This Fish is not accounted wholesome at this time of the Year, nor fit for
eating till they begin to run in _March_, therefore what I have to say
relating to preparing Eels for the Table, will be set down in the Month of
_March_.
* * * * *
FEBRUARY.
As our Poultry will begin to lay plentifully in this Month, it may not be
improper to say something of them before we proceed to give the Receipts
for dressing and preparing their Eggs for the Table. It is necessary to be
known first, the Difference between Fowls and Birds; a Fowl always leads
its young Ones to the Meat, and a Bird carries the Meat to the Young: for
this reason, we find that Fowls always make their Nests upon the Ground,
while Birds, for the most part, build their Nests aloft; so then our common
Poultry are Fowls, the Pheasant, Partridge, Peacock, Turkey, Bustard,
Quail, Lapwing, Duck, and such like are all Fowls: But a Pigeon is a Bird,
and a Stork, or Crane, and a Heron, are Birds, they build their Nests
aloft, and carry Meat to their young Ones.
The Characteristick Marks of the Poultry Kind are, besides what I have said
above, to have short, strong, and somewhat crooked Bills, which are best
adapted to pick up Grains of Corn, Pulse, and other Seeds, which is chiefly
what these Fowls feed upon; and we may observe, that as neither Birds nor
Fowls have Teeth to macerate their Food with, so Nature has provided them
not only with a Crop to soften their Meat, but a Stomach furnish'd with
thick strong Mucles, whose use is to grind the Grains of Corn, or any hard
Meat swallow'd whole, which they perform by the help of little Stones,
which Birds and Fowls swallow now and then, and which supply the defect of
Teeth.
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