Page:Sacred Books of the East - Volume 27.djvu/497

 selected; peaches were made smooth; kâ, and pears had the insects drilled out of them.

31. When an ox lowed at night, its flesh was (considered) to be rank; that of a sheep, whose long hair showed a tendency to get matted, to be frouzy; that of a dog which was uneasy and with (the inside of) its thighs red, to be coarse; that of birds when moulting and with their voices hoarse, to be fetid; that of pigs, when they looked upwards and closed their eyes, to be measly; that of a horse, black along the spine and with piebald fore-legs, to smell unpleasantly.

A pullet, whose tail could not be grasped by the hand, was not eaten, nor the rump of a tame goose, nor the ribs of a swan or owl, nor the rump of a tame duck, nor the liver of a fowl, nor the kidneys of a wild goose, nor the gizzard of the wild goose without the hind-toe, nor the stomach of the deer.

32. Flesh cut small was made into mince; cut into slices it was made into hash. Some say that the flesh of elks, deer, and fish was pickled; that of muntjacs also, being cut in small pieces; that of fowls and wild pigs, in larger pieces; of hares, the stomach was pickled. Onions and scallions were mixed with the brine to soften the meat.