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The Poisonous Quality Of Muscles Considered.
THE POISONOUS QUALITY OF MUSCLES CONSIDERED .
THE poisonous effect , consequent on eating muscles , does not proceed , as I apprehend , from any ill principle in the muscle itself , nor from any noxious quality in those little crabs frequently found in them ; neither does it proceed from any property derived from the copperas beds near which muscles are sometimes found ; no ? from the malignity of any corrosive mineral whatever , nor from any heterogeneous mixture of animal salts that muscles may meet with in the stomach of the
eater , for the following reasons : i . That no poisonous quality is inherent in the substance of the muscle , is evident from this : That multitudes have made the muscle a part of their food , for many years , without finding the least inconvenience ; on the contrary , have found them a wholesome , nourishing , and even a delicious food .
2 . That the poison which produces the effect , if any such there be , does not reside in the crab , is equally demonstrable : for some will swallow as many as dm be brought them , without the least scruple ; and , indeed , there is but little reason to suppose that a quantity of poison , sufficient to produce such sudden and apparent ill effects , can be contained in so small a crabwhen those of much larger dimensions
, are daily eaten with safety by all sorts of people , on those coasts , where they are found in plenty . 3 . That it cannot be owing to any vicious quality imbibed from the copperas beds near which they are found ; because the same effect is
frequently produced by eating muscles gathered many hundred miles from any copperas bed , and by those of the whitest and most inviting kind : nor can a quantity of vitriolic or mineral pungent salts , sufficient to poison a person , exist in dressed muscles , without discovering itself ] either , in the liquor , or upon the palate when the muscles are eating . And , 4 thly , It cannot proceed from any heterogeneous mixture of animal salts in the stomach of the eaterbecause the sudden swelling
, of the person affected is a symptom that never follows from such n cause . It is further observable , that particular people only are affected by the eating of muscles , and those differently at different times . I am myself acquainted with some persons , who never could eat muscles without being ill , but who can now eat them boldly , and without the least apprehension of any bad consequences ; and I have myself eatc-n
them from my infancy , and yet they have never once disagreed with me , nor with any of my family , save one . 1 am therefore of opinion , from all the observations I have been able to make , that the disorders proceeding from the eating of muscles , happen from the ready disposition of some g lutinous particles on the surface of the muscle to adhere to what it touches of the stomach ;
and that the real cause , of what is generally thought the poisonous effect , is only the cohesion of the membrane of the muscle , like a p iece of leaf gold , to the inner coat or lining of the stomach , which , when once dislodged , the patient almost instantly recovers .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Poisonous Quality Of Muscles Considered.
THE POISONOUS QUALITY OF MUSCLES CONSIDERED .
THE poisonous effect , consequent on eating muscles , does not proceed , as I apprehend , from any ill principle in the muscle itself , nor from any noxious quality in those little crabs frequently found in them ; neither does it proceed from any property derived from the copperas beds near which muscles are sometimes found ; no ? from the malignity of any corrosive mineral whatever , nor from any heterogeneous mixture of animal salts that muscles may meet with in the stomach of the
eater , for the following reasons : i . That no poisonous quality is inherent in the substance of the muscle , is evident from this : That multitudes have made the muscle a part of their food , for many years , without finding the least inconvenience ; on the contrary , have found them a wholesome , nourishing , and even a delicious food .
2 . That the poison which produces the effect , if any such there be , does not reside in the crab , is equally demonstrable : for some will swallow as many as dm be brought them , without the least scruple ; and , indeed , there is but little reason to suppose that a quantity of poison , sufficient to produce such sudden and apparent ill effects , can be contained in so small a crabwhen those of much larger dimensions
, are daily eaten with safety by all sorts of people , on those coasts , where they are found in plenty . 3 . That it cannot be owing to any vicious quality imbibed from the copperas beds near which they are found ; because the same effect is
frequently produced by eating muscles gathered many hundred miles from any copperas bed , and by those of the whitest and most inviting kind : nor can a quantity of vitriolic or mineral pungent salts , sufficient to poison a person , exist in dressed muscles , without discovering itself ] either , in the liquor , or upon the palate when the muscles are eating . And , 4 thly , It cannot proceed from any heterogeneous mixture of animal salts in the stomach of the eaterbecause the sudden swelling
, of the person affected is a symptom that never follows from such n cause . It is further observable , that particular people only are affected by the eating of muscles , and those differently at different times . I am myself acquainted with some persons , who never could eat muscles without being ill , but who can now eat them boldly , and without the least apprehension of any bad consequences ; and I have myself eatc-n
them from my infancy , and yet they have never once disagreed with me , nor with any of my family , save one . 1 am therefore of opinion , from all the observations I have been able to make , that the disorders proceeding from the eating of muscles , happen from the ready disposition of some g lutinous particles on the surface of the muscle to adhere to what it touches of the stomach ;
and that the real cause , of what is generally thought the poisonous effect , is only the cohesion of the membrane of the muscle , like a p iece of leaf gold , to the inner coat or lining of the stomach , which , when once dislodged , the patient almost instantly recovers .