Though some of them be light and easy of digestion, afford less nourishment than the flesh of quadrupeds, and are, of all the animal tribes, the most disposed to putrefaction. Salt water fish are, in general, the best but when salted, though less disposed to putrescency, they become difficult of digestion. Whitings and flounders are the most easily digested. Acid sauces and pickles, by resisting putrefaction, are a proper addition to fish, both as they retard putrescency and correct the relaxing tendency of butter, so generally used with this kind of aliment. Oysters and Cockles Are eaten both raw and dressed.
Oysters are very nourishing and easy of digestion.
Muscles and Periwinkles. Are far inferior to oysters, both in point of digestion and nutriment. Sea muscles are by some supposed to be of a poisonous nature, but through this opinion is not much countenanced by experience, the safest way is to eat them with vinegar, or some other vegetable acid. At the bead of the vegetable class stands bread, that article of diet which, from general use, has received the name of the staff of life. Wheat is the grain chiefly used for the purpose in this country, and is the most nutritive of all the farinaceous kinds, as it contains a great deal of gluten and starch.