the Combs, and 
 young Bees rather than old, feeding upon Thym 
 Rofemary, Flowers, and fuch fweet and who) 
 fome Herbs. Then may you boldly give it 
 Meat to young Children, to cold and moid Cor 
 plexions, and to rheumatic old Men, efpecial 
 in Northern Countries and cold Climates, and 
 the Winter Seafon. 
 
 C H AS 
 
Of fruits. 
 
 289 
 
 CHAP. XXI. 
 
 ®f Fruit, and the Differences thereof. 
 
 XTOW.we are come to the laft Courfe, which 
 in ancient and more healthful Ages was the 
 nrft and only, whilft Mens Hands were neither 
 polluted with the Blood of Beafts, nor fmell’d of 
 the moft unwholefome Scent of Fiffi. This kind 
 of Meat is commended (like the Hebrew Xongue) 
 for three principal Reafons, Antiquity, Purity, 
 and Sufficiency ; for it was more ancient than ei¬ 
 ther Fleffi or f ilh by two thouland Years; it is fa 
 pure of itfelf that it never defiles the Hand, nor 
 needeth any great dreffing: and that it is fufficient 
 to maintain us long in Life, not only the Hiftory 
 of the firfl: twelve Patriarchs, but alfo whole Na¬ 
 tions living at this Day in India , Africa and Afia % 
 and fome parts of Europe , do fufficiently declare, 
 feeding wholly or principally of Fruit; whereof I 
 find three chief or efpecial kinds, namely, Or¬ 
 chard-fruit growing upon "Frees; Garden-fruit 
 growing upon Shrubs, Herbs and Roots; and 
 field-fruit, included under the Name of Grain. 
 
 CHAP. XXII. 
 
 Of all Orchard Fruit. 
 
 Pruna Anneniaca Chryfomela. 
 
 APricots are Plums difiembled under a Peach’s 
 \ Coat, good only and commendable for their 
 | and fragrant Smell, their Flefh quickly cor- 
 
 N 
 
 rupting 
 
290 Health^ Improvement. 
 
 rupting and desenerating into Choler and wheyifli 
 Excrements, ingendering peftil'ent Agues, flopping 
 the Liver and Spleen, breeding ill'Juice, and giving 
 either none or weak Nourifhment; yet are they 
 medicinal and wholefome for fome Perfons, for 
 they provoke Urine, quench Thirft : and Syrup 
 made of the Infufion of dried Apricots, qualifies 
 the burning Heat and Rage of Fevers : They are 
 leaft hurtful to the Stomach, and moft comfort¬ 
 able to the Brain and Heart, which be fweet ker- 
 nel'd, big and fragrant, growing behind a Kit¬ 
 chen-Chimney, as they do at Barn-elms , and fo 
 thoroughly ripened by the Sun, that they will 
 eafily part from their Stone. They are beft be¬ 
 fore Meat, and fitteft for hot Stomachs ; but let 
 not Women eat many of them, and let them alfo 
 remember to drown them well in Sack or Canary 
 Wine. Galen preferreth Apricots before Peaches, 
 becaufe they are not fo foon corrupted; whereas 
 common Experience fheweth the contrary : for as 
 Apricots are fooneft ripe, fo of all other Stone- 
 Fruit they fooneft corrupt in a Man’s Stomach. 
 
 amigdale 
 
 Almonds, into whom fair Phillis was turned, 
 as Poets imagine, are of two forts, fweet and bit¬ 
 ter. Thefe are fitteft for Medicine, but the 
 fweet ones for Meat. The fweet Almonds are 
 fometimes eaten green of Women with Child, to 
 procure Appetite ; and in Summer of others, be¬ 
 caufe then they are moft pleafant: but they nou- 
 rifh moft after the Fall, when they are fully ripe,j 
 being blanched into cold Water : they fatten the 
 Body, give plentiful bJourifhment, increafe b lefljj 
 and Seed, help the Brain and Eye-fight, purg ^ 1 
 the Breaft by fpitting, clear the Voice, cleanfc 
 
 the 
 
0/fruits. 4 9i 
 
 the Kidneys, and provoke Sleep ; eat them not 
 when they are very old and wrinkled, for then they 
 ftay long in the Stomach and breed Head-achs r if 
 they be eaten with Sugar, as they are in March- 
 paens, or in Cullices, JMortiies, Rice Porridge, 
 or Almond-Milks, they are of greater Nourifh- 
 ment and more eafy Digeftion ; but then they 
 are to be eaten alone, not in the middle, and 
 much lefs in the end of Meals. 
 
 MALA. 
 
 Apples be fo divers of Form and Subfiance, that 
 it were infinite to defcribe them all; fome confift 
 more of Air than Water, as your Puffs called 
 Mala pulmonea ; others more of Water than Wind, 
 as your Cuftards and Pome-waters, called Hydro- 
 tica : Others being firft grafted upon a Mulberry- 
 ftock wax thorough red, as our Queen-apples, 
 called by Ruellius , Rubelliana , and Claudiana by 
 Pliny. Roundlings are called Mala Sceptiana , of 
 Sceptius \ and Winter-Goldlings, Scandiana Plinii ; 
 Pippins, Mala Petifia\ Pear-apples, Melapia ; 
 and Pear-mains or Peauxans no doubt be thofe 
 dppiana Mala which Jppius grafted upon a Quince, 
 melling fweetly, and tailing a little tart, continu- 
 n g in his Goodnefs a Year or two. To be ihort, 
 ill Apples may be forted into three kinds, fweet, 
 bur and unfavoury. Sweet Apples moiften the 
 Belly, open the Breaft, ripen Rheums, eafe the 
 --ough, quench Thirft, help fpitting, cure Me- 
 ancholy, comfort the Heart and Head, efpecially 
 f they be fragrant and odoriferous, and alfo give a 
 audable Mourifhment. Sour Apples ftay the 
 Belly, hinder fpitting, ftraiten the Breaft, gripe 
 nd hurt the Stomach, increafe Phlegm, and 
 Weaken Memory. Unfavoury Apples are unfit 
 
 N 2 -for 
 
2^2 Health’^ Improvement. 
 
 for our eating, appointed rather to fat Hogs and 
 Swine, than to come into our Stomachs. Ole 
 Apples are beft, if they be fuch as can bear Age, 
 becaufe by long lying they lofe two ill Qualities. 
 Waterilhnefs and Windinefs, and have alfo a more 
 perfe£t and pleafing Tafte. As Nuts, figs anc 
 Mulberries, be beft towards the loweft Boug is 
 fo contrariwife Plums, Apples and Pears, be bef 
 from the Top of the Tree, and hanging on the 
 Sunny-ftde. Sweet Apples are to be eaten at the 
 beginning of Meat, but four and tart Apples a 
 the latter end. All Apples are worft raw, anc 
 beft baked or preferved. None at all are gooi 
 fodden befides the Codlin ; which afterwards be 
 ing made into Tart Stuff, and baked with Rofe 
 water and Sugar, is no bad Meat: their Coldnef 
 and Waterifhnefs is foon correded, either " 
 
 baking, roafting, or preferving with Cinnamon 
 Ginger, Orange-pills, Anife-feed, Cartaway 
 feed, fweet Fennel-feed, and fweet Butter. 
 
 Now whereas the old Proverb, Ab ova ad mala 
 fheweth that Apples were ever the laft Difh fe 
 upon the Board, you muft underftand it of tartil 
 and four Apples, or elfe juftly, tho’ newly, n 
 fault with an old Cuftom. Philip of Macedonia 
 and Alexander his Son, (from whom perhaps a cu 
 rious and fkilful Herald may derive our Lancajbii 
 Men) were called Philomel /, Apple-lovers, be 
 caufe they were never without Apples in their Poc 
 kets; yea, all the Macedonians his Countryme 
 did fo love them, that having near Babylon fui 
 prifed a Fruiterer’s Hoy, they ftnved fo for 
 that many were drowned ; which b lght was then 
 fore called by Hiftoriographers, Melomachia, tl 
 Apple-fight j but cruel Fluxes furpnfed the Arm 
 upon thisj and many died of intolerable^Gripmj 
 
 i 
 
2 93 
 
 Of FRUITS. 
 
 Oxyacanthus Spina acida. 
 
 Barberries prefer ved, are a great refrefhing to 
 hot Stomachs and aguifh Perfons; and being kept 
 in Pickle, they ferve for Sallads and the garnifh- 
 ing of Meat; but they are of very little Nourifh- 
 ment themfelves, or rather of none at all, tho’ by 
 a pleafant Sharpnefs they edge an Appetite. 
 
 Prunus Sylvejlris Regius. 
 
 Bullices likewife, both white,fpeckled and black, 
 are of the like Nature, being ftewed, baked,roaft- 
 ed or preferved ; fitter to be eaten laft, to clofe 
 up the upper Mouth of the Stomach, than firft to 
 flop the nether Mouth, unlefs it be in Fluxes. 
 
 S O R B I. 
 
 Servifes, like to Medlers, are then truly ripe 
 when they are rotten ; if you would chufe the 
 belt, chufe the biggeft, moft poulpy, and voideft 
 of Stones. They are cold in the firft Degree, 
 and dry in the third, giving little Nourifti- 
 ment but flaying Fluxes, and prevent- 
 .ng Drunkennefs, flrengthening the Stomach, 
 md making a fweet Breath : their great Aftrin- 
 ^ency fheweth that they are to be eaten laft, for 
 itherwife they will bind the Body, burden the 
 itomach, and ingender many grofs Humors. 
 Pliny maketh four kinds of Servifes, one as round 
 is an Apple, another bottled like a Pear, the third 
 ival, made like an Egg. The Apple-fervife is 
 noft fweet, fragrant and nourifhing, the other of 
 moft winy Tafte. The fourth kind of Servife 
 ii> a very little one, called the Torment-fervife, 
 flowed for nothing but that it ceafeth the Tor¬ 
 ments of bloody Fluxes. 
 
 N 3 . 
 
 CHERRIES. 
 
294 
 
 Health’j Improvement. 
 CHERRIES. 
 
 Cherries were neither brought into Italy nor 
 England till Lucius Lucullus returned from his 
 Victory again# Mithridates ; whereof there are 
 chiefly four forts among# us, viz. 
 
 Juliana , 
 
 Julians, whirh are red, foft and pulpy, never 
 good but under the Tree ; for they rot in Carriage 
 a little way. 
 
 Aproniana , 
 
 Apronians, which are red, round, and harder, 
 and can abide the Carriage. 
 
 Duracina. 
 
 Duracines, or in French Cceurs , or Heart- 
 Cherries, becaufe they are made like a Heart, 
 which are the firmed: of all other. 
 
 ASliana. 
 
 The blacked: of all be called Asians, becaufe 
 they were brought from Attium, a Promontory 
 of Epire. In England we have alfo feen white 
 Cherries growing, wherein the artificial Choler 
 marreth the good Nature and Tafte of them, 
 wherefore I will not commend them for Whole- 
 fomenefs, but {hew their Rarenefs. 
 
 Concerning their Ufes, let us remember thus 
 much, that the Cceurs ox French Cherries are mo# 
 cordial, the common and pulpy Cherries mod 
 nourhhing, the black Cherry’s Kernel is the be# 
 Meat, but his Flefn unwholefome and loathfome 
 to the Stomach. 
 
 Furthermore our common Cherries being ripe 
 and eaten from the Tree in a dewy Morning, 
 loofen the Belly ; when contrariwife Cceurs and 
 red four Cherries bind the fame, being of a more 
 dry and aftringent Faculty. 
 
Of F R U I T S. 295 
 
 All Cherries, faving them which are black, 
 flack Third, cool moderately, and procure Ap¬ 
 petite. Sweet and ripe Cherries fhould be eaten 
 foremoft ; others are to be eaten lad, either fcald- 
 ed or baked, or made into Tart Stuff, or preferved 
 with Sugar, or rather dried after the German man¬ 
 ner, which they keep all the Year long to quench 
 Third in Agues, to cool Choler, to dir up Ap¬ 
 petite, to unfur the Tongue and relifli the Mouth, 
 to day puking, vomiting, and all kind of Fluxes. 
 
 CASTANET NUCES. 
 
 Chefnuts are fo difcommended of Galen in his 
 Book of Thin Diet, that they fhculd be little 
 edeemed, had not latter Ages better confidered 
 of their Nature. Pliny thought, and I allow his 
 Reafon, that it could not be a vile Meat, which 
 Nature had hidden with fuch wonderful and arti¬ 
 ficial Covers or Hufks. Divas Tiberius having 
 been in Sardinia , or rather, as I take it, at Sardis 
 in Lydia , brought from thence fome Chefnuts, and 
 fet them in Italy , whence no doubt they were de¬ 
 rived into France and England. It is quedioned 
 by fome whether raw Chefnuts may not ingender 
 lace. But the French Chefnut is bigger, tenderer, 
 and far fweeter than curs ; whereof there are two 
 kinds, the one of a light and reddifh Colour, fitted 
 to be roaded ; the other refembling a dark bay, 
 inclining to a blackifh brown, called Cottiva? of 
 Pliny , becaufe they are bed fodden. Of all Chef- 
 nuts chufe the bigged, fulled, browned and round¬ 
 ed, and let them be three Months old at the lead 
 before you eat them: If you eat too many, they 
 breed Head-achs, Cholics and Coltivenefs ; but 
 feed moderately upon them in the midd of Meals 
 and they nourifh without Offence. They are 
 
 N 4 dry 
 
296 Health’j Improvement. 
 
 ory in the fecond Degree, and almoft as hot as 
 cry j but teething remits a little of each, as roaft- 
 ing addeth fomewhat to either Quality. They 
 are ben in W inter, agreeing with moift Complexi- 
 oni 3 ar -d fuch as are to fubjedt to Stoppings of the 
 Breaft and Liver. 
 
 Mala Medica & Citria. 
 
 Citrons were not known in Homer*6 time to be 
 any Meat ; only the Pills thereof were burnt with 
 Cedar-wood in I emples, when they facrificed to 
 Apollo-, as thinking the Fume of it a fpecial Pre- 
 fervative againft the Plague; neither is the Juice 
 of them fince commended but to refill Poifon, to 
 qualify Humours putrefied within the Body, to 
 make a fvveet Breath, to cure hot burning Agues, 
 and to cure the longing of Women with Child ; 
 tor which yet the Seeds are thought moft medici¬ 
 nal, Neverthelefs I am fure, as ripe Citrons in 
 Spain do nourifh Spaniards , fo preferved Citrons 
 may no lefs nourifh us, confidering that their cor- 
 rohve Quality is altered by Sugar, and their Cold- 
 nefs made temperate thorough parboiling. 
 
 _ Pruna Damafcena. 
 
 Damfons, which were firfl brought from the 
 Mount of Damafcus in Syria , are a mofl whole- 
 feme Plum of all others, giving moderate Nou- 
 rifhment in hot Weather to young, choleric, and 
 dry Stomachs. The moft nourifhing be fully 
 ripe, fweet, plump, and thin-fkin’d. Our 
 Cuftom is very bad to eat ripe Plums laft, when 
 their Sweetnefs and Lightnefs perfuades us to 
 eat them foremoft. Ripe Damfens eaten whilft 
 the Dew is upon them are more medicinal than 
 Meat; but being eaten at the beginning of Dinner 
 
 or 
 
Of F R U I T S. 297 
 
 or Supper, they are more Meat than Medicine, 
 and give an indifferent Suftenance to an indiffe¬ 
 rent Stomach, efpecially when they are preferved. 
 Damfons not fully ripe had need to be boiled or 
 preferved, to correct their cold and crude Nature ; 
 but as they are fit for hot Stomachs and aguifh 
 Perfons, fo none at all are good for them that be 
 old, or cold, or waterifh and phlegmatic of Con- 
 ftitution. 
 
 The like maybe faid of Damafk-prunes, brought 
 out of Syria , Spain and Italy , which are fweet, 
 nourifhing and pleafant, being (tewed or fodden ; 
 when contrariwife the French Prune is harfh and 
 four, fitter to cool Men in Agues, and to edge 
 diftafted Stomachs, than to be offered any Man 
 in the way of Meat. 
 
 D A C T I L I. 
 
 Dates are ufuallyput into ftew’d Broths, minced- 
 pies, and reftorative Cullices, as tho’ they were 
 of very great and wholefome Nourifhment. Cer¬ 
 tain it is that they fatten much and increafe Blood, 
 but fuch Blood as eafily turneth into hot Choler. 
 Alexander s Soldiers were killed with new Dates; 
 which tafte fo pleafantly, that only Danger makes 
 a Man furceafe to eat them. The belt Dates 
 grow by Jericho in Jewry , the next by Alexandria 
 in Egypt ; but the Dates of Barbary and Spain 
 have long wrinkled Bodies without Subfiance: 
 Chufe them which are ripe and not rotten, firm 
 and not worm-eaten, fweet and not aftringent, 
 and at the ieaft a Year old after the gathering ; for 
 ifuch are beft for a cold Liver, fitted: to move the 
 Belly and to help the Cough; whereas new Dates 
 bind excefiively, flop the Liver, Stomach, Veins, 
 and Lungs, gripe the Guts, breed Head-ach, hurt 
 
 N 5 the 
 
 ! 
 
29$ Health’^ Improvement. 
 
 tTie Teeth, and make little Ulcers to arife in the 
 Mouth ; yea, ripe Dates lighting upon a bad Sto¬ 
 mach do eafily putrefy, ingendering malign Agues 
 and fluffing the 6ody with crude Humours, where¬ 
 upon great Stoppings increafe both of Spleen anc 
 Liver. They are hot in the fecond Degree, anc 
 moift in the firft, never good when they are eater 
 alone, or without Sugar, which hindereth their 
 fpeedy Corruption. 
 
 PraneJUnte^ Heracleotica , Pontic a id Avel- 
 lance Nuces. 
 
 Filberds and Hafelnuts, coming firft out oi 
 Pontus, and tranflated by the Romans into oui 
 Country, are found by Experience to nourifh the 
 Brain, to heal old Coughs being eaten with Honey, 
 and to flay Rheums if they be toafted. Alfo be¬ 
 ing peel’d whilft they are green, and laid a while 
 in Water, and eaten afterwards with Sugar or 
 Salt at the end of Meat, they give a laudable 
 Nourifhment, increafing Seed, tempering Blood, 
 and making it of a good Confiftence. Chufe ever 
 the longeft, ripeft, and thineft fhell’d, fulleft oi 
 Meat, and freeft from Spot or Worm; alfo eat 
 them whilft they are new, if you purpofe to nou¬ 
 rifh much ; for afterwards they wax more oily and 
 lefs nourifhing : they are beft towards Winter, anc 
 fitter for ftrong and able Stomachs, becaufe they 
 eafily overturn weak Stomachs, and procure 
 Head-achs. 
 
 Ficus CroJJi. 
 
 Figs are the fweeteft Fruit of the bittereft Tree 
 in the World; for neither Leaf, nor Bud, noi 
 Bark, nor Wood, nor Body, nor Root, nor any 
 part of it is fweet befides the Fruit; nay, the 
 very Afhes of a Fig-tree are as (harp and bitter as 
 
 an y 
 
Of FRUITS. 299 
 
 any Soot; yet Figs themfelves are fo fweet, that 
 only for Love of them the Frenchmen firfl invaded 
 Italy , and inhabited a great part of it many Years; 
 yea Mofchus Antimolus the Sophifter having once 
 tailed them, he hated all other Meats during his 
 Life ; and Plato fo affecfted them, that he was 
 called the Fig-lover ; nay, he loved them fo much, 
 that he died of Lice, ingendered of corrupt Blood, 
 which the Figs made : alfo Po?npeius Cohemna y 
 Cardinal and Viceroy of Napier, died fuddenly in 
 the Arms of Aufen Nyphus that famous Philofo- 
 pher, with eating too many Figs. 
 
 Figs are dangerous without Wine, but whole- 
 fome with it. Wherefore let all Men beware of 
 them, as Solomon bids us take heed of too much 
 Honey, left our fweet Meat bring four Sauce, and 
 Pleafure be punifhed with too late Repentance. 
 They are feldom eaten of us green from the Tree: 
 and of outlandifti Figs, let Diofeorides commend 
 his yellow Figs, Athenaus his blue Figs, and Pra- 
 tenfs his Adarifcas, or Fig-dates; yet in my Judg¬ 
 ment the round, fhort, and thick barrel’d Figs, 
 (having a thin Skin, and a firm Subftance, with 
 few Seeds in them, are of all other the beft, tho* 
 not the fweeteft, which I nothing doubt to be 
 Callijlruthice Galleni , and thofe delicate Figs of 
 Livia Pompeia , which Pliny writes of. 
 
 The Seed of Figs nourifheth no more than a 
 Stone, their Skin hardly digefteth, only their 
 pulpy Subftance giveth much, tho’ no very whole- 
 fome nor good Nourifhment. Chufe the fofteft, 
 roundeft, neweft, foundeft, thickeft and ripeft ; 
 and as you drink Wine upon cold and moift Fruits, 
 fo drink fmall Drink, or fuck the four Juice of 
 Oranges, Pomegranates, Lemons or Citrons, 
 after Figs. Thus being taken they augment Fat, 
 
 N 6 clear 
 
300 Health’.* Improvement. 
 
 clear the Countenance, provokje Venery, quench 
 Thirfl, refifl Venom, purge the Kidneys of Gra¬ 
 vel, and nourifh more than ahy Tree-fruit what- 
 foever. But if you would ripen a Cold, or cleanfe 
 your Pipes, or clear your Voice, it is befl to eat 
 them witli ripe Almonds, or to drink them with 
 Barley-water : Old Age is mod offended by them, 
 and fuch as have ftopt Livers, or be of a bad and 
 corrupt Complexion. 
 
 Pijlacia , or Pfittacia. 
 
 Fiflicks, or rather Piflicks, alluding to the Sy¬ 
 rian Word, are Nuts growing in the Knob of the 
 Syrian or Egyptian Turpentine-tree, being fo much 
 more wholefome, good and nourifhing, by how 
 much they are more fvveet, odoriferous, full, big 
 and green : They nourifh plentifully, open the 
 Liver, cleanfe the Breaft, flrengthen the Stomach 
 and Kidneys, flay Fluxes and Vomitings, fatten 
 the Body, {fir up Lull, and refift Poifon. They 
 are wholefome both before and after Meat, being 
 eaten with old Pippins or Sugar-rofin. 
 
 Children and hot Complexions inufl not ufe 
 them, for they inflame their thin Blobd, and caufe 
 Giddinefs: but even Galen , who difeommends 
 them more than he needed, alloweth them in 
 W inter for cold, phlegmatic and weak Stomachs. 
 Jfaac Faith, that they are hot and dry in the fecond 
 •Degree, whereof indeed they want very little. 
 
 U V M. 
 
 Grapes differ two ways, efpecially in Subfiance 
 and Tafle. In refpedl of Subfiance, they are ei¬ 
 ther flefhy, which are fittefl for Meat, or winy 
 and thin, which are fittefl to drink, being made 
 into Wine, In refpedl of Tafle, fweet Grapes 
 
 fatten 
 
Of F R U I T S. 3 0! 
 
 itten and nourifh moll, being of hotted: Condi¬ 
 tion, and fpeedieft Conco&ion; yet they fwell 
 le Stomach, ingender Third, and loofen the 
 ody. Sour and harfh Grapes are cold in Opera- 
 on, hardly digeded, of little Nourifhment, grip- 
 lg and yet binding the Belly, and therefore fitter 
 > be taded of as Sauce than to be eaten as Meat. 
 
 The Germans hang up Cluders of ripe Grapes, 
 iffering them not to touch one another, upon 
 fines in a cold Gallery, or rather in their Bed- 
 hambers ; which being dried nourifh much, and 
 et neither fwell the Stomach nor caufe Loofenefs : 
 n heat of Agues one fuch Grape, or two at the 
 nod, do more refrefh the Mouth, and redore 
 he Tade, than fix Ounces of Conferve of cold 
 arberries. 
 
 Hafelnuts are already written of in our Treatife 
 f Filberds. 
 
 Mala Junla. 
 
 Junitings are the fird kind of Apples which are 
 >oned ripe, coming in and going cut with the 
 lonth of 'June ; of a little, round, and light Sub- 
 ance, tender Pulp, and very fragrant Smell, fent 
 : that time to cool Choler, flack Third, and re- 
 ore Spirits decayed with Heat of Summer; it 
 iveth fufficient, tho’ no great nor ftrong Nourifh- 
 lent, being fitter for young and hot Complexions 
 lan them which are weakened with Phlegm. 
 
 COR N I. 
 
 Kernels or Corneols are of a very adringent and 
 nding Tade, fit to nourifh weak Stomachs that 
 m keep nothing, or weak Guts that void all 
 lings : For found Men they are not good, but 
 iten in fmall Quantity after Meat; becaufe they 
 rmly feal up the Stomach, and accidentally help 
 
 ' Con- 
 
302 Health’j Improvement. 
 
 Conco&ion. Tart Stuff or Marmalade may fc 
 made of them to that purpofe, wherein no dout 
 they excel Quinces. Egleutius-berries be of th 
 like Subftance and Nature. 
 
 Malutn Limonium. 
 
 Lemons approach near unto Citrons, and Lim< 
 are ingendered of them both. Their Pulp is col 
 and dry in the third Degree, their Peel hot an 
 dry in the fecond, and their Seed temperate ] 
 you eat the Juice alone, it caufeth Gripings, Lear 
 nefs and Crudities; but if you eat the Peel wit 
 the Pulp, as Nature feemeth therefore to hav 
 united them, the Heat of the one corre&eth th 
 Rawnefs of the other, and not only the Stomach 
 but alfo the Heart is comforted by them both 
 They of Naples and Genoa flice the beft and fourel 
 Lemons and Citrons very thin, and having cal 
 on Salt and Rofe-water, ufe them as a genen 
 Sauce to all Flefh and Fifh ; by which Prepara 
 tion an Appetite is procured, their Wine wt. 
 tailed, and their Kidneys fcoured. 
 
 But for as much as we live in a colder Climate 
 it is beft to take the riper fort of Lemons, and t< 
 fteep their Slices, Peel and all, in Wine, Suga 
 and Cinnamon, upon warm Coals, and then t< 
 eat them alone, or with our Meat. Let old an< 
 confumed Perfons beware of them, for they wil 
 fpend their Spirits with abundance of Urine, am 
 alfo overthrow their natural Heat, which is rathe, 
 to be quickened and reftored with Wine, that 
 
 quenched or quelled with fo great a Cooler. 
 
 * 
 
 M E S P I L A. 
 
 Medlers were not feen in Italy whilft Cato lived, 
 but now in England there be too many. Con¬ 
 cerning 
 
Of FRUITS. 
 
 3°3 
 
 :erning the Fruit itfelf, it is never good till it be 
 rotten; wherein the bufy Meddlers of our Age 
 may alfo worthily be compared to them : the great 
 ones, called Setania , have molt Pulp, the little 
 ones lefs, but more fine and fragrant; thefe alfo 
 3 o more comfort and bind the Stomach, tho’ the 
 great ones excel them in plenty of Nourifhment: 
 either fort is to be eaten laft, becaufe they are of 
 any heavy and aftringent Nature, burdenfome to 
 :he Stomach, and ingendering grofs Humours, if 
 they be eaten firft. 
 
 MORA. 
 
 Mulberries being black and fat, which is a Sign 
 af their full Ripenefs, are hot in the firft Degree, 
 ind moift in the fecond ; fitteft to be eaten before 
 Vleat, becaufe they eafily pals from out of the 
 Stomach to the Guts, drawing the other Meat 
 dong with themfelvesr: they pleafe the Stomach, 
 procure Loofnefs of Body and Urine, nourifh 
 bund and clean Bodies, tho’ they corrupt in un¬ 
 dean Stomachs ; alfo they fmoothen the Harihnefs 
 )f the Throat, quench Third:, delay Choler, and 
 taufe no great, but yet a natural Appetite to Meat, 
 rhey fhould be gathered before Sun-rifing, and 
 pven only, as I faid, to clean Stomachs and be- 
 "ore Meat; for they will elfe corrupt and fwell 
 js up, and drive us perhaps into fome putrefied 
 Tver. They are fitteft in Summer for young 
 VIen, and fuch as abound with Blood and Choler. 
 
 Unripe Mulberries, which is difcerned by their 
 nVhitnefs and Rednefs, may be good to make 
 Medicines for ulcered Throats and Fluxes of the 
 3 elly, but they deferve not $e Names of Nourifh- 
 nents. 
 
 When 
 
304 Heajlth’j Improvement. 
 
 ? i 
 
 When Mulberries cannot be gotten. Black¬ 
 berries or Dewberries may fupply their room, to 
 which Galen afcribeth the like Virtues. This 
 one thing let us note, omitted of all Herbarifts of 
 our latter Age; that albeit a Mulberry Tree be 
 called in Greek and Latin , Morns , that is to fay, 
 a Fool ; yet her Wifdom excelleth all other Trees 
 in my Judgment, becaufe it never budeth till all 
 fharp Weather be clean gone, and then fpreadeth 
 out her Leaves more in a Day than all other Trees 
 did in thirty before. 
 
 O L I V M. 
 
 Olives, the defired Salad of divine Plato , are 
 an ufual Difh at moft Mens Tables, tho’ none of 
 them grow in England. Wild Olives are better, 
 than thofe which are fet in City Orchards; which 
 the very Birds do know in Italy , more coveting 
 the wilder fort. We have three forts of them 
 brought into our Country, Spanijh Olives, Italian 
 Olives, and Olives of Provence. The firft fort is 
 the biggeft, but yet the worft, being too yellow, 
 too foft, and too full of Oil: The Italian Olive 
 is almoft as big, but more firm of Flefn, and plea- 
 fanter through retaining his natural Greenifhnefs. 
 The Provence Olives are lefs than either, fome- 
 thing bitterer alfo and more leather fkin’d, yet 
 better for the Stomach than the Spanijh , tho’ no¬ 
 thing near the Italian or Bononian Olive in Flefli, 
 Tafte or Goodnefs: There alfo their Pickles are 
 made of Water, Salt, and fweet Fennel, which 
 giveth them a greater Grace, and maketh them 
 lefs heavy unto weak Stomachs. 
 
 All Olives, even the beft, are but of flow and 
 little Nourifhment; ferving efpecially to provoke 
 Appetite, to cleanfe the Stomach of Phlegm, to 
 
 {Lengthen 
 
Of F R U I T S. 305 
 
 rrengthen the Guts, and to cure loathing of Meat, 
 t were good to take them out of their fait Pickle, 
 diich inflameth Blood, and to lay them a while 
 ji Vinegar before we eat them, to correct their 
 feat, and make them more agreeable to the Sto- 
 !iach. They are beft in the midft of Meat with a 
 ? rencb Salad; for being firft eaten, they lie heavy in 
 te Stomach ; and laft eaten, they offend the Head 
 nth their brackifh and fait Vapours, which hitl¬ 
 er Sleep and increafe Third:. 
 
 Malum Aurantium. 
 
 Oranges are brought hither of three kinds, 
 )me exceeding fweet, others four, and the third 
 )rt unfavoury, or of'no Relifh. The firft fort 
 re fweet and temperately hot, of indifferent> 
 fourifhment, good for Stoppings of the Breaft, 
 Lheums and Melancholy. Very four Oranges 
 re extremely cold, making thin and waterifh 
 tlood, and griping the Belly; but right Sevlll 
 Granges have a pleafant Flavour betwixt fweet 
 nd four ; whofe Juice and Flefli preferved caufe 
 
 good Appetite, bridle Choler, quench Third, 
 et neither cool nor dry in any Excefs. As for ^ 
 nfavoury Oranges, they neither nourifh nor ferve 
 o any good ufe, but ly heavy in the Stomach, 
 rirring up Wind and breeding Obftrudfions in the 
 •elly : Being eaten with Sugar and Cinnamon, 
 'evill Oranges give a pretty Nourifhment to aguifti 
 erfons, whofe Stomachs can digeft no ftrong 
 /Ieats ; and alfo their Pills preferved do fomewhat 
 ourifin, efpecially if they be not fpoiled of the 
 /hite Part, which is moft nourifhing, as the out¬ 
 ward Rind contrariwife is moft medicinal; chufe 
 he heavieft, ripeft, and beft coloured, and thofe 
 hat tafte pleafantly betwixt fweet and four. 
 
 Mala 
 
$o 6 Health’^ Improvement. 
 f Mala Perfica. 
 
 Peaches {hew manifeflly how Change of Ear 
 and Climate may alter Natures; for Columeh 
 and divers before Pliny's time, have recorde 
 that in Perfia , from whence they were broug 
 into Europe , Peaches are a deadly Poifon; b 
 with us the Smell of a ripe, tender, and fragra 
 Peach comforteth the Heart, and their Meat n 
 only caufeth Appetite, makech afweet Breath, a; 
 cooleth Choler, but alfo eafily digefteth and give 
 good Nourifhment. I never faw greater ftore 
 good Peaches than in Switzerland , where tl 
 poor Men fatten themfelves and their Hogs wi 
 them exceedingly when they are in feafon. / 
 Peaches are to be quartered, and laid in ftroi 
 Wine before they are eaten. Ripe Peaches, a< 
 cording to Galen's Rule, rauft be eaten in tl 
 beginning of Meals, becaufe they are a moift ar 
 flippery Fruit; but hard and unripe Peaches a 
 beft at the end of Meat (if ever they are good 
 all) yea, tho’ they be candied or preferved ; y 1 
 Peaches muft be fparihgly eaten, for many a 
 dangerous, and killed Theognojlus that fine Schc 
 lar, fo much lamented in the Greek Epigram 
 Four good Morfels are, Peaches, Figs, Melon 
 and Champignois. 
 
 P Y R A. 
 
 Pears be of infinite kinds, becaufe Men, b 
 grafting divers Pears together, have made of' ther 
 infinite Mixtures. The Norwich Pear, and Si 
 Thomas's Pear, are mod durable and very good 
 the Sand Pear is firm and alfo nourishing ; th 
 Lady Pear is too waterifli, tho’ beautiful in Co 
 lour ; the Katberin Pear is fimply beft, and bei! 
 reliftied ; the Mulk Pear is very cordial; the Long 1 
 
 ta 
 
Of FRUITS. 307 
 
 ail hath a good Verdure ; the Puff-Pear is full of 
 ;'Vind ; the Bell-Pear is very fappy ; the Tan- 
 ,:ard-Pear is fomewhat bitterifh and noifome to 
 [he Stomach. But leaving their infinite Differences 
 ,.f Shape, Colour and Time, let us only write of 
 Jheir Differences in Tafte, which are chiefly to be 
 ( egarded. All fweet Pears be moft nourifhing, 
 Jleanfing the Bread of Phlegm, comforting the 
 ! tomach, and leaft binding. Sour and harfh Pears 
 t re exceeding hurtful to the Stomach and finewy 
 parts; unfavoury Pears breed ill Juice, and bitter 
 Pears nourifh nothing at all. If a well relilh’d 
 Pear be alfo endowed with a fragrant Smell, as 
 ,heKatberin-Pear, Violet, Poppering, Sugar-Pear, 
 Mufk-Pear, and fuch like, they are to be prefer¬ 
 red before all others. 
 
 ' Concerning the Preparation of Pears, they are 
 r yorft raw, and their Skin is moft unwholefome ; 
 without Wine they are counted Poifon, efpecially 
 'teing largely eaten as a Meat. They are befl 
 r eing eaten laft, as contrariwife Apples for the 
 moft part are firft to be eaten; becaufe they are 
 ather of a loofening than an aftringent Nature. 
 They are better baked than roafted; but dried 
 ’ears, in Harry Stevens’s Judgment, furpafs all 
 or ftrong Nourifliment. They are temperate in 
 deat and Cold, but dry in the fecond Degree, 
 vhich caufeth them to ceafe Fluxes and Vomits, 
 o repel Vapours, and ftrengthen the Stomach. 
 
 P R U N A. 
 
 Plums grow here in fuch variety, that to name 
 hem only were a tedious Work. The moft 
 >ulpy, fweet, pleafant and nouriftiing be thefe; 
 ’ear-Plums, Violet-Plums, Peafcod-Plums, our 
 wadies Plums, Wheat-Plums, Mawdlins, and 
 
 Damfons, 
 
308 Health’.? Improvement. 
 
 Damfons, whereof we have already fpoken, Th 
 leaft nourifliing, tho’ fome of them tafte not ur 
 pleafantly, efpecially the Chriftian-Plum, an 
 Bullices, Chriftians, Prunella’s, Skegs and Horfc 
 Plums. 
 
 All Plums baked, ftewed, or preferved wit 
 Sugar, more plentifully nourilh, becaufe much < 
 their Sharpnefs, Waterifhnefs and Rawnefs, 
 thereby corrected. Always remember to eat th 
 fweeteft fort before, and the foureft forts of Plurr 
 after Meat, left unorderly eating caufe that to t 
 blamed, which was good and wholefome in h 
 due Place. 
 
 ^ Here I have Occafton to fpeak of the Pafte c 
 Genoa> made of fragrant and fine ripe Plums; whic 
 no doubt is not only cordial, but alfo reftorativ 
 to fuch Stomachs as through Extremities of Ague 
 have loft their Strength. 
 
 Mala Punica. 
 
 Pomegranates,when they are fweetand t’norougl 
 ripe, ^loofen Phlegm, help the Stomach, Breaf 
 and Cough, increafe Venery, provoke Urine, loofei 
 the Belly, moiften the fpiritual parts, and give in 
 different ftore of good Nouriftrment: they are bef 
 in Winter for old Men and phlegmatic Conftitu 
 tions. Sour Pomegranates hurt a cold Stomach 
 ftraiten the breaft, hinder Expectoration, ftop th< 
 Liver, offend both Teeth and Gums, cool excef- 
 fively, ftay all humoral Fluxes, yet provoke Urin< 
 moft plentifully; and therefore they are more pre- 
 feribed in Agues than the fweet ones, as alfo tc 
 choleric young Men fubjeft to Scourings. Paulu. 
 JEgineta affirmeth four Pomegranates to bind onljj 
 found Mens Bodies, but not fuch as be fick. How- 
 foe ver it is, lince the one’s Goodncfs refifteth the 
 
 other’s 
 
 \ ~ jf | 
 
 I 
 
 II 
 
Of F R U I T S. 3 0 9 
 
 ither’s Hurtfulnefs, it is beft to mingle both their 
 fuices for fuch as be aguifh or weak, and feveral- 
 y to ufe them for the ftrong, according as Occa- 
 ion ferveth. 
 
 Mala Cotonea & Cydonia. 
 
 Quinces are of two forts; an Apple-Quince, 
 :alled Malum Cotoneum ; and a Pear-Quince, 
 ailed of Diofcor ides , Struthium : both of them, 
 rere firft brought from Cydon, a Caftle in Candy^ 
 thereupon they are commonly called Mala Cydo- 
 ia ; we account moft of the latter fort, but the 
 otton and downy Quince made like an Apple, is 
 10ft commended of the Grecian and Latin Wri- 
 ers. Of either of them chufe the moft clear, 
 ranfparent, thin-fkin’d, ungravelly, downy, beft 
 nelling, and moft furrowed as it were with long 
 treaks, for the very Scent of fuch is comfortable; 
 nd tho’ their raw Flefti be as hard as raw Beef 
 nto v/eak Stomachs, yet being roafted or baked, 
 r made into Marmalade, or cunningly preferved, 
 ley give a wholefome and good Nourilhment, and 
 lake the Body foluble being eaten laft at Meat ; 
 ir if you eat them firft, they cling the Stomach, 
 aufe exceeding Coftivenefs, and hinder Digeftion, 
 s Galen fufficiently tried in Protas the Orator, 
 "hey are cold in the firft Degree, and dry almoft 
 1 the fecond ; agreeing with all Ages, Times, 
 nd Complexions, where juft Occafion is given 
 1 ufe them. 
 
 Uva Pajfce. 
 
 Raifins are of the fame Temperature with the 
 »rapes which they are made of, being alfo as di- 
 ers in Tafte, Subftance and Quality, as they be. 
 "hat Noah was the firft Planter of Vines, Chri- 
 
 ftians 
 
gio Health’.*' Improvement. 
 
 itians know better out of the Bible than any Po( 
 or Heathen Writer could ever aim at; but wl 
 firft devifed the drying of Raifins in the Sun, < 
 the preffing them into Frails, is neither fet dow 
 by Pliny, nor any other Author that I have rear 
 Only this I find by Reafon and Experience, th 
 the greateft, fatteft, fvveeteft, longeft and blewe 
 Raifins of the Sun are ever belt; nourifhing fu' 
 ficiently, moderately cleanfing, very well temp 
 rating ill Humours, mitigating all Pains, and ir 
 gendering very pure and good Blood ; yea, tf 
 African Phyficians that lived in Galen’s time di 
 with one Voice and Confent, proteft thus mut 
 of them, that for opening the Breaft, Stomat 
 and Lungs; for cleanfing the Blood, Kidneys at 
 Bladder ; for ceafing all Pains of the Guts, ar 
 moderate Nourifhment, no Fruit is to be con' 
 pared unto Raifins. Matthiolus , in his Commei 
 taries upon Diofcorides , faith, that Raifins of tl 
 Sun being either voided of their Kernels, or grov 
 ing without Kernels, loofen the Belly, help Hoarf 
 nefs, and both nourifh and cleanfe the Liver: cor, 
 trariwife, being eaten with the Stones or Kernel 
 they work rather a contrary Operation. Th; 
 Grapes nourifh much, we may fee, faith Gale> 
 by V intage-labourers, who come lean to the Vint 
 yard, but return as fat as Hogs. Much more d 
 Raifins of the Sun and other Raifins nourifh oi 
 Bodies, and are therefore to be accounted for i 
 bad Meats. 
 
 Pyra 'Volema Plinii, 
 
 Wardens or Palm-Pears, fo called, becaufe o 
 cf them will fill the Palm of a Hand, were fi 
 brought into Credit by Livia Pompeia ; they 
 very hurtful, and almofl indigeftable, being ea; 
 
 2 ra' 
 
 * 1 
 
Of F R u I T S. 3II 
 
 w or green; but towards Winter they are very 
 holefome for a weak Stomach, being ftew’d, 
 d, or roafted, and to be preferred for Nou- 
 nment before all Fruit; ingendering, efpecial- 
 when they are fweet and red, molt wholefome 
 nee; ftrengthening Conco&ion, repelling Va« 
 urs from the Head, and comforting the weak 
 d decayed Spirits: would to God every Hedo- e 
 ;re as full of them as they are of wild Pears and 
 abs, that both Poor and Rich might have a 
 mpetent Nourifhment when Fifh and Flefh can 
 rdly be gotten. 
 
 JUGLANDFS. 
 
 Walnuts, or Jupiter’s Acorns, for fo the Greeks 
 1 Latins called them, are fufficiently nourifh- 
 : whilft they are green, but when they once 
 x fo dry that they hardly peel, they are more 
 dicinal than nourifhing: either of them in^en- 
 the Cough, and caule Head-achs; but if you 
 1 new Walnuts, and wafli them in Wine and 
 :, they are lead: offenfive to the Stomach, and 
 more nourifhing, if you eat them with Sugar. 
 
 I Walnuts are hot in the third Degree, and'dry 
 he fecond ; new Walnuts are moft temperate 
 ach refpeft, agreeing with old Men and phleg- 
 ic Perfons, being eaten at the end of the Fall, 
 the beginning of Winter. 
 
 CHAP, 
 
3 12 
 
 Health’.? Improvement. 
 
 CHAP. XXIII. 
 
 Of fuch Fruits of the Garden as are 
 nourifhing. 
 
 A Rtichokes grew fometimes only in the Ille 
 Sicily ; and fince my remembrance, th 
 were fo dainty in England\ that ufually they w< 
 fold for Crowns a-piece: Now Induftry and SI 
 hath made them fo common, that the poor 
 Man is poffefled of Princes Dainties. Julius l 
 pitolinus , in the Life of Pertinax , and Pliny lil 
 wife, in the 19th Book of his Natural Hifto;| 
 reports Artichokes to have been of fuch Elfin! 
 tion in Carthage and Corduba , that there wi 
 fold as many Artichokes in one Year, as came 
 6000 Sefterties, which maketh 30,000 /. SterlLi 
 The firft Sprouts of Artichoke-leaves being foddi 
 in good Broth with Butter, do not only nouri 
 hut alfo mightily ftir up Lull: of the Body both 
 Men and Women; the young Heads of th< 
 eaten raw with Pepper and Salt do the like ; 1 
 the great Heads being once come to Perfe&ic 
 howfoever they are counted windy and hard 
 Digeftion, fuming up to the Head, and burde 
 fome to the Stomach ; yet certain it is that th 
 are of great Nourifhment being well prepan 
 Some boil them in fat powder'd Beef-broth j 
 they be te_nder, and then eat them with Vinegj 
 Pepper, Sugar, Butter and Salt. Others hava 
 par boiled them a little, take the pulpy Part ini 
 Bottom, and with fweet Marrow, Verjuk 
 
 Pepj)f| 
 
Of FRUITS. J, 3 
 
 Pepper, Sugar and Goofeberries, make nioft ex¬ 
 cellent and reftorative Pies. The Italians broil 
 them on a Gridiron fetting their Bottoms down¬ 
 ward, and pouring on a little Tweet Oil upon 
 every Leaf as foon as they open with the Heat 
 and as that foaks in they put in a little more; for 
 if much fhould be poured in at once, they would 
 fmell of the Smoke, by reafon that the Oil would 
 drop into the Fire. This way the Artichoke is 
 lealt windy, and (if it be eaten with Sugar, But- 
 ter, and the Juice of an Orange) moil pleafant 
 iilcewife. they are hot in two Degrees, and dry 
 in one, and therefore fitteft for cold, aged Per- 
 fons and Complexions. Remember that raw Arti¬ 
 chokes are to be eaten towards the end of Meals 
 but the other at the beginning or in the midft. * 
 
 asparagus. 
 
 Afparagus was in old time a Meat for fuch Em¬ 
 perors as Julius Cafar'y now every Board is ferved 
 with them. They mu ft be prefently gathered 
 when their Heads bow downwards j and being 
 fodden in two or three Waters, to rid them of 
 Bitternefs, they are to be boiled in Mutton-broth 
 ill they be tender, which is done in a trice. The 
 create ft and tendereft ftalk’d are ever beft and 
 ew or no kind of Herbs nourilh more, being 
 polled of their Bitternefs and eaten hot. Galen 
 lOubteth of their active Quality, but yet Expe- 
 lence iheweth them to be temperately moift and 
 ot to exceed in Heat the hrft Degiee. 
 
 I B all ock’s-grafs, or Satyrium (whereof there be 
 ve principal kinds) is only nourifhing in the 
 
 i ’ heav 7 antl fappy Root j for the otner is of 
 ean contrary Dilpolition. Some eat them being 
 
 ° boil’d' 
 
314 Health’j Improvement. 
 
 boil’d in Goats Milk and Sugar. Others candy 
 or keep them in Syrup; any way they increafe 
 bodily Lull, {Lengthen the Liver, help the Parts 
 of Conception, reftore them which are confirmed, 
 and give plentiful Nourifhment in he£tic f evers. 
 
 MORA RUB I. 
 
 Bramble-berries or Black-berries, be they of 
 the greater or the lefs kind, are temperately warm, 
 and Sufficiently nourifhing to a weak Stomach. 
 How the Poor live upon them, daily Experience 
 fheweth; yet being much eaten they bind the 
 Body, and ingender fuch putrefied Humors as be¬ 
 set both Scabs and Lice. 
 
 BORRAGO. BUGLOSSA. SIRSIUM. 
 
 Borrage, Buglofs and Langdebeif, aie of fo 
 great a Temperature in all Qualities, that they 
 are not only commended for fpecial Cordials being 
 fteept in Wine, or made into Conferves; butalfo 
 their Flowers, Herbs and Roots, are efteemed re- 
 ftorative, nourifhing weak Bodies fuf&ciently, and 
 {Lengthening the Parts of Nourifhment more than 
 meanly, being fodden in Broths, Cullifes, or 
 Gellies. 
 
 PERSON ATAE RADIX. 
 f Bur-Roots, (I mean of the Clot-bur) whilfl 
 they are young and tender, in the Month of 
 April, are very wholefome and nourifhing, being 
 eaten like a young green Artichoke with Pepper 
 and Salt. The Frenchmen and Italians fir ft found 
 them out; fince which time they are common 
 nmongft us, through the means of them whici 
 have travelled into ftrange Countries. 
 
 BRAS* 
 
BRASSICjE. 
 
 Coleworts be of divers forts, but,the moft nou- 
 rifiiing of all is your white-leafed Cabbage (as big 
 as a great Loaf) called Brajfica Tritiana, and that 
 which the Italians calleth Cauli fores; fo beloved 
 of Pompey, that it was termed Brajfica Pompeia- 
 na. Either of them muft firft gently be fodden 
 in fair Water, then again fteept all Night in warm 
 Milk ; afterwards feethe them with fat Marrow, 
 or in fat Broths, and they are very nourifhing 
 without Offence. Otherwife all Coleworts in¬ 
 gender grofs and melancholic Blood. Chufe ever 
 the whiteft and tendered: leafed, for they are of 
 the fineft and beft Nourifhment. The Egyptians 
 oat Cabbage firft to prevent Drunkennefs. 
 
 DAUCI HORTENSES. 
 Carrot-Roots are very temperate in Heat and 
 Drynefs, of an aromatical and fpice-like Tafie, 
 warming the inward Parts, and giving great Nou- 
 rifhment to indifferent Stomachs, being fodden in 
 fat and flefhy Broth, or elfe butter’d. The yel¬ 
 lower the Root, the more fweet, tender, and aro- 
 rtiatical is the Carrot; and the beft grow in a 
 black, foft and ripe, tho’ not in a forced Earth. 
 
 ANGURLE CITRULI. 
 
 Citruls, (fo much beloved of Tiberius the Em- 
 jeror) are of like Temperature with Melons and 
 ’ompions, (of which hereafter) nourifhing hot 
 Stomachs very well, being boiled with good Elefti 
 >r fweet Milk. 
 
 ^ CUCUMERES. MELOPEPONES. 
 
 Cucumbers growing in hot Grounds and well 
 ipened with the Sun, are neither moift nor cold 
 
 0 2 in 
 
316 Health’* Improvement. 
 
 in the fecond Degree. They agree well with hot 
 Stomachs, being eaten with Vinegar, Salt, Oil, 
 2nd Pepper} but if you boil them, whilft they 
 are young, with white V/dne, Vervain, Dill, 
 and fait Liquor, they are not of a bad Nourifh- 
 ment, as Galen took them, but ingender good 
 Humors, and fettle a very cold and weak Stomach, 
 as by much Praaice and long Experience I have 
 proved in divers Perfons. 
 
 SOLENOPRASA. 
 
 Cives or Rufh-leeks be almoft as hot as Leeks 
 themfelves. Some eat them raw in Salads, but 
 then they nourifh not. If you boil them twice or 
 thrice in Water, they lofe their over-hot and dry¬ 
 ing Nature, and give no bad Nourifhment to cold 
 
 Stomachs. - . 
 
 Glandes Terrejlres Dodonan. 
 
 Earth-nuts grow much on Richmond Heath and 
 Come Park, as alfo beftde Bath , as you travel to 
 BriJloU They are belt in May. In Holland anc 
 Brabant they are eaten, as the Roots of Turneps 
 and Parfneps, boil’d in Flefh-Broth, which cor- 
 
 re&eth their binding Quality, and maketh them 
 
 of good and wholefome Nourifhment. 
 
 BULBOCASTANEA. 
 Earth-chefnuts are far bigger than Earth-nuts 
 and the Flowers of them are white where th< 
 others be red. About Bath there is great plenty 
 of them, and they are of like Nourifhment anc 
 Ufe with the Earth-nuts. 
 
 Intubum fativum Latifolium. 
 
 Endive, efpecially that which hath thelongeft 
 largcft, fofteft, and whiteft Leaves, is of gool 
 
Of F R U I T Si 317 
 
 Nourifhment to hot Stomachs, not only cooling 
 but alfo increafing Blood, if it be fodden in white 
 Broth till it be tender j but if you eat it raw in 
 Salads, as it is moft commonly ufed, then it only 
 cooleth and lieth heavy in the Stomach, becaufe 
 it is not freed from its Crudities. 
 
 VACINI A PALUSTRIA. 
 
 Fen-berries grow not only in Holland in low 
 and moift Places, but alfo, if I have not forgotten 
 it, in the Ifle of Ely. They are of like Temper 
 and Faculty with our Whortles, but fomewhat 
 more aftringent. Being eaten raw or ftued with 
 Sugar, they are wholefome Meat in hot burning 
 fevers, unto which either fluxes of Humors or 
 /pending of Spirits are annexed. Likewiie they 
 quench Thirft no lefs than Ribes, and the red or 
 outlandifh Goofeberry. 
 
 MORA RUBI IDtEI. 
 
 Trambois, or Rafps, are of Complexion like 
 the Blackberry and Dewberry, but not of fo 
 aftringent nor drying Quality. Furthermore they 
 are more fragrant to the Nofe, and more pleafant 
 in Tafte, and of far better Nourifhment to hot 
 Stomachs, for cold Stomachs cannot convert them 
 into any good Juice. 
 
 ALLIUM. 
 
 Garlic was fo odious or hurtful to Horace , that 
 le makes it more venomous than Hemlocks, Ad¬ 
 lers Blood, Medea’s Cups, yea, than the Poifon 
 
 Nejfus the Centaur which killed Hercules . Con¬ 
 trariwise the Tb a clans eat it every Morning to 
 Ireakfaft, and carry it with them in Warfare as 
 heir chiefeft Meat. Whereat we need not mar- 
 
 O 1 vel* 
 
318 Health’j Improvement. 
 
 vel, confidering the Coldneft of their Country, 
 and their phlegmatic Conftitution. Let us rather 
 wonder at the Spaniard, who cats it more, being 
 a hot Nation, than our labouring Men do here in 
 England. Whereby we may fee how Prepara¬ 
 tion begetteth in every thing another Nature for 
 Thracians eat it raw becaufe of their extreme 
 Coldnefs; but the Spaniard fodden firft in many 
 Waters, or elfe roafted under the Embers in a wet 
 Paper, whereby it is made fweet and pleafant, 
 and hath loft more than half of his Heat and Dry- j 
 nefs. Thus is Garlic Medicine and Meat j Me¬ 
 dicine if it be eaten raw', but Meat and Nourifh- 
 ment, being roafted under the Embers, or ftickt 
 like Lard in fat Meat, or boil’d in many Waters, 
 Broths, or Milks. By which way alfo his fuming 
 and diuretical Quality is much corre&ed. Yet 
 beware left you eat too much of it, left it ingen¬ 
 der little Worms in your Flefh, as it did in Ar- 
 nulpkus the Emperor, whereof he died ; It is very 
 dangerous to young Children, fine Women, and 
 hot young. Men ; unlcfs the heady, hot and bit¬ 
 ing Quality thereof be extinguished by the afore- 
 laid Means. 
 
 CUCURBIT JE. 
 
 Gourds eaten raw and unprepared, are a very 
 unwholefome food, as Galen faith, exceedingly 
 cooling, charging, and loading the Stomach, and 
 ingendering Crudities and Wind; but being boil d, 
 baked, or fry’d with Butter, it lofeth his Hurtful-J 
 nefs, and giveth good Nouriihment to indifferent; 
 Stomachs. The Seed of it being hulked and 
 boiled in new Milk, is counted very reftorative in 
 he&ic F evers. 
 
 
 GROS 
 
V 9 
 
 Of FRUITS. 
 
 GROSSULE. UVE CRISPS. 
 
 Goofeberries, being thorough ripe, are as nou¬ 
 rishing as fweet, and of the like Temper, not 
 only increafing Flefh, but alfo fattening the Body. 
 They fhould be eaten firft, and not laft, becaufe 
 they are fo light a P'ruit. When they arealmoft 
 ripe, they are reftorative, being made into Codi- 
 niac, or baked in Tarts. Sour Goofeberries nou¬ 
 rish nothing, ferving rather for Sauce to pleafe 
 ones Taite than to augment Fiefh. 
 
 GROSSULE TRANSMARINE. 
 
 Red Goofeberries or Baftard-Corinths, (com¬ 
 monly called Rlbes of Apothecaries, and taken of 
 Dodonaus for the Bears-berry of Galen) is almoft 
 of the like Nature with Goofeberries, but more 
 cold, dry and aftringent, by one Degree, becaufe 
 they never wax fweet in our Country. They are 
 very cordial and cooling in Agues, being eaten 
 either in Conferve, or Oodimac, yea, nourifhin cr 
 alfo to hot Stomachs. 
 
 LUPULARII ASPARAGI. 
 
 Hop-fhoots are of the fame Nature with Afpa- 
 'agus, nourifhing not a little, being prepared in 
 ; he like fort, which is before defcribed, tho’ rather 
 deanfing and fcouring of their own Nature. 
 
 ALLI AR I A. 
 
 Jad by the Hedge , as it is not much ufed in 
 Medicines, fo it was heretofore a very ancient and 
 common Meat, being therefore called Sauce alone. 
 Countrymen do boil it and eat it inftead of Gar- 
 ic, being no lefs ftrengthen’d and nourifh’d by it 
 han the Perftan Children were with Town-creffes. 
 allow it not for indifferent Stomachs* unlefs it 
 ^ 4 hath 
 
320 Health’j Improvement. 
 
 hath been fteeptin divers warm Waters, and then 
 be eaten, as Garlic may be eaten, moderately; 
 for it is hot and dry more than in the third De¬ 
 gree. 
 
 P O R R A. 
 
 Leeks are efteemed fo whdefome and nourifh- 
 ing in our Country, that few think any good Pot¬ 
 tage can be made without them. That they in¬ 
 gender Blood no Author denies, but they fay it is 
 grofs, hot, and evil Blood. Neverthelefs if they 
 be firft fodden in Milk, and then ufed in Meat, 
 they are unclothed of all bad Qualities, and be¬ 
 come friendly to the Stomach, and nourifhing to 
 the Liver. The Grecians made fuch reckoning 
 of Leeks as our Welchmen do; yea, he ever fat 
 uppermoft zt Apollo’s Feaft that brought thither the 
 greateft headed Leek. Some impute that to his 
 Mother Latona her longing for Leeks whilft (he 
 was with child of Apollo. Others fay, that Apollo 
 did fo highly efteem them, becaufe they ingendes 
 much Blood and Seed, whereby Mankind is much 
 increafed : which Opinion I like beft, hearing 
 and feeing fuch Fruitfulnefs in Wales , that few 01 
 none be found barren, and many fruitful before 
 their time. 
 
 P or rum feflivum Palladii. 
 
 The unfet Leek, or Maiden-leek, is not fo hot 
 as the knopped ones ; becaufe his fuming Quality 
 is diminifhed by often cutting. 
 
 LACTUC A. 
 
 Lettice is not more ufually than profitably eater 
 of us in Summer; yea, Galen did never eat of any 
 other Garden-herb lave this, for ought we read i 
 whereby he delayed the Heat of his Stomach in 
 
 Youth] 
 
O/FRUTTS. 32 t 
 
 Youth, eating it foremoft, and flept foundly an^ 
 quietly in Age, eating it laft. It is better fodde! 1 
 than raw, cfpecially tor weak Stomachs ; and ** 
 any will eat it raw, correct it with mingling a 
 little Tarragon and Fennel with it. The young 
 leaf Lettice is fimply beft, but you muft not 
 walh it, for then it lofeth its beft and moft nourifh- 
 ing Virtue that lieth upon the outmoft Skin : only 
 pluck away the Leaves growing near the Ground, 
 till you come to the Cabbage of the Lettice, and 
 it is enough. Long ufe of Lettice caufeth Bar- 
 rennefs, cooleth Luft, dulleth the Eye-fight, 
 weakeneth the Body, and quencheth natural Heat 
 in the Stomach: but moderately and duly taken 
 of hot Natures, it increafeth Blood, Seed, and 
 Milk, ftayeth all Fluxes of Nature, bringeth on 
 Sleep, and cooleth the Heat of Urine. The 
 middle and thickeft part of the Leaf being boiled 
 and preferved in Syrup, as Endive and Succory is 
 done beyond Sea, give a great Nourifhment to 
 weak Perfons newly recovered of hot Agues. The 
 Romans did eat Lettice laft to provoke Sleep : we 
 eat it firft to provoke Appetite. So that Martial' s 
 Queftion is fully anfwered: 
 
 Claudere qua coenas Laftuce folebat avcrum. 
 
 Die tnihiy cur nojlras incipit ilia Dapes ? 
 
 When elder times did feed on Lettice laft. 
 
 Why is it now the firft Meat that we tafte l 
 
 MELONES & PEPONES. 
 
 Melons and Pompions are not fo cold nor moift 
 as Cucumbers. Growing in a hot Ground, and 
 thoroughly ripened with hot and dry Weather, 
 they give much Nourifhment, efpecially being 
 baked with good Flefh or fweet Milk, or baked 
 with fweet Apples, Butter, and Fennel-feed. 
 
 O 5 MELO- 
 
322 Health’.* Improvement. 
 MELOPEPONES. 
 
 Mufk-Melons are neither To moift nor cold as 
 the ordinary fort, ingendering far better Blood, 
 and defcending more fpeedily into the Belly. They 
 will hardly profper in our Country, unlefs they are 
 fet in a very fat, hot, and dry Ground, having 
 the Benefit of Sun-fhine all the Year long. Jafon 
 Mainus , a moft famous Civilian, fo loved a Mufk- 
 Melon, that he faid to one of his Friends, ‘Were 
 I in Paradife, as Adam was, and this Fruit for¬ 
 bidden me, verily, I fear, I fhould leave Paradife 
 to tafte of a Mufk-Melon.’ Neverthelefs let not 
 the pleafant Smell or Tafte of them draw any Man 
 to eat too much of them, for they caft Albertus fe- 
 cur.dus the Emperor into a deadly Flux; Sophia 
 Queen of Poland into a numb’d Palfy, and Paulus 
 Secundus the Pope into a mortal Apoplexy. All 
 Melons, Pompions and Cucumbers, are not pre- 
 fently to be eaten out of the Ground, tho’ they be 
 fully ripe, but rather a W eek after, for with De¬ 
 lay they prove lefs moift, and alfo lefs cold. As 
 for our great Garden-Pompions and Melons, they 
 may tarry in a warm Kitchen till towards Chriji- 
 mas before they be eaten, to be more dried from 
 their Waterilhnefs, and freed from Crudities. 
 
 N A P I. 
 
 Navews, efpecially Napus Sativus , called in 
 Englift.') Navew Gentle,nourilh fomethinglefs than 
 Turneps, otherwife they are of like Operation. 
 They are beft fodden in pouder’d Beef Broth, or 
 elfe with fat Mutton, or pouder’d Pork. 
 
 CEP£ 
 
 Onions are very hot and dry ; neverthelefs be-; 
 ing roafted or boiled in fat Broth or Milk, they 
 
 becom®' 
 
Of F R U I T S. 323 
 
 become temperate and nourifhing, leaving their 
 hot and (harp Nature in the Broth or Embers. 
 The Priefts of JEgypt abhorred them of all Herbs ; 
 firft becaufe, contrary to the Courfe of other 
 things, they increafe mod when the Moon de- 
 creafeth. Secondly, becaufe they nourifh too 
 much, and procure Luft, which religious Men 
 of all other Perfons ought to refrain. The 
 greater, whiter, longer, fweeter, thinner-fkin’d, 
 and fuller of Juice they be, (fuch are St. Thomas 's 
 Onions) the more they nourifh and excel in 
 Goodnefs ; but if they be, very red, dry, round, 
 light and fourifh, they are not fo commendable. 
 Raw Onions be like raw Garlic and raw Leeks, 
 (that is to fay, of great Malignity, hurting both 
 Head, Eyes and Stomach, inflaming Blood, and 
 ingendering both grofs and corrupt Humors) but 
 fodden in Milk, and then eaten Sallad-ways with 
 fweetOil, Vinegar and Sugar, as we ufe them in 
 Lent , they are hurtful to no Perfons nor Com¬ 
 plexions. 
 
 APIUM HORTENSE. 
 
 Parfley nourifheth moft in the Root; for if 
 you chufe young Roots and fhift them out of two 
 or three warm Waters, they lofe their medicinal 
 Faculty of opening and cleanfing, and become as 
 fweet, yea, almoft as nourifhing as a Carrot, be¬ 
 ing fodden in fat Broth made with good Flelh. 
 The like may I fay of Alexander- buds, which is 
 nothing but the Parfley of Alexandria, being drefs’d 
 or prepar’d in the like manner; otherwife they 
 may be ufed, as Nettles are in Spring-time 
 Pottage to cleanfe Blood ; but they will give no 
 laudable, or rather no Nourifhment at all. 
 
324 Healths Improvement# 
 PORTULACA. 
 
 Purflane is ufually eaten green in Salads, as 
 Lettice likewife : But being fodden in Wine, it 
 is of good Nourifhment in the Summer-time unto 
 hot Stomachs, which are able to overcome it. 
 
 RADICES SISARI INDICI. 
 
 Pottato-roots are now fo common and known 
 amongft us, that even the Hufbandman buys them 
 to pleafe his Wife. They nourilh mightily, be¬ 
 ing either fodden, baked or roafted. The neweft 
 and heavieft be of beft Worth, ingendering much 
 tlelh. Blood and Seed, but withal increafing 
 Wind and Luft. Clufius thinks them to be In¬ 
 dian Skirrets, and verily in Tafte and Operation 
 they refemble them not a little. 
 
 RADICULA SATIVA. 
 
 Radiftt-roots of the Garden (for they are beft) 
 are either long and white without, or round like 
 a Turnep, and very black-fkin’d, called the Ita¬ 
 lian Radifti. Moft Men eat them before Meat 
 to procure Appetite, and help Digeftion: But did 
 they know, and yet they feel it, what rank Belch- 
 ings Radifhes make, how hardly they are digeft- 
 ed, how they burn Blood, and ingender Lice, 
 caufe Leannefs, rot the Teeth, weaken Eye-fight, 
 and corrupt the whole Mafs of Nouriftiment, I 
 think they would be more temperate and fparing of 
 them; yet they were fo prized amongft the Grecians , 
 that at Apollo's Feaft when Turneps were ferved 
 in Tin Difties, and Beets in Silver, yet Radifh-j 
 roots wc r e not ferved but in Golden DHhes. Not- < 
 withftanding, fince by Nature they provoke Vo-, 
 miting, how can they be nouriftung ? unlefs it be 
 to fuch ruftical Stomachs as are offended with no¬ 
 thing. 
 
Of FRUITS. 325 
 
 thing, and to whom rufty Bacon is more agreeable 
 than young and tender Pork. Neverthelefs, fmce 
 only the Heat and Biting of Radilh are the chief- 
 eft Caufe wty it nourifh, little or nothing, as Ga¬ 
 len faith, no doubt if by fteeping in warm Milk, 
 or boiling in fat Broth thofe Qualities be removed* 
 t would prove the lefs medicinal, and more nou- 
 rifhing. 
 
 RAPI SILVESTRIS RADIX. 
 
 Rampions, or wild Rapes, of Nature not un¬ 
 like to Turneps, eaten raw with Vinegar and Salt, 
 lo not only ftir up an Appetite to Meat, but alfo 
 ire Meat and Nourilhment of themfelves. In high 
 Germany they are much eaten, and now our Nat¬ 
 ion knows them indifferently well, and begin to 
 ife them. 
 
 RADIX ALII URSINI. 
 
 Ramfeys are of the like Power with Garlic, 
 nd are fo to be prepared, or elfe they give net¬ 
 her much nor any good Nourilhment. 
 
 RAP JE. 
 
 Rapes or Turneps fodden in fat Broth, or roaft- 
 d with Butter and Sugar put into the midft there- 
 f, nourifh plentifully, being moderately taken ; 
 ir if they be undigefted through Excels, they ftir 
 p Windinefs and many fuperfluous Humors in the 
 : ody. The Bohemians have Ttirneps as red out¬ 
 wardly as Blood, which I did eat of in Prague , 
 ad found them a moft delicate Meat; yea, they 
 'e counted fo reftorative and dainty, that the 
 mperor himfelf nurfeth them in his Garden, 
 oafted Turneps are fo fweet and delicate, that 
 iav'rn Curias refufed much Geld offered him by 
 
326 Health’^ Improvement. 
 
 the Samnites , rather than to leave his Turnep ii 
 the Embers. 
 
 RADICES BRINGII MARINI. 
 
 Sea-holly-roots are of temperate Heat and Cold 
 but fomewhat of too dry a Nature ; yet prov 
 they rnoift enough to give plentiful Nourilhment 
 after they have been preferved in Syrup, o 
 candy’d with Ginger, increaftng Bloo'd, Seed an 
 Lull, and reftoring fuch as by Lechery have beei 
 much confumed. 
 
 RADICES SISARI. 
 
 Slcirret-roots were fo fweet and delicate in an 
 cient times, that Tiberius Ccefar caufed the Inha 
 bitants of Gehluba (a certain Segniory upon th 
 Rhine) to pay him Tribute at Rome in Skirret 
 roots, bringing them weekly thither whilft the 
 were in Seafon. They have a long String or Pit 
 within them, which being taken away before the 
 are thorough fodden, maketh them eat exceedin 
 fweet; ufually they are boil’d till they be tendei 
 and then eaten cold with Vinegar, Oil and Pepper 
 but if they be roafted four or five together in 
 wet Paper under Embers, as one would roaft 
 Pottato, or {train’d into Tart-Stuff, and fo bake 
 with Sugar, Butter and Rofe-water, they ai 
 far more pleafant, and of ftronger Nourilhmen 
 agreeing with all Complexions, Sexes and Age; 
 being alfo of a mild Heat and a temperate Moiftun 
 Did we know all the Strength and Virtues < 
 them, they would be much nourilhed in ourGai 
 dens, and equally efteemed with any Pottato-roo 
 
 CEPA ASCALONITES. 
 
 Skallions are a kind of little Onions, brougl 
 fir ft from Afcalon> a Town of Jewry , very he 
 
 an 
 
Of F R U I T S. 327 
 
 mnd dry, yea, hotter and dryer by one Degree 
 han any Onions. Cold Stomachs and barren 
 Weaklings may fafely eat them raw, to procure 
 Appetite and Luff; but they are not nourifhing 
 e:o indifferent Stomachs till they have been par¬ 
 boil’d in new Milk. Some corredf -them, by 
 mincing them fmall, and ffeepmg them a good 
 (jvhile in warm Water, afterwards they eat them 
 [with Vinegar, Oil and Salt, after the Italian 
 fafhion. 
 
 S P I N A C H I A. 
 
 Spinache being boil’d foft, and then eaten with 
 -Butter, fmall Currans and Sugar, heated together 
 r ipon a Chafing-difh, giveth no bad nor little 
 jVourifhment to dried Bodies, and is only hurtful 
 i.o fuch as be over phlegmatic. 
 
 FRAGUL£ 
 
 it Strawberries of the Garden, be they white, red, 
 
 )r green (but the red are bell) being once come 
 o their full Ripenefs in a warm Summer, and 
 growing in a warm Ground, are to a young hot 
 Itomach both Meat and Medicine; Medicine to 
 :ool his Choler and exceflive Heat; Meat by his 
 emperate and agreeable Moiffure, fit at that time 
 )f the Year to be converted into Blood, efpecial- 
 y being eaten raw with Wine and Sugar, or elfe v 
 nade into Tart-Stuff and fo baked : howfoever 
 hey be prepared, let every Man take heed, by 
 Melchior Duke of Brunfvick y how he eateth too 
 nuch of them, who is recorded to have burft 
 ifunder at Rojjock with furfeiting upon them. 
 Iranz. 1 . 9. c, 9. Hijl. Vandal. 
 
 RADIX SPIRA ALB IE. 
 
 Thiffle-roots, ( I mean of the white Thiffle 
 /vhen it firft jfpringeth ) are exceeding reftorative 
 
 and 
 
32.3 HealthV Improvement. 
 
 and nourifhing, being fodden in white ftued Broi 
 or elfe baked in Tarts, or in Pies like Artichoke 
 Few Men would think fo good Meat to ly hidde 
 in fo bafe and abjedl an Herb, had not Trial an 
 Cookery found out the Virtue of it. 
 
 rapt: rotundt. 
 
 Turneps, in Commendation whereof Mojch 
 the Grecian wrote a large Volume, are nothir 
 but round Rapes, whereof heretofore we writ 
 this Chapter. 
 
 NASTUREIA AQUATIC A. 
 
 Water-crefies and Town-creffes nourifh ra 
 and cold Stomachs very well: but for hot or ii 
 different Stomachs they are of a contrary Natur 
 Xenophon faith, that the Perfians Children going 
 School, carry nothing with them to eat and drini 
 but Creffes in the one Hand and Bread in the othe 
 and an earthen Cruife at their Girdle to take i 
 Water in; whereby we may perceive that thi 
 agree well with moift Natures, and fuch as a 
 accuftomed to drink Water ; otherwife no dou 
 they nourifh nothing, but rather over-heat ai 
 burn the Blood. 
 
 As for Anife, Blifes, Blood-wort, Broom-bud 
 Capers, Calamint, Clary, Dill, Fennel, Gala; 
 gal, Hyffop, Marigolds, Muftard-feed, Min 
 Nettles, Orache, Patience, Primrofes, Rofemar 
 Saffron, Sage, Samphire, Savory, Tamarifk,Tanf 
 Taragon,! hyme, Violets and Wormwood ; hov 
 foever they are ufed fometimes in Broths, Pottag 
 barings, Sauces, Salads and Tanfies ; yetnoNoi 
 rifhment is gotten by them, or at the leaf! fo litt 
 that they need not, nor ought not to be count 
 amongft Nourifhments. 
 
 C H A 
 
0/ F R U I T S, 
 
 3 2 9 
 
 CHAP. XXIV. 
 
 V fuch Fruits of the Field as are nourifhing y 
 
 TPHE chief Fruits of the Field are Wheat, Rye, 
 Rice, Barley, Oats, Beans, Chiches, Peafe 
 nd Lentils. 
 
 TRITICUM. 
 
 ^ Wheat is divided into divers kinds by Pliny , 
 Jolumella, Dodonaus , Pena and Lobelias ; it (hall 
 e fufficient for us to defcribe the forts of this 
 Country, which are efpecially two : The one red, 
 ailed Robus by Columella , and the other very 
 vhite and light, called Siligo> whereof is made 
 ur pureft Manchet. Being made into Furmity, 
 nd fodden with Milk and Sugar, or artificially 
 lade into Bread, Wheat nourifheth exceeding 
 auch and ftrongly : the hardeft, thickett, heavi- 
 ft, cleaneft, brighteft, and growing in a fat Soil, 
 i ever to be chofen ; for fuch Wheat, in Diof- 
 irides and Galen’s Judgment, is mod nourifhing. 
 
 S E C A L E. 
 
 Rye feemeth to be nothing but a wild kind of 
 Vheat, meet for Labourers, Servants and Work- 
 len, but heavy of Digeftion to indifferent Sto- 
 lachs. 
 
 O R I Z A. 
 
 Rice is a mod ftrong and reftorative Meat,, 
 ifcommendable only in that it is over-binding ; 
 ery wholefome Pottage is made thereof with new 
 7 Iiik, Sugar, Cinnamon, Mace an.d Nutmegs; 
 
 whofe 
 
 - . 
 
330 Health*/ Improvement. 
 whofc Aftringency if any Man fear, let him foak 
 the Rice one Night before in fweet Whey, and 
 afterwards boil* it in new Milk with Sugar, Butter, 
 Cloves and Nutmegs, leaving out Cinnamon and 
 Mace. Thus fhall the Body be nouriflied, Cof- 
 tivenefs prevented, and Nature much ftrengthen’d 
 and increafed. 
 
 H O R D E U M. 
 
 Barley ufed any wa,y in Bread, Drink or Broth, 
 is ever cooling, faith Galen , and ingendereth but 
 a thin and Weak Juice. Before we ufe it in Broths 
 or Ptifan, it fhould be clean hull’d, andwalh’d in 
 many Waters. The Deco&ion of Barley in 
 Chicken-broth, ftrain’d with a few blanch’d Al¬ 
 monds, and fweeten’d with Sugar and Rofe-water, 
 is a very convenient Meat for found Men, but 
 more for them which are Tick and abhor Flelh. 
 
 Carden faith, that Galen maketh mention of a 
 kind of Barley in Greece growing without a Hufk, 
 and hull’d by Nature; which Place he never cit- 
 eth, becaufe he was miftaken; for through all 
 ■ Galen I could never find any fuch thing, tho’ of 
 purpofe I fearch’d for it very diligently. The beft 
 Barley is the biggeft and yelloweft without, and 
 fulleft, clofeft and heavieft within ; it is never to 
 be ufed in Meat till "it be half a Year old, becaufe 
 lying caufeth it to ripen better, and to be alfo far 
 lefs windy. Being made into Malt by a fweet 
 Fire and good Cunning, it is the Foundation of 
 our Englijh Wine, which being as well made as 
 it is at Nottingham , proveth Meat, Drink and 
 Cloth to the poorer fort. Parched Barley or 
 Malt is hot and dry, but otherwife it is tempe- 
 rately cooling and lefs drying. That Wheat and 
 Rye is far more nourifhing than Barley, PlutarcA 
 
O/'F RUIT S. 531 
 
 vould thence prove, becaufe they arc half a Year 
 onger in the Earth, and of a more thick, fappy, 
 nd firm Subdance. But Rice, being counted and 
 ailed by Tragus German Barley, difarmetb that 
 leafon, which is not fowed till March, and yet 
 ■ of as great or rather of greater Nourilhment. 
 
 A V E N M. 
 
 Oats, termed by Galen the AfTes and Horfes 
 rovender, are of the like Nature with Barley, 
 ut more adringent, efpecially being old and 
 lorough dry. Had Galen feen the Oaten Cakes 
 f the North, the Janocksof Lancajkire , and thef 
 »rues of Chejhire , he would have confefled that 
 )ats and Oatmeal are not only Meat for Beads, 
 at alfo for tall, fair and ftrong Men and Women 
 f all Callings and Complexions : But we pardon 
 le Grecian s Delicacy, or elfe aferibe it to the 
 adnefs of their Soil, which could bring forth no 
 >ats fit for Nourifhment. Chufe the larged, 
 ;avied,- fweeted, fulled: and blacked, to make 
 Dur Oat-meal Groats of, for they are lead windy 
 id mod nourifhing. 
 
 F A B JE. 
 
 Beans were fird a Field-fruit ; how’foever, to 
 ake them more fappy, they have lately been fet 
 id kept in Gardens. Pythagoras forbad his Selle¬ 
 rs to eat of them, efpecially coming once to be 
 eat and black-tail’d, becaufe they hinder Sleep, 
 id procure Watchfulnefs ; for which Caufe they 
 ere given to Judges as they fat down in Judg¬ 
 ment, or elfe in Sleep caufe fearful and trouble- 
 me Dreams, as you may read in Tullius' s 
 :ond Book of Divination : Wherefore howfo- 
 er Camatherus , Immanuel Commenaus his Secre¬ 
 tary, 
 
332 Health*.* Improvement. 
 
 tary, ventured for them, or Men now affeft 
 them in thefe Days, affuredly they are a very hurt¬ 
 ful Meat, unlefs they be eaten very young, and 
 fodden in fat Broth, and afterwards, being freed 
 of their Hulk, be eaten in the beginning or midft 
 of Meals, butter’d throughly, and fufficiently 
 fprinkled with grofs Pepper and Salt; then will 
 they nourifh much, and too too much increafe 
 Seed to lufty Wantons. 
 
 C I C E R E S. 
 
 Chiches of England are very hard and unwhole- 
 fome ; but in Italy and France there is a kind of 
 red Chich, yielding a fweet, fine and nourifhing 
 Flour; whereof thick Pap or Pottage being made 
 with Sugar, you fhall hardly find any Grain or 
 Pulfe of comparable Nouriftiment, as my moft 
 honourable good Lord, the Lord Willoughby of 
 Erejby , in his moft dangerous Confumption did 
 well teftify. Perhaps this Broth was that, for a 
 Mefs whereof Efau fold his Birthright j for no 
 Pulfe but this maketh a red Pottage. 
 
 PISA. 
 
 Peafe are not wholly fo windy as Beans, and 
 alfo of better Nourifhment, becaufe they are lefs 
 abfterfive. French Peafe, Hafty Peafe, and Gray 
 Peafe, be the tendered and fweeteft of all others; 
 for the common Field Peafe or green Peafe are too 
 hard of Digeftion for indifferent Stomachs. Take 
 the youngelt, and feethe them thoroughly, butter 
 them plentifully, and fealon them well with Salt and 
 Pepper, fo will they prove a light Meat, and give 
 convenient Nourifhment in Summer-time. 
 
 LEN- 
 
333 
 
 Of FRUITS. 
 
 L E N T E S. 
 
 Lentiles were fo prized in Athenaus 's time, that 
 one wrote a whole Treatife in their Commenda¬ 
 tion ; and Diogenes commended them above all 
 ' Meats to his Scholars, becaufe they have a pecu- 
 i liar Virtue to quicken the Wit. Let us, for Shame, 
 not difcontinue any longer this wholefome Nou- 
 rifhment, but rather ftrive to find out fome Pre¬ 
 paration, whereby they may be reftored to their 
 former or greater Goodnefs. 
 
 CHAP. XXV. 
 
 Of the Variety, Excellency , Making , and true 
 Ufe of BREAD. 
 
 The Dignity and Neceffity of Bread. 
 
 THREAD is a Food fo neceflary to the Life of 
 Man, that whereas many Meats be loathed 
 naturally of fome Perfons, yet we never faw, read, 
 nor heard of any Man that naturally hated Bread. 
 The Reafons whereof I take to be thefe. Firft, 
 becaufe it is the Staff of Life, without which all 
 other Meats would either quickly putrefy In our 
 Stomachs, or fooner pafs through them than* they 
 fhould, whereupon Crudities, Belly-worms and 
 Fluxes do arife to fuch Children or Perfons as either 
 eat none or too little Bread. 
 
 Again, neither Flefh, Fruit nor Fifh are good 
 at all Seafons, for all Complexions, for all Times, 
 for all Conftitutions and Ages of Men ; but Bread 
 is never out of Seafon, difagreeing with no Sick- 
 nefs, Age or Complexion, and therefore truly 
 i called 
 
334 Health’j Improvement. 
 
 called the Companion of Life. No Child fo 
 young but he hath Bread, or the Matter of Bread 
 in his Pap; no Man fo weak but he eats it in his 
 Broth, or fucks it out of his Drink. It neither 
 inflameth the choleric, nor cooleth the phlegma* 
 tic, nor over-moifteneth the fanguine, nor drieth 
 the melancholic. 
 
 Furthermore it is to be admired, faith Plutarch , 
 that Bread doth of all other things beft nourilh 
 and {Lengthen both Man and Beaft ; infomuch 
 that with a little Bread they are enabled for a 
 whole Day’s Journey, when with twice as much 
 Meat they would have fainted. Wherefore it 
 was not a fmall Threatening, when God faid he 
 would break the Staff of Bread ; without which 
 our Meat giveth no Strength, as I faid before, 
 but either corrupted in the Stomach, or is con¬ 
 verted to llimy Crudities: we may alfo remember, 
 that of all compound Meats it is the firft men¬ 
 tioned in the Scripture, namely, in the third of 
 Qenefis , where God threatened Adam that in the 
 Sweat of his Brows he fhould eat his Bread. A- 
 gain, in the Lord’s Prayer, we alk for all bodily 
 Nouridment in the Name of Bread, became 
 Bread may be juftly called the Meat of Meats, 
 as without which there is no good nor fubftantial 
 Nourifhment. The Italians have a Proverb, 
 That all Troubles are eafy with Bread, and no Plea 
 jure pleafant without Bread. Signifying thereby 
 'our Lives to confift more in Bread than in any 
 other Meat whatfoever. .jf 
 
 To conclude, when Chrift would defcribe him* . 
 ft If unto us whilft he lived, and leave a Memorial , 
 unto us of himfelf after Death ; hisWIfdom found 
 no hieroglyphical Character wherein better to air ^ 
 
 prefs himfelf (the only Nourifher and Feeder o. 
 
 all 1 
 
 I 
 
Of BREAD. 335 
 
 all Mankind) than by the fight, taking, and 
 eating of Bread; fo that I may boldly prefer it 
 above all Nourifhment, being duly and rightly ufed, 
 [as agreeing with all Times, Ages and Conftitu- 
 [tions of Men, either Tick or found ; which can- 
 hot be verified of any one Nouriflament befides. 
 
 Upon which and fome other things arofe thefe 
 ^uefiions and Sayings, Whether eating of Crufts 
 pf Bread, and Sinews of Flefh, make a Man 
 trong? Whether Afhes be Phyfic, and mouldy 
 dread clear the Eye-fight ? Money and Bread 
 lever brought Plague. Bread and Cheefe be the 
 wo Targets againft Death. 
 
 The Authors and Inventors of Bread. 
 
 Who was the firft Author or Inventor of making 
 tread, I will not take upon me to determine. 
 ^liny afcribeth it to Ceres ; who feeing what Hurt 
 ame to Men by eating of Acorns, devifed a Means 
 ow to pound Corn into Meal, and then to work, 
 >rm and bake it into Loaves and Cakes. Paufa- 
 Ius afcribeth it to Areas, Jupiter and Cali/to*s 
 on. But without all queftion Adam knew it firft, 
 'hofoever was the firft that made it; yea, fince 
 is the Strengthener of Life, no doubt as he and 
 is Son knew how to fow Corn, lo they were not 
 ;norant or unpraaifed in the chief Ufe thereof. 
 
 The Differences of Bread. 
 
 Concerning the Differences of Bread, fome are 
 ken from the Meats we eat; for the Romans had 
 me?n oftrearium, which they only did eat with 
 'yfters. They had alio their dainty Bread made 
 ith Honey, Spice and Flour; they had alfo a 
 tfty Cake, called panis fpeuticus , learned firft in 
 reece-, likewife their Bread differed in bakine, 
 
 o' 
 
 fome 
 
Health’j Improvement. 
 
 fome being baked upon the Hearth, others broil’d 
 it upon Gridirons, others fried it like Pan-cakes, 
 others baked it in Ovens, others feeth’d it in Seam 
 like Fritters, others boil’d it in Water like Cim- 
 nels, being called Panes aquatici j which the Par - 
 tbians taught them. 
 
 But the chief Differences are in the Variety of 
 Matter whereof they conlift, and the Variety of 
 Goodnefs, which I will declare in Order. Some 
 Countries, where Corn was either never fown at 
 all, or being fowed cannot profper, make Breac 
 of fuch things made into Meal as their Soil yield- 
 eth. The Orita , Greenlanders and North Ice 
 landers make it of dried Filh, which being thorougl 
 dried in the Sun, they beat it firft with Hammers 
 then pound it with Peftils, and form Cakes with 
 Water, which they toaft at their Fires, made only 
 of great Fifhes Bones, for they have no Wood 
 and eat it inftead of Bread; yet live they well, an< 
 look well, and enjoy Pleasures, faith Hettor Boe 
 thius in his Scottijb Hiftory, abounding in Children 
 Strength and Contentment, tho’ not in Wealth 
 The Brafilians make Bread of the Root of a Herl 
 refembling Purcelane, and of the Barks of Trees 
 as Oforius writeth, whom I may believe, becauft 
 I have eaten of the fame Bread, brought home b) 
 Sir Francis Drake. The moft part of Egyptian . 
 make Bread of Lotus-feed, refembling Poppy; 
 but they which dwell by the River AJlupas mad< 
 it of dried Roots beaten to Pouder, which they form¬ 
 ed like a Tile-ftone, and baked it hard in the Sun. 
 Like Bread made the Thracians of Tribulus or Wa- 
 ternut Roots, and the Arabians of Dates. But the 
 beft is made of Grain, which the Romans , for boo 
 Years after their City was built, had not yet learn¬ 
 ed ; and was not afterwards publickly pra&ifed b) 
 
 Bakers 
 
Of BREAD. 337 
 
 Bakers, till the Perfean Wars. As for Wheaten 
 Bread, it was fo rare in Ccefar’s time, that none 
 knew how to make it,fave his own Baker. And 
 again white Manchet was fo hard to come by in 
 the Grecian Courts, that Lucian protefted a Man 
 could never get enough of it, no not in his Dream. 
 Spiced Bread was more ancient, for Diogenes loved 
 it above all Meats, and Hippocrates and Plato 
 make mention of it. Brown-bread was ufed in 
 Philoxenus's Age, and long before; who having 
 eaten up all the White-bread at the Sophift’s Tablet 
 one fet him a great Brown Loaf on the Table, 
 on whom he bellowed this Jeft ; Ho la ! not too 
 much , not too much , good Fellow , lejl it be Night 
 too foon. Thus much of the ancient making of 
 Bread : Now let us confider. 
 
 The ufeful Matter of Bread. 
 
 Firfi , Whereof Bread is made in our Days. 
 Secondly , How it is made. Thirdly , When, and 
 in what Order. Fourthly , In what Quantity it is 
 to be eaten. 
 
 Touching the firft, Bread is ufually made of 
 Rye, Barley, Oats, Miflelin, or pure Wheat. 
 Rye-bread is cold and of hard Conco&ion, breed¬ 
 ing Wind and Gripings in the Belly, ingendering 
 grofs Humours, being as unwholefome for indit- 
 ierent Stomachs, as it agreeth with Itrong Bodies 
 and laborious Perfons j yet openeth it, and cureth 
 the Haemorrhoids. 
 
 Barley Bread is little or nothing better, being 
 tough and heavy of Digeftion, choaking the fmall 
 Veins, ingendering Crudities, and Huffing the Sto¬ 
 mach. ' , 
 
 Oaten Bread is very light being well made, more 
 fcouring than nourilhing if the Oat-meal be new, 
 and tpo much binding if it be old. Howbeit Oats 
 
338 Health’.? Improvement. 
 
 in Greece are recorded to be fo temperate, that 
 they neither ftir nor flay the Belly. 
 
 Miflin or Munkcorn Bread, made of Rye and 
 Wheat together, is efteem’d better or worfe, ac¬ 
 cordingly as it is mingled more with this or that 
 Grain. 
 
 But of all other,Wheaten Bread is generally the 
 beft for all Stomachs;(yet of too flopping a Nature,. 
 if it be too fine) becaufe it is of beft Temper, and 
 agreeth with all Natures and Complexions. _ , 
 
 things to be obferued in the well making of Bread. 
 
 Concerning the well making whereof, we muft 
 have great Choice and Care; i. Of the Wheat 
 itfelf. 2. Of the Meal. 3. Of the Water. 
 4. Of the Salt. 5. Of the Leaven. 6. Of the 
 Dough or Pafte. 7. Of the Moulding. 8. Of 
 the Oven. 9. Of the baking. All which Cir- 
 cumftances I moft willingly profecute to the full, 
 becaufe as Bread is the beft Nourifhment of all 
 other, being well made, fo is it fimply the worft, 
 being marred in the ill handling. 
 
 1. Concerning the Wheat, it muft be thorough 
 ripe e’er it is gathered, two Months old e’er it be 
 threfhed, and a Month or two old after that, at 
 the leaft, e’er it be grinded. Chufe ever the 
 yellowed without, and fmootheft, growing in a 
 hot and fat Soil, hard, white and full within, 
 clean threfh’d and winnow’d, then clean wafh’d 
 and dry’d, afterwards grofly grinded (for that 
 makes the beft Flour) in a Mill wherein the 
 Grind-ftones are of French Marble or fome other 
 clofe or hard Stone. 
 
 2. The Meal muft neither befo finely grinded, 
 
 as I faid, left the Bran mingle with it, nor too 
 grgfiy, left you lofe much Flour, but moderately 
 53 ' grofs, 
 
Of B R E A D. 339 
 
 grofs, that the Bran may be eafily feparated, and 
 the fine Flour not hardly boulted. You mult not 
 prefently mould up your Meal after grinding, left 
 it prove too hot; nor keep it too long, left it 
 prove fufty and breed Worms, or be otherwife 
 tainted with long lying. . Likewife tho’ the beft 
 Manchet, called pants Similagineus, of Pliny, be 
 made of the fineft Flour pafled through a very 
 fine Boulter, yet that Bread which is “made of 
 coarfer Meal,is of lighter Digeftion and of ftrono-er 
 Nourifhment. & 
 
 3 * The Water muft be pure, from a clear 
 River or Spring; not too hot left the Dough 
 cling, nor too cold left it crumble, but lukewarm. 
 
 4. The Salt muft be very white, finely beaten, 
 not too much nor too little, but to give an in¬ 
 different feafoning. 
 
 5. The Leaven muft be made of pure Wheat, 
 it muft not be too old left it prove too four, nor 
 too new left it work to no purpofe, nor too much 
 in Quantity, left the Bread receive not a dio-eft- 
 ing but a fretting Quality.. Where by the “way 
 note, that Loaves made of pure Wheaten Meal 
 require both more Leaven and more labouring 
 and more baking than either coarfe Cheat, or than 
 Bread mingled of Meal and Grudgins. In England 
 our fineft Manchet is made without Leaven 
 which maketh Cheat-Bread to be the lighter of 
 both, and alfo the'more wholefome; for unleaven¬ 
 ed Bread is good for no Man. 
 
 6. The Dough of white Bread muft be throu<rh- 
 \y wrought, and the manner of moulding muff be 
 firft with ftrong kneading, then with rolling to 
 and fro, and laft of all with wheeling or turning 
 it round about, that it may fit the clofer ; after¬ 
 wards cut it flightly in the midft round about, and 
 
 P 2 giye 
 
g40 Health’* Improvement. 
 
 give it a Slit or two thorough from the Top to 
 the Bottom with a fmall Knife, to give a Vent 
 every way to the inward Moifture whilft it is in 
 baking. 
 
 7. The Loaves fhould neither be too great nor 
 too little; for as little Loaves nourifh leaft, fo if 
 the Loaves be too great, the Bread is fcarce 
 thoroughly baked in the midft: Wherefore the 
 Franklins Bread of England is counted moft nou- 
 rifhing, being of a middle Size between Gentle- 
 mens Rolls or little Manchets,and the great Loaves 
 ufed in Yeomen’s Houfes. 
 
 8. The Oven muft be proportionable to the 
 Quantity of Bread, heated every where alike, and 
 by Degrees; not too hot at thefirft, left the out- 
 ftde be burnt and the infide clamy; nor too cold, 
 left the Bread prove fad and heavy in our Stomachs. 
 
 9. Laft of all, concerning the baking, it muft 
 not ftay too long in the Oven, left it prove crufty, 
 dry and choleric; nor too little a while, for fear 
 it be clamy and of ill Nourifhment, fitter to cram 
 Capons and Poultry than to be given to fick or 
 found Men. 
 
 Bread being thus made, ftrengtheneth the Sto¬ 
 mach, and carrieth truly with it the Staff" of Nou- 
 rifhment. Jupiter ’s Priefts, called Flamines Diales , 
 were forbidden to eat either Meal or Leaven by 
 themfelves, yet might they eat of leavened Bread 
 and none other. The Reafon whereof is alledged 
 bv Plutarch : They might eat no Meal, becaufe 
 it is an imperfect and raw Nourifhment; being 
 neither Wheat which it was, nor Bread which it 
 ihouid be ; for Meal hath loft, which it had, the 
 Form of Grain, and wanteth, which it is to have, 
 the Form of Bread. They might eat no Leaven, 
 becaufe Leaven is the Mother and Daughter of 
 
Of BREAD. 341 
 
 Corruption, Touring all if it be too much, and 
 diftafting all if it be too little ; but when a juft 
 Proportion is kept betwixt them both, Leaven 
 corredls the Meal’s Imperfection, and Meal re- 
 fifieth Leaven’s Corruption, making together a 
 well relifh’d Mafs, called Bread, which is juftly 
 termed the Staff of Life. 
 
 As for Buns made with Eggs and Spices, as alfo 
 for Sugar-cakes, Wafers, Simnels and Cracknels, 
 and all other kind of delicious Stuff, wherein no 
 Leaven cometh : I will not deny them a medici¬ 
 nal Ufe for fome Bodies; but if they be ufually 
 and much eaten, they rather help to corrupt than 
 to nourifh our Bodies. 
 
 Of the Age of Bread. 
 
 Touching the Age of Bread ; as the Egyptians 
 Bread made of Lotus-feed is never either good or 
 light till it be hot; fo contrariwife all Bread made 
 of Grain is never good till it be fully cold. Hot 
 Bread is exceeding dangerous, fwimming in the 
 Stomach, procuring Thirft, moft hardly digeft- 
 ing, and filling the Body full of Wind. Neither 
 yet muft it be too old and dry, for then it nou- 
 rifheth nothing, drieth up the Body, increafeth 
 Coftivenefs, and very hardly paffeth from out the 
 Stomach. 
 
 Of the Ufe of Bread. 
 
 Laft of all, concerning the Ufe of Bread, it 
 confifteth in the Quality, Quantity, and timely 
 taking of it. The inmoft Crumbs of Bread are 
 moft nourifhing, and fitteft for hot and choleric 
 Perfons; contrariwife the Crumbs next the Cruft 
 are fitteft for phlegmatic Difpofitions, unto whom 
 fometimes we allow the Cruft itfelf, or elfe the 
 Crumbs toafted at the Fire. Leavened Bread is 
 
 P 3 alfo 
 
342 He alth’j Improvement. 
 
 alfo moft convenient for weak Stomachs, becaufe 
 it is fooneft digeftcd ; but if it be too much leaven¬ 
 ed, Jt annoyeth them as much in Gripings of the 
 Belly and Spleen-fwellings. 
 
 It is queftjon’d by feme, whether Children 
 fhould eat much Bread without Meat, aut contra. 
 
 New Bread, fo it be not newer than one Day, 
 is moll nourifhing; but old Bread, as I faid before, 
 is moft drying. 
 
 Concerning the Quantity of Bread, we are to 
 underftand, that as Drink is neceflary to haften 
 Meat out of the Stomach when it is concorfted, 
 fo Bread is as needful to hang it up, and ftay it in 
 the Stomach till it be concodfed : For if we eat 
 Flefh, Fiftior Fruit, without Bread, it will either 
 return upward, as it fareth in Dogs, or beget Cru¬ 
 dities''and Worms, as it happeneth to greedy 
 Children, or turn to moft cruel Fluxes, as it fall- 
 tth out in the time of Vintage, and at the gather¬ 
 ing of Fruit, when many Grapes, or Apples, or 
 Plums be eaten without Bread. 
 
 Neverthelefs over much Bread is as hurtful, 
 yea, the forfeiting of it is more dangerous than of 
 any Meat: For Flefh, Fruit or Fifh, being im¬ 
 moderately taken, are quickly corrupted into a 
 thin Subftance, which Nature may.eafily avoid; 
 but the Surfeit of Bread is incorrigible, remaining 
 fo dry, hard and tough in the Stomach, that it 
 will neither be voided upwaid nor downward 
 without great Difficulty, refilling the Operation 
 of any Medicine, flopping the Veins, and daub¬ 
 ing as it were the Bowels, otherwife fenfible 
 enough, and ready to be ftirred with the leaft Phy- 
 fic, with a {limy and vifeous Mortar. Eat there¬ 
 fore no more than to make a convenient Mixture 
 of Meat and Drink; for as there muft be a foffi- 
 
 cient 
 
Of BREAD. 343 
 
 dent Quantity of Sand to combine Lime and Wa- 
 ter together; not too little, left the Mortar be 
 too liquid ; nor too much, left it be tough ; but 
 a certain Proportion to be aimed at by the Plaif- 
 terer; fo a due Quantity of Bread maketh a per- 
 fed Mafs of Nourifhment, which elfe being too 
 liquid would turn to Crudities by palling over- 
 timely into the Guts, or being too thick would 
 either putrefy at length, or at the leaft wax bur- 
 denfome to the Stomach and choke the Veins. 
 Note alfo this, that the more liquid and moift 
 your Meats are, fo much the more Bread is re¬ 
 quired ; but the more dry and folid they are, the 
 more Drink is to be taken and the lefs Bread. 
 
 Laft of all, to fpeak of the Time and Order 
 tc be obferved in the eating of Bread ; howfoever 
 Antoninus that holy Emperor of Rome, did make 
 his Breakfaft only of dry Bread, and then preferr¬ 
 ed himfelf to all Suiters till Dinner-time ; we muft 
 conceive, firft, that he was rheumatic through his 
 , Night-watchings and great fludying. Secondly, 
 That he was old and fubjedl to the Dropfy ; other- 
 wife he was foolilh to preferibe himfelf that Diet, 
 or his Phyficians mad that perfuaded him to it. 
 For as firft Lime, and then Sand are mingled with 
 Water; fo firft Meat, then Bread fhould be eaten 
 together, and afterward Drink fhould be poured 
 on like Water to mingle them both. Socrates 
 faid truly, that fome Fools do ufe Bread as Meat, 
 and fome ufe Meat as Bread : For fome will break 
 their Faft with Bread, which commonly is dange¬ 
 rous ; others will eat at Dinner a little Meat, and 
 too much Bread, which is almoft as unwholefome ; 
 others will end their Meals with Drink and Meat, 
 when Reafon and Experience fheweth, that the 
 
 P 4 upper 
 
344 Health’/ Improvement. 
 
 upper Mouth of our Stomach is heft clofed up with 
 Head and Drynefs; in the fealing and doling up 
 whereof Perfc&nefs of Concottion doth greatly 
 eonfift. 
 
 Cyrus the Great,being afk’d daily by his Steward 
 what he Ihould provide for his Supper, never, gave 
 him other Anfwer than this. Only Bread ; (hew¬ 
 ing us thereby, that as our Breakfaft mud be of 
 the moiffed Meats, and our Dinners moderately 
 mingled with Drynefs and Moidure ; fo our Sup¬ 
 pers fhould be either only of Bread, or at the moil 
 of Meats as dry as Bread, efpecially in thefe Iflands 
 and moid Countries, fo fubjedt to Rheums and fu- 
 peifluous Moidures. 
 
 CHAP. XXVI. 
 
 Of SALT, SUGAR, and SPICE. 
 
 , "THERE was a Sed of Philofophers, called El~ 
 pijlici, commending Hope fo highly above all 
 Virtues, that they termed it the Sauce of Life ; 
 as without which our Life were either none at all, 
 or elfe very loathfome, tedious and unfavoury. 
 May I not in like manner fay the like of Salt, to 
 which Homer giveth the Title of Divinity, and 1 
 Plato calleth it Jupiter’s Minion ? For tell me to 
 what Meat, be it Flelh, Fifh, or Fruit, or to 
 what Broth Salt is not required, either to preferve, 
 feafon or relifh the fame ? Nay, Bread, the very 
 Staff and Strength of our Sudenance, is it nofun- 
 wholefome, heavy and untoothfome, without Salt? 
 Wherefore, in the fame Temple Neptune and Cc~ 
 
Of s A L T. 345 
 
 res ever flood together, becaufe no Grain is good 
 unfalted, be it never fo well fpiced or fugared, or 
 otherwife artificially handled. Befides this, the 
 famous Warriors in old time, accuflomed to hard 
 and fparing Diet, howfoever voluntarily they 
 efchewed Fiefh or Fifh as Meatp too delicate for 
 Soldiers Stomachs, living only upon Bread, Oni¬ 
 ons, Leeks, Garlic, Town-creltes and Roots, yet 
 they did eat Salt with every thing, as without 
 which nothing was deemed wholefome. And truly 
 what is Flefh but a Piece of Carrion, and an un- 
 favoury Carcafs, till Salt quickens, graces, and 
 preferves it, infufing throughout it, as it were, 
 another Soul ? What is Fifh but an unrelifh’d 
 Froth of the Water, before Salt corredleth the 
 Flafhinefs thereof, and addetn Firmnefs? Yea, 
 Milk, Cheefe, Butter, Eggs, Tree-fruit, Gar¬ 
 den-fruit, Field-fruit; finally, all things ordained 
 and given for Nourifhment, are either altogether 
 unwholefome without Salt, or at the leaft not lb 
 wholefome as otherwife they would be. 
 
 Plutarch rnoveth a Queftion in his Natural 
 Deputations, why Salt fhould be fo much elfeem- 
 ed, when Bealls and Fruits give aReliih of other 
 Tafles, but none of Salt ? For many Meats are 
 fatty of themfelves, Olives are bitterifh, and 
 many Fruits are fweet, many four, divers aftrin- 
 gent, fome fharp, and fome harfli; but none are 
 fait of their own Nature. What fhould be ga¬ 
 thered of this ? that the Ufe of Salt is unnatural 
 or unwholefome ? Nothing lefs. It is enough for 
 Nature to give us Meats, and elfewhere to give 
 us wherewith to feafon them. And truly fince 
 Salt may either be found or made in all Countries, 
 what needed Fruit, F'lefh or Tifh, to have that 
 Tafte within them, which outwardly was to be 
 had at Man’s Plcafure. 
 
 P 5 Now 
 
346 HealthV Improvement. 
 
 Now if any fhall object unto me, the Egyptian 
 Priefts abftaining wholly from Salt, even in their 
 Bread and Eggs, becaufe it ingendereth Heat and 
 ftireth up Luft; or Apollonius, Heropbilus’s Scho¬ 
 lar, who by his Phyfician’s Counfel abftained 
 wholly from any thing wherein Salt was, becaufe 
 he was very lean, and grew to be exceeding fat by 
 eating Honey-fops and fugar’d Panadoes: I will 
 anfwer them many ways, and perhaps fufficiently. 
 
 Firft, That long Cuftom is a fecond Nature, 
 and that it had been dangerous for the Egyptian 
 Priefts to have eaten Salt, which even from their 
 Infancy they never tafted. 
 
 Again, whereas it was faid, that they abftain¬ 
 ed from it for fear of Luft, no doubt they did 
 wifely in it; for of all other things it is very ef¬ 
 fectual to ftir up Venus , whom Poets feign there¬ 
 fore to have been bred in the Salt Sea. And Ex¬ 
 perience teacheth, that Mice lying in Hoys laden 
 from Rochelle with Salt, breed thrice fafter there 
 than if they were laden with other Merchandife. 
 Huntfmen likewife and Shepherds feeing a Slow- 
 nefs of Luft in their Dogs and Cattle, feed them 
 with Salt-Meats to haften coupling; and what 
 maketh Doves and Goats fo lufty and lafeivious, 
 but that they defire to feed upon fait things. Fi¬ 
 nally, remember that Lechery, in Latin , is not 
 id-lely, or at adventure, termed Salacltas , Saltifti- 
 nefs; for every Man knows that the falter our 
 Humours be, the more prone and inclinable we 
 are to Lechery; as manifeftly appeareth in Lazars , 
 whole Blood being over fait caufeth a continual 
 tickling and Defire of Venery, tho’ for want of 
 good Nourilhment they perform little. 
 
 Wherefore whofoever coveteth to be freed of 
 that Defire with the Egyptian Priefts, which is an 
 
 unnatural 
 
Of SALT. 347 
 
 unnatural thing to covet, let them altogether ab- 
 ftain from Salt in every thing; bat look how much 
 they gain in Impotency that way, fo much they 
 lofe of Health in another way: For as Sheep feed¬ 
 ing in fait Marihes never die of the Rot, and be 
 never barren, but contrariwife are rotted as well 
 as fatted in frefh Paftures; fo likewife whofoever 
 moderately ufeth Salt (hall be freed of Putrefaction 
 and Stoppings, and live long in Health, noDifor- 
 der being elfewhere committed, when they which 
 wholly abftain from it both in Bread and Meat, 
 fhall fall into many Difeafes and grievous Acci¬ 
 dents, as did Apollonius himfelf for all his Fatnefs j 
 and as it happened to Dr. Penny , who after he 
 had abitained certain Years from Salt, fell into 
 divers Stoppings, cruel Vomitings, intolerable 
 Head-ach and ftrange Megrims, whereby his Me¬ 
 mory and all inward and outward Senfes were 
 much weakened. 
 
 Remember here, that I fa id whofoever mode¬ 
 rately ufeth Salt; for as wholly to refufe it caufeth 
 many Inconveniences, fo to abufe the fame in 
 Excefs is no lefs dangerous, ingendering Choler, 
 drying up natural Moifture, inflaming Blood, 
 flopping the Veins, hardening the Stone, gather¬ 
 ing together vifcous and crude Humours, making 
 Sharpnefs of Urine, conflsming the Flefh and Fat 
 of our Bodies, breeding Salacity and the Colt-evil, 
 bringing finally upon us Scabs, Itch, Skurf, Can¬ 
 kers, Gangrenes and foul Leprofies. They which 
 are cold, fat, wacerifh and phlegmatic, may feed 
 more plentifully on Salt and fait Meats than other 
 Perfons; but choleric and melancholic Complexi¬ 
 ons mull ufe it more fparingly, and Sanguineans 
 mull take no more of it than lightly to relifh their 
 unfavoury Meat. 
 
 P 6 
 
 Our 
 
348 Health’^ Improvement. 
 
 Our Wiches in Cbejhire afford fo good Salt, 
 through God’s fingular Providence and Mercy 
 towards us, that I am eafed of a great Labour in 
 fhewing the Differences of Salt. Only thus much 
 I leave to be noted, that Bay-fait is belt to make 
 Brine of, but our white Salt is fitted: to be eaten 
 at Table. Finally, fince not only we in England , 
 but alfo all other Na ions, yea, the old Romans 
 and Grecians , as Pliny and Alexander remember, 
 placed Salt ever firft at the Table, and took it laft 
 away, infinuating thereby the neceflary Ufe there¬ 
 of with all kinds of Meats ; let us conclude with 
 the Scholars of Salernum , in good Rhime and 
 better Reafon. 
 
 Sal primo debet poni, non primo reponi , 
 
 Omuis menfa male ponitur abfque J'ale . 
 
 Here I might fpeak of Sal Sacerdotale Aetii, 
 called the Priefts Salt, mingled with many fweet 
 Herbs and Spices to preferve Meats; as alfo of 
 Chymical Salts drawn from Wormwood, Cinna¬ 
 mon, Cloves, Guajacum, and other infinite 
 Simples ; but fince they are rather medicinal than 
 belonging to ordinary Diet, I have Reafon to 
 omit them. 
 
 Now if any will marvel, why I fhould write 
 thus much in the Commendation of Salt, when by 
 general Confent of Writers it is not nourifhing : 
 I anfwer, that it is, and that not only accidental¬ 
 ly, in making our Meat more gracious to the Sto¬ 
 mach, hindering Putrefadlion, and drying up fu- 
 perfiuous Humours ; but alfo effentially in itfelf, 
 being taken in its juft and due Proportion : For 
 our Bodies have and fhould have Humours of all 
 Taftes; yea, the firmed: Element of our Body is 
 
 no- 
 
Of SUGAR. 349 
 
 nothing but Salt itfelf, and fo termed by the beft, 
 tho’ the neweft Philofophers; which will hardly be 
 preferved without eating of Salt. 
 
 Hence comes it that Soldiers, Seamen and 
 Country-labourers, accuftomed to feed ufually upon 
 hung Beef, fait Bacon and fait Fifh, have a more 
 firm Flefh and greater Strength than ordinary Ci¬ 
 tizens and dainty Gentlemen. And if fait Meats, 
 not over-falted, be generally held to give the beft 
 Nourilhment, why fhould we deny that Salt nou- 
 rilheth ? 
 
 A Woman eating much Salt when fhe is with 
 Child, bringeth forth a Child without Nails. 
 
 Salt in Pottage is forbidden in hot Agues. 
 
 They who eat much Salt and Vinegar have 
 burnt Livers, and live unfound. 
 
 Of SUGAR. 
 
 Sugar or Sachar is but a fweet, or, as the An- 
 tients term it, an Indian Salt. The beft Sugar 
 is made of the Tears or Liquor of Sugar-canes, 
 replenifhed fo with Juice that they crack again. 
 Other forts are made of the Canes themfelves 
 finely cut, and boiled fo long in Water till all their 
 Gumminefs gather together at the Bottom, as Salt 
 doth in Chejhire at Na?itwicb. The beft Sugar is 
 hard, folid, light, exceeding white and fweet, 
 gliftering like Snow, clofe and not fpungy, melt¬ 
 ing, as Salt doth, very fpeedily in any Liquor. 
 Such cometh from Madeira in little Loaves of 
 three or four Pound weight a-piece; from whence 
 alfo we have a coarfer fort of Sugar-loaves, weigh¬ 
 ing feven, eight, nine or ten Pounds a-piece, not 
 fully fo good for candying Fruits, but better for 
 Syrups and Kitchen Ufes. 
 
 Bar - 
 
350 Health’* Improvement. 
 
 Barbary and Canary Sugar is next to that, con- I 
 taining 12, 16 and 17 lb. weight in a Loaf. But j 
 your common and coarfe Sugar, called commonly | 
 St. Omer ’s Sugar, is white without and brown \ 
 within, of a molt gluifh Subftance, altogether un~ ] 
 fit for candying or preferving, but ferving well i 
 enough for common Syrups and feafoning of Meat. I 
 
 Of thePowder of which Sugar our cunningRefi- 
 ners make fuch white and glorious Sugar in Shew, ■ 
 that albeit it be neither fweet, light nor kindly, yet 
 they feel an unfpeakable Sweetnefs by that Art, or 
 rather Trade, or rather Myftery, or rather (if I 
 am not miftaken) flat Cozenage and apparent 
 Knavery. 
 
 Concerning the Ufes of this worthy and fweet 
 Salt, they are many and good. For whereas 
 Honey is hurtful to choleric Complexions, Sugar 
 is incommodious or hurtful unto none j yea, it is 
 fo mild and temperate, that Galen doth not dif¬ 
 allow it to be given in Agues. Furthermore it 
 nourifheth very plentifully, yea, it maketh many 
 things to become exceeding good Meat, (by con- 
 diting, preferving and conferving) as Citrons, Le¬ 
 mons, Oranges, Nutmegs, Ginger, and fuch like, 
 which of their own Nature do rather hinder Nou-,* 
 rifhment, and procure Leannefs. Befides this, it j 
 delighteth the Stomach, pleafeth the Blood and/ 
 Liver, cleanfeth the Breaft, reftoreth the Lungs, 
 (efpecially being candy’d) taketh away Hoarfe- 
 nefs, and aflwageth Drought in all Agues, giving 
 alfo no fmall Eafe to inflamed Kidneys, and to 
 Bladders molefted with Sharpnefs of Urine. 
 
 Sugar keepeth Children from ingendering of 
 Worms, but being ingendered maketh them ftir. 
 
 It were infinite to rehearfe the neceflary Ufe of 
 it in making of good Gellies, Cullifes, MortefTes, 
 
 white 
 
Of S P I C E S. 3S J 
 
 white Broths, and reftorative Pies and Mixtures; 
 which fmce Cooks do and ought chiefly to practife, 
 I will not further ufurp upon their Province, only 
 fay, Sugar never marred Sauce. 
 
 Of SPICES. 
 
 Spices are properly called fuch fweet and odori¬ 
 ferous Simples as are taken from Trees, Shrubs, 
 Herbs or Plants; fome whereof are growing in 
 England , or home-bred, others fetch’d from far 
 Countries, called outlandifh Spices. 
 
 Home-bred Spices are thefe, Anife-feed, Dill, 
 Fennel-feed, Alcoft, Cumin, Carraways, Clary, 
 Coriander, dried Mint, dried Nep, dried Origa¬ 
 num, Parfley-feed, dried Gelly-flowers, Roots of 
 Galinga and Orris, dried Primrofes, Penny-royal, 
 Rofemary, Saffron, Sage, Oak of Jerufalem, 
 Bay-berries, Juniper-berries, Southern-wood, 
 Tanfy, Tamarifk, Thyme, dried Wall-flowers, 
 Violets, Varvein, Winter-favory, Wormwood, 
 and fuch like. 
 
 Outlandifh Spices are thefe chiefly, Lignum- 
 Aloes, Folium Indicum, Cinnamon, Ginger, 
 Mace, Coves, Pepper, Nutmegs, Pills of Citrons, 
 Lemons andOranges,Grains,Cubebs and Saunders, 
 &c. which being no Nourishment of themfelves, 
 and ferving only to Phyfical Ufes,I rather ought to 
 fend you to the Herbals of Lobelias , Dodonaus, 
 Cluftus , Turner , and Bauhinus , (where at large 
 you may hear of their Virtues) than to ftand here 
 upon them any longer in my Treatife of Nourifh- 
 ments. Wherefore let it be fufficient for me to 
 have fet down their Temperatures in the fifth Chap¬ 
 ter of this Treatife; and now let me proceed to 
 difcourfe of Sauces, wherein, as Occafion ferveth, 
 
 I will fomewhat enlarge my Treatife of Spices, 
 which I might have handled in this Chapter. 
 
 C H A P. 
 
352 Health^ Improvement. 
 
 CHAP. XXVII. 
 
 Of the neceffary Ufe and Abufe of Sauces,! 
 and wherein they conjiji. 
 
 T)Lutarch boldly affirmeth, that the Antients 
 knew never any Sauces but two. Hunger and 
 Salt ; calling that the Night, and this the Light 
 of Sauces : For as in the Night all Colours be 
 alike, fo nothing is unfavoury to a hungry Sto¬ 
 mach ; and as the Light difcerneth Colours, fo Salt 
 fheweth the Variety and Excellency of all Taftes. 
 Proof hereof we have ufually at our Tables, where 
 having tailed of Vinegar or four Fruit, or eaten 
 much fweet Meats, the beft Wine is prefently 
 diftafted after it, and the Goodnefs thereof undif- 
 cerned till a little Salt be eaten. 
 
 Concerning Hunger, I yield unto Plutarch , for 
 without that even Salt and Vinegar and every 
 thing is unfavoury, according as it is written of 
 the Cooks of Athens ; who vaunting by their di¬ 
 vers Pickles, Sauces, Powders and Mixtures, to 
 procure any Man an Appetite, yet in the end they, 
 found it true, that the beft Sauce is loathfome 
 without Hunger. Dioayftus alfo fupping once, af¬ 
 ter Hunting* with the Lacedemonians , moft highly 
 extolled their black Broth ; afterwards eating of 
 the fame another time, without Exercife pre- 
 mifed, he did as deeply difpraife it. 
 
 The like we read of Ptolomy in Platina, and 
 of Socrates in ’Tally s Tufculan Queftions, who 
 walked ever before Meat a Mile or two, to buy 
 
 him 
 
Of S A U C E S. 353 
 
 him this Sauce of Hunger. Anacharfn was wont 
 to fay, that dry Ground is the beft Bed, a Skin 
 hardened with Exercife the beft Garment, and na¬ 
 tural Hunger the beft Sauce ; which Addition of 
 this Word natural cleareth the Queftion ; for over 
 much Hunger tafteth nothing better than over 
 much Satiety, the one loathing good things be- 
 caufe of Fulnefs, the other commending bad 
 things becaufe of Emptinefs. 
 
 As for Salt, the fecond Sauce of the Antients, 
 
 I have already enough commended it in the former 
 Chapter; neverthelefs it is not fufficient, nay, it 
 is not convenient for all Stomachs: for even old 
 times afforded two Sauces, Salt and Vinegar, the 
 one for hot Stomachs, the other for cold, know- 
 ing well enough that Appetites are not procured 
 in all Men alike, becaufe Want of Appetite arifeth 
 from divers Fountains. 
 
 Plutarch raileth mightily againft Sauces and Sea- 
 lonings, avouching them to be needlefs to health¬ 
 ful Perfons, and unprofitable to the Sick, becaufe 
 they never eat but when they are hungry, and 
 thefe ought not to be made hungry, left they op- 
 prefs Nature by eating too much. But I deny 
 both his Argumentsj for as many found Men ab¬ 
 ler divers things in their Health roafted, which 
 they love fodden; fo likewife they love fome things 
 eafoned after one Fafhion, which feafoned or 
 auced alter another Fafnion they cannot abide, 
 wen tho’ they be urged unto it by great Hunger. * 
 As for them that be fick, whofoever dreameth 
 hat no fick Man fhould be allured to Meat by 
 elightful and pleafant Sauces, feemeth as froward 
 nd fantaftical as he that would never whet his 
 Cnife. And tell me, I pray you, why hath Na- 
 jre brought forth fuch Variety of Herbs, Roots, 
 
 Fruits, 
 
354 Health’j Improvement. 
 
 Fruits, Spices and Juices, fit for nothing but j 
 Sauces, but that by them the Sound fhould be re- 
 frefhed, and the fick Men allured to feed upon 
 Meat? for whom an over ftrait Abftinence is as j 
 dangerous as Fulnefs and Satiety is inconvenient. 
 
 All which I write, not to tickle the Epicures of 
 our Age, who to the further cramming of their ( 
 filthy Corps, make curious Sauces for every Meat, ; 
 or to force Appetite daily where no Exercife is 
 ufed ; for as Morris-dancers at Burials make noi 
 Sport, but rather give Caufe of further lamenting,; 
 fo Appetites continually forced weaken a difeafed; 
 Stomach, either making Men for a time to eat! 
 more than they fhould, or elfe afterwards bereaving 
 them of all Appetite. Socrates compared the over: 
 curious feafoning of Meat, and thefe Epicurean 
 Sauce-makers, to common Courtezans curioufly 
 painted and fumptuoufly adorned before they en¬ 
 tertain their Lovers, whereby they ftir up new 
 Lull: in withered Stocks, and make even the gray¬ 
 headed fpend and confume themfelves. Even fo, 
 faith he, thefe new found Sauces, what are they 
 but Whores to edge our Appetite, making us to 
 feaft when we fhould faft, or at leaf!: to feed more 
 than Nature willeth ? Alfo he refembleth them 
 to tickling under the Sides and Arm-pits, which 
 caufeth not a true and hearty, but rather a convul- 
 five and hurtful Laughter,' doing no more Good' 
 to penfive Perfons than hard fcratching is profit¬ 
 able to a fcald Head, wherein yet it delighteth to 
 his own Hurt. 
 
 There is a notable Hiftory written of Alexander 
 and Queen Ada , who purpofing to prefent the 
 Conqueror with her beft Jewels, fent him two of 
 her beft Sauce-makers to feafon and drefs his Meat, 
 commending their Skill exceedingly in her Let¬ 
 ters : 
 
Of SAUCES. 355 
 
 ters : But Alexander having bountifully rewarded 
 them for their Travel,- returned them with this 
 MefTage, that he had a long time entertained two 
 for that Purpofe, which made him better Sauce to 
 his Meat than any other could make in his Judg¬ 
 ment, namely, Nyfioporia Night-marching, who 
 ever got him a Stomach to his Dinner, and Oli- 
 gariflia little dining, who ever procured him a 
 Stomach to his Supper. Shewing thereby that 
 Exercife before Dinner and Supper are the beft 
 Sauce-makers, becaufe they bring forth Hunger, 
 which tafteth, yea, which caufeth us alfo to digeft 
 all things. 
 
 And verily for ftrong and able Perfons, what 
 need we prefcribe more Sauces than Exercife and 
 Hunger ? Neverthelefs becaufe many Mens Trade 
 of Life, and Eftate of Health is fuch, that either 
 they cannot exercife themfelves abroad, or elfe are 
 not able through Weaknefs to do it at home, 
 whereupon want of Appetite and want of Di- 
 geftion, the only Founders of Sauces, muff enfue; 
 it will not be amifs to fet down fome Simples, 
 which may be the Matter of Sauces for both thofe 
 Inconveniencies. 
 
 ‘The mojl ufual and bejl Simples whereof Sauces 
 art made. 
 
 If the Stomach want Appetite, by reafon of 
 cold and raw Humours furring the fame, and dull¬ 
 ing theSenfe of Feeling in the Mouth thereof. 
 
 Hot Sauces. 
 
 Make Sauce of Dill, Fennel, Mint, Origa¬ 
 num, Parfley, dried Gelly-flowers, Galingal, 
 Muftard-feed, Garlic, Onions, Leeks, Juniper- 
 berries, Sage, Thyme, Vervein, Betony, Salt, 
 Cinnamon, Ginger, Mace, Cloves, Nutmegs, 
 
 Pepper, 
 
356 Health’j Improvement. 
 
 Pepper, Pills of Citrons, Lemons and Oranges, 
 Grains,Cubebs, and fuch like ; mingle fome one, 
 two, or three of them together, according asOc- 
 cafion moft requireth, with Wine or Vinegar,j 
 flrong of Rofemary or Gelly-flowers. 
 
 Cold Sauces. 
 
 Contrariwife wanteth your Stomach Appetite, 
 through abundance of Choler, or aduft and pu¬ 
 trefied Phlegm ? Then reftore it with Sauces made 
 of Sorrel, Lettice, Spinache, Purfelane, ‘or Saun¬ 
 ders, mingled with Vinegar, Verjuice, Cyder, 
 Alegar, or Water itfelf, or with the Pulp of Prunes, 
 Apples, Currans, and fuch like. 
 
 As for Digeftion, it waxeth flow and weak, 
 either becaufe the Stomach is too cold, orbecaufe 
 the Meat is of bad Digeftion which is put into it. 
 
 Sauces for flow Digeftion. 
 
 Cold Stomachs mult be quickened with Sauces 
 hot of Spice, and Meats hard of Digeftion mult 
 be helped with hot things; therefore I commend 
 the Ufe of Muftard with Beet, and all kind of 
 falted Flefh and Fifti; and Onion-fauce with Duck, 
 Widgin, Teal, and all Water-fowl; Salt and 
 Pepper with Venifon, and Galingal-fauce with the 
 Flefh of Cygnets, and Garlic or Onions boil’d in 
 Milk with a Stubble-Goofe, Sugar (and Muftard 
 with red Deer, Crane, Shovelar and Buftard. 
 
 Sauces for temperate Meats. 
 
 But for temperate Meats and fpeedy of Digefti¬ 
 on (as Pork, Mutton, Lamb, Veal, Kid, Hen, 
 Capon, Pullet, Chicken, Rabbit, Partridge, Phea- 
 fant, 6 fc.) we mu ft Ukewife devife temperate 
 Sauces ; as Muftard and Green-fauce for Pork, 
 Verjuice and Salt for Mutton, the Juice of Oranges 
 
Of S A U C E S. 357 
 
 or Lemons with Wine, Salt and Sugar, for Ca¬ 
 pons, Pheafants and Partridges, Water and Pepper 
 for Woodcocks, Vinegar and Butter, or the Gravy 
 of roafted Meat with Rabbits, Pidgeons or Chic¬ 
 kens ; for if their Sauces fhould be either too cold 
 or too hot, fach Meats would foon corrupt in our 
 Stomachs, being otherwife mod nourifhing of their 
 own Nature. As for the juft Quantity and Pro¬ 
 portion of every thing belonging unto Sauces and 
 Pickles, albeit Apicius took great Pains therein, 
 writing whole Volumes of that Argument, yet 
 few of thofe Sauces agreed with molt Mens Na¬ 
 tures, and fome of them perhaps, if we might 
 perufe thofe Books, were grounded upon little or 
 no Reafon; wherefore I leave the directing of 
 them to particular Cooks, who by Experience can 
 beft aim at every Man’s Appetite, and know alfo 
 fufficiently how to correft that Flefh by artificial 
 Preparation and appropriated Sauce, which Nature 
 hath made queezy or heavy to indifferent Stomachs. 
 
 Some have put the Queftion, Whether there be 
 any Sauce but Appetite ? or whether it be good to 
 ufe Sauces ? 
 
 CHAP. XXVIII. 
 
 Of Variety of Meats, that it is necejjary 
 and convenient. 
 
 pHILOj a moft excellent Phyfician, having 
 *T invited Philinus to Supper, entertained him 
 with all kind of Fowl, Fifh and Fruit, killing alfo 
 as many Beafts as if he had purpofed to celebrate 
 
 an 
 
 n 
 
358 HealthV Improvement. 
 
 an Hecatomb : But his eloquent Gueft, for he 
 was counted the beft Counfellor at the Bar of A - 
 thens, either to reprove his Friend, or to try his 
 Oratory, accufed him at the Table of a double 
 Trefpafs, the one againft himfelf, the other againft 
 Nature. Againft himfelf, becaufe he allured him 
 to furfeit by Variety of Difhes ; againft Nature, 
 becaufe Nature teacheth us to feed but upon one 
 Meat, and-yet Philo himfelf did feed upon many. 
 But tell me, Philinus , for I am a Phyfician like- 
 wife, and fworn to defend my Teachers no lefs 
 than my Parents, how is it an unnatural thing to 
 feed upon many Diflies ? Marry, faith he, Na¬ 
 ture teacheth us to feed upon that which will 
 make us to remain longeft in Life and Health : 
 Wherefore if we would feed as Beafts do upon 
 fome one thing, we fliould outlive them ; where¬ 
 as now, through our Variety of Difhes, they out¬ 
 live us. 
 
 Again, do not you Phyficians, being but Na¬ 
 ture’s Minifters, difluade Men in Agues from 
 Diverfity of Meats, bringing unto them only fome 
 one Difti of a Rabbit limply roafted or boiled, nei¬ 
 ther fmelling nor tafting of any Mixture, nor 
 marred, or infected with Variety of Sauces ? Fur¬ 
 thermore doth not the Dyer’s Art inftrudt us, no 
 Colour keeps fo long in Cloth or Silk, as that 
 which is made by one Simple ? And is not the 
 fweeteft Oil marred by mingling, which being 
 kept alone by itfelf would be ever fragrant ? Even 
 fo fareth it likewife in Meats ; for any one Meat 
 of an indifferent Conftitution will be eafily con¬ 
 cocted, when many ftrive fo one with another, 
 whether of them fhall go out foremoft into the 
 Guts, that one ftayeth too long and is corrupted, 
 whilft the other is not half changed. 
 
Of Variety of Meats. 359 
 
 And tell me, Philo , why (hould it not be in 
 Meats as it in Wines ? doth not Variety of Wines 
 make bad Diftribution, and caufe Drunkennefs 
 fooner than if we kept to one Wine ? No doubt 
 it doth, elfe had the Law contra Allanias been fri¬ 
 volous and vain, precifely forbidding Vintners and 
 Waiters at the Table to mix one Wine with ano¬ 
 ther. Muficians likewife, by tuning all their In- 
 ftruments into one Harmony, plainly (hew what 
 Hurt cometh by Inequality and Change of Things. 
 Socrates was wont to fay, whom the great Oracle 
 of Apollo hath crowned for the wifeft Grecian , that 
 Variety of Meats is like a common Houfe of 
 Courtezans, which with Variety of Faces, Tick¬ 
 ings and Dreflings, rather empty than fill up Ve¬ 
 nus’s Treafury, kindling rather a Flame to con- 
 fume our Luft, than giving a gentle Pleat to con- 
 ferve our Lives. Wherefore when the Jars of 
 Crowders (hall be thought good Mufic, and ming¬ 
 led Wines allowed for Wholefomenefs, and whorifh 
 Allurements taken for Prefervers of Life; then 
 will I alfo confefs Variety of Difhes to be tolerable, 
 and that one Man at once may tafte and feed fafe- 
 ly of many Difhes. In the mean time let me ftill 
 commend the old Romans , who judged as ill of 
 common Feafters as of them which eredfed a 
 Baudy-houfe: And give me leave to imitate Plato, 
 who at a great Feaft fed on nothing but Olives, 
 thinking one Di(h mod wholefome where many 
 are. 
 
 Other Objections cgainjl Variety of Meats. 
 
 Thus much faid Philinus againft Philo , as Plu¬ 
 tarch writeth, whofe Arguments I will then an¬ 
 swer in order, when I have firit given a further 
 ' 2 Strength 
 
360 Health’.* Improvement. 
 
 Strength to his Aflertion, by other Proofs and Au¬ 
 thorities that himfelf perhaps did never dream of, 
 namely thefe. 
 
 Rogatianus^ noble Senator of Rome ,having fpent 
 much Money on Phyfic to no good purpofe, fed 
 afterwards, by his Friends Advice, never but upon 
 one Difli; whereby he was quit of his Grief for 
 many Years. Epicurus alfo placing all Felicity in 
 Health and Pleafure, fed but fparingly and fimply 
 upon one Difli, were it Roots, Apples, Pears, 
 Plums, or Pulfe-pottage ; for he never eat Fifli 
 nor Flefli, alfo he did eat but one kind of Bread, 
 and never drank but one fort of Drink, were it I 
 W ine or Water. Jovinianus Pontanus being a Ik¬ 
 ed why he never fed but upon one Difli; “ I ab- 
 ftain, /aid he , from many Meats, that many, nay, 
 that all Phyflcians may abftain from me.” 
 
 A Cook in Lacon being bidden by his Mafter 
 to drefs him a Piece of Flefli, he aiked of him 
 Cheefe and Oil to make the Sauce; to whom his 
 Mafter anfwered, Away, Fool, away; if I had 
 either Cheefe or Oil,.what needed I to have bought 
 a Piece of Flefli ? Whereby we perceive that in 
 old Times Men fed only upon one Difli, think¬ 
 ing it Folly to kill Hunger with many Meats, 
 when it may be killed with one. 
 
 Epaminondas alfo being invited to a Friend’s 
 Houfe, feeing the Variety of Diflies, departed 
 with thefe flouting Speeches: “ I will not trouble 
 thee, for I fee thou art facrificing to the Gods, 
 not making a Dinner to thy Friend. ” And yet 
 the Tables of the ancient Gods, being but indeed 
 Devils, had no great Variety upon them : For 
 when the Athenians did celebrate the great Fefti- 
 vals of Cajhr and Pollux , their Diflies were only 
 thefe, Cheefe, Mace, Olives and Leeks: After¬ 
 wards, 
 
Of Variety cf Meats. 361 
 
 wards, when Solon, to imitate Agamemnon'% Ex¬ 
 ample in Homer, added a Spice-cake, he was ra¬ 
 ther counted a Giver of ill Precedents to Men, 
 than any whit the more bountiful to the Gods. 
 
 The like may'we fay of the Romans, who of¬ 
 fered firft to their Gods no Flefli nor Fifh, but a 
 little Orchard and Garden-fruit, and of the Egyp¬ 
 tians whilft the Mameluks ruled over them ; and 
 of the Carthaginians, whofe famous quaternal 
 Feaft confided only of fourDifhes, dry Figs, ripe 
 Dates, green Leeks, and four Milk. Nay, to 
 come nearer to our own felves, the Scots, our fel¬ 
 low Wanders and northern Countrymen, begin¬ 
 ning the Morning with a tlender Breakfaft, did in 
 old times faft till Supper, feeding then but only of 
 one Difh, ufing generally fo temperate a Diet, 
 that not Judges and Kings, but Philofophers and 
 Phyficians feemed to have given them Precepts : 
 What need I remember, that Mofchus Antimolus 
 the great Sophifter lived all his Life-time only with 
 Figs; Stilpo only with Garlic ; St. Genoveve the 
 holy Maid of Paris, 35 Years only with Beans; 
 and Xoroajler, that filver-headed Neftor, 20 Years 
 in the Wildernefs only with Cheefe ; or that the 
 Kings of Egypt fed never upon more Meats than 
 cither Veal or Goflings ? Whereby we may un¬ 
 derhand that with one Difli Men lived a Ion? and 
 healthful Life, and that Variety of Difeales fprang 
 firft from Confufion and Variety of Meats, it is 
 written of the Romans, that whilft their greateft 
 Feafls had but three Dithes, the People were 
 found, healthful and fober ; hut when Augujius 
 the Emperor brought in three more, ana permit¬ 
 ted the Romans fo have three in their Houles, and 
 fix in their V emplc-feafts, his Riot is aid to have 
 corrupted Rome, and uiought in Phytic. Alfo 
 
 .... - whilft 
 
362 Health’j Improvement. 
 
 whilft the Laconians had little Difhes and little 
 Tables, fo that they could neither have many 
 Guefts, nor much Meat at their Board, Thrift, 
 Wealth and Health embraced one another ; after¬ 
 wards all went to Ruin when Variety of Difhes 
 were admitted, their Boards inlarged, and After- 
 courfes induced by the Jonians. The People of 
 Lithuania were very frugal, laborious and health¬ 
 ful, faith / Eneas Sylvius, till Sivitrigalus made them 
 exceed by his own Example, who had no fewer 
 than 130 Difhes at a Meal; whereupon his own 
 Life, and the happy Eftate of his Subjedts was 
 foon fhortened. What fhould I ftand upon the 
 Romans Riot in Antoninus Geta, Commodus (Adri¬ 
 an’s Son) Vitellius and Heliogabulus their Domi¬ 
 nions and Times of governing the Empire ? when 
 Dormife, Timber-worms and Snails were ferved 
 for Dainties; when the Livers of great Fifhes, 
 the Brains of Pheafants and young Peacocks, the 
 Kernels of Lampreys, brought by Fly-boats and 
 Light-horfenren out of Spain to Rome , when in¬ 
 finite Numbers of Nightingales Tongues, the 
 Brawns of Kings-fifhers, Pheafants-combs, Pea- 
 cocks-gizards and Wrens-livers, were made alto¬ 
 gether into one Pie ; when finally three Courfes 
 came daily to Geta ’s Board, and as many Difhes 
 at each Ccurfe as there be Letters in the Alphabet. 
 But what followed ? Marry, infinite Difeafes and 
 infinite Phyficians ; whereof fome were fo igno¬ 
 rant that they tormented the People worfe than 
 Sicknefs, in fuch fort that Galen, Hcrophilus, E- 
 raftjlratus , and divers Greek Phyficians were fent 
 for to recover them, languifhing and confumed 
 almoft with Fevers, whereinto through Excefs and 
 ' Variety of Meats they were juftly fallen. 
 
Of Vdriely of Meats. 363- 
 
 So likewife fell it out with the Ifraelites , who 
 in the Wilder nefs longed fir ft for the Fifh of 
 gypt, then for Cucumbers, Pompions, Leeks, 
 Garlic, and Onions. Then being fed with Manna 
 from Heaven, they loathed it becaufe it was but 
 one Meat. Laft of all Quails came down, yet 
 were they never fatisfied with one Meat, were it 
 never fo good, coveting ftill Change and Variety 
 were it never fo bad ; wherein both they and we 
 fhew plainly from what Root we are firft fprung. 
 For when our firft Parents might eat of all Trees 
 and Fruits in Paradife, yet the Shew, Lure and 
 Defire of Variety made them touch and tafte the 
 unbidden Fruit. After the Flood, when Flefh, 
 Fifh and Fruit, were permitted to be indifferent¬ 
 ly eaten, and Blood and Fat only forbidden, yet 
 we gather up the Blood and Fat of Beafts to make 
 us Puddings, and abftain not, for Recovery of 
 Confumptions, to fuck the hot leaping and vital 
 Blood out of one another’s Veins. Neither are 
 we contented to feed, as wife Men fhould do, 
 upon wholefome Meats, but we mingle with them. 
 Venifon of wild Bears, the Flefh of fcabby Cuc- 
 kows, the Spawn of Whales, Sturgeons and Tun¬ 
 nies, and other very loathfome Things, only for 
 Variety’s fake and Delight of Change. Licinius , 
 tho’ he fed upon many Difhes, yet he muft end his 
 Meals with a Lamprey-Pie. Lucius never fup’d 
 without Oyfters, nor Sergius without a Dorry : 
 whereupon they were jeftly nicked by thefe Names, 
 Z.zY/«/«r-Lamprey, Sergius-Dorry, and Lucius - 
 Oyfterman. 
 
 Thus inborn Impiety, ingrafted by Propagation 
 from Adam and Eve, hath made us to lofe the 
 Defire of Unity in all Things, coveting Variety 
 of Meats, Drinks and Women, yea, of Gods 
 
 Q. 2 ar.d 
 
364 Health’^ Improvement. 
 
 and Religion, never contented with what is given 
 for our Good, butdefirous of that which we fnatch 
 for our own Hurt. 
 
 An Apology for Variety of Meats, anfiuering 
 the former Objections. 
 
 Hitherto I have fpoken much from Philinus *s 
 own Mouth, and more from mine own in his Be¬ 
 half, to oppugn the Variety of Meats. Now read 
 I pray you with the like Patience, how I fhall de¬ 
 fend Philo againfl Philinus , and prove apparently 
 that Variety of Meats is both at Board, and in our 
 Stomachs, mod agreeable to Nature, and confe- 
 quently beneficial to maintain us in Health. 
 
 j Firjl, therefore, Philinus abufed our Ears, in 
 faying, that all Beafls feed only upon fome one 
 kind of Meat: For Eupolides's Goats, yea, and 
 ours too, feed uponThvme, Mint, Hyffop, Heath, 
 Ivy, Oaken-buds, Beech, Afh, Mullen, Chervil 
 and Tamarifk, and many other Herbs differing no 
 lefs in Tafle, Smell, Subfiance and Virtue one 
 from another. What Shepherd is ignorant that 
 his Flock feedeth upon Filipendula, Daifies, Mouf- 
 car, Couflips, Lambs-tongue, Milk-wort, Saxi¬ 
 frage and little Mullen? )et work they no worfe 
 Effedl in their Stomachs than if they had only been 
 fed with Grafs : What fhould T fpeak of the O- 
 ilrich, which devoureth Iron and Pap together, 
 *nd refufeth no Meat, unlefs Men had alfo an 
 Oflrich’s Stomach ? Only let him ferve to dis¬ 
 prove Philinus avouching all Beafls and Birds to 
 tyc themfelves as it were to one Meat, and not to 
 cat at once of divers Nourifhments. 
 
 Secondly, Where it was affirmed that brute Beafls 
 and Birds outlive Men, becaufe they are of a 
 
 fimpler 
 
Of Variety of Meats. 365 
 
 fimplerDiet; I mud pardon Philiuus, being a 
 Heathen, and ignorant of the Scriptures; where¬ 
 in Metbufalem and divers Patriarchs are regifter’d 
 to have Jived longer than any Bead or Bird what- 
 foever, called fitly of Hcmer by the Name of Mor¬ 
 tals, as upon whom more Rots, Murrens, Achs, 
 Difeafes and Plagues do light, than ufually happen 
 unto Men. Nay, go to your Raven and Stag, 
 thofe longed Livers of all the unreafonable Breath¬ 
 ers; feeds.not the Raven upon all Flefli ? eats 
 not the Stag of all Herbs, Boughs and Mad, that 
 comes in his Way ? yea, feedeth he not fome- 
 times upon Snakes and Adders ? 
 
 Thirdly , The Phyficians giving of fimple Meats 
 to aguifh Perfons, proveth no more that Varie'.y 
 is not good for mod Men, than that becaufe Ther- 
 fiies can hardly carry his fingle Spear, therefore 
 Agamemnon fhall not put on his compleat Armour. 
 
 Fourthly , The Sedition and Tumults foolifnly 
 feared, and rafhly prefuppofed, to be in Meats of 
 divers kinds, alflidfing the Stomach either at the 
 time of Concodlion or Digedion, that Reafon of 
 all other js mod unreafonable : For who would or 
 cm imagine, that Man, the Epitome or Abdraft 
 of the whole World, in whom fomething of every 
 thing (to fpeak Platonically and yet truly) is placed 
 and inferred, could live ever or long in Health 
 without Variety of Meats ? Hippocrates feeing 
 fuch Variety of Simples rooted, fprouted and 
 quickened upon the Earth, gathereth thereupon 
 very truly and learnedly, that there lie hidden in 
 the Earth all kinds of Tades, Smells, Liquors and 
 Heats, and that it is not (as fome imagine) a dry 
 and cold Dud, void of all "Fade,Heat and Moidurc. 
 
 Much more then may 1 judly avouch, that many 
 Meats may and do bed agree with mod Mens Sto- 
 
 Q. 3 machs, 
 
366 Health^ Improvement. 
 
 machs, in whofe Bodies not only firm Flefh, but 
 alfo thin Blood, fweet Phlegm, bitter G2II, and 
 fburifh Melancholy is necefTiry to be preferved; 
 wherefore let hot Meats, cold Meats, moift Meats, 
 dry Meats, bitter Meats, fait Meats, light Meats ! 
 and heavy Meats be mingled together in ail indif¬ 
 ferent Stomach, fo that they be well prepared, ; 
 orderly taken, and no Error committed in Time, 
 Meafure and Quantity, no Sedition or Tumult 
 will arife, no not fo much as if the Stomach had 
 taken but one Meat; for, according to thatoeco- 
 nomical Diflribution of Empedocles , 
 
 Sweet Jlrailways voill itfelf to fweet apply , 
 
 Sharp runs to jharp , with Gall doth bitter ly ; 
 
 Hot Drinks and Ad cats to fiery parts afeend , 
 kVh'dJl cold and tnoijl to watery Members tend . 
 
 And no marvel, confidering that natural Heat, 
 like a good Steward, difiolveth the Mafs into a 
 creamy Subftance, running thorough all himfelf, 
 that he may give unto all their due Nourifhment. 
 Wherefore fince this little World of ours was 
 created full of Variety, why fhould we t} e our 
 Stomachs only to Fruit, Fifh or Flefh, when God 
 in his Gcodnefs hath given us all of them ? 
 
 Nay, furthermore, fince Man can digeft more 
 forts of Meats, Stones and Metals, being rightly 
 prepared, than either the Goat, Raven or Ofirich, 
 why fhould his Power be bridled by any unnatural 
 Edidf, proceeding rather from the Brain of a 
 fenlelefs Head, than from the deep and mature 
 Judgment of any Phyfici m ? For Senfe teacheth 
 us, that moil compound Bodies muft feed upon 
 divers Meats; and that not Variety but Satiety,, 
 not Quality but Quantity, not fimply taking but 
 
 unorderly 
 
Of Variety of Meals. 367 
 
 unorderly taking of them, out of Time, out of 
 Seafon, and out of their due Place and Proportion, 
 caufeth that Diflentlon and Tumult in our Bellies, 
 whence all manner of Diflikings or Difcontent- 
 ments arife, and at which, to ufe Hippocrates’s 
 Words, Nature is dijlraftccl, troubled , and, as it 
 \were , gnajheth her Teeth. 
 
 As for that Simile of Dyers, and the other of 
 i'weet Oil, and the third of Mufic, they are all 
 more childifh than worthy of an Anfwer. 
 
 For fimple Colours, as white and black, are not 
 the purefi, for then the Skies fhould bear them ; 
 yea, the pared Jewels give mod Variety of Co¬ 
 lours and Lights in their own kind. And whereas 
 Cloth dyed with feme one Simple keepeth longed 
 his Colour in Phiiiuus 's Opinion, it is little mate¬ 
 ria! if it 'were true, conddering Meat is not given 
 to dye our Bodies, but to be transformed into our 
 Subftance. 
 
 Again, tho’ a fweet Oil keepeth bed his Scent 
 and Perfe&ion whild it is unmingled, yet that dif- 
 proveth not the Neceflity of Mixtures, for whofe 
 fakes Simples were no lefs created than Confonants 
 and Vowels appointed to bring forth Syllables : 
 Wherefore I laugh, whild others praife and extol 
 Gucvarraes Folly, who like another j Erajijlrates, 
 whom he apifhly followeth in many Points, com- 
 plaineth of compound Medicines, reducing all 
 kind of Agues to be cured with a plain Ptifan , a 
 thin Cucumber-milk, and a little Water and Oil 
 mingled together. Foolifh Bidiop, 1 deride thy 
 Ignorance, becaufe thou deferved not to be pity’d, 
 deriding others. Go to the little Bee, thou great 
 Ideot, and tell me if thou cand number out of 
 how many Flowers Honey is made. Honey, I 
 fay, the fwesteft Meat and bed Medicine of all 
 
 0, 4 others 4 
 
368 Health’^ Improvement. 
 
 others; yea, the very Quintefcence, as Ifaac the 
 Netherlander writeth, and refined Marrow of 
 infinite wholefome and good Vegetables. Can 
 that imperfect Creature perfectly convert fo many 
 divers Juices into one fovereign Meat, and may 
 not Man, the perfected: Creature of all others, 
 do the like in his Stomach, when he feedeth of 
 many good and wholefome Difhes ? As for Sc- 
 traies’s Comparifon, whom Jpolio himfelf termed 
 the Prince of Sages, I anfwer thus: 
 
 W hat tho’ Variety he to the Stomach, as choice 
 of fair Women in a weak Man’s Eye, caufing 
 more ftrong an Appetite than Reafon or Nature 
 would ? By the fame Argument we might as well 
 reprove Cleanlinefs in handling, Skill in feafoning, 
 and Handfomnefs or Neatneis in ferving in our 
 Meats, becaufe when thefe concur we feed more 
 largely ; which if it be a Fault, let Philinus here¬ 
 after eat Bread made of Meal which was never 
 bouhed, and Parfneps and Raddifh never wafh’d 
 nor feraped ; let him eat of boil’d Meat that was 
 never feum’d, and of dry, lean Birds, fuch as 
 Curtius threw out at the Window, never bailed, 
 and of bitter Feldefares never drawn. 
 
 But I, and all wife Men with me, will confider, 
 that as Honefty and Delight may be match’d toge¬ 
 ther, fo Cleanlinefs and Variety is no Hindrance 
 to a good Stomach or good Digeftion, but rather 
 an Help and Friend to both. Nay, itfarethwith 
 our Stomachs as it doth with Sailors, who can 
 eafily pull in the Sheet when they have too much 
 Wind, but cannot enlarge it when they have too 
 little ; for fo likewife it is a fmall Labour or Cun¬ 
 wing to kill Appetite by only feeing and feeding 
 upon one Difh, but to revive it being extinguilh- 
 ed, ot to fharpen it being dulled, requireth no 
 
 little 
 
Of Variety of Meats J 369 
 
 little Art, and confifteth chiefly in Variety and 
 well dreffing of Meats. 
 
 Item, To anfwer in a Word, the Law contra 
 Allcenias ; I grant the thing, but I deny the Equi¬ 
 ty : For what greater Reafon have we to mingle 
 Wine and Water, which was forbidden but at 
 drunken Feafts, than to mingle a tart Wine with 
 a pleafant, a temperate Wine with a hot Sack, 
 and a fourer, when Occafion perfuadeth, with 
 Alecant, or a harfh Binder ? "1 herefore, to re¬ 
 
 turn PhilinuPs own Sword into his own Bofom, 
 as it is not unlawful, by the Law of Reafon and 
 Nature, nay, as it is neceffary and expedient to 
 mingle Wines for fome Perfons; fo Variety of 
 Meats taken orderly at one*Meal, are lawful, ne- 
 ceffary and expedient. 
 
 Moreover, to beat him again with his own Si- 
 milies, I confefs all Inftruments of Mufic to be 
 tuned to one Harmony; but being fo tuned, 
 if the Muficians play ever (like the Cuckow) but 
 one Song, will not the Ear and Head be wearied 
 and offended ? Nay, will they not in time be both 
 fick ? Can the Eye fee at once many Obje&s, 
 the Ears hear many Inftruments playing together, 
 and (Philinus) lhall not the Stomach as well con- 
 codf, keep and digeft tor the Body many Meats ? 
 But when Reafon faileth, thou haft almoft daunt-r 
 ed Philo with inartificial Arguments, drawn from 
 Antiquity, Examples, Cuftoms-, and Sanctions of 
 Senators. 
 
 Now if by the like Arguments I confirm Va¬ 
 riety, I doubt not but, like a Scholar, I may cry 
 Quittance ; but if, furthermore, I confute thy 
 Authorities, as being either falfified or unaptly 
 .applied, thou fhalt live in my Debt till the next 
 Audit, 
 
 0.5 
 
 Where- 
 
37° Health’^ Improvement* 
 
 Wherefore to begin with Rogatianus ; albeit for 
 many Years he was delivered of the Gout, yet 
 Calms avoucheth not that he was perfe&ly cured. 
 And Epicurus, tho’he fed but upon oneDifh at a 
 Meal, yet perhaps at every Meal he fed on a fe- 
 veral Difh. Pontanus alfo was a weak and fickly 
 Man, to whom I confefs many Difhes, efpecially 
 being of contrary Kinds or Qualities, are not to be 
 permitted. Neither doth the Gentleman’s An¬ 
 swer in Lacon prove more the Ufe • than of one 
 Difh at a Meal, than his Cook’s Demand inferreth 
 the Ufe and Mingling of many Meats. But if 
 by the few Difhes upon the Altars of Heathen 
 Gods, thou thinkeft to prove that Men at home 
 feed only upon one Meat, thou art much deceived, 
 for hereafter I will plainly demonftrate that they 
 fed on many. As for the old Scottijb Cuftom, 
 iuppofe it were true,- yet fure I am, that fince 
 King Arthur's Days, who lived fomeYears before 
 Cbrjft, their own Chronicler recordeth them to 
 have ufed great Variety of Difhes. That Mofchus 
 Ar.thnolus lived only with Figs, it is no great Mar¬ 
 vel, when he hated from his Cradle all other 
 Meat. Stllpo alfo fed only on Garlic, becaufe his 
 Poverty was fuch that he could buy nothing elfe. 
 As for Genoveve the holy Maid of Paris , albeit I 
 fufpedf Marulus for a common Liar, yet he faith, 
 4hat her feeding fo long upon one Difh confumed 
 her Body, and that upon the Bifhop’s Licence fhe 
 was inforced to eat Milk in Lent. Zoroajler was 
 
 doubt a moft learned Philofopher, who if he 
 lived twenty Years in the Wildernefs only with 
 one Cheefe, no doubt it was fame great Cheefe, 
 Pike to Parmifan , full of Variety, and not made 
 of one but many Milks. As for the monftrous 
 Riot of the Ionians , Lithuanians , and latter Ro- 
 
 mans 3 
 
Of the Quantity of Meats. 371 
 
 #w«r, drawn from the Example and Imitation of 
 thofe wicked Princes and Emperors, I detefl: and 
 abhor it as much as Philinus , afcribing unto ex- 
 ceflive Variety as many Mifchiefs of Body and 
 Mind, as temperate Variety brings Profits, Health- 
 refrelhings and Pleafures to them both. The 
 fews murmuring doth as little pleafe me ; for tho* 
 Nature told them that one Meat could not conve¬ 
 niently nourilh every Man, efpecially fuch as were 
 accuftomed forty Years together in Egypt to feed 
 diverfly; yet when every Man felt that one Meat 
 fent by God did miraculcufly preferve Man, Wo¬ 
 man and Child, agreeing with all Ages, Times, 
 Perfons and Complexions, they ought to have been 
 contented; being as perfectly nourilhed with one 
 Dilh as any of us can be with many. 
 
 Laft of all, that Example of Adam and Eve is 
 moft violently wrefted againfl: Variety, whereas 
 rather it is an Argument againft Unity ; for fup- 
 pofe they had at once tailed of all Fruits in the 
 Garden, could they have been fick upon it ? No 
 verily, but the fading of one alone (I mean the 
 forbidden one) was the Parent and Author of all 
 Difeafes: Wherefore the Variety of wholefome 
 Meats fet down by Phyficians are not offenfive, 
 when one Dilh forbidden may prove dangerous; 
 as I could prove by many Reafons, did not Expe¬ 
 rience clear it with her Sun-fhine. 
 
 Now to anfwer Examples alfo with Examples; 
 tho’ the Kings of Egypt had no great Variety of 
 Bifhes, yet that they ever fed on two at the leaft, 
 Diodorus Siculus reports. And if the old Romans 
 fed not diverfiy, why had they ufually three Difhes 
 at their Table ? The Perftans , tho’ they had but 
 few Meats, yet they abounded in Salads and Jun¬ 
 kets, The old Grecians contrariwife ufed much 
 
 Q_ 6 Meat 
 
37 2 Health^ Improvement. 
 
 Meat and few Junkets; yea, I read that Plato 
 himfelf when Socrates and Menippus fupped with 
 him, had fix feveral Difhesathis Table,Figs, Peas, 
 Beans, Whortle-berries, roafted Beech-nuts, and 
 Wafers in the End to clofe up their Stomachs, 
 whereof they all fed, faving that Menippus fet afide 
 the Wafer-cakes with his Hand, faying, that A 
 fiueet After-courfe makes a Jlinking Breath. An¬ 
 other time I read, that Plato fet before his loving 
 Friends and fellow Citizens, Olives, Herb-falads, 
 divers kinds of Flefh and Fifh, and laft of all new 
 Cheefe ; whereby any wife Man may gather that 
 the Antients fed upon many Difhes of oppofite 
 kinds, and gratified their Stomachs (which every 
 Man’s Stomach coveteth) with Variety of Meats. 
 As for our own Nation, for whom chiefly I write 
 this Treatife, Heftor Boetius avoucheth, that 
 Engltfhmen from before King Arthur's Days, were 
 accuftomed to feed much and very diverfly. And 
 Paulus Jovius writeth thus ; 4 The whole Nation 
 of Englijhmen delight ftill, as ever they did here¬ 
 tofore, in feafting and making of good Chear, 
 
 *• eating much Meat, and of many forts, prolong¬ 
 ing their Sittings with Mufic and Merriments, 
 and afterwards fporting themfelves in fet Dances.* 
 Wherefore fince we are naturally defirous of 
 many Meats, and have Stomachs above all other 
 Nations able to digeft them ; and Cuflom alfo 
 hath confirmed our Variety of Difhes (which can¬ 
 not even in bad things be fuddenly altered without 
 a Mifchief) I perfuade flrong and indifferent Sto¬ 
 machs to continue their ufed Diet, feeding order¬ 
 ly and foberly of divers Meats. Divers I fay, but 
 not too many ; for I like not, duhias Ccenas y the 
 doubtful Feafts of Cardinal IVolfey , nor the Abbot 
 of GlaJJenbury’ s Diet, who were ferved with fo 
 
 many 
 
Of Variety of Meats. 373 
 
 many forts of Dainties that one might flagger and 
 doubt where firft to begin his Dinner; nor the 
 ancient Tables of London , where, as Diogenes faid 
 of Maronia , every Citizen’s Houfe in a manner 
 was a Cook’s Shop, till Plenty of Mouths made 
 Penury of Provision, and Dearth of Corn and 
 Vifluals lately taught them Sobriety. 
 
 Laft of all, where the Proverb faith, that many 
 Dijhes make many Difeafes ; it hurteth not our Po- 
 fition and Defence of Variety : For not Diverfity 
 but Multitude offended our Stomachs, that is to 
 fay, more Diverfity of Meats than they can well 
 abide : Accordingly as much Meat hurteth not 
 Conco&ion, but that which is over much, taken 
 in too great a Quantity, whereof we are now to 
 difcourfe in the next Chapter. 
 
 As for Variety of Meats in the Time of Sick- 
 nefs, let us hear what Galen faith : tc Diverfity 
 “ of Meats are as neceffary in Sicknefs, if it be 
 “ a compound Sicknefs, as Variety of Medicines* 
 “ Fora hot Liver requireth a cooling Meat, and 
 « a cold Stomach that which is hot: And if a 
 “ mix’d Difeafe have made a mix’d Diffempera- 
 <c ture in any Part, there divers and compound 
 “ Meats be of Neceffity required. Otherwife 
 “ many Meats, efpecially of contrary Kind, Sub- 
 “ fiance and Quality, are mod hurtful and tumul- 
 “ tuous. Com. in. 1. de vidi. rat. in ac. cap, 3. Lf 
 3. de vidt. rat. in ac. cap. 35. & primo in Fund, 
 cap. 18. Whereby we may eafily perceive, that 
 Variety of Meats is permitted fometimes to the 
 Sick, yea, tho’ it be joined with Contrariety of 
 Kinds. 
 
 CHAP. 
 
"374 Health *s Improvement. 
 
 \ 
 
 C H A P. XXIX. 
 
 Of the Quantity of Meats. 
 
 npHAT Saying of the wife Man, Eat not too 
 much Honey , fheweth unto us, that even the 
 moft wholefome and nourifhing Meat of all others 
 will prove dangerous and hurtful to our Health, 
 if it be not fobcrly and meafurably eaten. Tem¬ 
 perance being not only the Carver, but alfo the 
 Commander at our Tables. 
 
 We find likewife feveral Sayings recorded, as 
 that we mud eat by Reafon and not by Appetite ; 
 that ftrait girding makes little eating ; that in time 
 of Famine, tho’ we defire mod, Satiety is mod 
 perillous; that in rainy Weather little Meat, little 
 Drink, and much Exercife within Doors is bed ; 
 that melancholy Perfons eat much, choleric drink 
 much, phlegmatic fleep much; great Livers great 
 Eaters; that a lean Woman is a Tavern of Blood ; 
 that they which eat little, are never good Tra¬ 
 velers. The Spaniard eats, the German drinks, 
 and the Englijk exceeds in both. 
 
 Temperance, what it is. 
 
 But would you know what Temperance is ? It 
 is a Virtue, timely, moderately and comely ufing 
 thofe Things, which be truly neceflary and natu¬ 
 ral. For fome Things be both neceflary and na¬ 
 tural, without which we cannot live, as Meat 
 and Drink; others natural but not neceflary, 
 
 without 
 
Of Variety of Meats. 375 
 
 without Ufe of which many of us may live, and 
 live in Health, as Venus-game ; others necef- 
 fary but not natural, as ftrong Exercifes for fome 
 Bodies ; others neither natural nor necelTary, as 
 over curious Cookery, making line Meat of a 
 Whetllonft, and quelque-cbofes of unfavoury, nay, 
 of bad and unwholefome Meat. There be two 
 Vices equally oppofite to this Virtue 5 Surfeiting, 
 when a Man eateth more than either his Stomach 
 can hold or his Strength digeft ; and Sell-pining, 
 when we eat lefs than our Nature craveth, and is 
 able to overcome. 
 
 The fir It of them, namely Surfeiting and Ex- 
 cefs, tho’ it be a Vice of all others molt hurtful 
 to the Body, and confequently noifom to the Mind, 
 yet we read that whole Nations, Emperors and 
 Potentates, have bothelteemed, honoured and re¬ 
 warded it for a Virtue : For the Sicilians dedi¬ 
 cated a Temple to Gluttony, and Arijicphanes 
 writeth thus of the Barbarians : 
 
 Them only Men Barbarians think , 
 
 That can devour mojl Meat and Drink. 
 
 Of this Crew was Maximinus the Emperor, 
 who, like our old Abbay-lubbers, did eat till he 
 fweat ; yea, Sabellicus afSrmetb, that his one 
 Day’s Sweat gathered up in Goblets, did amount 
 to the Meafure of fix Sextaries. Claudius Ceefar 
 and VitelliuSy the Emperor, were like unto him, 
 eating commonly fo much that they w'ere forced 
 once or twice in a Meal to go out and vomit, 
 and then returned to the Table again, giving a 
 frelh Charge to a forelorn Stomach. And tho’ 
 Aurelianus the Emperor fed moderately himfelf, 
 yet he exceedingly loved and honoured a great 
 
 Gour- 
 
376 Health’^ Improvement. 
 
 Gourmand, who ufually at one Meal did eat a 
 Hog, two Wethers, and a whole Brawn, drink¬ 
 ing upon it a whole Firkin of Wine poured down 
 his Throat thorough a Funnel: Alfo Firmius Sa- 
 lencius did eat a whole Oftrich in a Day ; and 
 Clodius Albinus , Commander for the Romans in 
 France , is regifter’d to have eaten at one Sitting’ 
 500 Figs, 100 Peaches, 10 Mufk-melons, 20 lb. 
 weight of Raifins of the Sun, 100 Snipes, 10 Ca¬ 
 pons, and 150 great Oyfters. 
 
 Neither was our Country always void of a Wool- 
 mar, who living in my Memory in the Court, 
 feemed like another Pandareus , of whom Antonius 
 Liberalis writeth thus much, that he had obtain¬ 
 ed this Gift of the Goddefs Ceres , to eat Iron, 
 Glafs, Oyfter-ftiells, raw Fifh, raw Flefh, raw 
 Fruit, and whatfoever elfe he would put into his 
 Stomach, without Offence ; yea, as Monica , Au- 
 gujline’s Mother, was given to Excefs of Wine, 
 fo himfelf, fuch are even godly Mens Imperfecti¬ 
 ons at fome times, confeffeth his own Pronenefs 
 and Inclination to Riot, in thefe Words: “ O 
 Lord, thou haft taught me to ufe Meat not for 
 Luft and Wantonnefs, but for Life and Health. 
 Neverthelefs when I fit down for Reflection’s fake, 
 the Snares of Concupifcence and Surfeit lie in my 
 way like crafty Fowlers, and the Maid prefumeth 
 above her Miftrefs; fo that it is doubtful whether 
 Neceflity or Riot be Commander, and hardly can 
 I refift Riot’s Defire, no tho’ it afterwards bring- 
 eth me to great Pain.” And no Marvel, Auguf- 
 tine : For, from whence cometh Sorenefs and 
 Wearinefs, Heavinefs of Spirits, Dulnefs of Senfes, 
 StifFnefs and Pains of Joints, Unweildinefs, Belch- 
 ings, Crudities, Fevers, Diftaftings of Meet, 
 Lofs of Appetite, and other tempeltuous Evils, 
 
 but 
 
Of the Quantity of Meats. 377 
 
 but from Repletion, Surfeity and Satiety ? What 
 Weaknefs of Body cometh by Excefs of eating, 
 we need no more Examples than this of our own 
 Countrymen, which Boethius noteth, in his Scot - 
 tijh Hiftory of King Arthur and his Knights, who 
 having recovered York from the Saxons and Pi£is y 
 in fpite of their Beards, kept there fuch a grand 
 Chrijimas , that afterwards fighting again with the 
 Saxons , his Soldiers were found fo weakened with 
 furfeiting, that their Arrows could hardly pierce 
 the Saxons furr’d Doublets, being able before to 
 flrike thorough their Iron Armour. What Scho¬ 
 lar hath not read of Herodotus , the Minftrel of 
 Megara , whofe Girdle in the Waift was three 
 Yards and a half long, or of Milo Crotoniates that 
 great Pamphagus ? Yet they died both very weak 
 Men and young, by oppreffing flrong Nature with 
 too heavy Burdens. The Stoicks imputed all Dif- 
 eafes to Age, but Erajijlratus did not ill to afcribe 
 either all or mod of them to Excefs ; for if a Man 
 feed too much, three principal Difcommodities 
 arife thereof: Firft, all natural Spirits leave their 
 feveral Standings, and run headlong to the Sto¬ 
 mach to perfect Conco&ion; which if with all 
 their Forces they cannot perform, then Brain and 
 Body are over-mafter’d with heavy Vapours and 
 Humours: But fuppofe they perform it, what 
 folioweth but foggy Fat inftead of Flefh ? or at 
 the leaft fuch abundance of both, that no Sove¬ 
 reignty nor Ability is left for the Adlions of the 
 Mind ? Which, as Menander well noteth in one 
 of his Comedies, 
 
 Dcfireth not to play with Swine , 
 
 Nor dwell in Hogjheads full of Wine. 
 
 For 
 
37 8 11 ealth’j Improvement. 
 
 For Heraclitus was of a right Opinion, That 
 the wife/i Scul ciweUetb in the moji empty Body ; 
 which we may partly illuftrate by thefe Examples. 
 The moift Eye feeth wortl; the fulleft Veffel 
 foundet'h leaft, and the Sun hardly fhineth thorough' 
 a cloudy Air. Even fo in a full and troubled 
 Body, over-poifed with Variety and Plenty of 
 Meats, the Eye of our Mind muft needs be dark-' 
 ned, the Voice of Reafon cannot be heard, and 
 the Sunfhine of Underftanding cannot Ihine into 
 our Hearts, being deftitute of Will, and much 
 more of Ability to execute any thing that is good : 
 Nay, through forfeiting we live groveling and 
 groping after bafe Delights, as Hogs do for Acorns, 
 being difabled fo much as to think a good Thought. 
 
 Hippocrates and Galen fay, that the Bodies of 
 ordinary great Feeders ftand upon a dangerous 
 Point, or as you would fay, upon the Razor’s 
 Edge; for if they feed moderately, Alteration of 
 Cuftom hazards their Health ; if they periift in 
 Excefs, they are fuddenly ftrangled with Apo¬ 
 plexies, as Ceelius hath well noted. 
 x To prevent all which SicknefTes both of Body 
 and Mind, Oh what fevere and good Laws were 
 there made by Fannius Didius , Licinius Crajfus , 
 Cornelius Sylla , Lepidus and Antius Rejlio again ft 
 Riot ? Yet the Concord of Vices fo prevailed, 
 that Luft continued Excefs, Excefs brought forth 
 Unrulinefs, Unrulinefs Contempt of Government, 
 whence came fatal Deftrudtion to the Roman Mo¬ 
 narchy. 
 
 The Scots punifhed their Belly-gods in this fort j 
 firft, they filled their Bellies as full of good Meat 
 as ever they could hold ; then they gagged them, 
 and threw them into the next River with their 
 
 Arms 
 
Of the Quantity of Meats. 379 
 
 Arms pinion’d, faying. Now as thou haft eaten too 
 much , fo drink too much. 
 
 Plutarch remembereth, that, by the Athenians 
 Law, whofoever did flay a living Beaft, he fhould 
 be hang’d as a Felon, becaufe they would not have 
 a Bealt tormented •, which Punifhment if It were 
 juft, as it feemed juft in Xenocrates' s Opinion, 
 then what Pains ought they to endure, who by 
 furfeiting not only torture, but alfo moft unnatu¬ 
 rally feek to kill themfelves, making their Graves 
 with their own Teeth, flaying and unfkinmng 
 themfelves as it were of Reafon’s Robe, yea, un¬ 
 folding their Bodies, being dedicated Temples to 
 the Holy Ghoft, as much as in them lieth with 
 the Form of Swine ? 
 
 The fecond Vice, namely Self-pining, is as far 
 from Temperance on the right bland, as Surfeit¬ 
 ing erreth on the left. Sozomenus maketh mention 
 of a Monk in Ccvlo-fyria , called Battheus , fading 
 voluntarily fo long till his Teeth were full of 
 Worms. And in the Legendary, St. Francis , 
 St. Bennet, St. Rainulph> and divers other Men, 
 Maids and Women, are highly extolled for con- 
 fuming their Bodies with excefflve Abftinence ; 
 which being a thing againft Nature and Godlinefs, 
 which forbiddeth us to fcourge or mark, and 
 much more to continue our Bodies, it fhall need 
 no Confutation at all, efpecially in this gluttonous 
 A°c, wherein vve are fo far from any'fuch falling, 
 that we wholly delight in Riot and beading. Only 
 let me fay thus much out of Hippocrates , that a 
 very thin and precife Diet is not to be prefcribed 
 to any one of indifferent Health and Strength ; 
 nor fcarce to any, except their Difeafe be exceed¬ 
 ing {harp, which are very weak . bor the pre- 
 fcribuw of Meat by Drams or Ounces, driveth 
 
 many 
 
380 Health’j Improvement. 
 
 many Fears into a weak Man’s Mind, taketh all 
 Alacrity from the Heart, maketh a Man jealous 
 of his own Fingers, daring to eat nothing with 
 Chearfulnefs, becaufe he ever fufpe&eth that he ' 
 eateth too much. Hence came that golden Apho- 
 rifm, tho’ not regifter’d in his Aphorifms: 1 
 
 An Over-yielding lengtheneth the Griefs 
 But timely Per miff on maketh it brief. 
 
 As for Temperance, which I can never enough 
 reverence or commend, would to God it were as 
 well praCtifed of every particular Man, as it is 
 neceflarily required to be in Phyftcians. Firft, 
 That by long I ife they may, with Galen and 
 Hippocrates , get Perfection in that Art which they 
 profefs; whereas now many Phyficians are buried 
 under a DoCtcr’s Name, before they ever tailed 
 of Hygea her Cup, or faluted Panacea afar off. 
 Secondly, If they by furfeiting or fading hurt 
 their own Bodies, how fhall their Doctrine be 
 followed by their Patient, when it is broken and 
 eroded by themfelves ? 
 
 The rude Per fans are recorded to have ever 
 fed fo temperately, that to fpit or blow their Nofe 
 was both execrable and punifhable amongll them. 
 Likewife they, as alfo the Romans, permitted any 
 Man to give him that yawned a Blow on the Ear, 
 becaufe Spitting, Sniveling and Yawning, are 
 only the Fruits of Fulnefs or Idlenefs. Much 
 more fhould learned Phyficians moderate them- 
 felves, who give Laws to others, and not raftily 
 run into that Excefs, which even the favage Scy¬ 
 thians and Per fans ever abhorred. 
 
 It is alfo recorded of the Spanijh Women, that 
 a certain Girdle is kept of fome two Foot long 
 in every 1 own, which if any Woman’s Belly 
 
 exceeds 
 
Of the Qjantily of Meats. 381 
 
 exceeds in Compafs, unlefs it be by Child-going, 
 they are counted deteftable and infamous: Let it 
 be therefore a greater Shame for us, Phyficians, 
 by ill Example, to purchafe our own Difcredit, 
 and alfo to leflen our Skill, and fhorten our Lives 
 as much as lieth in our own Power : For Theo- 
 phra/lus falfly accufed Nature, in that (he gave 
 long Life to Ravens and Crows, whom it little 
 profited, and but a fhort time to Men, and the 
 fhorteft of all to Students, whom Reafon would 
 have to live long for the mutual Benefit one of 
 another, and the public Good of the Common¬ 
 wealth. More juftly he might have accufed Men 
 and Students themfelves, for abridging their natu¬ 
 ral Days by Surfeiting and Drunkennefs, Cham¬ 
 bering and Wantonnefs, Excefs and Riot; con- 
 fidering that Nature ever molt prefervcth and ten- 
 dereth the moft worthy Creature, did it not de- 
 ftroy and ruin itfelf. 
 
 7 imotheus having fupped with Plato , and eaten, 
 contrary to his Cuftorn, very moderately, flept 
 very quietly that Night, finding neither Cholic to 
 awake him, nor Belchings in the Morning to an¬ 
 noy him ; wherefore as foon as he awaked, he 
 broke forth into this Exclamation with a loud 
 Voice: “ How fweet, how fweet are Plato's 
 Suppers, which makes us in the Night-time to 
 deep, and in the Morning to breathe fo fweetly !” 
 Yea, but fome will fay, How (hall we know 
 when we have eaten enough ? At whom Derm. 7- 
 critus would have laughed a Month together, 
 and perhaps have returned them this Anfwer ; 
 Fools and Ideots that you are, know you when 
 your Horfe and your Hawk, and your Dog hath 
 enough, and are you ignorant what Meafure to 
 allow yourfeives ? Who will urge his Horfe to 
 
 eat 
 
 1 
 
3§2 HealthV Improvement. 
 
 eat too much, or cram his Hawk till fhe be over- 
 eorged, or feed his Hound till his Tail leave wav- 
 ins:? And (hall Man, the Meafurer of Heaven 
 and Earth, be ignorant how in Diet to meafure 
 the Bignefs or Strength of his own Stomach ? 
 Knows he by Signs when they are over-filled, and 
 is he ignorant of the Signs of Repletion in himfelf ? 
 namely, of Satiety, Loathing, Drovvfinefs, Stiff- 
 nefs, Weaknefs, Wearinefs, Heavinefs and Belch¬ 
 ing ? Doth not every Man know,' that Enough 
 confideth not in filling the Paunch, but in taking 
 fufficient to maintain Nature, which no doubt is 
 fatisfied with a little, as Solon faid at the wife 
 Mens Feaft; Summum, imo divinum bonum ejl 
 nullo vefci alimento ; proxhnum vero & naturale 
 quod a minima. “ It is, (faid Solon ) the greateft, 
 yea, the divined: good Thing of all other, to eat 
 no Meat; and the next unto that and mod natu¬ 
 ral is, to feed as fparingly as may be. 
 
 But can you not prefcribe one certain Meafure 
 or Quantity fit for all Men ? No verily, for to 
 prefcribe to all Men, or to one Man at all times, 
 one certain Quantity of Meat, were to make a 
 Coat for the Moon ; which if either Jupiter her 
 Father, or Latona her Mother could have done, 
 they would long e’er this with fomeRobe or other 
 have covered her incondant Body, ihcreafing or 
 decreafing every Moment. And verily Hippo¬ 
 crates hath truly written; “ The Quantity of 
 Meats ought not to be appointed by Weight, 
 Number or Meafure, but by Senfe and Ability of 
 our Stomachs; for fome cannot diged much, 
 others are offended at a little, others are not fa¬ 
 tisfied till their Maw be filled, others have too 
 much when it is half-filled. 
 
 2 
 
 It 
 
Of the Quanti ty of Meats. 3S3 
 
 It were ftrange to recite what great Store of 
 Meat fome have eaten, and others daily eat, with¬ 
 out Offence: Arijlotle in his Politics, calleth the 
 Fencers and Wreftlers Diet of his time, a necef- 
 fary Gourmandife ; becaufe through abundance of 
 Exercife, which confumeth Spirits and Humours, 
 they were info reed to eat both much and often. 
 Nay, Cornelius Gemma affirmeth, that he faw, 
 whilft he lived, an aged Woman, which from her 
 Infancy fed in exceflive Meafure, eating fomething 
 continually every Hour, befides her ordinary Meals 
 of Breakfaft, Dinner and Supper, which were of 
 an incredible Quantity; in the End dying with 
 abundance of Fat and Flefli, (for the Caul of her 
 Belly weighed twenty Pounds) they perceived all 
 this to come from a peculiar and fpecial Tempera¬ 
 ture, called of the Grecians i^ioa-vyx^ua-ioi ; for her 
 Liver was greater and heavier than all the reft of 
 her Bowels laid together; exceeding red, and 
 fwelling with ftore of Blood and Wind. Surius 
 and Bruyrinus , and Schengkius , tell of many others, 
 who lived long in Health tho’ they fed exceflively, 
 having as it were an Oftrich’s Stomach joined with , 
 a Dog’s Appetite. 
 
 On the contrary Side, fome may as well live 
 with Hunger and long Abftinence a great while, 
 according as I have read in many Authors. Hip¬ 
 pocrates thinketh, that if a Man abftain from Meat 
 and Drink feven Days he cannot efcape Death ; 
 yea, when fome afterwards were perfuaded to eat, 
 their Meat never pafl'ed thorough them, becaufe 
 the hungry Gut, called jejunum intejlinum, was by 
 Abftinence clung together. But Pliny faw the 
 contrary, and Ti nous’s Aunt lived two Months 
 together without Meat or Drink. Albertus , Alex¬ 
 ander Benedtilus, and Jacobus Sylvius, write }et 
 
 of 
 
384 HealthV Improvement. 
 
 of more ftrangeand incredible Abftinence both of 
 Men and Women ; which truly I would have re- 
 gifter’d amongft the Lies of the Golden Legend, 
 and the Abbot of Urjberg's Chronicles, had not 
 William Rondeletius, and honeft Joubertus , writ¬ 
 ten the like of a French Gentlewoman, living al- 
 moft three Years without any Suftenance of Meat, 
 Bread, Broth, or Drink, who afterwards was 
 married and conceived a Child, which Ihe brought 
 well forth, and happily alive. By all which Ex¬ 
 amples we may eafily gather how abfurd the Fa- 
 Ihion and Cuftom was before Plutarch's time, 
 when every Man did not carve for himfelf, 
 but w*as carved unto by another ; and that, after 
 the College-Fafhion, fo equally, that none had 
 more or lefs than his Fellows: Which Order, 
 howfcever it pleafed Hagias the Sophifter, becaufe' 
 Feafts in Greek are called Divifions, and the Ma¬ 
 ilers of Feafts Great Dividers, and Servants Car¬ 
 vers ; and Mcera and Lachefts , being the God- 
 defles of Feaftings, were called fo of Equality of 
 Divifion ; and that Peace is maintained where E- 
 quality is kept, and that Agamemnon s Soldiers, as 
 Homer teftifieth in fundry Places, had every one 
 alike Meafure and Weight of Viduals; yet, by 
 his Leave, neither is Humanity therein obferved, 
 nor geometrical Proportion kept, nor Nature imi¬ 
 tated. For tell me, what Humanity can w'e call 
 it to «ive a Man lefs than his Stomach wanteth ? 
 What geometrical Proportion is that which giveth 
 as much to the half-full as the empty Veftel ? and 
 how dare we prefcribe one Quantity to all, when 
 Mens Stomachs be as divers in Quantity of Pve- 
 ceit and Ability of Concodlion as their Faces be 
 differing in Appearance ? So that it is too little 
 for one which is too much for another ; and no 
 certain Meafure, nor Number, nor Weight is to 
 
 be 
 
Of the Quantity of Meats. 385 
 
 be preferibed to any Man, but every one to fee^ 
 according as his Stomach is able to concoft; 
 which, to ufe Hippocrates's Phrafe, tho’ it have 
 no Ears, yet hath it Intelligence to beg his own, 
 and Wifdom to difeern when it hath enough, 
 willing us not to eat till we have an Appetite, 
 nor to eat fo long till we have none. This Rule 
 Galen obferving, amongft many other, he was 
 feldom Tick ; and lived, as Sipontinus writeth, 14.0 
 Years. 
 
 Aifo let us remember, that in Youth, Health 
 and Winter, we may feed more plentifully; as 
 alfo after Exercife, and at our own ordinary Table : 
 But when we are at great Feafts, or forced to eat 
 upon ft range Meats, be they never fo finely drefs’d, 
 let Jealoufy be our Carver, after the Example of 
 Augujlus Ccsfar , and alfo of Plato , who at great 
 Feafts fed only on fome known Difb. I have read 
 fomewhere, when they of Thafis invited Alexander 
 to a Feaft, that he fed well upon their fat Mutton 
 and Beef, and gave away the forced Difhes and 
 curious Quelquecbofes not to his own Countrymen 
 and Soldiers, but to his Captives and Slaves, fay¬ 
 ing, That he would rather they were all dead, 
 than that any of his own, by furfeiting upon any 
 unknown Meat, fhould be ever fo little fick. 
 
 And thus much of the juft Quantity of Meats, 
 which Phyficians may aim at by long Experience, 
 preferibing a full Diet to them that be found and 
 ftrong, and accuftomed to much feeding; a mo¬ 
 derate Diet to them that be indifferent; and a thin 
 Diet to fuch Weaklings and fick Perfons as require 
 neither much, nor often feeding. 
 
 R 
 
 C H A P. 
 
Health’.? Improvement. 
 
 CHAP. XXXII. 
 
 Of the Quality of Meats . 
 
 Tjlppocraies and Galen bid every Man, both in 
 Health and Sicknefs, beware what kind of 
 Meat he moft commonly ufeth j for like Food 
 like Flefti, like Meat like Nourilhment. 
 
 And therefore we find that fome have Quails 
 Stomachs, and may eat Poifon. A Woman by 
 Cuftom drank the Juice of Hemlock ufually, Gal. 
 kb. 3. fimp. medic, cap. 18. And a Maid fed ufual- 
 3 y> by Cuftom, upon Napellus* Spiders, and other 
 Poifons, Calius lib. A. L. 11. cap. 18. Alitbri- 
 dates the younger ufed continually a Counter-poi- 
 fon made of Poifons, infomuch that when he 
 would have poifoned himfelf, being by his Son 
 Pbarnaces’s Villainy betrayed to Lucullus , he could 
 not do it, and therefore killed himfelf by the Help 
 of a Frenchman , Plin. lib. 23. cap. 9. 
 
 All which Cautions are particularly fet down by 
 Hippocrates and Galen , tho’ fcatteringly and by 
 Pieces in feveral Places, that I need not add to his 
 own Words ; which I have aphoriftically fet down 
 in thefe Sentences following, becaufe no Man ever 
 did the like. 
 
 1. Let every Man take heed what Quality his 
 Meat is of; for Cuftom begetteth another Nature, 
 and the whole Conftitution of the Body may be 
 changed by Diet. 
 
 2. We fhould take thofe kinds of Meats which 
 are beft for our own particular Bodies, for our 
 
 own 
 
Of the Quality of Meats . 387 
 
 own particular Age, Temperature, Ditempera¬ 
 ture and Complexion : For as every particular 
 Member of the Body is nouriflied with a feverally 
 qualified Juice ; io Labourers and idle Perfons, 
 Children and Striplings, old Men and young Men, 
 cold and hot Bodies, phlegmatic and choleric Com¬ 
 plexions, mud have divers Diets. 
 
 3* Young, hot, drong and labouring Mens 
 Stomachs may teed of Meats, giving both an hard 
 and a grofs Juice, as Beef, Bacon, pouder’d Flefh 
 and F ifh, hard Cheefe, Rye-bread, and hard 
 Eggs, &c. which may nourith (lowly, and be 
 concoaed by Degrees; for if they ftiould eat 
 Things of light Nourifhment, as Veal, Lamb, 
 Capons, Chickens, poach’d Eggs, Partridges, 
 Pheafants, or Plovers,CV. either their Meat would 
 be too foon digeded, or elfe wholly converted in¬ 
 to Choler. Contrariwife Milk is fitted for young 
 Children, tender b letli for them that are grow¬ 
 ing, and liquid Meats for fuch as be fick of (ham 
 Difeafes. v 
 
 Furthermore if any Mans Bowels or Body be 
 too dry, a moift Diet of Suppings and boil’d 
 Meats yield him a Remedy ; but if it be too 
 moid, all his Meats and Diet mud tend to Drv- 
 nefs. 1 
 
 4. Sweet-meats are unfit for young Children 
 and young Men, and hot Stomachs; for they 
 corrupt Childrens 1 eeth, and turn mod into 
 Choler in young Mens Stomachs, but they are 
 good for old Men and cold Complexions ; yea. 
 Honey itfelf agreeth with them. 
 
 5. Bitter Meats ingender Choler and burn 
 Blood, giving no general Nourifliment to the 
 whole, howfoever they be acceptable to fome one 
 Part. 
 
 R 2 
 
 6. Sharp 
 
388 Health’j Improvement. 
 
 6. Sharp Spices, which I have particularly- 
 named before in the fifth Chapter of this Book, 
 are moft unfit for tender Bodies, whofe Sub¬ 
 fiance is eafily melted and inflamed, howfoever 
 ftrong Men may eat them with grofs Meats. 
 
 7. Sour Meats and lharp together, as Lemons, 
 Oranges, Citrons and Vinegar, offend cold Sto¬ 
 machs and finewy Parts ; but if they be cold and 
 aftringent, as Sorrel, Quinces, Cervifes and Med- 
 lers, they are not fo oftenfive, nay, they are pro¬ 
 fitable to all Stomachs being eaten laft, unlefs the 
 Body be fubjedb to Fluxes, 
 
 8. Meats over-falted how dangerous they are, 
 Inflammations, Leprofies, Sharpnefs of Urine, and 
 great Obfirucfions happening to fuch as ufe them 
 much, do diffidently declare ; agreeing with none 
 but firong Bodies, as Sailors, Soldiers and Huf- 
 bandmen, accuftomed to hard Labour and much 
 toiling. 
 
 9. Fatty Meats are not good but for cold and 
 dry Stomachs; for in fanguine and choleric Sto¬ 
 machs they are foon corrupted, in phlegmatic Sto¬ 
 machs they procure Loofenefs and hinder Reten¬ 
 tion : Only they are fit for Men naturally melan¬ 
 cholic, giving to them a kindly Warmth, and alfo 
 a moft convenien and proper Moifture. 
 
 10. All Meats fhouli be given very hot to cold 
 and raw Stomachs; but cold Meats to cold Sto¬ 
 machs are very hurtful. Pityllus had fo cold a 
 Stomach, frith Suidas, that he made a Sheath for 
 his Tongue, to (wallow down h : s Pottage fealding 
 hot: And Eunapius reporteth the like of Proccre- 
 Jius the Sophifter : Yea, I myfelf have known a 
 Sbropjhire Gentleman of the like Quality. 
 
 11. When anv Man is Tick or diftemper’d, let 
 his Meats be of contrary Quality to his Difeafe ; 
 
 for 
 
Of the Quality of Meats. 389 
 
 for Health itfelf is but a kind of Temper gotten 
 and preferved by a convenient Mixture of Con¬ 
 trarieties. 
 
 Now in what Degree mofl particular Meats be 
 hot, cold, and dry or moift, is fufficiently declared 
 above in the fifth Chapter, where I have largely 
 fet down the Differences of Meat both in Kind, 
 Subftance, Temperature and Tafte, whereunto I 
 refer you. 
 
 12. Above all things take heed that you eat not 
 through Hunger of a Meat, which either natural¬ 
 ly or accidentally you loath ; for as the pleating 
 Meat is belt concodled, yea, tho’ it be fomewhat 
 of the worff kind, (o Meats loathed turn into 
 Wind, Belchings, Vomitings and cruel Gripings, 
 becaufe the Stomach doth not affecff them. But 
 what Meat is fittelf and molt agreeable to every 
 Man’s Tafte, Humour and Nature, rather proper 
 Experience doth teach us, than any Man’s Judg¬ 
 ment can diredh us. 
 
 13. L‘.t a throng and good Stomach 't a fie of 
 all things, but not feed upon them as Nourifh- 
 ments ; )ea, it is good in Health to tafte every 
 thing, left we refute that in Sicknefs which per¬ 
 haps we fhall have moft Caufe to feed on ; as it 
 happened to Titus the Emperor, whofe over-nice 
 feeding anl bathing haftened his Death. 
 
390 
 
 H ealth’j Improvement. 
 
 C H A P. XXXIII. 
 
 Of the Time , Order, and Manner of Eating, 
 
 ^ THE A Al US, in his Feaft of Sages, faith> 
 that the ok! Grecians lived very temperately $ 
 tn.t jet he faith, that ufually they made three Meals 
 a-day, one early in the Morning, another at Noon, 
 arai the third at Night. The full was called 
 bccaufe it was nothing but a Sop of 
 Bread foaked in a little Wine. The fecond was 
 called ct&rcv, becaufe it was made of home-bred 
 Things, which are thought to give the beft and 
 ftrongeft Nourifhment. 
 
 1 he laft was called by two Names, o^umy, fig- 
 iiifying a late eating, and becaufe it requir¬ 
 
 ed Care and Coft. In Plutarch ’s time Breakfaft 
 was called ytvpst, becaufe they did only taile and 
 go. Dinner was termed Trxfivfoov, as being a Noon- 
 mt a]. Supper was called xoini, for that it was not 
 piivate, as Breakfaft and Dinner, but either com- 
 tnon amongft Neighbours, or at leaft with all their 
 own Houfhold. How Beavers, called Procania , 
 and Sleep-drinks, called Prohypnia and Metacar,ia, 
 came up, none have yet thoroughly determined, 
 tho’here, amongft Labourers, and in Germany , 
 amongft Gentlemen, they are ordinarily put in 
 practice. 
 
 Breakfafts are fit for all Men in {linking Houfes 
 or clofe Cities, as alfo in the time of Peftilence,' 
 and before you vifit the Sick ; for empty Veins 
 draw deepefl, and what they firft receive, be it 
 
 good 
 
Of the Time , &c. of Eating. 391 
 
 good or bad, with that they cleanfe or infedf the 
 Blood. Contrariwife, where the Air is pure, 
 clear and wholefome, it is beft to faft till Dinner, 
 unlefs you be either of growing Years, or of a 
 choleric Stomach, for then you muft not in any 
 Cafe be long iafting. 
 
 Dinners and Suppers are generally neceflary and 
 convenient for all Ages, Times of the Year, and 
 all Complexions, efpecially in thefe northern Parts 
 of the World, where inward Heat being multi¬ 
 plied by outward Coldnefs, cur radical Moifture 
 would be foon confumed, if it were not reftojed 
 by a double Meal at the leaft. 
 
 TVhtther Dinner cr Supper flsauld be large/?. 
 
 Now whether at Dinner or Supper we may feed 
 more plentifully, is a great Queftion amongft 
 Phyficians; either becaufe they affirm too gene¬ 
 rally on either Side, or becaufe they were ignorant 
 of Diflindtions. Some are juft: of Leonard Fnch~ 
 fus’s Opinion, that our Supper fhould be the 
 larger of both, for thefe Reafons Firft, Becaufc, 
 as we may eat more in Winter than in Summer, 
 our Inwards being then hotteft, through llc- 
 percufiion of Heat by external Coldnefs; fo the 
 Night refembling Winter, as Hippocrates noteth, 
 no Reafon but that then we fhould feed moll, 
 Secondly, We may then feed more largely, be¬ 
 caufe Sleep enfueth, with whom Blood, Heat and 
 Spirits, return more inward to the Belly, Bowels, 
 Stomach, and all Parts of Concodlion, than when 
 by light Exercife or Mufing, they are diftrablcd 
 upward, downward, and outward to other Parts. 
 
 Again, Look what Exercife is to the Joints and 
 Mufcles, that is Sleep to the Bowels; that is to 
 
 R 4 
 
39 2 Health’/ Improvement. 
 
 fay, Look how Labour and Exercife doth warm 
 _L-e one, fo doth Sleep and Quietnefs warm the 
 other. Galen likewiie writeth thus ; “ Whilft a 
 Man fleepeth, all Motive and fenfible faculties 
 leem to be idle ; but natural Powers are then mod 
 adtive, concodling Meat not only better in the 
 Stomach and Guts, but alfo in the Veins and 
 whole Habit of the Body.'’ Paulus JEgincta is of 
 the fame Judgment, writing thus; “ Sleep is a 
 Ceafing or Reft of animal Faculties, proceeding 
 from the moiftening of our Brain with a fvveet 
 and pro!Table Humour ; which whofoever taketli 
 in due Order, Quantity and Time, he receiver}* 
 thereby many lingular Commodities, namely, good 
 Concoction of Meat, and Digeftion'of Humours, 
 and Ability to labour eafdy and chearfully after 
 Digeftion ; where he addeth this Reafon of better 
 Concodtion in Sleep out of Hippscrates : “He 
 that is broad waking is hotteft outwardly, but he 
 that foundly fleepeth is hotteft inwardly. 
 
 Now if any iball objedt, that no Sleep can be 
 u hole feme or found after Supper, becaufe it is 
 taken upon a full Gorge, I anfwer him thus ; 
 Phyficians write not to Ideots and Fools, but to 
 Men of Senfe and Reafon ; whom common Senfe 
 may teach, that they are not, like Swine and 
 Beafts, firft to fill their Bellies, and then prefent- 
 ly to fieep upon it, but to lit or walk eafily after 
 Supper for an Hour or more, to fettle their Meat 
 to the Bottom of their Stomach, that it may prove 
 lefs vaporous to the Head, and be fooner concodt- 
 ed lying nearer the Liver.- 
 
 Furthermore when I laid, that we fhould feed 
 more largely at Supper than at Dinner, I meant 
 nothing lefs than to counfel Men to gorge them- 
 felves up to the Tup of their Gullet; but to advife 
 
 them 
 
Of the Time , &c. of Ealing. 393 
 
 them of both their Meals to make Supper the 
 larger, for the Reafons alledged, and for infinite 
 Reafons befides which l could let down. 
 
 For whom large , or fparing Suppers be mojl 
 convenient. 
 
 Neverthelefs I do not fo generally fet this down, 
 as that it is beft for all Perfons, but for them only 
 which be found and in Health: For if any be 
 troubled with great Head-achs, or Rheums, or 
 nightly Torments of any Part, their Supper ought 
 to be very little, (lender and dry, and alfo to be 
 taken very timely in the Evening ; that Nature, 
 being freed all Night-time of other Offices, may 
 only attend Concodfion of the Difeafe’s Caufe. 
 
 Lad: of all, I except alfo them which have Ions: 
 been accuftomed to linall Suppers and long Din¬ 
 ners ; becaufe the Imitation of a long Cuftom, 
 though it be evil, breedeth no common or petty 
 Danger. Laurence Joubert , in his eighth Paradox 
 written to Camufus the King of France's Secre¬ 
 tary, wonderfully ftriveth to oppugn this Opinion, 
 but profiting no more with his Head and Hands, 
 than the Moufe in the Tar-barrel doth with her 
 Feet; for when he hath done all that he can, he 
 only proveth that better Digellion is in the Day¬ 
 time, and not better Concodtion, as hereafter, 
 upon fome other Occafion, I will plainly demon- 
 ftrate to the Learned. 
 
 Flow often a Man jhould feed in a Day. 
 
 Furthermore I would not in like-manner have 
 any Man think, that 1 prcfcribe two or three 
 Meals, and neither more nor lefs to all Perfons : 
 
 For 
 
394 Health’^ Improvement. 
 
 For Children may feed much and often ; old Men 
 little and often : Where by the Way note this out 
 ©1 Plutarch , that old Age is not ever to beftinted 
 by "V ears, but by Decay and Lois of natural 
 Strength. 
 
 bor in fome northern Countries, and he nameth 
 ours, few Men are old at half a hundred Years, 
 when the Ethiopians and fouthern People are old 
 at thirty. T hey are long young and lufty, be- 
 caufe much feeding reftoreth Decay of Moifture, 
 and outward Coldnefs preventeth the Lofs of in¬ 
 born Heat. I hefe contrariwife are foon old, be- 
 caufe outward Heat draweth out their inward 
 Moifture, which fhould be the Maintainer and 
 food of their Heat natural. 
 
 Alfo I permit unto true Labourers and Work¬ 
 men to feed often, yea, four or five times a-day 
 if their Work be Ground-Work or very toilfome, 
 becaufe continual fpendingof Humours and Spirits, 
 challenges an often reftoring of the like by Meat 
 and Drink. 
 
 binally, whofoever by fome natural and pecu¬ 
 liar Temperature, or elfe upon any Sicknefs, is 
 inforced to eat often ; it were againft Art, Reafon 
 and Nature, to number and Hint his Meals. Clau¬ 
 dius CceJ'ar had fo gnawing a Stomach, that he 
 could eat at all Hours. And Aulus Vitelhus, even 
 at his God’s Service and Sacrifice, could hardly 
 refrain from fnatching the Meal and Oil out of 
 the Priefi: s Hand ; yea, he baited at every Vil¬ 
 lage as he rode upon the Way, and fwept clean 
 the Ambery in every Inn. Contrariwife fome 
 either by Nature or Cuflom eat but once a-day, 
 others only twice, and fome thrice; as you may 
 read in Bencvenius , Ferdinandus Mena , and Bar¬ 
 th oloma us Anulus ; and as I my felt can alfo witnefs 
 
 by 
 
Of the Time> &c. of Eating. 395 
 
 by divers of our own Countrymen, if I purpofed 
 or thought it needful to produce their Names. 
 The like may I fay of fet Hours to dine or fup 
 in ; for albeit I could ever widi and think it gene¬ 
 rally wholefomed to dine before the highed of the 
 Sun, and to fup feven or eight Hours after Dinner, 
 yet if any be accudomed, with Augujlus Cafar y 
 to eat only then, and as often as he is hungry, I 
 forbid him not to difcontinue his own Courfe, al¬ 
 beit I rather impute it to a foolifh Ufe than to any 
 inward Prefcript or Motion of Nature. Ccslius 
 therefore not unwittily termeth Courtiers by the 
 Name of Antipodes ; for as it is Day with them when 
 it is Night with us, fo Courtiers and Princes eat 
 when all others deep ; and again, perverting the 
 Order of Nature, and fetting as it were the Sun 
 to School, deep out the fweeted pirt of the Day, 
 wherein others eat and work. 
 
 Concerning the Manner of eating, it is not 
 alike in all Countries. Theym’r, Grecians , and 
 old Romans did eat lying and declining to their 
 right Side. Only the Illyrians fat boult upright 
 as we do now, with a Woman placed, after the 
 new Hans Fafhion, betwixt every Man. Mafi- 
 niffa did mod: commonly eat and walk, yet fome- 
 time he did alfo eat (landing, and fometimes lean¬ 
 ing after the Roman Guife, but he never fat at his 
 Meat; becaufe he thought Eating to be one of the 
 dighted Services to be done of Men, upon which 
 they fhould neither dand, ly, nor fit long. For 
 mine own part, I prefcribe no other Manner of 
 eating than we have received and kept by long 
 I radition. Neverthelefs, that declining towards 
 the right Side was the bed Manner of Portion in 
 feeding, the Example of Chrid and his Apodles- 
 do fudiciently prove, who, when they had choice 
 
 of 
 
396 Health’* Improvement. 
 
 of Rites and Manners, obferved ever that which 
 was moil wholefome, feemly and natural. 
 
 Now how long we fhould fit at Dinner and 
 Supper, tho’ it be not fet down precifely by Phy- 
 ficians, yet generally we' may forbid too long or 
 too fhort a Time. Switrigalus Duke of Lithuania 
 never fat fewer than fix Hours at Dinner, and as 
 many at Supper; from whom I think the Cuftom 
 of long fitting was derived to Denmark ; for there 
 I remember I fat with Frederic King of Denmark , 
 and that mo ft honourable PeregrineLord Willough¬ 
 by of Err fry (when he carried the Order of the 
 Garter) feven or eight Hours together at one 
 Meal. Others feed quickly and rife fpeedily ; 
 but neither of thofe Cpturfes be allowable : For as 
 too long fitting caufeth Dulnefs of Spirits, and 
 hindereth the full Defcent of Meat to the Depth 
 of our Stomachs ; fo too fpeedy rifing caufeth an 
 over-hafty fettling, and maketh it alfo to pafs out 
 before it be well concodted. 
 
 To conclude, mince or chew your Meat fine¬ 
 ly, eat leifurely, fwallow advifedly, and fit up¬ 
 right with your Body for an Hour’s Space or lefs; 
 for longer fitting is not requifite for the Body, 
 howfoever fome affedf it, nay, it is rather hurtful 
 unlefs it be confirmed by long Cuflom, or made 
 more tolerable by reafon of fome Pafiime, Game, 
 or Difcourfe to refrefh the Mind. But of all long 
 Sitters at the 7 'able, farewel Hugutio Fagiolonus , 
 who, as Petrarch reporteth, loft both the City of 
 Pifa and Lukes at one Dinner, becaufe he would 
 not arife, tho’ a true Alarm was given, to repel 
 the Enemy, till his Dinner were fully end¬ 
 ed, which ufually was protradled two or three 
 Hours. 
 
Of the Time, &c. of Eating. 3 97 
 
 Laft of all, concerning the Order of taking of 
 Meats, the firft Courfe in old Times was called 
 frigida menfa , the cold Service ; becaufe nothing 
 but O) fters, Lettice, Spinache, cold Salads, cold 
 Water and cold Sauces were then fet on the 
 Table; which Order was clean altered in Plu¬ 
 tarch’s Time, for they began their Meals with 
 Wine, hot Pottage, black or pepper’d Broth, 
 and hot Meat, ending them with Lettice and Pur- 
 celane, as Galen did, tofupprefs Vapours and pro¬ 
 cure Sleep ; which Example is diligently to be 
 followed of cold Stomachs, as the other is to be 
 imitated of them which is over-hot. 
 
 Likewife that the moft nourifhing Meat is firft 
 to be eaten, that ancient Proverb ratifieth, Ab 
 ova ad mala ,from the Eggs to the Apples \ where¬ 
 fore I utterly midike our Englijl) Cuftom, where 
 Pheafant, Partridge and Plover are laft ferved, and 
 Meats of hard Concodlion and lefs good Nourifh- 
 ment fent before them. As for Fruit, if it be not 
 aftringent, as tart Apples, Pears, four Plums, 
 Quinces, Medlers, Cervifes, Cornels, Wardens, 
 four Pomegranates, and all Meats made of them, 
 it fliould be eaten laft. 
 
 Contrariwife all fvveet and moift Fruit, as ripe 
 Melons, Gourds, Cucumbers, Pompions, old and 
 fweet Apples, fweet Pomegranates, fweet Oranges, 
 and all Things either fatty, light, liquid and thin 
 of Subftance, and eafy of Conception, fhould be 
 firft eaten, unlefs we be fuhjePt to great Fluxes 
 of the Belly, or choleric Difpofitions of Stomach, 
 and then the contrary Courfe is moft warrantable. 
 For if fiippery and light Meats, went foremoft into 
 hot Stomachs, they would either be burnt before 
 the grofier were conco&ed, or at the leaft caufe all 
 to Hip downwards over-foon, by making the lower 
 
 Mouth 
 
39^ HealthV Improvement. 
 
 Mouth of the Stomach too too fiippery. And 
 verily I think that this is the beft Reafon where¬ 
 withal to maintain our Englijh Cuftom, in eatino- 
 Beef and Mutton foremoft before Fowl and Fifh*; 
 unlefs the Reafon drawn from Ufe and Cuftom 
 may feem more forcible. 
 
 Finally, let me add one Thing more., and then 
 an End of this Treatife; namely, that if our 
 Breakfaft be of liquid and fupping Meats, our 
 Dinner moift and of boil’d Meats, and our Supper 
 chiefly of roafted Meats, a very good Order is ob- 
 ferved therein, agreeable both to Art and the Na¬ 
 tures of moft Men. 
 
 FINIS. 
 
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